by Tana Stone
She peered around the woman who continued to prattle on about variety, and spotted Kush. He’d moved to stand beside another pillar to be closer to her, and from the dark look trained on the woman clutching her arm, he’d heard every word. She couldn’t help feeling a small rush of pleasure that he still cared enough to be outraged.
Even though she knew the Dothveks had as few women as the Cresteks, she also knew the last thing the alpha warriors would do would be share their females. Even the thought angered him, and she could feel the heat of his fury at the idea of her with another man. Even worse, multiple Cresteks. Max was surprised he hadn’t already started attacking the crowd with his blades drawn.
Chapter Nineteen
Before Kush could push his way through the crowd and rip the Crestek’s female’s hand from Max’s arm, he heard a sharp intake of breath behind him. He’d been so intent on watching his female, and so focused on suppressing his anger at the idea of her with multiple males that he hadn’t noticed the darkening sky above him. He had to peer through the swagged fabric to see that it was not a sandstorm approaching.
The heavy clouds above were crimson, blocking the light of the suns as they stained the sky red. He didn’t have time to warn Max before the skies opened up, and the blood rains fell down in a roaring torrent.
Screams tore the air as the Cresteks were pounded with the rush of water, the sheets moving sideways and flooding the square almost instantaneously. Kush tried to spot Max, but her pale-blue dress disappeared in the downpour as figures dropped and ran.
Blood rains were rare, but could be deadly, unleashing a deluge within a short time and leaving behind trails of red clay from elsewhere on the planet. On the sands, the crimson rain would seep into the ground and create swirling eddies. Here, in a city paved with stones, it had nowhere to go.
Panic made his heart hammer in the chest as he searched for her, the roar of the storm drowning out him screaming her name. He could feel her fear, but he couldn’t see her. Pushing aside all his previous hurt, Kush’s gaze bored through the crowds of stumbling Cresteks, desperately searching for her as the water rose rapidly in the courtyard.
Moving quickly around the covered perimeter—Cresteks barreling into him in their attempt to escape the rains—he finally spotted her. She stood in the storm with her hands over her head, and her shoulders hunched. The thin dress was plastered to her body, the red of the rain staining her dress, and running off her in claret-colored rivulets. T’Kar had been knocked to his knees, and he appeared to be yelling for her to run.
Relief flooded him, even as his heart contracted at the sight of her, helpless and small. Kush did not wait for her to move. He dashed out into the courtyard, the water hammering him as he scooped her up and carried her to safety. When he reached the covered area crowded with Cresteks gasping and shouting, he didn’t stop. He plowed through the crowds and ducked into a narrow alleyway, dodging underneath awnings and moving through the narrow corridors and streets until he found a deserted alleyway with a deep alcove where they could both hide without being seen.
He lowered her feet to the floor, but her arms remained around his neck. The soaked fabric clung to her skin, outlining her hard nipples and her narrow waist. Kush’s cock stiffened as he realized he could see every curve of her small body as if she was naked. He moved so that she was against the wall and no one else could see her, as he dragged both palms down her body. Every sweet curve he thought of as his, and even the idea of a Crestek seeing her like this made his blood boil. The thought of many Crestek males with her, made him want to kill someone.
The rains still cascaded behind them, and he felt the waters rising around his feet. In the sands, he would have to worry about quickly forming streams that could sweep him away and under the surface, but he did not know what happened in the city with hard stones for ground.
Pressing her against the wall, his body and the cloak he wore shielded them both from anyone seeing them, although with the storm raging, he doubted anyone could see more than an arm’s length in front of them. Blood rains were marked by their ferocity, even though the storms passed quickly.
He felt her shaking and lowered his mouth to her ear, so she could hear him over the deafening rush of the water. “Are you unhurt?”
She nodded, but her shoulders shook. “They want me to…”
“I know,” he said. “I would never let that happen.” You are mine, was what he wanted to add.
“I’m sorry about what I said.” She peered up at him, nearly yelling to be heard. “Earlier.”
He shook his head. His anger had melted away when he’d thought she was in danger. Even his fury at the Cresteks had dissipated. All he cared about was that she was safe and with him. “I am also sorry. I was upset and scared.”
She trembled. “I’m still scared. Scared I ruined things.”
Running a finger down her face, he cupped her chin. “What do you think you ruined, little one?”
She hesitated, then the words spilled out of her in a flurry. “I have a habit of shutting people out, but I don’t want to shut you out. Not anymore.”
His heart thudded in his chest. “Do you think I would give up on you so easily?”
She hitched her breath, her eyes shining. “I hope not.”
He pulled her into him, covering her cold, tiny body with his warm one, and tucking her wet head beneath his chin. Her body shook gently before his warmth permeated her, relaxing her body and making her sigh. After a moment, he felt her hands roaming across his chest, and then the flutter of her fingertips over one of his nipples. His eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head.
When he gazed down at her, she lifted her head to meet his eyes. “Please, Kush.”
