by Lili Zander
Needless to say, those plans have all gone pear-shaped, because Ruhan has been accused of murder.
“This is such bullshit.”
It’s about an hour after the first guard showed up. Zara and Parkim, the pair of guards who interrogated us yesterday before letting us into the village, are squeezed in our room. They’ve appointed themselves as our spokespeople. It’s because of their intervention that Ruhan isn’t languishing in a prison cell somewhere. “Don’t be ridiculous, Captain,” Zara had snapped, her chin lifted in the air. “This man helped us fix our shields. Without him, every one of us would be at risk. Is this how we reward his help?”
“And completely baseless,” I continue. “Gervil was a pirate. He attacked a Zorahn navy ship, and they came after him. Ruhan didn’t blow up the Konar. He had nothing to do with it.”
Parkim sighs. “That’s your story. Unfortunately, Gervil tells a different one.” Ruhan glares at the Okaki, and he hastily waves his tentacles in a gesture of appeasement. “Look, I believe you. But that’s not how the LoreLords’ underlings are going to tell this story.”
“Why are they targeting me?” Ruhan asks, sounding more curious than worried. Typical. Nothing ever seems to ruffle him. I wish I had even a tenth of his calm. I’m putting a brave face on it, but I feel nauseous. All of this is happening to Ruhan because he came to rescue me. I know it’s not my fault, but I can’t help the sick pit in my stomach.
“I did some digging,” Zara says. “Gervil’s second-in-command was an Okaki named Devnik. Devnik was exiled from Nestri after he went on a murderous spree. He was convicted of killing eighteen Zorahn women. Caeron alone knows how many more victims there really were.”
“Murder is a high crime,” Ruhan says, his eyes hard. “How did he get away with exile?”
“He’s Farlarn’s spawn,” Zara replies. “Farlarn is the Younger LoreLord. At the trial, Farlarn disinherited Devnik. But blood runs deep. Farlarn undoubtedly blames Gervil for getting his spawn killed, and Gervil has, in turn, pinned the blame on you.”
“But how did anyone even know we were in Nestri?” I ask in frustration.
“That’s simple enough, Nestri was the closest habited planet.” Ruhan looks at Parkim. “I’m assuming the security forces at Drobal sent in a report when you located the wreckage of our shuttle.”
“Yes,” Parkim confirms unhappily. “Someone had shot at an unarmed shuttle, and we were obligated to report it. We didn’t realize…”
“You’re not responsible for this,” Ruhan cuts in. “You couldn’t have known.”
“Gervil held me prisoner for three months.” I look at them. “He’s pretending to be an honest merchant, but he’s a pirate. I was there when he tried to steal the cargo of a shuttle ship. I was there when the Zorahn Navy appeared, and I was there when the Konar escaped into a wormhole. What if I testify? Will that help?”
“No. Absolutely not,” Ruhan says flatly. “You’re not testifying.”
I give him a death glare. It bounces off him. “Parkim, Zara, can you excuse us?” I say through clenched teeth. “I need to talk to my stupidly overconfident friend here.”
“Sure.” Zara clambers to her feet, looking quite happy to leave us to our fight. “The soldiers from Nestri Prime arrive in the morning. We’ll keep looking to see if there’s anything we can do to fight this.”
Her words are hopeful, but her expression isn’t. My stomach sinks. We could probably steal a shuttle and get out of Drobal, but then what? We don’t have a spaceship. How long can we evade the LoreLords, if they mobilize a planet-wide search for Ruhan?
Ruhan scribbles a note on a piece of paper. “Can you give this to Mardex?” he asks.
“Of course.”
As soon as they depart, I lift my chin and stare at Ruhan. “Why won’t you let me testify? What the hell, Ruhan? Don’t you realize how much trouble you’re in?”
“Lani, I love that you want to stand up for me.” The expression on his face is tender. “But you can’t, little human. It would put your life at risk, and I won’t have that.”
Goddamn it, I’m trying to be angry with Ruhan, and the way he’s looking at me isn’t helping. “Why would it put my life at risk?”
