Alien’s Stone Heart – A Sci Fi Alien Romance

By Lynnea Lee

Copyright © 2021 Lynnea Lee

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in whole or in part, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction, and the characters and incidents found within are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or deceased, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Contents

Alien’s Stone Heart

About Outlaw Planet Mates

Chapter 1: Lily

Chapter 2: Xadren

Chapter 3: Lily

Chapter 4: Xadren

Chapter  5: Lily

Chapter 6: Xadren

Chapter 7: Lily

Chapter 8: Xadren

Chapter 9: Lily

Chapter 10: Xadren

Chapter 11: Lily

Chapter 12: Xadren

Chapter 13: Lily

Also In Series

ALSO BY AUTHOR

Alien’s Stone Heart

Lily

If you think getting abducted by little green men is bad, try waking up with your stasis pod smashed into the side of a cliff. That’s what happened to me.

To top it off, I get rescued by an alien gargoyle! He’s huge and hard as rock, with sharp teeth, horns, and a freakin’ tail. And now, we’re both on the run because of me.

Xadren can’t keep me, but he promises to bring me somewhere safe. My goal now is to survive the next few days without falling for my stone-faced protector. Easy, right?

Xadren

I messed up. Now I’ve got assassins on my tail. My plan to hide on this outlaw planet gets waylaid when a slave ship crash lands on the planet and drops a stasis pod with a human female inside right next to my hiding spot.

Curious, I check out the merchandise. That’s mistake number two, because now I have a human female to care for and both the slavers and the assassins after me.

I’m in no state to claim a mate, but the more time we spend together, the more I realize I can never let her go.

About Outlaw Planet Mates

Reazus Prime is a hard planet. Once a prison, it was abandoned when the mines dried up and the Overlords could no longer turn a profit off the prisoners. Now it’s a haven for outlaws, pirates, and anyone holding a grudge against authority.

It’s isolated, alone, and the only ships coming are the worst sort. One such ship, carrying a cargo of abducted human women, explodes in orbit. A lucky few were ejected in pods, only to crash on the outlaw planet.

Now the race is on to find and claim the human females.

Chapter 1: Lily

A gust of wind blew through the leaves, threatening to toss the alien stasis pod I was in down the side of the cliff. A small creaking sound came from the branches holding my pod in place, and I held my breath, praying that it wouldn’t be my last.

I’d woken up a few minutes ago in complete darkness, in a strange pod of some kind and completely sealed in. My first thought was that I’d been buried alive in a coffin.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic, I’d repeated to myself.

Who was I kidding? I had totally panicked. The word coffin only had to flash through my head once, and I’d freaked out, screaming and yelling and kicking until, by some magic fluke, the pod opened up, showing the bright blue of the sky above me.

I’d been lucky the pod opening faced up and not down. I'd have been nothing but a splat on the ground if the pod had landed any other way.

Then again, this might be all a dream. Did death hurt if it was just a dream?

I could still be a splat on the ground if I didn’t get out of here, and soon too. The branches holding the pod were not the sturdiest, and every gust of wind was a death lottery.

Of course, it was my luck to land on the side of a cliff. It was the same shitty luck that got me abducted in the first place, in my nightgown no less.

I remembered parts of my abduction from Earth. There were little green men, actual little green men, like right out of the cartoons and B movies.

They’d put something into my ear, and suddenly I was able to understand their strange language. Apparently, human women were pricelessly valuable. We were universal breeders. Greenie the Meanie hadn’t explained what that was, but he didn’t need to. I got the gist of it by the disgusting way he leered at me.

I was almost glad he planned to sell me, just so I didn’t need to touch him. His boney fingers on my body as he gave me my inoculations—so I wouldn’t die from the first alien germ I met—made me want to puke.

Alien germs. My brain kept bringing up War of the Worlds, except this was no movie, and Tom Cruise was nowhere to be seen. He was overrated, anyway. I wanted Chris Pratt to come save me from my nightmare instead.

After the inoculations, they’d thrown me in this pod, and the next thing I knew I woke up here.

Something must have happened. This wasn’t an auction house, and I doubted landing their cargo on the side of a cliff was normal operating procedure.

The wind blew again, and the branches swayed; the pod swayed with them. Staying here wasn’t an option. The branches wouldn’t hold for long, and there were only two options: up or down.

I crawled to the edge of the pod, hoping my shifting weight wouldn’t send it plummeting. I looked over the edge.

Oh, hell no!

What a horrible time to find out I had a fear of heights. I mean, I’d been up high before, but this was something else.

Down was not the way to go, so I looked up.

There were more alien trees trying to grow out of the side of the cliff. They were thin and spindly, but they just might hold my weight. Now I wished I hadn’t spent so many evenings Netflix and chillin’ with Ben & Jerry.

Was that the top edge of the cliff right there? I couldn’t tell clearly from my angle. I was kind of a klutz on two feet on most days, and I hadn’t climbed anything since that one time I went to the rock-climbing gym as part of some poorly thought out work team-building exercise. It had ended badly. But I was willing to chance it now. Staying here was a death sentence.

I reached up for the first branch and lifted my bare legs up to wrap around it; my nightie lifted up around my hips. It had been years since my monkey bar days, and I’d let the gym visits lag behind during the past year. I was not in my best shape, but there was no way I was going to wait in that death trap.

Grabbing an adjacent branch, I heaved and shoved until I was upright. I could do this. I found the next set of branches and repeated the process.

See! This isn’t so bad.

