As we stroll through the jungle, he walks me through the basics, and I almost start to get it, although I’ve never been much of a tech person. It’s really beginning to sink in how completely out of my element I’m going to be while we’re in Lenkarda, and as much as that terrifies me, I am also deeply excited at the thought of such a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Eventually we arrive in another clearing, with what looks like a larger version of the pod we flew here in. Again, a door-sized portion of the wall disintegrates when Verit approaches it.
“This is cool as shit,” I say, trying to peer closer at the cross-section of the wall as I pass through. “Will it open like that for me too?”
“Of course,” Verit says. “Welcome to my home, Ari.”
Again, the inside is very similar to the pod. The walls are transparent, and floating beige planks of varying sizes replace the furniture I would typically expect in a human house. I imagine if I were to sit on one, it would immediately shape itself to the curves of my body.
“Is it too much?” Verit asks from what may or may not be the dining area. “I can fabricate some human furniture, if that would make you more comfortable.”
“Thanks, but I like it like this,” I say truthfully. Who would visit an alien compound and not want to experience it in its truest form? That would be like traveling across the world and ordering a hot dog and fries.
Verit watches with some amusement as I walk around his home slowly, peeking in every corner, running my fingers along the walls, sitting on every surface.
“This is incredible,” I say at last, rejoining him. “I’m in a K house. In Lenkarda. With a K. Oh god, my parents would kill me if they knew.”
Verit laughs. “Would you like some dinner? You must be starving.”
“I kind of want dessert first,” I say, hopping up on what I think is the table and kicking my shoes off.
“Dessert?” Verit steps toward me, eyebrow cocked.
“Mhmm,” I say, pulling him the rest of the way toward me by the lapels. “I’m in a K house. In Lenkarda. With a K. I’m practically in another world. Now I want an otherworldly fuck.”
We spend most of the morning rolling around in bed—which is crazy, since I’m pretty sure we were up practically all night doing the same. Verit provided an earth-shattering, otherworldly fuck as requested, intoxicating bite and all.
“Ready to go to the beach?” Verit asks as I emerge from possibly the best shower of my life.
“Damn, I almost would have skipped the past dozen orgasms if it meant getting to the beach faster,” I tease, rummaging through my bag for a bikini. “Almost.”
“How about one more for the road?”
I squeal as Verit sweeps me up and tosses me on the bed, and we’re both smiling as he leans in for a kiss.
Oh god, the beach is glorious. The sun on my face, the sand between my toes, the salty breeze… life should never feel any less perfect than this. It’s all I can do not to close my eyes and spin with my arms outstretched like I’m in a commercial for antidepressants.
The beach isn’t exactly crowded, but we do run into a few other people as we walk along the water. A glistening male K freshly emerged from a swim, who Verit introduces to me as Juron, a male and female pair sitting in the sand who he doesn’t seem to know personally but greets cordially in a foreign language I don’t recognize, and a very blonde, very human woman who waves at us with a gentle smile as she jogs by.
We finally pause for a swim of our own, leaving kicked-off shoes and a pile of clothes on the beach and racing each other into the water. Splashing around and giggling with my K, gasping as he picks me up and kisses me deeply in the surf, I find myself thinking not for the first time, I could get used to this.
“Ari? Ariana Sandoval?”
It takes me a minute to respond to my own name, because this is the very last place on Earth I would ever expect to hear it. Verit sets me down, and I shade my eyes and peer at the shore.
“Who is that?” Verit asks pleasantly, waving at the figure. He’s truly in his element here, among his people.
“I’m not sure,” I say, starting to walk back to the shore.
“Ari?” the figure calls out again, and as I approach, the familiarity of her face suddenly falls into place. “It’s me, R—”
“Raquel!” I finish, running the rest of the way to her and meeting her in a hug.
Raquel and I met our first year of college, way back when I was still on a pre-law track. We stayed friends even after I changed my mind, although we grew apart when she went to law school on the West Coast. Last I heard, she was a badass public defender in LA, before randomly dropping off the grid a few months ago.
“Holy shit, what are you doing here?” I ask when we break apart, still completely taken aback by this surprise meeting.
“I live here,” Raquel says, beaming. Then with a giggle, she comically smacks her forehead. “Oh god, sorry. This is Maur, my cheren. Maur, this is an old friend of mine, Ari.”
Cheren? She gestures to the tall K standing just a few feet away from us, who I somehow hadn’t noticed in all the excitement. The beautiful woman brushes her long dark hair behind one ear and greets me with a silent but friendly nod.
“Are you a charl too? Is this your cheren?” she continues in that almost-bubbly manner that is so far removed from the high-strung, perpetually stressed Raquel I knew, I almost wonder if this is even the same woman. She’s gesturing at Verit, who is currently emerging from the sea behind us like a fucking Greek god.
“Um, I don’t…” I trail off, completely lost, but Verit picks up the slack.
“Ariana and I are only here for a brief visit,” he explains. “I’m sorry, I missed the introductions. I’m Verit.”
The three of them do introductions, although it turns out Verit and Maur already know each other, while I stand slightly to the side, somehow feeling even more like an outsider than I did before.
