Bound by Defiance [Owned 2]

Owned 2

Bound by Defiance

Alexis Bedlam has been chosen. Selected by the annual lottery as a sacrifice to the alien race that saved mankind from the Great Plague,
he’s none too happy to be carted off to be some alien’s snack pack, love slave maybe, but not someone’s dinner. Little does he know
that he’s about to come face to face with the master of his dreams.

Elia, the twenty-seventh spawn of Prince Kranok, has been ordered to wed. Luckily for him, the annual lottery has provided a being that
is rumored to be the perfect first concubine for him. What the rumors didn’t tell him is that his particular human is stubborn, sexy, and
determined to make a new path for the both of them in an alien world.

As questions about the legitimacy of Elia’s ownership arise, he will have to decide if he will surrender to authority and follow tradition or
if defying his past is worth a future with Alexis.

Genre:

Alternative (M/M or F/F), BDSM, Science Fiction

Length:

40,138 words

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Chapter One

“Sacrifice,” the elder spoke as he circled the small auditorium with all the practiced grace of a

man completely confident in his environment. “Sacrifice is a necessary component of a civilized
society. For the past few decades, we have survived because brave souls generation after generation
have made it possible for us to do so.”

Jess elbowed him in the arm as he came into the auditorium, late, as per usual. “Hiya, Alexis.”
“I can’t believe you’re late to the drawing,” Alexis grumbled, hopefully quiet enough that Elder

Garet wouldn’t hear him.

“Oh please. At least I’m here. Did they announce who the poor saps were yet?”
“Nope.”
Alexis didn’t understand how he could be so nonchalant about this. As men of an appropriate

age, all of them were subject to the annual lottery. Winning was not a joyous experience either. Being
chosen was akin to being banished from everything they knew. He hadn’t paid attention for the past
five years because he hadn’t yet reached his majority but now… Now he was terrified.

“When the great Eoeans came up from the depths of space and offered us relief from the Great

Plagues, they made but one request to us in exchange for their vaccinations,” the elder continued,
obviously oblivious to their whispered conversation. “They required a select number of our young
men to go to their cities and offer themselves as sacrifice.”

Oh God. I’m so nauseous. I don’t want to sacrifice anything. I want to go work for my father

at his insurance company and smooze. I’m a good smoozer. Is smoozer even a word?

“So many volunteered the first year that a lottery was developed to see who would be chosen

for this most honorable of positions. We continue this tradition on today. It will be a harrowing
journey, one which will require the young man to give himself completely to the unknown. Good luck
to you all.”

Alexis gripped the handle of his satchel and twisted. It was either that or scream. He glanced

around the domed room with its polished wood floors and vaulted ceilings and looked at all the
portraits of lottery winners who had gone before him. All of them had been beautiful in their youth.
Every town had a different way of doing the lottery, but the result was always the same. Some men
left and never returned. He couldn’t help but wonder why the Eoeans had wanted them. What did they
do to the winners?

The chosen elder for the year was dressed in his ceremonial robes that were, oddly enough, just

like the ones the elders wore to the graduation ceremony at the college that had taken place three
months ago. Since the population had been decimated, any sort of coming-of-age ceremony lent itself
to an over the top gathering. It helped remind them all that they were recovering thanks to the Eoeans
and their vaccines.

His peers were dressed similarly to the way Alexis was dressed, three-piece suits that were

probably more expensive than they were worth. It was a “gift” from the town when they came of age.
It was the most expensive thing most of them owned. The ones who were eligible for the lottery were
seated on the long wooden benches in front of the podium five rows deep and two rows wide. Alexis
had chosen to sit near the back for a quick escape to vomit after the lottery was finished.

“No worries, Alexis,” Jess said, grinning. “It’ll be over in just a second. Look, they’re lowering

the projection screen now.” The screen slowly came down from the ceiling like a great white tongue

sticking out from the mouth of society, mocking Alexis, who squirmed at its arrival. Why did they
have this stupid ritual? Why couldn’t they just send the winner a notification via e-mail or something
like other towns did?

Alexis’s gaze went to his father, who was sitting in his section among other entrepreneurs of the

city. What would he and Sire do if Alexis was sent away? An artificially created offspring, Alexis
was the exact blend of his father and sire’s DNA and therefore the only legitimate heir. They could
always create another one via test tube, but they’d have to wait another eighteen years before that
child reached majority. It seemed like a monumental risk considering the expense of artificial
procreation. The fetal survival rate wasn’t very high, and they were prone to infections. It had been
that way since the Great Plague.

The screen flashed white, then blue, and then back to white. Please, let it be broken. The sick

feeling in Alexis’s stomach grew with each passing second. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to take
the tension. Why did they have to make such a process out of this? When this was over, he was going
to his father’s lounge and drowning himself in a bottle of Turnac liquor.

“Alexis Bedlam, please come forward to accept the honor of the lottery clasp and say good-bye

to your family.” Elder Garet’s voice might as well have been a pistol shot for the reaction it got.
Alexis’s heart tripped over itself before stopping for an insane moment before thundering back to life
in a full on gallop. “The next lottery winner will be announced in two minutes. Alexis, step forward.”

“Oh fuck,” Jess whispered beside him. His sentiments exactly.
Then he was being pulled to his feet, away from Jess. His sire and father were suddenly there,

crying and telling him how proud they were of him. Alexis barely felt their hard hugs or heard their
teary  declarations.  The  elders  spoke  in  hushed  tones  of  the  “honor.”  Honor?  Whose  honor?  What
good was honor if he ended  probably  dead  or  enslaved?  The  Eoeans  were  a  mystery  to  them.  Few
outsiders  had  ever  made  it  back  from  the  cities  they’d  built  by  the  shores  of  every  continent  in  the
world. What would they do with him?

A necklace was secured around his neck. A single metal circle hung from it. The metal felt cold

against his neck. He swallowed. He didn’t want this, didn’t want to do this.

“So few are chosen, Alexis,” Elder Garet said, taking his wrist and leading him away from his

Sire and Father. “I know you will make us proud.”

Alexis opened his mouth to offer rebuttal, and he vomited all over the pristine wood floors.

* * * *

A transport unit arrived for him within minutes of Elder Garet pushing him into a small closet to

change into something “more appropriate.” The “appropriate” clothing ended up being a sheer, gauzy
blue fabric that was mostly see-through and no shoes. When he’d complained about the possibility of
cold, Elder Garet had laughed it off and told him not to worry over such trivial things. When he’d
finally managed to get himself into a semblance of order and stopped throwing up in the wastebasket
long enough, the elder had dragged him out of the room and down a long narrow hallway to the back
door to wait for the vehicle of his transport to hell.

“What do they look like?” Alexis whispered. He was trembling all over, his muscles jumping

like he’d stuck electrodes to them.

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“What do they do to the chosen ones?”
“I haven’t a clue.”
“Do you know fucking anything?” Alexis snapped, losing his temper. He needed some kind of

reassurance, some kind of comfort since he was facing the possibility of death or worse.

Elder Garet’s gunmetal-gray eyes seemed to look right through him as he spoke. “No one but the

ones who have gone before have any idea what is going to happen, Alexis. I know that the Treaty
Between the Races states that you cannot be harmed in any permanent way, but other than that, the
specifics are as hazy to me as they are to you. I’m sorry I can’t offer you any more comfort than that.”

A sharp knock to the back door interrupted whatever reply Alexis might’ve had, and Elder Garet

wasted no time in pulling open the door. A man dressed in a gray-blue uniform made from the same
material as the outfit Alexis was wearing stepped into the room.

“Is he ready?” the stranger asked.
“As ready as he can be.”
Alexis was pretty sure he was going to throw up again.

* * * *

The ride lasted forever. Alexis lost track of time as he laid in the backseat of the surprisingly

large transporter limo and stared at the city. He would never see it again. He knew that for sure, but
the reality of it just wouldn’t sink into his gray matter. The driver had been absolutely silent as they
drove, ignoring Alexis’s attempts at small talk as if he were a misbehaving child acting out for
attention. So Alexis sat and stared, trying to soak up every little detail as it whizzed past him.

He’d never been out of the city before so passing the last line of buildings at its outskirts was a

surreal experience to him. Photographs and paintings of no-man’s-land had been a part of his regular
curriculum in school, but the impact of the vast empty grasslands beyond was something else entirely.
Everything seemed too organic. Too real. The wispy stalks of grass, burnt gold by the sun, were
objects of fascination and mistrust. He’d never even touched real grass.

“Is it going to be much longer?” he asked. Silent escort had been that way the entire trip, so

Alexis didn’t know why he was trying now, but he just couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“We’re there,” the driver said, his black eyes boring into him in the rearview mirror. Alexis

looked back out the window. How considerate of them to escort me out of the city with such a kind
and sympathetic driver. The sarcasm was so thick in his head that he was surprised it didn’t ooze out
of his ears.

“What do you mean we’re there? We’re in the middle of nowhere!”
“Get out.”
“Here?”
“Yes, here. Get out. They will be coming to get you within in the hour, and I’m supposed to be

gone when they do. Get out.”

The automatic door swung open, and Alexis reluctantly climbed out into the heat of the sun. He

cursed as his feet collided with the dirt road and small stones dug into the pads of his tender heels.
The experience of being assaulted by nature was one he could’ve done without. He’d seen soil in his
father’s gardens, and the stuff he was standing on was not the black, rich, soft loam he’d grown
accustomed to. This was red, angry, compact dust.

“What am I supposed to do?” he shouted as the automatic door closed behind him. He was

already starting to sweat from the sun, which was almost directly overhead, and his embarrassment
tripled as he realized that the sun also made the gauzy material he was wearing completely
transparent. He might as well have been wearing nothing.

“Wait,” the driver said, putting the transporter into gear.
“Wait for what?”
“Them!” Without uttering another word, the driver pulled into the grass on the opposite side of

the road, turned the transporter around, and headed back in the direction of the city.

“Fuck!” he screamed as the dust flew up to assault his eyes. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” He stomped his

foot on the ground only to have another pebble bruise the bottom of his foot. Tears flooded his eyes.
He felt so damn disoriented. What was up? What was down? What the fuck was he doing out here in
this see-through outfit with a tacky metal necklace around his neck in the blistering hot sun?

A sob got trapped in his throat as he realized how utterly pathetic his situation was. He hobbled

off  the  road  and  into  the  grass,  which  was  surprisingly  soft  in  comparison  to  the  dirt  path  they’d
driven  in  on.  The  stalks,  though  coarse,  offered  his  feet  a  little  relief.  The  grass  was  up  to  his
midchest,  and  he  wondered  for  a  brief  moment  if  it  would  do  any  good  for  him  to  hide  among  the
twisted plants as they swung in the breeze.

“What good would that do, Alex?” he asked himself. It was miles and miles back to the city, and

no doubt there were natural predators around here. He’d most likely be eaten before he could walk
halfway. If the beasts didn’t get him, the elders would. He could already imagine them in their little
meeting chamber ranting about his shame. “Fuck my life.” At least he hadn’t left a lover behind. The
last boyfriend had taken great pleasure in using him as a human punching bag. When he’d left the loser
a year ago, he’d told himself he would really start living. Now he wasn’t going to get the chance.

He plopped down in the grass until he was completely surrounded by gold. It didn’t matter if the

Eoeans missed him. He just didn’t give a damn anymore. His eyes began to droop as the sun heated
him and the breeze made the stalks whisper like the playlists of ocean sounds that his sire had bought
for his sixteenth birthday when Alexis had started experiencing insomnia. The noise calmed him
somewhat. His eyes slid shut completely, and he didn’t force them open again. Whatever the Eoeans
had planned for him would happen regardless of what he did, and he was just tired enough to let
himself experience a moment’s rest. He’d face his fate in a minute…just one more minute…

* * * *

Elia, the twenty-seventh spawn of Prince Kranok, stepped off the gate his father had created and

into the sun. He blinked his eyes as the brightness momentarily took him off guard, and his second
eyelid slid over to protect him from the uncomfortable light.

“You are to go fetch your chosen first mate from the wastelands on the interior of the

continent,” his father had said. “Bring him back here for your bonding ceremony.”

Elia had gotten no option in the matter. When Prince Kranok, ruler of Erterant, spoke, one had

little choice but to obey. As one of the former six mainland princes, Kranok was not one to be messed
with. The fact that the man was his father bore no meaning to Elia. He barely knew him and had only
recently met him when Elia had finally gotten his first set of mating horns.

His mating urges had been the first to hit this year, and as such, Elia had been privileged enough

to be granted a human as his first concubine by the All Father by virtue of the lottery, at least
according to Kranok. Elia wasn’t convinced the man hadn’t rigged the selection handed down from
the governing body of the Eoeans at the capital, but he wasn’t going to say anything about it. Kranok
may not have been an official monarch since they’d left Eoean, but he was still not one to be messed
with in his current position of chancellor of their region.

All the royal spawn were supposedly slated to be given a human by lottery or by purchase per

Kranok, but being granted a human as his first mate was a privilege. There were Eoeans who were
still waiting for their opportunity to take a human. Since they were only given a few per year, it only
made sense that they were in high demand. There was a rumor that receiving a human and forming a
bond with them could allow them to achieve soul resonance, the ability to access and amplify their
powers, but it was unsubstantiated. There was no proof that it could be done or what benefits beyond
restoring their telekinetic manipulative powers the bond would prove, but year after year, the humans
came via the lottery, and year after year, Eoeans waited anxiously to receive one.

Still, he didn’t see why he had to do something as menial as fetching his own concubine from the

interior. He understood that the mating to a human was a delicate process, but couldn’t it begin after
they were wed? It was hard enough to contain his urges as is. He imagined it would be doubly hard
when he found his exotic concubine out here without a chaperone. The human was supposed to come
to Kranok’s home untouched for the ceremony. Elia hoped he could manage it.

He made a quick glance around the area he’d arrived in. It was grassy, flat, and dusty. What an

awful place. There was no sign of his human anywhere. His father had promised his human would be
waiting at the designated drop point.

He called out in the human tongue. “Hello?” The guttural language felt unfamiliar and clumsy in

his mouth. It sounded like two lobsters thrown into a sack, awful. If this was the language his first
mate spoke, Elia would have to have him educated as soon as possible. There was quick program that
he could download into his cerebrum as soon as they got home. “Hello?”

About fifteen yards from his location, the grass moved and a hint of blue flashed. Elia blinked.

Was his concubine laying on this dirty ground in his wedding attire? Surely not.

His booted feet crunched on loose gravel as he walked toward the spot of blue. He wondered

what in the world his concubine was thinking. Why had he laid down? Hadn’t the driver told him that
someone would be along to fetch him?

Elia stepped into the grass and toed the exposed calf of his concubine. The human rolled over,

onto his back with his face to the sun. The symmetry of his concubine’s face was pleasing, and the
golden hair fell over his forehead made Elia desire to sink his hands into that hair. It was just long
enough to grip, which would serve well in the ceremony today. Lightly tanned skin, gold and so unlike
his own, posed a temptation that Elia found hard to resist as the sheer shirt crept up the tanned
stomach. Want was not going to be a problem on any level. The boy was beautiful.

“Wake,” Elia commanded. The boy didn’t stir. Elia frowned. “Wake, boy.” The order had no

effect. He didn’t want to startle the human, but he felt like he was probably going to have to shake his
concubine to wake him. The boy had to be ill. There was no way he could sleep through Elia’s
command. He frowned as all arousal fled. Were humans hard of hearing?

Eyes the color of Earth’s sky blinked open and regarded him with no small amount of confusion,

followed closely by fear. Elia took a step back as an animal noise of discomfort issued from the
boy’s mouth. He knew he shouldn’t have worn his formal wear to fetch his human. It was intimidating

and flashy.

“Calm, boy. I mean you no harm.”
“Y–you’re, um, you, uh…”
They hadn’t informed him that the boy would be an idiot. If anything, they perpetuated the very

great  eligibility  of  his  human  mate.  The  specs  that  they’d  given  him  had  been  fair, Alexis  Bedlam,
twenty-two cycles, athletic, intelligent, and bred from the finest stock of the human elite. The Eoeans
in  his  section  of  the  world  were  unapologetic  snobs  when  it  came  to  fine  breeding.  Kranok  had
actually  turned  humans  away  from  their  city  because  of  what  he  deemed  as  physical  imperfections.
The system had worked well since its inception, but Elia couldn’t help but wonder if the heads of the
lottery would get fed up with dealing with Kranok’s long list of demands.

His eyes slid over his soon-to-be concubine. Well, at least he was beautiful.

* * * *

The man above him was a gorgeous pale blue almost the exact shade of the sky above him, and

what he thought was darker blue veins were visible beneath the skin of his neck and shoulders. He
looked closer, however, and he found that the pattern wasn’t veins at all. It was a pattern of scales
that were etched into his skin almost like a snaking finger print. It was fascinating.

His eyes were black. Not dark brown, not dark blue, black. Alexis had never seen eyes like that

either.  But  the  knowledge  that  the  man  was  far  from  human  was  evident  in  the  two  sets  of  spiked
horns  that  decorated  his  brow,  and  the  dark-blue-and-green  scales  that  ran  down  either  side  of  his
neck.  They  disappeared  into  his  collar.  His  hair  was  something  out  of  a  punk  rock  magazine  found
around  Lower  Baker  Street  where  the  peasants  and  rebels  hung  out  in  the  city.  It  was  deep  blue,
silver, and dark green.

His gaze traveled to the creature’s pointed ears as he tilted his head as if listening for something

Alexis couldn’t hear. The shells were decorated with metal things that pierced his ears, running from
his lobe to the pointed tip. The black outfit he wore with the metal clasps and ripples looked like
something out of a top secret military movie. If the creature brought out the knives, he was going to
hyperventilate.

“Calm, boy,” the being commanded. “You need to stand, and you have paled. Are you well?”
“I’m−I’m going to throw up.”
The frown marring the creature’s face deepened. “What are you throwing? And why in that

direction?”

He turned his head to the side and demonstrated with stunning accuracy his upchuck reflex.

Shame followed quickly on the heels of misery. Fuck. I suck.

“You’ve emptied the contents of your abdomen. You are unwell.” Strong inhuman arms wormed

under him and lifted him into the air. He started to sob.

“Everything is going to change,” he whimpered. His life hadn’t prepared him for anything but

parties, social engagements, shipping empires, and conference calls. It was catching up with him now.
The inevitable end of his existence. This creature was going to kill him or enslave him. He was never
going to see his father or his sire ever again. His friends were going to forget him and the elders were
just going to put up his portrait in the domed hall as both warning and honor for some stupid tradition
that shouldn’t have been in place to begin with.

The being nodded. “Yes. All will change. However, your life is only beginning. All that has

come before this moment is obsolete and unimportant.”

Alexis just whimpered. He didn’t want to do this. His eyes squeezed shut, trying to block out the

sun and the sight of the creature who held him. He wanted to go home. “Please, let me go home. Let
me go back. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

The note of displeasure was easy to ascertain in the being’s voice as he spoke. “You are going

home. You will go to my home.”

Alexis concentrated on breathing and tried not to feel like the world as he knew it was over.

Maybe this was some horrible dream that he would wake up from. He blinked his eyes open as he
started to hyperventilate.

“Will you hurt me?” The words came out in a whisper. He’d had just about enough of people

hurting him to last a lifetime already. If the alien thought he was going to get away with doing the
same, he was sorely mistaken. Alexis would kill him first.

The being looked down at him, seemingly startled by his inquiry. “You will be mine to do as I

wish. However, I do not wish to harm you.”

“Oh. Well that’s good,” He swallowed hard. It was something at least. “Does it take long to get

to the Eoeans’ city?”

“Stop talking, human,” the being rumbled. “Your language is giving me a headache.” He took a

breath, gathering patience most likely. “I will fix that problem soon enough. Until then, you will speak
when spoken to.”

A flash of irritation flickered through Alexis, but it was tempered by fear. What would the being

do if he protested, fought him, possibly punched him in the face?

Golden light suddenly blinded him. He yelped as his retinas were seared. “Motherfucker!” His

hands pressed against his eyes, trying to relieve some of the pain. Spots danced behind his eyeballs.

When he was finally able to open up his eyes after several long minutes of intense rubbing, the

sight that greeted him was not the grassy plain of the outside that he’d expected. He looked up into a
ceiling of turquoise and white marble. They were done in overlapping patterns that looked like
something out of a modern art painting. It was gorgeous and glittering but lacked a human element. It
was all geometric.

“Holy shit.”
A chime like a dozen bells being sounded at once had him turning his head away from the

scenery above him and away from his captor’s chest. A huge turquoise throne on top of a white stone
dais where a half dozen men in skimpy outfits similar to the one Alexis had on sat, was a giant man
who was obviously one of the Eoeans. His hair was similar to his captor’s in that the color was a
combination of deep blue, silver, and green, but it was much, much longer, going down to pool on the
floor where some of the men who were probably attendants or something brushed it with loving
strokes of fine-toothed combs. His horns were much larger as well, stretching a good two feet from
his head toward the ceiling. The being’s massive frame wasn’t much larger than his captor’s, but it
had muscle on top of muscle. Alexis swallowed.

His captor opened his mouth and emitted the same sort of noise of bells that had sounded just the

moment before. It was a really beautiful melodic tone. Without thinking, he reached up and touched
the being’s cheek.

“L–let me down.”

Those black eyes flicked down to him, and the being slowly nodded. Without a word, Alexis

was placed on his feet. A wave of dizziness immediately hit him. He wasn’t sure what it was from,
perhaps a combination of sun and stress, but the feeling necessitated him reaching out and grabbing
hold of the nearest thing. Which happened to be his captor. The being’s arm wrapped around his
middle to hold him up, and Alexis felt a moment’s gratitude for the action.

It was then he noticed the other people in the room. On either side of the aisle they were

standing on were Eoeans of various ages and hair colors sitting on white chairs that looked like the
dining room chairs Alexis had in his father’s dining room. It looked almost like a—

“Is someone getting married?”
The being’s eyes returned to him. “Yes. Us.”

* * * *

Elia was surprised that the human clung to him so tightly when he put him down. The warm burst

of heat had felt surprisingly good against him. The fear had almost faded from the human’s face right
before he’d asked his question but had returned in full force when Elia had admitted that the wedding
that was to take place would be theirs.

“Elia? Is your human all right? He has paled.” His father’s voice was full of calculated concern

and a measure of disinterest. In front of the courtiers and the governors, his father rarely expressed
anything but mild interest in a given topic. It was his way.

“My human is fine, a little overwhelmed I think.” And Alexis certainly looked like he was

overwhelmed. The tremble in his limbs said as much. No matter. He would be prepared for the life of
Elia’s concubine just as soon as they were joined before the witnesses.

“The tutor will see to his welfare after the documents are signed.” There was a command behind

his father’s words that had one of Elia’s many sires running to go fetch the tutor out of one of the side
doors of the courtroom. There were fourteen concubines in all that his father had sired children with
and another six whom would probably be siring children for him in the future. He hadn’t been lucky
enough to score a human yet though. Elia’s true-sire, Aile, had four sons with Father, and it wasn’t
even past Father’s breed-years, those precious years of fertility, yet. It made perfect sense that Elia
ended up being one of thirty-four.

He looked over at Alexis. Humans tended to breed well with Eoeans for whatever reason. Their

artificial  young  were  stronger  than  Eoean  children  and  human  children.  To  top  it  off,  they  were
immune to the Great Plague. Elia would expect half a dozen spawn out of Alexis at least. While there
wouldn’t  be  a  traditional  incubation  as  if  Alexis  were  female,  their  combined  genetics  would  be
easily accomplished in the breeding field that Elia had built in the new home a few clicks from where
they  now  stood.  The  thought  made  Elia  happy.  He’d  always  wanted  some  spawn  to  dote  on.  He
wouldn’t be his father, a cold, distant figure who did nothing but summon his sire whenever the urge
struck.

After tonight he would be in his own home for the first time. Though the construction had

stopped a few months ago, until Elia grew his first set of horns and was mated to his first concubine,
he had not been allowed to live on his own. It just wasn’t done in his father’s society. He’d heard it
could be different in other Eoean cities, but here, his father ruled. He wondered if humans were under
the same restrictions.

“Come,” he said, taking Alexis by the elbow and escorting him toward the dais. Alexis

whimpered. He was a creature who was easily frightened. “No one will harm you, Alexis. Come.”

