PYTHEN: An Alien War Romance (Galactic Order Book 1)

by Erin Raegan

  “What about when you attack the Vitat? Your ship is much smaller than the warship. Will all those Dahk turn on us?”

  “No, I am still their Commander, they will heed my every order. You misunderstand me, my yula.” He leaned down to nuzzle my neck. He breathed deeply, inhaling my scent. “It is not the war on Earth in question. That we will win,” he stated arrogantly. “Politics play a large role in the King’s House, many will try to come between us, I urge you to trust me.”

  I sniffed him in return. He was asking a lot. Trusting him with the welfare of our species seemed such a small thing in comparison. We had no choice but to trust them to help us. But me? Trust him to take care of me? Trust him with me? That was something entirely different.

  “I’ll try,” I promised, blinking back frightened tears. Tahk had begun to mean something more than my species savior to me. But it had still been such a short amount of time. It wasn’t normal by human standards to feel the things I was feeling for him in so little time. But I couldn’t deny it was happening. He was asking a lot of me, but I would try.

  “Thank you, little one.” He leaned down and pressed his lips lightly to mine. We lay like that for long moment, kissing lazily. He had mastered the art very quickly. It didn’t take much to have me squirming against him.

  Tahk chuckled wickedly. “Slowly, my mate.” He nipped at my throat. “We must move slowly.”

  I groaned when he rolled off me and pulled my back against his chest. Again, he gave me just what I needed.

  Yes, for this enigma of an alien, I could definitely try.

  I was tired, but I kept my eyes open well into the sunrise telling Tahk all about my home and my family. I told him about my dad, and how we lost him to a drunk driver. How my mom left after his death, and my fears and guilt that I didn’t know where she was. If she was okay. He promised to take me to look for her as soon as we could. I kissed him long and hard for that. He seemed very pleased with himself.

  I told him about my pottery, he seemed really impressed and told me such a skill was highly sought after on his planet. I tried not to think about ever seeing it. I knew Tahk wanted to take me there, it would be silly of me not to notice. I just didn’t want to have that conversation with him yet. So, I changed the subject.

  He listened raptly when I talked about my chickens and noodle. My Frederick. He seemed shocked I held so many animals. Not that they were here―they must have similar farms or something like it―but that I spoke of each of them with so much love. He didn’t seem to understand the concept of pets. At first, he talked about House companions. But he said our idea of pets were not the same. House companions were very smart, equal to the Dahk in intelligence. Their livestock and fish were not the same as companions. They were food. My chickens were smarter than they looked but not of that caliber.

  It made me snicker to think that they thought we were strange to care so strongly for Bobo. He chuckled with me, and soon I was drifting to sleep. I only wished I had stayed up longer to hear more about his own home. Regardless of my fears that he would take me there.

  Chapter 24

  Peyton

  I woke up not long after falling asleep to Noodle’s loud crowing. Tahk growled when I shifted against him. I was still only wearing his tunic from the ship, but it had ridden up above the hand he had curled around my belly. My bare bottom was nestled against him. I felt something long and hard poking me. My belly tightened. Tahk’s other arm was beneath my head curled around to cup my breast. My nipple tightened underneath his rough callouses.

  “You are finally awake, my mate.” He nudged my hips from behind. “I wish to practice our slowly.” He bent and sucked my neck. I arched against him, giving him better access. His hand moved down my belly to cup firmly between my legs. “How should we practice this sunrise, hmmm?” He nipped along my shoulder, his hand massaging my breast. Fingers between my legs teased me lightly. “Like this again?” One finger pressed into the folds of my sex. I bit down on my lip, straining to control a cry. “Or will you have me use my tongue once more?” His tongue laved down my neck, his head moving up and around, so he could reach the divot at the bottom of my throat. “Yes, I think I would like the taste of you on my tongue this day,” he rumbled in approval when I writhed along his finger. “I will have you for first meal, mate. I will have you ride a top my tongue.” His low timber vibrated my throat, continuing down into the heart of me.

