by A. G. Wilde
“Will it rain, do you think?”
“In a few hours.” He returned his gaze to her, and again, it slipped to her chest before he frowned and brought it back to her eyes.
As he stepped off, Diana finally glanced down at herself and immediately found the reason why his gaze had been slipping.
Tying the remnants of the shirt had only accentuated her chest. Now, her breasts were pressing against the torn cloth, making it seem as if she had fashioned some sort of bandage crop top.
Sighing, she crept under the “tent,” aware she was crawling under the mouth of what she assumed was a man-eating plant.
She’d be surprised if it wasn’t man-eating.
She’d been here long enough to realize this planet wasn’t big on hospitality.
The tent was big enough to hold two people, so she was sure the thing wouldn’t have had any trouble swallowing her if it wanted to.
Thank heavens it was dead.
Falling against the woolly flooring he’d created, she realized it was the closest thing to a bed she’d felt in a long while.
And she was either incredibly exhausted, or she was losing touch with reality but the woolly flooring felt damn good.
Settling against it, she listened to the lack of sound around her. He’d said he was going to kill another of the large plant things—probably to make a tent for himself.
Most definitely to make a tent for himself. She didn’t want to be in such close quarters with him anyway.
She’d close her eyes and rest for a second.
Just a second.
Chapter Nine
He’d cut down two more zehmips and skinned them. One of the skins he’d turn inside out and hung it to catch some water in the incoming rain.
The next one he’d set to dry in the tent for the human. That way, she could use it to wrap around herself and keep warm later.
He didn’t know why he was doing it. He didn’t know why he even cared.
But something told him she might appreciate the skin as a new covering for her bountiful chest.
Yce swallowed hard as the image of her nipples reappeared in his mind.
Pert and pink, the two buds taunted him and he could feel himself respond in his pants.
Surely, this was not a sign he was heading down the same path as his brothers Xul and Crex.
Surely not.
Pulling the zehmip skins over his shoulder, he reached the tent he’d erected, very aware that it was silent inside.
Had the human run off?
He didn’t put it past her.
Everything she did was so illogical he was giving up trying to predict her next move.
Glancing inside the tent, his fears subsided.
She was lying on her back, eyes closed, obviously asleep. And rising from her chest were those two things that had his mind going places they shouldn’t. Again, just the glimpse of them sent a shockwave to his cock.
Frowning at his weakness, he rested the skins inside the tent and went to carve the remainder of the stalk that he’d left behind.
Glancing to the west, he knew he had to move fast.
The smell of rain was in the air, which meant a torrent would be coming soon.
That was the thing with Muk. Its weather was erratic. Luckily, he and the other members of his team had spent months on this planet once, forming ties with the native Mukkians. During that time, they’d learned how to survive on the planet’s surface.
Otherwise, survival here would be dim.
As he made a barricade at the entrance of the tent and stepped inside, he glanced at the human, gulping hard as he averted his gaze from her beckoning chest.
What the hell was wrong with him?
He was Yce.
Immovable Yce.
Logical Yce.
Solitary Yce.
This wouldn’t do.
He should put a stop to it.
Somehow this wild being was getting underneath his skin.
The memory of her holding the sand cat in a chokehold returned to him and he huffed out a short laugh.
She was insane. He had been right.
Illogical.
The exact opposite of him.
But it didn’t mean what she’d done hadn’t been impressive.
Shaking away the thoughts, he set up the zehmip skin to catch some water and put the other skin inside the tent to dry.
Glancing back at the human, he realized that she’d settled in the middle of the zehmip’s woolly coat, leaving no space for him to rest.
He stood and glanced around the tent. He briefly contemplated heading out again to slay another zehmip. That way, he’d have somewhere to rest as well. But the rain was close. If he left now, he would be caught outside in the torrent.
Frowning at his predicament, he glanced at Diana smack in the center of the zehmip skins.
She could have scooted to the side.
Selfish much.
Well, he guessed he’d just have to deal with it because heading out again wasn’t an option.
Lying beside her, he was careful they weren’t touching. It wasn’t her reaction to their skin against each other that bothered him but the fact that he wasn’t sure how the contact would affect him.
He was lying on his back staring up into the zehmip’s mouth when Diana groaned beside him.
Eyes flying to hers, he realized she was still asleep.
But her groan didn’t stop there.
The human squirmed, turning on her side to throw an arm over his chest.
The movement surprised him as he looked at her.
She made another sound so tantalizing he wanted to hear it again, and then she snuggled closer to him. Along with her closeness came an enticing scent. Her scent. Behind the smell of the dried blood, the smell of her skin permeated his senses.
Resting a cheek against his chest, her arm tightened around him as one of her legs draped over his.
He didn’t know what to make of it.
