“Warm, cold, or hot.”
“Uh, warm,” she replied, then added, “on the hot side.”
“Warm on the hot side. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Please say stop when you have finished.”
The water immediately splashed over her, and she burst out laughing. Is that correct sounded like one of the annoying prompts from the telephone menus on Earth, and as the shower continued, she had more surprises. The water seemed to be sucked from the floor, though how she couldn’t see. A shelf revealed itself, offering shampoo and bath gel, a scrubby ball, and a cloth. When she commanded the water to stop a stream of warm air burst forth, flowing around her and quickly drying her off. Her shower had been a unique, exciting, and fun experience. By the time she found a brush for her hair, had pulled on her dress, and discovered slipper-like shoes in the closet, she felt both exhilarated and exhausted. She had not, however, discovered any underwear, and with her nipples proudly pushing against the thin fabric, she made her way through the magnificent Tudor bedroom into the comfortable modern living room, and stood in front of the wall by the fireplace. As she pushed the pale blue gemstone, the door slid open and she entered a room that made her stop and stare.
“I left this as it is,” Valodar said, walking forward to greet her.
“Okay, now I really do feel as if I’m on a spaceship,” she muttered, staring around at her strange surroundings.
There were no visible cabinets or sinks, just a long gleaming counter against one wall. Several round glowing balls were suspended in the air, then she noticed, sitting incongruous at the end of the spotless counter, her French press full of coffee.
“I brought it for you,” he smiled, “along with your granola, cow’s milk, and sugar. Would you prefer that, or what I have prepared for you?”
“I don’t know why I’m feeling so strange all of a sudden,” she muttered. “Is there any place to sit down in here?”
“It’s the shock of seeing things as they are,” he said, bringing her into his arms. “The other rooms were familiar, they felt safe. This does not. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. “I understand. The reality of it is hitting me. I can feel it.”
“Your consciousness is trying to make sense of it.”
“And you,” she breathed, clinging to him, “what do you really look like? Are you really as you appear, or are you some crazy-looking creature?”
“I am as I appear, but I have another part of me, and I will show it to you now.”
Chapter Nine
Gripping his arms, Ellie could feel them growing under her fingers, and startled, she lifted her eyes.
“My change is disturbing you,” Valodar remarked, his glittering eyes, now turquoise, boring into hers. “I can feel your anxiety.”
“I, uh, wasn’t sure what to expect. Are you about to turn into the Incredible Hulk?”
“I am not familiar with that phrase,” he frowned, “but if you’re uncomfortable I can stop.”
“Will your personality change?”
“No, not at all,” he smiled. “Most Earth females find strongly built males attractive, but would you prefer I stay as I am?”
“I do like how you are toned, rather than like a body builder, but I’m not scared any more. Please, keep going. I’m curious.”
“That is my normal state. I change when I’m in physical battle, but I will only continue transforming if you’re sure.”
“I am, honestly.”
“This will happen quickly. Are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready, go ahead.”
Stepping back, she watched, mesmerized, as muscles began bulging across his body. The seconds ticked by, and while his features remained the same, there was a depth and age in his face, and his long braided hair fell straight.
“I am finished,” he declared. “This is my power body.”
“Wow,” she breathed, staring at his impressive physique. “Your face is the same, you just look a little older, but your muscles are incredible. You look like a warrior.”
“I am a warrior, but inside this shell, my central organ, my heart, it beats with a tenderness I have always felt for you.”
“I know how you care about me, I can feel it, and you were so worried about scaring me. Actually, I kind of like you this way.”
“You have no fear? You’re not displeased?”
“Not at all. I just didn’t know what to expect.”
“No monsters live in me,” he smiled. “Now I think you should have your coffee and cereal.”
“I think you’re right.”
“Here,” he said, pulling a silver mug from a suddenly appearing open cabinet. “Sit down, pour your coffee, and I’ll fetch your granola and cow’s milk.”
Settling into the chair, she did as he suggested, and watching the powerfully built alien prepare her breakfast cereal, she had to smile. He looked far more like a disciplinarian, and she was finding him enticingly attractive. She also realized his hidden strength was why he had felt so heavy when he’d laid on top of her, and so strong when he’d wrapped her up in his arms.
“This is how I become when I am in battle, or if I sense danger,” he said, bringing her cereal and placing it in front of her, along with a remarkably ordinary-looking spoon. “I can summon the change at will, and I could have initially appeared this way to you, but I thought my resting state would be less threatening. The last thing I wanted to do was scare you.”
“I like both sides,” she said with a smile. “What about the rooms here? I know you changed them, but you said you can do that sort of thing quickly.”
“Ah, yes. The living room, the bedroom, as I said before, it is about the rearranging of particles. The only room I left unchanged is this one. I knew it would help you adjust if you were in a familiar environment at first.”
“So, the rooms are real?”
“They are quite real, but any surroundings you choose, I can produce.”
