The Aurelian gave her a look of long-suffering, but then he nodded. “Very well. Armond, stand down. You have my word as an Aurelian that we will not try to prevent your winning.”
“And my word as a Tygean,” Mia added, placing the box on the podium and backing up.
“We won’t forget this,” Vin said. “Thank you.”
The pair spun, and left them alone in the star-filled space.
“Looks like you managed to pull it off,” Marty appeared next to them. He wore an over-the-top deep-blue formal get up that was covered in sequins. “I suggest you activate your breathers.”
To their right, Galaxy Riders rose into view, it’s airlock open and waiting.
They activated the collars, breathing the slightly metallic tasting air.
Vin took the box and they walked over to their ship. An odd pressure squeezed them as they passed from the platform into the airlock.
Armond closed the outer door, and they were back on board.
“We did it.” The reality was sweeter than any delicacy Vin had ever tasted. The blue lines of her desire were writ large on her skin. “I am so turned on right now.”
Armond laughed, and blasted her with his own desire. It was nearly enough to send her over the edge. “You store the box,” he said. “I’ll get us heading back to Primeara. I need to be inside you.”
That didn’t require a response. Vin headed for the galley and added the last prize to the cabinet with the others.
Armond met her in the hallway and backed her up against the bulkhead. He reached for her shirt and had it over her head in no time. Using his psi, he lifted her, removed her boots, socks and pants in seconds. The psi connection was intense and so damn good she rode an orgasm before he touched her again.
He set her down long enough to lose his clothes. Rock hard and pure perfection, he lifted her again and pinned her against the wall.
She sucked in a breath as the cool surface pressed against her back. Wrapping her legs around Armond, she savored the contrast of cold steel and the hard heat of the man before her.
“Are you ready for the rest of our lives?” He probed her slick entrance, teasingly. He had her pinned with his psi and every cell of her body was a pleasure point.
She hooked her ankles behind his back and pulled him home. A moan escaped her lips at the exquisite sensation. “I will always be ready for this. For you.”
The only sound that followed was that of the sweet slapping as he pounded into her. She rode the tension as it built, the rising crescendo a manifestation of pure perfection.
He captured her cry of pleasure with a demanding kiss as he found his own release.
She held herself pressed against him as he pulsed inside and their heartbeats slowly returned to normal.
“Oh, bravo!” Marty stood behind them and clapped theatrically. “That was spectacular. And may I just say, you have the finest ass this side of Omega Prime.”
Armond buried his face in her neck. “I forgot the damn feeds.”
Vin laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m going to keep this one for our own use. Maybe make a few more to go with it after this fiasco is done. Besides, Marty’s right.”
“This must never be seen in my galaxy. Marco Dar would be an even more insufferable ass.”
Vin gently bit his neck and smiled into those clear blues. “We seem to be having an ass fixation.”
His laughter was the perfect end to the perfect beginning.
Back on Primeara, they were ready for the final ceremony. The weather was warm and breezy, the outside event hosted on a rooftop.
They stepped out of the transport provided by Octiron.
“Strange-looking building,” Vin said. It was extremely tall, and decorated with oddly-placed geometric shapes.
“Reminds me of an architectural style on Earth called Art Deco,” Armond said. “I’ll show you soon.”
They rode an external elevator to the top, which framed stunning views of the city. The rooftop was sublime. A cool breeze and clear sky provided the perfect setting, and the media was out in full force. There was also a generous spattering of previous contestants and winners.
The multi-colored orbs hovered above the gathering as they had during the pre-departure event. Vin wondered where she could purchase the lights. Smaller, of course, but they’d make a beautiful addition to any entertaining space.
Suede Harrington was in full swing, making the rounds and talking to contestants present and past. The media vidbots followed him in a swarm. He was in his element, and puffed up like a Trinathian cock surrounded by his females. In effect he was, with the blondes not far behind, chatting with anyone and everyone who came near.
A flash of blue light lit up the night sky in the distance. “What was that?” Armond asked.
“Probably an electrical storm,” Vin said. “They’re quite common here. Beautiful, but you don’t want to be too close to one.”
“We had similar phenomena on my home planet of Sandaria,” Armond said. “They’re seasonal, arriving every summer, with swirling purple and green clouds. Also potentially deadly.”
“That sounds nice,” Vin said. “Any chance of seeing it someday?”
“Sadly, not for another forty years.”
“Why?”
A heavy feeling of sadness settled on their bond. “A portal master named Gordat Prayda was driven to desperate measures during the fall of the Sandarian Empire. In an attempt to maintain control over the Gateway Keeper, he released a toxin on the planet. One which will remain for a fifty-year time span. Sandaria is under quarantine.”
“Survivors?”
“Yes, but no way of extracting them safely. The toxin can survive space, and is extremely contagious. The survivors are living in bio-domes that were created using psi. An entire generation will know nothing but that existence.”
“Wow. Hard to imagine.”
After an eternally long fifteen minutes, Suede finally made his way to them. “And here we have our winning couple!”
Media vidbots swarmed around them, jostling into their assigned positions, creating a wall behind Suede. “And how are our lovebirds on this stellar evening?”
