When her foot came down on a particularly jagged rock, she winced, hissing through her teeth as she quickly pulled her foot back.
Thargen halted and turned toward her. Though he’d been gradually easing his pace throughout the journey—undoubtedly to accommodate her—his lead had steadily increased, and he now stood several meters ahead of her.
“You okay, zoani?”
I’m just slowing him down.
The heat of shame filled her cheeks, and she gave Thargen a sheepish smile. “Guess running around behind a bar every night doesn’t build the right kind of callouses for barefoot hikes through the woods.”
He frowned and strode over to her. He eyed her skeptically, brows low, and dropped to one knee. Before she could figure out what he meant to do, he took hold of her ankle and lifted her foot off the ground.
Yuri wobbled and teetered backward, thrown off balance by the backpack, but Thargen looped his free arm around her waist to steady her, and she threw her hands out to grasp his shoulders. Once she’d reclaimed her balance, Thargen lowered his arm and turned his attention to her foot.
“Yuri,” he said in a low rumble as he angled her foot so its sole was facing him. He lightly brushed a finger forward from her heel.
She flinched, nearly yanking her foot out of his hold as a small burst of laughter escaped her. “That tickles.”
“And this?” He pressed the tip of his finger to a spot on the ball of her foot.
This time, she gritted her teeth, cutting off a whimper, and dug her fingers into his shoulders. “Hurts.”
He straightened, and his eyes—which were pretty much level with hers while he was kneeling—met hers. “How long’s it been hurting?”
Yuri looked away from him. “Not long.”
Thargen caught her chin and firmly guided her face back toward his. “Don’t lie to me, terran.”
She blew out a frustrated breath, scowled, and threw her hands up—only to hurriedly return them to his shoulders to prevent herself from falling backward. “I’m a burden! What use am I? I’m slowing you down because I can’t even walk.”
Frustration flashed across his features, straining his expression and adding a hint of darkness to his eyes. Still holding her chin, he released her foot and stood up suddenly, looming over her. Yuri reflexively moved back, but he caught her with an arm around her waist.
The look on his face promised anger, reprimand, a taste of the fury she’d seen him unleash on Iljibi earlier. And yet…a glint of hunger lingered in his gaze.
He pulled her flush against him and leaned down, smashing his lips over hers. Yuri started, eyes flaring wide. The kiss was unrelenting, charged with fire and lightning that coursed from her mouth all the way down to the tips of her fingers and toes. It demanded everything from her—and offered everything in return.
Closing her eyes, Yuri looped her arms around his neck, leaned into him, and parted her lips to grant him the access he commanded. His tongue swept in and danced with hers, stroking sensually and exploring her mouth. Yuri flicked her tongue out, licking along his tusk.
Thargen growled. The arm around her back dropped so he could take a handful of her ass and draw her tighter against him as he tilted his head and slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss.
Yuri moaned as her conscious thought faded away. His kiss was a drug, addictive and intoxicating, filling her veins with an insatiable need for more. Heat flooded her core, and her sex clenched, aching with want, tormented by a raging, unfulfilled desire.
He pulled back abruptly, breaking the kiss.
Desperate, Yuri tried to follow, unwilling to let it end, but his hold on her chin prevented her from closing the distance he’d placed between their lips. Brows drawn down, she opened her eyes.
Thargen’s mouth was mere centimeters from hers, and his half-lidded eyes were even more intense than before. “You’re not a burden, zoani,” he said, his voice a low, rough rumble. “You’re the only reason I’m still going.”
Yuri released a shaky breath. She could feel the heat emanating from him, could see the lust burning in his eyes, could still taste him on her tongue.
He held her gaze for several seconds, his eyes searching and ravenous, and she swore his head tipped infinitesimally closer. But before she could battle his hold to claim another kiss, he released her and stepped back. He hooked his fingers under the straps of her backpack and slid them off her shoulders. Taking hold of the backpack in one hand, he swung it to Yuri’s front, holding it there for her.
