“Did Zha Quin not give you the remedy I brought back?” he asked, obviously irritated.
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Rokai went to Rosie, taking her in his arms, and brushing his thumbs across her cheekbones. “I brought back a remedy for the wounds on your back. It was part of the reason I went there. I gave it to Zha Quin to give to you.”
“No, I haven’t seen him. Maybe he’ll bring it later,” she said hopefully.
“We will find him and get it back from him. I should have known not to give it to him. I just thought he’d see you before I did.”
“I can wait a little longer. I’m afraid if I go to him for it, he’ll know I’m hiding you here,” Rosie said.
Rokai rubbed his nose along side hers, once, twice, then kissed her lips. “Do you know you are mine, Rosalita?” he whispered.
Rosie didn’t answer, but opened her eyes to look up at Rokai. “Are you claiming me, Papi?” she asked, smiling at him.
Rokai grinned at the name he knew she used just to irritate him. “Yes, I am,” he confirmed.
“You can’t claim me, Papi. I’m not available for claiming,” she said, teasing him.
“I will kill any who say I can’t,” he insisted, starting to get indignant.
Rosie grinned, pulling his face back down to hers. “It is up to me to decide who I will and won’t belong to, Papi. Not you, not any male. Me. I am the one who will decide.”
Rokai smiled seductively. “Then perhaps I can persuade you to accept me,” he purred, dropping the wrap he wore around his waist to the floor and taking her hand in his to place on his hard, throbbing cock.
Rosie was not all intimidated, in fact, she was quite thrilled. Her fingers ran the length of his shaft, feeling the unusual ridges that were placed every inch or so the entire length of him.
Rokai kissed her, licking her lips to get her to open her mouth for his exploration. As soon as she opened for him, he thrust his tongue inside, tangling his own with hers. Even with his mouth pressed to hers, he smiled. She was thrusting her tongue right back against his. This was not a woman to be ravished. She would do just as much taking as he did. And he loved it.
Rosie pulled her mouth away from his and stepped back to look down at his cock. Rokai stood still to allow her to explore all she wanted.
“What are those?” she asked, fingering the reddish bands around his fully engorged cock.
“It’s just the way my kind are made. They heighten the pleasure the female feels, and me as well.”
“How?” Rosie asked, stroking him from base to tip, biting her lip as a bit of fluid leaked from the tip.
“When inside you, as I become more and more aroused, they’ll swell, then begin to vibrate.”
Rosie swallowed. “You vibrate?” she asked, her voice tense.
“Yes. And it is said that once I fill you, my mate, the mating bands will swell, locking me inside you until we are bound as one.”
“It is said?” she asked. “Don’t you know whether or not you’ll be locked inside me?”
“No, I do not,” he answered shakily. “I’ve not met my mate, my Ehlealah, before you. It has yet to be proven,” he said on a hiss, rocking his hips to cause Rosie to stroke him again.
Rosie let him go, dragging her thumb over his tip and collecting some of the fluid that was beginning to run down the length of him. Rosie raised her eyes to his, and while staring him in the eye slipped her thumb into her mouth and sucked his essence off her skin.
Rokai growled and grabbed her, pulling her hips to his.
“I think, if this is as good you seem to think it’ll be, I just may claim you. I’ve always wanted my own vibrating alien mate,” she teased, suckling her thumb again.
Rokai grinned, held her tightly to himself as he maneuvered them to fall on her bed, her on top of him so that her back wouldn’t have to take their weight.
Rosie sat up, straddling him, and reached for the long, over-sized shirt she wore, pulling it off over her head. At the same time, Rokai reached for the snap on her trousers flipping them opened quickly. He pushed himself up enough to be able to lift the front of her tighter undershirt and suckled one of her breasts into his mouth. Rosie moaned and pulled his head closer. Her hips began rocking against his, and she closed her eyes. As soon as she closed her eyes, she saw flashes of a darkened room, felt the bindings on her wrists, and her heart quickened.
