Alien Salvation (33 page)

Summer sixty miles outside of Atlanta
was way too brutal, Lindsey thought as she entered the clan’s
quarters. Her light cotton dress was soaked from perspiration after
working in the refugee registration headquarters all day. The cool
air of the small apartment was a welcome treat.

Vax and Japohn were already home.
Japohn leaned over a counter as Vax spooned out trays of food.
Lindsey sniffed appreciatively, and her stomach growled. Air
conditioning and a meal waiting. Life was good.

Both men grinned at her as she walked
in and immediately moved to embrace her. She tried to ward them off
with raised hands. “Yuck. You don’t want to be near me. I’m
sweating like a pig.”

“You are sweet to me always,” Vax said,
and hugged her tight for a second before stepping back, his nose
wrinkled. “I will run bath.”

Lindsey laughed at him as he went to
the whirlpool tub on the deck. “I told you!”

Japohn wrapped his arms around her, his
thick aroma eclipsing hers. Search and rescue was even sweatier
work. “Now you smell like me too,” he grinned. “Air conditioning
not fixed at center?”

Lindsey shook her head, peeling her
dress off and dropping it on the floor where she stood. Her soaked
underwear and bra followed. “What a day. A pregnant woman walked
into the center this morning and her water broke right there.
You’ve never seen so many medics swarm a single person.”

“The baby born all right?” Japohn’s
formsuit joined the pile.

“Mother and child are both
healthy.”

Vax interrupted them. “Get out here,
both of you. The stench is killing my appetite.”

Japohn chuckled and led Lindsey out to
the deck where the heat sweltered like a hot, wet blanket. They
both sighed as they sank into the cool whirlpool. Their apartment
was small, but Lindsey’s status as the Empress’ sister afforded
them a few amenities clans their rank didn’t usually have. The
kitchen with all the best gadgets and clan-sized whirlpool bath
were two such luxuries, things Lindsey didn’t mind taking advantage
of.

She sank into the whirlpool, submerging
her head, and came up snorting water out of her nose. Much better.
“Vax, your barbecued chicken pizza was a huge hit with the
refugees,” she reported. “Not one crumb remained half an hour after
you dropped it off.”

Vax accepted the praise with an
aw-shucks smile. “Will miss chicken on Kalquor. I can do so much to
cook it.”

Lindsey stretched, luxuriating in the
cool, swirling water. It felt good to not be sweating for a change.
“Where’s Bacoj? He’s late.”

Japohn’s head was leaned back, resting
on the lip of the whirlpool. His eyes closed, he mumbled, “He was
called in to meet with supervisor.”

Lindsey huffed. “The one night we get
the whole clan together. That figures.”

Vax tweaked her nose affectionately.
“He not too late. Home soon.”

As if on cue, Bacoj walked into the
quarters. His eyes lit to see Lindsey and Japohn in the whirlpool,
Vax squatted down beside it. His formsuit was off in a twinkling,
and he hurried to wade in with his Matara and Nobek. The healing
scars on his legs were purplish-red, but to Lindsey, he was
absolutely beautiful. She held up her arms for an embrace, which he
gave as he sat down beside her.

“This is good,” he groaned, settling
back. His hair was drenched with perspiration.

Vax stood and went back in to fetch the
trays of food. Balancing them carefully on his hands and forearms,
he brought them to the deck, setting them down next to the
whirlpool. He stripped and joined the clan in the soothing
waters.

Bacoj snagged a strip of chicken,
delicately seasoned and broiled to tender perfection. He fed it to
Lindsey before stuffing his own mouth full.

Lindsey chewed slowly, savoring the
genius of Vax’s cooking. Swallowing, she sighed, “Now that’s what
I’m talking about.” After a few more bites, fed to her by each man
in turn, she spoke to Bacoj. “Your supervisor called you in? You
didn’t wreck another shuttle, did you?”

Bacoj laughed, nearly choking on
buttery-sweet caramelized carrots. “Not today. I try again
tomorrow.”

