Chapter 9
Charlie
I woke slowly, my body lethargic and heavy.
Blinking open my eyes I was greeted with surroundings that were both familiar and strange.
It was definitely a medical bay, with surgical arms tucked behind plex glass panels next to each bed, and view screens to display vitals.
The beds were shaped like round bowls, big enough to fit Mox, so this med bay was definitely not built with human-shaped patients in mind.
Thinking of Mox made my heart rate spike, I didn’t see him anywhere, and his purple scales would definitely stand out in this white room.
Movement from the corner of my eye made me aware of the other one, the Shaman as Mox had called him.
He was as bizarre to see this time as he had been earlier.
His scales were white and his eyes a glowing gold, a fineness to his features that suggested he was far more sophisticated, simply because they were so even and delicate.
“I see you are awake, how are you feeling Human from Earth? First of your kind mated to a Naga,” he said, soundlessly sliding closer to the big round bed I was lying on.
I scooted to the edge furthest away from him, thankful that this med bay had been capable of healing my head since no dizziness, and no headache accompanied my movements.
Shrugging a shoulder I said, “Where is Mox?” He was nowhere to be seen, but his giant pack of supplies was now leaning against a nearby wall.
My eyes snagged on the copper blade lying on the edge of the bed, right within arm’s reach for me.
It was the knife he’d given me after he realized I’d cut up my hand from the scrap metal when fighting that snake.
Flexing my now healed hand, I snatched up the weapon though I didn’t point it at the Shaman.
I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to hurt me, but I was scared to be alone with another of these creatures.
I trusted Mox, but that other one, Raxon, had terrified me.
I wasn’t sure about the Shaman yet, something about the way his eyes were eagerly appraising my body made me uncomfortable.
I was pretty sure he was just curious, but I still didn’t like it.
“I can’t understand what you are saying I’m afraid,” he responded, “Your spirit connection with Mox only translates your way.” Then he gestured to the colorful curtains in the doorway, “I assume you asked where your mate is, he is out hunting for our evening meal. He should be back soon.”
I stared at the Shaman, unsure how to proceed if he couldn’t understand what I said.
Why had Mox left me alone with him? What was I supposed to do now?
Maybe the Shaman could read the distress on my face because he offered me a gentle smile.
“Naga mate for life you know? Mox will never leave you, do not fear. He really will be back soon. Try to rest until then. You had a nasty head injury and far too much excitement.”
He turned away, sliding around the round cots to leave the medical bay without a backward glance.
I was relieved to be alone for a moment, my thoughts racing over what he’d just told me.
It was true, so much had happened in what amounted to barely two days.
I was still processing the fact that the UAR had tried to profit off my execution and that I’d somehow lucked out, and crashed on this planet instead.
I should be dead. I had been killed, or at least, I thought I had been.
Everything had moved so freaking fast, from the moment I’d accidentally killed my boss to the moment I’d woken up here…
It barely encompassed a whole week. Everything had been a whirlwind of shocking events rapidly following each other.
I knew I was still a little in shock from it all and that I still needed to process everything.
There was one thing I did know though, Mox was a better, kinder, and more caring male than any of the assholes I’d had the misfortune of dating back on Earth.
I would be an idiot not to see where things were going with him; I could see myself falling head over heels for him if I let myself.
Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing either, I’d nearly died several times, I should reach out and grab onto what happiness I could find with both hands now that I had the chance.
The Shaman said that Naga mate for life, that was what Mox was. That’s what he called me, Mox’s mate, and that we had a spirit connection. That’s how I was able to understand what they said and Mox could understand me but the Shaman couldn’t.
My fingers tightened on the hilt of the blade I was holding, I knew that Mox had left it for me to make sure I felt safe.
I would have preferred to wake up with him here, but then my eyes snagged on a pile of shimmering black fabric on the edge of the round bed.
When I picked it up I realized it was a leather top and wrap skirt which had been meticulously covered by the black scales from those snakes Mox had killed.
Clean clothing, sized for me, and no doubt made by Mox himself.
Even better, a quick stumble around the medical bay showed me actual plumbing hidden in an alcove and a fully functional shower unit.
I spend a blissful moment under that hot stream of water, washing out my hair, and then letting a hot blast of air dry me off.
When I came out of the shower unit, dressed in the clothing Mox had made, I felt like a different person.
Stronger, more like Mox’s mate than that orphaned office drone from back on Earth.
There he was too, ducking through the curtain just as I left the shower area.
Our eyes met across the room and for a moment I thought I could even feel this spirit connection that the Shaman had mentioned.
That look made my bloodstream spark, and my belly clenched with desire.
Heck, I instantly felt the urge to climb him like a tree. It was that potent.
“Charlie,” he said, his body sinuous and quick but also absolutely quiet as he closed the distance between us. It was no wonder at all that he’d been the First Hunter of his tribe, and I felt a flush of pride at knowing he was so skilled, it made me feel safe too.
“Mox,” I said in turn, pressing my palms to his chest as soon as he got within touching distance.
“Thank you, I’m all better, your Shaman did a good job.
” I lightly tapped a finger against the spot on my temple that had previously held a cut to indicate that I was healed.
“You know, he said something interesting too,” I added, smiling.
Mox didn’t seem to be able to keep himself from touching me either, his amethyst eyes roaming over my body.
Hands sliding around my waist to press me against him, I felt a section of his tail press against the backs of my legs, pushing me up into his arms. “What was that?” he asked, split tongue flicking out, his head dipping so he could taste the edge of my ear, my temple, and the line of my jaw.
“Naga mate for life,” I moaned. My arms tangled around his neck, pulling him in so I could press my mouth against his, his spicy taste flooding my senses.
I didn’t think that round of sex had been a fluke, and I was definitely not under any kind of medicinal influence now, Mox really was just that potent to my sex drive.
