Chapter Six
“I said be quiet!”
The boss man glared at her. “How do you expect me to answer your questions if you persist in shrieking so loud you cannot even hear me?”
“No way you’re shoving probes up my pussy or my ass!”
He shook his head. “Certainly not. There will be no probes inserted. At least not until after you’ve undergone cleansing. Once my team has thoroughly inspected the surface of your body and determined what foreign substances must be eradicated, the proper chemical mixture will be prepared and you’ll be placed in the cleansing chamber where it will be administered.”
“Since you prefer not to be sedated,” he went on, “you must remain silent and unmoving during the rest of the inspection. It is for your own good. If you continue thrashing and jerking, we might inadvertently injure you.”
“I’m not cooperating with anyone until I speak to Commander Rowan.”
“That is impossible. She is unavailable. Besides, your commander has no authority here. Safety regulations require that you submit to these procedures immediately upon arriving in our World. You cannot have any contact with our people until we have deemed it safe for you to do so. If you continue to resist, you’ll be punished.”
Rowan unavailable? What had they done with the commander—and the others? The briefings she’d undergone for her journey to Tyrendia 3 hadn’t prepared her for dealing with a species unknown to Earth. A tremor of sheer terror rocked Maia as she came face to face with the realization that even though they might speak her language and have the same body shape, she was an alien here. A potential danger to their race.
She took several slow, deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Okay, she’d cooperate if that’s what she had to do. They seemed to have laws in place here. Surely if she posed no threat they wouldn’t do her any real harm.
“Very well. I understand. I will not resist.”
At least her protests accomplished one thing. Knowing she was awake and completely aware of what they were doing seemed to curb what she guessed had been randy remarks by the other two. They stripped away the rest of her garment and performed their inspection in a purely clinical fashion.
Apparently the head man was the only one who’d learned English overnight. Either that or he’d been outfitted with some sort of translator program. He continued to talk to the other two in their odd language, which seemed to consist of guttural sounds accompanied by jerky hand gestures.
The medical exam was unpleasant. They poked and prodded, stared into her eyes, her nose, her mouth. They seemed especially fascinated by her pierced ears.
“I had earrings on yesterday, attached to my body through those holes. And a necklace. When will I get them back?”
The head scientist stopped measuring the size of her piercings. “I told you to remain silent,” he said, a tone of very human annoyance in his voice. “The transition team will answer any question you have if you are deemed acceptable to enter our World after these procedures are completed.”
If I’m deemed acceptable?
Maia tried not to panic, but when the other two unbuckled her restraints and started lifting her off the table, she took one last stab at reaching out to the leader.
“At least tell me what’s going to happen next. Please.”
“Now you will be taken to the cleansing area.”
Cleansing. She sighed in relief. That sounded harmless enough. She desperately needed a shower. Maybe even a nice relaxing bath.
Two of them carried her into a small white cubicle, one taking her arms and the other her legs. They strapped her into a sling hanging from the ceiling. A wide band secured her around the waist. Other bands wrapped around her thighs and upper arms. One last strap ran behind her head, supporting her neck. Dangling four feet off the floor, stark naked, Maia’s heart sank. This wasn’t going to be a relaxing bath after all.
They began pulling hollow tubes out of the walls, positioning them a few inches away from her so the openings pointed to various places on her body. But when one of them adjusted the bands to pull her legs wide apart and then stepped between them with the end of another tube, she began bucking and yelling again.
Smack!
The harsh sound echoing off the bare walls was as shocking as the sudden lick of fire on her bottom. She bit off another cry and whipped her head around, coming eye to eye with their leader standing behind her.
He stared back, his eyes cold, then delivered four more strong whacks. With his large hands, every stroke covered her entire backside. He’d turned up the sensors on the finger pads of his gloves, so not only did she feel the impact on her bare skin, his punishment carried a shocking tingle deep into her bottom.
She gasped, then let out a shriek. “You said there wouldn’t be any probes!”
He started spanking her in earnest.
