Alien Ascension

by Tracy Lauren

  Dax pulls me toward the craft and helps me inside. I keep looking back at The Oscillion until I can no longer see him. A massive guard sits across from us and another pilots the craft. I keep looking out the window, just so I don’t have to look at Dax. His expression was odd before. It was cold and shut down. I don’t know if he’s mad at me or if I did something too taboo. Heck, maybe I put us in danger with that little show back there.

  When we get to the inn a short while later the guards offer to walk us up and scan the room for us, but Dax declines. Strangely enough, I’m almost nervous to be alone with him. The feeling of dread intensifies as we climb the stairs in silence.

  “It’s late,” he says when we get inside the room. They are the first words he has spoken to me since the casino.

  “It isn’t that late—” I counter.

  “It’s late enough and we have an early morning. Get some rest.”

  “Are you coming to bed?” I ask, trying to keep the fretfulness from my tone.

  “Later. I will take a bath first.”

  “Oh…okay.” I ready myself for bed as quickly as I can, sobering up fast and feeling all kinds of weird about the tension between Dax and me. I must have really pissed him off, I think to myself as I climb under the covers. Dax approaches and pulls the gauze curtains shut, closing me up inside. I can see the outline of his body, until he cuts the lights, then I hear him step into the large tub, but I can’t see him anymore, so I curl up and close my eyes.

  Too many emotions threaten my fragile sense of well-being, so I push away my embarrassment and cowardice, my confusion and frustration, my jealousy and envy, and finally my fear. And at some point, as I work to eradicate myself of all feeling, I fall into a heavy slumber.

  Chapter 25

  Dax

  Oh my goddesses.

  I rushed to get V tucked away into the bed and dropped down into the tub as quickly as I could before she noticed my raging erection. I had to grit my teeth and wait until I knew she was finally asleep before I took myself in my hand—something I haven’t done since I was first burgeoning into manhood.

  I longed for V to climb from the bed and discover me touching myself to the memory of her sensual dance. I told myself that maybe such a sight is what it would take for her to finally take my affections for her seriously. I even considered waking her, climbing into the bed, still dripping wet from the tub and hard for her. I’d pull back the smooth sheets and run my hands over her body. Her body that can perform all sorts of filthy deeds. Where did she ever learn such things? Why did she ever learn such things? I do not care, I think to myself as I stifle a groan, stroking my length.

  I have never been more confused by a female in my entire life. The more I flirt with her the more she pushes me away, but when we are together it is so natural and intimate—it is as if she is already my mate. She has expressed her jealousy of other females to me, she eats from my plate and drinks from my cup, we hold one another wherever we go, but anytime I hint at more she pulls back and I suddenly feel this void between us. Perhaps I am rushing her? She must still need time to adjust to this life. I have to show her I can be patient. I’ll just have to take myself in my hand in the meantime.

  Ultimately, my hand is a poor substitute for the female I desire, and though the deed is done quickly, I am left feeling agitated, with my lust unquenched. I climb from the tub and walk out onto the balcony, letting the crisp desert air dry my body and calm my nerves.

  I won a substantial amount of creds from The Oscillion this evening, but I have not even had the chance to consider the repercussions to such an occurrence. The Oscillion does not like losing, but he seemed in good spirits after the game of Tilt had ended. Perhaps he plans on winning the creds back before V and I depart from Quar.

  I perch on the balcony railing and idly braid my hair while considering The Oscillion. For a moment I thought we were going to have a problem when he suggested I wager V as a bet for the game, but I think he was only trying to throw my focus. It would have been a very big problem if he had indeed decided to try and keep my V.

  The Oscillion travels with no less than half a dozen guards at all times and he owns all of Quar in one way or another. It would have taken much bloodshed to make it back to the airfield, and though I know many people here on Quar, there are not many who would back me against The Oscillion.

  I shake myself from the thought. It was nothing more than a gambit to try and win the game, I’m sure of it. Hopping down from the railing, I pace the tiled balcony, trying to work off the tension I still feel in my body. My mind keeps traveling back to V, lying sleeping in the bed and the thought of her hanging upside down with her legs spread wide, gripping that pole. I scrub my face with my hands and drop to do a few sets of pushups before bed. When I’m done I’m wet again, but this time from sweat.

  Still naked, I pad barefoot over to the bed, the claws on my feet clicking lightly on the tiled floor as I do. I pull the curtains back and the pale moonlight spills onto V. Her breast rises and falls with each breath she takes. One thin strap of her camisole balances precariously on her shoulder, it would take so very little to make it slip down. I let out a sigh, admiring her form. She truly looks like a goddess, lying here, kissed by the silver light of the moon.

  Carefully, I drop down onto the bed atop the sheets, trying not to disturb her slumber. Reclining on my back, I fold my arms under my head, doubtful sleep will claim me.

