“Are you referring to my vibrissae?” he inquired, his eyes pinning her even as they gleamed with humor.
“Uh, yeah… I guess so,” she agreed with a wide grin. “Vibrissae. Well, in my defense, the name I came up with was completely descriptive due to the way they whip around under their own power. I guess I could have gone with calling them head-tentacles.”
He immediately gave her a pained look. The appendages flattened against his head. “I am grateful that you do not refer to them in such a way. They are not tentacles. My vibrissae are both a secondary defense for my species as well as containing tiny, invisible receptors that helps me gather additional information from my environment for my processors to analyze.”
Terri smiled impishly at him before sobering. He seemed in control of himself. Now seemed like a good time to ask him what he’d meant.
“You said that you had to wait… not yet, specifically… what exactly are you talking about?”
Veral fixed her with a vexed look but rolled his neck, his vibrissae—she enjoyed the word—puffing out and twitching around him with the motion. “This situation is without precedent, as far as I am aware, among the Argurma. We take great pains to not bond outside of our species, and yet it seems that my biology has begun the process in reaction to my prolonged contact with you and my own interest and unfortunate sentimentality where you are concerned,” he admitted gruffly. “As I indicated, it has advanced to the point where my processors are constantly fixed on you and my systems do not allow me to exceed a distance more than several spans from your side. Even my nanos are coding to the bond, which causes me distress if separated.”
“Holy shit,” she whispered in awe. She still wasn’t sure what all was entailed in this bond he mentioned, but it obviously had a huge impact on his physiology. Enough to where he was understandably concerned.
“Human colloquialisms never fail to confuse me,” he muttered.
Terri waved a dismissing hand. “Never mind. Basically, I’m this enormous distraction for you… mostly because this bonding thing is something you cannot control.”
His lips tightened but he did not deny it. “You simplify matters too much. You do not understand.”
“Okay,” she drawled. “So, break it down for me then.”
“It is more than an inconvenience. An inconvenience can be dealt with and discarded. Mate bonding is a natural imperative for my kind. Once it begins, we are unable to resist the pull of our mate to complete the bond, regardless of whether those are made outside of appropriate and sanctioned methods.”
Her mind breezed over much of what he said, latching onto one word. “Mate. We’re… mates?” The concept was surprising but also inspired a warm feeling. She scooted forward suddenly emboldened to try everything she’d been fantasizing about over the last two days. She reached for him. “Then it is okay to touch…”
The good feeling dissipated when his hand closed around her wrist, holding her arm well away from him as he shook his head.
“Not yet,” he growled. “I shall avoid solidifying the bond.”
Her face crumbled, embarrassed that she misread him to such a degree. She attempted to pull back her hand, but his fingers held fast, not relinquishing it. She glared and tugged harder.
“Veral, let go,” she said.
“You misunderstand and are angry again,” he retorted.
Her cheeks flamed. “Look, I get it, okay. This bonding thing is not something you want. I totally get it.”
A rattling sigh slipped out of him and his fingers caught her chin, pushing until she was forced to meet his eyes.
“It is too dangerous to solidify the bond.” She blinked. Was she imagining things or was she hearing a tinge of regret in his words? “Because of that, I have deemed it to be a foolish risk to take. I am responsible for your wellbeing and refuse to put you in the way of harm.”
His fingers slipped away from her jaw and he set her free. Nodding to her blankets, he gave her a meaningful look. “I am certain that we will be outside of the storm tomorrow. Rest, anastha. We have much work to do to make up for lost time.”
Confused, Terri watched him as he dropped to the floor a short distance away. She didn’t even move when he picked up a weapon and began to treat the blades as he did every night. When it became apparent that he was done discussing the subject, she moved out of the way. Walking over to a wall, she slid to the floor and leaned against it as she watched him.
It seemed that even when it came to a sure thing like mating that she still couldn’t win. Terri allowed her head to loll back as she closed her eyes. Of course he was going to just make a decision for them without input from her when it came to her own safety. What if she were willing to risk the danger? The brief tastes of passion and tenderness that she’d received from him were worth it to her. She hungered for such contact and affection. In her mind, it was worth walking a bit on the wild side.
And just how much and what kind of danger was he speaking of? He made it sound almost criminal if he attempted to mate with a female from another species without registered approval. Granted, she didn’t know all the details, but how hard would it be to tell her and allow her to come to a decision about how much risk she was willing to take rather than have the big, gruff alien decide on her behalf?
If it were dangerous for her, it could be dangerous for him too. Terri frowned. Sometimes she sounded like a real bitch inside her own head. Although he put the focus on her, she couldn’t demand that he ignore the risks when it could likely carry some very severe consequences with it. He had demonstrated without a doubt that he was attracted to her, and how much he needed her, despite his refusal to go further with it. His insistence that they wait was still as cryptic as ever.
If he wasn’t going to go through with it, what exactly was he waiting for?
