Chapter Thirteen
Despite her initial reluctance to take care of baby Gardenia, Victoria actually enjoyed every minute of it and two weeks passed incredibly quickly. There were some fraught moments when the baby had seemed to cry for no reason but, on the whole, she’d loved being her temporary guardian. In fact, she was almost sorry when they finally reached Taar-Breck.
Allik and Victoria took a passenger shuttle from the transport ship to a military base. When they landed, a nursemaid came on board to take charge of the baby. Victoria felt incredibly sad as she handed the little girl over but she was comforted to know that a warm welcome awaited her with her uncle. By all accounts, William Barron had been grief-stricken at the loss of his brother and had immediately pledged to care for the child. It was exactly what Victoria had hoped for, but she couldn’t help wishing things could be different.
“Take good care of her,” she told the older woman, a Taar-Breckian who had introduced herself as Alaina.
“Of course.” Alaina gave her a sympathetic smile as though she could sense what a wrench it was for Victoria to give up the child. “I am sure the ambassador will wish for you to visit the infant once she’s settled.”
Victoria almost laughed at that. There were those words again. Once she’s settled. It seemed to be a stock phrase for the Taar-Breckians. Allik had repeatedly told her that she would be able to see Lucy once she was settled into her new life. She wondered if it was just a delaying tactic and if she would ever actually see Lucy or the baby again.
She watched as the nurse walked down the steps from the shuttle with Gardenia in her arms, and got into the long black vehicle that was waiting for her. It was like the cars they had back on Earth, but it had no wheels and instead of running along the ground, it hovered a few feet above it. A land-cruiser, if she recalled correctly, rather than an air-cruiser, which flew at high altitudes. Allik had told her all about the different modes of transportation on his planet over the last two weeks, but almost nothing about himself. Victoria found it deeply perplexing. He had been firm with her, but also kind and attentive. They had the most incredible, mind-blowing sex. He made her feel safe and happy, yet she knew little about him. It left her wanting more.
The vehicle the nurse had got into sped away and Victoria wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. It was silly to have become so attached to a child that she’d known all along she would have to give up. Although she really wasn’t ready for the responsibility of motherhood, a part of her had secretly hoped that William would change his mind and ask her to raise the baby for him.
“Come,” Allik said gruffly as he gestured toward the exit. He didn’t show it, but Victoria knew he was not unaffected by having to say goodbye to the baby. After all, Gardenia had lived in their quarters with them around the clock for almost a fortnight. Victoria had been surprised by how attentive he was toward Gardenia, how gently he had held her. The care he’d shown her was probably because he’d been the one who rescued her. Obviously, he’d felt invested in ensuring that she made it to Taar-Breck in one piece.
As she disembarked from the shuttle, the first thing that struck Victoria was the glorious heat of the sun. She knew now why Allik had insisted on her wearing a gauzy white dress with a hem that skimmed her ankles. It was to show off her body whilst still protecting her delicate skin from the sun. She’d known warm summer days back in New Cambridge, but they’d been nothing like this. There had never been such a strong, golden glow in the sky as there was here.
“Is it like this a lot?” she asked Allik, who frowned as though he had no idea what she was talking about. “The weather,” she elaborated, “is it often this hot?”
“Always,” Allik said. “You will need to take a daily supplement to help your body withstand the heat.”
Allik took her arm and led her across the landing zone. He opened the door of a slick silver cruiser and helped her into the passenger seat. He got into the other side, pressed a button on the control panel, and the engine whirred into life. The vehicle lifted a few feet off the ground and took off at a speed that made Victoria’s stomach lurch. A few deep breaths helped her to settle.
As they traveled through the city at an exhilarating speed, Victoria pressed her nose against the window. The vehicle joined a steady stream of traffic as they emerged from the space port and headed through what looked like a residential area. Like an excited child, she tried to take in every detail, wanting each sight, sound, smell to be imprinted on her mind forever. Everything was so clean and well-ordered. She had to admit that Allik’s apparently dispassionate description of his homeland was pretty accurate. Warm, clean, efficient, it appeared to be all of those things.
