by Sue Lyndon
“I have decreed that she will remain in Zandek’s household for a year. After that time, I will personally select her mate from among my warriors. I will choose a male I am certain will be mindful of her past trauma.”
It’s the best answer I can hope for, and I smile at Kenan and stroke the side of his face. “Thank you.”
After Kenan showers and dresses in a clean black uniform, I curl up on his lap in the sitting room and we listen to Kleaxian music. The particular songs he selects are tinged with sadness, but are also interposed with unmistakable glimmers of hope. A servant brings us a large mug of yinsiza wine, which we end up sharing. He tips the cup to my lips several times, and I’m grateful for the almost instant calming effect of the alcohol.
Eventually, I fall into a trance in my mate’s arms, thankful that he hasn’t left me alone. After the frightening scene I witnessed in town, I only want to be held, and he strokes my back and glides his fingers through my hair, helping to quell my inner storm. Once again, I think I might love him, but I still can’t voice such thoughts aloud. Fear has too firm a grip on my tongue.
“Have any of our servants ever touched you or tried communicating with you in any way, Laylah?”
His sudden question throws me off-guard, and I scramble to say, “No-no, of course not.” I try to ignore the sickening guilt that rolls through me for lying, but I can’t possibly tell the truth, even though Kenan will likely punish me if he discovers my deceit. Heggal is my friend, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to him, or for him to be sent away.
“Good. Now, I take it Joanna has visited you before?” he says a short time later, during a quiet moment of a song.
“Yes. She visits on some mornings. I realize she is a slave, and perhaps I am not supposed to speak to her, but she has become my friend. She reminds me of my grandmother.”
“I will fix the force field to permit her entrance, but she must have her master’s permission before she comes into our house. I suspect Zandek will grant such permission. She might be a slave, but I know I can hardly expect you to view her as one, since she is also from Earth.”
I gasp and wrap my arms around his waist, hugging him tight. “Thank you, Kenan. I was worried you would be angry. I didn’t tell you about her visits because I wasn’t sure how you would react.”
“If someone ventures up the mountain near our house, it is hardly your fault, Laylah, though in the future, when I inquire about your day, I expect you to tell me everything from now on. If you have a visitor, I would like to know.”
“Of course, and thank you again.” I suspect he might’ve at least scolded me for keeping Joanna’s visits a secret for so long had it not been for this morning’s events, and though I feel awful that it took a human woman getting beaten to within an inch of her life for Kenan to display such understanding, I am hopeful that he’s capable of change, and I have never felt more optimistic for our future together.
The seriousness of today’s events seems to weigh on his mind as much as mine during the next few hours. Though Kenan isn’t usually talkative, he is even quieter than normal, especially as we take a long walk in the forest, venturing down stone paths he hasn’t yet showed me. Normally during our walks, he points out wildlife and landmarks, but today he is introspective and content to walk with his arm around me in virtual silence. He’s put the leash on me, but still guides me to step next to him, and my heart swells to finally walk side-by-side with my mate, even if we are completely alone in the woods.
That night he doesn’t make love to me, but he holds me close under the covers, caressing every inch of my body until I fall asleep in his strong embrace. By the time I awake to the sound of birds chirping the next morning, I feel calm—truly at peace—in my mate’s arms. I snuggle deeper against his chest, listening to him talk in Kleaxian in his sleep.
When the morning sun warms our bedroom, and sends bright rays of yellow across the floorboards, he finally awakes. His eyes light up and he smiles at me the instant our gazes meet.
Heggal enters with our breakfast, and for the first time since Kenan has claimed me as his mate, we eat breakfast in bed together. He delights in feeding me berries and other fruits by hand, teasing me occasionally by snatching the morsel of food away just before I try to bite. I giggle and playfully smack his chest, only to be given a faux stern look that makes the lower portion of my stomach clench with need. He even turns me over and delivers a series of light playful slaps to my bottom, before allowing me to finish breakfast.