“Verit, do you mind if I steal Ari away for a quick catch-up?” Raquel asks. “We haven’t seen each other in years.”
“Of course,” Verit says, motioning to Maur. “I wouldn’t mind the chance to catch up with Maur as well.”
I barely have chance to grab my tank top off the sand before Raquel is dragging me away down the beach.
“Damn, Ari, you landed yourself a hot one,” she says in a loud stage whisper, pulling me in with a conspiratorial smile as I pull the sandy top on over my soaked bikini. I just roll my eyes in response, not sure I want to jump to that part of the conversation quite yet.
“Raquel, you look great,” I say instead, and I mean it. She’s practically glowing.
“Turns out the charl life really suits me,” she says with a beaming smile, and my world tilts a little bit to the left. It’s not like Raquel and I have been very close recently, but this new information has really pulled the floor out from beneath me. She’s the last person I ever would have expected to wind up a charl. Strong, mentally and physically. Smart, independent, iron-willed. I always seriously admired her. And now, she’s a charl, swept off to Costa Rica in secret like so many others.
If they got to a woman like her, how do I even stand a chance?
“How long have you been here?” I ask, trying to shake my spiraling thoughts.
“I guess it’s been a few months now, I’ve lost track of time a little,” she giggles, meaning she’s officially giggled more today than in all the years I knew her. “I’d been with Maur for almost a year before that, but it took me a while to work up the courage to commit to the big move. Best decision I ever made. How about you? How long have you been with Verit?”
“Um, just a couple months, I guess,” I say, as we settle onto a washed-up log just out of reach of the lapping tide, smooth as stone from saltwater and wind. “But, we’re not really together-together. It’s just a fling of sorts.”
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Raquel looks at me sideways, a knowing look on her face. I’m still reconciling this carefree Raquel with the one I used to know, but she’s picked up right where we left off.
“Ari, come on,” she says, her tone teasing but her words serious. “You know that’s not true, right? Ks don’t bring flings to Lenkarda.”
“Fuck,” I say aloud, although I only meant to think it. I bury my face in my hands, groaning in frustration and a certain degree of fear. “Shit. That’s what I was afraid of, but I told myself I was just being paranoid. I told him… I fucking told him I didn’t want anything serious. I don’t want… No offense, honestly, but I really, really don’t want to become a charl. I just… It was never supposed to end like this.”
Raquel waits quietly, letting me speak, and then letting me sit in my words.
“I mean, it hasn’t ended yet,” she says finally, reaching out and gently setting a warm hand on my shoulder. “And if Verit hasn’t forced you to become his charl yet, I imagine he probably never will. Force you, I mean. He wants you to want it, too. And maybe he’s not even there yet himself, I don’t know. But he brought you here, so it’s not just a fling to him, not anymore. And I saw the way you looked at him, even just in that minute I could tell. It’s not a fling to you anymore, either. I bet it hasn’t been for a long time.”
“Raquel, I can’t fall for a K,” I choke out, my heart in my throat. “I just can’t.”
“What are you so afraid of?” Raquel asks, pulling my face from my hands, and forcing me to look her in the eyes. “Are you afraid because he’s cruel to you? Are you afraid because you think he’s not the one? Or are you afraid because you think you’re supposed to be?”
I hold her gaze for a long moment, before tearing my eyes away, overwhelmed with emotion.
“Listen, Ari, I don’t think I have to tell you that being a charl isn’t that bad, not at all. I mean, just look at me. I’ve never been happier, healthier, better, not in my whole life. And I can introduce you to a dozen other charl here who will all tell you the same. I remember all the rumors and the whispers, but that’s all they are. Humans fear what they don’t understand. But just look at me, look at me and understand.”
“Raquel, I’m so scared,” I whisper, blinking back tears. I repeat the only clear thought circling in my brain. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this.”
“And I’m telling you,” she says, standing and reaching down to help me up. “It’s not ending. This is only just beginning for you.”
Verit and I head back to his home for lunch, and if he notices I’m a little bit off, a little bit quiet, he doesn’t bring it up. After probably the best salad I’ve ever had, which floated down to us by the same technology I keep having to remind myself isn’t actual magic, Verit shows off more of his fun toys. He speaks a foreign language at a thin tablet, and the device projects a huge, 3D version of a Star Wars film—the man is seriously hooked. After the movie, he creates a simulation of the Millennium Falcon, that looks even more realistic than the original set. And then, something I never would’ve dreamed of in a million years: my alien lover fucks me against the walls of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
“And this, this is a fabricator,” he says, stopping me from pulling my tank and shorts back on after. With the device, he creates a yellow sundress seemingly out of thin air. I pull it on over my naked body, and the material is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Comfortable, lightweight, and flattering. “I noticed you wear a lot of yellow, especially when you’re in a good mood.”
“I guess I do,” I say, running my hands down my body, still fascinated by the texture. “Thank you, Verit, this is incredible. This whole day has been incredible.”
“It’s not over yet,” he says with a smile, and it takes me a second to conjure up one of my own. “Ready for dinner?”
