Dark Planet Falling

by Anna Carven

  Sera was going to come. She knew it. He knew it. The sensation started at the base of her spine, rippling through her core, and she rocked back and forth, as Xal thrust his fingers deep inside her.

  He stopped then, holding her at the edge of climax, and she looked down in disbelief.

  He pulled away, watching her, his grey lips glistening with the taste of her, and she quivered, desperately wanting release.

  His fingers were still inside her.

  The corners of his lips turned upwards in a cheeky, knowing smile.

  He held her there, just a little longer, as she stared down at his luminous face, held captive to his wild, alien beauty.

  Beautiful bastard. He held her there, because he knew he could, and she trembled, because at that very moment, she was helpless.

  He raised a questioning eyebrow.

  Sera wanted to curse him and fuck him and she felt she would explode if he didn’t touch her again.

  “Please,” she rasped, lapsing back to English, her native tongue.

  “I don’t understand that language,” he rumbled with dark amusement, his voice loaded with unfinished promises.

  “Please,” she whispered, finding the Universal tongue somewhere in the depths of her scrambled brain.

  Just as the sensation stared to fade, he pushed his fingers deeper inside her and put his lips to her pussy. He sucked on her clit, gently at first, his warm, insistent tongue darting back and forth.

  Then he went faster and faster, and that feeling was back; that exquisite tightness that built and built until she could take it no more.

  It exploded in a torrent of bliss, and she closed her eyes, seeing stars in the blackness.

  Sera screamed in pure euphoria and climaxed.

  Xal withdrew his hand, withdrew his lips, and brought his arms around her, rising slowly as she shook with the aftershocks of pleasure.

  He lifted her with ease, bringing her to his bed. He lay her down gently and moved over her, never once breaking eye contact. His massive erection brushed against her stomach as he lowered himself, burying his nose into the crook of her neck and inhaling her scent.

  She wrapped her fingers around his cock, feeling the raised ridges of flesh that ran down the front of its length. Aside from a few spectacular differences, Humans and Kordolians were quite similar, and absolutely compatible.

  Sera could no longer argue with that fact.

  Xal looked at her with hunger smoldering in his golden eyes. It had been there the whole time, but now that he had her underneath him, he unleashed it, entering her in a single, powerful movement. He went deep, and she gasped. He grabbed her hands and placed them on his horns, curling her fingers around them. He wrapped his hands around her ass, drawing her close to him, and she brought her strong legs around him.

  Then he fucked her, at first slow and deep, then faster and harder as she squeezed her legs around him. His arms came down on either side of her, taut with corded muscle, and she hooked her arms around his neck, her fingers slipping down to trace the defined contours of his back.

  His movements became more intense, and his heat melted into her, causing her skin to become slick with sweat. Kordolians, on the other hand, didn’t seem to sweat.

  But he was warm and he was making love to her like the world was about to end.

  Maybe it was.

  She didn’t care anymore.

  Time blurred, and she lost herself to the rhythm of their lovemaking, their bodies moving together as one. She allowed him to take over, and he responded with grunts of satisfaction, at times kissing her here and there, nibbling her ear, inhaling her scent. His fangs grazed her skin, but he never, ever broke it, his movements savage but controlled.

  He fucked her with a wild intensity that built, bit by bit, until he brought her back to that blissful precipice. He obviously no longer feared that she was some gentle waif, because he slammed his hips into her, and she dug her fingernails into his back, her strong body wrapped around his.

  He brought her back to the edge of climax, and he was also there, because a low, rumbling growl issued from his throat, as he plunged deeper inside of her. The growl became a full-throated cry as he went faster, harder, dragging her to the precipice.

  They were almost there.

  More.

  It felt so good. She didn’t want it to end, but she needed release. Xal was taking her there. This male was claiming her, making her his, and she was hopelessly lost to him.

  Almost.

  He took her higher, filling her need completely.

  There.

