Dark and Light: A Kindred Tales DUET Novel. Contains: Saved by the Drake AND Captured by the Kru'ell One

by Evangeline Anderson

  He stroked one big hand over her lower belly, making Alli shiver.

  “I…I…” She didn’t know what to say. But then speech was impossible because Kane leaned forward and kissed her.

  Alli gasped when she felt the by-now familiar Sting of his needle-sharp tongue as it drove into hers. But then she was flooded with pleasure again—a pleasure too deep to deny.

  She lost herself in his kiss and for a time, knew no more.

  Sixteen

  Kane took himself to task as he finally unfastened her from the Stinging Frame. What was wrong with him, Stinging her mouth so that she craved his kisses? He never kissed his concubines—it was too intimate.

  And why had he promised to give her his seed again? Promised to plant a baby in her belly before he let her go?

  Though many Kru’ell Ones took a long-term concubine to get themselves an heir, Kane had never desired one. Not until he took Allisandra, that was.

  I don’t want an heir, he argued to himself. I’m simply fulfilling her deepest desires and feeding from the emotion that results, as I always do with my concubines.

  But somehow the words didn’t quite ring true. He couldn’t help imagining the two of them together—not as Master and concubine but as lover and lover—mate and mate. Couldn’t help thinking of the way Allisandra would look holding his baby in her arms as he held them both, protected and cared for them…

  No! Kane told himself sternly. That’s impossible and you know it. The OverLord would never allow it. And even if he would, to bond a concubine to you is death because then you can never feed on any other. And when she leaves, you’ll starve. Don’t be a fool, Kane!

  But no matter how he lectured himself, he couldn’t quite drive the longing he felt away, as he helped Allisandra out of her ruined nightshirt and led her to the Dressing Room.

  Seventeen

  “What is all this?” Alli asked, looking in bewilderment at the racks of clothing in the new room Kane had led her into.

  “Clothing appropriate to your new station,” he growled. “Clearly you can’t continue to wear that rag you came here in.” He nodded at the shredded nightdress Alli still clutched to her chest, trying to cover herself with the ragged fabric.

  “If it’s a rag now that’s only because you ripped it up,” she accused, frowning at him.

  Kane shrugged, his broad, bare shoulders rippling with the motion. He himself was wearing a sleeveless black leather vest, black leather trousers, and black boots.

  Looking at the racks of clothing, Alli was pretty sure she was going to wind up wearing black leather too—there was a lot of it here.

  “Is this where you keep the clothes for all your, uh, concubines?” she asked, looking up at him. “You must have had a lot of them.”

  “I’ve had a fair few, though not nearly as many as some Kru’ell Ones,” he said, not bothering to deny her charge. “I prefer quality over quantity. A female must possess a certain spark to get my attention.” He leaned forward and cupped her cheek in one hand. “You, Allisandra, don’t just have a spark—you’re an open flame. The moment your desires reached out to me, I knew I had to have you, even though you were in a whole other universe.”

  Alli bit her lip and looked down.

  “I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not.”

  “Of course it is.” Kane kissed her very lightly on the mouth but she found that even that gentle touch seemed to set a fire in her. She had to fight with herself not to kiss him back and, in the end, only held out through sheer force of will.

  Kane drew back and searched her eyes with his, smiling a little.

  “There’s that fire again. My Sting has made you crave my kisses but somehow you managed to keep from kissing me back. You managed to resist the urge.”

  “Get used to it,” Alli said tightly. “I’m not as easy as you seem to think.”

  Kane cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “The craving and needs caused by my Stings on your body will get worse you know,” he said softly. “I’ll be here waiting when your nipples get so tight you moan or when your womb is thirsty for my seed and your pussy aches so badly you know nothing but my cock and cum deep inside you can ease your pain.”

  “Liar!” Alli exclaimed. “That’s not going to happen.”

  Kane shrugged.

  “Suit yourself. I’ll be here when you change your mind. Now, let’s find you something appropriate to wear.”

