The Zoran's Baby (Scifi Alien Romance) (Barbarian Brides)

by Luna Hunter

  Rough Landing

  I can’t believe what I’m doing.

  General Dost scares the crap out of me. With his tall, imposing frame and his steely gaze he’s a force to be reckoned with.

  The alien warrior even lifted me up as if I was weightless, which I most surely am not.

  If he finds out I’m not half the mechanic I’m pretending to be, he could have me locked up, or worse, walk the proverbial plank. I’m not quite sure how serious a crime it would be, but I don’t ever intend to be on a Zoran’s bad side.

  So why am I gripping his leg for support? Why is my stomach fluttering, and why is my heart beating so fast?

  It’s got to be Stockholm Syndrome. I’m not actually falling for this alien warrior. Sure, he’s strikingly good looking. And tall. Muscled. Powerful. Completely and totally in command.

  But he’s also an alien warrior. I partly blame the Zorans for the Nezdek attack, for Grace’s abduction.

  Most of the blame, however, falls on my own two shoulders. If I hadn’t been so stubborn and just let her come with me to Japan, I’d never be on this cursed shuttle, having to hold onto a Zoran general for support as the ship seems to shake itself apart…

  The shuttle shakes violently, and I can’t help but utter a cry. My fingers dig deeper into Dost’s leg, sliding up his thigh. He places his strong hand on mine, holding me tightly.

  “We’re safe,” he says. “I’ve got you.”

  His low, powerful voice fills my helmet, and I close my eyes and focus on the pleasant sound. It makes my heart thump, and the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

  The rumbling stops, but my hand remains on his leg. I don’t want to pull away yet. With his hands on me, I feel safe. Protected.

  When I open my eyes again, I notice the rest of the Zoran crew is smirking at me. I quickly pull my hand away as if Dost was on fire.

  My core is certainly burning with desire.

  I avoid Dost’s radiant eyes and look down at my space-suit. My suit is nothing like the Zoran’s — it’s white, big, bulky. Meanwhile, the suit Dost is wearing is jet-black, and hugging every muscle in his large frame perfectly.

  He looks like a marble statue, a symbol of pure perfection.

  Get your mind out of the gutter, Aria.

  I’m here to find Grace —not to day dream about alien generals, no matter how tall and imposing they might be.

  “Landing gear deployed,” the pilot says on the intercom. “Hold on, I’m taking her down.”

  I take a deep breath and hold the sides of my chair tightly, my eyes closed, my knuckles turning white, preparing for the worst…

  “Come on,” Dost growls. “What are you waiting for?”

  I open one eye to see the doors are already open and the entire crew is outside. Only the general remains, holding his hand out for me. My eyes inadvertently travel up his huge frame, taking in every inch of him.

  Hot damn.

  “We’re here already?” I stammer. “I barely felt a thing!”

  “Of course you didn’t. My pilot’s gifted. Come.”

  I undo my straps and accept Dost’s hand. He pulls me out of my chair. His grip is firm, and sends a jolt right through me. I will my cheeks to stop glowing red, but it’s of no use.

  “You first,” I say, gesturing at the exit.

  The tall alien warrior leads the way, leaving me with ample opportunity to stare at his sculpted behind. I wonder if it is as firm as his grip…

  What did I say about keeping it together, Aria? Damn!

  Right. Work. Focus.

  I step outside and my mouth falls open from the sheer grandeur of this planet.

  It’s teeming with life. The only thing that can compare are old images of the Amazonian jungle, one of Earth’s natural wonders that has sadly been completely destroyed in the name of ‘progress’.

  Massive trees grow up into the high heavens, overgrown with thick vines. The forest is dense and nearly impregnable.

  My suit beeps as its onboard computer analyzes the surface’s atmosphere, and its readings are displayed on the inside of my helmet. Luckily, the air seems to be breathable, although it’s very thick with plant spores.

