by Zoey Draven
Kat looked to where he was petting and she gasped. “Did I do that?”
“Yes, luxiva,” he rumbled, reaching out to run his palms down her arms before wrapping his fist in her long, dark hair.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said, brows furrowing in concern, reaching out gingerly to touch the scratches.
He huffed out an amused chortle. “Sorry for what?” His pupils dilated. “I like them.”
“Oh,” she breathed, looking up at him with wide eyes. A moment later, her gaze dropped to his lips. He’d seen her do it before, but he thought it was strange.
“Why do you always look at my mouth?” he asked, rubbing his hand down her body…before gently washing between her legs.
Her breath hitched, but she hesitated. “In your culture, do you kiss?”
“Kiss?” he asked. The language implant had a vague definition, but he didn’t understand it. Touching mouths together? For what purpose? “What is this ‘kiss’?”
The pink on her cheeks returned. “Forget it. I shouldn’t…I don’t—”
“Tell me,” he demanded, his hands sliding down to her hips.
Kat blew out a small breath, the spray from the washing stall creating an enticing pattern of droplets on her soft skin. He longed to suck every single one off her lush body, but she’d told him she needed to rest. Patience, he thought to himself. The span was still fresh. Later that night, perhaps she would have rested up. Eventually, she would grow used to his appetite.
“Maybe I should just show you,” she murmured quietly.
“Show me,” he agreed, intrigued, jerking his head in a nod.
Kat inhaled a deep breath. “You’ll have to bend down a little. You’re too tall.”
He was growing more confused with every second that passed. Still, he did as his female asked and bent at his waist slightly. She came up on the tips of her little toes, adjusting their height difference even further.
Her eyes connected with his briefly before she leaned forward…and brushed her soft lips against his own. Vaxa’an drew in a sharp breath.
He saw her lips curl before she did it again.
Vaxa’an purred, shuddering against her, feeling his spine tingle at this little, unexpected pleasure.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered, “Close your eyes,” to which he immediately obeyed. Anything for her to continue what she was doing.
“This is kiss?” he rasped, his guttural voice thickening the words.
“Kissing,” she corrected. His female leaned forward, pressing her mouth to his more fully and then she lightly slid her tongue against his—that perfect, pink, smooth tongue. He purred and growled, liking this kissing. “Now, reciprocate,” she whispered to him.
His chest rumbled and he grabbed her waist, pressing her to his hardened cock that refused to soften in her presence. Angling his neck for a better position, he did as she told him. Learning from her, he moved his mouth against hers, tasting her, lightly at first but growing more urgent as he swept his ridged tongue inside.
Kat gave a shuddery moan, clinging to his shoulders, her blunt claws digging into his flesh. Vaxa’an didn’t know how long they kissed, but eventually his back started to ache, hunched over as he was, so he scooped her up and she wrapped her shapely legs around his waist, bringing her face-to-face with him.
And they stayed in that position for a long time. Vaxa’an had never felt closer to a female and he had bedded many. Kissing set his blood on fire and left his Instinct wanting, but he didn’t want to do anything to disrupt this moment.
Eventually, however, he knew he must stop. He only had so much self-control and he’d already tempted himself too much for one span…and it wasn’t even mid-span yet.
Vaxa’an wanted nothing more than to take his female back to his sleeping platform and continue this kissing with her until the span wasted away. But he was the Prime Leader. He had responsibilities, duties. Soon, he would be needed at the command center.
Regretfully, he broke away. His Kat looked flushed, her pink lips swollen and begging for more kissing. Her eyes were glassy, unfocused.
“It’s not fair,” she murmured, like she was in a daze. “It’s not fair that you’re good at kissing too.”
His chest puffed out a little. “What else am I good at, female?”
Her eyes cleared a little and she wiggled in his grasp enough that he set her back down on the washing stall floor. “Stop fishing for compliments.”
Her words didn’t make sense to him, but he shrugged them off. Human words. Not everything would translate.
“I need to go to the command center,” he told her. “I must prepare for our re-entry onto Luxiria.”
Kat blinked and some clarity returned to her gaze. Vaxa’an remembered the deal that they’d negotiated and he frowned, his good mood souring just a little.
“When do we arrive at your planet?”
“We arrive at our planet,” he said, correcting her, “in two spans. And we must be ready, luxiva.”
TEN
The next day went much like the first for Kate. She woke, clinging to Vaxa’s side. His skin seemed to absorb heat throughout the night, so by morning, he was a seven foot pillar of warmth.
Although, as soon as she woke she remembered she was still a little peeved at him. The afternoon before, he’d left her in his room to go to the ‘command center’ and he hadn’t returned for what she guessed was hours. His room was mostly bare, except for his clothes, so she couldn’t even properly snoop. No books, although obviously she wouldn’t have been able to read them. She’d fiddled around with the controls on the shower, just out of curiosity and boredom, but couldn’t get them to work properly.
Bare bones. She wondered what his room or house or whatever he lived in looked like on his planet. Because if it was anything like this, Kate figured she had a long month ahead of her. Especially if he kept her contained inside.
