by A. G. Wilde
Did he feel it?
The growing tension between them?
Was she just imagining it?
But as his gaze dropped to her naked chest, she got her answer.
No, she wasn’t imagining things.
It was there, thick in the air.
Logic told her she shouldn’t, but she wanted nothing more than to explore the feeling further. And that was a surprise to her.
At the start of this trip, when they were falling from the sky in a ship that was doomed, the last thing that had crossed her mind was that she’d start developing feelings for the tall blue alien she was stuck with.
But here she was.
She’d never been a follower of logic anyway.
This proved it.
The creatures moved quickly across the sand and it felt good not having to walk anymore. The amount of walking she’d done had been enough exercise to last for a few days. She was used to exercising so at least her body hadn’t been neglected in that sense.
Glancing at her feet, she almost winced at how red they were. Even wearing Yce’s boots hadn’t given them enough time to recuperate.
As she remembered him giving her his boots to wear, she smiled faintly.
That had been kind as she could see that his feet were red too. The sand was so coarse it affected even his alien soles.
The little men let out a shout that grabbed her attention.
Raising her eyes, Diana shielded them from the suns as she realized they were approaching a large structure.
It wasn’t like anything she’d ever seen before.
It looked like a circular camp with walls made of...glass? It looked like glass so she guessed the Mukkians had a way of making use of the sand that dominated this desert planet.
As they got closer, she spotted more little bald men with spears on little towers dotting the perimeter of the camp and one of them raised his spear as they approached, signaling something to what she assumed was another Mukkian below.
They all looked alike, these little brown men and she wondered if the women looked the same. She could only imagine little round women wearing robes and busying themselves within the camp. It was a cute image, but she needed to remind herself that if these little men could tame a creature as large as the one she was riding on, then they weren’t as “cute” as she imagined.
“This is the outpost,” she heard Yce say and she nodded. She was too busy taking it all in.
The large glass gates opened and the creatures entered smoothly.
If she’d thought there wouldn’t be a lot of little Mukkians about, she’d been wrong. They were everywhere and a crowd was gathering around the creatures as soon as they stopped moving in the middle of the camp.
The Mukkians were coming from mounds and little caves dotted all around as they came to see what was happening.
There was a low murmur passing throughout the crowd and they all seemed to know Yce, welcoming him with raised spears and what she assumed were war cries as he hopped off the uloms to the ground below.
He spoke to them easily, grinning as he did. He was obviously fond of them and, to her, they seemed like little kids crowding around someone they admired in the way they all looked up at him in awe.
Yet again, however, she couldn’t understand a word they were saying. The translator the Isclits had implanted didn’t seem to understand their language.
As Yce turned to her, extending his hands to lift her down, she was about to say to him that she could jump down on her own. But glancing down, she realized there was no space for her to do so. The little men had taken up every inch of space around the uloms and if she jumped, she’d no doubt landed on a few of them—not exactly the nicest way for her to introduce herself.
As Yce lifted her down, her naked breasts pressed against his chest and she was sure she heard him inhale sharply.
He held her for a few seconds too long and she heard a whisper spread across the little group of men.
Making a sound that sounded like he cleared his throat, Yce released her and she crossed her arms over her chest again.
She needed to find a blouse and fast, she thought, glancing around at the little men. But they didn’t seem concerned about the fact that most of her breasts were bare.
Instead, they were murmuring among each other and nodding, looking from Yce to Diana.
When she glanced at Yce, he was looking at her with caution in his gaze and something else...discomfort?
“What are they saying?” Her brows furrowed as she asked.
“You cannot understand them?” His brows furrowed slightly as well.
“No. I can only hear alien language.” She touched behind her ear as she spoke. She could feel the spot where the Isclits had implanted the translator. It was a raised bump underneath her skin.
“Ah,” he said, and his shoulders relaxed a little.
Diana’s eyes widened slightly as her suspicion rose. “What are they saying?”
“You don’t want to know.” Yce laughed and it was a nervous laugh.
Her eyes widened further. “Is it something bad?”
He sobered and looked at her again, taking his own sweet time before he answered. His gaze was holding hers and she could feel the air thicken with tension again.
“It depends on what you want it to be,” he finally said.
And what the hell did that mean?
One of the little men pushed through the crowd and spoke to Yce loudly, motioning to one of the caves to the side.
“They have a space ready for us.” Yce turned to her and made that sound as if he cleared his throat again.
As he led the way to the cave, the tiny men parted to let them pass.
Diana eyed the little cave opening. She’d have to crouch to get inside it. She could just imagine how claustrophobic the inside would be. But she was wrong.
The cave opened up to elaborate living quarters, big enough for even Yce to stand upright in.
“They will prepare meals for us,” he said, turning to her.
