Page 39 of The Commander

He pumped in long jerks until the shaking of his body took over as he orgasmed. Still in that red space, he broke apart in her mind’s eye. She shattered with him, arms and legs collapsing into pieces until she was screaming, tears running down her cheeks.

All their broken pieces and splintered ends touched, rasped, scraped together.

Reformed into something new.

She was sobbing when his cock slipped free. She grabbed for his thighs, panic hitting her out of nowhere. Was he taking their union away? Was he leaving her? He couldn’t.

She’d die if he did.

“Shhhh.” He took her hand and pressed his mouth against the back. “I’m always with you now, Kitten. Always inside you.”

Sitting back on his folded legs, he took her into his arms and brought her to his chest under his chin.

She’d liked being cradled and calmed when he’d questioned her. In spite of the situation, then, defenseless when she just knew he was manipulating her, she’d relaxed into the soothing warmth of his body heat.

Cara melted against him. Now her urgent need for him had ebbed; she felt the absence of her clothing. He had all the heat.

Then she heard a noise.

“Red,” Bastian called out to whoever had made the noise using his loud, harsh bark.

It made her start with surprise. “Stay where you are.”

She heard the answering slobbery language of the muzzle heads.

Oh god. Were those freaks watching them? Recoiling, she shut her eyes, wishing for invisibility. What she couldn’t see couldn’t hurt her.

“You have something to show me, do you? You will wait in the monitor room.” The commander answered the thing back in English.

It said something back, and she thought she heard it say, ‘human girl.’

“You are clearly a fucking idiot. I said wait. I meant wait,” Bastian said it. He had no fear of the creature at all; his voice dripped with thick condescension.

Lowering his chin, she felt him nuzzle into her hair, the gesture causing her to go gooey on the inside. His arms tightened. He stood, taking her into the air as if she weighed nothing. His size and muscle weren’t just for show, like some of Mr. Danov’s men.

“Let me put you to bed, Kitten. It seems 48001 has information regarding yourself. Was there something you neglected to tell me during our talk earlier?”

CHAPTER 13 - BASTIAN

It was difficult to leave Kitten tucked into his bed. He’d secured her with rope, making sure she stayed where he left her, but that didn’t ease his mind for her safety or security. He used his quarters for sleeping, feeding, personal storage, washing, and nothing else. He’d survive most human weaponry, even if the house fell on him while he slept in his bed. His little human mate would not.

If she died, he died. They were joined now. But it was more than that. She’d fully shifted his entire world perspective and moved directly into its center in the space of hours. He connected with Kitten in a permanent binding. One that fucking rocked his world, as the humans said.

Having fallen asleep in his arms on the walk to his apartment, he left her there as comfortably as he could, rope included.Snug as a bug in a rug. Smug gladness filled him, finally understanding what humans meant when they said that.

Her present comfort didn’t negate his urgency to be back with her. She needed food, minor medical attention, and a tracker embedded where she couldn’t reach it. The last thing he wanted was to deal with whining puissant red hats with agendas.

48001 was one of the grunts outside the interrogation room, drooling down its chin when Bastian arrived to talk to Kitten. It watched Bastian kill its brother for trying to interfere,yet was still bold enough to interrupt Bastian’s mating, claiming it had very important information about Bastian’s new mate.

With Kitten secured in Corrections waiting for her interrogation, the clean up crew discovered something: an object carrying her scent.

Depending on what that information entailed, the red hat held its life in its hands. Not only had it been imprudent to walk within twenty feet of Bastian’s female, but it also dared to speak after Bastian delivered orders. Bastian never tolerated that level of insubordination in a grunt well.

Control sent a survey corps team to set up every base head. Whoever had led that team thought that using the school was a bright idea, despite the building’s decay, poor positioning, and lack of defense. They chose the place solely for its effect on human psychology, liking how their soldiers owned the halls where previous generations of vulnerable Earthlings were educated.

The school held Bastian’s office as well as the technical hub for the base. Humans attacking and breaking in would find nothing useful. All planet side technology was human made, with no Sarrian information except for basic management logs. Bastian also limited reordered information about prisoners, lest some humans get it in their heads to think they could rescue anyone he held in his cells.

48001 paced and twitched as it waited for Bastian outside the door with the placard “principal,” still pinned above the frame. The biometric security unlocked when Bastian’s hand met the knob. He opened it to motion the red hat inside.

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