by T. J. Quinn
He tilted his head back and sniffed. Despite his subtlety, I caught the movement. I could feel the heat in my cheeks as I felt certain he’d scented my reaction to him because his grin seemed self-satisfied. He knew I wanted him. But if I fucked him, he would take that as a commitment to be his mate---for life! Sheesh. How was I going to get out of this one?
CHAPTER THREE
PYRR
I scented her out of all the others as soon as I walked into the conference room. Scarlet was sitting with a group watching a holo-program. She was the only one who looked up when I entered, as though she had sensed my presence. The sweet essence of her desire hit me within seconds of our eyes meeting.
She looked away briefly as her face seemed to turn pink. Was she ashamed to desire me? Or was it that she was embarrassed that I knew it? It didn’t matter. That she desired to share sex with me meant I had a chance to win her as my mate. That made me smile.
Scarlet got up quietly and wove her way through the other women who were watching the program. “Is it time for evening meal already?” she asked.
“I thought we could go to my quarters and talk,” I said. When she quirked an eyebrow upward and simply stared up at me, I suspected that was the wrong answer. But I really did just mean to talk. Although I wanted so much more from her, I knew it was too soon.
“Really?”
I shrugged. “With all the extra people on the ship, we are limited to where we can find a little privacy,” I explained. “Females always have the right of choice---even solmatu. I wish to get better acquainted so that you will choose to be my mate.”
“Wow, you guys don’t waste any time, do you?” Scarlet said with a hint skepticism.
“It would be my great honor to be your mate. Solmatu is almost sacred among our people. That means we are the most compatible mates for each other that we can hope for.” I explained her. “You feel the attraction between us. It’s in your scent.”
“Okay, let’s go to your quarters,” she whispered, “I don’t want to have this conversation where everyone else can hear.”
I nodded. “Come, it’s not far.”
Scarlet followed me into the corridor and fell into step beside me. I rested my hand against her back as we walked. My cabin was up one floor on the lift and two doors the right. My door opened automatically as the surveillance eye recognized me when I came to stand in front of it. As an officer, I had a private cabin with a small sitting room with a small booth containing a table with two small benches and a holoviewer on an extension arm. I also have a small sofa and chair. The bedroom was at the back of my cabin in a separate room with a bathroom off the sleeping area.
“Can I get you some tea?” I asked, gesturing for her to sit in the booth.
“You don’t happen to have any coffee, do you?” she asked.
The word didn’t translate. “What is coffee?”
“I was afraid you would say that,” she smiled ruefully. “It’s a hot drink made from roasted beans with a mild stimulant called caffeine. It’s kind of an acquired taste.”
“What we call tea also contains a mild stimulant, slightly sweet served hot. Would you like to try it?” I offered.
“If you are having some,” she agreed. “That would be nice.”
My processor produced two steamy mugs of tea within seconds. I set one down in front of Scarlet and sat down across from her in the booth. She looked at the liquid in her cup and dipped the tip of her smallest finger into it.
“Hot! Very hot!” she murmured and finally raised her green colored eyes to meet mine. She had short hair of two colors that looked tousled on purpose. To me, she was perfect with her full pink lips and smooth golden skin. I had never met a female that attracted me the way she did. I couldn’t help staring at her, memorizing her face.
“I heard what happened to Farseek, that most of you lost your families. I am so sorry, I know what it’s like. My parents were killed in a traffic accident, and my fiancé was killed in a bombing.”
“I am sorry for your losses, Scarlet. Was your world at war?” I asked her.
“It seems like there was always a war somewhere in our world. I used to be a soldier,” she said. “I served on two different war fronts. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be kidnapped by aliens. Our world is barely space faring. They sent men to our moon a few times before I was born and we have this space station in orbit.”
“Our world was unified with one central government, but there were decades of skirmishes with the Sargus Empire on the edges of the Consortium. We were members of their Defense Force,” I explained. “We never expected a Sargan attack. Farseek is on the far side of the Consortium from the Empire. …And the Consortium let it happen. They were more concerned about their holdings than our people. Somebody knew something. There is no way they hit Farseek that fast without cutting across Consortium space.”
“You think the Consortium sold you out?”
“At least someone in the Consortium. Farseek is predominantly agricultural. The people they took as slaves were the most valuable resource we had,” I said. “The Sargans destroyed everything else.”
She looked at me thoughtfully, then shook her head. “That really sucks!”
“Sucks?” The literal translation didn’t make sense.
“Awful? Unfortunate? Bad?”
I nodded and grinned at her. “Yes, it sucks,” I repeated, and she smiled back. Then, of course, my cock was getting twitchy. I wanted her badly, but despite the scent of her desire, she was holding back. I supposed it was our cultural differences. Uatu women most generally accepted solmatu without hesitation.
She dipped her smallest finger into the tea again, “Ah, perfect.” She put her finger up to her mouth and licked off the liquid. Then she picked up the mug and sipped from it. “Mmmm. Kind of fruity and a little spicy. …Reminds me of the sassafras tea my grandmother used to make. I like it,” she said and sipped some more.