Inadvertently, she licked her lips at the thought of food. That and a shower was what she needed.
“Would they by chance have a shower I could borrow?”
She glanced around the cave. It had a flat raised area with dried zehmip skins laid all over it and she assumed that was the sleeping area.
Apart from that, there were glass stools and a glass table. Above them, glass lanterns hung from the ceiling.
It was like walking into some kind of ethnic enclave on Earth.
“There.” Yce motioned to a hole in the cave wall that seemed to lead to somewhere else. “I must send a message to the Restitution while you wash yourself.”
Diana nodded and flashed him a smile.
It felt nice to finally be somewhere safe, but she didn’t know if she should trust the feeling. She’d had a few minutes of feeling safe on the Elysium and then they’d been attacked.
Space was fucking scary.
As she headed to the shower area though, a feeling within her told her that things would be okay from now on.
And she was going to trust that feeling.
Chapter Twenty-Three
She was out of the shower and sitting cross-legged on the zehmip skins.
Diana.
Hjek-haired Diana whose supple body melted like the softest cyusso against his.
That Diana.
Wild Diana.
Unpredictable Diana.
There were still water droplets on her skin, which told him she’d just exited the shower. He could smell the sirj crystals she’d used to wash her skin. He wanted to go closer to smell them some more. Maybe run his nose in the valley between those perfect mounds on her chest.
He could still feel her body pressed against his, the memory of the rain falling down on them and the warmth of her skin against his.
He was hard again. Straining against his pants and he couldn’t just stand looking at her like a creep.
Entering th
e cave, she raised her head and smiled at him.
She was smiling more now, he realized, and it wasn’t helping the situation in his pants.
Muttering to her that he was going to wash himself as well, he exited the room.
Standing underneath the cold shower, he knew his mind should be on the next phase of the mission—getting them to the Restitution’s headquarters where they’d be safe.
But his mind, his thoughts, they were on the hjek-haired creature sitting on the zehmip skins in the other room.
She was getting under his skin. Or maybe, she’d been under his skin for a long time and he just didn’t realize.
He let the water flow from his hair down over his skin as he lifted his head to the spray.
The little Mukkians had dug deep underground to tap into the water table just to access this water. They were ingenious, the little species. And nosy.
A chuckle erupted within him as he remembered what they’d been saying when he’d lifted Diana from the ulom.
They were sure she was his mate.
Apparently, word had spread that a member of the Restitution had fallen for a being from an unknown planet. He reckoned that Xul had been the cause of that news and now, seeing Diana with him, they’d automatically assumed she was his mate too.
They had eyed her, saying she looked to be a strong mate for a warrior and predicting that if they had children, their young would be quite interesting to behold.
That had made him somewhat uncomfortable.
Young?
Children?
He hadn’t seen those in his future. Carrying on his bloodline had never been in his plans.
He had left that task to his blood brothers back on his home planet.
Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like.
What would their child look like if he and Diana were to mate and she bore his spawn?
Would it have his white hair and eyes? Would the neurons run underneath the baby’s skin? Would it have red hair like its mother?
Would it be logical and calculated or would it be as wild as Diana?
The image of a little red-haired child with white irises and Diana’s smile came in his head and, to his surprise, it made him…happy.
If only.
Wrapping a towel around his midsection, he carried his pants in his hand and he exited the shower.
She was still sitting cross-legged and now she was doing something to her hair. It seemed she’d found a comb somewhere because she was fixing the strands and didn’t raise her head to acknowledge his presence.
Hanging his pants on the outside of the cave to dry, he sat on one of the glass stools and watched her work on her hair.
She was running the comb through the long hjek strands and when she was satisfied, she brought them all towards the nape of her neck and was doing some kind of intricate tying.
He sat mesmerized as he watched her and when she finally looked at him, she paused.
“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Yce blinked. He hadn’t realized he’d been staring.
“Your hair. What have you done to it?”
“This?” She reached back and touched her hair almost subconsciously. “I braided it.”
“Braid?” He’d never heard of the word.
“You’ve never braided yours before? It’s so long.” She was looking at him as if he was an alien. “Come. I’ll do it for you.”
He hesitated for a second.
He was hardly clothed and she as well. She had a towel draped around her body but it was hardly any covering, the material so thin he could still see her soft pink skin underneath.
And his cock...he was still hard.
He was about to make an excuse not to go closer to her but his legs began moving on their own, as if pulled by some magnetic field he could neither see nor control.
Sitting in front of her on the bedding, he waited stiffly.
She was going to touch him. Only, this time, he knew it was coming. He was expecting it. Heck, he was anticipating it.
He could feel her fingers in his hair now. Such soft touches as if she was afraid to hurt him.
