Sign Here for Horns: A SciFi Alien RomCom (Vandalar Concubines Book 1)

by V. K. Ludwig

  Jax buries his face in my hair, his voice carrying an edge of desperation. “Lilly…”

  A deep, rough cry muffles into the crook of my neck, and tremors ravage his body. His fingers shake so violently they drum on my scalp. He gives one final thrust, pinning me so hard to the bed I can’t breathe. His teeth rake back and forth between my neck and shoulder, nipping, threatening. Until he bites down, muscles tensing underneath the clasp.

  Jerk after jerk, I feel him come inside me, his joints trembling, more and more of his weight pressing down on me. And I just hold his head and stroke his hair, feeling closer to him than ever before.

  When his teeth retreat, and he lifts his head to meet my gaze, the depth of his eyes is bottomless, glazed over with what look like unshed tears. It’s almost as if, for the first time, I’m truly looking at Jax.

  Fifteen

  Jax

  I stare down at Lilly, bones threatening to crack against the dense pressure of emotions contained by brittle ribs.

  My eyes burn, blinks absent, so I can commit every second of this to memory. A moment so overwhelming, I can’t help but wonder if this is what falling in love feels like. That sensation of rapid descent with no means of stopping or slowing the fall, embracing the impact with a stupefied grin.

  I’m so veking doomed.

  Wrapping my arm around her, I roll onto my back, keeping one knee propped against her ass. Like that, I position her to rest on my chest. My cock is still deep inside her cunt, twitching with the after quakes of my release.

  Every cell in my body hums with serenity, my muscles void of all tension, and I never want to leave the tight sheath of her sex. Ever.

  Lilly cups my cheek, thumb brushing over the corner of my lip. “Are you okay?”

  No, I’m not okay.

  Half a decade. That was how long I spent thinking that becoming someone’s saikh would fill that hole in my life — that depressing void of a Vandalar male with no female, no companionship, no family.

  Only loneliness.

  Ever since Lilly brought me here, I wanted nothing more than to become her saikh. Now that I am, I feel more forsaken than ever before. What was supposed to be an achievement turns my core hollow, empty. Just like I feared it would.

  “A bit overwhelmed.” Not to mention utterly confused, my body satisfied, but my mind restless. “I might need a few hours to process this.” More like days.

  She lowers her head into the crook between my pecs, fitting so perfectly there. When her lips pout against the muscle, I know she’s smiling. Blowing my mind she did, opening it up to all those things I never dared wanting.

  I glance down at her, at the red mark I left where her neck ties into her shoulder, growing more purple by the second. Eight depressions from small fangs, the blood already bruising underneath, skin intact.

  “I’m sorry for biting you.”

  Except that I am not.

  If anything, I regret that I didn’t tear skin, rousing my seed to catch in her womb and make her grow round with our youngling.

  She could. I looked it up.

  “It’s an instinct for males of my kind,” I explain. “This came unexpected, but I’ll control myself better the next time.”

  “Is it bleeding?”

  “No.” Unfortunately not.

  That bite I placed in the haze of my release only confirms the way I feel about her. Lilly speaks to a most primal part in me. A male who, long before technology and any civilized behavior, hunted down the female he was drawn to, and drove his teeth into her flesh.

  No, I’m not okay, and I won’t ever be if I can’t make this female my mate. Every fiber of my body screams out for her, a sensation so unlike anything I ever experienced before. Being her saikh alone will never satisfy it. Claiming her and seeding her will.

  That void at my core fills with a tingle at the thought, tickling my ribs from the inside. What would a youngling between us look like? Shorter tail? No tail? Yes, tail, but no claw at the tip?

  “That Nick guy,” I say, swallowing a pitiful amount of saliva down a burning throat. “How long was he your mate?”

  “Almost six years.”

  “How come you never had any offspring with him? You don’t want any?”

  She nuzzles my chest as if she’s trying to dig herself deeper into it. “I had, like, some tissue preventing me from getting pregnant that went unnoticed for the longest time. When they finally fixed it, Nick already had one foot out the door.”

