He got on top of me and clutched my breasts. His strong mouth and tongue worked over my tender nipples while his prehensile cock found its way back inside me.
Elentinus kept control of the fuck. I stayed limp as he ravaged me. My ass still throbbed in ecstasy. It made my legs weak. I let my third orgasm come without resistance. His cock was too huge not to agitate me to the prickly tickle that came before climax. Elentinus came two more times.
His cock finally softened and pulled itself out of me. Elentinus kissed my neck sweetly.
“That was magnificent, my dear.”
“Uhhn.” I felt so weak. “We can’t do this every night.”
He smiled at me and caressed my hair. “Don’t worry. I agree. I’m only glad you’re open to it even sometimes.”
I returned his smile and gave him a soft kiss.
Elentinus awakened me with a kiss on my forehead the next morning.
“Don’t sleep too late, my dear. We’ll be going to Earth today.”
“Ngh.”
I let myself doze while he vacated the bed. When I heard his bathroom door close I got a jolt of panic. I opened my eyes wide. Why was my heart racing?
I sat up slowly. Nauseating dread descended into the pit of my stomach, and then my morning amnesia faded like mist before a tombstone. I put my face in my hand.
This was my chance, possibly my only chance, to swipe the control unit for Inga. I had to make the horrendous decision now.
Did I betray the husband I loved to help a fellow human escape a torturous existence?
Or did I turn my back on her.
Elentinus wouldn’t be in the shower long. I clenched fistfuls of my hair trying to force myself to think fast.
I didn’t want to become one of my husband’s enemies. I loved him. I was grateful for how kind he treated me, and the new life we had together. If I betrayed him it was going to screw everything up with the council. What if they voted on going to war again? Nayjoor might insist on it. What if he uses one of those crazy weapons I overheard them talking about and kills millions of aliens? The Aquars were trying to save me. They might have had some ulterior motives, but it’s obvious they were bringing salvation to at least some women.
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t.
It was wrong for the Aquars to put me in this position.
That meant I was going to let Inga go back home with her husband. Her stubborn asshole husband who let his servant torture her. The jerk who thought women should be punished for speaking their mind, and who wouldn’t let her talk to other women.
If I was her wouldn’t I be just as desperate to escape?
I wrapped myself in a blanket and climbed out of bed. There were some Domestics in the room, but none of them were paying attention to me. I got the control unit out of the drawer and hid my hand under the blanket.
As I crossed to my bathroom I could hear my pulse thumping in my temples. Did this mean I was going to help her? I didn’t want to concede that. I was just getting it because if I changed my mind later I wouldn’t have another chance to swipe it.
Right?
I climbed into the shower with a sigh that ended in sobs.
Damn it.
Yes. I was going help that nasty girl. God help me.
I wore my regular black dress so I could hide the control unit in my bra. When Kang smooshed me for the landing I thought for sure he’d feel it. The idiocy of my paranoia struck me. His clunky box body probably couldn’t feel much of anything.
The six of us descended to the lower belly of the ship, where the ‘Defenders’ (Domestics bulked with armor who had tank rollers instead of wheels) were stored. The angular wall in front of us opened like a gangplank downward. I saw green and could hear birds. Eight Defenders emerged from the clutch of several hundred behind us and flanked our sides. Elentinus waited until they were in place and then led us out onto planet Earth.
Inga barely got off the gangplank before dropping on her knees on the tall grass.
“Oh, God.” She plucked a crocus from the dense weeds. “Is it Russia? Tell me.”
I came beside her. “It’s America.”
“America?” She got teary. “I always…always wanted to go there. But now? What’s the fucking point?” She clutched the grass while breaking into sobs.
Rolf-Tem nudged her butt with his toe. “Alright. Let’s move along.”
I snarled at him. “Give her a minute!”
He lifted his nose and took a few steps away to join Whore. The two commenced with their idle chatter: “Is any of this vegetation edible?” “The human’s stomachs are too delicate, but their animals can eat it and they can eat the animals.” Etc.
