Unexpected

by J. J. Lore

  ****

  Lost for a moment in the exquisite sensation of being enveloped inside Alisa, Felix reclined on the bed, her slight weight welcome especially once she began to circle her hips against him, the movement mimicking the strokes of a hand against his aching staff. He was close to crisis, and with a tickle of awareness, he knew Alisa was, too, her heavy panting as much of a clue as their emotional connection. Her breasts swelled under the tight lace, and the sight of her glowing skin and tight dinap ever so slightly concealed fascinated him.

  He was riveted by the sight of her in profile staring up at Mikel, her pink lips slightly parted as he offered himself to her. She gave a slight smile and extended her tongue, running it along his corona. Felix remembered how that felt, and his body responded by tensing even closer to release, his arms and legs tightening even as heat built in his groin. Mikel grasped the base of his staff with one hand and ran the fingertips of the other under her chin, angling her to accept him as he rocked into her willing mouth. Once they were joined, he cupped her cheeks and began to push and pull his staff in and out of her mouth. Alisa’s eyes fluttered, and she reached one hand down to flatten on his chest to steady herself. Felix covered it with his own, willing his body to wait until both Mikel and she were ready.

  Alisa climaxed first, startling him with her rapid shudders and muffled cries. Knowing she was satisfied sent him on his way, and Felix surrendered to the light cascading through every nerve as he poured his seed into his woman, his culls contracting against his body as he joined heart and soul to her. He rocked up into her so hard she lost her connection to Mikel, and he reached for her hips to hold her tight. Mikel groaned and stroked at his wet staff, and Alisa twisted her head to find him again. She gathered him back into her mouth, her lips sucking and cheeks hollowing. Felix’s staff throbbed a few faint echoes of pleasure, and he kept her joined to him, unwilling to slide out of her heat just yet. Mikel moaned, and his muscles twitched in waves as he, too, reached climax, his pleasure rippling through Felix as they shared this moment.

  He watched Alisa’s throat work as she finally released his bondmate’s staff. She turned to face Felix, her eyes drowsy and her features relaxed. With a little sigh she collapsed on his chest, her soft curves a welcome sensation as he wrapped his arms around her. Mikel fell to the side with a happy groan.

  “Will it always be like this?” she whispered.

  He kissed the top of her head, the assurance easy to make despite their commander’s lack of support, that they hadn’t gotten approval to move her to their quarters or bring her to Alpha, or the fact that they hadn’t even shared a meal yet. “Yes, it will always be like this.”

  ****

  “We’ll be back tomorrow. Our apartment is yours.” Mikel kissed Alisa’s soft cheek, reconsidered, and kissed her firmly on the mouth. She considered him with a slight frown. They were standing in the kitchen as he ran through all the functions of the appliances and environmental controls before he and his bondmate left on a hastily arranged escort assignment.

  “But I’m not supposed to stay here. Felix said I needed permission from your commander and approval from the residence manager before I can.”

  Mikel didn’t really care about such formalities. It was the height of ridiculousness for anyone to expect bondmates to live apart. He shook his head and returned to inspecting their food stores. Their chiller held imported Alphan specialties in large quantities, and Felix had stocked an entire shelf with Earth foods such as swine ham, chicken eggs, bovine butter, and various vegetables and fruits. She should find something to suit her while they were gone.

  “It might be easier if I just returned to my room. Maybe by the time you get back everything will be arranged.”

  “No. Is this enough to tide you over, or should we arrange another delivery with contents more to your liking?”

  Alisa sighed and shook her head. “That’s more food than I could eat in a month.”

  “Done. Now come with me to the bathroom so I can review the shower and bath amenities.”

  “Mikel, wait.” Alisa placed her hand on his arm to halt him in his march out of the kitchen. Felix had tasked him to fully brief her before he returned from arranging transportation for Prince Edem on his sudden tour of the frozen apex of this planet. Why the coddled Alphan royal wanted to see such a desolate site and freeze his culls off was beyond him, but duty called and Mikel was determined to do nothing to call his devotion into question.

  She looked so beautiful standing there with a puzzled expression, and knowing he would be separated from her for over thirty hours made his heart ache. Unable to resist, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a deep kiss, his hand straying to her throat where he rested his fingertips on the mark of his claiming. Her pulse flickered in time with his racing heartbeat, and he was struck again by the power of their bond. She pulled her mouth from his, and he merely adjusted his target to that little soft spot below her ear. She shivered as he kissed her there.

  “Is it safe where you are going? Will you be in danger? Who will help you if something goes wrong? What if there’s some sort of confrontation like there was at the park?” Her breathy little questions thrilled him.

  “Do not fret about our security, sweet Alisa. We are fully capable of overcoming any sort of adversity your planet or people might hurl at us.”

  “Anything could go wrong up there, and if I think of you or Felix wounded, lying on the ice in pain with no one coming to help, I just—” Her voice choked off, and he was struck by her distress. He and Felix had been assured the physical bond was sound between them, but to know she was so clearly emotionally connected to them delighted him. He pulled her tight, hoping to reassure and show her his strength.

