by Lili Zander
Then there’s Harper, Sofia, and Ryanna. The possibility of the three women running into the wild jackal-horse things that almost killed me sends shivers of horror through my body. For my own sanity, I have to assume they made it back to the safety of the ship. “I just want to go home,” I say with a sniff, wiping the tears away with the back of my hand. “That’s all.”
Of course, they don’t understand a word I say.
Though their faces soften with sympathy at the sight of my tears, their expressions are confused. “What did she say?” Nyx asks Arax. “Can you understand her?”
I want to smack myself on the head. I have a translator in my ear, but of course, these aliens do not. I’m about to scream in frustration when I remember that I raided the Zorahn ship before we left. Didn’t I take a couple of translators? Pulling my pants over my legs, I stick my hands in my pockets, and to my utter relief, my fingers close over the three earpieces. “Oh thank heavens,” I whisper, holding them out to the aliens.
They take them from me with narrowed eyes. Exchanging glances with each other, they stick the translators in their ears. If the electric shock bothers them, they show no sign of it.
I shove my hands back in my pockets and cross my fingers. “Can you understand me now?”
8
Nyx:
Our mate has a Zorahn translator. Less than a knur ago, I thought Arax was being too suspicious. Now, I’m not so sure. Could this lovely, frail female be a spy for the Zorahn authorities?
Even if she is, that’s no excuse for snapping at her. The creature inside me rages at Arax. She is our mate, it fumes. We should cherish her, not growl at her.
For once, I’m in full agreement with it. “Yes,” I reply, taking care to keep my voice gentle. “We understand you.”
She exhales in relief. “Thank heavens,” she murmurs, her voice sweet and low.
Heaven is similar in concept to Caeron, the translator informs me. The people of Earth believe in two separate Caerons. One for the good, one for the bad.
It’s a strange belief. What’s more important is that she’s from somewhere called Earth, and I’ve never heard of it. They make you learn the names of the discovered worlds in Primary. I’ve memorized the list; this planet that our mate speaks of is not on it.
“My name is Viola Lewis,” she continues, her mouth stretching into a tentative smile. “Hi.”
That smile gives me hope. She’s not backed up against the walls of the cave. She’s not screaming with fear. She doesn’t look terrified.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Arax open his mouth, his expression troubled. The Firstborn thinks that this alien woman is a threat to our existence, and his first instinct is always to protect. Whatever his beast desires, Arax will never ignore his duty.
I’m not Highborn. The scientists exiled us to an uninhabited planet and left us to die. For sixty seasons, we haven’t seen a woman. I don’t care how much of a threat she is.
We have found our mate.
For the first time in a very long time, I feel alive. I am complete.
Before he can continue his line of questioning about the circumstances that lead Viola Lewis to the prison planet, I jump in, giving Arax a quelling glance. The interrogation can wait. “Viola Lewis,” I say out loud, trying the strange words on my tongue. I remember how frightening this world was when we first got here, and there were fourteen of us. Viola Lewis was alone when we found her, with no weapon to defend herself. It’s a miracle that she’s not huddled in a corner, gibbering with terror. “I am Nyx, and this is Arax.”
“Nyx,” she repeats. “Arax. Thank you for rescuing me from the scary dog-jackal things.”
“Dwals.” I smile at her. “They lurk near the water, looking for easy prey.”
She shudders. “They almost found it,” she says. “If you two hadn’t shown up, I’d have been Dwals lunch.”
“Lunch?” I snort in amusement. “You’re too little for that, Viola Lewis. You would have been a tasty snack.”
Her skin turns pink. “Then you licked me,” she says. Another shiver runs through her, but this time, her eyes rake over our bodies, and her scent is one of arousal, not fear.
Arax’s lips curl into a smile. “You were stung by a kilpei plant,” he explains. “We had to suck the toxin out of your body.”
“By licking me?”
Arax’s eyes twinkle. “You appeared to enjoy it.”
She flushes again. “And of course, there’s the elephant in the room. You’re dragons.”
“We are Draekon,” Arax corrects her. “Twelve hundred years ago, Zorahn scientists created a warrior race with the ability to morph from man to dragon.”
