Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

KHORAHN

The female in my lap was perfect. Soft. Responsive. I'd hated the fear I'd caused in the cleansing unit, but the scent-marking seemed to be working already. Her scent only held moderate amounts of fear now.

My gaze drifted over her sleep-relaxed face and the hand that curled against my shirt. Her slender fingers twitched against me, making any effort to work pointless. My ambal ached against the press of her rounded flank.

I remembered the way she'd stretched across the table to feel the messau dish, a meal I had thought she would love, and how her bottom had rubbed against me in her hurry to withdraw from it. Her dislike had surprised me. As had her preference for the food processor's unappealing nutritional creation. However, there was no denying how very much she'd enjoyed the meal based on the sounds she'd made while eating the paste.

And her prettily worded request for more when she'd finished the first bowl.

She'd made a mess of the second, but that hadn't bothered me. I'd planned on taking her to the cleansing unit afterward anyway.

Marking her backside first had been a wise decision. She'd handled it fairly well until I invaded her flank cleft. She hadn't liked that but hadn't fought me when I'd held her still to coat her, even there. Hopefully, she would be more tolerant of it the next time.

My gaze dropped to the curve pressed against me. There absolutely would be a next time. I wanted to explore every inch of this female and learn what she liked and didn't like. Presently, her scent carried too much fear for either of us to know.

It hadn't surprised me when she'd started rubbing my ambal secretions into her front before I finished marking that side. Amused by her intelligence, I let her have her way until she worked her way down to that little tuft of fur between her legs. Exploring the skin surrounding her breeding sheath had been enlightening.

She had feared many things so far, but that she'd feared the most. Which was problematic since I very much wanted to mate with her. The scent-markings would help with some of that. Between the calming effect of my secretions and all the touching I did to ensure she was well-coated on the outside, I believed she would eventually accept it internally as well.

After that, no one would have the right to force her from me, and she would be free to choose. Hopefully, by then, we would be communicating, and she would understand that I was her safest option.

I sighed and wondered if not checking the void station for a quality translation chip had been a mistake. In places like that, though, the chances of receiving something subpar or, worse yet, a painful installation were high. I hated her fear and suffering now. I wouldn't do anything to needlessly add to it.

She murmured in her sleep and nuzzled my chest.

Flek, I loved that.

The nuzzling and the way her chest mounds jiggled when she did it.

I reached out and gently caressed one, keeping my touch light so I wouldn't wake her. Breasts. What fascinating things to have. They provided nourishment for her young and were a source of pleasure if handled correctly.

She made a small, content sound in her sleep.

"That's right, my small female. You are safe with me."

I'd spent the previous arcs well while she rested and had started reading the information in the data pic the Helix station had sent me. There'd been so much of it. An outline of human anatomy. Their fertility statistics showed they were indeed the most fertile race in the systems. Their compatibility percentages had a concerningly long list of species, which thankfully included my own. Human habitat requirements were fairly minimal.

I hadn't even gotten to specific information regarding grooming, care, or breeding. Not that I thought for a moment the fey would include that.

It would easily take a lunar to sort through the information, and I was certain I still wouldn't know everything. And that only tempted me to spend the next few arcs poring over what information I could. It would be far more interesting than reviewing the ship's system logs. Unfortunately, I knew I couldn't afford that type of endless distraction yet.

While I'd hidden my identity when asking for clearance on Narlin Four, that wouldn't prevent the Wsoau from tracking me down once they figured out the bounty I'd left behind wasn't responsible for their missing human female. Likely, they would put a bounty out on me. Any hunter worth his chit would be able to figure out who the Wsoau wanted. I only hoped the Wsoau were smart enough to keep quiet about the female I stole.

If word got out that I had one on board, everyone in the systems would be after us. Which only made this side trip more necessary. Not only would it be financially lucrative, but it would keep us away from the common trade routes and give me the time I needed to sufficiently scent-mark her while she continued to heal.

The sys-unit had said her vision would return in a few more arcs, thanks to the second regeneration stim. But I wasn't yet sure if that would help ease her fears or if it would make marking her more difficult.

Humans were still so new to the systems. As with any newly discovered species, they were being slowly introduced to those already committed to space travel and trade. It was often difficult for a new species to accept the varying characteristics that defined other species. Fear, a primary and natural instinct, often resulted during introductions. Due to that potential fear, the fey were limiting which species could enter the Lottery Treaty, thereby causing contention through the systems. Which likely spurred on the abductions that removed my female from her home world.

