Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Jon
I looked down at the woman in my arms. She was a little odd-looking, not a hint of purple to her skin or hair, nor a tail—unless it was a very short one—but there was something appealing about her. And that was before I smelled her delicious scent.
One tiny whiff of her intoxicating aroma, and it was as if I had been struck by lightning. My whole body felt awake at a cellular level, tuned to her every need. Her every desire.
The mating instincts of the Gnaggarrian male were thought to be a myth, long lost in the depths of the genetic manipulation of our species. But the way I was salivating, wanting to put my tongue to her neck and taste her skin, and aching to bite her to mark my claim…
Get a hold of yourself!
And how did my translation matrix understand her language? The small device was implanted in my brain, allowing me to speak and understand the common languages of the Gnaggarrian Empire.
But this planet wasn’t part of the Gnaggarrian Empire.
I shot a look at the night sky that I could see through the parting clouds. The constellations were unfamiliar, the single moon odd.
No, this planet was unknown to me. But how did I know her language? It made no sense.
“There,” she said in the soft voice that set my blood singing. She pointed toward a small stone building at the end of a row of similar dwellings. “There’s a back gate we can go through.”
I scanned the dark windows of the other dwellings. No lights were visible, and the night was quiet. We would not be seen.
I approached the back gate and pushed it open with my foot, turning sideways to carry her through the entrance to the small courtyard. A stone path led to a door between garden beds that were covered in snow.
At her insistence, I placed her gently back on her feet in front of the door to her abode, though I made sure she kept her weight off her damaged ankle. I fought to keep my breathing under control, stiffening as I pulled back from her.
Don’t scent her again and definitely don’t lick her like a crazed lunatic. And no biting!
She muttered something under her breath as she fished around inside the bag that hung from her shoulder, and then with a flourish she pulled a set of jangling metal keys on a ring. She flicked through them with practiced ease, obviously finding the one she was after she slid it into a hole near the door’s handle, turning and opening the entry to her abode .
“Fascinating.” I had heard of such things, but only seen them in a museum I had been fortunate to visit as a child. Even the most lowly of Gnaggarrians had scanner pads to unlock doors.
She pushed open the door with one hand and made a move as if to hop forward.
Oh no, little one. Not while I'm here to help.
I swung her into my arms again, stepping over the threshold and turning to shut the door with one of my feet. It was warmer in here than outside. I hesitated, stooping to prevent my head from hitting the ceiling in the darkened hallway.
“Into the kitchen,” she said, pointing to a room through the door on the immediate right. I walked in the direction that she showed, ducking through the doorway to avoid hitting my head as I stepped into the small room. I lowered her to sit on the edge of the table that stood in the center of the room.
Taking a step back, I watched as she pulled off her coat, letting it pool around her in a puddle. She turned to look at me, wrenching her eyes away and lifting a hand to cover her eyes as red flooded her cheeks.
Oh. My nudity. There was a cloth over the back of a chair, so I grabbed it and gingerly held it over my straining cocks. It was barely big enough to cover me, but it should help ease her worry over my nakedness.
“I am covered,” I said.
She spread the fingers that covered her eyes, peeking through and letting loose a small squeak as she stared at my crotch. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. That is an obscene use of a tea towel with a cartoon Santa on it.” She shook her head. “I need to find you some clothes.” Her words showed she was annoyed, but the small grin that tugged at her rosy lips suggested to me otherwise.
Perhaps her species was technologically basic, but definitely still very intelligent.
I was done for. She was perfect.
I went to spread my hands, but quickly jerked them back into place to hold the towel when she gasped. “Yes,” I agreed, using both hands to keep my cocks out of her sight. “That’s probably a good idea.”
Her eyes slid down my body and then jerked away quickly before closing her eyes. She took a deep breath before pushing from the table to balance on her good foot. Using the chairs, she hobbled across the room to switch on a primitive heater. She hobbled back to the table, steadying herself with a hand pressed to the battered wooden surface.
