by Ella Maven
Suddenly my feet weren’t on the ground anymore. My fingers were pulled from my body and replaced by thicker ones. I widened my eyes as I tightened my thighs around Xavy’s waist.
He’d hauled me in the air, my back against the hut, as he rutted against me. His fingers speared my pussy, the thickness causing a pleasure-filled cry to leave my lips.
“Yes,” I cried out. “More.”
Three fingers entered me as his thumb swirled my clit. He tugged down the top of my dress and one of my breasts popped out. He lowered his head and drew one beaded nipple into his mouth. With his tongue piercings, he circled the hard bud, and I bucked into him as my pussy clenched hard around his fingers.
His other hand left my waist to close around my neck. His applied pressure and our gazes met. Held. His violet eyes glowed like beacons as he dry humped me like a man possessed. His fingers made obscene sounds and I might have been embarrassed at how wet I was if Xavy was any other person.
“When you come, you say my name, Tab,” he growled. “You say my name.”
“Yes,” I gasped, feeling heat pooling in my core. “So close.”
The edge of his tail slithered up my leg and when I felt the very tip press against my back entrance, my eyes rolled back in my head and I came like a geyser. “Xavy!” I came so loud that he shoved a thick thumb into my mouth to muffle my cries. I bit down on it, hard.
My body, impaled on his fingers and held by his palm at my throat, shook and trembled. Still shaking with the aftereffects of the numbing orgasm, I whimpered slightly around Xavy’s thumb, sucking on it like a lollipop.
His gaze homed in on my lips.
“Xav,” I mumbled around the digit.
He panted, chest heaving, as he slowly let me down until my feet touched the ground. He withdrew his fingers from me slowly and unwrapped his hand from my neck. After that, he took a wobbly step back. “I’m sorry I touched you,” he murmured, and it seemed as if his cheeks darkened in the moonlight. “I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”
“I have zero complaints.” I was a little breathless, but I couldn’t miss the bulge in his pants.
“But I didn’t ask…”
“I could have said no. And you would have stopped.”
He swallowed but didn’t respond. I knew him though. He would have stopped. Not that I would ever ask him to.
I tugged my skirt down and stepped toward him. He took another step away from me and kept going until his back hit the side of the other hut.
I reached for him. “I’m pretty good at touching myself, but I’m much, much better at touching this.” I squeezed his cock through his pants, and he jolted so hard I thought he’d come out of his skin.
He watched me with flared nostrils and his hands fisted at his sides while I reached around him and unbuckled the clasp of his pants above his tail. The waistband gaped in the front with enough room for me to stick my hand inside and pull out his cock. As predicted, it was perfect and massive. A row of piercings like a Jacob’s ladder ran down the underside of his shaft, along with a pierced ring at the tip. My mouth watered.
“Tab, no,” he murmured, shoving my hands away.
My stomach plummeted. “What?”
He stuffed his cock back in his pants awkwardly since it was still way too hard to look like anything but a snake hidden in his crotch. “I can’t do this. I touched you. That is all, and I shouldn’t have done that.”
I started to feel the creep of embarrassment, and that pissed me off because Tabitha Markel did not get embarrassed. “Why not?”
“Because you are not mine to touch.”
My eyes nearly bugged out. “Uh, what? I decide who touches me. And I decided your touch was acceptable. No one else decides that.” I swallowed and righted my dress the best I could, shoving my boob back inside the top. “If you don’t want me touching you, you could have given me a heads up before I got your cock out.”
I had to get out of here before I cried. I could feel the beginning prick of tears. What was happening? How had this turned from the best night into the worst? Of course, he could say no, but it didn’t seem to make sense. He’d wanted me to so badly and then…
I took a step and realized my underwear were still around my ankles. Great. I hopped on one foot and tugged them off just as I heard Xavy take a step toward me. “Please don’t be upset, Tab.”
“I’m not upset because you stopped this,” I sniffed, my voice going slightly shrill. “I’m upset because I don’t think you’re being truthful with me about why.” I turned and with a vicious overhead throw, whipped my panties at his head. They caught on the tip of one of his horns and stayed there.
