Invasion Earth (9 page)

She watched him curiously, but she didn’t
resist as he stripped her and gave her a small push down onto the
bed, nudging her over so he could crouch next to her. He piled the
pillows under her head and upper back so she was lounging back,
then pulled the belt from his trousers. He looped it around her
wrists, careful not to pull too tight, then lifted her arms to the
bar stretching across the headboard and secured it. Sitting back on
his heels, he grinned at his handiwork while she cocked an
eyebrow.

“I don’t know if this works for me. I thought
we were eating dinner?”

He leaned over and kissed her belly, looking
up at her as he did. He lowered his hand so that he could cup her
pussy, rubbing one finger lightly over her clit. She gritted her
teeth against a groan, against the demand that he fuck her now, but
he knew she wanted it. Felt her desire on his fingers.

“Don’t worry,
der’lan
. First, we feed
the baby. Then we feed ... me.”

“I doubt I’m pregnant. But there are
other...” He thrust one finger into her hot wet channel and was
rewarded with a low, sweet groan before she finished her sentence.
“considerations.”

He forced himself to withdraw and reached for
the cover of the tray.

“No, there aren’t,” he answered. “My people
are immune to the diseases that plague yours.”

He didn’t add that even if that weren’t true,
it didn’t matter. He hadn’t touched any woman from Earth but her,
or any woman at all for longer than he cared to recall. And he knew
from Barak’s report, which included the stolen copy of her last
medical exam, that she was just as safe. All things he should have
discussed with her, but his more immediate concern was getting her
fed and penetrated. He focused on the tray.

He’d asked for a traditional Earth dinner and
was surprised at how much the unfamiliar food smelled like a meal
he’d find at home. Maybe he was picking up on Laney’s feelings. He
chuckled when her stomach grumbled and picked up a fork.

He scooped up something that looked like
creamy white cotton and lifted the food to her mouth. Her eyes
flashed annoyance but she opened her lips for the offering, humming
when as her lips closed around it and he slid the utensil free. He
took a bite and found himself echoing her approval.

“What is this?”

“Mashed potatoes.” She grinned. “Bad for you,
but oh so good.”

He cocked an eyebrow and fed her another
bite. “Bad how?”

After swallowing, she answered. “Fattening.
Lots of milk and butter.”

Grinning, he continued to feed her, this time
cutting off a piece of soft meat. “Don’t worry. I’ll work it
off.”

It looked stringy and a bit red to him, but
she groaned when it hit her taste buds. He took a bite but didn’t
find it as appealing as the potatoes. Too bland for a palate more
accustomed to hot spicy foods. He speared a cylindrical green
vegetable. Her reaction to it wasn’t as satisfying, but she did
close her eyes and chew with a sigh.

“And that?”

“Green beans. And roast. Can I have another
bite of the roast, please?”

He speared the meat with the fork again and
watched as an expression of near bliss crossed her face. There was
something incredibly alluring about watching the woman eat. His
cock swelled and urged him to hurry.

“You act like it’s been years since you’ve
eaten,” he joked, trying to distract himself from the lust surging
through his veins.

“Mmmm,” she mumbled around a mouthful of the
roast. “Army rations leave a lot to be desired. What did you do?
Kidnap one of our civilian chefs?”

He chuckled. “I have no idea, but I think
I’ll find one to take back to Delroi with us.”

She didn’t react to his mention of his home
world. Disappointment and irritation warred together. She was still
resisting their union despite it being inevitable. He expected
that. She was a soldier, after all, and unsure of his people. What
he didn’t expect was her lack of communication. After their initial
clash there was no railing against her fate, no cajoling, no
negotiating or curiosity. Well, maybe that was what her wandering
around this evening was about. Whatever her feelings were on the
situation, she was keeping them to herself and that just pissed him
off.

He sensed a frontal assault would backfire on
him, though, so he kept his thoughts to himself, redirected them to
where he could make headway. Her body was his. His instrument to
play and master. Through it he’d convince her that her heart and
soul were his too, her fate intertwined with his.