From my new vantage, I could definitely say that the edge of the cliff was in sight. Safety. Or relative safety. I had no idea where the heck I was. For all I knew, there could be a fire-breathing dragon waiting for me at the top.

A light vibration moved the sediment on the cliff face, sending a sprinkling of sand and dirt over my face. I sputtered. More vibrations and a few small rocks tumbled down the side of the cliff around me, and I looked up. Something was coming.

I hoped it wasn’t the little green men coming to retrieve their lost merchandise. There was nowhere to hide in the pod unless I was willing to risk it and climb down. I thought of the long drop down to the rocky ground below and decided I’d rather face whoever was above me.

A grey face popped over the top ledge of the cliff. That was no little green man. That was a gargoyle!

I gasped, and my hand slipped. With a shriek, I tumbled down, breaking the first branch I’d climbed up on. I landed with a thud inside the stasis pod. The broken branch landed on top of me, smacking me in the face with a few choice leaves.

“Fuck!” I struggled to right myself.

A loud crack made me pause.

Oh, shit! That was one of the branches holding the pod! I took a few deep breaths. Everything could be just a dream, right?

“Grab this and tie it around yourself like a seat,” rumbled a low voice.

It must be the gargoyle speaking. His voice was low and rumbly, and it sounded too real to be a dream. At least the translator Greenie the Meanie had given me worked for multiple languages.

I moved carefully but swiftly, pulling myself out from under the heavy branch with as little disturbance to the pod as possible. The last thing I wanted was for the pod to drop now, with me in it, just as help arrived with a rope. I sure hoped the gargoyle was here to help and not some alien who thought humans were tasty.

I’d expected a rope, but instead, I found a live vine dangling down into the pod. Well, whatever worked. I hoped I wasn’t allergic to it.

I passed the vine under my legs and then tied it around my waist like a seat. Then I looked up at the freaky-looking creature up top and gave him the thumbs up, realizing too late that he probably had no idea what it meant. But he got the gist of it and started pulling.

Wow! He was strong. I was no featherweight, but judging from the huge face that now popped over that edge, he was probably a giant.

Gargoyles weren’t bad, right? Didn’t they guard buildings?

A few seconds later, I found myself face to face with a real-life, walking, talking gargoyle. I gawked awkwardly with my mouth open. He was massive, towering over me by at least a foot and a half.  He was all muscle and no fat, perfectly chiseled. His shoulders were broad, blocking out the sun like a boulder. And was that a tail?

“So that’s what humans look like.” He looked at me as if I was the oddity here, then he leaned in and sniffed loudly.

I wanted to back away but couldn’t, not with the edge of the cliff so close.

Another deafening crack came from the branches below, followed by awful screeching. This time, the pod wasn’t so lucky. It tumbled down to the forest below, crashing into and breaking every branch along the way. It finally landed with a thunderous bang.

His tail swung out first to wrap around my waist. A moment later, giant, stoney arms enveloped me, pulling me away from the edge of the cliff.

Holy crap; I could have been in that when it fell! I swallowed hard.

“That was close! Thank you for pulling me up in time.”

My rescuer didn’t release me from the cocoon of his arms. I marveled that arms that looked like stone could feel so warm. Despite how he looked, he was flesh and bone, albeit a very firm flesh. And horns and a tail. I couldn’t forget those. Those were firm too.

I hadn’t noticed before, but instead of yellow or red eyes as I’d thought gargoyles would have, his irises were opalescent with flashes of blue, green, and even pink, depending on the angle. Weren’t opals mined from rocks? They were stunning against the gray of his skin.

I didn’t know how long I stood there, just staring into his eyes, mesmerized. He didn’t seem to mind, though. He was just as interested in me, looking me up and down and sniffing me—which was kind of strange, but whatever.

Now that I had a good look at him, he wasn’t as scary as he’d been at first glance. Sure, he had sharp teeth and pointed ears, but they fit his face.

For some reason, all I could think of was the little green man telling me I was a universal breeder. Was that how he thought of me?

A rumble like an Earthquake resonated from his throat, and his face suddenly changed, looking scary again. I gasped and stepped back.

“They are coming. I feel them.”

He felt them? I didn’t question him.

“We need to get you to safety before every skin trader in the area converges on us.” He took me by my hand and started walking, pulling me along because there was no way I could match his stride.

“Hurry, human, unless you want to be caught by slavers. I did not come ready to fight. I’m supposed to be hiding on this planet. I can’t make a scene.”

“I’m—” huff “—trying—” puff “—as hard as I can.” I struggled behind him, regretting letting my fitness level drop so abysmally low. If I ever got back home, I’d be throwing away my couch and canceling Netflix.

It didn’t help that I was barefoot and in my nightie. I was dressed in the worst possible outfit for an outdoor trek. The stones on the ground hurt my feet, and every movement threatened to slip a nip.

He stopped, looked at my short legs, and grunted. Then, before I knew it, my feet no longer touched the ground. I was pressed up against the universe’s buffest chest. Gargoyle-man was as fast as he was strong. He booked it across the open area around the cliff and ducked under the cover of an alien forest.

Pressed right up against his chest, I only caught glimpses of the forest as it whizzed by around me. I smelled it, though. It seemed even alien forests had that earthy smell—green, moist, and alive—though I was sure I wasn’t on Earth anymore.

When he finally let me back down on my feet, it was on a soft patch of greenery. I couldn’t call it grass; it was more like a green downy patch on the ground. In front of us was a giant tree.

The tree trunk was the size of a small building. It would’ve taken a couple minutes just to walk around it.

“We need to go up.” Claws popped out from fingers that just a few moments ago were gripping my ass.

