Chapter 15 Alisha
ALISHA
Hrad takes instructions in bed, or on the forest floor, better than any other man I have slept with.
He didn’t fuck around with rhythm and timing.
And while I did the finger work, he has no idea how good his cock felt.
I’m so glad he has more than one pleasure bump because mmm I enjoyed every single one of them, even though he is a bit on the large size.
I’m still feeling the aftereffects now, although that is because we rushed and I could’ve done with a little more warm-up. Is there ever enough warm-up before taking a mate?
Hrad is now my mate. It’s a weird thought. I think we’re both thinking about what happened as he’s been quiet on the walk back to the ship—and not only because we have reverted to silent communication. However, when I glance at him, he smiles, so he can’t regret it that much, can he?
As we approach the ship, I stick close to him, and we crawl the last dozen meters on our bellies.
The netting is still draped over the ship.
One of the warriors is pacing, while the other fiddles with our gear.
Hugh’s body has been dragged to the side and left out for the wildlife even though there are body bags on the ship… but they don’t know that.
Next to me, Hrad is jamming our signals or something. There is the now familiar static on my skin, plucking at the hairs on my arm.
I draw in a breath and exhale slowly.
It’s time to put the plan into action. If it can be called a plan. It’s more like half a plan with a fair amount of hope sprinkled on for good measure.
I am the distraction, which is not my preferred role. But while they’re looking at me, it gives him the opportunity to stun them. We will only kill them as a last resort.
I slide my hand next to his. You ready?
He nods without looking at me.
I need to get up and run into the clearing, but I hesitate. Then his fingers cover mine and tighten for a second. If this all goes badly, I have enjoyed being your mate.
My eyes prickle as if I’m about to cry, which is ridiculous. I lean in and kiss his cheek. It will not go badly. We have plans to keep.
My tongue awaits your next lesson.
That might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. I grin, trying to suppress the ball of anxiety in my stomach. And I look forward to giving it.
I break the connection and move slowly into a crouch while neither of the warriors are looking in our direction.
Hrad moves away from me, as he will enter the clearing at a different point.
I count to twenty as planned, draw in a breath and stand.
I wait another heartbeat before breaking into a run and thrashing through the undergrowth.
“Oh my god there’s something chasing me, help! ”
Both warriors turn. One of them drops whatever he was toying with. Sparks form between the fingers of the closest one. I don’t know if they’re intended for me or the imaginary creature chasing me.
With both of them looking at me, Hrad steps into the clearing. He is much closer to the ship than I am. He lifts his sword, and an arc of blue electricity reaches the warrior examining our things. He falls over before he has a chance to fight back.
The standing one turns to face Hrad.
“Hey, asshole. Over here,” I snarl, my gun aimed at his chest.
But he doesn’t look at me, and from the expression on Hrad’s face, they are doing that jamming battle. It’s then that I notice the markings on Hrad’s neck and hands are glowing.
He is in rut. I’ve read that it’s a dangerous time when the males are stronger, and more ferocious, driven by the need to protect their mate.
In this case, me. The other warrior’s markings also glow, though much fainter.
It’s not safe for me to touch either of them.
However, it is safe for me to shoot him in the leg.
I lower my aim and fire.
The warrior crumples, and Hrad zaps him.
I pull ties out of a pocket in my pants and bind the bleeding warrior’s wrists behind his back.
Hrad shakes his head. He pulls the rope belt out of the warrior’s pants. “Wrists in front.”
“Why?” I ask even as I rebind his hands in front of his body.
Hrad then uses the rope to secure the warrior’s hands, so they point down and are attached to his thigh. He lifts his eyebrows and doesn’t need to explain a thing with words.
Now the warrior can’t zap anyone except himself.
We repeat the process with the other warrior. When they are both secure. We take in the scene.
“They did not summon help. There is no one close enough.”
“I’m going to pull up the camera feed as an early warning.
” I run through a mental list of everything that needs done and try to order it before I speak.
“We’re going to pack the ship. Put Hugh in a body bag and strap these two into the cargo hold.
I want to land near the bridge before it gets dark. ”
Hrad glances up at the sky and then at the mess they have made. “As much as I want to spend the night with you, wrapped in my blanket. I’d rather be focusing my kam on you, not scanning for potential attackers.”
I grab the front of his shirt and pull him in for a kiss.
“I would also like to ignore this mess, and the settlement, however…” I sigh.
I’m not the one affected by the rut, and I doubt he will speak up when there is other work to be done.
The rut is a complication we need to account for. “What do you need?”
“For the moment, nothing, even though I am hard and aching for you, I’m not sure if it is because I need sex or because I want more of your arousal fluid on my skin.”
I snort. “You have to stop calling it that.”
“What would you like me to call it?”
I open my mouth, but I have no fucking idea.
He stares at me. “You don’t have a name for it?”
“No.”
“Then my name is better than no name.”
I grin. “I will come up with a name.”
“You do that.” Hrad inclines his head. “Would you like me to help with Hugh before I start packing this away?”
“No. Secure the warriors first. And I’ll bring that feed up.
” I pull out the tablet and set it up so we can monitor it as we work.
I begin packing our supplies, and Hrad joins me in cleaning up the mess after relocating the warriors.
He leaves out rations, and we take a moment to sit in the dirt and eat once the ship has been filled.
