The Smuggler's Radiant (Renegades Book 2)

by L P Peace

  ‘As a smuggler.’ Rhona grinned, grabbing a piece of meat from her plate and taking a bite. It reminded her of duck.

  ‘I admit it did not go to plan,’ he looked at Makios, ‘but I am grateful for the experience.’

  ‘Sidha,’ Rhona turned. ‘What about you?’

  ‘Well, the most interesting thing about me is, if I return to my world, the king will have me publicly executed.’

  ‘What did you do?’ Rhona asked.

  ‘I left,’ he said. ‘Which is strictly forbidden.’

  That isn’t the most interesting thing, Rhona thought. It was the regret and sadness she could see in his face, not necessarily for leaving, but for needing to go. She squeezed his hand and moved on.

  ‘Kenian?’ she said, looking at the Mvari.

  ‘I have no interesting thing,’ Kenian said.

  Rhona opened her mouth to push, but Makios’s hand landed on hers and squeezed. There was a warning in his eye. Rhona nodded and moved on.

  ‘Dabin?’

  ‘Well…’ Dabin’s voice was rough, like clogged gears. He cleared his throat, but it made no difference when he began again. ‘I’m Zenin, so I have this.’

  Dabin stood and took off his jacket. Beneath, he was wearing a vest, and Rhona was surprised by the quiet doctor’s muscle tone.

  ‘Observe, little human,’ he said.

  In a moment, his skin shifted, and he was covered in octagonal shapes that connected in fine lines across the surface of his skin.

  ‘What just happened?’

  Dabin grinned and rounded the table, holding out his arm to her.

  Rhona glanced at Makios, who was grinning at her. She reached out and touched the weird, scale-like things. ‘Is this some kind of shielding?’ she asked.

  Dabin nodded. His mouth was stretched in the slightest smirk.

  ‘That’s so cool,’ Rhona exclaimed. She looked down the table. ‘The rest of you really have to step your game up,’ she joked.

  ‘If we’re ever fired upon, little human, hide behind me.’

  ‘Seriously?’ Rhona asked, taking in the scales with a new appreciation.

  ‘Or,’ Vella spoke, ‘hide behind me, because no one vroks with the Ivoresh.’

  ‘I will vrok with anyone, my dear,’ Devorak said.

  ‘I know,’ she smiled.

  Rhona shook her head, refusing to engage with that information. ‘So nobody, err, vroks with the Ivoresh?’

  ‘Close enough,’ Vella smiled.

  ‘What else? Something about you?’

  Vella seemed to search her memory for a moment. ‘I don’t suppose the females of my species being larger than the males qualifies?’

  ‘That’s awesome,’ Rhona said. ‘But no.’

  ‘Dabin’s thing was racial,’ Vella moaned. ‘I served in my people’s military with distinction. I joined this smuggling crew with a clean record.’ She smiled at Rhona, pleased with her revelation.

  ‘What about you, Vanoor?’

  Vanoor’s tail appeared over his shoulder. ‘If we’re ever attacked, don’t hide behind me. This is a poisonous sting.’

  Rhona felt her eyes widen in shock and no small amount of fear. The Fenion who attacked her and gotten her uncle killed could have ended her in a moment with his tail. She forced her muscles to relax and a smile on her face. Vanoor wasn’t that alien.

  ‘What about you?’ Makios said, looking at Rhona.

  Rhona thought. ‘Erm, the flight I was captured on was my first flight as Captain on my parents’ ship.’

  ‘That was unfortunate,’ Vella said, a grimace of sympathy appearing on her face.

  ‘You’re telling me,’ Rhona said.

  ‘I know,’ Vella frowned. ‘That’s why I just said it.’

  ‘She says a lot of strange things,’ Makios shook his head.

  ‘Aw, thanks for having my back, baby.’ She smiled. Makios sat back a little, thoughtful. ‘No, it’s a turn of phrase. It means kind of a mix between, “You don’t have to tell me, I was there” and “I totally agree with you”.’

  Devorak shook his head. ‘I take it back. I’m never going to master your language.’

  ‘We don’t talk in turns of phrase,’ she laughed. ‘We just add them to,’ she pointed at Devorak, ‘daily vernacular.’

