by Lily Thomas
Roeq growled as he nuzzled the hot flesh against his face.
Her hips moved against him in jerky movements. Roeq pulled away. Then he sank a second finger into her, pumping in and out in long fast strokes. His other hand reached up and grabbed a hold onto her nipple.
Her moans grew louder as her body bucked wildly against him. Nayli thrust her hips down, helping him to pump his fingers in and out of her.
While he played with her body, he watched her hooded eyes grow hazy in the dim light as her orgasm neared. Her skin grew damp with sweat as he continued to plow his fingers in and out of her.
“Come for me.”
Her mouth popped open. “Yes! Yes, I’m going to come.”
Nayli’s hips bucked wildly as her sheath drew him in, her body clamping down around his fingers. Then she slumped against his hand, and he withdrew his fingers.
“Mmm.” She grabbed a hold of his hand and brought both of his fingers to her mouth. Before he knew what she was up to, her lips wrapped around his fingers and licked her essence off his fingers.
Roeq’s cock stiffened in his space suit. Quickly, he reached up with his other hand and tapped his wrist, his suit disappearing. His cock bobbed in the cool air, thankful to be free of the confines of his suit.
“I want more.” Nayli’s amber eyes landed on him as she released his hand back into his control.
“I want to give you more.”
Rising back onto his feet, he grabbed onto her thighs. “Wrap them around my waist.”
She obeyed immediately, her ankles crossing behind his waist.
“What do you want?” He whispered near her ear again.
“I want your cock.” Her eyes swept down to glance at the tip that stood eagerly between them. He followed the direction of her gaze, and the scent of her desire flooded his nostrils.
Grabbing a hold of his cock, he positioned the tip at her entrance. He pushed his hips forward, easing into her folds, which welcomed him with their warmth and wetness.
Then his hands gripped her waist.
“Feels so good,” Roeq growled.
Her heels dug into his buttocks, and he shot forward spearing her on his cock.
“God, yes!” She threw her head back and hollered her words to the ceiling above them.
Nayli began pumping her hips, sliding his cock in and out of her. Roeq bowed his head, as he met her every thrust with one of his own. They panted together as he drove into her all the way to the hilt. Her breasts would bounce with every harsh thrust.
Nayli’s mouth popped wide on a moan as Roeq continued to thrust into her. Her back scraped lightly against the cave wall with every thrust of his cock. He’d filled her so completely.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew his head down for a kiss. His horns encompassed her head as his lips molded to hers. He coaxed her mouth open, and once her lips parted his tongue darted in.
His hands on her hips continued to move her over him in steady strokes. She arched against him, breaking their kiss. Her fingernails dug into the flesh of his shoulder as her body began to quiver.
“I’m going to come.” She warned him.
“Come for me,” Roeq growled, his onyx eyes meeting hers.
Heat built in her cheeks as she clamped down around his thick length. His thrusts turned jerky as their climaxes washed over them. Her fingers tightened their grip on his shoulders as she clung on for dear life as the orgasm ripped through her, stealing her breath.
Roeq continued to pump into her until she felt his hot seed spurt into her. Her back arched briefly before she sank against him. He gave a couple more thrusts of his cock until he to slumped.
They stood there, still joined as both of them attempted to catch their breaths.
“Will… it always… be like this?” Nayli panted against his shoulder.
“Like what?”
“So, crazed, like we’ll die if we don’t come in each other’s arms.”
“From what I heard? Yes.”
She smiled against his shoulder. Cracking open an eye, she saw how dangerously close one of his horns was to her head, but she wasn’t scared in the least. Roeq wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. She was positive of that much. This man might look like a demon, but he had a gentle touch.
Chapter 9
Nayli stretched one of her arms over her head as she rolled over and opened her eyes. Only to find Roeq gone.
She sat up and looked around the inside of the cave, but he was really gone. It didn’t worry her. She was just confused where he could have gone and why he left.
Standing up, she wiggled her way back into her suit and then walked to the entrance of the cave where she looked out at the green planet around her. It was quite beautiful when there wasn’t some strange alien creature trying to kill her.
“Good to see you’re up.” Roeq strode up to the cave, a small fluffy animal in one hand.
“What’s that?” She pointed to the dead animal.
“Breakfast.”
“Do we not have any nutritional bars left?” Nayli wasn’t sure about eating random animals on an alien planet. Like she’d said before she was more of a space girl than a live-in-the-woods girl.
“I looked through our bags this morning, and it looks like they were lost when the ship broke into two.” Roeq continued to walk deeper into the cave, and she followed after him.
“How do we know it’s okay to eat that?” Nayli pointed to the animal.
“We don’t, but it has to be better than eating nothing.”
They walked into the large cavern where her helmet was still lighting the area. The batteries would last for a few days at least. Once the power cells died, they’d have to start making fires or hope they had some flashlights back in Roeq’s ship.
He sat down beside the fire pit he must have set up while she’d been fast asleep.
