by Leslie Chase
23
Carrie
In some ways it was worse now that Delkor was awake. Before, I spent my off-duty time sitting at his bedside and watching him, being there for him in case he woke.
Once he woke, though, Jen wouldn’t let me be alone with him. For two days she kept me away whenever she wasn’t there to chaperone us. What did she think we’d do, fuck right there in the sickbay?
Yep. That’s exactly what she thinks, and it’s not like she’s wrong. I couldn’t help smiling at the thought as I stood my watch on the bridge, keeping an eye out for any more trouble to cross our path as we slung our way back to the station. In the cold vastness of interplanetary space the odds of running into another ship by chance were low, but not low enough to safely ignore.
I didn’t waste the time, using it to plot more courses, update our paperwork, estimate repair costs… the repair bill would bankrupt the Ladies’ Choice if we weren’t careful, but the accidental salvage of high-value Imperial tech that Syrcen’s thugs had brought aboard ought to pay for that and give us some operating capital to work with.
Assuming we found a new partner to sell to, that was. I sighed, drumming my fingers on the console and wishing we were close enough to make some calls. That would have to wait, though — the light speed delay of twenty-odd minutes made communication too frustrating, leaving aside the energy cost of broadcasting that distance.
Something brushed my ankle, then my calf, and I shrieked and sat straight up. Strong arms circled me from behind, one a deep blue, the other silvery metal, and Delkor’s lips brushed the back of my neck.
“You might have warned me,” I said, heart hammering and not just from the shock. “I nearly died there.”
I tried to make my rebuke sound stern, but I couldn’t keep myself from melting back against him as his tail wound further up my leg, his arms squeezed me, his teeth gently nipped my neck. A small groan escaped me and he chuckled, the warm, deep sound vibrating through me.
“Where would be the fun in that, beloved?” he said, hands teasing through my clothing, making me squirm. “I’m healed enough for your medic’s purposes, and I wanted to surprise you.”
“To give me a heart attack, more like it,” I muttered, caressing his arms, enjoying the strange, alien texture and the smooth warm metal. Delkor’s muscles were like steel under his skin, but when I gently dug my nails in, he groaned back at me. Twin hearts beat strong and steady against my back.
And his tail wound ever higher up my leg, the tip caressing my inner thigh. My breath caught and I bit my lip, trembling softly. Suddenly my spreadsheets didn’t seem as important.
“You’re, uh, recovered then?” I asked. His answer was to bite my shoulder, hard enough to make me squirm and pant. God damn, I wanted this man.
“We can’t,” I moaned, trying to pull out of his grip. Futile, obviously. Delkor’s grip was too strong for me to escape, even if I’d wanted to.
Which I didn’t, not really. But my duty kept intruding, as much as I wanted to shrug it off. “I’m the captain, I’m on watch, I can’t leave the ship unattended.”
It’ll be fine, a traitorous voice whispered in the back of my mind. You never meet anyone mid-journey, what are the odds someone’ll turn up in the next two hours?
As much as I wanted to believe that, I didn’t want to trust it. We’d had so much bad luck lately… the one time I left the bridge empty we’d certainly run into an asteroid or pirates or something.
Delkor’s deep chuckle didn’t sound at all discouraged, and his tail wound up, up. The tip vibrated softly, just enough to remind me what it could do. I swallowed, trying to keep my resolve, but Delkor didn’t stop there. One hand slid into my top, claws tenderly teasing my breasts, and I shuddered in his arms.
“You don’t understand,” Delkor whispered into my ear. “I will have you, my mate. I have waited too long as it is.”
“… the ship…” I struggled to make a coherent protest. Delkor bit my ear gently, driving thought from my mind for a moment.
“It will be fine,” he promised me, and I couldn’t doubt him. But he explained anyway. “Perhaps you don’t realize that your crew care for you, want you to be happy? Jen and Lily will split the rest of your watch.”
“You planned this with them?” For a moment, outrage overcame desire. Delkor laughed, lifting me with ease and walking towards the bridge door.
