The way her thighs slid against one another as she shifted had him imagining what it would be like to wedge himself between them and slide into her body in the same way a breeder would. His cock stiffened within his covering, and he felt a growl rumble up from deep inside his chest. A few of the more fortuitous hunters had experienced this with the infertile females, but with so many options to choose from, less attractive males were hardly selected.
He sucked in a quick breath of disbelief when Samantha launched herself at him, his arms wrapping tightly around her body as he pulled her close and stole her lips in another kiss. Her silky hair tangled around his fingers as he gripped the roots, holding her in place so that he could taste her. A soft moan escaped her, giving Zuran the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, gliding over hers in a dance he’d never been part of before.
Samantha’s legs locked tightly around his hips, and he bucked uncontrollably against the warmth that hovered just beyond his reach. The kiss was stealing his soul, sending a fire through his body that he was sure would burn him up from the inside out. He craved this female. His entire being hummed with static as one of her hands brushed down his chest, her short nails scraping his electrified flesh. Yes. Something so much stronger than lust thrummed in his veins, making his cock painfully hard. It throbbed against her as she gyrated and ground herself into it, driving him mad with her sweet whimpers.
An angry growl was the only warning he had before he felt a sharp yank on his braids and the sting of another’s lightning flowing through him. Samantha gasped, her body sliding against his as he was pulled away from her. Another shock rushed through him, and he gritted his teeth as he stumbled backward, falling onto the cool stone around the pools.
“You would dare touch her?” Olan’s eyes flashed with outrage, his electricity sparking all along his colorful body.
“Hey, wait!” Samantha cried. “Don’t you dare hurt him!”
The blood was pounding so loudly in his ears that her voice barely reached him. He snarled up at the other male, but didn’t sit up, knowing it could be seen as a challenge.
“He touched what belongs to me!” Olan snarled.
“Whoa there, Sparky. I don’t belong to anyone except my damn self, and I certainly wouldn’t want to belong to someone as arrogant as you!” He watched Olan’s jaw clench as Samantha raged at him. “I asked him for that. I wanted him to touch me! If you don’t back off I’ll reacquaint you with the pointy end of my pocket knife.”
Zuran knew there was a battle being waged inside of Olan, could practically see it in his eyes as they left Samantha and locked onto his. There was pure hatred swirling within them, and it made his chest constrict.
“I beg forgiveness, Fanahala.” Olan bowed stiffly in her direction. “I only wished to bring you new clothing.” He reached out to caress Samantha’s face, but she dodged his hand, narrowing her eyes as she stepped toward Zuran. “I made these myself.”
“Are you alright?” Samantha’s hands brushed lightly over Zuran’s shoulders, traveling up the sides of his neck until she was cupping his cheeks gently.
“I’m fine,” his voice sounded strangled even to his own ears.
“Fanahala,” Olan growled, “I do not wish for the hunter to see you uncovered. Please, take the clothing.”
“I honestly don’t care what you want right now.”
“Samantha…” Olan pleaded.
With a heavy sigh, Zuran pushed himself off the ground, grunting quietly. “You should dress.” He didn’t want her to cover herself, but he also couldn’t afford to have Olan running back to Ama.
She scowled at him for a moment before extending her hand toward Olan, her fingers wiggling. “Fine. Let’s have them then.”
The male’s face lit up as he deposited the clothing into her arms and watched her disappear behind one of the trees. A moment later she stepped out, her body wrapped in the shimmery black fabric. A bride gown, Zuran noted, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the other male’s choice. The message Olan was sending him was clear. She is a bride. She is not meant for you.
“Beautiful,” Zuran whispered.
“Thank you,” she grinned, reaching up to untangle his hair from around his horn.
