Ascension Saga, Book 1: Interstellar Brides®: Ascension Saga

by Goodwin, Grace

  “A consort,” his mate answered. “Someone she can have hot sex with so she can calm down. He better be really good, Nial. This consort better have the moves of a Chippendale dancer and the cock of a stallion because I can’t just hand her over like a prize to some freakshow alien who’s not worthy.”

  My brows raised in shock. I had no idea what a Chippendale was, nor whether a stallion had a big cock or not. I had to assume it was large. Mine was, running down my thigh, snug in my uniform pants. And that wasn’t even hard. Would an Earth female require more to be satisfied? Their soldiers in the ReCon teams were not overly large. Perhaps their females’ anatomy was strange, made to accommodate extremely well-endowed males.

  But no. I had seen Earth members of ReCon in the cleansing units—and for the most part—been less than impressed with the sizes of their cocks. Alerans were much, much larger.

  The use of a consort was not an uncommon practice. Older males who had lost a mate did not lose their physical ability to lay with females of our species. In young, wealthy families in particular, when a female’s Ardor began, and she did not want to interview males for a mate, she would utilize the services of a consort.

  They were not cheap, yet I had heard the females were well-satisfied. In fact, the consort’s value to the royal families was so high that widowed males often petitioned one of the noble houses for comfort and protection in exchange for their services.

  Consorts were rare. Expensive. And not normally on formal standby for alien females to fuck on demand.

  Who were these three females?

  “Leo? You there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you get to the transport center? Lord Thordis Jax is sending the consort and five of his personal guards to meet them. Their arrival is to be kept a secret. No one can know who they are or where they came from.”

  While I knew they came from Earth, I had no idea who they were. It would be an easy task to fulfill. “Understood. Does Lord Jax know you have contacted me?”

  Nial laughed again, and if I’d been close enough, I would have punched him in the shoulder as I’d done in years past. “Of course not. I know him, but I don’t know his family. I don’t know his guards. I don’t trust them, not the way I do you. I don’t trust anyone fully in this, no one but you. Keep the women safe. Make sure Trinity gets her Ardor under control, and then help the females do whatever they need to do on Alera. Help them. No questions.”

  “I give you my word.”

  “Keep them alive.”

  “Is someone trying to kill them?”

  “Yes. And I do not want them to be found. That is all you need to know.”

  Strange. But I was a soldier, well-used to taking orders. I was not going to argue or ask questions, especially not with the leader of the galaxy asking me for a personal favor. “I’ll be at the transport center in an hour.”

  “Hey, Leo?” Jessica’s voice had changed, gone deeper, sultry. “When you run into them, they won’t trust you, so we’re using Trinity’s favorite food as a code word. Strawberry ice-cream. Got it? You say that and she’ll know I sent you.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “Good,” Nial said. “One more thing, Leo. If Lord Jax betrays me, kill him.”

  Fuck. The Jax family was extremely wealthy and powerful, and the Prime of Prillon had just given me permission to murder their prodigal son. Who were these humans? And who was going to come looking for them here? On Alera?

  Who was irrelevant. They were mine to protect, so I would. “Understood.”

  “Thank you. One hour.” The strange buzzing in my head ceased, leaving me with nothing but the quiet songs of the night insects and the pounding of my own pulse in my ears. Three females from Earth, one who needed to be fucked, and soon. Not my usual guard duty, but I was up for the task. I shifted my cock in my uniform pants. No, I wasn’t up for it, but the consort would be.

  3

  Trinity, Planet Alera, Mytikas City, Transport Room

  I staggered on the transport pad as the cold faded from my bones, the pinprick pain of dead limbs coming back to life making me want to curl up in a ball and cry. Glancing at Faith and Destiny, I could tell they were having the same miserable sensations.

  “Okay?” I asked.

  They nodded, wiggled their arms, rolled their heads in circles to loosen their neck muscles.

