Serpents of the Abyss (The Darvel Exploratory Systems #2)

by S. J. Sanders

  Lori screamed and dropped to the ground, her hands going up protectively. “Okay, okay! I’ll take it off!” she shouted.

  A clawed hand paused on her uniform. Two of the fasteners had snapped, irrevocably ruined, but it didn’t attempt any further to pull the jumpsuit off of her. It merely kept that hand in place as she brought up shaking hands and undid the remaining fasteners so that it gaped around her hips. Red eyes watched her as the hand withdrew, allowing the fabric to drop heavily to the ground, but the warning was clear as its body drew up higher, towering over her. Either she would take it off herself or it would remove it for her.

  Jerking her head in a nod, she bent down and pulled down the zipper on her boots, kicking them off so that she could peel the clothing from her body and step out of her uniform. She then followed suit with her TRS until she stood trembling in front of her captor, naked as the day she was born. The shift in temperature against her bare skin felt far more pleasant than it had beneath the heavy layers of fabric, but she was aware of being terribly exposed.

  “You are not so ugly with your shell removed,” the alien stated, eyeing her with scrutiny. “Your lack of tail and extra limbs is disturbing, but you are otherwise agreeable to me. And no unnatural weapons. This is good for you,” it grumbled, its eyes narrowing. “No male would trust an armed female presenting herself for mating in his den. Females are tricky. They seek to gain a male’s attentions and escape. I do not trust female humans who drop down from the sky to be any different.” It drew in a deep savoring breath. “Yes, sweet taste. Ripe. We will mate,” his eyes fastened on her once again, “but you will not escape so easily.”

  Her breath stuttered.

  Oh, shit.

  She was facing a male, whose den she had intruded in, who assumed that she was there to mate. She shook her head.

  “I didn’t know this is your home. I’m not looking for a mate… or mating… honestly. I’ve sworn off males for a while, actually. Just me and my reliable mechanical sidekick back in my quarters. No mating intention here,” she rambled.

  She had the distinct feeling she was being ignored as his eyes tracked over her before his expression twisted again into a mask of frustration.

  “Where is your vent?” he demanded again.

  “Fucking figures that you would have a one-track mind,” she muttered under her breath.

  Pressing her thighs together, she gestured vaguely in hope of appeasing him. She wasn’t prepared when the tip of his tail darted between her thighs, slipping over her clit before pushing inside her. She let out a surprised shout, and her walls clenched down on the intrusion. Just as rapidly it withdrew, and the tail moved toward the alien’s face. He inhaled deeply, his eyes closing, and two tongues slipped out of his mouth to curl around the tip as if savoring her taste. He growled low.

  Without any indication of its intent, his eyes snapped open and his tail whipped around her once more, dragging her against its body, his pelvis lining up with hers.

  “Such taste!” he rumbled. “You may be a defiler, though an unwitting one, but you are now mine, little female.” He drew back just enough to give him space for his head to whip about as he bellowed, his voice echoing through the caverns. “I, Slengral, claim this female by the right of capture. None shall challenge my claim or drive her from my nest.”

  He nudged her with his hips, and she screwed her eyes tight, preparing for the worst. He paused. A frustrated snarl ripped out of his chest against her ear.

  “Why do you not prepare? My sant will not emerge without mating pheromones. Your scent is appealing but is not right. I have secured and claimed you as you require… now you are to prepare to mate.”

  Her jaw dropped, and she pushed ineffectually at its chest. “Wait, what?”

  The alien made an impatient sound, two large leathery wings she hadn’t seen before ruffling and extending to snap closed again against its back to emphasize its irritation. “Such things should have been explained to you as a nestling,” he scoffed. “When a male finds a female and can secure her, showing his worth, the female complies and prepares to mate. A claim can be made if he can show himself strong enough to keep her, and she will acquiesce. As prime male, the largest and strongest of the Seshanamitesh of these caverns, I have long since earned the right to breed and have proven myself strong enough by right of capture to keep you. You, therefore, are to breed and are also now mine by law.”

  Her eyes widened, and she renewed her struggle to get away. In response, he locked her tighter to him. “Shouldn’t you already have a mate if you’re a prime male?” she shot back with desperation.

  He let out a dissatisfied hiss. “The females hide from the males. We are not allowed to remain near their territory. Only a clever male may find a female or woo her for affections with offerings of meat. The only females I’ve come across bear the scent of my bloodline or are distasteful to me, and I do not care to mate with them. You,” he inhaled again with a pleased rumble, “bear a scent that is pleasurable and stimulates my sant, now that you are uncovered and I can properly scent you. We are compatible. You must prepare so that it swells and extrudes for mating.”

  Lori blinked up at him with sudden clarity, the translator bringing his words to her with increasing intelligibility with every minute that passed. “Are you telling me that your species requires the female to be aroused… uh, prepared in order for you to do anything?”

  “Yes, prepare. I have made my claim.”

  Thank the gods! I’m going to owe my weight in offerings when I get out of here.

  “Humans don’t work that way!” she snapped back, irritated by the demanding arrogance in his voice.

