Chapter Nine
The journey to the Refuge would take the entire planet rotation. The ship was barely operational and painfully slow. If it hadn’t been needed to pass through the Humanoid Alliance stopping points, he would have suggested they discard it and walk.
Once they’d put some distance between them and Mirage, Dare opened the back of the hauler a crack, allowing Vicuska to get some fresh air. The temperature climbed higher and higher. The Rebel agent must be dripping with sweat.
Faylee’s forehead glistened, his little human also warm…and a bit weary, her eyelids lowering.
His lips twitched. “I’ll fly the ship.”
She nodded, her expression drowsy. He switched seats with her, drawing her body over his, the contact exciting him.
He placed his hands on the console’s control panel, played with the settings. Nothing he did made the vessel move faster.
The route didn’t occupy his mind. It was a straight line from one settlement to the other. The terrain consisted of sand, sand, and more sand.
His Drache grew more and more uneasy, prowling around his insides, growling. Seeking to calm his beast, he hooked an arm around his mate’s waist and pulled her onto his lap.
“Hey.” She batted his chest. “You’re flying the ship.”
“I can fly the ship like this.” He didn’t like her modified voice and longed to hear her real one, but the device on her chest was necessary.
The Humanoid Alliance weren’t kind to females. Sounding like a boy made crossing the stopping points safer to do.
“Can you?” She shifted until she straddled him. The scent of her arousal battled the less-pleasing aromas.
“I can.” His primitive beast liked the combination of fragrances and didn’t mind the dirt. His cock pushed against the confines of his ass coverings. His attention was split between the female snuggling against him and the endless sand dunes stretching in front of the ship.
She slipped her hands under his chest covering. His muscles flexed as she brushed her fingertips over his abs. “Should we test that theory?”
“I can’t control my scales when you touch me.” He could barely think when she fondled him. Restraining his beast was far beyond his capabilities.
Faylee nuzzled against him, her mouth hot and wet and extremely arousing. “You told me Dracheons have superior senses.”
“We do.” All of his senses were enthralled by her.
“If you hear a ship approach, tell me and I’ll stop touching you.” She circled his flat male nipples and pleasure swept across his chest. “When we’re alone, I want your scales to show. They’re shiny.” She licked him and he shuddered. “I love shiny things.”
All of the pilfered objects in his little thief’s pockets had been shiny. She’d even snatched the glazed nourishment bars first.
“Your mission is to fly the ship while I’m sitting on your lap.” She swiveled her hips, rubbing against his cloth-covered shaft and a rumble erupted from his lips.
“Sitting implies being still.” His voice deepened.
“If I’m never still, I’ll never be caught.” She drifted her fingers over his chest, her exploring driving him wild. “Keep your palms on the console’s control panel.”
He’d believed his parents had done everything to try to increase his control. He was wrong. His tiny mate had found another way to push his limits.
She rocked against him, her back arched, her hands all over him. Pressure formed at the base of his spine. He exhaled smoke, his body temperature spiraling upward.
“You’re so warm.” She toyed with the waistband of his ass coverings, skimming her fingers between the fabric and his scales. “So hard.”
He shifted under her, unable to stay still. “For a female who had never been kissed, you know how to talk dirty.” She could make him come with mere words.
“I’m inexperienced, not innocent.” Her hands delved lower. “I’ve watched pleasure workers service males for solar cycles.”
He envisioned his mate spying on couples from the shadows, her big brown eyes wide, her cheeks flushed. His cock bobbed. “Did it arouse you?”
“It frustrated me because I couldn’t have what they had.” She unfastened his ass coverings, was unable to free much of him. “No one could know I was female.” Her fingertips grazed his sensitive tip, poked into his slit.
He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to take his hands off the console and direct her movements. “You can have me. I know you’re female.”
“I plan to have you.” She sank to her knees before him, positioning herself between his legs, her face a breath away from the bulge in his ass coverings. “If I can figure out how to access your cock.”
“My cock is yours.” He lifted his hips.
She pulled the leather to his thighs, sat back on her boot heels and stared at him. “You have scales there too and they’re shiny.”
His groin had been covered with the leather. It was clean.
“They call me to you.” She curled her fingers around his shaft, gripping him gingerly as though she didn’t want to hurt him.
He groaned.
“Am I hurting you?” She loosened her hold.
“No. Grip me tighter.” He prompted. “I’m not fragile.”
“Are you certain?” She adjusted her clasp on him, the pressure exquisite. “Males seem fragile. When the boys get kicked in the balls, they squeal.”
“I’m certain.” He tilted his head back, amused by his mate’s insights, stimulated by her touch. “My cock can take more.”
“Hmmm…” She slowly pumped him, her beautiful face intense with concentration, her gaze fixed on that part of him.
His Drache wanted to focus on her also. He couldn’t do that. He had to pass his female’s test, keep their ship on its path, move them closer and closer to the Refuge, where Faylee would be safe.
She stroked him up and down, up and down, running her palms along his length. The sun’s rays shone on her black hair. Metal rattled.
The ship was their private oasis in a sea of sand. There was only her and him and the blue sky above them.
