Claimed by the Conqueror

by Alyx X

  They turned to me. “He said he’ll leave his daughter to answer any questions you might have.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.” That was easier than I’d hoped. Dad gave me one last searching look before he left the building, and I turned all my attention to Emma.

  “I have questions,” I said.

  I walked over to her, and as I passed the other humans, they all walked away from me. Every single one went to another growing area at high speed. Oh well. It lessened the need to get rid of them, and I was accustomed to lesser beings feeling nervous in my presence. It was the natural order of things.

  “Questions?” Emma grinned. “I just love questions.” Her tits bounced a little, nodding their agreement, as she tossed her hair.

  “So… You grow food here?” Shit. Not my best.

  “That’s a question?” She glanced at me over her shoulder as I reached into a sack and threw some small, hard vegetables into my mouth.

  They crunched as I chewed, and some got stuck in my teeth. They tasted atrocious. I swallowed quickly just to get them off my tongue, but all the sharp edges scraped against my throat. “Why do you grow these?”

  She laughed. “We don’t. That’s gravel—little stones. We use it to mix with our soil for drainage. You’re not supposed to eat that.”

  I glanced around. Stones? I’d just eaten rock chippings? Voluntarily? I discreetly coughed a couple back into my hand and discarded them on the floor of this weird farm. If they had any sense, they’d take it completely underground.

  “We don’t grow food this way where I come from.”

  “Not even like this?” She leaned over a basket, her gaze on me the entire time as I watched her tits offer themselves to me over her shirt again. She picked out a long orange item.

  “This is a carrot,” she said as she touched her lips with the tip of it. “I find they have many uses.”

  “You do?” I stepped closer. I vaguely wondered where my sister had gotten off to, but I was too focused on Emma to truly care. Roe could take care of herself.

  “Oh, yeah.” She flicked her tongue out—briefly—but I saw it. “It feels good and heavy in my hand, too.” She stroked it, and I shivered as if she’d touched me.

  I stepped closer to her, until our bodies almost touched. “I have a carrot you might like to see. Though it’s a little larger than that pathetic spear.” I kept my voice low, for her ears only.

  She pressed the tip of the orange vegetable past her lips and winked at me as she sucked her cheeks in and gave a small moan of pleasure, and my cock jerked to full awareness of her.

  “Emma!” The furious shout came from closer to the doors of the greenhouse, and I sighed. The puny human called Dad had returned. “Emma.” He repeated.

  I only understood him when he spoke her name, but apparently, he’d summoned her to his side. With a sigh, a roll of her eyes, and a bite from the end of the carrot, Emma walked toward her father. I returned to stand with Roe, who was smiling hugely behind her hand.

  Dad’s face turned nearly as red as mine while he whisper-yelled at Emma, and I watched as he mopped more water from his skin. His tone was angry, his eyebrows drawn into a fierce scowl, and he gestured at me with his hand. I waved back, but Roe knocked my hand back to my side.

  “Looks like they might have this argument fairly often,” Roe observed in our language, and I nodded as I watched Emma throw her hands up in frustration.

  “Looks like it. She’s feisty.” My words were appreciative.

  “She sure is. Interesting combination,” Roe said. “Feisty and feeble all at the same time.”

  “Fascinating,” I agreed. Then I slid Roe a sideward glance. “I’m sorely tempted to take her with me. I’ve never seen such an interesting reminder of my time on a piece of trash planet.”

  Roe’s eyes were wary, but I knew the fire behind them. She didn’t like that idea, and would probably have a lot to say about it. Before she could begin telling me all the reasons I shouldn’t do as I rightly deserved, I waved her off, pretending to be interested in another part of the greenhouse.

  Perhaps I wouldn’t take the human female, but fuck if I didn’t want to.

  3

  Emma

  I lathered my hair in the shower, probably using most of my own water ration and maybe even some of Dad’s to get as clean as possible. Whatever. He deserved it for humiliating me in front of our guests like that. Maybe he’d stay out of my way for a few days if he got stinky enough from no water.

