Page 3 of His Little Cinnabar (Eleadian Mates #12)

Chapter Three

Janelle

I’m warm. So warm. And so comfortable. It takes long seconds for it to compute that it’s not possible. I haven’t been warm and comfortable for a few years. How am I suddenly cozy?

I refuse to open my eyes and risk breaking the spell. In the back of my head, I realize I’m dreaming. I have to be. There’s no other explanation for the soft blanket or what seems to be arms enveloping me.

When was the last time someone hugged me? I don’t remember. It would have been my mother. She wasn’t a hugger as I got older, but I assume she hugged me when I was a child.

Something smells…right. I can’t make sense of it. A masculine scent fills me every time I inhale. It’s powerful and heady. It’s…home. What does that even mean? It doesn’t compute.

I’m breathing through my nose because something is in my mouth.

I’m sucking furiously, and I don’t think it’s my thumb.

I’ve always sucked my thumb. I never outgrew it.

My mother tried everything to get me to stop as I got older, but nothing worked, and eventually she gave up.

She believed that I would stop when kids made fun of me at school.

But that didn’t happen either. I didn’t stop sucking my thumb in public until I was in about third grade, but even then, I continued to do so in private.

Someone is stroking my fingers. Not just stroking them. Someone is kissing the tips. That makes no sense. Nothing makes sense, but it’s my weird dream, and I don’t want it to end, so I refuse to open my eyes.

I’m too warm. I want to stay warm. I don’t care if it’s an illusion from my dream. I’ll take it. When I open my eyes and break the spell, I’ll be cold again.

Where am I? Am I in a shelter? I can’t possibly be under the bridge where I often sleep. I’d be freezing. But I don’t remember checking into a shelter tonight.

The last thing I remember is being in Club Zoom, feeling overwhelmed, and then… Oh, crap. A giant man came to me. He cupped my face, tipped my head back, and spoke to me. His tone was kind. And that’s the final thing I recall.

Suddenly, something pricks my fingertips, and I jerk my eyes open. I’m so stunned by what I see that I stop breathing. A man’s face. He has black hair and the most gorgeous green eyes I’ve ever seen. His skin is tanned, his lips are full, and there are dimples on his cheeks. He’s smiling at me.

Our faces are only inches apart, and I quickly surmise that he’s the reason I’m so warm. He’s holding me.

“Hey there, Little one. I was starting to worry. You fainted, and you’ve been asleep a long time.”

I stare at him. I’m too confused to speak, and besides, something is in my mouth.

The man suddenly plucks the item from my mouth. It disappears so fast I don’t get a chance to see what it was. “You were so cold,” he continues. “You’ve finally stopped shivering.”

He’s…rocking me? He’s standing and swaying. I’m cradled in his arms. I don’t feel as panicked as I should. I’m just stunned. I lick my lips. “Are you one of them?” My voice squeaks.

His smile widens. “Eleadian, yes.”

“Why are you holding me?”

“Because you’re mine, Baby girl.”

My eyes widen. Now, I’m really confused. “That’s not possible. I didn’t even see a single man before I fainted.” Except I did. I saw this man.

“But I saw you , Janelle. That’s all it takes.”

“You know my name…”

“Yes. It was on your driver’s license. Did I pronounce it right?”

I nod. “But you wouldn’t pick me. The club was filled with gorgeous women. I’m just…” I don’t know how to tell him I’m nobody.

“We don’t pick our mates the way you’re thinking, Little one. Fate chooses for us. When you walked into the club, you were taking a risk that you might be chosen.”

I swallow and stare into his amazing eyes. They’re mesmerizing. I feel like he’s looking inside me. Like he can see my soul. Finally I speak again. “I only came in to get warm.”

“Well, you will never be cold again, Little one. I promise. The temperature on Eleadia is perfect year-round. You’ll never feel overheated or chilled once we get home.”

My heart rate picks up. “You’re seriously going to take me to your planet?” It’s difficult to imagine.

“Yes, Baby girl. We’ll go to the mothership soon. The doctor on board will examine you to clear you for transportation, and then we’ll head home.”

He’s serious. He holds my gaze while he lifts my fingers to his lips again. That’s what he was doing when I woke up. He holds my hand steady against his mouth, and suddenly I feel a prick.