  The Seshanamitesh gave her a frustrated look as he set her on the ground in front of him. Slowly, his dark tail wrapped around him. What she had thought were plates proved to be flexible fans of luminescent skin pulled taut by a hard cartilage edge at the front. The realization came as she watched them lower, the black spine on each plate-like fan dropping, flattening against his body, blending into the dark stripe that ran down his body from his head to the tip of his tail. Even the pronounced edges of his so-called horns had disappeared, leaving nothing but two thick ridges as they also collapsed and flattened down the back of his head. With the widow’s peak markings on his brow, it was almost an illusion of hair, giving him an air of something closer to normal as he regarded her.

  “I do not understand,” he muttered. “How does your species reproduce? Does the male not clutch with the female?”

  “Well, yes,” she said, fidgeting a bit as she took a step back. When he didn’t make any attempt to stop her, she relaxed by increments. “Men and women make an agreement with each other that they both desire it first. Only then do they… uh, prepare each other.”

  She knew she had messed up when his eyes fastened on her shrewdly. She should have thought that out better before speaking.

  “The male aides the female to prepare… how is this done?”

  “Well,” she hedged, “you’re kinda skipping over the step where I have to agree first.”

  “Inconsequential. I am clearly stronger than you and so have proven myself and have legally exerted my claim,” he grunted.

  “Yeah, that won’t make me agree to anything,” she said, her own eyes narrowing on him. “Are you going to hurt or kill me if I don’t?”

  “It would not make sense to harm my mate, no matter how vexing your attitude.” A frustrated breath hissed out of him. The end of his tail tapped against his coil in agitation as his wings snapped. “Humans are a difficult species. You ignore what is natural. Why wouldn’t you agree to mate when you enter a male’s abode and he has proven himself lawfully worthy?”

  “Ignoring the first part, since I told you I came here by accident, how exactly do you figure you did that?” She gaped at his assumption, choosing to ignore his derisive snort as he leaned in closer toward her.

  “Was I not clever enough to capture you?”

  “Wait, are you s
eriously telling me that you mate by ambushing your females?”

  “It is the way a male proves that he is worthy of the protection and care of his female,” he growled, clearly not appreciating the direction of their conversation, or the fact that she was only just now catching on to what he was saying. “I have already explained this. It is the only way a male wins his life’s mate rather than be content by chance meetings with a breeding female.”

  “Humans don’t demonstrate it in that way,” she snorted, her bravado creeping back in with the realization that he wasn’t going to retaliate. “They show it in small gestures. Like providing food, holding them close, saying sweet things…”

  His eyes lit up. “I persuaded Estheth to drop you.”

  Her lips tightened. “So it was you who attacked that mon—uh, Seshanamitesh and made him drop me. That hurt!”

  He shrugged. “Hurt less than being eaten by a hungry male,” he observed. “We are fortunate I hunted early and was not so hungry so I delayed the killing strike many times as I followed your scent. Even covered, it drew me and roused my curiosity.”

  “Fair point,” she said, fear skittering over her at just how close she became to going on the menu for either male.

  “And I held you,” he added.

  She stared at him incredulously, her fear momentarily forgotten. “No, you attempted to squeeze the life out of me.”

  “One in the same,” he argued, his eyes lighting in a way that gave her pause. Was he fucking with her? The track of the conversation seemed intentionally set to put her at ease and arguing rather than focusing on things that frightened her.

  Her lips quirked at his logic. “It’s not the same. One result gets you meat, the other gets you in the good graces of a female. Holding should be gentle and affectionate. The male has to make the female want his company.”

  Slengral’s expression closed as he regarded her with distrust. “I am doubting the truth of your words. No female would willingly stay near a male long enough to allow him to prove such things.”

  “I assure you that it does happen,” she said earnestly. The way his coils suddenly tensed and the chilliness falling over his expression, she had to defuse the situation before he reacted with hostility. Lying seemed to be on par with coverings in his eyes. She didn’t want to regress backward in the conversation. “It’s how we mate. We usually form an emotional connection before we decide on a male or female.”

  The male in front of her grunted, albeit begrudgingly. “Very well. We will go to our nest, and I will begin this process of which you speak.”

  “What? No, I don’t want to go to your nest. I want to go back to the surface! You can take me there easily, and then we can discuss this whole mating thing further.”

  Slengral gave her a humorless smile, showing the tips of his fangs between his parted lips. “I have agreed to human terms, but I will not release my claimed mate. If you need things to proceed in a fashion familiar to you, I am a patient enough male to agree to it.”

  With that pronouncement, he snapped his wings wide. The tunnel was broad enough to provide plenty of room for them as he flapped the leathery appendages and pushed himself up into the air with his tail. Lori found herself snatched up into his arms and sailing through the warm air currents, through the gallery lit with hundreds of plants. From there, they flew at dizzying speeds as they dropped into a confusing network of tunnels until they finally arrived at a larger gallery with several chambers breaking off of it.

  Setting her carefully in the main chamber, he settled back onto his coils and proudly gazed around his home as he gave her room to explore. Lori stared at her surroundings from a soft, plush bed of faintly glowing moss. While the first gallery had been impressive, the one he claimed as his nest was spectacular.

