by Keri Kruspe
Oh, Holy Goddess. The crap he had to deal with. D’zia still hadn’t gotten the answer he wanted. “Okay, let’s just say you’re right and you can command their system. Then what?”
“Easy, peasy. Why you wanna go and make everything so complicated? The best plans are always the simplest, you know.”
Was he overanalyzing this? Goddess knows, he had no other ideas and was afraid time was running out. No telling what that sadistic bastard had planned for his female. He had to get her out of there.
“All right, so how are we going to do this?” D’zia put the ocular lens away in the pouch inside the long leather coat he wore. He adjusted his disintegration blaster strapped to his waist. With the other hand, he fingered the long dagger at the top of his thigh. He’d taken advantage of the vast store of equipment and clothing Elemi could make. It was enough to make any enterprising Zerin dizzy with excitement.
Best of all was the sleeping chamber…the beautiful, wonderful sleeping chamber with a pad big enough for him to enjoy his Lora. He would use the space to immerse in her femininity, thrusting into her wet, hot sheath over and over…
Blinking, he shuddered to regain control. Maybe JR10 had a point that he was distracted. Concentrating, he tuned in to what the spybot was saying.
“…and that’s all there is to it,” JR10 finished.
D’zia pinched the bridge of his nose, embarrassed he had no idea what in the nine systems the little bot just said. “Um, could you repeat that?”
“Goddess save me from horny Zerin males,” JR10 grumbled.
Wait, how did he know what D’zia was thinking? Insufferable little cretin.
“Anyway, as I was saying, all you gotta do is sneak around like you’re planning on breaking in. Just go in like your normal, inept self and they’ll have to be total morons not to catch you.” The bot scurried up D’zia’s neck to settle in his hair again. “Did you get the plan this time, ace?”
D’zia couldn’t help rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I’m ready. How ‘bout you?”
The bot gave a loud “whoop” and yelled, “Hells to the yeah! Let’s do this!”
Chapter Seven
LORA
As far as cells went, the one Lora was in was comfortable enough. Though it was small, the absence of the crowd of eclectic aliens from the pirate’s “accommodations” was more than welcome, except for her friend Sherri, of course. The twin-size sleeping pad had a thick and comfortable surface, and the room boasted a small table and chair. Best if all, it had a bathing facility off to the side, nestled in an open alcove.
Even so, she didn’t like being in a room with no windows or a visible door. It reminded her of the place she woke up in when the Zerins had offered her a choice to go with them to meet the “alien of her dreams.” How ironic she ended up where she started.
She lay on the bed and was indulging in a steamy daydream about D’zia when JR11 piped up with an excited, breathless tone echoing in her head.
“Miss Lora! Wake up, Miss Lora!” The little bot scurried out of her hair to bounce on top of Lora’s chest, her multi-colored eyes glittering in the low light.
“W’za?” Lora mumbled, groggy from her self-induced sexual coma. “You okay? What’s going on?” Her eyes widened as JR11’s dainty purple body did a happy wiggle.
“They’re here! They’re here!”
When the only sound out of the bot was a happy buzz, Lora lifted on her elbows to see the android better. “Who’s here?”
“Our mates! They’ve come to get us!” The twitter song coming out of JR11 was beautiful in its simplicity.
Lora’s stomach lurched and her breath hitched. D’zia was here? How was that possible? She scooped up the arthropod bot to bring her up to eye level. “You mean D’zia and JR10 are here? On FiPan?”
“No, Miss Lora.” Her little body hummed in excitement. “I mean they are here in this building, coming our way.”
“Really?” Her body tensed in excitement. She stood and with careful hands put JR11 back on the bed. “Are they okay?” She sprinted to the bathroom to splash water on her face and comb nervous fingers through her snarled hair. She smoothed down the wrinkled, dirty jumpsuit she wore. Her face flushed at the bra and panties she’d taken off earlier to rinse out, hung on the edge of the sink. Great, she was naked under her clothes. A vision of greeting D’zia without clothes took over and it was hard to shake off.
