by Shea Malloy
“I do not, but we are his only hope of leaving this planet, and he is ours. If he does anything foolish, it would be to his detriment.”
His voice had taken on a dangerous flavour that shamefully excited Jillian. Not for the first time, she understood the bad boy appeal that afflicted her sister, Karen. Jonnar was a man whose hands had done some terrible things. She was sure of it. But whenever he touched her, he never hurt her. His touch was always soft, caring, possessive. She was never afraid of him.
He’d saved her life.
And he was the father to their unborn child.
Jillian let herself enjoy a tiny bit of excitement before she pushed it back into that deep, dark box where she always kept it, where it belonged.
—
The buggy had four seats. Kess sat in the front by himself as he drove while she and Jonnar sat in the back.
Only the buggy’s whir as it puttered along broke the silence. It hovered a few feet off the ground, hence the lack of wheels. Though there was the occasional rise and dip and swerve as Kess avoided rocks, it maintained a smooth glide that Jillian enjoyed far better than a car ride.
Everything else on the planet was eerily quiet. Jonnar had said no other intelligent life-form lived here except for some animals, but where were they? Night had fallen and darkness surrounded them, save for the strip of light beaming from the front of the buggy. On Earth, night animals tended to be noisy as a warning that you either back off from their territory or prepare yourself to be their dinner.
Jillian hoped whatever creatures lived on this doomed planet didn’t enjoy the taste of human or Dava flesh.
The air had become colder than she’d anticipated. She rolled down the sleeves of the flight suit she’d borrowed from Jonnar. The thing was way too big for her since Jonnar was like a mountain, but it was still a better choice than all the outfits in her suitcase. Sure she liked the way Jonnar watched her hungrily when she wore her skinny jeans, but she didn’t want to invite that sort of attention from the other men—especially those monsters.
Finally, Kess slowed the buggy to a stop.
“It is too dark to continue,” he said, shutting off the buggy. “The path will be clearer in the morning.”
There was a gentle thump as the buggy settled on the ground. The lights gradually faded off, throwing them into darkness. The inky sky stretched wide and endless. Even from this distance, the red spot of the disintegrating wormhole remained visible. She stared at it worriedly. How long before it disappeared, trapping them on this planet forever?
“So, what do we do now?” asked Jillian.
“I will keep watch while you both rest,” said Kess, turning in his seat to look at them.
“And how are we sure you won’t kill us while we’re sleeping?”
Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, the stars overhead affording enough light for her to see the calculating look on his face.
“I could ask you the same when it is your turn to keep watch.”
“You have nothing to fear.” She shrugged. “We’re not the ones running around pointing guns at people. Well… ” Her gaze darted quickly to Jonnar, who remained silent. “At least not without provocation.”
“Your promises have no value. One of my people was found dead aboard his ship,” said Kess, a note of steel in his voice as he scowled at Jonnar. “Why did you kill him? And why does a human who bear resemblance to our Klara accompany you?”
Finally, Jonnar spoke, his voice similarly hard.
“You ask many questions, but the answers are no business of yours, traitor.”
“I know who are, Jonnar Dorayan. First General and closest friend to the Klar,” Kess spat, his voice laced with contempt. “Murderer of your own kin. And now an Elder. The only traitor here is you.”
It happened so fast, Jillian swore she was imagining it. One moment the two men were regarding each other with open dislike, and then the next, Jonnar had his gun pressed against the side of Kess’ head and Kess had his knife against Jonnar’s throat.
Her stomach turned at the sight of Kess’ lethal blade against Jonnar’s skin and a surge of indignation went through her. She’d never been a violent person, but the thought of someone harming Jonnar awakened a dark viciousness inside of her.
Jillian’s heart slammed in her chest. No, jumping on Kess with fists ablaze wouldn’t help. She had to stop this. She had to come between these two or it would end badly. It was her fault for vocally doubting Kess’ trustworthiness in the first place.
