His To Steal

by Taylor Vaughn

  “Thank you, cousin,” L’Than responds with the careless smile of a scion who has not only grown up in the lap of luxury, but was also never compelled to fight in the Three Generations War.

  “But to actually have them roaming freely in Xalthuria?” L’Gon continues, addressing the rest of the table. “That is simply unacceptable, and if the council is given any say in the matter, I will vote against such action.”

  L’Ryn nods beside me and gives me another careful glance. “I have also heard the hu’mans are emotional and violent. I do not mind raising a hybrid, since I currently cannot have progeny of my own. But if my future mate were to take such a comfort female, I would be very scared she might try to hurt me or our Xalling in a fit of crazed violence. Please take no offense, L’Than. We value you dearly.”

  “As I do you,” L’Than answers, his own gaze straying back to A’Ry. “And I myself would prefer a Xalthurian female. I cannot imagine spending my life with a hu’man…”

  He cannot. Yet, I can. Easily now after having commuted four hours a day for the last month to spend time with Zin’nia in my cabin.

  Zin’nia who is not pregnant with my child.

  My ridges flatten with resolve. I am a general, the Xar of my people. I have not only a duty to my family lines but to my people. I can let the Ceremony Mind Rot influence my decisions no longer.

  My unsanctioned relationship with the hu’man…it ends tonight.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zinnia

  I wake suddenly from a dream about picking ruchis from their notoriously thorny vines.

  The cabin is completely dark, but I can tell I’m still lying on my corner pallet. The golden Xal didn’t come home last night, I vaguely recall. And, for some reason, that had made it very difficult to fall asleep. But now I can hear a voice, clicking and hissing. Not inside the cabin, but right outside its door.

  I feel my way along the wall until I reach the window beside the front door. Glad for my bored study and experimentation with all the tech embedded in the otherwise rustic purple wood cabin, I touch my fingers to the glass, knowing this will untint it.

  The light of the planet’s three moons comes streaming in so fast, it takes my eyes a moment to adjust and see T’Kan, standing just a few feet beyond the cabin’s door.

  He’s talking to somebody I can’t see on a floating screen. And his face is even grimmer than it was this morning when he left.

  I watch for a few moments. But when he swipes a hand across the air, disappearing the hovering screen, I quickly re-tint the window and scramble back to my pallet.

  Keeping my eyes carefully closed, I listen to his footsteps. The Xals don’t wear shoes like us humans, but his steps are so heavy they sound like boots.

  They stop in front of my pallet.

  I lie there. Wondering what he’ll do next. Dan won’t touch Nova when she’s on her period and often sleeps on another mat for fear of getting blood on him if the bark cloth rags we use to catch our flow fails—which they often do. Maybe he’ll leave me where I am tonight.

  But as if in answer to that thought, he reaches down and lifts me into his arms. He silently carries me to his sleeping mats and lays me down. I wait for him to lie down beside me and pull me into the usual arm tuck butt grab.

  But then his hand curves around my neck, his claws scraping my sensitive skin.

  Goosebumps break out across my body. Is he…is he going to—

  The hand around my neck suddenly falls away.

  More quiet. Neither of us move.

  Then suddenly he lies down beside me and pulls me into his side, one arm wrapping around me. Guess I’m still his bark cloth bear. Something he can’t sleep without.

  My breathing slowly returns to normal.

  There is so much I have to figure out. I must escape this cabin. Must get back to my planet. To Nova and Glee and Kira.

  So why then do I feel so at peace when I fall asleep curled up beside him?

  Save for my period, the next few days feel back to normal. Only stiffer.

  I no longer wake up with a strange heaviness in my body, my pussy clenching around air. There’s also no more clicked good mornings or smiling when he gets home.

  I didn’t think it was possible, but his stare has become more intense. I can feel it on me pretty much always, even when my back is turned. Especially when my back is turned. It makes me feel like I’m being tracked by a predator.

  But then one morning he gives me a tour of the cabin, showing me how to use the wall refrigerator and another device that looks like an empty drawer with a key pad.

  He pulls it open to show me nothing’s inside. Then he closes it, pushes a few buttons and pulls it back open. There’s now a plate filled with what the Xalthurians seem to consider the four major food groups: meat, cheese, bread, and fruit.

  I gasp, just like Glee does whenever Jin-Hu’s brother, Wang-Lei performs a magic trick for her and the other settlement kids. I mean, c’mon a drawer making food out of nothing but air—that has to be some kind of magic.

  That same night he catches my arm when I try to go to my pallet and regards me with one of those super grim looks before scooping me up in his arms and carrying me to his mats.

  We fall asleep together, but when I wake up I’m alone. He’s gone. Not just from the bed, but from the house.

  At first, I think he’s only left for wherever he goes every day in that flyer. Work or whatever. But that night he doesn’t come back. Or the night after that. Or the night after that.

  And by the fifth day, I realize, he’s left me here in this cabin situated in the middle of a very hostile nowhere. All alone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  T’Kan

  Seven excruciating days after leaving Zin’nia behind to protect my Kel during the Kaidorian Peace Negotiations, I set my flyer back down in front of the cabin.

