Her Alien Captor: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Alien Pirates Of Cania Book 1)

by Zara Zenia

  But how could he rob Melody of those things when they were precisely what made him so fond of her? She was irresistible to him because of her fiery temper, not in spite of it. And even though he was sure she’d never believe it, Devron wanted Melody as his Omega. No one else.

  Sure, at first, it had just been a crime of opportunity, but the moment he’d met her, talked to her, gotten even the tiniest glimpse at the woman underneath, there was no going back for him. He couldn’t have another. And if there were a way to remove the bond . . .

  Well, Devron wanted to say that he’d take it from her. That he’d grant her freedom. But Melody freed would mean a life without her. She’d never stay with him if she had the choice to do otherwise. Why would she? He’d done nothing to ingratiate himself to her.

  The longer he thought about that—and the more glasses of Selithian liquor he poured himself while he mulled it over—the more Devron started to wonder why he should ingratiate himself to her.

  He’d done so much more than any other Canian would have, and for what? For Melody to be ungrateful, for her to call him and his friends monsters, for her to trash his entire planet and their way of life without knowing the first thing about what she was talking about. There was no reasoning with her, no convincing her to try to see the positives, to try to make the best life with him that she could instead of rebelling against it every step of the way and leaving them both miserable.

  He’d wanted to think that he could steal an Omega, make her his, and shoot off into the stars without another care.

  Of course, even while hatching the plan, Devron knew it would never be that easy. He did hope it wouldn’t be as challenging as it was, though. Keeping Melody happy seemed like a fool’s errand, and Devron was many things, but a fool wasn’t one of them.

  Hours had passed since he’d left Melody alone and confused in the big bed. She hadn’t come out or made a sound while he sat in the darkened kitchen and drank his sorrows away. She hadn’t left his thoughts, though. She was always there, right at the edge of his perception, in the back of his mind, watching, judging, and finding him inadequate, time and time again.

  Devron drained his glass and reached for the bottle again, but this time, he found that the bottle was empty. The specter of Melody in his mind narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head.

  Pathetic, she seemed to say.

  She coughed, clearing her throat, and Devron jumped at the sound, whirling around to face the girl he’d thought was only in his head a minute ago.

  “What are you doing up?” he asked.

  She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest the same way she had a hundred other times that night in his imagination.

  “I could ask you the same.”

  “Leave me be, Melody,” he said, looking back at the empty bottle with contempt.

  “Are you drunk?” she asked, sounding almost amused under the surface of surprise.

  “Maybe,” Devron answered, noticing a definite slur he didn’t usually have.

  Melody giggled, a yawn taking over before Devron could fully appreciate the sound.

  “Come on,” she said, reaching her hand out to him. “You’re out of refills anyway.”

  “You don’t want me in there with you in this state,” he warned, pulling his hand back.

  Melody’s eyes opened more fully, ridding her of the sleepy look as she leaned in and took his hand again.

  “I said, come on,” she repeated, the mischief in her dark eyes stirring heat deep inside him.

  Devron stood with a growl, wobbling on his feet as they took his weight for the first time in hours.

  “You don’t give the orders here, Omega,” he growled dangerously, close enough that the warmth of her breath tickled his lips.

  Fire flashed in her eyes, but there was something else Devron saw—the flush in her cheeks, the warmth creeping up her neck, the way her lips parted on a silent moan as her pupils dilated.

  She was his, despite all the protesting.

  “You come here,” he said, threading his fingers in her hair to draw her up into a fierce kiss that made her sag against him, no arguments heard.

  21

  It didn’t seem to matter how many times she told herself she wasn’t going to give in to him.

  It always ended the same.

  Devron always got his way with her.

  He’d been different lately, though. Ever since she was sick, in the few weeks since she’d recovered, he’d been treating her more like an equal—most of the time, at least. Just as Melody convinced herself that he’d turned a new leaf and was dropping the whole Alpha-Omega bit, he’d reassert his dominance in the most irritating way, making her reconsider everything.

  He was kind and considerate most of the time, then suddenly, he’d flip a switch and be cocky, demanding, entitled . . . and damn her, but she responded. Every. Single. Time.

  She could tell something between them had changed. Between the illness, her talking to Sina, and the weeks of mind-blowing sex, something had shifted. She didn’t know what, but Melody could sense a train coming, and she knew better than to stand on the tracks waiting for it to slam into her. She had to stop giving in to him.

  Starting now, she chastised herself as his wonderful lips trailed a blazing path down the side of her neck. His breath tickled and sent shivers through her that quickly turned to liquid heat pooling between her legs. That always happened when he touched her. It didn’t matter how he touched her. It always seemed to morph into the same throbbing, pulsing hunger between her thighs.

  He sucked at the place where her throat met her shoulder, his teeth grazing over her sensitive skin. Melody gasped, arching into him.

  Now, she scolded herself again.

  It was just so hard to leave him. It was so hard to pull herself away from the pleasures a man with twelve fingers and a sex curse could give her. Especially when one of his six-fingered hands was sliding between her legs, parting the coarse curly hair that guarded her slick sex.

