Chapter 4 Burr’k
Of all the human females in the settlement, it had to be the one with the sunshine in her hair.
And as if I hadn’t made a poor enough impression the first time, my concern for her safety, and her lack of armor and weapons, had come out sounding like an insult.
I hadn’t meant to be mean and rude. I’d seen the brief disappointment that had crossed her face before it was covered up again by a smile.
I didn’t know what to make of her. That stubborn optimism didn’t make sense in a world still crawling with scourge.
She was smaller than I expected for someone so determined to leave the safety of the human settlement and venture into scourge-filled territory. But then again, all humans were small, except for a few of the very large males, but there weren’t many of them.
Her eyes were wide and expressive, constantly scanning and full of curiosity. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the cold, and her lips were full and equally pink.
She wore layers, but I could tell her jacket wasn’t warm enough by the way she had her arms wrapped around her body, even as we made our way to my shuttle. She wore red and white mittens that made handling a blaster impossible, regardless of how well she’d performed during her training.
How would she fire a weapon when all her fingers were stuck together?
When we reached the shuttle, it became immediately apparent that there was no place for her to sit other than my sleeping nook.
The pilot seat was built for one, and the rest of the interior was designed for function. Storage compartments lined the walls, a place for natural functions filled the rear, and reinforced plating sealed off the engine and power core. There were no passenger accommodations.
She stepped inside and looked around, her expression flickering from curiosity to something more subdued. I watched her take in the bare metal walls and the absence of anything resembling warmth or welcome.
“This is… We’ll make do,” she said, setting her bag down near the counter.
I grunted, unsure how else to reply.
Her gaze drifted to the sleeping nook. “So, I sit there?”
I hesitated.
Her sweet and enticing scent was already saturating the shuttle, warm and maddening, like spices and fruit all mixed together into a decadent bouquet.
It clung to the air and settled into the metal, curling around my nose in a way that made it hard to think clearly.
And this was with her only being in the shuttle for a few mere seconds.
If she sat in my sleeping nook, it would stay there, embedded in the sheets. In the fabric. In the place I slept. I’d lie down later and breathe her in, and it would feel like she was still there. That wasn’t something I wanted. Or maybe it was. I didn’t know what to think.
That was dangerous.
But the only other seating option was the pilot’s seat.
I imagined it for half a breath, her soft body pressed against mine, strapped in tight with the harness, her soft hair fanning out over my chest, and her rounded bottom in my lap. My muscles locked up, and my cock stirred.
That wasn’t happening. Not unless I wanted to lose control of the shuttle and do something stupid.
I cleared my throat. “It’s the only option.”
She hopped up onto my sleeping nook, settling into my space like it was meant for her all along.
I ran a systems check, fingers moving across the console, and the shuttle responded with a low vibration. Outside, snowflakes drifted past. It was best we started moving soon, before the snow worsened and a real storm blew in. There were larger, more ominous clouds on the horizon.
The shuttle lifted off with a smooth hum, rising above the settlement walls. I adjusted our heading toward the three coordinates Roger had provided, eyes scanning the horizon for movement.
It was still early in the day, and the flyers weren’t out yet. Sure, the New Franklin nest was gone, but flyers flew far and wide in their search for food. And plus, our first destination was at the edge of another town. Roger had claimed that the locations in New Franklin had long been looted out.
Behind me music began to play, something upbeat and filled with chiming bells. I thought it must be the alert for the female’s communication device at first. But it kept playing.
I turned to check, expecting her to silence it any moment now. She sat on the edge of my bed, her device in hand, her head nodding to the music. She’d removed her boots and had her legs crossed, her posture relaxed. Red and green fabric tubes covered her feet.
“Are you going to answer your communication device, female?”
“Oh, no, it’s not a call. It’s music. This is as close to a holiday road trip as I’m going to get so I might as well enjoy it. And my name’s Holly, not ‘female.’”
Holiday. Road trip. Two words that meant nothing to me. I knew what a trip was, and I knew what roads were. But humans had a way of combining things into rituals that made no tactical sense. We were also flying, and there are no roads up here.
I frowned. “When does it end?”
She wrinkled her nose most adorably, and something in my chest tightened.
“According to this, we’ve got four hours of continuous holiday cheer.”
I grumbled and tapped the console, activating the external display. The shuttle’s walls shimmered, then faded into a projection of the outside feed, forming an immersive overlay that made the interior feel like it had vanished. Gray metal gave way to a cloudy dawn and snowfall.