Her eyes never straying far from him, Terri decided to stop mooning over him and do something productive. Digging through her things, she found her needle and thread. She yanked off her shirt and went to work sewing yet another worn seam back together with slow, neat stitches. She could feel his hot gaze upon her, and she swallowed back a groan, her hands trembling for a moment before she wrestled control back into her grip. Turning the shirt in her lap, she tackled a tear where the shirt had become caught on a fence she hopped earlier.
She flushed and fidgeted as it became apparent that he wasn’t going to look away.
“You’re staring,” she finally said crossly.
Veral grunted. “You are displaying yourself,” he muttered. “It is difficult not to look. I am still a male, and a male in the presence of his bonded female. I am not wholly a machine and am a long way from dead.”
Pleasure rushed through her.
“Well… I suppose that’s different,” she agreed magnanimously. “That just leaves me with one question…” She looked up and met his eyes. “Are you enjoying the view?”
His vibrissae fluffed out with a rattling snap, his eyes heating like the blue fire at the heart of a flame. “Indescribably so.”
With that, he turned his attention back to his task, and Terri felt a satisfied grin stretch over her face as she focused on her mending. That response was at least promising!
13
Four days later, Veral knew his control was about to snap. Terri was not deliberately provoking him or inciting his desire, but it seemed everything she did made his civix swell. His body shivered with an awareness that it would not be much longer before his mating pouch ruptured, freeing his civix. He tried not to look at his female as he walked across the desert, making certain to keep his pace reasonable so as not to inadvertently leave Terri behind. Unfortunately, he was aware every second of her at his side, her hips swinging in a natural rhythm as they walked over sand, rock, and packed, dry earth as they led the collector carts to the ship. Veral wished that he could have left her in the relative safety of their dwelling with Krono, but since becoming aware of the limits of their bond, he knew that would be impossible
. The dorashnal meanwhile leaped over obstacles as his sharp nose reacquainted him with the terrain leading back to the ship. Both his human and Krono were in high spirits as they traversed with him.
Unable to resist, he glanced over at her. Though her face was flushed bright red from the sun beating down on them and the physical exertion from their long walk, her smile was bright, thrilled with the adventure of seeing his ship. She was never more indescribably desirable to him. He wanted to drop her down onto the sand, strip off her clothing, and feast upon her until his civix burst free to set him off on his mating heat. It was a long walk to the ship, long enough that they wouldn’t be able to return to camp tonight. A prickle of dread raced over his hide. Would he be able to keep tight control over his desires when she was in his ship, sleeping in his personal space, scenting his possessions and everything within it with her sweet, alluring fragrance? He expanded his mandibles, catching a taste of her salty musk, and his civix twitched roughly.
He was never going to last.
Sooner or later his instinct, paired with the demands of his systems, would override all his intentions. It had been a near thing once too often over the last few days as they salvaged. He was so far on edge that it would only take the smallest push to send him over into the rut of mating heat… and he knew that when it finally came, he would surrender to it thankfully. The pain of holding back was a constant companion, aching all throughout the day and night, though he tried not to reveal the extent of it in front of Terri. He ran another diagnostic to see if he could build up any additional programming shields to hold the inevitable off for a little while longer. His lips pressed together in a tight frown, his mandibles clattering in frustration.
His nanos were at their limit. There would be no stopping it now.
He was growling to himself when Terri turned around and shouted to him, waving as she pointed to something that had caught her attention. Veral looked to the direction she indicated, his eyes widening with surprise. There, in the distance, a large group of humans was moving across the open desert. Large four-legged animals pulled wooden vessels across the sand.
The animals were skinny and underfed, their bones showing through their skin, but they plodded faithfully along under the direction of humans walking beside the wagon, and the sole commander seated on the vehicle. Males walked among females without conflict, often in what appeared to be mated pairs. And there were offspring! Small ones peeked out of ports on the vessels and older ones walked with the adults, a few carried in the arms of their parents. The people were tired, dirty, and almost as malnourished as the livestock, yet they were making their way west. He was witnessing an entire migrating colony of a species that should be, by all rights, extinct. Veral immediately set his ocular implant to record.
Part of his duties as a salvager was to retrieve digital documentation that could be returned to the historians and scientists of the intergalactic collective at large. It was considered almost more valuable than the raw goods he had. This sight was one that he knew would be of interest to many. The planet devastated, the civilizations decaying and dead, and yet the species stubbornly persisted. Veral drew up beside Terri, unable to look away.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Terri laughed. “Kids! I don’t remember the last time I saw a child.”
Veral didn’t reply but leaned into the female contently. He’d been away from his own home planet for so long, and far from other salvagers who traveled ceaselessly with their families, that he’d forgotten what it was like to see offspring. Even as far away as they were, he could hear the soft, reedy laughter of little ones.
At a shout, a male at the front pulled the lead vessel to a stop, the animals snorting and tossing their heads wearily as they drew to a halt. Immediately, males and females hurried to it and the others, stripping off supplies. They worked like a swarm of industrious insects bent on a task and Veral watched with interest as the rough outlines of a camp began to pop up over the hard, packed ground.
