Return: Nomadican Mates Series 4 Read online

  “We will be back on course for an infant planet on the far side of the Unios galaxy once we rendezvous with Mont’clure’s people.”

  “Because of the injury to his leg… um, tentacle?”

  “Yes,” Natu grins at my mistake. “We cannot provide the medical treatment he needs. He will lose his tentacle if left untreated.”

  “Oh my god!” And just when I thought I couldn’t feel any more guiltier. “How much longer before he can be with his people?”

  “Within the next few cycles.”

  “So, the risk is low?”

  “Yes.”

  Natu’s answer comes with great relief.

  “What was the reason why you left your home planet of Riosis?” I gently prod.

  “It was not by choice,” Natu begins softly. With a watery smile he states, “Riosis was destroyed. The planet no longer exists.”

  I freeze solid. That was not the answer I was prepared to hear. I thought maybe they had either gotten into trouble and were banned or even left of their own free will. But, destroyed? Never did that occur to me.

  “How?” I ask dumbfounded.

  “By the greed of a few males,” Natu says shifting beneath me. “Our leaders had a trade agreement with the Bioti, a people on a planet, Biotios, in our solar system. Riosis was rich in a mineral called huris, which was traded for a power source refined on Biotios. My people did not have the technology to refine the metallicks into the tellic to power a transflux compositor for hyper-jumps, so an agreement was reached. The Bioti are hard negotiators and limited the amount of tellic. Granted, it was a lopsided trade.”

  “You males are smart. Why not just figure out how to refine it yourselves?”

  A hint of a blush touches Natu’s cheeks. “Metallicks are an extremely unstable substance. The Bioti are the only ones that have figured out how to keep the other atoms from separating while removing the helios.”

  I nod despite the fact that I have no clue how any of what he just said works.

  “With what little tellic was being traded for the number of our huris, the arrangement was doomed to fail,” Natu unfocused gaze locks on to a fixed spot somewhere in front of him, no doubt reliving some painful history. “Without any vote from the people, our government gave the Bioti an ultimatum, either more tellic or destruction of your key cities.”

  “And they said, no.”

  “That is correct,” Natu sneers. “They said no, so our government hit them with plasmatic bombs, killing millions of innocent people. The Bioti had something far worse they volleyed back.”

  Natu barks out a sardonic laugh. “Seems logical if the Bioti were the only species to discover a way to refine a substance that was deemed impossible to process, that they might have made other discoveries as well.”

  “So, what did they send back?”

  “A bomb the size of a male’s fist.” Natu held us his fist for comparison. “One that burrowed to the center of our world and exploded it from the inside out, killing everyone and everything.”

  “How did you survive?” My words float out on a whisper. I don’t recall the last breath I took before he began his horrible tale.

  “We had just launched from the planet’s surface. I recall the heavy vibration of the ship as we exited the atmosphere. At first, we thought another ship had exploded near us. Imagine our horror to discover it was shrapnel from our own planet pelleting the hull.”

  “That’s awful, Natu.”

  “Everything and everyone we had ever known was gone in the blink of an eye,” Natu sadly murmurs. “I do not think any of us will ever recover fully, however, Xuel has had a most difficult time accepting what happened.”

  We grow quiet for a long moment. Movement in my periphery catches my attention. So enthralled with Natu’s telling of his history, I’d forgotten the shark-toothed trio waiting patiently for me. At the mention of Xuel, there are things my curiosity won’t let go.

  “Who was Neyteria to Xuel? Was she a family member?”

  Natu diverts his eyes. When he remains quiet, I’m beginning to think he isn’t going to answer until he does.

  “She was his shoulsis,” Natu reluctantly answers. “Neyteria was heavy with the first young of her clov. All were lost except Xuel.”

  The crushing revelation springs tears to my eyes. The tragedy made worse by the knowledge of such a devastating loss.

  “H…how long ago did this ha… happen?” I can hardly push the words past my trembling lips.

  “Tisty uole.”

  I shake my head. There’s no translation for measuring time. Really. What difference does it make? The shit happened, the when of it is irrelevant. The whole cliché that time heals all wounds doesn’t apply when mourning on a planetary scale.

