by Lisa Lace
Her knees were jabbing at my calves, but I slipped a hand under her ass, kneading her full, firm cheeks as I held her up against me. I wiggled the tips of my fingers every time I got deeper into her, tickling the wet spot just above her pelvis. Eventually, she had to let go of my wrist. She dragged her fingers down the side of her hot face. As I pushed my thumb against her clit, she bit down on the fold of her thumb, her eyes fluttering shut.
When her mouth started to soften, I pulled my fingers out of her and ran my lips over them. Her eyes sprang open.
With the slightly sweet aftertaste of Michelle’s sex still on my tongue, I removed the rest of her clothing and lifted her off the floor. She clung to my neck, kicking off her shoes as I carried her into bed. The sight of her nude body sprawled out on my bed made me want to throw up her legs and ravish her immediately. Instead, I held myself back for a moment and rolled Michelle onto her side, facing her away from me.
I lay down alongside Michelle and pushed her hair over her shoulders. Rubbing the nape of her neck, I reached for my erection and started to glide the tip of my cock against her warm folds. Michelle reached behind her, groping the side of my face as she lifted her knees to her stomach. Her pussy spread open slightly, making it easy for me to enter her body. I twisted her head around and kissed her tenderly, carefully sliding my cock inside her.
When our lips peeled apart, I lay Michelle’s head gently onto the pillow. I ran my fingers along her trembling shoulder and arm as I slowly pumped in and out of her. I took my time; I wanted her to feel the penetration to her core. Reaching around to her front, I eased my hand to her clit. As I fucked her, I pinched and tweaked at the sensitive button.
Michelle’s warm back nestled against my thumping chest. I could feel her shoulders clenching and relaxing in my embrace. I could feel her low, sensual moans through her back, vibrating against me.
Wanting to feel more, I pressed down on her clit with one of my fingers. Each subtle change of pressure evoked a different noise from her throat, a different shiver in her body, and a different wrinkle on her nose. She had completely given herself to me, allowing me to do as I pleased with her.
“I’m almost there,” she gasped.
I maintained the same pressure in my thrusts but sped up my finger moving on her clit. As I licked the inside of her ear, Michelle let out a gasp. The walls of her pussy constricted around my cock. I pushed myself deeper into her, supporting her shaking frame as my cock reached as far as it would go inside her body. I pushed my palm firmly against the soft hair above her sex, all the while gently coaxing the tip of my erection against that spot inside of her.
Michelle cursed softly, her body jolting in brief spasms. Before I knew it, her tightening pussy released a warm flow of liquid all over my cock. Michelle groggily kicked out her legs. In her daze, she slipped her fingers between my legs, finding the stretch of skin behind my sack.
She pushed two knuckles across my taint, rubbing me as I continued to fuck her. Caught off guard, my shoulders and stomach began to tighten. There was a new feeling shooting up my groin and knees, but I didn’t want it to stop.
As Michelle moved her other hand around my sack, I reached up and wrapped an arm around her neck. I thrust my pulsating cock in and out of her aggressively, my hips only slowing down when I felt my muscle on the verge of exploding. I pulled out of her, twisting around to grab the towel on the floor.
Michelle swatted my hand away. She bent down, grabbed my twitching erection with both hands, and slid it into her mouth. I raked my fingers across the back of her head and held onto her hair. As I peered down at her round, eager eyes, I emptied myself into her mouth, squirting my warm load of cum down her throat. She swallowed eagerly, tilting her head as her eyes rolled upward.
“I’ve always wondered what an alien would taste like. I’m not sure why I expected anything to be drastically different, but it does seem to go down smoother than a man.” Shrugging, she fell back into bed, fluffing my pillows underneath her.
“Are you planning on going somewhere?”
“I thought we were going to dinner.”