The starkness of the terrain was suited to them. Her hold on him felt right. They were both uncivilized beings, had been solitary for far too long.
“Am I doing this correctly?” She glanced up at him through her shaggy hair, her eyes large with concern.
“You’re perfect, mate.” If she did him more correctly, he’d come in her hands.
She glowed, worked him harder. A bead of pre-cum formed on his cock head. She swiped her thumb over it and sucked in her breath. “It sizzles.”
“Dracheons run hot.” His cum was too warm for his female’s delicate human tongue. “Pleasure me with your hands this first time.” He’d enjoy her mouth after she transformed. “That’s all I need.”
She was his mate. His nerve endings danced with her touch, his awareness of her, of her caresses, her scent, her sounds amplified.
She moved her palms along him. He lifted his hips, pushing into her hands, seeking more contact, more softness, more her. His beast clawed at his insides, desperate to be fully free.
Faylee gazed at him with wonder, with appreciation. In her eyes, he wasn’t damaged, a Dracheon with control issues. He was invincible, a warrior without equal.
She folded her right hand over his balls and his entire body stiffened. He clung to the edge of release, not wanting to plunge into that abyss yet unable to stop the momentum, the surge of need sweeping over him.
If she remained still for a moment—three heartbeats—he could control himself. He could—
She squeezed and he roared, flames shooting from his lips, cum jetting from his tip. The orange-and-red inferno billowing against the transparent wind blocker was nothing compared to the vortex of bliss inside him. He thrust upward, blindly splashing his essence over her hands, his skin.
She extracted every last drop from him, rolling the exquisite pressure of her hands up his shaft. His Drache was under her thrall, unable to resist her. Ecstasy wrapped around him.
He held his stance as long as he could and then fell, his ass smacking against the wreck of a seat. His eyes closed.
“Dare.” She smacked his thighs. “You’re flying the ship.”
Fraggin’ hole. His eyes opened, the pleasure-infused haze immediately clearing. The ship puttered along at its same slow speed, not verging from its linear path.
They hadn’t crashed. Relief washed over him. His mate remained unharmed.
“I kept my hands on the console.” He’d passed her test.
“That was mere luck.” She tore a strip off her chest covering, used the fabric to clean him.
He didn’t say anything because it had been mere luck. They could have flown into a black hole and he wouldn’t have noticed.
“It still counts though.” She grinned at him. “You succeeded in your mission.”
He’d succeed in all of his missions. They would arrive at the Refuge safely. He would protect his mate.
***
The sun was touching the horizon when Dare spotted the wall of sand. It took a few more moments for his mate, with her human vision, to see it.
“What is that?” Her mouth dropped open.
“Kralj, the Ruler of the Refuge, can move objects with his mind.” His leader could also read thoughts. “That’s the border to his terrain. Beings can cross it only with his permission.”
Once they were past that point, they were safe.
He leaned forward, pressing his chest against his mate’s back, peering at the scene before them. “The Humanoid Alliance are waiting for us.” He lifted Faylee off his lap, shifted his body to the other seat. “We’ll have to shoot our way through this stopping point.”
“Talking our way through the stopping point worked last time.” She placed her palms on the control panel.
“There are three Humanoid Alliance males standing by the border, guns in their hands, a new ship behind them.” The males must have already seen them. They had positioned their blockade in the hauler’s direct path. “There are at least eighteen other vessels, all different types, located around them.”
Her eyes widened. “They’re killing the beings they’re stopping.”
“That was my conclusion also.” Dare drew two of his guns, holding one in each hand. He hid the weapons under the black cloth covering his head, shoulders, chest. “I can only kill two beings at a time. There are three of them.”
“Don’t shoot until they approach us.” Faylee’s eyebrows lowered. “I’ll distract the one closest to me.”
He didn’t like the idea of any male being near his mate. “What do you plan to do?”
“What I do best.” Her smile held mystery. Her message required no interpretation.
She planned to steal from the Humanoid Alliance male. His little thief would likely take a weapon.
He didn’t like it. She was putting herself in danger. But a missing gun could slow the enemy’s response. Dare merely needed a heartbeat’s delay to kill all three males.
He knocked on the back of the hauler, warning the Rebel agent of the upcoming confrontation. Metal banged against metal as she closed the space.
“Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” he told his mate.
“Like leaving everything and everyone I ever knew behind me and driving straight into a Humanoid Alliance ambush?” Faylee’s tone was sarcastic. “I’ll try not to.”
He grinned, appreciating her sense of humor.
His grin faded as they neared the Humanoid Alliance males. They had the power stances and irritating smirks all bullies and brutes sported. He’d faced many of their type on his home planet.
One male remained close to the Humanoid Alliance ship, his fingers on his triggers. The other two males swaggered toward the hauler, the biggest one targeting Faylee.
Dare couldn’t stop his Drache from rising to the surface and he didn’t try. Anyone looking at him closely would be able to determine his lineage. The grime hid the shine of his scales, not the fine ridges.
He doubted his identity would make a difference. The air smelled of blood, of death. The males planned to kill them, whether they were the beings they hunted or complete innocents.
