I nodded, swallowed hard, then let him lift me into the pod. When the lid closed, I whimpered and locked my gaze on K-Tan’s. I knew he could see the fear on my face because his features softened as he gazed back at me. He lifted a hand and placed it on the pod before pressing a sequence of buttons that would begin the scan.
I tried to keep calm, but it wasn’t easy. He frowned at the readout, then pressed more buttons. His gaze flickered over to me and I saw regret in his eyes, then a mist began to fill the pod and everything grew hazy. I didn’t go completely to sleep, but I felt really good, and extremely calm.
The pod hummed and I felt a slight vibration. I didn’t know what it was doing, or why. Whatever it had dosed me with made it so I didn’t really care. I lost track of time as I drifted and watched my mate. He alternated between studying the readout on the pod, glancing at me, and occasionally pacing. By the time the lid opened and K-Tan lifted me out, I was so relaxed I was close to falling asleep.
“What happened?” I asked, hearing my words slur a little.
“There was more damage than just a bruised cheek, and the babies were depleting the nutrients in your body. Whatever you’ve been eating, it isn’t enough to sustain the four of you. I had the pod repair your body and one of the mists that you breathed in was packed with vitamins.”
My hand went to my belly. K-Tan placed his over mine and gave me a tender look.
“The babies are fine,” he assured me. “But I think they’re going to take a bigger toll on you than I realized. You’ll need to let the pod do another scan in a few cycles, just to be safe.”
“How much longer until we reach Elora?” I asked.
He took my hand and led me to the small command center. My stomach pitched as I stared out at all the space surrounding us. It was frightening, knowing we weren’t on solid ground.
My ancestors might have crashed on X-2, the spacecraft they’d arrived in was long gone by the time I was born, stripped for parts mostly, and the rest had been destroyed by time and the weather. I’d never had the option of leaving X-2, and had only ever walked anywhere I needed to go.
While the men at the settlement used some of the vehicles meant for the surface of the planet, as a woman, I’d never been permitted to ride in one.
K-Tan did something to the panel of buttons and a bunch of text appeared on a large screen. Not that I understood any of it. I assumed it was in his language, but even if it had been in my language it wouldn’t have mattered. I hadn’t been taught to read or write in any language.
It wasn’t like we’d had books or those fancy devices like K-Tan carried with him. I hadn’t thought I was missing out on anything, until now. I stared at the scribbles on the screen and wished I could understand what they meant.
“You look both sad and angry,” K-Tan said. “I’m not quite certain how you managed to pull that off. What’s wrong, my mate?”
“I don’t know how to read that,” I said, waving a hand at the screen.
“My language is not one you would have seen or heard before. I can teach you, if you’d like, but it could take a while. Elorian is much more complex than your Earth languages.”
“I can’t read or write any language,” I admitted, feeling like I was inferior in some way. K-Tan knew many languages, and I could only speak one. I didn’t understand what he saw in someone like me.
K-Tan lifted my hand and kissed the back of it before placing another kiss in the center of my palm. “I will teach you anything you’d like to learn,” he said. “I love you, Marcy, and I want you to enjoy your new life. If learning to read and write, or speak other languages, will make you happy, then we’ll work on that whenever you’re ready.”
I nodded, but inside my stomach flipped and my heart fluttered. It still amazed me when he said or did something thoughtful. I looked at the screen again. “What’s it say?”
“We crossed the tail end of an asteroid field, and the gravitational pull actually worked in our favor. I’d been concerned that such a thing would happen while I was in the pod and it would throw us off course, but the opposite happened. We hit it at just the right angle that it propelled the ship a little faster for half a cycle. We should reach Elora within five solar cycles.”
“So long? I feel like I’m going a little crazy stuck on this ship. I’m used to open spaces and fresh air. Extremely hot air, but at least there was a sky and not just all this inky blackness.”