“Ouch.” I try to pull my hand away, but he’s too strong. “What did you do?”

“There’s a tiny quill behind my front teeth. I can use it to pierce your skin and inject you with my serum. It’s going to help calm you.”

I do feel oddly calm. Weird. I know he already pricked my finger. It’s what woke me up.

He brings my pointer to his lips and pierces it again.

“Owie. Don’t do that.” I pout, but my breath hitches when he sucks my finger between his lips and licks it before releasing it.

He holds my gaze the entire time. My cheeks heat from the intensity.

No one has ever looked at me so intently before.

I feel like I’m held in a trance. I can’t blink or look away.

“I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep you relaxed, Little one. I don’t like your blood pressure rising. It’s not healthy.”

Unnerved by how he makes me feel, I squirm in his arms and become aware of my bladder. “Put me down. I need to pee.”

“I like holding you, Janelle. You don’t need me to put you down to go pee-pee. You can do so at any time. I wrapped a soft cloth around your bottom.”

I gasp and struggle in his arms, trying to push more upright. There is indeed something thick between my legs.

I’m certain he has the strength to easily keep me right where he wants me, but he seems to humor me by propping me up in his arms.

The blanket wrapped around me falls away, and all the blood drains from my face when I see that I’m wearing nothing but a diaper. I instantly cover my chest. Tears come to my eyes. I’m so embarrassed. My lips start trembling.

“Shh. You’re okay, Baby girl. I’ve got you.” He shifts so that he’s holding me under my arms and flattens my chest to his, leaving my feet dangling. He tucks a hand under my diapered bottom.

I glance down to see that I’m far higher off the floor than I could have imagined. He’s gigantic. That part was definitely true. It only heightens my nervousness.

The giant starts walking. He carries me out of the room we were in and into another. I see a bed that’s incredibly high off the floor and huge. It would have to be if he sleeps there. He lowers me onto the mattress.

When I shove at his shoulders to get him off of me, he grabs my wrists and lifts my hands over my head. He easily clasps both of my arms with one of his and pins me to the bed. He uses a knee to part my legs and leans into me so I’m immobile.

“Please…” I beg. “I need to use the bathroom. I’m seriously going to wet myself.”

“You’ll never use a bathroom again, Janelle. We don’t have restrooms on my planet. You’ll learn to use a diaper.” He brings his free hand to my stomach and presses against my bladder. I only know this because I almost lose control and wet myself.

I squirm and buck against him. “No. I don’t want to use a diaper. Please let me go potty.”

His hand slides up to my breast, and I gasp as he grips it. Before I can imagine what his intention is, he bends his head to my chest and sucks my nipple into his mouth.

I’m so mortified that I can’t breathe, and my horror doubles when he pricks my nipple with that quill thingy. My nipple . I hate him seeing my chest, but I hate even more that his attention feels kind of good.

In seconds, my entire body relaxes. It’s not just that. It’s more. Something is happening to me. I don’t understand it. I want him to keep touching my swollen bud.

He does that thing again where he meets my gaze and holds it. I’m in a trance, and my breath hitches when his thumb grazes over my tight nipple.

“That’s my good girl,” he praises. “Deep breaths. Submit to Papi.”

He switches his palm to my other breast, cups it gently, and strokes over the tight bud until it matches its twin—hard and tingling. There’s a fluttering in my stomach. It feels like I swallowed a beehive. And my private parts are tingling like my nipples.

My breath hitches when the man pinches the hard tip. It hurts, but at the same time a rush of blood seems to head for my sex. What’s happening to me?

When he releases my nipple, his hand trails down to my tummy, and he once again pushes against my bladder. “Wet your diaper for Papi, Little one. Let it go.”

All I can focus on is the fact that he pinched one nipple and pricked the other one. I arch my chest off the bed because some bizarre part of me wants him to make them match.

“You need to pee yourself, Baby girl.” His voice is sterner. “Do you need Papi to spank your bottom?”

I gasp. All the air leaves my lungs. Spank me?

It seems like a reasonable thing for him to say considering the fact that I’m wearing a diaper.

Suddenly, I realize maybe he thinks I’m much younger than my age.

