by V. K. Ludwig
A caress over my hand.
Jax traces his fingers over mine and guides my palm to his chest. That’s when I see it, and gravity suspends itself for a second. How did I not notice this before?
He places my hand right underneath his sternum, where angry, red lines form six petals. At the center of them, beautifully detailed stamen surround the pistil — a lilly flower.
“Lilly,” he says, pointing at the swollen flesh. “Ik wesh Lilly senusha mej liku.”
“Mej liku? Your female?” I ask, and the scars distort into a mix of red and pink underneath fresh tears. “You put me on your heart?”
His shrug comes with a sigh, mouth opening and closing, the frustration written on his face in furrowed brows and a tense jawline.
“Lilly mej liku,” he says again, pressing his forehead to mine, purple eyes gleaming. “Mej liku?”
“Yeah, Lilly is Jax’s mej liku,” I say with a nod. “Let’s go home? Whispering Whillwheat?”
“Whispering Whillwheat.” Trembling lips pull into a grin. “Home ak mej liku.”
Twenty-One
Jax
A soaked cotton swab burns against my temple, the surrounding air sharp and astringent. Lazy light beams funnel into the kitchen, the room quiet except for the monotone drip-drip-drip of the coffee maker.
“It won’t need stitches,” Lilly says, lowers the swab onto the table, and reaches for the gray tube instead. “How do I apply this? Only on the cuts? Thick? Thin?”
I reach my hands for her, combing my fingers through hair still tousled from a night of restless sleep. “A generous layer across the entire area. It makes them heal faster, but the cooling effect also helps with the pain.”
She squeezes a white blob of ointment onto her finger and dabs it onto the flower decorating my sternum. “It’s beautiful, Jax.”
“But it won’t be perfect.” When the Kokonian sent me to the ground, one of the lines burst open. “I can tell you from experience that this part will always appear a bit thicker.”
“In that case, I like it even better because I’m not perfect either, am I?” A taunt sits on her lopsided grin, and it doesn’t take me long to catch on.
“No, you’re not.” I take the tube from her hands and put the cap back on, pulling her down to sit on my lap. “You’re hardworking, but you tend to start things without quite finishing them. Four plates go into the dishwasher, but you leave the fifth one on the counter. Three stacks of folded laundry go into the closet, but the stack of kitchen towels stays on the vanity.”
She brushes my hair back between my horns. “Aaand?”
“And it’s annoying as vek,” I chuckle. “And those things for your breasts are everywhere. Hanging on the chair. Draped over the couch. Dangling from a doorknob.”
“Bra, and I’ll do better.” She dips down into a gentle kiss, my eyes fluttering shut at the touch of her soft lips, and the way she traces mine with her tongue. “And where are your imperfections? Don’t tell me your cock. That doesn’t count.”
All I can do is shrug. “Guess we’ll have to find out. It won’t be easy at first, but I promise on my honor that I will try my hardest to piss you off.”
Her warm laugh reverberates the kitchen. “For starters, how about we make a chore board, hmm? I’m responsible for retrieving my bras from all over the house. You make coffee.”
“Fine by me, as long as I’m the one cooking.”
“Because I burn almost everything?”
My fingers steal into her cleavage and tease a nipple. “Among all the ways you mistreated the meals you cooked so far, burning them was the kindest death.”
That earns me a shove against my cheek. “Shut up! I’m not that bad. Obviously, I managed to feed myself over the years.”
“I love you.” It spills out of me like a prayer, the breathed edge lending it something solemn. “Love your gentle nature and dedication. Love how you curl up against me at night. Might have loved you ever since you tended to my wounds, but there was definitely no saving me once you fulfilled a lifelong wish of mine.”
Small fingers trail over my shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Maybe I was scared? Terrified of making a mistake, saying something wrong? It’s how I grew up, Lilly.”
Pushing fabric aside, I reveal the mound of her breast and suckle on her nipple, hand reaching up to the side of her neck.
Her eyes close with a moan, tongue licking her lips when they open again. “I love you.”
“Another wish granted,” I whisper, her sweet scent wafting around my nose. “Only one left, and you would honor me in a way only few males of my kind ever experience.”
Muscles tense on my lap. “You want to mark me.”
“Until blood flows and my seed rouses for you. I want to put my claiming mark on you, Lilly. Have the entire universe see that, at least once in my life, a female chose me.”
She brushes the fabric of her dress aside, freeing her other breast in need of attention. “Rouse it as much as you want because I got that birth control shot, and it’ll last for at least another six months.”
I gently scrape teeth over her nipple until she moans. “Whenever you’re ready, I will be. Just mentally prepare yourself for a lot of sons.”
“Loud and wild.” Her chuckle dies quickly, and her voice turns breathy. “Does it hurt? The bite?”
Nerves flutter at the fact that she’s giving it consideration. “I’ve never witnessed it before, but I would assume so.”
“I have a very low pain threshold, you know.”
When her face scrunches up, I place a trail of kisses up her neck until our eyes catch. “There’s something our males do before they bite down to distract the female.”
