The Oathkeepers Ch. 08

Hello and thank you for reading as always. I'm keeping this in the same category though this chapter is light on the nonconsent/reluctance themes. As I've said, I'm writing this as I go so apologies for an uneven publishing schedule! I've been getting some nice feedback via comments and the form at the bottom of each chapter. You can always reach out to me directly through my profile though if you've got specific questions etc. And to answer one reader's question, Zoe and I are INTJs. :)

~~

Aegis knelt in the bed. His arms snaked around Zoe, held her upright as he thrust slowly up into her. He couldn't take his eyes from her lovely face. The dark bruise was faded on her cheek, it sparked something primal within him. To see his Zoe injured, he wanted to clasp her to him. Show her he would protect her from anyone that might try to harm her again. Her warm hands grabbed at his shoulders and as he watched her face, she moaned, rocking against him as she slid her arms along his muscles. His body aroused her, the emotion sparked up through her, rippled against him and only sent him higher.

She had her legs draped over him, wrapped loosely around his waist as she let him set the pace. At this angle, he could let gravity do its work. With each sensuous thrust, she released a mewl of pleasure and then her body would settle back down on him, taking him so deep inside her. He felt he stroked against some deep part of her that no one else could ever have reached. She wrapped around him, clutched at him in a haze of blissful desire.

He leaned into her, dropping his head to her erect nipples. Taking one between his lips he pulled a long, whining moan from her lips. She arched, her hips rocking against him. As he flicked at the nipple with his tongue, her breath hitched, little gasps rising in her. She was close. She ground against him, impatient and growing desperate as he slowly teased her. He enjoyed learning the different sorts of orgasms he could draw from her. This one he intended to be like a slowly rising tide. Higher and higher, she wouldn't realize she was in it until it was too late. He stilled her hips with his hands. Forcing her to slow so he could set the pace. He continued his work on her nipple, nipping and suckling at her as he moved her in slow circles upon his lap.

"Aegis..." she moaned and he knew that tone. It was beginning. He could hear her heart pattering frantically within her chest. She panted as her body began to clench against him, her pussy quivered as a new flood of juices slipped against his slowly pulsing cock. "Aegis..." she whined again as her head fell back. Her fingers dug into his arms as she began to buck against him with high, panting cries. She was the most glorious creature he'd ever seen. Let alone fucked.

He found her mouth, kissing her hungrily as he picked up the pace of his thrusts. Her climax lengthened and her cries of pleasure against his mouth stroked against his throbbing cock. He pulled her tight against him, her light body so easy to slam his length up into as he bounced her against his groin. Faster and faster, he pummeled against her sensitive, still climaxing center. Her cries turned to panicked wails as she clutched desperately at him. "Yes, yes, yes," she wept as he slammed her against him.

With an animal grunt he finally released, spurting his seed into her sucking, heated channel. As they pulsed against each other, he broke the kiss, needing to see her blue eyes. He tangled his fingers in her golden hair, tugging her slightly so her eyes flipped open and caught his gaze. She sighed, sinking into him and slipping her hands to his face as their shared climax faded to a warm, shuddering glow. He fell into her eyes, trying to memorize each fleck, how the early sun made them glitter against her flushed cheeks. "So beautiful," he murmured as he palmed her cheek tenderly.

Her face broke into a slow smile as she continued to rock slowly against him, as if desperate to milk his seed completely. "Your pretty, little human?" she asked playfully as she pressed against him. Where he craved the warmth of her body, he sensed how she responded to his coolness. Her nipples were taut as she pushed into him.

"Yes," he growled as he fanned them with his wings. "My lovely, little human. All mine." He leaned forward smoothly, dropping her onto her back and pinning her beneath him for a moment. She squealed a laugh and he planted a kiss between her breasts before reluctantly hefting himself from her and rising from the bed. "What do you want for breakfast?" he asked as he padded across the room.

"Something sweet," she yawned as she curled in the bed to watch him. He glanced back to her. Her hair glowed in the slowly rising sun. Her pale skin was flushed red in all the right places.

He turned back to the small kitchen and rummaged through the food packages. They'd been there nearly a week and had barely made a dent in the reserves. Eventually though they'd have to leave though they both carefully stepped around that fact. Falling over and over into each other made the outside world seem so far away. So inconsequential.

