Her Cold-Blooded Protector

by Lea Linnett

  He smiled softly. “I’ve been off-planet. For the occasional job. Malc— My old boss sent me.”

  “What’s it like?”

  “Different. Earth is more closed-off than you’d think. Once you leave, people talk a little different, they do things differently and they care about different stuff.” He frowned. “The rules are different too…”

  “The rules…?” she echoed curiously

  Kormak worried at his lip. It had shocked him the first time he witnessed it: a levekk openly massaging the base of a cicarian’s wing joint at one of the public hangars, an action Kormak knew to be deeply intimate to cicarians. It was after he’d joined Malcolm’s crew, and they’d been shuffling through the darker corners of the hangar when he noticed the couple. The others had ribbed him for days over the way he’d gaped at them. They’d all thought he was being prudish, but it wasn’t that. He’d seen the custom before; he’d even participated in it for one needy partner behind the safety of closed doors in the past.

  No, what shocked him was how the couple didn’t seem to care if anyone saw them. It spoke of a truth that had been hidden from him whenever he went off-planet, even as a child.

  “Outside Earth, this…” he gestured vaguely between them, “isn’t illegal.”

  Lena blinked at him. “You mean, levekk and sub-species… They can…?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. It’s not common or anything, but…”

  “No one cares?” Her voice was high and tight with surprise, but then her expression turned sly. “…Do you think they care about escaped criminals?”

  Kormak snorted, rolling his eyes. “Yeah. Pretty sure. But I’ve definitely heard of people escaping to space stations in order to outrun Earth enforcers before,” he added.

  Lena smiled disbelievingly, eyes on his. “You’re not suggesting…”

  “You could go there.”

  “Shut up.”

  “No,” he said, chuckling. “Really. Couple fake IDs, a spot on a cargo freighter, you’re set.” At her dubious look, he continued. “I know a guy who could help you.”

  Lena looked down, processing the information. “I wouldn’t know what to do in space. It’s hard enough looking out for Ellie down here.” Her laugh was an anxious one, but Kormak could see the spark there—that familiar excitement he’d felt himself the first time someone told him he was going off-planet.

  “Once you’re out there,” he added, “it’s not unheard of for people to leave the Constellation entirely.” Lena froze, eyes widening. “That trick’s a little harder, though.”

  Lena’s hands twisted in her lap as she turned her gaze to the fire, lost in thought. Eventually, she peeked up at him. “I-is that where you’re going?”

  Something knotted and heavy dropped into Kormak’s stomach, and he looked away. “I… wasn’t planning on it.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  He looked up, but as he opened his mouth to tell her, he found himself unable to decide what he was going to say. He meant to tell her about Malcolm and what he did. About what he was going to do to the man, and why New Chicago would be his final stop.

  But the longer he waited, the deeper the doubt crept in. Not doubt about telling her, no. This was a different doubt entirely.

  What if he… didn’t go through with it?

  Lena’s expression had turned hopeful, and he knew what that meant. On Earth, they were a couple of escapees who could never so much as touch each other in public, but out there amongst the stars, they could disappear. He’d never have to think of Malcolm again.

  There would be no need to find the human. No need to exact his revenge. He could go with Lena and… be happy.

  Could he…?

  He shook his head, dislodging the thoughts before they could take proper shape. He didn’t know what the future held. He didn’t even know if he’d be alive in three days time, and so he supplied the only truthful response he had:

  “I don’t know.”

  Lena blinked at him, and then she hurriedly looked away, failing to cover her disappointment. They both stared at the fire, something thick coiling between them, although Kormak couldn’t quite make out the shape of it. He wished he could take the words back, but knew it was useless.

  You hurt her again. Good fucking job.

  He closed his eyes, blocking out the words—it was no longer Malcolm’s rasp, but the disappointed bite of his own voice.

  Lena had gone silent, her eyes distant and her jaw tense. He didn’t dare look at her for long, unable to stomach the pangs of guilt her expression inspired in him.

  He watched the flames of the fire lick upwards into the night, wishing for a distraction.

