by RK Munin
Flummoxed, she looks down at Halin, “What's going on here? Do you think the new armor did this? Maybe I need to wear a thicker insulation shirt?”
He still looks pale, but his eyes are blazing with possessiveness. “It's not the armor.” His voice is deep and raspy. “You have mating marks.” He goes silent again, his gaze fixed on the marks.
Advocate drops his appendage, and the reflecting disk disappears.
Mian throws up her hands in frustration. “How about you give me a little more to go on here?” she growls out, ready to start smacking all of them around until someone explains what's going on. “It’s one thing for those guys to be all mysterious and taciturn, but I need you to be way more forthcoming. What the hell is going on?”
Halin surges to his feet and pulls her tightly against him. “When two Hissa want to see if they are compatible, they’ll live together for several weeks. They live in the same house, share the same bed, and become known to each other. If the female develops mating marks, then they know the two can have young together.” He explains in a shaking voice. He's holding her so tightly she's surprised her ribs don't give audible cracks.
“These marks around your neck mean you and I are compatible,” he continues. He bends his knees a little, tightens his hold and picks her up against his chest. She gives a little gasp as her feet dangle, and he buries his face against the skin of her neck. “I knew you smelled good. I just thought it was lust, but now I know it’s more.”
“The Hissa would do well to find the other Decanted females. Many were sold. They could be rescued and provided care and homes,” Leader says, reminding both of them that they aren’t alone on this desolate planet. The three Bicoma stand together, watching Halin and Mian interact. They remind Mian a little of an audience. Observing but not interacting.
Or maybe puppeteer is more accurate. Setting things in motion, then standing back to see how everything will turn out. She doesn’t like the feeling of being manipulated. And something tells her these Bicoma know a lot more than they’re letting on. For some reason, she gets the feeling they knew about her before she even got near Bicoma territory.
“Put me down,” she orders with a halfhearted smack to the side of Halin’s head. Slowly he lowers her to the ground and lets her turn to face the Bicoma, but then he wraps his arms possessively around her and draws her back tightly against him.
“I humbly thank you for this gift.” His voice chokes as he addresses the Bicoma. “How can the Hissa repay you?”
All three study them silently, and Mian gets a feeling they’re considering Halin's words.
“Payment seems supercilious considering the female gave you the gift, not us,” Leader says finally. “But if you will, we would like to keep the box of samples you've brought. Perhaps, in the future we will be able to trade you for what we really want from the Hissa. You do not have it yet, but you will. When you have what we need we will speak again. We can only hope you truly are the honorable species you appear to be.”
Those words don't sit comfortably with Mian, and she opens her mouth to demand further explanation when Leader meets her eyes. “It's not for you to understand,” he states, and she feels a stranger shiver of foreboding go through her.
“You may leave now,” Advocate tells them, and all three link appendages. The next moment the world goes black.
CHAPTER 11
Mian wakes slowly and gives a little groan. Her head is killing her, making her wonder how much she had to drink to cause this kind of headache. She cracks open her eyes and sees a lovely expanse of muscled chest in front of her. How drunk did she get to let someone onto her ship and into her bed?
The muscled chest expands with a breath, and a familiar snore hits her ears.
Halin.
Memories come flooding back, and she bolts up in bed. Dark spots dance in her vision, and she almost falls back down. Next to her Halin gives a little groan and brings his hands to his head. Apparently, she's not the only one suffering.
She looks down to see she's still wearing her ripped insulation suit. Why is she dressed and Halin's naked?
Actually, how did the two of them get back to the ship?
She staggers to her feet and searches out some painkillers and water. She uses the drug gun on herself, then calibrates it for Halin’s weight and gives him a dose. While it's taking effect, she finds a water container and drinks all of it. She's feeling better by the time she refills the container and brings it to Halin, who's now sitting up and rubbing his own head.
He looks up at her blearily. “Why do I feel like my head was stepped on by a Pienter?”
“I don't know, but the last thing I remember is being in that stone circle with the Bicoma, and now we are here on Fortune.” She looks at her wrists, relieved to find her data bracelet is still there. She activates the holo function and interfaces with Fortune’s computer. She gives a little relived sigh and shoots him a grin that’s more grimace than anything else. “We’re floating just outside of Bicoma space. At least they didn't disappear us.”
He nods his head, then winces. Did she give him a big enough dose of painkillers? “Here, drink this.” She offers him the container, and he drinks greedily. “You hit the cleanser unit. I'll meet you in the cockpit. I want to check all the systems on the ship before we head anywhere.”
“Join me?” he asks, and despite his pain he leers at her. She sees the exact moment when his gaze falls on the marks on her neck. He reaches up to run a finger over them again, his expression turning reverent. Uncomfortable, she shoves him away with a forced grin.
“Get moving!” she orders and then enjoys the view as he strides unabashedly naked across the room. She should be getting up herself, but instead she watches his beautiful tight ass walk away until he finally disappears into the cleansing unit.
Giving herself a mental shake, she pulls off the soiled insulation garments and pulls on some of the soft comfortable clothing Halin purchased for her. In a short time she's gotten to enjoy the feel of the fabrics against her skin, and the bright colors make her smile.
