“Huh?” What was he…
“The correct answer is, ‘Yes, Master.’ Followed by obedient actions.” But as I parted my lips to speak, he moved me into position like a marionette, flipped my dress over my back, and stepped away.
A trickle of arousal down my leg made it impossible to hide how his manhandling of me turned me on. But then, he already knew that.
I gripped my ankles, swaying, trying not to tip over as I anticipated his return. I didn’t have to wait long.
“So wet. Always so ready for whatever I want to do to you, my little Aja.” Fingers slipped inside me, scooped up my juices, and brought them back to swirl around my anus. “I have something special for you this cycle.” A finger pressed into my bottom hole, retreated and returned, joined by a second. He moved them in deeper then scissored them, stretching her. “You’re still so very tight. It’s going to hurt when I finally fuck this hole. You’ll like that, won’t you, female?”
I whimpered, but he gave me a slap with his free hand on my butt cheek. “Are you arguing with me? Whose hole is this, Aja?” Another slap.
“Y-your hole, Master.”
“Yes.” His fingers worked in and out, stinging but also driving me high, close to orgasm already. “All your holes are mine to do with as I please. And today I please to use the final trainer. Can you reach back and pull yourself open for me without tipping over?
“I can try, Master.” A little dizzy from my position, I moved my feet wider apart and released my ankles, swaying some, and he grasped my hip, steadying me. I grabbed hold of my cheeks and tugged them apart.
“Good now?”
I nodded but nearly fell in the process then recovered. “Yes, Master.”
“Good.” His fingers withdrew to be replaced by something else. Some things rather. I squeaked as he worked them inside me, a bundle entirely different from the other plugs. What was this?
“It…it hurts.”
“You can take it, can’t you? My little pain slut? Your Master knows what you need.”
“Y-yes.” I swallowed hard. “But I’m scared, too. I don’t know what it is.”
He worked it in deeper, farther than anything before. “Relax, Aja. This is just the final preparation for my cock. And it’s still much smaller than me.”
Oh God. If this device didn’t rip me asunder, he was sure to. So why did I want to rub against anything that might ease me? I had such dirty fantasies, he’d only begun to tap into them.
I braced my legs, forcing them to keep me in position while he worked the long bundled stalk in and out of my bottom hole. He could see everything with me like this. Finally, he gave me a slap across my exposed hole, pushing the plug, if that’s what it could be called, in all the way to the wide flange I knew was on the bottom of all his butt toys. “There. Now on your knees and face me, mouth open wide.
I fell more than lowered to the floor then maneuvered around toward him. He’d already taken his cock out of his tight black pants, and it was fully erect, every head alive and moving. “Yes, Master,” I said, ready to suck on his multiple heads, one by one, or maybe two at a time as he liked.
He caressed my cheek. “All of them at once, Aja. If you cannot, I have a gag to help open your mouth wider.”
I stretched as wide open as I could while he fed his cockheads inside my mouth. It was very full, but his groan of pleasure encouraged me to continue, until my plug came to life, the bundle spreading into individual ends, just like the cockheads in my mouth. They moved in a complex dance, and I nearly bit down in my startlement but managed to stop just in time.
This plug was indeed the final preparation. And their movement drove me mad. It was all I could do to continue to suck and mouth him when the squirming ends began to vibrate.
“Do not come yet,” he told me, caressing my cheek.
I couldn’t protest, but I sucked harder and faster, hoping that if I could bring him to climax, he would let me come. I held onto his pants with both hands, struggling for control, my entire body invaded by him or his agents. I couldn’t…couldn’t…but apparently either I was successful in my efforts or he was just as turned on by the whole things as me because the hot spray of cum filled my mouth and spilled down my chin, one head after another firing off.
“Come.”
