16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Tareq

I wanted to take my time exploring Astra's body, to pleasure her over and over before sinking my cock into her. On that front, I failed miserably.

When I saw her underneath me, writhing in pleasure, begging me for more, begging me to give her my cock…? What male could possibly resist? I sank my cock deep into her hot, wet pussy, smothering her moans and gasps with kisses.

She's not complaining about the lack of foreplay. As I pound into her relentlessly, she keeps moaning so loud I can barely hear the songs of the other captives. Not that I've been listening to them. Not when I have Astra's moans of pleasure all for myself.

I should worry about us being too loud. The Genixarians might come and punish all of us for making so much noise. They don't have music in their culture. They don't even understand the concept of singing for fun. They just hate noise.

I should worry but I can't bring myself to care right now. To think about anything other than the supple, warm female body underneath me or the magical pussy that's squeezing me so tightly I wonder how I haven't spilled my seed inside her yet.

All thoughts escape me as I feel my sack tighten and my cock twitch. I'm so close and I know I'll roar loudly when I come. Some niggling instinct tells me that I shouldn't be doing that, so I bury my mouth into the crook of Astra's neck, biting down to muffle my sounds as I finally come.

It feels like forever before my cock stops squirting my seed inside her. I don't think I've ever come this hard in my life. This female is really something special. My Myále. My mate.

She chuckles breathlessly. "Wow… That was…"

"Mmm," I hum against her neck, not wanting to move. I carefully balance my weight on my forearms so as not to crush her under my weight, but I can't move away from her yet. Maybe not ever. Maybe I'll just stay inside her forever.

"You bit me," she complains, still smiling.

My insides turn to ice. Only now do I realize that I can taste her blood on my tongue. I did bite her. My precious, fragile human mate. The one I've vowed to protect from harm. "Oh, Ancestors," I whisper, my voice trembling. I'm such an idiot! I should have stayed in control, not act like a feral beast with her. Will she be frightened of me again? "I'm so, so sorry, Astra. I didn't mean to—"

"Ssh." She puts a finger over my mouth to silence me. She tugs on my hair, trying to get me to kiss her, but this time, I don't oblige.

I shouldn't be kissing her. I shouldn't be near her. I'm too dangerous for her. Fuck, I could have really hurt her!

The Syndorans bite each other during sex from time to time, but we are much sturdier and we heal fast. Damn, what if I've damaged her permanently? I could have bitten through her muscles and sinews and…what if she bleeds out?!

Frantic, I try to pull away, but Astra holds me close. "Stop it, Tareq. I'm fine. I was just teasing you. It's nothing, just a shallow scratch, and I kind of liked it. Please, don't freak out over it."

"I hurt you," I whisper solemnly. "I'm sorry."

"You fucked my brain out of my body, that's what you did," Astra chuckles. "I'm fine, Tareq. I promise. Please, don't ruin this."

Ruin this? "I…I do not wish to ruin anything for you, Astra. I want you to be happy."

"Then just keep holding me," she whispers, her voice sleepy. "Maybe roll us over, though. The floor is freezing my butt off."

I chuckle, relieved she's okay and doesn't blame me for losing control. Without pulling out of her, I roll onto my back, bringing her along so that she rests on my chest. "I'd hate for your butt to freeze off," I tease, kneading her soft buttocks. "I'm quite fond of it and I haven't had time to explore it yet."

"Too big…" she objects, half asleep. "Too heavy."

She tries to move to my side, but I hold her in place. "You aren't too heavy, Astra. I could carry you for hours and not get tired. You can sleep on me, if you want to. And your butt is perfect." I squeeze it to emphasize my words. I'm not lying to her. It really is perfect, just like the rest of her.

Astra snorts in disbelief but doesn't argue anymore, falling asleep with my cock still tucked neatly inside her warm pussy.

A scratching sound rouses me from my sleep. It's impossible to tell the time, but I'd say it's only been a few hours since we fell asleep after our impromptu mating.

Astra is still deep in slumber, lightly drooling over my breastbone in the most adorable way imaginable. My cock went limp and slipped out of her sometime during our nap so we're both now covered in the sticky mix of our juices.

I like it. I like it very much. It's like I've marked her with my scent to warn off all the other males. I've marked her in another way, too, one I'm not proud of.

The wound on the base of her neck has stopped bleeding, but the sight of it still leaves me feeling guilty. Yet, I'm also strangely pleased by the mark because now everyone will see she's mine. Of course, that only increases my guilt.

Another scratch interrupts my thoughts. I thought I'd been imagining the noise before but no. It's coming from above. From the ventilation grid, I suddenly realize. It must be Grih'Get returning.

I wish I didn't have to wake Astra, but I can't reach the grid myself and the little insect isn't strong enough to push it aside on its own. "I'm coming," I whisper, hoping Grih'Get hears and understands me. "Just give me a moment, little friend."

It feels like sacrilege, but I gently tap Astra's shoulder. She groans, stretching out her arms, squinting at me before closing her eyes again. "Ugh. Another round already?" She opens her mouth wide in a yawn. "How about you do whatever you want with my body while I rest my eyes for a bit longer?"

My cock grows hard at her suggestion. With great disappointment, I say, "I'll take you up on that offer later, my sweet Myále , but right now I need you awake."

"Damn you," she growls, stubbornly keeping her eyes closed. "I'm sleeping. If you try to make me suck your cock, I'll bite it off. We can play later."

