Chapter 16

Sabine

Iwouldn't admit how much it scared me to not have my equipment. I clutched the straps of the bag and tried not to feel as though we were walking on a tight rope with no net below it. I thought about Dakkan's encounter with the snake guardian. If it happened again, I would have to sit there and watch him die, and that was simply the most horrible thing I could imagine.

I broke out in a sweat just thinking about that possibility. Dakkan was important to me. Very important. I had begun to believe that I was important to him. What that meant in the long run, I wasn't sure, but there wouldn't be a long run if we couldn't get out of this weird habitat.

"Let me take that from you," he said, placing a hand on the top of my backpack and attempting to lift it off.

I yanked on the straps. "I got it. You're not carrying my burden."

"Your burden is my burden," he said in a patient rumble. "Let me help, unless you don't trust me."

"Of course, I do. It's just…I'm fine." I held up a hand. "I'll let you know if I'm not."

He nodded and said nothing. He carried plenty on his own back, including knives and food and a skin of water, in case we found ourselves away from a stream.

The forest was changing. Plant life was growing incredibly vivid. Flowers were more abundant, as was the luminescent plant life we had seen here and there. The day lengthened and Skrah set, giving rise to the gas giant Brinat, which was our signal it was time to find a place to rest for the night.

"Look up ahead." Dakkan pointed to something metal glinting deep red through the trees.

"Another fallen shuttle?" I squinted to see better. "It looks more intact than the others we've encountered."

"Let's hope it is." We approached it cautiously. Moss had grown over the hull and plants grew around it, but it appeared to be intact.

"I wonder if Lukan found this one," I said.

Dakkan paused at the hatch door. "If he didn't, we may be in for an unpleasant surprise inside." He looked back at me. "You should stay out here."

"It's okay. I've seen dead bodies in all states of decay," I said. "I promise you I can deal with whatever's in there."

He took hold of the lever. "It's not locked, but the mechanism is jammed after all these years. Hold on."

As he worked on the door, I ran my fingers over the embossed insignia. "These don't look like Mitran symbols to me," I remarked.

"Not surprising," he replied. "Mitra has visitors from many planets who trade with us. They could've been on their way to my Thrail to trade for our tanji gourds."

"And they never made it."

With a great push, the lever turned and the hatch cracked open. "Clearly not."

I braced myself for a blast of stench, but none came. I relaxed and followed Dakkan inside. There were no life forms inside. It was pristine. Nothing had been ripped out. Nothing had decayed. "Lukan definitely didn't go through this one." I touched the fine surface of an operator's seat. "He would have ripped all these things out."

Dakkan set about opening compartments. "There are rations, but nothing we can eat. These life forms' diet would be toxic to us."

"I wonder who they were."

"The writing looks familiar. It will come to me, but they are another group of travelers who flew too low." Dakkan's hand clenched into a fist. "This has got to stop. How many have died just trying to pass over the space?"

"Too many," I murmured.

"We have a safe place to rest tonight." He placed down his pack and lifted his spear. "I will find us some food. This is a good time for you to rest."

I didn't think I could even argue with that. I was tired and the stress of my equipment being out of order left me feeling less than great. I explored the ship, which was roughly the same size as my shuttlecraft. It had a small cargo bay, but there was an extra room for a lounge area and four bunks. I sat on the edge of one and groaned as my bottom sank into the soft foam. I missed the creature comforts very much. This felt like a slice of luxury in a hellish place. I kicked off my boots and lay down, letting sleep take hold. Exhaustion won immediately and I was more grateful for a place to fall asleep and rest for a while.

I was awakened by a gentle hand on my shoulder. Fingers pushing back the hair from my face. "Sabine," said a now familiar deep voice. "Are you hungry?"

I blinked my eyes open and smiled. "Yes." I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "How long was I asleep?"

"About four hours."

"What?" I straightened abruptly.

"Relax." He rested a hand on my knee. "You needed to sleep and it gave me time to get a sense of our bearings."

"What did you find?"

