by Jaide Fox
"We can't start the ship without it. It's what fires the engines for lift-off."
"Damn. Do you guys know where they might have taken a big blue crystal, about the length of my hand?” Hauk asked the nagy leader, Ug, holding his hands up and measuring the shape of the refractor crystal.
The nagy thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “The whoopi are very superstitious. They've probably taken it to their temple. But you cannot reach it tonight in safety."
"So I suppose the temple is in their village?” Hauk asked.
The nagy nodded and pointed back the way they'd come. “There is a stream that feeds their village. At the mouth lie the falls, and there, the temple. It is not difficult to find."
Fuzz came out of the ship's hold, chattering excitedly to Sylo.
"Dammit all! They took the food and brew too?” Sylo exclaimed. “Well, we're really up shit creek this time."
"Come to our village. We will refresh your supplies. It is the least we can do for you for rescuing our brother."
Hauk nodded. They didn't have much choice, and his stomach hurt from going too long without a decent meal. “Okay. Lead the way, friend."
* * * *
The village was made up of dozens of huts raised off the ground on stilts. A maze of walkways were strung between each hut like intricate lace. Most of the huts had knotted ropes leading up into the middle of each building, but the guest cabins they were led to had ladders constructed of thick, lashed branches for easier access.
They were to have two neighboring huts, and inspecting them, Cole saw that they were rather a lot like something the old Seminoles would have used to keep cool in the summer. The walls were woven, almost mat-like, and could be tied up to let in a cool breeze on a hot day. Inside, it was lit by a small pot that held a citrus-smelling wax and a flame that gave off a surprising amount of light. On the floor there were two grass mats that served as beds.
Sharmin poked at them with his toe, moving them infinitesimally closer—as if she wouldn't notice.
"Damn, you're smooth,” Cole said beneath her breath.
"This hut's for me and you,” Sharmin said, looking up at her and waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Cole bent and threw his mat to the other side of the room, ignoring his indignant gasp. “Yeah, well, don't get any ideas,” Cole muttered, brushing her hands off and pushing through the vine strung door, leading the way back out again. She went down the broad ladder, settling on the ground, staring up at Sharmin as he descended with her hands on her hips. It wasn't until he was nearly at the bottom and stopped to glance down at her that she realized she'd been staring at the flexing muscles of his behind and thighs the whole time.
"Do you mind?” he asked, obviously amused.
"Not at all,” she said, curbing a grin as he resumed his descent. Hell, what was the matter with her, anyway? She normally didn't get so caught up in admiring the male form, let alone the body of a guy that annoyed her. She was not interested in him or any other alien like that. Frowning at herself, she turned away and headed toward the center of the village to where the feast had been prepared.
Before she could reach the lighted gathering, she was waylaid by some female nagians—not that they could be identified physically as female.
"We must wash before joining the men,” one of them said.
Cole shrugged. “Okay.” She'd had about enough of getting naked in the jungle, but she felt fairly confident those little buggers wouldn't come and attack them again tonight.
Hauk strode to the center of the village where the feast had been prepared and set out on a long, squat table. Mats were set out on the ground—one for each member. The nagy males sat a space apart from each other, obviously in wait for the women. Torches on tall poles had been placed around the gathering in a circle, and a tangy, fruity scent whispered through the air from the smoky flames, deterring the flying monstrosities that craved vulkahn blood.
He found Sylo and Fuzzy and plopped down beside them near the head of the table. “You find anyone you want to take home with you, Fuzz?” he asked with a grin.
Sylo snorted, choking on his drink. Fuzz made a rude gesture at him. Hauk chuckled.
His stomach rumbled, and he wondered what was taking the women so long to get back. Sighing, he examined the food the nagians had prepared. The table was overflowing mostly with fruits and vegetables, though there were some crocks filled with puddings and others with rice. No meat he saw, other than fat, grilled fish.
One basket of ... fruit particularly caught his eye. Hauk pointed at the oddly shaped stalk. “What's that?” he asked Ug, who was sitting diagonally from him at the head of the table. With its slender stalk and the huge bulb on the end, the fleshy, red fruit looked like nothing so much as a—
"Passion fruit,” Ug said.
