by Colt, Shyla
“Shh, you have to be quiet.”
The corners of his mouth twitched upward at her hushed protest when he rolled off her and propped himself up onto an elbow. His lips dipped to cover hers once more as he eased up her skirt. His hand skimmed beneath the crisp cotton of her dress and ran along the damp cloth barrier. Her cream had soaked through her panties and rolled down her thighs.
“I love how wet you get for me, Zash.”
“Phe.” The sound of his name shortened on her lips made his cock twitch. The unconscious familiarization made him growl. A flick of his wrist popped the elastic band off the cloth that barred his entrance. Thick digits drove inside her flooded tunnel. Her slick walls tight around his fingers as she rocked her hips.
“That’s right, Zash, take me inside you.”
Her vagina fluttered in response. She liked it when he told her what to do. When he took the control from her and pushed her boundaries. He added another finger and titled his thrust to hit the sweet spot inside her.
“Come all over my fingers, baby.”
He took her cries into his mouth as she convulsed, her pussy a vise grip around him as her cream overflowed. Phelan removed his hands and smoothed her skirt back down before he sucked his fingers into his mouth. The salty sweet flavor a tangy taste he relished as she slowly came back to Earth.
“Is that better, Zash?” he asked, voice strained as he adjusted his painful hard-on.
“Yes.”
Zasha voice had gone soft, and he could feel her mental retreat. He hooked an arm around her waist and eased her to set beside him as he tucked her beneath his shoulder. Damned if he’d let her run again so soon.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Giving you more relief.”
“Phelan—”
“No.”
“No?”
“Call me what you did before.”
“Phe?”
“Yes.” He breathed. “Why do you fight this, Zasha?”
“Because it’s too much too fast! I don’t know you, and I sure as hell don’t trust some alien biology I’ve never heard about before.”
“It’s not exactly a fact we bring up to people in polite conversation.”
“The point is you’ve had your whole life to wrap your mind around this. I’ve had seven days.”
“That should be long enough for you to realize this isn’t going to go away,” he said.
The silence that fell between them all the answer he needed.
“What do you want from me, Zasha? The Wanting will become painful if we continue to ignore it. You don’t want to come together in a blinded lust. It’s too dangerous for you.”
“I don’t even know you,” she whispered, shaking her head.
“So take the time to get to know me, Zash. I can do human courtship.”
“I don’t know that you can. Every time we’re together we end up like this. Look at what we did in the middle of the park. They arrest people for what we did.”
A heavy sighed was pushed from his chest as he grew silent. The gears in his head churned as he sifted through solutions.
“We’ll try it your way, Zasha, push the physical contact off as long as we can and date.”
The words sounded strange on his tongue. It was a concept foreign to him. On his planet, once you found your mate it was like being married.
“You would do that for me?” she asked. The disbelief in her tone made his heart ache. She had so much to learn about him and his people.
“That and more, my Zash, now let’s enjoy the rest of our first date.”
****
“I can’t believe you brought me to the Festival of Lights,” Zasha said. A wide grin stretched across her red lips as they waited in line at the Cincinnati Zoo.
“Is this not acceptable form of entertainment on a date? “ Phelan asked. Dark head tilted as he frowned lightly. His apprehension was endearing, and she placed a hand on his shoulder to offer comfort.
“No, it’s perfect. It’s just not something I’ve done in years.”
The memories of trips made with her mother rose and caused an ache that was bittersweet. The last week had been one hell of a ride. Along with her acceptance of Phelan in her life, she had aired out the past she’d long avoided. She had done herself a serious disservice when she boarded up her history: lock, stock, and barrel. There was plenty of good she had shut out that way. That was all in the past, because now was a time for a fresh start.
She twined her fingers with Phelan’s and gave a shy smile as she peered at him through her lashes. Since that night in Devou Park, he’d been a model of good behavior. Hands, lips, and dirty words had been kept to himself. She knew it was at her request, but damn did she miss her naughty alien with black eyes and skin that glowed blue.
“Where are your thoughts, Zasha?” he asked.
Amber eyes aglow with knowledge as his lips curved into a smug smile that proved to be too much temptation to resist. Her high-heeled boots provided enough height for her to lean in and capture his soft pink lips with her own. The gentle caress of his mouth was all she allowed before she stepped away. Her face felt like it was on fire as he grinned, and she refocused his attention elsewhere.
“Look, the line moved.”
A tug of her hand put them into motion as they made their way to the booth, and he paid. She’d never asked him where he got his courtship knowledge. But it was definitely old school. He held doors, paid tabs, and gave compliments with an ease that made her melt. She never thought she’d be one for traditional roles. As an agent, she went out of her way to make sure her gender was unnoticed. Maybe that was why the change of pace felt so good.
“I’ve never been to the Festival of Lights.” Phelan admitted as they stepped through the gates into the spectacle of tiny blue Christmas lights that adorned the archway they walked beneath.
