by Reagan Woods
“But – but – but –.” Backing away with his hands drawn up as though afraid to touch her, he spilled onto the low mattress that served as her sleep surface. “I’m supposed to know,” he protested.
“Relax,” she stripped off her pants and straddled his prone form, delighted to have him exactly where she’d always wanted him. “We can take it slow. Start out with hands and mouths and see where that takes us, right?”
“Uh? Right?” His voice cracked as she ripped his shirt from his pants and pushed it open to reveal his yummy body.
Chapter 35
Calyx didn’t quite understand how he’d gotten here, naked to the waist on his back beneath a completely nude Tara. He was thankful for it, nonetheless.
She licked and sucked at his abdominal muscles while her roving fingers slid around to dip below his waist and run recklessly over his skin. His eyes crossed with the pleasure of it all when his clever female undid the magnatabs on his pants with her mouth. He scrambled to help her push them out of the way.
“Holy God, that is one huge cock,” she gasped, a hint of wonder underscored with fear in her voice.
He ached and throbbed under her tentative touch, harder than the hardest crystal. She sat back on his thighs, legs splayed wide to offer him a graphic view of her tuft of dark pubic hair and shiny nether lips. The sheer eroticism had him groaning.
Then, he couldn’t think of anything other than her teasing hands, wrapping together to encircle his tortured length. He wanted nothing more than for her to keep up those hard strokes, to bring him to the peak he craved. And let him take his turn at her beautiful body. The thought had beads of precum leaking freely, covering her hands in the ready lubricant.
Instead of continuing her caresses, she said, “I’ve never done this before, so tell me if you don’t like something.” She slid her rounded bottom back toward his knees and brought her head low to run her wicked tongue around the aching tip of his erection.
Never had he imagined such a lascivious act. He’d seen a few graphic holos in his time, but none included anything so lewd. When she sucked the mushroomed head into the hot cavern of her mouth he had to reach back and brace his hands against the wall to keep from thrusting.
“Tara!” He shouted, voice hoarse. “Ohhh that’s…,” he wheezed, dizzy with sensation.
Her fondling hands were back, and she rubbed and stroked giving rise to an urgency like he’d never felt. This was a whole different plane of pleasure from the quick tug and pull he gave himself. That was satisfying a basic urge. This, this was… addictive.
The wet squelch of her hands and mouth as she worked him was decadently filthy. When she began humming her enjoyment, he thrust forward until she gagged, his come spurting down her throat.
She should have pulled away in disgust and disappointment, but she didn’t. The little vixen sucked down his release like it was her favorite treat. It was the most erotic sight he’d ever beheld to watch her dusky cheeks hollow, her mouth spread wide around his dick. Arousal sparkled from the depths of her eyes as she stared up at him, boldly showing him how much she enjoyed what she did.
He tried to pull away because he was sensitive now, but she had other ideas. Her hands gentled and her mouth returned to his stomach as she pressed small, sweet kisses to his skin and rested her forehead against him.
For a moment, all he could do was stroke her silky curls. He didn’t know when, but he must have pulled the elastic from her hair in his excitement. She looked like some magical, mythical creature with her dark brown locks tumbled around her shoulders. Her cheeks and mouth were still rosy from the friction and her deep blue eyes glinted under the lights, the pupils dilated with arousal.
“Tara,” he breathed. “That was…amazing. I’ve never experienced anything so…”
She tilted her head to the side and smiled a temptress’ half-smile. “Mmm. It was amazing.”
“Where did you learn that?” He asked, awed.
A charming Earther shrug and lowered lashes accompanied her soft, “It just came to me.”
She shifted restlessly, her legs falling open on either side of one of his thighs. A flash of understanding told him the wetness he felt was to ease the way inside her. He snorted ruefully. As turned on as he was, his body was spent, and it would be some time before he recovered to join with her.