Damn! I was glad those sharp babies were retractable.

“Hold onto me.” He stood in front of me and squatted so I could wrap around. “Come on. Up!”

He wanted me to hang onto him as he climbed that thing? Did I mention I recently developed a fear for heights? Like today?

I stared at his retractable claws and the claws on his feet. Huh, gargoyles didn’t wear shoes.

“Hurry, human. We can’t waste time.” He looked around nervously, hearing or sensing something I could not.

I wrapped my arms around his thick neck and lifted my legs around his hips.

My gargoyle started scaling the side of the tree. It only took a few yards of climbing before we found out how wickedly intimate our position was. Our fronts rubbed together with every movement, and, very soon, something rock-hard that hadn’t been there before pressed insistently against me.

I froze. This was definitely not a dream, because that felt much too real.

Chapter 2: Xadren

I tried to ignore the distracting female clinging to my front as I pulled us over the edge into the room-like knoll of the bower tree. Many of the native species in the area used this tree as a den, though not many of the outlaws frequenting the planet knew about it. I did. I’d been using this one as a hideout for the past few days.

I’d taken a job recently with a lesser-known Zintazi prince and accidentally overheard a bit too much about the family. When he’d found out I knew about the genetic modifications, I’d gone from extra security detail for his trip to a pleasure planet to an enemy of the family at the drop of a pin.

That was the reason I was on Reazus Prime to begin with. I didn’t know what I’d do in the long run, but for now, I had to escape from the enforcers the prince sent after me. This outlaw planet was the perfect place to disappear for a short while.

The prince wouldn’t dare send the royal family’s executioners; if he did, they’d know he’d been the one to let the secret slip. He’d sent his enforcers—trained assassins augmented with tech—after me instead. There were three of them, and Zintazi enforcers were known throughout the galaxy to be hard to evade. They were also known to not fight fairly. It was a battle I wasn’t sure I’d win.

I wasn’t looking for a female. It was the last thing I needed in my situation, but the pod had landed close to my tree, and I’d gone to it out of curiosity. Humans fetched high prices at auction, and everyone knew they were universal breeders, but I’d never seen one before and wanted to know what the big deal was.

I’d planned to get the female out of her predicament and point her to the Hub, the largest port on the planet. Many would be after her, and she wouldn’t be alone for long, though most wanted her for nefarious reasons. But after meeting her, I couldn’t leave her to that fate.

So here I was, back in my leafy hideout with a completely defenseless female latched onto me. I kept telling myself I wasn’t here for fleshly pleasures, but my body had different ideas. The climb up had been a special kind of torture.

We weren’t safe yet. There was a pair of outlaws searching for her right now, and they were close; I’d felt them through the vibrations in the ground. I needed to send them away before they found my hideout. Not many knew of the secret knoll high up in every bower tree, but some did, and I couldn’t leave it up to chance.

The female knelt at the center of the bower, her eyes wide with wonder. The dense canopy created a private sanctuary protected from the elements. Diffused sunlight streamed in from the sparser areas of leaf cover, giving the place a warm glow.

“Wow! It’s beautiful in here.” She patted the floor of the chamber experimentally. “It’s even carpeted with moss. It’s so thick and bouncy.” She leaned in to take a closer look. “No, not moss. Something else. Duh! I’m on an alien planet; of course it’s something else.” She grinned at me, and the whole bower lit up with her smile.

I swallowed hard and turned away. I hadn’t missed her reaction to me on the way up to my hideout. Her body had stiffened as if in fear. Since her only experience since leaving her home planet had been with her slavers, I wasn’t surprised. But she had nothing to fear from me. There were unsavory types looking for her, however, and I needed to take care of them now.

“Stay here, human. We are not safe yet.”

“My name’s Lily.” Then under her breath, “It’s not like I can climb back down.”

Lily. I supposed I couldn’t call her human forever.

I slapped my chest the way my people did to introduce ourselves, and the sound reverberated in the hollow. “Xadren.”

“Nice to meet you, Xadren.” She didn’t pronounce my name quite right, it sounded more exotic coming from her mouth. I liked it. She held out her hand.

I stared at it, not knowing what I was supposed to do with it. My people greeted close friends and family by touching tails. Was this similar? Instead of reaching out with my hand, I swung my tail to the front and held the tip in front of her hand.

She made a little O with her mouth. “When in Rome, I guess.” She grabbed my tail, wrapping her hand around it, and pumped it up and down lightly a few times.

Shocked, I pulled my tail away. I hadn’t expected such a thorough touch. We only touched the tip of the tail when greeting friends, and I’d expected her to just touch it briefly. Entwining tails, or in this case wrapping her hand around the length, was reserved for more intimate relationships.

“I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?” Her hand dropped to her side.

“No, nothing wrong. Just surprised.”

“Thank you for getting me out of that pod.”

I grunted in agreement.

Then, before she could distract me any more, I started down the trunk.

I got down to the ground just in time to sit down and pretend I was resting at the trunk of the tree. I was in luck. The pair that walked out from the woods did not come from a species with a heightened sense of smell. As long as Lily stayed quiet above, they would not sense her.

I let out a warning growl as the two approached. “Why have you disturbed my nap?”

The two jumped back, keeping their distance. There was a reason Balvanites often worked jobs in security: we were intimidating. This was a common reaction to one of us.

The braver of the two spoke. “There was an alert put out about a stasis pod that landed in the area.”

I knew which alert he spoke of; I’d received one too. It had been the reason I’d known of the pod. I’d been lucky to have been so close to the location.

