Warriors of Risnar 4

by Tracy St. John

  If only she could give them a definitive answer.

  Tidem’s turn had arrived. “Delivery of Module Two in ten seconds. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Delivery. Reading combustion on target.” His video monitor flashed white, binding them all anew. A few moments later, he turned to the silent audience with satisfaction. “I’m showing an accurate delivery.”

  Notlin spoke. “Do we have any results on the first blast?”

  “Scanners on the pod have just come online again. Real-time analysis coming in now.” Selena’s grip on the edge of the console tightened. “Scanners are trying to pick up a reading from that Earth-access site. No detection. I’m ordering another scan. Still no signal. Once more, to be sure.”

  “I’ll contact Cas hive for a secondary confirmation.” Nex tapped with machine gun speed on his keyboard.

  “Nothing on my scans. No access signals detected.” Selena started to get excited, but she held on, waiting for Salno’s report from Cas. She superstitiously crossed her fingers.

  Nex’s jubilant tone rang out. “Salno confirms the first portal access is destroyed. Her sensors report the second target is also gone.”

  Cheers erupted then quieted again as they waited to hear from the other hives.

  Minutes later, the real celebration began. A few explosives had detonated early, as Selena’s had, and over a dozen pods were destroyed. However, all the targets on Earth had been confirmed as eradicated. The portal accesses on that side were wiped out.

  When the last affirmative report came in, Selena leapt into Arga’s arms, laughing and crying at once. She wasn’t the only one. Even Notlin seemed to be blinking back tears as she and Ilatar embraced.

  The Monsudan threat to Risnar and Earth was over.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Selena stood on the mountain where she and Arga had previously had their visit cut short by the invasion. The domes of Yitrow twinkled under the planet Cadi’s blue light. However, Selena’s attention was not on the recovering town, but far, far away.

  She stared out into the night sky. Not that there was much to see, even with Cadi at her back. Its reflected light blotted out many of the stars that would dot the sky in a marvelous display once the blue gas giant set.

  It didn’t matter that she couldn’t see; Earth and its sun were too distant to be spied from Risnar. While the collection pods could still access the planet she’d come from, that would change. In any case, her world was safe from the Monsuda, free to make its future as its inhabitants saw fit. Just as she was.

  Arga’s warmth behind her announced his nearness before he wrapped his arms around her. It was only at that instant she realized how cold she was. She turned to face him and snuggle. Ridiculously tall man—the top of her head barely brushed his chin. She pressed her cheek against his chest, and that was pretty darn nice when he softened the armored skin in that spot.

  “You’re not missing your old home, I hope? I get the feeling you’re looking out there and thinking of Earth.” His voice rumbled wonderfully with her ear against him.

  “I was wishing it the best of luck. I’m happy with my new home.”

  “You’re sure?” The worry in his tone was plain to hear.

  “On Earth, we have a saying; home is where the heart is. There’s another saying too: cold hands, warm heart.” She shoved her frigid fingers against his chest to demonstrate.

  Arga laughed and pulled her from the edge with its magnificent view. “Get in the shelter before you freeze.”

  They entered the dome that served as an inn. Except for a small hospitality staff, they had it to themselves. The majority of Yitrow’s residents were busy rebuilding.

  It was nice to take some time for themselves. With no more wars to fight, Arga had decided they would return to his home village of Hahz. Retav, whom he and Selena had visited for the last couple of days in Cas, would be joining them. Arga’s guardian had finalized that village’s new Elders Council, and he too was eager to go home.

  Tonight was a well-earned getaway before beginning their life together. Selena wasn’t sure what work she’d settle on in the future, though her knowledge of explosives could be used when it came to mining Risnar. Or the new colony, for that matter, should they relocate there. In the next few weeks, however, a number of spiritual heads from various villages had asked her to speak of her experience with the cult. Risnarish spiritual leaders were eager for an intellectual discourse on excessive veneration, for cautionary purposes.

  Selena and Thompson would also work as trauma counselors to the Risnarish in the wake of the war. As soldiers who’d seen horrific things on Earth, their experience was deemed necessary to healing the peace-loving Risnarish.

