A Deal for Zeylum: A Sci Fi Alien Romance (Tallean Mercenaries Book 1)

by Lynnea Lee

  “You know anywhere to pick up a cheap comm unit? I need a place that doesn’t ask too many questions.”

  The male proceeded to list off a few places, scribbling directions as well as his contact onto a napkin.

  “If you ever run into trouble in this part of town, don’t hesitate to give me a comm.”

  Zey took the napkin, nodded solemnly, and headed out of the tavern with his little human in tow.

  “Captain! Where the fuck are you? We caught the wench you use to fuck around with, Selene, but she won’t talk, and we had to let her go.”

  “The bitch snitched me out to her current lover boy, Captain Ulrek of the Stellar Fortune.”

  “Fuck, what a mess,” Calix, his second in command, muttered under his breath.

  “His ship wasn’t equipped with a proper brig, so I managed to bust out with a bit of help.” He flashed a grin at Ashe, but she was lost in her own thoughts and didn’t notice. “I’m on Vosthea.”

  “Sit tight. We’re on our way. Might be a few days, though.”

  The days on Vosthea were slightly longer than a galactic cycle. They would need to pick up enough supplies before they leave for the wilderness.

  “Just lock onto this comm unit’s signal, we won’t be at any of the ports.”

  “We?”

  “I’m traveling with a human female.” Despite not having any visual, Zey could sense Calix’s eyebrows raise.

  “You bringing a female onto the ship? Isn’t that what you and Selene used to fight about? It was always her place, not yours? This human must be something special.”

  “I promised to drop her off at Reka 5 for helping me escape,” he explained, feeling defensive for no good reason.

  “If you say so.” Calix didn’t sound convinced. “We’ll be there in a few days, stay safe, boss.”

  Zey stuffed the comm unit into his pocket. He hated being called boss, and Calix knew it.

  “They’ll be looking for me soon,” Zey said absently. “Once they get all the slaves rounded up and order restored, they’ll track the missing shuttle to this port. No one here recognized who I am, but it’s not safe to stay in a populated area for too long. The inns will be the first place they check.”

  A look of disappointment flitted across Ashe’s face, replaced quickly by something unreadable. She looked tired. Maybe a short stay in an inn wouldn't hurt.

  Zey gripped her jaw tenderly and turned her head to face him.

  “It’ll take Ulrek’s men some time to organize. If we grab the rest of our supplies quickly, we should be able to rent out a room for a few hours to get cleaned up and take a short nap.”

  Her eyes brightened slightly, but she didn’t speak. Did Ashe still trust him after his little display in the tavern? Did she understand that all of it was a show?

  “We’ll need to travel through a good bit of night to make up the lost time, though.”

  Ashe gave a quick nod of understanding but kept her eyes down.

  They made their way to the various shops and picked up what they needed: a flask to carry water, water purifying tablets, nutrition bars, insect repellent, a blade to hack through the brush, temporary shelter, and other survival items.

  Playing the part of the slave, Ashe carried their gear. It wasn’t too heavy, but the pack was bulky, having been designed for someone much bigger. It dwarfed her small frame. Zey frowned. He didn’t like having her carry the pack. He was bigger, and male, he should be carrying it. Once they were in their room, they could put aside this charade. He formed his lips into a thin hard line and marched into the inn.

  Zey approached the innkeeper and asked for a room for the night. The innkeeper was an older male with a sly look about him. His eyes darted unerringly to Ashe several times during the transaction. Zey would need to keep Ashe close.

  “How much for a round with your slave? We don’t get many human females in our parts.”

  “Not selling her tonight.”

  “Need some release yourself, I see.”

  Zey shrugged noncommittally. He was in no mood for small talk. He transferred the credits quickly, grabbed the key pass, and stomped off to their room.

  Once through the door, he helped Ashe out of her pack and flopped down in one of the chairs, breathing a long sigh. Eager to get comfortable, he proceeded to unbuckle his boots. He felt the subtle weight of Ashe’s furtive glances and realized that she was curious about his feet. Of all the body parts, the feet were the most different, the most alien, between their two species.

