by Alyse Anders
Fuck. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“There’s a strong possibility it might tear the pod apart.”
Lena’s heartbeat surged once more. “What? No!”
Another violent shudder had her slammed back against the wall. Rykal wrapped his body around hers, the evidence of his arousal still there and now pressed against her hip. “If we die, at least it will be together.”
“Dying? I’m not planning on dying.”
The escape pod dropped fast as the running lights blinked out. Rykal chuckled. “I’m not either. Hold on.”
Lena did and for once in her life, said a prayer to the universe that she’d get out of this alive.
Mostly so she could kill Rykal.
Chapter Four
The impact could have been a lot worse than it turned out to be. Rykal had been able to link his mind with the escape pod controls and took control of the navigation system, steering them to land in the ocean. He managed to bounce them across the water with his nanosecond changes to the thrusters, like a skipping stone until they lost enough velocity to come to a stop. This made their landing far safer than their original trajectory, with a touchdown location in the western desert. Both locations were far away from Cimacha, the main city where his kind had made their home, which meant they’d need to make their way to the closest observation post and contact someone to come rescue them.
This would give him time to be with Lena, to make her understand that she was now his and he was hers. He could feel the confusion of her thoughts, the mix of anger, fear and lust that comprised her current emotional state. She was still recovering from having been in cryogenic sleep for he didn’t know how long, which meant she was still weaker than she would normally be. She’d quickly find her strength once more, and he’d be able to show her how good he could make things for her on Zarlan. It would only be a matter of time before she’d come to accept her new reality and the new life he’d be able to offer her.
Aidric would no doubt try to stop him, unwilling to understand that Rykal and his people deserved happiness after all they’d sacrificed for their planet. He’d make his brother recognize that all of the Fallen needed to have something in their lives that went beyond waiting for the next fight, or keeping their enemies safely locked up in the prison at the southern pole. If Aidric didn’t, Rykal knew he wouldn’t be able to stop the uprising of the Fallen against the Grus; a battle that would benefit no one.
Lena had lost consciousness when the escape pod hit the upper atmosphere, requiring him to keep her secure while they plummeted down. It was disconcerting being able to feel her slip away, knowing that this tangle of emotions and impressions was coming from her. How he’d become connected with a woman who wasn’t of his kind and who’s home planet he’d never heard of was a mystery he’d solve at a later time.
The shuttle pitched sharply to the side, as the computer alarm sounded. “Warning. Escape pod buoyancy controls damaged. Submersion imminent. Warning.”
Frak.
“Lena? You must wake up.” He caressed the side of her face, but there was no sign of her returning consciousness. “Lena?”
The pod pitched and bobbed as the waves sloshed over the top of them. Rykal knew it would only be a matter of time before they’d start to sink below the surface. He needed to get Lena out of the pod and to the shore quickly.
The escape hatch hissed open once he sent the release protocol with his mind, giving him the extra space he needed to climb out. With effort, he reached down and gently pulled Lena’s unconscious body up and over his shoulder as the buoyancy of the pod sunk dangerously low. Lena moaned and he could feel her start to wake up. He dropped to a squat and shifted her so she was now in his arms. Her lips parted and she let out a soft sigh when he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Wake up.”
She opened her eyes, blinking rapidly before squinting. “You didn’t kill me.”
“I did not. You’re safe and I need you to be with me so we can swim to shore.”
“Swim?” She pushed away from him and looked around. “That’s a lot of water.”
“We’re not far from land, which is good because our pod is sinking.” As if on cue, the escape pod bobbed lower as a wave slashed over them. “We need to swim to shore and we can get help from there.”
“Right. Yeah, that seems like a good idea.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “We do have a small problem in that I don’t know how to swim.”
Rykal nodded. “I’ll carry you then.”
“I’d always wanted to learn how, but most of the water on Earth isn’t exactly safe for us to submerge our bodies in. Not since the wars.”
As much as he wanted to learn all he could about her and her people, they didn’t have time to linger. “Jump on my back and don’t let go. I’ll get us to shore.” He could see that she wasn’t exactly certain what to do, so he turned around and squatted. “Up.”
“I’m not a child.” She leaned forward and pressed her body hard against his before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Is this okay, or am I hurting you?”
“Hold on.” He stood, pleasantly pleased with the squeal of surprise that erupted from her and jumped into the ocean.
Water covered his face and head, as Lena’s hands dug into his throat hard. With a few kicks he got them to the surface where she sucked in a huge gasp of air. “Asshole.”
He then took a breath, put his face in the water and began to swim as quickly as he could to shore. He needed to slow his oxygen exchange conversion down to nearly nothing so he could keep his head beneath the surface and make it easier for Lena to stay above water. The temperature was cold, and he could feel her shivering as he cut through the waves. After several long minutes, he finally made it to shallow water and they were able to walk the rest of the way to shore, where Lena fell in a heap on the hard sand.
