Dragon's Mate: A Scifi Alien Romance (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book 2)

by Miranda Martin

  I have no other options. It has to work. First I need to get her out of the restrictive clothing she is wearing. The cloth covering her chest has shiny fasteners that run down the middle. Pulling on them they don't give but as I do I notice that the cloth opens up slightly like there is a tiny hole. I lean in close and study what I'm seeing and realize that the shiny piece slides through a gap in the fabric. It takes a few attempts to figure it out but I glean that it's actually quite simple. The shiny piece is turned to the side then it slides through the hole. Once I've managed the first one the others follow quickly.

  Her skin under the cloth has a nice yellow tint to it instead of the angry red of her exposed skin. This confirms my belief she is too hot and needs to be cooled. The exposed skin is trying to exchange heat with the air but failing. Below her neck are two mounds of flesh that are covered by more cloth that is white. Hooking my fingers under it I pull up but it stretches and then slips off my fingers slapping against her flesh.

  Strange. I don't know what kind of material this is. It's soft yet stretchy. I grab it again and pull, keeping a firmer grip this time. The mounds of flesh fall up as they are freed from the restraints of the cloth but it reaches a limit and won't go any further. There are bands that wrap around behind her. I don't see any fasteners or way for it to connect on the front even after I carefully inspect it. Gently I put it back into place. I will deal with it in a bit.

  The pants she wears are tight fitting and hug her waist. There is another shiny round piece at the front below her stomach. It's easy to see that it works the same as the cloth that covered her chest and I unfasten it without trouble. When I pull down to separate the fastener a piece of metal comes into view. It looks like teeth that interlock with each other and as I pull down on the sides they release their grip one to another and an odd metallic sound emerges. This loosens her pants enough that I'm able to grab them and pull them down off her legs.

  A musky scent fills the air and I'm extremely aroused. Her legs are smooth without a scale in sight. My thumbs drag along the soft skin of them as I remove her pants and my cock becomes so tight I almost burst. I have to look away and focus on the danger we're both in to calm myself. Her pants hang up on the protective wear she has on her feet so I turn my attention to them.

  They're made from the hide of some animal but not one I've ever seen. Brown and dull in color with an odd texture. A thick string criss-crosses down the top section which rises up onto her ankles. The bottoms are a harder material with ridges cut into it. Helpful looking for getting traction but probably not of much use in the sand. Tracing the strings they meet at the top and are tied into a knot. Finding this it doesn't take long for me to loosen them and slide them off of her feet.

  Her pants come off easily once the protective gear is out of the way and she is mostly nude. Heat flows and exchanges best at the extremities and there are still small pieces of cloth on her feet so those are next to be removed. Her feet are shocking once they're fully revealed. They're dainty, small, and have no scales. They end in five individual toes instead of three like my own and there are no claws. Thin membranes of what might once have been bone claws cover the tops of the tips but they are short, not sharp, and a bright red color that contrasts sharply with the dull red of the sand. I raise one up close to my eyes and inspect it. Strange and oddly enticing.

  She moans and shifts so I put her foot back down and return to my task at hand. Letting myself be distracted by interest and desire is not acceptable. I'm stronger than that and must remain focused on what matters. Save her life first. The stretchy cloth still covers her chest and another small bit is around her middle but for my purposes she is fine. Lying down next to her I pull her body close to mine, placing an arm and a leg over the top of her and angling myself so I rest mostly over her body.

  My body exchanges heat well. I'm built for the temperatures here and she is not. Pressing against her my body absorbs her heat, sucking it out of her and then filtering it through my own system. Her skin is soft. Too soft, too enticing, my thoughts cloud with desire resting against her. It's been too long since… no, I will not go back there. Some memories the bijass can keep. I don't want to recall them.

  My head rests on top of hers. The scent of it fills my nostrils and involuntarily my cock grows erect again. My erection presses against her leg and the urge to consummate with her is almost overwhelming. Gritting my teeth I resist the desires but my hands drift along her soft skin. My finger tips tingle as they pass along her leg, up across her hips and stop at the protected mounds on her chest. She moans and shifts closer to me.