  All in all, the future was shaping up to be pretty outstanding. Especially when it came to the man Selena accompanied to their overnight quarters.

  The suite—that seemed to be a good name for it despite the Risnarish tendency to call it a mere “berth” —was a cozy dream after standing outside in the freezing wind. There was a section with a smooth, stone floor and firepit in the corner. Some member of the staff had already lit it for them, and the flames crackled cheerfully. Mugs and a carafe, no doubt filled with brew, sat before a scattering of thick mats to be reclined upon. A platter of bite-sized foods also awaited, along with a small dish of broadleaf for chewing.

  Equally as inviting was the sunken basin in a second corner. Clear water steamed from its depths, inviting chilled bodies to bask in. More ale, food and broadleaf sat at the basin’s rim. A reading nook and meditation area awaited in the other corners. Selena wouldn’t have minded being snowed in, what with all the comforts at hand.

  Of one mind, Selena and Arga headed to the middle of the room instead, where a large bed awaited.

  The wait was over. Selena flung her layers of clothes off, eager for this night and all that would follow it. Arga chuckled at how fast she was naked, but he was no less filled with expectancy. His cock protruded from his groin, fabulously long and thick, the exact size Selena preferred him to be. Such a good boy. She’d have to reward him.

  She poked a finger against his chest. “Sit on that bed, you gorgeous man. On the edge. We’ve got to even the height difference here, before I get a crick in my neck.”

  Though mischief lit his eyes, Arga behaved. He sat, and Selena crawled up to straddle his legs, putting them face to face. Nice.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. She petted his mane and stroked his pointed ears while she kissed him. Selena kissed Arga for an extended time, enjoying the simultaneously rough and yet silky texture of his tongue, the hard planes of his teeth, the tenderness of his inner cheeks. She skimmed against him, languorously rubbing her chest across his, enthralled that even when he wasn’t armored, he was so very solid against her softer body. She slid her pussy over his thigh, painting it wet with her growing excitement. His cock throbbed hot between them, branding her lower belly.

  In turn, he tasted her thoroughly, his hands and tails drifting with seeming randomness over her, thought Selena noted he didn’t miss an inch of flesh. Their extended kiss was punctuated by giggles, chuckles, whimpers and moans, depending on where they touched each other. The exploration was leisurely, though passion rose at a heady rate until the room rang with their gasps.

  It was easy to be overwhelmed by how she craved Arga. Too easy. Selena was suddenly frightened by the feelings engulfing her, incredible as they were. She pushed away, sitting on his legs and staring in his face.

  He blinked glazed eyes at her. “Selena? Is everything okay?”

  “I—I guess I’m afraid of how much I want this. How much I want us.”

  “It’s a lot to deal with, isn’t it?” He smiled with understanding. Of course he would comprehend the tidal waves of emotion crashing over her.

  “How do we deal with it?”

  “One day at a time. One moment at a time, if necessary. That was Retav’s advice, and he’s always right. Don’t tell him I said so.” Arga tipped an ear, misch
ief making him boyish.

  The tightness that had invaded her chest eased. “One moment at a time. It sounds like a good plan. Now where were we before I interrupted that last amazing moment?”

  “You were about to tell me how I can help you forget your fears.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” She beamed at him and crawled from his lap to the bed, where she arranged herself. Lying with her legs parted, she crooked a finger at him. “Come here. Bring your tongue and tails.”

  “Yes, my queen.” Laughing, he crawled to crouch over her.

  The laughter ended as he went to work with not only tongue and tails, but numerous fingers and a few other projections Selena couldn’t have named. Who cared about labels when each inch of her was simultaneously caressed, fondled, petted, or teasingly pinched? Sensation galloped through every cell.

  She writhed under his thorough attentions, gasping to be explored intently all at once. When she pulled his mane and clawed his shoulders in growing excitement, Arga growled softly. His pleasuring intensified, perfecting the sensual assault as he learned where she appreciated gentleness best, where little shocks of hurt excited, where vibrations both tender and strong served to make her cry out.

