Chapter 14 #2
He collapsed, shifting to lie beside me, so I didn’t take the brunt of his weight.
His body shook with the aftershocks of our shared pleasure.
I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close, our hearts pounding in sync.
His face was buried in the crook of my neck, his breath hot and damp against my skin.
“Zara,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “Sweet fuck, Zara. What was that?”
“Not sure,” I replied, smiling softly. “But if that’s how sex is going to be between us, I may not survive it.”
“Me either.” He closed his eyes. “We’ll die happy, though.”
I let out a tired chuckle and let myself just…
feel. We lay like that for a while, our bodies still joined, our breaths slowly returning to normal.
The mating bond was powerful. It was a constant reminder of our connection.
I could almost feel his emotions, a mix of satisfaction, contentment, and a lingering echo of his earlier fear.
I stroked my hands over his back, tracing the lines of his muscles, the ridges of his spine.
His skin was cooling, the shifting colors settling into a soft golden hue.
He pressed a kiss to my neck, pulled himself out of me, then rolled more fully onto his side, taking me with him so that we faced each other.
His eyes were no longer dark with desire, but soft with tenderness. “I never want to lose you, Zara,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I couldn’t bear it.”
I reached up, cupping his cheek in my hand. “You won’t,” I promised. “We’re bonded, remember? We’re in this together, no matter what.”
He turned his head, pressing a kiss into my palm. “Together,” he agreed.
Our lovemaking had been an intense claiming of desperation and need.
But now, in the quiet aftermath, there was a gentleness between us, a soft intimacy that was just as powerful.
I explored his body with slow, lazy touches, learning the curves and planes of his muscles, the textures of his skin.
He did the same, his calloused hands tracing patterns over my flesh, his touch tender and reverent.
His cock stirred against my thigh, hardening once more. I smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Again?” I murmured.
He grinned, a slow, sexy curve of his lips that sent heat pooling in my belly. “The mating bond,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “It increases…stamina.”
I laughed, a soft, husky sound. “I think I’m going to like this mating bond.”
He rolled me onto my back, his body covering mine. “You have no idea,” he growled, capturing my mouth in a searing kiss.
This time, our lovemaking was a slow, leisurely exploration of each other’s bodies.
We touched and tasted, our mouths and hands roaming freely, discovering the secret places that made each other gasp and moan.
I reveled in his responses, in the hitch of his breath when I stroked my fingers down his spine, in the low groan that vibrated in his chest when I scraped my nails over his nipples.
He was no less attentive, his touch igniting fires beneath my skin, his mouth driving me to the brink of madness.
He kissed his way down my body, his tongue swirling around my navel, his teeth nipping at the curve of my hip.
When he settled between my thighs, his breath hot against my pussy, I cried out, my fingers tangling in his hair.
His tongue was merciless, licking and stroking, delving deep into my folds.
He found my clit, circling it with a slow, steady pressure that had me writhing beneath him.
Pleasure built, a slow burn that spread from my core, consuming every inch of me.
I could feel his enjoyment, his satisfaction at my responses, echoing through the mating bond, amplifying my own arousal.
“Torven,” I gasped, my body tense and trembling. “Please. I need you inside me.”
He growled, the vibration sending shockwaves of pleasure through me. He surged up, capturing my mouth in a fierce kiss. I could taste myself on his lips, a heady, intimate flavor that sent my desire spiking higher.
He positioned himself at my entrance, his cock poised to claim me once again. This time, there was no desperation, no frantic rush. He slid into me with a slow, deliberate thrust, filling me completely, our bodies joining as seamlessly as our souls.
I wrapped my legs around him, my heels pressing into the small of his back, urging him deeper. He began to move at a steady rhythm. Each thrust was a declaration, each withdrawal a promise.
His hands were everywhere, stroking my cheeks, cupping my breasts, gripping my hips.
I met each of his thrusts with my own, our bodies moving in perfect sync.