  And already my imagination kicks into gear, picturing a youngling with Lilly’s long, brown hair catching on the nubs of growing horns. Beautiful!

  My eyes flick toward the bare walls. We need paneling on the lower half. Dense jen’tur wood that can stand up to the furious scratching when those horns grow and itch.

  Get a grip, Jax.

  Right, right, right. Priorities.

  Paneling isn’t the one.

  Making her mine is.

  I stroke her back in wide circles. “Earth must have an abundance of females.”

  “It used to be about equal until the war,” she said. “It’s pretty unbalanced now. You would like it there. Might even get yourself more than one woman with all those skills you’ve got. Lots and lots of females to choose from.”

  I don’t need to choose.

  I already have, and I want her.

  But how does one claim a woman?

  “I only need one,” I say, holding her tighter. “And I would never share her with any male, just like I don’t want her to share me with another female.”

  “Am I overstepping if I ask why your mother left?”

  Overstepping?

  I give an internal chuckle. Lilly is the only person, aside from my father, who shows interest in my life. Whatever questions she has, I welcome them all.

  “My parents were a poor match to begin with,” I say on a long exhale. “A lowly farmer and one of the most famous throat singers on our planet? Let’s just say my father’s lifestyle wasn’t to her liking. He refused to accept other males to join our household. There once was a time where a claiming mark meant something. A commitment to one partner only, but it’s considered old-fashioned now. So my mother left to find happiness elsewhere. Where I come from, saikhs all contribute to the income of the female’s estate.”

  “Whenever you tell me stuff like that, it sounds crazy to me.” Her hand curls around my waist. “Did you enjoy what we did?”

  I clear a throat swollen with my affection for her. “Enjoy? In one day, you freed me from slavery, named me your saikh, and allowed me to release my seed inside your womb. I won’t be able to sleep tonight, worrying that, if I do, I will wake up tomorrow and realize it was just a dream.”

  “Not trying to take the wonder out of it, but it’s not uncommon for humans to come simultaneously if they can get the timing right. It’s beautiful but requires teamwork.”

  And yet it isn’t enough.

  Being her saikh will never measure up to the possibilities she inspires. Any Vandalar male would count himself lucky, play it safe, and do anything to strengthen his position as her saikh.

  Uh-uh. Not me.

  Lilly is worth taking the risk of losing it all, the potential gain too much of an opportunity to ignore. My other arm wraps around her as if on instinct, not wanting to let her go. It’s all or nothing.

  A liquid kind of possessiveness snakes through those veins underneath my skin, and I gnash my teeth to keep myself from driving them into her flesh and seed her moments later. But that’s not how humans claim a mate, is it?

  I stare down at this fragile creature.

  No horns.

  No tail.

  Only dull teeth and a set of claws filed down; they can’t do any real damage. Yeah, leaving claiming marks probably isn’t a thing among her kind. What to do?

  So much pondering, and I finally turn flaccid inside her cunt. Lilly lets herself slip off me and settles by my side, leaving a glistening trail of seed along my hip bone that ma
kes me want to pound my chest with male pride.

  An idea sparks.

  Husband.

  That’s what she called that fool Nick. That’s what I have to become for my human female, but the very best version. I will please her even better, making it impossible for her to turn me down. And I’ll start by eternalizing her on my body, showing her just how much she means to me.

  “I was wondering if I could borrow your truck one of these days,” I say carefully. “So I can head to the city?”

  Her stomach contracts slightly against my side. “Didn’t I just ask you not to steal my truck for your big escape?”

  Her smile is too rigid to be sincere, the giggle which follows too compressed and high-pitched to distract from her tension. The fact that she thinks I would leave her makes my guts roil, though I understand her unease is rooted in her past.

  “No escape.” I twirl one of her strands around my finger. “There’s something I would like to do for you. A surprise.”

