“The sand is harder to remove than bacteria or a virus.”
She turned to him, her breasts swinging, his eyes drawn to them. “It got rid of the sand?”
“Yes. I couldn’t have you travelling to Karal with it in your body.”
“Wait, so my lungs are clear?”
“Yes, and your stomach. I could tell you how much you had in your body.” He turned to the console, and she reached for her bra, putting it on quickly and then struggling into the overalls, which were made from someone a lot taller than her.
“You know what, I don’t need to know.” She stood up, and began rolling the sleeves of the overalls up. “I’m just glad to be rid of it.”
Glad. That was an understatement. Now she had a chance of a long and healthy life. With Garth. She was grateful to him, and the rest of the Karalian race, for plucking her from Earth. For choosing her to carry one of their children.
Not too high a price to pay, was it? Her health in return for having an alien procreate with her?
As she followed him out of the decon’ room, she watched his huge body move, so lithe and supple. Damn, she didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she wanted him.
She only hoped at that moment, if her mom was up in heaven, she wasn’t tuning into her daughter’s thoughts.
Chapter Ten – Garth
She confused him and consumed him. Seeing her luscious body naked for the first time made him want her right there, right then in the decon’ room. The sim had never had this effect on him; he had learned from it, but it had been so much more … sterile. No emotions flooding his body, making his senses attuned to her every move.
Now, as they walked back to the cruiser, it was all he could do to stop himself taking her here, up against the wall, not caring who saw. And the worst thing was, he was sure she wanted him too. That was the thing that surprised him the most.
He thought he would have had to urge her to let him mate with her, force her even, as his father would have forced his mother. But no, her eyes devoured his body in the same way he wanted to devour her lips. And that was what turned him on: being wanted, her eyes hunting him out, as if he was her prey. Garth had never been prey, to anyone.
“Sit there,” he said, pointing to the chair she had sat in to travel here. He would have let her in the control deck, but he was worried he might not be able to concentrate fully.
“OK.” She did as he told her to, and sat down, and he watched while she buckled her seat belt up.
“Everything OK?” Okil asked as he entered the control deck and took his seat.
“Yes, why wouldn’t it be?” he asked abruptly.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I have been here waiting for a full ten minutes.”
“I reprogrammed the decon’. She had sand in her body.” Garth powered up the engines.
“Ahh, so your compassionate side is unleashed at last, Garth. Good to know, I always worry about you warriors taking a female into deep space with you.”
“I am sure she will keep me sufficiently entertained on the voyage,” Garth said, wiping the images of her lying naked in his bed aboard the deep space cruiser from his head, as he launched them down towards Karal.
Okil laughed. “My, you have got it bad.”
“No, I have not. It is the prime, it is making me want to make a new life with her, a son, which means I have to mate with her.”
Okil laughed again. “Tell yourself what you have to, just make sure you look after her, and find the planet we need. I don’t care how much time you spend with your cock inside her as long as you fulfil your duty.”
“Don’t worry Okil. I will remember how much this mission and the humans mean to you.”
“And once you understand Tamzin, it will mean more to you too. Garth, they bring something to our lives which we never knew we were missing.” Okil fell silent and then said, “There is something more I should tell you.”
“You are in the mood for spilling secrets, aren’t you?”
“All the other deep space warriors know, so it’s only right I tell you before you begin this missions so that you know exactly what is at stake.”
Garth put his full attention on Okil now, sensing that he was about to give Garth the key to the mystery as to why the Hier Ruler and the Council were willing to accommodate these females, and allow them to be free on Karal.”
“Our species is about to become whole again. A female child will be born and our sons won’t have to search the universe for females when their prime comes. And that is thanks to the humans. So I cannot turn my back on them and simply take what we need.”
“How?”
“An accident in decon’. Or fate, as the humans like to believe in. Whatever it is, it is real. So please, Garth, find us a planet.”
Karal loomed large in front of them and he let his attention return to his job, making sure they landed safely. But all the time he thought of the female in the back, and that his people would no longer have to search the universe, they could become self-sufficient again.
“We won’t need them anymore, if what you say is true.” His words were spoken quietly, as though he were saying them to himself.
“Believe me, we do, Garth. They are our backup plan. If the females are infertile, then we will still need breeding stock. Humans can provide that. Think of it as a farm for Karal.”
Garth burst out laughing. “Now, that is how the Hier Ruler must see it, a farm for breeding females.”
“It is, Garth, but I don’t care how we look at it. It’s the right thing to do.”
“OK. You know, enough of this. I don’t need to know all the details, this is a mission for me, and I want to get my head straight. It’s bad enough not being able to get her out of my head.” He jerked his head back towards Tamzin.
“My advice, Garth, is to get her out of your head, out of your system, tonight.”
“You mean go back to my rooms now?”
“Not right away. You need to get Darl to give her something for her skin, the rain marked her badly.”