Although his horns had never been very sensitive, the soft brush of her hand over the skin at the base had his whole body responding once more. Blood rushed to his loins, his heart pounded frantically in his ears as he curled his tail around her hip, pulling her closer to his body. A sharp growl reminded him of Olan’s presence, and he shook himself from the fog of the breeding heat. Once he was among her people he would show Olan that Samantha could make her own decisions. The other male would have no say. His soul screamed out at the loss when he released her, stepping away before he set Olan off again.
“We’ll leave at first light. It’s already beginning to darken, and the forest will not be safe to travel through.” He turned on his heel, stalking off toward the shelter that the hunters used whenever they needed to come into the village, leaving Olan to show Samantha to her hut.
6
Samantha
The damn demon aliens obviously hadn’t taken her shorter legs into account when they’d started off the trek to her ship. Keeping up with the two of them was far harder than she had anticipated when they had first started out, especially with the brutal pace Zuran was setting. Just last night his urgency to be near her had set a fire within her that she had never felt with anyone. She had nearly expected him to turn into a fire breathing dragon and gobble her up whole.
Originally, Samantha had meant for the kiss to be sweet, playful, and light. Something to show him she didn’t think like the other members of his tribe. Looking back on it, doing it while in the nude might not have been in her best interest. The way Zuran had looked at her body, like it was the most amazing sight he had ever beheld, had stoked fires deep within her. She hadn’t just wanted to kiss him, to feel him against her, she had needed it like she had never needed anything.
Now, as she hurried to keep up with her alien escort, Samantha noticed more than a physical distance between them. Zuran had closed himself off altogether, and it hurt. It shouldn’t, right? They had known each other for less than an X9 day. Besides their kind’s backward views on breeding and marriage, she didn’t know much about either of the males. Then there was the issue of Olan. Samantha rolled her eyes as she glanced sideways at him. There was no denying that, as far as demon aliens went, he was attractive. In fact, she thought they were both rather beautiful, but Olan put off an almost haughty, spoiled vibe like he was used to people falling over themselves for him. Well, she would be staying with her feet firmly planted on the ground.
A root snagged her booted foot, catching one of the ties and sending her face-first toward the ground. She gasped, flinging her hands out in an attempt to save herself just as she was swept up into strong arms. Olan’s aqua eyes were the first things she saw when she swung her head to the side, his slitted pupils dilated as he pulled her close to his chest, adjusting her against him so that she was more comfortable. Claw tipped fingers ran through her hair longingly as he leaned down to brush a sweet, tender kiss to the tip of her nose. “I’ve got you, Fanahala.”
Her breath caught in her chest for a moment as she stared up at him, her heart racing frantically. From the moment they had met, Olan had been nothing but kind to her, but this was the first time he had seemed genuinely sweet, almost loving. Maybe being away from the village would help her see a different side of both of these aliens. The fact that she had literally fallen for him right after swearing she wouldn’t was not lost on her, and a small giggle fell from her lips. “Sorry.” She muttered with a smile when Olan frowned down at her. “What does that mean anyway? Fanahala? I’ve heard you say it a few times, but it doesn’t seem to have a translation.”
He stepped carefully over the system of roots that had tripped her up. “It’s a term used for a female after she becomes a bride. Since you are mine, it seemed f
itting to use it.”
Outrage bubbled up inside of her. The freaking nerve of this guy! Samantha growled, an actual animalistic rumble from her chest, and thumped him hard on the shoulder. Bad idea; Olan’s shoulders were not forgiving. “I have not agreed to be your bride, your wife, your girlfriend, or even your friend at this point!” These aliens thought that she was just going to go along with what they wanted? They obviously had never met a human before.
“Fanahala-” Olan tried to soothe her, but she wasn’t having it; she needed to put a little space between them.
“No. Put me down.” She wiggled in his grasp, and he gently set her on her feet, frowning as she shoved past him. With a huff, Samantha started off toward Zuran, who had stopped to watch the scene. When Olan attempted to help her over another large and knotted root system, she shook him off. “I can do it myself.”
She would show them that human women could do whatever they set their minds to.
