by Layla Stone
“Sci.”
Sci was overwhelmed with a new feeling. A sensation of power. It radiated inside him.
Lining up his sex with her opening, he pushed in slightly, controlling himself now, refusing to finish like his body was demanding. But Sci was holding off, he needed to be all the way in. The feeling was too amazing. He could not wait and continued to push until he was fully inside her.
Sasha’s thighs wrapped tightly around Sci’s hips.
Leaning down, he saw Sasha’s face. Her eyebrows were pinched, and her mouth was slightly open. “How close are you?” he asked, knowing she couldn’t answer. Her mind was in an alternate state, a hyper-aware state, but she could hear him. Feel him.
He could see it in her mind. The truth. She was close, but the overstimulation was making her climax take longer to build. Which he hoped meant that, when it did crest, it would be nuclear.
He pulled out and slid back in, her hips rushing to meet with his. She was desperate for release. The faster he went, the more her orgasm coiled. The mini lights began to come together, and Sasha clawed his back, moving with him, hungry for him, craving her finish. He was only two more strokes in when Sasha began to clamp down all around him, and he felt his own release coming. Refusing to finish, he thrust inside her hard, and again. Sasha screamed, squeezing him tighter. He moved without thought, primal and frantic, over and over. Demanding, plundering.
Surprised, Sci felt Sasha’s sheath squeeze him again, and this time, it took him under, and he released a flood of seed, overcome with ecstasy. He wrapped his hands around her until he could breathe again. Returning her mind from the hallucination, he let her see the cabin.
Sci pulled out and fell next to her, unable to form words or thoughts. Sasha’s lips pressed against his chest in a sweet kiss, eliciting a feeling in him that he never thought could exist. What else was his kind missing out on? There were many benefits to building relationships. A physical association with a unique intimacy. Cerebrals didn’t form bonds like he had with his brother Chollar, which was why his sibling had warned him that their relationship was considered unusual and that many of the Elders were monitoring Chollar when he was within range. Cerebrals were single entities. That worked to keep the planet working smoothly. Everyone had a job and did that job until they died. Children were born to keep up the population, but they were gestated in artificial wombs and conceived by two randomly selected individuals.
This connection Sci shared with Sasha was stronger than the one he had with even his brother. There was a greater magnitude of care, interest, and need.
Sci felt Sasha’s fingertips run in chaotic patterns over his skin, and he allowed the touch because he no longer shunned it—not from her.
Hours later, Sasha was fast asleep, and Sci was lying next to her, wondering how to initiate another round. He keenly felt the need for her. But then, little by little, Sci felt something was…he couldn’t pinpoint the emotion, but something was there—in his mind.
He tried to find the source as the mental force continued to grow. He sat up, rubbing his temple. The pressure hit its peak and then snapped within Sci’s consciousness with painful force. It was a foreign feeling, and Sci didn’t like it. It felt like a hook. Something had claimed part of his mind. He tried to fight it, but it was like the line wasn’t actually physical.
Concerned, Sci doubled his efforts to find the source. When nothing he did turned up any results, he turned to Ansel, telepathically waking him up and demanding help.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Payday
Sasha woke up alone. Even after a shower and an hour of waiting, Sci didn’t show up. She didn’t like the silence in the cabin. It was empty and hollow without her Cerebral. Trying telepathy out for the first time, she mentally called his name.
Sci? Can you hear me?
No answer.
After the night they’d had and the mind-blowing experience they’d shared, she woke up alone. It felt kind of trashy, and she resented him for it. Or maybe she was angry because she wanted him around, especially since she was supposed to be leaving today on a transporter. Instead of spending the last few hours with her, he was gone.
It stung.
He’d better find me before I leave or I’ll shred his bedding to pieces.
Reluctantly, she requested an escort to the main galley for some food. A Federation Yunkin who had joined her grabbed a plate for himself, too. “Are you excited to finally get off this station? Must be boring to do nothing all day.”
“Yes, being on a station is difficult because I’m used to a lot of space. I grew up on a planet. I like having room to explore.”
The Yunkin gave her a once over and didn’t seem to like what he saw. “Which one?”
“Which planet? Lotus Nexis.”
His look turned predatory. “Oh, really? I’ve heard good stories about Lotus Nexis. Lots of talented females there. What’s your name again?”
Sasha did not like his tone or his insinuation. Other than Rannn, this male was the first Yunkin to engage her in conversation, and he was reducing her down to a sex-worker. It bothered her more than she would ever admit. “Yeah, well, I’m not a worker from Lotus Nexis. I just said I grew up there.”
He smirked. “Same thing, isn’t it? It’s not like you don’t know how to work your charms. It’s got to be bred in.”
It didn’t just sting now. Now, his words burned her insides, but she wasn’t the kind to let it fester. “Well, you’re ugly, so when you go there and find out you’re paying more, it’s because no one wants to let you touch them.” Immature, sure, but the Yunkin had pissed her the hell off. And with that, she left.
Back in her room, she found the captain waiting for her. Sci still wasn’t there. Her heart dropped, wondering if this was it. She was going to be escorted to the transporter, and Sci was gone. How could he do this to her?
