Venomous: Erotic Science Fiction Romance (Alien Warrior Book 1) (12 page)

Not that any male would dare steal from him.

Glancing at his mate, he clicked his teeth at his thoughtlessness.

He needed to remember that verity had changed considering the rarity of his latest acquisition.

He placed a metal dish on the one side of the metal grill and boiled the plant roots in the sweet water.

He worried his Lumen would derive no nourishment from the food, so strange was she, but there was nothing else.

All he could do was pray his merciful Grandfather sheltered her under his hood now that she’d mated his warrior.

He seared half the meat, set the rest aside for last meal then bid her come to him, vastly satisfied she approached without hesitation.

My mate begins to trust me.

Lumen sat then eagerly reached for the smaller portion of seared meat
.

Venomous pulled her hand back. “We shall do this the proper way.” He lifted her onto his lap and picked up the juiciest serving of animal protein. “Open.”

Her cushioned lips flattened.

Unimpressed with her refusal, he held the meat away until she relented.

He pressed it to her thinned lips. “Open, dearest.”

Shifting until her buttocks rested comfortably in the groove between his thighs, she tried to take a bite, but drooled over the meat and his claws.

Cheeks emitting a rush of heat, she rolled her eyes in a human gesticulation then gnawed the charred edge with a determination that spoke of her hunger as much as the fearsome snarls of her stomach.

Venomous retracted a claw then pushed the blunted finger into her mouth.

He ran it over her teeth ignoring her struggles of protest. “The L’Odo defanged you?” She already possessed no natural weapons. To be deprived of another was sickening. “Do not worry. They will grow back after your
shedding
.”

Lumen gurgled and murmured, “Babe.” She pulled her face away and her chest lumps wobbled.

He realised she shook because she laughed then remembered she would not shed her skin after injury to heal a deep hurt because she was not Rä.

Though such a realisation was distressing, her mouth stretched into an obscenely wide smile as she enjoyed their repast.

Her rounded face is so pliant and expressive
.

Venomous found he liked her protruding features and how they reflected her inner thoughts, even if it was grossly improper to be so emotional.

His head tilted in amusement.

She is outlandish, but endearing
.

Tearing the meat into tiny slivers, he slowly fed her, watching carefully for a bad reaction and choking.

When she longingly eyed the blanched legumes, he gave her a meagre amount of each, pausing between mouthfuls to make certain her insides adapted to the foreign fare.

She didn’t like the tart fen roots.

Her lips turned inward, cheeks hollowing as her eyes yet again leaked fluid.

Apprehensive, he rubbed her lower back as she made funny faces and wagged her tongue.

He pressed her to drink fresh sweet water until the symptoms eased. “Are you full?”

Nodding, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand then burped, a squeak of a sound. “Gratitude.”

Venomous picked up the rest of the meat, unhinged his jaw then devoured it whole, throat muscles constricting, rippling to mash it down then carry it to his stomach.

Lumen watched him do this with her mouth gaping, but he ignored her to belch making her jump then hunch her shoulders and giggle.

He chewed on the crunchy fen root and found it delicious, such a shame his female didn’t agree.

He gulped half the remaining sweet water then pressed her to drink more.

He did not know how much she needed, but decided more was better than less considering how often she leaked fluid and how wet she got for him during clutch
.

“Venom?”

“My Lumen?”

Her eyes were downcast. “How long here?”

He deliberated what she could mean and decided she wanted to know how long he’d been a slave rather than how long they would remain inside the lair or on the planet itself. “Aeon and three.”

“No translate.”

“Thirteen solars.”

She inhaled sharply and stopped plucking at the canister spout. “Solar mean planet circle sun one time?”

“Yesss.” Not sure what troubled her, he tasted the air. There was too much to make sense of. “Why?”

“Escape?” she asked. “We try?”

“No.”

Had she not seen the rebel leaders quartered then staked to the stalactites in the marketplace as a warning to those who’d dare dissent?

