by Layla Stone
His eyes cut to Vivra. “If she knows how to crank on a spaceship, I’ll keep her. If not, then you know why.” Jerking his chin to Lita, he said, “Come on, the contractors will be here to finish the patches soon. You can watch. Take notes.”
Pulling her thumb to the side, she said, “Um, my trunk?”
Sands unlaced his arms and left. Lita rolled her eyes and began mumbling something about dios.
Lifting her hand as she smiled, Vivra whispered, “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”
“No, Viv, you’re going to need it,” Pax said, reaching out and hooking both of his hands around her waist. Then he lifted her up and over his shoulder. “You were suppose to be ready for me, have a sexy outfit on, but now I’m too ready, and you’re out of time.”
Vivra was not happy to be over his shoulder, but she was okay about not having to walk. “I guess that means you have to take off my clothes then.”
“And spank you.”
Vivra was faced the opposite direction, so he couldn’t see her facial expression. If he did, he would know that she wasn’t into spankings. “Nah. I’m more of a death by orgasm kind of girl.”
“You’re just going to have to trust me on this. You are definitely going to like what I have planned.”
She always liked what he had planned. He was thorough and slow and took his time to work her up over and over again. And even when he was purposely moving slowly, she ended up loving those times, too.
Her mate was awesome.
“I thought it was my turn,” she said with a pout.
“It will be, as soon as I’m done with you.” Which meant, it would never be her turn to do all the things she wanted to do to him. He enjoyed being the one giving pleasure. Then he took his own, not letting her give him any of it.
But being a thoughtful mate, she let him have his way.
***
It was morning, and Vivra was sore. But more to the point, she was hungry. She was wrapped in Pax’s legs and arms so she couldn’t move, which was actually fine with her, she loved his warmth. It filled her insides, and it was like hugging a bed heater. She was already used to him, and if she ever went to bed without him when he worked a different shift, she didn’t sleep well.
“Pax, you awake?”
He didn’t answer in words just grumbles.
“You awake?”
“Yessssss.” He sounded super tired, and his eyes didn’t open.
“Want to get me breakfast?” she asked, lightly bouncing on the bed. She was starving and she needed some food.
“No.” He rubbed his face against her neck and then slowly removed his limbs from hers. Giving her a quick kiss, he sat up and rubbed his head. “I am pretty sure I drank the entire bar and then came to have sex with my mate.” He looked at her. “Or was that a drunk dream?”
“I don’t know, but I might remember if I got some food in my stomach.”
He made a long, audible exhale. He slowly moved from the bed, put on a pair of pants, disregarded the shirt, and slipped on his boots. Then he gave her a you-owe-me look and left.
She smiled, checked her Minky, and saw a message from Z. He had her item and would personally deliver it to the ship. Her smile brightened. Breakfast and her new pistol? Excellent way to start her day.
She snuck out the door and stopped when she saw Yon storming out of Yelena’s cabin. Vivra walked up and peeked in.
Yelena was sitting on her chair in a Federation t-shirt and shorts, hands in her lap, head down.
“Hey? You okay?”
Yelena’s eyebrows rose, and a soft curse left her lips.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Vivra asked while scanning the cabin to see if she could figure out why Yon had been in the room. The bed was made, and Yelena’s Minky pad was on the table. The room looked clean and untouched.
Without another word, Yelena stood up, shaking her head. “Nothing.”
Vivra didn’t believe that nervous voice. “Be honest with me right now. Did Yon threaten you. Hurt you?” Yon was Yunkin, and one of Rannn’s closest teammates, she doubted he would have done something like that, but she was past blind loyalty.
Yelena’s whole stance was rigid. “No. I swear.”
“Then why are you back to being terrified to even look at me? I thought we were friends.”
Finally, black eyes peered up at Vivra. “We are. I just did something I shouldn’t have, and Yon made sure I knew to never do it again.”
Uh-huh. Not going to cut it. “What exactly are you not allowed to do?”
Yelena swallowed, looking painfully uncomfortable.
Vivra said, “You don’t have to tell me. But I’m not going to let someone else dictate your life. You get to live your way. Do not let that male or any person tell you how to live your life.”
Yelena nodded, but Vivra realized that the Flourg didn’t look confident as she did. Maybe one day she would get more confidence. Either way, she had a Demon to meet outside the ship, and another she needed to return to because he had her breakfast.
“All right, I will see you around.” Vivra left the room and quickly made her way to the docking bay. She sent the captain a request for approval for Z’s ship to be allowed to dock. Seconds later, Rannn approved the request, and she alerted Z.
Waiting in the bay, she watched as the small ship slowly hovered in, touching down gently. The side door hissed before opening.
A tall, well-built, olive-skinned male stepped out. He had dark hair and a dark beard and mustache. It extended far past his chin. He looked Terran at first glance.
He saw her, did a quick head to toe, and smiled. “Vivra. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
He held out his hand, a formal Terran greeting. It confused her because Z should have been a Demon. He used the same pet names as they did. But his formality, his facial hair, and his demeanor were all Terran.
She took his hand; it was warm but calloused. He must not only sell his parts, but make them, as well.
“You, as well.”
He turned around, grabbed a small package from his ship, and held it out to her. Impatiently, she opened the side and turned up the box, almost dropping the contents. Another small gun, this one sparkling white on the handle. The barrel was light silver.
“I call it a pink powder pistol.”
She snorted at the name.
