Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
Lauren
I wake up feeling warm again and I realize I fell asleep in D’Var’s arms. I push myself up a bit to look at him, he’s still sleeping. I close my eyes and lay my head on his chest. I hear his steady breathing and I revel in his warmth. I really, really like it when he holds me. Now I understand why. I feel well rested and do not think I had a nightmare last night.
I snuggle closer to him and while I do, my hand slips over his abdomen touching his abs. My fingers seem to have a mind of their own and they explore the hard ridges of his muscles. I sigh. Then I hear D’Var moan. I stop my secret exploring, but then I feel his hand roaming my back. I stiffen at first, but then I relax and when I stop moving my hand, he stops moving his. I smile.
“Good morning," I say.
“Good morning," he answers. “Did you sleep well? ”
“Like a baby,” I say. He is silent and I add. “It’s an earth expression.”
“I like sleeping with you in my arms,” he says.
I melt. “I like it too,” I confess. “I could sleep here every night? If you like?”
D’Var spins us so I am lying on my back and he’s on his side, looking at me.
“Do you mean that, L’Ren?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes. I really don’t want to sleep alone, and your room has a better bathroom.”
He laughs and I smile at him. I suddenly have the urge to kiss him. Will he kiss me if he wants to? Or will he wait for me to make the first move? Does he even know what a kiss is? I decide I have to ask him that.
“Do your people kiss?” I ask him.
“Kiss?” he parrots and then he slowly shakes his head. “What is this... kiss?”
“It’s when your lips come together in a sign of affection," I say after I give it some thought. And then I feel my cheeks heat.
“If you’re in a more passionate situation, you can also use your tongue and touch the other person’s tongue with it. A big kiss.”
“Ah, like when a Warrior licks his mate’s cunt," he says.
“D’VAR,” I yell and cover my face with my hands, while the picture of him between my thighs flashes through my mind.
“You like that idea," he states. I gape at him with big eyes.
“NO! Why... how…” I stutter, he grins.
“Did I tell you Warriors have a heightened sense of smell? I can smell every change in your mood, even a very small one.”
I blush and he winks .
“Do you want to kiss me?” he asks. My blush deepens when I nod.
“Yes,” I whisper. “I want that very much.” Desire conquers my embarrassment. I bite my lip, making D’Var groan.
“I am fascinated by that lip you keep biting,” he confesses. “How do we do this?”
“Well, you touch lips,” I begin, and D’Var immediately smacks his lips across mine, leaning back with a smug look on his face.
“Like this?” he asks.
“Almost, but not quite,” I laugh, not wanting to hurt his feelings. “Lay back, I will show you.” He obeys immediately, lying on his back, beaming up at me. I push myself up on one elbow and lean in to softly kiss his mouth.
“More like this,” I say hoarsely, when I pull back a couple of inches. Then I kiss him again, and again. When I want to pull back, D’Var captures the back of my head with his hand.
“I thought you said something about tongues?” he asks huskily.
“Yes,” I hoarsely whisper. And he pulls my mouth back to his.
“Show me,” he commands and I press my lips against his mouth, more forcefully. His lips are still closed and I lick at the seam of his mouth. He opens and I push my tongue into his mouth, gently caressing his tongue with mine, before pulling back.
D’Var blinks at me, then blinks again. “I like this kissing, we should do it more often.”
“I have no objections to that,” I giggle. He smiles then pulls my lips to his again. This time he gives as good as he gets. The kiss is still tentative, and mine to control. I love every minute of it. Having this big alien at my mercy is really doing something for me .
We break apart, both panting. D’Var looks utterly dazed, me smiling at him.
“That was amazing!” He grins, then he kisses my lips before he walks towards the bathroom.
I ogle him a little, because that man looks way too good in those soft pants. When he turns to give me one last smug grin before he enters the door, I can’t deny that he sets my body on fire with his perfect body and those kisses.
We both freshen up, then leave for the Command Center to get breakfast. When we pass the sliding doors, I notice that the ship now has quite a different view. Where yesterday there were stars and wide amounts of space as far as the eye can see, now there is rock, rock, and pieces of rock.
“Where are we?” I ask. T’Rak and O’Rec both look up from their noodles.
“Asteroid belt," O’Rec answers while D’Var goes to make me a bowl of noodles of my own.
“Hmm,” I say, looking around for a place to sit. It gets crowded with the four of us here at the same time. It looks like I am going to be her for the long haul, but if I’m staying with them on this spaceship, I am going to need a kitchen and a decent place to eat.
When D’Var and I have finished our noodles, O’Rec clears his throat.
“I have rebuilt a couple of solar lights to use for your plants," he says.
I smile. “Thank you! That is so nice!” D’Var growls a bit and O’Rec just laughs. I feel D’Var’s arm coming around me. I realize he doesn't like me smiling at O’Rec. I pat his leg and give him a quick kiss on his cheek to set him at ease.
I clear my throat. It’s now or never, I guess. “Do you guys think it is possible to make some adjustments to the ship?”
