Heart of the Agraak

by S. J. Sanders

  His pelvis tapped the back of her thighs in his steady rhythm, her pussy clenching around him as she practically writhed against him. One tentacle was rubbing and pulsing against the sweet spot within her in time with each thrust while the other flicked erratically in sweeping glides. It was enough to keep her on the edge of an increasingly building orgasm as he rutted into her. Micro-orgasms raced through, igniting her nerves, making her vaginal walls eagerly clench around him with each thrust.

  A low muffled sound rocketed out of Kaede, and his hand moved to her hip, his claws digging into the flesh there as he shifted his angle. The adjustment sent the flared head of his cock deeper into her, where it bumped a sensitive spot exquisitely. Suddenly his tail released her leg to snap around her hips and Frankie could have rejoiced at the light, massaging pressure as it clung to her.

  Kaede’s spines rattled loudly and she could feel the build of his shriek muffled into a sigh as his thrusts grew quicker. His tentacles twitched inside her, vibrating just as his climax hit, and Frankie sank her teeth into Kaede’s hand as her own orgasm ripped through her violently. Throwing back her head she screamed into his hand even as his own rattled sigh and quivering spines surrounded her with every jettison of his hot seed into her.

  At last he shoved home and held still as his cock twitched deep within her and let out its final spurts. He held her there for several minutes, his tail massaging her belly, before he pulled out with a loud, wet sound. She felt his seed slip out of her the moment he pulled free, but then his fingers gathered it up and rubbed into her, massaging her clit as he did so. She groaned and shuddered as another small orgasm rippled through her.

  Her body sated, Kaede gathered her into his arms and drew her down into the bedding with him. She felt his lips against her temple as he curled around her and drew the blankets up around them. He dragged his nose down to her jaw and brushed it there as he inhaled her scent.

  “My heart is yours, agishi,” he whispered.

  Frankie froze and ridiculous tears sprung to her eyes. Of all tender words shared between them, it was the first time he told her that he loved her.

  “I love you too, Kaede,” she whispered back.

  Chapter 31

  “This is most uncomfortable,” the male objected, his scowl pronounced as Kaede tightened the belt of his dupar over his tail.

  “The Agraak of the dome-city do not have tails. Your size will make you visible enough, but many possessing tails will be suspicious,” Kaede growled. “I have worn my tail around my waist for many revolutions. You will survive one day.”

  “At least until battle begins, then I may free it.”

  “Yes, of course,” Kaede hissed with exasperation.

  Frankie watched with some amusement from the sidelines as Kaede helped each warrior, one at a time, to dress in the manner that would make them less perceptible among the crowd. Mogwai was perched on her shoulder as she fondled her stun blaster. Although her plasma pistol was still strapped to her thigh, she always wanted a stun blaster. Less lethal but a longer range than a pistol, it was a good weapon to have where one wanted minimal casualties. This was such an occasion.

  With her pistol at her side and a blaster in her hands, Frankie was feeling good about pretty much everything. She was relaxed and calm, although not all of that could be attributed to the weapons in her hands. She smirked to herself in memory of the night before. Still, training had put an additional spring in her step.

  Training for the village warriors had gone exceptionally well. While some of the warriors were distrustful of the automated weapons, they were comforted by the fact that if there was an error of any kind that there would be no casualties. That helped considerably. The fact that they could keep their personal weapons for inflicting considerable damage also set the males at ease. It didn’t hurt that everyone had been in good spirits with the news that the other dome-cities were reporting the successful arrival of the tribes.

  Though Kaede and Gorul had spent hours with Priest Crix coordinating their efforts, by the time they arrived to begin the blaster training word had spread and the warriors were enthusiastic and ready to learn. The fact that they wore their tails leashed spoke a lot toward the effective leadership of Kaede and Gorul’s cooperative efforts.

  Despite the grumbling, the warriors readied themselves quickly. Although still abnormally large for an Agraak of the dome-city, they at least looked the part. A few managed to hold their postures in ways to make themselves appear shorter. Satisfied that everyone looked passable, Kaede approached her with a long dull robe of a priest. She curled her lip at it.

