by T. J. Quinn
“I’m sure he’s hungry too, aren’t you, Eirik?” Sasha asked, taking a step forward to where the other man was standing. “I’m sure he would love to join us for dinner,” she added with a huge smile.
She wasn’t ready to be left alone with Asgar again. She needed to build back her defenses against him. Otherwise, she would fall for him hard, and that was the last thing she needed right now.
“I’m always hungry,” Eirik nodded, ignoring his brother’s expression. “Sharing a meal with you will certainly make my day.”
She chuckled and invited him in, leaving a very frustrated Asgar behind.
He watched them disappear inside the house before he hit the wall with his fist. ‘Damn woman.’ He knew exactly what she was doing, and though it annoyed him very much, there wasn’t much he could do, not unless he wanted to throw his brother out of the house and that would only make things worse. He could imagine his mother flying to this house to find out what was going on. That was the last thing he needed.
When he joined them in the kitchen, Eirik was ordering food from the nearest refectory for the three of them.
“Why don’t you cook your own food?” she asked, intrigued.
“I have no idea of how to cook a proper meal,” Eirik replied with a scowl. “Very few men learn how to cook, and those who do are the owners and employees on the several refectories all over the planet,” he explained.
“So, you buy all your food? Isn’t that expensive?” she asked again.
“No, it’s not. This is a very rich planet, and we have learned to use its benefits without exploiting them, and that has provided all our people with enough income for whatever they want.” Asgar explained as he entered the house, clearly not very pleased with the whole situation.
“That’s nice. I could have used something like that back home. Cooking was never my thing,” she said with a self-deprecating scowl. “How long does it take for the food to arrive?”
“Five minutes or so. It’s teleported here,” Eirik explained.
That astounded her, but then she remembered Egil had teleported all of the women from the lizard’s vessel into theirs. Back then she had been so upset she hadn’t paid much attention to it.
“Nice. Enough time for me to take a bath and change clothes,” she said, and without waiting for an answer, she turned around and went straight to her room. She was feeling sweaty and wet. She was so aware of her arousal that she could smell it. How the hell was that even possible? What dark magic had he conjured over her to make her so weak in his presence? A single touch of his hand was enough to make her legs quiver, a kiss was enough to make her surrender to his will.
Once in her bathroom, she stripped off her clothes, and headed straight to the shower stall, needing more than ever the soothing power of the orange liquid.
She stayed there, just standing under the warm stream until she felt calm. Only then, did she bother to wash her hair and her body.
Out of the bathroom, she put on one of the tunics Asgar had provided for her, and while she stood in front of the metallic mirror, she wished she had a comb. Her hair was starting to look like a rat’s nest.
Asgar looked at his brother with an unfriendly expression.
“What? What did I do now?” Eirik asked, amused.
“You could have said no to her invitation,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, as he faced his brother.
“Yes, I could. But I decided it was more important to get to know her better. After all, she will be part of the family soon,” The naughty smile on his face said more than his words.
“Shut up,” Asgar snarled. “She’s not supposed to know that yet.”
“She’s not here now,” Eirik replied, not even a bit impressed with his older brother’s dark mood. “How does it feel?”
“As if someone ripped the air out of your lungs. Your whole body responds to her whole presence, but her scent is the first thing you notice,” he explained. “How did you know?”
“You mean, despite the fact you’re acting as if you could rip me in two if I dare to get too close to her?” his brother mocked him. “I don’t know exactly how, but I knew it the minute I saw her. Mom will be so happy.”
“You can’t tell her about it,” Asgar warned him.
“You have to be kidding. She would kill me if she found out I knew about something this big and didn’t tell her,” Eirik protested.
“I’ll kill you, in a more painful way, if you tell her,” Asgar quivered with the single idea. “You know she would come running and I don’t think Sasha is ready for that kind of attention.”
“You won’t be able to keep that a secret for much longer. You should know that. The minute she finds out you have one of the female humans here, she’ll know why,” Eirik warned him.
A beep warned them of the arrival of the food.
“Then, make sure she doesn’t find out,” he growled.
“Hey, I can’t make miracles,” Eirik warned him. “But, I’ll keep my mouth shut as long as I can.”
Asgar nodded and took the food out of the transporter.
“Why is she taking so long? Food will get cold,” he mumbled, impatient. “I better go get her,” he added, ignoring his brother’s naughty smile.
Chapter Eight
The door to her room opened up, and Asgar barged in.
“Is it that hard for you to understand the concept of knocking?” she muttered.
“In my own house? Of course not,” he said with a wicked smile.
She snorted.
“Food is here. Are you ready?” he added, still smiling.
“I guess. Don’t you have something I could use to comb my hair?” she asked, still trying to fix her hair as well as she could.
“Yes, I do. Do you need one?” he asked, with a slight frown. He hadn’t thought of it.
“Yes, that would be great. My hair is getting worse every day that goes by.”
“Wait a second. I’ll get you mine,” he opened up a door she hadn’t noticed and disappeared through it.
