by Zoey Draven
Rixavox tasted the way he smelled, a deep male muskiness that she couldn’t get enough of. His roar went on and on as he filled her. And he kept on cumming. Eventually, she had to pull off so she could swallow, but she kept her hands pumping and milking him in a jerky rhythm. She watched through a half-lidded gaze as opalescent streams of cum arced from the tip of his cock and bathed his taut abdomen and chiseled chest. Cecelia licked her lips, tasting the remnants of him on her tongue.
After what seemed like hours, his cock finally stopped spurting his seed and he fell back against the bed, chest heaving, muscles relaxing, a constant purr filling the room.
She was grateful when he gently dragged her from between his thighs to settle her against his side because all the muscles in her body felt completely spent. She didn’t think she would’ve been able to do it herself.
Rixavox pressed kisses over face before rubbing his horns against her cheek. Cecelia smiled, a delicious smugness filling her. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands or lips off of her so she figured she’d done something right.
“Female,” he rasped against her lips. Cecelia’s eyelids fluttered shut and she gave a little contented sigh, loving the way he kissed her. A girl could get used to drugging, soft, sensual kisses from her generous alien lover.
“Mmmm,” was the only sound she could manage. Between them, she felt his seed on her stomach and she watched Rixavox as he looked down at it.
But instead of cleaning them, he did that purr that made his body vibrate and he rubbed his opalescent cum into her skin like lotion.
Her lips parted when she realized he was marking her, claiming her. A small whimper escaped her throat and she was shocked when she felt her pussy give a sharp, interested throb between her legs. It was just so male, so primal. So hot.
“You are mine now,” he growled, craning his neck to kiss her again. And again. “Always.”
It should’ve alarmed her how much she liked those words, how right they felt.
But she wasn’t frightened. Not anymore.
So, Cecelia kissed him harder.
NINETEEN
“I am a weak male,” Rixavox rumbled into his female’s skin. Water trickled from his hands as he lifted them from the Rillirax to run over the bared expanse of Sessela’s back.
Her skin was impossibly smooth, soft, vulnerable. He frowned, knowing that it would be so easy for something to harm her. It only made him feel more protective of her.
“Why?” she whispered, her voice relaxed, leaning her flushed cheek against his chest as they soaked together. Usually, the Rillirax was energizing, but his luxiva seemed tired, probably due to their activities once he’d returned from the command center and right when they’d entered the sacred pool.
“I told myself from the beginning that I would not touch you,” he admitted. “Not only because of the vow I had sworn to Privanax that we would not mate. I made a vow to myself.”
He felt her smile as she teased, “You haven’t broken your vow to Privanax.” She turned her cheek to look up at him and smiled. “Not yet at least.”
His cock jumped at her words and a growl tore from his throat. Earlier that span, he thought he’d journeyed to the blackworld because of the pleasure she’d wrung from him. The mere thought of mating his female, being with her in the way the Fates intended, was…overwhelming. He couldn’t mentally—or physically—conceive what that experience would be like.
And she teased him with the possibility of it coming to fruition. It took everything in him not to nudge his cock between her legs right there and then.
He couldn’t help but ask her, “Once you have been healed, do you think you will have me?”
A soft smile touched her lips as she said, “I would have you now, if you weren’t so insistent on me being healed first.”
He purred, but his Instinct prowled inside him. “Be careful what you tempt, luxiva.”
“What does that mean? Luxiva?” she sounded out slowly. Rixavox went still. “You call me it all the time.”
“One span, I will tell you,” he hedged carefully, his fingertips tracing over the back of her neck, drawing unknown patterns over her skin.
Her voice sounded hesitant when she murmured, “We might not have that many left.”
Rixavox’s jaw clenched and he had to make the effort not to clasp her too hard to him. Her words battered at his mind, like spears or hammers would, knowing that there was a possibility for an end. He’d gone his entire life span thinking he would never find his fated mate and he was resigned to that knowledge, had accepted it even…and now that he had her, he could envision no other life he wanted. No life that didn’t include her.
“We have as many spans as you wish,” was the only thing he could think to say. He said the words slowly, as if they were delicate and might break.
Sessela sighed against him. She was no longer smiling when she said softly, “The others are waiting for me. One of the women—Bianca is her name—has a child and a husband back on Earth. She cried every day and night, being away from them, thinking she might never see them again. I feel guilty prolonging her sadness like this.”
Rixavox’s chest ached at her words. His female had a heart the size of Luxiria, but to Rixavox, no other being was more important than her.
“Your health comes first, Sessela,” he told her firmly. “This is the remainder of your life span. Her sorrow is temporary. There is no reason for you to feel guilt.”
“And yet I still feel it,” she said, her shoulders shrugging slightly.
Rixavox let out a long breath but said nothing more about it.
She changed the subject. “Do you know Kate very well?”
“The lavrix’an? I have spoken with her at length, yes.”
Sessela went quiet and Rixavox could practically see her mind at work. Finally, she asked, “And what does she do? Here, on Luxiria? How does she spend her days?”