“You’re right.” They had landed in the airport, and he drove the cruiser over to the exit, Okil talking briefly to the guards, and then they were moving across the grasslands of Karal. He was happy to be home, but even happier to have a female with him. All these months some of the other Karalians had been kept warm at night by a luscious female body; now it was his turn.
“Take me to the tower, and then you can go to see Darl.” Okil left his seat and went to collect his belongings, speaking to Tamzin as he went. Garth experienced a stab of jealousy, but he let it go. She was his, and Okil already had a woman. “And remember to tell her about the mission, she has no idea. Unfortunately, she thinks she’s in for a nice cosy life on Karal.”
“Great. Let’s hope she takes it well.”
The more he thought about it, the happier he was that in two days’ time he would be leaving for deep space with Tamzin. By the time he returned he would be over this; he would be able to let go of the possessive feelings that flooded his body. He would have purged them from his body by indulging himself in her, whenever he wanted.
Yes, he knew about the need for the mission to succeed, but there were long, long days of nothing to fill while they travelled. And he knew exactly how he wanted to spend his time.
Chapter Eleven – Tamzin
“Thank you, Okil,” she said as the big Karalian came over to say his goodbyes.
“Garth is a good man; he will look after you.” Okil’s look made her want to question what he meant, but she was still in awe of the aliens. She didn’t know anything about them. Other than the fact that they had healed her, saved her from a horrible, painfully prolonged death.
“I’m looking forward to seeing your planet.” She thought it was the safest thing to say, and it was true, she wanted to explore this new world and see all the new life there was here. And create a new life of her own. Yeah. An alien life.
“I’m sure we’ll see each other again. The human female
s do like to stick together, and as yet there are still so few of you.” He looked out of the window. “The tower. I need to gather my things.”
She looked out of the window too, wondering what he meant, and was surprised to see a great big building, with a high tower, almost like something out of mediaeval times, rising above the flat grasslands. It seemed out of place somehow.
Longing to ask questions, she called to Garth. “May I come and sit with you?”
He looked back at her, pausing for a second before nodding. “Okil is leaving, so you may take his seat.”
“Thank you,” she said unbuckling her seat belt and walking to the front, glad the vehicle moved smoothly or else she might have ended up on her butt.
“Don’t touch anything.” His words weren’t said maliciously, but more matter of fact.
“I wouldn’t dream of it; I have no idea what anything up here is for. Instruments like this are not really my thing, you know.” Gazing at all the buttons and dials, she wondered how he remembered what each was for—come to think of it, what were they all for. “It all looks so complicated.”
“It’s not.” He pulled a lever back and the cruiser stopped. “Most of it is for when we go into deep space. Although when we go, we will be traveling in a bigger cruiser.”
“When we go into deep space? You mean you and me, or a collective we?” This was news to her.
“Us. You and me. It is our mission to go into space and find a new Earth.”
“That doesn’t sound like a thing you need me for.”
“We are the fourth mission, none have returned yet. We will leave in two days’ time.”
“But I just got here,” she said, her voice shaking. Space, especially deep space, made her nervous.
“I thought you would be pleased. The Karal are hoping to form a colony for humans, so that you may survive as a race when your planet finally becomes inhospitable.”
“If we find somewhere, do I get to pick people to go?” She was thinking of Sybil and Thomsk, and his kids.
“That is not up to me, that is up to the Hier Council.” He looked up at the big tower, and she followed his gaze. “Is that who lives in there?”
“They don’t live there, but it is where they govern from. The Hier Ruler, our leader, is in charge.”
The ramp opened behind them and she turned to catch a glimpse of Okil walking down it, a couple of packs in his hands, and a roll of what she presumed was paper under his arm.
“May I ask him, your Hier Ruler?” Tamzin said.
“No. Unless we are successful. It is best to keep a low profile. He can be hard; it is not easy governing a planet like Karal, not when we are bringing you humans here and not shutting them away.”
“Is that what you would prefer, to shut me away?” The thought had never occurred to her.
“I have not decided yet.” His eyes twinkled, making those deep pools sparkle, and she knew he was joking, a thing confirmed when a soft dusky pink skimmed his hand.
“You are making fun of me.” Tamzin touched the back of his hand and felt him tense, but not in a threatening way. Immediately the air became charged with a tension that had not been there before, but had been present on the space station. “Are you going to show me your home?”
“Yes.” His voice was thick with emotion, leaving her in no doubt as to what would happen when they arrived at their destination.
He throttled the cruiser forward and they took off, heading back the way they had come. Settling back in her chair, she watched the scenery outside of her window, the grassland, with bright coloured birds lifting up and taking flight as they approached. In the distance she could see tall trees, pockets of them, and then in the distance a large mountain rose up to reach up to the violet sky.
If anything told her they were on an alien planet, it was the sky.
“Your planet is beautiful,” she said softly.
“Thank you.” He turned to the left, taking them across the grassy plain, and in the distance she saw another large building, but also small houses, dotted here and there with no real rhyme or reason.
“Are these houses where people live?” she asked.
“Yes.” He made it sound as if she were asking a really stupid question.
“No roads? Not towns?”
