CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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Jillian
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I TOOK ANOTHER bite of yeast ration and made a face.
It was salty, but that was about all I could say for it.
I picked up the package to check the name again—Beef Bolognese.
I laughed. No human in existence has ever tasted real beef, but we always named everything after something lost when we left Earth.
We did it as soon as we found Sagittarian One, too.
Oh, sure, the scientists went around naming all the plants and animals using some new system.
But everyone else just slapped together two words that seemed to fit best, and those were the ones that stuck.
There’d even been competitions, with everyone watching old vids from Earth to find the things that fit best. Aiko had been the one to find a vid of something called an antelope with long horns like Billy would have once he got older.
Hopefully, someday I could introduce my new pet to my best friend.
I forced myself to eat the rest of dinner, but it was hard after all the yummy meals Fin brought me. And if Varool ration blocks were the best thing I’d ever eaten, what was their real food like? Far better than anything the mess hall ever made on Chandra Station, I bet.
The comms system blared an alarm. Dropping my fork, I bolted for the control room and activated the connection. “This is Lieutenant Jones.”
“You’re being evacuated,” a man said. “Be prepared for oh six hundred hours tomorrow.”
“Evacuated! Why?”
“Things fell apart with the Varool, and people are getting sick.”
“But—”
“I have six other posts to call,” he interrupted. Then he coughed for long seconds before choking out, “Be ready.”
I stared at the screen, Fin’s outpost a dim outline in the fading light.
This is it. The time has come. It’s time to make a decision, JJ.
But I’d already made it.
I ran for the door.
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The river crossing was the scariest thing I’d ever chosen to do, the rocks slippery, the view difficult in the low light and rain.
Will he even be there? Will he actually choose me like I’ve chosen him?
I ignored the doubting voice and made my next jump.
One more leap, and my boots hit the graveled bank. My foot slipped out from under me, and I pitched forward.
A blur of movement, and strong arms caught me.
“Fin!” He came for me! I clung to the firm strength of him as joy bubbled in my veins, filling my chest with lightness and warmth.
“Come. We should get out of the rain.” He loosened my arms from around his neck and led the way uphill.
“Billy?” I asked.
“He awaits us in the cave.”
With Fin’s arm wrapped around my waist for stabilization, I made it to the cave in record time, almost running to keep up with his long strides. Wind gusts no longer jarred me, and even the rain seemed to strike my face with less force with him by my side.
He steered us easily, even in the lower light. Did the Varool have better eyesight? It wouldn’t surprise me.
We ducked into the front cave, lit by a small lamp Fin had brought, and the goat-lope bleated from the passageway.
“Just a minute, Billy!” I helped Fin roll a boulder until it blocked the cave entrance, though he did most of the work. Then he removed the one keeping Billy penned, and the small animal dashed over to me, his little hooves thumping on the ground.
I shook off the worst of the water and bent over to pet him, and he headbutted my hand, wanting more.
When I stood, Fin handed me the lamp and gestured for me to go into the inner cavern. Once inside, I set it down, and his hands found the top of my jumpsuit. “You are soaked.”
“Are you sure it’s that and not just an excuse to get me naked?” I grinned up at him.
The zipper parted with a metallic rasp, and Fin’s nostrils flared as his eyes grew heated. “I need no such excuse. You are my mate.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“The Divine Mother crafted you for me and me for you.” He placed my hand over the center of his chest. “You brought my zural heart to life. It beats for you and no other.”
Oh! Emotion clogged my throat. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to me.
“But know this.” His intense green eyes caught mine. “Varool mate for life. Once we do this, there is no going back for me.”
“I don’t want to go back. I want this.” My fingers curled into the fabric of his jacket to pull myself closer. “I want you.”
He lunged, scooping me up into his arms so his mouth could take mine. He nipped at my lips, frantic, and I fisted my hands in his surprisingly silky hair, just as needy.
My breasts were crushed against his chest, making my nipples tingle, and I pressed against him even harder, wanting more. All those kisses we’d shared over the past week paled compared to this one.
Fin bent slowly, letting me slide down his body but keeping our lips together. Then he straightened abruptly, his hands pulling at his clothes, splitting the jacket open, then his trousers.
He didn’t wear underwear, so nothing prevented me from seeing that he didn’t have anything down there. Confusion whirled through me. Hadn’t he said he had a dick?
