This story was originally written last year for an e-zine that ended up not happening, so I gave it a few edits, and I‘m posting it. Warning: Story involves mild D/s. If this squicks you, don‘t read. Domination by Lianne Burwell revised June 1999 Tom Paris stepped out onto the balcony, taking a deep - and very grateful - breath of fresh air. The Hraltha were a wonderful people, but they had a very... pungent aroma. One on one it was no problem, but in a reception hall with at least a hundred people... Maybe it was a fur. It was dangerous to generalize when dealing with alien races, but Tom couldn‘t help thinking that the Hraltha looked very much like humanoid foxes. Their faces resembled blunt muzzles, and they were covered in short, reddish fur, with white at the throat and chest. A long, fluffy tail completed the vulpine resemblance. Even more confusing to many of Voyager‘s crew was the inability to differentiate between the genders. Unless a female was nursing, she had no breasts. Otherwise, both sexes dressed identically: a plain loincloth covering the genitals and a brightly decorated vest which indicated clan, rank and occupation in its patterns, but not gender. All in all, though, Voyager‘s dealings with the Hraltha had gone well. Tonight‘s party was to celebrate the finalization of a trade agreement. Voyager would use her sensors to locate rich mineral deposits under the world‘s oceans, which the Hralthan sensors were not able to detect, in return for a variety of supplies, including foodstuffs and technology that could be adapted for Voyager‘s systems. Tom looked up as the door opened behind him. "Enjoying the view of the gardens, Lieutenant? It is Lieutenant Paris, is it not? I must confess, I‘m still working on learning to differentiate between your people." Tom smiled at the Hraltha who had come out onto the balcony with him, careful not to show his teeth. It was one of the first things that the away team had been warned of before beaming down. Teeth displays were considered a challenge. "Quite correct," he replied. His eyes flickered over the vest, matching the patterns to his memory. "It is Krithan, isn‘t it? Aide to Diplomat Merla?" "Correct," said the male, with pleasure. Hralthan names ended with vowels for females and consonants for males. "Very good!" Tom turned back to the view. "As an admiral, my father dealt with diplomats of many races. I was taught early how to memorize faces and insignia decorations. And yes, the gardens are lovely." Krithan moved to stand next to Tom, looking out over the gardens. Several varieties of flowers on this world emitted a faint light after dark, and the gardens almost glowed. Tom took deep breaths of the scent. He couldn‘t help noticing, though, how close the Hralthan was standing to him. The male was smaller than him, but very muscular, like many of his race, and exuding a self-confidence that was very distinctive. Almost erotic. For a few minutes they stood there, side by side, admiring the gardens. Krithan pointed out some of the distinctive features, barely visible in the dim light. Tom wondered, though, if the male was gradually shifting closer to him, or if it was his imagination. He jumped slightly, feeling something move against his leg. Looking down, he saw that Krithan‘s tail was swishing back and forth, brushing against his leg with each swing. He looked up to see Krithan watching him intently, with what almost looked like... amusement. His gold-colored eyes were almost glowing in the light from the doorway. Suddenly, Tom felt a little uncertain, and decided that discretion was the better part of valor. "Umm... I‘d best be going back in," Tom said, backing away. He was trying not to read anything into the male‘s behavior, but it was difficult not to read interest in his attitude. "Surely they won‘t begrudge you the time away. Come," Krithan said, holding out a hand that was almost human in shape, though it was tipped with blunted claws. "Let me give you a tour of the gardens. Come..." Tom swayed towards the male, caught in the almost hypnotic tones of his voice, then shook his head, pulling away again. "I shouldn‘t." Krithan advanced, and Tom found himself backing up until he was pressed against the wall beside the windows. He couldn‘t seem to break contact with the golden-eyed stared. An hand reached up, and Tom shivered as the fur-covered back of the hand stroked his cheek. "So smooth. Absolutely delightful." Krithan leaned forward and rubbed his nose against Tom‘s neck, the coolness of it making him jump. "And the scent... so intoxicating." "Uh, Krithan..." Tom said, his voice barely a squeak. The only response was a rough tongue sweeping across his neck. Hands started to tug at the fastenings on his rarely-worn dress uniform. Tom was equal parts aroused and terrified at this point, and when teeth fastened on his throat, terrified won out. He pulled out of Krithan‘s