  He held her to him, surrounding her with his powerful arms as a tremor coursed through him.

  Sera was overwhelmed, drowning in sensation.

  Xal was all over her, running his hands through her hair as he drew her face close to his and stared into her eyes, and Sera was lost in swirls of molten amber.

  Then, he came, closing his eyes, an expression of bliss crossing his exquisite features.

  Sera’s voice mingled with his as he cried out in Kordolian, clutching her tightly to him.

  He tipped his face towards the heavens and exhaled. They stayed like that for a moment, in suspended disbelief.

  Then, in one swift movement, he reversed their positions, so she was on top of him, looking down.

  His expression was no longer an inscrutable one; his face had softened, and he shook his head slightly in disbelief.

  “You are beautiful, Sera Aquinas,” he murmured, taking her in with a half-lidded gaze.

  “So are you, Xal,” she replied. Exhausted, she rested her cheek against his bare chest and closed her eyes, listening to the beat of his Kordolian heart.

  Their hearts beat the same.

  They breathed the same air.

  They fucked the same.

  It seemed Humans and Kordolians weren’t so different, after all.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Sera must have dozed off, because when she came to, he was running his long fingers through her hair.

  She made a low sound in her throat as her eyes drooped again. She was warm and cocooned in a sleeping pod on a mysterious alien ship, and she had never felt so contented in her life.

  No-one had ever held Sera like this. She’d never woken up with another by her side.

  Usually she was the one who slipped out in the early hours of the morning.

  “I love your hair,” Xal rumbled, twirling one ringlet around his finger. “It’s very beautiful. As are you.”

  “I’m not perfect,” Sera said cautiously, aware that he was making her feel all gooey inside, but unsure where this was going.

  “Who is? If you were perfect, you would not be Human. If I were perfect, I wouldn’t be Kordolian.”

  But you are perfect, she thought. At least, physically, he was. She wondered what sort of emotional scars he was hiding.

  “You don’t seem bothered by my scars,” she pointed out. “Or my ink.”

  “In my culture, scars are a mark of honor. They symbolize painful healing, and there is nothing more honorable than that.”

  “Oh.” His response surprised and warmed her. She was too used to getting pitiful looks from strangers, or being asked what had happened to her. Xal did none of that. He simply accepted that they were a part of her.

  “And your tribal markings are beautiful. They’re much more intricate than what Kordolians are capable of.”

  “My tatts?” She laughed. “The ‘tribe’ I belong to doesn’t approve of this kind of thing. The tatts are all my own doing.”

  “But they’re symbolic, aren’t they?”

  “I don’t know about your planet, but on Earth, if you leave something out in the wilderness for long enough, nature will take it, and replace ugliness with beauty. I got the idea after seeing a hollowed out bomb shelter that had been reclaimed by nature, overgrown with vines. That was when I realized that even broken things could transform.”

  “The difference is that on your planet, things grow.”
Xal’s look turned distant. “On my planet, everything is frozen, even society.”

  “But you guys are here, aren’t you? I’d hardly call that ‘frozen.’” Sera reached out and tilted his chin so that he was looking at her again. “And come on, be honest with me now. You’re not really here for the ‘females’ are you? I mean, you seem plenty experienced, and that’s a compliment, by the way.”

  Xal shook his head. “It’s not as you think. I haven’t been with so many females, as you might believe. I spoke the truth earlier. I wouldn’t lie to you, Sera. Our race is dying. For some reason, females aren’t born anymore. Our scientists, as powerful and knowledgable as they may be, have failed to find a reason for this. Sometimes I think the Goddess has decided to punish us and has kept all her daughters with her in the infinite plane, preventing them from crossing over.” Sadness tinged his voice. “We used to be a noble race, but this curse has destroyed our people.”

  “No it hasn’t.” Sera pushed a stray tendril of hair away from his face, tucking it behind a pointed ear. “Look at you and the General, risking everything to protect a world you barely know, because you choose to hold on to hope. I don’t know how you guys figured out that Humans were a match for you, but if it’s true, then your people will survive.”