“Of course. I would not risk anything interrupting us, beloved, and neither would they. All of them want you to be happy.”
Hands squeezed just right, and my reply vanished into a low moan. I blushed, worried that the rest of the crew would hear, or worse, see me like this. To my relief, the corridor was empty and Delkor carried me down it to my cabin.
The door slid open at our approach, and he carried me over the threshold, ducking to avoid banging his head.
I’d always wanted a man to carry me across the threshold, but that had been the fantasy of a beautiful wedding, a lovely house, a sweet and polite dream. This was nothing like it — primal, animalistic, wild. Delkor’s tail gripped my leg, probed at me, while one hand caressed my breasts and the other supported me.
Despite the differences this was my dream coming true, even better than I’d imagined it. More forceful and demanding than I’d ever admitted to myself that I needed.
The cabin lights came on low as we entered. Behind us, the door slid shut, and Delkor’s low growl made me shiver.
Now he had me alone, in his power, able to do anything he wanted to me without fear of interruption. I longed to find out what he had in mind.
Roughly pulling my top open, he turned me to face him and kissed me hard, his tongue driving into my mouth. I threw my arms around him, pulling myself into his kiss, as he held me one handed.
His free hand and tail pulled at my clothing, stripping me in quick, strong, impatient movements. Where clothing resisted, he tore it free or cut it with his tail.
The flush spread across my body, my naked body, as he bared my skin. When he set me down, my ruined clothes scattered around us, the massive bulge in his pants made it clear how glad he was to see me like this.
How much he needed me.
I looked him up and down, taking in again how lucky I was. My Caibar warrior’s eyes blazed at me from his strong, rough face. His sharp teeth bared, he smiled a predator’s grin at me. A smile that made me want to run away — and for him to catch me.
Powerful shoulders, muscular arms, one metal with mechanisms showing through the damaged surface, the other flesh and blood. Long-fingered hands that could play my body like an instrument.
His torso, fresh wounds faded to scars that only made him hotter. A six pack any bodybuilder would kill for. And then down to the huge bulge in his tight leather pants which clung to the powerful muscles of his legs.
How did I ever land this man? I still couldn’t quite believe it, even though I knew Delkor felt the same about me. That I drove such a magnificent man mad with lust and love would never fail to astound me.
With a small flick of his tail, he beckoned me toward him, and I didn’t need any urging. My hands found the fastening of his pants, pulling them open and freeing his cock. Another thing I’d never get used to — an iron-hard rod of pure lust, ridged and textured as though made for my pleasure.
I ran my fingers along its length, feeling it twitch, and Delkor growled. The sound made me shiver all over again, and his hands stroking and caressing my back didn’t help. My whole body craved him, as much as he wanted me or more.
Irresistible strength pushed me down to my knees, and I went with it willingly. Delkor’s hands stroked through my hair as I teased his cock, and then lent forward to taste it. Kiss it. Lick it.
A thrumming vibration went through it, and as I gasped, he pressed his cock to my open mouth. I opened wide, taking him with difficulty, moaning hungrily around him.
His hands on my head held me steady, and his tail ran down my back. A slow, delicious caress, across the sm
all of my back and over my ass. Delkor thrust into my mouth as his tail slid between my legs and my body shuddered at the strange sensation.
“Naughty girl, you’re soaking,” Delkor growled above me as his tail parted the folds of my pussy.
Mouth full of his throbbing cock, all I could say in answer was a moaned MMM as my hands stroked the base of his beautiful cock. That groan turned into a gasp as he pushed his tail into me. Our bodies rocked together, the vibrations in my mouth getting stronger, more intense, and the tip of his tail mirroring it.
It was the most incredible feeling, and it sent wave after wave of pleasure through me. I didn’t have the self-control to manage them, and before I knew it, I was at the edge of a powerful orgasm. Looking up, I met my mate’s eyes and we gazed into each other’s souls as I came, hard.
