Текст книги "Alien Tyrant"

Автор книги: Ursa Dox

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Buroudei

The Lavrika was a truly generous being. It had brought me the perfect mate, it had saved her life, and had now given us the gift of a shared tongue. I could not have imagined the joy I felt when Zeezee spoke and I understood her for the first time. Her beautiful voice was no longer a tremulous, nonsensical song in my ears. I could start to understand her precious thoughts. And I could have her understand mine.

I wrapped my arm tighter around her as we journeyed home over the sands on the irkdu. The night air was full of her questions, but I did not mind. I would spend every moment of the rest of my life answering her questions, if it pleased her. I had questions of my own, but they could wait until her curiosity was satisfied.

“So, explain this mate thing to me again?”

I bent and smiled against her hair. With pleasure.

“Mating is when a cock and a cunt join in great pleasure to create a cub.” I hardened at the thought, my flesh aching at her back.

“No, God, I know that. I mean, tell me more about how mates get chosen and what that means.”

I frowned, ignoring the fact I did not know the word God, and tried to explain.

“It is much as I have said. Warriors are called by the Lavrika to see their mate. This awakens the sacred mate bond between them, which means they now live their lives for each other. It is like awakening to the reason for your existence.” I smiled as I remembered the first time I saw Zeezee.  A glorious explosion of destiny.

“So only warriors get called to see their mate? And that automatically makes the woman in love with him?”

“I do not know what in love with means.”

She sighed, bringing her delicate fingers to her chin and rubbing.

“It means that you love them more deeply than anyone or anything else. That you want to spend your whole life with them. Maybe it’s more complicated than that, but that’s the gist of it. At least for me.”

This was familiar to me.

“Yes, the sacred mate bond is like being in love.” I fought disappointment as I realized what her question meant. That she did not feel the sacred mate bond awaken the way I had. “You ask when the mate bond awakens in the woman. It should awaken the moment the warrior sees her face in the pools.” I paused, trying to ignore the band of pain tightening around my chest. “Does this mean that it did not awaken in you? You are not in love with me?”

She grew still, her back stiffening. Her voice was quiet when she spoke next.

“I didn’t say that.”

I did not know what to make of that.

“Based on what you said, I am in love with you. I feel that I must be the most in love of any warrior who has ever lived. How does a human warrior make his woman be in love?” Whatever it was, I would do it.

Zeezee groaned.

“You really have a way with words, you know that? And you can’t make someone be in love. Humans don’t work that way. We fall in love. For some people it happens quickly, for some it takes more time.”

“But how does it happen?” I could not keep the growl of irritation out of my voice. All this talk of falling and time was making me impatient. I wished to understand immediately so that I could make Zeezee be in love with me right now.

“Nobody knows. It’s different for everyone.”

I tried not to be dismayed.

“But how is it for you?”

She laughed softly.

“I don’t really know, to be honest. I guess it kind of happens in stages. You meet someone, then you start to like them, then you like them a whole lot, then maybe if all goes well you fall in love with them. But then again there’s also love at first sight, so who knows...”

The mating rituals of the humans made no sense to me. But my perfect mate was human, and I would learn her ways.

“Where do I fall in these stages?”

She stiffened again, her words coming haltingly.

“Um, well, I definitely would say that... I like you a whole lot.”

Satisfaction snapped in me like a cord pulled taut. Pride surged, and I held my weapon a little higher with my free hand.

“This is good,” I grunted. “For you I am only one step away from in love, then. I am very close.”

“Well, it’s not that simple,” she said, sputtering. I ignored her words, grinning as I looked out over her head. She could not take away the fire of hope blazing in my chest, now. Zeezee liked me a whole lot.

Zeezee grew quiet, and I took the opportunity to ask some of the questions that had lived inside me these past days.

“Where is the human tribe? I saw you come down with the fallen thing with some of your people. Where are the rest?”

