The Zoran's Bride (Scifi Alien Romance) (Barbarian Brides)

by Luna Hunter

  I can already picture her screaming my name.

  I come with a mighty roar, my knees buckling, my heart racing, exquisite pleasure washing over me.

  When I regain control of my senses, I realize Sarah’s not in the other room anymore. I don’t pick up her smell. I was so lost in lust, I already skirted my duty.

  No time to lose.

  Still naked and dripping with water, I follow her tracks. It’s not hard me to pick up her trace — her scent is unique, alluring, sweet and powerful.

  I already know I’ll never forget it.

  I stalk through the halls of the Spearhead, following my nose. I feel primal, following her tracks like a hunter in the old days. Hunting my prey.

  Every second that goes by feels like an eternity. My heart is racing, adrenaline coursing through my veins.

  Where is she?!

  The humans I encounter quickly duck out of the way, their eyes wide, some yelping in fear. I bet encountering a naked, wet, angry Zoran warrior in the hallway is the last thing they expected.

  The scent grows stronger.

  I turn the corner to find Sarah walking towards me, along with the dark-haired woman. They both freeze when they see me, their faces contorting with shock.

  “Found you,” I growl as I stride right up to her.

  Sarah places her palm on my abs, trying to push me away. A wasted effort, of course. I can see her eyes quickly flicker downwards, and her cheeks instantly glow red.

  Ava, on the other hand, makes no attempt to be sly. She’s staring open-mouthed at my body, an ear-to-ear smile fixed on her face.

  “What is wrong with you?” Sarah says in a burst of anger. “You can’t do… whatever this is!”

  “I’m protecting you,” I say. “You were the one who left my side.”

  “I’m not your lapdog!” she says. “I’m not going to wait on you hand and foot. If you insist on shadowing me, do so from a distance. And clothed, for everyone’s sake!”

  “I don’t have any clothes.”

  “Not my problem!”

  “Nice,” Ava whispers.

  “You need to cover up,” Sarah says, doing her best to look me in the eyes. “Right. Now.”

  “Why?” I growl. “I have nothing to hide.”

  “I’m with you on this one, blue,” Ava laughs. “You rock that body. You’ve earned it.”

  Sarah’s face grows redder, but it’s not just from embarrassment anymore. It’s pure anger now.

  I don’t understand. My body is perfect. Every muscle in my broad frame is perfectly defined, with many tattoos and battle-scars affirming my strength. I’ve never felt stronger. I am the fittest I’ve ever been.

  Most human females grow wet at the sight of me.

  Why does Sarah resist? Why does the only human I’ve felt this overwhelming and primal need for deny me?

  I can give her untold pleasure. With my stamina, my size, my strength, I can outperform any human male. Her body, her curves, her thighs, they were made for me. They were meant for my powerful, Zoran hands.

  Yet she denies me.

  For the first time in my life, I feel rejected. It’s a strange, unknown feeling. Wholly unpleasant. I feel angry. Hurt.

  And more determined than ever to make her mine.

  “Here,” Sarah says as she takes her vest off. She takes a step closer and wraps it around my waist, her hands trembling. The garment barely fits around my waist, but it hides my member.

  Barely.

  “That’ll do for now,” she says.

  Sarah’s so close I could grab her right now. Place one hand on her throat and lift her right up, rip her clothes off with my other hand, and mate with her right against the wall. Show her what I’m capable of. What she’s missing out on.

  But I don’t, despite every fiber in my being yearning for it.

  She thinks I’m a wild, untamed animal. Taking her like that, as good as it would feel, would only prove her right. I need to conquer her mind, not only her body.

  It’s a challenge I’m more than willing to accept. Before we return to Earth, she will throw herself at me willingly. She’ll beg for me to take her, to fill her with my seed.

  And I’ll make her see stars.

  My cock grows harder at the thought, the bulge in the vest around my waist as clear as day.

  “Way to ruin a good thing,” Ava chimes in.

  “You’ve seen more than enough,” Sarah answers.

  “I could always go for more.”

