From the Depths

by S. J. Sanders

  “A hug. And before you ask,” Raschelle said, then glanced away, “it is a sign of affection…” Her cheeks reddened and she scratched the back of her head. She may not have known him long, but she was attached to the male.

  She heard a choked noise coming from his throat, but this wasn’t the time to talk. She was so damn hungry she was nearly tempted to the cave’s walls. Who knew, maybe there was nutrition packed in there. Unlikely. She lightly chuckled.

  Drashar sat down at the water’s ledge and pulled out several kills from beneath his bell margin. Raschelle thought the term was rightfully correct. It looked exactly as the name suggests, but she was more taken aback by the fact that he was using his lower body as some sort of storage trunk.

  “Oh my heavens. Food.” She kneeled on the cold floor next to him in desperation.

  Her brows furrowed slightly knowing she was about to eat alien seafood completely raw, but there was no other choice. It’s not like there were trees and other burnable materials scattered about for her to make a fire with and she wasn’t about to use the dried seaweed and ferns that made up her sleeping platform. Raschelle speculated that it took far too long just to dry it out given the lack of exposure to the elements.

  “This is a bowaka. They are incredibly rare. I hunted it just for you.” He carefully trimmed what looked to be the bad parts off the round grey fish with yellow speckles with his sharp claws.

  She watched as it looked like he selected what she assumed he thought were the best bits before holding them up in his hand for her, but before she had a chance to take them from him, he spoke.

  “Raschelle...I know I’ve apologized for earlier. It was never my intention to upset you. I’ve been lonely for so long, I misread your signals. I should’ve known that it wasn’t your intention to breed with me. I overstepped.” Shame was written across the tight features in his face. His jaw was clenched, and his mouth was drawn downwards while his sorrowful and shame filled eyes penetrated her soul.

  Raschelle’s heart lurched in her chest. She was unable to move as she digested his words. He felt responsible too? Were both of them struggling with their thoughts and feelings of what she was beginning to feel was just a minor incident? Now that her mind was clearer, she was beginning to attribute the whole thing to stress.

  “Drashar...I’m the one that needs to apologize. You’ve been nothing but amazing. It was nothing you did, I swear. I was starving,” she said, then paused, hungrily eyeing the food still in his hands, “thirsty and frankly, just so damn stressed out. I should’ve made it clear why it wasn’t appropriate for you to touch me the way you did. Humans reserve that touching...well for as you said, breeding.” Heat suffused her face even further, but this time spread down to her core as she imagined what it would be like to make love to such a male. One who was not only strikingly handsome with his green and purple coloring with strong muscles and intelligent eyes, but a male who she could easily see spending the rest of her life with. But Drashar’s species didn’t mate for life. True, but he did say he wanted to raise his youngling with someone.

  Sorrow filled her heart knowing she’d probably never see her family again. She’d be lucky just to find any survivors after the crash, but that didn’t mean her heart couldn’t be filled with love for someone else. It didn’t matter to her that Drashar was a jellyfish like alien. She only saw him for the honest to god nurturing male that he was.

  “I see,” he began to say, lowering his head a notch. “Female Aq’aith do not have bountiful mounds like you do.” He scratched his head. “Again, I apologize. In the moment when I thought you were…,” he paused briefly before continuing, “ah signaling me, I thought that perhaps you wanted me as a life mate. The thought intrigued me immensely. To have someone to spend my life with and to ensure our budlings survived, it’s all I could ever ask for, but I shouldn’t have placed that burden on you, Raschelle. I won’t deny that I want to be your life mate, but I won’t push the matter. It was wrong of me to present to you.” He looked at her inquisitively. “Are you going to eat?”

  It was now or never, not that she didn’t have all the time in the world on her hands, but the moment felt right. She wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to explore the feelings that were clearly growing between them.