“Ah. It’s a bit difficult to explain.” Her hand rose, pointing up at the night sky. “That fallen thing is something we call space ship. It helps us travel, but it’s not alive. It’s not like your irkdu. We come from up there. From another planet. We flew here in the space ship.”

“What is a planet?”

“Like... another world. Out there. Beyond the stars.”

It could not be. How was such a thing possible?

“So you do not come from Zaphrinax?” I had never heard of such a thing. I did not know anything existed beyond our lands.

“Is Zaphrinax the name of this planet? Or, this world, this place? No, my people live on another world called Earth. Way out there.” She pointed up again then paused, and I heard the smile in her voice when she spoke next. “But I think there are some humans here. On Zaphrinax. I didn’t see the bodies of my friends at the wreckage. I think they may be alive.”

Confusion nipped at me. Did Zeezee not know her people were with Gahn Fallo? Perhaps in the chaos she had not seen. Her hair had been flying everywhere and blocking even my own vision, after all.

“Yes. I believe they are still alive. They were taken by Gahn Fallo.”

She jerked around in her saddle, her eyes wide and her gaze hard.

“Wait. You know what happened to them? You know where they are?”

“Yes. I saw Gahn Fallo’s men kill the zeelk and collect the other women.”

Her smile was like sunlight.

“That’s amazing! Well, we have to go get them!”

She turned around to face forward again, squinting over the desert lands, as if she could find them that way. I bent, and spoke against her hair.

“We will. Gahn Irokai is bringing his men to ally with us. We will do battle with Gahn Fallo and retrieve your people.”

For some reason Zeezee did not seem happy with this.

“Battle... I’m not so sure I like the sound of that. Can’t we just go talk to them?”

I grunted.

“That is not the way of the Sea Sands. And Gahn Fallo is a vicious warrior.”

Zeezee sighed. The tents of our tribe were coming into view.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to accept that, for now. I definitely don’t want the other women with a bad guy, so we’ll have to do what we have to do. So he’s a Gahn, like you? A leader?”

My mouth tensed as I thought of Gahn Fallo. He was a strong warrior, and brave, but he was treacherous. He was the only current Gahn of the Sea Sands who had taken his position by killing his own tribe’s previous Gahn.

“Yes. There are five mighty Gahns of the Sea Sands, leading the five tribes. Gahn Fallo’s territory is closest.”

We passed the boulders, and I jumped down from the irkdu, turning to help Zeezee to the ground.

“Fighting it is, then. But no getting stabbed this time, alright?”

I lowered my lips to the top of her sweet head.

“I will do my best. For you.”

She turned her face up towards me, her soft lips parted.

“Thank you, Buroudei. Really. For everything. For looking out for me, for taking me back to get my stuff, and for agreeing to help get my friends back. I can’t wait to see them.”

I wanted to tell her it was all for her, that I’d do anything for her, but even though that was true it was not the whole truth. I stroked my knuckles across her cheek, and watched with interest as a flush moved under her skin.

“I am happy to do it. And it is good for the tribe, too. We do not have many women, now. My men are eager to fight for your friends.”

Her gaze narrowed with suspicion and she jerked back, knocking my hand away.

“Hold on. You don’t have a bunch of other guys in your tribe thinking my friends are their mates, do you? This needs to be a no-strings-attached rescue! I don’t want them thinking that by helping bring my friends back they get some wife out of the deal.”

“Only the Lavrika can show a man his mate. And so far, it has not come to any other men in this tribe.” This, too, was not exactly the whole truth. But I decided not to tell her about Taliok. Not yet.

“Hmm. Alright. I guess that’s good enough.”

I helped Zeezee untie some of her belongings, carrying them to my tent. Some of the larger things were left with the irkdu as it grazed. We would get them tomorrow. For now, all I wanted was to be among my hides with my mate. To touch her. To taste her. To see what being liked a whole lot truly meant.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Cece

I tossed the backpack I’d salvaged from the ship to the ground beside the bed of hides, sinking down with a groan. It had been one hell of a long night. It felt like we’d left on this journey days ago. I was feeling stiff from the long ride back here, and I rubbed my thighs absentmindedly, thinking back over everything Buroudei had said. Being able to talk to him was kind of mind-blowing. After all the frustration and miming, I could finally just ask him what I wanted to know. And there was still so much I wanted to know.