I surveyed the landscape. I couldn’t see the overpasses this time. We were in wild pasture. A few young trees were scattered among clean cut stumps that had moss and mushrooms growing on them. There was a dirt road ahead of us fighting encroaching crab grass. It led to what looked like an army base about 30 yards away. Hundreds of long domed barracks were spread out before us, probably filling up a square mile.
Elentinus moved beside me and touched my arm. I looked at him, but his gaze remained fixed on the scene.
“What do you expect to see today, Maritza?”
I turned away. The question put some dread in my stomach. I took a deep breath and said, “A slave labor camp. Hopefully one that’s not as bad as a Nazi concentration camp.”
“I’m not familiar with your reference.” He still didn’t look at me. “What if it is as bad as what you fear?”
It couldn’t have been, but the mere suggestion made me furious. “Then you have to fix it.”
He made no response. The conversation made my shoulders tense. If he was worried about me seeing this then there must have been something to worry about. It couldn’t be that bad, could it? Not on Elentinus’ watch.
We heard a girl’s voice. All our heads darted towards the source in unison. We couldn’t see anyone past a huge mass of blackberry brambles.
Elentinus zipped past me toward it. “No one’s supposed to be out this far.”
I gathered up Inga and followed. The Defenders whirred along with us. One of them plowed ahead to trample open a path.
“Don’t move, humans!” the Defender said through a booming speaker.
I heard several women scream.
We ran through the break. There were seven girls: most teenage, two adults, and one elderly. They wore plain green frocks and bandanas. Each had a large tote bags loaded with berries (though one was spilled on the ground). They stood clustered with wide eyes fixed on us. One of them was eating berries out of her bag.
Past them I saw two Defenders who hadn’t come out of the ship. They rolled forward.
“Lord Elentinus,” one of them said, “the women are out here with our permission.”
I heard a piston. The Defender who’d plowed ahead was pulling a little cannon back into one of his compartments.
Elentinus approached them. We timidly followed behind.
“That is fine,” he said in English. “I apologize for startling you.”
Everyone relaxed.
“Sokay,” said the younger of the two adults.
“No prob,” said the old woman.
“You smashed a shit-ton of blackberries, though,” said the shortest girl. She looked Hispanic.
“Would you shut up, Jules?” a teen with a blue streak dyed in her hair said, “These are the falacking aliens.”
“I’m just sayin.”
The girls turned toward Jules, who appeared to be the youngest, and scolded her. She ignored them and held out her tote.
“You want some blackberries?”
I got a surge of joy that almost broke me into tears. There’s no way this was a Nazi level concentration camp.
I went to her. “I’ll try some.”
“Who the Hell are you?” a lanky brunette with a dark tan said.
“I’m…” I looked back at Elentinus who gave me a Da
k-Hiliah nod. “I’m Lord Elentinus’ wife.”
A few of them gasped.
One pointed her thumb at Inga. “Are you the other one’s wife?”
“What the fuck are you people doing?” Inga said in English. “You just come out here and pick fucking berries? Frolic about all day?”
“I want an alien husband,” the younger adult woman said. “How do I sign up?”
“Me too,” Jules said.
“What are they saying?” Nayjoor said to Elentinus.
“No we don’t fucking frolic around all day,” the lanky brunette said to Inga. “We work our asstistas off.”
“You’re too young to marry anyone, Jules!”
“Be silent! All of you!” Whore said in English.
The women gawked at him. Jules sneered.
“How dare you all chatter about like fools before your ruler, Lord Elentinus. Collars can be affixed to your throats easily enough. Perhaps examples need to be made of you.”
Jules’ sneer evaporated. I hated the fear I saw in their eyes. Of course they knew what he was talking about. This place was still far from my ideal.
The older of the two adult women touched her throat. She spoke through burgeoning tears. “I’m pregnant.”
Whore scoffed. “You think that will spare you?”
