The Mercenary's Dawn (Renegades Book 1)

by L P Peace

  ‘Is this another human ceremony I am unaware of?’ Thanesh narrowed his eyes at her. She giggled. The idea of her laughing ten cycles ago would have been unthinkable, now she did it often.

  ‘I’m just joking with you,’ she said. ‘Moving in together is considered a big deal among humans.’

  ‘I am asking you to move in with me,’ Thanesh said. ‘When we get to your world, Korren will take the Calaia and you and I will lead our world together.’

  Alethia went still above him. For a moment, the old wary look was back.

  ‘I am still not asking where Tessa is,’ he assured her. ‘I want you by my side for as long as I have you.’

  An old pain reared its head. His first lover, Calaia, dying of old age and him, seemingly forever in his prime, unable to go with her. He would suffer the pain again to be with Alethia. But it would hurt even more this time.

  Alethia frowned. She placed a hand on his cheek and leaned closer. From this angle, her dark blue eyes appeared paler. ‘Why are you anticipating things that are decades away?’

  His fingers grazed her cheek. He drank in the sight of her. ‘Move into my quarters.’

  ‘Bite me.’ Her eyes filled with humour, despite himself, Thanesh smiled. ‘And I’ll say yes.’

  ‘Go to Tevin, and I will bite you when he clears you.’

  Alethia rolled her eyes and tried to move away from him. Thanesh pinned her in place, his fingers digging into the flesh of her rear. ‘Go to Tevin, and when I get back from Teralis, I will clear my schedule until Keral gets here and bite you as much as you want.’

  ‘Is that a promise?’ Alethia bit her lip. She was smiling, but there was hunger on her face. She craved his bite. He had managed to put her off, but there was something inside her building.

  ‘I promise. Go to Tevin in the morning, and if he clears you, I will bite you and vrok you senseless before I leave.’ He felt the pulse between her legs on his abdomen. Felt her grow wetter against him. Her teeth were biting her lip so hard now, it had gone pale.

  She lifted her delectable rear off of him, allowing his cock to fall between them, and then positioned her cunt over his cock and slicked a path over his shaft.

  Thanesh’s fingers dug deeper into her rear, his eyes closed and he groaned.

  ‘Deal?’ He opened his eyes and saw her face contorted in ecstasy above him. That look alone drove his need up.

  ‘Deal,’ she whispered.

  Thanesh bit his own lip at the sight of her. Alethia leaned down, grinding harder against him, and licked one fang.

  ‘Hmmm, look at what a wanton creature I have created.’ He smiled at her. It turned into a grin when her face flushed red above him. ‘Come here.’

  Thanesh slipped his hands under her and grabbed her rear, dragging her up his body until her cunt was directly over his mouth. He licked her lightly up the seam, only diving a little deeper to flick it over her clit. Above him, Alethia cried out and shook. His hands still on her rear, he licked her lightly again and again, slowly penetrating the folds of her sex, savouring the taste of her and capturing more of it when she became even wetter.

  She leaned back and twisted around, her hand reaching for and gripping his cock. His sack tightened. Thanesh released her rear and grabbed her wrists, securing them in one of his hands behind her back and wrapping the other around her hips. He plunged his tongue inside her. Alethia cried out, her cunt tightening around his tongue, which was bathed in her juices; she was close.

  He pressed his fangs hard against his lower lip, feeling his venom express on his lips. He smacked them together, capturing some of the fluid, the rest leaking over his chin and smeared his lips against every part of her sex, petals and bud.

  He watched her face as he licked her again. Her eyes were darkened with desire. Her mouth hung open, a look of need on her face. His tongue stroked her again, ignoring her clit this time. The need increased and she ground against him, trying to orient her clit closer to his licks. He pinned her down against his mouth and fucked her with his tongue. When he felt her cunt clamp down on him, he locked his lips to her clit and sucked on it.

  Her skin flushed red as her cunt flooded over his chin. She cried out, hard and desperate, her back bowed, her breasts thrust forward, her head falling back.

  When she was whimpering above him, Thanesh cleaned her with his tongue, feeling the clenching aftermath of her orgasm. He was certain she’d never cum that hard before; it made him proud.