“You… will… be silent. You… will not… move,” he ordered, punctuating his words with more stern whacks. “These are not probes. They are hoses. We will monitor your responses while they deliver the cleansing solution to your entire body, inside and out.”
The tingling sensation became a fiery sting, spreading through her bottom. Maia bit her lip to keep from crying out again, but tears welled up in her eyes. She’d heard of spanking. An ancient form of discipline Earther parents once doled out to naughty children. She had no idea it was so painful. Back home, this beast would have been removed from society and sent to reprogramming therapy.
The humiliation was nearly as bad as the punishment itself. She was completely helpless. Strapped into the harness naked and spread-eagled, with her burning bottom exposed for him to spank as long and as hard as he wished while the other two looked on. She did her best to endure it all without straining at her bonds or making another sound, hoping he would decide she’d learned her lesson.
Finally he stopped. She sagged in the sling, eyes half closed. He came around in front of her, stepped between her thighs, and held up one of the gray tubes. Watching her face carefully, as if daring her to disobey his commands again, he reached out. She cringed with embarrassment when he spread apart her labial folds with his gloved fingers and slid the open end of it inside her.
Maia gritted her teeth. She didn’t dare protest.
The hose was made of some pliable substance. Solid, yet able to bend and curve. It was smooth and cold, bigger around than a man’s thumb. He pushed it in slowly, watching her reaction the whole time. Though it seemed to go on forever, her brain told her he’d only penetrated her vaginal channel a few inches. Still, with her body in a heightened state of awareness, she felt every millimeter as he slowly inserted it. He finished by clamping the dangling hose onto the strap around her left thigh to keep it in place.
He turned around and pulled another hose from the wall, this one slightly thinner. Her eyes widened in horror as he stepped between her legs again. Despite her vow to behave, she started shaking her head wildly from side to side.
“No! No no no no no.”
He waved a hand, and one of the other men stepped behind her and delivered half a dozen sharp whacks to her rear. Though he didn’t have sensor pads on his gloves, the fresh assault on her aching bottom reawakened the vicious stinging heat. She was powerless to stop them and defiance only earned her more punishment. Maia closed her eyes and bowed her head in defeat.
This time, instead of watching, she kept her eyes squeezed shut. He adjusted the sling so her bottom was tilted up. With one hand, he spread her rear cheeks apart. With the other, he spread a slick substance all around her anal opening. She shuddered when one finger pressed against her tight sphincter, then invaded her bottom, coating the entrance to her rear passage inside and out. He pulled his finger out and began working the end of the hose into her bottom. She moaned, tensing her body, but he took his time, twisting and turning it, until she felt it snaking in.
Maia had never been penetrated there. Once he’d inserted it, the sensation of her bottom hole being filled along with the sting deep in her backside sent a wild shiver through her belly. She squirmed as the cold, hard object slowly slid inside her, deeper and deeper. Finally he stopped. She opened her eyes a crack and watched as he attached the hose to the restraints on her other thigh, locking it in place.
She concentrated on breathing. In and out. Slow and deep. When she felt his gloved hands parting the tight curls over her mound, she gasped. He’d activated the sensor pads again. They gave off tiny pulses and she began panting in spite of herself as his fingers explored, drawing nearer and nearer to her clit.
It was all too much. The deliberate stimulation of her nipples, the strange, erotic heat pouring through her lower region after the spanking. Then the firm, hard objects working their way into her pussy and invading her bottom hole. Her mind shut down and her body took over. Anger, embarrassment—even fear—gave way to desperate need. Shameless now, she instinctively arched her hips, aching for release.
But instead of his fingertips stroking her, she felt another cold hard object against her throbbing nub. Her eyes shot open. He’d positioned one last hose over her mound, this one ending in a wide circular opening that covered the entire area. Four long narrow straps hung from the sides near the wide mouth. He fastened them one at a time. Two straps around her legs right at the crease where her thighs met her bottom cheeks, two more winding around her hips, securing it in place. He checked all three hoses one more time, making sure they were fastened well, then motioned to the others. Without a word, all three filed out of the cubicle. She heard a loud click as the door locked behind them.