Arax’s frankness surprises me. For sixty seasons, the Firstborn kept the knowledge he’d learned in the ThoughtVaults secret from us, but he does not hesitate to share information with Viola Lewis.
The beast inside me purrs approvingly. We have no secrets from our mate.
Viola Lewis leans forward, her face glowing in Uzzan’s faint light. “That’s what Beirax was talking about.” She chews at her lower lip. “You asked me what I’m doing here,” she says. “I’m from a planet called Earth. Six months ago, spaceships landed from the sky.”
“Zorahn spaceships,” I say. That much is clear.
She nods. Before she can continue her story, her stomach rumbles with hunger. Remorse fills me, and I curse myself for being a thoughtless fool. I open my pack and pull some kunnr fruit out. I slice it for her with my throwing knife. “Eat, aida.”
“Can I? Will I react to it?"
It’s a new sensation, having a second set of instincts inside me. Somehow I know the fruit will not hurt our mate. “I do not sense danger.”
“All right,” she says with a shrug. “I have to eat sometime. If it causes a reaction, I guess you can perform mouth-to-mouth.” She mutters the last few words, and I do not know what they mean, but the flush on her cheeks is unmistakable.
Ask us, aida. All you have to do is ask for what you want.
She reaches for my offering and takes an experimental nibble. “Tastes like… vanilla pudding,” she says, her face surprised. I don’t know what vanilla pudding is, but she seems to like the fruit, so I cut her another piece, and she eats quickly, licking her fingers to catch all the juice. My cock throbs, aching for her. Take her, the beast rumbles in my chest, insistent, demanding. She is ours.
“Where did I leave off?” she asks. “Until the Zorahn appeared, we thought we were alone in the universe.”
Alone? The galaxy teems with life. Earth must be a very isolated planet.
“The Zorahn cured us of disease,” she continues, her tone is tinged with a sadness that I don’t understand. “They asked us for help in return. A sickness was spreading across Zoraht, and the scientists didn’t know how to cure it. They wanted volunteers to travel to Zoraht and participate in a medical study of some kind.” Her lips twist in a wry smile. “So I did.”
I offer her another piece of kunnr, and she takes it from me with a murmur of thanks.
I frown. “You left your planet alone to travel to a strange world? What of your clansmen?”
Arax lights a fire in the middle of the cave as he listens to her story, and he cooks a piece of salted hulundi over the flames. The large fish is plentiful in the waters on this planet, and it makes for tasty eating. It was one of the first foods we discovered when we were first exiled.
“I don’t have any.” She sounds forlorn, and I want to take her into my arms and soothe away her pain. We are her mates. She will never be alone again. “It was only for six months, and the Zorahn swore we would be safe. High Emperor Lenox guaranteed it.”
Arax’s face tightens, and I realize why. If Lenox is High Emperor, it means that Arax’s father, the High Emperor Dravex, is dead. “I’m sorry,” I say quietly to my friend.
“It was expected,” he replies flatly.
It sounds like Arax doesn’t care about the death of his father, but I know be
tter. The Firstborn is hurting inside, but he is Highborn, and he will not let his grief show.
He focuses his attention on the fire. When the fish is ready, he turns to our mate and hands her a piece of the hulundi, his gaze softening when he looks at her. “It’s safe to eat,” he assures her.
“I’ll take your word for it.” She nibbles questioningly, pleasure filling her face as she tastes the fish.
“How many Earth women did the scientists recruit? How many were on board the ship?” he asks.
Her body stiffens almost imperceptibly. “There were ten of us, and three Zorahn,” she says. “I’m the only survivor.”
I watch her. The tension in her body, the slight shift of her eyes, the tightness of her voice… My senses tingle.
I’m the son of a thief. I can tell when someone isn’t being truthful.
For some reason of her own, Viola Lewis is lying to us.
The answers will lie in the wreckage of the ship. When the sun rises in the morning, I intend on finding the truth.
9
Viola:
It would be a lot easier to lie if I wasn’t so distracted by how incredibly hot the two alien men are.
