by M. A. Church
"You embarrassed yourself today," Ti stated calmly. "You embarrassed me today.
Ti slowly reached through the shield and threaded his fingers through Colt's silky black hair and jerked his head back.
"How dare you. How dare you try to manipulate me," Ti said quietly. Ti removed his hand, stepped away from Colt, walked over to a table that was in the room, and picked up a long-handled flogger. Then he walked back to Colt, once again reached through the field, and grabbed Colt's chin. He held the whip up to his lips.
"Kiss it," Ti demanded.
"No."
"Very well, then." Ti very calmly yanked Colt's pants off, leaving him gloriously nude.
Colt was as well-endowed as my mate, just as long and thick as Keyno and already half hard, which made me raise an eyebrow. Ti stepped back and let the flogger fly. I listened to the sound of the flogger cutting through the air and landing on Colt's back. I grabbed the handles of the chair, knowing what was coming, determined to watch it, no matter what. Colt flinched, but never made a sound. His cock jumped, though, and hardened completely.
Ti flogged him for what seemed like forever, taking his time to choose where the next blow would land. But I also noticed Ti was careful not to break the skin. Colt was breathing hard and sweating, but he never cried out. I, on the other hand, jumped in sympathy every time that flogger landed. Red streaks decorated Colt's back. Keyno wrapped his arms around me to hold me still.
Again, Ti reached into the force field and held the whip to Colt's lips, and again Colt refused to kiss it. Ti shrugged and continued to flog Colt, the blows now raining down on both his upper back and his ass. Finally, Colt cried out. Ti stopped immediately. He sank one hand in Colt's hair, gently pulling his head back by an improvised ponytail.
"Come, my mate, kiss it," Ti held the flogger up to Colt.
Very gently, Colt ran his lips across the whip.
"Good," Ti said softly. "Very good. You are so strong, so deadly. I truly admire that about you. But now you need to let go and lower your guard. With me, you can give up that deadliness. You shouldn't have thrown that match, even if you did do it to prove to Dale this is what you want. You purposely set up a situation that led to me having to punish you. But more than that, you allowed yourself to be hurt during that match. I am not pleased with you permitting yourself to be deliberately injured, do you understand?"
"Y-yes. Fuck, Ti... I'm... I'm sorry. Yo, I shouldn't have endangered myself. I shouldn't have set you up to have to punish me."
I had to wonder how many times in his life Colt had felt the need to apologize to anyone for his actions. Not many times, I was betting.
"No, you shouldn't have. You should have come to me, told me what you felt Dale needed to see to be reassured, and together we would've worked out a session that showed what was needed. Instead you placed yourself in danger."
Ti stepped away and released the BMI. He caught Colt, steadying him. "Never again, Colt, or next time I'll punish you much harder."
"Yes, never again."
"Then this part of the punishment is finished. But I am going to fuck you in front of them. Dale needs to see your pleasure now instead of your pain. You know what to say if you don't want that."
Colt said nothing, just nodded slightly.
"You notice he didn't safeword," Keyno said.
"Yeah, I caught that. He likes this kind of stuff, for some reason."
When Colt still didn't use his safeword, Ti walked Colt over to a full-body harness suspended from the ceiling near where Keyno and I were sitting. He took the blindfold off and, for a second, Colt looked into my eyes, that small, satisfied grin of his playing across his lips. Yup, that was not fear I was seeing.
Ti strapped Colt into the harness, binding Colt's arms against his waist, and tying his legs open with his knees pulled up. Straps supported his back, neck, and legs; he wasn't getting out of that thing until Ti let him out. And he didn't look like he wanted out, either.
"Do you see?" Keyno asked softly. "He likes this. He hasn't lost his erection. Ti has carefully watched him all through the punishment, have you noticed? And Colt has a safeword he could've used and hasn't, don't forget that."
"What's next?" I whispered back as Ti moved around Colt.
Ti grabbed Colt's cock and held it straight up, slipping a cock ring on him. Colt's body bucked as Ti pushed it down his cock. He then opened a jar and lubed his fingers. Colt moaned. I was pretty damn sure that sound was one of excitement.
"That's right, my mate, I going to make you scream with pleasure."
Ti worked Colt open with first one finger, then two. His body swung gently as Ti twisted and turned his fingers, gently stretching Colt's hole. He took his fingers out, added more lube, and slipped three fingers inside Colt, who again groaned as Ti readied him. Ti's other hand stroked Colt's dick.
