Tiana calmed when Abby neared, but it wasn’t until Abby actually touched her that she would take the bottle. Abby ended up sitting on Hrebec’s lap while he cradled both of them and fed the baby. Tiana’s eyes darted back and forth between their faces before she finally relaxed and began feeding with her usual enthusiasm. Hrebec wrapped his tail around them and Tiana’s tiny one curled over it as she sucked.
“I like this,” Hrebec said, his deep voice rumbling through her. “It’s like we’re a family.”
She turned her head enough to see the wistful look on his face.
“It’s just an illusion. Families don’t last anyways,” she said, but an unexpected longing softened her usual bitterness on the subject.
“Why would you say that?”
“Experience?” She shrugged, and the movement disturbed Tiana, who shot her a worried look. “Shh, sweetheart. It’s okay.” She stroked the baby’s cheek and waited until she settled before she continued. “I suppose because my father left us when I was a young girl. He was bored with my mother. He did the same thing to his second wife after having a daughter with her, too.”
“Your father left his mate? Left you?” Hrebec kept his voice low, but she could still hear his anger. “And left another child?”
“Yes. My half-sister, Lucinda. We didn’t know about her for many years.” She still remembered how shocked and excited she’d been to find out that she had a sister. Unfortunately, they had never developed a bond. She sighed. “I was lucky. My mother was a strong woman. She pulled herself together and worked hard to make sure I had everything I needed. Lucinda’s mother fell apart after our father left and just drifted from man to man. I don’t think they were nice men, and that’s probably why Lucinda ran away. She didn’t come to us and we couldn’t find her either. Eventually, social services called me because they found Lucie.”
Hrebec frowned. “Your sister took your child?”
“Oh, no. Lucinda gave birth to Lucie but she was involved with a very bad man, a drug dealer. I think she managed to stay off drugs while she was pregnant because Lucie is perfect, but as soon as she gave birth, she was back on them. She died from an overdose and I adopted Lucie.”
“So she is not your daughter?”
“She is absolutely my daughter,” she said indignantly.
“I did not mean to offend you. I just meant that you were not the one who birthed the child. Perhaps that is why you were able to bond with Tiana so easily—because you know that you don’t have to give birth to be a mother.”
“God, you understand that so easily. John couldn’t seem to grasp it. He didn’t understand why I didn’t put her up for adoption, or at the very least hire a nanny to care for her.”
“John?”
“My former partner. He only stuck around for a few months before he decided that having a baby around was too much trouble.”
Hrebec growled. “I do not understand your Earth males. A child is a precious gift.”
“They should be,” she agreed. “But too many people are more interested in the pleasure of the act than the possible consequences.”
“As I told you, a Cire isn’t fertile unless he knots inside the female. And he will not knot unless he feels the possibility of a mating bond with her.” His face was grave. “I feel that way for you, Abigail.”
“I-I don’t know what to say.” She found the idea unexpectedly appealing, but it was impossible. Wasn’t it? Yes, of course it was. She had a responsibility to her girls and she couldn’t abandon them now. “I wish our circumstances were different.”
He bowed his head but didn’t speak.
In an attempt to change the subject, she brought up something she had noticed over the past few days. “Why is the majority of your crew so young?”
“It is… difficult to live on Ciresia. So many places were burned to the ground in a futile effort to contain the plague.” His voice dropped. “Or because there was no other way to take care of those who died.”
He gazed over her head, his eyes haunted, and Abby put a gentle hand on his arm as she waited for him to continue.
“Most of the remaining population has gathered in three smaller cities, each of them centered around a reproduction lab,” he said at last. “I worked there for many years.”
“You were a doctor?”
“No. I have some medical training, but I ran the lab. I monitored the projects, collated the data, made the reports. Year after year of failure.” He shook his head again. “But you weren’t asking about me.”
“I want to know about you too.”
“There isn’t much to tell,” he said bitterly. “No matter what I did, no matter what experts I recruited, what supplies I wrangled, what new experiments we tried, nothing helped. I spent most of my life there, following in my father’s footsteps. When he died, I just couldn’t do it anymore. The Confederated Planets are desperate for assistance. I commissioned a ship and was accepted into their volunteer fleet.”
“Which leads us back to your crew,” she prompted him.
He nodded gravely. “As I said, Ciresia is not a happy place. Even in the research cities, there are areas which have been burnt, abandoned. There is an overall air of… despair. For those few, like Ribel, who survived, they are young, energetic. They do not want to live out their lives in a mausoleum. When they found out I was leaving, they sought to accompany me and I could not turn them down.”
“I’m surprised that a planet so desperate to repopulate would let them go.”
He snorted. “There was a great deal of debate about it. In the end, I just took them and left.”
“Does that mean you’re in trouble with your government?”
He shrugged one massive shoulder. “They were not happy but they accepted it.” He studied his hands. “Ironic, isn’t it? Even the generation we created no longer wants to live on Ciresia. It’s like a corpse that’s still moving, not even aware that it’s dead.”
