Forging the Alliance short Read online

  “If you move a muscle, you’ll pay for it,” he warned, then he went to repeat the process with Xerces.

  The warning was unnecessary. Darius didn’t want to fight the man. Darius didn’t want to fight anyone now that Xerces was alive and safe. The guard took off the second set of shackles and backed out of the room, shaking his head in disgust.

  “I hope you’re happy,” he taunted.

  Darius kept his mouth shut until the door was closed and locked again, then he let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. In an instant, Xerces had jumped back off her bed and come to him. He encircled her with his free arm as best he could and nuzzled his nose into her neck and hair. He was so glad to finally be able to touch her again, he could hardly think of anything to say at the moment. Instead, he just breathed in deeply and held her tight until her body stopped quivering and her breathing grew steady.

  They were both tethered to one side of their beds, but they could maneuver their beds close enough together that Xerces could climb up beside him. It was not an ideal situation, nor was it particularly comfortable, but the feel of Xerces’s body stretched against his side was enough to drive Darius wild.

  His fingers played with Xerces’s hair as she dozed on his shoulder. Every once in a while, he felt the strong compulsion to turn toward her and kiss the back of her head, or the soft curve of her neck. She slept soundly against him, and he wondered how long she had watched over him before he had come out of his stupor.

  Dr. Kandre came back at dinner time, just as he promised, and when he saw Xerces curled up beside Darius he clucked disapprovingly, but he made no move to separate them. He silently picked up the lunch trays, replacing them with fresh dinner trays, and let them be. Darius signaled his gratitude as the doctor left and then settled in to get some sleep before Xerces woke up.

  For the first time in a very long time, he fell asleep believing that he had something worth waking up for.

  11

  The sound of a chime playing throughout the ship startled Darius and Xerces awake. When the ringing stopped, the surly voice of the captain replaced it, announcing that they were preparing to land. Xerces rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up. Darius watched her, enjoying the way her back arched artistically as she stretched her lithe arms, but he made no move to get up.

  For two days they had done little more than sleep and eat. Dr. Kandre had stopped coming to see them, leaving the guards to deliver food instead. There had been no further talk of what would happen once they were on the ground. It was all a big waiting game, and they were locked in a small room with bright lights for the duration. News of their impending arrival was a welcome change. At the very least, it put a time constraint on how much more of this they would have to endure. For better or worse, they were about to find out what fate awaited them on the other side of the airlock.

  “So I guess this is it,” Xerces mused quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “Don’t say that. This is just the beginning.”

  Xerces chuckled tensely and shook her long hair out over her shoulders. “Look, I don’t want you to get your hopes up. There’s a good chance I don’t make it out of here with you.”

  Darius couldn’t stand to hear her talking like that. He could hear the pain in her voice. The hopelessness that weighed on her heart. The exhaustion that trailed every word that fell from her perfect lips. Bereft of any power to reassure her, he leaned up, wound an arm around her waist and pulled her back to his side.

  “Hey,” she giggled, slapping at his arm playfully.

  “What? Don’t you like me anymore?”

  He pressed his lips into the back of her neck, kissing her over and over until she sighed and relaxed her shoulders, letting her head fall back against the pillow. He played with her hair, running his fingers behind her ear and tracing his way down to her shoulder and along her spine. She wriggled toward him, pressing her ass into his hips as she let out a soft sigh.

  “Darius?” she asked quietly, interrupting the stream of kisses he laid upon her neck and shoulders.

  “Hm?”

  He sat up on one elbow, letting her roll slightly onto her back so he could look into her eyes. They were full of sorrow and worry, but there was something else there. Something he was afraid to name.

  “I want you.”

  She said the words firmly, as if she had just made up her mind that this was how she wanted to spend her final moments. Her free hand crept down to his thigh, and he felt her fingernails teasing closer and closer to his manhood.

  “You- Are you sure?”

  His hand was already on her waist, sliding up under the fold of her shirt and caressing the soft skin of her belly. He felt himself growing harder by the second, eager to have her, but equally terrified. He wanted her so badly, but it was hard to ignore the circumstances that had put them here, in this moment.

  “I’m sure,” she said solemnly. “I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, and I don’t want to think about it. Will you help take my mind elsewhere? Please?”

  Darius felt a flutter in his stomach. She wasn’t just asking him to make love to her. She was asking him to shelter her from reality. She was asking him to perform a miracle. He didn’t know if he could do all that. All he knew is that he would do anything at all to try to save her, even if all he could do was lessen her pain.

  He nodded wordlessly and then leaned down to meet her with a kiss. The instant his lips covered hers, he felt her free arm lock around his neck, preventing him from pulling back. She adjusted her hips under him, rolling fully onto her back so he could lay flat against her. His hard shaft pressed into her thigh, leaving no mystery about his excitement.

  She bit down on his lip, and he grunted in surprised pain, but it sent his body into a frenzy of desire. As his free hand roamed over the contours of her skin, he could feel the scars of her past like a map to her soul. He thought he could have spent hours exploring those marks, tracing them and exploring their hidden secrets, but now was not the time. Maybe someday, he assured himself, when all this is over.