* * *
The days dragged on, one melding into the next as they navigated through the mist-covered forest. Zuran and Olan were constantly at odds, always fighting over which path was better to take or who was actually leading their little party. Zuran claimed that, as a hunter, he spent the majority of his time in the forest so he should be the one leading, but Olan, ever prideful, insisted that it couldn’t be all that difficult to find his way to the downed ship.
Samantha had lost count of the days it had taken to reach the crash site. Between Olan leading them nearly over the edge of a cliff and Zuran’s pouting, it felt like it had taken them weeks. The constant bickering between the males was driving her crazy, but she had taken the opportunity to try to get to know both of them whenever she could. While Olan had mellowed out some, actually treating her like she had a mind and will of her own for the most part, Zuran seemed to be getting worse, more possessive, aggressive, and snarly as they went on. He was restless, and even Olan appeared to be concerned over the abrupt change.
The misted forest hadn’t seemed too treacherous when they had started out, but she was soon counting her lucky stars that Ama had insisted she take the males with her. The day she had left the wreckage of her small ship she had encountered a small native animal. She’d successfully fought it off and had been naive enough to believe that was the worst the forest had to throw at her. Gods, she had been so wrong.
On the second day of their journey, the trio had stumbled upon something that she was sure had stepped directly out of one of her nightmares. The memory of the confrontation made her shiver.
The monster’s flesh looked like it had been turned inside out. It oozed something foul, the yellowish liquid dripping from things that looked like open sores along its sides. The animal’s eyes were a milky white, devoid of anything that resembled a pupil. Not knowing if it was staring right at you was incredibly unnerving and made her blood feel like ice in her veins. A tongue the color of rotten flesh slipped from its mouth, running over its muzzle and deadly teeth.
Samantha clutched at the pocket knife, knowing that it wasn’t going to be much good against the terrifying canine creature. A whimper fell from her lips as the beast stepped closer, snarling and drooling. She’d just wanted to relieve herself without an audience. I’m going to die, and it’s going to be with a full bladder. Another beast stepped out from behind the first, nipping at its sides. Two, three more joined, closing in around her, chattering excitedly to one another.
The first and largest of the creatures howled eerily, its muscles bunching up as it crouched then launched itself right at her. She screamed, throwing her arms over her face, but instead of the collision she had anticipated, a blood-curdling cry ripped through the forest. When she moved her hands she saw Zuran, one arm wrapped tightly around the neck of the creature. It struggled in his grasp for only a moment before a loud crack reverberated through the space, and it fell limply to the ground.
Olan was at her side the next instant, shielding her with his body as he squared off against one of the smaller animals. She watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as the two males worked together to dispatch the rest. A smaller, obviously younger beast snuck up behind her, snagging the back of the dress that Olan had given her. “Hey!” The scream was ripped from her throat as she fell backward, kicking wildly at its face and chest.
The blade on the end of Zuran’s tail thrust through its neck just as Olan reached out and yanked her off of the ground, pulling her tightly against his chest. “Shh, I’m here little one.” He whispered against her hair. Zuran pulled his blade free, and took a hesitant step toward her, before turning away. With one hand on Olan, Samantha reached out to run the other over Zuran’s back. He stiffened slightly under her touch, but didn’t move away. “Thank you for coming for me. Both of you.”
A sigh of utter relief escaped her when the sleek outer walls of the S.S. Constellation came into view. Home. If the males hadn’t worked so well together that day in the forest she probably wouldn’t have made it here. They were standing just within the tree line, the males staring speculatively at the massive space vessel. “You guys should stay here. Some humans can be a little xenophobic.”
“Xenophobic? What does that mean?” Olan asked, tilting his head as he watched her tighten the laces on her boots
“It means that they are untrusting of anyone new, anything they don’t understand. We’ve come a long way, but there are still those who wouldn’t react kindly to you simply because they don’t know anything about you.” She frowned down at the ground, knowing there had been a time in their history when it had been members of their own species that humans had discriminated against because of xenophobia. “I’ll go ahead, alone, and see what I can find out.”
