Marauder Cygnus: A Scifi Alien Shifter Romance (Mating Wars Book 1) (8 page)

A
s we approach the road
, I turn to Cygnus.

“Let me do the talking here.”

“But—”

“Please,” I say. “I’ve done this dozens of times. I know what I’m doing.”

“I can intimidate them,” Cygnus says. “And—”

I cut him off. “Cygnus! You’ve saved me so many times.... I owe you great shame debt. Please let me repay you.”

He laughs loudly, from deep within his belly. “How can my lifemate be shamed when I protect her? It makes no sense!”

“Please, Cygnus,” I say. “Just keep quiet at the gate.”

He crosses his arms and leans back in his seat.

We drive onto the road and turn toward the gate. A small portion of the crater was blasted away to make a narrow tunnel through the crater. The gate is guarded, and beggars and troublemakers are turned away. Well, troublemakers are let in if they offer a big enough bribe, but beggars are never allowed entry.

I stop the buggy at the gate, and two men with rifles slowly walk toward us. I tap Cygnus’ shoulder and point up to the big guard towers. I whisper to him, “There are more guys with guns in those towers.”

“Yes,” he says. “Shall I get the sniper rifle from the cargo—”

“No!” I snap. “I’m pointing them out to you so that you
don’t
try to fight your way through this. Okay?”

He crosses his arms again, an annoyed look painted across his face.

I want to punch or slap him, but I know that will hurt me more than it hurts him.

“You got papers?” one of the men asks. He doesn’t point his gun at us, but he grips it tighter when he sees Cygnus.

I know this guard. It’s Tobias; he’s easily bribed.

“I’m back from a scrapping run,” I say. “I have a lot of high value goods to trade.”

“Please!” Cygnus says.

I elbow him.

“You look like raiders to me,” Tobias says. “What you think, Yannick, these look like raiders to you?”

Tobias clearly doesn’t remember me, or he’s pretending not to so he can milk out a better bribe.

Yannick leans into Cygnus. He pushes his facemask nearly into Cygnus’s. My heart pounds and my stomach churns. I worry Cygnus will snap his neck or do something incredibly stupid, but instead he reaches out his hand.

“Hello,” he says. “I am Garrett.”

They both start laughing.

Yannick backs away. “All right, you two look like trouble to me. Especially you, Garrett.”

“Yeah,” Tobias says. “Sorry, you’ll have to go back where you came from.”

I see Cygnus tense, but I put a hand on his arm and squeeze, willing him to be calm.

“Sir,” I say. “Maybe you can have a look through our cargo hold? Help yourself to something valuable? As a sign of goodwill?”

“Hmm,” he says. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

He gestures toward Yannick, and the two of them pop the cargo hold open and start digging through it.

Yannick whistles through his facemask. “A
lot
of guns here for a scrapper. You find a weapons cache out in the belt? A lot of these are covered in Martian regolith too...real fucking odd that Martian soil would find its way to the belt.”

The two of them each grab a gun, and Yannick takes a full pack of jerky.

“I think we can let you two in if you promise not to make trouble,” Tobias says.

“Deal,” I say.

Yannick moves toward the gate controls, and just before he hits the switch, Cygnus speaks.

“No.”

Yannick pauses, and leaves the gate shut.

I draw in a breath, and do everything I can to suppress the flaring anger and panic I feel rising in my gut at Cygnus’s insufferable stubbornness.

“What’s that? Garrett doesn’t think we made a fair deal?” Yannick asks.

“No,” Cygnus says again, and he gets out of the buggy.

He takes one step toward them, and they raise their guns.

He takes another step.

“Stand down, raider!”

Cygnus stops. “Give back the meat.”

“What?” Yannick says, looking over at his friend.

“He just wants the jerky, man.”

“Fuck that,” Yannick says. “We made the deal already.”

“No,” Cygnus says. “This is the new deal. I keep the meat.”

Cygnus takes another step forward, and the two of them step back. I realize that despite the guard tower and the guns—and the fact that Cygnus is completely unarmed—the guards are scared of him.

“Just give him the jerky, dude!”

Yannick reaches into his jacket and throws the jerky pack onto the ground.

Cygnus reaches down, tears the package open, and throws a piece at Yannick. “Enjoy. Please!”

As soon as the gate shuts behind us, I punch Cygnus in the ribs as hard as I can. It hurts my hand, but I don’t care, and I punch him again and again.

He finally stops driving and looks over at me. “Is this foreplay? We can find a place in the city to mate again, if you wish. I would not be against this idea.”

“You big dumb idiot!” I try to gut-punch him, but his abs are like steel even through the coat.

“I was practicing my human bartering skills,” he says.

“What?”

“To get good at something, you must practice. I noticed that to strike a good deal, you must not show weakness. I want to master this skill.”

I’m still red-faced with anger, and I’m breathing so hard that my mask is fogging up. But I stop hitting him. “So you weren’t just risking everything for a pack of jerky?”

