by Layla Nash
She blinked and finally dragged her gaze to his face. “They were dragging me in. I couldn’t just sit there and wait for them to catch me.”
He touched her cheek, wanting to shake her and kiss her at the same time. “I would not have let them catch you.”
“You weren’t there,” she said calmly. “And I freed myself.”
Her words nearly cracked his scales open and flayed his hearts to pieces. He hadn’t been there for her. When she needed him most, he wasn’t there. Wyzak reached for her, unbuckling the straps that held her in the seat, and pulled Gemma to him. His arms went around her and he buried his face in her hair. “I know I wasn’t there. I will always be there in the future, Gemma. I will never let you face that sort of danger alone.”
She still trembled, holding tight to him, and for a long time, he was content to keep her close and listen to her breathe. He felt it the moment she started to relax and the shivers slowed. Gemma exhaled a long breath and rested her forehead against his neck, her hand resting gently on his chest. Wyzak stroked her back and side, closing his eyes.
“You came for me,” Gemma whispered. “I knew you would, but I still wondered...”
“Always,” he said. “Always I will find you.”
“I can’t believe there’s a bounty on me now,” she said. “What the hell am I going to do?”
“Join a pirate crew that has its own bounties to worry about,” he said. Wyzak turned his head so he could kiss her neck and behind her ear, still mesmerized by her soft, smooth skin. “Become a pirate, nixtava.”
She laughed, though it sounded a little watery, and when he tipped her chin up so he could see her face, his hearts sank to see tears on her cheeks. Gemma flushed and wiped her cheeks, shaking her head. “I don’t know why I’m crying. I’m glad to have…somewhere to go. It’s been a long time since I had...”
When she trailed off, he squeezed her closer. He kept his voice soft as he kept stroking her back. “Since you had what?”
“A home,” she said finally. Gemma shook her head and started to push away, her words spilling out one after the other until he almost couldn’t understand. “Not that this is…home, or anything, or that I expect you to be… That’s not what I meant, it’s just—”
“This is home,” he said. Wyzak turned her so he could see her face, so she could see his face, and know that he spoke the truth. “You are my home and I will be your home. When we are together, that is all I need. No matter where we go, that is where we will make our home.”
Gemma smiled with half her mouth, though her lips trembled. “Are you sure?”
“I have never been more sure of anything in my life,” he said. Wyzak drew her closer so he could kiss her with each word. “You are my home, my everything.”
And she was sitting in his lap and wiggling rather pleasantly.
Gemma’s eyebrow arched as she looked down at where her thighs rested across his, and gave an experimental shift of her hips that made him groan. “Oh my. Is that a stunner in your survival suit?”
He growled so he wouldn’t laugh, and gripped her waist so he could pull her ass against his body. “I can show you exactly what’s in my survival suit, Earther.”
She laughed and it was the sweetest music he’d ever heard. She relaxed more and tugged at the fastenings on his survival suit. “Only if there’s nothing on the radar.”
“There’s nothing.”
Gemma gave him a dark look. “You have to at least check before you say that.”
His hands wandered lower and squeezed her hips. “Do you really want me to stop just if there’s a little blip on that screen?”
She groaned and reached for her own survival suit. “It’s the smart thing to do. We don’t want to be interrupted.”
“Right. That would be annoying.” Wyzak leaned to study the screen, evaluating the threat to the escape pod, and didn’t even have to lie as he reassured her. “The Sraibur has it covered. They’ll deal with the bounty hunters and circle back for us later. We have some time. More than enough time.”
She maneuvered around the pilot chair and tried to wiggle out of her suit. “Good. First good news I’ve heard in a while.”
“Just wait.” Wyzak rose and carried her with him to the part of the escape pod that had bench seats and more room. It wasn’t perfect by any means—he wanted her in a bed, spread out on soft sheets, well-fed and well-loved and content. Before he ravished her and left her a sweaty mess. He growled and stripped off her suit, reaching for the strange Earther clothes she wore underneath. “There is much more to come.”