No…bad Lora. No jumping the sexy Zerin the minute you see him. No doubt he had their escape all planned and sex wasn’t on the menu. Too bad her body wasn’t listening. Her nipples beaded into hard points and her pussy plumped and wept in complete anticipation.
“Uh-oh,” JR11 whispered. “I don’t think we’re going anywhere just yet….”
Before her secret companion finished her sentence, she leaped from the middle of the bed to jump on Lora’s shoulder. Her little legs scuttled into her preferred place at the nape of Lora’s neck. She burrowed into a nest of Lora’s hair as if she needed to hide in the thick strands.
As JR11 settled, Lora jerked in surprise as the doorway to the room opened. She tried to get used to doors opening and closing without a sound since it caught her off-guard every time it happened. Would it kill them to put in some whooshing sound or something? Sheesh.
“Stand back, human.” One of the homely Erkek guards brandished the control to her pain collar with a gleeful smirk.
Her eyes widened, not at the threat of pain, but at what he and his companion roughly carried between them by the armpits. At first, she couldn’t make out who it was since his bowed head covered his face with long, golden-brown hair. His legs and the tips of his exposed toes dragged on the hard floor and his bare torso was coated in bruises and blood-filled gashes.
With a sneer of disgust, the two Erkeks threw the limp person at her feet. He flopped on his stomach, liquid in unconsciousness. One guard gave a swift kick to the prone man before they both left with a sneer on their lipless green mouths. The door solidified behind them.
“D’zia?” Lora went to her knees to turn him over.
Seeing his beautiful face battered and beaten caused her eyes to swim with tears. She hardly recognized him. Taking in a deep breath, she filled her lungs with his scent. The calming flavor of his black licorice smothered in spicy ylang-ylang was a welcome reprieve after the recycled air in the cell.
She ripped a section of the small covering on her cot to make a rag to clean him. His right eye was swollen and his bottom lip was split. Blood oozed from both ears and she wiped it away with gentle strokes. His beloved face soon became as clean as she could make it.
She went into the bathroom to rinse the rag before she sat beside him. Too bad she didn’t have any antibacterial gel. She’d hate for him to get an infection. Of course she was lucky to have the small rag, considering where she was.
When she scooted closer to examine his bare chest, her eyes blurred. With a soft touch, she caressed and cleaned his iridescent, tanned skin. She admired the hills and valleys of his impressive torso while weeping over the various bruises and cuts. Despite being beaten, he was exquisite. Sniffling, she refused to stop until he was clean.
“Are you okay, Miss Lora?” JR11 asked in her quiet way.
“No, I’m not okay.” She sobbed. “Look what they did to him.” She wiped the wetness from her face with the back of her hand. “Where is JR10? Is he okay?”
The silver arthropod poked his head out of the curtain of D’zia’s loose hair at the top of his head. “I’m okay.”
Lora swore there was a bite of shame coloring his tone.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. All they had to do was catch him, throw him in a cell and then we’d all escape. I can’t believe how badly they beat him.”
Lora gave the bot a listless smile at the remorse in his voice. “Why did they do this?” she whispered as she moved to D’zia’s scratched and bloody feet. The tips of his toes were the worst, missing several layers of skin and nail. The assholes had dragg
ed him across the floor, scraping his bare toes. With tender care, she massaged and cleaned each digit along with the pads of his feet.
JR10 jumped from D’zia to land on the sleeping pad.
JR11 left her safe haven on Lora to join him.
In unison, they cocked their heads and watched her with their multifaceted, colorful eyes.
Lora cleaned and caressed her TrueBond’s body with exquisite care. She didn’t like his head on the hard floor, so she dragged the thin pillow off the sleeping pad to put under him. When his body was as comfortable as she could make it, she put her hands on her hips as she eyed his tattered trousers that clung on his slim hips like dirty, bloody rags.
