Hope tried to keep her tone casual, but her burning face told her she was blushing. Sweet prophets, she must have looked like an idiot to someone like Piras. Earther hang-ups were a joke to the Kalquorians.
Yet Piras did appear a little uncomfortable. “Most Kalquorians like to be in charge. Lokmi is not so different in that regard. A Kalquorian who will surrender to his lover is the exception to the rule. However, there are a few men who are content to let go of control.”
“I’d like to meet one of those. Not that I didn’t enjoy Lokmi – oh God, I said it out loud.” Hope clapped a hand over her mouth. She wondered if a person could die of embarrassment. At that moment, she wished she could.
Piras laughed and patted her on the back. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve known of many Earther women who had far more difficulty dealing with sexual attraction. Being able to admit you found sex gratifying puts you ahead of the pack.”
Hope had a few bites of the savory stew to restore her equilibrium. When her face didn’t feel quite so hot, she ventured, “I keep expecting you to be revolted I’m talking about it. You must find me silly.”
“I find it sad, actually. Why shouldn’t people be able to discuss the most natural part of being alive?” Piras paused and thought for a moment before adding, “Ask me anything. I don’t mind.”
Hope squirmed a little. She had a few more bites of stew and a swallow of some mildly citrus-y flavored beverage called dlas, from the planet Plasius. Should she ask her questions? Surely this wasn't a conversation she should be having with a man. Particularly not an alien. But if not Piras, who wasn’t offended, then who could she ask?
Definitely not her sister. Charity had only a basic idea of the mechanics of sex, details the woefully uninformed-at-the-time Hope had given her.
I’m still mostly uninformed. One night of passion does not an expert make.
Hope’s mother was gone too, so a sympathetic female ear was out of the question. Hope didn’t consider Sister Miriam or any of the other three nuns on the ship for a second. Even her father wouldn’t be able to keep her from being punished if people had an inkling that she had thoughts of lust.
Hope wanted to know about sex. She needed to know about the feelings of want driving her and why she’d enjoyed handing herself over so freely to Lokmi.
She took another sip of dlas. With resolve, she turned to Piras and ignored the awful humiliation creeping over her again. “I do have questions.”
“Ask away.”
Hope took a deep breath. “One thing I wondered was—well, maybe you can give me an idea of why my encounter with Lokmi felt the way it did?”
Piras’s expression filled with curiosity. “I take it this is an emotional reaction you’re asking about?”
“Yeah.” Another deep breath. “Okay, so yeah, Lokmi knows what he’s doing. I liked what he did. A lot. But I kind of feel as if I shouldn’t have.”
“Because of the religious rulings which say no sex outside of your marriages?”
“That part makes me feel guilty, nothing else. Though not guilty enough to keep me from doing it again if the chance presented itself.”
Piras snickered. “Lokmi would be glad to hear it.”
“You’re a Dramok, the breed that likes controlling situations, right? The thing is, I’m used to being in control of stuff also. Sure, I defer to my father in matters of our rebellion, because he’s an expert. But I lead in a lot of things too.”
Piras nodded, but his face had become unreadable. “You have a strong will.”
“I’m comfortable in taking the lead. I’ve never been much of a follower, unless I have confidence in who is in the charge.” She slammed a fist on the surface of the desk, her frustration coming out. “I sure as hell don’t go around handing off control to strange men I barely know, even if they do understand more about sex, or whatever else is going on. I—what’s so funny?”
She’d broken off because Piras was grinning again. He managed a diplomatic tone, however. “I’m amused because you sound a lot like Lokmi. He dominated your, um, interaction?”
Hope lowered her gaze to stare at the empty bowl in front of her. “Yes.”
“And you found it pleasurable?”
“I hate to admit it.”
“A part of Lokmi hates it when Kila wins the right to dominate him. Our Imdiko does enjoy being topped in sex with the right person, but a part of him says he shouldn’t. His Dramok half drives him insane in that regard.”