  I whimpered when he took his finger away and rolled to his back. His wings spread wide, hanging off the edges of the bed and he lifted me to sit astride his chest. My tunic was torn off my body and my thighs were yanked up the bed to rest beside his ears. “Speak, lovely, give me your surrender so I may feast,” he growled along the crease of my thigh.

  The tips of his horns kept his head raised just enough off the bed that I barely had to move down at all to reach his mouth, but I held back. Not from fear or trepidation. I waited for his eyes. When he gave them to me I said all I could, all I wanted so desperately to say but wasn’t ready to, with my own gaze. And then I begged him, “Tahk.”

  He snarled and yanked me down. My breath left me in whoosh, and my hands hung onto his horns. My head flew back after his first long lick, the tips of my hair tickling my ass. I writhed on top of him. The hungry sounds he made spurred me on, his claws carefully scraping along my thighs driving me higher. He didn’t shy away from using his fangs. They scraped along the inside of my lips, his tongue laved away each sting. I was so wet the sharp tips glided across my skin so effortlessly the small pricks of pain only heightened every delicious sensation.

  I reached behind me with one hand and freed him from his leather pants. His member sprung out, slapping heavily against the skin of his abdomen. He snarled while sucking down to my entrance. When I grabbed for him and stroked, his scorching tongue speared inside me. I cried out and squeezed him in return. His hands moved from my thighs to grasp at the cheeks of my ass and forged me to his mouth.

  “Oh, god,” I breathed mindlessly.

  “Tahk,” He snarled inside me.

  “Tahk!” The vibrations from his wrathful voice had me bucking. I had no choice but to release his thickness and grasp back at his horns. My muscles quivered, and my cries grew louder. He left my entrance and snarled and sucked against my clit over, and over. He held me captive with his intense eyes as I begged him to give me what I so desperately needed. He was ravenous. One of his hands abandoned the harsh grip he had on my ass, and I felt him jack himself in quick sharp bursts.

  “I’m going to come,” I shouted. He spread my ass cheek wide, his claw resting dangerously against my back puckered hole. “Tahk!” His answer was to suck my clit so deeply I felt every one of his sharp teeth scrape along the tight nerves. I screamed. There was no stopping it, my orgasm rolled over me so quickly it took me off kilter. My thighs vibrated, my fingernails dug into his thorns, and my abdominal muscles contracted so fiercely it was a wonder I didn’t fall over on top of him.

  Tahk roared around my clit, forcing me into another shorter but equally intense orgasm.

  I slumped against him. He heaved through his nostrils and pulled me down further onto his chest before I could crack my head off his horns. Warm liquid spread across my pubis and belly from the sperm on his hard stomach. His smooth scales scraped down my sensitive skin, causing little dances of explosions all across my body. My chin nestled against his peck and I deep breathed against him. My thighs trembled along his sides, and my toes curled into his thick thighs pulling at the leather still encasing them.

  “That was―” I couldn’t even put a name to it.

  “We do slowly very well, my mate,” he rumbled and smoothed his hand down my spine. “I will have you slowly every sunrise.”

  I huffed a laugh and hugged his shoulders as tightly as my wobbly arms would allow. That was anything but slow. I had never come so quickly before. He demanded it, and my body complied.

  After we regained our even breathing, Tahk lifted me off him and p
ulled me from the bed. I had a small bathroom attached and followed Tahk as he went looking for a wash cloth. It didn’t take him long. He may not have been familiar with humans, but he had no trouble adapting quickly. He wiped at my belly where he was smeared before wiping at himself. Then he bent down and caressed my lips with his.

  He patted my butt into the bathroom before shutting it with a wink. And now he gave me privacy. I did my business and jumped in the shower to quickly rinse off. Wrapping a towel around myself I exited the bathroom suddenly feeling shy.

  He had seen every part of my body, tasted almost all of it, but seeing him explore the treasures of my bedroom was a new intimacy we hadn’t shared. He was studying a picture of my father while twirling a necklace absently around a claw.

  I went to my dresser and pulled out a simple pair of leggings and a long-sleeved shirt that hung past my bottom. I kept the towel around me as I pulled up a pair of lavender lacy panties. Then I let the towel drop to pull on a matching bra.