Then the lights went out.
* * *
Despite the threat of more punishment, Maia drew in a breath to call out, beg them to at least leave the lights on. But it turned into a shocked cry as the first stream of liquid hit her body, cascading over her hair. Another hose sent a gentle shower over her face. Warm, with an unfamiliar but pleasant scent. The streams of liquid alternated, coming off and on as others poured over her shoulders, her arms, and down her back. When the sensuous spray hit her breasts, she closed her eyes and simply let the liquid bathe her skin.
The sensation was surprisingly soothing for a procedure meant to rid her body of biohazards. It didn’t feel like a spray of harsh chemical substances. Maybe this was going to turn into a soothing shower after all. Eventually she began to relax and even felt brave enough to stick out the tip of her tongue and sample a drop of the liquid. Definitely not water. At least not like the water on Earth. The substance was thicker. Bland, with no chemical taste.
She sighed in relief. Then her eyes widened in the darkness as she remembered the hoses in her pussy and rear passage. If streams began flowing from those, the sensations would be strange and likely uncomfortable. She gave a mental shrug. If this was the worst she had to endure, she’d grit her teeth and bear it.
Aaaah!
A jet of liquid shot deep into her rear passage, stronger than the flow from the other hoses. She moaned at the unfamiliar sensation, writhing around in the darkness. But there was no escape. The stream flowed on and on, until she thought she couldn’t bear it any longer.
When it ended abruptly, she breathed a sigh of relief. It turned into a gasp when the hose over her mound started pumping. The nozzle must have held dozens of tiny openings, because the flow alternated. First full out, then spurting and pulsing from one side or another. All aimed directly at her clitoris. The sensation was so intense she felt her orgasm building almost immediately. These aliens had definitely mapped her erogenous zones with the light show.
Then the third hose came on, the one in her pussy. Shooting bursts of liquid into her in time with the jets pulsing over her clit. The unaccustomed fullness in her bottom coupled with the direct stimulation of those centers of pleasure sent a wild shudder through her. When liquid began flowing again from the hose in her rear passage, the shudder became a wave that built higher and higher in the darkness until it crashed over her.
The flow stopped. Shut off abruptly, leaving her shaken and limp. Dimly she realized that the aliens must have been carefully monitoring her physical reactions to the new stimuli. The bursts of liquid, the pulsing—all of it timed for the maximum effect. She tensed, expecting them to come back in.
But the lights didn’t turn on. The door didn’t open. Instead, she was suddenly conscious of a sensation more bizarre than the others had been. The hose in her back hole had gone from flow to suction. Whatever liquid they’d pumped in was being drawn back out of her body. One part of her mind registered a sigh of relief. Her bottom had been filled so completely she was on the verge of calling out and begging to be taken to a bathroom.
When that procedure ended, the hoses trained on the rest of her body came on again. Bathing her in a gentle warm stream. Her body relaxed. Thank the goddesses. It must be nearly over.
The sudden spurt of warm liquid up her rear passage was nearly as shocking as the first. This time it came with a bite. A spicy heat that spread through her inside, leaving her quivering and writhing to escape. No matter how hard she strained, she couldn’t get a hand loose to remove the hose. She was at their mercy.
They didn’t fill her with the potent mix like they did with the other liquid. Just regularly timed short spurts. Enough to trickle through her slowly, taking the hot sting deeper and deeper, until it melded with the fiery heat from the spanking. Maia was panting now, jerking at her bonds. When the hose over her clit began pulsing again, the pain morphed into shocking pleasure. She ground herself against the wide nozzle frantically as the jets spurted from side to side over her throbbing nub, more desperate to climax than she’d been the first time. The flow increased, faster and harder, until she screamed and shattered.
Time ceased to exist. It went on like that, building her to climax again and again with pulsing streams. Sometimes only in one opening or the other, sometimes concentrating solely on her clit. Always changing location and intensity. She dangled there in the darkness, never knowing what to expect next. Each time she swore she couldn’t orgasm again, couldn’t go any higher. But each time the aliens proved her wrong.
