A Claim for Calix: A Sci Fi Alien Romance (Tallean Mercenaries Book 4) Read online

  The younger guard grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the way. A moment later, her alien was back at her side, with her wrist in his hands. She struggled to get out of the big alien’s grip, but to no avail. Stuck behind him, with two other guards blocking her, she walked with the group as the security in the establishment pushed the two groups out opposite exits. At five foot six, Emma was hidden from view as the aliens towered over her. Unable to do anything else, she went along.

  She looked about wildly. Her alien caught her gaze and sent her a wide, knowing grin. He was stealing her from the Meeting Ground!

  Hope flared in her chest. Emma didn’t know what life waited for her with this guard turned thief, but she knew she didn’t want to stay here. She sure hoped he knew what he was doing!

  Chapter 2

  Calix knew exactly what he was doing when he surrendered the human female over to Grissom. The young mercenary had shot him a conspiratorial look. With the attacker from the other side taken out, Cal grabbed their merchant before joining Vosken and Grissom. As expected, the Meeting Ground’s security team ushered them out of the room with the tiny female sandwiched between them.

  He held onto the human’s fragile wrist, careful not to bruise it. She looked up at him, a panicked look on her face. But hidden somewhere behind the panic, Cal swore he saw a glimpse of hope.

  “Calm,” he whispered. “Stay quiet. You are safe with me.”

  Her panic did not ease. Cal would have to soothe her later. It seemed he gave her the extra sip of drink too late, and it hadn’t had time to relax her yet. Luckily, she was smart enough not to make a noise. Hopefully, she wouldn’t put up a fight during their exit. She was delicate, and it would be easy for her to get hurt. The alcohol in her system would have kept her muscles relaxed and reduced injury if she got jostled around, had she drunk it earlier.

  Security guided them down the hallway towards the back of the building. The door was in sight, but two company guards stood by it. Cal nodded to Vosken, and he moved so that his bigger body blocked the smaller female from view. Cal pushed their merchant in front so that he was the first face the guard saw. The merchant had been nervously babbling since Cal had pulled the attacker off him. Almost dying did that to a person.

  “I can’t believe that he actually—”

  “This way,” the security interrupted, annoyed, and pointed them through the door.

  Once they were through, their merchant’s usual guards followed behind them, and the security at the establishment had focused on them instead, missing the female completely.

  Cal had been through this song and dance before. Once out the door on opposite sides of the building, the doors locked, and neither party would be allowed back in. No one would check on them. The establishment’s goal was to remain neutral and stay out of the fight.

  He gave the slim wrist a light squeeze, and she peered up shyly at him. Calix grinned at her. She was his!

  “Are you unharmed?” Vosken asked the merchant.

  The male was shellshocked and shaken. He rubbed at his face and head, messing up his already disheveled hair.

  “Thanks to Calix’s quick response, I am alive.” The merchant swallowed hard. “I can’t believe my own brother tried to slit my throat!”

  “Stars! That was your brother. That was why you told us not to use lethal force.” It was Grissom who spoke. It was one of his first missions out with them. He was a quick learner, and Cal was sure he would be formidable one day. The male would learn a lot about the galaxy as he trained with their crew.

  The merchant turned to Cal and did a double-take. “You are still holding the female! We need to return her.”

  The merchant turned to pound on the door. “Open up! We need to get back in.”

  But Cal knew no one would answer. They never did. This was how the Meeting Ground kept their employees and their assets safe. They watched the proceeding with sharp eyes, and the guards deescalated any disagreements. However, if any member of either group broke any of the establishment’s rules, such as sneak in a weapon, both parties were ushered out and the doors closed and locked. It didn’t matter if you left your firstborn inside; they belonged to the business now.

  The merchant’s brother had attacked with a blade, so those doors would not open again for them. The female was his to keep.

  “I guess she is mine now.” He pulled the little female against his front and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She didn’t protest.

  “You did save my life. If you wish to keep her, I will pay for her if they charge us.”

  Calix knew what that would look like on the bill; it would simply say damages. The Meeting Grounds considered their females to be property and would simply write it off as a lost asset. They might not even notice her missing. But he kept that to himself, saying only, “Thank you.”

  The merchant shook his head as if trying to negate what he had just experienced. “What a fucked up life I live that my own brother would try to slit my throat.” He continued mumbling something unintelligible to himself.

  Vosken started walking towards their transport. “You must have expected it. You did hire us. We should keep a lookout. He may attack again. Walk between us, and we will surround you.”

  The merchant and the rest of his team followed. “True. We have never seen eye to eye after our sire left the business to me, even though I was younger. He was, and still is, too reckless.”

  Cal and Grisly closed up the rear as they made their way to the transport.

  Cal took the female by the hand. If she planned on struggling, now was the time, as she realized that he was truly taking her away. But she didn’t struggle. The only struggling she did was as she tried to keep up with their quick pace and large strides.

  That was when Cal realized that she was barefoot. Cal reached down and scooped her up in one motion. She squeaked at the sudden weightlessness and clung onto him.

  “Are your feet uninjured? You have no shoes.” The grounds behind such buildings were sometimes littered with broken glass. She could easily cut herself and get an infection.