That was all he needed. He crushed his mouth to hers, savoring the sweet taste of her mixed with the tang of the wine. The roar of the storm seemed to disappear as she stroked her tongue against his, her lips moving against his eagerly.
He loved feeling her pleasure, but he needed more. A primal desire thrummed in his chest. He needed to claim her and make the little female his. He’d felt it since he’d first revealed himself to her. Now he needed to show her.
“You want this?” he asked when he tore his mouth from hers. “You are sure?”
Her eyes were half-lidded as she gazed up at him, her nod her only response.
He couldn’t go slow. Need was drumbeat pounding through him, making his hands urgent and his mouth desperate. Stroking one hand down the wet curves of her body, he cupped her sex, hearing her sharp intake of breath. Her hips moved restlessly as he skimmed a hand between her thighs and nudged them apart.
Within moments, she was fumbling with his pants, pushing them down and grasping his cock as it sprang free. Her soft fingers danced along his shaft, her tiny hand bumping along his ridged rings but not closing all the way around him. Her eager touch was like fire in his veins, and he slid her dress up just as quickly, moving his hands to clasp her ass and lifting her up. Her usual hesitation was gone, dissolved in the urgency of the moment.
“You are mine,” he said, feeling her quiver beneath his roaming fingers.
She looked up at him with hungry eyes, wetting her lips and beckoning him with a small nod. “I know.”
He paused, his eyes searching hers. “Is this what you want?”
She nodded. “I want you inside me, Kush.”
He notched his cock at her entrance, forcing himself to go slow, even though his need to claim her that instant almost brought him to his knees.
She moved her hips and his crown pushed inside, stretching her and making her pupils flare. She bit the corner of her lip. “I want you.”
He clutched her hips and moved her down slowly, her tight heat stretching and enveloping him. Her breathing became shallow and her body jerked away, but he held himself inside her.
“So big,” she said through gasps.
He kissed her gently, his lips caressing hers as he gave a final sharp thrust and buried his
cock inside her. After a moment, he felt her fingers relax from where she’d sunk them into his shoulders.
“Better?” he asked, when he pulled back and saw the look of pleasure on her face.
“So much better,” she said, her eyelids fluttering. “Your ridges…”
Chapter Twenty
“What about my ridges?” he asked, the words ground out between jagged breaths.
Max had never felt anything quite like it. Not only did he fill her more than she could have imagined, the hard bumps that ringed his cock made her lose the ability to think. She steadied her breath as he held himself inside her, letting her stretch around him. “They feel…so good.”
“Not as good as you, my little one.”
Max loved hearing him call her that, even though she knew she shouldn’t. It shouldn’t turn her on that he called her his or that he clearly felt he’d staked a claim on her. But it did. She loved that this huge, gorgeous creature wanted her. She liked being his little one, and she loved his huge alien cock with the hard rings around it. She liked being his and his alone, even though her rational mind knew it didn’t make sense.
For now, she didn’t care what made sense. She’d been flying solo for so long, that it felt good to be connected to someone again. And as his eyes held hers, she could feel their connection, his feelings for her tangled up in her mind. She didn’t care that he was an alien from a primitive planet who understood nothing about her life. It didn’t matter that she worked in a lab, and he walked around barely dressed and armed to the teeth. She didn’t care about any of that. She only cared about how good he felt inside her, and how his hot gaze made her feel—like she was the only thing that existed for him.
As the burning sensation eased, she tightened her legs around him, bracing her feet against the small of his back so she could move up and down his hard shaft. She’d never known how much she liked the pleasure mixed with pain of being so stretched—but she wanted more.
He groaned as she drove herself onto him. “So tight.” The word escaped through gritted teeth as he held her ass and kept her from falling. He let her control the pace and the depth until she was making soft keening noises, and her hands were slipping on his slick shoulders.
Pressing her back into the wall, Kush hiked her legs up higher and tilted his hips so the next stroke rubbed his ridges against her clit. Her entire body jerked and she rolled her head back.
It really wasn’t fair to other species that the Dothveks had monster cocks with ridges, not to mention bumps that rubbed in all the right places. The Crestek women could have their multiple partners, but she’d take her wild barbarian over that any day.
The rain was slacking off behind him, but the echo chamber of their alcove was filled with their mingled pants. He nestled his head next to hers, his mouth beside her ear and his hot breath sending shivers skating down her spine. “You are mine.”
“Yes,” she said. At that moment she was completely his. Nothing existed outside the two of them.
He thrust hard. “This tight heat is mine.”
She gasped, closing her eyes and increasing her grip on him.
He drove deeper. “Look at me, little one.”
She forced her eyes to open and saw him looking intensely at her, his eyes nearly black with desire.
“Say it,” he said, his voice hard and insistent.
Her head swam with a pounding need. “Say what?”
“Say you are mine. Say you are my mate.” He continued to thrust hard into her, each motion taking her breath away and sending frissons of pleasure cascading through her.
She nodded. She would say anything he wanted as long as he made her feel this way. Her body burned like it never had before, all her nerve endings on fire. “I’m yours, Kush.”
