by Tamsin Ley
He resisted, moving lower, scraping his stubble lightly down her ribs, kissing along her belly. Her skin was so smooth and soft, he wanted to taste every inch of her.
When he dipped down to the apex of her thighs, she jerked lightly against his hair. “You don’t need to—”
He slid his tongue between her lower lips.
“Oh!” she gasped, hips flexing.
Her sweet musky flavor filled him, like morning dew on happa fronds, and he pulsed his tongue in and out, responding to her desire. He toyed with the small bundle of nerves at the top of her slit as she trembled, then opened like a flower to his caress, thighs spreading wide beneath the gentle pressure of his palms.
Slicking through her wetness again and again, he lapped up her juices until her hips began to buck and her thighs trembled. She was close to her climax, and he slid a finger inside, pumping in and out, his tongue never ceasing its rhythm against her clit. Her inner walls clamped around his finger, pulsing as she cried out her release. He continued driving forward and stroking her with his tongue as she rode out her orgasm. At last, her hips sagged back onto the mattress.
As she lay gulping for breath, he climbed up to cover her with his body. He nuzzled the crook of her neck, his rock-hard cock throbbing against her opening.
She wrapped her arms around him, stroking up and down his back. “I want you. All of you.”
He needed no further encouragement. His cock drove inside her with one solid stroke. Her wet heat was exquisite, threatening to tip him over the edge. He pulled back, then ground against her again, the feelers just above his shaft cupping her clit as he filled her.
She moaned, and her pussy pulsed with another orgasm, squeezing him to the brink of ecstasy. He kissed her again, savoring her lips, stroking her breasts, thrusting into her until her juices coated their hips.
“I want to claim you now, kikajiru. Are you ready?”
Breathing hard, she opened her eyes. “The bond?”
“Yes.”
She nodded, excitement filling her eyes. “Make me yours.”
He’d never heard words more sweet. Primary cock buried deep in her heat, he hardened his mating shaft and prodded her back opening.
She gasped, fingers clawing into his back as he eased inside her tightness. He’d never used his mating shaft before, never felt the need with anyone except Georgie. This was the way he’d transfer the marker that would make her his forever. He paused his thrusting, trying to maintain control as the new stimulation scaled his arousal to new heights.
“Don’t stop,” Georgie choked out, tilting her hips up against him.
He had to grit his teeth to keep himself from coming right then and there, but he drove forward, burying both shafts inside her.
Then he began pumping, moving in and out, fucking her ass at the same time as her pussy. He gripped her wrists and pinned them above her head, looking down into her lust-filled eyes. He’d never felt so connected to another being as he did in this moment.
Georgie’s eyes squeezed shut as she made a gargling sound that slowly rose to a scream. Her back arched, and the wave of her pleasure hit his Iki’i like a tsunami.
Unable to stop himself, he sank both shafts as deep as they would go. His mating shaft ejaculated along with his primary shaft, overwhelming him in bliss he’d never imagined possible. The room seemed to spin, and he balanced himself on his elbows above her, breathing hard until his heart resumed a normal pace.
Georgie’s eyes fluttered open, cheeks flushed and a small sheen of perspiration glistening along her hairline. “That was… that was amazing.”
He brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, his heart full to overflowing as he grinned. “It was, my mate. I’m now yours forever.”
She cupped his cheek, trailing a finger over his dimple. “Good. Because I love you, Arazhi.”
He laughed. “So—ready to plan a royal wedding?”
Her responding joy was broad enough to light up the entire room. “Yes!”
Epilogue
Georgie had never imagined planning an alien wedding before, let alone her own royal, alien wedding. The event was exactly the opposite of the intimacy of her and Arazhi’s pair-bonding, and the amphitheater she’d selected for the event was packed; at least fifty-thousand guests sat beneath an enormous dome of interwoven vines that provided partial shade from the harsh Kirenai sun. Flowers dangled from garlands overhead, catching the dappled sunlight and filling the air with a gentle, sweet fragrance. More flowers lined every aisle.
She stared nervously toward the end of the tunnel into the amphitheater where her father stood, waiting to signal the musicians to begin the processional. He looked dignified in his silk tuxedo, graying hair clipped to a tidy fringe around his balding head. She hadn’t told him the truth about her DNA, since it didn’t really matter. Dad was the only father she knew, and some asshole slaver who’d abducted her mother didn’t deserve to connect himself to the royal family in any way. Qantina had looked into who might’ve sired her, but it seemed that Elthos had tampered with the Kirenai genetic database before he left, probably to hide any Senburu advocates.
Next to her in the hallway, Lora stood holding Georgie’s bridal bouquet, a stunning flow of violet and magenta flowers interspersed with pearls. Lora’s bridesmaid dress was a matching shade of magenta, and her auburn hair was pulled away from her face and decorated with the same flowers. “Having second thoughts?”