“Hmmm,” he says. “I did want the jerky.”

“If you really want to learn to barter,” I say, “you need to learn risk and reward management. Do you know what that means?”

“It means if I take a big risk, I will be rewarded. Like when I warmed you with my naked body, and then we mated.”

I blush just thinking about that, and I feel pissed off again when I realize he’s arguing against me successfully without even trying to.

“No,” I say. “How much do you think the jerky is worth compared to the two guns?”

“The guns have more trading value,” he answers. “But I was very hungry, so the jerky had greater immediate value.”

I sigh. “Okay, but think like...an hour ahead. We have a box full of more guns, which are worth
much
more than a pack of jerky. So why take such a big risk for the jerky?”

He crosses his arms. “You really think I am so short-sighted?”

“Yes,” I answer immediately.

“I told you we would thrive here. We will have to deal with these guards again in the future, and they now know we drive a hard bargain. They will not push us around or laugh at us again. They will fear the name Garrett.”

I laugh, and the anger seeps out of me. Cygnus does a lot of dumb things, but he always seems to at least have
some
kind
of logic driving his actions.

I
enjoy
the jerky meat as Aura drives. It tastes even better knowing that I shame debted the guard to obtain it.

W
e clear
the tunnel that goes through the wall, and the crater opens up into a fairly large city. The top of the crater is covered by some type of dome.

A
ura pulls off her mask
, but tells me to keep mine on. “Rust Bucket’s CO2 scrubbers have been known to fail; some paranoid people keep their masks on. You’re one of them.”

T
he buildings look haphazardly placed
and organized. They are all quite tall, but each story is sometimes a different color from the one below it and made of a different material, as well. There are a lot of people in dusty clothes swarming through the streets.

I
see some other buggies
, but pedestrians clog the streets, and Aura has to stop constantly as people walk right in front of us.

“
R
un
them down if they disrespect us,” I say.

S
he looks
at me and rolls her eyes. I know what that look means now, so I hold my tongue.

We reach one of the taller buildings that I can see, and Aura stops the buggy right on the side of the street.

“
A
ll right
,” she says. “The cargo container is too heavy to take in, so you’ll need to guard it—”

I
reach down
and unlatch the cargo container. I grab the handles with both hands and I lift it effortlessly into the air. I rest it on top of my head, still holding the handles.

“
O
kay
….” she says. “I guess you’re stronger than I thought. Let’s bring it all inside then.”

I
follow
her into the building through a large glass door. There’s a large room full of tables surrounded by dirty and dusty people. The smell of mansweat is thick, which I find quite distasteful. I smell other human females, as well, but having bound myself to my lifemate, I pay no mind to them and their scents.

“
P
ut that down here
,” she says. “And sit on it.”

I
put
the container down and sit atop it.

“
I
’m going
to go find some of my contacts,” she says. “I’ll bring them here to barter with us.”

“
N
o
,” I say. “I let you leave to pee and you were captured. I will not risk that again.”

S
he sighs
, and I lift the container up again.

“
Y
ou’re going
to have to carry that up a bunch of stairs,” she says. “But, come on.”

W
e enter a stairwell
, and the cargo container is almost too large for the winding corners. It hits the wall each time I turn, but mostly because I’m distracted by Aura’s butt. I look up at it—right in front of my face—as we climb the stairs, and I feel my penis harden and swell as her femininity distracts me.

W
e reach
the top of the stairs, which brings us into a smaller lobby.

“
Y
ou need a room
?” an older female grunts at us.

“
U
mmm
,” Aura hesitates. “I was looking for Jarek, actually.”

“
J
arek
,” she says. “He’s out right now. Should be back tonight.”

“
H
ow much is a room
?” I ask. My cock is still hard, and it sounds like we need to wait for Jarek anyway.

“
T
his place is overpriced
,” Aura whispers to me. “We can get a better deal—”

I
toss
the cargo container down onto the floor and stride over to the counter. I lean into the counter and face the older woman. The tinted glass obscures my face, but she looks up at me.

“
W
oman
,” I say. “Do you like jerky?”

* * *

“
I
got us a real deal
,” I say.

“
N
o
,” Aura says. “You didn’t. She pretended to lower the price. She just stroked your male ego, and you fell for it.”

“
A
t least we
have a room now,” I say, smiling. I drop the cargo crate onto the ground, then slide it into the corner.

I
sit down
on the crate and pull off the mask and jacket. I’m still sweating, so I begin to remove the rest of the clothes.

“
W
hat are you doing
?” Aura asks.

“
I
t’s hot
,” I say. “I’ve been confined in these clothes and mask for too long.”

I
tug the pants down
, and my penis—which is partially hard—bobs up and down.

I
wiggle
my ears at Aura, then say, “You must be hot as well.”

S
he peels
her jacket off and throws it onto the floor, then collapses onto the bed. “I’m exhausted, that’s what I am.”