  Finally, Thanesh released her hands. He watched her sway in her euphoria above him. He loved watching the way she got lost after sex. However, this was not a good position to watch. Gently, he manoeuvred them until he was leaning against the headboard and she was gathered in his arms.

  She looked up at him with a lazy smile on her face. ‘That was evil.’

  He laughed. ‘That was fun.’ He loved feeling her cum against his tongue almost as much as he loved her cumming against his cock.

  Once again, she was straddling him. Without any ceremony, she rose on her knees until Thanesh’s cock fell into place and then lowered herself onto him. He felt her part around him and hissed when another of her orgasmic aftershocks gripped him.

  His eyes closed.

  He slipped his hand into her hair, leaning his forehead against hers, and managed to open his eyes. There was a solemn look on her face as she gazed at him. He grazed fingers down her cheek. His thumb brushed over her lips.

  Though he hadn’t said it yet, he knew what he felt for her. He only hoped she felt the same way.

  She loved him. He watched her with solemn eyes, conveying more than words ever could and Alethia allowed what she felt to show on her face. For all her doubts, at this moment she wasn’t frightened.

  The head of his cock was sitting at her entrance. She pushed down, feeling each ridge of his textured cock slip inside her. She moaned and whimpered at each new pooling sensation. Despite the extraordinary orgasm she just had, Thanesh’s venom left her needful. In the past, when she’d brought herself to orgasm, after only one, Alethia was too oversensitive to continue. But Thanesh’s venom undid all of that. As long as it was on her, or in her, she needed to cum, repeatedly.

  She saw him press a thumb to one fang and watched in anticipation of its destination. He grazed it, first against one nipple then the other. That sensation was maddening enough, sending lightening pleasure through her nerves, her abdomen clenching tight in anticipation. Then, cupping her breast in one hand, he captured it in his mouth and sucked. Her clit pulsed angrily at her. Alethia pressed her fingers to it, then circled it.

  A moment later, Thanesh knocked her hand away and, with the same venom-laced thumb, he rubbed her clit and pushed her over into another orgasm. She could feel her gripping around him and heard Thanesh’s hissing, indrawn breath for control. She gripped tighter and moved up and down his length, pushing him to let go.

  He gripped her hips and stopped her from moving, chuckling as he looked into her eyes. ‘Now who is evil?’

  ‘Revenge,’ she murmured, rocking her hips as much as his hold would allow. ‘Cum for me, Thanesh,’ she whispered.

  He stifled a groan and gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles flexing. Grabbing her in a tight hold he readjusted himself so that his knees were raised behind her. She was now cradled by him, front and back. She moved her legs forward, around his hips, and felt herself sink deeper onto him. He choked out a groan.

  ‘Not yet, my beautiful Alethia,’ he whispered into her mouth before pressing his lips to hers. His tongue followed a moment later, licking along her lower lip and then past them, against her own tongue.

  She felt his thumb circling her clit a moment before another orgasm crashed over her. This one she screamed into his mouth and Thanesh seemed eager to receive it, kissing her deeper. With his thumb, he demanded more from her, which she gave. She came twice more before Thanesh was satisfied.

  When he broke the kiss, there was a feral look on his face.

  ‘Alethia,’ he groaned
. He rolled until her back was against the mattress and he was above her, his cock buried deep inside her. He forced himself deeper still and pulled her legs up, splitting her wider and thrusting farther, until she was letting out animalistic noises. When he finally managed to set a rhythm to his thrusts, they were hard, fast and filled with frantic urgency. He grunted his hunger above her, his eyes filled with craving.

  Alethia was so fixated on the sight of Thanesh losing control that the orgasm side-swiped her. Her back bucked, and every muscle in her lower body locked. The orgasm swept across her nerves like a tidal wave, but as it ebbed, it rose again.

  She heard Thanesh moan long and hard before he grunted his final thrusts. He came hot, pulsing inside her, thrusting several long, uncoordinated jerks before coming to a stop.

  For a moment, in the aftermath he could barely focus, and then he collapsed on top of her. He was usually so careful, convinced he would break her, but his weight was a welcome comfort. She wrapped her arms around him and revelled in this closeness.

