Page 25

Glitterball is sort of like dodgeball but with a ball that puffs sparkling powder that makes everybody horny. A yellow alien male swats away the cloud that envelopes him as his hover boots lower him to the floor. Red veins squirm under his skin. The moment he’s down, he pants heavily and calls for someone named DiDi.

She sprints to him from the hallway and jumps into his arms. Urihm, if I’m guessing right by her erotic cry, carries her outside and dry humps her against a wall. Almost everyone who has been taken out has had a similar reaction. I wonder how this goes for someone who isn’t matched. What do they do?

Then I think of my mother watching this, watching couples like Urihm and Didi grinding on her TV and grimace. It’s a side of her I never expected. But it makes me wonder if she wished she’d had a chance to feel so adored and wanted.

My father was a piece of work .

Elix and Aurelius watch from a private observation room. They only permitted me to enter the game after they were sure the race arena was secure. They are not allowed to be seen except in private quarters or in security-approved areas because they aren’t human. I understand now why Elix concealed himself.

He wanted to be closer to me.

I skate aside as the ball smokes a trail toward me. The trick with Glitter Ball is to keep moving. Hoverboots aren’t that unfamiliar to me as I use them when I’ve got to repair the StarBuster’s exterior. My trouble is that I suck at throwing balls. Bad.

I would much rather play with Elix’s. They’re warm and smooth and so big. I giggle to myself. And now they glow.

In my distraction, I take a hit to the side.

“Ah, damn it.”

My boots click down a power level and lower me to the floor as a high kicks in. My heart beats faster. My pussy slicks and tightens in anticipation. And all I can think about is Elix’s ripped body and his huge green cock.

I want him, now.

“Elix?” I walk out of the arena, boots darkened and clunking heavily as I walk. “I know you can hear me.”

Seeing a hint of movement behind a glass wall, I walk to the next hallway, and he steps out of a door.

I run to him the way DiDi ran to Urihm. I can’t help it. I crash into him and bond my mouth to his.

Elix hums a hungry grunt. His mouth is warm against mine. “Oh, what is that dust? It’s making me want to tear that fresh race suit off of you.”

Elix’s skin shifts and takes on a lighter hue.

“You going to do something about it?”

He nips at my ear and rumbles a deep note in lust.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

I kick my boots off and leave them behind as Elix sneaks me back to his ship.

“Where are you guys going?” Aurelius sniffs the air, grumbles, and stays twenty paces back. “Never mind. Dinner is in an hour, you hormonal kids.”

We hurry up the ramp. Aurelius takes up a guard post by the ramp as it closes.

Elix leads me to his room, where he’s moved our nest so it isn’t visible on communications from the cockpit. The moment his door is shut, I kiss him hard and frantically work the tactical gear off of his body.

“Zariah—” Elix heaves a breath as he unzips my suit and nibbles my neck. Then he tears off his jacket, kicks out of his pants, and heaves a breath as he fills the room with soft green light.

I free the suit from my ankles and admire his radiant, naked body for a second before he collects me, spins me around, and falls back into the nest of blankets.

The disorientation evokes a yell that turns into embarrassed laughter.

Elix’s smile is shy as he runs his hands down my back and over my bare ass. Then he flips me onto my back, finds my opening with his searing hot tip, and grinds into me with more force than I anticipate. A sharp moan escapes me.

His erect cock commands my body now, and I arch from the sweet agony of taking his length.

Every bonding of our bodies, every thrust from him that gives me relief, is filled with tender passion. He holds me with desperation like I could be ripped away from him at any second, and he’s still in shock that I want him back.

“Oh, Zariah.” Elix throbs inside of me, stretching my pussy just enough to thrust me into euphoric overload.

I clench tightly around his cock, finding my climax.

Elix slumps atop me with a surprised grunt in ecstasy. Sweat beads on his skin. Then his hips rock harder against mine, driving him deeper as he fills me.

Euphoric tingles spread through me until I shudder in the bliss of Elix’s release.

We gasp for breath, but Elix doesn’t pull out. When he looks down at me, his cock stiffens again and pumps gently. After a moment, he repeats the move. It’s an erotic massage that’s close to pushing me over the edge again.

“Sorry.” He nuzzles my face. “Just the thought of mating with you makes me hard.”

I crane up and kiss his lips. “I told you, I don’t want to be in the race anymore. I found what I want. I don’t care if this is all we did for the rest of time.”

He blushes and finally pulls out, then curls himself around me in the nest. His hand is warm as his fingers glide over my belly. Elix kisses my neck. A gust of his hot breath falls over my shoulder. “I wish we could. But this universe is still in chaos. I will protect you with my life. But I must leave the nest now and then to watch the perimeter and protect you.”

“And maybe get some food,” I offer, my stomach grumbling. “That’s also important.”

“Do you want to go to dinner? I think it’s formal tonight.”

“Can you join me?” I ask.

When he doesn’t respond, I roll back into him and look into his gold eyes. There’s sadness hiding in them. “Then no. I don’t care if it’s fancy. I’ve always wanted to feel like royalty instead of a royal pain in the ass like my father. But I’m not interested in anything that I can’t do with you.”

“Room service then?” Elix asks, nipping at my ear.

A wave of goosebumps crawls down my neck and shoulder. “You keep that up, and I’m going to forget about dinner.”

Elix draws my back against his chest. His green light swells, bouncing off the walls.

His rumble of lust tells me dinner is going to have to wait.

Elix’s hand travels lower, down my belly, where he guides my hips back to his. He slides a finger over my clit, back and forth as he feeds his tip into my pussy from behind, sliding in with slow, erotic force, like he’s savoring every second of penetration he can until I cannot take anymore. Then he gives me a little bump-thrust and stretches me until I lose my head in a fiery high I never want to come down from.

His teeth graze my neck as he pants a grunt. “I’ve got all I want to eat right here.”