“To the void with me,” I silently cursed the weakness. Rhonar were not feeble, and I refused to become so, no matter how my biology felled me.
My pajuara held her palm against the glass, clinging to the last vestiges of her friend’s countenance. But we’d lingered here too long. The computer continued it’s countdown without reprieve. Seeing little choice as the female refused to acknowledge our situation, I grabbed her about the waist and hauled her over my shoulder.
She pounded my back with surprising force. “Are you insane? Put me down now!”
“Will you go to the escape pods with me?” Her huff and stiffening limbs were answer enough. “Then, so be it.”
Her nails scraped my skin. I relished the sting. “If you don’t put me down, I swear I’ll—”
Her words were lost amongst the ship’s wails. The alarms grew louder as we approached the end point. Spotting a free escape pod barely big enough for both of us, I barreled toward it. My pajuara clasped her hands over her ears as the blares grew deafening. Placing her inside the pod, I climbed in beside her and yanked on the lid to seal it.
“You’ll have to hang on to me.” I stretched my arms over her head to reach the controls at the top of the pod. “It’s going to be a tight fit.”
She snorted. “Yeah, I imagine with you it would be no matter the circumstances.”
I chuckled, a rarity for me. It was refreshing. But I had no time to indulge her humor. I had to get us off this crexing ship. “Get close. I’m programming the emergency protocols.”
Her sharp inhale belied her nerves as the pod’s safety belts strapped around us. Her breasts pushed against my chest as her legs tangled with mine. The sheer fabric of her outfit glided against my skin. Her arms wrapped around my waist. She turned her head to the side to lay her cheek against my sternum. The warmth of her seeped into me. It was…perfection.
“Okay, I’m as close as I’m going to get without making this a fling.” She jutted her chin toward the ceiling. “So let’s get out of here.”
I’d gladly have stayed with her like that for eternity. But she was right. As it was we had but a handful of clicks to blow the descent tube and get far enough from the ship before the detonation. The escape pod launched with a whoosh. It’s boosters engaged as we cleared the hull. My Terran’s nails dug into me once more, but this time her fear permeated my nose like rotten guttal fruit.
Checking that the controls were set to search for and land on the nearest inhabitable planet, I lowered my arms slowly around her. She stirred in my embrace, raising her face to mine. “You do not need to fear. We are safe.”
“Safe?” A shudder ran through her. “I don’t even remember the meaning of that word.”
A knot tugged in my gut. The weight of her statement echoed in my mind. How often had I thought the same? We Rhonar prided ourselves on bringing peace and safety to those in need. We lived with a strict code of honor and valor, in part as it was the path of our kind for millenniums beyond memory, but the other side of it was darker. Far less noble. Our males lost their emotions with the onset of adulthood in two distinct phases—the hunger and the void. Only one’s mate could restore the warrior to his true nature and make him whole. But when our greatest enemy, the Versaken, created a biological weapon meant to block the mate bond, they ended up killing our females instead.
So, safe? Hardly. The Rhonar were not safe. Without our mates, we were a danger to ourselves. And if consumed by the void, we were a threat to everyone else. “You’re right.” I held her impossibly closer, relishing the feel of her in my arms. “Safety is an illusion.”
Her liquid brown eyes met mine, locking me in their power. “That’s exactly how I feel.” She slid her hands from around my back to grip my waist as if needing the sensation to anchor her. “When we left Earth I was so full of joy and hope. I believed in the cause to seek life on other planets, and I trained hard to become a well ranked security officer.” She chewed on her bottom lip for a beat, and I willed my cock not to rise at the motion. I wanted her story as much as her body. After a breath, she continued, “Leaving Earth for the first time, being part of history, was thrilling. I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time, even when the ship rocked and rolled as it broke the atmosphere for outer space.”
I let my fingers glide along her spine to land in her hair. “You are very brave.”
“It wasn’t courage.” She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “I just didn’t know to be afraid.”
My grip tightened in her locks, and I forced her gaze back to me. “And now?”
“Now, I know the truth.” Her jaw ticked. “We were fools to think we could simply find a new world to create a colony without any thought to what else was out here.” Her hands balled into fists beside my hips. “The Mangox are bastards of the highest order, but part of me thinks we got what we deserved.”
I angled my head to better look at her face. “What did you deserve?”
“To be attacked, boarded, abducted! We came into space like gods of the skies, understanding nothing, caring about nothing.” Her eyes flooded with unshed tears for a second time, and it cut me worse than any battle strike. “Who were we to cross that boundary?”
I released my grip to stroke her cheek and swipe at the tears now falling there. “Every young one takes their first steps into an unknown world. Why should you Terrans be any different?” My lips skimmed her forehead, the scent of her filling my lungs, pure and sweet. “Not knowing should not stop you from growing, from learning. You are explorers, my pajuara. Take pride in this.”
“Daegan,” she whispered my name.
My blood heated of its own accord, filling me with pangs of lust. It was not the time nor place for such desires, yet I could no more stop it than I could make my hearts cease beating. I needed space from her to gain any semblance of control. Yet, with our bodies bound together, surrounded by a cocoon of safety straps, escape was not an option. “Tell me no,” I spoke against her mouth. “Say stop and I’ll end this.”
Her brows rose. “Stop what?”
“This.” Without further warning, I let my savage hunger answer for me. My tongue stroked the seam of her lips, asking for permission. She inhaled, then opened for me. Her yielding was glorious and unrestrained, but she gave as good as she got. Tangling her tongue with mine, we dueled for supremacy. A glorious twisting and lashing that turned my kedara molten. My katra, the markings on my arms that reflected my life’s blood, glowed amber in the tight space. It cast a soft glow around us.
She pulled back only long enough to run her fingers over my arms and utter a low, “Wow!”
I gave her no quarter for such explorations. There would be time enough for that later. Now, I needed her mouth. I dove in again, and she sighed at the invasion. Her sandaled foot trailed along the outside of my leg, aiming for my thigh. I took the movement as invitation and lifted her as high as the restraints would allow. Her core met my cock, the fabric of my pants and the thin strips of her skirt the only thing between us and ecstasy. Her kiss became more frantic as I ground my cock against her.
