Chapter 21
Haley
“Draggar! Draggar!”
I go crazy as the man I’ve come to care for sinks down to his knees with a crash. His body sways back and forth as if he can barely keep himself upright, and I fear he won’t be able to much longer.
A muffled groan of pain erupts from between his tightly pressed together lips, and I quickly dash forward. Wrapping my arms around him, I try to support his heavy frame to keep him upright, but it’s no use. His eyes roll back into his head, and he passes out cold onto the stone floor, nearly taking me with him.
“You asshole! What did you do to him?!?” I shout at the tall alien in front of me.
Draggar called this man – this Vrenner guy – his cousin, but there is only a surface level resemblance between them. Other than the fact that they’re both well over six feet tall with more muscles than I’ve ever seen on one person and the same metallic teal skin.
But where Draggar is a brawny, fierce warrior who looks like he just stepped out of a fantasy movie or something with a crooked smile and a twinkle in his eyes, his cousin is much more serious and almost slovenly in appearance.
Unlike Draggar, his silver hair has teal highlights and it’s a wild tangle around his head. Vrenner wears a loincloth just like his cousin’s, but he also has on a vest with all sorts of pockets and small instruments attached to it. The brilliant blue leather of the vest is marred by a crusty brown stain that I suspect is food. And while his muscles are impressive, when compared to humans, he has a slight ranginess that is absent from Draggar.
Vrenner tilts his head at me as if in confusion, and says, “My ass does indeed have a hole, but I have never seen it.” I sputter at his words and feel like screaming, but before I can, he strolls over from where he was perched against the large table, much too slowly and nonchalantly for my liking, to stand over Draggar. With a huff, he bends over and rolls his cousin over to his back.
Draggar is so still that it scares me. His face is pinched with pain and I swear his beautiful teal skin has grown paler with a gray tint that makes me wring my hands in worry. His muscles are rigid with tension and a muscle ticks in his jaw.
Vrenner makes a precursory check on the unconscious man on the floor by lifting his eyelids. From my spot kneeling beside Draggar, I can see his unfocused eyes moving rapidly back and forth.
That can’t be good, right? My heart sinks as I study him.
I have lost so many people that I care about, and I don’t want to lose anymore. First, my mom, then, my dad. And now this.
I didn’t realize until now exactly how much I’ve grown to care about Draggar, but I have. I can’t lose him. He can’t die on me. Not now. Not after we’ve just met. The thought of never seeing his cheesy, crooked grin or hearing his deep rumbling voice as he teaches me something about this overwhelming and amazing world he calls home.
Or never feeling his strong arms wrapped around me or that sense of safety that follows him around like a second skin. Never getting to tell him how much he means to me. Never getting to see what this powerful connection that constantly arcs between us will become. Because I can feel the potential – it’s like the heavy calm before a storm. When you know something big, something momentous is about to happen.
Like now. Even though Draggar is unconscious, I can almost feel a part of him inside me. There’s a weak flutter of pain and agitation deep within my chest, and I’m positive it’s coming from Draggar. It’s such a strange sensation, and if I had heard anyone else say it before this, there’s no way I’d believe them. But it’s true.
I wait as patiently as I can, holding onto s hand like it’s a lifeline. The seconds tick by so slowly that they seem like hours, as Vrenner completes his check on the unconscious man. Finally, the other alien looks up, his eyes the same silver as his cousin’s but weirdly, they don’t contain the same warmth that I see every time I look into Draggar’s eyes.
“He will be fine. It is the translator chip completing the connection to his neural network.”
“Translator? What?” I squeak out. Wait. . . Is he talking about the same thing the Zyfeliks implanted in me? I suddenly recall a hazy memory of blinding pain streaking through me, then blessed darkness.
“He asked me to repair a translator chip for him.” Vrenner studies me with one brow ridge quirked, his eyes seeming to ask a question. “Now, I know why. He wanted to communicate with you.”
My heart thuds at the thought that being able to understand me meant that much to him. It makes sense now why he was so insistent that we come back to his village and why he seemed to be so determined to make it here as soon as possible.
A warm glow of happiness starts in my chest and spreads all through me, and a silly grin stretches across my face before I shake it away.
There are far more pressing concerns right now. Like the still unconscious man lying on the floor in front of me. My gut clenches with worry. What if the chip did something to him and he doesn’t wake up?
“Will he be all right? Shouldn’t we get a doctor or something?” I ask, my hand still clutching tightly to Draggar’s hand.
“The medic is away gathering herbs, and he will not return until later today.” Vrenner’s voice softens at my frown of concern. “But my cousin will recover completely. He should awake once the connection between the chip and his brain is complete.” He leans down and starts to hoist up Draggar with a grunt. “I will move him to my bed so that he is more comfortable.”
I leap up and try to assist as much as I can by helping to support Draggar on one side, but it’s not easy. He is not a small man by any means. Thankfully, his cousin is stronger than I thought, and he bears most of the weight.
Between us, we manage to drag Draggar out to the main room and to a wooden framed bed that sits low to the ground. Lightweight furred blankets are piled in a bundle on top of the bed, and I try to straighten them out the best I can with one hand before we lay Draggar on the bed. He releases a heavy sigh as soon his head touches the pillow.
The feeling of pain and agitation that was flowing through me is gone now, and it has been replaced with a sense of peace as if he’s just sleeping. My tense shoulders sag with relief and I let out a big gust of air that I didn’t realize I had been holding.
Then, as I’m smoothing a blanket up over Draggar’s chest, a thought occurs to me and I look up in shock.