When he fed her the next bite, he leaned
forward and kissed the hollow of her neck. She swallowed
convulsively but otherwise didn’t react. Determined to get a
response, he repeated the action, moving lower with each bite. By
the time he reached the swell of her breast, her skin was hot, her
breathing labored. He fed her another bite, then closed his mouth
around her nipple. She bowed off the bed, brushing her body against
his and setting his blood on fire.

“No more,” she panted.

“Mmmm.” He swirled his tongue around her
nipple then sucked it back into his mouth. He lifted his eyes to
meet hers, saw they were wide and wanting. Straightening, he turned
to the tray. She’d eaten enough to satisfy him, but the galley
staff had also left dessert. He’d been on Earth long enough to
recognize the chocolate cake. Next to it was set a small bottle
that intrigued him. The label proclaimed it chocolate syrup and he
picked it up. He knew what syrup was and he knew what chocolate
was. The two together had fascinating possibilities.

He turned back to her and upended the bottle.
A fine drizzle of the stuff poured out and he guided the bottle
around her torso from the tops of her breasts to her belly button,
leaving an interesting path that had to be cleaned up. With his
tongue. He started with the end of the trail over her stomach and
followed it up.

Laney watched. She wanted to close her eyes
and just feel, but they wouldn’t obey her. Who knew being fed could
be such a sensual act? That was hard enough to fight but the
chocolate syrup was over the top. She gave up resisting the pull.
His tongue followed a track with a clear destination. It scraped
over nerve endings made raw from his previous attentions, brought
her body to a fever pitch. When his tongue reached the first
nipple, swirled around it to sweep up every drop before his teeth
closed over and tugged it, she exploded. The pleasure was so
intense her mind simply flew apart.

His tongue followed the trail across her
chest to the hollow between her breasts and up to the other side.
While she convulsed with the aftershocks, he sucked on her other
nipple and she came again. Her body seized up with the bliss. Her
mind disintegrated. She tried to remind herself she wasn’t supposed
to like this—the alien lover bending her to his will, being tied
down and forced to accept what he gave her—but she was so far gone,
so frantic for his touch, for more, that she didn’t care. She’d
agree to anything, anything at all to have him.

“Alrik. Please.” She strained against him,
against the bonds, her hips thrusting up in a mindless demand of
their own. He released her nipple with a slow wet slide and shifted
to loom over her, his eyes meeting hers.

“Anything
der’lan
,” he whispered.
“Just tell me what you need.”

She almost sobbed. He knew what she needed,
but would make her say it. Ask. Beg. And she’d do it. He’d stripped
her bare; she had no pride left.

“I need you inside me.”

Okay, so it came out more demand than plea.
He didn’t seem to mind. One side of his mouth turned up to a half
smile and he stood, jerking his clothes off before coming back to
her. He blanketed her with his body, his cock hard and long and
throbbing resting against her entrance. He took her face in the
palms of his hands and held her still, meeting her gaze.

“Anything for you, my
der’lan
.
Anything.”

Then he plunged into her and the combination
of his erection and the soft whisper that promised absolute carnal
delight threw her over the edge again. He whispered in her ear as
he worked her. Hot desires, hotter demands. He kept her coming
until she rode a high of pleasure so intense it was almost painful,
until she knew she’d never be able to associate physical joy with
anyone else and her brain shut down. She passed out. When she came
to, her hands were free and Alrik was leaning over her a worried
but satisfied expression on his face.

“I’ve heard rumors but I never believed
them,” he said.

“Of what?” She knew by his smirk she probably
didn’t want an answer to the question.

His smile broadened. “That it was possible to
pleasure your mate so much she’d faint.”

She scowled, felt her brows draw dangerously
close together. He was really pushing his luck. “I did
not
faint. I just blacked out for a second.”

“Of course, darlin’.”

“And not from pleasure either,” she added
mulishly. The truth underlying his statement was outrageous.
Unbelievable. “You had me tied down. I was under duress.”

Rolling over to lie on his back next to her
he laughed, a big belly laugh she never would have expected he was
capable of. It was delightful. “We both know that for the lie it
is, Laney.”