K-Tan stared at me, intense concentration on his face as he placed his hands on my hips. “There are stasis pods on board. I know you don’t like the small spaces. I could put you to sleep until we reach Elora. It should be safe for the babies.”
“Should be?” I asked.
He nodded. “I don’t know if it’s ever been used on a female who is carrying a baby in her womb. Much less three of them.”
“Probably shouldn’t chance it,” I said, placing a hand over my belly. “You’ll just have to think of ways to keep me occupied.”
Heat blazed in his eyes as he scanned my body. Well, that hadn’t been quite what I’d meant, but I wasn’t opposed to the idea. When he took my hand and led me back to our sleeping chambers, I willingly followed. Thankfully, I’d cleaned the room. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep in there otherwise.
My heart skipped a beat as K-Tan’s hand tightened on mine. Sometimes the intensity I felt when we were intimate was a little scary, but it also felt so incredibly right. I didn’t know why I’d ended up in K-Tan’s room that first day, but I was glad it had happened. If I’d known he would be waiting for me, I might have run from the settlement sooner.
The door slid shut behind us. Even though we were alone on the ship, it made the space feel cozier.
K-Tan pushed a sequence of buttons and I gasped as the lighting dimmed to a soft glow. It had taken me a few times to figure out how to shut them off and turn them on, but I hadn’t realized they could do something like dim. The softer lighting was rather romantic. K-Tan slowly removed his clothes and approached me. I only had a moment to admire the expanse of his chest and the muscles bulging in his arms. He reached for me, pulling my clothes from my body and letting them fall to the floor. As his arms wrapped around my waist, his tail curled around my ankle.
“Mine,” he said.
“Yes, yours,” I said with a smile.
K-Tan kissed me, his lips nearly devouring mine as I melted against him. Human men might scare me, but I knew my big, sexy Elorian would never hurt me. He gripped my hips and walked me backward toward the bed. The backs of my legs brushed the bedding before he toppled us, bracing his weight so he wouldn’t crush me. I could feel the hard length of his cock against my thigh. The weight of his body pressing against mine made my heart race, but not in panic. No, I only felt anticipation when it came to being this close to K-Tan. I knew I would only feel pleasure with him.
“My mate,” he said, then trailed kisses along my collarbone and up the side of my neck. He gently nipped me, and I held back a moan. “So perfect. So responsive.”
“Please, K-Tan.” I lifted my hips, needing to feel him inside me.
“Have I told you how sweet you taste?”
His tongue flicked out and licked the underside of my breast as he worked his way down my body. I gasped when he parted my thighs, his shoulders spreading them wide. He ran a finger down the lips of my pussy, and I wondered if it would be considered weak if I started begging. When I felt the heat of his breath, then his soft, wet tongue, I couldn’t help but cry out for more.
“K-Tan! Yes, please! More!”
He flicked, licked, and sucked until I was nearly mindless with pleasure. My thighs trembled and I was gasping for breath, when pleasure rolled over me in waves. I screamed out his name as my back arched and my legs clamped tight against his body. Slowly, my breathing evened out and I blinked a few times, still seeing stars from the explosive orgasm he’d just given me.
K-Tan kissed his way up my body before claiming my lips. I could taste myself on him, but it wasn’t as un
pleasant as I’d thought it might be. He flexed his hips and sank into me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and gripped his biceps. K-Tan’s eyes were a deeper gold, and his intense gaze was locked with mine. Every thrust, every drive of his cock into my body, pushed me closer and closer to another orgasm.
“Yes!” I screamed as he took me harder and faster.
He grunted as he came, the hot spurts of his cum filling me. My body shuddered, still so close to my release, and K-Tan kept stroking in and out of me. He was still amazingly hard, and on the fourth stroke, I came apart. K-Tan rolled to his side, pulling me with him, but he didn’t withdraw from my body.
“Rest, sweet mate,” K-Tan said. “Then I will pleasure you again.”