  ‘What purpose do they serve?’ Vella asked.

  ‘Too many to mention.’ Rhona shook her head. ‘That last one is just a quippy remark. They can be shorthand of understanding so that you can express an idea without saying it.’ Rhona shrugged. ‘There’s more uses than there are turns of phrase.’

  ‘So,’ Sidha said, ‘you were taken on your first turn as Captain?’

  Rhona nodded, grateful to Sidha for the U-turn in conversation.

  ‘How long were you Captain for?’

  ‘As long as it took me to get out of the Martian atmosphere,’ she said. ‘So about seven minutes.’

  Makios reached out again for Rhona’s hand. There was an empathetic look on his face. She grimaced then turned it into a smile.

  ‘I’m okay,’ she whispered.

  ‘Good,’ he whispered back.

  Slowly conversation drifted away. Rhona and Makios finished their meal. After a short time, Makios pushed his seat back, and Rhona slipped into his lap, resting her head on his shoulder.

  ‘Tired?’

  ‘Not really,’ Rhona said, shaking her head.

  ‘Me neither.’ He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. ‘Want to go to bed?’

  Rhona nodded. Makios stood, holding her in his arms. ‘Good evening.’ They were chased from the room by loud groans.

  ‘What is it?’ Rhona heard Devorak ask.

  ‘They’re so loud,’ Sidha groaned.

  ‘Oh, excellent,’ Devorak answered. Rhona could practically see the lascivious smile on his face.

  Makios closed the door behind them and set Rhona down.

  They stripped as they walked to the bed. When they reached it, Makios reached down and pressed his lips gently to Rhona’s. There was a lack of urgency to it. It was slow, deep and made her breathless.

  She put her arms around his neck, then skimmed her hands over the thick muscles of his shoulders, across his ropey pectorals, over his washboard abdominals and down to his pants. She quickly undid them, and Makios stepped out with a slight groan.

  She wrapped her hand around his thick cock and sighed. She was always surprised by the feel of it in her hand. The texture, the size, the way it throbbed whenever she touched it.

  Rhona dropped to her knees in front of him and saw the surprise on his face. She smiled up at him and then looked at his cock. The way his thicker skin folded would catch her lips and break any seal if she tried going beyond a certain speed. It would have to be slow. She grinned up at him. This was going to be good.

  Holding him firmly at the base, she licked up his shaft, feeling each slight fold against her tongue.

  Makios hissed a low expletive. She looked up at him, his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly.

  Her tongue found his frenulum, and Makios cried out, his eyes closing.

  Rhona tapped his hip, and he released a small chuckle before opening his eyes and gazing down at her.

  Once eye contact was established, Rhona took him in her mouth as far as she could go.

  Makios cried out again, his eyes fluttering, but he kept her gaze.

  ‘You really are a dark goddess,’ he whispered. ‘What is this?’

  No one had ever given her man a blowjob before? Rhona felt an immense amount of satisfaction at that revelation.

  Once he was as deep as she could take him, she tightened her lips around him, sucked and slowly drew her lips up his cock, running her tongue over each ridge, careful to maintain suction over each in turn.

  ‘Rhona,’ he called out, fisting her hair.

  Rhona studied each expression on his face as it appeared. Surprise gave way to wonder, which surrendered to pleasure, and finally love filled his face as he watched her.
She felt him bob and pulse in her mouth.

  ‘Not yet,’ Makios said as he pulled out of her mouth.

  Rhona had never been a fan of giving blowjobs, so she’d never experienced the disappointment of having one interrupted, but at that moment, it was all she could do not to chase his cock as it was pulled away.

  Makios lifted her from the floor and placed her gently on the bed.

  ‘Too close,’ he whispered. ‘Too quick.’ He lay beside her and gazed into her eyes. ‘I need you slow tonight.’

  ‘Slow sounds amazing,’ she whispered.

  ‘But please do that to me again sometime?’ Rhona giggled and nodded.

  ‘Now, let us get you to where I am.’ Makios grinned and scooted down the bed.

  ‘Oh, yes, please,’ Rhona called after him.