embrace and ducked back into the reception hall, followed by the Hralthan‘s chuckle. Glancing around, he saw Chakotay talking with Diplomat Merla. Perfect. * * * * * Chakotay listened to Diplomat Merla, fascinated by the tales of her world that she was telling him. In many ways, her people‘s society reminded him of his own home. Voyager‘s stop on Hraltha had been perfectly timed. Supplies had begun to run low again, and the crew was in need of a diversion, a stress-relief. Hraltha had welcomed them with open arms. While the command staff had negotiated with the government, the crew had been free to take shore-leave on the beautiful planet. Chakotay had even had the chance to take a couple of days to do some solitary camping in the wilderness. Chakotay was about to lead the Diplomat over to the buffet table, when Lieutenant Paris appeared. His hair was messed, and the top of his uniform was partially undone. Chakotay frowned, about to comment on the condition of the man‘s uniform when Tom latched onto his arm. "Please, Commander. If you want to cancel your life-debt to me, help me," the blond whispered in his ear. Chakotay was surprised. The man was almost trembling, and... "Tom, there‘s blood on your neck. What happened?" Tom raised a hand to his neck and it came away with several blood spots. He looked at his hand, a little dazed, then opened his mouth. "Ah, Krithan. I was wondering where you‘d gotten to. Come greet Commander Chakotay." Diplomat Merla was turned to greet the Hralthan male who was coming up behind Tom. The male looked him over, then held out his hand in the human greeting. "My apologies, Commander. I did not realize that he was your Beta. I should have known that such a perfect Beta would not be unclaimed. My apologies to you as well, Lieutenant. I should not have put you in such a position. But you could have just said that you already had an Alpha." "Umm..." Tom looked flustered, and Chakotay was confused. Then it dawned on him. It looked to him like he‘d just been thrust into the middle of a seduction attempt as an obstacle. The things he did for the crew. "That‘s quite all right, Krithan. No harm was done." Besides, Chakotay thought, I can milk this one for months. "Good. The two of you are a perfect match, though. Such a strong Alpha would need a Beta such as the Lieutenant. Now, if you will excuse us..." Krithan and Diplomat Merla headed towards the banquet table, and Tom sagged against his arm. The blood on Tom‘s neck was minor, but Chakotay made a mental note to make sure that Tom saw the Doctor later on. "Well, Lieutenant. Care to tell me what that was all about?" "Not here. Just... don‘t let me out of your sight," Tom pleaded. Chakotay chuckled, and let Tom hang on to him. This should be good. * * * * * Tom spent the rest of the party glued to Chakotay‘s arm, which the Commander found highly amusing. He‘d rarely seen the cocky pilot so flustered. But all good things must come to an end, and the party wrapped up in the wee hours of the morning. Farewells were made, and the crew beamed up in twos and threes and fours. When the transporter room reformed around them, Tom pulled away from Chakotay and headed for the door. "One moment, Lieutenant." Tom turned around, looking uncomfortable. "You still owe me an explanation," Chakotay reminded him. "What, now? Couldn‘t I just write you a report?" "No, I would like to hear about it now. If you like, we can do this in my quarters. You‘ll still have plenty of time to get some sleep before your duty shift, tomorrow." Tom seemed to consider it for a moment, then sighed and indicated for Chakotay to lead the way. Once they reached his quarters, Chakotay used the replicator to call up two glasses of water. He handed one to Tom and indicated for the Lieutenant to sit down. "So what happened? Your uniform was half-undone and there was blood on your throat when you came off the balcony..." Tom flushed bright red. "I was out, getting a breath of fresh air when Krithan came out. We talked about the gardens for a while, then he started making... umm... advances. He kept going on about my skin and my scent. He backed me up against the wall and started licking my throat. Then he bit me!" Chakotay wanted to laugh at the indignation in Tom‘s voice. "So you pulled away to came looking for a shield, and picked me." "Well... you were the first superior officer I saw. Somehow, I didn‘t think that an ensign would be enough to... discourage Krithan." "What was wrong, though? Didn‘t you find him attractive?" Tom rolled his eyes. "That doesn‘t really matter. It seems like every time I, or anyone else on the ship for that matter, gets involved with someone off-ship, it ends up in disaster. I‘d really prefer to skip the prisons, mind-wipes etc. that usually seem to be the result. "But what was all that talk about Alphas and Betas?" Chakotay chuckled, looking forward to Tom‘s reaction. "According