Chapter Seventeen
Qulpa had never seen anything sexier or more terrifying than his gerel engaged in a claw-to-claw standoff with their enemy. She had looked so strong and fierce, brave and beautiful.
He was the envy of every other warrior. His chest had expanded with pride.
No one watching her would ever question her worth or her ability to fulfill her role. Her mechanical claws had sliced through Urus’ natural weapons as though they were carving air.
All he could do was stand behind her and watch.
As he watched her now. She smiled up at him, her face glowing.
He was a lucky male. She was his. All his. He clasped her leather-covered palms, pulled her to him. Their bodies smacked together. He lowered his head.
A movement behind her caught his attention. Urus had retracted his claw stumps, reached for his guns.
“No.” Qulpa pushed his gerel out of danger, his first instinct to protect her. That accomplished, he extended his claws, rushed forward and swept those sharp tips over the male’s wrists.
Urus’ hands dropped to the floor. His severed fingers twitched. Blood spurted, the scent appealing to Qulpa’s inner barbarian, the primitive side of him.
The male shrieked, staggering out of range. He waved his arms, spraying those close to him with crimson.
The other warriors stepped back. Qulpa stepped forward.
“Our Warlord gave you the simple task of safely transporting our Head of Ship and Weapons Design to a nearby settlement.” He would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind of the male’s guilt. “Instead you attacked her.”
Nayan touched her neck, bringing attention to her bruises and blisters. The crowd murmured their disapproval, shifting around them.
Urus would find no sympathy from his fellow Chameles.
“You willfully disobeyed our Warlord’s orders and you harmed my gerel.” Both charges were dishonorable acts, giving Qulpa the right to end the offender’s lifespan. “For that, you will die.”
Heads bobbed, their audience agreeing with that verdict. It was the Chamele way.
“It is my right as Head of Ship and Weapons Design’s warrior to kill you.” Qulpa circled Urus. “Your death won’t be swift.” He’d make an example of the male. That would lessen the possibility another warrior would target his gerel. “You will hurt badly for your offences.”
He grazed his claws over the back of Urus’ legs, cutting through the tendons, ensuring he couldn’t run, couldn’t escape justice. His target, his prey, toppled to his knees, whimpering.
“A warrior protects his gerel.” He said that for Nayan as he striped the male’s cheeks with crimson lines.
A high-pitched trill accompanied Urus’ screams. Hitch must have deemed it safe to emerge from his hiding place. The little bot rushed up his enemy’s body and poked him in the right eye with his tiny metal feet.
Urus’ arms raised. Qulpa jabbed his claws into the male’s shoulders and his arms dropped once more, those limbs rendered unusable.
Next, the male tried to shake Hitch off him. He was unable to do that. The bot was fastened to his eyelid and intent on partially blinding him.
Qulpa was intent on killing the male. Positioning himself so both his gerel and the bot his female adored remained in his view, he slowly, carefully shaved the skin off his target’s arms, back, chest.
The violence-loving crowd gathered around them. Some of the warriors gave him suggestions on where to strike next.
Qulpa preferred to kill quickly, reducing his prey’s pain. But the torture was necessary to safeguard Nayan, to prevent future deaths.
And he was angry, really, really angry. The male had attacked his gerel…multiple times. Qulpa removed Urus’ ears. He had hurt her.
And now Qulpa hurt him. A pool of blood formed around his prey. The male screamed and screamed.
Everyone in the structure, and soon, the settlement, would hear of Qulpa’s vengeance. They would know if they touched Nayan, they would die…slowly and painfully.
He carved pieces off his target until the male lost consciousness, slumping forward. Qulpa straddled his body. “This is for my gerel.” He stabbed his rival through the back, piercing his heart.
The other warriors cheered. Qulpa felt relief but no joy. The threat to his gerel had passed. He retracted his claws, scooped Hitch up, placing the bot on his shoulder and strode toward Nayan.
She gazed up at him, concern shining from her eyes. “Can we go home now?”
“We can go home.” He lifted her into his arms, nodded at Second and Lead Medic, and strode in the direction of the laboratory.
Their enemy was dead. He wanted to touch her, to physically reassure himself his gerel was safe.
And he needed her. The excitement of the fight continued to course through him. His cock was hard. He breathed deeply. She smelled good.
His pace quickened.
* * *
The laboratory was frustratingly inaccessible at the moment.
Qulpa stood on the threshold, Nayan pressed against his chest, Hitch perched on his shoulder, and looked around them.
“Oh no.” His gerel’s mouth dropped open.
Their mechanical army had barricaded the space with every movable object. He counted thirty-two guns fastened to the ceiling, operated by drones. Bots marched back and forth, carrying more weapons.
Tubby rolled up to them, his eyes flashing. He resembled a warrior looking for an update on the war.
Qulpa would give him one. “The war is over. The bad male has been defeated.”
