Page 21 of Stolen By the Alien Mercenary

He spun us and my back collided with the side of the shuttle, or rather, his wings did, and they cushioned my back from the cool metal. With the added leverage, he pressed his hips against mine and provided just the right amount of friction against my exposed core. I didn’t question how he knew what I’d been thinking, just clung to him and let him push me over that edge.

I needed that, craved it. The past week had been one endless tease; our sexual tension had gotten thick enough to cut with a knife. His hips surged against mine, and his rampant cocks pressed against my core through the layers of our clothes. Enough was enough. I needed him, all of him. We’d figure out the rest later because it was inevitable we’d end up like this. The pull between us was too strong. It had been strong straight through a screen; so why was I denying myself?

My orgasm crested as those thoughts unlocked my mind, my heart. When the pleasure, like a sharp, sweet burst, hazed my vision, I focused on the one thing that would always be steady and true: my Nick, my thieving mate. His tigerite eyes glowed with that feral, possessive light that I knew so well by now, and I liked how much I tore at his control simply by being myself.

He held still, pressing close to me as the waves ebbed. I felt safe, protected by his sheltering wings and his solid presence. He was larger than life and as the pleasure faded, so did my remaining reservations about our visit here. He would keep me safe, he would take care of me.

***

Mitnick

My cocks ached fiercely, and especially my second mating cock had never been this hard, but this was not the time nor the place for a claiming. As I pleasured my pretty female, I never lost track of our surroundings. My senses tuned to more than just her breathy moans and the rapid pulse at her throat.

While my ears filtered the sounds of the wind and the rustling of the dead trees for any sign of danger, my eyes feasted on the flush in Harper’s cheeks. She was wobbly on her legs when I backed away just enough for her to find her footing. “Steady, my sweet Novi,” I said to her, struggling to mask the deep satisfaction I felt at causing all that.

“Nick,” she sighed, her hands pressed against my chest while she attempted a stern look. “What are you up to?” I grinned, my eyes darting down quickly to where my cocks were pressing against my pants, rising toward my mate’s soft belly. She groaned, rolled her eyes, and smacked my arm with a dainty hand.

“Distracting you,” I said, my hands still clinging to her waist. It was time to get started. She seemed calm and relaxed now, and I wanted to get this trip over with as soon as possible. I knew the camp and vault were empty, but that was no guarantee that we wouldn’t be located. A ship could arrive in orbit while we were down here, and their scans would instantly pick up our shuttle in this barren wasteland.

My drones were doing quiet reconnaissance, and all the data they gathered confirmed the information from the orbital station. The mining camp was abandoned, and there was nobody around for miles and miles.

“I appreciate it,” Harper said, but it was clear that unease was already lurking at the back of her mind. That distraction wasn’t going to last much longer. I checked the strap of her water canteen and the small pouch with rations on her belt. Then I made sure her goggles were on correctly before gathering her close against my chest.

She came willingly, laughing softly. “You aren’t done?” Her fingers brushed my neck as she drew her arms around me, and my spine tingled from the tantalizing sensations. She didn’t know what I was about to do; she hadn’t realized it yet. I lifted her higher, pressing her against my chest while I flicked my free hand over my weapon’s belt for a last check.

“I am,” I said, “We’re flying. Hold tight.” Her eyes went huge in her face as the last word left my mouth; realization dawned quickly, but it was too late to protest. With a bunching of my muscles, I leaped into the air and swung my wings with powerful beats to get the airlift we needed. I didn’t often get to fly through open skies like this, but I always kept myself in top flying shape.

We were soaring, accompanied by the sound of her startled squeak. Then we caught a thermal, and I spun us around so my mate could get more comfortable. From the hidden spot I’d parked our shuttle in, it was only a few miles as the Ifrea flew. My drones hummed gently as they followed us, their cameras recording the devastation wrought on this planet.

I only had eyes for our destination and the expressions of my sweet little Novi. After her initial shock, she was staring at the landscape with an open mouth. Her fingers dug into my neck with how tightly she was holding on, but that was the only sign she might be worried. “I’d never drop you,” I said, “Never.”

She tilted her head, her pretty sky-blue eyes enlarged by the protective goggles. “I know,” she said, “But I don’t have wings, so I’m holding on tight if it’s all the same to you.” That made me smile, and I obliged by tucking her more tightly against my chest. I reveled in the feeling of her body so close to mine; this was exactly what I’d been craving, one of my cravings at least, to fly with my mate.

I couldn’t bask in the moment much longer. All too soon, those miles had been crossed, and I was circling above the abandoned mining camp. It looked different already, worn with disuse and roughed up by the rapidly devolving weather system on the planet. The gate stood open, flapping in the wind, and the laser cannons that had previously been mounted on either side were gone.

The mining pit was already filling with sand, blown in by the rough winds. That same sand had also made an admirable attempt at covering the roofs of the warehouses and other buildings. My sharp eyes picked out their shapes anyway, and the data provided by my roving drones did the rest. When I brought us in for a landing, I touched down at the door to the building that housed the vault.

“We're here.”

Chapter 15

Harper

I didn’t want to release Nick’s thick neck when he landed. The beginning cramp in my thighs from clinging to him so tightly convinced me I had to let go. I swayed on my feet when I tried to stand, and groaned when the muscle fatigue only made me feel more shaky now that I was standing.

Nick didn’t let go of me, his arm stayed around my waist. He kept his wings flared wide, and he craned his head left and right, searching our surroundings for any sign of danger. I did the same, uneasily appraising the buildings and their cover of dust and sand. The courtyard was a desert, and the wind blew the sand around; it covered any tracks we made in seconds.

I couldn’t help but compare this place to my last visit. I’d been panic-filled and focused on surviving my encounter with Batok, but I remembered enough. This sand had been dirt then, hard packed but with scraggly plants scattered throughout, still clinging tenaciously to life. The buildings had all been gunmetal gray, utilitarian square shapes. Warehouses and bunkhouses for the goods and the people who worked there.

It all looked brown and rusted, corroded by the harsh weather. Nothing was shiny or devoid of sand. When Nick started to guide me to the doors of the nearest building, I wasn’t even sure if it was the right one. Let alone that we’d be able to open the doors; they appeared to be rusted shut. Sand lay piled against the bottom of the walls and doors like snowdrifts.

I gave the doors and the big metal lock a dubious glance, then turned around to survey more of the courtyard. The buildings offered some shelter from the wind, but the huge shadow cast by the surveying spike made the temperatures unpleasantly brisk. It had been cold that day Batok brought me here too, but I couldn’t remember giving it much thought at the time.

Nick tucked me into his side, his wings finally lowering. He cupped one against my back like an extra warm cloak and then used it to urge me to the doors. “These should be the right ones. I’ll have them open in a minute.” He was true to his word, summoning one of his drones through his implant and visor. That drone burned through the lock with a narrow, red laser in short order, and Nick used his powerful body to do the rest of the grunt work.

Pulling the doors outward as they opened and pushing the piles of sand out of the way. I couldn’t tell if it was difficult for him; his face remained completely calm as he heaved. Then the dark interior of the building abruptly absorbed my attention. I couldn’t see far, but what I could see made me think of ghosts and skeletons.

Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck, warning me of a danger I couldn’t see. I felt like it wasn’t only the shadows inside that threatened to swallow me, but the shadows in my mind. The memories of that slow decline in the vault, the starvation, the endless thirst, and the weakness that had pervaded me all too soon.