by A. G. Wilde
“What is it?” Athena searched his face for clues, watching in horror as he sunk to his knees, both of his hands covering his ears.
“Xul! What’s happening?!” She clutched him, her gaze darting around the enclosure but none of the little men were to be seen anywhere.
“It’s Yce,” he said.
“Yce?”
“Something is wrong,” he said through gritted teeth. “Something is wrong on the Isclit ship.”
23
Xul was crumpled on his knees and was rambling.
She assumed he was rambling because nothing he said made sense.
“Stop him...” He groaned out.
He seemed to be talking to himself, having some sort of conversation, and she couldn’t quite figure out what he meant by any of it.
“You have to calm him down.”
“Calm who down?” For a minute, she wondered if he was referring to himself in the third person, and if so, that didn’t creep her out one bit. No, not at all.
“The mission depends on it,” he groaned out again, gritting his teeth, veins popping up on his forehead.
Athena’s eyes widened as she looked at him, unsure of what to do.
What did you do when your demon appeared to be demon-possessed?
Her demon?
He wasn’t her anything. At least...not yet. Was he?
And just as suddenly as it had started, Xul removed his hand from his head and leaned his head back, shaking his head from side to side.
“What the hell was that about?”
Xul’s eyes locked with hers.
“I just interfaced with Yce. He’s on the Isclit ship.”
“Wait, what? You just spoke to someone in space? How?”
“Yce is telepathic. He can connect with almost any being in the universe. However, distance is sometimes a factor.”
Athena took a moment to digest that information.
“Did he say anything about the other humans on board? Are they alright?”
Xul nodded. “All humans are...alive.”
That didn’t sound too positive but she’d take it. “Alive” was better than the other option: dead.
“So who were you telling to calm down?”
Xul’s expression became thoughtful. “Crex.”
“And who is that? Another of your men?”
“He is a Ceqtaq. Stubborn. Hard to deal with. The most wayward of my men but one of the best fighters,” Xul said.
Ceqtaq.
She’d heard that word somewhere before.
Then it came to her.
The High Tasqals that day when she was being auctioned.
They’d mentioned buying Piper to put with a Ceqtaq.
“He’s bonded,” Xul murmured, still in his thoughts.
“What now?”
“He’s bonded. Crex has bonded.”
“What do you mean?”
Xul’s eyes met hers. “He has bonded with one of your kind and he is about to blow the mission to protect her.”
* * *
Xul was pacing in what had been a large enough cave when she’d first seen it. Now, it seemed small with him looming in it.
He’d been frowning since he dropped the bomb about one of his men bonding with one of the female humans and, since then, he’d been pacing and shooting glances her away every now and again.
Athena settled back against the zehmip skins and watched him move.
What the Mukkians had done had been nothing short of a miracle.
His wounds seemed to be healing in front of her very eyes.
She assumed their saliva had some sort of healing properties and regardless of how gross that was, she was thankful for it.
She’d managed to tie the zehmip coat around her in a sort of bandeau dress and as she cut another strip of cloth from the coat to tie her hair back, she stopped as she noticed Xul watching her intently.
“What is it?” She whispered.
Xul stalked over to her and took her chin in his hand, tilting her face up toward his.
“What is it with your kind?” He asked.
“What do you mean?” Athena breathed, his sudden closeness doing things to her insides that she could not comprehend.
“You disarm us. Make us feel things that we have trained ourselves not to feel.”
Somehow, it felt as if he was talking about himself, and Athena’s gaze fell to his lips.
“Crex has bonded. That is unheard of. And yet, I find myself...” His words trailed off as he looked deep into her eyes. “Your species has the power to bewitch.”
The chuckle that bubbled within her seemed to catch him off guard.
“You think I’m bewitching you?” Athena chuckled softly.
“From the very first moment I saw you, my body responded in a way it has never done before,” he murmured. Athena’s eyebrows rose. This was news to her. “It wasn’t just your naked body. It was something else.”
Athena slapped his hand from her chin and rolled away from him. But the thought that he had been attracted to her from even then somehow made her tingle inside.
Xul ignored her efforts to get away and climbed on the skins over to her, grasping her hands as he pinned her down, frowning at her.
“What is it about you?” He studied her face.
Athena mimicked his frown. “I can assure you. I am not putting some spell on you.”
“Oh, but you are...” Xul’s gaze dropped to her breasts, which were now pushing up over the tight bandeau.
Xul let go of her hands as he dipped his head to her neck, nipping her skin lightly.
A soft moan escaped her lips, matched by a low one of his own.
“I want you,” he growled. “Now.”
He was just about to rip the dress away from her bosom when three little Mukkians rushed into the room, babbling incoherently.
Xul froze, his face hardening immediately.
“It is here,” he said.
“What is?” Athena breathed, trying to still the fire that had begun to burn within her.
“The Elysium.”
* * *
When they exited the cave, the little men were bustling about excitedly.
