Jo's Journey (4 page)

Jo’s eyes swept over Manota’s tall, muscular form. He was beautiful. There was no other way to describe him. His body was sculptured from years of training. The dark skin a contrast to her own as he stepped close enough so her palm lay over his heart. His chest was bare of hair, his nipples a dark, dusky brown. Her eyes rose to his as he gently untied the belt holding her robe closed.

“
Please,” he whispered huskily. “Please do not deny me, deny us, this chance.”

Jo
’s eyelashes fluttered as he opened her robe and slid his callused palms across her sensitive skin. A shudder went through her as she stepped into his embrace, looking up into his searching gaze. Rising up on her tiptoes, she pressed a tentative kiss to his firm lips. A soft groan escaped her as he deepened it, taking over as she parted her lips to his demand. She felt her robe flutter to the floor as he pushed it off her shoulders. She wound her arms around his neck, suddenly starving as a ravishing hunger for him grew inside her.

“
Manota,” she gasped as she felt his hard shaft pressing against her stomach.

“
Yes,” he groaned in answer to the hunger in her voice. “Tell me yes,” he said huskily as he pressed kisses along her jaw. “Tell me you accept my claim.”

“
Yes,” Jo whispered brokenly.

*.*.*

Manota heard the slight hesitation in her voice. He knew there was more behind Jo’s desire to return home than what happened this morning. He heard the thread of sadness in her voice. He would do whatever was in his power to make her happy. First though, first he needed to seal his claim on her. He needed – wanted - there to be no doubt that she belonged to him, with him.

He slid his arm under her knees, lifting her up into his arms. He walked back over to the bed. Gently laying her down, he knelt beside her. Touching the soft strands of her hair, he marveled at the beauty of the alien warrior who had captured his heart.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured. His eyes captured her blue gaze, holding it with his own dark one. “You are beautiful on the outside,” he whispered as his fingers gently traced the line of her jaw before they ran down to stop between the valley of her breasts. “And on the inside.”

Jo
’s eyes filled with tears and she smiled. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are pretty romantic for being such a big ass warrior?”

Manota chuckled and shook his head.
“No, I don’t think anyone has ever told me that before you,” he said gruffly. “I love you, Jo,” he murmured, his eyes glittering fiercely. “You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. You make me… afraid.”

Jo
’s eyes widened at his admission. His softly spoken words shook her to her core. She could see the vulnerability in his eyes as he stared down at her. Her heart melted as he waited - frozen - for her response. She knew it must have taken a tremendous amount of courage for him to confess his feelings.

She reached up and touched the pulse throbbing at his temple with the tips of her fingers. Sliding her fingers through his hair, she pulled him down to her. Just before their lips touched, she whispered the words he had been hoping for.

“I love you. Claim me, Manota. Make me yours,” Jo breathed out before sealing her lips to his.

The soft groan that followed her words echoed in the room as he released the tight control on his emotions. His hands roamed over her with a reverence that stunned her. Her own hands were not as refined as she ran them over his shoulders, scraping her nails against his hot flesh as waves of heat flowed through her.

“I’m going to take you,” Manota said roughly as he pressed kisses along her jaw. “I’m going to claim every part of your body so there is no doubt that you belong to me. I am going to leave my mark on you so you will never forget whose heart you hold within your slender hands.”

Jo gasped as he nipped her neck. She arched into him, turning her head to give him better access. She had never before felt such intense emotions as those rushing through her now, threatening to drown her in their turbulent flow. They frightened her even as they empowered her with the knowledge that Manota was not immune to her any more than she was to him.

She ran her hands over his broad shoulders, moaning as she felt his body shudder against hers as she scraped her nails along his taut muscles. Her breath stuttered as he moved further down her body. His lips were hot and moist as they ran a path along her collarbone over to the swell of her right breast. She threaded her fingers through his short hair, drawing him further down to her aching nipple.

“
So beautiful,” Manota moaned against her skin. “So very beautiful.”

“
Manota,” Jo breathed out as his lips latched around the straining peak. “Yes!”

She gasped as he sucked it between his teeth causing a rush of hot liquid to form between her legs. She pressed up against his mouth, wanting – needing more. Her legs moved restlessly beneath him. She was on fire and he was the only one who could even begin to douse the flames.

“I…,” she choked out before the words died on her lips as his fingers moved to where she was aching so badly.

