Zaedon's Kiss: Sci-fi Alien Romance (Ketaurran Warriors Book 3)

by Rayna Tyler

  He lowered his darkening turquoise gaze to my chest. “I believe I know exactly where to start.” One by one, he undid the fastenings on my shirt, then slowly peeled back the fabric until he’d exposed my breasts. He cupped one mound in his palm, brushing his thumb across the nipple before sucking it into his mouth. He took his time teasing the bud with his tongue, drawing out my whimpers until I shuddered beneath his touch.

  By the time he finished with one and moved to the other, I was squirming on his lap, ready for him to take care of the steadily growing ache in the sensitive area between my legs.

  “Do you have another question?”

  It took me a moment to realize he’d moved his hands to my hips and was no longer proving his expertise with his tongue. So far, his skills were impressive, but the sooner he took care of the fire he’d started in other parts of my body, the happier I’d be. “Are the scales on your chest as sensitive as the ones on your tail?”

  “Perhaps I should let you discover the answer for yourself.” He had his shirt off in seconds, then leaned back with his hands braced on the ground.

  Never one to pass up a challenge, I ran my hands over the smooth blue scales covering well-defined muscles. He sucked in a breath when I reached his abdomen, so naturally, I was encouraged to go lower.

  I slipped my fingers below the waist of his pants, skimming skin and the tip of his erection.

  “Cara.” He wrapped his hands around my wrist to stop me. “That is not my chest.”

  “Fine.” If the smug, arrogant male was determined to make me follow the rules I’d set, then I’d have to ask the right questions to get what I wanted. “Do your scales go all the way down the front of your legs, or do they stop at your waist?”

  Zaedon chuckled. “Is that your way of saying you would like to see me naked?”

  “Actually, I wanted to know what it felt like to have your skin next to mine, but I’ll understand if you have a problem with taking off your clothes.”

  “Why did you not say so sooner?” Mischief glinted in his gaze, and the next thing I knew, I was on my back, my boots removed, and Zaedon was pulling my pants over my ankles.

  I sat up to remove my shirt, amazed by how fast he’d removed his own clothes and tossed them aside.

  He sat on his haunches, making it hard not to notice his quite impressive male parts or that the scales on his chest extended to the front of his thighs. “If that particular skill meets your satisfaction, I will be happy to move on to your next inquiry.”

  “It does, and you can.”

  “You are so beautiful.” He caressed my ankles, then ran his hands along my legs, spreading them as he inched higher. By the time he reached my hips, heat surged through my entire body. He seemed to have an uncanny way of knowing what I needed. He leaned forward, pressing kisses along my abdomen at the same time he teased my opening, then gently slipped his finger inside me.

  “Zaedon, please.” I moaned, arching my back and pushing against his hand, needing more than what he was giving me.

  “Was there a question, vrincorra?” He pulled out his finger, then entered me again with two.

  I could barely think, let alone devise another question, yet I knew he would continue to torture me if I didn’t give him what he wanted. “I…yes. How do I know you are skilled with your shaft unless you’re willing to show me?” As far as questions went, it sounded okay and was the best I could do under the circumstances.

  “Another demonstration, then?” His smoldering gaze held mine.

  “Yes,” I murmured.

  He removed his fingers, settling his hips between my legs, the tip of his erection pressed against my opening. He wrapped his tail around my ankle, then pushed into me hard and deep. I moaned, digging my nails in his back, reveling in the feel of finally having him inside me.

  The pace of his thrusts started out slow, then built in speed the closer I got to my release. He understood my body, knew what I needed. As soon as he changed the angle of his thrust, hit the spot that gave me the most pleasure, an orgasm like I’d never experienced before rippled through me.

  After several hard pushes, Zaedon reached his own climax. He took a moment to catch his breath, then rolled onto his side, taking me with him. With a smile, he brushed the curls off my face. “Any more questions?”

  “Nothing comes to mind at the moment.” I snuggled closer.

  “Should that change…”

  “You will be the first to know,” I said.

