Viper (Naga Brides Book 1)

by Naomi Lucas

  Slapping my tail on the water, she slumps in my arms as I thrust harder. Her moans grow wilder. Her sex tightens for a third time this night, for me.

  Such a sweet mate she is.

  I spill. I spill all of the deep seed stored inside me.

  Stars blast my vision as it jets into her. I snap like a rabid animal in heat, needing her to take it all. There is so much, and my body is only producing more. The way her channel milks me, and her soft moans are music in the night, I know she wants it, needs my spill just as much as I need to give it to her.

  Even though she won’t say it.

  Holding her in the air onto me, I empty into her womb. Her body weakens from the effort. I lay her on my lap, settling into the water, and move us back into the deeper end, sure to remain inside her the whole time. I don’t want to leave her, not now that I’ve claimed her. She may not let me back in.

  For a time, she rests against me, with only our ragged breaths sounding between us.

  Satisfaction rules me. Satiation. My jealousy vanishes, frightened away by Gemma’s acceptance of my seed.

  I curl around my small mate, tangling my tail with her limbs, and hold her close. Spill pumps into her now and then as my loins produce more. But they are sated, I am sated—and obsessed.

  Yet my body only continues to make more, and her sheath quivers each time my bulge grows large inside her, stretching her back out.

  No wonder my father mourned my mother. No wonder males search endlessly for the lost naga females.

  It’s perfection, mating. Contentment settles deep into my bones. I rest my chin on Gemma’s head and close my eyes.

  Sleep finds me swiftly.

  Fourteen

  Death in the Shadows

  Gemma

  Bone tired, I stare into the shadows of the forest at the edge of the creek. I dozed for a little while, surprisingly. I was even more surprised when I woke to find Vruksha sleeping as well, his chin resting on my head.

  I don’t move. The slow dance of the water across my skin feels nice. It washes away the sweat, the dirt, the sex…

  The sex. I suck my lips into my mouth.

  I knot up. He’s still buried deep inside me. Vruksha groans, shifts, and I relax, not wanting to wake him. Especially in that way. He might want a round two, and I don’t know if I can do that.

  I ache. A lot. I throb.

  He took me mercilessly. I will feel him for days, if not longer. He saw through my stupid excuses.

  The cold water dulls my discomfort immensely though, but his bulge remains inside, and I’m almost afraid to move because it will move, and whether it’s pushed further in or comes out, I’m twitchy about it. I gingerly reach down between us and massage the skin of my sex stretched around Vruksha’s prick, soothing the ache. I tweak my clit afterward for a little pleasure.

  It dawns on me that he won, he was right, that I submitted. Three days. It only took three days. And I wanted it.

  This isn’t like me.

  But his scent is so delicious...

  There’s nothing in this universe that could’ve prepared me for this, for Vruksha. Or an alien at all—since no alien we have met can join with humans.

  Lifting my head out from under his chin, I look at him. The moonlight shines brightly over his features.

  Not an alien. A naga.

  His eyes are closed, his sharp lips slightly parted. His breath is warm and fans my cheek. His chest moves with each shallow inhale. He doesn’t look nearly as frightening when asleep. I reach my hand up from where it lingered between my legs and caress his cheek, touching the smooth scales there. His head slumps forward.

  My heart warms…

  I jerk my hand away.

  I’m not staying. Not for a moment longer than is necessary. Once I have access to the tech he has, I’ll need to make a run for it back to base. I have to. I need to find Daisy.

  I can’t grow attached to him. If I do, it’ll be hard to leave.

  He wanted me so badly…

  He nearly killed for me.

  The warmth in my chest expands.

  I’m an idiot for letting him have my body. I groan, pulling back a little more. His hold on me tightens, and I press my hand to my chest, hating the warmth growing within.

  I’ve never given into the protection of another, not since I left my parents to finish my training on The Dreadnaut at age thirteen, as dutiful humans to the war effort commonly do. That was almost twenty years…

  I wanted to dislike him, but I don’t. He makes me feel things I would rather keep buried. In the short time we’ve been together, he’s seen me at my worst, and not once at my best.

