The Krinar Captive

by Anna Zaires

  Janson’s struggles were already weakening, his legs kicking with less force, and for a moment, Emily thought Zaron wouldn’t listen to her. But then his fingers loosened, and the agent fell to the floor, audibly gasping for air. Wolfe lay next to him, whimpering, both of his arms bent at unnatural angles.

  Nausea rolled through Emily again, but she forced herself to look up at Zaron as he stepped over Janson’s cringing bulk and came toward her, his black gaze burning with something dark and frightening.

  “They hurt you.” His voice was thick with rage as he stopped in front of her, and she realized he was looking at the needle marks and bruises on her arms. “Those bastards hurt you.” He was all but shaking with fury, his big hands unsteady as he undid her restraints and pulled her to her feet.

  “They just took some blood,” Emily said numbly, but Zaron was already bending down to lift her into his arms. Despite his anger, his grip on her was gentle, his inhuman strength tightly leashed as he held her clasped to his chest.

  Engulfed by his warmth and familiar scent, Emily began to shake. Winding her arms around his neck, she buried her face against his shoulder, trying to hold back the tears that burned her eyes. She felt both euphoric and overwhelmed, the searing joy of seeing Zaron again battling with the horror of what he’d done.

  After nearly two months of agonized longing, she was with the man she loved—an extraterrestrial predator who’d come within a hairbreadth of killing two human beings.

  “Hold on,” Zaron said, and Emily felt his muscles bunching. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on his neck, and then they were flying—or so it seemed for a second. Before she could process what was happening, they were on the first floor of the facility, standing on the undissolved portion of the ceiling.

  Zaron had jumped up from the basement while holding her, Emily realized dazedly. On any other day, she would’ve marveled at this inhuman feat of athleticism, but that wasn’t what held her attention now.

  All around her were bodies—human bodies. Tall and short, fat and skinny, armed and unarmed, they lay on the floor in strange poses, their slack faces illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the now-nonexistent roof.

  “Are they…” Emily couldn’t even pronounce the word. Shuddering, she pushed at Zaron’s chest to look up at him. “Zaron, are they—”

  “They’re asleep,” Zaron said, tightening his grip on her. “I knocked them out to avoid casualties.”

  Emily lay her head on his shoulder and drew in a shaky breath, relief sweeping through her like a tidal wave. She didn’t know if she could’ve lived with herself if the Krinar she loved had turned out to be a mass murderer.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked as he stepped over a couple of bodies, carrying her in his arms.

  “You’ll see,” Zaron said, and she felt his muscles bunch for another superhuman jump.

  They landed on the remaining portion of the roof, and Emily felt the warm summer breeze on her skin. Her lungs expanded, drawing in air, and the claustrophobic tension constricting her ribcage melted away, taking her remaining doubts with it.

  She was finally back with Zaron.

  He had come for her.

  “How did you find me?” she asked, pulling back to meet his gaze, and her pulse jumped at the look in his eyes.

  Zaron was staring at her with uncompromising possessiveness, with a hunger so intense it made her insides turn to mush.

  “The nanocytes used to heal you,” he said, and it took Emily a second to realize he was answering her question. “I was able to track them.”

  “Oh.” Unease fluttered through her, but before she could question Zaron further, he turned to the left, holding her, and she saw something odd.

  On the remaining roof of the warehouse was a spherical pod made of some strange ivory-colored material. It was only a few feet in diameter and had no visible windows or doors.

  “Is that—”

  “Our way of getting home, yes,” Zaron said, walking toward it. As he approached, the wall of the pod disintegrated, creating an entrance for them.

  Stepping in, Zaron carefully lowered Emily onto a floating plank—one of the two that were inside the pod. Instantly, the plank conformed to her body, molding itself to her back and the curve of her butt. The comfort was incredible, and for the first time, Emily realized how much she’d missed the intuitive Krinar technology.