“Eventually, but it can wait. The dining hall is open until midnight, and my legs are still feeling a little weak.” I got back into bed and lay next to her. She cuddled up against me, resting her head on my chest. No one had ever spent the night with me before, and if they had, I imagine we would have slept on opposite ends of the bed until one of us woke up and snuck off in the morning. Lying here, doing nothing but holding her naked body close to me, wasn’t something I had ever imagined doing before.
Michelle’s petite body felt fragile now as she curled up against me. It was hard to believe two men, her father and Tate, could inflict so much pain on one small being. At the same time, someone this size bringing me comfort and security mystified me.
As I stroked her hair and the side of her face, our fingers interlaced over my stomach. I suddenly felt the urge to stay like this all night long.
“Mental alchemy.” Michelle looked up at me, tracing my ink with her fingertips. “Does every Keeper get to choose their emblem?”
“Aye. I used to have a tattoo of badly colored flames. Twanda wouldn’t let me live it down. Nala redid it for me when I turned twenty-one.”
“It’s a beautiful tribute to Twanda. I’m sure she would have loved it.” Michelle sat up, resting her chin on my chest as she looked back at me. “She had a solid outlook on life. She replaced your traditional beliefs with positivity and embracing the changes life throws at you. That’s easier said than done.”
I touched the curve of her ear between my fingers. “Have you ever thought about leaving Earth?”
“All the time,” Michelle replied promptly, sighing. Her eyes drifted past mine. “Packing up all my things, or leaving them all behind, then traveling to another planet, meeting someone, falling in love with them and settling down. A girl can dream, right? But Earth is where I was born, and it’s my home. I can’t just get up and leave, can I?”
“Your birthplace doesn’t necessarily dictate your home.”
“If you say so.” Michelle’s eyes locked onto mine. Suddenly, she looked away from me, her face darkening.
“Is something the matter?”
“The thing I wanted to talk to you about earlier...” Michelle sat up, tucking her legs underneath her body. “I don’t know how to say it.”
I straightened up and moved next to her. “It’s okay.”
“I know how close you are with the prince, so this might be awkward.” She looked directly at me. “He made a pass at me the other night, and I did not appreciate it. In his defense, he was drunk, but I didn’t want him to touch me. I don’t care if he’s a prince.”
“What did Jethro do, exactly?” I felt my cheeks starting to burn.
“We were in the dining room. He tried to feel me up in front of all the guests, too.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No,” said Michelle, lifting her chin. “I can take care of myself.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
“Don’t make a big deal out of it, but thanks.”
“I promise that it won’t happen again. You have my word.”
“Good.” Michelle’s smile reappeared.
She fell back onto my chest, wrapping her arms around my neck. For the next half hour, we lay together without speaking a word. We stayed like that until both of us fell fast asleep.
Chapter Seventeen
MICHELLE
When I woke up in Cas’ arms with a snort, it was way past dinner time. I quickly wiped off my drool from his chest and hopped off the bed, starting to put my clothes on again. As Cas’ snores rumbled in the background, I grinned. I had no idea how I slept through that musical number, but it was the best sleep I could remember for a long time.
Taking the extra card key from his nightstand, I kissed him on the forehead and crept out of his room. My blazer needed an immediate steaming to remove the wrinkles. While I was at it, I thought I
might heat up a cup of instant noodles in my room.
On my way to the elevators, one of the cream doors to the penthouse suite clicked open. Indira slipped out of the room. The Keeper adjusted the sagging strap of her black top, her hair disheveled and sticking out in the back. I forced a small smile, deliberately walking around her.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t look so smug.”
I turned around. “Excuse me?”
“I said...”
“I heard what you said.” I walked toward her coolly, hooking two fingers together behind my back. “But what am I supposed to be smug about, exactly?”
“If you think you’re something special, I assure you, you are sorely mistaken.” She tucked in her chin, her dark lips pressed together in a lopsided smile. “You’ll see. When Cas finally comes to his senses and realizes he’s been wasting his time with a voshna, he’ll come crawling back to me.”