I gave him a sleepy smile and sighed in contentment. After living for so long, fearing men and the pain of sex, it was hard to believe that I now craved K-Tan’s touch. I loved the things he did to me, and the way he made me feel. He was so patient and gentle with me that I knew he would be an amazing father. I only hoped we made it to his world safely, and that the Elorians we’d left behind would be able to save the other women at the settlement.
Chapter Eight
K-Tan
The past five cycles passed too quickly. I’d enjoyed my time with Marcy, and I wasn’t ready to share her just yet. I knew once my people saw that I not only had a mate but heard that she was carrying three of my young, everyone would have questions for her. I could tell she was nervous about landing on Elora and meeting my people, but I had no doubt she would be accepted.
I’d made her sit in the command center and I’d fastened a harness to keep her steady. We’d just broken through the atmosphere of Elora and the ship was fast approaching the planet’s surface. Marcy had her eyes shut tight and her hands gripped the arms of the chair. I was concerned how the stress would affect her pregnancy, but we couldn’t just travel around in space forever, just the two of us.
As the ship touched down, I heard a slight whimper from my mate. I shut off the engines and rushed to her side. Kneeling at her feet, I unfastened her harness and pulled her into my arms. I stroked her hair and murmured words of comfort to her.
“What if they don’t like me?” she asked. “What if they don’t accept me as your mate?”
“Marcy, my people will love you. How could they not when I love you?”
She stiffened in my arms and her gaze met mine. “You really love me? I’d thought… You’ve said it before, but I wondered if it was just something you thought I wanted to hear.”
I nodded. “Yes, my sweet female. I love you. You and our babies mean everything to me.”
“I love you too,” she said softly.
“Come. It’s time for you to meet the leaders of my world. You’re a miracle to my people. Remember that.”
She sighed and gripped my hand tight. I led her through the corridors of the ship to the airlock. A ramp had already lowered, and I tugged her down to the ground below. The five males who governed the Elorians were already waiting. They approached, each smiling broadly as they looked at my mate, and I felt her press a little closer to me. I held up a hand before they came too close. The eldest, L-Tir, narrowed his eyes at me as the five of them came to a halt.
“My apologies, elders. I don’t wish to offend you, but my mate was badly abused by the males on X-2. She’s a bit frightened at the moment.”
They turned their gazes to my sweet mate, who was nearly behind me now. I tried to wrap my arm around Marcy and guide her back to my side, but she wasn’t budging. With a sigh, I turned to face her. It was considered a sign of disrespect to show my back to the elders, but my mate needed me.
“Marcy, the males here to greet us would never hurt you. They will guard you with their lives if need be. I’ll be beside you the entire time, but would you please come speak with them?” I asked.
“They’ll understand me?” she asked.
“They were made aware of what language you speak, and the Elorian people have learned it well enough to communicate with you. Once J-Ril found you and left you in my quarters, he sent a message to our home world to prepare them.”
She stared up at me with wide eyes and slowly nodded. I leaned down to kiss her softly, hoping to reassure her that everything was all right. I had no doubt my people would adore her, just as I did, especially once they learned she was carrying three babies. The fact I’d found a mate was surprising enough, but knowing she’d gotten pregnant right away, and with multiple babies was beyond amazing for a race of people who had feared dying out.
“Come, love. I’ll introduce you,” I said, guiding her over to the elders.
The elders greeted her warmly, and tried to keep some space from my mate. Despite the fact she was scared, my Marcy gripped my hand tight and faced the males who led my people. I was proud of her and gave her hand a squeeze.
“Elders, I would like to show my mate her new home and let her rest. I’ll set an appointment with the grand physician. She may wish for a cycle or two to adjust to her new surroundings.”
“Grand physician?” L-Tir asked. “Is she ill?”
“No. My mate is already pregnant and she’s carrying three babies.”
All five elders dropped to a knee and bowed their heads to honor my mate. I could feel the tension in Marcy and knew she didn’t understand what was happening. When the elders rose, my mate was trying to hide behind me again.