“Your hair is...different. It shimmers almost,” she said.
He didn’t answer. Not that he didn’t want to converse but his efforts were more focused on concealing the tent growing above his groin.
“And so soft too,” she murmured, as she ran the comb through his hair.
As she began doing this braid of hers, her fingers brushed against the nape of his neck and Yce closed his eyes.
There was something strange about this...something almost...intimate.
It took him a few minutes to realize she was finished but her hands still rested on his shoulders.
“Yce?” Her voice was but a whisper.
“Yes, Diana.” He turned slightly and immediately realized how close they were. His face was inches away from hers and his gaze fell to her lips.
And then it hit him; it hit him hard. It was a soft hum, her thoughts, but the longer he stared at her lips the clearer they became.
She wanted him to touch her. Wondered what it would feel like. She was curious.
As was he.
As the reality became clear, his gaze shot to hers and he saw it in her eyes too.
Did she have any idea what she was projecting? Did she have any idea he could feel what she was thinking?
The tension he’d felt between them was back again. Thick in the air, so much so he could probably slice it with his blade.
“You...” He began then stopped.
Instead of speaking, he’d show her she wasn’t alone with these feelings.
* * *
Diana’s breath hitched in her throat as she watched him move closer.
She couldn’t move away. She didn’t want to.
Closing the distance between their lips, Yce settled his mouth against hers tentatively and she sighed against him.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as he kissed her and then she was being pushed back onto the bedding.
On her back, he paused as he leaned over her and when she opened her eyes, she felt herself clench.
He was fucking handsome. Now with his hair pulled back from his face he was even more of a stunner.
He dipped his head then nibbled her ear before moving down her neck and Diana trembled underneath him.
His mouth was warm. So darn warm and his kisses felt so good.
She could feel her nipples harden underneath the sheer towel as her body begged for him to kiss them.
As if reading her mind, his kisses trailed over her collarbone down to the barrier the towel made and stopped there.
Lowering her eyes to see why he stopped, she realized he was looking at her, his face paused above the valley between her breasts.
White eyes glistened and the network of tattoos underneath his skin seemed to glow.
“You want me to continue?” His voice was hoarse and it only made her clench again.
“Yes.” It came out as a whisper because she didn’t trust herself to speak properly.
But even with her permission, he didn’t continue.
Something passed through his eyes as he continued looking at her.
“But you hate me.”
Diana swallowed hard.
She didn’t hate him but she knew he knew that. He had to.
“I hate it when you do things to me,” she replied.
Another look passed through his eyes and she was sure it was mischief.
“You hate it when I do this?” He rose above her again, his muscles flexing and Diana inhaled deeply as his lips touched hers again.
His kiss was soft, undemanding, yet urgent.
She’d only shown him once, yet he was kissing her exactly the way she liked to be kissed.
His lips sent tingles down her spine and echoed in her pussy as she clenched again.
She was already moist, she could feel it.
Breaki
ng the kiss, he looked deep into her eyes and Diana couldn’t help it. She wanted more.
“So?” he asked, the mischief still in his eyes.
“So what?” She was almost breathless and that was weird.
It was just a kiss.
“You hate it?” He raised an eyebrow.
Hiding her smile, she answered, “Yes. I hate it so much.”
Yce seemed to nod.
“And this?”
Before she could react, his head dipped to her ear and she felt his hot tongue surround her earlobe before he took the soft skin between his lips, sucking on it lightly.
Diana gasped softly. Never had something so simple felt so good.
“I fucking hate that too,” she said breathlessly.
“And this?” Yce moved his kiss down her neck again before reaching the towel.
Taking the fabric into his mouth he pulled it down from over her breasts slowly and when her breasts were bare, he paused to stare at them.
He was looking at them as if he would devour them. There were no inhibitions in his gaze. It was like he was looking at something so gorgeous it would hold his attention for eons.
The attention made her insides warm and she felt her clit respond.
She’d never had anyone look at her like that before.
His gaze was so...primal. Almost possessive.
She heard him groan as he dipped his head, flattening his tongue as he licked one of her nipples and Diana moaned against him.
“Yes,” she whimpered, “I hate that.”
“Mmm,” he replied, taking the entire nipple into his mouth as he sucked on it lightly.
Diana’s eyelids fluttered closed, the vibration of his moan echoing against her nipple and she arched her back to his lips.
“I want to touch you,” he growled.
“I’d hate it if you didn’t.”
She could feel his hand moving slowly up her leg before he planted his palm over her center and another moan echoed through him.
“Yce,” she whimpered. Remembering her dream, she’d never wanted something so bad as how she wanted him right now.
His fingers dipped between the folds to find her pussy and as a finger slipped in, he moved his lips to the other breast.