“Stop it, you two,” she said, then she raised her voice and slammed her fist against the side of the buggy’s door. “I said stop it! Killing each other is pointless and idiotic! We need each other to survive.”
Kess sneered and Jonnar’s eyes glinted with malevolence. When they still didn’t move, Jillian continued.
“Look, we didn’t kill the Elder. He sacrificed himself.”
“For what purpose?” Kess asked, not moving his hand or gaze away from Jonnar.
“To save me,” said Jillian quietly. Then she recounted everything about the attack, going through the wormhole, and Jonnar and the Elder’s sacrifice. When she was done, Kess dropped his weapon and so did Jonnar.
“If this is all true, then it would mean you are with child,” said Kess, watching her intently.
Jillian’s face grew hot. “Yes.”
Kess smiled unpleasantly at Jonnar. “Congratulations on your impending fatherhood. I hope the events of the past do not repeat themselves.”
Jonnar glared at him. “You are fortunate my Yena is wise and merciful. Had she not been present, I would have taken great delight in killing you. Slowly.”
“We will put your words to the test someday, General. On that day you will learn killing me isn’t as easy as you believe.”
With a smirk, Kess climbed out of the driver’s seat and slunk away, the darkness shrouding him. Jillian released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Then she glared at Jonnar.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Jonnar blew out a breath and ran his hands through his hair as he leaned back in the seat.
“He annoys me,” he said stubbornly. “I don’t know who he is, but he knows me. I am at a disadvantage.”
“I thought you said he was a pirate.”
Jonnar shook his head. “He is more than that. I can tell.”
“Whatever he is, please keep him alive for now, Jonnar. Stop trying to kill each other, even if he says stuff to provoke you.”
Jonnar’s only response was an irked grunt.
Jillian licked her lower lip and eyed him curiously. It burned her to ask what Kess had meant by Jonnar ‘murdering his kin.’ The phrase was self-explanatory enough, but she wanted to hear the whole story.
However, after the way Jonnar had reacted when Kess mentioned it, Jillian doubted it was a wise idea to bring up the subject again. Perhaps another time. Perhaps someday Jonnar would tell her the truth.
“You are shivering,” Jonnar said. Climbing out of the buggy, he came around on her side. “Come with me. I will warm you.”
Jillian stood, then yelped when he grabbed her by the sides and plucked her free from the buggy like she was a piece of paper.
“Do you enjoy manhandling me?” she groused.
“I do,” he said, guiding her away from the buggy and up an incline. “Touching you gives me an endless amount of pleasure.”
Jillian bit her lip and forced herself to concentrate on her feet and not on the way Jonnar’s words made her insides tight and fluttery. The most she saw was a few feet in front of her. Everything else was dark, indistinguishable shapes in the distance. Even if she’d had her glasses, she doubted they’d have been much help in this gloom.
But still, Jonnar’s words played in her head. So she gave her thoughts voice.
“But you’re not supposed to enjoy touching me, remember? Or kissing me. ‘It will complicate matters,’ you said.”
The incline ended on a st
eep drop. They retreated some distance away from the edge to a group of large rocks. Jonnar sat on the ground first, leaning his back against one of the flatter rocks, then he tugged her hand to follow him. When she moved to sit beside him, he encircled her waist and pulled her to sit between his long legs.
Her ass was right against his crotch, her back pressed to his chest. Jillian let out a little gasp when his hold tightened on her and his mouth descended on the sensitive spot behind her ear.
“Yes, sukaya, I did say that.” His lips moved against her skin, making her shiver more than the cold surrounding them. She loved when he called her sukaya. It made her feel special that he had a name just for her, something only they would share. “But this truth does not negate the other.”
“And what’s the other truth?” she breathed out.
“I am a reasonable man, yet I want you unreasonably.” His growled words sent an explosion of heat and wetness straight to her core. Jillian squeezed her legs together to soothe herself from the onset of arousal that had accosted her. She let out a soft moan and gripped his thighs as he moved his hands up to cup her breasts.