  “Not on my watch.”

  Sarah places one hand on my firmly sculpted ass. “Come,” she says.

  I’m planning on it.

  “Let’s see if the armory has something that’s better tailored to your size.”

  “You two have fun,” Ava says with a laugh as she wanders off, shaking her head.

  Sarah leads me down the hall, angrily muttering to herself the entire time.

  Now that I am back in her presence, I can feel my adrenaline drop down a notch. When I realized she was out of my sight earlier, I felt a primal need grip my heart. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as if I was back in the ring, facing my nemesis.

  It’s not the human captain’s orders I’m following. I couldn’t give a fuck about what he wants.

  It’s my own instincts.

  Sarah’s scent has been imprinted on me. If it does not surround me, I feel restless, anxious, angry, and I’ll tear down walls with my bare hands to get to her.

  I’ve heard Zoran stories about this phenomenon, but I considered them myths. Mating fever, it has been called. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this way for a human. I figured it was something that only happened back on our former homeworld of Exon Prime, with Zoran females, like so many of our traditions that we’ve lost since our planet has been reduced to a ball of ice and our proud warrior race had to flee to Earth.

  Fever is an understatement. The way I felt is closer to insanity. Now that my heart rate has dropped to a normal level, I realize how foolish I must have looked.

  Stalking through the hallways of this ship, naked and dripping wet, sniffing like a wild wolf. I bet I traumatized some poor humans along the way.

  Or, judging by Ava’s sneaky smile, fulfilled their biggest fantasies.

  All I have eyes for is Sarah however, and she’s still steaming with anger.

  We stand together in the elevator as it takes us to a lower deck. I can see her eyes darting to the towering bulge in her vest that’s wrapped around my waist, my cock standing at full attention. I can’t help or control it — as long as her scent surrounds me, I am fully hard.

  “You are unbelievable,” she mutters. “Can’t you lower that thing?”

  “You mean my cock?” I ask, raising one eyebrow.

  She faces forwards again. Even her ears are glowing right now.

  “Yes,” she whispers. “Does it ever go down?”

  Not when I’m around you.

  “Only when you make it.”

  Fuck, I couldn’t resist.

  Sarah bites her bottom lip. Did I just hear her utter a soft moan, or are my ears deceiving me?

  “I’d slap you if I could reach that high,” she says. “I thought Zorans were trained. Disciplined. You are a, a… beast.”

  Oh, you have no idea.

  “And I didn’t think a human female could make me so hard.”

  She turns to me, shocked, her eyebrows furrowed.

  “Stop mocking me. It’s not funny.”

  “I’m not,” I growl, my eyes drinking in her beautiful frame. She looks so delicious while dressed, and I can only imagine how great she would look naked.

  I don’t plan on having to imagine it for much longer.

  I turn towards her and she places her back against the elevator wall, her eyes growing big with fear. I tower over her as I lean in, my bulge pressing against her.

  My thumb runs along her cheek, and she trembles under my touch. Why does she fear me so? Am I truly so horrifying?

  �
��Do I scare you?” I ask.

  She nods.

  “Why?”

  Sarah laughs nervously.

  “Look at you, Kazim. You’re terrifying. You’re so tall, so broad, so strong, so…” Her voice trails off and her eyes quickly dart downwards. She swallows the lump in her throat before continuing. “…so big, in every sense of the word. Yes, Kazim, you scare me, and everyone else on this ship.”

  “You have nothing to fear from me.”

  “I want to believe that,” she says. “But I’m not sure I can.”

  I straighten my back, pushing my shoulders back. “How can I prove it to you?”

  “For starters, you can stop stalking me like some wild, naked predator.”

  I nod, my lips pulled into a tight line. I’ll prove to her that I’m more than a savage beast.

  The door opens with a ping. “Ah, the armory,” she says. “We’re here.”

  I enjoy the freedom of the vest dangling around my waist, but if Sarah feels more comfortable with my naked body covered, I will suit up.

  6

  Sarah

  “What do you mean, you don’t have anything that fits?!”

