by Sue Lyndon
Mine. My human. My mate.
He withdrew from her tightness, almost the entire way, then started another slow push back inside. Again, her snug walls hugged his cock, and he had to pause for a moment, lest he spill himself too soon. He breathed deeply, in and out, and finally regained control.
“Tell me if I hurt you,” he ground out, barely able to speak. Desire gripped him and it was all he could do to keep from pounding into her as if he were crazed. He suspected she needed a bit more time to get used to his size.
“Okay, I will, Xerr,” she whispered.
She quivered and he pulled her cheeks wider apart, so wide her puckered bottom hole was revealed to him. The sight of it, clenching and unclenching, heated his blood and caused him to increase his pace.
“I’m going to fill you with my seed,” he growled. “I’m going to spend inside you repeatedly until it’s dripping down your thighs, little human. You’re mine and I intend to mark you as mine. Over and over again.”
Chapter 15
Caylee replayed Kazzon’s recent words, particularly his promise to fill her with his seed and mark her as his. Heated pulses flittered through her and she gripped the covers tighter. She had no doubt that he meant what he’d said. Any moment now, she expected to feel the warmth of his seed filling her.
Now that she’d become accustomed to his size, he kept increasing his pace as he drove into her. Part of her wanted him to take her harder, but she dared not utter such a desire aloud.
Shame heated her face when she considered her current position—bent over with her center spread wide while her new husband steadily thrust into her. He had her cheeks pulled far apart, too, and she could feel the air drifting against her bottom hole with his every movement.
It wasn’t long before he was truly pounding into her, plunging so deep and fast that with each impact his balls slammed heavily upon her clit. Pleasure coiled low in her belly and perspiration broke out on her temples. She was overheated and panting for breath, bent over with her bottom raised high while Kazzon pumped his massive cock into her.
He tightened his hold on her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh, keeping her in place.
She was his to take, his to use. His to claim.
His wife.
Her stomach flipped at the knowledge.
She certainly hadn’t woken up this morning with any clue she was about to find herself married to a Tarrkuan, let alone taken to his spaceship and claimed. Yet here she was, on the verge of yet another climax while a strict alien she barely knew drove his hardness into her depths with the ferocity of an untamed beast.
When he increased his pace, causing his balls to slap even harder against her clit, she was hurled over the precipice and into an abyss of white hot, undulating pleasure. She gasped as the powerful release swept through her, draining her of all energy. She panted in the aftermath of it, both trying to catch her breath and not fall over while Kazzon continued to pound her.
But she soon realized he wouldn’t let her collapse on the bed. He had a firm hold of her hips and she wasn’t going anywhere. The sound of flesh slapping flesh and his deep growls resounded in the room.
His cock seemed to swell larger inside her and his movements became jerky as shudders affected him. She felt the quakes travel from his body to hers.
Then it happened.
The warmth of his essence shot into her in a series of quick but almost violent pulses. Her fingers tightened around the covers, until her hands ached from clutching the silky fabric.
She remained in place while Kazzon finished filling her with his seed, just as he’d promised. Summoning her strength, she peered over her shoulder and the sight of him pulling his still-hard cock from her pussy sent a quiver through her.
He stared at her intently, almost a glare, and his nostrils flared. Covered in a light sheen of perspiration, with his muscles flexed, and his short dark locks in disarray, he looked like a feral creature.
Or a warrior who’d come to conquer.
She couldn’t deny that she felt thoroughly conquered by him, and she couldn’t resist another peek at his rigid cock. It didn’t appear smaller in the slightest, even though he’d just pumped her full of his seed. Her pulse skittered. She could feel it trickling down her inner thighs, the proof that he’d just claimed her.
Her heart skipped a beat. Was he seriously ready to go all over again?
Is that what he’d meant by over and over? Did he really plan to claim her a second or even a third time (or more!) tonight? While she’d never been with a human man before, based on the things her friends had divulged about their love lives, she didn’t think human men possessed the same stamina as a Tarrkuan.
Her tummy fluttered and she turned her head back around, still remaining in place, with her bottom lifted high in the air and Kazzon’s seed dripping down her thighs. He hadn’t released his grip on her hips yet. She felt his eyes on her and knew he was staring at her ass and pink folds. In fact, the way he was holding her hips caused her cheeks to remain spread wide, and she flushed all over again as she considered this vulnerable position.
She drew in a breath and opened her mouth, prepared to say something, though she wasn’t exactly sure what, when her husband’s deep rumbling voice floated over her.
“Now you belong to me, little human.” Leaning closer, he trailed a hand down her back before reaching her hair. He threaded his fingers through her locks and gave a slight tug that drew a gasp from her. “We’ve received the marriage blessing from Tarrkuan priests, and we’ve consummated our union. There can be no undoing what’s been done, do you understand?”
She thought she detected a note of warning in his voice, but she couldn’t be sure. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest and her mind whirled with all that had happened to her in the last few hours. “I-I understand,” she finally replied, her shaky voice betraying her nerves.