“Wow. That’s amazing,” she said between mouthfuls of granola.
“Do you like your Tudor bedroom?”
“I love my Tudor bedroom, and I don’t understand any of this, but I don’t need to. I am perfectly happy in my ignorance.”
“Good, then eat your breakfast. I want to begin your tour, and it must start in a very special place.”
“That sounds exciting,” she grinned, then pausing and taking a breath, she added, “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
“Do you think there’s something wrong with me?”
“Wrong with you? Like what?”
“I’m feeling comfortable, and I shouldn’t, should I? I mean, I’m on a spaceship, for goodness’ sake, sleeping with you, an alien. I’m totally excited to see everything, but shouldn’t I still be freaked out?”
“Humans can be remarkably adaptable,” he said, moving his hand down her arm, sending warm tingles through her skin, “but the answer to the question is simple. You feel what you feel. If you’re comfortable, then you’re comfortable, and that makes me very happy.”
“I guess you’re right. I’ll be comfortable until I’m not.”
“And when you’re not, I’ll help you through it.”
“I know you will,” she said gratefully. “What is this place you’re going to show me?”
“You’ll see. Finish your cereal. I need to check in with my commander.”
“Before you go, I couldn’t find any underwear in the closet.”
“There isn’t any.”
“None?”
“No.”
“So… I’ll be wandering around naked under this dress? Um, you can see my nipples.”
“Correct.”
“Seriously? I’m not sure I want to do that.”
“I want you to be comfortable, but I can assure you no one will care, no one except me, and later I will explain why it needs to be this way.”
“Why can’t you
take just a minute and tell me now?”
“If I take a minute, it will be to add to the sting in your bottom!”
Staring at him, she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
“Never mind,” she muttered. “I can wait.”
“You are impatient, Ellie, and that’s something that needs attention.”
“I’m fine, honestly.”
“Of course you are,” he smiled. “Relax and finish your granola. I won’t be long.”
Watching his powerful body saunter from the room, she knew she was in for more shocking revelations. Being constantly surprised would be her life for at least the next five days, though how she would keep track of the passing time she had no clue. And would she stay longer? It was a question that was beginning to linger.
* * *
He returned a short time later, and having finished her cereal, not knowing where to put her bowl, she had left it on the counter and was wandering around the sleek kitchen. His body was still muscled up, and she smiled her greeting as he walked over to her.
“I’m glad you didn’t change back. I wanted to see you this way again.”
“I will shortly, but I’m glad you’re now finding it pleasing.”
“I think I’d like you to be this way in bed sometime.”
“Ah, yes, I can see how you’d find that appealing, and I’ll be happy to oblige you,” he grinned. “Are you ready to go out?”
“I am very ready to go out. What about my cereal bowl?”
“It will be sanitized when I put it away.”
Moving back to the counter, he picked it up and put it back into the cabinet.
“That’s handy,” she grinned. “I think I like it here. How does it work?”
“It’s very simple. The remaining particles are vaporized.”
“Of course they are,” she laughed. “What else would you do with them?”
“It is fascinating to see my world through your eyes,” he remarked. “Come along, let’s continue your adventure, which, in a way I did not expect, is becoming my adventure.”
“It is?”
“It is,” he smiled, and wrapping his six fingers around hers, he led her through to the living room, down a short hallway, and stopped at what appeared to be a blank wall.
“Why are your doors hidden? I don’t get it.”
“It is just an aesthetic preference. It’s not a big mystery.”
“I think I prefer seeing them, but I suppose I’ll get used to it.”
“Of course you will,” he said warmly. “This is a lightly populated area of the station, but you might see some unfamiliar forms.”
“You mean, strange-looking creatures.”
“Yes, strange-looking creatures, so don’t stare. Glance and smile, that’s fine, but don’t stare.”
“Got it,” she said nervously. “Suddenly I’m not so comfortable.”
“You don’t need to worry,” he said reassuringly, gently squeezing her hand. “You’re in an extremely safe place, and you’re with me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Staring into his eyes, now a light blue, she let out a breath and nodded.
“I’m ready. Take me where you will.”
The door appeared, and stepping out, Ellie found herself in a wide corridor illuminated by a soft violet light with gently curved ceilings.
“This is beautiful,” she murmured, as they started walking. “It’s sort of comforting. It must be the color of the light, but may I ask you something I shouldn’t?”
“Certainly.”
“My butt, it’s still stinging.”
“I know, but don’t worry, I’m about to relieve it.”
“You are?”
“Ellie, I wouldn’t have said that if I didn’t mean it.”
“No, of course you wouldn’t, sorry. Is it far, where we’re going?”
“No, just a little further along.”
“This place is so empty. Where is everyone?”
“We’re in the Xanadu Embassy. As I said, it’s lightly populated and everyone is working, and here we are,” he suddenly declared, stopping at what was obviously a door.
“A door you can see!” she exclaimed.