“If you are looking for the human, she is dead. I looked for her myself. The pod fell down the side of the cliff while it was open. I saw the wreckage.”

The male’s face fell, but his friend, finally over his shock, spoke.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth and not just hiding her somewhere?”

I stood to my full height, puffed out my chest, and snarled. Before the male could shrink back, I lifted him by the shirt. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“No,” he whimpered, his feet dangling above the ground.

“Of course not. We wouldn't dare.” The first male held out a placating hand, then to his friend, he whispered angrily, “Where do you think he’s hiding her? In a tree? He was taking a nap when we got here.”

“You can always check for yourself.” I dropped the male and pointed toward the cliff; he scampered back in a hurry. They’d see the wreck below, and I doubted they’d make the trek to check if the cargo survived. I’d gotten a quick glimpse of the remnants. The door, which had gotten torn off during the fall, now lay a ways off from the body of the pod. The pod had landed opening down, hiding what was inside.

“We’ll do just that.”

“If you find her dead, make sure to send a note to whoever posted the alert that the human is dead. I don’t want anyone else bothering me.” I sat back down at the base of the tree, pretending to start another nap. “How hard is it to get some rest on this planet?” I grumbled, just loud enough for them to hear as they scrambled away.

I’d used a common misconception about my species to my advantage. Many thought we spent all our time fighting, eating, and sleeping. Just because we were as hard as the rock beneath our feet did not mean we lay still like them. But people believed what they believed.

It didn’t help that our ancestors were ambush hunters, using their rock-like appearance to lure prey close enough to strike. Built like boulders, they couldn’t outrun the quick prey on our native planet, but once close enough, no target escaped their grasp.

A barely audible buzzing caught my attention. I scanned the skies for the sound and found the slavers’ search bots. Unlike the two males, they wouldn’t give up on their lost merchandise so easily. We’d need to stay hidden until the bots left the area.

I preferred to avoid a fight. The last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself, not with Zintazi enforcers on my tail. Hiding was best. What would happen to Lily if the Zintazi found me?

Stop!

Why was I thinking as if I was going to keep the human? I was not in a position to claim a female, but I couldn’t leave her either. I had to find somewhere safe for her. Most of the contacts I had on Reazus Prime were not the type I’d trust to care for a female.

The drone buzzed past again. Shit! What if the female was bugged with a tracer?

I started back up the tree as I thought of all the possible places I could leave her. I knew a shop owner in the Hub that was looking for an assistant, but he was just as liable to sell Lily as to keep her around. The innkeeper was worse. He’d probably whore her out.

That left only Coal. Coal was a hermit who lived alone in the wilderness. He mainly lived off the land and only traded for what he needed. He claimed to hate everyone, but he was a good male. I’d leave the human with him, and he could do whatever he wanted with her. She’d be his responsibility, and I’d go back to hiding from the assassins.

Yes, that was a good solution.

I pulled myself over the bark lip and into the bower. The entire knoll smelled like her. It was distracting. I definitely needed to get away from her before I got too distracted and walked into trouble.

But first, I needed to know if she was leading trouble right to us. I took out my communicator and turned on the scanner. If there was a tracking device on her body, I’d find it.

“It was clever to mislead them. Do you think they bought it?”

She’d been listening to the interaction below.

“They do not look too smart, but they’re not who I’m worried about. The slavers are looking for their lost merchandise. I saw one of their search bots in the sky. They’ll fly down to check the crash. Now—” I crawled toward Lily, intent on scanning her for a tracking device. “Let’s make sure you’re clean.”

Chapter 3: Lily

I backed away from the giant as he crawled toward me. “Umm, what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer, so I scooted away on my ass to put some distance between us—a nearly impossible thing to do in the enclosed bower.

A huge hand took me by the ankle and pulled, putting me on my back. I gasped when I realized he had me caged with his body, my hips held hostage between his knees. My heart pounded in my chest at the raw power that hovered over me. When he shoved my thin nightie over my chest, I struggled to get away.

Xadren let out a terrifying growl. “Do not move.”

I froze, but my body still shook. I didn’t really know anything about this alien; what if he’d been just pretending to be nice, and planned to hurt me right now?

But he didn’t. Instead, he took the electronic device from his belt and rubbed it all over my body.

“What—what are you doing?” I asked again, the words coming out barely a squeak.

“Looking for a tracker. There are search drones in the area looking for you.”

A tracker! I hadn’t even thought of that. “Oh. I thought…nevermind.” I pushed the thoughts of him holding me down and ravaging me in the bower out of my head. Oops. “The only thing I’m aware of is my translator.”

He continued scanning my arms and legs, then held the communicator to the side of my head. I watched his face intently.

“You are clean.” He released me. “The translator is not emitting any signals. The drones will find the pod, and they will send someone to search there. We need to be gone before then, but we can’t leave the safety of the knoll now. The two males think you are dead, but others will come.”

“How do they know I’m here?” And how did Xadren find my pod? He’d come looking for me; he hadn’t found me by accident.

“The slavers sent out an alert with the pod’s location and posted a prize of credits for your return. Anyone wanting to make quick credits or find a female for themselves will flock to the area.”

My stomach roiled at the thought of dozens of aliens looking for me to return me to the little green men.

“Most do not know of the bower tree. You’re safe here. We rest for the night. In the morning we leave before the slavers arrive to check the wreck.”

My giant alien settled down in the center of the bower, and the soft vegetation lining the chamber dipped down with his weight. I made a slight squeaking sound as I slid into the depression and found myself wedged up against his body. I made to move away, but a muscled arm wrapped around me, holding me in place.