That explained its shape. “What's it for?"
The Nagy gave him a look beneath his shaggy brows. “Sex, of course. Whoever eats it goes wild for their partner."
Why the hell would they have that at a feast? he wondered.
Sylo snorted. “I'll believe that when I see it,” he said under his breath.
Ug heard him and frowned. “Do not treat the passion fruit lightly. It is a powerful aphrodisiac,” he warned.
Hauk stood and grabbed a piece from across the table, settling back down in his spot as he looked at the curiously, sniffing it. “Let's see how this works."
"NO!” the nagy said, looking horrified. “The females haven't returned."
"Works that fast, huh? Don't worry, it's not for me,” Hauk said, chuckling evilly as a thought occurred to him.
"I still don't believe it will work. This is just some mumbo jumbo the natives made up to make some credits off tourists,” Sylo said beneath his breath, grunting with disgust.
"What tourists, numbnuts? Shhh. They're coming back,” Hauk whispered, watching as the female nagians came back with Cole.
Cole settled down on the mat between Hauk and Sylo, crossing her legs in front of her beneath the table. They were quiet as Ug made a speech about giving thanks to the creator for the bounty before them, and for giving them new friends.
The nagians applauded and began to eat, selecting food and placing it on the flat tableware set before them.
"What's to eat?” Cole asked, looking hopefully around at the table. “I'm starved."
Hauk grinned at her, hardly able to contain the mischief from spilling out and alerting her to his plans. He could hardly wait to see what happened. “Mostly fruit."
She rolled her eyes. “I'm going to be skin and bones before we're off this planet. First those damn chips, now rabbit food. What I wouldn't give for some Popeye's Chicken right now."
Hauk swallowed a laugh, watching as she ate. After she'd tried a few bites of different fruits and fish and found nothing really to her liking, he pulled the passion fruit out from beneath the table. “Here, try this."
Cole took it suspiciously, and it was all Hauk could do to hide his glee. She looked it over. “What is it?"
"It's good."
She looked at Hauk and then Sylo, frowning at their sudden interest in what she ate. “That didn't answer my question,” she said, holding the fruit up with a skeptical eye.
Hauk's mouth was slowly gaping open, almost as if it could help her put the fruit into her mouth and chew. She looked up at him and smiled impishly. “You only live once, right?” she asked before flicking a tongue over the bulb of the fruit.
"Tastes good,” she whispered.
Hauk's groin twitched to life at the unexpected eroticism of her movement. She grinned, rubbing the bulb over her lips slowly, sensually, watching his reaction.
He swiped the back of one hand across his damp forehead, feeling his skin heat all over as she ran her tongue around the bulb. His balls tightened, and blood rushed to his groin, pounding with the beat of his heart. Finally, as if knowing her audience was enraptured, when he was just to the point of jumping her bones in front of everyone, she sucked the bulb into her m
outh. He almost came right then.
"Mmmmm,” she moaned softly, arching her head back, taking it deeper.
All conversation at the gathering stopped as everyone stared at Cole. She didn't seem to notice, only continued thrusting that fruit deeper into her mouth.
Sylo was gaping at her, a blur he couldn't focus on past her head—only her, only the slow, torturous movement of that fruit in and out of her mouth, the suckling action of her mouth and throat. He'd never seen a woman do anything like it, and he wondered what it would feel like to have her mouth wrapped around his cock mimicking the movement.
His mouth went dry watching her. The pressure built to a feverish pitch in his shaft.
She moaned again, straightening her head to watch him as she moved her mouth on the fruit.
She bit the bulb off.
Around them, he heard frightened gasps, echoing his own.
Hauk's cock screamed and ran for cover. He looked at her, aghast at what she'd done, forgetting all about wanting to know what effect the fruit would have on humans.
He couldn't get his mind off the head of the fruit rolling around between her teeth.
Cole laughed around her food, chewing it up and swallowing. “Oh god. You should have seen your face!” she said breathlessly, chuckling, holding her stomach.
