Kept by the Zandian: Zandian Brides Book 5 Read online

  I stride over to the female with purpose, but stop short. I’ve trained as a warrior since I was a youth. I’m fearless in battle. Certain with a sword, or hand-to-hand combat. At ease at the helm of a ship. But the human’s full pouty lips still quiver, and I’m suddenly unsure of myself.

  I place my hands on her knees and gently pry them open.

  By the one true Zandian star. She’s wet for me.

  “Ah, it appears to be need, sir.”

  And my answering need is also present—not the one to pound between her legs until I shout my climax, although that’s there. But also the desire to relieve her ache. To bring her to orgasm and watch that ripe young body of hers quiver and shake when I do. To bring her pleasure. That need overpowers me.

  I draw in a deep breath.

  “Captain, do you intend to claim this female as your mate?” Dr. Daneth asks, rather sharply. His commanding voice pulls me from my lust.

  Mate?

  I hadn’t thought of it. She’s beautiful, of course. Exquisite with that dark skin and those huge, brown eyes.

  But a human female is a huge responsibility. One must train her to fit into Zandian society. Be responsible for her actions, ensure the safety of our planet as a whole. And humans wreak havoc on a Zandian’s normally emotionless state. I have a career with law enforcement, responsibilities that require me to be cool and level-headed.

  Just in the short time this human’s been on my ship I’ve experienced more emotions than I normally do in a solar cycle.

  “I’m not sure about that, Doctor.”

  “Then you should not have punished her in that manner. It is an intimate discipline used with pleasure to bond them to their master or mates. Without the pleasure, she will show signs of shame and even despair. It’s detrimental to her mental health.”

  My heart beats faster than normal.

  How could I have made such a mistake?

  “I see. I will, uh, rectify the problem, Doctor. As best I can.”

  I’m not sure how to do that, I only know that I must try. But is she still lying to me? Humans are deceptive creatures.

  I sit beside her.

  * * *

  Taisha

  The large Zandian pulls me up, arranging me to stand between his legs as easily as if I were made of air. He cups my ass, rubbing away the burn.

  I try not to moan, but it feels so good. Right, even though it’s so very wrong.

  He leans in and stares into my eyes. “Swear it,” he orders. “Swear on your life and the life of… Leylah. I can tell you care about her. Tell me without flinching that you are not lying about the poison.”

  “I am not lying about the poison.” I try to imbue the words with every bit of authenticity I have, and my desperation and sincerity must finally come through. I stare back at him, into those deep eyes, trying to communicate my thoughts in a way that transcends words. We stay that way, looking into each other’s eyes, for a long minute. Time falls away, and I feel as if I know him. Insane! Again, I know it’s craziness, but there’s something about him that calls to me. As if we were meant to find each other like this. And it’s imperative that I convince him of my innocence.

  After a long pause, he nods. “I believe you.”

  My shoulders slump in relief. “Thank Mother Earth.”

  “But I think you’re still lying about something,” he warns.

  I straighten again, trying to hide my surprise and guilt. “I’ve told you my truth.”

  He narrows his eyes but says nothing more.

  “If you were wise, you’d make me feel something other than pain if you want me to tell you things,” I say. I can’t imagine what makes me say it. Maybe the steady pulse between my legs. The way he pried my knees open and inspected me. The wetness of my pussy. He called it need.

  Yes, it feels like need.

  I try to rub my nose and bang the cuffs into my lip, forgetting I still have the cursed things on. “Ouch.” I wince and push the back of my hand against the flesh to alleviate the sting.

  “Taisha, are you all right?” He grabs my hands, pulls them down to examine my mouth. Touches my lower lip with one hand, holding my head in place with his other. “Stay still, let me see,” he orders. “I know humans are delicate creatures.” He gently runs his thumb along my lower lip causing a thrum in my core. A tightening of my nipples. “No, you’re not even cut. There’s nothing.”

  “Veck.” He releases the cuffs and my hands fall from each other with a soft hiss. “Don’t do anything unwise.”

