Duke: A Paranormal Scifi Alien Romance: Albaterra Mates Book 2

by Ashley L. Hunt

  I flew around the ship instead and went the opposite way. There were many more trees on this side, and several miniature mountains were within close range. Swooping low enough to the ground to see it clearly but remaining high enough to have a wide scope of sight, I zoomed on the sweltering breeze and surveyed the earth below me. The dirt was so dry that cracks created an intricate rug of webs, and there was no moisture to allow for footprints to have been left behind. I sniffed, hoping to pick up her scent in the air, but it was very faint. She’d been with me for so long I was almost immune to it.

  Reaching the mound, I ascended toward the sky. It appeared to be unfettered by human interference. As I rounded to its northern side, however, I picked up a smell far from appealing. It was thick, sour, and nauseating. It was certainly not Emily’s scent, but it was so potent I knew it came from a source of significance. Then, I saw a building. It was very small, only about the size of the command center in my ship, and looked very weathered. Just outside of it, huddled on the ground, there was Emily.

  Her petite, lithe body was crumpled into a ball. She was on her knees, but her face was tucked into her hands, which were resting on her knees. Even from my height in the air, I could see her shoulders shaking, and I heard the sound of uncontrollable weeping. It was a sound I hadn’t heard from her since the first day I’d brought her back with me.

  I leaned into a dive and landed only a few feet from her. She started as my feet thudded onto the ground, looking up in alarm. Her cheeks were streaked with tears that glittered in the relentless sunlight. As she looked at me, her eyes widened, and her chin trembled. I glanced down at myself and remembered I was covered in blood. Brushing my palms over my torso dismissively, I approached her.

  “Go away,” she said hoarsely.

  I ignored her. Closing the space between us, I grabbed her just like I had on the first day, threw her over my shoulder, and leapt into the wind again. As we were flying, I felt her struggling in my grasp, and I couldn’t tell if the chill on my skin was from the breeze brushing against the blood on my body or her tears dripping onto my back. When we landed, I didn’t put her down. Instead, I marched her straight into the ship, back to the command center.

  Wriggling out of my grasp, finally, she fell to the floor and hopped back up onto her feet. “I suppose you want me to get back in my cage now, right?” she shot at me heatedly.

  “No,” I replied stiffly. My heart was still beating wildly, and my stomach was still in knots from the fight with the human soldiers and from discovering Emily had run away.

  She shoved her hands onto her hips and demanded, “Well, what did you bring me back here for?”

  I looked at her, but I couldn’t answer. The words wouldn’t come. She waited with a glare for me to respond, but I simply couldn’t speak. I was too afraid that, if I did, the truth I didn’t want her to know and continued to try to deny to myself would come rolling forth.

  Finally growing sick of waiting for me to reply to her, she shook her head and stomped to the center of the room, where her blankets were spread neatly on the floor. Every morning, she had laid them out as though she was making a bed. I didn’t realize until now that I’d found the habit endearing. Crossing her arms over her chest, she jerked her chin upwards at the lever hanging over her head and snapped, “Well, go ahead. Pull it.”

  Again, I just stared at her. I desperately wanted to know why she wasn’t trying to run away again, why she was requesting to be put back into the cage, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

  “I need to check the damage to the ship,” I said eventually. I turned and started to leave the room, but her voice rang out, stopping me in my tracks.

  “Why didn’t you just leave me out there to die?”

  All of the frustration and anger she’d held in her tone was gone. The question was asked with meek despair. I could actually feel her defeat as her words rolled over her tongue, wafted through the air, and came to rest in my ears. Turning back around slowly, I met her gaze but kept my mouth closed. She was on the verge of tears again, and her expression was one of such emotional exhaustion I actually felt pity bubbling up inside of me.

  “Duke, why?” she pressed, starting to sound desperate for a response. “You’re here to kill us all anyway. It would have been easy. You could have just left me for the buzzards. Why didn’t you?”

