Blazed: Elemental Warriors

by Ashley West

  That cock had probably already ruined her for human men, if she was being honest.

  "Focus on me," Samel said, spreading her legs and rubbing her clit through the fabric of her underwear.

  She choked back a moan, rolling more onto her back so he had better access. "Oh believe me," she murmured. "I am."

  "Good. I want you to remember this. I want you to think of it, and of me. All the time."

  "You say that like there's a chance that wouldn't happen anyway."

  "I'm not taking any chances."

  And it seemed that he meant that. With Samantha right across the hall, they didn't want to both be on the bed, lest it make enough creaking sound to wake everyone in the house. So instead he had pulled her half off the bed so she was bent over it, practically on her toes with her bottom in the air. Her panties were around one ankle, and her legs were spread wide.

  She felt exposed and vulnerable like this, and she could feel the heat of his gaze sweeping over her as he looked his fill. Naomi wasn't going to say as much, but she hoped that he was making a memory for himself, as well.

  One hand swept over her bottom and down to her sex, which was already wet and hot. She jumped a little at his touch, especially when his thumb found her clit and rubbed the sensitive little bundle lightly.

  At this rate, she was going to have to bite down on the sheet to keep herself from crying out for him.

  "Please," she whispered. "Samel, I need you."

  He gave a pleased rumble at that, and then she felt his cock rubbing against her entrance.

  No matter how many times she took it (and she had taken it plenty since that first time), it always managed to steal her breath how big it felt, pressed against her like this. The head was thick and blunt, and she squirmed as he just left it there, poised to push inside of her but just circling and teasing her.

  A broken whimper spilled out of her, and she pushed herself back, trying to impale herself on him.

  Samel laughed. "Slowly," he murmured, smoothing a hand up her back. Carefully, he began to push into her, inch by inch, making sure not to hurt her while at the same time making sure that she was going to feel this.

  It was indescribably hot, the way it felt. How she spread and stretched for him, how the hot walls of her body took him in and the slow friction just sent sparks of pleasure coursing through her. She could feel it all the way to her toes, and by the time he had pushed all the way in, she was trembling and already so close.

  "You're so easy to work up," Samel was saying. "You take it so beautifully."

  She whined, working her hips in slow circles, and Samel caught her meaning. He pulled out with the same slowness and then pushed himself right back in, setting a slow, sliding pace that had her eyes nearly rolling back in her head.

  The wave of pleasure was cresting, and when it crashed down, she went tight around him. Just the feeling of being so indescribably full of him like this was enough to set her off and she shook and pressed her face into the mattress to muffle her sounds as she came for him.

  "Gorgeous," Samel said. "You're so perfect."

  All of it was going to her head. His praise, the way he felt, the way he smelled. Samel was going to get his wish. This was going to be branded in her mind forever.

  Once she'd come that first time, Samel stopped holding back. He took hold of her hips and used them as leverage so he could thrust himself deeper into her. It wasn't fast, each stroke long and deep, but it was hard, and she felt each movement to her core. Already she was getting worked up again, and she could hear how wet she was as he moved inside her.

  "So good," she moaned, fingers clenching in the sheets. "It's so good."

  "Mm," Samel said, and she could hear his harsh breathing behind her as he worked his hips and pulled her into each thrust. "I'm going to miss you," he panted. "Never get enough of this."

  That was enough to surprise another orgasm out of her, and she whimpered as she came again. Samel didn't even slow down. He worked her through it, even though she was sensitive and every time his thick shaft moved in her and the head of his cock hit that spot inside of her, she shivered and shook.

  It was too much and not enough all at once. She couldn't hold herself back. Couldn't hide anything from him. All she could do was take it, and it was so good.

  Samel was swearing behind her, and from his tight grip on her hips, she knew that he was close and that she was going to have finger shaped marks for a while.

  Good. She wanted every lingering reminder of him that she could get.

  The pleasure built and built and built, threatening to drag her under as it swept through her body in a rush that stole her breath. She couldn't even cry out when she came for a third time. All she could do was let it seize her, and she fell apart under him.

  He came seconds later, folding over her just a bit and muffling his own sounds with his hand.

  They stayed like that for long moments, until the endorphins started to wear off and Naomi realized she had a cramp in her leg. Then they moved back to the bed. Samel cleaned her up with his own shirt, and then pulled her closer, like he didn't want to let her go.

  "I'll remember that," she said, rubbing her face against his chest.

  "So will I," he replied. "And I'll miss you."

  She pressed a kiss right over his heart and nodded. "I'll miss you, too. But look at it this way, all those hot alien chicks will probably have missed you, and you'll have plenty to choose from when you get back."

  He chuckled, and she could feel it under her cheek. "Is that so?"

  "Mmhmm," she said, and then smothered a yawn with her hand. It had to be closing in on three in the morning by now. "And then you'll forget all about me."

  "No," he murmured, and she could tell he was just as tired as she was. "I will never forget you."

