11. Ryoch
11
RYOCH
W hy? Why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut?
“So,” Charlotte said, drawing out the word. “A bond with a human, with me, might not take?”
I didn’t want to lie. We were keeping enough secrets just being on this planet. I wouldn’t keep any from my mate.
“Our scientific knowledge is very advanced overall, but matehood is an area that’s still considered a mystery. You might use the word ‘magical’ to describe it. We’ve come up with algorithms that help mates find each other, but ultimately, it’s something intangible.”
“Something cosmic?” Charlotte supplied with a grin.
I was glad to see her humor, and I hoped to keep her smiling.
“Exactly. When the mating mark heals?—”
“Whoa. Wait a second. Mark? Heal?” Her smile was already gone.
I cleared my throat. “It’s a bite. A mating bite creates the bond. Instinct drives us to mark our partner in that way. And once a pair is bonded, they can feel each other’s emotions. I’ve heard it described as having another soul in your heart.”
Charlotte swallowed, and my gaze was drawn to her neck. The smooth, silky skin where it met her shoulder. I shook myself.
“Have you been, um, celibate because you didn’t have a mate?” Her face flushed a lovely shade of pink.
My teeth literally ached with the desire to mark her, and I appreciated the change of topic from bonding. But maybe not this topic. I could taste sagar on my tongue.
“No, I’ve been intimate.” Did I notice a hint of annoyance on her face? I hid a smirk. “But I couldn’t use my seal, and therefore I was never fertile.”
“Seal?”
“How much of the biology lesson would you like right now?”
Her brows shot up. “All of it.”
My cock was so hard, it was pressing painfully against the inside of my jeans. I tried to focus on describing sex clinically, but it didn’t help much.
“Several aspects of our anatomy are different from a human male. Our penises are significantly larger and ringed with raised bumps we call drols . At the base is our ring-like seal, or praga , which only engages with a mate. As the name suggests, it holds us against the female and stimulates her while we release inside, keeping the channel blocked until the seed enters the womb. Due to our size and contact with the cervix, we’ve evolved a relaxant, sagar , that’s secreted by our tongues, called lithis . This eases the process while preserving the female’s enjoyment.”
Charlotte’s eyes had slowly opened wider and wider. “In other words…”
The dam in me broke, and a soft growl left my chest. My voice sounded feral. “In other words, I’ll fuck you with my tongue to get you ready. Maybe fuck your mouth too. Then my studded cock will go so deep inside you, the pressure will be intense. My seal will pulse against your clit while my cock thrusts and fills you with come. You’ll climax hard, and I’ll stay inside until every last drop goes into your womb.”
As I spoke, Charlotte’s growing arousal perfumed the air. By the time I finished talking, her scent was making me lightheaded.
“You have a dirty mouth, don’t you?” Her pupils were wide, her breathing fast.
“You bring it out in me.” My shredded voice had dropped an octave lower, and she shivered. “Lydaxian males are known for their prowess. We can’t be certain that it will be seamless, since this hasn’t been done before. But I’m optimistic.”
I wasn’t being entirely forthcoming. Many of the others were worried that human women would feel discomfort, or be disgusted by our appearance, especially our ta’laps .
I didn’t care if I had to stay shifted forever and fuck her with an undersized human penis. As long as I was with my mate and she was satisfied, we could adapt.
Charlotte sat on my sleep pallet, in my quarters, her eyes glassy with lust. She wanted me, at least as I was in this human form. But if I were to take her now, I didn’t think I’d be able to hold back my bite. This wasn’t the time. We hadn’t developed the emotional connection that was needed, especially given what she’d told me about her parents.
I reached up to cup her jaw, brushing her cheek with my thumb and pushing her glasses higher from where they’d slid down her nose. Her eyes fluttered shut on a breathy moan, and I wondered if I had the strength to do this.
“I’d like to give you time to think about everything.” I almost choked on the words. “Take you on a date. We don’t have to move quickly.”
She blinked at me, confused. “Oh. Maybe that would be best.”
Was she disappointed? I wasn’t sure. “Would you rather…?”
In a flash, she pulled back from me and stood. “No, you’re right. Let’s go.”
My hand hovered in the air where I’d been holding her, and I let it drop. It felt wrong not to be touching her. But she had boundaries I needed to respect, and I would wait until she was ready.
I nodded and stood, leading her through the ship and out to my car. We didn’t hold hands, didn’t speak.
All the way back to the hospital parking lot, Charlotte was quiet. I understood that she might need time, but something was bothering her, and I couldn’t let her leave without finding out what.
When I pulled in next to her car and parked, we both turned to face each other. She spoke first.
