Chapter 5
Dr. Alice Tanner
“How are you doing so far, human?” Kecha asked, turning to me, his handsome face creased with concern. “Humans are too frail to be stuck in this type of climate.”
“You think you know everything about humans, do you?” I asked, sizing him up. “Well, it just so happens that there are plenty of humans that thrive in desert conditions. We are resourceful and find a way.”
“All right,” he said, turning away from me. We continued on in silence as if he were insulted by my words. I had noticed that he had an abnormal body of knowledge about the creatures we had been encountering, something that, when I had mentioned it to him, he had shrugged off and attributed to an extensive education as a preventative measure to avoid war.
It seemed strange to me at the time, but it didn’t matter. Humans did a lot of research too, and felt more secure knowing that they were going to be prepared should a foreign threat from space come after us. It wasn’t surprising that other races in the universe did the same.
“Are you thirsty?” Kecha asked after another half an hour of trudging through the desert sands. I wasn’t thirsty, but my legs were aching, and the hot suns were beating down on me to the point where I felt like I was going to pass out. “Drink, human. Your system is not built for this.”
“I don’t care what you think about humans or what our systems can handle!” I exclaimed, swatting his canteen of water away and throwing myself on the ground in exhaustion. Kecha’s eyes widened, and he stood in front of me, blocking the heat of the sun from my body. He looked up at the sky above me and sighed, before offering me the canteen again.
“We are turning back.”
“No!” I shouted. I was feeling pissed off now: irrationally, irrevocably pissed. The anger was completely out of proportion to the situation, and a sudden surge of nausea overpowered me.
“Human…what is that look on your… Ew!”
Kecha stared at the puddle of vomit before him in horror, the look on his face almost comical enough to make me forget the irrational anger long enough to smile.
But before I could, I felt my body become weightless in his arms, and I was being cradled against his broad chest. I couldn’t help but think to myself just how good he smelled: a little bit like the berries and fruits we had been eating, but also with a twinge of something more. A rugged, masculine scent that aroused my senses.
My head was heavy with fog, clouded over by the crippling and sudden illness that I was suffering from. As he carried me, Kecha dumped the remaining berries from my jacket and placed it over my body to shield me from the sun. I felt better by a small amount, but when I closed my eyes, and my breathing became shallow, Kecha’s deep voice rumbled in his chest.
“Do not sleep. We must get you into the shade. When we get there, you are to drink your fill of water and rest. Do you understand me?”
I sighed, nodding weakly against his chest, and Kecha grew silent, carrying me with ease and urgency until suddenly, the atmosphere was noticeably cooler, and I took a deep breath, grateful for the moisture in the air surrounding the foliage.
“All right, human. Sit here and stay still. Drink.”
Kecha sat me against the trunk of a large white tree and gave me his canteen full of water. I drank my fill for the first time since we had departed; I hadn’t wanted to be greedy and waste water if we weren’t going to find any in the desert. But my plan had backfired, because now here we were. I was slowing him down.
“Go on ahead,” I said, thrusting the canteen back at him. “You need to take care of your crew. If they’re out there, then…”
“If they’re out there then they may be lost already,” Kecha said grimly, looking down at me with his handsome brow creased. “It would do me no good to lose you too.”
My heart filled with warmth at the sound of his words, and I looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. He was so unbelievably beautiful; a creature flawless, almost as the illustrations of magical beings I had seen during childhood were flawless. And yet there was something I just couldn’t trust. No matter how much I wanted to.
“You don’t have to do that for me,” I said, shaking my head. “I think that you should take care of yourself first and foremost. You don’t owe anything to me.”
Kecha said nothing and turned his back on me. I watched, confused, as he disappeared into the woods, only to return a short time later with a full canteen and an excessive amount of fruit.
“How did you do that so quickly?” I asked, taking the canteen he was offering to me. I waited for him to answer, taking another long drink of water.
“Actually, the Raithers can move at astonishing speeds,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s just that with a human to protect, I have slowed my pace down.”
I felt another wave of nausea strike me all of a sudden, but this time it was caused by emotion rather than the heat. I had been holding him back all this time from finding his crew. He probably could have had half of this entire planet scoped out by now, but he had chosen instead to babysit me and see to it that I didn’t find myself in any trouble.
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” I whispered, staring at him in disbelief. “Why didn’t you just leave me where I was so you could go and find your ship? Your crew?”
Kecha was silent for a moment, his deep, mysterious eyes impossible to read. Finally, he smiled, a small but striking smile that made all of his extraordinary features light up.
“Because I will protect you,” he said simply. “And nobody else on this planet will.”