Xavy peered at them out of the corner of his eye.
I made no move to retrieve them.
He snatched them from his horn and gripped them tightly as he held out his other hand. “I do want you touching me.”
I glared with my arms crossed over my chest. “Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not. But Tabitha, once we start, I don’t think I can stop. And I don’t know how far I’ll take it.”
I was pissed, but I focused on processing his words. I cocked my head and lowered my brows. “What do you mean by that?”
His jaw clenched. “The things I want to do to you, Tabitha. They aren’t right. I’m flecked in the head.” He jabbed at his skull. “I’d dishonor my creed and my brothers. I’d hurt you. And I’d die before I let that happen.”
My mouth dropped open, and a sliver of fear trickled down my spine. “What kind of things?” I’d been so sure I knew who Xavy was. Could I have been wrong?
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Look, tomorrow I won’t be here. No one is supposed to know, but I needed to tell you before I left. In case I don’t return. If there was anyone in the galaxy for me, it would be you, Tab. I’m sorry I can’t be what you need. Trust me, I’m not for you. I’m not for anyone.” His eyes softened. “Take care of yourself.” He lifted my panties to his nose and took a sniff. A small smile graced his lips. “Thanks for the parting gift.”
With that, he turned on his heel, and walked away.
Four
Tabitha
I opened my eyes and a bright, searing light forced them closed again. I let out a small groan and rubbed my eyelids with the heels of my palms. Where was I? The sun was never that bright in my room.
Speaking of my room… I wasn’t in my furs. I was wrapped in a rough material that scratched my bare arms and I lay on a floor that was most definitely solid. And kinda cold. More alarming than the cheap blanket and hard floor was said floor was also… Vibrating? It felt like I was in a car on some long stretch of flat highway. Wait a minute…
I cracked my eyes open, slowly this time, and tried to get my bearings. I was huddled in some sort of alcove and I couldn’t have sat up if I tried. I’d managed to wedge myself—or someone else had wedged me—in a narrow space at the bottom of what looked like a metal wall.
“What the hell?” I whispered to myself. “How much did I drink last night?”
My head spun and my stomach lurched at the reminder I’d had way, way too many spirits last night. My tongue felt like it was covered in moss and I was dying for some qua. After that whole scene with the pierced Drix who shall not be named, I’d drank. And drank. And danced. And did I throw up? I remember slumping against Miranda while asking for the nearest Sheetz because I was hungry for a chili dog.
And then… What happened after that? I remember stumbling away from the girls who were also feeling the effects of the booze and finding a ramp that had seemed interesting at the time.
Shit. This was bad. Unbelievably bad. Even though I barely had room to do so, I rolled onto my stomach, relieved to see at least I had my clothes on beneath the blanket. I army-crawled out of the space and into a larger area of what looked very much like some sort of aircraft.
Still on my stomach, I gazed around. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. I knew the Drix had stolen their cruiser back, so I mu
st have stumbled onto it last night. No big deal. Surely the rumbling beneath my feet was just them testing the engine. Motor. Whatever made this thing fly.
With a wince, I pulled myself to my knees and then rose the rest of the way to my feet, using the wall as a prop. It was then I sighed and let my eyes open a little wider.
Stretched before me was an entire wall of windows above a cockpit-like control panel. And what I didn’t see out those windows were a bunch of Drix milling about on the ground. No, no I didn’t. I saw the sea way, way down and I saw sky. Sky we were currently flying in at breakneck speed. My lungs seized, and my heart plummeted. Had I been stolen by the Uldani?
I did what any sane person would do when taken away from the only safety she knew. I opened my mouth and screamed. My knees buckled and hit the floor with a smack just as a high-backed chair spun around. Sitting in the seat, purple eyes wide as saucers, was the pierced Drix who shall not be named. I immediately clamped my hand over my mouth, silencing myself, as we stared at each other. He didn’t look to be any happier about the situation than I did.
