Chapter 15
Amina
It was hard to push her rage back, but nothing helped calm her anger more than having someone who needed her help. Myrum became her priority when he became still, eyes unfocused into the distance, seeing nothing but danger looming from the past.
Thankfully he responded to her this time like he had back on their ship. She didn’t mind being picked up, and at least that kept him from going after anyone.
Not that she was ready to forgive Gis yet, but getting Myrum someplace where he could recover was more important.
Thankfully Gis wasn’t jarred by Myrum's change in demeanor. He seemed relieved that Myrum and Amina were suddenly cooperating.
It only took a little encouragement from her to get Myrum to follow Gis. The Ossiso confidently led them through the sparsely populated station. It wasn’t long until he brought them though a large, ornate door into what looked like a lounge area shaped in a half circle.
“This suite has eight rooms,” he said, pointing to the eight identical doors set in the semi-circular wall. “The rooms are identical, and each has individual bathing and elimination rooms. The room at the end is for you and Myrum.”
Huh, if the room were all the same, why was there a specific room assigned to them? The thought was fleeting as Gis continued to speak.
“I swear to you on my life that no harm will come to either of you or your people. I’m trusting you not to tell anyone about what happened.”
Amina was more than done with Gis and the Ossisos. She wanted to be alone with Myrum and help talk him down from the dark place his trauma was trying to send him.
“Yeah, I get it,” she said. “Go away.”
Gis looked a little taken aback by her dismissal but turned and left without another word.
Myrum was standing in the center of the communal area and staring into space. Ruby wiggled around in her hair a little but then resettled. Ignoring Ruby, Amina rubbed on Myrum’s cheeks. The rich smell of honey filled the air around them.
It made her want to lick him all over. The lust from earlier returned, but she pushed it away.
“Myrum,” she whispered. “We’re safe. The three of us aren’t in any danger. Do you think Ruby might be hungry? We should feed her, but I don’t know where her food is. I need your help, Myrum."
As she talked his body relaxed. “Amina?”
“Yup, that’s me,” she said, relieved that he was talking. This wasn’t anywhere near as bad as back on their ship. “Could you put me down?”
He set her on her feet. “Ruby?”
Amina reached up and extracted the disgruntled lizard from her hair. “Here she is.”
Before she could stop her, Ruby jumped out of her hands and grabbed hold of her jacket. Scuttling down to her pants leg, then to the floor, the lizard scrambled across the room and stood in front of one of the doors. The same one that Gis had said was theirs.
“I swear that lizard speaks Universal,” Amina said with a little laugh.
She stepped around Myrum to open the door and reveal his stuff neatly piled on a short decorative table at the foot of the bed. But that wasn’t all!
There were bowls of glowing rocks all over the place, creating a soft romantic rose light.
The sheets on the bed were a shimmering bronze color and there were glittering bio-engineered flowers scattered all over it.
Several canisters marked as exclusive drinks sat on a table next to the bed, with a platter of Ugarian sweets next to them.
“Oh, it’s so romantic," Amina sighed. This was the sweetest thing a potential lover had ever done for her. Now she knew what Myrum had asked Gis to do and why they had an assigned room.
Myrum stepped up behind her, pressing his front against her back.
With the door opened, Ruby scurried into the room and disappeared under the bed. Amina heard a crunch, more skittering, and then another crunch. There was a final crunch, and she emerged from under the bed with a satisfied look.
All the romance of the moment disappeared.
“No,” Amina moaned. “She was hunting bugs. There are bugs in here.”
“Not any longer,” Myrum said with an amused rumble.
She turned to face him. “That was a joke! You’re joking; that’s great.”
Myrum knelt next to her and picked up Ruby. Cradling the colorful creature in his big hands, he remained on his knees and looked up at her.
“I didn’t lose myself,” he said. “I remember everything, even if it’s a little hazy.”
Amina sank to her knees in front of him. “You did really good. You fought well, and you’re probably the only reason Gis is still alive. I’m impressed.”
He let out another amused rumble. “Compared to you, my accomplishments are meager. You managed to knock out two Ossisos all by yourself. How did you accomplish that?”
“I’ve got some hidden talents,” she deflected. “I felt a little guilty for making you deal with the bigger group, but my limit is two at a time.”
“You shouldn’t have had to deal with any of them,” Myrum said with a grumble.
