The Beast In The Castle

by Daniella Wright

  To her surprise, he had agreed.

  They found themselves, then, three weeks into their aimless journey through space, cohabitating. They didn’t have sex, didn’t even fool around – they learned each other.

  Being a woman of science, it appealed to Adrien’s desire to collect information. She calculated she had to have asked dozens of questions a day, and answered just as many. Mor’an, despite his tight-lipped nature at the research facility, had the same kind of curiosity that she did, and she could appreciate that hers was reciprocated in such a way. They played their own elaborate game of twenty questions, learning what the other liked, what they disliked, what their family was like. Adrien, as she told Mor’an had no family. She had been adopted young, and her adoptive family hadn’t kept contact with her long after she’d turned eighteen and began to pursue her chosen higher education. Mor’an, however, had a large family – there were ten siblings of his alone, and all of his family performed various duties for the royalty on his planet.

  When Adrien asked him, then if that’s where they were going, she had assumed the answer would be yes. It was a surprise to her, however, when he told her no. They would not be going to the planet Jundar – it wasn’t his intended destination. Where they were going was farther away, a place that he had cherished since childhood, a secret he wanted to surprise her with.

  He called it a paradise.

  It was, in honesty, a jarring thought to her. Adrien liked unknowns, only when they were in controlled, testable settings. This was hardly a controlled, testable setting. That being said, Mor’an’s honesty made her feel better, and she had let that one go. It had led into a conversation about traveling, however, and how much Mor’an had done in service of the Jundar royalty. He had apparently been all over the galaxy, visited a number of peoples. She had asked him why he wouldn’t want to return; he obviously enjoyed the work that he did for the Jundar crown. When she had, he had merely looked at her, head tilted.

  “There are more important things, now.”

  Adrien had known better than to ask what those more important things were. Her curiosity wasn’t so high that she was going to knowingly walk into a conversation quite that deep. Though there was persistent pull to Mor’an, she felt that she needed to let her mind catch up a little more with her body and her instincts so oddly awoken by Mor’an’s presence.

  That didn’t mean, however, she wouldn’t admit, silently, to herself, that she was slowly falling.

  V: Paradise Found

  “Look. We’re here.”

  Adrien had lost track of time. It seemed to not exist with Mor’an. It was a silly concept for a woman like her, but she couldn’t deny that that’s how she felt.

  She came over to the control panel when Mor’an called her. She was once more in the comfortable shorts they had had their first encounter in, tank sitting snug against her body. Adrien had come to realize that Mor’an enjoyed seeing lots of skin – and though they hadn’t been intimate again aside from softly stolen kisses, that didn’t stop Mor’an’s eyes from openly wondering.

  His attention, though, wasn’t on her, nor her bare legs and exposed stomach. It was on the planet that hung comfortably in space below them.

  Mor’an had called it Pellanor – and it quite literally translated to ‘paradise’ in the Jundar tongue. It was rather lonely in its little patch of space, but it was gorgeous to look at against the black expanse. Its surface swirled in marbled greens, blues, and purples, interspersed with bodies of glittering blue.

  “That’s it?” she asked, the awe evident in her voice. Beside her, Mor’an nodded.

  “Yes, it is. Paradise.”

  Mor’an had landed them with ease, entering them into Pellanor’s atmosphere. The closer they got to it, the more Adrien could see why it was called paradise –Pellanor was stunning. It was full of color, bright foliage, plants and animals that she had never seen on Earth or any of the planets she had been on. The whole world seemed to shimmer in ever-shifting shades of cools, and it was hard for Adrien to take her eyes off of everything.

  “It’s so gorgeous,” she said, as the both of them stepped out of the ship. The atmosphere was warm, almost tropical. There was nothing around, that Adrien could tell, for miles. Just them… and this beautiful, open expanse of land.

  “I thought you would like it,” Mor’an said. “The only inhabitants are on the other side of the planet, and they keep to themselves as long as visitors do. My people come here from time to time to relax, though they have to receive special permission to do so, and it’s always in small groups.”

  “Would any of your people show up here?” she asked, curious as she walked along the group. The grass felt soft, almost fur-like, and was cool to the touch.

  “No. We’re far removed from anywhere my people would come.” She looked over her shoulder when silence fell, as saw as he tilted his head at her. “Does it bother you, that we’re alone?” he asked her.

  She thought about it. When she had first been captured, her answer would have been yes. She didn’t know this planet, its creatures, the people on it. She was isolated. Now, however, that isolation was nearly a blessing. It gave the two of them more time together… It was odd to think that she actually looked forward to that, but there she was, relishing the thought of having him all to herself, longer.

  Adrien smiled at him, and shrugged.

  “I don’t mind it,” she said. “You’re not bad company, when you think about it. Besides, this is a like a vacation out here. You know how badly I would have killed to know about a hot little vacation spot like this while I was at the labs?”

  He laughed, and walked up to her. They began a trek away from the ship, along the bank of rive beside which the ship had been landed.

  “Do you miss them?” he asked. She didn’t need to seek clarity on the question.