“
Gods! Jo, you ignite my blood,” Manota muttered as he buried two of his thick fingers into her. “You make me burn until I can think of nothing but you.”

“
Yes…,” she whispered as she felt him stretching her.

*.*.*

Manota groaned as he felt Jo’s surrender to his touch. He was walking the same delicate tightrope that she did when she performed. The only difference was, he knew he was about to fall. He could feel his control slipping as her response to his touch became more frenzied. He had held on to his tightly controlled emotions for too long. Now, stretched to the maximum, he could feel the primitive urge to claim, possess, and conquer washing over him. It was almost the same feelings he had when he was about to enter battle.

He pulled his fingers from her, bringing them to his lips to taste her sweet nectar. She was a part of him. She was the piece that was missing in the emptiness that had been eating away at him. The piece of his life that brightened the darkness that threatened to smother him.

His body was tight, hard after so many months of holding back. His biggest fear was he would hurt her. It was that fear that helped him keep the small, fragile thread of control he had against the ferocious need eating at him.

The small thread that snapped when she wrapped her hand around his straining cock, ripping a loud hoarse cry from his lips. He pulled back, wrapping his large hand over hers. He intended to pull it from his hard shaft but her tentative stroke drew a shudder from him that rocked him to the foundations of his soul. Never – never had he felt the cascading emotions crashing over him as he did at that moment.

“Jo,” he moaned, closing his eyes.

“
You are so beautiful,” she murmured in awe.

She gently stroked his hard length in her hand while she ran her other over his chest. He stared down into her eyes. Eyes the color of purest blue. Eyes that never left his face, staring at him as if she wanted to memorize every line, every scar that told the story of the battles he had faced and lived through.

As if in slow motion, he lowered his head even as he aligned his body with hers. Her hand released him as his pulsating shaft slid into her slick vaginal channel. He rested his weight above her, pressing her legs farther apart as he settled between them. His jaw was tense, the muscle in it pulsing as he held himself still for a fraction of a moment. His eyes held hers captive as he slowly began to enter her.

“
You are mine,” Manota gritted out. “Say it. Tell me that you belong to me and only me,” he demanded hoarsely. “Say it.”

Jo
’s eyes widened as he began to push into her. She could feel his thickness, his heat, the silky hardness of his cock as he began to penetrate her body and couldn’t help but wonder if he would totally shatter her. She knew there was no stopping what was about to happen – no going back. She accepted that she could no longer continue denying the fact that she loved him - needed him with every fiber of her being.

“
I am yours,” she whispered, staring up into his midnight eyes. “Only yours.”

“
Only mine,” he repeated hoarsely as he thrust forward, burying himself, falling into her.

Jo
’s sharp cry filled the air at his possession. Her body stretched, all her barriers broken – conquered by him as he stormed the defenses she had erected. Defenses that he knew she had fought hard to keep intact.

Manota could feel her body
’s resistance to his invasion. He fought to hold still long enough for her to adjust to him but the hot, silky feel of her channel closing around his shaft drove him into a frenzy. His mind shattering and his body consumed with the need to possess in the primal dance between the male and his mate.

He began rocking into her, driving deeper and deeper as his mouth sought to capture her cries. Her own lips sought out his, her tongue tangling with his in a passionate fight as they drank deeply from each other. Her body matching the rhythm of his. Her long legs opened, rose and wrapped around his waist. The position opened her up further, locking him to her as she pressed her heels into his ass.

Manota tore his mouth from her, burying his face in her shoulder. He nipped the slender curve even as his cock fought to go deeper. His right hand rose, sliding up to cup her left breast. He tweaked the taut nipple.

“
Ah…,” Jo groaned as her body arched and froze as she splintered.

Manota pulled back, continuing his assault on her even as he watched her face tighten as her first orgasm consumed her. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Her eyes blazed a darker blue, silver and black swirling through them. Her pupils were dilated and he swore he could see into her soul as she came apart in his arms.

“Mine, Jo,” he whispered tenderly as he felt his own orgasm bursting forth as her body squeezed him, demanding that he give his seed to her. “Only mine,” he gritted out before he collapsed over her.

*.*.*

Jo stroked his sweat dampened skin. Her mind was swirling in a mass of emotional overload. It was as if she couldn’t think of any one thought for any longer than a fraction of a second before it danced to the next.