She surely couldn’t be asleep, could she? Had she no control over her limbs while she slumbered?
And though a part of him was telling him he should push her away, another part was mildly interested in the feelings her body was evoking against his.
Just mildly.
Settling his head back against the skins, Yce swallowed hard.
As the human snuggled closer into him, he felt himself respond. And he could feel something else. Something soft and round was squished against his chest but he dared not look down.
He knew what it was.
Her darned bosom.
He could feel himself jerk inside his pants. The sensation of her breasts against him seemed to be beckoning him to look, to acknowledge their presence in some way. But he couldn’t…well…he wouldn’t.
Glaring upwards into the mouth of the zehmip, he heard the first drops of rain hit the outside of the dead plant.
Rain.
That’s what he needed.
Something to cool him down.
But glancing at the human beside him, he didn’t dare move.
Lying frozen beneath her was all he could do while his cock strained against his trousers, aching for freedom.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.
He’d meditate.
It would do him some good…especially right now.
* * *
The heavy rain woke her up with a start and Diana blinked drowsily.
She felt warm and comfortable. Maybe this place wasn’t so bad after all.
It took her a few moments to realize that whatever she was resting on was rising and falling slowly. As her vision cleared, she bolted upright, hand covering her mouth.
What the hell had she been doing?
Pulling her leg off him, Diana didn’t dare look at his face.
The embarrassment was too strong.
No wonder she’d felt so comfortable. She’d been draped around a big hunky alien as if he was her lover.
When she finally
gathered the courage to look him in the eyes, she realized he seemed to be sleeping.
When did he return anyway? She didn’t remember hearing him reenter the tent and that was worrisome. How could she be so carefree in a dangerous place like this?
Well, thankfully, it seemed he was asleep so he probably didn’t realize what she had done.
She hoped he hadn’t.
Running a hand through her hair, her fingers got tangled and she sighed.
She needed to do better.
She needed to be alert; always alert.
Creeping to the entrance of the tent, she peeked through the slats of the barricade and realized that it was indeed raining outside. Hard.
Glancing up at the roof of their little tent, she was surprised it was holding up. It was pretty handy, actually.
It didn’t seem as if the rain was going to ease up anytime soon though and she didn’t think sitting in such close proximity to Big Blue was a good idea.
A look at herself and the red stains on her skin seemed to grin up at her.
Right. She’d been splattered by that large cat’s blood. She was filthy.
Glancing back outside the tent, the rain seemed to beckon her.
Well, it couldn’t hurt. It was probably the only way to shower in a place like this…and he was asleep, so she had all the privacy she needed.
With one last glance at Yce, Diana opened the barricade and slipped out into the torrent.
Chapter Ten
The rain hit her hard. It was like having a shower on maximum power. And it was cold.
But she could bear it.
She’d rather freeze a little than stay covered in animal blood for the remainder of their trek.
Slipping off the tattered shirt, she let the rain hit her skin. She could feel her nipples go hard in the cold as she shivered a little. Raising her face towards the heavens, she let the water beat down on her.
It was taking some getting used to, but the longer she stood underneath it, the more her body adjusted to the temperature.
Finally, she bent and stripped off her trousers, noting that they too were covered in blood. As she turned back to the tent to hang the trousers over it so they could get clean, she noticed the skin he’d set to gather water.
Diana scoffed.
She wasn’t going to acknowledge his handiness, especially not after draping herself over him like a needy cat.
She was naked now and she wrapped her arms around herself as she turned in the rain.
As the raindrops hit against her skin, they took away most of the blood, but she soon had to use her hands to scrub away the rest.
While at it, she scrubbed the rest of her body and was almost done when she realized something.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she muttered a curse underneath her breath.
She didn’t have any clothes to put on now. Glancing back at the trousers, she realized it was already thoroughly soaked so there was no way she was going to be wearing that anytime soon.
Biting back another curse, she shivered back to the entrance of the tent, entering the small space as quietly as she could. As she pulled the barricade back, white eyes met hers and she felt her heart do a flip inside her chest.
“You’re awake,” she muttered, trying to crouch while covering herself, albeit unsuccessfully, at the same time.
“You’re naked,” he replied.
She refrained from answering him and instead shuffled inside to sit behind him, just out of his field of vision.
Lifting a part of the bedding, he handed it to her.
“Use this, or you will catch a cold,” he said. He wasn’t looking at her.
As a matter of fact, he refrained from turning to look her way.
Frowning, Diana took the zehmip skin from him and wrapped it around herself. It was just big enough to cover her upper body. As long as she stayed crouched, then she’d be “covered.” The only problem was that she was sure as soon as the rain let up, they’d be on their way again.
