His Naughty Little Mate (13 page)

Settling beneath her on the bed, he cupped her pussy. To her shame, she moaned and arched into his hand. He didn’t seem to notice, because he simply stared at her with that dark, intense gaze of his that warned her she was in so much trouble.

“You will keep your legs spread wide open like this during your flower spanking, Carmen.”

* * *

The scent of her arousal filled his senses, and Erik ached to claim her roughly, to sink into her moist, inviting pussy and fuck her hard. But she’d been a tad naughty by leaving a wet spot on her chair during dinner, and he had to punish her for it. The pinkness within her slightly parted nether lips glistened, and he ran his hand over her center, spreading out her moisture as her legs began to shake. The softest whimpers rose up from her, the sound of her nervousness appealing to his dark, baser desires.

He raised his hand up and brought it down quickly, slapping her pussy over and over again. To her credit, she kept her legs spread as he’d instructed, but after the first few slaps she let out a sob and covered her face in her hands. The sound of sticky slaps rang out in the room, and her beautiful little flower turned red as he continued with her punishment, striking the sweetness between her thighs repeatedly. Her wetness increased as he spanked, and her clit poked out from her reddened lips, more swollen than he’d ever seen it. Pausing her punishment, he slipped his fingers through her folds and spread moisture over the hardened nub, alternating pinching and rubbing her as she gasped and struggled to keep her legs spread. Occasionally she started to close them, but then she’d fling herself wide open again, as if she’d suddenly remembered obeying him was in her best interest.

Releasing her clit, he gave her a few more slaps, centering the smacks over that vulnerable, swollen nub. Shuddering sobs escaped her, but he soon drew moans of pleasure from her when he began to caress the very spot he’d just punished.

“Your flower is all red now, Carmen, and even wetter than it was before I had to punish you.” He stood up long enough to shed his clothing, then crawled atop her and pried her hands away from her face. He wiped away the remnants of her tears and kissed her cheeks, then moved to claim her mouth. She responded with a whimper and pressed her hips against him, gyrating against his hard cock.

He pushed inside her, groaning at the feel of her wet warmth, so tight and perfect as her muscles clamped down around his cock. Rocking in and out of her, he set a quick, hard pace. She urgently met his thrusts, lifting her legs up to allow for deeper strokes. He paused momentarily to place her legs over his shoulders, and resumed pounding into her with renewed vigor.

Her breasts, rounder and fuller because of the life that was growing inside her, bounced with his rapid movements. Her head tilted to the side and her face twisted as she cried out, and a second later he felt her pussy squeezing him as she came apart, riding the wave of an orgasm that left a sheen of perspiration on her brow.

Pulling out of her, he guided her to stand and bend over the bed. She gasped and panted heavily, but she managed to remain on her feet, gripping the covers as she arched her bottom up to meet his cock. He surged into her, digging his fingers into her hips as he fucked her. His balls slapped against her clit with each thrust, and it wasn’t long before he felt her tightening around him again as she cried out.

He came with her, spots dotting his vision as he filled her with his seed. Leaning over her, he twined his fingers through hers, squeezing her hand. “Let’s take a shower together, and later we can go for a walk on the beach.”

Peering over her shoulder, she grinned at him mischievously. “A walk on the beach? Since when are you so romantic?”

He swatted her bottom all the way to the shower, and after they’d dried off and left their towels in a heap on the floor, watching her walk across the bedroom with her bottom still red heated his blood. As she bent over to pick up her dress, he scooped her up and carried her back to the bed.

“Hey!” She pushed at his chest playfully, and moaned into his mouth when he straddled her on the bed, his tongue pushing against hers as he kissed her with all the passion inside him.

God, he couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to be inside her all the time it seemed, and he trailed the tip of his stiff length through her folds.

“Naughty girl,” he said, meeting her eyes. “You’re already wet again.”

Just as he was about to push inside her, a noise downstairs stilled his movements. Footsteps, followed by a computerized voice, drifted up into the bedroom from somewhere below.

