Chapter 10 Grtirr
Julie’s mouth was sin and sweetness, and I devoured her like a male starved. My hands gripped her hips, fingers digging into the soft flesh as I pinned her against the wall, my body caging hers in.
The scent of her arousal threatened to drop me to my knees again; it was so intoxicating and completely and utterly perfect. I knew my body was pumping out the pheromones meant only for her. It hung thick and almost suffocating in the air between us.
Her reaction to it, to me, and the way she gasped and raked her nails down my back only made my cock throb harder. I wanted to drown in her. Wanted to strip her bare and bury myself so deep inside her she’d never question again who she belonged to.
I growled against her lips, my tongue tangling with hers, tasting her, claiming her.
My tail wrapped around her thigh possessively, guiding her leg up over my hips.
The heat of her pussy pressed against me, and I ground against her.
The friction was maddening, and I knew it affected her just as strongly when she whimpered, her fingers clawing at me with those dull, flat nails like she was holding onto her only buoy amid a raging sea.
But even as we fought to stay above the water, we were burning up alive.
My mouth moved to her throat, sucking at the delicate skin, my teeth scraping over the wild fluttering of her pulse. She arched into me, her breath coming in mewling gasps. She trembled as my pheromones worked their way into her system through every inch of skin contact.
I reached between us, my fingers skimming over the waistband of her pants, and she moaned, her hips jerking forward like she was offering herself to me. I could have her. Right here. Right now. I could tear those clothes off, sink to my knees, and taste her until she screamed my name. I could—
A sharp, furious chittering cut through the haze of lust.
There was a flash of fluff, and something small and furious launched itself at my face.
I jerked back just in time to avoid the tiny creature’s paws in my eyes.
The kukee latched onto my shoulder with a shriek.
Julie gasped, her hands flying to her chest where the sling was still strapped to her body.
The kukee clung to me, its teeth bared, its oversized ears flattened against its skull as it hissed and spat.
“What in the Golorian brothel is this?” I snarled, trying to shake it off.
Julie burst out laughing, the sound breathless and bright, and the sight of her all flushed and disheveled made my chest tighten.
“Tatertot! Stop!” She reached for the kukee, but the little beast was already scurrying away, and getting ready to lunge at me again, its tiny body vibrating with outrage.
I caught it mid-air as it flung itself at me, holding it at arm’s length as it made the cutest little peeping sound. “Tatertot? You named her Tatertot?”
I knew my Julie loved the fried tatertot stems, almost to a fault. They were better for her than the human food the tasty plant was named after, but still not the best choice if eaten everyday. I didn’t think she’d name a kukee that.
“What’s it to you?” There was a challenge in her tone and in her eyes. She was beautiful like this, and it took everything in me not to drag her back against me and finish what we’d started.
Tatertot twisted around and gnawed on my hand. She had sharp teeth, but my skin was tough.
“Why are you attacking me, little one?”
“Because you’re a dick,” Julie said, deadpan. “She thinks you’re hurting me.”
“I was not hurting you.”
“Says you.” Julie reached out for the creature, and the moment I released her, Tatertot immediately scrambled up her arm. “As far as Tatertot knew, you were pinning me to the wall.”
“Kissing you. And you kissed me back.”
Her eyes narrowed at me, her lips pressing into a thin line, but she couldn’t argue.
The interruption had cooled the fire, but the embers were still there, smoldering beneath the surface.
She could try to deny it all she wanted, but her body had already betrayed her.
The way she’d melted against me, the way her fingers had clawed at my back, the desire that had poured from her when I’d ground my cock against her. She wanted me.
“I still hate you,” she muttered, turning away to set up Tatertot’s cage.
She poured some of her own water from her bottle into the bowl for the kukee, and Tatertot immediately ran inside for a drink.
Then she tore up some nutrition bars and placed it in the second dish.
Tatertot picked up a piece, smelled it, then tossed it away, clearly rejecting the less-than-ideal fare.
“Too bad, princess, this is all we have for now.” Julie closed the cage, securing the panel tightly with a chew-proof wire.
Both our communicators buzzed with a message to meet down in the lobby in one galactic hour.