“Promise?” she asked, all breathy and soft.
It drove him wild. The fear of losing her and the sudden relief of having her safe launched his lust and need into overdrive. Wyzak gripped her hips and dragged her under him, glad his robes still separated them, else he would not have been able to restrain himself. He dragged his teeth down her throat and reveled in the way her hips lifted to his in invitation. “Yes. I promise.”
Her hands slid down his front and touched the hard line of his cock. “Good. Now show me.”
Wyzak groaned and sealed his mouth to hers so he could taste her, could swallow her moans as she arched to meet him. Finally.
Chapter 42
Gemma
She almost fell to pieces when she first realized she was actually safe, actually on a ship with Wyzak and heading away from the bounty hunters. The relief made her throat burn with gratitude and tears, and she would have made a fool of herself if Wyzak hadn’t dragged her close for a hug and let her hide her face. Gemma almost didn’t mind being weak in front of him, particularly when he seemed so pleased to comfort her. And he was a furnace of body heat after the numbing cold of space through that ancient survival suit.
Everything after his arrival and dragging her into the escape pod blurred until she wasn’t sure how she got into his lap, but she didn’t mind. Her mech arm still ached and her fingers burned from wrestling with the grappling hook and cables. It made it more difficult to get out of the survival suit, but Wyzak’s large hands helped strip it away, then his own.
Then she blinked and somehow they were in the back of the escape pod and on the floor, though he’d tossed the suits down for a little padding between the cold steel and her back.
She felt more alive than she had in a long time—more accepted, more loved. Whole. Complete.
Even with her mech monster arm.
He didn’t recoil when the metal fingers combed through his hair. He turned his face into the caress instead, and kissed her wrist.
Gemma lifted her hips, seeking the firm touch she loved, and Wyzak growled in excitement. His rough palms squeezed her breasts through her shirt, and she struggled to rip the fabric off so she could really feel him. She closed her eyes and exhaled what remained of the fear that stalked her since the moment she’d kidnapped him. She could finally let go. He wanted her. Her. All of her. Every inch. He’d said so, and from the way his mouth followed where his hands had been...
She moaned. Wyzak worked her pants down so he could kiss her stomach, dragging the rough texture of his scales across her inner thighs until she shivered. Her legs parted as he nudged them, and then Wyzak dragged them over his shoulders. He growled more as he breathed against her core, his fingers dug into her ass to hold her still despite how she wiggled. Gemma held onto his head as Wyzak’s mouth sealed to hers, his tongue dancing against her heated flesh.
Lights spotted her vision as her back arched and she tried to hold him closer. She couldn’t breathe. Static filled her body as his fingers slid into her in a teasing preview of what she knew what coming.
Gemma gulped for air, her head tossing. “Just like that. More.”
He chuckled, a dark sound, and slowly withdrew until she moaned in frustration. Wyzak’s fingertips teased her to the edge, then backed off, then returned with just enough pressure that she almost...
By the fourth time her climax remained out of reach, Gemma shoved up on her
elbows and fixed him with a murderous glare. “I swear to Copernicus, if you don’t—”
Wyzak grinned and his lips sealed around the hard nub at the top of her slit. Gemma almost levitated off the floor as his fingers plunged into her so deep it almost drove the air from her lungs. She cried out as lightning lit her up from head to toe. Her thighs closed against his head as he worshipped her with his mouth. Her muscles seized up, clutching at his fingers, and she jerked in anticipation as he slowly withdrew. Gemma sprawled on the floor, feeling boneless and exhausted, as waves of ecstasy rolled through her in a slowly ebbing tide.
She couldn’t speak or do more than sigh and stroke his hair. Wyzak grumbled and kissed the inside of her thigh, making Gemma twitch. “My mate is pleased.”
She groaned and stretched, wanting to writhe around in the pleasure that still radiated through her. “Yes.”
