Gravel and Grit

by Stacy Jones

  The top portion of the suit was separated from the pants, revealing a thin portion of its stomach. That small strip of defined muscle was a thing of beauty, scientifically speaking of course. The abdominal muscles were thicker and wider, but they fit its body perfectly and led her gaze down to a prominent and sharp iliac furrow, better known as an adonis belt, above the top of the pants.

  A phrase she’d overheard during her college years popped into her head, the sharper the V the bigger the D, alluding to a defined iliac furrow correlating to a large phallus. She knew that was patently untrue, but did that stop her mind from supplying her with an image of a long, thick penis hiding under its suit pants? No. No, it did not.

  Her cheeks heated at that mental picture, but she couldn’t stop herself from glancing down at the statue’s groin.

  Don’t be a perv, Mira.

  Scooting down farther, she began examining its bare feet. There, on the left foot, was what looked like a wound. That was the moment the elusive thought from earlier finally became clear. The memory of him going through some kind of rapid metamorphosis and turning his leathery wings to rock, seemingly at will, flashed through her mind.

  This isn’t a statue…

  Choking on a sharp gasp, Mira scrambled backward onto the couch then kept going until she flopped over the back and landed on the hard floor with a thud. Ignoring the pain of impact, she immediately sprang up to peer wide-eyed over the top, staring at the statue that wasn’t a statue as if it would spring to life at any second.

  All scientific aloofness vanished. The half-ecstatic, half-shocked thought bouncing around in her brain was, holy shit, I touched the alien!

  The fact that she’d been pressed against his chest and stomach while trapped in the kangaroo pouch he’d made of his wings as he ran from the underground lab of Area 51 didn’t matter. She’d touched it just now thinking it was lifeless, not an alien that had encased itself in some kind of stone. The shock of realizing otherwise sent her scampering away like a scared rabbit.

  Pulse pounding in her ears, she watched it closely for any signs that it was about to magically turn back into a living, breathing being.

  After a few minutes, when it—he—didn’t so much as twitch, she slowly began to relax. It took a bit longer to brave coming out from behind the dubious protection the couch provided but, eventually, she tentatively climbed over the back and carefully lowered herself onto the cushion.

  Mira stayed poised for a second, crouched and ready to scurry back to safety, but curiosity ultimately proved stronger than caution.

  Stretching a leg out, she hesitantly poked his side with the toe of her ballet flat, then quickly jerked it back and held her breath, waiting to see what happened.

  Nothing happened so she poked him harder then tapped his middle with the bottom of her shoe. Still nothing.

  Feeling more confident now, she did her best imitation of a slinky and melted off the couch onto the floor, then paused there for a second to see if her approach set off a resurrection where her tapping hadn’t.

  He didn’t suddenly become flesh, so she crept closer, squatting in a tight ball and waddling forward on her tiptoes. She felt like a mouse approaching a trap. She knew it was a bad idea, but she wanted that cheese, dammit. Except the cheese was an alien, and she wanted to finish her inspection, now, while he was presumably comatose and unthreatening. Who knew when she’d get the chance to examine an extraterrestrial being again? This was too good an opportunity to pass up. Besides, he hadn’t hurt her. The opposite in fact. He’d saved her life, taken her to what was, hopefully, a safe location, then treated her wounds.

  Pep talk complete, she waddle-shuffled to his other side, opposite the couch, so she’d have room to run if needed, then leaned closer.

  It didn’t take long for her to lose herself in the examination. He was fascinating. She started at his feet, taking note of their large size and the claws on his long, blocky toes. The wide structure and thick sole of his feet, visible even as stone, made her wonder if his natural environment were either sandy or jagged.

  Possibly both. Having a wide surface would be beneficial for a shifting or unstable surface, and the thicker sole would protect from heat and cold as well as anything sharp. I wonder what their shoes look like, or if they even wear shoes.

  Wanting a record of her observations, she patted her pockets, looking for the recording device she used to keep her notes, before remembering it was in her purse.

  “Which is back in my lab. Wonderful.”

  Reluctantly looking away from the alien, she scanned the cabin for paper and a pen, but it was just as bare as it had been when she woke up. Grumbling at the lack of anything to use to take notes, she went back to her inspection.

  Mira was leaning over his head, inspecting the powerful main bones of his wings, when she heard a noise—one that came from directly below her.

  Feeling like she was in a horror movie, she went perfectly still then slowly lowered her gaze to his face, which happened to be right under her breasts, and found bright orange eyes staring at the cleavage peeking over the top of her shirt.

  “Ahhh!”

  In a knee-jerk reaction, Mira let loose a screech loud enough to hurt her own ears then, as was her habit when startled, lashed out.

  With absolutely no conscious decision needed, she poked him right in the eyeball.

  14

  Zaek

  Zaek woke from the healing sleep to find himself nose to nipple with a pair of breasts. A pair of pale, enticingly voluptuous, human breasts.

  This is new…

  While he would’ve appreciated more time to really consider that odd but very pleasant greeting, he wasn’t accustomed to such a sight and made a garbled noise of surprise before he could stop himself.

  That noise drew the female’s attention.