The streets, which looked as though they were paved with white stone, were wide and largely empty. The few people she saw were tall and elegant Taar-Breckian women. The buildings formed a corridor that stretched for miles. They were so tall, they seemed to skim the almost purple sky. Their white stone facades gleamed in the sunshine. It was not at all what she’d expected. Somehow, she’d imagined that everything would be grey and austere. There were hundreds of enormous windows in the buildings. The walls of glass they formed glinted in the sun but, oddly, the light didn’t seem to bounce off them in the way she would have expected.
“We rely on solar power.” Allik clearly sensed her interest. “The windows absorb the sun’s rays and convert them to clean energy.”
“Is that a lot cheaper?”
“It is free,” Allik said. “We do not believe our citizens should have to pay for such basic necessities.”
“But surely they pay for food and clothing?”
Allik shook his head. “There is an allowance from the state. If a man wants something beyond that, he pays.”
It was hard for Victoria to wrap her head around the concept of such a benevolent state. The High Council never gave anything away for free.
After a few minutes of driving along identical streets with strikingly similar buildings, she sat back and looked at Allik. It was impressive that he could make the vehicle do what he wanted with just a few subtle movements of his hand.
“Will you teach me to operate one of these things?” she asked.
“Yes,” Allik said, surprising her with his lack of hesitation.
“When?” Victoria thought it best to pin him down while he seemed willing.
“Soon, before my next posting.”
Victoria’s heart sank. It hadn’t occurred to her that he would be deployed on some mission that might take him away from her. A wave of disappointment swept through her. It wasn’t so much the thought of him having to work that bothered her as the fact that she would have nothing to do while she was gone. After helping Kyree during the crisis with the passenger shuttle and then caring for the baby, she’d realized just how much she wanted to find something important to do with her life.
She rested her head back against the seat and tried not to let those thoughts spoil her first experience of her new home. It was exciting to be on a planet so different to her own. She should be making the most of it.
Only a couple of minutes passed before they came to a stop outside one of the tall, shiny buildings.
“Hold on,” Allik instructed her.
Victoria’s stomach dropped as the vehicle suddenly lifted into the air.
“We’re on the fortieth floor,” he told her as the vehicle sped upward and then stopped. With a flick of his hand, he spun the vehicle around as it passed through a large opening in the side of the building. Victoria shrieked as they turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees before coming to a stop. Allik switched off the engines and the vehicle slowly lowered to the ground.
As she came to her senses once more, Victoria realized that they were in a docking area with space for at least six more vehicles. She glanced behind her and saw a shimmering light that seemed to cover the entrance. She assumed it was a force field of some kind, designed to prevent unauthorized access.
“Did you have to ascend so rapidly?” Victoria grumbled.
“Probably not,” Allik grinned and Victoria realized he’d been showing off to her. “But don’t pretend you didn’t like it. I can smell the cream in your panties.”
“I’m not wearing panties,” she retorted as she got out of the vehicle.
She waited a moment until her legs felt a bit less like jelly and walked toward the door. Allik caught up with her and put a hand at the small of her back. It was a possessive gesture, typical of what she’d come to expect from him. He guided her out through the door and into an expansive hallway, lined with marble. The opulence was beyond anything she’d seen before.
“Our dwelling is number 4002,” he told her as he steered her toward a door on their left. “There are two dwellings on this level. Your friend Lucy will be above us in 4501 with Lieutenant Taryn.”
“So close?” Victoria was delighted to hear that Lucy would be nearby.
“Yes, the building is reserved for military personnel,” he told her. “Our deeds earn us the right to move higher up the building.”
“And when you reach the top?” Victoria asked.
“I do not think that has ever happened. The top three floors are currently vacant.”
Victoria nodded. It was an interesting system, she supposed. It was so different from Earth where everything depended on the wealth passed down through families rather than on a man’s achievements.
“You must have done something pretty impressive to get a place on the fortieth floor,” she remarked.
“I resisted brutal interrogations,” Allik replied wryly. “For several days.”