I chuckle. My dear mate is quite fond of her sleep. "I'll take all you're offering, Astra, once we are free. But I think Grih'Get is back, and we need to move the grid to let him in."

"Oh." That finally makes her open her eyes, albeit reluctantly. "Fine then. Whatever. Stupid aliens," she mutters as she stands up, using the blanket to wipe herself as best as she can.

I kiss her, suppressing another chuckle which would only make her grumpier. With any other female, I'd find such cursing and grumbling irritating, but with Astra, it's just cute.

Once she's ready, I hoist her up onto my shoulders, doing my best not to think about how close her bare pussy is to my face now. My cock is hard again, and it doesn't escape her attention. She leans forward, her rosy nipples hanging just before my eyes. "You seem to be enjoying this, my tiger," she teases.

I don't tell her I'd enjoy it much more if she was sitting on my face instead of my shoulders. I suspect she knows. "What's a tiger?" I inquire instead, moving us toward the ventilation shaft.

"Oh, it's a feline animal from Earth. They have black and orange stripes," she explains as she works on moving the grid aside.

I'm not sure I like being compared to an animal, even though I understand the association due to my coloring. "Is it a big animal? Do you like these tigers?"

"Huh?" She seems confused by my question. "Like them? I don't know, I've only ever seen them in a zoo. I do like watching them, but the ones in the zoo were always kind of…sad. But yes, they're very big and very dangerous."

I hum in agreement. Being compared to a big and dangerous animal is slightly flattering.

"Ah, there you are!" Astra exclaims as she finally pushes the grid aside and Grih'Get crawls out.

The animal skitters down the wall, straight toward the small pile of our food and water, and nudges a water bottle. "He's probably thirsty," Astra says, patting the top of my head. "Set me down."

I don't want to let go of her, but Grih'Get deserves to be fed after spending so many hours crawling through the ship, so I help Astra get down from my shoulders. I make sure to slide her naked body against mine.

She gasps as my cock rubs against her pussy and stomach and lightly smacks my chest. "Later, tiger," she whispers, giving me a seductive wink that makes my cock twitch.

Later. But what if there is no later?

As she pours water into the bottle cap and holds it out for Grih'Get to drink, I unwrap a ration bar, trying unsuccessfully to chase away my darkening thoughts.

Things are about to change. I can't wait much longer for my escape attempt. I need to signal my squad and have them take over the ship before the Genixarians decide to toss Astra into someone else's cell.

I desperately want to spend more time with her, to make memories I will treasure forever even after she leaves and forgets all about me.

The thought of the UGC taking her memories of me away gnaws at my insides. How can I let her go through that? But then again, I have no right to stop her from going home and having her memories removed is the only way that can happen. The UGC would never let her return to Earth with knowledge of aliens.

The Non-Interference Directive is the most serious law we have. The less advanced civilizations need an opportunity to develop on their own, without external intervention. I used to understand it and even accepted it. Now, I don't give a shit about laws or other civilizations. The entire galaxy could burn to ashes for all I care. If only I could keep Astra with me.

Grih'Get drinks for a long time, then gobbles down the entire ration bar. After drinking yet again, it finally chirps and holds up a plastic square in front of us.

My heart skips a beat. It's a keycard. Judging by the markings, it not only opens the cell doors but also other doors across the ship. It's a fucking treasure, and this overgrown insect just handed it to me in exchange for a ration bar and a bottle of water.

Well, perhaps not just for food and water, I amend as I watch Grih'Get squeeze through the bars to the other cell. The insect nuzzles with the others as they welcome him back. His family. He brought the keycard to me so that I could rescue them. All of them.

I stare at the card in my hand, suddenly wishing I'd never sent Grih'Get into the vents. This changes things. Changes them now. I don't have any more time to be with my Astra. I have to get off my ass and do what I came here to do.

"What is it?" she whispers, giving me a worried look. "Is this card useless? Is that why you're frowning?"

I'm frowning because our time together is up and I don't want it to be. But I promised not to lie to my Astra. "It's a universal keycard," I tell her, watching her expression change to one of cautious happiness. "We could walk out of this cell right now."

"That's great!" she exclaims. Then she thinks about it a little more, her face falling as she realizes what it means. "Oh. I… We should, shouldn't we? Get out? I mean, we can still…" she hesitates and I know she's thinking about the same thing I am.

I suck in a deep breath, willing myself to focus. I can't fuck this up. My eyes find the mark I've accidentally left on her neck. She's mine, and I need to protect her. "We need to think this through properly," I say, trying to mimic the professional tone our captain always uses in pre-op briefings. "Come up with a solid plan. If we just run off, we'll end up caught and back in a cell. Or worse."

Astra grimaces, her hand touching the collar around her neck. "Right. We need to get rid of these. Can't you just take it off?"

"It wouldn't be a very good slave collar if you could just take it off," I reply, apologetically. "It's made so that it knocks out anyone tampering with it and alerts the guards. We need the remote to disable it permanently."

She nods thoughtfully. "I can get the remote. I just need to go into that creepy medical examination room again. I can snatch the remote from that scientist guy. He's not very careful with it."

I want to protest, forbid her from putting herself at risk. This is my mission and I should be the one taking all the risks. However, I can't figure out a way to break us free without the remote.

The collar remotes work all over the ship. We could run and hide and all the Genixarians would have to do to knock us out is push a button from the safety of their security room. We need that stupid remote and Astra is the only one in any position to get it. That doesn't mean I agree with putting her in danger, though.

"Alright," I say, "let's talk this through, one step at a time."