Retribution

by Sue Lyndon

  A heated wave rushed through her, settling deep in her core. At some point during this particular conversation, she’d become achy between her thighs. She hadn’t been able to help it. The general’s kindness, in addition to his enticing masculine scent, had overpowered her at the time. Plus, he wasn’t hard on the eyes either. If she were being honest, he was one of the most attractive Kall males she’d ever laid eyes upon.

  Her stomach did a small flip as she recalled the unmistakable hardness of his arousal pressing against her stomach. He’d stepped closer to her intentionally, meaning for her to feel his hardness, meaning for her to understand that he desired her.

  It was all so crazy and messed up she could scarcely wrap her mind around it. Not long ago, she’d been deathly afraid of him. She still had a healthy fear of him, but there were times when he made her feel safe too. Like when he covered her with his shirt, stroked her hair, or asked her if there was anything she needed to be more comfortable in her cell.

  Fortunately, the tablet also contained a clock and a calendar, and she now had no difficulty following the passage of time. Six days had passed since he’d come to her cell, asked her how she was doing, and then returned a few hours later with the handheld super library. And he hadn’t left her alone since then either. At least twice a day, he stopped by the brig to inquire about her wellbeing.

  Sometimes when she thought of the general, warmth filled her, and that achiness between her thighs returned too. His attention helped keep the loneliness at bay, and she couldn’t help but wonder if their time together helped him with the emptiness he’d mentioned.

  A noise in the corridor caught her attention, and she set her tablet down and moved to peer out her cell. When General Zamek’s huge form appeared, her heart commenced racing and flutters rose in her tummy. Her mouth also felt weirdly dry, and her palms became sweaty.

  Knowing he would probably try to hold her hands at some point, as was his habit, she wiped her palms on her pants and stepped into the center of the room, her pulse thundering in her ears as she awaited his arrival.

  To her surprise, he entered her cell carrying a package. She greeted him with a tentative smile and said, “Good morning, General. Welcome to my humble abode.”

  One side of his lips curled, ever so slightly, and his eyes gleamed with humor. She’d never seen him smile fully, but she glimpsed a hint of a smile every so often, brief instances when that ever-serious intensity of his would slip, and despite her resolve to keep her guard up, she was starting to treasure such moments.

  Who was she kidding? She’d done a piss poor job of keeping her guard up thus far. At this very second, achiness surged in her core and her breath kept hitching. How she could be so infatuated with the general, she had no idea. But the warm gaze he settled on her gave her no doubt that the infatuation went both ways.

  Oh God, what was happening?

  She was pretty sure Rule Number One for Kall prisoners was don’t fall for your captor.

  “Good morning, human.” His eyes glittered with excitement and her stupid heart skipped a beat. He looked excited. To see her.

  She quickly reminded herself that not long ago, he’d wished to hurt her, even kill her. And he had hurt her—he’d hurt her and frightened her badly.

  He approached and handed her the box. “This is for you, Layla.”

  She peered down at the plain white box, wondering what it might contain. Had he brought her a present of some sort? An odd sense of giddiness filled her. She gave him a curious look before she lifted the lid and peeked inside.

  Clothing. He’d brought her clothing.

  She ran her hands over the soft, luxurious silk, then walked to her bed and placed the box down upon it. Carefully, she withdrew a pretty light blue dress. Wow. She stifled a gasp. Upon further inspection, she found it was a gorgeous, long-sleeve gown with white embroidery around the neckline. The dress was in the Kall fashion, and the box also contained matching leggings, which Kall females typically wore under long dresses. There was also a thick white wrap that looked especially warm and a pair of shoes.

  Was he truly giving this to her? She eyed him with suspicion. Was this some kind of trick? Or was it yet another way for him to apologize for that awful strapping they both avoided talking about?