  “Good.” He wrapped his tail around the backs of my legs and closed his eyes.

  Ever since I’d learned about Doyle’s bounty, getting a stress-free night of sleep had been difficult. Being curled up next to Zaedon was the safest and most relaxed I’d felt in a long time. With the sound of rainfall beating steadily outside, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cara

  Even on the hard ground, a night spent entangled with Zaedon’s body had been wonderful. I had no interest in leaving his arms, until I thought I heard someone outside, and jolted fully awake.

  “They have to be around here somewhere.” It was definitely Laria’s voice, and judging by the clarity, she wasn’t far from the cave’s entrance.

  “Zaedon, wake up,” I whispered, then patted his chest when he wouldn’t budge.

  “Do you have more questions?” His tail snaked across the back of my legs, and he tightened his grip around my waist. “Or perhaps your lips require more testing.”

  I tried wiggling out of his grasp. “No, we need to get up and get dressed because our friends are outside.”

  Zaedon’s eyes flew open, and he stared at the cave’s narrow opening. “Which friends?”

  “Found ’em.” Sloane squatted on the ledge outside the entrance, beaming with a mischievous grin that added dimples to her rounded cheeks. “Hey, guys.”

  “Those friends,” I said with a forced smile.

  “Sloane, I do not think it is a good idea to intrude.” Jardun’s deep voice sounded close, and, though I couldn’t see him, he had to be standing nearby.

  “Remember our discussion about boundaries,” Laria added without coming into view.

  Sloane dismissed Laria, who I assumed was standing on her right, with a swipe of her hand. “It’s not like I’m crawling inside with them or anything.” She glanced around the cave’s interior. “Though it is pretty cozy in here. Not at all what I imagined when Ellie said you might be sleeping near the fields.”

  “So, why are you guys here?” I had a feeling the visit didn’t have anything to do with being social.

  “Why don’t you get dressed first, then we can talk,” Laria answered.

  “We’ll be out just as soon as someone gives us some privacy.” I glared at Sloane, who hadn’t moved or taken the hint, because she was too busy leering at Zaedon. Not that I could blame her for staring. Zaedon was quite the sight without a shirt covering his chest. But he was my male, and I wasn’t into sharing visuals with my friends, even if his male parts were covered by the blanket.

  “Sloane,” Laria insisted when she didn’t move.

  “All right, geez.” She got to her feet and moved away from the opening. “Laria, did you know that Zaedon’s kind of hot when he’s not wearing a shirt?”

  I was pretty sure the growl I heard came from Jardun.

  “Really?” Laria scolded. “You know Cara can hear you, right?”

  “Why should she care? I’m sure she has firsthand knowledge of what he looks like naked if she spent the night with him,” Sloane said offhandedly.

  Even from inside the cave, I could hear Laria’s exasperated sigh. “Let’s go before Cara decides to strangle you with your braid and I offer to help her.”

  After a minute or so of silence, Zaedon pulled me into his arms. “I had hoped to keep you to myself a little longer.” He caressed the back of my thigh with his tail. “Perhaps enjoy further exploration of your beautiful body.”

  Laria poked her head int
o the cave’s opening, her honey-blonde braid sliding off her shoulder. “Explore later. We need to get going.”

  It was my turn to groan, and if I could have reached something to throw, I would have. “Laria, I swear you’re worse than Sloane.”

  “Hey, I heard that.” Sloane’s teasing voice filtered in from outside.

  Laria disappeared, and a few seconds later, I heard my friend’s giggles fading, assuring me that they’d really started their descent down the boulders this time.

  With thoughts of causing my closest friends bodily harm playing through my mind, I removed my half of the blanket and reached for my clothes.

  Jardun was the leader of the vryndarr, and Khyron rarely went anywhere without him. It had to be something serious if he was here without the drezdarr. I didn’t think Zaedon would keep anything from me, but I couldn’t help asking anyway. “Any idea why they’re here?”

  “No, but whatever the reason, we will deal with it together.”

