“Our dwelling is number 4002,” he told her as he steered her toward a door on their left. “There are two dwellings on this level. Your friend Lucy will be above us in 4501 with Lieutenant Taryn.”
“So close?” Victoria was delighted to hear that Lucy would be nearby.
“Yes, the building is reserved for military personnel,” he told her. “Our deeds earn us the right to move higher up the building.”
“And when you reach the top?” Victoria asked.
“I do not think that has ever happened. The top three floors are currently vacant.”
Victoria nodded. It was an interesting system, she supposed. It was so different from Earth where everything depended on the wealth passed down through families rather than on a man’s achievements.
“You must have done something pretty impressive to get a place on the fortieth floor,” she remarked.
“I resisted brutal interrogations,” Allik replied wryly. “For several days.”
Victoria opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. There really was no response she could give to that. Allik would not welcome her pity. She desperately wanted to say something, though. It was the first time Allik had alluded to his treatment at the hands of the Bylanthians and she needed to know more. Her mind seemed to stop working and she couldn’t think of a way to continue the discussion. Reluctantly, she let it drop. Perhaps he would tell her more in his own time.
She stood back as Allik keyed some information into a metal panel by the door they’d stopped at. He took hold of her wrist and placed her hands on the scanner. She felt a strange rippling sensation on her skin. When three little beeps sounded, Allik let go of her hand.
“You will now be able to get in and out of the apartment when I am not with you,” Allik said. “Just present your hand to the scanner and the door will open.”
“I can come and go on my own?”
“Within reason but, as an alien on this planet, you will need to be fitted with a tracking device.”
Victoria didn’t like the thought of that, of her whereabouts being constantly monitored, but the way Allik spoke told her it would not be negotiable. Here, she was going to be the alien species and some people would, no doubt, look on her with suspicion. As far as she knew, there were only a few hundred humans living here amongst millions of Taar-Breckians. She just hoped she would be able to fit in.
Allik ushered her into the apartment. It was light and spacious but the furnishings, for all there were of them, were dark and masculine. It was comfortable enough, she supposed, although the décor was a little plain. There were no throw pillows, no curtains on the windows, no carpets. There were none of the paintings or ornaments like those that had cluttered her home back in New Cambridge. Clearly, Allik did not feel the same need as her stepbrother to constantly accumulate useless objects.
The room was sleek, modern, and a little austere. She suspected it reflected Allik’s style. As Victoria walked around the room, she realized she found the starkness pleasing. The lack of homeliness suggested that no other woman had been there to put her stamp on the place. Although she couldn’t kid herself into believing that Allik was not a man of experience, she hated to think of herself as the latest in a long line of women to pass through his life.
She ran her hand along the cold surface of one of the dark, solid walls and turned to Allik with a look of question on her face.
“It’s stone,” he confirmed to her. “Many of our buildings, this one included, were sculpted from the mountains our ancestors once had makeshift homes on.”
Sculpted from a mountain? Victoria could hardly believe it. She’d never even seen a mountain before and now she was going to be living in one. She moved over to the window and gasped when she saw the view. There was a lilac-colored lake amidst a vibrant green landscape with not a blot on it for as far as the eye could see. The colors seemed so much brighter than on Earth. They were intensified, no doubt, by the blazing sun.
“If you dislike anything, you may change it,” Allik told her.
“No, it’s perfect,” Victoria said. “Who needs anything else when you have this view?”
“You like it?” Allik seemed pleased.
“I love it.”
“Good,” Allik said. “Now, take off your dress.”
Victoria turned and looked at him, her mouth dropping open in shock. “At the window?”
“Yes,” Allik confirmed. “Don’t keep me waiting, Victoria.”
Biting her bottom lip, Victoria hesitated. She was usually happy to do as Allik instructed but fucking by a window where anyone could see was not something she was entirely comfortable with. Allik’s eyes narrowed as that implacable expression formed on his face. He took a step toward her and Victoria rushed to obey. She reached behind her and unzipped her dress, slipping it down over her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. She stepped out of the tangle of fabric at her feet and waited for Allik to say something. Feeling ridiculously self-conscious as he looked over her appraisingly, she put one arm across her breasts and a hand over her feminine mound. Although he’d seen her naked dozens of times before, it felt different, more real somehow, now that they were in his home.
“Victoria.” Allik’s tone was stern. “Do not cover yourself in my presence.”
Understanding the warning in his tone, she dropped her arms to the side.
“Now, turn around and place your palms on the window.”
Cheeks reddening, Victoria did as she was told. She placed her hands on the window and looked out over the incredibly beautiful landscape. She took some comfort in the fact that there seemed to be nobody around who would see her.
She heard the unmistakable sounds of Allik undressing and a shiver of anticipation ran down her spine. A few moments passed and then she felt his warmth on her skin as he moved close behind her. His erection was like a steel rod pressing against her back. Taking her hands in his, Allik raised them higher and pressed them against the window in a silent instruction not to move. He pulled her hips back a little and kicked her feet apart so she was forced up onto her tiptoes. With a satisfied grunt, he stepped back and she missed his heat on her bare flesh.