I’d washed and dried my only pair of panties, but they were already getting soaked again.
“Humans do not?” Mox asked, his body moving, coiling around me, lifting me.
I found myself pressed back into one of those round beds, his body poised over me, thick tail wedging my legs apart.
His arousal was evident in the hard, heated bar pressing against my bare thigh, the slick tips writhing against my skin.
I was panting a little, my breasts aching, when I responded, “No, they don’t. Not on Earth at least… Here? Who knows?” His eyes seemed to almost glow in his face, his features both alien and familiar. I was going to endeavor to find out, with this male at my side, what was the risk anyway?
Lifting up my head, I met his eager mouth, happy that he’d taken so quickly to the kissing thing when he’d been so shocked about it.
“I will convince you,” Mox muttered, mouth traveling from mine, down my throat, licking with that wicked tongue at the slopes of my breasts.
“The clothing looks good on you,” he added, a teasing light appearing in his intense stare, “But you’ll look even better naked in my coils. ”
I didn’t protest as he freed the knots on the halter top and undid the one on my hip that held the skirt together.
Shimmying out of the fabric, and my panties, as quickly as I could.
My hands molded and petted his skin, body undulating against his much bigger form as it pinned me in place.
“Eager, so eager for me, my mate,” Mox drawled with a grin. “Not so fast this time.”
It seemed like he’d been the one rushing when he took off my clothing, but now he took his sweet time, licking at my breasts, petting them.
Then he sucked on one nipple and I practically arched off the bed if not for his body holding me in place.
Laughing, he did it again to the other one but I could see that dark flush rising on his face just like last time.
Tinting his cheeks and the bridge of his nose; he wasn’t going to be patient much longer.
“Mox, I need you, take me,” I said, wanting to urge him on and push him over the edge.
He laughed his tail curling around to pin me across the shoulders into the bed.
Then he slid himself between my thighs, tongue flicking out as he dragged it between my folds, a hissing noise escaping his throat.
I moaned as the sensations shot up my spine and made my womb contract.
He was like a man possessed as he licked at me with single-minded focus.
Licking with his long agile tongue, pushing it into my passage, it didn’t seem like he wanted to make me come, he just couldn’t stop tasting me.
Somehow, that was sexy as sin. He was in a frenzy to get as much of me as he could, his long tail coiling around me, pinning me in place so I couldn’t do anything but let him.
“Mox,” I said, my voice a strangled squeak. “Mox, my mate,” I tried again and finally I managed to free a hand to pull at his head. “Please…” I wasn’t sure what I was pleading for, to keep going? To let me come? Fill me?
His face was flushed with darker purples, his chin glistening with my juices, which dripped from the sharp horn jutting out from the tip of his chin.
A grin split his mouth wide, bifurcated tongue flicking out the way a snake tongue did, tasting the air.
“Yessss,” he groaned, finally untangling enough to rise above me.
I hooked my legs around his hips and it was as if his cock knew just where to go, the split tip brushed against my opening.
We both groaned as he sank inside, filling me in a single, firm push.
After all that teasing I was so wet that he went in smoothly, and my body was so primed for an orgasm that it only took a few thrusts, and I was spiraling into pleasure.
Mox followed me after, hips stuttering, a guttural groan issuing from his throat, and then his hot seed bathed my insides. Feeling that liquid dribble down my thighs, the heat of it, and the twitching of that split cock head, it pulled another orgasmic shudder from my body.
I was covered in sweat and seed, and needed another shower, but was it worth it? Definitely. Then the blasted male managed to prove that I was going to fall quickly for him, raising his head to give me a serious, tender look. “I will keep you safe, no matter what, I promise you, my mate.”
He had left behind his home and his tribe for me, I didn’t think he held even a single regret about it. He looked like he’d won the lottery in fact. I could only take the same leap of faith he had in turn, and trust him with my life and my heart.
“I know Mox, even if we don’t know where we’re going to live, I know you’ll keep me safe,” I said.
I didn’t think I could live inside a mountain with the Shaman, I had a feeling that though he was curious about me, he wouldn’t like having his privacy impinged on either.
Where did that leave us? I had no clue, but I was sure we’d figure it out.
He moved to lie beside me, his long tail still curved around me, keeping me warm.
“Actually, Artek had some news on that. It’s not perfect but it’s worth trying.
” He paused for a second, gaze on my face, his hand raised to cup my chin.
“I love having you all to myself, but Serant is a dangerous planet… Living with others would be safer.”
I couldn’t disagree, within an hour of waking up here, I’d run into two snakes trying to eat me.
I didn’t want to be alone at all. Safety in numbers seemed like a good idea, but his clan seemed to be out of the question, they wanted to kill me, and Mox, as soon as we’d left that hunter hideout. “Then what? Who?”
His thumb was textured from his scales, catching a little on my skin as he rubbed at my bottom lip.
His eyes traced the motion thoughtfully as he started explaining.
“The clan neighboring Copper Tooth land is Thunder Rock. The Shaman says they recently cast out three males who became too old and hadn’t yet mated.
He knows where they are living, it would be good to see if they are willing to join forces. ”
A bunch of outcast males? How old was too old for mating?
It didn’t seem like a valid reason to toss someone out, but Mox didn’t sound surprised about the practice.
When I asked him what to expect he started grinning, “Males just like me I’d say.
The queen was ready to banish me for the same reason. No mate, not until I met you.”
It didn’t sound like a fair deal for the guys, but it didn’t matter, I had gotten Mox out of all of this.
I should consider myself lucky. I’d figure it out by the time we got there, and if we ended up living alone?
That would be fine too. Right now, I had other things on my mind, like getting clean again.
“Come on, let me show you the shower,” I said. Or maybe we’d get dirty again first.
THE END