Buroudei came into the tent after me and dropped the clothes and items he held before lighting a valok candle. When he saw me rubbing my legs his face grew dark. He stalked towards me, ripping my hands away and probing at my legs.

“Hey, cut it out!”

His strong touch was a ticklish torture along my stiff muscles. My body jerked in response. But he ignored me, quickly pulling the pants right off me.

“Buroudei, come on! Hey, now that you can understand me, I can tell you to knock it off!”

I had no underwear, and I pulled my tunic down, trying to cover my crotch and legs. But Buroudei was stronger. He wrenched my legs apart with hands that were impossibly firm and gentle at the same time. But he did not move after that. He knelt between my legs, studying my skin closely, before running a single knuckle from the inside of my left knee up to my groin. His touch sent electric sparks zinging under my skin and heat flooding into my cheeks. Then his tail twitched, and he sat back on his heels, looking satisfied. I eyed him warily.

“What? What were you looking at?”

He cocked his head, as if the answer should have been obvious.

“The leg coverings worked.”

I blinked, then glanced at my pants, the pants that Buroudei had reinforced with strong leather.

“Oh, yeah,” I said, almost disappointed that that was all he was looking for. “I thought you were going to... you know... mate me.”

Buroudei’s nostrils flared, and his fists clenched on his knees.

“It is all I long for in this world. But I needed to make sure you were not injured from the long journey.” His brow contracted moodily. “And, I could understand you saying, ‘no.’”

I was kind of regretting telling him to knock it off now. It had been a bit of a reflex to say no, but as he squatted, watching me with an intensity I’d literally never seen in another man’s eyes, his loincloth straining, I couldn’t deny that I wanted him. I had started wanting him even before tonight. But then again, that was before I knew all about this sacred-mate, make-babies-with-me stuff.

I decided to stall.

“Why do you think the Lavrika told you I was your mate?”

Buroudei’s answer was instant.

“Clearly because you are perfect. And you are the perfect mate for me.”

Damn. What did I say about this guy having a way with words? If he keeps throwing stuff like that at me, I’ll be mounting him myself.

I shook my head quickly, my messy braid flopping back and forth.

“No, I mean, why a human? Why are there so few women around here?”

He settled himself on the sand, sitting cross-legged, and sighed.

“That is the fault of my foolish ancestors.”

I inched closer to him, getting more comfortable. His eyes tracked my every movement.

“Go on. What happened?” I wanted to know more about his people, his history. And just why oh why I of all people had ended up as his sacred mate.

He sighed again.

“It is a long history, but I will do my best to make it short. The Lavrika helps us keep the balance of our people. It is deeply tied to every part of us and this land. This is why its blood can heal. And why, I think, it was able to give you our language.”

I nodded slowly. I was mostly following. I mean, as much as an Earth girl could follow a story about a magical snake-dragon that helped aliens get it on with each other.

“It is imperative that we follow the visions of the Lavrika when choosing a mate.” He gave me a meaningful look, and I cleared my throat, suddenly very interested in how my nails looked. Spoiler alert: not great.

“The men of the Sea Sands can only father cubs of one kind. Either boys or girls. It does not matter how many cubs a man sires, they will all be either male or female. Some generations ago, women started rejecting their mates after realizing their mates would produce girl cubs. Many women wanted to be the mother of a Gahn, and they sought new partners to have sons.”

“Wow. You guys put men above women that much?” I couldn’t help the judgmental tone of my voice. Buroudei’s tail lashed powerfully, his voice hardening.

“A warrior treasures his mate above all else and would never reject her. As I have said, it was the women making these decisions. And those decisions were honoured and respected. Until we started to understand the repercussions.”

