It was a long time walking until they came to a stop for the night. Krayter hadn’t heard or seen any sign that the drones had pierced the force field, and nothing suggested that they were being followed by guards from the settlement, but it still felt like eyes crawled up and down his back, trying to catch them at their most vulnerable.

Penny was the one who chose the spot, a small patch of ground encircled by tall trees that provided a little bit of cover. They walked deep into the woods, away from the path, to find the sleeping area. But Penny had laid a subtle trail so they’d be able to find the road again come morning.

Krayter set his weapons beside a sleeping bag they’d let him borrow. He hadn’t been lying when he spoke of his weapon prowess—or lack thereof. But he knew it was a fool’s errand to try to sleep with a blaster holstered on his hip. He could almost imagine the tangle of blankets he’d need to fight before he could take out any threats.

They’d placed a heating block in a circle of stones to provide warmth and a little bit of light. It didn’t go bright like a fire, and there wasn’t any smoke, so no one from a distance would see where they’d set up camp. Resa and Nicole leaned against one another and poked at food they’d placed on the block to heat it up. He’d grabbed something from their food stash that didn’t need preparation. Though protein meal bars were one of the least palatable things he’d ever forced down, they’d keep him full.

The air swirled around him, bringing the sweet scent of whatever soap Penny used. She settled in beside him, the white wrapper of a familiar protein bar clutched in her hand.

“No food for you?” Krayter asked, watching as she balled up the material and put it in their temporary trash bag.

Penny leaned back against a large rock and broke off a piece of the protein bar, chewing carefully and grimacing at the less than natural texture. “The girls need it more. I can take a few days of rations.” They’d packed away most of the easily transportable food at Penny’s house, but protein bars were the easiest food of all to carry. Resa and Nicole would only be able to enjoy their jerky, cheese, and fruit for another day before they ran out.

They ate their ration bars quietly while Nicole and Resa ate dinner on the other side of the fire log. The girls were quiet and a little too far away to hear anything louder than a murmur.

Following the girls’ example, Krayter kept his own voice low. “How’s your head?” he asked. The regen gel had taken care of most of her bruise, but Penny’s face was still a little swollen and the skin under her eye was a sallow yellow.

She finished off the last bite of her protein bar and brushed her hand against her leg to wipe off the crumbs. “My ears stopped ringing a while ago, so I think that’s a good sign.”

“Good.” Krayter would gladly sit under a hail of blaster fire again if it meant he didn’t need to pull her unconscious out of any more vehicles.

Resa stood and deposited a wrapper in the garbage before stepping out towards the woods.

“Where are you going?” Penny asked, sitting up straight and just about springing off her feet to go after her sister.

“Um, I need to pee?” Resa crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as she said it, every bit the youngest sister. Krayter’s chest ached as he thought of his own family, so far away.

Penny started to push off her seat. “I’ll show you where─”

“I can find it, don’t worry about me,” Resa interrupted. Before Penny could stop her, she ducked into the trees and took off.

Penny looked over to Nicole and nodded in Resa’s direction. Without a word, the older girl followed her sister.

“It’s been a long day,” Krayter observed. The girls were tired and had to be sore. Tempers got short in those conditions.

Penny sighed and leaned back against the rock once more. “And they’ve both reached big sister saturation point.” She smiled and turned her head towards him. “I love them to death, but I’ll be happy for a few minutes alone.” Some tension seemed to dissipate from her shoulders and she rolled her head back, letting it rest against the rock.

Alone? Suddenly nervous, Krayter looked around for a spot from which he could give her space. “I can sit over there…” He pointed a few feet away, in between where he now sat and where the girls had been.

“I meant away from them.” Penny kept smiling and laid her hand on his thigh to keep him from moving. “I haven’t reached Krayter saturation point.” Her eyes widened as the words tumbled out and she snapped her mouth shut and bowed her head, hiding a blush that was all but invisible in the dark.

Delight poured through him. Krayter placed his hand over hers before dancing his fingers up her arm and over her neck. He pulled her close, their sides flush up against one another, and Penny snuggled into him.

