Confusion and concern mixed freely on Vrill’s face at the end of Amelia’s story. She patted the human on the shoulder. “It’s simple enough to discover if you carry a child. Wait here.”
Vrill left her spot by Amelia. She returned carrying what looked like a glass tube with a syringe within it. “Hold out your arm,” she said.
Amelia obeyed. Vrill pressed one end of the tube against the inside of Amelia’s forearm. The needle inside moved quickly and withdrew before she registered the prick of pain.
Vrill took the tube from Amelia’s arm on which a single drop of blood appeared. The tube flashed orange.
“No baby,” Vrill said. She smiled. “Not that being pregnant is such a concern. If you’re not ready for a child, you can freeze the embryo until you want it.”
Amelia felt more weight slip from her. “What a relief. I still don’t know if Flencik tested me for compatibility though. What if he did? What do I do?”
Vrill’s brows knitted together. “Don’t be offended, but I find your behavior truly confusing. Perhaps even insane, if it was anyone but a repressed Earther.”
“You don’t think I’m absolutely awful? I mean – I know you’re freer with your bodies here on Plasius, but still—”
Vrill waved her off. “It is sex, Amelia, not killing others in a murderous rampage. It is the most beautiful of experiences when with the right people. Yes, I said people, which is plural.”
“It’s against everything I was ever taught,” Amelia whispered.
“You yourself have complained about how overly strict your government is. That you don’t believe sex is truly a sin punishable by death or even imprisonment.” Vrill sighed. “You admit Rajhir’s clan gives you more sensual pleasure than any Earther has provided you. Despite your current hysteria, your actions are those of a woman in love—”
“Love?” Amelia gasped.
“And why not? The Kalquorians can give you a life most of us only dream of – a life of devotion, loyalty, and dedication to your happiness. Most importantly, Flencik can reverse your nerve damage. He can give you back your art, which is your whole life and a gift to the rest of the universe.”
“What about the other women who have disappeared? For all I know, they’ve been taken to Kalquor against their will!”
“For all you know, they went gladly. Even if they didn’t, how is it your concern? You didn’t kidnap them.”
Amelia struggled for the words to make Vrill understand. “I thought having fun with the Kalquorians wouldn’t affect anyone else. Nobody else would know, and no one would get hurt. Now I realize this relationship might have opened the doors to innocent women being victimized.”
Vrill pursed her lips. “Do you have any idea what the life of a Matara is like?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Hear me out. The Mataras of Kalquor want for nothing. When a woman is made a part of the clan, she has no reason to fear. Nothing to worry about. The rest of the clan would go hungry to feed her. They would go naked to clothe her. They would kill for her and they would die for her. Her smile is their sun; her tears, their hell. She is their goddess to worship and adore.”
Vrill took a breath before continuing. “Let us theorize the Kalquorians have abducted these missing Earther women, which seems to be your greatest concern. They would consist of exchange artists like you and service industry personnel. In other words, women who for the most part are looked down upon by your society, made to scrape by for a living. Correct?”
Amelia nodded. “In many instances, yes.” The economy on Earth had been hard hit with overpopulation and scant supplies of even basic staples. Women were left begging for jobs for the most part. Getting off Earth to find employment elsewhere was cause for celebration far too often.
Vrill nodded. “So perhaps the clans have approached them with promises of better lives. Maybe many said yes and went willingly. For the sake of argument, however, let’s say the Earther women were frightened when approached and said no. They end up kidnapped and taken to the Empire, where they learn that Kalquor and the planets of its empire are rich in ores and natural resources. Everyone there has a share of the wealth. The Earther Mataras are taken to live in lovely homes. They enjoy the finest foods, clothes, jewels, and any material goods they wish for. Their clans see to it they get the best known medical care, ensuring good health and long lives. You already know from experience that the Empire’s medicines are centuries ahead of Earth’s. Most of all, the clans will love these women unconditionally, for that is the Kalquorian way.”