  If he’d told me that a few weeks ago, I would’ve cringed and argued that I didn’t need his help. Now, things were different, and hearing that he had no intention of leaving my side warmed me to my core.

  He handed me my boots along with the dagger I’d gotten from Des. “I thought I’d lost it.”

  “I know you prefer to use your body as a weapon, but since you have a penchant for attracting danger, I thought you might need it in the future.”

  “If I recall, I’m not the only one who seems to get into trouble. Are you sure you don’t want to keep it?” I asked with a smirk, then slipped the dagger into the sheath hidden inside my boot.

  He replied with a grunt, then tugged on his own boots. Once I finished dressing, I swiped my hand through my hair, trying to make it look decent. I missed the longer, more manageable lengths. The shorter, rebellious curls had a tendency to go in all directions after I’d slept on them.

  Zaedon smiled at what I considered a failed attempt. “The wild look suits you.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead, wiping away all thoughts of smacking him. “Are you ready?” He’d finished stuffing the bags with our supplies and set them near the entrance.

  “I guess.” I bent forward to get through the opening and stepped out into the morning sun, glad the storm had passed during the night. I waited for Zaedon to join me, then started the descent along the boulders.

  Jardun, Laria, and Sloane were the only ones waiting for us when we reached the bottom. With threats against his life, I didn’t expect to see Khyron and knew that Celeste wouldn’t go anywhere without him.

  “How is Celeste adapting to her new role as the drezdarrina?” Since Celeste was Khyron’s ketiorra, not only had he offered to make their joining official by giving her a human wedding, but he’d also asked her to be the female equivalent of a drezdarr, to rule by his side with a common goal of uniting the ketaurrans and the humans.

  “I haven’t noticed anything different about Celeste as far as the ruler thing, but since the luzardee attack, she has gotten worse than Thrayn when it comes to protecting Khyron.” Laria’s grin insinuated there were some stories she wanted to share, but wouldn’t do it in front of the males.

  I gave Sloane an inquiring glance. “What did you do with Garyck?” Since the mission to rescue Vurell from Doyle’s compound in the Quaddrien, it was rare not to see the grumpy ketaurran male somewhere in Sloane’s general vicinity.

  “Why are you asking me? It’s not like we’re together or anything.” The regret I heard in her voice was subtle, fleeting, and quickly masked. “Although…” Sloane didn’t need to finish for the rest of us to understand, not after she showed us the jeweled metal band Garyck always wore on his arm.

  Sloane never talked about her life during the war before she reconnected with Laria and Celeste. Sometime during those years, she developed an ability for acquiring things that didn’t belong to her. Her talent was admirable, but I had no idea why she taunted Garyck with it by continually taking his band. Of all the vryndarr, he had to be the deadliest and least approachable, yet for some unknown reason, he tolerated Sloane’s antics.

  Laria pinched the bridge of her nose and had to be wondering what kind of trouble Sloane’s latest exploit was going to cause.

  Jardun appeared mildly amused. “I asked Garyck to stay behind with Thrayn.” His gaze went from me to Zaedon’s hand resting on the small of my back. “You look well, my friend. It appears your new role agrees with you.”

  “The transition was extremely difficult, but well worth it,” Zaedon said.

  I knew he was referring to me specifically, and not his job as my bodyguard. When the wide grin Zaedon gave me included a wink, I returned it with an elbow to his ribs.

  “Vrincorra.” He groaned and rubbed his side. “Is that any way for a ketiorra to treat her male?”

  “It is if you’re this ketiorra and the male has a tendency to exaggerate.”

  Laria leaned against Jardun, slipping her arm behind his back. “I’m glad to see they finally worked things out.”

  Jardun laughed. “It appears to be an ongoing process.”

  “If you two are through, mind telling us what you’re doing here?” I asked. “I’m guessing you didn’t make the trip all the way out here just to check up on us.” Zaedon moved closer, returning his hand to the small of my back.