  Chapter Seven

  Drashar

  He waited not knowing what it was preventing Raschelle from taking the food he had offered her. Several times her pupils dilated as she eyed the finest bits he selected for her tasting, but not once had she taken the food from him. Was she scared of his touch? He hoped she wasn’t afraid that he would extrude and present for her, especially given his apology and assurance wouldn’t push the matter further. Was that not enough? No, that couldn’t be right. She had clung to him in this human hug when he had arrived...but she initiated that, not me.

  He still couldn’t believe that he managed to mess things up between the only breedable female that crashed into his life. His tentacles flicked in irritation while his mood soured even further. Despite the fact that she had apologized and blamed him for nothing did little to retrain the nagging instinct to hunt down the large brushooj who wounded her in the first place. Damned if it was dangerous to do so or not. He needed to get his urges under control.

  It was bad enough that he stopped several times while he was hunting to deal with his aching sakawi. It throbbed endlessly, and despite taking himself in the palm of his hands several times while thinking of Raschelle, it didn’t ease his suffering. Of course, he never mentioned this to Raschelle, afraid of what she might think.

  Some wet around his fingers pulled him back into the present. Raschelle’s mouth was around his fingers, gently nibbling until the tender piece of the bowaka was sucked from his hand causing a quiet pop. Shock rolled through his body and the experience alone was enough to cause pressure to form at his slit. What is she doing? Drashar had no idea, but it didn’t stop him from tearing another tender bit of meat off from his kill and offering it to her again. He was curious, intrigued. His prior irritation melted away the instant she did it again.

  “This is delicious. Tastes almost like sweet pickles. Definitely not expected. Can I have some more?” Raschelle asked. Her tongue dipped out of her mouth, licking her lips.

  He wanted to give her more too, and so he did.

  Each time he fed her tidbits of fresh meat, she licked his fingers more and more. He wasn’t sure if this was a normal thing for her species to do, or if she was extracting the flavor from his skin, but either way, he didn’t want it to stop. Unfortunately, between the two of them, they quickly ate the remainder of their meal.

  “Oh man, this was sooo good,” she moaned then put his finger back into her mouth and gently sucked playfully.

  Drashar froze. He didn’t understand what was happening. One moment he was feeding her, in what he assumed was a normal human custom and the next, the scent of her mating arousal blasted him like how the underwater volcanic vents blast air bubbles outside the boundaries of his den.

  “I...what are you doing?” He managed to choke out under a shuddering breath, pulling his finger from between her lips. “I thought we agreed to—”

  “Nothing. We agreed to nothing.” She smiled. Her lip turned upwards in a grin, and she leaned in, closing the distance between them. Raschelle placed her hand on his cheek gently stroking his—what she had claimed to be—rubbery leathered texture skin affectionately.

  Placing his hand over hers, he stared deep into her brown eyes, unable to look away. “What is this?” he asked inquisitively before closing his lids and praying this wasn’t a dream.

  “A chance,” she replied, before her breath hitched.

  He could hear the tha-thumping in her chest pick up pace. An organ that he knew was imperative to the survival of many species, but alas, one he didn’t have. Time slowed down when her other hand grabbed his and squeezed gently.

  “And what is this chance?” His eyes narrowed, focusing entirely on her. He needed mo
re than anything to hear the words fall from her coral lips more than anything. Drashar refused to let this moment pass in ruin, or to see her flee him for a second time. In his mind, she was already his, even if this chance was not what he was expecting it to be.

  “I’m not going to give up on finding the others, but I don’t want to deny us a chance to see where this leads,” she said, pausing as her words briefly slowed down.

  “You are not offering yourself to me because you feel you have to?” His question was both reassuring and mildly scrutinizing at the same time. He needed to know. Not because he felt she was at all using him, of course he didn’t feel that way, but because he didn’t want her to feel obligated. He enjoyed the time he spent with her, caring for her and listening to her babble about things he didn’t understand.