“Listen. I felt a little rejected back there, like you were changing your mind. I’m trying not to sabotage myself, so I wanted to give you a chance to explain before I jump to conclusions.”
Shit . “I wasn’t rejecting you. I wanted to tear your clothes off and mark you. But I thought you wanted to get to know me first.”
I said it in all seriousness, but Charlotte smiled. Then she threw her head back and laughed, until she was wiping tears away. I didn’t know what to think.
“I’m glad I said something,” she said when she could talk again. She blew out a breath. “Okay. Good job not tearing my clothes off. I like this dress. And yeah, let’s get to know each other more.”
If she’d felt rejected, I needed to be more clear. I gripped her nape and pulled her lips to mine, showing her how I felt in case she still had any doubts. She moaned into my mouth, welcoming me, and I kissed her hard, our breath mingling and the car windows starting to fog.
When I felt my control faltering, my skin tingling with the urge to wrap her with my ta’laps , I pulled back. Her eyes were closed, cheeks flushed, her chest lifting and falling rapidly.
With my hand still cradling the back of her neck, I circled my thumb over her pulse until she opened her eyes. “I have a shift tomorrow and Monday, but I could meet you Monday evening.”
Her eyes were half-lidded as she nodded. “Monday. Okay.”
As we exchanged information, I breathed a sigh of relief to finally have her number in my possession. Charlotte turned in her seat to leave, and I got out quickly, sprinting around the car to open the passenger door before she could. I savored the press of her warm fingers in my palm as I helped her out.
“I’ll text you with the time.”
She sighed, face lighting with a small smile. “See you Monday.”
The separation would be a torment.
Her legs seemed shaky. If we weren’t in a public place, I’d have picked her up. It was painful to let her hand go. I waited to make sure she got into her car, then watched her drive away, my heart wrenching at the loss of her nearness.
As soon as she was out of sight, I pulled out my phone and found her pen name online.
I bought and downloaded every one of her books.
R ounds on Sunday morning were interesting. Not because of the cases, but because my thoughts were occupied by tales of love and betrayal, morally gray heroes, and illicit workplace liaisons. Reading sixteen novels in a row would do that.
The patients were fine. Unlike humans, I could multitask.
It was refreshing to have such uplifting, romantic stories running through my mind at work. No matter the obstacles, they always ended happily. Jillian Dabny, aka Charlotte, was an excellent writer. And her characters offered me a valuable window into her thinking.
I was glancing down at my phone to re-read a favorite passage, the confrontation scene between Ed and Samantha, when a text came through from an unknown number.
Thought you’d want to see these. - Thylor
As I scrolled down, I gritted my teeth. He’d sent screenshots and links to conspiracy theories on social media about an alien invasion.
It was a threat. If he didn’t get what he wanted, it would be our images and details on these pages, all over the internet. I hurried to my office, shut the door, and texted Gravod.
Thylor is causing trouble. Call me.
My phone rang almost instantly, and I explained what Thylor had sent me.
Gravod growled on the other end of the line. “Shit.”
Thylor had lost all perspective. If he leaked that we were on Earth, betraying us to the humans, the consequences would be dire. It would throw this entire planet into chaos. The sudden discovery of aliens, and of advanced technology, was the kind of thing interplanetary wars started over.
We were strictly prohibited from revealing ourselves, except to our mates, or interfering in the natural development of human civilization. In the event that our identities were compromised, we were to erase any evidence we’d been here and return to Vytaris. It was the only reason our ship was hidden and not scuttled, as insurance in case the mission failed.
Thylor knew that. He was counting on it.
If we were forced to leave, there would be no mates for the crew. Everything we’d hoped for, everything we’d sacrificed…
We needed to silence Thylor. I’d tried reaching out to him since our chat in the parking lot, with no answer. Apparently, he was using burner phones now.
“I don’t know where he is, Gravod. We can’t find him.” It would be nearly impossible. He had too many ways to hide.
“Jake is looking. Thylor can’t stay in hiding forever.”
Actually, he probably can .
Gravod knew I was distracted. If he’d already asked Jake for help, he clearly hadn’t trusted that I was on top of it.
I didn’t have time for this. “I’m not sure I can be of much help right now. My mate…”
Gravod stopped me. “I understand. You don’t need to explain. But Ryoch, I have good news.”
“What?”
“My mate is pleased with my appearance.”
“You…showed her?” I wasn’t expecting the conversation to go this way. Now he had my full attention.
“She demanded it. And she enjoyed…everything.”
My mind flooded with images of taking Charlotte in my true form. I stifled a groan.
“Thank you for telling me. It gives me hope.”
“Take care of your mate, my friend. I’ll deal with Thylor.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
I hung up. Then I heard my name being paged over the intercom.
Monday evening couldn’t come soon enough.