11. Talia

Istared up at him, this wonderful, beautiful alien man willing to throw away his life to protect mine. Why? Why would someone like him give up his freedom and his life to save me?

Anger and sorrow warred in my heart, tearing me apart. Anger at Taverner for starting all this, at Kal'va for going along with it, at myself for not having any better solution to offer.

Fuck it. No. If this is our last night together, I will not let Taverner ruin it for us. Dragging my arm across my face to wipe away my tears, I took a deep breath, inhaling his intoxicating alien scent. Spicy and earthy, intoxicating and alluring, it helped me focus on the now, the moments we still had with one another.

I breathed out in a long sigh, letting my rage leave with it. Taking hold of his wrist, I turned his arm and kissed the palm of his hand, his inhuman skin strange under my lips. Kal'va froze, staring down at me with a terrible stillness. The absence of a heartbeat was palpable.

"You're serious, aren't you? There's no other way. I'm going to lose you."

"I see no options," he said, voice rough. "If I did, I would leap at the chance. I would rather live for you than die for you, but if my death can keep you safe, it is a small price to pay."

He really meant it. Unlike other men who made grand statements, Kal'va wasn't puffing himself up with a promise he knew he'd never be called on to keep. No, he was making this commitment in the knowledge it meant slavery or death for him. All I was doing, I realized, was making his choice more difficult.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, and Kal'va flinched. I'd seen him shot, burned, and threatened, but this was the first time I'd seen him hurt.

"Do not apologize. You have never done me wrong." He snapped out the words, his voice so harsh I almost stepped away. But his anger wasn't for me, and pulling back would only hurt him more.

Instead, I threw my arms around him, holding him close. "I should make your life easier, not harder. Okay, I hate your plan, you know I hate your plan, and I've got nothing better to suggest. So let's not waste our time fighting about it."

He rumbled agreement, then chuckled. "You, my love, have never made my life harder. You could not. Though there are other things you do make hard…"

Blood rushed to my cheeks as he shifted to show me what he meant, pressing the unmistakable hardness of his engorged cock against me. Its touch made me gasp, and for a moment I just looked up at him.

Then I took a deep breath and slowly lowered myself to my knees. Kal'va looked on, eyes blazing as he watched me, and my blush deepened as my breathing sped up. There he was in all his glory, manhood standing proud and hard, even larger than I remembered it. Intimidating wasn't a strong enough word for it, but I refused to let fear stop me. He deserved better, and so did I. There probably wouldn't be another chance.

The deep blue skin trembled at my touch, and the crystal nodes glowed, sparks dancing from one to another. Where they brushed my fingers, I felt a warm electric tingle, encouraging me as I stroked him gently, teasing him to repay him for how he'd teased me. He reached down and caressed my face, his touch so soft it made me shiver and gasp.

I knew his strength, his power. Knew and loved it. But now he showed me his trust, let me set the pace. Having this alien badass relinquish control to me was an incredible feeling. I smiled up at him, leaning in to press a kiss onto his cock. It trembled against my tongue, and my lips tingled as his crystals sparked.

He growled something, perhaps a warning, perhaps a command. I didn't care. I knew what I was doing. What we wanted, what we needed. Cupping his balls, I kissed and licked my way down his magnificent, massive, magical dick. Exploring, learning, finding the best ways to please my alien lover, and teasing him without mercy.

A tremor ran through Kal'va whenever my tongue touched the crystal nodes embedded in his dick. The first time I pulled away, looking up at him to see if I'd hurt him. No; he stood over me, smiling and shivering, and gently guided my head back down. The message couldn't be clearer, so I returned to my exploration and my revenge. He'd driven me wild with desire, and I promised myself I'd do more to him.

From the sharp intake of breath each time my lips or tongue caressed him, I knew it was working. Fingers tangled in my hair, he urged me on, and I moaned as I slid my lips around him. With a groan, he lifted his hands, bracing himself against the walls of the corridor and letting me take his cock into my mouth.

God, it felt amazing. My awe at his reaction to me, the joy at the pleasure I gave him, and the strange, exhilarating tingle of delight his crystals sent through me each time I touched one.

His breathing grew rapid, the sounds he made more animal than language, and I moaned around him, my heart pounding as his pleasure built. But Kal'va was not about to lose control, not of himself or of me. Before I could push him to a climax, he lifted me off him with gentle, irresistible strength.

"No fair," I protested with a grin. His menacing growl made me shiver.

"Fair is not what I promised you." Lifting me with ease, he kissed me hard, tongue pressing between my lips and dancing with my own. The crystal studs flicked against my tongue and I gasped for breath. When he broke the kiss and looked me dead in the eyes, I was shuddering with need. "I promised pleasure beyond your imagination, and that I will give you."

Before I could respond, he sliced down with a claw, cutting my clothes off me with breathtaking speed. Before I could even flinch, I was as naked as he was.

Gripping my hips, he lifted me, his steel-hard cock pressing against my sex as his teeth found my neck. I arched against him, wrapping my legs around his waist and clinging to him.

"You deserve—" I tried to argue, but he wouldn't let me.

"Hush." His kisses and bites wandered lower, a sizzling trail from neck to shoulder, down to my breasts. "What I deserve is you, and I mean to have you."

With that, he pressed me back against the wall. Cold stone at my back, burning alien lust in front—the contrast was delicious. Whatever words I'd intended to speak vanished in a burst of sensation, and the only sound I could make was a whimpering cry.

Which was all he needed to hear. His thrust slammed me back into the wall, fierce and hard, and the second was harder still. My body greeted him eagerly, welcoming him inside to fill me, each thrust harder and deeper than the last. More potent. More powerful.

I lost myself in the waves of pleasure he sent through me, like a storm pounding a beach. I'd call it brutal, except that I'd change nothing about it. Wild, uninhibited, and perfect, Kal'va took me to the edge of climax in moments, while I tried to resist, to give him his pleasure first.

That lasted until his crystal-studded tongue flicked across my nipple. My scream of ecstasy echoed in the dark hallway, dying down to a series of whimpering gasps as he kept going. Kept thrusting and licking, kissing and biting, filling me.

"This was." Another thrust rocked me, nearly breaking my train of thought. "Supposed to be. Your turn."

His evil, devilish tongue scraped across my nipples, making me cry out again.

"It is always my turn," he whispered, voice dark and amused, as I returned to myself. "Giving you what you need is exactly what I want."

I clung to him, shuddering and helpless, the crystals across his cock pressing into me and sending me into orgasm after orgasm. Each time, I thought he'd go with me. Each time, he kept fucking going until my exhausted body was weak from ecstasy and I thought I could take no more.

He proved me wrong, biting down hard, sharp teeth digging in almost painfully, his cock jerking inside me as I squeezed hard. And together, we tumbled over the edge into an orgasm that rocked our worlds.