Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Sunny felt a rush of heat go through her and she could barely bite back a moan. Oh God, if only he would go deeper! If only he would part her pussy lips and put his tongue inside…
But Greer didn’t do any of that. After a long moment, he pulled back and looked at her.
“Now you’re mine, little one,” he said and his voice came out in a low, possessive growl. “And no one can say otherwise.”
“Now it is complete,” one of the Thropp’ian women whispered reverently.
Sunny was still catching her breath when Greer rose to his feet. He leaned down, his mouth close to her ear.
“Let’s get you out of here before they think of another tradition we have to participate in,” he murmured.
But the heat in his pale eyes told her that the Claiming he’d started when he sucked her nipples and kissed her pussy wasn’t the only thing left unfinished between them.
10
GREER
Greer was still feeling the heat of Sunny’s lips on his chest—and the far more dangerous heat of her mouth on the head of his cock—when there was a disturbance in the crowd.
Their Thropp’ian guide was pushing his way through the women.
“Chief Lowhung wishes to meet the male Protector of Dr. Craythorn, the lovely scientist with the huge milk-makers!” he announced, grinning wide enough to show alarmingly sharp teeth Greer hadn’t noticed before.
Greer’s protective instincts roared to life at once. He shifted subtly in front of Sunny, but it was too late—the guide’s round, unblinking eyes—all three of them—had already taken in the swirls of melted gold pigment painted over her breasts…and the faint traces of the same color smudged at the corners of Greer’s own mouth.
The guide’s gaze swept over them both and stopped. His third eye widened.
“Wait…what is this?” He pointed to the bold golden spirals on Sunny’s breasts and the kisses made in scarlet on Greer’s own skin. “The pigments? You’ve marked each other?”
“Well…” Sunny began but the guide’s expression had turned scandalized.
“The Chief will be most displeased! He was told you were not a mated pair—so why are you painted as such?”
“Well, you see, the women here were—” Sunny began.
“—all over me,” Greer finished flatly. “Touching inappropriately. My female—”
“She’s not your female!” the guide interrupted, hopping from foot to foot. “You have already admitted it! So why have you defiled the pigments?”
Greer felt the muscle in his jaw twitch. The guide hadn’t seemed this uptight about the pigments before—why was he “freaking out” as the humans said, now?
“We were encouraged to prove a claim to stop the others women from trying to place a Claim on me. It wasn’t—”
“Enough!” the guide flung up both hands. “The Chief will decide. Come.”
They were marched to the back of the long hall, where Chief Lowhung lounged on a carved wooden throne, bare-chested and bedecked with beads. His enormous lower lip jutted and his third eye bulged in displeasure when he saw them.
“What’s this I hear?” he demanded. “You are not mates—yet you wear the markings of mates? Do you mock our customs?”
“Oh, no, your Chiefliness. That was certainly not our intention—” Sunny began, but Greer spoke over her.
“It was necessary,” he said, firmly. “Your women—”
“My women know better than to take what belongs to another. If they thought you were unmated, then you are unmated. No markings!” Chief Lowhung slammed a hand on the arm of his chair. “This is an insult.”
“We didn’t mean—” Sunny tried again, but the Chief wasn’t listening.
“If you are not true mates, then the pigments must be removed at once!”
He snapped his fingers and barked an order. Several attendants scurried away and returned moments later with the largest tub Greer had ever seen—big enough to hold two full-grown Kindred.
And it was filled to the brim with icy water. Greer knew it was cold because some of it sloshed out and hit the side of his leg.
“You will remove your coverings,” the Chief declared, “And wash each other clean—thoroughly—while I watch to ensure the insult is undone.”
Sunny made a squeaking noise beside Greer and from the corner of his eye, he saw how she was twisting her fingers together nervously.
Greer’s gut tightened. Stripping naked and putting his hands all over his Ward while that pompous asshole looked on? Absolutely fucking not—except… refusing would insult the Chief further. And insulting him again might be dangerous for both of them.
He’d gotten Sunny out of a lot of difficult situations…but he didn’t think he could get her out of this one.
He clenched his fists.
“Little one,” he murmured to Sunny, “I don’t think we have a choice. We’re going to have to do this.”
Her eyes were wide and pink was creeping up her cheeks, but she gave a small, tight nod.
The attendants waited expectantly.
With a low growl, Greer untied the leaf kilt and let it fall. Then he kicked off his boots—he wasn’t about to get them all wet. Then he stepped into the tub.