His back was still turned to her. As a matter of fact, he seemed to be stiffly turned away, as if he was refusing, or at least, trying not to turn so that he wouldn’t risk looking at her.
Diana raised an eyebrow as a soft smile of disbelief threatened at the corner of her mouth.
Was he…was he trying not to look?
Did her nakedness make him nervous?
The thought was ridiculous to her, as she frowned at his back.
So he was a man…
A gallant one?
A decent one?
Not that it mattered much.
She’d never been ashamed of her nakedness. It had taken her a long time to accept her body, to accept that her curves were there, to accept that men, sometimes bad ones, would want to touch her because of her body and only because of her body.
Through therapy and through her gym sessions, she’d found her power and her strength and now her body was something she was proud of. It didn’t hinder her. It didn’t make her cower. She was as confident in her nakedness as she was while fully clothed.
But that didn’t mean she went gallivanting around naked in front of men. One didn’t need such attention. But, in case a man tried to do any funny shit because of what she was wearing…or not wearing…he would have made a bad mistake.
She was prone, very prone, to kicking them where it hurt the most.
It was only self-defense.
But this guy…no, this alien in front of her, his stiff shoulders and the fact he had averted his gaze seemed…funny.
It was strange.
She appreciated it, but still.
He didn’t need to make it so obvious.
“You washed yourself,” he finally said.
Her smile grew a little more. “Yes. I washed myself.”
He moved his head as if he nodded and then crawled to the entrance of the tent, as he looked out of the barricade.
“I should wash too,” he said.
“Huh?” Her eyes widened a little as he stood, crouching because the top of his head reached the top of the tent, and began releasing his pants.
Diana’s eyes widened and the smile fell from her lips.
It was her turn to avert her gaze, and she did.
Ok, so maybe him stiffly keeping his gaze averted before hadn’t been funny because here she was doing the same thing.
Like a virgin or something.
She heard the fabric shuffle down his legs and gulped.
Geez.
As the sound of the barricade being moved reached her ear, she chanced a glance towards the entrance of the tent and realized he’d stepped out.
She shouldn’t. She really shouldn’t. But something was moving her hands and her knees towards the entrance.
And that something was her own curiosity.
Crawling on all fours, she crept toward the barricade and peeped through.
And, mother of God…
He was standing in the rain, hands at his sides, back turned toward the tent, hair falling down his shoulders, glistening as the raindrops hit the strands.
She couldn’t see much, because of his hair in the way, but she could see enough to notice the taut muscles of his ass and his strong leg muscles.
He looked strong alright…and fit. Ridiculously fit.
She didn’t have to be attracted to him to admire his physique.
He was sculpted, built for fighting.
Her own fingers brushed over the muscles over her stomach.
She’d probably lose them soon, unless she found a way to exercise. But that was something she could worry about later.
She was still staring at his ass when he suddenly turned.
And…hail Mary mother of…
Diana’s eyes popped in their sockets.
Settled between thick, muscled thighs was…his dick…
No…his cock…
Fuck, that wasn’t a cock.
It was a dong.
Hell, it wasn’t even a dong.
It was a fucking shlong.
Hanging between his legs was the biggest, thickest cock she had ever seen in her life and she wasn’t even joking. The only thing she’d seen come close to it was a monster dildo.
Hell.
She could feel the warmth in her cheeks as she forced her eyes to rise to his face.
But thankfully, he had his head turned up to the spray and he wasn’t looking her way.
Not that he could see her, well, she hoped he couldn’t see her peeping because she wasn’t about to stop now.
Hell.
Her eyes fell to his cock once more and widened all over again.
He had gotta be kidding.
There was no way.
From what she could see, just like his upper body, those white tattoos networked all over his cock. As a matter of fact, the tattoos covered his entire body, like a swirling pattern.
But back to his cock.
Hell.
Diana leaned closer, as she tried to see more detail. Thanks to the rain, she could only see its magnificent girth and length.
It was like three stacked coke cans and he wasn’t even hard. She wondered if she’d be able to wrap her hands around it and the thought slapped her so hard the impact almost stung for real.
She could feel her blush deepen.
She was being rude.
Downright scandalous.
She really shouldn’t be looking but she wasn’t going to say she was sorry for doing so.
This…cock…was going to be filed in her memory under ‘gifts from God in this universe.’
She reckoned he wasn’t a grower because there was no way that thing could fit inside anyone then.
It would just be ridiculous.
How did he have sex anyway?
Her eyes flowed over his ripped muscles and the scandalous thoughts began again.
He must be powerful in bed. Like a real Harley revving underneath a woman. Something you just wanted to grip and ride the fuck out of.
Or maybe he was one of those men who made love soft and delicately, cradling you in their arms as he slid his cock deep, making you feel every inch of it with each passing second.