I can’t tell if my underwear is damp from sweat or his cum. My uniform clings to my back, and I would kill to fall into the river for a wash, even though I can’t swim.
“You’re frowning. What’s the problem?” Hrad asks after finishing his sludge.
“Just wondering how long it takes to learn to swim, because I am grubby.”
From the way he looks at me, his eyes dark with hunger and the marking glowing bright, I don’t think he cares. “I need that second lesson.”
I swallow loud enough that I’m sure he hears. “Really?”
“I need you.”
He’d stripped off his shirt when lifting crates and bodies, and the markings on his arms haven’t stopped glowing even though he’s not actively making a charge.
My pulse quickens. “How about you give me a moment to freshen up? Find my clean underwear and…”
“I don’t care about your underwear.”
“Sweat?”
“No.”
“Your own—”
“No.” It’s less a word and more of a growl. This is why there is the warning that the rut is all-consuming.
“I want to be a little less…”
He stares at me with his head tilted, and while there is nothing threatening about his gaze, there is a heat in it that makes me feel as though I am his next meal.
I want to be eaten. “You pull the netting off and bundle it up, while I check the cargo.” And also take ten seconds to clean up in the toilet and find my spare underwear.
I do not want to be worrying about our captives while Hrad is feasting.
I can’t believe I’m about to let him do that in the ship, but I’d much rather him be focused on the situation than hungry for his next fix.
The rut is like a temporary addiction and a chemical-driven puberty all rolled into one.
In the ship I check on the prisoners, then lock the cargo doors. I rummage through my pack for clean underwear and socks and pull off my boots before darting for the head so I can pee and have a bit of a wash. It’s not the same as a shower, and I know he said he didn’t care, but I do.
When I step out, he’s placed the folded net, along with his bag, on the floor of the cabin, and shut the door.
Fuck, that was fast. I’m impressed.
“Cockpit.” I jerk my head toward the door.
Hrad picks up my boots and carries them to the cockpit, while I check the doors are locked, so no one surprises us. I bring my bag and lock us in. I half expect him to be in the pilot’s seat, but he’s sitting in the other one, as if he is aware that only the pilot gets to sit in the main seat.
He beckons me forward, and my breath hitches.
I stow my bag as if this is normal, then shuck my pants—which I hadn’t bothered to do up. My dirty underwear is balled up in my pocket. “What do you need?”
He glances up. “A taste. I’ve never felt anything like this.” He growls. “I do not like the desperation, but I cannot resist.”
I have never seen a man so hungry to lick my pussy. Feeling bolder, I hook my thumbs into my clean underwear—I don’t know why I put them on—and drag them down. Hrad doesn’t even blink.
I didn’t think it was possible for me to want a man so much, but fuck, if all men acted like barely restrained starving predators at the thought of eating pussy, I’d have found the energy three times a day.
“Why don’t I sit.” I drop onto the edge of my seat and spread my legs.
He drops to his knees in front of me before I finish talking. His hands rest on my thighs, and he nudges them further apart before licking up my inner thigh and inhaling like my sweaty pussy is the best thing he’s ever smelled. That he is so intent is the only reason I don’t die of embarrassment.
Despite the wild heat in his eyes, the first sweep of his tongue is cautious as if he isn’t sure about his own body’s cravings. There is nothing I can say to change what is happening to him. It is his body, but my plan.
I hope it works. That I didn’t ask this of him for no reason. That we make it home with the rest of the team and spend months working out how to make this work, so we are both happy.
His thumbs sweep over my curls then part my folds. I’m torn between watching and closing my eyes. But I want to remember what it’s like to be the center of someone’s world. His tongue flicks over my skin before dipping in.
He groans as if he is enjoying this.
Is it easing his need?
Was he in pain?
His tongue flicks over my clit, and I gasp. He pauses. “Is that your bump?”
“Yes.”
“It does not look like a bump.”
I laugh. “Not like yours, but trust me, it works.”
He licks it again as if experimenting with what makes me squirm and gasp the most.
My fingers thread through his hair, and my thighs tense as his tongue sweeps over my clit just right. “Yes, like that.”
He may not have had any lessons on sex, but he knows how to follow an order like his survival depends on it. He might have needed the taste, but he wants me to enjoy it. He actually cares about my pleasure.
My head tips back as I come. His tongue presses into me, fucking me as I ride out the aftershocks. I’m gripping the armrests hard enough to leave nail marks in the metal.
He draws back, and I watch as he grabs my underwear off the floor and jerks off into them, catching the spill and leaving no mess. He sits back on his heels with a sigh, like he’s found inner peace. “It is a ferocious beast that demands fed. I do not know myself when it rises.”
“I do not mind the beast…though let’s hope that was enough until we have freed our people.”
“Sorry about your underwear.”
“It’s fine. I’ll grab another pair.” I study him as he kneels on the floor between my spread legs, dick in one hand and my underwear in the other. I’m sure I’ve never seen anything hotter. “Want to take a moment to clean up before we go to the village?”
I wish we had days, that everything had gone to plan, and we only needed to guard the ship and wait for the others to return. Would anything have happened in those days? I can’t say…and we’ll never get the chance to find out what might have been. All we can do is move forward.
I lean in and kiss him, needing to do or say something. “You are very good with your tongue; I don’t think you need many lessons.”
He smiles. “Or perhaps you are an excellent teacher.”
More likely, only having one pleasure bump, as he calls it, makes human women much easier to please.