  After a few moments, Thanesh raised himself on his forearms. Alethia looked up into his pale amber eyes.

  ‘Alethia.’ The look on his face was so painfully earnest.

  ‘I know,’ she whispered. ‘Me too.’

  Thanesh smiled weakly. Their kiss was soft, gentle and very long.

  Alethia kicked her legs. Thanesh was sitting on the same table beside her in Medbay but his feet were firmly on the floor, his knees bent. She looked down past her bare feet. The floor was at least a foot beneath her.

  Everyone on Calaia was so big. Even those crew who weren’t the white Protectorate, those who were other kinds of aliens, held their own in height with Thanesh’s people. The only people here smaller than Alethia were the children of the alien crew, who lived on board. She saw them in the hall on their way to class as Thanesh led her to Medbay. They’d looked at her with curious looks; some smiled, and one little Adosian girl, the yellow markings stark against her grey skin had waved enthusiastically. One Radiin child, a little boy with his half-moon horns growing in, glared at her with open hostility.

  It was strange to think that if she accepted Thanesh’s proposal, she would be a leader of their people, that child and his parents included. She wondered if it would change anything for them.

  Tevin walked in. He looked like a young male; his face was almost entirely smooth. He was beautiful, from his sculpted cheekbones, his full lips, to the well-developed physique that was, very obviously, hiding beneath his uniform. He must have been taken from Earth when he was still young.

  Alethia looked at Thanesh, comparing him and finding that she preferred Thanesh’s face; it had more character. She found, over the days, that she enjoyed just watching him. Reading, talking, making love. His face fascinated her.

  Her heart skipped a beat when he looked at her and smiled.

  ‘Alethia?’ She raised her eyebrows in response, and Thanesh gestured towards Tevin. He was heading into his office.

  ‘Oh, sorry.’ She felt herself blush.

  ‘What were you thinking?’ he asked.

  Alethia hopped onto the floor and looked at him. She frowned. There was nothing to say but… ‘You.’ She rolled her eyes.

  Thanesh grinned, kissed her, then pulled her into the office behind him. He pulled a chair out for her before sitting himself.

  When Alethia saw the look on Tevin’s face, her mood instantly changed.

  ‘Do I have cancer?’

  Thanesh looked at her, surprise mixed with fear on his face.

  Tevin shook his head. ‘No,’ he said firmly. This was not the first time Alethia had asked the question. But the worried look on his face remained.

  ‘What then?’

  ‘Tevin?’ Thanesh said.

  Tevin took in a deep breath and released it. He looked at her with pale aqua eyes.

  ‘I… I found something. You are fine,’ he said quickly. ‘I think.’

  ‘You think?’ Thanesh growled. ‘Tevin, for vrok’s sake, tell us what’s wrong.’

  ‘I worked to become a doctor as soon as the Amarans agreed to help us.’

  Beside her, Thanesh nodded. ‘Jarit,’ he said, as though that explained everything.

  ‘The scars?’ Alethia said, realising it did. Whatever happened to Jarit must have been terrible to leave such scars when Amaran tech should have been able to heal them so easily.

  Again, Thanesh nodded. ‘He got them on Teralis,’ he said quietly. ‘Before we were able to leave the vrokking place.’

  ‘I vowed I would never be helpless when one of my brothers needed me again,’ Tevin said the words so earnestly that Alethia could tell he meant them down to his bones. ‘I have been there for the birth of every one of our children,’ he continued. ‘I have been the doctor of many of the females my brothers have taken as lovers, including…’ Tevin glanced at Alethia.

  ‘I’m not a jealous woman,’ Alethia assured him.

  Tevin nodded. ‘Including Calaia.’

  ‘Calaia?’ Alethia looked at Thanesh. ‘You named your flagship after your old lover?’

  Thanesh glanced at her and nodded. ‘She died a long time ago.’ He seemed to say it for her benefit, but Alethia could see pain behind his eyes.

  ‘In all that time, I have never seen our venom do what it is doing to you right now.’ Tevin continued.

  ‘What’s it doing to me?’ Alethia asked, turning back to look at him, then back at Thanesh; there was a devastated uncertainty to his look. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it.