  When I had failed in my duty to snap her neck after her bleeding, I went away believing that time away might strengthen my resolve.

  But if anything the mind rot has only gotten worse since my leave taking. And now a new unexpected piece of hardware buzzes inside my head.

  Translation chips were heavily regulated under our last Kel, the father of D’Rek. Often only given to diplomats, so that all communications between us and other races could be controlled by a trusted advisor. However, Kel D’Rek, had decided not only to acquire a translation chip for himself—it was rumored that he had done so that he might better communicate with his hu’man captive. And at the beginning of our trip, he had commanded that the elite force accompanying him to the peace negotiations should also receive chips.

  My uncle had been incredibly alarmed when Kel D’Rek made his announcement during our beginning of trip meeting. “My Kel might I remind you that your father believed warriors were better at following orders when they did not understand what was being said by the enemy? Also, giving the warriors a translation chip might put them at a disadvantage. Distract them when they need battle mind the most.

  “According to your own intel, the Kaidorians have all been outfitted with translation chips. And T’Kan and I know firsthand how well they battled despite being able to comprehend our words,” Kel D’Rek answers him. “I also want to ensure the Kaidorian emperor carries no advantage over us during our talks.”

  I was later told by my hissing angry uncle that they had both looked to me for the deciding vote.

  However, my mind had been so busy processing that I would now be able to understand the hu’man that when they prodded me for my opinion, I had simply said, “Whatever our Kel commands.”

  Yes, the mind rot continued to grip my hearts tight in its fists.

  And though I did manage to fulfill the rest of my duties to my Kel after receiving the unexpected translation chip, I continued to deteriorate during my time away.

  The nightmares returned. I did not know a peaceful night from the moment I left her side, and instead of deflating, my diijo became even more enflamed with th
oughts of her. And only her. During the treaty talks several of my soldiers and even more Kaidorians visited the pleasure station near the Darlanz asteroid belt. But I couldn’t bring myself to follow suit. The thought of being with another female almost repulsed me. Which was unfortunate, since this time away was supposed to help strengthen my resolve to snap the neck of the hu’man female immediately upon my return.

  The peace negotiations with the Kaidorians had ended with the savage warriors offering to cede all rights to the Darlanz Asteroid Belt in exchange for half the New Terrhan colony. As it turned out, they, too, needed to replenish their race after the Extinction Virus had killed most of their females and rendered the ones left infertile.

  It was a good offer, one that would allow both our races to thrive in the aftermath of the war. But for some reason, our Kel had not immediately agreed to their terms as my uncle had been certain he would.

  We had returned to Xalthuria without a deal, only to discover that while his Kel was away, the hybrid L’Than had somehow gotten access to a translation chip of his own and had been spending much time with Ki’Ra, the hu’man our Kel was currently breeding.

  Apparently I was not the only one who had become obsessed with the hu’man I had taken. I spent much of our first night back on Xalthuria, watching our Kel beat the foolish hybrid near to death.

  By the time the punishment was done, his brash smile was bloody and broken. And I sensed his days of carelessly flirting with any female who caught his eye were done.

  Now I am back at my cabin.

  I know what I must do. And this time I will not fail. It is extremely late, and she is surely sleeping. I will not let myself carry her to my mats this time. Will not give the mind rot any chance to sway me.

  Steeling to battle mind, I open the door and creep toward her pallet.

  But she is not there. Fear seizes my hearts. Along with confusion…

  Then a moan cuts through the air, and suddenly a most delicious scent, fills my nose. I lift my head, immediately recognizing the aroma of the hu’man female’s sweet hot. Even stronger than before.

  Another moan, and like a thing automated, I turn in its direction.

  Only to freeze at the sight.

  For she is lying upon my sleeping mats, moaning as her hand moves frantically underneath the white covers.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Zinnia

  This is the last time, I promise myself as I circle my fingers over my clit.

  It’s been unexpectedly hard to fall asleep in the cabin by myself. But this is the last time….the last time I lie in the sheets that still smell like him, because I’ve yet to put them into the washing device he showed me how to use before he left. The last time I think of him and diddle myself until I find my release.

  Maybe something is wrong with me. I should be thinking of ways to get my hand on a weapon so I can make my escape instead of touching myself when his image invades my mind. I’m not supposed to feel this way toward my captor. But here I am, trying to find satisfaction in the middle of the night because I can’t sleep. But it won’t happen again, I tell myself.

  Tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow I’ll come up with a plan to make some sort of weapon and leave. But tonight…tonight I think of the golden alien and touch myself. And his image is so clear, that I can actually hear the sound of his clicks and hisses.

  At least I think those clicks and hisses are a figment of my imagination. But then the pitch black beyond my eyes, suddenly turns to red.

  Shocked, I open my eyes and see the cabin is now brightly illuminated, and, oh moons…

  The golden alien is standing over my bed. Watching me.

  It’s him. It’s really him, I determine after a few surprised blinks. But the calm gaze I’ve come to know so well over the last few weeks is nowhere to be found.