  She pressed her thighs tightly together, squeezing her eyes shut too as Devron’s teeth scraped against her again, sending wicked shivers to the end of every nerve in her body.

  Devron’s fingers traced the seam of her sex, back and forth, over and over again until her legs were trembling with the effort it took to keep her knees squeezed shut. He kissed across from one side of her neck to the other, and the thrill of his hot breath on that new spot nearly made her melt right then and there. Instead of melting, Melody whimpered. It was a pitiful sound, high-pitched and pathetic, a tiny, desperate, helpless mewl. Devron heard it for exactly what it was, chuckling at her as his fingers pressed between her legs more insistently.

  “Trying to keep me out?” he asked as his other hand moved to cover one of her breasts, fingers twining around her aching nipple.

  She gasped, arching into his hand despite herself.

  “You say that like I get a choice in any of this,” she grunted, clenching her jaw tight against the desperate need to grind her hips into his hand, to feel his fingers on her slit, sliding through the wetness that only he could ever inspire. It had gone on for too long. She’d been indulging herself in the amazing sex, trying to fool herself into thinking she could be okay with this life—especially if the alternative was death—but that’s all it was . . . fooling herself.

  Devron stilled on top of her, his eyes narrowing and pinning her in place much more effectively than his big body positioned above her.

  “Again, Melody?” he groaned. He sounded bewildered that she still harbored the same grievance, and his expression said he was upset that she chose now to air it again.

  “Yes,” she spat, shoving him away, wriggling out of his grasp, though he didn’t let her get far. “Believe it or not, all the good treatment in the universe isn’t going to make me like being a slave.”

  Devron scoffed, pulling back before she lashed out at him physically. He’d seen her try before. Though he didn’t expect her to be able to circumvent th
e imprint, he wasn’t taking any chances with Melody’s temper.

  “You mean to tell me there’s no part of this experience you’ve enjoyed?” he asked skeptically, taking delight in the way Melody’s whole face lit up with telling embarrassment.

  “Fuck you,” she growled. “It doesn’t matter how great the sex is. I never consented to this relationship. You forced it on me.”

  “If I hadn’t—”

  “I know, I know, Nor would have,” she said, cutting him off. “Look, I get it. I get that you saved me from something that was probably going to be way worse, and I’m grateful for that, really. I appreciate your looking out for me while I was sick and stuff, and I know I’m probably better off with you than with anyone else on this crazy-ass planet, but I can’t forget that I don’t have a choice.”

  Devron was still and quiet for a long moment, keeping the blankets from Melody so that she had to stay there naked in front of his wandering eyes. She reached for the sheets, but he refused to relinquish them, resulting in a spirited tug-of-war.

  “Why do you have to be such a jerk?” Melody grunted, yanking on the sheet. Was it so much to ask to cover herself up when she was trying to have a real conversation?

  “You have no idea what a jerk I can be, Omega,” he said, snatching the blanket hard enough that Melody fell forward when she refused to loosen her grip on it. Suddenly, she was on her elbows, ass in the air, bare and lifted toward him. “And if you insist on testing me, perhaps I should give you an introduction to a spanking?” he said, his hand falling to her ass and gripping it menacingly, threatening her like an unruly child.

  It was infuriating. Degrading. Disrespectful. And Melody was horrified to realize how much his threat turned her on.

  Before Devron could realize it, she pulled herself upright and scrambled out of the bed, picking up whatever scraps of clothes that were on the floor to cover herself with. Who cared whom they belonged to? She needed to get away from the sexy alien and his hormones of doom or she was going to lose her mind for good.

  22

  Melody’s body trembled as she walked further away from their—no, his, she reminded herself, as nothing was really hers—apartment. The bond pulled at her and made her itch to turn around.

  She couldn’t believe how close she’d come to giving in to him. Again.

  What was it about the handsome, exotic alien that she couldn’t resist?

  Besides the chemical reaction she had whenever he was near. Because it did feel like more than that.

  Or maybe she only told herself that to try and soothe the blow to her ego that came with giving in to him so completely. She’d given him far more than she ever should have, and there was no taking it back now. No rewinding the clock.

  But she could try to do better in the future.

  That started with staying strong in the face of his seduction attempts.

  More precisely, it started with going far enough away from him that she wasn’t so turned on. Once her blood cooled, she could return. It wasn’t as if she had any choice. Melody knew there was no hope for her to survive on this planet on her own. The Selithi wouldn’t provide lodging for her without having a Canian caretaker, and any Canian other than Devron was likely to turn her back over to Nor for the huge bounty he no doubt had on her head.

  Melody shuddered.

  She really didn’t have a better choice, and that was what soured her stomach so thoroughly.

  It didn’t help that there was a part of her that wanted to give Devron the benefit of the doubt. By all accounts, he was well-liked by the Selithi he dealt with, and he’d risked his neck to get her away from Nor. And even when she’d been difficult, he’d never mistreated her in any serious way.

  It also didn’t help that the Selithi village was such a pleasant place, nestled under a low blanket of dense clouds and surrounded by mountains and the shadows of swaying palm-like trees. Lots of the lizard aliens were minding their own business, clearly going to or from work, running errands, always with a task of some sort. But it was the others who made Melody’s heart twinge.