Hope digested the information. Was her investment in being strong why she had such issues? Was that why she couldn’t quite believe the positive reaction she’d had when she’d surrendered to Lokmi? It made sense. “How does he handle it?” she asked.
“He and Kila fight for the right to be on top. When Lokmi loses, Kila takes care to give him all the pleasure he needs. It helps him get over being on bottom. Lokmi does the same for Kila, though Kila doesn’t mind losing a fair fight.”
Hope had a vision of the two muscular men wrestling against each other, trying to overcome one another. Naked. The idea was titillating, exciting her—which made her feel embarrassed all over again.
She dived into the question that she prayed would clear all unwanted thoughts from her mind. “What about you? You haven’t said anything about how Lokmi copes with you being in charge.”
Piras regarded her, his expression inscrutable. He stared at her for so long, Hope thought she’d somehow insulted him. She was on the verge of telling him to never mind when he shrugged, a look of loss flitting over his face. “I am never in charge when it comes to sex. I do not enjoy taking the lead in intimate situations. I am submissive in that regard.”
Hope gaped at him. The in-command Dramok, leader of his clan, an admiral of the Kalquorian fleet—submissive to others? “You prefer it?”
“I would venture to say that preference isn’t the issue. I require dominant lovers.”
“You never—with Lokmi or Kila?”
“I get very little out of being in control of my clanmates’ sensual pleasure. Sex is the one place I do not feel I need to hold the power, so I surrender to them.”
Hope turned Piras’s admission over in her mind. She tried to imagine it, a man who allowed his lovers to command him. She’d never seen such a thing, though she’d seen next to nothing of sex before Lokmi in any case.
On Earth, it had been accepted that women were to submit to their husbands. Men ran the show. That was how it was.
Except Dad and Mom always discussed decisions for the family and the revolution like equals. Dad never treated her like she was less, unless they were in front of important people who might think her out of place. Then she behaved like an obedient wife. She was meek, as we were all told to be by the state.
It was a dictate Hope had always despised. Yet like her mother, she’d been careful in the presence of those outside her family. Docile. Deferential. Never letting the men see how she seethed inside to be treated as less.
“What are you thinking, Hope?”
Piras’s voice brought her out of reverie. Hope gazed at him to find him regarding her with a calm, straightforward gaze. He looked at her as if he had nothing to be embarrassed about.
If a man like Piras had no need for shame because he turned acquiescent when making love, then Hope doing the same with Lokmi meant she had nothing to be chagrined about either. If sometimes she liked giving herself to a strong, willful man, then it was all right.
And if sometimes she wanted to be the one in charge…
Feeling emboldened by Piras’s easy acceptance, she mused out loud. “It makes me wonder many things. Like how it would be, as a woman, to have control over a man during sex?”
“If you want to find out, I’m agreeable. Would you like to make love and dominate me?”
Chapter 13
Hope stared at Piras, the offer ringing in her ears. Her mind was in a whirl as she evaluated his long, elegant body. Would she like to have him? Was he kidding? What woman would
n’t?
He’d pushed back from the desk, and she could see the bulge of his interest. The questions kept coming, questions she hoped she had the courage to answer. Would he be as big as Lokmi? As thick? As incredible, but with her in charge?
The idea, exciting enough to make the damp crotch of her panties cling to her pussy, set off a maelstrom of confusion. Yes, she wanted Piras, had wanted him ever since she’d slammed into his brick-hard body a few days ago. But what precisely was she supposed to do with him?
Hope grudgingly admitted, “I wouldn’t know where to start.”
Piras’s smile shook her. It made her insides tremble with longing. His expression was knowing and yet sweetly hopeful at the same time. It made her want to wrap her arms around him and kiss his almost-pretty face a hundred times over, all while whispering endearments to make him feel secure and safe. Cared for.
He told her, “We start with ground rules. I have non-negotiable limits.”
“Such as?”
“No bloodletting. I am not averse to pain, but I draw the line at serious damage.”
