Predator

Chapter 44

After they returned to their rooms, he had spent well over an hour bathing her entire body before he dried her soft skin and carried her to bed. He rolled her over on to her stomach and started to massage her feet and slowly worked his way up her tired body.

She moaned from his gentle manipulation of her muscles and practically melted into the mattress. Riddick smiled at his mate’s slight sounds of relaxation and gently rolled her on to her back where he repeated all of his magic touches on her front. He worked her legs, arms, neck and shoulders before he realized that she had fallen asleep under his tender ministrations. He kissed her lightly on her lips and brushed a tender kiss across her abdomen where his daughter resided. “Goodnight, my girls.”

Riddick spent the entire night holding his love in his arms and watching her sleep. He couldn’t bring himself to even close his eyes as he stared at his future cradled against his chest. His mind was absorbed in the beauty of his mate and his heart raced with the possibility that she would make good on her promise. ‘Please find a way to stay with me. I know you can go it. You can do anything. I’m living proof of that.’

The hours ticked by as Riddick watched his woman slumber while his thoughts were focused on her pulling off a miracle and, before he knew it, the sun rose outside their window. He had hoped to make love to her again before he escorted her to Rhade but time had got away from him. ‘Shit. It’s gonna be a long time before I get her back in my arms. I actually spent an entire night with her naked body lying next to me and I didn’t even think once about trying to fuck her.’ He shook his head in amazement and settled over her.

“Baby.” He whispered trying to lull her out of her deep sleep. “Alex, honey, its time to get up.”

“Mmm.” She buried herself deep into his warmth and mumbled. “Don’t wanna get up. I’m all comfy right here.”

“And I don’t mind you staying there but I think Rhade will.” She blinked her eyes open and gazed at him dreamily. “You need to get in the bath and wash my scent off of you before I take you to him. You know how we get about the scent thing.”

“Okay.” She extracted herself from his embrace and pulled the covers off her body. “I’m going but I am not a morning person so you better warn all of them that if anybody acts up today they are getting their asses handed to them.”

“I’ll tell them, baby.” He gave her a light smack on the ass after she stood up and her head snapped around to glare at him. “Get that gorgeous ass of yours moving. You don’t want to keep him waiting. It isn’t a habit that you should get into now that we’ve come to this arrangement.”

She frowned at him for a moment before a wave of nausea hit her hard and her hand shot to her mouth. “Oh no.” She gasped out. “Not this shit again.” She ran for the bathroom leaving a slightly amused Riddick behind.

‘Ian.’ He reached out to her First as he rose from the bed and slowly made his way to the bathroom.

‘Yes, Riddick.’

‘Wake up the others and the kids and have them meet us in Main Sitting Room in 20 minutes.’

‘They will be there. May I ask why though?’

‘We need to work out Alex’s schedule with us and it needs to be made clear that some time is allotted in her days for the boys. I also need to present her to Rhade for their bonding.’

‘I see. It will be done.’

Riddick made his way over to his mate who was sitting on the floor next to toilet. She clutched her knees to her chest and had tears streaming down her face. He knelt beside her and tucked her hair behind her ears so he could see her clearly. “Are you okay now?”

“No.” Her tone was flat and she seemed to be pouting.

“Are you gonna be alright soon?” He asked with humor.

“How the fuck would I know? How long have I been carrying your seed within me now?” She was in rare form. He was confronted with a wave of angry, quick-spoken questions and didn’t know how to respond given her mood. “You did this to me! This is all your fault! How much longer am I going to be getting sick like this? Tyr said it would be about a month.”

“Alright stop right there!” He said sternly and pointed a finger at her. “We both wanted to have a baby like this. It wasn’t just my idea. The way I count it off, you have been carrying my ‘seed’ for almost three weeks now so you should only have another week of this to go. Do you think you can handle that, Oh Mighty Superior Being?”

“Yes.” She sulked as he picked her up off the floor and stood her by the stairs of the pool. “What is going on now?”

“You need to get cleaned up so I can deliver you to Rhade. We don’t have much time. The family will be meeting us in the Sitting Room in 20 minutes.” He swatted her ass again and ushered her down the steps into the water. “Get your ass washed up so your new mate won’t go into a fit if he scents me.”

