Not Quite Terran Part 2 (Scifi Alien Romance Serial) (2 page)

Fucking Varr.

Her strides ate up the ground and she ignored the throbbing pain of her ankle. It was nothing compared to what she’d feel if any of the station males got their hands on her. Or rather, hands, tentacles, or antennae.

Her feet continued to slip and slide on the littered ground and she fought to keep her pace. Slowing was unacceptable. Shouts chased her, insults and insinuations filling her ears as she ran past the small clusters of aliens that lined her route. More than one attempted to snatch her, fingers closing around her clothing, tentacles attempting to wrap around a wrist or ankle to halt her. But she continued. She’d managed to remain unassailed for six years and she was determined to remain that way for six more.

Fucking Varr.

She slid to a stop outside her housing block and raced up the front steps two at a time.

Rebecca didn’t notice the front entry portal was open and it didn’t slow her dash toward her quarters. She didn’t notice the bend and twist of the railing or the bowing of the metal floor. Had she taken note of any of those things, she wouldn’t have raced into the arms of the Duggises.

She rounded the first landing, grasping the railing as she swung her body toward the next set of stairs that would take her to the second floor. And then on to the third, fourth, fifth, sixth… She kept up her race until she topped the tenth.

She spied them as she made the last bend and her momentum sent her crashing into the male who’d snuffled and bathed her skin in his saliva. His tree trunk like arms wrapped around her, his plate sized hands grabbing at her clothing. “Said Duggis have you.”

Fucking Varr.

The family’s chuckles echoed off the metal walls, bouncing and filling her mind with those sounds.

“No.” She fought him, kicking and struggling in an effort to get free.

“Yes, fight. Duggis like.”

Nausea consumed her, and bile rose from her stomach. “No.”

“No choice. Now for Duggis.” He lowered his snout, the damp flesh nearing her once again and it was then she spied the other five members of the family. Anticipation filled their gazes as they licked their lips and she couldn’t help but notice the arousal that tented their coverings.

Then a sound she didn’t think she’d ever hear again reached her ears. One she embraced wholeheartedly and ached to sink into. She had thought her time was at an end, her body’s biannual craving for a male now banished, but she was wrong. With this reappearance, need flared to life.

The growl was low and deadly, one that sank into her bones as a blanket of soothing calm drifted over her despite her position. It was
him
. Karru had returned. And right now, she wasn’t thinking he was an unsanctioned alien. She was too overjoyed at his reappearance. He had defended her against the Luvendari. Could he do the same against six the Duggises? God of All, she hoped so.

All six males stiffened and raised their heads, noses in the air as they sniffed and snuffled like animals. Squeaks and grunts escaped their mouths, and as one, their attention focused on something behind her.

Then a high-pitched squeal immediately preceded a warm bathing of fluid and her captor’s arms fell away. She tumbled backward only to be caught by familiar hands and she realized why she’d been released. Because his arms
literally
fell away. Somehow they’d been cut off at the elbow and purple blood rained down from the stubs.

She found herself shoved in a corner while Karru stood before her, his broad back filling her vision. He kept her hidden and protected as he fought the six Duggises. Purple coated the walls by the time all was said and done, and quiet descended upon them.

Even after his body stilled, he continued to huff and pant with the exertion. His arms were at his sides and she realized he clutched two large swords. There was no phaser or percussion blaster in hand. Simply two outdated weapons had destroyed her attackers. Within the silence, no siren calling for law keepers, she placed her palm on his back. The touch had him freezing in place, and a small shudder traveled down his spine as he released a long sigh.

He stepped away, giving her room to breathe and also giving her a view of the carnage he’d wrought. It was… so much worse than she’d imagined. Parts littered the stairs, coating the metal and slickening it with the purple fluid. An arm here, a leg there, and more than one snout lay beside the heads. He’d removed them with a single slice, as if disposing of the pieces that would have soon bathed her skin. Another mound was nearby and a furtive glance revealed it was another gathering of parts that would have assaulted her in another way.

“Come,” he murmured and moved toward the steps that led to her floor.

