Love: BBW Alien Lottery Romance (Chosen by the Karal Book 2) (12 page)

For the sake of his pride, he might be the only Karalian who stuck to the original plan. Meaning she would be the only female to be taken to the breeding house. How would she cope then? She wouldn’t. She knew that.

They had ridden back to the farm and thanked Garth for lending them the hegara. Garth had mumbled “you’re welcome” but really he just couldn’t stop staring at Celia. For her part, Celia had smiled at him, but he could sense she felt uneasy. He knew it had dawned on her that if Torac didn’t keep her, she might well be passed on to another Karalian. A Karalian such as Garth.

As they returned to the cruiser, she said, “They won’t leave me to eat your food and wear your clothes for the rest of my life, will they? Once you have your child, I will be given to another Karalian, won’t I?”

He hadn’t answered. There was nothing he could tell her to ease her worries, or his. He had to go and see the Hierarchy, as a citizen, not as a council member. Now he knew how all other Karalians felt. It was an intimidating thought, to stand before the council and be forced to comply with their will, whether he liked it or not.

He couldn’t take her back to his empty house, so he took her to the only place where she might find some comfort. “This is Marin’s house. Elissa is expecting you.”

Celia got wordlessly out of his cruiser, not even asking when he would return. Part of him worried she would try to run away. But there was nowhere for her to go; the tag in her neck would make it easy to locate her. He was about to get out of the cruiser to hold her, reassure her, when the door of the house flew open and a female, Marin’s female, ran out to meet Celia.

Celia’s face brightened at seeing one of her own kind. She never looked back at him as she walked into the house, arm in arm with another human. Torac knew he was on the verge of losing her. He had to act now.

The journey to the tower took no time. He sped there faster than he should, but his mood would not allow him to wait any longer than was absolutely necessary to get this resolved.

As before, his guards saluted him and let him into the hall. This time the small council was not in place. Only the Hier Ruler was there, waiting for him. It unnerved him, but he knew they could not all be there every minute of the day, normal Karalians had to make appointments. If anyone other than the Hier Commander had turned up unannounced, they would have been turned away.

“Torac, you look… different.”

“Hier Ruler,” Torac said, bowing his head.

“Torac, first names please. We have known each other long enough not to stand on ceremony. Even when faced with a crisis.” The Hier Ruler’s skin flashed, his mood openly displayed.

“You are not angry, Lytril?” Torac knew the Hier Ruler had worked out his commander’s wishes. There was a reason he was in control; he had the best perception of his subjects’ emotions. It was uncanny how he knew his subjects better than they knew themselves.

Lytril sighed. “I wish it was different, but I have seen the way Elissa has changed Marin. I thought you might have been stronger. But I saw it in your eyes on your previous visit.” Lytril turned to him. “You know, as the Hier Ruler I could make you give her up?”

“And as your Hier Commander, I would do so. You have my allegiance, as always.”

“I am tempted to test that, Torac. I am very tempted.”

Torac held his breath, trying to keep his emotions in check. The thought of being ordered to give up Celia was abhorrent, but his duty was to Lytril, his ruler.

“I knew you would be torn, and I value you too much. So we will come to an agreement.” He turned to look Torac directly in the face, his hand touching Torac’s, feeling his emotions, testing his truth. “You may have your human. However, if we need to invade the Earth, to take the breeding females we need, will you be strong enough to do that?”

“If that is what you command.” Torac held his ruler’s eyes, then asked, “Do you think that is what will happen?”

“There is no way to rejuvenate their world. The only way life will survive on Earth is if the whole species was removed, eradicated.”

“Is that what you plan to do?” Torac thought of all of Celia’s family, and he knew he would mourn their deaths. They had touched his heart. His stone-cold heart had been awoken, and he would feel pain and loss once more, just as he had the day his father had died.

