by Gabby Dark
“I know they’re not. I have a feeling all of it’s true. Whenever I think of him or see an image of him in my memories, I feel anguish and trapped, with no where to run and no one to trust. There was this one woman…her name is Aurora. She’s here. She was captured too, and she was nice to me at the dorms. I think I know her from before. I believe she’s mated to another warrior. He took her away at the auction. His name was…Zavier, Zavar…I can’t remember.”
“Aurora is a human name. I’ve heard it before,” he said. “As for the warrior, I no longer train with the best of them…as I have other duties issued by the King himself. Do you think this Aurora is trustworthy?”
“Yes, and she seems to know me. I was afraid to know about my past. Now, I think I need to know. I want to move on too without all the pain.”
“You can do both, I think. Learn about your past and move on without the pain.” His eyes held this faraway look and he frowned as though he was recalling something traumatic from his own past.
“What do you do when you leave me here?” I asked.
“I check my posts, my traps, and check for new scents.”
“New scents?”
“Barbs. Convicts. Escapees. Or other scavenging aliens. Alien pirates sometimes too. Other raiders as well,” he replied.
“It seems dangerous. Do you like doing that?”
“Yes. Although, the King removed me from active duty so I have no dangerous missions in my near future.”
“Why did he do that?”
“To allow me time to breed with you.”
I swallowed. “Oh. You know, I’d understand if you don’t want that anymore.”
“I never said I don’t.”
“But you said you won’t,” I countered.
“I destroy everything I touch, Freya. I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, softly.
“I’ve lived eighteen years. I’ve been through a lot, I think. Nothing about you says you will hurt me. You can’t be much older.”
“We age differently here. Our hearts beat slower. Soon, you will adjust too.”
“They told me. Next year, I’ll still be eighteen. How old are you anyway?”
He rubbed his chin. “In human years? Probably twenty four.”
I grinned. “Hmmm, I would’ve thought you’d be much older.”
He laughed. “My hair is black as night. Not a gray hair in sight, so how did you figure that?”
“You’re mature. On Earth, it’s different. Girls mature much faster than boys.”
“The average age that boys begin training is around eight. Before that, we are taught at home. By that time, our ǔre will have already been activated either at birth or puberty, depending on how strong we are. Some are sent to universities, depending on their talents. Others are trained to be warriors. We learn soon that we all have to carry our weight and give back somehow.”
“And the girls? What about them?”
“Same for them too. More and more women are deciding not to be warriors, but that is changing now. I assume that when we find the cure more of our women will become pregnant.”
“Your women are so welcoming of us,” I said. “Whenever I visited the market, I’d always see one of them congratulating the human women who were already pregnant, pressing their hands to bellies to sense the babies energies and try to predict auras just like humans on Earth try to predict the sex. It’s nice to see. I’d love to be a mother.” I smiled.
“You will. You deserve that, I know,” he replied.
“My memories scare me. My mother died in childbirth, and I don’t want to repeat the past.”
“Ah…I see.” He narrowed his gaze. “Is that why you showed such a keen interest in adopting one of the orphans?”
I swallowed and leaned back. “Maybe. I told Meriuam what I remembered. She said that there’s nothing for me to worry about and that they’ll make sure nothing happens to me or any babies I have.”
“It’s true. Don’t worry about that. You’re not your mother either. And we’re not on Earth.”
“With the other women, they were able to read their minds either before boarding the ship or shortly after they got here. They already knew their names, their occupations, and their thoughts. With me, not so much. I was shocked, reserved, and complacent. When I woke up, Meriuam said I uttered one thing, ‘I don’t want to go back.’ My memories come unpredictably. The crystal pendant does help some, I think.” I grabbed the stone and squeezed it lightly. “I guess you’ll really think twice about keeping me now, won’t you? Now that you have proof that I’m frail and weak.”
Zark rose from the table with his gaze set on me. He slipped his fingers under my chin and then grasped my forearm and led me to stand. Even at full height, he was still more than several heads taller than me.
“When you were presented to me, the first thing I thought was how beautiful you were. I am not easily manipulated by the sight of beautiful things. So then I thought, it had to be more than just your beauty that captivated me, that stirred something inside me that I’ve never felt before. Don’t you see? The last thing I was thinking about when I accepted you at auction was what you could give me. I saw the fear in your eyes, the desperation, the confusion, and I felt compelled to change that. In the weeks that you were at the dorm, don’t think that I didn’t come to check on you just because you didn’t see me. I did. Every single time, I told myself that maybe you were better of left reading to the orphans at circle time…and I left.”
I gasped. “You…?”
He stroked my face. “All my life, I have been called upon to wreck havoc. With you, I envisioned something else. I…”
He stopped speaking and diverted his gaze. “But that doesn’t matter now…if you wish to protect your womb for fear of what might happen, I wish to honor that right.”
“Zark,” I whispered, smiling. I could’ve responded in a hundred different ways, but the words wouldn’t come. I felt compelled to feel his arms around me, so I lifted myself on my tiptoes, leaned against him, and pressed a kiss to his mouth.
