Thantose: Book Two in the Galaxy Pirates Alien Abduction Romance Series Page 6

  Thantose’s knuckles ‘accidentally’ graze my thigh. He’s looking straight ahead, acting unmoved, but this one subtle touch grounds me and brings me back to reality. I can’t wait to get back to our little vessel, the Jewel of the Skies.

  Thantose

  I didn’t know what was going on behind Brin’s beautiful green eyes during the ride, but she was holding back tears. As soon as the gangway slammed closed, her eyes flooded with them.

  “It’s so wrong,” was all she could express before she was overcome with grief. She’s just standing there, crying and miserable.

  I debate with myself for a moment, then move into action. I sweep her into my arms, carry her to the captain’s chair, and pull her into my lap. She lays her head on my pec, her hands grasp my shoulders, and she weeps.

  I still have no idea what she saw in that dracking book. If she wasn’t in my arms, I’d chart a course and leave right now. All of this misery over a book? It isn’t worth it.

  But Brin is in my arms, and I focus on her. Her little body molds to mine as if she was born to be in my embrace. Even in her misery, she clings to me as if somehow I’m making her feel better. I like knowing I have the power to do that.

  She tries to talk, to explain her sorrow, but the words are incomprehensible through her wracking sobs.

  “Shhh, it’s okay Brin. No need to explain. I’m here. I’ll wait.” Smoothing her hair, I kiss the top of her head as I rub her back.

  I’ve always had a protective streak. As a young male, I got into fights at school, not for myself, but to protect the underdog. I want to protect the female in my arms, but it’s more than that. The timing is terrible, but my cock is hard. I want to make her feel good in other ways.

  “We don’t have to return for the auction tonight. We said from the beginning we’d do this for fun. This isn’t fun anymore, Brin. I’ll chart a course when you’re ready.” I clutch her to me more tightly and rock her a bit. Whether it was my words or the swaying, she calms. The tears stop and her breathing settles into a steady rhythm.

  Repositioning her, I gain better access to her face and wipe her cheek with my palm.

  “Tired, Brin?” Let me tuck you into bed and I’ll head the Jewel home.”

  I carry her to bed and settle her under the covers. Reaching out, she grasps my wrist and pulls me toward her.

  “Stay with me Thantose? Just for a minute? Hold me?”

  I’m naked except for a scrap of jeweled fabric. I’m already hard as stone. This isn’t a good idea.

  “Please.” Her red-rimmed eyes catch mine and speak volumes.

  “Let me pull on some pants first.” I turn, but her grip on my wrist remains firm. I could wrestle it away from her, but I don’t. Sliding under the covers with her, I scold myself for being a dracker.

  “You’re such a good male, Thantose.” She pulls my arm under her head, lays her cheek on my pec, throws her arm across my chest, and falls asleep. All that crying exhausted her.

  I have an excellent view of her from this position. Her head is damp from the effort of all that crying, her face is red and blotchy, and I decide the Earth females were right. Brin is beautiful. Her upper lip is shaped in a perfect bow. I want to kiss it perhaps more than I’ve wanted anything in my life.

  Her kimono hugs her luscious curves when she’s standing, but in this position, the neckline gapes open and I see almost to the crest of one gorgeous breast. I wonder what color the tip is, and what it would taste like.

  This sweet female has been through so much. She just called me a good male, and all I can think about is slipping my cock into her. I wonder if the pictures she saw today depicted some religion’s version of hell, because I deserve to be there.

  I wipe her sweaty curls off her forehead and I’m struck with a flash of insight. I don’t just want to thrust my cock into beautiful Brin. I’ve developed feelings for her. This lovely female whose body is pressed against me has wiggled her way straight into my heart.

  Petrose died decades ago—we were sweethearts in secondary school. I loved her as much as an eighteen-annum-old can love. But her death in that crash was a lifetime ago. I’ve kept females at arm’s length since then. I laugh and joke and drack with the best of them, but I’ve never gotten close, never really cared about any of them. Until Brin. Sadly, Brin is so fragile, I doubt we can sustain true intimacy.

  Brin

  When I wake, my head throbs, and my eyes burn. As I struggle to orient myself, I realize I’m in bed with Thantose. I take an extra moment to ensure I’m not dreaming, but the hard male body next to mine is real.

  I don’t move a muscle, not wanting to wake him. Let me bask in this feeling for just a minute; I’ve dreamed of it for months.

  My hand rests on his muscular chest. The color is black as midnight, with swirling white patterns that mark his race. I’ve longed to trace them, to learn the intricacies of every whorl and slash. Tipping my head back, I inspect his face. High cheekbones, graceful nose, and lips made for kissing. Stirrings of arousal flare through my body.

  My leg is slung over his hip, my other knee is nestled next to his cock. Is he naked? Did we do something I don’t remember? But I see the scrap of loincloth bunched to his side and feel my own dress still flowing around me. He never would have touched me when I was so upset. He’s too much of a gentlemale. Which is the problem.