So, needless to say, she was antsy and a little pissed by the time he eventually returned. Of course, the moment she saw him, her treacherous body perked up, remembering the way he’d kissed her before he left, the slide of his exquisite tongue against hers. But she’d crossed her arms and pushed at his chest when he’d approached her.
“You are displeased?” he’d asked, seeming surprised, as if he hadn’t just kept her prisoner in his room for hours.
She cocked her eyebrow. “Let me make one thing clear. I will not be locked away while you go about your day. I am not your—your pet.”
“Pet?” he repeated. “I know you are not a pet, female.”
“Then don’t treat me like one.”
His nostrils flared a little. “Luxiva, I cannot have you wandering around the vessel in my absence. It is dangerous.”
Kate took a deep breath, telling herself to calm down. “It’s not like I would touch anything. But I feel cooped up in here, like I’m in a cage.”
“Just one more span, luxiva. There is not much to do on this ship, yes. But on Luxiria…your spans will be more fulfilling, I give you my word.”
It was more than that she realized. The closer they were drawing to his planet, the more she realized just what she’d gotten herself into. One month on a strange planet with an alien species she knew next to nothing about…with an alien whom she was extremely attracted to that she enjoyed kissing very much. It was a recipe for disaster.
But she didn’t have any other choice. They’d struck a deal. She’d given him her word.
Still…her nerves were starting up.
For her final day on the ship, Kate pulled on her Big Girl Panties and decided that being stuck in Vaxa’s room was the least of her worries. That morning, they went to breakfast—where she had more of that delicious meat—followed by training time…which pretty much ended the same way as the day before, with Vaxa pushing her onto the bed the moment they got back to the room and promptly feasting between her legs until she saw stars.
Again, he left shortly after and she couldn’t help
feeling a little lonely, although that feeling was nothing new. She had no parents and only a few close friends. Her best friend was who she missed most of all and Kate couldn’t help but agonize over how Beks was freaking out about her disappearance back on Earth. The two talked or saw each other almost every day. Surely, by now, Beks would’ve realized that something was majorly wrong.
Nothing you can do about it, Kate, she reminded herself. She was in bloody space.
That evening, when Vaxa finally returned, she didn’t push him away. She felt a little withdrawn, however, and after having their dinner, back in his room, he pulled her onto his lap, stroking her hair.
“What is troubling you, Kat? You have been different tonight. Are you upset with me for leaving you in my quarters again?”
“No,” she said truthfully, feeling her scalp tingle as his long fingers gingerly threaded through the strands. It felt so relaxing, so good. She savored the contact. “I’m, um, I’ve just been wondering what your planet is like. I’m…nervous.”
The space between his brow bones pinched together, his pupils contracting. “Nervous. There is no reason for you to feel nervous.”
“Can you blame me?” she asked quietly. “Three days ago, I had no idea that alien life even existed. I mean, I always thought that there was a strong possibility that there was intelligent life somewhere in the universe, but not necessarily that I would be kidnapped by them and brought onto this ship, traveling to this new planet that will be my home for the month.”
Vaxa’s lips pressed together at her last line and Kate knew why. He wanted her to stay with him. But he had to understand that she couldn’t. Her life was on Earth.
“It’s been a little much for me to take in,” she admitted.
“I will always protect you,” he said fiercely. “Do not feel fear. Luxirians learn how to work through fear.”
“But I’m not like you. I’m human.”
“A weakness, but you will learn Luxirian ways with time.”
Record screech.
“Weakness?” she asked, stilling. “Do you think I’m weak?”
“I will admit,” he said, his tone measured, eyes watching her carefully, “that when I first saw you and realized what you were to me, what you will become to my people, I was…not thrilled that you were human.”
Kate’s mouth dropped and she scrambled up from his lap, pushing at his chest when he tried to pull her back. She stood by the edge of the bed, hands on her hips, glaring down at the alien sprawled on it. She’d just tried to confide her fears in him and he’d called her weak.
“Humans are known to be physically weak compared to many ‘alien’ species, Kat,” Vaxa tried to explain. “It has no bearing on your mental state, but rather your physical constraints.”
“If I’m so weak, then why did you choose me?”
A puzzled expression came over his features. “Because I did not have a choice.”
Kate laughed, but it came out as a loud and awkward burst of air. Whenever Kate was hurt, she got angry. And right now? She was hurt. Vaxa certainly didn’t mind his words. Her gentle alien just might have an asshole streak, after all.
Except, she found the little strain of anger she had was being quickly replaced by sadness. She didn’t know why. And it was embarrassing when she felt the backs of her eyes sting with small, little tears.
All her life, Kate had felt unwanted. She’d been in and out of foster care in her childhood, all to wonderful homes, but with families who eventually gave her up. In college, she’d tracked down her biological mother and reached out to her, only to be rejected. Her mother had given her up as a baby and she didn’t even want to meet with her.
And Peter…stupid fucking Peter. He’d been the one steady thing in her life during college. He was nice and said he liked to take care of her, that she never had to be alone again. He talked to her about marriage and a family, everything she’d ever wanted. She’d been happy. Until he told her he’d been seeing someone else, someone else who he wanted more than her.
