by Renee Rose
His breath catches, and he removes his hand from my throat. He’s right handed, and if he’s going to hit me, that’s the hand he’ll use. Anticipation curls in my lower stomach at the prospect of him smacking my face while he’s fucking me. When his cock pulses larger within me, I have my answer.
The first slap is gentle, but the next one falls harder, a sharp smack across my face. He resumes his fast pace inside me and another surge of pleasure threatens to carry me away.
He squeezes my chin hard. “Who do you belong to, Laylah?” He pummels into me with a speed I’ve never experienced before.
When I don’t answer right away, because I’m desperately trying to catch my breath while not coming quite yet, he gives me the hard slap I want. My head jerks to the side, and the sting blooms across my left cheek. “You, Kenan. I belong to you.”
He cups my face and caresses the spot he smacked. Then his eyes roll back in his head and his growls rattle the air as his seed pumps into me in a long, hot, pulsing torrent.
Chapter Eight
We’re enjoying a late dinner while the rain pounds the roof. The servants—who I have since learned are slaves purchased from another race of aliens—flit in and out of the dining room with a variety of Kleaxian delicacies. I’ve been Kenan’s mate for thirty days now, and he says we must celebrate.
As I sit across from him, I shift in my seat, unable to get comfortable on my recently spanked bottom. I’m also wearing the largest plug in Kenan’s collection. This morning he came home agitated after settling a dispute that had turned violent in one of the villages. He didn’t give me the details, but he’d been fuming and pacing around the house all afternoon, until he summoned me to the bedroom and ordered me to remove my dress.
He’d spanked me to tears and then kissed those tears away, cuddling me in his arms for hours before finally loving me. And it had felt like love. He’d straddled me and stared into my eyes as he slowly pumped his cock in and out of my aching pussy. When we both climaxed at the same time, the moment had felt transcendent, like we were the only two people in the universe and our hearts were fusing together.
Throughout this shared experience, the emotions running through me had brought tears to my eyes, and I couldn’t help but wonder if somehow I was experiencing the same strength of attachment Kenan holds for me as a result of the Kleaxian mating bond. He claimed humans couldn’t sense it, but the lingering fullness in my heart and the depth of emotion jolting through me whenever I glance at Kenan across the table makes me doubt his claim.
I love him. I really do. Despite our less than ideal beginning—God, I had been so frightened of him that day when I awoke in the cage—I can’t deny harboring a deep tenderness for him. Back on Earth, I hadn’t honestly ever held an attraction for a boy my age. I hadn’t dated, beyond one horribly awkward evening at fifteen. We went to an old-fashioned roller skating rink, and the boy had kissed me, and I hadn’t liked it. His wet, slimy lips and nacho cheese breath had made my stomach turn. Even before the disgusting kiss, I hadn’t planned on seeing him again.
The only attraction I’d felt for the opposite sex on Earth had been the huge, muscle-bound actors from movies, who were much older than me, often twice my age or more. And as much as I liked watching the strong heroine save the day, I also liked those scenes during which she became the captive of a ruthless villain. My heart would commence racing and my palms would go sweaty when the heroine I admired became a helpless captive—at least until she bravely managed to escape. Sometimes I would fantasize that the villain was somehow redeemed and the heroine fell in love with him in the end, even though the violent tendencies that were a huge part of his former life still rested below the surface. This dark past of his, or course, made him rough and possessive of the girl he captured and fell in love with.
Now I wonder if perhaps I only sought out such movies and books in order to satisfy a dark part of me I hadn’t ever been able to voice aloud.
We finish our meal and take a stroll through the lush gardens surrounding the estate. Though Kenan doesn’t typically put the leash on me if we don’t leave his property, tonight he slips it around my neck. I don’t protest. The slight weight of the chain circling my neck reminds me I belong to him, and this reminder now brings me a peace of mind I never realized was missing.
After our walk, he leads me upstairs. Being led into our bedroom by the leash makes me quiver with need. The leash symbolizes his ownership and absolute authority over me. Tonight he’s going to be rough with me, I can sense it. Not only because I’m still wearing the leash, but because when he turns to look at me, his eyes have gone entirely black.