He pulled out of my mouth and gripped my shoulders while I writhed in the throes of orgasm, the heads inside my dark hole moving in different ways so each time I started to relax I flew over yet another edge until I was screaming, “Enough. Stop. Please. I can’t…”
And it all did stop, leaving me limp, my muscles and bones unable to hold me up. My Master scooped me into his arms and carried me to the bed where he held me close while I tried to remember how to breathe.
“Such a pretty dress,” he said, stroking the fabric tightly fitted over my breasts. “What made you choose this color, Aja?”
“I thought it was nice, that you might like it.”
“I love this color. It’s a perfect match.”
Chapter Seventeen
Vyraz
“Match to what?”
“To this.” I reached into my pocket. Pulled out a tiny pouch and handed it to her.
“Is this a present? For me?”
“You’ve been working so hard. I wanted to give you a little something. To say thank you.”
She stroked the pouch with a fingertip. “It’s so pretty! The fabric changes color when it catches the light from different angles.” She smiled and threw her arms around my neck. “Thank you! I love it.”
“Open it.”
“You mean there’s something inside?”
I smiled. “The pouch is merely the vessel. Your gift is inside it.”
“Vessel. How cute. Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to one of those ancient scholars who wrote the scrolls.”
I kept the smile plastered to my face, but her words stung. Compared to her, I was ancient. What business did I have giving a token like this to a young, vibrant female?
“What is the container for an offering of one’s thanks called on your world?”
“’Container for an offering of one’s thanks.’” She laughed. “See, that’s what I mean. You’re always so formal. Back home, we’d call it a gift bag. But I’ve never seen a gift bag as beautiful as this. I’m ashamed to say they are often just cheaply made paper and thrown away. Wasteful, isn’t it? And not a part of the gift that I can keep forever, like this.”
She liked it. Thank the gods. I’d asked Jess for help, and she outdid herself, fashioning the little pouch from a bolt of the rarest textile in our storage bay. Aja untied the narrow ribbon and tipped the contents into her palm.
“A seashell! How pretty.”
“It’s a seasprite shell.” I pointed out the delicate cord Jess had plaited from the multicolored threads spun by a brkana. “You can hang it around your neck.”
“Seasprite. That’s what you call me sometimes—or at least that’s what you call the color of my pussy,” she added shyly.
“You’re right. That is my pet name for you—and your sweet pussy.”
She slid the cord over her head. “Can you give me a hand? My hair is getting in the way.”
“Gladly.” I lifted her long silky black locks, and she dropped the cord around her neck.
“You’re right! It matches this dress perfectly. I can’t wait to show it to Jess! May I go to her quarters, Master?”
“Yes, you may.”
She went to the door then turned and dashed back to me, planting a kiss on my forehead. “Thank you, Master.”
She headed for the doorway again, the skirt of the seasprite-pink gown swirling around her. The wall dissolved, and she darted through without even a backward glance.
I sank onto the bed, crushed. That kiss? It was the kiss you give to an elderly uncle you’re fond of. Not to the lover who just gave you the token of his pet name for you. I didn’t even have time to recite the formal declaration that went with such a token. Let al
one give her the history of the shell.
All she could think about was showing it to Jess. Sharing her happiness with her girlfriend instead of her mate.
Though I’d seldom delved into her mind since I brought her to work with me in the lab, I knew Aja still thought about escaping. Maybe the time had come to speak with the admiral about finding a different mate for her. A younger, stronger, more virile warrior. One she wouldn’t want to leave. One who could impregnate her quickly. Though I’d spent my seed in her every night, I hadn’t been able to breed her yet. Jess was already pregnant, and so was Dylos’s mate Trina. Though it would break my heart to let her go, perhaps it was all for the best.
Mind made up, I pulled a shirt on and headed for the lab.
“Larissa, contact Admiral Dylos. Tell him the Archon wishes to speak with him.”
“Yes, Archon.”
Moments later, Dylos appeared. Normally, given his position as commander of our Starfleet and the leader of our entire race, I would have asked to be granted an audience then gone to him. When I told Larissa to summon him using my title, I pulled rank. Out of respect for the Archon, he came to me, though in holographic form.