Hurriedly she opened her eyes and looked down to find Rokai looking up at her with concern in his eyes. “We do not have to do this now, my Rosalita.”
“Yes. Yes, we do. I will not allow another moment of my happiness to be controlled by others.”
Rokai looked at her for a moment before nodding. “Alright, then. But we move slowly, and I will speak to you so that you will know you are with me and safe at all times.”
Rosie nodded. “Alright.”
A tone sounded from behind them, followed by Missy’s voice. “Rosalita Consuela Contreras-Villanueva?”
Rosie smiled at Missy’s insistence to use her full name. “Yes, Missy.”
“Warrior Zahn is at your door. He states that he will not leave until he gives you a gift sent to you by Commander Tel Mo’ Kok.”
Rosie looked at Rokai, Rokai looked at Rosie.
“Does he know I’m here?” Rosie asked Missy.
“He does. And he also knows that Captain Flight Cadet Rokai ahl is not here.”
Rokai’s eyebrows wrinkled up in confusion.
“I’ll open the door, you hide in the bathroom,” Rosie whispered.
“The what?” Rokai asked.
“The cleansing chamber. Hide in the cleansing chamber.”
“Fine, but if he touches you, I will not stay hidden,” Rokai said threateningly.
“Just go!” Rosie said, getting off Rokai and shoving him toward the cleansing chamber as soon as he stood.
Rosie slipped her over-sized shirt back on and approached her door. “Okay, Missy. Open the door.”
The door swooshed open, and there stood a very beautiful warrior. He was large, muscled, and a beautiful deep violet color, fading to an almost lavender here and there as his flesh mottled with white. His eyes were a deep violet and framed in long, deep purple lashes so dark they could almost be mistaken for black.
He performed a perfect bow. “Miss Rosalita.”
“Yes,” she said, standing inside her rooms, but looking at him across the threshold.
“I was tasked with delivering this gift to you. It will heal your wounds.”
“Who is it from?” Rosie asked.
“It is from our Sire Tel Mo’ Kok. He said that I should present it to you personally, not to leave it with anyone else, and I am to tell you that it will heal your wounds.”
Rosie reached out, taking the small jar from Zahn. “Thank you, very much.”
Zahn glanced over her shoulder, seeing for his own curiosity if he could see anything else indicating that Rokai was actually here.
“Is there anything else?” Rosie asked.
Zahn nodded. “Yes. Sire Tel Mo’ Kok was adamant that no matter what I see, Captain Rokai ahl is not here. He is simply not here,” Zahn said adamantly.
Rosie watched Zahn looking around the room behind her, while he repeatedly told her that Rokai wasn’t with her.
“Okay. You’re correct that Rokai is not here.”
“Good. Then you understand as well. I will bid you good evening.” Zahn bowed as he backed away from her door. As soon as the door closed, he hurried to return to his post outside his Sire and Sirena’s home. Wherever Vivian was, was where he was supposed to be whenever he was on duty.
As soon as the door closed, Rokai came out of the cleansing chamber.
“Did you hear him?” Rosie asked.
“I did,” Rokai answered, reaching for the jar. “Tell the computer to alert you if anyone else is coming to your room.”
Rosie handed it to him and gave no objection as he turned he
r around, so he could lift her shirt and apply a small amount of the remedy inside the jar to her flesh. “Missy, please tell me if anyone else is coming to visit me.”
“Of course, Rosalita Consuela Contreras-Villanueva.”
“What did he mean, ‘Rokai is definitely not here,’?”
“Who knows?” Rokai answered, more concerned with putting the healing antidote on her wounds.
“Maybe he was trying to send you a message,” Rosie said thoughtfully.
“Zha Quin? I doubt it,” Rokai answered, smoothing the cream from the jar across the worst of her wounds.
Rosie’s breath caught at the first application, but immediately the pain stopped and she settled down to let Rokai apply a bit more.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
“Only at first, after that it actually soothes the pain.”
“Good. I wish to heal your flesh, my Rosalita.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?” Rosie asked.
