Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery

by Margo Bond Collins

  The column of her throat moved as she swallowed nervously. I wanted to stroke the pale skin there, follow a line down to her chest, to the swell of her breast.

  Slow down, I admonished myself. It would do no good to get myself overexcited about any of this. Not until I was certain of Natalie’s consent.

  “Maybe we should go talk about it.”

  “We still have not eaten,” I reminded her. “We could take a little time to discuss this.”

  She nodded. “Let’s go back to the food court and see what we can come up with.”

  I still carried the food we had gotten in the food court. But by now, it had grown cold and inedible. I dropped it in the nearest waste receptacle, listening to the whoosh of the station’s recycler whisking it away. I turned to Natalie. “Let’s go pick up new plates of sandworms and see what we can come up with.”

  She froze, her eyes huge. “Did you say sandworms?”

  “Yes. I thought you liked them.”

  “Those were worms? I was eating worms?”

  I laughed. “They are a delicacy on Khanavai. Once they’re dead, anyway. The live worms are disgusting.”

  A shudder ran through her entire body. “I don’t think I could eat them again now.”

  “What did you think they were?”

  “Some kind of pasta.”

  “Pasta? What is that?”

  “Long, thin noodles made of grains. We boil them until they’re soft. They have a similar texture to your… sandworms.”

  “Sounds bland. I’ve had some of your Earth grains. I could hardly taste them at all.”

  “We put various sauces on them. Just like you did with that dish.” She obviously couldn’t bring herself to say the word worms again.

  I chuckled. “That’s not a sauce. Sandworms are cooked in their dying excretions. That’s what gives them such an amazing flavor.”

  This time, Natalie’s swallow seemed more convulsive than nervous. “Maybe I could just get some coffee. Do they sell that at the food court? Earth coffee, I mean. I don’t want anything made from worms or bug guts or something.”

  This time I was the one who shuddered. “Coffee? That bitter, dark drink? And you think sandworms are foul?”

  “Coffee is fine if you put cream and sugar in it.”

  “Wait. Isn’t cream made from cow-squeezings? That’s much more disgusting than sandworms,” I teased.

  “Cow-squeezings? Oh, God. I’m never going to eat or drink anything again.”

  It was good to be able to make her laugh. By the time we reached the food court again, we were ten minutes into our hour to decide.

  Natalie sat down with a cup of Jalevian tea, first having quizzed me on the ingredients used to create it.

  She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a reminder of her experience with Tiziani. “I can’t believe Vos gave us that ultimatum.”

  “I can,” I said darkly. “I’m beginning to think the Bride Games aren’t as straightforward as they’ve always been made out to be.”

  “Oh, I’m sure of it.” She rubbed her hand across her forehead. “I don’t know you. We’ve barely met. I can’t agree to marry you.”

  I inclined my head once, just enough to let her know that I accepted what she said. “Then we have no choice but to return to the games.”

  “The thought of that makes my stomach hurt,” Nathalie confessed.

  “I will protect you.”

  “You can’t be there every single moment.”

  The growl that I had been holding in ever since Vos made his offer once again threatened to escape. “Tiziani will not have another chance to hurt you. I swear it.”

  And if he tried, this time I wouldn’t simply throw him across the room. I would rip him to shreds with my bare hands.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Natalie

  I just have to get through this nightmare once more.

  I mean, the other things that had happened today hadn’t been quite so bad. The luncheon …well, it was over, at least. Cav rescuing me, our time together since then—those things had been good.

  And after we finished this stupid spanking ceremony game, the worst would be past.

  They had sent us to a different spanking room from the one that Cav had ripped the door off of that morning. This one had a purple chair instead of a blood-red one. Otherwise, they were exactly alike. My heart started pounding as soon as we walked in, and Cav glanced around the room assessingly.

  “That chair is a terrible set-up for the spanking ceremony,” he announced.

  “What?” That was not at all what I had expected to hear from him.

  “Oh, I’m sure it appeals to the old-school Khanavai, the ones who don’t want to give up any of our old traditions or accept any new ones. That’s ridiculous. Khanavai and humans have been intermarrying now for, what, almost sixty of your Earth years? Our cultures are bound to overlap and intermingle, changing both.”

  “Makes sense.” My voice was trembling. I couldn’t stop thinking about what came next, even though Cav was clearly trying to help me overcome my anxiety.

  “Anyway,” Cav continued, “modern Khanavai warriors do not spank their mates.”

  “They don’t?” I squeaked.

  “Well, only for fun.” He gave me a slow wink, but that dimpled grin of his made it less seductive and more cute.

  I shook my head at myself. Hard to believe I had gone from finding Cav enormous and terrifying to thinking of him as cute in such a short time.

  “Okay, then,” I asked, forcing my voice to remain steady this time, “what do we do? If we’re not going to use the chair, I mean.”

  Cav dropped to the floor, crossing his legs in what we had in my childhood called crisscross applesauce.

  “Come sit across from me,” he said, leaning forward to pat the cold metal floor in front of him. As I followed his instructions, he turned around and removed the cushion from the seat of the chair, ripping it away when he discovered it was attached. Then he rolled it up and put it beside me. “Stretch out on your stomach. Use that to pillow your arms and head.”