“Like vack you will!” Zuran sneered, propelling himself forward from where he had been resting against a tree. The longer she was in his presence, the worse this protective behavior was becoming. All the more reason to split up. She could admit that she had become attached to the males during the trek here, but she wasn’t about to just jump into a marriage with either one of them, no matter how tempting the outline of their cocks looked through the thin cloth that covered them. Stop. Stop thinking about dicks right now! She mentally shook herself. She had much bigger things to worry about at the moment.
“The last time I checked I was the only one in control of what I did.” She narrowed her eyes on him as he growled and spun away. So dramatic. “I promise I won’t be long. Don’t kill each other while I’m gone!” Samantha called over her shoulder as she stepped through the bushes on the outer edge of the clearing the ship had come to a stop in. Hopefully, they would do as she asked and not risk following her. The last thing they needed was for someone on the ship to see them and mistake them for the demons of the old world’s religions.
There didn’t seem to be too much damage, thankfully. As relieved as she was to see this, she frowned when she saw only one guard posted at the entrance of the ship. Curtis was a good guy, a little over-eager to prove himself when it came to the job, but he had a keen eye and was big enough that anyone thinking about causing trouble thought again once they caught sight of him. “Curtis!” She called out, not wanting to catch him off guard.
He pivoted toward her, gun raised. His brown eyes went wide when he finally recognized her. “Samantha?” She released her pent up breath when the gun lowered and smiled as he rushed toward her. “We thought the worst had happened to you when we didn’t hear anything. Marsel was beside himself with worry.”
“Really?” Well, that was a surprise.
“Oh yeah! He’ll be glad to see you. A few guys were sent out to look for your pod. You beat us to it though.”
“Well, it’s nice to know I was missed.” She laughed. “Where is Marsel?”
Curtis jerked his head toward the open doorway. “He’s inside trying to keep the peace. Up on deck three, I think.”
“Thanks. Don’t shoot yourself.” she teased, nodding toward the gun he had hanging down at his side.
<
br /> A groan rolled up his throat, and he laughed good-naturedly. “That was one time! You people will never let me live that down.”
She wasn’t sure how he had ever convinced Marsel he could be trusted with another weapon, but she wasn’t too keen on having him aim anything at her. Worry for her males nagged at Samantha. What would happen if they got caught up in the fire? No, they were smart enough to know to stay hidden. My males? She snorted at her own thoughts, shaking her head. They aren’t my anything.
Lies! The little devil on her shoulder accused. He looked suspiciously like Zuran, and she imagined herself flicking him from her shoulder as she stepped through the entrance.
Deck three was in absolute chaos. Crew members and their families were gathered in small groups throughout the level, some running around frantically like they hadn’t been trained for something like this. At the very front of the hall stood Marsel. Someone had stacked crates as a makeshift stage, and he was addressing those that had gathered. “I understand your concerns! We are working to get the power back on, but in the meantime, we need everyone to work together to-” His eyes landed on her and his speech stopped abruptly. “Samantha?”
The massive crowd in front of her turned as one to stare in her direction, and she wished a hole would open up beneath her. “Hey there.”
A huge megawatt smile lit up his face, and he jumped down from the crates, his long legs eating up the distance between them before he grabbed her around the waist, hugging her close as he spun her in a circle. “I thought I’d never see you again!”
An awkward smile curved her lips as she tried to avoid the curious looks from all around. “Yeah, well, same, I guess.” Marsel had once been everything she believed a perfect man to be, tall, handsome, with a strong jawline and picture-perfect smile. His golden hair was cropped close on the sides, never a strand out of place, and his baby blue eyes welcomed anyone they landed on. Marsel looked a little frazzled now, but nothing had changed.
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