Alexis’s beautiful sky eyes looked at him. “Promise you’ll watch over me?”
Elia furrowed his brows in confusion. Where was this trust coming from? All things considered,

he should be grateful for the human’s cooperation, but he couldn’t help but think that he was being
categorized as the lesser of two evils.

“I so swear.”
Then there was no time for talking as his father made a noise of frustration that demanded his

attention. The scribes brought the massive scrolls of the concubine contract forward and a pen for
each of them.

He reached for the sharpened blade that was a part of the shoulder of his uniform and drew it

out. With a decisive flick of his wrist he cut the palm of his hand. The blood welled a deep burgundy,
and Alexis dropped his arm like it was a sea snake. Two of his father’s concubines came forward and
grabbed hold of Alexis, who let out a piercing scream at the rough treatment. The impulse to growl
and warn the men off of Alexis was a strong one, but he managed to deny it. Those men were his
sires, for gods’ sake. They weren’t going to harm him.

He had to look away when they sliced Alexis’s palm. The sight of his blood did strange things to

his stomach. Despite knowing nothing of his future concubine, the last thing Elia wanted to see was
the human hurt.

He reached out and clasped their hands together. “It’s all right,” he whispered, trying to soothe

the struggling human.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me!” he snapped, his eyes wild with animal fear. Elia raised his

hand to brush a strand of the human’s golden hair away from his forehead, and the human winced.
Someone had struck him. Was it normal for humans to strike their children?

Elia frowned. “I didn’t hurt you. It’s just a scratch.”
“Is your blood going to infect me with something?”
Oh. He was concerned about pathogens. Due to the plague, it was understandable. Even

vaccinations had their limitations when it came to the Great Plague. The nano-virus had the curious
and  deadly  ability  to  mutate  in  certain  conditions.  It  was  why  his  people  had  to  keep  sending  the
humans new vaccinations every year. “I am clean. It is a simple blood ceremony. A marriage. Nothing
more.”  He  really  disliked  this  language.  He  felt  the  insane  urge  to  scrub  his  mind  clean  of  it.  He
couldn’t  wait  for Alexis  to  be  implanted  with  a  language  device  that  enabled  him  to  speak  Elia’s
tongue.

Alexis’s eyes met his. “I can’t believe this whole time you guys just wanted someone to marry.”

He laughed, and it was just a shade shy of hysterical. “Unbelievable.”

“Being my concubine is no laughing matter, human,” Elia spat, annoyance trickling into his

cerebrum. Once Alexis understood the Master code and yielded to him, things would be different. He
wouldn’t find it so funny to laugh at their marriage.

“Gentle, Elia,” his true-sire, Aile, interrupted smoothly. “He doesn’t understand our ways.”
He switched to his native tongue. “He is an infuriating creature.” Elia knew he sounded like he

was a pouting child, but he’d expected to return with his concubine without so much delay and
protest. The humans were supposed to know the score, at least some of it.

Aile considered him. “You must have patience. You are an Arak now.” An Arak was a head of

household, a male in charge of all others. It was a compliment that he named him one now. “Your first
concubine is a bit skittish. Lead him gently, and you will have mated happiness.”

“Yes, Sire.”
The hand at his back fell away, and he returned his attention to his future concubine. “Nothing

will harm you, Alexis. I gave you my word. We will sign the concubine scroll now and be married.”

Alexis just shook, staring down at their joined hands like they were snakes. He was an odd

human. Other humans Elia had seen had been more docile. He wondered if they all started out this
wild.

His father stood and chanted out the ritual language, and all the attendants clapped their hands in

unison three times. He reached over with his free hand to the scroll that the servants were holding up
and pressed his finger to the signature scrap near the bottom. It heated as it copied his DNA onto the
paper. It would be filed at the main office from then on out.

“What, no signature?” his new concubine asked, an odd tone in his voice.
Elia cautioned himself to have a little patience. Humans were technologically slow creatures.

“Ink signatures can be copied, duplicated. DNA cannot be corrupted.”

Alexis rolled his eyes. “Your people don’t understand sarcasm, do they?”
Elia ignored him. Now he was being disrespectful. He understood sarcasm. Whatever that was.

He could understand anything. Alexis followed his lead and pressed his finger to the paper. He jerked
back as it warmed, and Elia deliberately didn’t reach out to comfort him. If he could have sarcasm, he
could deal with something new without hand holding.

His father sat back on his throne, and the servants began to roll up their scroll. Elia tugged

Alexis toward the exit, ready to get in his transport and head to his new home. He hoped his things
arrived ahead of them. Waiting for a change of clothes for him and his new concubine would be
annoying.

“That’s it?” Alexis asked as he tugged him away from the dais.
“What is it?”
“We’re married?”
Elia frowned. “Yes. Well, technically we have to consummate first.”
“Consummate?” Alexis all but shrieked.
Elia winced. Yes, he couldn’t wait for him to learn his language. Today could not get over soon

enough.

Chapter Two

This crazy alien wanted to have sex with him to consummate their weirdo marriage. When he’d

woken up this morning, this was not how he saw the rest of the day playing out. The lottery was
always cause for anxiety, but he’d spent the last four lotteries going home afterward with his family
and eating a huge meal with his father and sire. He’d never expected to actually have to leave his
home and be some alien’s bitch. Married or not, he didn’t think he would be viewed as some kind of
equal partner like a traditional partnership in the human cities.

“What’s your name?” he asked. He’d just married a guy whose name he didn’t even know. He

eyed his captor. He was handsome in a weird oh-my-dear-god-that’s-an-alien way. If Alexis looked
past  his  obvious  alienness—Is  that  even  a  word?—he  had  broad  shoulders,  a  firm  build,  a  lovely
firm  arse,  all  traits Alexis  would  have  admired  in  a  guy  he’d  pick  up  at  a  bar.  The  horns  kind  of
ruined that though. Did he have a choice with this whole “consummating” thing? His cock didn’t mind
the  whole  “horns”  deal,  but  his  mind  was  one  horny  alien  joke  away  from  snapping  like  a  rubber
band.

“I am Elia,” the alien said. “I am the twenty-seventh spawn of Prince Kranok.”
Yeah. That didn’t mean squat to him but whatever. “So it’s Elia?”
The alien nodded. “Yes. It is my given name. You may call me Master.”
Alexis raised his eyebrows. “We’re married.”
“You are still my property.”
“I am not having sex with you.” The arrogant, clearly self-centered jerk was not going to get

access to his good bits. Well, maybe, if he checked the attitude. What the hell am I thinking? I can’t
have sex with him. I don’t even know if he has man parts. His eyes went down the line of Elia’s
uniform to stare at the material covering his crotch.

Elia stopped so suddenly that Alexis nearly plowed into him. “Consummation is necessary in

order for me to be considered Arak.” Alexis dragged his gaze up, and Elia frowned. “Why are you
staring at my lower waist?”

Yeah, no way he was answering that one. “Your translator is off. What’s an Ar-rack?”
“There is not a good word in this limited language,” Elia grumbled. “It is something akin to the

ruler of a home.”

“So like a head of household?” Alexis asked. They reached the big archway they’d come

through before the weird ceremony had taken place.

There was a pause like Elia was working it through in his head. “Exactly. My father would not

consider me a man able to live on my own until I took a concubine. I have already worked for a home,
but I needed my mating horns to come in before I could wed.” He puffed out his chest like a rooster.
“I am the first of my siblings to wed.” Wow. Someone was proud of himself.

He tugged Alexis down the corridor to the right. A light shone at the end of the blue hallway, and

Alexis could only hope it led to outside and not a flash doorway like the one Elia had brought them
through a moment ago.

“So Eoeans need us for some kind of rite-of-passage thing? Why don’t you just use one

another?” None of this was making any sense to Alexis. Up was down, left was right, everything was
a jugglers mess of information. His idea of marriage and Elia’s were clearly different. What was
expected of him was clearly sex, but he wasn’t sure what else.

“I won the lottery this cycle. The timing was right for me to take a concubine. It made sense to

make you my first until I find an Eoean mate. Until then, you will do nicely.”

Oh great. I’m filling in for his real husband until he finds one of his own kind. The idea didn’t

sit well with him. “So I’m a slave?” His bare feet were surprisingly warm against the smooth expanse
of the hallway. They probably were heated floors.

Elia inclined his head. “Yes. You are my slave, my concubine to be precise. I own you. It is no

different than winning a sum of currency. You will submit to me as my concubine, and we will find
pleasure with one another until we spawn.” He was not even trying to wrap his mind around what that
meant.

They reached the door at the far end of the hall and stepped out into the sunlight. It looked to be

late afternoon. The sun was starting its descent.

Alexis winced as he stepped on a stone on the first step as they descended toward a long clear

tube with a few seats in it that hovered an inch or two off the crowd. “Is that a transporter?”

“Of course,” Elia said, glancing at him like he was asking stupid questions. “It’s one of the only

low-level mentally powered transport units left in the colony. My father is lending it to me to get us
home.”

“Mentally powered transport? What’s that? Is your home far?”
“Always with the questions. You talk all the time. Please, be quiet until I can download my

language to you. Your tongue gives me a headache.” He paused. “It could be the pressure of my horns
coming in, but your language isn’t helping.”

Alexis was offended, but he figured that there was no point in telling Elia so. The Eoean

probably wouldn’t give a damn. The image of his elders waxing poetic about how much of an “honor”
it was to be chosen for the lottery selection ghosted up in his mind. “Honor my ass. This is a freaking
nightmare.”

The alien tugged him down the steps, oblivious to his discomfort, and all but pushed him into the

open tube. He stumbled and nearly face-planted on the bench seat for his effort. He turned, baring his
teeth. “Don’t push me.” He was not going to let someone else hurt him again, and he did not like how
much the thought of Elia hurting him freaked him out after he’d promised not to.

Elia reached out to steady him. “I apologize. I did not mean to make you fall. I will be more

careful in the future.” He winced and raised his hand, pressing it to the small expanse of skin on the
other side of his horns.

“You’re really hurting, huh?” Alexis asked. He had suffered from migraines once or twice, and

they were far from pleasant.

“Yes.”
“You guys don’t have pain medicine?”
“My father doesn’t believe in it.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if Elia’s father controlled everything in Elia’s life, but he

kept his thoughts to himself. He knew nothing about the alien culture he’d been dumped in, and it
really wasn’t his place to say shit about it. He had his own stuff to figure out. Like how he was going
to live in this new and crazy world of his. He couldn’t go back. It would be punishable by death if he
tried, and that was if he could even get away from the Eoean to begin with. He needed to find a way
to content himself with this new existence of his. He just hoped that he would be able to find some
kind of happiness in this place.

Alexis reached out and grabbed one of Elia’s hands, and the alien jerked at the contact. “What

are you doing?” he groused. He certainly was a surly alien.

“I don’t know if you guys have the same pressure points, but my therapist showed me this

technique to get rid of my headaches. It won’t hurt.” He applied pressure to the place between his
pointer finger and his thumb. Shock crossed Elia’s features. “Give me your other hand, and I’ll make
it even better.” Elia did. He groaned almost instantly as Alexis applied additional pressure. The noise
went right to the erection that had flagged right after Elia had pushed him. It had to be the alien’s
smell or something. He smelled sweet, like honey or something. “Better?”

“Much. Thank you.” Elia was staring at him with those unimaginably deep black eyes. “Maybe I

have heard correctly. Maybe humans are an untold blessing.”

Alexis wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Did he want to be invaluable or ignored?

Which was better?

“You may continue this when we return to my home,” Elia said, pulling his hands from Alexis’s.

He pointed to the dash of the weird tube thing they were in. “The tutor will download some
information for you as we travel. You will be more secure once you know what is expected of you.”

A sheath slid forward to encapsulate them in the transport tube. Alexis tensed, but when a gentle

air flow started in the vents in front of them, they relaxed. A small vid-screen popped up. “How
exactly does this ‘download’ happ—” His sentence was abruptly cut off as the sensation of falling hit
him like a freight train.

Distantly he heard Elia speak. “I apologize for the disorienting manner of the download. We

usually do this when you sleep. But I thought it was necessary before we arrived home.”

Alexis tried to reply with a sharp retort, but the spiraling only increased as words and images

seemed to be trying to physically staple themselves to his brain.

Some things he knew already. The Eoeans, who had been refugees from their own planet God

knew where, had colonized Earth’s coastlines, and the humans had drawn more into the interior per
their arrangement. Everything had been fine and dandy for a time, but then the Great Plague had swept
through the populations and took out eighty percent of the human population before they could even
figure out what hit them. The Eoeans had offered up yearly vaccinations in exchange for a number of
humans.

What he hadn’t known was that the Eoeans had lost the ability to use most of their alien

technologies when they’d entered Earth’s atmosphere. The inventor of the vaccinations claimed that
mating to humans could produce a bond that would enable them to bypass whatever it was on Earth
that blocked those parts of their cortexes. So every year they got more humans, but there were only
rumors of this weird “soul resonance” that the original scientist claimed was possible.

The history lesson was apparently over because then the Eoean language wrapped itself around

his temporal lobe and squeezed. The way the vocalization was done was almost like music, and
despite the discomfort, he couldn’t help but fall a little bit in love with the cadence of the words. He
could only imagine what it would be like to have that language whispered in his ear when they
fucked.

The stray thought seemed to send his “tutor” onto a different path. The rules flashed in rapid

succession, the “Master Code” was pretty basic. He could’ve summed it up in a sentence, “Obey your
Master, idiot.” His erection went from halfway to full-fledged in three seconds flat as images flashed
of what he was supposed to do to “submit” to his new husband. Holy fuck these aliens are kinky. He

groaned as his pleasure centers were tripped and he came, hard, to the image of himself splayed and
tied while Elia did things to his junk. He didn’t have an English word for it, but, man, it looked like a
lot of fun. His hips jackknifed up as another spasm of pleasure had him smearing the front of this see-
through getup with his fluids.

Finally, the swirling barrage of images and pleasure faded, leaving him panting beside Elia. The

alien was the first thing in his range of vision as his eyes refocused on the world around him.

“Are you well?” Elia asked. He wasn’t sure, but he could’ve sworn Elia’s voice was a little bit

husky.

“Holy cow, that should’ve been embarrassing.” He raised his head and saw they were moving.

The tube raced along a track that looked similar to a subway line or a trolley track.

Elia chuckled, the sound sexy as hell. “You invoke a bovine deity?”
Alexis shook his head, too exhausted to explain. So far today he’d been a nervous wreck,

violently ill, intermittently terrified, and came to some sort of mind fuck that featured him and Elia
doing the horizontal tango. He was beyond tired.

“You may rest until we arrive at my home,” Elia said. It took him a second to realize he was

talking in that sexy, beautiful language again and Alexis understood him.

“That’s handy,” he slurred, already slipping into unconsciousness. He should’ve been much

more concerned about the wet mark on his sheer outfit or the fact that he’d just come really, really
hard on account of some alien mind device, but he just couldn’t summon the energy. Between one
breath and the next, he was asleep.

* * * *

Elia clamped down on the urge to mate with an iron will, but it was a struggle. He took several

deep breaths as his cocks hardened beneath the tight confines of his uniform, demanding to be freed.
The damn things had the wits the All Father gave a bit of cosmic dust. They rubbed together, seeking
friction. He reached down and pulled them apart. He tried to think of something other than the smell
of his new concubine’s release but failed miserably.

Alexis’s reaction to the tutor wasn’t something he was expecting. He’d expected unease, more

fear,  but  his  response  to  the  Master  Code  had  been  delicious.  The  way  he’d  orgasmed  as  the
knowledge  was  implanted  let  Elia  know  exactly  what  sort  of  bed  partner  he  could  look  forward  to
having  in  the  near  future.  If  he  reacted  that  pleasantly  to  the  image,  he  could  only  imagine  how  the
human would react to being slung tight in his mating room.

His cocks started rubbing again. They wrapped around one another and started to massage each

other, twisting together like they were making a mating knot. “Stop that,” he rumbled under his breath.
He’d obviously been excited by his concubine’s display, and his mating urges were becoming more
prominent. He’d need to find his release soon.

Alexis slept like the dead, his face relaxed as he slumped against the cushioned bench beside

him. The poor human looked like he’d been through a bit of trauma today. At least he’d achieved a
release. Relaxation was good for humans, at least according to the research he’d done on human-
Eoean relations. He could hardly believe he would spend the first night of his life away from
Kranok’s household and the small wing he’d shared with his sire and immediate siblings. He finally
felt like he would be able to make his own decisions.

The thought of their joining tonight sent another fission of desire through his cocks. He took

another  calming  breath  in  an  attempt  to  settle  himself.  He  wished  he  had  the  sort  of  relaxed  ease
Alexis  was  enjoying  at  the  moment.  The  tight  sac  below  his  arousals  tightened  with  the  urge  to
release. It would be so easy to allow himself the luxury of orgasm with a few well-placed touches.
However, he’d saved his first release for his concubine this long. It wouldn’t hurt him to save it a bit
longer. A true  Arak had to first master his body before he mastered the body of his concubine. It was
the first thing he’d ever been taught.

He shut his eyes, confident that the transport would find its way to his home. He’d programmed

it with his mind before they’d left. It was the sort of low-level operation that most Eoeans could do
nowadays. Elia had been one of the last of Kranok’s spawn to have actually seen Eoean. Their home
planet had been a vast network of oceans, islands, and inlets, much like Earth was. It was what had
attracted their leaders to the little blue planet to begin with. Granted, there was more land on Earth
than on Eoean, but still. It had seemed like home.

Their oceans were just as prime for cultivation. Under the Eoeans’ care, Earth’s oceans had

thrived. Elia remembered what it was like when the Eoeans ran their entire world with nothing more
than well-focused thoughts. It had made everything energy efficient and clean. There had been zero
pollution back then. Maybe someday they’d return to that sort of easy life.

He chuckled to himself. Maybe if we achieve soul resonance, I can have it early. The thought

was ridiculous of course. He didn’t believe in such things.

* * * *

“Wake, Alexis,” Elia commanded as the transport tube came to a stop at the end of his road.

There was a good hundred yards to the front of the house, but the tracks only went so far. Elia had
designed it that way. He hadn’t wanted anyone to be able to view his home from the road.

The human stirred gently, his eyes fluttering open in an almost lazy fashion. “Fuck.” The

whispered word perplexed him.

“You wish to copulate?” His body begged him to follow the human’s wishes. If Alexis gave the

slightest indication that he would be willing…

“It’s an expression. I guess not even your software is perfect with the translations. I thought for a

minute I dreamed everything, that the lottery didn’t take place, that I didn’t have a really good orgas—
and I don’t need to talk about that.” His cheeks turned a fascinating shade of pink.

Without meaning to, he reached out and touched the hot flesh. “I like this color.”
“Well, uh, good. I do that when I’m embarrassed.”
Elia promised himself that he would embarrass his new concubine more often. “We are here.

Your new home awaits.” The transporter’s outer shield slid open, and the indicator light flashed
green to indicate that it was safe to disembark.

Alexis climbed out of his side of the transport and slowly circled around to the front. “I’m a

little hungry,” Alexis said. He glanced down at his lap. “And I really need a change of clothes.”

“All will be provided when we enter my home,” Elia promised. He walked the dirt path toward

the patch of land he’d arranged for himself at the end of a drop-off. He’d have to fence in a portion
for the young whenever they grew big enough.

Alexis jogged to catch up with him. “Holy cow, we’re close to the ocean.” His eyes were wide

with wonder as he took in the landscape. Elia swelled with pride at the wonder in his new
concubine’s eyes. He’d chosen this spot for its beauty. His home was farther away from the city over
a stretch of open farmland. The rolling green was well manicured per his instructions and would be
ripe for planting very soon. He looked forward to it.

His house sat only twenty feet away from the eight-foot drop-off that led to the beach. The white

domed structure had three offshoots from the main structure and was large enough to accommodate
others if he chose to take on other concubines. He would stay in the main dome, the breeding center
was the left shoot, and the concubines’ quarters were in the dome to the right. It was a very efficient
design.

The only servant he had in residence at the moment was the one he’d had since birth. Task was

more like family than slave and had agreed to come ahead of him and prepare for their arrival. He
hoped he had prepared supper. The sun was setting over the water, and he hadn’t eaten all day either.
He’d been too nervous if he were being completely honest. However, he’d never admit such a thing.
An Arak was always calm and emotionally steady.

“Holy cow,” Alexis repeated, all but skipping to the edge of the drop-off. Elia’s heart leapt into

his throat. The human was going to get himself killed. “I’ve only seen it in pictures. It’s so big!”

“Get away from there before you fall,” Elia commanded. Having a human around was like

attempting to herd Eoean catfish.

Of course, he ignored him. “Is there a way to get down there?”
“Yes. And I will show you. Tomorrow.” Maybe. If he behaved. His headache was coming back.

His horns were starting to throb. I’m supposed to be his master. He was doing a piss-poor job of it.
He needed to be firmer.

“You know,” Alexis said. “This isn’t such a bad place. I might not actually mind staying here.

It’s gorgeous. Do you think—” Elia grabbed his arm and jerked him away from the edge.

“I said, get away from there,” Elia snapped. “I don’t think you recognize and understand the

rules.”

Alexis glared up into his face. “No. I got it. Your Master Code is pretty easy to understand.

Everything comes back to silence and obedience.”

“Then you need to follow it, Alexis,” Elia rumbled. “I am your master, and you are my

concubine. Obey me. Come away from the embankment.” To emphasize the point, he gave the
human’s elbow a squeeze.

“Or what?” Alexis asked, defiance glittering in his gaze.
Elia cast aside any lingering notions of leniency. “Or I will tutor you in the meaning of pain.”
Something flickered in Alexis’s eyes. It looked a little bit like fear. “You won’t touch me.”
Elia raised his brows. “And how will you stop me?” He loomed over the human by several

inches, and he was much thicker through the chest. He hadn’t yet developed his father’s rippling
musculature yet, but that would come with Alexis’s obedience over time.

When Alexis replied, his tone was dead and it sent a ripple of unease through Elia’s soul. “I

may not be able to stop you, but you have to rest sometime, and when you do, I will slit your throat in
your sleep.”

Chapter Three

Alexis had vowed when he’d left Carl that he would never allow anyone else to hurt him. He’d

finally started to believe that he deserved better. He was not going to forget that, not now, not ever.
He was not going to take the Eoean’s threat lying down. He didn’t give a rat’s ass if he was
technically given to the guy like a lamb to slaughter.

Elia frowned. “You’re upset.”
No shit, Sherlock. “Yes.”
“The thought of pain angers you.”
“Once upon a time, someone I thought I loved hurt me. It’s not happening again.” He swallowed.

Damn, look at me being brave. “I get that I’m your slave. If you swear that you won’t hurt me, I
swear that I will obey you. Just…have a little patience, please.”

He held his breath as Elia considered him. The only noise was the sound of lapping waves and

crying seagulls. Slowly, Elia nodded. “I so swear. If I need to punish you, I promise that it will be
with pleasure/pain as you saw on the tutor. I will not strike you in any other way. I will not be cruel
to you. I have no desire to see your fear.”

The tension seeped out of his shoulders. Thank God. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

The Kranok guy had been scary as hell, but Elia seemed gentler somehow. “Thank you.”

“You are not what I was expecting, Alexis,” Elia said. “I expected a fearful creature.”
You got one, buddy. I just happen to be a stubborn as well . “This isn’t what I was expecting

either.”

“Shall we go inside?” Elia asked. “I promised food and fresh clothing.”
Alexis nodded. He was ready now. “A request?”
“Name it.”
“Can I have some real clothes? This fabric is a little revealing.” They were in the middle of

nowhere so he wasn’t really concerned about someone seeing him, but it was more about the
principle of the thing.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Elia said, pulling him away from the edge and toward the

collection of white buildings a few yards away from them. This place was really something. He
hoped to get the grand tour later. An image ghosted up in his mind of something the tutor had inserted
into his brain. The concubines’ pleasure room was something out of his deepest fantasies. His earlier
thought rose up. Aliens sure are kinky.

“So about this consummating thing—”
“That is not up for debate,” Elia interrupted. “It is necessary. I told you that.”
Alexis shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, are you guys shaped like me?”
“I don’t know if I understand your question,” Elia said, turning his eyes on him. “You can see

that we are bipedal like you.”