  Makios’s nostrils flared as he hunted the maddening smell that made him spend so much time between his goddesses’ legs.

  His cock was still pulsing with the feel of her mouth around it. He had never experienced something as intensely pleasurable. If he hadn’t pulled away when he did, he would have been ended there.

  Makios took it slowly. He kissed down her body, leaving no inith of skin untouched, un-licked or un-kissed. When he got to her nipples, he sucked them into his mouth then grazed his teeth up them in that way that made her—

  ‘Ung,’ she cried out.

  Makios looked up at her. She had lost the game again. Makios loved that she lost so often, loved driving her to that place where all she could do was react to his touches, his kisses.

  Tapping her on the hip, he waited until her eyes were focused on him before he continued down her stomach. It wasn’t just a game. While Rhona fought to keep enough control to watch, there was a part of her mind left vulnerable, unguarded. Skipping her stomach, he dived between her legs and sucked her clit into his mouth.

  ‘Oh, God, Makios,’ she cried out.

  Playing the game meant her anticipation rose as she watched. It meant her reactions to things were more intense. Relentlessly, and with his eyes fixed on her face, Makios sucked again. He slipped a finger inside her and found the other side of this magic button. Gently, he rubbed the pad of his finger on it.

  Rhona propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes fixed on him. Her mouth was open and opening wider. Her cheeks turned from pale to light pink to dark pink.

  A moment later, her pussy convulsed around his finger. Her mouth opened wider still, and the dark pink flushed to an almost angry red and her hips ground her clit deeper into his mouth. But she didn’t cry out. Instead, she surrendered and closed her eyes tight as she came. When her pussy slowed to a rhythmic pulse, Makios let go and dived to her entrance to worship his goddess a little more and take her offering.

  A few moments later, he joined her at her side and looked down at her face. ‘Are you still cumming, my goddess?’

  She nodded. Her mouth still open, her eyes still watching him. This had been happening more and more, where the tapering end of her orgasms could last more than a metri.

  Makios stroked her cleft, her entrance, feeling her still pulsing against him, and claimed her mouth.

  Her kiss was slow and deep and desperate.

  ‘Oh, God,’ Rhona gasped, finally finding her voice. ‘Too much, too much.’ In contrast to her words, she was grinding herself against his finger. When she finally slowed, then stopped, Makios switched to her nipple and rolled it in his finger and thumb.

  ‘So beautiful,’ he whispered, gathering her in his arms.

  Her body jerked against him as he rolled, setting her on top of him. He ran his hands down her back, over her rear and the top of her thighs.

  ‘I should have finished you while I had the chance,’ she said.

  ‘No.’ Makios shook his head, placing his pillow under him to better adjust for his horns. ‘We’re not done yet,’ he assured her. ‘But we’ll wait a few metri.’ She jerked again. ‘Until that stops.’ He chuckled. His chest was almost full to bursting with love and pride; he’d done this to his female, reduced her to a shuddering mess on top of him. It was his second favourite thing, next to being buried deep inside her pussy. Scrap that, third, because he loved her coming on his tongue even more than all that.

  He marvelled at how quickly his priorities had changed over these rotes. How quickly he had fallen in love with this little human, which he now knew was that first day in Tolomus’s cages. He wanted a female with fire. He’d gotten an inferno, and he couldn’t be happier or prouder.

  Even earlier, when she called Devorak a thing, he hadn’t doubted his love. But that love turned a shade prouder when she came down from the mezzanine having spent time with and spoken to Devorak. When she apologised and promised to do better. When she sat at the table and was the one to get everyone to share. Apart from Kenian, whose life before Makios bought and freed him was horror after horror. Makios had not been surprised when he had not wanted to share, but he was proud Rhona left it alone when prompted.

  Rhona carried some prejudice, which he could understand under the circumstances. She told him Earth pushed an anti-alien agenda and that was how she was raised. But faced with individuals, she was an open, caring person who accepted people and had promised to make an effort not to pre-judge the people out here.

  That was going to be difficult on Caras. The people there were criminals and lowlifes. They were slavers, assassins and thieves. They were at Caras because no one else would have them. It made the place lawless, unpredictable, dangerous.