  “I’m not wearing that.”

  “I will not have this argument again with you. You cannot go as you are. The best option is to disguise your appearance. My scent is on you enough to confuse any males who get close to you. You either go disguised, or you stay here.”

  “Being disguised as a priest isn’t going to let me get sufficiently close to help when the fighting starts. And as much as I know you like that feature, I don’t. I need to be able to do my job.”

  Kaede sighed.

  “And what do you have in mind, agishi?”

  “You chain me with my crewmates as one of the prisoners,”

  She rushed through the words quickly, hoping that Kaede wouldn’t blow a gasket. It certainly looked like a close thing. He got very still, his face darkened, and his claws tightened on the robe.

  “I forbid it!” Kaede snarled.

  “Excuse me?” Frankie shot back. “You forbid it. You think you have the right to forbid me from doing anything?”

  “Yes! We agreed that you would be safe and not put yourself in danger.”

  “You’re imagining something safer than chained to you? Because I’m having a hard time seeing it. What if by some chance someone discovered my ruse and you are on the other side of the market? We have no idea of knowing what could happen.”

  Kaede looked dangerously close to imploding, but she knew that if he thought about it, he’d have to admit she had a point. She waited patiently for that discipline to kick in and saw the exact moment when the fury in his eyes subsided and he looked at her skeptically.

  “Come on—I’m not suicidal. I just don’t feel good about being left in the crowd. You and me, we’re supposed to have each other’s backs. If I am with the other prisoners, it will weigh far more in our favor. Commander Vish is still my commander and I owe him and the crew that much. I need to do everything I can to help get everyone out of there.”

  Her mate didn’t look any happier about that, but he didn’t contest her statement. He knew as well as she did that Commander Vish was in another room with the rest of her crew being shackled as they spoke so that they would have a chance of rescuing their crewmates. Part of her couldn’t help but feel disloyal if she didn’t insist that she join them. Until her commission ended, she was still technically a part of that crew and a Fleet officer. Staying somewhere safe while the rest of them were taken up in chains as supposed prisoners caught by Kaede and “other loyal Agraaks.”

  Kaede huffed, his spines rattling, but their quiver was becoming less pronounced. He looked her over and sighed.

  “Perhaps you speak correctly on this matter. That does not mean that I like it,” he growled. “However, I can concede that it is logical.”

  He snapped his spines and looked away, glaring in the distance before meeting her gaze once more.

  “I will agree to this. Take your gear out of my pack and put it back on. You will not be convincing if you are wearing the anidupar.”

  He said it almost regretfully as if he hated to see her replace her clothing with her armor and fleet uniform. She wasn’t thrilled about it either. She remembered all too well how sweltering it got inside the uniform with the midday heat.

  With a nod, she rushed back into their vestibule. Mogwai chirped from where he sat on a carved pillar, watching her curiously as she rummaged through Kaede’s bag until she found her armor folded up compactly at t
he bottom of it. Setting it aside, she picked up her breast binder and slipped it on, trying to ignore the uncomfortable pinch. After adjusting it a bit in the hopes of making it more comfortable, which it didn’t, Frankie picked her armored uniform bundle back up. Pressing her finger into the code lock, the plating released and expanded so that it covered the fabric of her uniform.

  That part was easy. Wiggling into it was another matter.

  Frankie frowned as she yanked it up. It fit a bit snugger than she remembered. She would have thought with all the fresh food and sex that she would have had the opposite problem. Maybe she was retaining water from the heat.

  With a shrug, she ran a finger down the size regulator that ran along the central seam letting out fabric around her middle so that she could breathe easier. Once she was fitted back into her uniform, she regretfully picked up her anidupar and folded it before setting it on the bench. Glancing up at the bitia, she blew a kiss at her pink fur baby.

  “You just stay in here and behave.”

  She closed the door of the vestibule and hurried back to her mate.