“But people will see…” She gestured toward the carnage and then the camera that captured it all on vid.

“I wouldn’t risk you. It is safe.”

Safe. Right.

He held out his hand, the deadly sword he’d held moments ago now gone, but where did it go? “We must go now so this can be cared for.”

Rebecca stared at the mess and then turned back to him. “But…”

“You must come, now.”

Her body screamed for him and demanded she listen already, demanded she trust him with her life. It didn’t want to acknowledge logic, it simply wanted to be in Karru’s arms once again.

So she ignored the logical part of her and placed her hand in his, allowing him to assist her steps through the carnage and toward the stairs to her hallway. Bits and pieces of flesh marred the ground several feet past the stair’s ending. He’d gone high and low to hack at her attackers. Outside her door, he paused and dug into his uniform, producing a small round disk.

“Wait a moment.” He swiped a bloodied thumb across the device and then spun it away like a Frisbee. It landed and slowed at the edge of the stairs a good two dozen feet from them. Then he turned to her. “We should enter your lodgings.”

“What was that?”

He glanced at the device and she noted it pulsed with a white glow, the brightness increasing with each flare. “Must enter now.”

Sensing the beginning of worry in his voice, she felt it best to listen. She placed her hand on the palm pad and was relieved when it didn’t hesitate or give her problems like the last time they had done this. It blinked green immediately and he hustled her through the doorway, remaining tense until the panel slid closed behind them. Suddenly the housing block shook, a deep rumble vibrating the entire structure and she raised her eyebrows at him.

“Your doing?”

He shrugged. “Keep you safe.”

Okay then.

She stepped away from him, intent on taking a sonic shower to rid herself of the sticky blood and a glance at him revealed he’d need one as well.

A delicious thought flitted through her mind, barely there and gone in a heartbeat.
Is the shower big enough for two?

He laid his hand on her forearm for the barest of tics and then he immediately removed his touch. “Wait a moment.”

Karru reached for her wrist and carefully encouraged her to place her hand on the wall above the palm pad. Something hidden within flared a pale gold for a bare moment before turning the normal burnished silver of metal.

And then… it all changed. The world around her transformed before her gaze. The decorations… The furnishings… Everything. It shimmered, and then expanded, her small quarters growing by the breath before it finally shuddered and solidified.

“Wha—?” She focused on him. “What’s all that?”

He immediately withdrew his touch and she pushed back the disappointment with his removal. “Palia folds space.”

With that, he strode away from her and into her quarters. Palia folds space? That’s all he had for her?

She followed him, carefully testing the ground as she trailed in his wake, not trusting this weird transformation. “What do you mean?”

Rebecca knew of regular space. Then there was subspace. But there was no “folding” of space. It was something theorized, a way to create worlds inside of worlds, but never proven.

Karru turned a corner and she raced after him, stumbling and wincing due to her injured ankle.

“What do you mean?” she tried again.

He paused and turned to face her, frown in place. “Scholars explain better.” He glanced around the room—her new massive living room—and snared a scarf off a lamp. He drew the four corners together, not folding, but creating a pocket. “Take flat space and bring together.” He cupped the hanging pocket. “And live here in bigger space.”

As if that was enough, he replaced the scarf and then continued on his path toward her sleeping area. Or, at least, what she assumed was her sleeping area.

“Wait a minute. I see what you’re saying, but where did all this…
stuff
come from?” Like the Terran looking furniture, the deep hues and buttery colors called to her. Or the comfortable chairs and the large bed that looked big enough to fit Karru.

She gulped. Fit Karru.

She yanked her attention from the tempting bed and refocused on his back as he continued his retreat. “Are you listening to me?”

Karru strode into the bathing room and she froze, shocked at what she found. It was bigger than her quarters! Not her current quarters, her old one, but still. Huge!

“Me. And yes, I am listening.” He reached for her and lifted her onto the counter before she could protest. He made her feel so small, so tiny and petite when he hauled her around and moved her as he desired.

“This is you?”