  And he turned to the racks of clothing and began hunting through this was all completely normal.

  “I don’t want to wear leather,” Alli said as he searched through the racks. “I don’t like it—it’s hot and uncomfortable.”

  She expected him to fight with her about it since most of the clothing she could see appeared to be leather. But he only shrugged.

  “As you wish. Here—put these on.”

  He handed a hanger to her that held a black lace outfit.

  Well, at least it’s not leather, Alli thought as she took it from his hand.

  “Where can I put it on?” she asked. “Is there a dressing room or something in here?”

  Kane raised both eyebrows in apparent surprise.

  “Are you still ashamed of your luscious curves, Allisandra? You still want to hide them from me?”

  “I just want a little privacy, that’s all,” Alli snapped. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask after everything you’ve put me through.”

  “Very well—if you want a private chamber, ask for one,” he said blandly.

  Oh, right—she kept forgetting about that.

  “I’d like a private dressing stall,” Alli said aloud. “One with a mirror so I can see how I look.”

  At once a wooden stall about as big as a dressing booth appeared, complete with a curtain to keep out prying eyes.

  “Thank you,” Alli said, though it probably wasn’t necessary. Then she stepped into the stall, taking the lace outfit with her.

  At first she had thought it was some kind of long gown, but once she took the pieces of the outfit off the hanger, she saw it wasn’t so. The part she’d mistaken for a gown was just a lacy, see-through robe.

  The actual top was a kind of demi-bra which supported her breasts but didn’t hide them. That function was left to a thin panel of stretchy lace which was affixed to the front straps and came down just low enough to cover her nipples.

  It didn’t, however, cover the bottom curves of her enlarged areolas. Alli looked at them with concern, wondering if they would revert to their normal size after Kane’s Sting wore off or if this was a permanent change.

  Trying not to think about it, she pulled on the panties that went with the bra and frowned. Just as the bra had no real cups, the panties had no actual crotch—just a thin panel of lace which pulled down from the top waistband and barely covered the top part of her pussy slit. As with her areolas, her swollen clit was visible, peaking out from under the lace, as though begging for Kane’s mouth on her again.

  Alli tugged in vain, trying to get the lacy panels of both bra and panties to cover more of her sensitive areas, but in the end she had to give up and just put on the long lace robe that went with the set and try to cover herself that way.

  It wasn’t a very successful attempt since the robe was too small and the panels refused to meet over her breasts. So in the end, Alli felt almost as naked exiting the small dressing stall as she had entering it.

  “Mmm, yes. Nice, very nice,” Kane growled when he saw her. “I knew that soft black lace would frame your fiery beauty well, Allisandra. You look beautiful.”

  “I look exposed,” Alli protested, trying not to blush and failing.

  “But there’s a purpose for that,” Kane purred, his rough voice suddenly gone silky. He pulled her to him. “For instance, what if you need me to suck your nipples? This lace panel comes up nicely to give me easy access.”

  As he spoke, he raised the lace to bare her nipples and began to trace her sensitive peaks with his fingertips in a w
ay that sent shivers through Alli’s entire body.

  “What…what if I don’t…don’t want you to do that?” she asked, nodding down to where he was touching her. “You can’t just…just grab me anytime you want to.”

  “Oh, yes I can, baby,” he growled softly. “You’re mine now—even more than when I first took you from your home universe. You have my lust-honey in your system, which means your entire body cries out for my touch. Which is why you’re not pulling away from me now, even though I’m stroking your hard little nipples.”

  “I…I want to pull away,” Alli protested. But did she—did she really? God, it was so difficult to know when what he was doing to her felt so good… so right.

  “Of course you do,” Kane rumbled. “The same way you’d want to pull away if I touched you here.”

  As he spoke, he lifted the lace panel which partially hid her pussy and slipped his big hand between her legs. Though she told herself not to, Alli parted her thighs for him eagerly.

