* * *
Alec ached all over. From head to toe. The byproduct of being paired up with Chet. And not just periodically. For the whole fucking session. Three hours tackling and tumbling with the guy. A guy who weighed a shit ton more than Alec. And fuck, Chet hadn’t gone easy on him either. Which was fine. To be babied on the field would’ve been worse. But man, Alec was going to be feeling that shit for days.
“Bath time is over,” Mannix announced brusquely. “You have soaked your little bodies long enough.”
The team as a whole stifled unhappy groans. All that warm, steaming water just felt so good. To Alec’s muscles. To his joints. Hell, in truth, even to his sanity.
Ducking under the surface, he reemerged, then slicked his hair back with bound hands and looked at Mannix. “Where’re you taking us now? No way it’s time for another meal.”
The Kríe shook his head. “Mah. King Zercy sent word. He wants us to give you a tour.”
The trio perked up instantly—even Noah’s eyes brightened—and immediately hobbled their way toward the steps.
Zaden slid Alec a look, letting the waterlily he’d been toying with float away. “Yeah. Absolutely. I’m absolutely down for a tour.”
The reason why went without saying. If they ever wanted to blow this joint, they’d need to learn as much of the layout as possible. Alec wondered if Zercy had considered that at all. Or was he really just that confident they couldn’t escape?
Chet nodded wholeheartedly, already in route to the ledge. “Fuck, yeah. Let’s do this. A tour of this penitentiary sounds perfect.”
So, for the next hour or so, that’s exactly what they got, a room-by-room tour, with a couple exceptions. They started with the castle grounds; outside, but still inside the wall. Four courtyards, two training areas, a guardroom, even a stable—man, were the creatures in that thing bizarre.
Once back inside, they headed to the castle’s main stairwell, the one that ultimately led to Zercy’s chambers. They bypassed the second floor, AKA the servants’ quarters, but not the third, which housed the high-class nobles. Although why, God only knew. Who freaking cared where they slept?
Zaden pointed with tied hands down one of the hallways. “Our place is down there. One big room with six beds.”
“You mean, holes in the wall,” Chet corrected.
“More like nests,” Bailey countered.
Jamis shook his head. “Nope. No way. They’re sleeping cubbies.”
Zaden grinned a little and looked at Alec. “You get the idea.”
Yeah. He did. Alec nodded, fighting a frown, remembering how much he hated the current arrangements. He should be with his team, damn it, in that sixth fucking bed. Not holed up under the covers with the king.
But their escorts didn’t take them down that corridor, anyway. They led them down a different one instead. “Those rooms are all private. Not for your eyes to see.” Setch gestured ahead and grinned. “This way is better.”
Warning alarms instantly sounded in Alec’s head. He and Zaden swapped looks. The trio, however, were already speculating, guessing what made this other hall so superior.
“Medieval home theatre.”
“Pfft. No. Game room.”
“Fuck it. I’m rooting for a decked-out arena, with props and shit for motherfucking larping!”
They all sucked in sharply, their optimism palpable.
Chet groaned. “Oh, my God. Could you be any geekier? Kríe don’t fucking live-action roleplay.”
“And you know this how?” Bailey contested.
Jamis jutted his chin up. “Yeah, how?”
But before Chet could answer, the guards came to a stop, right in front of two big, gaudy doors. Setch turned to them and grinned. “I do not know of this larping, but I assure you, Kríe most definitely like to play.”
“Tah, and this is our playroom,” Mannix rumbled, opening the way. “Come. See what Kríe consider fun.”
Warily, Alec entered, but then froze just inside, smacked with an eyeful of how these males played. Holy freaking hell, talk about a den of iniquities. This must be the place Zercy had talked about.
He peered around, assailed by not just sight, but also sound. And smell. His senses utterly bombarded with sex. It was like they’d just stepped into a whole different dimension. One that made their fling with Gesh’s pack look like a tea party.
The science trio gaped. Even Chet looked floored.
Alec glanced at Zaden. “And we thought Roni was fucking twisted.”
His co-pilot nodded distractedly. “Yeah,” he murmured. “This place is… Damn.”
Yup, pretty much. No freaking words.
Just a bunch of horny Kríe and… a shit ton more of that one species. The kind he’d seen before, in that super-posh hallway, where a noble all but fucked one against the wall.
