by Abigail Myst
Clover clicked through the filters on the main screen. There were no other heat signatures that she could find. Scrubs barely registered himself, but that was probably the armor doing its best to camouflage him from possible Suhlik that might be watching.
There was no warning before the screen lit up like a Christmas tree. The explosion was a slow boom, a rumble, and even through the snow, Clover could see that the mouth of the cave had collapsed.
“Scrubs! Scrubs! Teeth! Goddammit! Answer me!”
“Go.”
It was whispered, but it was not in the sexy loving tones as before. His voice was raspy, tortured, and despite the fact that she knew he was injured, just knowing he was alive was enough to have her tugging on her coat.
“Go.” He repeated again.
Clover was going all right. She was going to rescue his sorry ass. There were no Suhlik here. And if they’d set the trap and he’d sprung it, the chance of springing another was a lot less. Though they were not above setting another device on a timer to slaughter any first responders that came along trying to help. On such a small rock, that was probably not necessary because there was hardly ever anyone out to rescue the rescuers.
“Keep talking to me.”
She could hear him breathing over the com but little else. She opened the hatch and nearly fell over when the wind hit her smack in the face.
His trail was still visible, and Clover was glad for it. Without some sort of trail to follow, she would have had no idea how to traverse the short but deadly distance to the cave entrance. She used his footsteps to secure her own footing and cursed every gust that made her pause on what should have been a minute’s walk.
Finally, she reached the mouth of the cave. It was only partially collapsed. The left side was still open enough for her to scramble in past the rock but once past the initial opening, it was pitch black. Clover reached in and activated the lights that were sewn into the hood of her coat. A quick survey told her this cave had been manmade, drilled into the side of a hill to perhaps provide living quarters for a mining team.
Good. Living quarters meant possible supplies. And heat. Clover slapped her hands together. Even with the gloves on, her fingers were already going numb.
“Scrubs?”
She heard her voice echo out of a nearby com. She couldn’t hear him breathing anymore. Clover turned to the rubble pile and gave it a quick scan with her flashlight. She saw a hand. She began to dig frantically until it was nearly free. Then she gave it a tug. She was horrified when it came out in her hand. It was just the glove of his suit.
“Where the hell are you, you stubborn bastard?” Again, she heard her own words echo in the com. This time, she turned her flashlight deeper into the cave. There he was, missing one glove, but all in one piece.
Clover ran to him, nearly tripping over a huddle of bodies that lay against the wall. His duty as a medic had probably saved his life. He’d been far back enough in the cave when the bomb had triggered that he had hopefully only been knocked out by the blast.
Clover rolled him flat on his back and tried to get a better look at him. There was a bloody gash on his forehead, but the one thing Clover did know about Mahdfel anatomy was that they were very hard to kill.
“You are going to be fine.” She tapped him on the top of his helmet and the com unit gurgled in her ear and then fizzed out completely. She gave the armor a tap, but it did not respond at all. In fact, she was pretty sure that the sparking from the front panel was probably not a good thing.
Clover took off his other glove and stuck her hand inside. It was ice cold. The heaters had stopped working. If she didn’t get him covered, she wouldn’t have to worry about that gash on his forehead. He’d freeze to death first.
Shit. This place probably had emergency supplies or power somewhere. But if she were a Suhlik and she was going to booby trap the place, that was the first place she’d stick them. Ten minutes back to the ship, ten minutes to return. He might survive that long but she didn’t think so.
Damn. She took a look around again and figured she might as well die trying to do something noble, rather than sulk in her ship for the rest of her life for letting the stubborn bastard die.
“You had better be worth it.”
She took off her jacket and laid it over the top of the medic. It was cold, but she wasn’t likely to freeze in the next ten minutes with all the running around she planned to do. Clover yanked the flashlight out of his tool holster and ran to the back of the cave. Here there was a bulkhead, that had been blasted open. The crew quarters used to be nice and toasty, she imagined, far away from the mine entrance to the right. Too bad it had been blasted. The systems probably would still function if the door was properly closed.
Clover scrambled past the mutilated door and down the hallway. The three miners huddled at the front were not the only casualties. She spotted three more casualties on her way. One of them was barely wrapped in a towel. He’d been sliced nearly in half on his way to the shower. Clover was glad for the freezing temperatures. The bodies hadn’t been able to decompose so there wasn’t any smell.
Clover progressed to last room on the left. It was a modular system that matched many of the facilities she’d seen over the years, so the layout wasn’t hard to figure out. It was three times as big as the crew quarters and served as their rec room and general hangout space. She spotted what she was looking for almost immediately.
The company that manufactured these suckers had a marketing ploy. Buy a certain number of modules and we’ll throw in an emergency bench for free. This particular bench was covered in a stack of girly magazines, a trend that aliens had actually picked up from Earth, according to her father. Porn was popular everywhere.
It was either a neglected piece of furniture covered in aliens with big butts and multiple sets of boobs, or it was staged to look like a neglected piece of furniture and covered with smut to attract attention to it.