  Rhona would be staying on the ship.

  ‘What are you thinking about?’

  ‘About Caras,’ he admitted.

  ‘What? Not the amazing orgasm I just had?’ She looked up at him. ‘Surely you’re very proud right now.’

  Makios laughed and nodded. ‘I started there,’ he admitted. ‘But Caras weighs on me. I’m worried about it.’

  Rhona reached up and kissed Makios’s neck. A shudder ran through him in response. ‘Let’s see what we can do about that,’ she whispered. She licked the spot she had just kissed, then a little lower, a tender spot where his neck met his clavicle.

  She skipped over most of his chest and caught a nipple in her teeth and pulled on it gently. Then, letting go, she stroked her tongue over it.

  At some point during that movement, Rhona raised her hips and trapped his cock between their abdomens. It had gone soft while he was thinking about the dangers of Caras, but as she rubbed herself against it, it hardened again.

  Unable to form a coherent thought, Makios grabbed her hips and rubbed up and down his length, then tried to position her to envelope him.

  Rhona pressed her lips to his, reached between them, set the head of his cock to her pussy and mounted him, gasping as she slid down his length. The sound caused an electric jolt down his spine to the tip of his fully sheathed cock. He pressed his fingers deeper into her hips and stilled her movement before taking control.

  Makios realised his eyes were closed and opened them to her amused smirk. He smirked back and shifted. Then, raising her until he could feel his head at her lips, he slammed her down to the base of his cock. She cried out but kept her eyes open.

  ‘Ooo, you fucker,’ she gasped, biting her lip.

  Makios laughed and sat up, shifting until the headboard was against the back of his head, his horns over them and sitting in the gap between his headboard and the viewscreen of his room.

  Rhona raised herself from him then slammed herself back down. Makios hissed as oil drips of pleasure spread from his cock throughout his groin.

  He looked up at Rhona. Her eyes were still on him, her mouth open. The stars behind him ran in streaks across her pale skin. They were reflected in her eyes. ‘My goddess,’ he whispered, feeling to his soul that it was the truth.

  As she raised again, Makios found her clit with his thumb and rolled small circles around it.

  ‘Oh, Makios,’ she moaned. He circled her clit faster, and she rose and fell around him more quickly in respons
e. His other hand went to her breast and cupped it, massaging and finding the nipple with his thumb.

  The whole time his eyes were fixed to her face. He watched her slowly come undone and lost himself to the sensation of her on top of him, around him, inside him in a way no person had ever been or, he realised, could ever have been before her.

  Their movements became faster. Jerkier. More desperate with each stroke. Makios felt it, like lightning strikes down his spine, pooling deep in the base of his cock and balls. He felt the moment he crested. Felt her spasm around him. Heard her cry out breathlessly as the lightning released all at once up his shaft, intense, hard, stealing his breath, so he was unable even to cry out as he spurted inside of her.

  Her lips found his. The kiss was hot, deep and full of their joint need until, as they fell from their height, they kissed, licked and bit at each other; stopping only in a desperate bid to catch their breath, but instead catching each other’s.

  They stared at each other in silence after. Makios could see that small, tell-tale sign that she was still experiencing some intensity. He pulled her into his arms, her head resting next to the spot she kissed earlier. Her body was shaking and covered in sweat, and she was still breathless despite the time that passed. Makios had no way of telling how long since they began. He didn’t care either; the whole universe could pass into death as long as he could hold her in his arms just like this.

  ‘I was promised loud sex last night.’ Devorak smirked at Rhona as she walked from her and Makios’s room towards the bridge.

  Rhona shook her head and grinned at him. ‘We’ll have to do better for you next time,’ she said.

  ‘If you want to do better,’ Devorak’s face twisted into something mischievous. ‘watching is always—’

  ‘Never gonna happen,’ she said firmly.

  ‘That’s a shame,’ he sighed.

  ‘Anyway, I thought you were Cealin, not Amaran.’

  Devorak’s face brightened up. ‘Where do you think I got it from?’ He smiled, thinking for a minute. ‘There were so many people… I forget all their names.’

  There was something in Devorak’s face then. Rhona remembered what he said the previous day about saving himself for someone.