by Anna Zaires
Shocked, Emily stared at him, her heart beating like a drum. There was no mistaking his meaning—or the hunger in his gaze. Had he somehow read her mind earlier? Was he capable of mind reading? “Um…” Her brain seemed to have turned to mush, leaving her unable to string together a coherent sentence. “Um, what are you… what do you…?”
“You don’t have to be afraid, Emily,” he said softly, stepping closer. “I won’t hurt you.” And as she stood there in stunned disbelief, he lowered his head, capturing her mouth with his.
His lips were velvet soft, his breath warm and faintly sweet. He didn’t seem to be in a rush to deepen the kiss; it was as if he was just tasting her, learning the contour and texture of her lips. At the same time, he knew exactly what he was doing. There was no hesitation in his actions, no fumbling uncertainty. He kissed her as if he’d done it a million times, his fingers sliding into her hair and holding her with a gentle, yet inescapable grip.
At first, Emily was too astonished to respond, but as he continued kissing her with that unerring expertise, a warm, melting languor began to permeate her body, originating at her core. Her hands unconsciously rose to his chest, her palms pressing against the hard wall of muscle, and she swayed toward him, her knees growing weak.
Sensing her response, he deepened the kiss, his tongue parting her lips and delving into the warm recesses of her mouth. Still holding her head with one hand, he pressed his other palm to the small of her back, pulling her flush against his powerful body. She could feel the hard, thick ridge of his erection against her stomach, and she moaned, her sex clenching with a sudden intense ache.
A low growl rumbled deep within his chest, and the hand in her hair moved down to grasp the thin strap of her dress. Before Emily could register his intent, she heard a ripping sound, and then his palm was on her breast, his large, strong fingers cupping the soft weight with startling possessiveness, his thumb rasping across her peaked nipple and setting it afire.
Somewhere at the back of Emily’s mind, alarm bells started ringing, penetrating the fog of desire. “Wait, stop,” she gasped, turning her head to avoid his kiss. “Zaron… please, stop!”
His body tensed and his grip on her breast tightened, his fingers squeezing her flesh almost to the point of pain. For one terrifying second, Emily thought he wouldn’t listen to her, but then he let go of her and stepped back, giving her some much-needed space.
Trembling all over, Emily tried to cover her naked breasts with the torn material of her dress. How could she have done this? How could she have let a strange man—no, a strange extraterrestrial—almost have sex with her? Had she somehow lost all reason and common sense?
The dress wouldn’t stay up on its own, and she finally gave up. Holding the ragged material tightly against her chest, she lifted her eyes to meet Zaron’s gaze, feeling wildly off-balance.
He was watching her with unconcealed lust, his eyes pitch black and glittering. There was a large bulge in his shorts, and his muscular body was practically vibrating with tension. He looked like it took all of his self-control not to pounce on her.
Emily’s alien captor wanted her.
This was not good. Not good at all.
Emily took a step back, her panic intensifying.
Zaron’s nostrils flared as he observed her instinctive retreat. “I won’t force you,” he said evenly. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
“Right, of course.” Emily forced herself to stop backing away. “Look, Zaron…” She inhaled. “I am not sure what you have in mind for us, but this is a bad idea—”
“Why?” His burning black gaze held her. “You want me. Or did I just imagine your response?”
Emily swallowed. “No, you didn’t imagine it,” she admitted, her face heating up. “But that doesn’t mean I want to have sex with you. I hardly know you and—and you’re not even human.”
His mouth quirked with sudden amusement. “Are you afraid I have tentacles or a third arm? I can assure you, I have all the same parts as a human male.”
“I know that,” Emily said quickly, though she’d known no such thing. He appeared human, but that didn’t necessarily mean his equipment functioned the same way. Regardless, she wasn’t about to admit her doubts to him now.
“So then what’s the problem?” he murmured, closing the distance between them again. “You will enjoy the experience, I promise you that.” His hand reached for hers, his large palm covering the tightly clenched fist that was holding up her dress. She could feel the warmth emanating from his body, smell his clean masculine scent, and her nipples hardened again, her breathing quickening as a melting sensation spread through her body. Unconsciously, her grip on the dress loosened… and suddenly, the soft material was falling, leaving her bare from the waist up.
Zaron’s eyes seemed to darken further, and before Emily could react, she felt his big hands cupping her buttocks, lifting her up with startling ease until her breasts were at his eye level. With a soft growl, he bent his head and captured one rosy nipple with his mouth, sucking on it with a strong pull. Emily gasped, her hands clutching at the heavy muscles of his shoulders as her toes curled from the sharp, unexpected pleasure. The wet heat of his mouth and the pressure of his tongue intensified the throbbing ache between her thighs, and she moaned, mindlessly rubbing against him to relieve the tension building within her.
