by L P Peace
She slipped her legs open, and the head of his cock seemed to find her entrance through familiarity or need.
Pushing inside, his groans met her moans as he breached her. He only pushed in deep enough to tease her entrance and the head of his cock, slipping back and forth on the flood of her arousal.
He stilled long enough to tease the back of her neck, but Sophia undulated beneath him.
‘Ronin! Please!’
‘My Sophia!’
He felt the cold air on his front as he raised to his knees, then pulled Sophia’s hips up in a quick motion and plunged inside of her.
She cried out, her front and face against the bed, her hands gripping the covers as he fucked her, speeding his rhythm, increasing the pressure.
They were both so past the point of return that by the time he was inside her, it only took a few short metri before Sophia was pulsing around him. She cried out, her hips pushing back to meet his.
She was so tight, so incredible in her heat and the pulsing of her cunt. Ronin was roaring through his own climax before hers was done. Sophia whimpered as he pulled her hips harder, snapping his as he felt the twitch of his corax, the sensation of cum pulsing up his shaft.
He fell forward, holding himself over her with one hand as the other pulled her back against his front. He manoeuvred them onto their side, then raised himself, catching Sophia’s lush lips with his and kissing her deeply.
‘Ronin,’ Sophia whispered when they collapsed on the bed.
He pulled her closer. She’d never be close enough.
‘That is how I feel about you,’ he whispered.
‘That place is incomprehensibly huge,’ Sophia whispered.
They’d arrived at the IGC and were closing in on the station.
A frenetic session of lovemaking had climaxed as the announcement came that they’d arrived, and now Ronin and Sophia were sitting up in bed, staring as the station came closer.
‘Time to cleanse and get ready. It won’t take us long to arrive.’
A short time later, they were dressing when their door chimed. Ronin waited until Sophia had her pants on before opening to reveal Dantan.
‘The IGC is demanding we dock at the sphere. The Ilan has put in a formal complaint as our hosts, but Thanesh has sent Dairon for you. You need to come now.’
Sophia and Ronin grabbed their bags and followed Dantan back to the shuttle bay.
‘Who’s Dairon?’ Ronin asked.
‘Alethia’s half-Kuyon brother. He has an R-class Erethan,’ Dantan explained.
‘A Kuyon stealth ship!’ Ronin’s tone was approving.
They took the lift down to the bay and were walking up to a sleek black ray-shaped ship a few minutes later. The cargo ramp was down, and Dairon stood there, a grin on his face.
‘Good to see you, Sophia,’ he called.
‘You too, Dairon.’ Sophia walked up the ramp and gave him a quick hug, conscious that Ronin was at her back.
‘Who’s this?’
Dairon held out his hand. Ronin stared at it for a moment before Sophia gently took his hand.
‘It’s a human custom. You shake hands to say hello.’
‘Shake hands.’
‘Like this.’ Dairon reached out and gripped his hand firmly, pumping it once before releasing it. ‘Apparently in Earth’s ancient past, it was to show that neither party was carrying a weapon or intended harm.’
Ronin’s mouth opened slightly as a thoughtful expression crossed his features. ‘I like it.’ He nodded. ‘Though I don’t want to get that close to most of those I meet.’
‘I know what you mean.’ Dairon grinned before turning. ‘Let’s go.’
‘See you soon,’ Dantan called. Sophia waved at him.
Dairon led them to the bridge and had them strap in. The engine hummed louder as he took off, then they were through the energy barrier.
‘We’re going straight to the Ilan’s personal bay. No one will stop us even if they see us. Thanesh and the Ilan are waiting there with a surgeon to remove the data packet.’
A wave of tension crashed over Sophia. She sat up in the seat, eyes fixed to the ring as they approached. Even as the Erethan docked, she was still buzzing with anxiety.
‘Let’s go, Sophia,’ Ronin said, standing and holding his hand out for hers.
‘You guys go. I have to leave. I’m not supposed to be here. Thanesh called me in specifically for this eventuality.’
Sophia laughed. ‘Doesn’t surprise me he saw this coming.’
Ronin led the way off the ship and onto the airlock. As it closed behind them, the Erethan unlatched and was gone.