“Stop it, Hor-Denay!” I strode out in front of him. “No one’s getting shocked, for God’s sake.”
“That’s not for you to—“
“Hor!” Elentinus said.
Whore withdrew to the back of the group.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said to the women. “That’s his asshole servant, don’t even pay attention to him. Lord Elentinus isn’t cruel like that.”
The women’s postures slackened in relief.
“Oh thank God.”
The pregnant one took my hand. “Thank you.”
Nayjoor gave me a start by appearing beside me. He grabbed a fistful of blackberries.
“I don’t know what they’re saying, but I want to try these.”
We all tried them. I could see there were plenty more in the bushes around us.
“Have you eaten these before?” Elentinus asked me in the Dak-Hiliah language.
“Oh, sure. We had them in my day.”
“You speak their language?” Jules said.
I nodded.
“I can learn their language, too,” the younger adult said. “So how do I get on the wife list?”
“You want to trade with me?” Inga said. “Fucking fine.”
The woman looked at Nayjoor and shrugged. “I’ve seen worse.”
My brow rose.
“You want to be treated like a slave and get shocked every fucking day? Huh?”
Damn it, Inga.
The woman’s lip curled. “Ew, no.”
Elentinus placed his arm around my waist. “We should continue with our tour, my darling.”
“I’ll take a husband like him, then. Any of those around?”
I smiled. “This one’s mine.”
Jules giggled.
“She seems happy enough.” The younger adult gestured to me while speaking to Inga.
“Psh.” Inga turned her back to them.
We went back to the road toward the barracks. The Defenders flanked us, four on each side.
“Did you hear that woman?” I said to Elentinus. “Why don’t you get some wives from the colony?”
“We promised to only take wives from the past so Earth’s population could recover. It was part of the surrender agreement.”
I frowned. (Nayjoor was huffing and puffing as he walked behind me).
“It does seem like a missed opportunity,” Elentinus said. “The women outnumber the men by a considerable margin here. The male population had already been depleted during the war with us before the Instajants invaded.”
“Can you…revise the surrender agreement?”
Elentinus made a sinister smile. “I can do whatever I wish, Maritza.”
I pursed my lips.
“The reason I hesitate is because we want other worlds to know we abide by our surrender agreements. They must feel able to submit to us without any uncertainty. Otherwise it could prolong fruitless resistance.”
“Hm, yeah. Wouldn’t want that.”
He gave me a sideways hug.
I saw there were some people and two Defenders waiting for us where the road entered the complex. As we drew nearer I could see a paunchy man with thinning grey hair and an unruly grey beard along with a black woman wearing a head scarf and a thin elderly white woman clutching a gnarled walking stick. The man move to block Elentinus once we drew near.
“What’s going on?” the man said, “I don’t have all the pregnancy tests done yet. It hasn’t even been a week.”
“Cease with your confrontational tone, Dugan.” As he spoke he signaled the man to get out of his way. “I am not here on business.”
Dugan met my eyes briefly. “Alright then, Lord Elentinus. I apologize.” He stepped aside. “So why did you come?”
“Our brides wished to see the compound.” He brought me forward with a light touch on my back. “Maritza, this is Dugan, Esther, and Magpie. They are representatives for the three jurisdictions of the colony.” He tipped his chin at Dugan. “This is my wife, Maritza.”
Dugan looked puzzled. “Did you…dye your hair?”
I shook my head in confusion, but then realized why he asked. “Oh, no. You’re thinking of Sasha. I’m the new wife.”
“What happened to Sasha?” Esther, the black woman, asked.
My bottom lip quivered in hesitation. I glanced at Elentinus, but he kept his eyes lowered.
“They divorced.”
“Okay,” Esther went on, “so where is she? She’s not in the colony.” She looked at the other two. “Is she?”
“Not in my pods,” Magpie, the thin white woman, said.
“The only new people I have in my pods are babies,” Dugan said.