“It holds three shots. It’s loaded with a wet, pink powder and it spreads like a shotgun, so make sure to point it directly at your target. The nanites inside the powder eat through the skin, quickly shredding the offender.”
Vivra almost dropped the pistol. “Into tiny pieces?”
“No, the nanites leave a residue, it chemically reacts with the skin. Needless to say, the body turns into pink powder. Easy clean-up.”
Easy clean-up? Sounded so…Demon. “I don’t clean up my kills,” she heard herself say, ignoring the images of Mish’s face in her mind.
“Good,” he said in a tone that sounded as if he meant it.
Stuffing the gun into her pants, she thanked him again.
“Stay safe, sweets,” Z said before entering the small ship and starting it back up.
Vivra waited until he lifted off before returning to her cabin.
When she returned, Pax was not back yet. She put the pistol into her safe and sat down in the chair next to the circular table to wait.
Ten minutes later, Pax walked in with a plate of food and set it down on the table. Vivra took one look at the spread and felt her mouth begin to water, but because she wanted to pick at Pax, she said. “What? No Niffy juice?”
Rolling his eyes, he made his way back to the bed, fell down on it, and mumbled, “I love you, but I’m not going back down there.”
Her lips curled up. She wondered if he realized that he’d confessed his love. Thinking about it, she liked how comfortable it felt hearing it. She wanted to hear it again.
“You love me?”<
br />
Pax was still for a second and then he tilted back his head as if he’d just realized what he said. His dark eyes turned to her, held hers, watched her. “I do.”
She wanted the words. “You do…what?”
A sparkle crossed his eyes. “I love you.”
“Yeah?” She licked her lips, feeling the words inside her soul.
He didn’t ask if she loved him back, she noticed. But when she didn’t respond, he turned back to the bed and snuggled the pillow, acting like it wasn’t a big deal. She didn’t like that. Moving from the table to the bed, she slid over his body, then reached up and nipped the side of his jaw. “Are you afraid to ask me if I love you?”
His eyes still closed, he answered, “I’m not afraid to ask. I’m just tired, Viv. Some Bolark kept me up all night.”
“What’s her name? I’ll use my new pistol on her.”
That got him to open his eyes. “You got a new pistol?” He moved and sat up, using his arms to keep her from falling off the bed. “When?”
“When you were getting me food. Met with my contact on Lotus Adaamas. He gave me a pink powder pistol.”
“I’ve never even heard of that.”
“It turns people into pink powder.”
He scowled. “How do you have the worst weapons to die from?”
She shrugged but wanted to go back to the previous topic. “Are you afraid I don’t love you?”
He half-shrugged and tried to lay down. She grabbed him around the neck, bringing her face to his, so close she could taste his breath. “Ask me.”
“Tell me,” he countered.
“Tell you what?”
“Tell me you love me.” His voice was soft. He didn’t wait for her to say it, he nipped her bottom lip.
He pulled it into his mouth and moved her down to her back, deepening the kiss. His mouth over hers, keeping her from speaking, she wondered if he really was afraid that she didn’t love him back.
“Pax, I do love you,” she said between kisses.
He didn’t let up or speak again until he had exhausted her with four climaxes and he finished inside her. “Forever. I will love you forever. That’s the truth.” He didn’t say it, but she knew about her kind’s poor mating habits. That they could and did find new partners frequently.
He was declaring himself to her forever.
Which she felt deep inside. So much so that she wanted to feel this way forever. And the only way she could was to be with him. Knowing what she knew about him, she also knew that he wasn’t going to get tired of her and pass her up for another female. He wasn’t going to treat her like an object, something Bolarks had a tendency to do with their mates.
She let him clean her up and return to bed before saying, “I mean forever, too.” She got to watch his toothy smile cross his face, the expression making his eyes crease.
She’d never get tired of her Demon. Sure, he was unexpected, but she wouldn’t change how things had turned out for all the worlds.
Acknowledgements
Thank you Matthew, Christopher and Annalise who remind me that family is the most important part of my life. I love you all.
I’d like to thank my amazing editor, Chelle - Literally Addicted to Detail. My magnificent critique partners Jennifer B. and Matthew R.
A warm thanks to my constant support system: Aubrie, Gail, and Melissa.
Another BIG thank you to Michael Johnston my Naval advisor who helps sort out the Federation’s ranks, the specialized equipment and court marshals proceedings.
Thank you Stephen Jensen and Thomas Grindle for the specialized consulting for the science fiction advancements on the ship.
And last but not least, thank you Will N. for all the time and insights you gave. Whiskey will never be the same after your instructions.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Unexpected Demon! I really appreciate your support and kind words. Writing is something I enjoy very much, and it becomes even better when I know others enjoy my stories too.
Next up is Unexpected Commander. Yon has a lot to learn about himself, Yelena and how to not be such an annoying, arrogant bastard.
For those of you who are reading this and wondering what happened on Eldon, I’ve written a short story from Clalls point of view on the Eldon mission. Click below.
If you’d like more information about me or the Unexpected Series, you can find me at www.authorlaylastone.com, Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub, Instagram, or sign up to my newsletter.
Layla
About the Author
Layla Stone is a Sci-Fi Romance author who is passionate about writing and reading romances. Her books are a blend of science fiction, romance and action adventure.
A business coordinator by training and a bookworm at heart, Layla makes her home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband, two children, and a trio of fur babies.