Page 27 of Accidentally Abducted (Nereidan Compatibility Program #1)

I work him methodically, mercilessly, mouth on his nipples, fingers stretching him open, my free hand pinning one of his wrists above his head.

His bioluminescence flares with each touch, turning his blue skin into a canvas of shifting golden light.

Through our bond, I can feel his desperate need building, threatening to overwhelm both of us.

"I dreamed about this," I tell him, adding a third finger, watching his eyes flutter closed as I stretch him wider. "Every night. Waking up alone, reaching for you, finding nothing."

Zeph's free hand rakes down my back, nails leaving trails of fire I'll feel for days. "No more waiting," he demands, voice ragged with need. "I need you now. Need all of you."

When he's ready, when I can feel through our bond that he's desperate for more, I position myself between his legs, the head of my cock pressing against his entrance. His thighs tremble as they wrap around my waist, pulling me closer with inhuman strength.

Our eyes lock as I begin to push forward, entering him inch by inch.

His body accepts me readily, that natural lubrication making everything easier, but I still go slowly, savoring the moment, watching his face contort with pleasure as we reconnect completely.

His nails dig deeper into my back, urging me on, demanding more.

"Fuck," I gasp when I'm fully seated inside him, feeling his body clench around me, those strange internal muscles rippling in ways no human could manage. "God, I missed you."

Zeph's hands grip my arms, his bioluminescence flaring so bright it casts golden shadows across the walls of my bedroom. "Jake," he breathes, his voice reverent. "My Jake."

"Yours," I agree, beginning to move, pulling back and thrusting forward in a rhythm that has us both gasping. "All yours."

His legs wrap around my waist, pulling me deeper with each thrust, but he lets me set the pace, lets me take what I need. And what I need right now is hard and fast and desperate, a physical affirmation that he's really here, that this connection is real.

"More," he demands, his nails digging into my back. "Harder. Make me feel you."

Something breaks loose inside me, a primal hunger I didn't know I possessed. I grab his hips, angling them to drive myself deeper with each thrust. The change in position has me hitting something inside him that makes his entire body light up, golden luminescence pulsing with each movement.

"Yes," he gasps, his head falling back against the pillows, exposing the long line of his throat. "Like that. Just like that."

Through our empathic bond, I can feel exactly how much he's enjoying this, the sensation of me moving inside him, the weight of my body over his, the emotional resonance of our reconnection.

It creates a feedback loop of sensation that's almost overwhelming, each of us feeling the other's pleasure alongside our own.

"I need to see you," I say, my voice rough with desire. "Need to watch you come apart for me."

I reach between us, wrapping my hand around his cock, still slick with his natural lubricant. His back arches at my touch, a sound somewhere between a moan and a growl escaping his throat. I lean down, wanting to be closer to him, needing to see his face as we both approach climax.

"Kiss me," he demands, and I comply immediately, my mouth crashing against his in a kiss that's all heat and desperation and love.

The room fills with the sounds of our reunion, skin against skin, harsh breathing, the occasional creak of my cheap bed frame protesting our vigor. Zeph's bioluminescence has spread to cover his entire body, bathing the room in golden light that pulses brighter with each thrust.

"I missed you," I tell him again, the words spilling out between kisses. "Every day. Every night. Wondering if you'd forgotten me."

"Never," Zeph gasps, his hands gripping my shoulders so hard I'll have bruises tomorrow. "I could never forget you. Never stop wanting you."

Through the bond, his emotions crash over me, love and longing and regret and relief, all tangled together in a complexity that no words could capture. I let myself be swept away in it, in him, as we move together toward release.

"Close," he warns, his body tightening around me, internal muscles rippling in ways that make my vision blur. "Jake, I'm going to—"

"Yes," I urge, stroking him faster, my hips driving forward with increasing urgency. "Let me see you. Let me feel you."

When he comes, it's with a shout of my name, his entire body lighting up like a supernova.

