No Way Around It Page 3

  As he turned away, she called after him. “Is that the only freedom they have?”

  He hesitated mid-step. “Ask them,” he replied in a low hiss without turning around, and then continued on his way.

  “I will,” she muttered to herself.

  A long time passed before Vonna had a chance to query anyone because the workers congregated around her, firing questions non-stop, predominantly about Earth and Earthlings. Evidently, the population here shared an ancient history with Earthlings.

  With the exception of one trio who wanted to take a blood sample from her, everyone treated her with kindness and respect. From the ongoing discussions amidst the questions, she ascertained what she already suspected. They were trying to find a cure to their shortening lifespan, a cure that many believed lay hidden in human DNA.

  Finally, Vonna held up her hand. “My turn.”

  The various discussions simmered down around her. She turned in a circle, scanning the collective group. “Is anyone else here a prisoner like me?”

  Feet shuffled. Gazes shifted away. Lips firmed.

  “Many of us started out that way.” A petite female with shaggy black hair, big brown eyes and rosy cheeks stepped forward. Pointy ears ruffled through her fine strands of hair, completing the pixie look. “We thought we could escape our fate by leaving our planet. Instead of finding the legendary transport that would whisk us away, we were captured and sold. The lucky ones end up here.”

  Vonna raised her brows. “The lucky ones?”

  With a grim expression, the female nodded. “Yale provides us with whatever we want as long as we help him in the fight to find a cure. It’s a fair exchange. One we all benefit from.”

  “What about your families? Friends you’ve left behind?”

  The pixie shrugged and glanced around at her co-workers. “These are my family and friends.”

  A gangly older male stepped forward. “When I invited my mate to join me here, and work with Yale, she shunned me and took another mate.”

  “Yale doesn’t have the best reputation, I take it.”

  “All sorts of vile rumors surround his good name,” the male said defensively. “The Medical Council disagrees with his methods, so they slander him.”

  A chill tensed her shoulders. The memory of his torture chamber rose fresh in her mind. “What exactly do they object to?”

  “Cell cloning,” he replied. “Tissue regeneration.”

  “Artificial insemination,” the female added. “The Council is old school. They believe merging Earthling DNA with Alishon DNA through natural mating will eradicate the debilitating illness. After all, when more Earthlings mated with us we didn’t have this problem.”

  “You don’t believe there’s some truth to their assumption then?”

  “There’s some truth,” another scientist piped in. “When we mate with humans, we feel stronger, healthier. Human-Alishon offspring survive longer.”

  “But that’s creating a new species, not curing the Alishons,” Vonna said, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

  Quade popped out of the crowd by standing on a stool. Hands on his hips, he looked down at her. His sudden appearance unnerved her a bit. Had Yale sent him to guard her? To relay everything she said?

  “If it were up to the Med Council,” he said in a loud irritated voice, “all the females would be mated to the few Alishon males left with Earthling DNA in their systems. The rest of us could rot for all they cared.”

  The short, shaggy-haired female leaned close to Vonna. “Quade’s mate dumped him for a male with Earthling DNA. He’s never gotten over her.”

  From the look in the pixie’s eyes, she’d take care of Quade anytime he wanted.

  Vonna took a long look at the faces around the room. “Is anyone detained here against their will? Speak up!” Into the ensuing silence, she asked, “There’s no one hidden away in a secret cell where you do obscene experiments?”

  Some of the group scoffed. Others looked appalled.

  Vonna looked directly at Quade as she spoke to the room at large. “Has Yale ever beaten anyone into submission? Or threatened them with physical violence until they agreed to do his bidding?”

  The pixie put a gentle hand on Vonna’s sleeve. “They have you brainwashed, don’t they?”

  “She’s seen his private chambers,” Quade said quietly.

  A few gasps flitted around the room. In the back, someone giggled. Quade looked sharply toward the sound. “Hamnuqui, bring Fifa up here.” The crowd shifted, letting the female through.

  Like most, she wore a white lab coat, but around her neck she wore a black band adorned with a small silver loop in the front. A male, not much taller than she, followed closely behind her.