Dylos bowed his head. “Blessings and peace to you and all sentient beings in the Universe.”
I inclined my head a fraction. “And to you, may it please the gods.” Formalities out of the way, I got right to the point. “Admiral, I wish to return the human female. Please assign her to another warrior.”
“Return her? What’s wrong? Has she offended you in some way? I know how busy you are. I can punish her for you if you like.”
I shook my head. “Quite the contrary. She pleases me very much. I just think she’d be happier with a different mate.”
Dylos looked concerned. “I don’t understand, old friend. The last time Mantsk and I spoke of personal matters, he told me she and Jess were getting along very well. And I know she’s been working hard in the lab. You said she’s been a great help to you. What makes you think she’s unhappy?” He stopped. Shook his head. “I’m sorry. That was a foolish question. Of course, you’d know if she was unhappy.”
“It’s not her happiness I’m concerned about, Admiral. And I haven’t tapped into her mind—at least not about that. It’s our suitability as mates. Or rather, my suitability as a mate.” I sank into a chair. “May I speak frankly?”
“Of course.”
“I gave her a token—of my pet name for her.”
“Congratulations!” Dylos beamed. “You must have a mating ceremony. The Terran females place great importance on that.”
I sighed. “I’m afraid not. She said thank you—and then kissed me. On the forehead.”
“Oh.” His face fell. “I’m sorry. I know you care for her. It must have hurt to get a reaction like that, especially after you declared.”
I’d been a coward, presenting it at the last minute as a thank you gift so I could gauge her reaction to it before making my declaration. But I couldn’t admit that to Dylos.
“I didn’t exactly declare.”
“Well, no wonder she reacted the way she did! She’s a Terran. And unlike you, she can’t read minds. I’m sure she had no idea of the significance of the token. You need to explain our custom to her.”
His voice softened. “I remember the day I gave Trina my token. A bouquet of tassiflowers. I called her my tassi because the bright pink center of the flowers reminded me of her…” His skin tone changed to lavender. “Well, never mind why.”
He shot me a wry grin. “Damn. I always forget I’m talking to an Archon. I’m sure you know exactly why I called her that.”
I shook my head. “I don’t intrude upon the private thoughts of others without permission.” I didn’t need to intrude. The image in Dylos’s head was so vivid even a neophyte telepath would have picked it up. Still, I wouldn’t embarrass him by telling him that.
The memory of Aja’s wicked fantasies popped into my mind. “Except for the human. I did scan her mind a few times.” More than a few. And she hadn’t minded the outcome. But Dylos didn’t need the intimate details of my relationship.
“You lucky devil. There have been plenty of times I wished I could see into Trina’s mind. Females just don’t think rationally, like we do, whether they’re Arythian or alien.” Dylos sighed. “Anyway, to get back to my point, Trina wasn’t exactly overcome with joy when I gave her my token either. There I was, declaring my undying love, laying my heart on the line. She said thank you and then wandered off to find a vase so she could put them in water. I had to explain to her what it meant. I remember every word I said. ‘I present you with these tassiflowers as a symbol of my wish to formalize our union. I will declare before all that I claim you and you alone, forevermore, as my one and true Mate.’
“She started crying—you know how they do that for no reason…” I nodded, and he went on. “And then I said if she accepted me, she was supposed to take the gift and say ‘I will kneel and declare to all of Arythios that I yield to you and you alone, forevermore, as my Master and my one and true Mate.’”
He said the last in a definitive tone and then fell silent. When I didn’t respond, he prompted me.
“So that’s what you need to do. Go find her and explain. You’ll see. She’ll be just as thrilled as Trina was. I’m certain of it.”
“No. I realize now I have no business taking on a mate, let alone offspring to raise.”
Dylos gave me a sharp look. “So that’s it. You’re afraid. Gods know, I can relate to that. You made yourself vulnerable, and you feel like she rejected you. Right now, you’re afraid if you explain about the token, she’ll say no. And that would hurt even more.”