He fell silent watching her thinking of all that had happened.

He’d fed her, traded for her clothing and they’d begun the first stages of the bonding rites by mating.

Even his first
seeding
would begin soon.

“Tell me why no?” Edginess crept into her tone. She twisted to face him fully with her hands resting on his chest. “Why no escape?”

Venomous softened under the press of her small fingers and his stem stiffened.

He shifted her weight, and forced thoughts of clutch from his mind, distressed how often his mind veered towards it.

Perhaps it would help if she were not so close?

Hesitant, Venomous stared at her face and was unsure of how to proceed.

On Rök the important roles of Rä’Na and Rä’Vek were clear after maturing from carefree a’Rä.

Males, Rä’Vek, sheltered, fed and protected his mate and offspring.

He worked, provided, and took up leisure activities with those in his Guild or Caste.

Females, Rä’Na
,
endured her male’s
seeding
, tended the lair, laid, nested and hatched their offspring.

She had her own interests separate from that of her mate, her own profession should she want one, and while she may see him at festivals and gatherings of kindred, she did not actively seek out his attentions in private.

As they were no longer eating, it was proper he set her away then go about his individual interests.

Venomous did not want to do this.

He liked her slight weight, and enjoyed having her in his arms, even if it did make him want to bend her over and....

“It is not possible,” he grumbled.

“Accept this?” Face scrunching, her arms waved about. “Accept until die?”

Head shaking, fingers stabbing, her mouth moved with words he was sure were convincing, but the translators stripped it down to practically nothing.

“Way out. Us find.” Stopping her rant, she speared him a narrow-eyed look. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Escaping how?”

How was he to handle her question?

A well behaved Rä’Na would not question her male’s way of providing, or ask him to explain himself as long as he did provide all she needed to survive.

He did not blame her for asking, truth, he was impressed she did.

Venomous understood his obligations and what was appropriate, but using logic as a guide, one could argue the unspoken rules of decorum didn’t apply in their circumstances.

Concessions had to be made.

Was upsetting her with the details one of them?

“Venom?”

“Are you not pleased? You are warm, dry, fed and safe.”

She nodded slowly, head tilting in amusement, but her expression was puzzled. “Still escape, no?”

“You are displeased with your Rä’Vek.”

Hesitant, she touched his jaw. “No want go home?”

“I do, but escape is not possible. I watched others fail.” He had a plan, but was it time? “I must be patient and survive until success is certain.” Happy at her touch, no matter how unsure, he cradled her closer. “And now I have you. You are my priority.”

A rush of breath left her lips. Her hand dropped to more firmly pat his chest. “Sweet and kind.”

Venomous barely heard her. His attention was narrowed to her miniature hand rubbing his chest scales.

Arousal was instant and powerful.

He stood with her in his arms then headed to the nest.

This time it was different.

Tendrils of fire raked his flesh.

Need stoked heat in his belly and bit into the backs of his thighs.

“Again?” Lumen pushed against him when he tugged on her still damp coverings. They washed the cloth on returning to the lair as his fastidious mate swore not to wear it otherwise. “Need talk more.”

“My
seeding
. It begins.”

“Look.” She sat and patted the space before her. “
Talk
. Want know you. No want know me?”

“You are human and hail from Earth.” His breath came in great bellows and the fire burned hotter. “You
catch cold
, leak from your eyes and are
wet
inside.” His claws dug into the furs and he leaned closer. His tongue lashed the air and he groaned.
Great Serpent, her scent torments me
. “I will mount now.”

She looked him up and down. “Why shake?”

“The
seeding
. It is hard to ... to concentrate. Very hard.”

She leaned back on her arms, cocking her head. “What seeding?”

Venomous hissed for his sac ached. “A Rä union is sacred. His hearts beat for her, and her body calls to his. The
seeding
heightens the chance of my seed taking root. You near your the first of your fertile times. It is soon, yesss, but I am strong. We will manage. S’q’ama’ta watches over us.” His whole body shook with the strain of not pouncing on her. “It is painful if ignored.” He tried to urge her onto her hands and knees. “Bare your back.”