  “Now you’re looking for another world to call home.”

  “Yes.” Natu rubs the back of my hand I’ve laid in his while he speaks. “There is an infant solar system we are fairly certain will fit our needs. Another Nomadican freighter is already in route. After we meet with Mont’clure’s people, we shall resume our journey and join them.”

  I swallow my fear that I may never set eyes on Earth again. I suppose this puts me in a similar situation with my males, since they will never see their home again either. As I search my soul, I can’t seem to scrounge together enough fucks to give if I ever see my parents again. They never loved me. Would they miss me if I never returned? I seriously doubt it.

  “I will inquire of Xuel again,” Natu pats my leg and makes to stand. “Where we are headed to the Unios galaxy is far away from your planet, Erath.”

  I smile at his mispronunciation and not for the first time, wonder if I’m making a mistake.

  “Let us not keep the leelia waiting any longer.” Natu steers me across the room and settles me on the stool for another alien spa day. “I must return to the command deck. I am certain Xuel’s patience awaiting my arrival is nearing an end.”

  Natu bends to touch his lips to mine, a gentle goodbye. Instead of leaving, he does it again, and then another quick kiss.

  “I like the kwis.” Natu smile warms me. “I am glad you shared this Mannock custom with me.”

  The shark-toothed trio study us with interest. Turning to each other, they take turns pressing their thin lips one to the other. I have to bite down on my bottom lip to keep from laughing, they look so cute, I don’t want them to think I’m making fun.

  Finished with the meal, Snack leaps into my lap and I pat her silky head.

  “How do you tell the sex of my fur baby?” I ask Natu.

  Lifting Snack from my lap, he turns the tiny creature over with a squeak. Riffling through the dense fur, he squints his eyes.

  “Snack is female,” Natu announces and returns her to my lap.

  “How can you tell?”

  Natu slathers me in a bawdy grin. “Same way as I know you are a female.”

  I blush when he focuses on my lap. Could I feel any more stupid? I suppose parts are parts when it comes to determining the gender of any species. At least we all have that in common.

  Natu leaves me to my pampering. Now that I know what I’m in for, I relax and allow the leelia to treat me like a queen.

  Finished with her meal, Snack hops over and onto my lap. I rub her soft fur which gets her motor running. The soothing purr is music for my fractured heart that’s slowly crumbling to pieces.

  If I return to Earth, I’ll have to leave everyone behind. Not only my males but the leelia and Snack. I also know that trouble seems to follow me and with me gone, my males will be in less danger. After losing an entire planet, they have been through enough.

  I shut my eyes as the leelia begin my facial, rubbing on the jakato and almond-scented cream. My body relaxes as my mind rehashes everything Natu shared with me.

  He’d said they were meeting another Nomadican freighter. Reading between the lines, I’m guessing that this ship is also a freighter. I wonder if the meaning of the word is the same in Nomadican. If so, that w
ould make my males extraterrestrial truck drivers.

  I chuckle out loud and the leelia pause. I quiet down and they resume my facial. They must think I’m crazy, and maybe I am.

  Anyway, obviously, there are some survivors. Xuel had asked if I was willing to be bred. If I remained with them, I would be a part of keeping their dying race alive. Not only that but to be a part of repopulating a new planet.

  I squirm under the heavy blanket of responsibility. That’s an enormous burden to heap on a girl. I’m not so sure I’m ready for all that would entail.

  To grow and birth a Nomadican’s baby, to add to the dwindling population. Involuntarily, my hand lands on my abdomen.

  I wonder what it would be like to be pregnant with an alien’s baby.

  Chapter 10

  My reflection blinks back at me. The hint of slitted pupils I’d deemed my imagination are now more pronounced, not quite the feline equivalent of my Nomadican mates, but nonetheless elongated from the round, human version.

  If they return me home, maybe my eyes will go back to normal.

  That’s something else I don’t have the energy to contemplate. I’m beyond relaxed as my spa day comes to an end. Exhausted from my ordeal and the rapid healing of my injuries, I’m nothing more than a bag of loose muscle and liquid bones.