"This seems to be a relatively safe area. I found no remains, so the operator of this vessel either completely decomposed or died farther away from here. Based on the style of the ship, and more markings on the outer hull, it probably belonged to the Irri-tak species. We trade with them. They are peaceful people. They didn't deserve this."

"No one does," I said bleakly.

"One way or another, I'm putting an end to this," Dakkan said. "This is a danger to my Thrail, my people, and my planet."

I thought about that small, delicate creature that had broken her leg in a fall from a tree, like any child might do. She had seemed sweet and gentle, and it made me wonder what kind of beings could seem that way, yet inflict so much suffering on others. And then I thought about humans, and I sighed. "Maybe they think that intruders into this space are enemies here to attack them."

Dakkan rose, agitated. "I no longer care what they think. This ends."

"Try to keep that anger tamped down when we meet these people," I warned him. "Telepaths will be able to sense it. It will not help our cause."

"I will try." He tilted his hardened jaw toward the hatch. "Let's eat before the meat gets tough."

He relaxed during the meal, and so did I. We were both feeling the stress of knowing that we were getting close to whoever controlled this little prison of ours. We spent the evening by the warm fire, filling our bellies.

"I warn you, I'm running low on spices. Soon we will have to eat meat plain." He tossed a skewer onto the fire. "And the plants that Lukan showed me that are edible don't grow around here. I'm not taking chances with trying new plants."

"No, please don't." I couldn't treat food poisoning. I couldn't treat anything.

We ate, then put out the fire and went inside. After days of sleeping under the stars, we were both looking forward to an evening inside, where we might take a break from constant vigilance.

When he held open the hatch door, his eyes looked dark and hungry. A rush of heat and awareness skated over my skin. There would be more than sleep going on tonight, and I was ready and willing.

"Sabine," he said, low and rough. His voice was filled with need. He closed the hatch behind us and locked it.

I turned to him and gazed up into his dark, familiar eyes. "Yes."

It wasn't a question, but an answer. I went into his arms and he folded me against his body. The feeling was as natural as drinking water, as air on my skin. And just as necessary.

"Whatever else happens out here, know that this is real." His arms closed protectively over my back. "What I feel for you is real."

I was breathless, vibrating with anticipation. "And what is it that you feel, Dakkan?"

"Everything." The word was ground out, as if pressed through gravel. The origin lay somewhere deep inside this gorgeous, powerful body. "Everything," he said again, quieter, gently taking my shoulders in his hands. I had never seen him like this—laid bare. Utterly vulnerable.

I could hurt him, and that knowledge terrified me. I breathed in, deep and shaky. "I don't know how this can be," I said, choosing my words carefully. "I never believed in love at first sight. There's just no basis in fact for it. But there's no one else I want by my side. I want you, Dakkan."

His eyes tightened. "For how long?"

"For as long as we have."

"I won't let you go." A dark gleam burned in those black eyes. "When we return to my Thrail, you will take your place at my side. As my mate."

I swallowed hard, taking in the gravity and depths of those statements. I thought of my medical career on Earth. The papers I'd written, the teams I'd led and the studies I'd conducted. All of it had led me here. I tilted my head. "My work is important to me. I won't give it up."

"I would never want you to. Your work is part of who you are." His thumbs massaged my shoulders. "The women of my Thrail need you. So do their children. There may be other Mitran Thrails that would also benefit from your knowledge. All I ask is that you choose me."

This was it. A yes, or no, moment. The moment that would define my future and my happiness. "I choose you, Dakkan."

He growled in approval. "I will make you happy. I will devote my life to it."

I placed my hands on his cheeks and stroked them, feeling the tough skin there, the grooves beside his mouth. The light scar that ran near his temples. "You'll have to deal with my medical technology."

He let out a rusty chuckle. "You will have to deal with my healers, who will not give up their powders and pastes easily."

"I don't expect them to." I couldn't resist touching his horns. They were rough and hard and such an interesting part of him. "I do plan to analyze them and see what medical properties they possess. I wonder if—"

He leaned down and cut me off with a hard kiss. "I do not wish to talk about medicine."