A slight jerk of the chain brings me into his arms. He kisses me thoroughly, and I moan into his mouth and thrust my tongue against his, tasting the wine we enjoyed over dinner. He pulls away but rests his forehead on mine while holding my face in his large hands. The end of the leash is wrapped around his fingers. A delicious shiver skitters down my back. He still hasn’t let it go.
Stepping back, he leads me to the bed and gestures for me to bend over. I obey, spreading my legs, because if I don’t, he’ll slap the insides of my thighs until I do. I expect him to fuck me while I’m wearing the plug, so I’m surprised when he slowly pulls it from my backside hole.
“This is the largest plug, you know.”
My breath catches. He’s taken the plug out because he plans to claim my ass tonight. I start shaking, though anticipation coils tight in my core. My clit pulses and I know I must be drenched between my legs, for as desperately as I ache for his touch.
“You know what’s coming, don’t you?” He drops the leash to retrieve something from the dresser. When he returns, he trickles a cool liquid atop my most private hole.
“Yes, Kenan,” I reply as he massages in the lubricant, stretching me with his fingers and pumping deeper and deeper.
His hand leaves me, but the tip of his cock soon presses against my snug passage.
I concentrate on breathing in and out as I clutch the covers. There’s a tug on the leash. My heart thumps faster. He’s holding it again, and he’s inching into my asshole. The intrusion burns a bit, but that’s to be expected given his size. Even the largest plug doesn’t compare to his girth.
“This hole belongs to me, Laylah, and from now on I’ll be fucking it often, and hard.”
I start whimpering. The pressure is too much, but I can’t move beneath him. My feet don’t reach the floor and he’s standing between my spread legs, shoving the last few inches of his manhood into my ass.
He grips my right hip and then shoves his free hand under me, seeking out my clit. After a slow withdrawal from my tightness, he pushes all the way inside me again and then starts a fast rhythm of fucking my tight hole.
I can’t think. I can scarcely breathe. I can only lie there and take each hard thrust he gives me, because he’s my mate and he owns every part of me.
Biting my lip, I groan under his expert ministrations as he rubs my moisture in circles over my clit, applying the perfect amount of pressure.
“Come now, Laylah. Fucking come now.”
His command is all I’m waiting for. I writhe against his hand and cry out under the pulsing waves of a thunderous climax. As I start to regain my senses, he grips my hips hard and gives a fierce growl. The sensation of his seed filling my ass is euphoric, and, with his finger still swirling atop my clit, I’m suddenly swept under by a second orgasm. My cries reverberate through the room, along with his growls.
When it’s all over, I’m completely spent. I can’t move a muscle, so Kenan carries me into the bathroom and takes care of me. He rubs a soapy cloth over me in the bathtub, settling me between his legs and letting me rest my head against his chest. He rinses me off and pats me dry, even carries me back to the bed.
“My sweet little human princess,” he murmurs into my ear, before I drift to sleep in his arms.
***
The next day I awake alone, which isn’t unusual. Kenan tends to
visit the towns and check in with his soldiers as early as possible, sometimes before first light.
I stretch my legs beneath the soft sheets and languish in the warmth of the sunlight streaming through the window. Beyond the greenery of the mountain, there isn’t a cloud in the light-blue sky. A servant knocks and delivers breakfast. I’m disappointed it’s not Hessag, but I still smile and thank the short, pale Ghessan whose name I don’t know. I suppose I should ask Hessag for the others servant’s names. Maybe if I call them by their names, they will finally speak with me.
After breakfast, I shower and don an orange gown with sheer silk layers. The skirts rustle around my legs like a gentle wave as I hurry down the steps. I’ll join Hessag in the garden until Kenan returns.
Tonight, two of the commanding soldiers in his troop are joining us for dinner, along with their mates. I’m excited by the prospect of entertaining guests, even if I won’t be able to understand their tongue. Kenan has promised I’ll eventually catch on to his language, but I’m starting to have my doubts. The syllables all run together into an unintelligible stream of deep, grunting noises.