Frankly, he didn’t think either of them were prepared to take things quite that far. If he tried to press for sex with a Corian female before a bonding contract was signed, he’d be out on his ass. But Tara was an Earther. They could forge whatever relationship they chose within reason. In the meantime, she was in need…
Could he bring her to completion as she’d done with him? Dare he try? He might fail miserably, but if he didn’t make the attempt, he’d never respect himself again. And who knew what she would think of him if he left her wanting. Corian females expected their mates to be trained in the arts of pleasure. He had no such training, but Tara’s restless fidgeting urged him to try.
He flashed her a wicked smile and rolled her beneath him, her lush body spread out on the tiny sleep surface like a wanton sacrifice. “How do you like to be touched?” He skimmed a hand lightly over the hardened tips of her breasts, fascinated by the satiny pebbles. “Tell me everything. I need to make you feel...”
A flush rose from her breasts up over her face, her breaths quickening. “You can start by kissing me again,” she answered, reaching up to fist a hand in his hair and pull his head down closer.
She purred, the hard tips of her breasts scraping against his chest when she arched up. He knew she enjoyed it when he kissed her neck, so more of that was definitely on the docket.
He took his time, working his way slowly down her body, enjoying the small moans and squeaks as he lathed and nibbled at the firm points of her nipples, the smooth curve of her stomach. The light salt of her sweat, the sweet musk of her desire and the silken texture of her skin became everything. Still, he wanted more.
Sliding onto his knees on the floor, Calyx kissed the inside of Tara’s knee. “Tell me how to touch you,” he demanded roughly, staring between her legs for some hint of the secret to bringing her to orgasm. “I want to-,” he broke off, not sure how to express himself.
Tara’s breathless chuckle took him by surprise. She propped up on her elbows and studied him. “You want to return the favor?”
“Exactly so,” he agreed, smiling at her as she shyly bit her lip.
“Touch me,” she invited, opening her legs further without hesitation.
Calyx needed no further encouragement. He pulled her knees up over his shoulders, gently pressing between her breasts in silent request for her to lie back, before running his fingers over the sleek, wet folds experimentally.
Eyes on her face, he traced each delicate nook. When her breath caught as his finger cruised over the little bump at her apex, he leaned forward intently. He gave the bump a gentle tap and her hips jumped.
“Does that feel…good?”
Flushed, she gave a shy nod.
Remembering the way her mouth had catapulted him to a new level of pleasure, he asked, “Would it feel better if I put my mouth on you?”
Tara hooked an ankle behind his neck and yanked him forward. Her eager response delighted him and removed the fear of failure that had been hovering around the edges of his consciousness. With a chuckle, he silently acknowledged how lucky he was to share these moments with her.
She wiggled impatiently beneath him. “What are you waiting for? An invitation?”
Chapter 36
Tara pushed her face into Calyx’s neck to block out the strengthening ambient light that served as her alarm clock and pulled the cover over her head. She didn’t want the night to end.
“We’ll be late if you keep wiggling like that,” Calyx warned in a voice rough with sleep. His impressive anatomy pressed into her soft stomach to demonstrate the truth of his words.
Groaning with the effort, she pushed up to study hi
m. He didn’t appear comfortable, crammed onto her tiny mattress beneath her, but he did look quite pleased with himself, smiling wickedly.
“Promises, promises,” she teased, stifling a yawn.
He sat up, taking her with him and eased her onto her feet between his muscular legs. The cover pooled on the floor as his thick arms slid around her. He dipped her back to bury his nose in the valley between her breasts. “Mmmmm,” he hummed on a heavy inhalation. “I’m going to miss you today.”
“I’m already looking forward to tonight,” she confessed when he righted her. She was assuming a lot, she knew, but it was time to stop pussy-footing around and get on the same page.
He growled low in his throat. “Me, too.”
Giggling, she took in the sight of his long body sprawled off the edge of her messy bed. “Although, we really need a bigger bed.”
Calyx sniffed. “Before we worry about that, I think we better find the showers,” he said with a laugh.