He fondled her over the flight suit, grazing his thumbs over her nipples until they tightened into points.
“I want to touch you,” he said, his voice low, sensual. “I want to do more than that. Much more. But for now, the feel of your soft skin beneath my hands is enough. Watching you lose control with my fingers buried inside you is enough.”
She gripped the material of his flight suit over his thighs. “But I don’t know if that would be enough for me, Jonnar.”
He laughed softly as he pulled down the zip on the front of her suit, exposing her bare chest to the chill. Her firm nipples stood out prominently, and Jonnar pinched and tweaked them, eliciting moans from Jillian.
She hoped Kess wouldn’t hear her and wander over to see what they were doing. Then she decided she didn’t care. Jonnar licked her neck and resumed fondling her breasts, making a sound of satisfaction as he hefted them in his big, rough hands.
“Absolute perfection,” he said with a groan. Jillian closed her eyes, overwhelmed with lust and heady with delight for his genuine appreciation of her body.
He unzipped her suit all the way and slid one hand down her stomach while the other continued fondling her breasts. Her insides quivered from his hand’s slow descent toward her panties. Holy hell. By the time his fingers got to where they were supposed to be, he’d find her panties drenched.
“Ohh…” she moaned, arching her back when his hand dipped into her panties to cup her. His chest was solid muscle against her back. She felt him, hard, hot, and impossibly large, pressing against her ass.
“Spread your legs, Jillian,” he rasped into her ear, his warm breath fanning her skin. He squeezed her breast as reinforcement she should follow his order, and she opened her legs as wide as the suit’s pants allowed.
He slid his fingers lower, parting her, the pads of his digits grazing her sensitive nub. He encircled it, slow and torturous, pressing down with just the right amount of insistence to pull a long whimper from Jillian’s lips.
Then his fingers progressed lower still and they groaned together as he pushed a large digit into her wet heat. Jillian breathed faster and threw her head back against his shoulder.
Fuck. The reality was infinitely better than the dream. Her walls tightened around his finger, accepting him, begging for more. His mouth latched onto the side of her neck, his hot, wet tongue coaxing fiery desire throughout her body. He pinched her nipple harder. The pain went straight to her core just as he pushed another finger inside her.
“You are right,” he said, his voice gravelly as he began to thrust his fingers into her channel. “My fingers are not enough. You grip them greedily, but what you really need is my cock.”
“Yes, Jonnar… please…” She squirmed against him and reached a hand behind her to squeeze his hard flesh. He groaned and jerked into her hand. Christ, he was huge and rigid as steel. She was desperate for him to make good on his filthy promise.
“I will fuck you, sukaya, but not tonight,” he said as he moved her hand away from his length. “Tonight is for your pleasure alone. I promised to warm you from the cold.”
He slid his wet fingers over her bud again as he twisted her face toward his in a deep and hungry kiss. His tongue plunged into her mouth, subjugating hers as his fingers rubbed her harder and faster. He circled her sensitive nub, speeding her toward the finish.
She moaned into his mouth and raised her hips, her legs shaking. He wrapped his hand around her waist, supporting her when her back arched as she fell over the edge.
Jonnar pushed his fingers inside her again, the heel of his palm pressing down on her bud. She opened her mouth on a long, low whimper, her body rigid as her inner walls convulsed around his digits. Sweet heat spread from her core, enveloping her body.
Panting, she slumped against him, pleasant aftershocks running through her thighs up to her swollen clit.
“You are beautiful. More so when you come,” he said, slipping his hand from between her legs. His eyelids lowered halfway, he held her gaze as he brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked her juices from them. Jillian stared, surprised and aroused all over again.
Jillian blushed. “God, you’re so much dirtier than I’d expected.”
“And you are far more delicious than I’d dreamt.” His blue-violet eyes were dark and mysterious in the gloom. “Perhaps I should have made you come on my mouth instead. Another time.”
