by Lily Thomas
“Definitely.” Nayli nodded her head firmly. “I just hope someone finds us before we rot down here.”
“Everything will be fine.” Roeq tried to reassure her even though he wasn’t entirely sure he was telling her the truth. There was no way for him to know that everything would work out.
Nayli snorted as she ran a hand through her shoulder-length purple hair, “Yeah, right.”
His lips turned down in a frown. His words were meant to reassure her, but she still sounded doubtful.
“Oh please!” She plopped down in the co-pilot seat on his ship. “Don’t even lie to me. We have no idea if any of the race officials will be able to find us. We popped out of a wormhole. They’ll have a large expanse of space to search.” She waved a hand above her head. Then her eyes narrowed on him. “Is it just me or are your eyes more black than usual? Maybe it’s the dark.”
Roeq coughed and turned away. He had to get a grip on his desire and the instinct pumping through his body. “Lights on!” He commanded his ship.
Light flooded the interior of the ship.
“Ouch!”
Roeq spun around to find Nayli grimacing as she placed a hand in front of her eyes.
“Give a girl some warning!” She barked at him. “You can’t go from zero light to full light.”
“I’m sorry.”
Slowly, she pulled her hand away from her eyes and blinked several times.
“Again, I apologize for causing you any discomfort.”
Nayli waved it away with a hand. “It’s no problem. It’s not like you did it on purpose.” She sent him a small smile. “Just warn me next time.”
Roeq smiled back at her. “No, I did not.” He sat down in his chair. “We should make a plan of what we need to do while we are here on the planet to survive.”
“What do you mean?” Nayli leaned over and snagged her bag off the ground.
He leaned back in his seat. “We will need to entertain the idea of never being found or it taking a long time to be found.”
She paused briefly in her rummaging of her bag to glance up at him. A brief flash of panic soared through those amber depths before she pulled out a nutritional bar. “I don’t like that idea.”
He shook his head. “Neither do I, but it’s something we have to think about. We can’t just ignore it and hope everything works out in the end.”
“I know, I know. You’re right of course.” Nayli groaned before taking a large bite of the bar in her hand. “Oh…my… god. This is disgusting!” She took another look at the label. “Liver and peaches? Who makes these things?!”
“I’m guessing it’s not a good combination?” He had no idea what a peach was, but he did know the word liver.
“Not at all.” Nayli swallowed her bite looking like it pained her. “It’s worse than torture. Yuck.” She stuck her tongue out of her mouth while she continued to glare at the offending bar.
“Which brings me to another good point. We need to think about possibly hunting food and finding sources of water.” Roeq hoped he was being too proactive, and they wouldn’t need to think about living on this planet for the rest of their lives.
“Ugh.” Nayli leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling of his ship. “My life has taken the worse turn ever.”
“I agree. This is not the best situation to be thrown into, but we’re here, and we must face it or die.”
She glanced back at him and raised an eyebrow while she whistled between her teeth. “Damn, you sure don’t mince words, do you?”
“Mincing words won’t help us.”
Nayli raised a hand to her temple and rubbed it with a couple of fingers. “All I wanted was to win the race and be the best pilot. Was that too much to ask?”
He wasn’t sure she was even talking to him, but he figured he would ask anyways.
“Is that why you’re participating?” Roeq watched her as she continued to munch on the nutritional bar, crinkling her nose at the bar every once in a while. He was eager to know more about her.
“There are many reasons why I’m participating.”
“Like?” Roeq asked hoping to get her talking some more about her personal life. He steepled his fingers in his lap as he allowed his eyes to roam over her and that strange purple hair of hers.
“To win most of all,” a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, “and because I love the thrill of the race. No race is the same, and there are always new opponents to face. The money doesn’t hurt either.” Nayli’s head rose and glanced up at him. “And it’s something my mother disapproves of.”
He smirked. “You’re seeking to displease your mother?”
Nayli shrugged. “Not really. I’m seeking to show her that I can do more than marry and be the perfect housewife.”
Roeq found himself nodding his head in agreement. “You can do more.”
“Pfft, you don’t even know me.” She waved a hand in front of her.
“I don’t need to know any woman to know she can do whatever she puts her mind to. She just needs the drive.” And he could see the drive in her amber eyes. Her sweet, delicate scent continued to fill the inside of his small ship. It twirled around him, enticing him. Roeq was doing his utmost to keep his hands to himself, but he could feel himself itching to get closer to her.
“And you?” Nayli finished off the bar and stuffed the shiny wrapper back into her sack. “Why do you participate in the races?”
Roeq smirked. “To win as well, but also because I love tinkering with my vessel and beating the Daen’su. I’ve been participating in races since I was a child. It’s more than a job. It’s a passion.”
“Same. My father always wanted my brother to be a big-time racer, and at first, he never paid me much attention. Then he quickly realized my brother was more into the mechanical side of things, and I was the up and coming pilot star. Now I’m the center of attention.” Nayli leaned back in the chair, looking pleased with her upcoming fame.