  The climate is hot and humid — we’re smack dab in the middle of a tropical rainforest. And what a gorgeous place it is. How did we ever let something like this go to waste?

  I switch my com channel back to the open channel.

  “Are you reading this, Trent?” Dost says.

  “Loud and clear,” the Zoran answers. “Form a defensive parameter, stat.”

  Wait, what?

  10

  Dost

  Stand Down

  I grab my sword from my belt and raise it above my head.

  The first readings of this planet are hopeful. We’re here to find a new home for the Zorans, and the surface seems to sustain life.

  Perhaps, a bit too much of it.

  My sword cleaves through the thick vines that have grown between the massive trees. Sweat trickles down my back as I clear a way through.

  The air seems to be breathable, with oxygen levels at 23%. Plenty for both humans and Zorans. The spores in the air worry me, though. They could induce respiratory problems — if not something more sinister. There’s so many of them that you can see them with the naked eye. The air is hazy, and tinged slightly yellow by the light of the sun.

  Our shuttle landed in a small clearing, spotted well by our pilot, but the rest of the planet seems to be covered in a dense, thick jungle.

  My train of thought is broken by my visor beeping, a red target appearing.

  Movement.

  “Are you reading this, Trent?” I ask my second-in-command.

  “Loud and clear,” he answers. “Form a defensive perimeter, stat.”

  My squad raises their rifles, forming a semi-circle around the shuttle.

  “It’s moving,” Trent answers. “Fast!”

  I look behind and see Aria is looking around, confused. My decision to bring her down to the surface with me on this reconnaissance mission seems rash in hindsight. We have no idea what kind of alien wildlife calls Delta Y home.

  I’ll protect her with my life. My honor depends on it.

  I reach out and grab Aria’s wrist, pulling her over.

  “Stay close,” I growl.

  She nods, her eyes wide, shaking like a leaf.

  I turn my back to her, grab her hands, and slide them around my waist. “Keep your hands on me,” I say on our private channel. “At all times.”

  “O-okay,” she stammers, her voice nearly breaking, but there’s more than just fear in her voice.

  My eyes turn back to the thick vegetation in front of us. Everyone holds their breath, their fingers on the trigger, as we wait for whatever is in front us to burst out of the trees.

  Except nothing happens.

  I’m trying to keep my attention on the jungle, but Aria’s hands on my midriff makes it hard to focus. My suit is extremely thin, to provide me with as much flexibility as possible.

  That is why it feels just like she’s touching my naked body.

  The heat from her fingers, the pressure from her grasp, her hot breath against my shoulders… all of the sensations combined make me as hard as a fucking rock.

  If the material of my suit wasn’t so flexible, I would have burst straight out of my armor. I’ve never felt this strong a sensation before. My heart is racing, and adrenaline is coursing through my veins. With every beat of my racing heart, I feel my member throb with barely contained lust.

  If Aria’s hand slides down one more inch, the tips of her fingers will brush right against my hardness.

  “Stand down,” I say.

  My squad lowers their weapons, and Aria’s hands fall to her sides, much to my chagrin. I want nothing more than to rip that spacesuit from her body and take her, right here and now… and that feeling scares me.

  I’m a general. A Zoran warrior. I’m always in command of my emotions, my feelings. So why
does this human have this strange influence on me?

  If I’m honest, I don’t trust myself around her.

  “Stay in the shuttle,” I say as I turn around to face Aria.

  Her eyes dip down for only a second, but her wide eyes tell me she saw everything.

  “We’ll scout the jungle, see what that thing was. You stay here.”

  “N-no,” she stammers. “I want to go with you. Don’t leave me behind.”

  I curse under my breath as my men wait for my signal.

  “Fine, but stay close. Trent, you go right, I’ll go left. We’ll form a pincer.”

  “Got it, boss.”

  We head into the thick vegetation, weapons drawn, ready for anything.

  The only thing I’m not ready for is how I feel about the curvy human whose right behind me.