We return to the beach, with Verit carrying a picnic basket straight out of an old timey movie. The beach wasn’t exactly crowded this afternoon, but now it seems completely deserted. He stretches out a blanket over the sand, and we watch the sunset while sipping expensive champagne and eating the freshest strawberries I’ve ever had.
The sunset is exquisite, but I can hardly see it, the landscape blurred by tear-filled eyes.
“You’re unhappy,” Verit says, not exactly a question.
“No. Yes. I mean…” I trail off, blinking fast in a desperate attempt to clear my overemotional tear ducts. “This has been one of the best days ever. We have so much fun together, and I love discovering more and more about your people and your technology. But, I think maybe this thing between us has gotten away from me a little bit. I know we agreed to keep it casual, but lately… I can’t stop thinking about you. Not ever. I miss you when you’re not around, even if it’s just for a day, an hour, a minute. It terrifies me, but I want… I don’t know exactly what I want, but I want more. More time with you, more days like this, more everything. I don’t even know if you feel the same way, maybe you don’t at all, but…”
I can’t speak, my tongue tied with too many things to say and no more words to express them. He catches my hand, slowly tracing the lines across my palm with warm fingers as he talks.
“You captivate me, Ariana. No other woman, human or K, has caught my attention this way before. You’re a challenge. You’re a puzzle. You keep me on my toes. I’ve never been with anyone quite like you. I could never go back to the women I used to prefer. And even if we aren’t meant to be forever, you’ve changed me for life, left an indelible mark on me. But if we are, I think we could be something great together, something real, something lasting.”
I’m crying for real now, silently, motionless, completely overcome with emotion, and he waits patiently until I compose myself enough to speak.
“Do you want to make me your charl?” I ask, barely above a whisper, not sure if I’m more afraid of a yes or a no.
There’s a beat before he answers, with a question of his own.
“Is that what you want, Ari?”
“I’m not sure,” I say honestly. “I’m not as afraid as I used to be. But we’ve only known each other for a couple months, I’m not sure I’m ready to commit a literal eternity to this, not yet.”
“I agree,” Verit says, brows knit together in fierce seriousness. “But if we want this relationship to progress, to evolve into something more, I think that it has to be a possible outcome. Is it?”
I’m quiet for a long minute, thinking it over. I’m still terrified of the idea of losing my humanity, of giving my entire self to a K, of taking an action many would consider a deep betrayal to my species. But, with Verit’s large hands wrapped tightly around my small ones, his ever-incandescent eyes tenderly holding mine, my fears melt away. He cares for me, genuinely, no matter what others may think. He would never take anything from me that wasn’t willingly offered. Everything changed the second the Krinar landed on our planet, all those years ago, and it’s time we all caught up to the new status quo.
“It is,” I say, taking a deep breath. “It definitely is.”
He kisses me, with all the fire and intensity and potential that hangs heavy in the air between us.
“So we’re doing this,” he says, as if to confirm it to himself, and there it is, that honey-silk voice that first attracted me to this beautiful creature, that still sweeps me off my feet after all this time, and I know I made the right decision.
“Wait, does this mean the game is over?” I ask, suddenly remembering how this crazy rollercoaster first began.
Verit thinks it over for a moment.
“Perhaps, in a way. We can play for fun, but I don’t think we need rules anymore. We’re on the same team now. We just do what we want, when it feels right.”
“I like that,” I say, smiling. “And I think I know what we want right now.”
That night, on the beach, has nothing to prove. It’s not r
ough, it’s not possessive, it’s not a power struggle. It’s slow, and tender, two bodies moving completely in sync, a symphony of quiet moans and murmurs.
It might be the end of the game.
But it’s just the beginning of us.
Thank you for reading Domination Games! If you enjoyed Ari and Verit’s story, I hope you consider leaving a review on Amazon. As a new author, every review really helps me out! You can also check out some of the other great stories in the Krinar World, including Submission Games, my companion novella to Domination Games, and Girls on the Run, my series of short Krinar vignettes.
To drop me a line, follow me on social media, or find out when my next story is coming out, you can visit my website at www.francescabaez.com.
Flip the page for a sneak peek from Submission Games!
“That’s better now, isn’t it?” the K asks, as I wrap myself up in the giant, fluffy towel he handed me. I don’t have the time or patience to ask why he was already prepared to deal with a dripping wet captive. I’m going to be at least an hour late to work, assuming this conversation goes fast and doesn’t end with my kidnapping-slash-murder. If I don’t stop mouthing off so much, it’ll probably be the latter.
I take a deep breath and force myself to chill out a little.
“What are you doing here?” I ask again, this time with a fraction less hostility. “I thought we had an arrangement.”
“We did,” the creature purrs, smooth as velvet. “But that was before I knew how fun you and your sweet little pussy were going to be.”
I immediately turn crimson, glancing up at the driver, but he either doesn’t hear or doesn’t care about the pornographic conversation taking place in his backseat.
“Noelle,” the K says, somehow stretching out my name into winding silk ribbon that seems to squeeze the breath out of my lungs. “I know you had fun that night, too.”
I don’t want to reply to that, to give him the satisfaction of confirming what he already knows. Instead, I pull the towel tighter around myself and glare back up at the looming figure.
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