  The transport room looked just like the one on Earth, but like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, we weren’t in Kansas anymore. Yet the Aleran males in front of us were definitely not Munchkins. They were big. Not Atlan big like the guard on Earth, but they gave lumberjacks a run for their money.

  Grim gazes of six Aleran males stared at us.

  “Welcome to Alera,” one of them said.

  God, Alera. We really were here. I looked behind me. A wall. Yeah, not Earth. There was no going back now since we were light years away. Not time zones, but a galaxy stood between us and the only life we’d ever known. We were in our own sci-fi movie, and I wasn’t Princess Leia. I bit my lip, a little freaked out.

  Alera.

  It must have been the transport that had muddled my emotions because I was strangely on the verge of tears. What a damn mess. This morning, I was heading off to work and now we were on Alera trying to find our kidnapped mother. And that wasn’t all. Everyone in this room expected me to fuck a stranger tonight. Now. An alien. A male I’d never met and might never see again.

  Talk about romantic… not. I wasn’t a virgin, but I didn’t fuck strangers either. I’d never had a one-night stand, never was into casual. No friends with benefits. If my body wasn’t such a screaming mess, I’d send the gigolo—no, consort—on his way and focus on finding my mother.

  And this consort? The guy I was supposed to get naked and horizontal with as soon as humanly possible? It was pretty obvious who he was. The other five wore identical uniforms and stood a step behind him. The consort was attractive, muscular, and at least twenty years older than me. He looked like he was about fifty with dark hair and streaks of gray at the temples. He wore a nice suit of some kind. Navy blue. His shoulders were broad and his eyes were kind. That would help. Thank god this whole Ardor thing only happened once. Like losing my virginity with an alien bang. Once the Ardor was over, I could go about my business. Settle down later. I’d be fine. If I survived this without dying of embarrassment.

  “Ladies, I am Cassander of the Jax family. It is my pleasure to serve.” The consort bowed low at the waist and swept his arms out to include the guards. “These fine warriors are loyal servants of Jax. We are at your service.”

  His voice was deep. Assured. Calm.

  Maybe fucking him would be more like a gyno visit. Efficient. Gentle. Fast.

  Over.

  If I’d met the consort on the street, I would have thought he looked great for his age. He was huge, just like the guards surrounding him, but markedly older. A silver fox, my mother would have said.

  The guards however, were younger. Dressed for duty, their dark uniforms fit to every curve and bulge of muscle and… other things. I looked away quickly and found Destiny watching me.

  “Too bad you can’t get it on with one of the guards. Holy hotness.”

  “Shut up.” As a comeback, it was pathetic. As in second grade pathetic. But it was all I had at the moment.

  “Leave her alone. Let’s get Trin’s sexy times done so we can do what we came here to do.” Faith crossed her arms as she stepped down off the transport and walked up to the guard closest to her. “I assume we aren’t expected to stay in this transport station.”

  “Of course not. We have secured accommodations for the night. We are to remain on guard until Consort Cassander is no longer needed.” The guard bowed slightly, but more a bow of respect to a lady than respect to a superior. My shoulders relaxed and a bit of the tension left my spine. Good. These guys were here, following orders, but they had absolutely no idea who we were. Prime Nial had kept his word.

  I doubted we looked lik
e royalty. Hell, my shirt was on inside out. I had to wonder if Cassander even found me appealing. Would he want to have sex with me? When was the last time I’d shaved my legs?

  But wait. What? “Until he’s no longer needed?”

  I looked at the consort, who was watching me, his gaze roaming my body. The professional interest I’d read in his eyes before had changed to something more. Something I didn’t care for at the moment. Lust. Eagerness. I had become a random piece of ass and it was his job to tap it.

  Great. Just great.

  “It depends on the female, my lady,” Cassander replied. “Some require two days of my attention. Some as many as four. Only you will know when all your needs have been met. I promise I will meet every one of them.”

  Gag. My need was to get away from this guy and fast.

  “Jesus, Trin. Four days? We don’t have time for that,” Destiny said, always blunt. Unfortunately, she was right. Or fortunately, because if I had to get it on with this guy, I wanted it to be one and done. Like in one hour. Not four fricking days.