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you look?” he practically purred. “Spread out and waiting for me to fuck you.”
Victoria moaned as he ran his fingers between her legs and explored her feminine folds.
“And already so wet for me.” There was clear appreciation in his voice.
Without further delay, he drove inside her with a single thrust. He filled her completely, stretching her in agonizing pleasure. Giving her no time to adjust, he began to pump his hips back and forward.
“So tight,” he groaned as his cock slid almost the whole way out of her and then slammed back in again.
Victoria moaned as the pressure began to build. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her almost unbearably tight. His hands cupped her breasts and squeezed. This was no tender caress, he was taking possession. With his thumbs and forefingers, he teased her nipples into stiff little peaks and then squeezed hard. A jolt of pain shot straight to her pussy where it somehow morphed into the most intense pleasure.
Pushing her hips back against him, Victoria tried to force him deeper inside her. She needed to feel every inch of him, to take all that he had to give.
“Greedy girl,” he admonished, before stilling inside her.
“Allik, please,” she whimpered as he remained completely motionless.
His cock filled her feminine channel, teasing that little spot inside her with something wonderful that was just out of reach. The need for him to move became unbearable.
“Please,” she moaned once more. “Please, Allik, take what’s yours.”
Her words seemed to do the trick. Immediately, Allik began to move. His enormous cock slid in and out of her, pounding her with such intensity that she came from that alone. The noises he made were rough, animalistic, but the fingers that slid down the front of her body and
found their way to her clitoris were almost unbearably gentle. Desire coursed through Victoria’s body as he rubbed the engorged bud with his finger, increasing the pressure as he made little circular motions. She felt the heat build between her legs as he continued to thrust relentlessly inside her. His movements became jerkier and his cock swelled, stretching her even further. With a roar of triumph, he flooded her channel with his warm, potent seed just as she reached her own peak. She screamed out his name as her pussy clenched around his steely shaft. Pulling her into his arms, Allik held her close as she convulsed helplessly, the orgasm sweeping through her entire body.
“Come on,” Allik said, lifting her into his arms as she finally got her breath back. “It’s time I showed you the bedroom.”
* * *
If he didn’t know that she was fast asleep, Allik might have thought that Victoria had deliberately adopted this pose in an attempt to seduce him. The fact that she was emitting an unladylike snore told him that the elegant arch of her spine, the way her leg curled around the blanket so her bottom was thrust toward him in invitation, was purely accidental. She was definitely sound asleep.
Easing himself off the bed so he wouldn’t disturb her, Allik got up and pulled on a pair of loose-fitting pants. Victoria stirred a little, mumbling quietly to herself, but she seemed to settle quickly. Allik moved out of the main living area. The sun never really went down in Taar-Breck but the light at this time of day was lower. It was peaceful.
He poured himself a glass of strong Taar-Breckian ale and fetched his box of art supplies from a cupboard. Settling himself on the floor by the window, his back against the glass, he put his ale down and got out some parchment and a pencil. This had become something of a ritual for him when he was at home. He hardly ever slept these days. Since his capture by the Bylanthians, he’d not had more than a couple of hours of sleep in a single night. Drawing relaxed him. It was something he’d liked to do ever since he was a boy.
Allik had thought that claiming Victoria would calm him and to an extent it had. Now he found that her happiness was an additional worry for him. It was clear that she would not be content to simply be his mate and raise their offspring. If he tried to take a firmer hand with her, as many of his fellow Taar-Breckians would, he would only make her unhappy. She craved his dominance, that much was clear, but she didn’t want her life to be dictated by him. It was puzzling to Allik. Women were not supposed to behave as she did and he was not meant to let her.
He took a long, slow sip of his ale and put the glass back down. With a careful stroke of the pencil, he made his first mark on the parchment. Usually, he drew inspiration from the landscape but tonight he had a different muse. He began to sketch out the form of the beautiful woman who slumbered on his bed. She was everything he wanted in a mate but the question now was whether he was enough for her.
Chapter Fourteen
There was not another living soul for miles around. Victoria sat on the verdant grass and enjoyed the incredible stillness while Allik stood by the water’s edge, seemingly deep in thought. The countryside was vast and empty, its beauty greater than anything Victoria had seen before. There had been gardens back on Earth, but no fields or forests like they had here. Even though she’d been on Taar-Breck for a week now, Victoria was still in total awe of the vibrant colors of the landscape.
It was a welcome change to get out of the city for a while. After spending the last few days being shown around by Allik, she had started to tire of the constant noise and bustle. Although everyone she’d met had been scrupulously polite to her, even friendly in some cases, she’d been overwhelmed by the sheer number of people everywhere they went. There was no respite from it, except when they were back at the apartment. Being there was not exactly fun for her either. She had little to keep herself occupied in Allik’s ultra high-tech home, which seemed to look after itself. Even their meals arrived without much input on their part. They simply ordered what they wanted and it was delivered to a hatch in the kitchen via some unseen channel.