“Tabitha?” Xavy’s voice was a hoarse whisper as his gaze darted around the aircraft as if searching for the hole I’d used to breach the hull. “How did you—? What are you doing here?”
“Why are we in the air?” I screeched. Panic had set in, and words spewed from my mouth without filtering through my brain first. “What’s going on? Did you kidnap me? Am I being sold to the Uldani?”
My words caused Xavy’s face to shift from shock to anger. He unglued himself from his chair and stalked toward me. “Are you kidding? Of course, I didn’t kidnap you. And over my dead flecking body would I ever let anyone sell you.” He ended on a growl. His hand grasped my arm and he hauled me to my feet. Grasping my neck, he rubbed his thumbs under my jaw, studying my face as I sought to breath normally while my heart pounded in my chest like a jackhammer.
“Xavy, what… why am I here? I just woke up and I was asleep under there.” I pointed to my crevice.
He glanced at it with a frown. “I don’t know. All night, some crews were working to clean and run some tests on the cruiser. This morning, I boarded and left. Do you remember anything from last night? Did someone bring you on board?”
I closed my eyes, desperately searching my memories for a snippet of what happened. “I don’t remember much after chili dog,” I murmured.
“What?”
I shook my head as a few smokey remnants of memories flitted through my liquor-soaked brain. Me lumbering up the ramp to investigate some twinkling lights. Hearing a few deep voices and wedging myself in a small hole to wait until they left. Except … I’d never left. Because I fell asleep.
My eyes popped open, and I bit my lip as I stared into Xavy’s eyes. I could tell he was concerned, bordering on angry at the thought someone hurt me. No one did. Well at least, no one did but him. The memory of his words to me, the rejection had stung, forced me to take a few trembling steps back. His hands fell from my neck to flop listlessly at his sides. “Tab?”
“I drank a lot. After … you walked away from me. I remember now I saw the cruiser was open and decided I wanted to see what it looked like. When I heard voices, I went to hide. I fell asleep and woke up here. In the air. With you.” My eyes drifted to the window, realized we were still flying. “Shouldn’t you be driving this thing?”
He stared at me for a moment, like he couldn’t believe what I was saying, and then he shook his head. “It’s on auto-cruise based on the flight plan.” He whirled around and raced over to the control panel. “But I have to switch to manual so we can turn around.”
“Turn around?”
He didn’t even bother glancing at me over his shoulder as he pressed some buttons and took his seat. “You can’t come with me on my mission,” he scoffed.
I took a few steps forward until I could see the side of his face, which I glared daggers at. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, I don’t want to come with you anyway.”
His shoulders bunched, and a muscle in his jaw ticked but he didn’t answer me. “Fleck, I can’t turn around now. The wind patterns over the sea are against us. I’m going to lose so much time.”
“I’m sorry.” Shit, now I felt guilty. “I shouldn’t have wandered in here last night, but I had no idea I’d wake up…,” I waved a hand at the window, “in the sky!”
He cut a razor-sharp look at me. “Maybe you shouldn’t have had so much to drink.”
I gasped, feeling the cut of his words. “Excuse me? First of all, you make that potent stuff, and second of all, I drank to forget the feel of your hands on my body!”
He went still. Deathly still. His fingers hovered above the control panel and his eyes bored into mine. The chill emanating from him filled the space and sent goosebumps racing up my arms.
“I see,” the words were like icicles jabbing into my temples. He turned away, dismissing me completely, and focused on flying the aircraft.
I sank down in the chair next to him. He’d taken my words the wrong way. I’d meant I had to drink to forget the feel of him or else I would have tracked him down, which would probably end up in me embarrassing myself.
He’d told me no, and I had to respect that.
But Xavy didn’t take it that way.
I couldn’t read his mind, but the way his features went sub-zero, he probably thought I regretted what we’d done. Maybe he thought I was disgusted.