  But I already am doing something very, very unwise. I reach for his horns, because I can’t wait a second longer to feel their texture. And even as my hands move—before I make contact with his skin, he pulls me in for a kiss.

  I gasp into his mouth and then relax, letting him control the embrace. He grabs my hands and puts them onto the sides of his face—with a sort of warning noise, then uses his tongue to explore my mouth.

  I’m greedy for him, already intoxicated with his scent, his touch. I’ve never touched a male like this in my life, my body seems to be figuring it out just fine with his help. He’s warm and strong and I revel in the power in his arms, his legs. His chest. I press myself against him any way I can and shift my thighs as our tongues meet, again and again. I want something else.

  “I know what you want,” he murmurs, pulling back from my lips for a second.

  He does? I’m not even sure I do. I certainly don’t know what I’m doing. But my body seems to.

  My eyes are shut. I’m floating. I shift my feet. A second ago, I was shocked and embarrassed to be naked in front of him. Now, it’s the best thing in the galaxy, or almost the best thing, because I think there is something else coming. Something is growing inside of me, a spark that burns hotter and brighter.

  I moan into his mouth, and he kisses me harder. This time when I reach for his horns, he lets me, and they’re just as perfect as I imagined: warm, firm, solid. His pulse thrums in them when I squeeze, just like I imagined, and I do it again and again, until he growls and kisses me so hard it hurts my lip worse than the bump with the cuffs. But I like it, I want more, and I keep playing with his horns by instinct, feeling him harden under my legs.

  I reach one hand to stroke him and he groans, grabs my hand in his. Not stopping me, but checking me. “Do you know what you’re doing?” His voice is husky. Full of need. “Have you done this before?”

  “No, but I want this,” I whisper.

  “You don’t know what you want.” His voice is tortured.

  “Please.” My voice breaks. “Please.”

  “Please, what?” He sounds half amused, half frustrated. “Do you even know the word?”

  I can’t put it into words, even, but what I need is absolution. I need to be transfigured. I need something beyond myself, to make up for what I’ve been through these past planet rotations. I think I’m asking him to save my life.

  “Just please,” I repeat. I spread my legs, and he rests his hand on my thigh. And then there’s no stopping what comes next, no words that matter.

  His fingers find the soft warm skin of my inner thigh, and then the press upward. I hold my breath, not daring to imagine what will come, until he touches the hot silk between my legs. It’s then that I cry out and bury my face in his neck, biting down hard on his skin, until he growls.

  “Straddle me,” he orders, helping me climb over his lap so I face him, ride him, legs wide. “Don’t touch my horns.” He grimaces. “Or else I won’t be able to stop…”

  “To stop what?” My eyes flicker shut, and I press my lips to him.

  He slaps my ass with one hand, and I try to say “ow” into his mouth, but it’s all jumbled up with the kiss, and anyway, it doesn’t hurt. It feels good, and I stick my ass out, asking for more. He spanks me again, and again, until my ass tingles nearly as much as it did earlier, but this time—mixed with the passion—it’s so incredible I could die.

  “Do you know what we call this?” He touch
es me between the thighs again. I’m so sensitive there that I cry out and try to close my legs, but he laughs. “Keep them open for me, or I’ll spank that ass harder.”

  “I…”

  “Say it.” His voice is granite. “Tell me what you’ll do.”

  “I’ll… keep my legs open for you.” My voice is so full of need that I don’t recognize it as my own.

  “Very good. This is your pussy,” he whispers, tracing a finger along my skin. “Your clit.” He finds the nub that I sometimes rub, late at night on my pallet. Only his touch makes me burn so hot and bright that I want to scream. “Right now, my pussy. And my clit. You understand that?”

  “Yes,” I breathe. “Yours.”

  “To do with as I please.” His voice is arrogant, but I melt inside. I’m all wet between the thighs too.

