by Zoey Draven
Stella licked her lips and reached for her pants. Her cheeks burned a little as she slipped them up her legs and tied the nearly-broken laces tight. She snuck another look at Tavak. His eyes were still pinned on her and he was holding himself so incredibly still. He barely seemed to be breathing.
What the hell was going on with him?
Stella began to get a little irritated. A little angry. It might just be sex but Stella still expected to be treated like someone he actually gave a damn about.
But before she said something she thought she might regret later, she said instead, “I’ll go. Have a good day.”
This was not how she’d thought the morning would go.
She pulled open the front door, her nostrils beginning to sting.
“Stella,” came his grunt.
She was almost going to pretend she didn’t hear him but that would be childish and petty. She stepped out onto the terrace of the jivera tree and looked back at him over her shoulder.
“Right now. This…this isn’t about you, pax?” he rasped.
Her brow furrowed, confused by the words. What wasn’t about her?
“I—” He blew out a rough breath, closing his eyes briefly. “I might be away for a few days.”
“You’re leaving?” she asked, unable to keep her incredulous tone out of her words. She swallowed. “Is everything okay?”
“Pax,” he said, his voice still tight. “But I just thought you should know. So you don’t worry if I don’t come see you.”
Stella met his eyes, still frowning. But just like with everything else, Tavak had his secrets. He always had. And he’d never told her any of them, so why would this be any different?
“Okay,” she said softly, feeling a pang at the realization. Would he ever confide in her? Or would he hold her at arm’s length forever? “I’ll…I guess I’ll see you when you get back then.”
She waited for him to say something. Anything at all.
But when he didn’t, Stella sighed to herself and then pulled the door closed between them.
Tavak was so…hot and cold. One minute, he was teasing her about how much he wanted her in his bed. The next, it was like he didn’t want her around.
The real question Stella needed to ask was why she was allowing it.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Stella!” came a voice, bright and cheerful. Easy to hear too, though it was market day and the little alleyways between all the vendors were packed. Stella supposed it was the cooler day that had drawn so many Dumerians out.
Stella was lugging around her tote full of her food for the coming week. The purchase had nearly drained her entire pay from the previous week, but well, she had to eat, right? She’d felt hungrier the last few days as well, as if all the activity with Tavak had revved up her appetite.
For a brief, shameful moment, Stella debated pretending not hearing Valerie’s call. But that was cowardly, even if she didn’t really want to face any of Tavak’s friends right now, given the events of yesterday morning.
Ever since, Stella had gone over their brief exchange in her mind, over and over again. She was still hurt and confused by what he’d said. How he wouldn’t kiss her but also how he’d said that it wasn’t about her, whatever was going on with him.
Stella sighed, tugging her tote bag higher up her shoulder when it began to ache. She turned to face Valerie and saw the brunette weaving her way through the crowd to reach her. Stella veered off the pathway slightly, towards a quieter patch shaded by the roof of a tall home.
“Hi,” Valerie gasped out, smiling. “It’s so busy today, I couldn’t believe it!”
“I see you’ve been shopping,” Stella said, giving her a small smile in return, nodding to her arms, which were cradling jars of various seeds she’d no doubt purchased from the off-colony merchant that arrived for market days.
“Guilty,” Valerie said, flashing her a shameless grin, pushing hair off her cheek with her forearm since her hands were full. “Dravka indulges my little hobby though. And I’ve just started seeing some growth from tomato seeds. Can you believe it?”
Stella’s brows rose. “How on earth did you get tomato seeds?”
She remembered the fruit. The burst of sweet, tangy flavor on her tongue. It had been so long since she’d had a tomato, however.
“The merchant,” Valerie said. “He works miracles. And don’t tell anyone but I suspect he has inside connections at the New Earth colonies.”
Her wink put Stella at ease.
“Once they grow, if they grow,” Valerie started, shuffling the jars in her arms until Stella reached out to help her, “you’ll come over and we will have a tomato feast, okay?”
Stella laughed, relaxing. Whatever was going on with Tavak, Stella should treat her budding friendship with Valerie as separate, even though the two obviously had a history and knew one another well.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Truth be told, I’m surprised to see you here,” Valerie said after a brief moment of quiet passed between them.
Stella’s brow furrowed. “Why is that?”
Valerie blinked. Her lips pinched down slightly, like she was pondering something, or confused by something.
“I guess…I guess I just thought you’d be with Tavak,” was what she finally said.
Stella’s shoulders tensed up a bit, her previous ease slowly melting away. She licked her dry lips, shifting under the roof more when a shaft of sunlight speared into her eyes.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Stella asked quietly. “He told me he was going to be away for a few days. And not to worry about him. Even after how we left it.”
She hadn’t meant to let that last part slip but maybe Stella was still a little bitter about yesterday morning. A part of her couldn’t help but feel used. Because Tavak would tease her and kiss her and touch her like he couldn’t keep his hands off her…and yet, when the sex was done, he was detached and cold towards her. Like he got what he wanted but Stella didn’t get what she wanted, beyond the sex.
“Oh,” Valerie said, frowning, concerned. “Did you two have a fight?”