The doors in front of them opened.
Tara and Zoe stood side by side, massive grins on their faces.
‘Gracias a Dios!’ Sophia whispered as she was swept up in a tangle of her best friends. ‘Both of you! Both of you made it!’
‘I knew you’d make it. I told Danithor last night you’d make it!’ Tara said. Sophia felt her middle squeezed, and she pulled both her friends tighter.
When she heard sniffing, she turned to Zoe to see her wiping tears from her eyes.
‘Sorry!’
‘Never be sorry to be happy we’re all safe.’ Sophia pulled her close and kissed her cheek. ‘Never be sorry.’ She swallowed, unable to hold the next question back. ‘Any word on Addison?’
Zoe pulled away. There was a hesitant smile on her face. ‘She was sold—’
Sophia closed her eyes and felt her fists clench.
‘But we got word she escaped almost immediately. There’s a Protectorate called Keral going into Caras to rescue her. He should be arriving at any moment.’
‘Caras? The criminal station in Ledaan space, Caras?’
‘Hi.’
Sophia looked at Zoe, who was staring at Ronin over her shoulder.
‘Mierda! Ronin! Zoe, Tara, this is Ronin. He’s my mate.’
Tara and Zoe looked at each other. Tara had a shit-eating grin on hers, Zoe a smirk. ‘You too,’ Zoe finally said.
‘What?’
‘Mine’s called Danithor,’ Tara’s grin widened.
‘Mine’s Daris. We’ll introduce you to them after this.’ Zoe jerked a thumb over her shoulder. ‘Thanesh and the Ilan are waiting.’
Taking Ronin’s hand, Sophia followed them into the room beyond the airlock.
The room was white and gold because, of course it was; the Amarans liked their gold. There was a chair in the centre of the room, but it seemed that it was merely an over-decorated storage cabinet.
Standing around the chair, Thanesh stood, arms crossed over his chest, the ever-serious look that seemed to be permanently stamped on his features unless Alethia was around.
Next to him was a Protectorate male, a light-grey skinned Amaran male, a female, and a dark-skinned Adalan.
The Protectorate male stepped forward and gestured to the chair as the rest of the room turned to look at her.
‘Cintra, open the suit.’
Thanesh’s eyes widened when he saw the suit Sophia wore. He turned to look at Ronin, his eyes tracking down him, calculating.
With a squeeze, Sophia let go of Ronin’s hand and approached the chair.
‘You know the story Sarah tells about the bounty hunter when you and Alethia met? That’s him,’ Sophia said as she took her seat.
‘You are Ronin?’ Thanesh said.
‘Ronin Dosh’Ventis.’
‘Dosh’Ventis. Any relation to Vernaya Dosh? I noticed the name of your ship,’ Thanesh asked.
‘She is my mother.’
‘Interesting,’ Thanesh said, turning to the Amaran male.
‘Very,’ the male said.
‘Sophia, Ronin. Ilan Dahnus Ascendi. Ilisa Danari Ascendi, and Hadith Efari.’
Sophia smiled at the three Amarans as the surgeon applied a medspray to the arm where the data packet was implanted. ‘This will take a few moments,’ he said, taking something and scanning it over her arm. ‘I see it.’
‘No. It is not designed that way.’
‘Was it you who activated my beacon on Endurance?’ Tara asked.
‘Yeah. Nice job by the way.’ Sophia grinned. ‘That was right before you arrested me, dear,’ Sophia said, feeling a twinge of mischief.
Tara and Zoe looked at Ronin, Tara snickering, Zoe mouth agog. Ronin’s face flushed a deeper green with a hint of blue, and he glared at her.
When Tara looked at her, Sophia smiled. ‘I’ll tell you everything later. You can introduce me to these mates of yours.’
‘And you can tell us all about how you and your mate met,’ Zoe said.
‘Ready.’ Tevin stepped forward and made a small incision in her arm.
‘Mate?’ Thanesh looked at Ronin, shock on his face.
‘I don’t know how these human females manage it.’ The Ilan shook his head.