The Kenan who yanked me out of the cage in this very bedroom would’ve never joked around with me like this. It’s the simplest, silliest thing, eating breakfast in bed and teasing each other, but I think it’s one of my most favorite moments with Kenan thus far.
Please let there be more days like this.
Chapter Eighteen
We’re enjoying a late dinner while rain pounds the roof. The short pale servants—who I recently learned are actually slaves purchased from another race of aliens—flit in and out of the dining room with a variety of Kleaxian delicacies. I’ve been Kenan’s mate for thirty days now, and he says we must celebrate. He doesn’t admit it, but I think he’s also looking for an excuse to take my mind off the brutal events that occurred in town last week.
As I sit across from him, I shift in my seat, unable to get comfortable on my recently spanked bottom. I’m also wearing the largest plug in Kenan’s collection. This morning he came home agitated after settling a dispute that had turned violent in one of the villages. He didn’t give me the details, but he’d been fuming and pacing around the house all afternoon, until he summoned me to the bedroom and ordered me to remove my dress.
He’d spanked me to tears and then kissed those tears away, cuddling me in his arms for hours before finally loving me. And it had felt like love. He’d straddled me and stared into my eyes as he slowly pumped his cock in and out of my aching pussy. When we climaxed at the same time, the moment had felt transcendent, like we were the only two people in the universe and our hearts were fusing together.
Throughout this shared experience, the emotions running through me had brought tears to my eyes, and I couldn’t help but wonder if somehow I was experiencing the same strength of attachment Kenan holds for me as a result of the Kleaxian mating bond. He claimed humans can’t sense it, but the lingering fullness in my heart and the depth of emotion jolting through me whenever I glance at Kenan makes me doubt his claim.
I love him. I really do. Despite our less than ideal beginning—God, I had been so frightened of him that day when I awoke in the cage—I can’t deny harboring a deep tenderness for him. Back on Earth, I hadn’t honestly ever held an attraction for a boy my age. I hadn’t dated, beyond one horribly awkward evening at fifteen. We went to an old-fashioned roller skating rink, and the boy had kissed me, and I hadn’t liked it. His wet, slimy lips and nacho cheese breath had made my stomach turn. Even before the disgusting kiss, I hadn’t planned on seeing him again.
The only attraction I’d felt for the opposite sex on Earth had been the huge, muscle-bound actors from movies, who were much older than me, often twice my age or more. And as much as I liked watching the strong heroine save the day, I also liked those scenes during which she became the captive of a ruthless villain.
My heart would commence racing and my palms would go sweaty when the heroine I admired became a helpless captive—at least until she bravely managed to escape. Sometimes I would fantasize that the villain was somehow redeemed and the heroine fell in love with him in the end, even though the violent tendencies that were a huge part of his former life still simmered below the surface. This dark past of his, of course, made him rough and possessive of the girl he captured and kept as his own.
Now I wonder if perhaps I only sought out such movies and books in order to satisfy a dark part of me I hadn’t been able to voice aloud.
We finish our meal and take a stroll through the lush gardens surrounding the estate. Though Kenan doesn’t typic
ally put the leash on me if we don’t leave his property, tonight he slips it around my neck. I don’t protest. The slight pressure of the leather circling my neck reminds me I belong to him, and this reminder now brings me a peace of mind I never realized was missing from my life.
After our walk, he leads me upstairs. Being led into our bedroom by the leash makes me quiver with need. The leash symbolizes his ownership and absolute authority over me. Tonight he’s going to be rough with me, I can sense it. Not only because I’m still wearing the leash, but because when he turns to look at me, his eyes have gone entirely black.
A slight jerk of the chain brings me into his arms. He kisses me thoroughly, and I moan into his mouth and thrust my tongue against his, tasting the wine we enjoyed over dinner. He pulls away but rests his forehead on mine while holding my face in his large hands. The end of the leash is wrapped around his fingers. A delicious shiver skitters down my back. He still hasn’t let it go.