Stella shouldn’t have said anything. Tavak certainly wouldn’t want his friends to know about their private affairs.
“No,” she said, giving the brunette a small smile. “No, we didn’t. He was just…he was just being…”
“Tavak?” Valerie guessed, raising a brow.
Stella blew out a long sigh. “I don’t even know.”
Valerie went quiet, nibbling on her lip. Her eyes were watchful, however, and Stella should’ve been wary when she saw a spark light up the brunette’s gaze. Like she’d made a decision.
“Tavak’s not gone,” Valerie told her slowly.
“Then where is he?”
“Tell me what happened,” Valerie requested. “I think I know what’s going on.”
Stella debated spilling the details. But she was just so damn confused that if Valerie thought she had an answer, then Stella would risk it.
So Stella told her about yesterday morning. About how everything had seemed fine—wonderful, even—the night before and then how his mood had shifted so dramatically overnight. How he wouldn’t come near her. How he was short with her.
Stella’s heartbeat picked up a little when understanding dawning in Valerie’s gaze. The human woman nodded.
Then she said quietly, “Tavak’s in his Rut right now.”
All the breath blew from Stella’s lungs. Her mind flashed to her teatime with the two human women, to what she knew about the Keriv’is’ Ruts.
“He is?” she whispered.
Then her mind went to: chains.
Dread twisted in her stomach.
“Is he…”
“Dravka went over there yesterday to help secure him. With you so close, now that he’s been with you,” Valerie told her, raising her brows to emphasize her words, “he probably feared that he would hurt you.”
Stella’s eyes went past the brunette, to
the bustling marketplace behind her, reeling at the information.
“It’s barbaric,” she whispered. “The chains.”
“Tavak is used to it,” Valerie said, though something tainted her tone. Something like bitterness. “But like I said, they get much stronger during the Rut. He wanted Dravka to restrain him.”
Stella’s breaths were coming quick.
“So that was why…” She trailed off, meeting Valerie’s eyes again as realization crashed down on her. “He didn’t want to touch me yesterday because he feared he might hurt me?”
That was why he’d said that moment had nothing to do with her. Why he’d been acting so strange when the night before, he’d been so…passionate.
“His Rut was probably rising when you were there yesterday,” Valerie said, nodding. “It hadn’t crested yet but he probably wanted you far away from him when it did.”
“So he’s at home right now?”
Chained.
Suffering.
And I can ease him, she thought, the knowledge spearing through her with determination.
Valerie nodded. That was why she’d said she was surprised to see Stella at the marketplace. Because her friend had assumed she’d be with Tavak. Helping him through his Rut.
Stella released a long breath as she suddenly felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her chest. Tavak had been honest, his attitude yesterday truly had nothing to do with her. She felt foolish for thinking otherwise. And a little guilty for thinking so poorly of him. He’d thought he was protecting her and Stella had believed he was trying to push her away again.
“I want to be there for him,” Stella told Valerie quietly, her eyes meeting the brunette’s gaze. “What should I do?”
A slow smile slid over Valerie’s face. “What you already do, I suppose.”
Stella flushed.
Valerie nodded, her eyes determined. “But you may want to think about what you’re going to do with the bar. Because if he gets his hands on you, I don’t think he’ll let you go until it’s done.”
Stella’s belly fluttered and warmed at that. Tavak was already so consuming during sex. What would he be like during his Rut?
Valerie snapped her fingers. “On second thought, Dravka and I can run it for a couple nights. If you tell me what to do and where everything is.”
Stella’s lips parted. “You’d do that?”
“Of course,” Valerie says, reaching out to squeeze her forearm, though her precious seed jars clinked together dangerously. “What are friends for?”
Friends.
Stella felt longing go through her. Something in her chest wiggled and warmed at the sentiment.
Her smile was a little wobbly as she said, “If you’re sure.”
“Of course I am,” Valerie said.
The brunette nodded her head towards Reji’s, which lay unassuming and quiet at the far end of the road.
“Come on. Show me everything. I’m a quick study.” A sly smile crossed her face, followed by a wink. “And then you can go see to your male.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Stella’s hands were trembling.
Her mouth was dry.
Her skin was tingling.
But there was no denying the anticipation she felt as she pushed open the door to Tavak’s home. It felt like an intrusion, walking into his home alone, knowing he was chained to his bed.
There was a strange, wicked part of her, however, that was breathless at the thought too.
She heard him. In the back bedroom. She heard his groans, his rough breaths, even from the front door. She heard the jangling of metal on metal, and as Stella treaded gently over the floor, she wondered what she would find when she ducked across the threshold of his room.
Another moment and she found out.
Tavak growled.
“Stella.”
She was framed in the doorway and his eyes had fastened on her. She let out a shuddering sigh, perhaps even a whimper, as her gaze trailed over him.
He was naked. And he was in fact chained to the bed, his arms over his head, his wrists shackled in heavy, scratched, black metal she didn’t even recognize. The short length of the chain running from the shackles fastened to a bedpost, one of the heavy wood poles that jutted from the ground, marred and gouged already from the chains.
