by Ivy Sparks
I took the pillow from the bed and tossed it at him. “There’s nothing sexy about you at all!” I shouted. “All you are is big and scary and… and—” Why were words so difficult for me in front of this handsome Adonian? “Stupid!”
I strode toward the door. This wasn’t worth it, I told myself. The money would have to be made some other way. He caught my hand before I reached the exit and pulled me back into the bed on top of him. “You don’t have to touch me anywhere, if you don’t wish,” he said, his hands still holding mine. “I truly meant no offense. If I made you feel like you’re anything other than stunning, that wasn’t my intention.”
I was still tempted to leave, even if I had never been told anything like that before. This handsome alien truly thought I was stunning? I wanted to turn away, tell myself he was lying, but his hands were so warm, like the sun he spent his days under. I didn’t want to give up the sensation of the sun, knowing I would never receive it again.
After taking a moment to recover from my embarrassment, my fingers lightly caressed the tip of his unmarred wing again. “I want to touch you here,” I said, watching him shiver underneath me, his jaw slackening. I pressed my palm against the folds of his wing, stroking them lightly. “Do you like that?”
He groaned, fidgeting under me. “If you keep touching me like that, I might not be able to control myself.” His eyes looked so primal then, and I realized he really was warning me.
And something about that made me stroke his wing even more.
His arms circled around me, pinning my body close to his. He leaned in and I closed my eyes, waiting for him to press his lips against mine. Instead his nose nuzzled my neck, inhaling deeply. I tilted my head, and he stroked my neck gently, a hand running through my hair as he inhaled again.
His breath sent goosebumps down my neck, my back.
His hands palmed my waist while I stroked his wings. He moaned. Something hard pressed against my thigh. “Do you like that?” I asked.
“Yes,” he hissed.
I guess we’re doing this, I thought, trailing a hand down from his shoulder to his groin. Under different circumstances, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have hesitated to have at least a one-night stand with him. But the fact that money had been exchanged made me a little less eager.
If only we had met under different circumstances.
But would he have even glanced my way then?
No use ruining the moment. He was as hot—and as gentle—a man as I could have hoped to take me to a back room here. I pressed my hand against him while my other brushed his wing. He gasped and arched his back. His hands grabbed me, pulling me into him and pressing his lips against mine.
I opened my mouth slightly, his tongue licking my bottom lip before pressing inside and intertwining with mine. My hand unbuttoned his pants and he bucked against me. His tongue stroked mine and I delved my tongue against his teeth. He caught my tongue and sucked on it, causing me to gasp.
His hands unclasped my bra, discarding it before cupping my breasts, his thumbs circling my nipples. I groaned and pressed myself against his hard length, which was so warm, even through our clothing. His mouth escaped mine, kissing the length of my neck down to my breasts. My hands ran through his hair, clenching hard when his tongue circled my nipple, teasing before enveloping one in his mouth.
He sucked lightly and I gasped, grinding against him. His hand cupped my groin, his sturdy thumb rubbing my clit through my black panties. My hand left his hair to stroke his bioengineered wing, making him growl when I gripped his talon. His hand entered beneath my panties, a finger sliding against my wet nub.
I pulled away from him, for a moment fear clawing at me. He was an Adonian, so much larger than me. Was it even possible for us to do this? His finger slowly circled my clit, his mouth inching toward mine, and I could see his wolf-like canines. I leaned away, still unsure, and he moaned before looking down at his hand in my panties.
My body felt like it was melting. He lifted his gaze to mine as a finger pushed against my entrance. I inhaled deeply, letting my breath out with a hiss. His gaze locked onto my eyes as he pressed his lips against mine. I nuzzled his nose. He nuzzled me back with a groan. He stopped his administrations briefly and I whimpered.
“Tell me you want it,” he whispered in my ear before sucking on the lobe.
At this point it wasn’t about the money. I ground against his hand, the hand of a real man—a man who knew exactly how to touch a woman. “I want it,” I breathed.
His thumb stroked my clit while a finger delved deep inside me. I moaned, my head pressing into his shoulder. He was slow at first; one finger sliding in and out of me. I pressed against him, the feeling within me demanding more. Another finger entered. I ground against him, meeting each thrust of his fingers. I wanted more. Needed more. My mind centered on those fingers. I knew I should be pleasuring him, doing something at the very least, but I couldn’t pull myself away from his stimulation.
I cupped his face and kissed him, sloppy and wet. His teeth pulled at my tongue, sucking on me. I gasped and pressed my hand against the hard clothed cock pushing against my thigh. He groaned, adding more pressure on my clit. My cries were getting louder. I couldn’t stop myself from riding against him. I couldn’t focus.
“I can’t hold back anymore,” I gasped.
Vorian growled and his fingers moved faster. His lips captured mine. “Oh, God,” I whimpered, my hands latched onto his shoulders. I cried out as my orgasm rippled through me, my lips fluttering around his powerful fingers, thrusting against him one last time before dropping my head onto his shoulder. I shuddered while he kissed my neck, nuzzling me there before removing his fingers from me. For a moment I sat in his lap, shivering against him, unable to move, the sound of the music booming in the background returning to my ears.