Her eyes flick down to the kuchi covering my heart before they come back up, wrinkles lining her forehead. “You want to growl at me…”
“Given the way you react to it, I doubt you will notice the pain much. All you’ll have on your mind is finding release on my cock.”
“And rub myself on your leg while blood runs down my arm?”
“Exactly.”
Lilly turns thoughtful for long seconds but eventually nods. “Alright. Growl at me, Vandalar.”
My entire body tingles with joy, but that’s all the hesitation I can allow myself. “I haven’t done it in a while, so here goes…”
But the moment my lips part, Lilly presses her palm onto my mouth. “Don’t take advantage.”
I take her hand into mine and place a kiss onto the back. Stroking her hair aside, I tilt her head and guide her ear to my lips, whispering the sweetest growl into the crook of her neck.
Lilly turns limp against me, head lolling around as stunning green eyes search for mine, pupils dilated. “Mmh, Jax!”
I lean back and take in the sight of hips rolling on my lap. “Take off your dress.”
Like a slave to my growl, she gets up and lifts her dress over her head, revealing the world’s ugliest panties, which I immediately tug down. With one hand, I push my pants down to my knees, temporarily lifting myself from the chair. The other wraps around the base of my shaft, squeezing the engorging flesh.
“Do that lips bumping down my ridges thing.” I tug Lilly’s hand until she lowers to her knees. “Take me into your mouth.”
She does as told but the hint of a cutting glare flits across her eyes. “You said you wouldn’t take advantage.”
“I didn’t say that, and you clearly need another growl if you still manage to notice.” I run a tight fist up my shaft until a translucent drop of seed forms at the tip. “I do have flaws but lying isn’t one of them. Now lap that up and tell me how it tastes.”
Her groan is the only resistance she’s capable of, which vibrates around my head as her tongue devours the shiny bead. “It’s delicious, you ass.”
I chuckle low. “Does that piss you off?”
Her tongue trails around the flare right at the bottom of my head. “Yes.”
“Glad I’m s
tanding up to what I promised.” Another growl, louder, deeper, and her hand trails between her legs where she plays with her cunt. “Much better. Lips bumping down my ridges, Lilly. Do it.”
“Bee-jay,” she mumbles, sending a lightning strike from tip to balls when she takes me into her mouth.
“Vek, that’s good.” Trembling fingers dig into her hair, gently pushing her head down as her tight lips bump-bump-bump down my shaft. “You’re blowing my mind again.”
Lilly swallows most of me, the smacking sounds of saliva catching between ridges second only to the way she works her clit, desperate for release. It’s a sight to behold for sure. One I’ll gladly pay for later, when her mind clears of my growl, but hey, my imperfections have to start somewhere. Right now, I’m selfish, taking without giving.
When her head comes up again, I clasp her chin and lift her gaze to meet mine. “Mej liku. Whose female are you?”
“Your female,” she groans, eyes half-lidded, and I could release my seed all over her face right now.
“That’s right, mej liku.” She whimpers when I push her head back onto my cock but sucks all the harder for it, her hips rolling, shifting, searching for friction. “Mej liku, my beautiful Lilly. So desperate for me to make her come.”
I allow myself to enjoy her warm mouth for another minute before I grab her arms and tug her to stand. “Spread for me.”
Two fingertips circle her wet entrance, no dipping in, mount of Venus applying gentle pressure against her clit until Lilly throws her head back with a moan. Blood pumps into my shaft with such force because nothing is more pleasurable than pleasing this female.
Another growl and she falls apart right there. Lilly whimpers in her orgasm as she collapses forward and against me, her legs trembling.
“Sit on my cock.” Hands to her soft waist, I guide her trembling body as she mounts me, watching my entire length disappear inside a cunt still pulsing with her release. “Take as much pleasure from me as you want, mej liku.”
“Your female,” she moans mindlessly, pelvis rolling against me. “I love you, Jax.”
I stroke her hair, touch her face, shower her in kisses, loving the sure way she rides my shaft, bumping against where I’m not defective but perfect.
Perfect for her.
“I will be so good to you, Lilly,” I whisper, breathing back my release, and I know she’ll be good to me.
“Fuck, Jax,” she moans, the thrusts of her cunt growing slower but more intense. “Oh my god, you feel so… so…”
“You’re ready.” I brush the hair from the side of her neck and trail my tongue over her skin, kissing, nibbling while I whisper another soft growl against her skin. “Come with me, mej liku.”
She wraps her arms around my chest, nails digging into my back, tight cunt fluttering around my shaft. “Now, Jax.”
As if I don’t feel it.
I give in to the sensation of her sex gripping me tightly, sensing my balls rise. Teeth clasp tightly to the side of her neck, small fangs digging into flesh until iron seasons the tip of my tongue.
Lilly neither screams nor flinches, and we both lose ourselves in each other, and the overwhelming pleasure of our shared release.
I press my female tightly against me, and the universe stops existing for a brief moment as I whisper, teeth bloody, “Teamwork. Like peanut butter and jelly.”