Holly gasped. “Oh wow!”
She leaned forward, hands braced on the edge of the sleeping nook, staring like she’d never seen her home from this angle before. Maybe she hadn’t.
New Franklin stretched beneath us like a patchwork quilt of snow-dusted rooftops and covered pathways. The grounded mothership stood out amongst the buildings. Beyond the walls, the land was a frozen suburban wasteland, but inside, the settlers were just starting their day.
“Hey, look, it’s Evie!” She pointed to another woman with sunlight-colored hair who walked hand in hand with Tarv’k.
The other hunter was considered to be older, and yet he was still out here fighting and making a difference. Surely that meant there was room for me in this fight as well.
She continued pointing out friends as we passed overhead, naming them with her voice full of affection. I didn’t know most of them, but warmth settled in my chest. Her happiness at something so simple was refreshing. And I found myself not as irritated by the music anymore.
Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Where’s our first stop?” she finally asked.
I pulled up my map and showed her the locations Roger had highlighted.
Holly hopped off my sleeping platform and made her way over, her red and green stripe-covered feet landing softly on the metal floor. She was in my space, and every part of me knew it. The scent of her got stronger, and the air was charged with her presence.
She leaned over me to look at the screen, her hair falling forward to brush against the skin of my arm. She was so close that if I turned my head, I’d be able to bury my face in the crook of her neck.
“We should go to that other one first. It’s the toy store.”
“Toys? Shouldn’t we find the lights first? It says the lights are found here.” The lights had been one of the only things I'd recognized on the list, so that must mean it was the most important.
“But the gifts are more important because we can’t have a Christmas morning of opening gifts for the children if there are no presents.”
“Toys are useless.”
She gasped. “Take that back!”
I snorted. “I’d rather face a pack of scuttlers.”
“Say toys aren’t useless. It’s imagination. And comfort. And hope. Kids don’t get to stay kids for long enough nowadays. I want to give them happy memories to fall back on, even if the world around us is still a mess. They need hope. I need hope. Because without it, what else is there to live for?”
I still didn’t fully understand, but I was beginning to. It wasn’t about the music or the decorations or the list of strange items we were hunting down. It was about making life worth living.
She stood there, flushed from her little speech, her blue eyes bright and defiant.
Her chest rose and fell with emotion, and her scent wrapped around me.
The righteousness and the raw emotions on her face were real and pure.
This mattered to her. It gave purpose to our trip, and instead of a waste of time, the toys suddenly felt like something worth fighting for, if only to make her happy.
I reached out before I could stop myself, fingers cupping her flushed cheeks. “Then I will go help you find hope.”
The tightness I’d felt in my chest suddenly snapped, and it erupted into a loud, steady rumble.
We both knew what that meant. My body had recognized someone compatible. It didn’t mean that she was my mate, but that she could be.
Holly gasped, eyes wide and lips parted. “You’re purring.”
She reached out as if mesmerized, her hand landing on my vibrating chest.
Her touch sent a jolt through me, waking something deep inside. I leaned in, unable to hold back the need clawing at my chest. With a growl, I covered Holly’s sweet lips with mine.
I’d never done this before, but I’d watched many recordings, and instinct took over the moment we touched. Electric need speared through me, going straight to my cock. She moaned into my mouth, her fingers gripping the front of my harness as if she needed something to hold onto.
Now that I’d had a taste, I wanted more. I pulled her onto my lap and devoured her, deepening the kiss, sliding my tongue across her lips, silently begging for her to open for me. She parted her lips, and I immediately delved my tongue into her mouth with a hunger that surprised even me.
Her body softened in my arms as if completely surrendering to me.
Straddling me now, she fit against me perfectly, her curves pressing into my chest and abs.
My cock swelled between us, straining against the soft leather of my loincloth and pressing indecently against her belly.
I gripped her hips and guided her closer, letting the friction between us build until I was sure she could feel exactly how much I wanted her.
Krux! If this was how human females were built, so lush and responsive, then I finally understood why so many hunters had chosen them as mates.
After many long moments, our lips parted.
Holly’s lips were swollen, her breath uneven, and her cheeks flushed. She blinked slowly, like she was still caught in the moment. And krux, did I want to kiss her again! But we had a mission ahead.
I reached for the navigational screen and selected the other, slightly farther location.
“Let’s go find your hope.”