Page 13 of Saved By the Alien Mercenary

Chapter 12

Ruby

My reward for giving Brace his first-ever blowjob was better than I could have dreamed. With his control restored—at least somewhat—he set out to pleasure me with his tongue, returning the favor and then some. I loved how big his hands were on my thighs when he positioned me backward on the bed and spread my legs. This time, peering at my wet folds did not make him jump with excited energy; instead, he seemed to settle in with a type of focus I found intense and sexy.

Dragging his thick tongue through my folds, I writhed with pleasure. He took his time learning my taste and how I responded to gentle, probing touches. His tongue was much thicker than a human’s, and when he found my opening and began pressing inside, it felt like more than a finger, but nicer at the same time. His tongue was malleable and wet, and it slid right in. I curled off the mattress, my fingers digging into the sheets with a shout. He’d found all the sensitive nerves inside and lit them on fire with a flick of his tongue.

Once he’d wound me tighter than a bowstring with his tongue, he changed tactics. Rising over me on one elbow, his free hand pressed between my thighs to probe my opening with his finger. Now he was truly testing me, seeing if I had spoken the truth about stretching. Discovering he could press two of his thick fingers inside of me made him purr with satisfaction. Then he pressed his tongue against my clit, and those vibrations traveled through me. I came, hard and fast, my body clenching on his fingers. Afterward, I heard him murmur in satisfaction, but he was not ready to let me go, not yet. When I relaxed, he was ready with another finger, and when I managed to take that, his growl became feral with excitement.

“You are right. Almost there,” he said approvingly. I had reached down to curl one hand around my ankle to hold myself open for him, and he dropped his hand down to stroke my fingers. A touch that made me all too aware of how small my hand was compared to his. “Just the head,” he demanded, rather than asked. I liked that, and I whimpered and canted my hips to receive him.

His silky pelt brushed my legs as he wedged himself between my thighs, and then that massive cock came down on my folds with a thud. Landing firmly, I jolted as it struck against my clit. Heat, silky wetness from the oily substance he secreted. It made everything tingle, and I felt myself go soft and pliant beneath him. “That’s it,” he agreed, his eyes not on his cock rubbing through my folds but on my face. I was the one who couldn’t look away, awkwardly craning to the side to peer around my pregnant belly. That thick blue length, all those bumpy veins, contrasting with my small pink folds, it was obscene, and it was so freaking hot.

Fucking against my folds, he teased me at first, until I was mad with pleasure again. Only then did he slide his cock down, pressing the massive head against my small opening. I felt pressure and heat, but everything was slick and pliant. I didn’t think he’d slide in, but he sank an inch, and then another. His mouth was pulled open wide, and for the first time, I could see how monstrous he was when he did that, and I did not fucking care. Not a bit. I just wanted him to sink his cock deeper.

Pumping his hips, I watched that length sink into me a little more each time he pushed, until my body stopped giving. All it took was a swipe of his thumb over my clit, and I shattered for him, shouting his name in pleasure. I knew I clenched up then, squeezing around his invasion. It must have been enough for him, because soon I felt the head twitch and swell—the pressure of something jetting from his tip. We stared at each other as he came, eyes locked, his snarl silent as he held back from pressing in deeper.

I forgot to breathe from it all, and darkness edged in from the sides of my vision. Letting my head collapse against the bed, I gave in to the exhaustion, the aftershocks, and simply went limp. Afterward, he cleaned me. Getting up to fetch a cloth, wiping through my folds to gather everything. One hand never left my core, pressing against my opening as if he meant to hold his seed in. When he rolled me and climbed onto the bed behind me, his hand remained cupped over me, wedged between my thighs, warm and possessive.

I was too sleepy to protest, and frankly, I didn’t mind. I had just enough presence of mind to mutter, “You know I’m already pregnant, right?” I think he replied with a single word—“Instinct”—but that might have been a figment of my imagination as I sank into a deep, exhausted sleep.

***

Brace

My mate was sleeping, a tiny, delicate snore rising and falling with the cadence of her breathing. It was not a word I thought of often, but “adorable” was the only one that came to mind. My mate was adorable, and I wanted her to rest soundly and deeply. After the long walk through port and the disaster of finding thugs in her home, I needed her to be okay. Having a meltdown about what I might or might not have done in front of her must have been taxing, too, but she’d gotten me out of it without getting harmed. I felt a tiny spark of hope at that discovery.

Red had descended, but it had not clouded my judgment when it came to her. Did that mean I didn’t have to fear harming her at all? Even if it did, that wasn’t the main reason; I could still end up a true flesheater. I might already be. That was a sin I could never come back from, and a burden I could never put on her. It wouldn’t be right.

For now, though, I could pleasure her, pamper her, care for her. That started with getting out of bed and cleaning up the mess I’d made. It was time to confront what I’d done and find out if I had crossed that horrible line, the one I never wanted to cross. Rising from my mate’s soft bed and warm embrace was difficult; letting go of the pretty cunt I’d seeded was even harder. When I stood by her bed, dark memories swam up from the recesses of my brain. Again. They said I had never wanted to cross that line again. I wanted to deny that thought, but I knew it was true, and I could not face that, so I turned away.