  Yet he looks at me like I hang the triple suns of Elyria.

  No one’s ever looked at me the way Vruksha does. It bothers me. I’ve never needed protection before, and I do now, and it scares me horribly. I want his protection. I think I like his adamance.

  Shuddering, I inhale quietly. I force Vruksha from my thoughts, ignoring the warmth in my chest that’s growing ever more when I think of him.

  I don’t need anyone’s protection.

  I’ve been gone for three days. Someone from command has to be asking about me, someone has to be wondering what happened to Daisy and me. Peters could tell The Dreadnaut we died, but then they’ll demand an investigation—hopefully—and insist our bodies be brought aboard the main ship for burial rites.

  My gut churns. I don’t have family aboard the main ship but Daisy might…

  And if The Dreadnaut investigates our disappearance, what would they do to Vruksha and the other nagas if they come down? If the military lands? Will they hurt them? Want to study them?

  I shake my head. That’ll never happen.

  They might send a few fighters but the military deploys for one thing and one thing only: Ketts.

  But I can’t stop the thought from taking root. Earth isn’t some random planet in the universe. It’s our homeworld. Sentient creatures here wouldn’t have the protection they do elsewhere. They’d be seen as invaders to be analyzed and, if need be, disposed of.

  I stare hard at Vruksha’s peaceful face.

  He knows much—far more than makes sense—but he doesn’t know humans. As someone entrenched in the constantly shifting ethics of a desperate government, and a bloodthirsty military made up of men and women seeking revenge. He doesn’t deserve to be thrust into that world and all it demands.

  Will he follow me into the stars if I leave?

  I chew on my lip.

  A twig snaps and my eyes shoot to the forest. Thick shadows and wild branches meet my gaze. They twist and dance in every direction, thickening the shadows. I peer into them, searching for the source of the noise.

  Vruksha’s soft breaths breeze across my neck. I listen for a while, letting them comfort me.

  When I start to look away, certain there’s nothing in the shadows, something behind the branches shifts. A massive coiled shadow rises into the heavier foliage above.

  A face appears in the darkness and my throat constricts with terror.

  It’s a face that only has one eye because the other has been gouged out.

  The Death Adder.

  “Vruksha, get up!” I jerk out of his arms. His cock tears out of me, and I flinch from the pain.

  Vruksha thrusts me behind him, and I fall into the chilly water. Recovering quickly, I scurry to the opposite shore. I force the water from my eyes and find him facing the Death Adder.

  “Zhallaix,” he hisses.

  Vruksha’s tail strikes out, snatching his spear from the creek’s edge and bringing it to his hand.

  “Vruksha,” the other naga says, his voice a sharp whisper of warning. My skin rises from the sound. It’s rough, guttural. Broken. “What do you have there?” The naga tries to get a look at me.

  I reach for my clothes when his head snaps to the side. I jerk my hands back to cover me, bringing my clothes to my chest. It’s not fast enough.

  His eyes widen and dance acros
s my body, purple in the moonlight.

  The next thing I know, Vruksha tackles him to the water, thrashing his tail. I shriek and fall back, taking my clothes with me. A tail rises into the air to bash at the other pinning it below the water. Water sprays everywhere, making it difficult to see, but I spot Vruksha’s spear come down again and again.

  But he doesn’t see the tail that’s about to strike him from behind.

  I scream his name, but it’s too late.

  “Run!” he shouts in pain. The word dies in his mouth as his body drops to the side with a splash.

  The Death Adder shoots upright and turns to me.

  I spin and run.

  Pain shoots through me as my feet catch on everything, stabbing my soles. Sticks, twigs, and leaves whip my skin and tangle in my hair. Shouts follow me for a long time, echoing through the trees.

  I don’t stop. Not when my lungs are about to collapse, or when a particularly sharp branch slashes my side. The fervor returns, and I’m back in time, flashing back to three days before when I was terrified I’d be caught by a frightening alien male.