“That’s sweet, Indira, but I’m an adult, and I think I’ll be okay. I appreciate your concern, though. Is there anything else you’d like to have a little chit-chat about? I should be getting back to my room.”
Indira glowered at me, the lines on either side of her mouth deepening. As she slowly shook her head, the bitchy smile on her face returned. “Aye. That’s all and well. Now that you mention it, there is something I’ve been hoping to ask you. I’ve been wondering about the cute scar on your man’s butt. How did that come about?”
I stirred, my eyebrows knitting together in thought. Cas didn’t have a single mark on his smooth, chiseled ass. Tate did. I recovered quickly, flashing Indira a fake smile.
“You know very well that Mr. Sheen and I are no longer together, but to answer your question, it was from a biking accident when he was six.” I should have stopped there, but I couldn’t help myself. “As it turns out, I have a friendly word of advice for you as well. Tate and I haven’t been intimate lately due to his severe hemorrhoids and angry butt rash, so you might want to get yourself checked out by an alien doctor.”
That wiped the shit-eating smile off Indira’s face. I had never seen anyone turn that shade of red before. She pushed her way past me and stomped down the hall to her room, frantically scratching her butt along the way.
Of course, nothing I said was true. There was no rash and no hemorrhoids. I didn’t even think hemorrhoids were contagious. But Indira didn’t have to know that.
Beaming, I turned to the elevators again, but before I could enter I heard loud voices coming from within the penthouse suite. I cocked my head to the left, dropping my gaze to the floor. One of Indira’s silver hoop earrings had wedged itself between the door and the frame, keeping it from fully shutting.
“Are you stupid or just crazy? I told you not to contact me on my communicator.”
“If you think you’re getting away with this, you’ve got another thing coming. You didn’t think I would find you, did you?”
The hairs on my arms stood up at the sound of the woman’s cold, raspy voice.
Checking around me to confirm I was still alone, I held my breath and took a step closer to the door. I leaned over, peering inside the narrow opening with one eye. Prince Jethro paced around the oval coffee table. A three-dimensional hologram floated over the circular device sitting on the glass tabletop. The woman’s voice seemed to be coming from the hologram, which currently showed a figure in a blood-red hooded cloak.
“You should have known that disabling your tracker wouldn’t be enough to hide from me. I know you and the Keepers are trapped on Earth. It won’t be long now until I find you and take what you owe.”
“Kaiva, be reasonable.” The prince locked his fingers together, rubbing his palms as he crashed onto the armchair facing away from the door. There was a palpable sense of fear in the increasing pitch of his voice. “You don’t understand. I was about to contact you.”
“What is there to understand? We had a deal. We staged a scene so the Thortonese looked culpable for the Doomstone theft. For Azgoth’s sake, you had fourteen of your men killed! My assignment was to hold the Doomstone for safe keeping, await your arrival, and surrender the stone so you could earn the throne.”
“I’m well aware of our agreement.”
“In return, you promised me Luna Bago and two million credits. Not only have you yet to transfer the remaining million, but you have also arrived three days early and ambushed me.”
“It wasn’t an ambush.” I had never heard the sniveling tone in the prince’s voice before, and it was oddly satisfying. “This is all a part of my plan.”
“I’m not interested in your plan. We had a deal. Your Keepers are expendable to you, but every one of my troops is valuable.” The figure yanked down her hood. Kaiva’s blue-green locks spilled out, curling around her chest. She had a young, delicate face and brilliant neon-green eyes that didn’t match her rough voice. “You cost me twenty of my men. I don’t know what you’re planning, and I don’t want to know. If you don’t find a way to get back here tomorrow with my credits, we are going to have a problem.”
“Forget the moon, Kaiva. You’re thinking too small. What if you had partial ownership of Earth. Imagine the future profits on the planet’s resources.”
I placed one hand against the door, my breathing quickening.
“Earth?” Kaiva gave a short, derisive laugh. “What have you been smoking down there? Who wouldn’t want to own a planet? But the idea is a fantasy. Unlike you, I am a realist. That’s why I have been chosen to lead, and you have not.”
