Big Bad Claws

by Michele Mills

  Lila made more Traq, cleaned a chair and settled down to teach herself how to create this fake account. She was determined, and she got it done. Then, when everything was finally set up, she received a final notification of a mandatory waiting period for confirmation. Shoot. She got up and went back into the kitchen, set the tablet down and drummed her fingers against the counter, frustrated at the slow progress.

  She glanced at the time. “Oh, Max the new bots are ready!” she yelled and ran back to the bot closet. Max followed. At least she had something else to keep her busy while she waited for that account to update.

  Time to get back to work on the miner’s compound. She programmed the new bots to go into the front room and give everything a deep clean. They instantly got to work, a silent army of shiny black bots leaving a trail of fresh smells in their wake. It was wonderful.

  She watched them, thinking about her own home. She lived in her parent’s dream house where they could always remain hidden from attacks by the Hurlians. But the thick walls hadn’t managed to save her from an almost-snatching in the streets of Singapore. Mom and Kevin had died in a freak vehicular accident. It was just her and Dad there, in the house that held so many memories. And Lila had stayed within it’s safe walls, rearranging every square inch so that Mom and Kevin’s life was boxed carefully or put on display.

  This was why Daniela had never liked the mansion. Lila grinned. She’d always felt bad about that, wondering if she should let go of the past and maybe offer to move out so her new stepmother could put her own stamp on the house. But now, not so much.

  She wandered around the front room and examined it from every angle, trying to decide what to do next. There was a whole team of bots at her beck and call.

  Hmm.

  This is what she used to do; she’d stand in rooms and soak in its purpose. Try and figure out how best to rearrange the furniture and belongings so it made sense and was usable. She wasn’t a designer by any means, but organizing rooms was something she’d always done, from a very young age. When she was a little girl, she’d kept her dolls and other toys perfectly displayed. Kevin’s room had been a total mess, but hers was always neat and tidy.

  But she knew that Xylan loved black and red. Red walls and black furniture were the hallmark of their design ethic. The office buildings, clothing and well, most everything on the mining colony were these two colors or a variation therein. Sometimes she’d seen hints of deep orange, greens or purples added for depth. The Xylan liked dark and elegant. She thought it all looked a little spooky, but she could live with it.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped at the side of her cheek with a finger, deep in thought. This place had good bones. There were old flecks of red paint on the dirty walls. The furniture’s black finish had faded into a chipped matte grey. The building possessed the hidden charm of an older dwelling and just needed some sprucing up to bring out it’s good points.

  The brothers liked to lounge here, play games and talk. This was where they joined together, in front of the enormous fireplace and rested after a long day’s work. At meal time they all ate in here while sitting in their individual seats or even on the dirty floor, with plates of food balanced on their laps. It was a messy affair. And this was silly considering there was plenty of space between the kitchen and the living area for a table.

  She walked over and used the tablet’s app to measure it out. Yeah, right here, a table that could seat eight and maybe even ten would easily fit. She glanced at the busy bots and crooked an eyebrow. They had the ability to craft furniture. These were cleaning and repair bots.

  Heh. But would that be too much? Would the brothers be annoyed if they came home to find a brand-new table in their midst? Maybe she should wait and discuss it with them first…Yeah, she should wait.

  Lila went back to focusing on getting the front room rearranged. After the bots finished their first round of work, she reprogrammed them to give the walls fresh red paint and to dispose of the old rickety chairs, the nicked and gouged Traq tables and replace everything with glossy new ebony furniture. New Xylan chairs, one for each brother. And one for herself too, because why not? At the very least they’d have an extra chair for company.

  After the bots got to work on their new task, Lila glanced down the long hallway and noticed something was off. Her brow furrowed and she stepped forward and counted the doors. And then counted them one more time. “Eight…” she muttered to herself. Why would there be eight doors when there were seven males living in this compound? Oh, because of Saxon. He’d lived here before he left to move in with Leah.