I hated miscommunication. I liked honesty. But I didn’t correct him. Did it matter? Not really. He’d made it clear nothing would happen between us. He was taking me back before he flew off on some secret mission to the unknown. Still, his feelings were hurt. Did I really want him thinking I was repulsed by him? No, no I couldn’t live with that. He was focused now on flying, so I resisted distracting him. I’d tell him once we safely landed. Yeah, I’d do that. This silence was fine for now, and he didn’t seem receptive to listening to me anyway.
What a cluster fuck. I could hear Justine now. Only you, Tab. Only you.
I dropped my head in my hands. No more spirits. No more blue dick. I was going to be a spinster.
“Lean back,” Xavy barked, and I jerked to attention. I hated this cold tone to his voice; that wasn’t Xavy. He was happy. Charming. Had I done this to him? He’d made the right decision rejecting me from his life.
I squirmed until I hit the back of my seat. My feet didn’t touch the floor in the massive chair meant for a Drixonian, so they jutted straight out, and I felt like a little kid. I wiggled my toes just as Xavy slammed his hand down on a button. Straps emerged from slots in the chair and wrapped around me, locking me in tight. Now I felt like a little kid about to ride a roller coaster.
Another voice filled the cruiser. “Xav?” Nero.
“Change of plans. I’m turning around.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Tabitha managed to sneak on board last night.”
“I didn’t mean to!” I yelled.
Xavy ignored me. “I have to bring her back.”
“Absolutely. And quick. You’re not far from your destination, and she can’t come with you. Xavy, the Kaluma … I don’t know how they’ll react to a female.”
My heart pounded. Who were the Kaluma?
Xavy’s nubbed brow lowered. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know much about them, but they wouldn’t respect her sovereignty as an unmated female.”
Xavy cursed. “I’m on my way back.”
“Be safe, brother.”
“Always.”
He flipped a switch, and the cruiser once again fell silent.
I stared out at the sea below us, waves rippling across the surface. Xavy tapped on a few screens and then wrapped his clawed fingers around a wheeled knob. “Hold on.”
I didn’t have anything to hold on to but the straps across my chest, so I fisted them, elbows cocked. “Holding on.”
The cruiser slowed, and Xavy spun the knob. The cruiser tilted, banking
like a plane heading in to land, but we weren’t landing, just turning around to take my hungover ass back to safety. Guilt churned in my gut. I owed Xavy an apology. I owed a lot of people apologies. This wasn’t college. I couldn’t get fucked up and wake in a strange bed with a few muttered apologies and have everything be okay. There were consequences here. Drastic ones.
I was working on all I had to say when Xavy hollered a panicked, “Fleck!” A bright light flashed before my eyes, and then… We were falling. Fast.
Five
Xavy
I’d known I could die on this mission. I knew it as soon as the decision was made. I’d known it last night when I’d found true happiness touching Tabitha, and I’d known it this morning as I’d said goodbye to my fellow brothers.
I’d expected to die at the hands of the Kaluma or some other species on this planet. I hadn’t expected to get blown out of the sky before making contact. And I hadn’t expected to be responsible for the life of the most precious human to me in the entire galaxy, even if she hated my touch.
Those were all the thoughts swirling through my head as I sought to keep the cruiser in the sky even though I knew it was a lost cause. We were going down. Something had hit us—something explosive and meant to absolutely shoot us down. The only consolation was it hit off-center and on my side of the aircraft rather than Tabitha’s.
Flames tore through the cockpit, singing my arm as I slapped my palm over the emergency signal. At least Nero would know what happened if we didn’t make it. I surged out of my seat. Alarms buzzed all around us and lights flashed, signaling that this cruiser, while not breached, was going down. The outside structure was too damaged and no longer air-worthy. We’d just acquired this flecking thing and I’d already lost it.
Tabitha’s screams echoed in my ear as I hauled a go-bag out of the emergency panel and strapped it to my back. The cruiser tilted wildly, spinning out of control, and it took every muscle I had to remain upright.
We had to get out of this thing before it hit the qua, because it was going to make a massive splash, sending predators from all corners of the cursed freshas eager to feed on whatever unlucky creatures were left inside.