by Luna Hunter
I have to suppress a grin by biting down on my tongue. I’ve been preparing those documents for weeks, agonizing over every sentence, painstakingly crafting the ultimate letter that would be perfect for the Zorans… and they didn’t even read it!
“Allow me,” I say as I stand up. “I’ll be brief. The human Federation wants to apply for membership to the Intergalactic Alliance. This must be done in person, and we don’t possess the drive technology to reach their headquarters, which is currently stationed at Xia V, in a feasible timeframe. That is why we’re formally requesting transport aboard a Zoran vessel to Xia V for a joint-diplomatic mission. According to our sources, the Zorans also want to tighten their relations with the Intergalactic Alliance. This way, we could achieve our goals together.”
Thabo rises from his seat, his brow furrowed. Did I offend the proud warrior? “The Alliance?” he scowls. “We don’t need them. This is pointless.”
He heads for the door, and I find courage I didn’t know I had.
“With all due respect, General Thabo, is that your call to make?”
The red Zoran freezes in place, his autumn leaves colored eyes turning to me. There’s a hint of a smile in them, and I decide to push my luck.
“I think your king will be very interested in our offer.”
“You have guts, human female,” he says. “Very well. I will pass your futile request on to my king.”
The warrior storms out, and we all breathe a collective sigh of relief. I’m not sure if that went horrible or surprisingly well, all things considered.
“That was amazing!” Michelle crows, throwing her arms around me. “Ohmygosh, did you see the way he looked at you?”
“Don’t remind me.” It still sends shivers down my spines… and a jolt of electricity straight to my…
Captain Simopoulos has a broad smile on his pudgy face. “You really shined under pressure there, kid.”
DuPont just nods, stiffly. Coming from him, that’s about the same as a fatherly hug.
“Thanks. I just did my best.”
“Let’s hope it was enough,” my boss answers.
I’m just glad it’s over. Thabo is gone, and now I can go back to Earth, get some firm ground back under my feet, and try to forget all about the tall, brooding, hunk of an alien.
The warmth in my lap tells me it won’t be that simple to forget those radiant eyes…
2
Thabo
It feels good to be back on my own ship, the Scythe. It’s one of the fastest, nimblest ship in the entire Zoran fleet, and my personal pride and joy. It can house a squadron of soldiers, but I was taking it out for a spin by myself when I got the order from command to visit Earth. Apparently, I was the nearest Zoran vessel, and the request was deemed urgent enough. Ambassador Tyr is visiting Exon Prime for the wedding between General Koryn and Kelly, so I got stuck having to deal with the humans.
I was piloting my ship through an asteroid field to get the adrenaline pumping when I got the message. I could use some of that distraction right about now.
Damn humans and their futile requests. The Intergalactic Alliance? What are they thinking? They’re already allies with us, the Zorans, the strongest force in the entire known universe, and all because our king mated with a human. They don’t need anyone else.
Certainly not that limp, rag-tag collection of aliens that call themselves the Alliance. I’m certain the only reason they formed is because they all fear the Zoran armada. And now the humans want us to fly them over to Xia V, like some glorified cab-drivers? Fuck that.
I’ll pass the message on to my king as a courtesy, but then I’m getting the hell out of here. I send a video-message to Exon Prime, our homeworld, and then strip off my armor.
I step under the jets of my shower, letting the stench of the human station wash away. The human station was too cramped, too warm, too bright. Their senses are lacking as much as their technology. What could they even offer the Alliance if they haven’t even developed faster-than-light travel yet? Hell, what are they even offering us Zorans?
Except for their shapely women, of course.
Riley Harper. That was her name. Every time I close my eyes, I see her curvy frame in front of me. Her thick, brown curls cascaded down her shoulders, framing her sweet, plump tits that strained against the fabric of her dress.
And she has no mate. Unbelievable. I’ve heard that humans mating rituals are beyond bizarre, and this proves it. On Exon Prime, men would literally fight over such a prize.