I know I look it. I’m so small, and I’m underweight.

I’ve never had enough boobs to even warrant wearing a bra, but I’ve always worn one because my mother reprimanded me when I didn’t.

This man must think I’m about ten years old. I lick my lips. “I’m not a baby.”

“I know you’re not, Little one. I saw your license. You turned twenty-four recently. But on my planet males take care of their females in every way. You will always be coddled and doted on by me.”

He somehow manages to squeeze my bladder just right, making me lose total control and wet myself. I’m mortified, and he’s smiling like I just did the most impressive thing he’s ever seen.

“That’s a good girl. See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“It’s icky.”

He chuckles, the vibrations causing my entire body to tremble as if it’s responding to him. The fluttering continues.

“Is your name Papi?” I ask to distract myself from all the things happening at once—top among them the wet diaper grossing me out and the way my body craves his attention.

“No. My name is Tekfan, but you’ll call me Papi. It’s a term of endearment Little girls use on Eleadia.”

“Tekfan… That’s an odd name.”

“All of our names are unusual to humans.”

“You’re not human?”

“No. My people look like humans in many ways, but we have distinct differences. One is the quill. Another is our size.”

I slowly nod. I want the icky diaper off, but I don’t want Tekfan to remove it, and I’m worried that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Sure enough, he palms the soaked material and rises from leaning over me. “Let’s get you changed.”

Now that my arms are free, I reach down and shove at his hands. “No,” I whine. It’s one thing for him to have stripped me naked and put it on me while I was unconscious. It’s another thing for me to be aware of him seeing my body.

He gently wraps his huge fingers around my wrists and guides them to my sides before leaning over my body and capturing one of my nipples with his mouth again. The opposite one from before.

I arch my chest toward him. I don’t understand why, but I really like it when he licks my nipples.

He captures the little bud with his teeth and pierces it, lingering longer than he had the first time. It should hurt. It does hurt. But I find myself wanting him to do it again.

I’m panting as he swirls his tongue around the tight bud. I’m on fire. I want something I can’t put my finger on.

I go cold when my mother’s voice fills my head. “Good girls do not let boys touch their private parts. Good girls do not play with their naughty parts either. Focus on your studies, Jane, otherwise you’ll end up pregnant like me and have to raise a baby you’re not ready for.”

I moan. It feels so good. I’m having very wicked thoughts.

My mother has been dead for a long time, and yet I can hear her tsking in my head. If she knew I was letting a man see me naked and touch my breasts, she would probably spank me herself even though, like I told Tekfan, I’m too old for spanking.

“Jane.” I flinch when I hear her voice again as if she’s in the room. “How many times have I told you not to let your eyes stray toward men. They only want one thing from you. You will never get anything in return. They will use you and leave you. Don’t be tempted by them.”

I was almost out of high school before I understood what that “one thing” was she spoke of. By then she had scared me so badly that I didn’t dare let boys touch me. I flinched when they even got close. And I never looked them in the eyes.

With Tekfan, I can’t seem to look away. He keeps dragging my attention back to him.

And I’ve never felt this kind of naughty temptation.

He pricks my nipple again and switches to torment the other one, sucking and licking and teasing it until I’m writhing.

I think my private parts are leaking. Even though my diaper is wet, I’m aware of new moisture between my legs.

I cry out in frustration when he pierces my tender bud. I’ve lost track of how many times he’s done that. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but he said human men don’t have quills. Only Eleadians.

My traitorous nipple is pulsing. I’m squirming violently, but he’s undeterred because I’m far too small and weak to actually get away from him.

“Look at me, Baby girl,” he demands.

“It’s not right,” I mumble. “You’re tempting me.” Tears leak out of my eyes.

“Oh, Little one. Why the tears?”

My lip trembles as I suck in breath. “I’m not supposed to look at men. They are bad.”

“Who told you that, Little one?”

“My mother.” It almost sounds a bit mad now that I say it out loud, but it’s been pounded into me my entire life.

I can’t believe I let him carry me around with my naked chest against his.

I lost myself entirely for a while. I need to get my head on straight before he takes this further and I end up pregnant and alone.

“Janelle… Look at Papi. If I have to tell you again, I will remove this diaper and spank your naughty bottom.”