  “Khyron sent us to bring you both to Aztrashar,” Jardun said, the humor leaving his face.

  “Not the settlement? Why, what has changed?” Zaedon’s tone emulated the dread coursing through my body.

  “Does it have anything to do with Doyle? Does he know where I am?” After what happened in Golyndier, I’d been worried he might discover where I was staying.

  Of all my friends, Laria understood me the best and knew I be worried about my grandparents. She placed a comforting hand on my arm. “Don’t worry, the last we heard, Doyle didn’t know where you were, so Ellie and Isaac should be safe.”

  “Maybe not.” I took the next few minutes to explain about Derrick and the merc he’d invited into the community.

  “Well, that’s not good.” Sloane furrowed her brows. “Please tell me you took care of them.”

  I didn’t have to ask for more of an explanation to understand the true meaning of her question. “Isaac and the other community leaders are handling the situation with Derrick and Mike.”

  “And the merc?” Jardun asked.

  “The male planned to sell me into slavery,” Zaedon said. “I believe he has valuable information we need and should be delivered to Burke for interrogation.”

  He might appear unaffected by what had happened the day before, but I could feel his hand tense through the back of my shirt.

  The conversation had taken a slight detour, and I still didn’t know what had prompted Khyron’s request. “Did Khyron say why he wants us in the city?”

  “As you are aware, Khyron left Raytan in charge of his residence before we left to find Celeste at the settlement. We received word yesterday that he had critical information regarding Doyle, but would only share it in person.”

  “Promising news, I hope.” I was relieved to hear that my family and the residents of the farming community would be safe for the time being. I was hopeful that whatever Raytan had learned about Doyle would lead to the bounty being removed from my head. Of course, Doyle would have to stop breathing for that to happen.

  “We don’t know, but we should get going.” Laria tipped her head in the general direction of where we’d left the mini.

  “Do we have time to stop by my grandparents’ place first? I need a shower and to pack some clean clothes.”

  “Maybe you should bring along that hat you were wearing when we found you in the wastelands.” Sloane raised a brow at my wild curls.

  The hat she referred to had been part of my disguise when I was pretending to be a boy. “Remind me again why I tell everyone you’re my friend?”

  Sloane responded with a smirk.

  The camaraderie and
playful banter with my friends went a long way toward relieving some of my stress and made the hike back to the transport seem short.

  “Where’s the mini?” I asked when the only vehicle I saw was a solarveyor.

  “Josh rode out with us and drove it back to the village,” Laria said as she opened the vehicle’s door.

  As soon as we were all inside, Jardun walked to the rear of the transport, returning with a sealed container. “Ellie instructed me to give this to Zaedon. She stated something about him being a growing boy and needing these for strength.” After rolling his gaze over Zaedon as if he was checking for any change in his appearance, he handed him the container. “You do not look any different to me, so it is unclear why she would think such a thing.”

  Laria laughed, then sat in the chair closest to the controls. “It’s a human thing.” She patted the seat beside her. “Come sit down, and I’ll explain it on the way.”

  ***

  Zaedon

  “This is really good.” Sloane took another bite of the piece of meat she’d snatched off a platter sitting on the counter in Ellie’s kitchen. I sat at the table with Jardun, Laria, and Isaac, sipping a cup of freegea and waiting for Cara to finish preparing for the trip to Aztrashar.

  If Laria and Sloane had not chased me out of Cara’s room earlier, stating they needed to do some female bonding with their friend, I would have enjoyed doing some bonding of my own while we bathed and taken longer to get ready.

  “Thank you,” Ellie said, holding out a plate of freshly made pyteinnas to Jardun. It seemed she believed he was a growing boy as well.

  “Not that I was worried, but did you have a problem with the mini?” Ellie asked, her question directed at me. “Is that why you and Cara didn’t come home last night?”

  “The solars were drained, weren’t they?” Isaac scratched the stubble on his chin, answering for me. “Those smaller vehicles get a lot of use during the harvest. Even with good weather, they have a hard time keeping up.”