9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Tareq

I like As'Trah saying my name in her soft voice. I like her smile. I like her soft, curvy body. I like her strength. I like everything about her so much, it scares me.

I'd worried over how she was going to react to waking up in my arms, afraid that she'd start screaming and cause the guards to barge in and hurt her. I don't want her to suffer any more than she already has. But the human female surprised me.

Even though she's still afraid of me, she remains calm. It's admirable how quickly she conquered her fear, forcing me to alter my opinion about her. She isn't weak. Far from it. Yesterday, she cried, crushed under the weight of her terrible new reality. Today, she stands strong, ready to tackle the challenges to come. A warrior at heart. A worthy mate.

I flick my tail in anger. I need to stop thinking about her like that. Once we're free, she'll return home, and I'll never get to see her again. She will return to her own people and forget all about me. I really have to stop thinking with my cock.

It's not like I'm in a position to take a mate, anyway. I'm an elite soldier, spending most of my time on dangerous missions or training. Technically, I don't even have a home. Of course, I'm always welcome at my family's dwelling back on Qara, but I could hardly bring a mate back to my childhood bedroom.

My mother would be thrilled, though. She'd gladly clear out an entire wing of the spacious residence just for me and my mate. I have three siblings, all with their own mates and cubs, and yet, she never stops bugging me to settle down. My family would love As'Trah, and they wouldn't care that she's human.

Would she like my home planet? I don't know much about Earth, but I vaguely remember the satellite images having a lot of green and blue. Oceans and forests. Qara is the same. Jungles, forests, beautiful meadows. Long beaches with white sand. We could take a walk there, and I could collect flowers for her, and— And why the hell am I still obsessing about this?!

A growl rumbles deep in my chest. It's not happening. I need to get my mind straight. Now. I also need to find a way out of this cell and somehow free the slaves. All of the slaves. Not just this one in particular.

The small blue insect is still skittering around As'Trah's former cell, examining everything with his long feelers. Then, to my surprise, he climbs the wall to sniff at a stain about halfway up to the ceiling. He climbs with ease, his many legs sticking to the wall.

I hum thoughtfully. This opens new possibilities.

At first, I considered sending the creature to the cellblock door, hoping he could sneak out when the guards opened it. But if he can climb like this, then perhaps we don't have to risk him getting spotted by the guards.

There's a vent high on the wall of our cell. It's an entrance to one of the many ventilation shafts that criss-cross the ship. The vent is too small for a person to climb through, but the insect would fit just fine. The only problem is the grid covering the vent. It's too high for me to reach and unscrew, and the cell offers nothing I can step on. Aside from the waste bucket, of course, but even if it could carry my weight, it wouldn't get me high enough.

My gaze falls on As'Trah, sitting quietly in the corner. I feel a pang of regret over giving her the blanket to cover herself because now I can't watch her delicious curves anymore. At least it deepened her trust in me. Trust I'm going to need now.

"As'Trah?" I ask, getting her attention without moving toward her so as not to spook her.

She offers a small, sincere smile. "Tareq?"

My hearts flutter, but I shove the feeling aside, mentally admonishing myself. "I know you don't understand me," I say, doing my best to make the growly Syndoran language sound softer, "but I could really use your help. Look at the creature." I point at the blue insect, hoping to explain my plan even without words.

Her eyes find the creature up on the wall and widen in surprise. "Grih'Get?" Grinning, she says a few more words, repeating the "Grih'Get" sound several times. When the creature skitters over to her, I realize that the sound is a name. She's named the insect, and he's already reacting to the sound of his name.

I'm grateful that the insects and I are on the same side. They're awfully smart, and I'd hate to fight against them.

"Yes, Grih'get," I say. She chuckles as I mangle the word, the sound of her laughter making my heart rate speed up. Seriously, what is happening to me? "I want to send him through there," I point at the vent, "but I need your help to do it."

I don't actually know if sending the insect into the ventilation will help us. He could refuse to go. He could get lost. He could attract attention and get killed. Even if he succeeded at staying out of sight, there's not much he could do for our freedom. But he seems to enjoy bringing things to me and As'Trah, so perhaps he could bring us something useful. Like the cell door keycard. Wishful thinking, I know, but what do we have to lose?

As'Trah pouts her beautiful pink lips, making me want to kiss her. It's a good thing she's studying the grate on the ventilation shaft and not looking at me because I'm sporting yet another enormous erection. It would probably scare her, and I need her trust to execute the plan. Plus, I hated her flinching away from me and seeing the terror in her eyes whenever they landed on me.

She speaks, pointing at the insect, then at the vent, immediately understanding my plan.

I nod in confirmation. Now, to the more troublesome part. I need to convince As'Trah to sit on my shoulders and undo the grate.