I gaped at him, unsure of what to say or how to respond to this simplistic logic, but before I could figure out what I was supposed to say that might make a difference, Kecha grinned at me again and disappeared into the forest. When he came back, he was dragging another huge palm leaf behind himself and laid it down in front of me.
“Sleep now, human. The sun took its toll on you, and it is time for your body to heal.”
I laid down automatically, unable to believe that this man had been willing to give up so much. It was almost too much for my mind to comprehend, and with the misery my body was in, it didn’t even give me the chance to try. Soon, I was lulled into a deep, restful sleep, and none of the rest of the world seemed to matter in the least.
***
“Are you all right now, human?”
The deep, gentle rumble of Kecha’s voice reverberated my body, and I closed my eyes, desperate to hang on to the soothing comfort that his presence provided me as I lingered on the edge of sleep and wakefulness.
“I do feel better,” I said finally, allowing myself to let go of the warm heat his voice elicited in my body and sitting up slowly. “Thank you.”
“That is good to hear. Please, drink this so that I know for sure that you will be well.”
Kecha’s handsome face creased as he carefully handed me his water canteen, and I drank deeply from it. The water was cold and refreshing, and I smiled at him. “You know, for never having met one of us, you really are good at taking care of a human.”
Kecha laughed. “Well, I think that has more to do with the fact that as a human, you tend to need taken care of. A lot. Your kind are so fragile.”
“I told you, I don’t care what you think of humans,” I sighed, my face on fire as the striking alien man stared at me, his multicolored eyes dancing as he measured me up.
I looked away quickly, the heat in my cheeks spreading somewhere much more private than I had anticipated it would. The last thing I needed was for him to tune into this desperate desire that had been kindling secretly inside of me for so long. The first spark to reach me would easily cause me to erupt into flames. That was far too dangerous. Especially on a planet like Hexa, where there was danger hidden around every corner. He had saved me once again, his suit threadbare at this point. I wanted to offer to tailor it for him, but if I did, then I would be robbed of the brilliant sight of his muscular body peeking through the fabric. It was a moral dilemma, indeed, and one I would have to spend some time thinking about.
“I know you don’t care what others think, human. That may be what I find most compelling about you.”
His gentle, masculine voice reached my ears, making my heart drum even more energetically in my chest. There was no telling what the man was thinking. It seemed an unfair advantage that his kind was able to tune in so accurately to the impressions and needs of another.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I mumbled, tearing my eyes away from him and standing up, probably a little too quickly. I stumbled forward, and Kecha rushed forward quickly to catch me in his arms.
He looked down at me, his handsome face alight with a bemused grin, and my breath caught in my throat.
“I do not mean to alarm you,” he said, his voice, again, sending a surge of hot desire spreading through my body, until every inch of me was burning with the desire to hold him close to me and feel as much of his body against mine as possible.
“I’m not alarmed,” I said, but my voice wavered, giving me away.
“It’s all right,” he said softly. “I will take care of you.”
I stared at him, unable to muster any more words. All I could experience now were feelings: physical, overwhelming feelings. The physical desire that consumed by body was overpowering as Kecha leaned in hesitantly, his soft lips brushing against mine, tentatively, sensually, and spreading an instant shot of bliss throughout my body.
Suddenly, Kecha’s powerful arms were wrapped around me, and I was being lifted into the air until we were lying on the ground, Kecha beneath me. He held me, caressing my body as our lips moved languidly against each other’s, kissing in a way I had never been kissed in my life. Every stroke of his tongue left me breathless, and I felt untold desires building deep within the core of me. I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anybody in my life. I wanted him to make me his.
As if he sensed this deep, forbidden desire—a desire I never would have spoken aloud being an independent and free-thinking scientific woman—Kecha stripped my clothes away from me until I was completely nude on top of him. He leaned up to take the nape of my neck in his mouth, caressing and nibbling it gently as I shuddered in bliss on top of him, shocked and aroused by the hard, persistent testament to his desire that was pressing against my most sensitive area.
I closed my eyes, shivering in bliss when he ran the length of himself up, the friction nearly driving me crazy with longing. Finally, he began stripping himself as well, slowly at first, and then with more urgency as my body betrayed to him exactly what it wanted without my having to say or do anything.
I ran my hand along the beautifully sculpted muscle on his pale blue abdomen; he looked like the perfect vision of masculinity and beauty all rolled up into one. I had never wanted anyone more, and I would not be satisfied until we were one.
And then suddenly, like a flash, my body was electrified by his entrance, his generous member prying me apart and filling me with the most intense sense of ecstasy my body had ever experienced. He seemed to delight in my sighs and my moans, and gripped my breast in his lips, sending a hot flash of heat down to my pelvic region.