* * *
Kadan stopped at the door and surveyed the reception hall. Smaller and far less ornate than the grand halls on Anteres, but then this was a minor planet. It was likely Prya had never played host to a supreme ruler before.
Seneschal Niall stood on the far side of the room, flanked by two of his guards. He was deep in conversation with Commander Rowan.
Kadan barely recognized her. She wore a full-length gown in a deep burgundy and her hair had been released from the tight bun and arranged into soft waves. Niall had turned on the full wattage of his charm, playing the genial host. Even from here, he could hear Rowan laughing at something the Seneschal said.
His eyes swept the crowded room, searching. The alien females were easy to spot, each of them dressed in a different vibrant shade. Except for Niall in his royal robes, they were the only bursts of color in the room. The Seneschal must have brought gowns for all of them with him from Anteres. Kadan had been to plenty of military outposts and in his experience their storerooms didn’t stock formal wear for females.
His heart soared. There she was.
Making polite conversation with Minister Breen. Her gown the soft blue of taiga flowers, her gleaming auburn hair flowing down her back. Gods’ balls, she looked more beautiful than she had in any of his dreams. Their holy woman stood beside her, the only one not wearing a conventional gown. Covered head to toe with filmy veils, leaving only her expressive dark-rimmed eyes exposed.
He saw two of the soldiers he’d been training with heading toward them and began shouldering his way through the crowd, anxious to get there first.
“Kadan!” The Seneschal’s shout stopped him in his tracks.
“Please excuse me, Commander. I must thank the Anterean’s greatest warrior for bringing us such priceless treasure.” Niall gave Rowan a warm smile. “I hope you will do me the honor of sitting beside me when we dine?”
Rowan must have known the request was a formality. The supreme ruler of the Worlds of the Seven Stars would dine with whomever he pleased, whether that person welcomed his company or not. She murmured a gracious response and Niall strode away, the crowd automatically parting for him.
“My lord.” Kadan went down on one knee and bowed his head.
Niall wrapped a hand around his arm and drew him up to clap him on the shoulder. “My brother. It is good to see you. The men of Anteres are in your debt, bringing these beautiful creatures to our World.”
He leaned closer, lowered his voice. “All the people of the Seven Stars are in your debt. The Holy One tells me you have taken on the Quest. Gods be merciful, you will succeed. As will your brother warriors.” Niall shook his head solemnly. “There will be no feasts in your honor. No ceremonies to send you off. Our people can never know how close we are to oblivion. It would throw our Worlds into chaos.”
“I understand, my lord. It is my honor to serve.”
“Tell me, brother, is there something I can do for you before you go? Some gift I can give you? I’ve heard it said you enjoy sampling the wide-ranging erotic skills of a Tesserian Trio. I can have one brought here for you.”
“That is generous of you, my lord. In my younger days, I’d have accepted eagerly. But now I’m not sure my body could survive a display of their talents.” Kadan grinned at him. “Since you have offered, there is one request I would make. When I am not training with my men, I ask that you assign me to guard duty for one of the alien females until I depart on my Quest.” He jerked his head toward Maia. “That one.”
Niall followed his glance and then raised an eyebrow. “Guard duty? And who will I appoint to guard her from you?” He laughed heartily and gave Kadan a conspiratorial wink. “Done. These females may only have two tits, but they’re spectacular. And my medical staff tells me their bodies respond positively to some intriguing forms of stimulation. I’ll go you one better and have her seated next to you at dinner tonight. At that secluded table over in the corner.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
Niall drew him in for a warm hug. “We will speak again before I depart.”
He moved on, greeting each soldier in attendance as if the feast had been arranged solely for him, setting the alien females at ease with a smile and a sincere compliment as he was introduced to each of them. Kadan watched him work the room with pride. They’d trained together, earned the title of Omega Warriors, and fought side by side before he took the throne. Niall was fierce and unyielding in battle, yet he’d proved to be a fair and compassionate ruler. The Worlds of the Seven Stars were fortunate to have him as their leader.