Alec eyed one in particular. Lean, not super masculine, but his body was still cut. Maybe he was even kind of pretty—but not in a feminine way. Noah would probably consider them twinks, none looked older than twenty. Made Alec wonder how fast Niran species aged.
He turned to Setch. “Who are they? And why are there so many?”
The guard grinned, eyeing one appreciatively. “They are Súrah.”
“Súrah?”
“Tah. Sex nymphs. Very fun. Taste good, too.”
Alec stilled, surprised. “Wow.” He regarded them. “Are they slaves?”
“Mah,” Setch laughed. “They run this lair. Relish being used by our kind.”
Alec shot him a skeptical look.
Setch chuckled. “It is truth. They liken us to demigods. Swear our touch is like a drug.”
“Damn,” Alec murmured. His voice dropped to a mutter. “Definitely not how I’d describe you people.”
Setch’s next bout of laughter sounded notably smugger. “You say that now, moyo,” he rumbled. “Just you wait.”
Alec frowned and looked away, tentatively studying their surroundings. The room was huge and divided by theme. Very fucking distinguishable, crazy themes.
His heart hammered faster as he took it all in.
Along several walls, Súrah waited on display, each stretch offering a designated body part. Alec eyed a line of Súrah standing shrink-wrapped to one wall—immobilized under a skin-tight sheet of black. Well, minus two holes. One for their mouths, so the nymphs could breathe, the other snugly cinched around their junk. Offering, in essence, complete and total access to their swollen balls and ribbed, jutting cocks.
Alec watched as Kríe played with them—squeezing, tugging, teasing. One actually impaled himself from behind. Riding the Súrah, with a hand between his thighs, kneading and stretching the nymph’s defenseless sac. Alec could see the Súrah twitching, helplessly squirming in their confines.
And all that shit was just on one wall.
On another, more Súrah were likewise sealed, only these were on their knees with heads uncovered. Alec’s guess to what their station offered? Hot, wet, ready-to-use mouths. Because, yeah, those babies were definitely ready, either pried wide with gadgets or unrestricted. And damn, did the nobles love both. Happily stuffing them till drool ran unchecked, till loud muffled gags cut through the din.
And then there was the final stretch of shrink-wrapped nymphs, displayed in a much different position. Bent over at the waist, this batch of Súrah appeared wedged through tight openings in the sheetrock. Which effectively left only their lower halves present, each rump and pair of legs sealed to the wall.
And like the first, these cling-wraps had two separate cutouts. A small one between the legs where their junk was pulled through, the other, a bullseye of sorts right on the ass. Not a big surprise, the crude offering of their sphincters. What was curious, though, was how accessible they were. Not impeded one iota by the Súrahs’ round ass cheeks. Just a whole lot of decadently exposed assholes.
Those nymphs must’ve held their cheeks nice and wide as whoever vacuum-sealed them in place. In fact… Alec’s brows hiked as he eyed one’s back end. He could actually see the nymph’s hands, his fingers trapped in action, still splayed against each side of his ass.
Drawn by their winking sphincters’ wanton invitations, nobles homed in from every direction. Some shoved their hard-ons through the glossy, hairless openings, plunging to the hilt, then pulling out. Others teased the Súrahs’ little holes with their fingers, laughing when the things clenched in a frenzy. And then, of course, there were the happily-feasting Kríe, licking their sex nymphs’ stars like they were candy.
Alec’s backdoor tingled warmly. Fuck. Time to look away. He quickly diverted to briefly scan the other exhibits. One looked like a spanking center, another, a pen—where one could apparently charter ‘pets.’ There were areas for masochists, others for sadists. Corners for those with fetishes like Sirus had described.
Alec stiffened. Oh, hell. Not like. Try exactly. What those two Kríe held were definitely freaking tibbi.
Unable to look away, Alec stared in captivation. Several nymphs were on a platform, draped over a large wedge. Ass up, face down, securely bound, they gasped and yowled and writhed in frantic rapture. Which was totally understandable as far as Alec was concerned. Not because their rectums had been stuffed with hollow butt plugs, the kind that offered a look inside and easy passage. But rather because of what those open entrances gave passage to—a whole bunch of hyperactive critters. Alec shuddered, imagining just how crazy that must feel. All that incessant scurrying action in their asses.