For the last five years, my father’s illness was my only priority. Getting him to the hospital, taking care of him during chemotherapy, watching as the cancerous cells took over his body until he wasted away and died… Dating took a back seat.
Men have been absent from my life for a very long time.
All that pent-up celibacy is overflowing now, and I ache for the aliens in front of me. My sex throbs for them. I want to reach out and touch their hard, bronzed cocks, and I want to spread my legs and let them take me. Both of them.
Earth to Viola. You’re stranded on an alien planet. Can you maybe drag your mind out of the gutter long enough to try and make some kind of escape plan?
“They’re all dead?” Arax asks me, his voice layered with skepticism. “Everyone on the ship except you, and you’re unscathed?”
I double-down on the lies. “Yes.” I think of poor Janet, and I don’t have to fake the tears that gather in my eyes. I blink them away. Now’s not the time to melt down, Vi. Hold it together until the Zorahn rescue us from this planet.
Sensing my distress, Arax gathers me into his arms. “You’re safe now,” he mutters. “Nothing will hurt you. I give you my word, Viola Lewis.”
I lean against his broad chest. Is it wrong to enjoy being held so much? In Arax’s arms, I feel soothed. This is the first time I’ve felt truly secure on this alien planet.
“You said there were three Zorahn,” Nyx probes. “They’re dead too?”
I don’t think I’ve convinced the dark haired-alien. I nod again, unable to meet his eyes. I’m not sure if pretending that everyone is dead and escaping Arax and Nyx at the earliest possible chance is a good idea. Especially with the scary Dwals, the poisonous plants, the crazy orange fungus that got Harper, and the imminent flooding of the lowlands.
Arax and Nyx know how to survive on this planet; I sure as hell don’t. Besides, the two Draekons are not acting the way I expected. I thought that the moment I woke up, they would be on me, taking me by force. Instead, they’re feeding me meat and fruit. Perhaps I misheard them. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood their intent.
Are you going to confess that you lied to them?
Before I can think through my best course of action, Nyx speaks again. “In the morning,” he says, surveying me thoughtfully, “I’m going to look for the wreckage of the spaceship. If nothing else, the metal will be useful for weapons.”
Crap on a cracker. The instant they find the spaceship, my lies will be exposed. I need a distraction. Something to get their minds off the mysterious circumstances of my arrival on this planet.
Something big.
And I have only one tool at my disposal. Sex.
They want to mate with me.
Truth be told, the desire isn’t one-sided. I saw them naked when they shifted. Their cocks are massive. One of them is too large for me. Two of them?
Color me intrigued. And seriously turned on.
Biting my lower lip, I inch even closer to Arax. My skin prickles in arousal, and my body heats. I run my thumb over his pierced nipple, and he inhales sharply. I lift my face up to him and wrap my arm around his neck. “Kiss me again,” I breathe. “Both of you.”
Then I place my lips over his.
I’m in control for a moment, coaxing his mouth open with an encouraging murmur.
He tastes delicious, smoke and heat. I start to ponder the carcinogenic effects of dragon fire, and then I have no time to laugh or ponder, because Arax seizes me, one large hand coming to grip my neck and hold me still.
He plunders my mouth, pulling moans from deep within my chest. His other hand brushes the line of my jaw, his touch tender. Meanwhile, his tongue explores me, alternating hard, dueling thrusts with coaxing caresses, making me wonder if this is the sort of lover he will be—perfect, powerful, and brutal. I clutch him tighter, wishing I could pull my body into his. He tugs my hair gently, breaking our mouths apart for a moment.
“Aida,” he whispers, his eyes hazy with desire, and I am lost.
My body is already trembling on the edge of orgasm. Another word, another touch and I’ll spill over the edge.
Whoa. He almost made the earth move for me with one kiss.
Strong arms wrap around me from behind—Nyx making his move. Where Arax is possessive, Nyx’s approach is more subtle. He places little kisses up my spine and sensitive neck and coaxes me back toward him, so I rest on his lap with Arax in front of me.