“Her duties are in the archives in the Golden City. It is like…I believe you call it a library. It is filled with scrolls and tomes of Luxirian writing, and lore, and history. Of battles we have waged and accounts of the Fates,” he said. He thought for a moment and then said, “I think that Kat said her profession on Earth was a book maker. A ‘publisher’ is the word she used. Do you know what this is?”
Sessela’s smile returned as she nodded and Rixavox purred when he saw it. “Yes. She likes books then. I like them too, but you don’t exactly have any written in English,” she teased.
Rixavox frowned, racking his brain. “Perhaps there is a way to get them for you,” he said slowly. “And for Kat,” he added.
Her chin was on his chest as she looked up at him and she slid her arms around the expanse of his back. “Are you going to go raid a bookstore on Earth for me?”
“I would if you asked it of me,” he answered honestly. Of course, he would have to figure out a way to acquire another Luxirian crystal to power a vessel back to Luxiria. But he would. He knew he would do anything for his luxiva.
She murmured softly, “I know you would.”
He shifted her weight in the water and settled her back against him. “What was your profession on Earth?” he asked.
“I was still in school actually, working towards a nursing degree. I was going to finish in a couple months,” she said in a wistful tone. She must’ve seen the confused look on his face because she ran her fingertips over his furrowed brow and explained, “I want to be a nurse. A…healer. I started looking into nursing programs when I was doing my chemotherapy. I needed something to strive towards, regardless of if the treatments worked or not. And I’d encountered a lot of nurses over the years and they all helped me in some way. They were amazing. I wanted to do the same thing for other people.”
“You are…” he trailed off, the words deserting him. He shook his head. “You humble me, Sessela.”
Her eyes softened and she leaned up to kiss him. Rixavox didn’t know how he’d gone a single moment of his life span without kis
sing her, for it was as addictive as it was comforting, as it was sensual.
“Can I ask you something?” she murmured when she pulled back.
“Tev, of course.”
Her breasts slid against his chest as she shifted and she bit her lip before saying, “You said before that you’ve never bonded with anyone, that you’ve never wanted a mate, willingly or fated, that you didn’t see that life for yourself. Why?”
Out of all the questions she could have asked, he’d expected that one the least.
Slowly, he said, “I never said I did not want a mate.”
“Right,” she replied. “Sorry.”
“All Luxirians wish for a mate,” he told her. “Most, especially now, do not find them.”
“So you think you’ll never find yours?” she asked, her voice strangely subdued and quiet. “Is that why you never saw that life for yourself? Because you think it won’t happen?”
Keeping the truth from her was becoming more difficult by the span, he realized. She did not realize that he had found his fated mate. In her. Sessela was the only female for him, from then on until the span he entered the blackworld, whether she was by his side or not, whether she returned to Earth or not.
The words were in his throat, but he found he could not voice them. He’d never thought of himself as a coward, but the thought of his luxiva turning from him if she knew the truth…it was the most frightening thing in his world.
“It is part of it, tev,” he said carefully, hating this dishonesty between them. “I have learned to live with what the Fates have given me. To want something that desperately, only to leave this world without it…you would always want more than what you have, you would never be satisfied. I choose not to live my life wishing for something that might not happen.”
“You’re a realist,” she observed. Her eyes looked sad though and it maddened him.
“What is a realist?”
“It’s someone who…someone who accepts something for what it is and deals with it however they’re able to.”
“Then tev, I am a realist,” he murmured. “What are you?”
That question brought a small smile to her face. “I am…maybe part realist and part idealist. Do you think I can be both?”
“Tell me why first,” he said.
“Because I was dreaming of being a nurse, even when my body was being pumped with chemicals, even when I knew there was a chance I would never be able to do a nursing program. Because I think that wishing for someone whose like your second half isn’t a bad thing, even if I might never find them. It would give me something to look forward to. And I think being even a little bit of a dreamer makes life a bit more interesting.”
Rixavox huffed out a laugh, his heart thrumming in his chest as he looked down at her. He felt full, he realized. Completely and utterly full. He had since he’d first seen her.
“Tev, luxiva,” he rumbled, pressing a kiss to her lips. “I think you can be both. You are both.”
They kissed each other, feeling the comforting strength of the Rillirax, and Rixavox knew that he would never be able to give her up. He wondered if she would feel the same about him, especially considering they didn’t have much time left. He was meant to return her to the Golden City in a few spans to finish her treatment.
Sessela flinched, sucking in a sharp breath, and Rixavox pulled away, startled, afraid he’d hurt her.
“Luxiva?” he asked, brows furrowing when he saw her features drawn. He cupped her cheeks. “What is wrong?”
She shook her head. Slowly, her muscles relaxed again, but there was still a slight discomfort on her face.
“Nothing,” she murmured, her gaze returning to him. “I just…maybe it’s the Rillirax. It’s supposed to draw toxins out, right? Maybe it’s a little painful as it does, like pain means it’s working.”
“It should not make you hurt,” he said, frowning. Already, he was calculating how long it would take to return to Velraxa, to summon Kirzalla, the outpost’s healer, if necessary.
She gave him a small smile, running her palm down his chest, as if he was the one needing comfort and not her. “It’s nothing, Rixavox. It’s passed now.”