  “This is Fifa. She’s been in Yale’s chambers and survived unscathed,” Quade said in introduction.

  “Yale doesn’t leave marks,” Fifa said stoicly. “Not like Hamnuqui.” She smiled at the male standing beside her with molten heat gleaming in her eyes.

  Vonna stared at her, horrified.

  Catching Vonna’s look, Fifa sighed. “Yale’s chambers are designed for fun, not cruelty. Even if he offered you an invitation…” Fifa raised her brows in doubt at that prospect. “You always have the option to refuse.”

  Well, that made her feel a little better.

  “So I can walk away right now if I wanted to?” Vonna asked, scanning from one face to another.

  “There’s not a better place on Alishon than our compound,” Quade said.

  Loud murmurs of agreement resounded around the room.

  “Stay and help us, D.S. King.”

  “Stay,” the others called out.

  “Until the next Earthbound ship comes?” she prompted.

  Quade shrugged. No matter. She’d get Yale to agree to her terms, or she’d walk away now. No one said she couldn’t.

  * * *

  Yale lay on his bunk, holding his stomach and breathing hard. Beads of cold sweat dotted his face. As the medication seeped from the tiny pad on the inside of his wrist into his bloodstream, the pain slowly subsided.

  He’d barely made it to his quarters and torn off his hot, constricting clothes before he’d collapsed. This attack struck sooner than he’d anticipated, and more severely. Plus, his body was adjusting to the pain medication. He’d had to double the med dosage before he felt a modicum of relief. Time was running out for him, just like it had run out for his wife.

  He hoped the Earthling brought a new vision to their research that no one else had considered. She had cost him plenty, but he’d give everything he owned to save more Alishons from dying. He had a sister to worry about, nieces and nephews, even his stubborn father. Vonna King was a biogeneticist. A Distinguished Scientist. The best in her field. Would she find the miracle cure none of the other great minds under his care had yet found?

  Could she save him?

  His eyelids fluttered as the drug sped through his system.

  He pictured Vonna in his lab, her eyes wide with interest as she toured the facility. She had pretty eyes. Deep brown. Large, doe eyes. Submissive eyes.

  No, don’t think about that.

  The drug worked faster when the body relaxed, but it also had a hallucinogenic effect. He’d had chest and leg restraints that unlocked by a timer installed on his bed so he didn’t harm himself while he was out of it. He engaged them now.

  Quade thought the restraints were another toy for his “kinky sex craze.” If his friend had any idea how sick he really was, he’d have Vonna King trussed up for a fucking faster than he could blink. She could heal him. For a little while, anyway.

  He remembered her strung up in his sex chamber, her back arched, her legs spread, her breasts spilling out the top of those black cups, her hair falling over her shoulders. She was prime. And he wanted her.

  Yale tossed his head. No. He needed her in the lab. That was where she could do the most good.

  But the vision persisted. And he succumbed to the
Earthling’s allure…

  Her chest lifted on an indrawn breath as he twirled the wand of silky ghalia feathers beneath her chin. Tiny crescents of dusky brown areolas peeked over the edge of the black undergarment molded beneath her breasts. Her nipples poked at the stiff fabric.

  She glared at him with annoyance but her body trembled with excitement. With the spreader bar locked between her ankles, it was easy to see the damp spot spread on the crotch of her black panties.

  “Surrender to me, Vonna,” he said, sweeping the feather wand along the strong curves of her raised arms.

  She closed her eyes.

  “You cannot block me out. I am your master. I am with you always.” He flicked the feathers across her belly.

  She bit her quivering lip.

  “Open your eyes and look at me.”

  She obeyed, her eyes widening as he swirled the soft feathers along her inner thighs.

  “You want me to stroke your pussy, don’t you?” The feathers dipped along her leg to her knees and then he swirled them back up again, brushing close to her panties without touching. “You want something long and thick to fill you, to fuck you?”

  Her inner thigh muscles twitched. She swallowed hard.

  “Speak when I ask you a question!”