She held up a palm, expression creased in confusion. “No under–”

A fiery whip lashed his spine, and he hissed, baring his fangs.

The mating neurotoxin secreted from his glands, preparing him to subdue his mate for the duration. “I will cover you now.”

Gaze clouding with fear, fixed on his mouth, she nodded as she turned.

She went to all fours then looked over her shoulder with glassy eyes. “No bite? Too different. Might hurt.”

His mind cleared long enough to see she spoke rightly.

Different yet similar enough my anima reacted to her pheromones.

The bite on a Rä female would sedate her so she could withstand the endless spans of rutting.

His human was small, and he doubted her body would react favourably.

Her genetic makeup was entirely different to his species.

My body craves hers, is trying to get her in swell.

Venomous crawled closer and covered his female.

He nuzzled and bumped the back of her neck seeking her approval and felt her trembling.

He tasted the air.

She’s frightened.

This time he could not ignore her quivers as fear of the painful joining to come because she told him clutch was not painful, so why would she fear it?

He could not bite her, could not keep her calm during the
seeding,
and if she struggled or tried to fight him he could incurably hurt her.

His reaction to her resistance would be to bite harder.

Biting might kill her.

Distraught, Venomous lurched off his mate then staggered into the far corner.

Lumen’s voice shook as she called out to him. “Venom?”

Why will she not say my name properly!

Not sure what to do, but desperate to douse the flames scorching his insides, Venomous grabbed his shaft and enclosed it in two fists.

He fell to his knees and squeezed until it resembled the pressure he needed to release.

Seed erupted from him in a forceful spurt.

Waves of relief were instantaneous, but brief, too short.

The banked fires rose and heated his groin, tightened his sac.

“Venom?”

He felt the vibrations through the floor and air as Lumen sidled closer.

“
Back
,” he bit out. “Stay still and be quiet.”

He didn’t look at her, knowing to do so would damn them both.

Salty water misted the air, and he knew she leaked.

“Venom?”

He didn’t hear her.

Couldn’t.

Blindly, he gripped himself and squeezed.

Snarled and hissed in the corner like an animal.

His body shook and twisted as he released himself upon the ground again, and again, and a tarn of seed ran between his legs and snaked down the slanted floor.

It was obscene, and through his haze of need it shamed him.

He sensed his Lumen’s terror and wanted to calm her, but he suffered, and could not comfort her as he wished.

Venomous understood she hadn’t realised what he meant when he spoke of pain for if she’d known, she would have spared him this.

He had to believe that.

His broad back tensed and his hips thrust impotently at the air.

Realising he was not going to enter the warm grasp of his mate, after spans of endless pain and release, his body calmed, the fires cooling into a low throb in his gut.

Venomous’ harsh panting ceased. “Rä’Na?”

Her head shot up. “Babe?”

She hesitated, but when he turned to her, braced himself against the wall to stop his knees giving out, she stumbled to her feet and across the lair, skipping over the puddle he’d made.

She knelt gingerly at his side and he grimaced with her.

He was a sticky mess.

“How feeling?” She touched his face and seemed alarmed to find his flesh cold. “Come to nest. Come.” She coaxed him up and guided him back to the furs. “Lie.” Her hands fluttered over him, face crumpled. “Wash better, but no let others see this.”

“I did not hurt you.” His muscles were lax, his body limp. “I would never hurt you.”

She ran a finger down his scaled cheek.

Her beautiful eyes peered into his, and he saw she now believed his word, distrust no longer holding sway.

Something inside him broke, cracked wide open and filled with her. “My Lumen.”

Though his eyes didn’t change, he was no longer conscious in the way she knew him to be.

His body needed rest and he let his hearts slow, his breathing deepen.

It was a state just before the true sleep and awake each warrior knew could be the difference between life and death if attacked while resting.