by V. K. Ludwig
“And friend,” he rasps, his hand drifting from my nose, fingers running through my hair before he grips the ends, tilting my head until my neck lies exposed.
Tail wrapping around my legs, he pulls me closer, arms tight around my back. His tongue trails over my jawline, lips nibbling, kissing, until they reach the corner of my mouth, where he whispers, “Kiss me.”
I blink at him once, but not a second time, because he captures my mouth with his. He suckles on my lower lip, panting into my mouth while his hand strokes over my cheek. His hard shaft grinds against my pubic bone, his loss of control robbing me of air to breathe.
I squeeze my hand between us and grab his shaft, some fingers sinking into depressions, while others rest on ridges. His stomach contracts against my wrist, and he groans into my mouth as he deepens the kiss. His lips are ecstasy against mine, his tongue delving between them, rousing a whirlwind underneath my ribs.
Sensing the rush of blood pumping into his cock, the thickness of it… My lower lip burns with how he bites down as I run my fist up and down his hard length.
My breaths come faster. His moans come louder.
He thrusts into my fist, offering a glorious sight of how the small lights above play a game of light and shadow across his ribbed abdomen. His muscles clench and ease, and his pupils wander between my eyes and his cock.
When he eases away from the kiss, I fully expect him to retreat completely. Tell me something about friends, and lines, and all sorts of perfectly reasonable arguments.
Instead, he rasps, “It’s considered shameful for a saikh to take pleasure like this.”
“You’re not a saikh yet.”
“You’ll make me spill my seed if you keep going.” His sharp grunt is as much a warning as an invitation against the corner of my mouth. “Also very shameful but, gods, the way you touch me…”
I stroke him harder, my pussy clenching as if I might get myself off like this. And I almost do when he rolls onto his back with a groan. His entire stomach contracts, and his cock jerks with each spurt of cum, forming glistening strings on his abdomen, and a few lonely droplets here and there.
Breathing hard, he clenches his eyes shut. When they open again, an ominous gold glinting underneath the dim light, he stares down at where he came all over himself.
I scoot up beside him and stroke his chest, not regretting any of this. “Did we cross a line?”
His hand reaches out to cup my cheek, trails down my neck, arm, and over my wrist before he takes my hand. He clasps my finger between his and trails the digit from one side of his stomach to the other, forming a glistening line of seed.
“We certainly crossed this line,” he says. “I’m surprised I don’t have it dangling from my chin, considering how hard you made me come.”
When I bring my finger to my mouth, he tugs against it right before it touches my lips. So I dip my head and trail my tongue around it, spreading the salty taste of his cum over my gums.
He stares at me, lips parted, and it takes a few blinks and swallows for him to snap out of this shellshocked state.
“Ever considered putting that in the pamphlet at your work?” He grabs a blanket, wipes himself clean, and pulls me into his chest. “Taste a saikh’s seed in front of him, and he’ll make you pizza every single damn day.”
I chuckle and run my hand up and down his horn, rubbing my pads on his ridges. “From what I’ve been told, Vandalar males are very fond of how human females take your cocks into their mouths. Did you know that?”
He proudly grins down at me. “Uh-huh. I looked up human porn. Put that in the pamphlet as well, and you’ll have a line all the way to the fountain with saikhs trying to enroll in your program.”
“I’ll discuss it with Steph.”
His fingers tug on the ends of my hair. “Do you have time to watch me fight during the next tournament?”
Fighting means so much to him, showing up for it is the least I can do. “I’d love to.”
“My sister will be there,” he says, kissing the top of my head before he pulls me deeper into his chest. “She has two saikhs who will come as well. Figured it might help you see such a unit in action. And they get along real well.”
I rub my nose against a chest that holds such a sense of safety for me. “Can you stay here tonight?”
Another kiss to my head. “Whatever pleases you.”
Nine
Izzy
I stroll through the main hall of the saikhmenti, brushing my hand over the smooth columns carved straight from the rock of the mountain. Fading frescos decorate the dome-shaped ceiling, showing Vandalar males ramming their horns into the bloody chest of an opponent. Creepy.
