Kromin pulled her through his house and into his backyard without stopping to ask whether she wanted to go outside or not. “We’ve been cooped up inside all day,” he said as he led her into his magnificent garden. “Let’s enjoy a little bit of fresh air.”
Anya didn’t argue. She loved his backyard, with its towering tropical trees and a carpet of grass so thick that lying on it felt like lying on the Galaxies’ softest mattress. In the middle of the yard, there was a small clearing in the treetops. If you lay on the grass there and looked up, you could see straight up into the Zocronian sky outside the city dome. Kromin took Anya there and they lay together, neither one of them saying anything for several minutes. He took her hand and laced his fingers in hers as she stared up at the stormy sky.
The clouds were dark and swirling, and when lightning lit them Anya could see that they were red and purple. She shuddered at the ominous effect of it all. The wind was blowing fiercely as well. She could see rocks and other small pieces of debris being hurled through the night sky and pelting the thick glass of the dome.
“The glass will hold, right?” she asked. She was trying not to sound worried, but she couldn’t help it. A crack in the dome that let the outside air in would mean certain death for everyone on Zocrone. With storms like this, even a survival suit wouldn’t protect you for long. You’d be swirling through the toxic atmosphere amidst the unforgiving winds, and your survival suit would be punctured within a matter of minutes. Anya couldn’t help but worry.
But Kromin seemed completely calm. “No one can guarantee anyone’s safety one hundred percent,” he said as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “And I think all of us worry about it now and then. But that safety dome and its structures have been built to the highest safety standards and tested thoroughly to make sure nothing can damage them easily. Zekkardite is the only substance strong enough to break through it, and there isn’t any Zekkardite flying around out there. It’s all secure in the mines.”
Anya tried to breathe a little easier, but she thought she understood why so many in Zocrone were worried and protesting. It was hard not to worry when you were staring up at storms like this day after day and week after week. The storms were beautiful in their own way, but also terrifying.
Kromin seemed to sense Anya’s fear, and he turned onto his side to face her. “Hey, don’t worry. The dome is secure. It’s made about ten times thicker than it really needs to be to be safe. I promise: you’re going to be fine. We’re all going to be fine.”
“But what about the lack of supplies? Will we really be alright until the storms stop?”
“We will.” Again, Kromin sounded completely confident. “The stormy season eventually has to end, and we have months of supplies. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
Anya sighed. “I guess I’m a worrier, sorry. I’m not used to being stuck in one place for months at a time, physically unable to leave. This is pretty much the opposite of the smuggling life I was part of before settling on Zocrone.”
Kromin’s face turned serious. “Do you miss smuggling?”
Anya laughed. “Not really. It was an exciting life, yes. But often it was a bit too exciting. One never knew when the law or some disgruntled client was going to catch up with you and make your life hell. I don’t mind settling down here, especially since I found you. I just wish I wasn’t stuck. It’s not even that I actually want to go anywhere. It’s just that being stuck sucks.”
Kromin nodded. “I hear you on that. At least you’re stuck with me, though. There are worse people to be stuck with, don’t you think?”
He winked at her, and Anya felt her body warming up just from the way he was looking at her. “I suppose you’re right,” she said. “If I’m going to be stuck on a planet somewhere, I want to at least be stuck with my fiancé.”
“Fiancé,” he repeated. “I still can’t believe you said yes.”
“Why not? You’re a pretty great guy.”
He smiled at her, the blue skin around his gray eyes crinkling up in the most adorable way. “I’m glad you think so. But I think that even the greatest guy in the Seven Galaxies could never measure up to you. You’re incredible.”
Anya felt herself blushing. “Now you’re just trying to flatter me to get into my pants.”
Kromin threw back his head and laughed. “Not true. I was being sincere. But since you brought up getting into your pants…”
He leaned over further and planted a soft kiss on her lips. “I wouldn’t mind seeing what’s underneath these hospital scrubs.”
Anya felt a shudder of anticipation go through her. She tried to think of something clever to say, but words failed her. What was the point in playing coy, anyway? They both knew they had come out to the secluded grassy area of Kromin’s yard with one thing on their mind: consummating their relationship once again, now that they had agreed to get married.
The day had been long. Heck, the week had been long. But Anya felt relaxed as she lay beside Kromin and let him move in for another kiss. This time, he did not stop at just a peck on the lips. He let his ridged tongue move past her lips and into her mouth, the heat and movement of it already driving Anya wild. She let her tongue dance with his, and she sighed happily as he moved his whole body closer to hers, wrapping her in his arms. Through their clothes, she could feel his erection, already stiff and hard. He was ready for her, which was a good thing, because she was ready for him. Between her legs, she could feel herself rapidly growing wet as the juices of her desire prepared her inner walls and made her entrance slick and ready. She had been waiting for this all day today, and all night last night. She knew that duties at the hospital had to come first, but damn it if it didn’t feel good to finally be here with Kromin, with nothing in the world to think about except each other.
Kromin was currently thinking about getting her naked, if his actions were any indication. He was reaching for her shirt and tugging it over her head, only breaking their kiss long enough to remove the shirt and then going back at it. But Anya was determined that she wasn’t going to be the only one without clothes on.
