Holiday Abduction (Alien Abduction Book 6) (10 page)

“Every collector has a prized possession, the one item he would protect with his life and keep above all others. When you find it, guard it fiercely, cherish it, and enjoy it. It’s yours. Your treasure.” An excerpt from The Fine Art of Acquisition
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Perhaps he should have not referred to her less than odorous condition. As he deposited Jilly in the decontamination chamber, she glared at him.

“You really don’t know how to sweet talk a girl.”

“Why would I speak sweetly? I am a male, not a woman or a politician.”

“Oh, you’re a man all right. One with a one-track mind,” she added as he literally tore the clothes from her body exposing her, and he also tweaked her nipples in the process. Who could resist the pert buds?

He quickly shed his own garments, displaying his erection.

“I have missed you.” Surprise, he didn’t choke making the admission.

“I missed you, too, but I’ll admit I’m kind of baffled by the fact you’re going to waste time in here with me when Snaggle Tooth is getting away with your prize.”

“Are you so sure of that?”

“I feel like I’m missing something.”

“No. We are just in time.”

Vhyl placed his hand on a depression in the wall, and the opaque white surface turned into a video screen, one showing space, and a certain alien vessel.

“Is that—”

“Fazird’s ship, yes.”

“Is he firing on us?” Jilly asked.

“Yes.” He noted her puzzled expression. “I have the shields engaged. None of his puny weaponry can penetrate it. Now watch.”

The explosion was sudden. The enemy ship on screen exploded, the intensity of it enough to send a tremble through his own vessel.

She laughed. “Take that, sucker! I’m going to take a guess here and say you blew him up?”

“Of course. As if I’d let him live after allowing him to see my ignoble and first ever defeat at the hands of a female.”

“You mean you killed him because he heard you admit you cared for me.”

“Yes.”

She snickered. “Dude, that is seriously warped.”

“I also couldn’t allow him to live because he dared touch you.”

“Not into sharing?”

“I don’t share what is mine.”

“It’s funny you should say that,” she said with a smile. “Because I’ve got jealousy issues too, and I’m telling you right now that while we’re together you better forget all those other alien bitches.”

“Only the canine-based ones?” he asked with a frown.

“All females.”

“Your jealousy is quite becoming.” And it was. The malicious glint in her eyes, the evil twisted smile as she implied murderous intent.

He could not resist a moment longer. As the cleansing waves of the decontamination unit swept them, he yanked her into his arms and bent his head to embrace her, hungry for a taste of her. She met him with a fierce passion, leaning up on her toes so as to fully engage him in the kiss.

In but moments, both their breaths emerged in fast pants, her power to arouse him as stupendous as always. He sucked at her full lower lip while her hands clung at this neck, drawing him closer.

Slipping his tongue past the seam of her lips, he passed it over her blunt-edged teeth before engaging hers. The moist twining of their flesh only served to fuel his need for more. More of her.

Urgency made him greedy to skip some of the pleasures in foreplay so he could claim her, this time in a more permanent fashion than ever before. His hands clasped her waist, and he lifted her so that he could position her against the wall. With Jilly pinned there, he moved his grip to her buttocks, cupping their full roundness and kneading.

The softness of her skin never failed to delight him, but her eager cries of pleasure enraptured him. She devoured his mouth and sucked on his tongue with passion. It awed him still that her level of desire seemed to match his own. Ever better it was neither feigned nor contrived. It wasn’t paid for.
She wants me.

With her braced against the wall, he could easily support her with one arm anchored around her waist. Good thing because he needed one free so he could check the level of arousal in her sex.

Moist.

Hot.

Quivering.

He could have shuddered with the evidence of her readiness for him.

As per their previous encounter, toying with the nub at the mouth of her sex caused her to mewl and squirm.

“Vile.” She groaned his name, still pronouncing it with her Earth accent, but he’d gotten used to it. Liked it even. Not as much as her reaction to his continued tease of her nub.

Despite her squirming plea, he didn’t slide himself in. Not yet. Not when he so enjoyed feeling her pleasure as he stroked her faster and faster. How he loved hearing her cries come quicker, more frantic.

Thrusting a finger into her sex caused a shudder to sweep her, one he felt around his penetrating digit.

Tight. So tight. And ready for him. Ready for him to sheath his cock and pound.

He could hold off no longer. He guided his cock to rub against the mouth of her sex, wetting the swollen tip.

“Stop teasing and fuck me,” she demanded, an order he didn’t bristle at given she said it with swollen lips and eyes languorous with desire.

He held off, needing to hear something from her. “Say you are mine.”

“I’m yours.”

“All mine.”

“All yours,” she said vehemently as she grabbed at his head and drew him in for a violent kiss.

It proved his undoing. He slammed into her, his throbbing cock entering her willing channel in one smooth stroke, which had her clawing at him and crying out.

For a moment, he thought she’d come, but while she tensed and her breathing was ragged, she didn’t quite crest.

That would change.

