by Renee Rose
He grinned. “So was my plan for getting you out of the dungeon, but I managed it. The backup is holing up out here in the wild until Prince Zander launches his attack. Then we—I mean, I—join the fight.”
“You can’t contact some being to pick us up?”
He shook his head. “Any form of communication off the planet would tip off the Finn to our location. We’re safest staying silent. No laser gun. No comms unit.”
She muttered something he didn’t catch.
They walked for the first part of the day in a comfortable silence. He used the location of the Zandian star and the river to orient himself and led the way, holding branches and pointing out foot-traps.
“Why do you suppose we haven’t seen any beings? It’s so quiet. Too quiet.”
“Prince Zander sent a ship over to image the planet, and it seems the Finn have centered their attention on mining the area near the capital, where the majority of the crystal is concentrated. After they wiped out the Zandian population, they must have removed their presence from the rest of the planet. We are fortunate. It seems they have not chosen to settle here, only to mine it.”
Talia gazed around. “I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to live here. It’s so beautiful.”
It was foolish, but her appreciation pleased him, as if it meant she might be more willing to align herself with Zander and her species. Join the fight to win back and repopulate the planet.
He gripped her hand to help her over a large rock. When she winced, he kicked himself. He hadn’t seen to his female’s needs.
“Wait, starshine.” He sat on the rock and pulled off his boots then his stockings. “I’d give you my boots, but they wouldn’t fit. You can at least wear these to protect your feet.” He handed her his socks, still damp from the river. “If they don’t disgust you.”
A genuine smile lit her face, striking him square in the chest with its brilliance. Veck, let me earn that smile every planet rotation for the rest of my life.
She accepted the stockings and pulled them on, knotting the fabric in the back at her calves to keep them from slipping down. A rumbling sound of approval made its way out of his throat. “I never knew stockings could be so vecking hot.”
She laughed that musical laugh again, lifting his very being. “That must be the crystals talking, warrior.”
“No,” he swore. “All the holograms of naked Zandian females I jerked my cock to as a youth could not compare to you. Exactly as you are now.”
She put her hand in the center of his chest and gave a gentle shove. “Definitely the crystals. But, keep up the compliments, and I might give you a show later.” She sashayed down the path ahead of him.
He growled, shoving his boots over his bare feet, his gaze following her bare thighs, the hint of her delectable ass beneath his shirt. “You must have forgotten who is master here. I could revoke your clothing privileges again at any time.”
She made a rude Ocretion hand gesture over her shoulder without looking back.
He jogged to catch up and smacked her ass, hard. She jumped forward with a squeal. The scent of her arousal went straight to his cock, which he had to adjust in his combat pants.
He smacked her a few more times as he passed her. “I lead, beautiful.”
She popped him in the ass, and a sharp burst of laughter erupted from him.
He turned and snatched her wrists. “Some being wants another spanking.” He made his voice low and suggestive.
Her body responded, nipples beading up. She licked her lips and angled her head back to look up at him. The heat of her skin through his shirt tingled against his bare torso, bringing every cell alive.
“Lovely little female. If you were mine to mate, I’d keep you naked at all times.”
She gave his chest a shove, which didn’t move him back a centimeter.
In fact, he stepped even closer, bringing one leg between hers and bending his knee to bring his thigh against her sex. His pulse stuttered when she rocked that perfect pussy down to meet it, lids going to half-mast.
“That’s...ridiculous.” She sounded breathless. The ridiculousness of his statement didn’t make her stop grinding.
He looped an arm around her waist to hold her firmly against him and dropped his palm to squeeze her tight ass while she rocked slowly forward.
My female requires sating.
It was his job, after all. A female in season experienced discomfort if she didn’t receive constant release. It would be cruel of him not to see to her needs.
“You’d keep me like a sex slave?” The breathy quality of her voice negated any pretense of offense.
