by Alana Khan
“That’s right, my little piggy. Ugly human. Dirty brown dots all over your face. I was so generous to keep you and feed you all those annums. Who else would want you? You’re hideous,” his voice drips with contempt.
My mind only peripherally registers his words, they fall around me like drops of water in the rain. I don’t feel them landing on me. I learned to ignore them years ago.
“Get to work!” he barks, and my mouth opens to stretch around him on autopilot.
STOP! I hear inside my head. Some part deep inside me that controlled my self-preservation for a decade woke up from her slumber and boy, is she pissed. Ballsy Brin! Make. It. Stop!
I’m descending on his cock watching as if I’m in a movie theater. I learned young how to dissociate. But I’ve found my inner strength. I’m present and accounted for now.
I’m about to suck his odious cock into my mouth, feeling that old familiar feeling of powerlessness.
Why hadn’t it dawned on me that the sword is two feet away?
I move to grasp the base of his cock with one hand and his balls with the other. His eyes are slitted in pleasure, so he doesn’t realize it was a ruse to disguise the fact that I’m now on the balls of my feet instead of my knees.
Everything shifts into slow motion as I launch toward the first mate’s chair, grab the sword, pivot, and slash at Amrus. As swiftly as I moved, his face still has time to register his shock right before I separate his head from his shoulders.
I toss the sword to the floor and get to the cage door before his head rolls to a stop.
“T.” I snake my hand through the bars and touch his face. “Oh my God. I thought I was going to lose you.”
Thantose
Dear Gods, I can’t believe my eyes. Brin looked so compliant, so submissive a moment ago. Even though I thought I knew her, I would have bet money she wanted to suck that golden cock.
Then right before my eyes she transformed into a force of nature. Meek Brin, who five lunar cycles ago couldn’t look anyone in the eye just killed her abuser. She lopped off his head and hasn’t looked back.
“Brin, are you all right?”
She’s trying to hug me, but her hands are trembling so hard she can’t get a grip. Her whole body’s shaking.
“I don’t know.” She’s full-on crying now.
“Can you get me out of here, B? Unlock the cage and I’ll hold you. I’ll get us back to the planet and take care of you.”
She holds me for long modicums, clutching onto me as if she’ll never let me go. She takes a deep breath and pulls away enough to look into my face.
“Thantose?” She seems disoriented.
“Can you find the keys to the cage, B?”
Her brain seems to come back online and she riffles through his pants. It must be tearing her apart to have to touch his headless body.
“I can’t find the keys, T.” Her voice is shrill. She’s panicked.
“Take a breath, beautiful Brin. Just breathe. We’re safe. We’re both alive. I love you, Brin. Now’s a shitty time to tell you, but it’s true.”
Her glance darts to me, a smile lights her face, and I watch as her shoulders relax.
“Have you got your comm, T?”
“Yes.”
“Tell them we’re fine and I’m bringing us in. Just like earlier today, all I have to do is hit the yellow button and the controllers will help me land, right?”
“Yes, Brin. Are you going to land this craft yourself?”
She shakes her arms and breathes a few more times. “Look at that, T.” She holds her hands horizontal, they’re steady as a rock.
I watch as she heaves Amrus’s body to the floor and takes his seat. Then I observe the entire process of her talking to the controller, following the instructions to the letter, and with nerves of steel, landing this craft as if she’d been doing it her entire lifetime.
Three houras later, we’ve given our statements to the local badges and are back in the dining room of the Ataraxia surrounded by everyone on board.
Brin is on my lap covered in a blanket because she can’t quit quaking. Seneca, our medic, says it’s not an unusual response to extreme stress.
“More tea?” Carrie asks, then presses a steaming mug into Brin’s hands before she says yes.
“I want to hear every detail,” Sextus asks with glee. He probably wishes he’d gotten his share of the action.
“Leave her alone, Sex,” his mate, Lexa, pushes him back a few feet. “Normal people don’t get all jazzed up by a good beheading,” she scolds. By the look in her eyes, though, I think she’s going to benefit from his being ‘jazzed up’ in about half an houra.
“We’re being hailed, captain,” Marcus’s voice booms through the overhead comm. “An auction employee is bringing back the few items that were held in reserve, as well as a check. He wants to come aboard.”
“I want every male on board to meet him at the entry. All of you armed. I don’t want one more dracking thing to go wrong before we leave this fucking planet.”
With that, I carry my beautiful, ballsy Brin to my room. No. Our room.
Epilogue
Brin
I can’t believe it’s been less than three weeks since I stood in Valeria’s mosaic-tiled foyer and considered myself lucky to catch a glimpse of handsome Thantose. It feels like a lifetime ago.