Turning left, I follow the hallway toward the gym, which is located at the modernized part of the school. Hollers and shouts reverberate from the walls, followed by the telltale tok-tok-tok of fighting.
A good forty scholars stand in a circle at the center of the gym. In the middle, Silas and Lucan brace against each other, horns tangled, swinging punches left and right as they fight for dominance. It’s an odd sight, considering Adrin told me they’ve been a couple for almost a solar cycle now. Guess fighting is in their blood, no matter what.
The moment Adrin spots me, he steps away from the crowd, his smirk entirely too sexy. “Hey, alien beauty.”
My chest turns light. “What’s up, stranger? No more classes?”
“Our mentor called in sick, so we’re just fooling around to pass the time until we’re released,” he says. “What are you doing here? Ketuni formation isn’t until after the weekend.”
I don’t even remember when I last watched them swinging cocks. “Actually, I was on my way to see Jessica.”
“What for?”
To find out if he flunked the assignment and didn’t tell me. “Wouldn’t you want to know?”
He makes a sound at the back of his throat and crosses big arms in front of an even bigger chest. “I saw her in her lecture room setting up vulvas before I came here.”
“Ah.” Not the oddest thing I’ve hear a Vandalar say at the saikhmenti. “Guess I’ll head over—”
“Izzy!” Cain shouts, his raven hair feathering over scarred shoulders. “Are you up for a round of sarish alniz?”
He stands bare-chested, stance wide, his purple eyes carrying specks of pink. A handsome guy who mentioned more than once he wouldn’t mind joining my estate. Still need to get to know him better, but I can never seem to find time. Probably because I’m either at work, or have Adrin between my legs, ripping one orgasm after another from me.
“Sorry to be a party pooper, but nobody will claim this female tonight,” I say with a tap to my sternum. “I’m on my way to Professor Smith.”
“Oh, come on. The weekend’s about to start, and you know we never get the chance to play it unless a female stumbles into the Horn Splitter. Just once.”
Adrin’s voice drops into something so deep, I flinch. “She said no.”
“I wasn’t veking talking to you,” Cain snarls, and takes a strong step toward Adrin. “Who are you to stand here, speaking for her as if you’re her saikh, when you might only barely manage to graduate?”
Adrin steps up, slamming his chest into Cain’s so quickly he stumbles back. “And who’s fault is that?”
Wait… is Cain the guy who broke his leg?
“Adrin,” Odrin warns from the sideline. “Come on, brother. He isn’t worth the risk of getting disqualified.”
Tension zaps the air, and aggression rolls off both males in waves. All over a stupid game? “Alright guys, calm down. I’ll play once, okay? One time.”
Adrin grunts. “You don’t have to do this.”
Yeah, I have to, because there’s no way I’ll watch Adrin do something stupid and get disqualified from his tournament. “It’s seriously not a big deal. Where do I stand? There’s no X marked on the ground.”
Cain takes my hand and leads me to a blue circle marked on the floor. “Stand right here, gorg
eous. Don’t worry, I’ll defend you.”
“No you won’t.” Adrin takes his shirt off and flings it to his brother. “I defended her once. I’ll claim her now.”
My lungs only manage small pants with the way these two guys are yapping at each other. “It’s only a game.”
But nothing about it is cheerful.
Not this time.
The circle widens, and scholars stand mute, their jawlines equally stiff as they watch Adrin and Cain get into position. And I stand on my little circle, heart clanking against my esophagus.
“Who challenges me for this female?” Cain calls out.
Adrin rolls his shoulders, looking every bit like a predator with the way he paces in front of Cain. “I do.”
He barely finishes the sentence when Cain storms at him, the phwet-phwet-phwet of his tailclaw slicing through the air ripping a small squeal from me. Adrin stumbles back, dodging the first attack. The second, he barely avoids by shifting sideways. At the third, he sucks in a sharp breath, and a line of red immediately streaks his abdomen.