  “What happens if I leave after one day, even if I don’t feel—satisfied? What happens?”

  He looked shocked, as if he’d never been asked that before. What? Obviously, everyone else wanted to just lounge in bed having sex for days on end. Not me.

  Shit. When I thought of it that way, it did sound insane. What woman in their right mind didn’t want to do nothing but fuck… again and again? This consort’s entire job was to make sure I was satisfied in every possible way. That meant this would be me time. Anything and everything I wanted.

  I’d just have to keep my eyes closed and pretend I actually wanted him to be… touching me. As if he could read my mind—and was insulted—he straightened and puffed out his chest. Great. Even consorts had easily wounded male egos. “If you leave before you are fully sated, your relief will only be temporary. You will quickly return to your former state,” he said, his voice full of reassurance.

  “How quickly?” If I had a few weeks, we could find Mother and move on. Maybe I could even find a man I liked and wanted to get naked with to finish the job.

  “Within hours, or so I’ve been told.” He tilted his head and I suddenly felt as if I was being pandered to. Obviously, he’d never left a female unsatisfied. Permanently. “I will take very good care of you. You have my word.”

  Damn. I’d just have to hope I was a one-day kind of girl. But I suspected I was more likely the four-day variety. “Let’s go, then.”

  I must not have looked overly excited about it—which was pretty much how I felt—because Faith put her hand out to stop me. “Wait.”

  “What?” I asked, wanting to get this over with so we could get on with finding Mother.

  “You don’t have to go with him. God, this is ridiculous. Why would you go off with a guy you don’t like and have sex? It’s just… weird. Wrong. There’s five other guys. The second one’s cute.”

  The guards glanced at each other, most likely trying to figure out which one of them was the ‘second one.’

  “She’s right, Trin,” Destiny added. “It’s like getting your v-card punched. Don’t just do it to get it over with.”

  I rolled my eyes, then leaned toward Faith. Destiny stepped closer so we were in a huddle. “Imagine using your vibrator and you’re close, really, really, close to coming. Riding the edge… and the batteries die.”

  Destiny made a funny whimper sound. We might all still live at home, but we were full-grown adults. We had vibrators and boyfriends and sex and real lives.

  “That’s what I feel like. All. The. Time.”

  Faith bit her lip and gave me a look of pity. “Then pick one. There are six guys. One of them’s got to be appealing to your hysterical Va-Jay-Jay.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. I stroked my hand down Faith’s long hair and we turned as a unit to stare at the men. All six of them. The consort was appealing, but not appealing enough. Destiny was right, the second guard was really hot.

  The consort looked irritated now, as if we were not only insulting him, but were idiots as well. “With all due respect, ladies, the guards will not be able to service you as you need. Only a male who has met The One, whose cock has been awakened by his true mate, can be of service to a female. Even then, we consorts have lost our mates. My mate died two years ago in a tragic accident. I am the only one here whose body is awake and fully functional. None of the guards are mated. And Aleran males do not have sex with other females while their mates still live. I will not allow you to ask another male to dishonor his mate in this way. I am but a lowly consort, but my purpose is sacred and valued on all of Alera.”

  Great. We’re here for all of two minutes and we already insulted every Aleran we’d met.

  “My apologies, Cassander. We did not intend to insult you or the guards. I would never ask a warrior to dishonor his mate. Never.” I glanced at the guards. So did Faith and Destiny. Those big, hot guys, who had to be similar in age to the three of us, hadn’t had sex? Hadn’t had their cock awakened? Mother had mentioned it, explained it, but I hadn’t believed her. I mean, every guy on Earth from like fourteen on was as horny as hell. They thought only of sex, of getting into a girl’s pants from the moment they woke up until going to sleep.

  And these five guards had never felt lust? Or had sex? Never had an orgasm?

  “Holy shit,” Destiny whispered. “A planet of hot virgin males. Every woman’s fantasy.”

