Venomous: Erotic Science Fiction Romance (Alien Warrior Book 1) (34 page)

He jerked his chin. “Ask.”

“So we get to Rök. Then what?”

“We live.”

“Aren’t we being generous with our words?”

And with the communication upgrade, he’d begun to grasp sarcasm at startling speed.

His growled warning skittered over my flesh. “
Lumen
....”

“What will I do? Back on Earth I had a job.” I pushed up on my elbows then looked down my sprawled body.

My specially made softsuit gathered at my waist from our earlier coupling leaving me half unclothed.

I forced myself not to be distracted by his equally undressed state, his long body corded with muscle, and covered in iridescent scales the colour of aged gold that was
all mine
to pet, and lick and....

Woman may not thrive on orgasms alone.

Focus.

I eyed him askance to minimise the arousal effect. “You’re not expecting me to push out, uh, offspring all the time now that you know I can?”

Venomous had had angry words with Fiercely and Nāga about what went down when we were apart.

With Fiercely, his ire centred around him drugging then separating us, and he’d warned the male against trying it again, something along the lines of, “Do it again, and I end you.”

Expressionless when Nāga advised conception between us was viable, he’d cuttingly responded with, “She would not have made me male if it was not,” in a tone that said he believed the healer short of brain cells for thinking otherwise.

He only eased his hostility towards the subject once I assured him I didn’t feel as if I’d been experimented on.

I understood the practical reasons behind what they had done.

“Venomous?” My nervous pause cranked the tension when he didn’t answer. “Are you?

Another smirk. “No.”

I blew him a kiss. “Good.” I flopped back. “So when you’re off being hot warrior guy what will I be doing?”

“Whatever you wish.”

Face scrunching, I waddled through the happy miasma to sit up fully.

Half because the conversation had to turn serious, and half because the many layers of gold wrapped around my neck began to choke me.

Perhaps he’s right and thirteen necklaces is a tad excessive.

I pushed hair out of my face. “Babe, seriously, won’t I need to work? On Earth we need money to buy food, clothes and put a roof over our heads. Now would be a good time to reveal your princely status to my angst and hidden joy.”

He chuckled. “I will provide.”

My mouth opened then closed as I impersonated a guppy.

Rök wasn’t a male dominated planet that played at democracy while its leadership and social heartbeat encouraged gender inequality was it?

Not that Earth wasn’t exactly that.

Still, I wanted to go on to better, not be trapped in the same prison of materialism and passively support the illusion of ‘freedom’ so many thought they had in the western ‘civilised’ world.

“It’s not.... Rök isn’t....” My mouth worked as panic made me sweat. “I’m
allowed
to work aren’t I? I am equal to a male?”

Venomous gave me an odd look.

He appraised me then said in a mystified tone, “Do whatever you wish. Work. Do not work. Who will stop you? Why would they?”

“So females can do whatever males do? Even when they’re mated?”

“Ye–” He stopped then nodded in a fast spasm of his neck and head.

He seemed pleased to have remembered the gesticulation he viewed as part of another language.

“It won’t matter that I’m different? That my culture and skin is not the same?” I sounded as dubious as my expression looked. “I’m going to have the same rights and privileges as a native? I could be, say, a warrior, or hold a position of rank?”

“Yesss.”

“How can you say that? You don’t know how your people,
how your leaders
, will react. They might be prejudice because technically, I’m an immigrant, a flipping intergalactic
refugee
with nothing to offer. There are political parties on my world that treat such people like shit. I never cared before, I’m ashamed to say it didn’t affect me, but now
I’m
the one up shit creek without a paddle, and I don’t fucking like it.”

“Lumen–”

“Do
not
sit there and pretend your people aren’t the same. Your world is closed to outsiders, babe. That isn’t a ringing endorsement for interspecies tolerance.”

Venomous sighed. “I admit there will be those ... troubled and afraid of us, but the Rä who lead Rök are of different backgrounds, gender and rank. We have creative minds and logical thinkers who will approach any social disturbances because of our arrival with wisdom and fairness.”