  She drapes her leg over my thigh, finger playing with the ridges of my horns. “Maybe after Steph’s birthday BBQ? Just don’t wreck the truck, please.”

  “I won’t,” I say with a laugh and pull her head to rest on my arm, my mind already drifting to the pain I know I have coming my way. I will decorate my skin in her honor.

  And on my way back, I will look at wall paneling.

  Sixteen

  Jax

  I carry a stack of plates from kitchen to patio, the air in my wake filled with traces of grilled peppers and sizzling meat. “Please don’t burn it. I spent days putting together the marinade.”

  Lilly stands by the grill, metal tongs in hand, and gives a dismissive tsk. “So little confidence in me.”

  I chuckle and set the table, the salad and bread already sitting at the center. “Who is this friend Steph said she’ll bring tonight?”

  “She didn’t tell, but probably Izzy,” Lilly says, the way she carries her hair twirled at the top of her head, suiting her slender neck so perfectly. “She works at the trading station and checks incoming cargo for contraband.”

  “Human?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, resting my hands on her belly. “You look gorgeous in this orange floral dress.”

  “Don’t get used to it.” There’s an audible smirk on her tone. “Tomorrow, it’ll be muck boots and overalls again.”

  “And you’ll smell earthen, like fertile soil, sun, and freshly cut stalks. Nobody can accuse you of laziness, Lilly. It’s something I appreciate greatly about you.”

  And she reminds me of home. Of hard work on the fields, and easy nights with good food and even better company. It puts a flutter inside my chest.

  The kiss I press against her neck teases something between a moan and a sigh from her, so I add another one to it, lust coursing through my veins. Such a mesmerizing female, her body shaped so perfectly to receive mine.

  From afar, the low hum of fusion panels lures my attention toward the driveway. “Here they come.”

  “Remember, it’s her birthday,” Lilly says. “Don’t forget to congratulate her, please.”

  Steph steps out of her hover car, red skirt the shortest yet, and flings her hands up, wiggling them overhead as she shouts, “It’s the birthday girl, bitches.”

  Lilly skips up to her, hands clapping excitedly. “We’re so happy you made it!”

  “I would never miss an invitation to enjoy Jax’s cooking.”

  “Happy birthday,” I say and dip my head politely. “And Lilly is cooking today.”

  “Lord, help us,” Steph mumbles.

  “Hilarious!” Lilly swats her friend against the shoulder, only to pull her into a hug a second later. “Happy twenty-fourth birthday.”

  “The best of all six of ’em,” Steph giggles. “Wait until you see what I treated myself to.”

  She pulls away from Lilly’s embrace and turns toward her car. “You can come out now.”

  Nothing. Just a large shadow behind darkened windows shaking its head.

  “Worst investment of my life.” Steph stabs her finger in the direction of the car, her voice a rumble. “Do I have to get mean again? Get out of there before I yank you out by your horns.”

  Lilly and I exchange a confused look, but only until the passenger door pops open, and onyx horns poke out from behind the vehicle.

  “By the Three Suns,” I choke out, watching how Varac steps around the hover car, muttering Vandal curses underneath his breath. “What the vek are you doing here?”

  Steph’s grin stretches so wide her lips part, and she gives herself a self-appreciative tap on the sternum. “Varac is my new saikh.”

  “I’m no such thing, woman,” Varac rumbles, his eyes on the ground. “I would rather slave in the mines than serve another female again. Least of all one as mentally deranged as you.”

  “Charming. Just charming.” Steph tilts her head sideways with a sigh. “We’re still warming up to each other.”

  “No, woman, we are not.”

  “Welcome to Whispering Whillwheat,” Lilly says and walks up to Varac, giving a quick brush over his arm. “I’m Lilly. Jax, why don’t you get yourself and Varac a beer while I… talk to Steph?”

  I jut Varac toward the house. “Come on.”

  He follows with a grunt, and smooths strands so tousled I can tell it was Steph’s doing. “Where’s your collar?”