  “Dax?” my female moans sleepily.

  “I am here,” I tell her, sitting up slightly, wanting to reach for her but holding myself back.

  “Are you mad at me?” she asks, still sounding half asleep.

  “Never,” I tell her.

  “Good,” she says, scooting closer but still not touching me. I can’t take the distance. I reach my arms around her and pull her against my body. Silently, I admonish myself for not showing her more patience, but she does not try to fight the nearness.

  “You’re so hot!” she exclaims, her fingertips lightly brushing against my chest. The small touch makes my cock react instantly. Moonlight filters into the room and shines down over us. No blanket covers me. All she would have to do is look down and she would see how intense my desire for her is.

  “I was exercising,” I reply, effortfully trying to school my voice into something that might sound causal, but still, it comes out a growl.

  “I’m not making you too hot, am I?” she asks, still cuddled next to me.

  I can’t seem to find my voice, so I shake my head in response.

  “Okay…good…promise to tell me if you aren’t comfy,” she says slowly, sleepily.

  I nod again in response. In my head, all I can think of is the dirty things I want to do to her body and the filthier things I want to whisper in her ear. My cock twitches at every mental picture I have of V on that pole, and I consider how easily my claws could tear at those thin camisole straps.

  I lean my head down to inhale the scent of her hair, and that drumming starts up again. But I don't care about it this time. I don’t care why I hear it or where it is coming from, all I care about is the female next to me. I can’t hold myself back any longer. I have to see if she wants me, to know if she is as interested as I am in what could be between us. I won’t rush her, I just have to know if she feels the same way I do. So, I reach for her, to run my hand along her jaw and pull her in for a kiss, but just before my skin touches hers, a soft snore escapes her. Followed by a louder one. I pull my hand back and rub my forehead, stifling a chuckle. It appears tonight is not the night.

  ***

  When I awake in the morning I am tangled in the sheets and V is no longer beside me. I feel the bed where she should be lying—it is cold.

  “V?” I call out loudly. “Veee!”

  “Whoa! Calm down, I’m right here,” she calls from the other side of the curtains. I wrap the sheet around my waist and emerge from the bed. V is sitting on one of the overstuffed pillows, dressed for the day and combing out her wet
mane. I notice she is dressed differently. While she still wears pants, she has chosen to wear one of the more revealing and strappy tops I bought for her, leaving her arms, shoulders, and much of her chest exposed.

  “You bathed?” I ask, disappointed. Why could I not have woken up just a few minutes earlier?

  “Yeah.” She shrugs. “Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of hot water,” she tells me, motioning toward the tub.

  “That is not the point,” I groan and make my way over to slide in behind her on the pillow.

  “Okay… What is the point?” she asks, craning her neck to look at me.

  “How do you want your mane?” I ask, changing the subject.

  “I don’t know, whatever’s easy. Just a simple braid or something like that.”

  “No,” I say, dividing her damp mane into sections.

  “Alright,” she scoffs. “Do whatever you want, I’m certainly not going to be picky over someone doing my hair for me.”

  There is a short moment of silence between us before she breaks it. “Did you sleep okay?” she asks.

  “No,” I answer truthfully, and the silence ticks by again.

  “Look, Dax…are you sure you aren’t mad at me? I know you said last night that you weren’t, but you can tell me if you are. I’m not such a baby that I can’t talk about feelings with you.”

  I groan again and rest my head against the nape of her neck.

  “Look, I got carried away last night. I didn’t think about the consequences of my actions. I was trying to show off, to be brave or something, and instead I made a spectacle out of us and probably put us in danger. Which you are responsible for mitigating. It was irresponsible of me—” she says, but stops talking when she hears the slow chuckle rising from within me.

  “What’s so funny?” she asks defensively, and I can just picture the perturbed look on her sweet little human face.

  “V, I am not mad. I promise you this.”

  “Then why are you acting so weird?” she demands.

  I run through the infinite ways in which I could answer that question, but get distracted by my female’s fresh scent and inhale deeply against her neck.

  “Dax! Did you just smell me?” she cries out as she tries to pull away, but I wrap my arms around her and pull her back onto my lap. She cranes her neck to look at me, confusion and amusement written on her face. “What has gotten into you?”

  “Show me your dance again,” I bid with great seriousness.

  The smile evaporates from her face and is replaced with a wounded scowl. “Oh, great! Now you’re going to tease me!” she huffs and tries to pull away again, but I pull her more firmly against me.

  I open my mouth to speak, ready to tell her exactly what I thought of her dance, but the door chimes. I close my eyes and growl. Again, it chimes, insistent on interrupting my confession. V wriggles free from my hold on her.

  “That’s the doorbell, right?” she asks, getting up, still looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have.

  “I can get it,” I groan, knowing she will likely fear whoever is on the other side of the door.

