If nothing else, A’tai’s reprehensible behavior had simply reminded her that she was alone in an alien world. Maybe it was time to discover if there were other options. The farms clearly required a large number of workers, and Simea had mentioned a village. If she could make her way there, perhaps she could find a way to reach the capital.
None of the Mafanans she had met so far had seemed to bear her any ill will, and Simea had certainly been shocked when A’tai announced that she was his slave. Maybe she could find someone equally sympathetic to help her.
But although she tried to occupy herself with plans for the future, she kept returning to thoughts of A’tai. The way he smiled at her, and the way he wanted to protect her. Was that why he had so adamantly refused to consider her working with Pulata? Did he think she would be in some kind of danger? Was there more to his arrogance than just a desire to control her?
Her chest ached, and she told herself it was due to the exertion of the climb, but she knew she was lying to herself.
When she finally reached the top of the ridge, she found herself in a shaded clearing. On one side, the ground continued to climb upwards, growing increasingly barren. A small waterfall trickled down the rocky slope. From the other side of the clearing, she could see a much larger bay. A harbor occupied one end, while a village stretched out along the remaining shoreline. White buildings lush with flowers were stacked along the water’s edge. At the far end of the bay the ground rose steeply into a rocky promontory, crowned with a large white building that reminded her of a fairytale castle. It too was covered with flowers.
The hillside leading down from her position to the village was also densely wooded, but it didn’t look like a difficult descent. The boats floating in the harbor promised a way off the island, if she could find one willing to take her on board. Hadn’t that been her plan all along? To escape and find her friends? All she needed to do was to descend the hill, but her feet didn’t want to move.
She kept thinking about A’tai. His arrogance and his unexpected sweetness. The way his touch set off fireworks in her body.
I don’t want to leave him, she realized. But how can I stay and be his slave?
Was that really how he thought of her? As upset as she had been, she had seen the regret that flashed across his face as soon as he spoke. But was that enough? Would he bring it up again as soon as she wanted to do something of which he didn’t approve?
Her mind and her heart wrestled with the decision. Still debating her options, she went to the waterfall to collect some water. The cool liquid trickled down her throat, making her realize how thirsty she had been from the climb.
As she went back to collect a second handful, the rocks seemed to move. A strange creature perched there, its body almost invisible against the rocks until it changed position. Bulbous black eyes stared at her as it raised its tail, a tail as long and thick as her leg. The scientific part of her brain noted that it bore a distinct resemblance to a scorpion, but the rest of her was paralyzed by fear as she saw the clear liquid glistening on the pointed tip of its tail.
It’s going to sting me, and I’ll never see A’tai again.
The thought broke through her paralysis, and she tensed, preparing to move as soon as it attacked. The tail rose higher, then darted towards her at a shocking speed. She tried to throw herself to one side, already knowing that she wouldn’t make it.
And then A’tai was there. He crouched over her body, his limbs forming a protective wall around her as he seized the tail right below the glistening point. The creature made a high screeching noise, twisting around to try and attack A’tai with its claws, but he was too fast for it. Two of his limbs grabbed the claws, wrenching the creature apart and tossing the carcass aside without a second look as he turned to her.
Frantic hands searched her body. “Are you hurt? Did it sting you?”
The tears that had been pending since she left the lab suddenly burst free. She tried to reach for him, but he was inspecting her even more urgently now.
“Where’s the wound? I need to stop the venom from flowing into the rest of your body.”
“Not… not wounded.” She managed to sob out the words, and he collapsed down next to her, pulling her into his lap.
“Thank the Sisters. I’ve never been so terrified. You must never run away like that again.”
She only cried harder, trying to bury her face against his chest.
He tightened his arms around her, rocking her back and forth. “Please stop crying, amali. If you want to work in the lab, you can work in the lab. Just don’t leave me.”
“I… I wasn’t leaving you.”
“You weren’t?”
“No,” she admitted to him, and to herself. No matter how tempting the village appeared, she knew she had been about to march back down the hill and confront him. “But we need to talk.”
His arms tightened at the caveat.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked suspiciously, and she had the sudden urge to laugh. It appeared that no male ever wanted to hear his female say they needed to talk.
“You know that everything about this place is strange to me,” she said slowly.
“I know. You said you had never been to Mafana before.”
She took a deep breath, determined to trust him. “It’s not just Mafana. It’s everything—aliens, spaceships, the Empire. My world isn’t aware of any of it.”
Shock covered his face, rapidly replaced by understanding. “You come from a pre-spaceflight world?”
“Yes. I mean, we have spaceships, but they don’t go very far.” She clutched his hand. “Does that mean if the Royal Fleet finds me or my friends they’ll take us away and put us in prison?”
“Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“It’s what the slavers said. That we were illegal.”
“It is illegal for them to steal you away from your world. It does not make you illegal. The Royal Fleet would not imprison you.” He gave her an unexpectedly sympathetic look. “But neither would they return you.”