“What business is it of yours?” Whore said.
Esther looked at him and gulped, but then set her gaze back on me. “Where did she go?”
I started to panic. What the Hell, lady? Did she expect me to give her escape details right in front of my husband? I looked at him for an answer.
Elentinus had turned smug. He stared at me with his chin cocked and his eyes narrowed. It was an expression that said, ‘Well, Maritza? What are you going to tell them?’ I couldn’t believe he was challenging me like this. I know he thought he was being funny. I didn’t appreciate it.
“Can’t say.” I shrugged.
“Who are these humans, Elen?” Nayjoor asked. “Why aren’t we getting on with the tour?”
Elentinus leaned close to explain to him.
“Are you happy with him?” Magpie asked me.
I gave a genuine smile. “Oh, yes. He’s very kind to me.” Then I drew my lips into my mouth to wet them. “Are you happy here?”
Magpie scrutinized me a moment. “You’re from the future, right?”
“The past.”
“Yeah, right, that’s what I meant.” She snuffled and looked away from me. “Presuming that’s true, then you don’t know about everything that happened? About the war and the parasites and everything?”
Elentinus, Inga, and both servants were now fixed on her with me. Nayjoor was looking around, bored.
“I know some of it. What they’ve told me. I don’t know your side of it though.”
The three representatives exchanged glances.
“I’d like to know what they’ve told you,” Dugan said.
Magpie lifted her hand. “Later, Dugan.” She took a deep sigh. “You girls need to know who you’re standing by. I had a brother, and I had two sons. All of them drafted. All of them killed in Dak-Hiliah attacks.” She paused to swallow. “They kept asking us to surrender, and they kept punishing us when we didn’t. Our governments said we had to keep fighting. That the Dak-Hiliah would enslave us. Rape all the wom
en, castrate all the men. That’s what they kept saying. So we fought and we fought. Lowered the draft age. Dragged all the countries into it. Every fight was fucking hopeless. They only ones who survived were the few female soldiers, who all got kidnapped. Our governments pulled them out of combat pretty early. Basically the Dak-Hiliah toyed with us. Toyed with us! We never did much damage. If we managed to kill even one soldier they’d come back at us ten times worse in his name. That shit went on for 25 years. Millions and millions of people died. I don’t even know what the totals are. Every day you’d hear 5,000 killed. 20,000 killed. We never won a battle. Hell, we never even fought off an attack. They just left when they felt they’d killed enough.”
“Your husband was the general.” Dugan pointed his thumb at Elentinus. “He was the one sending in all the squadrons. You know that right?”
I parted my lips to answer, but no words came out. Had I known? I thought I did, kind of. It never sunk in before.
Magpie started up again. “Do I want to go back to that time? When we were at war? When I was worrying for my last son’s life night and day? No. I wouldn’t. But you don’t know the half of it. The next invaders were even worse than these ones. Those parasites…like slimy green spiders as big as cats with these…these spiked elephant trunks. They just rained on us. Grabbed people by the head.” Her voice started cracking. “Jabbed that spiked trunk thing right through people’s foreheads. Turned them into dead-eyed zombies who just marched and marched and marched to where the ships came and got them.” She let out a shuddering sigh. “It happened so fast. You weren’t safe in your house. They could get through your roof, your walls. My group was able to hide in the sewers. We were down there for months. We could never go up. Those things were always crawling around—and there was no way you could kill them. You sure couldn’t outrun them. Not even in a jitney.” She shook her head. “I spent that year eating rats. I had mold growing up my legs that itched like Hell. It was always damp. Always cold.” She winced. “At least five in our group committed suicide. Manny—when his teeth started falling out—he went insane.”
Esther squeezed her shoulder.
Magpie took a deep breath. “I’m grateful for every day I get to be out of that hole. See the sun shining. Breathe clean air. So to answer your question, yes. I’m happy here. I deserve to be happy after everything we’ve been through.”
The Complete Alien's Bride Page 16