Yep, those had to go. There was a long, deep scratch starting at his dark right nipple; it worked its way across his torso before it disappeared under the waistband. She bent and studied the pants, trying to figure out how to unfasten them. She ran her hands around his slim hips, making sure she ignored the “v” leading to his groin. How nice, his body came with its own directional arrow pointing her to his buried treasure. Her whimsy made her smile.
Aha! There was a seam on the right, so she gave a slight tug that dislodged the fabric as it opened to below his hipbone. She performed the same function on the left side. With his pants open, she wiggled them off without a hitch. Lora kept an eye on D’zia’s damaged toes to make sure she didn’t scrape the fabric over them. She didn’t want to start them bleeding all over again.
Once freed, she tossed the pants on the bed and examined the damage to his lower body. She ran back and forth from the bathroom to rinse out the rag and finished washing him off. The deep scratch went down farther. It was a good thing the pants stopped the majority of the trauma. Examining his dark, pearlescent skin, she found no other blood or scratches that needed attention.
As she cleaned him, he didn’t stir. Without the shallow movement of his chest, she might have worried he wasn’t alive. Having done all she could to clean his wounds, Lora sat back on her heels and became spellbound by his rich masculinity. If there was ever any doubt she was supposed to be with him, it vanished. He’d earned her respect and admiration…not to mention her love.
She ran her fingers over his forehead and down his cheek. His loose hair fanned behind his head. Admiring his tawny, thick hair, she reached over to run her hands through the strands. As soon as she touched him, a section of his tresses wrapped around her wrist in a thick rope before letting go and laying around his shoulders.
Squeaking in shock, Lora plopped on her bottom in surprise. “What the hell?”
“Zerins’ hair is like an extra limb for them,” JR10 supplied. “While they don’t control it, per se, it is autonomous. The only part a Zerin actually grooms is the warrior braid you see at his right temple. They earn that when they’ve completed the ascension training to mark their passage into adulthood.”
“Wow.” Lora reached over to run her fingers through the silky, caramel strands. “I sure wish I didn’t have to mess with my hair.” She pushed back the snarled blonde mess over her shoulder. The chuckle from both bots caught her by surprise.
“Girlfriend, are you in for a surprise!” JR10 predicted.
“What do you mean?”
JR11 took over the conversation. “When you complete the TrueBond process with him, parts of you will merge and take on Zerin characteristics. This includes some of his natural abilities, like enhanced senses and your hair becoming autonomous like his.” She paused for a second before adding, “And let’s not forget about the MalDerVon scroll appearing on both of you.”
Lora’s eyes widened as she considered her male. “I’d forgotten he told me all that. Will it hurt?”
Now JR10’s laughter was bigger than he was. “Oh…you’re so cute.” JR11 twittered with him. “Of course it won’t hurt. In fact, I’m told all organics loooovvvveee it.”
She reached over to smooth the glossy, umber hair. Its cream highlights threaded throughout made the tresses a sensual feast. As she continued to stroke her fingers through his hair, his thin warrior braid wrapped itself around her hand she had resting on his pecs. It startled her at first, and she halfway expected him to be awake. He wasn’t, but his facial muscles relaxed as if her touch soothed him.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” At least, she hoped she wasn’t. She continued her physical exploration. She trailed her fingers down his temple as she admired his strong, masculine features. His eyebrows, the same rich umber shade of his hair, were a male’s thickness without being bushy. His sable eyelashes were lush, a double row of fullness that framed his almond-shaped eyes while his nose sloped down a straight line, ending in a slight peak at the end.
His cheeks and jawline were covered by a sexy, scruffy stubble, leaving the small cleft in his chin darker at the indentation. Best of all, the facial hair outlined the temptation of his full lips. The top protruded in a slight pout over the firm mound of the bottom. His mouth was slightly open, revealing the ends of his straight white, pointy eyeteeth.
“Does he drink blood?” She traced the outline of his soft lips with the tip of her finger. She wanted to lean in and place her own mouth on his as if she was the prince and he was her sleeping beauty.
“Well, aren’t you a weirdo?” JR10 huffed. “Why you would ask such a ridiculous question is beyond me.”
