Chapter 17 #2
Selik transferred the credits without hesitation, and she tried not to think about how quickly their limited funds were disappearing. She’d have to find work, and soon. Her teaching credentials were useless here, but surely there was something she could do.
The property manager handed over access codes and a welcome basket. “Anything else you need, just call. We pride ourselves on customer satisfaction.”
After she left, she stood in the middle of their new living room and tried to process what had just happened. They had a home. An actual home with walls and doors and windows that looked out on an alien ocean.
“This is real,” she said softly.
“It is real.” Selik set Mikoz down on the floor and the infant immediately toddled toward the nearest window, chirping with excitement at the view. “This is ours.”
Anya explored the bedrooms and returned with a grin. “I call the room at the back overlooking the garden. You two can have the bigger one at the front.”
Her heart skipped a beat. They’d never actually shared a bedroom before, despite their stolen moments on the ship. She glanced at Selik, who smiled at her, his eyes warm with anticipation. “I suppose that means Mikoz is with us. I will need to start on a bed for him.”
“We’ll figure it out,” she said. “Right now I just want to sleep on something that isn’t vibrating from engine noise.”
They found basic supplies in the welcome basket—sheets for the beds, towels, even a few toiletries—along with information about local services. She made up the beds while Selik did a security check of the house, testing locks and examining the structural integrity of the support posts.
“Paranoid much?” Anya asked as he inspected the window latches.
“Cautious. There is a difference.”
“Uh huh. And I’m sure you’re not at all worried about the Council sending agents to drag us back.”
His tail went still—always a bad sign.
“I am taking reasonable precautions,” he said evenly. “If that bothers you, I apologize.”
“It doesn’t bother me. I just think you should maybe relax a little.” She flopped onto the couch. “We made it. We’re here. We’re safe.”
“For now.”
She intervened before the conversation could deteriorate. “How about we all get some sleep and worry about security in the morning? We’ve been traveling for six days and I’m pretty sure we all need actual rest.”
Anya yawned hugely, as if on cue. “Fine. But tomorrow I want to explore. I saw shops on the way here that looked interesting and I want to check them out.”
“Tomorrow,” she agreed. “After we’ve had actual food and figured out what we’re doing for income.”
She settled Mikoz in the larger bedroom, creating a nest of blankets in a large drawer until Selik could build an actual crib. He immediately protested being put down, his chirps escalating to full cries that made her want to cry herself.
“Shh, baby. I know it’s new and scary, but you need to sleep.” She patted his back. “We’re safe here. I promise.”
Selik appeared in the doorway. “May I?”
She handed him the fussy infant, and he held him against his chest, humming something low and rhythmic. Mikoz’s cries subsided to whimpers, then soft chirps, then nothing at all as sleep finally claimed him.
“You’re magic,” she whispered.
“I am practiced.” He laid Mikoz down carefully, adjusting the blankets. “My daughter required similar soothing when she was young.”
The grief in his voice made her heart ache. Hearing him speak about the practical, everyday details of parenting always made his loss seem more real somehow.
“You must miss them terribly.”
“I do. But I have learned that grief and hope can coexist.” He straightened and turned to face her. “I will always carry the pain of their loss. But you and Mikoz and Anya have given me something to live for beyond mere survival.”
She crossed to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face against his chest. His arms came around her immediately, strong and sure.
“I’m scared,” she admitted. “What if this doesn’t work? What if the Council finds us, or someone recognizes you, or we can’t make enough money to survive, or—”
“Then we will adapt.” He gently stroked her hair. “We are survivors, you and I. We have endured captivity and loss and circumstances that would break weaker souls. We will endure this too.”
“You make it sound simple.”
“It is not simple. But it is possible, and that is enough.”
She tilted her head back to look at him. Even in the dim light filtering through the windows, his eyes seemed to glow with an inner fire. Not the cold emptiness she’d first seen on that barren planet, but something warmer.
