by Zara Zenia
"Something troubles you," I whispered.
"A great many things trouble me, but none of them are your fault." He opened his eyes and sat up straight. "But I have broken an agreement between us. Speak the words that will make you whole."
I raised an eyebrow. "Is that necessary? An agreement is hardly an oath."
One corner of Zarbonov's mouth turned up. "If a feint is a lie then an appointment is an oath. I owe you a favor, Ella tak Zarbonov, and I intend to pay it."
I flinched as Zarbonov used the name he had given me. Not because it wasn't the one my parents gave me. I had long since gotten used to being called anything but Browne. For the first time, I didn't care for the title. After all these months on Xiba, hadn't I earned the right to be something?
The only thing I can be here is ‘Jan to Zarbonov.
"Ella?" he said.
I blinked and shook my head to clear it. "Sorry, I . . . something to . . . make me whole?"
"Yes, we talked about paying debts of honor. Did you forget?" His brow furrowed.
Ingendia was right, I didn't know how far along on my journey I was. I didn't know how far I stood at that moment between what I had been and what I would be. Was I Ella, the co-ed who’d ended up in a bride auction on an alien world, or was I . . . someone else?
"I want to have our lesson on your balcony," I blurted out.
Zarbonov blinked in surprise then narrowed his eyes. That look meant he thought I was up to something, and he was usually right. "Why?"
"Ingendia left me alone all day," I said, holding my palms open to him to show I meant no harm. "Normally, I wouldn't mind, but that means I've been stuck inside. The breeze may help me think."
Something had to. The smell of charred meat and savory sauce mixed with sweat and blood certainly hadn't done the trick. Zarbonov watched me carefully for a few seconds, probably while he judged my honesty. He shrugged and climbed to his feet, leading me across the main room to another door.
Zarbonov’s room was easily three times the size of mine. The office faced the inside of the house, but his bedroom overlooked the bay. He strode though the length of the room, crossing to the open balcony in a few steps.
“Where did we leave off?” he asked. “What do you need to know?”
It was a fair question, but I was still so frustrated, I didn’t have a quick answer. I glanced to my left, looking over the walls of the house at the water of the bay.
I knew enough of the language to get by, but months in, I still wasn’t comfortable on Xiba. There were too many questions about my future there. What did it hold for me? I didn’t even know what I wanted.
But I knew in my gut that Zarbonov was the only one who could help me find out.
I moved in front of him, blocking the floor from view. “No more lessons, Kai’ben. I know what I need to know.”
Zarbonov leaned back. His hands gripped the armrests until his knuckles turned pale. He took a deep breath to steady himself, but I heard the tell-tale shake in his voice when he spoke. “Not if you still call me that. I am not your master, Ella. Even if I wished to be, you would not be tamed.”
"You wanted to tame me the night we met." I adjusted my positon. A small sound left Zarbonov's throat, somewhere between a sigh and a moan. He reached out and caught my arms so fast it startled me.
"What are you doing, Ella?" he said.
Playing with fire. I knew it, but I couldn't stop. Every cell in my body suddenly felt awake. A throb of energy pulsed through me as I looked into his eyes. He hadn't contradicted me, which told me I was closer to the truth than he could afford to admit. He’d wanted to tame me . . . but failed.
But there was more, something deeper beneath the surface. His words were a refusal, but his eyes burned as they looked at mine. He wanted me. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Zarbonov wanted to rip off my dress, lay me down, and fuck me senseless. How could I have missed it before?
I turned to face him, poking my feet throughout the armrests and laying my thighs over his. As soon as I stopped moving, Zarbonov grabbed my hips and held me in place.
"Stop! Answer me."
But I couldn't. I was too lost in the feeling of his cock against me. For all of my inexperience, I’d had a few half-hearted kegger make-out sessions under my belt. But Zarbonov’s hardness ran the length of my slick folds, spreading my lips part.
My breath hitched as I looked into his eyes. “If not Kai’ben, then what? Hmm, what would I call you if I were yours?”