He began to pump. In and out, each stroke taking him deeper, filling her, stretching her. The pulsing in her channel, the quivers and moisture of her impending climax, drenched him in sensations.

“You are mine.” He chanted. His. His. His.

How could he ever have thought he could leave her behind? What foolishness ever led him to believe he could live without her by his side?

His barbarian human was made for him. The greatest treasure ever.

And she’s mine.

To seal the revelation, he resorted to a practice of his ancestors. He bit her.

“Of course I believe in love at first sight. And while your grandpa at the time didn’t, he sure changed his mind quick when my daddy caught us in the hayloft.” – How Grandma got engaged.

Something happened when Vile bit her, an epiphany, an alien infection, definitely an orgasm.

As Jilly’s body crested and spasmed in the extreme delight only he seemed capable of delivering, it occurred to her that she loved this man, alien, whatever the hell he was.

So what if they’d known each other only a small time? She knew from experience, at least from her grandma, that love at first sight happened. In this case, all it took was a bite for her to finally admit it.

A bite to open her eyes to the fact Vile completed her. He brought her alive. He engaged all of her senses.

I want him, not just as a lover, but as a friend, companion, everything.

So what if he couldn’t say the L word? Did he not show his own need for Jilly in other ways?

As he sucked at her punctured skin, his cock still thrusting into her trembling body, she heard him murmur, over and over, “Mine. All mine. My treasure.”

How cute. Since the biting thing seemed to be symbolic for him, she decided to see what would happen if she reciprocated. She chomped him back.

It got an interesting result.

One: he yelled and came, a molten gush of liquid within her that triggered a second smaller orgasm in her.

Two: once the tremors subsided, he murmured, his incredulity evident, “You bit me.”

“Yup.”

“Females aren’t supposed to bite their males to mark them.”

“This human one does. Got a problem with it?”

His blue eyes, glowing with a fierce light, met her gaze as he growled. “You are unlike anyone I’ve ever met.” He grinned. “And I like that.”

“Good, because you are stuck with me.”

“Would it please your feminine sensibilities to know that you are my finest treasure?”

“It does please me.” Immensely. But it also reminded her of something. “I’m sorry you had to trade the artifact to get me back.”

An emotion crossed his face. Sheepishness mixed with pride. “And if I didn’t?”

“What do you mean? I saw you give it to Snaggle Tooth.”

“Not quite. While I did have the artifact on my person when making the exchange, the item I actually gave him was the bomb that destroyed his ship.”

Jilly couldn’t talk for a moment. “You mean you didn’t give up a treasure for me after all?” So much for thinking she mattered more.

“No. But before you get angry. I should admit, but will deny if my family ever asks, that I would give everything I own to keep you. You are now the only acquisition that matters.”

His compliment didn’t entirely erase her irritation with him. “You owe me, purple dude.”

“A warrior owe a female debt?”

“Damned straight. And when I call you on it, I expect you to deliver.”

“I am an expert at delivering,” he said with a suggestive leer.

He was.

Especially when it came to surprise because, when she accidentally slipped at one point and said during the throes of passion, “I love you,” to her shock, he said the words she thought she’d never hear. “I love you, too, my sweet barbarian.”

“Only the common steal. Acquisition is a fine art. And if you don’t agree, then I shall show you how I like to paint with the blood of those who would think to insult me.” – Vhyl’s reply to those who dare question his career choice.

Vhyl should have known Jilly would eventually collect on the debt she claimed he owed her. Yet, he would have never expected the level of cruelty she’d indulge when she did.

No wonder his mother adored her. His human was delightfully evil when she put her mind to it.

“No,” he protested even though he knew he’d lose.

“Come on, Vile, please.”

His woman could beg all she wanted. He wouldn’t do it. “I will not wear that ridiculous hat.”

“But it’s Christmas.”

“I agreed to deliver your bloody trees to your new friends,” potted, not chopped off and killed, “However, a warrior does not stoop to wearing disguises that draw from his awesome nature, especially not in front of the enemy.”

“Some of them are your cousins.”

“And your point is?”

“I forget how messed up the family system is in your culture.”

“Evolved you mean.”

“Whatever. You will wear the outfit. You owe me.” She planted her hands on her hips and glared.

“You can’t be serious. I can’t believe you would waste the ridiculous debt I owe you to have your way in this.”

Yet waste it she did.

Despite the fact he’d probably have to engage in a murderous spree, Vhyl wore what she called the Santa Claws suit—which he couldn’t figure out given it had no claws but did boast a ridiculous beard, spectacles, and a red hat with a fluffy ball on the end.

To please her, he agreed to the black boots, red breeches, and hat, but he drew the line at the padded jacket and the rest.

Carrying a sack on his back, Vhyl approached the home of his enemy—councilor Tren.

His unwilling host also wore a scowl. “Welcome to my frukxing home,” he snarled.

“Manners,” said the human female at his side with a jab at the former assassin’s ribs.