The idea of causing damage to Piras was a million miles from what Hope had envisioned. The room rocked for a moment. “Good. I can’t imagine going that far.”
“If there is something I’m truly uncomfortable with, I’ll let you know. Since I might beg for something or say ‘no’ and not mean it in the course of play, you’ll listen out for the word sholt. It is Kalquorian for ‘stop’.”
Hope remembered Lokmi playfully telling her he’d like to give her a spanking. Had he ever spanked Piras? Could she spank Piras? Apparently, it was an activity on the table.
Hope envisioned her hairbrush in her hand, peppering the Dramok’s beautifully curved ass with its hard surface. She imagined his raspy-sexy voice raised in whimpers as she disciplined him for some slight, real or conjured. Of him kneeling at her feet, accepting his punishment, growing hard and eager as she wielded control over him. As she served his need to surrender while he served hers to take command.
The idea of Piras kneeling gave her another fantasy. His strong jaw, and possibly an equally strong tongue—what could she have him do with those?
“Sholt,” she repeated. “If you say it, I have to halt whatever I’m doing to you.”
He nodded, his eyes growing wide. His respiration was coming quicker. “You must stop right away. But it would take a lot for me to say it.”
“Okay.” Hope swallowed hard. “I understand.”
“What would you like me to do first, Matara? I am yours to command.” He slid from his chair to kneel before her on the floor. He laid his cheek on her knee and stared up at her with a look of surrender.
She blinked at him. Well, the first order was easy enough, because it was what she’d wanted from the first moment she’d laid eyes on him. “Undress. Let me see you naked.”
Piras rolled off his knees to sit on his ass so he could pull his boots off, which he did with almost unseemly haste. The spicy scent of arousal, similar to Lokmi’s but with a bit more sharpness, drifted to Hope’s nostrils. Piras’s excitement was even more apparent when he got to his feet and his uniform stretched over blatant need.
Hope caught herself biting her lower lip as Piras pulled at the collar of his formsuit. The front seam parted with a whispering sound, showing a strip of skin from throat to below his navel. He tugged at the fabric to expose muscled shoulders. They were not as bulky as Lokmi or Kila’s, but exquisitely formed all the same. Ditto for his biceps, smooth-skinned and lined with the barest hint of veins.
His chest—yes, she liked that too. Lokmi’s had been wide and bulky. Piras again had smaller, elegantly crafted swells of muscle. He was so gracefully shaped, he came close to making his clanmates appear clunky in comparison.
As Piras exposed himself to her view, Hope took in the supple ridges of his abdomen. She found it hard to breathe as she gazed at the lovely way his body narrowed from the width of his chest and shoulders to his waist. It was as if his body had been tapered to flow. He was exquisite, she thought, enthralled with the vision. Truly a beautiful statement of manhood.
He bent to slide his pants down his legs, the angle shielding his sexes from sight as he stripped his clothing away. He kicked off the lower part of his uniform and gradually unbent, giving her a nice, slow contemplation of calves, knees, and thighs as supple and lithe as the rest. At last, she was treated to the display of his cocks, extending from his magnificent body.
Long, with broad bases to almost pointed tips, they bobbed as if to greet her while she regarded them. The lengths, shaded slightly darker than the rest of his brown skin, gleamed with wetness. A hint of veins ran down them, and Hope imagined she could see his pulse throbbing with excitement.
Sweet prophets, these Kalquorian men made her glad to be living in a time when she could enjoy them, even a time as uncertain as this.
Hope’s voice was thick when she said, “Can I touch?”
Piras smiled, his head bent so his hair swung forward, forcing him to peek at her like a shy boy. “You are in control. You can do whatever you like. I am the one who needs permission to do anything.”
Right. He was hers, not the other way around. Hope was supposed to be ordering him to do stuff. She shivered, trying to wrap her head around the power she wielded. What was she going to do with him?
