by Jane, C. R.
"Ella!" Thane's voice found me.
"Help," I shouted, thrashing, my vision still a wash of blurs and shapes.
Someone grasped my hands and legs, carrying me as if I were a sacrifice. Two figures hovered over me. I kept blinking, shaking my head to clear the fuzziness, the tears making it worse.
Finally, I was laid on something soft, the hands releasing me.
I scrambled backward into a corner, rubbing my eyes, and slowly the view in front of me cleared. It seemed to still be blurry, but as I stared up, I could see well enough to realize that Thane and Corran were in front of me, both wearing worried expressions.
"There is something upstairs," I blurted frantically, pointing to the stairs.
Corran stared up, following my pointed finger, while Thane suddenly had a glass of liquid in his hand. He pushed it into my grasp.
"Drink."
I did. It had a sweet fruity flavor that I didn’t recognize. But I was so thirsty that I gulped down the whole glass, drenching the heat consuming me. "Why are there trees upstairs? Is that some weird Vepar technology?"
They exchanged glances before looking down at me once more, Thane's mouth spreading into a grin.
"Pet, there are no trees upstairs, no monsters either. You're safe."
I stared at him for the longest moment, then glanced up to see the branches of a tree sticking out from the hallway. Looking back at the men, I couldn't remember if I had responded to them. They were staring at me as if I'd lost my mind. We continued to stare at each other. I wasn’t sure how much time was passing without words, but I couldn’t seem to form any. It felt like fifteen minutes had passed, maybe more before I could finally find my voice. I said, "It's up there, go and see."
Running a hand over his face, Corran collected the empty glass from my grip while Thane headed upstairs, right past the trees without giving them a glance.
Was I imagining this? I kept shaking my head, unable to dislodge the feeling I was floating on air. Was I still dreaming? Staring at my hand, it seemed to shine. Wow, this was new.
"Ella?" Someone touched my hand and I looked down to find it was Thane, crouching in front of me.
When had he come back downstairs? "You're hallucinating, pet. It's a normal reaction from the poison on your wounds from the Khonsu."
I shook my head, and the room tilted around me. "Whoa, did you feel that?"
"You just need to sit here and let that drink get through your system." Corran flopped down next to me. He looped an arm around my back and brought me closer. I lay on my side, with my head on his lap. His hand stroked my hair so gently, it lulled me into a calmness, my raging pulse easing.
My eyelids closed and I let myself fall under his touch.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but when I opened my eyes, the sunlight had dimmed and now Thane shared the sofa with me. We were alone, and he looked down at me, caring for me, holding me tight. But something felt different inside of me, an emptiness and barren feeling I hadn’t had before. I was lost in a world that was meant to be my home, or was it that I felt trapped?
“I think something’s wrong,” I murmured. “I feel wrong.”
He smiled and pushed a lock of hair out of my face. “What can I do to aid you?” And with those words, a mischievous grin split his lips.
13
“Make me feel something, Thane. Please…” I begged, the words so easily falling from my lips. I was never needy, I hadn’t ever been allowed to be. But right now, I longed to feel his touch. I needed to feel his skin on mine, to wrap my arms tightly around him, to feel him consume me. To feel he was real, that they all were real. To remind myself I wasn’t all alone in the world even though it felt like it in that moment.
He scooped me up in his arms, carrying me to the room upstairs where I was glad to see there actually were no trees, setting me down on my feet beside the bed. He took my face in his hands, his beautiful blue eyes penetrating deep into my soul. I moaned in response to his feverish kiss, my body pulsing from the onslaught, my hands taking him in thankful ownership, working their way around his waist, up the sculpted form of his back and shoulders.
His fingers slid into the hair at my nape and pulled tight, cocking my head back roughly to force my gaze. “You’re not alone, Ella.” He paused, his eyes searching mine. “Don’t. Ever. Fucking. Leave us. We’ll find you every time. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Please…”
His mouth crashed back to mine, desperate orders spewed into our kiss… “You’ll stay. You’ll never leave. You’re mine, Ella.”