“Alive,” Vin said.
Suede roared with laughter. “That is a fine thing, is it not, everyone?” He scanned the crowd that surrounded them, and the revelers joined in with jovial hollers. Mostly about Armond’s back end.
“I wish he'd just get on with it so we could get it on.” Vin placed her hand on the slight bulge in his pants. The crowd went wild.
Armond blasted her with an orgasm-producing wave of psi, and she moaned just as a vidbot whizzed by.
“Something you two want to share?” Suede was inches from Vin’s face.
Armond gave him a shove with psi and the man stepped back, startled. “Easy, hot stuff.” He barked out a laugh, and continued through the crowd.
Vin smiled and sighed contentedly. “Thanks for taking the edge off.”
Armond winked at her. “My pleasure.”
“I can’t wait to see what our prize is,” Vin said to Armond. “One winning couple got the title to a resort moon! How cool would it be to own your own moon?”
“I don’t need a moon when I have you.”
“Awww.” She placed her hand on his cheek and blasted a wave of desire through their bond.
Over at the dessert station, Chef Paul had once again outdone himself. An edible star system spanned the table. Suns and planets were made up of bite-sized balls that spun and sparkled. The suns white or yellow, with the planets and moons a dizzying array of ethereal beauty.
Vin plucked a ball from a nearby planet and marveled at its delicacy. It looked as though it was filled with swirling glistening smoke. When she bit into it, a puff of aroma burst forth. The confection melted on her tongue and she moaned with delight. “You have to try one.”
Armond leaned over and kissed her hard, sweeping his tongue across hers. “Heavenly.”
Vin burst out laughing.
“Never had anyone steal food from my mouth before.”
“I’m looking forward to a great number of firsts with you.”
Suede’s voice boomed across the gathering. “And now for the moment we’ve been waiting for. Can we please have our winning couple on stage!”
“It’s about time,” Armond said.
Vin grabbed a tiny moon, and they made their way to Suede. The lightning storm to the east was gaining momentum. “Good timing. I’m not liking the looks of that.”
They stepped onto the stage and stood where the blondes indicated.
“Always a bittersweet moment when it comes time to say farewell to our contestants,” Suede said. “And I’m sure you will all agree, this season did not disappoint! Now, I want to thank our sponsors.”
Armond scowled and cursed under his breath.
“Almost there,” Vin said as Suede droned on.
Five minutes later, he finally got to the good stuff. “As we already announced, this year’s contestants get to keep their ships, and our winners,” Suede made a broad gesture at Vin and Armond, “are getting the rights of ownership to a fully operational asteroid mining company.”
There was a mixture of cheers and laughs from the audience.
“Seriously? What are we going to do with an asteroid mining company?” Vin was hard pressed not to show her disappointment.
“It’s most likely highly lucrative,” Armond said.
“It’s one of those prizes that could go either way. We’ll have to check it out carefully.”
Suede made a grand flourish of handing over a golden envelope. Just as Vin accepted the cool foil, the sky to the east flashed a kaleidoscope of colors. A moment later, the lighting orbs began shooting small fireballs in all directions.
The hat of a woman standing directly underneath one of the lights burst into flames. Other tiny fires sparked into life throughout the crowd, and panic erupted.
“That’s no electrical storm,” Armond said. “It’s time to go.”
They bolted from the stage, but they were stuck. The rooftop only had three access points, all of which were jammed with panicked partygoers.
Vin pulled her com from her bag, “Marty, can you come and pick us up? We’re on top of the Octiron building.”
“There is an unusual number of aircraft descending upon that location.”
“Send the shuttle and do it now,” Armond spoke into her unit.
“There’s no need to be rude,” Marty said.
“Look out!” Vin ducked as a fireball sailed past them.
Armond extended his hand and a pulse of energy spun outward.
“What’s that?”
“A shield. It should prevent the flames from penetrating.”
“Penetrating, huh?” Vin smiled as she remembered the last time he’d done some penetrating of his own.
A purple ball hit the shield and exploded in a burst of tiny fireballs.
“Oo. Pretty. Find another one.”
Vin had to keep her mental shields up, as people were panicking everywhere.
A woman standing in front of them swatted at her head as a ball impacted.
Armond used his psi to stifle the flames.
“Can we kill the light orbs? Stop the projectiles?”
Armond eyed the nearest light. “Perhaps, but it might cause it to explode.”
“Good point. Let's not do that.”
A fair number of people had made it to safety. Others were being plucked off the roof by a fascinating array of aircraft.
The lights to the east steadied, and the fireballs subsided.
“What is going on over there?”
“I don’t know, but I have no desire to stay and find out.”
“Marty? Status?” Vin said into her com.
“Your shuttle has one other vehicle in front of it. Please make your way to the south-west corner.”
They did as instructed, and spotted the Galaxy Riders name on a sleek, metallic four-seater.
“Could have used this a time or two during our race,” Vin grumbled. She stepped in as soon as the doors opened, with Armond on her heels.
They were belted in and heading out a moment later.
“Well, that will make for some great viewing,” Vin said.