“The Zorahn Empire’s official position is that your ship, the Sevril V, was destroyed by pirates. The Empire paid reparations to both the Triumvirate and to Earth. You’re not supposed to exist, Lani. Right now, we just have the LoreLords to contend with. I can handle them. But if the full force of the Empire shows up to silence you, I will be outmatched.” His lips twitch into a smile. “I don’t admit that very often.”
“I’ll savor the moment,” I quip, mollified. “Fine, that’s a solid reason for me not to testify.” I collapse onto the bed. “What’s the plan, Ruhan? Are you going to stand on trial?”
“Caeron, no.” He sits next to me, his shoulder touching mine. “The LoreLords want to paint every single Zorahn living in Nestri as the enemy. I refuse to cooperate with this farce. I’m a Draekon, remember? If it really comes down to it, I’ll shift into a dragon, roar and rampage, terrify everyone by breathing fire, and then fly away. I just don’t want to do it right now.”
“Why not?”
“Taen, Parkim, and Zara all vouched for me,” he replies. “If we escape tonight, they’ll get in trouble. So, we wait, and make our break once the soldiers from Nestri Prime arrive.”
He doesn’t think there’s any reason to worry, but I’m still freaking out. For the last two days, I felt safe, and it was because Ruhan was at my side. Now, he’s going to be arrested, and that leaves me here in Nestri, all on my own, and I feel so nauseous I’m afraid I’m going to throw up.
“What if we get separated?”
“I will not let that happen, Lani.”
He reaches out and clasps my hand. I take a deep breath and allow his certainty to flow through me. “You probably think I’m really pathetic.”
His grip on my hand tightens. “Once upon a time,” he says, “I was ordered to destroy an Adrashian droid factory. Lani, you should have seen this place. It was so advanced it seemed like magic. I stood there, just marveling at their tech. It was amazing. There, surrounded by delicate, powerful machinery, I felt truly at home for the first time in my life.” His voice turns bleak. “Then, I burned it down.”
My heart aches for Ruhan. I know the scientists who gave him orders are long dead, but I want to go back in time so I can kill them myself for hurting him.
“After that, I didn’t talk for days. I didn’t eat. I didn’t sleep. I just shut down. I couldn’t deal with what I’d done. I’d seen the most beautiful factory in the galaxy, and I’d destroyed it.” He fixes his gaze on me. “I don’t think you’re pathetic. I think you’re one of the strongest people I know. I will destroy this planet before I allow anyone to separate us, Lani. I promise you this.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “What did you tell Mardex in your note?”
“He worked as a cook on Gervil’s ship. If Gervil finds out he’s alive, he’ll take steps to kill him. Mardex can testify against him. Mardex is Draekon, but he cannot shift. I want him to get out of here and make his way to the rendezvous point.”
“How are you so calm?” I ask exasperatedly.
He laughs. “I used to be a soldier, remember? This is all in a day’s work, lovely Lani.”
That stupid nickname is growing on me. “For you, maybe. I’m a kindergarten teacher. My job doesn’t really involve being accused of murder.”
“What does it involve?”
I lean on his shoulder. “The worst thing was when a kid’s parents were splitting up,” I mutter. God, my little classroom feels so far away. I’d signed up to go to space during the summer vacation, fully assuming that I’d be back in time for the school year. I’ve lost track of time, but it’s now January? February? There’ll be a new teacher in the classroom. “Kids don’t understand that sometimes, these things are for the best. Or maybe they do. It was just really hard when t
hey blamed themselves for it.” I reach for a more cheerful topic before I start drowning in gloom. “It wasn’t all bad though. For the most part, kids are great. They’re really affectionate. I went to work every day with a smile on my face.”
“Do you miss it? Your work, the younglings?”
“I miss the kids,” I reply. “I miss their enthusiasm, their exuberance. But there’s a lot I don’t miss. The terrible pay, for one. I was always scrambling. My side hustle was painting pictures of peoples’ pets, but even that only brought in a couple hundred bucks a month. At the rate I was going, I was never going to get out of debt. It was a stressful way to live.”
