by A. G. Wilde
“I wasn’t planning on going for a swim. I saw a ship and I had to hide.”
His eyes flew to hers. “Did they see you?”
“I don’t think so.”
He removed the last piece of tentacle and stared at her leg.
The area was red—an angry red.
“Soft skin,” he whispered.
She was about to open her mouth and protest when he took something from the sack and placed a few drops of it on the wound.
“Aah!” It felt like fire.
“The creature is poisonous. This will kill the poison.” He ignored her cry and put some more of the liquid on the wound.
Piper gritted her teeth. “Big and poisonous. Great.”
“That was a baby.”
Piper blinked at him. “You mean to tell me that’s not a full-grown one?” Her eyes widened.
Shit.
“You slew a child.”
Piper frowned slightly. Nice of him to put it that way. She could add it to her resume for when she reached hell. She was hoping to go to heaven though, of course, but she was pretty sure child slayers weren’t welcome.
“Did you see that thing? It looked like a zombie had sex with a jellyfish that cheated on it with the Kraken and somehow all that sperm made a grand concoction to create that monstrosity!”
Crex was eyeing her strangely before a slight smile crossed his lips and Piper realized she was seeing his emotions a lot more lately.
Either that or she’d gotten more perceptive.
“Whatever you say, human. You managed to pierce it right in the brain.” He was still eyeing her strangely, as if he was surprised by what she’d done. Then, he suddenly turned and walked to the front of the cave. “The adults have hardened skulls. You will have to pierce them through the mouth to access the brain if you wish to kill them the same way.”
Well, she wasn’t planning on meeting the adults, thank you very much.
He was busy using some sort of Venus flytrap looking thing to barricade the front of the cave and Piper watched with interest before realizing she should use the time to get herself dry.
She was soaking wet.
Glancing toward the cave mouth, she realized Crex was so busy at work, he wasn’t paying her any attention.
Taking the opportunity, she stripped off the shirt and cargo pants.
Luckily, the planet was so warm that even in the shade of the cave, she wasn’t freezing.
Placing the clothes close to the entrance, where they’d get the most air and dry the quickest, she headed back into the cave.
Plopping down on the soft thing, she realized it was actually a thick hairy plant. As she lifted the bedding to take a closer look, her eyes widened slightly.
It was the Venus flytrap-looking thing.
So strange.
It had a thick hairy coat on the outside and was large enough to make a bed.
If zombie-Kraken-bitch-fish and this thing were any indication, she’d been wrong about the planet being void of life.
So far, this planet’s inhabitants were scary.
Crex walked away for a second before returning and she realized he was wetting the outside of the barricade then plastering sand against it.
Camouflage, she realized.
He was smart, or maybe he’d been on this planet before.
When he came back inside, his eyes found her immediately, and though she was curled up on the bedding, it suddenly felt as if her nakedness was all he could see.
“You will be cold,” he finally said.
“I’ll manage,” she replied.
Without saying another word, he grabbed two green stalk-looking things and handed one to her.
“What’s this?”
“For you,” he said. “Meat of the zehmip.”
She looked at the thing suspiciously.
“You mean this is from the Venus flytrap?”
“Venus trap?”
“This is from this?” She motioned to the bedding and Crex nodded.
“It has all you need. Water. Sustenance.”
Ok.
Piper nodded, tentatively taking a bite. The thing smelled horrible but, as she chewed, a burst of sweet fluid flowed into her mouth. She kept chewing. She was starving.
Glancing at him, she realized he wasn’t eating any.
“You can’t eat this?”
Crex shook his head.
“Then what will you eat?”
“I will hunt when the suns go down.”
“Hunt?”
“Sand cats. Their meat is quite tasty.”
Cats.
Eww.
No, thank you.
“Ok,” she said to him, finishing the food and shaking her head as he outstretched the other to her.
She was full…for now.
As she rested back against the bedding, she closed her eyes briefly.
Was it okay for her to even take this moment to breathe? It seemed as if danger was constantly around the corner. And humans thought they had it bad on their little blue planet.
Little did they know.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was much darker now. Surprisingly so. Just a few moments ago, the suns were in the sky.
Crex was sitting close to the cave mouth and Piper lay on the bedding watching him. The fins in his back were no longer there now and she watched his shoulders move as he sharpened blades.
He had a gorgeous physique. Something really worth looking at. As he sat focused on his task, she wondered if he’d always been so silent, so calculating.
Did he ever laugh out loud to jokes? Did he even find anything funny?
Where was he from?
Did he have a family there?
A wife?
A girlfriend?
Something within her seemed to make her heart swell a little at that thought.
They’d kissed.
Twice.
She’d even touched him at his most intimate place.
Did that mean anything?
Crex stood suddenly and she found herself watching his every move.