  He’s going to go his own way in three days, and he’s made it abundantly clear he doesn’t want me with him on the Ataraxia. I’ll live a solitary life from here on out. I’ll rent a little apartment and continue working for Valeria. I don’t see myself in a relationship in the future, how many eligible males am I going to meet in a dress shop?

  What would be the harm in sharing sex with a male I have a crush on? For once in my life, I could be with someone who doesn’t want to hurt me. I know the score. It’s not like he’s going to break my heart. When he leaves in a few days it won’t be a surprise. It’s been the plan all along.

  I breathe in his masculine scent, it’s like spicy cinnamon. His body is lithe and muscular; I imagine what it will be like when he covers me with it.

  Pressing little kisses to his pec, I want to ease him awake. My hand glides from his shoulder to his wrist, as I memorize the feel of his muscles under his skin. He’s still sleeping, but his cock twitches awake. My mouth waters to taste him, but I cast that thought aside. I’m a woman who knows the value of consent.

  He rolls me on top of him, his now-erect cock riding the damp slit between my legs. His eyes are closed, he has a sweet smile on his lips. He’s in that twilight area between asleep and alert.

  “Mmm,” his noise is appreciative and husky.

  His hands roam from my bottom to my shoulders. The first pass is soft and experimental, the second is solid, insistent. One hand lodges in my hair and presses me close for a claiming kiss. His tongue demands entrance, then sweeps inside to explore.

  With one hand on the back of my head and the other planted at the small of my back, he presses me tighter and grinds against me. He’s hard as granite beneath me and I want to open myself to him—to straddle him—but his grip is too tight, I can’t move.

  “Brin.”

  I inspect his face, but he’s still asleep. My heart thrills in my chest. Is he dreaming of me? It’s obvious he’s incorporated our bed-play into a dream, but he’s not dreaming about some nameless, faceless female—he’s dreaming of me! Could he want this as much as I do?

  Emboldened, I bracket his neck with my hands on the bed. Leaning away, I graze his chest with the hard tips of my breasts through the silky kimono. He palms my nipples through the fabric, pulling a low moan from deep within me. Since his hand left its post at the small of my back, I have room to settle my knees on either side of his hips so I can ride his cock with my slick slit.

  Oh my God, this is heaven. With his fingers plucking my nipples and the friction created down below I feel delicious energy swirling inside me, building, ramping me up.

  �
�Thantose,” my voice is breathy and demanding.

  All at once, his fingers freeze and his eyes flash open.

  “Brin,” his voice is tight, guilty. “I . . . shouldn’t have.”

  “You didn’t.” I smile. “You didn’t do anything, I did.” I arch my back and commence a slow, hard slide down his cock. Trembling erupts deep inside me and pulls a shocked gasp from my mouth.

  Sliding his hands under my armpits, he rolls me off of him and to his side. His face is a knot of confusion. “We shouldn’t. You’re under duress . . . confused.”

  “I’m not confused, T. I want this.” To make my point even more clear, I grab his pulsing cock and stroke it from base to tip.

  He jacks away from me, his ass almost off the edge of the bed. Crap. My jaw drops open as I realize I may want this but he doesn’t.

  “You’re . . . you’ve got that syndrome.” He shakes his head.

  “I do.” Why deny it, we both know it’s true. “I have that syndrome and I want you, T. You want me, too.” I stare at his pulsing cock to underscore my point.

  He covers himself with the blanket, then stretches his hand to push a curl behind my ear.

  “Something upset you, Brin. You were very emotional. This has been a very confusing couple of days. We’re not in a position to start anything. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  He is hurting me, but I’d never say it out loud. My body aches for his touch—more than brushing away an errant curl. My eyes flick to his lips, dear God I want more kisses. I want more of him.

  “You’ll have a clear head in a day or two when we get back to Primus. Your world’s been turned upside down enough for an entire lifetime. When you get back to ahma’s you can get your thoughts straight. In the meantime—”

  “My thoughts are straight, T. I’m a grown woman. I know what I want.” He tries to interrupt but I stop him. “I’m fucked up and I have Stockholm syndrome and I want you. Make no mistake about that.” Even though there’s so much tension the air in this little cabin is practically vibrating with it, I can’t order my eyes to stop trying to sneak a peek at his gorgeous cock.

  He turns on his side, to hide the tent he’s making under the covers.

  “I’m going to chart a course for home. We’ll launch as soon as I get clearance from the authorities.”

  “Uh, there’s the little detail of the auction,” I remind him as I glance at the clock.

  “Whatever happened in there this afternoon—and you don’t have to tell me—was too much to tolerate. Obviously. No fucking book is worth it. Let me chart a course.” He sits up and the covers slide low enough for me to glimpse his thick cock. There’s a glistening bead of liquid on the head.

  “Do I get a say? It’s wonderful that you’re all about protecting little Brin, but how about empowering me for a change? I’ve done the hard part. We got through the big unveiling. Tonight will just be the auction. Show ‘em the money, transfer the credits, and waltz away with the fucking book.” I actually fold my arms across my chest like I’m the strongest bitch in the county.