Three males stare at me in utter shock. Eyes wide and mouths open .
“I uh…” I breathe in deep, I can do this. “From what D’Var has told me, you live on this ship, right?” D’Var gives me a nod while he squeezes my hand, giving me the courage to continue.
“So, since I am D’Var’s mate, I guess I will stay with you on the ship, correct?” Another encouraging nod.
“I would like to have some kind of dining room, like a mess hall? Somewhere we can sit and hang out, or eat together, at a table. If things work out with the plants, I would love a spot where I can experiment a bit with cooking; a kitchen.”
The room falls silent. Then T’Rak opens his mouth.
“We can do that. We can divide the Cargo Bay in two, reroute the noodle station to the back. That also gives O’Rec space to set-up a separate security station…” His voice trails off, while he stands up and stalks towards the hallway. We all hurry after him.
When we enter through the sliding doors behind him T’Rak. He stands in the middle of the cargo bay.
“The wall can go from here to there.” He gestures at the other side of the cargo bay, he turns towards O’Rec.
“O’Rec, can you pull the wires and reroot the noodle station?”
“Absolutely,” he grins. “I will get to that, then set-up the new security station when it’s done.”
T’Rak nods, then points to the empty space next to the hiding place. “The greenhouse can go there.”
I nod, that is an excellent place.
“D’Var and I will work on the wall.” He looks at D’Var, who lifts his chin in agreement. “There are materials in the Engine Rooms we can work with, let us get to work.”
T’Rak and O’Rec walk away, leaving me alone with D’Var. He looks at me and smiles. “You are such a fearsome female.”
I blush .
“All the equipment you need for the plants are over there, by the crates,” he continues.
“I think I need to look at some pots first," I say and he guides me to a corner of the cargo bay where a lot of containers and pots are stashed.
“Should I take some for you?” he asks, eager to assist me. But I decide it’s time for me to take some control back. To take something back that was once, one of my biggest qualities: my independence. So I turn around, giving him my most confident smile.
“Thank you for offering, but I believe this is something I need to do by myself.”
He studies me before he nods. “Okay. I will get the plates for the wall from the engine room. Do not be frightened if you hear some rumbling.”
I smile. “I won’t.” I turn away and start sorting through the pots.
Every once in a while I get distracted by hard working males and very exposed gray muscles. They have all shed their harnesses and their amazing torso’s are on display. I keep sneaking looks at D’Var. His chest, his arms, he looks so fine.
I think of him holding me with those arms, and how I felt when he kissed me last night.
I hear a sharp inhale and I see D’Var staring at me. A red flash creeps up my cheeks, D’Var winks at me and with a smile I return to my chores.
By the end of the afternoon, I have found one large rectangular crate and a large pot, that can hold the plants. With any luck I can cultivate the plant with the root vegetables, to make sure I never run out of them. The plant with the berries is more like a bush, which should be low in maintenance. My back is aching from all the manual labor, but I feel really good about myself. I am proud and pleased and start carrying the pots towards the solar lights.
The men have been working hard as well, because the wall is almost done. I wander over it, sliding my hand across the surface. D’Var appears from behind it, grinning at me. There is a sheen of sweat covering his torso. He puts his arm up and leans against the wall.
“Do you like it?” he asks me as he pats the wall. “It is very sturdy.”
I swallow, there is a half-naked man in front of me, wearing leather pants. Standing there all nonchalance with his muscles tensed, for a moment I forget what I wanted to say. I feel my mouth getting dry, I lick my lips and swallow.
“I uh…” I begin. “You look great. Uh… it looks great. The wall looks great.” Then I blush like crazy. “You um... you look great as well.”
D’Var grins. “I am glad you like what you see. My view is not so bad either.” He leans in and snakes a hand behind my back.
“Can I touch you?” he asks, I quickly nod. He pulls me towards him and his head dips, I can feel by the way he is looking at my mouth that is about to kiss me.
“Can I kiss you, L’ren?” he asks, a breathy “Yes” leaves my lips.
This kiss is so much different than the one we shared this morning. It starts out tentative, with me taking the lead, but it quickly turns into something else entirely. His natural alpha tendencies cannot be denied and when I moan, he takes over. Deepening the kiss, pulling me even closer. I am plastered against him, standing on my toes when I feel his hands at my butt and he hoists me up, pushing me against the wall. I squeal.
“D’Var!” I whisper loudly. “Can the wall even take this?!”
“This is a very sturdy wall, my mate.” He grins, bending his head to kiss me some more. Before his mouth lands on mine he pulls back a bit, looking into my eyes.
“Is this okay? L’Ren? I do not want to make you uncomfortable.”
I pull his head down and smash our lips together. “Shut up and kiss me!” I command between kisses.
I have no idea how long we are kissing, and why nobody has called us out for slacking in the work department, but when my stomach growls loudly D’Var pulls back.
“Let me feed you, after that we will call it a day and retreat to our room.”
“That sounds like a perfect idea,” I say.