Page 1 of Submission

Prologue

Iridia 2718 A.D.

Eli got to her first. Running a hand down her body, cupping a naked breast, pinching her nipples between two fingers. All the while staring into her eyes with a mocking smile on his face, reminding her that this time she was tied up, powerless to resist.

He played to the crowd, looking to them as if for approval before he slid one hand up her inner thigh to disappear under the scrap of cloth tied around her waist.

Lexi tried not to show any emotion. But it was impossible to disguise her body’s reaction. Her reddened nipples jutted out, tight peaks. Despite her revulsion for the man, his probing fingers between her legs made her breathing quicken.

Meanwhile, Balek stayed true to his feline character. He rubbed his body sinuously against hers. Sticking out his long tongue, he wiggled it suggestively then swept her hair off her neck and licked the spot right below her ear. He worked his way down her neck, all the while making low, rumbling sounds like a tiger in heat.

Balek dipped his head lower, running his tongue in lazy circles around her breast. Nazery and Khan tried to shove him away, but Balek growled at them, baring his fangs. They both backed off. To save face, Khan stepped behind her, pulled up the ragged cloth, and ground his hips against her naked bottom.

Lexi closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear the sight of the crowd any longer. Having an audience made her ordeal even more humiliating. She wished she could make their voices disappear too. The raucous cheers, the lewd cries of approval when one of the men made her squirm or jerk.

Worst of all, though, was the shameful way her treacherous body responded. Despite her embarrassment, the sensation of multiple hands running up and down her body sent shivers to her core. Balek’s hot tongue laving her breast made her nipples swell.

She recoiled at the thought that he might fasten his mouth over one of them and suck it. Yet a wicked desire she’d only discovered tonight made her hunger to know how it would feel.

All the while, Eli’s insolent fingers stroked between her legs. She’d never been touched there before she came to Iridia. Now everyone seemed bent on violating her most private parts, poking and probing, setting off wild cravings deep inside her.

At first, his fingers had been rough. Lexi didn’t know whether it was the unfamiliar effect of strong drink or the stimulation, but now his hand slid smoothly over her vulval folds, eased along by the slick juices flooding her vagina. When he shoved one finger inside her, Lexi gasped. He made a harsh grunting noise and drove it deeper.

Behind her, Khan ground his swelling penis against her backside.

Nazery dropped to his knees in front of her. He gave a sharp tug, and the cloth came away in his hand, exposing her completely. He eyes flew open, and she let out a strangled cry.

It inflamed the crowd even more. They stomped and roared, chanting something Lexi couldn’t make out through the buzzing in her ears.

Khan laughed wickedly, dug his fingers into her hips, and started pumping back and forth. His phallus protruded from his garment. She felt it poking between her bottom cheeks, hot and stiff. Every thrust of his hips jolted her body forward, into Nazery’s face. His tongue darted out, flicked the tip of her clitoris.

Lexi couldn’t hold back her scream.

* * *

Star portals have existed since the dawn of time. Doorways between worlds in this galaxy — and others. On Earth, they are found at the convergence of ley lines, those invisible electromagnetic paths crisscrossing the globe. Our ancestors discovered them thousands of years ago and learned to use the portals to travel to the farthest reaches of the cosmos.

Flourishing ancient civilizations didn’t die out. The people of Atlantis, the Sumerians, the Mayans — when tragedy struck their homelands, they simply migrated through the portals to worlds where fresh water flowed, crops grew abundantly, and the climate was nearly perfect.

Human beings descended from our common ancestors are alive today on a trio of planets thousands of light years away. Islands of stability in the universe where vast quantities of natural resources and rare minerals abound.

Neodyma. Gadolinium. And the planet that was once a paradise, now a desolate wasteland.

Iridia.

Chapter One

Lexi couldn’t help staring at the young couple locked in a passionate embrace in the shadows.

They’d chosen a dark corner in a side corridor, but not so dark they couldn’t be seen by any passer-by. The male had the female pinned up against the wall, their bodies touching everywhere. His mouth covered hers, as though he were sucking the life’s breath from her. Yet she seemed to relish the experience. Instead of pushing him away, she drew him in. Head thrown back, eyes closed, arms wrapped around his neck.

Lexi drew in a breath. Heart pounding, she imagined how it would feel — the heat of his body, skin against skin, the texture of his tongue tracing her lips. The hard cock of a virile male pounding into her…

The woman’s eyes popped open suddenly. She looked straight at Lexi.

Embarrassed at being caught spying on them, Lexi tore her gaze away and hurried down the dark corridor, heels tapping on the synthetic marble floor. She was already late for her final briefing from the director. Stopping in front of the massive door leading to the Hall of Science, she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Despite her best efforts, her long wavy mane refused to stay in the tight bun required by the lab’s dress code.

She slipped into place in the last row next to Devon, hoping to escape notice. But the director had seen her.

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