  “I’ve never seen a dress so beautiful,” she said, meaning it. She’d visited countless marketplaces on the Kall homeworld and hadn’t come across anything so lovely as this dress. She wondered where he’d gotten it. After all, they were in the middle of space. She sincerely hoped these garments hadn’t belonged to Shessema. That would be… awkward and problematic. Especially if he wanted to see her wearing this dress.

  “I’m glad you like it.” He gave her a rare almost-smile, and for one quick moment his eyes dazzled like the stars. “My ship contains a materials replicator. It took the better part of the morning to create this dress and the other items, but I think everything turned out quite nicely, for replicated items.”

  Surprise swept through her and she felt her eyes widen. Materials replicators were expensive, and the ones humans used could usually only produce smaller objects or machine parts. This dress looked like something out of a fairytale, and relief filled her knowing it hadn’t belonged to Shessema.

  An awkward moment passed between them as she held the dress in front of her, wanting to try it on but not wishing to get naked in front of General Zamek.

  He swallowed hard and nodded at the bathroom. “You could go in there and see if it fits, human. I-I would like to wait and make sure it fits.” There was a nervousness about his manner that she couldn’t help but find endearing, and a flush rose to her cheeks.

  “Okay,” she replied. “I’ll be right back.” She scurried into the bathroom, holding the box close to her chest, and shut the door, thankful that there was a door. From what she remembered of the other cells, they didn’t contain separate bathrooms or doors.

  She removed her clothing, folding it neatly and placing it upon a chair. She reached for the leggings in the box first, then noticed several pairs of panties and a few bras underneath it that she’d missed the first time she inspected the contents of the box. Oh my. He’d not only replicated the dress, leggings, wrap, and shoes, but he’d thought to provide her with new undergarments as well, even though Kall females typically didn’t wear panties and bras.

  The bra was more like a sports bra, but it fit surprisingly well. The panties were a perfect fit too. She donned the leggings and carefully put the dress on, shocked by how well it fit. Had the general been studying her dimensions? She blushed at the thought. Once she added the wrap and slipped into the shoes, she peered in the mirror and gasped.

  The light blue dress contrasted nicely with her dark eyes and even darker hair. This outfit would be a lot warmer than the thin dress pants and borrowed shirt she’d been wearing. Not that the temperature in the brig was as cold as it had been when she’d first arrived here. She had a sneaking suspicion the general had upped the temperature recently just for her comfort.

  “Does it fit?” he called out, his deep sexy voice rumbling through her, causing waves of heat to spread straight to her core.

  Drawing in a deep breath, she smoothed her hair into place and then exited the bathroom. Pleasure lit in his eyes as he took her in, looking her up and down.

  “It suits you well,” he said, sounding huskier than usual.

  “Thank you, General. It-it fits perfectly.”

  Still looking her up and down, he stalked closer, coming to stand directly before her, so close his masculine scent overpowered her senses. The atmosphere thickened with sexual tension. There was no mistaking the pull between them.

  Take a step back, you fool. Guard your stupid heart.

  But she couldn’t move, and she couldn’t breathe. She could only stand there frozen, staring up at General Zamek, as he reached out to cup her face. A shiver of awareness coursed through her and her skin tingled in all the places he touched her.

  “I tho
ught you might appreciate having an extra outfit, human, one that wasn’t mismatched.” He cleared his throat. “Now that I am certain of your size, I can replicate more dresses for you. I hope you like Kall fashions. Our materials replicators are only fitted to produce garments in the Kall style.”

  He wanted to give her more dresses? Her pulse skittered.

  She knew enough about Kall culture to know a master didn’t usually provide his slave, or his prisoner—whatever she was to him at this point—with such beautiful clothing.

  She also knew that Kall males didn’t usually vocalize their apologies. Getting a Kall male to say ‘I’m sorry’ was like pulling teeth.

  Instead of coming out and saying they were sorry about something, they tended to bestow gifts upon those they had wronged.

  Was that what he was doing? Apologizing to her with more gifts?

