Taft threw back his head and howled. “Fine.”
“This will be an interesting flight home,” Jari said. There were growls of agreement.
“Jari, keep an eye on things. I’m taking Storm to her dwelling.”
Side by side, they walked the corridor silently. Citun watched Storm’s curious gaze at every light, every door or open space. A number of his warriors they came across gave her a respectful distance but were just as curious. Storm cowered from no one. Citun knew why. For years, she saw death, perhaps even her own as friends died. Time spent with others was precious, but being alone saved her. Citun hoped she would become accustomed to being around him. When they reached a door directly beside Citun’s room, he entered a code.
“You and I are the only ones who know the code for this room. You are to stay in here unless I am accompanying you,” Citun said.
They entered the room and Storm glared at him. “You say your warriors are honorable and yet you have a warrior running around like a nut bar banana loaf. You should have told me your warriors are unpredictable.”
“They’re warriors. Unpredictable is a general description. They won’t hurt you, but when Zargonnii males are around females we experience the urge to Holiday.”
“Well, by all means go find a beach or a cottage, grab a few beers and have yourself a blast.”
“By Holiday, I mean we head into the jungle, find a receptive female, fight until one of us proves their dominance and hope in a few months we are delivered a son.”
“Fight? You mean you really do fight each other?” the words were little more than an ‘eep.’ Her face paled as her eyes widened.
“Our females are larger and stronger. I mentioned that; I wasn’t kidding. We Holiday for two weeks every two years.”
“Great, I’m stuck on a vessel filled with horny aliens.”
“They aren’t horny yet. But it’s a good thing; by the time we get back it will be time to Holiday. Warriors are geared to Holiday when females are close.”
“So, we get to your place, you stick me in a shuttle and you go have sex until your mind is mush.”
“The planet you left will be monitored by Gorgano and Tonans, perhaps others if Brax assassins have been hired. You will never be safe there. The Cono are furious; their world was close to being annihilated.”
Storm’s eyes widened. “You never planned on sending me back.”
“I did, but since the battle, I won’t. You didn’t see the look of terror on your face when it appeared everything was about to kill you. You are too vulnerable. When you disappeared, and I found out you weren’t on my vessel I knew I had to save you. I didn’t lie to the Tonan. You are mine.”
Being close to her wasn’t enough. He almost lost her. The battle to get to her tore him apart emotionally. Cono were a hairsbreadth from slicing her in half. Tonan appeared to be everywhere and nowhere. When the Gorgano made an appearance, Citun thought he’d lose his mind. Now, she looked just as lost. Her fear of the unknown moved him to comfort her. Citun grabbed her arms and he crushed her to his chest wanting to show her safety. The first time her lips were on his it was to save his life. The last time he placed his mouth onto her he did it to save her life. Now, he ravaged her lips to save his sanity.
Chapter 6
The power of his touch surged through Storm. She never realized how much heat would radiate through blue lips to scorch her. Full, moist lips captured every emotion swirling within her, making her heart pound, searing their way into her veins, searching for her heart. Storm had read about kisses like his in erotic novels, which she and her friends used to download, read and giggle over, and hope one day they would experience something so elusive. None of them ever dreamed they would end up in the arms of an alien. Especially, a powerhouse such as this.
The command of his hands against her, crushing her breasts into his solid chest sent a tingle right down to where her heat was building. When his tongue delved the inside of her mouth, she blinked. His teeth, razor sharp could rip her to shreds; his arms could cripple her. He did neither. Instead his hands lowered to cup her ass to pull her higher. There was something sinfully compelling being in the arms of a warrior who could break her in half without breaking a nail, but chose to ravish her instead. She didn’t react for a moment, except to widen her eyes as his kiss became too demanding. His cock ground against her belly. Steel arms wound tighter around her, leaving her breathless. If she didn’t stop him soon, she never would.
