Craving: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 8) (15 page)

A
week had passed
since the battle, and Kai was feeling better this morning. It helped that Jenn had just massaged his skin with burn cream. The prickling feeling in his healing skin had settled down, but he knew it would come back with a vengeance later in the day.

He lay face down on the bed, which was both comfortable and practical. Jenn's hands moving over his body were making him react unpredictably. Kai shifted his body, trying to take pressure off his growing erection. If she didn't slow down, he was going to make an embarrassing mess on the sheets.

Her hands felt soft and smooth, like a piece of silk on his skin. They were strong and knew where to soften the knots in his muscles. She pressed and worked the pressure points until he felt like a relaxed puddle of goo in the sheets.

"The balm from your doctor is amazing," Jenn said. She had constantly been talking, but he only paid attention to half of the words she said. "I think it makes my hands look young. I bet I could repackage it as a face cream and sell it on Earth. I would make millions."

"What's a face cream?" groaned Kai as she hit another tight spot.

"It's a topical ointment to help women look beautiful."

"That's silly. Women don't need creams to make them more attractive to their mates. You certainly don't."

"We use them anyway."

"Anquesh women do not."

"Maybe you just don't know about it. Women like to look beautiful for men. Your skin has already shed the burnt outer layer, and there is nice healthy new skin underneath. You won't have any noticeable scars, which is wonderful. I can only imagine what it would do for aging skin. I know a bunch of older nurses who would give up their retirement funds for something this good."

Kai realized something. "You can't wait to get to Earth, can you?" His heart sank as he spoke the words out loud.

Jenn's hands stopped and rested on his back. "Come on. We've got to work your leg now."

"I don't want to," he moaned. For one thing, he'd rather have Jenn's hands on his body than do work. For another, he didn't want to turn over and reveal his arousal to her face.

A doctor poked his head out from behind a curtain. "Nurse Jenn," he said. "We have another injured soldier who could use your help."

Kai restrained a growl. Once the doctors learned Jenn knew physical therapy, they enlisted her to help bedridden warriors recover faster. He was proud that she was willing to help his men, but he didn't like to imagine her hands on any of them.

Jenn pulled up a blanket over Kai. "Even if you don't want to show me, I know it's there. I'll be back."

Kai melted into the sheets as her footsteps faded into the background. He felt relaxed and for the first time in days, he felt no pain, but he needed to do something about the throbbing between his legs. It pulsed insistently. All he needed was a few minutes to work his hand under and stroke his cock.

The thought of Jenn being near him, touching and flooding him with the pleasure of her hands was practically overwhelming.

"Commander."

The voice startled him like a bucket of cold water.

"Yes, Sevit," said Kai with exasperation.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but we've detected some unusual activity on our sensors. We're not sure what it is, but you should know. The readings suggest a ship is following us."

Kai turned suddenly and looked directly at Sevit. "Help me out of here. I want to see the information with my own eyes and I'm going to get out of this damned hospital bed. Get my crutches and help me up, or I'll crawl there by myself."

Jenn had urged the engineering crew to construct a set of crutches custom-fitted for Kai, according to her specifications. Jenn thought it was peculiar that Anquera didn't have any devices to help patients with their recovery process. Anquesh warriors recovered from their injuries quickly, or not at all. The only treatment prescribed for the injured was bed rest.

Jenn thought it was ridiculous.

"You'll lose muscle mass that way and make your recovery take longer. It doesn't matter how quickly you heal." When she had first presented him with the crutches, he pushed them away. Jenn didn't give up. Even when Kai screamed in pain, she made him get out of bed and walk around.

Kai would never admit it to Jenn, but he felt like he was healing more quickly than usual. He slipped a shirt over his head, wincing as the fabric slid over the sensitive flesh.

Sevit watched Kai move his immobilized leg over the side of the bed and put the crutches under his arm. He tipped forward, carefully easing his working leg onto the floor.

"I don't think this is a good idea. It's not an approved medical treatment," said Sevit doubtfully.

"I've been walking around here the past few days. I'm tired of sitting in bed on my butt."

"Maybe I should consult with the doctor first."

"You will not, and that's an order. You should come with me and assist if necessary."

Kai hobbled out the door slightly ahead of Sevit. He moved faster than he normally did. Once Kai became accustomed to the motion of the crutches, it felt like his body was moving forward on a swing rather than walking. Kai was glad to get out of the medical bay, and he had big plans. His cabin beckoned. He was going to sleep in his bed tonight.

When Kai entered the bridge, the words "Officer on deck" sounded like music to his ears. He looked like a mess wearing hospital clothing, wielding the crutches, and appearing disheveled. He didn't care.

He moved to the sensor station. Like the rest of the bridge, it looked battle-worn and still had visible fire damage. Someone had moved the fallen beam.

"Show me what you've got," said Kai.