  “Felix and I will be vigilant as we always are. After all, we have you to return home to. I want to spend all my tomorrows with you both, so why would I take any chances? I won’t throw as much as a snowball.”

  “So you’ll watch out for polar bears and avalanches?”

  “Of course. Although I understand polar bears are quite rare these days.”

  She harrumphed and pushed at his shoulders until he eased back and she could see his face. Tears glittered in her eyes, but her mouth was set in an exasperated curl. “You can’t come back with frostbitten toes. I don’t know what I’d do if—”

  “No frostbite. No accidents. Not angry mobs trying to shoot down our craft. This is a pleasure cruise, and nothing will go wrong.” He had no right to make such a promise, but what were the chances, after all? It wasn’t as if Earth was a particularly dangerous planet. No acid rivers or caustic atmospheres. “So now I must demonstrate all the functions of the bathroom or else Felix will be cross with me.”

  “We don’t want that,” Alisa shot back with a provocative tone. Since her worry seemed to have dissipated with the thought of his bondmate asserting his dominance, Mikel decided to play along and see how far he could get.

  “I don’t know. What if I did something to merit chastisement?” He shifted his grip on her curvy body and drew her hips to his, wanting her to feel how erect he’d become at the thought. “I’m no stranger to errors.”

  She chuckled as he’d been aiming for and stroked her hands along his shoulders. That was a pleasant sensation. “What would Felix do to you?”

  “Depends on my mistake. He might make me clean the bathroom with a small brush, or run laps around the building.”

  “Would he ever use physical punishment?” A worried little frown crossed her features, and Mikel thought sympathetic inclinations would not go amiss. They’d established their bond with her, which meant they were free to engage in sexual relations without Felix present. He would appreciate a quick coupling before he had to leave her.

  “Probably not, although I was often clouted and lashed while I was in training. I had a short attention span and often caused my cohort to miss performance benchmarks.”

  Alisa let out a soft, sorrowful sound and stroked her hand along his chee
ks and into his hair. Lovely. She reached for his forearm and guided his hand to cup her breast. Even better.

  “Would he discipline me if I displeased him? Would you?” Her eyelids fluttered as he found her hard dinap with his thumb.

  “How would that even be possible?” Mikel nuzzled at her neck again, and she shivered in his arms. That was as good a sign as any that she was receptive, so he began to draw up the heavy folds of her skirt. With a little sigh, she helped him, gathering the hem above her waist to reveal she was wearing the black underwear Felix had selected the day before. They were cunningly designed to allow access to her quonum even as she wore them. He slid his fingertips between the overlapping edges of the smooth material to find she was already very wet and hot.

  “I make errors, too,” she huffed out as he stroked her, paying special attention to the firm little nub at the top of her cleft. She rocked her hips in counterpoint and leaned against him. Mikel wished they were not in the kitchen but rather a room with softer surfaces.

  “We would never punish you.”

  “Of course not. What fables has Mikel been spreading?” Felix’s voice cut in, and Mikel looked away from Alisa’s flushed face to see his bondmate leaning on the kitchen doorframe, taking in the sight of her pleasure with a satisfied smile. She turned in his arms and gave him an unfocused look. “I don’t begrudge you a moment of happiness, but I do need to be assured that you have been instructed on how to use all the amenities.”

  Mikel wanted to wince at the reminder, but instead he shook his head and set Alisa to his side before pulling her skirt down and regretfully stopping his attentions to her.

  “I take that as a no. Come along then. We will review the faucets and drains.”

  Mikel gathered up Alisa’s hand, ready to follow his bondmate into the other room, but she balked and stood immobile. He asked what ailed her, and she stared at Felix, who had paused as well.

  “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”

  Felix’s eyebrow curved up. “Do you wish more sexual stimulation?”

  Alisa shook her head. “No, I want a greeting. Humans kiss each other when they see each other after they’ve been parted.”

  Felix accepted this with a shrug and moved to comply. Alisa wrapped her arms around him. “I’m worried that you’re going to such a terrible place.”

  “She is worried,” Mikel confirmed when Felix glanced his way. “I tried to reassure her that all will be well.”

  “But there are dangers. Storms, your craft might have a mechanical failure and you’d crash on some ice floe…” Alisa’s glanced between them as she tucked one hand to Mikel’s elbow, drawing him closer. Felix stroked her back.

  “I just completed a full inspection of our vehicle. All its components are in perfect working order. There are redundancies built into every vital system, and I double checked all the emergency supplies. We are transporting one of the royal line, and nothing will be left to chance.”

  “I don’t care about your prince. I care about—” Alisa stopped like something had caught in her throat. She sucked in a quick breath. “I care about you. I … love you.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes, and Mikel was confused as to why this fact made her sad.

  “Of course you love us. We love you, too.” Felix’s blithe assurance seemed to rattle her, and she sniffed and blinked.

  “Just like that? We barely know each other. We’re different species. I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

  “We are bonded, Alisa, a tie as strong as the life that fills us. It’s nothing to question or fight against. Mikel and I will return from this little jaunt, begin to build our family here with you, and as soon as our rotation is over, we will return to Alpha and settle into an estate. There’s one adjacent to Mikel’s family land we’ve been considering, and knowing we have you inclines me to make an offer on it today. We will continue to serve our ruler, you will be free to do whatever you like, and hopefully we will be blessed by the arrival of children. None of that should make you cry.”