Storm pushed at his chest. Citun groaned and stepped back, releasing her. That was all it took, and she didn’t know whether to be pleased or pissed. His breathing was ragged. Growls expelled when she shoved him harder, deciding she was angry, at who she wasn’t certain. She could have tossed him back with a thought, but this was his ship, she was alone. Shoulders slumped, Storm went to sit on a piece of furniture resembling a massive couch. She gazed up at him from across the room and decided distance was what she needed.
“I’m not holding out for a hero. I’m my own hero.” Her tone was forlorn instead of strong and confident, how she should have sounded.
“I never said I wanted to be a hero.”
“Are we still in danger of the Gorgano?” she asked.
Citun went to sit near her. “Yes, but not until they regroup. We will be safest when we enter Castian territory. Then Zargonnii. That will take some time.”
Storm was a little relieved, her heart was still fluttering, and she wondered what was wrong with her. She decided it had been a long time since she had been kissed, and she had never been kissed like that, not even during sex. If she thwarted Citun’s advances, she would be safe until they reached his home. He couldn’t afford to leave her on a foreign planet. She doubted he would force her into anything. Her reaction was confusing her the most. He saved her life; maybe the emotion was gratitude, a little hero worship after all, nothing more. Storm couldn’t get rid of the image of the Tonan smashing through the window. The fury and strength of that act was nothing short of phenomenal. Citun placed his hand on her knee.
“The replicator will make you new clothes if you want. Human females call them shorts and a t-shirt. It’s programmed for those words. Also food. We have chocolate and caramel, but we’re fresh out of ponies and pictures of hot men.”
His hand tightened on her knee for a second, and her heart thumped again. Citun got up and left. As soon as he was gone Ashala appeared. Storm wasn’t surprised. Ashala slumped down beside her. The women held hands.
“Still running from Taft?”
“I don’t know what it is with that alien beast. I pop into a room and he’s already there. I think he can smell me or something. I’m exhausted.”
Storm flopped back to gaze at the ceiling. “Citun has decided he wants me.”
Ashala flopped back; she turned her head to gaze at Storm. “Well, don’t we make a pair? I can’t decide on what or how I feel while being hunted.”
“I hope Lano found the others and that Amini has healed. It would seem the Zargonnii only took the females they wanted. So much for honor and nobility.”
“Wei will take care of them,” Ashala said. “The Gorgano and Tonan want you. They were never interested in the rest of us; I guess we look too different. Or maybe it’s because there is more to you that tips the scale of the war. Me and the others can’t mind-battle, but we’re not without our defenses, though mine are meager. The Cono should settle. The planet will be left alone. You saved them.”
“Them, yes, I hope so. I’m not sure about the Cono and hope they realize it was me the aliens were after. Oct looked so angry. In the meantime, on this ship you’ll be hunted on a daily basis by a beast who thinks you’re his mate, and I’ll have an amorous warrior with the code to my room. Two days ago life was so simple and uncomplicated. Why do aliens turn everything upside down?”
“What do we do? I want time to think. I’m not afraid of Taft, he’s so ‘in your face’ I can’t concentrate on anything but running, and I’m so ti
red. If he’d leave me alone for a while, I could think.”
Storm gazed back at Ashala. “Before the Zargonnii appeared, I had been thinking. We parted days ago, you and I, and I was so alone. I started wondering on tactical maneuvers.”
“What tactical maneuvers?”
Storm jumped up. “Can you make your ash a water wall?”
“Sure. I can make the illusion; it won’t really be water though.”
A swirl of misty particles and a wall of what resembled an eight-foot wave formed. Storm concentrated. Soon the water wall was in motion. Rolling and crashing, slamming into the furniture, sending articles flying. Both women held hands and the intensity grew. Thunder rumbled and an ash lightning rod zipped overhead. They smiled at one another, and Storm chuckled as the commotion ceased.
“Well, now,” Storm said, her tone cocky. “Seems to me Citun’s got himself a Storm.”
Ashala smiled. “I’m going to like working with you.”
Both women high fived.