"Fuckin' hell, fuckin' hell... Ti, fuck me!"
"Ask me the right way, Colt."
"Ti, would you fuckin' hell just fuck me... please!"
Colt turned his head, stared straight at me for a second, and then winked. I couldn't believe it—the fucker winked at me. And I had my answer—no matter what happened in that room, Colt wanted it.
We watched through the window while Ti pulled the cock ring from Colt and entered him. He jacked Colt off as he fucked him. Colt gasped as he came, grunting out his pleasure. Just as Ti stiffened as if he was going to come, his fangs released and he turned his head to one of Colt's knees that was supported by a strap. He bit down on the inside part of Colt's leg, the meaty part. Colt grunted, released a strangled moan, and came again.
"Fuck! Fuck, that's good... Ti... shit!"
Ti lifted his head from Colt's leg and smiled as Colt trembled one last time. A few drops of blood were smeared over Ti's mouth. For a second, I saw their eyes meet. Ti smiled at Colt—and damn, the smile Colt flashed Ti was tender and loving. Ti whispered something I couldn't hear to Colt. Colt nodded his head slightly. Then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he passed out.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, all in all. I watched Ti now taking care of Colt. His movements were gentle and caring. He removed Colt from the harness and laid him on a table. He retrieved the same liquid unguent Doc used to anesthetize and treat cuts and methodically applied it to the bite mark on Colt's leg.
"There is love there, Dale." Keyno rested his head against my back.
"I know. I see that. I don't get it, but I see that."
"Are you satisfied now?"
"Yes, and God, I wanna go home," I answered.
Ti walked up to the window, smiling at us. He looked... happy. "Do you need a ride back?"
"No, we'll be fine. Care for your mate, Ti. I can carry Dale if he's too tired to walk back," Keyno said.
"Or I could tie your tail in a knot for that comment. Why would I be too tired? Besides, I'm not the one who passed out in some kind of freaky bondage-type swing." Head held high, I stalked out of the room, and heard Ti snicker behind me.
Okay, so I was a little emotionally worn out. The scene hadn't been too wild, but I had still been tense through much of it, since I hadn't known what to expect. We let ourselves out and walked back to our quarters. I didn't have much to say as I thought about what I had just seen.
Keyno grasped my hand as we walked along the path. "I have only one thing to say about this scene we witnessed. And that was a pretty tame one. I imagine things get a little... wilder when they're alone. Some people like stuff like that, Dale. Colt's someone who does, and he's lucky he found someone who can give it to him. A match between two people who take pleasure in pain is rare. But it's fairly obvious that Colt and Ti are perfect together. That doesn't mean love isn't there. It's just a different type of love."
"I agree. It's just..."
Keyno squeezed my hand. "I know, Dale. It's not for you. But can you now rest assured Colt is happy with Ti?"
"Yeah." I rested my hand on Keyno's shoulder. "Yeah, I can. If that's what makes him ha
ppy, then more power to him. And I know you don't understand why I care so much, but I just do."
"It doesn't matter if I understand."
We sat around talking until early in the morning. Just as we were getting ready to call it a night, Keyno's telecastor went off. The surculas of King Duran's mate, Jolak, was hardening. He was nearly two weeks early, so there was a bit of concern for both him and his young. Jolak was panicky and wanted me to be there with him prior to the C-section, since we had become close during Keyno's kidnapping. We decided to leave in the morning; it was late already, and everyone was tired.
Early the next morning, we set off. Before we left, Keyno promised that he would let Ti know when Jolak had his young. I sat in the back with Chad and John. They were discussing the situation with Jolak. Chad was excited, even though he was worried about the king's mate. I could see the wistful look in his eyes as he talked about having young. John, our sweet little doctor, was intrigued by such a medical marvel. And me? I guess the best description for what I was feeling was anxiety.
As we lifted off, one thing became clear to me. I had my childhood friend, Chad, by my side, and I also had new friends—like King Duran's mate, Jolak, and Doc's mate, John. I wasn't sure what category Colt fell in, but I'd made peace with him trying to take me hostage during his escape attempt. I had even forgiven Keyno for illegally harvesting me, and something strong had grown between us from that. I had even inadvertently brought about true peace with the Onfre.