  Constrained by the leather strap that held him to his bed, Darius fought to gain access to Xerces’s body. Slowly, he pushed her shirt up and over her breasts. He took them in, gently running his hands over and between them, marveling at their supple curves and the delicate pinkness of her nipples puckered in the center. He liked the way his hand left a mark when his fingers pressed into her skin, a ghostly trace of his touch left behind for a fraction of a second. She was watching him closely, a charming smile on her face as she let him explore.

  He lowered his mouth to her breast, placing one soft kiss after another across the top of her chest, along her collar bone, and then down along her ribcage. She arched her back up to him, and he let his teeth just scrape the untouched skin on the underside of her breast. Then he went to her nipple, sucking it between his lips and rolling over it with his tongue. His free hand gripped her other breast firmly, applying pressure as he held himself upright.

  “More,” she murmured, running a hand through his hair before moving down to his shoulders and massaging his muscles hard as she encouraged him to keep going.

  He switched sides, lifting her other breast to his mouth so he could suckle at her. She leaned her head back, exposing her long neck, and her breath quickened as he caught her nipple between his teeth, adding just a touch of pressure. He smiled to himself as he watched her facial expressions change. Her body was relaxing. The worry and fear were dissipating. He could feel her melting in his hands.

  Emboldened, Darius sat back on his knees and pushed her legs apart. She squeezed her eyes shut and smiled, but she made no move to stop him. With her legs parted, he grasped the waistband of her pants and pulled them down, yanking them off of her ass and along the full length of her thighs and calves until they wrapped around her ankles. Frustrated, he grappled single-handedly with the pant cuffs, trying to free them from her feet, before she finally assisted him by kicking the pants off. The only barrier between
them now was a tiny triangle of beige fabric that covered her nether regions, and Darius could already see a tiny wet splotch growing at the apex between her legs.

  He ran a finger over her panties, nudging the little nub of her clitoris and rubbing it in small circles beneath the rough fabric. She spread her legs wider, begging him to continue, but he moved slowly, purposefully. No sense in going too quick now. He hooked his pinky finger under the side of her panties, sliding it down into the crease between her thighs. He passed over the folds of her labia, grazing her entrance before pulling his hand away.

  “You have no idea how beautiful you are,” Darius breathed.

  “Why don’t you tell me?” she teased, grabbing his hand and directing it back between her legs with a smirk.

  This time he slid two fingers beneath the fabric and prodded his way toward her wet center. Circling her entrance, he let the moisture build on his fingertips.

  “Well,” he began slowly, “seeing you smile makes me want to kiss you over and over.”

  “What else?”

  “Seeing you topless makes me want to wrap my arms around your waist and hold you close to me.”

  “Mmhmm?”

  He grabbed one of her legs and lifted it toward his shoulder. He kissed the top of her foot, and along her ankle, and then up the inside of her calf.

  “Seeing the rest of you makes me delirious with desire.”

  “Oh, really?”

  She seemed to be enjoying herself, so he went on.

  “Yes. You have no idea how many times I have daydreamed about this moment in the last couple weeks. Every time I have kissed you, every time I have pressed my face into your neck and inhaled your scent, all I have wanted was to have you to myself.”

  “You have me now,” she whispered.

  “And I am going to enjoy every second of it.”

  He pulled his hand free of her panties and lifted his fingers to his mouth. Slowly, he ran his tongue over his fingers, sucking her juices off, and getting his fingers wetter. Then tugged at her panties, pulling them off of her legs, and he slid his fingers inside of her. At first, she giggled as he yanked at her panties, but the moment his fingers breached her entrance, the giggle turned into a sharp exhale and her nostrils flared as she reacted to his touch. He didn’t pull back. Instead, he moved his fingers inside her, circling and circling, massaging her before he began sliding in and out of her.

  Tiny moans escaped her lips, and then she bit down hard, stifling the sound of her pleasure. But he wanted to hear her. He leaned forward, adding pressure to the hand that was fingering her faster and faster, and he lowered his lips to her ear.

  “I want to hear you,” he growled.

  “But-“

  “To hell with them. To hell with the whole Administration. You’re mine, and I want to hear you.”

  Darius could see tears forming in her eyes as she looked up at him, but they weren’t tears of sadness. Not this time. She nodded her agreement, and he gave her a quick kiss of approval. Then he sat back and unbuttoned his uniform pants, unzipping them and pulling down his shorts so that his full cock stood at the ready.

  She planted her feet on either side of his body and lifted her ass off the bed, allowing him to lean forward and slip the head of his cock inside of her. He paused, allowing the tension to build as her body adjusted to his girth, and when her face relaxed, he buried himself inside of her, sliding deep until his thighs pressed firmly against the back of hers.

  “Oh god,” she gasped under her breath, but as he settled into a steady rhythm, she raised her voice. “Don’t stop.”

  Darius planted his restrained hand beside her head and used the other arm to scoop Xerces up from under her ass. With a tight grip, he tipped her back so he could get even more access between her legs. With each stroke, he pulled back so she could feel the head of his cock threatening to slip out before he plunged back in and filled her. She shuddered beneath him and locked her arms around him as best she could. He could feel her fingernails digging into the skin of his back and shoulders as she pulled herself up to meet him over and over.

