by Zoey Draven
Yeah, right, she thought. The spaceship veered and the planet she’d just been taken off of came into view. It was a red planet, unlike anything she’d ever seen before.
Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore…
* * *
Vaxa’an’s headed to the command center. His warriors inclined their heads respectfully as he passed but then continued their duties. He felt the spaceship start to rev up and then came a smooth jolt, signaling that they’d disconnected from the power bay. Soon, they were in open space and off the planet surface of the Pit. He passed a large window looking out into the darkness of the galaxy they were in. He longed for his home planet, and he thanked the Fates that it would only take three spans to reach. Patience. He’d always had patience.
His mind flashed back to his female. He remembered the stale smell of fear radiating off her and it turned his stomach. He would never harm her in any way. No one would ever harm her again.
Vaxa’an strode into the command center. His crew greeted him, eyeing the blood of his kill on his chest. He’d forgotten that he needed to wash still. Was that why his female had been frightened? She should feel pride that her male had defeated an enemy.
“Kirov,” he said, addressing his technology advisor. “I need a language implant. Immediately.”
“Yes, Prime Leader,” Kirov said, a hint of an amused smirk on his lips. Kirov, like Lihvan, was like a blood brother to him. Vaxa’an would get shit from him later, most likely. “What language?”
“Human,” Vaxa’an replied, sliding into the chair as Kirov adjusted the laser points directly into his eyes. “The Krevorags must have uploaded their findings to the language terminal.”
Kirov turned from him and searched through his hologram database. “Which Earth language? According to the Krevorags’ findings, there are over six thousand languages currently active on the planet’s surface.”
Vaxa’an started in surprise. “Six thousand?”
“Over six thousand,” Kirov corrected.
Obviously, the humans were more advanced and more widely spread than Vaxa’an had given them credit for. On Luxiria, there were only three active languages, although one of them was the old language. Only the elders spoke it.
To have over six thousand languages implanted at one time could kill him. “Let me hear a sample of the top thirty languages.”
Kirov did as he commanded. Vaxa’an listened to clips of sound, trying to determine which language his human female spoke. She’d only said a few lines, but the words, and her pleasing voice, were imprinted into him, like a touch.
After the twelfth sampling, he finally found her native tongue. “Implant this language. What is it called?”
“This one is called ‘Ang-lash.’ Specifically attributed to a land called ‘Nur-th A-mira-ka.’” Vaxa’an filed that knowledge away. Kirov tapped on the hologram screen and code started to run. “Implanting in three, two, one.”
The laser fired up blue and lit up straight into his pupils. For a brief moment, Vaxa’an was blinded and the sudden pressure at the base of his neck made him grunt. Implanting a language was a stressor on his mind, but a necessary one. He’d only needed to do this a few times in his life, mostly for ambassador talks and trade alliances. Knowing his luxiva’s language was a top priority. He wanted to communicate with her, to calm her fears.
The whole process only took a few moments. When it was done, Vaxa’an shut his eyes, his temples throbbing, but he recovered quickly.
“Recite the Luxirian code in ‘Ang-lash,’” Kirov said. Vaxa’an shot him a look and his friend’s lips twitched, his head tilting down. “Prime Leader.”
Nevertheless, Vaxa’an recited it, trying to differentiate in his mind the tangled web of this ‘Ang-lish,’ combing through the other threads of languages he’d already had implanted. Without practice, they tended to become one jumbled mess in his mind. Now, he knew her language was called ‘English,’ but it would be difficult for Luxirians to pronounce the word properly.
He tried out the strange new words, speaking the code most young Luxirians learned from the moment they entered military training, about Luxirian pride, brotherhood, and defending their planet.
Kirov looked pleased. “I didn’t understand a word. But it matched the sample the Krevorags uploaded. Hard to say how effective it is until you use it on your luxiva.”
Vaxa’an stood from the chair, pushing away the laser. “I see Lihvan has a bigger mouth than I thought.”
