Chapter 10
Chapter ten
T’ukka
I watched Axel as he settled down at the table across from me, passing me some of the breakfast food.
He was buzzing with energy, the kind of energy that usually led to us brawling just for something to do to pass the time.
But now that I’d had him in my mouth, made him come with my ie’kel, I wondered if that would be our new thing.
There was a lot of waiting involved in our mission on Earth, perhaps more than one would expect.
The Aunga’ri were adapting to food that was readily available on this planet, because it was nutritionally adequate and it made little sense to grow our own crops here.
And anything was better than the rations we had during interstellar travel.
I found some Earth dishes disgusting and others palatable or even enjoyable, and Axel seemed to enjoy my reactions to Earth food either way.
This dish was yellow, rubbery stuff made from the unfertilized eggs of a species with wings.
The chicken, Axel called it. It was tiny and seemed harmless, but became terrifying if you looked too closely at it.
I stayed far away from anything with a sharp beak and talons.
Why anyone had ever decided to cultivate the unfertilized eggs of a random animal was beyond me.
“So, Mia, I’m not sure we need bondage gear.
Can you get off without it?” Axel was radiating a wicked glee as he watched me poke at my food.
He was clearly enjoying my pain. I glared at him, mentally trying to convince him that this awkward situation wasn’t for his entertainment.
All I got back from him was laughter. I knew he found it amusing when I was uncomfortable, and I tried to hide that.
Then I smirked, meeting his eyes, because I knew exactly how to shut him up now, sending him a vivid mental image of my dick down his throat, his mouth spilling over with my cum as he sucked on me eagerly. He groaned and sat back, his eyes dilating, his breathing changing. Mission accomplished.
Mia swallowed hard and glanced at me, then at the now-lusty Axel, her eyes darting nervously. “Why the change?” She looked as panicked as I felt about fucking her. Why had it been okay with Axel, but not with her? Axel and I hadn’t had another sexual encounter, but I wanted it with him.
He hadn’t questioned me when I told him I needed space after the intensity of what had happened in the decontamination room, and he hadn’t pressed for anything more sexual though he continued to touch me.
That craving was one we couldn’t deny. Even sleeping apart felt like too much, and he’d snuck into my rooms late at night so that we could sleep skin-to-skin, with as much of our bodies touching as possible.
Axel coughed. “I believe T’ukka will be fine when he orgasms, but if it turns you on to tie him down and make him squirm, that works, too.” He met my eyes and shot me his vision of her in a sexy black outfit, our cum running down her thighs. And I felt a lot more like fucking her.
She tugged on her hair, unaware of our ridiculous battle of wills. “I guess so. Whatever you guys think.” She flushed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t feel nervous. I used to do this professionally.”
“We don’t mind. Take your time. There’s no pressure.” Axel’s voice had gentled, and he passed her a tray of a bread product called muffins. Now those I liked. He smirked and handed me two, and I reached across the table and grabbed a third, because thinking about sex made me hungry.
“We? Why do you both speak as if you’re one person? Shouldn’t the prince speak for himself? Or is he too incompetent?”
Axel’s eyes darted to mine, and then he met hers.
“He is definitely not incompetent.” He bit his lips and his eyes traced down my body.
“I think I’d go with incredible. But he worries about saying the wrong thing in front of you.
So I’ve been helping him with communication.
” The lie flowed smoothly, and I knew he’d been thinking about it for a bit.
Mia gave him a narrow-eyed look, then dug into her food again.
There was a time when I would have threatened to kill someone like her for her insolence, but my friendship with Axel had changed me, softened me.
He liked this fierce little woman just how she was.
He wanted to have intercourse with her, and I knew he wanted to do it with me there.
I could feel his sensual awareness of her like it was inside my own mind, but I wasn’t sure if Axel’s arousal, pleasant as it was, was enough to make my penis erect.
Axel looked at me, surprise registering in his raised eyebrows and wide-eyed gaze.
“You don’t think you can do it?”
“I don’t know if I will get aroused. Not like I do with.
..” I trailed off, rubbing my hands over my face.
Fuck Shurkuls Bru’ugo An’Mu’ol and his ridiculous insistence on this plan.
Axel’s mind wrapped around mine like a warm hug, and then his thoughts turned sensual.