Our pace quickened, our breaths mingling, our hearts beating as one.
His cock slid in and out, slick with my arousal, the friction sending sparks of pleasure shooting through me.
I could feel his pleasure too, building and intensifying with each thrust.
“Zara,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion. “My love.”
I clung to him, my nails digging into his back, my body tense and quivering. “Torven,” I gasped. “I’m close. So close.”
He changed the angle of his hips, his cock hitting a spot deep inside me that sent stars exploding behind my eyelids. His hand slipped between us, his fingers finding my clit, circling it with a firm, insistent pressure.
My orgasm hit me like a supernova, a blinding, all-consuming force that obliterated all thought. I cried out, my body convulsing, my pussy clamping down on his cock. Waves of ecstasy crashed over me, each one more intense than the last, sweeping me away in a tide of pure bliss.
Torven threw his head back and a low bellow ripped from his throat as he found his own release. His cock swelled inside me, his release spilling deep, marking me, claiming me, binding us together in the most primal way.
We lay there for a long time, bodies still joined. Limbs entwined. Torven’s face was buried in my neck, his breath hot and damp against my skin. I could feel his heart thundering in his chest, echoing the wild beat of my own.
When we finally collapsed together, breathing hard and thoroughly satisfied, I felt a sense of completeness I’d never experienced before. This was what I’d been missing without even knowing it—this deep, unshakeable connection to another person who understood me completely.
We lay tangled together in the afterglow, and I could feel some of the tension finally leaving Torven’s body.
His breathing had slowed, his skin had shifted to the peaceful blues and greens I associated with relaxation and curiosity, and his arms around me had relaxed from desperate clinging to gentle holding.
But I could still sense his mind working, processing and analyzing our situation with the same methodical approach he brought to flight planning.
“You’re thinking again,” I said, tracing lazy patterns on his chest with my fingertip.
“Yes,” he admitted. “It’s hard to turn off.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“This. Us. The fact that we’re lying naked in a fortress belonging to people we met six hours ago, planning to help them hunt for potentially antagonistic aliens who may or may not be able to solve a planetary crisis.”
I laughed, partly because when he put it that way, it did sound rather insane. “When you say it like that, it does seem like a bit of a challenge.”
“A bit of a challenge,” he repeated dryly. “That’s one way to put it.”
“But it’s better than being stuck in that weather tower with dwindling supplies and no hope of rescue,” I pointed out. “At least here we have food, clean air, and the possibility of finding a solution.”
He was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right. Whatever their ultimate agenda, the D’tran have given us resources and opportunities we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
“And if I can’t fix the weather towers?” I asked quietly. “If we find the Kythrans and it turns out they can’t or won’t help?”
Torven’s arms tightened around me, and I could feel the protective instincts flaring again. “Then we find another way. And no matter what, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
The fierce certainty in his voice should have been comforting, but his words from earlier in the day had come back to tweak at me.
If this mission failed, if Vikkat’s hopes were disappointed, what would that mean for our safety?
The D’tran had been kind and welcoming so far, but desperate people sometimes turned dangerous when their last hopes were crushed.
Before I could say any more, there was a soft chime from the main chamber. Torven was out of bed and reaching for his clothes before I’d even processed the sound fully.
“It’s probably just someone bringing more supplies,” I said, but I was getting dressed too. After everything we’d been through, neither of us was inclined to be caught unprepared.
When Torven opened the door, we found Vikkat waiting with the two other D’tran from before. All three of them were armed and equipped for travel, with heavy packs and what looked like serious exploration gear.
“Ready to begin search?” Vikkat asked without preamble. “Storm clears. Weather stable for few days. Good time to move.”
“Now?” I asked, glancing out the window where I could see pale morning light filtering through the fortress’s upper levels. “We just got here.”
“Delay is danger,” Vikkat replied. “Weather changes quickly. Miss opportunity, wait many days for next chance.”
One of his companions spoke rapidly in D’tran, and Vikkat nodded before turning back to us. “Ghent says transmission intercept has found third escape pod crash in valley region.”