Breakfast prepared, he crossed back to her and handed her the bowl of sweet porridge along with a glass of water and her pill. That was also unspoken. When he'd produced the bottle of the pills made to help her body adjust to Homeworld atmosphere that he'd swiped without thought as they fled Paragon's palace, her eyes had narrowed for a moment. She'd studied him, the pill, then she'd taken it. The subtext sat between them and his heart had swelled. She would stay at his side. Whatever Oathkeeper planet he ended up on after dealing with Bastion, she would be with him.

"Do you feel any different? Easier to breath?" he asked as he pulled on his leather pants and one of the Ivory vests she'd stitched together with bits from another so it would fit him.

She pondered, spoon poised over her bowl. "I suppose. Maybe. If anything, I think it's making me heal faster. My ankle feels nearly a hundred percent. A sprain like that would normally take weeks to heal."

"That's reassuring. I know Paragon was having Keeper experiment for years on different formulas. He wanted his humans to live their best life."

Zoe's face hardened slightly. As—astoundingly—understanding as she'd been, Paragon was still a touchy subject. He grimaced and turned from her to let her finish eating. Sinking into one of the chairs at the bank of monitors he began to fiddle with the communications array again. Their little project the last few days. He hoped to learn some word on Bastion but had to be careful about alerting him to their location.

"I'm going to shower," Zoe piped up after a few minutes. Aegis watched her slide from the bed to cross the room. A surge of heat coursed through him as he let his eyes take in her naked form. Her bruises were all but gone. Her pale, delicate, flushed skin so alive. A dribble of his semen ran down her leg and his cock twitched possessively. He felt the rise of his Oathkeeper blood as she glanced back to him at the door. He wanted to swoop back across the room and take her again. The animal need to again fill her with his seed, to keep her from rinsing him from her body pulsed within him. She grinned and shut the door and he turned away, working to settle his raging lust. He would never stop craving her.

~~

Zoe yawned as she patted her hair dry and studied her face in the mirror. Aegis was right, the pills did seem to be working. She supposed she had this Keeper fellow and Paragon to thank. Though she wouldn't NEED pills to help her heal and acclimate to their atmosphere if Paragon hadn't had Aegis kidnap her...

She frowned as she studied her face. It was all so convoluted. She couldn't hate Aegis, and yet he was the one that had—technically—kidnapped her in the first place. Because he was just following Paragon's orders shouldn't have let him off the hook. But she somehow couldn't blame him. The lives of Oathkeepers still left her mind reeling. When she asked Aegis how old he was he'd cocked his head, seeming to try to calculate some complex math formula. 'When I was born, your people were not yet in the stars. I heard stories of the little savages that had barely touched their own moon.' She supposed that meant he was well over three thousand of her years old.

She leaned into the mirror. Traced the shallow lines under her eyes. She'd grow old and die and Aegis would be alone again. It left her achingly sad. What did he see in her? Why was she the first human that he'd been drawn to? She knew it couldn't just be her looks, though he seemed to enjoy those immensely. He'd been trying to teach her some exercises to increase her psychic abilities. Though 'abilities' was generous. He insisted everyone-even a human-could learn, they just needed the proper training. So far she could sense when he wanted to fuck her. But that was nearly all the time and she was pretty sure she didn't need any psychic powers when the beautiful Onyx looked at her with those black and violet eyes. So, they hadn't got a lot done the last few days.

She sighed and pulled on her mended golden dress. For a moment she'd considered dyeing it black. It didn't feel right still wearing Paragon's color. But Aegis had stopped her. He'd said he couldn't bear to see her in black and the sorrow in his eyes had stilled her. And then she'd climbed on top of him and rode his perfect cock until his melancholy was forgotten.

She stepped out of the bathroom and, as always, Aegis's eyes swiveled to her. It hadn't stopped after their escape. His eyes were always on her. They followed her methodically, hungry and protective...and fascinated. How could he still be fascinated by her? She didn't know. If anything, he was the fascinating one. Hundreds and thousands of years and lives and stories he must have. She felt a rush of yearning for him, to curl into him and have him tell her another of his Oathkeeper stories. Instead, she smirked and swayed across the room to drop into his lap. "So, where are we at?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not confident in sending a message out still. Just too risky. I figured out how to pull in other messages sent planet side though," he said. He smiled down at her, his features so sharp, so handsome they sucked the air from her.