She knew the thought was inappropriate considering their circumstances, but damn, he was hot. He was actually fucking sexy.
He turned to face her then, catching her off guard, and she felt her cheeks go warm immediately as she dropped her gaze.
“You are cold,” he said.
“I—I’m not very—” She glanced down at herself. Her entire body was covered in goosebumps, and yes, the cave was cold. It was almost freezing.
With the suns out of sight, the temperature had suddenly dropped.
“Maybe we can make a fire?” She asked.
“The light will attract predators and…” He trailed off.
“And give away our position if any ships come looking for us again,” she finished.
Even in the darkness, she could see him nod.
It was strange.
Either it wasn’t as dark as she’d originally thought, or her eyes were much better in the dark than she had given herself credit for.
She could still make out most things in the darkness and she watched as Crex stripped out of his pants, leaving them near her clothes to dry.
“So you’re not going hunting then?” She tried to focus on his face.
“It’s too dangerous.”
She knew what he meant. Dangerous for her.
As he stalked toward her, Piper held her breath, thankful she couldn’t see everything clearly in the dark.
When he lay beside her, she didn’t dare to move.
They’d been naked before each other before, but it was beginning to get increasingly difficult for her to pretend that it was normal.
“You should rest. Take some of my warmth,” he said.
She daren’t look his way. If she did, she was sure she would be in his arms purring like a kitten.
When she didn’t move, she heard as if he sighed and rested back against the bedding.
A shiver ran up her sp
ine and she gulped.
She was cold.
And he was there…all warm and cozy.
Guess she didn’t have much of a choice but to take his invitation, right?
Moving closer to him, she turned her back to his chest and tried to ignore the fact that they were spooning.
As she settled against him, his arms wrapped around her tightly, pulling her hard against his body.
A soft sigh threatened to release itself from her lips and she tried not to revel in how good he felt.
She could feel it again, his heart against his chest. Swollen and pumping. She couldn’t imagine it wasn’t painful.
“Crex?” She whispered.
“Yes?” His voice was low, flowing so close to her ear that it seemed to send a direct signal to the center of her lady parts.
Swallowing hard, she tried to ignore the tingle down there.
“Why is your heart so big?”
When he didn’t answer for a few seconds, she wanted to take back the question.
Maybe, in his culture, it was something rude to ask. She hadn’t even considered that.
“It’s the jagazen,” he said after a while.
“What’s that?” She spun in his arms, very aware that he wasn’t loosening his grip so her breasts were now pressing against his chest.
Again, he went silent. But his eyes were open, luminescent in the darkness, and he was looking at her. She couldn’t look away either.
“Something inside me that is telling me to do something I can’t,” he finally said.
Her eyes searched his for a clue.
“What is it telling you to do?” She whispered, now very aware of how close their mouths were.
This time, she was sure of it. He swallowed hard but his gaze didn’t falter.
And he didn’t answer.
She didn’t know what it was, but she was feeling something within her own heart too.
Something that had been there before, but now it was even stronger than it ever had been. It felt as if there was swelling within her heart’s chambers and she would burst if she didn’t release the feeling.
Mouth dangerously close to his, she whispered, her lips brushing against his with each word.
“Tell me.”
Crex swallowed again and then she felt it against her leg.
Undeniable proof that whatever was happening to her on the inside was happening to him too.
His heart beat against her chest with hard thumps and he seemed to hesitate.
“I want to do something. But I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.
Oh, but even through all of this, he hadn’t hurt her once.
Him hurting her was one of the least of her fears.
And, at this moment, she wanted him to hurt her…in one specific spot. One spot that had gotten so wet in the few minutes they were laying there that if he didn’t give her release, she was sure she’d have to do it herself anyway.
“Do it,” she whispered.
Crex swallowed hard again. “Do it?” He whispered back.
Piper held his gaze. “Do it,” she challenged.
She liked a man who believed in action and Crex didn’t hesitate.
He closed the gap immediately, crushing his mouth against hers.
The moan that immediately erupted from within her was one she couldn’t hold back and Crex responded likewise with a growl against her lips that sent another lightning bolt straight to her center.
Fuck, he was hot.
She couldn’t deny it anymore.
And she couldn’t deny the fact that she wanted him to hurt her there.
She wanted him to hurt her there so bad.
Abandoning all caution, her tongue slipped into his mouth to play with his, relishing in the feelings he was invoking within her. Feeling his sharp teeth only made her groan again.
He was so different.
So wild.
So fucking dangerous.
Hell, if he was going to hurt her tonight she was sure she would be coming back for more.
She would be like Harley Quinn, addicted to the pain.
Crex raised his hand to grasp her head and he rolled on top of her, settling between her already splayed legs.
As he broke the kiss to look down at her, she could read the worry in his gaze.