One of the Kríe grabbed another squirming tibbi. Alec watched as he held it by its tail. Playfully dangling it above his Súrah’s ass, he grinned and dropped it down his makeshift waterslide. Which was drenched in oil. So the tibbi couldn’t climb back out.
Not that one, nor any of the others.
And evidently there were many, if those grunting shouts meant anything. Or the way the nymphs kept bucking against their restraints. That their cocks were being jacked by Kríe hands probably helped, not to mention all that tugging on their balls.
The Súrah started quaking, then one furiously came, blasting the wedge beneath him with creamy seed. Another Súrah followed, but holy shit, he took the cake. Coming so hard, veins popped from his neck as his rectum literally punched a tibbi out. Laughing, his handler caught the slippery thing, patted its head, then dropped it right back inside.
Soon the males ran dry, but their prostates kept going, relentlessly orgasming, each one stronger than the last. The telltale sign a nymph was starting to blow? Uncontainable trembling, then that strained, ardent yowl. Then, bam, he was bearing down uncontrollably. So much so, he didn’t just force out a tibbi, but that big hollow butt plug, too. Woofing triumphantly, the Kríe behind him beamed, then reinserted both and resumed.
Fuck. Just wrong, Alec thought on a shudder, even as his dick gave a nudge. He needed to look at something tamer. Something chill. Turning, he spotted what looked like a lounge area. Well, sort of. In the sense that there were thick, high-back chairs, atop which several nobles sat conversing. What definitely wasn’t the norm, however, was what accompanied each seat. More crazy-ass Súrah, shackled and hung by hands and feet. Which, essentially, meant the nymphos were folded in half, dangling within reach of each Kríe.
They were blindfolded too, and their mouths were stuffed with ball gags. Wait. Not ball gags. Something else. Mouth pieces filled with dark blue liquid. An indigo that sort of looked like kirah nectar. Whatever it was, those nymphs seemed to like it, nursing the stuff between muffled moans.
Each one’s thighs had been tightly bound together as well, clearly for one purpose only. To keep their cocks and nut sacs that had been pulled between their legs from escaping to the front of their bodies again. Smooth, engorged nuts hanging just above their holes. Rigid boners jutting just beneath their hamstrings. Like a neat, little package, all parts in one place. Easily and utterly accessible.
And they were definitely being accessed—each Kríe gripping his Súrah’s cock, stroking it, absently teasing it, as he talked. And man, were those nymphs loving it, each a hair’s breadth from coming. Their balls had climbed as far as they could go. There were other signs, too, though. The twitching. The mewling. The faster suckling on their ‘juice.’
Alec shifted his weight. The highborn paused and eyed their playthings, then used their free hands to fondle their nuts. As if weighing them, or maybe even gauging their fullness. Wolfish grins emerged. Evidently, they were satisfied. Fingers gripping tighter, they slid their indexes down the Súrahs taints and pushed them into their little glossy holes. The males gasped, clenching, then started to moan as the Kríe resumed stroking their cocks.
One noble rumbled, “You like that. Want to come.” His nymph nodded urgently. “Bellah. I am thirsty for your seed.” Licking his chops, he sank his finger deeper and started stroking what was presumably the male’s G. “You feel that, little Súrah? Me rubbing your swollen jewel?” Another nod along with an exceptionally anxious mewl. The big Kríe growled. “Tah. I feel it pulsing, wanting so very desperately to spill.”
“Unngggh,” the nymph whimpered, body shuddering, brows pinched.
The noble grinned. “It is time. Let your seed go, pup. Now.”
His moistened lips surrounded the nymph’s rock-hard crown. Then his forearm flexed like he’d pushed some magic button. The Súrah went rigid, his fists clenching tight. A heartbeat later, a muffled howl exploded. His cock began bucking. The Kríe swallowed hungrily, giving his balls a squeeze with each gulp.
Alec’s dick thickened fast. Out of nowhere, something occurred to him. The last time he came he’d been with Zercy in Sirus’ workshop. He’d been blindfolded like this guy too, and now that he thought about it, had no idea where exactly his cum went. Had Zercy consumed it like this Kríe was doing? But through that bahka reed like Alec had envisioned? That very real possibility slammed his brain like a hammer. Which, in turn, had his boner going granite. Wincing, he ground the heel of his palm down his crotch and redirected his brain back to the show.