He just stared at her, working his throat muscles. No sound came out.
She laughed harder, rolling onto her back, gasping for breath, tears streaming out of her eyes. He glared at her.
"That wasn't funny."
"It was! Oh god,” she said, laughing. All of a sudden, she went quiet and perfectly still. Her arms dropped limply to her sides. Alarm kicked Hauk's belly. He leaned over her, frantically feeling for a pulse. Her heart beat strong and steady, as even as her breathing.
Hauk turned and stared sternly at Ug he'd talked to. “I thought the passion fruit was supposed to make her wild?"
The nagy shrugged. “She looked wild to me."
Sylo burst out into laughter. Fuzzy grinned at him.
Chapter Six
Hauk frowned at Fuzzy and Sylo and picked up Cole's limp body, grunting with the weight of her as he got to his feet. Settling her comfortably over his shoulder, he carried her to the hut he'd been shown was his for the night and with painstaking progress, climbed the ladder, cursing the whole way. By the time he reached the top, he was panting and a fine sweat had popped out along his brow and upper lip.
He ducked through the curtain of vines that covered the doorway. They fell back into place behind him with a soft whisper of sound, and he bent to lay her onto the reed mat that served as the bed. He went to the back of the hut and rolled up the mat to let a breeze in. The candle flame shied as air kissed it, casting flickering shadows across Cole's motionless body.
Hauk looked at her worriedly and dropped to the floor on his knees, gently patting her cheek to see if he could rouse her. She came to life with a suddenness that shocked him, latching onto the side of his index finger with her succulent lips. He went completely still, looking down at her in stunned surprise as she moved her mouth and sucked his finger inside, enveloping the digit in wet heat. She peered up at him beneath heavy lids, looking so incredibly sultry, his chest ached and a spasm of achy pleasure shot straight down to his crotch.
Blood rushed to his groin in a scalding wave, making his cock harden and lengthen painfully against his jumpsuit. His fingertips tingled as she scraped her teeth against him, rubbing her tongue around and pulling at him with her mouth. He didn't dare close his eyes. He didn't dare move.
She pulled her mouth away, sitting up and wrapping her hands around his ass, pulling him straight to her face. A startled grunt escaped him as she nuzzled his distended flesh through the jumpsuit. His cock jerked at the muffled sensation, aching to be inside where it was hot and wet and silky.
Without warning, she closed her mouth around the head of his cock, clearly delineated through the thin fabric. He groaned in frustration, but she reached around to the fastening, ripping it open with a loud zip of sound.
His belly jerked as his bare flesh came into contact with the silk of her lips, the whisper of her breath. His flesh felt tender, bruised, engorged to the point of explosion. By the Federation, how long had he ached to bury himself inside her? As she wrapped her mouth around his cock head, he threw his head back and released a long, drawn out groan.
He felt her smile against him, and then she was sucking, sucking him as though she could draw out the essence of his being. He gripped the back of her head, holding her to him, running his fingers through her hair, tangling in her curls. Only the briefest thought of what she'd done to the fruit crossed his mind. He trusted her. He knew she wouldn't hurt him—no matter what state she was in.
She rubbed her tongue against the underside, around the rim and the small hole at the top, pulling at him with her lips. Fire seared his veins, singed his senses like smoke choking off a room. He closed down to everything but that bobbing movement, the push and pull of her mouth, the caress of her fingers on his testicles and around, back to his anus. His hand stilled at her head at the unfamiliar touch. He opened his eyes, looking down at her with hazy vision. She rimmed his rear hole with one finger, making it tickle with sensation, and then she thrust her finger inside past tender muscles.
He cried out, deep and hoarse. His hips jerked involuntarily, he clenched on her small finger, ramming his cock deep inside her mouth, forcing her to stretch her mouth as wide as possible, to take in as much of him as she possibly could. He was mindless to the probe of her in his rear hole, the stroke in and out on a place that had never been touched—should never have been touched, the suckling action of her mouth. Ecstasy whirled through his shaft, burning him alive.