  The pairs, huddled close together. Couples with claws entwined as they strolled and made idle conversation.

  She knew Devron would give her that if she asked.

  At this point, Melody was pretty sure Devron would give her just about anything she asked for if it would keep her from acting out and being so openly miserable.

  It was a hollow victory.

  There was nothing he could give her, no demand of hers that could be met which would satisfy them both. Honestly, at this point, Melody wasn’t even sure there was a solution that would satisfy either of them. To his credit, Devron seemed to be put off by the idea of being with her after she’d so clearly expressed her reluctance and conflicted feelings. He hadn’t forced the issue, even during his frenzy.

  Another complication that made her wonder why she couldn’t just live and let live. He’d obviously put forth so much effort for her, and she’d done nothing of the sort in return.

  Guilt certainly wasn’t going to help anything, though.

  Melody stared out at the distant waters, trying to find where the sky met the sea, but the fog blurred the lines, making everything hazy.

  Even though it was always warm in this village, when the wind blew through the trees, ruffling long, reaching fingers of fronds, Melody hugged herself tight and shivered, looking over her shoulder.

  She couldn’t see Devron’s place anymore, but she was sure she’d have no trouble navigating her way back to it. It was the attention she was starting to gather from the reptilian aliens who weren’t used to seeing her all the time. She’d ventured past the normal bounds of her neighborhood, and her otherness was undeniable in the open, blatant stares and barely-hidden murmurs.

  Before the Selithi version of the cops were called on her, Melody decided to high-tail it out, skittering back in the direction she’d come from, trying to disappear in the crowd.

  Not easy when you’re the only one of your species in the hemisphere.

  Concerned whispers and furrowed brows seemed to be the extent of the strange Selithis’ willingness to get involved. Melody quickly realized no one was pursuing her and she didn’t need to run. In fact, running was only going to draw more attention to herself. After a number of wrong turns, though, she also realized she was lost.

  “Shit,” she murmured under her breath, stamping her foot. She knew how to find her way back, but she didn’t want to do it that way. That way felt . . . too close. She had to open herself too much.

  But what choice did she have? If she stayed hidden in this alley until Devron had to come find her, she wasn’t so sure his reluctance to punish her would stay intact.

  “I hate you so much,” she grumbled, even though she wasn’t sure whom she was directing it to. Maybe whoever came up with this whole cockamamie Alpha-Omega bullshit to begin with?

  That seemed solid enough.

  She took a deep, deep breath as she closed her eyes and released most of the irritation zipping through her nerves. It was a distraction she couldn’t afford when she needed to focus.

  Blowing out the breath just as slowly, Melody opened herself up and immediately felt the pull deep inside her, a divining rod searching for water. She couldn’t deny the tug snapping her back to Devron’s vicinity with remarkable precision. It was just a couple of blocks before Melody recognized where she was and then another before she was back outside his door.

  She swallowed as she reached for the knob, trying to push down that tug, trying to shut off the pull. But now that she’d opened it like that, it was going to be harder to shut off. It was always harder. She needed to make it stick next time. That’s all there was to it.

  “I’m glad you’re all right,” Devron said to her as she walked in.

  That’s all.

  No anger, no questions. Just gratitude for her safety.

  He wasn’t making this fucking easy, that was for damned sure.

  “All right
’s kind of a relative term, you know?” she said with a shrug.

  Devron sighed heavily enough that it made Melody pause, eyes narrowing. His shoulders were slumped, his entire body language reading defeat. But she was the one without any freedom. What could he have to be so glum about?

  “You were right,” he said, and Melody’s heart jumped to her throat. She didn’t even know what he was referring to, but hearing those words of praise—if it could even be called that, under the circumstances—from him just did something to her.

  “A–about?” she stuttered, her mouth too dry for some reason. Probably because she was so close to him and his pheromones worked way too damn well on her.

  “You. I cannot be with an Omega who is so clearly unhappy in her role. It would not be satisfying for either of us.”

  Melody’s blood ran cold. He wasn’t meeting her eyes. He wasn’t looking at her at all. That wasn’t like Devron. Normally, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  His guilty look could only mean one thing in her mind.

  “So, you’re going to kill me?” she asked, ashamed of the hysteria cracking through her otherwise calm tone.

  Devron scoffed before finally looking her way, the hardness in his pale eyes enough to send a shiver down her spine to the tips of her toes. Melody couldn’t identify the nature of the shiver, but different parts of her warred with whether to pull away or closer to him. In the end, she wound up rooted in place, kind of swaying as she hugged herself as if that could protect her from these barbaric aliens.

  “No, Melody. I’m not going to have you executed.”

  “Then—”

  “If you’d let me speak,” he growled, harshly enough that Melody’s jaw snapped shut, cowed into silence.

  “I plan to ask Sina and her mate, Gaddis, to escort you far enough away that you no longer feel the bond. I don’t have the funds to get you off-planet, but I can protect you from the bond you have no control over.”