That earned laughter all around. When
the humor subsided, Bacoj said. “He offered promotion.”

He smiled at their congratulations.
Lindsey clapped her hands in childlike glee. “Tell us about
it.”

“It mean new assignment. Our experience
makes whole clan favorable to lead searchers look for Earther
survivors in remote areas.”

Japohn didn’t try to hide the pride in
his voice. “You would command?”

“Yes.”

Vax’s smile was huge. “That is big
honor. One you deserve.” He fed Lindsey more chicken.

“Two year assignment.” Bacoj
contemplated a chunk of bread as if it was the most interesting
thing he’d ever seen.

Lindsey’s stomach slid to her feet. She
swallowed the chicken, and it stuck in a big, wadded lump in her
throat. They were scheduled to leave for Kalquor in seven months.
The vid communications between her and Jessica had been flying back
and forth nonstop as they planned the family’s reunion. She
swallowed and hid her disappointment. “It’s important work. You’re
definitely the man to lead it.”

Bacoj looked up at her. His purple
cat’s eyes contemplated her for a moment, and he reached to stroke
her cheek. “I tell him no.”

“What?”

He smiled, his expression so loving it
made her breath stutter. “My Matara needs to rejoin her family on
Kalquor as planned.”

Relief battled with stunned guilt.
Bacoj had given up the promotion he’d wanted so badly. For her. She
couldn’t allow it, and readied a protest. “But—”

He silenced her by putting his fingers
over her lips. “You need to be with your mother and sister. Your
welfare is always my priority.”

Japohn nodded and spoked garbled words
around a mouthful of food. “Good decision, my Dramok.”

She pushed Bacoj’s fingers away. “But
this was a big opportunity for you.” Guilt was winning the battle.
Lindsey hated to be the reason Bacoj wasn’t realizing his
potential.

He shrugged as if it was no big deal.
“Matara comes first.” His eyes twinkled at her in merriment.
“Besides, I do not wish to explain to Empress Jessica why I keep
you away for so long.”

Lindsey couldn’t help but laugh at
that. After the Tragoom attack two months earlier, the clan had
received a passionate tirade from Jessica for breaking her sister’s
heart, one in which her infamous temper had been on full display.
The return vid from Bacoj, sent from his hospital bed, had been
full of extensive apologies and grave vows to never make Lindsey
sad again.

Kalquor’s Empress knew how to make an
impression.

Japohn snorted laughter. “Not even a
Nobek wants to make Empress mad. Your sister is scary.”

Lindsey laughed so hard tears ran down
her cheeks. One day they’d figure out the marshmallow that lay
beneath Jessica’s bluster. For all her temper, her sister was one
of the most giving, loving creatures to roam the
universe.

When she recovered, Lindsey leaned over
to kiss her Dramok. “Thank you, Bacoj. But I really need to make
this up to you.”

His face brightened. “What you have in
mind?”

Lindsey slid to him to kneel over his
lap. His rigid cocks greeted her as she lifted her lips to his. She
ignored them — for the moment — to concentrate on the kiss they
shared. She whispered against his mouth, “What does my Dramok wish
of his Matara?”

Bacoj reached beneath her to position
his organs. “Put me in you, my love.”

Lindsey slid over him, sighing to feel
the completion of becoming one with her lover. Bacoj groaned and
pulled her close, clutching her to his chest. “Stay right there for
moment,” he said. “I want just to be in you.”

Lindsey smiled in the comfort of his
arms. They sat that way for awhile, happy to simply reconnect after
a long day apart.

“Love me,” he finally whispered,
loosening his hold but not letting her go.

She moved her legs so that she squatted
over him, allowing her freedom of movement. Lindsey took him
slowly, the setting sun warm on her face, the swirling water
cooling the rest of her skin. Bacoj’s flesh within her was hot, a
delightful counterpoint to the whirlpool.

Lindsey rose and fell, rocking back and
forth, grinding in small circles to delight her lover and herself.
Bacoj voiced his pleasure with alternating gasps, groans and
growls. His hands lowered to cup her buttocks, squeezing the mounds
as she rode him.