  11

  Aria

  First Contact

  I can’t believe what I just saw.

  I know Dost is big, but what he’s packing is… beyond my comprehension.

  I didn’t know they came that big.

  I saw it.

  The outline, at least, but his skintight, jet-black suit leaves little to the imagination.

  I could even make out the veins on his cock.

  His giant, throbbing alien cock.

  What is happening?!

  My palms are sweaty, and it’s not because of the tropical climate on this alien planet. My heart is racing because of Dost. Because he’s the most beautiful, powerful man I’ve ever seen, and I can’t look at him without heat pooling in my lap.

  My eyes are focused on his sculpted ass as he moves through the jungle in front of me, my heart beating like a drum. I’m afraid everyone can hear the rhythmic thump of my heart on their coms, but no one seems to pay me any mind.

  Good.

  That gives me plenty of opportunity to check him out as he moves with both grace and power.

  He raises his hand, and his whole squad freezes instantly. I don’t catch the signal and bump into his back. I begin to apologize but he shushes me.

  The Zoran soldiers raise their weapons, and my heart skips a beat when I realize what’s happening.

  There’s a moment of tense silence as everyone holds their breaths, a second that seems to stretch and stretch. Birds chirp in the distance, insects buzz, leaves rustle in the wind.

  I exhale, and at that moment, all hell breaks loose.

  Man-sized, snake-like beings drop from the treetops all around us, and my heart skips a beat when I see what terrible abominations they are. Their top half seems human, except it is covered in scales, their eyes glowing a bright red.

  Their bottom half, however, is completely snake-like. They balance themselves on their tails, and I feel queasy just looking at them.

  The monsters lurch forwards and attack the Zorans, and the sky is lit up with laser fire. I drop down to the forest floor, burying my head between my knees as fighting erupts all around me.

  I hear the cries from one of the Zoran soldiers through the intercom, and instinctively I look up.

  One of the snake-beings has its winding body wrapped around one of the Zorans and is choking the life out of him. My eyes grow wide in horror.

  Dost jumps forward, sword in hand, and plunges the blade into the snake. Purple blood bursts out, and the beast retreats with a hiss.

  The beings seem resistant to the laser rifles — the blasts are reflected off their scales, and end up blasting into trees. Dost wields his sword valiantly, moving with purpose as he cuts down the monstrous enemy one-by-one, saving the life of his squad.

  Saving my life.

  The animals retreat, slithering into the jungle, disappearing as quickly as they appeared.

  “Is everyone safe?” Dost growls.

  “Yes!” the soldiers chime in one by one.

  The Zoran general walks up to me and helps me to my feet. The moment all hell broke loose I cowered, and I feel stupid for it. Some help I am in a crisis. Dost, however, he walked up to the plate and knocked it out of the park. He seemed to be completely in control, of both himself and the situation.

  I’ve never seen a man carry himself with such strength before.

  “Are you okay, Aria?”

  “Y-yes,” I stammer. “I’m fine.”

  Dost sheathes his sword, the blade still dripping with blood.

  “I think we scared them off. For now.”

  “What was that?” I ask.

  “The local wildlife,” Dost answers. “Seems this planet is not as uninhabited as we’d hoped.”

  His hands glide all over my body, and I suck in a breath. I’m still in that bulky spacesuit, but I can feel his firm grip regardless.

  “W-what are you doing?”

  “Checking if your suit didn’t get damaged,” he says. “Even a small tear could contaminate your air supply.”

  “I’m fine,” I say, the by-now familiar heat rising to my cheeks.

  Deep down, I don’t want him to stop, but I’m not quite ready to admit that yet.

  My breath falters when I see a tree right behind Dost start to tip over. The laser fire must have damaged the trunk, for the massive thing is about to fall.

  The Zoran general’s eyes are still on me, checking my suit, so he doesn’t see the danger that he’s in. I try to scream for him to get out of the way, but my throat is closed up due to the tension. Dost looks up and raises his eyebrows, as the tree starts to fall, headed right for him.

