Defender of the Stars

by Lucee Joie

  Instead, I could feel the heat between my legs, the moisture that wasn’t just from the hot water. Plus, I knew the Ochek had a great sense of smell and I wondered if he could smell my musk, my desire for him. I hoped not, I pretended not.

  And now, here I was, laying on a double bed with him, fully clothed. I couldn’t even work out how that made me feel.

  “Do you want me to sleep on the floor?” Ece asks and I turn to him before I have gathered my thoughts, before I can shield myself from looking at him. It is too late to turn back now. The movement would be awkward, he would know that I am uncomfortable, that his gaze does things to me that even I don’t want to admit to.

  “No, you can stay here,” I say. “We’re both grownups.”

  And, I don’t know what I mean by that. Do I think we can be adults about the situation and ignore each other? Or, am I leading him on? Goading him into making a move?

  I honestly don’t know.

  “Well, I think I will turn in, then,” Ece says as he pulls his shirt over his head. I watch his muscles ripple as they work and want nothing more than to run my fingers over them, to feel the hardness of them under my touch.

  As quick as his bare chest is exposed, he is in bed beside me, his back towards me. It is cold on this planet, so I have already slid under the blanket before him and his action causes a tunnel of cold air between us that I try to ignore. Although, the coolness is also strangely refreshing as I feel the heat of attraction prickling across my skin.

  I close my eyes, tuck one arm underneath the pillow, and will myself to sleep.

  Of course, there is no way my mind will shut off now or my body will relax enough to drift off. Oh no, instead, I feel the familiar throb of my nether regions as I think about the feel of Ece’s body underneath my fingers. I want to touch him again, to run my fingers upwards along his fur, just like I used to, to feel the tug of his fur as it resisted me.

  Ece moves, rolling over onto his back, and the tunnel of cool air between us disappears. One of his arms flattens down on the blanket between us, dangerously close to my body. I want to shimmy in closer. Even with the blanket between us, it would still be like we were touching. I fight the urge, though.

  I think I hear a soft sigh from Ece and I strain my ears to the sound. It is gone as quickly as it came and I wonder if I truly heard it at all.

  My whole body fights me as I refuse to look his way. Even in the darkness, I am fearful that my gaze will snag on his own, that we will be forced to bare our souls to each other, to discuss our failed relationship.

  I am not ready for that. I am not sure that I will ever be ready for that.

  Biting my lip, I force back my own sigh. My arm reaches up, tucking itself behind my head as I finally turn and gaze at the stars.

  I am still clothed but I know that if I want wrinkle-free clothes in the morning, I need to remove them. However, I am not sure that by taking my clothes off, by having us both semi-naked in bed together is such a good idea.

  I have no choice though, as I screw up my nose against the thought of creased clothing. Reaching down, I figure it will be easiest to remove my pants first. As I do so, my arm slides down the side of Ece’s rigid stomach. I swear it was not intentional but I can feel every ripple and I close my eyes as I do so, almost forgetting what I was attempting.

  When I open my eyes, I look over to see if he has noticed and his gaze is searing into me, drawing me in and I cannot fight him any longer. My hand is still resting on his hot skin, can still feel the delicious texture of him underneath me.

  I want more.

  Yet, I don’t.

  I can see the same conflict in Ece’s eyes too and I want to reach up, to touch his face, to smooth those frown lines out. Instead, I bite down on my bottom lip to stop a sob from escaping.

  Closing my eyes against the pain of my conflicting emotions, I feel the soft touch of Ece, doing to me exactly what I wanted to do to him. As his fingers curl around my cheek, I lean into his touch, not opening my eyes, not wanting to acknowledge what is happening, not wanting to admit just how much I really want this.

  I am drunk, but not quite drunk enough to be lacking in control. However, I use it as an excuse to get lost in the moment, to cherish what is about to happen, to allow my body to respond in a way my sober self wants but cannot admit to.

  The gentle touch of lips against my own make me lose it, makes me throw myself at him, crushing against him as though this is our very last night together, as though we both have ownership over each other, which is something that has never happened before. Ece always owned me, always had control of my heart, even if he didn’t know about that last part. To have equal ownership in our relationship is something that I have always yearned for. This was even before I could admit to myself that I was falling the man that I had been sold to.

  I am pulled from my musings by his lips crushing against mine. Our mouths part in a desperate need for each other and I moan into his open embrace as our tongues collide.

  Ece pulls me towards him, rolls me over so that I am straddling him. I grind into his hips as I feel the swell of his cock underneath me. It is all I have ever wanted from him, to feel his body against mine.

  I hear a moan as I rub against him, as my own heat mounts, and it spurs me on. Opening my eyes, I make eye contact with Ece. He is gazing at me in wonder as if I am some sort of precious jewel that he is only just seeing for the first time. Leaning back, I writhe into him further, my fingers trickling down his chest, finally allowing myself the luxury of touching him, of loving him.

  Ece grabs at my hips, his body pushing further into me as his cock strains to enter. Reaching down, I lift Ece’s pants and allow his huge member to spring free. The heat of it rubs against me and I want to feel him inside of me. The desperate need grows and I lean forward, devouring Ece once more in a kiss that is nothing short of spectacular.