  An hour later she was doubly regretting her decision as the hot sun beat mercilessly down on her as she was walked with one hundred crewmates, cuffed and pulled along on a lead chain that bound them all together. Entering the market was a nightmare. Hostile Agraaks everywhere sneered at her, and more than one spat on her as she passed. She could see the twitch of Kaede’s spines in front of her at the lead of the line but was grateful for his self-control that prevented him from reacting and blowing their cover.

  The merchant’s market trade platform in the center of Aminae was huge. It was nothing like the smaller market which her crew had infiltrated upon arrival. It was big enough that over a hundred stood there awaiting execution with still plenty of room to spare for her and the others on the chain line.

  A sizeable Agraak of the warrior ranik stepped forward to the edge of the platform and glared down at Kaede.

  “What do you have?”

  “Fleet fighters captured by myself and my loyal companions. We bring them before you in hope that we will be honored by acceptance into the warrior ranik... and for the reward posted for Fleet invaders that are apprehended.”

  That last part had been agreed on as necessary by all coordinating the mass rebellion. They wouldn’t be able to linger close to the stage without rousing suspicion if there wasn’t an obvious mercantile reason for their interest.

  The warrior looked him over, taking in Kaede’s plain clothes and dark appearance, and sneered.

  “You certainly need all the help you can get. Very well. Bring them up.”

  The male spit on the ground less than an inch from Kaede’s feet before straightening back up and striding away. Although Kaede didn’t react, Frankie wished she could get her hands on her pistol and shoot the male for implying that her mate was ugly. She glared holes in his back and Kaede jostled her chain. A stern look from him reminded her that she was supposed to be playing the part of the broken captive. She dropped her gaze and shuffled forward with the rest of her crew.

  A forbidding male with deep scars lacerating his face and a bare chest approached to take the lead chain from Kaede. He pulled on the chain sharply causing several those at the fore of the lead, including Frankie, to stumble forward. His harsh laughter grated on her ears as she pushed herself up, hindered by her bound hands.

  Kaede growled but then shoved out his hand. “My reward?”

  The warrior snorted dismissively. “Move to the side of the podium. You will be given your reward after the execution.”

  The answer was expected, but Kaede and the three warriors at his side who he’d handpicked to accompany him growled their frustration. The rest of the tribal warriors and rebels were dispersed among the crowd, waiting for the signal.

  Spines snapping and rattling with an obvious show of irritation, the males slipped away from the stage to the side where they stood within touching distances of marked warriors of high status. Kaede shifted his hand subtly and she pressed her lips together to hide her smirk. For the benefit of the warriors watching him, he’d marked his target—a male next to him wearing metal crimped into his fore-braids as a demonstration of his leadership. Although they’d agreed to use minimal force when fighting against any citizens who became involved in the battle, the ranking members from the Agraak warrior ranik were marked to be quickly dispatched.

  They would not risk mercy toward the males.

  The commander snarled at Kaede, despite the respectful distance kept between them, his spines flaring with aggression. Although she was certain that it took every ounce of his self-control to not respond in kind, Kaede lowered his eyes and stepped to the side. It still kept him within close proximity but the general flared his spines smugly before turning his attention back to the speaker.

  As expected, all attention among those attending from the warrior ranik and the common citizens seemed to be riveted on the Agraak noble making a speech in front of the stage. Although not as small or painfully thin as some of the lower raniks, he wasn’t a terribly impressive sight. His body was lean rather than muscular and possessed a certain grace, especially with his flamboyant bright hue. It made him eye-catching at least as he droned on about the Intergalactic aggressors who’d come to invade their planet, and the Council who, even after their generous offer to return their warriors, refused to leave Agraadax in peace.

  Slowly, so as not to catch anyone’s attention, Frankie slipped a small disc out of her glove. The one nice thing about Union planets was that everyone used much of the same technology, and keyed cuffs were just as rare as traditional lock-and-key doors. Everything ran with magnetic locks. It was for that reason that the demagnetizer made quick work of unlocking her cuffs.