  “Are we flying somewhere?” she asked, looking around. The walls of the pod were see-through from the inside, giving her the illusion that she was sitting in a giant glass bubble. It should’ve scared her, but instead, it made her feel light and free. She didn’t feel confined in these transparent walls, though she was as much of a prisoner now as she’d been in the basement below. Zaron wasn’t going to let her go again—she knew that with a certainty that transcended all reason—but the knowledge didn’t scare her.

  She never wanted to be without him again.

  “We’re going back to Costa Rica,” Zaron said, sitting down on the other plank. “There’s a new Krinar settlement there called Lenkarda. It’s not far from my home—which is your home now too.”

  “What about my cat?” There were a million other questions Emily probably should’ve asked first, but concern for George was uppermost in her mind.

  “We’ll swing by to get him,” Zaron said with no hint of surprise or hesitation, and she knew he must’ve been prepared for this.

  Her intuition had been right: he wasn’t going to let her go.

  “What about my apartment?” Emily asked, the logical questions finally coming to her. The adrenaline rush from her violent rescue was fading, and she was beginning to feel overwhelmed again. “What about my things? What will I live on if—”

  “Emily.” Zaron swiveled on the plank to face her. Clasping her hand between his large warm palms, he said softly, “You have nothing to worry about, angel. I’ll take care of everything.”

  Emily stared at him, her mind whirling. Nobody had taken care of anything for her since her parents’ deaths. “But—”

  “Hush,” he murmured, raising his hand to stroke her cheek, and she saw that the possessiveness in his gaze was edged with tenderness, the hunger tempered by something soft and warm. “You don’t have to be afraid, angel. You’re not alone anymore.”

  She inhaled, her eyes prickling with sudden tears. “Zaron…”

  “We’ll talk more when we get home,” he said, and she nodded, too overcome with emotion to argue.

  With a light, soundless push, the pod took off, rising into the air. Emily’s breath caught as they whooshed over New York, covering the distance from Queens to Manhattan in less than a minute. Accelerating so fast should’ve given her whiplash, but she didn’t feel any discomfort from the speed. The ride was as smooth and easy as if they were flying at five miles an hour.

  They landed on the rooftop of her building, and Zaron jumped out of the pod as soon as the wall opening appeared. “Stay here. I’ll be right back,” he said, and before Emily could object, he disappeared behind a chimney.

  Emily got out of the pod and started to follow him, but before she could take more than a dozen steps, Zaron returned, carrying a wild-eyed George in his arms. Seeing her, the cat let out a loud meow, and Emily grabbed him from Zaron, laughing as the cat swatted her with a paw to express his indignation at being taken by a strange man.

  “What about his litter box?” she asked, looking up at Zaron when George settled in her arms and started purring. “And his food and toys and—”

  “I’ll provide everything your pet needs,” Zaron said, placing his hand on the small of her back to lead her back toward the pod. “We should go now. I think your air authorities spotted us.”

  Sure enough, Emily could hear the distant roar of helicopters and the whine of sirens. Did the agents at that Queens facility report Zaron’s attack? Would this be considered a violation of the treaty? Emily wanted to ask, but Zaron was already shepherding her into the pod and sealing the en
trance. She barely had time to sit down on the plank with George secured on her lap when the pod lifted off, swiftly rising high above the city.

  The clouds below them turned into a blur, and George meowed, clawing at Emily’s leg in distress. She stroked him soothingly, knowing how scary all of this must seem to a cat who’d never been outside of Manhattan. Even to her, flying in a glass bubble at this insane speed was utterly surreal.

  “How long until we get there?” she asked, and Zaron’s full lips curved with amusement.

  “We’re there,” he said, and she realized the pod was already descending into the green canopy of the rainforest, having covered the distance from New York to Costa Rica in a few short minutes.

  They landed in a clearing next to the small mountain into which Zaron’s house was embedded. To Emily, it felt strangely like coming home. She’d spent less than three weeks here, but the fresh, humid air and the lush vegetation called to her, making her feel alive and whole in a way that the crowded streets of New York City never could.

  Stepping out of the pod, she held George against her chest and followed Zaron into the hidden cave he’d made into his home.