“Ready to go?”
No. Never. At least not until she destroyed Sci’s bed—the only thing he had—and deleted the archives from the Minky so he had to re-download and find his old spot. “Where?”
“Training.”
Oh. “Sure.” She could feel relief flooding her. “Do you know where Sci is?” She put down the food and followed the captain to the training room. She looked around, wondering in vain if he would cross her path.
“No, I don’t. But if I had to guess, I would say he’s with Ansel. He would be the only other person that would take Sci from his room.” That gave Sasha some comfort, but she wanted to know why, and she hated that she couldn’t connect with Sci to demand answers. “We are going to start with self-defense.”
Another question was on her tongue when the trainer called out instructions from the sideline. There was no warm-up. A nameless Yunkin moved in front of her, and Sasha heard Rannn say, “Defend yourself in three…two…one. Go.”
The male quickly swung at her. He missed only because she was quick to jump back. Had she been closer, she would have been hit with his sledgehammer-sized fist. To her delight, she was able to evade his next lunge and kick. After that, it got interesting. Rannn gave two of his officers stunners and counted down.
Training with two males was much easier than one. It was like the quicker she had to focus on the attack, the better her mind paid attention. She was able to dodge and weave between the two larger Yunkins with a big smile on her face.
One of the fighters cursed at her then flung the stunner at her face. The other male threw the stunner to her left, making her move right, but he anticipated her and landed a right cross to her temple. Blinding white light exploded, and Sasha went down and stayed down.
Taking several deep breaths, she pushed through the throbbing pain and stood up, ready to start again. But there was one problem. The guy who had hit her was suddenly lifted into the air, grasping at his neck as if the life were being choked out of him. Apparently, it was. His lips turned blue, and his breathing came out in an awful wheeze. Sash
a looked at the males around the room, and the other soldiers stepped back from her.
Rannn and Pax had matching smirks.
Pax reached into his pocket, pulled out two keleps, and shoved them into the captain’s waiting hand.
Sasha waited to see if either of them was going to say something, but no one did. “Does someone mind telling me what’s going on here?” she said, pointing to the levitating guard. “I thought this was training.” When they all started laughing, she felt as if she’d just become the butt of some joke. Figures. “You’re a bunch of jerks.” Turning on her heels, she left the training room and headed back to her quarters. Sci was there, sitting on his bed reading, but instead of a sweet greeting from him, he looked as if he were seriously pissed off.
What in the world?
“Where have you been?” she asked.
“I was with Ansel. We were going over Cerebral biology.” His tone was clipped, and his lips were pinched.
Sasha didn’t know why he was so angry. She was the one who had every right to be upset after waking up alone, getting her head smashed in, and then becoming the laughing stock of the training room in the process. Plotting her verbal attack, she walked to the small counter and grabbed a drink, feigning calm, when in fact, every second she kept quiet was another moment that made her want to act out violently. “And you were so distracted you couldn’t tell I was wondering where you were for hours?”
The air in the room got an odd scent, and Sci’s eyes were glowing. “You went into that training room without hesitation. What did you think was going to happen? You have no business training with males over twice your size.”
The cup in her hand cracked. He didn’t. He did not just insinuate that she was a weak female. Pulling her index finger to her mouth, keeping in the tirade she wanted to say, she kept quiet and stomped to the door.
She could feel her stomach start to wiggle, and just like last time, she was slowly lifted off the ground. “Put me down, now!” Sci flipped her around and made her arms and legs immobile. Her control broke. “You do not get to control me. You do not get to dictate what I can and can’t do! I will not stay and listen to anything you have to say, so let me go. Now.”
Sci moved until he was a breath away from her face. “You have no extra abilities. You’re quick, and that’s an advantage, but not against males that are as large as Yunkins, who have been trained since birth to fight. I,”—he pointed at his chest—“would fail in a fight with them if I didn’t have my Cerebral abilities. Do you get that? Do you get that you were fighting with someone who could honestly hurt you?”
Those punches. They hurt. “I’ll heal, and then I’ll do better next time.” It was a threat that she knew would fire him up. And, oh, did it ever.
Sci’s jaw was tight. “Look how easy it is to control you.” He flipped her upside down and manipulated her body to kneel in front of him, head down like a slave. “You think I can’t do this while you’re in the training room? You think I can’t stop you from ever going back there?”
He wouldn’t do that. He was bluffing. She hoped.
“No, Sasha, I would. And I’d do it knowing how much it angers you, and how much it would embarrass you. But I’d do it because when you get hit, I feel it. I feel your pain, and I can’t stand it.” He was speaking into her ear now and put an image of them back in the training room into her mind. He made her watch as another Sasha was fighting the two males she had just been with. Then, when she was hit, the male didn’t float in the air, he was cut in two and blood was everywhere. The other male she was training with went down, grabbing his head and screaming. “This is what I wanted to do to them. This is what could have happened. But it didn’t. Not because I wanted to control myself, but because I didn’t want to lose you. Had I killed them, the recourse might have backfired on you, and I will do anything, anything to keep you.”