“As I was saying earlier before you dismissed me, I have a plan.” Jethro ground his teeth together. “I have a human associate, Tate Sheen. He’s not particularly intelligent, but he is a celebrity of sorts around here, and he is running for office. Tate has a speech coming up the day after tomorrow. It will be televised and broadcasted to millions of people across the nation. Once he makes his speech, we’ll be able to control the minds of the humans. We’ll start slow, you see. First, we get our hands on one country. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll move on to the next.”
Kaiva lowered her eyes, the wrinkles on her face subsiding. “Are you still in possession of the Doomstone? And if you are, do you have the balls to use it?”
“Aye.” Prince Jethro had stopped fidgeting and rested one hand casually on his lap. He leaned close to the hologram, looking into Kaiva’s eyes. “Send a few of your men here for reinforcement, and leave the rest to me.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
I backed away from the door when I felt the hiccup coming, but I was too late. A violent noise erupted from my throat. Prince Jethro jumped in his seat, jerking his head back.
“Who’s there?”
Without a thought, I raced straight past the elevators and opened the door to the stairwell. I bolted up four flights of stairs, not letting myself stop until I was safely back in my suite. By the time I arrived, I was short of breath and wheezing. I secured all the locks to the door with slippery hands and darted for the phone on the nightstand.
I wedged the phone between my ear and shoulder, punching in the extension to Cas’ room. Annoying flute music played in my ear. I flicked off the sweat on my face, knocking my knuckles and the bottom of my palm against the nightstand.
“Come on. Have you never used a phone before?”
When the line went dead, I sat down on the edge of the bed. The mattress groaned beneath my weight. With a sigh, I smashed the switch hook to get a dial tone and hit redial.
Chapter Eighteen
CAS
I stepped out of the elevator and headed for the lobby, accompanied by six other Keepers.
“Our gear’s packed up in the back of the truck,” said Nala, walking alongside me. She pushed her curly hair and tied it behind her back with a stretchy band. “Do you need anything else before we leave?”
“Nay, I have all my things.”
“Cas! Cas – there you are.” Michelle came running out from the closing elevator doors next to the one we
had taken. She zipped up her purple jacket as she jogged towards me. Nala waved at Michelle, nodding as she turned to leave.
“Don’t take too long. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
I caught Michelle by her arms before she could run into me.
“Take it easy, Michelle,” I grinned at her. “Are you here to give me a kiss goodbye before I head off to the repair shop?”
“Where’s the prince?” Michelle was acting nervous. She held onto my elbows, whipping her hair back and forth like she was trying to conceal her face.
“He’s not here. I haven’t seen him all morning.” I frowned, recognizing the genuine panic in the dilated blues of her eyes. “Is everything all right? What are you still doing here? I thought you had work today.”
“I’m taking a sick day today.” Michelle tugged hard on my elbow, pulling me next to the plastic plant behind the receptionist’s counter. “I tried calling you all night, but you weren’t picking up.”
“Aye, sorry about that. I was knocked out cold for the evening. I didn’t get up until Botu came pounding on my door this morning. What’s the matter, Michelle? You’re all shaken up today.”
“I woke up around three in the morning last night. You were still asleep, and I thought I’d go back to my room to make us some food. I picked up these delicious curry noodles from the store...sorry, I’m getting distracted. The door to Prince Jethro’s suite was open, and I overheard him talking to someone on this weird circular device – I think he called it his communicator.”
“You really shouldn’t be listening in on people’s private conversations, but keep going.” I crossed my arms, spreading my feet apart. “Who was he talking to?”
“It was a woman. She had an unusually deep voice and a long, sharp face, but she was still pretty.”
Michelle could have been describing anyone. “What was her name?”
“Long teal hair with a red robe...” Michelle slid a closed fist over her forehead, flicking her eyes toward the ceiling. “Kyra? Kenya? Something with a K, that’s for sure.”