“Do it,” she whispered again and she could see the change in his eyes. His irises were turning into a shade of beautiful violet.
He wanted her.
He looked as if he wanted to devour her and, instead of making her scared, it made her excited.
She could feel her center throb in anticipation.
Crex dipped his head to her neck as her hands slipped into his hair.
Nibbling on the skin behind her ear, he kissed her softly as he made his way down to her breasts, pausing to lift his head and look down at her.
He didn’t need to say a word. It was all communicated in his eyes.
He was looking at her with a kind of adoration she had never seen before.
“Your breasts…” He breathed as he took one into his hands, kneading it softly.
As his finger brushed over her nipple, Piper bit her lip hard.
It was like her skin was highly sensitive to his touch.
Hell, even in the darkness, his eyes on her were making her go wild.
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
He raised his eyes to hers. “Kiss?”
“Yes,” she breathed and watched as his eyes glowed. “I want your mouth there.”
Dipping his head to her nipple, he brushed his tongue over the hard bud.
“Mmm,” Piper closed her eyes, throwing her head back.
Shit, she could come right now. She could fucking come right now, without any penetration. Without any other stimulation.
It felt as if her entire body was screaming for his touch and whatever was making the blood vessels in her heart swell was also making every nerve ending within her go on edge.
“Fuck,” she breathed, arching her back to his mouth. Taking her cue, Crex wrapped his lips around her breasts, using his other hand to knead the free breast underneath his palm.
She couldn’t take much of this; she couldn’t.
His mouth was hot and wet, a stark contrast to their direct surroundings. And it felt so, so good.
She needed him now.
She’d needed him since they’d been imprisoned on the Isclit ship.
She knew that now.
Flipping them so she was on top, she saw the look of surprise in his eyes as he landed on his back.
“My turn,” she said, her hand grazing his chest.
His chest was hard, so hard, carved by pure muscle.
Bending her head, she ran her tongue between his pecs, reveling in the taste of his skin. And his smell. How hadn’t she realized before? He smelled absolutely intoxicating.
She could become drunk on him. She was sure of it.
Moving lower, she planted kisses all over his six-pack, loving the way his body shuddered each time her lips met his skin.
And then she was there, that V that led to the Promised Land.
She had never wanted to go down that valley on any man so much as she wanted to do so right now.
“Crex,” she breathed, as she raised her eyes to his.
She couldn’t read what was in his gaze, but she saw one thing she was sure of.
There was lust.
Pure, unbridled need.
Dipping her head, she kissed above his hardness. He was bare down there, his skin smooth and inviting. So smooth, it seemed as if hair never ever grew there.
Running her tongue along his skin, Piper didn’t hesitate.
Her chin was against his hardness, and without even grasping it with her hands, she could feel the power within it.
He was throbbing with warmth, and she ran her tongue along his length without hesitation, her eyes widening as she realized just how long he was.
Fuck, it was like running her tongue
along an arm.
And there were ridges, a long line of them running along the entire length on both sides, top and underside.
It was like a massive fantasy dildo.
But instead of scaring her as it rightly should, it sent a wave of anticipation straight through her.
She would not deny her throbbing clit. She wanted to feel him inside her. She wanted him to hurt her…hurt her so bad.
As her tongue reached the tip of his cock, she realized it wasn’t the usual mushroom shape she was used to. It was more of a smooth, hard, throbbing bulb.
“Crex,” she breathed his name over his cock before taking his head into her mouth. As she moaned against him, Crex gripped her head and pulled her off him immediately.
Wide eyes met his and she realized he was breathing hard and looking at her with wild eyes.
It took him a few seconds before he released his grip and she tentatively placed her lips over him again.
This time, a loud groan erupted from within him, making her entire body tingle.
As she twirled her tongue around him, bobbing her head as she did, she took the time to enjoy his taste.
She never thought she’d ever say this, but she could see this becoming her next favorite pastime.
As his moans got louder, each vibration that went through his body seemed to pass through hers.
Her body was on fire.
She needed him. She needed him now.
Slipping him out of her mouth, she climbed over him, straddling his waist.
“Piper,” he breathed, his eyes still wild.
As if it couldn’t wait either, his cock stood upright, brushing against her wetness. She could feel him at her entrance, and it took everything in her not to just slam her hips down on him.
She wasn’t sure she would be able to take him all. Slamming down on him would be silly.
Grasping him with a hand, she used the other arm to balance against his chest as she slipped him past her folds.
It was instantaneous. Like a circuit that had finally been connected, electricity was flowing through her entire body.
“Oh damn,” she breathed, as she slipped him in a bit further.
Her pussy clenched around him like a vice, and she could feel the muscles in his chest tense as if he was trying his best not to grasp her hips and force himself the rest of the way.
She appreciated that. He was allowing her to control how much she took and at what speed.