  I grin so hard my cheeks ache and grab two beers from the fridge. “Lilly released me.”

  Scoffing, he takes the beer and empties half of it. “Why by the heat of Heliar are you still here? You should haul your ass somewhere far from females.”

  “She accepted me as her saikh,” I say, though my voice is as void of pride as my core is of satisfaction. “We’re living together. Working the farm together. Planning the next crop together.”

  “Are you veking her?”

  “With all the broken parts and pieces,” I say with a wink. “And she’s enjoying it so much she can’t get enough.”

  “Told you that cock’s fine. Our females are the problem.” He sucks in a sharp breath, gulps down the rest of his beer, and clinks the bottle onto the counter. “I’m happy for you. Truly. That’s what you wanted, right?”

  I nibble my lower lip until it burns. What am I supposed to say to that? For months, I talked about nothing else in that cell but how I want to prove myself as saikh.

  I take a sip of my beer. “Turns out, being fully recognized as a saikh doesn’t quite live up to my expectations.”

  “Isn’t that the truth.” Varac glances around the kitchen, eyes darting from window to window. “How do I get out of here without that anesh’ka noticing?”

  I choke on my beer. “What?”

  “You have to help me escape, Jax.” His voice is laced with panic. “This woman is insane. She’s like a gegatu female in perma-heat, trying to seduce me. Lifting her hind and begging me to mount her. From behind, Jax!”

  “Then turn her onto all fours and vek her from behind.”

  “You did that?” He recoils, upper lip lifting until his nose wrinkles. “It’s perverted and unnatural.”

  “Don’t judge unless you’ve tried it,” I say with a smirk. “Lots of possibilities with fewer appendages in the way.”

  He backs away with a shudder. “The moment I accidentally hiccup a growl she’ll defile me.”

  And whatever would be wrong with that? “Human females are different, Varac. Lilly has a ferocious sexual appetite. No growl needed.”

  “Yeah, that’s not normal.”

  “It’s human,” I say with a hefty pat on his back. “Lilly is an extraordinary female. I assure you Steph has many great qualities as well.” Probably.

  “I don’t need a female,” he snarls. “I’m sick of slaving for them.”

  “You might want to rethink that.” I tap against my neck, the wounds from my collar still crusted over in some spots. “Lilly freed me though s
he didn’t have to and treats me like her equal.”

  Varac crosses his arms in front of his barrel-chest, regarding me with nothing short of pity. “A Vandalar male will never be equal to any female, least of all a saikh. Just wait until she tires of you.”

  “I have no intention of staying her saikh for long,” I say, a new rush of determination pumping through me. “I think I might have a real chance to make her my mate. Human females only have one, which increases my chances drastically if I please her enough.”

  “Liar!”

  “She told me. And I looked it up on the cosmikin. It’s true.” I take a sip of my beer, squeaking my thumb over the condensation clinging to the bottle. “I never understood how unsatisfying it is to be a saikh until now. She opened my eyes to a world where we can achieve our dreams together.”

  Varac eyes me for long seconds, his features turning pained as he grabs my horn and yanks hard. “By the heat of Heliar, did you allow yourself to grow feelings for this woman?” When I stand mute, shrugging, he gives another yank. “You fool!”

  “I like her.” So much, the thought of her sending me away cracks my chest in half. “It’s impossible not to love her. You should see the way she always hangs one foot off the mattress when she sleeps. Her touch is so gentle and warm.”

  He offers another grunt in response. “Did the saikhmenti teach you nothing? That cell your last female left you to rot in? Just because you’re not wearing a collar doesn’t make you any less a slave to her sex. You’ll end up collared again, and worse, heartbroken.”

  I slap his hand away. “Lilly will wear my mark on her shoulder. I will be the best male and convince her to be mine.”

  “Sooner or later, you will make a mistake, and she’ll jump at the opportunity to get rid of you. It’s always like that. Did she assure you of her feelings toward you?”

  I place the bottle head against my lips, mumbling into the neck. “Not yet.”