“There are some towns, well, what you would call villages, by the ocean. But here we are more spread out. The sim knows where every house is, and so they show on the screen here.” He flipped a switch and sure enough, a map appeared. “Program in where you want to go and the sim gives you directions. Or you can use the auto pilot.”
He took his hands off the wheel as he flicked another switch and the vehicle drove itself. Which freaked her out a little.
“Neat trick.” They drove in silence; so many questions in her head, but she wasn’t sure how to voice them.
“We will stay here for the remainder of the day. I will take you to see Darl and we can get some salve for your skin.” She held her hands out, seeing the redness. “Is my face that bad too?”
“It is red, but it does not hide your beauty.” The words were not meant to flatter, but said as a truth, which made her blush furiously.
“Thank you, Garth. But you know I’m a sure thing, right?” she half joked.
“A sure thing?” he asked, confused.
“You know I came here for you to breed with me, so you don’t have to try to chat me up.”
“Chat you up?”
“Say nice things to get me into your bed.”
“Oh yes, I know. You already agreed to be in my bed.” He said it so matter-of-factly that she giggled, breaking the tension. “What is so funny?”
“Nothing. I think it’s just the culture shock, you know. I’m used to men trying to chat women up to get them to sleep with them. You don’t have to, because, well, like you said, I already agreed to it, without me having to even set eyes on you first. So it’s nice you are big with the compliments anyway.”
“Big with the compliments.” He repeated the phrase, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to comprehend what she was saying. “I can see sex isn’t the only thing we will be doing in deep space. You will have to teach me your strange language too.”
Tamzin swallowed the lump that had filled her throat. Did he really plan for them to travel the universe, having sex to pass the time? She glanced sideways at him, stealing her eyes away from the vibrant life outside the vehicle, and concentrated on Garth instead. Would it be so bad?
That depends on whether he actually fitted inside her. A thought that made her mouth go dry.
“We have arrived,” he said as they drove through big wooden gates into a courtyard. “This is the breeding house.”
“The what?” she squeaked, wondering why they would call a building such a name.
“It is the base for the deep space missions now. But before, the last mothers, my mother, was kept captive here.”
“And bred with?” she asked, her voice a whisper, filled with awe and anguish. “They were prisoners?”
“Yes.” He looked at her, seeing her troubled face. “We are trying to do things differently this time, Tamzin.”
“I hope so.” A feeling of oppression covered her, dampening her spirits. She was being naive, thinking of this alien sat next to her as a charming man, but he wasn’t, because he wasn’t a man at all.
He parked his vehicle and stood up, stretching, testing her resolve, because he sure was in good shape. “Let’s get your bag, and then we can go and see Darl. He’s bound to have something to fix you up.”
With Garth leading the way, they went to the cargo hold, and she picked up her bag, noting how empty it felt without the stuff she had given to her friends. As he opened the ramp and they departed, she dearly hoped that one day she would see them again, and that she could find the new planet they all so desperately needed.
“Oh, wow.” She breathed in the air, letting it fill her lungs, enjoying not having the familiar heaviness there.
“Next to Earth, it is good, yes?” Garth stood and watched her and then took another breath of his own.
“It certainly is. I never realised just how little oxygen there was in the air. Here, it reenergises me, makes me feel like I could run for miles and never get tired.”
“We can put that energy to good use later,” he teased. “Right now, your skin needs attention.”
She put her hand to her face. “That bad?” Flinching, her skin felt on fire when she touched it. It was that bad, and she wondered what she looked like, and whether he was also teasing when he had told her she was beautiful.
Chapter Twelve – Garth
“Darl should be in his office.” Garth held the door open for her, watching as she looked around the building they had just entered. Everything fascinated her; she was like a child looking at the world for the first time.
“What is all this?” she asked.
They had gone in through the part of the breeding house that had been converted into a storage bay. It was filled with air purifiers, water systems, and emergency shelters. He had never thought about it before, but he could see that Okil was not going to give up until the new colony was made.
“I think Okil is one hundred percent certain one of us will find a new planet to colonise. This is his supply store.” Garth wandered through it, picking up things here and there and examining them. “The guy is rooting for Earth and humanity, you know.”
“He’s nice.” She looked up at Garth. “So he’s in charge?”
“Not exactly. But he is pulling some strings to get all this stuff together. He must have got the manufacturing plants to switch over to making surplus stock for him.” Garth kept her gaze. “But enough of this, let’s get you to Darl.”
“I don’t think I want to look in a mirror. Every time you look at me you decide I need to see a doctor, so I’m guessing it’s pretty bad.”
“Not bad, but the sooner you see the doctor, the sooner you will heal. I want you to be in good shape when we leave.”
“Lead the way.” She weaved in and out of the stores until she was by his side, and he wanted to kiss her lips, feel the heat of her passion. But he was scared if he touched her too much he would hurt her. She was right, it was a good job she couldn’t see her face in the mirror.
Hunted: BBW Alien Romance (Warriors of Karal Book 4) Page 5