  The man in front of me trembles in fear. His eyes keep darting up to Kazim, a nervous smile on his lips. I prayed that the armory would be able to help me out, but it seems I’m all out of luck, doomed to have a naked alien warrior follow me around at all times.

  “S-sorry,” he stammers. “We don’t have anything that’ll fit a Z-Zoran.”

  Kazim frowns. “There are no other Zorans on this vessel?!”

  “N-no, s-sorry.”

  He turns to me, frowning. “How can this be?” he growls. “Aren’t you looking for a new planet for us? Shouldn’t we have a say in this?!”

  I put my palms up in defense. “Wasn’t my decision, Kazim, don’t blame me. Take it up with Ferguson.”

  “Who?”

  “The captain,” I say. “You remember him, right? The one who told you to follow me? The reason why you’re acting like my freaking shadow?”

  Kazim smirks. “Ah, right. The puny one. I’ll be sure to ask him, yes. Good idea.”

  “No, don’t actually…” My voice trails off when I see the damage has been done. I can see from the glint in Kazim’s radiant eyes he’s made up his mind, and nothing I say or do will be able to change that.

  “You must have something he can wear,” I plead with the administrator. “I mean, just look at him. He can’t walk around like this, barely clothed.”

  The man shrugs, as if to say ‘Your Zoran, your problem.’

  Just great.

  Kazim pushes past the man, who jumps out of the way, afraid to touch the nearly naked warrior. He rummages through the armory, opening cabinets, pushing things aside.

  “D-does he have the proper clearance?” the civil servant asks me when he sees Kazim grab a rifle and look at it questioningly.

  “I don’t know. Feel free to take it back from him,” I laugh.

  The man swallows the lump in his throat. “I’m good.”

  Kazim pulls out bedsheets from a locker in the back and rips it up before folding it around his body, wearing the torn cloth like a toga.

  “How is this?” he asks.

  My eyes drift over his broad frame. He reminds me of an ancient gladiator, from the history books… except he’s a seven foot tall, blue skinned alien warrior. His physique, however, matches the ancient greek gods perfectly. His muscles are so perfect, they might as well be hewed from marble.

  The fact that I know that he’s butt naked underneath the flimsy cloth makes my stomach flutter. Sometimes I don’t understand myself. Kazim is an arrogant, cocky, annoying brute who won’t give me a moment’s peace… so why do I find him so adorable when he models his improvised toga for me?

  “That’s a lot better,” I say, ignoring the heat that’s making my body flush bright red.

  “Good,” he growls.

  My com beeps, and I’m thankful for the distraction from Kazim’s muscled body. It’s Ferguson, and he wants me to come up to the bridge.

  “Duty calls,” I tell my bodyguard. “The captain wants to see me.”

  “Good,” Kazim growls in that low voice of his. “I have a few questions to ask him myself.”

  Oh boy.

  “Dr. Graham, how nice of you to join us,” Captain Ferguson says coldly when the door to the bridge opens. “And ah, Kazim, was it? What are you… wearing, son?”

  The bridge is Ferguson’s domain. The control room from which he runs the entire ship. There’s screens everywhere, monitoring every minute detail, and a few helmsmen and engineers tracking it all.

  Kazim steps into the room proudly, his head held high, shoulders pushed back.

  “There wasn’t a proper Zoran uniform on board,” he says. “Why is that, human? Where are the Zorans?”

  Ferguson wrinkles his nose, as if the question itself offends him.

  “This is a Federation ship,” he says. “With Federation personnel. Zorans are… not needed.”

  “Are you not searching for a new planet to house my people?” my bodyguard growls. “Should we not have a say in this?! In fact, this should be our ship!”

  “Please,” Ferguson says. “You should be happy we took you in in the first place. We know what’s best for you.”

  BAM!

  Kazim hits a panel with his fist and Ferguson jumps back. The room falls silent, while the screen slowly cracks.

  “See,” Ferguson says, trying to keep his voice from shaking. “You Zorans lack control!”

  “Believe me,” Kazim growls threateningly. “If I didn’t have control, you would be dead right now.”