  Chapter Ten: Scorch

  As his planet loomed into view, Samel heaved a sigh. If someone had told him weeks ago that coming back to his home after being stranded on a different planet wouldn’t feel good, then he’d have assumed they were crazy. But no, they would have been right.

  It was good to see it again, of course, the place he loved, the place he had called home for all of his life, basically, but it didn’t feel joyous. He kept thinking about Naomi and the way she’d looked at him when the shuttle had touched down in the thicket of woods. It wouldn’t have made any sense to have the shuttle go to the house. That would have just caused unnecessary panic, and with the Hillsiders still attacking people, no one needed that.

  So they’d gone up to the place where he’d crashed down. Samel had insisted that Naomi didn’t need to come with him, but she’d insisted that she did need to.

  “For me,” she’d said. “I know you’re a fancy captain who doesn’t need me to hold your hand, but I just...I want to say goodbye.”

  “You could say goodbye here,” he’d pointed out, and he probably deserved the glare she’d given him for his trouble.

  Honestly, he didn’t know why he hadn’t wanted her to come with him. Maybe it was because he thought if he said goodbye early, it would hurt less to leave her. He snorted at that. Now that he had actually left her, he knew that wasn’t true at all.

  It had been two days, and he already missed her with a furious ache.

  The shuttle had come down, and no one had gotten out of it, so Samel had explained that it had been programed to follow the signal from his comm device. Naomi had been reasonably impressed.

  It was dusk already, and Samel knew she needed to leave before it got dark. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her when he wasn’t there to keep her safe.

  “Go straight back to the house,” he’d said. “Promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  “And tell Priscilla and Raven and everyone else not to go out by themselves at night. It’s not safe, and I don’t know when it’s going to be safe. Once they find out I’m gone, things might get worse here for a bit.”

  “Can I ask something?” Na
omi wanted to know.

  “Of course.”

  “If that woman is here on Earth, why are you leaving? Wouldn’t it make more sense to fight her here?”

  Samel shook his head. “I can only imagine she was here looking for me. Otherwise I don’t know why she’d be here. If she wants our power, there’s only one place to get it, and it’s not on Earth. She’ll have to come back eventually.”

  He didn’t believe she was going to do anything to the Earth while he was gone. More than likely she’d find out he’d gone and then come after him. Which was exactly what he wanted.

  “Be safe,” he’d said, cupping Naomi’s face and leaning down to kiss her. “Be happy.”

  “I’ll try,” she murmured, pushing up onto her toes so their lips met. “You be safe, too. I know you’re a big shot captain with fancy fire powers, but...take care of yourself. There’s a bunch of people down here who’ll be put out if anything happens to you.”

  Samel laughed, but it sounded hollow. “You’ll tell them?”

  “I’ll tell them something.”

  They had agreed that the residents of the house didn’t need to know all the details of him leaving and what he was. He trusted Naomi to come up with something that would make it okay.

  And then there hadn’t been any reason to put it off any longer. “I should go.”

  “Yeah.”

  He’d kissed her one more time, one last time. Trying to convey all of his feelings for her in that one kiss. “Goodbye.”

  “Bye.”

  She’d stood there and watched until he couldn’t see her anymore, and then he could only assume that she’d gotten in her car and driven home. Even now, with control of the shuttle and home in sight, there was a part of Samel that wished he was back at the house with her. She’d promised to explain Christmas to him, and he’d been looking forward to that.

  But no. He had a mission. He had people depending on him. He had a duty.

  He’d made a vow when he’d chosen this path, and it was only right that he stay true to it.

  No sooner had he landed and disembarked, than he was being grabbed up in a tight hug by a very enthusiastic Shenna. “Where have you been, you absolue—” she broke off before she could say whatever rude word she wanted to say there, and just hugged him tighter.

  “It’s very good to see you, as well, Shenna,” he murmured, patting her on the back.

  Over her shoulder, Samel could see Crispin standing there, a wry smirk on his face and his arms folded.

  "I thought I told you to be careful," Crispin said.

  "You did," Samel agreed. "And I tried, it was just harder than it was meant to be."

  "Ah well, this is what you've trained for, right? Welcome home." He stepped forward and clapped Samel on the shoulder with one hand and used the other to drag Shenna off of him. "Come on Shen, I'm sure he has things to do. Important warrior things. World's gone mad, remember?"

  Samel shook off the longing that sprang up in him when he was welcomed home and looked at Crispin. "Has it really been as bad as all that?" he asked.

  "It has. The Hillsiders are attacking every day. They're looking for something, we've figured that much out, but we don't know what and they're too stupid to understand when we ask. No one's really sure what to do, and then the Generals announced that you were coming back and that you had some answers."

  "Not many," Samel admitted. "But some. I have to speak to the Generals first."

  "Naturally," Shenna said, waving that away. "And then you'll tell us all about being on Earth?"

  "Of course," Samel told her, although the thought of sharing his life there with the people he knew and loved there was making his head hurt. "I should go."