A short video played, displaying the positions of the stars. He didn't see anything unusual until the end of the scene. One of the stars blinked and disappeared.

"What's the latest intelligence we have about the Similcue? Do they have cloaking technology, like the humans?"

"Not to our knowledge. That information is exclusive to Earth."

"Call Oakland. I need to speak with him as soon as possible."

Kai stormed into his office. He went to his desk, lowered himself into his seat, and propped his crutches on the wall behind him. Oakland's image appeared on a viewscreen in front of him.

"Which one of your ships is following us?" demanded Kai. "The Anquesh deal harshly with spies."

"I'm not sure what you mean. We know the positions of all our vessels, and none of them are tracking you."

"There's a cloaked ship behind us, Oakland. Only Earth ships have the technology."

"That's not entirely accurate," Oakland mumbled.

"You didn't give it to anyone, did you? Like a race who has declared war on both our planets?" rumbled Kai. He was quickly losing patience with the human.

"We thought they were our allies. They shared technology with us. We made improvements, and gave the improvements to them in return."

"Gods!" Kai slammed his hand onto the desk.

"We weren't aware they could implement it this quickly. Our analysts thought the Similcue were slow in adopting new technology."

"It takes them a while because they don't usually create it. They steal it. But you handed it to them on a silver platter, with instructions."

"We didn't know what would happen. We thought we could use them." Oakland stopped speaking. He had said too much already.

"You wanted to use
them
?" Kai said incredulously.

"You have to understand. We didn't trust the Similcue, but they could make us powerful."

"So you pretended to be their ally?"

"We got what we needed from them, but that doesn't mean we trusted them. At the time, we were in the middle of war with Anquera. If they saw us offer a treaty..."

"They would have the perfect time to attack when our defenses were down!" roared Kai.

"That's right. When you destroyed each other, our plan was to mop up the pieces." Oakland turned to look at Kai in the eyes. "We were at war, Commander. We were prepared to do whatever it took to win."

"Answer one question for me. Did you ever intend to fulfill the treaty, or was reneging on it part of the plan?"

"I wasn't part of all the discussions. The treaty was only one of many possibilities when I left Earth. We never thought the United Earth Alliance would approve of the requirements. Your requirement of an Earth bride sounded ridiculous."

"In the planning, what was going to happen to Jenn?"

Oakland's face turned white. "Since Ms. Carden cooperated with the enemy, she would be tried as a war criminal. The UEA will disavow the treaty and Jenn's actions. They don't want to be the ones who sold a woman into slavery."

K
ai felt
his muscles tighten and his mind begin to cloud up as the nuxmunit took over his body. He shivered, trying to regain control of himself. He didn't need to go into a battle rage with a hologram. But he was infuriated by the idea that Jenn's people would use her, then discard her when they didn't need her any longer.

"We'll talk later," he snapped, ending the communication. He was shaking by this point, feeling sick to his stomach. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He was early in the nuxmunit cycle, and could still call upon years of training to calm himself. Finally, he felt the anger drain away. He lay his head back onto the headrest.

These were certainly dishonorable people. But were the Emperor's plans for Earth any better, even though they were at war?

The treaty was turning into a mess. An absolute disaster. Kai's journey to Earth would deliver Jenn into the hands of predators. Was there a way out?

Kai shook his head, wondering how they gotten into such a predicament.

There wasn't an obvious solution. The Anquera government was fragmented. Emperor Kanton's death had left a hole in the Empire that Warrel couldn't repair. Kai didn't blame a father for hoping that his son could replace him, but it was evident that Warrel didn't have the right qualities to lead.

They were stuck with him because he was the Emperor's only son.

At best, the nobles could reign in the worst of Warrel's excesses. The strategy might have worked at another time in history, but not now, when Anquera was fighting a war on two fronts. One enemy was merely a problem. Two enemies might be insurmountable.

Kai realized he had to make the humans honor the treaty agreement. Peace would reduce the number of battlefronts, and they would be able to benefit from mutual technology exchange.

But what about Jenn? How was he going to get her to go along with the plan? She didn't feel the same pull to him as he did to her. They were different species, and their biological responses were mismatched. How could he bridge the gap?

The door to his office opened, but his eyes remained closed. He didn't feel like hearing another devastating message.

"Kai? What are you doing out of bed?"

Jenn's voice was soft and sweet. The sound of his sindare was music to his ears. He opened his eyes slowly and took in her beauty. She was breathtaking.

"I'm looking for you," he said. He didn't feel sorry for the lie, and at the moment, he wasn't sure how much of his statement was false. A part of him knew she would materialize, wherever he was, and drag him back to the medical bay.

She scoffed. "Of course you were. I spend a lot of time in your office. That's the first place I would look too."

Kai noticed that his office looked remarkably tidy after a battle. Everything was in its proper place, even the trophies. The maintenance crew should have been busy performing repairs on the ship, not spending time cleaning up an office. Had she been in his office rearranging things?