  Having already slipped off her shoes, she had her feet propped up on the bed. They were tiny. Flat nails like those on the hands tipped her toes, and each one was painted pink, the paint chipped at some parts. The skin looked too soft and thin to protect her feet. He looked at her shoes and frowned. They were made of fabric, with a thin rubber sole; they would not protect her feet in the wilderness.

  With his boots half buckled, he reached over to pick up one of her feet. She flinched but did not pull away. The skin was definitely too soft. He played his fingers over the top of her foot, the skin there so thin that he could see traces of her veins.

  He ran his hands down to the soles to check for protective calluses, and Ashe made a small squeal of laughter and tried to squirm away. He held her still and continued the exploration. There was a patch of slightly thickened skin at the heel and the ball of her foot, but that was all. Another squeal sounded as his finger passed over the arch of her foot, and this time she managed to jerk her foot away.

  Her reaction intrigued him. He must remember to explore it when they had more time. The sound of her laughter felt out of place, and he realized that he hadn’t heard her speak since the incident at the tavern. He remembered her outraged defiance. She must still be angry at him.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “I’m here with your food, Sir,” a feminine voice called out.

  Zey looked meaningfully at Ashe. “Go answer the door, slave.” He put emphasis on the word slave, and it was time to get back into their roles.

  “Yes, Master.” Then under her breath, just loud enough for his ears alone, “Asshole.”

  Zey laughed, glad to see that this afternoon’s episode had not extinguished her fire.

  Ashe greeted the woman at the door. She was tall according to Earth standards, but still shorter by far than Tallean men. Her physique was long and lean with small pert breasts and a narrow waist, reminding Ashe of a runway model. Straight blue-black hair hung to her waist in a shiny curtain, and her eyes were light green. Her complexion was smooth and flawless, her green eyes ringed with a dark liner, and her lips enhanced with a light gloss. An intricate design of swirls was drawn in black on her right cheekbone, just below her temple, but above the alien crease on her cheek.

  The Tallean female smiled demurely at Zey and bowed her head. Suddenly, Ashe felt like a slob. Zey wouldn’t keep the beautiful Tallean for the night and send her to the innkeeper, would he? No. Ashe knew he wouldn’t.

  But still, her confidence suffered a hit, and she felt a tinge of jealousy, which was just silly since they weren’t anything to each other anyway. They planned to part ways once he got her to Reka 5. But that didn’t stop her from feeling frumpy next to the exotic beauty at the door.

  What I would give for a good concealer and some mascara! Ashe thought to herself.

  “Leave it on the table. Close the door on the way out,” Zey commanded.

  The Tallean female placed the food on the table then turned to face Zey to study his handsome features. Her eyes roamed over his broad, muscular shoulders. Her demureness faded, replaced by seasoned sexuality.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? You look more than able to please two females.” She glanced at Ashe. “And I’m curious to see a human in action as well. I heard they are quite wild in bed.”

  She pulled open her shirt to flash her small but pertly shaped breasts at both Zey and Ashe. Ashe was shocke
d by the brazen display and the straightforward words. There was no beating around the bush for this one.

  “You are beautiful, but I have no interest in sharing my slave tonight. Please make sure no one interrupts us again.”

  Then Zeylum turned his attention to Ashe, who still stood by the door. Time to put on a show for their guest. He gestured for her to kneel in front of his chair and made a show of putting his foot in her lap, the boots still half buckled. He had that smug look on his face again. The one he got when he was enjoying his role just a bit too much. He winked at her.

  “How about a foot rub while I eat?” It was phrased like a question, but it as no doubt an order.

  Fine! If he wanted to play it that way. She would make sure to make him pay another time. But for now, she dove into her role. Ignoring the woman still at the door, she undid the rest of the buckles and slipped his foot out of the boot.