  Stop.

  I force myself to quit touching her, quit moving, and focus my thoughts on my purpose. She is beautiful and highly erotic, arousing me in ways that I can barely contain but I'm not a monster. I will not force myself on her and she's unconscious. Besides, I don't deserve to have her in that way. I'm saving her, that's it. Feelings more than thoughts, concepts with no tie to specific moments push through the fog of the bijass and remind me that I'm not worthy. I've done terrible things.

  Her temperature is dropping and as it does her breathing eases. She shifts on to her side pressing close against me and I feel sure that she's now sleeping. Her body is recovering. I've saved her. Good, perhaps this is a start on my path to redemption. Her backside with its soft, so soft luscious mounds presses hard against my groin. My erect penis presses in between the soft globes and if I was to slide it past the clothes I wear I would enter her. I won't, no matter how much I want to.

  I lay awake protecting her through the night. In the morning we'll continue the journey to home.

  5 JOLIE

  My head isn't hurting as much as usual. That's nice, so much better than when I normally wake up. I lie still enjoying the freedom from pain before opening my eyes. The bed is unusually comfortable as well. Maybe I'll sleep a while longer. Shifting I pull the blanket up then stop. Something is weird, the blanket is too… furry? I crack one eye open to figure that out still hoping to go back to sleep.

  Is it still night? The light is dim, like it's late evening or early in the morning. My room is only this dark during those times. The blanket over me isn't mine. What the hell is this? Fear freezes me in place for an instant gripping my stomach in a tight knot and sending chills racing through my limbs. Opening both eyes I look around without moving.

  A furry blanket is on top of me and I'm lying on more furs. The wall next to me looks like it's made of stone, not the smooth metal and glass of my room. I'm lying on my side facing a stone wall that is illuminated with a soft orange glow from somewhere behind me. My heart pounds like a jackhammer in my chest and it's all I can do to keep myself from hyperventilating. Dim memories of being carried and bouncing emerge from the clutches of my mind. Wasn't that a dream? Am I dreaming now? That has to be it. One of those lucid dreams where you know you're dreaming and it all seems too real, right?

  I make a very slow roll over to my back listening for any sound of disturbance at my movement. Now I'm staring at a ceiling that is maybe four feet over me. It's also plain rock with shadows dancing from the illumination source. Nothing happens, no sounds to clue me in and no idea how I got here. Rolling on to my side I'm face to face with a thin curtain. I can see a room on the other side of it that seems to be filled with things.

  What do I do now? Okay Jolie what options do you have? One, lay here and wait. Wait for what? No clue. Okay that's not a great idea. Option two I climb out of here ready to face anything and everything. Well that at least has the temptation of being in motion. Lying here waiting just doesn't work for me and if whatever or whoever brought me here wanted to hurt me it isn't going to do any good to lie here until it happens.

  Moving my body aches and I remember the guster. One of them hit me and I was flying then a Zmaj showed up except it wasn't Ladon! The memory of the Zmaj hits like a thunder stroke. A different Zmaj! Of course, well good, right? Ladon is cool so this guy is probably a nice guy too right? I mean he saved
me and that is pretty much a re-creation of how Calista and Ladon met. So, so far so good.

  Feelings of relief relax the knots of fear and tension in my stomach and muscles. I lie still a moment longer letting my muscles relax and as fear passes a low level of horniness floods in behind it. Great, I'm horny. Just what I need as a distraction. Okay, push that aside cause right now I need to meet this new Zmaj and figure out where the hell we are. And my friends will be worried. I need to get back to the city and let them know I'm okay. Looking back at it, leaving without telling someone what I was doing ranks in the top ten dumbest things I've ever done. If I had though they would have stopped me so that's a catch twenty-two if there ever was one.

  Oh well. I'm here and hey I'm about to meet a new alien. So take the win and lets roll with it. Swinging my legs off the edge of the makeshift bed, my bruised muscles cry out in discomfort and a groan escapes my lips. Something scrapes outside the curtain as I drop my legs underneath the edge of it. I'm reaching for the curtain to pull it aside when it's jerked open and I'm inches away from my rescuer and I yelp.