His arms were around me in seconds and I felt whole again, and protected and wanted.
I moaned against his mouth, surprised at how soft his lips felt against mine.
His body was like a boulder, filled to the max with muscles.
I hadn’t known he’d felt this way. And although, he claimed he wasn’t a man, he surely did have a heart.
Why should I deprive myself over fear? I had deprived myself of memories. Of true happiness…
I parted from the kiss and looked up into his stormy gray eyes. “With you, I’m not afraid. What did you envision, Zark? Tell me what you envisioned with me. I want to know.”
“It’s no matter now.”
I pressed my palm to his face and pressed my body closer to his. “Please.” I took both of his hands and placed them on my hips. “I want you.”
“Did they teach you how to seduce a Zunatorian warrior in the dorms or is this all you, sweet Freya,” he whispered against my lips.
I wanted to live before this was all over.
I wanted to get lost in the passion I was feeling.
I wanted to love…
“It’s all me, wanting you.”
Chapter Twelve
Zark
* * *
Freya tasted sweeter than I imagined. Her lips were like the silk of her tunic. Her skin felt like warm velvet against me. Her body was warmer than the sun rays that beamed down my skin whenever I woke up outside in the mornings. My auras went haywire trying to respond to her touch the only way it knew how. We were like two magnets, drawn to each other as if our very lives depended on it.
As I’d just revealed to her, even though she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever had the pleasure of meeting, that wasn’t the only reason why I wanted her. I’d never had a woman in the past. No lovers. No meaningless flings. I was never interested in that. My work kept me occupied. Plus, just like Freya had fears about bearing a child, I had
fears about being a father. What if he was like me? A defiant destroyer?
I didn’t want to think on things that brought me despair now, so I deepened our kiss and got utterly lost in her arms. My hands roamed over her body. The fabric was thin, so her curves felt luscious in my firm grasp.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I whispered against her lips.
“You’re not. This feels good. I promise.”
I caught her gaze.
“I wouldn’t lie,” she said. “Just kiss me again, please.”
This time I grabbed her up by the hips and placed her small, delicate bottom down on the table between our meals. She wrapped her legs around me and I felt myself hardening under my loin cloth. She pressed her fingers against my chest and stroked me, trailing her digits between the dips and bends of my muscles. Her hands were like magic, or rather, she drew the magic right out of me. She pulled at my belt and dipped her hands just below my waistband.
“Freya…”
“I’d love to know what it feels like to be with a man, a tribrid, just like you. If only just once…”
My testicles tightened as her fingers dipped further down. She wrapped her fingers around my aching kuvak and I felt like my spirit was lifted from me.
“It’s real…” she mumbled against my lips. “You’re huge.”
I held back a chuckle and then groaned when her fingers slid across the delicate head of my cock. “Dear gods…” I leaned down, resting my face against her shoulder. I kissed her there, letting my tongue glide across her smooth sun-touched skin. I moved higher against her neck, pressing my lips to the jugular. She cried out and titled her head back as I caressed her slender throat.
My cock throbbed painfully with her fist wrapped around it. My fertile seed was already spilling from the tip, giving her the friction she needed to work me up to the thickest erection I’d had in a long time.
I bit my lip hard and parted from her just a bit. She groaned in disapproval but then I lowered my head and captured her nipple between my lips right through the silk. The cry of pleasure that broke out of her, echoed through the podhouse. I couldn’t deny that I needed to taste her flesh. I needed to feel her tender buds harden against my tongue without a barrier. I moved the garment aside and watched as her top fell down, bunching at her waist.
Her nipples were a dusty pink and hard as pebbles. Her breasts were full and perky. I licked my lips and then wasted no time as I covered her again, sucking one in with urgent need.
Her hands went to my head and her fingers got tangled in my hair. She mewled as I sucked her nipples over and over again until they were red-hot and tender.
The air around us grew sweeter. I knew, for a fact, where the scent came from. Every time Freya blushed or was aroused, I scented her arousal. She wasn’t that different from Zunatorian women, but then again—she was unique. But I didn’t want any other woman. I wanted Freya.
I trailed my hands down her body and touched her core. My fingers passed through her slit. She was wet, soaking and slick. When I pressed my finger to her center, it sunk into her warm heat with ease.
She leaned back on her forearm and threw her head back. I pumped my finger in and out of her and then added another. She was tight and her sheath squeezed around my digits. I thrust into her only stopping short of her delicate hymen.
My name left her lips more than a few times. “Hvit’zark,” she moaned.
I growled as she murmured my full name. My thumb rubbed against something hard right above her opening. She spread her legs more and pushed her pussy upward when I brushed against it a second time. I watched her face contorting into beautiful expressions of passion. I had to know what was making her whimper and shake, so I spread her legs further apart to my view. She opened like a lotus. Her bare lips were plump. Her pretty slit beckoned to me.
With her lovely pussy revealed to me, I came leaking all over the floor. Her eyes widened as she watched me ejaculate right in front of her. The way I understood it, the majority of human men needed actual physical stimulation to have orgasms. For the Zunatorian, any amount of stimuli, even through emotions could do the trick.