  “I do,” she said, knowing that lying would get them nowhere. “I’m a scientist, after all. I like studying things and seeking new things out, getting answers to questions that have never been solved. But…”

  He allowed her a few moments of thought before he pressed. “But?”

  “But, I think… well I’ve been thinking. If this works out –” She gestured between the two of them “– you know, if we work out the way that I think we could, you don’t plan to go back to your people, do you?” He shook his head. “And I mean… I’ve always wanted to travel. It’s partly why I became a scientist to begin with; seek out new worlds and see things that I never would have, staying on Earth. There’s always so many restrictions, however. Even scientists have to deal with red tape.”

  Adrien stopped, looking up at him. Her brows were a little furrowed, and she bit her lip. Mor’an’s hand came out, though, and cupped her cheek. She leaned into the warmth of his touch as she continued.

  “Honestly, I have no idea how this is going to work between us. I can’t really deny there’s something that pulls me to you. It’s not the way humans work… but the scientist in me wants to see where it goes, as far as it can go. So… I would like to at least stay with you longer. If that means not returning anytime soon, I’m honestly not opposed to that. If we do return, it certainly won’t be to the labs – they’d probably experiment on us to see what the weird connection is and… Well, I don’t want that, even for science’s sake. So yeah. I do miss the labs, but not enough that I’m going to turn down this prospect.”

  Mor’an smiled at her, and leaned down. She was receptive to his kiss, accepting it fully, opening her mouth to the sweet intrusion of his tongue. She nipped at him a little when he finally pulled away, and he laughed.

  “Would you like to go for a swim?”

  VI: Full Circle

  It hadn’t been long into their swim before the light started to fade over the horizon of Pallenor. The water, however, remained pleasantly warm, toasty even.

  They had shed their clothes for their dip, and lounged in the shallows of the river. Adrien couldn’t recall ever seeing such clea
r, clean water on Earth, and it certainly had never been so naturally warm on its own. It was almost like bath water, warm and lapping at her skin, relaxing every muscle of her body…

  And then there was Mor’an. He stayed close to her, swimming around and with her. Despite his size, he was rather grateful in the water. She enjoyed watching the way that he moved beneath the crystal blue liquid of the water and the ripple of his muscles as he did so. She made a show of it watching him, until his little laps in the water had him coming back to her.

  “Do you not like to swim?” he asked her.

  “Oh, no, I do. I’m just enjoying watching you.”

  He came to stand in front of her, smirking a bit as she did. The expression sent a little thrill through her, and it was only heightened when he came close her to her, his body pressed against hers. She shuddered a little, feeling the interested press of his member against her belly.

  “I enjoy you enjoying watching me,” he said, leaning down to nuzzle his face in her hair. From there, he made his way down, kissing against her temple, the rise of her cheekbone. She eagerly leaned up, standing on her tiptoes as her feet dug into the sand below them to meet Mor’an for a proper kiss.

  She felt that fire in him, that lingering desire that was always there whenever he kissed her. She didn’t pull away, though, when it made its way through her body, down into the pit of her belly to settle within her womanhood. No… not this time. Mor’an seemed to pick up on her eagerness, and she was delighted when his hands slid over her wet skin, slipping over them with ease. Her arms went around his shoulders when he hands made his way to her rear, grasping her there before he hoisted her up.

  They continued to kiss, lips moving against each other as Adrien wrapped her legs around Mor’an’s waist. She clung to him, locking her ankles at his back. She could feel him harden between the press of their bodies, and she shuddered in anticipation.

  Like that first kiss, all she could feel was the encompassing desire to have him. This time, at least, she was prepared for it. Though she enjoyed the pleasure of it, the intoxicating pull of the way he tasted, felt, her desire to have him claim her, she was also able to consciously enjoy it. She relished in every brush of skin, every nick of his teeth against her lips. She wanted him… wanted him so badly and it felt right, no hesitation.

  She hadn’t realized they were walking back to the shore, until she felt the cool air lick at her newly exposed wet skin. She didn’t protest – Mor’an had his own intentions, and given those included laying her back against the ground to settle between her quivering thighs, she wasn’t going to complain. Her hands settled at his shoulders, her nails digging in as he kissed her deeper.

  “I want you,” she breathed against his mouth. “Now… I need it.”

  And she did. She could feel it within every inch of her. She… she needed this. Every bit of her needed every single sliver of him. Perhaps she always had; though she didn’t subscribe to fate, she couldn’t deny that there was a biology to it. That didn’t make it any less real, any less deep for her. In honesty, it just intensified it. As a woman of science, she felt like she could appreciate that.

  So, that’s what she let herself do. Mor’an kissed his way down her body, making her warmer with each brush of his lips against her flesh. Her legs parted willingly at either side of him, inviting him to her body. She felt a buzz of arousal through her, growing and growing until she practically felt it flood out of her.

  Mor’an’s hands settled at her knees, keeping her legs parted as he moved lower, lower. The lower he went, his tongue darted out across her skin, as if tasting her, and his teeth nipped her skin, making her hips rise off the ground. He kissed all the way down to the apex of her sex, her wetness already evident before he even touched her there.