Knowing he’d have Maia’s companionship at dinner relieved his urgency to be with her and he amused himself by observing her as he made the rounds of the small gala. There was no shortage of other men seeking her attention. She treated them all with the same kindness, taking time to chat with each one. She seemed equally at ease when she met Seneschal Niall, not at all intimidated by his rank.
Several times he caught her staring at him as he moved through the crowd but she quickly looked away. Once he cocked an eyebrow at her, and a flush came to her cheeks, making him wonder if she truly could read the wicked thoughts pouring through his mind.
The Seneschal’s remarks about the medical staff’s observations played over and over in his head, feeding the flames of his lust-driven imagination. He’d never seen a cleansing chamber but horny soldiers loved nothing more than to exchange filthy stories when they weren’t training to beat someone’s brains out. He’d heard plenty of rumors going around the outpost about what the alien females had been subjected to before being released from quarantine, as well as wild tales about their shameless responses.
No doubt if this evening’s guests knew what was being said about them, they’d be far less friendly and open with the soldiers around them.
He might very well have to guard her after all.
* * *
When dinner was announced, the Seneschal sent a member of his personal military squad to escort each woman to her place in the hall. Maia saw Rowan take the seat beside their host, a sign of honor befitting her position as commander. One by one, the other women were shown to their tables. Each the center of attention of an eager group of Anterean soldiers, safe with a royal chaperone at her side.
When an officer wearing the distinctive uniform appeared in front of her, silently extending his arm palm up, she laid her hand on it and allowed him to lead her through the room. To her surprise, he bypassed a table full of men with two empty seats and headed for a far corner.
Maia’s heart leaped into her throat when she saw the small table’s sole occupant. The officer bowed and backed away, leaving them alone.
Kadan stood.
“My lady.” He pulled out her chair.
She stood there, frozen. On Earth she was a tall woman with generous curves, but standing this close to him she felt petite, barely reaching his shoulders. She hadn’t been able to stop staring at him all evening. Minister Breen pointed him out to her, explaining that in honor of the Seneschal, tonight Kadan wore the formal battle gear of an Omega Warrior. The minister needn’t have bothered. She felt his presence the moment he arrived.
He’d been standing motionless in the doorway. Huge, bare-chested, with a long cape made from the hide of some strange animal tossed over his shoulders. His chest was packed with sleek muscle. She was seized with the wild craving to run her hands over it, trace the muscles rippling under his smooth skin, all the way down to the short half-tunic slung low on his hips. The garment was made of a strange metallic fabric in a deep bronze color that nearly matched his skin tone.
Wide gold cuffs around his neck and wrists emphasized the power in his shoulders and arms. Gods be praised, he was breathtaking. Her eyes were caught by the light reflecting off the hilt of a dagger protruding from a sheath lying along his left thigh. They strayed to the bulge near it under his tunic. To her dismay, he happened to look her way right at that moment and caught her staring straight at his crotch. He raised one eyebrow and she’d felt herself blush.
Kadan cleared his throat and Maia snapped back to the present. He stood there in silence, head cocked slightly, with his hand on the back of her chair. She realized with a start he was waiting for her to sit down. She took her place, fussing with her long skirt, then toying with unfamiliar items on the table before her. Anything to avoid meeting the gaze she felt trained on her.
He let the silence build until she couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Since we will be dining together, please tell me—how does one address an Omega Warrior?” she asked, searching for a safe topic.
“The men under my command call me sir. Those who know me well simply call me Kadan. I hope you will too.” His voice deepened, took on a note of intimacy. “Except for the times you address me as ‘my lord.’”
At his words, the image flashed into her mind, as vivid as if it were taking place right there and then.
She was on her knees in front of him, naked. One of his huge hands fisted in her hair, holding her head in place, while his other hand was wrapped around a huge erection. “You’ve given me so much pleasure tonight,” she heard herself saying. “Please, my lord, may I suck your cock?”