  Tahk rumbled a curse from behind me. I spun and caught him gaping at my underwear. “What is this?” He dipped a claw in the waist band at my hip, gently pulling it away.

  “Underwear,” I laughed at his dumbstruck expression. Not fully adapted, I mused. Seems female Dahk didn’t wear frilly underthings.

  “You will wear more of these for your mate,” he commanded and pulled me to him. His hands smoothed down to the cheeky cuts of the panties and he groaned. Squeezing my ass tightly, he bent over my shoulder to look closer. He cursed again, “I am need of you again,” he purred and licked along my shoulder.

  I laughed and swatted him away. It was late in the morning now. My animals needed fed. He huffed but let me go. Instead he leaned against my tall dresser with his arms crossed to watch me pull on the tight black leggings. “You will be the end of me, little one,” he snarled and scrubbed at his face. I laughed again and quickly pulled on my shirt.

  He went to reach for me, but I evaded his grasping hands. Quickly pecking him on the cheek, I ran from the room smiling at his furious curses.

  “You seem in good spirits this morning, young lady,” Bryan called as I skipped down the steps. My smile froze on my face. Bryan looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was growing uneven patches of salt and pepper hair. His suit was coated in dirt and wrinkled. He looked nothing like the debonair man I was so used to.

  “Morning. Where’s Viv?” I padded over to him and hugged him tightly. He squeezed me back and then swatted me away.

  “She’s still sleeping. Hector had news of her parents last night.” He looked back at my library door with a frown. “He went for them when he left the city. They didn’t make it.”

  I blinked away tears also staring at the door. Poor Viv. Hearing that had to have devastated her.

  “Tell me about the alien.” Bryan stood straight and pressed down his wrinkled jacket. I sent him a sad smile.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I wanted to know if it was taking advantage of you, but after seeing that smile this morning I think my concerns may be unfounded.”

  I flushed. “Tahk, his name is Tahk, and he’s not an it, Santa.”

  He waved away my words. “You’ll forgive me, they are aliens. I still find myself shocked at using the word so often.”

  “It’s hard to explain.” I flushed even more. “He’s nice though. It was weird at first. But somehow, every minute with him gets more and more normal. Now, it doesn’t seem weird at all, maybe a little different. But―” I fidgeted with my fingers as Bryan stared at me with laser sharp focus. “I- I think dad would have liked him.”

  Bryan sighed, “I trust your judgment.” He turned to a mug on the counter and sipped. My mouth watered. Was that coffee? Bryan chuckled from whatever he saw on my face. Turning to the counter he pulled out another cup and continued, “If that Tahk is what you want, then I will support you.” He poured a second cup of coffee from a pot on the counter. Electricity was a thing of the past, so they must have heated up the pot with a fire. I hoped it didn’t attract any white alien carnivores.

  He handed me the cup and I sipped it, exhaling a blissful sigh. I would never take coffee for granted again. Bryan tugged a strand of my hair to get my attention. “Make no mistake, human or alien, your father would have tolerated anyone in your life for your sake, but none would have ever been good enough.” He smiled teasingly, “He certainly wouldn’t have liked them.”

  I giggled and wiped my eyes. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He pulled me against him and I leaned my head on his shoulder. He nodded and looked away, blinking rapidly.

  “If he hurts you―” Bryan scowled down at me. “Well, your father would gut him, so in honor of him, I will find a very large knife.” He smiled when I laughed.

  He scowled at the wall again, and something snagged my attention. Looking closer, I noticed he wasn’t actually scowling. “Bryan, where’s your glasses?”

  He sighed loudly. “I lost them,” he grumbled and released me. “No teasing from either you or Vivian,” he warned with a pointed finger.

  “No teasing got it.” I held up my hands.

  He nodded and walked to the living room.

  “You need help getting there?” I called after him.