“Yes, angel, that’s it,” he whispered, his hot breath washing over her as he lowered her slowly, letting her feel the hard contours of his body as his mouth moved up to taste the sensitive area where her neck and shoulder joined. She shuddered helplessly, overtaken by the sensations, and felt his fingers slipping between her legs as he held her suspended off the ground with one hand. His thumb circled around her clit, slowly, maddeningly, each circle tightening the coil of tension deep within her core. One long finger pushed inside her wet channel, and she heard him groan as her body clenched around his finger, her inner walls grasping eagerly at the intruder. She could feel her skin growing hot, and then his thumb was directly on her clit, massaging it with a circular, rhythmic motion. Emily cried out, her hips jerking from the intense lash of sensation, and felt her body splintering into a million pieces.
Before she could recover, the room tilted around her. Disoriented, she grabbed at Zaron’s shirt—and realized he was lowering her to the floor, his hand withdrawing from her sex. Her back met the cool, hard surface, and the shock of it jolted her out of her sensual daze.
What was she doing? An alarm sounded in Emily’s brain as Zaron flipped up the skirt of her dress, baring her lower half. His knees were wedged between her legs, holding them open. Something hard and smooth brushed against her inner thigh, and she knew with sudden clarity that this was it, that in another moment he would be inside her.
She wasn’t ready for this. As Zaron’s mouth descended on her again, Emily pushed at him with all her strength and twisted her head to the side. “Stop. Zaron, please, stop!”
He froze over her, his breathing heavy and ragged, and Emily stilled, desperately hoping he would keep his word about not forcing her. She could feel the throbbing heat of his erection at her entrance, and a shudder of trepidation mixed with arousal ran through her. Slowly turning her head back, she met his gaze, trying not to panic at the violent hunger reflected there.
“I don’t want to do this,” she whispered, her hands pushing futilely at his chest. She could feel the hard muscles under her fingers, and the knowledge that she would never be able to fight him off made her stomach roil. “Zaron, please… let me go.”
Chapter Twelve
She wanted him to stop.
He was a second away from burying himself in her tight, slick warmth, and Emily wanted him to stop.
For a second, Zaron wasn’t sure if he would be able to comply. She was lying spread beneath him, her soft, sleek body flushed with arousal and her heated scent enflaming his senses. Her deliciously round breasts were bared to his gaze, the nipples sticking up like ripe berries,
and her pulse throbbed in the side of her neck, reminding him of the liquid ecstasy running through her veins. He could feel her slim thighs quivering with tension on the sides of his hips. One thrust, and he would have her. One thrust, and he would be deep inside her, satisfying the need raging through him. His cock was painfully hard, aching for her, and his body warred with his mind as he fought grimly for control.
It was only the fear in her eyes that enabled him to win that battle. She might desire him physically, but if he proceeded right now, it would be little better than rape.
His jaw tightly clenched, Zaron forced himself to roll off her. Rising to his feet, he turned away, rearranging his clothes to hide his engorged cock. He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t—not if he wanted to keep his word.
He heard her get up. Her movements were unsteady, her breathing coming faster than usual. He didn’t know if it was from arousal or apprehension, but it didn’t matter. Schooling his features into an impassive mask, Zaron turned back toward her, willing his erection to subside.
Emily was watching him warily, holding up the dress so it covered her chest. Her blond hair was tangled, streaming down her back in a cloud of pale waves, and her lips were swollen and reddened from the pressure of his mouth. With her skin glowing pink from her orgasm, she looked mouthwateringly fuckable.
Downright edible, in fact.
It took all of his self-control to say calmly, “I’m sorry if I frightened you, Emily. That was not my intention.”
“What was your intention then?” Her voice was as steady as his, though her grip on the dress betrayed her nervousness. “What do you want from me, Zaron? Is this some kind of kinky thing for you, having sex with a woman you’re keeping imprisoned in your house? A woman who’s not even of your own species? Is this why you saved me?”
As she spoke, Zaron’s lust slowly transformed into anger. The fact that there was some truth to what she was saying only added to his fury. “Why, yes,” he said in a silky tone. “That’s exactly right, angel. I saved you so I could fuck you. Would you rather I left you to die on those rocks instead?”
She held his gaze defiantly, but a faint, almost imperceptible tremor ran over her skin, making him regret his harsh words. “No,” she said, her lips barely moving. “I am obviously grateful to be alive. Is that the payment you expect from me? Sex?”
Suddenly disgusted with himself, Zaron shook his head. “No.” Frustrated, he ran his hand through his hair. The little human had him tied up in knots. “That’s not what I meant.” Knowing that anything else he said would only make the situation worse, he walked over to the wall, causing the entryway to Emily’s room to appear.
“Why don’t you rest for a bit?” he suggested, gesturing toward the opening. “I have some work to do right now, and you can catch a little nap before dinner.” He knew that humans needed a lot of sleep, and it was possible that she was tired already.
She nodded, almost imperceptibly, and walked past him into the room, taking care not to look at him. She was still holding the torn dress protectively in front of her chest, and her delicate scent teased his nostrils as she passed by.
“I’ll get you some new clothes,” Zaron said in a strained voice, and walked to his office before he could grab her again. Taking out his fabricator, he created a few more dresses for her, using the time to picture himself submerged in a vat filled with ice-cold water—an image he hoped would be able to help his self-control.
When he was certain he wouldn’t jump her, he went to her room.
