by Anna Zaires
Then she was next to him, and he could see that she was pale and shaking, her dress torn in one spot. Her beautiful face was wet with tears. One pale arm lifted toward him, her hand trembling as though she wasn’t certain if she could touch him. “You’re alive,” she whispered, and he could hear the disbelieving note in her voice. “Oh my God, Korum, you’re alive . . .”
And Korum realized exactly what she was seeing. He was covered with blood, both his own and that of Loris. He could taste its metallic tang on his tongue, smell it surrounding him, and he knew it was all over his hair, his face, his mouth.
Fuck. He must look like something out of a nightmare, especially with the rapidly healing parts of his body where Loris had torn out chunks of his flesh.
Remembering her reaction to Saur’s remains on the beach, Korum mentally cursed himself for letting Mia see him like this. He had been hoping to avoid killing Loris partially for this reason – because he didn’t want his little human traumatized by seeing her lover brutally kill someone. This should’ve been an easy fight, one during which Korum could’ve restrained himself, kept from giving in to the primitive instincts of his species. If it hadn’t been for Saret’s interference, Korum could’ve easily subdued his opponent, defeating him but graciously letting him live. And instead, he had been utterly savage, like a cornered animal.
His legs were already feeling better, so Korum shrugged off Alir’s support and carefully reached for Mia, bringing her toward him. He knew there was a chance he might repulse her now, but he needed her. Needed to feel her softness, to inhale her clean, sweet scent.
To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him so tightly that it hurt his half-healed ribs. She was shaking, her slender body trembling in his embrace.
“It’s all right, my sweet,” he murmured, some of his tension draining as he realized she was not afraid to touch him. “It’s going to be all right . . .”
“I thought –” With her face buried against his shoulder, Mia’s voice was barely audible. Her hands were icy on the bare skin of his back. “I thought he killed you . . . Oh God, Korum, I thought you were dead –”
“No,” he soothed, reveling in her apparent concern for him. “No, my darling, he didn’t. It’s over now –”
A sob broke out of her throat. “He hurt you. I saw him hurting you, again and again. Korum, he was killing you –”
“It’s okay, I’m all right,” Korum whispered, his heart aching at the horror in her voice. “Everything’s going to be fine. I’m sorry you had to see that. It wasn’t supposed to be like that, believe me . . .”
She drew in a shuddering breath and pulled back to look up at him. Her eyes were reddened, her lashes dark and spiky from tears. “What happened? I saw you fall and then it was like you couldn’t fight anymore. Did Loris cheat somehow? Did he do something to you?”
“It wasn’t Loris,” Korum explained, trying to keep the fury out of his voice. “It was Saret. He was in the audience, just a few seats away from you. He shot me with a stunner – a weapon similar to a stun gun – so I couldn’t move for a bit.”
She gasped. “He tried to kill you? Is that what the commotion over there was about? I wasn’t paying attention –”
“Yes,” Korum said. “I sent the guardians after him as soon as I realized what was happening.”
“You sent the guardians? How?”
“Remember I told you I have an embedded computer?” Korum asked.
Mia nodded, staring at him. She still looked pale, even though the tremors wracking her frame were beginning to subside.
“I was able to use it to contact the guardians.”
She blinked, and he could see that she wasn’t absorbing what he was saying, her mind still consumed by what had just happened.
Alir stepped in front of him, making Korum aware of his presence again. “The victory ceremony is about to start,” the guardian said quietly. “Are you able to participate?”
Korum considered it for a moment, holding Mia against his side, then gave Alir a short nod. “I should be fine.” He was still in pain, but it was a healing kind of pain. His body was repairing itself from the inside, the cells regenerating themselves. In another few minutes, he would be almost back to normal.
Of course, given everything that happened, a regular ceremony with a public claiming of his charl was out of the question. Even though his recovering body was beginning to stir at her nearness, Korum was fully cognizant of his current appearance. He was dirty, sweaty, and covered in blood – not exactly appealing to a human girl. She had also just been through a major shock, and the last thing she needed was to deal with unwanted sexual advances from a man she probably now saw as a savage killer.
