The Lost Seal: A Seal Romance

by Bell, Victoria

  “Oh,” he says, and nothing else, as he slips a finger inside. I groan at this and lift up my thighs, bracing myself to get more tension, an easier orgasm. His tongue brushes along my clit, and a jolt of electricity coursed through me. I gasp. I’m drifting. He grins at my reaction, and jabs at me again. Flicking that vulnerable part of me, sending bolts of energy rippling throughout my body. When I adjust, I relax as he experiments with me, doing different things with his tongue and lips, gauging my reactions.

  He groans into my clit, and I let out a soft cry, before stifling the sound. I don’t want the whole hotel to know what we’re doing. Reon groans again, and I see him getting hard once more. He licks me, sending the fire and storm raging inside, until, with a gasp, I feel myself erupt in the climax. My body spasms, my legs tremble, as the wave of bliss strikes. But, before it’s over, I urge him to get inside me, to stay there. He moans, before crawling up and plunging inside me, filling me up once again. I ride out the bliss with him together.

  When he’s spent, we collapsed side by side.

  “I want so much more of this,” he breathes into my ear, before nipping at it.

  “Me, too,” I agree. “So, let’s make the most of it. Let’s enjoy what we can.”

  He sighs and hugs me for a while.

  There’s a heavy sadness here, saturating the blankets, the air, weighing down our limbs, but we keep pushing it at bay.

  It is how we spend the night – tangled in each other’s arms and bodies. Ordering food to come up to the room, and avoiding contact with anyone else. He departs before the morning starts, and I seize breakfast early because my stomach’s growling something terrible. Though my legs ache so sweetly, my stomach and mind are burdened.

  It’s not so long after that when the ceremony begins, and I’m due to be handed off to Tusken. My heart has sunk into my stomach, I wait at the rewards ceremony, where the forty or so winners have their names announced and their prizes were given, all passed along by the king. Fifteen of them will have won human partners as well. I see the women gradually depleting to aliens of different body structures and colors. Some tall, some short, some thin, some plump or muscular. It’s not a case of thinking all the aliens look the same. There’s a huge diversity in their population, and sometimes subtle differences in their barbles, their eyes, their facial structures. Possibly a residue effect of the interbreeding they have with other races, even if their gene is supposedly dominant.

  It's interesting to see. Not so interesting to know that soon I’ll be given out. The memory of the last night we shared still burns in my mind. How intense it had been. How unexpected. He’d taken all the lessons from before and applied them in such a way that it made my heart and brain melt. Maybe we humans are slaves to our desires, to feeling that sweetness inside. Maybe it’s why we’re willing to overlook some boundaries, such as the fact that the aliens are different from us, though also similar in too many aspects to feel like a travesty when I commit myself to one.

  Maybe, somewhere all along, I’d harbored such a desire for Reon, and always covered it up under the guise of convenience. I did find him attractive, I do. Even from the start, but I couldn’t give myself room for it, because I was too busy in my own misery, of having been removed from earth. I didn’t give myself enough room to think of much else, and to be honest; I don’t think I could have changed that. It’d be insane if I was suddenly cool with the whole being captured thing.

  Even if I like Reon, it doesn’t mean I like my situation. It’s just a coping mechanism to better process what’s happening.

  The king doesn’t have anything special to his appearance, aside from the same green skin as Tusken, and glinting red eyes. He wears a yellow skinsuit and cape, and stands tall, examining the winners with a proud smile as he gives them their gifts.

  Some of the Yaru get money prize rewards, or weapons, which I presume are valuable. The competitors who are treated to a human get the loudest cheers, and one by one, I watch the women leave, dejected, terrified or blank faced. Tia’s just after me, for some reason, even though her Yaru won her first.

  When Tusken is finally announced and gets to scoop his reward, I’m paraded in front of the crowd, my long red locks flowing, my face resolutely blank as my guards escort me. I don’t know if Narl and Ikkard are sad or relieved to be rid of me finally. The crowd seems to find my hair color interesting, but really, as I stand next to Tuskan on the wooden, elevated platform above the dirt ground, Tusken clasping me on the shoulder in his huge green palms, I want nothing more than to vanish into a black hole.