The alien was going to drive him insane. It was hard as hell to get any straight answers from

him. They were going to have to work on their communication. He rubbed his tired eyes. “I mean,
how does sex work?”

Elia’s lips stretched up into a very human, very satisfied, masculine grin. “You will find out

very soon.”

They reached the front of the building, and a heavy white door swung outward. A figure took

two steps in their direction before dropping to its knees on the lawn. He was dressed in a loose
material similar to the one that Alexis had on, except his was a soft dove gray and wasn’t see-through.

“My lord,” the figure greeted. “You are punctual as per usual.”
“Task, stand. Meet my first concubine.” The wealth of warmth in Elia’s voice said that he knew

the man very well or at least had a great affection for the man. A spark of jealousy flared bright. He
wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the whole “marriage” thing. But whatever the reason, he did not like
the idea of Elia and Task being intimate.

Elia turned and pulled Alexis forward, wrapping a hand around his waist. “Alexis, this is my

dearest companion, Task. He has been my servant since I was born, and he will serve until I go into
the Beyond. He will be here to serve you as well.”

Task stood, and his hood fell back. He was Eoean as well. He looked young though, way too

young to have been Elia’s servant since Elia was born. Come to think of it, none of them looked like
they were older than their late twenties at most. “Are you guys immortal or something?” The question
popped out before he could think better of it. I’m really going to have to learn to develop a filter.

Elia and Task laughed, the sound jingling like bells. The way they used their voices really was

beautiful. Elia squeezed his waist. “I apologize for my laughter. It’s just an odd question. We don’t
show outward signs of aging like you humans. But we do age. When we die, we just go.”

“Oh. Cool. So you guys are like sharks. Right on. That clears that up.” He looked up into Elia’s

handsome face. “Food?”

Elia smiled. “Are all humans like you?”
“How am I like?”
“So curious.”
Alexis shrugged. “I don’t know. Some.” Their eyes met, and awareness flickered. The rest of the

world faded away, and there was nothing but Elia’s black eyes and his soft blue lips. Kissing him
seemed out of the question. If someone would’ve told him yesterday that he would be contemplating
lip-locking one of the fabled Eoeans, he would’ve said that person was twelve kinds of crazy.

He wetted his bottom lip and leaned up at the same time Alexis leaned down. Their mouths

touched, merged. Elia’s mouth felt the same as any human mouth he’d ever touched. His soft lips felt
good pressed against his own. His eyes slid shut, and his mind spun. Wow. The man was a hell of a
kisser. Elia’s tongue demanded entrance, commanding his body to follow the silent demands he made.
Alexis plastered himself against Elia’s uniformed body, uncaring of the metal clasps that dug into his
practically naked flesh. For the first time in his life, he was right where he belonged. He was nearly
drunk on Elia’s taste. He might’ve smelled like honey, but he tasted even better.

Elia made a low sound of want and gripped Alexis’s ass, nearly hoisting him in the air to get

better access. Alexis’s dick rubbed against the front of Elia’s pants. The hard swell was just what he
wanted to feel. He clung to Elia’s shoulders and gave a slow grind against him. Then something,
another hard knot, bracketed his cock on the other side. The sensation was so foreign that Alexis
jerked back.

Elia growled and squeezed his ass in protest. “What’s wrong?”
“What is that?” Alexis asked, squirming against him. Elia was a lot stronger than he’d imagined.

Alexis didn’t need a translator for the “what the hell do you think it is” look Elia was aiming his way.
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask what the additional bit was, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to
know. “Uh, never mind.”

“That was enjoyable,” Elia rumbled. “We can do that again.” He slowly let Alexis slide down

his body. If the skill hadn’t been there, he would’ve sworn the guy hadn’t done that before.

Alexis swallowed. He hadn’t reacted to anyone like that since his ex. Hell, if he were honest, he

had never had such a visceral reaction to anyone. It was unnerving.

“My lord, shall I go prepare your table?” Task asked, interrupting their moment. “Or shall I go

prepare the concubines’ quarters for your consummation?”

Elia hesitated, and panic doused Alexis’s insides. Nope. He was not ready for this

consummating  thing.  “I’m  really  hungry,”  he  blurted  out,  all  but  throwing  a  beseeching  look  Elia’s
way.  He  knew  logically  that  he  was  postponing  something  that  he  didn’t  have  much  choice  in  the
matter about, but still. He needed to wrap his mind around everything that had happened before he did
the  horizontal  mambo  with  Tall,  Dark,  and  Blue-skinned.  His  erection  did  not  have  the  same  hang-
ups. It demanded attention right that second and tented the front of his already cum-stained outfit like a
flag of surrender.

“Fine,” Elia said. He waved Task on. “Go prepare our plate. I’ll give my new concubine a brief

tour while you do.” His black eyes met Alexis’s. “And then we will consummate.”

Alexis’s erection threw a party. Alexis groaned, whether in protest or celebration he wasn’t

entirely sure.

* * * *

The platter of meat, veggies, bread, and fruit piled high made for an excellent meal. It reminded

Alexis of one of the buffet plates at one of his family’s functions. But the veggies were like nothing
he’d ever seen before.

“We brought those with us,” Elia explained. “Your soil on the coasts is very good for growing

our foods. It was why we requested the area for our refuge when we arrived here.”

“Was your planet a lot like ours?” Alexis asked. For all Elia’s I’m-the-master-you’re-the-slave

business, he didn’t really treat him like he was any lesser than him. Maybe this was an Eoean version
of courtship.

Elia nodded. “There were more oceans but yes, basically the same. Actually, it’s more

reminiscent of what your Pangaea was once.” He sipped on his glass of light green juice from a
champagne glass. It seemed to Alexis that the Eoeans had snatched up more than a few human things
since coming here. The table they sat at was a good example of that.

“It sounds beautiful.”
“It is,” Elia agreed. “At least what I remember of it.”
Alexis sipped on his own juice. He still couldn’t find a comparison to something he’d had

before. It was light, almost creamy, like coconut juice but with a little tang. He couldn’t place it. “I
can’t wait to see the ocean up close. It looked amazing.” He put his glass down and reached for a
little orange veggie, or maybe it was a fruit. He wasn’t sure. “So why did you leave your home
world? Was it the Plague like what hit our world?”

“No,” Elia said. His expression darkened. “We were conquered and expelled by a race you’ve

never encountered on this planet. Pressians still demand a sacrifice in exchange for leaving us alone.
Some of the lottery winners go to them.”

Holy crap. “I guess it’s a good thing I got you then, huh?” If these Pressians were such bad guys,

he was a lucky SOB to be given to Elia. He didn’t know the guy from Adam, and he hadn’t exactly
been a great judge of character in the past, but Elia didn’t seem like the type. He had a lot more
patience with Alexis than his ex had anyway.

“I cannot say for sure what happens to the humans who leave Earth, but I can say that you are all

too valuable to slaughter like you are thinking,” Elia said. “I consider myself fortunate to have
received you. You are quite beautiful, Alexis. Your skin is unlike any I have seen.”

Warmth infused Alexis’s body. It had been a long time since anyone had complimented him like

that. Dating had been next on his agenda of stuff to do to qualify as really living since the breakup, but
he hadn’t managed to get around to it yet. “Yours is pretty cool, too.”

“What does the temperature have to do with my skin? I assure you. I am quite warm,” Elia said,

frowning.

Despite the fact that he could now speak Elia’s language, there were still barriers apparently.

“It’s an expression. A compliment. It means you’re handsome, too.”

“Ah. I see.” Elia didn’t look any less confused, but he let it slide. He seemed to let a lot slide,

like he wasn’t sure of what he was really supposed to be doing. Alexis couldn’t help but to think the
guy had been living in a bubble until today.

“So this whole silence and obedience thing, when does it apply?” Alexis asked. It was on the tip

of his tongue to ask him if he’d been serious about the whole “not leaving his father’s house” thing,
but he refrained. He didn’t think Elia wanted him to notice the fact that he wasn’t exactly comfortable
in being another man’s master yet.

Elia hesitated for a second. “So long as it is just us two, I suppose it will be all right for you to

ask questions. I understand that humans are naturally inquisitive creatures and you are unfamiliar with
Eoean ways. My sire cautioned me to have patience. I will try. However, when other Eoeans are
around, I will expect you to be silent and obey the rules your tutor taught you.”

Alexis nodded. “I can live with that.”
“I feel like you will grow spoiled given enough time,” Elia teased. He popped something red

and round in his mouth. “I apologize that I didn’t get to show you the whole house yet.”

He was very proud of his house. Alexis could tell just by the warm tone of his voice. “Well,

since I’m your slave and all, I suppose I’ll be seeing a lot of it in the future.”

Elia tilted his head to the side, studying him. “You do not seem nearly as unnerved by the

prospect as you were before.”

Alexis shrugged. “I think I was more wigged about you eating me or something than of actually

leaving. You don’t appear to be the cannibal human-eating type. Plus I promised myself that I would
start living a little. What better way than to go somewhere no human has ever gone before? There is
no going back to my home, and that sucks, but there isn’t much I can do to change my circumstance. I
might as well make the most of it.”

“I find your optimism intriguing.”
Alexis was naturally optimistic. At least he had been before he’d let himself get beaten on a

regular basis for over a year. He deliberately turned his thoughts off of the subject. He didn’t want
bad mojo clouding up the good thing that was happening here. Marrying an alien may have been the
best thing to happen to his stagnant life. This was adventure, way more than he was originally looking
for, but whatever.

He turned his attention back to Elia. Now that he wasn’t freaking out about the whole “alien”

thing, he could fully appreciate Elia’s appearance. He looked him up and down, taking in his hard
muscle, beautiful skin, and strong, angular features. His cock firmed right back up. It was weird how
the guy could give him insta-hard-on.

Elia’s posture shifted, a lusty glint coming into his eyes. “Alexis?”
“Yes?” Is my voice really that breathless?
“Are you ready to be mine?” Something about the way he said it was sexy as hell. Flickers of

images from the tutor pasted themselves on the inside of his skull. After all the stresses of the day, he
just wanted to turn off for a minute. Sex would go a long way to helping out with that.

Alexis nodded. “Take me to the concubines’ room?”
“With pleasure.” Elia reached out and took Alexis’s hand, pulling him to his feet in one fluid

motion. “Task,” he rumbled, not taking his eyes off of Alexis. He hadn’t even realized the man was
even in the room with them until Elia said his name. “We’re not to be disturbed until morning. Take
my messages.”

“Yes, Arak.”

* * * *

Elia’s skin felt brittle as he escorted his new concubine down the long hallway that led to the

concubines’ building. He could admit that he was a mite nervous about what was to follow. His cocks
were more than ready to join with the beautiful human, but his logical mind was screaming at him that
he  didn’t  know  what  he  was  doing.  He’d  never  even  reached  an  ejaculatory  state  before,  as  per
tradition.  He’d  saved  his  first  seed  for  his  concubine.  He’d  been  tutored  in  his  role  but  had  never
actually  acted  out  the  sexual  impulses  that  were  now  streaking  through  his  bloodstream  like  Dream
serum through an addict’s needle.

With every step they took, Alexis rubbed along his body, tightening Elia’s arousal and making

his horns pulse with his erratic heartbeat. He swore the human was deliberately teasing him. No
wonder Eoeans valued humans as concubines so highly. It wasn’t the fabled “soul resonance.” It was
their sexual appeal.

“It’s been a while,” Alexis admitted as they crossed the threshold. “You’ll have to go slow.”
The admission pleased Elia for some reason. “This will be a learning experience for the both of

us. Slow is a good way to go about it.” He tried to convey all the confidence he’d been told new
lovers needed. He trusted his instincts to guide him where his body had never gone.

“So you’ve never had a human lover before?” Alexis asked. He was definitely a curious one. He

liked his bravery in most things but this wasn’t one of them. There were entirely too many questions
floating around for Elia’s comfort level.

He turned on Alexis, tilting his chin back to allow him access to Alexis’s mouth. He pressed

their lips together as Alexis had done to him on the front lawn. He’d been caught so off guard when
Alexis had kissed him, but the pleasure had been unquestionable. This time was no different. As their
lips locked and their tongues pressed together in a push and withdrawal so similar to sex that it
should’ve been obscene to witness in public, Elia made a sound of want in the back of his throat.

He walked backward, not allowing them to part mouths for a second as he went further into the

room. The concubines’ joining room setup was one he’d memorized a long time ago, and he walked
him from the entryway to the pleasure room with little difficulty or need to see. It was the same setup

as the one in his sire’s dwelling. Of course he hadn’t been allowed in the pleasure room itself until
he’d been given the tour only a few months ago after getting his horns.

Alexis jumped, wrapping his legs around Elia’s waist as he walked. Elia absorbed the

additional weight with ease. Human beings had much less dense bone structures than he’d anticipated,
and Elia’s musculature was designed to take on far more weight than the slight human could provide.
He  couldn’t  resist  reaching  down  and  kneading  the  soft  flesh  of  his  soon-to-be  lover’s  backside.
Joinings  between  Eoean  and  human  males  worked  the  same  way,  and  he  couldn’t  wait  to  sink  into
Alexis’s  beautiful  body.  He’d  fantasized  about  this  moment  since  he’d  started  getting  mating
impulses.

“God, you’re so hot,” Alexis murmured, breaking their kiss with a gasp. “I want you to fuck me

so bad.”

Elia’s cocks lurched at the words. Fuck was a fun word. It was the first human word he’d found

that appealed. It was punchy, and the connotation was delicious. He felt like it was a good word to
sum up the act. “I will fuck you,” Elia promised, using the word for the first time. It was odd, but it
seemed to elicit a good response from his companion.

Alexis groaned. “Man, we’re wearing too many clothes. We’re definitely in need of less

clothes. Don’t you think?”

The human babbled when he was aroused. He made mental note of it for future reference. Elia

walked through the open archway that led into the pleasure room. He tried to put Alexis down, but the
human clung to him like a Numerian monkey. He was all hands and limbs, clinging, sucking and
kissing him until Elia’s head swam. All Father above, he’s so responsive.

“Alexis, down,” Elia commanded. He was having a difficult time fighting both his own desires

and his human’s.

Blue eyes met his. “Wha?”
Elia chuckled. “Down.” Slowly, Alexis unwound his legs from his waist and slid to his feet.

Elia maneuvered him into the circle at the center of the room. With a short command in Eoean, the
walls emitted a soft green light as the pleasure room came alive. Alexis jumped before giving him a
look of curiosity.

“Check the information the tutor gave you,” Elia said, unbuckling the stays on his uniform. Out of

all of his brothers, he had the firmest musculature. His older siblings might have had more natural
bulk, but Elia had worked the hardest to tone every bit of muscle he had. Every inch was a pleasing
ripple, and he wasn’t the least bit ashamed of revealing it to his first concubine now.

“Holy cow, you’re hot,” Alexis murmured. He had the oddest habit of invoking a bovine deity

when he was surprised. Elia made a mental note to look up his invocation later.

“You have the oddest sayings, my honor.” The endearment just popped out like it was nothing.

He hadn’t realized that it was possible to form such an intense attachment so early on in an
acquaintance. His boots would take more to wrestle off. He’d save it for after he got Alexis arranged.

Alexis’s lips tilted upward in a ghost of a smile. “My honor? I like that. It’s sweet.” He pulled

the gossamer shift over his head and tossed it to the side. “We’re going to have to discuss the need for
shoes at a later date.”

He barely registered the words as his vision was filled with the image of his naked concubine.

The shift had teased him with glimpses of the beauty underneath, but nothing had prepared him for the
sheer appeal of Alexis’s lightly muscled frame, a swimmer’s build, and his thick cock nestled in the

most fascinating patch of golden curls above his tight sac. He was a beautiful creature.

Alexis licked his lips. “How do you want me?” He glanced around the deceptively bare room.
Elia popped the button on his uniform and made the hand signal to begin the consummation

sequence. The light switched from green to a light blue, and the air was perfumed with the pleasing
scent  of  lavender  and  Eoean  night  flowers.  It  was  supposed  to  be  a  potent  aphrodisiac.  One  of  the
wall  panels  fell  forward  to  reveal  a  pair  of  hanging  disc  restraints.  The  repressed  gravity  plank
would  be  a  good  place  to  begin.  It  would  hold  a  person  aloft  but  allow  access  to  all  areas  of  the
body. It also didn’t have a deliberate shape and therefore allowed Elia to manipulate at his leisure.

Alexis must’ve figured out that he couldn’t leave the circle Elia had put him in because he

frowned. “The restraints aren’t necessary,” he said, pushing against the invisible barrier.

Elia walked over to the hanging cuffs and plucked them from the air. “No. But they are

traditional.”

“So all you Eoeans have kinky S&M fetishes?” Alexis asked.
“I do not understand your question.” He took the cuffs and motioned for Alexis to give him his

hands. He held his breath as he waited for his submission to his will. A part of him that had never
broken the surface rose up. He wanted to dominate Alexis, to take him beneath his body and darken
his tanned flesh with his palms. He wanted— The desires unnerved him a bit, and he cut himself off
mid-thought. He’d promised Alexis he wouldn’t hurt him. This was a problem. He wanted to
experience pleasure/pain with him. He frowned. How was he supposed to fulfill his duties and
desires and keep his promise at the same time? He swallowed. He would have to figure out a way.

Alexis extended his wrist, and Elia breathed a sigh of relief. It was considered sacrilege for an

Eoean to take an unwilling submissive. It pleased him that Alexis trusted him so readily. He extended
his other hand, and Elia fashioned the cuff accordingly. He took both his wrists and activated them
with a unified press of his pointer fingers.

The human yelped as he was elevated off the ground. He was easy to move in the position.

There was no resistance, no gravity to get in his way.

“Holy cow!”
The human was odd.
Elia snatched up the ankle cuffs and attached them to his legs. They spread obligingly. The

instrument tray rose from the floor at the same time the vid screen on the opposite wall shimmered
into existence.

“What is that?” Alexis asked, eyeing the thing wearily.
“Be of ease, my honor. It’s simply going to record the event. It has to be witnessed, and I didn’t

think you would want Task to be here to do so.” He had to find a way to make Alexis hush though. He
needed Alexis to focus on sensation, not on all the many things the human was curious about.

Alexis’s cock jerked before a drop of pre-cum formed on the tip. “I’ve never seen myself on

camera for…you know.”

“We can watch it after it’s been reviewed by the magistrate if that is your wish.” None of the

implements on the top tray would do. They were all meant to administer pleasure/pain. He opened up
the second level of the tray, the one with the smaller objects laid out in it. Cock rings, cages, sounds,
clamps— Ah that will work. He pulled out a Zorian gag and commanded the zero gravity restraint
lower. “Open your mouth, my honor.”

Alexis opened dutifully. Elia’s secondary cock wrapped around his primary one and started

rubbing, milking the flesh so that pleasure raced up and down his length. Elia didn’t pull them apart
this time. He needed some kind of relief from the ache building in his balls.

He inserted the gag, and Alexis’s eyes widened. A strangled noise issued from his throat, and

Elia made a soothing sound of his own. “Easy, my honor. It is designed to fill your mouth. You can
still breathe through it. You just can’t talk through it.”

Slowly, Alexis nodded.
“Good boy,” Elia complimented as Alexis settled. “If you need to stop for any reason raise two

fingers, like this.” He demonstrated, and Alexis nodded again.

Elia stepped back from his concubine after pressing another kiss to his lips. “Recording begin.

First consummation. Date and time. Prepare file for official Eoean record 001 of Arak Elia
Thenanraken, twenty-seventh spawn of Prince Kranok.”

A mechanized voice hummed over head. “Recording.”
This was typically where he would warm up his concubine with pleasure/pain, but Elia didn’t

think he would be disrupting tradition too much by skipping over it for the time being. Alexis was
restrained. It was still an act of submission.

He snatched the Eoean coupling oil from small enclave by the pleasure center. It was then he

remembered that he had to take off his boots and pants before he would be in any position to couple.
He cursed. He was getting ahead of himself. Taking in the image of Alexis bound, spread, and
hovering beside him, gorgeous and ready to join, Elia didn’t think anyone would blame him.

* * * *

Alexis’s eyes bugged as Elia toed off his boots and chucked his pants. What the hell is that?

The guy had two dicks. Not a joke. Two cocks that looked like they were writhing against one
another, jerking each other off in unison. His mouth started to water. All of his kinkiest fantasies
hadn’t prepared him for the sheer awesomeness of the sight.

Holy cow. Oh my. I wanna touch it . He strained against the cuffs that held him suspended in the

air. His mind still wasn’t wrapping around that nifty little trick. He tried to ask how it worked, but he
couldn’t. Maybe Elia was onto something with this whole restraint thing. It was making his head spin
and his body tighten impossibly. He swore he’d leaked more pre-cum in the last five minutes than he
had in the past year. The fact that later they would be watching this, like he and Elia were some sort
of very X-rated porno stars, turned his buttons like nothing else. He didn’t know why the idea
appealed so much, but it did.

It was good in the beginning with Carl, too. The insidious voice in the back of his head was

unwelcome in this moment of pleasure. He didn’t want to think about his ex or the fact that he’d once
called the man Master. He’d never been good enough for him and had failed continuously in their
relationship. Carl had turned to violence in his frustration. It hadn’t been Alexis’s fault. He saw that
now, and wouldn’t accept abuse from anyone else again. There was a difference between a kinky
bedroom spanking and an ass kicking. However, he couldn’t help but think he’d been the root cause of
everything when it came right down to it. He’d asked Carl to play Dom, after all.

Elia’s eyes burned into him as he wrapped his hand around Alexis’s erection and tugged. “I do

like the way this feels in my hand.” Alexis’s eyes rolled, and he tried to buck up into the touch. “It’s
different from mine, though it is similar.”

Yes. Please. God. Want to come really bad. He screwed his eyes shut and squirmed. The device

held him tightly. Fuck me. Please, fuck me. His toys hadn’t been enough in the intervening months
since his last lover. He wanted flesh and blood against him, inside him. He’d never had two cocks
before. He didn’t know if he could accommodate, but he sure as fuck wanted to try.

“Platform,” Elia commanded. The room obeyed, and a shimmering white surface appeared just

in front of Alexis. Wow this place is handy . He remembered the flashes from the tutor. The thought of
Elia’s hands spreading his cheeks and fucking him while spanking his ass raw just made him want to
come right then and there. The platform had been what the Eoean had used on the tutor’s images to
achieve that particular end. He wanted it, craved it.

Elia gently pressed on Alexis’s back and bent him forward so that he was ass up for his

pleasure. Alexis’s palms pressed against the platform’s warm surface, and he wasn’t surprised that he
couldn’t move them from the position. His cheek rested there as well, and his breath created a smear
of condensation on the clear surface.

As something warm and wet was dribbled between the valley of his buttock, he shivered. His

hole  was  begging  to  be  filled.  He  was  surprised  when  something  inorganic  pressed  against  his
opening.  He  relaxed  into  the  sensation,  trusting  Elia.  He’d  said  he  wouldn’t  hurt  him.  Whatever  he
was pressing inside him filled him in gradual increments, taking up the space inside him with timed
pulses. The vibrations began, and he couldn’t help but scream around the weird gag in his mouth. Talk
about being probed by a horny alien.  He  chuckled  a  little  at  the  thought,  but  it  skated  away  as  the
pulsing flexible thing started to do some major stretching.

He managed to raise his eyes to check out the view screen and was supremely pleased by what

he saw. Elia’s cock had turned a deeper shade of blue and a cotton candy colored drip of pre-cum
was lubing the plum tip. The second cock was rippling faster on the other one, milking more. Elia’s
expression told Alexis that he better stretch soon because he was nearing the edge of no return. Lust
had transformed his face into a mask of pleasure mixed with the pain of denial. Alexis understood the
feeling all too well.

“Raise platform two units.”
Alexis’s body rose higher. What was he doing? The thought had no sooner ghosted through his

mind when he got his answer. Elia dropped to his knees and sucked Alexis’s cock into his mouth.
Alexis screamed as the toy fucked his ass, spreading him as Elia clumsily bobbed his head on his
cock. It wasn’t practiced, but it was certainly enthusiastic. It made Alexis wonder if he’d ever given a
blow job before.