She sank beneath the water to let the rose-scented liquid wash over her and sat on the bottom stair to use her sponge to scrub her skin. “Why is everyone meeting us?” She yelled out to him in the other room.

“It will just be the mates and your sons that will be attending.” His voice carried back to her. “We need to fine tune your schedule a bit before we run into any problems down the road.”

“Oh.” She said softly, hoping he didn’t hear her. ‘My sex life is on a calendar now. My big strong men will work out all the details for little ole me. Oh I didn’t want a say in any of this so thank the creator for them. Oh but wait a minute, I am the creator. This is bullshit.’

Riddick had picked up every thought that just ran through her mind. ‘She is projecting so strongly, I’d be surprised if the entire planet didn’t hear that.’ He sat on the bed and clutched his stomach as he held in his laughter. He was still there when she came out of the bathing room 5 minutes later. He swallowed with some difficulty when he saw her appearance. “You look beautiful. I’m sure Rhade will be pleased.”

“Thank you.” She was wearing a strapless white silk bikini top that crisscrossed over her breasts to tie in the back. Her skirt was a matching white silk sarong that stopped at mid-thigh and tied at her hip. The slit in the side exposed her naked hip and thigh to his gaze and his mouth instantly went dry. His eyes roamed over her bare shoulders, cleavage, midriff, and long legs as he committed every inch of her to memory. “I guess we should get going?”

“Oh definitely. If I have to look at you in that outfit for too long, you are going to need another bath.” He walked up to her, took her hand, and they left their room. “Fuck. You look so damn hot. I don’t think I can wait for my week to come.”

She smiled as he growled out his sexual frustration and practically dragged her down the halls. He pulled her along behind him while he mumbled. “I guess I’ll have to take matters into my own hands while you’re away.” He grumbled and then he began to laugh. “The upside to this is, if we calculated it right, you will be with Rhade the entire last week of your morning sickness.”

“How sweet of you. I thought you said you’d be with me through this entire experience.” She said in a snide tone. “Now you’re just going to pawn me off on Telemachus?”

“Alex, don’t think that way. It is his week but if you need me all you have to do is call.” He tapped the side of his head. “I’ll be by your side in a heartbeat.” They walked into the sitting room to find their family waiting. “Hey guys, sorry we’re late but someone woke up on the wrong side of the universe today.”

The others hid their laughter after they saw the scowl on Alex’s face but Rhade stood and ran his eyes over the length of her form. “Baby, you are beautiful.” He whispered reverently.

“Thank you, Telemachus.” She blushed furiously.

“Yeah okay, blushing bride and eager groom sit down.” He took a seat beside Alex and smirked at their obvious embarrassment. “We need to iron out a couple of things before we start the implementation of the new schedule. I want to make it real clear that just because she is yours for the week that does not mean you can keep her prisoner in your room.”

“What are you looking at me for?” Ares said in his own defense. “It isn’t even my week yet.”

“I’m just making sure you understand me, Ares. It’s nothing personal.” He received a disbelieving look from the God of War. “Really. Anyways I want everyone to know that Alex is to be allotted time during the day to spend with the boys. She is not anyone’s private play toy for a week.”

“Dorian.” Alex’s head snapped up with a thought.

“Yes, Mom?”

“Your father just reminded me that we need to start your training and I guess we should do it real soon before your little sister starts to show on me.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

“Alex.” Riddick looked at her in concern. “Are you sure that is wise right now?”

“I need to train my son to take his place as a Guardian of the Phoenix Force, Richard. Remember we had that little conversation about what you are supposed to teach him and how I’m supposed to train him? Well it is way past that time and I won’t let it wait any longer.”

“Okay.” He conceded. “Are we all clear on the time she spends with the boys?” They all nodded their heads. “Good. Now there is the matter of Tamerlane to contend with. He is her child now and relies on her for sustenance. The boy’s needs come before our own. Period. I am not even going to ask if you understand that because it should be a given.”

“Also try to remember that she is carrying my child and attempt to refrain from being to rough on her during sex. I know some of us are aggressive lovers and she likes it rough but I don’t want to see any harm come to her or my child.” He glanced down at his hands in his lap and fidgeted while the others waited for him to continue. “Rhade.” He said without looking up at him.

“Yes, Riddick?”

“Alex is suffering from morning sickness right now and, by mine and Tyr’s calculations, it should only last for another week. Her moods are very erratic and she isn’t handling the nausea well.”