  She went still above him. For a second he thought that meant she’d woken him in such a way on purpose, which made him wonder if she’d somehow found out about his swollen mating gland, and this was her way of saying she was amenable to courting.

  Before he could become excited by that possibility, she lowered her gaze to his and shrieked.

  That was not the reaction he’d hoped for. Still, while disappointing, he could have dealt with that, could have rationalized that he’d just startled her. However, she didn’t stop with screaming. She attacked him with a brutality he wouldn’t have anticipated from such a minuscule being.

  He roared in pain at her swift and debilitating finger assault and tried to jerk away, but being that he was still partially encased in stone, he didn’t manage to do anything other than twitch a little.

  Cutting an appalled look at her with his remaining, uninjured eye, he found her looking at her finger in surprise, as if she was just as taken aback by the attack as he was.

  “Fee-ale!” he snarled around his gland as he rapidly shifted to flesh and leapt to his feet.

  “Oh shit! Oh shit! Don’t do it! I won’t taste good,” she babbled, staring up at him wide-eyed as she scuttled backward across the floor.

  That confused him enough that he straightened from where he’d been about to grab her. Zaek blinked at her one-eyed, his abused one still squeezed shut, sure she couldn’t be saying what he thought she was saying.

  “Whaa?” he asked.

  “What?” she deflected, a wary look replacing her fearful one.

  “Di oo ust allude oo ee… ee-ing oo?”

  “Oh my gosh you’re going to eat me?” she shrilled, fear once again dominating her features.

  “No! Oo sait-”

  “Nuh uh! You said!”

  “I… no, I di not!”

  “Yes you did!”

  It was the shifty look in her eyes that clued him in that she was attempting to distract him. He narrowed his eye at her then scanned himself and the room.

  “Whaa were oo ooing while I waz hee-ling?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Hmm? Doing? I wasn’t doing anything,” she scoffed and
rose to her feet, dusting off her clothes. Cutting him a look, she muttered, “You’re the one that scared the hell out of me! I probably lost two years of my life with that dirty trick you pulled.”

  Zaek went motionless and felt his heart skip at least three beats. Without thought, he lunged at her and quickly put his fingertips to the pulse in her neck as he’d seen humans do on television. He didn’t feel anything which sent him into full blown panic.

  “Lar’s wings!”

  He scooped her up in his arms and started for the door, intent on getting her to a physician before she keeled over dead.

  “Wait! I didn’t mean that literally! It’s just a figure of speech,” she exclaimed, wiggling against his chest in a futile effort to get down.

  Zaek stopped just as suddenly as if he’d run into a wall. Slowly bending his neck, he looked down at her.

  “Figuur of sceech?” he asked disbelievingly.

  “Yes! Just a figure of speech. An idiom,” she breathed. When he didn’t respond immediately she continued, “Umm, it’s a word or phrase that means something different than the literal translation. When I said you scared two years off my life I was just using that as a dramatization, meaning you startled me. There’s been no conclusive science to prove that being scared actually affects a person’s lifespan.”

  “I see,” he growled low in his throat. Lowering his face to hers, he narrowed his eyes warningly. “No mrr figuurs of sceech. Taut oo were dying.”

  When she nodded in agreement, he reluctantly lowered her to her feet until she was standing in front of him. Neither moved at first, just stared at each other, their bodies mere inches apart. He didn’t fully believe her explanation, so he took the opportunity to inspect her for any overt signs of illness or injury. After a thorough once-over, he didn’t find any and relaxed. That was when he realized she was staring at him just as intently as he was her.

  His tail went still behind him, and the base of his horns heated as he imagined she was thinking about how hideous and scary he was, especially after snatching her up like he had, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t see any signs of revulsion or fear on her face. As best as he could tell, she looked fascinated with just a hint of wariness.

  He watched as her gaze flicked from the horns crowning his forehead to his lips, then higher to his wings before dropping lower his… stomach?

  The bright pink that bloomed high on her cheeks suggested it wasn’t his stomach she was looking at, but rather something a bit lower. Zaek’s eyes went wide with surprise before he glanced down as well, wondering if his suit had somehow slid down while he was sleeping to reveal his cock and that was why she was looking.

  Nope. His pants were exactly where they should be, so why was she staring?

  Did she just lick her lips? She definitely just licked her lips.

  His heart skipped a beat for the second time since waking, but this time it was with hope instead of panic.

  Okay. Retain your composure. Do not lose your senses. She is probably just thirsty.

  Reeaally? Granted, it has been a very long while, but I am sure that is an expression of desire. Curiosity at the very least!

  He scoffed silently at that thought.

  Impossible. Still. We should be courteous and not startle her from her inspection, whatever it is she is inspecting, as that would be rude. We may be crazy, but we have manners.

  Zaek stood very, very still, not wanting to pull her attention from his lower half and reveal that he knew where she was, hopefully, looking.

  Well, mostly still. If he thrust his hips out just a little, he was sure she didn’t notice and honestly, who could blame him? He hadn’t been the recipient of a female’s appreciative stare in so long he’d forgotten just how enjoyable it was and how much of a boost it provided to a male’s pride.