  When I finally turned the water off, the bathroom was all steamy like a sauna. It was kind of like being in one of the hottest greenhouses, but at least I smelled good. I walked from my bathroom into the bedroom I’d grown up with—the bedroom I took for granted, despite how grand it was. Part of me wished I knew the background of all of this finery, but the truth was, I wasn’t descended from any rich first-generation settlers, or even ex-British nobility, regardless of the first impressions our home gave. No. My bloodline was a whole lot less savory.

  Somewhere in the initial panic surrounding our dying sun and TerraLink taking control, my family of opportunists had seen this manor house and decided to capitalize on it. Some would call us thieves, maybe. Dad called us sound business thinkers.

  I couldn’t say he was wrong. After all, thanks to the growth of the farm and Dad’s own opportunistic streak, we’d developed a weird inter-dependent, almost symbiotic, relationship with the TerraLink Program. Hopefully ensuring our survival for as many generations as we had left. Still… I couldn’t escape the desire to get off-planet, and that big, red, intriguing alien downstairs was going to be my chance, whether he knew it or not.

  I put on my favorite dress—now my lucky dress because I was going to get so lucky—and dried my hair. Then I stood in front of the mirror and pouted at myself. I didn’t need to dig very deep to find the balls to pull this evening off, and I certainly didn’t need to give myself a pep talk. I looked good in the dress made of sheer fabric and solid panels just where any man would want to see through. I flipped my long brown hair, so it cascaded down my back and smeared some color across my lips. Red like his skin. Fiery like my temper.

  Then I wiggled slightly, adjusting my positioning. All of my curves were in place, my ass and tits practically begging to be touched, yet all under wraps so not even Dad could complain. Satisfied, I threw my bedroom door open and nearly walked into him.

  “What are you doing, Dad?” Stealing my thunder by the look of how smartly he was dressed. I narrowed my eyes. He never usually made this much effort. “Is there something about this dinner you aren’t telling me?”

  “Nope. Just wanted to look like we both value their presence.” Make it look like I hadn’t made extra effort, more like. He must have decided he couldn’t beat me any other way but by joining me.

  “Can’t have it looking like you’ve gone all out for our guests and I haven’t.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. I rolled my eyes. He could never just leave me to do my own thing. Not dress up for unexpected guests, not find my own way in life or make my own plans.

  “It won’t work, you know.” I said, popping out a hip. He widened his eyes like he didn’t understand, but we’d had many conversations like this one in the past. He knew exactly what he was doing. I had to admire him for that.

  “One day, I’ll board one of those ships you greet to impress TerraLink and get the hell out of here.” I’d never put it so bluntly before. He folded me into an unexpected hug, and I wrinkled my nose against his overpowering cologne. Maybe I’d used more of his water ration than I thought if he’d felt the need to bathe in fragrance.

  “I want you to stay on Earth,” he murmured into my ear like he was soothing me. “The farm will be yours. You know that.”

  I stiffened in his arms. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the farm. I just wanted to see something else of life first. As if he could read my thoughts, Dad continued. “We have a good life, and I’ve built it all for you. After your mother’s death—�
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  I sighed and stepped out of his arms. “We can’t keep circling back to Mom dying, Dad. We just can’t. And that’s no reason I shouldn’t live a little. Is it so wrong to want to see something other than our farm? I just want a few years to see the stars.”

  He gripped my shoulders, eyes intense as they sought my own. “Those TerraLink girls don’t come back.” I shrugged him off and stepped away.

  “They get fucked and bred and used up until there’s nothing left, Emma.” His initial anger bled into desperation. “There’s no reason for you to leave. There are human boys here on Earth, on this farm, who are perfect for you.”

  As I stepped away, his initial anger returned, low and fierce. “You’ve already slept with half of them for fuck’s sake. You don’t need to expand that experience to half the galaxy.” My mouth dropped open, but I didn’t respond. How does one tell their father that fucking half the galaxy actually sounded appealing?

  Dad always said he’d loved Mom and there would be no other for him. He didn’t know what it was like to be me. He didn’t understand the loneliness or need for connection on Earth, and he didn’t understand the desire for freedom and exploration in space.