“Stay.” Leaning back, Xadren took up most of the space in the chamber, and the only place for me to rest was right next to him. “Rest now. We will travel at first light.”

For someone that looked like he was made of stone, Xadren was ridiculously warm and comfortable to cuddle next to. A good thing too, because it was getting dark and heavy gusts of wind rustled the leaves around us. The tree protected us from much of the draft, but the chill still seeped through into the chamber.

As the sun set, the plants forming a thick mat under our bodies glowed faintly. The bioluminescence was just enough for me to use as a night light. This little hideout was right out of the storybook: a natural tree house that came with its own carpet and mood lighting.

After assuring me that we were safe in the tree, Xadren closed his eyes and went absolutely still. If I’d come across him in the wild and didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought he was a statue. It added to the whole gargoyle effect, though I knew he wasn’t really a gargoyle.

I’d been terrified when I first saw him, but I wasn’t scared of him now. He hadn’t hurt me yet, and he’d pulled me from the pod moments before it plummeted, saving me from certain death.

I thought of our awkward interaction when I shook his tail. I’d been confused when he’d lifted his tail to me instead of his hand. The tip of his tail had a tuft of grey fur, and I’d decided to shake it like a hand. The look on his face when he pulled his tail away had been priceless. He’d looked as if I’d grabbed something a lot more intimate. Maybe I had. I guessed I was supposed to have only touched it lightly.

The brooding giant had looked almost adorable in that moment, the hardness of his face dissolved into wide-eyed surprise. He’d recovered quickly, but the illusion was already broken. I no longer thought of Xadren as some scary monster. He was safe.

Right now, Xadren was my heater. It had gone from cool to downright freezing in about two-point-one seconds. The sudden loud drumming of a thousand tiny stones hitting the ground below made me gasp. I sat up straight, or at least as straight as the sinkhole made by Xadren’s body let me sit.

I crawled to the edge of the bower opening and looked over. Those weren’t stones. It was hailing.

A storm? The sky had been clear when I was stuck in that pod, and it had been a clear day when he brought me up this tree. That storm had blown in fast.

The sound changed, and the hail turned into a torrential downpour. The sound of a million raindrops hitting the canopy above me rumbled through the tree. Somehow, the knoll stayed dry. The leaves formed a perfect umbrella funneling the water out from the tree, most likely to where the tips of roots were.

I’d read about trees on Earth using the shape of their leaves to do the same. This tree had perfected it to an art. I stayed completely dry.

A droplet chose that moment to fall on my nose. Okay, so not completely dry. A few drops here and there made it through the canopy around the edges. They fell through the tiny gaps in the spongey live mat cushioning me, and the top of the greenery stayed dry. This tree thought of everything.

“The storm will pass.” Xadren did not move, and it was as if a statue had spoken. “Come. Relax.”

I settled back down next to his warmth, pressing my body up against his bulky muscles to steal as much heat as possible. I hadn’t noticed it while watching the rain, but I’d gotten quite chilled from being away from his body.

Something touched my bare foot—his tail. The tip had snuck its way over to my foot. I stayed still and watched it surreptitiously, pretending I hadn’t noticed the movement. A few moments later, it moved again, curling around my foot and sliding up to my ankle. I was suddenly reminded of what I wore. A pink satin nightie that barely reached my mid-thigh.

I glanced over at Xadren, but the rest of him hadn’t moved. His eyes were still closed, his arms crossed over the front of his body, and he stayed still as a statue. Even his chest didn’t move when he breathed.

I adjusted my foot, and instead of pulling away, his tail curled around me some more until it was fully wrapped around my ankle. Still no reaction from Xadren. His face and body gave nothing away. Was he pretending to be asleep? Or was he unaware of his tail’s actions?

It didn’t hurt, so I didn’t say anything.

Now that the adrenaline from almost falling down a cliff and meeting my very first gargoyle in the flesh had waned, the exhaustion hit me like a load of bricks. Getting abducted from Earth by little green men was tiring. So was not falling off a cliff.

I yawned, cuddled into his warmth, and closed my eyes. Before I knew it, I fell asleep to the pitter-patter of the rain.

I woke draped over Xadren’s chest, his arms wrapped firmly around me, heavy but not uncomfortably so. How did I end up on top of him? I tried to move, but his arms were solid and unyielding. I wasn’t going anywhere.

I tried again, wiggling my body to try to get out from the cocoon of his arms through the bottom. I was making good leeway until I realized I was rubbing up against his body, and he was reacting to my movement.  I froze at the hardness rubbing against my leg.

Oops.

“Are you done?” Xadren asked with a rumble.

“Um, I was trying to get up,” I said stiffly. “I need to use the little girl’s room.”

“I do not understand. What is this girl’s room?”

“I need to pee.”

He released his arms. “You can go at the edge of the bower. This is why the tree forms a nest: to trade for nutrients with the inhabitants. The vegetation will take everything and break it down for later use.” Then he frowned at his tail still wrapped around my ankle and yanked it back.

He hadn’t done it on purpose.

“Um, what about privacy?”

Xadren looked confused.

I decided to be honest. “I can’t pee in front of you. Or in front of anyone, for that matter.”

Xadren grumbled something about conservative, unnatural species and reached up to pull a large branch thick with leaves into the chamber. “I will hold this. Tell me when you are done.” He held the branch in between us, and it made a perfect privacy screen.

Good enough. I squatted to do my business near the edge, and just as he’d said, the spongelike mass of tiny leaves adsorbed it all. Then, I felt the mass of green press right up between my legs.

I yelped.

