by Sara Page
“Your ship?” I ask.
He nods and says simply, “Yes, my ship,” not giving me any clarification. He moves on to the other wall, pushing buttons and inspecting the shelves that pop out.
“How did we get here?”
“You don’t remember?” he asks, not even looking at me.
“No. The last thing I remember is telling you to run then I woke up here.”
“Striker shot you.”
I gasp. Of course he did, that bastard.
“If it makes you feel any better, I shot him.”
“No, no that doesn’t make me feel any better,” I say but inside, it does make me feel a bit better. Just a little bit.
“How can I understand you now?” I ask and get tired of lingering by the door.
I walk further in and take in the room. First and foremost, it’s obvious this room is meant for sleeping. There’s a large bed in the very center, covered in pillows and thick blankets, taking up most of the space. All the other furniture only pops out of the wall when you push a button, then retracts when you push the button again. Otherwise, it would be impossible to walk around the bed, one would have to constantly crawl over it.
“I had my translator replaced. The old one was broken.”
I walk up to the bed and take a seat on the edge. “So that’s why you sounded like a dog…”
Beast turns to me and both his brows lift in interest, “I sounded like a dog to you?”
“Yes,” I say, widening my eyes at him, “You just kept growling and barking at me. I couldn’t understand you at all.”
Beast laughs and soon I found myself joining him. The tension seems to flow out of me as I laugh, it’s the first time we’ve shared a moment like this. It’s the first time I’ve laughed in ages. However, it’s only a moment and gone before I know it. When we’re done, the silence that falls feels even heavier than before. The tension returns with a vengeance.
Beast stares at me, his eyes darkening, his breathing quickened.
I squirm on the bed and look away. I sense Beast move and then hear him continuing his inspection.
So many questions, but how do I work up the nerve to ask them?
Why do you look at me like that? Why do I like it?
If I ask him if he’ll help me return home, will he go berserk and start destroying this ship?
“Why did you destroy my pod?”
Beast sighs, “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Perhaps it’s his admission that gives me the courage to press. I peek up at him and find myself boldly saying, “That doesn't answer my question.”
Inside, I brace myself for his reaction.
Beast moves away from the wall and walks over to the bed. He takes a seat beside me. The bed dips as his weight sinks into the mattress and I have to reposition myself, to keep from sinking with it.
“Ameia,” he says softly, “Princess.”
He reaches for my hand and I let him take it. My fingers tingle delightfully as his fingers slip between them.
“Your pod’s system was infected with a suppressor virus.”
“A suppressor virus?” I ask, confused. I feel just a little bit stupid for not knowing what it is.
“It’s a virus that suppresses a ship's communication and navigation systems.”
“Oh.” I guess that would explain why no one came for me. “That was unfortunate.” Perhaps I was wrong for blaming Vrillum for my situation.
“Yes,” Beast agrees. “It was unfortunate.”
“But it doesn’t explain why you tore my pod to pieces.”
Beast squeezes my hand then lifts it to his mouth. His soft lips brush across my knuckles. It feels like my skin comes alive beneath his faint kiss, pulsing with energy.
“Not being able to give you what you want enrages me.”
“What? Why?” I ask. That doesn’t make any sense.
“Because you are my Calling.”
Instead of answers, I only have more questions. This whole thing is starting to become quite frustrating. I try to pull my hand back from Beast, him touching me is only distracting me. He holds tight to my hand, though, and bestows upon me another brushing of his lips.
“My name is not Calling.”
“My name is not Beast.”
My cheeks flame with embarrassment. That’s right, Beast isn’t his name. All this time, I’ve been thinking of him as Beast, addressing him as Beast, because that’s what I chose to call him. Like he was a pet. I didn’t even think to ask him his name. That should have been my first question…
“Who are you?”
Beast grins at me, his voice full of pride as he states, “I am Drek Ros Karmada, son of Ros Vin Karmada, King of Blackspire."
My mouth goes dry. The information is a lot to swallow. I lick my lips before asking, “So, you’re a prince?”
