Chapter 9
Jaxin
The worry that filled me was so powerful that my emotion-dampening exercises couldn’t make a dent in it.
I wanted to howl in frustration, but that would just make the situation worse.
The last thing I needed was for my empath to sense how close to the brink I was, and how un-Rummicaron-like my thoughts were turning.
If she knew, she’d be running in the other direction as fast as she could.
Right now, though, running was the last thing on her mind.
I hated how hard I’d pushed her today and how tough this swim had been on her.
I knew she could make it. Even if she passed out, it would not be long enough to harm her.
That did not make it any less terrifying, and I hadn’t taken the time to explain a single thing.
My territorial rage had clouded my judgment well past the midway point of the swim. By then, it was too late.
I hauled her limp body out of the water and ignored the way it made my chest ache fiercely.
It didn’t matter. I needed to get her onto dry ground and warmed up, and she needed sleep.
Lots of it. The cave was small and circular, with the entrance at the center like a deep swimming hole.
As a home, this would have been ideal on nearly any Rummicaron world.
As a camp for the night, it was even better, because I knew the giant could not get in.
Even if he could hold his breath that long and swim, he wouldn’t fit through the hole.
She gave me a bleary look that made it clear she was barely aware of her surroundings, her feet dangling limply over my arm, her head lolling back against my chest. Pushed her limits?
She was so far over them she was going to be crawling her way back for days.
I needed to remember that she’d been a hostage for nearly a week, forced to work under gunpoint and threat of death.
Not only that, but I recalled all too well how she’d casually remarked that she never slept much.
It was a tidbit of information that had not seemed important at the time, but now it abruptly leapt out at me.
Why? Why did she never sleep much? Was something wrong with her?
I considered my own sleeping habits and those of some of the other males on the Varakartoom.
Thatcher roamed the hallways at all hours, and I knew it was because his dreams were filled with nightmares.
I recognized that haunted look in his eyes when I ran into him in the dead of night.
It was the same look I wore when I was up at night and caught my reflection in the water tank, before I managed to assert my Rummicaron training.
She did not respond when I carefully laid her down on a flat bit of rock by the wall, not even when I freed her feet from her boots.
She roused, though, when I tried to slip her satchel with research over her head.
“No, that’s mine,” she moaned, fingers weakly clutching at the dripping fabric.
I did not need to pull hard to free the bag from her, anyway, but I made sure to place it right beside her and press her fingers to it.
“It’s here. I’m not taking anything. I just want to get you dry, little one.
” Oops. I hoped she was too out of it to register what I’d just called her.
I held my breath and waited, but she subsided against the rock, eyes sliding closed.
She was out like a light, completely. That was a close call, but I’d gotten away with it.
Rising, I slipped the not-Bex cannon from my body and set it down on the floor next to her.
I gave it an appraising stare as I noticed the familiar scratch on Bex’s barrel once again.
Was it growing on me? I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to consider it right now, anyway.
Stretching, I loosened up the aching muscles in my chest and back, rubbing my fingers over the flesh to stimulate blood flow.
Carrying her and the cannon through the water hadn’t been hard.
Underwater, everything felt light and easy.
The strain of speeding through the deep—because I felt the clock was running out on my little Aderian empath—had done a number on me, however.
I was not healed, not fully, and this prolonged stay on the planet was not allowing me the rest I needed to recover.
Dravion was going to be so mad at me if the metal parts ended up being rejected or the muscles damaged.
My armor had kept me dry, and the waterproof pouches had kept my supplies the same way.
I set about sorting them quickly and pulling out what I needed for now: a thermal blanket, a small heating unit, a few ration bars, and the tissue regenerator.
Then I eyed Dani and wondered if I could manage this next step in caring for her.
I decided I definitely needed a moment to attempt to reassert my emotional dampening.
This would require a great deal of self-control, and it was currently in tatters after that confrontation with the giant about to harm my Dani.
Only when I was certain I was back in control did I reach out to begin stripping the wet clothing from her body.
She was out cold, completely unaware, but that didn’t help.
The moment I freed one small, soft breast from her shirt, my control vanished.
I stared, a growl rising in my throat and rattling through the air.
It felt like my fin grew larger, taller—just as my cock responded.
Damn it, she was so pretty, and all that silky anthracite skin tempted me to touch.
Emotional dampening? It didn’t exist; I couldn’t even remember what it was.
Wrapping her in the blanket and hiding all that sweet skin and those tempting curves was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
My cock was so flushed, I ached, precum dripping from the head and sticking, salty and thick, to my skin.
I’d seen the little slit between her thighs—so small, so perfect—and I knew it was all over.
She was going to be mine, no matter what.
Come morning, when she woke, she was going to find out what a Rummicaron in mating rut was like.
She was going to discover what it was to be claimed by a beast like me.
Once she was covered and warm, I double-checked to make sure she was still sleeping before I freed my cock from my pants and took myself in hand.
It was quick and rough as I stroked my length, but I came so hard I saw stars.
My seed jetted across the cave floor, smearing into the dirt.
As I stared at it, I was tempted to wipe my finger through it and then wipe it onto her skin—claim her with my mark, cover her in my scent so every male within miles would know exactly who she belonged to.
It was with great effort that I kicked dirt over my seed instead.