I was envious of him for feeling so at home in his skin. I’ve only felt this way for a few days, but I can proudly say I know what that feels like now.
“TT!” Valeria calls as she runs to greet him. “I’m so glad you’re home. And Brin, you look lovely.” She expectantly looks from T to me and back again. We’re standing a few feet apart, giving nothing away.
“How was your trip to Kallion? Did TT take you to our waterfall?” She’s so happy and positive, just like always.
“Yes. It was . . . magical,” I tell her, but I can’t control my eyes from darting to Thantose. We exchanged such an enchanted moment there, I have to acknowledge how wonderful it was.
“You two look more . . . comfortable together,” she’s prying without pulling out the big guns.
“Mmm-hmm,” Thantose murmurs noncommittally. “Brin says you were teaching her how to make drumma sul and frendgrum. Why is that, dearest ahma?” He makes that funny face where he purses his lips and cocks an eyebrow disapprovingly. It always makes me laugh.
“I just thought a single female should know how to cook. You know what they always say . . .”
“No, ahma, what do they always say?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugs with a sheepish smile.
“Were you matchmaking, ahma?”
She shrugs again, this time she’s unable to keep eye contact with either of us and focuses on the rich yellow blooms depicted in the mosaic below her feet.
“Did you even want a copy of that dracking book?” he asks. “Or were you just pushing us together?”
“Yes,” she says forcefully as she nods. “I absolutely wanted the book.”
“Baba’s been gone a long time, is there a step-baba on my horizon? Is that why you wanted that book?”
I try to read his face. Does this possibility displease or excite him?
“There’s no step-baba in your future, TT. I wanted to give the book as a present to your bride, if you ever get one.”
“Really?” He’s making that funny face again, but I don’t think he’s joking.
“Really. I was hoping sometime in this century or the next you’d find a fine young female and settle down and make me a grandahma. How long are you going to make me wait?” When she pouts like that she looks forty years younger.
“For me to settle down? That’s never going to happen. To make you a grandahma? I have no idea. To find a fine young female? That mission is accomplished.”
My big, strong Thantose grabs me around the waist and pulls me toward him. After giving me a loud kiss on the lips, he pulls his ahma close for a three-way hug.
“Is this t
he female you were hoping for?” he asks her, his voice is indulgent.
“Yes. I decided you two were meant for each other. Brin may not be a Primian, but she has the sweetest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. She has a good soul.” She kisses my cheek. When she pulls back I see she’s teary-eyed.
“Really, Valeria? That’s so sweet.” Now I’m choking up.
“I wouldn’t teach just any young lady to cook, or force her onto a small ship with my son, or buy her a three million credit copy of the Meris.”
“You bought that porno book for Thantose?” I gasp. That would certainly not be an appropriate groom’s gift on Earth—at least not from the groom’s mother.
“Not for Thantose, dear. For you.” She winks at me. “Did you get a chance to page through it yet? There are some innovative ideas in there.”
My mouth gapes open like a fish, then I hug her tight. “T and I will have to give it serious study, Valeria,” I tell her, and I mean it.
“Call me ahma, dear.”
I’m glad T’s strong arm is around my waist, because my knees dip for a moment as tears spill from my eyes. I look back at Valeria to make sure she’s serious, but she’s beaming at me and leans in to kiss my cheek.
“You’re a wonderful female, Brin. I’d be proud to be your surrogate ahma. I’m sure you’ve missed yours for a long time.”
I’d wondered how much this lovely female knew about my history. I guess this tells me she knew everything. And she still likes me.
“See, B? You get a mate and an ahma in one stroke,” Thantose says. “And the galaxy’s most expensive, what did you call it? Prono book?”
“Porno,” I whisper. “I’ve never been this happy.”
~.~
“Tired?” Thantose asks after we make our last trip carrying provisions from the Pimple of the Skies to his cabin on Kallion.
“I don’t know, what have you got in mind?” Every cell in my body is sitting up and taking notice. Thantose always knows how to please me.
“Well, I took pictures of pages two-thirty-eight, two-eighty-six, and three-hundred-twelve. They seemed very . . . exciting. I’d like to cross those positions off our list, but we did have that interminable mating ceremony yesterday and you’ve been flying all day today. Your mate could wait until tomorrow to start working our way through the Meris.”
“Hmmm. Feed me first and we’ll explore the new positions second. Can we leave our bed long enough to go back to the waterfall tomorrow?” I can’t wait another minute to jump into his arms. I straddle his waist, he holds me close, and kisses the daylights out of me.