His large body overtook me, forcing me onto the bed. The sight of him crawling over the top of me sent my pulse racing in anticipation. The feel of his weight was intoxicating as he lowered his lips passionately to mine. I relished in the strength of his body, running my hands along his form, needing to feel all of him. My fingers squeezed and clawed at every perfectly defined muscle. My head screamed to push him away, to hate him, but at the same time, I longed for him. I yearned to forget the shitstorm I’d found myself in, or maybe something was really wrong with me since I couldn’t help myself around these Vepar.
Our kiss was hectic, intense. We consumed each other, reaching to the deepest recesses of our mouths, the need to brand each other mutual. Heated, our fingers working in a desperate urgency to touch. Our clothes came off in a whirlwind of hands, tugging and ripping each other’s shirts off, before moving to discard our pants. I gasped as he slowly, teasingly slid his hands up my legs, tearing my underwear from my body, eliciting my slight scream.
My gaze darted back to his, and I whimpered at the burning heat emanating from his stare as he slid his muscled form over the top of me, resuming his passionate kisses. Kisses that worked their way down my trembling body, pausing at my chest, my belly button, to tantalize every inch of my skin with savoring licks of his devouring lips and tongue.
“Thane,” I moaned as he spread my legs with a firm pull, my whole body clenching in anticipation of his sinful mouth, but desperate for him to fill it at the same time.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, kissing my thighs, teasing me with his tongue. “It’s like you were made for us. Such a delicate, perfect little human,” he sighed out. His words only heightened the sensations that I already drowned in. I needed to hear words like this.
My body bowed to his delicious mercy, and I panted as he continued his ministrations. I grabbed his hair, moaning with every touch. I pulled and urged the return of his lips to mine, missing the feel of them against mine. Everything he did felt out of this world, different but just as good as my night with Derrial. I wondered if it could be like this with any experienced men or were the Vepar just particularly good in bed?
Kissing was incredible, but I needed him inside of me. I pulled him closer to me, trying to signal what I wanted without breaking contact with him. Finally he moved to settle between my legs, his heat scorching hot against my sex.
“You’re sure about this?” he asked me, sounding almost like he was in pain as he paused above me.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I clasped his face and resumed our frenzied kiss. When he finally thrusted inside of me, our simultaneous moans echoed through the tangle of our lips. He felt euphoric, like he was always meant to be a part of me. Like I’ve been missing him my entire life.
He glided in and out with precision, his gaze never straying from mine. I was mesmerized by the intensity of the moment. I’d been so full of anger when I was with Darrial. Would it have been like this if I had let myself feel something?
“Is this real?” I whispered as an unwelcome tear slid down my face.
He thrust inside me one more time before responding, watching the tear’s descent. “This is the realest thing I’ve ever felt,” he finally answered in a gruff voice that almost sounded as if he was choked up. His words consumed me, and he continued to move in and out of me.
The strength of our connection was to die for, every nerve inside of me awakened at h
is touch. I bowed uncontrollably, moving in helpless abandonment as the pleasure heightened. Seated fully, he stilled, and lifted his head to stare into my eyes. His blue gaze searched mine. I was speechless. Breathless. The pure emotion reflected in his stare had me sucking in air. There was something there between us, something I couldn’t put into words, but I realized I wanted to hear it desperately. We stared at one another for what felt like an eternity until he finally closed his eyes, breaking the moment. When he opened them again, the words were gone.
He brushed his fingers along my forehead, pushing the strands of hair away. His lips started to move, and I pulled his lips back to mine before he could speak. Our bodies said what our lips couldn’t. I mewled into his kiss as his thrusts grew faster. My hips met his thrusts, measure for measure, needing him so deep inside me I wasn’t sure I’d survive otherwise. We were frenetic in our need for each other, desperate, unable to pull away.