It took her six months not to cry herself to sleep at night. The only person in her life who she completely trusted, one hundred percent, was her best friend, Beks. And Kate had an awful suspicion that she might not see her again.
Now, this alien…who’d told her he liked to take care of her, who said he would protect her, told her that he felt he didn’t have a choice in choosing her. Like, if he’d chosen the blonde who stood next to her in line, he’d act the exact same with her.
It hurt more than it should, which made warning bells go off in her head.
Kate turned her face away. “I don’t want to talk anymore. I’m tired,” her voice came out like a raspy whisper and she found that she couldn’t look at Vaxa.
Frowning, he pushed up from his position, sliding his legs to the ground to sit up. “Luxiva,” he said, reaching for her. But she stepped away. She went into the bathroom and closed the door, feeling tears drip down her cheeks. She wondered what the hell was the matter with her, why she was acting like this.
After a few minutes, Kate knew she couldn’t hide in the bathroom all night. She splashed her face with water, used the toilet-like stool in the corner, and went back into the room. The lights were dimmed and through the window she could see the quiet, bright stars of endless space. A quiet hum filled the room.
Vaxa was watching her from the bed. Kate went to her side, slid under the fur covers, and faced the window, her back to him.
“Kat,” he tried, shifting closer.
“Good night,” she whispered and closed her eyes, willing sleep to come, but she knew she would be awake for a while.
She listened to his breathing, feeling the thick tension in the room. She heard the rustle of his clothing as he undressed for bed and then he pulled her to him, his strong arms wrapping around her middle, just under her breast.
In her ear, he said quietly, “Sleep well, luxiva.”
Kate squeezed her eyes even tighter, feeling another tear slide onto the furs.
* * *
Sometime during the night or in the early hours of morning, Vaxa nudged her softly.
“Kat, you must wake,” he murmured quietly, brushing her hair from off her face, fingertips stroking her cheek.
“What…” she whispered, blinking sleep from her eyes, groggy from her restless dream. “What is it?”
“Look,” he said, pointing out the window. Kate saw that he was dressed already, in his leather pants and soft shirt.
Kate turned her head, still slightly disoriented. Through the window, she saw a planet. It was a dark planet, mottled with dark grey and black and beige shades. The bright blue bodies of water were a sharp contrast.
The planet was close. Extremely close.
And she knew before he even spoke why he was showing her.
“Luxiria,” he said. “We are home.”
ELEVEN
Luxiria.
Re-entry into their home went smoothly and they maneuvered the vessel into the docking port. Vaxa’an returned to his quarters, where he’d left his female. When he stepped through the doors, he saw her looking out the window to the docks below, dressed in a new tunic that fell below her knees. Luxirians milled around, having already been notified of their impending arrival. They began cooling the ship and securing it.
“Come, luxiva,” he said quietly, watching her. Something had happened between them the night before. She said that she hadn’t been upset that he’d had to leave her again, but when they went to sleep, he had a sour taste in his mouth. He’d angered his female in some way. He just wished she would tell him what he’d done wrong.
It wasn’t the way he wanted to start their matehood on his planet, on her new home.
Kat turned to him and approached, falling into step beside him as they exited his quarters. She was quiet as he led her off the ship and into the docking port. He didn’t like it when she was quiet.
“Prime Leader,” Rixavox greeted the moment they stepped off the ship. R
ixavox went through military training with him. His sire had been Vaxa’an’s sire’s war general and the two Luxirians had matured together. Now, Rixavox was another of Vaxa’an’s war generals.
Rixavox’s gaze strayed to the human female at his side and his mouth pinched down for a brief moment. “A human?”
Vaxa’an pulled Kat closer. “Your lavrix’an. You will do well to remember it.”
“I hope you know what you are doing, Prime Leader,” Rixavox said lowly.
Vaxa’an stepped towards Rixavox. “She will be my luxiva.”
Disbelief etched itself onto Rixavox’s features and his eyes returned to his female, studying her. “A luxiva. I did not think it was possible with another species.”
“It is,” Vaxa’an replied, relaxing slightly. “Humans can be more than Breeders.”
Rixavox’s gaze returned to him and he nodded, inching his head. “You can communicate with her?”
“Yes. The men on the ship have already been implanted with her language. Find Kirov. And call a meeting. I am going to show her our home and then I need to speak with the council.”
“I will notify them immediately,” Rixavox replied. He bowed his head to Kat. “Lavrix’an.” And then he turned towards the ship, thumping Lihvan on the shoulder as his other war general emerged.
Luxirians stared at Kat as they passed. Vaxa’an had not met most of the men before, as they had not completed military training, but they inclined their heads as he passed. Word would travel fast. He would need to meet with his council. There was much to be said, much to be planned.
It was warm already on Luxiria. The twin suns were rising in the sky, bringing in a new span, spreading a golden light over Luxirian land. As they emerged through the docking port doors, Kat gasped and Vaxa’an felt a comforting heat spread through his bones at the sight of his home.