She was processing all the feelings washing over her. Her body tingled and hummed with a warmth in places that she never dreamed possible. It felt as if she was boneless, floating in a mist. She could feel his body pulsing deep inside her, still hard. Her body, locked in her first orgasm, had continued to shatter as he drove into her before his hot semen poured deep into her. She had no idea that it was even possible to feel it but she had. It was if he was claiming her from the inside out. Her body felt full beyond description yet the fullness felt – perfect.

Gone was the fear and anxiety that had weighed down her shoulders. In its place was a sadness as she realized that she could never leave Manota. She was tied to him in a way that was beyond just being physical. It was as if a part of her soul was pulled into him as his was into her.

Jo felt sorrow that she would never see her parents again. A part of her wailed at the pain they must feel at losing their daughters. The knowledge that they would never know what became of her and Star would always be an open wound in her heart. But, she knew that to leave Manota, to never see him again, would be a wound that destroyed her. He had shattered the walls she had built around her heart and now, to lose him, would be the equivalent of ripping her heart out of her chest.

“Shush,
mi t’belle
,” he murmured softly as he brushed the tears she wasn’t even aware of spilling from her face. “I will never let you go. You are the light in my darkness, Jo. I cannot go back to the emptiness again. You fill me, my heart.”

Jo looked up into the dark eyes. The flaming silver in the centers burning bright, welcoming in their intensity. She reached up and buried her face in his shoulder.

“Never let me go,” she begged. “Please, don’t let me fall.”

“
Never,
mi t’belle,
never,” he swore as he began to slowly rock his hips. “I need you again. I need you like a flower needs the sun. You,
mi t’belle,
you are my sun.”

Jo pulled back and smiled tenderly up at him.
“I will never let you go back to the darkness,” she promised.

Jo walked along the path leading through the gardens. She had woken alone, well, sort of. She looked at the beautiful flower she held gently in between her fingers. Manota hadn
’t been there physically but his love had been. She had awoken to a bed littered with the petals of flowers of every color imaginable. On the pillow next to her was a brilliant white flower with gold tips. It looked like a cross between a rose and a carnation.

“
It is good to see a smile on your face,” Ajaska said, startling Jo out of her reverie.

“
Hi Ajaska, how are you this morning?” Jo asked politely.

She really liked Manota
’s father. The first time she met him, she had been sending spit-wads down at him. River had gotten upset with Torak and ended up on one of the high wires connected to the pillars in an effort to get away from the guards following her. Star had ended up next to her before Jo had finally climbed the pillar and joined them to see what had upset her friend so much. The men had been beside themselves as they tried to figure out how to get them down while they were perfectly happy sitting like birds on a wire above the whole lot. A short time later, Ajaska Ja Kel Coradon had shown up demanding to know what was going on. When he had ordered that they get down immediately, Jo decided it was time to show the big guy that they could ‘spit like a man’ if he wanted to start barking orders and expecting them to obey. After several near hits, Ajaska had given in with grace and asked them politely to join him. His quiet manner and ease had soothed Jo’s battered emotions.

“
I am doing well,” Ajaska asked with a searching gaze. He must have liked what he saw for a small smile curled his lips. “I have been to see your sister. She is very upset with Jazin at the moment.”

Jo
’s eyebrow rose and her lips tightened. “What has he done now?”

Ajaska laughed at the obvious look of displeasure on Jo
’s face. “He caught her when she was half way through the window – leading into River and Torak’s house.”

Jo
’s lips twitched. “You do know she is just having fun trying to see how far she can get before he catches her, don’t you? I saw her yesterday and she had made it almost to my place before he realized she was gone. You could hear him yelling all the way across the garden. He never would have caught her if she had stayed to the wires,” Jo laughed with a nod toward the elaborate cabling system holding the decorative pillars in place.

“
Yes, I heard about it extensively when Jazin demanded that all the pillars and the cables be removed immediately. He was very upset when I told him absolutely not!” Ajaska grinned.

Jo looked at the huge older warrior in surprise.
“Why did you say no? I thought Torak and Manota would have voted to have it done as well, especially after….” Jo’s voice faded as she thought about yesterday morning.

“
After Manota almost killed you yesterday?” Ajaska asked as he took Jo’s arm gently in his huge hand and guided her over to the seat near the center fountain.

“
Yes,” Jo said softly looking back toward the roof of the East House. “I should have told him who I was as soon as I recognized him.”

