by Ashley West
Her mouth was full of his cock, and at just over halfway down, she knew she couldn’t take anymore, so she made up for that with enthusiasm, bobbing her head and working her hand in time, sucking and swallowing like he was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.
And honestly, it was so good. His hand in her hair, the growls and muted swearing that she could hear from him, the way he couldn’t seem to sit still. All of it had her wet in her panties, and she wanted to work a hand down the front of her pants and touch herself, but she kept her focus, determined that she was going to get him off.
For all their posturing about being strong and mighty, it seemed a Calphesian would fall apart just like anyone else when their cock was buried in a warm, wet mouth, and as Roxanne bobbed her head and twisted her hand around the base of his cock, she could feel his control fracturing. She could taste it.
His growls sounded more like whines, and he was bucking his hips, nearly choking her with his length until she found the rhythm. Her jaw ached, but she was determined, and she ignored it for the moment, knowing he was close.
“I’m-” was all he had time to get out before he was spilling his release, the salty burn of it filling her mouth as she pulled back.
Some of it splattered over her lips as she swallowed what she could and released his still spurting cock with a lewd pop. Before she could wipe it away, his hand was there, thumb rubbing over her lips as he wiped her mouth clean.
Suddenly feeling the need to keep this hazy, pleasure filled atmosphere going between them, she leaned in and licked his fingers, drawing his thumb in and sucking it, careful not to cut her tongue in his clawed fingernail.
His eyes were a dark grey with lust, and he looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. Then he was surging to his feet in one motion, cock hanging out of his pants.
When he offered her a hand up, she took it, and it felt like progress.
Chapter 5: Warnings on the Horizon
Leaving his bed that morning was actually harder than he’d ever had it be before. Roxanne was curled up, smelling warm and like sex, and her head had nearly been resting on his chest. He’d never shared a bed with anyone before, as that sort of thing was strictly reserved for one’s life mate in his culture, and he’d spent long minutes staring at her, at the way her skin stood out against his sheets and the way her masses of curls spilled across his pillow.
Aedian was constantly having to change his opinion of her, and it unsettled him, but he’d never expected to like her, and he wasn’t sure what was happening.
Either way, he had a council meeting to attend, so he didn’t have time to dwell on it.
It was funny, before coming to Earth, actually before the tournament itself, he’d never been important enough to have to attend things like this. He was just a body and a weapon in the mass horde of their people, but once he’d proven himself to be one of the top three strongest, he was suddenly someone. Strength, for his people, was that important.
And the fact that he would be carrying on their kind wasn’t anything to ignore either. So he got dressed and made his way to the inner chambers of the compound, walking down the maze like corridors with the others who had been summoned.
“Does anyone know what this is for?” asked someone behind him, and Aedian turned to see Shiia striding along.
“No,” he replied. “At least, I don’t.” He slipped into the language of their people, the sharp, harsh sounds feeling natural on his tongue. Most beings from their quadrant had the gift of tongues, but speaking their own language felt right.
“Why would you?” called someone else. “You’ve been busy.”
“Have I?”
“Of course. With your human. I hear they’re insatiable.”
Aedian thought back to the night they’d spent together. Roxanne on her knees in front of him, her pretty mouth wrapped around his cock, and then her on the bed, spread out underneath him as he’d pumped into her.
Aedian remembered how surprised the humans had been to find out that they were organized and had something of a government. When they looked at the Calphesians, they saw mindless beasts, but just because they prized strength over all else didn’t mean they were stupid.
And being on another planet had meant they needed to reorganize.
Each collective of Calphesians was called a cluster and each cluster had a head. The heads of these clusters made up the Council, and they convened via holoscreen to discuss important matters.
Usually it was just the Council who met, and the head would relay the news to his cluster as needed, but since this meeting had been extended to the most important people in each cluster, it had to be something big.
When Aedian walked into the room, he could see that their head was at the head of the table, arms folded.
Prias had been the head for as long as Aedian could remember, the older Calphesian grizzled and muscular, his hair hanging in thick braids, tattoos visible, horns massive and sharp. He practically oozed power, and Aedian bowed slightly as he walked in, showing respect to the strongest warrior their cluster had.
There were screens on the walls, and on each screen was the face and upper body of a head of another cluster. With each cluster so scattered across this new planet, this was the only way that they could all speak.
Aedian took a seat, keeping his distance from Shiia and Demos who had come in later. Both of them looked happy and relaxed, and he wondered how things were going with their human women. Judging from the display at the ceremony, he was guessing things were fine.
A few others filtered in, more important people in the cluster: their medic, the head’s son, a few of the ones who had been instrumental in helping to build their compounds, and the winners of the last tournament.
Everyone took their seats and turned their eyes to the head, anticipation high in the air.
Prias looked out over all of them and then banged his fist on the table. On the screens, each of the other heads did the same, calling the meeting to order.
“Head Talren,” Prias said, looking to the Calphesian on the left most screen. “Your report.”