  The easiest thing to do was ignore the hurt and just go along with him. I’d have another opportunity to go to space. Hell, opportunities brought themselves right to the farm. My future didn’t lie in the hands of a red-skinned alien. “Okay, Daddy.” I used my softest, sweetest voice.

  He smiled as I complied with him so easily and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Thank you, and I’m sorry I said things the way I did.”

  I shrugged. “I get it. And I promise I’ll be on my best behavior. I won’t do anything out of the ordinary or anything that might embarrass you in front of your guests.” He nodded.

  “But we do need to discuss my future at some point.” I narrowed my eyes, showing him I meant it. He nodded again, but I didn’t believe he meant it. Still, for now, he was happy. He had a compliant, as-near-to-fucking-chaste-as-I-got daughter at his side as we descended the opulent staircase to the first floor.

  The wide double doors to the dining room stood open, and I spotted the TerraLink reps both looking as though they were attending some sort of funeral with their set expressions and dark clothes. They stood at the edge of the room, like outcasts. I glanced away, focusing on keeping my eyes down, channeling someone demure.

  Someone shifted restlessly, and Qui cleared his throat. I glanced up, but that was a mistake because he’d found time to change at some point. He was now dressed in what looked like a fitted black leather vest and a pair of pants someone must have painted onto him, because they concealed nothing. I glanced lower. Either he’d brought the carrot from the greenhouse in his pocket or he was pleased to see me.

  I offered up a quick hope of forgiveness from the God I didn’t believe in and squeezed Dad’s arm. I was about to break the promise I’d just made him. Damn. That had to be some sort of record. I’d broken plenty of promises before, but none so quickly.

  Qui drew a chair out from the table and gestured for me to sit. I’d have said his gaze lingered appreciatively on me, but that would be false. His gaze about ate me up as he drooled in anticipation. Dad moved to take his usual seat beside me.

  “May I?” Qui moved like a desert lion, claiming Dad’s chair before Dad could even respond. Dad looked bewildered, but was unable to challenge the giant warrior, and flustered about for a moment before choosing another seat across from us. Before our staff served any of the food, Dad would give his usual speech. It was the one he’d rehearsed and given so many times, he sounded word perfect in the universal language and I watched him expectantly as I slipped one of my shoes off under the table.

  He spread his hands in welcome, all of his movements automatic by now as he nodded first at Qui, then at Roe. “Welcome, Keys and Ron,” he said, and I cringed a little as he mangled their names. “Welcome to our farm on Earth as our honored guests. Welcome as partners of the TerraLink Program. May our alliance be long and fruitful.”

  I watched Qui’s face as I danced my toes up his leg. I was an expert at footsie from pretty much any sitting position. His mouth twitched a little, but he didn’t look at me, and I angled myself better so I could trail my foot higher, aiming for his thigh. His hand clasped my ankle, his skin warm against mine, and I stopped just as the male TerraLink rep stood.

  He cleared his throat, but his speech was well practiced too. “Thank you, Daniel and Emma for having us here at your farm. It’s a wonderful example of what we accomplish on Earth with TerraLink leadership and teamwork.” He looked at Qui. “What we can offer you is so much more than goods and crops. We also offer contracts for services.” He paused to let that sink in, but it was a mechanical pause; by rote, rather than him reading the room. “Today, I’m pleased to tell you that I’m authorized by TerraLink to extend an invitation to you to join our program and benefit from our range of services, which include supply of humans. The humans we provide are at your disposal for whatever you desire—servitude, slavery, sex.” I glanced at Qui, gauging his reaction to the offer. He seemed impassive. Bored, even.

  Dad’s words about the TerraLink girls never coming back rolled through my mind, and I made the mistake of catching his eye as he glared at me. It didn’t matter, though. Maybe I didn’t need to join the TerraLink Program to get off-planet. I could be smarter than those girls.

  As the TerraLink rep sat down, the first of our maids bustled into the room, a tray of steaming serving plates held in front of her. Server after server filed out from the direction of our kitchen and they laid the silver platters onto fabric table runners down the middle of our oversized table. Each dish was a work of art—plain root vegetables dressed up in rich gravies and sauces, decorated soups, deliciously spiced pies. Finally, our chef presented his usual culinary masterpiece: a huge sizzling slab of beef.