I drew in a shuddering breath. "What do you want to talk about?"

"This." He took my hand and placed it against his hard cock. "I envisioned our joining in my quarters, on my bed, but my need cannot wait. Neither can yours."

"At least there's a bed."

His fingers toyed with the edge of my tank top. "My bed is more generously sized than these bunks. I will enjoy taking you there."

I reached down, grasped the hem of my shirt and pulled it up over my head. I wasn't wearing a bra. "These bunks are quite comfortable."

His gaze moved over my breasts hungrily. He cupped them in his wide hands, gently, squeezing the nipples and making heat and moisture flow to my pussy. "I would take you on the ground. Against a tree. In the stream. Anywhere. Everywhere."

I moaned and covered his hands with my own. "Then take me. Here."

It was all I needed to say. Like the floodgates opening, he yanked off his harness, kicked off his boots and peeled off his pants. He stood nude before me, chest heaving, cock proud and jutting from his body. He was magnificent. And he was mine.

I tried not to stare at his penis. The shape was not unusual. The size, however, was larger than the typical human male. I couldn't help my eyes widening on the male specimen in front of me. It would soon be inside of me, thrusting. The thought made me tremble with anticipation.

"Are you worried we won't be physically compatible?" he asked.

I'd read of no complaints from reports of human women. Very few of them chose to return to Earth, as most were smitten with their Mitran partners. But now, I was faced with my own Mitran lover, and I had to admit, I was a little intimidated. Mental calculations were not my friend in this situation. "By all accounts, humans and Mitrans are very compatible." I bit my lower lip. "I'm sure it will be… You're just so big."

"Stop thinking," he breathed. "I will not hurt you. I would die first."

His hands moved over my breasts, then shifted down to my ribs, to my waist. He flicked the edge of my pants. "Take these off," he commanded, with the air of a warlord.

My hands shook as I undid the fastenings and stripped them off.

He nodded approvingly. "Good. Those ridiculous things, too."

He was referring to my panties, and I peeled them off and tossed them with the rest. We were both naked, standing there.

"I shouldn't mention that I have never done this before," he declared.

It took me a second. "You—you're a virgin?"

"I don't care for that term, but yes. I have never touched a female before. You are my first. My only."

I held up a hand and shook my head. "Hold up. You have never done anything… What about the other night when you went down on me? Surely, you've done that before."

He shook his head. "Never."

That was surprising. "You really seemed to know what you were doing. Like you were experienced in how to pleasure a woman."

His gaze was dark and glittering as he stared down at me. "I did know what I was doing. I was with you. There is something special when a Mitran is with his true mate. I knew what to do, and it will only get better the longer we're together."

I rolled my eyes. "It really can't get better. That was incredible."

The corners of his mouth curved wickedly. "Oh, Sabine. It will get better."

"It might kill me, then."

He laughed. "It won't. I don't think either of us have ever known what true pleasure is. We will learn that together. We will have many years."

I ran a finger down the center of his chest, over his belly. His muscles tightened as I neared his large cock. "So no one has ever touched you like this." I grasped his length in my hand.

He dragged in a breath. "No."

I stroked him, squeezing, and felt him thicken even more. "No one has done this to you?"

"No." He flashed a grin. "Aside from me."

I laughed lightly. "I find it amazing that I'm your first."

His hand closed over my wrist as he wrenched it away from his cock. "I don't wish for this to be over right now, and that will happen if you continue what you're doing."

The spikes had risen from his arms and shoulders. They sat high and sharp. Fascinated, I ran my fingers over them, testing the sharpness of their tips and the indents of the skin underneath.

His hands slid from my hips to my ass and squeezed. "I like this." He drew me forward, pressing my belly against his cock. "I've wanted to squeeze your ass like this since I first saw you stepping into your shuttle."

I gave him a cocky grin. "I do have a nice ass."

"Nice is not the word for it. Perfect is."

"I could get used to this," I said, cupping his own fine ass. "Flattery will get you places."