“Fuck,” I growled out loud when my erection didn’t subside after I spilled the first round of seed.
Her pussy leaked with honey, so much of it. I stroked the hard pink pebble near the top of her mound and she rocked upward and moaned again.
“What is it? This pink button…”
“My clit. If you keep stroking, I’ll come,” she panted.
“How do you know?”
“Because…because I have touched it,” she said, between clenched teeth.
I imagined the sight of her with her hand between her legs and fingers stroking herself to completion. I licked my lips and pressed one palm against her inner thigh and then knelt before her. The moment my tongue met her pussy, I was addicted. She smelled of paradise and she tasted of honey. I buried my tongue deep into her pussy, hungry for more. I lapped against her clit and she writhed and bucked on the table.
She moaned and cried. Every reaction motivated me. I wanted nothing more than to please her thoroughly. She trembled uncontrollably beneath me and reached for my hair again. She pressed her perfect pussy against my face and panted for more. So I gave her more, licking up her nectar as quickly as she spilled it. She came a second time, and on the third time, she screamed.
I came up licking my lips. I was hard as a boulder and leaking seed like there was no tomorrow.
I wiped her cream from my face with the back of my hand and still I craved more.
Her legs were spread open, ready for me to take her. I could take her now if I wanted to. I could break her—entering where no one had gone before. I could destroy her hymen, destroy her innocence.
I started backing up.
“Zark?” She lifted herself up on the table.
I gathered up my loin cloth. “I’ll be back.”
“But we didn’t do anything,” she mumbled.
“I know. That’s better for you. If I continue, I promise I’ll ravage your virgin body and I won’t be able to stop. There’ll be no going back.”
She panted, her chest rising and falling with each breath. Her pussy lips were still glistening. My cock still raged with avid need.
Before I changed my mind, I tied my tunic around my waist, shoved on my boots, and exited the podhouse. I didn’t make it far. Just beyond the trees. My aching kuvak pulsed with each step, demanding completion and leaking on the ground. I took the wide girth in my hand and pumped myself until I was empty. Empty but yearning for more.
Chapter Thirteen
Freya
* * *
The warm water from my morning shower poured down my body. I cupped some in my hand and splashed it on my face and in my hair.
I loved the showers here. The water smelled of nature. I could stay in here for hours, but too bad the showers were timed. I would’ve opted for a hot bath, but then that would actually require that Zark bring in a large basin and a huge quantity of water to be heated to fill it. The Zunatorians didn’t like waste. I admired them and their culture and their respect for their planet. I had a lot to learn.
Zark had returned last night as promised, but I was already in bed. He sat in the large chair and watched me. I pretended to be sleeping so I could watch him fall asleep. He was peaceful in his slumber and never made a sound.
He left before I woke this morning, but a fruit and muffin breakfast was waiting for me in the center of the table when I woke up. He must’ve been a very effective, stealthy assassin. He had the ability to move around doing the most common tasks without detection. This was a one and a half room podhouse with spaces separated by partitions. I should’ve heard something. Utensils knocking together or something. Was it just me? Maybe I was a hard sleeper. Just like he said, maybe I even snored.
I recalled the advice that Meriuam gave me when I told her the other day that I believed Zark thought I would be a nuisance to him and his assigned dutie
s. But she said, “Some warriors are shy when it comes to women. Most don’t know anything about romance. From the time they learned how to hold a sword, all they’ve been taught to do is how to fight. Maybe Hvit’zark is shy. He seems very patient, so give him time.”
There was something to be said about his patience and not wanting to rush this mating business. I’d heard that some of the human woman had gotten pregnant as soon as the first week with their mates, but now I understood why. Zunatorian warriors were irresistible. And as for Zark, he didn’t seem to have trouble in the romance department at all. He’d known exactly what to say to put my mind at ease. And I trusted that he was speaking the truth and from the heart.
I craved more of his touch. Even now, I couldn’t keep my hands off the places he’d touched last night at supper. We hadn’t even gone all the way and my core was still throbbing just thinking about the orgasm he gave me. I ached with need for him, but he was right; any mating between us would create a lasting bond. I knew it. On the other hand, it was probably too late. I already felt a strong connection to Zark. He understood me better than all the others. All the nurses, my teachers, everyone I’d met on Zunator so far…they wanted my memories, they wanted to know about my past. But Zark…it seemed that all that didn’t matter to him.
Just as the stream of water began to subside, letting me know that my time was up, I heard the door to the podhouse open. I grabbed the towel hanging over the door and wrapped it around my body.
“Zark? Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
I came around the partition to find him with a cloth wrapped around his forearm. Blood stains were on the cloth.
“What happened?” I crossed the distance to get to him.
“I’m fine. It’s already healing. I was dragging something down from the shed and a panel fell on me and cut through my skin.”
“Oh no,” I exclaimed, taking a peek at the flesh-deep wound.
“I can be a total klutz sometimes if I’m not paying attention,” he said.