He shut his eyes, unable to take the image of Elia on his knees for him. His ass stretched wider

than he’d ever had before. The toy slid over his pleasure spot over and over, fucking him better than
any of his own toys ever had.

“All Father above, you taste good,” Elia murmured as he pulled off his cock. “I can’t take

anymore, Alexis. Forgive me if this makes you uncomfortable, my honor.” He gave the head of his
dick one last lick before getting to his feet and circling around behind Alexis’s prone body.

Alexis squirmed as much as he could. The toy in his ass was removed, and his cheeks were

spread wide. Yes. Take me. Elia.

Task’s voice sounded from some kind of microphone system above their heads. “Proceed with

caution, Arak. Humans aren’t used to accommodating two cocks. Use your primary only this first
time.”

Elia made a noise of frustration, and Alexis echoed the sound. He wanted both dammit. He

didn’t care if it hurt.

As if Task read his mind, his voice came over the speaker again. “You promised not to harm

him. This would cause him pain.”

Fuck my life! Stop listening to other people, Elia. Fuck me! The stupid gag in his mouth

wouldn’t let him say what he wanted to. He squirmed. Elia cursed and pulled back for two seconds.
When he returned, he jerked his ass cheeks wide and then entered Alexis’s body in one brutal thrust.
The motion stole the breath from his lungs as he struggled to adjust to the girth of one of Elia’s cocks.
Okay. Maybe Task was right.

Elia made an animal sound of pleasure and pulled almost all the way out before thrusting back

inside again. The motion sent off an explosion of sensation through Alexis’s nerve endings. Yes! This
was just what he wanted. His alien’s other cock slid against his taint to brush the underside of his
balls with each forward plunge. Elia set an intense pace, and the barrage of stimuli had Alexis crying
out every time Elia sank back inside him.

The rhythm was impossible to maintain for any time however, and it wasn’t too long before

Elia’s thrusts started to falter. Alexis would’ve been babbling had he been able to speak because
nothing had ever felt as good as what he was feeling at this moment. He could easily become addicted
to sex with an Eoean, at least sex with Elia anyway. He jerked and Elia groaned as his release coated
Alexis’s internal walls.

Alexis screamed as his balls tightened as his own want spiraled out of control. Elia’s top cock

was pulled from his body, and the other one thrust in. It was the stimulation he needed to push him
over the edge. His spunk shot from his cock in a never-ending stream onto the floor beneath them. He
fucked him furiously, making animal noises of need that ended in a guttural howl of completion.
Alexis felt like his balls had been wrung out as Elia collapsed on top of him. The platform supported
them easily. Alexis panted in the aftermath of the most intense orgasm of his life, and he had only one
thought. I am right where I want to be.

Chapter Four

Something happened. He wasn’t exactly sure what, but something shifted as they panted for

breath, regaining their composure in the aftermath of the most intense act in Elia’s life. Orgasm had
burned him alive. He’d released with his first cock only to have the demands of his second one drive
him into another release. The double release had left him dizzy enough, but this was strange. It was
like they were joined by more than just their bodies.

Unable to take the intensity without looking at his human, he pulled his still-pulsing secondary

cock from the confines of Alexis’s still-milking ass and flipped the human around. Glittering blue
eyes met his, and whatever the connection was deepened. Elia couldn’t even form words as he pulled
the gag from Alexis’s mouth before covering it with his own. Energy infused him unlike any he’d felt
previously. The entire room lit up, all the lights firing at once. His instruments bleeped before fizzling
as they were overloaded by his sudden stream of mental power.

He jerked back, confused. The connection faded, and with it, the power. It left him feeling weak.

“It’s real,” he whispered the words, staring down at Alexis in wonder. “You’re real.”

Alexis smiled at him, his eyes laughing. “I hope so.” He closed his eyes, bliss filling his

expression. “Are you the cuddling type?”

“I don’t know,” Elia answered honestly. He swallowed. Act normal. Act as if you haven’t just

discovered the greatest treasure on the planet right here in your own concubine enclave. He raised
his fingers to brush against the human’s cheeks. He was beautiful and perfect and, All Father above, a
gift of the greatest degree. “I’ve never had a lover before.”

Alexis’s eyes widened. “I was your first?”
Elia nodded. “Yes. Eoeans do not take lovers before their first concubines or their first Araks as

the reverse situation implies. We do not even have our first orgasm until then.”

“You never had an orgasm?”
“No.” Elia tilted his head. “This is strange to you.”
“Not strange,” Alexis murmured, looking up at him almost shyly. “I am really happy I was your

first. If this is what you do in inexperience, when you get experience, you’re going to blow my fucking
mind all over again.”

Confusion flickered all over again. “My honor, why is your mind fornicating? And why would I

blow it?”

Alexis laughed. “Never mind, my sexy Eoean. It’s just more expressions. You’ll get used to

them.” He flexed his fingers. “So, this cuddling thing?”

“How?” Elia asked. He yearned to feel that moment of connection again, but he wasn’t sure how

to gain it again. He needed to consult with his sire, maybe do some research. But first…

“You take me to a bed, and we bask in the afterglow, relax,” Alexis said. “Some people talk.

I’m not really about pillow talk, but some dudes are into it.”

“Then we will do that,” Elia murmured. He depressed the release buttons on the cuffs and caught

Alexis before he nearly fell into the floor. “Are you well?”

“Yeah,” Alexis said, laughing. “My legs are like Jell-O. Before you ask, that’s a good thing. It

means the sex was good.”

Elia’s chest swelled with pride. Sex had been as good as all the texts and tutors said it would

be, and his experienced concubine complimented his technique. He swung his lover up into his arms

and felt like a king as he strode out of the pleasure room toward the concubines’ sleeping quarters.
The low-lying bed was made of the finest Eoean stitched daggen thread and had cost a fortune. It was
native to the Eoean homeland. It was dyed a rich, vibrant red that Elia had thought was particularly
exotic. He knew Alexis would sleep well here.

He laid Alexis down gently before following him to the soft mattress. “So we just lay here?” he

asked, unsure of what he was supposed to be doing.

Alexis rolled on the mattress, groaning as he did. “I’m going to rub all over this damn thing.

What is this material? Christ, it’s like rolling on a marshmallow.”

“What’s a marshmallow?”
“It’s food, kind of.”
Elia frowned. “It is either food or it is not.” He was never going to understand half of what the

human said. “Come here and show me this cuddling.”

Alexis laughed and rolled to the side to make room for Elia to join him. “Are you going to get us

anything to clean off with?”

“I can, or we could go to the concubines’ bathing pool. The water would take away any

discomfort you may be feeling.” He should’ve thought about this more. He’d focused his education
almost solely on sex. He should’ve focused more on what he was supposed to do afterward.

Alexis put his firm hand on Elia’s chest and pushed him slowly backward until he was reclined

against the bed. “Okay. That sounds good. After cuddling.” Then he put his head on the heavy muscle
of Elia’s chest and wrapped his leg over Elia’s waist. Warmth flooded him again, but it wasn’t the
scorching heat of arousal. No, this was the closeness that had risen in him as they’d shared their
moment of whatever that had been. He still refused to accept that soul resonance might be real. It had
to have been his imagination, a surge of adrenaline or something.

“What are you thinking about?” Alexis asked. “You tensed.”
Surprised flickered. “You’re very attuned to my emotions, my honor.”
Alexis rubbed his cheek against Elia’s chest and absently traced his abdomen. “I’ve gotten

really good at reading body language.”

“Is this a trait all humans share?” It would explain why some of them made such good

concubines.

Alexis shrugged. “Some. When you’re around volatile people, the skill sharpens.” Something

about the way he said it led Elia to believe there was more to the story than just a skill sharpened
through observation.

“I would kill this person to avenge your loss of dignity, my honor. It would be easy enough to get

the permits from my father. He has connections.” The offer came easily. He might’ve been mildly
angered at the thought of someone hurting his concubine before. Now it made him downright furious.

“No,” Alexis said quickly. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s not like I’ll ever see him again. No one

comes back from the Eoeans’ lands right?”

“I suppose that is true.” It was a law that was meant to protect both species. The more they

learned about the other, the more questions would be asked, the more conflicts could arise. The
system worked, and he was not going to be the first to break it. “When I take a second concubine, I
will allow you independence. You will not have to cater to me or my wishes. It isn’t true freedom in
all senses of the word, but it is all I can do.” The offer was reckless, stupid, especially given what
he’d felt beforehand. However, Alexis seemed to have sacrificed much in a short span of time. And

for all Elia’s faults, he wasn’t a cruel man. His father would probably call him soft for it, but he was
his own Arak now. He could make a decision like this by law.

Alexis pushed himself into a sitting position. “Why would you offer that?” he asked, a frown

marring his beautiful face.

“I thought it might please you,” Elia answered. “You seem to have suffered much in the human

lands. I only want you to experience good things here.” Yes, his concubine would be spoiled, but it
was his choice to make. The more he told himself that, the more he believed it.

“When would you take your next concubine?” Alexis asked, suspicion crowding his expression.

“And what would I do afterward?”

“There are many hobbies you could pursue,” Elia said. “I could take you into the markets here

and see if we can find you something to occupy you. There are livestock, fishing, swimming. There is
much to do here. That was one of the reasons I picked this particular spot. Of course there would be
spawn to occupy you as well. I can’t take another concubine until you give me at least one, but if you
don’t want to be bothered overmuch, Task is trained to care for the little ones.”

Alexis blinked. “Spawn?” The word was a squeak of sound. “As in children?” He gave a

nervous chuckle. “You are aware that human men can’t have babies right?”

Elia nodded. “I am aware that males can’t carry offspring. That’s what the breeding centers

were designed for.”

“Excuse me?” The question was so shrill that Elia winced. He rubbed his suddenly pulsing

horns.

“That was the section of the house I wasn’t able to show you yet. It’s the most current model

equipment on Earth right now.”

Alexis paled and scuttled backward. “Uh, no offense but I don’t want to have kids. At least not

right now. Maybe never.”

Elia frowned. “It’s tradition. I’m not asking for many. Three or four spawn would be sufficient.”

He couldn’t take his place as a voting Arak until he did. Beyond that, he adored children and had
wanted a house full of them since he was a little spawn himself.

“Three or four?” Alexis echoed. “Are you aware that humans only have two or three most of the

time? I’m an only child myself.”

“I am one of thirty-four,” Elia said. “I want a large family, and I can’t have one if you don’t give

me at least one spawn to begin with.” It was against the law to take multiple concubines without at
first producing offspring. The humans might not have been trying to rebuild their numbers, but the
Eoeans certainly were after the intergalactic escape and almost extinction of their kind.

Alexis shook his head. “No way.”
Elia rolled to his feet. This cuddling thing was not a comfortable thing at all. “Come. At least

see  the  breeding  center  before  you  say  no  to  children.”  He  pulled  Alexis  off  the  bed  and  padded
toward  the  opening.  Once  the  human  saw  all  the  hard  work  and  thought  he  put  into  the  space,  he
would  see  that  Elia  would  make  a  good  father.  He  wouldn’t  be  his  father.  He  would  be  warm  and
welcoming, supportive, not tyrannical.

“Elia, wait, I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Alexis said, tugging his hand out of Elia’s

grip. “Let’s talk about this first.”

“No. I want you to see it.” Elia didn’t understand why the human was being so stubborn. He’d

offered him more than any Arak had offered any concubine ever. All he required was essentially

broken down to a sperm donation and sex until he could find another eligible candidate for second
concubine.

Alexis sighed but thankfully didn’t argue. Elia pulled him along until they were out of the

concubines’ quarters and then tugged him down the other corridor that led to the breeding center. It
was the first time he was seeing the finished product himself and resented the fact that he wasn’t as
excited as he should’ve been because of his concubine’s reaction.

He pressed his hand against the security panel, and the door melted away. The space was just as

he designed it. The creation section was white and soft blue and the lighting reflected the same. The
incubation and infancy stations were already filled with hand carved cribs and blankets made by his
true-sire and his other sires as gifts. The technology was blended so that it would be unobtrusive, and
glowing images of Eoean nursery stories across them added to the state of whimsy.

Stepping into the room, he turned to Alexis. “Look.” He dropped his hand and walked over to

the sample cart. “All you have to do is deposit a sample here. I’ll do the same.” He pointed to another
machine. This one was the largest in the room. “Then a child will be created using our combined
DNA there and then deposited in the incubation chamber here.” He walked over to the first crib. “For
the first few days, we can keep him here to monitor him or her. I’m not opposed to a girl.”

“Elia.”
“I don’t see why you are being stubborn. I ask very little of you.” Elia turned and crossed his

arms over his chest. “I offer much more than I require.”

“You want me to give you a child. A child. In my world, that is a big freaking commitment,”

Alexis said, shifting from foot to foot.

“We are married,” Elia countered. “We’ve signed the registry and consummated our union. That

is a commitment that cannot be undone. You are my concubine now until you die. You’ve said
yourself you can’t go back to your human life. Why not embrace the one you’ve been given?”

“Maybe I’m not being clear, I don’t know you well enough to create a baby with you,” Alexis

snapped.

Elia tried for compromise. “You will have time to get used to the idea.”
“I don’t want time. I don’t want to be pressured into this!” The human’s breath was coming out

more rapidly than it had a moment ago, and his skin had paled out like it had when he’d first seen him
on the dusty road in the interior.

“Alexis, breathe,” Elia commanded.
Alexis shook his head rapidly, his eyes darting around the room. “This is too much. I can’t—

God, Elia, please.”

Elia pulled his human into his arms and held him tightly. Apparently the thought of offspring was

the final straw to an overwhelming day for the human. He would let it go for now even though his
heart broke at the prospect of never being a father. “Easy,” he whispered. “Be easy, Alexis.” He led
the human from the room and back into the concubines’ quarters.

Alexis’s breathing evened out, but he was still as pale as white stone. He led him into his

bedchamber and pushed him down to his bed. “Elia, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin tonight.”

“It’s fine. Just rest. I shouldn’t have brought it up. You’ve had a trying day.” Elia turned from

him, his mood plummeting. This was supposed to be the best day of his life. Unfortunately, it was
turning into his worst.

* * * *

Alexis woke up the next day with a million things on his mind. He needed to go by the company

today to check in with the new project manager on the task his father had put him in charge of.
Besides that, he had a date with the cute barista who he was planning on asking out. He had finally
decided to work up his courage. After the nightmare he’d had about the lottery, he was ready to make
that move. He stretched, his bed a comforting embrace. He just had to convince his body to get with
the program.

He rolled to his stomach and winced as pain shot down his thighs. Memory rushed up to greet

him, reminding him that yesterday had definitely not been a nightmare. His eyes popped open. Damn.
He really had been chosen for the lottery, he really had amazing sex with an alien, and he really had
ruined it with his freak-out over having kids. He ran a hand over his face. Holy crap.

They’d had this amazing moment, and he’d thought that maybe, just maybe, this lottery thing

wouldn’t turn out so bad. Then the “breeding center” had been brought up and, holy cow, had that
been a doozy. His day had gone from nightmare to deepest fantasy to nightmare all over again. He’d
known the guy for eight hours, and then suddenly he was being told he had to breed with him.

He rolled over and forced himself to a sitting position. There were sticky patches on his skin.

He really needed a shower. He could figure out how to take a bath, surely. Elia had mentioned that
there was a bathing area. He just had to know how to work it.

“Happy to see you are awake, Alexis,” a voice said from the doorway. Alexis nearly jumped out

of his skin. He pulled the covers that felt like sex around his waist. The whole thing felt like one big
caress. If he hadn’t gotten off so hard last night, he probably would’ve had a wet dream with how
clingy the material was. Task, Elia’s servant or whatever, bowed from the doorway. “You slept in
quite late. How are you?”

“Um, fine?” Alexis said. He eyeballed the Eoean. Maybe he just had an alien fetish. Maybe that

was why he’d reacted so strongly to Elia last night. He tried to think of Task and sex and came up
blank. Nope. Apparently, he only had an Elia fetish. He sighed. “Is there a way I can get a bath?”

Task nodded, giving another half bow. “Of course. I have already prepared the water for bathing

when the environmental unit indicated you were coming out of REM sleep. I have also prepared a
repast for you while our Arak attends to some business.”

“That’s Elia, right?” Alexis asked, rubbing his eyes. He hadn’t really talked to him last night

after his big freak-out. He didn’t especially want to talk about it, but he also didn’t want Elia to be
pissed at him for the rest of his life. There was still no way he was going to contribute DNA to kids
he didn’t want, but he could maybe articulate his argument better in the cold light of day.

Task nodded. “Yes. Now that he is Arak, he has inherited his portion of his father’s estate as

well as a portion of his regulations company. He has to learn how to run it as well as his household.
We will begin planting and harvesting soon as well.”

“So he helps run a company?” Alexis asked.
Task handed him what looked like a blue terry robe he’d had under one arm. “For your

modesty’s sake.” He turned his back so Alexis could get out of the covers. “In Eoean society, every
household is expected to contribute in some way. It’s not how you think of a ‘job’ per se. It’s more a
duty, though the Eoean government does pay out a sum of currency. Prince Kranok is the head of the
regulation committee, and each of his spawn will manage a section of it when they come of age. In

turn, Elia’s spawn will choose either to take over his position when they are of age, or they will
choose other sections of government to work in.”

Generational governmental duties, interesting. “It seems like a lot of work.” He pulled on the

robe and secured it with a weird little buckle, clasp at his waist. “Okay, I’m decent.” Task didn’t turn
around though. Instead he strode out the door, obviously expecting Alexis to follow.

He waved Alexis over to a large pool that seemed to have just appeared in the middle of the

circular room. Like most of the pieces of furniture around the space, he imagined it was put away
when not in use.

He paused at the lip of the pool. “Um, awkward question. Where is the bathroom?”
Task sat down on a chair over by the door that led to the tunnel and Elia’s main house. He tilted

his head to the side in a distinctly human way. “This is the bathing room.”

Alexis felt a blush steal over his cheeks. “I mean, where do you know relieve yourself?”
Confusion gave way to understanding. “Ah, I see.” He pointed to a small door that was nearly

invisible against the far wall. “The waste disposal unit is through there. If you should need it.”

Alexis nodded before quickly crossing the room and ducking inside. He took care of business

and reemerged within minutes. He was definitely ready for his bath now. He was surprised to see
Task still sitting there. He assumed the guy would have more things to do than babysit him.

He mentally shrugged before dropping the robe and stepping off the edge into the water. He

hissed as he was submerged in water that was just shy of being too hot. The hiss ended in a groan
though as his sore muscles absorbed the heat and relaxed. It felt so good to be clean. “I guess a
shower is a novel concept, huh?”

“A cascading bathing experience is not unheard of. But Elia didn’t feel the need to include one

in the current design. If you are a good concubine and please him, I’m sure you can convince him.”
Task leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees. “Though if you ever hurt him like you did last
night, you won’t have to worry all that terribly much about it because I will make life for you here
very, very difficult.”

Alexis’s eyes widened in shock. “Excuse me?” Apparently, he had made an enemy without even

meaning to.

Task glared. “He’s like a son to me, and he did not seek his rest like he should have last night.

He wandered the beach for hours, worrying, I imagine. When I asked him this morning, he told me you
refused to consider spawning with him. He is a good man and would make an excellent father.”

“Hey, man, chill,” Alexis said, holding his hands up in surrender. Nothing like being attacked

while I’m naked and in unfamiliar territory to make me feel like a million bucks. “I will work out
stuff with him today. I had a really weird day yesterday, and I might’ve overreacted to Mister I-
wanna-huge-family, but it’s not like I can avoid him. We’ll work it out. How about you mind your
own business?”

“Minding my own business is Elia’s business. You are his first concubine, and for that I will

respect your wishes this one time. However, if you do that ever again, I will create a difficult
situation for you here.”

“Yeah?” Alexis asked. “How’s that?”
“Test me and find out.”
Alexis felt like the gauntlet had been thrown down. Maybe he needed to worry about more than

whether or not his new Eoean husband wanted a few kids running around.

Chapter Five

“I’ve reviewed your consummation video, Elia, and I’ve come to the conclusion that you are

being far too soft on him.” When Kranok offered up an opinion, it was more like a god coming down
and making a declaration. At least it sounded that way. Elia rubbed the bridge of his nose.

It had been several days since his concubine had thrown a fit over the breeding center and had

approached him the following day like nothing had happened. Elia had let it go, but he was biding his
time until he could bring it up again. Alexis spent an extraordinary amount of time sleeping and had
apparently abandoned his excitement of seeing the ocean or anything outside the realm of the
concubines’ quarters. He feared Alexis was wasting away, and he was helpless to stop it.

“I did not call for a lecture,” Elia said. Kranok shifted on the view screen, clearly unhappy with

Elia’s tone. Elia really wanted to talk to his true-sire, but in Kranok’s house, the only one with a vid-
screen was him. “I called for advice.”

“And what advice do you need?”
“My first concubine is unhappy,” Elia began.
Kranok snorted. “Join with him more, and he would be happier, I assure you.”
A muscle in Elia’s jaw ticked. “Sex does not solve everything. We had a moment of perfect

unity, and I swore power rushed through me, but now even our conversations are awkward.”

“You achieved synchronicity with him?” Kranok asked, leaning forward on his throne. “You

were able to access your mental power? Was it soul resonance?”

Elia shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought so, but I can’t be sure now.” He paused. “Do you really

think sex could help?”

“It usually helps with my concubines.” He flexed his massive biceps as he pushed his bulk out of

his seat. “It also might help you regain soul resonance. Your ability would make you invaluable to
me. If you did, I imagine I would find more duties for you to perform.” That wouldn’t exactly make
Elia’s life easier, but it would be considered an honor of sorts. If he did achieve soul resonance, he
sure as hell wasn’t going to tell his father so he could exploit it.

“I have to get him to talk to me first,” Elia said, watching as his father washed his hands in a

basin brought to him by one of his concubines.

“Wooing a human shouldn’t be that difficult. Do something kind and then take him to bed. It’s

simple.”

His father had clearly never had a human. Alexis would see right through his attempts and

probably resent him for them anyway. He sighed. This wasn’t an easy feat by any stretch of the
imagination.

“Elia?” Kranok asked.
Elia raised his eyes to meet his father’s on the digital screen. “Yes?”
“You will not embarrass me when you bring him to my home next week. You will have your

concubine properly trained and submitting to you.” He snapped his fingers, and one of Elia’s sires ran
to him and knelt on the ground at his side. If he thought the demonstration would make Alexis look
less of a challenge, he was out of his mind.

“I’ll do my best, Father,” Elia murmured.
Kranok nodded. He squeezed Elia’s sire’s shoulder, and the other man stood. “See that you do.

There is another thing I wanted to discuss with you before I let you go.” He deposited a kiss on his

sire’s face before pointing in the general direction of his sleeping quarters. His sire bowed his head
before turning and walking toward where father had pointed. No doubt it was his turn with Kranok.

“What, Father?”
“There have been…inquiries into the recent lottery winners. If someone should contact you, let

me know immediately.”

Elia frowned. It was an odd request. “I will do so, Father.”
“Excellent. I will call on you tomorrow to complete the assignment I gave you. Happy planting.”
“Happy planting to you as well, Father.”
The connection cut out.
“So how exactly will I be properly trained?” a voice asked from the doorway. Elia started

before turning to see Alexis in the doorway. He looked like he’d just woken up, which was a
possibility given how much he was sleeping. The fact that it was early evening had no bearing on the
sleep pattern.

“My father will expect you to know obedience as my sires are obedient to him. I am not planning

on a strict household, but I would prefer if you would at least obey me in public.” He expected some
kind of rise from the human, but Alexis just shrugged.

“I can play pretend in public. Can you get Task to get me some food? I’m starving, and he has

locked the preservation unit again.” Alexis shifted, and the light caught the concubine’s outfit just
right so that he caught a glimpse of the teasing flesh underneath. His body threatened to awaken at the
sight. His sexual impulses hadn’t lessened at all since having sex the first time, and he craved to join
with his lover once again. However, he wanted Alexis hot for him, not indifferent to his presence.

His words finally registered. “Task locked the preservation unit?”
“Yeah. The bastard is really picky about who raids the fridge.” He crossed his arms across his

chest, drawing his attention to the light muscles of his lover’s chest. “So, about this unlocking thing?”