Seated firmly on Nyx’s throbbing cock, I get a front row seat to Arax’s strip show. He rips off his loincloth, exposing all of him—and there is a lot of him to take in. I thought his cock was big before, but it’s grown even bigger now, long, bronze and lickable.
My pussy throbs in anticipation. My nipples bead as he takes hold of his, er, foot long, and slides his hand down to collect the thick moisture beading at the tip. He spreads the liquid over himself until he’s fully hard and shiny, all the while never taking his eyes off me.
My arousal, already in the red zone, shoots up a thousand percent.
But I’m not going to lie. As turned on as I am, I don’t see how his cock is going to fit in me. It’s just too damn big.
Arax tilts his head to the side. “What’s the matter?”
“You’re huge,” I tell him. “This is not going to work.”
“You have nothing to fear, Viola Lewis. I assure you, we are compatible. In every way. ”
“Mmm, talk dirty to me,” I murmur. Hey, I joke when I’m nervous. It’s what I do.
Nyx huffs a laugh into my hair. “Less talking,” he says. “More doing.” His fingers quest down my arm to stroke the side of my breast.
I arch my back against him, sighing with pleasure as his fingers brush against my sensitive nipples.
“You like that?” Nyx’s voice tickles my ear. His arms cage me, capturing my wrists and pulling my hands away, leaving my breasts exposed to Arax’s intent gaze.
“I’m going to touch you, aida,” Arax says, raw need on his face. Arax leans closer, raw need on his face. Letting go of his cock, he cups my breasts and thumbs the hardened nubs. Bowing his head, he flicks his tongue against my nipples.
The sensation shoots right to my sex. “Oh God, yes. That’s it.” My body goes taut as a bow. I try to squirm away from Nyx’s hold, but the dark-haired alien doesn’t budge.
“Should I stop, sweet one?” Arax’s eyes go hooded, and I sense the predator lurking inside.
If they stop what they’re doing, I will die. I shake my head. “It’s just…too much stimulation.”
“Too much?” Nyx breathes in my ear. “Or not enough?”
He runs his tongue along the edge of my ear, and I retaliate by grinding my bottom against him. From the pleased purring noise he makes, he enjoys my makeshift lap dance.
Arax’s head dips, his
hair brushing my collarbone as he nuzzles me. His tongue swipes playful circles around my areolas; torturing and tasting me as he tests my responses. Every so often he pulls away, and Nyx takes over, pinning my arms in such a way that leaves his hands free to pluck my nipples, while Arax studies each of my twitches and moans as if memorizing them.
“She’s almost ready to peak,” Arax tells Nyx. “I think we should help her, don’t you?”
“We should,” Nyx agrees, his voice a dark rumble in his chest, sending a shiver of pleasure through me.
I am almost ready to peak, as the two hot aliens ravaging my body put it, but before I surrender completely to my orgasm, I need to do a little groping of my own. Ever since I saw their cocks for the first time, I’ve been aching to touch them. “I want to play,” I insist, freeing a hand and slipping it underneath me. I find the hard bar of Nyx’s cock and squeeze.
He groans in my ear, and his legs tense underneath me. “I don’t think so, aida,” he says, his voice ragged. “Arax is right. You will peak first.”
These aliens are bossy.
I growl in frustration. “It’s not fair,” I gasp. “Two against one.”
“Draekon do not concern themselves with fairness,” Arax informs me solemnly, but there’s smile lurking on the corner of his lips. “Do not fight your need, sweet one. Let me pleasure you.”
Arax grabs my feet. The men move me into position, my head cradled in Nyx’s lap, my bottom on Arax’s loincloth. The large Zorahn lies down between my legs, his big hands holding my thighs open.
“I will taste you now, Viola Lewis,” he says, his blue eyes dark with heat.
“Whoa, now—” I begin, but Arax seals his mouth over my pussy, and I can’t remember words anymore.
Nyx strokes my breasts, crooning softly as Arax goes on the hunt for my orgasm. He’s a patient man, kissing my inner thighs until they quiver. He licks a trail to my pussy and pauses to breathe deep. “The smell of you drives me wild,” he growls.
“Indeed,” Nyx agrees, his voice strained. “I can smell her sweetness from here.”
