Taken Read online

  With the crack of an evil sneer, I jerk at his sudden movement. Hands on hips, he bends at the waist to look me directly in the eye.

  “You are afraid of me, but you show the unyielding resolve of a warrior. Natu was right about you. You will make an excellent defender of our young in the event we males are not around to protect you.”

  “Who would I need to defend them from?”

  Leaning in close, I feel the heat from his breath as he speaks close to my ear.

  “It’s more a question of what.”

  My body flushes when he moves in close. The dagger-like fang he runs down the side of my throat causes me to shiver, and I melt when his tongue follows the sharp line. I want to know what he means, but I’m too mesmerized by what he’s doing with his mouth to care about anything else.

  His exotic musk, now amplified, saturates the air, drowning me in a sinful cloud. I release a rich moan filled with longing.

  Xuel pulls back, growling low as he bares his teeth. His arousal driven by anger; he snaps his jaws with a thunderous clap. I can’t decide if he wants to kill me or fuck me.

  Spellbound in a mix of fear and lust, I throw caution to the wind. Rubbing my cheek against his, it’s surprising how smooth his skin is, given how hard of a male he is. Laying my palm against the side of his face, Xuel relaxes his mouth when I brush my lips across his.

  “Stop growling and kiss me.”

  Obeying my request, Xuel hasn’t forgotten a single thing I taught him from our first kiss. Starting slow, we explore each other with soft caresses, his mouth expertly tasting mine, making me want him with every velvety touch.

  A hand claims me around the waist, pulling me flush against his rock-solid strength. The slow burn of our kisses increases to blazing heat. Xuel adds fuel to our fire, slipping his tongue inside my mouth to meet mine in an erotic, slippery dance. In a delicious rhythm, Xuel probes, mimicking what I most want from him. My body has no choice but to respond in a rush of wetness, my craving to be taken by him an undeniable force that drags a bawdy plea from me.

  “Xuel, please,” I breathe into his mouth. “Sample my cunt. Fuck me until the aching stops.”

  My back hits the wall. Lifted from the floor, I grab onto the width of Xuel’s shoulders and lock my ankles around his waist. The skirting of my dress is shoved to my waist before his hand goes to his waistband. Exposed and open for his use, my slit weeps for what he’s fumbling to uncover.

  Frantic hands suddenly cease, and my legs are freed from around Xuel’s waist. My feet touch the warm floor, but my knees aren’t ready to bear the weight of my body. Rubberized, I make a grab for Xuel’s heavy forearms to keep myself from puddling to the floor.

  “Do not stop on my account. You were just about to wet your cock.”

  “Is there something you need, Nulis?”

  “I summoned you twice on the interlix with no response. I see now, I need not have worried.”

  Nulis’ eyes consume me. I may only be privy to one side of the conversation, but I can read his lust-filled expression.

  “I was on my way,” Xuel grumbles and sets me on my feet.

  Shouldering his way past Nulis, Xuel doesn’t even spare me a backward glance. He’s out the door with Nulis close on his heels.

  Left with the lingering burn from Nulis’ hungry gaze, I find myself alone. In an instant, from raw, feverish passion to the hushed sounds of my own breath, the density of the quiet is enough to make me crazy.

  I don’t have long to ponder my solitude before a tray of food is brought in and left by one of the shark-toothed creatures. What was it Xuel called them? Lee-lu? Le-le-is? I don’t remember.

  “Thank you,” I call out as the le-le-is turns to leave.

  The creature turns to me, bulbous, pink eyes shifting from me to the ground and back again. Wringing its child-like hands, it bows deeply, the slash across its face turning upward in a smile of sorts.

  I smile back, which appears to make it happy. On light feet, the le-le-is leaves, and I feel like I might have made a friend.

  Alone again with just me, myself, and I, with a heavy sigh, I take a seat at the table to “eat all the tristiu,” as Xuel commanded.

  Mmm… to be commanded by Xuel, to give myself over to him completely. It had almost happened, which means I’ve broken through his reluctance to make me his.

