Last Call (Stranded in the Stars Book 1)

by Naomi Lucas

  "What's happening?" She asked, trying to catch her breath.

  Jack pulled her along, trying to create more distance. He really didn't want them to be sucked down into the wurm's personal quarry, smashed to obliteration. He could take down one bug, he knew, but he was unsure of his ability to take down two while still worrying about the girl’s safety. He also didn't think his assault rifle and pistol would do more than annoy the creatures anyway.

  "It may be a territory dispute. There must be hatchlings nearby and our presence may have been felt– may have aggravated them." He stopped briefly, putting the knife he still had in his hand away. He touched his eye, triggering his infrared vision.

  "They've never bothered me before." She said, when a wurm, still dangerously close emerged from the ground only to dive back into the pit. The creatures could black out the stars.

  Jack gripped her arm again, "We need to keep moving, we need more distance between us and them." He continued, "I think they may be drawing more friends."

  They trekked through the shaking landscape. Sometimes stopping as it brought them to their knees. Jack slowed now and then to let Allie catch her breath and to watch the interaction behind him. It was a pretty incredible sight, complete and utter destruction was always thing to behold. It called to him at a spiritual level.

  His blood was pumping, his adrenaline coursing through his system making him restless and ready for action. He either wanted to jump into the fray and get his hands dirty or take out his frustration on the female next to him. He wouldn't risk her life though or the fragile trust that had begun to build between them. He also glumly had to re-remind himself that he left his long range carbine laser back at the ship.

  He and Allie had been moving steadily up the mountain base for the past hour. She hadn't said anything since the action. Looking her way, her face looked pensive and tired. They couldn't keep this up without bringing more attention to themselves.

  The night was still young and she needed more rest. "Let's stop here." Settling his pack on the ground.

  "Thank you." She breathed heavily, "Thank you for saving our lives."

  He murmured a reply to her while he unloaded a blanket.

  "Do you think it may have been the fire that brought them? I've never drawn them to me before like that... maybe they could feel the heat?"

  "I'm not so sure. They do have an incredible sensory system. It may be me that they are after, I do have a lot of alien devices that are part of me that could distress their signals and I was stressing my systems to keep you warm." Jack watched the wurms crisscrossing around each other from his vantage point. "Our presence is small. There may be a nest nearby but once again, we posed no threat to it." He smirked. He watched as the wurms were up to something entirely different now.

  Laughing, "It looks like our pet monsters are breeding now."

  Allie looked at him quizzically, "It would make sense if we were close to a nest."

  ***

  There was an awkward silence that followed as the adrenaline from the run wore off. Allie had sat down with her new cloak pulled tightly around her, feeling the chill creep back into her bones. She had felt safe and warm in his arms while they rested earlier. She was silently cursing the wurms to Hell for disturbing them because now she was cold again, missing his presence like a scorch to her skin.

  She couldn't see what Jack was focused on but she could hear the roars of the beasts behind them; could feel the shakes beneath her.

  “Well this is interesting, our male wurm has quite some prowess.” Jack said with amusement.

  “What’s happening between them?” Allie asked. Jack snapped his eyes away from the scene before him and focused on her. His attention was solely on her again– she wasn’t sure if she liked it or if she should be afraid but it was what he did next that surprised her.

  “How about you see for yourself.” He reached into a side pocket on his survival pack and pulled out a disk, not unlike the one he gave her before. She watched in curiosity as a screen projected up from the middle of it. “Come here.” He demanded gruffly.

  Without hesitation this time, she moved over to him as he sat down on the rocky ledge, resting his back against the mountain wall. When she got close enough to his lounging position, he gripped his hands over her hips and set her between his legs, wrapping an arm around her middle. She couldn’t be sure if it was to keep her still or to keep her warm or both but she felt cocooned and safe again.

  Jack handed her the disk with the holographic screen. “Hold this up and look through it. The screen is in infrared so although you won't be able to make out exact details, you should be able to see the wurms.”

  She moved the screen so she was now holding it up with both hands, leveling it with her eyes, and looked into it. Allie gasped at the scene playing out before her; seeing the beasts at night was something she had never experienced before. They were so large they could eclipse the sun.

  It unnerved her that these giants roamed below her at night and she was suddenly, incredibly thankful they had never decided to fight or mate where her cave was. She would have been a blip to them, a particle of sand, so insignificant they would have never known she was there.

  I think I may move into the mountains after this trip is over.

  “If you look closely, you’ll notice that there are three bugs out there now. It appears our male is a stud and has attracted more than one admirer,” Jack continued, absently playing with her hair. “The females are fighting each other for breeding rights. I have a feeling they’re going to have a long night ahead of them... I don’t know if I should feel envious of the male.”

  “How do you know it’s not two males fighting over a female?” She asked, watching the wurms through her screen.

  “Mmm, well my scans indicate that two of them are in heat with unfertilized eggs. The third one is not.” He pulled her hair away from her and draped it across one shoulder, leaning in.