With gentle pressure he lifted my head, his cock sliding from my mouth, letting me suck in air to gasp and cry out his name. Bent to pick me up, cradling me against him as I came back to him.
“Oh fuck you’re amazing,” I whispered.
“I have not yet begun to show you amazing,” he said with a grin, and I laughed between panting for breath.
“Don’t, I’m not sure I’ll survive more than that,” I told him, blood rushing to my cheeks. “Oh, but what a way to go!”
His laughter boomed loud in the small cabin, and he lowered me to the bed. I whimpered as he ran a finger down my body, claw extended, scratching just hard enough for me to feel it.
“I will never harm you, my mate,” he told me firmly, tail pulling my legs apart. “You will survive, I promise you.”
That cruel, wonderful finger slid between my legs, claw retracting as he pressed on my clit. My body arched as I cried out, overwhelmed by pleasure. Rubbing in small circles, he overwhelmed me with sensation, made me thrash on the small bed.
I grabbed for him, tried to pull him to me, my body filled with fresh need for him as he brought me to the brink… and held me there.
“Please, god, please,” I begged, pulling at him. I might as well have pulled on a mountain — Delkor wouldn’t move until he chose.
His tail whipped around my arms, pulled them up over my head. A whimper escaped my throat and my cheeks burned, a flush spreading down my neck and across my breasts.
When he lifted his hand, I groaned and arched, trying to keep contact. He laughed again. “Greedy.”
My only answer was a desperate moan. Forming words was too much to ask of me, my brain melted in a sea of lust and desire and overwhelming need.
Still pinning my wrists with his tail, he lifted my hips in his hands, turning and positioning me on the edge of the bed. I watched, eyes wide, as he stepped between my legs.
The head of his cock — his amazing, wonderful, ridged cock — pressed against my pussy, soft vibrations running through it. I bit my lip, the thrumming pushing me to the edge again.
I locked my legs around his waist, pulling futilely at him, trying to drive myself against him. But no. His tail held me tight by the wrists, stopping me pulling myself onto that delicious, tempting, wonderful cock.
“Please,” I begged again. Delkor looked into my eyes, his own sparkling mischievously.
“Please, what?”
“Fuck…” I moaned, taking a shuddering breath. The head of his vibrating cock teased at my entrance and I couldn’t hold out. “Please, Delkor, fuck me. I need you. I need you inside me.”
I don’t know how long I’d have babbled on for, what I’d have said, if Delkor hadn’t decided that was enough. His thrust drove him deep into me, my legs gripping tight as he pounded me into my mattress.
The sensation was beyond anything I’d experienced. God, that monster cock of his filled me perfectly, and I felt every one of the ridges sliding into me. Stretching me, he thrust hard again and again, each time a little deeper, a little harder.
Strong hands held my hips down, a powerful tail pinned my wrists. Helpless under him, I writhed and moaned, pressing myself to him, wanting ever more of him inside me, completing me.
Delkor bent over me, sharp teeth nipping at my skin, along my neck, across my breasts. Pulse racing, I arched my back and offered myself to him. Not that I had to — he possessed me in every meaningful way already.
Inside me, he swelled. His breathing sped up, and I felt the odd double pulse as his hearts raced. Both of us were near the limits of what we could take.
He lowered his mouth to mine, a powerful kiss to match the powerful pounding that rammed me into the bed. When he broke the kiss, I lunged up, biting down hard on his shoulder.
Delkor roared, losing all control of himself. His tail released my arms, lashing out behind him, and I grabbed him, fingers sinking into the skin of his back.
His own hands squeezed tighter, almost painfully, as he thrust even deeper into me, the wild and passionate pounding sending an immense wave of pleasure through my body. I bit down again, my cries of pleasure muffled by his shoulder as the world exploded in a kaleidoscopic display of light and joy and love.
Delkor lost control in the same moment, stiffening and shooting load after load of hot cum into me. The sensation of it filling me drove me from one orgasm to the next, until my head was about to explode from pleasure.