Talren bowed his head and then looked around, dark blue eyes grave. “Our absence has been noticed,” he said in their language. “The Platoks have been on the move.”
At the mention of the name of the other race of creatures, outraged noises rose up from all the Calphesians, Aedian included. Out of all the beings in their quadrant, the Calphesians had been the strongest, but the Platoks had certainly been second. The only thing that had kept them in order had been the Calphesians’ strong presence, but now that they were gone…
Prias banged his fist on the table again, calling for silence. “What have they been doing?” he asked.
“Conquering,” Talren replied simply. “Already the Slifins and the Karracks have been laid to waste, according to my sources, the refugees from both clans have banded together for survival.”
Aedian blinked in surprise. The Slifins and Karracks hated each other, and only true devastation would have led to them joining forces. Of course, even together, they would be no match for the Platoks. Only the Calphesians could boast as much.
“They don’t seem to be stopping their conquest, either,” Talren continued. “And I fear they will expand beyond the quadrant soon enough.”
“Do you think they would come here?” Demos asked, a frown on his face.
A murmur rose up from those gathered, heavy with speculation. Aedian looked at Prias and could see the concern on his face.
“This is why we shouldn’t have left Calphas,” Aedian said, leaning back in his chair. “The Platoks would never have dared to do anything like this with us there. We held them in check.”
“Then we would have died along with Calphas and this would have happened anyway,” Alric, one of the other heads snapped. “There is wisdom in knowing when to retreat.”
Aedian snorted. “There is weakness in retreat,” he replied, knowing it was out of line for hi
m to speak to one of the heads like that, champion or no, but he couldn’t hold his tongue. “There is nothing we can do from here.”
“Be silent, Aedian,” Prias said, deep voice heavy with disapproval. “We made the decision we had to make when we left Calphas. Do you find weakness in survival as well?”
“No, but-”
“Is there something shameful about the continued lives of our kind? Do you doubt that the Platoks would have waited until Calphas died with us on it before they danced over our bodies and ransacked our quadrant?”
There was true anger in Prias’ voice, and Aedian knew better than to reply. He clamped his mouth shut and kept his lips pressed together in a thin line.
“No one wanted to leave Calphas and come here,” Prias continued. “We find retreat as palatable as you do. But it was the only choice. There was no other. Leave or die. Survival is the most important thing. But perhaps you think the outcome of our flight is the true weakness, is that it? You think that dealing with the humans makes us lesser somehow? Because we took advantage of them as a resource? Because that is what they are. Just as sure as their food and water is. Their women keep our kind from dying out.” He raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. “Survival is the most important thing.”
“Yes, Prias,” Aedian ground out, and he didn’t speak again for the rest of the meeting.
The other heads gave reports from their sources, speaking of the way the Platoks seemed to be moving outwards from their quadrant to conquer the little planets on the outskirts, the ones who could barely defend themselves, who had been under the Calphesians’ protection. There was no doubt that they were killing the warriors and taking the women as slaves, as was the usual way, and the atmosphere of anger in the room just kept growing.
“Do you think they’re trying to draw us back?” Shiia asked at one point, and everyone looked to him. “To anger us until we take to our ships and return to the quadrant?”
No one had an answer for that.
“If they want to meet us in battle, they can meet us here,” cried one of the former champions.
“But what about the humans?” asked another. “They will not be able to fight. Earth is not made for this fight.”
“We can’t just do nothing,” someone else said.
Prias raised his hands in a bid for silence. “We will not do nothing,” he assured them. “But we need to plan. They’re tech is much lesser than ours, and it will take them time to get here if they’re coming. We will meet their threat if there is one.”
Around and around it went, with no one hitting on any real solution, and by the time the meeting was called to a close, Aedian was agitated, angry, and annoyed.
He stalked from the room, pushing past the little knots of people standing around talking. He didn’t want to talk. Talking wasn’t going to get them anywhere. For so many cycles, the Calphesians had kept the peace in their quadrant by beating down any threats that rose up. And now they were gone and the Platoks, slimy weaklings that they were, had come in and taken over.
It was wrong, and how they could all just sit there talking about it like it wasn’t a slap in the face was beyond him.
Aedian wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going as he stomped down the corridors back to the residential area. He was angry and wanted to do something.
Before he knew it he was back at the door of his rooms, and he slammed his hand into the sensor, making the screen shake as it read his prints and let him in.
The door slid aside and he stomped into the room, throwing himself on the couch and fuming. His fingers were clenched into fists, claws nearly biting into the skin of his palms. Roxanne was around somewhere more than likely, he hadn’t been gone that long, and if he couldn’t hit something, then having sex with her would be the next best thing.
He usually tried to be gentle with her, knowing that she was fragile, but she seemed to enjoy it when he got a little rough: when he pinned her down to the bed or pulled her hair or dragged his claws over her skin, when he made her scream for him. And she tried to give back as good as she got, blunted human nails raking down his back, her mouth pressed to his shoulder, teeth biting down on the muscle there.