  “Why would you be envious?” The mood between them changed– her question came out as a breath as her attention shifted from the screen to the tugging, relaxing sensations of her hair being played with. His mouth moved back and forth right above her skin.

  “Any man would be envious. To have a female want you so bad, she was willing to fight for it.” Jack’s face nuzzled against the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder. His breaths got louder as he seemed to be breathing her in while she, herself could barely breathe; feeling him harden against her back. Does he want me? Allie could hardly believe it. No man would want a girl like her– dirty and shameful and cursed.

  But he doesn’t know that I’m cursed.

  “Allie… would you fight for it?” He whispered into her neck making goosebumps appear over her skin.

  “For a man?” She asked breathless.

  “Yes.” He said. She could feel him reposition himself behind her when his hard-on rubbed across her back.

  “He would have to be the right one...”

  Her eyes closed as she clutched the screen. His mouth lifted away from her neck at her answer and she felt the loss of his heated lips with disappointment.

  “What would make a man… the right one?”

  She wondered at his question as she had never really thought about it before. She tried to envision her perfect man but could only come up with an image of Jack in her mind. I don’t think he would appreciate it if I was honest. So she decided to describe him instead.

  He tugged her hair, waiting for her response.

  Allie focused on the wurms through her screen rubbing up against each other. “He would have to be strong and kind.”

  Jack laughed softly at her answer, his breath tickled her hair. “That’s it? There are billions of men in the universe and you just described at least twenty percent of them.” His hand cupped her jaw from behind and turned her face toward him. “There has to be more.”

  With the red light coming from the screen in her hands, sh
e could see her neon self reflected in his eyes. His pupils glistened with the color and it made them look sharp and demonic.

  “He would have to be as strong physically as he is of character.” She licked her lips and dropped her gaze; not wanting to fall into it. “He would have eyes that told his story, even if it was a bad one. The right man would be sure of himself– confident. He would want me for me and not for my womb.”

  Jack’s hands began to caress her neck and shoulders as he in turn looked away. His eyes glazed over, his expression far away. I wish I knew what he was thinking.

  “Does it matter if he were Earthian or Trentian?” He asked.

  “Or Cyborg.” She finished and paused. “I’ve never met an Earthian male and I have only had negative experiences with Trentian men.”

  She lost her breath as he looked back at her with urgency and possession.

  “Men from all over the universe would lay down their lives for a chance with you.” He whispered into her ear, making her hair stand on end.

  Please want me.

  She had no time to answer him when his mouth latched onto her and bit down, his tongue lapped at her skin, as if he had read her thoughts.

  The bite was hard enough to feel uncomfortable but soft enough not to draw blood. It felt like a branding. The brief scrapping of his teeth sent electric currents jolting to her core, making her aware of how wet she had become and how empty she was beginning to feel.

  This wasn’t anything like her time alone, when all she had were desperate fantasies to take care of her. Jack was real and he was advancing on her.

  His other arm tightened around her as he pressed her up against his erection roughly. Like he was trying to fill her emptiness by sheer force of will.

  “You smell so damn good.” He said as he placed little kisses along her neck while bending his knees closer and pressing himself into her. Allie was awash in foreign sensations.

  She was afraid of him, of what he could do but at the same time she found herself wildly craving his attention, losing herself in his desire for her. She felt powerful– that this Cyborg warrior was mindlessly groping her– that she could do this to a man.

  Maybe she could still join with a man after all that had happened and everything that she had been through hadn’t made her impure. Her elders be damned.

  It was then that Jack’s hand found her breast underneath the cloak and massaged it. She dropped the screen with a startled moan, placing her hands on his knees for support.

  “Oh Allie, I have been smelling your wet heat for days.” He groaned as he pulled the cloak away from her chest and tugged the wrap around her breasts off, exposing her. He quickly covered them up with his hands while hooking his feet under her legs, spreading them wide. The only barrier between her and his gaze was the cloth still covering her up between her legs.

  “Sweetheart, be a good girl and grab the back of my head and rub that ass against me. Let me prove to you being with a man can be very pleasurable.” He demanded, lightly pinching her nipples.

  Allie moaned as he anchored her against his armored body.

  She could buckle, fight, and scream, knowing he wouldn’t let her go. He was giving her a way to lose control within a controlled environment. She felt all the years of pent up frustration start to pour out of her nerve endings. “Jack,” a breathy whisper escaped.

  His touch was demanding yet gentle and she could barely focus with all the new sensations coursing across her skin, through her body. His breath was hot on her shoulder. His light tugs on her nipples with the insistent grinding of his cock along her lower back captivated her attention and she couldn’t be sure if it was herself grinding against him or vice versa.

  Did this man really want her? Her insecurity was a constant, looming shadow in her mind. Would he still want her after this moment ended? She warred with herself, the thoughts seizing her, pulling her away from the wanton frustration and as if he could read her, his hand let go of her breast with a desperate squeeze and softly moved over her ribs, over her belly and settled below her pelvis. His fingers were whisper-caresses over her sensitive skin.

