“Don’t worry, no one can hear us,” said Lestra when my elbow made another deafening bang against the side of the stone passage. “We’re getting closer. There’s another turn up ahead. We’ll be veering to the right soon,” she said after who knows how many turns.
She came to a stop, and her heritage badge illuminated once again as a gust of cold air rippled through the passage. Caught in the developing suction, a tall stone separated itself from the others and hovered open behind us.
“We’re here,” she announced.
Chapter Twenty-Three
America
“What the—”
A sharp breeze cut across my cell, and a piece of the far wall began to move, pivoting on a center axis as the block twisted out of place. I bolted to my feet.
“America, it’s Garran.” His hand extended through the opening, and I ran to take it, still shocked by what I had just seen. “Come with me,” he said, and I entered a passageway. Lestra peered at me from over Garran’s shoulder. “Lestra has access through the walls, something I didn’t know about until today.”
“Where are you taking me? Home?” I asked, clasping my hands together so hard they hurt.
“No, that’s not possible—yet.”
“Then where?” I said, relaxing my hands.
“To a special place where we can be alone, to a place I want you to see. Something beautiful.”
“I already see something beautiful,” I said, as our eyes met.
“And I, too.” He brought his head closer to mine, his lips parted and ready, but as Lestra’s shell clacked with a shift of her weight, he pulled away.
Inspecting my face, he lifted my chin with his fingers. “Are you okay? I heard about what my father did to you. I’m so sorry.” He gave me a quick but strong hug.
“Yeah, I’m fine. My jaw’s just a little sore.”
He clasped my hand, and Lestra took the lead as we entered the wall.
“What if someone notices I’m gone?”
“The only person who could is Slaine, and he won’t report it.”
While we snaked between the sheets of stone, I watched Lestra walk ahead of us.
Her gait was full of grace, her rear end hard and perfectly round as it knocked side to side with each step like a beauty queen on a catwalk. I imagined her with a head of long, blond hair, whipping back and forth across the back of her beige tunic while she strode down the dim tunnel, following the lights on the floor.
My feet tingled against the cold stone floor, though my hand became warm in Garran’s. Lestra and Garran exchanged a few words, and our pace quickened.
“We’re almost there,” said Garran.
After the next turn, we slowed to a stop. Lestra stood next to the far wall and placed her hand against it. Something on her tunic, a brooch of some sort, illuminated an eerie yellow, like a firefly, and a moment later, a section of the wall disengaged. With a creak and explosion of dust, the stone rotated, revealing the outdoors.
“Ready, America?”
“Yes,” I said.
A ray of sun cut through the opening, casting a band of bright light across our faces. I squinted, holding my fanned hand across my eyes, and when Garran and I stepped from the wall, the damp, musky smell of mildew was replaced with a freshness of flowers I didn’t recognize.
Garran spoke to Lestra in their language. Whatever he said made her fold her arms and retreat into the far shadow on the opposite side of the hall, and the block closed with Lestra behind it.
“She’s going to wait for us. We’ll need her to open the wall and lead us back to your cell,” said Garran. But I was half listening.
Shades of green and purple made up the Enestian atmosphere, and where the two colors met, they burned magenta. A billowing of clouds scraped across the horizon, and though they shined too brightly to look at, the double blast of bright light made it obvious that there were two suns. “You were right. It’s beautiful,” I said. “Your sky and the trees—everything. And it smells so good.”
“That’s the jessom moss,” said Garran, pointing to a patch of green beneath our feet.
It was storybook, once-upon-a-time perfect, something from a fairy tale. Tree trunks as smooth as Enestian shell dotted the land, their limbs fluffed with leaves of deep green and fuzzy drapes of moss. The soil was rich, the color and consistency of ground coffee beans. As Garran led me into a small grove, my feet padded lightly on the springy moss, and there was no worry of stepping on a stone.