  I don’t stop when the night lifts and the moon lowers, when the first rays of the sun streak through the trees. And when I’m about to topple, stumbling from one tree to the next, I see a familiar sight.

  The broken shelter Vruksha took me to the first night.

  I drag my body to it, fall on my knees with a sob, and crawl inside.

  I curl up into a ball and cry.

  Fifteen

  Survive

  Gemma

  Time blurs, my sense of it vanishing with my control. I don’t leave the shelter for a day, maybe more, drifting in and out of sleep, praying for a time that death will come while I’m unconscious. But it doesn’t, and each time I wake, I’m weaker, and still alone. My terror sticks. My body hurts.

  I keep hoping I’ll wake from this nightmare.

  I moan and rub my eyes. I can’t sleep anymore, and I curse everything. I even curse my stubbornness and self-discipline for refusing to die. Rising onto my arms, I peer through the shelter to make sure the forest is clear outside.

  I wish it wasn’t. I wish… I shake my head with a frown. Vruksha isn’t here.

  I need food, water.

  I’m easy prey for any predator right now. I have been this whole time but just didn’t have the strength to do anything about it.

  I’m covered in cuts, some worse than others, and my feet…

  When the forest remains clear, I shudder and push open the broken door and slide out, my body protesting. I try to stand but fall, sobbing in pain. I curl up on the ground, grabbing my bloody feet.

  I want to survive—I need to survive—I can’t be selfish. I’m not allowed to be selfish. But my wounds are too much. I find my bundle of clothes I’ve been gripping to me since my collapse and tug them on.

  The cloth chafes my skin and I cry out again.

  Vruksha fought for me. He fought, and I watched him fall. And I ran.

  I let my tears fall as I wish for death to find me anyway.

  It does, but only in my head. The Death Adder’s broken face rises there, and I shiver. I don’t know how I got away from him, but I’m certain it was because of Vruksha, and now I owe it to him to survive.

  I prayed he’d come and find me, that when I fell into a fitful sleep, he’d be there when I woke. But he wasn’t, and I can’t wait any longer, hoping he’ll come. My heart is heavy. I still feel him inside me and it hurts.

  His seed is still trickling out of me. It hasn’t dried. I grab a leaf from the forest floor and wipe it from my skin, bringing it to my nose to sniff it. His scent makes me clench despite everything. I toss the leaf aside when I’m done, lifting my head. Even naga seed is alien to me.

  I hope he’s okay.

  My boots are long gone, left somewhere by a creek far from here. I wouldn’t be able to put them on anyway… My jacket’s not here either. Nor do I have underwear or a bra. When I’m dressed with what I have left, I rest my brow on the ground.

  You need to move.

  I push up onto my arms, pick a direction, and begin crawling. Glancing behind me to memorize my surroundings, I leave the shelter behind. I hope I’ll be able to find it again but am not expecting it. I was damn lucky to find the shelter in the first place, and that little bit of luck has given me hope.

  I have a sense of where I am because of it. I don’t know which direction the facility is or Vruksha’s bunker, but I’m at least a half day from either.

  I can survive a half day of travel. I just need food, water, and rest first.

  I amble forward aimlessly, snapping upon twigs as I move, leaving an obvious trail of my passing. For a time, all I hear is the rustle of plants as I brush past them and the chirping of Earth’s birds above me. Resting now and then, I listen to the noises of the forest, knowing they’ll help me.

  They’re not the noises of a spaceship.

  Burying my head in my hands, I groan.

  I don’t have a pocket knife, don’t have shoes… I don’t have anything but the clothes on my back. I’ve never trained for this in the academy. Survival on an alien planet wasn’t a skill I ever thought I’d need.

  I drop my hands.

  I roll onto my knees and continue.

  I hear a splash. Stilling, I stop breathing. I’ve found water! But the splashes don’t stop, and I brace for whatever is beyond my sight, begging the Gods that it’s not a naga. I grab a nearby stick and curl my fingers around it.

  As quietly as I can, I crawl toward the noise.