Alir inclined his head in a gesture of respect and walked off the field, his tall, broad frame moving with a warrior’s gait. Korum had played defrebs with the man several times in the last couple of years, and he’d lost more than once. The guardians were excellent fighters, their profession requiring them to stay in top shape, and Korum was glad that he’d never had to face one of them in the Arena.
“All you have to do is stay with me right now,” Korum told Mia when Alir was further away. “Under the circumstances, the post-fight ceremony will be brief.”
“Because you’re hurt?” she asked, and he could hear the strain in her voice.
“No, I’ll be fine. But you’re not ready for anything like a victory celebration right now,” Korum said softly. “What we need is to go home.”
* * *
As the ceremony began, Mia tried to focus on the event, but her mind kept flashing back to the gruesome images of the fight.
Flash. Korum lying on the ground, unable to move.
Flash. Blood spraying everywhere. That terrible gloating expression on Loris’s face.
Flash. Korum striking back with the speed of a cobra. The sudden terror on the other Krinar’s face.
Flash. More blood.
Flash. Loris’s head torn off his body.
No, stop it! Mia wanted to scream, but they were in public, and she couldn’t do it, couldn’t embarrass Korum like that. He was holding her hand now, and they were on a large float in the middle of the Arena. The same Krinar who had led the beginning of the ceremony was speaking again, saying something else about the history of Arena fighting, but his words were sliding past Mia’s ears. There was a sense of unreality to the proceedings; Mia kept feeling like she was inside a dream – or, more aptly, a nightmare.
Only Korum’s touch felt real. She wanted to crawl into his embrace and never come out. When he had held her earlier, she’d felt some of her terror ebbing away, but now she felt cold again, her teeth chattering despite the heat of the bright Costa Rican sun.
He was alive. Mia still couldn’t believe it. It had to be a miracle of some kind. How could anybody survive those kinds of injuries? She had known the Krinar healed quickly, but Korum had been almost literally torn apart. There had been so much blood. Oh God, the blood.
Mia swallowed hard, trying to contain her nausea. If she never saw the color red again, it would be too soon. No wonder the Krinar preferred light colors in their daily lives; they probably needed the contrast after the violent spectacle of the Arena.
Korum had almost died today. Her alien lover – so strong, so seemingly invincible – had been nearly brought down by treachery. For a few dark moments, Mia had been sure that he was dead – and she had wanted to die too. It had felt like her heart was being torn open, each blow to Korum’s body smashing something deep within her soul. She had never experienced such agony before, and she never wanted to feel it again.
She was dimly aware that Voret had stopped speaking, that he was addressing Korum now, asking him about a celebration. She saw Korum starting to shake his head, and something came over her. Acting purely on instinct, she leaned closer to Korum and whispered in his ear, “I want you. Please, Korum, I want you.”
He turned his head to look at her, his expression incredu
lous, and she squeezed his hand, wordlessly telling him that it was okay, that he could celebrate in the way of his people.
Rightly or wrongly, she needed him now, and she didn’t care about anything else.
Mia could see his pupils expanding, his irises turning a brighter shade of gold. With the blood and dirt covering him, he looked like a savage, like one of those ancient hunters Voret had shown at the beginning of the ceremony. She wanted him so much she ached with it, her body needing to affirm life in the most basic way possible.
He hesitated for a second, staring at her, and then he raised his hand, curving his large palm around her right cheek. “Mia . . .”
“Please, Korum.” She held his gaze, knowing that he could see the sincerity of her intentions on her face. She needed to feel his touch on her skin, needed him to make her forget the horror of the past hour.
His eyes glittering, he leaned forward and said softly, “You don’t know what you’re asking, my sweet. I can’t be . . . gentle right now.”