Within the grove, a ring of trees, their trunks touching, enclosed a small clearing, with the exception of a two-foot gap. We squeezed through it, and I saw the weave of branches above, the limbs twisting around each other from one tree to the next like boa snakes of wood.
Garran squeezed my hand. “What do you think of this special place?” he asked.
“It’s absolutely breathtaking.”
A stone statue sat at the base of each tree, curving elegantly from the ground in a swirl, mirroring the turns of embroidery on Garran’s shirt and ending with the busts of Enestians, some male, some female. Each wore a carved tunic, the collar extending above the back of each head like a fan of peacock feathers.
“Are they tombstones?” I asked, as I approached the closest one and ran my finger down its cheek.
“No, they’re memorials—royals—my ancestors. Upon my death, my likeness is supposed to be added, and there it would stand, a permanent overseer of the Ring of Reverence.”
“And your father,” I said with a smirk, “he’ll be memorialized here, too?”
“Yes,” he said, “not that he deserves the honor, but it is tradition.” He took one of my hands in his. “You know, America, no one has ever challenged my father before—verbally or physically—to the extent that you did, and you did both. Very impressive.” He smiled. “Not only are you beautiful and intelligent, but you are strong-willed, determined. That’s why I think you could live here, just for a while, until I can take you home.”
“Here?”
“Yes. That’s why I wanted to show it to you, to make sure you’d be willing to stay here. You’d be safe. I’d provide you with shelter and food, and of course, I’d come see you every day.”
“I could do it,” I said and thought about the tent I pitched just hours before I was abducted. It was crooked and took twice as long to set up as it should have—a pathetic attempt at camping—but with Garran’s help I’d make it work. Anything was better than my cell. “This place is magical and majestic. I love it.”
“And then you will be away from my father and his team. They would no longer have the opportunity to study you and then…” Garran dropped my hand and his head.
“But when they discover I’m gone, they’d look for me. Wouldn’t they?”
“No, this particular grove is sacred. Only the royals are allowed to enter. My father would be the one, and on that day, I’d make sure you weren’t here, and all traces of you gone.”
“And if your father finds out you helped me escape? I… I’m afraid to die, but I’m also afraid of what he can do to you.”
His head bent toward mine and he murmured, “I can bear any punishment. What I can’t bear is you suffering under my father’s will.”
He kissed me, slowly at first, the delicate tip of his tongue meeting mine, his lips light and teasing, his breath warm and pleasantly sweet. I gripped his shoulders, and his kisses came harder as his hands ran the length of my torso. Everything inside me stirred in a tingly swirl of pleasure and desire, working its way down from my chest to where it settled below. I had to have more. He was covered in shell, but he was warm, and I wanted, no needed, to get even closer to him.
“I want you,” he said as his shaking hands met the top of my blanket.
“Wait,” I said before his fingers hit my skin.
“I’m sorry,” he said and drew away. “I should have asked before I tried to…” His eyes darted to my chest. My blanket had slipped, enough to reveal most of my cleavage, bu
t I didn’t retighten the blanket against me.
He was breathing heavily, the plates under his tunic sliding with each breath.
Besides his beautiful shell, Garran was as human as any guy I’d ever met. I wanted to see him—all of him. I wanted to feel him—all of him. I wanted to let him touch me, let him take me.
Though the idea was beyond crazy—an earthling and an alien—every atom in my body ached because I needed him. Wanted to feel him inside me. Maybe Garran couldn’t save me, and I’d die here, but I would have one magical experience. And it would be with my white knight.
I looked at him and said, “No, it’s not that. I want you, too. It’s just—”
“What?” he asked at a whisper, the tips of his fingers meeting my cheek.
“I’m a virgin. I’ve, I’ve never, you know…” I swallowed hard, and he smiled, the small plates around his eyes rising.
“And there is something you should know. I haven’t, either.” He interlocked his fingers with mine and brought my hands to his lips.
“Really?” Now I wanted him even more.