No, I could not claim her without looking into her eyes while I did it.
Not when she was out cold from sheer exhaustion after what was probably the most harrowing experience of her life.
I pictured that—what she’d gone through as a hostage—and it helped calm my ardor, if not my rage.
Dani was such a small woman, and she’d been alone, standing up to her oppressors, I knew it.
The truth of that was in the cut she’d suffered on her chin, and I knew exactly how she’d gotten it: the blade of a Kertinal’s tail.
Now, I regretted not killing the Kertinal bastard I’d seen in the hallway shortly after Dani had screamed.
Cleaning myself up was the work of a quick dive in the cool water.
Then, I secured our camp, but I wasn’t ready to call the Varakartoom for a check-in just yet.
I made sure the small heater was aimed at my Aderian scientist so she was cozy as I set up alarms and laid an underwater booby trap in case we did get company.
Then, I scarfed down two rations and worked myself over with the regenerator.
I checked Dani, but she was neither deficient in nutrients nor injured beyond a few minor scrapes and bruises.
The recoil from the not-Bex cannon had sent her rolling, but that had been a good thing; it had prevented her from getting hurt.
I healed the minor scrapes and bruises she did have, anyway.
Then, I gave her previously dislocated shoulder another round for good measure.
She had not complained about it or favored it after I had treated it, but that didn’t mean it was healed.
The cave filled with silence once I put the regenerator away, filled only with the soft in and out of her breathing.
The blanket was thin and clung to her breasts, and I was a pervert for staring the way I was.
My eyes flicked to the disturbed dirt at her side, then to her face.
With a rough groan, I forced my tired body to its feet and walked away.
I needed a distraction; I needed rest, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep if I lay down next to her.
“Mitnick, do you read?” I muttered into my comm after only a brief moment of hesitation.
It was deep into the night cycle aboard the Varakartoom now, but I had a feeling he’d still be on the bridge.
The communication specialist wasn’t much of a sleeper either, especially now that his mate was with child.
Not that it showed yet, but the scent was unmistakable to my nose.
My thoughts immediately filled with images of Dani, heavy with my baby, her belly swollen, and her…
I cursed, because this was the last thing I needed to be thinking about, especially when my friend had just answered.
If anything, I knew I’d make a lousy parent, a danger to be around for something that small and fragile.
“I read you loud and clear, Jaxin. What’s up?
” Mitnick sounded his usual self, collected, just friendly enough to be pleasant but not overwhelming.
The perfect kind of voice for a communication specialist, really.
It inspired trust, confidences, especially when it greeted me in the dark of night.
I was so not telling him about my spiraling, possessive thoughts on Dani, though.
“Just checking in. What’s the status on that extraction?
Is the location confirmed? Dani… the payload is not in good shape.
I don’t want her to make that kind of journey unless we’re sure.
” She would stubbornly grit her teeth and do it, and I’d end up carrying her because I could not stand the sight.
For both our sakes, we needed to conserve our energy—spend it wisely, and only when needed.
In this cave, we could hole up for a while, safe from the giant.
My thoughts immediately filled with options for how we could fill our time, and none of them were suited for Mitnick’s ears.
He was oblivious to the depraved inner workings of my undampened mind, thankfully.
He launched into a spiel about the complicated Kertinal politics involved, which I forced myself to listen to with gritted teeth.
The bottom line was that he didn’t know yet—Asmoded was still negotiating.
Even the captives they’d taken and handed over to Kertinal authorities hadn’t softened the way yet.
“Sounds like you might have to pull out the big guns,” I said gruffly.
My eyes went to Dani, still asleep and looking peaceful in her slumber.
“Call the Aderian authorities and let them arrange the extraction point.” Mitnick made some familiar joke about the slow-moving bureaucracy of the Aderians, but I didn’t laugh.
He expected me to, because I often faked that kind of thing.
This time, undampened as I was, I simply did not find it funny.
“For her, they’ll move,” I said. I would—and they’d hired us to get her—so I was certain they knew just how special she was, too.
Mitnick parsed that for a moment, and then agreed he’d pass it on to Asmoded.
“Male is in his office, but Mandy went in a moment ago, so I expect she’s prying him out of his chair right now.
” I grunted, this time definitely amused at the image of tiny Mandy bodily dragging a giant Naga like Asmoded out of his seat. It was impossible.
Shortly after, Mitnick disconnected the call, and I no longer had a handy distraction to keep me from doing something extremely stupid.
I should slide into the beckoning water and go to sleep, I hated sleeping on dry land, after all.
Somehow, the water did not look nearly as tempting as one tiny, anthracite-colored female.
She had long, shiny locks of black hair, though they lay tangled and slightly curled about her shoulders.
Rummicaron did not have hair, and it was a lure as tempting as her body.
In the end, I could not resist the call.
I lay down next to her, firmly keeping my clothing—my armor—on, and then I gathered her, blanket and all, into my arms. She roused just enough to blink sleepily at me with her huge eyes, shiny black mirrors that reflected my big, brutish features back at me.
I thought she’d say something, protest, but she slipped back into slumber right away.
I did not sleep as easily as she did, and it was only a battle I won after hours of mental exercises. When I did sleep, my rest was filled with dreams and memories.