Mia swallowed, her inner muscles clenching at his words. “I don’t want you to be.”
He looked at her for another few seconds, and she could see the pulse beating in the side of his muscular neck. Then, as though unable to help himself, he bent his head and kissed her, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her onto his lap.
In the background, Mia could hear the crowd roaring, the spectators cheering and stomping their feet, but it didn’t bother her. All she could concentrate on was the heat of his mouth consuming hers, the pressure of his erection against her buttocks, the feel of his strong hands rubbing up and down her back. There was a faint metallic taste that should’ve repelled her, but instead it turned her on even more. The man kissing her right now was a predator, a killer – and she wanted him exactly as he was, no holds barred.
Lifting his head, he stared down at her for a second, his breathing heavy and his skin flushed underneath the streaks of grime and blood. All around them, the crowd was going wild, chanting their names. Mia had a sudden thought that that’s what rock stars must feel like, surrounded by their screaming fans.
As though in response to that, a strange music began to play, with notes so deep that Mia could feel the vibrations deep in her bones. The rhythm was uneven, almost jerky. It should’ve sounded discordant, unpleasant, but instead, it added to the pulsing heat between her legs, making her skin feel tighter and her heart beat faster.
Korum was reacting to it too, his cock hardening even more, pushing into the softness of her bottom. Still holding her, he stood up and began walking toward a tent-like structure in the center of the Arena, carrying her like a prize of war.
Mia clung to him, feeling almost intoxicated. Her head was spinning, and everything seemed surreal, as though it was happening in a dream. The psychology student in her recognized that it was her brain’s response to trauma, that she wasn’t thinking clearly, but it didn’t matter. She was dying with need, and Korum was the cure for what ailed her.
They got to the tent, and he placed her on her feet, keeping her pressed against his body. Instead of them going inside, the tent appeared to move and flow around them, mostly covering them from the view of the crowd. Mia was vaguely aware of the thinness of the walls, of the fact that thousands of curious Krinar eyes were watching the structure right now, but she wasn’t fully processing that information. They had some kind of privacy, and that was good enough for her.
As soon as the tent walls stopped moving, Korum took a step back, releasing her from his embrace. “Take off the dress.” His voice was unusually rough, and she could see the tension in his powerful shoulders. With his eyes a bright yellow, he looked wild, more animal than man. “Take it off, Mia.”
She obeyed, shimmying out of the dress, her excitement mixed with a tiny dollop of fear. He hadn’t even touched her, and she could see that he was already close to losing control.
Before her dress even hit the ground, he was already on her, one of his hands delving between her thighs and another grabbing her hair. His mouth descended on hers even as his finger pushed inside, into her small opening. He was rough, almost frantic, and Mia realized that he hadn’t been lying before, about not being able to be gentle. She was wet, but her muscles still tensed involuntarily, her body resisting the aggressive penetration.
Suddenly, he withdrew his finger and used the hand holding her hair to push her down, onto her knees. Tiny rocks and gravel dug into the soft skin of her kneecaps. “Suck it,” he said harshly, tearing open the front of his pants. “I want your mouth right now.”
His erection sprang free, brushing against her cheek. Mia opened her mouth, letting him inside, and he groaned as her lips closed around the head of his cock. He tasted salty, the tip already coated with pre-cum. She swirled her tongue around his shaft, mimicking what she’d once seen done in porn. He let out a sound that sounded like a growl, and his hands fisted tighter in her hair, holding her head steady as he began to move his hips, fucking her mouth with his cock.
Mia focused on taking small breaths, trying not to choke as most of his length pushed into her mouth, pressing against the back of her throat. He thrust again and again, and then he was coming with a harsh groan, his seed shooting out in warm, salty spurts. When he was done, he slowly withdrew from her, his cock still semi-hard.
Swallowing, Mia licked her lips and stared up at him, strangely aroused by what had just occurred. Pleasuring him like this turned her on, almost as if he had been touching her too.