I picked up my cup and sipped from it, watching her over the rim. It was just an ordinary conversation and a simple cup of tea, but watching Scarlet watching me seemed utterly fascinating. Stars, I wanted to claim her, and I wasn’t sure how to convince her to be my mate. The way she was looking at me at least gave me hope that she liked me more than a little. We sipped our tea in silence for several minutes before she spoke again.
“This is nice,” she said. “I like you Pyrr, and I’m attracted to you. But, I want to know you a lot better before I can commit to being your mate for life.”
My disappointment must have shown on my face.
“I would very much like to know you better,” she added quickly and reached across the table to lay her smaller hand over mine.
That sent a jolt of awareness through me that went straight to my cock---just when I was starting to feel it was under control. It took a lot of willpower not to jerk my hand back as I felt that control slipping away. Instead, I set down my cup and reached across the table to caress her face with my fingertips.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you?” I asked quietly.
“Oh, I think I do.” Her faint smile was self-mocking. “It’s probably going to happen sooner than later, just not right now.”
Thankfully, a two-tone chime sounded over the com to inform us that dinner was being served in the mess hall. The thought of food distracted me from lust for Scarlet long enough so that I could stand up without a blatant erection.
I figured some cultural difference regarding mating rituals was holding her back from acting on her desire. Had she been a Uatu female we would already be mating. Plus, she had already lost a prospective mate who was a warrior. Maybe she feared that I would be taken from her as well if she let herself care for me. But judging how she looked at me, that didn’t seem the case. The simple truth was in her scent. She wanted me as I wanted her.
CHAPTER FOUR
Scarlet
It was really hard holding back from Pyrr’s desire to mate with me. We were practically ru
bbing sparks off each other. I guess I just needed time to get used to the idea, along with the fact that we would not be going back to Earth anytime soon---if ever.
The governor of Halor invited us to stay there where it was safe and peaceful, or we could stay with the mercenaries and eventually settle on Farseek with them. The majority of the Halorans were a different species of a humanoid than the Farseekers. Harper said that we were genetically compatible; they just had different skin pigmentation, hair and eye colors.
Harper, Zoe, and Nora were my only friends from Earth. Harper already committed to Commander Maktu which meant she was staying. I wasn’t going to live on Halor without her. I doubted Zoe or Nora would stay there either. Harper believed in their solmatu recognition. The way I felt being with Pyrr was starting to make me a believer.
We finished our tea and Pyrr returned our empty mugs to the processor. Then, he turned and offered his hand to assist me as I slid out of the booth. Something in his eyes told me he was going to make his move. He pulled me against him with one arm around me and used his free hand to tilt my face up to kiss me.
As his lips settled against mine, I slid my arms around him relishing the warmth of his firm muscular body. He felt wonderful, and his kiss was so tantalizing, I wanted to take all that it offered. His tongue slid in between my parted lips and danced around mine. I made a soft mewing sound in my throat at his thorough exploration of my mouth. When his lips finally lifted from mine, my whole body was trembling with desire. The press of his cock against my belly didn’t help.
“That felt every bit as good as I thought it would,” he said with an affectionate smile.
I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “It did.” Slowly, he released me and stepped back.
I wasn’t sure whether I was relieved or disappointed. But I was getting hungry.
“Give me a minute.” He ran his hand down my arm in a tender caress. Then he went into the bedroom I guessed to use the bathroom, and maybe to adjust his cock.
Glancing down, I could see my erect nipples outlined under my shirt. I crossed my arms over my chest willing them to relax. If that didn’t work, perhaps the added warmth of my arms would make them less conspicuous.
Pyrr returned momentarily. He looked at me with a faint smile, like he wanted to hold me again, but was refraining because of his reaction to being close to me. He rested his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Shall we go?
“Sure,” I said and started toward the door.
Pyrr fell into step beside me and put his hand on my back as we walked to the lift down to the floor where the mess hall and the conference room were located. There were about thirty of the mercenaries and close to the same number of the rescues in the mess hall when we arrived. It didn’t seem all that different from the messes I had been in as a soldier.
There were several long tables in a row side by side lengthwise with benches along both sides of the length of each table. All were anchored to the metal floors that were painted or infused with a dark green tint. The walls were a pale mint green.
The meal was self-serve cafeteria style. The variety was limited though I neither saw nor smelled anything that seemed unappetizing. Pyrr pointed out things he thought were worth eating. I got a casserole dish that looked like a stir-fry with meat and vegetables, some fruit and some cold tea. It was delicious after the protein bars they fed us on the slave ship. The dog biscuits I used to give Billy tasted better. I tried one once to see if they were good enough for my boy. They weren’t. I found a recipe and made them for him after that.