“How are you not exhausted? Or dead because I didn’t see you take a single breath.” Her breath came out in gasps as she shivered hard. “Shit, you don’t even have a shirt on. Aren’t you freezing?”
“My cybernetics regulate my body and effect any necessary repairs to my biological systems.”
She nodded. “I’d assumed you were a cyborg, or at least an enhanced version of your people. How much of you is artificial?”
Her space suit was dripping wet and her red hair plastered against her face as wet rivulets of water trickled down her neck. He ran a weather scan, noting that the temperature would drop within the next hour. There was also a stormfront off to the west that would cause them harm if they didn’t seek shelter quickly.
“A stormfront is approaching. We need to get to the communications outpost before that hits.”
She frowned. “Are you ignoring my question?”
“No. I will answer it and everything else once we’ve reached shelter.” Not waiting for her to respond, he reached down and pulled her up. “Can you walk?”
“Stop that. I’m perfectly capable.” She yanked her arm away and glared at him. “I don’t know why you think you’re in control of me, but you’re not. I didn’t ask to have my ship pulled into your space station, nor did I ask for you to kidnap me and bring me down to this planet. I need to get back to my passengers to make sure they’re safe.”
“Aidric will ensure no harm comes to your people. They will be safe and looked after.” His life was the one that might be in jeopardy. “You can express your displeasure with me as we walk toward that outpost in the distance. If we move quickly, we should get there just ahead of the storm.”
Lena threw her hands up in the air, but turned and marched in the direction he’d indicated. While she might be a stubborn woman, she certainly wasn’t foolish; something Rykal appreciated.
They walked in silence, even though he was able to feel her mixed emotions bleeding off her. Confusion and anger would shift to concern and back again with every few passing minutes. What he couldn’t detect was the arousal and attraction toward himself that had been there when they’d f
irst entered the escape pod. He wanted those feelings to return, wanted to have the warmth they generated back in her mind so they washed over him and eased the coldness that had long existed inside his core.
He wanted to feel her naked body against his, to understand what made her feel pleasure and pain, what made her emotions sing with joy. He wanted to mark and consume her so no one else ever came near her and tried to take her from him.
Rykal wanted Lena forever.
But even with the oppressive need for her spiking inside him, his underlying safety protocols had snapped into place. Survival took precedent; getting her to shelter where nothing and no one would be able to get to her was paramount. Then and only then would he let his guard down and give in to his baser desires.
The wind was blowing hard from the south, which sent Lena’s hair whipping around her face like a firebrand. She’d wrapped her arms around her chest, and was still visibly shaking. “How much longer before we get to this place?”
“Another twenty minutes at this pace.”
She began to walk faster. “I hope there are blankets and a heater. I’m not sure what kind of diseases your people have on this planet, but the last thing I want to get is a cold after having been stuck in cryo sleep for over half a century.”
“I promise you there are no airborne bacteria you should be concerned with. The Sholle obliterated nearly all lifeforms on the planet when they attacked us.”
“The Sholle?” She shook her head. “I’m going to hold you to the history lesson once we’re safe.”
It didn’t take long for the wind to get so strong it became impossible for them to converse at all. Lena struggled to maintain her pace, and Rykal had to help keep her moving forward. The outpost was close enough now that he was able to connect his cyber link to the computer, turn on the heat, and send out a distress beacon. His second in command Darrick would no doubt be the first one to pickup the signal and send a shuttle the moment he could. The timing would most likely be delayed due to the storms, so they would be stuck together in the shelter for some time.
“How much farther?” Lena’s words were consumed by the roaring winds.
Rykal lowered his face and pressed his mouth to her ear. “A hundred paces.”
He felt her nod, even as her legs began to buckle under the strain. Being this close to her made it easy for him to pick up on her mood, to feel the waves of determination flowing from her in the face of adversity. This woman had more focus than most of the Grus he’d fought with during the war; she had a sense of purpose that was normally born out of strife. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her the last few paces to the shelter, where they waited for the system to scan them before opening the doors to safety.
The moment the doors slid closed and the screaming wind was locked out behind them, Rykal released Lena and let her move away from him. Her relief was obvious on her face, but so was the realization that they were now completely alone and stuck in a building together.
“This is cozy.” She looked around the room, her gaze not resting on any one thing for very long. “Will your people be able to find us?”
“I’ve already sent out an alert. The moment they can send a shuttle through the storm they will.”
She stopped moving, and slowly turned to face him. Her red hair had come completely unbound and hung in tangled waves across her shoulders and down her back. Her cheeks were flushed red and her bright hazel eyes relayed an intelligence he wanted to get to know. Then she shivered, a full body tremble that launched him into action.
“You’re wet.” He crossed the room in two paces and began to pull at her space suit. “You need to take this off so we can dry you and get you warm.”
“I’m fine.” She stepped away, shivering again. “I just need a blanket or something.”
The urge to protect her, to warm her with his own body was nearly too much for his controls to handle. Nothing in the world was as important to him as her health and safety. Nothing more valuable than knowing she was happy and cared for.