“Oh, no you don’t,” she teased as she pulled back, reaching for his shirt. “If I’m going to be naked, then you are, too.”
Kromin let her pull his shirt off, but he wagged a finger at her. “Please. You’re not naked just because you lost a shirt. Let me show you what naked truly looks like.”
He reached for her bra and tore it off, then rushed to her pants, pulling them down quickly as well.
“Hey!” Anya said, feigning anger. “I told you that if I was gonna be naked, you had to be, too.”
“Then you better hurry,” he growled, reaching for her underwear. Anya shrieked and tried to wriggle away, lunging for his pants to take them off before he could take off her underwear. But it wasn’t easy to reach his pants without getting close enough for him to reach her underwear. What followed was a wrestling match with both of them rolling in the grass, laughing, and trying to beat each other to the task of pulling each other’s clothes off. At the end of it all, they were both naked, laughing, and covered in sweat. Articles of clothing were strewn in messy piles all around them, lit up by the occasional flash of lightning.
Anya was breathing heavily, both from the exertion of their little wrestling match and also from the excitement of seeing Kromin naked again. The man was seriously perfect. His broad blue chest rose and fell as he laughed, and his biceps looked huge even when they weren’t flexed. His chiseled abs seemed to beckon to her to reach out and touch them—and she did. She could not resist.
But what really drove her crazy about him was what was between his legs. His erection stood like a ridged steel rod, hard and ready to pound into her. And oh, how she wanted to be pounded. Her legs were soaked now from her body’s insatiable desire for him. Her breasts felt full, and her nipples were hard and alert, begging for his touch. All the heat and pressure in her body centered on one thought. I want him inside of me, now!
But he was mo
ving maddeningly slow, as though he knew that every second of delay only drove her crazier. He dipped his head to her nipples and ran his tongue over each hard nub, then used his teeth to nibble and twist at them until Anya felt as though white hot flames of passion were shooting out from her nipples to the rest of her body. She writhed beneath his touch, but he used his hands to hold her firmly close to him. He was not letting her have any relief. All he wanted was to build the pressure within her higher and higher, until she was hovering just below the breaking point.
He seemed to know when she reached that point, and he flipped her onto her back, moving his giant blue body over hers and holding his dick just above her entrance. Anya panted desperately as she looked up at him, her whole being overcome with an electric tingling sensation.
“Are you ready for me?” he asked in a husky voice, looking down at her with satisfaction. He was proud of the way he made her feel, and she didn’t blame him. He could make her feel like no man ever had before. His touch, his kiss, and the way he looked at her…it all worked together to make her feel like there was no one in the Seven Galaxies except him. He was it. He was everything. Her everything. And he was about to make her his once again.
“I’m ready,” she panted out, wishing that he would stop teasing her and get on with it already. She needed his rock hard dick inside of her, now.
But he wasn’t done teasing just yet. “Are you sure you’re ready?” he asked, letting just the tip of his erection press against her entrance. She moaned as it rubbed against her folds and her clit.
“Yes, yes! I’m ready. Please, take me.”
“Absolutely sure?” he teased, pushing his dick until it was about halfway into her. She moaned, and tried to hold back from exploding into an orgasm right then and there. Even half of him was enough to satisfy her more than any other man ever could. But it didn’t matter. She didn’t want just half of him. She wanted all of him.
“I’m ready. Give me everything!” she demanded.
He grinned. “As my lady wishes.”
Then he slammed into her, the full length of his glorious ridged dick sliding deep into her. Her inner walls came alive with tingling heat as he moved back and forth against her. She closed her eyes and drank in the sensations. He hit every sensitive nerve ending, not allowing any reprieve as he thrust his hips back and forth against her.
“You’re mine,” he growled. “Mine for all time.”
“Yours,” she agreed, barley able to speak as he brought her to the very edge of ecstasy.
And then, she tumbled over the edge as she came. Her orgasm rocked her entire body as wave after wave of pure pleasure passed through her, causing her inner muscles to spasm and clench around Kromin’s thick dick, which still moved inside of her. She whimpered in delight as she trembled from the heat and the tremors. The only thought she could form in her mind was that Kromin was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
He growled in pleasure as she came, happy at how he had made her react. And then, he stiffened and thrust into her one last time, finding his own release. He pulsed into her, spilling his seed and his passion deep inside of her. As his dick pulsed she could feel it pressing even harder against her inner walls, extending the pleasure of her own orgasm.
When finally both of them were spent, He pulled out of her and lay beside her in the grass, wrapping his strong, blue arms around her as they both tried to regain something that resembled a normal level of breathing. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to do that, though, after a ride like the one he’d given her. She looked over at him, wanting nothing more than to admire his handsome face in the flashing light of the storm.
He looked back at her and smiled, his fog gray eyes dark with emotion.
“Happy?” he asked.
“More than ever. And somehow, I feel a little less worried about the future, knowing that you and I will be facing it together.”
