Claimed by the Alien Space Pirate, page 12
Spikes… she wasn’t surprised that Fabri had thought of something so vile. That fucker. He deserved to have his dick bitten off twenty times over.
“I’m going to disarm the collar, and then I’ll need to work quickly to remove it, female. This will probably cause you extra pain… do you understand?” The sickly, thin, white-skinned being spoke to her—Dehlid. His mouth was as round as the bottomless pit of his eyes. There didn’t seem to be any structure to his body, his limbs were as bendy as one of those plastic toys that could be stretched right out of shape and then shrank back to its original size.
She wanted to tell him it didn’t matter how much pain she was in, just to rip the damn thing off, that she just wanted it off, but speaking caused unimaginable pain. She wasn’t sorry for that. What she was sorry for was seeing Veri’s eyes filled with distress. Distress for her. What was more, she was sorry she’d been the cause of it.
She’d never been sorry for any of her actions. She’d always been able to shut down that side of her that might have cared about anything or anyone against the greater urgency of survival. To do what she had to do to get by, no matter who got in her way.
It hadn’t been just her with that attitude. It was what everyone did. Whenever she showed any softness, it always kicked her in the butt, and so she’d become as hard as everyone else around her. A hard heart saved being hurt. It was a knee-jerk reaction, but seeing that look on Veri’s face. Knowing she’d caused it made her heart ache.
The wall she’d spend her lifetime building, now had a giant crack right up the middle. She clutched her chest when a pain, unlike the streak of fire emanating from the collar, burned in her chest. Her heart fluttered like a hummingbird trying to escape a cage, wings beating against the rigid ice she’d constructed around it.
A brightness pulsed through her. A light heat settled along the edges of the crack. It wasn’t hot or burning, but a gentle heat that nonetheless had the power to melt the ice entirely. Her fingers splayed over her chest, her heart fluttering for a different reason. She needed the ice. Needed the protection it offered. If the ice melted, she’d lose years of protection. Her heart would be stripped bare, offered like a virgin sacrifice on a stone altar.
“Human, you’ll need to sit up,” Dehlid said, shattering the private river of horror that flowed through her mind.
“Here. I will help.” Veri helped her into a sitting position, easing her up gently trying not to jolt the collar. Fresh warmth tricked down her neck as the spikes jostled.
Dehlid produced a slim metal tool that had a bulge on the top that glowed red. Dehlid spoke to Veri. “I will unlock the collar. You will need to remove it as quickly as possible. Because the spikes are already engaged, once the lock is activated, we’ll have a second before the poison is injected. We need to get it off her neck before it travels through the collar and through the spikes. Do you understand me, Rasidian?”
A muscle worked at Veri’s temple. He looked at her with burning eyes. “I will get this off you, my mate. Do not worry. I am here for you.” His deep voice worked its way through the icy crack, working alongside the gentle warmth that melted it away.
Her face screwed up and a fresh wave of tears streaked down her cheeks, God, she was an absolute mess. The people she knew on Earth wouldn’t recognize her. She never let anyone affect her. Not like this. Not to this degree.
Veri had gotten under her skin—around her heart—and she didn’t know if she liked it or not. Veri’s lips firmed and the line between his brows furrowed deeper. He was big and tough as well as highly intelligent. If she didn’t keep her emotions under close guard, he would know.
“Haylea, take her hands and hold them down. Rasidian, be prepared to remove the collar when I give the word. Human… I wish you the best of luck,” Dehlid said.
Crysta hid her grimace as Dehlid slid two of his cold tentacles to the back of her neck, while he held the device there with another tentacle. Haylea took Crysta’s hands. Her skin was warm and her touch gentle yet firm. There was compassion in her eyes that Crysta didn’t understand, but when Veri slid his claws either side of the collar, her eyes snapped to his.
She didn’t want to rely on him. Didn’t want to need him. She really didn’t, but when she looked up at him, he lent her his strength, and a rush of gratefulness washed through her.