He shifted his grip on her ass and powered into her. “You are my mate? Only mine”
“Only yours,” she said.
On the next thrust, he swiveled his hips, his ridges circling her clit. Her body shattered, contracting around him as she came. As she clenched around his cock, he let out a husky cry, hammering home with an uneven, desperate rhythm as she dug her fingernails into his hard flesh to keep from collapsing. With a final roar, he emptied into her.
When she could breathe again, she touched a hand to his damp hair and brushed a sweaty strand off his forehead. His hood had fallen back, but the cloak still clung to his shoulders and kept them both hidden from view.
“Can you stand?” he asked, lowering her legs gently to the ground and slipping out of her.
“I think so,” she said as her feet sank into the ankle-deep water. “I don’t know about walking, though. I may not be able to do that ever again.”
His face twisted in concern. “Did I hurt you?”
She grinned. “I’m teasing you. I mean, I might be a little shaky right now, but I’ll be able to walk again…eventually.”
He kissed her, feathering his finger through her damp hair. “I am a little shaky, too, but I am happy to carry you for the rest of your life.”
A momentary sense of regret fluttered in her belly. She didn’t intend to stay there forever. She pushed the thought away and hoped he hadn’t sensed it. She didn’t want anything to ruin the happy glow of the moment.
He traced a finger down the side of her face, his eyes searching hers. “Are you sure you’re okay, little one?”
“I’m sure.” She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and savoring the feel of his flesh. He was so strong and solid, and for the first time in a long time, she felt safe. Which was crazy, considering they were both trapped in an alien city and hiding in an alley.
Kush looked over his shoulder. The blood rain was no longer coming down in curtains, but the drops pelted the ground, splashing up and stinging her legs.
“Why is it red?” she asked, watching the crimson water swirl as her own brain refocused, full of questions, as usual.
Kush shrugged. “It comes from across the sands, farther in the other direction than most of us have traveled. It leaves red clay we do not have on the sands.”
Max wished she could study the planet—the gold sand, the red rains, the shimmering rocks. She suspected the unusual minerals could keep her busy for quite a while. Not if you’re going to get back to your research, she reminded herself.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“We still have the cover of the rains. I do not think the Cresteks like to venture out in them. If we can make our way to the city walls, maybe we can find a way out.”
“I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to climb stone walls in this rain.” She tugged at the sopping-wet fabric and it made a sucking noise as it pulled away from her skin. “Or in this thing.”
“There must be another way through the gates. A hidden doorway. A passage. A gap. Something.”
She wasn’t sure. The Cresteks seemed pretty hell-bent on keeping others out, and their people—especially their women—in. But she guessed they had to try. She slipped her hand in his. “As long as you don’t get caught. I don’t want to be locked up in here without you.”
He shook his head. “I will never let that happen.”
She believed him and squeezed his hand. He flipped his hood back up and tucked her under the cloak so she wouldn’t get wet, then they stepped out of the alcove and into the narrow corridor. They’d only gone a few steps when they reached a corner, pausing as a figure came around it and almost ran into them.
Kush reversed himself quickly, keeping his head down, but the Crestek reached a hand out and grabbed his arm.
Max sucked in a breath as she peered through the fat raindrops and saw that it was T’Kar. His eyes rested on her for a moment then slid back to Kush. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you two.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Danica watched as K’alvek shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and squinted up at the high, stone walls again.
“Watching like that won’t make her work faster,” she
told him.
The rains had cleared, and the swirling ruddy waters had begun to sink into the ground, creating deep puddles and flowing rivulets. They’d made it to the rocks before the blood rains had hit the sands, and had managed to run through the mountain pass by the time the downpour had stopped. Trudging over the soaked ground leading up to the Crestek city had been the most arduous part of the journey, their feet getting sucked into the crimson sludge, but now they stood beneath the city walls, watching Bexli go over a section in the back that seemed the most remote.
“Give him a break.” Holly came up behind them, her soaking, red hair tied up in a top knot. “Remember how fascinated we were the first few times we watched Bexli shift into something else?”
K’alvek glanced down at the two females. “What did you say this is?”
Danica saw the last purple sucker disappear over the top of the stone barrier. “A Parinthian grentaling. It has five legs all covered with suction cups, so it can scale the sides of things and stay pretty flat.”
K’alvek frowned. “She will not remain one of those Parin…Parthin…one of those things for long, will she?”
Danica laughed. “I don’t think she’d blend in real well as a purple scuttling creature with five arms. She’s probably already transformed into one of them.”
“Them?” K’alvek cocked his head at her.
Holly waved a hand at the city. “A Crestek. She knows what they look like from our battle. If she’s laid eyes on something, she can shift into it.”
“That is good to know,” he studied Danica. “Has she ever shifted into one of you before?”
“No way,” Tori said, walking up as she rubbed her hair pins back and forth, as if she was sharpening them. “Team rule. No shifting into your friends.”
“That was Tori’s rule,” Danica said under her breath. “She wasn’t crazy about the idea of a Lycithian shape shifter joining our crew.”