  She sucked in a breath.

  Zayzon told her there wasn’t anywhere else for her to sleep. But…

  She walked over to the end of the hall, across from Zayzon’s room and stared at the door she realized she’d never seen anyone walk out of. She’d been given a tour of the house early on, but they’d bypassed the hallway, with a vague sweep of the hand. “Those are my brother’s rooms.”

  She placed her palm on the locking mechanism of this mystery room and the door opened. The interior looked exactly like Zayzon’s, except it was empty of personal items. She stepped inside for a better view. There was a restroom and a bed without covers. The entire space was bare and dusty, but still perfectly ready for her to clean up and move into.

  “Oh!” Her blood boiled. She looked down at the little bot that had followed her inside. “Max, I could’ve been sleeping in here this whole time. He’s been tricking me. They’ve all been tricking me.”

  She picked up the bot and hugged it to her chest.

  And then she let out a huff of irritation and marched to the front room, avoiding the army of brand-new bots, and sat in Zayzon’s new chair, next to the fireplace that was big enough for a grown male to stand in. She put little Max down and tapped a restless foot on the floor, then glanced at the space that begged to be filled with a shiny new table and chairs set.

  “Fuck it,” she declared. “I’m doing it.”

  And then she stood and reprogrammed the bots.

  The crew returned after sunset—dirty, sweaty and hungry. And Lila was ready.

  Scar took of his helmet and tossed it to the ground. “What the hell did you do here?”

  “Why is there a table in the front room?” Trunk growled, like it was the most foreign object he’d ever seen in his life.

  “I…” she tried to answer.

  “Did we ask for this?” Heavy demanded.

  “No, we did not,” Chief replied with a harsh tone.

  Cannibal knocked chairs aside, rushing to the kitchen as if the entire domicile were on fire. “Where did you put everything?” he panted.

  “Cannibal,” she yelled after him, “I promised I wouldn’t touch your food and I didn’t. The bots just cleaned the area and left everything where it was.”

  “Bots?” Chief asked. “What bots?”

  She put her hands on her hips. “I went exploring while you were gone, opening and closing doors and discovered you guys have a closet of brand-new top-of-the-line bots.”

  “We do?”

  “Yeah, we do,” Scar grumbled. “Sulinda gave us ten bots when we got demoted to this residence.”

  “She did? When?”

  “Why didn’t I know about any of this?” Rook complained.

  “None of you know because I came home with them, shoved them in the closet and forgot about them. But now this human is using them.” Scar stared at her accusingly, his face a dark cloud of anger.

  Why would Scar hide the bots? And who was Sulinda? That name sounded familiar… And why were they all so angry over this gift she’d given them? She’d expected a bit of trepidation, but not this. “I knew how to program the bots because those are the same type I use back home,” she tried to explain. “You have cleaning and repair bots in your closet. Why not use them to upgrade the inside of your domicile? That’s what they’re for. You guys needed a table to eat at. It seemed logical to program them to build o
ne.”

  She stared at Zayzon, waiting to see his reaction. He was being strangely quiet. His eyes were on Scar.

  “Claws, your Bride has ruined our domicile,” Scar raged. He took a menacing step forward.

  And Zayzon let out a deafening roar. He reached out, caught Scar and slammed him against the wall with the force of ten warriors. Then he pinned his brother’s neck with one giant claw, high up enough off the ground so that the male’s boots were kicking in the air. Zayzon bared his fangs and got right in Scar’s face. “She’s mine and you will treat her with respect,” he bellowed, spittle flying from his mouth.

  Lila let out a squeak of terror. Oh jeez. Tears clogged her throat. Before she embarrassed herself, crying in front of everyone or blurting out things she’d later regret—she turned and fled down the hall and hid in the bedroom.

  12

  Thirty minutes later a fist pounded on the bedroom door. “Lila?”

