Chapter Twenty-Three
It’s nighttime when the alarms sound. It starts as a ringing bell, like a fire drill at an old school. In seconds, voices are calling out codes on the public address system, and stampedes of boots on cement parade by. I try scaling the wall of my cell to see better out the window, but it’s no use. Still, I do see lights in the sky—lots of them.
Without really knowing, I know the truth: the invasion has started.
They’re here, Kest!
Soon helicopters and other aircraft fly overhead, and the alarm bell changes into a clanging klaxon so loud I have to cover my ears. After a moment, the nanites turn down the noise, thankfully.
I don’t have to wait much longer before the door to my cell clicks open, revealing Agent Simmons and a soldier in full combat gear.
“We’re evacuating the base, Haley. Let’s go,” says the agent.
“Fine,” I say, pushing past him. I’m done waiting around. “But not without Kest.”
Outside the cell without a blindfold for the first time, I see that I’m in a small prison block, the rest of its doors now open too. Cones of amber and red light circle along the walls as the alarms continue to blare.
“Not a chance,” Simmons barks. “The alien stays in our custody. Come on.”
Both men grab one of my arms and begin to drag me away. I try to kick and fight, but their grips are too strong, lifting me off the ground. We exit the prison and I find we’re in a hallway with windows. Outside I see flight crews preparing fighter jets for takeoff, tanks rolling out, and drones lifting up into the night sky. Spotlights are pointed up into the air, illuminating alien ships hovering above. Many military personnel simply stand and watch, mesmerized by the sight.
“Simmons, you have to listen to me! Your weapons are not going to work on these aliens!”
“You don’t know that,” he grumbles.
“Uh, yeah, I do. And I also know that they’re not here to make war. They’re not going to fire the first shot.”
Simmons stops and lets me go. “And what if it’s Bakan out there? Maybe he’s come to finish what he started.”
I shake my head, though I understand his concern. “He won’t. If he doesn’t know Kest and I escaped, he thinks humanity is already dead. And even if he’s learned we survived, he still thinks humans are doomed. Either way, his work is done.”
“We can’t take that kind of chance.”
He takes out his phone to make a call, but before he gets a chance, everything around us goes dark. From the base’s massive spotlights, to the LEDs on the electronic door locks to Simmons’ phone, nothing works, leaving behind an uneasy silence. The only illumination comes from the alien ships and the stars themselves.
After a minute, the base’s speakers crackle to life.
“This is Commander Vol of the Dominars’ Forward Delegation. By the authority of the Full Council of Dominars, the planet locally known as Earth is now under our control. Humans will not be harmed, though we will defend ourselves if necessary. We ask that you surrender peacefully and await further instruction. Additionally, we demand the safe return of Agent Kest and the human female Haley Feyn.”
I laugh as the base’s emergency lighting illuminates. “You guys are so screwed. Take me to Kest. Now.”
Simmons is still staring out the window, stunned by what’s happening: the fighter jets on the tarmac are sliding away. Pilots leap out of their cockpits before their planes are pulled aside, and soon all of the jets are lying wrecked in a massive pile. Once they’re all out of the way, the Dominars’ lead ship starts to descend.
“He’s in the lab,” Simmons says at last, voice weak with fear. He points toward the end of the hall. “Go that way. You’ll see the signs. I hope you’re right about these people.”
“I hope so too.”
He nods to me, then breaks into a run heading the opposite direction, followed by his soldier escort. I make my way through the base, which is so large I end up running as well. Scientists and soldiers pay me no attention; most are fleeing in the other direction.
When I finally find the lab, I get to the door and yank it open. Banks of disabled computer equipment line the walls of a large room that reminds me of an operating theater. At its center is a metal table, with Kest lying on top. Wearing only a pair of oatmeal sweatpants, his eyes are closed, with wires and sensors sticking out of his arms, chest, and head.
“Kest!” I shout, running toward the table. When he doesn’t move, I rip away the wires and shake his hand.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he says, eyes opening and a smile forming on his lips. “Are you okay, Haley?”
I laugh, nodding as I blink away a tear. “I’m fine. What did they do to you?”
He cups my cheek in his palm, then sits up. “Nothing I didn’t expect. Tests and interrogation.”
I run my hands over the marks on his body, which are already healing before my eyes. “Did any of it hurt?”
“Just being away from you,” he says, pulling me in for a kiss.