  He grumbled and cursed, and I laughed all the way outside. Tahk came out only moments after me. He nuzzled my neck. I knew he stayed upstairs to give me time with Bryan, so I thanked him with a kiss. I told Bryan it was becoming more and more normal and it was. But I failed to mention the butterflies Tahk had been giving me lately. The excitement I started to feel every time he looked at me. Bryan was wrong about one thing, dad would have really liked Tahk, not just tolerated him. Tahk took care of me. I was seeing it more and more from him. Dad loved anything that made me happy, and Tahk was definitely doing that.

  I grabbed Tahk’s hand and pulled him with me to the chicken pen. “Morning Noodle,” I called to my rooster. He fluffed his feathers and turned his back to me. Tahk chuckled. Jilly was pecking at the ground while Noodle watched over her, and my other chickens ran around aimlessly. Tahk helped me spread the feed, cautiously watching the harmless chickens. Soon we had a crowd of onlookers. The Dahk gathered to stare, and Hector’s men observed with reluctant hilarity as Tahk jumped from the aggressive Noodle’s attempts to shoo him out. Noodle did not like Tahk in his pen.

  Bobo found the entire event exciting and ran around the outside of the pen hopping and barking. Colt glared at the chickens as if they had somehow offended him. When one of the Dahk asked after him, he said “chickens are for eating. I’m starving and I’m staring at my food,” My cry of outrage had him cursing and ambling for the house. There was food in the house, just no meat. The man could go a day without eating his weight in living beings.

  From there we moved on to Frederick. Tahk watched me brush him with a thoughtful frown. “You know we cannot stay here, my mate.”

  I sighed. I did know. I just didn’t know what I would do with my animals. They needed someone to take care of them. But I wasn’t ready to leave. They had no one. I would have to free them and hoped they could survive.

  “You do not wish to leave them.” He pulled me back against his chest and inhaled along my shoulder. I shook my head. No, I wanted to stay here. But, Tahk needed to go to the Eastern states, and I wasn’t pig headed enough to believe I could survive out here on my own.

  “I must ease your fears, allow me to send them to the battle ship,” he murmured.

  I sucked in a breath and spun in his arms. “You would do that?”

  “Yes, their safety distresses you. If they are your House members, I will protect them as if they are my own,” he said very seriously, as if they weren’t just chickens and a goat. I lunged for him. He caught me as I wrapped my legs around his waist. My mouth crashing down on his. “More of this, and I will save all the cheekeens of earth,” he purred. I giggled and hugged him.

  Tahk held me to him and exited the barn. I rested my chin on
his shoulder with a small pleased smile. “I kind of like you, Commander,” I whispered.

  “You have my heart, mate.” He licked along my neck. My chest constricted. Dad would have totally liked him. “Yilt, herd the earth mammals. Send them on the ship with Dao and Ryt,” Tahk ordered when we left the barn. “Gather their supplies, lovely.” He patted my rump and I jumped down, grinning. Yilt looked dumbfounded, his eyes round and his mouth gaping. Fihk chuckled and looked to his clawed feet. A few of Hector’s guys even laughed.

  The next hour was full of hilarity, lightening the solemn atmosphere that had lingered last night. The Dahk and marines worked together to run through the pen and grab the squawking chickens. They made as little noise as possible, but the chaos was so vast that curses and crashes filled the air anyway. Vivian and Hector wandered out shortly after Yilt fell flat on his face wrestling with Noodle. Vivian’s eyes were bloodshot, and I hugged her. Silently giving her comfort. Her face brightened when she caught sight of the chicken corral. Hector chuckled wrapping himself around her. Bryan came out raving about the noise only to shake his head and head back inside. Colt dropped onto the porch steps with a bag of chips, stuffing his face and Bobo’s, bellowing crows of hilarity.

  Tahk did not chase the chickens, instead he stood off to the side of the pen ordering both Dahk and humans about. He took their safety very seriously and demanded not one feather be harmed on the cheekeens.

  Yilt was hissing and gruffing―what I now knew to be alien growls―in that funny way the Dahk did, when Noodle fluttered through the air pecking at his heels. My rooster was feisty. He didn’t like being told what to do. Poor Yilt was out of his element, when Noodle got him good in the bottom of his wing, Yilt yelped and ran from the pen.