Hang on a second. I’m not on Earth anymore. I’m in space. Everyone back home thinks I’m dead. My parents never co-signed my loans, so the banks can’t come after them.
For the first time, I begin to think there might be a silver lining in here somewhere. In this new world I’ve found myself, I don’t have student debt. I’m free of that crushing weight. Anything is possible.
“Is Mandy at the rebellion?”
Ruhan nods. “Yes. As is Alice Hernandez.”
“She’s the ER doctor, right? What’s she doing with herself?”
“Studying to be a healer,” Ruhan replies. “Kadir said she just passed her first set of examinations.”
Huh. That sounds promising. “They let a human become a healer?”
Ruhan gives me a puzzled look. “Why wouldn’t they?” he asks. “As long as she can do the work, who’s going to get in her way? The rebellion always needs healers.”
I’m not cut out to be a doctor; I get squeamish at the sight of blood. But maybe I can be a teacher?
“What about you? You took this mission to find us, and now you have. What will you do once you go back? Join the rebellion?”
Ruhan shakes his head. “I never wanted to be a soldier,” he says. “It was never a path I would have chosen for myself. I like working with technology. I like making things.” He smiles. “I’ve been thinking about what comes next. I’m happiest taking an engine apart and reassembling it. Maybe that’s what I’ll do. I’ll build myself a shack, and fiddle with engines all day.”
“I like making things too.” As soon as I say that, I want to snatch those words back.
“You could join me in my shack.”
What’s he saying? He almost never looks serious, but he looks serious now. “You don’t really know me,” I murmur. “I will drive you insane.”
His teeth flash in a grin. “You do snore very loudly,” he agrees. “It’s hard to sleep next to you.”
“I do not snore,” I respond indignantly.
He winks at me, and I realize I’ve been baited again. “Just for that, I’m going to join you in your shack, and I’m going to snore all night long. Every single night.”
“I’d like that.” He cups my chin, his green eyes on mine. “Very much.” His fingers ghost over my shoulder. “This wasn’t quite what I had in mind for today, but…”
“But?” My voice comes out breathy and needy.
“We are stuck in this room,” he murmurs, lowering his head and kissing the spot his fingers grazed. “We are prisoners, so nobody will interrupt us.”
A flame flares to life in my belly. “And there’s still only one bed.”
“Mm-hmm.” His fingers—those talented fingers—circle my nipples through my shirt. “It seems to me that there’s really only one thing to do in this situation.”
My relationship with Ruhan is evolving. The first night, when we’d touched each other in the dark, that was about sex and not much else. Earlier today, when we finally did the deed, we were a little more connected.
And now? I don’t know what’s happened. He’s shared things about himself. I have too. We’ve dreamed about the future. He’s invited me to share his shack.
This isn’t just about sex anymore. I really like him. Everything’s moving so fast, but I think I’m falling for the cocky alien, and that terrifies me on a deep, instinctual level.
He sucks my nipple between his teeth, and all thought flees my mind. Screw analyzing what’s going on. Right now, I have more important things to do.
I wind one arm around Ruhan’s neck to encourage him to keep teasing my nipples and reach my other between his legs. His cock is thick and hard, pulsing with readiness. It jumps as I close my fingers around it, and Ruhan groans, the need in his eyes making me shudder. I stroke up and down his shaft as he makes love to my breasts, sucking and biting until I’m wild.
Desire short-circuits my brain. I grab his shoulders and shove him back. My move catches him off guard, and he falls to the bed. His big body splays before me, all giant muscles and golden skin, smooth planes and defined grooves. Ruhan would make a bodybuilder on Earth look puny. Not to mention his cock…
The sight of him, lying back in bed, a smile dancing over his lips… He’s hard, at full mast. Precum beads on the tip, and I lick my lips, need spiraling in my core. I was going to climb aboard and ride him, but now I have a much better idea.
I kneel beside him. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now,” I purr, settling between his legs.
His eyes widen when he realizes what I’m about to do, and he sucks in a breath. I like that reaction. I lean in and lick him like a salty popsicle. He throws his head back, his body tightening further. “Ah, Caeron,” he swears. Muscles bulge as he grips the blanket.