Kirov rolled his shoulders back, unapologetic. “You came here for a Breeder. You left with a human luxiva. Word will get out at home. More males will want to fight in the Pit now that there is…possibility.”
Vaxa’an had known that would be the case from the moment he’d realized the implications of a human mate. “And you, my friend? Will you also fight?”
Kirov met his eyes and Vaxa’an saw his answer before he spoke. “Yes. Perhaps in every fight at the Pit until my Instinct finds a suitable Breeder. Maybe I will not be so lucky as to find my luxiva, as you have, but at least I could continue my father’s line with offspring.”
Vaxa’an clasped his shoulder. “I wish that for you.”
Inclining his head once more, Kirov said, “Thank you, friend.”
Vaxa’an stepped away, turning towards the door, aware of his crew on the command deck. He was impatient to return to his female, to communicate with her. Before he left, he said to Kirov, “I want everyone on board implanted. Make sure it’s done by the time we reach Luxiria.”
“Yes, Prime Leader.”
FOUR
Vaxa’an entered his quarters, anticipation tightening his body. At once, he was struck by his female’s soft scent. His fists clenched at his sides, his cock hardening impossibly quickly. It made his thighs tremble and contract.
Her wide, strange green eyes greeted him as he stepped inside the room, the door whirring shut behind him before locking. She was sitting on the edge of his sleeping platform, still clutching the furs around her soft, curvy body. A grumbling sound vibrated in his chest. It was the way he imagined she’d look after a good, thorough mating, one he intended to give her soon. Very soon. Once the Fates blessed their union, he’d take her.
The Instinct purred inside him, quickening his blood, preparing his body to mate. But Vaxa’an knew he needed to calm his female. She’d been frightened before he left her and that knowledge didn’t sit well with him.
He was eager to speak with her, to find out whether the language implant was accurate enough to communicate. The Krevorags weren’t known for their thoroughness. Vaxa’an counted his blessings that the language had been uploaded at all.
“What are you called, female?” he asked, his mouth forming syllables and sounds that were foreign to him.
His female’s soft mouth parted and he felt a surge of heat light up his already coursing blood. He took a step towards her unconsciously, his Instinct pushing him to be as near as possible.
“You—you,” she started, her eyes darting to the closed door behind him. “You know English? How…”
“I had your mother tongue implanted. I will be able to communicate to you from now on, as will my crew.”
Vaxa’an took another step closer and she sprung up off his—now their—sleeping platform and flattened herself against the wall. His furs completely swamped her body, but Vaxa’an watched the outline of her generous breasts heave against the warm material.
Vaxa’an’s mouth flattened into a frown, but he made an effort to soften his voice, approaching her like she was a skittish privixi. Her body emitted a pleasant heat, like the twin stars of his Luxiria, warming him. He resisted the urge, the need, to press his skin against hers, to mark her with his scent so all other males would know she was his and his alone.
“Do not fear me, female,” he soothed, his hands reaching out slowly to her bare arms. Her small fists were white, clutching the blanket to her breasts. The moment his fingertips brushed her skin, he groaned, h
is lids sliding shut at the pleasure of it, the simplicity and rightness of touching his luxiva. She grew startled, jumping, preparing to bolt away from him.
His Instinct reacted quickly.
Vaxa’an clutched her to him, growling, and she struggled against him. Too late, he sensed the fear coming off her. He’d scared her. Again.
“Be still, luxiva,” he said softly, at war with his Instinct. The Instinct wanted to make her submit to him, to push her down on the bed and thoroughly claim his mate, the Fates be damned. Vaxa’an wanted to see her face scrunched up in pleasure, wanted to release himself deep inside her and fill her to the brim with his seed. “I will not harm you.”
She continued to struggle, pushing at his chest. Once more, he realized how tiny, how fragile, she was. He could subdue her with one hand and little effort.
But she did not give in and a part of him rejoiced that she was stubborn and determined to get away.