Yes, that would be an excellent distraction if he couldn’t have the one he wanted, and he got up, moving into the bedroom to see if she was still in bed.
The sheets were rumpled, and she was nowhere to be found, and Aedian let out a wordless growl of frustration until he heard the water running in the bathroom.
He stepped in, and there she was, back to the door as she showered.
She was beautiful with water cascading down her skin, her hair pulled up in a knot to keep it from getting wet. The bathroom echoed with the sound of her humming as she washed herself, and Aedian just watched for a while, enjoying the way her hands slid over her curves and wanting to follow them with his own hands.
When she turned and saw him standing there, she yelped and scowled. “Don’t do that?” she snapped, pressing a hand over her chest. “Nearly gave me a heart attack. Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?”
“These are my rooms,” Aedian pointed out.
“They’re our rooms, and you can get out now.”
“You will not order me around,” he snapped, irritation flaring again. He didn’t want to fight with her, he wanted to pull her to him and chase the water running down her skin with his tongue. But she could be so infuriating sometimes.
“Oh right, because you never order me around,” Roxanne muttered under her breath as she shut the water off and reached for her towel. “I mean it. Get out.”
“Come here,” Aedian said, holding a hand out to her.
“Did you choose today to forget how to understand English?” Roxanne said. “Go. Away. I’m not ready to deal with you, yet.”
Aedian bristled and growled under his breath as he stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “You are mine,” he said, voice lashing out like a whip. “Come. Here.”
“I do not belong to you!”
“You do,” Aedian insisted and then grabbed her arm, yanking her out of the shower. She lost her footing and stumbled, but the momentum of his pull meant she fell against his chest, and he used one arm to keep her there. “Hush,” he murmured as she swore at him and cupped her face in one hand before leaning down to kiss her.
They rarely kissed, usually only when they were in the heat of doing other things, but Aedian wanted to taste her. He wanted to have her limp and pliable against him, making those pretty sounds as she begged for more.
What he got was an outraged gasp and her rearing back and slapping him in the face.
The shock of it made him release her, and she stepped back, eyes hard as she glared at him. It looked like she was going to hit him again, but then she just turned on her heel and marched out of the bathroom.
Aedian listened as she got dressed, as she cursed at him and grabbed up her things. And then he listened as the door closed behind her, standing there in the bathroom, unmoving.
The anger in him had dissolved with the slap to the face, and even though it had barely hurt, the shock of her hitting him had jolted him out of the mood he’d been in.
And once the anger was gone, he was left with something that felt a lot like shame, a feeling he was quite unused to.
Chapter 6: A Matter of Forgiveness
“The nerve of him, honestly,” Roxanne ranted, pacing back and forth in her parents’ living room. “Like I’m just some kind of toy for him to pick up and put down when he wants. Like, I’m a...a stress ball or something for him to take his frustrations out on. Who does he think he is?”
Her parents sat on the couch, watching her with wary eyes as she paced. Neither of them said anything, but it was clear that Roxy didn’t need their input. She just wanted to get this out of her before she exploded. The whole drive to their house she’d been fuming, muttering under her breath, but trying to keep her temper under control lest she get into some kind of accident and hurt other people
with her anger.
She didn’t want that.
But as soon as she’d cleared the threshold of her parents’ house, she let all of it come spilling out.
“And the worst part is that this is just what my life is going to be like now,” she said. “Because I’m stuck with him. It’s just going to be bickering and him trying to use me, and I hate it!”
Her mother flinched back from the anger in her voice and then sighed. “Roxy, dear, have you considered that this was an isolated incident?”
“What?”
“Well…” Her mother and father exchanged glances. “You said he’s never done anything like this before, right?”
“...Right,” Roxy admitted, somewhat reluctantly.
“Well, then. Maybe he was just in a bad place and made a mistake. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to set the tone for your whole relationship. If I got discouraged at every stupid thing your father’s ever done, you wouldn’t have even been born.”
“Oh, thanks,” her father said dryly. “But your mother has a point, Roxanne.”
“Oh sure, take his side,” Roxy muttered, folding her arms.
“You’re my daughter, Roxanne. I’m always on your side, I’m just saying that-”
“And of course it’s always going to be like this,” Roxy cut in. “That’s just how he is. He sees me as something inferior, something weak. Why wouldn’t he take advantage of that when it suits him? He’s showing his true colors more and more.”
There was a moment of silence, and her mother sighed. “Darling, I’m not making light of this, because I can tell you’re upset, and if you think this is going to be a problem, I promise I’ll do everything I can to try and get you out of marrying him, I just… Did you even talk to him about it after it happened?”
Roxanne stared at her mother in disbelief. This was the woman who had congratulated her for punching Robbie Harper in the face when he’d unhooked her bra in math class. This was the woman who had taught her that she was the only one who had control over her body and that she didn’t have to put up with anyone doing anything to it that she didn’t want. And now she was sitting there telling her that she was overreacting about this?