Maia blinked and the image disappeared. He flashed her a wicked smile.
She was shaken. Confused. These visions of the two of them together were different than any glimpses she’d had before into the lives of others. In the past, she’d always carefully prepared herself. Praying and meditating, calling on the gods for guidance and direction before attempting a connection that could aid her in healing. Once she began, she normally received shadowy, indistinct images from her subjects. Sometimes she picked up random thoughts or snatches of conversations they’d had with others, along with the flashes of joy or pain that accompanied them.
But the images she’d been seeing when she was with Kadan were different. Shockingly different. She heard every word they said to each other, felt the hot waves of lust pouring over her. She’d seen him clearly too just now, magnificent in his nakedness. Slowly stroking his engorged cock as he towered over her. The head reddish-purple, a drop of pre-cum swelling up. She longed to lick it off with her tongue and hear him groan. Her pussy had clenched and spasmed, her nipples tightened. She could still feel his fingers in her hair.
“Is something amiss, my lady?”
He was staring at her again, with a look of concern on his face. He must be doing it somehow. Sending these blatantly erotic images into her head. But the wicked smile was gone and his tone held just the right note of innocence to make her doubt herself. Had he really made the comment about calling him ‘my lord’? Or did that happen in her fantasy?
She didn’t know where the visions were coming from. Only that they were more real than anything she’d ever been able to tap into before, even after years of honing her skill.
“Please, call me Maia.” She deliberately put the walls in place, the ones that shielded her from the thoughts and feelings of those she healed. “And no, nothing is wrong,” she went on, pasting a polite smile on her face. “It’s still a little overwhelming at times finding myself here… in a place no one on Earth knew existed.”
“On the contrary, Maia. Your world and mine have touched before,” Kadan replied. “Since your ship was rescued, a search of our memory banks has shown that thousands of years ago, my people explored your planet during one of our routine interstellar scouting missions. Records show we found a number of different tribes, all primitive. Our leaders at the time decided your species needed time to evolve into higher beings and ceased further contact.”
“Your people came to Earth?” Maia stared at him in shock.
“The scan of your ship’s onboard guidance system allowed us to trace your route back to the point of origin. That’s how we found the records of prior contact.” His voice took on a low timbre that sent a shiver through her belly. “Despite their differences back then, some of our men found themselves strongly attracted to the females of your species.” He grinned. “Apparently the females returned their ardor. Even mated with them.”
He leaned in, as if sharing a secret. “That piece of information was not stored in our databanks. The technicians who performed the medical examinations on you and your companions came to that conclusion when they found numerous examples of genetic material in the cells of your bodies that match what we have in ours. Records from those scouting missions show that tests performed on your species at first encounter did not show the same results.”
Under the table she felt the heat of his hand. Slowly, sensuously running its way up her leg. “It seems I am not the only Anterean male to find a human female irresistible.”
He began asking her questions. About her family, her interests. Casual dinner conversation between people who have just met. All the while his fingers slid higher under her skirt. Teasing and tantalizing, up the inside of her thigh. His expression, his tone of voice were so innocent she began to doubt her own senses. Was it happening? Or was this yet another of those imaginary erotic encounters superimposing itself on reality?
Don’t just sit there. Make him stop! One part of her, the prim and proper Maia, was screaming inside her head. Embarrassment kept her frozen in place. That and a reluctance to make a scene. Calling attention to what was happening would be almost as humiliating as crying out, only to discover that her overactive libido had imagined the whole thing.
But if she was honest with herself, that wasn’t why she hesitated. The other part of her, the wild and wanton slut who came out in all their fantasy encounters, wanted this to be real. Wanted him to go on. Slide his hand higher until it reached her core. Then plunge one of his long fingers inside her right there under the table, while his eyes commanded her to stay still. Submit to him. Continue chatting politely while he fingered her slit.
The thought made her pussy clench, drenching her with slick fluid. She felt the tip of his finger roam higher, exploring the damp heat. At the same time he flashed her a very real, unmistakably naughty grin.