“My little fighter,” he purred, feeling a well of pride. He searched for the right word in her language. “I promise on my honor I will not harm you.”
“Aren’t I your sex slave now?” she hissed, terror and anger creating a strange glint in her eyes he did not like. “Isn’t that why you fought in that place?”
“Sex slave?” he asked, brows furrowing. Her words translated into similar ones in his own language. Sex slave? The idea did have some appeal. Vaxa’an imagined her willing and enthusiastic for all of his advances. He imagined fucking her whenever he wanted, however he wanted. But ‘sex slave’ implied submission. And while his Instinct liked the idea of a submissive Breeder, Vaxa’an vastly preferred a mate that kept him guessing. “Where did you learn this?”
She pushed against him harder. Vaxa’an quickly grew distracted when her grip on the furs loosened and her large, firm, rounded breasts popped out. Her nipples were a dusky pink and his mouth watered looking at them, wanting to suck the beaded tips into his mouth and never let go. Back in the Pit, he’d seen her entire body and he would never grow tired of looking at her. His cock throbbed in agreement.
“Luxiva, you will not be my sex slave. You will be much more.”
She stilled for a brief moment. “What does that mean?” He wondered briefly if the language implant didn’t translate properly. He was just about to ask, but then she cried out, “I just want to go home. Please, just take me home.”
Vaxa’an clenched his jaw, his teeth clicking together. For all of his pride, it hadn’t occurred to him that she would want to leave him. Did she not realize that she was his luxiva? She was more than a Breeder. She was his life long mate. They would be blood bonded, if the Fates blessed them. She would bear him offspring. They would form a family unit. She would rule over an entire species with him.
“You wish to leave me?” he asked, still incredulous.
“I don’t know you,” she exclaimed, her eyes brightening in the way they had before the strange liquid had leaked from them earlier. Her struggles ceased. “I woke up, chained and naked, on a strange planet. Do you realize that where I’m from, aliens are just science fiction? They’re not real! Or at least no one had discovered them yet. I-I have no idea what’s happening. I have no idea why I was kidnapped from my home and taken to that awful place where you…where I saw you murder that alien.”
Vaxa’an’s temples throbbed, trying to keep up with her fast words and process them at the same time. Aliens? That was her word for him, for every strange being she’d encountered so far. Yes, he’d known that Earth was a relatively new discovery, but he thought the planet would’ve at least been aware of other species by now.
His chest tightened when he realized how stressful, how terrifying this must be for her. He wanted to shield and protect her from it, but she must know that he would never let her go.
“Murder?” he asked, his brow bones pinching together, the scales on his forearms bristling at the idea. ‘Murder’ was one of the worst crimes a human could commit on her planet. But he wasn’t human. There was no honor in murder. “Every ‘alien’ that enters into the Pit knows there is risk. It is sacrifice. I would take that Nusseer’s life over and over again if it meant I had you. You should feel proud to have such a strong male. I can protect you.”
“That’s crazy! You killed him and then you kidnapped me as your—as your prize! I’m nothing more than a possession to you, aren’t I?” she snapped, her bottom lip trembling slightly.
Vaxa’an growled, pulling her against him more. He’d be lying if he said her fight didn’t arouse him. His cock wept, some of his opalescent seed escaping the tip.
“You are my mate,” he rasped. “And I will be yours. I am as much your possession as you are mine.”
“I don’t understand,” she said, shaking her head, blinking her eyes. “I don’t want to be anyone’s mate. Please, just take me home. This has all been some horrible, horrible mistake.”
“There is no mistake, luxiva,” he said, trying to soften his tone once more. It would take time for her to accept, like every thing that was special. It was wrong of him to think otherwise. She needed time to adjust. “I know. I feel it inside.” He beat his chest twice and then asked, “Do you?”
* * *
“Do I…” Kate trailed off, on the verge of hysterical, crazy laughter. Because for a moment, she was tempted to say ‘yes.’ But that was crazy. It was almost crazier than this silver/gold scaled alien standing in front of her, claiming that she was his mate and that he would kill for her. He had killed for her.