Sasha’s skin prickled as if electrical currents were running up and down her body. She was still angry. Pissed even. But seeing the bloody lumps of flesh on the training mat, she worried Sci was telling the truth.
Then she felt his forehead against hers. Without warning or change in the scent of the room, he pulled her back into his chest and whispered, “I do not like this. I don’t want us like this. I am sorry.”
She didn’t want to fight either, but she couldn’t stop the emotions. “I was so pissed at you. If I left and didn’t say goodbye, I would have been…it would have broken my heart.” She never wanted to have a repeat of what had happened when her mother told her goodbye.
It was too painful. Sasha pushed the images of her mother on the blacktop being attacked by Madame Allure’s security away.
“It would have broken me, too. I don’t want you to leave me.”
“I don’t want to leave either.”
He lifted up her chin with a finger and said slower, “No, I don’t want you to leave me. I want you to come with me back to my planet. To be with me. Forever.”
The fire in her anger burned out. She was exactly where she wanted to be. With Sci. Forever. He wanted forever?
“I’m sorry I didn’t hear you this morning. And I know you’re worried you are leaving today, but from what Ansel told me, Sands was able to disable the engine in the transporter. You aren’t leaving today. No transporter will be working until my court session so that we can leave together.”
His words made her blood sing. He’d already been planning for this. He wasn’t going to let her go. Her heart did break, but in a way that opened it up to allow him to burrow so deeply that he became a part of her soul.
She wasn’t leaving. Not without him. She was pleased, and at the same time, scared. What about her mom?
Pressing his lips to her forehead, he said, “I’ve already planned for that, too.” And then he pushed her down onto the bed and apologized with every touch, every kiss, and every climax he gave her.
***
Mentally, Sci picked up the deck of cards from the shelf. The small stack floated down to the cot where Sasha had been lying over his chest, rested and sated. Plucking the cards from the air, he said, “I’ve learned another game that you know. It’s called poker.”
Sasha laughed, rubbing her hand against his naked chest. “No way, you’ll cheat. You’ll know what’s in my hand.”
She was right, but he refused to play another game of speed, and he could tell that Sasha was sated. But instead of being tired, she was energized.
Taking the cards from him, she moved off the cot and slipped on her clothes. “How about slap Jack?”
Sci dressed and then sat down in the normal spot between their beds. “Fine, but after that, we try something else because variety is my preference.”
She leaned over and kissed him. “Fine.” She shuffled the cards and dealt them. Before the game began, she said, “You said you were with Ansel this morning? Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”
He took his pile of cards, and they began flipping them over, waiting anxiously for the Jack card to pop up. “I woke him up due to something odd happening within my biology.”
First Jack, she won the pile. “So, what did Ansel have to say about your biology?”
They continued to flip cards as he answered. “There is a tether in my mind. Like someone has put a leash on it. There is no known documentation of this manifestation occurring, but Ansel also mutated some parts of my brain, so maybe he made my mind vulnerable to something. We don’t actually know.”
The second Jack, Sci won. Sasha internally frowned then asked, “You think it’s something like a growth? Or cancer?”
“No. We are not susceptible to human imperfections.”
She didn’t mean to take that as a slap, but he was abrupt with his off-handed comment regarding her entire race. Sasha couldn’t help but be offended, at least in principle.
Holding her cards in hand, unwilling to play anymore, she said, “You talk about my race as if we are beneath you. As if I a
m beneath you.”
“You aren’t. I promise, you’re aren’t.” He ran his fingers through his hair in a frustrated gesture. “You are able to do something none in my race can.”
She was not upset enough to ignore compliments. “Meaning?”
Sci set his cards aside. “I don’t know if I can put into words the enormous effect you have on me, but with you, I am at peace. Everything is right. It feels right. I can’t explain it. That’s not a good explanation. It’s just, you have changed everything. I want that everything with you. Forever. Yesterday, I hurt you and broke that, and I didn’t realize until you left how utterly unmanageable I will be. How dangerous I will be without you. I—” He kissed her shoulder and eased his way up her neck. “This can’t be understood. I am not explaining this correctly.”
She didn’t care about the right words. She wrapped her arms around Sci’s neck and kissed him. It was all the incentive he needed to take control and pour everything into that kiss. She could feel his urgency and pleading. She could feel him in a way she didn’t understand, but it was there. So stark and unbelievably apparent that she didn’t question it.
Sasha fell deeper in love, becoming an unexpected hostage to this alien male.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lotus Skills
Sasha was restless. She was buzzing with angst, looking forward to Sci’s court date so they could finally leave. It had been another week, and yet the transporters stayed broken, and Sci remained in limbo.
Sci rubbed his lips against the back of her neck. It was a lazy morning. “I want to try something. Will you let me in your mind?”
Knowing that he wouldn’t hurt her, she didn’t hesitate to answer, “Yes.”
“Look at me, until I’m all you see.”
She could do that. Focusing only on Sci, the background of their cabin began to fade. Then the environment changed entirely.
Gasping, she stopped focusing on Sci and looked around. They weren’t on the space station anymore. She was on a planet! His planet, Cerebral, the one she would live on one day.