  “I-I do appreciate having an extra outfit, General Zamek. This was… kind of you.” Her face had to be bright red by now. She couldn’t stop flushing.

  His fingers brushed over her cheek, his touch bordering on sensual. A growl rumbled up from deep in his chest. A growl of desire. She’d heard him make such noises around her before and there was no mistaking it now.

  He shifted closer and the bulge of his hardness poked at her stomach. In response to his nearness and his touch, her core erupted in a blaze of pulsing heat. She pressed her legs close together. As a Kall male with heightened senses, he would likely be able to smell her arousal, a prospect that left her trembling with nervousness. Hiding her attraction to him wouldn’t be easy. Hell, it would be near impossible.

  “When I am with you, human, I feel lighter and at peace, yet also very unsettled. When I’m not with you, I am constantly thinking of the next time I might see you, an excuse that will bring me to your cell.”

  His confession stunned her—but not as much as the kiss that followed.

  Chapter 11

  Her lips were as sweet as he’d imagined.

  Zamek growled into the little human’s mouth as he deepened the kiss, holding her in his arms as he devoured her. A rising possessiveness for Layla consumed him.

  What was happening between them didn’t follow any sort of logic. She should hate him, and likewise he should hate her. Neither of them should want to spend time together, and neither of them should hold an attraction for the other.

  Yet he’d once again detected the scent of her arousal on the air. It was stronger today than at any time before. She desired him, perhaps just as fiercely as he yearned for her.

  And, fluxx, the sweetness between her thighs smelled intoxicating.

  He longed to bury his face in her nectar and not come up for air until his lungs were ready to burst.

  A soft moan vibrated in her throat, causing him to growl again and kiss her harder. Mine, he thought. Mine. He wanted to kiss her until she realized that she belonged to him. Well, she knew she belonged to him—by the laws of retribution, to be precise—but he wanted to own her on a much more intimate level.

  When he finally withdrew from the kiss, they were both panting breathlessly. Her face was flushed, and her chest rose and fell rapidly. Through the silk of her dress, he noticed the points of her hardened nipples. His cock shifted at the sight. They probably tasted like berries, ripe and ready for the picking, and he wanted to bite down on those berries until she gave a moan of discomfort, and then he would lave at them and ease her pain, before suckling the buds until she cried out in pleasure.

  His entire body heated and vibrated with need.

  He guided her toward the bed, but she halted in place, her eyes growing wide as she stared at it. Uncertainty flared in her gaze when she looked at him. She gave a deep sigh that caused her shoulders to heave.

  “Can I ask you a question, General?”

  He grasped her hand. “Anything.” He would promise her every moon in the sector if she would agree to become his right now.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  It took him a moment to comprehend her meaning. He released her hand and took a step back, though putting any amount of distance between them pained him. His arms ached with the need to gather her close so he could bury his face in her soft tresses.

  “Yes,” he finally replied. “You have a choice, human. I will not force myself on you.”

  Her head tilted to the side and she appeared perplexed. “But I’m never going to be free to leave you and you basically own my life. Legally, you could do whatever you wanted to me.”

  “Yes,” he admitted, “legally, I could.”

  Even though everything inside him screamed to tear off her clothes and claim her, he wasn’t a monster. He’d never taken a female by force and he wasn’t about to start. Even the servant girls he’d tumbled as a young warrior had been willing to warm his bed. He would not wield his power in such a way over Layla.

  Again, the urge to win her trust filled him.

  “I-I shouldn’t want this,” she whispered, giving him a conflicted look. “I-I should want you to stay far away from me.”

  “I shouldn’t want this either,” he admitted, stepping closer, “but I do.” He reached for her hands and moved in front of her. “All I can think about is stripping off your clothes and glimpsing your soft pale flesh. I want to kiss you all over and drag my teeth over your skin, marking you as mine. I want to ram into you from behind and claim you. You’re the greatest temptation I’ve ever had to resist, and, by the ancient gods, I don’t want to resist you anymore, human.” He leaned down, allowing his lips to brush across her earlobe. “I want to fuck you until you are raw.”