  I thank the leelia who are packing up and collapse in the center of Xuel’s big bed, careful not to mess up my freshly styled hair.

  Snack joins me, stretching her short legs before curling into a tiny caramel-colored ball. Shining like a new penny thanks to the leelia and their magical machinations with a brush, Snack is sporting a high sheen.

  Snack releases a heavy sigh and wide yawn. I’m amazed anew at how large her mouth and jagged her teeth really are. My eyelids begin to droop so I let them have their way.

  ***

  A warm hand on my cheek pulls me from sleep. I crack open weighty lids to a ruggedly handsome face. Xuel peers down at me, his expression unreadable. A tug of longing pulls at something just out of reach.

  I crave the skin on skin contact. I half-expect him to pull his hand away when I go to lay mine over his. He doesn’t. As if out of practice, I find warmth in his shaky smile. I don’t know what to think about this surprising exchange.

  Has Natu asked him about returning me? This doesn’t feel like a goodbye, more like a want-to-get-to-know-you. Then he pulls away, leaving the rapidly cooling warmth from his palm on my cheek.

  I shut my eyes against his departure. The sting of rejection a harsh—

  The weight of his body sinks the cushion beneath me as Xuel settles in beside me. I turn my head to face him. Lying on his side with his handsome face in the cup of his hand that’s propped up on an elbow, he peers down at me.

  Xuel’s free hand follows the path of the bright, verdant green that scans me from head to toe. I can’t keep still under his lazy exploration. Every place he roams, I arch into his touch.

  Over my belly and down my thigh, he fists the skirting of my new dress and drags the hem above my waist. Cool air rushes over my exposed skin leaving a scattering of gooseflesh in its wake.

  Tendrils of his musk deepen with lust. My mouth goes dry as my sex dampens. Xuel scents me. His muscular chest expanding as he draws in a breath. With a low growl that increases my own desire, his pupils expand to fathomless pits of black.

  Trailing hot fingertips down my thighs, he just grazes my sex. A magnificent tease executed in the most provocative way. I’ve never wanted him more than I want him right now.

  I scoot my legs apart giving the petals of my sex room to bloom under his intense scrutiny. He swings a leg over mine and pulls my thighs farther apart.

  He’s blessed naked. The hot prod of his cock pressing into my side. I reach out to touch him only to have my wrist captured in his giant hand and lifted above my head.

  With a quick shift of his position, he lays half on top of me, both my wrists now caught in the power of his hand. My arms stretched above my head with the weight of his leg across my thigh, I lay immobile. Vulnerable to his whims.

  I tremble and bite down on my bottom lip, his free hand making the slightest contact with my skin. Traveling over my soft belly, the tips of his fingers come to hover just above my sex. I fight against the weight of him, wanting to close the distance, but it’s no use. I’m left wanting, needy, panting for anything he can give me.

  The only part of me I can move is my free leg. I throw it out to the side, spreading myself wide.

  Xuel is not unaffected. His beautiful cock a steady throb pressed against my side.

  At first, he cups me. The heat of his palm searing my blooming center. He grids his hand against me and I’m desperate to roll my trapped hips with his movements.

  I bend my knee up high, dying to know the feel of his penetration. With an uncertain hand, his finger ever so gently probes at my sex. He hisses through clenched teeth to find me so ready for him.

  A single finger pushes inside and retreats all too soon. The silky fluid Xuel collected is painted over my labia. Another dip of his finger and my body clenches around him. He moans and pulls free. More with the soft painting, and my sex feels overly wet. A third dip inside, but this time he concentrates on my clit as he retreats. That bundle of nerves already aching sharply, I don’t know how much more teasing I can stand.

  When his thick finger slides home again, my body grabs onto what fills me. I’m as surprised as Xuel when I come undone in a robust wave. My abdomen clenching tight as my body convulses from the simplest of touches.

  “So responsive, my shoulsis,” Xuel purrs in my ear. “Your sweet cunt weeps for me.”

