Blooming Desire: An Extraordinary Spring Romance Collection

by S. J. Sanders

  Blood smeared down his face as lightning sparked dangerously between them, singeing patches of skin. Claws tore into his flesh and he let out a grunt of pain. Olan tried to ignore it as he cocked back his arm and sent his fist flying at Zuran, only the other male caught it before he made contact. Zuran’s free hand moved to curl into Olan’s hair as he yanked him down and crushed his lips in a firm, rough kiss.

  The shock of the kiss rooted him to the spot for a few heartbeats, but he didn’t want to stop it. Instead, he eagerly fell into the bliss of the moment, letting his honest, raw emotions flow freely through him for the first time in so long. A soft groan ripped from him as his tail wrapped around Zuran’s, the male’s legs coming up to lock around Olan’s hips. Zuran ripped his mouth away, tugging Olan’s head back to bare the column of his throat so that he could nip at the sensitive skin. Heat flared between them as the current went from threatening to sensual, licking across their bodies.

  Zuran twisted his hips, flipping them so that he was hovering over Olan’s body, his white gaze burning brightly before he leaned down for a softer, sweeter kiss. Their tongues danced, brushing and retreating, not in a competition for dominance, but in the same way a Seyton moves around their mate during the Festival of Light. The two of them had always been close, since the day they were born, one never too far from the other. Losing Zuran after the Choosing Ceremony had left a gaping wound inside of him that he never thought would be filled again. Right now, at this moment, he felt nearly whole. All that was missing was Samantha.

  Nothing had ever felt quite like this. Definitely not the time he and Asa had tried, and failed miserably, to become lovers. He was happy she was now happily mated. This felt right, like it was always meant to be. Their horns clicked softly against one another and the urge to perform the dance for Zuran nearly consumed every one of his thoughts. This wasn’t how they were taught it was supposed to be, but it felt right. The knowledge that Zuran was a hunter didn’t matter. He knew that it never should have mattered to him and the guilt ate at him. Olan knew in a place far deeper than his heart that he belonged to Zuran just as surely as he belonged to Samantha. Looking back on their friendship, it was obvious that it had always been this way.

  “I’m sorry,” Zuran whispered, his forehead pressed to Olan’s. The other male’s breath fanned across his mouth as he panted heavily. “I don’t regret saving you. I never did. Even when I tried to blame you for everything that happened I knew I was just fooling myself. I would beg your forgiveness.”

  Olan brought his hand up to brush back one of the long braids that had fallen over Zuran’s shoulder. “You know you have it, so long as you forgive me for my part.”

  “Oh god, you’re fucking gay?” The males turned quickly to glare at the unfamiliar human male who stood in the doorway. Olan’s ears flattened against his head; he wasn’t sure what “gay” meant, but it sounded like this human was using it as an insult. He tried to pull away from Zuran, curling in on himself in an attempt to hide his stiff cock.

  Zuran’s tail squeezed his comfortingly as if he were trying to tell him he didn’t care what their company had to say about the position they had been found in. Male companionship wasn’t frowned upon among their people, but it also wasn’t something he had seen much of in his lifetime. The tip of Zuran’s blade emerged from his tail as his eyes flashed in irritation. “When are we going to be set free?”

  “Set free?” The human threw his head back and laughed loudly. “Why the hell would we set you free? Marsel just asked me to check up on you two since he’s a little caught up with Samantha at the moment. Been a while since they’ve had a night together, lots to catch up on. Know what I mean?” The male closed one of his eyes in a gesture Olan wasn’t familiar with, but he knew what the human’s words were alluding to. Marsel wanted to mate their female.

  He couldn’t let that happen. There had to be a way to get out of this cage. An idea dawned on him and he pushed himself to his feet, shaking off Zuran’s tail as he stepped closer to the tall bars. A current of electricity flowed over his skin, sparking and dancing along his arms and up his chest. He locked eyes with the male, watching as he shifted nervously from one foot to the other, and began to sway. Sparks shot up between his horns, snapping softly. These humans were so tiny, so soft and weak with no natural defenses. How had they ever survived? Heat whispered through his body as he allowed the dance to overtake him.