I leaned forward, brushing my lips against Zarbonov's. Ever since the night he’d kissed me, I couldn't get the sensation of his lips out of my head. If I closed my eyes, I could almost taste his salty skin on my tongue.
Zarbonov didn't answer. His hands moved from my hips, clasping my buttocks in his rough hands. I gasped and clung to him. "Do not make the mistake of thinking you have the upper hand in this, Ella. I remember my vow well."
My nether region throbbed. I sank my teeth into my lower lip, but a small moan escaped all the same. "What vow?"
"You will serve in my house and learn," he said, sliding one of his hands up to cradle the back of my neck, "but not in my bed."
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered convincing him to make that promise. But that version of me had been terrified and traumatized. I’d wanted, needed, any scrap of control I could snatch from my captors.
Now, I was more than happy to put it aside if it meant I could have the blue-skinned warrior sitting between my thighs. I bucked my hips against him, gripping his shoulders as a wave of pleasure rippled through me. This time, Zarbonov couldn't hold back his groan. That only made me want him more.
I heard the voice that left my lips, but I barely recognized it as mine. It was too breathless, too shameless, too openly full of desire. "If I can't call you Kai'ben, what can I call you?"
His fingers trembled as they teased the top of my leather bustier. His tensed thighs were like solid logs beneath mine. Each breath carried a shudder on the back end. He was so close to letting go, and the closer he came, the less I wanted to stop.
Suddenly, Zarbonov moved his arms around my waist and stood up. In one smooth motion, he lowered himself to his knees and set me down on the balcony floor.
"You've gotten too used to toying with me, Ella. Perhaps it's time I toyed with you." He slid his hands up my thigh, stopping to curl his fingers around my underwear. He tugged, shredding the fabric between his fingers and pulling it away from my aching pussy.
I hissed as he slid one finger up the length of my folds. My thighs spread wider. My hips tilted forward. "Y–you didn't answer—"
"No, no, Ella, we're beyond that." Zarbonov leaned forward, catching my ear between his teeth. Another finger joined the first, stroking and caressing me in a steady rhythm. "Do you think I cannot smell your heat? The sweet aroma between your legs?"
"I . . . I didn't—" All words, English and Xiban, melted out of my brain as Zarbonov's fingers moved faster.
"Honey." He ran his tongue along my neck. "You smell like the finest honey, warm from the midday sun."
I leaned back, bracing my arms against the ground. Ella wasn't home anymore. I was on autopilot. My mind, my senses, everything merged and centered around Zarbonov's fingers stroking me. Waves of pleasure and pressure hovered over me, threatening to crash down.
"I can't—"
Zarbonov moved faster, wrapping his free arm around my back to steady my writhing body. "You're not supposed to. Moan for me, Ella."
Hearing him say the words flipped a switch in my brain. The world went gray. I screamed and shuddered. My muscles tensed as the first wave of orgasm crashed over me, leaving me moaning and trembling in his arms. Zarbonov slowed his pace, coaxing me gently over each crest as he gently nipped at my neck.
When my body went limp, Zarbonov laid me back against the floor and moved over me. He wrapped his fingers around the hem of the bodice and ripped it apart, tossing it to the side. He leaned down again, pressing his lips
to mine, teasing me with his tongue until I let him past.
One hand dipped to catch the bottom of my dress. He tugged it up, exposing my naked breasts to the air.
"Did you think I did not want you because I said I would not take you?"
As if to prove me wrong, Zarbonov leaned back and unfastened his pants. His rock-hard cock flopped into view. He moved between my thighs, spreading them wide to accommodate his torso.
His thick tip teased my entrance, drawing another round of moans from me. To hell with control. I was so far beyond control, it wasn't even a dot in my rear-view mirror. I was on an alien world, writhing beneath the man who owned me, with only one thought running through my head.
Please. Fuck me.
Zarbonov eased inside me. He stared into my eyes as he moved inch by throbbing inch. My eyes rolled back. I wrapped my hands around his forearms to steady myself. The sensation was unlike anything I'd felt before.