  Xuel moves between my thighs. I widen my legs making room for him. He keeps hold of my wrists above my head, pressing the scorching tip of his cock to my entrance. I suddenly grow nervous.

  This is it. This is what I’ve longed for. I’ve wanted Xuel from the first moment I clapped eyes on him. Even on that red-dirt planet with me chained to the wall to be bartered like merchandise, I wanted him.

  Now that my wish has come true, I’m afraid the reality of the act won’t meet up to my expectations of the dream.

  I needn’t have worried.

  The pointed tip of Xuel’s rock-hard cock breaches my slippery opening. The heat of his flesh parting my nether lips makes me gasp. Unhurried, he enters me in a single, fluid motion. My body grips his, my hips curling tightly as I celebrate this long-awaited coupling.

  So good. So deep. Xuel feels even better than I imagined.

  Xuel shudders above me. The scent of his musk thickens and what is left of his verdant irises glows brightly. Leveraging himself on a bended knee, Xuel grinds his pelvis against mine. The throbbing of his thick member is an internal dance meant to please.

  By every god known to man, I can’t hold my orgasm at bay; it crashes over me in a crested relief so great, I cry out and roll my hips to the rhythm of my own release.

  My pelvis now free, I plant my feet and let my knees fall wide apart. I meet him languid thrust with a slow curl. Ours is a slow burn to the next plateau. As I teeter on the knife-edge of another orgasm, Xuel is there with me.

  On a rumbling groan, Xuel splashes his seed within me. My abdomen constricts into a hard knot, fisting hard, I breathe through the odd discomfort before everything loosens up and leaves me boneless from my fantasy come true.

  Xuel doesn’t roll away as I imagined he would. A male not known for affection, I soak up the soft caresses and tender touches he lavishes on me. Nuzzling my throat, I shiver as Xuel’s fangs rake over my skin before he lines my jaw with kisses.

  His impossibly handsome face hovers a scant inch above mine. I want his lips on mine, so I raise my head to try and close the distance. He pulls back just enough to deny me.

  “Let go.” I struggle against his hold on my wrists. “It isn’t fair that I don’t get to touch you.”

  The edges of his lips twitch. I cock a brow at his rare playfulness. The moment he releases me, my han
ds wrap around his horns to bring his face down to meet mine. He twists his head and dislodges my hands.

  “That is for later, soweesis,” Xuel growls. “This is a time to savor.”

  I’m not going to argue with that.

  Before Xuel’s lips crash over mine, there’s something I need to know.

  “What does swee-ssis mean?”

  Xuel stares off contemplating. “Sweet of the heart,” he wrinkles his brow. “That makes no sense once translated.”

  “No,” I say touching his cheek. “It makes perfect sense.”

  Happy to let my hands roam over every inch of his subtle skin within my reach, Xuel drops his head, joining our mouths. Our lips melt into each other’s. Our tongues meet and swirl together in a slippery waltz.

  Just like the first time Xuel tried out the kwis, he slays me with an unfathomable passion. I know I’ll never experience this electrifying feeling with anyone else, only Xuel.

  Chapter 11

  After the sleepless night I spent with Xuel, I’m surprised I’m not nodding off. Instead, I feel exhilarated, ready to take on the world… Or, that world… Or, maybe, that orange on the left.

  Looks like I have my pick. I watch through the panoramic window I seated myself in front of after Xuel left me to go to the command deck as we approach and slowly pass another solar system. I have no idea what galaxy we’re cruising through, but all the diversity of the celestial bodies showing in a wide assortment of amazing colors has been a feast for the eyes. I could sit here forever and soak it all up, even of my backside is growing numb.

  Neyteria shifts under my stroking hand so I can pay attention to her belly. The fur on her back and sides is like that of a tiger, but the fur on her belly is a flash of snowy white.

  With my free hand, I feed Snack another tristiu nut from the bowl the leelia brought me earlier. Like a good girl, I ate as many as I could stomach. After all the begging my fur baby did, I could no longer deny her a treat.

  I swear this tiny creature eats her weight in kibble at every meal. She’s lived up to her namesake, not as a tasty morsel for others, but as a food junkie.