  The human blinked, frowning as he watched Olan twist and gyrate. “Are you… coming onto me?”

  Olan faltered, tilting his head in confusion. It didn’t seem to have any effect on this one, not like it had on his sweet Samantha. He had been practicing and perfecting his mating dance since he was only a small kit. More than a few times he had snuck into the forest to dance among the trees and had even run off to the soaring cliffs a time or two to feel the strong winds rush over his body as he swayed. That’s what he had been doing on the day that Zuran had rescued him from certain death. He’d been distracted, wishing to have the freedom the hunters enjoyed, to experience the thing he heard the males whisper about when they brought in their bounties late at night. Thank the All Mother his friend had been there. Solars of practice and this human merely stared at him like he had sprouted wings. He would be lying if he said it didn’t irritate him.

  “Well, alright. Good luck with your… seduction,” the human sneered, sliding a tray piled with what he assumed was some sort of human food into the cage through a small gap at the bottom. “Eat up. Wouldn’t want you to starve to death before Marsel is finished with you. Oh,” the male spun back toward them, “You’re gonna get some company. Found one of those feathered women snooping around in the woods.”

  A female? All Mother, help them. It couldn’t be Asa. He had told her to leave, to go back to the tribe. Had she stayed behind to make sure they were doing what they had been asked?

  “Not sure why you’d screw around with each other when you can get with a literal angel.” ‘Angel’ was another term he wasn’t familiar with, but Olan’s attention was pulled away by the loud bang and dragging sounds that echoed from somewhere through the door. “Huh, sounds like your company has arrived.”

  Two slightly larger human males pushed through the door, a Seyton female held between them. One of her vividly black wings was bent at an odd angle, the tip bloody and dangling in a way that made his stomach turn. Her body was nude and covered in dirt-smeared cuts and scrapes, the white hair that most females wore long had been shorn short near her shoulders. Dull yellow eyes met his and his hands gripped the bars so tightly that he didn’t know how they didn’t crack. A pained whimper escaped her when they dropped her to the floor of the cage next to theirs; Olan and Zuran rushed to the side closest to her, rumbling softly. With how small her straight horns were this female looked to be fresh from her Choosing Ceremony. She was so young, barely even an adult.

  The door to her cage slammed shut and she scrambled closer to them, eyes wide and fearful. It tore at his heart to see the evidence of how horribly she had been treated by these people. The female sniffled, clutching at their arms as they reached through to soothe her.

  “Ah, my least favorite aliens. Enjoying your stay? How are you finding the accommodations?” Marsel sauntered into the room, his fingers running through the short strands on the top of his head. He stopped in front of the female’s cage, smiling eerily down at her. “Well, look at you, sweetheart.”

  “Please…” Her claws dug at their flesh as she tried to pull herself up.

  “Please,” he mocked, laughing when she sniffled. “Oh, little angel.”

  Olan growled, wishing more than anything that he could reach the human and tear his throat out. The two males who had brought the female into the room and the one who had delivered the food walked in, standing just behind Marsel who pulled out a thin piece of metal. He slid it into the door of the cage and it swung open easily, allowing the four of them to step inside. Olan’s stomach dropped.

  “Bring
her here,” Marsel ordered, the males around him surged forward, grabbing the young female by her legs and dragging her away from the bars.

  “Don’t touch her!” Zuran bellowed, slamming himself into the metal.

  Though he held her tightly, the female’s hand slipped from Olan’s, he snarled as the humans pinned her arms and legs to the ground. She cried softly as her mangled wing was pressed into the ground and she tried frantically to bring her electricity to the surface of her skin. It was more than obvious that she was newly bloomed. Most females took months to learn how to control their currents and she was barely able to create a spark.