  ‘I am not sure,’ Tevin admitted. ‘I do not know enough about human genetics. Do you know much?’

  Alethia grimaced and shook her head. ‘The colony doctor explained it to me once, but I don’t really have a brain for it.’ Alethia thought for a moment. ‘I remember him saying it’s called DNA on Earth, and there are four acids?’ She shook her head. That couldn’t be right. ‘But other than that, I don’t know.’

  Tevin nodded. ‘Biomolecules,’ he said knowingly. ‘We have six. Four in common with you and two more. Alethia, our fifth and sixth biomolecules are being grafted onto yours.’

  It took a moment for the full impact of Tevin’s words to penetrate her mind. She looked at Thanesh, whose stunned expression matched Tevin’s and, she was sure, her own.

  ‘It is turning off certain gene expressions, taking over for them and augmenting others. Outwardly, you will not change much, I believe. Internally, I have no idea what it is doing.’

  Several thoughts ran through her mind in quick succession. Outwardly, she wouldn’t change, but internally… She looked at Tevin, his horns which were longer, more slender than Thanesh’s. It was the only thing that made sense, which made one thing obvious.

  ‘They were coming back,’ she whispered.

  Thanesh frowned. A moment later, realisation dawned.

  ‘Coming back?’ Tevin asked.

  ‘The Cealin.’ Alethia looked at Tevin. ‘They were going to come back and take women.’

  ‘So we could breed them,’ Thanesh finished for her.

  Tevin sat back in his chair. ‘They made the fangs and venom so that we could change human females and make them compatible with us.’

  ‘Compatible,’ Thanesh said. Alethia turned to him. He looked at her. ‘Compatible.’ He leaned over his chair, placing a hand over her cheek. ‘You are becoming one of us,’ he said.

  ‘A sister?’ Tevin gasped.

  ‘She is not my vrokking sister,’ Thanesh growled.

  ‘So, the venom is safe then?’ Alethia asked.

  Tevin grimaced, letting out a steadying breath. ‘Until we know for sure that it is not doing anything else, I suggest not biting again. I want to see where this is going, what effect it’s having.’

  ‘We know what effect it’s having,’ Alethia protested. ‘What’s the point? The venom’s already working.’

  She looked at Thanesh for support, but he shook his head.

  ‘Tevin is right,’ he said. ‘We
need to be sure it is not harmful.’

  As Thanesh and Tevin spoke alone, Alethia searched for an argument, but she knew Thanesh was right. She shook her head. She was never going to experience the bite again at this rate.

  Just as she had promised, Alethia moved into Thanesh’s quarters. They made love again, and even though he wouldn’t bite her, she had to try. Still, he used his venom on her again, ratcheting her body’s responses until she had screamed her orgasms so loud she was sure she could be heard clear across the ship.

  After, she dozed, high on endorphins and loving the feel of Thanesh’s body, so warm, against hers. He brushed his fingers through her hair, his face against her scalp, breathing her in.

  ‘I cannot get enough of the smell of you,’ he murmured. ‘Not just that delicious cunt of yours.’ He took in a deep breath. ‘Just you. The smell of you.’

  ‘I know the feeling,’ Alethia said, taking a breath of his earthy, musky aroma. It was combined with sweat and other scents from them both that, in her mind, was the scent of them together. Lately, it seemed to be growing stronger. Was that the changes?

  ‘I am going to have to take a shower.’ He sighed. ‘Join me?’

  Alethia looked up into his amber eyes and nodded, feeling the blush before she saw him grin. He grazed one finger over her cheek. He had gone to great lengths over the rotes they had spent together to get her to blush.

  ‘If I had known inviting you to shower would elicit this reaction, I would have been the cleanest male in the Protectorate.’

  In the shower, he made her cum three times before any actual showering took place. After, Thanesh disappeared into his wardrobe to dress. When he came out, Alethia was back in her white dress. He eyed it.

  ‘As soon as this is done, we are going to Dahnus Ascent station and I am taking you shopping.’

  ‘I can’t go there Thanesh,’ she shook her head. ‘The Amarans may be against slavery, but they’re still signatories to the IGC. I’m a registered slave. As soon as I step foot on there, I’ll be sent to the Ledaan that bought me.’