Amelia only stared at Vrill. Was her friend actually saying it was all right for Kalquor to abduct Earther women?
“I once asked you if your Earth men offer unconditional love. You said yes, you were sure some did. But you’ve never experienced that, have you? Obviously not.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, okay?” Amelia was getting angry to have her assertions used against her.
Vrill scowled at her. “I don’t have to. Most of your men, by your own admission, see you as slaves to their lusts at the worst and slaves for breeding at best.” Vrill laughed, but it was a cheerless sound. “You speak of being afraid the missing women will be subjected to sexual slavery on Kalquor. Amelia, Earther women are slaves already! So what if the Kalquorians kidnapped them? So what if Earther Mataras fight or beg for their freedom at first? How is that worse than what you’ve already been subjected to?”
“That still doesn’t make it right,” Amelia countered.
“If abductions are happening, and I’m not saying they are, then it could be what your people term a ‘godsend’. As time passes, Earther Mataras will know their good fortune and cherish their new lives. You know your own life will only get better with Dramok Rajhir’s clan. If the Kalquorians have been reduced to abducting women for their species survival, you will all be in better circumstances for it. You will know luxuries you could never have imagined and be joyful you were taken prisoner.”
Amelia shook her head. “We’re not that simple a race, Vrill. We have a saying on Earth: ‘a gilded cage is still a cage’. It has to be our free choice to live with the Kalquorians. It can’t be forced on us.”
“They would give you your heart’s desire,” Vrill said. “How could you not choose that?”
Amelia knew then that their cultures were too different for Vrill to understand. Never had she felt so alone.
* * * *
Late that night, Amelia rushed into her quarters and locked the door behind her. She leaned against it, listening to her heart quiet. Getting the short distance from the shuttle to her door had been a terrifying five seconds that seemed to never end. Every shadow seemed a threat. Every pool of darkness menaced. Every sound was the snarl of an angry Kalquorian. She’d run as fast as possible to the safety of her quarters. If the Kalquorians were waiting outside, she’d escaped. She had gained the safety of her apartment. If they pounded on the door all night, their only reward would be sore knuckles.
Amelia’s gasping breath quieted as she relaxed. She pressed the light button. Nothing happened. She tried again, but the apartment remained dark. None of the floating globes flared to life.
The triple moons shone through the banks of windows. The dim sisters to the twin suns cast everything into silhouette. Amelia groped her way to the com to call Maintenance. The silence bore down on her like a weight. Instead of the quiet of emptiness, she heard the silence of held breath, of watching eyes. Amelia looked at the unmoving shadows, her hand poised over the com.
Get hold of yourself. No one was waiting for you outside, and no one’s in here. Rajhir’s clan doesn’t have the security code to your apartment.
Despite her internal advice, creeping terror forced her to call out. “Hello? Is someone here?”
Her voice quavered in the still air. No one answered. Feeling foolish yet relieved, she shook her head at herself. “Come on, Amelia. You’re too old to be scared of the dark.”
�
��Call Maintenance,” she commanded the com. As the oppressive silence spun on uninterrupted, Amelia’s heart quickened. The com sat unresponsive. Dead, like the globes.
She backed away from the desk, her eyes searching the shadows. Every muscle screamed to run. She kept control by the slightest of margins.
I’ll go back to Vrill’s, she thought, trying to look everywhere at once as she backed towards the door. I’ll spend the night and call Maintenance from her place tomorrow morning.
A part of her realized her own foolishness. Before she backed into Breft, she knew escape ceased to be an option. Massive arms wrapped around her, pinning her against the Nobek.
Resignation deadened Amelia’s limbs. She accepted the capture. She protested only with a low moan behind the hand that covered her mouth.
Two familiar hulking shadows stepped before her. Fingers stroked her hair as Rajhir’s voice floated in the air.
“Don’t be afraid, my little one. You know we would never hurt you. Our Matara comes to no harm.”