“I want to believe you. It just sounds too good to be true.”

“It is how I say. Otherwise, how can justice be impartial, and, therefore, our world safe? How can the perspective of our Senate represent a balanced view of our society, and guide it wisely? If things were as you fear, my Lumen, we’d repeat an endless sequence of wars, and turn on those who are different merely because they were hatched in a different province.” He frowned. “Worse, we would never evolve. Rä with the same views retaining power throughout many generations would limit us to one note, one pallid shade. That is not a world of freedom and choice. That is a world shackled, its inhabitants willing slaves. Should Rök sink so low, I would fight for change.” He stared at me. “My Rä’Na, do not fear our home world. Should your voice not be treated with respect, I will stand with you, and for you until you are heard. I expect my Elders to heed, and fear us. If they do not they will lose my strength which feeds their power. With my loyalty withdrawn, I will not follow them. My obedience to their political views is a gift, not a right they may demand without cause, or abuse without repercussion.”

“You really think they’d listen to you? That the people of Rök have that much influence over their government?”

“True leaders serve the people. They have no power but what we lend, and what I give in good faith can be taken away.”

“The wealthy own my world.”

“Then it is broken.”

Holding out both hands, fingers splayed, I shook my head, overwhelmed.

Seeing my disbelief, my male mimicked a one-shouldered shrug that smacked of me in a snit.

My eyes smiled.

I dared not show my amusement in a more obvious manner.

I’d seen him practicing gestures like shrugging, nodding and thumbs up when he believed my attention elsewhere.

What Venomous didn’t understand was I always watched him.

Why did he hide it?

I found my gruff male practicing how to communicate as I did adorable, and it was a help to know he didn’t look down on me for coming from a different civilization.

Knowing he respected my background went a huge way to lessening my fear of the unknown.

He was
interested
in my culture, questioned me on how I felt about my world, what I found abhorrent, and what I’d change for the better.

Quick to point out similarities between our people, or comfort me if I appeared daunted by his, he never passed judgement when I spoke of humanities blood-soaked past, present and likely future.

The effort made to ease me into my new existence made me hopeful he’d continue to be interested in my thoughts and opinions.

This was my shiny new life, a chance to better myself.

I had no intention of being relegated to ‘my hapless alien wife who does as I say,’ territory.

Sensing I wasn’t done freaking, he added, “To be a warrior you must train. Same with other things. You choose, no one will stop you.”

Undecided if sold on such a utopia existing, I pursed my lips.

Turning over a new leaf to be a better person than I’d been on Earth, and make something of myself, I attempted to make smart, non-life threatening decisions.

So, if I could make something of myself on Rök, training with alien warriors that could flatten me with a nonchalant slap wasn’t one of them.

“Other things?” I prompted.

“There are the Elders, the Warriors Guild, the Scholars, the Healers Caste and the Artisans.”

Well, aside from the fact I couldn’t fight my way out of a paper bag, so joining the Warriors Guild was not for me, reading sucked.

I suspected to be a Scholar you’d have to do bookish things like reading.

Blood made me faint or cry.

Anyway, I doubted any sane being wanted my panicky, fumbling fingers digging around inside them.

So that was a no to the Healers Caste, and did we really want me leading a bunch of people as an Elder?

I asked, “What do Artisans do?”

“Make beauty.”

I clicked my tongue against my teeth. “Crystal clear as always, babe.” I thought about it. “Like painters and stuff?”

“All kinds of beauty.” Venomous held up another morsel of roasted meat on its way to my mouth. “They play instruments, write verses of poetry and perform theatrics. Artisans tattoo and pierce with gold.” He touched his quills then fingered one of the shining rings there. “They dance.”

Excitement coloured my voice. “Dance?”

Venomous’ grin was devilish. “I never appreciated the Rä’Na dancers. I had no urge for clutch, but now I will find the act titillating, I think.” His black gaze sharpened. “You dance, my Lumen?”

