The Uncertain Scientist (The Lost Planet 4)

Sareth interrupts as though she wants to make her presence known and we break apart with a laugh. And then I’m laughing through happy tears because they’re everything I’ve ever wanted but didn’t know I needed.

“Does that mean you’ll stay?” Sayer asks hopefully.

I nod. “It does.”

“Does that mean you love your morts, your mates?” Jareth adds.

The obvious love in their expressions has my heart doing flips inside my chest. “No,” I say and lift a hand to each of their cheeks. “It means I love my freaks.”

16

Jareth

A few solars later…

I stare at Sareth’s scrunched up features as she starts to cry. So precious. I’d never admit to Sayer or Grace, but I almost find her even more adorable when our mortling is upset. Not that I want her upset, it’s just she looks like her mother when she is.

Her mother is beautiful.

And ours.

“Shh,” I coo, running a claw gently through her black hair that’s the same shade as Sayer’s. “Daddy’s here.”

It’s not a term us morts are familiar with, but the aliens like to refer to the fathers as daddies. Molly always giggles when she says the word like it has another meaning, and then all the other females laugh too. But it’s not the cruel kind of laugh. It’s the happy sort of laugh.

Our aliens are happy here on Mortuus with us. It’s something that fills every mort here with pride. Even the unpaired males.

Sareth’s features smooth out as she falls back asleep. I thought maybe she’d be hungry for the breast. With each day that passes, her appetite becomes more voracious. Sayer says she gets her appetite from me. It pleases me that they include me as a father, though I have no biological connection to the mortling.

Here, we get to make up our own families.

And these three beings are mine. I’ll never let them go.

“Mmm,” Grace utters in a groggy way. “You coming to bed, Jare?”

Now that everyone knows we’re a family, we’ve moved into the human sub-faction. It’s bigger and we use the area like a mini faction that belongs just to us. Aria says once the other girl wakes—if ever—she can take my old room. When Aria had started the sub-faction, she’d intended it as a place for the women to feel safe. But so far, the females feel safest in their mate’s rooms.

I kiss Sareth’s nog and rise to my feet. Her tiny bed is situated beside ours. Once I have her nestled in, I cover her with blankets and admire her for just one more moment.

“Jare?” Grace says gently. “You need sleep.”

Stifling a yawn, I peel my stare from our daughter and make my way back to our bed. Grace has the covers lifted, waiting for me to join her. Sayer sleeps soundly and wrapped around her like she might disappear. I smirk as I slip beneath the blankets beside her. Icy cold feet rub against my legs and I hiss.

“Female,” I growl.

“My feet are cold, male,” she growls back.

Then her mouth is on mine. Grace used to hold back. She protected a part of herself she was afraid for others to know and see. But when we took her off the Mayvina and brought her back, she changed. Any barriers she had were blown to bits as she revealed the real Grace to us.

Lonely. Broken. Sad.

All things we could repair. Once she let us in, Sayer went right to work. Within a few solars, we’ve made her smile more times than I can count. She’s happy with us. And Sareth is the true gift to all of us.

“Mmm,” Grace murmurs, tugging at my bottom lip with her teeth. “My alien tastes yummy.”

“You’re the alien,” I remind her. “With your strange filed down teeth and useless claws and flat tongue.”

“And where I come from, we call guys like you assholes.”

I slide my hand to her hip and squeeze her, pulling her close enough that her swollen breasts are pressed between us. “You like assholes, it would seem.”

She laughs—oh what a sweet sound. “It would seem.”

“And freaks,” Sayer rasps sleepily as his fingers thread with mine on her hip. “Don’t forget she likes freaks.”

“Tell us more about what the freaks do in your world,” I urge, grinning against her mouth.

“Why?” she groans. “So I can get hot and bothered again? We can’t do anything for at least five more weeks. That’s just mean.”

“I could lick your cunt if you wish,” I offer, flashing her a wicked smile.

“See? Freaks. That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” she huffs. “I’m still bleeding, weirdo.”

“He likes blood,” Sayer says, sitting up on his elbow.

“We’ve established our mate is a kinky bastard.” She squirms, clearly turned on by our filthy talk.

“Since you don’t want us to touch you,” Sayer taunts. “I suppose we’ll just have to touch each other.” His hand slides between her and me. When he pulls my aching cock from my pants into his grip, I hiss. “You can watch, lovely mate.” He nips at her earlobe.