He bent toward Amelia. His breath was warm against her neck as he sank his fangs in. He bit, pumping the intoxicant into her blood until only Breft’s grip kept her upright.
Darkness blacker than the night shut down her vision. Amelia was swept up into the cradle of strong arms, held tightly to a muscled chest like a precious child. She heard the door open. The night breeze caressed her skin as she lost consciousness.
Chapter 9
Something pressed against Amelia’s lips; something soft and inviting. She came to the slow realization that it was a mouth on hers. Her brain fuzzed by sleep, she responded, parting her lips to permit the warm tongue entry. It slid in, accepting her invitation. It rasped deliciously against her own. A thrill of passion shot between her legs, jolting her awake as the kiss ended.
“Sweet Amelia,” Rajhir’s voice breathed. “Our Matara wakes.”
Dread filled her, making her want to dive back into unconsciousness. However, there was nowhere to hide. She reluctantly opened her eyes. Amber globes floated against the ceiling, casting hazy light over her surroundings. The dark tinted windows made it impossible to gauge whether a new day had dawned. Scentwood crackled in the pit, wafting sensual musk into the Kalquorian clan’s quarters.
The three naked aliens bent over Amelia as she lay embedded in the cloudlike cushions of the lounger. They fondled her bare skin, making her wet despite the knowledge they’d taken away from her apartment against her will. The spicy scent of their arousal filled her senses. She saw their readiness for pleasuring. Desire tumbled through her body, ignoring the stab of fear.
“Why have you brought me here?” Amelia said, shoving Flencik’s hands from her breasts. He returned to massaging the soft mounds, brushing her resistance away as if shooing off a fly.
Rajhir’s fingertips traced the contours of her face, his lips curled in a smile. “I think you already know why. Why else would you try to hide from us?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Amelia tried to squirm away from their touches. She had nowhere to go. She was surrounded.
Rajhir shook his head slightly before answering. “You are compatible with us for the purpose of childbearing. You will take your place in this clan. We claim our Matara.”
Despite the smile, he delivered his statement with cold command. It told her he entertained no compromise, no debate. No argument could sway him. He allowed for no mercy and no way out.
Panic fed Amelia’s masochistic desire, but she struggled anyway, slapping Rajhir and Flencik’s hands and kicking Breft who stroked her sex. “You have no right to kidnap me! You can’t force me to be your Matara!”
Flencik seemed not to feel her hands snapping against his flesh. His tone mild, he said, “We do no force. We will convince you to join us.”
Her hands curled into tiny fists. “Let me go!”
Amelia struck a glancing blow to Rajhir’s chin. His only reaction was to blink. With a sharp intake of breath, Flencik caught her wrists and pinned them over her head against the lounger.
Breft restrained her by the ankles and held her legs apart. Rajhir got between them, positioning himself for the first thrust.
“I am sorry, my Matara,” he said, and there was real regret in his tone. “I have no choice but to make you ours even though it is against your will at this time. The only comfort I can offer is that we will do all in our power to make you know how cherished you are.”
He held her hips still and pressed his dual stiffness against Amelia. She wanted to cry out to him to stop, but passion ignited at the forceful display. Wetness gushed over his cocks, and she sobbed with helpless shame as her hips bucked toward his maleness. He knew she wanted him. They knew she wanted them all.
Rajhir entered her, ignoring her conflicting reactions. He slid in, their combined wetness easing his path. His face softened with ecstasy. “Your body betrays your desire and gives me hope, my sweet Amelia. I dare to dream that in time you will understand you belong with us.”
Amelia cried, hating them and wanting them at the same time. Rajhir kissed the tears from her cheeks as he moved within her. He made nonsense sounds of comfort. Her body welcomed his thrusts even as her mind fought against submission. The friction of their sexes sparked a fire within her, then an inferno.