Twenty-Two
Lilly
“Everything needs to be in place,” Jax says standing behind me, his hand on mine as we chop some sort of tuber together. “Cut, chop, and slice whatever you need. That way, you won’t have to run around the kitchen and search for ingredients.”
“So I won’t burn what’s on the stove.”
“So you won’t burn what’s on the stove,” he repeats, a smirk sitting on the undertone. “You’re pretty scatter-brained. Too much time doing too many things at once all alone.”
“And I still think this is all for nothing if the chicken’s gone bad.”
“The chicken’s fine,” he tells me for, like, the fifth time. “Something’s off with your sense of smell lately.”
I lift the cutting board and scratch the slices into the bowl he prepared. “What’s next Chef de Cuisine?”
“Salt,” he says, but slaps my hand the moment I reach for the saltshaker. “From that bowl over there. Don’t pour. Sprinkle with your fingers.”
I do as told and Jax’s attention turns toward the window where the mail truck hovers down our drive.
“Take the tongs and turn the chicken.”
At that, he walks toward the door and signs for a small brown package with a white letter lying on top. His lips stretch into a wide grin, teeth on display, the sparkle in his eyes sending a rush of excitement through my core.
“Your dad?”
“Uh-huh.” He rips open the letter, eyes gleaming more with each line his pupils conquer. “He booked himself an intersolar cruise from Vandalheim to Siliketh, and from there to Agari II. Looks like he’ll get here right in time for the next crop rotation.”
And he looks so freaking happy about it. “I’m super pumped up for his visit. Bet he can teach me a lot about planting. No word from your mother?”
He rolls his eyes. “She sent me a message on the cosmikin. Wants to come and visit us with all her saikhs.”
“I doubt we have enough room for all of them.”
“It’s awkward,” he says and rips the brown package open. “One of them is younger than me. Oh, look! That piece for the tractor transmission came.”
I turn the stove off and wipe my hands on the kitchen towel as I walk over. “All we’re missing is the new flare wedge, and we can put the engine back in.”
“Perfect timing, considering I need to turn the fields over as soon as they’re finished out there. How long does it usually take?”
“Let’s see…” I toss the towel onto the kitchen counter and step outside, holding a hand up to shield my eyes from the whirls of dust floating in the afternoon air.
Jax walks up behind me and wraps me in his embrace. Together, we stare over the fields where three automated harvesters drive up and down the fields, the hum of the engines loud and obnoxious.
Blades cut the stalks inches from the ground, while robotic arms gather them in sheaves before they lift them onto the massive cargo crates hovering behind the harvesters.
“My best bet is another five hours.” I place my hands onto Jax’s and let my head fall back against his strong chest. “I wish we wouldn’t have to outsource the harvest. Parting with thirty percent of the income causes me physical pain, I swear.”
“Only another two sun cycles or so, mej liku. Once we get the crop rotation down that my father suggested, we’ll increase revenue and purchase our own.”
And I believe every single word of it, loving the sure grip he has on my body while caressing my stomach with his fingers. “You’ll figure it out, lawyer Jax. Just tell me where you want the seed bags.”
That guy’s fantastic with numbers, and I can’t wait to find out what Whispering Whillwheat will look like in a year or two. Maybe we’ll start growing herbs, though a flower patch would be neat as well.
“So much studying,” he says with a sigh. “So many solar cycles of interstellar laws, cooking, polishing dishes, growling at unknowing females…”
“All to return to farming.” Core humming with love, I turn in his arms and stare up at the most amazing guy I ever met. “Taking care of his helpless human female.”
“Helpless…” The shake of his head comes with a boyish grin. “You know how to take care of yourself, peanut butter.”
Yes, I can take care of myself.
But Jax does it better.
* * *
This concludes Sign Here for Horns. Don’t worry, we will see Jax and Lilly again. If you liked their story, please consider leaving a review — they totally make my day! Swipe right a few pages for a sneak peek of Never Cuff an Alien. (Seriously, don’t cuff them… it gets messy.)
She's too much risk to be alive, but too precious to be killed.
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Also by V. K. Ludwig
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Never Cuff an Alien
Varac
I tug on Steph’s panties. A black, lacy pair, so flimsy and thin they rip like paper. The sound alone speeds up my pulse, but I can’t let that distract me. Tonight, I need to perform — failure not an option.
So I take the fabric and wrap it around the shock collar on my neck. Then another. And another. Granted, I probably look like someone with a fetish with this colorful assortment of female undergarments wrapped around metal. What can I say? Desperate times require desperate measures.
With a thick buffer of lace all around my neck, breathing turns to panting. If the itty-bitty fabric will insulate my skin from the voltage upon escape, I can’t say, but stealing kitchen towels seems too risky.
I grab the red bedsheet and wrap it around my shoulders, covering as much of myself as possible. Running down a street with panties dangling from my neck will be bad enough already. No need to add a swinging cock and balls to the picture when the neighbors watch me reclaim my freedom.
I hurry down the stairs and slip through the patio door I left open when nobody was looking. The scent of Steph still lingers throughout the backyard, sweet and clean, serving as a reminder why I need to get the vek out of here.