I could only hope that she would be calm enough after a second marking to accept my differences.

Regardless, I didn't have much time to prepare for our arrival, and sitting here, although very pleasant, wasn't accomplishing anything more than swelling my ambal with the need to mark her again.

The list of things I needed to do before her rest cycle ended was long.

Reluctantly, I carried her to my room. As soon as I eased her onto the bed, she rolled over onto her stomach. The light reflected lightly on my secretion coating her skin, drawing my attention to the way her backside dipped before the rise of her flank, showcasing that tempting cleft.

Selfishly, I removed my clothes from the storage bins. She'd already borrowed one shirt, and I didn't want to tempt her with any of the others. She was far too perfect to cover up. To ensure her comfort without any covering, though, I set the ship's ambient temperature according to what I'd read in the data pic before leaving her.

Staying focused on the necessary maintenance rounds wasn't easy. My mind kept drifting to how she'd looked on my bed. I had to read the stasis numbers for my bounties four times before I registered that they looked good. Moving on, I noted the depletion of the sys-unit supplies and added them to the restock inventory.

When I was done in the med bay, I went to the grow bay. The fresher air welcomed me. However, I knew my female wouldn't have the olfactory sensitivity to detect the slight difference. That meant I would need to obtain more oxygenating greenery to filter the air so she could.

While some females simply enjoyed a flourishing grow bay for what it represented—wealth—I knew that wouldn't be the case for mine. According to the data pic, the majority of her kind were used to inhabiting non-aggressive verdant environments. Filling this space with vegetation to create a similar environment might comfort her. At least, that was my hope.

Using the grow bay's datapad, I increased the output of the false dome overhead. The effect was like a sunrise on most planets, illuminating the open area until its brightness equaled standard midday light on life-supporting worlds. A fortune of chit had gone into the shell above. The embedded lights weren't simply lighting the room. They provided what was necessary to grow any vegetation. Even the exotic types.

Now, all I needed was the terra to fill the grow boxes.

After tending the few plants I had, I went to the cargo bay and evaluated the amount of mineral waste I'd obtained. The mineral concentration was higher than I'd anticipated, and I almost wished I'd managed to leave the planet on better terms.

Based on the ship's calculations, I had more than enough to warrant the extra jumps and cell depletion to reach Tertian Seven. Several times over, actually, which meant I'd have the terra necessary to fill the grow bay with veg along with plenty of extra chit to invest in additional luxuries.

I smiled to myself, already picturing my little female walking these corridors, her flesh exposed and adorned with the finest chains any female ever possessed. She would know a completely different life aboard this ship. Hopefully, one she enjoyed enough to want to stay.

Thinking of the chains, I went to my workroom and studied the new lengths I'd purchased on the void station. Now that I had a female aboard and I knew her shape and size, I itched to weave the fine links into a mantel that would caress her chest mounds and tempting flank.

Adjusting my aching ambal, I checked the ship's estimated arrival in the Tertain system and sighed. I had too much to do before we landed—gear to inspect if I wanted to return to the female unmarred, a sys-unit to prep on the off chance that something went wrong...

Preparing her adornments would need to wait.

With one last look at the lengths of fine chains I'd collected, I turned my back on the workroom and focused on what I'd need to accomplish during the next few arcs.

Very few knew about the potential for wealth that could be found in the inhospitable wastelands of Divos One. My genetic founder had been fortunate enough to make the discovery and live to teach his descendants how to farm cleansed terra from the Wernius, terra-formers of massive size that consumed all organic material. The same creatures that made Divos One inhospitable to any other non-veg life. They roamed the twilight belt between the lit and dark sides of the planet, eating what organic material they could before the sun burned what had grown in the dark.

It wouldn't be easy to lure one to the surface. It would be harder still to collect the terra without burning to ash or being consumed by the veg. Or worse, the Wernius.

I smiled, looking forward to the challenge.

Already anticipating the outcome, I used the datapad in the grow bay and pulled up the research accumulated by my predecessors regarding the most desirable veg for the grow bay. I selected the top ten and requested a jump and fuel cell usage calculation from the nav center.

While that ran, I started cleaning the filters. I needed everything to be in top operating order just in case I wasn't able to get to the maintenance for a few flares after collecting the terra.

I lost myself in the routine work.