Dark Strength Read online

  “Okay?” He lifted his eyebrows.

  “I’ll try to be good mate to you.” She’d learn how to please him. “I’m broken but—”

  “You’re perfect for me.” Balvan said that with no hesitation, no doubt. “You’ve already given me more than I ever dreamed of having.” He clasped her hands, linking their fingers together. “Being inside you is…”

  His words faltered once more.

  “You don’t have to talk.” She smiled. “I understand.”

  She understood what he wanted from her.

  Sex.

  She might not be capable of winning his love but she could give him a great fuck, ensuring he never lacked for physical companionship.

  Her body loosened around his shaft. She rocked, shallowly. He was very large and her legs were short. She couldn’t move far.

  Shit. Maybe she couldn’t give him a great fuck. She blew out her breath, her confidence deflating.

  He slid his hands under her ass. “Squeeze my arm when you want me to lift you.” He boosted her upward until only his tip remained inside her. “You’ll set our pace.”

  He dropped her and she yelped, swamped with sensation, overcome with need. One moment, she was almost empty. The next moment, she was full, deliciously full.

  It was the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced and she wanted more of it. Elyce squeezed his forearms, relishing his hard muscle. Balvan elevated and dropped her. She squeezed. He elevated and dropped her.

  Her breasts jiggled. Her ass smacked against his unrelenting thighs. Her pussy soaked his thick shaft with wetness, slicking the slow ascent and the breathtakingly fast descent.

  She was in control. Her big male had given her that gift. She arched her back, riding him, gloriously free. Sweat beaded on her skin. Her hair dampened.

  The only signs of his exertions were the hard line of his clenched jaw and the flex of his biceps. He propelled himself upward as she fell, meeting her halfway, catching her with his body.

  That required impressive power. She gazed down at him with admiration. He was a beast, a force of nature, and she was his mate.

  “Harder. Faster.” She increased their tempo, clenching him with her legs, with her inner walls, and Balvan grunted, striving to meet her demands. The sleeping support bounced against the wall. An excited yipping originated from outside the chamber. Elyce panted, a band of pressure forming around her chest.

  All memories of the other males faded. There was only Balvan, her great green giant, and their encounter, not her first but the first of its kind.

  She’d never been fucked like this. He was a large male, striking virgin flesh with each deep thrust, but the difference was more than physical. She felt him in her heart, in her soul, places no one else had ever reached.

  Passion ripped at her, pulling her closer and closer to the edge yet not over. His huge cock should have been enough for her, for any female, but she was broken and needed more. “Balvan.”

  “Touch yourself, Elyce.” He knew what she wanted. “Rub the special spot for me.”

  She whimpered. The mere thought of touching her clit almost propelled her into the dark abyss of release.

  “Come with me.” Elyce threaded her fingers through her private curls. She didn’t want to come alone.

  “I will, my little female.” He grimaced, the strength in his countenance enthralling her. “I’m so fraggin’ close.”

  “Yes.” She would help them both reach satisfaction.

  Elyce brushed her fingertips over her clit and a ravaging wave of bliss rushed through her. She screamed, flinging her arms behind her, and soared over the edge of fulfillment, her inner walls closing around him.

  He bellowed, the sound bouncing off the chamber’s walls, and drove upward. Hot cum shot from his tip, blasted her inner flesh, and her earlier perception of pleasure was blown to pieces. Ecstasy, mind-numbingly intense, hit her, smacking her soul backward.

  Only Balvan’s grip on her held Elyce upright. Swells of euphoria rocked her form as he filled her with his nanohumanics-infused essence. She bubbled, in her pussy, her chest, her fingertips. All of her was touched by him.

  The chamber flashed light and dark, light and dark. He shuddered under her, his arms and legs gyrating, his muscles spasming. She shook as fiercely, clasping his arms, holding onto him until she couldn’t any longer.

  She collapsed, quivering. Her cheek slapped against his chest. He murmured words her brain couldn’t grasp, rubbed his rough palms over her back.

  “That was…” She couldn’t find the word in her beleaguered brain.