JR11 gave a high, short feminine tweet.
“What?” JR10 responded to whatever JR11 said. “I did not!” The little spider-bot crawled closer to the end of the bed. “Did I hurt your feelings or something?”
Lora shook her head and tried not to smile. The little guy must drive D’zia crazy. “No, but you still didn’t answer the question.”
JR10 snorted. “No, he doesn’t drink blood. Normally.” He scooted back to sit beside JR11. Both folded their legs underneath their small bodies. “But I’ll tell him you asked.”
She couldn’t help it; she giggled. “Tattletale.” Dipping her hand across his chin, she fingered his Adam’s apple. Wasn’t it strange he had this in common with a human man? Leaving the fascinating landscape of his face and throat, she focused on his elegant, pointed ears. Yeah, she was a sucker for the whole pixie, elf-pointy ear thing. She traced the warmth of the outer shell and admired the sloping tip. When she stroked him there, he surprised her by inhaling a sharp breath and letting it out. She pulled away. He didn’t wake up, but hey, his cock had become semi-erect. He took another deep breath and then his member deflated. Her face heated at the memory of what happened when she’d touched him there before. Well, crap. She’d better put off the exploration of his ears for now.
Bad Lora…no molesting unconscious, hurt man. Freakin’ hussy.
She scooted to continue her exploration of her sexy alien, moving down his torso. When she’d moved, D’zia’s warrior braid unraveled itself from her wrist to lay prone at the top of his shoulder. Freed from the silken rope, she placed both of her palms on his chest. With soothing, rubbing motions across his pectoral muscles, she massaged his shoulders and down his arms.
The light reflective sheen on the deep tan of his skin had her mesmerized as she watched her hand touching his. He had the right amount of muscles, firm ropey bands on his upper arms and biceps that tapered down to his strong forearms and large hands. She caressed the thumb and three fingers before taking his hand to place a light kiss on his knuckles before putting his warm palm on her cheek.
Oh man, was she ever a goner. Enveloped by his musky male scent, she was completely infatuated. She closed her eyes and moved closer. She’d give anything to drape over his wide chest and burrow into it. He’d be her own personal La-Z-Boy.
How long she sat there, holding his palm to her cheek, she couldn’t say.
When he took in a deep, quivering breath, it brought Lora out of her musings. With a sheepish grin, she placed his hand back on his stomach as she continued her explorations. His dark chest, even with the scratches and purple bruising, was a thing of
beauty. His torso was longer than a human’s, but his six-pack was an enticing playground she couldn’t wait to frolic in. Using both palms, she caressed and fingered the hills and valleys of his magnificent chest and belly. Her forefingers traced that enticing “v-cut” she’d never seen in person before.
As she massaged him, she noticed a strange thing; oils bloomed out of his pores. Swiping her fingers across his shiny chest, she brought them up to her nose. The spicy, black licorice and ylang-ylang scent were the strongest here. She flicked her tongue out for a taste. Her mouth exploded in spicy ecstasy as she sucked in a breath.
Holy shamoka! What was that?
She must have spoken aloud because JR10 answered her. “When Zerins mate, their bodies secrete an oil they pass between them. It solidifies the TrueBond process over and over. I suggest you stop doing that until he’s awake. Someone might think you’re a pervert, molesting an unconscious male.”
Lora stuck her tongue out at the bossy bot and ignored him. She continued the sensual exploration of her mate. She checked to see if he was still out before she studied his impressive cock. Instead of pubic hair, he had a light and fluffy nest of tawny down.
Changing her focus, she studied his flaccid penis. Her fingers twitched to touch. Too bad JR10’s warning about her being a pervert rang in her head. Gaining control of her dwindling dignity was hard to do, especially in front of witnesses. Lora not only wanted to touch him, she was dying to discover what he tasted like. Salty as a human or a different flavor like aliens in the books she’d read? She leaned in and closed her eyes as she inhaled, hoping that would satisfy her curiosity. Instead, she got a profound dose of his signature scent overlaid with the pure muskiness of a healthy male.