Curious, she followed him, wanting to know where that door led him. The door opened up to a dressing room and judging by the clothes stored in it, she could tell it was his dressing room, she when she arrived at his bedroom, she wasn’t surprised, just furious.
“This is your bedroom?” she asked him, crossing her arms over her chest, as she faced him.
“Yes, it is.” He was grabbing something from his dresser. “Is there a problem?”
“Yes, there is a huge problem. Why is there a door connecting our rooms?” she spurted out.
“Because I want you as close as possible and other than tying you to my bed, this was the best solution I could find,” he replied, in a mischievous tone, as he closed the distance between them.
She gasped loudly. “You wouldn’t dare,” she muttered, furious.
“What? Tie you to my bed? Of course, I would, and I still might do it,” he assured her in a firm tone, as he handed her something that looked like a comb, but that had two rows of pins. “Will this work?” he asked her.
“You have no right,” she ranted, ignoring the comb he was still holding in his hand.
“I have all rights. I thought we had established that by now,” he replied, still in a very calm tone, as he turned her around and started to comb her hair.
She tried to walk away, but he didn’t allow her. “Stay still or I might hurt you,” he warned her.
“I’m not your property,” she shouted again.
“Actually, yes, you are. I bought you,” he assured her, in a blatant tone, as he kept combing her hair. “At least, until your soulmate shows up. Of course, there’s always the possibility there is no soulmate for you in this planet, and in that case, I would get to keep you for as long as I want.”
“You have to be kidding me,” she tried to step away from him again, and he pulled her back by her hair.
“Does it look like I’m kidding?” he asked, arching one of his ridge
d eyebrows.
She clenched her hands into fists, so furious she could beat him to death. But she didn’t even try. In any case, he was stronger than her and would subdue her in a matter of seconds. She wasn’t giving him that pleasure.
“Why don’t you cut the crap and admit once and for all, there is no such thing as a soulmate? Admit you bought us as breeding animals and believe me, I’ll respect you a bit more,” she grumbled, furious, as she felt an iron fist squeezing her heart.
“I can’t admit a lie. You’ll soon find out I’m telling you the truth,” he finished combing her hair and flipped her around to make her face him. “But, until then, you’re mine,” he added, handing her the comb. “You can keep this one for yourself. Now, let’s get something to eat before Eirik devours all of the food.”
He dragged her out of his room, using the connecting door and after leaving the comb over on her bed, he guided her back to the kitchen.
“I was about to start eating alone,” Eirik protested as he began to display the trays of food they had sent from the refectory.
Asgar grunted but didn’t add any comment. A few moments later, he invited her to take from the trays whatever she wanted.
“What am I eating?” she asked as she took a bit of everything.
So far, she had enjoyed the food she had tried ever since she had arrived, but something told her that wouldn’t happen that day. His words kept playing in her mind, again and again.
“Meat and vegetables.” The succinct description of Asgar didn’t invite further questions, so she dropped the subject.
“So, Sasha, why don’t you tell me a bit more about you and your planet?” Eirik asked, with a seductive smile.
She gave him a faint smile, and though she really wasn’t in the mood to talk much, she made an effort and told him about her past life.
“You’ll have to find something else to do here,” he said when she finished explained what she used to do for a living.
“Yes, I’m aware of that. But I’m sure I’ll be able to find something,” she said, avoiding looking at Asgar. “What about you? What do you do for a living?” she asked curiously.
“I’m following Asgar’s steps and joining the army. We are a family of warriors, and I guess it’s what I was born to do,” he replied with a proud smile.
“A soldier?” for some reason, she had trouble imagining the kid with a weapon in his hands and the joyful shine of his eyes wiped out by the cruelty of war. “Are you sure that’s your best choice?” she asked him, knowing she was intruding in a subject she had no business in, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Why do you ask? Don’t you think I would do a good warrior?” he asked back, with a frown.
“I’m sure you can do whatever you chose to do. I know I just met you, but it just doesn’t sound right, for you to become a warrior,” she said, trying not to overstep herself.
“You’re starting to sound like my mother. She’s not very happy with my decision either,” he grumbled before he filled his mouth with food.
“Then, perhaps it’s time for you to give another look at your options,” she suggested. “You won’t lose a thing and might gain a lot. It’s terrible to realize you’ve invested a lot of time in something you thought was what you wanted, just to realize you have been wasting a precious time of your life,” she added.
“Yes, I guess you’re right,” he accepted, still not compromising.
“Did that happen to you?” Asgar asked her, speaking for the first time in a long while.
She played with the food on her plate, her appetite long gone. “Yes, you could say so. The American legal system is so corrupt it became terrible to be a part of it. It felt like trying to contain a hurricane with my bare hands.”
“What’s a hurricane?” Eirik asked, curious.
“A very powerful storm, capable of destroying a whole city in its path,” she explained with a heartfelt sigh. “I was starting to reconsider my life when I was abducted by the Slythonians.”
“Well, you have a new opportunity to redefine your future and what you want to make of it,” Asgar pointed out.