  “Yes, it was.” It didn’t matter. Balvan understood.

  Her fingers splayed over him. He understood everything.

  Chapter Eight

  Later that shift, Balvan positioned himself, fully dressed, in front of a horizontal support in their nourishment chamber. His little female hurried around the space, mumbling to herself, her light-blue flight suit billowing around her. Sparkles sat on his lap. The puffker had been fed first and was now purring happily.

  Although Balvan hadn’t yet eaten, he felt the same level of joy. His mate was fabricating a nourishment bar especially for him.

  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d received a gift. This planet rotation, he’d be receiving two.

  Elyce had already given him the gift of her body, their unexpected and delightfully vigorous breeding easily topping his list of best experiences. Being inside her exceeded every wild imagining, every previous happiness.

  Her scent clung to his skin. They had utilized the cleansing chamber but he refused to remove her distinct fragrance. He wanted every being to know he belonged to her.

  That she belonged to him would be communicated to anyone with enhanced senses. He had filled her with his nanohumanics. His lips lifted into a smug smile. There would be no doubt in any male’s mind that she was his.

  “I think I remembered all of the ingredients.” She placed the giant nourishment bar before him.

  Many of the ingredients she’d utilized now decorated her boots. They required another polish, the second of this planet rotation. She had insisted on cleaning his boots when they woke and he had reciprocated, recognizing the task as an expression of caring for his little female.

  As was her nourishment bar fabrication.

  “I wasn’t too certain about the ratios, though.” She set her much smaller bar on the horizontal support and climbed onto the chair next to his. It was a challenging endeavor. The seat was high off the floor, the chair constructed for his much greater height.

  Never thinking he’d have a female, he hadn’t modified the design for such a possibility. Balvan made a mental note to add rungs along the chair legs. Those should make it easier for his tiny human to access.

  “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it.” She continued to worry, her cheeks flushed from activity.

  He was eating it. Balvan raised the bar to his lips. It was warm and soft. He bit into it. Tartness exploded on his tongue. The ratios were definitely off. He hid his reaction under a blank expression.

  Elyce didn’t make that effort. She grimaced, her eyes widening. “It’s too sour, needs more sweetener.” She set her smaller bar on the platter. “I’m sorry.” Her bottom lip trembled. “I used up many of your supplies and it’s ruined and—”

  “It’s not ruined.” He stopped her impending meltdown. “I like my nourishment bars sour.”

  He didn’t like them as sour as the one she’d fabricated, however. Balvan took another huge bite and chewed, adding ‘Purchase sweetener’ to his mental supply list.

  “You’re merely being nice.” She retrieved two packaged nourishment bars from a wall compartment, set one in front of him, and unwrapped the other. “Don’t eat it. I’ll try again next planet rotation.”

  Wanting his female to continue trying, to show her caring for him every planet rotation, Balvan devoured her first attempt at a nourishment bar. Then he ate hers also.

&nbs
p; His female watched him as she nibbled on the packaged nourishment bar. Her mood lightened a little bit more every time he swallowed, that reward more than offsetting the sour taste in his mouth.

  “I know what I did wrong.” Her eyes glowed. “The next one will be perfect.”

  “As long as you put the same amount of caring into it, I’ll be happy.” No one had ever fussed over his nourishment. He liked it. It made him feel loved.

  He washed the last of the nourishment bar down with a swig of beverage and patted his stomach, contentment shrouding him. “We could obtain supplies now.” He wanted to purchase more garments for her also. She deserved a flight suit in every color. “It—”

  Meet me at my working chambers. Now. Kralj pushed that thought into his head.

  Balvan sucked back a groan. He didn’t want to part with his female.

  Bring her also. The Ruler addressed his concern.

  “What is it?” Balvan’s perceptive female studied him, worry furrowing her forehead. “Is something wrong?”

  “Kralj wants to see us.” He transferred Sparkles to the square of padded fabric on the floor. The puffker yipped once and promptly fell back asleep.