* * * *
“She said to wait, so I waited. And waited. And fucking waited,” Taft bellowed as he prowled the bridge. “Then I find them together and the little demons have teamed up. Lightning bolts, inside. Thunder, inside. They tried to drown me. A warrior. Citun can you not control the storm that your Storm makes?”
Citun couldn’t, he’d tried. “They won’t leave each other’s side. Your little demon gives mine the material to work with.”
“Ahg,” Taft yelled. “I’ve had a hard on for two days. My fucking cock enters a room ten seconds before I do.”
The mental image made Citun chuckle but he concurred. He was having his own issues. Both females stayed in the same room right beside him. When females were close to warriors their needs built. The reaction was age old, the urge to create an offspring was hard to resist. The sheer fact he would prove to be the dominant was killing him. His desire to Holiday was so strong he vaguely remembered a dream involving Storm and woke up stroking and crooning to his pillow.
How embarrassing.
Citun ran his hands down the sides of his face in exasperation. Containing the two females didn’t seem to be helping his other warriors. Each level of his ship was grouchy to the point his warriors were snarling at each other. Jari seemed as agitated as Taft, and he had no clue why. Citun wondered if it was because Jari had Holidayed before and had never produced a son. A human female could be kept by a warrior, so would any offspring, but Jari was insistent he had no desire for either female, which was odd.
They needed a good battle or a mission. If he took the warriors home to Holiday, Citun had no doubt every one of his warriors would dominate their Zargonnii females, and that would cause a rift between human females and Zargonnii females. With Ashala being another type of alien human, another problem would arise. Their Zargonnii females would come to hate all alien females. Not a good idea. Another argument broke out with Taft and Jari separating two disgruntled warriors. Citun caught the scent of a female and became furious. Ashala flittering around his ship in a cloak and dagger routine was uncalled for. Perhaps she didn’t realize the warriors might not be able to see her, but they could scent her. Warriors could scent females from miles away. Hence, this huge problem with the two enticing, different alien females on board.
“This needs to end.” Citun rose to his feet and nodded at Jari. “We may need to alter our course.”
“Good luck with your Storm and her crony tempest. Want someone to come looking for you if you’re gone for a while?” Jari said, and the warriors chuckled. Citun would have, too, but he had an uneasy feeling Jari wasn’t actually kidding.
As he strode to Storm’s room, he braced himself wondering if he would be met with the same blast of water ash that sent him flying onto his ass the night before. All he did was open the door and wham, his hair went flying to one side of his head and for the life of him, he expected a part in his fur, he had been ruffled so much. Talk about the walk of shame to his room where he checked himself over in the mirror.
The second Citun entered Storm’s room, the two females held hands. The wall of ash rose, danced and whipped around the room to smash into his chest. Citun was knocked back a foot, nothing more. The two were toying with him.
“That’s enough.”
Apparently, it wasn’t. Ash rolled across the ceiling taking the form of a thundercloud. Every particle fell to surround him, to curtain him from the waist up. Citun coughed while waving his arms around his head. The smell was honey, not sickly sweet but enough to annoy. The furniture rattled and the replicator spewed chocolate milk to soak his ass, then as he wondered who would clean the mess, the liquid disappeared back into the replicator. He still felt sticky and grumbled, knowing his butt cheeks would soon need a date with a shower. Citun was pissed.
“You say my warriors are without honor. We’ve never hurt you. Storm, you poisoned me. Tried to make me feel less a male. I ran from a horde of bugs like a child, intending to keep you safe. I went into a nest of vipers to save you from a fate worse than death, and risked my life to toss that Tonan through the window. Ashala, I have never once caused you harm. Every time I want to talk, it’s a war zone in here. And for fuck’s sake did it have to be chocolate? That shit stinks.”
The ash wall crumbled, then slithered away to settle in a far corner and disappear. Ashala was watching him; her gaze shifted uneasily.
Storm’s gaze was furious. “All you want is sex. You lied to me. You said I could make a choice.”
“I don’t want sex,” Citun said. “I want a mate. An honorable one. I seem to have mistaken you for that, human.”
