Chapter 27
Alanna
Trade talks were boring.
She didn’t know how Survii enjoyed this kind of thing. And there was no doubt in her mind that he was enjoying it. Because as boring as the trade talks were, watching him was not.
Survii lit up from the inside when he was in the middle of arguing with world leaders.
He got this special little uneven grin whenever he smoothly circumvented their manipulations and attempts at trapping him into an unfair deal.
All without ever losing that charismatic charm that made talking to him such a pleasure.
Too often lately, she found herself zoning out because of him.
Staring at his vibrant expressions, feeling his warmth, listening to the smooth timber of his voice or the melodic rumble of his growl, breathing deep that warm, floral and woodsy scent that came from his skin…
A feast for the senses, as they said.
It made the seemingly endless hours of the big meeting pass by quickly. Then, it was finally over, and she could look forward to India. She was excited to try the food. She loved Indian food and to eat actual Indian food from the best Indian chefs was a dream come true.
“We’re making excellent progress,” Survii said that night in Atem and Peony’s room to the gathered domini delegation as they had their own post-meeting meeting. One of the comms was on the table in front of them connecting them to the Jutiron Stor and the team aboard the ship.
Peony had already lamented the very basic piece of technology. It didn’t even have a video option, only audio. She had asked Tilii to bring Viktor to the microphone so she could hear him doing his cute baby purr and then cried because she missed her boy.
Atem nearly lost his mind. Apparently, he thought that Peony would tolerate being away from her offspring easier than she did.
Her lack of concern for remaining in her nest like a domini female would for the first few years after birth had given him that impression.
However, she did not, and the breakdown required a good half an hour to calm them both back down so the meeting could continue.
“How much longer do you anticipate the negotiations taking?” Havali asked as he carelessly stroked his thumb along the marks on Scarlet’s neck.
Marks he left there. It was a sex thing.
Seeing them made Alanna wonder if Survii would be into kinky stuff or if he would be more like Romival and never dream of making his mate bleed.
She honestly wasn’t unhappy with either option.
“The humans are eager to make this deal,” Survii was saying as she was pondering what kind of sex he was into.
“We’ve got most of the big things settled already.
There are just a few details left to argue over that we need to finish.
Depending on how long that takes, we could have a deal made in a few weeks. Maybe less.”
“Yay!” Peony yelled excitedly, turning to high five Hattie.
Alanna smiled, watching the others be excited. Their joy was like a soothing balm. A weighted blanket for the soul. She loved to see it. To revel in it.
They were all excited to hear the good news.
Except for Tuvo.
First Warrior stood in the corner of the hotel suite, looking down at a smartphone. She had no idea when he got a smartphone. He must have borrowed it from the security team he was working with because none of them had given him one. He was frowning at it, scowling.
Could he even read that thing? There was no way, right? And it wasn’t like the language settings could be set to Domtri or Standard. So, what was he looking at?
He lifted his eyes and immediately caught hers. She cocked her head curiously, and his lips tightened before he stepped forward.
“Atem. We might have a problem,” he said, holding up the phone.
Atem’s face immediately dropped as the energy in the room plunged. “What is it?”
“Bertrand, the lead for our human security detail, has been sending me images he is seeing online. Responses to the streamed meeting.”
Atem frowned at the phone screen. Peony leaned over his arm to see it from one side. Alanna did the same from the other.
As Atem scrolled up, she could understand how Tuvo had been communicating with their security team.
He wasn’t using words at all. Instead, they had reverted to emojis, using images to communicate as – aside from specific things like the peace sign or something – that was a way for them to trade some understanding without words.
But that wasn’t the important part.
Instead, it was the new images that had just been sent through. They were screenshots of news websites of ongoing anti-alien protests. Most of the text was cut off since Tuvo couldn’t read it anyway, so she had no real context, but their angry, screaming faces and the signs they waved said enough.
‘Earth is for humans!’, read one.
‘Protect our women’, read another.
One was just a surprisingly elaborate drawing of Survii being hanged by a rope with three little ‘x’s for eyes and his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. It was a cartoonish caricature, but no less disturbing for being drawn in cheap marker.
“What is this?” Atem growled as another image came in.
It looked to have been taken from the same crowd, though it was a different group of people. One of them had a large, badly printed picture of Viktor with a giant red slash through him and messy handwriting below that read – ‘abomination’.
Peony let out a soft cry, her hand covering her mouth as Atem growled.
“We haven’t heard anything about this,” Alanna said, her eyes roaming over the people. They looked so mad. There were so many signs directed at the females particularly. Calling them whores, accusing them of bestiality, one even condemning them to Hell.
It was unnerving and Alanna sat back, rubbing her arms as a chill swept over her body.
She wasn’t alone for longer than a second.
A warmth spread over her back just as Survii’s arms came around her from behind. He held her close, his face carefully neutral as he looked at the images.
Tuvo grunted, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Bertrand and I, we’ve bonded a bit.
Even when we can’t communicate directly, we still understand each other.
He’s the protective sort, and he considers this job an honor.
He’s the one who gave me the phone. And he’s willing to tell me things that the Earth leaders are not. ”
“Such as this?” Atem said with a snarl, his whole body vibrating as the others continued to gather around to look at the screenshots.
Tuvo grunted in affirmation again. “The leaders are not being totally dishonest. The majority of humans are eager to maintain friendly relations with us. But those who are not are very loud and they are making sure their opinions are heard.”
“And they do this by threatening my son?” Atem growled as another image came in.