He kissed her, slow and deep and thorough. She melted against him, exhaustion forgotten in the heat of his mouth and the solid strength of his body.
“We should sleep,” he murmured against her lips.
“We should.”
Neither of them moved.
“Perhaps I should help you sleep,” he suggested, his tail sliding around to stroke the small of her back.
“That sounds like an excellent suggestion.”
He lifted her easily, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. The feel of him moving, of the muscles shifting beneath her skin, made her body hum with anticipation. He carried her over to the bed and set her down gently.
The room was dark but for the moonlight coming through the window, casting a silvery glow over everything. The scent of the ocean filled the space, clean and wild. He stood over her for a long moment, just looking at her. The heat in his eyes made her stomach flutter.
“You are so beautiful, s’kara.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
A smile played on his lips. He slowly stripped off his clothes, revealing the powerful form she’d come to know so well over the past week.
The patterns on his skin seemed to shift in the moonlight, making him look both alien and familiar.
His cock was already hard, straining toward her, and the sight of it sent a jolt of pure desire through her.
She pulled her own tunic over her head, leaving her bare.
His breath hitched, and the possessive hunger in his eyes made her feel powerful.
She reached for him, stroking her fingers over the rubbed surface of his cock, and golden liquid pearled on the broad tip.
She leaned closer, swiping her tongue across the tempting drop and he shuddered.
He tasted clean and spicy and delicious.
“S’kara,” he groaned, and she smiled. She wrapped her lips around him, taking him as deep as she could, and the deep rumble that vibrated through his chest was almost a growl.
He tangled a hand in her hair, controlling her movements with a gentle pressure that told her how much he was enjoying it.
She explored him with her tongue, discovering the subtle ridges and textures that were uniquely Selik.
But he had other ideas. With a groan, he pulled away and laid her back against the pillows. “Not like this. Not this first time in our new home.”
He spread her thighs with his hands, and she waited, breath held.
Then he lowered his head and she forgot how to breathe.
His tongue stroked her, learning every fold and secret place with a thoroughness that left her gasping.
The texture of it, a little rougher than a human’s, created a friction that sent sparks shooting through her entire body.
He slowly circled her clit, building a tension so sweet it was almost pain.
He added a finger, then another, stretching her carefully while he continued to explore her with his mouth. She arched against him, her hands fisting in the sheets as pleasure built inside her, a wave that was still gathering strength but already threatening to overwhelm her.
“Selik,” she gasped. “Please. I need you inside me.”
“I am inside you.”
“No. All of you. Now.”
He lifted his head, and in the dim moonlight, she could see the raw need on his face.
He moved over her, settling between her thighs, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer.
He entered her in one slow, steady thrust, and she moaned at the perfect stretch of it.
He filled her completely, the texture of his shaft stimulating sensitive spots she hadn’t known existed.
He began to move, slowly at first, finding a rhythm that was both familiar and new. Each thrust pushed her higher, each retreat left her wanting more. She met him with equal intensity, her hips rising to meet his, her body responding to his as if they’d been doing this forever.
His tail slid between them, the tip teasing her clit, and the additional stimulation sent her over the edge. Her release crashed through her, a wave of pleasure so intense it left her shaking, her inner muscles clenching around him.
He growled, a low, possessive sound that vibrated through her entire body, and drove into her again and again.
The knot at the base of his cock began to swell, stretching her impossibly, a sweet ache that promised even deeper pleasure.
His hips jerked a final time and the hot rush of his seed sent her spiraling into another orgasm as his knot locked them together.
Afterward, they lay tangled together, breathing hard.
“Now sleep, my mate,” he said softly.
Mate. The concept still felt surreal. She had loved David in her way, but what she felt for Selik was different. Deeper. More fundamental, as if her body had recognized him on some cellular level and claimed him before her mind caught up.
She drifted toward sleep, lulled by the sound of waves and the steady beat of his heart.