Dark and Light (A Kindred Tales Duet)

“I just don’t want to end up like your other concubines—used and discarded,” she told him.

Kane rose from his crouch and towered over her, his face like a thundercloud. For a moment, Alli was certain he would come after her and shake her or maybe roar at her in his deep, gravelly voice. But at last he only said,

“You are like no other concubine I have ever had.”

Then he turned and left so swiftly Alli didn’t even see him go.

Eighteen

She held out for a whole week—a whole week of sexual starvation that nearly made her crazy.

Every morning after breakfast—(which she had learned to manage better by asking for specific menus from restaurants she knew on Earth, so that the food she asked for was familiar)—Kane came to take her to the Hall of Shadows.

Every morning he strapped her to the Stinging Frame and stung her mouth, both nipples, and her clit. He Stung inside her pussy too—promising Alli it would make her crave his seed even more.

He was right.

At times, she thought she was going crazy, the need for his hands and mouth on her body, his seed in her pussy, was so great. But somehow Alli held out.

Part of it was knowing how much time she had left to endure this torture. After the second Stinging session, when Kane had returned her to her room, she called for a calendar which showed how many days she’d been with him and how many days she had left before she went home.

An old-fashioned paper calendar appeared with three red Xs on it…and twenty-seven clear squares. Every evening, Alli marked off another day and every morning she told herself to hold on because there was one day less before she would be going home.

That was, if the big Kru’ell One kept his promise. But so far Kane seemed to be true to his word. He didn’t touch her—other than to Sting her each morning. Though that in itself was an ordeal, since he tended to spend a long time kissing and sucking her nipples and lapping her clit and the inside of her pussy before he Stung her. But other than that, he left her alone except for the fact that he expected her to have dinner—or Last Meal—with him every night.

The dinners were held in his private chambers—vast, shadowy rooms lit mostly by candlelight. They were furnished in heavy, black wood furniture with blood-red upholstery. They reminded Alli of something you might see in a Medieval castle.

During dinner, Kane was always polite and he proved to be an excellent listener. He asked many, many questions about Alli’s past and present and her hopes for the future. She found herself speaking freely to him about her job aboard the Mother Ship, her life with Douglas, and even her upcoming wedding.

“So, you do not love this fiancé of yours, but you plan to join your life to his permanently?” Kane asked her one evening, near the end of her first week with him. “Why, Allisandra?”

Alli shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She knew there was no point in denying his words—they were true. She didn’t love Douglas and Kane could see into her well enough to know it.

“Douglas is a nice guy,” she said, trying to justify herself. “We both love our work and we don’t bother each other too much.”

Kane raised an eyebrow and frowned.

“That sounds more like you’re picking a roommate than a lover to share the rest of your life with,” he pointed out. “Do you really think such monotony and tepid affection will make you happy in the long run?”

“Well it’s better than sitting up here in a space fortress brooding all day and torturing people sexually!” Alli snapped.

Her need for his touch had her at a breaking point. It was damn difficult to ignore the desire she felt for the big Kru’ell One sitting across from her when he was so close she could smell his warm, spicy, masculine scent and see his mirrored eyes glinting in the firelight.

Kane didn’t appear offended by her remarks. He only gave her a sympathetic look and shook his head.

“Is the need getting to be too much for you, baby?” he asked softly. “Is desire overwhelming you? You know you only have to ask and I’ll do whatever you want. Do you want your nipples sucked? Your pussy licked? Or do you need to be filled with my cock and my come?”

“If you’ll do whatever I want, then stop Stinging me!” Alli exclaimed. “You’re making me crazy and you know it.”

Kane shook his head.

“Sorry, baby, but I can’t do that.”

“Why?” Alli asked. “Because you’re some kind of emotional vampire and you live by feeding off my pleasure when you…when I let you do…do what you want to do to me?”

Kane didn’t even try to deny it.