That knowledge should scare her. It should send her screaming, pounding on the walls of the spaceship until she found a way out.
For some reason—some deep, dark reason that she would discuss with her soon-to-be-hired therapist the moment she returned to Earth—that knowledge…aroused her? On a biological level, the evidence of his strength, of his need to claim her as his, was electrifying.
Kate swallowed the lump in her throat. His body was cool against her own, but he grew warmer with every second that passed. Cool air brushed the tips of her nipples and she gasped, suddenly realizing that her blanket had fallen, and she scrambled to cover herself.
“Leave it,” he growled, a strange purring sound coming from his throat and chest. He ripped the blanket from her, ignoring her cry of surprise, and tossed it back onto the bed. His eyes scanned her body and she fought to urge to shrink away, to cover herself. She was highly aware that his skin was inches away from hers. The hairs on her arms stood on end, but she wasn’t sure if it was because she wanted to escape…or if she wanted him to touch her. “We need to wash.”
She blinked the haze from her eyes and suddenly remembered the dried blood from where she’d struggled with him in the arena, after she’d bit him. The blood still coated his chest, from where he’d marked himself. She still remembered the determined, victorious, somewhat smug expression on his strange features as he’d painted himself, staring straight at her. Perhaps in his culture, covering oneself in an enemies’ blood was flirting.
Unbelievably, she felt a soft throbbing between her thighs and she gasped, wondering how she could be aroused by that.
The alien’s nostrils flared. The purring intensified. His grip on her shoulders tightened, just slightly and he dipped his head towards her, rasping, “My female wants to mate?”
“W-what?” she breathed, eyes widening in embarrassment and shock.
“I can smell your cunt,” he said, almost matter-of-factly. Kate’s mouth dropped at the same moment she felt her clit throb in response to his crude words. “You are aroused for your male. You wish to mate.”
She made a strangled sound in the back of her throat, her cheeks flaming hot. The alien cocked his head to the side, eyeing her reaction and she burst out, “I do not!”
“You do,” he countered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His pupils dilated, his odd irises flashing a light gold. Like a kaleidoscope, the golden color spread slowly through his irises, expanding until retracting. “You smell
delicious, luxiva. I wish to lick your cunt. Will you let me?”
She sucked in a breath, at a loss for words. As if her body was detached from her brain, her pussy gave a gush of wetness. Hell, back on Earth, her sex life had been comprised mostly of the missionary position with a string of boyfriends since her late teens. She couldn’t get one to lick her pussy even if she begged. This alien was asking.
“M-maybe later,” she stammered, wondering what the hell was happening with her. She’d just been kidnapped by aliens and currently on a spaceship heading to who knows where, with an alien claiming that they were mates, whatever that meant!
The alien gave a short jerk of his head and she figured it was his version of a nod. “Later.”
And then he swung her naked self up into his arms. She scrambled to hold onto his neck, fearing that he would drop her, but his hold was secure and steady, as if she was lighter than air and not a size 14 back on her planet.
“For now,” he rumbled, carrying her towards the bathroom she’d peeked inside earlier, “we will wash.”
FIVE
Kate had had out-of-body experiences before. Like in college, walking up to the front of a lecture hall to give a presentation in front of 120 students. Or walking into an interview for her dream job at Wilson & Red Publishing. Or when her boyfriend of four years told her he’d met someone else and that he needed her to move out of the apartment they’d shared together.
She was having another one of those moments now as she watched a seven-foot tall alien touch the silver pad next the shower stall, turning on a cascade of hot water that poured from the ceiling. He then promptly stripped off his clothing. His chest had already been bare, but he made short work of his leather-like pants. He bent his long form down, unbelievably flexible for someone of his massive size, to peel them off his thighs. When he straightened, Kate’s lips parted and she whispered, “Oh my God.”