  A giant lake appears through the bushes. My mouth drops as beautiful blue water spans outward before me, and across the lake are giant snow-capped mountains rising high.

  Earth is beautiful.

  I don’t stare for long, searching for the source of the splashing.

  There. Below me, a small feline-like creature pounces on fish swimming through the rocks on the shore. It’s red, has a pointed nose and a bushy tail. It’s cute. The creature snatches the fish between its claws and wrestles it to shore, biting into it.

  I lick my lips.

  Grabbing my stick, I call out, startling the feline. It flees when it sees me, leaving the fish behind.

  I stumble to the bank, falling next to it. There’s a bite taken out of the fish’s side, and there’s blood, but I’m starving.

  Clutching it between my hands, I snap the fish’s body to finish the kill and lift it to my mouth. Sinking my teeth in, I will my bile to remain in my belly. I leave nothing but bones and the head behind when I’m done. Stomach churning but full, I drag myself to the lake’s edge.

  I gulp down so much water that when I’m done, the taste of the fish is rinsed from my mouth, and I’m so bloated I can barely move. I lie in the shallow water, letting it wash away the grime. I stare up at the sky.

  Wisps of white clouds slowly drift by, too thin to block out the sun’s rays. For a while, it feels nice, but as the minutes tick by, my skin heats.

  I picture Vruksha’s sleeping face and my heart twists.

  He can’t be dead...

  I need to go back and find him. I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but I have to try.

  Rising on my elbows, I peer about. The shore is vacant of animals, but there’s something large on the far side, across the lake. I can’t make it out fully, but it has antlers.

  Water brings predators.

  With that in mind, I wash my body, my wounds, and the dirt and dried blood off me. I scrub my hair and between my legs. I stay until my fingertips are wrinkled and the sun dips, watching for predators the entire time.

  Finding the fish head and my clothes to dress, I retrace my path, climbing onto my ruined feet. Dusk shadows the forest by the time I find the shelter. I crawl inside and curl up into a ball on the back seat.

  Vruksha’s face reappears when I close my eyes. This time his gaze is wicked and hungry. My heart thumps. I debate climbing out and finding the leaf I cleaned his seed off with e
arlier so I can get another sniff of his scent.

  “Vruksha?” I whisper.

  He doesn’t answer me, though something else does. A fuzzy crackle fills my ears.

  I sit up.

  Looking deeper into the shelter, a tiny light winks at me through the shadows. The crackling is coming from it. I push through the vines and overgrowth falling from above to see what it is when the light winks out. Rooting for it with my hand, my fingers curl over something round.

  An orb.

  I clutch it to my chest and clean the dirt off it, thrilled at my luck today.

  “Orb, initiate,” I say, my voice fracturing.

  The lights wink back to life. A wheezy voice from the orb answers me, but I can barely make the words out. It quickly dies.

  “Orb, initiate,” I say again.

  One crackle is all I get. It’s dead. Frustrated, I throw the orb out of the shelter. I hear it thump, and then I don’t hear it at all. Curling back onto my side, I close my eyes.

  Sleep finds me for a time. I dream of my apartment back on The Dreadnaut, the paints that I bought last year, and how I never got a chance to use them.

  I awake to another noise. This time, it’s definitely not of the electronic variety. It’s snorting. Something hits the side of my shelter, and the flimsy frame makes a terrible crunching sound at my feet. I tug my legs to my chest and clutch them, burying my face into my knees.

  Pigs.

  Fear takes hold.

  More snorting breaks the night.

  I relax a little. There’s nothing to fear from pigs. One nudges my shelter behind me, and the whole thing rocks. The orb from Vruksha’s bunker listed pigs as predators. I remember the large pack of them, and how gigantic they were.

  My shelter shakes again as another one nudges it. Dirt falls on me. I hold my breath and stay as still as possible, hoping they don’t discover me and will eventually move along.

  Based on the cacophony of snorts, there has to be a dozen or so outside. Or more…

  If they find me, and they are predators, I’m dead. I’m too weak to run.

  I bring my hands to my lips, close my eyes, and go back to praying.