Page 11 of Chased By the Alien Mercenary
My eye fell on the grayish thing he had stuck beneath an elbow, and I gasped. Was that a hand? Oh god, that was a hand! He’d brought an honest-to-god dismembered hand with him! What the fuck? I made a shocked, choked sound that had him spin toward me and raise that thing to wave it in my face. Like he wanted me to understand what it was and didn’t realize I was utterly horrified.
“Ew, get that away from me!” I warned, dancing back and stumbling over the blankets I’d been forced to abruptly abandon. His free hand shot out and caught me by the arm, preventing me from planting on my butt. The dismembered,gray-and-pinkish hand came awfully close to my face, and I winced, wondering if he was planning to feed it to me or something.
No—with a growl that sounded frustrated, he yanked the communicator from my fingers. I’d forgotten I held it, and I must have kept clutching it while I’d napped. I wobbled on my feet when he let go of me, and then he brought the thumb of the hand he’d taken to the tiny device, and with a beep, the screen unlocked. I tried not to be disgusted when he tossed the hand in a corner and focused on doing something with the little device. When he handed it back to me, I hid a wince at having to touch what he’d swiped that dead hand on. And then my eyes grew huge. “A camera. Oh. Man, oh man, I really have to watch what I say around you, don’t I?”
He’d fetched the freaking hand to unlock the comm because I’d lamented missing my camera. I was… touched—so touched, in fact, that, disgust forgotten, my eyes filled with tears. This guy, he might not speak, and he was clearly a big, dangerous murder machine, but he was undoubtedly incredibly sweet to me. He wasmymurder machine.
His expression was turning incredibly frantic as I swiped the tears from my cheek. “It’s okay,” I mumbled with a choked voice. “You’re just so nice to me, and I don’t understand. I’m grateful, but I don’t understand. The past few days have just been a lot, okay? A week ago, I was on the fringes of the Alpha Quadrant, and now I don’t know where the fuck I am…” I stepped closer and patted his chest. “But at least you’re with me. Thank you for that.”
He trapped my hand against his chest with one of his, his red palm engulfing mine. It instantly warmed my cold fingers, and I dared to step a little closer. If there was one thing I was absolutely certain of by now, it was that I could trust him not to harm me. I believed that with all my heart. So I burrowed a little closer, resting my head against his chest and soaking up his warmth. “Can you talk at all?” I asked, intense emotion and exhaustion dragging at me. I wouldn’t have asked otherwise, certain he would have by now if he could. I just really wanted to hear a voice—his voice—and be reassured that everything was going to be fine.
I never expected him to answer, so when a sound vibrated through his chest—right against my ear—I was not prepared. “Yes,” he said. That was it: a rough, hoarse, growly yes. That sound, it was like the best thing ever. My head jerked up, our eyes met, and his gaze was serious, focused. His eyes dipped to my mouth, and with intense concentration, he repeated the word. “Yes.”
“You can speak?” I repeated, barely able to believe what was happening. He nodded this time, just a slow jerk of his chin up and down. His eyes were turning pensive, something big and important moving in that head of his. If only he would put it into words, but “yes” seemed to be all he was capable of. He appeared as frustrated by that as I was, his red eyes flashing inside the dark sockets, framed by bone-white brows.
With a growl, he cupped the back of my head, pinning me in place, and then his face tilted forward. Our foreheads pressed together with a gentle thump, his eyes boring into mine from up close. His warm breath ghosted over my cheeks, sending shivers down my spine. Was he going to kiss me? I found that I wantedhim to, but it wasn’t the oddly plush bottom lip that pressed against mine.
A sudden rush of heat came over my head, washing through my skull and vibrating down my nerves. I blinked rapidly, but suddenly I wasn’t seeing anything—just blackness. I would have panicked, but his grip was still tight around the back of my head, grounding me. The warmth of his forehead, braced against mine, reminded me that I was not alone in that dark. And then I wasn’t.