She swallowed and turned back to the computer as a distraction. "Okay. So what can we hear?"

"Well, I've been monitoring the channels and I've found the transport one." Zoe raised an eyebrow and now Aegis smirked. "I've found the shuttle schedules and communications."

Zoe's eyes widened. "You've found us a ship off planet."

"I have," he nodded, the violet of his eyes pulsed with pride.

"When?" she whispered. Suddenly leaving their little oasis in the middle of the snow seemed terrifying. She was reluctant. Couldn't they just let the world continue without them?

Aegis squeezed his arms around her, set his head on hers. "Two days. I found one that's resupplying the crew in the station east of here. We can...commandeer the ship."

Two days. Suddenly time was moving too fast. Zoe twisted in Aegis's lap to find his eyes. "Please, have you thought more about contacting the Confederation? They might be able to—"

"They won't. Bastion's fleet will run through them like a child sweeps aside a sandcastle. I will get you somewhere safe. Somewhere Bastion won't think to look for you. Then I will deal with him." Aegis's eyes were dark but panic burbled within Zoe. He'd tried to shut the conversation down for days and his eyes said he was running low on patience.

Zoe set her mouth in a hard line. "It's their fight too. You won't even give them a chance to help? What if something happens to you?"

Aegis's face was hardening, and Zoe would have been pleased that she was able to sense his roiling anger if she weren't so upset herself. "You think I cannot best Bastion?" he asked, his voice low with his barely controlled ire.

She sucked in a breath, ran a hand up his neck to pull his face close to hers. "I know you could...if he fought fair. But you've said yourself, he's cruel, devious." She shuddered remembering Bastion's harsh and brutal hands on her, how he'd pummeled her mouth and left her gasping on the floor.

"That's not the Oathkeeper way."

"Is it the Oathkeeper way for an Onyx to murder the last Gilded?" she shot back. Aegis ground his teeth and looked away. "Just think about it. Please. I know they'd listen to you. Provide SOME sort of support in defeating Bastion."

"I do not need the support of humans. This is an Oathkeeper matter," he said through gritted teeth.

"Aegis—"

"Enough," he growled.

"Aegis—" she tried to pull his face to hers, knowing her eyes were wide with pleading.

"I said enough," he rumbled and met her eyes. His dark irises gleamed in warning.

Defiance burst within Zoe's chest. "I won't let you risk yourself needlessly—" she snapped.

Aegis inhaled sharply, rage sparking in his eyes now. "You won't let me? Do you think I need your permission Zoe?"

"You know what I mean," she whispered. "I couldn't lose you." She still felt the anger bubbling within him. He wasn't used to being challenged. To being defied. The fearsome Onyx with his thousands of years of dominance over the lesser colors. She realized her precarious position as he studied her, his eyes calculating and hungry.

He rose slowly, lifting her by the waist. He turned and dropped her onto the bed. Zoe bounced and craned her neck up to follow Aegis's eyes. "Turn over, get on your hands and knees," he ordered softly.

Arousal surged within her at the command in his voice. He aimed to show her who was in charge. Zoe held his eyes for a long moment, then pulled her dress up over her head. His eyes narrowed as she met his gaze. "Make me," she said.

He was on her in an instant. His vice-like hands grabbed at her waist and flipped her over. One hand fell on her back, pressing her hard into the bed. The other hand fell on her ass. She jerked in surprise, but he was already moving to the other cheek with a sharp slap. Back and forth he slapped at her shaking, heated bottom. Zoe squealed, trying to jerk away from him while her own lust rose with every slap. "I'm sorry," she whined as she bucked against him.

"You don't know when to stop," he growled. Suddenly he released her for a moment and Zoe squirmed, trying to turn to see what he planned. But then his hand was back on her waist and she felt the head of his cock against her moistened entrance. Heat bloomed within her. She whimpered, pressed back against him as he guided himself against her.

"My little, wild human," he said huskily. "I think this is what you wanted when you picked your fight. Is that true? You just wanted to give me a reason to fuck you into submission?" He ran his swollen tip against her folds, pressed it against her throbbing clit. Zoe whined as she tried to grind herself back into him. The tip of his cock was already moist, little drops of his juices swiped against her, showed her how aroused he was.