Victoria opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. There really was no response she could give to that. Allik would not welcome her pity. She desperately wanted to say something, though. It was the first time Allik had alluded to his treatment at the hands of the Bylanthians and she needed to know more. Her mind seemed to stop working and she couldn’t think of a way to continue the discussion. Reluctantly, she let it drop. Perhaps he would tell her more in his own time.
She stood back as Allik keyed some information into a metal panel by the door they’d stopped at. He took hold of her wrist and placed her hands on the scanner. She felt a strange rippling sensation on her skin. When three little beeps sounded, Allik let go of her hand.
“You will now be able to get in and out of the apartment when I am not with you,” Allik said. “Just present your hand to the scanner and the door will open.”
“I can come and go on my own?”
“Within reason but, as an alien on this planet, you will need to be fitted with a tracking device.”
Victoria didn’t like the thought of that, of her whereabouts being constantly monitored, but the way Allik spoke told her it would not be negotiable. Here, she was going to be the alien species and some people would, no doubt, look on her with suspicion. As far as she knew, there were only a few hundred humans living here amongst millions of Taar-Breckians. She just hoped she would be able to fit in.
Allik ushered her into the apartment. It was light and spacious but the furnishings, for all there were of them, were dark and masculine. It was comfortable enough, she supposed, although the décor was a little plain. There were no throw pillows, no curtains on the windows, no carpets. There were none of the paintings or ornaments like those that had cluttered her home back in New Cambridge. Clearly, Allik did not feel the same need as her stepbrother to constantly accumulate useless objects.
The room was sleek, modern, and a little austere. She suspected it reflected Allik’s style. As Victoria walked around the room, she realized she found the starkness pleasing. The lack of homeliness suggested that no other woman had been there to put her stamp on the place. Although she couldn’t kid herself into believing that Allik was not a man of experience, she hated to think of herself as the latest in a long line of women to pass through his life.
She ran her hand along the cold surface of one of the dark, solid walls and turned to Allik with a look of question on her face.
“It’s stone,” he confirmed to her. “Many of our buildings, this one included, were sculpted from the mountains our ancestors once had makeshift homes on.”
Sculpted from a mountain? Victoria could hardly believe it. She’d never even seen a mountain before and now she was going to be living in one. She moved over to the window and gasped when she saw the view. There was a lilac-colored lake amidst a vibrant green landscape with not a blot on it for as far as the eye could see. The colors seemed so much brighter than on Earth. They were intensified, no doubt, by the blazing sun.
“If you dislike anything, you may change it,” Allik told her.
“No, it’s perfect,” Victoria said. “Who needs anything else when you have this view?”
“You like it?” Allik seemed pleased.
“I love it.”
“Good,” Allik said. “Now, take off your dress.”
Victoria turned and looked at him, her mouth dropping open in shock. “At the window?”
“Yes,” Allik confirmed. “Don’t keep me waiting, Victoria.”
Biting her bottom lip, Victoria hesitated. She was usually happy to do as Allik instructed but fucking by a window where anyone could see was not something she was entirely comfortable with. Allik’s eyes narrowed as that implacable expression formed on his face. He took a step toward her and Victoria rushed to obey. She reached behind her and unzipped her dress, slipping it down over her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. She stepped out of the tangle of fabric at her feet and waited for Allik to say something. Feeling ridiculously self-conscious as he looked over her appraisingly, she put one arm across her breasts and a hand over her feminine mound. Although he’d seen her naked dozens of times before, it felt different, more real somehow, now that they were in his home.
“Victoria.” Allik’s tone was stern. “Do not cover yourself in my presence.”
Understanding the warning in his tone, she dropped her arms to the side.
“Now, turn around and place your palms on the window.”
Cheeks reddening, Victoria did as she was told. She placed her hands on the window and looked out over the incredibly beautiful landscape. She took some comfort in the fact that there seemed to be nobody around who would see her.
She heard the unmistakable sounds of Allik undressing and a shiver of anticipation ran down her spine. A few moments passed and then she felt his warmth on her skin as he moved close behind her. His erection was like a steel rod pressing against her back. Taking her hands in his, Allik raised them higher and pressed them against the window in a silent instruction not to move. He pulled her hips back a little and kicked her feet apart so she was forced up onto her tiptoes. With a satisfied grunt, he stepped back and she missed his heat on her bare flesh.