“Speaking of great viewing…” Armond turned to her and brushed his fingers over her breasts.
Love and desire poured across their bond. The flight back to Galaxy Riders was quick and entirely too long.
Once the shuttle was secure, they rode the lift to the deck above. The second the doors slid open, the smell of cinnamon permeated the space.
“Orion?” Armond said.
“Congratulations. I am pleased that you won. Separating a bonded couple would bring me no pleasure.”
Vin snort laughed. “You aren’t the only one.” He had their psi buzzing with over-amped pleasure again.
“I have a gift for you, as promised.” A glowing blue stone appeared in the air before of them. Armond gently plucked it from space.
“This will allow you to traverse the galaxies as discussed. You will need to come and go from within outlander territories, simply because my friend wishes to know when you are here.
“Can we enter on the fringe? I don’t want to start something with them.”
“That is both acceptable and advisable.”
“Thank you,” Vin said. “Want you in me. Now, Armond.”
“You are welcome.” Orion sounded decidedly amused. “Until we meet again, farewell, and enjoy your bond.”
The alien’s absence was a physical thing. How a disembodied entity had so much presence was a mystery. The effect he had was no mystery, and Vin knew exactly what to do about it. “Come on, lover. Make me scream.”
“With pleasure.”
Acknowledgments
I hope you enjoyed Orion’s Gate. If so, please take a moment and leave a review. A few words is all it takes. Writers live for reviews. Really. A little part of us dies if you don’t share the love. For all we know, it might be my right nipple. I don’t want to live without that!
Thanks to Candice Philllips Gilmer for the awesome cover, and Laurel Kriegler for the edits.
A quick shout out to Cathryn Cade for wrangling the authors! And thanks to the authors who did cross-over scenes with me. You can find their books here. Cathryn Cade: Starshadow, JC Hay: Flare, Teresa Noelle Roberts: Explode.
You can find the entire series of books, all of which stand alone perfectly well, here: The Great Space Race.
All Things Sabine
Thank you for coming with me to another world!
xoxo, Sabine
Find out more about Sabine at her Website or Amazon Author Page.
Wondering what’s up with Marco and Zara? You can find them in Sensate. Currently available as part of a USAToday Bestselling anthology, Embrace the Romance, Pets in Space 2! Twelve original Sci-Fi Romances for only $3.99!
Embrace the Romance, Pets in Space 2
Want more of the Alien Attachments world where Armond and Marco come from? Read on for the first chapter of Alien Attachments.
Alien Attachments Book One
Chapter 1
A dark-skinned male and a tall blond female danced around each other, bamboo sticks at the ready, waiting for an opening. Sitting on the warm iron bleachers above, Ian Cavacent leaned forward in anticipation. The old warehouse on Cat Island doubled as many things. Tonight, it hosted the weekly mixed fight competition. The popular event drew crowds from as far away as Nassau. Humans jostled for a seat or stood in groups around the improvised, oversized boxing ring. The target of his interest was the blond woman. He’d come to watch her for the past few weeks. A friend of his human support agent, Jared, she fascinated him. He had a rule to avoid women on the island, but there was something about this one. She intrigued him. And not for the usual reasons, either. Yes, she was pretty, beautiful even, but there was more to it than that.
Jared slid into the seat next to him and ha
nded him a beer. “Dani said you were stalking her.”
“I don’t stalk.” Ian took the plastic cup. “Besides, I wasn’t aware she knew I was here.”
“Yeah, she told me that too.”
Ian took a long pull on the beer. “There’s just something odd about her. Maybe it’s the way she moves. Her motions aren’t practiced, she’s constantly off balance, and yet she pulls in win after win. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the fights were rigged.”
The crowd quieted, and tension rose as the timer ticked down to zero.
Below, the two continued their dance, circling each other. The man lunged and Dani twirled with an awkward step, but still managed to dodge the swing of the bamboo. Sweat dripped into the cleavage of her sports bra and down the small of her back, leaving a dark stain in the fabric. She parried left and right. As usual, her maneuvers were halting and lacked grace.
Ian winced when Jared erupted in one of his booming sneezes. Dani shot an annoyed glance their way. Big mistake. In that fraction of a second, her opponent swung his bamboo. The jagged tip grazed the skin below her left eye before slamming into her wrist. The impact pushed her over the edge. She ducked, nearly fell over, spun around and in a surprisingly fluid movement, sent her opponent’s stick flying. The crowd erupted with cheers and jeers for both sides. Money changed hands and the tension evaporated. The two opponents approached each other. Cradling her wrist, Dani declined a handshake. They shared some good-natured words before they left the floor.
Ian’s powerful psi allowed him to see a purple mist radiating from her injuries. “That’s going to hurt,” Ian said.
“Dammit,” Jared mumbled, grabbing one of his ever-present tissues. “Can you tell how bad it is?”
“Not yet.”
“Well”—Ian swallowed the dregs of his beer—“she may have won, but she’s going to be out of commission for awhile. She’s not going to be happy with you.”
“Yep.” Jared wiped his nose. “I best go down and apologize. Come with me? She knows you’ve been watching. Be kind of weird at this point not to say hello.”
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