Fortunately, a Kleaxian scientist on another continent is developing a translator that, if implanted in one’s brain, will allow a human to communicate with a Kleaxian. Kenan isn’t wild about the idea of me getting an implant in my brain, but I’d had difficulties in my required Spanish classes in high school. I barely passed them, in fact, and not for lack of trying.
I spot Hessag moving through the garden toward the force field. He’s probably headed for the berry patch outside the invisible barrier. I run to catch up so I can bid him good morning. Before he crosses into the forest, one of his gloves fall from his pocket.
“Hessag! You dropped something, my friend!” I snatch up the glove and hold it out. “I wish I could pick berries with you this morning. It’s such a lovely day.”
He turns around with a smile. But that smile immediately vanishes and he pales further, to a deathly shade of white. I stare at him with wide eyes and my stomach drops to the ground. Before I even peer over my shoulder, I know Kenan is standing behind me. Watching. Listening. Catching me as I disobey a rule.
My gaze locks with the furious dark eyes of my mate. That fierce, unforgiving look reduces me to a puddle of terror. Oh my God. He’s caught me speaking with a servant. For a reason he’s never explained to me, I’m not allowed to utter anything besides “come in” or “come back later” after a servant knocks. I’ve never thought about the reason for the rule much, other than he doesn’t want the servants touching me or getting inside my mind.
“Kenan, I…” My voice trails off.
He moves in front of me and grasps my chin. “How do you know his name, Laylah?”
Liquid fear churns through my insides. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kenan so angry. My hands shake at my sides, and it’s all I can do not to collapse on the ground, my legs are trembling so. “I-I don’t know,” I say. If I admit to having daily conversations with Hessag, the servant will be sent away. “I must have heard you call him by his name.”
The fingers pinching my chin squeeze tighter. His eyes narrow and his nostrils flare. The vein on the side of his thick neck bulges.
He’s caught me lying, and he’s none too pleased about it. I know I should’ve told the truth, but if there was any chance of not getting Hessag in trouble, I had to take it.
“How long have you been speaking with Hessag? Has he touched you every day?”
Tears cloud my vision and my heart beats a frantic rhythm inside my tightening chest.
He grabs my shoulders and shakes me hard. My teeth rattle together and I’m momentarily dizzy.
“He’s my friend!” I scream, clutching onto Kenan’s forearm. “He’s my friend, and you mustn’t send him away.”
He drags me onto the patio and shoves me into a chair. “Stay there and don’t fucking move. If you move from this chair, your beating will be so much worse than I’m already planning.”
Emotion has my throat clogged so strongly, I can only nod. I’m quaking so hard I doubt I would be able to move anyway.
Hessag doesn’t attempt to run away from Kenan, but in my mind I’m screaming for my friend to run into the forest and get far away. But he only bows his head slightly upon his master’s approach, looking adequately chastised. Kenan grabs him around his throat and drags him into the house.
I clutch the arms of the chair and sob. What if Kenan doesn’t simply send Hessag away? What if Kenan hurts him, or, God forbid, kills him?
I don’t hear screams coming from the house, but then Hessag can’t utter the smallest noise, not even a gasp. I asked him once, and we had a good laugh over it. As I sit here and sob, guilt ridden for causing probable pain, or worse, to my only friend on Tallia, I can’t remember why it was funny. But I remember giggling and sensing the tickle in my mind as Hessag joined in my laughter.
Covering my face as my sobs deepen, I don’t think I’ll ever laugh again. I’m going to lose Hessag, and Kenan is going to beat me. The image of the woman covered in bruises and with thin red welts from the town flashes in my mind. Will he flog me bloody? Use his fists?
I jump when a hand closes over my shoulder. It’s Kenan, and he’s panting. Whatever he did to Hessag caused him to expend a great deal of energy. I send up a prayer for my gentle friend who didn’t deserve the violence visited upon him.
“Where’s Hessag? What have you done with him?”
He yanks me up by my hair and his lips brush across my ear. “Hessag’s condition is the least of your worries, little human. You not only disobeyed an order, but you lied to me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with speaking to a servant!” I scream. “He’s been kind to me. He’s showed me things. He showed me what happened after the attack on the Stargazer, when you carried me to a medical tent. He showed me how anxious you were over whether or not I’d live!”