The Súrah was spent, but his handler continued milking him, leisurely suckling his crown while kneading his sac. A sac that, incidentally, looked smaller now, not to mention pretty deflated.
Damn, Alec thought. That Kríe was thirsty. Looked determined to get out every single drop.
When he finally relented, unlatching his lips with a pop, he grinned up at his limp, twitching host. “Tasty,” he rumbled, flippantly slapping the nymph’s nuts. “But you are empty and I am going to want more.” Reaching up, he tapped the male’s mouth piece with his claw. “So be a good little Súrah and drink your nectar.”
Alec’s jaw went slack as the sated nymph obeyed. Holy shit. He bet that stuff was kirah nectar. And that these Súrah drank it frequently to speed up production. Specifically, so their ‘demigods’ could drink from them often, nursing their dicks like cocktails at a party.
Wow.
Alec shook his head, adjusting his crotch. He needed to get out of there. He was starting to feel drunk—with a swiftly growing need to furiously fuck.
Turning, he looked at Setch and cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. I think we’ve seen enough to get the picture.”
“Yeah,” Chet rasped. He irritably squeezed his junk. “That all you twisted fuckers are seriously depraved.”
Setch’s lips curved wryly as he eyed Chet’s bulge. “Like minds, I see. I can bring you any time. The Súrah will gladly service you as a favor.”
Chet stiffened, then scowled. “You’re fucking crazy.” Cheeks heating, he angrily stalked toward the door.
Alec looked at the others. Each teammate looked equally floored. And yup, every one of them had boners. Which he supposed made sense where Noah was concerned. But the rest of the team? Him and Chet included? He scrubbed his face. This place was messing with their heads.
The guards led them back out the way they came, but this time did head down the teammates’ hallway. Sure enough, at the very end, were their large private quarters. They stepped inside briefly so Alec could check the place out, then ducked into another tower stairwell.
They reached ground level and continued on their way.
“Where’re we going now?”
“Castle’s grand foyer.”
Alec frowned. They’d been to that entrance hall before, the day they’d first arrived. To be sold. Great fucking memories. The best. They rounded a bend and, just like that, they were there, stopping at the first set of doors.
Kellim pushed the things open. Setch led them inside. Alec peered around, instantly captivated. They’d just entered the throne room where Zercy presumably spent much of his day heeding that call of responsibility he’d mentioned earlier. It was huge, with tiered rows of seats all around, reminding Alec of a scaled-down arena. And at the far end? Yup, a throne atop a dais. Masculine and imposing, black and adorned, its backrest literally built into the wall. Like a raised relief sculpture in the shape of tree trunk, big and ancient, branching skyward into a canopy.
Alec envisioned Zercy there, looking powerful, imperial. And, goddamnit, he got another boner. Clenching his jaw, he turned and stalked out, the first in their entourage to leave the room.
The next set of doors, the middle one, directly across from the grand entrance, was a space with which he was already familiar—the great hall, where asshole Gesh sold them to the king. He frowned, not even bothering to go inside. And yup, his men reacted the same way. Guess the place had left a nasty taste in their mouths, too.
Fortunately, the foyer’s final set of doors brought swift relief. Much smaller overall, but instantly Alec’s favorite. A history museum of sorts, from what he could tell, dedicated entirely to Kríe culture. Art pieces, maps, books, items of importance. Everywhere he turned. It was amazing. Naturally, the trio looked just as charmed. Unfortunately, they weren’t allowed to stay. Their escorts were being cranky. Wanted to keep things going. Most likely to finish the tour so they could dump them off at dinner—then take turns heading back to that lair.
They exited the vault, then rounded the bend and strode down the castle’s east side. Along the way, they paused at a lavish lavatory. No toilets, of course, since Nirans only peed. Just a bunch of intriguing urinals and swanky washbowls.
Resuming, they soon reached that all-too-familiar T-junction, and headed into the airy central corridor. First door on the right, the castle’s giant kitchen, which encompassed other smaller enclosures, too. A pantry. A bakehouse. Hell, even a brewery. Alec loved trying new beers. Maybe sometime he’d give their mead a try.
