They reached Marfa well into the next morning, when the tourists and locals were busy going about their lives. Sera parked the car at the first hotel they reached, the Marfa Riata, and went inside to rent a room. She asked for a king-sized bed, and the clerk was happy to make the arrangements, although he did look a bit askance when she paid for the room in cash. She booked it for three nights, then took the key cards and collected her Ylians.

The room was pleasant, painted in a cooling shade of blue-gray, and the bed was soft. At that moment, she really didn’t care about anything else. Five hours on the road was more than sufficient to have made her tired and ready for a little...well, anything that didn’t involve being in a car.

Beno and Theyn carried their belongings in, and Theyn locked and barred the door once they were inside. Sera looked up at them from where she was lounging on the bed.

“You look so tired,” Theyn said softly. He came to sit beside her and ran a hand through her blonde curls, moving them back away from her face.

“I can drive next time,” Beno told her, sitting on her other side. “I was watching you. I think I can do it.”

“We’ll see. We can work on it.  It takes more than….whatever you got through your telepathy.”

He winked at her and teased, “You don’t think I’ve got the right coordination.”

“Hand-eye-foot coordination takes some practice,” she defended.  “And maybe you need to work on your reaction time.”

Theyn grinned. “He is sluggish.”

Beno gave his partner a mild shove, and Theyn laughed. “Don’t listen to him. I’m lightning fast.”

Sera smiled. “Maybe I like being the only one who drives. Girl power and all that. Men always drive the cars. Did you know that there are some countries where women aren’t allowed behind the wheel?” She playfully put her hand on the hard planes of Beno’s chest and returned the shove he’d given Theyn. “You boys need to step back and let this girl keep the keys.”

Now it was the brunet’s turn to grin. “Feeling the need to exert a little dominance? A need to take control?”

“Maybe,” she teased.

Theyn grabbed her by the waist and flipped them both until he was on his back and she was on top of him.  She gasped at his speed and strength, but smiled when she found herself straddling him. She grabbed his wrists, and he allowed her to push his hands into the pillow above his head. He grinned at her wickedly.

“Ooh, yes,” he whispered. “Control me.”

His words sent a tingle up her spine, and she leaned down to claim his mouth in an aggressive kiss, which he eagerly returned. She could feel his shaft hardening beneath her, straining against their confining clothes, and her body moistened in response. She speared her tongue into his mouth, and he let her explore, stroking his own tongue against hers in welcome. She purred in the back of her throat, desire for him flooding her.

Beno shifted to kneel behind her on the mattress, his legs straddling Theyn’s. He ran his hands down her back, then skimmed over her sides and back up her abdomen until he was cupping her full breasts in his palms. She arched into his touch, and he gently squeezed. She moaned.

Too many clothes, Theyn told them.

Agreed. She straightened and released him, pulling off her shirt. He looked up at her with raw lust, taking in the sight of her perfect mounds pressing against the lace of her bra. Beno unhooked the offending undergarment and slid it down over her shoulders, revealing her erect, pink nipples. Theyn smiled and ran his tongue lightly over his lips, enticed.

Beno kissed Sera’s back and shoulders, his hands busily helping Theyn to divest himself of his clothing. He stripped them both, pulling their clothing away and discarding it onto the floor. When they were nude, he kissed Sera deeply and pulled away, moving to lie on the other bed.

Sera looked at him in confusion. “You’re not joining in?”

“Not this time.” He smiled. “We can love you separately as well as together.”

She looked down at Theyn, then over at Beno, who was naked now, too, stroking himself as he watched. Theyn took her hands in his and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her.

Finish what you start, he urged her.

Sera grasped his wrists again, and he smiled as she pushed his hands above his head. She braced herself against his arms as he pressed up against her, the tip of his cock nudging against her wet folds. She pushed back and swallowed him whole, her body squeezing around his welcome intrusion.  Beneath her, Theyn sighed in bliss, his cheeks flushed.

She rocked her hips against him, sliding up and down his shaft, drawing out the loving as long and as slowly as she could bear. He felt so good inside her, filling her deeply, rubbing against her in all the right places. His heat, his hardness, the way he throbbed within her body all made her head swim with the pleasure. She squeezed his wrists harder, pressing down, holding him down as she rode him. He gasped as she tightened her internal muscles around him, and he thrust up to meet her downward slide.

They pushed against each other, Sera rocking her hips faster and harder, Theyn driving up into her and matching her pace. She moaned and tipped back her head, arching her back in delight, and the sound of flesh against flesh filled the room.

“Sera,” he groaned, transported. “Sera, by the flame, you feel so good.”