Images began to flash in front of my eyes. At first, they did not make much sense, as if I were seeing pieces of a jigsaw—disjointed and incomplete. My brain ached, warm and heavy, as if it were struggling to keep up and comprehend. When clarity came, I gasped, shocked to see myself sprawled back on thick, soft-looking furs, utterly naked. My feral alien was there too, between my spread thighs, his head bobbing as he licked me. This had better not be what he was thinking right now… Was this what he wanted to do to me? If so, I should strenuously object, shouldn’t I? I mean, all those sharp teeth, those feral growls, and possessive hands…
Okay, nope, I wasn’t objecting to this at all. Especially when those images just kept coming, and in them, I was coming too. Moaning loudly, with abandon, and screaming something—oh, was that his name? Solear? Did he imagine me screaming his name as he pleasured me with his mouth?
Trembling, I was trapped between wanting to step away, end the sexual onslaught pushed into my mind, and wanting to keep watching. Maybe even turn those images from something just in our brains into something real. My companion growled—loudly—and abruptly his head jerked back. Our eyes clashed, his wide and startled, and then they began to swirl with heat. Oh boy, had he heard that? Did he know what I was thinking? His species had to be telepathic, that’s why he didn’t speak. Now I wasn’t so sure if I liked having him in my head instead.
Solear. If that was his name, it fit him. What a way to introduce himself, though, I should tell him never to do that again. Except my panties were utterly soaked. No—scratch that—I wasn’t wearing proper panties beneath this stolen shirt; I was wearing a stupid, skimpy thong. Wetness was actually dripping down my thigh, that’s how turned on I was after that… assault. Was it really an assault when I wanted nothing more than to turn those pictures into reality?
His eyes sparked at me, his mouth twisting into a grin. He knew. He knew what I was thinking, damn it! Had he been in my head this entire time? What was going on? Whatever it was, hestillwasn’t talking, not really. That sensual smile, the heat in his eyes, they conveyed loads, but those weren’t answers. They just made me squirm and press my legs together to ease the ache between them.
His fingers were still around the back of my neck; they tightened once, just a little squeeze. Reminding me that they were there. “Solear,” I whispered, my voice husky and hoarse, as if I really had spent the past moments moaning and shouting his name. I squirmed beneath that grip, unsure of what to do or say. His growl—husky, definitely aroused rather than angry—decided for me. He was already so close, our foreheads nearly touching but not quite any longer. Going onto my tiptoes was all I needed to press our mouths together like I’d wanted.
He tasted like the wilds outside, cool lips, hot tongue, and a hint of danger as my tongue licked a sharp fang. His growl vibrated between us, against my breasts and hardened nipples. That possessive hand on my neck clenched, and I felt the prick of claws against my skin. His other hand found my hip, yanking me close until one of his massive thighs pressed between mine. That pressure against my core was all I apparently needed to come apart.
An orgasm caught me by surprise, crashing over me with the force of a tidal wave. My toes curled against the cold stone floor. My breathing hitched and stuttered, and my feral, possessive alien claimed my mouth like he owned me. Tongue invading, tangling, stroking. He seemed attuned to everything I felt and liked, but when I came, his mouth lifted, his eyes demanding. I groaned, and his thigh pressed harder, sending stars across my vision, pleasure bursting in my veins. “Solear,” I moaned, and his expression turned pleased, smug—a grin splitting the skull-like features that decorated his face. That look was so sexy it was sinful, and I shivered and shuddered with aftershocks of what had just happened. I went a little weak-kneed then, but he had me, his arm sliding around my waist to hold me up. Blinking suddenly heavy eyelids at his red gaze, I surrendered more of my weight to him.
“Solear?” I whispered, questioning, as he swung me up and lifted me against his chest, bridal-style. Though I was nearly a hundred percent certain it was his name, I still wanted him to confirm it for me. I wanted to know who to dream of when I fell asleep, my already exhausted body now so drained it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. His mouth brushed my temple, and the huskily growled “Yes” was barely a whisper. It was all the answer I needed; sleep pulled me under the next moment.