  He took his time, wound her up. Before he delved into her womanhood, he went to her thighs. His teeth in her felt like they were going to leave marks, and there was something about the sinking of those teeth in her skin and knowing she was going the have reminders when they were done that excited her. she had never wanted a man to mark her like that, but with Mor’an, she couldn’t think of anything better.

  He left his marks on both her thighs, drawing moans from her each time before he moved to where she really wanted him. She arched from the ground as his tongue came out, dragging from the wetness of her entrance all the way to the pink, peeking bud atop her folds. It felt so good, having him pleasure her there with his mouth. His tongue circled there, swirling at the roundness of her little pleasure bud before he moved down again, his tongue slipping inside to taste her.

  It was so, so good. He’d alternate, his tongue within her sex to his lips around her clit. He built her up, up, bringing her close to the cusp before he’d slow again, settle. It was equal parts tantalizing and maddening; her body needed more, so much more, but she liked that it wasn’t over soon. It was the most pleasurable state of cognitive dissonance that she had ever been in, and the only thing she knew for certain was that she didn’t want him to stop as he gripped her by the rear to pull her closer, burying his face against her wet mound drive his tongue in her more.

  She clenched around it, her pleasure flooding against his mouth. When he moved back to her swollen bud, his fingers replacing his tongue this time, she thought she would explode. Instead, her legs fell further apart, and she quite literally whined for him.

  “Please, Mor’an. I need you inside me. Enough, enough. I –”

  She panted, unable to finish her sentence, but Mor’an got the picture nonetheless. He toyed with her a little more, adding fingers inside her for more pleasure and to open her for what the both wanted the most. When he withdrew them, she nearly sighed in relief – not because she wanted it to end, but because everything within her screamed they needed to be one.

  The taste of herself on his tongue when he came up to kiss her again was divine. Her arms went once more around broad shoulders, and she kissed him back hungrily as she felt him nudge the head of his length against her. She was so close to getting what she wanted, though he teased her a bit before giving it to her. She whined as she felt the pillar of his flesh slip and slide along the wetness of her entrance, but never in. The length glided up, between her folds, skimming over her swollen bud to draw a shudder from her needy body.

  She felt everything as if it were in excess. Every single possible sensation that she could get, flickered through her body and there was nothing that she could do to stop it – not that she wanted to stop it. But it wasn’t nearly enough, and in her impatience, she bit at his lips, urging him.

  “Please, Mor’an,” she begged of him. “No more, no more. Give it to me.”

  Everything within her told her that this was right, that man atop her supposed to be there. She tightened her legs around his waist, urging him closer, and moaned softly as he slid in, in, the length and girth of him filling and stretching her. He felt so warm inside of her, and she would need to ask him about it later because it felt like he swelled, even as he was within her. A thick, pulsing sort of swell that reverberated within her walls, heightened the pleasure that his length and thickness already gave her. It was maddening, the feeling of it, oh so intoxicating.

  Then, though, the only thing on her mind was the rock of their hips together, the deep reach of him inside her. He held on to her, his thrusts long and deep, caressing every inch of her insides. He managed to touch and pleasure every place inside her that felt good, and it had her pulsing around his member, as if her body was clinging to him of its own accord.

  There was a pull in all directions, from Adrien. The physical, the emotional. The pleasure was heightened by a sense of rightness about everything, that pull that she had had for Mor’an finally finding its satisfaction, finally finding itself pleased and sated. It was as if the shift within her very being that had been trying to come to fruition finally found it – she was one, whole, with Mor’an. They were one.

  Her climax came hard, deep, making her spasm against him.
It came, again, and again, and he didn’t relent. She was alight with sensation by the time he did, her pleasured cries echoing against the empty darkness of the paradise they were surrounded by. Mixed with it were his groans, deep and sensual in her ears as the sound reverberated within his chest. His own release didn’t cum until she was entirely spent, weakly clinging to him. It flooded within her, she felt it filling her entirely.

  “Don’t want to stop,” she said, even as she twitched and shook around his body. She rocked her hips up against him, keeping him snug inside of her. When he moved, she was afraid that he wasn’t going to give that to her, but she was wrong. Instead of scooting her off of him, he rolled so that he was on his back, and she was straddled over him. Her thighs spread widely, given the girth of his hips. She had to steady herself, putting her hands to his chest as to not be jolted from the sensation of everything.

  Mor’an settled his own hands against her hips, and with his strength he raised her up. She moaned at the feeling of his satisfaction and member sliding out of her, and was further pleasured when he brought her back down onto him.

  It was his strength that set her pace, and then her own insistence that furthered it. It took a little, he was so big and there was so much of him to take, but she managed to plant her hands in her chest and move her hips with the insane, pleasurable motion of his own. She moaned with him, felt him press ever deeper with their position, and she couldn’t help but cry his name to the night. It echoed around them, bounced back in the air to them. It mingled with his own moans, his animal growls and the raspy breaths that he took.

  They coupled like animals – that was the only thing she could use to describe the bestial way that their bodies merged together. She had to think this was what it was like for them at the very least; nothing but primal desire and animal want driving their most base instincts. That’s all it was – instinct. The instinct for her to submit to his alpha-like power, to let this man take what he wanted, for her to give her everything –