Soon, he was thrusting, his powerful hips moving steadily as he wrapped his arms around me and flipped me beneath him. Now, he was above me, and I could see every expression on his flawless face as he enveloped himself within me again and again. I could feel every inch of his massive muscle as he pleasured me, indulging himself equally, but not at my expense. He was a perfect lover, caring and careful but assertive. I had no idea what lottery I had won to find myself the recipient of such unbelievable pleasure, but I was grateful for it.
Soon, he was picking up the pace, and my breath began to come in short, frantic spurts as my body tensed up from his sensuous force. I could feel myself climbing higher and higher to the ceiling of my ecstasy, and with every movement of Kecha’s hips, I became that much more likely to succumb to my surrender.
I was able to hold out as long as I could muster, but when he kissed me passionately, then bit my ear gently between his teeth and declared, with a growl in his voice, that I was his, I lost complete control of myself. My back arched involuntarily, and I gasped, consumed by a rolling wave of heat.
My ecstasy was enhanced by Kecha’s own surrender, his hips moving with the power of a locomotive now, my body trembling beneath him in an effort to keep up with his force. A sudden, furious explosion erupted within me, and I cried out despite my efforts to stay quiet, my body quaking and contracting around him as we climaxed together, each of us lost in our own pleasure and the ecstasy of the other.
He kissed me tenderly and held me close, and I found myself slipping into a deep, contented slumber, shocked that I could ever possibly have resisted the Raither for this long. He was a force to be reckoned with, and I wanted to be his reckoning. And yet, I still didn’t trust him.
But none of that mattered as I finally allowed myself to succumb to the depths of sleep, peace overwhelming me and promising me, despite all the odds stacked against me on this horrific prison planet, that everything was going to be all right.
***
The next morning, I sat up, shivering. My clothes were strewn beside me, and Kecha was nowhere in sight. I felt a jolt of panic as my eyes searched the area for him, my mind thoroughly convinced that what had happened between us had been a horrific mistake and I was never going to see him again.
Was he really the type to leave someone stranded in the forest after having his way with her? I didn’t want to believe it, but at the same time, I still didn’t feel like I actually knew Kecha all that well. There was something he was keeping from me. I was fairly certain of it. Maybe it was that he had been stringing me along all this time in the hopes of taking advantage of me and ditching me the first chance that he got.
Whatever it was, I felt humiliated. I dressed quickly, running my options through my mind. It would be best if I headed back toward the group of researchers. At least with more than one great mind, there was a possibility of survival. If I allowed myself to stay alone, it would be likely that I would face untold dangers and find myself unable to survive them this time.
Just as I was making my mind up about which direction to start out in, a deep, masculine voice spoke from behind me.
“Where are you going, human?”
The look of horror on my face must have been amusing because when I whipped around to face Kecha, he chuckled.
“I brought you some breakfast. Please, sit and eat. We have a long way to go.”
“Where are we going?” I asked as he thrust the leaf at me. I looked down at the variety of fruits, noting that he had apparently taken into consideration my personal preferences when choosing my meal, and feeling a twinge of apprehension. I had been sure that he was going to abandon me there, stuck in the forest alone to fend for myself.
“We are going to find my crew,” he said, looking at me as if I were stupid. “And my ship.”
“We? I can’t go back into the desert with you. We already tried that.”
“We are not going to go back there. This is a large world. That means that they could be anywhere. It is possible that they didn’t land anywhere near the desert. And if they didn’t, going through there would be a waste of our time. And besides, as I said before, it is possible that we are already too late to help them if that is the case. Many of the creatures who thrive beneath the sands have a tendency toward eating steel. That means that the ship and anyone in it was likely immediately destroyed if it landed in the desert. We are better off searching elsewhere. It would just be a waste of time.”
“I see,” I said quietly, looking down at the ground. “So where are we going to look then? We’ve combed through this forest quite a bit already.”
“Not all of it. And besides, there are other areas of this planet. I climbed the trees last night and saw some prairie land to the east of here. That is where we are going to go. My people love to live in the vast open spaces. Being confined in forested areas such as this would be excruciating.”
“All right,” I said, furrowing my brow. “But why would it be excruciating?”
“We love the sun,” he said, his dazzling eyes dancing. “We love to be able to look up at the sky and enjoy all that the planet has to offer. It is a beautiful thing.”
I said nothing more on the subject but allowed my mind to mull it over. It seemed kind of strange to me that the Raithers would care so much about an open sky, but then I supposed that there were many cultural and societal things that humans did that he wouldn’t really understand or appreciate either.
“Come now,” he said. “We really should be going. I am anxious to find my people.”
“Yes,” I said. “I know.”
***
“Human!”