If she died now, at least she would have known compassion. Kindness. Tenderness. And although she’d hardened herself not to feel anything, she was thankful she’d felt at least that. The people she knew on Earth would have kicked her when she was down, or stepped on her misfortune to use her. It was something she’d come to expect, and now… now she… she just didn’t know what to think. What to feel. It was all so confusing.
“Brace yourself female,” Dehlid said.
She barely had a chance to draw breath when there was a beeping behind her. Veri’s claws sank beneath the collar, fire erupted through her body as searing pain blanked her vision.
Chapter Eighteen
She struggled, trying to reach for the burning around her neck, but she was held to the bed by hands over her body. Every muscle in her body locked, her back bowed, mouth open in a silent scream as liquid agony surged through her.
Her mind was a void, filled only by the visceral effects of the fire that coursed through her. Urgent voices floated above the pain. Someone roared, the sound vibrated through her. She held onto the sound that contained as much pain that ripped through her neck. She followed the thread, until her lungs unlocked, and she sucked in a deep breath and filled her lungs.
“Hold still, female so I can heal you.”
A flooding warmth eased through the burn. She locked onto the soothing warmth. A healing wand. She was intimately acquainted with the feeling. Her body relaxed as she drifted with the glow. She’d hoped never to feel the touch of a healing wand again, but was grateful for it nonetheless.
Her muscles eased as the pain receded, until there was nothing left but discomfort. She panted, while her heart raced, and finally, she opened her eyes. Veri, Haylea and Dehlid stood over her. Their hands were on her shoulders, arms, waist and thighs. She traced shaking fingertips over her neck. Her breath trembled as much as her hands when she felt nothing but smooth, unbarred skin.
“It… it’s off,” she whispered.
She spied the collar on the floor. The inside was coated with crimson. Thin, needle-like spikes dotted the inside of the collar at regular intervals. The ends dripped with a thick, black liquid. Those things had been in her neck. If they hadn’t got that collar off her, she’d likely be dead.
She began to shake, going cold. She’d wanted to die, and her wish had nearly come true. Staring at that black liquid, it was all too close. The events that had happened, too much. She was raw. Empty.
She thought she was tough. That she could handle anything, but when she saw the tense lines around Veri’s eyes, his clenched jaw and the gleam of compassion in his eyes, she simply unwound.
Anger, she could take. Contempt. Disregard. Those didn’t matter. They were a fact of life, but just the way Veri looked at her, she knew that… he… he cared. For her. That what had happened to her horrified him. That he would go to any lengths to save her from any of life’s harshness, from any danger, from anything that would harm her.
The knowing practically thrummed in her chest. He would do that, and more. The realization was staggering. How she knew that she knew at all, hit her right in the center of her chest. Her heart raced, and heat scoured her skin, flashing all over her body as it sank in.
Nobody had cared for her before. She was sure her parents did before they died, but she barely remembered that in light of her life after that horror had happened. It had been more like a sugar-coated dream she could never have again, so it wasn’t worth pining over. Certainly, her life had changed after her parents had died, and it didn’t pay to dwell on what she would never have again. Instead, she’d survived as best she could, and learned from an early age to harden herself, and do what needed to be done to survive. To expect nothing because that saved disappointment. To fight. To claw to the top of the heap, so you could survive long enough to do it all over again the next day.
She didn’t expect this from Veri. Not at all. She’d expected anger that he’d had to come after her. Annoyance. Displeasure. She wasn’t prepared for the raw despair radiating from him. Or the way its rough edges blended within her, unfiltered and poignant, and all of a sudden, she just needed to be held.
She reached blindly for him, and he enfolded her in his arms without hesitation. Seeking comfort. Seeking to end the pain. Seeking… him. Everything welled up inside and erupted. All of the hurt, the anger, all of the times she’d held herself back, all of the times she’d had to control herself, deny the suffocating burning rage she never let out, because that would only show people how weak she was. Weakness led to manipulation, and that led to being used, being abused, and she wasn’t going to ever let anyone do that to her. But Veri wasn’t going to do that. In fact, it hadn’t even occurred to him.