“Another time?” Jillian raised an eyebrow at him. She sat up straighter and zipped up her flight suit. “Aren’t you confident.”
His smile was wolfish, predatory in a way that frightened and excited her. Of course he was confident. He knew as well as she did that she’d never be able to resist him if—when—he decided to make a move on her. Tonight was the most recent example.
“Are you warm now, Jillian?”
“Yes,” she said, blushing and suddenly unable to meet his gaze despite what just happened between them. Maybe because of what just happened between them. “You did a fantastic job… ahh… warming me.”
“Good.” He pulled her into his arms so she could lie back against him once more. He was still a bit hard, and this made Jillian’s face heat up even more. “Then let us rest.”
10
Jillian
—
They resumed their journey at daybreak, gulping down the bland oatmeal-like substance and water Jonnar had packed.
It immediately came right back up when nausea hit her hard.
“This is why you should have stayed on the ship,” said Jonnar, carrying her back to the buggy. “There is medication aboard that would have helped you.”
Jillian shrugged, feeling much better she’d puked, and Jonnar held her in his strong arms.
“Too late now to take me back.”
The heat had returned in full force, the breeze blowing around them just as humid. Unbearably warm and sweaty, Jillian wished she could strip completely naked and fling herself into an ice-cold tub of water. That was if she could even make it to the tub if she got one. The heat sapped her energy, leaving her limbs all gooey and useless. She felt certain she was melting.
She glanced at Jonnar seated beside her, his handsome face in profile. His jaw was covered in stubble that did not make him look unkempt, but instead, enhanced his rugged, sexy appeal. Last night, he’d found a delicious way to warm her up when she was cold. She wondered if he had any new tricks to help her endure the heat?
Jillian had the urge to slap herself. Seriously? That was where her mind went so early in the day? Yes, it would seem so, because the memory of Jonnar’s hand between her legs and on her breasts, his breath hot on her skin as he fucked her with his fingers, paraded through her head.
A little tingle raced through her, arousal stirring in her lower belly. As if sensing her dirty thoughts, Jonnar turned his head to look at her. She bit her lower lip and immediatel
y looked away. His hand fell on her thigh, squeezing her leg gently to get her attention.
“Look,” he said, pointing straight ahead. Jillian focused her attention on the direction of his finger and not on his hand still lingering on her thigh. She squinted at the large, dark green spread in the distance, prominent in the starkness of the light grey sky above them.
“Is that a forest?”
Jonnar nodded. “Yes.”
“We are close,” said Kess from the front. “The wreckage is past it.”
It didn’t take them long to enter the forest. Kess slowed down as he navigated the buggy through the thick cluster of trees. Jillian peered up and around her in surprised wonder. Not for the first time, she thought on the strangeness of this planet. All this time she’d believed the planet consisted of perpetual red dust and unforgiving rock. It was as if someone had plucked this verdant forest from somewhere else and plopped it down here accidentally.
The forest was larger than she’d expected, and the heat had lessened now that they were surrounded by trees. Jillian sighed in relief when Jonnar suggested a break before continuing to the wreckage.
Kess showed them to a shallow river curving a path through the thicker cluster of trees. Large rocks jutted out from the midst of the river and the damp soil on either side of it. He claimed the water was safe for them to drink. Overcome with joy, Jillian almost hugged him. Instead, she splashed her face with the cool liquid, wishing she could dunk her whole body in it.
Reluctant to eat anymore of the oatmeal Jonnar grudgingly offered him, Kess announced he preferred his food freshly caught and wandered off somewhere.
Perched on a rock beside Jonnar, Jillian dangled her bare feet in the water, swishing her legs back and forth. She inhaled the fresh forest scent and the earthy perfume of damp soil. She glanced at Jonnar, aware of his proximity and that they were alone.
Not like anything would happen. Kess could return any minute.
Unless they did it quickly…
“How long have we been here?” she blurted out to distract herself from her wayward thoughts. Clearly her pregnancy was affecting her more than just giving her nausea.