Averting my eyes, I fought a smile and eased from his hold, picking up on his predatory vibe and feeling playful.

“A little,” I demurred.

Dancing was something that came easy.

If I’d had an once of ambition in my B.A.B.A (Before Abduction By Aliens) days, I could have gone to dance school and made a profession out of it.

I wasn’t going to be miserable or directionless in my new life.

I was determined to build a career, at the least do something I could be proud of that offered value to the world ... universe ... whatever.

Naughty thoughts of dancing on my male’s lap slid from my mind.

The muscled specimen inches from me roused like a slumbering beast scenting prey.

Still sidling across the bedding, I tensed in anticipation.

Venomous pushed up on his lower arms with his upper hands free to grab me, but he didn’t.

My male was nothing if not adaptable.

He’d learned fast I liked to play. “Don’t make me chase you.”

“Don’t act like you don’t like it,” I shot back climbing off the platform the furs were bundled on. I backed up facing him, hands spread and waving back and forth in a taunt. “Look at you, all
hard
,” I paused to let that sink in and enjoyed his startled gawp, “and trembling.”

His gaze shot to his crotch.

He made an inarticulate sound of embarrassment at his tumescence.

The near constant erected state of his dick since meeting me was something he confessed confounded, and, at times, bothered him.

He’d been taught as an a’Rä lusty urges would be few, far between, and that release inside his Rä’Na would cure it until she came into season, her pheromones triggering his
seeding
.

The intense desire bolting between us threw his world out of balance.

Neither of us minded.

While he found my physical differences perplexing, some of my cleansing and grooming rituals odd, he accepted me, unconditionally, and expected me to do the same.

Frankly, I adored his sexual inexperience.

He was confident about his sexuality, but not arrogant, grew dexterous at kink I introduced, but never jaded, and despite an endearing innocence in passion, he soaked up sexual play and innuendo with diabolical delight.

He never made me feel immoral.

He met my newfound need with a hunger all his own, and explored the physical connection as acutely as he did our emotional one.

A heavy thump announced Venomous’ dismount from the nest.

Shuffling back with a pronounced sway of my hips, I winked then spun to dash towards the seating area.

Halfway to the divan, I threw myself to the side and dropped a squat.

He was right on my ass.

Arms swiped past my head in a hugging motion.

He moved with such power, I felt the air shift.

Scrambling to right himself, he did so in the time it took for me to blink in admiration.

I leapt over a low table, screeching, “
How you amuse me, tiny alien male
.”

Venomous tossed his head back and roared in outrage.

He came at me in a blurred streak of colour.

Next time I might evade capture for a whole minute
, I thought proudly as my waist was snagged.

Strong arms with a gentle hold enfolded me.

His body trembled with laughter as I wriggled and squirmed.

Ringing peals of delight escaped the heart of me.

I was glad to know this male, I was so damned
happy
.

“Impressive,” he rumbled. His nose burrowed into my neck. “But I claim my prize.”

I heard a clink of teeth on metal.

A tug at my throat and the weight at my neck lifted.

Polished balls of gold fell to the floor in a shower of golden raindrops.

The beads bounced and pinged off furniture.

Top half of my softsuit bunched around my waist, my hands flew to cover my chest in false modesty. “I liked that one!”

He murmured, “I will trade for another,” and lowered me to the floor, nudging aside my hands to bare my breasts.

Liquid eyes devoured them greedily.

His firm mouth followed.

Arching into his caress, I grabbed the back of his head as he sucked and tongued my nipple.

My eyes lost focus then rolled.

I was consumed by the sheer deliciousness of the sucking sensation.

Stomach cramping under another brutal flow of pleasure, I gasped. “I’ve created a monster.”

Giving me a grin, Venomous lowered his body on mine then his hips shoved into the cradle of my thighs.

He kissed me.

I’d never get used to the drugging effect of his lips.

He kissed as if each connection of his mouth to mine imparted a secret.

I heard the static fizz of
the haze
as someone passed through it.

Crouched over me, Venomous stiffened.