Her words slightly lessened his concerns, but they did not diminish entirely. “We should send an additional scan to Privanax this night. To be sure that nothing is wrong, tev?”
“It’s fine, Rixavox. I don’t want to bother him this late.”
“If anything happened to you, female…” he exhaled a sharp breath, slashing where that thought led. “I want to be sure.”
“Okay,” she relented. “Okay.”
“Thank you,” he murmured, pressing another kiss to her lips. “We will do it quickly when we return, tev?”
She got that look in her eye, the same one she got whenever she was teasing him. And she’d once told him teasing was like flirting.
“And once we get the all clear from the good doctor, then we can play?” she asked, a sensual smile lifting the corners of her lips.
Despite his worry, he gave a small groan, understanding her meaning.
“Tev,” he rasped. “Then we can play all you want.”
“Deal.”
TWENTY
“And these scans revealed nothing?” Levrix asked the next morning, sitting down in the fire pit with Cecelia.
“No,” Cecelia said, but then winced slightly when she moved. Her stomach was cramping up and she felt the dull throbs of the pain she’d felt the night before in the Rillirax. Not as intense, but it came and went. She figured since her stomach was acting up, that all the Luxirian food she’d been consuming was the culprit. Maybe it would just take her time to get used to it. “Privanax said the scans were all clear, so I think it’s just a stomach bug or something.”
“Did you tell Rixavox that you are unwell this span? He would want to know.”
“No,” Cecelia replied. Just the mention of his name made butterflies swarm in her stomach. She had it bad, so, so bad for her Luxirian warrior. “He was really worried last night so I didn’t want to distract him from his duties today. I’ll be fine. I just need to rest. This tea certainly helps,” Cecelia commented, shooting her newfound friend a small smile.
Outside, ugly weather raged. When she’d woken that morning, next to Rixavox, she knew that it would be a cold, cold day. The house had been freezing and Rixavox had stoked up large fires in every room to bring in some warmth. When she’d peeked out the paneled window, she saw mostly silver. The snow was silver on Luxiria and it had been coming down like crazy. So, all in all, it was a perfect day to spend by the fire, curled up with tea, and chatting with Levrix, who told her she’d closed down her stall at the Bazaar due to the weather.
“He is a caring male,” Levrix commented. Cecelia could never forget that the two Luxirians had been lovers. For a seemingly long time. Sometimes, she got the sense that Levrix was trying to remind her, but she shook it off.
She tried to soften the blow of jealousy, of imagining Rixavox with anyone else, but she couldn’t. It stabbed her so hard that it felt like a physical blow.
Cecelia swallowed, taking another sip of tea as she composed herself.
Because in her mind…all she was thinking was mine. Rixavox was hers. It was a strange, jarring feeling, but somehow, some way, she knew that he was. And she was his too.
Cecelia had never suspected she was easy by any means. But just a couple nights with Rixavox in bed and her hormones were going haywire.
Because surely she was nuts if she was beginning to wonder if there was a future for them after all? On this distant planet, where she knew next to nothing about the culture? About the people?
Was she completely nuts for falling head over heels in love with her tall, horned, ridged alien male?
Sometimes she felt like she was crazy.
But she’d never felt anything like this about any man in her life before. Not by a long shot. What she felt was the kind of thing she’d only ever seen in movies or read about i
n books. It was as consuming as a wildfire…and just as frightening.
It was a free fall. A complete free fall and she didn’t know if she had a parachute to save her.
“Yes, he is caring,” Cecelia replied softly when she trusted her voice.
But he was so much more than that.
Much more.
He made her feel strong again. He made her feel like she could be the woman she’d always wanted and needed to be.
And the thought that she might be leaving this planet, leaving Rixavox behind, never to see him again…it made her feel sick.
Now that their time was dwindling to the end, she was thinking more and more about how she would even be able to say goodbye. And she realized that she couldn’t imagine it. It hurt too much.
Levrix was quiet, studying her from across the fire pit. When she’d first arrived, as promised, she’d read a section from the book Cecelia had found the day before and translated it into English as best as she could. Beyond that, that was the most Cecelia had heard her speak that day.
“You are different,” Levrix commented. “Even from last span. I see it.”
Cecelia fought against the flush that colored her cheekbones. She’d been pale that morning when she’d looked at herself in the wall reflection in the bathroom. Perhaps a little color would do her good.
“Ah,” Levrix said, leaning back slightly, before looking down into her lap. “You have mated.”
“No,” Cecelia said. “No, we haven’t. But…”
She cleared her throat, taking another sip of tea.
“Rixavox is a charming male. Handsome and strong. I did not doubt that he would court you. Many Luxirian females have vied for his attentions throughout the rotations.”
Her words were flippant but Cecelia didn’t like the way they settled in her stomach. A sliver of anger and jealous burned through her, but Cecelia knew that Levrix had meant nothing by it. Right? If she’d learned one thing about the female…it was that sometimes she could be blunt.
That was why, after she took a deep breath, she said, “We haven’t mated, Levrix. I know this might be a little uncomfortable for you, since you two used to be…” What had Rixavox called it? “Um, pleasure partners, but I do care for him. A lot.”