She stared at the ceiling and pressed her
lips together, fighting her own laughter and unable to deny his
assertion, but not quite ready to admit to anything either. She’d
kept herself divorced from strong feeling for so long she didn’t
know how to cope with this. So she forced her mind to turn
analytical while her body struggled to remain focused on the man,
the alien, next to her.

It wasn’t like any attraction she’d ever
experienced or witnessed and the sex was many times more intense
than any fantasy could hope to compare to. Even now, when she
should be sated and satisfied, her pulse spiked and her body
flushed with anticipation. Maybe he had supercharged alien
pheromones. Actually, that might not be so far off. What did they
know about the Delroi really? She rolled her head to the side to
watch his profile, resisting the urge to reach out and touch
him.

“Why would your seers send you here?”

He turned to meet her gaze raising one
eyebrow. “What?”

“Your brother said yesterday your seers were
right,” she reminded him.

“Ah.” He crossed his arms under his head and
looked up as if searching for words. “Our xenobiologists believe
humanoid life in this quadrant of the galaxy began all in one
place. It would explain why we’re so similar.”

She frowned. Her people had spent much more
time at war with each other than exploring beyond their solar
system.

“So there are other planets like ours? Other
people like ours? Why come to Earth then?”

He sighed, rolled over and propped himself up
on his elbow. With one finger he traced the contours of her face
and she fought her reaction, the rising tide of lust and affection.
Where was that coming from? She was here as a prisoner, not by her
choice.

“There are other humanoids, but not like you.
Or us. We’re the most similar. The others have evolved too far from
whatever the original gene pool was.”

He leaned down slowly, incrementally, letting
her see him come. As if she could run? Even if she’d wanted to she
couldn’t. She was frozen in place, held still by the emotion
glowing in his eyes. It was more than lust, more than mere desire.
His need for her raged and it took her breath. Stole into her
heart. When his lips met hers they were soft, tender. His tongue
swept into her mouth the same way. Gently demanding, gently
marauding. They were both panting when he lifted his head.

“That’s why we came here,” he whispered.
“There isn’t anything like this in the universe. Like the
connection we share. That true mates share.”

He rolled on top her, pulling her legs up
over his shoulders before thrusting into her.

“And yes. It’s worth going to war over.”

***

Laney woke slowly the next morning and bit
back a moan at the unaccustomed soreness in her body. What she
wouldn’t do for a hot pounding shower and some clean clothes.
Hearing voices from the other room, she considered pulling the
sheet over her head and hiding out for the rest of the day. Years
of ingrained habit couldn’t be broken in one morning, however.

She stood and took her first good look
around, which was surprising considering all the time she’d spent
in the room. There was a long dresser on the wall opposite the bed
and her bag rested on top of it. She hoped Alrik had gone to get it
himself. She didn’t like the idea of him looking through her
things, but a complete stranger would have been worse. She’d worry
later over why she wasn’t as bothered as she should be by his
taking it on himself to move her in.

A door tucked in the corner of that wall
stood open and she walked over. It had to be a bathroom with—please
God—a shower. Peeking her head in, she was happy to see the
standard facilities and a small shower stall.

In the bedroom, she dug through her duffle
and found her personal kit. She carried it with her to the shower,
figured out how to get the water going and adjusted by randomly
playing with the buttons on the wall, then let its heat pelt over
her. Pouring shampoo in her hand, she worked it through the long
length of her hair and wondered what was expected of her now. She
was tempted to bang her head against the wall. A good whack might
do her good.

Yesterday she’d joined the Alliance side of
the negotiating table out of lifelong habit, but under the
circumstances could she still consider herself a Sergeant Major
answering to Earth? Or was she cut free of those obligations and
now answering to alien authority? Which faction did her loyalty lie
with? Because she didn’t fool herself. If the marriage went
through, and apparently it was going to, and if the union produced
offspring, a distinct possibility, then her allegiances would
definitely shift. She frowned, then sighed. Not that she could turn
her back on Earth, but there was no denying her feelings toward
Alrik were softening. She felt pulled in ten different
directions.