  He hovers over me, golden and huge, his violet eyes gleaming in a way that makes me feel naked. Even though I’m wearing one of the shift dresses he gave me and am underneath the covers. His covers.

  The sound of his harsh breathing fills up the room. His nose flares and his massive chest rises and falls. As if it’s taking all of his strength to hold himself back.

  He is outrageously hard, his erection straining so violently against his pants leg, I can see the imprint, down to his cock’s alien ridges.

  Beast…the word blows into my mind, like an ominous wind. He stands on two legs, but scans me like a seven-foot predator who has spotted his prey.

  He speaks to me in clicks and hisses. His voice low and dangerous.

  And though I don’t speak his language, I somehow completely comprehend the words coming out of his mouth.

  He is telling me I am his.

  His to steal. His to take. His to breed.

  Then he rips the covers away from my body.

  And I belatedly remember what I was doing before he appeared.

  T’Kan

  Her hand.

  It is on her breeding slit and it moves in a stroking motion. Up and down. I do not think she realizes that she hasn’t stopped after I ripped the covers away. Her big brown eyes are wide with surprise but the hand keeps moving as if it is on autopilot.

  For weeks I managed not to breed her. In the days before I left for the peace negotiations, I even forced myself to stop touching and tasting her in her sleep.

  But this…seeing her like this…

  A male has his limits and mine has been met.

  Watching her hand move upon her breeding slit, I lose all my willpower. My entire sense of duty.

  It is one moment. One mere moment. But in that single tick of time, the mind rot wins.

  No, I will not kill her.

  Quite the opposite, in fact.

  Zinnia

  He stares at my hand that somehow refuses to stop stroking my clit. Stares at my wet pussy.

  Then the next thing I know, he’s between my legs.

  His shoulders knocking my thighs back as his golden head dives into my pussy.

  I’m not ready.

  The feel of his tongue on my pussy. Not just licking. But slurping. Consuming me as if my pussy is a meal and he’s on the brink of starvation.

  No…no….

  Dimly, I realize this is wrong. Not what I want. He shouldn’t be doing this to me. And I shouldn’t be liking it so much. He’s the enemy. My captor. The obstacle I must vanquish to get back to my planet.

  I should tell him to stop. Push him away. I have to… I place my hands on his shoulders to do just that, but when his tongue strokes my clit, my hands fall away. I am weak.

  The sensations are building so fast. Too fast.

  Oh moons…oh moons, I’m going to…

  T’Kan

  She begins to quake, but I do not stop. Cannot stop.

  Her sweet hot is so warm and delicious on my tongue, a mixture of all my favorite berries, but even better. I cannot get enough of the juices flowing from her breeding slit. The brief tastes I have allowed myself while she was sleeping are nothing compared to this.

  I lick and slurp, careful not to lose a single drop, even when her folds start quaking and she begins to buck her hips, pressing her core into my face.

  She grips my shoulders and holds me against her, not that I have any intention of pulling away.

  And then it happens. My female’s mouth falls open and her eyes squeeze shut. Then a warm gush of her juices baptize my face, slightly thicker than before and even more addictive.

  “Oh moons! Oh moons! I came. You made me come. Why…how did that feel so good?”

  Even with my newly installed translation chip, I am confused by her words. But it would seem that my female has arrived at her release much the same as a male.

  Fascinating. I never knew that it was possible for a female to experience such pleasure from sex. Our Xalthurian females certainly do not react this way to their taking.

  Suddenly lapping at her delicious juices is no longer enough. I need to be inside of her. Now.

 
Zinnia

  He flips me over like a ragdoll and falls on top of me, his heavy body pinning me down so that I’m flush with the bed.

  He didn’t rip my dress off this time, but I can feel the grooves of his molded body armor scrape up my back as he raises his hips and pulls himself out.

  He crooks one of his large alien legs under my human thigh, pushing my bad leg up, so that it’s at a 90 degree angle when his massive, ridged cock…

  I choke back a cry as I remember that time on the ship. But there’s no pain. There’s no burn. Just the feeling of being stuffed beyond all comprehension, completely impaled as my pussy struggles to contain his ridged cock.

  Oh moons, he’s so big. In more ways than one. He uses our size differential to position his face across from mine as his bottom half lifts, and then he starts moving on top of me.

  Watching me. He’s watching me. Looking directly into my eyes, as he takes me with slow, monstrous thrusts. I have no doubt they would jerk my entire body upwards if his weight wasn’t pinning me down. And every surge of his hips moves me just enough for my still engorged clit to scrape against the sheets. Again and again.

  I don’t know how to respond to this. What to do or say.

  But his ridges scrape my walls so deliciously that I release an involuntary moan. Something strange is happening to me. I burn. I ache. I want…I need him to stop. But the hurt has nothing to do with his rough taking off me. And the demand for him to stop never reaches my mouth.

  I’m afraid of the ravenous feeling building inside of me. Afraid that whatever is coming over the horizon will tear me apart.

  And I’m right to be afraid.

  I come. I come so hard, I see stars even though we are inside. So hard, I begin to fear drowning in this sea.