“Dammit,” he said, moving to put his clothes on. “Stay here, Carmen. I’ll be right back.” He kissed her cheek as he fastened his pants before hurrying down the steps.

He found Nuemis in the downstairs hallway, just outside the kitchen.

“Nuemis,” Erik said, running his hand through his hair, “we need to have a serious talk about an Earth custom called knocking.”

His friend—at some point Erik had started to think of the big-haired alien as a friend, in a strange sort of way—appeared tense as he fingered the necklace that projected his voice. His large blue eyes flickered with worry, the line in his forehead creased and his face drawn tight.

“We need to talk. It’s important. It’s about the baby.”

“What about the baby?” Carmen appeared at Erik’s side, fully dressed. He gave her a censuring look for not staying upstairs.

Nuemis paced and pulled at his hair, shaking his head as he met their eyes. “I’ve learned some troubling news. I overheard some of the council members talking.”

Carmen put a protective hand on her stomach, and Erik pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her as he waited for Nuemis to continue.

“They have no intention of allowing you to raise your child, or of returning you to Earth. Your baby will be taken away from you immediately after being born so they can study the child. My kind hasn’t seen an infant or a child in tens of thousands of years. They are… curious.” He straightened and his expression softened. “I am truly sorry. It appears the council held a second vote that I wasn’t privy to, and they voted to keep you, all three of you, on Vella permanently.”

A chill settled over Erik, and he tightened his hold on Carmen. She trembled in his arms, and at the moment seemed to be at a loss for words. Her breaths came quickly, and he rubbed her back, hoping to keep her from panicking.

“This is unacceptable,” Erik ground out. “We are having a child because the council promised to return us to Earth if we demonstrated the breeding process for them. We were told we’d be raising our own child. How can they just hold a secret vote behind your back?”

Sadness shone in Nuemis’s gaze, and he lowered his head. “They also voted to kick me off the council. I don’t hold any power here anymore, aside from my scientific postings.”

“No one is taking our baby away,” Carmen said, her voice shaking. “I won’t allow it. Go and tell them human children need to be raised by their parents. They need love and proper nurturing, not a cold sterile lab like the council would provide.”

“There’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry. I just wanted to warn you, so there wouldn’t be any surprises for you.” Nuemis reached out as if to touch them in a gesture of comfort, but he dropped his hand midway, turned around, and walked out of the house.

Carmen collapsed in Erik’s arms. The sob that tore from her lips broke his heart. He carried her upstairs and tucked her into the massive bed, then crawled under the covers with her. They didn’t speak. There was nothing to say. The council was going to take their baby away. They wouldn’t be raising their child. The Blumerans’ deceit would tear their little family apart. All the promises to return them to Earth had been empty. The large house and their present freedom were likely just temporary. What was stopping the aliens from imprisoning them in the medical facility again?

Erik brushed Carmen’s hair from her face and rested his forehead against hers, placing a hand on her swollen stomach. Their child, so innocent and vulnerable, would be ripped from their arms. He thought of the nursery they’d been preparing and sorrow enveloped him.

All his plans for a future with Carmen and their baby crashed to the floor, his hopes and dreams splintering into a thousand tiny pieces.

* * *

All the colors in the forest below appeared muted today. Carmen gazed at the view from their bedroom window, barely registering the vividness of the flowering trees or the blue sky. The suns shone bright as always, but she didn’t even need to lower her gaze, because a darkness had taken over her and no amount of light could penetrate her sorrow.

A tear ran down her cheek as she rubbed her stomach. Was she carrying a boy or a girl? Another tear rolled down her face. Would the child ever be told about his or her human parents? Would the Blumerans hold the baby, coo to him, or sing lullabies while rocking him to sleep?

Her face crumbled and she dashed her tears away with the back of her hand, taking a deep breath and resolving not to cry anymore today. She’d cried enough tears to last a lifetime during the past three weeks. Today should have been one of her happiest days on Vella, since Erra and Stee would be arriving to examine her and had promised to determine the baby’s gender this afternoon.

