Gravel and Grit

by Stacy Jones

  “I am usually much more proficient at meal preparation,” he assured, eyeing the spread with disfavor.

  “It looks great,” she lied, smiling at him sweetly.

  He snorted and gave her his favorite droll look, but he appreciated her graciousness.

  Zaek waited while she served herself, as was polite, then heaped the remaining food on his plate and scooted the bowl of mineral he’d gathered from outside closer to him.

  “Uhh, Zaek? Are you eating… rocks?”

  “Mmm,” he mumbled around a mouthful. Swallowing, he said, “The mineral here is quite good.”

  “Is that a dietary need for your people?”

  “It is,” he answered, encouraged that she seemed curious about him again.

  She’d been very quiet the last few days, her inquisitiveness and what he liked to think was fascination with him subdued under a somber kind of pensiveness. In fact, he’d noticed the change after he told her of the crash and the coming rescue. Did he dare hope she was upset that he was leaving? Could that mean she held some kind of affection for him?

  “It replenishes the nutrients drained by transforming to stone.”

  He noticed her open her mouth as if she wanted to ask more before she closed it again without saying anything.

  “I enjoy your curiosity, Mira, greatly. I am happy to answer any questions you might have.”

  She peered at him for a moment, checking his sincerity he thought.

  “I wanted to ask about your world, but I didn’t want to make you homesick,” she admitted quietly.

  “Ah. I am happy to tell you of Duras.”

  Perhaps, if we describe it well, she might want to see it for herself.

  He told her of the beautiful purple skies, of the soaring black mountains, and, because he knew she was a scientist, of the cities where species from many different planets came to visit to exchange knowledge and trade goods. He told her of his home, his aerie, high above the ground, that had been in his family for generations. He described the at-ukris, one of his favorite animals on Duras. It resembled an eagle, crossed with an octopus and a whale. They flew high in the skies and spent their whole lives without ever once touching the ground.

  When he could no longer contain his own curiosity, he asked about her life. She seemed reluctant at first, but he was patient. He waited, silent and calm, to see if she would tell him, to see if she would trust him.

  She pushed her remaining food around on her plate for a moment before she put the fork down with a gentle clink and took a deep breath. Her voice was even and clinical at first, relaying facts detachedly, as if speaking of someone else’s life.

  “My parents died when I was three, killed in a house fire. They didn’t have any family to take me so I was sent into foster care. I was too old for the people that wanted babies, and I’d been burned in the fire, so I had some health issues and emotional trauma which made me unappealing to the rare couples that were willing to adopt older children. I spent my life being bounced from one group home to another.”

  She paused for a moment, frowning softly as she stared off into space, then commenting offhandedly, “It’s a peculiar feeling to grow up knowing no one loves you or will mourn if you die.”

  Zaek felt like he’d been gutted. He must have made some sound of dismay, because she looked at him and blushed at the expression of horror he didn’t hide quickly enough.

  “It wasn’t always easy, or pretty, but I made it through,” she said almost defensively.

  “My apologies, Mira. I did not intend to—”

  “No. I’m sorry. Humans’ way of dealing with orphans is appalling and your reaction was appropriate. I hope you do it better on your planet.”

  “We most assuredly do,” he answered emphatically then snapped his mouth shut, realizing he could have offended her.

  She smiled to let him know she wasn’t upset, then huffed a laugh. She flicked him an ironic look and admitted wryly, “I actually had a bit of an obsession with aliens. It didn’t do me, or my social standing, any favors, but I didn’t care. The thought of life among the stars made me feel less alone, like I was part of something bigger. I used to imagine that, somewhere out there, was someone just as lonely as me. They would find me against all odds, and together we’d make a home, somewhere we could both belong, on a new planet where kids always had people to love them.”

  Zaek wanted to fulfill that wish, wanted to be the person that made it so she was never lonely again, so badly it was a physical ache.

  Mira redirected the conversation to lighter topics after that. They sat there for hours, Zaek doing his best to answer all her questions and peppering her with his own, until morning became afternoon, then evening. By the time the sun started its descent, he felt like he knew her better than he knew himself. When her eyelids began to droop and she was yawning more than speaking, he asked if she wanted to rest.

  “I should clean up first. You cooked.”

  “No. You are my guest.”

  “It won’t take more than—”

  “I will leave it for you, if you insist, but for now, you need sleep.”

  He was lying. He had no intention of letting her clean up his mess, but since it made her feel better he was willing to pretend otherwise. Human etiquette confused him at times, but he was beginning to understand Mira. She did not enjoy being coddled and liked to fly on her own power. He respected that, immensely, but he also needed to show her that he would make a good mate and part of that was caring for her.

  “Okay,” she relented, but she eyed him knowingly, like she knew he wouldn’t actually leave it for her.

  Our Bunny is perceptive.

  27

  Zaek

  They had another back-and-forth moment when Zaek attempted to lead Mira down the hallway to his sleeping room. She tried to insist she would sleep on the couch, but through cunning and skilled negotiation, he won that argument as well… by bribing her with candy.