He grinned. “Veck, yes. I’d hide you away from any other males. Keep you tied up, naked. Available for my pleasure at all times.” He dragged his teeth down the curve of her neck, bit her shoulder.
She ground down harder, faster. “You’re...sick.”
He used both hands to pull her ass cheeks apart, wriggled a finger against her anus.
She gasped.
“Are you sore here from your vecking, baby? I’ll go easy on your sweet little pucker.”
He swallowed her moan with a hot, demanding kiss, tongue licking into her mouth, twining with hers.
“Tomis,” she panted, when their lips broke apart.
He leaned his forehead against hers, helped her rock her delicious pelvis over his thigh with one hand on her ass, while a finger from the other hand continued to massage her back hole.
“I am sick, starshine. You make me so vecking feverish, I can’t even see straight.”
A needy, impatient cry came from her lips, and she fumbled frantically at his pants.
“Oh stars, no.” His palm shot to cover hers, pressing her fingers around his cock through the material of his pants. “Don’t let it out, or I’ll throw you down and veck you so hard and long you won’t walk for three planet rotations.”
She closed her fingers around the outline of his cock and squeezed. “Promise?”
“No, no, no,” he groaned, but urged her hand to stroke him, rubbing up and down, the fabric of his pants only enhancing the experience.
She gripped his cock and pulled it in the direction of her pussy, which had left a wet spot on his pants where she’d ground. “Pretend I’m your mate, Tomis. Show me what you’d do.”
“Veck, Talia. Don’t do this to me. I don’t want to—” He gave his head a hard shake to clear it.
Master Seke’s daughter. Not. Mine. To take.
“I want it,” she chanted. “I need it.” She slapped his shoulder. “Dammit, Tomis, stop being such an ass.”
Discipline. He attempted to drag his brain back online. She required discipline. He was her master. He’d punish then please her. It would give them both relief.
He dropped to one knee and pulled her over the other, presenting her ass for chastisement.
Her fingertips reached for the ground, legs kicked. “Damn you, Tomis!”
The red welts from the cane that morning had already faded, just as the bruise on his head had shrunk. Thankfully, Zandians healed quickly, especially in the presence of the crystals. He clapped his hand down on her ass, fast and hard, pouring every ounce of his sexual desire for her into the punishment.
She yelped and cried out, cursed and condemned him, but he continued on, turning her perfect, heart-shaped ass red. He smarted the backs of her thighs, shoved them apart, and slapped her inner thighs.
Eventually, she stopped cussing and started to plead. “Please, Tomis. Please, please stop. I need you. I need your fingers, your cock. I need something. Please.”
He wasted no time plunging his fingers into her welcoming channel. He made a cone of them and beat them in hard, his knuckles smacking against her clit.
His sweet little female came almost immediately, her scream of satisfaction echoing off the nearby rocks. Veck, he prayed there were no beings anywhere nearby. Her pussy squeezed his fingers in short bursts, and he continued pounding her with them until she’
d finished.
He lifted her and dropped to his ass, pulling her onto his lap.
Breathless, face flushed, eyes glassy, her beauty socked him in the gut.
“Better?” He might be breathless, himself.
She nodded, awe shining from her lovely expression. “A little.”
He shoved her shirt up and nibbled on one nipple then laved it with his tongue. Ah, veck. He had to stop, or he’d go way too far. “At your service,” he murmured.
She snaked her arms around his neck, collapsing against him. “I thought you were the master.”
“Mmm hmm. And don’t forget it. I could just as easily tie you up and give you no satisfaction.” Still holding her, he stood and carried her along the path. He wanted to get to the waterfalls before starset.
“But you wouldn’t,” she whispered, teeth closing around his ear.
No. She had his number. He would never be able to deny her pleasure. Delay, perhaps—to heighten her satisfaction when he gave it. Or to punish bad behavior. But never withhold.
~.~
Talia couldn’t deny the pleasure of being carried by the great warrior. His massive chest and arms flexed with her weight, but he never seemed to grow tired. In fact, she was certain he enjoyed it, too.
