6
ARIX
Human emotions were a strange thing.
Karak shifting was not merely a physical transformation. Our atoms emulate the organism as best they can in every way, which is often necessary to reproduce the intellectual capabilities of the species. Otherwise our intrusion would be an obvious and failed attempt.
This meant our thoughts and emotions became similar--to a degree--to the organism itself.
It was a slow thing, not immediate. Data gathered from sources around the cabin, and from the humans with whom I interacted. As I spoke to Jo and gauged her reactions, my own human imitation became more and more flawless.
However, the emotions and needs I had after only 14 hours in this body was powerful. I was extremely hungry. My body still ached from being struck by Jo's truck last night, but accelerated Karak healing was quickly resolving that.
But my emotions?
Jo was a beautiful woman, my human brain instantly knew. And not in an intellectual sense, the way someone knows that one plus one is two, but in a sexual sense. Her raven-black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, though curled tufts popped out around her face where they weren't long enough to hold back. Her eyes were wide blue ovals, with sharp eyebrows that gave her a constant look of curiosity and amusement. The shape of her breasts were concealed beneath her coat but I could tell they were full, and her waist was thin before widening at the hips in a wonderful mathematic ratio.
I want to ravish Jo, I thought, emulating the language from the book she had left on her bedside table. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, feel the warmth of her skin...
More than that, I could see a flicker of sexual attraction in her own eyes. She stared at my sexual organ longer than was necessary, and her face turned a shade of red that indicated pleasure or embarrassment. Perhaps both.
And the most surprising thing about these human emotions of mine? Jo's obvious attraction to me only increased mine for her. A curious emotional reflection.
"Here's a pair of jeans and a cotton shirt," Jo said as she returned from her sleeping quarters. Bedroom, the word shifted into place in my mind. "Now, you're a pinch narrower than the man who once wore these, but the belt should help so long as you don't mind them bunching up."
Her face was no longer flushed, and as she handed me the clothes she very deliberately maintained eye contact. I felt my human face smiling back at her.
"Go on, then," she said, disappearing outside. I obeyed, then followed.
Her vehicle--her truck--was loaded with boxes and bags of supplies. Dried or frozen food products. Bottles of sugar-based alcohol. I carried them into her cabin and placed them where she told me, and then watched her unload them into cabinets and drawers.
"This is gunna sound like a weird question, so apologies for that up front," Jo said without looking at me. "But you wouldn't happen to be a model, would you?"
"A model what?" I asked.
"You know. A..." She trailed off, glancing at me once more but only for a moment. "Nevermind. Where are you from?"
I had been expecting this question.
"Buffalo, New York," I said, repeating the words I'd found on an envelope of paper filed away in one of Jo's cabinets. "I sell insurance."
"An insurance salesman," Jo said, voice strangely devoid of emotion. "Is that why you were walking around in the middle of nowhere last night?"
"I was lost. I was trying to find help."
She whirled on me. "If you wanted help, then why were you so resistant to being taken to the hospital?"
Emulating a movement from Jo's book, I ran a hand through my hair, feeling each individual strand fall back into place. "I don't know. I was confused last night. I am still confused today."
"I was afraid you had some sort of head wound," she muttered, placing cans on a shelf in the pantry. "Well. What we can do is get you into town this afternoon, let Leslie have a look at you. Take your statement about last night. Then I'll drop you off at the hospital. It's not really a hospital, more like a building with two medical beds and a half-educated nurse, but they've got the equipment to run some scans. Make sure you're okay."
She turned around and nodded in finality.
"And that will be that. They can take care of you from there."
This was not ideal for me.
I did not know what medical devices they had on this planet, but surely their technology was advanced enough to realize something was not right with my body. And I needed to stay here, to discern the damage to my spacecraft and find a way to contact home.
More than that, I was a scout for the Karak Dominion. It was in my nature to investigate the planets on my tour, gather information, and report them back for the greater glory of the Dominion. As unfortunate as my craft's crash was, it now provided me a unique opportunity which had to be taken advance of. I could not squander the opportunity to learn about humans first-hand.
I could not leave Jo's cabin. Not yet.
"Can I not stay here longer?" I asked.
She snorted. "Can't imagine why you'd want to."
I reached out.
Karak telepathy worked easily for most intelligent species, but with humans it seemed easier to use emotions. I reached out with my mind and touched Jo's softly, then once I felt the connection I poured emotions into it. Lust for her body, the curve of her hips underneath her jeans. My hands running up her side and to the swell of her breast, squeezing her tight, kissing the part of her neck where it met her clavicle. Removing her clothes frantically as if it were the most important task in the world and carrying her to the bed.
"I would prefer to stay here a few more days," I said out loud, voice as soft as the wind. "If that is okay with you."
Jo never turned around, but she stopped unpacking the bag and put both palms on the counter. I could feel how excited she was from across the kitchen, the heat coming off her sex like a lamp. She wanted me to take her right then, I could sense, but not to the bed: she wanted me right there in the kitchen with desperation. With her mind laid bare to me I could see the images her imagination manifested: me coming up behind her, pressing my body against hers. Pulling down her jeans and grabbing the meat of her buttocks in both hands, then licking up into her sex, spreading her lips wide with my tongue while she squirmed and moaned against the butcher block counter.
I danced with her imagination, guiding it with my own actions. Rising and picking her up by the waist and twisting her to sit on the counter, pulling her jeans and panties all the way off. Using my arms to spread her legs wide, opening her for my rock-hard cock. Rubbing it against her dripping slit as she groaned in ecstasy, the teasing of it almost too much for her to bear.
And somehow, my human emotions felt stronger than my Karak needs. My own sex was hard against my pants, and I desperately wanted to walk across the kitchen and make her imagination a reality. Only with carefully mustered willpower did I hold back.
I withdrew my telepathic bond and said, "I would prefer to say, but only if that's okay with you."
"If that's what you want," she said in a small voice, returning to her groceries. The space between us suddenly seemed cavernous.
"Thank you, Jo."
I returned to the truck to get the next load of groceries, the smell of Jo lingering in my nose like perfume.