  He will be a forceful lover, taking what he wants. I imagine him tossing me to the bed like he did the night of our wedding, only this time, without the influence of alcohol. He would tear off my dress and push my thighs wide apart. I would pant, my cunt—as he so crudely refers to my sex—would already be dripping with need, ready and ripe for his enormous cock. Xuel would fall between my legs and rear back, penetrating me in a single thrust, showing no mercy as his cock rams into me, over and over again. I would welcome the rutting, my fingernails scoring the strength of his back as he fucks me to blinding completion.

  The images playing through my mind make me squirm in my seat. Hot and ready, my flesh tingles with the expectation of release. This burn will not soon go away.

  My eyes quickly pan around the room. There’s no one here to witness what has to be done. I scoot down in my seat, pull the hem of my dress to my waist, and plunge two fingers inside my blossomed slit. I think of Xuel as I begin to pump in a fast rhythm.

  My head rolls back, and my eyes close. Masturbating never felt so lame, but it’s all I’ve got at the moment. Introducing a third finger, my hand is saturated with what was meant for Xuel’s enjoyment. Too bad for him, he wouldn’t perform in front of an audience because I wouldn’t have cared less if he fucked me in front of Nulis.

  I’ll bet his fat cock still remains as stiff as it was when he left. Too bad, I don’t know where the command deck is, or I would go there and fuck him in front of everyone.

  My pelvis jerks, my hips curling up tight. I can almost feel the friction of Xuel’s girth stretching and filling me as if it were really happening. It doesn’t surprise me when I scream out Xuel’s name as I topple over the edge.

  Chapter 7

  I finish my meal with a smile on my face. Next comes a shower and donning a new dress, per Xuel’s instructions.

  I wonder what Xuel would think of me masturbating in his honor.

  Caught up in my own musings, I squeal when Natu comes barreling through my door, a grin spread so wide on his face, it hurts my cheeks to look at it. Snatching me up, he spins me around in a dizzying whirl.

  “Avay, I programmed two more translators! Now, all of us will be able to communicate with you at the same time.”

  “That’s great! You’re so smart, Natu.”

  My compliment pinkens his cheeks.

  “My gratitude,” he replies with a duck of his head. “We must get you ready for departure.”

  Setting me aside, Natu begins to search through the cabinetry along the far wall. Pulling free what I suspect is footwear, he motions for me to take a seat on the edge of the bed. Kneeling in front of me, he places one of my feet, then the other onto a soft sole made of the same hide as his boots. He crisscrosses wide straps around my ankles and up my calves to hold them in place.

  “Are they comfortable, Avay?”

  “Yes. Very.”

  “They suit you.” Light dances in his brilliant green gaze as he looks up at me.

  I reach out to smooth my hands over his sleek black horns, which earns me an animalistic groan and a wave of invigorating musk.

  “You tempt me, shoulsis,” Natu growls, running his palms under my dress and up the sides of my thighs.

  The more I rub at his horns, the more excited Natu becomes. I make a mental note that these appendages have a direct effect on Natu’s already impressive sex drive.

  Ammunition I plan to use the next time I come in contact with Xuel.

  I keep ahold of Natu’s ebony protrusions and widen my thighs, encouraging him to take what I freely offer. Clean from my shower, my slit remains saturated from my masturbating. Despite the fact
I just brought myself to orgasm, I’m eager for another.

  The skirting of my dress is roughly shoved to my waist. Lying back, I draw Natu up by the horns as he frees his beautiful erection. There’s no foreplay, only hunger when he enters me in a single, fluid motion.

  I cry out, arching my back from the sudden invasion, my sodden flesh easily accommodating his girth.

  Natu surges above me. I pull at his horns, and he snaps, his jaws cracking close to my face. The crazed mask that’s now his face is at once as terrifying as it is arousing. Fierce and wild, he fucks me the way I envisioned Xuel would do, like an animal rutting its mate.

  When I fly apart, there’s no arching my back or flexing my hips to meet his thrusts. Natu is too heavy atop me, pressing me into the bed as he has his way. So, I hold tightly to his horns throughout the brutish ride, thrashing my head as I crest again before my first flight ever ended.

