by T. S. Ryder
Tom shook his head as he left his training room. Sara hadn't returned to the ship yet, which meant she was probably still angry with him, but they needed to resolve this. After applying flesh seal to his bleeding knuckles, he headed out to look for her.
She wasn't in any of the bars in town, so Tom returned to where he had seen her headed towards the forest. He found her footprints easily enough, keeping to the edge of the trees.
The tracks stopped abruptly. Her weapon laid on the ground.
Tom's heart began pounding. Adrenaline surged in him, and his teeth bared in a ferocious snarl. She was in danger. The appropriate fear was buried somewhere inside of him, but blinding rage took hold. His mate was somewhere out there without her weapon. The crushed leaves around the area clearly showed that she had been ambushed.
He spun towards town. He would find whoever did this, and they would taste his blade. He would disembowel them, string them up by their innards, he would—
Calm down, he told himself firmly, closing his eyes to draw in a deep breath. He hadn't taken the time to research the local fauna, and there was no guarantee that it was one of the aliens in the town that had taken her rather than an animal. He couldn't afford to make mistakes, not when Sara's life hung in the balance.
The prints were fairly fresh, and it only took a little more investigation to see the claw marks in the nearby trees. After taking a closer look at the marks, Tom swore loudly.
Tree scorpions.
The species was a plague on the galaxy, the eggs able to survive on the hulls of ships across deep-space journeys without freezing, and reentry without burning. On some planets the creatures were tiny, but on others, they had grown large enough to prey on humanoids.
Apparently, this was one of those planets. He could only hope that the local species didn't have a fatal venom, otherwise, he was already too late.
Snatching Sara's gun from the ground, Tom headed into the forest, holding the gun in one hand and a dagger in the other. The trail from the scorpion was easy to follow, large gashes in trees where it had merely barged its way through the foliage.
He came across the beast sooner than he expected. It was hunkered down in a small thicket, it's long, camouflaged body contorting. Huge chunks were ripped out of its back and half of its legs were missing. A thick, yellow goop dripped from the sting on its tail, and one set of its five compound eyes was damaged beyond repair. Clearly, the thing had gotten into a fight with something else in the forest.
Sara lay between its pincers.
Rage flowed freely and Tom rushed from the trees, screaming as he dropped both gun and dagger and drew his broadsword. The scorpion shrieked, backing away, but he was too quick. One quick slash and his sword sliced through the left mandible. The scorpion screamed. The stinger jabbed at him. Tom severed its tail from its body.
He was filled with savage joy as the adrenaline pumped through him, the thrill of the kill washing away reason and sanity. He kept attacking the scorpion, cracking open its hard shell to pulverize what was inside, until it stopped twitching. With one final blow, he took off the creatures head. Smiling, he cleaned his sword and sheathed it.
Only to freeze when he turned towards Sara again.
Her arms and legs were flailing, her neck wrenching back and forth. Her back bowed, eyes rolling. A dark foam built at her lips.
Tom's heart seized. He dove towards her, gathering her up into his arms. She convulsed so wildly that he could hardly hold onto her, but he wrapped both arms tightly around her and ran back the way he had come, not caring if he drew attention to himself. He was panting by the time he got back to the town, and Sara's convulsions had stopped. His eyes danced over the signs, finding a doctor's building and rushing towards it.
"Hold on," he whispered, his voice breaking. "Hold on, please."
The doctor was a tall, green-skinned Odap. His wings fluttered behind him when Tom burst into the building, shouting for assistance. Luckily for the Odap, he didn't keep the T'shav waiting and immediately abandoned the patient he was with to help Sara.
"Tree scorpion sting?" the doctor said, nimble fingers pressing to Sara's swollen and bleeding shoulder.
"Yes."
The doctor nodded. "It appears the venom has worked its way through her already. She'll be fine. Our local bugs pack a narcotic punch that can be hard on humanoids, but in my hundred standard years on this planet, I haven't seen one death because of them. You were right to bring her here so quickly, though. I can provide her some medications to help ease the symptoms."