  “Just wet and cold. I’m fine.”

  “Good.” Cal made a mental note to check her feet later, just in case. “Hold on to me.”

  And she did, burrowing her face into his chest. Calix was suddenly ten-foot-tall, and as strong as a dozen coilbeasts; it felt as if he could move planets for the little female in his arms.

  She lifted her head for a second and asked, “Are you my new owner?”

  “Yes, my sweet, you are mine.”

  “Okay.” She ducked her chin again and leaned against his chest.

  No one attacked during their walk to the transport, and Cal was glad they did not bump into the other merchant group. He didn’t want to have to put his female down. She could have gotten hurt in the fray if he were forced to fight.

  Their transports were ready and waiting, the two drivers having already been warned by Vosken on his comm.

  They piled into two transports. Cal and his female went into the first transport with Vosken, Grissom, the merchant, and one other guard. The rest of the merchant’s team entered the other. Their drivers started a hasty retreat to their ships.

  Emma wanted to disappear into the seat with the two giants flanking her. Her heart was still pounding with the recent excitement. Everything had happened so fast. One moment, she belonged to the Meeting Grounds, working against her will as a fleshy distraction, and the next, she was stolen by an armed and dangerous alien and on her way to his ship.

  He would be her fourth owner, and Emma prayed that her new owner would treat her well. She knew that if he wanted to hurt her, she would have no way of stopping him. Emma gave up on the illusion of freedom a long time ago. Even if she were free, where would she go? What would she do? How would she make credits? Or feed herself? There was no life of freedom for a human female this far from home. She learned that after her first owner sold her.

&n
bsp; Emma knew that she could possibly have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. There were no guarantees that her new life would be better than working at the Meeting Ground. She mentally went through a few possible scenarios in her head.

  What if he planned on sharing her with everyone on his ship? But that was no worse than the life she’d just left behind. At the Meeting Ground, she was given to a new male every day. And while not all of them took liberties with her body, some did.

  What if he was abusive? Again, not any worse. Some of the patrons were sadistic assholes. And while security did their best to keep the distraction females safe, it was not their priority.

  What if he stole her just to sell her for profit? This was the worse possible outcome. Emma didn’t want to be on that auction block again.

  Emma’s best option was to take her chances with the big alien. He didn’t seem to be the abusive type. And she could be very accommodating if she had to be. It was worth the chance, and Emma resolved to confront her new life with a brave face.

  The transport jerked, and one of the males leaned in hard against her, and she yelped. These aliens were heavy!

  Her new owner lifted her up easily and put her on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her like a seat belt.

  “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, surprised that he would ask, surprised that he would care.

  “You picked up a new passenger.” It was the driver.

  “A souvenir for our efforts. You can say she fell in my lap.”

  The vehicle made a sharp turn, and strong hands plastered her down against a hard chest to prevent her from falling to the side. He didn’t stop exploring but continued to roam her body. A rough hand slid up her chest to her throat and pressed her back so that she leaned on him with her head tilted. The hand moved to her jaw, caressing it. The other hand slid across her stomach and down to her thigh. It gave her thigh a squeeze.

  He growled lightly at her. The sound was highly arousing, and Emma felt a tingling start in her tummy. She wondered at the rare sensation. She hadn’t been even remotely turned-on since before she had left Earth, and it felt so new and foreign again. It felt exciting and dirty. No one had touched her in any way other than to use her for their own pleasure. But now, he explored her, touched her, just because. She closed her eyes.

  The hand on her thigh moved in closer to the v of her legs, and she held her breath in anticipation.

  “Stars! She smells good when she is turned on.” The low voice came from the merchant they were accompanying, and Emma was jolted back to reality. “Odd, because she smells strange normally. But maybe that’s a human thing. I haven’t met many.”

  Ever since she’d left Earth, Tallean males had been telling her she smelled strange, or off. Emma was used to hearing that comment. In all three locations she had lived, Emma had been the funny smelling one. But none of her previous owners or clients had ever turned her on; this was the first time it had happened. It was the first time any alien claimed she smelled good—what a curious phenomenon.

  But now that Emma was hyper-aware of everyone else in the vehicle with them, her arousal faded.

  “It’s not a human thing,” the younger of her guard’s friend replied. “We have a few humans on the Defiant, and they do not have that odd smell.”

  Other humans? Did the crew on the ship they were bringing her to have a fetish for human females? Emma had heard that some Talleans developed strange obsessions with humans. It wasn’t always a good thing, especially if they had a sadistic streak. But most of the time, it meant that they treated their human slaves well. Emma hoped it was the latter.

  “Don’t let Zeylum or Arus hear you talk about how their females smell, Grisly. You might lose an arm.”

  The aliens on the ship were possessive with their personal slaves. That was a good sign. Maybe her new owner would keep her for himself.

  “I don’t smell them on purpose! I can’t help it. It’s a small ship.”

  The alien she was sitting on chuckled.

  Emma leaned back on the chest and tried her best to relax.

  No attacks came, and their two transports made it back safely to their ships. Making sure the merchant was safely on board his vessel, Calix, Vosken, and Grissom went next door to board the Defiant. Vore met them at the entrance, a smirk on his face.