  A small waterfall disappeared into a crevice in one corner, while another chamber containing a pool had a slight sulfur smell. A hot spring! She itched to climb in but contented herself investigating her surroundings. Aside from the water features, the entire gallery was lit with bioluminescent plants of different colors and types growing from the walls. She always enjoyed plants and flowers but never had much room for them in the limited space of her apartment. The varieties that she was seeing now delighted her.

  The flowering plants bathed the walls in various hues as well as brightening the room to a comfortable level. Although it was simple in structure, the illumination showed her the touches of home. Several shelves bore the weight of stone cups and bowls, many of them beautiful pieces of pottery instead, each intricately carved with beautiful designs. A low stone table sat toward the rear of the room, along with cushions that appeared to be made out of some sort of hide.

  “This is my nest. Does it please you?” he asked, his voice low.

  “It is really beautiful,” she admitted.

  He grinned as she trailed one finger along a blushing red plant with tiny, spiky pink flowers. The blooms snapped shut at her touch and yet its glow intensified.

  “I spent many years selecting the most beautiful galthie to brighten the nest, to make it a comfortable place for my mate and nestlings.”

  “It’s lovely,” she said, not willing to even touch on the idea of nestlings, much less any agreement on being his mate. But she had to hand it to him. The male was goal-oriented if he spent that much time preparing. To cultivate such a garden in his nest over years and laying it all at her feet with such a solid show of commitment was terrifying, incredible, and flattering.

  One strong hand extended to her in invitation.

  “Come now, mate. I will prove myself a worthy male in ways acceptable to your kind. I shall provide you with sustenance, and then I will help you ease yourself in the pool before we find our comfort for the night. I believe I will enjoy holding you through the night as we slumber,” he hummed.

  True to his word, he proved nothing short of tender and caring. Taking several unfamiliar fruits from a basket on the table, he led her through one of the side chambers into a room filled with a pool. The warm water and the rich scent of minerals indicated it was another hot spring, and her aching muscles practically clenched with the desire for the relief the hot water would bring. Instead, she watched as he set a leaf on the ground beside the pool and broke apart the fruit effortlessly with his hands into smaller chunks before setting them on the leaf.

  That accomplished, he sank into the waters before drawing her in behind him, his arms closing gently around her. His rough, scaled hands smoothed over her skin, rubbing soft, surprisingly sweet-scented sand against her skin in slow circles. Each pass removed dirt and sweat and teased her as he washed every bit of her. Just as gently, he rinsed every speck of the sand and grime away.

  Between the heat of the pool and his touch, Lori felt her aching muscles relax under his ministrations. More than that, she felt something within her responding to those touches, even as she remained determined to ignore it. She didn’t want to remain below ground mated to him. She needed to return to the surface, finish her contract, and get the hell off the planet. She had her goals. She had to remember that. And besides, she knew Vi was probably worried sick.

  Still, she couldn’t help but to enjoy the fact that every so often he stopped to pluck up a bit of fruit to feed first her and then himself.

  Chewing a chunk of fruit, she eyed him curiously. “Would you have done all this for a female you claimed in your manner? Or is this just because you’re hoping to get somewhere with me?”

  He looked genuinely surprised by the question. “I need to go nowhere. This is the manner in which a male cares for his mate. I would have tended to you regardless. That your courtship demands it before we mate is confusing but changes nothing. You are my mate and therefore under my care and protection.”

  It was said in such a high-handed manner that Lori felt she should have bristled. Instead, she found it endearing that such a monstrous male—for he truly was one despite his strange and otherworldly beauty—was behaving so gently, despite her r
epeated rebuff. If that was how Seshanamitesh males treated their females, she didn’t see anything that they could possibly complain about. It seemed unfair that an inhuman alien would be far more attentive and outwardly affectionate than males who would be considered less monstrous and more attractive to most human women.

  Not that he was truly unpleasant to look at.

  It was in that frame of mind that, sometime later, she smiled into the dark as she lay in his embrace, his warm breath brushing over her skin. Her body was supported comfortably on his coils upon which he also slept, while his arm was draped possessively over her hip. She couldn’t help the niggling thought that she was taking too much pleasure in his touch rather than fighting to return to the surface and her duties. She could enjoy this while she had it, but she had to find a way back one way or another.

  If only she could get Slengral to agree.

  Chapter 11

  In the caves, there was no real sense of day or night, but Lori had the feeling that the Seshanamitesh were nocturnal. It had already been late afternoon when the incident happened—and who knows how long she wandered before Slengral found her—but even after they had arrived in his nest, it was some time still before he had been able to convince her to return to his bed where she would be able to rest comfortably, and even longer before she had been able to fall asleep.

  It was for that reason she suspected it to be quite late in the day when she woke in the sunken bed piled thickly with furs, Slengral’s warm bulk curled around her. He hadn’t been anywhere near as close when they fell asleep, but somehow as they slept his body curled around hers and his tail looped over her as if holding her close. Blinking her sleepy eyes, she focused on his face lit by the glow of the galthie, tracing over the inhuman shape of his features. She wanted to touch the strange planes of his face and determine if it was just as craggy in texture as it looked or if it felt more like slick snakeskin.