  Tia’s announcement leaves her with a tall, yellow-skinned Yaru, who has slender muscles, and a pointed, gaunt face, like those you see in people who run a lot, so the cells break down in their cheeks. I wonder how she’ll be treated. If she’ll get an okay life out of this, or become one of the dolls Tusken alludes to. I don’t think so. Tia has a fierce mind.

  She can survive.

  “I want to thank you all for another fantastic year of our tournament, and I hope you all enjoyed watching it as much as I did. You have all brought honor to our people, and have proudly showcased the strength of our men!”

  Cheers accompany the king’s speech. I look at the king as he stands above the rest of the crowd, in a viewing tower like mine. Behind him is a plush red throne with ornamental decorations, and two heavily armored guards with guns. In addition to the gray jumpsuit that pretty much every Yaru seems to wear, he also has a red cape, which serves to help him stand out from the rest. He doesn’t have any other adornments, but people recognize him as king, with his green scales, red eyes, and long, defined barbles which hang like hooks from his chin.

  He doesn’t seem to give any special acknowledgment to Tusken, and Tusken doesn’t bother looking up to the man who is supposed to be his father. The dynamics intrigue me for a moment before I remember that I might have to spend the rest of my life with a cocky prince. Dealing with the mechanics of a royal family. Maybe even having to talk to the king face to face and feast at tables during long, awkward family invitations.

  With the ceremony over, I’m instantly yanked away by Tusken, who has his own set of guards following, all heavily armored, faces hidden in black helmets. They form an intimidating presence that causes the Yaru to pave away as Tusken strides ahead. Soon, I realize I’m being dragged to the hotel, and I think, oh, right – he has a bed there, of course, he’ll want to get me there as soon as possible. He turns to leer at me for a moment.

  “Told you I’d win and you’d be mine.”

  I bare my teeth at him in scorn but don’t reply. We trudged across the dirt ground, which shifts into a mix of cobble and grass as we reach the front of the hotel, which stands with its strong, hexagonal shape, its simplistic, wood polished exterior and dark doors looming open.

  Inside, Elle’s at reception, and she’s talking with Reon, who appears as if he’s trying to drown his sorrows in whatever fucked up drink the Yaru use for forgetting things.

  “Perfect!” Tusken exclaims, and drags me over to the reception counter, where both Reon and Elle appear distinctively alarmed.

  “Really, Tusken?” Elle folds her arms and spreads her legs slightly apart, unimpressed. “You come to rub it in?”

  “Of course. You know me. I won, you lost. Red’s mine.” Tusken grins maliciously, and something in Reon’s face twitches, before Tusken adds, “though you know, you did impressively well, from your previously bad records. Almost as if you really wanted to win this particular woman. As if you already know what it feels like between her legs…”

  “Ugh.” Elle’s disgusted, and I try to yank my arm out of Tusken’s grip, to no avail. With four guards watching, all of them armed and ready to shoot, Reon can do little else but to twist his lips into hatred. One false move would be all the motivation Tusken needs to end him. My cheeks flush red from humiliation. I don’t want this. At this point, I’d rather Tusken just hauled me by the hair into the bedroom, instead of gloating over my two frie
nds.

  Friends.

  “Shame, really.” Tusken purses his lips. “I would like to know what it feels like as well. But even I can see that you two love each other. And I may be a cretin, and a spoilt prince, and enjoy goading people, but I’m not stupid.” His hands squeeze tighter upon my arm. “I’ll make you a deal, Lord Reon. You can have Red. This isn’t an act of generosity from me, don’t get me wrong. It’s a bribe. A blatant one.”

  My heart leaps to my throat, even as Elle and Reon suddenly stop looking so offended, and narrow their eyes.

  “Go on,” Reon says, jaw clenched. “I’m listening.”

  Tusken nods. “I need allies. Eyes and ears in places I can’t be. And you’re no small lordling of some tiny, insignificant land. Your family dominates the west coast. Even if your parents aren’t satisfied with you, you’re still the oldest. And in my favor, they probably won’t be able to refuse you out of an inheritance. My other brothers are planning a murder coup soon. As per royal tradition. I intend to be alive after it.” Tusken’s face takes on a hard sheen, no longer malicious or joking. “You’ve been my target for the last year.”