Cleaning, then food prep, and I needed to report in with the Varakartoom. If I spoke to Asmoded, I might be able to make sense of all these feelings roiling through my chest. Was it always like this with a mate? This intense? Only one way to find out, but I did not relish the thought of asking such a sensitive question of the captain. I let him into my quarters after an episode only because I knew he was not big on the chitchat either. That, and my promise that I would.

There were footprints through the blood near both bodies that were too small to be mine. With a sinking heart, I knew that meant that sometime during my rage-induced blackout, Ruby had walked past them. I needed only to check the airlocks to know that she’d gone to make sure the ship was locked down. Indeed, she’d even gone to the bridge and engaged the Finix’s mediocre shielding capabilities. Usually, those were only there to assist with space debris, meteors, and the like. They’d drain the ship’s power while in port, but it was a good safety measure. It would keep people out more surely than the locked doors would.

I dragged the bodies to the engine room and made sure they were completely incinerated in the stationary-running engines. Then I reached for my com as I began to take stock of the supplies remaining in the galley. They’d pulled everything out of the cupboards in search of the smuggled Kanfray shipping, and that included everything from inside the cooler. They had not even left the cans of my mate’s sweet drink, but those were, thankfully, salvageable. The rest of the fresh food, however, was not.

“Come in, Brace. You’ve reached us just in time,” Mitnick’s voice reached me when my call to the Varakartoom went through. His voice was hushed with tension, and I knew that meant they were about to strike another of Jalima’s shipments. There had been half a dozen left on the list of possibles after the intel that Elyssa had brought us. I still felt guilty that I hadn’t been the one to go to that first meeting like I was supposed to. Tass and my friend had been in terrible danger. If I’d been there like I said I would, I could have helped.

“Mitnick, this is just a quick status report. We’ve reached Rumcas, sold the shipment, and had a break-in by some of Jalima’s men. It’s been taken care of.” I hesitated. The plan had been for me to get off at Rumcas, while Ruby either sold the Finix here and booked passage to Ker, or I saw her off—ship and all—with a new crew. All she needed to be safe was to get away from Rumcas. At least, in theory. Once she was off the crimelord’s radar, even the parentage of her child should not be a problem.

“Good to hear your voice,” Mitnick responded, which was funny, because I had never really spoken to the male at all. It wasn’t like we’d ever had a conversation. I considered that now, too. Ruby was easy to talk to, she never seemed to judge me, and she was always so cheerful that it felt like she lifted my spirits, too. I could not leave her alone. Not now. Not after what we’d shared. I was going to tell her I would see her all the way to Ker. I started by explaining that to Mitnick, and though I heard the laughter in the male’s voice, he did not ask me for an explanation. Maybe he didn’t need one.

***

Ruby

I woke up slowly, rising from such a deep slumber that I struggled to open my eyes and recall where I was and what had happened. All I had to do was roll to my side and feel the twinges between my legs to remember. Brace—and the incredibly tender way in which he’d made love to me, prepared me for him, even if we hadn’t managed to take it all the way. I remembered vividly what it had felt like to fall asleep in his arms, embraced by his solid bulk and warmth. It was probably the best sleep I’d had in weeks, and that was saying something after all the upheaval I’d been through.

I frowned when I realized that Brace was not in bed with me—a tight squeeze as it was—that was obvious almost right away. From the coldness of the sheets, I had to guess that he’d been gone a while. It made me realize that, sweet as this had been, I was about to leave and he was going to stay behind. It felt wrong, and I was struggling to come up with reasons to stay when he knocked on my door and entered. Of course, he had a tray of food in one hand, and delicious smells were wafting from it.

“Good morning,” he said in a gravelly voice, as if he were either choked with emotion or had not spoken yet all morning. I was betting on the latter; Brace was not a man of many words. He ducked through the doorway, his shoulders brushing the door frame in a tight squeeze. Then he came to my side, one hand assisting me to sit up so he could place the tray in my lap.

Some kind of Haras wheat pancakes, they were doused liberally in Ekra, if I wasn’t mistaken. A mix between maple syrup and honey, Ekra was a very expensive sweetener in the Zeta Quadrant. I definitely did not own any, and I had only tasted it once before. Trust Brace to have brought it with him when he came to protect me aboard the Finix. This male appeared to live to pamper me with amazing foods, if I wasn’t pregnant, I would be worried about my weight. Right now, I felt like I was excused to eat as much as I wanted, so I was going to.

“I’m staying with you,” Brace said, just as I stuffed my mouth with the first bite. I nearly choked on the food, spluttering in surprise and staring at him with watery eyes from the shock. I was certain I had heard him wrong. What did he mean—stay with me? For how long? My foolish heart was almost entirely convinced he meant forever, but that couldn’t be true. If I was his mate, he’d have said so, wouldn’t he? Unless Hoxiam didn’t have true mates, like many other species did. I really wished I knew.

“Okay,” I managed. “For how long?” Best I clear that up right away, before I gained false expectations. No point setting myself up for disappointment later down the line. Brace did not seem to have an answer to that question; he opened his mouth twice before finally shrugging his massive shoulders. I tried not to be disappointed and veered straight back into extremely hopeful. Brace didn’t know how to express himself, and neither, it seemed, did I. We’d figure it out eventually.