He was yelling in ecstasy and he didn't realize it, only recognized the pain in his throat as he fought to hold on to the delicious sensations swarming through his body.
He couldn't take it—couldn't be so selfish. He didn't know if he was more uneasy with her now as she was ... or the repercussions of what she'd do once she found out what he'd done to her.
Hell, it was worth it.
He growled and tightened his fingers in her hair, gently forcing her head back to release him. She blinked up at him, smiling a slow smile and licking her lips.
His stomach flip-flopped at the eroticism of that move. He lifted her up from her half-lounge until she was on her knees, pushing his hands under the shoulders of her jumpsuit and thrusting it down her arms. She grinned and arched her head back as he pushed the garment down her body, following its descent with his mouth. He kissed the beautiful arch of her throat, ran his tongue in the hollow at its base.
She shivered, pushing her suit down her hips and legs before gripping his arms for support. He slid his hands around her back, urging her to bend backwards more, until her breasts were in his face and his hands cupped the firm, generous cheeks of her ass. He grunted with approval at the weight of them, massaging each cheek as he dipped his head and rasped the valley of her breasts with his lips.
"Oh god,” she murmured, squirming in his hold. “That's so good."
He smiled triumphantly and caught one nipple, tugging it with his teeth, digging his fingers into her cleft from behind. She was incredibly wet. A fog of lust hazed his mind, made him drunk with arousal. His cock screamed for the release he'd denied it.
He probed her swollen lips, slipping in her juices, sucking the tip of one small breast into his mouth, reveling in her cry of pleasure as he took a long draught of her nipple. She gripped his arms, digging her nails in his biceps, weakening his resolve to move slowly so he wouldn't hurt her. He pushed a finger into her vagina, his mouth salivating at the tight, trembling grip of her sheath. She was so damned fragile feeling—he'd crush her beneath his weight, rip her apart with his cock. She was making him mad with want of her and he could barely control himself.
Cole cried out as he thrust one large finger inside her, curling it against her vaginal muscles. The w
etness there couldn't disguise the size of him, the stretch of her tissue as he worked inside. She straightened, forcing his head back as she kissed his bare chest. He still wore his jumpsuit, though it hung open, revealing a wide swath of his body and the flesh of one thigh.
She thrust his jumpsuit off, baring his arms, his back, forcing him to release her so she could free his body from the garment until they were both naked. She made an aggressive growl of approval, wrapping her arms around him to crush his body against hers. He kicked the jumpsuit from his feet before he enclosed her in his arms, digging his hands into her ass to lift her off her knees and grind her against his cock.
A wash of weakness assailed her, made her insides flutter with agonizing awareness. His hardness ground against her mound, so achingly close to where she wanted it. She growled in frustration, using her body weight to push him back.
He grunted in surprise, losing his balance, falling onto his back on the hut floor. His knees came up as he landed, and she forcefully pushed them down, crawling on top of him.
She squatted above his standing cock, dragging her swollen lips over his rod, reveling in the sensation of the head slipping against their wet surface.
He blinked up at her with a foggy look in his eyes, barely visible in the flickering candle light. “What are you doing?” he croaked, unmoving, as if helpless to do anything to stop her.
"I'm going to fuck you, Master, until you are my slave,” she said with a husky murmur of promise, feeling kinky looking down at him in his vulnerable position. His brown eyes went smoky with lust, firing her own arousal to incredible heights.
She lowered herself, shifting until his shaft head nudged her opening and pushed inside. Pain lanced her nerves, lessening the pleasure, but strangely enhancing it at the same time. He reached for her, groaning, and she raised off of him with a warning look. His arms fell back to his sides with chagrin, and she continued moving downward, stretching, stretching, until she'd swallowed him completely to the edge of her womb.
She sat on his hips, panting, her chest rising and falling with great gulps of air. Her belly jerked with a spasm. She'd never been so full in all her life, had never been so wet, so aroused. She was flooded with moisture and fire. Nerve endings that had never been touched flared to life as she lifted on him and began a slow, coaxing rock of her hips.