My heart pounds so hard it hurts. “Adrin.”
But he only winks at me, sidestepping, dodging Cain’s consecutive attacks with his tail. When Cain lowers his horns and storms forward, Adrin wraps his tail around his ankle. One tug, and Cain sways. Adrin grabs his horns and yanks him over his shoulder.
Cain hits the ground with an earth-shattering whomp, groaning on impact, but growling low when Adrin points his tailclaw straight at his temple, saying, “Dead.”
He keeps his claw pointed at Cain as he steps over his body, toward me, and doesn’t remove it until he wraps me in his arms. Cupping my face, he brushes his forehead over mine, saying, “My female.”
The scholars clap and shout, except for Cain, who rolls onto all fours, and stomps out of the gym, mumbling a barrage of curses.
“What the hell was that?” I ask.
“Stay away from Cain,” Adrin whispers as he lifts me up, and carries me over to the hallway leading to Jessica’s lecture room. “He popped hot for drugs on several tournaments and is into some shady stuff. He isn’t what you’re looking for.”
When he lowers my feet back to the ground, my arms refuse to let go of his neck, my lips burning to feel his once more. “You didn’t claim me yet.”
His mouth slants over mine, claiming me a second time with a kiss that turns my knees weak. Again. “Now run along.”
“But you’re hurt.”
He glances down at himself, brow lifting as if he forgot all about it. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse.”
With a nod, I turn toward the hallway, legs like brittle twigs underneath me, and I can’t even pinpoint what’s to blame. The fight? The blood? The kiss?
Adrin himself?
I find Jessica with her arm shoved halfway up the vagina of the huge model at the center of the platform. “You wouldn’t believe the stuff I find in here. Yesterday, I pulled a shoe out. Twenty-three grown males acting like it’s 8th grade sex ed.”
“That’s all you got?” I help her pull purple feathers out of a fake vaginal canal. “Looks like there isn’t a lot of interest in Earth women. I literally die of boredom at work. Even Steph mentioned business is slow.”
She pushes her thick horn glasses higher on her nose. “With the next batch, I’ll have to rethink my approach.”
“Yeah, maybe strike the words erectile and tissue from your introductory class, replacing them with blow and job. Adrin told me things about my vagina I’ve never even heard before.” Like… who cares that squirting in women is mostly diluted urine? Eww.
A smirk creeps onto her lips, and she gives me a sideways glance. “It’s fascinating how much he improved in less than a lunar cycle.”
“So he’ll graduate?”
“Likely.” Her tone turns playful as she adds, “One might think he had some help.”
I force a small laugh. “Guess he’s a natural.”
“Or perhaps you’re a great teacher.”
My cheeks heat.
Well… damnit. “Please don’t tell anybody.”
“Oh no, honey, I won’t.” She ties up the trash bag of feathers. “He’s a sweet guy. The other mentors mentioned that he improved drastically across all intimacy subjects. But, fair word of warning, the question has been raised whether he’s somehow manipulating the droids. Guess he’ll have to prove them wrong once he sees the sheri’ma one final time.”
A shudder runs down my body at the thought of Adrin screwing Neyja or one of the other sheri’ma. That’s… new. Great, I’m growing territorial. Guess that happens when lines are crossed. It’s not like he didn’t warn me.
“I’ll bring it up with him. How did he do Wednesday? He didn’t mention anything, so I was concerned he might have flunked it, but didn’t want to tell me.”
Her head tips to the side. “Flunked what?”
“The surprise assessment. That was Wednesday, wasn’t it?”
Brows furrow as she slowly shakes her head. “Honey, there was no assessment this week.”
A flush of adrenaline hits me.
What a fucking liar.
Dude totally showed up at my place, shamelessly eating me out. Twice. Three times if you count the way he woke me the next morning. That’s not what friends do.
My stomach tingles, and a mumble steals past my lips, “That’s not what friends do.”
“I see,” Jessica says. “He took advantage.”
“No.” Never.