“So there’s no way to return to Earth,” she said softly. She waited for dismay to swamp her, but all she felt was resigned acceptance. She suspected she had recognized that it was a one-way trip a long time ago.
“I am afraid not. No reputable ship would make the journey. And the less reputable ones would be no better than the slavers who took you.” His face hardened. “There are many worlds where your background would make you vulnerable to being enslaved.”
She choked back a sob as she thought about her friends again.
“Is that true even on Mafana?”
He sighed. “I would like to say no, but there are unscrupulous people everywhere.”
“I have to find my friends. I’m worried that someone will take advantage of them.”
“I understand. When we return to the house, I will have my agent start some discreet inquiries.”
“Your agent?”
He gave her a rueful look. “I suppose since we are revealing all our secrets, there is something you should know about me.”
“You mean the fact that you’re Prince A’tai of House Maulimu?”
She wasn’t sure exactly when she had reached the conclusion, but the various hints had been coming together in her mind. The castle in the village below had been the final piece. He looked so shocked she felt rather smug. Then he burst into laughter and hugged her.
“My amali. I should have known that you would figure it out. I will never be able to keep any secrets from you, will I?”
Her smugness disappeared in a wave of uncertainty. He spoke as if they would be together for a long time. Did he really mean it?
“So what happens now?” she asked.
“We return home.”
“To your castle?”
“Not unless you insist. I was coming here to get away from that life.”
“Why?”
“Because my mother is insisting—” He came to an abrupt h
alt. “Insisting that I take a greater interest in the future of the House. I was more concerned with the present and the issue with the algae.”
She was quite sure that he still wasn’t telling her everything, but she let it drop for now, more concerned about their argument.
“Did you really mean what you said about letting me work at the lab?”
He scowled, but he looked like a pouty little boy rather than an angry Prince. “Yes, but I do not like it. You will be away from me all day.”
When he put it like that, she wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. So much of her life had consisted of nothing but work and sleep and study. Even the short time they had spent together had shown her that there was far more to life than that.
“Maybe it could be a part-time kind of thing,” she suggested. “Do you think Pulata would allow that?”
“He works for me. He will do whatever I tell him to do.”
“You’re very good at ordering people around, aren’t you? Do they always do what you tell them to do?”
“Perhaps we should experiment.” His eyes heated. “Kiss me, my amali.”
She shouldn’t, she really shouldn’t, but Lord, did she want to.
“Please,” he added, and that decided it. She obeyed.
Chapter Fourteen
Kate put her hand on A’tai’s neck, trying to tug his mouth down to hers. Instead, two of his limbs curled beneath her butt, lifting her easily until their faces were at the same height. He looked at her with glowing golden eyes, but he didn’t move. She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his, slowly, teasingly, half-expecting him to take over. Instead, he remained absolutely still as she ran her tongue along the seam of his mouth, reveling in his clean, salty taste. But then she bit down gently on his lower lip, and he roared.
Somehow she ended up on her back with him leaning over her, kissing her hungrily as he took control. She returned the kiss just as eagerly, her arms clasping his neck and her legs coming up to circle his waist. As he explored her mouth she felt two of his limbs curving up around her breasts, and then his suckers fastened on her nipples. Even through the cloth of her dress, the suction sent streaks of excitement straight to her needy clit.
He made an impatient sound, then ripped the front of her dress open in one quick move. The velvety mouth of his suckers closed over her nipples again, the direct contact shockingly intense. More of the small sucking kisses covered the rest of her breasts. Another limb made its way between her legs, pressing kisses to her inner thigh. She instinctively tried to pull her legs together, and a strong limb immediately closed around each leg, gently but firmly pulling them apart and opening her to his exploration. Her mind stuttered to a stop.
The thick length wound between her lower lips, sucking at the sensitive flesh. And then a sucker closed directly over her clit, and she came with a sudden, overwhelming force. She heard herself cry out, but it seemed to come from somewhere far away. Her body shuddered helplessly as A’tai stopped kissing her and raised his head to look down at her.
He seemed almost as shocked as she felt as she floated back to earth.
“What is this place on your body?”
“My clit.” Her voice still sounded odd in her ears.
“Human males are very lucky to have such an easy way to pleasure their females.”
She would have laughed, but her body was still quivering.
“And it produces such a delicious result.” His suckers were still moving gently between her legs, and she realized he was tasting the results of her climax.
“I wish to try this again.”
Her ability to speak disappeared as the sucker over her clit began pulling again, gentler this time, rocking back and forth sensually until she slid over into a long, slow climax.
When her eyes fluttered open that time, his skin was completely gold, his eyes intent on her face.
“Do you remember our earlier conversation?”
Her heart skipped a beat, but she nodded.
“Do you still wish to learn about my mating arm?”
She didn’t hesitate. She had never wanted anything more. “Yes.”
He raised her arms over her head, holding her wrists together with one strong hand, while the limbs curled around her thighs pulled her legs further apart. Even her labia were spread open before she felt the press of his cock—no, his moa—at her entrance.