Elia nodded. “It will be done. I will instruct him to leave it unlocked so you may get what you

want at your leisure. However, why don’t I have Task prepare us a meal that we can have down at the
beach? I promised to show you the ocean.”

Surprise flickered across Alexis’s expression. “You’re not still pissed at me?”
“No. I’m not angry with you,” Elia promised. He’d spent several hours downloading human

slang in order to understand his concubine better. “I haven’t been angry with you. I assumed you were
upset over the breeding center. Why do you ask if I’m angry?”

“You haven’t really talked to me or come to my room even. I assumed you were pissed about the

baby thing.”

Elia shook his head. “It’s against tradition for me to come to your room without your express

permission. The pleasure room is an exception, but I’ve gone there every evening since you’ve
arrived, and you haven’t come. The tutor should’ve downloaded that information to you.”

Alexis paused like he was racking his brains for what Elia said. Slowly, he nodded. “I didn’t

think about it.” He raised his eyes so that they met Elia’s. “We’ve got to work on this communication
thing. I don’t get your alien signals sometimes.”

“Nor do I understand your human ones.” At least he’s talking to me . “Allow me to take you

down to the beach, my honor. We can talk then.”

Alexis offered him a tentative smile. “Sure.”

* * * *

Task had followed through perfectly with his threat to make Alexis miserable. Half his meals

had been inedible, all the doors to the outside were locked so he couldn’t go anywhere but Elia’s part
of the structure. He’d started sleeping a lot in retaliation. It was the only kind of rebellion he could
pull off with only a scrap of clothing and a blanket that was soft as sin to his name.

He followed Elia to the kitchen where Task was chopping some sort of veggie before throwing

it into some kind of basin that appeared to be boiling. “Supper will be ready in just a minute, Arak,”
he said, not looking up. “I’ll carry some to your concubine as soon as I—” He looked up. “Oh. He’s
here. You’re dining together then?” Alexis did not miss the displeased look he sent in Alexis’s
direction.

“We’d actually like a plate to take down to the beach,” Elia said, clearly oblivious. “We’ll be

dining there tonight.”

Task bowed his head. “I’ll bring supper out to the table just off the surf along with some Tilra

juice.”

Elia turned from him toward the doorway, motioning Alexis to follow. “It is appreciated, Task.”

He paused. “Oh and can you please not lock the food up. My concubine enjoys snacking on his own
schedule.”

Task looked mutinous for a split second before it glossed over. “If that is what you desire, my

Arak.”

“Task?”
“Yes, Arak?”
“Do not punish my concubine again. He is mine, and as his Arak, I will handle his punishment

should he need it.”

Relief shot through Alexis. He’d thought that Elia hadn’t known or cared that Task had started

restricting his diet and cutting him off from the outside.

“But, Elia—” Task began.
“I’m not a child anymore, Task,” Elia interrupted “You will obey me, or you will be sent back

to my father’s house.”

Task looked like he’d been struck in the face. “I, uh, yes, my Arak.”
Yeah, take that, asshat ! He really shouldn’t have gloated, but he imagined that the ha-ha-fuck-

you was written all over his mug. Elia’s hand gripped his wrist and tugged him along out the door and
into the open air.

It was later in the day than he originally thought it was. The sun was low in the sky, and the heat

of the day was absent, but it wasn’t cold. It was comfortable. He was again struck by the feeling of
grass against his bare feet. It tickled a little. He raised his eyes and tried to wrap his mind around the
sheer scale of the open world around him. Humans didn’t use the oceans anymore because the Eoeans
had taken up the coasts and air flight hadn’t been seen since the Great Plague started.

They circled to the back of the structure, near where the breeding center dome was. It was then

the steps came into view. They were heavy wood and stone and led out to a small picnic area.

“What’s that?” Alexis asked, pointing toward the white and tan stuff that littered the beach. It

was grainy, like small bits of gravel. He walked down the steps ahead of Elia, anxious to experience
this for the first time. He knelt but hesitated before he touched it. “Is it soft?”

“It’s sand,” Elia said, kneeling beside him. “Go ahead. Touch it. It’s like dirt.”
Wow. Was it really the stuff they sold in bottles at novelty stores? It seemed unreal. “I’ve never

seen so much sand before. But I didn’t think so much existed in one place.” He scooped up a handful
and let it sift through his fingers. “It feels cool.”

Elia chuckled. “Your fascination is beautiful.” He raised his hand and smoothed it over his

shoulder. “Come. It’s time for you to see the water.”

Alexis let his alien lover pull him to his feet, and the warm sand squished between his toes as

they approached the surf. He nearly swallowed his tongue as Elia pulled his gauzy blue shirt the same
shade as Alexis’s concubine outfit over his head before tossing it away from the surf. He seemed to
have gotten bigger in the past few days, his muscle heavier and more defined. His long, neglected
cock swelled under his shift. Without thinking, he pulled off his robe and tossed it away with Elia’s
shirt. His alien master turned and took in his image, his nostrils flaring and a growl issuing from his
throat.

“You are perfection, my honor.” His compliment made Alexis warm all over. The sun felt good

on every inch of him. Since coming to the Eoean’s home, he’d spent an extraordinary amount of time
naked. He resisted the urge to preen for Elia. Sexual attraction sure as hell wasn’t the problem
between them. If they could find some kind of common ground, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad between
them.

“I haven’t seen waves like this outside of a wave pool,” Alexis admitted, stepping just outside

of where the wave lapped the beach. “It’s beautiful.”

Elia smiled at him. “I’m happy you think so. Step into the surf. The sand is pushed out to sea

right under your feet. It’s an interesting experience.” He toed off his boots before tossing them to his
discarded shirt. Apparently, his Eoean husband was going to join him in his naked state. Alexis
wouldn’t complain.

Alexis waited until he finished stripping before he stepped into the water. His eyes widened as

the disorienting sensation of the ground shifting beneath his feet. He grinned at Elia. “Holy cow.
That’s freakin’ cool.”

“I thought you might enjoy it,” Elia said. He offered his hand and Alexis took it. “Come, we can

walk along the surf and talk if you wish. The tide will be coming in soon.”

Alexis nodded as the water washed over his feet and teased his ankles before rushing back out

to sea. He wasn’t entirely sure what a tide was, but if it was coming, he wanted to see it. They
walked hand in hand as the sun made its slow move toward the horizon.

Elia pointed to some black stakes about fifty yards out. “Those are some of the fishing pins

where we raise our fishing stock and raise our water vegetables. I’ll show you how we harvest them
in the next few weeks. Our energy fields keep other animals away from the pens while keeping our
livestock inside it so it’s low impact on the environment.”

He didn’t think that he’d ever be able to absorb all the new things that this world had to offer,

most of them were absolutely fascinating. “That’s neat. Do you have any other livestock other than the
ones you’ve got in the ocean?” He was a city boy through and through. He’d never even seen real
grass until he’d been dumped outside the city.

Elia nodded. “Yes. I have a fondness for your Earth horses and have several head of Eoean

Marknads as well.”

“Marknads?”

“Yes. The closest word I can find in your language is cattle. They look a little like your cows

except they are amphibious.” Elia picked up a shell and handed it to Alexis. It was a beautiful white
half-moon exterior with a soft pink-and-blue interior shell. “We can make jewelry out of the whole
pieces if you keep it.”

Alexis wasn’t normally big on jewelry, but he could make an exception for this little shell.

“Cool. I think I’d like that.” He fell silent as they continued to make their way down the beach. When
Elia was around, Alexis didn’t feel as uncomfortable as he should’ve given the fact that he was
technically Elia’s slave. “Is it just me or are you getting bigger?”

Elia glanced over at him before a smile flirted with his lips. “It isn’t just you. Since I’ve

reached my sexual maturity, I will continue to grow so long as I continue to join with my concubine. I
don’t know if I will grow as large as my father, but I will be close.”

“Whoa,” Alexis murmured, looking him up and down. “So how does me and you doing the dirty

make you bigger?”

Elia nodded. “It’s something to do with the hormones that are released when an Eoean male

dominates and joins with a more submissive partner. That’s why Araks are the biggest of our
species.”

“And why you guys do the kinky BDSM stuff,” Alexis finished for him. “Your biology is

wicked, man.”

“I’m not entirely sure what your acronym means, but I believe I should say thank you?” The

question reflected the confusion playing over Elia’s face.

“Yeah, that’d be the thing to say.” Alexis grinned. Elia was the most interesting person he’d ever

met and not just because he was another species. He had some of the most fascinating expressions and
seemed to genuinely listen to Alexis whenever he talked. He certainly had more patience than any
other boyfriend Alexis had.

“You don’t seem very unnerved by submission to me,” Elia said. “You seemed to really enjoy it

in fact. I didn’t expect that. I expected to alleviate your fears on the subject.”

Alexis hesitated. “I used to dabble in Dominance and submission games with my ex-boyfriend.”
“The one who hurt you?”
“Yeah.” He hadn’t talked to anyone about what had happened. He had lost most of his friends

over  the  course  of  his  relationship  and  hadn’t  been  really  comfortable  telling  his  parents  about  it
either.  “I  wanted  him  to  be  my…”  He  searched  for  a  word,  but  only  one  came  to  mind.  “Well,  I
wanted  him  to  be  my  Master,  to  Dominate  me  and  take  care  of  me.  That  sort  of  thing.”  The  change
from comfortable subjects to uncomfortable ones should’ve made him want to pull away from Elia,
but it only made him want to go closer. He felt safe.

“You wanted him to be your Arak,” Elia said, a thoughtful look on his face. “I wonder if our

government is pickier about the lottery winners than they propagate. I just assumed they were
choosing humans at random. Perhaps not.” He stopped walking, and Alexis was forced to either drop
his hand or stop as well. When Elia opened his arms, Alexis went into them. He was a big fan of all
the hard muscles underneath his cheek, and he was developing a real hard-on for Eoean blue.
However, he wasn’t thinking of sex as he laid his cheek on Elia’s pectoral muscle. He was thinking
about how good it felt to not be judged. Elia sighed and held him tighter. “Tell me what happened?”

“There isn’t much to tell,” Alexis hedged. “He was always a controlling guy. I really got off on

the control in the bedroom, so in my mind it was okay. I didn’t realize that it wasn’t really healthy

until it was way too late to put the brakes on. We moved in together, and he started hurting me.” He
shuddered at the memory, but the fear was quickly dispelled by the anger on its heels. “I finally broke
away from the relationship after I graduated and swore I’d never get into another relationship like
that. I really wanted to live again. So I reconnected with one of my friends, Jess, recently and was on
track with that plan until I got selected with the lottery.”

Elia was silent for a long moment. “I do not want to harm you, Alexis. If our sex was too similar

to your former lover, then I will concede to stop.”

Alexis raised his head and looked into Elia’s eyes. They were pools of liquid night, endless,

deep, and sincere. “You are nothing like him.” He leaned up and pressed their lips together in a
chaste kiss. “You’re kind of amazing actually. You’re definitely the kindest Master I’ve ever had.” As
Elia’s possessive hands settled on his waist, he felt his lover’s twin cocks caress his own. “Elia?”

“Yes, my honor? I apologize for my appendages. They like you.” Elia sounded supremely

embarrassed about the fact, which only made Alexis laugh.

“Good. I like that they like me.” He licked his bottom lip. “I don’t want to stop, Elia. I liked

what happened the other day.” He swallowed. “I liked it a lot.”

Elia groaned, and the sound went straight to his already half-hard cock. It felt like the two of

them were the only people in the world. Here, on this isolated stretch of beach, the only thing that
existed was Elia. “You go to my head like low oxygen in high orbit.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Alexis teased, rubbing his face against Elia’s chest. “So

enough about me and my bad relationships from before. I know you never slept with anyone, but did
you ever have a boyfriend or wannabe boyfriend?”

“No,” Elia said, shaking his head. “Before we reach maturity, we’re kept at home for the most

part. The only men who came to my home were all Araks from other houses and business associates
of my father. None appealed. I didn’t even think about sex at that point. It was only in the last six
months, when my horns began to grow, that I even got the urge.”

“I kind of like being your one and only,” Alexis said. It was then the meaning of the words

penetrated. “I mean, until you find another concubine.” He said the words quickly, but they didn’t sit
right. The idea of another man, Eoean, human, or whatever, touching Elia, making him grow, bringing
him the size that he seemed to value as a Arak, made Alexis want to growl.

“Let’s not talk about that,” Elia said. Elia released Alexis and he felt the loss of the touch. He

continued on down the beach. Alexis’s gaze glued itself to his ass. He had a magnificent muscled
buttock. It was a lighter shade of blue than the rest of him which told Alexis that he didn’t spend much
time out in the sun naked. I just want to sink my teeth into him. “Let’s talk about something lighter.”

“How about how beautiful your ass is? Seriously, I could write sonnets.” It was out of his mouth

before he could filter it. Elia threw an incredulous look over his shoulder an instant before he tripped
and fell to his knees in the surf. “Oh shit!” Alexis yelped, hurrying to help him up. “I’m so sorry.”

Elia laughed, his whole face losing its normally humorless countenance and gaining this whole

other light. Alexis was captured. “You are the most inappropriate concubine,” Elia rumbled, pulling
him down so that their lips smashed together. The Eoean flipped him to his back, and Alexis laughed
into Elia’s mouth. He wrapped his arms around the Eoean’s neck and spread his legs to accommodate
his hips. Feeling him pressed against every inch of him like this, he could easily feel the extra bulk
Elia was carrying around. Holy cow, that’s hot.

“I will suck you,” Elia rumbled, breaking their kiss for an instant.

Alexis panted. “Fuck yes.”
Elia slithered down his body and engulfed his cock in the warm, wet heat of his mouth. Alexis

cried out, his body bucking into the warm confines of his mouth. His tongue, slightly longer than a
regular guy’s, wrapped around the head of his cock, pushing him higher. The water rushed beneath
him, the dual sensations heightening everything impossibly. He wanted to come, needed to.

“I want to be yours, Elia,” Alexis gasped. “I want you to be my Arak.” He trusted Elia not to

hurt  him  and  to  give  him  what  he  needed  in  the  bedroom.  He  craved  a  master,  and  he  knew  Elia
would  give  him  what  he  craved  without  turning  into  a  condescending  asshole  in  the  process.
Everything else was just details. They were stuck together forever. They would find a way to make it
work,  no  matter  what.  The  picture  of  Elia  with  a  dozen  concubines  flashed  through  his  head,  and  a
growl  of  possession  tore  itself  from  his  throat.  Chill  out,  Alexis.  You  and  the  guy  have  one
meaningful conversation and you go all “mine” on his ass. Calm down. It would’ve been comical
had  his  emotions  not  been  so  damn  intense.  He  couldn’t  explain  it.  He  had  never  felt  this  intensely
with anyone else.

Elia popped off his cock, continuing to jerk him off with his hands as he looked up the line of

Alexis’s body with those glittering black eyes of his. “Come for me then, my honor. Prove that you’re
mine.”

Alexis’s orgasm was torn out of his body, and there was nothing he could do to stop the instant

obedience his body gave at the guttural command. He shuddered as Elia sealed his mouth over to tip,
catching some of his release on his tongue, demanding he give him more. The only thing that would’ve
made it better was the possibility that Elia’s thick cocks would be buried inside him later. He still
wanted both of them at once. With a little practice, he’d have it.

He sucked and licked him until he was so sensitive to touch that he squirmed under the touch.

“Please, Elia, I’m done.”

Elia pulled off his cock with an audible pop. He looked up and grimaced. “I need, Alexis.”
Alexis pushed himself up on his elbows. “Then let me give you what you need, Elia.” He liked

Arak better than “Master.” It felt fresher, better, right. He was what he’d been searching for in the
other men he’d dated. He just hadn’t realized it yet.

“Your mouth, Alexis.”
“Yes, Arak.” He pushed Elia back, and he obligingly moved so he could roll to his knees. “Sit,

Arak. Let me suck you.” He had no idea how he was going to give a blowjob to two cocks at once,
but he’d seen enough porn vids in his life to pull it off with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

He used his mouth and his hands to lick both heads of his cocks. He was fascinated to see that

they twined together, moving in unison to create pre-cum on the tips. He licked it away and was
fascinated by the sweet taste mixed with the salt of the sea. He groaned. Yes.

“All Father above!” Elia gasped. “So good. Almost as good as when I was inside you. More.”

The command when straight to his spent cock. It tried valiantly to stir despite the fact that he’d just
come.

He kneaded the heavy sac beneath his cocks as he alternated licking, sucking, and using his other

hand to jerk off them each in turn. Elia made the most fascinating noises of pleasure as he worked to
drive his alien master mad with his touch. They twined together, and Alexis had to open his mouth
even wider to suck in the heads in unison, using his hand to jerk him off as best he could. The only
thing he could think of was making Elia come. He wanted to pleasure him so well that he’d forget

every awkward moment between them.

“Alexis, close.” The disjointed sentence drove him on. He shot a pleading look at Elia, and the

Eoean let his head fall back in pleasure. He made another moaning sound in the back of his throat an
instant before sweet-tasting orgasm shot between his lips. The taste was sweet, and he sucked
rhythmically to keep up with the flow. He raised his eyes, and their gazes met.

The spark made the fine hairs on his arms stand on end. He gave another lap to his cockheads

and  pulled  back.  Elia  grabbed  his  arms  and  dragged  him  up  the  long  line  of  his  torso  before  he
smashed  their  mouths  together.  The  kiss  was  broken  abruptly  as  they  both  gasped  at  the  increasing
feeling of intimacy. Alexis raised his hands and traced his features, marveling at their similarities and
their  differences.  Their  features  were  similar  enough.  Elia  had  strong  cheek  bones,  a  firm  jawline,
and  plush  lips,  all  traits  he  found  attractive  in  a  man.  He  raised  his  fingers  to  touch  the  inch-long
horns  right  above  his  eyebrows.  They  were  warm  to  the  touch  and  pulsed  with  his  odd  four-count
heartbeat.  He  traced  each  one  lovingly  before  running  his  hand  through  Elia’s  phenomenal
multicolored hair.

“Alexis,” Elia whispered. The tone was reverent. He took Alexis’s hand and placed it on his

chest. Alexis knew exactly what he meant. He felt the answering emotions rise up in his chest, and it
was so strange and alien and wonderful he gasped. Elia echoed the sound.

“What is that?” Alexis asked, shuddering as Elia nuzzled his neck.
“It’s resonance. Soul resonance to be specific. I didn’t think it actually existed.” Elia held him

tightly as the water rushed over them a little higher.

“What’s that?”
“Something rare and unimaginable,” Elia murmured. “It doesn’t seem to be complete though.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. It keeps fading after. True soul resonance is a permanent state from what I understand. I

don’t have a lot of information on it because it’s so rare. I will look into it further though if you like.”
Elia pressed a kiss to Alexis’s lips before moving to stand. “Come, let’s wash off in the surf.”

Alexis nodded. “Okay.” He let Elia help him up and walked further into the waves. He stepped

down into deeper water and was surprised at how cold the water was. At midthigh Elia pulled them
to a stop and cupped water to splash on their sand, sweat, and cum-covered bodies. Alexis took a
deep breath and went to his knees so that the water came to his chest. The current pulled on his body
as the sand moved under his knees. He looked up in time to see Elia sink down beside him.

Something brushed Alexis under the water, and he yelped. “Something just touched me.” Images

of sea monsters, sharks, and things that stung flashed through his mind.

Elia chuckled. “It’s just seaweed. Calm down.” He looked over Alexis’s shoulder. “Task is

bringing the food down. Are you done washing?”

“Yeah. I am.” He waved his arms experimentally. It wasn’t like swimming in the rec pool back

home. There were currents and stuff that he couldn’t see floating in the water. He stood with Elia’s
help, and it was surprisingly difficult to make his way back toward the shore. Elia’s broad shoulders
were his anchor point as he followed the man farther up the beach and into the looser sand. “So, what
were you and your father talking about when I walked in?” he asked, making conversation as the gulls
sounded overhead.

“He was advising me on how to properly treat you. Basically so I wouldn’t embarrass him at his

Araks meeting in the next few weeks. He expects me to have a well-trained concubine and do an

exhibition for them.” He paused. “We will discuss that over our meal. I need to know what you are
comfortable doing in front of others.”

The idea of performing for a room full of other men had him hard in no time flat. The thought of

Elia forcing him into a higher plane of pleasure thrilled him. “Whatever my Arak wants.” The
promise was out of his mouth before he could really think of the consequences. Elia paused, and he
nearly ran into his back.

“You would be willing to try pleasure/pain?” He did a good job of not letting any sort of

eagerness show on his face, but Alexis had heard that hungry note before. Elia wanted to master him
in every way. Alexis had been reluctant to go back to pleasure/pain when the want of it had made him
excuse his ex’s behavior. But he hadn’t been kidding. Elia was nothing like his ex. He felt different.

“If you promise to go slow and experiment at home first.”
Elia turned. “You consider this your home?”
“Isn’t it?” Alexis asked, suddenly nervous. Had he misread Elia’s whole speech about them

being a forever thing?

Elia nodded. “Of course. This is your home always.” He paused. “I wish to try pleasure/pain on

you here. If you enjoy it and it doesn’t trigger any trauma, then perhaps we could consider an
exhibition for the Araks. However, it’s not mandatory. I would never put you in a position that would
disturb you to a great degree.”

The fierceness with which he spoke made something click into place. “Your dad is a bit of a

tyrant, huh?”

His alien opened his mouth to respond, but he never got the chance.
“Our Arak would never speak ill of his father,” a familiar voice cut in.
He leaned to look around Elia and saw Task standing there, arms crossed, and glaring. Look

who has his feathers in fluff, again. “Your meal is prepared, Arak. If you and your concubine would
care to join me over at the table.”

Elia looked a little miffed at the interruption. “We are coming. You may leave, Task.” Task gave

a half bow and turned from the both of them but not before throwing another look of disdain in
Alexis’s direction.

He sighed. “That guy really doesn’t like me.”
“He is a servant. He has to like you,” Elia said. But he didn’t seem as sure of himself as Alexis

would’ve liked. “I apologize for his less than welcoming attitude.”

Alexis twined their hands. “It’s not your fault. Maybe he’ll start liking me when he figures out

that you and I are getting along again. He seemed fine until our big blowout. So, what were you going
to say about your dad?”

“My father is not the warmest person.” Alexis figured that was the closest Elia came to telling

someone that they were a douche bag. He gave his lover’s hand a squeeze. Elia continued. “He is a
very hard man and treats his concubines more like possessions than people. His spawns aren’t much
better. I never wanted a household like his. Task is very affectionate toward my father. I believe the
only reason my father released him to my service was to keep an eye on me.”

“Sounds controlling,” Alexis said. “I guess I’m not the only one who has been in a controlling

relationship. It’s just not the same type of relationship.” They had more in common than Alexis had
originally thought. “We’ll make a new normal, my Arak. We won’t live in the shadows of either one
of our pasts. How’s that sound?”

Chapter Six

Elia’s hand fell twice more on Alexis’s gorgeous bubble butt before his lover cried out and

came against the juncture of Elia’s thighs. He was bent over Elia’s lap in the pleasure room,
receiving the spanking he’d asked for at supper.

The days that had passed between them had been happy ones. Elia attended his duties as Arak

during  the  morning,  tended  the  crops  and  livestock  during  the  day  with  his  concubine’s  help,  swam
with Alexis in the ocean before supper, and then practiced their sex and submission during the hours
before rest. Elia was finding it harder and harder to leave his concubine at night. Their conversations
warmed  him,  and  even  when  they  disagreed,  they  grew  closer.  He  was  becoming  an  expert  on
compromising  and  had  agreed  to  wait  on  spawn  until  his  first  concubine  was  ready.  He  wanted  to
spend  every  possible  second  with  his  human  lover.  The  only  thing  that  held  him  back  was  the
knowledge that it went against tradition and if his father found out, there would be hell to pay, to use
one of Alexis’s expressions.

Elia had grown four inches since their first time at the beach, and his muscle was starting to

swell with each session his lover allowed him to perform. So far they’d done spanking, cropping, and
whipping, all with Alexis tied or restrained in cuffs. However, Elia’s favorite submission had to be
the one they were in currently. He loved warming Alexis’s tight ass with his own hands.