  He had thoughtfully snuck two of her favorite chocolates into his bag with the intention of presenting them to her, when she inevitably ran out, as a way to gain her favor.

  Since arriving at his cabin, he kept them close—in his briefs, to be exact—waiting for the right time to strike.

  Revealing them now—while she was looking away so she did not discover his hiding place—gave him the upper hand in the standoff and ensured his victory, which he thought was an excellent example of his parenting skills. He’d learned much from daytime television plays, including the key to rearing Earthian children—buy their compliance with treats.

  He made a mistake, however, in not sufficiently concealing his smugness. In retaliation for the triumphant smirk he gave her when they came to a stop in front of the sleeping room door, she gently poked him in the side.

  The sensation that fired through his body at that small, seemingly inconsequential touch was not one he had ever experienced before.

  Zaek barked something that was half laugh, half yelp of shock, and leapt backward to escape her finger with such force he fell into the wall and ended up with his wing claw buried in the wood.

  Mira stared up at him in slack-jawed surprise before she gasped, “You’re ticklish!”

  She then promptly erupted into a fit of loud, delighted laughter. So powerful was her amusement that she bent at the waist and braced her hands on her knees so she did not collapse onto the floor.

  “Warriors are not ticklish!” he sputtered as he fought to twist around and yank his claw free.

  Released from the clutches of the traitorous wall, he rose to his full height and faced her.

  “You sure about that?” she drawled, lips curled up in a devious smile.

  “Female… ”

  She sprang at him before he could finish voicing his dire warning.

  Half a minute later, Zaek found himself sprawled on the floor with Mira perched on top of him, trying unsuccessfully to fend off her vicious attack. He was laughing uncontrollably, the gravelly sound fil
ling the hallway, and, alarmingly, felt as if he might lose the contents of his bladder if she did not cease.

  Realizing the only way to defeat her was to take her by surprise, he bucked his hips hard enough to send her slight frame airborne, caught her before she crashed back down, then rolled to the side and pinned her beneath him.

  Mira looked a little dizzy and very confused as to how she’d ended up under him. Zaek took that opportunity to grin at her wolfishly.

  “My turn,” he growled.

  Her eyes popped open wide, and she tried to appease him with profuse, half laughed apologies and placations, but nothing other than revenge would satisfy him now.

  Mindful of his claws and her delicate skin, he quickly retracted them then went for her ribs first before working his way up to her underarms, over to her clavicles, then down to her hips.

  By the time he was finished with her, she was a mess of tangled hair, tears of laughter, and yelled proclamations of surrender.

  Crawling back up her body, he settled between her parted thighs, braced himself with his forearms on the floor, then gently brushed the hair off her face so he could see her. They grinned at each other, chuckles still spilling from their lips before their laughter slowed, then stopped altogether as they became aware of their position.

  He could feel her hard nipples rubbing against his chest, through the thin material of his shirt, with every one of her panting breaths. He could feel the heat of her canikin against his lower stomach, and her scent surrounded him in a drugging cloud of gland-swelling euphoria.

  Zaek could not quite decide if he was glad she was so much smaller than him, because it meant his erection was pressed against the floor where she couldn’t feel it, or aggrieved for the same reason. What he did know was that the desire to curl his hips forward and nudge her with it was stronger than his restraint. Her short, startled moan sent a shiver down his spine and forced an answering groan from deep in his throat.

  From inches away, he watched her pupils swell until only a thin rim of blue remained. She exhaled a shuddering breath, slowly wrapped her arms around his back, and lifted her head off the floor. Keeping her gaze glued to his, rendering him motionless, she pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his lips before lying back down.

  Joy and lust flooded him with such force his mind went blank. Only one thought remained.

  She desires the dassa…

  Reacting instantly, he moved on instinct and kissed her with a ferocity that should have scared her, but instead made her moan. Never in his long life had he felt such sharp, urgent need. He wanted to be gentle, to deliver the mate kiss with all the tenderness and reverence he felt, but he couldn’t.

  Growling low in his throat, he pried her mouth open with his tongue and swept inside to taste her. He felt her fingers dig into his back and her legs spread wider before locking around his waist, pulling him tighter against her, as she returned his kiss with equal fervor.

  Fisting one hand in her fluffy hair, he tilted her head back against the floor then held her still as he expressed his gland and curled his hips forward at the same time, nearly bowing his body in half to thrust against her heat. The sweet liquid filled his mouth and hers. Mira swallowed it with a low hum of pleasure, her hips bucking against him, then gasped and went rigid as the dassa spread through her system.

  There was a drawn out second of stillness before she screamed into his mouth and came, hard.

  The smell of her release and the feeling of her convulsing under him destroyed what remained of his restraint. Ripping his mouth from hers, he crawled down her body and yanked her shirt up then dove at her breasts. He lashed her hard, pink nipples with his tongue then sucked them into his mouth one at a time, relishing the taste of her and the beautiful sounds of pleasure she made.

  Zaek wanted to slow down, to take his time and explore every inch of her, but the need to taste her release was clawing at him.

  She helped him push her borrowed pants down, whispering feverish words of encouragement that switched from demanding to pleading and back again.