  I watched Qui load his plate with food, quietly confident he had no idea what most of it was. I forked a slice of creamy potato gratin from his plate and he watched its journey to my mouth. Grinning, I moaned a little as I allowed the flavors to coat my tongue. He followed my lead and tasted the dish.

  “It’s called potato,” I murmured.

  “Potato?” He offered me another mouthful, and I wrapped my lips around his fork as I nodded a little.

  “Mmhmm.” I swallowed and pointed at his plate. “See anything you recognize?”

  He picked up a baby carrot. “You mean this? I’ve never seen anything like this little thing.”

  I giggled. I’d seen a fair few, and I raised an eyebrow. “I, on the other hand, have seen many.” I glanced around. “Not all of them in a setting like this, though, I’ll say that much.”

  His eyes widened, and he made a growling noise in his chest. “That sounds very...unsatisfying,” he murmured.

  It was my turn to widen my eyes, but he turned his attention back to the carrot he held between his fingers. He offered it to my lips, and I let my tongue flicker over the tip before it reached my lips. He parted his mouth, seemingly unaware of doing so.

  “Aren’t you going to eat any of this yourself?” I teased him, still munching on the tiny carrot.

  He was about to reply, but we were interrupted by his stern-looking female companion from across the table. She snapped something out in an abrupt language I didn’t understand.

  “What language is she speaking?” I looked up at Qui, and he frowned at her before biting some quick words back.

  “It’s the language of my people,” he said.

  “What’s it called?” I rested my fingertips on his thigh, and his muscle tightened in acknowledgement of my touch, but he looked disinterested in my question.

  “It doesn’t matter. She should be speaking in the universal language so we can all understand. It’s rude not to.” He directed his last remark at Roe. She narrowed her eyes, returning to her food without another word.

  In the end, I wasn’t sure how much Qui ate. I seemed to
have more than my fair share from his plate, and as usual our chef had outdone himself. Dessert was equally as delicious and showcased some of the fruits Dad was experimenting with in our newest greenhouse. I wasn’t sure who he was trying to impress with those, though—the TerraLink reps or the new aliens.

  “This is an apple,” I said. “It’s loaded with symbolism and it tastes pretty good.”

  “Symbolism with dinner?” Qui lifted an eyebrow as he turned the apple in his huge hands. His fingers spread over the skin of the apple in a way that sent a shiver through me as I imagined those fingers splayed over my skin instead. “You honor us with this symbolic fruit,” he declared.

  I chuckled. “Not really. Most of the symbolism has to do with the wicked ways of women and the way they tempt men.”

  His probing gaze heated my skin as it dipped to my low neckline. “I’d still call that an honor,” he whispered. I lifted another apple to my lips and crunched into the skin, allowing the fresh juice to trickle down my chin. Qui reached out and caught it with the pad of his forefinger before dipping his finger into his mouth.

  “Temptation tastes good.”

  I giggled and rearranged my neckline to expose more side-boob for his viewing pleasure before attempting to look somewhat prim and proper in front of my dad. I didn’t want him abruptly sending me away from the table—a move I wouldn’t put past him at all if he thought I was getting myself into trouble.

  Once Dad had eaten his last mouthful and left his spoon resting in his empty bowl, he stood from the table. “Now, if you’ll join me, the representatives from the TerraLink Program have brought some coffee for us to enjoy.”

  That sparked my interest. We mostly ate what we grew on the farm and drank water from our rations. Dad hadn’t figured out the best conditions for growing coffee yet, but he assured me he was trying. I stood and touched Qui’s hand. “We’re going into the drawing room for this part,” I said. Dad preferred to sit and savor his coffee. That, and show off even more areas of our home. If we didn’t produce so much food for The Glass City, I wasn’t even sure TerraLink would allow us to live here in pretty much a state of luxury. It wouldn’t be fair to the thousands of people suffering under the blistering sun and the watchful gaze of the corporation.