  Inside, everything was as she’d left it, from the floating furniture to the clean ivory walls. The wall opening closed behind Zaron, sealing them inside the house, and Emily bent down to put George on the floor. The cat looked uncertain for a moment, but then his normal fearlessness kicked in, and he stalked off to explore his new home.

  Straightening, Emily faced Zaron, her pulse speeding up with nervous excitement. Zaron’s gaze was hooded as he watched her, his beautiful face set in taut, hard lines.

  This was it. They had nowhere to hurry, no other place they needed to be.

  It was just the two of them and the tension that simmered in the air, a mutual attraction so potent Emily could feel it like an electric current across her skin.

  “Zaron…” She didn’t know if she stepped toward him, or if he moved first, but it didn’t matter because somehow she was in his arms, his mouth devouring her with raw, demanding hunger as his hands roamed across her body. His taste, his scent, his touch—it was everything she’d dreamed of these past seven weeks and more, the reality sharper and more intense than her recollections. His tongue plunged between her lips, taking her mouth with unrestrained passion, and she felt the hardness of his erection as he lifted her against him, spreading her thighs wide to grind his pelvis against her aching sex. His jeans and her yoga pants were between them, but they might as well have been unclothed. Emily felt like she’d been set aflame, each grinding roll of his hips sending shards of sizzling pleasure through her body. Her erect nipples ached inside her bra, and her clit felt swollen and sensitized, her underwear damp with pulsing need.

  Moaning into Zaron’s mouth, Emily gripped fistfuls of his thick, silky hair and tried to get even closer, needing more of this, more of him. Distantly, she registered some ripping sounds; then both of their shirts were on the floor, and her naked breasts were pressed against his chest, the relief of skin-to-skin contact almost orgasmic. Their pants were still on, however, and Emily couldn’t bear that. Any barrier between them was too much. As if sensing that, Zaron lowered her to her feet, letting her slide down his muscular body, and in the next instant, she found herself with her yoga pants and underwear around her ankles.

  She kicked off her shoes and stepped out of the pants, and Zaron spun her around and bent her over, positioning her on all fours on the floor. She heard the slide of his zipper, and then he was behind her and over her, one muscled forearm snaking under her hips to keep her still while his other hand gripped her hair. His hold was rough and possessive, his breathing harsh and heavy against her neck, and her muscles tightened with instinctive unease as she felt the smooth, broad head of his cock prodding at her folds. He was so much bigger than her, so much stronger. Even if he were human, she’d be helpless in his embrace.

  “You’re mine,” he rasped into her ear, making her shiver. “This pretty pink pussy is mine. All of you is mine. I’m going to fuck you until you forget what it’s like not to have me inside you, angel… until you never, ever want to leave again.”

  His graphic promise both scared and thrilled Emily, but before she could reply, he drove into her, his thick cock spearing her in one hard thrust. The air whooshed out of her lungs, her delicate inner tissues quivering at the shock of his entry. She was wet, but she still felt stretched and overtaken, her body no longer used to his size. And yet the heat inside her remained, the pleasure battling with the discomfort of his rough invasion.

  “Zaron, please…” She didn’t know what she was begging for, but he seemed to, because his arm under her hips shifted and his fingers landed on her sex, parting her slick folds to find her aching clit. Unerringly, he located the most sensitive spot, and Emily’s discomfort vanished, her breathing picking up and her spine tightening as he began thrusting at a steady pace, each powerful stroke of his cock pushing her clit against those clever fingers.

  “Mine,” he breathed, his teeth grazing over the sensitive skin of her neck, and the tension inside Emily gathered into an impossibly tight coil, the heat transforming into a scorching conflagration. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, and then the orgasm exploded through her, the pleasure dark and incandescent, shattering in its intensity. It seemed to go on forever, the steady thrusting of Zaron’s cock intensifying and prolonging the sensations. Sweat trickled down Emily’s back, and her toes curled as Zaron continued fucking her through her climax, and just when the agonizing ecstasy began to ease, his fingers pinched her throbbing clit and hurled her straight into her second release.

