Stromm (Rakui Warriors #5)

1. Emily

1

EMILY

I’m lying on top of the furs next to Stromm in his med hut with my legs crossed and arms resting lightly on my abdomen. Rain patters on the thatched roof, and he’s settled in. I should head to bed, but it’s getting harder to leave him at night.

Not only is my TEASE driving me wild with need, but my overall patience is running thin. I’m ready to take things with the wounded Rakui to the next level. Actually, I’m ready to take things with Stromm to the highest level possible on this alien planet.

I want to become his mate, as the Rakuis say, forevermore.

He takes my left hand and turns it over, exposing my wrist. “The box is blinking again.”

The box , as he calls it, is my TEASE, which is short for Terran Enhancement for Adaptation and Survival beyond Earth. It’s a microcomputer wrist implant that communicates with the symbiont that Earth Gov injected into my body.

All the college students chosen for A Year of Interstellar Education received a TEASE implant and a symbiont, supposedly to enhance survival and adaptability on alien planets. But the educational program—and Earth Gov’s reasons for giving us the implants—were lies.

I turn on my side to face Stromm, and smile. “It only blinks when I’m near you.” As far as I know, mine is the only TEASE message that blinks at all.

He turns on his side, too, the intensity in his dark eyes drawing me in even as his grimace tells me the movement hurts. The external wounds to his abdomen are healed, but not the internal ones.

His shoulder-length black hair is tied back, and his golden, scaled skin shimmers in the dimly lit hut. He’s lost weight and muscle mass, but he’s still huge compared to me.

“It blinks when your need is greatest,” Stromm says, tucking a strand of hair that escaped from my braid back behind my ear. The tender gesture only increases that need, causing me to flush.

“That’s just SPECIES SURVIVAL MODE messing with my body’s hormones,” I remind him. “It’ll stop blinking soon.”

Once I’m alone and can take care of business.

Earth Gov didn’t tell me and my friends about SPECIES SURVIVAL MODE before it was initiated. But we figured out it’s designed to rev up our libidos and encourage reproduction with the Rakuis. Sometimes that encouragement involves messing with ovulation to ensure conception, which is as scary and messed up as it sounds. We still don’t know why they want us to reproduce with the barbarians, though, or what they have planned once our babies are born.

Stromm rests his hand on the curve of my hip, his thumb tracing little circles. “Your delicious mating scent grows stronger with each passing day. Let me slake your need, Em-uh-lee.”

His sexy grin is flirtatious, even though his offer is sincere. And, he really can smell my TEASE-induced arousal. Super-humanoid smelling ability is a Rakui thing.

The flush spreads from my cheeks down to my chest. We’ve been having this conversation every night for the last week. And part of me wants to push my leggings down so he can slake away. The part my TEASE is sending into overdrive.

But I don’t want our first intimate encounter to be in the small, utilitarian med hut where Stromm has spent the last couple of months recovering from the nearly fatal wounds he sustained while protecting me and my friends from mercenaries. Even though the hut is cozy, and the bed is big enough for two, there’s no real privacy here.

By design, the med huts are close together and form a tight arc around Yola’s larger hut, which serves as the healer’s home and her apothecary. The makeshift hospital is on the edge of the village, close to the North Caves, which are guarded 24/7 because the tribe’s Elders, Morkon and Cyana, live there. If Yola calls out for assistance, the guard is close enough to hear her and send help. Calling out during sexy times might bring help, too, which is a problem.

Lack of privacy isn’t the only reason to keep my pants on. Stromm and I haven’t even kissed yet. Shouldn’t we start there before working our way up to other things, like slaking various needs?

“We should wait.” I must sound breathy and unconvincing because Stromm slides his hand slowly down my hip and between my thighs, giving me time to stop him if I want. Instead, I push against his fingers with a soft moan.

“Yola will be back to see me when the suns rise,” he whispers. “I will ask how much longer it will be before I can return to my duties within the tribe…and claim a mate.”

“Did you have someone in mind to claim as your mate?” This time I’m the one who’s flirting.

He nods, holding my gaze as his fingers bring me close to orgasm even though I’m fully clothed. I should stop him or pull away.

We’ve talked about becoming mates in roundabout ways a dozen times or more. Just like I want to wait until he’s healed and we have privacy before getting more physical, he wants to wait until he’s strong enough to hunt for the tribe and protect his mate before claiming her.