“I’m such a taskmaster, mate, but I’ll grant you one houra to go to the waterfall tomorrow,” he tells me, his brown eyes warm and loving. “Right now, though, I’ll make you French toasts and then we’ll start with page two-thirty-eight.”
“I changed my mind, T. How about we have French toast after two-thirty-eight and before two-eighty-six?”
He stows the eggs back into the cold box, then drags me close in the middle of the kitchen. I just spent the better part of the day with him in the small confines of the Jewel. It gave me plenty of opportunity to take his visual inventory for the thousandth time. I don’t need to get my motor started, I’m all revved up.
His plush lips brush mine and I open to him. He has the soft, melodic strains of Thrand playing in the background. I melt into his arms and he carries me to the bedroom. Our bedroom.
After setting me in front of the bed, he pulls off his clothes. When he looks over, he seems surprised to see that I haven’t moved a muscle. I guess he expected me to tear off my clothes too. But I love the way he undresses me, like he’s unwrapping the galaxy’s most expensive present.
As he stalks over, I watch his muscles play underneath his gorgeous, colorful skin. I love the way his tribal markings collapse and elongate as he moves.
The look in his eyes is like a feral animal who just got a glimpse of his favorite prey.
“I love you Brin. Beautiful Brin,” he says the word ‘beautiful’ as if it’s part of a prayer. “Ballsy Brin. Brilliant Brin. You’re everything to me. Thank you for agreeing to be my mate. I’m lucky to have you, and I couldn’t be happier.”
He cups my cheeks in his hands and I mimic his action. We stare into each other’s eyes. My chest feels so full, as if I could give and give and give and never be empty. I love this male so much I’m bursting with it.
“I love you T. Terrific Thantose, kind Thantose, generous Thantose. You gave me the space I needed to heal. I know, I’ve got a way to go, but I’m better. I have you and your ahma, and everyone on the Ataraxia.
“What a wonderful life we’re going to have, T. Exploring the galaxy together, surrounded by people who care about us. What more could I ask for?”
He grips my neck with one hand and drags me to him with the other. His kisses are confident and passionate and I greet his probing tongue with my own.
“You could always ask for more, my love. How about two-thirty-eight for starters?”
Yeah, two-thirty-eight sounds great, but I’ll be happy with just one thing, the male who’s in my arms, calling me his love, and who I’ll spend the rest of my life with.
I’ve gone from being alone and afraid to being filled with love and joy. My past is behind me. Ahead of me, I’ve got the stars.
The End
Dear Reader,
I hope this book did justice to Thantose and Brin’s story. It took me longer to write than most because I wanted them to get the story they deserved. I hope you enjoyed it.
I’ve started to write my favorite lines at the end of the book. Here are two: When Thantose’s ahma tells him he’ll be naked at the Meris society, she says, “Think of it like a fashion show without the clothes.” Thantose and his mom certainly have an interesting relationship.
The other line is when Brin is in bed with T and is thinking about putting her mouth on him when he’s asleep: “My mouth waters to taste him, but I cast that thought aside. I’m a woman who knows the value of consent.” Yes, she certainly does know the value of consent, and now she’ll always be safe with the male who loves her.
~.~
Continue scrolling to find the first chapter of Book Three in the Galaxy Pirates series, Ssly.
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Book Three in the Galaxy Pirates Alien Abduction Romance Series
SSLY Sneak Peek
By Alana Khan
Present Day
On Planet Galgon
Up to Now...
Several months ago, Captain Thantose’s pirate ship rescued four Earth females who had been abducted by slavers and slated for sale.
Three of the females are now in serious relationships with three of the males aboard the ship: Thantose and Brin are mated, as are Sextus and Lexa. Tawny and Devolose are in a loving bond.
Carrie, the fourth rescued female, is still on the ship, hoping to find a planet where she can thrive. She’s been gone from Earth too long to be able to return—she could never answer the government’s questions about where she’s been for the last four years.
Five months ago, Captain Thantose gave all the females a choice: get into a relationship with one of the males on the ship and stay aboard, or find a suitable planet to settle down on. The original deadline was two months ago, but although he’s a pirate, Thantose can be a pushover. Carrie knows, however, that her time on the pirate ship Ataraxia needs to come to an end.
Chapter One
Carrie
I hate bloodsports. Even the name is
gross, I mean how can anything that might involve death be considered a ‘sport’?
But here I am, filing into an enormous, ancient arena with my friends, about to watch gladiatorial games. The outdoor stadium is built of rock and has been in existence so long that the bas-reliefs covering the columns and walls are partially eroded from hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of assault by hot, blowing sand.