She uses the small facility in the cockpit to clean her face and tame her short hair, pulling it into a small tight pony tail at the back of her head. Feeling much better she drops into the pilot seat and starts going over the ship’s systems, finding nothing out of the ordinary. She's surprised when she notices one of her port guns that registered a jam the day before seems to be operating fine. Searching, she discovers all the recurring issues she has with the Fortune are fixed, and the ship’s fully fueled.
Well, that's a hell of a parting gift, she thinks. All of it almost makes up for the highhanded way they treated her and Halin.
Footsteps in the corridor bring her eyes up in time to watch Halin walk in. Looking refreshed, he carries in a tray of food.
“You didn't eat,” he grumbles as he walks to the gunner’s chair and sits. He places the tray in his lap. The smell of food makes Mian realize she’s very hungry so she reaches for one of the plates. Halin grabs her hand and brings it to his mouth, pressing her palm against his lips and giving her a kiss before dropping her hand. She smiles and grabs the plate before he can get any ideas.
“Food first,” she demands, and he chuckles.
“Agreed,” he says. “Food first.”
They eat in silence for a moment, then the ship’s engines fire, and Fortune vibrates as it starts moving. The navigation system must have finally finished calculations and put Fortune in motion.
“All systems working?” Halin asks, popping a morsel of food into his own mouth.
“Not only is Fortune working, but everything is fixed. Everything. Even the stuff that I've been putting off because I knew it was going to cost me a lot to repair. The faulty heating unit in gun bay three is working, and I thought I was going to need to replace the whole unit.” She pulls out a drawer next to her. “That broke a while back and now it doesn’t even squeak! I don't know how they do it, but those guys are scary powerful. It remind
s me of stories my mom used to tell me, back when humans didn't understand science and they thought natural phenomena was caused by things like gods fighting. The Bicoma are so advanced, they remind me of those stories. Their tech seems like magic.” She sits back, thoughtful. “It surprises me they didn't wander the universe enslaving everyone or at least telling everyone they’re gods.”
“It was a shock when they made your armor disappear,” Halin agrees and then gives her a salacious grin. “But I wouldn’t mind being able to make your clothes disappear whenever I feel like it.”
Chuckling, she rolls her eyes at him, “You and every other horny male out there. Still, that whole speech about wanting something from the Hissa in the future worries me. What do you think that's all about? It gave me a bad feeling.”
Halin shrugs, obviously unconcerned. “I have no idea, but I don’t find myself particularly disturbed.” His gaze becomes intense, and he reaches up to touch her neck again. “You're with me, and that's all that matters.”
Mian forces a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. She sets her empty plate down and pats his knee. “Let me check a few more things, and we can have some play time.”
He gives her a severe look. “We won't be doing any more of the sex-fighting like before,” he declares, making her knit her brows in confusion.
“Why not? I thought you had fun too?”
“I did,” he assures her quickly, his expression softening. He leans over and gives her a quick kiss, and when his fangs brush against her lips she shivers.
Grabbing him by the back of his head, she holds him still so she can lock her lips to his. An aroused sound comes from deep in his chest. Oh yeah, she thinks, you love the rough stuff too.
“If you liked it, and I liked it, no reason not to do it again.”
He pulls her hand away from his head and sits back. He keeps her hand captured in his. She can see his erection pressing against his pants, but he’s not making any more advances, and that worries her. Halin’s acting oddly.
“It's too dangerous,” he explains, his face worried. “You might already be carrying my young, and I have no wish to risk damage to you or our offspring.”
Annoyed that he's just now thinking about the possibility of getting her pregnant she rolls her eyes. “Well, you don't need to worry.” she assures him, tugging her hand out of his grip. “I had a sterilization shot a couple of years ago.”
The change is Halin is abrupt and terrifying. He violently throws the tray with the remanent of their food against a nearby wall. Grabbing her upper arms in a bruising grip, he stands up, hauling her into the air with him.
“Sterilization shot?” he roars. “Why would you do such a thing?”
Truly fearful of him for the first time, Mian lets her instincts take over. She brings her legs up and kicks out, both feet connecting with his stomach. Unprepared for the blow Halin staggers and releases her. She lands in an ungraceful heap just behind the pilot’s chair.
On hands and knees she scrambles for the weapons cabinet, but Halin's on her before she even gets halfway there. He tackles her, pushing his weight against her.
“Don't fight me!” he roars, the playful lover gone, replaced by a raging beast.
Mian punches him, feeling his nose give under her fist. He rears back from the pain, and she tries to wiggle out from under him. He grabs her wrists, trying to pull them behind her. She never used her full strength when they were playing, but now that she feels like she's fighting for survival she doesn't hold back.
Getting one hand lose she reaches down and grabs his cock through his pants. Her hands are strong from years of wielding weapons and doing her own maintenance. She uses that strength to squeeze and twist one of the more vulnerable parts of his anatomy. Crying out, he’s forced to release her other hand to attempt to wrestle himself out of her grasp. He grabs her hand, but she just tightens down. If he pulls at her hand, he’ll just hurt himself.