His hot breath blew across my neck as he thrust, slowly at first, in a steady, gentle rhythm. His massive frame hovered over me, shielding me from everyone and everything. There was only him and me beneath the moon, locked together, moving against each other.
The throbbing rush of pleasure washed over me again, the first waves of another orgasm. My body trembled beneath his and I looked into his eyes. He was close, too. How long had he wanted this? How long had he been waiting for me?
"How do I call you?" I half whispered, half moaned. As soon as the words left my lips, I was gone, lost in the heat of another body-shattering orgasm.
Zarbonov increased his speed, ramming his cock into me. He cried out, his body tense and rigid as the first spurts of his seed shot into me.
The world grayed again. My vision went in and out of focus. The air around me was warm except for the cool breeze from the ocean. But the heat from Zarbonov’s body was more than enough to keep me warm. The confusion of the past few days disappeared, leaving me settled for the first time in . . . I didn’t know when. I closed my eyes, letting the peaceful moment lull me.
As I started to drift, Zarbonov pressed another kiss to my lips and cradled my cheek with his hand.
“Kai’jan,” he whispered. “If you belong to me, you call me Kai’jan.”
“What does it mean?” I mumbled.
He whispered his answer so quietly, I almost didn’t hear it over the breeze.
“My mate.”
Chapter Sixteen
Zarbonov
Every morning since I became a man, I have risen several hours before dawn to be at the practice yard as the sun rose. My schedule was precise. It tolerated no movement, and the monotony of it became the support around which I’d built my life.
This morning was unlike any I had experienced before. When I opened my eyes, I was certain the events of the previous night had been a dream. I would turn to find my silks empty, as they had always been. And when I saw Ella later that night, I would remember my dreams and keep my distance. The pattern had become my life over the weeks since I’d nearly broken my oath the first time, and I had come to accept them as part of my defeat.
But when I rolled onto my other side, Ella was there, curled up on her side and clutching the silk top sheet with her fingers. The heater against the wall of my chamber cast an orange glow across the flesh of Ella's bare back.
What will I call you if I become yours? What does Kai'jan mean?
The evening replayed in my memory, though I cast no byantin. Ella's voice in my ear, her touch on my skin, her lips against mine. I should have stopped it. I had sworn two oaths to this strange human woman and already, I had broken one of them.
The evidence was the very thing that would make this among my favorite byantin, Ella in my silks, blissfully naked and covered in my scent. The very place I swore she would never have to be.
Never had any man of my bloodline been so utterly defeated by an opponent, but I couldn't bring myself to feel shame over the loss. If I suffered only one rout in my life, to whom better than this beautiful creature from another world? Even if the price was losing her.
I reached over, caressing her shoulder for a moment, savoring the feel of it beneath my fingers. "Ella? Wake up."
She groaned softly and turned away, and I felt a pang of guilt. If I had done this properly, she could stay if she wished.
"Ella," I said, shaking her shoulder.
"It can't possibly be dawn," she mumbled softly. The sound of her voice moved over me like warm honey. It was almost impossible to resist her demands when she used that voice. I’d spent months trying.
"Not a few hours yet," I whispered.
She reached for the sheet and tugged it back over her shoulder. "Then Ingendia won't miss me for another few hours. Come back to bed."
Damn my yielding soul, I almost did what she asked. Let the black water take the practice yard and my students. If those of my blood couldn't manage a simple morning of lessons, they weren't fit to wear our crest.
I reached for Ella's hand and brought it to my mouth, caressing her smooth knuckles with my lips. "There is nowhere in the system I'd rather be than next to you, Ella, but we don't have the time. Ingendia will be here soon."
Ella opened the eye that wasn't buried in my pillow. "What difference would that make?"
All the difference in the world if it meant my maid would witness my surrender.
Before I could answer Ella's question, before I could even contemplate it, the bedroom door slid open. Ingendia stepped into the room and froze. So did I. Only Ella moved, pushing herself up on her elbow. She looked over her shoulder at Ingendia.