  “It doesn’t. I don’t know why I’m crying.” Alisa sniffed and shook her head. “This is just so unexpected.”

  “For us as well, but I have no doubts,” Mikel added.

  “None whatsoever.” Felix used his thumb to brush away a few stray tears from her cheek. “Now, humor me by listening to me discuss the bathroom appliances, and then allow Mikel and me to reassure you as to our devotion and strength. I know I want to part from you with the fresh memory of your lovely body in my mind and the scent of you on my skin.”

  Chapter Six

  Putting some extra effort into her stride, Alisa told herself there was nothing to worry about. She was simply walking back to the women’s compound to collect a few of her things and then she’d return to the men’s apartment. This looming sense of danger was simply a by-product of her missing them already, even though they’d only been gone a few hours and she really shouldn’t be so attached to them so soon. A flush of embarrassment heated her cheeks when she reminded herself she’d already told them she loved them and they had accepted it with all the surprise of discovering they’d run out of milk. If she were a more sensitive person, she’d be hurt that they hadn’t collapsed with joy at her admission, but the way they’d said it so easily in return, and the orgasms they’d given her afterwards, had improved her mood.

  She didn’t really need the towels and extra socks she’d decided she should retrieve from her room, but the urge to get outside and move around was too strong to ignore. It was merely an opportunity to use up some time while she waited for their return.

  A dark, low-slung car pulled alongside her, and she stopped reflexively. The door swung open, and an older Alphan leaned out. It was Felix and Mikel’s commanding officer. She remembered him from the vandalism incident at the forest. “You are Alisa Sorrel, correct?”

  “Yes.” Why would he be here, and why would he have stopped to talk with her?

  “I request that you enter the vehicle.” The words sounded awkward, and she realized he probably issued more orders than polite invitations.

  “Why?” A spark of foreboding filled her, and she pressed her hand to her stomach.

  “There’s been an incident with Felix and Mikel. They are asking for you.”

  Fear iced her with cold dread. “What’s happened? Are they hurt?”

  Before she knew it, she was inside the car, the door was closed with a heavy thud, and the vehicle was moving. Ivar pushed himself back into his seat and gave her a glance before staring out the window at the buildings passing by.

  “They are being held at the terminal.”

  “Being held? What’s wrong?”

  He caught her gaze for a moment, and she flinched back at the anger she saw flaring in his eyes. “They have, yet again, behaved with poor judgment and embarrassed me in front of the prince. It’s impossible for me to manage the fallout any longer. This situation has put me in an impossible position.”

  The car accelerated, and she glanced out to see they were on a highway. “What can I do?”

  “Nothing.” The spiteful tone in his voice gave her pause. “I’ve already made arrangements to resolve this so it won’t happen again.”

  “Are you going to send them back to Alpha?” Alisa’s stomach plummeted at the thought. How long would it take for her to join them if they were sent away in disgrace? The reality of her desires hit her. She was willing to leave Earth forever in order to be with Felix and Mikel. Even a month before she never would have considered such a thing, and now she was anxious to go.

  “Of course,” the commanding officer hissed. He shifted on his seat and frowned out the window as the car made a sharp turn. Alisa clung to the seat, as otherwise she’d have fallen to the floor.

  “So I’m going to be able to say goodbye?” This was the only reason she could think of that would explain this hasty trip with a man who clearly could barely stand being in the same space as her.

  “Why not?” A tight smile
spread across his sharp features, and her vague sense of unease expanded into full-fledged fear. Something wasn’t right about this.

  The car jolted to a halt, and she looked out to find they’d parked inside some sort of large building. Without a word to her, the fuming man left the car and slammed the door shut before she could even ask if she should get out. A second after that the locks engaged. She leaned close to the window and watched as Ivar strode over to a small group of burly Alphan men dressed in the same dark blue uniforms Mikel and Felix wore on duty. He spoke to them, and some of them turned to stare at her. Rather than shrink back like she wanted to, she met their gazes with a frown. Two of them broke off from the group and walked to the car. They loomed in front of the window and blocked her view of whatever was taking place. Being confined, the ill-will of Felix and Mikel’s commander, and the realization that as soon as she’d entered the car no one would know where she was all combined to convince her she was under threat. Her breathing accelerated, and her hands tingled as she fought back sudden flashbacks to her time under the Xyran’s control. For once, the fear didn’t overwhelm her. Felix and Mikel would be proud.

  As she shifted to the opposite side of the car and looked out that window, something in her pocket poked her thigh with a sharp edge. It was the small communication cube Mikel had given her. Making sure that she was hiding it from view as well as she could, she activated it, the pink lights reassuring her momentarily. But who could she call? Felix and Mikel were in trouble and couldn’t help her. Pushing aside the notion that she was exaggerating the situation, she depressed the call button and whispered into it.

  “Please, if anyone can hear me, I need help. I’m Alisa Sorrel. I’m near the airport, with some Alphans, and I don’t think they’re going to let me go. I just want to walk out of here.”