She dazedly hugged it to her torso.
Thargen stooped and swept her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. His motions were so easy, so smooth, as though she weighed nothing at all, and he hadn’t already carried her across at least several kilometers of wilderness a few hours ago.
As he started walking, he said, “Tell me next time. I need to know so I can keep you safe.”
Yuri sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. “Okay.”
He continued through the forest at a brisk but steady pace, carrying Yuri and both their packs over the uneven terrain without showing any signs of increased exertion. The sky dimmed steadily, creating pockets of gloom between the alien boughs, and a chill crept into the air.
She didn’t know how long they’d traveled when Thargen stopped at the edge of a small clearing, where he set Yuri down on a soft patch of grass so they could relieve themselves. No problem. Yuri was a pro at this after peeing in a hole for days. Going on the ground outside was a cinch.
And at least there are leaves to clean up with.
Once they were done, he picked her up and moved on without hesitation.
Neither of them talked much during the journey; for some reason, the quiet felt appropriate. Even if they’d made occasional jokes since this whole situation had begun, Yuri knew it was serious. People had died—and more people were bound to die before it was all done.
Yuri just had to believe that she and Thargen weren’t amongst the doomed.
The forest eventually opened again, giving way to a wide, hilly stretch of land that was even rockier and more irregular than the places they’d traversed thus far. That red grass was in abundance here, covering all the ground that wasn’t bare stone—and even growing in clumps and tufts from some of the little cracks and crevices in the rocks.
The mountain loomed to Thargen’s right, seemingly closer than ever, its top still blanketed in mist. The sky, which had been a soft cyan when they’d first emerged from the ship, had become a deep teal as it darkened, with hints of cerulean closer to the mountains. This new area was bathed in twilight shadow.
As nice as it was to be in the open after a week in a cage and hours in a sometimes oppressive forest, the air was colder out here—and the breeze, though gentle, only made it worse, carrying a downright icy bite.
Yuri curled up against Thargen’s warmth. “It’s getting cold and dark. We should stop.”
A low hum rolled from his chest, and he turned his head to look toward the misty peak. “Yeah. Wind shifted downslope already, and it’s only gonna get colder.”
“Well, thankfully I have my own personal heater,” she said, giving his chest a pat.
The corner of his lips quirked. “Could say the same about you, terran.”
“I don’t put off nearly as much heat as you do. I think you got a raw deal.”
“Now, my memory isn’t always so reliable,” he said as he walked toward a large rock formation ahead of them and to the right, “but I know we already established this. You’re fucking hot, zoani. Definitely sparked fire in my blood.”
Yuri laughed and looked up at him, her gaze tracing his strong jawline to his wide, full lips, where his tusks jutted out. The memory of their last kiss was fresh in her mind—and it ignited a heat in her core that had her squeezing her thighs together.
She pried her attention away from him as they reached the rock formation. From its base, it was an imposing cliff, at least ten meters high, that
ran roughly parallel to the peaks farther upslope. Thargen walked along the rock face until they reached a point where it cut briefly back upslope, leaving a sheltered pocket a few meters deep and across.
“This is about as good as we can hope for,” Thargen said, stepping into the space.
As he set Yuri down on her feet, she noticed something was missing—the breeze. The air was still cold, but not nearly as cold as out in the open. The red grass ran almost directly up to the rock face, separated by a bit of bare dirt and loose rocks.
Yuri wiggled her toes in the grass. It really was soft—and it would be a million times better than lying on a cold, hard, metal floor.
Stepping away from Thargen, Yuri set her bag down as she knelt, opened it, and rummaged inside.
Thargen dropped his pack next to hers. “Pretty nice compared to that cage, isn’t it?”
Yuri chuckled as she withdrew a meal bar and two water cubes. “This is like a five-star luxury hotel.” She held out the bar and one of the cubes to him.