Oh. So it wasn’t as simple as boys are better than girls. The women had a lot of power and agency, too. I thought of Rika and Balia, how respected they seemed among the tribe, and nodded, waiting for Buroudei to continue.

“We did not know how important it was to follow the Lavrika’s visions. Though it is possible to produce children outside of a sacred mate bond, it is very difficult. Our birth rates fell, and of the cubs who were born, most of them were male. Within three generations, we were brought close to the brink of extinction. And this happened in every tribe of the Sea Sands. It was only by returning to the Lavrika’s ways that we have been able to start to rebuild. Though it is slow. Until you arrived with your other women, we thought we may never truly recover.”

The weight of his revelations clanged like a gong inside my head. Me being Buroudei’s mate wasn’t just about him wanting me. It represented something much more important than that – the survival of his people. The balance of the whole planet.

No pressure.

“You said it was the women choosing to leave their mates before. What about now? What if a woman rejects her mate now?” With men outnumbering women three-to-one, it seemed like the women should have their pick of options.

“It is extremely rare for such things to happen now. We have seen the devastation this can cause. Besides, like I said before, the women of the Sea Sands feel the sacred mate bond, too. They feel, as you say, in love with their mates just as much as the warriors do. It is highly unusual now for a woman to reject her mate. I cannot remember the last time such a thing happened in our tribe. It was not within my lifetime.” He stopped, grinding his fangs together, then spoke again, but slowly, as if every word pained him. “Ultimately, if a woman were to refuse her mate, she would be allowed to do so, and could go and live the life she wished.”

“Interesting,” I muttered, chewing my lip. And I had to ask the next question, even though it would hurt him. And maybe hurt me, too. But I had to know where I stood. Was I a captive or not? “What if she’s the mate of the Gahn?”

Buroudei’s eyes sparked, and suddenly he was on me, pushing me easily to the ground, his hands locked around my wrists, which he raised up above head. His huge, hard thigh pressed up between my legs, making me gasp, and something else huge and hard pressed against my waist. I arched, my breasts pushed against his muscled chest, my pulse increasing every moment.

I was in trouble now. It was hard to think straight like this. My blood rushed frantically through my body, congregating between my legs, right where his thigh was pressing. He groaned, lowering his mouth. My lips parted involuntarily, and I gave a small moan when he didn’t kiss me. Instead he spoke against my mouth, his lips and breath sending shivers exploding down my spine.

“I will not tie you up, my beautiful mate. I will not make you stay here with me. But you should know that, if you flee, I will always follow. No matter where you run, I will find you. I will not force you to live as my mate, but I will always be at your side. Until the very end of my days.”

So I wasn’t truly a captive. Not really. Buroudei would honour my wishes the best way he knew how. And that was good enough for me. It was the final piece that helped me come to my decision. My decision that I was going to give whatever the hell this was a try. Not even that, I was going to dive right in, headfirst. I already knew that I was falling, and when Buroudei had almost died, and then I had almost died, the only thing I cared about was being with him again. I wasn’t going to run. Not from him. Not anymore.

These thoughts were crashing one against the other in my head, and as they did so I was silent, starting into Buroudei’s magnetic eyes. But my silence made him uneasy, and his voice came out like broken glass when he spoke next, his hands tightening at my wrists.

“I know I am not of your kind. But am I that displeasing to you?”

Wow. There was a lot there, bound up in those words. Hurt and rejection and insecurity and hope. The fact that this insanely strong, attractive, powerful warlord was insecure over me potentially not loving him was breaking my little human heart. A heart that I was about to wrench up into my mouth and give to him. Because I knew he’d make it whole again.

“Remember when I said I liked you a whole lot?”

He grew very still, and grunted, “Yes.”

“Well, I lied. Or, I didn’t exactly lie, but I didn’t say everything.”

Buroudei had turned into stone. It barely seemed like he was breathing. I gulped. Here we go.

“I’m in love with you.”

Buroudei didn’t move.

OK... Slightly anticlimactic.

“The sacred mate bond! I feel it for you. I’m saying I want to do this... Be your mate.”

