Chapter Seventeen
Victoria got out of bed and padded, barefoot, over to the window. Her bottom was still a little tender. When they’d got back to the apartment, Allik had applied a soothing ointment to calm the redness and minimize the bruising. He had handled her with such tenderness after punishing her so harshly that her emotions had become all mixed up. She’d started to cry like a baby, eventually sobbing herself to sleep in the comforting embrace of his arms.
She looked out into the street. The endless rows of buildings that greeted her made her heart sink. She much preferred the view of the country that the other side of the apartment offered. The city might be clean and modern, but she found it just a little soulless. Everything was white and glistening and she longed for something with more character. She was, to her surprise, homesick for the brick-fronted terraces of New Cambridge.
She turned from the window and looked at the empty bed that dominated the space. It came as no surprise to Victoria that Allik had not been in bed with her when she awoke. She knew that he rose each night and slipped out, doing his best not to disturb her. In return, she pretended that she was still sleeping soundly so he wouldn’t realize he’d woken her. She wasn’t too concerned about what he was up to, as she always heard him moving about in the living room. It wasn’t as though he was disappearing to find some other women to entertain him while she slept. She did wonder, though, about the cause of his restlessness.
Not bothering to cover her nakedness, she headed through to the living room. This was the first time she had actually sought him out and, as she entered the room, he looked up at her in surprise. As she walked over to where he sat, on the floor by the window, she noticed he had a piece of paper next to him and a pencil in his hand.
“You’ve been drawing,” she remarked.
It was a rather facile observation. Allik nodded warily as though he’d been caught in pursuit of some forbidden pleasure.
“May I see?” She held her hand out expectantly.
For a moment, she thought he was going to deny her. He looked from her to the picture and back again. Then he shrugged his shoulders and passed the piece of paper to her. Victoria stared at the image in front of her. An exact likeness of her face looked back. There was a melancholy air about it, something in the eyes and she wondered if Allik thought she was unhappy. Certainly, she had some yearning to see her home again, but she was not miserable here. If he thought that she was sad, then it was her fault for not letting him know how grateful she was to be with him.
“You never told me you had such incredible talent,” she said eventually. Drawing with a delicate hand, capturing minute detail, was not something she’d have expected of a brawny Taar-Breckian warrior.
Allik arched a brow as a wry smile twisted his lips. “During which of our heartfelt conversations did you expect me to mention it?” he replied.
He had a point, she supposed. They really didn’t do much talking. Their life together so far had revolved around fucking. There was, of course, also a little domestic discipline thrown in for good measure. She was reminded of that as she sat down next to him, her bottom smarting as it hit the cold tiled floor. But, as far as conversation went, it tended not to delve into anything very deep.
“It’s a very beautiful drawing,” Victoria remarked to fill the silence that had descended.
“I draw what I see.”
Victoria blushed as his eyes burned into her. She was used to receiving compliments about the way she looked but somehow when Allik remarked on her beauty, it was different. It made her feel like the most desirable woman in the universe.
“Do you do this every night?” she asked.
“More or less,” Allik replied.
“Because you can’t sleep?”
Allik gave a reluctant shrug of his shoulders. Victoria knew he wouldn’t want to analyze the reasons for his insomnia, but she persisted anyway.
“Something weighs on your mind.” It was a statement rather than a question.
“Perhaps.”
His admission gave Victoria hope that she might actually be able to learn more about him at last.
“Do you dream about what happened to you,” she asked, “when you were held prisoner by the Bylanthians?”
Allik fixed her with a forbidding glare but she stood her ground. She met his eyes and refused to let him intimidate her into looking away. To her surprise, he gave way first.
“When I close my eyes, I recall things that are unpleasant,” he admitted.
“You think about how you got those scars?” Victoria asked.
“I know you are curious, but I am not going to tell you about that, Victoria.” His tone was weary rather than impatient. “Such things are ugly and should not be dwelt upon.”