Storm’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not fair.”
“What isn’t fair is grouping me with every other alien male you’ve encountered. I have never once tried to kill you, never entertained the idea. All I’ve done is kept you safe.” He knew his glance was scathing when he leveled his heated gaze onto Ashala. “So, what horrible thing did Taft do exactly?”
“He, he’s too pushy.”
Citun glared at her. “How can he be pushy, when you don’t stay in the same room with him for more than a few seconds, or try to drown him? My warrior is a good male. He deserves better than you. If you don’t want him, tell him. Stop playing childish games, or I’ll put you over my knee.”
Citun had never struck a female, but he was tempted to spank them both. He could see both females’ eyes widen. Ashala looked terrified and confused, then disappeared.
Storm crossed her arms over her chest. “So, the big bad warrior needs to scare females. Proud of yourself?”
“I don’t need to do anything except to make certain everyone on board is safe. Even safe from you.”
“I’m not a threat. And now I’m alone again.”
“You are alone because you choose to be. You haven’t been locked up; you can see the ship with me. If you choose not to, so be it.”
“They all ogle me like I’m lunch.”
“They’re curious. Gee, you wouldn’t understand curiosity, would you? The female who climbs rocks to spy on whales and high hills to see little ones play in the water?”
“They’re cute.”
“So are you when you’re not behaving like a spoiled brat. My warriors’ only crime is wanting to see what you look like. I promise they won’t eat you. Right now, you leave a bad taste in my mouth.” Citun turned to leave, then gazed back at her. “And tell your disappearing friend to stop irritating my warriors. It’s cruel when there are no females aboard we can Holiday with.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean when Ashala reappears tell her to stay put. I don’t like being spied on in my own ship.”
“But this is the first time she’s left the room. We don’t go anywhere. She’s too scared.”
Citun could see her confusion. “My warriors and I can smell the heat of a female on every deck. I know it’s not you. You can’t disappear. Ashala can, she’s been wandering the halls and rooms. A Zargonnii has a keen se
nse of scent when it comes to females. She’s driving my warriors nuts.”
“But, but…” Storm blinked a few times until she looked enlightened, she crossed her arms over her chest becoming annoyed. “Lano, where are you?”
Citun could have been knocked over by a feather when the beautiful young woman appeared. The ship hadn’t detected her. Lano’s fear was apparent. The florescent coloring of her tattoo shined brighter, then settled. Citun could see the rapid intake of her breath, the pulsing of an artery on her throat. She was physically shaking as though she expected him to race over and backhand her. He would never do that, but this was another female he was tempted to put over his knee. Citun never knew a group of females so irritating.
“It’s been you the entire time,” Citun said.
“Everywhere I go, warriors appear,” Lano said and wrung her hands. “I’ve been so afraid.”
“Lano, why didn’t you say something?” Storm asked. Citun could tell by her incredulous tone she was as surprised as Citun.
“You know why I’m afraid of males, and because you’re always arguing. Citun thinks you’re being unreasonable; you think Citun is bossy. You’re both right. But Citun, you’re surrounded by what you know. Storm isn’t. Be the bigger male, be the warrior. Talk to each other, at arm’s length, Citun. Keep your lips to yourself. I’m going to find Ashala. There’s too much tension in this room. Citun, you’re lucky Storm is so strong; you terrify me.”
Lano vanished. Storm sat on the couch. Citun stayed where he was. “Being alone sucked,” Storm said. “But I knew my surroundings. I watched the Cono laugh and play from a distance. Yes, I guess I was spying, pretending I was down there with them. I fed those funny-looking ants to make friends, wanting something to accept me and not try to kill me. I swam in the green pools. I watched the whales, orcas are so lucky to live in pods. I used my imagination. I was happy more often than not. All of it is gone. Two planets torn from me. Too many times all I’ve known and loved has been taken. When you promised me a choice, I had hope; it’s gone. What do you have when even hope has been taken?”
Citun’s Storm Page 7