She turned, and his lips came down on her, devouring like a starved man. She was heat and warmth and everything he’d come to this world to find. His arm was pinned to the rock, but that didn’t matter. Her tongue darted out playfully, tracing the edge of his lower lip in a bold exploration.

Krayter groaned and leaned into her, the press of her fingers against his thigh hot enough to burn steel. All she needed to do was slide her hand up the tiniest fraction and he’d be putty in her fingers.

Very hard putty.

He opened his lips, inviting her in, meeting her halfway and taking her taste into himself. He wanted to lick her from head to toe, and spend a lot of time in between, tasting the heat of her sex as she squirmed under him. He’d make any promise to do it, vow any oath. So long as she was his at the end.

Her fingers curled and Krayter had to leash everything that strained to buck against her, to push her back and lay her on the cold ground beneath him. But no, their first time wouldn’t be a hurried coupling on packed dirt, the danger of armed men riding them hard.

Especially not with her sisters only a few dozen feet away.

With more discipline than he knew he possessed, Krayter pulled back, putting just a little space between them. His arm still circled her shoulders and he laid his forehead against hers. “I’d trade a lot for fifteen uninterrupted minutes,” he confessed, swiping one last, selfish kiss for himself.

Penny’s lips curled against his. “I’d demand at least an hour.” She lifted her hand from his thigh and Krayter almost cursed, but then she laced her fingers through his free hand, heedless of the claws she had to know were just under the surface.

Krayter’s heart threatened to pound out of his chest. She wanted him. She’d wanted him for some time, but this was more than a stolen, secret kiss. Her sisters could walk back at any moment, and still she laced her fingers with his, heedless of the potential teasing. He contemplated speaking of the denya bond. Even though they hadn’t known each other long, he felt like he was lying to her by keeping it a secret. She had a right to know who she was to him.

But before he could open his mouth to confess, Resa and Nicole walked out of the forest. Resa dug in her bag and grabbed some hand sanitizer, slathering the gel over her fingers and chucking the container back towards her pack. Neither she nor Nicole paid any attention to him or Penny. They laid down in their sleeping bags and were soon muttering back and forth again, not loud enough to be heard.

“We should set up a watch,” Penny suggested, squeezing his fingers. “I had to ditch all of our electronics with the truck. Too much risk of being tracked. So if you and I each take a shift, that should get us through the night.”

With no electronics, they couldn’t both get a full night’s sleep. But it would be just as bad if one of them sacrificed a whole night of sleep and tried to operate at full speed in the morning. “I can take the first. You should get some sleep, see if your head feels better.” Krayter was in the best shape out of the two of them. And he knew from helping his brother recover from a head wound that sleep could be the best medicine. Even just a few hours.

Penny stood and pulled him up after her. “I’ll show you the path to a good observation spot. I’ve marked it so you can find your way back.” They walked down a path back towards the road and she pointed out several white rocks she’d placed at intervals, so neither he nor Penny would get lost in the woods.

The giggles of the two girls followed them into the woods. Krayter ignored it as he and Penny disappeared from the sight of the fire brick.

“You can’t see the road from here, but you should be able to hear anyone that’s coming. We just need a little warning. Do you have the blaster?” She didn’t mention that he wasn’t experienced using it.

Krayter patted the holster. “I’ll come wake you in a few hours.”

Penny bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder back towards their camp. In the dark, she was little more than the suggestion of a person, shadows and a glint of teeth. She looked back at him and stood on tiptoes, kissing him quickly before dissolving back into the night.

The moment she disappeared, the air grew colder and Krayter shivered. He pulled his jacket tight across himself and sat back against a tree, trying for a little comfort. But not too much. He didn’t want to end up sleeping.

In the dark chill, his mind wandered. By now, his brother Kayleb had to be concerned. Though they weren’t joined at the hip, a day hadn’t passed where they hadn’t seen one another. Not until today. Yesterday. He wasn’t quite sure of how long he’d been gone, but it was long enough. Would Kayleb trust the authorities and report him missing? Or would he begin the search himself?

