14. Roark

“You’ll keep an eye on him.” It was a statement, not a question.

Mala rolled his eyes and Ushuu coughed out a laugh. They both thought I was being ridiculous, and maybe I was. This was not my first, second, or even fifth time confirming that both of them would take care of Huu-goh in my absence.

There were negotiations to be made, shipments to be dropped off, and schedules to be updated. Those were all tasks required of Captain, which meant now that we’d landed on planet Sha’hPihn I wouldn’t get the opportunity to take Huu-goh out myself until I’d had a chance to finish my duties.

On top of that, landing on Sha’hPihn meant that we were close enough to our home planet that I could send home communications. I would be spending the next few days rather busy planning Huu-goh and my ceremony for when we arrived on Osheania.

It was a momentous occasion. There were many people to invite—all my “siblings” from the orphanage, for one. The caretaker who had taken care of me after my father had passed. All the retired Sahrks that I had served under before I’d become captain—and more.

It was a giddy feeling, knowing what was to come.

Even more than that, however, I was excited to give Huu-goh the autonomy he needed. Which was why…though I wanted to take him shopping—and I would, eventually—I didn’t think it was a bad thing to send him out on his own first.

With guards, of course.

Huu-goh needed friends.

And he needed to make choices on his own.

That was important.

“You won’t let him out of your sight,” I confirmed again.

“We won’t let him out of our sight,” Mala repeated, obviously making fun of me. Asshole. I glared at him, but it had been a long time since I’d been able to intimidate him, so it did nothing but make him laugh outright.

“If you run into trouble—” I continued.

“We’ll call you on your communicator—we know, Roark.” Mala slapped my back playfully. Then his snout was bumping against mine. He grabbed my fin to keep me in place, giving it a tight squeeze. “I would die before I allowed something to happen to your mate.”

I shut my eyes and centered myself as I nodded. “I know,” my voice was unusually hoarse.

“He is my heart,” I told him, trying to explain why I was acting so irrationally. “It isn’t that I don’t trust you both.”

“I know,” Mala gave my fin another squeeze, his breath puffing against my lips. He was slightly smaller than me, but not by much. We were easily the largest Sahrks on the ship. I had only known two larger than us in my life, and both had died before I’d met Mala. It was a sobering thought to have, and one I pushed aside.

When Mala pulled back, I felt settled in a way I hadn’t before.

I’d come a long way. Pushed my own limits to the point they’d been forced to expand. There were no more leashes in our future, and I hoped—if given enough time—I would only continue to grow.

I cleared my throat, ducked my head, and sighed.

“Off you go,” Mala shooed me, knowing I wouldn’t leave without a kick to the ass. “We can handle the huu-man for a few hours.”

I nodded again, stalling for a moment. “You have my?—”

“We have access to your credits, your number, and your blessing.” Mala laughed at me, shaking his head. “Go be our captain, Captain.”

I rolled my eyes, but grinned back at him.

Ushuu gave me a hug of his own, squeezing me tight on my way out the door, before I headed down the hallway toward the helm. I’d need to gather a few things prior to entering the city and starting the first meeting of the day. I liked giving the crew a pep talk before we disembarked. Their smiling faces and enthusiasm motivated me to do better every time we made this trip.

So close to home, they were in high spirits. Far higher spirits than they had been when we’d left Osheania all those months ago.

I double-tasked, composing a pep talk in my head, while half my thoughts were full of a certain tiny someone—who was about to go out on his very first shopping trip without me.

Rather than stress about that, I recalled the rather lovely morning Huu-goh and I had shared.

After we’d stirred in bed, he’d yawned, wide and sleepy, his pearly teeth flashing. He’d smiled when he caught sight of me already watching him, and my hearts had rioted. Because he was insatiable, Huu-goh had tried to sneak his hands inside my sleep pants—and I’d let him.

I’d let him coax and lick and toy with my cocks.

This form of pleasure was foreign to me.

All pleasure was.

But this especially.

But unlike penetrative sex—which was commonly spoken about—I had never even heard rumors of a Sahrk attemptting to swallow someone else’s cock.

Such an action would be far too dangerous when you factored in our teeth. To my never-ending embarrassment, Mala often joked that was the reason we’d all been born with such long, dexterous tongues.

Huu-goh did not have the same issue. While his flat teeth were useless when it came to fibrous plants, they were excellent for cock sucking. Even on the rare occasion they grazed my lengths, all it did was make me shudder.

And Huu-goh had made it clear that he preferred to spend a portion of every day with his mouth between my legs.

The entire time Huu-goh had swallowed me that morning he had emitted sweet noises. All “hmms” and “nnnnghs.” Pretty humming that made my skin buzz. His throat vibrated around me like he truly enjoyed my flavor. Deeper and deeper he went, rubbing his tongue inside my suckers till they clutched back. Toying with each dick one by one, eager to be stuffed full of me.