Wyzak kept toying with her, nuzzling against her thighs and stomach and then moving up to her breasts. Gemma slid her hands into his hair as Wyzak’s lips and teeth found her nipple. She tried to concentrate on what she’d been meaning to do—something about him, about touching him... Her back arched as he sucked her breast into his mouth, the gentle suction dragging a bolt of heat from her core right through her to her nipple. She trembled and all thought fled.
He leisurely worshipped her breasts, taking his time and periodically dragging his fingers against her slit, until Gemma almost vibrated with need. She reached for his cock, her hand trembling with the desire to touch him, to feel him against her palm, but Wyzak turned away, his breath hissing in his teeth.
Gemma groaned and tilted her head back. “Let me...”
“Not this time,” Wyzak said. He moved up to his elbows though his head dipped so he could whisper in her ear. “If you touch me, it will be finished, and I want to have all of you.”
She bit the inside of her cheek in frustration. “But I want touch you.”
It was his turn to groan, his forehead falling against her shoulder. “You will be the death of me, Earther.”
“Not yet,” she said. Gemma caught his cock and stroked it firmly as he remained motionless above her; only the harsh sound of his breathing filled the pod. She guided him to her, sliding the head of his cock through the slick heat between her thighs.
Wyzak snarled and his hips punched forward, his cock sliding against her hand, and Gemma murmured in anticipation. Every motion, every pant of breath, everything about him drove her wild. She lifted her head to kiss him, getting lost in his taste and the firm pressure of his mouth, as she pressed his cock against her opening.
He groaned and kissed her hard as he slid deeper, a slow and steady penetration that made her toes curl and a scream of pure ecstasy brew deep in her chest. She felt every inch of him as he settled inside her, deep and hard and familiar. How could he feel so familiar after such a short time together? She barely knew him, and yet...
Gemma rose to meet him as Wyzak retreated and thrust again, a firm stroke that drove his thighs against her ass, and all of her shuddered with the contact. He moved faster, holding her close, until the delicious pressure rose deep in her core. Her nails raked down his back and along the ridged layers of his scales.
She squeezed her eyes shut and strained against him. She needed him, needed all of him. For however long she had him, he was home.
He grabbed her ass and squeezed hard enough to make her gasp, tilting her hips so he could plunge still deeper. Gemma moaned and clung to him tighter. She wouldn’t mind being a pirate if it meant being a pirate with him.
Wyzak chuckled and nuzzled behind her ear as their bodies slid against each other. Gemma smiled and closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of him, and wrapped her arms and legs around his body as tightly as she could.
Finally. Finally, she’d found a place to belong.
Chapter 43
Epilogue
The Sraibur picked them up an hour after she and Wyzak had exhausted themselves. They mostly got their clothes back on, although Wyzak didn’t seem particularly concerned about the rest of the crew seeing him naked. The moment the escape pod was re-secured to the Sraibur, Wyzak picked her up and strode through the ship until they reached his quarters.
It was a long time until they left the bed. Wyzak got up to retrieve food but insisted that Gemma stay put, although he enjoyed watching her shower and clean up. Not that it lasted long—within moments she was sweaty and sticky once more.
The Sraibur continued through ungoverned space relatively freely, though there were a few bounty hunter crews from Proxima that tracked them—no doubt trying to capture the largest bounty offered in that quadrant. Faros didn’t seem particularly concerned, and the rest of the crew shrugged off the potential danger as if it truly didn’t exist. They went about their piratical business as if nothing had changed.
She reveled in it. The crew accepted her for who she was without judgment and the minimum of teasing. They reserved the worst of it for Wyzak, though he dealt with it relatively well. Relatively. He stalked around growling and beat up on most of the crew in the gym, then found her and dragged her back to the bedroom to torment her into multiple climaxes.
Gemma didn’t mind.
Faros kept him busy with running the ship, something about making sure Wyzak knew the real price of being a captain, and Gemma found herself in the small dining room reviewing the list of bounties she used to pore over with Milo. She missed her ship, but the rest of that life... She didn’t regret leaving it behind.