She noticed the way he surreptitiously dropped his face into her hair and drew a deep breath, as if savoring her scent. Or how his fingers idly caressed her thigh. Now and then, he’d drop a kiss on her head or shoulder or one of her arms around his neck.
She admired the strong lines of his face, his constant vigilance of their surroundings. Tomis’ protection made a gooey warmth flow through her entire being.
But it wasn’t a feeling she could trust. Just because he wanted to keep her safe and alive, didn’t mean he wanted her for his own. He’d made it quite plain he couldn’t—wouldn’t—claim her as a mate. Wouldn’t breed her, despite the mounting desperation she felt to be satisfied in that way.
Damn him.
His refusal cut her more deeply than she cared to admit. She was nothing more than a job to him. Yes, he enjoyed aspects of the job, but he refused to take himself outside its confines.
He stopped and lowered her feet to the ground. “I won’t make you walk, I just need to change your legs to the other side.”
“I can walk now,” she offered, although her body loathed to be parted from his, as if simply from skin to skin contact, it knew it might get satisfaction again soon.
“No.” Stars, she loved when he turned stubborn.
Instead of letting him pick her up with her legs to the side, she jumped to straddle his waist. His palms came up to her bare ass, still tingly and warm from the spanking he’d given her. She looped her arms around his neck and leaned her head close to his neck to make herself easier to carry.
Tomis muttered a curse. “I don’t know if this is going to work, female,” he said, but he started walking forward at the same pace as before.
“Why not?”
He kneaded her bottom with his hands. “Because I can’t handle having that wet pussy so close to my cock, starshine, without wanting to be inside it, instead.” He walked on, but his hands shifted restlessly. He propped her ass up with one forearm, freeing the other hand to stroke her buttocks, squeeze them, roughly. He groaned. “Stars, I can feel your wet heat through my pants. I want…”
“What do you want?” She traced the shell of his ear with her tongue.
He let out a huff of exasperation and dropped her to her feet. “Stop.” He turned her around and slapped her ass. “I can’t, starshine.”
The crystals must heighten her emotions, as well as her physical reactions, because an irrational flood of rejection nearly split her open. Well, veck him. He could go veck himself for all she cared. She crossed her arms and clamped her teeth together, waiting for him to lead the way.
He studied her, uncertainty flitting over his expression. “Talia—”
She flicked her hand dismissively. “Go on. Keep walking. I’ll follow my Master.” She said the last word with scorn, satisfied to see pain crease his brow. Good. He should be sorry.
And, yes, she was acting like a child, not that she remembered childhood.
Had she really been the daughter of the prince’s master of arms?
A vague memory—shadowy and just out of her reach—had haunted her mind ever since Tomis had made his solemn gesture with his elbow bent, fist in the air. Something about it seemed familiar. It had jogged something. Not a memory so much as a feeling. Comfort. Safety. And, yes, the honor Tomis so often referred to.
Tomis frowned. “You can’t possibly imagine that was a rejection, Talia.” He gripped the giant bulge of his cock through his pants. “I’ve been in vecking agony for you since the moment I first saw you back in the prison. You know I want you.”
“But you don’t want to desire me. You’re saving me for your prince.”
His expression became an unreadable mask. He’d turned into the stoic soldier, an iron body ready to protect and serve. “Come,” he ordered and reached for her hand. His grasp was gentle, though.
She attempted to remain sullen but soon forgot her grievance when the landscape opened to another mound of rubble—broken buildings, fallen walls, vines and determined trees growing over it all.
Tomis’ watchful eyes took in everything. A frown creased his chin, but he said nothing.
She stopped, forcing him to stop, too. “So, they really killed every being?”
He tucked her against his side, as if to protect her from the past. “It’s horrible, isn’t it?”
“Sickening.”
Tomis lifted his chin to a stubborn angle. “But they didn’t kill every being. Not you. Not me. Not Prince Zander.”