His eyes seem to flare as they follow my tongue’s slide across my lips. I instantly regret licking them. I also instantly regret letting him hold my hand.
“Yes, I am a prince, Ameia. And you are welcome to continue to call me Beast if you like, I’ve grown quite used to it. But if you prefer to use my proper name, you may call me Drek.”
I feel so embarrassed it hurts. All this time, all this time he’s been a prince and I never even guessed at it. Look at me, the princess in rags, yet I behaved many times as if I was above him.
“I’m sorry.” I don’t know what else to say. I can only hope he doesn’t hold it against me. So far, it doesn’t seem like he is.
“It’s fine, Ameia,” Beast says reassuringly. He treats me better than I deserve. “All is forgiven. Yes?”
“Yes,” I confirm, nodding my head. “All is forgiven.”
I so don’t even want to know what other embarrassing stuff I did without even knowing it. For some reason, I start remembering what we did in the tree. How good it felt to have his head between my thighs. His tongue is made of magic.
“You are my Calling, Ameia,” Beast says, his voice sounding somehow even deeper and husky, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I’m panting. Oh, my stars, I’m panting. Get ahold of yourself, Ameia.
“What is a Calling?” I ask. And how can I be his? Is he going to start calling me Mine again?
“You will lead me to my destiny,” he says in all seriousness.
“How am I supposed to do that?”
Beast tips his head back and laughs. This time, I can’t join him. Something about this doesn’t seem like a laughing matter. It feels too serious.
“All you have to do is accept me.”
“How do I accept you?”
“I’ll show you,” Beast says, his voice husky again. He bends forward and captures my lips with his.
Beast’s mouth slants over my mouth and this time it feels as if he’s taking his time. This time his pulls from my lips are slow and lingering. They grow deeper and deeper until I feel myself grabbing at him, pulling him closer, wanting more.
His tongue probes at my lips, seeking entrance. The first touch of his tongue is like a zap. I feel all my muscles tense, my body goes rigid, and my lips open for him with a gasp.
In, his tongue slips into my mouth. He’s so sweet, so warm, my tongue eagerly slides against his. Beast groans now as I kiss him back, each stroke I return only spurns him on. Our tongues duel in an electric slip and glide as he attempts to kiss me into submission. Even his tongue is powerful, soon overpowering mine, only to then push me into keeping up with his dance.
My hands start to squeeze his shoulders, kneading in rhythm with the strokes of our kiss. I feel him stiffen as my fingers work him then his arms come around me, wrapping me up in an embrace. My hips are moving, I can’t keep my body from squirming. I want something though I don’t know what that something is. His strong hands roam down my back, pausing at my hips. Then they drop, and I feel him grabbing two big handfuls of my ass, squeezing, kneading in the same rhythm of my hands.
Just when I feel like my body has melted, my bone
s are liquid and my belly is full of heat, Beast tears his lips from my mouth, breaking our deep kiss. He reaches up, one hand tilting my head to the side. His fingers work their way into my hair and then grab it, trapping me. Then his moist lips lick and nip a hot trail down my neck. I can only moan softly my pleasure, feeling as if I’m caught on a live wire with no escape.
Sparks flash. My breathing is erratic. But he doesn’t stop. His teeth graze across my collarbones then his other hand leaves my ass only to cover my breast. Even through the fabric of the shirt, I can feel the heat of his hand as he squeezes. I feel my nipple puckering under the press of his palm.
“Ameia,” Beast breathes hotly against the wetness he left on my neck. “If you want me to stop, just say it.”
I shiver, all the little hairs on my body feel like they’re standing on end. Stop? Why would I want him to stop? It feels so good. I just want more.
“Don’t stop, please,” I breathe out, it feels like I’m breathing fire.
My hand covers his hand. I squeeze my fingers to make him squeeze my breast harder.
“Gods, Ameia,” Beast groans.