They continued down the hall. Up ahead, Alec spotted the doors. The huge secretive ones that he’d never seen open, that were guarded day and night by two big Kríe. Would he get to see inside? Would it be part of the tour?
Their entourage ambled past them. Alec sighed.
Guess not.
Next thing he knew, they were back inside the tower. Looked like they were dungeon-bound again. Not that they finally got to see the prison, though. Apparently, it was forever off-limits. They did, however, get a look at the castle’s large wine cellar, as well as its barracks and armory. The king had quite the army at his disposal, that was for sure. Alec wondered why he needed so many soldiers.
“One last stop,” Setch announced from up ahead with Kellim.
And man, was that last stop incredible. Just a bit more down the tunnel and around a bend and, bam, holy wow, there it was. A floor-to-ceiling window pane in a large, open room, displayed just like a mural against the wall. Of course, what was so striking was what was behind that sheet of glass. An underwater, sea-creature’s view of the lake, presumably the side closest to the castle.
Alec felt his jaw drop open, but was too floored to care. The incredible sight straight-up demanded all his attention. It was stunning, mesmerizing. And for the briefest of seconds, he felt like he was at the National Aquarium back on Earth. Except, yeah, the wildlife he was currently gaping at were anything but Earthly in nature.
Some had similar traits, though. Like the thing that just swam past. That one reminded him of a manta ray, but with much longer fins, and a face full of feelers like a catfish. Alec eyed a second creature farther back on a boulder. That one looked a little like an octopus of sorts, only, it definitely had more than eight arms. And the front two were definitely much longer than the rest, with what looked like snapping mouths at the ends.
“Whoa, look at those,” Bailey murmured to Alec’s left.
Alec followed his line of sight. His lips swiftly curved. What resembled a rainbow-colored flock of small birds was getting ready to breeze past the window. They were beautiful, enthralling, but what struck him as peculiar was the unexpected formation they’d assumed—a horizontal cylinder, completely hollow in the middle, maybe four feet long with a three-foot diameter.
He watched them, perplexed. Why would they take such a shape? But when they abruptly dipped down behind a much larger ‘fish,’ Alec saw exactly why. In HD. So cool, like they were scooping their prey into a cup. The second they had it surrounded inside their colorful tube, the whole school converged, constricting around its body.
Jamis sucked in a breath. “They just shrink-wrapped that dude.”
Chet chuckled and gave a nod. “Fucking awesome.”
Moments ticked by as the cluster shimmied in place, then just like that, they spread back out and went on their way.
Alec watched a couple of bones float out the rear of the cylinder. Bad day for that fish. He wondered if those schools got any bigger.
A few minutes later, his team was ushered from the room. Although, honestly, he could have stayed down there for hours.
Back at ground level, they headed toward the back of the castle, past the bath house and Lotis’ bottega, AKA the artist’s workshop. Didn’t get a look inside the latter, however. Evidently, Lotis was in a ‘session’ and couldn’t be disturbed.
Around another bend, and they were on the south side, striding down a hallway with no doors. Just a whole lot of big, arched windows to the left, offering one hell of a view of the mountain range and lake.
When they reached the end, Setch gestured to a corner-tower stairwell. “To Sirus’ workshop, but he is busy now, like Lotis. Busy and also very strange.” He made a sour face and motioned them on. “We will go this way instead.”
Alec exhaled in relief, and not just from the memories. Those stone steps to the top were fucking brutal.
But as they ambled past, Setch grinned at him over his shoulder and mouthed, “Tell him of the elevator. Do not forget.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Alec muttered under his breath.
A minute later, they were back at the big, center corridor.
“Your tour is finished, humans,” Setch announced. “Now you eat.”
But as the Kríe ushered them into the main dining room, Alec paused at the entrance and glanced down the hall. Down at those big mysterious doors. He’d really wanted to see what was behind them.
Mannix grunted at his back. “Esh. What do you wait for?”
Alec gestured with his chin. “Down there. Where those guards are posted. You never showed us what was inside.”
The Kríe peered that way. His brusque expression faltered. “They guard the central courtyard.”
“Can we see it?”
“Mah.” He shook his head. “It is no longer open. Off limits to all.”
Alec’s brows furrowed. “Why?”
Mannix frowned. “The sickness.”
The sickness? What was that?
But before he could ask, Mannix pushed him forward. “No more talk. Now you eat.”