He accepted them, popped the cube in his mouth, and broke the meal bar in half, handing a potion back to her. “Eat, terran.”
She took it from him and bit into it. The meal bar was as bland and dry as ever—and yet somehow tasted so much better now that she was out of that cage and away from the ship.
“Water, too,” Thargen added after she swallowed her mouthful.
“You’re being bossy.”
And I think I like it.
Staring up at him, Yuri slowly raised the water cube to her mouth and slipped it past her lips.
Even in the rapidly deepening twilight, the hungry gleam in Thargen’s eyes was clearly visible. “If that’s what it takes to keep my terran safe.”
He opened his backpack and tugged out several pieces of clothing through the jumble of knives inside. Once the clothing was piled on the ground, he laid the bag near the base of the cliff. “It’s only gonna get colder, and we can’t risk a fire.”
Thargen removed one of the hardlight axes from his thigh and placed it on the ground near the bag. Lying down on his side, he dragged the backpack a little closer, adjusted its position, and rested his head upon it. He looked at her and grinned, holding his arm open. “Come on, zoani. Get in here.”
Yuri pulled another shirt out of her bag and crawled toward him. Once she was close enough, she turned and lay down in front of him. Together—with little grace and a few laughs—they draped the spare clothing over their bodies like a pile of too-small blankets. When they were done, Thargen wrapped his arm around Yuri, drawing her back against his chest. Heat radiated from him, and she sighed, snuggling even deeper into his embrace.
His big bicep made a surprisingly comfortable pillow.
Darkness descended swiftly, and now that Yuri was finally still, she was more aware of the sounds around her. The wind rustled the grass and sighed around the rocks. Unknown animals made strange night calls in the distance. Faint chirruping, not unlike that of some insects back on Earth, rode the breeze, oddly soothing despite its alienness.
Yuri looked up at the sky, and her breath caught at the beauty of it. Countless sparkling stars glittered against a dark backdrop that was run through with a cloud of deep violet, blue, and touches of pink—a galactic cluster painted across the heavens. It was beautiful, the sort of sight that couldn’t be seen save in the remotest parts of Earth thanks to light pollution, but that wasn’t even the most amazing part.
She stared at the wavering, mist-like light flowing above the horizon—a river of violet and red, accented by flares of green, its course ever shifting but its direction constant. An aurora. She’d never seen one in person.
“I haven’t seen the sky in over two years,” she said softly, “but I never imagined any sky could look this beautiful.”
Thargen’s hand spread across her belly, and he curled around her just a little bit more. He lifted his head and turned his face skyward. “It’s okay.”
Brow furrowing, Yuri looked back at him. “Just okay? Tell me what’s more beautiful than that.”
He met her gaze, and his eyes flashed faintly as though with reflected light. “You.”
Yuri caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Those tiny wings in her belly took flight again as a thrill swept through her, spreading warmth across her skin that had nothing to do with his body heat.
Thargen moved his hand up and brushed his thumb across her lower lip, coaxing her to release it with his gentle touch. His fingertips trailed over her cheek and along her jaw, barely skimming her skin, until he cupped her neck.
Her heartbeat quickened. For a moment, Thargen’s hand tensed, and she was certain he’d angle her face toward his, certain he’d claim her with another kiss.
But he lifted that hand away, returning his arm to its previous place over her stomach—where their skin was separated by the thin but stifling fabric of her shirt.
Thargen laid his head down, pressed his nose to her hair, and breathed in deep. He released the breath in a low, appreciative rumble that vibrated into her. “Sleep, terran.”
Body thrumming in with unfulfilled arousal, Yuri released a quiet, shuddering exhalation as she turned her face forward and closed her eyes.
How many times could he tease her like that and leave her wanting before she simply came undone? How could anyone sleep while their bodies were so consumed by desire that the slightest touch could make them ache at their center, could make them wild with need?