“I’m sitting right here, you know?” Alex’s mouth was hanging open when he spoke about her like she was a sick child in need of careful handling.

He ignored her comment and looked up at Rhade. “I wasn’t planning on you having to deal with this during your week but she just started getting sick last night.”

“I will care for her, Riddick. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“I know but it is my kid and I feel guilty that this is happening when she is with you. You are bonding with her and I don’t want you to feel like I am intentionally messing up your time.”

“I don’t care.” He looked at Alex with his heart on his sleeve and his love in his eyes. “I have waited so long to be with her there isn’t a single thing I can think of that will ruin this for me.”

“If she happens to need me…” Riddick said tentatively.

“I will send for you immediately.” Rhade finished for him. “She is carrying your child and I would not deny you the right to be there for her.”

“Thanks.” He exchanged nods with the Nietzchean. “Okay, we have one last thing to talk about. How are we going to determine what order we go in?”

“I know.” Ares shot to his feet. “We go in the order that we mated with her.”

“That works for me.” Ian said. “That means I go next.”

“It doesn’t work for me!” Tyr stood and growled. “That means I have to wait 4 weeks before I get my time with her!”

“What are you bitching about?” Riddick said to him. “I have to wait 5 weeks!”

“You’ve made love to her since she’s been back!” Tyr responded. “The rest of us haven’t!”

“That doesn’t work for me either.” Logan said with a furrowed brow. “I know I’m new to the Mate Clubhouse but if I’m counting right that leaves me at dead last. I won’t be able to be with her until after Rhade’s had a second shot with her in 7 weeks. Before I became part of this group I could bang her whenever she had an itch for me and it was often.”

“Thank you for sharing that information with everyone, Logan.” Alex’s face held a fake grin when she grated out those words. “I’m sure they couldn’t possibly have made it through the day without knowing what a sexual predator you are.”

“It isn’t anything they didn’t already know, darlin’.” His cockiness left his voice and he scratched his head.

“My sons didn’t know. You know, I’m going to leave the details of my sexual duties to you men.” She stood up and walked over to Rhade. “You can let me know what you decide in a week.” She held out her hand and her love took it gently in his own. “I believe I belong to you for seven days. Shall we?”

His eyes lit up and swept her up in his arms. “You sure do and we shall.” He turned and carried her off down the hall to his room, leaving the rest of the mates to fight over her schedule.

Riddick sat there listening to them argue for a few minutes before he stood up and yelled. “That is enough!” His loud voice boomed through the room and everyone quieted down. “We have time to straighten this out later. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and I don’t feel like doing this now.”

“You don’t need to rub it in our faces that you were up all night.” Ares said in his usual high-handed voice. “We know what you were doing.”

“I guess you don’t. You see I took her to our room, gave her a bath, and then massaged her body until she fell asleep. She was exhausted from the nausea and didn’t wake up until right before Ian called you here for this meeting.” They watched as he reflected on his evening for moment and glanced at all of them. “I spent the night holding her in my arms and keeping an eye on her. I couldn’t get any sleep because I just kept trying to find a way to keep my mate alive after she passes on her power to our daughter.”

“I’m sorry, Riddick.” Ares said with deep remorse. “I didn’t mean to be an asshole.”

“I’m sorry as well, my friend.” Tyr squeezed his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “I know this must be difficult for you. If there is anything I can do, you only have to ask.”

“Thanks guys but my daughter is destined to be the recipient of the Phoenix force and I don’t know if there is a way around that. I guess this is something Alex and I will have work through on our own.” He hung his head and started towards the hall not noticing Ian’s look of contemplation. As he passed the boys on the way out, he stopped and looked at Rhade’s son. “Ronon, may I have a word with you in private?”

He looked startled for a moment but rose from his chair. “Yes, sir.”

“Follow me.” Riddick headed down the hall with Ronon in tow. “We’ll talk in my room.”

~*~

Riddick pushed open the door of his suite and Ronon followed him into the sitting room. The large man indicated for him to take a seat and disappeared into the bedroom. Ronon was unsure of the direction this conversation was going to go but he remained calm and was ready for whatever he had to say.

Riddick came back in wearing only a pair of sweats. He sat across from the young man and removed his goggles since the light level was low in his suites. “Do you know why I brought you here?” He asked and pierced him with his silver gaze.