“But you do dwell on it,” Victoria argued. “If it stops you sleeping…”
Her voice trailed off as she felt the tension radiating from him. She reached out and took his hand, lacing her fingers through his. For a moment, he said nothing and then he let out a huge sigh. “Most of the scars are from when I crashed my fighter out on the plains of Antarrak.”
Victoria had no idea where that was, but didn’t intend to interrupt him to ask for details when he was finally opening up to her.
“The enemy pulled me from the wreckage but left the wounds to fester. That is why the scarring is so severe. Usually we heal well if there is swift medical intervention.”
He paused and Victoria squeezed his hand to offer encouragement.
“I was held without food, water, or medical care for several days. You do not need to hear about their methods of interrogation but they were harsh.”
“And you told them nothing?” Victoria asked.
The look Allik shot her told her in no uncertain terms that he had revealed nothing to the enemy. She felt a surge of pride, knowing that he had withstood horrors he would not speak of in order to preserve the safety of his people.
“Men from my squadron rescued me at great risk to themselves. They brought me to Kyree and she did what she could for me.”
“Thank heavens for Kyree,” Victoria said.
“She did her best,” Allik said. “I doubt anyone could have done more.”
He looked downcast as he raised a hand to his cheek and ran it over his scars.
“You know, it’s not nearly as bad as you think,” Victoria said. She could see the disbelief in his eyes and finally understood just how much the scarring affected him. As she thought about it, she realized something. He had only ever taken her from behind. She’d thought it was the Taar-Breckian way but now she wondered if there was more to it. “Is that why you’ve never made love to me?”
Allik looked puzzled. “I make love to you all the time.”
“No, you don’t,” Victoria argued. “You fuck me, hard and fast and never face to face.”
Now that she thought about it, he hardly ever kissed her either. It was as though it was too intimate an act for him to contemplate. She had thought it was because he lacked commitment to her that he didn’t want to display affection but now she realized it was because he was afraid she would find him repulsive.
“I thought you liked it when I fucked you.” Allik’s tone was defensive.
“I do,” Victoria replied. “I love it, but I’ve never experienced anything gentler.”
“Never? The man who took your virginity was not gentle?”
Victoria looked down at the floor and shook her head.
“He hurt you?” Allik leapt to his feet. He looked angry, as though he was ready to travel back to Earth to seek out the man who’d taken her virginity. No doubt he wanted to tear him limb from limb.
Victoria got to her feet and laid a restraining hand on his arm. “He wasn’t rough,” she replied. “Just a little unrefined. I don’t think he knew what he was doing. Neither of us did.”
She smiled as she thought about Thom’s inept fumbling, so different from the self-assured manner in which Allik pleasured her body.
Allik nodded, seemingly placated. “And you expect refinement from a brutish warrior like me?”
“From a brutish warrior, no. From a man who can draw like that,” she pointed to the picture lying discarded on the floor, “I think it’s possible.”
“Very well, then.”
Victoria gaped as Allik swept her up into his arms. He carried her through to the bedroom and laid her down gently. With great care, he got down onto the bed and propped himself up on his elbow next to her.
Brushing the hair off her face, he stared at her for a moment. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Victoria could not believe how hesitant he seemed about the prospect of making love to her. He was usually so assertive when he took control of her body.
Nodding slowly, she reached out and caressed his face, tracing the lines of his scars with the tips of her fingers.
“Oh, yes,” she said with a seductive smile. “I’m sure.”
* * *
Allik didn’t think he would ever get enough of the little mewling noises Victoria made as he circled her breast with his thumb. He was barely touching her but the pink nipple hardened into a stiff peak. It was a new experience for him, taking things slowly, but he found it more pleasurable than he’d imagined he would. He enjoyed taking his time to get to know her body in a more intimate way, his hands mapping out each inch of her slender frame.
