Tamed By The Alien Barbarian by Celeste King
Jaxil
All eyes were suddenly on me.
Did I really just turn down the most lucrative, exclusive mining contract in this solar system? I wondered.
From the stares I was receiving, it was pretty clear to me I had, in fact, really just done that.
Then it occurred to me that it was possible I hadn’t planned this all out. In fact, I hadn’t at all. It had just hit me. They had awarded me the contract, Candi had been gracious about it and… I then just couldn’t help myself.
I looked into Candi’s eyes and saw she was as shocked at having heard my words as I was at having uttered them.
Hearing her say “I love you” is what did it, I suppose. It dug through the mantle of my denial. Now, it seemed foolish that I’d ever tried to fight this feeling. What was the point in resisting? Where would resisting get me? The truth was, despite our genetic mismatch, Candi had bore her way into the core of my soul. She’d mined my heart for all it was worth. I had no choice but to offer up the ore of my affection for her.
Also, everyone was watching us. I’d already made a grand gesture in the way I refused the contract. I figured that now, I may as well go all the way with it.
So I dropped to my knees and gripped Candi’s hands in mine. I tried to ignore the sounds of gasps and murmurs from all around us.
“Candi,” I said softly, “let’s get married. Will you do that? Will you unite with me?”
Her mouth worked, but she didn’t say anything. Her eyes flitted about the room. I decided to go for broke.
“And not just merge with me as husband and wife. Let’s go all the way. We can merge our two companies! Consolidated Mining and Terra Firma – one mining business. And then will drill the shit out of Mars and mine it to its damned core together. What do you say?”
“What do I say?” Her eyes locked on mine. I saw tears of happiness well in them. “I say, fuck yeah, baby.”
I let out a shout of joy and pulled her to me. Our lips met in a kiss as hot as a thousand suns.
Suddenly, people were swarming all around us. Business folks and contractors congratulating us. Some slipped us business cards letting us know that a new company of the size our merger would create needed exactly their kind of expertise. Politicians looking to grease their palms slapped us on the back. One human lawyer showed up out of nowhere and whispered in my ear that he could help with a pre-nup before sliding his own card in my pocket.
The press in attendance were also pressing at us, asking us questions.
“How long has this been going on?”
“Were you planning to announce your merger here all along?”
“What does this mean for the future of Mars?”
“Are you genetic mates?”
That last one was shouted by a reporter near the back of the pack. It caught my attention. I felt my throat constrict a little with regret. I looked down at Candi, beside me.
“Does it bother you?” I asked.
“Does what bother me?” she seemed confused. Perhaps it was the flush of emotion and the sweep of the congratulatory throng.
“Does it bother you that we’re not genetic mates,” I clarified.
The room suddenly went silent. I guess I hadn’t realized how clued in to the whole Sanax genetic-mate thing people were. But, there had been some high-profile matings between humans and Sanax of late. Xxuric and Heather’s being one of them.
“About the genetic mate thing…” Candi began. She bit her lip and paused.
“It is a problem,” I said dispiritedly.
“No! No,” she replied quickly. “The thing of it is…We are genetically matched.”
“No we’re not,” I said dully, not understanding.
“Yeah, we are,” she said.
“But we’re not.”
“We are.”
“You showed me the report.”
“It was a fake.”
“It was a what…?”
“She said it was a fake!” the reporter in the back of the pack shouted. I bared my teeth at him and he shut up.
“I don’t understand,” I said, turning back to Candi. “What do you mean a fake?”
“I wanted to see,” she said, haltingly. “I wanted to see… if you genuinely cared about me… would want to be with me no matter what… or if it was all about the genetics thing.”
“I want to be with you, no matter what,” I said, still trying to understand this turn of events. “The genetics thing would just be a… a bonus. A confirmation, I guess.”
“Well, then,” Candi replied sheepishly, “congratulations.” She reached into her back pocket and removed a worn, folded-up piece of paper. “Here’s the confirmation.”
I took the paper from her and unfolded it. It appeared to have been opened, folded, and opened several times before. As though someone had been taking it out to look at it, then putting it away again. That someone, obviously, being Candi.
I skimmed the report. It was an official scan of our genetics. Looking at it, I realized there were details on this report that had been missing on the original. I’d never seen one before, so I never could have known. But my instincts told me this paper I was looking at now was the real thing.
At the bottom, in bold, green letters, there was one word: MATCH.
I looked up at Candi. I could feel every muscle in my face respond to the smile that broke out on my lips.
“What's it say, Jaxil?” a reporter asked.
Without looking, I shoved the paper in his face and began to pull Candi into an embrace. She held her arms out, bracing herself against my chest, preventing me from bringing her closer.
“You’re not mad?” she asked, her eyebrows raised. The room went quiet.
“Am I mad…?” I considered. “C’mere, you damn scamp.”
I pulled her toward me as if to kiss her. She willingly came forward this time. Which is when I hefted her up and laid her belly-down across my knee. I yanked down the slacks she was wearing, revealing her bare ass to the world. Then I gave her a good, solid spank that left a red-mark.
Candi let out a deep, guttural groan that then transitioned into an “mmmm” as she licked her lips.
The room burst out in appreciative applause. Candi, still over my knee, glanced back, her eyes alight with desire and fun.
“You…” she said so that only I could hear.
“You,” I said back, full of the commitment of my heart.
Then I lifted her from my knee. Carrying her in my arms, I walked outside. Setting her on her feet and holding her close, we turned to the crowd that had followed us. I unfurled my wings to their full span.
“Details of the merger to follow,” I announced to the crowd.
“You’re all invited to the wedding,” Candi shouted.
“Only if you’re paying,” I muttered to her. Then I leapt from the ground and we took off into the sky.
We were silent during the flight. She snuggled in close to me and I held her tightly. The sun was nearly set as we landed on the veranda of my patio several miles away. I softly placed her on her feet.
Before my wings had settled back into their swept-in position, we were already kissing tenderly.
We continued this soft, sweet making-out as the first stars were becoming visible. On the horizon, I could just make out the little red dot of Mars. I gave it a silent ‘thank you’. Then I closed my eyes once more and gave my full attention to the passion brewing between myself and Candi.
“I love you,” I said softly between touches of our lips. Her passionate kisses were all the response I needed.