  “Zayzon,” she sniffed, recognizing that voice anywhere. “I’m not in a good head space right now. It’s best if you just leave me alone.”

  Yes, she’d been grouchy and probably totally overreacting, but didn’t she have a right to be? Zayzon had lied to her about the extra room. And the rest of them were thankless males. She’d spent the entire day programming their bots, and getting this place reasonably cleaned up and organized for them and even gifted them with a new table, and they were mad?

  Also… her mind was filled with all that had happened in her life. Every tragedy she was living through and wasn’t over yet. The recent, and the not-so-recent.

  Dad was dead.

  Mom and Kevin were gone too.

  She had no one.

  Gerard, Ines, Roberto and everyone else at home, were all in danger.

  Daniela was a liar and a killer.

  And she was living with men who didn’t appreciate a damn thing she did for them.

  Tears tracked down her cheeks. If only she had her two cats with her to cuddle while she cried. And chocolate would be great. And some Hyrrokin wine.

  “I’m coming in. I need to know that you’re okay.”

  She blew out a breath and wiped at her snot and tears with the sleeve of her pajamas. Maybe she was being unreasonable and easily upset, but she had a lot going on.

  He came in and closed the door behind him. His eyes took her in, sitting cross-legged on his bed with a tear-swollen face.

  “Cannibal sent you dinner,” he offered.

  “Oh thanks.” She took the box and the utensils, grateful for the sustenance.

  “Eat this while I get cleaned up.”

  She nodded.

  She ate and watched Zayzon as he removed his heavy work gear and tools. He did this slow and steady and she examined his every motion, loving the simple movement of those powerful muscles. The sweep of his long braids as more and more of his body was exposed. The cut biceps, the trim hips, the impossibly wide shoulders and expanse of muscled back.

  Damn.

  Until finally a sexy miner with thick thighs was revealed, in all his naked glory. Face streaked with dirt, and his perfect chest gleaming with sweat. Her gaze moved down. His claws were so huge, and his…

  He winked and turned around. Then he strode into the restroom, giving her a perfect view of his bitable ass. She heard the rumble of the cleansing unit.

  Her lips twitched. Suddenly, she wasn’t nearly as upset as before.

  By the time she finished eating, Zayzon had come back out with a towel around his waist, giving her a great outline of his epic package. This man was mesmerizing.

  “I found out today you guys have a human sister-in-law,” she commented. “But when I met you none of you knew my language. Not even to just say hello or good morning.”

  He looked confused. “Why would we? She speaks Xylan like we do.”

  “Maybe she’d like it, and maybe I would like it too, if you learned a few words of our language.”

  “Heh.”

  “I really like Leah. She’s darling. And I found out you’re about to become an uncle.”

  Zayzon grinned. “Yes.”

  “I also found out that you used to tell everyone that you’d never mate a human.”

  He paused, then looked away, his ridges deeply furrowed.

  “It’s okay…”

  He shook his head and sat down next to her on the bed. “No, it’s not okay. I regret those words. I think I was convinced that my claws would hurt a human female.”

  She met his gaze. “And what do you think now?”

  “I can be gentle.”

  She frowned. “You’ll have to hold back and not be who you are. Maybe you’ll be disappointed.”

  He laid back fully onto the bed and pulled the covers over his hips. “Are you afraid of me, after what you saw me do today?”

  Lila lay next to him. “No, I was just startled. And thank you for standing up for me.”

  “I put your honor before mine. I told you I—”

  “I know, I know,” she cut him off. “…thank you. I’m sorry for everything that happened. I should’ve asked first before having the bots make the table. I’m just on edge because I’m worried about people I’ve left behind. I’ve been trying to keep it all inside, but I don’t know what’s going on back home and it’s driving me crazy.”

  “I wish you would tell me what’s wrong so I can help.”

  “I wish I could tell you too,” she cried. “And I thought I was helping you, but I guess not? No one here likes what I did.”