  I did as he said, but when he scooted closer to me, my entire body tensed up.

  “I’m not going to start yet. I’m just getting us both ready.” His deep voice took on a soothing cadence.

  “Okay.” My voice squeaked and I bit the inside of my lips to keep from making another noise.

  Cav drew my skirt up to uncover my ass, and this time only my butt cheeks clenched up.

  Setting his enormous palm against my practically bare ass, Cav murmured, “Relax. I’ll give you plenty of warning before I start the ceremony. Let’s simply talk for a while.”

  His hand was warm and soothing, and he began rubbing in gentle circles.

  “I don’t know what to talk about.” My voice came out sounding breathier than I intended it to.

  “You said you were studying biochemistry. What does a biochemist do, exactly?” His hand continued its gentle, hypnotic motion across my ass—which was feeling a lot warmer and less painful than it had when he started.

  “Well, it depends,” I said, finally beginning to truly relax. “I want to go into cancer treatment research. For all our medical advancements—including the ones brought to us by the Khanavai—cancer still takes far too many lives every year.”

  “Mm,” Cav murmured. “Among my people, too. We’ve eliminated some kinds, but far from all.”

  “So that’s my goal. I’m one year away from finishing my degree, and if…” My voice trailed off. If I don’t get stuck going to Khanavai, I can still follow my dream.

  Cav didn’t ask me to finish the sentence. I think he knew where it was headed. “What made you want to go into that field?”

  “My father died when I was eight from a fast-growing brain cancer. By the time anyone knew he had it, it was too late to do anything about it. He was gone in less than a month.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  I shrugged, the motion pulling my skirt up even hi
gher. “Thanks. It’s okay. It was a long time ago. But I’d like to help make sure that never happens to anyone again.”

  “Is your mother still alive?”

  Oh, God. My mother. She was watching this. I cringed in embarrassment.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Cav went back to smoothing my skin with his hand.

  “Yeah. She lives in Denver with my younger sister.” God. Was Julie watching this, too? I needed to change the subject, and fast. “You’re a captain in the Khanavai space-fleet, right?”

  “Right now, yes. But what I really want to do is attend our Special Ops program.”

  “Special Ops. Is that like spies and stuff?”

  “The Khanavai version, yes. I applied this year and was almost certain to get in. This year’s class began yesterday.”

  “Then why did you agree to participate in the Bride Games?”

  He shrugged, his hand still rubbing my ass cheek. “My commander encouraged it. Besides, I might not ever get another chance to find a mate.” I couldn’t help but wiggle my butt a little under his ministrations. “Anyway,” he continued, “I’m allowed a one-time enrollment deferment. I can always go next year.”

  “Why can’t you defer more than once?”

  “Command Central believes that demonstrates a lack of commitment.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Militaries. Making stupid decisions on every world.”

  Cav laughed aloud, then gently patted my butt, like I might a dog’s head. “Okay. Stay relaxed and calm. Don’t move. I think we’re ready for my version of the spanking ceremony.”

  “You promise it’s not going to hurt?”

  “I promise.” He uncrossed his legs and stretched out beside me on his side, propping himself up on one elbow and keeping the other hand moving in gentle circles over me. “I’m going to be very careful. I won’t get you anywhere Tiziani bruised you. You may feel a sting, but it won’t actually be painful.”

  “Is this like how doctors say you’re going to feel a ‘pinch,’ and then it hurts like hell?”

  The soft chuckle was deep in Cav’s chest this time. “That’s not my plan.”

  “Okay,” he said, his voice turning hypnotic again. “Think of your favorite place, the place you feel most relaxed and happy.”

  That was easy. Having grown up in Colorado, I loved the mountains. I imagined a glacier-formed meadow, deep in the Rockies, stretching out in front of me springtime, covered in wildflowers.

  “That’s it.” Cav’s hand cupped my ass, and two of his enormous fingers slipped between my thighs to brush against the outside of my panties.

  My nipples hardened at the touch, the realization of how close he was to the core of me sending a shiver through me.

  He did that several times, and I writhed a little, embarrassed to realize that my panties were getting soaked—and he could definitely tell.

  With Cav, the spanking ceremony was a slow, gentle seduction.

  I swallowed, fighting my body’s reaction to him. And then, when I’d almost decided he wasn’t going to spank me, after all, he lifted his hand and gave my left ass cheek a smack. It wasn’t exactly gentle—I heard the sound of it crack through the room. I squealed and jerked, but his hand was right back where it had been, smoothing my ass and stroking my pussy outside my panties.

  His touch rubbed away the slight sting. And when he did it again on the other cheek, I actually giggled.

  What the hell was this? I couldn’t believe I was enjoying a man—well, a male, at least—hitting my ass.

  But Drindl and Plofnid had been right. This wasn’t punishment.

  It was foreplay.

  When he moved back to the first cheek, my core clenched, not out of fear, but expectation. This time the slap did sting a little more, but it didn’t bother me—it felt more like…waking up my whole body. I was certain he wasn’t going to bruise me.