  I don't mean to. It slips out mostly because I'm startled and he's so big and so in my space without warning. His eyes widen and he hisses in response. Tilting his head to one side he leans down so that we're eye to eye. His eyes are fascinating, almost a turquoise color that is gorgeous and deep like a rich, sweet pool of water. His scales are different than Ladon's having a blue hue to them and the edges are a bright, rich, almost fluorescent green. The wings on his back rustle with a soft leathery sound.

  "Hi!" I exclaim, raising a hand in greeting.

  He says something. Of course I don't speak Zmaj so I have no clue what it is. I'm going to assume he's saying something like 'hi' back to me. It could be 'I want to eat you for dinner' but who wants to start a first meeting out on that note? We stare at each other for what starts to feel like forever. I'm waiting for him to move or say something and maybe he's waiting for the same. Either way I decide to take the bull by the horns.

  "So," I say. "What's a sexy alien man like you doing in a place like this?"

  I smile my best and most friendly smile and push myself forward. My feet barely touch the ground when I'm completely on the edge of the bed. He moves back enough that I'm able to slide the rest of the way out and stand. He towers over me but I'm used to that. Most everyone is taller than me.

  The room looks like a converted cave that has been outfitted with at least the rudiments of comfort. Shelves line the stone walls filled with objects and a handful of what look like books. The floor is covered with dark brown furs that I recognize as coming from the bivo herds. On some of the cabinets are small bowls with a floating flame in them that is the source of illumination. A table is to the left and behind the Zmaj with two chairs. Several metal objects lie on it as well as some cloths and uh, goop?

  I push past the Zmaj and walk over to one of the shelves. I pick up what looks like a tiny skull and look it over. The thing still has nasty looking fangs and looks like it might have come from a snake. The next piece I grab is metal, cylindrical in shape, with a diamond shaped end on one side and the other is a flat bottom. Turning it over in my hands I examine it but can't figure out any rhyme or reason to what it might be or do.

  "This looks nifty, what is it?" I ask over my shoulder.

  He watches me still standing where I left him. Smiling I wave the stick thing in his direction but he doesn't respond.

  "Not the talkative type?" I ask. "That's okay, I'll talk for both of us."

  He's big and imposing. Also there's something about him that excites the low level of desire I woke up with causing it to pull at my attention. To push thoughts like that aside I put all my attention on the objects in front of me. Suddenly it hits me and I look down at myself and realize I'm not wearing my clothes. The clothes I have on are loose, flowing, and definitely not what I was wearing when the guster attacked. Looking from them to him my skin burns hot knowing that he had to change them and that means he's seen me naked. Embarrassment burns while jealousy stabs in behind it because I'd really like to see his massive, well muscled and colorful body too. Only fair right?

  "Uh, clothes?" I ask holding up a piece of the flowing cloth and pointing at it.

  He shrugs then nods his head. Okay then. This language barrier sucks.

  "Well yeah, uh, thanks?" I say.

  We stare at each other and I debate whether anything got across to him or if he's just filling in blanks. Maybe he's just thinking I'm nuts. Or wondering what I am. I've seen his race before because I know Ladon but he's probably never seen a human before. Well crud, I hadn't thought about that.

  "I'm Jolie," I say pointing at myself then I point at him. "You?"

  He watches my motions, his head moving along with each one and he looks like he's studying me. I guess. I really didn't ever pay much attention to Ladon's mannerisms so I can't claim to be an expert. He hisses, a soft sound like air escaping from a balloon and then I realize he's talking. He speaks softer than Ladon does, very quiet, so I step closer to make sure I hear him.

  There's a scent to him when I get closer. It's not musk, that's a human scent, this is something exotic, enticing, pulling at my olfactory. Smelling it makes my lizard brain jump into hyper drive. Hmm, bad choice of phrasing. Okay, it makes my primal urges much more prominent. It's almost like a spice, or really good food that you've never tasted but can't wait to savor. The odor pulls me in and I want to inhale more of it. I'm two paces away from him and close my eyes inhaling deeply through my nose, letting the scent fill me. He hisses and this time I can tell it's almost my name, if I was to drag out the J into a really long consonant sound and leave off the O. It sounds like Jjjjjjjlie. Opening my eyes I smile broadly and nod excited.