  “I have you, my Hondassa,” he rasped as he threw the pants somewhere behind him and spread her legs wide.

  Settling between them, he had the thought that her canikin was different than that of Khargal females, but it was passing and only served to inflame his lust. She was different and perfect and beautiful and everything he needed.

  The first gentle swipe over her center sent fire down his spine and bowed her back off the floor.

  Fuck me, she tastes better than candy.

  “Zaek,” she cried out.

  Mira gripped his horns then writhed against his mouth as he lost himself, licking and sucking at the delicate flesh of her center.

  He inadvertently found a little nub at the top of her canikin that seemed to bring her intense pleasure when he touched it. That discovery surprised him enough that he paused for a moment to pull back and inspect it closer. Glancing at her face, he watched her expression as he licked it experimentally. Her thighs tensed where they were hooked over his shoulders and her mouth opened on a long moan.

  An external pleasure center. How odd.

  Keeping his claws safely retracted, he used his thumb to rub soft circles on the little nub. Grinning predatorily when she cried out, he leaned down and pushed his tongue, slick with dassa, into her passage, never ceasing the movement of his thumb. Within moments he felt her walls squeeze and flutter as she orgasmed.

  Her screams made his cock twitch against the floor. He wanted to be inside her more than he wanted his next breath.

  When her release passed she collapsed, panting, back against the floor. Thinking she would be sated after two orgasms and that he would need to wait until she was ready again before experiencing his own pleasure, he instead felt his eyes widen in surprise when she raised her head and gazed down her body at him, her eyes still dark with need.

  Lar’s wings, how many times can she come?

  We should find out.

  Before he could very happily return to tasting her, she spoke.

  “My turn,” she breathed, repeating his earlier words back to him.

  No male had ever stripped as fast as he did. He threw his briefs in the same direction as her pants then laid down beside her, his wings spread out around him, and watched her hungrily to see what she would do.

  Mira laughed and rolled over, then lifted a leg over his middle to straddle him, her bent knees barely able to reach the floor as she gently knelt on the leather of his wings.

  “I am at your mercy, Earthian. Do your worst,” he purred, baring sharp teeth at her in a playfully challenging grin.

  28

  Mira

  Mira laughed at Zaek’s dramatic proclamation, but rose to the occasion and set out to drive him just as crazy as he had her. Scooting up, she braced her hands on the floor on either side of his head, laid down on his chest, and kissed him. She found she loved the slightly rough texture of his tongue and the hint of sharpness when she brushed against his fangs.

  When he first kissed her, his saliva tasted like salted caramel. Something about it, some alien property, caused an almost instantaneous reaction in her body. It set her on fire, made tingles erupt in her stomach before spreading to every part of her, and made her orgasm harder than she ever had in her life. She would definitely be asking him about that later, but for now, scientific curiosity could wait. She wanted more of it, more of him.

  Finding a hint of it on his tongue, she sucked it into her mouth and released a shuddering moan as her walls clenched in reaction. Kissing him deeper, she searched for more then whimpered when she couldn’t find it. The question as to whether his other bodily fluid had the same orgasm-inducing flavor crossed her mind and gave rise to the immediate desire to find out.

  Lifting her mouth from his, she slid down his huge body, feeling a bit like a pixie crawling over a giant. Careful not to kneel on his wing bones, she trailed a line of sucking kisses over his neck, chest, and abs.

  M
ira had no way of knowing beforehand what he liked and could only hope what she found pleasurable was enjoyable for him as well. To her relief, deep groans and vibrating growls spilled from Zaek with every touch, encouraging her to keep going.

  Not that she’d thought about it… too much… but sex with Zaek was more natural than she could have imagined. The differences between them were more than intriguing, they were fascinating and turned her on. That he was playful and curious and obviously as aroused by her as she was him, made the shyness she’d felt with her few previous partners nonexistent. Touching him, exploring his body, him touching and tasting her, was both exhilarating and effortless.

  She licked the defined groove of his iliac furrow, following it to his groin, then lifted her head to inspect her prize. What she found was alien enough to make her pause, but not so much so as to be something she’d have to stop and ask him how to operate, though the size was a bit daunting. He wasn’t scarily long, but he was thick.

  From the familiar shape of the bulge in his briefs, she’d expected him to have something resembling a penis instead of tentacles or seed-delivering feelers or even nothing at all, but it wasn’t the smooth shaft she was accustomed to.

  The wide head was more wedge shaped than rounded and a pink so dark it was almost red. Instead of a single ridge around the crown, he had three on the underside while the top blended into the dark, slate-grey shaft. Imagining what his girth and those ridges would feel like inside her made her breathing speed up. Midway down the shaft he had a raised, vertical line of five large bumps and, from what she could see, only had one testicle that was protected by thicker…

  “Mira,” he rasped.

  She darted a guilty look up at him, realizing she’d been staring at his cock for a full minute, at least. He was propped up on his elbows, staring down at her with an expression of pained amusement. His orange eyes held a warning that if she didn’t do something soon, she’d find herself pinned under him again.