  “He wants to see both of us?” She nibbled on her bottom lip, abusing that lush flesh. “Marowit is coming for Paloma, for me, isn’t he? He’s going to get to us and—”

  “He won’t get to you.” He swung her into his arms. “To do that, he’d have to get through me first.” He walked with her through the domicile.

  “He could hurt you.” Her eyes reflected her fear.

  For him. Balvan’s world spun. His female worried for him, a monster, a being designed for one purpose and one purpose only—to end lifespans. “He can’t hurt me.”

  He carried his little human out of the structure.

  “You don’t know him,” she mumbled.

  Balvan’s adversary was human and he was…not. That was all he needed to know. “You’re safe, little female.”

  The space others gave them emphasized that point. Most beings feared him. His female didn’t. That was yet another sign she was meant for him.

  Kralj’s working chambers were situated in a beverage outlet in the center of the settlement. Balvan opted to pass through one of the back doors to the structure.

  Hulagu, the Chamele kid being trained by Kralj, Orol, and the others, stood guard at that entrance, his claws extended. Azalea, his female, sat on an upturned container positioned beside him.

  Elyce, seeing Hulagu, pressed closer to Balvan, her body trembling. Her fear of males clearly extended to half-grown youths.

  Balvan’s lips flattened. He would kill Marowit, tear that perverted male apart.

  “Hulagu and Azalea, this is Elyce, my mate.” He held his little female high against his chest, out of any being’s reach. “Hulagu and Azalea care for Sparkles when I’m not able to tend to her.” He explained, trying to ease her trepidation.

  “My gerel cares for Sparkles.” Hulagu huffed. “I’m a Warlord-in-training.”

  “He protects me.” Azalea, always cautious around strangers, hid behind her mate. “Like Balvan protects you. We’re safe…as long as we don’t leave the Refuge.”

  “I can protect you outside the Refuge.” The kid frowned. “I’ll decapitate anyone who dares to come close to you.” He swiped his claws through the air.

  Elyce’s trembling intensified and Balvan rumbled his unhappiness. With Hulagu intent on looking like a badass and Azalea being scared of her own shadow, their conversation was increasing his little female’s concerns, not lessening them.

  “Kralj wants to speak with us.” Balvan relayed before the kid demonstrated any more of his recently acquired fighting skills.

  “Yes, sir.” Hulagu’s thin body snapped straight and he stepped aside, Azalea moving with him. “Tell him how well I’m guarding his doors.”

  Balvan grunted his response and carried his female into the structure. The Ruler knew everything. There was no need to relay the kid’s message. The doors closed behind them, the noise decreasing.

  “Was your friend, Azalea, abducted also?” Elyce whispered.

  Fraggin’ hole. Balvan’s jaw dropped. He had an observant mate.

  “Azalea was attacked outside Kralj’s terrain.” He explained. “Hulagu wasn’t with her.”

  His female blinked once, twice, absorbing that information. “And now her attacker waits for her?”

  “Her attackers are dead.” As Elyce’s abductor and his males would soon be dead. “Dita and Kralj eliminated them.”

  “That was the one time he left the settlement.” She nodded, his female’s memory equally impressive. “Some beings would blame her for being attacked. If she hadn’t been where she was, looked the way she did, it might not have happened.”

  She was referring to herself, to her abduction. Balvan folded his muscles around his little mate, seeking to comfort her.

  “The only beings to blame were Azalea’s attackers.” He told her. “They were looking for someone to hurt and they found her. Marowit was looking for someone to abduct and he found you.” She wasn’t responsible for the violence against her.

  Elyce gazed up at him, her eyes widening slightly. “If Marowit hadn’t taken me, he would have taken someone else?”

  “He would have taken someone else.” Balvan was certain of that. “The abduction was Marowit’s fault, not yours.”

  As they approached Kralj’s working chambers, the doors opened.

  “What is Marowit’s fault?” Orol, having enhanced hearing, had heard part of their conversation. The warrior stood with Rhea, his mate, and Paloma, her sister.

  Balvan narrowed his gaze at his friend. “What do you know about Marowit?”

  “He has been watching the human.” Kralj was seated behind a horizontal support, Dita, his mate, positioned beside him. “Marowit is commanding the Humanoid Alliance forces.”