My hand slides down, my fingers wrapping themselves around my hard member. Fuck, I can’t get her out of my mind. Those hazelnut eyes of her begged me to mate with her right there in the hallway.
The moment I had that perfectly slappable ass in my hands my cock was on fire. She got an eyeful, and the blush on her cheeks told me she’s more than interested in finding out what is underneath my armor.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from me. Oh, she tried, but they kept coming back. Her cheeks were flushed so red her skin matched mine, and I could see her nipples poking through the thin dress she was wearing…
I loved teasing her. I didn’t care for those two old humans with their pointless demands, I only had eyes for her.
And she’s the one to step up and make demands of the Zoran? And more than that, call into question my position? My status?
With all due respect, General Thabo, is that your call to make?
General Thabo. I love the way she said my name. I hear her words in my head as I stroke myself, my hands moving so fast they become a blur. I’m going to make her scream out my name the next time I see her…
Fuck, what’s wrong with me?
I’ve never felt like this, this hungry, this need to be inside her. My kind mates for life, and I never envisioned myself mating with a human before.
Could it be… have I found my life-mate?
No, impossible! It’s just the stress from this mission, from having to play diplomat, while I’m a warrior at heart.
Still, I can’t shake the visions of Riley Harper. Her thick thighs could slide perfectly around my powerful waist. Her round, plump tits would feel excellent in my large hands. And her wet cunt would fit perfectly around my large, throbbing cock.
It pulses in my hand, all ten inches of it, eager to spit fire at the thought of Riley writhing underneath me.
Fuck, human.
I’m going to make you mine.
No matter where – my ship, yours, in front of the entire planet, I don’t care. No matter what your boss thinks, or my king. I’m going to sink my teeth into you, slide every last inch of my fire-red pole into you until you scream my name in ecstasy.
Riley Harper, I’m going to fuck you until you’re pregnant.
I come with a mighty roar, one hand resting against the wall for support as the other milks my cock dry. My eyes are shut tight, and all I see is Riley’s curvy frame, naked and waiting.
Begging for release. Those hazelnut eyes of hers dripping with lust, those hot lips of her slightly parted as she moans, just for me.
I come like a damned fountain, covering myself in my hot seed. It drips down my fingers, the jets of the shower washing the evidence of my lust away. I rest my back against the wall, my taut chest heaving with every breath.
Next time, Riley, I won’t waste my nut… next time, I’m coming inside you.
Fuck. I turn the shower’s lever to cold and let the ice-water clear my lustful thoughts.
Forget mating. Forget about Riley. Forget about the humans.
Any moment now I’ll get the call from command to deny the humans their pitiful request and I’ll be back on my way to Exon Prime in no time…
I towel myself dry and slip back into my armor. I prefer being naked when I’m alone on my ship, but command could call in at any moment. Holographically. I don’t want my perfect figure to be a distraction.
I took a shower in an attempt to relax, but now I feel even more restless than before. It did n
othing to quench my thirst – in fact, I want Riley even more now that I pictured her in the throes of passion.
I need a drink. Perhaps some mint quality cuhla can get my mind off the shapely, curvy human. I pour myself a glass of the spicy, jet-black drink and knock it back. It goes down smoothly, the alcohol heating up my insides. A relaxing glow fills me…
But it does nothing to take my mind off the female. Already my armor is struggling to contain my massive bulge as the drink triggers the memory of her scent. I’ve never smelled something so sweet, so alluring as her before.
I sit down in my captain’s chair and pull her personal file from the human’s database. We have unfettered access to the human’s information – their encryption is as underdeveloped as their engines. I scour the data, looking for…
I don’t know what I’m looking for. I’ll know it when I see it.
Riley Harper. Her smile beams at me, filling my stomach with an unfamiliar, fluttering feeling. Those freckles on her nose, those dimples in her cheeks… I quickly scroll down, growling angrily at myself.