They’d meant to come to Earth with their cousin, Ruwen, and his denya, a human woman named Lis. But something had delayed them on the final leg of Krayter and Kayleb’s journey and they’d gone on without them. So Kayleb had no one in New York he could depend on.

Even worse, Krayter worried for his brother’s health. Kayleb had sustained a traumatic head wound during the course of the pirate battle on their journey to Earth from Jaaxis. He’d said he was fine, but there were moments when he wasn’t as quick with words as he’d once been, and his memory suffered. The doctor he’d seen had cautioned that all he needed was rest and time. But the stress of Krayter’s disappearance could push back Kayleb’s recovery.

Showing up in New York with Penny could be a balm. They’d come to New York to find mates. If Krayter was successful in a matter of weeks, that would have to give Kayleb some hope.

If Krayter could convince Penny that she should give him a chance.

His cock stirred as he thought of her and the memory of her lips was a ghost against his own. He ran his hand over the seam of his pants, trying to get himself under control. But that, of course, was a mistake. He bit back a groan as he grew harder, imagining what his denya would look like if she were sitting out here, watching him. Would her eyes grow heavy and dark, full of arousal as he brought himself off thinking of her? Would she lick her lips, thinking of the places that she could put her tongue to good use?

Krayter rubbed a little harder, the friction of his clothes adding a layer to the pleasure, something different than his own hand for a change. Penny’s hand was the change he wanted, her slim fingers wrapped around him, sliding up and down steadily, gripping him tight enough to show that she had the control.

He’d been at her mercy once, and now the memory sprang back to life as he freed his cock, opening the fly of his pants, despite the cold air. Would she be a harsh mistress? Denying him release as she took her own pleasure, naked and panting before him while he was bound and at her mercy.

Bed games had always been fun, and Krayter played it both ways, dominator and dominated. Now he could imagine himself bound at Penny’s feet. And once the tables were turned, he’d torture her sweetly, bringing her to the heights of pleasure while he controlled every sensation she felt.

With a jerk, he released, spurting out as he imagined Penny gasping his name, her sex spasming around him as he pumped into her, unloading himself into her tight sheath. Krayter leaned back, gasping as he came back to himself. He looked down at his softening cock and felt his cheeks heat.

If he’d been a military man, there would have been a punishment for this. And not the kind he’d just imagined. He quickly cleaned himself off and put his pants back to rights, thanking all the gods that no one had stumbled upon him while he’d been in such a vulnerable state.

He kept his mind on less heated images as the minutes ticked by quietly, his only company the wind in the trees. When his timer buzzed later, he jerked up from a half-doze. He shook his head to wake himself up and quickly looked around. There was no one there.

He followed the rocks back to camp and found Penny and the girls as he’d left them. Penny’s sleeping bag was twisted around her legs as if she’d been rolling around and Krayter briefly wondered if she’d…

No. He wasn’t going there now. Not in the middle of the night when it was time to change shifts.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her, rousing her from sleep. Her hair was in a halo all around her and as she rose to consciousness, she moaned, the sound going straight to his eager cock.

“It’s time?” she mumbled, barely audible.

Krayter kissed her forehead. “It’s time.”

She blew out a breath and pushed the sleeping bag down, crawling out of it. He pretended not to notice that she discreetly readjusted her jeans and pulled up the zipper, still refusing to think of what that could imply.

Penny grabbed a caffeinated drink from her bag and opened it, tipping it back and swallowing hungrily. With a gasp, she lowered the empty bottle and put it in their trash. “Mornings suck,” she told him.

Krayter laughed as he climbed into his own sleeping bag. “I’d much rather you were laying in here with me. But the watch is important.”

She looked at him and his sleeping bag for several long seconds, but finally shook her head. “You’re right. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

And then she was gone without even a kiss. Krayter quickly fell into a black, dreamless sleep.

Hours later, he cracked open his eyes as a crowing bird went abruptly silent. He looked up just in time to see the barrel of a rifle aim right between his eyes from two feet away.

They were doomed.