Stepping back, he leads me to the bed and gestures for me to bend over. I obey, spreading my legs, because if I don’t, he’ll slap the insides of my thighs until I comply. I expect him to fuck me while I’m wearing the plug, so I’m surprised when he slowly pulls it from my backside hole.
“This is the largest plug, you know.”
My breath catches.
He’s taken the plug out because he plans to claim my ass tonight.
I start shaking, though anticipation coils tight in my core, and inexperience and nerves accelerate my growing arousal. My clit pulses and I know I must be drenched between my legs, as desperately as I ache for his touch.
“You know what’s coming, don’t you?” He drops the leash to retrieve something from the dresser. When he returns, he trickles a cool liquid atop my most private hole.
“Yes, Kenan,” I reply as he massages in the lubricant, stretching me with his fingers and pumping deeper and deeper. It’s difficult to remain spread wide when I know what’s coming. Part of me wants to shoot upright, shield my bottom, and plead with him to not fuck my ass. But I know he won’t be deterred. He’s been planning this for weeks.
His hand leaves me, but the tip of his cock soon presses against my snug passage.
I concentrate on breathing in and out as I clutch the covers. There’s a tug on the leash. My heart thumps faster. He’s holding it again, and he’s inching the thick bulbous head of his cock into my asshole. The intrusion burns a bit, but that’s to be expected given his size. Even the largest plug doesn’t compare to his girth.
“This hole belongs to me, Laylah, and from now on I’ll be fucking it often, and hard.”
I start whimpering. The pressure is too much, but I can’t move beneath him. My feet don’t reach the floor and he’s standing between my spread legs, shoving the last few inches of his manhood into my ass.
He grips my right hip and then shoves his free hand under me, seeking out my clit. After a slow withdrawal from my tightness, he pushes all the way inside me again and then starts a fast rhythm of fucking my tight hole.
I can’t think. I can scarcely breathe. I can only lie there and take each hard thrust he gives me, because he’s my mate and he owns every part of me.
Biting my lip, I groan under his expert ministrations as he rubs my moisture in circles over my clit, applying the perfect amount of pressure.
“Come now, Laylah. Fucking come now.”
His command is all I’m waiting for. I writhe against his hand and cry out under the pulsing waves of a thunderous climax. As I start to regain my senses, he grips my hips hard and gives a fierce growl. The sensation of his seed filling my ass is euphoric, and, with his finger still swirling atop my clit, I’m suddenly swept under by a second orgasm. My cries reverberate through the room, along with his growls.
In the end, I’m completely spent. I can barely keep my eyes open, let alone move a muscle, so Kenan carries me into the bathroom and takes care of me.
He rubs a soapy cloth over me in the bathtub, settling me between his legs as I lean against his chest. He rinses me off and pats me dry, even carries me back to the bed, where he carefully tucks me under the covers. He presses his lips to my forehead, and I melt under his affection.
Times like this make it impossible to shield my heart.
I’m helpless against his tender regard.
“My sweet little human princess,” he murmurs into my ear, before I drift to sleep in his arms.
Chapter Nineteen
The next day I awake alone, which isn’t unusual. Kenan tends to visit the towns and check in with his soldiers as early as possible, sometimes before first light.
I stretch my legs beneath the soft sheets and languish in the warmth of the sunlight streaming through the window. Beyond the greenery of the mountain, there isn’t a cloud in the light-blue sky.
A servant knocks and delivers breakfast. I’m disappointed it’s not Heggal, but I still smile and thank the short, pale Ghessan whose name I don’t know. I suppose I should ask Heggal for the other servant’s names. Maybe if I call them by their names, they will finally speak with me.
After breakfast, I shower and don an orange gown with sheer silk layers. The skirts rustle around my legs like a gentle wave as I hurry down the steps. I’ll join Heggal in the garden until Kenan returns.
Tonight, two of the commanding soldiers in his troop are joining us for dinner, along with their mates. I’m excited by the prospect of entertaining guests, even if I won’t be able to understand their tongue. Kenan has promised I’ll eventually catch on to his language, but I’m starting to have my doubts. The syllables all run together into an unintelligible stream of deep, grunting noises.