  “No, it’s okay. Plus, you should get dressed,” she says, pointedly eyeing the sheet wrapped around my waist.

  I acquiesce. As I get to my feet, the sheet drops from my body and I walk to the place where I left my waist cloth, silently daring V to look back over her shoulder at my naked form. But she does not. Instead, she opens the door tentatively and speaks in a low voice to whoever is on the other side.

  “Yes, that’s right… Oh, really? Okay…uh, thanks. I’ll see what we can do. Yes, be sure to tell him thank you for us,” she is saying. I frown, confused by the conversation. I strap my waist cloth on quickly and hurry to join her side at the door before the caller leaves, but the door swings open and servers begin carting in trays of food.

  “What is this?” I ask.

  “The Oscillion sent it over, along with an invitation to join him at the canyons today.”

  The servers leave as quickly as they came, and I am alone with V once more. The meal looks appetizing and it saves me the trouble of calling down for service. I begin filling a plate while V pokes at the imported fruits, eyeing some of the dishes dubiously.

  “You sure do have some nice friends,” she notes, looking at the extravagant spread. I set my plate down and approach V.

  “I must be completely clear when I say this,” I tell her gravely.

  “Uh, okay?”

  “The Oscillion is friend to none. Do not mistake his interest with friendship. He is not to be trusted.”

  “He seemed decent enough to me. A little unnerving and forward, but—”

  “The Oscillion is a predator, V, we are in his good graces now, but if that ever were to change, count on him to strike and to strike hard. He has no friends, only those in his debt and those he wants to have in his debt.”

  “I guess we aren’t going to be flying at the canyons today then,” she says with slacking shoulders and a disappointed frown.

  “Why do you say that?” I ask.

  “Because the big bad Oscillion will be there.”

  “Oh, I am still going to take you flying,” I tell her, shoving a heaping morsel of breakfast meat into my mouth.

  “And it looks like you’re still going to eat,” she says, biting back a laugh.

  “Of course.” I smile. “We cannot let such a meal go to waste.” I pick up a chilled berry that has been dusted with a sweet, powdery coating and roll it between my fingers. “Such sweetness should never go to waste,” I tell her in my most seductive voice. I touch the berry softly to her lips, and after only a moment’s hesitation she carefully plucks it from my fingers with her teeth. We look deep into each other’s eyes and I consider leaning in to lick the juices from her lips—

  “Are you going to eat that sausage?” she asks suddenly, chewing the berry loudly and motioning toward my plate.

  “No,” I tell her, smiling despite my defeat. “It is all yours.”

  Chapter 26

  Vivian

  The Oscillion left what Dax called a “surface vessel” to drive us over to the canyons. On the ride out of town Dax’s attention is eagerly focused outside the windows. When he sees we are nearing the hangars, which look like nothing more than small metal boxes on the horizon, he can’t hold back his excitement.

  “There is something nearly intoxicating about the scent of the sand, oil, and exhaust on the breeze on a warm day on Quar,” he tells me with childlike wonder in his voice. I close my eyes and try to smell what he does.

  The surface vessel slows to a stop and Dax hurries to bound out of the door. I almost expect him to go sprinting off to the hangars without me, but instead he turns to help me descend from the vehicle. The coarse sand crunches beneath our feet and I can hear the whirr of engines in the distance.

  “Here it is!” he announces proudly, holding his arms out to show me the rusted old metal hangars.

  “No kidding…” I respond, eyeing our surroundings doubtfully.

  “Come, you must see what is inside to appreciate it fully!” he tells me and starts pulling me by the hand. I can’t help but laugh at his eagerness, and what’s more, I can’t help but share his excitement.

  “See there, on the horizon? Those are racers coming back from the canyons.”

  I shield my eyes only to see what appears to be a dust storm in the distance, but then Dax is tugging me along again, his tail whipping from side to side. As we round the building I see the hangar doors have been pulled back, leaving the front wide open. I thought we had been alone, but half a dozen aliens mill about the inside of the hangar, either working on small ships or sitting around, bullshitting with one another. I recognize some of them from the night before as the men Dax played Tilt with. When they see me, everyone stops talking.

  “Ayo! Dax! My brother!” someone calls out.

  “Merkeem!” Dax calls out before letting out a loud whistle that echoes off the uninsulated walls
of the metal building.

  The man rushes about halfway down the stairs before leaping over the bannister and landing in the dirt with half a stumble. Dax releases me, running to meet Merkeem halfway. They give one another an exuberant and brotherly embrace, with Dax actually spinning his friend.

  When they release each other Merkeem gives a playful slap to the back of Dax’s head and ruffles his perfectly coiffed braid. “I heard you were on Quar! I also heard you were traveling with a goddess, but I thought that was a load of crap,” he tells Dax, looking over his shoulder to peer at me with disbelieving eyes.