Her response was to tighten around him again, and he shuddered. She could feel the tell-tale tingling of her building climax, and she rode him harder while he snapped his hips up into her. They were mindless, lost in the feeling, animal lust taking command. Release rolled through her, a tidal wave of pleasure that made her shudder and shake, cries of ecstasy tumbling from her lips. He speared into her once more, as deep as he could go, and unleashed his passion, filling her completely.

She was still tingling and trembling when Beno rose from where he’d been watching. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her away from Theyn, lying her down on her back beside his bliss-drunk partner. He stretched out on top of her, pressing into her body, his arms still coiled around her waist. She pulled him close to her, wrapping her legs around his hips, urging him to take her. He thrust into her, his face pressed against her neck, his body rubbing against her pleasure spot over and over. She wailed as a second climax washed over her, and she quaked in Beno’s arms as he chased his own completion. He reached his flash point with a broken cry.

Beno slid out of her, and she was sorry to have him leave. He collapsed beside her, and Theyn snuggled in on her other side. She was still tingling and so sated that she couldn’t have moved if she had wanted to. Warm and satisfied, they held her in their arms until they all fell asleep.

***

When she woke slowly, pulled out of slumber by the sunlight that was shining brightly through the gaps around the curtain, both Theyn and Beno were gone. She sat up, alarmed and suddenly fully awake.

Guys?

There was no answer, and her heart started to pound. She crept over to the window and peeked out, and to her dismay, the car was no longer in its parking place. 

Their belongings were still in the room, although she couldn’t find her clothes anywhere. The Ylians’ garments were also missing. She couldn’t go out looking for them, even if she knew where they were, so she decided the best she could do was clean up and wait.

She showered and wrapped her hair and body in towels, then sat on the bed to fret.  She had resorted to turning on the television and flipping through the limited cable channels when she heard footsteps approaching, and then the key card slid into the lock with a ‘snick’. 

Sera jumped to her feet as Beno and Theyn came in, their arms filled with shopping bags. They had dark glasses on, and they had makeup or body paint covering the scales on their skin. Beno smiled at her when he saw her.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

“Good morning? That’s all you have to say? You left me here without a note or anything, and I couldn’t reach you with my mind, and - what is all that stuff?”

Theyn chuckled. “You were sleeping so soundly, we didn’t have the heart to wake you. We took the car out to practice driving, and then we decided that we needed things.” He handed her a huge bag from a major chain department store. “New clothes, so you don’t have to wear that Mexican army uniform anymore.”

“We took the uniform with us to compare sizes,” Beno told her.

She looked into the bag. There were two pairs of jeans, several sets of underwear, a few lacey bras, and multiple shirts, all casual and travel-appropriate.  In the bottom of the bag was a box with athletic shoes. The sizes were all exactly what she wore.

“Thanks,” she said. “And the rest?”

“Clothes for us, toiletries, make-up to cover our skin, and lots and lots of food, in case we get to a place without restaurants.” Theyn looked into the grocery sack. “Noodles, canned soup, bread, canned fish, cereal, cookies, and nuts. Not the best nutrition, but it’s something.”

Beno sat down on the bed with a booklet showing local homes for sale, published by a realty office in Marfa. She got dressed in her new clothes while he flipped through the pages.

“Are you seriously thinking about buying a house?”

Theyn nodded. “We have enough money, and we’ll need to be in one place when the baby comes.”

“About that… should I see a doctor? What’s going to happen to me, having an alien baby in me?” She sat down. The new clothes were comfortable, and she had to give them credit for their shopping skills. “I mean, I’m human. How am I supposed to give birth to an Ylian baby?”

Beno flipped a page. “He’s the scientist. I’m just the bodyguard.”

“I’m a botanist and you’re a xenologist. You know as much about this as I do,” Theyn scolded mildly.  He sat down on the bed that Beno was occupying, facing Sera. “You have Ylian blood. Even if you didn’t, our species are completely compatible… obviously, or you wouldn’t have conceived. In cases of mixed births, the pregnancy normally follows the pattern that’s nearest to normal for the mother. I wouldn’t expect anything different in this case.”

“So nine months, then a nice normal delivery with no midwife or obstetrician.” She nodded. She felt her nervousness start to rise, and she brushed it off, saying, “Okay, I get it, women have been giving birth without outside assistance for centuries. I can do that.”

“We’ll be here to help you,” the blond reassured.

Beno turned another page. “Some of these houses are real dumps.”

“Nice slang. You’ve been listening to a lot of people’s minds, haven’t you?” she asked, snickering.

“A lot of people here think very loudly.” He looked up and winked at her.

“Was that directed at me?”

“Could be.” 

She picked up a pillow and tossed it at him. He batted it out of the air and kept looking at his real estate magazine.