He cradled her to his chest and pressed her face against his neck, stroking her back, her arms, her hair, murmuring things she didn’t hear over her sobbing. He picked her up easily and strode from the room. She had no idea where he took her until he sat down with her on his lap.
She took in enough to realize he’d taken her back to the room, only now it wasn’t a trap. It was a sanctuary. He was on the bed, his back to the headboard and she was sheltered in his lap between his powerful thighs. He ran his claws lightly through her hair, making sure to avoid the knots and tangles. She calmed enough to hear him soothing her with words, to feel a smattering of goosebumps prickle her skin, for the juncture of her thighs to loosen with liquid heat and for a need other than terror to ease through her system.
He looked down at her, his brows drawn, shining eyes locked on her. She slid her hand over his shoulders to the back of his neck, skating through the fine, black braids.
“You came for me,” she said.
His eyes shimmered and something warm and strong bloomed in her chest. “I will always come for you.”
“I’m sorry.” She wished he knew how sorry she was, but she was one big ball of confusion right now, and sorry was just one part of the complicated mix.
“You need never be sorry to me,” Veri rasped, his pillowed lips falling apart in a way she glimpsed the tips of his fangs. A shiver worked through her at the sight. He was big and tough and terrifying, but he would never hurt her. She sucked in a tight breath at the realization. He would never hurt her. His eyes, a deep liquid black, swirled with hints of aqua, glowing with an intensity that matched the knowing inside her chest. “That’s right, my mate. I will keep you safe. Always. You need never doubt that.”
A sigh rippled through her, easing her locked-up muscles in the wake of something brighter. Something stronger than fear and worry. Something she couldn’t deny. Didn’t want to. Desire flared deep within her body, pulsing through her with a lifeforce all of its own. Her fingers secured around Veri’s neck. His pulse ticked under her thumb, and as she tilted her head and leaned upwards, he closed the gap between them and took her mouth with his. His arms banded tightly about her as he compressed his grip on her body. His fingers firmed, one at the back of her head, the other along her ribs.
She realized that while a sheet was wrapped about her back, she was naked from the harem pants up. She pressed her breasts against his chest, feeling his muscles tighten. Her nipples beaded and an electric thrill raced through her body. A hot ache to be touched, fueled by her escalating arousal. Languid heat pooled through her abdomen, pressure building in her core, a pulse racing through her fast and torrid.
Images of him between her legs flared in her mind and she groaned as his tongue plunged into her mouth. His kiss escalated into something urgent, and a corresponding need coursed through her. Her thighs widened, her pussy pulsing with the need to be touched. With the need for him. Wet heat slicked him between her legs, coating her pussy with her arousal.
Veri pulled away from their kiss, nostrils flaring. His burning eyes dropped to her chest and a growl erupted from deep within his throat. With a bolt, he pounced from the bed and headed into the bathroom. She clung to him, threading her arms about his neck and her legs about his trim waist. She crossed her ankles at his back, rested them against the top of his tail and ground her pussy against his tight abs with the need to relieve the intense pressure building inside her. His hands dropped to support her rump, his claws dimpled into the softness of her flesh and he pressed her against him. He adjusted her so that her core pressed against a throbbing erection, so hard it was like a steel pole. It was exactly what she needed. She tilted her hips, dragging the most intimate part of herself against him, but she couldn’t help herself. She wanted him. Needed him with an urgency that wouldn’t be sated until they were locked intimately together.
A thrill raced through her as she rubbed against him. She moaned out loud, tilting her hips and dragging her core harder, increasing the pressure between their bodies. She sobbed, dropping her forehead to his shoulder as her need escalated to an unbearable level.