I see she’s a graduate of the University of Washington in Intergalactic Politics. Cum laude.
Smart girl.
Wrote her thesis on… the telepathic communication methods of the Tyk’ix?
Why would she be interested in those purple-skinned, tentacle-mouthed creeps? Makes sense why she’s interested in the Intergalactic Alliance though – they’re one of the founding members. Still a bunch of untrustworthy octopuses as far as I’m concerned.
My com buzzes. Call incoming. Right on time take my mind off Riley. Now central command can give me the okay to clear out, and I can forget all about the curvy human female, with her round hips and brown curls. I accept the call.
Instantly, the holographic vision of my king fills the room. I’m surprised he’s taking this call himself; I figured this wasn’t important enough for a man of his stature. I snap to attention.
“At ease,” King Vinz answers.
I sit back down, my hands gripping the sides of my chair tightly. Surely he won’t tell me he’s seriously considering the human’s demands…
“I received your message,” he says curtly. His silver presence fills the room, his radiant eyes staring me down. My frame matches his beat-for-beat, yet he still seems to tower over me.
It’s why he is king. Not too long ago Vinz was a General like myself, but with the help of a human female he exposed the High Command for the traitors they were. Now, he has taken command. I couldn’t think of a Zoran better suited for the job – but right now, I have the sinking feeling he’s about to give me an order I can’t agree with.
I nod and wait for him to speak again.
“I gather from your message that you don’t think too highly of the human’s proposal.”
“Permission to speak freely, sir?”
Vinz nods. “Permission granted, Thabo. Speak your mind.”
“You are right. It’s not a proposal, it’s a demand,” I say. “Why would we help the humans? They have nothing to offer us.”
“Yes,” Vinz answers, a wry smile on his silver face. “Why would we help anyone? Why do we not enslave the entire universe? Why do we not prove to everyone that their worst fears are in fact correct, that we are nothing but bloodthirsty marauders, who’ve come to pillage their lands?”
“Sir,” I growl. “That is not what I said.”
“It’s not?” Vinz answers. His brilliant, clear-blue eyes are as cold as ice.
I’m losing this argument.
“It’s not,” I say again. “The Intergalactic Alliance has nothing to offer us. Right now, the humans are dependent on us. I don’t see why we would help the humans achieve independence. It could only…”
I stop talking when I see my king’s face. It’s like granite, unmoving, and his icy eyes stare me down.
“I’ve heard words like that before,” he says. “From the High Command.”
I match his intense gaze, not backing down in the slightest. The implication of treachery is not lost on me, and it fuels an anger inside of me. I feel it rising to the surface, my skin prickling, my fingers gripping my seat tightly. I bite my tongue to keep from digging my own grave.
“It’s a new dawn for the Zoran people, Thabo,” Vinz says. “We’re no longer isolating ourselves. We should open ourselves up to the universe, and this is an excellent opportunity. For us, and for you.”
“What do you mean?” I growl.
“Tell the humans we’re accepting their proposal. You will escort the humans to Xia V, and you will leave as soon as you are able.”
My blood boils, and it takes all my strength to stop myself from lashing out. “With all due respect,” I say with as much self-control as I can, “I think you’re making a mistake.”
My king smiles at me. “By making you a diplomat? Perhaps,” he says. “But spending time with the humans is the only way you’ll learn to see their value. If you do not approve of my decisions, then I can’t have you leading a Zoran fleet.”
Once again my king threatens my command. Perhaps his human mate has affected his judgement more than I imagined… I bite my tongue and taste blood. If I tell him this, he’ll strip me off my rank for sure.
“What about my fleet?” I ask. “I can’t lead them when I’m chaperoning humans.”
“Don’t worry about it,” my king answers. “It’ll still be here when you return.”
His clear-blue eyes do not waver. As a warrior, I know when retreat is the best option. I will live to fight another day.