His release coats both our stomachs, hot and strangely iridescent in the golden light.

Through the bond, I feel the waves of his pleasure crashing through me, and it's enough to send me over the edge.

I drive into him one final time, coming with a shout as his body pulses around me.

The empathic feedback loop amplifies everything, my pleasure feeding his, his feeding mine, creating a cascade of sensation that seems to go on forever. My vision whites out for a moment, the intensity of shared release overwhelming every sense.

Finally, I collapse onto his chest, both of us trembling with aftershocks, his arms wrapping around me to hold me close. We lie like that for long moments, hearts racing in tandem, breathing gradually slowing, neither willing to break the connection.

Eventually, I pull out gently, rolling to lie beside him, my head on his shoulder, one leg thrown over his. His skin is still glowing, though the intensity has dimmed to a soft radiance that bathes us both in golden light.

"Jake," he says softly, one hand tracing patterns on my back. There's wonder in his voice, as if he still can't quite believe I'm real.

I feel the same way. My hands can't stop touching him—his face, his chest, the curve of his hip. "You're here," I say, my voice rough. "You're actually here."

"I am," he confirms, turning to face me, his forehead pressing against mine. "And I am not leaving again."

The words send a jolt through me, equal parts hope and suspicion.

I pull back slightly, studying his face.

"Okay," I say, finally ready for explanations.

"Now tell me why I haven't heard from you for ten fucking days, Zeph, because seriously, that silence was bullshit. Don't ever do that to me again."

Zeph's expression turns solemn, though his hand continues its gentle exploration of my skin. "After returning to my world, I was required to present my findings to the Council. Seven members who determine the future of our species' integration programs."

"And they didn't want you talking to me," I guess, the pieces starting to fit together.

"It was more complex than that." Zeph's fingers trace my collarbone, leaving trails of fading luminescence.

"The communicator was meant for true emergencies only.

Any unauthorized usage would have been detected immediately and viewed as a breach of protocol.

Such a breach could have resulted in my removal from the program. "

"And that would have meant..."

"That I would never have been permitted to return to Earth. To you."

The implications sink in. He wasn't ignoring me. He was ensuring he could come back.

"So what changed?" I ask, leaning into his touch despite my lingering frustration. "Why are you here now?"

"The Council determined that our... connection represents an unprecedented opportunity.

" Zeph's formal tone slips in, the researcher briefly overtaking the lover.

"I have been appointed as official emissary to Earth, tasked with offering you a formal position as cultural liaison for the integration program. "

I blink at him, trying to process this. "Cultural liaison? What does that even mean?"

"It means," Zeph says, his voice softening again, "that you would be officially recognized as a representative of human culture to the Nereidan people. You would help facilitate understanding between our species as we begin wider contact."

"And where would this liaison work happen? On your world or mine?"

"Initially on my world," Zeph admits. "Though there would be regular returns to Earth as the program develops."

The enormity of what he's suggesting hits me. Leave Earth. Go to an alien world. Become some kind of interspecies diplomat.

"That's... a lot," I say, understatement of the century. "I mean, a week ago I was applying for barista jobs."

"I understand the magnitude of what I am asking," Zeph says quietly.

"It is not a decision to be made lightly.

But Jake..." His hand comes up to frame my face, golden eyes boring into mine with an intensity that steals my breath.

"The Council has authorized me to tell you that you would not be going alone. "

"You'd be coming with me," I say, not quite a question.

"I would be your guide, your partner in this endeavor. In all endeavors, if you wish it."

The formal language doesn't hide the emotion behind his words. Through our empathic bond, I can feel the depth of what he's offering; not just a job, not just a trip to another world, but a life together.

"And if I say no?" I have to ask. "If I'm not ready to leave Earth?"

Zeph's glow dims slightly, but his gaze remains steady.

"Then I will respect your decision. The position would remain open should you change your mind.