Fortunately, a Kleaxian scientist on another continent is developing a translator that, if implanted in one’s brain, will allow a human to communicate with a Kleaxian. Kenan isn’t wild about the idea of me getting an implant in my brain, but I’d had difficulties in my required Spanish classes in high school. I barely passed them, in fact, and not for lack of trying. If not for high marks in all my other courses and the help of my father’s step uncle, I would’ve never had a shot at Harvard.
I spot Heggal moving through the garden toward the force field. He’s probably headed for the berry patch outside the invisible barrier. I run to catch up so I can bid him good morning. Before he crosses into the forest, one of his gloves fall from his pocket.
“Heggal! You dropped something, my friend!” I snatch up the glove and hold it out. “I wish I could pick berries with you this morning. It’s such a lovely day.”
He turns around with a smile. But that smile immediately vanishes and he pales further, to a deathly shade of white. I stare at him with wide eyes and my stomach drops to the ground.
Before I even peer over my shoulder, I know Kenan is standing behind me.
Watching. Listening.
Catching me as I disobey a rule.
My gaze locks with the furious dark eyes of my mate. That fierce, unforgiving look reduces me to a puddle of terror. Oh my God. He’s caught me speaking with a servant. For a reason he’s never explained to me, I’m not allowed to utter anything besides “come in” or “come back later” after a servant knocks. I’ve never thought about the reason for the rule much, other than he doesn’t want the servants touching me or getting inside my mind.
“Kenan, I…” My voice trails off.
He moves in front of me and grasps my chin. “How do you know his name, Laylah?”
Liquid fear churns through my insides. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kenan so angry. His eyes darken further with icy rage. My hands shake at my sides, and it’s all I can do not to collapse on the ground, my legs are trembling so.
“I-I don’t know,” I say. If I admit to having daily conversations with Heggal, the servant will be sent away. “I must have heard you call him by his name.”
The fingers pinching my chin squeeze tighter. His eyes narrow and his nostrils flare. The vein on the side of his thick neck bulges. He looks scarier than in the vi
sions Heggal showed me, when he threatened to kill the doctor.
He’s caught me lying, and he’s none too pleased. I know I should’ve told the truth, but if there was any chance of not getting Heggal in trouble, I had to take it.
“How long have you been speaking with Heggal? Has he touched you every day?”
Tears cloud my vision and my heart beats a frantic rhythm inside my tightening chest.
He grabs my shoulders and shakes me hard. My teeth rattle together and I’m momentarily dizzy.
“He’s my friend!” I scream, clutching onto Kenan’s forearm. “He’s my friend, and you mustn’t send him away.”
He drags me onto the patio and shoves me into a chair. “Stay there and don’t fucking move. If you move from this chair, your beating will be so much worse than I’m already planning. I mean it. Don’t fucking move.”
Raw fury emanates from Kenan’s tensed muscular form. His eyes are livid, all black with rage and no hint of the bottomless purple depths I’ve come to love staring into.
Emotion has my throat clogged so strongly, I can only nod. I’m quaking so hard I doubt I would be able to move anyway.
Heggal doesn’t attempt to run away from Kenan, but in my mind I’m screaming for my friend to run into the forest and get far away. But he only bows his head slightly upon his master’s approach, looking adequately chastised. Kenan grabs him around his throat and drags him into the house.
I clutch the arms of the chair and sob.
What if Kenan doesn’t simply send Heggal away? What if Kenan hurts him, or, God forbid, kills him?
I don’t hear screams coming from the house, but then Heggal can’t utter the smallest noise, not even a gasp. I asked him once, and we had a good laugh over it. As I sit here and cry, guilt ridden for causing probable pain, or worse, to one of my only friends on Tallia, I can’t remember why it was funny. But I remember giggling and sensing the tickle on my brain as Heggal joined in my laughter.