Veri set his hands on her hips and she lost the platform of his support beneath her rear. Her legs dropped from his waist and her feet landed on the ground. She whimpered out loud with unrepressed need. She needed release so badly, she ached with pain.
With a growl, Veri hooked his claws into the flimsy material of her harem pants and ripped them free from her body. Then, as she barely understood what was happening, he slipped his finger through her weeping slit, planted one large palm over her breast, searing her with a deep kiss and entered her with a swift thrust of his long finger. He ground the heel of his palm against her clit. She bucked her hips as electricity shot through her. His tongue lashed against hers, twisting and sliding as he plundered her mouth while he plucked her nipple between two fingers. She hovered between pleasure and pain as he thrust again and again, his finger sliding in and out of her core, slick with wet heat.
She soared as her orgasm crashed through her. Her knees buckled and his arms were about her, his breath hot against her ear as he murmured indistinguishable words that coated her like gossamer threads.
A rush of warm water pattered over her head and shoulders. Veri turned her so that her back was pressed against his chest, and her eyes fluttered open to see his large soapy hands gently washing the blood and grime from her neck and torso.
“Relax, mate, and I will clean you,” he rumbled. His voice vibrated through her chest, warm and welcome.
She should be washing herself. She made a weak attempt, fighting against muscles that were more like noodles than anything more solid, and it was just so good to have someone touch her gently, with care. She was surprised at how good it was. Addictive. “You don’t have to do that, Veri.”
“It is my wish to wash you, Crysta. To care for you. I am your male. It is my greatest honor,” he rasped.
His hands swirled over her stomach in light, teasing circles, and even though she’d climaxed, her pussy began to throb. His honor felt pretty good to her, and to be honest, she liked his hands on her body. More than liked it. It was something she could quickly come to crave. She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, enjoying her sated body against his much taller, broader frame. “I have to admit, I’m not used to this. I’m used to doing things myself.”
His hands hitched, before continuing to soap her down. “It is my greatest regret you were treated as you have been. I wish I could have met you before you were caged.”
Her eyes drifted shut as his fingers worked lower. She parted her thighs in anticipation of his touch where she was most desperate. “Well, yes. It wasn’t nice, believe me, but I meant before that. My life. On Earth.”
She almost laughed when she had to clarify the planet she was born on. It was literally another life away. A memory that had little bearing on her current position. There was no way she’d be in the arms of a blue-skinned, horned alien with a tail. That was the stuff made from the overactive imagination of a science-fiction romance novelist.
Veri turned her carefully to face him. She gripped his biceps, her legs still unsteady, confused why he would stop his pampering. He’d seemed so intent. What she didn’t expect to see was his lowered brows over stormy eyes. “What do you mean? Were you mistreated on Earth?”
She shrugged her shoulders, “That time has been and gone. I don’t want to talk about it. At least, not right now.” Her body was balanced on a fine line of aroused and pain. She didn’t want to talk about her life. She wanted his hands, claws, cock, on her. In her. She wanted to forget. Not remember.
Veri’s grip firmed on her waist and she started a little at his fierce look. His eyes burned into her as though he was personally incensed about her shitty life. “Tell me about your life. Tell me what you meant when you said it wasn’t nice.”
Her mouth fell open as words escaped her, but he continued to stare at her as though the look on his face alone would make them come out. “Veri, it doesn’t matter.”
His nostrils flared as the breath whooshed out. “It matters, mate. It matters very much.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Touch me, Veri. Please. I need… I need…”
His mate’s brows twisted and her face faltered. She was confused. Aroused. Emotionally brittle. But he would not have intimacy between them tarnished with her need to deflect what she truly needed by sex. Intimacy between them was sacred. A gift. It should be pure, a celebration between two souls.
He meant what he said, that it was an honor to worship her, but he didn’t mean only physically. It was his privilege to be here for her, body, mind and soul. Even if it meant putting off what his body ached to do, to claim her fully, he would not do that without her full consent.