  “Cal, I did not take you for one to steal a slave.” Vore punched him on the side of his arm. “If you were that desperate, you should have let us know. The crew would gladly pay for a visit to the pleasure houses.”

  Cal lunged at the annoying male but stopped short when he heard a gasp from the female still in his arms. He didn’t want her to be stuck between two fighting males, even if it was a play fight. Vore and Cal often got on each other’s nerves, but they have lived many galactic years on the same ship, and both still had all their body parts. Vore was like the annoying sibling Cal had never had.

  “You are lucky I am holding precious cargo, Vore.”

  “Ooh, I’m so scared.” Vore danced away.

  Zeylum, their captain, met them.

  “Vore is right, though. You took a female. I expected it from him.” He looked pointedly at Vore, and Vore grumbled back at their captain. “But not from you, Cal. Should we be worried about repercussions?”

  “The merchant offered to pay for her if the establishment puts her on his tab. I know the Meeting Ground; they will chalk it up as a working expense. She is nothing to them but a business asset, like a piece of furniture. Most likely, it will show up on his bill lumped together with any other damages.”

  “That’s a relief. We don’t need more trouble.” They’d had more than one run-in with the Dominion lately. Zeylum had had to disappear with his mate, Ashe, for a few weeks to take the heat off the ship. “From what I hear through your communicator, the discussion was a bust?”

  Cal blew out a breath. “You can say that. The other merchant he was meeting with was his brother. He tried to slit his throat.”

  Cal carried his female through the hallway. He wanted to give his briefing after his female was settled and safe. Cal wanted her in his room.

  “Stars! His own brother. Is he expecting an attack once in space?”

  “I assumed so.” It would be naïve to believe otherwise. However, people are not always logical when it comes to family.

  Tanith, the ship’s communications expert, replied from the entrance of the communications room, “He just commed to ask us to escort him back to New Rhea.”

  “Good. Tell him we accept and will follow behind his ship.” His captain focused on their newest member. “Let’s get our newest human settled. What’s her name?”

  “I don’t know.” Cal hadn’t even asked her name yet. What a horrible male she must think of him. “What do I call you?”

  “You can call me anything you wish, Master.” She tucked her chin and avoided eye contact.

  Cal frowned and exchanged a look with Zeylum. Zeylum did not look happy either at her reaction. Her behavior reeked of Dominion slave training. The Meeting Ground was not her first stop after leaving Earth. He hated to imagine what she had gone through. But no matter; she was safe now. No harm would come to her on the Defiant. The crew of the Defiant was known for their brutal efficiency as mercenaries, but they were loyal to each other and would never harm a female unless she did something first to deserve it.

  “I am not your master. What is your name?”

  “I’m sorry.” She kept bowed her head. “My name is Emma.” Her face tilted up a bit, not enough to look up at him, but enough for him to see her lip start to tremble.

  “You are trembling. Why are you afraid? You will come to no harm here. We do not hurt females on this ship.”

  “Do you not wish to keep me?” Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

  He tilted her chin up to look at him. Cal wished to keep her alright, but not as a slave. It was too bad that her scent told him that she is n
ot his mate. A Tallean never knew if a bond might form with a female until they spent time together, but they knew when it was impossible. She was perfect otherwise. Not wanting to think about the possibility of never finding his mate, Cal ignored her question.

  “My name is Calix, but you can call me Cal. Welcome to the Defiant.”

  Chapter 3

  Calix ushered her through the ship quickly. Emma tried to take stock of her surroundings without too obviously breaking her trained stance. Her first owner had been a stickler for etiquette and insisted his slaves always looked to the ground. Curiosity was not a good thing to have in a slave.

  They passed a large room with multiple couches. Two Earth women lounged on a leather sofa, casually talking with each other. They perked up when they noticed her.

  “Cal’s got a girl!” a tiny woman with long dark hair exclaimed. She elbowed the brunette sitting beside her.

  “Oooh.”

  They got up to approach them, but Calix ignored them and urged Emma faster down the hallway. She obeyed, glad that she wouldn’t need to make small talk just yet. Emma didn’t know how to talk to people and had always felt awkward in social situations. She had spent her life moving around with her dad, who was in the army. Some of the army brats learned how to make a whole new set of friends wherever they went. But not Emma. She never got close to anyone.

  At her office job on Earth, she had gotten along well with co-workers but never got close to any of them. The office had gone for drinks every Thursday, and after a few outings, she had made excuses not to go. She wasn’t a drinker anyway, and hadn’t found nursing her diet coke while everyone else made awkward small talk enjoyable in the least. Emma was the nice lady with the window desk, who everyone knew of, but no one talked about. She had liked it that way, but sometimes it got lonely.

  Her experience in space hadn’t been much better, either. Her first master had been a small-time merchant and had several personal slaves who’d seen her as competition. She had been naïve and trusting when they befriended her. Then, one of them had framed her for something she hadn’t done. The Tallean slave had been stealing capsules of Euphora, a mind-altering substance. When their owner had searched their living quarters, he had found the stolen goods under Emma’s mat.