“Because it is your name.”
“No, not Rosalita. Yours, why do you keep calling me yours? I mean, what if next week or next month you find someone else you want more?”
Rokai gently pulled her shirt down over the wounds on her back. He turned her to face him. “I am a half-breed, Rosalita. Half Quari, half Cruestaci. Both sides are known for certain characteristics. My Quari side has a gift for languages. They are brutal, rugged, they live off the land of their planet and do not have many technological advances to their credit. They are content as they are. My Cruestaci side has its own characteristics as well. They are a warrior race. They are highly advanced. They will not tolerate the domination of another race by any. They believe that all should have the right to live their lives the way they see fit as long as they harm no one else. They value their females above all else and will kill without thought to protect them or avenge them. And the trait I’m most impressed with at the moment is the ability the Cruestaci males have to know their Ehlealah on sight.”
“Their Ehlealah?” Rosie asked.
“Their mate, their soul, their heart.”
“Their Ehlealah,” Rosie said softly, reverently.
“And you are mine. I tried to ignore the instinct when I first felt it, but there is no doubt, you are my Ehlealah.”
“Why did you try to ignore it? Didn’t you want me?”
Rokai reached out, stroking her hair, her cheek, the teardrop drawn on her face. “I’ve only ever wanted you, but to admit that I had recognized my Ehlealah meant that I had to admit that I was Cruestaci. And I’d spent a lifetime denying it.”
“And now?” Rosie asked.
“Now… I do not care. As long as you will have me, I do not care what I am labeled, as long as it clearly states that I am yours.”
“Does this mean you’re going to want to settle down and become a family male with lots of kids running around?” Rosie asked, a sour look on her face.
Rokai looked horrified. “Why? Is that what you wish of me?”
Rosie laughed, the look on his face clearly showing his distaste for the idea. “No, not at all. I want you just as you are, Rokai. Perhaps a little less in violation of the laws so that I don’t have to worry about you being killed, but otherwise just as you are. I kinda like the fierce badass that you are.”
Rokai smiled. “You like me as I am?” he said, pulling her closer.
“I do.”
Missy interrupted. “Rosalita Consuela Contreras-Villanueva?”
“Yes, Missy,” Rosie answered.
“I hate that computer,” Rokai complained, rubbing his painful erection with one hand while holding onto Rosie with the other.
“Elite Warrior Kron is moving toward your rooms. He has just asked for direction to your sleeping quarters.”
“Thank you, Missy!” Rosie called as Rokai hurried to slip into his pants. Instead of the blood encrusted shirt he’d been wearing, he slipped on one of the over-sized ones Rosie kept on hand. On Rokai, it actually fit instead of being over-sized. Unfortunately, it was one of the Cruestaci crew shirts, complete with the official crest of the Cruestaci nobility.
He shoved his feet into his boots and grabbed her hand with his and handed her the jar with the other. “We must leave here. Too many people know you’re here, and Kron knows that you are mine.”
“But Commander Tel Mo’ Kok sent Zahn and explicitly said that you are not here. You heard him.”
“Yes, but it was strange. We must go.”
“Maybe he was sending you a message that you are safe here,” Rosie said.
“Or maybe one of his warriors completely misunderstood his orders, and they are plotting to come for me now.”
“You think he’s coming here to look for you?” Rosie asked.
“Either that or to court you.”
“Court me?! But I don’t want anyone but you!” Rosie exclaimed.
Rokai stopped so suddenly Rosie bumped into him. He turned and held her jaw in his hand as he kissed her. “That is the first time you’ve admitted that you want me and only me.”
“I still haven’t claimed you,” Rosie said.
“You just did,” Rokai insisted.
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did,” Rokai said again as he pulled her behind him through her door, that swooshed open at their approach, and they hurried down the corridor looking for another hiding place.
“I did not!” Rosie said, her voice rising.