His smile deepened. “I promise you, Anya. No matter what challenges the storms bring, I will protect you. As long as there is breath in my body, I will protect you from whatever challenges and dangers life throws at us.”
Anya snuggled up against him, feeling more warm and protected in his arms than she ever had before. She could hardly believe that she had once considered this man an enemy. She had misunderstood him—that was for sure. Because now she could see how special he truly was, and how her future would have been so empty without him.
Let the storms rage on. She was safe in his arms, and always would be.
TAKEN BY THE ALIEN REBEL
Chapter One
The world around Toryx Keizer was dying. He only had to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the third floor conference room to see that. Where the view had once been thick, lush rainforest in every hue of green imaginable, shades of brown were creeping in. The once thick foliage had become sparse, and the once plentiful flowers had dried up and withered away. The birds that used to fly about merrily sat forlornly on the branches of trees, as if afraid to fly and waste a single drop of energy. With no end in sight to Zocrone’s severe drought, the once beautiful domed city had become a somber place.
And perhaps the most somber place of all was right here in this conference room. Daxar, the Chief of Zocrone, stood in front of a large computer screen that was embedded into the wall. On the computer screen was a map of Zocrone, showing all of the water storage facilities inside the city, and how much water each storage facility had left.
The news was dire. Even though the city had been under strict water rationing and preservation protocols for the last several months, the water reserves were dwindling at an alarming rate. If the windstorms on Zocrone didn’t let up soon and allow supply deliveries to be made, the whole city faced death from a lack of water.
“The storms have to let up soon,” Nova said, crossing her arms and shaking her head in disgust at the map.
No one answered her. No one had to. Everyone in the room knew that there was no guarantee that the storms would let up before the water ran out. Toryx glanced out the window again, furrowing his blue-skinned brow. Like all Zocronians, he had deep blue skin with a ridged forehead, and when he was worried the ridges in his forehead deepened even more. His fog gray eyes darkened slightly with anger as he looked at his dying homeland.
Someone had to do something.
“We have to attempt to send out a supply ship!” Toryx said suddenly, banging his big blue fist on the table. Beside him, his friend Kromin jumped, startled by the loud noise the fist had made. All around the room, all eyes turned to him. Daxar, Kromin, and Jarmuk—the other Zocronians in the room—all crossed their big blue arms. The four humans—Nova, Maisie, Anya and Evie—didn’t have blue skin of course. But they all crossed their arms and managed to look just as exasperated with him as the others.
“Trying to fly a ship out of here would be a suicide mission,” Evie said, fixing her steel blue eyes on Toryx.
Nova nodded. “Evie would know. Trust me. She’s flown through some serious shit.”
Toryx scowled at Nova and then at Evie. Evie had been the navigator of the Starburst, the humans’ ship that had crash landed on the planet of Zocrone a few years ago. The whole crew of the Starburst should have died, but thanks to Evie’s superior piloting skills they had survived. Evie had become well-known in Zocrone as someone who was willing to fly through horrible storms that no other pilot would dare to attempt, so the fact that even she thought it was too dangerous to leave Zocrone right now was saying something.
Still, something had to be done. If the Zocronians kept doing nothing and just hoping for the storms to subside, they were going to slowly die off from lack of water. It had been too long, and the storms showed no signs of stopping.
“Staying here is a suicide mission,” Toryx said, crossing his arms and looking back at the group just as defiantly as they were looking at him. “If we don’t get more water and food soon, our weakest citizens will start to die off. It won’t be long after that that even the strongest
of us will start to succumb to the effects of dehydration. We might as well try. It could work. And if it doesn’t, at least we died trying instead of sitting here and slowly fading away.”
Daxar let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Are you volunteering to fly out, Toryx? Be realistic. I can’t order any of our military guys to fly into certain death, so unless you’re willing to risk your own life, there’s no chance of any flights going out of here.”
Toryx felt a rush of anger bubbling up from his core. He and Daxar had been good friends since they were kids, but right now he wasn’t feeling very friendly toward his Chief. He glared at the big blue alien, his own dark eyes locking with Daxar’s. “Yes, I’m volunteering. You should know me well enough to know that I’m not afraid to die. Give me a ship and a pilot and I’ll make the supply run.”
Daxar sighed again, even more impatiently this time. “No. I’m not going to do it. I’m not risking a pilot’s life, even if they wanted to go. And I’m not risking your life.”
Toryx had had enough. He stood and once more banged his fist on the table. “Then you’re risking all of our lives. Don’t you get it?”
He pointed an accusing finger at Daxar, letting his finger spikes slide out for emphasis. Zocronians all had spikes on their fingers and tails, but those spikes were normally kept retracted unless a Zocronian was angry.
Toryx was angry. Very angry. He’d sat through too many of these pointless meetings, discussing to death what Zocrone’s options were. The conversations always went around in the same circles until everyone decided that the only thing to do was to wait for the storms to subside.
But Toryx was tired of waiting. The storms hadn’t subsided, and they showed no signs of doing so anytime soon. If his hometown was going to survive, he was going to have to take matters into his own hands.
The Alphas of the Seven Galaxies Page 44