A rush of breath left her lips. Her hand dropped to more firmly pat his chest. “Sweet and kind.”
Venomous barely heard her. His attention was narrowed to her miniature hand rubbing his chest scales.
Arousal was instant and powerful.
He stood with her in his arms then headed to the nest.
This time it was different.
Tendrils of fire raked his flesh.
Need stoked heat in his belly and bit into the backs of his thighs.
“Again?” Lumen pushed against him when he tugged on her still damp coverings. They washed the cloth on returning to the lair as his fastidious mate swore not to wear it otherwise. “Need talk more.”
“My seeding. It begins.”
“Look.” She sat and patted the space before her. “Talk. Want know you. No want know me?”
“You are human and hail from Earth.” His breath came in great bellows and the fire burned hotter. “You catch cold, leak from your eyes and are wet inside.” His claws dug into the furs and he leaned closer. His tongue lashed the air and he groaned. Great Serpent, her scent torments me. “I will mount now.”
She looked him up and down. “Why shake?”
“The seeding. It is hard to ... to concentrate. Very hard.”
She leaned back on her arms, cocking her head. “What seeding?”
Venomous hissed for his sac ached. “A Rä union is sacred. His hearts beat for her, and her body calls to his. The seeding heightens the chance of my seed taking root. You near your the first of your fertile times. It is soon, yesss, but I am strong. We will manage. S’q’ama’ta watches over us.” His whole body shook with the strain of not pouncing on her. “It is painful if ignored.” He tried to urge her onto her hands and knees. “Bare your back.”
She held up a palm, expression creased in confusion. “No under–”
A fiery whip lashed his spine, and he hissed, baring his fangs.
The mating neurotoxin secreted from his glands, preparing him to subdue his mate for the duration. “I will cover you now.”
Gaze clouding with fear, fixed on his mouth, she nodded as she turned.
She went to all fours then looked over her shoulder with glassy eyes. “No bite? Too different. Might hurt.”
His mind cleared long enough to see she spoke rightly.
Different yet similar enough my anima reacted to her pheromones.
The bite on a Rä female would sedate her so she could withstand the endless spans of rutting.
His human was small, and he doubted her body would react favourably.
Her genetic makeup was entirely different to his species.
My body craves hers, is trying to get her in swell.
Venomous crawled closer and covered his female.
He nuzzled and bumped the back of her neck seeking her approval and felt her trembling.
He tasted the air.
She’s frightened.
This time he could not ignore her quivers as fear of the painful joining to come because she told him clutch was not painful, so why would she fear it?
He could not bite her, could not keep her calm during the seeding, and if she struggled or tried to fight him he could incurably hurt her.
His reaction to her resistance would be to bite harder.
Biting might kill her.
Distraught, Venomous lurched off his mate then staggered into the far corner.
Lumen’s voice shook as she called out to him. “Venom?”
Why will she not say my name properly!
Not sure what to do, but desperate to douse the flames scorching his insides, Venomous grabbed his shaft and enclosed it in two fists.
He fell to his knees and squeezed until it resembled the pressure he needed to release.
Seed erupted from him in a forceful spurt.
Waves of relief were instantaneous, but brief, too short.
The banked fires rose and heated his groin, tightened his sac.
“Venom?”
He felt the vibrations through the floor and air as Lumen sidled closer.
“Back,” he bit out. “Stay still and be quiet.”
He didn’t look at her, knowing to do so would damn them both.
Salty water misted the air, and he knew she leaked.
“Venom?”
He didn’t hear her.
Couldn’t.
Blindly, he gripped himself and squeezed.
Snarled and hissed in the corner like an animal.
His body shook and twisted as he released himself upon the ground again, and again, and a tarn of seed ran between his legs and snaked down the slanted floor.
It was obscene, and through his haze of need it shamed him.
He sensed his Lumen’s terror and wanted to calm her, but he suffered, and could not comfort her as he wished.
Venomous understood she hadn’t realised what he meant when he spoke of pain for if she’d known, she would have spared him this.
He had to believe that.
His broad back tensed and his hips thrust impotently at the air.
Realising he was not going to enter the warm grasp of his mate, after spans of endless pain and release, his body calmed, the fires cooling into a low throb in his gut.
Venomous’ harsh panting ceased. “Rä’Na?”
Her head shot up. “Babe?”
She hesitated, but when he turned to her, braced himself against the wall to stop his knees giving out, she stumbled to her feet and across the lair, skipping over the puddle he’d made.
She knelt gingerly at his side and he grimaced with her.
He was a sticky mess.
“How feeling?” She touched his face and seemed alarmed to find his flesh cold. “Come to nest. Come.” She coaxed him up and guided him back to the furs. “Lie.” Her hands fluttered over him, face crumpled. “Wash better, but no let others see this.”
“I did not hurt you.” His muscles were lax, his body limp. “I would never hurt you.”
She ran a finger down his scaled cheek.
Her beautiful eyes peered into his, and he saw she now believed his word, distrust no longer holding sway.
Something inside him broke, cracked wide open and filled with her. “My Lumen.”