"Well, so much for that," Ella said, brushing her tousled curls out of her eyes. "What happened to the chimes?"
"I don't use them in the morning, 'Tak," Ingendia said.
She looked from me to Ella and back. Her eyes lingered on Ella, moving over her body so slowly she could only have been searching for injury. Ingendia's suspicion was fair, but the wound to my pride was worse than my shame.
Ingendia walked to the balcony, pulling the drapes shut. "I will take her back down."
"No." I kicked my legs out of bed and stood. "You will not."
"I know how everyone in this house moves and when. I can get her through unseen." She moved closer to the bed, snatching Ella's discarded dress from the floor. "There isn't enough time to explain. Just get dressed."
"What?" Ella sat up. The top sheet slid down to her waist, exposing her bare breasts, bathing them in the same orange glow.
Ella's eyes blazed as she stared at Ingendia. She didn't move, not even to cover herself. "I'm not going anywhere or putting on anything until somebody tells me what's going on.”
Ingendia looked at me in confusion, then lowered her head. "You do not mean to cover it?"
"To add a lie would only compound the injury," I said.
Both women looked at me. Amber and azure eyes watched my every move, waited for me to break the silence. One waited for me to make things clear to her. The other waited for me to make my failure known.
I kneeled beside the bed, still clutching Ella's soft hand in mine. Never in all my days have I hated my rough hands so much. "Ella vin Earthkind, I will not add to my shame by claiming to regret what passed between us, but I have failed you. Speak the words that will make you whole and I will make them truth."
Her eyes searched mine. Pain welled in my gut, gathering into a raging ball of fire. Her victory over me was complete. There was only one way to make Ella whole, only one request that could give her back the life she had. Her freedom.
Ella's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about? You're not making any sense."
Ingendia stepped toward the bed. "They are the words of atonement for a warrior, Ella vin Earthkind. He can't answer you until you've answered him."
Her eyes scrunched in confusion then widened in defiance. "That is not my name, and I don't need to be made whole."
I stared at her in astonishment. "You've won, Ella. Claim your victory and go home
."
"Victory? Now, you really aren't making sense."
"Kai'ben made an oath to you," Ingendia said. "That you would not serve in his bed until you were 'Jan. He has broken that vow and so done you injury."
"I'm not trying to say he broke a vow! Do I look injured?"
"It is not for you to say, Ella vin Earthkind," Ingendia said. "That is not our way.”
Ella took my other hand and squeezed it between her fingers. "Zarbonov, this is ridiculous. You never said never."
"But you did, and I agreed to it." I kissed her knuckles again, memorizing the feel of her skin beneath mine.
She shook her head and looked away, wrinkling her nose the way she often did when puzzling through a situation. But she wasn't fighting to leave. No, she had been offered that prize twice and refused it. Ella fought to stay. In my room. In my bed. At my side.
The sands of Ella's confidence solidified before my eyes. Her spine straightened. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She looked up again, meeting my eyes with all the fire of her spirit. The last strips of the frightened woman I’d found in Carzon's auction house disappeared.
The woman that was left was fierce, undefeatable. She would never break or bend, not when her mate was at risk.
"Zarbonov vin Xarran says he has wronged me, Ingendia vin Hanlt, but I say he has not." Ella directed her words to Ingendia, but her eyes never left mine. "The night we met, at my insistence, he did promise I would not serve in his bed, but he never said when that would change."
"That doesn't excuse it," Ingendia said. "He may have done that on purpose to increase his positon."
"Not among the Xiban. On Earth, when a contract lacks clarity, it benefits the person who didn't write it." Ella shrugged. "What's an oath but a verbal contract?"
"Kai'ben does not know the ways of Earth well enough to know that, and you do not have byantin to teach him."
"That doesn't matter. I know them, so of course, I believed those were the terms. So, it doesn't matter what Zarbonov thought he was agreeing to. It matters what I thought he was agreeing to."