Hell. There was no time to stand there and ponder all the options. Clover grabbed a broom that looked like it had never been used, and pushed the button on the bench. It clicked
open and the alien tits slid to the ground. Nothing exploded. So far, so good.
Clover grabbed the water, the emergency rations and the patented Enviro-tent!
She’d never actually had to use it, but from the advertising and hype, she hoped it lived up to its name. And anyway, she was still alive and not blown up, so things were going her way. Clover sprinted back to her Mahdfel, placed the tent on the ground and pushed the button. It immediately began to inflate into a two man (Mahdfel size guaranteed) dome. There were no poles to assemble, and the moment it reached its full height, she heard a heater kick on. There was a sensor inside that read the temperature and kept the thing at a balmy sixty-eight degrees. Right now, that sounded heavenly. Her teeth had actually begun to chatter.
Inside the tent, she found two blankets and self-inflating pillows. The only problem now was getting the lug inside the tent. She grabbed a blanket and laid it down next to him. With a little effort, she rolled him onto it. Grabbing one end, she dragged the heavy warrior into the tent, inch by frustrating inch.
She bent him at the knees to get the last of him inside and zipped up the tent.
“I’d say you need to go on a diet, but I don’t think there’s a spare inch of fat on you,” Clover remarked as she stripped the armor from him. “Too bad you’re not awake to appreciate this, because I’m never going to let you forget that I saved your green ass.”
The armor was thankfully mostly whole. It was singed and crushed in places, but the stuff had actually done a fairly good job at protecting him. She didn’t stop until he was down to the little black shorts. His skin was everywhere, and thankfully, it was getting warmer by the minute. He didn’t appear to have any other injuries, and she was glad. Mahdfel blood was not something she wanted to handle.
She curled up on top of him and pulled the blanket over them. Hopefully he’d wake up soon,
but she should get some shuteye before he woke up. In order to get themselves off this rock, she’d have to be the one to leave the tent to find him some suitable clothing. After all, he wasn’t going to be able to face a snowstorm in his skivvies.
Chapter Six
Orth
He tried to remember where he was, but all he could focus on was the warm and tantalizing form curled up on top of him, and the fact that his knees felt like they’d been bent in half for over a cycle.
Orth opened his eyes. Nothing. Pitch black. Had he gone blind? He turned, felt around, and straightened his knees. The glow of a control panel surfaced from under a blanket. No. He could see. It was just very dark. He breathed a sigh of relief and tried to straighten his legs.
It came back to him in a flash. The frozen corpses, the flash of light and the pounding in his head. Telling her to go.
Clover. She was here, next to him. His hands searched blindly for a light. He hit the wall of the tent and followed it up to the ceiling. The dim bulb pierced the darkness. Clover groaned in her sleep and pulled the blanket over her head.
She was uninjured. He should feel her just to make sure. Where was his med scanner? It wasn’t around here. It had been in his hand when the bomb had gone off. He’d been scanning the frozen corpses. They had not just frozen to death. They were very dead before they got that way. One had been sliced across the throat and the other had taken a laser pistol to the head. The third had probably done himself in. Orth didn’t blame him. Suhlik only kept prisoners they planned to experiment on. If he had shot his companion and then himself, he’d done them both a favor.
Either way, Clover had been right. From now on, he should probably assume that she was always right. Except when she ran from him. That was wrong. Orth ran his hands along her fine skin, checking for any injuries. He lifted the bulky sweater she had tried to hide herself in and checked her ribs. His fingers hit the underside of her breast, and despite his attempt at clinical detachment, he found himself getting hard.
“Trying to feel me up in my sleep?” She yawned, but made no move to shove his hands away.
“I am trying to ascertain if you are injured.” The breast support she wore was completely preventing him from doing so.
“Hey, I’m the dashing hero in this story, I saved your ass.”
Orth lay back down and gathered her to him. He could not hear any pain in her voice. His mate was safe.
“Well?”
He laid his hand flat against her chest and slipped the other hand into her waistband. He pulled her toward him and kissed the nape of her neck.
“I see Mr. Friendly is back.”
“I am always friendly.” He took a little taste and ran his tongue along her tender neck. This is where he would bite her when they performed the mating bonding.
“I meant… something is glad to see me.”
He did not understand, but he was too distracted to ask. She was everywhere, but he wanted more. His fingers slipped further into her clothing until he reached the patch of fur above her mound. Etlonians did not have hair. He wanted to explore hers at length.
“Scrubs.”
“Why do you insist on calling me a dishwasher?”
“What?”
“Scrubs. To wash dishes. Or the floor. Why is this name worthy of a Mahdfel?”
Clover giggled. He reveled in the sound.
“No, silly. It’s the name of a surgeon’s uniform. You aren’t going to win any bedside manner awards if you announce that your name is Mr. Teeth Ripper.”
He considered this as he reached further, lightly stroking the folds between her legs. “Perhaps you are right. I should be honored by this moniker.”
“You’re not supposed to be honored by it. It’s supposed to be innocuous.” She gasped as he dipped his finger past her lips and into the wetness beyond.