“Are you ready for my cocks, my honor?” Elia rumbled.
“Yes, Arak.” Alexis slid off his lap and onto the floor, spreading his legs wide to accommodate

Elia’s hips. Face-to-face, everything was more intense. “Come inside me, Elia. Please.”

Elia couldn’t wait to oblige him. His lover had been eager for the past several times they’d

joined to take both of his cocks at once. He still wasn’t sure if his lover was capable, but he was
going to try.

He used Alexis’s spunk to slick his pricks before probing his fingers into Alexis’s stretched

passage. The boy couldn’t get much readier. He took his primary cock in hand and slid it deep into his
lover with one feral thrust. Alexis’s passage spasmed around his length, and his concubine gasped.
He fucked against him, in and out until they were both writhing at the sensation.

Their minds merged completely, and Elia’s head swam as he was assaulted with the combined

sensations of both his and Alexis’s feelings. It was a surreal experience but one he’d been repeating
with regularity since they’d come to their agreement. He felt Alexis’s eagerness for more, and it
nearly made his primary cock shoot. It was so hard maintaining control when he felt Alexis’s wants
along with his own.

He reached up and twisted both of Alexis’s nipple clamps in turn. The human screamed and

clawed at his back, urging him on. He just loved how responsive his concubine was. Their eyes
locked.

“Elia.” The name was a plea that Elia found impossible to resist. He added more slick to his

second prick and pushed the two heads against Alexis’s stretched passage. Alexis cried out, and Elia
paused.

“Are you all right, my honor?” His voice sounded strangled by his desire.
“Yes, God, yes. More!”
He would’ve chuckled at the enthusiastic response if he hadn’t been so turned on. He sank

deeper into Alexis’s body, trembling with the effort to go slow and not thrust like he wanted to. The

heat and the pressure on his cocks was intense. He pulled back slightly before thrusting forward
again.

“My honor, so beautiful,” Elia murmured, gripping his lover’s hips. His lover’s skin contrasted

beautifully with the blue hue of his own. He groaned as Alexis leaned up to kiss him once more.

One final push forward and he was fully seated inside his lover’s body. He trembled at the

sensation of being fully joined with his lover. All Father, if he doesn’t let me start moving soon, I’m
going to go crazy.

“Move,” Alexis snapped, tugging on his shoulders. “Please, Arak. Have mercy here.”
Elia chuckled. He loved his eagerness, truly. Then he thought about nothing as his body’s

instincts took over and commanded him to set a driving rhythm. Both his cocks had never been
engaged like this, and it was enough to make him groan his pleasure to the ceiling. Alexis was right
and perfect and his.

In no time at all, he felt his balls contract with the urge to come. “Close,” he warned as he

pounded inside the silken confines of Alexis’s tight ass.

“Come inside me, Master,” Alexis urged. “I’m close, too.” He reached between them and

gripped his cock. He squeezed it twice before he erupted all over the planes of Elia’s abdomen. The
contractions  that  reverberated  along  their  connection  sent  him  spiraling  off  into  pleasure.  He  was
thrown violently into release, and both his cocks erupted in a series of multiple orgasms that had him
screaming  and  thrashing  as  his  mind  was  thrown  into  space.  He’d  never  experience  pleasure  so
sharply  as  he  did  when  he  was  pouring  the  sticky  proof  of  his  pleasure  deep  in  the  welcoming
confines of his lover’s body.

He gasped, shuddering through the act. Alexis petted his sweaty back, nuzzling his neck as he

held him through it all. In the aftermath, he panted for breath as contentment swamped him. He never
wanted anyone like he wanted Alexis. No matter what happened, he knew one irrefutable fact. Alexis
was his everything.

Afterward Elia picked him up and brought him back to the concubines’ room. He kissed Alexis

over and over, unable to help himself as their closeness grew and the feeling of unity grew in leaps
and bounds. He could operate most of the technology inlaid in his home with his mind at this point,
though it was low-level. It was getting stronger, but there was something holding them back from
achieving true soul resonance. He just couldn’t figure out what. The research he’d done indicated that
if he could harness the full depth of the resonance, he would unlock all his capabilities to manipulate
Eoean technology, a thing they’d lost since coming to earth, and a lesser-known study had claimed
that it allowed for immortality. That belief was a bit far stretched, even if he was starting to believe.

“Everything is going to change tomorrow,” Alexis murmured as Elia tucked him into his bed

before settling down beside him.

“Nothing will change, my honor,” Elia promised, gathering his lover into his arms. “We’ll just

go to my father’s home, play nice with him and the Araks for an evening, and then return home to our
life together.”

Alexis nipped his chest, and Elia jumped. His lover was forever doing things like that, touching

him expectantly even without sex. He’d grown used to the constant touches and grew to love each and
every one. “Hey, Elia?”

“Yes, my honor?”
“Stay the night with me?” Alexis asked, vulnerability evident in his wide blue eyes. They were

beautiful Eoean blue. “I want to wake up with you in the morning. I’ll be your good boy for you in
front of everyone tomorrow, but tonight, I just want you.”

His normal hesitancy vanished. He could do it, just this once. “Yes, my honor. I’ll stay with you.

I’ll hold you until the sun rises.”

Alexis settled against his chest and traced the indents of his abdomen. “I’m loving the extra

muscle. I just love how big you’re getting. I’ve never really had a hard-on for gym bunnies, but I am
all about you.”

Again, he had no idea exactly what that meant, but he got the gist. “I accept your compliment.”

He resisted the impulse to roll Alexis onto his back and kiss him senseless. It would just start their
sex all over again, and Alexis would be too sore tomorrow to enjoy what he planned to do to him. “I
care for you, Alexis. I just wanted you to know that before tomorrow.”

Alexis raised his head so their eyes met. “You don’t think it’s too soon?”
“What does time have to do with feelings?” This wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting. He

shifted, uncomfortable. “I’m not good at this. Perhaps I expressed them wrongly. My family doesn’t
do these things well.” At all. But he wasn’t going to tell Alexis that.

Alexis shook his head. “I’m not attacking you.” Slowly he raised his hand to trace Elia’s bottom

lip. “You’re right. Time has nothing to do with it.” He gave him a shaky smile. “I was just surprised
is all. I care for you, too. A lot. More than I should considering.” He kissed his mouth. “You’re just
so damn sweet.” He pulled back, grinned. “And all mine.”

Elia laughed at the possessiveness he heard in his tone. “Yes. For now I am all yours.” He

returned his smile. “You will get sick of my affections given enough time and be glad I will take other
concubines.” He said it as a joke, but the look that crossed Alexis’s face told him that he’d been far
from funny. In fact, he looked more like he’d been struck in the face than close to laughing. “Alexis?”

“Wow,” Alexis said, pulling away. He felt the loss acutely.
“Don’t, my honor. I was playing.”
“You can’t say you care about me in one breath and then talk about taking another lover with the

next. Humans are possessive, Elia. I’m possessive.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at
the ceiling. Glared would’ve been a more accurate description.

Elia frowned. “You want to be my only concubine?”
“I—uh, well,” he sighed, his muscles visibly tensing. “I wouldn’t mind.”
“Answer me honestly, Alexis.” He’d never considered the possibility that he would only have

one concubine. His father was traditional Eoean all the way. He expected his sons to follow tradition
despite the fact that most Eoeans hadn’t since they arrived on earth.

“Yes, dammit,” Alexis snapped. “I want to be your only concubine.”
Elia stayed silent, perplexed. “I will consider it.”
That seemed to give Alexis pause. “You mean it?”
“Yes, my honor. I do not express my feelings easily, and the fact that I have them means more to

me than I expected it to. I am willing to do many things for you.” Things he hadn’t ever considered,
like spending the night in the concubines’ quarters.

“Where I come from, they call that love,” Alexis whispered.
“Then perhaps that is what this is,” Elia said, pulling his human back into his arms. He held him

tight. He felt oddly liberated by the admission. Their connection flared for an instant, and Elia was
startled that sex hadn’t been necessary to make it happen.

“I think I’m going to like this soul resonance thing,” Alexis said, cuddling to Elia closer. “It

feels awesome.”

Elia couldn’t help but to agree.
A ripple of sound came over the speakers. “Incoming communications,” a mechanized voice

announced.

Elia cursed. “I’ve got to get that. Anyone calling at this hour…”
Alexis made a shooing motion with his hand. “I understand. Go on. Just come back to me.”
“Hold the call,” he said to the ceiling. “I’ll be there in just a moment.” He deposited one last

kiss on his lover’s mouth before rolling from bed and padding toward his side of the house.

He grabbed one of the robes he’d left by the pleasure room and wrapped it around himself. He’d

taken to just wearing them in this section of the house. Collecting all his clothes after they got done
had gotten a bit redundant.

Task nodded to him as he passed the threshold from the concubines’ quarters to the main

structure. He wasn’t entirely sure why the Eoean was still up, but he waved a hand in greeting
nonetheless. Typically, Task was in bed well before this hour. Of course he’d been acting rather odd
lately. He was really going to have to sit him down and talk about this ridiculous feud he seemed to
be carrying on with Alexis.

Finally, he managed to make it to his work room. It was a simple place with only a work station

and a computer grid as furniture with minimal abstract wall art hanging in the area behind him. It was
the only room in the house with a communication vid.

Elia placed his hand over the activation screen. “Answer call.”
The clear screen rippled before filling in with a picture. The caller was an Eoean he’d never

seen before. The male wasn’t an Arak. Despite the length of his horns, he was relatively thin and
short. He frowned. “May I help you?”

“Arak Elia,” he began. “I’m Richt Landa of the internal regulations division of Eoean

distributions.”

Elia’s frown deepened. “You’re from the lottery?”
Richt nodded. “I am. It is come to the attention of the Eoean government that your region

received a higher than average number of humans from the lottery populace.”

It was news to him. “We are very blessed.” His father would say that it was because he was

such a fine Arak to his family that the All Father had been kind enough to bless his people with human
treasures. “I don’t understand why you would call in the middle of the night to tell me this.”

“I call, Arak, because there have been certain accusations against some people connected with

the winnings that amount to some very serious charges if they are founded.” The Eoean leaned
forward, his face becoming larger in the view screen. “I know you’re traveling to visit your father
tomorrow at the regional Araks’ meeting and wanted to contact you before you left.”

“I don’t understand exactly what you want from me,” Elia said, shifting in his work chair. What

he was talking about was almost tantamount to treason. Humans were seen as invaluable resources.
After owning one, he could see why. They were perfect companions. He smiled as he thought of
Alexis waiting for him back in his room. He caught himself before it developed into a full-on grin and
smoothed his expression over. “I was given my human per the lottery guidelines. My father sent me to
fetch him from the interior and had us wed in the traditional fashion when we arrived.”

“So to your knowledge, all humans were assigned and given in a legal fashion?” Richt pressed.

“Of course,” Elia said, beginning to get annoyed with his inquiry. Alexis was his by all rights,

and the thought of someone saying that he had no rights to him really rubbed his scales wrong. “There
is no way to tamper with the lottery. Regulations oversees part of that, but other agencies are easily
able to monitor the distribution as well. It would be stupid for someone to try and illegally obtain a
human. Especially when you can purchase them from the intended lottery winners if said recipient is
willing to sell.”

Slowly, Richt nodded. “I can see your earnestness. All right. I’ll make a note in the file of your

statement. How is your human faring?”

The new question seemed supremely easy. “Alexis is all I had hoped for in a concubine, and he

is assimilating nicely.”

“Good,” the other Eoean said. “I am happy to know that he is well. You are required to take him

for a six-week check. Are you aware of the stipulation?”

Elia frowned. “I was not. However, I will have my servant make note of it so I do not miss it.”
“As a lottery recipient, you should’ve received a packet of information.”
Elia raised an eyebrow at the pointed statement. “My father most likely forgot to hand over the

data before we departed. I will inquire about it when I go to his home tomorrow. Now, if that is all, I
would like to rejoin my concubine.”

Richt sat back in his hair, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Of course. I didn’t mean to keep you.

Good night, Arak Elia.”

“Good night.” He cut the connection. What a strange conversation that had been. His earlier

conversation with his father came back to him. That’s what he meant by “inquiries.” He knew
logically that he’d done nothing wrong, but there was still a part of him that was worried about the
implication of Richt contacting him. Now that he’d had Alexis, had grown close to him, he couldn’t
imagine his life without him.

“My Arak,” Task said from the doorway, “is everything all right?”
He pushed back from his work station and stood. “Yes. Everything is fine, Task.” He now stood

a good three inches taller than Task. It was strange considering he’d had to look up at the man his
entire life. “Task?”

“Yes, Arak?”
“Why do you dislike my concubine?” He needed to know the answer. If Task was going to stay

at his household in his employment, Elia needed to get things sorted out with him now. He would not
have him causing problems for Alexis any longer.

Task’s blue cheeks flushed a darker shade of blue. “I do not dislike him.”
“Tell me the truth, Task,” Elia commanded. “I know the kind of servant you are. You anticipate

my needs before I even have to ask, and you’ve never made my life difficult. Yet Alexis has to
constantly remind you to do the simplest tasks, and you make him ask for everything no matter the
situation. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your attitude.”

Task shifted from foot to foot, looking uneasy. “You know that I worked in your father’s house

for many years and that I consider you my own spawn.”

Elia nodded.
“Then you understand why I see his constant corruption of your upbringing disturbing. You

haven’t even attempted breeding yet despite the fact that he is your first concubine and you can take no
others until you do.” Task ticked off his reasons on his fingers, the same way he did when he’d told

Elia not to do something as a child. “You compromise with him constantly just to avoid his
discomfort. You allow him to work the land beside you and treat him like an equal instead of a lesser.
You stay later and later in the concubines’ quarters every night. Your father is more regimented in the
time he spends with his concubines and always has been. You speak with him like he is a trusted
friend. He is a concubine. It isn’t tradition.”

Elia felt a tick of anger start in his jaw. “I told you when you were assigned that I would not run

my father’s household.”

“But I did not expect you to throw off all ideas of family and propriety,” Task said, clearly

getting as agitated. “You’re turning into a liberal-minded Modern!”

“We aren’t on Eoean anymore,” Elia reminded. “Some things will change. I have respected my

father’s wishes to keep his household traditional, but I am not. I love my Alexis. He is human and is
not like most Eoeans, and I like him just the way he is. If you don’t like it, you are welcome to return
to my father’s house and I will hire another. There are plenty of Eoean servants who are in need of
work who would be willing to work in a nontraditional household.” He would miss Task, and it
would be a pain to have to train another, but he would do it in the pursuit of peace. He didn’t want
Alexis to feel uncomfortable in his own home.

Task opened and closed his mouth several times like he was in shock. “You’d send me back to

Prince Kranok over the opinion of a concubine you’ve know a week and some odd days?”

“My father isn’t even a prince anymore, Task. That’s the point. He still rules over us and our

daily lives like a monarch, but we are not in Eoean anymore. Earth has new rules. And, Task, yes, I
will send you back if you refuse to play nice with my beloved.” He’d been terrified to say that aloud
since they’d come here, but now it seemed like it was simply another fact of life. Kranok hadn’t been
a prince since they’d left their home planet, and Elia was not required to live his way.

Finally, Task spoke. “I will accept your changes, Arak, and I will treat your concubine

accordingly.”

Elia nodded, satisfied. “Good.” He gave Task’s shoulder a squeeze. “Now, seek your own bed,

my friend. You’ll find me in Alexis’s come morning. Bring my clothing there when you wake.”

Task’s eyes widened, but he didn’t offer up a protest for once.
Elia turned and strode back down the hallway. He wanted to return to his lover and rest up for

tomorrow. They had a lot to get through.

* * * *

Alexis kept his head bowed as they entered the main sitting room of Prince Kranok, Elia’s

Grade-A asshat of a daddy. He wasn’t entirely sure why he disliked the guy so much, but he seemed
to have instilled an equal measure of fear and resentment in Elia, and though he didn’t know the full
extent of the story, it made Alexis mistrust him. From what he gathered from the few times they’d
talked about Elia’s childhood, the guy was a tyrant and cold as a dead fish. The frosty greeting he’d
received from Kranok on their arrival at the house didn’t dissuade him of the notion either.

“Your concubine is quite lovely, Elia,” a huge male opposite Elia at the round table said as they

sat at their chairs. The first concubines were all standing behind their respective Araks, all of them
with their eyes trained on the floor or the backs of their lovers’ heads. Alexis was doing his best, but
it was killing him. Curiosity wouldn’t make him embarrass Elia though. Alexis had spent several

hours with the tutor learning what traditional Eoean Araks expected of their first concubines at
meetings like this. Elia had apologized ahead of time, which helped the fact that he equated traditional
Eoean ideas of concubine expectations to the equivalency of a bunch of show dogs paraded around
for other Araks in a really fucked-up pissing contest.

The meets were originally about introducing new concubines to an exclusive peer group of

Araks, the aristocracy of their world. But it had become twisted since they’d come back to earth.
Now it was really a way for the older Araks who’d lost power to relive the glory days. Alexis
thought it was pretty stupid to cater to Elia’s father’s obsession with the old ways, but so long as Elia
wanted to, Alexis would put up with it. Elia’s admission of affection probably had a lot to do with his
willingness to compromise, but that was neither here nor there.

“I think he is,” Elia rumbled, clearly pleased with the compliment.
“Your father expressed some concern about his behavior at supper last night, and I’d heard that

some Eoeans who have mated humans have found their tamings difficult. Yours does not seem to have
this problem.” The big male raised his glass to Elia and gave him a grin. “I hear we’re going to be
given an exhibition of his submission.”

Elia nodded. “Yes. My concubine has agreed to do a demonstration after we finish here if you

care to watch.” Alexis was proud of him for his steadiness. He’d been a little jittery when they’d
gotten dressed this morning.

Elia’s father snorted. “Let’s hope that he remembers his lines then.”
Alexis stamped down on the urge to growl but barely. Elia was doing fine, and the

condescending tone in Kranok’s voice was enough to put his teeth on edge.

“My concubine is perfection, Father,” Elia rumbled, a thread of steel in his voice. “I don’t take

kindly to you speaking of him as anything less than that.”

“I have heard rumors about his ‘perfection,’” Kranok said. The remark was snide. The bastard.

“At any rate, I have a surprise for you.”

“Rumors?” Elia asked, ignoring the last half of his sentence. “We haven’t been out to have

rumors. Your spy is getting tedious, father.”

I’m going to kick Task’s stupid ass . Alexis clenched his fists at his side. Task lived in Elia’s

house, ate his food, worked for him, and still reported back to Elia’s dad like Elia was an unruly
child. We’re going to have to talk about this when we get to our room. Task needed to go.

Kranok cracked his knuckles and sat back more in his chair. “I just watch over you, Elia.

Nothing more. Concubines are difficult to manage when they’re not properly trained. Your size is
coming along nicely. At least he’s not dominating you.”

“Now, Kranok, there is no need to stab at your spawn’s manhood like that. We all feel a deeper

affection toward our first concubines because we’re young,” the Eoean who had complimented Elia a
moment ago said, coming to his defense. “When he takes a second concubine, he will assume a more
traditional disposition.”

Alexis’s heart constricted at the thought. He didn’t want that. They were in love, not just in lust,

though there was plenty of that, too. He hadn’t been able to tell him yet, but it was coming. He was
going to just as soon as they got back to their own home.

“I agree. Which is why I am going to bend the rules for him once more,” Kranok said, looking

far too pleased with himself. “Since his first concubine wasn’t traditional, I see no reason why I
shouldn’t give him another. A triad will allow for better balance I think.”

Utter silence greeted his announcement.
Elia’s back was one long thread of tension. “What are you saying, Father?”
“Deme,” Kranok said, motioning for his first concubine to come forward. “Can you please go

fetch our spawn’s surprise?”

Deme bowed his head before turning back toward the exit and walking out with a graceful

sashay of his hips. Alexis trembled with the urge to snap at Kranok and tell him he was being a real
piss head. He had such a smug look on his face that hitting him would’ve been a pleasurable
experience.

Conversation resumed, but he noticed that Elia wasn’t participating anymore. He ached to go to

him and give him the comfort he so clearly needed, but he held his position. There would be time for
that later. Without thinking, he summoned up an image of the two of them together, just holding one
another in the privacy of the concubines’ quarters. The connection that usually only happened when
they were neck-deep in sexual intimacy flared bright, and the sconces in the room flickered as they
connected.

“Damn power grid keeps giving us fits,” one of the Araks rumbled. “You’d think they’d be able

to maintain something as simple as a power connection. It’s mostly solar powered anyway.” He
sighed. “Oh how the mighty Eoean powers have fallen.”

“Agreed,” the older Araks echoed in unison.
Elia glanced over his shoulder, and their eyes met. Alexis gave him a soft smile, and he felt

Elia’s gratitude in his mind somehow. He couldn’t explain it but the feeling of safety arose when they
were linked like this. He just knew when it happened, they were going to be all right no matter what.
Maybe it was an Eoean thing, or maybe it was the soul resonance that Elia had hinted at a week ago.
Whatever the reason, it felt good to feel Elia deep inside his mind.

“Ah, there we are,” Kranok rumbled in his gravel-filled voice. “Deme, bring Dekic forward.

Son, let me introduce you to your second concubine.”

Another Eoean stepped up beside the newly returned Deme. Even Alexis could acknowledge

that he was pretty, masculine yet delicate at the same time. He had a lovely swimmers’ build and blue
skin that was paler than Elia’s with a deep-purple-and-green sheen to his hair. He bowed low.

Alexis felt the panic reverberate through the connection between Elia and himself. Quick on its

heels was fear and anger. He couldn’t tell who the anger was coming from because he was pretty
pissed himself. He couldn’t wait to see Elia tell his dad that he’d told Alexis that he wouldn’t take
another concubine. He would savor the shock and disbelief written all over Kranok’s stupid face.

“Father, I don’t know what to say,” Elia began. “I–I hadn’t expected…” He trailed off and

waved toward the new Eoean. Go on. Tell him. Tell him you’re mine . When he didn’t continue,
Alexis’s heart fell to his toes and the connection abruptly cut out as a new sense of betrayal filled
him.

“I am honored,” Elia murmured, staring at the tabletop.
“Honored? Are you fucking kidding me?” Alexis snapped. So much for being the good

concubine. “You’re mine.”

Elia whipped around in his chair and shot him a pleading look. “Alexis, I—”
“You promised!” he hissed. “You can’t be his servant and my Master at the same time. Come on,

Elia. Be my Arak.”

“Be quiet,” Elia commanded, glaring at him. There was something in his tone that reminded him

of David, and Alexis descended into some place dark and cold.

“Fuck you, Elia,” he whispered. Even though he was screaming on the inside, he couldn’t

manage more than that level of sound.

“At least he wants to fornicate,” one of the Araks rumbled, laughing. “Even when he’s upset, he

wants his Arak. I need to get one of these humans.” Alexis opened his mouth to correct that asinine
statement when Elia’s chair scraping the floor sounded.

“I’ll be right back,” Elia said, pushing up from the table. “Alexis, come here.”
He couldn’t believe he’d fallen for it again. He couldn’t believe he was going to be stuck in

another relationship where he wasn’t valued as a person. He raised his eyes, a denial on the tip of his
tongue.

“My honor, trust me,” Elia pleaded. “Believe in me. I am not David.” He had to have read his

mind. There was no other explanation for why he would know that was what he’d been thinking. His
deep black eyes flicked to the other Araks. “My concubine needs me. I will be back shortly.” With
that, he swept Alexis up in his arms and carried him from the room. A smart-ass remark about being
able to walk on his own nearly popped out of his mouth, but he managed to bite his tongue in time.

He gripped his lover’s shoulders and prayed that Elia wouldn’t disappoint him.

Chapter Seven

Elia knew he’d messed up and not reacted properly. He just hoped that he hadn’t messed up any

chance for Alexis to trust him enough to go through the rest of the day. He knew his lack of immediate
denial of his father’s “gift” and then his subsequent command had him looking like a liar to Alexis.

He carried his human lover straight to his old room, ignoring everyone else they passed in the

hallways. He’d tolerated the cold atmosphere when he’d lived here, but now it felt uncomfortable and
oppressive in a way that made him want to run back to his home and never leave it again.