"Come here," he said huskily, motioning with his hand.

"Why?" she said. "Do you need help with something?"

"You could say that."

Jenn walked toward him cautiously with suspicion in her eyes.

"Closer." She grasped his hand, intending to lift him out of his seat, but instead he pulled on her arm and swung her body, making her fall on his chest.

"Isn't that better?" he purred. He held her tightly as she squirmed.

"Let me go!"

He bent his head down to her neck and kissed it, then sucked on her skin, making sure to mark her.

"I've been thinking. Do I care about the state of the Earth treaty? I can claim you as my battle prize."

"No, you can't."

"Sure, if you beat me in the marriage ceremony."

Jenn tried to push away, but Kai's grip was too strong.

"Now hold on a second, mister," she sputtered.

"To be precise, it's 'my lord'."

"You're not my lord or anything like it," snapped Jenn.

"You wouldn't have to call me ‘my lord,' if we got married. Not in private. In public, you would need to meet certain expectations. But I would call you 'my lady'. It all balances out. I think it sounds nice. Lady Imwaden. How does that sound to you?"

"I don't know," she stammered. "On Earth, we don't have to take our husband's name."

Kai licked the base of her throat, then nuzzled her chin. It tickled. He hadn't shaved yet and had a day's growth of beard.

"We can discuss everything later after the ceremonial battle. Assuming I defeat you, we can negotiate everything in the marriage contract." He pulled her into his lap and positioned her arms around his neck. He loved the feeling of her breasts pressing into his chest.

"Marriage contract?"

"Sure. Don't you have them on Earth? It clarifies what I will do for you, and what you will do for me."

Kai resumed his explorations of her neck, discovering that she squirmed whenever he sucked lightly on her back, below her hairline. It felt like she was melting into him.

"Did you know you are delicious? Every part of you is sweet."

Kai lifted her shirt to reveal the milky globes of her breasts. He circled his thumbs around each nipple, making them peak into hardness. He bent his head and sucked one in his mouth, gently biting. Jenn gasped while her breathing sped up.

He let his tongue circle the nub, feeling his cock starting to swell beneath her. The sensation of her lovely ass pressing on him was too much for him. He needed to be inside her. Picking at the waistband of her pants, he slid his hand toward her sex. Jenn's wet heat greeted his fingers immediately. He stroked the soft flesh tenderly, almost eagerly, searching for a passionate response. More of her juices spilled onto his hand, and he could only imagine how hot and wet her pussy would feel around his cock.

He wasn't going to play around any longer. It was time to take her.

"I want you," he whispered into her ear. Kai gently licked behind it, drawing mewling noises from her lips as he stroked her with his fingers.

"Then take me," Jenn murmured. She pulled away and stood up, stretching her arms. Her top came off first, followed by her pants. Kai observed every movement, thinking she was the most attractive creature he had ever seen.

Jenn pulled at the tie string of his medical bay pants and pulled them off, lifting his hips from the chair. She stared at his cock. It was hard, throbbing slightly, and leaking pre-cum from the tip.

"I don't know," she said. "I've never..." Jenn's voice trailed off as her eyes went wide. She couldn't believe what she saw.

"Come here, Jenn," Kai said in a husky voice. He positioned her body so his cock rested between her legs. Her liquid heat spread between them, making his cock slick as she ground against him.

"That's enough for now," he said. "That's amazing. I love feeling you against me. The sensation of silken folds over his hot cock made him want to thrust into her, but he felt twinges of pain in his hip, which was still healing. Their position wasn't going to work if Kai wanted to move energetically.

Jenn arched her back, and he had an idea. He pushed the chair forward to rest her ass on the desk. Jenn looked down as Kai pulled her legs to the armrest. Grasping his cock, he pressed around her sex, teasing her with it.

She whimpered.

Kai thrust forward, the triangular head of his cock piercing her entrance and reaching to her core. He felt more hot wetness surge over his body.

"See," he said in a low voice. "We can do this."

He got to his feet, resting his full weight on his arms. Jenn grasped his cock between her hands, holding him at her entrance.

"Take what you want, sindare," he said. "It's all for you."

She pulled him in. He couldn't help thrusting deeply into her, filling her to the hilt. She moved slowly but murmured words of encouragement. "Yes," she said. "That's good, right there. I need it."

There was more to his little sindare than he would have thought. When their pubic bones touched, she put one leg on his good hip and started rocking, sending waves of pleasure through him. He couldn't stop now. It felt too good.

Jenn gasped. Her sex pulsed around him as she bucked her hips. "Kai!" she screamed.

In the midst of her pleasure, Kai couldn't hold back. White heat seared through his body, and he came deep inside her.

"Sindare!" he called, shuddering with the intensity of his release as he burst apart.