Calix, all dressed in protective gear, waits on the other side of the door when it reopens. “Hadrian, come with me.”
Jareth must have radioed in to let him know his suit was torn and he was exposed. Since Calix is our contagious diseases specialist, he’ll make sure Hadrian isn’t at risk for anything lethal.
“You almost got yourself killed out there,” I grumble to Hadrian.
He beams at me from behind his mask. “Still alive, old mort. Still alive.” He makes horn symbols with his gloved hands and a smile tugs at my lips. When he was smaller and couldn’t speak just yet, he wanted me to show him books of rogcows—animals that are rare but taste rekking delicious when charred right. That was his way of communicating that he wanted to see pictures of his favorite animal. Now, he likes to flash me his rogcow symbols, as if trying to remind me he’s as spectacular as one of those much-coveted animals.
“Go on, you piece of rogshite.” I shake my nog and pat his shoulder as he walks by. “I want a full report immediately.”
“On it, Commander,” Calix assures me. He knows how much Hadrian means to me. “The kills have been cleared as well.”
I give him a pleased nod that the sabrevipes are safe to eat.
“Draven, you got this?” I ask as we file out of the small decontamination bay.
He gives me a nod. While the rest of us start removing our gear, he remains in his to go skin and cut up the sabrevipes. Galen, who is an excellent cook, will be pleased we were able to kill two and that they are edible. Often, we manage to kill one, only to discover it’s diseased. Such a waste. But this solar, we will sleep with our bellies filled.
Speaking of filled bellies…
Exhaustion seeps through my bones. I want to curl up with my mate and hold her. Her scent is like a powerful agent that helps me sleep. The many benefits of having this little alien are not lost on me. She should be pleased at my kills this solar and will most likely be eager for my seed. Should being the key word here. My little alien surprises me often and doesn’t seem to be impressed like she should be at my efforts. Perhaps I shall try harder.
I let out a yawn as I drag toward my quarters.
Later.
I will regale her of the tale of our brave hunt, push my cock into her, and gift her my seed later.
First, a nap.
As I walk past the command center, I twitch to go inside. But I’m pulled in the direction of Aria, equally so. For a moment, indecision renders me still.
We will partake of the UV time together, then.
A wide grin tugs at my lips.
I can have both at once.
My cock twitches in my minnasuit.
What a reward for a taxing solar.
I’m coming, little alien, and rekk, do I have a treat for you.
8
Aria
The room around me is in ruins.
Clothes, blankets, and his weird slithery suits that make his body look killer litter the floor in a wild tangle. The tubes of cream and gel I found in his bathroom pool in the sink. I didn’t recognize any of the concoctions, but I uncapped them and spilled them out anyway, hoping to find something useful.
I should feel guilty about wrecking all of Breccan’s belongings, but all I have to do to motivate me to not give a damn is remember how it felt to be powerless beneath him or recall the faces of the other women on Avrell’s screen.
After an hour—who knows, I have no watch—of ripping through all his storage cabinets, investigating the walls’ points of weakness and scouring the side rooms accessible through sliding panels, I’ve found nothing of use. The facility itself is impenetrable. They want to be locked up tight within these walls based on what Hadrian told me about their harsh planet.
Agreeing to be their breeder was a mistake of epic proportions. I’ve made some shitty decisions in my life, but sleeping with an alien has to be in my top five.
Escaping while they were gone fighting whatever monstrous beings inhabit this planet would have been the perfect plan. If I only could have figured out a way to get out of the room. I’m not sure I would have been in a huge hurry to go outside, though. A shudder ripples through me as I consider the terrifying planet Hadrian described. I definitely need to come up with a better plan because sneaking out of the building and entering an unsafe world doesn’t seem like the best idea.
Now, I lie atop the mountain of clothes, defeated. I can’t get out of the room without an armband or the code they type into the panel. Exhausted and overwhelmed, I doze, wrapped in Breccan’s scent with the memory of his long-clawed hands still inked into my skin like a tattoo. I have a feeling it’ll be just as permanent. Memories of the way he kissed me—so dominant and consuming—assaults my mind. I’d liked it. For a split second, I loved the way his slick, unusual forked tongue slid against mine and I almost got lost in him. He’d tasted unlike anything I’d ever known but it wasn’t bad. Minty is the closest taste I can equate it to. I craved to close my eyes and imagine I was back home making out with a big, beautiful man. But the moment his razor-sharp teeth scraped across mine, a threatening reminder of who he was, I found my resolve and bit him. I’d made him bleed and I think he deserved it.