Though his eyes didn’t change, he was no longer conscious in the way she knew him to be.
His body needed rest and he let his hearts slow, his breathing deepen.
It was a state just before the true sleep and awake each warrior knew could be the difference between life and death if attacked while resting.
He was aware of her and what she did, but his body and mind were dormant.
Lumen looked him over and winced.
Knees and elbows scraped from where he’d crouched in the tight corner, dirt was ground into the wounds.
His stem was flaccid, sore and ruddy at the tip.
Quiet, she curled up at his side.
After a moment’s hesitation she wrapped an arm around his waist and embraced him, but because he was so heavy, she ended up mashed to his side.
Tittering, she rose to pick up the shallow pan he’d in which he’d cooked their repast and poured the remainder of the sweet water.
She peeled one of the dark rocks as she’d watched him do, and made a happy noise when the liquid inside steamed.
Lacking spare cloth, she ripped a strip from the bottom of her tunic then used it to clean his wounds.
The dead weight of his arm was a struggle for her littleness.
She persevered, concentrated on using the edge of the cloth to painstakingly clean between the larger scales and plates covering his joints.
Time passed in silence as she tended him, and he basked in the tenderness of her care.
She spoke of herself, the journey of her lifecycle before coming to him, and some things he understood, others he had no hope of comprehending.
‘After parents die, I no believe God real....’
‘....missing Marmite....’
&nb
sp; ‘Think there be planet where people travel on rainbow? I thinking....’
‘....humidity bad for mine curly hair....’
‘Aliens go Earth before. Ancient Egyptian time, I think....’
‘....so gratitude for saving me.’
Venomous woke.
Her random chatter ceased when she felt his arm tense. “Soon finish. Knees now.”
Head lifting, he studied her. “I heal.”
“Filthy lair.” Her nose lifted and she sniffed. “Catch bad thing.”
His hand clasped her forearm, claws overlapping. “I will not get sick.”
“No argue.” She slanted him a teasing look. “Be still for mate.”
Venomous didn’t remove his hand.
He rubbed her arm then followed it up to her shoulder, higher still to finger the curve of her jaw. “My thanks.”
Hesitating then leaning into his touch, she stared at the cooling, bloody water, rubbing her lips together.
She wrung out the cloth with more force than needed, splattering droplets over them both. “No gratitude. Mine fault.” She shifted to blot his kneecaps in jerky strokes. “Think you dying.” She exhaled shakily. “Next time no suffer.” She blew a stray spiral of hair out of her face. “No bite?” Her remorseful gaze met his. “Right, babe?”
Venomous pushed himself upright, bending the leg she cleaned and leaving the other straight. “Pain is fleeting.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “I would never place you in danger. You feel good beneath me, and I knew if you moved I would bite.” He sighed. “Thank Grandfather’s Hood we have aeons to learn each other before we must endure the last seeding.”
Lumen blindly wiped at his knee.
She made a humming ‘um’ noise. “Rä female fertile twice whole life?”
“Yesss. It is not this way for humans?”
More humming ‘ums’ “No same.”
“How different?”
“Fertile, uh, more.” She moved onto his other knee and he helpfully bent his leg. She frowned and spoke fast as if to forestall his imminent questions of what more meant. “When Rä female mature?”
“All Rä complete adolescence once they find their mate. There are no Rä females or males before adolescence.” He rubbed her lower back, not letting her distract him. “How many times in your lifecycle are you fertile, my Lumen?”
She dabbed at his knee.
Mumbled, “Every moontide.”
Venomous’ scales blanched and the bottoms of his black eyes glowed as his brille almost unveiled in shock.
Twin slivers of iridescent light were revealed before they turned dark with the return of his control.
“Each moontide?” His mouth parted showing sharp teeth. “Each. All twenty of them?”
“Twenty?” She twisted her body, slapping her hands on his chest. “Moontide on Earth four cycle. Twelve each solar.” She counted in silence, moving her lips. “Twenty-span is rotation, yes? How say seven rotations?”
“In galactic standard time the next is cycle. That is five rotations. There is no seven.”
Momentarily distracted, curious, she asked, “Follow on Rök?”
“Yesss.”
“How many seasons?”
He jerked his chin down. “It is hot and dry all solar and never changing. Few planets support an atmosphere as you describe.” He watched her with a bad feelings stirring in his gut. “Earth must be rich with different species.”
Her eyes flickered over his features, and he realised she’d somehow learnt to read him. “Why bad?”
“Your planet has not yet achieved intergalactic space travel. If the L’Odo bought Earth’s location from the slave trader or he sold it to others it is a matter of time before others do too.”
“No good?” Her rounded teeth chewed her lip. Her fingers passed over the brand on her forearm. “Expand horizon.”
Venomous had no desire to alarm her, but he would not lie.
“Most peaceful species feel no need to travel beyond their own borders.” For once, he averted his gaze unable to look into her striking eyes and watch them fill with pain caused by his words. “Conquerors are restless. I pray to Grandfather the people of Earth are strong, my Lumen.”
Face paling, her hands trembled against his chest.