“And your brother? How does he feel about it?” Roeq had seen their interactions briefly on the space station, and they had appeared to be loving, but he had to wonder if there would be any resentment on her brother’s side.
“He is fine with it.” Nayli waved it away easily. “He knows he was never any good at piloting but was able to tinker away like no one else.”
Roeq dropped it. He knew nothing of her family dynamics, but it surprised him that there wouldn’t be any animosity between them. Going from the star child to zero would surely bother anyone, even the most kind-hearted.
“Well,” He rose from his seat, “we should think about getting some rest.” His heart thundered in his chest in excitement at the thought of sleeping next to his mate.
Nayli’s head popped up at the mention of going to bed. “I hope you have some spare blankets because I didn’t think to bring any with me.”
Roeq sent her a wink. “I’m sure there will be enough, but we might have to snuggle up with each other.”
She rolled her eyes. “Dream on.”
“Don’t find me attractive?”
She bit the inside of her cheek. Problem was that she did find him attractive, but she still had no idea who placed the black box on her engine. For all she knew Roeq had done it. “Where are those blankets?” She wasn’t even going to answer him.
Nayli shot up from her seat, and he chuckled as he strode over to the other side of the ship, which wasn’t very large to start with. These ships were built for racing not sleeping two people. They might just have to cuddle unless she wanted to try to sleep on one of the chairs.
Nayli turned and eyed the chair she’d just vacated. It was built to support someone’s back, not allow someone to sleep soundly and comfortably.
“This is all I have.” Roeq threw a blanket onto the floor.
“One?” She arched a brow.
“I never expected to be stranded on a planet.” Roeq folded his arms across his chest, and her eyes skimmed over the expanse of his space suit. The dark
suit suited him, and only intensified his demonic appearance. Then her eyes drifted up to his face and then over those large grey horns that rose up above his head and curved around his face.
Dangerous was too light a word for the Krocosians. To say they were an impressive species would be an understatement.
A smirk spread across his face.
“Find something fascinating?” He took a step closer, and suddenly the space in the ship felt smaller.
“Umm.” Nayli tried to find the words, but for the first time in her life, she found herself speechless.
Roeq continued to advance on her until she began backing up in the tight space. Her butt bumped up against the console behind her, and she reached her hands out behind her back gripping the edge of the console.
Her mouth popped open as Roeq leaned towards her and placed his hands on the console behind her. “Hello, mate.” His eyes went fully black, and a shiver raced over her skin.
“You said that before.”
“And I meant it.” He growled down at her.
Nayli shook her head.
“You’ll refuse me?” He sounded disappointed.
Would she?
She shook her head again. “No, no, I won’t.” She still wasn’t sure who’d put that black box on her engine, but did she really think a Krocosian would kill her? Especially when he was professing that she was his mate. The person’s motives she should really question was that Daen’su’s back on the station.
“Good, because I’m not sure I could resist you in such a tight space.” His head descended towards the crevice of her neck and shoulder. He inhaled next to her skin. “Your scent pulls me in, and I’m helpless to resist it.”
Another shiver spread through her, but this time because of the power she held over him.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” Roeq’s lips inched closer to hers.
“Yes.” The answer came out breathy.
His lips landed on hers, warm and hard. And she melted. She’d been dreaming of him being her mate. Not many human women would dream of attracting a Krocosian, but she couldn’t resist those horns atop his head.
Nayli reached up above his head, and her hands caressed the rough lines of the keratin of his horns. She’d been waiting to touch these for a couple of days now, and she almost couldn’t believe that they were here, about to do this.
Her heart thumped away in her chest as she slowly leaned back on the console. Roeq followed her down, his lips never leaving hers. His weight pressed her down onto the console, and her hands tightened around his horns.
Roeq broke away from her. “I love your hands on my horns.”
“You can feel this?” Nayli squeezed his horns, and his mouth popped open on a sigh. “That’d be a yes.”
A lazy smile curled the corners of his mouth. “Indeed.”
She stroked her hands over his horns, and a slow, low growl rumbled out of his throat.
“I love the feel of your hands on my horns.”
“Mmmm.” Nayli purred under him, as her hands continued to skim over the rough texture of his grey horns. Pulling on his horns, she steered him closer to her.
Roeq groaned as he tilted his head slightly so he could place a kiss on the tender skin of her neck. Then he ground his hips against her, and she felt his sizeable erection against her thigh.
She sucked in a shocked breath.
He captured her lips once more, his tongue darting between the crease of her lips, teasing the inside of her mouth. Her tongue shot forward and met his. They entwined for a second before he pulled away, her hands losing their grip on his horns.
Roeq stood in front of her, his obsidian eyes never leaving her, as he pushed something on his wrist and his space suit retracted. Then his hands stripped his shirt off, and her eyes wandered over the flat expanse of exposed skin. Her eyes dipped lower to his abs, and if she hadn’t been laying across the console, she would’ve melted into a puddle of desire.
Then his claw-tipped fingers went to the waistband of his pants.