“Do you really think your prince can win against them?”
“Yes.” His answer was so confident and swift she had no choice but to accept he believed. But how could it be possible? A young male who’d lived his life in hiding for the past fifteen solar cycles? How could he have raised enough force and might to bring down the species that toppled the entire structure of his father’s kingdom? It didn’t make sense.
“I want to see up close.” She pulled away from Tomis and headed down the slope toward the rubble of the settlement. Of course, Tomis followed. “I hope Zander’s plan to beat the Finn is better than yours to get me out of here.”
He shrugged. “It’s not my position to know Prince Zander’s plan. Only to execute my orders. But I know he has prepared every day since his exile. And your father has trained him and molded him into as lethal a warrior as any of us.”
Your father.
She shoved those words back. Hated that he assigned some stranger to her this way. “I don’t have a father, Tomis. I told you that before.” She tripped over a stone, and Tomis caught her elbow, steadying her.
“You do. And he hasn’t stopped looking for you since the moment he heard you might still be alive.”
She shook her head. She didn’t need this pressure. To be someone’s long lost daughter? Hell, no. She’d just won her freedom from Thurn. She sure as sun didn’t need to be “owned” by some new male father-figure. If she even was his daughter, as Tomis believed.
“Just meet him,” Tomis coaxed. “Meet him and Prince Zander. Keep an open mind.”
“You promised you wouldn’t take me against my will.”
Tomis’ extraordinary chest expanded, apparently with his overgrown honor. “And I won’t. A Zandian never breaks his word.”
They arrived at the site of destruction. The heaviness in the pit of her stomach felt like she’d swallowed an airship. The more she looked, the more her brain put together what each thing had been—pieces of a hovercraft, the walls of a house. Oh stars. “Tomis.” She pointed inside the crushed hull of the hovercraft, where an adult and child-sized bones remained.
Tomis said nothing, his expression blank and soldier-like again. She thought he might try to pull her away or hold her. She was almost mad he didn�
��t, although it had been her idea to see things up close. Maybe he wanted her to really understand what had happened to their species. So she’d join his fight against the Finn.
He reached in, plucking out what looked like a perfectly cut diamond. “A female,” he said softly. “Mother and children.” He plucked more diamonds out and held them out in his palm for her to see.
She shuddered, backing away. “How do you know? That’s her jewelry?”
“Zandians mark their females when they mate. Pierce their skin and gift them Zandian crystal, that they might always be fertile and fed with the power that sustains us all. It’s to show the male will always provide for his female.”
She wrinkled her nose to mask the stir of longing his explanation gave her. This picture of domestic bliss didn’t fit any reality she’d ever known. And, yet, something dreadful happened inside her as she stared at the winking jewels.
Recognition.
And with it came a terrible, horrible sense of loss.
As if a bomb struck that moment, she found herself on her hands and knees in the dirt, a sob of utter horror choking her throat. Icy prickles raced over her skin.
“Talia? Talia, what is it?”
She coughed, heaved, and, at last, the terrible emotion came out in a torrent of tears, blurring the ground in the flood.
The planet lurched and spun. Somehow, she ended up flattened against Tomis’ hard body, her cheek pressed to his rock-hard chest.
“What happened?” He sounded alarmed. “What is it, starshine?”
“I had a mother. Oh, stars, I had a mother,” she wailed against his chest. Tomis must be disgusted by the wet, ugly, sobbing mess he held, but she couldn’t gain control. It was like something had cracked inside her, some inner shell, and beneath it lay a whole different person. A child with a mother. A mother who’d been pierced and adorned with crystals.
Someday you’ll wear crystals like these, Talia. A beautiful female with long, auburn hair had let her touch the glittering gem below her belly button.
Why not now, mum-mum?
Little girls don’t wear them, sweetheart. They are for mated females. Given by a mate.
“You remembered something? What was it?” Tomis’ faraway voice sounded soft and soothing. His lips brushed her hair. His strong arms warmed her.