When at last I came back to myself, my eyes fluttered open to see Delkor, smiling at me while he gently stroked my hair. The beautiful contradiction of my alien lover: terrifying in battle, rough in bed, and yet so sweet and caring. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect mix.
24
Delkor
There is no joy in the universe, I decided, to rival the sight of my mate’s smile, relaxed and happy and sated.
Even the pleasure we’d shared paled compared to the way her happiness lit up my hearts. I kissed Carrie tenderly, then allowed myself to sink to the floor beside the bed. Jen had been right, my recovery wasn’t complete. The exertion brought an ache to my overworked muscles.
I need exercise; surely this counts? I chuckled at the idea of explaining that to the ship’s medic. No, better keep that to myself.
“What’s so funny?” Carrie asked, slipping from her bed to sit beside me on the cold metal decking.
That wouldn’t do. I lifted her gently onto my lap, letting her snuggle into me as I wound my tail protectively around her.
“Nothing important,” I said, but she poked me in the shoulder and I relented, telling her my thoughts.
Carrie laughed with me, looking up at the ceiling and shaking her head. “No, I don’t think she’d appreciate that. Or approve. But… um, we are going to get you lots of ‘exercise’ anyway, right?”
Another delightful flush rose on her pale cheeks, and I grinned. Running a hand down her flank, I nodded.
“I need to recover, yes. Thank you for helping my rehabilitation.”
That got a delightful little giggle from my mate, and a tight hug. “The sacrifices I’ll make for you.”
We sat like that for a long time, I don’t know how long. Embracing, holding each other tight, and drifting in the peace that only comes when all is right in the universe.
Eventually, Carrie kissed my neck and leaned back, looking pensive.
“So, what now?” she asked. “I mean, obviously you’ve proven yourself to the crew if you want to stay on. No one will argue with that, but you have your own mission to consider.”
Holding her close, I frowned. I hadn’t thought about the future much, being too concerned with surviving the present to worry about what would happen when we made it through.
“I joined your crew for my own reasons, and without telling you,” I reminded her. “Will your crew trust me after that? They know I was there for the Archive.”
Carrie made an exasperated noise, punching me in the arm for emphasis.
“You blew up the Archive to save us. Gave up your dream of going home to save us. To save me.” Her voice was firm. “So yes, you had ulterior motives for coming on this trip. But damn it, Delkor, none of us will hold it against you whe
n you proved your priorities like that.”
Her voice was firm, her embrace powerful, and the look she gave me made it clear: there would be no argument. Now I saw the fierce captain of a spaceship and knew again how lucky I was to have her. My human was formidable by any measure, as formidable as she was beautiful, clever, and sexy.
“Very well,” I said, accepting her argument. “But that mission, finding my way to Home, isn’t over. There are other Archives out there: I know one was on Flower of the Empire, and there may be other wrecks with one aboard.”
That second was a slim hope, given how rare and valuable the Archives were. And as for the first, Flower of the Empire was now Inferno, a planet burning eternally. Even if the Archive survived, recovering it would take a miracle.
I pushed my doubts aside, running my fingers through Carrie’s hair. One miracle already found me when I needed it; perhaps another would come.
“What happens if you find your way Home?” Carrie asked, cutting to the heart of the matter. “I mean, what happens to us?”
She hid her nerves well, but I saw the worry in her eyes and wished I had a better answer for her. “I do not know, beloved. But one thing is clear to me — I won’t do anything to hurt you. Perhaps we will both go to my homeworld. Or perhaps I will pass the information on to any other Caibar survivors so they can return and find mates of their own. Whatever we do, we will do it together as bonded mates.”
Her eyes cleared and she held me tight. “That’s good enough for me. As long as we’re together.”
“Always,” I promised, kissing her. “And any decision about that may be years away. In the meantime, there is something else I must do.”
“Oh? More secret stuff?”
“No more secrets, not from you,” I assured my beloved. “I was not alone aboard the Golden Duke Lyian. My pack’s stasis pods may remain sealed like mine did — otherwise they’d surely have found me by now.”