Noble Monster: A Scifi Alien Abduction Romance Standalone (Jannan Raiders Book 1) (5 page)

“
I have mixed feelings when you mention that. On the one hand, I know that the whole experience caused you much pain. Yet on the other hand, without it, I would never have met you. How am I to feel about this thing? How am I to feel about the idea that you would rather leave this planet and me forever, if I let you go?”

She didn't have an answer for him. They flew on in silence for a while, and she wondered what would happen if and when she gained her freedom. Would she miss him?
Yes, yes I would.

“You're the only part of this world that I don't want to leave,” she finally admitted softly.

Ambush

His retreat turned out to be a massive stone and timber structure with armored windows and four automated gun turrets outside. She peered at the turrets warily as he came in for a landing in the plaza in front of the gigantic hunting lodge. He landed as gently as he seemed able to, jolting her only a little bit as he came to a stop.

“
There. Are you all right to walk?”

“I should be fine, just give me a minute.” The truth was that her legs were pretty stiff from hanging on to him for so long.

She grabbed the straps to steady herself, and swung her legs down. They promptly proved to be partly numb, and completely exhausted, almost folding under her.

She clung to the thick leather strap for a moment, feet scrambling at the ground until she managed to get them braced under her. “Whoops! Okay. I'm good.” She took a few staggering steps away from him, feeling as clumsy as an infant.

She heard his human voice behind her, laughing softly. Then a big hand reached out and settled on her shoulder, helping to steady her. “There you go. You looked like you were having a little trouble, there.”

She turned to face him, suddenly very aware of how close he was. It didn't intimidate her or scare her anymore. She didn't feel imposed on by his gigantic presence.

It certainly helped that he had left the armor off this time, wearing instead a pair of black uniform pants such as his soldiers wore, and a pair of their boots.

A deep blue shirt of some gauzy material stuck to him just a little bit thanks to the warm day. She gazed up at him as he went suddenly quiet, holding himself still, as if afraid to scare her off.

“I'm okay,” she mumbled, feeling her cheeks heat up. When exactly had she started feeling this attracted to him? Had he grown on her that much? Or was it this bond that he kept talking about? Either way, it was the best and most problematic feeling she had had in a long time.

If she let him have her heart, how could she then fly away from him afterward? She knew that his duties would bind him to this planet forever. Could she stand to stay here? “Thanks for the catch.”

“You are welcome.” He wet his lips as he gazed down at her. “Did you...mean what you said back there? Would you miss me?”

She swallowed a lump in her throat as she stared up with him, and then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him as far as they would go. She laid her head against his chest as he went rigid, and she heard him gasp suddenly for air.

Very, very gently, his arms went around her. She felt him bury his nose in her hair, and was absolutely shocked to feel a tingle go through her that demanded more contact.

Uh oh.
That part of her that was willing to die to be free balked suddenly, as if breaking the touch barrier with him was the most dangerous thing in the world.

“Yes, I would miss you very much. Even with the way we met. Even with how much I hate the way that your world treats women, especially women of my race. Even so. I would miss you if I left.”

She felt him shudder against her, and his arms tightened around her. “Irina,” he murmured hoarsely.

“I wish I could change this whole world. Make it a better place for you. But even with all my power, I only think I could change a little. There are too many men like Torvin in this world--too many wicked men in power. I topple them as I find them, but there are always more.”

“Would you find these things more worth fighting for if I was there with you?” Her voice had gone down to a breathless whisper. She realized suddenly that she was trembling too.

“I would fight a thousand battles for the sake of justice if only you stayed,” he whispered into her hair.

She looked up at him, and saw the desperation in his eyes. Squashing a surge of apprehension, she leaned up and brushed her lips gently against his.

He responded immediately, deepening the kiss, one hand sliding up to cup the back of her head. Her knees suddenly got weak all over again, and she fell against him. He caught her, and after a moment, simply lifted her into his arms, and started carrying her inside.

What difference a month and different context could make? As he carried her in his arms into the towering main chamber of the hunting lodge, she barely got a look around at her massively timbered surroundings, before he was walking up the heavy wood stairs toward the loft that made up the second floor.

If he had done this with her as recently as two weeks ago, she would have panicked. But as they went, the first thing she was wearing that he got rid of was the collar around her neck.

He keyed in the commands with his thumb on the remote while he held her, and the collar snapped open, dropping from her neck on to the stairs behind them. She heard it bounce all the way down to the first floor, and rubbed her neck with her free hand, grateful to feel bare skin under her fingers.

The sleeping loft was enormous, and she realized that it had been designed so he could sleep there in either form. The entire floor was mattress. Assorted sizes and shapes of cushion, and various colors of fur blanket were scattered around its soft expense. A skylight overhead showed the clouds rolling by above them as he settled her gently onto the mattress.

He knelt at her feet, the gesture strangely humble, as he unfastened the low, soft shoes he had given her and tossed them aside. He kicked off his own boots and flung them in the same direction, then settled down next to her, and gently cupped her face in his hand.

“I had thought that I would be waiting forever for you to gain any interest in me. I had almost thought it hopeless.”

“And yet you kept me around?”

“Once I had you with me, I could only let you go if you asked me to. Releasing you to the streets of my world would have left you open to attack by another. Returning you to the slavers was out of the question.” He stroked his hands through her hair, and then moved closer to her for another kiss.

She got lost for a while in the feeling of his mouth on her, of his big, heavy body gently pressing against her, until she craved feeling him lying over her so much that she let herself settle back to the mattress, fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt to tug him down with her.