  It was true enough, and not just an excuse to get away from them, he said it over and over again in his head. It was...too much almost. Everything was just the way he'd left it for the most part. The air was hot and thick with humidity, and he was almost...uncomfortable. That was the way he'd liked it for his whole life, and then he'd spent weeks somewhere where there was ice and snow on the ground, and suddenly things had changed. He shook his head and went to find the Generals. There was a fight to be had, and that would clear his head.

  "Captain Samel!" General Holin came striding out to meet him as soon as he'd stepped up to the complex. He clapped Samel on the shoulder. "It is good to have you back."

  "Good to be back, General," Samel said, inclining his head and then saluting.

  "I've no doubt about that. I cannot believe you were on Earth for that entire time." He shuddered. "Well, it was helpful, however bad it was for you. Come inside and we'll tell you what we know."

  Samel almost bristled at the suggestion that being on Earth had been a bad time, but he let it roll off of him. He didn't have time to get offended by every little thing that happened. No one was going to understand how things were for him on Earth, and he didn't want to have to explain it. So he let himself be led inside.

  What the Generals knew was this: they knew that the Hillsiders were trying their hardest to find something, and they knew that they were causing mass chaos all over the planet. They knew that people had died and were still dying and that no one could figure out what they wanted. They knew that they were being controlled by something and someone, but they didn't know who that was.

  What Samel knew was this: there were Hillsiders on Earth, and they were more than likely being controlled by the woman he'd seen and spoken to and she was more than likely going to show up here, looking for him. He also knew they were looking for something else.

  "The source of our power? That is absurd."

  Samel lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "That's what she told me," he explained. "She wanted it for herself so she could have the power. I don't know what she's expecting to find or why she thought she needed to seek me out."

  Dala was frowning, head tipped to one side. "Perhaps she thought you had it," he suggested.

  "Why would she think that, General?"

  "Because to all who didn't know what happened, you fled your planet and went into hiding on Earth. Now, there were some who more than likely assumed that it was because you were up to something underhanded, but to this woman, it might have looked like we gave you this source of our power and sent you away with it. It would explain there being Hillsiders on Earth and the woman wanting to track you down."

  It was a good point, Samel had to admit. Ridiculous beyond all belief because there had never been a source as far as he knew, and even if there were one, why would he take it to Earth of all places? Wouldn't that be incredibly dangerous for the humans there?

  Of course, it was hard to find anyone these days who thought of Earth as anything more than a ridiculous planet full of ridiculous little people and creatures, but still.

  "She'll know that I've come back," Samel said. "She'll be here soon enough."

  "Then we will meet her face to face," Farleen said, jumping in. "All this speculation is well and good, but we need a plan for when things really get hot. We need to be able to fight them."

  "Fighting them has never been a problem for us," Holin replied. "We've been fighting Hillsiders for a long time now. We can continue to fight them."

  "And this woman?"

  "Either she'll come to understand that we don't have anything here for her, or she'll perish," Dala said like it was no big deal. And perhaps it wasn't. Those were the only options that made sense, and Samel was fairly sure he already knew how it would go. She wouldn't back down, and they would have to kill her.

  It wasn't long at all before the woman showed up. Someone came running down to the warrior compound, crying out that a strange ship and just landed in the middle of the square. No one had gotten off of it yet, as far as he knew, but the ship was armed, and the people were scattering.

  And everyone in the warriors knew what that meant. They had all been prepped for this, and they were ready.

  Samel led the charge.

  The Generals had insisted on that. Th
ey said that in a way, he'd started this, and it had become about him, so he should be in the lead at its finish.

  That was fine with him. He headed his squadron, and they marched to the square, uniformed and ready, heads held high.

  Anyone who was still lingering around and hadn't fled for their homes or higher ground watched with wide eyes as they moved down the paved street, approaching the ship.

  It was large, large enough to hold a force, and it looked like it had once been a diplomatic vessel, though now it was armed with huge cannons and guns. Samel could only hope they wouldn't be turned on his people.

  As they approached, a door in the side opened, and the woman from before stepped out. She was elegant, in a strange way, tall and graceful, with slanted eyes and pupils, and long, scaled fingers. Samel recalled that when she'd spoken to him, her tone was almost sibilant, but he struggled to place what race she might be.

  He supposed it didn't matter.

  "Ah, the good Captain," she said as she stepped down and off the ship. "We meet again."

  "You sound surprised for someone who's been following me," Samel said, not even bothering to dance around the subject. "And now you've found me."

  "Again," she said. "I must say, you were far more pleasant when you were wandering around on Earth, cavorting with humans. But then, everything about Earth was more pleasant than here, and you must understand how low of an opinion I have of Earth to think that. Honestly, if you hadn't been there and the humans hadn't been so easily conquerable, I might not have bothered."

  "You don't like it here?" Samel asked, arching an eyebrow and focusing on the important bits of what she was saying. She seemed like the type who would ramble on for days if left unchecked. In love with the sound of her own voice.

  "It's disgustingly hot, and you are all barbarians," she said. "What do you think?"

  "And yet you want our power."

  The woman smiled, showing teeth. "Power is power, Captain. That's all there is to it."