Her first impulse was to get right to business. Remembering how incredible Lokmi had felt inside her, Hope wanted nothing more than to fill herself with Piras. But that would be selfish, wouldn’t it? Lokmi had been determined to pleasure her even when he’d been in charge. She was as responsible for Piras’s enjoyment.
She beckoned him closer. He came over, near enough that she could have stuck her tongue out and licked his cocks. Was he demanding she do so? Hope raised her gaze to his avid face and crooked a brow.
His shoulders hunched a little. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and took a step back.
“That’s better,” she said, thinking she should be quick to praise good behavior. Or should she have punished him first for his earlier insistence? There was a lot more to being in charge than issuing orders and being obeyed, she realized.
Hope reached out and stroked his thigh, tracing the lines between the muscles. She saw a slight tremble run through his frame.
Mine. His body is mine to enjoy. I don’t have to ask permission. And he won’t make me do anything I don’t want to.
She flattened her palms against the thick leg muscles and rubbed over them, enjoying the strength he possessed. Strength he would not use against her.
Hope stood, the better to reach his upper body. She trailed the curves and delineations of sinew, tendons, and ligaments, fascinated by the way he was put together. His chest, arms, and stomach were her playground of touch, a gallery of living sculpture curated for her enjoyment.
When she rubbed his dark nipple with her thumb, Piras dared to speak. “Please, may I touch you as well, Matara?”
Excitement spiked to hear the subservient words spoken with such desire. “No, not yet. I’ll let you know when I want something from you.”
He swallowed hard but went silent. Was he suffering? The dilation of his eyes said he enjoyed being hers, though she denied him what he asked for.
“What if I didn’t let you come?” Hope asked, curious about how far he’d let her take him. “What if I came over and over, but told you not to?”
“If it is what pleases you, then I would do it,” Piras said, his raspy voice growing rougher still. “Whatever it takes to show I serve you, Matara.”
Hope was stunned to hear him answer so readily. Surely he couldn’t be serious? Yet there was no lie in his eyes. He meant every word of it.
His gaze held hers. “Go ahead. Test me. Let me show I’m yours.”
The challenge woke her, making her feel the power she possessed. Test him? Make him bend to her will, no matter how much he wanted otherwise? Oh, she could do that.
Hope grabbed a handful of his sleek
black hair, holding tight to the back of his head. She pulled him down and pressed her mouth to his, pushing her tongue against his lips to make him open to her. He surrendered readily.
Hope kissed Piras deeply, tasting the man with abandon. She was glad she’d had the chance to practice with Lokmi. Her experience with him gave her the confidence to explore Piras’s mouth, to twine her tongue with his, to kiss him with assurance.
It delighted her to feel him clutching just above her hips, as if it were her strength he needed to cling to instead of the other way around. But she’d told him he wasn’t allowed to touch yet. He had disobeyed.
Her mouth tingling from the kiss, she shoved him back. “Are you forgetting yourself, Piras?” she asked coldly.
His eyes had been glazed over with passion. He gasped. Awareness sparked, and he snatched his hands from her waist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—please forgive me.”
Hope narrowed her gaze. “That remains to be seen. Put your hands behind your back. Behave yourself, mister.”
He obeyed, his head bowing in contrition. “Yes, Matara. It will not happen again.” He shuddered all over, and his cocks were thicker than ever with desire. Yet he placed his arms behind and waited for whatever she chose to do to him next.
Hers.
She stepped back to take him in from head to toe. The man was picture-perfect. A few seconds passed before she had to move close to his warmth again, before she had to run her hands all over his long, luscious body once more. Even that wasn’t enough though, and Hope obeyed a sudden impulse. She bent low and licked the path from Piras’s navel straight up to the hollow of his throat. She took her time, tasting the salty musk of his skin, ending at the wild throbbing of his pulse between his collarbones.
“Matara,” he moaned, trembling all over. Trembling for her.
“You taste good,” Hope told him in a low voice. “I think I could eat you up, pretty man.”
Alien Revolt (Clans of Kalquor Book 11) Page 17