Despite the mayhem echoing all around us, the world melts away when we touch. Being separated has wounded me too, and now that I have him back, I never want to be parted again. I can feel the same desire in his lips and his tight embrace.
By the time our kiss finally ends, I can see the crotch of his sweatpants tented sharply, his massive cock fully rigid. My core aches for him, too—I’ve been waiting for days to see him again, thinking about him. I considered pleasuring myself, but assumed my prison cell was under surveillance. It seems silly, considering I let thousands of Dominar Council members watch as I was stripped and used, but I didn’t want my human captors getting a show. They had no right.
“Shouldn’t we get out of here?” I ask, watching as Kest strips off his sweatpants.
“We’ll be fine, pet.”
Hardly in control of myself, I pull off the white cotton top I was issued after my singlet was taken for study. “Your people are looking for us.”
“Then let’s be quick.”
I grin. “Yes, sir.”
Pulling down my tan scrubs and panties, I let my Dominar see his pet, ready for him to take.
“Hands behind your back,” he commands, hopping off the lab table.
I do as he says, looking up into his eyes. He crouches down so he can suckle at my breast and in seconds I’m moaning, my legs turning to jelly. I want to run my fingers through his hair, but keep my hands in place.
To stoke my hunger even more, he reaches between my thighs and probes a finger into my already drenched entrance; I squeal pitifully, desperate to be filled more, as he teases my folds and clit.
“Have you been good the last few days?” he asks.
“Yes, sir.”
“I can tell; you’re practically dripping,” he teases. Then, in an abrupt move, he grabs me by the hair and forces my head down, causing me to stick my ass out. He spanks it softly at first, alternating cheek to cheek, and gradually the smacks get harder. I yelp with each slap, but the pain amplifies my arousal until I’m practically crying, desperate for relief.
“Very good, pet. When we met, getting spanked was new for you. Now you crave it.”
“I do, sir,” I say. I don’t have to understand it, to know I truly do hunger for the sweet sting of his open palm or the sharp snap of a keera stick.
Kest chuckles to himself, then spins me around to face him. He lifts my chin with a finger and kisses me. His hands travel down my back to clutch my punished cheeks; he gives them a squeeze, making me gasp. When I open my eyes, he’s staring into them with such intensity, I almost faint.
“Haley, when you’ve experienced the time the way I have, a month goes by faster than you could imagine. The time we spent together on Ohalessa was far too little, but it was enough for me to feel something new in my life. I’d been so lost for so long without even knowing. That changed when I found you. I love you, Haley.”
I blink away tears of utter joy. “My life was missing something too. Without you, I might have never found it, because what I needed wasn’t on Earth. I love you too, Kest.”
We kiss quickly, then Kest lifts me up so I can hang from his shoulders and wrap my legs around his trunk-like thighs. I reach down and hold his cock to my pussy, then guide it in. I’m so wet and eager for his rod that it slips in easily, spreading my hungry flesh. I moan happily as he begins to thrust, filling me completely. His euphoric grunts fill my ears over the sounds of the base’s alarms and the roar of alien starships. My head rears back and my jaw drops in ecstasy, especially when Kest opts to lift me with only one hand, freeing the other to caress my clit.
“May I… come… sir?” I ask, out of breath.
I have no doubt Kest could keep this going for hours, but I’m already on the cusp of a massive orgasm.
“You may,” he says, pounding even faster.
His hand leaves my clit to give my ass a quick slap, then returns. He keeps this pattern going until my cheek is practically burning, but it helps sustain my orgasm for so long, I barely stay conscious. Yet, I am still hanging on when I feel his hot seed surge inside me, and his blissful groans grow as loud as my own.
I keep clinging to him, my arms clasped tightly to his skin, even after my strength is spent. I don’t know how I manage to hold on—possibly the nanites help—but I hold him until he lies back on the lab table, allowing me to rest on top of him.
He brushes the hair out of my face as I sigh deeply, my head resting on his hard chest. We don’t speak; nothing needs to be said. We could have stayed that way forever, and probably would have for hours, if the door to the lab hadn’t opened to let in a squad of alien soldiers in combat armor. They stream in like water filling a glass, fluid and fast, weapons pointed at us both.
I sit immediately, covering myself, and Kest clutches me in his arms, but when I try to get up, he doesn’t let go.
After a second, the soldiers lower their guns, and then part to form a column, admitting to the room a familiar face.
“We come in peace,” says Briette.