He drew his lips from mine, and instead, he took mock bites out of my flesh across my collarbone. His hand slid beneath my back, pulling me closer. I arched my body towards him, my head falling backward as his lips continued to move down my body.
“Fall for me,” he whispered, and his words are my undoing. The sexy timber of his voice combined with the steady tempo of his thrusts sent me plummeting over the precipice. Screaming his name, I slid my hands in his hair, gripping hard, riding the overwhelming waves of pleasure, convulsing uncontrollably. His thrusts pounded relentlessly as I rode the ebbs and flows, in and out, deeper and deeper into my clutching depths, before he finally stilled above me. He gave a delicious groan as he peppered my face and neck with kisses.
Harsh breaths amid the grasp of each other’s arms, we awaited the slowing of our rapid heartbeats in euphoric silence. Sliding out of me, he chuckled at my elicited whimper, turning to his side on the mattress, pulling me with him.
“I’m not done with you yet, sweetheart,” he warned playfully, running his fingers gently along my sweat-slickened back.
“I hope you’ll never be,” I admitted shyly.
His eyes widened at my admission, and I worried for a second, I’d said too much.
“Good,” he replied, giving me a sexy grin. He wrapped me in his arms, lifting me up with ease, moving to stand. “Time for a shower.” He smirked, as he carried me to the bathroom, holding me in one strong arm, and leaning in to turn it on.
“Thank you for saving me,” I whispered to him as the steam from the hot water began to envelop us, making me feel as if we were in our own little world and the outside world and all of its problems didn’t exist.
“Always,” he answered.
It was a long, long time before we said anything else.
* * *
I was alone when I woke up, the house perfectly still around me. I shuddered at the feeling of being alone, my feelings unreasonably hurt at the fact that Thane had left me after the night we’d shared.
Getting out of bed, I wandered to the window. It was a dreary day, so cloudy that it looked later than it actually was. With my stomach rumbling, I pulled on the only pair of sweats in my closet and wandered downstairs, and through the rooms on my way to the kitchen.
I searched for a sign of Thane or of Corrin but they weren’t around. I finally made it to the kitchen, also deserted. Opening the fridge, the first thing I noticed was the bowl of blueberries. It had only been a few days since I fell in a pile of blueberries, getting choked by Thane. My how things had changed. Maybe something was wrong with me? I’d adjusted so quickly to everything...had even slept with two of them after being terrorized by them for weeks. Thane had literally choked me right outside this kitchen. And here I was, casually eating breakfast instead of trying to get away like any normal girl. Was I so desperate for affection of any kind that I had latched on to the first sign of it? This was literally the species that I believed was responsible for my parent’s disappearance.
My appetite had disappeared with my morose thoughts, so I closed the refrigerator and wandered into the other rooms in the house. I decided to explore the house a bit more to get my mind off things. I could wonder if I was sick in the head at some other point. After yesterday I needed a day off.
I walked through the rooms, stopping to admire the expensive artwork on the walls. I’d been in a hurry to find an exit the last time I had explored the house and I hadn’t had time to admire the fact that there was a movie theater and workout room that was the size of the gym that I attended near home.
I was strolling through the library filled with more books than I had ever seen in one place, and was about to leave, when I noticed a section of the wall that looked like it stuck out farther than everywhere else.
Walking over I realized that the wall seemed to be sticking out farther because it was some kind of disguised door, and it had been left open. Peeking through the crack I spied a steep staircase leading to an open area. I opened the door a little wider and listened for a moment, trying to see if I could hear any voices coming from down below. I couldn’t hear anything. Ignoring the voice in my head that said I should leave it alone; I opened the door wider and started to descend. I paused every couple of steps to see if I could hear anything, and then would continue on when everything remained silent. I had been searching for a reason for their arrival, so maybe I’d finally stumbled across the answer. Excitement tangled in my gut, layered with fear over getting caught.