  “I wouldn’t do that, angel.” One of the humans holding her arm poked at the broken wing and she cried out in pain. “Remember what we said. Be a good girl, and we won’t rip the whole thing off.”

  Marsel stood over her, his hands reaching down to work himself free of his clothing as he stepped between her spread legs. “This,” he whispered, stroking his cock as he got down on his knees, positioning himself over the body of the female, “Is what happens when you touch what belongs to me.”

  Beside him, Zuran was beating relentlessly on the bars, growling, pacing back and forth, but Olan was frozen. He had never imagined there would be a day when he would bear witness to the defilement of a female, had never even heard of a male committing such an offense before. There was crime among his kind, but this? Never. His tail snuck through the bars, wrapping around her fingers, the only part of her that he could reach. He felt them curl around him tightly and stared into Marsel’s face. He was going to kill this human. And he was going to enjoy every moment of it.

  Zuran squeezed next to him, the tip of his tail barely reaching her, but she grasped at it, holding onto them like lifelines. Her whimpers tore his heart open and he felt the wet heat of his own tears as they fell down his face. He looked into the face of each of the humans as they took their turns with her, memorizing every feature. Each time they switched Zuran would pound his fists into the bars, his blood painting them both as he opened fresh wounds on his hands. He wished he could propel his currents the same way mature females could, but his just sparked across his skin angrily.

  When they finally released her, the female flipped herself over and crawled weakly toward them. Two sets of arms wrapped around her as she shook with the force of her sobs. “Until next time, Angel.” Marsel taunted before he led the other males from the room.

  The female’s sobs grew louder as they sat quietly with her, allowing her time to process. “I should have never left the village.” She whispered when her tears were spent. “I should have listened to my father, should have stayed out of the mist.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” Olan told her.

  “It is!” Her small fist slammed down on her leg. “I wanted to investigate the rock. I’d never seen one so large fall from the sky... and I was curious. Curious and stupid.”

  “What is your name, female?” Zuran asked softly.

  “Vasa.”

  “Vasa, what they did to you was not your fault.”

  Olan watched her chin tremble. He couldn’t possibly begin to imagine what she was feeling. Zuran’s bloodied hands held hers and he rested his head against the bars. Olan leaned into Zuran, his head falling onto the other male’s shoulder as they all took comfort in one another.

  “I am going to kill them all,” Vasa whispered, her yellow eyes staring across the room to the door. “I am a daughter of the All Mother.”

  “Let us know how we may help,” Zuran growled.

  Vasa turned her head to look at him. “Thank you, hunter. I won’t forget this.” She nodded at Olan before resting her head against the bars.

  Not knowing if Samantha was safe ate him as they sat on the floor of the cage. It seemed like hours had passed, and Marsel never came back. No human did. This waiting, not knowing what was coming next, made him restless.

  The sounds of shouting and pounding feet reached his ears and all three of them bolted upright as it echoed through the path outside. Someone was coming.

  10

  Samantha

  Fuck! Samantha’s eyes flew open and she shot up, her legs tangling in the sheets as she sleepily tried to roll out of the bed. “Shit!” She screeched, catching herself on the bedside table. She hadn’t meant to actually fall asleep, but the lure of an honest to gods mattress had been too much of a temptation after her quick shower. While she was thankful that the water on the ship was still working, the lack of power meant that it was freezing cold. The space station she had grown up on had once had a malfunction with its heating system, and even that hadn’t been as bad as this. She imagined it was what the old ice-covered lakes in places similar to Alaska would have felt like if she had dived in.

  She had never seen things like that with her own eyes and was only familiar with them because she had spent so many hours poring over the old photo books. Much of the landmass on the planet was underwater now thanks to the sudden melting of the ice caps. It had begun to recede in a few places, scientists were hopeful that the combined efforts of humanity and the Venium would mean they could return to their planet of origin within the next few generations. She would never see the planet her grandparents had been born on, but she could do her part to ensure her great-great-great-grandchildren had a place to go back to.