“You, um, don’t look like an administrator,” she said, trying not to stare at his impressive array of muscles.
“We were a warrior race. When I was young, the Red Death had not yet affected us to its full extent. I was trained as a warrior. The young men who survived were given the same opportunity.”
What a complex man. She looked down at Tiana, cradled in one of those massive arms, and wondered what was going to happen to her. The baby had closed her eyes, even though her cheeks still moved, occasionally suckling.
“I think she’s had enough. You need to burp her now.”
She showed him how to burp the baby, then walked him through changing her bandage diaper and dressing her again. Tiana’s eyes had closed again by the time he finished.
When Abby suggested he put Tiana in the bassinet, he frowned at the clear storage container. “I do not like this. It reminds me too much of the incubators. I would rather sleep with her on my chest.”
“Are you going to bed now?” She raised an eyebrow.
“That was not my intention.”
“Then put her down for now. You can get her again later.”
“Very well.”
He put the baby in the bassinet and carried it into the bedroom. Abby followed him to check on her other daughter. Lucie lay motionless on the bed, sleeping as deeply as always with one hand flung over her head and her body twisted sideways. Abby straightened her gently, checked the monitor bracelet, and then went to join Hrebec, closing the door behind her.
Chapter Seventeen
Hrebec stood by his desk, pouring a glass of the strange liquor. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you.”
Tonight, she wanted to keep all of her wits about her. She suspected that it would be all too easy to succumb to her desire for Hrebec. Her pussy gave a responsive pulse at the thought of that massive nubbed cock sliding deep inside her empty sheath.
His head lifted and he turned to her. “You are aroused.”
“How do you know?”
“Y
our scent. It is somehow sweeter.”
Her cheeks heated but she didn’t look away. Now that he had mentioned it, she noticed his as well. His usual lemony scent had taken on a deeper, almost musky note that seemed to heighten her own arousal. “You smell pretty good too. Does that mean you are aroused?”
“I am always aroused when you are around,” he said, stepping towards her. This close, she had to tilt her head back to study his face, and the renewed awareness of his size and strength spurred her increasing desire. “But I’m surprised that you are aware of it as well. I thought that it was a Cire trait.”
“Humans have a sense of smell too, you know.”
Distracted by his closeness, she tugged at his shirt until it came free from his waistband. She slipped her fingers underneath, relishing all that warm, hard muscle and the intriguing texture of his jade skin. With an impatient growl, he yanked it off, giving her free access to his wonderful body.
“Yes, but scent bonding usually only occurs—” He broke off abruptly as she slid one of her hands around to his back and starting exploring his tail. “What are you doing?”
“Touching your tail. Is that all right?” She couldn’t get her hand around it, but she gave an experimental squeeze to the part she could reach.
He groaned. “Yes, that is most… pleasant.”
“Pleasant? That’s the best you can do? I must not be doing something right.”
She stepped close, close enough that her arms could circle his narrow waist, close enough that her breasts pressed against his body. Now that both hands could reach, she used them to caress his tail in long, alternate strokes. His cock was a rock hard bar against her stomach and she could feel it jump with her movements, her nightgown growing damp with his precum. She lowered herself so that it could slide up between her breasts.
“Abigail!”
“Yes, Hrebec?”
“I am about to waste my seed.”
“I don’t consider it a waste.”
She tightened her grip on his tail and used her arms to squeeze her breasts around his cock. His hands went to her back, holding her there as he began to thrust upward with his hips, the rapid movements fueling her own excitement. Her nipples were aching points, the texture of his skin an arousing massage as she rubbed against him. More moisture seeped from his cock, turning her nightgown translucent and letting her feel every inch of hard flesh as it moved between her breasts. She clamped down on his tail and let her nails dig in, just a little, but it was enough for him to give a low cry and erupt. His cock flexed against her as his seed shot forth, covering her upper body.
He had barely finished coming before he lifted her higher and started kissing her frantically, taking her mouth with a demanding urgency that left her dazed and clinging to him when he finally raised his head.
“I can’t control myself around you,” he said. He ran a finger down between her breasts to where his semen had soaked her gown and her skin. “This pleases me more than it should.”
“I suspect that goes both ways.” She shook her head as he carried her over to the couch. “I’m more attracted to you than I’ve ever been to another man.”
He growled softly. “Do not talk to me of other men. May I remove this?”
“Might as well. It’s kind of damp now. I guess I need to have Cassie help me make some other nightgowns.”
“You do not need to conceal your beauty.” He pulled the gown over her head, leaving her naked on his lap. She might have felt embarrassed if he weren’t so obviously pleased. His fingers went back to her breasts, stroking the still damp skin. “I enjoy the scent of my seed on you.”
The soft scrape of his fingers across the sensitive flesh made it difficult to concentrate on his words. “You mentioned scent bonding earlier. What does that mean? Is your sense of smell that strong?”