  “What did you see? What upset you so badly?” his tone is warm and concerned, his gaze holds mine.

  “It was a sex book. An instruction manual. The Viragon equivalent of the Kama Sutra. It wasn’t the book that upset me. Although I still don’t quite know why your widowed ahma, who’s over one-hundred years old, wants a sex manual so badly.

  “What upset me was the way those females used a pretty book that was probably very enlightened back in the day, to justify the enslavement of half their race.”

  I feel my lips trembling in anger and order myself to back the fuck down. “I don’t believe in slavery,” I add quietly.

  He pads to the dresser, grabs a pair of pants, and pulls them on. Then he comes back to bed, lies down, and drags me against him, my back to his front.

  “You’re a good female, Brin. I don’t want to make you cry again. You’re right, slavery should be abolished across the galaxy. You didn’t deserve it. Now you’re free. I want you to have the best possible life.”

  He kisses the top of my head, blowing my mind. I thought he didn’t want to confuse me.

  “You really want to go to the auction tonight?” he asks.

  “Absolutely not. But I’m going anyway. I’m strong, T. I want the book for your ahma, and I want to show you and her, and most importantly me that I can do anything I put my mind to.”

  “Okay. Which scrap of cloth was I supposed to wear to tonight’s festivities? We need to be there in an hoara.”

  Chapter Five

  Thantose

  I don’t give two fucks about the Meris. I don’t care if the fancy society females ask me to dance naked on their table. But by Vorhee’s left nut, if they make Brin cry again I will torch their elegant clubhouse to the ground. In fact, I’d consider it an honor.

  I’m wearing the emerald green loincloth with real emeralds sewn along the hem. Brin joked that it clashes with my skin and suggested I go naked. I laughed far too hard, but Gods I love to hear her giggle. My heart broke when she cried after the luncheon. I can’t wait to leave this dracking planet.

  I dreamed of Brin this afternoon. I was already enjoying her lush curves, tasting her, filling her, when the reality intruded into the fantasy. I know I should bring her back to Primus, to the bosom of my ahma’s house where she’ll be protected from everyone, including me. However, I’ve decided on a different plan. I’ll tell her after the auction.

  Brin

  “Welcome esteemed females,” Mistress Han, the president of the society, announces. “Everyone looks so beautiful in their colorful kimonos. Ivid would be proud. I hope you remember that although only one of you will win the auction today, the warm-up festivities are designed to make an impression that will last a lifetime.”

  Festivities? Valeria’s pre-printed schedule and numerous comms mentioned nothing about this.

  “Mistress Ander, will you pass out the prayer books?”

  Prayer books? First I thought this was a religious book, then it became clear it wasn’t. Now I don’t know what to think.

  The white leather book I’m handed appears to be a small version of the Meris. It’s written on a translation tablet, so I can read it in English. I take this moment to look around the room and see that it’s been transformed since our luncheon earlier today.

  There is a trio of musicians in the far corner: a drummer, a flutist, and someone with an instrument that’s half accordion/half guitar. They aren’t playing, so I wonder why they’re here.

  Along three of the four walls are a total of ten areas about ten feet square. The ten chambers are curtained off from each other with thick emerald-green drapes. In the center of each cubicle is a round crimson platform covered with golden pillows of various sizes and shapes.

  There are six officiants, four females in the running for the Meris, and fourteen male slaves. My stomach drops as I realize with certainty we’re about to have an orgy.

  “In the name of Ivid, for the benefit of all females throughout the universe, let us pray,” Mistress Han intones.

  I’m not reading out loud during the call-and-response portion of the service. Nor am I paying attention to the words coming out of anyone’s mouth, although I keep my lips flapping as if I’m reading aloud in my own language. No one notices I’m not participating, they’re all filled with ‘religious fervor’ aka lust.

  No, I’m doing none of that, I’m too busy frantically thinking of a way out of this nightmare. Thantose was right when he said earlier that no book was worth this—and that was before he knew what this was!

  As I’m picturing calling his name and running from the room, another part of my mind barges in and asks what, exactly, would be so terrible about staying. What?

  Ten females, ten private cubicles. I notice each room is equipped with an extra curtain that can be pulled across the front, giving complete privacy inside. Was it more than two hours ago that I practically begged Thantose to have sex with
me? Would it be too terrible to consummate here?

  I begin to warm to the idea. We can participate tonight, and attribute it to our commitment to getting the Meris. We’d never have to be sexual with each other again, right? I could find bliss in T’s arms and never have to admit how much I wanted it for myself. Altruistic Brin, that’s me.

  I want this. Where is the downside? If Thantose agrees, I’m going to do it. If not, we’ll go back to Primus Meris-less.

  “In Ivid’s name, amen,” Mistress Han recites. “We’ve allotted ninety minimas for this religious observance. We consider this building consecrated. You may enjoy your slave’s bodies in any way you wish, hopefully using inspiration from the Meris. The auction will begin at the conclusion of our worship.”