  The waves of pleasure were so overwhelming Emily was caught off-guard when Zaron thrust deep into her with a savage groan, and she felt his cock thicken and jerk inside her. His grinding motions sent aftershocks rippling through her body, and she moaned, her inner muscles clenching as his seed filled her in several warm spurts.

  Exhausted, she tried to sink to the floor, but Zaron didn’t let her. Picking her up, he carried her to the shower and washed every part of her body, his touch achingly tender on her sensitized flesh.

  * * *

  Clean and wearing a pink dress Zaron had given her, Emily had just enough energy to sit upright at the floating kitchen table while Zaron ordered his house to prepare a meal for her. It took only a couple of minutes to get the food, and she fell on it the moment it appeared, as ravenous as if she hadn’t eaten in weeks.

  “How did you know I was hungry?” she asked after she’d devoured most of her salad and a big bowl of some delicious stew. It was a trivial question, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask the important things, like why Zaron had come for her and what he wanted. The food had given her a burst of energy, but her body still throbbed from his possession, and her cheeks warmed as George jumped onto her lap and sniffed at her crotch before letting out a loud meow. Emily guessed the cat could smell Zaron on her, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

  “Your stomach was rumbling earlier,” Zaron answered, watching George’s antics from across the table. Like her, he was dressed in a fresh set of clothes—a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt—and he looked stunningly sexy as he sat there, his dark eyes trained on her with possessive intensity. “They didn’t give you any food, did they?”

  “They gave me some this morning, but I threw up,” Emily admitted. “The drugs they gave me made me sick.”

  Zaron’s jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t have stopped me from killing them.”

  Emily’s pulse lurched, and she bent down to lower George to the floor. “Zaron…” She straightened to face him. “What exactly are your people?”

  “What do you mean?” He frowned.

  “Are you…” She could barely bring herself to say it. “Are you some kind of vampires?”

  His gaze sharpened. “What makes you ask that?”

  “I overhead you and Ellet talking,” Emily said, pushing her plate aside. “And then…” She
bit her lip. “Well, I’m pretty sure whatever you did to me the night before I left wasn’t normal sex.”

  “You knew, and you still wanted me to do it?”

  “What exactly is ‘it?’” Emily asked in frustration. “Am I right about the blood-drinking thing?”

  Zaron folded his arms in front of his chest and leaned back. “Yes… and no.” His eyes gleamed like dark gems. “Human blood contains a hemoglobin that we once needed to survive, but we altered our genetic makeup so we don’t need it anymore—biologically, at least. Some psychological hunger for it remains, however, and in the absence of a biological need, we get a kind of high from it—a pleasure that’s almost sexual in nature.”

  Emily’s mouth went dry. “You… You get high off my blood?”

  “Yes—but only if I take it during sex. So don’t worry, angel. I won’t just randomly bite you—though if I did, I’m sure you’d find it pleasurable. Our saliva has a drugging effect on our prey, which is why you enjoyed it when I took your blood those two times.”

  Our prey. A shudder rippled down Emily’s spine, and she had to fight not to recoil. It was one thing to have her suspicions, but to have Zaron confirm them so casually…

  “I don’t understand,” she said, her mind racing. “How could human blood contain a hemoglobin your species needed? We would’ve had to evolve side by side with you, but you said the Krinar are much older than my kind. Unless…” She inhaled sharply. “Unless you had a species comparable to humans on your planet, and you manipulated our DNA so we’d be like them?”

  “Very good,” Zaron said approvingly. “You’d make an excellent biologist. Yes, that’s exactly right. On Krina, there was a primate-like species called the lonar that my ancestors used to hunt. Their blood had the hemoglobin we needed. Unfortunately, they were weak and fragile creatures, with low birth rates and short lifespans, and when a plague nearly wiped them out, we realized we needed an alternative. Humans—or rather, your ancient primate ancestors—were supposed to be that alternative. As it turned out, we didn’t need them; by the time Earth primates had evolved enough to have the hemoglobin, we had come up with synthetic blood substitutes and also altered our genes to get rid of our reliance on it.”