  Her soul pleaded with mine for an answer, and I couldn’t hold back anymore.

  “I did not want you to be found by my warriors if they were to return,” I murmured.

  “Why?” she asked again.

  For a moment, I considered spinning on my heel, leaving her alone in the command center. I wanted to get away from her and avoid her questions, but, no matter how much my mind told me to walk away, my body simply wouldn’t do it.

  Her hands flew up to her scalp, wrapping around her blonde tendrils and tugging with frustration. “God, Duke, why?” she cried, tears finally rolling down her cheeks again.

  I couldn’t stop myself. I crossed the room to her, wrapped my hand around the back of her skull, and crush her mouth to mine. Our bodies pressed so tightly together they seemed to become one. She let go of her hair and snaked her arms around my neck as I burrowed my tongue through her lips and teeth. Her taste was exquisite, better than any I’d ever experienced before. I kissed her with my entire being, my soul falling deeply into hers.

  She moaned against my mouth, and I reached down to close my hands around her thighs. Hoisting her up so that her legs wrapped around my waist, I dropped to my knees and laid her on her back with the blankets of skins beneath her. Her breath came in gasps against my lips. I held myself up over her slightly, a hand placed on either side of her body, and deepened the kiss until everything else in the world around us disappeared. At that moment, all I knew was Emily.

  I felt one of her hands skimming down the length of my upper body, coming to rest between my legs. Already, I was erect, and she cupped the bulge in my pants with her palm. Our mouths still twisted and danced together as she began rubbing slowly, igniting a powerful need inside of me. I growled and bit her lower lip, and she panted with want. Her hand skittered up slightly to my waistband and eased between the band and my skin until wrapping around my length and stroking. Involuntarily, I broke the kiss and groaned.

  She grabbed the hem of her shirt with her free hand and tugged it upward until her breasts were exposed. “Lick them,” she said breathily. Her eyes were glazed over with sultry suggestion, and I found myself growing even harder in her hand at the prospect of exploring her body.

  Tentatively, I lowered my head until my lips brushed against one of her nipples. She mewed with approval, and I opened my mouth to take the soft, thin skin between my teeth. Instantly, her back arched into a luscious curve, and her hand quickened on my manhood. I became hungrier as a result and began rolling the firm, pointed nipple tip between my lips while starting a series of nibbles with my teeth. A loud, low moan cut through her, spilling into the room relentlessly, and she twitched. I rested my weight on one hand while lifting the other to her untouched nipple. Plucking it with my thumb and forefinger, I matched the rhythm of my mouth on the first, twisting gently and tugging lightly.

  “More,” she whimpered. “I’m so ready for you.”

  Her hips lifted as if to prove her readiness, and I felt a rush of faintness in my brain as arousal took me over. Sitting up, I shoved my pants down my thighs and kicked them off. As I did, she wrenched her shirt from her body like it was a loathsome intruder and rocked out of her shorts, taking her panties with them. The moment she was completely nude beneath me, I found myself breathless.

  She was beautiful. Looking at her body was like seeing the Grand Circle at work; exquisite, ethereal, and awe-inspiring. The gentle slope of her breasts melted into a delicious curve of waist, which then bloomed into the most sensual set of hips that had ever existed. She was different than A’li-uud women, who were traditionally tall and very slender. Her flesh was soft and feminine an
d…human. I had never wanted something as much as I wanted her then.

  Reaching down again, she grasped my length in her fingers and cautiously eased me forward. I allowed her to guide me, pressing my head up against her petal-like folds. Her eyes met mine, and then she plunged me in.

  Everything around me imploded. I could see nothing except the deep, rich brown of her eyes and the sweet want on her face. The only thing I felt was her body accepting me. It was almost as if she was squeezing me with reassurance. Her lips parted in surprise, and I heard a sharp intake of breath. Immediately, I asked, “Are you hurt?”