“Faster,” he murmured. “Just a
little.”

She obeyed his dictates, giving him all
he desired. Every need he voiced, she granted. She watched his
handsome face react to the movements she made, to the soft
clutching of her sheaths around his cocks.

His. Forever and ever.

It wasn’t enough to think it. She had
to tell him. “I’m yours in every way possible,” she whispered in
his ear.

He whispered back, “I was a fool to
send you away, to think I could live this life without you. I
welcomed death when the Tragooms attacked.”

She gripped his face between her hands.
“Don’t say that. Don’t you dare. Your death would have destroyed
me.”

“Show me. Show me you love me as
desperately as I love you.”

Lindsey rode Bacoj hard in answer,
clenching wet, slippery muscles around him, making him growl with
need. Her mouth enveloped his in a demanding kiss, mating their
tongues. She pounded against him, rough and insistent.

His hands closed around her hips,
adding his strength to drive her harder than ever. His organs
plunged in and out, bringing spasms to quake her belly. The first
ticklish surge broke over her.

“Ah. Ah. Aaaah,” she wailed, her hands
gripping his broad shoulders hard. She jerked helplessly as
shuddering pleasure raced throughout her body. Another rush of
ecstasy made her scream when Bacoj buried his fangs in her neck,
muffling his roar as he joined her in completion. His cock jerked
and throbbed within as it pumped her full with his
juices.

Lindsey sighed as euphoria seeped its
warmth into her body. She sagged against Bacoj, and he released the
bite. He slowly licked the tiny wounds, lapping up the thin streams
of blood that seeped from the punctures. She nearly purred at the
sensations of his rough tongue on her skin, his strong hands still
gripping her hips, and his sexes twitching inside her
womanhood.

“There is nothing about you that I
don’t love,” she said, her voice singsong with
intoxication.

“Lindsey,” he whispered, a world of
emotion in his voice. He kissed her so thoroughly, she was left
gasping again. He chuckled as she wriggled, her needy keening
telling him she was ready for another round.

“Japohn, you’d better take over,” he
said.

“Gladly.” The Nobek helped him lift her
free. He turned her around to face him and laughed loudly when her
legs clutched around his waist hard. “My Matara. You are eager
today.”

“Shut up and give me what I
want.”

“So demanding.” He smacked one buttock
reprovingly, but his grin told her he enjoyed her
enthusiasm.

The warmth of the blow made Lindsey
more desperate than before. “It’s Bacoj’s fault. Punish him.” She
moved against the hard rods sandwiched between them. “Reward
me.”

Japohn hissed in reaction, his eyes
going almost black with desire. Their surroundings moved in a blur
for half a second, and Lindsey found her back pressed against the
side of the bath. The Nobek invaded her, taking her with a brute
strength that brought her almost immediately.

“Punishment and reward,” he growled in
her ear as she clawed his back, climax pulsing fresh electric
warmth through her belly. “It is the sweetest of combinations, is
it not, my Matara?”

Her cries of delight answered him as he
drove deep into her, his thickness pushing hard against her
yielding walls. She was so tight against him, and he knew he
wouldn’t last long. That was all right; he had the whole night to
make love to her, over and over.

The whole night? He had their entire
lives.

Japohn didn’t shed tears easily, but
there was no mistaking the sting in his eyes. Lindsey was his, and
nothing would take her away again.

He thrust ever harder, as if in doing
so he could meld them together, never to be separated. She had
adjusted to him beautifully, as she always did, and her slick, wet
sleeves allowed for easy motion even as they clung to him. She was
moist warmth, the perfect shelter for a man to find the sweetness
of release after a long day.

Japohn kissed her hard until her lips
were swollen from his rough tasting. Lindsey gave as good as she
got, her teeth clicking against his as she speared his mouth with
her tongue. His groin tightened with the oncoming orgasm, coiling
in on itself as it prepared to send his seed blasting into her
hearth. Everything below the waist tensed, the ache growing by the
second. A little more … a little more…