“Not at all. Just self-conscious about how many people are watching.” Georgie smoothed a hand over the front of her gown. The healers had confirmed her pregnancy almost a month ago, but she wasn’t yet showing, thankfully. She was delighted to be pregnant, but Kirenai Prime was hot even without direct sunlight, and waddling down the aisle would’ve been uncomfortable at best. The gown she now wore was gossamer thin, soft and nearly transparent as it molded to her torso and floated in waves down her hips and thighs. Millions of pearls had been affixed to the surface using some sort of alien technology to keep them from weighing the fabric down. She felt like a real interstellar princess.
Arazhi had been confused when she’d picked it out. “You want a dress rolled in pebbles?”
She’d almost reconsidered—the palace courtyards were literally paved in pearls—but the dress was so gorgeous… “Pearls are traditional decorations for wedding dresses on Earth.”
He’d shrugged. “Whatever your heart desires. You’re exquisite in whatever you choose to wear.”
Now she smiled at her friend. “I’m ready.”
Lora looked into her eyes as if to verify, then proceeded down the hall, past Georgie’s dad, and into the amphitheater. A loud murmur rose in the crowd as she appeared, then died down when they realized it wasn’t their new princess.
Georgie was still unable to wrap her head around her new title. How did a supermarket checkout girl trying to build her own business handle becoming not only a princess, but also the galactic representative for the entire human race?
Moving forward, Georgie stopped next to her dad.
He held out his elbow, ready to escort her down the aisle. “You sure about this, Bug?”
His pet name for her made her smile, the sting of tears filling her eyes. “More than anything.” She took a deep breath, wishing her mom could be her to see her as the music transitioned to the wedding march. “Let’s go.”
Together, they stepped out under the dome, her curtain of pearls flowing around her in a cascade that caught the dappled rays of the sun. A collective sigh from the audience drowned out the music for a moment, but Georgie focused on the path ahead. Violet carpet covered the amphitheater floor toward the squat dais where Arazhi waited, wearing the traditional garb of Vatosang, Empress Vella’s home world. Georgie’d been trying to build a rapport with his mother, despite how awful the empress had been; spending the next few centuries with a mother-in-law who hated her would not be pleasant.
Arazhi looked strange, but very handsome in the calf-length, burnished
gold duster vest with a raised epaulet on his left shoulder. The vest flowed longer at the back than the front, revealing form-fitting black pants with gold piping down the front crease, and was cinched to his waist by a black sash with gold chevron designs. On his head sat a small crown of interwoven diamonds that sparkled when he moved, matched by bands around his wrists and a sprinkle of diamonds along his epaulet.
Next to him stood his Best Man, Zhiruto, wearing a tuxedo from Earth, his long blue hair pulled into a man-bun on top of his head. It was the first time she’d seen Arazhi’s security officer fully clothed since he’d arrived on Kirenai Prime. She glanced at Lora, who also waited on the dais. As she’d suspected, Lora wasn’t even looking in her direction—she was focused on Zhiruto. Georgie’d been getting a strange vibe from them whenever they were together. Most of the time, they acted as if they hated each other, but then Lora would catch her friend sneaking longing glances.
“Did he do something wrong?” Georgie had asked soon after her friend arrived. She knew Lora and Zhiruto had worked together trying to track down the assassin on Earth.
Lora had looked away, but not before Georgie caught the flash of pain in her friend’s eyes. “I can’t talk about it yet.”
Georgie hated to think Arazhi’s best friend might’ve done something terrible. Even more, she hated seeing her friend like this. “I can ask Arazhi to dismiss him.”
“No!” Lora had shaken her head emphatically and grasped Georgie’s hand. “Please, don’t say anything to the prince. This is entirely on me.”
“What did you do?”
“It’s complicated.” Lora’s lips pressed tightly together, and Georgie could tell she wanted to say more, but something was holding her back. “I promise I’ll tell you someday, okay?”
All Georgie could do was nod and continue coordinating her wedding plans.
Now she stepped onto the dais as Arazhi bowed low to her father and took her hand. He met her eyes with a dimpled smile that made her heart flutter no matter how many times she saw it and murmured, “You look magnificent, kikajiru.”
Still in awe that he loved her, she let her own adoration flow toward him like a beam of light. “I’m so happy.”
The minister cleared his throat and rattled quickly through his opening speech. The entire ceremony went by in a blur, and the next thing Georgie knew, Arazhi’s lips were claiming hers as the ground shook beneath them with the force of the crowd’s roar.
A shower of thousands of lightly glowing balloons drifted down around them like snowflakes, and Arazhi escorted her toward the exit where a convoy of carriages waited. They settled on the carriage’s plush seat while Zhiruto and Lora climbed in behind them, taking the facing seat; Arazhi never went anywhere without his security officer anymore, and Lora seemed to have assumed the role of Georgie’s bodyguard.
“I can’t wait to be alone.” Arazhi put his arm around Georgie’s shoulders and pulled her close, nuzzling her temple and lightly kissing her ear. “The things I plan to do to you…”
She smiled, her heart full to bursting, and leaned into him, one hand on his muscular thigh as she glanced self-consciously toward their companions. Except Zhiruto and Lora weren’t paying attention to their charges in the slightest.
