Free Marked for Danger by Jennifer Leeland

their legends aren't clear, but there's one that concerns you specifically."
    Xandros's blood ran cold. Nothing good ever came from a legend or a prophecy. “Oh?” He slid his arm around Carina, ready to protect her if needed.
    "They say,” Atlana began, her gaze locked with his, “that a woman will come to this planet bonded, marked with a bird. She and her marked mate will save the universe from a hidden evil."
    Xandros said nothing. He didn't want anything to do with prophecies or legends. It was bad enough to have Leo Eyler quoting some ancient alien prophecy that involved his new mate, but now some out-of-the-way planet had a legend.
    It was enough to make anyone paranoid.
    "Then perhaps you would help us notify our friends.” He glanced at the faces in the circle and then met Atlana's disconcerting stare.
    "They require proof,” Atlana said bluntly.
    "Proof,” he repeated. Proof of what? That they were going to save the fucking universe? Right. Sure. He'd get right on that.
    "Proof of your bond.” Atlana's gaze slid over the mark on Carina's arm. “Marks can be faked."
    Shit . Xandros knew where this was headed. He glared at Atlana. “No."
    The woman raised her eyebrows. “They will not help you unless you show them."
    Xandros gritted his teeth. “You know why I won't."
    "Your actions don't fit your reputation,” Atlana said drily. “The great Xandros Jasper I've heard stories of would have done much and had no regrets."
    "Would someone like to fill me in?” Carina asked in a tight voice.
    Without breaking eye contact with the Ardasian, he answered her. “The bond is created by sex.” He waited a moment for that to sink in and then said, “They want proof of our bond."
    "I see."
    Xandros glanced at her, and her pasty white complexion concerned him. He turned his attention to the people standing in a circle around them. “I'm not sure why they need this. They don't know you can't remember."
    One of the villagers spoke to Atlana, and she nodded. “They've agreed to a compromise."
    "I'm listening.” He tried to remain calm.
    "Any foreplay would create the fire, would it not?"
    Considering just touching Carina caused his mark to burn and throb, foreplay would most definitely work. “Yes."
    "A kiss, then.” Atlana glanced at Carina. “To show the bond."
    "Do they require that I drop my pants?” he asked bitterly.
    Atlana leveled a steady gaze in his direction. “Of course."
    He sighed. He wasn't an exhibitionist, and public exposure didn't get him hot and bothered. But this was their chance to prove they were bonded. He yanked his pants open and dropped them.
    "I am not doing this,” Carina whispered fiercely. “I don't remember you. I don't know you."
    He ignored the stab of pain in his gut her words caused and faced his infuriated marked mate. “You will.” He stepped closer to her, not touching, not grabbing. “You will obey me. Do you know why?"
    She gazed at him, her eyes dilated, her breath short. “No."
    "Because it makes your stomach tighten when I give you an order. Because your pulse pounds when I put my hands on you. Because you long for your Master to claim what your body already knows you've surrendered."
    He leaned in, his mouth close to hers. “Because the mark on your arm is on fire right now, and I haven't even touched you."
    She closed her eyes and whimpered. “No,” she whispered, but every cell of her body reached out to him, submitted to him.
    Xandros forgot the Nariadians. He forgot Atlana. He forgot everything except the woman in front of him. He wanted her on her knees, his cock in her mouth. He wanted his collar around her neck, a sign of his possession.
    But most of all, he wanted to kiss her.
    [Back to Table of Contents]

Chapter Seven
    If the man didn't close the space between them, Carina was going to take matters into her own hands. But something held her back. He was right. When he gave her orders, when he spoke in that low, demanding tone, her whole being