  He wrapped those large, powerful arms around her. “I like what you did,” he answered. “I thought the table was a good idea.”

  She rested her cheek against his wide chest. “But your brothers didn’t like it.”

  “They’ll come around. They’re already getting used to it. Some of them just don’t like change.”

  She nodded.

  “In fact, Scar is searching for your loved ones.”

  She lifted her head. “What? No. I told you guys to not look into my past. All that will happen is I will be found, and you will be in danger. I just need to hide out here. You’re helping me by letting me hide here. I thought I was helping you too, but that didn’t turn out as planned.”

  “You are my Bride, and their new sister-in-law. This is how they will connect with you. Not with words, but with their actions.”

  Her eyes started to drift closed. “Okay. Okay…”

  Lila woke hours later to the sound of Zayzon’s even breaths.

  He was asleep and she was growing ever more restless. She shifted, moving her legs, trying to get comfortable, but finding it impossible. His scent was a freaking aphrodisiac. How could she sleep when her nipples begged to be touched and sucked? When her clit throbbed, and she was wetter than wet?

  Of course he could sleep. He wasn’t hard. He couldn’t get hard until they clasped hands. He hated to wait, but it wasn’t a physical discomfort for him. But she was human and humans pleasure mated and now that she’d been spending all this free time with this naked male, she was losing her mind.

  This was exactly why she’d wanted her own room.

  Ugh. Too bad she didn’t have her vibrator. That rabbit vibrator was her trusty friend. She knew right where it was back home, in her nightstand next to her bed.

  She stared out the tiny window, and then at the night light, and even at the glow Zayzon’s crystal cast on the walls. For an hour. But found it impossible to go back to sleep, because her mind kept playing out scenario after scenario, all of which involved her mouth around Zayzon’s hard cock.

  One thing she’d never admitted to anyone, ever—she might look “sweet” and “virginal” on the outside, but this was the opposite from the truth. She’d been a shut in with zero boyfriends, so she was certain no one associated her with ‘sex.’ But inside she was a dirty, filthy girl with a wicked imagination, just waiting for the right man to help her act out her erotic dreams.

  She rolled around, trying to find a comfortable positio
n but it wasn’t happening. Maybe she could just um, quickly get herself off? She could take the edge off and finally get some rest. This sounded risky, but also a great idea. Maybe her only chance to ever fall asleep again.

  She glanced at Zayzon, double-checking he was still asleep.

  He let out another sharp snore.

  Yes, deeply asleep. Good. She rolled over, making sure her back was to him. Then she moved quietly, nervous that he’d awaken and catch her in the act. That would be awful! Her hand went cautiously down the front of her pajama pants, and then slipped under her panties and down into her slit.

  And she breathed a sigh of relief. Gods, she was so wet. Soaking wet and swollen and ready for cock. She moved her finger down, right next to her firm clit and gave it a few tentative strokes. Mmm. She spread her thighs a bit for better access, then she moved her other arm across her chest, into the neck of her shirt and pinched her nipple, rolling it in her fingertips. So good. If only it was Zayzon touching her…

  “What are you doing?”

  Oh no. She tensed and jerked her hands away.

  He sat up and inhaled deeply. “Lila…”

  She whimpered.

  He looked down and studied her position. “Are you pleasuring yourself?”

  “No…I…”

  “Tell me the truth.”

  “Okay, yes, dammit I was trying to get off. I can’t sleep so I thought this would help.”

  Zayzon fell back onto the bed and rolled to his side and draped a heavy arm over her waist. His gloved claw dropped right over the breast she’d formerly touched, pinning her other arm in place.

  “Let me help you so you can find relief. Tell me what you want me to do.”

  She blinked. “Uh, I don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do. Tell me.”

  “I…I…”

  His hand was so giant, engulfing the swell of her small tit. He adjusted his position and pinched her sensitive nipple. “Tell me,” he growled. “Was your hand here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you like this?”

  “Yes,” she panted.