“Yes.” He jerked his head in a nod, but remained focused on her neck rather than her face. Then he reached for the flap of her suit and she immediately placed her hands atop his.

“Hold on a tic. You made this for me? You decorated this?”

“Yes,” he murmured and raised his gaze to meet hers. “I returned and created a home for you. Females should have homes, not the,” he pressed his lips together, eyes growing distant for a moment, “
trog
you were provided.”

“Trog?” A word she wasn’t familiar with.

He tried again. “Garbage. Terran garbage. Females need comfort. I give you comfort.”

Rebecca sighed, heart tumbling and falling for him no matter how bad of an idea that seemed. Instead of speaking, she let out a low, gentle and rolling purr.

Karru stiffened and met her gaze with narrowed eyes.

“Where did you hear that? Why did you make that sound?” Suspicion filled his features and she skirted his attention, unwilling to explain herself.

Ever since I met you I’ve had the urge to growl, grunt, and purr?

Not happening.

“I dunno.” She let the silence stretch, waiting for him to say something and accepted that he wasn’t going to speak. “Thank you for this.”

“It is my duty as a Palia male. As a male.”

“That doesn’t mean much to the rest of the universe.”

Karru grunted. “Savages.”

Says the man who killed six Olsara with swords.

He nudged away her hands, removing her hold and he once again tugged on the flap of her suit. He had the sides parted and zip seal sliding down the center of her chest before she realized what was going on. Her pale skin was revealed, the suit splitting to expose her to his gaze. The purple blood had soaked through the fabric, giving the creamy whiteness a violet hue. He continued further south, parting the cloth all the way to her lower stomach.

She reacted to the exposure, her nipples hardening and her center heating and moistening with anticipation. It was as if her need had never dissipated, but merely banked as she waited for Karru’s return. Now she was prepared for him, body burning with desire for this male. He lowered the seal a hint more, exposing her belly button and a few inches beneath it.

And then he stared, his gaze intent on her lower stomach. She should push him away, nudge this stranger and escape his touch, and yet she remained because of that part of her. Dammit, why didn’t it have a name? That part of her… This part of her… Never a true name for what the hell was happening.

Karru abandoned the zip seal and his fingertips ghosted over her skin. “What is this? This hole?”

She frowned. “My belly button. It’s where I was connected to my mother while she was pregnant with me.”

“Mother? Pregnant?”

She’d almost forgotten he wasn’t Terran. “Terran females carry their young inside them until they are ready to be born. The female who carried me is called mother. As she carried me, she was considered pregnant.”

“We do not have this, but…” He focused on her, his frown deepening. “But you…”

“Like I said, it’s a Terran thing.”

“And your
mother
is Terran?” At her nod, he continued. “And her male?”

“Male, or husband, and he was also Terran.”

His gaze seemed searching, as if he hunted something and yet didn’t seem to find it. “And they are still with you?”

Rebecca shook her head. “No.” Things were getting too serious now, delving into emotions she’d long ago shoved away. She gathered the two sides of her suit and pulled the edges together, unwilling to be physically vulnerable in addition to emotionally. “Someone found me abandoned on an old cargo ship. I grew up with the scavengers and when I was old enough I ran.”

“How many years did you have?”

“Twelve Terran years. I was starting to develop like a woman and the crew were starting to…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Not when it was so close to what she was experiencing now.

Karru purred and lifted his hands to her face, cupping her cheeks. He eased between her knees, scooting closer to the counter. He encouraged her to inch toward him as he leaned forward and brushed gentle kisses across her forehead and both cheeks before nudging her against him. He stroked her back, and a rhythmic deep rumble emanated from his chest and filled her.

It was… an apology. A combination of love and regret in one. Tears pricked her eyes, those she’d never cried for the loss of her family and the hell she’d endured over the years. The first drops stung and gathered, just waiting to trail down her cheeks and she tried to blink them back, push them away. She cuddled closer to him and found herself wrapping her arms around his body, slipping them beneath his and holding him even closer. Not in passion, but in need, in a desperation for soothing.