  “No,” she gasped, closing her eyes momentarily. A look of pure pleasure spread across her face then, which nearly ripped me apart at the seams. “I’ve just never had anyone so big before. And you’re so warm.”

  Her hands stroked my forearms, and I realized she was referring to the difference in our skin temperatures. It was true: compared to me, she felt rather cold to the touch, but it was both refreshing and titillating. I tried to keep my gaze on her as I was overcome with sensation.

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  “Don’t you dare,” she breathed. “Go all the way in.”

  I obeyed gladly, thrusting forward and crying out. The physical feelings were exceptional, for sure, but entering her brought a host of emotions I never would have expected. As I plummeted inside of her until my hips met hers, I felt like I was bathed in hope and comfort. My heart swelled in my chest, invading my lungs and cheating me of breath. I realized, as her arms curled around me and her palms flattened against my back, that I was in love with her.

  “Again,” she commanded quietly, kissing my chin.

  Gritting my teeth, I pulled back until I almost exited her completely, and then I slid forward again. Her head rolled back onto the blankets, and she let out another moan. It was the most wonderful sound I had ever heard. I repeated the thrust again without her instruction, and her chest lifted to press against mine. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy, but, as I looked down at her, I knew I couldn’t deny my feelings for her anymore no matter how hard I tried. I had fallen in love with a human, and now I loved her in the most intimate way.

  “Faster!” she cried. “Please!”

  One of her hands skimmed up my back to the nape of my neck, and she pushed down until my mouth was on her nipple again. I suckled on the tip as I began gyrating my hips faster and faster until I was rocketing in and out of her. Her moans came endlessly now, flooding out of her mouth and into the air like smoke. The sound spurred me on, bringing me to new heights of arousal, drowning me in rolling waves of love for her. I spun my tongue in circles around her areola, flicking over the point, and then I slammed forward yet again.

  Her eyes flashed open for a brief second, coming to rest on mine, and everything changed. At that moment, I realized I’d been living for over two hundred years as half a life, incomplete. Emily was the other half. She was what made existence a joy rather than an obligation. I had nothing without her, and I was nothing without her. Despite all of the judgment I’d had about Rex falling in love with a human, it turned out a human was not only my love but my destiny.

  “Touch me,” she whispered. “Finish me.”

  I didn’t hesitate. Dropping my hand between my body and hers, I sought the place where the friction from our movements had made her skin hot. The hooded button was swollen already, and I pressed the pads of my fingertips to it. Her jaw dropped open as moans burst forth again, and, when I began vibrating my hand back and forth to stimulate that sweet little bead, she broke apart. Her face crumpled, her spine curved upward, and her moans became screams of euphoria. Upon seeing the beauty of her climax, I couldn’t restrain myself anymore, and I bellowed as I crumbled over the edge.

  12

  Emily

  It was the first time I had ever blacked out when making love.

  As Duke’s fingers worked magic over my sensitive button, I found myself careening headfirst into another realm. All of my senses seemed to detach from me, and I could no longer hear or see a thing. I felt like I had become just an orb of pure pleasure shooting through space and time, crossing over into parallel planes, breaching the boundaries of utter nothingness. It was a climax equivalent of a religious experience.

  I couldn’t catch my breath for what seemed like minutes afterward. Duke’s body slowly relaxed on top of me until he shakily eased himself out and collapsed next to me on the floor. He, too, was panting, and we lay there together just breathing shallowly for a long time. Finally, when we were both able to inhale and exhale at will, I looked at him.

  It had become clear to me when our bodies had united into one being. The feelings I’d been developing for him since he’d brought me back to his ship had been strong, but I no longer bothered trying to tamp them down into something less than they were. I had fallen in love with Duke somehow, and it was the kind of love that could move Heaven and Earth. If I’d ever had doubt about love being that intense before, my climax had proven its existence to me.