The words were embarrassing, and I started wiggling under him, looking off to the side, face on fire.

“You could say something, you know,” I whispered, anxiety pulling at me. Buroudei sucked in a great breath.

“Forgive me, Zeezee. You have broken open my world and put it back together again. Your words have forged futures I never thought I’d live to see. It is difficult to speak.”

“I know what you mean.” I turned my head back to look into his eyes. The glimmering, spaced out shards of his eyes were practically vibrating. He gave one maddeningly slow thrust against my abdomen and my core tightened with need. I nodded feverishly, and Buroudei groaned, taking my mouth in a wet, heated kiss before trailing that amazing tongue down over my neck to run along my collarbones. He let go of my wrists, yanking my tunic up and over my head, and I was naked, totally bared to him. And it was more exhilarating than anything I’d ever experienced before. Buroudei knelt, running his hands over my sensitive breasts, then down over my waist and hips before reaching my thighs once more. I could feel the wetness growing between my legs as he parted my thighs, staring at my spread pussy.

“You really must be from another world.” His voice was husky and low. “Because there is nothing here so beautiful as you. So beautiful it becomes a kind of pain.”

I stared at him, breath shuddering in and out of my body, every part of me clenching and aching with need.

“Pain?” I breathed.

Buroudei slipped the pad of a finger against my soaking folds, and I moaned, bucking my hips upward.

“Yes. You are so beautiful it hurts.”

Oh, God. What the hell was a girl even supposed to say to that?

Buroudei stroked his finger over me, slowly, exploring every part. When he brushed my clitoris I cried out, and tried to grind against his hand.

“Your cunt is beautiful. It is so wet for me. And so soft.” One more long stroke almost had me coming undone. “It goes against every instinct, but I want to blunt my claws, just so I can feel you more.”

Oh, right. That’s why he was being so slow and careful. I was already forgetting how different we were.

“Don’t,” I choked out, even as my body screamed for him to touch me more, touch me now. “You’re perfect.” I didn’t want him to change a thing. He was my perfect alien warrior. My mate. I almost laughed at the thought, and chided myself for drinking the alien Koolaid. But I didn’t care anymore. All I cared about was him and this moment and the building waves of need, deep inside. My legs were shaking, my breath coming in little gasps. I was about to sit up and beg this gorgeous alien to fuck me, but I didn’t need to.

With a broken growl, he descended, burying his face between my legs.

The way Buroudei went down on me, like my body was slaking a terrible, lifelong thirst, was almost more arousing than the actual physical sensations. And the physical sensations were pretty damn good. The longest, centre part of his tongue circled my aching entrance, while the outer parts slicked up and down, brushing my clit teasingly with each pass. It wasn’t long before I was clutching at his head, grinding my hips, pressing myself harder against his face. I’d never been this free of inhibitions when a human guy had been down there before, and sometimes I got so self-conscious I couldn’t even come. But this, with Buroudei? The alien who was worshiping my pussy like it was saving his fucking life? Yeah. It was pretty easy to let go and just feel.

The waves were growing bigger and bigger. Coming hotter and harder. Buroudei didn’t let up for a moment. And when that centre part of his tongue entered me, thrusting in and out, his fingers tightening like iron at my thighs, I came. I came and came, until I felt as crystallized and shattered as the shards in Buroudei’s eyes. And still he did not stop, until I was pushing against his head with my hands, pulling at his ears, crying out in sensitized agony.

He rose, his face tense with need, my wetness on his mouth and chin shining in the flickering light of the candle. Fuck. That was an image that would be burned into my brain forever. The image of my huge warrior, every muscle pulled tight with longing, right before he took me for the first time.

My mouth went dry, and I rose up on my elbows, spreading my legs wider. His eyes roamed over every part of my exposed form. As he took me in, he removed every leather strap from his body, yanking the knives from his back. Then, with a quick, fluid movement, he removed his loincloth, and I sucked in a breath at the sight of him.