Her eyes flicked to mine, and then away. “The farmhouse is a little old, but it was my grandmothers. I don't like to change things,” she said, fingering the edge of an embroidered towel draped over the back of a chair. “She hasn't been gone long, and I miss her. Keeping things the same… well, it makes it seem like she is still here. I know it seems a little silly?—”
“Not at all,” I said, shaking my head. “I know exactly what you mean.”
She smiled, looking up at me, and this time it reached her eyes. Brown eyes, the deepest saturated hue of rich fertile soil. Completely unlike anything I'd seen before, as people of my race all had very pale eyes. Mostly green and blue, with the occasional purple. But never brown. And never as deeply saturated as her eyes.
The most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.
She broke away with a nervous laugh, turning to hobble toward the door. “I think I have some old work clothes of my grandfather’s that might fit you,” she said over her shoulder. “Though he was considerably shorter than you, so I can’t guarantee it.”
I trailed behind her, barely managing to not hit my head on the low ceilings. How people lived in these houses I did not know, as my people's houses had much higher doorways and ceilings.
I watched as she opened a cupboard and began rummaging through its contents. “Here we go. I think these might fit you,” she said. She turned, holding a bundle of fabric toward me.
I took what she offered in one hand, using the other to keep the cloth in place. The clothing was worn, but in good condition, the fabric soft in my hands.
“You really can't…” She cleared her throat, looking somewhere over my shoulder as she flushed. I enjoyed seeing her cheeks take that hue. “You really can't go around naked. It’s too cold.”
I stifled a laugh. It wasn’t as if I made a habit of walking around with no clothes on. I'd never been to the home world of the Gnaggarrian Empire. But, from what I'd heard, it was an inhospitable place, where my ancestors had evolved to endure a much colder temperature than this. For me, this was a pleasant evening.
She must be very sensitive indeed to find this cold.
If it made her more comfortable for me to wear clothes, I would do it. I turned away, putting my back to her and dropping the clothes onto a chair.
A gasp had me turning to look over my shoulder. Her eyes were fixed on my tail .
“I'll just leave you to… get dressed.” She hurried from the room, closing the door behind her.
I stared at where she had been. No tail. She did not have a tail. How strange.
Not strange, just different.
I unfolded the bundle of fabric, shaking the items are loose. There appeared to be a pair of trousers in a stiff pale blue fabric, and a garment designed to be worn on my torso, similar to shirts I was used to.
Shrugging, I pulled on the trousers, which were a little snug but still able to be done up, although my ankles were exposed, the hems coming halfway up my calves. My tail I had to squeeze down one leg of the trousers, there being no tail hole, the tuft at the end sticking out the leg of the trousers. I figured I could cut a hole later, but I certainly couldn’t sit down like this.
Then I pulled on the torso garment, finding that I quite liked the soft fabric against my skin, despite how it strained against my back and arms. I couldn’t do up the closures on the front, no matter how I tried, as the fabric wouldn’t meet in the middle. I shrugged, deciding it was better than nothing.
I opened the door, ducking into the hall to find the woman waiting for me. Her eyes widened as she looked over at me, this time not trying to avoid any part of me. I was strangely pleased to see how her gaze lingered on the muscles of my chest and abdomen.
I wonder how I compare to men of her species.
“It looks good on you,” she said, a small smile playing around her lips. My gaze was drawn to them. Her small pink tongue darted out nervously. “If a little small.” She huffed a small laugh, then grimaced as she put her weight on her damaged foot .
“Your ankle.” I dropped to my knees in front of her, and she stumbled back, her hands reaching to grip my shoulders. “Let me see it.” I leaned forward and eased the small shoe gently from her foot. She gasped, and I paused, looking up at her. “Did I hurt you?”
“No,” she replied. She swallowed, her fingers clenching and unclenching on my shoulders. Her short nails biting into my flesh, sending a spark of fire down my spine. I stiffened as the scent of her arousal hit me.
Both of my cocks jerked, stiffening inside the thick fabric of the pants I wore. I longed to free them, to lick her, to rut with her. To bite her.
But I forced myself to turn back to her foot. It didn’t look too swollen, which reassured me she wasn’t too badly injured, but there was a nasty-looking bruise developing on her pale skin. I needed to take care of my female. My mate.
My mate?
I didn’t even know her name!