What the fuck?

“You okay?” Xadren asked from behind our leafy wall.

“It moved! It moved to wipe me!”

“The tree doesn’t want anything wasted. It’s normal.”

Normal? Toilet paper was normal. Who was I kidding? I had to adjust my definition of normal.

It wasn’t raining anymore, but I reached out through the opening and washed my hands with some of the droplets of rain leftover on the leaves outside. This tree really was convenient. I’d be sad to leave it.

“Done!”

The branch sprang back up into the canopy, spraying me with droplets of rainwater as it did.

It even came with complimentary surprise showers. Xadren was similarly splattered, and the droplets rolled down the muscles of his chest and abs.

If I were to survive in this new world, a world with alien slavers and other planets, I needed a protector. I didn’t know anything about this planet. I didn’t even know if the water was safe to drink—I was thirsty, by the way, and I had an urge to lick the droplets off Xadren’s body. I would die out here on my own.

Xadren had proven to be an honorable man—or alien. I should stick with him. And if I was sticking with him anyway, what was wrong with lusting after him just a little? So what if he was an alien that reminded me of a gargoyle; he was a hot one, and I wasn’t blind.

I checked him out again, this time, not being discreet at all. Forget Chris Pratt; I had all I needed right here. Noticing me checking him out, he shifted his weight to get closer.

That was when my klutziness struck. The floor depressed under his weight, and I went tumbling headlong into him.

“Eeeek!” I shrieked, none too gracefully.

I landed sprawled over him. He grunted under me, though I doubted he even felt my weight. He moved quicker than I’d have thought possible for someone his size. One moment I was on top, and the next, I was caged under his body.

Something pressed against the inside of my thigh, and all I could think about was if he was proportional. He felt huge, and I suddenly had cold feet. What was I thinking? He was alien! And huge! At least seven feet tall. We might not even match up.

He scooted down my body and shoved my nightie up to my waist. Then hooking a finger under the waist of my underwear, he yanked. There went my only pair of undies.

“Wait. How do we know we can even…you know?” I pushed myself up, but a large hand pushed me back onto the soft bower floor, holding me down by the throat.

He looked at me and grinned, showing me a row of sharp teeth. “We will fit together. Now let me taste and prepare you.”

Chapter 4: Xadren

“Taste me? But your teeth!”  Lily squeaked.

“You will enjoy this. You will enjoy my lips and tongue.” I took the hand from her collarbone, and when she didn’t move from the position I’d put her in, I gripped both legs under the knees and lifted them up over my shoulders. “Be good and let me taste you.”

She shuddered and bit her bottom lip, her eyes big and round with nervousness. She would not be nervous for long; I would not allow it.

Lily worried about us not being compatible, but I knew we were. Her body must have known as well, because I felt the need roll off her as she appreciated my body. She liked what she saw, and even though I hadn’t planned on getting intimate with the human, I couldn’t deny her. How could I when her need filled the bower with the perfume of lust?

I leaned in to inhale the addictive scent from her skin. I’d watched as her fear of me slowly turned to interest. She trusted me now and knew I wouldn’t harm her.

Her belly was soft and smooth, and I laid a line of kisses across it, moving my way down her body. I didn’t know much about human anatomy since I hadn’t thought of acquiring one for myself, but I knew we were compatible. I’d just have to learn as I went.

When I got down to her pussy, Lily squeezed her legs together. That wouldn’t do. I wanted all access to her; I wanted to watch her come apart under me.

“Open your legs to me,” I demanded. “Let me feast on you.”

I gripped her knees as they dropped open, then wedged my shoulders between them. I tested her with a finger and found her slippery, swollen, and eager for my touch. I covered her pussy with my mouth.

Lily moaned, and her hand came to rest at my horns. Unlike some other species, our horns weren’t an erogenous zone, but it still felt good to have her hands on me. I bet it would feel amazing no matter where she touched me.

I dove into my exploration of her. She’d worried about my teeth, but she had nothing to fear. I nibbled at her folds lightly, and she moaned. I’d heard of a spot on human females that gave them pleasure, and I was eager to find it. I licked, starting at the bottom, pressing my slightly rough tongue over her slit, I licked up. She moaned when I reached the top.

I focused my attention there until I found a nub that made her react. Her thighs squeezed against my ears.

I growled. “Keep them open, little one.”

She whimpered as I descended on her again, attacking her spot of pleasure with licks and kisses.

My cock twitched and bobbed against my leg coverings, eager to get in on the action, but I needed to prepare her more. We were compatible, but she was tiny compared to me. I tested her opening with a single finger, not once removing my lips from her.

She made the cutest little noise, a mix between a whimper and scream. I needed more of that sound from her.

I added another finger, pumping into her warmth. This time, her mouth opened but nothing came out. I lifted my head to watch her, replacing my lips with my thumb. She was beautiful with her mouth open and eyes closed, tossing her head against the cushion of the bower floor.

I lowered my mouth back to her and continued until she was writhing with need. Her fingers tightened around a handful of my hair, but I didn’t mind. It felt good knowing I made her react this way.

I hadn’t expected my body to answer her need so strongly. None of this had been in my plans, but when she’d looked at me with desire in her eyes, I was lost.

I wasn’t looking for a mate, not with the assassins after me, but a short liaison wouldn’t hurt, would it? It took time for mating bonds to form, and many Balvanites shared sex without triggering it. We could share comfort and intimacy until I get her somewhere safe. I just needed to be careful not to let a bond form between us.

We both were mired in predicaments we had no say in and needed comfort; I could never deprive her of what I could provide. As long as she was with me, I’d fulfill all her needs, even this.

