To my Audience: To start off, if you kept receiving emails from me, Fanfiction was giving me a hard time downloading. I'm doing what I always do, and it's loading with html format. I apologize for my extended hiatus. My custody situation is still on-going as it's now in the appeal process. This never-ending and financially draining situation is simply depressing and unmotivating. In the end, I WANT to complete this. I won't give up. Thank you for the patience and sticking with this through all of my trials and tribulations. Also, thank you all for the lovely, encouraging reviews (Except for that one jerk). They keep me going.
WARNING: This chapter is RATED M for a reason. If you are faint of heart, do NOT proceed. You have been warned. . . .
The sound of clashing weapons and harsh breathing filled the air.
Kh'laz was pushing Amy to fight on an instinctual level, to increase her strength, to prepare her body. With tension between them growing thick and stagnant, Kh'laz pressed her relentlessly while Amy's resentment grew.
Amy was not happy. She didn't understand why she had to be trained in the first place. At least not this much. Why should she? She had Kh'laz to protect her. She trusted that he would not allow harm to befall her. And if she just happened to die, she was sure it would be her own stupidity that was at fault. No amount of training could prevent that.
With all the training over the past five days and fiddling with various weapons and techniques, her body ached. She wasn't getting enough sleep to be energized for the following grueling day. Nothing was sticking in her mind. She felt just as much as an amateur as the day they started. The only difference she felt was in her stamina, but she didn't lead a sedentary life before. It was nothing new to be active.
But these training sessions were utter bullshit. As her grandmother would have exclaimed, Jiminy Cricket!
Kh'laz was so distant. She hadn't realized they were anything other than distant until he truly was distant. He went off for long periods of time only to come back with a strong chemical odor that was not unlike oil fumes. Except a thousand times stronger. Stout enough to tear her eyes up to the point she couldn't even stand within an eight-foot radius of him.
As if he were doing it on purpose.
If she was candid with herself, Amy would almost say she missed their interactions. He had been so attentive. He still was. He kept her fed. He took care of her. It just wasn't the same.
Kh'laz stepped back, which was her signal to stop. "Attack me."
Confused, Amy said, "What?"
"Try to get past my weapon. Hit me. I won't move from this spot."
With dawning comprehension, Amy realized he was giving her the perfect punching bag. She wanted to hit him. It was nearly guaranteed that she couldn't hurt him even if she tried. There was no guilt felt with the direction of her thoughts.
She let all the angst of the last few months come to a high-pitched crescendo that overwhelmed her common sense and logic. From being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or better yet, Kh'laz wrecked his ship in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn't have to chase her; he didn't have to hunt her down. He didn't have to lead that monster to her. It hadn't been her battle but his! Then she never would've been forced to run away to Alaska to avoid being waltzed off the planet. Meredith and Dakota would still be killing innocent women…
A brief thought flitted across her mind that told her, she never would have met Kh'laz. Amy's heart cringed at the thought. But why? It's not as if he made her life easy. Her future was unknown.
But he eased the continuous boredom and loneliness.
Confusion settling heavy on her heart and mind, Amy suddenly yelled out and rushed forward, lifting the combi-stick high above her head before swinging it down to hit his hip.
The hit never contacted flesh, only alien metal. Kh'laz didn't move to defend himself or fight back. He stayed true to his word and didn't move from his spot.
This only infuriated her more. Swinging the stick down at every angle as quickly as possible, Amy tried to hit him. She wanted to hit him. She wanted to prove to him that she could learn. That she could be useful.
But would he ever accept that she would always be weaker? And fragile, compared to his species.
She may be all those things, but she wasn't hopeless. With new resolve, Amy glared at Kh'laz who stood imposingly still in front of her. Unpredictably, she threw the combi-stick at him.
Out of her peripheral vision, she noticed him stiffen as he moved his arm up to deflect the weapon, but by then she was already on the offensive. Rushing at him, she knew there would not be an attack. She would be flat on her ass within moments. So instead, she did the unexpected.
She dropped to the floor and slid between his widened legs, those thick pillars that did not move from their spot. Grinning as she successfully completed the slide, she spun around and used both legs to kick him on his backside.
He stumbled.
Internally whooping a victory caw inside, Amy could hardly believe she had successfully made him move. Feeling suddenly mischievous, Amy scrambled up while his back was still turned and jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. It was in no way an attack, more like a piggy-back ride.
For one fleeting moment, Amy worried he would misconstrue the innocent gesture as an attack, so she quickly went to work to remove his helmet. After the one side released in a hiss, Kh'laz reached one taloned hand up to stop her, but once she deflected it, the other side was released. Tossing his helmet behind her like a frisbee, she laughed. She was so happy in the moment to even be deterred by his low growl.
Silence immediately followed his growl as he froze, his muscles tense beneath her. Concerned, Amy tapped him on his chest lightly. "Kh'laz?" Had she committed some cultural sin?
Kh'laz began to utter that low vibrating purr that always sent thrills down her spine. Then he reached around while she was distracted and yanked her from behind him to the front, legs and arms still wrapped tight.
Despite her fear, she was helpless to resist the need to look up into his strikingly terrifying golden eyes. So she did, gasping in surprise. Those eyes were the forefront of his face, minimizing the rest. The mandibles clicked together slowly as he regarded her evenly. Intensely. One moment she was lost in his eyes, and the next moment his mandibles came closer and gently clasped her face. Amy stiffened, unsure what was happening. She could feel the points of the clawed ends, but he wasn't hurting her.