Just as I'm trying to figure out how to convey my plan in simple gestures, As'Trah comes to me and points up at the grate. She says a few words, then taps my shoulder and jumps a little. It's impossible to ignore the bounce of her breasts as she does that.

Perhaps this is a bad idea. She's wearing nothing under the blanket. If she sits on my shoulders, her bare pussy will be right behind my neck. Too close to my nose for comfort. I bet her scent is amazing.

With trepidation, I join my hands and offer them to her as a step. She only hesitates for a second before placing her foot on my hands. I boost her up, then catch her thighs and help her straddle my shoulders.

I was right. Her scent is intoxicating, making my cock harden even further. Even touching her soft, pliable thighs is something out of this world. Syndoran females are muscular, firm where As'Trah is supple. Some of the other species I've been with are soft too, but they've never made me feel this needy.

She murmurs words to herself, her thighs squeezing me tighter as she straightens to reach the grate. I barely bite back a groan, imagining her thighs squeezing me for a different reason.

As'Trah keeps murmuring and muttering, and even though her language is melodic, I still recognize cursing. I peek up at her, careful not to sway too much. She's working on the screws that hold the grid, just like I'd hoped, but isn't having much luck with them. Her short, blunt claws are useless for the task.

When I hear her hiss in pain and smell blood in the air, I grunt in discomfort. I don't want her to hurt herself, but there isn't much I can do for her. The cell lacks items we could use as tools. The Genixarians have taken all of my gear, clothes, and even my boots, leaving me only in simple pants. Pants…with buttons.

An idea strikes me. Keeping one hand on As'Trah's thigh to keep her balanced, I reach to my pants, hoping she won't look down. What I'm doing right now could easily be misunderstood. However, even though the thought is exciting, I'm not about to stroke my cock while balancing the female on my shoulders. I just need the button.

I tear it off my pants, wincing when they fall down to my ankles and reveal my erection. Ancestors! I look so ridiculous I have trouble not laughing out loud.

"As'Trah," I call quietly, tapping her thigh to get her attention. "Here, take this." I offer her the button. As she takes it from my palm, her fingers leave behind a smear of blood. She must have torn off at least one of her blunt claws. Yet, she doesn't complain, saying what I assume is a thank you and continuing her work. A strong female indeed.

The grate creaks noisily as As'Trah finally opens it. She doesn't remove it completely, just shifts it enough for the insect to get through. Good thinking, I nod to myself. The guards are stupid, but even they would notice a missing grate.

"Grih'Get!" As'Trah whispers, adding a few more encouraging words. Chirping, the insect squeezes his body through the bars to return to our cell, then scales the wall to get to As'Trah. She pets him, careful not to touch his antennae, whispering more soft words. Grih'Get buzzes with contentment, leaning into her hand as she pats and scratches his head and neck.

Damn, I want her to pet me like that, too. To whisper her sweet words to me.

I shake the thought off. Now's not the right time.

After getting his fair share of affection, the insect curiously sniffs at the vent. As'Trah doesn't have to encourage him to enter; the creature crawls in willingly, excited to explore.

I glance at the larger insects in the cell, worried about their reaction. After all, I'm sending their young one toward potential danger. They don't seem happy, but don't protest either. Perhaps they're intelligent enough to understand they need to do whatever it takes to escape before arriving at wherever the Genixarian slavers are taking them.

They're wearing collars as well. The devices look ridiculous on their slender insect necks, but they're there and ready to cause them pain at the guards' whim. Perhaps the Genixarians have already used the collars, just to show the prisoners what would happen if they didn't cooperate.

Up above my head, As'Trah slides the grid back into its original position before shifting on my shoulders to indicate she's ready for me to put her down. I'm not happy to let her go, certain that she'll keep her distance from me again once we aren't working on a common task, but I can't keep her riding on my shoulders forever.

I hold her left leg to keep her steady as she swings her right leg around my back to dismount me, then carefully lower her down. Her chest brushes against mine as I do, her blanket wrap coming undone.

Too late, I realize I'm also naked. My pants are still down by my ankles, my cock jutting out, pointing at her like a black and orange striped finger. I cannot hold back a groan as her body slides over my erection, and As'Trah stiffens.

Fuck! I really screwed up now.

"I'm sorry," I say, even though she can't understand me. As I try to take a hurried step back so she won't feel threatened, my feet get tangled in my damned pants, and I stagger. I catch myself against the wall, leaning against it with my eyes closed, embarrassed beyond measure.

Hearing her giggle, my eyes shoot back open. As'Trah isn't retreating from me in fear. She's standing where I put her, laughing heartily, her hand slapped over her mouth as she tries to muffle the sounds.

Even though she's laughing at me, I feel as if a giant boulder has been lifted off my chest. I made her laugh. She isn't afraid of me.

Her shoulders twitch as she laughs, her eyes gleaming. She's the most beautiful creature in the entire galaxy, and all I want at this moment is to kiss her.