I flick my tongue just under the head of his cock, looking for his sensitive spots. He groans, long and low. His flesh is hot. He tastes sweet and a little smoky. Or maybe that’s just the smoke-and-spice scent of him. I hum happily as I suck more of his length into my mouth. I can’t fit all of him down, but I keep my lips locked around his head and use my spit-slicked hands to pleasure the rest of him. It’s a two-handed job. Lucky me.
The rumbling in his chest grows louder, like an oncoming train. Any second now, he’s going to blow…
With a firm but gentle tug on my hair, Ruhan pulls me off his cock and positions me over his body. At the same time, he scoots down, so my pussy hovers over his mouth. “Yes,” he rasps. He yanks me down so I’m sitting right on his face. His tongue thrusts into me.
I whimper as sensation shoots through me. Every lick is fuel for the fire raging inside me. With his hands on my hips, I can’t fall off, but I can’t move away either. In no time, I’m rocking and grinding on his face as he eats me out.
“Ruhan,” I scream, falling forward to my hands as a stroke of his tongue sparks fire, lighting my body right up. I grab a pillow and press my face into it to muffle my cries. I try to pull away to ease the pressure, and he growls, digging his fingers deeper into my flesh. His nose rubs against a sensitive spot in my folds. Lightning zings up my spine and I crash into orgasm again.
This time I don’t care who hears me. God, this Draekon makes me lose my mind.
21
Ruhan
My Lani is lovely and oh-so-sweet. Her cries ring in my ears and settle in my soul. My cock throbs, half-forgotten as I lap up every bit of juice from her pussy. When she put her mouth on me, I thought I would die of pleasure. But there is nothing better than the taste of her.
Claim her. The dragon’s rumble is so loud that I half-expect Lani to hear him. I angle my head to flick my tongue against her fleshy nub, making her thighs tremble. Her hips jerk, and when I slide two fingers into her pussy, her inner muscles clamp down tight. Her moans grow deeper.
I slide out from under her, licking my lips to capture every bit of her essence. She’s half-collapsed on her front. I prop her hips up and slide a pillow under her. Her pussy is slick and swollen, and when I swipe my finger through her dripping folds, she tilts toward my hand as if eager for more.
“Do you want to feel me, Lani? Do you want me inside you?” My voice comes out hoarse, my throat dry as if seared with dragon fire.
“Yes,” she pants.
I rub my cock along her entrance. She feels so good. Like she was made for me.
>
Claim her, the dragon insists. I can’t wait any longer. I slide into her heat, tugging her close until her bottom is flush against me. I thrust deep, making her cry out. Her tight channel milks my cock as she climaxes. With a harsh groan, I snake an arm around her middle, bracing her as I pound her perfect pussy until my own climax tingles in the base of my spine. I reach a hand under her and rub her clit, forcing her to convulse around me again and again until my own pleasure sears me.
Her cries and the heat of her flesh mingle with mine. For a moment we rock together so perfectly I don’t know where I end, and she begins.
Later that night, Lani’s curled up next to me, sound asleep.
But though I try to rest, my brain won’t turn off. Kadir’s words sound in my ears. When Lani touches you, does the rathr go away? Your dragon is talking to you because you’re not listening to him.
And finally, Ruhan, you idiot, she’s your mate.
Lani is my mate. I’d like to say I don’t quite believe it, but that’s not true. The dragon in me has always known. And not just the dragon. When I’m with Lani, it isn’t just the pain of the rathr that disappears. When I’m with Lani, I’m more than a laboratory creation. I’m more than a killing machine. The weight of the past feels less crushing, and I can even begin to think of the future. A future that centers around her.
I laugh when she’s around. She makes me dream. She makes me happy. I love her sarcastic way of looking at the world, and I love the optimism underneath. No matter what Lani has had to endure, she marches on, undaunted. She’s amazing.
On impulse, I asked Lani to share my home. She agreed. It feels both impossible and, simultaneously, the best thing that has ever happened to me. I close my eyes and picture living with Lani, waking up next to her every morning, and it feels so real that I can almost reach out and touch it.