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you look?” he practically purred. “Spread out and waiting for me to fuck you.”
Victoria moaned as he ran his fingers between her legs and explored her feminine folds.
“And already so wet for me.” There was clear appreciation in his voice.
Without further delay, he drove inside her with a single thrust. He filled her completely, stretching her in agonizing pleasure. Giving her no time to adjust, he began to pump his hips back and forward.
“So tight,” he groaned as his cock slid almost the whole way out of her and then slammed back in again.
Victoria moaned as the pressure began to build. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her almost unbearably tight. His hands cupped her breasts and squeezed. This was no tender caress, he was taking possession. With his thumbs and forefingers, he teased her nipples into stiff little peaks and then squeezed hard. A jolt of pain shot straight to her pussy where it somehow morphed into the most intense pleasure.
Pushing her hips back against him, Victoria tried to force him deeper inside her. She needed to feel every inch of him, to take all that he had to give.
“Greedy girl,” he admonished, before stilling inside her.
“Allik, please,” she whimpered as he remained completely motionless.
His cock filled her feminine channel, teasing that little spot inside her with something wonderful that was just out of reach. The need for him to move became unbearable.
“Please,” she moaned once more. “Please, Allik, take what’s yours.”
Her words seemed to do the trick. Immediately, Allik began to move. His enormous cock slid in and out of her, pounding her with such intensity that she came from that alone. The noises he made were rough, animalistic, but the fingers that slid down the front of her body and found their way to her clitoris were almost unbearably gentle. Desire coursed through Victoria’s body as he rubbed the engorged bud with his finger, increasing the pressure as he made little circular motions. She felt the heat build between her legs as he continued to thrust relentlessly inside her. His movements became jerkier and his cock swelled, stretching her even further. With a roar of triumph, he flooded her channel with his warm, potent seed just as she reached her own peak. She screamed out his name as her pussy clenched around his steely shaft. Pulling her into his arms, Allik held her close as she convulsed helplessly, the orgasm sweeping through her entire body.
“Come on,” Allik said, lifting her into his arms as she finally got her breath back. “It’s time I showed you the bedroom.”
* * *
If he didn’t know that she was fast asleep, Allik might have thought that Victoria had deliberately adopted this pose in an attempt to seduce him. The fact that she was emitting an unladylike snore told him that the elegant arch of her spine, the way her leg curled around the blanket so her bottom was thrust toward him in invitation, was purely accidental. She was definitely sound asleep.
Easing himself off the bed so he wouldn’t disturb her, Allik got up and pulled on a pair of loose-fitting pants. Victoria stirred a little, mumbling quietly to herself, but she seemed to settle quickly. Allik moved out of the main living area. The sun never really went down in Taar-Breck but the light at this time of day was lower. It was peaceful.
He poured himself a glass of strong Taar-Breckian ale and fetched his box of art supplies from a cupboard. Settling himself on the floor by the window, his back against the glass, he put his ale down and got out some parchment and a pencil. This had become something of a ritual for him when he was at home. He hardly ever slept these days. Since his capture by the Bylanthians, he’d not had more than a couple of hours of sleep in a single night. Drawing relaxed him. It was something he’d liked to do ever since he was a boy.
Allik had thought that claiming Victoria would calm him and to an extent it had. Now he found that her happiness was an additional worry for him. It was clear that she would not be content to simply be his mate and raise their offspring. If he tried to take a firmer hand with her, as many of his fellow Taar-Breckians would, he would only make her unhappy. She craved his dominance, that much was clear, but she didn’t want her life to be dictated by him. It was puzzling to Allik. Women were not supposed to behave as she did and he was not meant to let her.
He took a long, slow sip of his ale and put the glass back down. With a careful stroke of the pencil, he made his first mark on the parchment. Usually, he drew inspiration from the landscape but tonight he had a different muse. He began to sketch out the form of the beautiful woman who slumbered on his bed. She was everything he wanted in a mate but the question now was whether he was enough for her.