How could she sleep while she was tucked against his big, solid body, while she could feel his throbbing cock through their pants, pressed against the back of her thigh? He was so warm, so strong, so…safe.
Her body eased into his heat, into his security, and grew heavy. Her breathing evened out, and her heart slowed.
How could she sleep when all she wanted was him?
But exhaustion didn’t care what Yuri wanted. It dragged her down into the darkness, and she soon drifted into soothing oblivion.
Eleven
Thargen surged out of sleep. He snapped his eyes open and lifted his head to stare downslope at a rocky landscape dominated by deep shadows, instinctively searching for any signs of movement, for anything amiss. The shimmering light that had flowed across the sky earlier was gone now; even Thargen’s eyes could not penetrate all the darkness here by starlight alone.
A warm, tingling sensation pulsed at the back of his neck, lingering at the base of his skull.
He’d heard something.
He drew in a deep breath and held it, listening.
The wind sighed over the land, making the grass whisper a subtle song. Farther away, alien trees creaked and groaned restlessly. A spark of Rage lit at Thargen’s core. The animal sounds that had been evident when he and Yuri had gone to sleep were absent.
That Rage flared when another sound shattered the night—the boom of an explosion echoing across the mountainside.
Thargen slid his arm out from beneath Yuri to shove his torso up, and she jerked awake with a gasp, sitting up abruptly. Some of the loose clothing they’d covered themselves with fell away. He kept his left arm around her middle; she was trembling.
“What was that?” she asked, her breath forming a small, wispy cloud in front of her.
The sound came again, repeated in quick succession, this time followed by another noise that was quieter but no less distinct—the low whine of blaster fire.
Not explosions. Gunshots.
“Fuck,” he growled. Even though the sounds were distorted echoes, made faint by what had to be kilometers of distance, they were unmistakable. He’d heard them too many times to forget—even after his head wound had stolen so many of his memories.
And in his experience, there was only one prevalent species that preferred old-fashioned projectile weaponry.
“Thargen?” The trembling had entered Yuri’s voice now, and she’d turned to look at him, eyes wide and pupils dilated.
“Fighting. Back in the direction of the crash.” He sa
t up beside her and slipped his other arm around her shoulders, drawing her against him again. “It’s far away, I promise.”
The gunfire continued, answered by the piercing whumps of blasters and occasionally punctuated by shouts so weak compared to the other sounds that they could’ve been tricks of the wind. But when those howls tore across the night sky—a chorus, raw and deep, that undulated and rose into a piercing trill—he knew exactly what was happening.
“Fuck,” he repeated.
Yuri tensed. “Thargen, what was that?”
“Skeks. Those were fucking skeks.”
“You mean…like when people say spawn of a skeks? Like it’s some…demon?”
Thargen withdrew his arm from around her middle and reached behind him, feeling blindly around the backpack until he closed his fingers around the haft of the hardlight axe he’d laid down. He settled the weapon on the ground beside him without relinquishing his hold on it. “Don’t know what a demon is, but there’s a reason everyone uses skeks as an insult.”
“What are they?”
“They’re big, strong, mean, and will eat just about anything they can kill. But they prefer to take prisoners. They like having fresh meat on hand.”
“You mean they’d eat…us? Alive?” Her hand flew up to cover her mouth, and her words were muffled when she spoke again. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Thargen strengthened his grip on the axe as his Rage intensified. Just the thought of Yuri coming to harm, of a skeks so much as laying a finger on her, was nearly enough to send him over the edge.
He inhaled through his nostrils and, making his voice as gentle as possible, said, “No getting sick, zoani. They’re far away, and even if they weren’t…they should be afraid of us. I spent a long time fighting them in a lot of places. Even with as much as I’ve forgotten, I still remember how to kill those fuckers a million different ways.”
Yuri took Thargen’s right hand between both of hers, drawing his arm just a little more snugly around her shoulders. “You’ve fought them before?”
Savage Desire (The Infinite City Book 4) Page 17