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“Humor me,” I all but shout, suddenly feeling very warm in my thin pajamas.

Six cycles of flesh and blood. Six cycles of pain and pleasure. One cycle of death.

The panic that has been strangely absent for this conversation rips through me again. I back away from him slowly, groping behind me for my wrench.

“So much for having nothing to fear from you! Blood? Pain? Death? You better start explaining yourself, or you’re about to become a sexy alien cryo-popsicle,” I snarl.

I do not understand many of these words, My Anya, or why you would have me explain your own ritual to you. If it is to test me and ensure I know my sacred texts, I am happy to oblige.

Leo rises slowly and steps forward, palms raised in a gesture of submission.

The six cycles of flesh and blood are meant to provide sustenance to your chosen form and sate the first of your divine appetites. Slake your thirst for the blood of cruel, unworthy males and feast on their traitorous flesh. We priests must bring these to you. We search galaxies for them.

I nod, lowering my wrench slightly. That’s not great, but at least I’m not on the menu.

“Okay, so you bring me bad guys to eat. What next? Pain and pleasure? What’s that all about?” I ask, surprised by my own breathlessness.

He takes another step in my direction, the slow movement like a graceful predator trying not to startle its prey. Desire burns in his luminous gaze, and the smile he gives me is sin itself.

Can you not guess, My Goddess?

The very last shred of rational thought is snuffed out like a spent match, leaving a trail of heated lust in its wake. He reaches up to run a finger across my lips and the gentle, exploratory touch paralyzes me with an onslaught of emotions: confusion, excitement, wariness, and above all, instinctive, brutal lust.

“And the cycle of death?” I hear myself whispering.

He’s a breath from me now, sliding his fingers through my hair, scraping nails against my scalp. My hair comes loose and falls around my shoulders, and he makes an odd noise of approval in his throat—almost like a purr.

This body has sensory receptors everywhere. One might die from the pleasure of sensation alone.

His fingers tighten in my hair, pulling just enough to tip my mouth up to his and send bolts of desire arcing through my entire body. Heat pools between my legs and I swallow a whimper.

“D-d-die?” I stammer, dangerously close to his lips. “Does that mean you’re going to kill me, after all?”

What is pleasure without a little death?

“I hope you’re referring to orgasms,” I breathe. Honestly, I don’t know that I care at this point. Being fucked to death by a hot alien is probably better than a lifetime of loneliness on a lunar space station.

I sense you’re amenable to the idea, my Anya. Do you wish to proceed with the ritual?

Leo’s hand snakes down from my scalp to my neck, then traces my breasts through the thin fabric of my pajamas. My nipples harden instantly, and this time I can’t stop the moan that gives sound to my need. Proceed with the ritual? What the hell am I getting myself into?

Cool, firm fingertips find their way beneath my shirt and stroke my abdomen, sliding low to the waistband of my pants.

Give me leave to worship you, My Goddess. My Anya. Show me how you want to be touched, tell me the words you wish to hear, let me fill your body with unbearable pleasure until you feel as if this flesh will come apart at the seams. Only then will I fuck you—only then will our bodies join. Only then will I paint this holy human body with my release.

With the onslaught of images and sensations he’s broadcasting through my brain, I’m about to go out of my mind with sexual need. Some distant part of my brain keeps reminding me about the aforementioned death involved in this ritual, but would it be so bad to enjoy being worshipped in bed for a little while? Logic says yes, but my libido drowns it out with the drumbeat of fiery passion flowing to my erogenous zones.

Leo leans into me, sliding his hands down the curves of my ass. He pulls me against him, and I feel the firmness of his erection pressing against my stomach, igniting the primal part of my brain that can only focus on one thing. His wild smile takes on a feral edge and he dips his head to lick the sensitive skin beneath my ear.

Tell me yes, My Anya. Tell me yes, and then show me what this body can do.

chapterfour

leo

I have experiencedsex in many different forms throughout my existence, but nothing has prepared me for the tidal wave of blinding want that My Goddess’s firm, four-limbed body elicits. I am desperate for her.

Her interrogation leaves me with more questions than answers. Is it possible this beautiful creature is not, in fact, my Divine Sindaria? Faint warnings flit through me, but they’re almost immediately silenced by my new body’s lust for her. If she’s not the embodiment of the Goddess of Carnal Desires, I don’t know what she is. I have never hungered for another so much, so instantaneously.