‘If the Bentari realised the power these females were capable of wielding, they would leave Earth alone for good.’ Thanesh shook his head, but there was amusement in his eyes. ‘They will take over the whole galaxy.’
‘I mean, it’s not the plan,’ Sophia said.
‘Not the one we’re willing to divulge anyway.’ Tara winked at her.
‘I believe it,’ came Thanesh’s grumbled reply.
‘I have it.’ Tevin’s voice brought them back to reality.
Sophia turned and saw a small, square chip. It was barely one centimetre on any side and flat. Yet it contained information about the wealth and resources of Earth. Earth’s application to the IGC and their application payment.
Thanesh smiled down at her. ‘Well done, Lieutenant.’
‘Yeah. Well done, Sophia.’ Tara walked over to her and kissed her forehead. ‘Well done.’
Tevin sealed the wound and dressed it.
‘When is the application meeting?’
‘Two rotes from now,’ Thanesh said. ‘We delayed our membership confirmation and your application hearing until then. You are going first. I want Earth safe before I am bound by the laws of this place.’
‘You have rooms in the same place where we’re staying,’ Tara said. ‘We’ll get you settled.’
‘Then I will want a full report,’ Thanesh said. ‘From both of you.’ He looked to Ronin. ‘I want to know everything so we do not miss any surprises.’
‘Hadith,’ the Ilan looked to the dark-skinned male, linking arms with him as he led the Amaran contingent from the room, ‘we should definitely look at taking a human lover or two. I’m fascinated by them.’ The door slid open. ‘Welcome to the station, by the way, Sophia and Ronin.’ The door closed behind them.
Ronin and Sophia sat on opposite ends of the room. Both of them had completed dictating their reports and submitted them for Thanesh, and now they were each reviewing the other’s. It was fascinating reading everything from Ronin’s point of view. For the first time, she realised how uncomfortable it must have been for him being in the escape pod for eight days.
Across from her, a deep laugh rumbled from Ronin. Sophia looked up at him, and their eyes connected.
‘You never fail to impress me.’ Ronin smiled at her.
Sophia felt her stomach jump. He was utterly alien, and yet everything about him appealed to her.
‘I’ll tell you something that isn’t in there.’
‘Everything should be in here,’ he frowned.
‘Everything?’ Sophia held up his pad. ‘You’ve omitted some important information yourself. I notice how you didn’t write about how you were so attracted to me. You had to put me behind bars to control yourself.’
Ronin opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it; instead, he looked at her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
‘I note that you did write about how you used blatant sexuality and flirtation to throw me off,’ Ronin said. If he had an eyebrow, Ronin would have raised it.
‘Yep.’ She grinned. ‘What I didn’t say is that I liked the look of you as soon as I saw you,’ Sophia said. She remembered the way her stomach had flipped when she saw a seven-foot plus armoured alien standing in front of her. Or the way it turned when he took off his mask and she saw his eyes for the first time. Green really was her favourite colour.
‘How could you tell through the mask?’
‘I didn’t say I liked your face,’ she said. ‘Though I do. I meant your physique.’
‘Really?’ Ronin dropped the pad on the seat next to him and stood.
Sophia couldn’t stop her grin from widening as he strode towards her. They were out of their suits now, in more casual clothes. Though Ronin’s casual clothes were stretched across powerful muscle that moved and rippled underneath the fabric. Sophia bit her lip and looked up at him, seeing an amused smile touching his lips and heat entering his eyes.
He knelt on the floor before her and reached out. His palm caressed her cheek as his fingers played over the nape of her neck. Sophia shivered at the reminder of just how much bigger than her he was.
Gently, he pulled her towards him and brushed his lips lightly over hers. It was the slightest touch, but it sent a shiver through her whole body.
‘Take everything off,’ he ordered. ‘I need to lick your cunt!’
Arousal flooded Sophia. She let out a breath and moved to take her top off.
The door chimed.
‘Goddammit!’
‘I will get rid of them,’ Ronin said, standing.
Sophia stood and started for the bedroom as Ronin opened the door.
‘Sophia!’ It was Zoe. ‘Time to catch up.’
‘Go on, the two of you in there,’ Tara said.