Nayli bit her bottom lip as she watched him.
“Tell me what you want,” Roeq commanded her.
She swallowed. “I want to see you naked.” Her heart thundered in her chest. She had no idea what she was doing, but she didn’t want to stop it.
Roeq unbuttoned his pants, and all thoughts fled her mind. All she could think about was the bulge hiding behind the fabric of his pants.
Then he whipped his pants down his legs, and when he straightened back up, she sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of his stiff member, which stood proudly, as it should.
“Oh yeah.” She whispered.
“You like what you see?”
Nayli nodded her head as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.
“Now you undress,” Roeq commanded her.
“I’m not sure I can stand.” She was quivering with her need, and she wasn’t sure her legs would be able to hold her.
“Undress,” Roeq commanded her, his voice brook no argument.
Nayli pushed herself up off the console. Her hands trembled as she peeled her space suit off her body.
Roeq sucked in a harsh audible breath. “You wear nothing under your suit.”
“Not a stitch.” She shook the suit off her shoulders, baring her breasts to his view before she bent over and stripped off the rest of the suit. Then she stood up and found his black eyes gliding over her.
“Damn, woman. The universe created you to bring me to my knees.”
Her stomach flipped in excitement. That had to be the best compliment she’d ever received. She found herself trembling as need shot through her.
Roeq strode towards her, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye. He raised a hand and pushed her back down against the cool metal of the console.
Her lips popped open in surprise.
Then his rough-skinned hand landed on the outside of her thigh, up to her hip, up the side of her ribcage, and then cupped her breast in his warm palm.
“Absolutely perfect.”
She trembled under his touch.
Then his other hand trailed up her other side until it also cupped one of her breasts. Using both of his hands, he pushed her breasts together.
“Nayli.” He ground out her name, as his head dipped down to nuzzle her cleavage. “So soft and perfect.” His hands began to play with her nipples, tweaking them between his fingers until quivers of desire shot through her.
“I want more.” Her back arched, pressing her body against him, and she felt his cock throb against her inner thigh.
“In time.” He promised as he nipped one of her nipples with his teeth before sucking away the pain, replacing it with pure pleasure. “First, I need you to be ready to receive my cock.”
He sucked her other nipple into his mouth. His tongue swirled around her nipple, and her head rolled to the side as her back arched on its own.
As he continued to draw on her tit, she felt one of his hands trail down her stomach, to her thigh and then dipped between her thighs. There his fingers found her clit, and he moved the pad of his finger in tight circles on her clit.
Nayli bit down on the inside of her cheek as her body rocked against him. “Roeq.” She moaned, begging him for more. “I want more. I want to feel you inside me.”
Her legs widened allowing him access, but he didn’t. Instead, he continued to circle her clit and play with her tight nipples.
“Roeq.” Nayli moaned again, hoping he would take pity on her.
“You want me inside you?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll have to be patient.” He growled against her flesh. Then his teeth latched onto her nipple, and he pulled on her slightly before releasing his grip on her nipple.
She growled up at him, and his eyes widened before a smile danced across his lips.
“Feisty mate.”
“You want to see feisty?” Nayli leaped towards him and rolled them over, so he was now laying against the c
onsole with her on top. Before he could tell her to be patient again, she grabbed a hold of his cock and sank down onto the long length.
“Naughty mate.” Roeq groaned.
And she knew he was going to turn the tables on her and roll them over, so she threw up her hands and wrapped them around his horns.
“So deep!” He roared.
She pumped her hands over his horns, as her hips rocked against him, pumping his cock deep inside her.
His hands landed on her hips, his claws digging into her flesh.
Roeq hadn’t expected her to take the reins from him, but he wasn’t about to protest. She was riding him like a wild woman, and he felt his balls tighten with his excitement. She felt so good around him. Her sheath was so wet and warm.
His hands landed on her hips, and he pulled her up until only the tip of his cock was inside her, and then he pumped her back down.
“Yes! Roeq! More!” She screamed, her head of purple hair tossed back, and her breasts bounced in front of him as he slammed her down on his cock.
“I want to hear you come.” He growled up at her. She was so tight around him. He feared he might be too big, but she was riding him with wild abandon, her pussy clenching around his length.
She gave a throaty moan above him, and he could feel her body nearing its climax.
He watched a trickle of sweat trickled down between her bouncing breasts. She wasn’t the only one. He could feel a sheen of sweat building up on his skin.
Her hands continued to rub his horns, and it felt like she was rubbing his cock. His horns were only this sensitive to his mate. He’d been right then. They’d been made for each other.
Her eyes popped wide as she threw her head forward. “I’m going to come!”
“Yes! Come for me, Nayli!” Roeq roared to the ceiling. “Take me.”
He kissed her neck as her body began to quiver, her orgasm right there. With one more thrust of his cock, her body quaked around him, her climax rocking through her. Her body clamped down on him.
His jaw clenched right before he came, shooting his hot seed deep inside her.
“Ah!” Nayli trembled around him, as her body moved against him in jerky movements.