I focused my tongue on her sensitive nub, pressing and rubbing until she screamed and her channel squeezed tight against my fingers. I pumped a few more times, her muscles fluttering around me. She was ready.

I licked my fingers clean, and she watched me through half-closed lids.

“Did you enjoy that, little one?”

She nodded.

“Do you want me to fuck you?”

She nodded. “Yes, please.” The words were so soft, they were not more than a whisper, but they were enough. They were music to my ears.

I licked my lips and grinned.

Chapter  5: Lily

Xadren sat back on his heels and undid his pants as I lay there, limp as a noodle after the best orgasm I’d ever had. I’d been worried about his teeth for nothing. Every nibble had been mind-blowingly amazing.

Who would have thought I needed to get kidnapped by aliens and crash land on a strange planet to find someone who turned me into a melty mess?

He pushed the waistband down his hips and I gasped at the sight of him. It was huge and looked as hard as rock. There was a bumpy ridge running along the back, from the tip to the base. It was a darker gray than the rest of him and bobbed heavily as he pushed his pants the rest of the way down.

Wow! Again, I wondered if we were actually compatible. He was massive. And the ridge! Though the bumps on the ridge did look like they’d hit all the right spots. I shuddered, half in anticipation, half in fear, as he crawled over my body.

Xadren had been so careful with me so far, and I trusted him. I rested my fingers on his biceps as he positioned himself protectively over me.

Then, before anything else could happen, a loud whirring interrupted us. I hissed and covered my ears.

“Fuck!” he growled. He moved quickly, pulling his clothes back on, and stuck his head out of the bower.

I forced myself out of the warm, happy trance and pushed my nightie back down over my body. Something was happening, and by the worried look on Xadren’s face, it wasn’t good.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Someone scanned the area looking for heat signatures. They will know there are humanoids in this tree. We need to leave now.”

What horrible timing for the slavers to have searched the area. Not only had they stolen me from my own home, but they were also clam-jamming me too. Great. I wished they’d all died in the crash landing instead.

I looked around for my underwear, only to be reminded, when I found it, it had been torn from my body. I held up the ripped scrap of black fabric, and Xadren sent me an apologetic look. No use for it now. I guessed I was going commando.

“That covering is not very protective. We will find you something else.”

The loud whirring happened again.

“We have to leave now. We should have left at first light.”

He picked me up, and I wrapped my arms and legs around him. My pussy, still wet from my release, rubbed a vertical line on his belly, and he groaned.

“Another time. I promise.”

He climbed down the tree faster than I thought possible with me latched onto him. Then, he rushed off into the forest, aiming for the thickest part of the foliage. Occasionally, he looked up to check the skies.

I thought I saw a strange-looking metal ball whizz by above the canopy. I kept my eyes on the gap between the foliage, and sure enough, the round metallic orb sped by again. That must be the thing tracking us.

“We can’t outrun it. I need to take it down.”

He lowered me to the ground and tucked me in between two large tree trunks. Then, he picked up the closest rock. No, not a rock; it was a boulder bigger than my torso. He hefted in his hands like it weighed nothing.

Xadren stood there unmoving like a statue, his eyes on the gaps in the canopy. I froze as well, trying to stay as still as possible to give Xadren the upper hand. The sounds of the forest were extra loud now as I listened for the alien device following us.

Being so still and quiet made everything else stand out more than before. I heard the rustling of some small animals under the brush, and something scurried through the branches above us. Then, all sounds of life ceased, moments before a barely audible whirring filled the air. It was similar to the loud sound I’d heard in the bower tree but at a much lower volume.

The flash of metal caught my eye through the branches, and before I could even react, Xadren had already sent the boulder flying through the air toward it.

The alien tracker was far up in the air, but Xadren’s aim was true. The boulder hit right on target; the rock and the device fell to the ground. Xadren ran into the trees after it, and I followed behind, picking my way through the thick brush. I was still barefoot, and the last thing I needed was a foot full of thorns.

I found him smashing the metal orb to bits with the boulder. “That should get them off our tails for a while. But they will send another. We need to get out of this area quickly.”

I stared at what was left of the strange device. It didn’t look anything like the technology I’d seen in the little green men’s ship. Had it belonged to someone they’d hired to retrieve their lost merchandise? I was glad it was out of commission now.

“Then let’s get out of here,” I agreed. I wanted to get as far away from anyone who might take me back to those slavers as possible.

He took me by the hand and started walking away. That was when I noticed what looked like an alien blaster attached to his belt. “Why didn’t you just shoot it with that?”

“Because I have only half of an energy cartridge left, and I can not return to my ship for more.”

“Oh. Well, the rock did a fine job. You’ve got some throwing arm.” That had been an impressive throw.

He puffed out his chest at the compliment, and I grinned at the reaction. He wasn’t immune to flattery. Aliens weren’t so different after all.

“Come.” He took the few steps to me and lifted me off my feet. “Let’s get out of here before they send another scanner for us.”

As we headed deeper into the forest, I thought of the little park by my apartment back on Earth. That park was the closest I’d ever gotten to nature on Earth. I hadn’t had time for camping trips or to even leave the city. My life had sure changed in a hurry. The saddest thing was that I doubted anyone even missed me back home, except maybe my goldfish, Fin, when I failed to get home to feed him.

Poor Fin. This was the worst part of getting abducted. Messing with me was fine, messing with a helpless animal, that was grounds for some whoop-ass. Those little green men deserved to rot.