  Some dim part of her remembered being afraid of him overwhelming her. What a silly notion that had been.

  Arga couldn’t remember being so excited in his entire life. Selena squirmed rapturously, rewarding his efforts with cries of passion. As before, she held nothing back, giving him more than any Risnarish sex partner had. It was heady stuff, this unabashed enjoyment.

  Headier was the knowledge that this was no random encounter, not an instance of a necessary pairing in order to relieve physical desires. He wasn’t with just any woman. He was with Selena. All-Spirit willing, he would be with his magnificent Earthling beloved for the rest of their days.

  Ilatar had been correct. A single instant of such bliss was worth any fear of loss. Arga would never doubt such an idea again.

  Selena’s voice rang out between squeals of excitement, calling his name. Sometimes he could hear the passion. Others, it was more of a plea. Though hundreds of encounters in the Mating Center could not compare to loving her, he was glad to have had them. Grateful to the lovers who had taught him so well. They had prepared him to please the woman he had been destined to adore.

  It was Arga’s turn to moan as the exploring tendrils beneath his cock traced through her slick folds. He had to taste her. Devour her. When it came to that, he couldn’t get enough of Selena.

  He kissed a path down, pausing for a few seconds to suck on the rosy buds of her nipples, circled by the thin lengths of his tails. He could have spent an eternity worshiping those, but the perfume of her excitement insisted he continue on. She would be delicious. She always was.

  Down, down, down. Her belly was taut, but the skin was downy soft. Part of him clamored to indulge in that amazing dichotomy, but it was overruled. He had to kiss her where she liked it best. He had to do it now.

  Past the crinkly strip of curly hair. Her fragrance overwhelmed him as he gazed fondly at the swollen nub entreating his attention. She was ready for his adoration.

  He licked that sensitive bit. Selena shouted, sitting up for an instant before falling back to the bed. Arga chuckled, though his cock pulsed painfully to take its place within her.

  In due time. When they were both out of their minds with desperation.

  With an apologetic glance at Selena’s clit, Arga aimed his attention further down. There, where the salty-sweet aroma beckoned, where trembling, pink lips gleamed with wetness. He inhaled sharply, filling his senses with her.

  All-Spirit, help me.

  He’d planned to begin with reverence. However, hunger rose enormous and demanding, a need that was as physical as it was emotional. In an instant, Arga was on the delectable flesh, feasting with abandon as Selena jerked and pummeled his shoulders, yelling for all she was worth. He barely noticed the blows.

  Salt and sweet coating his tongue. Tender womanhood, melting with each starved lick. Lapping, lapping, thirsty for every drop of her. He kissed the velvet opening, long and deep, pushing in to ease its desperate clutching, though the invasion brought insistence for more.

  Drowning in the woman he loved, too mesmerized to fight for breath. She was heaven, and he wanted to stay. At least until she had her first orgasm. Which, from the sounds of her strengthening cries and the frequency of her spasms, needed little extra effort to occur.

  He slowly licked up, flattening his tongue over the entirety of her sex as he headed toward her clit, abandoned after that initial lap of greeting. His lips closed over it. He sucked, flicking his tongue over the top of the engorged bud.

  The breath left Selena at once. Her entire body jolted, went stiff.

  Arga had to fight to hang on, to not be bucked off her bouncing hips as she went wild. He continued to suck and skim her clit, prolonging her ecstasy, drawing convulsion after convulsion from her. He exulted in her cries.

  She was all to him. Incredibly, she had chosen to be his, forever.

  Selena felt as if she’d been tossed on a storm-swept sea. She lay gasping in the aftermath, her pussy twitching, arms and legs flung wide. Arga crouched over her, smiling in adoration.

  “That’s one,” he said.

  His tails slipped up and down her ribs, rubbing as she regained her senses. Over her legs. Up her inner thighs, sliding in the wetness. He hovered, watching her until she felt more exposed than at any other moment in her entire life. It was somewhat uncomfortable, and would have been more so if not for the sheer happiness shining from his silver starburst eyes. What was he seeing as he gazed at her? Whatever it was, it made him happy. The joy in his expression grew by the second.