Her rounded forehead came to rest atop them, and she rocked it this way and that as if to burrow under his flesh and hide there.
Venomous wrapped an arm around her, the other clutching the back of her head, pressing her closer still.
Jerking then leaning back, Lumen’s brows pulled together even as her eyes rounded. “What mean no young male or female Rä?” She darted a glance at his stem. Lines around her mouth eased. “I confuse?”
Venomous straightened his legs then pulled her onto his lap chuckling when she squirmed against his hardness.
His seeding was done, but he desired her still.
Beguiling creature that she was.
He rested his square chin on her head as it seemed natural to do so. “Rä have three genders. A’Rä, Rä’Na and Rä’Vek.” He took her hand, shoved it between them and pressed it to his groin. His voice lowered. “You called forth my seed stem. I am Rä’Vek now.”
She gawked at his lap, and didn’t remove her hand when he released her.
Slender fingers curled around his length.
“No sex?” she whispered. Her head jerked up and their gazes locked. “Me only female to cover?”
“A’Rä must wait as long as it takes to meet a compatible mate. The wait can last for aeons. It never ends for some.” He rubbed his scaled cheek against hers. “I never would have thought an offworlder would awaken me.”
Venomous took advantage of their closeness to explore her soft skin, and the different textures that felt good to his flesh.
He stroked her slender throat then traced the single pulse that fluttered against his finger pads.
One lonely heart.
Fascinating.
Languid exploration expanded to the twin mounds on her torso.
The dusky nipples gracing the tip of each fleshy mass were responsive, hardened into buds entreating his touch.
Though their appearance and function were alien, he enjoyed their shape and movement.
She allowed his petting in silence before she heaved a troubled sigh. “Babe?”
“Rä’Na?”
“Am fertile each moontide.” Her eyes searched his. “This fine?”
His hand froze on her chest bump. “I do not know what to say. It will be difficult, not covering you was painful in a way I do not wish to endure, but I will not harm you.”
Giving him a funny smile, she placed her hand over his.
She adjusted his hold so he cradled the mass of flesh he toyed with, and the raised nubbin grazed his palm.
He liked the heavy weight and agreed holding her like this was better.
“Am terrify meeting you. Vowing no forgive, but....” She sucked in a breath then cupped his face in both hands, her thumbs rubbing his cheekbones.
He rumbled in pleasure.
“You lovely,” she whispered. “Try hard make happy. Safe. I see. You strive put weaker first, so spare pain by use force. No lie, babe, you dominant ways drive me mad. No way I sit here and say I have you other way. No you, I be dead, maybe worse. I know.” She bit her lip. “Not knowing to be with you as need. I get better. Practice make perfect. Yes?”
Venomous brightened. How profound. “It does.”
“Make anger you. Confuse too.”
“You can be trying.” He squeezed her waist to lessen the sting of his words.
Her mouth quirked. “Yes.” Her eyes traced his features. Her smile grew until her whole face lit up. “We talk. Keep open, knowing each other be at.”
“I know where you are at.” He glanced between them. “My side.”
“Yes,” she murmured. “Make work.”
Venomous considered her words, at least the ones that the translator let through then
narrowed his eyes.
His Rä’Na did not comprehend her place.
“When a male and his female join in your world what is it called?” he demanded.
A puzzled pause then her eyes sparked.
“Marriage,” she replied rubbing the scales on his jaw. “Think we have?”
“Explain how you join in,” he stumbled over the word, the sounding strange and difficult, too lyrical for his tongue, “mar-ige.”
“Ceremony. Male and female’s family come. Female in white dress, man in suit. They exchange rings. Eat special cake, lots of food and dancing.” She jerked a shoulder, and he thought she might be spasaming, but she didn’t look alarmed, so he relaxed. “Promises of fidelity and life long affection.”
“Festival,” he murmured happy to know of the similarity in their cultures. “A Rä union is the same, but no rings or cake, though most exchange gold in the bloodletting, of course.”
Though he supposed he could get gold for her arm and a matching one designed for himself.
While he longed for his gold to pierce her, he did not think his human would bear up well under the tradition.
“After clutch is witnessed by the Elders, we have the lesser ceremony to protect the widow then merriment to join the two families as one.”
Her head drew back on her neck. “Sex people to see?”
“To join the families as one.” He scrutinised her. “This is not done on your world.”
“Old times, maybe.” She paused. “We no married.”
Venomous cupped her throat, finger pressing her pulse.
Being so near to each other they aligned.
The beat of his hearts thumped the exact moment of hers then resumed its native rhythm.
“A formality,” he said. “You are mine.”
“Okay,” she whispered her breathing shallow. Her fingers tightened on his face. “Think must speak against, but,” she swallowed, “am stranded on danger planet with hostiles. Yet am warm, fed, safe and smiles. Gratitude to you.” Her face came closer until it filled his view. Her expression suffused with something he could not name. “Mine mate okay with me.”
“Good,” he muttered wondering over the sentiment he heard in her voice.
Tongue flickering, he tried to understand it but got nothing.
He rubbed his check against hers. “Now, we sleep.”
Venomous: (Alien Warrior Book 1) Page 10