  Her whole body jerked in surprise. “Yes,” she answered with downcast eyes.

  “Yes, what?” He lifted the feathers away.

  Vonna glanced up, her gaze shooting to the hand holding the feather wand aloft. “Yes, my pussy aches to be filled.”

  He smiled and brushed his mouth over her lips. She didn’t resist.

  His cock ached. He wound his arms around her back and rubbed his long shaft across her belly while he kissed her. All the while, he swept the feather wand back and forth over her buttocks until she pressed her hips forward. Then, he deepened the kiss.

  Heat surged through his veins as she melted against him. Ah, sweet surrender.

  He broke away, leaving her swinging slightly from her wrists. “Now, let’s start from the beginning.” The feathers floated across her neck.

  Her resistance was going to kill him. He wanted her so badly. He wanted to kiss her breasts, lick her taut nipples. He swept the feathers over the full curves to hide the temptation from view.

  The smell of her desire spiked his arousal.

  He wanted to rip off the tiny black cloth covering her cunt and thrust his fingers inside her, feel her wetness, make her moan. Instead, he flung the wand between her legs and twirled it fast so the feathers whipped against her wet spot.

  “Master…” she called breathlessly.

  “Ah, that’s better.” He pressed the handle between her nether lips, pushing the stretchy black fabric of her panties inside a scant inch.

  She inhaled sharply and rocked against it.

  “Fuck it, Vonna.” He pressed a little deeper.

  Her thigh muscles flexed. Her buttocks clenched and unclenched. “More. Please.”

  “This is all you get because you took so long to surrender, my sweet.”

  The bar between her feet clanked against the ankle shackles as she tried to grasp more of the feather wand handle within her tight cunt. “Please, Master.”

  A clear drop of pre-cum dripped off the tip of his flushed cock. God, he wanted to fuck her. Shifting to her side, he straddled one spread leg, and rubbed his rock-hard cock against her hip.

  He drew out the handle and threw the wand to the floor where it landed with a muted clatter. The instant he plucked the soaked crotch fabric to one side, he shoved two fingers inside her.

  She cried out at the same time she clamped down on his thrusting digits.

  He shouldn’t have given in so easily, but she’d tied him in knots. He was as securely bound as she.

  With a firm grip on her chin, he twisted her face toward him and his lips sought hers. He swept his mouth over hers in a soft caress, and then drew her bottom lip between his lips, teasing the passion from deep inside her.

  Holding her chin with his left hand was awkward, so he moved his hand to the back of her head where he bunched her thick hair in his fist and tilted her head back. Her lips parted and he plunged his tongue into her mouth, swallowing her moans of ecstasy.

  The kiss mimicked his plunging fingers, his tongue diving and retreating, wet, hot, and demanding. His hand smacked against the damp curls of her pussy as he drove his fingers in and out. He added his thumb to the dance, circling her swollen clit.

  She groaned loudly into his mouth. Her cunt rippled around his slurping fingers, tighter and tighter.

  He rubbed his thumb over the fat nub, testing her reaction.

  Vonna bucked.

  Blazing pulsars, she set him on fire!

  Yale broke the kiss, releasing her harsh pants into the space between them. Holding his fingers deep, he stroked back and forth swiftly over her clit. “Come for me,” he whispered in a husky plea.

  A squeaky gasp rushed past his cheek.

  He wiggled his fingers and pressed his thumb down hard on her tender bud.

  Her body stiffened, shuddered, rocked, and finally… after several more hard contractions, relaxed. He kissed her damp neck and felt more tremors run through her cunt and beneath the skin. She squeezed him one last time before he slipped his fingers free.

  She hung limply, her feet flat on the tile floor, knees slightly bent. Her spicy, sexy essence filled his nostrils. “Thank you, Master,” she said between shallow breaths.

  Flames licked his balls. He gripped his cock in his fist and stroked it hard and fast.

  Yale came to, bucking against his restraints. The bars across his hips and thighs shook from the hard hits, leaving welts behind. Between the bars, his cock stood straight up, burning for release. His wrists smacked against the bands holding down his arms, the need to touch himself making the veins stand out in his neck.