T
hough she says
she’s exhausted, I see her looking over at me, her eyes wandering across my body. And I smell her feminine scent filling the room.

I
walk
to the side of the bed, and rather than falling down beside her, I simply stand and look down at her.

H
er eyes
lock onto my dick, and I see her tongue run across her soft lips.

“
C
ome here
,” she says.

S
he reaches
out and grasps my erect penis. She squeezes and tugs me gently toward her.

“
W
e’ve never done
it in gravity,” she says, her voice husky.

M
y ears perk up
, and I nod. I’m standing flush against the bed now, and my penis begins to lubricate itself as she squeezes and strokes it from base to head.

“
W
ould it shame debt you
,” she says, “if I get on top?”

“
A
woman
...on top?” I ask, truly confused. “How can I dominate you this way?”

“
I
f you make me come
,” she says. “Then you are dominating me.”

“
H
mm
, that is true. It shouldn’t matter what position we are in, so long as I bring you to orgasm.”

S
he nods and smiles wide
. “Exactly. So get on the bed.”

S
he grips
my waist and tugs me toward her. She’s not strong enough to move me at all, but I humor her and move onto the bed. I sit up on the bed, but she shoves me down until I’m lying flat on my back. I lay like that, but my hard cock is anything but flat. It’s standing up hard and straight, and it’s beginning to vibrate.

I
watch
Aura as she gets on her knees and pulls off her shirt. Her breasts bounce impressively. I stare at them, captivated. I begin to appreciate clothes in a new light. Humans wear clothes all the time, and only remove them in front of others when prepared to mate. Aura wanted me to cover my penis even though she enjoys looking at it. Now that I see her naked breasts again after they were hidden so long, they captivate me in a way that wouldn’t have been possible had they been free all along.

“
I
understand now
why you wanted me to hide my penis from you, Aura. I see you.”

S
he’s tugging
at her pants now, and she falls onto her back to tear them off.

“
D
on’t hide
your penis now, Cygnus,” she says, sitting back up.

S
he crawls
across the bed toward me, and grabs my penis by the shaft. She moves her face close to it, then says, “Cygnus’s penis, I see you, and you’ve bred with me, though I’ve not yet tasted you.”

B
efore I can react
, she is licking the tip of my penis, and I grunt as she engulfs the head and sucks.

S
he spits
it back out and looks down at me, startled. “Cygnus, what the hell?”

“
T
he taste doesn’t suit
you?” I ask.

“
N
o
,” she says dreamily. “No...it tastes...incredible. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”

I
had worried
she might not enjoy the taste of me, but now my fear is laid to rest.

“
H
ow in the
hell can your dick taste this good?” she asks.

“
H
ow do human males taste
?” I ask.

“
N
ot like this
,” she snorts. “I could suck this teal cock all day...my God.”

“
S
o you will suck
it all day, and will not ride me?” I ask.

S
he squeezes me and giggles
. “It’s a figure of speech. I don’t mean it literally when I say “all day”. So you really want me to ride you, huh?”

“
I
must admit
,” I say. “I’m quite curious.”

“
P
atience
,” she said with a grin.

S
he dives down
on my dick and swallows it once again. It’s too big for her mouth, but she makes a valiant effort to take in as much of it as she can. She gets part of it in, and she sucks hard. Her saliva drips down my cock, and I watch as it runs down along the bulging veins. The sound of her sucking on me is incredible, and she drinks greedily of my juices.

I
grab
her and pull her atop me. She moans onto my cock as I bring my mouth up against her spread legs. I inhale the scent of her, and then I press my tongue against her outer lips. She may think I taste good, but it must be impossible that I taste better than she does. Her scent and taste is divine, and I greedily suck her juices as I run my tongue all along her swelling clit.

I
hear
her moan with my swollen member stuffing her mouth, and when I look down I can see myself inside her, which is a wonderful sight. Her breasts are hanging down in front of me, and I reach up and grab a firm hold of them. I tweak her nipples with my fingers, and when I realize my hands are dry, I touch my shaft to lubricate them.

I
squeeze
her nipples with my soaked fingers, next running my thumb and forefinger back and forth along her pointed buds. She moans louder with my cock in her mouth, and I start to laugh as I lick her to become wetter and wetter.

W
e continue
like this for quite some time, but before she comes like this, she pulls away and slides down my stomach. The juices from her wet pussy coat my body, and I smile wide at the sight and feel of it.

S
he turns to face me
, and raises her hips above me.

“
I
’m going
to ride you now, Cygnus.”

H
er words cause
my dick to vibrate faster. She clasps the vibrating rod between her hands so she can press it to her clit, then she moans.

S
he’s having
fun with my cock, but I’m still not inside her. I resolved to dominate her even while underneath her, and I will not break that promise.

I
grab
her and pull her down. My dick slides into her, parting her lips, which grab a tight hold of my head.