  His straining muscles that had been trapping her in the cell of his arms loosened their hold around her.

  Why was he suddenly slowing down?

  Her breath hitched, anxiously wanting to know what he would do next but his hand didn’t move. Instead, his other hand wrapped around her body and held her against him, the onslaught of passion abruptly stopped and faded away.

  She had the urge to scream.

  “Shhh, girl. I’m not going to hurt you.” Jack said, his delicious mouth gliding over her neck. “I have wanted you my entire life. I just hadn’t realized it until I saw you on my ship.” He whispered as the energy between them continued to dissipate and exhaustion took its place.

  She could still feel him hard against her and it made the wet, empty longing between her legs ache. Her only consolation was his mouth nuzzled against her neck.

  Allie turned her head to look at him, “I liked how you made me feel. Why did you stop?” She had to know if it was something she had done.

  He laughed, “If you liked that– and I know you did, you smell like sex and desperation to me– you’ll love when I touch you next time.” He wrapped the cloak back around her and unpinned her feet. She turned in his arms to face him.

  His gaze went directly toward her still exposed breasts. “There will be a next a time?” She asked hopefully.

  Staring at her breasts, he responded, “Oh yes. We’ll make it part of our deal.” He smirked. “Those could kill a man.” His hands moved up her sides, his eyes rapt as he cupped them, watching intensely as he stroked one peak with the pad of his thumb.

  “I’m not going to take you on the ground, in the middle of this hellish pit, with giant ugly monsters roaring in the background for your first time.” He said as he pressed her breasts together, now rubbing both her nipples.

  She moaned a noncoherent answer.

  He leaned in and sucked a taut peak into his mouth. She felt the heat pool between her legs again as her head fell back. His mouth was lavishing her tits, sucking them, licking them while still rolling them with his finger tips. She sat forward, right over his erection.

  “Damn it Allie,” he said without lifting his mouth away, “you’re making this real hard for me.”

  She giggled, feeling bold. “But you’re already hard…”

  Jack pulled away from her. His expression not amused but instead stern. He crashed his lips against her mouth, kissing her with a roughness that bordered close to pain. She parted her lips from the passionate assault and his tongue penetrated the open barrier.

  She heard him groan against her mouth as his hands left her breasts, giving her puckered nipples one last pinch. Jack’s hands circled behind her and ran down her exposed back, leaving a burning heat in their path, to have them end up cupping her buttocks.

  He lifted her up like she weighed nothing and redirected her legs to straddle his hips, the armor plating on his thighs dug into her legs as she was settled on top of his erection.

  She bounced up with a pleasured mew when he lifted his hips off the ground to grind into her. She had to circle her fingers around the weapon’s straps across his chest for support.

  A gasp escaped her as he lifted his lips away. “I should have started with a kiss.” He said as he rubbed his mouth against hers.

  “I liked it.” She pressed her mouth back into his, softly.

  “Was it your first?” His warm hands ran up her body to bury in her hair.

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He smirked as his grip in her hair tightened. Their breath mingled as neither of them moved, unsure of where to go from here. “Allie…” he trailed off.

  She leaned back to look at him, his eyes caught hers and what she saw made her nervous, he looked fervid and violent. “Is something wrong?”

  He moved a hand from her hair and slid i
t down, groping her breast before moving it down between her legs as he forced his hand between them. The pressure made her want to scream as the tension reached a crescendo.

  “I’m going to take care of you.” He took her mouth again. “Do you trust me to take care of you?”

  The question startled her as she hadn’t thought about it. She sat back and looked into his expectant eyes. Should I trust him? It brought reality down around her shoulders. Her tongue felt thick as she strived to answer his question.

  She jerked up when the hand between her legs cupped her sex and lifted her. The next thing she knew he was towering over her and the aura of his domineering presence pushed her back into the stone ground.

  “I think you want to trust me.” Jack trapped her as he whispered the sentiment into her ear. “I think you’re aching to trust me.” His finger prodded the entrance to her core, pushing the damp fabric into her.

  She squirmed as his finger massaged her in slow, agonizing circles.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “You need to shatter. You need to break apart into a thousand electrifying pieces.” He breathed into her ear, making her toes curl. “And then you need to be remade.”

  ***

  He lifted away from her, snaking down her heated body, trailing her skin with his breath until he was between her tense legs. She was driving him mad with desire. His dick was hard enough to tear through his belted pants.

  I want to take her innocence like it was the last thing I would ever do. Jack bit his tongue at the thought. He could hear the roars of the violent mating wurms in the background, he could smell the carnage from the battle the two females wrought, and he could tell that Allie was strummed tighter than a live-wire before him.

  When she had answered his question about what her perfect man would be and she had said Cyborg, Jack nearly lost his control, his restraint. He wanted to harness his reaction and make her feel it like he had. He wanted her to break like he had almost done.