One of the males studying the landscape suddenly froze, his arm going up as he shouted, gesturing wildly. Confused, Veral turned his head and froze. His female had climbed on top of the rocks for a better look and was now completely visible to the humans below. It had not gone without notice and several males were approaching her. Terri cursed and jumped down, but it was too late. The males advanced, their faces set in stubborn lines. Veral snarled, his vibrissae expanding as he nudged Terri aside and placed his body between her and the humans. His arms fell back, circling around her as he pinned her to his back. The vibrissae rattled threateningly, and the pace of the males slowed.
“Do you hear that? I think we’re getting close to a rattler’s nest,” one of the males observed in a hushed voice.
“All the more important that we get her, Kevin,” another protested. “Women aren’t safe out here alone. There’s no telling how long she’s been out here. She’s probably half-feral. If we take her in, she’ll be safe, and we’ll all benefit when she chooses a man among us when she’s ready. If there are rattlers nearby, then clearly she’s in need of rescuing.”
“I suppose,” the other male agreed unenthusiastically. “Women can be a touch foolish like that… Running straight into a rattler’s nest seems about right.”
Veral sneered and backed up at Terri’s urging. He wanted to remove their tongues for speaking in such a fashion about his female.
“Come on,” she hissed. “Let’s get going. We’ll be long gone before they are even over the rise.”
“I do not care for the way they are speaking of you,” he snarled.
Terri laughed, though it sounded strained. “They’re just being stupid. They’ll give up the moment they get to the top without anything to show for it.”
“They seek to damage your honor,” he returned vehemently.
She shook her head. “My honor is fine. Trust me, I don’t need any more trophies.”
He scowled at her, taken in by the unyielding look on her face despite his disappointment. “I would gladly lay their tongues at your feet.”
“Now that’s a charming picture I could live without,” she replied, her tug on him becoming more insistent as the clattering sound of loose rock echoed around them. “Come on, Veral. The last thing I want is them getting a good look at you and going into a panic. You don’t exactly inspire peace and goodwill.”
Veral cast her a curious glance. “Why would I wish to do so? It is good that they fear me upon sight. Then they will know to stay far away from me and mine.”
“Of course that would be your logic,” she muttered in exasperation, but he did not miss the way the corners of her lips tugged up fondly. “Come on then, my terrifying male, I do not want to be delayed with an unnecessary confrontation. Let’s get our carts back to the ship so that we may rest. Besides, I want to see it. Also, you promised me that I would be able to get clean,” she reminded him with a grin.
Veral groaned at the image her reminder conjured. He pictured his female in the cleansing unit taking advantage of the mineral tub. He would fill it with water and tend to her bathing before taking great pleasure in rubbing exotic, expensive oils from far-flung planets into her skin. The oils were his one pleasure, and he looked forward to sharing it with his mate. The uncomfortable pressure of his swollen civix—which had never truly reduced since its first inflammation and wouldn’t until it was satisfied—pushed aggressively forward against the seam of his pouch. He panted and growled as his civix writhed, desperately seeking the feminine heat of his mate.
Unintentionally, one of his vibrissae lifted and slipped through the filaments on her head—her hair as she called it. He groaned at the simple contact; his hips thrust forward into the air in front of him helplessly. The texture was gritty from sweat, dirt, and sand. He did not find it objectionable as his vibrissae twined around her locks of hair, tugging gently. The rich scent of Terri’s arousal swamped his senses, sending his systems into a frenzy.
In that state, Veral’s aggression spiked
as he scented the human males, and his processor tracked their movement up the hillside. A vicious growl erupted from him, his vibrissae’s rattle becoming more pronounced in volume as they lifted further into the air around his head. It was the territorial sound of a male warning off a potential rival. Krono echoed the sound as he positioned himself at Terri’s side, his long fangs bared.
A horrible thought occurred to Veral as the salty, pungent scent of the males drew closer. What if Terri desired to join with them? They were her own species and weren’t members of the gang that had been threatening her. She may desire a human mate.
His head whipped around to look at her. “You will not mate with any of those males,” he demanded.
Terri’s brows climbed on her flat, expressive face. “You are honestly worried about that?”
He snarled and turned his head away, his vibrissae jerking periodically with his barely controlled aggression. “They are weak, inferior… They stink,” he added with a wrinkle of his nose. He enjoyed the way his anastha smelled, but no other humans.
He was still debating what terrible things he could do to remove his rivals or discourage their pursuit when he felt a small hand slide up into his vibrissae. Small fingers wrapped around several of them before yanking firmly as a female Argurma would in mating to demand the seed of her mate. The sensation shot down to his civix, making it jerk and thump at the barrier of his pouch. A ripple of pleasure shot through his groin as he felt the seam separate more. Clicking his mandibles, he growled and turned his hot gaze onto his mate. The humans were getting louder, but their noise faded into the background as he dismissed their presence in favor of the desire surging through him for his female.
“I see I’ve got your attention now,” she whispered, her lips quirking with amusement.
He hissed in agreement as he turned to nudge her toward his ship with his massive body. His instinctive needs were taking over, overwhelming his processors with their demands. He felt nothing but the impulse pushing through his coding to make haste and get his female into his abode. His starship was the only home he possessed, and at that moment he desired her caged within it more than anything.
Broken Earth Page 11