My heart leaped to my throat, and I froze, my eyes wildly seeking the space around us for danger. The last time that Kecha’s voice had spoken with such urgency, I had nearly been obliterated by a fireball hurled from one of the most horrifying creatures I had ever seen.
“What is it?” I whispered hoarsely, unable to detect any immediate threats. I was frozen still though, unwilling to put myself in danger.
“Come! Look!”
My mind began to relax, but my body was still reeling from the adrenalizing promise of danger. I walked shakily to Kecha, who was kneeling in the dirt and peering down at the ground, his face stunned.
“It’s a piece of metal,” I said frowning, crouching beside Kecha and reaching out to touch it. The surface was cool and smooth, and soon we were working together to dig it out.
“Do you see this symbol?” Kecha asked, his voice nearly manic with excitement now. “This is a piece of my ship! The rest must be nearby somewhere! We’re saved!”
My heart began to pound in excitement, and we began to dig faster, fueled by the hysteric giddiness that had somehow begun to consume us both. All this time we had been searching in the wrong direction, and now we were finally getting somewhere. This was proof. Proof that getting home was still an option. I could be safe. I could return to Earth.
“This…this was the wing tip,” Kecha said once we had uncovered the majority of it. “But it has broken. The rest of it shouldn’t be too far off, but we will need to keep searching. It is something we can fix easily if we just find the rest of the ship!”
Kecha laughed out loud, a pleasant sound that seemed to come from his entire body. It was mesmerizing to see him so happy; it was an emotion he hadn’t been prone to experiencing during our long journey together. But now, both of us were ecstatic, and we sat on the ground together laughing as if we were nearly about to lose our minds. I had never been so relieved in all of my life. There was the possibility of escape now. Everything I had been worried I would lose was going to be all right. And I had this amazing alien man to thank for it. He was incredible. I owed him my life.
Suddenly, the thought that he was going to deposit me back on Earth and I was never going to see him again made me feel unbelievably sad. I looked at his handsome, happy face and wished for nothing more than the opportunity to stay by his side for as many days as we could possibly manage it. It seemed so cruel that we should have been born on separate planets, to different species, and that we would never see each other again after I was deposited back to my own planet. What was going to happen to the strange but powerful bond that we had shared? Where on Earth was I ever going to find a man who compared to him, either as a lover or as a protector?
And yet, I knew there was no other option. I had to return to my home planet. Whether I liked it or not, no bond was stronger than the one I shared with the land where I had been created and had spent the most important and formative years of my life. But it would have been nice if maybe that bond could have been shared with someone like the man who had guarded my life so fiercely that for the first time, I felt like a truly important person…
“Alice!”
My heart leaped into my throat at the sound of Mary’s voice. She ran toward me and embraced me, and I looked around, shocked to see my entire Research team surrounding us. “We thought you had died! I could have sworn that…that thing caught you!”
“The Jorgan,” I said, pulling away from Mary. I was a little bit uncomfortable with the physical attention, and although Mary and I had been friendly, the truth was that we had never actually been friends.
“What?” Mary asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“It’s called a Jorgan. I met someone who…”
“Human. Who is this?”
Suddenly, the group of women were pulling out makeshift weapons and getting themselves into a fighting stance, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.
“Stop, it’s okay!” I shouted, stepping between the mob and Kecha. The last thing I wanted to see was a lynching.
“We have made it a rule not to associate with anybody on this planet!”
Lauren’s voice grated on me instantly, and once again I remembered just how much I didn’t miss my peer group from Earth. Everything seemed to be a play for dominance, especially with Lauren.
“Well, you can take your rules and shove it!” I exclaimed. “I wasn’t there with you, and I know who I can trust.”
“Are you sure about that?” Lauren asked, narrowing her eyes at Kecha. “Nothing on this planet is trustworthy. Every single confrontation we have had has been a fight!”
“Well, that’s bad for you, but I have my own life. And I don’t need to be a part of any group that follows your lead!” I exclaimed.
Everyone seemed taken aback by this, even Kecha, who was clearly expecting me to join the human ranks once more. He seemed shocked that I would choose to stay with him over my own people, and to be honest, even I was a little bit surprised.
“Alice, think about what you’re saying…” Mary whispered.
But I was done listening. “I want you all to leave me alone and stay out of my life. I mean it!”
Mary seemed hurt, which made me feel a little bit guilty, but there was no helping it now. The last thing I wanted now, or ever, was to take orders from Lauren or any other human for as long as I lived.
“All right, human, let us go now then,” Kecha said, taking me by the arm. He gazed at each and every woman in my group, his multicolored eyes flashing menacingly. “And if any of you humans comes anywhere near my human, you will live to regret it.”
And with that, he led me away, leading all of us to wonder what the implications of his words meant and what this might mean when it came to my relationship with my own kind.