Gemma filtered the data to figure out who else the Tyboli were trying to run down. Perhaps they could build a fleet of those the Tyboli had wronged, and use that to take down the bastards before anyone else got hurt. Even if the Sraibur technically deserved the bounty levied against it. She tapped her fingers on the table and reset the data. There had to be a useful pattern there somewhere. She just had to find it.
“Find anything useful?”
Gemma glanced over as Violet entered, the former lawyer looking entirely serene and composed regardless of the hour or state of the rest of the ship. Gemma envied her ability to look so unaffected. In comparison, she always felt wild and unkempt.
Although she could probably blame most of that wildness on Wyzak.
Gemma kept her attention on the data so maybe the other woman wouldn’t see her blushing at the thought of why she was perpetually unkempt. Wyzak had an appetite like she’d never expected. “Nothing really useful. Not yet. But I’ll keep looking.”
“I’m sure you will.” Violet sank into one of the chairs and propped her boots up on the table. She sighed and laced her hands behind her head. “We still have some of those bounty hunters on our tail, although they’re not getting close enough to make Faros nervous. I wonder how long they’ll trail us.”
“As long as it takes,” Gemma said. She sorted the list of bounties so Violet could see the updated prices on her and the Sraibur. “The Tyboli increased the amount. Taking just one of the crew would subsidize a full crew for almost a standard year. All it takes is one and they’ll be set. The best bet is still to get the bounties canceled—either convince the Tyboli to rescind it, or... I don’t know what.”
Violet made a thoughtful noise. “I’m not sure we could achieve that. The Tyboli were... quite agitated.”
Gemma snorted, shaking her head. “I can only imagine.”
She fiddled with the data, still searching for patterns, and waited for Violet to bring up what she really wanted to talk about. She’d learned the other Earther seldom started a conversation without a distinct purpose.
It didn’t take long. Violet picked up the panel and started ordering food, her forehead wrinkled as she concentrated on an updated menu that she’d programmed shortly after a very brief visit to a different spaceport. “We’re going to be in this quadrant for a while. There’s other business that Faros has to attend to, so we might have to deal with the bounty hunters. Is that going to be a problem?”
Gemma didn’t like the sou
nd of “other business,” particularly since Faros was involved, but she wasn’t privy to all the secrets on the Sraibur and she didn’t want to be. She’d had enough of secrets and whispers. “Nah. Whatever you guys need me to do, I’m down for it. Mostly.”
“Good to know.” Violet nodded and offered the panel. “The guys are on the way for dinner. Don’t know if you can stomach food while having to listen to Faros boast about his plans, so fair warning if you want to escape now.”
Gemma couldn’t hide a smile as she ordered a dish for herself as well. “You’re the one who has to live with him.”
“Don’t remind me.” Violet shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. “Never in all my years did I think I’d end up with someone like him. These Xaravians... They get damn annoying and possessive and overbearing. Almost impossible to put up with.”
“And yet,” Gemma said, shaking her head. She didn’t know how to finish that sentence, though.
“And yet.” Violet sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “Somehow they’re hard to walk away from.”
“Completely unexpected.” Gemma didn’t look over as the door opened and Faros and Wyzak, followed by Nokx, wandered into the dining room. She traded a look with Violet. “And not a thing to be done about it.”
The lawyer arched an eyebrow. “That’s what you think. There are certain... strategies we can discuss later.”
Gemma nodded, biting her lip to smother a smile as the Xaravians frowned with suspicion. “Count on it.”
She’d definitely need Violet’s insight on how to manage having Wyzak as a mate, whatever that meant. There seemed to be rules about what mates did and how and when, and Gemma didn’t like not knowing how to win a game. Maybe they could come up with a handbook. From what Violet had said, there were at least five other Earthers mated to Xaravians on a different ship. There could be quite an audience for a “how to live with a Xaravian” manual.