All of Amina's earlier anger reemerged. “Stupid, idiotic, secretive, badly-organized Annexers!”
Suddenly she wanted to leave and find someone to yell at. That was a bad idea because she didn’t want to mess up whatever Gis had going on, but damn, she was aggravated.
Between the adrenaline from the fight, concern over Myrum, and renewed irritation, Amina had a lot of energy, but she knew where to put it.
Rising up on her knees, she grabbed the back of Myrum’s head and pulled his face close to hers.
“I need to fuck you,” she said. “I need it to be rough, energetic, and all consuming. This is your one chance to say no.”
His entire body went perfectly still, but this time his focus was entirely on her.
“I want all of that and more,” he growled. “Pick a word.”
“Pick a word?” she repeated, confused.
“Pick a word to say to stop everything,” he said. “Because once we start, I won’t want to stop, even if you beg and moan. Give a word that means you don’t like what I’m doing that can’t be mistaken for anything else.”
His words made heat shoot through her. She wanted everything he was promising.
It was easy to pick a word because she was so done with all of them. “Ossiso.”
“Ossiso,” Myrum repeated as if they were sealing a bargain.
In a way, they were.
Without moving anything but his hand, he set Ruby down on a loosely wrapped bedroll. The lizard slid into it, wiggling around, then poked her snout out and went still. Someone was going to take a nap while they digested.
She’d been momentarily distracted by Ruby’s actions, but the moment the lizard was secure, all her earlier needs returned. Using her grip on his head, she pulled his mouth to hers.
He opened his mouth the moment their lips met. There weren’t many species that kissed, but if Myrum was anything to go by, Talin’s were one of them. He was good!
For a moment she lost herself in the kiss. He didn’t only smell like honey, he tasted like it too.
She moaned into his mouth, her hands falling from behind his head to his shoulders. His big hands grabbed hold of her waist, gripping gently. It was only because she needed to feel his hands on her bare skin that she ended the kiss.
She reached down to pull off her bulky jacket only to have Myrum’s hands tighten on her waist and lift her as he stood up.
When he was finished moving, her feet were dangling.
He turned and pressed her against a wall, then wedged one of his legs between hers.
When he let go of her waist, her clit was pressed hard on his thigh.
“Myrum,” she moaned, trying to rub against him.
“Too many clothes,” he growled, grabbing her jacket and pulling it off and tossing it away. She heard it hit the floor with a muffled thump.
His hands grabbed hold of her shirt. It seemed like it took him no effort to rip the fabric down the front and pull that off her also. That only left the tank top she used as a bra, which he disposed of in the same way. Cool air made her nipples bead up.
She arched her back; her breasts ached to be touched.
Myrum cupped both her breasts, his purring loud. He was a little rough, squeezing and plucking at her nipples with almost too much force. She opened her mouth to demand more, but he captured her lips with his. His kiss was demanding, making her want to push back.
Ripping herself away from him and baring her teeth, she took a step back. “You’ll have to take what you want.”
He growled and jumped from a kneeling position to his feet. In a motion so fast she almost didn’t have time to react, he rushed her.
She jumped to the side and felt the air whoosh by as he passed her. She turned in time to see him skillfully bounce off the wall to change direction. This time she wasn’t able to avoid him, and he tackled her.
They landed on the bed with a bounce, sending all the glittering flowers to the floor. Since she was naked from the waist up, she thought he’d move to pull off her boots and pants, but he didn’t. Instead he lowered his head down to nuzzle her neck.
“Your skin is so soft,” he whispered, his breath hot against her neck and shoulder.
“I want to bite you. Not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to make bruises. I’d leave my mark all over you.
Then, after they fade, I’d do it again. And again.
You’d be forever covered in bruises the shape of my bite. ”
She wanted that too, but she couldn’t simply give in to him.
“You can try,” she growled and hooked a leg around his and put pressure at the same time she shoved the shoulder on the same side. She managed to take him by surprise and dump him off the edge of the bed.
She heard him land hard!
It was a little startling to have the maneuver she’d only practiced with Teshor work so well.
“Myrum?” She leaned over the bed to make sure she hadn’t hurt him only to find him gone. Realizing too late that he’d rolled under the bed and was going to emerge on the other side, she tried to get on her knees.
His big body flattened her facedown on the soft bed.
“Oof!” she gasped, the air pushed out of her lungs as Myrum’s body covered hers.