  She tried not to moan as he slipped his long middle finger into her slippery inner folds and began a slow, gentle caress of her swollen, sensitive clit.

  “That’s right, baby,” Kane murmured, holding her eyes with his own as he continued to explore and pleasure her. “That’s right—give it up for me. You know you want to. Would you like me to eat your soft little pussy now?”

  “I…I don’t know,” Alli moaned, though she knew her answer ought to be an unequivocal no.

  “Well, why don’t we find out?” Kane growled softly. Sliding to his knees before her, he spread her legs wider and laid a soft, hot, open-mouthed kiss on her outer pussy. Then, apparently wanting to get deeper, he lifted Alli’s left leg and placed it over his broad shoulder.

  This had the effect of spreading her pussy open and almost overbalancing her. Alli gasped and leaned forward, grabbing for his broad shoulders for balance as the big Kru’ell One nuzzled between her legs.

  “Gods, so wet,” he growled as he lapped her inner thighs, swiping away her spilled juices with his hot tongue.

  “That…that was what…what my fiancé didn’t like about it,” Alli admitted in a low voice, though she wasn’t sure why she was admitting it.

  “He was a fucking idiot if he didn’t want to lap up all your sweet honey,” Kane told her. Leaning forward, he gave her a long, hot lick, starting at the entrance of her pussy and dragging his tongue all the way up to the top of her slit. “Gods, baby, you taste as good as you smell,” he groaned. “And your scent drives me fucking crazy.”

  “Oh…oh!” Alli moaned as she gripped his shoulders. She didn’t know what else to say—could barely think at all while he was doing this to her. It had always been a fantasy of hers to be with a man who really knew how to eat pussy and who really wanted to do it. And now Kane was fulfilling that particular fantasy perfectly.

  That’s right—he’s fulfilling your fantasies, whispered a little voice in her head. And remember what other fantasies he claimed you had? What about the one where he said you wanted to get pregnant? What about that one, Alli? Are you really just going to roll over for him and let him do anything he wants to you just because he tells you to—just because he used that weird tongue of his on you and Stung you?

  Alli knew the practical little voice was right—it was always right. Acknowledging the truth brought her a moment of clarity and she understood that if she didn’t at least try to resist the big Kru’ell One she would most definitely be going home with his child planted firmly in her belly—if she got home at all.

  I can’t let that happen—I have to resist! she told herself. I have to get away before I wind up begging him to take me—to come in me again like he did last night.

  Biting her lip, she gathered her will. Then, even though her body was crying out for the big Kindred’s touch, she somehow managed to push away from him.

  “Allisandra?” he asked, frowning.

  “No!” Alli gasped, putting up one hand to ward him off.

  She stumbled backwards a few steps, her clit throbbing from the rough, luscious licking he’d given her. Her pussy begging to be filled and her womb already felt thirsty for his come. But she refused to give in to the demands of her body—refused to let herself be used like all Kane’s concubines before her.

  Kane frowned, his sensuous lips still shiny with her juices. But he didn’t come after her.

  “So you want to play ‘hard to get’ as you humans call it—is that it, Allisandra?” he rumbled.

  Alli lifted her chin. Her heart was pounding but she somehow kept her voice from trembling.

  “I just don’t want to end up like your other concubines—used and discarded,” she told him.

  Kane rose from his crouch and towered over her, his face like a thundercloud. For a moment, Alli was certain he would come after her and shake her or maybe roar at her in his deep, gravelly voice. But at last he only said,

  “You are like no other concubine I have ever had.”

  Then he turned and left so swiftly Alli didn’t even see him go.

  Eighteen

  She held out for a whole week—a whole week of sexual starvation that nearly made her crazy.

  Every morning after breakfast—(which she had learned to manage better by asking for specific menus from restaurants she knew on Earth, so that the food she asked for was familiar)—Kane came to take her to the Hall of Shadows.