“Some are visible.”
“Who’d have thunk it.”
“Thunk it?” he repeated, frowning down at her as he touched his necklace. “What is thunk it?”
“It’s a joke,” she said as he gestured for her to walk in ahead of him. “It’s a play on the word think. You can’t say, who’d have think it. You’d say, who would have thought it, but—holy crap, what is this place? Is this a gym?”
She had stopped in her tracks as light flooded the space. The room was filled with exotic furniture, oddly shaped objects suspended in the air, gleaming cables hanging from the ceiling, and unfamiliar implements lining the walls.
“This room,” he began, wrapping one arm around her waist while he placed the other against her bottom, “is a room for correction. It does have a name, but the English translation would be, The Den of Discipline and Delights.”
“It’s a dungeon. You have a dungeon?”
“Yes, it could be called a dungeon.”
His long, tapered fingers were clinging to her backside, and as the stinging burn began to subside, she sank against him.
“There, is that better?”
“Yes, thank you,” she sighed, “and I love it when you touch me. Do you always make the pain stay like that?”
“When it’s deserved and I need to make a point, and those two things usually go together.”
“I supposed they would,” she murmured, then gazing around the room, she asked, “Why are we here?”
“Why do you think?”
“Because you want me to see it? Because you want it to serve as warning? Because you want to have some fun?”
“All of the above,” he said softly, locking his fingers in her hair, gently tugging back her head and kissing her neck. “There is much pleasure to be found here.”
“I’m sure,” she purred, feeling herself grow weak. “I’m also sure I can’t even imagine how much.”
“You would be right,” he whispered, his fingers roaming across her breasts. “You asked why you could find no underwear. Your body, it must be available to me. Any time I choose to reach under your dress and touch between your legs, I will. If I wish to fondle these lovely breasts and make their points sharp and hungry for my mouth, I will. Any time I want to remove your garment and gaze at your naked beauty, I will. You are my equal, but our roles are clearly defined. You are my submissive partner, to be treasured, protected, and revered, and also used, and teased, and disciplined as necessary.”
As he’d crooned the words into her ear, he had tweaked her nipples and kneaded her breasts, and his hand clutching her backside had slipped between her legs to tingle her pussy.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. “I understand.”
“For the Earth week that you are here, you must accept this. Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Say it.”
“I accept it, I accept all of it, and if you let me go, I swear I’ll fall.”
“You are weak with need, weak with wanting, weak because it is in your nature to be weak, because being weak and wishing to surrender is inside you. It is a need, just as I need and want to care for you and protect you.”
“Valodar,” she mewled. “I love this, I love this so much.”
“Here you are free, Ellie, free of the facade, free of the society that demands you be strong and independent. There is nothing wrong with either of those qualities, and you are both, and you can be both, but here, with me, you have a choice. There is no expectation for you to be anything other than who you are, and how you wish to be.”
“You’re right,” she admitted. “Back home, it’s as if I’m constantly struggling to be someone I’m not. There are times I feel so tired.”
“I know,” he sighed. “Yo
u need not worry with me. There are no demands on you here, except to be who you are, and of course, to obey my rules. Without rules, there is anarchy. We have order here, simple order, loving order.”
“I think I just died and this is heaven,” she muttered, sinking even deeper into his glorious hold. “It’s a dream come true.”
“It takes courage to be true to yourself on Earth. Here, it’s made easy.”
“I can feel your muscles changing.”
“I am sending them back to sleep. It is one of the ways they stay so powerful. Unlike the muscles of a man, mine rest when not needed. Muscles on a human need constant work to stay strong.”
“I want to learn all about you, about your… what do you call it? A race? A species?”
“A race. As I told you, I am from Xanadu, we are called Xans.”
“I want to know all about Xans,” she murmured, shifting her head to gaze up at him. “Will you teach me?”
“I will teach you about Xans, and Xanadu, and many other things, but I will start with this room. I wish to introduce you to certain things in here.”
“Where do we start?”
“You are already so wet,” he muttered, fingering her soaked pussy. “Your passion matches my own, and before we leave here I will take you again, but I will not allow you to orgasm so quickly this time. My injector wishes to enjoy the delights of your channel.”
“Ooh, Valodar, why do I want you so much?”
“I told you, chemistry.”
“But it’s so strong.”
“Yes, Ellie, it is strong, and now, off with this,” he declared, stepping back and whisking her dress from her body. “Much better.”
It had happened so quickly, she stood stock still for a moment, staring at him, then fell back against him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“I need to ask you something?”
“You may, and you don’t have get my permission each time you want to ask a question.”
“Sorry, it’s a habit.”
“One which will be broken,” he whispered, taking his mouth to her ear.
“Is there any risk of me becoming pregnant?”
“Only if we both decide it is something we want. The males of Xanadu control this, and there must be consent of both the male and female before conception is attempted.”
The Alien's Rules Page 8