"Woman, the clothing. Remove it."
Her shudder at his growl was the response Trel sought. A little apprehension would provided emotional distance and protect her in ways he couldn't. It wasn't much of a plan. Pray the Goddesses it would be enough.
His gaze returned to the report-pad in his hand, maintaining the aloof attitude. Acutely nonhuman senses monitored her movements. He could have done it from the next room. This close to her, the slide of jeans down those curvy legs was just a very effective way to drive him insane. Resisting the glance up at her tiny indrawn breath as the bra dropped off her shoulders probably cost him ten years off his life. He could afford it. Protecting her meant she wouldn't be with him then.
His sensitive ears cataloged her progress but nothing was more evocative, more compelling than the fragrance of her excitement. His command to remove her clothing had triggered an immediate response in that delicate spice.
Her arousal perfuming his dwelling forced him to beat back the instinctive, possessive answer his nature clamored for. A cruelly limited range of expression was all he was afforded in this setting. Denial born of control could slice away a male's soul. A fact he'd been unaware of before meeting her.
She was bare and Trel let her stand before his desk for several minutes, pretending to ignore her. Luckily he could regulate sweat, that indication of his emotional involvement would have been ridiculously obvious.
Over twenty earth years separated them from the moment he'd known who she was to him. Every one of those years had been a test of his discipline. At times, Centurion honor was all that stood between her and the brutal revelation of his claim.
Brutal only described the choice he would not ask her to make, not what would have occurred had he been free to claim her as a Brintex should. Seducing his mate was supposed to be a sensuous, intoxicating journey into pleasure. One she could not resist.
Mated females enjoyed their Centurion's undivided attention. Mate-bond meant there would never be another female for the Centurion as a male's genetic code imprinted his female. Deeply passionate and immensely powerful, Centurions were by necessity possessive, attentive lovers.
How things normally were had nothing to do with them. Trel jerked his thoughts from the luxury of seducing his woman with the erotic courtship he would have given her. This reality was what they had. He would make it every bit as erotic as he could but he would not permit her the pain of falling in love with him.
Human females were hauntingly sexual like no other humanoids he'd ever encountered, but his mate, she was something more. It was her loyalty, her ability to love so deeply that had stopped him cold the first time he'd met her. That same quality was what commanded him now. He had witnessed her destroyed by love once before, that pain was something he would never allow her to endure again. Neither of them would survive it.
Letting her gaze at him added tension to the little female, a pleasing response as her scent ripened. His six foot, ten inch frame was seated but perhaps still daunting as she stood exposed. The heavy black mane streaming down his back and framing vaguely nonhuman features didn't seem to bother her. Her scent had never carried the cloying aroma of distain or any of the other offensive human responses to new races.
He'd been told Brintex appear a bit feline to earth's humans. Perhaps it was the tilted eyes and pounced cheek bones. Yet, humans could look to one of their own native races and see the Brintex stamp. Aztec descendents were mostly earth humanoids now, much smaller than a normal Brintex, but there was no doubt the Brintex Empire had visited the blue planet long ago.
Currently her delectable spice was flavored with sexual embarrassment. She was not used to this. Nothing in her human world could have prepared her for what he was about to require. As long as the emotional wall of her uncertain fear was maintained, her surrender would not be a gift she regretted. To that end Trel chuffed in apparent disgust and dropped the report-pad to his desk.
Looking up slowly he allowed heavy brows to draw down in a scowl. His eyes move up her thighs, remained on her freshly denuded surnim for a long moment and then up her temptingly soft belly to regard heavy breasts. A mature woman, she was soft and Trel had to give up on the superior snarl to keep from drooling like an idiot. She was suitably impressed with his command of the situation without it, he hoped.
Patience, he reminded himself. She was willingly presenting to his service. Apparently the entire known universe had suddenly come into fine point alignment to hand him this woman. He thanked previously unknown gods of chance and luck because no amount of logistics or lust could have mapped the events required to bring him this opportunity.
Trel stalked around the desk to stand before her. His intention was to intimidate with his height, his difference from her comparatively tiny form. Intimidation on every level was required to reinforce the emotional protection his female needed. Towering over her, he allowed himself to touch her, his hand barley grasped her chin to turn up her face. She looked at his mouth, not meeting his eyes.
"I will have you, Clair of earth. You are now property of a Brintex Centurion until such time as you are released. I will not harm you. Come," his hand moved to her elbow as he directed her to the piece of furniture behind her. Releasing her arm he motioned at the seat. "Sit."
He watched closely. No detail of her response could be missed, no nuance of reaction ignored. If for one moment his little mate did not enjoy her submission Trel had to know it. This was a huge gamble on so many levels. As a first sexual experience between them it was much like walking her into an inferno and hoping his burning body protected her long enough for her to reach the other side unscathed.