My back arches, grinding my hard nipple into his palm. His breathing is ragged, he starts to kiss my neck with a new desperation. Suddenly his hand leaves my ass. I cry out at the loss of that pressure. His hands grab at my shirt, I hear stitches snapping. He rips the shirt open instead of pulling it over my head.
I know it’s not cold in the room, but the air that hits my chest feels cool as it meets the fevered heat of my skin.
“You are so beautiful,” Beast growls as his eyes drink me in.
I look down at myself, trying to see myself as he sees me. My skin is flushed pink, my nipples are tight rosy buds, and my breasts rise and fall steadily, heaving with my pants.
Beast makes a sound deep in his throat as he bends down and buries his face between my breasts. First, I feel him breathing me in, filling himself with my scent. Then his face moves. His mouth sucks at the side of my breast before his tongue slides over the mound, ending with the tip of his tongue flicking across my nipple.
“Oh!” I cry out and shudder. It feels as if his tongue just zapped me.
He does it again. The tip of his tongue flicks, my nipple sparks, hot and alive with energy.
My back arches and I beg him for, “More.”
Beast’s tongue is so hot, so wet, as he drags it across me, making me squirm. It’s such a sweet torture. I feel restless. I can’t stay still. I grab at his hair. I yank, trying to pull him closer, trying to force him to give me more.
He fights me, he’s dead set on taking his time, on torturing me. His tongue plays with me, swirling around, circling my nipple. His teeth just barely graze my tips. The tiny sparks, the pops of sensation are not enough. I need more of something… I just don’t know what that something is.
“Beast, please,” I groan. There’s a throb growing between my thighs, pulsing and tormenting me. I’m so hot, all of me is melting. I fear I’ll be reduced to just a puddle soaking his bed.
“Ameia, I’ve waited so long for this,” his breath is hot against me.
I arch, if I bend my spine anymore, it’s going to snap. He groans, it’s a tortured sound, as if he’s finding it just as difficult as I am.
His hands cover my breast. Squeezing, kneading. My head falls back, still I pull at him. Closer, I need him closer. I want to feel him against me, I want his skin against my skin.
Why does he resist?
“Please,” I plead one last time. My eyes feel heavy. I look at him through my lashes.
Beast looks up at me. I think I’m getting through to him. He stares so long into my eyes, I feel like I’m getting lost in the red lights of his.
“Tell me what you want, my Princess,” he huskily orders me. The way he says my Princess does funny things to my tummy. My heart flutters, to hear him say I am his.
“Do…” I have to think. How can I put into words the feelings I want him to give me? “What you did in the tree.”
Beast chuckles huskily. His hands grip my breasts, tightening, constricting them delightfully. Then I feel him pushing me back. Yes! This is just like what we did in the tree. He looms above me, hovering. He so big, so wide, his shadow completely blankets me.
“Like this?” Beast asks.
“Yes,” I breathe, my nails scratching down the back of his neck.
I feel him stiffen above me, then he arches as I scratch my way down his back, following the groove of his spine.
“Ameia,” he growls. “Tell me what you want.”
I pout as I reach his ass. He’s still wearing his pants. I just have the strongest urge to tear my nails down his taut cheeks. Still, I scratch my way across the fabric. I feel him clench.
He growls again, “Tell me.”
“I don’t know,” I sigh and squirm uncomfortably.
There’s a feeling inside me, an ache that’s not quite an ache. I don’t know what will make it go away. I don’t know what to do to make it happy.
Beast bends his head down and his teeth graze across my neck. “You want me?”
“Yes,” I gasp. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the shocks or the zaps of electricity. As his teeth nip me, scratching at me, it’s as if there’s a direct line of sensation flowing to the junction between my thighs. It’s so intense, so raw, something inside me clenches.
“Tell me.”
I dig my fingers in his cheeks. I want to pull him into me. I have the strongest urge to rub him against me.
“I want you,” I say breathlessly.
“Do you want me to kiss you here?” he asks and then he sucks on the side of my neck.
The pulls of his mouth have me rising off the bed. “Yes,” I encourage him. “Yes.”