“I’ll admit it is unusual for a male at my age, even one slated to marry a pre-selected bride. I could have found plenty of girls who would have…” His eyes flicked from mine and then returned. “But I didn’t. It was my choice to wait until now, until I found someone I truly wanted to be with, someone who makes me feel like I do right now.” He kissed my hand again, and a pleasant fluttering expanded in my chest.
“Are we even, I mean, is it even possible for us…?” I asked, and tightened my loose blanket back into place when it slipped a bit farther.
“Yes, our anatomies are compatible,” he said. “But I would need to be extra gentle, so I wouldn’t hurt you.”
Hurt me? I couldn’t imagine what it looked like. If it was clad in shell, would its plates slide and pinch me? What if it exceeded the length and girth of what a human girl could handle? Were the male parts of him I hadn’t seen also true to his humanoid form? Maybe they weren’t, and what he had was something dangerous to humans, something that would tear my flesh if he wasn’t completely mindful of what he was doing.
Shaking my head took away the thought of any pain that could go with making love to him, and I replaced it with the memory of how soft our kisses were against his firm but giving lips.
I did want him, more than any guy I’d ever had a chance with. I wanted him to be the one, this strong, exotic being, who made my heart dance and my insides throb in a way my body never had before.
I blinked and sucked in a small breath. “I know you’ll be gentle. Let’s try it,” I said. “I’m ready. I want you, Garran.”
“Are you sure?” He gulped.
“Yes,” I said and kissed his fingertips.
“I want you, too, and I’m also ready,” he said, and kissed a path from my lips to the base of my neck.
We melted to the ground and onto a patch of jessom moss so thick it felt like a sponge.
Still holding my blanket in place, I lay on my back with Garran on top of me, his palms at both sides of my body, supporting his weight.
“This is where I want it to happen,” he said as his lips pressed against my neck and his tongue ran its length, leaving a trail of wet warmth as I shivered with desire.
I kissed the shell beneath his ear but drew away each time it overlapped with the movement of his jaw. His next kiss against my throat was hard, and I made my kisses match his, my front teeth periodically scraping against shell.
His upper body lowered against mine, chest meeting chest. “Too heavy,” I said, between breaths, and when he lifted away, I unbuttoned his shirt with shaky fingers, beginning at the neck.
Pressing my lips against his tattoo, I traced it with my tongue, every twirl, spin, and turn. Garran moaned, throwing back his head and pressing his groin against mine.
“My turn,” he said after shaking his shirt off. It dropped to the ground, and as Garran kissed the skin above the band of my blanket, I grasped a fistful of velvety moss, clenching tighter as he pulled the blanket down with his left hand. “Beautiful,” he said, and ran the point of his tongue across my hard nipples. “So soft,” he continued, cupping one of my breasts and burying his mouth against it.
I set my hands upon his shoulders and squeezed, massaging my fingers against his shell plates and trailing my palms down his chest, each of my fingertips tingling from the pressure, exploring each curve of shell as they buckled against his abdomen in unison with his heavy breathing.
His mouth returned to my neck, and I tilted my head toward him, taking in the warm, damp sweetness of his breath. Pulling my hands away when he lifted, a set of his chest plates slid under the next and his lips pressed upon mine.
The tip of his tongue brushed against the roof of my mouth, meeting the soft pallet with a delicate stroke. My heart pulsed hard, wracking my chest, and as the tip of his tongue gave a final stroke, the carnal sensation it created lingered, bathing my body in heat and uncontrollable need.
Garran brought his lips to my stomach with delicate licks as the place between my legs became warm and yearning. My blanket was gone at this point, thrown aside, and with my legs bent at the knee, he placed his hand against me, the thick leather of his fingers exploring my wet skin.
“Does this hurt?” he asked.
“No,” I said.
One of his fingers entered me slowly, as he rocked it into place, and I arched my back with pleasure and let out a soft sigh. His touch was soft yet firm, teasing yet testing.