She laughed – she’d been doing that a lot with him. It felt amazing – better than amazing - to finally be as free and open with him as she’d always wanted to be, to experience the closeness she’d craved. “We are ripe,” she agreed, sobering. “Everyone will know what we’ve been up to in here.”
His smirk could only be termed self-satisfied. “Yes, they will. And, tonight, we’ll stay in my barracks. Then, all the Warriors will know who you belong to as well.”
“Do I?” Hope slammed through her in a surprisingly intense wave kicking her heart into a staccato rhythm. He wouldn’t pull back again now, would he? She searched his face for any indication he was putting her on. “Belong to you, I mean?”
“I can’t very well Claim you officially,” his voice held embarrassment and apology. He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth before he stood to shrug into his clothes. “But I need you to promise you’ll wait for me, Tara.”
“Oh, Calyx,” she sighed, grabbing each side of his open shirt in a loose fist. Finally! He’d asked for a commitment. She wanted to shout her happiness to the world, but she didn’t think her still-slumbering neighbors would appreciate that.
His liquid silver eyes fired with emotion as he stared down at her.
“I’ve loved you for so long, I don’t even know when it started. I’ve waited this long, I believe I can wait a little longer to make it official.” Slyly, she glanced at him from beneath her lashes and ran her hands beneath the gaping fly of his pants. “I can’t wait much longer for this, though,” she said huskily, caressing his hard length.
“Soon,” he vowed, swooping down to take her lips passionately. A few minutes later, he groaned. “We have to stop, or we really will be late. That won’t help my application get in front of the General any faster.”
“How does that actually work?” Tara reluctantly stepped away from her not-quite-official alien boyfriend to pull her own clothing on.
“For me? Or you?” He asked, efficiently doing up his clothing and pulling on his boots while she hunted up an elastic and fought her curls into some semblance of order.
Muttering a curse under her breath, she studied her reflection. Her wild curls wouldn’t ever be tamed, but she looked good, she realized.
Catching Calyx’s admiring gaze in the reflective energy field, she tried to look at herself the way he saw her. There was an undeniable sparkle in her eyes and a luminescent glow to her dusky skin. She looked happy. Almost as happy as she felt.
“Both, I guess,” she answered, turning the field off and taking hold of his hand. “I haven’t any idea how the Claimed Female Program works.”
Fingers linked, they spilled into the hall. Even the bland beige that dominated the alien decor couldn’t bring her down today. “The medics can enroll you, I believe. As for me, I had to fill out several forms, prove my ability to Protect you and state my intentions.”
“And you did all that? A year ago?” She craned her neck to look up at him, amazed.
Tara felt him stiffen as he answered, “I requested to be your Protector a year ago, yes.”
“Yet, you knew your request wouldn’t be approved right away?” Why would he have done that? “Wait, wait, wait.” She held up a hand as it occurred to her, stopped walking, waited until he met her eyes. “When, exactly?”
“I’m sure we can look it up.” He pulled absently at the high collar on his uniform, glanced away. “Does it really matter?”
“What was your plan?” Now her curiosity demanded satisfaction.
“You’re not going to have time to shower.”
Eyes on his, Tara didn’t so much as blink. She wasn’t about to lose her chance to push for answers. God knew, he’d put her off enough.
With an impatient sigh, he began, “I knew when I saw you that I wanted you…as a male wants a female.”
“When you shot the alligator, you mean?”
If Corians could blush, she’d swear he was, the way the contrasting stripes over his cheeks seemed to deepen in color. “No,” he coughed. “When I revealed myself in the swamp, I’d already been watching you for…a few days.”
Tara snorted, pulling him towards the main doors. All the holding back she’d done trying to convince him she wasn’t a hooker had been a waste of time. He probably wouldn’t have cared if she had been. Likely, he was concerned she’d transfer her affections to someone else. That was kind of sweet, really, and he’d obviously gotten past that worry. After last night, there was no way he could doubt her devotion to him and him alone.