“
Why didn’t you?” Ajaska asked curiously.

Jo
’s lips curved and she ducked her head to hide her face behind a curtain of blonde hair. “Once I realized who it was, I couldn’t resist. He just looked so… big and bad and huffy. I wanted to pick a fight,” she admitted.

Ajaska leaned forward, cupping Jo
’s chin gently in his hand. “Something troubles you,” he murmured softly looking deeply into her light blue eyes. “What is it?”

Jo
’s eyes shimmered with tears. “I can’t stay here,” she answered in a trembling voice.

“
Why? You love my son and he loves you. He has claimed you as I am sure you have claimed him. Why can you not stay?” Ajaska probed.

Jo released her breath, pulling her chin out of his hand and away from his searching eyes. She looked up at the sky as she thought of how she could explain the constant ache deep inside her. She knew if anyone could get her home, it was Ajaska. She thought she could ignore the pain of leaving her parents unaware but she couldn
’t, she just couldn’t.

“
There are several reasons,” she began, not looking at Ajaska but up at the clouds as they drifted by. “I don’t know if I can explain this so you can understand…”

“
Just say what is in your heart, proud warrior,” Ajaska encouraged with a squeeze to her slender hand.

“
Twice now I’ve almost lost the only family I have here. If…” Her throat closed as the emotion of almost losing River and her sister swept through her again. “If the assassin and Tai Tek had been successful, I would have been alone here. Alone on an alien world.”

“
You fear being alone on our world?” Ajaska asked.

Jo nodded her head before she shook it in frustration. Standing up, she threw her arms out in aggravation. How could she explain everything when she didn
’t understand it all herself.

“
Yes, no, I don’t know,” she cried out confusion.

“
You mentioned your parents,” another voice said quietly. “You miss them. You are worried about them. That is why you wish to leave, isn’t it?”

Jo turned to look at Manota as he stepped onto the path. She bit her lip and slowly nodded. She took a tentative step toward him.

“It isn’t you,” she said softly. “Think of how your father and brothers would feel if they lost you. Then, think of how your father would feel if he lost all of you… Torak, Jazin, and you. If he had no idea if you were alive or dead. If he searched and searched but he was searching in the wrong place and never knew it. How would you feel if you were on a strange world and suddenly found yourself all alone? How would you feel if there was no way to let him know that you are all right?” She asked, begging him silently to hear what she couldn’t explain.

“
I do not want to imagine it,” Manota admitted quietly. “For the pain of losing everything would be a heavy burden to carry.”

Jo bit her bottom lip again and nodded.
“It is,” she replied. “It is my fault we were in the mountains. Star wanted to go to the Bahamas but I didn’t want to be around a bunch of tourists. If we had gone…”

Manota gently laid his fingers over her lips to silence her.
“Then I would have never found you and the ache inside me would have grown because you are the only one who can fill the emptiness inside me.”

“
Well, there is only one solution then,” Ajaska said as he stood up.

Jo and Manota turned to look at him. She flushed as she realized she had forgotten he was there the moment Manota spoke. She stiffened at first when Manota wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer before relaxing.

“I will not allow you to send her back,” Manota growled out in a deep voice that rumbled with menace. “I have claimed her as my mate, she stays with me.”

Ajaska threw his head back and laughed.
“No, I will not send her back. I am sending you both back – for her parents,” Ajaska said with a mischievous look in his eye.

“
What?” Manota and Jo both said together, startled.

“
I am ordering you to return to her world to retrieve her parents. It is important that my daughters are happy,” Ajaska said turning to head toward the South House. “And bring me back a mate as well while you are there! I could use someone for myself!” He called out never turning around.

Jo looked up at Manota with hope and excitement. Manota was still staring after his father with his mouth opened. She didn
’t know if he was shocked at the order to go get her parents or the last comment about bringing him back a mate. Either way, she couldn’t squelch the excitement building inside her.

“
Manota?” She asked breathlessly.

Manota slowly turned his gaze down to his mate. The hope and excitement in her eyes melted his resistance at the thought of returning to her world. He never wanted to take the light out of her eyes.

“I guess we are going to your world,” he said with a stunned smile.

“
YES!” Jo squealed with delight, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing small kisses all over his face before sealing her lips to his.

Manota groaned and decided he was going to find more things to make her excited if she acted like this.