Air was swirling around within the camp, similar to how air moved in the direct vicinity of a helicopter. But Athena could see no such craft or vessel.
All the little Mukkians were looking up into the sky at something apparently she alone could not see.
Frowning, Athena looked around her.
Xul stepped in front of her and looked up. In the next few seconds, a large starship appeared out of nowhere.
It was a sleek white that reflected the light of the twin suns.
It was huge, almost covering the entire camp and as it hovered above them, Xul reached back and held her hand in his, glancing back at her as he did so.
“Is this your ship?” She said over the wind.
Xul nodded as a staircase materialized in front of them.
He said something to the Mukkians in their tongue then led her aboard the ship.
The stairs seemed to hover in midair, yet they were firm.
As Athena looked back at the little men then at the desert beyond, she couldn’t say she wasn’t happy to be leaving this sandpit of a planet.
When they boarded, the ship was brightly lit and Athena blinked as her eyes adjusted to the intensity of the light.
“Kyro. Lights please,” Xul said, shading his eyes.
“Oh, yes yes. Sorry about that.” A tall bald-headed alien brushed past them as the door closed and went over to the control panel. The lights soon dimmed to regular intensity and Athena was able to see inside of the ship better.
As Xul led her further inside, he began talking to the tall bald-headed alien about the mission but Athena soon tuned out, her eyes roving around the ship.
There were gadgets everywhere, hanging all over the walls.
Some looked like guns, some were spears, some were intricately designed knives.
&nb
sp; In one corner, was more gear. Shields. Vests. Protective hats. Boots.
“I’m Kyro,” someone said from behind her and Athena spun, her neck craning upward to meet the face of the one who’d spoken.
A thin hand was outstretched toward her and Athena took it warily. The handshake was equally light.
“Athena.”
Xul approached and pulled her into his side.
Kyro’s large eyes followed the moment and she was sure that if he had eyebrows, he would have raised them.
“Is the Elysium cloaked?” Xul asked.
“Of course, it is.” Kyro turned to him and frowned slightly. “We are ready as soon as the time predetermined arrives.”
Xul nodded and motioned toward a section of the ship.
“We will rest and move tomorrow then. Will you be okay piloting us back into space?”
Kyro nodded. “And what about the human?”
Xul glanced at Athena then back at Kyro. “She is mine. I am responsible for her safety.”
Kyro nodded again. “We will launch in twenty minutes,” he said.
With that, Xul spun with her and headed down a section of the ship.
Athena held onto the arm that surrounded her and looked up at him as they walked, frowning.
“What is it, Athena?”
“Who told you that I am yours?” She whispered as they walked into a room that had fluffy pillows on a bed and what looked like a tall shower along the wall.
Xul stalked directly to the shower area and pinned her body against the wall, his eyes burning into hers.
“I showed you before,” he spoke, his voice so low, her ears strained to pick up his words.
“Maybe I need to show you again.”
24
Xul tore off the zehmip coat that was wrapped around her body with one swift movement. He thought she’d be surprised but her mouth slammed into his with as much fervor as he was trying to contain within himself.
Moaning as his body pressed into hers, he felt as she pulled against his loincloth, uttering a frustrated sound when she was not able to remove it.
As he pulled the loincloth off and it fell to the floor, his manhood sprung up between them and he heard her moan into his mouth.
Pressing the button behind her, a warm spray showered down on them and she paused kissing him to raise her face to the falling water.
Xul smiled, reveling in the joy on her face.
He knew she’d have appreciated the shower. It was why it was the first thing he’d headed for once boarding the ship.
Hell, he was enjoying it too.
Showering was usually a monotonous job. Soap, rub, wash. But with Athena’s body pressed against his, the water running down his hair and his shoulders, he could appreciate the shower a lot more.
Picking up one of the biola seeds from the tray in the shower, he rubbed it in his hands and smoothed the lather into her hair.
“Mmm,” Athena moaned, closing her eyes as she inhaled deeply. “It smells like jasmine.”
“I do not know what that is, but I like the smell on you.”
Dipping his head to her lips, he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth as the water rinsed the lather from her hair.
He paused for a second when he felt her small hands in his own hair. She’d done the same thing, taking one of the seeds, creating a lather, and was slowly massaging his scalp.
A low rumble of a moan vibrated in his chest and Athena’s eyes opened slightly before Xul’s mouth crashed into hers again.
Taking another seed in his hand, he created a lather over her shoulders and down her back, moving in slow circles till he reached the curve of her buttocks. Clasping her cheeks, he pulled her into him as his tongue continued to ravage her mouth.
She was so smooth, and soft, and perfect; yet, she was brave, and fearless...a fighter.
“I’ll never forget what you did out there,” he groaned and then she suddenly froze.
“Is that why you’re acting like this?” She looked up at him, her eyes searching his. “Do you think you owe me something?”
“I owe you everything.”
“And I you.”