“Wait. . . I don’t understand. How can you understand me, but Draggar couldn’t?” Vrenner was in the process of returning to his workshop to one of the many projects I saw scattered about in there, but at my question, he turns to face me.
Vrenner reaches up and tugs on one of his ears in a move that almost looks self-conscious. “I. . . I have had a translator chip since I became the tech for the Anuriix tribe. It’s tradition for the chief and the tech of the tribe to be implanted with one. I never thought I would get a chance to actually use it.” He looks at me with a shy, bemused smile before disappearing back into his workshop with a mumbled request to call for him should I need anything.
I sit on the side of the bed next to Draggar’s hip and gaze around at my surroundings. It’s the first time I’ve really gotten to study the hut we’re in other than my initial cursory view of it when we arrived. It looks like a stereotypical bachelor pad. There’s a distinct odor that smells like something has gone bad and I think it’s coming from what looks like a little kitchen area tucked into one corner.
I take a deep breath of the stale air and look down at Draggar laid out in front me.
His breathing has slowed down from what it was earlier and his face is no longer drawn tight with pain. He looks relaxed, and I am grateful for that. I curl up next to him and place my hand on his chest right over where his heart would be if he was human. It beats strong and steady under my hand. A little too strong. In fact, I’d almost swear there’s two hearts in there.
I shake my head with a bemused smile, and I let the comforting rhythm soothe me. He’s alive, and that’s all that matter.
I hope his cousin is right and he will be okay because as crazy as it sounds, I cannot imagine my life without this strong alien warrior in it.
****
I don’t know how much time has passed but based on the angle of the slanting sun through the large window, it must be close to midday.
After a while, the mess in the hut began to bother me and my urge to clean when I’m agitated took over. I probably should have asked Vrenner for permission before I started, but I didn’t want to bother him.
By the time, Draggar begins to stir, I’ve figured out how to use the small stone sink in the little kitchen and washed the various bowls that were scattered around. I’m still amazed that the primitive looking hut actually has running water, but I guess I shouldn’t be. I mean, they have translator chips and all the other gadgets I saw spread out in Vrenner’s workshop.
I also managed to find the source of the mystery odor – it was a large round piece of moldy food that I think was some kind of fruit that I suspect Vrenner forgot about and left on a shelf in the kitchen. I push down the urge to gag at the memory of the mushy blob that had started growing what looked like hair. Unless. . . oh, shit, what if they have fruit that grows hair here?
I hurry back over to the bed to see Draggar’s eyelids flutter open, and I smile with relief at the sight.
A grunt escapes Draggar’s mouth as his silver gaze roams all over my face. I sit down beside him and say, “Please tell me you’re okay.”
A beaming smile of pure joy stretches across his face at my words, the dimple in his cheek flashing at me. “I can understand you.”
He reaches out and brushes his strong calloused hand over my cheekbone and I nuzzle against his skin before pressing a kiss to his palm. Just that tiny touch from him inflames me and sends a bolt of lightning straight to my pussy.
Draggar takes a deep breath, and his nostrils flare out widely, and not for the first time, I wonder if he can smell my arousal. I really hope not, because that would be really embarrassing. Especially considering I’ve been basically walking around with a constant lady boner ever since we met.
It feels like there are thousands of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach as the desire that always seems to be at a low simmer between us grows. He leans forward and I meet him halfway, and our lips touch with a groan emerging from both of us.
Our kiss is hard and deep like we’re both starved for each other. It stretches on until finally, his tongue plunges into my mouth, and I whimper at the invasion.
I can feel the tension that wracks Draggar’s body as he puts his arm around me and he pulls me down to sprawl against his chest. I lose myself in his touch and the surge of need that continues to grow inside me until it threatens to consume me.
His cock is a hard bar beneath me, and I feel a rumbled growl go through him when I shift against it. My clit throbs in response and my folds grow even wetter with arousal.
I want nothing more right now than to feel Draggar deep inside me, and I’m on the verge of reaching down and pulling off my dress when I notice movement out of the corner of my eye. A split second later, the clearing of a throat interrupts us, and we reluctantly pull apart.
My cheeks burn hot with embarrassment as I glance up.
Vrenner stands in the doorway to his workshop with a teasing grin stretched across his angular face.
“I apologize for the interruption, but now that you are recovered, I thought you might like to know Chief Daggir said last night at the evening meal that he wishes to speak with you as soon as you are available.”
Draggar drags his attention away from me and turns to look at his cousin, his eyes narrowed. “As soon as I am available. . . Were those his words?” His forehead is creased in a frown and the gold in his eyes recedes as I watch.
“Yes, his exact words.” Vrenner chuckles before asking, “What have you done, now, cousin?”
“It could be many things.” Draggar sees the concerned expression on my face and strokes his hand against my cheek and through my hair before reassuring me. “I am sure it is nothing to worry about, Haley. Chief Daggir enjoys reminding me that I am his subordinate every so often. Come, let us go to ou. . . my hut. I am sure you are hungry and would like to use the sanitation room.”
He rises from the bed, taking care not to move too quickly after having just woken up. I remember how sore my head felt after the Zyfeliks implanted the translator chip inside me, and I wince in sympathy.
I lean against Draggar and he wraps his arm around my shoulders as we make our way across the room towards the door. He calls out to his cousin, “You have my gratitude for your help, cousin, but I would like to keep this between us for now.”
I absentmindedly wave goodbye at Vrenner just before we pass through the doorway. I’m eager to get Draggar alone and finish what we started, especially now that he can understand me.
Vrenner’s startled words filter through the thick door to me. “What happened to my hut?”