  She used the opportunity to analyze their differences. The skin of his foot was thick like leather. The top of the foot was supple, but the sole was tough and callused. The four toes were capped with sharp claws, each about four inches long. They looked wicked and lethal. Oddly, Ashe felt an impulsive urge to touch them. She didn’t even notice when the door closed with a quiet click, leaving them alone again.

  Ashe brushed her fingertips over the top of one of the claws and shivered with the sense of danger it invoked. She stroked over the top of his foot, enjoying the feel of thick, supple leather. Her other hand rubbed the hardened bottom of his soles, feeling the contrast. Remembering his exploration of her own feet, she wondered if he was ticklish. She stroked and rubbed, trying to get a reaction but got none. Nope, Zey was not ticklish.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you enjoy rubbing my feet.”

  Ashe blushed, realizing what her explorations must look like. Flustered, she dropped his foot and stood up.

  “You wish!” she denied vehemently.

  “Damn!” Zey exclaimed as he finished taking off his footwear himself. “I should have held my tongue at least until you were finished. But I love teasing you.”

  A wonderful smell drifted to her nose, and she realized that they had had nothing to eat since yesterday evening, having used the early feeding as a means to escape. Was that really just this morning? So much had happened since! Suddenly, despite being just late afternoon, Ashe felt exhausted. Her stomach voiced a complaint with a growl. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to eat or sleep first. She wobbled a bit on her feet.

  “You need to get some food in you before you pass out on me.” An arm wrapped around her, lifted her slightly, and sat her down firmly in an oversized chair. “Eat,” he commanded.

  There was only one meal on the tray, but it was a large one.

  “They expect me to eat first and you to finish my leftovers,” Zey explained. “But there’s no one watching now, so there’s no need for our act. Eat your fill. There won’t be a warm meal for a while.”

  Ashe hadn’t had a warm meal since the day she was taken from Earth. The rations passed out on the ship could barely be classified as food. She looked at the utensils and found that instead of forks, Talleans used tongs. The serrated knife looked like an oversized steak knife, made larger to fit their hands.

  On the plate was a pile of foreign-looking roasted vegetables and a half of an—avian creature? Yup, that was most definitely a wing. She tried a piece of vegetable and found it to be very tasty. It had the texture of a potato, and the flavor reminded her mildly of celery. She started on the bird’s leg, and the taste reminded her of quail. That was one giant quail!

  She barely made a dent in the meal before she was stuffed. Zey quickly polished off the rest of the food. Ashe was amazed at how fast and how much he ate; he could really put it away. He must have been barely getting enough to survive while in the hold.

  Pulling another swig of water from the glass, Ashe swished it around to clean her teeth the best she could. What she would give for a toothbrush and toothpaste! Exhaustion caught up with her again. Without fighting the escaping yawn, she started towards the bed.

  “Not yet, let’s get clean first. We should also have the decontaminator clean our clothes while we rest.”

  A shower and clean clothes did sound awful nice. So she allowed herself to be led half-conscious to the bathroom and stripped of her dirty clothes. Zey struggled with her bra, and she stifled a giggle. Maybe Tallean women didn’t wear bras. She remembered the one who had brought them their food; high pert breasts like those probably defied gravity. Zey gathered all their clothes, including the lining he removed from his boots and threw them into a decontaminator and left them to clean.

  Moving them both into the cleansing unit, he mumbled something about outdated technology and turned on the water. The water had a bluish tinge.

  “Don’t swallow the water, it has cleansers in it.”

  The unit was small, and they barely had room to move around, but they managed to get themselves thoroughly cleaned. Zey pressed another button, and the water changed. This must be the rinse cycle. Rubbing his hands over her skin, he rinsed her extra thoroughly to get all the cleanser off. His hands had an altogether different effect than intended. As his palms brushed over her nipples, they tightened, and her body reacted immediately to his touch.

  Ashe leaned into his hands. She enjoyed his touch. It made her forget the dangers they faced. It also made her forget his more brutal streak. After all, how could someone this gentle be the same man who had terrified her so much this afternoon? How could this man be a killer? A criminal?