  One quick vision of Vonna’s spent body hanging in his sex chamber, her creamy dew sliding down her inner thigh, and he came, spewing cum in long arcs.

  His pulse beat triple time. It took a long while to slow his breathing. Sweat soaked his skin. The restraints slid back into the sockets beneath his bed and still he lay there, exhausted. He’d never come so hard in his life.

  At first, he attributed it to the double dose of meds. Deep inside, he knew it was more. The dream of Vonna King had made him come like that.

  Now he needed to know if the real female could live up to his fantasy.

  Chapter Four

  “Is Yale all right?” Vonna whispered to her lab partner. She snuck another glance down the long metal counter at him while he studied a holographic DNA model slowly spiraling above the counter.

  He looked paler than usual.

  In the past few moon cycles, she’d covertly scrutinized his routine, his habits, his moods, and his endless dedication to the cause. So far, she hadn’t detected any sinister behavior in him. In fact, his mild manner astounded her. For the most part, he kept to himself, working as diligently as everyone else. He didn’t say much but he made a point of praising everyone for their daily contribution, no matter how small, including the slow, meticulous equipment sanitizer who couldn’t spell his own name.

  As promised, he’d told her he’d heard Jake and Kelly had survived. Their whereabouts were unknown, but he’d sent inquiries into the city. The effort he’d made on her behalf astounded her. The angry male who’d greeted her in the bondage room had receded deep inside the scientist she’d grown to respect.

  Jaki, the shaggy-haired pixie immunologist who’d trained Vonna on the lab equipment, carefully set a sample in the DNA hybridization chamber and followed Vonna’s glance. “He’s tired. He works around the clock.”

  “I hear he’s taking naps in his quarters more frequently,” Vonna said quietly. Sometimes, she wondered if he was sleeping alone or sharing his bed without resting at all because he came back to the lab looking more worn out than when he’d left. “The naps don’t seem to be helping.”

&n
bsp; “He needs to purge his demons.”

  Vonna wrenched her gaze to her lab partner. How wicked was his dark side? As far as she knew Yale hadn’t been to the bondage room since her arrival. When the stress became too much, did he pick a staff member and take her there to vent his frustrations? She swallowed her fear. “What demons?”

  Sadness clouded Jaki’s eyes. “Every day, someone dies because we can’t find a cure. Yale takes it personally.”

  “Why? Did he cause the disease?”

  “No, of course not. He thought he had the solution years ago, when he first left the council. He was wrong, and his father hasn’t let him forget it.”

  Vonna furrowed her brow, her thoughts lingering on the bondage room. She’d really like to know what went on there.

  Forcing her mind back to the conversation, she pondered the last comment Jaki had made. “His father?”

  “Chief Medical Officer of the Alishon Medical Council. He keeps telling Yale to give up his useless experiments and return to the fold.” Jaki slowly shook her head. “Yale refuses to give up. I fully support that decision. All I’m saying is he needs to stop brooding over his failure.”

  Vonna looked back at Yale, feeling his pain. She knew all about failure and regret. She’d had nightmares about losing her two team members when they’d landed on Alishontakawa. The list of “should have done this, shouldn’t have done that” was a mile long. Maybe some evening she and Yale could sit down and commiserate together. Naked. On his bed.

  His expression strained, Yale shut down the DNA hologram. Vonna wished she’d have an epiphany about the cure so she could make him smile. As a new staff member, she wanted to impress him. Please him. In many ways.

  Good grief! Why did her mind keep wandering into sexual territory?

  He cocked his head and caught her staring. Shoot. She quickly looked down at the equipment in front of her, wishing the burning in her cheeks would go away.

  At least Vonna’s curiosity in Yale was justified. The male who bought his employees at auction, maintained a place stocked with punishment devices, and worked tirelessly for the survival of his people was an enigma. The frequency of his ponderous looks at her stymied her. More than once, she’d caught him staring at the black bra visible beneath her thin white lab coat. Nonetheless, he never touched her with anything but a heated gaze.