to the Diplomat, Hralthan relationships don‘t distinguish between genders and orientations. Instead, each relationship has an Alpha - or dominant - and a Beta - or submissive. "You mean he though I was a submissive!? I‘ve never been a submissive in any relationship!" Tom‘s indignation had become outrage. "Maybe you should try it," Chakotay said with a grin. "You might like it." Tom huffed, then stood. "Well, unless you need something else, Commander, I‘ll see you in the morning." Chakotay watched Tom head for the door, quickly examining the conversation and evening in his mind. Making a decision, one he had been considering for a while, he barked out an order. "Hold it, Lieutenant." * * * * * Tom froze at the order. The tone in Chakotay‘s voice was one he had never heard before. The Commander came up behind him and circled around him, an intent look on his face. "Krithan was right, wasn‘t he?" "Commander?" Tom was starting to get dizzy. This was definitely turning into the strangest evening of his life. "You are a Beta." Chakotay stopped in front of him, and smiled. Somehow, it didn‘t reassure Tom. "Go to the bedroom." Tom blinked. "Comm..." A finger stopped his lips. "Your choice, Tom. Either you walk out the door, and this never happened, and never will happen again, or you go to the bedroom." Tom blinked, his mind twisting and turning, but not focusing. This was even more unnerving that Krithan‘s actions at the party. Chakotay was... propositioning him? That he could understand, except this wasn‘t what he was used to. Tom was usually the dominant in all of his relationships in the past, with both male and female partners, but this... What the hell was it that Krithan and Chakotay both seemed to want to see in him? But Tom couldn‘t deny that he was responding. Chakotay hadn‘t even really touched him, and he was already so hard that he felt like he was going to explode. He‘d never been this excited, this fast, in his life, and it scared the hell out of him. "Well?" Tom stared at Chakotay, fascinated at the way the other man‘s brown eyes could be equal part warm and hard. He was expected to choose, and fast. Obviously the safest choice was to leave, pretend this never happened. He swallowed, and headed for the door. The bedroom door. He stopped, just inside the door, to look around. The room was rather bare, compared to Tom‘s bedroom. Everything was put away tidily. A few pieces of art, all from the Delta Quadrant, adorned the walls. The bed was covered in a spread decorated in geometric patterns, all done in earth tones. Other than that... Chakotay came up behind him, still not touching him, and Tom could feel the heat radiating from the other man‘s body. Chakotay leaned in, and warm air blew past Tom‘s ear. "Strip." Tom hesitated, then started to remove his dress uniform. He‘d made his choice. He wasn‘t going to back out now. When he was completely nude, and his uniform was folded in a tidy pile on top of a chair, Tom stood at attention, waiting for the next order. "Strip me." This, Tom knew how to do. No problem. At least, there wouldn‘t have been a problem if Chakotay had stopped watching him. Instead, he found himself fumbling with the fasteners, taking several tries to fold the uniform properly. Then he stepped back and waited. For long moments, Chakotay just stood there looking at him. Tom waited, then started to fidget. With the first involuntary movement, Chakotay‘s grin got wider. "On the bed." Tom sat down on the edge of the bed, then stopped. Did Chakotay want him sitting? On his back? On his stomach? Before he could ask, Chakotay placed a hand on his chest - the first time he‘d touched Tom since they‘d entered the quarters - and pushed him backwards. A prod at the back of the calves encouraged him to swing his legs up onto the bed. Tom lay on his back, wondering what next. Chakotay sat down next to him, and ran his fingertips across Tom‘s chest. "Lieutenant?" "Yes... sir?" Where the hell did that come from, Tom wondered. "All you have to do is say ‚stop‘. You can leave at any time. I won‘t try to stop you. Do you understand?" "Yes, sir." "Good." The fingertips pressed firmer, and Tom felt each brush like an electric spark travelling through his veins. He looked up into the Commander‘s face, and was eager for whatever the man planned. One word could stop everything, but he didn‘t think he was going to want to use it. Chakotay moved to straddle Tom, his knees on either side of the blond‘s shoulders. His fully erect cock swung in front of Tom‘s face, and he opened his mouth. Just the head passed his lips, then Chakotay held still. Tom waited. Then, when no further movement came, he flicked his tongue across the head. Still nothing. Determined to create a reaction, Tom started using every trick he knew, swirling his tongue around the hot flesh, massaging the underside of the head, rolling his lips over his teeth before