  “Fuck me, Darius. Don’t fucking stop,” she cried out, and he complied.

  He was so hungry for her body; he didn’t think he could keep going for much longer without exploding inside her. He needed to change his pace if he wanted this to last. He lowered her back onto the bed and slowed his movements. Sliding into her one last time, he laid down against her body, pinning her to the bed, and he continued smothering her with intimate kisses. He bit and nibbled at her neck and ears, then returned to her mouth to kiss her deeply. He kept his cock all the way inside her, feeling her pussy convulsing around him as he used his mouth to revisit her body.

  Before long, he was sucking hard on one of her nipples as she began grinding against him with her hips. Her quiet moans turned into desperate pants as she worked her body in spasms, aching to reach her climax. He kept sucking and biting, teasing her nipple and groaning as she bucked under him, and then he felt her orgasm rip through her. She cried out again, and he felt her teeth sink into his shoulder as she clutched at him, holding him in place. Her pussy clenched and unclenched, over and over, and he felt her wetness spreading, soaking his shaft and his balls, and the thin sheets beneath them. He felt her legs flex as she wrapped them around his waist and locked her feet together. It went on and on, with her crying and panting and gasping for air, and then her body went slack and her legs released him.

  In the aftermath of her orgasm, his cock glided easily inside her, and he picked up speed. She locked eyes with him, and licked her lips, and he could think of nothing more than kissing her again. He locked lips with her, and he let himself slip in and out of her in rapid thrusts until he was on the verge of cumming, and then he hesitated. She must have read the panic in his eyes, because she wrapped herself tightly around him once more.

  “Cum for me, Darius.”

  He shook his head no; he wasn’t ready, but his body reacted before his mind could take over. With a sudden groan, he spilled his cum inside of her. Hot bursts of his fluid streamed out and coated the sides of his cock as he thrust into her several more times. He could barely breathe, and his legs were shaking with exertion, but still he pumped in and out until he felt completely drained. Helpless, he collapsed onto his elbows, hovering over her serene face with his cock still deep inside her.

  There were no words between them as he finally pulled himself free of her and stretched out beside her body. She moved only to roll onto her side and pull his arm around her, and then she nuzzled down into the pillow and laid very still. He ran his fingers back and forth over her skin in tiny mindless patterns until he heard her breath settle into a slow rhythm and he realized she was asleep.

  “I love you, Xerces.”

  12

  “Get up! Let’s go!”

  Darius and Xerces awoke in an instant, causing them to sit up and crash into each other in a tangle of limbs.

  “Oh gods,” Xerces shrieked, trying to cover her body.

  Darius tried to block the guard’s view protectively, but he found himself just as exposed. The guard cackled loudly that their state of undress and confusion, then barged into the room, anyway.

  “Did you enjoy yourselves?”

  Darius glared at the man, but didn’t respond. Xerces hid her face, blushing furiously.

  “Whatever. I don’t care what you were doing. I just have to get you guys ready to debark. Put your clothes on and I’ll be back in a minute to get your shackles on.”

  “Whoops,” Darius said with an embarrassed look at Xerces.

  At first, he thought Xerces was crying from the shame, but when he turned to her, he realized that she was having a fit of giggles and her cheeks were a lovely shade of rosy pink. Overcome with feelings of adoration, he grabbed her and reeled her in for another deep kiss.

  “Stop,” she pushed away from him. “We have to get dressed. He’ll be back any second.”

  “Who cares?” Dariu
s said, kissing her again. “This might be my last chance to tell you I love you, so I’m going to do it.”

  She froze, her eyes going wide and her jaw falling open as she grasped for words.

  “I- I love you, too, Darius. I know it’s crazy, and I don’t know what that means outside of this ship, but I love you.”

  “None of that business about getting used to being alone?” he quipped.

  “No. I mean it.”

  Xerces leaned up and returned his kiss this time. She pressed her lips into his hard, and then pressed her body against him harder, relishing the firmness of his presence.

  “All right. Get dressed, beautiful. I want to get this over with.”

  Darius set her back on her feet and gestured at her to get on with things. She gave him a pouty face for a moment, but then she turned away and dug out her clothes, pulling them on begrudgingly.

  “They could’ve given us something clean to wear, you know?”

  “When we get out of here, I will buy you every pretty dress in every shop window. I promise.”

  She smiled, but before she could respond, there was another knock on the door and the guard returned.

  “Are we ready?”

  When Darius and Xerces presented themselves, fully dressed, he nodded and stepped forward. He went to Xerces first, instructing her to put her hands out for the shackles before he could remove the leather strap that held her to the bed. It seemed an unnecessary precaution at this point, but there was no end to the ridiculous protocols the Administration would create to waste time. Xerces complied, hissing at the man as he applied the shackles a little too tightly to her wrists. He jerked her hands back and set about removing the strap. Escorting Xerces to the door, another guard appeared, taking her into his custody and leading her out of the room.