He held her gaze, and she could see that his eyes remained bright, his hunger as strong as ever. His sex was stirring again, hardening in front of her face. One orgasm had just taken the edge off, she realized as he pulled her up onto her feet.
When he touched her again, he was gentler, his desire more controlled. His hands and mouth traveled down her body, caressing and worshipping every inch of her skin. Mia closed her eyes, quiet moans escaping her throat as pleasurable tension began to gather low in her belly. Then he was kneeling in front of her, his face at the level of her hips, his hands cupping the smooth curves of her buttocks. Bringing her toward him with one hand, he used the other to penetrate her with one finger, being much more careful this time. At the same time, his mouth delved into the soft curls at the apex of her thighs, his tongue reaching between her folds to stroke her clit.
Mia jerked from the startling lash of sensations, her entire body tensing as his finger rubbed against the sensitive spot deep inside. She could feel the growing pressure, and her knees began shaking, her legs suddenly too weak to support her weight. If it hadn’t been for his finger inside her and his hand on her ass, she would’ve collapsed, falling down on the ground beside him.
“Come for me,” he whispered, his hot breath washing over her sex, and she did, his words sending her over the edge, providing that elusive something she didn’t even know she needed. Everything inside her tightened and released, the pleasure so sharp it felt like an explosion along her nerve endings.
When the pulsations stopped, he withdrew his finger and tugged her down again. This time, they were both kneeling on the hard ground. Looking at her, he lifted his hand and slowly licked his finger – the one that had just been inside her. “I love your taste,” he murmured, his eyes filled with such hunger that her mouth went dry. “It makes me want to fuck you again and again, just to have it on my tongue.”
Mia drew in a shaky breath, her loins clenching with need.
Before she could say anything, he lay down on the ground, lifting her up and placing her astride his thighs. His cock was completely hard again, standing up straight from his body. “Ride me, Mia,” he said, watching her with a half-lidded gaze.
“Yes,” she whispered, “I will.” And grasping his thick length with her right hand, Mia guided him to her opening, her eyes closing as the broad head began to push inside. She lowered herself slowly, teasing them both, and was rewarded with a low groan that escaped from his throat.
When he was all the way i
nside, she opened her eyes, meeting his burning gaze. With his face streaked with grime and blood, he looked dangerous – cruel even. She was almost literally riding a tiger – a predator who could tear her apart in the blink of an eye. Instead of scaring her, the thrill of it only added to the desire coursing through her veins.
As she began to move, she kept her eyes trained on him, watching as tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and a muscle pulsed in his jaw from his apparent effort to restrain himself. His hands tightened on her hips, his fingers digging into her soft flesh, and then he was lifting her up and down on his cock, going deeper and deeper with every stroke.
The tension inside her spiraled again, and Mia threw back her head, her mouth open in a soundless scream. A powerful orgasm rippled through her body even as Korum kept thrusting faster and faster, seeking his own release. When he came, the grinding motions of his pelvis intensified her aftershocks, leaving her completely wrung out. Breathing hard, Mia collapsed against his chest, her muscles like limp noodles and her mind emptied of any thoughts.
She was so relaxed she didn’t even react when he pulled her higher, bringing her neck closer to his mouth. It was only when she felt a strange slicing pain that Mia realized what was happening . . . and her world dissolved into an ecstatic frenzy of blood and sex.
Part III
Chapter 17
Korum woke up to the unfamiliar feel of hard ground underneath his back. Before he even opened his eyes, he remembered everything that had occurred earlier – including Mia’s voluntary participation in the celebration.
He could feel her slight weight on his arm, hear her quiet breathing, and he knew she was deeply asleep, worn out from the double ordeal of the fight and the celebration. Moving carefully, Korum freed his arm, gently lowering her head to the ground. Then he stood up and created fresh clothes for both of them. A pair of shorts for himself and a robe for Mia – just enough to afford them some coverage in case any spectators remained in the Arena.