  “What?” She pulled back. “No! Why would you think that?” Her voice rose, her cheeks reddening as the furry bits above her eyes furrowed together in a scrunch.

  He held both his hands up, in a motion he saw her do several times when they explored the tunnels earlier. “I do not. I will care for you regardless if you choose me as a life mate Raschelle, it is my fault you are stuck here. I will spend my daylights searching for this exit to make you happy.”

  Her posture slumped and her face took on a look of sadness. “So you don’t want this then?” Her hand clutched her chest in shock.

  “I want this more than anything, but I will refuse this offer if it's not what you truly want,” he replied quickly, remedying the dejected look on her face that was similar to his own not that long ago.

  “No, I want this.” Her face brightened, but her serious expression told him everything he needed to know.

  “I accept,” He said, responding without hesitation or reservation in a feeling of what he could only assume was pure joy. Those four words were simple on their own but coming from her made them the best four words he had ever heard in his life.

  They stood there smiling at each other, neither of them making the first move. He tossed the scraps of his kill into the water, where it sank away and out of sight. Raschelle got to her feet with a knowing look on her face.

  Before he could do anything, she lifted her leg and straddled his bell margin. Her knees were on the ground, but because he was sitting on the pool’s ledge, her feet dangled in the water with his tentacles. Raschelle’s thighs were scorching hot against his skin, and even more so against the pressure of his aching slit. Her arms trailed up his until they reached behind his neck. For a moment, he thought of the hug she had given him earlier, and in his supreme state of pure happiness, he pressed her tightly against his chest and closed his eyes never wanting that moment to end.

  “Can I kiss you?”

  “You may do whatever you wish as long as I can always hold you like this,” he responded placing an arm around her back to secure her in place.

  Raschelle laughed. “I didn’t realize it was so easy to please you.” Cupping his face, she inched closer until their faces were so close that each other’s breath fanned the other.

  She smelled otherworldly, divine, and completely unique as he was unable to compare it to anything else.

  Drashar groaned. He shut his lids as she pressed her lips against his.

  “What is this,” he asked between her gentle nips.

  When her tongue darted out and lightly licked the seam of his mouth, he nearly lost all control. He reciprocated in kind and was rewarded with her delicious flavor across his tongue and soft breathy moans Raschelle released between breaths.

  Her hips swayed in a circle around his bell margin, and the scent of her mating arousal thickened. In an uncontrollable haste, two of his tentacles, with minds of their own wrapped around both of her ankles and pulled her legs further apart, spreading her thighs.

  “Oh heavens, yes!” Her head leaned back, exposing the length of neck while her fingers ripped the strap from her chest and revealed her bountiful mounds which slightly bounced.

  “Do you need more salve?”

  “No. Kiss me. Here.” She leaned back, her mounds perking closer to him while she took his hand and placed it on the coral colored tip of its center.

  He kept his hand there, kneading her soft flesh while his mouth wrapped around her other one. Suckling and licking the tasty perks that hardened into small nubs, not completely unlike his own or female Aq’aith, he swirled tongue in small circles until he was satisfied with the cries of pleasure her voice began to make. Her hips moved more and more. Eventually the pressure was too much. His sakawi completely extruded from his slit and prodded against her hot center.

  This time, they both groaned, especially Drashar. One of her hands reached down and wrapped around his aching member. Her fingers gently gliding against his slick flesh, self-lubricated by the tiny tendrils withering along the side of his sakawi.

  "That's different," she gasped, her eyes glanced down while caressing a few tendrils with her finger. "They are so soft and squishy. What are they for?"

  Her pleasurable hands prevented him from responding immediately. “They are...for ensuring a female receives my seed,” he panted.

  “Let's find out how they feel!” Raschelle replied in an erotic voice that spurred him further as she stroked his flesh a few more times.

  His eyes shot open; excitement pulsed through his body. “Now?”

  “Oh yes. Now. Definitely now.”

