A frisson of concern rolls through me. An open wound on an alien planet seems like an invitation for infection.

“That does not look good,” Draz intones. A large, glossy green leaf hangs from his hands, and my stomach rumbles as he holds out a fistful of deep purple berries. “Does it trouble you?”

“It doesn’t feel great,” I tell him. “I’m worried about infection.”

He frowns, still holding out the berries. “Eat the sweets first, then we will worry about finding a solution for your sores. Sit,” he commands, pointing at the flat black rock. The zoleh blinks up at me, chirrups a greeting, then promptly falls back asleep.

There’s no point in arguing, so I simply scoot my damp clothes out of the way and plop onto the warm rock. It’s hot against the wet fabric of my underwear, and I squirm a little, trying to get comfortable. As humid as this planet is, hanging out in wet clothes seems like a recipe for disaster.

I wrinkle my nose. Yeah, that’s just what I need next. A yeast infection.

“Try it?” Draz says, tipping his palm towards me. His thick, muscled tail lashes back and forth, the way it does when he seems to be feeling a strong emotion.

“Okay.” I open up my hand, but he ignores it, popping a berry straight into my mouth.

All righty, then. I guess he’s going to feed me.

“This isn’t going to be poisonous to me, right?” I hold the berry in my cheek, not quite sure enough to bite down on it.

“You think I would poison you?” His tail whumps against the ground, his fangs glinting.

“No,” I exhale. “But how do you know it will be safe for me to eat it?”

“Ni-Kee,” he says, and there’s a hint of reproach in it. “We did extensive research on your biology before you arrived. Our species have much in common, despite the differences in our physical appearance. I would not feed you something if I thought there was even a chance of it harming you.” He’s vehement, his strange eyes wide and serious.

I chomp down on the berry, and a sour-sweet flavor fills my mouth, making it water. Suddenly, I’m ravenous.

“This is so good,” I moan.

“Better than can-dee?”

“It’s pretty damn close.”

“Will you eat another?” Draz’s voice is soft.

I nod, my eyes closed in ecstasy. Wow. This is the best fruit I’ve ever had. Something soft presses against my mouth, and my eyes fly open in surprise.

Draz’s fingers rub against my lower lip, another berry pinched between his thumb and forefinger. I don’t know when he moved closer, but he did so silently. His knee nudges between where my legs dangle from the rock, keeping them apart.

“Here,” he says, releasing the berry into my open mouth.

It’s a little weird. Way more intimate than I would’ve wanted, but I’m too hungry to say anything, and I bite into the next berry.

“Mmm,” I say. “Thank you.”

“I like when you make that noise, Ni-Kee.” The knuckle of his thumb brushes against my lips again. His gaze devours me. I avert my eyes, slightly overwhelmed with both his proximity and his intensity. The leaf full of berries dangles against his hip, his hard cock bulging in his pants.

“I think I can feed myself,” I tell him. I need to put a stop to this.

“It brings me pleasure to feed you,” he says, a low growl in his throat. “You said you gave me permission to court you. Let me court you.” His thumb brushes against my lips again, and I open my mouth, warring with the instinct to tell him no.

I did tell him I’d let him court me. As far as courting practices go, this one is fairly tame… other than the fact that heat’s beginning to spiral through me.

It reminds me of begging him for his cock in my mouth, and the heat blazes into lust at the memory, then shame.

“I think I need to feed myself right now.”

“Do humans not take care of their mates? Why do you resist me?” He growls the question, clearly frustrated.

“Draz, listen.” Equally exasperated, I sigh. “I think you’re a good guy. A good Suevan. But I just…what just happened with the snails made me embarrassed. I need a minute to recover.”

“You are embarrassed because you orgasmed three times in my arm, when your delicious juices drenched my stomach and made my cock grow painfully hard?”

I squeeze my eyes shut, wincing. “Yeah. That’s one way to put it.”

“Is it unusual for your people to come so many times?”

This conversation is getting out of control. I take a deep breath, trying to center myself in the moment, in the cacophony of the alien jungle all around us, the thunderous crashing of the waterfall.

When I don’t answer, he puts pressure on my lips, and hungry but annoyed, I take the next berry in my mouth and chew it.

“Suevan females only come once, when they are breedable.”

I cough, choking on the berry. “When they are what now?”

“When they are able to ripen with child.”

“Ripen with child.” I shake my head, and Draz leans closer, his long hair tickling against the tops of my breasts.

“Do you orgasm because you are ready to be filled with seed?”

My nose wrinkles. “Can you not call it that?”

“Orgasm?”

“Seed!”

“What is wrong with seed?”

“It’s just… I don’t know, it sounds gross.”

“There is nothing gross about the pleasure my seed will bring you.”

“Draz, it’s not the pleasure that bothers me, it’s the word seed.”

“So you admit you want me to bring you pleasure?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Humans are a strange species. You are shy about your body and about mating, are you not?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, fighting for patience. “Yeah, I mean, I guess so.” I gesture to him. “But look at you, you are covered in scales. Your body is a work of muscled art, and you can withstand anything. Mine isn’t. Humans have to cover up because otherwise we’ll get hurt.”

“You think my body is art?” He puffs up a little, grinning down at me.

I can’t help but laugh at his pleased expression. “I think that my skin isn’t as resilient as yours.”

His grin fades, and his big hands bracket my rib cage. I freeze, and he turns me sideways.

Inspecting the blisters.

“This is too true, my little human. But if you think these luscious curves are not the work of an artist, then I will do all in my power to disabuse you of this notion.” His hands skate higher, towards the curve of my breasts, and whatever I’m about to say dies in my throat.

I start to arch into his touch even as his hands fall away.

“Here, my mate. If you are more comfortable feeding yourself, then I will find another way to take care of you.” He hands me the leaf pouch of berries, stalking away, his tail lashing like crazy behind him, whipping into plants and rocks.

My thoughts tumble over each other, and I pop a handful of fruit into my mouth, trying to find a position to sit in that doesn’t hurt. The zoleh makes a whining noise, and blinks up at me with a multitude of wide eyes.

“Here,” I tell it, scattering some berries on the rock. It pushes its head against my hand, forked tongue darting out. “Maybe this will help your breath.”

My eyes narrow, and at the thought, I bring one hand up to my mouth, huffing into it.

Slowly, I lower my hand. Why am I testing my breath?

It doesn’t matter if my breath smells!

I’m not kissing the big alien.

Nope. I’m not even thinking about kissing Draz.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

OceanofPDF.com

DRAZ

Niki’s wounds trouble me. The blisters weep clear pus down her sides, and I can tell from the way she squirms, they are painful.

She has not complained, not once. She is brave, this human warrior of mine.

And stubborn.

My mate wants me, I can scent it on the air. Yet she holds back—why? She is already mine. I grind my teeth, pacing on the lake shore as she sits quietly on the rock, chewing the sweet berries I gathered for her.