The chains jangled and went taut with tension as Tavak suddenly thrashed against them. For a moment, Stella felt fear. It wiggled up from her belly and lodged in her throat, especially when she saw a feral, almost animalistic look in Tavak’s eyes. He was utterly focused on her. Like a predator who had just selected its prey and would stop at nothing to have it.
When her feet brought her closer, he snapped, “Get away, Stella. Now.”
His words were at odds with his body, which was straining towards her. Even his weeping cock—so thick and engorged with his blood—was straining towards her. Her breath was lost as she gazed at it. He looked so aroused it seemed painful. It bobbed against his abdomen, making a mess on his belly, adding to the pool of pre-cum that was already shimmering there.
Oh my.
He was a feast for her eyes.
Laid out and wanting. Needing.
And he’s all mine, came the strange, sudden thought, one that made her eyes widen and heat pool in her belly.
Tavak’s nostrils flared and a short bellow rose from his throat, his teeth gnashing together, metal clanging. He smelled her. He smelled her arousal. And in the state he was in, Stella might’ve just rung the dinner bell.
“Stella,” he growled, his voice hardly recognizable. “Don’t.”
She stepped up to the bed. His body twisted towards her, his muscled thighs brushing her hand. At her touch, his whole body seemed to shudder. His eyes closed and she watched with parted lips and a throbbing clit as more pre-cum pushed from the slit of his cock.
Her own voice was throaty and rich when she rasped, “My poor male. You need release, don’t you? Desperately.”
He groaned, anguished and loud, at her words.
“And you thought to go through this alone?” she continued, running her fingers over her lips, deciding where to start when there were so many options.
“Didn’t want to scare you,” he grunted.
“You’ve never scared me. Even when you’ve tried to.”
He huffed, his chest heaving up and down. His eyes were bright on hers. Swirling madly. Wildly. A mesmerizing kaleidoscope of silver and gold.
“Leave,” he pleaded. “Don’t want to hurt you.”
At his words, her fingers went to her clothes, still a little dusty from her short afternoon at the marketplace. She pulled the hem of her tunic up, exposing her breasts to him—which made him growl and buck on the bed—before she dropped it on the floor.
“Stella,” he grated. “I won’t let you go if you do this.”
“So you’ll give me exactly what I want?” she teased, her hands going to her pants, tugging at the laces before pushing the material off her legs. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
He groaned, his nostrils flaring, even as his eyes roved over her. The look in his gaze was possessive. Needful. Consuming.
Disbelieving.
Like he couldn’t understand why she was doing this. Like he couldn’t understand why she’d want to be with him when he was in this state.
When she was naked, she brushed her hair over her shoulder so he could look at her nipples freely.
The chains jerked again, all the muscles in his body tensing, growing, as he tried to get to her. For a moment, Stella wondered if the bedpost would hold against his strength. She wondered if the chains would hold…and then wondered if she even wanted them to.
“Shall I release you?” she asked softly, standing naked next to the bed, gazing down over the sight he made. His hips jerked, fucking the air, his thighs tensing tight.
“Veki!” he bellowed immediately. Still fearful then. Did he really think he would hurt her?
Stella’s sex
clenched. She felt arousal drip down her thighs and her lips parted as she touched herself there, coating her finger with it.
This is powerful, she thought, watching him freeze. Watching his gaze zero in on her fingers, on her exposed pussy. Watching him watch her.
“So you want to be chained for this?” she asked, not sure how she felt about that.
There was a flash in his gaze. A darkness there that she hadn’t expected. He bared his teeth, feral and wild, as he rasped, “Pax.”
He…liked this?
He wanted this.
“Very well,” she whispered, drawing her fingers away from her sex, seeing them glisten, even in the dark room. The window was closed, the shade of the canopies blocking out most of the sunlight. There was a glow light in the corner, turning the room golden.
Stella offered her fingers to him and he immediately latched his mouth around them. Her lips parted, feeling him suck the arousal from her flesh, his tongue darting and laving. She felt every suck over her clit. It throbbed in response, a drum between her thighs, as her other hand drifted to his engorged cock.
His roar was muffled with her fingers between his lips but she felt it vibrate her hand. His hips bucked underneath her touch, those chains clanking loudly, as her grip tightened at the base. She couldn’t wrap her hand all the way around him but she dragged her fist up his length, hearing a rumbling begin in his chest.
She pulled her fingers from between his lips and he fought against the chains in protest. It was a humbling thing, to feel his strength and power underneath her hand. But there was no denying it. The Keriv’i were a strong, formidable race. And she had one by the cock, stroking him until he jerked and rumbled his pleasure to the ceiling.
Stella leaned down, keeping her grip tight on that massive cock, as she stole a kiss from him.
His lips met hers with a ferocity that surprised her. Devouring her like he was starved for her. Stella whimpered into his mouth, breathing deeply through her nostrils, as he stroked that wicked tongue between her lips. She tasted herself on that tongue.
She debated just languidly stroking his cock, teasing out an orgasm from him as she kissed him. But that wasn’t fair. Her male looked as if he’d been poised on the edge for days, and in some ways, that was true. Had he been like this since she’d left yesterday? If that was the case, she felt terrible.