The smell of breakfast cooking wafted upstairs, and she thought about the last few weeks since Nuemis’s fateful visit. Erik hardly spoke, and he seemed constantly preoccupied with his thoughts. He still spent his days studying the alien spaceship technology with Nuemis, sometimes bringing home screens of diagrams and odd-looking symbols to study. When she asked about it, he brushed her off and changed the subject.

She was so lonely here on Vella. Hopelessness was her constant companion. Some days she felt like an idiot for staying here in this house, but she didn’t know where else to go. The Blumerans could track them anywhere on the planet with a simple scan for their human life signature, according to Nuemis. Carmen didn’t think the big-haired alien had any reason to lie. He’d been so forthcoming about the council’s goings-on that she trusted him. Erik trusted him too, although she wondered about the work they’d been doing lately. She had the distinct feeling they were both trying to hide something from her, and she despaired over what it could be.

Leaving the bedroom, she padded down the hall and to the half-finished nursery. Each time she walked through the doorway and into the room, her heart broke all over again. Today was no exception. As she entered the room, her chest became heavy and her breathing pained. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she blinked them away.

The council probably thought they were so smart, deceiving them like this, keeping them happy with the promise of a quiet family life near the beach and an eventual return to Earth. But they were heartless. Cruel. She hated them with everything inside her, and each time she thought about what they planned to do with her child, she was filled with a rage that left her body shaking and her head pulsing with pain.

Knowing Erik would come looking for her soon, she cast one last glance at the crib he’d constructed and went downstairs to the kitchen. As they ate breakfast, Erik kept looking around the kitchen and out the windows, as if he was nervous. His demeanor, especially after all that had happened, left her uneasy. Her appetite gone, she pushed her plate back and regarded him with a frown.

“What’s wrong? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

His eyes widened as he focused on her, and he pressed his lips together for a few moments, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell her something. Finally, he spoke. “I want you to stay in the house all day today.”

“Why? You won’t be with Nuemis all day, will you?” It hurt her that he’d apparently forgotten about her exam today. Today’s exam was supposed to be quick and noninvasive, but they’d find out their baby’s gender after weeks of speculation. Or maybe he didn’t care. Maybe since the Blumerans planned to steal their baby, it didn’t matter to him anymore whether the child they’d created was a boy or a girl. Anger pummeled through her, hot and all-consuming. Her hands itched with the urge to pick up her plate of
tremma
eggs and hurl them at his face.

“I will return well before Erra and Stee arrive, Carmen.”

The urge to hurl eggs at his face left, but her blood remained heated. He was keeping secrets from her and she didn’t like it. “Why are you so tense?”

He smiled and shook his head. “I’m just anxious to find out what we’re having.”

“
What
we’re having? What we’re having!” She stood up so quickly her chair fell backward and crashed to the floor. “We’re having a baby, Erik. A baby that we will be lucky to catch a glimpse of before they steal him or her away from us. A baby that will never know love, a baby that will be starved for attention, a poor little child who will grow up in a laboratory while test after test is run on him or her.” She covered her face as the tears spilled out. So much for not crying today.

Suddenly Erik was at her side, leading her up the stairs. He guided her into their bedroom and urged her to get into bed. Not having slept well for weeks, she was too tired to protest. She blinked up at him, leaning against his hand as he cupped her cheek.

“Stay here, Carmen, right in this bed. I’m sorry I have to leave right now, but I will be back soon. I promise.”

“You also promised that we’d be a family.”

He reeled back as if she’d slapped him in the face, and she instantly regretted her words. It wasn’t his fault this had happened. None of it. Two humans, let alone one, couldn’t take on the entire Blumeran race. If the aliens wanted to keep them here on Vella forever, nothing could be done about it. If the aliens wanted to take their baby away and study the child out of scientific curiosity, nothing could be done about that either.

“I’m sorry, Erik,” she said, grasping his hand. “I didn’t mean that. I don’t blame you.” She sniffled. “I love you, you know.” Throughout her sorrow, he’d been there for her these past few weeks. Perhaps she’d imagined his nervousness and secrecy, and perhaps his quietness was his way of grieving for the child they were about to lose.