MarIK didn’t have a problem with that. He moved behind her and down the steps to the empty seat next to her. Her scent was especially unique to her. He wanted to lean over and inhale deeply but did not want to draw OrIN’s attention with any unusual activity. OrIN liked to take individuals whom people cared about and use them as pawns to get what he wanted.
That was what he had done on the mining colony. He took family members hostage to get the males to do his bidding. It was a hard and desperate time and MarIK had been secretly releasing the families, as he could, without drawing attention. It was actually a blessing from the Goddess that the Katierans had come and helped release the families, but a few had died and he had the blood of those innocents on his own hands. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to make up for his bad decisions. Maybe it was just too unforgivable.
The food was served by warriors who came out in a procession. He wasn’t hungry, at least not for food. His body was craving something else, something he hadn’t had in quite a while. Stealing another glance at the female, he felt his heartbeat speed up, his palms dampen, and his cock harden.
He had to find a way to distract his body. He took a bit of his food but noticed that the female wasn’t eating. “Is everything okay, Miss Task?”
“Yes, it’s fine. And you can call me Sharon.”
“Sharon, you’re not eating.”
“I don’t recognize this.”
“It’s called tarpena. It’s a type of protein.”
He watched as she took a small bite, then sighed and took the full amount into her mouth. He had to admit — watching her eat was erotic far beyond anything he had expected. His eyes tracked her bite, her small chews, her soft lips. When she swallowed, other images of what she could do with her mouth plagued him.
Sharon leaned over and whispered. “Commander, why have you stopped eating? Are you no longer hungry?”
His eyes locked on hers as he told her gruffly, “I’m famished but it’s not the food I want to eat.” His meaning struck home as he scented her arousal spike. Her delicate cheeks turned pink, and she licked her lips. She wanted him, too. This was getting more and more complicated.
“I’m not available to be...sampled.”
He glanced down at Lieutenant TanAR who was glaring at him, clearly not happy with the seating arrangements. There were still no scent markers on her, which made him believe that their supposed relationship was just a subterfuge. If she were to become his, MarIK would waste no time claiming her with his scent markers to ensure no other tried to claim her. The very idea of leaving his scent on her made him growl low with need and desire.
Her hand reached for his knee under the table and squeezed it. “Easy, Commander, there’s plenty of time.”
Oh Goddess!Did she know what touching him like that would do to him? He reached for her hand with his own, and, instead of pulling away, she held his hand and reassuringly squeezed it. She was giving him a signal that she was feeling the same desire he was. This was quickly becoming very complicated.
“Tell me about Earth, Miss Task,” OrIN ordered.
He felt the loss of her hand as she pulled away and turned to answer OrIN. He immediately missed her heat and closeness.
“What do you want to know?”
“How far away is it?”
“I actually don’t know. It took a month to travel by transport.”
“How come you don’t know the coordinates? All intelligent space travelers know something.”
“I’m not a space traveler. My people had not gotten farther than our moon...luna.”
“Outrageous. How did the Katierans find you?”
“Earth’s government sent out a request for help to save our dying planet. Katiera answered.”
OrIN snorted. “RendEL doesn’t know how to mind his own business. Interfering in another’s species survival is not what is best for Katiera. He should have put our own people’s needs first.”
“Well, I’m glad he didn’t.”
OrIN didn’t look happy with her response, but then his eyes traveled over her body. MarIK wanted to rip his eyes out.
“Are you finding your accommodations acceptable?” OrIN asked her.
Sharon nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
“I hear that you are sharing quarters with Lieutenant TanAR. If the space is small, you could share my quarters.”