“I will be innocuous to everyone but you, my sweet.” He began to stroke her in earnest. “For you, I will let you ride my tongue whenever you please. I will fuck you with my finger or my cock until you are covered in a sheen of perspiration, and then I shall fuck you some more.” He slid a finger inside of her while his thumb kept playing with her clit.
Clover reached down and freed his cock from his shorts. Her hand grasped his shaft tightly as she rode his finger. She arched against him as she reached her climax. His head ached from pressure as his mating glands filled to the brim. The urge to sink his teeth into her neck became nearly unbearable. It ached even more than his cock, with her hand around it, stroking and coaxing him closer to his own climax. She was wet and willing.
“Let me take you,” he said as he began stripping off her clothing.
“Scrubs.” It was a breathy sound, near to surrender. Soon, she was naked. He took her nipple into his mouth and pressed his fingers back inside her.
“I am yours. You are mine.” He claimed her mouth leaving them both nearly breathless.
“Yes.”
“Say it. Say it for me. ‘I am yours, you are mine’.” His fingers slowed and he met her gaze in the dim light.
“I’m yours.”
It was nearly imperceptible, but it was there. Her permission. He would not give her time to think on it and change her mind. He rolled her on top of him, spread her legs around his hips and lifted her onto the tip of his cock. Such wonderful tightness she was, clenching just the tip of his cock.
“Yes. All of it. I want all of it.” He lowered her slowly, reveling in the pleasure on her face. He removed the last support of his hands and she dropped the last inch onto his cock. She actually squealed. He would enjoy doing that often.
“God, I’m so full.”
He wanted to banter with her, to make the moment last longer, but honestly he did not think his cock would let him. It was quite insistent that he claim his mate fully. He took her hips in his hands and began the strokes that both of their bodies craved. She was not quiet. He could not tell if she was louder riding his cock than his tongue, because honestly, his ears had been silenced for much of it by her thighs. Either way, he quite enjoyed every gasp and moan that she made.
Clover’s body clutched his cock in another orgasm and Orth’s patience finally broke. He pulled her down to him, sunk his teeth into her neck and let his cock finally have its way. He thrust deep inside and emptied himself inside his mate. His mating glands flowed into her blood and the bonding fire sent her into a spasm of pleasure. He rolled them over and began the second thrusting his cock demanded. There was enough of the fire left within her that she climaxed nearly every stroke. Even for a second time, Orth did not last long. One last deep hard plunge and he claimed his own victory, the pleasure exploding through his brain.
He collapsed beside his mate for a moment, and then pulled her close. Moments later, they were both asleep again.
Chapter Seven
Clover
What the hell had she just done?
She knew exactly what she’d just done. She’d given herself to the Mahdfel. Uncle Garn would be outraged. She hadn’t gotten a penny out of the deal. No, she’d gotten an oversexed steaming hot bald green alien hottie. Who glowed. And had he bit her? Like a vampire? She touched the spot on her neck where he’d sunk his fangs into her. Two little scar dimples. Not even a scab, just a mark.
Then, it clicked. Why the Mahdfel warriors stared at her neck for a moment. They were searching to see if she had a husband around somewhere that they could deal with. Great. Now she was going to get the whole run along while the warriors do business routine.
She was going to be sorry that she saved his ass. No. She’d never be sorry about that. That she couldn’t keep it in her pants? That she’d caved at the first little touch of his finger? That was what she would regret.
Though she couldn’t regret the sex. That had been mind blowingly spectacular. And just when she thought they were about done, he’d ramped it up a notch. Clover had heard rumors that Mahdfel warriors could keep it up all night long, but this was the first bit of truth that
she’d found to prove that it was true.
She’d just handed over her freedom for a few orgasms. There. That was it. She’d had enough of men telling her what she could and couldn’t do when Garn and her father were alive. She’d been footloose and fancy-free long enough to feel nothing but resentment when she was told how to behave.
Scrubs stirred beside her, or more accurately, under her. His hand began to stroke her back and his cock assumed its normal state… or at least its normal state around her.
“We should probably hit the road.”
“I did not see a road. Where did the road come from? And why should we hit it?”
Clover sighed and tapped his stomach. “It’s an expression. It means get going. You know, someplace where we are not trapped in a tent on a snow-covered asteroid?” She sat up and pulled on her jeans. He simply watched her until she got her bra on.
“That is true. Your bed will be much more comfortable. Where is my-” Scrubs paused mid-sentence. He looked around.
“If you’re looking for that useless pile of junk you wore in here, I threw it outside. It was taking up too much room. Your boots are right outside the door.Apart from that, I have a few blankets to offer you and not much else. I’m going to go scrounge the crew quarters to see if I can find you something to wear.”
“I should go.”
“You can’t go wandering out there in your tighty whiteys.”
“My uniform is not white.”
Clover sighed again. “It’s an expression. Either way. You stay here. I go.”
She didn’t give him any time to argue as she threw her sweater over her shirt and then swung on her jacket. Clover zipped her way out of the tent and then closed it behind her. She could hear him scrambling behind her. She moved his boots away from the door. That would at least slow his stupid ass down. She didn’t want him to freeze after she’d risked so much of her own life to save him.