  Reon blinks at the news, processing it. “And you think to bribe me with a woman?”

  “Among other things. I intended to procure your allegiance another way, but I saw an opportunity in the Five Trials. I entered it as expected, but noticed your rather… fascinating interactions.”

  Reon growls.

  “Give me your word, and she is yours.”

  I now wonder if Reon feels offended he’s being bribed into service by taking me. The me he never needed to have any obligation in the first place to take.

  Reon flexes his finger, the bones in them cracking. “Tell me, Tusken. Did you cheat? Because it seems flimsy to base a potential alliance on your winning.”

  Tusken merely smiles. “I don’t need to cheat for something as easy as this.” His red eyes twinkle in amusement.

  “Curse it,” Reon sighs, now placing his palm on his forehead. “I want the woman. It’s true. I just… dislike being handed her over. Knowing that I didn’t win. That it’s under your power.”

  I’m still lingering on the I want the woman part before I snap back into reality. Yes. This wouldn’t do for Reon’s pride. It would gall him, to be beholden to someone. In debt. But if I was in his position, I would be practically offering a blowjob if I had a chance of being with someone I liked because of it.

  I suppose there’s the core difference between us.

  “You have my word,” Reon eventually says, though his jaw locks in brief annoyance. “I accept the deal.”

  “Excellent! We’ll have to talk more later.” Tusken finally released me, slaps me on the ass and pushes me forward, right into Reon’s arms. “Be a good humong will you, and make this miserable bastard happy? He’s always so glum all the time. So depressing.”

  Bewildered, I watch as Tusken swaggers off, his guards in tow, leaving me, Elle and Reon quite alone.

  After an awkward pause, Elle says, “What the blasts just happened?”

  “I have no idea,” I reply. I’m still somewhat tangled in Reon’s arms, and he doesn’t seem so willing to let me go, “but I’m not going to complain about the result. Personally.”

  Elle snickers. “I bet you won’t.” She then starts selecting a drink from under the counter. “But I think it might take a while longer for the news to process through Reon. Given that he’s probably from now on going to be Tusken’s bitch.”

  “Now you know what it feels like to be me all the time,” I reply, and this prompts a roar of laughter from Elle, and, eventually, Reon’s lips to twitch upward.

  We’re both dazed, I think. Unwilling to believe that the dream hasn’t died. Elle notices the moon eyes we give each other and clears her throat in an embarrassed manner.

  “Yes. You two, I think you need to go somewhere private. Right now. I’m not joking. Go away!” She flaps her hands behind us, prompting Reon to link his arm with mine, and run with me to my bedroom.

  “Mine’s a mess,” he confesses. “You keep yours tidy. It’s easier.”

  “Uh huh.”

  We stare at each other once the door is closed.

  “I don’t believe this,” I eventually say. “So, that’s it? Do I get to be with you? Tusken wins me, but he can just hand me off like that? Or is this some kind of trick?”

  “I don’t think it’s a trick,” Reon says, his eyes narrowing. “I think he genuinely wants my favor. He’s exactly the kind of bastard who’d take opportunities like this.”

  “Huh.” I hesitate. “He’s known to do things like this?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “You’re alright with having me, then?”

  Reon blinks, incredulous. “Really? Isn’t it obvious by now that I like you a little more than just having you around?” He then gives a guilty smile. “Honestly, I wanted to sex you from the start. But I figured you’d be more comfortable if I said I wasn’t looking for that. I have to say, knowing that the prettiest of the humongs wanted to stay with me made me so smug.”

  “Bastard,” I say, grinning. I think we have a right at this point to be happy, though.

  “I don’t think I can take you back to the family estates just yet. We can move in the house I have by the space port. I imagine that will interest you,” he says, with a slight brow wriggle.

  “Yup,” I reply. Then, my cheeks flush. “Though, I confess, I’m liking the idea of being with you more than I expected. I just… don’t think I ever expected to find love in an alien who lives like a billion galaxies away from me.”