His breath was hot yet oddly sweet. That plus his vibrations that she was feeling continuously throughout her entire body had her relaxing in his firm hold. He had one hand clamped on her hip, holding her against him, while the other was on her lower back, his claws lightly raking her exposed skin above the waistband of her shorts.
What was this sedative effect he had on her? Her mind was sharp and aware, but her body relaxed until she felt like Jell-O. She sighed contentedly, their breaths mingling. The vibrations hiccupped as his hand clenched further.
He dropped her again, and for a moment Amy feared he would let her fall like last time. But he held her up, keeping his hands firmly attached. In fact, he began to push her back. Before she could form a coherent thought, he spun her around and pushed her against the wall, her hands bracing the contact. He was firm but not forceful.
Her breathes came out in staccato exhalations. There was something drastically different about Kh'laz, something she recognized deep inside her core. Something that had her panting in want and need, and that realization was sobering. His large hands gripped her hips, caressing up her sides and under her shirt to reach around and cup her breasts. Next second, he had used his claws to rip her threadbare sports bra away.
Once the unusual texture of his palms touched her intimately, Amy's breath caught as he moved his hands over her exposed skin. Sharp heat pulsed in her veins until she wanted to shout with the bittersweet ache. Unable to form any rational thought, she leaned her head back, surrendering completely to him.
And make no mistake, Kh'laz saw her body language as nothing short of what it was. She had accepted him. She trusted him. Amy's tantalizing scent called to him and nothing else mattered.
"Lou-dte-kale…mine." Kh'laz growled, "Escape me. Run." He seemed to be struggling with speech as if rationality had abandoned him. "Will lose control. Run."
Groaning in frustration, Amy didn't want to run, but she knew it would be foolhardy not to heed his words. His words told her to leave, but his hands were roughly leaving fire in their wake. Doing the only thing she could think of in that moment, she dropped down quickly and rolled away from him.
Refusing to peek back at him, Amy jumped when she heard him bellow and slam his fists against the wall with an incredible thud. Running as fast as she could, Amy headed straight for the door and the key pad. Arms outstretched, she was inches from making contact when her ankle was yanked back with great force. She barely had enough forethought to use her hands and arms to break her fall. Thankfully the mat floors were somewhat cushioned.
Glancing down her body, she noted the wiry black whip wrapped tightly around her lower calf. Kh'laz had really caught her! Although he had wanted her to leave, a bigger part of him wanted her to stay. Had the tension between them irrevocably snapped?
Kh'laz pulled the whip slowly and methodically closer to him, unwilling to let his prey escape. There was lustful intent behind his steadfast gaze. A gaze that Amy was incapable of avoiding as he stared into her multi-colored eyes.
The closer she was pulled, mere feet away from the hunter, Amy closed her eyes at the thought of his hands roaming her body again. A slight shiver barely noticeable overtook her. Kh'laz noticed. She doubted with this amount of intensity that even the tiniest detail would be overlooked.
Finally, she was at his feet, staring up at him apprehensively. After staring down at her prone figure, he slammed his fist on his chest and roared. It startled her enough that she sat up quickly and disentangled the whip with shaking fingers. When it fell limply to the ground, she flipped over to pick herself up and move away.
Amy didn't make it far.
Soothing vibrational sounds erupted from behind her, instantly toning down her anxiety, but couldn't completely banish her fear and worry.
Seconds later, he shoved her forward to her hands and knees. He reached over her to clutch her nape, then pressed her upper body to the ground, pinning her there with his massive hand.
"Kh'laz?" she squeaked timidly. With a loud rending, her shorts were yanked free, and she whimpered in fear and anticipation. Her body was still thrumming and on edge from earlier. A resounding metallic clunk sounded from her right, and her eyes opened wide as she noticed the jock piece of his rolling toward the wall. Did that mean….and then her mind stuttered and closed off from pure sensation.
His strong, warm hand circled around her waist to hover just over where she craved his touch most while the other one roamed down her spine from her nape. If she so much as twitched, his hand found its way back to her nape. She wasn't moving anywhere.
Her panties went flying through the air next. It hadn't taken much to remove them. She was completely exposed. A shiver went over her as she fought an urge to cover herself. She trembled in anticipation as well. Would it hurt? Would she cry? But she knew there was no stopping this.
Holding her immobile, Kh'laz touched her with that part of him that strained with want. She stiffened, but his vibrations increased in concentration. Amy had a moment of clarity where she realized this was happening much too quickly. This was raw. He wasn't human.
He slowly fed that part of him inside her, inch by inch, making her scream. She was ready, but he was too big! When he was as far as she thought he could possibly go, he ground against her, his hips working, forcing her to take even more. Seated so deeply, he somehow controlled himself, allowing her to grow accustomed to his size. Control in this volatile situation was normally beyond him, but the reminder of her frailty kept screaming at him.
She could do nothing but surrender to the beast at her back.
He placed his mandibles between her neck and her shoulder and growled loudly against her, alarming her, yet thrilling her. She felt his mouth spread apart as fangs pierced her skin. She screamed with pain, and with shock. Just when she didn't think she could take any more, she felt his entire body tense over hers. He snarled brutally against her skin, then came in a forceful, searing wave.
The shock of it all was too much and everything went black.