It was strange that she felt so utterly useless. Back in New Cambridge, she’d done very little and it hadn’t bothered her anywhere near as much as her idleness did now. It was probably because of her time on the military transport ship when she’d felt as though she was part of something bigger. She’d made an important contribution for the first time in her life. Now, she was worried about slipping back into the role she’d always fulfilled so beautifully despite her reluctance, the one of being decorative but useless.
Of course, there was one important factor that had given her some sense of satisfaction with her life. She had Allik now and being with him helped to calm her restlessness. They had been getting along well and since they’d returned to her homeland, she had managed not to earn a single spanking. That was just as well, really. One of the first places Allik had shown her was the training room on the ground floor of their building where naughty mates were punished if they stepped too far out of line. She really didn’t want to end up being taken there to be disciplined where there was no guarantee of privacy.
“Right, come on.”
She looked up as Allik loomed over her and wondered how a man of his size could be so stealthy. “Are we going back already?” She tried not to sound whiny, but they’d only been there for a few minutes and she really liked the tranquility.
“No, but I didn’t bring you all the way out here just so you could sit around sunning yourself.”
An expectant smile formed on Victoria’s lips. “So, what did you bring me out here for?”
“To teach you to drive.”
“Oh.” Victoria felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach. She had asked Allik to teach her how to drive his cruiser but a part of her had thought he would never actually get around to it.
“That is, if you still want to learn.”
Victoria detected a slight note of challenge in his voice. She raised her chin and looked him straight in the eye. She might have her doubts, but there was no way she was going to let him know it.
“Of course I do,” she said in what she hoped was a decisive tone.
She took the hand that Allik held out to her and let him help her to her feet. He led her over to his cruiser and opened the door for her. Victoria got inside and settled herself into the driver’s seat. It was surprisingly comfortable and, given how much taller than her Allik was, it seemed to fit her frame well.
“Touch nothing until I tell you to.” Allik gave her a stern warning glance that wasn’t really necessary. As if she was going to try to drive this thing without his help.
Allik moved around and got into the other side of the vehicle. Victoria stared at the instrument panel in front of her. It seemed to be relatively straightforward. She’d watched Allik operating the vehicle and, as long as she didn’t have to take the thing too high into the air, she reckoned she’d be alright.
“Okay,” Allik said, shifting in his seat. Victoria glanced at him and arched a shapely brow. Either the passenger seat was not comfortable or he was as anxious about this as she was. The thought that this big, brave warrior might be experiencing some level of fear about teaching her to drive amused her. Allik cleared his throat in what sounded like an effort to dispel his nerves and pointed toward the control panel. “The red button switches the engine on and off.”
“The red one,” Victoria repeated to confirm that she had heard him.
“Motion is controlled using the metal panel.” He reached over and tapped the part of the dashboard he was referring to. “You place your hand over the panel and press your fingertips down. To speed up, apply more pressure. The harder you push down, the faster we will go. If you want to go left or right, shift your hand like this.”
He demonstrated what he meant by tilting his hand to one side and then the other. He stared at Victoria as though waiting for her to respond.
“Okay.” Victoria tried to keep the quiver out of her voice. “What about stopping?”
“Ease your hand of
f the panel, but be careful. The quicker you remove it, the faster we’ll stop.” Allik looked at her and a thoughtful frown formed on his brow. “Perhaps you should put your safety belt on.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Victoria huffed but she reached for the straps of the safety harness anyway. Having to buckle up irritated her because she hadn’t once seen Allik doing it. As she’d already learned, though, it was one rule for him and another for her when it came to safety.
“There is nothing you can crash into out here but once we return to the city, you will need to take more care.”
He was going to let her drive in the city? That surprised Victoria and scared her. There was so much traffic on the streets. Allik clearly recognized the look of trepidation on her face.
“The vehicle is programmed to avoid collisions,” he told her. “All will be well.”
Victoria nodded. The look in his eyes was reassuring and she knew that he would not allow any harm to come to her. She reached forward and pushed the red button, which caused the engine to whirr to life. The cruiser lifted from the ground. It was fairy silent but she could feel the vehicle’s power as an intense vibration beneath her. It was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. The cruiser was like a wild beast waiting to be unleashed and Victoria was suddenly very afraid that she would not be able to tame it.
With a deep intake of breath, she pressed her hand down on the steering panel. The vehicle lurched forward more quickly than she’d expected and she instinctively pulled her hand off the controls. She was thrown forward as the cruiser shuddered violently to a stop. Wearing the safety harness now seemed like a very good idea and she was grateful that Allik had instructed her to put it on.
“Try again,” Allik said, apparently unruffled.
Chosen for the Warrior (Brides of Taar-Breck Book 2) Page 15