“I don’t believe so, but—” His hand stilled. “There is a historical tale. A beautiful princess was sought by a warlord from a distant land. He sent his men to capture her and bring her to him. It was a long journey, and along the way, she fell in love with one of her guards. When she was brought before the warlord, she refused him and told him that her heart was already given. In his anger, he had her blinded. He then told her she could have her lover if she could identify him without sight or sound. He paraded his men before her, each one blindfolded and gagged. A hundred men went by, then a thousand, then finally, the princess cried out. She had found her lover. Without sight, without sound.”
“By scent?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to the princess and her lover?”
“The warlord let them go and they made their way back to the princess’s land, where she eventually became queen and ruled for many years.”
“I love that story.” She smiled up at him. “Lucie would love it too. Except perhaps the princess should be blindfolded instead, just to be on the safe side.”
His hand had stilled while he told the story, and she brought it over to cover her breast. He stroked a thumb across her nipple, but he still looked thoughtful.
“How did your females choose which garments to use to make their clothes today?”
“Really? That’s what you’re thinking about now?” A little annoyed, she started to pull away, but his hand tightened, sending a wave of pleasure straight to her aching pussy.
“Please, Abigail. This is important.”
His dark eyes were intent on her face so she tried to think back. “Everything was stacked on the table, remember? The girls just went through them and picked out what they wanted.”
“Did they smell them?”
“No—” A sudden memory made her hesitate. Molly had been reluctantly picking through the pile when she’d stopped and pulled out a shirt. Had she held it to her face? “Actually, I’m not sure. I think Molly might have. I know she held it up to her face.” She sat up in his lap. “You aren’t thinking of that story, are you? Molly is human, not Cire.”
“And yet she chose something that had belonged to Ribel. He believes her to be his mate.”
“Then he can unbelieve it. I told you she’s too young.”
“I relayed that to him,” he said soothingly, but then he frowned. “He said he was willing to wait, no matter how long it took for her to come of age.”
“He’s young. He’ll get over it. They both will.” She tried for a dismissive tone, despite her own concerns about Molly.
“Perhaps. Did you know that we rescued another group of females previously?”
“Oh?” A distinct pang of jealousy hit her. Had Hrebec been involved with one of them?
“Yes. They were Villae. Tiny little things. Quite beautiful.” He must have felt her instinctive withdrawal, because he pulled her closer and gave her a quick kiss. “Of course, none of them were as beautiful as you. My point was that Ribel was fascinated by them, but they were all the same to him. He never fixated on one the way he has with Molly. And he would never have waited for one.”
“But she’s going back to Earth.”
“And he will have lost his mate.”
She wondered if the desolation in his voice was entirely about his ensign. There was an ache in her own heart that she preferred not to think about.
Forcing a smile to her lips, she reached up and ran her fingers along that strong jaw. “Maybe we should stop worrying about them. At least for tonight.”
He almost visibly pushed away his concerns and smiled down at her. “I am a fool. I have a beautiful female in my arms—I should be paying attention to her.”
“Yes, you should.” She reached down and stroked the nub-covered tail that had curved around her waist. “Should we try some more forbidden things?”
A very long, pleasurable time later, Hrebec carried his sleeping woman to bed. He had made her climax twice, first with his tongue and then with his tail, before he allowed himself to succumb to her wicked hands and spill his seed onto the pale curve of her stomach. Their scents mingled in a heady mix that had
his cock in a state of constant aching hardness. He suspected it would remain that way unless he ever had the ecstasy of being inside her.
As he went to put her down, her eyes fluttered open. “I need to put some clothes on.”
“Why? You look most delightful this way.”
“Thank you. But I need to be prepared in case one of the girls wakes up and needs me.”
“Very well. Stay here.”
He left her on the bed and went to his locker, pulling out an old shirt, soft with age. She looked at it, then at him, finally shaking her head and raising her arms so he could drop it over her head. As expected, it was much too large for her small body, but he still felt an immense satisfaction at seeing her in his clothing.
“You really like seeing me in your clothes, don’t you?” she said with a smile and a quick stroke of his once again aching erection. Before he could respond, she removed her hand. “Now you put something on too. Just in case.”
By the time he returned, her eyes were closed. He pulled Lucie’s feet away from Abigail’s stomach, then took Tiana out of the horrible container and placed her on his chest. She blinked drowsy dark eyes at him and went back to sleep. Gazing at her, he turned over the events of the day in his head until he finally decided on a course of action. Satisfied, he went happily to sleep.
Unfortunately, he did not remain asleep for long. The sound of Lucie moaning penetrated his slumber.
“Mama, I don’t feel good,” she said pitifully, just before she spewed a foul liquid over half the bed.
He managed to keep Tiana out of the way, but his side and pants were soaked.
“What’s wrong?” he asked Abigail frantically. “Shall I send for Mekoi?”
He was halfway to the message panel before the calm reasonableness of her voice stopped him. “Just wait a minute. What’s the matter, baby?”
“My tummy hurts,” Lucie said, sounding close to tears.
His heart pounded. “The medic—”
“Calm down, Hrebec. What did she eat for dinner?”
Mama and the Alien Warrior Page 10