Deceit: BBW Alien Lottery Romance (Chosen by the Karal Book 1) (6 page)

“This part can get a little rough,” he said to Elissa, who sat rigid in her seat.

“Worse than the take-off?” she asked.

“It can get a little turbulent. Depends on the cross-galaxy winds.”

“Cross-galaxy?” Her eyes were huge, and the sense of panic coming from her affected him. It also made Okil and Drak look around at her, their skin tone fluctuating as they registered her mood.

“Do you want me to give you something to calm you down?”

“No,” she said, trying to regain her composure by breathing long and deep through her nose and then letting it go through her mouth. “I’ll be OK. I just never expected to do this. I have no idea how your ship works. Until you arrived six months ago, we had no idea space travel like this was even possible.”

Marin decided to keep her talking, take her mind off the journey. Isn’t that what Earthlings did? Talk. Endless, endless talk. “We were surprised that such an old species had not mastered space travel.”

“We spent too long fighting each other. Too many resources on protecting our own bits of the Earth to venture out into space.”

“Your people go to war often?”

“I think the human race has spent most of their time on Earth fighting in one place or another. They fight over land, ideas, religion, raw materials.”

“We have never been to war.”

She smiled. “If you told that to the President, he would probably tell you it’s because you don’t have any women on your planet.”

“Are the women of Earth the warmongers?”

She laughed. “No. If women had ruled, there would probably have been no wars. So how does Karal avoid them?”

He sat back and thought about it. “Probably because of our lack of females. It is what keeps us occupied. When a new generation is born, there are many years spent nurturing them, raising them. When that is done, the elders die, and the females have usually passed on too, so the hunt begins, ready for the next breeding cycle.”

“Over the centuries you must have found many other humanoid creatures.”

“Humanoid? You mean like you. We can be compatible with many creatures. Your planet is the closest we’ve come to finding creatures that mirror our own.”

“Compatible? What do you mean?”

“Our DNA overrides most of the females’ DNA. So we need a very close match, but they don’t have to be as advanced as your humans are. Sometimes the creatures have smaller brains, perhaps use rocks as tools. We have even rescued those on the edge of extinction before.”

“The males too?”

His face was blank, his emotions fully under control when he said, “No. In our world, we only take what we need.”

“So if the Earth is of no use to you anymore, once you have the females you need, you will abandon us?”

“We would leave you to the fate you have brought on yourself.”

She thought about it for a moment. He expected her to argue the point. But she didn’t; instead, she said, “Sometimes people aren’t worth saving, are they?”

“It’s not that they are not worth saving, but your species has taken themselves to the brink of extinction by ruining the world that supports them. How are we supposed to help you when your species has always resisted change? There have been warnings for centuries. The markers must have been there. The signs to show the pathway to your destruction.”

“And we ignored them.”

“We cannot save a species that does not want to be saved.”

And then they hit the wormhole, the ship spinning around and around, leaving her clutching at her seat and then crying out in pain when her burned skin touched it. He placed his arm around her and comforted her, that instinct to protect kicking in once more.

The wormhole was unlike anything she could ever have imagined. She had seen all the images sent back from space probes, sure, but nothing could have prepared her for this. At first, it freaked her out. Once sucked into it, their speed picked up until they were thrown back into their seats. Then the twists began. At first, it was a little side to side, and then they had completely flipped. After the first time, when the contents of her stomach threatened to reappear, she had tried to let herself enjoy the ride. It helped that outside of the small windows she could see a myriad of colours flashing by. At one point, they slowed and it looked as if the sky was aflame, red and golds all vying for dominance, and then they had hurtled off again, as if they had waited at a stop light for other traffic to pass and now the light had turned green.

She lost track of the time. It all seemed so immaterial when they were passing though galaxies at such speed, the distance reduced to mere seconds. Then, just as she had become used to it, they stopped, or at least it felt as though they had stopped, when in reality, they had slowed back down to the speed they had been travelling at before the wormhole.

Ahead of them, she caught glimpses of a planet not unlike Earth. It was blue and green, with wispy white around it, much like the clouds that covered the Earth. She thought it was the most beautiful sight. Even amongst all the planets and stars they had glimpsed on the journey, this was something special, because it could hold life. A jewel hidden deep in the Universe.

“Home,” Marin said, looking at the planet with pride and longing.

They approached slowly, and then, instead of landing on the planet, they docked at a space station. She looked at Marin expectantly. “Aren’t we going to land?”

“First we must go through a decontamination protocol.”

“That’s right,” Drak said, his voice a little unkind as he pointed his next remark at Elissa. “We have to go and wash your filthy planet off our skin.”

“Don’t forget the probes too,” Okil said, his voice more light-hearted.

“Probes?” she asked, looking at Marin.

He laughed. “Don’t listen to them. They have been waiting for an Earthling to set foot on the station so that they can frighten them with their stories. There are protocols in place, but any probes will be non-invasive.”

“Non-invasive? You sure know how to put a girl at ease.”

“Infra-red, that is what you call it,” Drak said, getting up from his seat and going to the door as the ship docked against the station. She couldn’t miss the way his eyes lingered on her. It amused her: all the time they were on Earth, the Karalians had ignored her, more or less. Now they were interacting with her. Perhaps she would not be so lonely after all. However, she had to admit she would be a lot more comfortable when another female joined her next month.

If she lived that long
. Yes, those thoughts could be forgotten for a while and then they came back, Harri’s words reverberating in her head. Had she been responsible for the death of two aliens?

The doors slid open and Okil and Drak moved forward out of the ship. Marin stayed with her while she nervously got to her feet and tried to get her balance. The journey had left her disoriented, and the gravity on the ship was not the same as Earth. It wasn’t as if she was experiencing weightlessness, but she certainly was not having to cope with all her curvy body’s mass. She hoped she wouldn’t end up floating up to the ceiling or something and embarrassing herself in front of all the Karalians on the station.