And I..." He hesitates. "I would request reassignment to Earth to continue my research.

It would not be the same as what I am offering, but I would not abandon our connection again. "

The fact that he's considered this, that he's prepared to stay on Earth if that's what I want, makes something warm unfurl in my chest.

"There is more you should know," Zeph continues. "My brother, Kav'eth, has been assigned to assess Derek. They have arranged for him to be in a specified location for the retrieval this time. The Council was quite insistent there be no... mix-ups."

"Derek?" The mention of my ex jolts me. "Wait, your brother is going to abduct Derek?"

"Yes," Zeph admits without hesitation. "The Council wants to verify my findings with their originally selected subject. They've assigned a different research vessel to Kav'eth for this purpose."

"Holy shit," I say, remembering Derek's text about the mysterious "international fitness ambassador program." So it wasn't just paranoia. They really are coming for him. "Derek has no idea what's about to happen."

"My brother is not..." Zeph pauses, searching for the right words. "He is not like me. Kav'eth believes in strict adherence to protocols. He will conduct the assessment with scientific precision, but without any consideration for human emotional needs."

"Your brother," I say slowly. "Is he that opposed to the whole compatibility program?"

Zeph's mouth quirks in what might almost be amusement.

"No. Kav'eth is a Council member, not a researcher.

He views humans as inferior and potentially dangerous.

This assignment is his punishment for opposing the compatibility program.

He will be clinical, methodical, and completely unsympathetic to whatever discomfort Derek experiences. "

"Poor Derek," I say, though I can't help a slight smirk at the thought of my fitness-obsessed ex being subjected to alien tests by someone who has zero interest in his Instagram following. "So your stick-in-the-mud brother gets Derek, and you get... me."

"I get you," Zeph agrees, his arm tightening around me. "If you will have me."

The possessive note in his voice sends a shiver through me, reawakening desire despite our recent activities. Through the bond, I can feel his uncertainty, his hope, his absolute commitment to whatever choice I make.

"When do we leave?" I ask, surprising both of us with how quickly the decision comes.

Zeph's bioluminescence brightens with sudden hope. "You... you would come? Just like that?"

I laugh softly, stroking his cheek. "What exactly am I staying for, Zeph? A crappy apartment? A job I don't have anymore? Ex-boyfriends getting abducted?" I shake my head. "The only thing that's felt real to me in the past ten days is missing you. The only thing that feels right is being with you."

"The Council has authorized a fourteen-day period for you to consider the offer," Zeph says carefully, though I can feel his excitement building through our bond. "You need not decide immediately."

"Fourteen days," I repeat, leaning in to kiss him softly. "So we have two weeks to ourselves before heading to your world?"

"Yes. I will not leave your side," Zeph promises, his bioluminescence brightening with happiness. "Unless you wish for privacy, of course."

"Privacy is overrated," I tell him, pressing closer against his warm, glowing skin. "Especially when there are more important things to do."

"Such as?" Zeph asks, though the way his pupils dilate suggests he knows exactly what I'm thinking.

"Such as making up for ten days of separation," I say, feeling him already hardening against my thigh. Through the bond, I feel his immediate response, desire flaring hot and bright between us. "And maybe seeing how many different ways we can fuck each other."

Zeph's hands slide to my hips, fingers flexing against my skin. "I believe that can be arranged," he says, his voice dropping to that lower register that never fails to make my entire body respond. "For scientific purposes, of course."

"Of course," I agree, leaning down to kiss him. "Very important research."

As his arms wrap around me, pulling me flush against his chest, I find kissing him again. Fourteen days is just a formality. The moment he appeared in my living room, the decision was already made.

Wherever Zeph goes, I'm going too. Earth, alien worlds, the far side of the universe, it doesn't matter. After feeling what it's like to be without him, I'm never letting him go again.

But I've got fourteen days to make him prove just how much he wants me to come with him. And I intend to make every second count.