Before claiming me .

Shattering against his hand, I bite my lip to keep from crying out while riding the gentle waves of pleasure. So much for waiting, or kissing first. That he would do this for me without expecting anything in return makes me want him even more.

“Mhm…that was…”

“Only the beginning.” He brings his fingers to his face and inhales. Deeply.

Damn.

I need to get out of here before doing something rash. Like setting Stromm’s recovery back six weeks by jumping him. “I should go and let you get some sleep.”

“You could stay,” he counters.

Rolling away, I get to my knees. “If I stay, we might do something we’re not ready for, something we’d regret.”

“Never regret,” he says, shaking his head.

I hold up my wrist and show him my TEASE. “It stopped blinking.” The SPECIES SURVIVAL MODE message is back to steady red.

“And now I know how to make the blinking go away.” Stromm’s satisfied grin makes me laugh.

“I’ll see you in the morning, after Yola is gone.” I get to my feet and head toward the hut entrance. “With breakfast.”

Outside, it’s still raining. But even wet weather can’t wipe the smile from my face. Using a solar-powered flashlight, I walk the short distance to the North Caves, which are also where the unmated Terrans sleep.

I hear the screech of an animal in the distance and immediately freeze. Then, my hand closes around the Rakuium pendant at my chest, and I start walking again.

The familiar weight of the pendant’s stone is reassuring. It almost feels alive in my palm, responding to my touch with a warming sensation. The rare and ancient element from the Rakui homeworld is a powerful energy source with an almost sentient ability to bond with and protect its chosen wearer.

When my friends and I first crashed on this dangerous, primitive planet, I was always on edge. Even with a laser gun strapped around my waist, I was afraid of everything. Now, I know the pendant will keep me safe, just like Jillian’s Rakuium ring kept her safe.

“Hey Chegg,” I say in greeting to the Rakui warrior guarding the entrance to the North Caves.

“Hello, Em-uh-lee. You are returning late. Is Stromm well?”

“Oh, he’s fine,” I reply, grateful that even with two lanterns lighting the entrance, he probably can’t see me blush. “We just lost track of time.”

He grins like I’ve told him we were banging. “That can happen when Rakui males and Terran females spend time alone together.”

Everyone knows Stromm and I are a couple. Or, we will be once he’s recovered. That doesn’t mean we’re having sex. Most of the time we just talk…and enjoy each other’s company.

I dim the flashlight as I enter the Terran sleeping cave and make my way over to my bedroll. After stripping off my booties and wet clothes so they can dry overnight, I crawl under the warm, heavy fur.

“It’s late, Em,” my best friend, Reece, mumbles. She’s still half-asleep. “How was your night with Stromm?”

“Really good,” I whisper. “He’s almost well enough for—”

“Fucking?” Reece asks.

“No,” I hiss. “To make me his mate. ”

“Oh, right.” She props herself on her elbow and looks at me. “Is your TEASE blinking again?”

I bite back a smile. “Um, not tonight.”

“You dirty, dirty girl.” Reece laughs, and I shush her. I don’t want to wake the others.

“Yola’s going to see him in the morning. I think he might be well enough to go back to his own hut.”

“Are you sure this is what you want, Em, and not something SPECIES SURVIVAL MODE is making you think you want? Settling down, popping out barbarian babies, and giving up on the possibility of going home is a big commitment.”

“I’m sure.” Reece doesn’t understand how I feel about Stromm, since she hasn’t hit it off with one of the Rakui males yet. But I could never go back to Earth, even if I hadn’t fallen head over heels for him. “How can you even consider going home now that we know Earth Gov is using us as test subjects in their creepy, reproductive science experiment without our consent?”

“You’re right. Going back to Earth is probably out.” Reece flops back down on her bedroll. “But there are plenty of other planets with breathable air besides this one. Planets with indoor plumbing, food replicators, and spaceports.”

“I don’t mind living on UD-237, even if it is primitive,” I say. “There are worse things than a simple life…raising a family with a man you love.”

“I suppose,” Reece mumbles, already on the verge of falling back to sleep.

But I stay awake for a long time, dreaming about a life with Stromm. Nothing will rob us of our happy ending. Not Reece and her doubts…not even Earth Gov and its secret plans.