lightly biting down. At that touch, he got his reaction. Chakotay‘s hands came to cup his head, and his hips started to move. Each thrust made the cock hit the back of his throat. Strong fingers stroked his cheeks, and Tom glanced upwards to see Chakotay‘s face. The Commander‘s eyes where half-shut, and there was a satisfied smile on his face. Tom tried to speed things up, wanting to break the other man‘s concentration, but ever attempt failed. When Chakotay pulled away, Tom was surprised when he couldn‘t prevent a small moan of disappointment. "What do you want, Tom?" Tom blinked at the Commander. At first, the question didn‘t make any sense. When it did, he tried to figure out an answer. In the end, he could only think of one. "I don‘t know." Chakotay brushed a finger over his lips, which felt swollen, and ten times more sensitive than normal. "Shall I choose, then?" Tom nodded. "Fine." Tom lay there, wondering what the other man was going to do with - to - him. He didn‘t have long to wait. Lips wrapped around one of his nipples, and he arched upwards. He could feel the flesh hardening, as the suction and tongue flicks continued. Then teeth bit down, almost hard enough to cross over into pain alone, and he cried out. It was like electricity running from his chest, directly to his cock. He groaned as the other nipple received the same treatment. Then the lips were gone. He opened his eyes, and looked up into his lover‘s face. * * * * * Chakotay looked at Tom with satisfaction. The young man was panting, highly aroused, and completely unresisting. It shouldn‘t have surprised him, he knew, just how quickly Tom fell into the submissive role. Chakotay prided himself on being a good judge of character, and he had noticed how Tom seemed to perform better as a follower than as a leader. He did well when placed in command, but seemed happier when following someone else‘s plans. He had also seen Tom drop in and out of relationships on a regular basis. Tom was always the dominant, and they never seemed to last. It was as though he wasn‘t getting what he needed from his partners. These facets of his personality, combined with what had happened that night, with Krithan, suggested that he might be a perfect counterpart with Chakotay‘s very dominant personality. Chakotay had already known that he found the Lieutenant attractive, but hadn‘t been sure that any sort of a relationship would work, so he had decided not to make a move. He was very glad that he had changed his mind. "Tom?" "Yes sir?" gasped the young man. His hips were pushing up, desperately, but his hands hadn‘t moved from where Chakotay had placed them. "I‘m going to fuck you now." Tom gave a small cry. "Please!" Chakotay flipped Tom over onto his stomach. For a while, he stroked and massaged the man‘s bottom. The motions ground Tom‘s cock into the bedspread, and he could feel the quivering tension brought on by it. Finally, he pulled himself away from the sight, and went to the bathroom to find some lubricant. When he came back into the room, Tom was still in the same position. As near as the Commander could tell, he hadn‘t moved at all. "Very good," he purred, sitting down on the edge of the bed, next to Tom. He popped open the tube and squeezed a portion onto his fingers. "Have any of your other lovers done this for you?" he asked as he pressed the first finger home. "Made you feel this out of control?" Tom shook his head as a second finger probed. "And do you like it?" Tom nodded. Chakotay slipped in a third finger, stretching the muscles. "Do you want more?" "Yes!" Tom panted out. "God! Please! Please..." "Shh... It‘s coming, Tom." Chakotay moved to straddle Tom‘s legs. He slicked his own erection with the last of the lubricant on his hand. Then he reached down and pulled Tom‘s hips up. He grasped himself with one hand and guided himself into the relaxed opening. He thrust all the way in one long push. Tom gave a cry, but he heard no pain in it. He pulled back, then thrust in, faster this time. Again and again, he repeated, until he was practically hammering the other man. Blinded by the sweat dripping down his face, he reached around to grab Tom‘s cock. It was like a heated poker in his hands as he pulled on it, using the same tempo as his own thrusts. Soon, Tom was almost wailing, and the poker twitched and spurted. The man‘s ass clenched around him, and Chakotay let go of his own control, giving one last thrust, as far in as he could go. * * * * * Chakotay collapsed across Tom‘s back, panting. He buried his face in Tom‘s throat and sucked and chewed a hickey into life. Tom knew that it was high enough that even the collar of his turtleneck would not be able to hide it. Maybe a dermal regenerator... "I‘ve marked you," Chakotay muttered in his ear. "You‘re my Beta now." Then he withdrew and fell asleep, still tightly wrapped around Tom‘s body. Then again, maybe not. THE END