“No,” she said, shaking her head, trying to deny the climax that roared through her body. “No!” she screamed as it had its way with her, pulsing the flesh surrounding Rajhir’s. The clan’s leader continued his rhythmic thrusts as she writhed beneath him.
Her body, in full revolt to her wishes, betrayed her over and over. Rajhir brought her to shuddering climax twice more before releasing his seed into her womb. Then he traded places with Breft. Rajhir held her ankles as the Nobek had despite her lacking the strength or will to resist them anymore.
Amelia felt incapable of any more orgasms. Breft penetrated deep into her, his thrusts strong. His predatory gaze drilled into her soul, and he licked his lips while staring into her eyes. Again the heat built within her and exploded, her ragged cries that of an animal. Breft came, his growls beast-like too.
“Please,” she said as Flencik took Breft’s place.
Need worked the Imdiko’s face, his penises livid exclamation marks. Yet his expression was filled with compassion as he entered her.
“I am sorry you feeling are we be cruel. This is for the best though, my Matara. No only for Kalquor, but for you as well. You are no to be hurt anymore by bad government. Only loved by us.”
His eyes shimmered with tears, but he still ignored her weak pleas for mercy. To Amelia’s weary shame, she responded to his invasion. Her hips bucked eagerly to meet each pounding thrust. Unable to escape, Amelia switched tactics. She worked hard against him, wanting Flencik to hurt her until she hated him. She wanted him to turn animal and mean in his lust, to drive away the longing that persisted despite all her attempts to negate it. He responded to her sudden change of heart, pounding almost violently against her.
Instead of earning her loathing, the pain of their forceful lovemaking intensified Amelia’s desire. Her entire body quaked with climax once more, the flame of orgasm reaching to her fingers and toes. Then she lay limp beneath Flencik, all her strength sapped as his penis pulsed and the ribbon of semen unfurled in her belly.
The Imdiko apologized for his roughness, whispering desperate contrition until Amelia cried for having made him feel guilty. As she wept, he bit her, sending intoxicant into her body once more to render her unconscious. Amelia dove into the oblivion, eager to escape the three men, to escape herself. Her last thought before darkness overtook her was I have to keep resisting. They’ll understand how wrong it is to force me sooner or later.
But how long would it take to outlast them, to convince them she would never willingly join the clan?
* * * *
A sting on Amelia’s inner thigh woke her from heavy sleep. She whimpered, but was too lethargic to open her eyes. The pain ended almost as
soon as it began. Warmth flowed throughout her body from that spot on her leg. After a few moments of languorous curiosity, she figured out a Kalquorian was biting her there with his fangs.
After half a minute or so, the fangs retracted. The mouth on her kissed and licked its way up her thigh. Amelia kept her eyes closed, all her concentration centered on the hot wet path climbing closer and closer to her female center.
The mouth reached the crease where her leg joined to her vulva and licked her there before pausing. She heard a deep intake of breath as the man crouched between her legs inhaled her scent. Fingers parted her sex, and she imagined what he saw: soft folds of flesh in varying shades of pink, glistening with wetness. The man exhaled with a low, drawn out growl, and Amelia felt her lower regions tighten with desire.
The fingers spread the lips of her sex wider, and she felt the warmth of his breath as he contemplated the view. Amelia lay quiet and open beneath his gaze, her body warming with anticipation of what he might do to her next.
Another deep inhale, another growl. She remained still, euphoria coursing through her body as the intoxicant did its work.
“Are you awake, little one?” Rajhir breathed. His deep voice sounded tentative, as if afraid speech would break the spell he held on her.
Amelia didn’t answer. What would he do to her if he thought her still asleep, completely pliant to his wishes? Would he continue his seemingly clandestine exploration? Or would he withdraw in disappointment from her, disinterested in her unresponsiveness?
I’d better say something, she thought. Leaden though her limbs felt, she was eager for pleasuring.
You’re supposed to be resisting him, you whore. Remember what his race has done!
Alien Embrace Page 14