‘Why?’ The male’s voice was gruff. An alien walked into the room. He was blue and red with lilac eyes and a disgruntled look on his face.
‘Because Sophia’s our best friend and we want the three of you to get along.’
Sophia started giggling as a dusky purple alien with a tail and black hair walked in. She recognised the species, Maruzen, even if she didn’t know the male.
‘Zoe, I can be spending time with Makios and Rhona,’ he said in a voice that was both deep and gruff and somehow seemed cultured.
‘Ah!’ Sophia said, realising who he was. ‘When Zoe said she’d mated to an alien called Daris, I didn’t realise she meant Alidai Daris.’
The alien turned steel grey eyes on her. ‘You know Makios and Rhona?’
‘I spent some time on Tala prepping for this mission,’ she admitted.
‘You what!?’ Tara poked her head in from the hall. ‘You were already out here and you didn’t tell us?’
‘It was classified,’ Sophia said in self-defence.
‘Come on, you. Time to come and tell us everything.’ Zoe held out her hand towards Sophia, gesturing for her to join them.
Sophia looked at Ronin, who was looking from her to the two males that had been deposited on their doorstep. He turned pleading eyes on her, and mischief struck.
‘Okay, hunny,’ she said. She walked over to him, grabbed his top and pulled him down to her level before depositing a kiss on his lips. ‘Drinks with the girls while we catch up. You make friends. You’ll be seeing a lot of these two in the coming years.’
‘Sophia?’
‘Kay, love you. Bye.’ Spinning on her heels, she followed a snickering Zoe and laughing Tara out into the hall.
She was halfway down when she was caught by her hand, spun, and pulled into Ronin’s hard body. His lips descended on hers, and then they were kissing. By the time Ronin released Sophia, her head was spinning and her body was yearning for more.
‘I will do this for you,’ he whispered. ‘And later, you will do things for me.’ He wasn’t asking, and Sophia’s heart hammered hard in her chest.
‘Deal,’ she whispered breathlessly.
Ronin let her go and turned, walking back up the hall towards the two males who were grinning.
Sophia s
tared after him, her mind still racing to catch up, her body demanding she follow her mate and finish what he’d just—so publicly—started.
A hand touched hers. ‘Sophia?’
She turned to look at Tara, who laughed when she saw the look on Sophia’s face. She could almost imagine how dazed and horny she looked right now.
‘C’mon. Let’s get some drinks.’
‘Yeah,’ Sophia breathed. ‘Sure.’
Tara tugged her hand, and they walked to the lift.
Ronin sat where Sophia had been sitting. The thought of another male sitting where he’d offered to lick his mate’s cunt filled him with jealousy.
The Huan sat on the other sofa. The one Ronin had occupied when his and Sophia’s conversation had taken such an exciting and promising turn before they were interrupted.
The Maruzen, who Ronin was absolutely sure he’d seen before, was sitting at the dining table with his feet on it.
Several metri had passed in silence since Sophia left with the other two females. They seemed to want them to become friends. Ronin bristled at the thought. It was a long time since he’d had friends. A long time since he’d been betrayed by them. The idea of now trusting these two males, it seemed to be rubbing his nerves raw.
Still, Sophia wanted him to make friends.
He looked at the Huan. The male stared back with barely restrained hostility. Something in Ronin wanted to rise to the challenge and hit that look right off his face.
Turning to the Maruzen, he saw the male watching the two of them with open amusement. That irritated Ronin more than the Huan’s anger.
‘Either of you play Kaltet?’ the Maruzen asked. ‘I have the pieces.’
Ronin felt the muscles of his jaw tick even as his interest was piqued. He’d often played with his Insagence peers.
‘I play,’ the Huan answered. ‘I’m very good at the game.’
‘Excellent,’ the Maruzen drawled. ‘And you, Kerisian?’
Ronin stood. ‘Set it up,’ he said, approaching the table as the Huan followed.
The Maruzen stood and got a bag out from somewhere. ‘Excellent,’ he said again, with more enthusiasm this time.
Quickly, the Maruzen dealt them each seven tiles, then divided the beads. They played a few games, getting the feel of each other as players.