“But that is not why I’m grabbing your ass and pulling you into me, making you feel every inch of the hardness I want to bury inside your warmth.”
Athena blinked a few times. “You have a way with words.”
It was his turn to blink. “I’m doing this because, despite how I try to ignore it, you are here.” He touched his head. “And now also here.” He touched his heart and Athena’s eyes widened.
Whoa.
But as his mouth crashed into hers again, she knew he was right.
She didn’t want to admit it, but that was what was happening to her too.
She’d felt it clearly when she’d seen him lying unresponsive in the sand.
She hadn’t wanted to lose him then. And she wasn’t sure if she ever wanted to lose him.
Returning his bruising kiss, she gasped as Xul lifted her above his waist, prompting her to wrap her hands around his neck.
His fingers found her folds and he clasped her there, rubbing his finger against her clit as he took one of her nipples into his mouth.
Athena gasped again, her head swinging back as Xul began to draw circles around the throbbing buds—his tongue mimicking the motion his finger was tracing around her clit.
“Oh God. Please...” She begged.
She could feel the thickness of his mushroom brush against her and her pussy throbbed in response.
Wrapping her legs tight around his torso, Athena inhaled deeply as he pushed past her folds.
“Oh shit,” she groaned, holding on to him tighter as he pushed past that first bit of resistance and his head popped in.
A moan shuddered through him as he gripped her ass.
She could feel the power in his arms and it was evident he was trying hard to restrain himself so he didn’t slam all the way into her too fast and too hard.
But as she clenched around him, Athena opened her eyes.
His cock head felt glorious. So fucking thick. She could almost feel the moisture running down her walls at the thought of it spreading her wide.
Raising her hands to grab onto his horns, she held on tight as she lowered herself onto him slowly.
Xul groaned, breaking the kiss to scorch her with the need in his eyes and Athena’s eyes fluttered back in her head.
His cock felt like a ribbed condom and even though she wasn’t riding him yet, she could feel the orgasm building deep within her.
She was going to come, and she was going to come hard.
With a grunt, Xul pressed her back against the shower wall and held her there.
His thrusts began slow, spreading her lips wide as he stretched her, then picked up in pace.
Her entire body was vibrating against the cool stone and Athena screamed his name, biting down hard into his shoulder as her orgasm rocked through her. But Xul wasn’t done yet.
He pummeled into her, his cock pulling out almost completely till he sheathed himself full hilt within her with thrust after powerful thrust.
It felt like there was honey between her legs as he pumped into her, riding out her climax till she collapsed against him.
As she leaned down and sucked on his neck, Xul grabbed her hands and pinned her back against the shower. The spray was still raining down on them and he was looking her in the eyes.
With each thrust, his gaze seemed to become more intense.
“You are my Athena,” he said. “I will protect you with my life.”
As his lips crashed down on hers again, she felt him shudder within her, his cock jerking as it released its load.
Xul broke the kiss to stare into her eyes, the mist surrounding them.
“I mean it,” he breathed.
And the look in his eyes told her he did.
* * *
For the remainder of the evening, Xul discussed battle plans with Kyro, finalizing their tactics while
Athena paced.
Tomorrow was the day. She was going to wake up, head out on a ship, and try to get the other females rescued.
Glancing at herself through one of the reflective panels on the ship, she smoothed down the tunic Xul had found for her to wear.
It felt good to have showered and to be wearing clothes for once.
She was still without underwear but that seemed to be a luxury outside of Earth.
Glancing over at Xul, who was sitting around a small table going over the mission with Kyro, Athena exhaled slowly.
He still had not briefed her about her potential role in any part of the plan.
She didn’t want to come off as impatient but if she was to be of any assistance tomorrow, she needed to know what was happening.
Walking up behind him, she placed a hand on his shoulder and he glanced at her and smiled.
Damn, he was handsome. She didn’t know why she’d been fighting it for so long.
He was handsome. End of.
Yes, his horns reminded her of the devil and of a bull, but damn if he wasn’t a handsome devil...no pun intended.
Pointing to the markings they had on the table in front of them, Athena asked, “Where do I fit in all this?”
Xul passed a glance at Kyro before focusing on the plans again.
“Your role is to stay here, on the ship, where it is safe.”
Athena cocked her head to the side. She was sure she hadn’t heard correctly.
“There is no way I am staying on this ship while I can be of some help out there.” She tried to keep her voice level but she was already gritting her teeth.
“It is the best thing for the mission,” Xul said, but he didn’t look at her.
“Bullshit.”
“I don’t know that word.”
“It means you’re talking nonsense.”
Slight amusement graced his features and Kyro was looking at her as if he was raising his eyebrows again, if he did have any.
“You stay here on the ship.” Xul finally looked at her. “It’s the only way I will know you’re safe.”
“I’m sure you’d appreciate it if I was fighting by your side. I may not be good with fancy weapons but I think on my feet.”