  Every morning he strapped her to the Stinging Frame and stung her mouth, both nipples, and her clit. He Stung inside her pussy too—promising Alli it would make her crave his seed even more.

  He was right.

  At times, she thought she was going crazy, the need for his hands and mouth on her body, his seed in her pussy, was so great. But somehow Alli held out.

  Part of it was knowing how much time she had left to endure this torture. After the second Stinging session, when Kane had returned her to her room, she called for a calendar which showed how many days she’d been with him and how many days she had left before she went home.

  An old-fashioned paper calendar appeared with three red Xs on it…and twenty-seven clear squares. Every evening, Alli marked off another day and every morning she told herself to hold on because there was one day less before she would be going home.

  That was, if the big Kru’ell One kept his promise. But so far Kane seemed to be true to his word. He didn’t touch her—other than to Sting her each morning. Though that in itself was an ordeal, since he tended to spend a long time kissing and sucking her nipples and lapping her clit and the inside of her pussy before he Stung her. But other than that, he left her alone except for the fact that he expected her to have dinner—or Last Meal—with him every night.

  The dinners were held in his private chambers—vast, shadowy rooms lit mostly by candlelight. They were furnished in heavy, black wood furniture with blood-red upholstery. They reminded Alli of something you might see in a Medieval castle.

  During dinner, Kane was always polite and he proved to be an excellent listener. He asked many, many questions about Alli’s past and present and her hopes for the future. She found herself speaking freely to him about her job aboard the Mother Ship, her life with Douglas, and even her upcoming wedding.

  “So, you do not love this fiancé of yours, but you plan to join your life to his permanently?” Kane asked her one evening, near the end of her first week with him. “Why, Allisandra?”

  Alli shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She knew there was no point in denying his words—they were true. She didn’t love Douglas and Kane could see into her well enough to know it.

  “Douglas is a nice guy,” she said, trying to justify herself. “We both love our work and we don’t bother each other too much.”

  Kane raised an eyebrow and frowned.

  “That sounds more like you’re picking a roommate than a lover to share the rest of your life with,” he pointed out. “Do you really think such monotony and tepid affection will make you happy in the long run?”

&nb
sp; “Well it’s better than sitting up here in a space fortress brooding all day and torturing people sexually!” Alli snapped.

  Her need for his touch had her at a breaking point. It was damn difficult to ignore the desire she felt for the big Kru’ell One sitting across from her when he was so close she could smell his warm, spicy, masculine scent and see his mirrored eyes glinting in the firelight.

  Kane didn’t appear offended by her remarks. He only gave her a sympathetic look and shook his head.

  “Is the need getting to be too much for you, baby?” he asked softly. “Is desire overwhelming you? You know you only have to ask and I’ll do whatever you want. Do you want your nipples sucked? Your pussy licked? Or do you need to be filled with my cock and my come?”

  “If you’ll do whatever I want, then stop Stinging me!” Alli exclaimed. “You’re making me crazy and you know it.”

  Kane shook his head.

  “Sorry, baby, but I can’t do that.”

  “Why?” Alli asked. “Because you’re some kind of emotional vampire and you live by feeding off my pleasure when you…when I let you do…do what you want to do to me?”

  Kane didn’t even try to deny it.

  “Yes,” he said simply. “Though I can live off any kind of strong emotion, I find pleasure most satisfying and nourishing. Many Kru’ell Ones live off pain—it is why we’ve gotten such the reputation of being Sadists.”

  “I suppose I should be glad I didn’t catch the eye of one of those kinds of Kru’ell Ones,” Alli said, frowning.

  His face, which had been mildly amused, went suddenly grave.

  “Very lucky,” he growled. “If you had caught the eye of our Overlord for instance—” He stopped abruptly and shook his head.

  “What?” Alli was intrigued in spite of herself. “The who?”

  “The Overlord who rules us all—the head of the Kru’ell Ones,” Kane explained. “He feeds exclusively off pain. It is said that not many of his concubines survive his…attentions.”