  “Hey,” I murmured, lifting a hand to brush it against his cheek. He twisted to look back at me. There was a very strange expression on his face, and I almost lost my nerve, but I forced myself to say the words that were dying to burst out of me. “I love you.”

  I expected him to freeze. I wouldn’t have even been surprised if he got quickly to his feet and made up some excuse as to why he needed to leave the scene suddenly. To my astonishment, however, the harsh clench of his jaw and piercing look in his eyes started to melt. The next thing I knew, he was staring at me with a tenderness I never would have thought possible of him.

  “I love you too,” he said quietly. “I tried not to, but I cannot lie to myself any longer.”

  A smile spread across my lips, and I felt a chuckle bubble up inside of me. “How ironic. I pretty much did the same thing.”

  He snickered, and I found the apex of my thighs growing hot again. I had never heard him laugh before. The sound was amazing, and to hear it in conjunction with his confession reignited my arousal. I rolled over until my body was on top of his and pressed my lips against his lips. He kissed me passionately, his tongue swirling around mine. Beneath me, I felt his groin becoming hard once more.

  “Wanna go again?” I asked teasingly, brushing my nose against his cheek.

  He grinned, but then he stiffened. His hand shot upward to his ear, and I pulled back as he became stony-faced again.

  “Are you okay?” I asked with concern.

  “There’s a report coming in,” he muttered. He gently pushed me sideways until I was sitting on my rump, and then he clambered to his feet. His pants still lay forgotten off to the side as he moved to the window completely nude.

  I listened anxiously as he began clacking in the A’li-uud language and wished desperately that I could understand him. His shoulders had stiffened again, and he was straight-backed like he was when he was serious. Even though I didn’t know a single word he was saying, it was obvious to me something was wrong. I reached for my shirt, pulled it over my head, and snatched my shorts up as well. As I shimmied back into them, his clacking became louder. I was sure that, if he had been speaking English, he would’ve been yelling.

  He curled his fingers into a fist and banged it against the window. I watched him with wide eyes, now very worried. Finally, he turned around, and the look on his face was one of fury.

  “What happened?” I asked timidly.

  “Some of my warriors have been captured,” he said. His voice had become as cold as ice, and I withdrew as if I’d been slapped.

  “I-I’m sorry,” I stammered, uncertain as to how I should respond. “What do you know?”

  Without warning, he swung his fist back, and it crashed into the window again. “They have been taken by human authorities!” he shouted. His eyes were blazing, and he wasn’t looking at me. “They are being held prisoners and will be subjected to torture if they do not comply!”

  I gaped at him, horrified by what I
heard. “That’s terrible,” I squeaked. Frankly, I was slightly frightened by his outburst.

  “I will kill them,” he said. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and his gaze finally connected with mine again. “The humans who took my warriors. I will find them, and I will kill every last one of them.”

  My first instinct was to try and convince him to take a different course of action, but I realized, as I watched his face contorting with rage, that to try would be futile. He meant what he said; whoever was responsible for the capture of his men would die.

  Suddenly, I felt like I’d been hit with a sack of bricks in the gut. This person, this alien, in front of me was who I loved, and he had no qualms about taking human life. Everything that had crossed my mind before and called into question my feelings for him came racing back to me, but now it struck me much harder because I had finally acknowledged the true depth of my feelings. It was one thing to have a romantic interest in someone; it was another thing entirely to be desperately, hopelessly in love with someone, who was planning on bringing my own species to extinction.

  I felt sick to my stomach at once. There was nothing I could say or do to change Duke’s mind about murdering those who kidnapped his warriors—I was certain of that—and it was highly unlikely I’d be able to persuade him to cease his plans of eliminating the human race. I had to choose between the pull of my heart and the pull of my morality.

  The question was: could I live with either choice?

  13

  Duke

  “Come,” I said, bending to reach for my pants. Emily stared at me as I wrenched them over my ankles and yanked them up to my waist. I held out my hand to her, and she looked at it uncertainly.