He could barely get half of my cocks inside his mouth, but I did not mind. His obvious inexperience lit me up from the inside out because it meant he had waited, just like I had. We were each other's firsts, and while I would’ve loved him regardless, it still felt clandestine.

Like he’d known somehow, a galaxy away, that I was waiting for him.

Only him.

I just hadn’t known it yet.

I enjoyed the sounds Huu-goh made more than I should. It was that , paired with the tightness of his throat that finally did me in.

As I lay on my back, half-asleep and trembling with pleasure, I was once again delighted by how utterly brilliant my little love was. He sucked my other cock with as much enthusiasm as the first—until the stimulation grew too strong—and I burst on his tongue for a second time.

I expected to see his flushed, embarrassed expression looking up at me when I glanced down. Instead, Huu-goh caught me by surprise. Though pink-cheeked, just as I predicted, there was no shyness on my tiny troublemaker’s face. His smirk was positively wicked as he licked his lips and met my gaze through the gap in my thighs.

Immediately, both of my dicks bumped at his lips like they wanted a second go. He chuckled and pressed a parting kiss on their tips in farewell, even though he was shaky with need of his own.

I’d returned the favor, no longer surprised by my own enthusiasm. In the past, I masturbated because my cocks would not go down, not because I necessarily wanted to. For so long I had dreaded sex. I had thought it would be a chore, something to get through before I could attend to my real duties.

I had never been more wrong in all my life.

Sex was fun, when it was with the right person. It made you learn things about yourself you never would’ve known. And when there was trust between you, there was nothing better.

Determined to make Huu-goh spill quicker than he’d made me, I reveled in the pitiful cries my little beast made when I wrapped my tongue around his dick. Deliberately, I twisted. Tighter, tighter, till his eyes crossed and his perky balls emptied all over his belly.

His seed was saltier than mine, but I enjoyed the flavor.

If I was being honest, there wasn’t anything I didn’t enjoy about Huu-goh.

I loved the way he looked at the world, his dark eyes always full of wonder.

He saw potential in the ugliest of things.

Scraps of metal, most would consider junk, when placed in his capable hands could be transformed into something new and beautiful. As evidenced by the creations he’d been working on when he wasn’t spending his afternoons in Ushuu’s lab.

His brain was a wondrous thing.

So brilliant, and so full of mischief.

It was a wonder to me that A&R, or anyone, could’ve ever found him lacking.

I loved Huu-goh’s smile, his laugh, his funny, itty-bitty nose. So small it could hardly be useful—and yet it miraculously managed to work just fine despite its size and odd shape.

I loved his toes. All ten of them.

I loved the tiny scattered spots that covered his body.

I loved his ears. I’d seen ears on other species before, but never had they struck me as adorable. Huu-goh’s ears were though. They stuck out a bit to the sides and they flushed the loveliest shade of pink when he was aroused. Like their color was tied directly to his sweet cock.

I loved his kisses. Loved his intelligence. Loved when he was cross with me. Loved when he was happy with me even more. I loved surprising him. Loved playing with him. Loved doting on him.

He kept me on my toes.

And despite his size, Huu-goh never had any trouble keeping up with me. It was hard to believe that a creature so different could be my perfect counterpart. But he was. He didn’t seem to mind my control issues. Didn’t seem to mind the way I always kept him close, protective to a fault. I was older than he was—and he didn’t seem to mind that either.

We were so different, but different had never felt more perfect.

And though he was full of mischief, he had proven to me he could be trusted.

My tight leash on him—sometimes literally—only came from care, but I could see now he was capable of fending for himself. And I was going to do my best moving forward to give him every opportunity to thrive—even though my fear for him never abated.

“Captain,” Sahla’s quiet voice interrupted my reverie. There was a knowing smirk on his face. Everyone kept looking at me like that. Like I was just a pup, and they were watching me take my first steps—despite the fact it had been months since Huu-goh had become mine.

“Lieutenant.” I kept my tone neutral, though I arched my brow bone at him till he stopped smirking. I couldn’t blame him, not when I’d arrived to the control room with my head in the clouds.

Daydream time was over.

I needed to get to work.

I had shipments to deliver and a crew that depended on me. A mating ceremony to plan. There was no room for error now, and I couldn’t afford doubt among my crew. I took a breath, puffed out my chest, and roared to get their attention. The silence that echoed afterward made my heart sing.

This was my calling, my purpose.

This was what Captain Strongfoot had trained me for.

I ended my speech like I always did with a heavy heap of praise and the weight of their duty to their families back home. The recruits, the younger ones in particular, stared at me with wonder in their eyes as they waited patiently for their assignments.

As I handed out orders, wrote down our schedule on the HoverPad that floated in the center of the command deck, and delegated tasks to each crew member, half of my mind remained in the clouds.

I hoped Huu-goh enjoyed today.

I hoped, and hoped, and hoped.