“I walked right past this without even noticing it.” Nayli plopped a seat beside the stack of wood. “How do you plan on lighting this?”
Roeq sat down beside her and produced a small lighter. “With this.”
“Thank goodness that made it.” She watched on eagerly as he quickly lit the tinder and the flames slowly licked away at the larger logs above them. In a matter of minutes, the fire was happily crackling away.
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen a wood fire in person.” She inhaled some of the smoke. “It smells better than I could have ever imagined.”
“I can’t believe this is the first time you’ve seen a real fire.”
“Hey.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I was raised in space, hence the love of racing my spaceship.”
“As my mate, I feel it is now my duty to familiarize you with more than just space travel.” He slung the small furry animal over a knee. “We will go on camping trips regularly.”
“Woah, there big man.” Nayli held out both of her hands.
He arched a brow at her.
“Let’s not get carried away now.” She shook her head. “I might be your mate, but I can tell you right now that I am not signing up to go on camping trips.”
“We will see about that.” He lifted his head and pierced her with his dark-eyed gaze.
Nayli snorted. “You’ll have to tie me up to get me to a camping trip.”
“Then tie you up I will.”
She eyed him, not sure if he was serious. She’d drop the subject and hope he didn’t bring it up again. This crash landing was enough camping to last her a lifetime.
Roeq whipped out a dagger, pressed the tip into the dead animal’s belly, and Nayli looked away. She had no intention of watching him making their meal. All she needed to know was that it was yummy and that it was hopefully going to fill her and quell her hungry stomach.
After a few minutes of watching the dancing flames, she glanced back over at Roeq who’d finished gutting and skinning the animal.
He placed the animal near the flames. Yum. Soon they would have a fresh meal.
Roeq
watched his mate over the jumping flames of their fire after they finished off their meal. The little animal had been really good if a bit on the gamey side, but they didn’t have the luxury of being choosy.
“Do you know what happened up there in the wormhole?” He was hoping she would have more information than he had.
Nayli glanced up, and he saw her amber eyes study him cautiously. “Not much.” She glanced away refusing to make eye contact.
“You know something.” He leaned in interested in what may have sent them spiraling towards the planet.
“I know… something, yes, but it’s not going to help us while we’re down here.” She continued to avoid his gaze.
“What is it?”
“Why do you want to know?” Her head snapped up. “It won’t get us anywhere.”
Roeq wanted to know because he still didn’t understand what had happened. It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t have been the wormhole because the race officials always made sure the obstacles were decently safe, which meant they’d have made sure the wormhole was stable.
“There was a flash, like an explosion of some sort. After that, the computer on my ship stopped taking readings.”
Again, Nayli refused to make eye contact with him.
“What do you know?” Roeq’s eyes narrowed on his mate who was now squirming in her seat beside the fire.
“I found something… and it might be the cause of the explosion in the wormhole.” She paused.
“What else?” He pressed.
“It looks like someone may have planted a device on one of my ship’s engines. If I know what it is, then I think it may have overheated my engines until they exploded.”
“What?!” Roeq jumped to his feet. “Who planted it?”
“Seriously?” Nayli arched a brow as she tilted her head back to see him better. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t have flown my ship in the race.”
“Sabotage,” Roeq whispered. “It was probably the Daen’su who tried to pick a fight with you earlier.” He slammed a fist against his other open palm. “I was wondering why he never made another move against you. I thought it was strange after your heated exchange with him in the shuttle bay. He was waiting until he could take you out of the race permanently.”
“That was my same thought, but I don’t understand how he got it on my engine. Both my brother and I were so careful to keep an eye on my ship.” Nayli shook her head, her purple hair swooshing around her shoulders.
“Those Daen’su can be sneaky and backhanded. It was him. Now, all we have to do is survive and hope for a rescue so we can bring him to justice.” Roeq growled. “Or until I can get my hands around his neck.” Roeq flexed his fingers his claws itching to be covered in the blood of his enemy. No one attempted to kill his mate and got away free. The Daen’su would either face his wrath or the justice system. He would make sure of that.
“I think we should let the authorities deal with him.” Nayli’s eyes had turned apprehensive as she watched his clenching fists.
“I can’t help but dream about killing him for what he could have done and did do.” Roeq strode over to her, reached out his hands and drew her up to her feet. “It could’ve been worse.”
“I could’ve died.” She filled in. “I know.”
Roeq crushed her to his chest as his heart stopped beating. Just thinking that she’d been an inch away from dying killed him a little inside. Having a mate was both a blessing and a curse. It was like having his heart outside of his chest, where he couldn’t always keep her safe.
“I’m not dead yet.” She said, her voice a bit muffled as she spoke against his suit.
“I just found my mate, and a Daen’su almost took you away from me.”
“Yeah… about that.” Nayli leaned her head back and stared him directly in the eyes. “I’m not so sure this, us, is such a good idea.”
Roeq released her and backed away as he shook his head. “What are you getting at?” His mood darkened once more. Whatever was about to come out of her mouth, he knew he wasn’t going to like.