Realizing she won’t let go, he backhands her. The blow makes her dizzy, and she tastes blood in her mouth. Her hand loosens, and he rips her hand off him.
“Stop fighting,” he demands. Instead of talking, she spits bloody saliva into his face. Shocked, he freezes, giving her the opportunity to head butt his already damaged nose. She feels the top of her head make solid impact with his face. Letting go of her, he rears back from the pain, allowing her to scramble out from under him. He doesn’t follow her. Instead he stays on his knees, looking at the blood from his nose on his hands and then up at her face. His eyes are round with shock and confusion.
“I’m bleeding. And you're bleeding,” he says in a voice full of disbelief. “I hit you. I made you bleed. And I’m bleeding too. How did this happen?” Although he sounds more like the Halin she knows, she doesn't stop moving.
She abandons trying to get to the weapons cabinet. She rolls herself under the pilot's chair and reaches for the small compartment hidden in the base of the chair. It pops open at her touch and she pulls a small blaster out. She's on her feet and pointing it at Halin just as he's reaching for her again. The sight of the weapon makes him freeze.
“I really don't want to shoot you, but I won’t hesitate to put a hole in you if you try to touch me again,” she warns him. Her voice is distorted from her rapidly swelling lips and jaw, but there's no mistaking the deadly intent in her tone.
“I'm sorry,” he says quickly. His face is a bloody mess. She doesn't think his nose is broken, but there is blood seeping from both his mouth and nose and one of his eyes is swelling, the green skin around it getting darker from the damage.
“I don't know what's wrong with me,” he tells her, his face full of fear and shame. He's holding his hands up, palms out to show he means her no harm. “I seem to be having a hard time controlling my emotions since I saw the mating marks on your neck. I didn't mean to be violent.”
“If wishes were fishes we could walk the oceans,” Mian grumbles out. That’s one of her mother’s favorite sayings. He gives her a confused look.
“I don't care what you say. Your actions speak loud and clear,” she declares. “I can't claim to understand what’s going on, but you don't get to make me afraid. When we played the other day, it was about having fun and giving each other pleasure. What you did just now was anger and domination. No one gets to do that to me.”
“Your lip is cut. Let me tend to you,” he begs. Her face throbs and she can feel blood trickling down her chin. She ignores all of it, her eyes hard and focused on Halin.
“You're done touching me.” She's relieved her voice sounds strong, and her hand isn't shaking because inside she feels like curling up in a ball and crying. The last few weeks with Halin have been the best she's known since her parent’s death. How could everything go so wrong so quickly? How could she have misjudged this male?
“I don't know how to explain it, but I'd never hurt you,” he tries to say, and she lets out a short, humorless laugh.
“I think my face says differently,” she shoots back.
“You can hurt me back. The blow was unpardonable, and I still don't understand how I let myself do that. It's the marks on your neck,” Halin continues. “The marks mean you can bear my child.” His shoulders slump a little, and she watches him take a few deep breaths, probably trying to calm all those raging emotions.
“After the death of my mother and sisters I assumed I would never find a female to bear my young. I just assumed I'd never have a child. I'd never know the joys of having a family of my own. And then the mark appears on you, and I find there isn't just hope for my species, but specifically for myself.”
“You know I get a say in all of this, right?” she asks him sarcastically. “I'm not just some minari pet you can breed or smack around when you aren't happy with me.”
He seems taken aback by her words as if it never occurred to him that she would object to his plans. “I never thought of you as a pet,” he says quickly. “I just felt betrayed when you so casually mentioned you altered yoursel
f. It felt like you ripped my hopes and dreams out of me. I didn't think. I just reacted. Then you started fighting me. I don't know why, but it just triggered something in me.”
“Fine, I get that,” Mian says and realizes she does understand him. She wonders what she would do if she was given the hope of having her parents back only to have the hope brutally ripped away. “But I think you need to spend the rest of the trip in the cabin.”
He opens his mouth to protest, but she violently shakes her head and moves out of the way so he can walk to the door. “Don't make me drug you,” she warns him. “I don't trust you right now, so either you let me lock you in my cabin or I put you under for the rest of the trip. I don't have any sleep pods, so it would have to be sedation and that's dangerous to do for more than two cycles in a row.”
She watches his face closely, braced to shoot him if he tries to attack her again. She’ll make sure to aim for his shoulder and feels thankful she made Halin buy her several tubes of nanos. The nanos will heal him if she’s forced to wound him.
Still, she didn't want to wound him in the first place, even after what he's done.
“I’ll allow you to lock me in the cabin,” he finally agrees, and she lets out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
“After you,” she says and waits for him to walk past her before she moves. He's quiet for the trip to the cabin and only turns to face her once he's inside. He looks strangely resigned and determined at the same time.
“It's going to be a long trip,” he points out and gives her a small smile showing a bit of fang. She tamps down her instinctive reaction to his familiar mischievous grin. “If I agree to be good, will you visit me? We could talk and do other things.”
She shakes her head feeling depressed at the idea of facing the next week without getting to interact with him. “Afraid not, handsome.” She steps to the door controls and starts tapping them while keeping her weapon aimed at him. “You're in lockdown until we get to Wint.”