The plan was to explore parts of the station together as a group and find our first meal, then split off into different groups.
The meeting with Vossell Industries was set for tomorrow, but we had today to ourselves.
Julie had planned to join Annabel and Igor at the shops; I’d overheard them discussing it back on the ship.
The former super soldier was a strong ally to have in a possibly hostile place like this.
I planned on convincing Trsak and Kat to join us.
Julie’s back was still to me, her shoulders tense. But pretending to put distance between us wouldn’t change anything. I stepped closer until I was right behind her. I relished her sharp inhale of air when I leaned down, my breath skating over the shell of her ear.
“You can lie to yourself, Julie. But we both know the truth.” My tail brushed against her leg, and she stiffened. “You’re going to be begging for my mouth on you before the night is done.”
***
The Earth-style buffet had not been ready for the sheer amount of food Kadrixan warriors could put away.
Igor and Aak did their share too. My only complaint was that many of the dishes were too high in carbohydrates, though there were real meat dishes as well, which made it better than Nova Vita already.
I was certain the dishes were simply local interpretations of Earth food, since we were still far enough from the humans’ planet of origin to make bringing in the ingredients a logistical nightmare. They were acceptable, but I enjoyed the food we had back on Vokira more.
I leaned back in my chair, watching as the others finished their meals. Julie sat across from me, pointedly ignoring my existence. The mate bond hummed under my skin, a constant, irritating reminder of how much she was fighting this now and why it was my fault to begin with.
“Come with us to the shopping concourse,” I said to Trsak. “Julie and I are going with Annabel and Igor.”
Julie frowned, probably because she hadn’t realized I’d known of the plan, but Annabel perked up.
“We managed to dig up some memories from Igor’s past,” she said. “Tables and tables covered in old tech. I thought we might find something useful.”
Chris and Sergio had traded several handfuls of gems from our mountains as well as some nuggets of gold from our rivers, and the result had yielded plenty of credits to go around. We’d all received cards with the credits distributed.
I found it odd that humans used gold for adornment when it was so malleable and did not keep its shape unless combined with other metals anyway.
Their obsession with diamonds, which were very common throughout the universe, also confused me.
They did make great surgical tools, though, and it was what Kadrixans used them for.
We took the transport, dropping off a few members who wanted to check out the casino.
We had establishments like those back on Kadri, and they were the devourers of souls and lives.
Julie waved as Chris and Sergio drove away to check in the transport; they promised to find us in about one galactic hour.
The shopping concourse we decided to visit was a sprawling mess of old and new. Modern structures of sleek metal stood beside weathered stone buildings that looked like they’d been lifted from their planet-side home and plopped into a space station.
Holographic signs flickered overhead, flashing in multiple languages.
There were vendors with small carts hawking their wares while crowds of humans wove between them.
There were other aliens too, including a tall, silver-skinned species, but they were all with their human counterparts.
This was a human space station after all.
Igor, who had been silent throughout the entire ride here, pointed to a massive tent looming at the far end, its fabric stretched taut over a frame of scavenged metal. “That one. The big tent. I remember it.”
I followed his gaze to the massive pavilion at the edge of the shopping concourse. Guards stood at the entrance, their eyes widening as our group approached. Their gaze didn’t stray far from Trsak and me. One of them swallowed hard, his hand twitching toward the sidearm at his belt.
They stopped us at the door.
“No weapons allowed inside the market,” one of them said, pointing to a sign at the side.
Despite speaking galactic English, he didn’t sound anything like the humans I was used to, having a distinctly different accent.
We already knew that, since we’d thoroughly reviewed the station’s rules while still onboard. I hadn’t brought my blaster. My claws and body were enough anyway. I didn’t need a separate weapon. I was the weapon.
I spread my hands. “I’m unarmed.” My device, which was strapped to my belt, translated to galactic English.
He didn’t look convinced, but his partner’s attention was on Igor.
“An Exotech super soldier? Who’s its handler?” He automatically turned to Annabel since she was standing just in front of Igor. “Super soldiers must have their control codes submitted before entry.”
To their surprise, it was Igor who responded. “I am not a super soldier. And I do not belong to Exotech.”