“Well,” Nayli shrugged, “I just think this is a bit foolish.” She pointed between them.
“Please explain.” He was less than amused to have his mate telling him that they shouldn’t share a lifetime of happiness in each other’s arms.
“We’re competitors in the same race, Roeq. One of us will have to quit. Or animosity will grow between us. And not just for this race. Any race that we compete in… we will also be competing against each other. I’m just not sure it would work out to create a happy relationship.”
He shook his head. “We will work through it.” Because he refused to let their careers ruin their matehood.
“You can’t admit that racing isn’t in your blood. And it’s in mine as well,” she pointed to her chest with both of her hands, “so quitting is out of the question. I also know that our competitive sides will tear us apart.”
Roeq shook his head again. “We will learn how to deal with it.” His onyx eyes drilled into her.
“I don’t think so.” Nayli’s eyes pleaded with him to understand, but he just couldn’t. She was his mate. They were meant to be together, and he couldn’t even think about a life without her.
Nayli knew she was going to have a hard time convincing him this was a bad idea. But she thought she had some valid points. They both lived for the thrill of the race, and if they kept getting pitted against each other, she was sure they would slowly grow to hate each other.
“What if you continue to win races, and I keep coming in right behind you? You don’t think I’d learn to hate you?” She was a human after all, and she didn’t have this matehood driving her into his arms.
Roeq growled. His eyes went completely black as he stared directly at her. He took a step forward, and she took a step back. Fear had her heart thundering in her chest. One thing she shouldn’t be doing was telling a mated Krocosian he couldn’t have his mate, the thing he desired the most.
She took in his formidable form and those horns that wrapped around his head.
He seemed to give himself a mental shake and backed away from her, his eyes returning to their normal dark color.
“We have plenty of time before we need to worry about whether or not we should be together. Until we’re rescued, there’s no need to worry about anything.” Roeq stated trying to put an end to the uncomfortable discussion.
“You’re right.” She was agreeing because he really was right. She might be worried about them up in space racing against each other, but down here they just needed to survive until a rescue came for them. “What I need is a bath.” She muttered under her breath hoping to change the subject.
“A bath?”
She looked up at Roeq who had a smile plastered across his face. Well, it didn’t take him long to switch moods.
“Yeah, I could use a bath.”
“I think I have an idea.” He strode out of the cave, and she was quick to follow on his heels.
“Where are you going?” She called out eager to know why he’d been smirking like a crazy person.
“To find you a bath.”
“I don’t see this planet having any bathtubs around. Do you?”
“You don’t need a bathtub to take a bath.” He called over his shoulder as he continued to walk away from her.
“Ummm, I’m pretty sure you need a tub. That’s why they call it a bathtub.” But she still found herself following after him because even the hint of a promise of a bath sounded better than no bath.
Nayli followed him as he led her through the forest. She could hear the scurrying of alien animals as they fled out of their path. She didn’t even bother to take in the scenery around them as she kept up with Roeq’s quick pace.
Then she could hear it. First, it started with a bubbling, and then she could hear a roar of rushing water.
“Are you leading us to a river?” Nayli asked.
“You’ll see.”
She’d never bathed in a
river before. Talk about first experiences. She’d had an engine explode, someone tried to kill her, she’d wrecked on an alien, she’d sat by a wood fire, and now she might just take a bath in a river.
Roeq stopped and pushed a leafy branch back, exposing the most wonderful view to her eyes.
Right there in front of her was a fifteen-story waterfall. The white wall of water crashed into the large pool of water at its base with a roar that rivaled any spaceship engine.
“Wow.” Nayli took a few more steps forward. “That is impressive.”
“Come.” Roeq stepped up beside her, scooped up one of her hands in his, and then pulled her forward until they were standing at the edge of the pool.
“Should I strip down?” She ripped her eyes off the sight of the rushing water and looked over at Roeq.
He grinned. “If you plan on bathing, then I think that would be a yes.”
Slowly, she stripped off her boots, and then her suit. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this.” But she could feel a bit of excitement bubbling up under her skin. This was just another new experience she would be able to tell Liam about when she got back. Because she still hadn’t lost hope that they’d be rescued.
She took her first few steps onto the rocky beach, and a grin spread across her lips. Wiggling her toes, she dug them into the pebbles and some of the weight on her shoulders decreased. It’d been a long time since she’d gone anywhere that didn’t include a race.
“I almost feel like I’m on a long overdue vacation.” Nayli glanced over her shoulder to see Roeq had also stripped down.
“I may not have chosen to crash land here, but the tranquility is pleasant.” Roeq agreed as he joined her on the rocky beach around the pool of water.
“Much different from our day to day lives.” Maybe he would be able to convince her to go camping every once in a while, especially if the place they went camping was this beautiful.
“Would you like to dive off the small cliff over there?” Roeq pointed off to her left at a small cliff that was only about ten feet above the pool of water.