"Do you need a reason to fuck me?" she growled.

He snorted a laugh as he moved his cock back to her quivering entrance. Slowly he began to push into her. Zoe twitched, her knees going weak as she felt the size of him. Like every time he entered her, she felt he pushed the air right from her lungs with his girth, the throbbing insistence of him. "You will learn your place, Zoe," he panted as the bulbous head passed completely within her.

"Shut up and fuck me already," she hissed as she bucked her hips back against him.

He snarled and slammed into her with one savage thrust. Zoe screamed as he smashed into her, filled her completely. And then he was already retreating, grabbing ferociously at her hips to slam again into her. Zoe desperately grabbed at the bedsheets, anything for leverage as he pummeled into her. Faster and faster he pounded against her center. With every brutal thrust she cried out, slammed herself back against him. She felt she was turning feral, the need coursed through her body. She wanted to be destroyed by the cock that stroked against her ravenous channel. His manic hunger and need to dominate her only sent her higher.

"Is this what you want?" he rasped over the sound of their slapping skin.

"I want everything from you," she choked out as he leaned over her, his thrusts turning frantic as he smashed her into the bed.

She felt his cock pulsate and then he was groaning, smashing his hips against her as he climaxed. She clenched around him, desperate to milk his seed from him. To take everything. "You know where you belong," he panted as his body collapsed on her. "You're mine." His massive body lay on top over her. Lazily he pulsed against her, lengthening his blissful climax.

Zoe crumpled under him, tried to grip his cock within her tight pussy. As if she could keep him inside her forever. His weight held her to the earth. Aegis was the only place that mattered. The desperate need to keep him inside her, next to her, around her still sat heavy though. Terror tickled her heart at the thought of him leaving her alone to go face Bastion. There was no world in which she could sit idly while her Onyx left to risk himself.

~~

Aegis bent over his armor, carefully mending the couple sections where it'd been slashed open. Tomorrow they would fly towards the other research outpost to ambush the scheduled transport. From there... He glanced to a sleeping Zoe. He hadn't realized humans slept so much. Her face was slack and peaceful in sleep. Her golden hair was braided. He'd watched her braid it a few hours earlier. Transfixed by the way her delicate fingers deftly worked the silky strands. With her hair pulled back from her face he was reminded of the first time he'd seen her. Wide, scared blue eyes as she'd raised a pistol as they stormed onto her ship. The memory left him anxious. Ashamed knowing what HER first memory of him was. Attacking her ship, killing her captain. Though she wrapped herself around him now, he couldn't forget that was how she'd first seen him. He would do anything to repair her vision of him.

Gritting his teeth, he turned back to his armor. Luckily the temperature control was working still. Flying for hours across the frosty tundra without it would have left him near death. The one—glaring—flaw for Oathkeepers. Because of their long life, they bodies worked more slowly and couldn't regulate temperature like the warm-blooded humans. He found himself constantly wanting to curl around Zoe. She was like a sun-warmed beach, or a little ember to grasp between his palms to give him life.

She'd continued to defy him the last couple days. She wouldn't drop her pestering about reaching out to the Confederation. He'd tried ignoring her, patiently explaining, rising to anger, hushing her with his lips and cock. But she wouldn't drop it. She just couldn't understand. As an Oathkeeper, he would never be able to face his people after turning to the humans for aid. Even if he defeated Bastion, he would be seen as weak, no better than an Oathbreaker. But as much as it pained him...she was right. If Bastion proved as deceitful as Aegis suspected...he would likely walk into a trap. But he had to believe that his brothers wouldn't stand for it. Though the Onyx had defied Paragon, they were still Oathkeepers. If Aegis arrived and challenged Bastion for leadership of the Onyx, he HAD to believe his brothers and the rest of the Oathkeepers would hold Bastion to it. It was one of their most ancient laws.

Gilded had led by merits of being Gilded alone. Their intellect, their horns, their rarity had shone the rest they were exalted above the others. Onyx were different. Onyx rose because of their strength. An Onyx that refused or cheated a challenge...he could never have the respect of the others. At least, Aegis hoped this would still be true. In a fair fight, Aegis knew no other Oathkeeper could defeat him. He just hoped that if Bastion was forced to cheat the rest of their brothers would turn on Bastion. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make to ensure Zoe was safe.