Vhyl waited for him to murder her. No one berated Tren.

To his eternal surprise, the big male sighed. “You know I am going to need to wreak violence on something after this.”

“So long as you do it outside,” his wife, Megan, replied. “Now, try again.”

In a dull monotone, Tren said, “Thank you for coming to our Christmas celebration. Won’t you come in?”

It took a poke in his back for Vhyl to step over the threshold. One usually didn’t willingly enter the lair of a murderous beast.

Jilly didn’t hesitate. She flounced in and was immediately hugged by Megan, who squealed, “I am so happy to finally meet you in person. Come with me so I can introduce you to everyone.”

As Tren’s wife led the way, chatting with Jilly, who looked way too tempting in a red velvet dress that showed too much leg—he had plans to blind anyone who looked too long at the exposed skin—Tren muttered under his breath for Vhyl alone. “Later. You, me and the other males will hit the training ring and pummel each other to counter the humiliation our mates subject us to.”

Vhyl grinned. So he wasn’t the only one who had to deal with a bossy human. Good to know. Perhaps he could score some pointers on how to handle Jilly.

Or not.

It soon became clear when he entered the gathering space filled to the brim with people that while the males, and a few of the matrons, were born and bred Aressotles through and through, the humans sprinkled among them had changed the nature of such a gathering.

For one, no one was fighting. At least not with weapons.

But the insults flowed easily. “Hey, Vhyl, what bet did you lose that forced you to wear that ridiculous hat?”

To that he had an easy response. “At least I can take off the hat later on. You’re stuck with that face for life.” An insult Makl frowned at.

A little boy, his skin a light mauve but his lungs as fierce as any warrior from his home world, waved a sword as he rode the shoulders of Brax.

Louisa, whom he’d previously met, watched her gallivanting mate with a forbearing expression while her hands rested on her distended belly. It seemed Brax and Xarn proved fruitful.

Later on at dinner, the conversation flowed, and Vhyl caught snippets of it, especially his mate’s reaction to Megan’s toast.

“I just want to say thank you all for coming—and not spilling any blood on the floors. It’s a bitch to scrub out. I know it’s not easy to get so many of you warriors in one place without a murder happening.”

“Yet,” Tren added in an ominous tone.

“Oh, stop it with the tough guy act, or you won’t be getting any pie later.”

What kind of dessert could have the renowned assassin clamp his lips tight?

Megan continued. “This Christmas, I’d like to give thanks for the fact our purple husbands—”

“Warriors.”

“Mercenaries.”

“Assassins.”

“Acquisition specialists.”

“—whatever, abducted us and showed us how good life could be despite our different cultures.”

“Hold on a second. You mean to say you were all abducted?” Jilly’s eyes rounded.

“Of course. Didn’t Vhyl tell you?”

He shrugged when his mate peered at him. “I told you we take what we want.”

“Well, except for Megan. She was an
Accidental Abduction
,” Tren stated.

“Which I resent. If you ask me, I was the best thing that ever happened to you.” Megan glared at her spouse, but not too angrily given she plopped into his lap and draped her arms around his neck.

“Best accident ever,” Tren replied, his express soft, for his mate only. Everyone else got a glare that dared them to repeat his admission.

“Ha, my introduction to Jaro was anything but an accident. His was an
Intentional Abduction
,” Aylia announced.

“Only because I allowed it,” Jaro retorted as he juggled a pair of babies who slept soundly, one in the crook of each arm.

“Mine was a
Dual Abduction
, by dumb and dumber,” Louisa announced.

“Hey, I resent that. I would have kept you all to myself if dumber here hadn’t insisted we share.”

“Insisted, ha? You could have never bested me, and you know it.”

“Idiots,” Makl replied with a shake of his head. “I am the only one with any pride to admit mine was a purely
Mercenary Abduction
. I saw Olivia and had to have her.”

“Oh please, you only came after me because Aunt Muna told you to get a nanny for Mren.”

“The reason why doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is, you’re mine.”

“No. You’re mine.”

As they bickered, Jilly looked at the last couple in the group. “What of Dyre? Didn’t I hear you were the do-gooder black sheep of the family? I can’t see you kidnapping a woman and making her love you.”

Dyre straightened in his seat. “In my case, I attempted a
Heroic Abduction
. And succeeded. For the most part.”

Betty shook her head. “While laying waste on the way. My dear mate means well, but he really isn’t cut out to be a hero.”

“And what of you, Jilly? How would you classify your abduction?”

All the eyes at the table turned Jilly and Vhyl’s way, and he could see her stumped for an answer.

“Given I acquired her during the barbaric Earth custom known as Kris-mass, I’d say hers was a Holiday Abduction.”

“More like chaotic, but at least it had a happily ever after,” Jilly added, squeezing his thigh under the table.

“I like hers,” little Mren announced. “It has presents.”

Indeed it did. In Vhyl’s case, it was the gift of love, an emotion he now understood and would kill to keep.

Mine. Forever.

The End