  I follow the exchange carefully, hanging on Kazim’s every word. It’s nice to see someone put the captain in his place — and it’s nice to watch Kazim growl at someone else than me for a change.

  Ferguson winces, a flash of fear appearing on his face, as if he’s realizing only now that he’s not invulnerable.

  “A-anyway,” he stammers, “the reason I called you here, Dr. Graham, is because I wanted to ask you if your research station is all set up yet.”

  “Ahem, not quite,” I say, giving Kazim the side-eye. “But I’m working on it.”

  “Good,” Ferguson says as he sits down in his captain’s chair. “For you will be needed much sooner than you had anticipated. I have figured out a shortcut to our destination, that will shave weeks, perhaps months of our travel time.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask. “Our schedule has been set by command. It’s set in stone.”

  “On the contrary. I am the captain. I set the schedule.”

  “With all due respect sir, but…”

  I don’t know how to finish that sentence, because there’s nothing respectful about what I want to say. The brightest minds on Earth have calculated our trajectory. How can he of all people think he outsmarted the Federation’s smartest people?

  “You’re wondering how, correct?” Ferguson says, barely repressing a condescending smile. “By harnessing the power of gravity itself.”

  He pulls up a star-chart on the main screen.

  “See, when we pass through the Omega system, we can use the gravitational pull of the planets themselves to create a slingshot. We’ll pick up so much speed we can halve our travel time, if not more.”

  I take a quick glance at his calculations.

  “The Spearhead wasn’t built for such speeds,” I say. “It’s categorically unsafe.”

  “I didn’t ask for your opinion, doctor. I’m merely informing you. Furthermore, your lack of ambition doesn’t surprise me. That is why you’re a simple academic, while I’m the commander.”

  I have to squeeze my fists to stop myself from wiping that pompous smirk off his face.

  “You’re making a mistake,” Kazim says. “This path will take you right into an ion storm.”

  “Nonsense,” Ferguson responds. “Where?”

  “Right here. You miscalculated,” the
Zoran warrior continues. “You didn’t account for the gravitational pull.”

  “So now the underground boxer knows star travel?!” Ferguson sneers. “Yes, I know who you are, Kazim. Don’t think I’ll protect you when we get back to Earth.”

  “Fuck that,” Kazim growls. “Set this course and you’ll never make it back to Earth in the first place. The storm will rip this ship to shreds.”

  “What exactly is an ion storm?” I ask, the the risk of sounding like the dumbest person in the room.

  “A magnetic storm,” Kazim answers. “And at the projected speed, it’ll interfere with the navigation. The ship will be traveling obscenely fast, with no one behind the wheel. It’s suicide.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ferguson snaps. “In fact, you shouldn’t even be on the bridge. Leave. Right this instance!”

  Kazim looks like he’s about to break Ferguson’s face for real. I grab the Zoran’s hand before things get out of hand, and lead him back into the elevator. To my surprise he follows me without a complaint. I can sense that he’s burning with anger, but he doesn’t lash out.

  Still, I’ve got to ask.

  “What did Ferguson mean when he said he knew who you were?”

  “Nothing,” the warrior growls.

  “Were you a boxer?”

  “Among other things.”

  Not very helpful.

  “If you really want to be my bodyguard, you’ve got to trust me,” I say, trying to pry it out of him. “You need to give me something.”

  “You have my word,” he says. “Is that not enough?”

  I didn’t think it would really be that easy.

  “Look, I need a moment to decompress,” I tell Kazim once we’re back in my room. “Could you give me a moment?”

  “No,” he says instantly, his radiant eyes locked onto mine. “I’m not leaving your side for even a moment.”

  Oh boy.

  This is going to make taking a shower rather… complicated.

  7

  Kazim

  “No,” I say, as I look straight at Sarah. “I’m not leaving.”

  I can see her shoulders drop.

  “I need some space, Kazim,” she’s says. “I can’t be around you all the time. Why are you following Ferguson’s orders, anyway? You clearly hate him.”