It was time to close this chapter of my life and look forward to a new chapter, which brought my attention to the conversation around me. As we flew home, in the back of my mind was the knowledge that soon we would each be in this same situation, and I was... jumpy. That whole 'going into estrus' thing had me worried. But I was also ready to start this part of my life with Keyno and my friends. We'd handle whatever happened together. It was time to greet the future.
M.A. Church lives in the southern United States and spent many years in the elementary education sector. She is married to her high school sweetheart and they have two children. Her hobbies are gardening, walking, attending flea markets, watching professional football, racing and spending time with her family on the lake.
But her most beloved hobby is reading. Even at an early age she can remember hunting for books at the library. Later nonhuman and science fiction genres captured her attention and drew her in the worlds the authors had created. But always at the back of her mind was that one day, when the kids were older and she had more time, she would write a book.
In 2010 the loss of a loved one shut the door on one career, but then Fate intervened and opened another door—writing. By sheer chance she stumbled across a gay male romance story on the web and was hooked. Thus the journey started.
Occasionally she does write about two normal guys, but most of her stories revolved around her two favorite genres. Her muse—yes, he's male and gay—may not always want to go in the direct she wants, but they work it out in the end.
When not writing or researching, she enjoys reading the latest erotic and mainstream romance novels.
Visit her blog at http://machurch00.blogspot.com.
In this sequel to Cari Z's Opening Worlds, former starship captain Jason Kim travels to Perelan, the homeworld of his lover, Ferran, to start a life together. The ruling council of the Perels have allowed this unconventional union to continue in the hopes of strengthening relations between themselves and the humans. And while Ferran's family welcome Jason with open arms, not all of the other major families are as pleased. The arrival of an outsider to their insular, subterranean world challenges the traditions of centuries.
Tensions soar as old rivalries are rekindled in the wake of Jason and Ferran's relationship. Inevitably, something snaps. Jason and Ferran soon find themselves literally fighting for their lives when xenophobic anger pushes things beyond the breaking point. Only their devotion to one another can see them through, but a ghost from Jason's past threatens even that. With Perelan on the brink of civil war, Jason and Ferran must find a way to stand together in the face of chaos and to change the world on their own terms before it tears itself apart.
Now available from Storm Moon Press!
Digital: $6.99 / Print $13.99
Tyrel Uvieras, a bodyguard serving the Union of planetary governments, has been assigned his most interesting charge yet: Verithe Jerrith, Union's ambassador to what might be the most cursed planet in the galaxy. Something distinctly unsavory surrounds Corrina, whose first contact with Union space came through the stolen equipment of a stranded spaceship. Yet, Union policy requires an answer to the Corrinans' request for negotiations. The best they can do is send a well-prepared diplomatic party—if it's possible to prepare for what they find on the planet's surface.
Tyrel and Verithe discover a mutual attraction, though Tyrel also thinks Verithe perhaps too lighthearted given their dire mission and certainly too gentle—like a thornless rose—to survive long in a dangerous world without protection. Tyrel tries to provide that protection, but the two men are captured in what is just the beginning of their descent into barbarity and treachery. They will be called upon to make unbelievable sacrifices and confront the "curse" of Corrina that brings out people's darkest desires, endangering sanity and soul. Even their feelings for each other might not give them the strength to endure.
Now available from Storm Moon Press!
Digital: $3.99
Connor Smith works for Primrose, an organization tasked with monitoring and tracking aliens and alien technology. It's a job that doesn't know the meaning of "nine-to-five". It also doesn't leave much room for a social life, a complication that Connor hasn't minded, until now. At the prodding of his best friend, Connor reluctantly puts himself back in the dating pool, even though it means lying about his remarkable life.
Elsewhere, Noah Jones has led a remarkable life of his own. Stranded on Earth in 1648, Noah was forced to transform himself permanently into human form to survive. He soon learned that in doing so, he'd become effectively immortal, aging only at a glacial pace. Alone, with no way to contact his people or return home, Noah becomes a silent observer of human civilization—always in the world, but never of the world. Then, hundreds of years later, he sees a face in a crowd and instantly feels a connection that he thought he'd never feel again. But he's too late: Connor's already taken.
Destiny is not without a sense of humor, though, and the two men are pulled inexorably closer, snared by the same web of dangers and conspiracies. Worse, Primrose is now aware of Noah, and they aren't ones to leave an alien unrestrained. So while Connor struggles to understand the strange pull he feels toward Noah, forces without as well as within are working against them to keep them apart.
Now available from Storm Moon Press!
Digital: $6.99 / Print $13.99