I led her through the main city. A few stopped to stare as we passed, but everyone kept their distance. I knew they’d been prepared for my mate’s arrival, but I was grateful they weren’t overwhelming her. Meeting the elders had been difficult enough for my sweet Marcy.
When we approached my home, I wondered what she would think of it. The buildings on Elora were made of stone and a special tempered glass that helped keep the homes and shops cool when the suns were high in the sky.
I placed my hand on the panel beside my front door. It scanned my hand and unlocked the house. Before Marcy entered our home, I made sure the scanner was set to read her handprint as well. We stepped inside and she stared at everything with wide eyes. My floors were made of a smooth, polished stone and she looked like she wanted to reach down and touch it. I hadn’t seen the inside of the homes at the Human settlement on X-2, but I had to think they were rather primitive. She hadn’t understood how to use a cleansing unit, and had marveled at running water inside the ship.
I let her explore then showed her where our room was located. I hadn’t had proper clothing for her on board the ship, even though J-Ril had provided her with a few things while we’d been on X-2, and I couldn’t wait to have her measured for a new wardrobe. I knew nothing already made would fit, since even our females were larger than her. She was curvier than an Elorian female, but much shorter in height. To me, Marcy was perfect in every way.
“What do you think of our home?” I asked as she sank onto the end of the bed.
“It’s so big,” she said. “The homes and buildings in the settlement were smaller than just one of your rooms. Why do you have so much space if it’s just you? I counted four other bedrooms. Do you have company often?”
“No, I don’t have guests who stay over,” I said. “When I had this home built, I imagined filling it with children. Since you’re already carrying three babies, we might have to add on to the structure if we decide to have more later.”
Her eyes went wide and I could tell she hadn’t thought about having more children other than the ones she already carried. Three children at once would be a handful, and quite a blessing. If that’s all she wanted, then I would be content with the babies growing inside her womb right now. I couldn’t wait to hold my children, to watch them reach adulthood and start families of their own.
“I won’t pressure you to have more children,” I said. “We’ll have to meet with the grand physician and maybe speak with the scientists to find a way to keep you from getting pregnant again. It hasn’t been an issue for my people previously, as our females only carry
one child at a time, and seldom have more than two children during their lifetime.”
“Maybe that’s part of why your people are in this predicament?” she asked. “Maybe if your women had more children, the odds would have been higher that some of those would have been girls. I don’t pretend to know much about that type of thing, but what if it’s a reproductive issue with the females? Is that something your grand physician could fix?”
“Maybe,” he said. “I believe I mentioned previously that it’s not just my people. Other races across the galaxies have faced this same issue, and the instances have been spread over time. For some, it was a toxin in their food or water supply; others believe it was an anomaly in their genetic makeup. Quite a few haven’t discovered yet what caused it, but have been able to repopulate their worlds by pairing with females of other races. Your theory deserves some consideration and I will pass it along to the grand physician.”
“And now your people are going to do the same thing,” she said.
“Yes. At least, that’s our hope. You and I are the first successful pairing, and our children will be the first babies born in over forty years on Elora. The last male born on my world is nearly fifty years old.”
She placed a hand over her belly. “I guess they’re something of a miracle, aren’t they?”
I knelt at her feet and took her hand in mine. “You are the true miracle, my sweet mate. I’d thought I would never experience the mating heat, would never have a female of my own, but you’re here with me. I’d hoped for such a gift from the gods and planned accordingly. Even if we hadn’t been blessed with children, just having you in my life would enough for me. I love you, Marcy.”
“I love you, K-Tan. So much.”
I smiled and kissed her softly. “There will be many changes for you in the days to come, but my people are happy you’re here, and when the other Human females arrive, they will be welcomed warmly as well.”
“You really think J-Ril can save the others?” she asked. “I’ve been worried about them.”
Loved by the Elite Commander Page 8