  According to plan, there were two demagnetizers. One she had, and the other was in the possession of Commander Vish at the other end of the chain. While his would make its way up the chain, her duty was to pass hers to the captive soldiers’ chain beside her. Leaning into a male at her right, a Forad with a scarlet mane of fur, she brushed her cuffed hands against his. His green eyes flicked to her in surprise, but once the demagnetizer came in contact with the pads of his fingers, a smug look of understanding flashed over his features before he schooled them once more into an empty expression.

  When the commander’s demagnetizer ended up in her hand, she slipped it into her glove and waited for the sign. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a produce cart hover near the stage under the direction of a familiar statuesque female. Right on time. She caught Frankie’s eye and winked, one hand patting on the cart that, beneath a tarp-like sheet, was loaded with weapons. Frankie closed both of her eyes to show that she understood. She was about to risk signaling Kaede when a pink blur caught her eye.

  She turned to stare at a familiar bitia running along the parapets, eaves, and angular columns of buildings as it scurried... directly toward her. His tail was held high as he bounded on his six little legs.

  She glanced over at Kaede and saw him also watching Mogwai, his spines partially raised in surprise. He met her eyes and she blinked twice to give him the signal. He nodded and snapped his spines five times as he loosened his belt with two fingers. Almost instantly, his tail slid free and whipped through the air, the sharp point burrowing into the neck of the Agraak commander next to him. The male gurgled as blood spewed from his mouth, his eyes wide. The males with Kaede erupted into violence, each taking down their own target among the military elites who had come to witness the event.

  Shaking off her cuffs, Frankie raced forward and leaped off the stage, her crew rushing close at her heels as they headed for the cart. All except the Arobi, who furiously swung through the streets, heading for the Arobi breeding pens to free their own kin. She silently wished them well as she drew up beside the Itashvanda. Emagul gripped one end of the canvas beneath the fruits and, with a bulge of his biceps, he snapped it up, sending fruit flying through the air. Frankie grabbed a pistol and
blaster, and tore away from the cart, her eyes searching for Kaede.

  Holstering her pistol, she gripped her blaster with both hands and raced along the length of the stage. When she finally spotted him, he was feet from the end of the stage, his flesh reddened with blood. Although he was firing with the blaster, it was obvious that he’d made quick, brutal work of his opponents where it was necessary.

  Frankie drew up her blaster and aimed at a swarm of young recruits, no doubt what existed now of the honor block, came rushing at Kaede. With the attack on the warrior ranik and the swift blow to their numbers, it was no wonder that the honor block would be called in wherever they had them waiting on standby, likely to deal with potential unruly crowds.

  She smirked. This was about as unruly as it got. The sounds of blasters, pistols, and the raging calls of the Agraaks lent a strange, savage symphony to the air.

  With precision, she shot one and then another, their bodies stiffening before falling to the ground. Small spasms quaked through them until they lay still, staring vacantly at the sky. They looked almost dead, but she knew better. As part of her training, she’d been hit with a stun blaster. It hurt like a bitch and was a bit scary being unable to move or respond, but it didn’t do any real damage.

  A movement caught her attention and she gave a feral smile as she saw the noble, with his ridiculously long dupar practically dragging on the ground between his ankles, scurrying behind the stage in an effort to escape. He was heading for his flyer a short distance away.

  Hefting her blaster, she edged closer for a better shot. It wouldn’t do her much good to merely numb an arm or a leg. It wouldn’t stop him from getting away. She took aim as she rounded the corner of the stage, smiling in satisfaction as he put his hands up as if to ward off her attack. Her smile faltered when a large body stepped between them. He was so close that she could feel his breath touching her.

  Of all the possibilities of what she might face, she hadn’t expected the scarred brute who’d thrown her on stage to still be lurking there. She’d been wrong when she imagined that he’d fallen amid the others of the warrior ranik who now lay bleeding on the cobblestones. She certainly didn’t know how he’d managed to hide himself.