Pyrr and I chatted about our backgrounds. His world was higher tech than Earth, but he grew up in a small town like I did. Only he had brothers and sisters, where I was an only child. Mom couldn’t have any more after I was born. We had a dog, and a cat and I had playmates in the neighborhood. Pyrr told me that he had three brothers and two sisters and his whole family was among the missing.
He seemed to be handling it okay, but there was pain in his eyes when he spoke of them. But it receded as he told me about the ruda he’d had for a pet. He showed me a picture on his mini-tablet. It kind of looked like a cross between a small horse and a baby rhinoceros with paws like a dog. He was the size of a miniature horse. In earlier times of his people, the larger versions were used as beasts of burden to ride or pull wagons. Their ruda was named Pomtu, and he followed the kids everywhere when they were out playing. Pyrr figured it was probably killed in the Sargan attack on Farseek. Rudas lived between twenty and thirty years, and he was still the family pet when he left Farseek to fight for the Consortium.
We sat there and talked for a long time after we had finished eating, through three shifts of evening meals. I told Pyrr things about me that I had hardly told anyone else---except maybe Jake. By then my past was starting to seem like another life in another universe.
Finally, we just sat there looking at each other in silence, until he slid to the end of the bench and stood up. He waited as I did the same and we walked out of the mess together. Again, he put his hand lightly on my back as we walked together to the lift.
“Come with me?” he murmured as the door slid opened.
I looked at him for a long moment and stepped inside. He followed, and the door closed behind him.
CHAPTER FIVE
Pyrr
I wasn’t sure Scarlet would accept my invitation as I said the words, but after sharing a meal and talking for two hours, I felt like had much in common despite the fact we had grown up on different worlds. I didn’t want to go back to my cabin alone and leave her to sleep on the floor in the conference room. She didn’t seem ready to accept me as her life mate, but perhaps we could share sex…Or not.
If nothing else, it was a chance to hold her in my arms, pressing her body against mine, and kiss her slowly and thoroughly. That’s exactly what I did as soon as the door closed behind us. My cock went hard almost as soon as I had her wrapped in my arms with her body pressed tight to mine. Her lips were soft and warm, and she opened them readily as I probed between them with my tongue, swirling it around hers and tasting her inner recesses.
My senses were filled with her scent, her warmth and the taste of her. I had occasionally been attracted to women in the past. Although I had shared sex with a few, I had never felt the kind of connection with anyone before that I felt with Scarlet. By the time I reluctantly separated my lips from hers we were both breathless and trembling with desire. I decided to press my advantage at that point.
“Have you thought any more about becoming my mate?” I asked, caressing her cheek with my fingers.
“You guys don’t waste any time,” she smiled as she gazed at me approvingly. “I really like you, Pyrr, but I’m not ready to make a lifetime commitment. You are just adorable. And hot, really hot.”
“Hot?” I thought she meant I was attractive but it translated that my temperature was elevated.
“Sexy,” she whispered. That was my opening, so I jumped on it.
“Does that mean you desire to share sex with me?” I looked at her hopefully, eyebrows raised.
She laughed and kissed my throat. “What’s the difference between mating and sharing sex?”
“We only share our semen when mating, because our semen contains the bonding hormones,” I explained. “If we just share sex, we won’t be bonded for life.”
“Oh---well we don’t make that distinction back where I come from. Sex is sex. I only do it with someone I really, really like,” Scarlet murmured sassily. She had slid her hands around my neck and was caressing the back of my head with her fingers. I wanted to claim her so badly. But sharing sex could at least take the edge off. Or it would make me desire to claim her even more intensely.
“Scarlet, we are solmatu. I know you feel the connection between us, even if you don’t fully comprehend it,” I explained, “we will grow to love each other deeply and completely.”
“Until you do something stupid like go out and get yourself killed.” She sounded
almost angry, and her eyes grew bright with tears. She shook her head. “No, that’s not fair. That’s no reason not to let myself care about you because one of your missions might get you killed. It could have just as easily been me.”
We were still holding each other loosely, but the moment had passed. Simply sharing sex with Scarlet was not going to be enough for either of us. She wanted the sex, but she was the kind of woman who wanted to be loved as well. Because I knew she was solmatu, I already felt the seed of that love growing inside me. It occurred to me that she wanted to feel the bond grow between us without the enhancement of the bonding hormones.
I wouldn’t press her. With the strength of the connection between us, it would only be a matter of time before she would share sex with me. The scent of her desire told me she wanted me. I could wait. I knew she would be mine.
“Maybe I should go back with the others,” she said and sighed, looking away.
“You don’t have to, solmatu.” I cradled her face in my hands and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “I can’t promise I won’t ever be hurt or killed on a mission, but I promise to try my best to come back to you every time.” I was still holding her face, so she had to look into my eyes to know that I meant it.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” she said softly. “I can’t do that again.” I knew she referred to the loss of her previous mate.
“Scarlet, I want to live to return to Farseek and make babies with you that we can raise together. I want to get a home and get them a ruda to grow up with like I did,” I told her. “We will look back on this as our greatest adventure.”