  “That’s the being responsible for the siege?” Orol’s wings fluttered. “The males refer to him by his rank.”

  “Why would the Humanoid Alliance send Marowit to bring me back?” Rhea placed her hands on the handles of her holstered guns. “Did they think I’d trust him again, after what he did to us?” Her tone was incredulous.

  “What has he done to you?” Balvan was confused. What was Rhea’s connection to Marowit?

  “He was the being who betrayed my parents.” Rhea avoided his gaze. “He was responsible for their deaths.”

  “They’re not dead.” Paloma crossed her arms under her breasts.

  “They are dead.” Rhea insisted. “I’ve told you that multiple times. They were executed in front of me, a single projectile to each of their foreheads.”

  “Then he wasn’t responsible for their deaths,” Elyce whispered.

  Orol’s gaze swung to Balvan’s mate. “Why would you say that?” He demanded. “Do you know who was responsible?”

  “No one is responsible. They aren’t dead.” Paloma clung to her illusions.

  “Silence.” Kralj’s voice came from everywhere and nowhere, filling the chamber.

  Everyone except Elyce stared at the Ruler. She hid her face against Balvan’s chest.

  “Elyce, tell the others why Marowit wasn’t responsible for the deaths of Rhea and Paloma’s parents.” Kralj’s tone would have scared any other being into immediately answering.

  Balvan’s little female hesitated, her body tensing as though she expected to be struck.

  “Kralj, sir.” Balvan didn’t want the Ruler grilling her, digging for answers the all-knowing male already had. She’d been through enough trauma.

  “Your female dragged herself across sand dunes by her fingertips.” Kralj’s tone was dry. “She can answer a simple question, can’t you, Elyce?”

  “I can, sir.” She lifted her gaze to Balvan’s. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered, covering his hands with hers. “I can take the punishment if I get the answer wrong.” The smile she summoned broke his big heart.

  He wante
d to assure her there’d be no punishment for wrong answers but he couldn’t. A lump of emotion was clogging his throat.

  “I wouldn’t be asking you to share a wrong answer.” Kralj said nothing about punishments, the Ruler leaving that option open. “Why wasn’t Marowit responsible?”

  “Marowit could have betrayed the parents.” Elyce’s voice shook. “That’s something he would do, but he wasn’t responsible for their deaths. A single projectile to the forehead is not his style. It is too fast, too…kind.”

  She knew that because she’d seen her abductor do much worse than that. Balvan held her close. She’d endured more than any being should have to endure.

  “While we were waiting for your arrival.” Kralj didn’t like any delays. “Orol shared what he’d overheard. According to talk in the enemy camp, Marowit and the other Humanoid Alliance males are here to retrieve two spies, spies with top secret information.”

  “He’s after me and Paloma.” Rhea nodded, her hands clasped in front of her, her knuckles white.

  “Father and Mother weren’t spies.” That was another truth Paloma refused to believe about her parents. “And neither are we.”

  “Is that why Marowit is here, Elyce?” Kralj remained focused on Balvan’s female. “To retrieve two spies?”

  Why was the Ruler forcing her involvement? Balvan glowered at him. He knew the answers.

  “That’s not why he’s here.” Elyce admitted, her voice stronger.

  “Why is he here?” Kralj pressed her.

  “He’s here to take Paloma.”

  “Good.” The girl cast a dark look at Rhea. “Let him take me. No one else wants me. All Rhea cares about is Orol and the babies. Azalea has Hulagu.” Her gaze returned to Elyce. “You’ve stolen Balvan. At least, Marowit wants me.”

  “You don’t want Marowit.” Elyce shook her head.

  “Why not?” Paloma took a step toward her and Balvan rumbled a warning. No one threatened his female. “He’s handsome, clearly powerful—or all of you wouldn’t be worried about him, and maybe he’d talk to me, tell me things, treat me like a grown female.”

  “He isn’t a good male.” Elyce pushed her body into Balvan’s, trying to retreat from the girl and likely from the hostile situation.