Page 17 of Hunter's Valentine

“You did what had to be done.” I carefully turned her so that she could no longer see the ones trapped in my net. “They were infected.”

“But they were people.” Gray eyes swimming with concern looked back at me.

“Affirmative.Were. They are scourge now. It is too late for them. Death is a mercy.” I cupped her face and pressed my forehead to hers. My chest continued to rumble softly in a tone meant to calm. “You did them a favor. It is better they die here quickly than inside a nest simply waiting to be eaten.”

I searched her body carefully for any injuries. She wore many layers, and we only needed to ditch the outermost one.

“I had to take the life of a fellow hunter once on another planet,” I said as I worked on her jacket’s fastening. It was thefirst time I’d told this story to anyone. “He was badly injured, missing limbs. I carried him for half a day trying to make it back to camp until he begged me to put him out of his misery. I refused at first, but then we were cornered. I was still able to fight. He was not, and he did not want to be carried back to the scourge’s nest alive. I did what I had to. I didn’t understand at the time, but I do now.”

“I’m so sorry.” Sara’s hand tightened on my forearm. “Is… Is that why you hunt alone?”

“Yes. I couldn’t bear to lose another close friend.”

With the worst of the fungus gone, I ushered her into my shuttle. She was still in shock.

Once we were safely inside, I continued to strip off her clothes. She didn’t smell as strongly of the fungus with the outer layers gone, but she’d inhaled it, and it was also in her hair.Though not immune, hunters were engineered to be resistant to the fungus; humans, however, were susceptible.

She looked around my shuttle, slowly coming out of her daze.

Retrieving my medical device from storage, I held it to her arm. It recognized that she was human right away and, detecting the spores in her system, gave her a quick dose of antivirals. Our devices knew what to do for humans now, since so many hunters were mated to them.

“Hey!” She snatched her arm away from the sting.

“It is medicine against the spores you inhaled,” I explained while I peeled her tank top off to reveal the contraption that held her breasts.

“What are you—”

“The fungus is all over you. And in your clothes. I can smell it.”

She raised her eyebrow quizzically. “Is that your way of saying I stink?”

Good. She was trying to make funny words.

“You must decontaminate.”

She eyed the decontaminator suspiciously. “In that thing?”

“Affirmative.”

“Are you sure it’s safe for humans?” she asked, even as she helped me remove the strange garment, then stepped out of her bottoms.

She was naked now, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from roaming all over the silky soft skin on display. The soft chest rumbles that had been intended to soothe her exploded into loud ones of need and desire.

“Many humans use our decontaminators. We can do it together.”

I spun her around, nudging her into the small stall even as I unfastened my loincloth and let it fall to the shuttle floor. I stepped in behind her, naked as well, my quickly hardening cock pressed to her back. We were built differently than human males, and I didn’t want her to be frightened—or, worse, disgusted.

She tried to sneak a peek, but I reached over to start the decontamination cycle, blocking her view.

“You will feel a tingle as the light passes over you,” I explained. “It’s normal. Some prefer to close their eyes. Lift your arms slightly and stand with your legs apart so the light can get everywhere.”

She let out a giggle and squirmed as the cleansing light passed over her skin. “It tickles.”

I groaned and tightened my grip on her. There wasn’t enough room in here for her to squirm without pressing against me, and I was already fighting for self-control with her naked and so close. I forced myself to focus on getting clean instead. The smell of ozone soon drowned out her scent, making it a little easier, but my cock still refused to stand down.

As the light made another pass, I removed the tie holding her hair together and raked my fingers through the soft strands, making sure the light and ozone touched everything. She let out a soft hum that went straight to my crotch. She arched her back, pressing her ass against me, and the scent of her arousal almost brought me to my knees.

“Stop,” I said through gritted teeth. “Unless you want me to fuck you right now.”

---