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Chapter 8

Thar’oc

I sat down on the mattress next to Rikki and placed the medkit in her lap with an amused smile. The burn did ache a little, but it was just a graze. It would heal. I doubted it would leave so much as a mark; Kertinal skin was extremely tough as long as we ate right. On the Varakartoom, the Captain always made sure each of his crew members got exactly what they needed to function at optimal conditions.

She didn’t really know what to do with any of the things inside it, so I carefully explained it all, showing her how the handheld scanner worked, then teaching her what to apply. It was excellent knowledge to have. When my graze had been covered up with a thin layer of plasfilm to keep it clean, it did feel better and I chuckled at how she complained under her breath that I should wear sleeves, even if my biceps were sexy. My tail squeezed a little around her ankle at the last word and I caught her blush. I wasn’t supposed to have heard that little rant.

“Now it’s time for me to look at your feet. Don’t deny it, I saw your gait change the longer we walked. You need to tell me when something is wrong.” She did try to deny it, but as soon as I stripped her new shoes from her tiny little feet, I knew what was wrong. The hint of blood filled the air with its metallic scent. Large blisters had formed on the side of her biggest toe and the curve of her Achilles. Her shoes were too big, and they’d damaged her fragile skin.

There was a stubborn look on her face when I glared at those marks on her body. “What? I’m not going to complain about every little thing. You’re already doing so much for me.” It was on my lips to say that I’d readily do more, but I held those words back at the last moment. My tail twitched against her ankle, curling a little up around her shapely calf.

Healing those superficial injuries was but the work of a moment. The tissue regenerator made quick work of the little abrasions. Then I pulled out a ration bar and stuffed it in her hands, “Eat, healing takes energy.” She rolled her eyes, reached out, and grabbed another bar to push into my own hands, and I grinned. She was taking care of me in return. I liked that very much.

Soon we were both sitting in silence and that silence felt laden and awkward. I couldn’t help it. Sitting still was not my strong suit; my leg started jiggling against the floor, then bouncing up and down as more restlessness coursed through me. Normally, my tail would get in on that action too, but this time, it remained stubbornly curled around her leg. That sneaky thing had slid even higher. It was almost past her knee. I wondered if she knew that, and I wondered if I could control myself enough not to reach even further, to where I really wanted to touch her.

“Hey, Thar’oc, will you tell me about yourself?” she asked quietly, her hand reaching out to press against my bouncing knee. Warmth immediately seeped through my armor and into my skin; my leg stilled.

“What do you want to know?” I asked. That was enough to launch her into rapid conversation. She bombarded me with a million questions about my species and my work, while my tail kept clinging to her. It was on her thigh by now, and she definitely knew. I could scent her arousal in the air, a rich perfume that made my mouth water and my cock grow hard inside the tight confines of my armor.

I tried to answer her as much as I could. Yes, I was a mercenary, a sharpshooter. I’d served in the Kertinillian army before that for the five required years, just like every other Kertinal. I was between jobs and supposed to hang out for a while with my friend Ru’ol on Strewn. Of course, that made her demand to know all about the famous shipyard, and I regaled her with stories about that place for a while.

“And you?” I asked when she finally paused for air instead of launching into another barrage of questions. She fell silent immediately and her hand flew to her chest, a sadness spreading over her face.

“I’m from Earth. And I was told that they stole me from my home several hundred years ago… The auctioneer said I could forget about going back, he said he stole my pod from this guy Drameil and it was time to put me on the market and earn him some good money.” A growl rattled from my chest at the mention of the name of a famous Crimelord who had perished not that long ago. No wonder the auctioneer thought it was a good time to offload her.

“You’re safe, Rikki. I will protect you. Always.” The words flew from my mouth unchecked. They were too much, too strong. They admitted a truth I wasn’t sure she was ready for, something I had tried to hint at but hadn’t wanted to push. I thought I had lost her for a moment; her eyes went wide and oddly blank, and her mouth dropped open in this sexy circle that sent my wayward thoughts spinning.

Then she recovered, and a smile flirted at her lips. “You know, I think I’m starting to believe it too,” she said, shifting to her knees and pulling my sneaky tail with her. That thing was almost at the crease of her hip now, so close to the core of her that my blood heated in my veins at the sight.

That tail movement hadn’t gone unnoticed, either. She reached down to curl her fingers around a section; the part leading away from her thigh to me. The brush of those fingers felt like a lightning strike, pleasure skating along my spine. “Believe what?” I asked her, my voice a raw, husky whisper; I was completely under her spell.

“That fated mate thing…”

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