“I guess so.” But she didn’t sound convinced.
She wasn’t happy with her situation. She still didn’t know where she was standing and she just hated the uncertainty of it.
When they finished eating, Eirik helped Asgar to clear the kitchen before he said goodbye and went back home.
“He seems to be a nice kid,” she said as they watched him disappear through the main gate.
“He is, just a little misguided, but I’m sure he’ll find his way.”
“Yes, let’s hope so,” she let out a sigh and turned away to go back inside. “I’m tired, so if you don’t mind, I’ll go to bed now,” she said, without turning to look at him.
“Yes, certainly. It was a long day,” he accepted.
Relieved that he hadn’t protested of tried to stop her, she nodded and walked straight to her room, closing the door behind her.
She wondered how Eleanor was doing and regretted she hadn’t at least tried to talk to her. But, she had had so many things rushing through her mind, she had completely forgotten. Now, it was too late to call her. The last thing she wanted was to disturb her at that hour of the night.
Sasha let out a deep sigh and walked to the huge window, feeling a bit down. Her life had changed so much she had trouble believing the whole thing wasn’t anything but a nightmare. But not even the most realistic dream could make her feel the way she felt every time he held her in his arms. Her imagination wasn’t that good.
She was still standing at the window when the connecting door opened up, and Asgar showed up, wearing one of the tunics the Zuvrakians seemed to wear to bed.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him without bothering to turn and look at him.
“I’m here to finish what we started this afternoon,” he replied, standing right behind her, so close she could feel the heat exuded from his body.
She wanted to turn around and face him, but she was sure that would only get him closer to her, and she wasn’t sure she could deal with that at that precise moment.
“We didn’t start anything,” she said in her coldest tone possible.
She didn’t want to surrender to him, to the passion that burned between them. She was sure that would change her life forever, and she had been through enough changes as it was.
“Oh, we did, and thanks to my little brother, we weren’t able to finish it,” he insisted, stepping even closer to her.
She rested her hands on the cool glass of the window. “That incident would have ended the same way, even if we hadn’t been interrupted,” she assured him.
He chuckled and pressed his body against hers, allowing her to feel just how hard he was for her, once more. “There’s no use lying to yourself or me, for that matter,” he whispered in her ear, his rough tongue, drawing its edge, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine.
“This isn’t a good idea, and you know it,” she protested, turning around in his arms to face him.
“Yes, it is. It’s the best idea I’ve had in my life,” he teased her, smiling. “I want you, you want me, so why shouldn’t we enjoy it?” he added, tracing her cheeks, with the tip of his claw that was a bit sharper than usual.
“Because it’s insane, I could be mated to another man in a matter of hours, days, tops. Then what? What would I tell him? What would he say?”
“He’s a hypothetical being; I won’t worry about him for now,” he replied, cradling her face and caressing her cheeks with his thumbs.
She opened her mouth to protest his logic, and he took advantage of that to kiss her. His lips captured her, and his tongue slid into her mouth, determined to conquer every inch of it, expelling any coherent thought from her mind.
As always, his touch lightened the latent fire between them, and soon all she could think of was him.
Sliding one of his hands down to her waist, he pulled her closer a
nd with his other hand he tilted her head slightly back so that he could deepen the kiss.
Sasha let out a moan, as jolts of pleasure rushed through her whole body, making her arousal to spiral up to the skies.
Unable to hold back, she threw her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in his silky hair, pulling him closer to her.
Grunting with pleasure, he renewed the kiss, deepening it, putting out all of the passion she awakened in him, as his hands started to unzip the tunic she was wearing. He wanted to see her naked body. No, he needed to see her naked body. What he felt for her went far beyond a mere want. It was a craving need he had no control on.
Her tunic finally budged and puddled on the floor at her feet.
Asgar took a step back to admire her, feeling how his whole body reacted to her beauty. She was perfect. Her body was perfectly built, voluptuous and simply magnificent. His hands stretched out to cup her big, round breasts, urged on to touch her as he had never been before.
She let out a muffled moan, and he pulled her closer to him once more, kneading her breasts in the process, loving the way they felt under his touch.
Sasha couldn’t think, just feel and the moment his hands finally touch her body, she felt her whole body was on fire.
Eager for more, she pulled his tunic, needing to see him as naked as she was, desperate to feel his skin on hers.
He helped her to get rid of his own clothes, allowing her to look at him tall, naked, and proud, standing in front of her.
Her eyes revealed on his male perfection as she traveled down his body, but when her eyes caught sight of his huge cock, she wasn’t able to hide her surprise. Huge didn’t quite describe his cock. It was bigger and thicker than any other she had ever seen, and if that wasn’t enough, it had two long lines of the same ridges that adorned his forehead, all along it, one over it and the other one underneath it.
She looked at him, unable to hide her concern. “You’re too big,” she mumbled.
“No, I’m perfect for you, I’m sure,” he said, with a certainty she envied.
“Have you been with a human before?” she asked, suddenly jealous of the possibility.