Fuck, I needed that.
Vorian stroked a lock of hair away from my ear. Shivering, I leaned in to the sensation.
“I want you,” he whispered. “I don’t want to leave you here.”
Lyra.
The academy.
I felt the gears in my head spinning. The bills. The flights. The meal plan. The academy tuition. Everything. There was a way I could pay for it all.
I pushed myself away from his shoulder, wobbling, still reeling from my climax. In this moment, he really could have had me for free, but the more practical part of my brain managed to take control. “You can have me,” I said, running one finger down the length of his wing. “For a price.”
Chapter Four
Ellie
I was pretty sure both of our hearts skipped a beat when I offered to sell myself entirely to him. And the price tag I asked for probably made his heart skip a second time. He seemed momentarily taken aback by the offer, possibly even offended. He didn’t have to say it; I knew what he was thinking: Do you take me for a man who’d abuse his power to buy a woman?
No, I didn’t.
And that was when I started crying, and he gently pulled me into his shoulder, making gentle little shhs as he stroked my hair.
“Whatever trouble you’re in,” he said, “I can help you.”
“I need to get out of here. I’ve made an enemy of the entire work crew here, and it’s not just that I need to escape. I need the money too. For my sister.”
I hadn’t even realized until then that I had been scared of the retaliation certain members of the work crew would have in store for me. No way Matthew wouldn’t try to do something to restore his dignity.
Vorian nodded understandingly. His blue eyes were so handsome and calming as he looked me over with care. “I can help you with both of those things. Does your sister need to leave the Orion too?”
That surprised me. He was offering an escape for my sister too? But as I thought about it, I realized I was the only one who needed to get the hell out of here. “No. She’s fine. She’s in good standing with everyone here, and she’s just about finished with high school. I’m the one who seems to cau
se trouble everywhere I go.” I tried to laugh, but it came off humorless.
Still, Vorian was patient and understanding. “I can take you off this base, and I can pay for whatever your sister needs. Would you like to live with me, in my castle?”
In his castle? “Uh. Yeah, that would probably be okay.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything of you,” he added quickly.
As thoughtful as that was, I half wanted him to expect something from me. Maybe more of what transpired in this room, even… Never had a man satisfied me like that.
Still, I wanted to know his motives. “Then why offer me any help in the first place, if you don’t expect anything in return?”
He put a rough hand on my face. I instinctively leaned into its warmth. “I can tell you’re hurting,” he began. “Well, it seems almost everyone on this base is suffering in some way. But I have the resources to help you, at least. And I have the means to cure the atmospheric sickness, allowing you to roam freely on Adonia without lifelong medications.”
That sounded wonderful. A sob threatened to escape my throat, but I swallowed it down. “Please don’t do this out of pity.”
“Pity?” he repeated, smiling as if I had to be kidding. “You’re the first woman to be kind to me since…” Vorian hesitated, then looked over his shoulder at his scarred wing. He had trouble putting whatever it was into words. “Forget that. I have no expectations of you. I’m the one who owes you kindness, after you were willing…” Again, he had trouble saying it.
“Willing to touch you?”
He nodded and looked away.
Were the women in his life that cruel? Did a disfigurement mean that much to an Adonian woman that she’d overlook everything else that was beautiful about Vorian?
I knew the race prided themselves in their advancements and perfection, but that seemed like a bit much.
This poor beast…
“If we’re to do this,” he began, “we must do this now.”
I blinked. “Right now?”
“Before I change my mind.”
Shit. This was my only chance to have everything I wanted. I couldn’t let him have second thoughts. “Okay. Okay, just let me pack up a few things and say goodbye to my sister first?”
Vorian nodded. “Of course. I’ll wait for you by the main airlock.” I could sense hesitation in his voice, and the absolute last thing I wanted was for him to decide to leave without me. But I still had to make sure the money was secured for my sister.
“Could you transfer the funds to me? Before I leave?”
“Of course,” he said again, not having much to say now. He seemed to still be reeling from his admission that women no longer wanted to touch him. I think even he hadn’t realized how much he’d been yearning for the touch of a woman again.
God, I hated that I had to ask him to pay me. But my sister needed it.
“How do we…?” I began, not sure how he’d give me the money.
“On the wall there.” He stood up. A card reader was affixed to the wall. I stood and approached it, entering my account number. He swiped his card and I held my breath at how many zeros he punched in after the initial one.
My sister would be set for life.
When he hit “transfer,” I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him tight. I knew he didn’t want me like this, but in that moment, I was his to do with as he wished.
He gently pulled away. “You can just have the money. I mean it. You don’t need to come with me.”
“I can’t stay here,” I insisted. “I’ll be watching my back for the rest of my life here.”
“All right.” He put his hand on the door handle and paused. “I’ll see you at the airlock then.”
He left me to gather my clothes and make myself presentable for the walk back to my little apartment. My fingers shook as I struggled with my bra clasp. What would I tell my sister?