He wanted to coax the arousal out of me, to make me hard, make me fuck her.
He was turned on by the concept of controlling my arousal, but the damn man was turned on by just about anything.
“Your dick got hard just fine yesterday.” This time, Axel’s voice was inside my head.
I glared at him, which only made the irritating man laugh.
His laughter was something I enjoyed. The warm, joyful sensation of human humor pushed into my mind and forced a smile out of me.
I shook myself and focused back on the woman.
How had I become so enmeshed with Axel? In comparison, the feeling I got when I looked at her was cold and distant, with no pleasantness.
It wasn’t dislike, exactly. I just felt nothing at all for her.
Axel seemed to connect with people in a different sort of way, and could quickly empathize and respond to the emotions of those he didn’t know or care for.
“Perhaps I need more time with Mia,” I said. “If you think she has good qualities, I believe you.”
Mia barked a laugh. “You can’t decide if I have good qualities on your own?”
“It’s different for Aunga’ri. We do not learn people on a personal level. It doesn’t come naturally to me.”
“And apparently T’ukka likes to get to know his lovers first,” Axel said, grinning.
“Fine. No bondage gear yet. At least not until the commander nags you to make it happen faster.” I knew Axel thought the commander was in a rush because he wanted to fuck a human woman of his own, but I was sure there must be some other reason.
But Shurkuls Bru’ugo An’Mu’ol had gleefully pulled rank.
Those in his social class were known for taking pleasure in commanding someone of my lineage.
I leaned back in my chair, looking out the window. We were in a place most humans thought was remote, and that was strategic, intentional. But it was also beautiful, with a landscape to rival any on our home planet. “I can’t force it to work if it doesn’t.”
“You’re not actually interested at all?” Mia sounded surprised and a little curious.
“Of course not; I was volunteered for this role,” I muttered. “It’s not a role I desire. I do not desire sexual relations.” My eyes darted to Axel, and he snorted.
Mia continued to study me for a moment and then she stood, walking closer, laying a warm hand on my cheek, feeling my skin with her thumb. “Do you think you’re not attracted to women?”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
“You’re obviously attracted to Axel, so perhaps you’re only attracted to males.”
Axel shook his head. “The Aunga’ri are polyamorous and pansexual. The historical records show no evidence of them relating attraction to gender.”
“You’ve been reading the histories?” I asked. “But they’re not in English.”
He shrugged. “I’m good with languages.”
“You are but a soldier.”
Axel hesitated, and I felt his hesitation to my core.
“You know I’m not a soldier,” he said quietly.
And he was right. “They didn’t send infantry to you.
They sent the best. My typical role is in counterintelligence.
I’m good with languages, codes. Decoding your language was easy.
” And then he switched to my language, and I was startled at his accurate pronunciation.
“I’m in your mind, T’ukka, the language is there.
And it’s a skill I already had.” And for the first time, I began to feel that humans may be more formidable than we had anticipated.
He blinked at me, smirking. “That gave you confidence instead of worrying you?” he asked in Aunga’ri. “Interesting.”
I didn’t know how to explain in front of Mia our reasons for connecting with humans, so I shot him a memory of a battle with the Vul. One where we had fought alongside another race to save their planet. His jaw hardened, and he nodded.
Mia studied both of us, her eyes taking in our exchange. “How have you bonded with Axel? What has allowed you to be attracted to him?”
“We became friends first. Over time, I started to feel him more. Understand what he was thinking.” I hesitated and Axel reached out and touched my forearm, his reassuring presence like a force inside me.
Axel leaned forward. “This goes nowhere, understood? We don’t know the risk for T’ukka. And T’ukka is wielding his power to keep your brother here for treatment.”
Mia widened her eyes and nodded. “Of course.”
Axel lowered his voice. “T’ukka and I have developed a psychic link. It’s called the Bhesai Ker’el. It used to be common with their people. Since they stopped having sexual and emotional relationships, the link has disappeared.”
“And it’s very irritating that it’s with Axel,” I muttered.
“But I’m amazing,” Axel said, winking. “We’ve spent a lot of time together, and we’re compatible. He likes my sense of humor. I like his intelligence and stubbornness, and the adorable way he’s confused by humans. So the bond grew.”
“I’m not adorable,” I grumped.