Zhiruto and Lora were kissing.
Glossary
Bacca - a game that resembles frisbee golf
Burendo - a Kirenai who excels at shapeshifting and is able to not only assume the form of other species, but coloration as well.
Fogarian - aliens with red hair and sideburns who live on a rocky, mountainous planet.
G’nax - a species that uses light to communicate attraction and arousal. They also have a symbiotic relationship with an eight-legged insectoid.
Hage - bald, wide-eyed alien that looks much like the iconic alien humans have circulated.
Happa trees - blue fronds resembling palms.
Hypawa - species with magma colored eyes.
Ijin’en - four legged herd animal raised for meat and well known for its stupidity.
Iki’i - empathic power.
Irn - a unit of measure. One planetary rotation around the Kirenai’s sun.
Jiro - a unit of measure equivalent to approximately two Earth hours.
K’ogai - the town near the palace on Kirenai Prime.
Kazhitu - nuts that look like sticky buns when baked. High in sugar, buttery and fruity.
Khargals - gray horned aliens with stone-like skin and wings from the planet Duras ;)
Khensei - a toxin that causes Kirenai to denature into their resting state.
Kikajiru - my distracting one - a term of endearment.
Kirenai Prime - the Kirenai home planet. Purple and blue with swirling white clouds.
Kuzara - shit, damn, fuck.
Kryillian death swarm - tiny insectoid creatures that can kill a man within seconds by sucking his blood.
Matrix/cellular matrix - the term for a Kirenai’s cellular mass.
Nilgawood - a tree used to make resin.
Oritsu - An expression of awe.
Popotan - the plant used to line ship interiors that provides oxygen, recycles water, is highly resistant to radiation, and can regenerate itself if damaged.
Qalqan - a species known for their healers. Good bedside manners due to their resistance to emotional fluctuation.
Resting state - a Kirenai’s amorphous shape, like nakedness to humans, it is shown only to family or trusted friends.
Senburu - a galactic conglomeration of merchants who oppose the emperor’s rule. Individual members are called Senbur.
Sireta Prime - a popular party planet.
Teozhisa - a cart to carry people.
Tolonovone - a device that creates lighted markings on the skin. Used by G’naxians as part of their mating rituals.
Ukimi ice - beloved dessert with cool, spicy flavor like sweet mint.
Vatosangans - species with alabaster skin and blue or green hair who tend to be stocky or rounded. Planet is called Vatosang.
Kirenai Fact Sheet
Kirenai are an all-male species of shapeshifters with a natural form (resting state) like an amoeba who usually assume a bipedal shape to interact with other species. Until the discovery of humans, Kirenai required a permanent pair-bond with a female of another species to produce offspring. All Kirenai traits are dominant and located on the Y chromosome; male offspring are fully Kirenai, while female offspring are fully of the mother’s species.
Birth rates have been historically low, and over the ages, the population has been dwindling. Human females proved to be exceptionally receptive to impregnation, and do not require formation of a pair-bond to conceive. This has made Earth a target for black market slave traders who deal in “breeders.” The Emperor has been making attempts to protect the population.
Regardless of the shape a Kirenai is in, he will be recognized as Kirenai by his skin and hair color. The most common hue is blue, although colors can be anywhere from mint green to lavender. Rare individuals called burendo can effect coloration outside this range. Kirenai blood is clear or slightly milky unless infected, when it grows murky to almost solid white.
All Kirenai have empathic abilities called Iki’i which make them capable of reading emotion and desire, as well as identifying individuals within their own species regardless of shape. This is the only Kirenai trait sometimes passed on to female progeny. The ability also makes the species as a whole consummate lovers because they can take actions and form attributes their partner finds most appealing. Bonded mates assume a permanent form pleasing to their mates; rarely can they force themselves into an alternate shape after bonding.
The average Kirenai life-span is approximately eight hundred human years. When a pair-bond is formed, a Kirenai passes a small genetic marker to his mate that mitigates the aging process, giving the mate a lifespan to match his own.
Dear Reader,
Did you enjoy this alien prince? I adored dreaming up the Kirenai and their
planet, and would love to know what you thought. If you have a moment to leave a review, I’d be most appreciative! You’ll get more hot and hilarious alien mishaps in the next book, Zhiruto, where we find out how Lora gets her big blue alien. Turn the page for a sneak peek or tap the cover below to preorder now.
When guests at the dating auction start dissolving into puddles of goo, Lora’s thrown into an investigation that will change the way she looks at aliens forever…
See you in the next book!
XOXO,
Tamsin
Zhiruto
Book 2 Excerpt
Lora poured two glasses of champagne and offered one to the blue-skinned man sitting across from her at the table. Stars glittered overhead, and a few couples were dancing in front of the stage where a live band played. She had to give Georgie credit—the alien charity auction had so far been a success, raising more money for the animal shelter than all the previous fundraisers combined. She also had to admit that her worry about being set up on a date with a big-eyed, six-tentacled alien from Area 52 had been unfounded.