Tom nodded and settled down beside Sara. Now that he knew she was in no danger, his hands began shaking. His blood still rushed through his body, but the adrenaline faded, leaving him feeling tired. He clutched Sara's hand as the doctor bustled about.
"I'm sorry," Tom whispered to his unconscious Starmate. "I should have told you why I've been in such a bad mood."
He glanced up when the doctor gasped. And tensed again. As if being attacked by a scorpion wasn't enough! The doctor was holding a scanner. Tom jumped to his feet. How could he have been so stupid, so unobservant to let this happen?
"She's human!" the doctor blurted.
Tom didn't wait for him to repeat it louder. In this forsaken place, Sara would be worth ten times his ship and fear of a lone T'shav wouldn't be enough to protect her. He couldn't risk this getting any further. The doctor's eyes widened as Tom's fist flew at his face, but as soon as contact was made the Odap was down. Tom gathered Sara back into his arms and kicked open the door, running once more, this time towards the ship.
Sara was stirring by the time he returned to the ship, and he set her on the couch before rushing to the cockpit. It was only when the planet had faded from the scanners that Tom relaxed. It seemed like they had successfully made their escape.
"Bond?" Sara's voice called.
Making sure the course was set, Tom returned to check on her. She was laying on the couch, her hair wound around her hand. She was pulling it, and when she saw him, relief came over her face.
"Bond, I need you to get rid of it."
Tom knelt beside her. "Get rid of what?"
"The spider! It's on my head, and it bites me when I try to take it off." Her eyes were wide and earnest. She tugged hard at her hair and yelped. "It just bit me again!"
Tom had to laugh. After all his worry, seeing that she was okay was too much of a relief. He gently released the tangles of her hair from her fingers. "It's just your hair, Sara."
"There's a spider."
"There's no spider."
Sara narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "No spider. I promise."
"Oh. Good." Sara settled back into the couch, sighing. "No spiders. Because Bond got rid of them. My double-o-seven," she sang each word. "Mine. All mine."
"Yes," Tom said, stroking her hair from her face. His heart swelled hearing her say those words, but he knew better than to trust her state of mind. "Sara, do you think you could love me?"
"Hell, yeah. But not right now… I'm so tired…" She smiled beatifically at him and propped herself up on her elbow. Her gaze went to his lips, but Tom quickly stood, putting distance between them. Sara looked shocked. "Is it the spider?"
"There's no spider. But you're not in your right mind. I can't let you kiss me now when you wouldn't kiss me sober."
Sara groaned and threw herself back onto the couch. "Darn alien…"
Tom smiled as her sentence trailed off into a snore. It had been a close call, but she was going to be okay. That was all that mattered.
He would tell her about his oncoming musth when she woke up and was thinking clearly. They would be able to figure out what to do about it then. For now, he would let her sleep.
Chapter Seven: Sara
Sara distinctly remembered her attempts at seducing Bond while the scorpion poison was working its way out of her system. It had lasted for a full three days, the withdrawals another week, as she lay shivering and vomiting. Sh
e wasn't sure what was more embarrassing, stripping naked and dancing on the table while singing Britney Spears songs, or vomiting all over Bond as he tried to get her to drink some soup broth. Either way, he was extraordinarily patient about the whole thing, helping her dress again, or carrying her to the bathroom to clean her up.
If they were Starmates–wait, she didn't believe in that–if she started dating him, was this the kind of treatment she could expect all the time? Or was he just putting on a show to convince her to be with him?
She wandered into the training room to see Bond going at a training bot as though it had just slaughtered his family. It never ceased to amaze her. Even though she had seen his fighting prowess and the violence he could inflict, he was just so sweet and gentle with her that sometimes she had a hard time reconciling the two images.
Within minutes, the bot was completely demolished. Sara winced. "That's gonna cost a lot to fix."