Theyn smiled, but he didn’t allow himself to be distracted. “Truthfully, none of us really knows what to expect. Nothing has gone according to plan since the Taluans attacked Ylia. We can only face whatever comes together, as a united front, and support each other through whatever happens.”

Sera took his hands and leaned forward, kissing him. “You are the sweetest person I have ever met.”

He looked surprised but pleased. “Thank you.”

Beno reached out and squeezed his partner’s shoulder with one hand, not looking up from his magazine. It was enough to show his agreement with Sera’s words.

A disjointed rattling sound interrupted them, and they looked to the table to see one of the newly-purchased cans of soup rocking quickly in place, its metal rim knocking against the formica surface. Another can began to shake, and soon they could feel a low rumbling vibration that seemed to fill the room like an earthquake.  Beno scrambled for his weapon while Theyn urged Sera back toward the bathroom with him.

“What’s going on?” she asked, alarmed.

Go into the bathroom and stay low. Get into the tub if you have to, Beno told them.  I will try to hold them off.

“Hold who off?”

“Whoever is scanning this hotel,” Theyn told her.

He drew her into the bathroom with him, but she resisted. “Scanning? What?”

Beno’s jaw was set and his eyes were narrow with anger and concentration. “Just do as we ask, Sera, before we leave you no choice.”

She gaped at him, shocked, and Theyn pulled her into the bathroom and cajoled her into the tub. “Lie here,” he said. “Don’t come out until we say it’s safe.”

“Stay with me,” she begged. “There’s only one stunner and two of you. You’ll be defenseless.”

“I cannot leave my partner to face this threat alone.”

“What threat?!”

He took a breath and explained, “That is a lifeform scan being conducted from orbit. It is pinpointing our location. They have found us.”

She climbed to her feet, angry. “Who? For the love of God, would you please just give me a straight answer?”

“The Taluans.”

There was no more time for talking as the sound of splintering wood filled the air. Theyn raced out of the bathroom to Beno’s aid, and Sera ran out right behind him.

In the main room, just inside the door, Beno was facing off against a massive lizard-like creature.  It stood a head taller than the Ylian and was twice as broad. He had switched the stunner to the kill setting, and he fired into the Taluan’s chest. Light arced around the alien’s body, flashing like a lightning storm, only to be absorbed into a force field that briefly flared then became invisible again. The Taluan backhanded Beno, its club like fist connecting with his face and sending him flying.

The stunner landed at Theyn’s feet, and he picked it up. The Taluan laughed at him and spoke in a guttural voice, which was helpfully translated by Sera’s earpiece. “Imperial Ylian,” it mocked. “You are a natural coward. Put down that weapon.”

Theyn’s answer was to fire. Again the killing energy danced over the Taluan’s personal force field, but this time, instead of being absorbed, it coalesced over the unit on the creature’s belt that powered its defenses. Theyn fired a third time, and the weapon spat destruction into the Taluan’s chest. The alien stiffened and gurgled, then dropped to the floor, where it stayed motionless.

Sera ran to Beno. He was lying face down on the carpet with blood trickling from his mouth and from a cut in his scalp. She pressed her fingertips to his throat and found that his pulse was still steady and strong. She sagged with relief.

Theyn adjusted the controls on the weapon. She could hear a set of boots approaching rapidly, running down the hallway toward their room. Theyn backed up and stood over his mates, his face grim. He was ready to shoot whatever came through the door.

A trio of men in black tactical gear and skull masks swept into the room, rifles at the ready. One of them held up a hand and barked an order.  “Stand down!”

He stepped forward, and to Theyn and Sera’s shock, he went down on one knee. His companions followed suit.

The man spoke in the Ylian tongue. “Your Highness.”

“Who are you?” Theyn asked.

“Those who have been sent to find and assist you,” he answered.

Another man joined them, breathing heavily behind his mask. “The other two Taluans have been eliminated, sir.”

“Good.”

The newcomer looked up at Theyn as if he was seeing him for the first time, and he went down on his knee, too. “Forgive me, Your Highness,” he said. “I didn’t realize it was you.”

Beno groaned and stirred, and Sera helped him sit up. He leaned against her, still reeling. The leader of the tactical group said, “We have healers and medical supplies that can help your bond mate. If you would allow us to take you to our base, we would help you.”

Theyn considered for a moment, clearly torn, then lowered his weapon. “Before we agree to go with you, tell me who you are.”

The leader took his skull mask off, revealing eyes that were formed like a human’s, with white sclera, but with a shining blue iris that glowed like Theyn’s eyes. “My name is Roon. I’m a human/Ylian hybrid, and I’m here to help you.”

“Blue eyes,” Theyn said. “Imperial blood.”

Roon nodded. “I am your eight-times great nephew.”

Sera looked up at the blond Ylian, and he looked back at her, weighing his decision.  “We’ll go with you.”