Even on his knees he towered, a wall of alien muscle, his cock like thick, dark stone. I reached a hand towards it, but he gripped my wrist, grunting. He didn’t need to say a word for me to understand that he was already close to coming. The thought inflamed me, and I clenched in anticipation, lying back.

Buroudei moved over me, his expression ravenous, and I felt his hardness settle between my legs. Even though my blood was running hot, his skin felt hotter. He dragged his tip experimentally along my wetness, up and down. His movements were precise, almost stiff. As if he were trying not to lose all control. But I kind of wanted to see what he looked like when he lost control. I arched my hips up, pressing my wet entrance against his tip, and he shuddered before plunging inside.

He was huge, and there was a moment of heat as I stretched for him. But I was so wet, so ready, that before I knew it all I could feel was the overwhelming pleasure of being so filled with him. Buroudei made an inhuman sound against my ear as he pulled back and thrusted once more. I whimpered as the two flexible but firm spears of flesh along side his cock got pressed upward under Buroudei’s weight, rubbing against my clit. Every time he pulled out, that pressure on my clit lessened, And when he plunged back in, the pressure surged to an Earth-shattering, or should I say Zaphrinax-shattering, point.

He was going slowly, still holding back, trying not to hurt me. But there was no pain. Only the need for him to drive in faster, harder. My hands scrabbled against his muscled back, nails scratching as I breathlessly bucked against him, urging him with my body.

Despite our differences, despite the fact that we weren’t the same species and came from different corners of the sprawling universe, he understood me perfectly in that moment. He rose up and back on his knees, pulling my legs up. He was so big that my legs didn’t quite reach to comfortably go over his shoulders, my ankles instead landing just above his pecs. He gripped the front of my thighs against his torso, breathing harshly, bending and running his nose along my foot and down the inside of my calf. He nipped at the side of my knee, and I cried out, tightening around his cock. He groaned, his dark eyes meeting mine, and I felt him pulse inside me in response. Then he straightened again, and guided my legs to fall and spread.

Hell yes. I locked my ankles around his back, barely able to reach, as he planted his hands on either side of my torso and began thrusting, slow and firm at first, then harder and faster. It was overwhelming in the best possible way. Like my entire body, entire being, was filled with him. There was something so animal and primal in how I responded to him, wanting him to rut me harder. Wanting him to claim me. His tail thrashed on the sand as his movements grew erratic. I reached up, gripping his elbows, needing something to hold on to. Otherwise I thought I might get shot out somewhere into the galaxy with the force of the hot pulses building inside me. Those spears were crushed against my clit, rubbing in the most maddening way as Buroudei hammered into me.

His gaze seemed somehow both hard and unfocused as his eyes bored into me, lips drawn back, fangs bared. I didn’t turn away, didn’t close my eyes. I wanted to see all of him when he came. The thought of him coming, brought to that brink of pleasure because of my body, pushed me over the edge, and I screamed, everything tightening around him as my orgasm tore through me. I’m pretty sure I slipped into English, or maybe even gibberish, as words I didn’t even know I was saying tumbled out of my mouth.

Buroudei kept on thrusting through my pleasure, driving me to the edge of insanity. He lowered himself onto one elbow, moving his free hand up to grip my breast.  His breath was hot against my throat, and when I felt the touch of his fangs, in my ecstasy I almost wanted him to bite down as hard as he could. But he didn’t, instead snarling against my skin as I moved my hands down his back to his ass, feeling the way his powerful glutes clenched as he drove into me. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, that the sensations would completely overthrow me, I felt every muscle in Buroudei bristle then clench. Then his head reared back and he roared, so powerfully that it sent reverberations through his body and mine. I felt that roar, deep in my pussy as he came, pulsing and spurting inside me. He gave a few more thrusts, wringing the pleasure out, and I just held tight to him. Because that was all I could do. My body was reacting based on pure instinct now, my lizard brain taking over. And it wanted to hold on fucking tight. As if to keep Buroudei at my side. To keep him inside.

To keep him with me. Forever.

OceanofPDF.com