He loved how soft her skin was beneath his rough hands. She was beautiful, there was no better word to describe her. As she laid there, her dark hair fanned out across the pillow, she looked at him with such longing in those emerald eyes that he almost lost control. He had to breathe deeply to keep himself in check. Victoria had asked him to make love to her, to demonstrate the depth of his feelings in the most sensual way possible. He had to take his time and show her the reverence she deserved.
“You are mine.” He said the words, not possessively, but because he was in awe of the fact.
Victoria nodded slowly and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “And you are mine,” she returned quietly.
Eyes glistening with pleasure as he realized the truth of that statement, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. They were so soft beneath his, so sweet. With a gentle insistence, he urged her to open to him. As she welcomed his tongue into her mouth, he felt a warmth inside him that he had never felt before. There was a closeness in this simple act of kissing that he could never have imagined. With each sensual stroke of his tongue, she hummed with pleasure.
Allik moved back and studied her face. There truly was no revulsion there. She didn’t seem in the least bit bothered by the puckered scarring at the corner of his mouth. In fact, the dreamy expression she wore was one of a woman glowing with desire.
“I love you, Victoria,” he declared, the time seeming right.
He skimmed a hand up the inside of her leg and gently parted her thighs. His fingers stroked her pussy with the lightest touch until she began to grow wet. Then he positioned himself so he was kneeling between her legs. His mouth found the soft flesh above her collarbone and he kissed her softly. He moved slowly down her body, paying homage to each part of her. Taking first one nipple and then the other into his mouth, his hands and lips worshipped her perfect breasts. She whimpered, the sound making his cock twitch.
With infinite patience, he worked his way down her body, feathering kisses across the flat stomach he hoped one day he would see swollen with his child. Sitting back to admire her, he carefully parted her outer lips. Her soft flesh was glistening with moisture.
“Has anyone ever tasted your sweet little pussy?” he asked.
“No.” Victoria’s voice was breathy with anticipation.
“Good,” he growled in satisfaction at her response, as he lowered his head.
He ran his tongue along her feminine slit, lapping up the juices that had collected there. Victoria’s hips bucked off the bed but he pushed her back down and held her still. As he circled the bud of her clitoris with the tip of his tongue, she groaned loudly and tried once more to lift her hips. He pressed her back down, allowing her no escape. Her breathing grew more rapid as his tongue slipped inside her cunt and he began to slowly fuck her with it.
“Allik, please,” she begged him. “I need you.”
Understanding exactly what she required of him, Allik positioned himself over her. He slid his cock inside her, just an inch or so. Victoria gave a desperate moan and clutched his shoulders as he edged forward with great care. When he was fully seated inside her, he gave her a moment to adjust and then he began to move, rocking back and forward in an easy rhythm.
Victoria whimpered with need and wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him in deeper. She moved with him as he slid in and out of her. He felt her fingers tracing the outline of the scars on his chest and stiffened.
“Shh,” Victoria soothed. “It’s okay.”
Her serene smile relaxed him. She tilted her hips, coaxing him into moving once more. As his desire increased, he couldn’t help but begin to thrust a little harder. He tried to hold back but, as he felt her pussy clamp down on him, it was impossible. He pulled out of her and then slammed back inside her. Victoria arched her back and cried out as her climax took hold of her. A moment later, Allik felt his cock swell. An agonized groan escaped him as his balls tightened and he came inside her, flooding her feminine channel with his seed.
Rolling over onto his back, he pulled her close. Smoothing back her hair, he kissed the top of her head. “That wasn’t gentle,” he chastised himself. “I’m sorry.”
Victoria propped herself up on her elbow and smiled down at him, her skin luminescent. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Allik. That was amazing.”
Allik offered no response as she snuggled in close to him, resting her head on his chest. He listened to the sound of her breathing as she relaxed into him. Gradually it became slower, heavier, as she fell asleep. Basking in the perfection of the moment, Allik closed his eyes and let the comfortable darkness pull him in.