I couldn’t tell her the truth. I’d have to tell her I found a job opportunity outside. But that I had to go now. It wasn’t exactly a lie anyway.
I just knew she was too smart to buy it.
I walked back to my apartment. The bright lamplight signaled it was already morning. I heard showers running and people talking over breakfast in the apartments I passed. My echoing footsteps were clear, yet everything around me felt fuzzy.
It wasn’t like me to do something so desperate, but an opportunity like this one was too big to turn down.
After losing my job as a mechanic, and doing so in such spectacular fashion, I knew the only opportunities left for me here would be on the lowest of the bottom rungs. Besides selling my body—which apparently only one man in the world found attractive—the only other opportunity left for me was working in the toxic sewers. And people who worked down there were lucky to not succumb to disease within a year.
Vorian showing up… It felt like fate. Not that I believed in that kind of thing, but to have a man of such means become so taken by me… It felt like some sort of intervention, whether it was the divine variety, fate, or luck. Vorian could have been a total asshole and I would have still considered myself lucky, yet instead he was thoughtful, kind, and harboring a deep hurt that only intrigued me more.
I didn’t even notice I reached my door until I was standing outside of it. I typed in the code, but my fingers kept fumbling with the keys. Each time I pressed enter, it buzzed at me, the screen reading INCORRECT PASSCODE while flashing red. I stared at it, blinking back tears as everything dawned on me.
I wasn’t returning home.
I was leaving.
Forever.
My fingers keyed in the code again. It buzzed and flashed red. I slammed my fist against the screen.
The door slid open and my sister stood in the door frame. Her blue eyes, which reminded me so much of Dad, were puffy, her ponytail in disarray. “Where the hell have you been?” she cried, throwing herself into my outstretched arms.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered into her hair. “I’m so sorry.”
Lyra wrenched herself out of my arms. “What happened? Why are you dressed… like that?” She gazed down at my bra and panties. I was glad to be wearing black… My face flushed from the memory of Vorian stroking me while I straddled his lap.
I knelt down in front of my sister, my arms on her shoulders. “I was able to get the money for your tuition,” I said, handing her the updated card with my earnings. “This will pay for everything. Everything you could ever need for a very long time.” I smiled up at her despite the tears I felt running down my face. “Everything is set.”
She threw her hands off me, taking a step back. Her eyes filled with horror. “How did you get the money, Ellie?”
“I got a job off base. But I only get this job if I leave now.” I stepped inside, heading for my room to pack a few things, but also to escape Lyra’s disbelieving stare.
She chased after me. “I don’t want the money.” She shoved the card at me. “I want you.”
I gently covered her hand with mine and pushed the card back. “I will always be with you, Lyra.” She shook her head and I grabbed her chin, turning her gaze back to mine. “You need to get out of this dump. You deserve better. And… And I’m getting out of this dump too. This is what’s best for both of us.”
“You can’t leave me.”
“Lyra, you’re almost done with high school. You weren’t going to be staying here with me for much longer anyway. And with this new… job, I know you’re set for life. It’s a small sacrifice for both of us to make.”
Lyra scowled at me through her tears. Her lips twitched and she sniffed, pushing her hair behind her ears. “At least,” she paused, and roughly wiped her eyes. “At least tell me where you’re going.”
I stroked her hair, trying to memorize the contours of her face, her fierce gaze, the way she held herself like a diplomat. I might never see her again, and the thought made my eyes burn. I wasn’t going to see her graduate, I wouldn’t be there for her when she needed advice.
I felt like I was repeating what Dad did to us, leaving the family to fend for themselves.
But this was different. I was doing it for Lyra’s own good.
I returned to my packing, grabbing only a few things and shoving it into an old backpack. I put on some presentable clothes, shrugged the backpack onto my shoulders, then turned to face Lyra.
I needed to tell her more than I had already. I owed her that much. “I was bought by a very, very nice man.” I forced myself to smile. I couldn’t tell her it was an Adonian who bought me. That would only worry her more. She didn’t need to know all the information.
She glared. “Bought?”
“Wrong word. What I meant to say was, I’ve been contracted to assist him. For a very long time.”
“Where?”
I didn’t really know the answer to that question. I guessed, knowing where most Adonians lived on this planet. “He lives in the northern peaks. He’ll be taking me there. Really, it’s a good thing I’m going so far away. I’ll be safer not staying here. Something happened at my job, and…” I trailed off there, not wanting to worry her. I never mentioned to her that I got fired earlier.
Lyra stared at me. The subtle tilt of her head and narrowing of her eyes told me she didn’t believe me. I didn’t know what else I could say to prove my safety. So far Vorian hadn’t hurt me. He’d been quite gentle during my time with him.
The key phrase being “so far.”
Lyra threw herself into my arms once more. “I take it he has medication for you to live in their atmosphere?” I nodded. “Please be careful,” she whispered in my ear. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” I held her tightly in my arms, savoring the citrus smell of her hair, the thin frame of her shoulders. I bit down a sob when she pulled away from my arms.
I couldn’t stand before her any longer. I took off, heading out the door without another word.