Then a seam hidden within one of his stripes split. He groaned, and his cock emerged, long and growing even longer. Ridges swelled along its length like the flare of the head repeated.
It was huge, at least twice the size of anything I’d ever seen on a human. And those ridges...
My pussy clenched. God, what are those going to feel like inside? I couldn’t wait to find out!
Fin stepped close and continued to strip my jumpsuit from my body, his hot mouth licking at the exposed skin.
Soon, he crouched before me, unfastening my boots.
I pulled my bra over my head as he tugged off my underwear and buried his nose in my mound, inhaling audibly.
My pussy clenched again. It was so hot the way he loved my smell!
He tore off the rest of his own clothes so that he stood naked in front of me for the first time. He was glorious—tall and muscled. His skin glowed in the light of the lamp, the stripes marking his thighs just as perfect as those on the rest of him.
One hand locked onto my shoulder, the other grabbed the base of his cock. He grunted, his hips jerking. He almost growled, his voice came out so deep. “I must mark you.”
“Okay.” I sounded completely breathless.
The tip of his cock pressed against the skin of my stomach. With short, sharp strokes, he drew on me, his precum leaving behind an orange-brown symbol the same color as his stripes.
“What is that?”
“It is my claiming mark, my name. You are mine.” He released his dick and pointed to his own stomach. “Now you mark me.”
Did he mean...?
“With the wetness I can smell dripping from your cunt.”
The dirty words made my pussy clench. I reached down and swirled my fingers around my entrance, coating them. He watched, and it was the hottest thing I’d ever done, tingles shooting through my body.
I wrote JJ across the hard muscles of his abs, my fingers burning from the heat of him.
“Now activate the mark.”
I frowned up at him until he picked up my hand and brought it to my mouth. “Lick.” My tongue swiped my palm, and he pressed it to his stomach.
He frowned. “It does not appear to work with humans. It matters little, for I am more than ready.” His magnificent cock gave an excited jump. “I will activate yours now.”
Whatever he needed! I just wanted to get to the good stuff. I nodded.
He licked his hand and placed it over the mark on my skin.
Tingles burst outward, rushing across my entire body. My muscles locked as an orgasm shivered through me. I moaned.
Fin pulled me into his arms, the heat of his chest crushing my nipples and almost making me come again. I’d never gotten so worked up again so quickly. What is this? I panted, smelling the peppery spice of his skin.
His hands slid to my butt, and he lifted me effortlessly, my legs wrapping around his waist. His hard cock pressed against me, and every time he moved, those ridges rubbed my entrance, my clit, sending pleasure shooting through me. I clung to him, my pussy aching to be filled.
Fin strode over to the inflated mattress he’d spread on the ground. He laid me on top and covered me with his large body. My legs tightened, urging him closer, and I moaned.
His head pressed against my entrance. He was huge, far larger than anyone I’d ever seen, let alone been with. Would it even fit?
I didn’t care. I needed it, and I needed it now!
And I was so wet.
Those piercing green eyes locked with mine as he pushed into me.
The stretch was amazing, and my mouth fell open as the pressure grew and grew.
The head slid in, then the first ridge. He pulled out a little, and that ridge tugged at my opening, sending tingles racing through me.
I gasped and tasted his spice on my tongue.
Fin thrust forward a few centimeters at a time, letting me get used to his girth. But I wanted more, and the tendons on neck stood out as he strained, so I knew he held back.
I dug my heels into the firm muscles of his ass and pulled.
That glorious cock plunged into me, filling me like nothing ever had before.
With one thrust, Fin shattered my pussy, tearing through everything I thought I knew of good sex.
He shoved forward, burying himself deep, his body grinding against my clit.
I came again in an explosion of sensation.
My pussy fluttered around his cock, my mouth open in a silent scream.
Fin bent and captured my lips with his, his tongue plunging in and out of my mouth, matching the rhythm of his cock. Those ridges—those glorious ridges—slid over every bit of my pussy, again and again, in an ongoing wave of delight.
My head swam, and I clung to his shoulders. What is this? I’ve never had more than one orgasm. But my body already tingled with renewed excitement.
Fin took my mouth again. One of his hands gripped my hip, holding me steady as he pounded into me, wrecking my pussy completely. Each thrust drove the tension higher, until I became a panting creature of nothing but pure want.