“We won.” His gerel raised her arms in triumph. “No one will stomp on you ever again.”
The space exploded with beeps and whistles and twills. Bots dropped their weapons, gathered excitedly around them. Drones left their posts, zipping in fast circles over their heads.
Hitch jumped onto a multi-level support and chirped, his forelegs waving. That distracted the mechanical creations. They drifted toward the little bot.
“He’s taking all of the credit for the victory.” Nayan shook her head.
“He can have the credit.” Qulpa kicked a hole in the barricade. “As long as I have you.” He carried her toward their sleeping support.
“You always have me.” She smiled up at him.
He had almost lost her…again. Her strength and her ingenuity had saved her.
While he had failed her. Drawn into a conversation that was important but not as important as she was, he’d taken his gaze off her for a moment and Urus had struck. “I didn’t keep you safe this planet rotation.”
“I was safe.” She cupped his cheeks with her leather-clad hands. “He was attacking you, not me. You were in a heated discussion with Second and others. I protected you…as a gerel should protect her warrior.”
She was the best of gerels. He was fortunate to claim her as his.
“Lead Medic’s mother, now no longer with us, had designed the ships I entered into your system.” He explained why he had been distracted. “Second wants one of those ships to be manufactured.” He slid his gerel’s body over his, lowering her booted feet to the floor. “He’d like to surprise her with it.”
Manufacturing a ship required vast resources. Second needed their Warlord’s approval for his surprise. He wanted Qulpa’s insights and hinted at seeking Nayan’s support.
“Did you tell Second one of those designs was already being considered as inspiration for a new ship?” She leaned against him.
That wasn’t his information to tell. “I told him I would speak with you.” He ran his hands down her back, over her ass, reveling in her form. “That ultimately it was your decision. You would determine which ship design is best for the fleet.”
Her forehead wrinkled. His gerel’s fingers danced across his abs as she thought. His muscles rippled, his body responding to her touch.
“The design will be modified, but I could keep the exterior the same.” A fervent kiss on his chest followed her decision, her mouth hot against his skin. “The shape is…interesting.”
Lead Medic wasn’t a ship designer. It was unlikely she would notice if the engines and other interior characteristics were changed.
“Your shape captivates me.” He unfastened his gerel’s body covering, slid the garment over her shoulders. “Your scent drives me wild.” He breathed in her intoxicating musk. “But it was your mind that first turned me on.”
“My mind?” She lifted her eyebrows. “How is that possible? You were turned on before we spoke.” She skimmed her fingertips along the waistband of his ass coverings.
His cock bobbed. She was referring to their first meeting.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but I adored you long before we first spoke.” He lowered his head, grazing his teeth over her neck and she trembled. “I fell in love with your designs, with your mind, the little details you add to your creations, your way of thinking, your personality. It’s in everything you do.”
“You fell in love?” Her voice was breathless, as though she didn’t believe his words.
He’d convince her of his caring. “I fell hopelessly and irreversibly in love with you.” He licked the bite mark he’d previously left on her skin, his visible claim on her. “The more I uncovered about you, the more of your secrets you shared with me, the deeper I fell. I love everything about you—the challenges you’ve overcome, the kindness you show to your bots, how you protect me—a being who doesn’t need protection, the way you furrow your forehead when you’re tackling a problem.”
“Zondoo.” She stared up at him, her eyes dark with desire. “I need you inside me. Now.”
She turned around, stripped off her body covering and bent over, grasping the sleeping support with her hands, her curvy ass in the air.
Qulpa’s mouth dried. His cock pressed against his ass coverings. She was the most gorgeous being he’d ever seen.
And she was his.
“Once I’m inside you, I won’t last long.” He wanted her too much, had no willpower around her.
Seeking to make her as crazed as she made him, he nudged her booted feet farther apart. Her pussy lips glistened. He’d cause them to drip.
Sweeping her long black hair over her left shoulder, he mouthed along the scars on her back, laving with his tongue the proof of her strength, her fortitude.
She wiggled, grinding against him. He hooked one of his arms around her, glided his palm down her stomach, over her mons. His fingertips touched her wetness and she jerked.
“Easy.” He cooed that against her marred skin, stroked her softness with his fingers. “You’re safe. I have you.” He repeated what he’d said that first moment they met.
“Yes, have me.” She moaned, undulating under him. “Have me now.”
“I’ll always have you.” He lavished her with his adoration, pressing kisses into her scars, pushing one of his mechanical fingers into her pussy hole. Her inner walls constricted around him, the most intimate of hugs.
He gyrated his finger as fast as he could, faster than would have been possible with the organic version. She emitted a high pitch sound.
He grinned. His own urgent passions could wait. He teased her clit with his thumb. Pleasing her was his sole focus. She would know how much he loved her, would feel it throughout her form.