  Ece’s fingers scratch along my back, pulling my shirt upwards and we break from our kiss only long enough for the item of clothing to be pulled over my head and discarded. It is flung across the room and I giggle with excitement.

  This passion is new for me, new for our coupling, actually. During my captivity, we had always only been given a short amount of time to mate. As a result, our love-making had been punctual. Ece had always performed as he should and then left me alone again. Except for that one time when he sneaked in at night and we had fooled around under the covers. This felt like that moment, and I never wanted it to end.

  Ece’s grabs at my face, gently holding my cheeks in my hands as out embrace turns into something else. It has gotten personal all of a sudden. I stare into Ece’s eyes are we continue to kiss and he stares right back at me.

  There are a million things I want to say to him at this moment. Yet, I say nothing. Instead, I let my body do the talking.

  Reaching down, I rub his cock, stroke its throbbing heat before letting go of it. He whimpers in response., Tugging at my own pants, I want nothing more than to have Ece thrust into me, to feel the ecstasy of our union once more.

  Realizing what I am doing, he is there, helping me, pulling at my pants as I sit up, moving my leg and removing the last item of clothing. I groan at the contact of skin against skin. Throwing my head back, I writhe into him, my wet folds sliding over his member as Ece shimmies quickly out of his own pants.

  As soon as he is done with his task, I mount him. I cannot wait any longer and his eager cock slips inside. I swallow it whole as we set into the rhythm that we know so well.

  I pound away on top of Ece and he reaches up, his claws out just slightly so that when he rakes them over my nipples my muscles clench up in absolute delight. He groans out his response as his cock is massaged by me.

  Grabbing my hips, he pushes into me further, rubbing hard against my clit and I bite my lip against the sensation, not wanting to come yet but feeling the moment wash over me regardless.

  Sitting up, Ece rocks into me as I finally give in. Skin against fur, ever
y possible inch of our bodies are sliding against each other in a sweaty cataclysmic moment of bliss that Ece is soon joining in with.

  Panting, I collapse onto Ece as he lays back down. I am sated and, with my arms wrapped firmly around him, I fall quickly into a dreamless sleep. His arms around me are a buffer against everything bad that has ever happened to me.

  Chapter Six: Ece

  It is morning, the light gleams in through the overhead window and I am startled for a moment. It has been so long since I have awoken to daylight that I am confused as to where I am.

  Snuggling into the warm body next to me, I inhale the distinct aroma of human and my morning wood rages in response.

  Shit!

  My first reaction is to shy away, to untangle my arms from Shirley’s but she is holding on tightly and to do so would wake her. And, that would be awkward, for sure.

  Then, I remember last night.

  It was such a lust-fueled moment and I wonder if maybe it had something to do with how much alcohol Shirley had to drink. She hadn’t seemed overly drunk at the time. But now I was confused.

  Were we a thing again?

  I smile into the thought and realize that this is exactly what I have wanted since that stupid moment when I turned my back against Shirley, against the emotions I refused to acknowledge.

  I am not sure how last night is going to change things. It worries me that Shirley might regret her actions, that she might view last night as a mistake.

  It was no mistake to me and I lean further into her in and inhale her gorgeous aroma. Her hair tickles my nose but still, I continue. It has been so damn long since Shirl and I have laid together that I feel a deep ache inside at our distance.

  My boner continues to grow.

  It reaches out, stretches upwards along her back as her body tucks into mine. For the briefest of moments, she wriggles back against it before there is a scramble of bed sheets and she staggers from the embrace.

  “What are you doing?” she asks frantically. She drops the blankets and starts to pull on her own clothes and I watch as her breasts come dangerously close to falling out of her bra as she leans down to scramble for her pants.

  “Where the fuck is my T-shirt?” she complains as she scans the room for it. There is a sudden dash as she sights it and runs across the room.

  “To be fair, I think you were kind of into it,” I reply, stretching my arms up and tucking them behind my head. I am smug, I know, but I can’t help myself. Plus, I hope that Shirley will give in, will look this way, that she will remember our moment together last night and finally admit that we belong together.

  “I was not!” Her anger is adorable and I smother a laugh. Even I’m not that stupid—or mean—when it comes to taunting her. I throw back the bedding and rise to start dressing.

  Shirley has pulled on all of her clothes now and is staring at me with her arms crossed firmly across her chest. She is unsuccessfully avoiding gazing at my erection. I wonder if she has remembered last night yet but am not about to ask her about it.

  I turn away as I pull up my pants, trying to stuff the big boy down as I do so. By the time that I have turned back, Shirley is gone, the door slamming between myself and the bathroom.

  It is going to be a long day.

  “Are you staying another night?” the Brux asks.

  I shake my head. “No, we are heading to the city.”

  Shirley is standing obediently next to me. Her chains are on and I really wish that we didn’t have to keep up the charade regarding her captivity, especially after last night.

  She is refusing to look at me, to open herself up. I am guessing it has something to do with the potential that I might want to talk about what we did last night.