  Natu doesn’t seem to be slowing, continuing to pump into my pulsating channel. I squeeze and release his immense sex. Just when I think he’s about to orgasm, he raises his thick torso onto outstretched arms, his pelvis coming unhinged, and swings free, slapping his flesh against mine.

  Natu snarls down at me. Like a starving animal with a bone, I know he would rip the throat out of any who dare try to disengage him. His pupils have blown out to bottomless pits, his fangs bared, and his chest heaves with his exertion. He is the most erotically beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  Natu finishes inside of me on a roar and a hot splash, and I join him—a shared eruption as he settles his weight over me to gently kiss my lips.

  “You are perfect, shoulsis,” he says against my mouth. “I could not have asked for better.”

  Back is the Natu I know and love. The beast inside of him settled, sated… for now. Just wait until I get my hands on those horns again.

  “You are the kindest male, Natu. I could not ask for a better mate, either.” A watery smile plays across my lips.

  My words have him beaming—literally. The bright green of his eyes has returned from the aftermath of his release. Basking in his emerald glow, I selfishly want the same reaction from Xuel.

  Why Xuel can command my attention like no other is a complete mystery when I have the most wonderful male I could ever hope for poised above me with his cock still buried deep.

  Chapter 8

  The shuttle looks like something out of a science fiction movie. Parked on a landing pad that looks like a sheet of black glass, it’s a little larger than a Cessna but technologically more superior than anything made by mankind.

  What a joke we are—humans—ignorantly inhabiting a planet surrounded by a Universe that can only be guessed at, thinking how smart we are. When in reality, the star our tiny blue marble orbits is nothing more than another pinpoint of light lost in the vastness of the galaxy in which it dwells. A spec of illumination taking its place in a constellation in someone else’s night sky.

  Humbly, I step into the craft that will enter the atmosphere of the canary yellow planet. There is no help for my wide smile as Nulis helps strap me in my seat; I’m barely keeping my giddiness in check.

  Abducted or not, I’ve hit the jackpot with my new husbands. If only those gold-digging socialites I used to work with could see me now. Screw the status symbol of having a man with a luxury car. My males’ tool around in a freaking conveyance that can span the Universe.

  Nulis raises a thick brow while settling into the seat across from mine. Clipping himself in, he continues to eye me with a question touching his lips.

  “What?” I shrug. “Can’t a girl be happy without her male looking at her suspiciously?”

  Nulis barks out a cuffing sound, a playful snarl curling his upper lip.

  Natu breaks our eye contact as he passes between the seats to take his place up front at the controls. I thought Xuel would be joining us, but the alien who takes the seat next to Natu is of the lean but athletic variety. Tall and lean, the musculature hugging his frame is tightly packed. With scales that shimmer iridescent and hair of shiny tinsel reaching the middle of his back, I can’t say the being is unattractive.

  “Avay, Mont’clure will be our navigator.”

  “Hello.” I give the sparkly being a shy wave.

  Almond-shaped eyes a diamond white flash in my direction, narrowing as I’m examined. He must be as curious about me as I am of him. Mont’clure raises a palm in greeting and bob’s his head once before facing front.

  Natu’s hands fly over the shuttle’s console. Lights flash a variety of colors as the shuttle is brought to life by the two males in the front seats.

  I jump when the shuttle’s door solidifies with a whoosh, and the interior of the cabin is suddenly filled with Xuel’s voice. With the translator stuck in my ear, I can understand his words.

  “Watch after our shoulsis, males.”

  “With our lives, Xuel,” Natu and Nulis speak as one.

  “I will as well, Xuel, as if she were my own,” Mont’clure speaks strange words I can’t understand in a surprisingly husky voice.

  “I knew you were the correct choice to send in my stead,” Xuel remarks.

  Warmth and joy threaten to overwhelm me. Never have I felt as loved and protected. How will I ever give up this peculiar new life with my males when I find my way home?

  Natu’s hand swipes a purple square to the left of his elbow, and the shuttle’s wall in front of where he and Mont’clure are seated is transformed from what was once solid into a panoramic window. Outside the shuttle, a pulsing blue light washes the walls in warning.

