Page 23 of Written in the Stars

Drask’s arms closed around me, and I felt safe, happy, and secure in his embrace. As long as we held each other, everything was right with the world.

“You are safe, beloved,” he said. And then his legs gave way.

* * *

He sleptfor most of the day, and I calmed down once a doctor had checked him out. Well, a ‘doctor’ — Lilse had lost her license to practice long ago, or she wouldn’t have been on Talbrek Station trading dodgy medical supplies for romance novels. But she was the closest we had, and she assured me Drask needed to rest.

We parked him in my bed, which was comically small for him but still the most comfortable spot I could find.

Lilse applied synthskin to his injuries and told me he’d be asleep for at least eight hours while the nanotech did its work.

“Don’tworry,human, I used the good shit. He will be fine. Top shelf stuff, military issue, only recently expired.” With her sharp, predator’s teeth, the woman’s smile couldn’t help but look predatory, and I tried not to let my worries show. Lilse had, for the first time I’d heard of, provided treatment for free—distrusting her now would be stupid.

Nor was she the only one to bring gifts, though military grade medical supplies were the most valuable. Jyrx brought me over a basket of food and coffee. Others from the market brought fresh clothes that would fit my alien hero, vat-grown flowers, and anything else they could think of. Even Horzul showed up to offer free work on theCry of Battle.

When Drask finally opened his eyes, it was to a supply room full of goods, with me perched on a stack of books for want of anywhere else to sit. My first clue that he’d woken up was Nebula leaping up onto his chest, purring loudly and making him swear.

“Welcome back,” I said, taking his hand and squeezing. “Don’t mind Nebula. She missed you.”

“Big Man Food?” Nebula asked, and we both laughed.

“I think she missed my ration packs more than my company. How long was I out?” His eyes flickered around the room, taking in the changes. I giggled.

“I could try to convince you it’s been a year, but that would be mean. You’ve been here for about eight hours.”

“No Food,”Nebula added, nuzzling his face sweetly. “Food? Food for Nebula?”

He sat up, the cot creaking under his weight, and nuzzled Nebula right back. “Somehow, I don’t believe you, friend. Megan would not let you starve.”

Nebula meowed indignantly but was immediately mollified as he fished out a ration bar and tore it open. He broke off a corner to offer her and then threw the remains out into the main body of the shop. Nebula leaped after it in full hunting mode, and I laughed again.

“We might be spoiling her.”

Drask laughed too. “Perhaps, but as much as I love your pet, I think we have things to discuss in private.”

He hit the door’s control and as it slid shut, he drew me closer. My pulse raced, and I wrapped my arms around him, inhaling his scent.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” I hated asking, didn’t want to risk him saying he wasn’t. But endangering his health would be worse, and if I had to wait, I would. Honest.

He didn’t answer with words, just pulled me to him and into a kiss, long and rough and beautiful.

It was a wonderful feeling, incredible, overwhelming. Drask’s kisses had been unbelievable before, but now that I didn’t have disaster hanging over my head, they were earth-shattering.

Thought became impossible, drowned out by the storm of sensation he unleashed inside me. His alien tongue probed my mouth, his hands slid over my body, and his cock hardened against me, an iron rod between us. I squirmed against it eagerly, desperate to feel it inside me again.

His right hand slid into my pants, making me gasp. Squeezing my ass, making me arch and shudder, he drew me down on top of him and opened his mouth to speak.

With a crack, the cot collapsed under our weight. I shrieked, Drask gasped, and we tumbled to the floor, rolling into a stack of books that toppled over on us.

A moment’s silence, and then we both laughed. He drew me close again, holding me against his chest, and let out our remaining tension in mirth. That he had a sense of humor about mishaps in bed only made him more attractive.

“This bed is ridiculously flimsy. We will need to buy something sturdier, a bed that can bear both our weights together.” Drask hadn’t stopped caressing me, and I moaned.

“I like the sound of that,” I said, arching and knocking over a pile of romance books. A cascade of bare-chested heroes tumbled down around us, and Drask chuckled.

“For now, we can make do.” He pinned me to the floor, one of his hands holding my wrists over my head, the other caressing my body. I gasped, moaned, and tried to kiss him. He kept his lips tantalizingly close but just out of reach, and I groaned.

Trailing a clawed finger up my neck, he teased my lips with it, frustrating me in the best possible way. I wanted to scream, to curse, to make him kiss me and more. But I knew it was futile—Drask would take his own time with me.

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