I hate being lied to, but I can’t bring myself to be upset. Everything Adrin ever did was for my pleasure, not once taking, or easily accepting, anything for himself. He’s an amazing friend — and so much more.
Adrin is massages while we watch a movie, fun when he teaches me how to cook, and snuggles each and every time he sends me into mind-numbing bliss. Those three saikhs I’ve been looking for? He is all of them combined, and there’s nobody I’d rather invite to my estate but him.
“Do you know if Adrin has any offers to join an estate?” I ask, and the question sits in my stomach like a rock. Would Adrin even want to be my saikh?
Jessica shakes her head. “Few have. Adrin never mentioned anything, though I understand he’s under a lot of pressure from his family.”
Never heard that before. “Why?”
“He comes from a family where becoming a saikh and claiming a female of his own is sort of a tradition. From what I understand, there are certain expectations. Same with Silas.”
Which further explains why a gay Vandalar male joins the saikhmenti, but also poses a new issue. After all, I’m in contract to take in three saikhs, and I doubt the council will see Adrin as three-in-one like I do. What if Adrin wouldn’t join an estate unless he is the only male there, and insist on claiming me with his bite?
My stomach quivers.
The idea of his bite doesn’t scare me nearly as much as picturing how he shakes his head, once more friend-zoning me. Well… this is just one fantastic mess I got myself into, isn’t it?
Securing myself an estate with three saikhs sounded like such a great idea before. As in, before Adrin. What if he refuses my invitation, given how his family would obviously disapprove? But then again, he never even mentioned them. Perhaps he doesn’t even care?
Only one way of finding out. “I have to go.”
Leaving the lecture room, I make my way back to the gym. I hope he’s still there because there’s no way I’ll let another female snatch him away from under my nose. And how could they not? Adrin is amazing.
Shouts roar from the gym.
My heart flutters.
They’re still there.
The moment I step into the gym, a cacophony of deep growls vibrates straight into my body. My skin pebbles. My nipples harden. And my clit throbs something fierce as I stumble back. Glass breaks. Metal clanks. Also, I think I peed myself.
Ten
Adrin
Odrin’s eyes flick to the hallway. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah, those mating growls were painfully out of tune,” I say. “And not synchronized at all.”
“No, I mean the noise coming from the hallway.”
I shrug. “Didn’t notice anything.”
“I’ll go check.”
He jogs off, and I put my shirt back on now that the cut on my stomach is clotting, my mind still spinning. Scary, how Cain’s audacity to defend Izzy from me drove dangerous amounts of rage and adrenaline into my veins. As a fighter, keeping control over my aggression is crucial, especially since it’s so inherent in the males of my species. I had none of it when I claimed her, the only thing holding me back from going after Cain how she wrapped her arms around my neck.
Something rattles in the hallway, and Odrin pokes his head around the doorframe, red blotches covering his face. “Hey, um, Adrin? Can you come here for a moment?”
By the gods, what’s he doing back there? The tendons along his neck are so taught I can see them from here. “What’s wrong?”
“Just, please—” His head disappears. Metal clanks against stone. His head returns. “Get your ass over here this instant!”
Whatever.
I run over and turn into the hallway.
My heart stutters to a stop.
I know we have a problem the moment I see Izzy clinging to my brother, moaning, head lolling around uncontrollably, rubbing her cunt up and down his leg as she yanks on his horn.
I realize the problem is mine alone when she groans, “Fuck me, Adrin.”
Anger pumps through my muscles. “Stop letting her rub herself on you!”
“Do I look happy about this?” Odrin’s fingers squeeze Izzy’s face, fighting off kisses. “Trust me, the last thing I want is a willing female moaning my brother’s name into my ear. She rubbed herself on the veking cleaning cart when I found her. This is an improvement.”
I wrap my arms around her and tug. “Come here.”
She offers little resistance.
Actually, she immediately turns to me, grabs my cock, and drags her tongue over the side of my neck with such passion all strength sucks from my legs, whispering, “Fuck me and come all over my face.”