The hand in my hair clenches, making my scalp burn. “Hessag wasn’t there. Anything he showed you could have been made up. His kind are great deceivers. It’s why they were conquered long ago and sold into slavery.”
“You threatened to kill the doctor if he didn’t save me! I saw it in my mind. Did that not really happen?”
He jerks my face toward his. His is dark-red and splotchy. I’ve never seen it this shade before.
“Yes,” he says, in a strangely quiet tone. “I did really happen. However, he wasn’t there to witness it with his own eyes. To possess that memory, he slid his mind into someone else’s. Someone else who was there that day. Probably one of my soldiers. He must have briefly touched the soldier who flew the hovercraft up the mountain after the attack. The man came inside for a while. But it’s no matter. I will send Hessag far away after he wakes up.”
His words make my blood run cold. “After he wakes up? My God, Kenan, what did you do?”
He doesn’t answer, but he finally releases me. I rub the back of my head, my scalp still screaming in pain. “Walk upstairs to our bedroom and strip off your dress. Kneel on the floor and await my arrival.”
“Kenan, please. I only lied to you now because Hessag is my friend, and he said if you found out we communicated you would send him to serve your relatives on a faraway mountain. Don’t send him away, please.”
“I should have beaten you harder that first time you disobeyed me, Laylah.” A cold darkness enters his livid gaze. “If I had beaten you harder, we wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation.”
I shudder and try to move back, but my legs are too weak to manage a single step. I know he’s seeing the ghost of his dead mate in my disobedience. He’s thinking if he doesn’t punish me badly, as severely as he should’ve punished her for taking unchaperoned walks in a forest full of bears and wildcats, I will one day meet a similar fate to Ellonia’s.
His fists clench at his sides and for a moment I think he’s going to knock me to the ground. But he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When his eyes open, he sa
ys, “Go to the bedroom now, Laylah. If I must ask again, I can’t promise I won’t drag you upstairs by your hair.”
I don’t remember walking to our bedroom, but I soon find myself standing in the middle of the room, divested of my dress. I’m in a nervous trance. I don’t want to accept this is my reality and I’m about to endure a terrible beating from Kenan. Hot tears stream down my face. If he makes me bleed, or covers me in bruises, or hurts Hessag or sends him away, I’ll never forgive him.
Sorrow envelopes me so thickly each breath becomes a struggle. All the happiness I’ve found on Tallia with Kenan has come to an end. The rest of my life will be cloaked in misery.
The echo of footsteps coming up the steps sends me scrambling to the floor. I kneel and wait in horrible anticipation. Each heavy footfall makes me flinch. When the door slides open, I don’t dare look up.
Kenan’s strong presence fills the room. His boots pause in my vision, and my gaze travels up far enough to glimpse the implement he’s holding. I expected a long whip, but it’s short and looks flexible. Like a riding crop. I gulp.
Tension radiates from Kenan as he looms above me. I hear a clinking sound and, finally, I look up. Gleaming silver manacles hang from the ceiling. Our eyes meet, and my heart sinks at the firm look of resolution he’s wearing.
He isn’t going to change his mind, no matter how much I plead or fight. I might not be able to fight him—given his size and strength, what’s the point?—but I can still beg for leniency. I cling to a final thread of hope he will realize what he’s doing is wrong.
“Kenan, I beg you, please just spank me. I know I disobeyed you, and lied to you, but I’m so very sorry. Please don’t whip me with that.” I sound weepy and pathetic, but I feel even worse. My heart teeters on the edge of deep canyon, and if he locks the manacles around my wrists and takes the crop to my back, it’ll fall into the gorge and shatter into a thousand pieces.
“Hessag probably knows everything about you there is to know. All your secrets, all your happiness, and all your sorrows. I’m your mate, and I expect you to obey me when given a rule. That rule was given to protect you. I don’t want a Ghessan snooping around in your mind. If he has sinister plans, and, yes, Ghessans once tried to rebel against their Kleaxian masters, he could have gotten vital information from you, had I discussed any confidential Kleaxian matters with you.”