“I loved it as a kid,” she said. Her arm tucked into his as she craned her neck and imagined the tiny dots were stars.
“What was it like on Tagget?”
“It was…different. Our skies were the palest pink and the clouds a dusky lavender.”
“Did you have night?”
“Yes, we had night, and it was the same indigo that you have, but our stars are much larger, and brighter than the ones you see here.”
“I would love to see it.”
“I would love to show it to you. We have many holo vids, perhaps our next date could be spent viewing them with popcorn?”
“Smooth, Phelan, are you sure you haven’t done the courtship thing before?”
“No, but my youngest brother, Marsden, has spent many years on Earth, and he’s helped me, get the hang of things, as you’d say.”
The sound of the slang on his refined palate made her throw her head back and laugh. She enjoyed his company more than she should. But Zasha was honest enough to admit this courtship was nothing more than a delay of the inevitable. If they weren’t surrounded by a group of impressionable children with their parents, she’d have pulled him into a dark corner and snogged him senseless. She was way over her head, and they both knew it.
“Who knew Phelan D’Shar had a sense of humor.”
“I forget myself most days.”
His gentle admission made her squeeze his hand. If nothing else, they appeared to be good for one another.
“Heavy lies the head?”
“Exactly,” he said wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her close. “But not right now when I’m with you.”
“You do not make it easy to take things slow.”
“The feeling is mutual.” His growled answer made her tingle.
“Let’s go before I forget that promise I made you.”
Warmth flowed inside of her and chipped away at the ice that encased her heart as they paused to take in the winter wonderland created by the PNC bank. A man who kept his word when it cost him was one she could trust in.
****
“I had a wonderful time, Phe, th
ank you,” Zasha said as they stood outside the door of her condo.
“It was my pleasure, Zash,” he said.
Hands held behind his back as he kept a respectable distance that made her want to scream. She needed to taste him and feel the heated flesh of his body against her own. His decadent dark taste had become akin to an expensive chocolate she craved but couldn’t afford. Only the cost wasn’t monetary, it was emotional. Every time she relinquished control and gave way to her desire they moved closer to the end result. Why did she have to be so stubborn?
Because you have enough baggage to fill an airplane freight. A tiny voice inside her head answered.
Time spent with Phe always made her lose perspective. Left her with questions about why she needed to take time and deny them what they both wanted. It was scary to struggle for control when it was the backbone she had built her whole life around. Life as a foster child had been unstable at best. Shuffled from home to home, every six months or so brought to a new school or new family to adapt to. The thought that she would one day be the master of her own destiny had been the one thing that kept her grounded.
She had steered the vessel of her life with single minded focus until Phelan shattered her plans with his admission and a lust that burned hotter than the sun. Funny that the whirlwind made her feel more alive than ever before.
“Zasha?”
Her gaze flew upward to find his amber eyes black as the night that surrounded them as she lost yet another battle to control. Her hands shot up to grip the lapels of his worn leather jacket, and she brought his head down to trace the seam of his lips with her eager tongue. He tasted of sin and musk. A heady combination that made her head spin a she hung on for dear life as her legs went weak. Impatient she plunged her tongue into the moist cavern of his mouth and coaxed him into a duel. Her pebbled nipples strained against the black sweater, and she pressed the length of her body against his. Desperate to be closer, her hands moved to spread his jacket apart as she burrowed into him. His strong fingers buried themselves in the hair she’d worn down because he liked it. Her loud moan of protest broke the stillness of the night when he pulled away.
White clouds of frost appeared around them as they caught their breath, and Zasha pondered her next move. “If you want me to wait, I have to go now, Zash.”
“Phe.”
Torn between what she wanted and what she needed, she closed her eyes and let her head thud against the door.
“You’re not ready,” he whispered. Phelan’s lips felt petal soft as they pressed against her forehead.
“This Saturday we’ll do holo vids at my house. Now go inside before I take you against the door and give your neighbors something to talk about.”
“Mrs. Casta would love it. I think the woman was a freak back in her day.”
The mention of her kind, but nosey, elderly neighbor caused laughter as she turned the knob and made her way inside. A light “goodnight” the last words from her mouth before she closed the door and slid to the ground. Her pussy throbbed with need as her body broke out into a fine sheen of sweet. She wasn’t sure how much of this she could take.
****
With his jaw clenched and his eyes closed, Phelan leaned his head against the door of Zasha’s condo. Curved fingers clutched the wooden frame as he inhaled the scent of her arousal. His cock strained against the denim of his pants, and he knew if he moved a muscle he’d come all over himself like an untried youth. It was an exquisite brand of torture to endure this process with Zasha. She had no clue what she was in for when he actually got a hold of her ass again. Rough would not begin to cover the way he’d handle her pussy or her ass or her mouth. A growl reverberated through his chest, and he pushed away from the door and forced his feet to carry him away from the woman he wanted to devour whole.