Bond was shirtless, wearing only the var'ki skirt T'shav warriors preferred. His skin gleamed with sweat, and his massive chest panting made Sara's mouth water. He was just too well put together to be possible! She shook her head–those types of thoughts were what got her in trouble while she was high on scorpion venom.
"How are you feeling?" Bond muttered, not looking at her. He crossed the room and shoved on his boots. Odd. He told her more than once that he hated footwear, and he rarely wore it on the ship.
"Much better, thank you."
"Good. I'm glad. Look, there aren't any planets in our course until we reach the ship where the humans are, but if you want, I can deviate my course and take you somewhere else."
Sara's brow furrowed. What was he talking about? "Is this still about our fight from before? Because I don't want to leave. I want to save those humans. You have no idea how lonely it feels to say things like 'Luke, I am your father' and have nobody get that you're quoting Star Wars."
Bond began cleaning up the demolished bot. "My mother told me about Star Wars."
"It's not the same." Sara sighed. She wanted to get those humans to safety as soon as possible. They would be terrified and confused, and since she had experience with that, she could help them. "Unless it's that you want me to leave."
His head jerked up. "What? No. No, I don't want you to leave. But I have to tell you something that might make you want to leave."
What could be so bad? Sara waited.
Bond sighed and shrugged. "It seems like the violence that we've been encountering has brought my musth on early. I've checked my blood, my testosterone levels are nearly twice as high as normal. Other hormones are increasing, too, but I'm fairly certain that my pheromone production hasn't started yet. It'll just be a few days, though. I know I can control myself on my musth, but I understand why you'd want to leave."
Sara stared at him, a confusion of emotions swirling through her. A part of her said to run, as far and fast as she could. The horror stories she had heard of T'shav in musth–beheadings, disembowelments–were enough to frighten anybody. But this was Bond, and she knew he could control himself. After all, he had always gently but firmly insisted that she dress again every time she threw herself at him.
"I don't care."
Bond's eyes widened.
Sara shook her head, stepping closer to him. "If you think I would run away screaming, you're dead wrong. We haven't known each other very long, but if there is one thing I am more certain of than anything else, it's that you believe we are Starmates, and you would never, ever do anything that you thought might hurt me. So no. I don't want to leave."
"You're going to stay?"
The wonder in Bond's voice hurt her unexpectedly. What experiences did he have in his past with women doing just that–running as soon as he told them he was entering his musth–to make him look so wide-eyed in amazement that she wasn't going to do the same?
"I'm going to stay." She stepped closer again, pressing her hands against his slick chest. His skin was so hot, so warm, and she shivered with the desire for her body to press against his. "I think I've made it clear that I'm not averse to sharing a bed with you, Bond. And as crazy as I find the whole concept of souls being born into stars, I believe that you sincerely believe that we are Starmates."
Bond's fingers brushed her cheekbone, his hand trembling as though he couldn't quite wrap his mind around what was happening.
"It's not just your body that I like either, though that is a huge part of it," she continued. "I like that you cook and that arrogant smirk when you're sure you're right, and I love how you are traveling so far away from civilization to help these humans. I know that you were hired to do it, but you could have taken the money, and then sold their location to somebody who doesn't want to help them."
"I wouldn't do that."
"I know. And musth or no musth, I think you're worth taking a chance on. So I'm staying. And I'm going to help you through your musth." She leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. "And not just because I've heard amazing things about sex with T'shav."
Bond laughed, catching her mouth with his. He pulled her closer, bodies pressing together, her shirt clinging to the sweat on his skin. Sara closed her eyes, grinning as heat pooled in her belly. She pressed herself to her toes to throw her arms around his neck, undulating her body against his. Bond groaned and picked her up, hands supporting her under her thighs, and began walking.
"Where are we going?" Sara purred, moving her mouth to his neck.
"Shower," he grunted.
"No, too far," Sara protested. "Just brace me against the wall and rip off my clothes."