  “It’s not that far,” Reon mutters. “I didn’t expect to fall in love with some red tentacled humong. The universe is a strange place, isn’t it?”

  “You can say that again.” I smile stupidly at him. Bathing in the knowledge that he’s mine. That he just said he loves me.

  That I just said I love him. Oops. I didn't think that one through. He’s not missed it because those gray eyes of his soften. It prompts another question. Do I love Reon? I’m not sure. I use the word, and I like hearing it, but it floats there as if waiting to be snatched from the air.

  It’s a concept, still. Maybe in time, I’ll grow more used to it.

  “I’m going to kiss you.” He doesn’t have to inform me, and honestly, he should just ravage me here and there, but I smile acceptance at his words, and rock to my toes to reach his lips. They’re soft, cool, pliable. The squeak of our skinsuits as they rub together makes me wince for a split second. Desire melts my soul.

  I hope my family can forgive me this selfishness. Because for some fucked up reason, I’ve fallen hard for this damn alien. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to return home.

  It just makes things a little more complicated.

  I take the lead. We’re probably going to get a lot more moments like this from now on. We’ve broken the dam. We just want to be in one another’s arms, feeling that incredible energy pass between us. Feeling love, and happiness. Things neither of us expected.

  Peeling off his clothes sends a smirk to my face. It’s unwrapping a gift, to see his naked body emerge from the gray fabric. At first, I used to think the Yaru boring for underdressing to such a degree, and never dressing themselves up, as we humans do. My face hasn’t touched paint or lipstick for a while, and it’s lighter. Maybe uglier, but I don’t mind. I’m happier in the end. I don’t feel under any pressure to look pretty, nor do I feel the stares of high school girls judging me for everything.

  In a way, I’m free.

  Unveiled before him, he quickly turns the tables, flipping me beneath. He takes a deep, appreciative sniff of my skin, smiling. His fingers trail over my breasts, and his eyes glimmer in lust. “I can’t believe you’re here now, and actually mine.”

  “You better get used to it,” I say, grinning.

  “I still hate Tusken. Just passing you along like that. I wouldn’t have let go of you if I won.”

  “M
aybe some things for him are worth letting go of.”

  “Perhaps,” he growls, before biting at my neck, flicking his tongue against it.

  I flutter my eyes shut and sigh, indulging in the warmth of his breath, the strength of his body. I push my front against his, spine arching off the bed sheets. More. I want more. I want to keep experiencing this, drowning in him, drowning in this beautiful sensation. It’s like a drug – and I don’t know if it’s because he has some weird alien pheromone that’s driving me nuts, or because somehow, for some fool reason, I’ve gone and gotten myself too tangled up with him to leave.

  I’m a fool, really. I can’t predict the future. I can’t see it – it’s hazy. All I can understand right now is that as long as I’m with Reon, I’ll be safe. I’ll have some form of happiness. And I certainly won’t be lacking for sex.

  It’s easy to lose myself in this, and I do so with vigor, sighing into Reon’s neck as he pushes his erection against my folds. They part with ease. I always get so wet. It’s annoying at times because I might find it hard to function as a normal person if I keep turning to putty like this. But at the same time, it’s wonderful and different and new. I feel important, worthwhile, special. I like meaning something to Reon, and I can tell he cares for me in every second that passes. In a way, I’m luckier than most woman.

  I mean, I discovered we’re not alone in the universe. By accident, yes, but that’s something. And I have a chance to tell this to the rest of the human race someday. They’ll likely disbelieve me and make memes about it unless I get to drive around in a spaceship.

  Reon moves inside me, bracing his arms by my shoulders. His muscles ripple with each movement. We lock eyes and don’t shift them away, which brings us both into the moment, away from our thoughts and our emotions, concentrating instead on one another in the now. We exist, and nothing else matters. It’s just us, and our bodies, and the sheets rustling beneath us, and the breaths escaping from our lips, and the blushes upon our cheeks. It’s the smell of arousal and spices and grass, and the rough grind of linen, and the smooth glide of our skins. Even a simple moment like this is overloaded with sensory information, and when I hiss out my pleasure, letting it escape in moans and whimpers, Reon speeds up.