***
Solear
Lyra’s slight weight in my arms made it feel like she could just float away if I didn’t hold on tightly. She seemed like she could vanish before my eyes if I so much as blinked. “You okay, bro?” Aramon whispered in the back of my mind. “You vanished for a couple of minutes there—what happened?” I’d vanished? Good, because what had happened between Lyra and me a moment ago was private. Until now, I’d always been happy to share anything with my twin, but this was private. Lyra’s moans were allmine.
“My mate needed me,” I told Aramon. I did not explain with what, but his amusement prickled my nerves, telling me his mind had gone straight to sex. Since he was not wrong, I did not correct him, but I certainly warned him to tread carefully. For possibly the first time I could ever recall, I neither needed nor wanted his company. More than anything, I wanted to lie down with my mate and hold her safe while she slept.
“Sure, needed you,”my twin joked, but he sobered the next moment.“You need to hang tight another day or two. The captain is negotiating with the Aderian authorities for permission to retrieve you. The Varakartoom is currently flanked by two sexy warships.”The image he sent me explained everything. I hated the sight, even if I could admire the sleek forms of the Strewn-built Aderian warships. For a peaceful nation, they certainly knew the value of good weapons. The silver vessels were each streaked with obsidian, shimmering spots in odd, organic shapes—not a single one the same—and weapons bristled from every side. The Varakartoom was a little outgunned.
“Fine,I’ll find my own way off-planet. Don’t worry.” Bold words, but I was resolved to see them through. Asmoded would not wish to anger the Aderian authorities, who often hired our ship for jobs they did not wish to dirty their hands with. Not only that, but Aderians were the best surgeons in the quadrant, and theirs was a safe place for humans to walk around freely. He had a human mate, as did my twin; he’d want to keep those ports open, safe havens his mate could visit. Since I now had my own human mate, our wishes aligned on that matter.
“Solear,”Aramon whispered just as his presence started to fade from my mind.“If you can’t steal that data soon, it is likely going to be lost to us. Just a thought. The captain wants me to tell you to forget about it, your safety is more important.”Then my twin was gone, slipping from my mind, though I still felt the warmth of his loyalty and love linger after he’d vanished.
The mission. The data that could lead us to another, more hidden stronghold Jalima liked to reside at. Navigational data I’d been sent to retrieve. It did not surprise me that the Captain would order me to abandon the mission in favor of keeping myself safe. Since he’d mated, he’d gone soft like that, and vengeance did not seem nearly as important to him as it used to be.
My eyes dropped to the precious female I was holding in my arms. A female I’d do anything to protect. Yet, as I gazed at her beautiful, slumbering face, I also knew I couldn’t let go of the need to punish Jalima for what he’d done. That meant going back to the mansion and stealing the data somehow. But how could I combine both tasks? Protect Lyra, steal the data? For now, she needed sleep, so I would make sure she stayed comfortable and warm while she did.
I was fairly certain that this planet had no big predators to worry about, not in this mountainous region. That made it safe enough, in the confines of the tiny cave, for me to grab a few hours of shuteye, too. The question was: would I have the usual nightmares, or would they stay away with Lyra in my arms? I hoped so. Aramon said his dreams were much less frequent now that he had Evie. But he was not as broken as I was.
Piling blankets together into a warm nest atop one of the smooth Tashill rocks, I settled Lyra amid them. Then I gazed at her small body, admiring the curves and the soft, pale skin that was exposed. Her breasts were small and firm, pressing against the fabric of the large men’s shirt she wore. Her thighs were silky and soft at the hem, and when her leg shifted, I saw the wetness that coated them from her release. Instantly, my cock grew hard again inside my pants, pressing roughly against the stiff fabric of my armor.