“Qulpa.” She rocked against his hand, her face flushing with desire. Her hair hung down, the straight tendrils swaying with the movement, shining under the lights.
He added a finger, stretching her open, preparing her for his cock, and she whimpered, rutting against him with more vigor. Her juices streamed over his skin, branding him with her scent.
He’d smell like her, like the female he loved. That realization aroused him so much his balls ached for release. He sucked on her shoulder, adding another mark of ownership on her body.
“Need. Your cock.” His gerel panted. “Close.”
“You won’t come without me.” He removed his fingers with a wet pop, flipped his ass coverings upward, freeing himself.
The cool chamber air couldn’t decrease the heat of his wanting. He burned for her. And she was on fire for him.
He prodded her tight pussy hole with his tip, aligning himself. His fingers folded over her hips, holding her in place.
“You’re mine, Nayan.” He thrust, hard, burying himself in his wet, warm female up to his ridged base.
“Yes.” She called out her surrender, arching her back.
Zondoo. She was magnificent. He gritted his teeth, barely holding on to his restraint. Pressure formed at the base of his spine.
He withdrew to his rim, drove deep, withdrew to his rim, drove deep. The sleeping support smacked against the wall. His hips slapped her ass, causing her to jiggle enticingly.
“Yes. Yes.” She pushed backward as he lunged forward, meeting him halfway, his equal, his everything.
They crashed together and came apart, that mind-shattering combination occurring again and again. He grunted, rivulets of sweat flowing over his physique. His muscles flexed. His hold on her intensified.
While inside her, he was home. She was his family, had given him more than he could ever repay, and he would dedicate his lifespan to cherishing her, protecting her, supporting her as she cherished, protected, supported him.
“Love.” His feelings for her couldn’t be contained. They spilled out of his lips. “Love.” He expressed his caring for her, repeating that emotion-laden word, while they rutted like two savage beings, battling for sexual satisfaction.
The link between them tightened, binding them together. Her body glowed, slicked by their exertion. Her golden skin was tinted pink.
She wore her hand coverings. In their rush to rut, she hadn’t removed them. Her bared fingernails dug into the sleeping support, slender yet strong.
His fingers, organic and mechanical, remained on her hips as he pounded into her, the smack, smack, smack of that connection excitingly loud in the chamber. Her inner walls constricted around him. The ridge at the base of his cock expanded.
She was hot and wet and so very snug, gripping his shaft, engulfing him, a physical representation of her ardent affection, her passion, her caring.
“Love.” Her voice joined his, echoing his call. “Love.” It was the sweetest song, a verbal confirmation of their link, further stripping his restraint.
“Can’t.” He couldn’t last. All of him pulled tight. “Can’t.” He was as taut as a bowstring, was one pluck away from breaking. Only she could give him release, set him free.
“Come. For me. Warrior.” She panted her permission. “Come. Now.” She clenched down on his cock.
He howled and drove deeper into her. Cum shot from his tip. He dropped his head and bit the spot he’d previously marked.
His teeth broke skin. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, crazing the barbarian in him.
She screamed her satisfaction, bucked and writhed under him, a wild wondrous creature he was compelled to tame. He lowered his big body over her smaller form, capturing her, laying his claim on her.
She squeezed his shaft. He gave her more of him. She squeezed. He gave. That repeated, waves of bliss rolling over them both, until he had nothing left.
Weakness hit him. His arms folded and he fell, flattening his tiny gerel. She squeaked a protest, her hands fluttering against the sleeping support.
Must. Protect. Female. That thought somehow pierced the fog of satisfaction.
Qulpa rolled. The two of them remained joined, his cock lodged in her hot pussy, and he took her with him as he moved.
His legs hung over the edge of the sleeping support. She lay on top of him, her soft skin vibrating along his muscles in the most erotic of massages.
He wrapped his arms around her, securing his gerel to his larger form, conveying that he was there, would always be there for her.
They stared up at the ceiling, linked physically and emotionally. Their breathing synchronized and a serenity engulfed him, similar to the one he found while flying.
That feeling originated from her. She had given him that peace.
“You’re more than the female I love, Nayan.” He kissed the top of her beloved head. “You’re my home, the sanctuary I would die to protect, the ground I touch down on after every flight, the source of my happiness, my strength, my present and my future. There’s no one in the universe like you, and I’m awestruck I’m the fortunate warrior to hold you every rest cycle.”
“I need you more often than that, Qulpa.” Humor lilted her voice. “I admire your fortitude, your honor, your bravery, your acceptance.” She covered his hands with hers, the leather of her hand coverings soft against his skin. “You taught me that what I have always seen as my weaknesses are also my strengths. You embraced me, cared for me, earning my respect, my trust, and my love, and I will adore you until the end of time. You are my warrior.”
“And you are my gerel.” A profound joy settled over him, a happiness he had never known until he’d met her. “I love you, Nayan.”