When I reached the bottom of the steps, I stared around in amazement. Out of everything that I had seen related to the Vepar, this room was the most “out of this world” yet. Sleek, silver tables were set up with hologram images projecting out of them. There was one table that displayed what looked like about 100 different screens showing different parts of the world. Another table had a hologram screen with thousands of numbers scrolling down. I examined the 100 plus images for a moment trying to see if there was anything familiar looking, but I couldn’t recognize anything.
Skipping the numbers for now I walked over to the left wall which was made up of an enclosed glass bookcase showcasing various specimens in every chamber. I gasped in amazement at some of the creatures that must have been from their planet. A black, spider with twelve legs instead of eight. It was easily three times the size of a tarantula, and I shivered as I watched it eat a mouse whole. There was some kind of purple creature with four eyes, reminding me of the embodiment of the Furby toy that had been popular when I was a child.
There were also things that were recognizable and left me shivering. In one chamber sat a human heart… Still beating. In another one was an organ that I was pretty sure were female ovaries. And in another one was a human embryo.
Sickness rose through me, so I finally backed away and headed over to the hologram with all the numbers. There were thousands of digits on the screen, but only two columns fully caught my attention. One said Vepar Female and one said Human Female. The numbers were changing rapidly on the human column. What was it counting? Deaths? Or women attending gyms. I almost laughed at how stupid that sounded. What if it was somehow tracking every birth and death? The Vepar column was barely changing with almost no deaths and no births at all.
I tried to think what they would need such information for. Looking through the other columns I found no columns for males.
“What are you doing in here?” barked an angry sounding Corran from behind me.
My heart skipped in my chest, and I twirled around to see him at the base of the stairs, a red tinge to his very handsome cheeks.
“I was just exploring the house and the door was open,” I tried to explain, my voice shaking.
“You shouldn’t be down here,” he snapped. “Did you touch anything?”
“No, I just looked,” I answered, my hands trembling at how angry he sounded. Corran had always only sounded interested or mild-mannered. I hardly recognized the seething Vepar in front of me.
“I’m sorry,” I started to say, but he was already pointing to the stairs.
“G
et out of here,” he yelled, and I didn’t waste a second more trying to apologize. I flew up the stairs with tears in my eyes.
I ran into Thane at the top of the stairs. “What were you doing down there?” he demanded.
“I’ve already been yelled at enough; I don’t need you to chime in. I’d almost forgotten I was a prisoner in this place, but I won’t be forgetting again,” I told him, flying by before he could grab my arm. I ran to my bedroom and slammed the door, wishing there was a way to lock the door from the inside.
Ten minutes ticked by as I pouted on the bed, my mind racing with what had been in that room and the look in Corran’s eyes when he’d seen me down there. Why didn’t they want me to see whatever those things were measuring?
A knock sounded on my door, startling me from my musings since I hadn’t heard anyone climbing the stairs. “Can I come in?” asked Corran through the door.
“No,” I belligerently said, knowing that I was acting like a two-year-old even as I said it. He opened the door anyway. I didn’t expect anything less because from the beginning the Vepar had done whatever they wanted.
“I’m pretty sure I told you not to come in,” I said as he stood at the foot of my bed. I was pleased to see he looked a bit scared of me...and slightly ashamed.
“I came to apologize,” he said, fiddling with the bottom of his shirt in a decidedly human gesture.
I continued my childish behavior by not saying anything and just staring at him stonily.
“I’m sort of a rarity on Vepar,” he continued, when he saw that I wasn’t going to say anything. “Our scientists have for the most part been able to eradicate any abnormalities or disorders that used to be present in the Vepar genetic line. My parents were Vepar that were a part of the last nomadic clan though, so they hadn’t been subject to any of the genetic cleansing like the rest of the population. I have a disorder most similar to your human Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. When I saw you down there, all I could think about was that you had touched something, and it was out of the order I kept it in.” He took a deep breath and looked at me beseechingly, “I had no intention of scaring you, Ella.”