“I am sorry, my honor,” Elia murmured as the door swished closed behind them, ensconcing

them in his former bedroom. “I was trying to approach my father’s gift diplomatically and didn’t think
about how you would interpret it.”

He set his lover down gingerly, and his human immediately crossed the room to put as much

distance between them as possible. He logically understood, but it still made his chest constrict. “Are
you or are you not going to take that damn Eoean guy as a second concubine?”

“Alexis—”
“Yes or no, Elia. That’s all I want to hear.”
Elia took a deep breath. “I only want you, Alexis. Only you.” He tried to convey in those short

sentences all the feelings that had bubbled up in the short time he’d known Alexis. The phrase that had
been on the tip of his tongue since last night sounded. “I love you.”

Slowly, the tension in Alexis’s shoulders relaxed. “So I’m your only concubine?”
“From now until I breathe my last breath,” Elia promised.
Alexis’s expression softened, and he opened his mouth to say something else, but the door

opened, interrupting him.

Kranok ducked through the doorway, his expression furious. Elia knew that expression well. He

internally cringed, knowing the tongue lashing he was about to get. “How dare you embarrass me in
front  of  the  other  Araks,”  Kranok  snapped.  He  pointed  his  meaty  finger  over  at  Alexis,  and  Elia
stepped protectively in front of him. “You let that human turn you into something weak and pathetic. I
thought  the  power  and  immortality  that  soul  resonance  granted  would  be  worth  whatever  cultural
hardship  having  a  human  for  a  first  concubine  placed  on  you,  but  nothing  is  worth  you  turning  your
back on your duty.”

“I’ve done my duty,” Elia snapped, advancing on his father for the first time in his life. He

looked up into the face of the man who had tormented him since childhood and glared. “I have done
nothing but my duty to my people and this family. I am not a child anymore, and I will not accept your
dictates any longer.”

Kranok reached out and picked up Elia by his throat, his nostrils flaring in anger. “Who do you

think you’re talking to, boy? What stupid human habit have you picked up to talk to me in such a
fashion?” His grip tightened, and Elia gasped for air, clawing at the hand on his neck. Memories of
being picked up and shook when he was an unruly spawn assaulted him, compiling his humiliation.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a streak of tanned flesh and blue fabric. “Get off of him, you

sack of shit!” His eyes bulged as his lover swung a chunk of Eoean sculpture at his father’s head. It
connected with Kranok’s jaw, and his hand fell away from the column of his throat.

Kranok roared, reaching for Alexis. Elia jumped in between them and shoved Kranok backward.

“Stop it, Father!” Elia shouted. “You have no right to touch me or my concubine. I am Arak.” He’d

finally had enough of his father’s control. Alexis was more than worth his father’s wrath. The
connection, their soul resonance, snapped in place like a rubber band, and he was so flooded with
mental energy that the power in the room blazed bright enough to overload the lights and send all the
Eoean technologies into a kaleidoscope of color as they popped and sparked.

Kranok froze. “I see,” he whispered, looking between Elia and Alexis with a new calculating

look on his face. He rubbed his jaw. “If you leave now and disrespect my present to you, you’re no
longer welcome here. You will not see your sire or your siblings ever after.”

The threat was a knife twisted in his gut, but Elia had had enough of Kranok bullying him. “So

be it. We’ll collect our things and be gone within the hour. Expect Task to be back at your house
tomorrow.”

Kranok turned from the both of them without another word and stalked out their room. The

adrenaline that had kept him on his feet during the confrontation left in a rush. He trembled as the
reality of what he’d just done sank in.

Alexis came over to him and wrapped his arms around Elia’s waist. “I guess there will be no

exhibition, huh?” He was shaking. Elia held onto him tightly.

“No, my honor. There will not.” He paused, chuckled. It sounded a bit forced, but the relief was

evident. “I am glad actually. I don’t fit this anymore.” He probably had never fit. It had taken his
concubine demanding another kind of life for him to see that. He shook his head to clear it. “Let’s go,
my honor. We need to leave this place.”

“I’ll get the bag packed,” Alexis said, giving him a squeeze.
“Please do, my honor.” He wanted to get moving as soon as possible.

* * * *

The ride back to his home was a quiet event. Neither one of them seemed to know what to say as

the transport took them back to their own private oasis. Alexis wasn’t sure when he’d stopped
thinking of his home back in the human cities as home, but he had. He now looked forward to stepping
into Elia’s home with the eagerness of a man who’d been away from home for ten long years.

“I’m sorry,” Alexis said as the transport came to a stop at the entrance to their long dirt road.

The Marknads were in the pasture that was near the pond on the south end of their lands, grazing on
the rich earth grasses. Truth be told, they looked more like skinny hippos than cows, but they moved a
lot like cows. They had friendly little personalities though. Alexis actually enjoyed going out and
putting out their feed with Elia in the early afternoons. They usually went on horseback, but
occasionally he’d get to hop down and caress their slick skins. He wasn’t sure he’d actually be able
to eat them come harvesting season. He was very attached to the little buggers.

“Why are you apologizing?” Elia asked, climbing out of transport before offering Alexis a hand

out. “This shame isn’t yours, my honor. It is my father’s. He knew I would have to choose between
following his dictates and choosing the path I’d set out on. He just didn’t wager I would choose you
when confronted.”

Alexis took his hand and let him pull him the rest of the way out of the vehicle. “What about your

sire and the rest of your siblings? You gave up everything just because I’m selfish.” Guilt was eating
him alive. Alexis hadn’t been thinking when he’d creamed Kranok in the face with a chunk of Eoean
sculpture. All he’d seen was someone hurting Elia, and he’d reacted. He’d half expected Elia to cave

once Kranok had laid down his ultimatum. The prick. However, he’d been floored by Elia’s firm
assurance and unwillingness to compromise his wishes.

Elia reached back into the transport and pulled out their overnight bag. It was programmed to

hover  and  tag  along  behind  them,  so  with  a  press  of  the  button  it  did  just  that.  “You  gave  up  your
entire life for me,” Elia murmured, twining their hands. “It only makes sense that I should sacrifice
just as profoundly as you, my  honor.”  They  walked  down  the  road  the  exact  same  way  they’d  done
Alexis’s  first  day  here,  but  it  felt  different  this  time  around.  He  felt  like  he’d  finally  come  into  his
own and was at last right where he belonged.

“You make me incredibly happy, Elia.” He paused and swallowed hard, working up courage to

say exactly what was on his mind and tongue. “I love you.”

Elia pulled him into a bear hug before leaning down and claiming his lips in a kiss. Alexis

sighed and let the kiss deepen, enjoying the way his lover felt pressed against him. He reached up and
ran his hands down Elia’s face, tracing his forehead and small horns with appreciative hands. He was
beautiful. How he’d ever been frightened of him, Alexis didn’t know. When he took a breath for air,
Elia spoke. “I had hoped my hesitation hadn’t ruined the feelings you had for me.”

Alexis shook his head. “I thought for a second that you hadn’t meant what you said. I thought you

were just going to order me to be quiet and do what you wanted anyway.”

“I am not that type of Arak, my honor. Though I understand where the thought comes from.”
“You’re nothing like him,” Alexis said for what had to be the millionth time. He had no doubts.

Elia wasn’t exaggerating or playing him. He really cared. He pointed toward the field. “It looks like
the fence will need mending before long.” Even after the short period he’d been here, he could spot
the imperfections in the wood’s line. It was a trick Elia had taught him on day three.

Elia nodded. “I saw that. Your eyes are getting good. Which of the Marknads are about to

spawn?”

Alexis’s eyes went to the ones he could see, and he racked his brain, trying to recall the signs

Elia had taught him before. The grayish blue tones of the animals had something to do with it. He
pointed to the two large females near the pond. “Those two. The flesh turns almost white along the
line of their backs right?”

Elia grinned. “Very good. I’ll make a gardener out of you yet.”
Gardener was the weird translation of what a human would consider a farmer to be. Apparently

the word farmer had the connotation of some sort of indentured servant. He supposed that no
translation system, no matter how sophisticated, was perfect. “I actually really enjoy this,” he
admitted as Elia tugged him along back toward the house. “I was always bored in the city. Everything
was computers and systems and management. This is better.” He didn’t know how else to explain it.
This life would be considered rustic and simple by the measure of the people he’d left behind, but to
him, this was fresh and golden. Perfect.

“You are my perfect match then. My father made farmers do most of our land work and had

everything brought to our home via transport from his lands. He is a city creature at heart. He always
expected me to follow suit in more ways than one.” Elia took a deep breath. “I am free now.”

“We can be free together,” Alexis said, meaning it.
“That is my wish, my concubine.”
They reached the front entrance of the house, and it swished open on its own. Task stood in the

doorway, head bowed. Elia’s good mood vanished. Alexis felt the warmth fade to be replaced by

cold, black rage.

He stalked forward, tilting Task’s chin up so their eyes met. “You are no longer welcome in my

home. You have tonight to gather your things. My father should send a transport to collect you in the
morning.”

“Arak, please. I only wish for your happiness.”
“No,” Elia interrupted. “You wish for my father’s happiness. Mine is of no concern to you.

You’ve proven you can’t be trusted, Task. I will mourn the memories I have of you that are pleasant
but will be glad to see you gone.”

Task’s eyes widened, hurt swimming in their depths. “I am sorry, Elia. Truly. May I have one

more chance?”

Elia shook his head. “No. I will not have my concubine uncomfortable in the presence of my

servant. You’re dismissed for the night.”

Task sent a pleading look in Alexis’s direction, but the man was barking up the wrong tree.

Alexis had his Arak’s best wishes at heart. He didn’t give a damn about the servant’s feelings. The
guy had been a real snake.

“You’ve ruined him,” Task said as he pushed off the doorframe. “I hope you’re happy.”
Alexis raised his chin, sure of his place. “I freed him, and he freed me.”
Task raised the right corner of his lip in a sneer. “You’ll send him to a prison yet.” With that, he

disappeared into the interior of the house.

“Do you want me to toss him out now?” Elia asked, stepping into the doorway.
Alexis shook his head. “I think he deserves it, but I’m not that cruel. Let’s just go get some lunch

and then feed the animals.” He really wanted a nap, but things didn’t run themselves.

Elia hesitated. “Alexis, after your bath this evening, you will come to my rooms and stay there

for the night.”

On the surface, the command was simple, but Alexis knew the significance of the order. The

tutor had explained everything perfectly. Araks never invited their concubines to their rooms. It went
back to yet another arcane practice where Araks were kept separated from their lesser at rest. Elia
was taking the final step. He smiled at him. “I’d love to come to your room, Elia. May I have a
spanking when I get there?”

Elia frowned, his eyebrows lowering in puzzlement. “You don’t have to. There will be no

exhibition or anything of that nature.”

Alexis bit his bottom lip. “I want it. I told you before I enjoyed submission in the bedroom. I

really enjoy it with you.”

“Are you certain?” Elia asked. “I don’t wish to pressure you.”
“You’re not, my Arak. I promise.” He smiled to himself this time. Elia was terribly considerate,

unnecessarily so to some degree. “Let’s get out of the doorway, Elia. I’m hungry.” He was starving
actually. Breakfast had been early and light. No one could be expected to thrive on that amount of
food.

“I will grant your wishes with pleasure, my honor,” Elia said, giving him a wink. It was such a

human gesture, Alexis laughed. He must’ve picked it up when they were hanging out together.

“You’re a mess, love,” Alexis told his alien master.
“I am in no way disheveled,” Elia said, his lips dipping down into a frown.
Alexis rolled his eyes. “It’s another expression. It means—”

“I know what it means, my honor,” Elia cut in. “I was kidding.”
Shock washed over him an instant before amusement. “I did say you needed a sense of humor.”
“Indeed.” With that his lover turned and walked further on into the house. Alexis followed. He’d

follow him anywhere.

* * * *

Elia broke the seal on the supplement bin and threw a handful of it to the waiting Marknads as

they ambled to the fence line. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alexis twist the knotting tool around
the wire of the fencing to secure the wood to the post. He’d stripped off his shirt because of the heat
of the midafternoon sun, and his lovely tanned flesh was on full display as sweat formed on the
developing muscles. Alexis didn’t seem to be getting the cut in his muscle as quickly as Elia did, but
it wouldn’t be long before he did. The work was more strenuous from what he was used to. At least
that was what he’d gathered from their many conversations.

He grabbed another handful of feed and tossed it out. He wished there was a quicker way to get

this done so he could get his Alexis back to his bedroom. His heart did a weird stuttering rhythm at
the thought. It went against his training to even contemplate bringing his lover to his space, but he was
pleased with his decision.

Maybe he’d purchase some equipment from some of the junk fields at the end of the month. The

old Eoean technologies were pretty useless nowadays, but with his soul resonance, he wanted to try
and see if he could get them to work. It would be an interesting experiment at any rate. He did a quick
mental calculation. He could use his discretionary credits to get some smaller pieces relatively
cheaply at the end of the month.

Alexis pushed himself to his feet and wiped his forearm across his forehead. “It shouldn’t move

now.”

“Good job, my honor,” Elia complimented. “Do you wish to return to the house for that nap or

go swimming?” He needed to go weed the vegetable field and check on the newling fish in the
nursery, but that could wait until tomorrow.

Alexis cracked his knuckles before stretching his shoulders one by one. “You didn’t go check

the fish pens.”

“They will keep till tomorrow,” Elia said. They’d both had a hard day, but the land wouldn’t

tend to itself. Normally Elia would’ve assigned Task to the job, but he no longer trusted the man to do
anything for him or his concubine.

“Why don’t you pop down there and check it out?” Alexis asked. “I know it’ll bother you if you

don’t. I’m going to go grab a shower, and then I’ll meet you in the sitting room when you finish.”

Elia hesitated for a minute before he nodded. There was no reason that he shouldn’t allow his

concubine to return the house without him. Task was harmless. He might sulk, but he wouldn’t do
anything remotely threatening. “Go ahead, my honor. I’ll run down to the beach and check my
equipment.”

He watched Alexis’s retreat back to their home. The fields were easily navigable, though they’d

have to be mowed by the end of the week. He looked forward to the prospect. Maybe that was the
equipment he needed to buy.

“Alexis!” he called. His lover paused, turned. “Don’t make me wait. I want to have you before

the star’s light fades.”

Alexis gave him a brilliant smile before he shouted back. “Okay, Arak.”
Elia nodded and finished tossing out the supplements to the herd. Today would be the beginning

of the rest of their lives together, free from the burdens of their pasts. It only made sense that it would
be  an  ordinary  day.  He  was  happy  that  the  confrontation  with  his  father  had  been  reasonably
anticlimactic.  They  didn’t  need  to  start  their  lives  with  any  more  pain  than  was  necessary. Yes,  he
would  miss  his  sire  and  his  siblings,  but  seeing  them  wasn’t  worth  his  freedom  or  his  relationship
with Alexis. He could still send them private communications at least. Not even his father controlled
those.

He collapsed the feeding bucket and put it in the incineration unit that was on the fence post.

Once the unit filled with the residue of the field buckets, he’d take the entire thing to recycling in
town. He turned from the fence and followed the line down to the embankment where another set of
steps led to the beach. Checking the nursery and the pens wouldn’t take very much time at all.

A smile flirted with his mouth as he thought of what awaited him back at his home. A new sense

of eagerness filled him. He wanted to reaffirm his connection with his lover after the
misunderstandings of this morning. His cocks stirred. And he knew just the way to do it.

* * * *

Alexis sighed as he sank to his nose in the warm bath of the concubines’ quarters. Truth be told,

the bath resembled more of an underground hot tub than any bathing unit he had at home. It reminded
him of lush harems from an earlier period of human history, a time before the Great Plague. His
muscles, sore from tending to the fence, finally started to relax.

He picked up what he supposed passed as shampoo for Eoeans that smelled like mint and cotton

and had the consistency of bodywash with little granule scrubbers in it. It felt fantastic on his scalp
and on the rougher parts of his skin. He had the sneaking suspicion he would be begging Elia in the
near future to wash his hair for him. He absolutely loved when people washed his hair. He had loved
going to the hair salon for that very reason.

The swish of the door behind him made him grin. His lover had certainly rushed checking on the

pens down by the beach.

“You didn’t have to rush on my account,” he said, laughter in his voice. Though he was more

than pleased at his lover’s eagerness to return to him. He turned to continue but stopped short. He
frowned. “What are you doing in here? I thought Elia told you to go to your room and leave us alone.”
He suddenly felt very vulnerable.

Task was quiet for a long time, just staring at him. “I do not take my orders from Elia anymore.”

The sentence seemed “off” to him somehow, like the guy was a second away from losing it. Time to
get out of the bath. He moved toward the step, and Task came over to block his path.

“Don’t do something stupid,” Alexis warned. The look in the servant’s eyes said he was just this

side of dangerous. “Come on, Task. I know you’re pissed about me being here, but it’s Elia’s
choice.”

“You need to hush, human,” Task rumbled. “I’m debating whether to drown you or walk away.

At the moment, I’m leaning toward the former.”

Alexis swallowed. “Why?”

“Elia’s father was just arrested by the authorities for tampering with the lottery.” Task dropped

the bomb with vicious efficiency. “And though I know logically that you couldn’t have known, my
visceral reaction is to eliminate the evidence.” He took out something that looked like a small
baseball bat and swung it in a lazy half arc. Alexis’s heart skipped a beat.

“It won’t protect Kranok now,” Alexis said, tilting his chin up in defiance. If he was going to

him with that thing, he wasn’t going to cringe away from it like a coward.

“It’s not Kranok that I am concerned about!” Task snapped, rage transforming his features into

something black and hateful. His blue skin even darkened a shade like he was flushing. Alexis was
bewildered. The way Task had always behaved favored Kranok and his lifestyle. It just didn’t make
any sense that he didn’t care about the man’s predicament.

“Then what?” Alexis asked, glaring daggers at the man. “Why are you threatening me with that

damn pipe thing?”

“Elia will be the one to suffer for this. He’s going to be the one who loses his first concubine.

He’s the one who has thrown off his heritage for you. And now you will be torn from him like the
misplaced property you are.” He stared down at Alexis, and his black eyes were the only thing he
saw. “If I could spare him the pain of knowing you would belong to another, I would. It’s not fair that
you should get another chance when he will be the laughingstock of all of Eoean.”

The words sank into his chest like tiny hooks intent on tearing off the muscle surrounding his

heart. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“The authorities—”
“Fuck the authorities!” Alexis interrupted, uncaring if the guy swung at him at this point. “I’m

never leaving him.”

Task’s eyes narrowed. “Then you will breed with him? Care for him? Fight for him? Not many

concubines would do so.”

That wasn’t even a question. “You obviously have never met a human in love, man. He’s stuck

with me until death do us part. And we’ve talked about the kid thing. When the time comes, we’ll
make a dozen beautiful babies for him to fawn over. But we’ll both be ready for it when it happens.”
No matter what happened, he was going to stick by his lover’s side. Period.

The servant considered him for a long time, staring at him as if he could read a lie if it were

evident on Alexis’s face. Finally, he nodded. “I believe you.” He sighed. “It would’ve been easier to
kill you. Then he could’ve buried you. I need you to come with me. We have to hide you. Now.
They’re probably already on their way from Prince Kranok’s.”

Alexis’s eyes widened. “No offense, but I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you. I’m not going

anywhere with you.” Confident that he wasn’t going to get smacked with the bat, he ascended the
steps and pushed past Task, uncaring if he got the other man wet in the process. He grabbed the towel
where it was warming on the shelf and wrapped it around his waist.

“We have to find somewhere to hide you until they leave.” Task grabbed his arm and Alexis

growled at the manhandling. No one was allowed to touch him but his Arak.

“Let go of me,” Alexis commanded. He pulled back, but Task didn’t let him go. He growled and

tried to extricate himself. “Stop it, Task. Lemme go!” The servant dragged him toward the side
entrance that led to the breeding center.

“There is a side exit in case the main house catches fire,” Task murmured, ignoring his protest

completely. “It’s to evacuate the little ones. We’ll leave from there. Down by the beach there is an

evacuation unit. I’ll put you in there until after they leave.”

“No! Stop it!”
“He’ll forgive me if I save you. Then he’ll let me stay,” Task continued to babble.
Alexis dug his heels in as best he could on the slick floor. Dammit to hell and back. “Is that

what this is about? Him letting you stay?”

“Of course!” Task snapped. “I want him happy, and I don’t want to go back to Kranok’s house.

It’ll be in shambles. I chose to leave for a reason.”

“What in the name of the eight galaxies of Eoean are you doing, Task?” a voice snapped from

the entryway to the main house.

Hot relief pierced him. “Thank fuck. Elia, get him off of me!”
Task turned pleading eyes on their Arak. “Please, Elia, understand. The government is coming

with enforcers to take him from you. They’ve arrested your father for tampering with the lottery and
are confiscating all humans given as winnings in the past cycle from this area. They’re going to take
him from you. Don’t you see? I’m loyal, Elia. Don’t make me return to your father’s house.”

Elia took three strides from the doorway to reach them, and he had “pissed” written all over his

face. His nostrils were flaring, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw so tense that it looked like it would
shatter with the least provocation. He reached out and grabbed Task’s free arm and twisted. “Let.
Him. Go. Now.” The low rumbled growl would’ve been a total turn-on had Alexis not been so damn
worried about what Task had said.

Task’s grip eased, and Alexis nearly lost his towel as he stumbled backward. Elia reached out

to steady him, a concerned look on his face. “My honor, are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Alexis said a bit sheepishly. “I’m apparently clutzy today.” He nodded toward Task.

“Is what he said true?”

Elia shrugged. “I have no idea.” That tick on his jaw got more intense. “I will find out. Task,

bring it up on the vid screen in my study. Now.”

“Yes, Arak.” Task paused. “Please, Arak, consider my staying.”
Elia growled. “I’ll consider you dead if you don’t hurry up and confirm the information I need.”

Task turned and all but scrambled from the room at that.

Chapter Eight

Elia immediately pulled Alexis into his arms and gave him a tight squeeze. “When you weren’t

in my room, I worried.”

“I’m okay,” Alexis whispered. “Today has been a hell of a day.” He tried not to shake like he

really wanted to. The thought of leaving Elia left him cold.

“I will not allow anyone to take you from me, my honor,” he promised. “I swear it to you. If

there is a way to keep you—”

“Communication is open between your office and Prince Kranok’s home,” Task interrupted.

Damn that had been fast. “Prince Noss is on the line.”

Elia nodded, his expression hardening once more. “Very well. Fetch a concubine shift from

Alexis’s room and bring it to my study.”

“Does that mean I can stay?” Task asked, a hopeful note in his voice.
“It means you’re on probation and I will discuss with Alexis whether or not you can stay after I

sort all this out. Until then, go to your damn room and stay there.” In all the time he’d been around
Elia, he’d never heard him utter a human curse before or any curse for that matter. He had to be really
on edge.

Task beamed. “Yes, my Arak.”
Elia just rolled his eyes and pulled Alexis with him around the bath and down the hallway.

Alexis’s towel slipped, and he nearly fell trying to keep it up and walk at the same time. “Elia, I love
you, but lemme walk by myself, huh?”

Elia’s eyes widened. “I apologize, my honor.” He released him but continued moving at a

clipped pace. “Just stay near me, please. I don’t want to believe what Task said.” But he did. The
uncertainty in his voice was unmistakable.

They finally made it to the study, and Elia tossed him a blanket to wrap around himself as an

Eoean who looked very similar to Elia blinked at them on the screen. They were closely related.
“Your brother, right?”

Elia nodded. “My fellow spawn, though we have different true-sires. Greetings, Noss.”
Noss lowered his head in a half bow. “Greetings to you, Arak Elia.” The words were stiff,

formal, too formal to be between two siblings. Their house had been a damn cold place if this was
how they interacted.

“Task told me Father has been arrested.”
Noss winced. “It’s true. I have taken over the household as best I can until I attain a concubine. I

was going to call you in a bit to tell you. Have the lottery enforcers shown up yet?”

Elia shook his head. “Not as of yet.”
Noss’s eyes went to Alexis, and Alexis gave an awkward wave of greeting. “Hi. Are you Elia’s

younger brother?”