  “You liked it when I spanked you. And when I do this.” He thrusts his fingers into me and finds a spot on the inside of my body that makes me whimper in pleasure. “And this.” He rubs his fingers over the spot until I tremble. My body reaches a crescendo, going higher and higher. I’m going to die. It needs to stop, I want more, I want…

  “But you don’t get it so fast.” He eases his fingers out of me. “Because where’s the fun in that?”

  I almost cry with frustration and he slaps my ass again. And again. When I nearly can’t take it, he reaches up and removes my upper garments too, so I’m fully naked.

  “Your breasts, so perfect,” he murmurs, then bends his head and licks one nipple.

  The feeling is so pure that I cry out, and it’s like a flash of light connects his lips through my nipple to my clit. I grind on his lap, shameless, begging with my body, as he kisses me over and over.

  “You’re riding my cock.” He nips my lip. “Tell me you want my cock.”

  “Please, I want your cock,” I beg.

  I understand how mating works. I know some of the words. I just never imagined how good it could feel.

  “No.” His voice is rough and taut. “I cannot unless we are… officially mated. But I can do this for you.”

  He finds my clit again with his fingers. “And if you ask me very nicely, I’ll bring you the release you want.”

  “I’ll do anything you want,” I whimper.

  “Ah, but you already promised that when I first set eyes on you,” he murmurs into my ear, then bites the lobe. Hard. “What more can you possibly offer?”

  He’s teasing, but I have an answer for him. It’s a promise that comes from deep in my heart, and although it’s a rash one, I know it’s true. I don’t get to say it, though, because his skillful fingers are working my body in ways that make me lose all control. He strokes, teases, pinches, each motion bringing me closer to the precipice.

  “Don’t come until I give you permission,” he orders me, as my thighs start to shake and I moan in need. “If you vecking come too soon, I’ll take that belt and whip your ass right now before I make you come again and again, and until you can’t take any more.”

  I cry out, because those words make me burn hotter than I can stand.

  “Please,” I urge him, my voice shaky. “I’m going to die if you don’t let me.” But I don’t think of disobeying him. Even if it’s a game, he owns me. Completely.

  I think he whispers something like, “I will never let that happen. I swear it.” But I’m uttering sounds that make it hard to hear, little sighs and moans.

  Finally, he says, “Now,” and flicks my clit before stroking in even steady soft movements. I scream and allow it to come, this incredible surge. Behind my eyes, it’s all lights and colors and flashes. And in my body, the sweetest, more excruciatingly awesome feeling I’ve had in my life. And it goes on and on as he touches me, as we’re connected, until it peaks and burns. Then I float back down to his arms, sweaty, panting, full of bliss and contentment.

  Chapter 6

  Drayk

  Veck the stars. What have I done? The human slumbers in my arms, utterly exhausted from her ordeal and her, dare I say it—phenomenal—orgasm. She makes a little purr and snuggles up to me, then says something unintelligible in her sleep. She’s smiling, though, so I don’t think it’s a nightmare.

  Of course, much of her life thus far has probably been a nightmare. Did I make it worse?

  Tarak opens the door, calling out. “Captain, I have our landing—” He stops when he senses her in my arms. His eyebrows go up and he points, then grins. Mouths, “You dirty bastard.”

  My body stiffens. “Veck you,” I murmur back.

  He hears it, even though it’s only a whisper—his hearing is super-heightened due to his lack of vision. And I know that even though he can’t see features and faces, he has infrared heat-sensors built into his brain insert, which allows him to see body forms… and their proximity to each other. Yes, Tarak knows exactly what I’ve been doing with Taisha.

  My little human is fast asleep, so I gently shift her to the hoverseat and pull her shawl up from the floor to hide her nudity.

  “Turn your back out of respect,” I snarl to Tarek in an undertone as I join him, even though she’s already covered, and he can’t see features.

  “Settle down. I’m not going to touch her.” His voice holds a trace of humor.

  I grab his arm and pull him outside the door, and it hisses shut and beeps, the light flashing locked. If she gets up, she won’t be able to leave the area. She’s still our prisoner, of course. I’m not stupid.

