And then it hits me.

Did I do this?

My chest tightens, my mind racing as I take in the way he trembles, the way his claws flex and scrape against the stone. Did I hurt him somehow? I look down at myself, to the wetness still coating the inside of my thighs…

I’ve heard of people being allergic to semen, but never… Oh shit.

“Rok…” My voice cracks.

He doesn’t move, his entire body taut and shaking with tension, his claws curling deeper into the stone. His glow pulses erratically, brighter and brighter, until it’s almost blinding.

And that’s when I feel it.

The heat.

It starts low in my belly, a strange, simmering warmth that spreads outward, seeping into my veins like molten fire. At first, I think it’s just the aftereffects of what he did to me—my body still reeling from the intensity of it all. But then it builds.

Hotter.

Brighter.

Wrong.

I gasp, pressing a trembling hand to my stomach as the heat surges through me, making my skin prickle and my head spin. It’s not just heat. It’s need.

A need I don’t understand.

And yet, somehow, I know it’s connected to him.

“Rok…something’s happening…” I manage.

He reacts then—not to my words, but to the sound of my voice. His growl deepens, his claws slashing out, raking the stone wall beside him in a violent, uncontrolled movement. The screech of it makes me flinch, and the gouges he leaves behind are deep enough to make my stomach clench.

He’s fighting something.

But what?

I push myself upright, every muscle in my body trembling from the effort. My legs feel useless, my skin feverish, but I force myself to move toward him.

He jerks back, his growl cutting off sharply as if my presence physically hurts him. His claws scrape against the stone as he staggers to his feet, his movements jerky and uncoordinated, like he’s running on instinct alone.

“Wait—don’t go!” I reach for him, my hand outstretched, but he stumbles away from me, his glow flaring in sharp, erratic bursts.

His gaze meets mine, and the look in his eyes sends a fresh wave of fear crashing over me.

He’s not just in pain.

He’s afraid.

Of me.

He looks…lost. His breathing is ragged, his chest heaving like he’s struggling just to stay here, just to keep looking at me.

For a split second, I see something in his eyes that makes my stomach twist. Not just fear. Not just pain. Guilt. Like he thinks he’s done something wrong. Like he’s afraid of what he’s capable of.

“Rok,” I whisper, but he jerks back as if my voice physically hurts him.

“Rok,” I whisper, my voice breaking.

But he’s already moving.

He bolts for the entrance of the chamber, his claws slashing at the walls as he runs, leaving deep gouges in the stone. His growls echo through the narrow passages, a sound so raw and feral it sends a chill racing down my spine.

I try to follow, but my legs buckle beneath me, my body too weak, too overwhelmed. I collapse back against the stone, gasping for breath, my skin damp with sweat and burning with that strange, alien heat.

The glow of his body fades as he disappears into the darkness, leaving me alone in the silent chamber, trembling and…well…terrified.

I press a shaking hand to my chest, trying to calm the frantic beating of my heart, but it’s no use. The heat inside me flares again, making me gasp, and I curl into myself, trying to fight the sensation.

It’s not about what is happening to me anymore. Something is happening.

And that something is happening to him, too.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 23

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IS IT HOT IN HERE, OR IS IT JUST MY ALIEN-INDUCED FEVER?

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JUSTINE

The heat won’t go away.

Even naked, my clothes washed and drying on the stone, the fever underneath my skin persists still.

Hours have passed since Rok fled—hours of me curled on the cold stone beside the pool, shivering despite the fire burning under my skin. I’ve tried drinking water, splashing it over my face, even submerging myself completely in the cool pool.

Nothing helps.

The fever (if that’s what this is) ebbs and flows like a tide, sometimes receding enough that I can almost think clearly, other times surging with such intensity that I can only lie still and wait for it to pass.

During one of the calmer moments, I manage to explore the chamber more thoroughly. It’s larger than I initially thought, with high, smooth walls worn by centuries of what must have been water flow. It’s hard to imagine this vast surface of dust having any water at all.

When I return to the chamber with the pool, I find the remains of what might have been a fire pit—ash and charred stone suggesting that someone, or something, once used this place as shelter.

I also find what Rok left behind in his frantic exit—the animals he’d hunted. Three strange, lizard-like creatures with spiny ridges along their backs and scales that shimmer with an iridescent blue-green sheen. They’re about the size of rabbits, but with longer, more sinuous bodies and no visible eyes that I can see.

Despite what they are, my stomach clenches. A sharp reminder that I haven’t eaten anything substantial in days. The leaves Rok gave me were better than nothing, but barely. My body is running on fumes, and I can feel my strength ebbing with each passing hour.

“Shit,” I mutter, prodding one of the dead creatures with my foot. “I don’t suppose you come with cooking instructions?”

I have no idea if they’re edible, let alone how to prepare them. Do I skin them? Gut them? Cook them whole? Are there poisonous parts I need to avoid?

With a sigh, I slump back against the wall. Then another realization hits me like a punch to the gut.

My bag. My supplies. They’re all back in the first cave, abandoned in our hasty escape from those other aliens.

“Perfect. Just perfect.” My voice echoes off the stone walls, mockingly hollow. “I have post-sex fever and I don’t even have my emergency protein biscuits.”

I close my eyes, exhaustion washing over me in a wave that threatens to pull me under. I should stay awake, should try to figure out what to do about food, about the fever, about Rok…

I don’t even know if he’s coming back…

The thought makes me curl into myself, and I close my eyes against the sudden pain that possibility creates.

I don’t know how long I sit there like that, trying to remain alert, all the while exhaustion pulls me under.

The moment sleep claims me, it drags me down into a dream that burns brighter than the fever in my veins.

__

His hands are everywhere, leaving trails of golden light across my skin. I arch into his touch, desperate for more, for relief from the burning need consuming me from within.

“Rok,” I gasp, his name a plea on my lips.

He growls, the sound vibrating through me where our bodies touch. His mouth finds mine, and I yield to him, opening beneath his assault like I was made for this, for him.

“More,” I beg, my nails raking down his back, feeling his skin grow hotter beneath my touch. “Please…”

He pulls back, his eyes blazing gold, his glow so bright it hurts to look at him directly. But I can’t look away. Won’t look away.

I gasp at the sensation of him pressed against me. The hardness of him. How perfect he is. Perfect for me. As if the universe looked into my deepest thoughts and carved a cock that was made just for me.

“Yes,” I breathe, tilting my head back, exposing my throat to him. “Please, Rok. I need⁠—”