“Not at all. I am four years his senior. I was delaying my joining until after I finished my studies

at the academy. I am by nature an academic, not an Arak. However, with father’s arrest, I will take up
my duties as interim Arak until he is freed.”

Huh. He’d been under the impression that all guys in Kranok’s family were meant to be Araks.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“And you as well.” Noss gave another half bow. “I was pleased to hear that my fellow spawn

has made his own path. However, I must go. The house in in shambles. There are still spawn in the
breeding center who have yet to be born. Our sires are in an uproar, and without an Arak, we’re
vulnerable to another Arak stepping up to claim us all. I need to attain a concubine, now.”

“If you should need me, call upon me,” Elia said, returning Noss’s bow with one of his own.
“I will. Good-bye, Elia.” The connection cut out.
“Well, shit,” Alexis sighed. “I was hoping Task was lying.”
Elia reached for him, pulling him into tight hug. “So was I, my honor.” They stayed that way for

a few endless minutes, just taking comfort from the presence of one another.

“We’ll run together if it comes to that. We can go to a human city or something. Hide out,”

Alexis whispered.

Elia sighed. “That will never work, my honor. I don’t exactly blend in there.”
“I don’t want to lose you.” Alexis swallowed. He couldn’t lose him. He’d just found him. After

all the crappy relationships he’d been in, he was determined to hold on to Elia.

“You will never lose me.”
They were interrupted by the arrival of Task and the clothing Elia had commanded he bring. Elia

let  him  go  and  extended  his  hand  to  take  the  concubine  shift  from  Task.  The  servant  handed  it  over
before  bowing  his  way  out  of  the  room.  Elia  in  turn  tossed  him  the  clothing. Alexis  turned  around,
dropped  the  blanket,  and  then  slipped  the  blue  shift  over  his  head  without  preamble,  trying
desperately not to think of the worst possible scenario.

“Araks don’t run, Alexis. They don’t run, but I would for you,” Elia whispered behind him.

Their connection sparked, filling the room with bright blue light as all the alien technology came alive
with Elia’s power. The Eoean chuckled. “I enjoy this thing between us. Our soul resonance is getting
deeper.”

“I know. Cool huh?”
A hard rapping on the front entrance of the main entrance made Alexis jump. He swallowed. “Is

that them?” he asked, turning around.

Elia gave his shoulder a squeeze and opened his mouth, but a crash interrupted whatever replay

he was formulating. Pounding footsteps sounded outside the study before the door swished open to
admit half a dozen Eoeans armed with the same sort of bat that Task had threatened him with earlier.

“Down on your knees!” the biggest of the bunch barked, pointing to Elia with his bat. Elia held

up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. Another Eoean stepped up and tried to grab Alexis’s
arm, but he sidestepped him. “Get the property out of here.”

“No!” Alexis snapped. “I belong to Elia. Don’t touch me!” He struggled as the Eoean grabbed

his waist and hauled him backward. Panic set in. They were really going to take him away from Elia,
and he’d never been so scared of anything in his life, his first encounter with Elia included. “Stop it!”

Elia jumped to his feet, and one of the Eoeans swung the bat thing at him. An arc of electricity

sped  toward  Elia  and  glanced  off  his  side.  Elia  hissed  as  the  smell  of  burning  flesh  filled  the  air.
“Elia!” Alexis  shouted,  reaching  for  him  with  more  than  just  his  hands.  “I  love  him.  Let.  Me.  Go!”
Everything clicked into place, and their on-again-off-again connection linked together, weaving into
something  that  felt  like  solid  steel.  He  gasped  at  the  sensation. Yes!  This  was  the  moment,  the  one
they’d been waiting for.

“Stop touching him!” Elia shouted. Everything in the room lit up like the Fourth of July parade.

Blue light consumed everything, and the pop of lighting figures threw white sparks into the air.

“All Father above!” an Eoean shouted.
“Holy cow!” Alexis echoed.
“Hold!” the head Eoean barked. “They’ve achieved soul resonance.” A murmur went through the

assembled Eoeans. A sort of awe-filled whisper followed. “This needs to be reported to the
assembly.” He pulled out some sort of device, and a small hologram popped up. “Take them into the
sitting room, and I’ll be there in a moment. Don’t separate them.”

Well, this was looking up. Reluctant hope started shimmering in his chest. He crossed the

distance between Elia and himself. His breath hitched as his eyes glued to the black burn mark on
Elia’s side. He turned on the Eoeans. “You better get me something to clean him up with, and I mean
now.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

They glanced at one another before looking toward Elia, who was doing an admirable job of

keeping his face from displaying the pain he had to have been in. “Arak, your concubine is spirited,”
one of the larger males rumbled.

“My concubine is perfect,” Elia wheezed.
Alexis stomped his foot. “Healing stuff, now.” The big one gave him a weird look before

shrugging off his pack and digging inside. After what seemed like eternity, he handed Alexis a medi-
pack…that he had no idea how to use.

“Open the pack and take out the white jar,” Elia instructed, clearly gritting his teeth. Alexis did

as he was bid and managed not to drop the jar since his hands were shaking. Elia somehow managed
to shrug off his shirt, and then Alexis smoothed the contents of the container over the blackened parts
of the wound. It hardened almost immediately like a cast or something. Elia breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, my honor. It eases the pain of burning.”

Alexis glared at their captors for that.

* * * *

Elia tried very hard to concentrate on breathing through the pain. Alexis was agitated, his

movements nervous and the fear coming off of him in waves. He understood exactly what he was
feeling because it echoed through his own chest. There was no way to describe the intimacy of
achieving perfect soul resonance with someone. He didn’t even bother trying. He just knew Alexis,
the same way he knew himself.

“What are they going to do with us?” he asked as they waited for the lottery enforcers’ leader to

return to them. He honestly didn’t have an answer for his lover’s question. This was unprecedented.
As far as he knew, no one had managed to successfully tamper with the lottery. He suspected that their
original intention was to separate them and reassign Alexis to his originally intended Eoean, but the
soul resonance had put a stop to that. They were never going to be able to be separated, at least not in
the permanent sense. He wasn’t going to drop that little nugget of information just yet. He didn’t want
Alexis worrying about anything else right now.

“I don’t know, Alexis,” he murmured, trying not to breathe too deeply. The stick-cast helped

some with that, but the burn itself would take some time to heal up. He’d probably need antibiotics as
well. All in good time.

Alexis rested his head on Elia’s shoulder. “Does it hurt a lot? Is there anything else I can do?”
“Calm, my honor. Everything will be all right.” He hoped anyway.

“I have pain meds if you need them,” one of the enforcers offered. He was the one who had

given him the burn wound from the electro-wand. Elia raised his eyebrows toward his horn line. The
enforcer shifted. “It’s standard procedure when dealing with a suspect. Especially given what your
father did to us.”

Elia’s heart sank. “What did he do?”
“Put two enforcers in the med-unit,” the head enforcer said from the doorway.
Elia raised his head and pinned him with a look. “I’m not surprised. My father doesn’t

appreciate any authority but his own. So what is your next course of action?”

“We’re taking you to the capitol. The assembly wants to see you and test the bond personally.”

Hope singed his insides. The enforcer crossed his arms over his chest. “They may still reassign your
human elsewhere. I want to be completely honest about that.”

“Over my dead body,” Alexis said, glaring at the men.
The enforcer snorted. “If necessary.”
Elia growled. “I would keep the threats to a minimum if I were you, or else you’ll be next for the

med unit.”

“So noted. Now, am I going to have to separate you two, or will you come along quietly?”
“We’ll go,” Elia whispered. He gave his lover’s arm a squeeze to keep him quiet. There was a

time to fight and a time to bide their time. His people were reasonable. He just had to plead their
case. At least he hoped that was what was happening. Any other possibility was immediately
rejected. Optimism had served him thus far.

They dragged him up off the couch, and he did his best not to wince too much. Alexis

immediately situated himself in between them like he was somehow going to protect him from the
enforcers by standing there. “Lean on me,” Alexis whispered. He looked up into Elia’s eyes, and his
heart expanded. This was his concubine, his love. No matter what happened that wouldn’t change.

“I am fine, my honor. I promise.” He would be. There was no way he would shame his lover by

acting as less than Alexis’s Arak.

Alexis snorted. “Yeah. Trying telling that to someone who hasn’t seen the third-degree burns on

your ribs. I’m surprised you’re even able to move.”

“It is not without discomfort,” Elia assured, draping his arm around his lover’s shoulders

casually. Maybe he could lean just a little bit. Pain shot down his side, making him gasp. He cursed
himself as Alexis looked up at him in concern. “I’m fine, my honor.”

“Fine is not what I’d call it.”
Elia grunted. He wasn’t about to argue with him. That would take far more energy than what he

had to give at the moment.

“Are we traveling via transport?” Elia asked as the larger Eoeans filed in behind. It was a little

disorienting to realize he was now a half a foot taller than most of the enforcers. The dominance
showed in the bulk of his muscles and his continuing height. He’d reach his potential yet. He hadn’t
been certain that he was going to be as big as his father but now he had more faith in himself. He
would be a hell of an Arak when he filled out completely.

“No,” the head enforcer said. “We’ll be traveling via space portal.”
He whipped his head around to pin the man with a look. That was insane. His father had paid

nearly half a million credits for his two-way portal to and from the interior. They were so difficult to
maintain and run that unless it was a relatively short distance, they only went one way. The ones to the

outer galaxies only went one way anyway.

“Oh great,” Alexis huffed. “Those portal things were awful last time.”
“They weren’t that bad, my honor.” Elia tsked. “It just seems excessive. A transport to the

capital would only take a few hours.”

“The charges, should they be levied, will be most severe,” the lead enforcer said in a clipped

voice. “The assembly for the lottery has made it clear that they want the matter handled promptly.”

Elia nodded and gave Alexis a squeeze. “Love you,” he promised. If this was the last time he

was going to be able to say it, he was going to belt it from the rooftops.

Alexis’s face softened. “Love you too, my Arak.”
The portal solidified in front of them in the form of a tall gray-and-blue door. The enforcer in

front of him twisted the knob and pushed it inward. Light shimmered in the interior, and Elia knew
their judgment existed on the other side. Damn you, Father. Damn you to underworld . It was just
sinking in, the depth of his father’s screwup. Elia might be imprisoned, or worse, lose Alexis for this
if they found him guilty of assisting with his scheme.

He took a deep breath and gave his lover’s hand another squeeze. Then he stepped through the

door to his fate.

* * * *

Alexis squeezed his eyes shut and followed Elia’s lead. Nothing happened. He figured there

would be some nausea or some feeling, something. However, unlike the first time when he’d been
stressed out and sick to his stomach, this time nothing felt different. He pried his eyes open and found
himself standing in a weird room that had the same angular décor that he was coming to expect from
Eeoean buildings, except this room was more towering than any he’d seen before and it wasn’t Eoean
blue or white. Instead it was a wash of cool colors that matched Elia’s hair perfectly in its purple,
green, and silver tones. Above the archway that lay ahead of them was a scrawling Eoean script. The
translation popped up in his head automatically. Here is where all Judgments are sought.

“Elia?”
“Hush, my honor,” Elia whispered, his eyes scanning the room like he was looking for spies or

something.

They passed under the archway and into a smaller space that was almost a Roman amphitheater

in appearance. They stepped onto the stage section and all the enforcers melted into the shadows on
either side of where they stood. The massive doors behind them shut with a definitive thunk, and
Alexis couldn’t resist raising his eyes to the darkened seats beyond. Shadowed figures sat in black
robes spread out in a semicircle beyond the range of his sight, probably deliberately so.

“Is this public parade really necessary?” Elia asked the figures, clearly not happy with their

current predicament. “I thought we were going to be seen by the assembly.”

“And so you are,” a somewhat familiar voice said from the center of the room. “Is it true that

you have achieved soul resonance with the human known as Alexis Bedlam, a vessel intended for one
Yan Ilonoa?”

Elia gave a curt nod. “It is.”
“Is it also true that you had no prior knowledge that your father, Prince Kranok, Arak of your

former household, had tampered with the lottery’s distribution system?”

“I had no prior knowledge.” Elia lifted his chin almost defiantly, daring them to call him a liar.

It was hot as hell. Despite their situation, Alexis was intensely attracted to his Arak, his alien master.

“Normal recourse for this situation is the removal of the misplaced slave and a demand of

restitution by your father to compensate both you and the intended owner for loss in time and
hardship. However, due to the alleged soul resonance, this poses a unique problem.” The speaker
sighed. “Before we continue, can you display your connection for the assembly?”

“How would you do that?”
“The light to this part of the theater has been exhausted. We no longer have the collective ability

to activate the technology. It was built when we still had access to those higher powers before it all
faded. Supposedly it only took one Eoean with soul resonance to run this place.” It was a test, and
Alexis knew it. He looked up at his Arak and worried his bottom lip. “Can you do it?”

“I can try,” Elia said. He didn’t appear nervous outwardly, but Alexis could feel the sudden

flare of nerves. “I’ve never tried to use the power. It fluctuates whenever we join.”

“If the bond hasn’t solidified, it is reversible. If the bond is formed, you should be able to do it.”
Elia took a deep breath and met Alexis’s eyes. “Come here, my honor,” he murmured. Alexis

trembled and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“Whatever you want, my Arak.” He rested his head on Elia’s chest and held on. “They’re not

taking me away from you though.”

Elia chuckled. “Stubborn.”
“Damn straight.” Alexis held his breath, waiting for Elia to activate his mojo. Almost instantly,

the connection seemed to pull them closer, and the lights clicked out, flooding the seats with
illumination. The gasp that arose let Alexis know that they were impressed with his ability. “Was that
as easy as I think it was?” he whispered, raising his head so he could look at him in the face.

Elia nodded, his eyes as wide as Alexis imagined his own were. “Surprisingly, yes.”
“Congratulations,” the voice from the seats said. Alexis turned around in his arms to face the

assembly, Elia’s arms never leaving his waist. Alexis felt a flicker of recognition but it wasn’t from
him.

“I thought you were an investigator for the assembly,” Elia rumbled behind him. “You called me

the other night. Richt Landa, right?”

The Eoean nodded. “Yes. I had hoped that you would recognize me. While I commend you for

your successful soul resonance with your human, we are in a difficult situation. By law, your
concubine belongs to another.”

“Then we are in need of a solution,” Elia said, his voice velvet over steel. “I am willing to pay

for him.”

Richt waved his hand in dismissal. “That is not your burden to bear. The assembly has already

discussed calling up one of next year’s sacrifices in order to provide the slighted male with one of his
own. It will be an early harvest, but I believe that the human government will agree. We will make
concessions, and they will give us our way. Do any of the assembled have a problem with this
arrangement?”

No voices sounded.
Is it really that damn easy? They dragged us out of our home, hurt my lover, and made us

think the worst just so they could have Elia turn off the lights? Annoyance flickered. “You guys are
real assholes, you know that?” Elia’s sharp intake of breath said it all. Okay. Maybe he had

overstepped a little bit, but they had basically strung them along and injured him for nothing.

The Richt guy leaned back in his seat and actually chuckled. “Oh really? I am familiar with that

earth saying, Alexis. Why are you comparing me and my companions to anuses?”

“You guys hurt my Arak, and dragged us from our home for what? So he can perform a magic

trick? Where is the compensation for that?”

The assemblyman’s eyes shot wide, and a low murmur percolated through the rest of them.

“Compensation for a legal arrest? You must be joking.”

“No. I’m not joking.” He pulled out of Elia’s grip, and he growled in protest. He looked over

his shoulder and gave him what he hoped was a trust-me expression. “The tutor said that the capital
has several medical units that would enable him to be healed in just a few minutes. Let him use one
before we go back.”

Richt laughed, the sound deep and booming, before he reached up and scratched his six-inch

horns. "Your first concubine has your best interests at heart, Arak. For his bravery, I will agree to a
healing of your torso at the assembly’s expense.”

Alexis nodded, satisfied. “Good.”
Elia grabbed his arm. “We appreciate the assembly’s generousness. With your permission, we

will visit a medical unit and then be on our way back to our home.”

“Fine,” Richt said, waving the two of them on. “Leave us then.”
Alexis let Elia lead him from the room, back the way they’d come.
He breathed a sigh of relief as the doors closed once more, cutting them off from the assembly.

“That was intense,” he said, throwing Elia a smile.

Elia glared at him. “As happy as I am with the outcome, I may throttle you yet. You do not

demand things from the assembly, especially not when you’ve been arrested by them. When we get
home, the punishment will be most severe.”

“Uh…huh.” Alexis poked Elia in his burned side, and Elia hissed. “I think you ought to thank

your concubine for procuring your treatment so you weren’t permanently disfigured and offer to spank
his ass when we get home as reward for excellent behavior.”

Elia’s lips twitched and Alexis knew he’d tickled him. “Why is my concubine talking about

himself in third person?”

“Because he’s just that amazing.” He grinned. “In fact, Eoean monuments will be erected in my

—” Elia pushed him into a nearby wall before claiming his lips in a scorching kiss. Alexis’s mind
blanked as his mouth was forced open by the hard presses of his alien master’s tongue. He clung to
his shoulders, feeling the strength in his Arak’s ever-growing muscles. He gasped as Elia’s strong
hands ran down his body in the same possessive way that drove him crazy on a daily basis.

“I nearly lost you, you crazy human,” Elia said against his mouth. “I couldn’t have stood it. I

would’ve fought and died to get you back.”

Alexis swallowed, hard, tears clouding his vision as his words and the feelings behind them

sank into him. “Elia, my Arak,” he whispered. The words weren’t even close to conveying what he
meant by them.

Elia pressed another kiss to his mouth. “I know, my honor. I know. Let’s get to the medical unit

and then go home.”

Alexis nodded. Yes. Wherever his Arak led, he would follow, willingly, lovingly, and without

any reservations. Home and Elia had become synonymous, and there was nowhere else he’d rather

Epilogue

Elia had been in high spirits when they crossed the portal from the capital to their home. The

assembly  had  been  kind  enough  to  provide  one  for  the  return  trip,  and  even  though  he  was  fully
healed,  he  had  been  exhausted.  Too  exhausted  to  give  his  concubine  the  spanking  he’d  asked  for.
Between  the  subsequent  meetings  with  his  older  brother,  who  still  had  yet  to  find  a  concubine  and
who was even now fighting off other Araks for  the  privilege  of  running  his  own  household,  and  the
ongoing investigation into his father’s seemingly endless crimes, he’d had no time to make up for it
since. However, it had been two long months, and he was going to make up for it now.

“What is it you wish of your Arak today, my honor?” he rumbled, raking Alexis with his gaze.

He was trussed up in black silk binds that made glorious crisscrossed patterns on his tanned flesh.
His cock was wrapped the tightest, restrained lovingly though it curved upward, begging to be taken
out and played with. He’d been that way for fifteen minutes already, and he was showing higher
levels of patience than Elia had grown to expect from his pushy bottom of a concubine.

“Whatever my Arak wishes,” Alexis said, raising his head like he could see Elia behind the

black silk tied around his eyes. “I want to please you.”

“You please me already,” Elia reminded, tapping the thin switch he’d picked up against his

lover’s cheek. “Tell me your desire, Alexis.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed, revealing his desire more than he probably wanted. “I want your

hands on me. I want you to spank me like you promised.”

Elia reached down and hauled his lover to his feet by the center ribbon that was crisscrossed

over his chest. “Done.” He pulled his lover over to his bed and pushed him face-first into the
welcoming softness of the mattress. They occasionally still played in the pleasure room, but every
night was spent here in the comfort of their shared bedchamber. The transition had been surprisingly
simple.

The first strike caught Alexis’s right cheek nicely, and his lover rocked with the blow. He loved

how Alexis’s flesh turned a deep burnished pink whenever it was struck. Again and again he brought
his palm down, watching the skin redden as his cocks grew firmer with each swat of his hand. They
rubbed  against  one  another,  jerking  off  without  him  having  to  touch  them.  When  the  tenth  strike  fell
Alexis  made  a  little  whimpering  sound  that  Elia  knew  all  too  well.  He  grabbed  the  stretching
instrument from where he’d tossed it on the bed and spread his concubine’s gorgeous ass and pressed
the  lubed  tip  to  his  hole.  The  instrument  reacted  to  the  touch,  gyrating  and  pushing  deeper. Alexis
gasped and pushed back against him.

“God I love that fucking thing,” Alexis said, his voice saturated with need.
“I know, my honor,” Elia rumbled. He pushed the toy deeper and left it there to do its job,

preparing his lover for his two cocks. He continued Alexis’s spanking, pushing him into ever
deepening levels of submission.

Alexis’s voice trembled as he spoke. “I love you.”
“And I love you, my honor.”
In no time at all, he was stretched wide enough to accommodate both his pleasure organs. It was

Alexis’s favorite thing to do in bed, and he had taught Elia his definition of a size queen the other
night, and the label applied to his human apparently.

“Fuck me, please, Arak. Fuck me,” Alexis begged. Babbled would be a more accurate

description. He checked the mode on the toy and was satisfied enough with its progress to pull it out
and replace it with his cocks. Giving in to Alexis was no hardship, and his dicks were hard enough to
bend space-time portals.

He pulled the toy out and tossed it aside before replacing it with his cocks. There was a little

resistance, but the toy had done an excellent job of slicking and stretching the way. Nothing felt as
good as when he was balls-deep inside his lover. He nibbled his back as he slid deep.

Alexis gasped, pushing back against him. “Yes! Elia, I love you!”
“Love. You. Too.” Each word was punctuated with a thrust of his hips and it wasn’t long before

he was shuddering with every lunge and dancing along the edge of release.

Alexis screamed as he came hard against the bedspread, and Elia followed him over with a cry

of his own. Multiple orgasms sent his mind scattering, and his whole world narrowed down to
nothing but his lover and the combination of sensation and feeling he evoked. His whole life stretched
on before him, and he couldn’t imagine a second of it that didn’t involve Alexis. He knew the meaning
of the human word love. It was being unable to breathe at the thought of his human being out of his
life.

Afterward, they lay in the tangle of their sexy limbs, Alexis’s head resting on his chest. He gave

his human a squeeze. “Thank you, my honor.”

“Very fucking welcome,” Alexis murmured, tracing his stomach muscles with careful hands.

“You know, your heartbeat is the same as mine.”

“We’re both bipeds, Alexis,” Elia reminded, already drifting into a state of utter relaxation.

“We’re more alike on the inside than you might imagine.”

His lover chuckled. “I knew that already. We’re both paroled prisoners, both starting over. This

is a good place to be.”

“Hmm agreed.” No matter what they were bound together. Soul resonance was a permanent

state, which apparently granted more than the ability to rejuvenate old Eoean technology. It also
granted permanent rejuvenation of the body. Apparently both of them were going to live a very long
time in their current youthful states. He grinned at the thought. More time to love him.

“Forever is gonna be good, huh?” Alexis poked him in the ribs as he made a noncommittal grunt.

“Elia, you falling asleep already?”

“I am afraid I am, my honor. I have found that family drama is taxing over a prolonged period of

time.” He stretched a bit and banged his fingers on the wall at the top of his bed. He winced. Damn.
He was already outgrowing this mattress. He was a foot taller than when he’d first met Alexis.
Luckily he wouldn’t be getting much bigger. He’d almost maxed out. “I will be ever grateful when I’m
done growing.”

Alexis laughed. “Don’t complain. You look like a stud.” He paused. “Elia?”
“Yes, love?”
Alexis lifted his head and their eyes met. “Everything is going to be all right. I promise. One

way or another. We’ll be able to work through the family drama. So long as we’re together.”

“I know, my honor. With you by my side, I have the strength for anything.” And he did. He

finally had something to fight for, and he would never give him up. Despite the state of his father’s
house, his life had never been better. Alexis was his strength and his world. They would make a
lovely existence here, together.

“You know,” Alexis said, a mischievous look in his eyes. “When I stepped into that transport

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jana Downs lives in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina with three cats, one dog,

several dozen fish, and a very understanding partner-in-crime who hates to read but makes exceptions
for her stories.

You can usually find her either watching bad reality TV, buying way too many books on

Amazon, or dreaming up another man or two to occupy her time because life is good but several
drop-dead gorgeous nonexistent men is just better. You can find her on her website,
www.janadowns.com, or her blog, www.janadowns.blogspot.com.

For all titles by Jana Downs, please visit

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