“As you command,” I say.
“Good,” King Vinz says. “Very good. You will be officially representing the entire Zoran people before the Intergalactic Alliance, Thabo. I don’t think I have to stress how important it is for you to make a good impression.”
“I understand fully, sir.”
He nods. “Excellent. Good luck.”
“Thank you, sir,” I say through my clenched teeth.
A moment later the feeds cuts out, and I’m left alone in my dark command center, fuming with rage. My jaw hurts from being wound up so tightly – backing down from a fight is not in my nature. It’s what makes me such an excellent warrior.
I only got a handle on myself just in time.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to exert that level of self-control with Riley around…
Taking the humans to Xia V means I’ll be spending a lot more time with her. I’ll be forced to watch her hips sway as she walks, to drink in her intoxicating scent, to hear her gentle-yet-fierce voice scold me again if I don’t dance to her tune.
“Is that your call to make?”
I still see her brown eyes staring me down so defiantly every time I blink. How dare she talk to me like that. I’ll show her what’s my call to make!
I’ll drag her to my quarters, tie her up with her hands above her head and fuck her senseless, all the way to Xia V and back again.
Get a grip, Thabo.
I scold myself, smashing my empty glass against the wall. The humans have yet to board my ship, and already they’re making me lose my mind. I rub my temples, yet the throbbing in every part of my body won’t subside.
Controlling my urges for a whole week with the human female around? For the first time in my life I may have found a fight I can’t win.
3
Riley
“He was so tall, it was almost unbelievable! And his skin! Like a red velvet cake. God, what I wouldn’t give to lick it,” Michelle laughs into her wrist-com. “I wonder how he tastes.”
My colleague has been video-chatting with her sister for the past twenty minutes, her expensive heels propped up on her desk while I’m left doing all the real work. DuPont expects the notes from the meeting on his desk as soon as possible, so I’m busting my ass while Michelle hasn’t even finished describing what an amazing hunk Thabo is. It’s getting on my very last nerves.
I mean, yeah. Sure. He’s handsome, I’ll give him that.
; Plus he commands attention. Not just from his impressive posture, but from his demanding stare as well. He has a way of looking at you like you’re naked, his sunset-colored eyes making your skin heat up, until all your clothes feel suffocating and you just want to tear them all off and…
Ahem. Like I said, he’s certainly something.
But the perfect Adonis that Michelle is describing? A god-given hunk that’ll sweep you off your feet and carry you across the doorstep? No.
He’s an arrogant warrior.
One who feels he’s above humans – and me in particular. I saw the way he looked at me, how his autumn-leaves colored eyes scanned every inch of my body, eye-fucking me across the room.
That is not how I imagined my first diplomatic meeting would be like. I thought it would be a dignified, stately affair, with real champagne, that would further the cause of mankind. Make the world a better place. All that jazz.
Instead I feel like I have to take a hot, long shower to wash that Zoran’s dirty smirk off of me. When I called him out, I feared for a split second he’d throw me up against the wall and have his way with me, right there and then.
What worries me most is the small voice in the back of my head that’s disappointed that didn’t happen.
Focus!
I redouble my typing efforts, doing my best to focus on the political and diplomatic implications of travelling with the Zoran for mankind as a whole, as opposed to the personal implications for me, if I were to spend a whole week on Thabo’s ship, having to face that broad-chested Zoran every time I turned around…
“And the Zoran’s voice!” Michelle continues blabbing into her com. “It’s so low, and rich. Like… chocolate! Don’t laugh at me, I don’t know what chocolate sounds like, but it’s like his voice!”
How many attributes can she sum up? There’s only so many. Plus she hasn’t even gotten to the big one yet.
I see it every time I close my eyes and try to block out Michelle’s yapping. That immense bulge, straining against his thin armor. The obsidian material hugged every single particle of his body perfectly, as if it were poured onto his broad frame.