"And here I thought medical anomalies were the only way to your heart."

"Oh, that works, too." I rubbed myself against his heavy length. My pussy was wet and aching. "But I can take a compliment, or two."

"You can take a lot more than that." He lowered a little, enough to release his cock from the confines of our two bodies and let it spring free between my legs. Still holding me by the ass, he lifted me up enough so that the length of his cock pressed against my sex. The long, veiny hardness rubbed along my sensitive folds. I moaned, quivering against the friction.

He backed me up, heading for the lower bunk, and we both tumbled onto it. He lay on top of me, shoving my thighs apart and kissing me hard and deep. His hard, chiseled chest rubbed against my nipples, making them ache. I squirmed against him, feeling my whole body aware and charged. He continued to rub his cock along my slick folds, sending my clit into a frenzy.

I panted, feeling the buildup to an orgasm at the firm contact. I moaned, pumping against him. My hips raced for more friction, more contact. My head went back, and I let out a cry as two fingers slid inside me. They pulsed in and out, and my body moved in time. His cock rested, hot and throbbing, against my clit as his fingers fucked me, making me wetter. Hungrier.

He dropped his head to the mattress beside me, shuddering. "I wanted to wait, but I cannot. I need you, Sabine. I need you now."

I wrapped my arms around him, feeling the spikes high and sharp down his spine. "Then take me."

His fingers slid from my pussy. He repositioned, pressing the tip of his cock against my slick sex. "I will try to keep my claws in."

His hands were fisted next to my head. I could see him shaking from the effort. "Let them out," I said. "I want to see everything you are."

He let out a shaky gasp and pushed himself inside of me. He groaned as my pussy stretched to fit him. My tight sheath squeezed him hard, but I took all of him. He filled me like I had never been before. Any thoughts I had blanked out. He was all I needed. He was my mate.

The realization of that slammed through me. This would be no short relationship. There would be no easy exit from this and I didn't want there to be. Dakkan was mine. I was his.

He began to move, sliding in and out. I was so wet, there was no resistance. "Sabine," he said in a primal growl before thrusting harder and faster. I pulled on his brakas and grasped his horns as he thrust with more vigor, quickly sending shocks of electricity through my body. I felt it everywhere, from the tips of my toes to my hair follicles, and everywhere in between. It was like he was lighting up my nerves, making me alive as I had never been before. I moaned, feeling as if I were on a raft, floating away fast, to a place unknown to me. Someplace I could never return from.

If this was what pleasure was, I did not want to return to what I thought it was before. And if this was only the beginning, I wanted to know what was ahead. I want to experience it with him. His thrusts were relentless, deep, devastating. Pleasure spiraled from my pussy in throbs of need. I muttered curses. I begged for more, and I babbled just plain nonsense. All I knew was, I wanted. Oh god, I wanted.

His body went tense and his thrusts became faster, deeper, and harder. I rose to meet them, wrapping one leg around his hips as he pistoned, slamming into me, driving me to the edge, where I soared off and exploded. Lights flashed in the corners of my eyes. I let out a primal cry of release. My orgasm throbbed around his cock, milking him, demanding his seed.

A bellow came from his lips as his cock tightened and thickened, and he found his release. He came inside of me, gasping, dragging in ragged breaths. I had to be careful where I touched him lest I get pricked by his spikes. His hands had sunk deep in the mattress, where his claws had destroyed the foam. Chunks of it came off as he pulled them out. "Ah. Well. There are three other beds."

I chuckled and blinked up at him, coming down to reality slowly. I felt like I was floating on a bed of clouds, in a river of fucking rainbows. "What the hell was that?" I breathed.

He slid his penis from me with a gasp and crashed on the mattress beside me. "You read my mind. I didn't know… I had no idea."

"Me either." We held each other tight, my arms around him. He clutched me against his chest, as if I could save him. From what, I didn't know, but I would stand against any enemy for this male. I'd be lying to myself if I said it was just good sex. It wasn't true. It was a binding. It was a claiming. Neither of us would be the same after that. And I didn't want to be.