  Assuming she ever had children, of course. Samantha stretched her arms high above her head, twisting from side to side to work out the kinks. It didn’t look like Marsel had made it back yet, which worried her some. He was either still in talks with Zuran and Olan, or he had finally taken the hint and realized she wasn’t going to sleep with him again. Once had been more than enough.

  Nose scrunching up in distaste, Samantha smoothed out the dress she wore. It was one of the things Marsel had insisted she have when they had very briefly dated. So briefly, in fact, that she wasn’t even sure it could be counted as dating. The fact that he had kept them in his closet to collect dust when he had replaced her with another woman the same day she ended the relationship was a mystery. All the dresses he had bought her had been a little too revealing for her taste and she hadn’t been upset about leaving them behind. Oh well, she shrugged, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Better to have something that showed off her cleavage and thighs than something covered in the dried blood of the flesh-doggy that had attacked her in the forest.

  The door to the room was slowly pushed open and Marsel stepped inside quietly, a soft smile pulling at his lips when he saw her standing near the bed. “Kitten. You’re awake already?”

  “Already? Marsel, I’m pretty sure I’ve been out for hours.”

  “You needed your rest,” he said sweetly, brushing his knuckle down her cheek as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  She pulled away as politely as she knew how, trying to put some distance between them. “I’m sure Zuran and Olan are wondering where I went. We should get back to them.”

  “Nah, they’re fine.” Marsel pulled her into his body, his arms wrapping around her waist as he walked her backward. His face lowered to her shoulder, and he pressed tiny kisses to her skin as one of his hands snaked down over her hip toward the juncture between her thighs. Samantha wiggled, dodging his fingers.

  “Where are they? Did you put them in one of the guest quarters?”

  Marsel laughed, “I don’t want to talk about the aliens, Samantha.” He pressed her harder into the wall, his hips grinding the hard length of his cock into her stomach. “No more teasing, Kitten. Let them wait it out in the cells.”

  The cells? He’d confined them? “Stop it, Marsel!”

  “What’s the matter with you? Out there spreading your legs for those animals, but you won’t let me in?” His hand fisted in her hair, yanking her head back hard so that she was staring up into his twisted face. She had never seen him this way, his once handsome features morphed into something wholly evil and terrifying. “You’re just like all those other alien fuckers who abandoned humanity.”

&n
bsp; Where was this coming from? She had known he wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of working with the Seyton, but this was obviously something he had been harboring for a long time. “I don’t know why you’re so upset, but the Seyton haven’t done anything to us.”

  “An alien is an alien, Samantha. All they want is this-” He forced his hand between her legs, cupping her sex roughly. “I won’t give up another human woman, whether it’s to the Venium, the Grutex, or the fucking Seyton.” His hot breath seared her skin as he panted excitedly against her ear. “You are mine, and I won’t let them have you.”

  Samantha struggled against him, kicking out, but he gave a hard tug on her hair. Tears sprang to her eyes from the pain on her scalp. She clamped her mouth shut and closed her eyes, willing this all to stop, hoping it was a nightmare she was going to wake up from any moment now.

  “Open up, Samantha. Be a good girl, and maybe I’ll let them live a little while longer.” He tugged at the material of her underwear; she both heard and felt them tear beneath his assault.

  The knife. She had clipped it to the inside of her bra after the shower. If she could reach for it without him noticing she could get free. Biting her lip, Samantha took a deep breath, forcing her muscles to relax, allowing his hand to slide further between her thighs. She felt his fingers brush her exposed cunt and had to swallow the bile that threatened to spill into her mouth. You can do this, Sam. You can do it.

  “That’s a good girl.” He panted.

  She felt him pull away to undo his pants. When he looked down to tug at the stubborn button on his trousers, Samantha reached for the knife, releasing the deadly blade as she pulled it free of her dress. With as much force as she could muster, she thrust the blade into Marsel’s side, just below his ribs, yanking it out then quickly burying it into his stomach once, then twice. He stumbled backward, clutching at his wounds, as blood seeped from between his fingers.