  That distraction came when Lena abruptly stood, moving to slowly circle the fire. “You know…” she began as she came to a stop beside him. “Maybe, it doesn’t matter what we plan to do.”

  She was warm from the fire, the heat rolling off her in waves, and Kormak found his gaze flicking up to meet hers before he could stop it, as if he were being led on a string. “Oh yeah?”

  She brought a hand up to toy with one of the buttons on her jumpsuit. “Yeah. Maybe we should just focus on… now.”

  She bit her lip, looking down at him with half-lidded eyes, and Kormak could see exactly what she was implying.

  He hesitated. He didn’t want to hurt her again, but still he felt something drawing him in. He wanted to please her, he realized, and the sensation was a new one.

  As the moment stretched, he saw doubt steal onto her face. She held his gaze, but her bravado was weakening. Desire warred with fear and embarrassment, and the last thing he wanted to do in that moment was throw that desire in her face.

  He couldn’t deny that he was hungry for her too. He was already hardening, just from the intent in her eyes and the way her fingers teased open the buttons running down her chest, exposing a hint of pink, flushed skin.

  Unable to stop himself, he reached out, drawing her towards him by the seam of her jumpsuit. Her legs straddled his and he pressed a kiss to her clothed belly.

  Lena said nothing, but the hitch in her breath as he touched her dissolved his resistance. He stroked a hand around to her backside, kneading the soft flesh of her ass as he breathed in her scent: half smoke, half Lena.

  He wanted her so badly, wanted to feel every inch of her give beneath his fingers, but…

  Maybe there was a way he could do this without hurting her. Maybe he could please her now, and take care of himself later.

  With that resolve in mind, he pulled her down towards him until she was seated in his lap. Her breath was excited and uneven as it puffed over his face, and he kissed her once, fiercely, her mouth molten around his tongue.

  He no longer hesitated as he maneuvered her around to lie on the ground, a safe distance from the still-crackling fire. She gave in easily enough, but wrapped a hand around his arm, pulling him down over her. He knelt between her parted legs and pulled her into another kiss—this one soft, at first. But when her fingers flew impatiently to the buttons of his jumpsuit he grew more aggressive, delighted when Lena’s tongue battled his own for purchase.

  They made quick work of each other’s clothes, Kormak pushing the coarse fabric down over Lena’s shoulders just seconds before she managed it with his own. Their skin exposed, he pulled back. She was wearing the flimsy bra again, and beneath the fabric he could see her nipples standing erect already. He leaned down, breathing hotly over her sternum as he snaked a hand beneath the fabric. Her breath hitched audibly when he teased at her nipple, causing his own heart to stutter.

  Her chest really was fascinating. Breasts were rather unique to humans, and the sensitivity of them was almost as addictive as her moans of pleasure when he entered her that morning. He could feel himself hardening further as she gasped, his blood running hotter and faster than he was used to.

  He eventually grew tired of the cloth barrier, and tore it up over Lena’s head, almost ripping it. But instead of attacking her
chest again, he pulled her close, hiking her up onto his thighs with her legs spread as he had earlier that day, fitting them snugly together where it mattered.

  She immediately arched into him, bringing a hand up to grasp the join of his neck and shoulder and pull herself close. He felt her nipples rub sensuously against his chest, sending an arc of heat to his groin.

  They were both still clothed, but Kormak rocked against her anyway, barely suppressing a groan himself when she gasped at the contact. Her core was hot against him, even through the layers of cloth, and he thrust into it, trailing kisses up her neck and delving deeply into her welcoming mouth.

  He wanted desperately to rip the clothes from her body, to enter her tight heat and rut until he spilled over, feeling her walls clamp around him…

  But he couldn’t. Not after that morning. She was human; she wasn’t built to take him.

  Still, even if he couldn’t fuck her, that didn’t mean he couldn’t please her.

  So he disentangled his mouth from hers and kissed his way down her jaw and neck, leaving a wet trail behind him. Lena was breathing heavily, and her whole body shuddered when his lips found her nipple.