Emily was sitting on the bed, her slender legs crossed. She had somehow managed to tie the torn straps of the dress together, and it was staying up on its own now.
“Here you go,” Zaron said, opening one of the walls to reveal a closet. “This will be yours for the duration. You can just walk up to it, and it’ll open for you.” He placed the dresses in the closet and turned around to face her.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, watching him with her unusual sea-colored eyes. “Do you by any chance have books that I could read? Maybe some magazines?”
Zaron thought about it for a moment, then issued a terse command in Krinar, causing the house to send a thin tablet floating in his direction from the other room. Snatching it out of the air, he spoke a few instructions in Krinar to allow Emily to control it with English language and then handed it to Emily. “This should give you access to any book you want,” he explained. “Just tell it what you want to read, and you should be able to get it.”
“Really?” She glanced up as she took the tablet from him. “Is this like an e-reader?”
He smiled. “Something like that.” It was as good of a comparison as any, though the device he’d handed her was far more advanced. “You can also watch TV on it, if you’d like. Just tell it what you want to see, and it’ll display the video for you.”
“I just talk to it and it works?”
“Yes.” He knew that some human technology worked like that now too, so the concept wouldn’t be foreign to her. For Krinar, verbal commands and gestures were the old-fashioned way of doing things, but Zaron still preferred it for some reason. The alternative was to embed a computing device within his body, enabling him to use his mind to control technology. It was something he intended to do at some point, but hadn’t gotten around to yet.
“Okay, then how about showing me Avatar?” she said, looking down at the device. She spoke slowly and loudly, as though addressing a deaf person. “Please show me Avatar.”
“It understood you the first time,” Zaron said, watching with amusement as Emily’s eyes widened at the three-dimensional image that appeared in the room. “You should be able to watch it now if you wish.”
“Holy shit,” she gasped, jumping up as the image expanded, taking up most of the space near the wall. “This is amazing!”
“Enjoy,” Zaron said, smiling at her enthusiasm. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
He was pretty sure she didn’t notice as he left the room, all her attention focused on the spectacle unfolding in front of her. He would have to introduce her to a simulation soon, he thought, and grinned, picturing her reaction to that.
Chapter Thirteen
There was watching, and then there was watching with Krinar technology. Emily had seen Avatar twice in a movie theater, each time in IMAX 3D, but today she felt like she was experiencing it for the first time. The imagery was so real, so vivid, it was as though she was there on Pandora, watching the action unfolding all around her.
The next couple of hours flew by with Emily fully absorbed in the movie. It was a relief to let her mind focus on something other than her insane situation—though she quickly realized that a movie about humanoid aliens might not have been the wisest choice for that.
When the movie ended, she visited the strange restroom again, marveling at how her every need was anticipated, the technology working so intuitively it was almost as if the house was reading her mind. She managed to get water to come out of the sink-like protrusion and washed her face with it, then looked around for something to moisturize her skin. Immediately, she felt a warm, soft breeze on her face. When the breeze stopped, she discovered that her skin was no longer feeling dry and tight; in fact, it was so smooth it was as though she’d been to a spa. She wished she had a mirror, and as soon as she began to search for one, one of the bathroom walls shimmered in front of her eyes, transforming itself into a glistening, mirror-like surface. It was truly spooky.
Stepping closer to the mirror, Emily studied the image that was reflected there. It was both familiar and different. When she had glanced at herself before, Emily had been too overwhelmed to actually focus on her reflection, so now she took a closer look.
It seemed as if Zaron’s healing procedure had done more than fix her teeth and scars. It had also taken away the subtle signs of stress and sleep deprivation that had etched themselves into her skin over the past two years. Gone were the dark circles that had framed her eyes, the faint lines of tensi
on around her mouth. She looked healthy and well rested for the first time in months.
She also looked like she’d been thoroughly kissed.
Swallowing, Emily turned away from the mirror and headed back to the room. She didn’t want to think about that, but she could no longer keep the images out of her mind. What had occurred earlier had been raw, sexual… and deeply disturbing.
Her extraterrestrial captor wanted her. There was no longer any doubt of that. If she hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve taken her right then and there, on the floor. Her breathing quickened at the memory of his powerful body over her, the hard pressure of his legs forcing her thighs apart, the wet heat of his mouth on her nipples…
Groaning, Emily plopped down on the bed and buried her head in the soft blanket.
She’d never engaged in casual sex—not even in college, where the hookup culture was prevalent. She’d always been too cautious, too careful. Too cognizant of the possible consequences. For her, that kind of intimacy required trust, and she wasn’t someone who trusted easily. With her ex-boyfriend Jason, they’d been friends for a year before they’d started dating, and even then, they’d been together for a full month before she’d finally gone to bed with him.
Yet she had almost fucked a stranger—an inhuman stranger—on the floor of his futuristic house after knowing him for less than a day. He hadn’t even worn protection, Emily remembered with a cold shudder. Could he have made her pregnant or given her some disease? Thinking about it, she decided that the latter possibility was unlikely, given the advanced state of their medical technology, but she was less sure about the former. Emily had stopped taking the pill after breaking up with Jason four months ago, so pregnancy was now a real concern for her.