The ship creaked to a stop. The big Humanoid Alliance male leaned over Faylee’s side, pointing his gun in her face. “What do you have in the back?”
“Rottin’ vegs, shit, dead things, all the stuff ye fancy arses ain’t wantin’.” His female utilized the same words that had worked the first time. “Goin’ to the Refuge. They got more shit there.” She ran her hands along the male’s gun. “This be a fancy piece. What’d cost ye?”
“I killed some beings for it.” The male pushed the muzzle under her chin. “I like killing beings.”
Fraggin’ hole. Dare adjusted his aim under the covering cloth, preparing to fire. He would slice the male’s hands off for threatening his female.
His fearless mate smiled, smiled in the bastard’s face. “That be good news fer me. If ye have any dead things, put ‘em in the back.” She bumped the gun as she waved behind her. “If ye fill it, I ain’t gotta go to the Refuge.”
“I’ll fill it.” The male drew his gun back. “With—”
Dare blasted the other two males with projectiles, targeting the middle of their foreheads, each entry wound perfectly placed. Their attention had been on their friend. They didn’t raise their weapons.
The brute threating Faylee had time to react. He pressed the trigger of his gun. Nothing happened. He looked down at the weapon.
Dare shot the male between the eyes. The enemy fell backward, his arms and legs gyrating, blood gushing on the white sand.
The death was too fast, too clean for his beast. He leaped out of the ship. His claws extended. He swiped the tips over the male’s arms and legs, severing those limbs.
His Drache demanded more. He clicked his back teeth, sparking his fire, and blazed the flames over his dead adversary.
Flesh crackled. Hair sizzled. He inhaled deeply, the scent of scorched being flavoring the air. The other two males would burn also. They—
“Dare.”
Faylee’s whisper had the impact of a scream, cutting through his killing haze. He spun around.
She shook in her seat, her lips white.
His little human was in shock. She needed him.
“You’re safe.” Dare lifted his mate, climbed into the chair, set her on his lap. “No one will hurt you.” He rubbed her back. “They’re all dead.”
“There c-c-could be more of them.” Her teeth clattered.
“There aren’t any more Humanoid Alliance males.” But he’d take precautions. He reached over and tapped the control panel, putting the ship into forward motion. “I will always protect you.” He paused. “I might need your help as I did this planet rotation.” He admitted to that necessity. “But I will always safeguard you.”
“I p-pushed the lever on his gun to the off setting.” She peeked up at him through her hair, her expression adorably naughty.
Dare chuckled. “You’re a clever female.” He hugged her close to him, grateful she was his, relieved she was safe.
Moments passed. He held her.
“No one believes I’m female,” she whispered.
“They see what they want to see.” He parted her chest covering. “We can remove this now.” He detached the voice-changing device from her skin.
“Don’t destroy it.” She snatched the device from him.
He hadn’t planned to destroy it. “You don’t need it.”
“We don’t know that.” She slipped it into one of her many pockets. “And it was a gift from a friend, the only gift I’ve ever received.”
He opened his mouth to argue with her. She had his dagger.
But she’d stolen that weapon. He hadn’t given it to her.
Dare mentally listed the objects she had of his. They were all stolen.
Although the sunstones had been bestowed freely, he had specifically told his mate they were for the boys, her young friends. He hadn’t indicated she could keep some of them.
She had nothing, was painfully poor, yet he hadn’t rectified that situation, hadn’t treated her to a single trinket.
Fraggin’ hole. He was unworthy of her.
When they reached the Refuge, he’d lavish gifts on his mate. She wouldn’t want for anything. He would make that a mission of his.
Their current mission was coming to a completion. The wall of sand lowered as the ship touched it. The knot of tension in Dare’s nape unraveled as they crossed the border. His female was safe.
Ghostly fingers caressed his mind.
Faylee touched her forehead. “What is happening?”
“Kralj, the Refuge’s Ruler, is reading our thoughts.” The modified humanoid could do that without being detected. He was notifying them as a courtesy.
She swallowed. Hard. “He’ll know everything about me?”
Dare nodded. “He knows things about me I don’t know.” He thought about the impact of the Ruler’s abilities on his little thief. “Don’t steal from Kralj, mate. He’ll view any theft of his property as a form of disrespect.” His all-powerful leader wouldn’t react well to that. “He kills beings who disrespect him.”
“I-I’ll try.” She wrapped his arms around her. “Sometimes I can’t stop myself.” Her voice lowered more and more, as though she were ashamed of her words. “I do it without thinking. I see something shiny and the next moment, it is in my hands.” She opened her palms, revealing the packet of sunstones he’d hidden in his holster. “Sorry.”
“Keep it.” He closed her fingers over the packet. “Consider it to be a gift.” It would be the first one he’d give her.
“Will Kralj be that understanding?” she whispered.
“No.” He was blunt. If she stole from the Ruler, they’d both end up dead…because Kralj would have to kill him to reach her.
“This is going to be difficult.” His tiny mate slumped.
“Yes, it will be.” And life would be even more challenging for her on Dracheon. “You’re clever, mate. You’ll adjust.”
“It doesn’t appear like I have a choice,” she grumbled.