When her hand stroked his cock through his leg coverings, he cursed, feeling repulsion pool in his belly, not pleasure.As gently as he could, he tried to disentangle her from him without hurting her.
“Stop, Levrix.Stop!” he growled.“I meant what I said.I want you gone.”
But just when Levrix finally began to understand that he was completely serious, he heard movement from the hallway.His stomach lurched and his neck craned around, fearing what he might see before he ever saw her.
Sessela stood there, in her thin tunic and vulnerable bare feet.And she was watching them, wide-eyed, shock evident on her strange, beautiful features.Even from a distance, Rixavox watched as she took in the scene before her: a naked Luxirian female, whose hand was on his cock.Even he knew what it looked like.
When Levrix spotted Sessela, the female stilled and then stiffened, uncharacteristically quiet.Her eyes were just as wide as his female’s and he knew that it was the first time she’d ever seen a human.
Sessela was the first to speak, stuttering an apology as her hands fluttered around, “I—I…I’m sorry.I just heard—never mind.I’ll, uh, I…”
Her broken words trailed off in a strange gasping sound and she immediately turned on her heel, retreating back into their sleeping quarters.
“Vrax,” Rixavox cursed, not able to keep the word silent.
Already, he was fucking everything up.
Levrix stood in stunned silence, as quiet as he’d ever heard her.The urge to go to his female, to explain that he had not been unfaithful to her, that it was all a misunderstanding, rode him strong.But would she understand?He didn’t even know for sure if humans were monogamous or not.Perhaps she wouldn’t care…
But that thought stung more deeply than he thought it would.He wanted her to be as possessive of him as he was of her.
He squeezed his eyes shut, plagued by conflicting emotions, before he shook himself.
Turning to Levrix, he settled her fur coat around her shoulders, shielding her nudity.“You need to leave,” he murmured softly.“I must attend to her.”
“She…she is a…” Levrix seemed unable to say it.
“She is human, yes,” Rixavox said.In a low voice, he told her, “You must not tell another Luxirian that she is here.Our Prime Leader wishes that she be protected.”Softly, he added, “Iwant her protected.”
Levrix inhaled sharply through her nose and she turned her gaze from the hallway onto him.“Her?”
Rixavox kept his jaw tightened, but he inclined his head.
“So that is why you smell different,” Levrix said softly.“Another Luxirian male lost in the clutches of a strangeother.”
Even Rixavox could see how the thought cut her.Levrix, he knew, had wanted a family unit, had wanted to have offspring, a dedicated mate.With the loss of her fertility, those desires were just dreams.She could still find a mate.But she’d wanted it all, wouldn’t settle for anything less.
Still, the word in Luxirian for ‘other’ was derogatory and his spine went straight when he heard it fall from her lips.“You will not speak of this, Levrix.If word gets out, I will know who it came from and I will find you.”
Her eyes narrowed and she tugged her fur up farther around her neck.“You threaten to hurt a female?Perhaps you are more like your blood brother than I thought.”
His heart stopped in his chest, ice infusing in his veins.“Never hurt a female, no,” he rasped.“But the law is the law.You will not disobey an Ambassador, especially when my orders are the Prime Leader’s.Even a female cannot escape that consequence.”
She stared at him for a long while and then seemed to deflate.Her head bowed and she murmured, “Forgive me.I did not mean…I know you are not like your brother, Rixavox.You have been my friend for many rotations now.I spoke in anger and shock and I feel shame.”
“You are forgiven, Levrix,” Rixavox sighed.“I wish…you know I wish only the best for you.”
Levrix’s eyes flickered the hallway entrance once more and she backed away.“I will leave.”Rixavox said nothing and opened the door to his dwelling for her.When she turned back, she asked quietly, “Will you let me meet her?Once she is settled?”
“I do not know if that is wise,” Rixavox said honestly.
“Think on it.She might need a companion.”
Rixavox jerked his head in a nod, if only to quicken her departure.He itched to speak with hisluxiva.“I will think on it.”
Levrix stepped back, inclined her head, and then turned away to approach her hovercraft.Rixavox waited until she safely departed his terrace and then he shouldered closed his door, latched it, and immediately spun to approach his sleeping quarters…unsure of what to expect.
TEN