“I will still allow you to say goodbye to your family, even your friends, if you wish, Caylee,” he said, tightening his grip on her hair, “however, while you are out in the dome-city, I expect you to be on your best behavior, whether or not I am with you at the time.”
“What is it you’re worried I might possibly do?” She held no power in New Leesburg. She wasn’t an Enforcer or an elected Leader. She was a regular citizen who worked in a bakery. Well, except for the fact that she was also a Tarrkuan bride, though that special status didn’t give her any power. Quite the opposite—it meant she was destined to become the wife of a Tarrkuan male. Even if she tried to escape that fate, apparently.
“I am not certain,” he said after a pause. “But I know you didn’t wish to go to Tarrkua and marry one of my kind. And, given that you attempted to switch lives with another human female, I cannot say that I trust you yet.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m not going to try to hide from you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Or try to get the Leaders to save me. Even if I approached one of them for help, I doubt it would do me any good since I should’ve already left Earth—they’d probably be angry with me for breaking the treaty between our worlds.”
New Leesburg was an enclosed settlement. There was nowhere she could run, nowhere she could hide. And if she approached the Leaders and asked for help, they’d likely summon Enforcers to detain her, just until they could hand her back over to Kazzon. After all, they were already married.
He released her hair and guided her onto her back. She rested on the covers beneath him, praying he hadn’t seen black mist around her face just now. She didn’t have plans to escape Kazzon, but that didn’t mean she was happy about being forced to become his wife—even if he sometimes caused her heart to flutter and made her see stars in bed. But if some crazy opportunity to escape him arose, she honestly didn’t know whether or not she would take it.
The truth was, she’d never asked for this life. No Tarrkuan bride asked for this life. They were all victims of a treaty made long ago between two desperate worlds, one in need of fertile females and the other i
n need of fuel.
Unconsciously, she placed her hand on her stomach, wondering just how long it would be until Kazzon got her pregnant.
While these thoughts sped through her mind, he stared down at her, his dark eyes as intense as ever. She wished she could roll over and hide her face, but he’d straddled her when he turned her onto her back. She couldn’t move unless he got off her.
He brought his hand to her face and gently caressed her cheek, his warm fingers sending tingles throughout her body. She peered at him, unable to look away, mesmerized by his huge alien eyes even though she longed to hide from him. It was still rather unnerving, knowing she would never be able to lie to him about anything. Even little white lies were off limits.
“If you ever try to leave me, little human, I will hunt you down.” Despite his threatening words, his tone remained quiet and gentle, a soft rumble that settled over her.
Unable to reply, she simply nodded her understanding. Of course he would hunt her down. She suspected any Tarrkuan male would hunt his runaway bride down.
A shiver rushed through her when she considered what would happen to her if she ever ran away and he caught her. She didn’t want to think about it and soon pushed such thoughts aside.
This is my life now, she told herself. I need to make the best of it.
But she held no illusions that it would be easy.
Chapter 16
Worry glinted in Caylee’s stark blue eyes, and Kazzon pushed away the sudden guilt that fell over him. He hadn’t meant to be harsh as he threatened her, but he needed her to understand that she was his wife and his people mated for life.
With the marriage blessing bestowed and their mating union consummated, there was no way out for her, even though she hadn’t wanted to become a Tarrkuan bride in the first place.
Her friends and family wouldn’t be able to help her, neither would her dome-city’s Leaders or Enforcers. He wanted to allow her time to say goodbye to those she cared about, but he didn’t want her asking for help and causing a disruption inside New Leesburg. He didn’t want her cultivating an anti-Tarrkuan sentiment, particularly when he was attempting to get the dome-city’s Leaders to agree to the new treaty.
Turning the TEC600 off remained an option, but it was still his last resort, and now that he’d married a human female from New Leesburg—a woman who had friends and family in this dome-city—he didn’t wish to harm those she cared about.
How strange, this tenderness he was starting to feel for Caylee. Sometimes when he looked at her, his chest tightened and he had trouble breathing. Other times, warmth flowed through him.
He couldn’t claim to understand it, but he knew one thing for certain—he was grateful the Allocators had agreed to assign Caylee as his wife.
Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers, and he pushed her thighs apart and settled himself between her legs, desperate to be inside her again. She sighed softly and melted into him, and he felt some of the worry draining from her. This pleased him.
He wanted her to respect him and not attempt anything foolish—like trying to escape their union—but he also wanted her to feel safe with him.
Above all, he was her protector.
As he pushed inside her tightness, he thought of the moment he’d first seen her. When she’d been seated on a bench outside the bakery, flushed and beautiful, with her golden locks in disarray and smudges of white staining her apron. Something about her had called to him and he considered himself fortunate that he’d caught her in the streets past curfew.
And there was something deeply satisfying about capturing one’s bride.
Holding Caylee’s gaze, he began to pump in and out of her again, but this time he took her a bit slower, savoring each deep thrust as the passion between them built. He didn’t surrender to the waves of pleasure sweeping over him until she’d found her release first, but once she cried out and he felt her insides contract around his cock, he erupted into her with a fierce roar.