  An alien voice fills the cabin. Natu answers. With a pop of a seal being broken, the wall outside the shuttle lifts, presenting us with an awe-inspiring view of the planet where we intend to land—a gorgeous marble floating before us with swirling clouds of lemony yellow and golden shadows. I cannot wait to see what all of that buttery sky looks like from the ground.

  With a tap of Mont’clure’s finger and a swipe of his hand, the shuttle soundlessly lifts off the platform. Lacking armrests, I grip the edge of my seat, my knuckles white with the effort. I’ve been in this shuttle before, but with no drugs to knock the edge off my rising fear, the mix of excitement and terror runs hot through my veins. My body trembles. My teeth chatter.

  Mont’clure and Natu converse in a strange tongue with a disembodied voice I don’t recognize. Their words are kept few but sound deliberate.

  Mont’clure hovers a scaled hand over the ball embedded in the console I remember Natu using to launch us off that red planet. The shuttle obeys with an upsweep of his hand, gently moving us forward, out of the shuttle bay, and into space. Cleared of the spaceship, I wish for a rearview so I could see what I’ve been traveling in.

  Mont’clure increases our speed, and I’m pushed back into the cushion of my seat, the planet growing larger and larger at an incomprehensible speed. My eyes open wide in breathtaking alarm as the bright yellow of the swirling cloud cover eats up all the panoramic view.

  A high-pitched cry is causing my ears to ring. The grip of a hand around my arm is a shock. I snap my head around to find Nulis leaning in my direction as far as his seat straps will allow.

  My wide-open mouth has gone dry. When I press my lips together, the reflex to swallow is difficult to obey, my throat tight and burning from the scream I hadn’t realized was coming from me. Nulis’ voice reaches me from far away.

  “Avay, you are perfectly safe. You must calm down before you hyperventilate.”

  I take comfort in the calmness reflected in his demeanor but not enough to totally relax. Clinging to the edge of my seat for all I’m worth, I manage to pry my hand away and place it in Nulis’ much larger one. If only I could leave my seat and crawl into the safety of his lap.

  “When we reach the surface, you will stay close to Natu and me. Do you understand?” I numbly nod my head. “This trading post is far less dangerous than the one on Tirius where you were taken from.”

  “Tirius.” My voice is
reed thin. I never thought to ask the name of the planet where I was sold like a slab of meat.

  “Stay close to us. We will protect you, Avay. You have my word as an honorable male.”

  I can’t believe I manage a smile. It’s a small and meek one, but a grin of thanks just the same.

  We hit the atmosphere with a jarring jolt. The shuddering ascent accompanying the burn of entry snaps my head front and center. Fiery tendrils streak across the nose of the shuttle, licking at us before grabbing hold to pluck the shuttle from space and pull us to the planet’s surface.

  After pushing through the hazy ether shielding the planet’s surface, it’s with great surprise to be met with a carpet of blue—a patchwork of varying shapes, much like the quilted pattern crops create when seen from an airplane.

  The ground rushes up to meet us. Just as the patchworks begin to show definition, Mont’clure pulls up the nose, and we level off. The land undulates in a wave caused by a breeze I cannot feel. Lush fields of aqua, teal, and cobalt sweep beneath us, a myriad of liquid vegetation almost too beautiful to look upon.

  Above us is a spectacular backdrop of showy fat clouds, saturated a golden hue. Never still, they float and swirl in a harmonious soup.

  We skirt the top of the azure fields, following a valley formed between two squat mountain ranges. A gentle lift up and over the last ridge and a field of shuttles, all shapes and sizes, are lined up in neat rows. Wishing for a window seat, I lean forward to take it all in.

  “Wow. This is worse than the mall at Christmas time,” I mumble aloud.

  We glide above endless columns of conveyances, and just as I’m beginning to doubt we will find a place to land, Mont’clure finds us a spot between an upside-down cake stand and a boomerang. Marked like that of a helicopter pad, the odd letter is more like a flourish with a circle around it.

  We hover directly above our spot as Mont’clure lines us up with the top of the swirl and begins a slow descent to the pad, touching down with barely a bump.