  He sucked at it, tongue teasing the tip as she writhed beneath him, but he didn’t allow himself to stay for long. He moved lower and lower, tongue exploring the soft, smooth expanse of her stomach, and dipping briefly into the odd little hole in her belly.

  Lena actually laughed when he did that, her hands coming up to grip his shoulders. He would have to investigate that reaction more later, he decided, and continued his journey down her body.

  When he reached the edge of the jumpsuit, he paused, allowing his breath to fan hot against her abdomen. He felt her go still beneath him, and when he raised his eyes he found her up on her elbows, her neck craning so she could look down at him with wide, hungry eyes.

  He grinned, enjoying the blush that spread across her face in response. Carefully, he hooked a finger into the waistband of the jumpsuit and pulled the layers of fabric away, inch by excruciating inch, until she could see herself fully. Her breathing stuttered, eyes bouncing back and forth between her own quivering mound and his face.

  Swiftly, he drew both the jumpsuit and panties down over her legs in one movement, exposing her completely.

  He swooped down again, hot breaths tickling her reddened flesh. He had done this for females before, just once or twice, but nothing he’d seen measured up to the sight before him. Beneath the small thatch of hair, as blond as the stuff on her head, her skin was flushed and pink. Her folds had swollen, and they shivered as he parted them, exposing her wet, pulsating core for him to see. He looked up at her, his eyes half-lidded, pausing only to smile as her lips parted.

  She watched him with rapt attention as he lowered his head. He licked into her opening once, deeply, and she gasped.

  Her breath caught, her lashes fluttering, so he did it again. Her scent was heavenly, her heady musk filling his nose as he tasted her, and it only increased his hunger. He lapped all the way along her slit, but came to a standstill when his tongue hit a small nub at the top, tucked beneath her thatch of hair, and a high moan escaped her.

  Intrigued, he kissed it, teasing it like he had her nipple only minutes before.

  She moaned again, her back slamming down into the leaves as she thrust up against him. Almost immediately, her hands came up to dig into the plating of his head, legs drawing up to lock around his neck and shoulders.

  Oh, he liked this.

  So he continued, alternating between massaging the skin around the nub with his lips and flicking at the very center of it with his tongue. She was quickly unraveling beneath him, her body bucking up against his even after he placed a heavy hand on her navel.

  He reached up with his other hand, gently teasing her entrance with the tips of his blunted claws, and she gasped.

  Her moans were quickly turning into words. “S-s-suck it. Please!”

  Kormak obliged, bearing down on the tiny bundle of nerves that was driving his human over the edge so easily. He felt her fingertips rake against his skull, her thighs clamping around his head. He was drunk on the taste of her, locked into place and caged but also in complete control of her pleasure.

  He could tell she was close, her hips bucking even harder now, but to his surprise the hand at his head moved down, pushing him away at the shoulder.

  Reluctantly, he pulled away, meeting her dark eyes.

  “T-take me,” was all she said, her body still quivering beneath him, and the words went straight to his cock. He gripped her thigh unconsciously, fingers digging into the soft skin there as he tried to remind himself how bad an idea that was.

  The rejection was on his tongue, just waiting to spill over, but then Lena spoke again.

  “Please, Kormak. Take me.”

  And whatever wavering resolve he had left came crumbling down at her words. He hauled her towards him, their skin rasping together as he pressed his straining, clothed cock against her again.

  He crushed his lips against hers, and reached down to pull himself free of the waistband of his jumpsuit. She moaned into his mouth as he thrust his cock along the length of her, feeling the soft slide of her lips around him as he drenched himself in her slick.

  He plundered her mouth, pressing her roughly back into the leafy forest floor. “Hurry,” she groaned, and without hesitation, he lined himself up at her entrance, plunging deep inside with swift precision. Her mouth left his, her head thrown back as she moaned into the open air, her arms coming up to wrap around his shoulders.