  It was wrong to desire his attention. It was so wrong. He was alien—the same species who stole her from her home. He had huge scary claws on his feet for crying out loud! He’d told her that he smuggled things for a living, weapons, people, substances, the more dangerous, the better. The Dominion had a sizeable bounty on his head. He killed people without blinking. And he threw knives with deadly accuracy.

  She brought up the memory of him at the tavern, the slight smile curling his lips before his throw, the quick sure movement of his hands, and the thunk of the knife when it drove into the board. And oh my, he was fucking hot doing it! His bad-boy appeal turned her on big time. Even his arrogance pulled at her. Ashe hated to admit it, but she even enjoyed it when he got a bit rough with her, knowing in the back of her mind that it was just role play to fool the planet’s residents. Sure, he had scared her, but it was thrilling, exciting.

  Ashe was disappointed when instead of continuing to explore her body, his hands moved away to turn off the water. The spray ceased, and a warm current of air issued forth from vents at the side of the unit. A stronger gust blew down from the ceiling drying her hair.

  After leaving the cramped stall, Zey filled a small disposable cup with liquid from a pump next to the sink and handed it to her. He filled one for himself as well, lifted it to his lips, and proceeded to rinse and gargle with it—a mouthwash. Ashe did the same. The stuff smelled a bit like pine and was slightly bitter but didn’t burn the mouth. It left her mouth feeling clean and fresh.

  He ushered her still naked over to the bed and pushed her onto the mattress. She didn’t protest when he adjusted the pillows at her head and tucked the blanket around her. He swept a hand over her hair and leaned forward to press his forehead over hers, the same as he had done in the shuttle. Then he started to make his way towards the thin mat on the floor, the one Ashe assumed was for her, the slave.

  “There’s enough room here for both of us if we squish in. You don’t need to sleep on the floor.”

  “Neither of us will get a good sleep crammed on that small bed. It’s going to be a tough night of travel, and I need us rested.”

  “Bullshit! It’s plenty big for both of us.”

  “What happened to obeying me without questions? As much as I’d love to bare your ass and spank you for questioning my decisions, now is not a good time. Don’t tempt me.”

  “You asshole! For
get it, sleep on the mat!”

  He laughed and turned off the lights.

  She was right, of course. The bed was definitely big enough for two, especially since she barely took up any space nestled against his body. The real reason Zey took the mat on the floor was that he knew undoubtedly that if he had her pressed against his body, he would have to fuck her. It was hard enough stopping himself in the cleansing unit. He had wanted to hold her against the wall and drive into her until she screamed his name. They needed rest.

  But now that he had threatened to spank her, he found himself unable to calm. He kept imagining her bent over his knee, her round bottom turning red with each crack of his hand. He imagined her squirming and writhing, heard her mewling and whimpering in his mind.

  For some, a little bit of pain made the pleasure stronger. Was Ashe one such person? Something told him she was. Though she tried to hide it, the idea intrigued her, the smell of arousal was clear. A little bit of fear turned her on too. Beneath the scent of her fear this afternoon when he had grabbed her by the hair, there was the subtler, sweeter perfume of sexual excitement.

  In Talleans, the neural pathways between excitement and violence crossed with that of passion and pleasure. Maybe it was the same for humans. There were, after all, so many similarities between their species.

  Once they were safe aboard his ship, they would have plenty of time to explore the idea. Now was not the time. His arms felt empty without the warmth of Ashe’s body. Before meeting her, Zey had been careful to maintain his distance with the females he relieved his needs with. And after the fiasco with Selene, he had opted to frequent pleasure houses to keep the transactions strictly professional. Certainly, he never held them after sex or while they slept.

  That first night in the hold, he had known that she was cold and had wanted to warm her, tit for tat for bringing him food and water. The rest of the nights, he had no excuse other than he wanted to touch her, hold her close. Having had her in his arms, it felt strange to sleep alone.