The worst of them all. Baby Viktor was drawn on a piece of posterboard, but he was dead and being dissected by a human scientist. The woman standing beside the man holding it had her own sign that read – ‘Humans don’t need help’.
“I know I said I missed him,” Peony hiccupped, rubbing at her watering eyes, “but I am so glad we didn’t bring him down here.”
“Should I be worried?” Holly asked, putting a hand to her rounded belly. A belly that was growing bigger seemingly by the day. Scarlet made a similar motion, though her own stomach remained flat, her pregnancy fully hidden.
Romival immediately set to reassuring Holly as Havali put his arm around Scarlet. The two males comforting their females the same way Survii was comforting Alanna.
Tuvo took the phone back from Atem – just in time, because if Atem clenched his fingers any tighter, he might break the thing entirely.
“We are taking precautions,” Tuvo said, stowing the phone back in his hip pouch.
“I wish I had my team, but Bertrand and his humans aren’t bad at their jobs.
They seem dedicated and willing to keep us safe.
I’m trusting them as much as I feel is safe.
Just be careful. And try not to let any of us get separated.
And Atem, always keep the comm with you in case we need to emergently summon the shuttle.
If there’s any sign of imminent danger, we retreat to the Stor. ”
It was a rather ominous and dreary way to end the meeting. Alanna wasn’t surprised that the human leaders, including her uncle, had been hiding this from them. They wanted to present Earth in the best light, after all.
Still, it hurt to see her own people so filled with hatred and bigotry. Not surprising at all, but it sat heavy in her belly, like a weighted, spiked stone, making her sick and uneasy.
Survii walked her to her room and was about to bid her to sleep well when she made an impulsive but certain decision.
She grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him through the door, slamming it shut behind him.
He looked surprised but not unwilling as she pressed his back against the door and threw herself at him. She put her arms around his neck and yanked his head down so she could kiss him with all the desperation their hatred had inspired in her.
Survii might have been caught off guard, but he wasn’t unprepared. He kissed her back like he had just been waiting for this moment. Hungry and heavy and eager.
And that might have been the best part about kissing Survii.
He kissed like it was his favorite thing.
Like there was nothing he would rather be doing.
His arms tightened around her, pressing her body against his, but more importantly, bringing her up so he could deepen the kiss.
One arm remained tight around her waist, but the other cupped the back of her head, moving her as he pleased, positioning her as he desired.
Not demanding but showing her what he liked. Learning what she liked in return. She felt him smile with each panting moan that left her throat. She was pressing him against the door, but she didn’t feel like she was in control.
A feeling that was confirmed when he suddenly grabbed her waist with both hands and yanked her up without breaking the kiss.
Her legs automatically came to rest on his hips, her palms on his shoulders, her butt in his hands.
The new height made it easier to deepen their kiss further as their tongues slowly, wetly entwined together.
“Do you love me, Alanna?” Survii asked, his hands kneading her ass even as he supported her weight against his strong chest.
That wasn’t really his question. He was asking what she wanted now.
If she was willing to have sex with him.
She had to actually think about it for a second.
Because it felt so good to be in his arms, and the pleasure he promised could banish the lingering bad taste from those horrific images. And she really liked Survii, but…
“Not yet. I just want… comfort.” She stroked his cheek.
Enjoying the hard line of his cheekbone, down to the angle of his jaw, over the slight bump made by his fangs hidden under his lips, then to his lips themselves.
Thinner than her own, a bit rougher, but warm and giving under her fingertip.
His tongue flicked out and lapped at her skin making her shiver.
“Comfort, I can do,” he said, smiling. “Let me pleasure you. Let me make you quiver and shake. Let me make you scream in ecstasy.”
She hesitated a moment. Only because she didn’t want to tease him. To take without giving. But she did want what he promised. She wanted him.
Taking a breath, she nodded.
Survii smiled, victory in his gaze. Like she had granted him a prize.
Pushing off the door, he kissed her again as he walked her across her hotel suite. She fully expected him to take her to the bedroom, but Survii wasn’t thinking that far.
Her butt hit the cold glass of the table that served as a small dining room beside the kitchen. He hooked his tail around a chair and jerked it close, giving himself a seat right between her thighs as he grinned up at her.
“Spread for me, vi Vitralai,” he said, even as he was separating her legs. One foot he placed against the back of the chair, the other he hooked around his elbow.
“I-I’ll return the favor. After,” she suddenly blurted.
Survii paused in the act of drawing her skirt up her legs – slowly, like he was savoring each inch of skin he exposed. He looked up at her, blinking in confusion.
“Return the favor?”
“I mean, like, reciprocation?” She had no idea why her heart was suddenly pounding.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t performed the act before.
But just offering it to Survii felt so different.
So much more meaningful. “I know that domini females can’t suck your dick, on account of the fangs and all, but I can, and I will. ”
Survii laughed, his hand slowly trailing up her inner thigh. “I’ve been all over the universe, Alanna. I’m aware of what females can and can’t do with their mouths. That wasn’t what gave me pause.”
“Oh?”
“You called it a favor.” He turned and kissed the inside of her knee.
“This isn’t a transaction, vi Vitralai. If you put your mouth on me, it’s a gift.
When I put mine on you, it’s the same. A gift and a joy and a pleasure all its own.
You owe me nothing. I expect nothing in return for this.
” He smirked up at her, cheek rubbing against her thigh.
“Except maybe your eager screams and sweet juices. Those, I will accept anytime.”