  "Yes! J-O-lie," I say emphasizing the O sound for him.

  He frowns, his thinly scaled lips purse and his eyes narrow giving him a definitive look of concentration. It's exciting watching him move his mouth to form the vowels.

  "Jjjjj-oooo-leee," he says.

  I jump up and down clapping my hands.

  "Perfect!" I exclaim.

  He smiles or at least partially smiles. It's not a full smile, I've seen Ladon smile most any time he's looking at Calista and it's not that so let's call it a grin. He grins. Yeah, I can go with that.

  "Jjjjoooleee," he says again, smoothing out the sound of my name.

  I clap and grin encouraging his efforts. "Jolie," I repeat after him pointing to myself.

  He touches my chest between my breasts. My breath catches and my heart stops at his touch. All my attention goes to that mostly innocent point of contact between us. I don't drop my eyes, I don't dare to, desire is threatening to roar into a raging fire that I know will consume me and I'll do something stupid.

  "Jjjooolee," he says, tapping his finger lightly against me.

  I nod and swallow hard trying to force moisture back into my mouth and throat which feels as dry as it ever has. The two of us stare into each others eyes and for a moment it's like I'm falling into those beautiful pools. The urge to kiss him is strong and almost I give in but just as I'm about to he pulls his hand away and steps back. A hiss is followed by words that sound harsh and the moment is over.

  He turns away from me and I don't understand it but it looks and feels like he storms to the small table where he sits down. Grabbing up the objects on the table he cleans them while pointedly ignoring me. Upset comes and goes. If I knew what was going on I might be upset but as far as I can tell he's just a grump so why let that bother me? Shrugging I decide to continue my investigation of his home instead of worrying about it.

  "No problem!" I say but he ignores me. "Going to entertain myself over here."

  His focus is on inspecting the metal piece in his hands so I look for something else interesting. There are dozens of things on the shelves. Scrolls that look like they're made of hide which are covered with drawings that I don't really understand but look like they could be specs for a machine. A
few actual books but these are so worn I'm afraid to open them. I touch the pages of one and they start to crumble so I set those aside. I'm not looking to be destructive, just to get a feel for who I'm with.

  Hidden behind a pile of bones I spy a carved wooden box. It's covered with crude shapes and symbols none of which means anything to me. Why would they? This isn't my home and I have no idea really of the culture that existed here in the past. When I touch the box a thrilling tingle runs up my arm. The Zmaj is behind me cleaning and apparently paying no attention as I paw through his things but the way this was hidden makes it feel special. Like something that was buried and hidden for a reason and I feel naughty picking it up. Looking it over I see a fastener and what looks like a lid so I set it down on the cabinet. I push the fastener which takes me a moment to figure out how it works. It pushes to one side and then I'm able to lift the lid.

  Inside the box is a material that looks and feels like velvet. I don't think it is that but that's what it reminds me of. Lying in the center of it is a shiny metal badge. It's bright and multicolored. The flickering flame makes rainbows dance across the shield. Oh my god, it's a shield! It's like Star Trek, the communicators they wore on their uniforms, not shaped the same but it has a swooping shape that's kind of like it. Or Nike! Yeah, the swoop is made of a reflective metal that spins with multiple colors as the light hits it. Taking it out of the box it's surprisingly heavy for its small size. It must weigh close to a pound while only being two, to two and half inches long and about an inch and a half wide.

  I flip it over to see how it fastens and find the back is smooth too. Hmm, lifting it up I turn it back and forth watching the light play across it. It's fascinating the way the light breaks down when it hits it. Almost like it's covered with an oil-like substance that reflects into different colors. The chair behind me hits the wall and then I'm in his grip and being spun around. Words flow from his mouth, harsh sounding, gruff, all of them with elongated s sounds.