  She gawked for long enough that he felt his cock beginning to rise in hopeful anticipation, before she cleared her throat and glanced away. Disappointment was swift, but he thought he managed to hide it well, not that she was looking at his face to notice. Of course, his dick—the poor fool—took a little longer to get the message that he wouldn’t be receiving any attention and stubbornly stayed at half-mast just in case she changed her mind.

  Even knowing the chances were slim to none, Zaek watched her closely, just in case that happened. She was glancing around the cabin, but she didn’t look at any one thing for long before her eyes flitted away again. He noticed she deliberately didn’t look at him, and her cheeks never lost that alluring pink tint.

  Instead of being discouraged, that pointed avoidance sent a thrill through him. He’d witnessed that exact show of bashfulness from females on television plays. If he was correct, it was an Earthian female’s way of showing she found a male attractive.

  As shocking as that was, and as much as his mind tried to argue that his observations had to be faulty, his body reacted instantly. His wings twitched, ready to unfurl and capture her within their embrace as the prey-drive, singular to a male’s pursuit of a mate, spread through him.

  15

  Zaek

  The little female threw him a smile without really looking at him, one that struck him as both shy and uncomfortable, as if she realized they’d been standing in silence for a few minutes, then stepped around him and walked back to the couch.

  Zaek pivoted with her, instinct demanding he keep her in sight, but managed to keep his wings from enfolding her to stop her from moving any farther away.

  His already-full mating gland swelled a little more until the distant ache became a twinging pain.

  It took a moment for the implications of that to sink in, but when they did, the relief he felt was immense. He hadn’t wanted to express it, even though it made speaking difficult, just in case it really was defective and wouldn’t produce any more fluid.

  Unlike humans, his people had different breeds within their species and those different breeds weren’t naturally compatible. To combat that problem and give them access to a wider genetic pool, they’d evolved to have a mating gland. When triggered by the scent their true mate, it produced a specialized liquid that altered the recipient’s genetics, making reproduction possible.

  Both males and females had the gland, and it was common practice that the mate with the purer bloodline or more desirable traits, regardless of gender, would be the one to deliver the fluid and ensure compatibility in the other. Zaek had five horns, which was rare, and meant he had a purer bloodline than most. In fact, he knew of only one Khargal still living that had more—Alkor, one of his Senior Officers.

  He’d always assumed he would be the one to provide the fluid, if he ever found his mate, so hadn’t been willing to take the chance his gland wouldn’t replenish as it was supposed to. But, the ache in his jaw told him it was indeed making more, meaning he could express it without fear.

  Which also means I can speak to her without sounding like an imbecile.

  Eager to do so, he pressed his tongue against the gland then swallowed the sweet fluid as he closed the distance between them. Unfortunately, the second he sat down and looked at her his mind went blank.

  An awkward silence stretched as he tried and failed to find something to say.

  “So,” she started just as the strained quiet reached painful levels. Rubbing her palms against the material of her pants, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Thank you for saving my life. I’m sorry they shot at you, and that their reaction was so… well, violent.”

  “It was my pleasure,” he purred in response. His lips curled into a smile before what he’d said registered. “Not getting shot, of course! That was unfortunate. And painful.”

  She chuckled and seemed to relax, the tension he hadn’t noticed in her now apparent by its absence. Evidently, the way to get an Earthian to trust you was to be awkward. Who knew? She twisted until she was sitting sideways on the couch, her leg folded in front of her on the cushion, and really looked at him for the first time since he’d woken.


  “What’s your name?”

  The question was surprising. He’d never had a human inquire about his name before, but it was the expression on her face that really threw him. There was no fear, only interest and eager curiosity.

  “Zaek. By what are you called?” he asked, leaning forward slightly in anticipation of her answer.

  “Mira. It’s nice to meet you,” she said with a smile and extended her hand toward him.

  Zaek frowned and tilted his head to see if she had anything in her palm before abruptly recalling it was one of the ways humans greeted each other. Moving quickly before she could withdraw, he gently curled his fingers around her hand then stared at that point of contact, oddly charmed by the way it all but disappeared in his grip and fascinated by the contrast of her pale skin against his dark grey.

  Strange how he’d viewed her small stature as an alarming defect until that very moment. He still found it more than a little concerning, but it was as if touching her hand had somehow changed his perception and her tininess became alluring instead of disturbing.

  She withdrew from his grip, but slowly as if she’d felt something from that touch as well.

  “What happened to your speech impediment? You were talking… well, a little oddly earlier, and now you’re speaking perfect English.”

  “Ah. Yes.” Zaek had never been very adept at telling falsehoods, not with any degree of believability, according to Roc, so he told her the truth minus a few key details. “My gland was swollen and it was applying pressure to my tongue which inhibited proper enunciation.”

  “Interesting. Does that happen often? Was it in reaction to being shot at? Is it painful? Can you control it? What’s its purpose?”

  Her questions were rapid fire with no pause in between for him to reply. When she stopped for a breath he just stared, not sure which one to answer first, or if he should answer them at all. He was positive she would not react well if he told her the truth about his gland, and it would be damn hard to court her if she was running away from him, so he remained silent.