“No. However, unless we have another solution, taking what we need will be mandatory. Then we will no doubt fill the breeding house and have to lock them in. They will not be happy to be taken by force, they never are.” He looked weary; it was the first time Torac had seen him show any kind of weakness. Their prime really was upon them. “But that is in the future; for now, learn what you can from your woman. The rest can wait.”

“Thank you, Lytril.” Torac nodded and then left. He practically ran from the tower, jumping back into his cruiser to return to Celia, his woman, with the news.

“Your garden is so beautiful,” Celia said to Elissa as they walked around, smelling the scent of the flowers.

“It is Marin’s garden. I have helped him, but I have a lot to learn about all the plants.”

“I would love to make a garden here, to grow things. I studied agriculture, but there was nowhere left on Earth to use my skill, not after the tornados. I would like to farm here, but I doubt they will let me.”

Elissa smiled. “Not yet, but they will come around. I have worked on Marin and last week he actually let me visit his lab. It was at night when no one else was there, but it’s a start. Once there are more of us, they will get used to seeing females around their planet.”

“I don’t know, I think I might be heading to the breeding house.”

“No. I saw the way Torac looked at you. I mean, I know you’ve had a disagreement, but I can see how hurt and upset he was. The longer the time you are with them, the easier it is to read their moods.”

“He is part of this Hierarchy that rules the planet. I wonder if he is allowed to make his own decisions. One minute he said he can’t bear to part with me, the next he is talking about me living in the breeding house.”

“Give it time.”

“But we don’t have time, do we?” Celia looked at Elissa, pulling her eyes away from the delicate blooms. She had never seen so much life, so much colour, in a garden. “Are you pregnant already?”

“Yes,” Elissa answered honestly. “It was almost instant. I imagine you were chosen because you were due to ovulate.”

“The whole thing is fixed, then? Nothing is left to chance?” Celia asked.

“No. But I don’t think it matters. It would be futile for the Karals to bring a woman here who is infertile. They try to match the best genes, to make a healthy baby.”

“And you condone the lie?”

“Celia, look at humans and look at the Karalians. They need the best DNA for their children. How many people do you know with health issues on Earth? They do what they have to do to save their species. As humans should have done centuries ago.”

“And if protecting the Karalians mean we all get moved to the breeding house?” Celia asked, not wanting to argue with Elissa, the only other human on the planet.

“Listen, Celia, after you have lived here for a few days, you will understand why they do things.” Elissa smiled at Celia, seeing her scowl, and shake her head. “And then you learn to influence things. They are not going to change in a day, but that does not mean they won’t change.”

“But I am out of time,” Celia said as Torac returned, his cruiser speeding along the deserted road.

“The fact he has returned so quickly makes me believe this is good news. I know you are struggling with this, but believe me: I will be surprised if any woman is put in that breeding house. And if they do, you are going to be in a great position to help them. You are going to live with the Hier Commander.”

“Are you so sure?” Celia asked, watching Torac get out of the cruiser and come towards her.

Elissa took in the colours, which skimmed his face, and said to Celia, “Oh, yes. Most definitely.” She touched Celia on the shoulder. “If you need anything, you know where I am. Don’t be a stranger, we need to stick together.” Elissa squeezed Celia’s shoulder harder, making sure she understood the deeper meaning of her comment. Celia, however, only had eyes for Torac.

As Elissa disappeared into her house, Torac reached Celia, taking her hand. The electricity that passed along her fingers and spread out to the rest of her body, made her understand what Elissa had meant. She had been so uncertain of how Torac felt, yet now she could see it so plainly on his face. She had been blind, and maybe Torac had been in denial. But not anymore.

In one swift movement, he pulled her to him, holding her close. He didn’t speak, only with his lips, which he pressed to her mouth. She clung to him, her arms around his neck as she pressed her body close to his. His hand went down and caressed her bottom, pulling her tighter against him so that she could feel the full extent of his arousal. Torac slipped his tongue into her mouth, tasting her with a passion that took her senses away. Instinctively she answered him, her lips parting, and moving against his.

“I want you,” he said raggedly, as he pulled back breathlessly.