  Every time she moves, the chains rattle together and I have to clench my teeth against the sound. Why did our breed ever think that captivity was such a good idea with humans? It would serve us right if our kind died out completely. Slavery like this was not a way to run a race. Loving Shirley, seeing how her captivity has ruined us both, has made me see that.

  I wonder if the breeding program were successful would my father would stop surreptitiously harvesting human women. Somehow, I doubt it. There are many Ochek that like humans now and my father is always the first to see a way to make money out of any given situation. No, to have our kind respond to the breeding program would just free up my father to charge exorbitant prices for the privilege, of this I have no doubt.

  “It is a whirlwind vacation, then?” the Brux is asking and I only really catch the end of the conversation since I am so lost in my thoughts. No, my father needs to be stopped. My heart clenches at the thought, knowing that there is only one way to stop him. Even with his cruelty and ambition, he is still my father.

  I nod once more rather than reply to the Brux and take Shirley’s chain, leading her away.

  As soon as we are free of watchful eyes, I drop the chain and Shirley rubs at her neck.

  “Do you want to remove them?”

  “How far away from the city are we?”

  I look at my map a moment.

  “Another three miles in your scale.”

  “I may as well leave it on then,” she says and squints her eyes towards the horizon. She is still avoiding me.

  We are heading uphill, so the city is not yet visible, being set down in the gully on the other side. Not that it is really a city. Village is probably as big a settlement as the Brux will ever develop. But, to call it anything else in front of them is considered an insult.

  We walk on in silence for the remainder of the journey. There is a distance between us that I just can’t seem to fix. I wish I knew the right words that would make it all better.

  Last night may have been a miracle at the moment but it was anything but in the light of day. I know that my previous actions have burned Shirley, that she will likely never trust me again. Yet, I am determined to try. After being reminded of how sizzling hot Shirley is during love-making, there is no way that I will give her up so easily again.

  I just have to prove that to her somehow.

  Over the course of our time onboard the Prennia I have seen the affection between Horgeer and Beth and, to be perfectly honest, it has made me envious. I want that with Shirley, I realize. I have always wanted that with Shirley. Yet, because of my father’s influence, because of my need to please him, I have always hidden this concept away from myself. Now, it is surfacing and consuming me. Overnight, it has become my mission in this life.

  “I see people,” Shirley finally says and I look towards the horizon. We have nearly topped the hill we have been climbing and the path has been ever-widening as we did so.

  We stand still, watching the group approaching us.

  “Welcome,” one says as soon as they are close enough. I return the favor, introducing ourselves as I do so.

  “Where is the closest establishment where myself and my human can stay?” I cringe at the wording.

  “If you continue to follow this road, the Cavansary Inn is not far ahead. You won’t miss it.”

  Even though my kind have been harsh to the Brux, I am continually amazed by their hospitality. It unnerves me a little. The Ochek are always ready to battle, quick to hold a grudge. Yet, the Brux are helpful, friendly, and we have been coveting that to our own advantage.

  “Thank you,” I remember to say as we head onwards. Shirley nods her head as we pass and I notice the look of sadness in the face of the Brux as he looks at her.

  My kind’s shocking disregard for these people makes me feel sick. It is something that I desperately want to rectify now.

  Chapter Seven: Shirley

  I rub at my neck as we approach the establishment. The metal cuff is chaffing and I am actually looking forward to getting back to our room to remove it. Even if that means being alone with Ece once more.

  Closing my eyes, I try to shut out the conflicting feelings I have about last night. Even as I woke and leaped out of bed this morning, I knew
that I was making a huge mistake. If only I had thought things through before playing my cards and destroying any chance we had of happiness.

  I was not sure that what we did was right, or that Ece would finally see our relationship for what it could be. But now, thanks to my abrupt actions, I might never know.

  The room is smoky as we enter and I squint into it, my eyes watering. A man hands me a drink, this one a strange milky blue color. I take it and sip without thinking. It tastes like floral milk and I am not overly impressed. Putting it down on the table between us, I watch as Ece drinks his down in full.

  Ece is avoiding eye contact with me and I don’t know how to feel about that. It was probably my own stupid fault. After waking to his boner in my back, I was startled, unsure of what was going on. In my confusion, I had bolted.

  What had happened between us in the heat of the moment last night was the way I truly felt about Ece and I suspect it was the way he felt towards me as well. Yet, my actions had come ahead of my reasoning and now I didn’t know how to back up, to speak my mind about what had happened.

  And, if I was being entirely honest, perhaps I didn’t want to give Ece another chance to reject me as he had before when he gave me up.

  So now, here we were, in an awkward silence and I didn’t know how to fix it.

  “There’s a general,” Ece says, pointing towards a Brux wearing a strange suit, apparently made of the same sort of stretchy material that most workout gear on my planet is made from. It hugs the man’s body, his muscles appearing to strain through the material, as though wanting to burst free. On one arm, he is wearing a yellow sash, something I have not seen before and I wonder if that denotes his position. “We need to strike up a conversation with him, find out what is going on and whether or not we can stay.”

  As Ece speaks, he is rising from his seat. His hand is clutching my chain and I follow suit. Walking across the room, we approach the man and Ece claps down one hand on his shoulder.