She tried to analyze the sensation as he pressed inside, impossibly wide and thick, but he tightened his grip as he entered and her mind stopped working. All she could do was feel. Feel the constant pull at her breasts, feel the velvety strokes against her clit, feel herself being stretched open.
He kept going, sinking deeper and deeper into her body, until he filled her completely. Her pussy quivered, little ripples of pleasure surging through her as her body tried to adjust. All these years, she had never realized what she was missing, but as she opened her eyes and saw an answering ecstasy on his face, she had no regrets.
A’tai watched as his mating arm entered Kate’s impossibly small cunt. His moa was furled as tightly as possible, and still he struggled to work his way inside the tight little channel. Her silken flesh surrounded him, impossibly hot, and so sweet that he could have sipped at her nectar for hours, but his moa was too impatient.
He drew back, then thrust forward, his passage only slightly easier this time. Then he remembered her magical pleasure button and concentrated on it. He felt her shudder, then more of her delicious essence surrounded him, her channel milking his moa in long pulsing waves. His control vanished, and he thrust again and again as his moa began to unfurl, widening as her channel grew even hotter and slicker.
His seed gathered into a hot ball at the base of his moa as he tried to resist, tried to prolong the overwhelming pleasure. But then she began to convulse around him again and restraint was impossible. His seed rushed into her in an endless wave until she had pulled the last drop from his body and he collapsed down over her, completely spent.
He released her arms and legs, and they slid limply to the ground. Her weakness concerned him but when he raised his head, she was smiling up at him.
“Wow. I never knew it would be like that.”
“No male has ever pleasured you as well?” He couldn’t help preening a little, even though the thought of another male touching her silken skin made his arms tighten instinctively. She was his now.
“No male has ever pleasured me at all,” she said.
“Then they were unworthy, thoughtless males.”
“I don’t think you understand. I’ve never had sex before.”
“Never?” How was it possible that such a desirable female had not been courted?
“Never.”
“Human males are fools,” he said firmly, doing his best to hide his delight. He knew that it was unworthy, but the fact that he had been the only one to enter her sweet little cunt filled him with possessive pride.
“I always thought so.” She laughed, the movement making her fascinating breasts quiver gently. They were flushed pink and covered with small red circles, the symbols of his possession. Would they last, he wondered, or would he have to renew them each time.
To his shock, his moa began to swell again. He had always been told that it would subside as soon as his seed was delivered but it didn’t seem to have received the message.
Her eyes widened as she felt him grow inside her, and her channel fluttered around him.
“You’re hard again already?”
“It would appear so.” He withdrew slightly, far enough to see his moa glistening with her nectar, the deep teal a shocking contrast to her pink flesh as she stretched open around him. It still seemed impossible that she could welcome him into her body.
“Then Mafanan females are very lucky,” she murmured, her hips lifting to chase his moa.
“I’m not sure it is common,” he admitted as he rewarded her by thrusting back into her channel. They both moaned.
“You mean you’re
special because you’re a prince?” He could tell she was trying to tease him, but her voice was breathless with pleasure.
“No, I mean I have no experience. My mating arm has never been inside another female.”
“Then Mafanan females are fools,” she said, echoing his earlier words, but he could see the same delight on her face. “Why—”
His limbs pulled her back into the mating position as he bent his head and kissed her, stroking in and out of her in a slow, steady rhythm. When he released her mouth, her face was soft, dazed with pleasure.
“If you wish, we can discuss our respective pasts in great detail, but later.” He thrust a little harder, his moa already threatening to unfurl. “Much later.”
“Okay,” she whispered, trying to wiggle in his grip. “Do that again.”
He obliged, and there was no more discussion.
A very long time later, A’tai carried his sleeping mate back down the hill. Since he had ruined her gown, he wrapped her in his robe instead. She barely stirred. He had to remember how delicate she was, he reminded himself. Even though she accepted him into her body so eagerly and deliciously, he must take care not to wear her out.
The Sisters were beginning to set when he reached the farms, and there was a hum of activity as the farmers ended their day. He managed to avoid them, slipping quietly into the waters to make his way back along the shore to their cottage. Her eyes opened as the water rose over her body and she smiled.
“We always seem to end up in the water.”
“It’s part of who I am.” He let his limbs propel them home, careful to keep her head above the water as he cradled her in his arms.
“Then I can’t complain.” Her eyes traveled past him to the brilliant colors of the sunset. “It’s so beautiful here.”
“A fitting setting for your beauty,” he agreed.
She smiled again, even as her eyes began to close. “You’re such a sweet talker.”
“Rest, amali. Tomorrow is another day.”
For some reason that made her laugh, but by the time he carried her into their rooms she was asleep again. She didn’t move as he carefully cleansed her, then took her to bed. Even though his apparently insatiable moa throbbed eagerly at the sight of those lush, pale curves marked with the signs of his possession, he simply wrapped himself around her and let her sleep.
Kate and the Kraken: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 11) Page 9