  One tail glided up to cup her breast. Those tails had kept pretty busy with her chest while he worked magic down below, to their mutual pleasure. Her mounds tingled from the attention lavished upon them. A spear of pure rapture flashed when he kissed the one his tail caressed. The tip was as rigid as the cock poking her thigh.

  Arga continued to rub and kiss her breasts as the second tail searched between her legs. Damn him, she was warming under his touch yet again. Arga was a talented man.

  “You just wait until I can move again,” she threatened, feeling the weakness of her limbs post-climax. “You are so in for it.”

  “No hurry,” he mumbled against her nipple. “Take your time.”

  His tail entered her. Selena groaned, the sound embarrassingly loud. But then, she’d been making embarrassingly loud noises for a while. What was one more?

  The tail stroked in and out, pushing against all the right inner places with glorious friction. Selena’s arms found life, enough to reach up and grab Arga’s shoulders. Her nails pressed against skin, but he didn’t armor. Instead, he sighed and kept mouthing her breasts.

  Some other part—the damned man grew appendages in the blink of an eye—circled her avid clit. Selena’s breath caught, and she kicked the mattress. It circled again, and there was a gentle flick at the tip of her sensitive nub while he continued to worked in and out of her. Two kicks and an arch. Another loud moan.

  He slid up higher against her, grinning like the striped devil he was. Warm brown skin against hers, as if she weren’t hot enough already. His mouth moving against hers, their tongues twining in a serpentine dance. Ah, the wonderful things that tongue did.

  His tail slipped free at the same instant the kiss ended, bringing a pout. “Put it back. Or replace it with something better,” she demanded.

  Arga laughed. “I’ll opt for the ‘something better’,” he agreed. He reached beneath Selena’s hips, cupping her buttocks and tilting her hips up. A moment later, a warm surface broader than his tail prodded her.

  “You seem to prefer it big. Tell me if this is too much.” Arga eased into her, going slowly, carefully. His eyelids fluttered. “Oh, so tight.” The words were more of a growl than a voice.

  Selena clutched harder. He wasn’t
hurting her, but he was larger than usual. Excitingly uncomfortable, which she wouldn’t have thought would make any sense. But it did. He stretched her, and it brought heady delight to the fore.

  Arga rocked back, adjusting Selena’s position to widen her legs. He pushed in again, the slickness easing him in despite the tight fit. A little further, stretching her more. Her breath caught at the incredible sensation. Not comfortable, but definitely enthralling.

  “More,” she encouraged him, wanting to wallow in this oddly uneasy delight. “Faster.”

  Arga shuddered, as if enduring some sort of torment. He did thrust a touch more quickly, going deeper with each stroke. However, compared to previous lovemaking, he was careful. Steady, but cautious. Part of Selena was glad. He had given himself extra girth. There was a deep ache that came with accepting so much. Care was called for. Yet the idea of him pounding all that flesh into her, making her take it, was a riveting fantasy.

  By degrees, she adapted to Arga, sized Extra Large. As her muscles eased around him, he moved quicker. Harder. Selena’s legs had overcome their limp-noodle consistency, and she wrapped them around his plunging and rising buttocks. The adjustment brought him in greater contact with all the best spots, inside and out.

  Thrilling pressure within, exhilarating friction against her clit. Rising passion gave Selena strength, and she rubbed against him, meeting him stroke for stroke. Exhorting him for more, encouraging him to pound against her, their bodies clapping hard together now, culmination rushing forward, almost within reach, only a few more thrusts—

  “Arga!”

  She was there, that bright and shining instant where the world fell away, where there was only a massive jolt of sheer bliss, followed by pulses of heat and sensation. The first blast was swift, breaking over her and receding to make room for its smaller brethren. The pulses shrank in intensity, but they extended for greater stretches, fed by Arga’s gradually slackening pace.