  Every inch of her body clutched at him, and her tight, wet heat bore down on him like a vise, sending spikes of pleasure through his cock as he fucked into her. He quickened his pace, desperate for friction as he sank deeper, and heard his own groans of pleasure join hers when she began to rock against him, their bodies slapping together in perfect tandem.

  He felt his release building, and detached Lena’s scraping fingernails from his back, pinning her to the forest floor. His fingers dug into her wrists as she strained against his grip, rolling her hips into his, and then he peaked, sheathing himself fully inside her as they came in unison.

  18

  Lena almost screamed with pleasure as Kormak pulsed inside her. Her own orgasm shot through her, her body tightening around him. They tensed against each other for an interminable moment, and then collapsed.

  They lay there, curled into each other, the levekk still pinning her with one hand on her wrists as he gently stroked the rest of her body. She shivered in response to each touch, softly kissing the smooth, scaled skin of his neck.

  She never wanted the touches to end, but eventually their sweat began to cool, and the chill of the night crept past the fire to settle on their exposed skin.

  Kormak released her wrists, and she winced. She hadn’t realized just how hard he’d squeezed during the moment, but now a dull ache throbbed gently through them. She rubbed them experimentally. She could tell already that there would probably be light bruising, but she didn’t mind.

  If anything, the pressure of his fingers had only added to her enjoyment. That was an intriguing thought.

  But when she looked up, Kormak’s gaze was zeroed in on her wrists, taking in the reddened skin and the gentle massaging of her hands. He sat back, his expression momentarily one of pure, undisguised horror.

  “I hurt you again.”

  Lena rolled her eyes, freezing when Kormak’s brow furrowed. “Kormak…”

  She reached for him, but he pulled away, rolling up into a sitting position. She placed a hand on his back, and felt the muscles shiver beneath her touch.

  “Lena…”

  She sat up. “Please, Kormak. You didn’t hurt me. Not really.”

  But that didn’t seem to help. He brought a hand to his face, his eyes distant. “Get some sleep,” he murmured.

  Lena grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand from his face and forcing him to look at her. “It’s a bruise. I get hurt worse ban
ging my knee into things.” He scoffed, turning his arm in her grasp. “Besides,” she added, “I kind of liked it when you… held me down.”

  Her gaze fell as she said it, embarrassment setting in, and she dropped his hand. She felt Kormak’s stare, but when he gently lifted her chin to look at him, his expression was still closed. “Sleep,” he rumbled.

  Lena cringed internally, but allowed him to pass her panties back to her. She breathed a small sigh of relief when he let her curl up against his side, drawing his large jumpsuit around them as he had that morning.

  She couldn’t understand his reaction. She’d gotten worse bruises at the factory. Bumps and scrapes were a fact of life for her, even before prison. She was a stranger to none of it and it had long since stopped bothering her.

  She wasn’t a snowflake that would melt at the slightest touch.

  So why did he refuse to see it?

  She shifted to cradle her back against his side, her eyes on the fire. It was lower now, but still crackling, and she watched the flickering shapes within it, hoping for sleep.

  But sleep wouldn’t come. She tried squeezing her eyes shut and emptying her mind, but still she lay awake.

  After a while, she heard Kormak sigh behind her.

  “You awake?”

  She grunted an affirmative, discontentment bubbling beneath her skin. Behind her, she felt the levekk shuffling, and then he curled his naked body around her, his strong torso fitting perfectly around hers.

  “Do you remember… what I told you about my father?”

  Lena blinked back to full alertness, her heart suddenly beating in her ears. “Yes.”

  She could feel Kormak’s hitched breathing against the nape of her neck, his discomfort clear. “I didn’t choose to leave home. I was thrown out. My father believed I was… uncontrollable.”

  “Uncontrollable?”

  He tightened around her. “I was… difficult.”

  Lena frowned, but stayed silent.

  “After I left, I hung around in the seedier parts of the city. Fell in with some assholes who stole cars. Small-time stuff. I wasn’t much good for anything except scaring people.” He poked a bony, blunted claw into the dirt in front of Lena’s face, as if to demonstrate his point. “And then one day… Malcolm came along.”