He tore the shirt taking it off, so eager that he threw it aside without a glance. She had half expected his skin to be leathery, given what he was half the time, but it was sleek and shivered sensitively under her fingertips as she ran her hands over him.

The whole time, as he kissed her and gently started exploring her body with his hands, she felt him restraining himself, his muscles tight with the battle between caution and need.

She remembered those nights in the seraglio, his attempts to seduce back when she had been too terrified and furious over the situation to respond. Back then; he had still walked around under the idiotic illusion that every human woman ever liked to be dominated in such ways.

She still hated that she had had to point out the error repeatedly until he had finally gotten it. Things had only changed when he finally had, and had started treating her like a lover instead of a slave.

She made the point by climbing up over him, startling him into stillness as she straddled him with her still-aching thighs. Worth the discomfort to see his eyes widen like that--and in this form, he was a much easier ride. She brushed against the bulge in his trousers with her fingertips and felt a shudder go through him, then settled in and started unbuttoning her blouse.

He held himself still, chest heaving, just watching as she stripped. She tossed aside the blouse and reached back to unfasten her bra. He groaned as her breasts spilled free, and reached up with eager hands to knead them and trace her nipples with his fingertips.

She gasped, shocked by how good it felt, and pulled him closer as he bent down to kiss them. His lips and tongue swirled over her skin, punctuated with delicate little nibbles, while all the while a low rumble of pleasure vibrated his throat, like a gigantic cat purring. When he finally started to suckle her, she let out a low sob of pleasure and reached down impatiently to unbuckle her belt.

He seemed obsessed with every part of her, suckling each nipple to hard points and keeping on until they were almost sore; running his hands over her back; sliding his fingers through her hair.

The whole time his eyes held an almost frantic light, as if he had been starved for her. She stood up to take her trousers and socks off, kicking free of them and standing over him while he gazed up at her worshipfully.

He scooted forward and took the straps of her panties in his hands, then tugged them down, kissing her belly and then sliding his mouth down below her navel, following the tiny sprigs of trimmed hair until he was kissing her mound, with the same passion he had lavished on her breasts.

His fingers parted her; then he cupped her ass with both hands to steady her as he delved his tongue into her folds and started delicately exploring her.

She whimpered and staggered, barely able to stay up as he started swirling the tip of his tongue over her most sensitive flesh. Her toes curled; her fingers tangled in his hair and she swayed against his supporting hands, barely able to keep from collapsing.

She could hear her voice rising in uncontrollable moans as he kept at her until she shuddered all over. Then her knees started buckling, and he caught her and gently lowered her to the mattress.

He unfastened his belt and slid his pants down, and she caught a glimpse of his manhood springing free. She threw her head back against the mattress, panting, body tingling, hungry to be filled by him. He wiped his mouth and settled over her, kissing her intensely as his hands parted her thighs.

His first thrust came slow and careful, sinking into her as his body jolted and shuddered with the restrained urge to push in deep. He groaned in her ear, and she gripped his buttocks and lifted her hips to him encouragingly until he finally entered fully.

For a few moments, he had to just lie there, trembling; she felt his heart pounding against her breasts. Then, propping himself up a little, he slipped a hand between them to finish the work his tongue had started.

He caressed her until she went rigid; until her hips started rocking under him, holding still the whole time, his breath shuddering in her ear. His fingers stroked and swirled until the pleasure drove her mad; she squirmed, nails raking his back, whimpering through her teeth as she felt the tension inside her build toward explosion. “Don’t stop….” she sobbed. “Don’t stop….”

Then pleasure arched her back as it burst outward from her groin in waves; she wailed, thrashing under him as he gasped and started thrusting hard. The purring growls in his throat turned into harsh groans as they ground against each other; the force of his hips pushed hers into the mattress and sent fresh ripples of pleasure through her body.

Faster and harder he thrust into her, until it almost hurt; she felt his tremors grow stronger and stronger until he arched his back and went taut against her. His cock shuddered inside of her; his eyes squeezed shut as his voice rose in a hoarse scream of ecstasy.

After, cradled in his arms, she murmured against his neck, “How long can we stay here?”

“As long as you want, my darling,” he whispered into her hair, and kissed the top of her head.

Summer was a time of rest for the planet’s officials, apparently, and he took only a few calls in the next few weeks, as they lived peacefully and without visitors. She learned to love the feel of walking around without the collar on her neck, and the sight of his face when she woke up in the morning.

Afternoon and night and sometimes morning, they made love, and the longer it went on, the more she wondered if she could make peace with this world enough to stay with him.

They were a month and a half into their stay when she woke up one morning to a strange, deep thud that seemed to echo through the building. He sat up immediately beside her, peering around.

“Electrics are out,” he growled, eyes narrowing as his body tensed. “Could have been a lightning strike, but--”

Suddenly, something crashed through the armored glass above them. She saw the steel arrow-shape of a small rocket dropping toward them a moment before it exploded, and filled the room with yellowish gas.

“Irina!” he called in shock and horror, already coughing. “Get--get to the cellar….”

She ran, clapping her hand to her ear to keep her translator from falling out as she made a mad dash to the shelter of underground. The gas stung her eyes, and as she ran down the stairs she saw the other windows shatter inward as their unseen enemy fired more gas bombs into the lodge.

Gagging, eyes streaming, she almost fell on the stairs, then dragged herself up and kept running. Behind her, she could hear the snarls and growls of Kaelon closing in battle with someone.

A huge figure stepped out of the thick mist in front of her and grabbed her by both arms. She caught sight of a mane of wild blond hair poking out around his gas mask, and knew.
Torvin.
Then his fist crashed into the underside of her chin, and the world went black.