“No, sir.” Came a calm reply that irritated Riddick. He was used to intimidating people with his size and his eyes but this kid still had his wits about him.

“I spoke with your mom last night after we saw you and Kyra together. She says that you two are getting close and that you are displaying for Kyra.” He cocked his head to the side and stared hard into the hazel eyes that remained fixed on his. “Is that right? Are you displaying for her?”

“Yes I am.” Ronon smiled as he answered.

“Does she know you are displaying for her?”

“Yes she does. I explained to her that I would only display for a female that is interested in me and she reciprocated that interest.” Ronon sat up straighter in his chair and maintained eye contact with Riddick. “I would not display for her unless she was true in her interest.”

“I guess my next question is does she know what happens after she chooses you?” Riddick leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “Does she know the purpose for your displaying is so that she will choose you and you will then claim her as your mate?”

“My father told her when we went to retrieve him under your instructions.”

“And she agreed to it?” Riddick’s eyes went wide in disbelief. “She is willing to let you claim her as a mate and to bear your children?”

“That is what she indicated.”

Riddick was taken aback for a moment. ‘I can’t believe she’s ready for something like that.’ He glanced up at Ronon with one raised brow and a menacing look. “Does she know that Nietzcheans don’t believe in recreational sex? Does she know that once she has sex with you, you are officially mated for life? Does she know its forever?”

“I have not had the opportunity to discuss that with her yet.” Ronon’s voice began to rise in volume when he was hit with the barrage of questions. “We were supposed to have dinner alone last night and I was going to tell her then but we were obviously in attendance at the family dinner instead.”

“Speaking of Nietzchean standards, I know you and your father come from a Pride that will mate outside of your race but it is up to the individual male if he will take more than one mate. If you claim Kyra, there is no way she will put up with you cheating on her with other women.”

“You know what, Riddick?” Ronon sat forward on the edge of his seat and glared at his mother’s mate. “My beliefs are those of my father. I have never found any Nietzchean woman that approached me with interest to be worthy of my time or consideration as a mate. I see perfection when I look at Kyra. Furthermore, I would not disgrace her by taking multiple mates. Instead of berating me with your accusations and trying to scare me off of displaying for her, I would be more concerned with Tyr’s son, Jesse.”

“I am concerned with that too!” Riddick growled in frustration that he could not deter this man from pursuing Kyra. “Why do you think I should be more concerned with Jesse than I am with you?”

“He is a Kodiak and they do believe in multiple mates. His own father betrayed my mother when he took Freya as a mate.” Ronon stood up and stared down at Riddick. “The Kodiak do believe in spreading their seed and they will not allow their mates to disgrace them in the eyes of their fellow Nietzcheans. It has been well known throughout the Empire that some males will severely punish their women for any acts of indiscretion.”

“I don’t know if Jesse follows his father’s ways but he should be your primary concern. I know I only have Kyra’s best interests at heart and I am falling in love with her. Love is not a prerequisite for most Nietzcheans who take a mate. They are only interested in maintaining their bloodline. Are we done here?”

“Yeah.” Riddick looked at Ronon with a certain amount of respect that he stood up to him in defense of his feelings for Kyra. He watched the young man stride to the door and called out to him. “Ronon, if you hurt her I will kill you.”

“I would expect no less from you.” He walked out of the room with his head held high and ran right into Kyra when he opened the door.

“Ronon, what are you doing here?” She smiled at him with a slight amount of nervousness.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest. “Why don’t you ask him?” He indicated Riddick’s room with a tilt of his head before he kissed her with a passion that left her breathless. “I will see you later, right?”

She nodded her head while she touched her tingling lips with her fingertips. “We are still going to work out, right?”

“I think we need to have a talk first before we do that.” He stepped away from her, sliding his hands down her arms until he just held her fingertips. “Meet me in my room in about an hour?”

“I’ll be there.” He flashed her a heart-melting smile and backed away until he disappeared down the hall. ‘He wants to talk. Those words are the death of relationships. Did I do something wrong?’ Her head snapped to Riddick’s door and she had a sinking feeling in her chest that she knew what had happened in there. She slammed the door behind her and found him on the couch in the sitting room. “What the fuck did you say to Ronon?”

~*~