“And then there’s the other fear,” he went on. “What if she says yes? In some ways, it’s easier to face an enemy in battle than it is to wake up and look into the eyes of your mate every morning. One encounter is over in seconds, and the outcome is fixed. With a mate, you have to prove yourself worthy all over again every sol. Be the heroic warrior who will take on the universe for her, the firm but loving Master to the one person who knows you better than you know yourself. The person who sees all your flaws, all your weaknesses. I won’t kid you. Taking a mate forevermore is probably the hardest thing you’ll ever do—and it will bring you more joy than you could ever imagine.”
I tried to keep my face impassive. Everything he’d said was true. Maybe I wasn’t the only Arythian with the ability to read minds.
While I was making Aja’s fantasies come true, I’d gotten caught up in a fantasy of my own. A fantasy of having Aja as my forever mate. My partner. She’d breathed new life into my study of the scrolls. What had once been a burdensome task weighing on me had become an exciting adventure thanks to her enthusiasm and abilities.
And she’d awakened a part of me I thought was as lifeless as the words on those ancient texts. I’d discovered the sheer joy of giving and receiving pleasure. Not just sexual pleasure, although gods knew she made me feel like a virile young warrior. I couldn’t get enough of her body—or her mouth and hands on mine. But she brought me joy in so many other ways. I got caught up in her excitement about what every new sol might bring. And she made me laugh.
So, like a lovestruck lad, I put reason aside and rushed headlong into giving her a token. Then, when she didn’t even acknowledge what it meant, all my fears took hold again.
Dylos even put into words fears I hadn’t acknowledged. Except one. I’d failed to impregnate my mate. What if I took her forevermore and still couldn’t sire offspring? The more I thought about it, the more it weighed on me. I was the Archon. I owed it to my race to set her free to find a more virile lover. A young warrior whose seed was strong. One who could assure that our race would survive.
“My mind is made up, Dylos,” I finally said. “I do not want the human as my mate. I hereby relinquish my ownership of her. Please give her to another warrior. Immediately.”
“Oh!”
The anguished cry caught me by s
urprise. I looked away from Dylos’s hol and caught a flash of shocking pink just as the doorway resealed itself.
Aja. I’d been so engrossed in my discussion, I never heard her come in. I’d planned to sit her down after speaking with Dylos. Explain I was giving her back because it was best for both of us. How much had she heard before she ran away? Dylos’s catalogue of all my fears and failings—or just the last part?
The first was embarrassing. The second, heartbreakingly cruel. I could bear the embarrassment. But I couldn’t bear the pain of thinking I might have hurt my sweet gentle human. She’d done nothing but place her trust in me, body and soul. I wanted to set her free, but I didn’t want her to think I was rejecting her.
Total recall is both a gift and a curse. My own words haunted me, playing over and over in my head. I do not want the human as my mate. I hereby relinquish my ownership of her. Please give her to another warrior. Immediately.
Chapter Eighteen
Aja
I rushed down the corridors to Jess and Mantsk’s quarters, a route I’d come to know well over the past “sol cycles,” a term they used for days. I wasn’t sure precisely how they compared to Earth days, but my body had adjusted to rest, work, and waking periods, so it was either close to our twenty-four hour period, or I was more adaptable than I had ever given myself credit for.
I kept my hand over the seasprite shell, warm already from contact with my skin. It lay perfectly in the deep vee of the dress, and made me happier than diamonds would have.
I gestured as I’d learned to do when approaching someone else’s quarters, the waving equivalent of ringing a doorbell, and after a moment, the wall opened to reveal my friend, swathed in lengths of jewel-toned fabrics. “Hi,” she said around a mouthful of the little spikes she used as a substitute for straight pins. She pulled them out and grinned. “You look beautiful. Did the Archon like the dress? Of course he did. How could he not. Come in and tell me all about it.”
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