  He wasn’t going to hurt me.

  “I’m going to do this five times on each side,” Cav told me, never losing that deep, relaxing cadence to his voice. “Am I hurting you?”

  “No,” I confessed. “That’s not what I’m feeling.”

  “Mmm,” he rumbled, deep in his chest.

  After the third round of ass-slaps, he reached up underneath me from behind to cup my mound, the tip of his middle finger circling my clit. My breath caught in my chest. No one had ever made me feel like this before. Like every nerve was alert, aware, ready for his touch—and yet also completely relaxed. When he lifted his hand for the fourth round, I found myself arching my back to lift my ass in the air for him, giving him better access.

  And by the fifth, it was all I could do not to turn to face him, begged him to take me, right there in front of the cameras.

  But I still retained some semblance of dignity. Not much. But some.

  After all, my mother and sister would probably see this.

  As Cav moved back to simply stroking my cheeks in circles, I tried to regain my composure.

  Eventually, my breath no longer trembled out of me, and that ache deep inside my body had receded to a mere throb reminding me that Cav was still right there, still touching me, still staring at me with those intense violet eyes.

  Apparently, Cav had tuned in to my body and become as aware of it as I was of his, stretched out beside me, heat rolling off him in waves. Because the moment I decided I was ready to get out of this room, Cav was already there, pulling his hand away and straightening my clothes.

  “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” He pulled my skirt down and smoothed his hand over it, cupping my ass one last time.

  I turned to him, my face burning hot, and grinned, my smile teasing. “It was terrible. I hated every single second of it.”

  As we stood up and prepared to leave the game room, I stole a glance at Cav, who was sporting an erection.

  An enormous one.

  I swallowed again, this time at the thought of what he must look like naked.

  Play to lose, Nat, I reminded myself—for what felt like about the millionth time.

  Oh, fuck that.

  Great. The tiny voice in my head was back.

  Kiss the sexy alien man.

  But for once, we agreed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cav

  I want her more than I had ever wanted any female in my life.

  My thoughts must have shown in my face, because Natalie closed the gap between us, placing her hands flat on my chest, sliding them up and around my neck. She stood on her tiptoes and ran her fingers up the nape of my neck. She closed her fists, gently grabbing me by the hair, and pulled my face toward hers.

  I let myself be led to her, allowed my face to be guided until our lips touched.

  I still didn’t move. I waited for her to take the lead—not the norm for a male and a female on Khanavai, but I knew that was the only way she would allow this to happen. On her terms. And so I simply breathed. Natalie’s mouth opened against mine, and a tiny moan escaped her as she pressed up tightly against me.

  Her tongue flicked out against my lips.

  That was all the invitation I needed.

  With a groan deep in my throat, I wrapped my arms around her, sliding my hands down to that ass I had wanted to grab since the first day I’d seen it. I pulled her in as close to me as I could, close enough for her to feel how hard my cock was, and I swept my tongue through her mouth, kissing her hard and deep, as if I were trying to brand her.

  Mine.

  She melted against me, molded herself to me, and then responded with all the fiery passion I could have wished for.

  It was all I could do to keep from stripping her down right there, bending her over, and filling her, making her mine for real.

  The only thing that stopped me was that I knew I wanted it to be her idea. I wanted to make this human woman mine, but only after she made me hers.

  Our kiss continued until the klaxon bell telling us filming had stopped began bleating insistently.

  Natalie dropp
ed down to stand flat-footed again and covered her ears with her hands. “Dear Lord, how do we shut that thing off?”

  “I think we should leave,” I shouted, just as the noise stopped, leaving my voice echoing through the room.

  With a giggle, Natalie took my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

  My mate might claim she didn’t like the spanking ceremony, but her body hadn’t lied to me.

  That kiss hadn’t lied.

  I had to keep her with me just a little longer.

  “According to the schedule, we’re free until tomorrow morning. Would you like a tour of the station?”

  She nodded. “Sure. I was hungover when I got here and didn’t bother with any of that.”

  Good. I didn’t want anything to convince her to quit holding my hand. Still, I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant. “Hungover?”

  “From drinking too much right before I was transported. I was at my twenty-first birthday party.” A shadow crossed her face.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m just wondering what all my friends are doing back on Earth.”

  “Have you contacted them?” I led us toward the public areas of the station.

  Her steps slowed. “No. Brides aren’t allowed to contact people back home until all the games end.”

  I hadn’t known that. I pulled her into the main thoroughfare. “Well, until then, let me show you around. Not that there is that much to show you. Most of the station is dedicated to the Bride Games. At least the part of it that we will be allowed to visit today.”

  Natalie glanced at me. “What are the parts we’re not allowed to go into?”

  “Those are the segments designated for the Khanavai military. We launch watch patrols into Earth space, pretty much patrolling the entire solar system for any incursion by the Alveron Horde.”

  “I don’t hear your current patrols talked about much back home, just the ways that you saved us before.”

  We strolled past the food court and into the greenery section of the station, used as part of the oxygenation system, and in some areas, to grow food plants. Here, though, the path we strolled along was lined with tall trees, some from Earth, others from Khanavai.