“Not here,” she heard herself squeak.

He took her hand and pulled her after him back to the cruiser. In a daze, she climbed in, expecting him to take her back to the house. Torac had different ideas. Once back out onto the road, he turned away from his house. And in a heartbeat, they were flying. The small cruiser left the ground so smoothly, she only realised when the ground disappeared beneath her.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“There,” he said pointing to the thick green forest way off in the distance.

Their flight took twenty, endless minutes, long minutes, which were stretched out by the silence that hung between them. Then they were descending, the tops of the trees coming in to view, and he slowed the cruiser, looking for something. Below her, she saw endless trees, their canopy spread out for miles in front of her. Torac looked out of his window and turned the cruiser, aiming for something she could not see.

Only when they descended into the trees did she see where they were heading. Luckily the cruiser landed like a helicopter, dropping down vertically to land on the top of a rocky outcrop. Below them, a waterfall crashed into a deep pool, spray rising to leave droplets on the window of the cruiser.

She didn’t ask where they were. For now, it didn’t matter. They were together; he wanted her. She didn’t need to ask if he had made up his mind about letting her stay; the colours skimming his skin told her all she needed to know. His defences were down. She picked up his longing, his desire, and she went to him.

Practically tearing her clothes from her body, he stripped her naked, the droplets covering her skin, making her glisten, just as he did when the colours burst like stars across his skin. Unable to stand waiting for him to be naked next to her, she helped him remove his clothes, touching his skin and igniting his desire as his clothes dropped to the floor.

Scooping her up, he carried her to a sunlit glade, under the tall trees. Above their heads the leaves moved, the branches swaying in the breeze. He kissed her, her mouth, her neck, and her breasts. She stroked his skin, sensing his pleasure, his hope for the future. Her hand wrapped around his cock, stroking him, making him bigger while he sucked her nipples and caressed her body. She loved the way he touched her skin, his emotions transmitted through his fingertips as he lowered his emotional defences completely.

Torac turned her onto her back, moving to lie between her thighs, his fingers briefly slipping inside her sex, testing her need for him. Satisfied, he guided his thick cock to her entrance, pushing inside her, and in one long, fluid motion, he filled her completely. She gasped, her sex yielding to him as he stretched her. For a moment she thought she wouldn’t be able to accommodate him, but then the tension left her.

Torac slid out of her, a dull ache filling her sex as he left her empty. But as soon as she had adjusted to the emptiness, he thrust hard back into her. Celia dug her nails into his back, her senses overwhelmed by him. As he lunged into her again, his climax neared, the colours crossing his skin like electrical charges, exciting her nerve endings. She rose with him, the abyss of pleasure calling to her.

Their mouths met, his hand fisted her hair, and he lunged deep into her one last time before his cock erupted. It thickened, the head swelling to grip her inner walls and stay firmly in place while his essence flowed into her. She cried out, wrapping her legs around him and pressing her body closer to him, wanting to meld herself to his body, so that they would always be together.

Torac buried his face into her neck, his own voice muffled as he tried to drown out the sound of his cries. When his orgasm had subsided, he relaxed, rolling off her to lie by her side. Reaching out, he clutched her hand, and they lay looking at the canopy above their heads.

“This is perfect,” she said.

“It seemed the most appropriate place to bring you. I know you wanted to see the forest.” He paused. “We will bring our child here, and you can tell him about your Earth, and how they cut down all the trees. It will be good for the next generation of Karalians to know the dangers of overpopulation.”

“Does that mean that you aren’t going to send me away?” She already knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from him. Hear the words from his lips.

“No. Things are changing. And they need to change. My species are heading for extinction if we have to go on hunting for females. We must work with you to change that.”

“I will do what I can to help you, Torac.”

“You already have, Celia. You and your family showed me how we should be. How we once were. Now we have to build a future together. My species and yours. But we will not be able to save them all.”

“I know, Torac. But that’s for another day. Right now, can we swim in the water and explore the forest? And then we can go home.”