In the aftermath of their joining, he withdrew from her and proceeded to gather her in his arms. He still planned to take her at least once more before sleep, but the aching need to hold her suddenly gripped him. An unusual sense of peace filled him as she nestled her blonde head against his chest. Her rapid exhales tickled his chest, though they eventually became steadier as she recovered from their exertions. She was so tiny in his arms, the urge to protect her always rose inside him.
“Where exactly on Tarrkua do you live, Xerr?” she asked after a long pause, shifting to peer up at him, an inquisitive expression taking over her features. If he wasn’t careful, her wide blue eyes might swallow his soul.
“I live outside the capital city of Ashorr,” he replied. “My home overlooks the Struvvan Lake.”
“I see. Does your family live near you?”
Unease settled over him, but he couldn’t blame his little bride for being curious. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, seeking to calm himself before he replied. “No, my parents, as well as my three older brothers, live on a compound in the neighboring city of Machorr.”
“Oh. A compound?” Her eyes widened a bit further.
“Yes, but I prefer to live alone, rather than on my family’s compound.” Members of the ruling class usually lived on huge compounds with their entire extended families. Kazzon, however, preferred the safety of solitude. When he was alone, he wouldn’t see the many lies that passed between others, particularly his relatives.
To his surprise, a look of understanding filled Caylee’s eyes. “You like to live alone because of your power,” she said. “I imagine it would be overwhelming to live with your rather large family and constantly see the… black mist. Um, I mean, not that I’m saying your family members lie a lot, I-I don’t even know them, but—”
“You are correct, little human,” he cut her off and forced a thin smile. Her perceptiveness stunned him. He hadn’t expected to discuss such deep personal matters with Caylee on their first night together. It wasn’t like him to open up to another soul, particularly a female he’d just met, but he got the sense that she understood his pain due to some very personal reasons of her own.
“Tell me about your family,” he said, both wanting to change the subject but also wishing to learn more about the female who would belong to him forever.
She stiffened and he sensed her hesitation. “Well, my parents both work in the Trade Office. You know, they negotiate trades with other dome-cities and coordinate travel between them when a Leader must visit another city. My brother, Wilson, is just about to finish school and then he’ll join them working in the same office. He’s only fifteen but he’s very smart and he’s skipped a few grades.”
At the mention of her brother, Kazzon remembered that he would need to make sure the equipment and technology Wilson had used to create a palm print for Julie was confiscated. He couldn’t allow such technology to remain in the hands of the humans. He sighed and pushed this thought aside for now. Tomorrow, he would take care of the matter.
“Do you miss living with your family?” he asked. “Or did you like living in Julie’s old house all by yourself?”
She settled back into his embrace and her eyelashes fluttered against his chest every time she blinked. Her breaths continued to tickle him, and he stroked her hair slowly, patiently, while he waited for her answer. It didn’t escape him that she’d stiffened again. Apparently, he had touched upon a difficult subject. But he didn’t withdraw his question, for he wanted to better understand his little human bride.
“It’s complicated.” She emitted a deep sigh. “I don’t like living alone and I do miss living with my parents and brother, but sometimes when I visit them, certain things happen that make me think maybe I really prefer to live on my own. Does that make sense? I mean, my parents’ marriage has suffered in the last couple of years. They’ve been having difficulties and when I still lived with them, I always ended up being the mediator—it was either that or listen to them scream at one another for
hours. I didn’t like that, and I don’t miss it.”
“And your brother? Does he act as the mediator in your absence?”
“No, and I think that’s why they’ve been struggling more lately, because I’m not there to defuse their fights. Wilson stays out of it and he spends most of his time in his room.”
He felt her swallow hard and a shudder moved through her. His chest tightened and he snuggled her closer, wanting to comfort her. Though the topic of their conversation was partly painful, he realized he hadn’t spoken to another person in such a manner, one on one, for this length of time in years. But no black mist floated up from Caylee. She was talking about herself and her family and sharing some of her secret pains, and she spoke only truths.
“It is not your responsibility to fix your parents’ mating union, little human,” he said in a gentle tone. “Nor is it your brother’s. I hope you do not blame yourself for the difficulties they are having.”
She relaxed slightly in his arms. “Thanks for saying that. I-I know you’re right and my friends have told me the same thing over the years, but I can’t help feeling guilty that I’m no longer there to help them on a daily basis.” She paused and sucked in a rapid breath. “And now that I’m leaving Earth, what will happen to them?”
Kazzon caressed a hand down her back, unsure of how to respond. On Tarrkua, divorce wasn’t an option. His people mated for life and never strayed from their mating unions. But he knew this wasn’t the case on Earth. He’d heard that on Caylee’s planet, divorce and infidelity were common. Were her parents unfaithful to one another? Did that explain their difficulties?
“Your parents will forge their own paths,” he finally replied, hoping his vague response satisfied her. “You and your brother are not responsible for their happiness.”
A long silence stretched between them. At first, he thought she might’ve fallen asleep, but her soft voice soon drifted to him, as gentle as a leaf riding a light but steady breeze.