My heart leaped. “Third? Can you tell if anyone is alive?”
“Unknown. It is controlled by leader named Rezor.” Vikkat crossed his enormous arms with a grimace. “Not a friend.”
“Not a friend?” I parroted. “What does that mean? Isn’t he a D’tran, too?”
Vikkat nodded. “His land is dangerous area. Storm activity, unstable ground. Harder land. Harder people. They don’t associate with us.”
I looked at Torven, seeing my own mixture of hope and apprehension reflected in his expression.
Our remaining crew members, including Cleo, could be alive, but reaching them would apparently require traveling through one of the most dangerous regions of an already adverse planet.
To negotiate with a leader “harder” than Vikkat.
“Fine. We’ll address the towers first, then see about making contact with this Rezor person.” Torven rolled his shoulders. “What do you need from us?”
“Your scanning equipment. Advanced sensors to locate Kythran hideouts. Track them underground.” Vikkat’s expression was intense, focused. “Find them. Force them to cooperate with weather tower shutdown.”
“And if we can’t shut down the towers?” We’d gone over this a little before, but I needed more clarification on it. I needed to hear Vikkat say that it would be fine if the towers refused to give up their secrets. “If the system is too damaged or too complex for even the Kythrans to repair?”
“Then you help them learn,” Vikkat said simply. “Your knowledge of atmospheric systems. Their genetic access. Together, find solution.”
It wasn’t the most reassuring of replies, but refusing was not an option.
I couldn’t shake the memory of Explorer Thex-Nol’s final journal entries.
The Kythrans in his tower had been working hard at something.
I was sure they were trying to shut down the weather control system when he arrived, and they’d still been working on it until the time they disappeared.
“How long will this expedition take?” I asked.
“Days. Maybe week. Depends on what we find.”
A week in the dangerous wilderness of a planet where the atmosphere was toxic and the weather could turn lethal without warning. But it also meant the possibility of finding our scattered crew members and potentially solving the crisis that was slowly killing this world.
“We’ll need to bring our equipment,” Torven said. “All of it. And we’ll want communications gear to stay in contact with the fortress.”
“Already prepared,” Vikkat replied, gesturing to the packs his companions carried. “Food, water, breathing apparatuses, emergency shelter. Everything needed for extended travel.”
I looked at the expedition gear, then at Vikkat’s expectant face, and the weight of responsibility settled heavy on my shoulders.
These people were depending on me to help them solve a problem that had been plaguing their world for generations.
They believed my knowledge of atmospheric systems, combined with Kythran genetic access to the weather control towers, could save their planet.
The scary part was that I was starting to believe it too.
The technical challenges would be enormous, and the risks were substantial, but the basic theory was sound.
If we could access the tower control systems and understand how they’d been designed to interact with the planetary atmosphere, it might be possible to restore stability.
If the Kythrans were willing to cooperate. If they were even still alive. If the control systems weren’t too damaged to repair.
A lot of ifs, but it was the best chance any of us had.
“When do we leave?” I asked.
“One tick,” Vikkat replied. “Time to eat, prepare, check equipment. Then we go.”
As he and his companions left to make their final preparations, I turned to Torven. “This could work,” I said. “If we can find them, if they’re willing to help, we might actually be able to fix this.”
“This has to work,” he muttered. “Or we are never leaving this place.”
“Then we better hope Vikkat keeps his word about protecting us,” I said quietly.
“And if he doesn’t, we improvise,” he said, sensing that I needed some extra reassurance. “Like we’ve been doing since this whole thing started.”
He nodded, and I could see the familiar determination settling over his features. Whatever challenges lay ahead, whatever dangers we were about to face in the underground caverns where ancient enemies might still be hiding, we’d face them together.
The mating bond that had been driving us both to distraction was finally working in our favor, giving us the unshakeable connection we’d need to survive whatever came next.
I just hoped it would be enough.