“Is this okay?” he asked in a whisper as his finger withdrew to touch me, swirling in small circles.
“Yes. Don’t stop. Don’t stop,” I said, and his motion against me increased in speed and pressure.
“Yes! Yes!”
What was happening to me? I gasped and something erupted inside of me, something so pleasurable I thought I might scream as the feeling spread through my entire body, making me shake and hold my breath until it passed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Garran
Careful not to bruise her delicate skin, I wrapped my arms around America’s back and experienced something I could never feel with another Enestian due to our shells—the beating of a heart against my chest, a hard thump that quickened as I continued to hold her.
Her hair fanned across her shoulders, and a moment later, both of her thin arms were limp. Her breath was hot and steamy against my shell, making a damp place under my neck and chin. I brushed her hair from her face and kissed her moisture-beaded forehead. She closed her eyes as I ran the back of my hand against her cheek, keeping my touch light across her velvety skin.
“Look at me,” I whispered. She opened her eyes, and as I hovered above her, my arms supporting my weight, our gazes locked. Even in the shade of the meelson trees, the soft, bronze-like coloring of her eyes was distinguishable from their black centers. And as we continued to stare at each other, my heart rapidly beating, I felt connected to her mentally and physically, though our lower bodies were apart.
She lifted her hand to my face and smiled, the turn of her lips sexy and seductive. I was drawn to push my lower body against hers. Shifting my weight, I caught her hand and kissed it, keeping my lips parted as my tongue slid against a trail of thin bone.
Her thumb slid to my palm, and while she caressed the tender, soft shell of my hand, I lowered to my elbow and caught the back of her thigh with my other hand, cupping my palm gently as I eased her even closer to me.
How could something so shell-less and soft be so beautiful? But she was, and as our eyes met again, and she sucked in a short breath, the tip of her tongue meeting her lips, I couldn’t hold back any longer. A flickering of heat expanded under my shell, and my lower plate slid open.
I tugged at my waistband, pulling my leggings to the center of my thighs and then lower, below my knees. I was ready to experience her. But I had to be careful. I couldn’t hurt her.
Yes, we were compatible in terms of connecting sexuall
y. I’d seen enough human love scenes in Earth movies to know that—at least I thought we would be. But Enestian shell, something similar to the palms of our hands, did, in fact, extend to the external organs.
She gasped again as her eyes dropped below my waist. With eyes wide, she licked her lips once more, turned her head, and squeezed her eyes shut.
I looked down at her soft, wet place, pink and delicate like a blooming tress flower, and as she opened her eyes, her gaze full of fear, I whispered, “Do you still want this?”
“Yes,” she said softly.
It was about to happen—my innocence not taken but freely given to the girl of my choice. I would share my first intimate, exclusive experience with someone whose beauty and delicate nature made me unworthy of the honor and the privilege.
And that’s when I entered her, slowly and gently, inch by inch, and she moaned as my pelvis lowered against hers.
“Yes, yes,” she said again.
Every piece of my body ignited with pleasure as I continued, rocking against her in rhythmic, controlled thrusts. She sighed and clasped the shell of my buttocks with her hands, her hot breasts pressing against my upper shell.
An inexplicable, hot stirring developed inside my lower abdomen, becoming more and more intense and ripening into something that made me shake uncontrollably. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe, and I threw back my head, savoring every second of this intense bliss, and my plates shook, grinding and tingling in a way I’d never experienced before.
When it was done, I pulled away, having experienced something so mind-blowing. I dropped next to her and rolled onto my back in disbelief.
Chapter Twenty-Five
America
“Something’s wrong. I don’t feel right,” I said as we walked back toward the lab, holding each other. “It couldn’t be from…”
“No, my seminal fluid cannot and will not hurt you.” Garran brought his arm around my waist as we walked in unison. “If anything about us being together would’ve harmed you, I wouldn’t have let it happen.”
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