****
“I’d ask how you were, but I get the feeling you have a set of blue balls to go with that blue face,” Mars said. He wore a cheeky grin as he entered the house and found him engrossed in a game of poker with Bastian. Things were going well between him and Zasha.
“I’m glad to see my discomfort brings you joy.”
“Oh, it’s not the discomfort; it’s the loss of control that’s entertaining,” Bastian said. His head lifted from his cards as he offered a smug grin and sipped a bottle of beer.
“You realize all of you will go through the same thing at some point, right?”
“Maybe, but I figure the odds of running into the right girl are so miniscule, I’ll be a confirmed bachelor,” Bastian said as he laughed. He had no clue what the Wanting would make you do.
“And you, Mars?”
“What he said,” he muttered. His brow furrowed as his eyes bore holes into the cards he had in his hand.
“It’s a Royal Flush,” Phelan informed as he glanced over Mars’s shoulder. His dark chuckle floated behind him as he continued to his room, and Mars swore. If they wanted to give him shit, the least he could do was reciprocate with some teasing.
Chapter Six
Seated at her desk, Zasha closed the manila folder. A sense of pride and weariness enveloped her. One case down, half a dozen more to go, it’d been like this since lunch. Her reflection in the computer screen showed dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her once toned physique had begun to border on thin. She spent the past month or so with her time divided between Taye, Phelan, and the gym. Each work out session meant to plunge her into a dreamless sleep. Since the first week after the orchestra in the park, Zasha was haunted by erotic dreams of Phelan. Only to wake and give her pink rabbit a healthy work out. After she’d blazed her way through a pack of triple A batteries, she’d turned to exercise to exhaust her mind. It was heaven and hell getting to know the man she felt so linked to without the physical gratification.
Each piece of new information gained added to the intimacy being built between them. The pull of the Wanting had grown so intense it occasionally caused pain. But she needed to be sure she knew who Phelan D’Shar was before she surrendered. It was worth the struggle now that she was ready to admit defeat. Phelan successfully erased her doubts one by one and tonight, she would bare her final secret along with her body. She had extended a dinner invitation for tonight at her place. Of course, she’d neglected to inform him she was the main course. She smiled as she placed her files in the appropriate bins, locked her desk down and stood to leave. When the door swung open, she fought down the urge to scream.
“Top priority case for you, straight from the chief,” Richards said as she groaned.
“Did you get a chance to skim over it?” she asked.
“No, he made it clear it was for your eyes only,” he said with a shake of his buzzed brown head.
At six feet three inches and about three hundred pounds, Richards was built like a brick house. With a stern mug that matched his hulking frame. You’d never know the guy was a total teddy bear underneath.
“Go on and get out of her, Johnson. I’ll tell him I just missed you.”
“I owe you, Richards!”
A quick peck on his face made his cheeks redden as she rushed out of the office. For once, the last place she wanted to be was at her desk.
****
Damp and bone weary, Zasha sighed as she stomped the snow from her boots on the mat and twisted the key in the lock. It was fifteen minutes after six, and she had a lot of work to do before Phelan arrived at eight. She loved her job, but on nights like these, she longed for a vacation. Her lips curved down when she flipped the switch up on her lights and got no response. The light bulbs were dead, or the power was out because of the snowstorm. She reached down to grab the slim pin light she kept on her key chain and froze when the beam of light picked up a figure.
Her body lowered to one knee as instincts took over. Her hand pulled the butt of the standard issued 9mm from her shoulder holster, and her ears strained to pick up a sound that would give away the intruders location.
“There’s no need for that, Zasha. If I wa
nted you dead you would be,” a masculine voice said.
The click of a switch beside the intruder pierced the silence, and the light that flooded the room blinded her. Her lids fluttered as she tried to force her eyes to adjust to the lighting differential and assess the threat. Thirty seconds later, her vision cleared and the bottom dropped out as her world exploded.
“It’s been a long time,” Tavel said.
His body draped across one of the leather chairs in her living area. Her fingers clicked the safety off her gun and cocked the handle to place a bullet in the chamber.
“We both know that little pop gun won’t do more than piss me off,” he said.
His voice haughty as his lips curled up into a sneer. The arrogance that rolled off him in waves sent an itch to her trigger finger.
“That’s a good enough reason for me to use it,” she said. Her eyes trained down her barrel and pulled the trigger in rapid succession. The bullets of the P.I.U.’s 9mm were made with a chemical compound that subdued aliens, but they seemed to have no effect on the Tavel.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this,” he said with a sigh as he rose from the chair. A ball of blue light shot across the room and hit her in the chest as darkness drug her down into its depths.
****
“W-where am I?” she whispered.
Her voice was hoarse as she slowly regained consciousness and found her limbs bound. Leather cuffs encircled her wrists and ankles as she lay on a metal tray. The bright circle of light that hung above her head cast shadows on the dank room she was imprisoned in.