“It was a claim. I heard it. It was enough for me, I will take it!” Rokai said, chuckling when she huffed behind him but stayed close to him, her hand gripping his, her body pressed up against his when he paused to peek around corners where other corridors intersected.
“Where are we going?” she whispered.
“I am not sure. We will know it when we see it.”
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Gaishon reclined on the bunk mounted to the wall of the cell he was in. He wondered how long it would be until they discovered Rokai ahl had escaped from the holding cell, leaving him alone here to deal with whatever the fallout was. It had been hours already. He heard a deep, authoritative voice from the entrance to the holding cells, where the guards were stationed while on duty. A few muffled replies, then footsteps approaching his cell.
Gaishon sat up, then got to his feet. Whatever was coming, he’d face respectfully and with courage.
Moments later, staring straight ahead and using his peripheral vision to watch for whoever was approaching him, he was very surprised to see Lieutenant Commander Ba Re’ Non Tol striding toward his cell.
Gaishon stood even taller, his eyes focused on the wall across from his cell.
“Gaishon…”
“Yes, sir,” Gaishon responded.
“I would mention that Rokai ahl should be in there with you, but it is quite redundant. We are all well aware of the fact that he and his female are now running freely about the ship.”
Gaishon didn’t answer, just stared straight ahead.
“I don’t suppose you had anything to do with helping them escape?” Ba Re’ asked.
Gaishon didn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir. I did. I helped Rokai reach the engineering crawl space there,” he indicated the small area just behind where Ba Re’ stood. “And then I lifted his female so that he could pull her up with him.”
Ba Re’ raised a single eyebrow. This male was nothing if not completely honest. “You didn’t go with him,” Ba Re’ observed.
“No, sir.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?” Ba Re’ asked.
“I gave my word to the commander. So I stayed here.”
“I see,” Ba Re’ said. “And then you just locked yourself back in your cell.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why?”
“As I said, sir, I gave my word.”
“Why keep your word? What do you hope to gain, Gaishon?” Ba Re’ asked curiously, knowing full well what Gaishon wanted.
“A place among your crew, sir. I wish to settle.
I am tired of running, and I wish to be part of the crew of Command Warship 1.”
Ba Re’ watched Gaishon, looking for any sign of ulterior motive. There was none. This male simply wanted to move on to the next phase of his life. “You quite impressed the engineers under my watch. They say you are gifted mechanically.”
“I am nothing special, sir. But I enjoy the work, and I’m willing to learn. I am also able to fight if battle is required.”
Ba Re’ smiled slightly. This male was humble as well. He was very sure of himself and his talents, but not eager to boast of them. Ba Re’ had watched Gaishon working with his engineers and had been very impressed himself. He was very talented, very kind, easy going, and jovial. He took direction and correction well without becoming defensive and had unintentionally taken the lead on repairing the guidance system on a cruiser they’d been unable to fix. After a few hours under his hands, the cruiser was returned to working order. All that came into contact with Gaishon, liked him. And after traveling with Rokai for as long as he had, there was no question the male could fight in combat if called upon. “You will require a great deal more training, of course. And eventually, you may be called upon to swear allegiance to the Cruestaci people. But, at the moment, I do have a position open…”
“Yes!” Gaishon said, smiling widely at Ba Re’.
“You do not even know what the position is. I may need someone to sweep the floors,” Ba Re’ said.
“They will be spotless,” Gaishon promised.
Ba Re’ just shook his head, actually very pleased with the male’s response. “I find I have need of an apprentice, an assistant of sorts. Overseeing all engineering issues with a ship this size, as well as keeping an eye on the software and the inner workings of everything needed to keep this ship running smoothly, is quite daunting. I could use help.”
“I understand,” Gaishon said, looking ahead once again, but his wide grin was still in place.
“Are you interested in the job?”
“I am! Thank you, sir. I can start immediately,” Gaishon said excitedly.
“I think perhaps you should shower and wash away the blood first, maybe get a bite to eat, then meet me in engineering.”
“Yes, sir. I will, sir.”
Haven 2: Redemption Page 25