  He planned to take her slow so they could enjoy the experience of getting to know their bodies intimately, but if she wanted to mount him now, Raschelle didn’t need to ask him twice.

  Chapter Eight

  Raschelle

  She didn’t want all the foreplay, not that she didn’t enjoy it because honestly, she did. Raschelle simply wanted to connect with Drashar. To know the male who saved her life intimately, past the surface and what lay beneath. What drove him wild, what he enjoyed, and how he would make love to her. By the way he endlessly cared for her, she speculated that his love making, while completely new to him, would be the most passionate thing she’d ever experienced. That’s what she needed. To forget the world, her problems and everything she lost. Just be in the present with someone she was beginning to really care about. Be damned what anyone had to say about their relationship. It was theirs to explore how they wished, and theirs alone.

  Her breath hitched as Drashar’s black claws tore the sides of her panties. “I really needed those!” she protested, but in all honesty, she couldn’t have cared less.

  “I’ll find something else for you to wear, but I much prefer to see your curves.” He eyed her flaring hips and the patch of hair between her thighs that now lay exposed for his private viewing.

  She lifted her bottom, rubbing the seam of her core along the slickness of his alien member. It was hard and prodded her eagerly. His lips found hers in a passionate kiss, his breath mingling with her own. A mixture of something sweet with a pinch of salt.

  “I’ve never wanted anything more than this.” He lifted her chin while gazing into her eyes. One hand reached beneath her and placed himself at her wet entrance. “To have a female to spend my life with...”’

  “Shhh,” she whispered, lowering herself onto him.

  His hand came around her neck and grasped tightly, as they both pressed their foreheads together. Nothing felt righter, more perfect how they were connecting in that very moment. The world stood still, as they both patiently waited, becoming accustomed to the other’s body.

  Raschelle’s eyes fluttered. She embraced the painful burn of his intrusion. It didn’t take long to turn into a delicious tingle leaving her wanting more.

  His hips bucked. “Tight. So tight,” he rasped. “If you grip my any harder, I feel my sakawi might snap.” His body shivered to what Raschelle assumed was the immense pleasure of her body squeezing him.

  “Oh heavens! Do that again,” she begged, rotating her hips in her own fashion.

  Together they found a pace they both enjoyed, moving in unison with one anot
her.

  When Raschelle moaned loudly, Drashar tilted his hips up and then backwards. His thick member grinded against the inside of her core where her sensitive nerves were. Both her hands squeezed his back in ecstasy. “Yes. Yes,” she cried spurring him on to provide her with more of the movement that was edging her close to release.

  Drashar’s loud grunts became deeper and louder. It was clear he was enjoying himself from the purely male and erotic vocals he made while plowing into her giving body.

  “I’m going to cum,” she whined.

  He pressed his lips against hers, then nipped at her tongue and sucked it into his mouth. They both groaned.

  When Drashar’s pumping became jarring and increasingly sporadic, a powerful orgasm burst through her body causing her to jerk against him. “Fuck...yes...oh heavens yes.”

  “I’m releasing,” he bellowed a roar worthy of his massive size. His voice thundered.

  She found it sexy. The bolt of cum that shot out from his member and into her core was enough to spur on a second orgasm. She rode out the final moments of her release by riding him without a care in the world, then against him, while he pecked kisses along her face and neck.

  “You are a wonder,” he rasped, his voice tired and full of joy.

  “You too.”

  Raschelle sat atop Drashar, his arms held her close for a long while after making love, content to just listening to each other breathing.

  A short while later, after cleaning up, Drashar scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to her bed, where he laid down beside her.

  “You don’t have too. I know you prefer the water.” She placed a hand on his chest, genuinely offering him to leave, despite her heart begging him not to. There were going to be sacrifices, she knew that, and this was one she was willing to take.

  “No,” he rumbled. “I may not be able to be in your den by your side every time you shut your eyes, but after what we shared tonight, I refuse to take to the water.”