  She shivered and a needy whimper drifted from her kiss-swollen lips.

  “I can smell your arousal,” he continued, pulling back to peer into her lust-glazed eyes.

  “I imagine you can,” she said with a deep blush. “I-I know Kall have heightened senses compared to humans. I know I can’t hide it from you. I wish I could, but I can’t.”

  He growled. “Does it embarrass you, little human, knowing that I’ll always be able to tell when you’re achy between your thighs?”

  She gave another whimper but didn’t reply. Her eyes were dilated, and her breaths kept increasing, as did the scent of her feminine essence in the air.

  Fluxx, he suspected she would taste like Uxtollian honey.

  “If you wish for me to leave, Layla, just say the words. Otherwise, I’m going to take you to bed and fuck you senseless.”

  Unease spread through him as he waited for her to order him out. He stared at her for a long, tense moment. If she asked him to leave, it would take all his self-control to walk out of the brig without having his way with her. But he would do it. He wouldn’t take what was not freely given. He couldn’t fathom hurting the sweet human in this way. He’d already hurt her enough.

  But if she consented—he would make good use of her permission.

  Without saying a word, she backed away until her legs hit the bed and she fell onto it, scooting up to the pillows as if making herself comfortable.

  “I’m probably the stupidest human alive, but I’m not about to ask you to leave.”

  He pounced on her in the next moment. Crawling atop her, he kissed her hard and reveled in her tiny moans and desperate whimpers. His cock thickened and he pressed his erection against her stomach through their clothes, allowing her to feel the fullness of his need.

  He ran kisses down her neck, sometimes pausing to drag his teeth along her flesh, marking her just as he’d promised. When he pulled away and observed his teeth marks on her skin, a primal sense of satisfaction filled him.

  After slipping her shoes off, he reached up her dress for the waistband of her leggings, holding her stare the whole time. She lay pliantly beneath him as he removed the leggings, though she gasped when she spotted her panties in the bundle of clothes. Her breath hitched and her gaze heated further.

  He set about removing her dress next, the desire to glimpse her nudity overwhelming. He tried not to think about the firs
t time he’d seen her naked—when he’d forced her to strip before her whipping. Looking back, he knew she had a pleasing body, but he’d been a bastard to notice at the time.

  She assisted him in removing her dress and bra, and he tossed her clothing items on the floor with her shoes. Then he rose to his feet and peered down at her, admiring her delicate beauty.

  When his gaze landed at the apex of her thighs, he noted that her inner thighs glistened under a coat of her womanly essence. Apparently, her arousal had leaked out of her and trickled down her legs as he’d undressed her. He inhaled deeply, savoring the addicting scent.

  He growled at the sight and immediately commenced removing his own clothing, until he stood before her stark naked, his engorged cock jutting out, a drop of precum gleaming on the tip. Then he pounced on her again, unable to endure another moment when their bodies weren’t touching.

  Zamek was masculine perfection, handsome and built like a god.

  Oh my. Her heart fluttered.

  Layla held his gaze and ran her hands over his muscular chest as the aching in her core swelled hotter. She couldn’t believe she’d agreed to this. She’d never slept with a Kall male before, though she’d certainly been tempted during the two years she’d spent on his planet.

  With his hands roving over her body and his lips searing her flesh, she didn’t feel that pressing loneliness. In his arms, it was easy to forget all her worry and pain, even if he had caused some of it.

  His hard cock pushed at her slick entrance, though he didn’t thrust inside. She whimpered and arched her back, eager for him to plunge into her and assuage the ache. But he seemed content to hold her and stare at her, and she flushed under his intense gaze. Oh how she wished to know his thoughts, but she wasn’t brave enough to ask him.

  Is this a one-time occurrence?