Bond stopped. He shifted her so she was a little higher than him and rose his brows. "You only have two sets of clothes and you want me to ruin one?"
Sara wrinkled her nose. "Good point. When we have the chance, I'll go buy some old things for you to tear to pieces. I guess we have to be more careful now."
Careful. She sucked her lip as Bond pinned her to the wall with his body. She didn't have birth control. But she also hadn't had her period in something like four years. On earth, she was regular as clockwork, but since her accident… well, the doctors had said there was a possibility that she couldn't have children, anyway.
"Is something wrong?" Bond asked.
Sara smiled and shook her head. Her legs circled his hips, drawing him in closer. The friction between their bodies made them both moan, and the lieutenant leaned her head back, giving her lover better access to her neck and throat. Her skin tingled where he kissed. Bond tugged at her pants, and when they didn't move, he set her down. Kneeling before her, he undressed her from the waist down and slung one of her legs over his shoulder.
"Oh!" Sara gasped when he pressed his face into her. Her legs went limp as he started working, her fingers digging into his hair. Bond had to hold her in place as he reduced her limbs to so much jelly.
Sara moaned with pleasure as the heat built in her body. All of her dreams, her fantasies were nothing compared to the actual thing. The feelings he evoked in her were so powerful, and not just physically. In the past she had always made sure to stay in control, to reserve some part of herself.
But with Bond, she knew that she could let it all go. Give herself to him completely. She was safe with him. He'd take care of her.
Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, Bond stood. With a slight growl, he tore his garment from his body and pressed against her again. Their bodies, both slick with sweat by this time, slipped together. Bond wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, thrusting his tongue into her mouth as he entered.
"Bond!" Sara gasped, clinging to him.
"My name is Tom," he whispered.
The brief thought that it was an odd name for an alien fled as soon as he began moving. Sara gasped and cried out as pleasure flooded her, driving all thoughts from her mind. She answered his rhythm, trying to keep up as his movements became more and more desperate. He kissed her hard then just stared in her eyes, the warmth in his black eyes the most beautif
ul thing she had ever seen.
It had been far too long since she last enjoyed this; it was only a few minutes later that Sara peaked, throwing her head against the wall and screaming as everything inside her snapped and exploded. She gasped, clawing at Bond's back as she fought to regain control. All too soon it passed, and she felt Bond echo her orgasm before they both went still, bracing themselves against the wall, his arms still around her.
Sara leaned into his embrace, panting as she tried to keep her mind in place. It insisted on darting every which way, so she merely closed her eyes and enjoyed the aftershocks, welcoming the warmth Bond–Tom–gave her.
Tom kissed her again, his touch far gentler this time. "I loved that."
Sara hummed, smiling. "Me, too. Let's do it again."
Chapter Eight: Tom
Feeling Sara beside him as he woke up made Tom beam. Sex was a huge part of the musth, and being able to make love with his Starmate had made nearly all the symptoms of the ongoing cycle disappear. He was more relaxed than he had ever been in his life, and he owed it all to the beautiful woman snuggled up beside him.
Her blue skin glowed in the dim light, and he wondered if she was ever going to return it to its original color. He'd seen recreations of humans, and his mother had described the shades humans came in. No bright purple or stripped pink and green, only neutral colors. What did Sara naturally look like?
The ship jerking wildly from side to side cut his musings short. Sara woke with a yell. The ship rocked again.
"We're under attack!" Sara blurted, still obviously half-asleep despite the way the ship continued to be thrown around.
Tom scrambled to his feet, racing out of the bedroom. The screeching of metal on metal filled the ship. Docking clamps. Whoever had attacked them now had their ship in their grasp, being drawn into the bellow of its own vessel. An outdated technology, but this far from the core of civilization…
Sara emerged from the room as Tom grabbed his weapons. They would not go down without a fight. He glanced at his Starmate, heart pounding. He would die to protect her… but at least they had been able to meet and know one another before death… he would have to cling to that for comfort.