  “But first we have to make sure we don’t destroy Earth. I fear I’ve dragged your entire civilization into disaster.”

  “So what if you have? You’re going to get us out of it, aren’t you? We’ve been defenseless for centuries, Xal. If not Kordolians, some other alien species would find us eventually. I’m starting to think we’re better off with you guys protecting Earth than some cruel overlords from another planet.” She narrowed her eyes. “You were serious about the protection bit, weren’t you?”

  “Of course.” He still looked troubled. “But sometimes I wonder if it would just be better for us to retreat and leave your people alone. We Kordolians are a destructive species, both to others and to ourselves.”

  “So you’d leave us to be a sitting duck for the Evil Empire and those horrible giant insects?”

  “I can’t do that. But at the same time, I’m afraid of what might happen to Earth. Your people are vulnerable, Sera. Humans are a peaceful race. You’re not equipped for war.”

  “Peaceful?” Sera scoffed. “What the hell makes you think Human beings are peaceful? Things aren’t so bad now, but if you knew what we’ve done to one another throughout history, you wouldn’t call us that. There are just so many of us that I think we take each other for granted.”

  Xal closed his eyes, a look of pain crossing his face. “You Humans don’t know how lucky you are.”

  “Then you need to make sure we stay lucky.”

  When he opened his eyes again, they were clear and free of anger. “I will make sure the Imperium doesn’t threaten Earth again. But, as with all things Kordolian, it will be difficult.”

  “May I send a report to Earth? I’m sure my father and his cronies are freaking out.”

  “Not yet. I don’t want any misinterpretations, and I don’t want any opportunities for back-door deals between the Humans and the Empire. They are not to be trusted.”

  “Fine. But you have to keep me in the loop.” What he was saying made sense. The wrong information in the wrong hands could lead to some pretty stupid outcomes. She knew of some Humans who would sell out to the Imperial Kordolians if they thought there was a profit to be made out of it.

  People could be stupid.

  Xal rested a large hand on her bare ass, feeling the smooth curves of her butt and thighs. “You will most certainly be kept in this ‘loop’.”

  “Good to know, Prince, good to know.” He was full of secrets, and Sera was getting the sense he was a conflicted soul. But she had managed to unravel him a little, and on the upside, she’d made him promise he would take care of Earth.

  It had only taken mind-blowing sex for that to happen.