“And here?” he asks. His eyes peer up at me as his lips drag down to my breast. I hold my breath, waiting, aching.
“Yes, please, yes.”
His molten mouth covers me.
“Stars!” I cry out, my eyes rolling back in my head.
He suckles hungrily on me. He’s so hot, so wet. I can’t stand it. I thought I wanted this, but it’s only making the throbbing worse. I squeeze my thighs together. The pulsing between them vibrates down to my knees and up to my hips.
Beast pulls his head back and my breast leaves his mouth with a wet pop. He places hungry kisses down me. I hold my breath as his lips glide across my tight stomach. He reaches my belly button then his tongue stops to dip in.
“Why are you torturing me?” I groan out. I resist the urge to lift my hips. He’s so close to me down there, I’ll only be lifting them into him.
“This isn’t torture, my sweet Ameia.” Beast chuckles and his hands grab me by the hips.
“Then what is it?”
“This is me enjoying every inch of your sweet body.”
The bed dips as he shifts his hard body over me.
“And kissing you until you accept me.”
“Oh,” I breathe.
His hands drag slowly from my hips down to my thighs. His hands knead me, working at me, then slowly they push me open.
His voice catches in his throat as he gazes upon me, “Marvelous.”
Beast doesn’t hesitate. Like a man who’s gone hungry, who’s been starving, his mouth ravenously attacks me. First, he attacks the inside of my thighs. He sucks large mouthfuls of me in his mouth. He pulls back, bringing my blood rushing to my skin. Then he moves on, his tongue swirling up my thighs, stopping to trace the line, following the border until he crosses into my apex.
For some reason, I expect him to take his time like he did the first time, but he doesn’t. Beast’s mouth falls upon my sex, growling as he works his tongue against my folds. I’m so shocked, so surprised by the rush of heat that floods me, I’m paralyzed. Then his tongue laps across my clit.
“Beast!” I shriek. He chuckles and then his tongue starts vibrating.
It’s too much. The throbbing is too strong. His vibrating tongue onl
y makes it worse. My insides are boiling, all the pressure I feel must be steam.
I cry out, much like before, and grab at his head. I’m not sure if I’m trying to pull him off or trying to make him do more with his mouth.
His vibrating tongue traps my clit, smothering it. I buck against him, only making it worse. There’s too much aching, too much need.
And just when I think it can’t get any worse, I feel something probing and pushing to get inside me. One finger slips in. I feel myself clenching around it. His finger curls, stroking against a too sensitive spot.
I explode in a wet gush of release.
I scream and cry, my fingers tear at his head. At times, I call him Beast, at times I call him Drek. It’s a wonder I can call him anything at all.
“Ameia,” he purrs when it’s all said and done.
Slowly, pieces of myself come back to me. My eyes were blind, but now they can see. I look down. His mouth is glistening. He runs his tongue along his lips.
That’s me he’s licking up.
“Wow,” I sigh and I sink back, relaxing into the bed. My body feels weak and heavy. I couldn’t move if I wanted to.
Beast crawls up me and I have the strongest sense of déjà vu. We’ve done this before but unlike last time, he doesn’t just stare at me and leave. I feel his knee nudging at my knee. What does he want? I open for him.
He pushes himself between my knees. I feel the brush of something hard. I look at him, confused, not understanding what’s going on.
“Aren’t we done?”
Beast laughs, a tortured laugh, and then his face is suddenly serious as he growls, “Not yet.”
What more can he want? Just the thought frightens me. I thought we were just going to do what we did in the tree, I didn’t expect this.
“Don’t be afraid, my Ameia,” he growls but the way he looks at me, the way his red eyes flare at me, I can’t help it.
He reaches down between us. I feel something hard brush against my folds and my hips jerk. I’m aghast to realize I’m even more sensitive.
I try to look down, but the space between our bodies is shrouded in darkness. “What’s going on?”
“I need you to accept me,” he says through clenched teeth.
I look up at him helplessly. “I don’t understand what that means. Can you explain it?”