  “What’s gotten into you? Did you veck her?” He narrows his eyes. “You know that’s not—”

  “No, I did not veck her,” I snap. Although I came pretty close. “I, ahem, punished her for lying. Tried to extract the truth. Then I just had to, ah, console her. Dr. Daneth told me humans require such attentions.” I clear my throat.

  “Is that so?” Tarek scoffs. “You wanted to extract knowledge? More likely you were trying to insert something instead of extract.”

  He’s not wrong.

  I check my temper so I don’t punch the wall or his face. “I did what was necessary to see if she was lying. I believe she’s truthful about the syringes.”

  He gets serious. “If that’s so, then what we have now is a prototype of a brand new bioweapon, Captain. One that could help us fight Ocretions, if it ever comes to that.” We’re best friends as well as crew members, and he’s able to shift from banter to work in a split second.

  “Exactly right. And if the Ocretions get wind that we have this, it’s a high probability that they will act, either against the humans on Romon-3, or us, or both.”

  We both stand as I stare through the port window at her sleeping form. She looks small and delicate, but underneath her lovely exterior is a mystery. “Maybe she’s brought us a secret weapon that could give us the advantage over the Ocretions.”

  “Or else she’s brought us a curse that will start a war.” Tarak lets out a breath. “King Zander will need to decide what to do with her.”

  This does not sit well with me. “Asylum for her, of course,” I say, frowning.

  Tarak tilts his head. “Unless our planet is better served by returning her.”

  “I would never give a human—”

  “Not under normal circumstances. But if it were for the good of Zandia…” His voice trails off.

  My chest feels tight. “It will not come to that,” I vow, although of course I have no way to ensure it is so. “We cannot send a sentient being—a human, no less!— back to certain torture and death.”

  “Humans have been enslaved for millennia by Ocretions and most of the rest of the species of our galaxy. Zandians never interfered before,” Tarak says.

  I growl. He’s right, of course. But now that I’ve held that human in my arms, there’s no way I’d ever send her to her death.

  I stand up straight. I need to get myself together. My whole life had been devoted to Zandia and the survival of our species. Not only am I a captain of a fighter ship, I am also in training as a judicial sage, under none o
ther than King Zander himself. I must keep myself cool and level-headed so I can make decisions about asylum and matters of state that best protect Zandia...not my own selfish desires.

  “Of course you are right.” I’m letting my lust get the better of me. “It’s said that humans bring out emotions in Zandians and weaken them. I should stay away from her so that does not happen.”

  Tarak slaps my shoulder. Before I follow him to our command center, I take one last glance back through the window at Taisha. She’s shifted in her sleep and one perfect hip juts up. My cock hardens and I force myself to concentrate on the task at hand—landing my ship on Zandia.

  Exquisite though she is, I cannot afford to waste mental energy and my time on her. My king and planet need me to be completely devoted.

  But even as I go through the maneuvers I’ve learned by heart, skillfully adjusting our craft, she’s in the back of my mind. Her shining eyes, her taut skin, the taste of her mouth. The way she matched my body perfectly. How I yearn to make her mine.

  Suddenly the comm in my ear beeps. “Captain Drayk? It’s Dr. Daneth again.”

  “Yes, Doctor?”

  “I’m here with Master Seke. You may be able to complete a mission for me. It’s one of personal nature… but important to me.”

  “Anything, Doctor.” Dr. Daneth holds a highly respected position in Zander’s palace. As high as Master Seke, our war commander. To refuse him a favor would be career suicide. Besides, he just helped me with the human.

  Dr. Daneth clears his throat. “My human mate gave birth to two human young as a slave breeder for the Ocretions. They were taken from her. I have been seeking them through normal data logs and diplomatic channels to no avail. I have concluded the only way to determine their present location would be to break in and steal the physical records from the breeding facility where Bayla was held.

  My heart beats faster, my warrior-trained body already eager for a new mission.

  “We would be pleased to undertake this mission for you, Doctor.”