  Now they just had to figure out how to break a galactic stalemate, before all hell broke loose.

  ~~~

  Xal had requested a meeting with Tarak and his five commanders, waiting until Sera slept before he stole out of his quarters, leaving her naked and tangled in the sheets.

  To his amazement, his head was clear, the headache having disappeared, along with the irrational anger that had clouded his thoughts. And once again, he felt he could find a way forward, even if he still wanted to rip Luron Alerak’s beating heart from his chest.

  Sex with Sera had been incredible. Now he was beginning to understand why the General kept his female close. A part of him wanted to return to his quarters and do her all over again.

  She had made him lose control in the most primal of ways, stripping back all the formalities and barriers until there was just the two of them; a man and a woman, responding to each other’s desire.

  The attraction had been mutual.

  Something inside him had snapped he saw her on the floor, pinned under another male. He had been unable to process that scenario.

  The urge to claim her had been overwhelming, and he’d given in.

  Some royal he was. His father had always complained that he’d been too impulsive. He’d just proven that for a fact.

  They were gathered in a dark, windowless room somewhere in the bowels of the warship. The commanders looked to their General for guidance, mostly ignoring Xal. The military under Tarak’s command were fiercely loyal to the General in a way that Xal hadn’t quite yet grasped.

  All Xal knew was that Tarak had worked his way up through the ranks in the most unconventional manner, so much so that he had caught the attention of his father, Emperor Ilhan. And when Tarak had started winning impossible battles because his aggressive fighting style and unconventional military strategy, which was starkly different to that of the other Generals, Emperor Ilhan had declared him the new face of the military; the change Kythia needed to ensure the survival of their Empire.

  Amongst the military, he was a living legend.

  Some superstitious soldiers had refused to fight under any other command except Tarak’s.

  The Nobles hated him because he threatened their carefully constructed hierarchy, where positions were granted as a birthright, and not won through merit.

  The High Council despised him.

  And somehow, a single Human female had undone all his father had sought to achieve. Now they were forging a trail none of them would have ever thought possible.

  “We are at an impasse,” one of the commanders, a slender Kordolian called Iskar said softly. “The Empire wants its Fleet Station back. They are desperate, otherwise they wouldn’t have sent a battle cruiser this far from Kythia.”

  “I say fuck it.” Jerik, a short, muscular commander with a head as smooth as polished stone thumped his fist on the table. “We bomb the shit out of them and deal with the consequences. If we act all soft on this one, they’ll keep coming, thinking we’re weak.”

  Tarak was leaning back in his chair, watching them all without saying a word.

  “They’ll destroy Earth out of spite if we do that.” Commander Mardok glared at Jerik. “Do you really want the destruction of another planet on your hands?”

  “The other glaringly obvious question is, where the hell did they come from? Did they map an alternate route?” Tarkun, with his braids, proudly worn in the Aikun style, raised his eyebrows.

  “They’re stretched thin, though.” The fifth commander, Ikriss, ran a hand over his cropped white hair. “They won’t risk sending any more battle cruisers, because that would leave Kythia vulnerable. Remember, we’ve just reduced their fleet to half.”

  “It seems we have to make some tough decisions,” Jerik growled, as they all turned towards Tarak.

  The General regarded them all in turn, his face an unreadable mask.

  Xal caught his eye, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “So let’s give them what they want most,” he said.

  They all turned to look at him in surprise. Xa
l didn’t usually participate in military strategy; his job was to play nice and talk nicely with the natives. Out of all of them, he was apparently the most diplomatic, and that wasn’t saying much.

  “What do you mean, Prince?” Tarkun inclined his head respectfully.

  “Exactly what I said, avarth,” Xal replied, using the Aikun word for brother. “We give them what they want most. We give them the Fleet Station.”

  The General was staring at him, his crimson gaze unwavering. But a hint of a smile was playing on his lips.

  “Ridiculous,” exploded Jerik. “We can’t surrender our military advantage to the Kaiin-cursed Nobles. That’s a death wish. You might as well go back to Kythia and beg them for an execution. They’ll come back with everything they’ve got and slaughter us.”

  “I’m suggesting we give them the Fleet Station,” Xal said coldly. “Not the fleet. Why would we need an orbiting station when there is a perfectly good moon here?” He turned to Tarak. “How long would it take to empty the Fleet Station, strip it of all valuable components and rig it with enough explosives to destroy a reinforced Alpha Class battle cruiser?”

  “It can be done before Daegan’s warship reaches it. You intend to lure them into a trap.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”

  Tarkun, Iskar and Ikriss nodded in agreement, Mardok shook his head, and Jerik stared at him in disbelief.

  “You will need to convince them to leave Earth’s orbit.”

  “I’ll do my best ‘mad prince’ act. The Nobles already think I’m mad, so it won’t be hard to believe. I’ll pretend you and I had a disagreement, and that I want to be re-instated in the Court. I will beg them to return me to Kythia in exchange for revealing the location of the Fleet Station. They can do a surveillance check to confirm it. When they reach it, we put up a bit of a fight, trick them into thinking they’ve defeated us, and give them the Fleet Station.”

  “They will kill you when they found out they’ve been betrayed.”

  “Ah. But they will have to deal with the entire Fleet Station being rigged with explosives. All I will need is a strategically placed escape pod.”