  And then I do something both incredibly courageous and extremely stupid.

  I jump forward and push Dost to the side with all of my strength. Surprised, Dost takes a step back — and the massive tree whizzes through the air, its many branches breaking as it falls, the trunk torn open with a mighty roar, the sky darkening as the tree tips over… and heads right for me.

  I try to turn and jump away, but it’s too late.

  Thwack!

  A heavy blow to the back of my head. It feels like a spaceship hits me as I’m forced into the dirt.

  The tree is burying me alive.

  12

  Dost

  Timber

  Aria!

  I throw all of my weight against the giant tree trunk, my heart beating a million miles per minute. What a fool she is! With my heightened senses, I’d have heard the tree breaking long before it would ever hit me.

  Her push, as well intentioned as it was, confused me for a fraction of a second. Just long enough that I didn’t realize the danger until it was too late.

  My squad comes to my aid in an instant, and with our combined strength, we lift the heavy trunk off of her. I fear for the worst, my hands shaking.

  She’s buried in the dirt, and with a heavy heart I roll her over. Her helmet is damaged, the glass shattered, a few cuts and bruises on her face, but she’s still breathing!

  I drop down to my knees and cradle her in my arms. The glass of my helmet is smeared with the blood of the snake-beings, making it hard to see, and in frustration I pull it off.

  I take a deep breath. The air on this planet feels clean and pure, and my body is filled with fresh energy. I remove Aria’s helmet, brushing the broken glass out of her hair.

  “Prepare the shuttle,” I order my men. “And ready the med-bay. I’m taking her back up to the HF Boomerang.”

  “Affirmative,” my second-in-command says. “What about our mission?”

  “You are in command, Trent. Continue as planned.”

  “Yes, sir,” he says, saluting me.

  Aria’s eyes open. Her eyes are glazed over, as if she’s just woken up from a deep sleep. She tries to speak, but I stop her.

  “I’ve got you,” I say. “Rest. You’re safe.”

  I open her damaged suit and peek inside, looking for any obvious injuries, but I don’t see any. All I see are her glorious curves, being hardly contained by her outfit. Blood flows to my cock, and I have the sudden urge to run my hands over her barely clothed body, but I pull myself back together. Her safety is wh
at’s important, not my animalistic urges.

  “You’re lucky,” I tell her. “It seems the suit absorbed most of the blow, together with the soft forest floor. You’re going to be fine.”

  Her brown eyes find mine. They’re now brimming, and she licks her lips.

  “Thank you,” she says, her voice husky.

  “Just don’t try to save me again, okay?” I smirk. “Does it hurt to move?”

  She wiggles her arms and legs, and I’m happy to see there doesn’t seem to be any damage to her spinal cord.

  “No, I feel okay.”

  “Good. I’m going to take you to the med-bay, just in case.”

  I lift her up in my arms. She slides her arms around my neck, resting her head against my chest, as I carry her easily.

  We head back to the shuttle, while Trent and the rest of the squad continue their reconnaissance mission.

  With every step I take, my breathing becomes heavier. I notice my heart rate is increasing, and my blood is racing through my body… right down to my hard, throbbing cock.

  The world seems to slow down, the seconds themselves becoming longer and longer. Every little detail stands out.

  Aria’s hot breath on my neck.

  The way the small of her back feels in my hands.

  She looks up at me, her brown eyes gleaming, her lips wet, so thick and kissable.

  My animalistic passions are taking over. I can feel my control slip away, as pure, unbridled lust takes over. My entire body feels like it’s on fire. There’s only so much I can resist, and I’m getting dangerously close to the edge.

  I carry her into the shuttle and hit the button with my balled fist.

  The doors close behind us.

  We’re all alone.

  Just me and her.

  13

  Aria

  A Quivering Mess

  My head is resting against Dost’s large chest, his strong arms carrying me.