  “It’s the consort then, Trin,” Faith whispered. “Just close your eyes and think of Justin Timberlake.”

  I laughed. Faith had always been obsessed with the pop star. Determined to make the best of an awkward situation for all of us, I walked toward Cassander, who bowed and kissed my palm. It was warm. Pleasant. No great rush of lust fired me up at the simple touch, but I didn’t need a great lust. Or true love. I just needed to get this alien Ardor taken care of—as quickly as possible—so we could go track down the kidnappers and save Mother.

  Besides, we weren’t going to get naked right here in the transport room, so at least I had a little time to have a chat with my vagina. She’d have to make peace with the plan. Because I didn’t have time to search this planet for a mate. Every minute that passed was one more that Mother was in mortal danger.

  * * *

  Leo

  I arrived at the transport center with ten minutes to spare, but stopped short when I saw five guards with Lord Jax’s insignia on their shoulders enter the center via a side door. Walking with them was a consort I recognized. Cassander of Jax was well-loved by the ladies. In fact, I had heard tell of males becoming frustrated when their new mates complained that Cassander was a better lover.

  Of course, he’d had more than twenty years with his mate before she died. I could only imagine the skill and knowledge he held in regards to a female’s body and her desires. He would know exactly how to touch her to make her surrender to his every demand, every need.

  I had no doubt that should I ever find The One, I would make sure to satisfy every single one of her needs. Her cries of pleasure would become my obsession. I would play her body like a master, watch every move and every breath until I was her master, until she begged for my touch. Craved it. Couldn’t come without it.

  In my pants, my cock stirred as a strange scent teased my senses.

  My cock stirred. All on its own. What the fuck?

  All because of a delicate fragrance, like the translucent petals of the Aleran flower that grew in abundance in the citadel gardens I’d played in as a boy. Crazy.

  It had been years since I’d been to the citadel and should not be stirred by simply inhaling the soft scent. Even longer since I’d been fool enough to bury my nose in the center of the silken petals and breathe in their scent. When the queen lived and ruled, I’d played in the gardens while my father went to meetings with the other guards. But the citadel, while in the same city, was far from here and I’d not passed by those sacred gardens on my journey from my guard po
st. Perhaps the wind brought the scent to me, cloaked in darkness, a taunting ghost of happier days.

  Strange. I hadn’t thought of those long, bright days for years. But the smell of the flowers lingered, as if clinging to my body with a mind of its own. And to stir my cock? A scent, not a female. Perhaps it was time to see a doctor.

  “Stop daydreaming and get moving, soldier.” I whispered the order to myself. There were three females inside that building and I’d promised Prime Nial to protect them with my life. I had no idea who they were, or why they’d traveled all the way from Earth. But those facts were irrelevant to me. I didn’t need to know their names to die for them. That was a warrior’s vow. To die for innocents he or she had never met. To protect them simply because they needed someone stronger, more skilled, to defend them from any threat.

  Prepared to step out of the shadows and enter the building, I stopped cold as three dark shadows caught my eye as they moved along the roof.

  Assassins.

  Within moments they’d vanished again, blending into the shadows as if they’d never existed. Phantoms. But I’d seen them. Knew they were real.

  Knew they were hunting.

  Fuck, there was no question as to why they were here. Why they were stealth and silent.

  The Earth women.

  Who were they? And where had the assassins come from? Surely not Lord Thordis Jax? From all I had heard, he was a decent and honorable male. But perhaps someone in his family was not. Or had assassins followed these females all the way from Earth? From Prillon Prime? Nial’s mate, Lady Deston, had spoken as if the females were of great import to her personally. Perhaps whoever hunted these ladies wanted to get to Prime Nial, his second, and their mate. Then why were the females on Alera, not Prillon?

  “Where did you go, evil bastards?” My voice was so quiet I barely heard the words as I scanned the rooftops and buildings for movement. I was not a trained assassin, but I was very, very good at killing. And watching. Waiting. I was hunting now.