He wanted to strip her naked and worship every inch of her body. To fit thoughts of her into the empty places in his mind knowing they would perfectly fill the gaps. His body surged with lust, the need to taste and touch her, to consume everything about her until the universe knew that she was his and no one else’s.
“Rykal?”
Looking up at her, he realized that he’d lost awareness of what was going on around him. His body shook nearly as much as hers, though the reasons for his reaction were different. “You need to take the clothing off and get warm. You need to.”
She cocked her head to the side and nodded. “You’re worried that something is going to happen to me?”
Was that what this was? Worry? He’d never had concern for anyone since his transformation into a cyborg. Possibly not even before. “You need to get warm and stay safe.”
“Okay.” She turned her back to him and slowly began to peel the wet layers from her body, letting them fall to the floor with a sucking-slop. “Can you get me the blanket that you mentioned?”
Yes. The blanket will help her, will get her warm.
He knew where it was, knew where everything was in these shelters. They were standard buildings designed to offer protection to any cyborg who might require aid. The Grus never came to Zarlan’s surface any longer, but his people still ensured the shelters had the items necessary for the Grus as well.
Some habits were hard to break.
Rykal grabbed the blanket as well as some food rations and brought them back to a now naked and shivering Lena. “Thank you.” She took the blanket and covered her body easily due to its size.
Still, he knew it would take more. He wanted more.
Lena’s face was still flushed, but he could tell from the bio readings coming off her that it was no longer from the wind; this was an internal reaction. She licked her lips. “Do you need to dry off too?”
The cold and wet would do nothing to his biological systems; there was little that could hurt him outside of a blaster shot to the head or sinking to the bottom of the ocean. But his body betrayed him – the desire to be naked and press his flesh against hers was overwhelming. He said nothing, but with purposeful motions, pulled his wet clothing off until he stood naked before her.
“They’ll dry faster this way.” Yet he made no move to pick the clothing up and deposit them someplace where that would happen.
His cock was hard and stood like a brand between them. His rondella, the sensitive patch of flesh on his inner thigh that helped prepare his body to mate, filled with blood in the first time since his rebirth. Rykal didn’t know if they were sexually compatible – sex wasn’t a thing he’d even considered since his cybernetic conversion – but based on the look she was giving him they must not be too different in that regard.
He reached down and grabbed his cock in his hand, giving it a stroke. “I want to mate with you.”
She shivered again. “I can see that.”
Rykal took a step closer. “You’re mine. I knew you were out there in space; I could feel your presence. You’re meant for me and I you.”
Lena’s eyes widened. “I…shit. I’ve just fled a planet where women aren’t exactly respected for their independence. I’ve been in cryo sleep for over half a century, woke up to find my ship captured by an alien tractor beam, and then kidnapped by a cyborg. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here.”
Her gaze moved from his cock to the glowing cybernetic implants that had been inserted into his body. He stepped closer, knowing she wanted to touch them but was too afraid to ask. “They don’t hurt.”
“That’s amazing. We have cybernetic enhanced people on Earth, but it’s not as sophisticated as these.” Her fingers slid out from beneath the blanket and she traced a path around where the circuitry met skin. “They’re warm.”
He could feel that her fingers were still cold, the circulation not fully reaching her extremities. “They can warm you.”
The look in her eyes changed from curiosity to desire. “How is it possible that we’re from different planets light years away and physically compatible?”
“I’ve given everything to my people, it’s only fair that the universe has given me something in return.” What little restraint he had remaining was about to snap. “I’m going to claim you now. I’m going to make you mine.”
She hesitated for a moment, before flattening her hand on his naked chest. “Yes.”
Rykal took her head between his hands and kissed her.
Chapter Five
The moment Rykal’s mouth claimed hers, Lena knew she was done for. She didn’t understand the how’s or why’s of what this thing between them was, but she knew this was now inevitable. Her body was primed in a way she hadn’t felt in ages before leaving Earth; her pussy wet and her nipples hard. She wanted to feel his long, thick cock slide into her body just to see the heights of pleasure he’d be able to take her to.
Kissing her the way he was, holding her face with such reverence and desire, she knew their lovemaking would be nothing short of explosive.
She wanted him now.
Lena let the blanket fall to the floor and stepped against Rykal’s large frame. His cock was trapped between their bodies, hard and leaking from his need, a promise of the joy that was to come. “You’re so big.”
He shoved his hand in her hair and tugged her head back until her throat was fully exposed to him. There was just enough pain to send a jolt of pleasure through her body that made her tremble. Lowering his mouth, he licked and kissed her much the same way he’d done on the escape pod, but now there was nothing to stop him from devouring her the way she knew he wanted. The point between her neck and shoulder became a focal point for him, and he lowered his mouth to the spot and with a growl bit down.
“Fuck!” It hurt, but she could tell he hadn’t broken the skin. “Rykal?”