However, as she stepped off, she saw there were not many aliens on the station. Those that were here were similar to Marin.
Tall, dark, and handsome
pretty much summed up the whole of the Karalian race. Elissa began to have her own suspicions about the lottery.

“Tell me, Marin, will every round of the lottery be rigged? The women chosen for the ability to conceive a perfect baby?”

He looked at his fellow Karalians as they moved around, checking stats and writing their readings down before moving on. “Is it so obvious that we choose the best match for genetics? It is a lottery, but it is weighted in favour of those who will give us the strongest offspring.”

“But that’s not why you chose me?”

“No.”

“And should I be even more worried that you have told me information about the rigged lottery?” She was trying not to start hyperventilating again. They could end this all now, end her life if they chose. All they would have to do is tell the President that she wasn’t compatible with their planet, or something. The President would buy into whatever they said. He knew he needed the Karalians more than they needed him.

It wouldn’t have escaped their President’s attention that the Karalians could simply raid the Earth for whatever they needed. Earth was powerless against their might. He wasn’t the democratic ruler of Earth for nothing; he knew how to work with his enemies for the common good.

“You are in no additional danger because of that knowledge. Now we need to go through to decontamination.”

“Wait.” She saw the flash of red across his skin; she was annoying him. Oh well, she had nothing to lose. She wanted information. “Was I bought here simply to be punished for something?” Elissa couldn’t say the word
murder
.

His face softened. Although his words were not exactly comforting. “Elissa, I will answer this last question and then you will proceed to decon’. Understood?”

She nodded, aware that now they were on his territory, he was more forceful. Were the Karalians putting on an act every time they went to Earth? Playing nice and fair, while really they were forceful—were they that deceitful?

“You were chosen because you do not like us. I’m glad you are not going to do me the discourtesy of denying it.” He smiled briefly. “I was chosen because I am working on the project to rejuvenate your planet.” He saw her look of surprise.

“I didn’t know that.”

“No. Well, my team members and I find it a pointless task. Your race is, as you say, incapable of living within their means. I see there is no room for them to thrive on the Earth. But the Hierarchy believe that if we can help you, then we can build a more sustainable life here ourselves. In short, if we can help your people, we will have a steady supply of females for our mating cycle.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You plan to farm us?” He smiled, a glint in his eye and the colour green swept over his skin. Her phrase obviously amused him.

“This way.”

She followed meekly, trying to comprehend what he had said. They walked along a short corridor; several rooms, with glass doors, led off it. So immersed in her thoughts was she that Elissa didn’t realise until she passed the second door that the rooms were small cubicles, one with Okil in it and the second with Drak in it. They were seated in chairs, which faced the door, completely naked for anyone to see.

“Oh, wow,” she said, covering her eyes.

Marin laughed. “Are our sexual organs as impressive as the rest of our physicality?”

She blushed and decided not to answer, instead fixing her eyes on the floor in front of her. However, at the next door he stopped. “This is yours.”

“Mine?”

“You will enter the chamber and remove your clothes.”

“But they will be able to see.”

“So? Nakedness is nothing to be ashamed of.” He leaned forward and took a breath of air filled with her scent, more colours flashed across his skin, and she was sure his cock, or whatever they called their male “sexual organs,” hardened.

“You haven’t seen my body. There’s a little bit more of me than is desirable.”

He leaned close and whispered. “I have found you very desirable ever since I first saw you. I am beginning to realise why you humans procreate so much more than is good for you. I cannot wait until we land on Karal and I can experience you fully.”

Oh, she was lost. His words were so seductive and she felt the heat rise in her. Her nipples hardened against her clothes, and she could think of nothing more than this big Karalian thrusting himself inside her. Her eyes flew to his; he was doing this to her, she knew he was. As soon as she could, she was going to drink a gallon of SimCoff.

“Strip,” he said, pushing the door open for her.

She went inside, surprised when he followed. He stood watching her as she took a good look around the room. Several machines hummed quietly, and a computer display flashed the words “standby.” She cast her eyes back to Marin; she knew there was no way she was going to get out of this. So she began to undo her buttons, not easy with the gloves on. He admired the way she took it all in, trying to maintain her dignity despite what was to come.

“Do you want me to help?” he asked patiently, having watched her for several minutes.

“No. I do not
want
your help.” She allowed her hands to drop to her sides. “But I’m going to
need
it. My hands are hurting again, I cannot use them.”

He came to her, his big body so close, it was her turn to breathe in his scent. And to watch his skin. It was as though he had come alive. With each touch of his fingertips against her skin, a charge of electric blue shimmered across his flesh.

“Do I excite you?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, his voice thick with desire. “My mating cycle is nearing its peak. And it seems you have awoken my need to breed.”

“Only to breed? You don’t make love for the pure pleasure of it?”

“No.” His fingers had deftly removed her shirt, and her skirt, then folded them neatly, placing them on a stool in the corner of the cubicle. She was now dressed in only her bra and panties, and he didn’t know what to do next. If she was naked, he might not be able to restrain himself; such was the hold her body had over him.

“Do you want to leave now?” she asked. “If you just unclasp my bra, I can probably manage.”

“I don’t want to leave,” he said firmly, his fingers moving to the small clasp that, once undone, would allow her breasts to spill forward.

Elissa’s fear had gone, and he could see his own desire mirrored in her face. He fumbled, his fingers too eager, but then with a sigh of triumph, her bra was gone and he could gaze on her breasts. His hands were itching to touch the hard buds of her nipples and feel them against his palms. He licked his lips, how he wanted to taste her flesh.

“So beautiful.” He stood enraptured.