No one had ever made her feel the way Calyx did. It warmed her heart to know he wanted her the way she wanted him - now. It probably would have freaked her out when she’d first come to the camp. “Good thing my stalker is hot, I guess.”
“I knew you’d think it was odd,” he groused, one hand trailing down her spine to rest on the curve of her hip as she walked him out.
At the security door, she turned to face him with a philosophical shrug, a smile curving her lips. “You’re an alien. You invaded my world and subdued it – not that it was much of a challenge – I’m bound to think some of the stuff you do is sketch.”
She pulled his head down for a toe-curling kiss. Arms still linked about his neck, she whispered, “Did you apply to be my Protector before or after you returned to your ship?” It made her feel giddy to know he’d wanted her for so long…and a little frustrated that he’d wasted so much time dancing around being her “friend” instead of her man.
He nuzzled their noses together. “I sent my application up the chain the day they opened the program.”
Good Lord, he was so sweet. How lucky could one girl get?
Chapter 37
Showered and ready to face the day, Tara still carried the heady warmth of love in her chest like a torch. When Penelope and Juanita argued fiercely and knocked a pan of potato hash to the floor at breakfast causing a huge loss of time and supplies, it didn’t dim that inner flame.
By the time she heard the application requirements from Medics Taver and Jinlee, with their smug smiles and white armbands, the cold fear at the prospect of the medical exam required to complete her enrolment in the Claimed Female Program had sufficiently banked the fire – and dampened her enthusiasm considerably.
She stood in the center of the spacious, high-ceilinged reception area, on the other side of a gleaming white table from her arch nemeses. The thick, black tar of her own terror felt like it was smothering her from the inside out.
“We can do it right now,” Taver told her enthusiastically as Jinlee looked on with interest.
Jinlee was leaner, his features more refined, than Taver’s wide face and stocky build. The way Jinlee studied her, like a challenging new puzzle to piece together, had sweat rolling down her back. These guys were specialized Warriors – just as dangerous as the ones on patrol – and his predatory stare told her he scented her dismay.
Taver, unaware that he’d triggered her urge to flee, continued, “You should have a few hours before last meal, right? That’
s plenty of time to conduct the screening.”
Was it any wonder she didn’t trust the medics? They were far too eager to poke and prod and try to stick a girl in a regen bed where anyone might hit a switch and trap her. Or, you know, burn her to death.
“No, thanks,” she demurred, the fear coating her throat making her words sticky and rough. Slowly, she backed a few steps toward the infirmary’s wide exit. “I just wanted to know what the process entailed.”
Taver’s smile faltered. His broad face wasn’t handsome and chiseled like Calyx’s, but his habitual smile was wide and welcoming – it wasn’t his fault his profession made her skin crawl. “You’re almost finished,” he pointed out.
“You seemed very keen when you walked in,” Jinlee added in a soothing tone. His accent wasn’t rough and guttural like most Corians. Tara was duly impressed with that trick, but she still wasn’t sticking around.
She didn’t think she’d made time to speak with these two medics before (other than to demand they pass her messages on to whoever could bring Marta back). Generally, she avoided all medical personnel like the plague even though her kitchen was set up on the same hall as the infirmary in the common building. The manic sparkle in their eyes had her inching further toward the door. Only the trepidation that she’d incite a chase – like two rabid wolves after a fluffy bunny – kept her from turning tail and running away.
“I-I, well, clearly, I was wrong to come,” she stuttered. “Because I’m not getting in one of those coffins.”
Jinlee gave her an understanding smile, the twisty speculation easing out of his face. “We can find another way to do your workup,” he offered gently. “Are you able to use the sonishower without issue?” He paused. “Or does that also trigger your claustrophobia?”
“It’s not – I’m not claustrophobic,” she hurried to explain, watching both medics for any sudden movement. “I just really don’t like those beds.”