Home. I looked up at the sky. Somewhere out there was Earth. Somewhere out there was the life I’d left behind. My boss would be pissed on Monday when I didn’t show up, but I hated the place and almost everyone who worked there anyway.

As for friends, I hadn’t exactly kept in touch with my friends from college. They’d all gotten married and started families and were too busy for me, and I’d never made any close friends since I started adulting.

I didn’t realize it until now, but I lived a lonely life, and it sucked. I’d had more social interaction in the last day with Xadren than I’d had in months. I couldn’t even get a dog because my building wouldn’t let me. All I had was Fin, and he wasn’t exactly the best company. He only loved me for the fish flakes.

I laughed bitterly.

“What is wrong?”

“I always wanted to travel and explore but never had the money.” I dragged a palm over my face. “Who would’ve thought I’d end up exploring an alien planet somewhere out in the stars in my nightie with no shoes, and against my will.”

“We don’t always end up where we thought we would. I sure didn’t.” He paused as if considering whether to say his next words. “I’m not on this planet by choice either.”

“Really?”

“I’m here because this outlaw planet is a  good place to hide. I work as personal security and took a job as a bodyguard for the wrong person. I have assassins on my tail, and I need to stay hidden.”

“Oh shit.” And my pod had called every alien looking to make a quick buck right next to where Xadren had been hiding. Because of me, he now had drones and scanners after him. I was just a ball of bad luck, and it had rubbed off on him. “I’m sorry I fucked up your plan to hide out quietly. I guess we are both screwed if we get caught.”

He grunted. “I don’t plan on getting caught.”

Chapter 6: Xadren

Lily was not happy with me. I’d explained to her earlier my idea to leave her with my friend, and while she hadn’t said anything, I knew she didn’t like my plan, despite agreeing with it. I was not fond of it myself, especially after having had a taste of her. I wanted to keep her but knew I couldn’t. She wasn’t safe with me.

I’d explained to her I was on the run and hiding on this planet, but I’d also let her believe that the scans earlier were to look for her. They weren’t. That had been a Zintazi scanner. They were looking for me, and they were getting close.

No, I couldn’t keep her, no matter what I wanted. And I wanted her a hell of a lot. Bonded Balvanites slept with their tails entwined, and I’d woken up to find my tail entwined with her lower paw as if we were mates. My body had already started to form a mate bond with her. Lily was safest with Coal.

She sat on my shoulders as I made my way through the forest, winding my way around the mountain to Coal’s cabin. She was completely bare on the back of my neck; I’d ripped her only crotch covering—what that tiny scrap of fabric was supposed to accomplish I did not know—and her scent was driving me out of my mind.

I’d learned that humans had underdeveloped pads on their lower paws. Lily had gotten scratched up almost immediately by the rocks and twigs on the forest floor, so I’d offered to carry her like a youngster on my shoulders. It was for the best anyway; she was clumsy and managed to trip over everything.

I enjoyed having her on my shoulders despite the distraction of her scent, but she’d been quiet since finding out I planned to give her away. That, I didn’t enjoy as much.

Coal lived on the other side of the mountain, and I didn’t have a shuttle or any other vehicle, which meant we had to go on foot. I hadn’t come to the planet for play or even for business; I’d come to shake my executioners.

Lily’s stomach, which was behind my head, rumbled. We hadn’t had time to eat this morning, not with how distracted I’d been with her. There was a stream ahead; we’d stop there, and I’d refill my flask.

Lily’s voice broke the silence. At first, I was glad she was talking to me again until I heard what she said.

“So, tell me about this friend of yours that you’re leaving me with. What’s he like?”

It was only natural she was curious about the male I was bringing her to, but a part of me hated that she was asking about another male. It was completely irrational. Lily wasn’t mine to keep, and I had no claim on her. This possessiveness confused me.

“Fine. Don’t tell me about him.” She blew out an exasperated breath.

I hadn’t realized I’d been quiet for so long after her question.

I cleared my throat. “Coal is a loner. He only goes to the port to pick up supplies. He lives mostly off the land, so that isn’t often.”

I took a big step over a puddle, and her hands gripped onto my horns tightly to stay balanced. I was glad my horns were not sensitive. I doubted I could focus with her hands on them if they were. My tail, however, was; it felt everything. Right now, it hovered behind her, ready to catch her if she fell.

“What does this Coal do?”

What did he do? He used to be a mercenary, but in the years I’d known him, he’d done nothing but live quietly as a hermit. So that was what I told her.

“So he does nothing now?”

“He has made his credits and prefers to live off the land.” I knew at least that much.

“Is he like you?”

“No. I work as a bodyguard.” Or I did. I had no idea how I’d find work now that the Zintazi were after me.

“No, I mean, is he a gargoyle like you?” She stiffened, and I felt the inside of her thighs squeeze my head. “I mean, whatever your species is.”

Gargoyle. My translator gave me a definition for the word, but it didn’t make sense. I was not a carved figure serving as a spout to carry water away from the walls of the building. There must be something off with the translation program.

“I do not filter water from rooftops.”

She laughed, a sound I wanted to hear more of.

“I am a Balvanite. Our people are often hired as guards and security because of our size and ability to fight.” I stepped into a clearing next to the stream.

“Water! I’m so thirsty. Is it safe to drink?”

We’d finished whatever was in my flask this morning.

“Have you been inoculated against the common parasites in the galaxy?”

She chewed her bottom lip. “The little green men gave me some shots with this gun thingy.”

“That should be it.” The injections didn’t work for everything, but it was sufficient. There were microbes in the still waters of Reazus Prime that weren’t covered, but this stream was fast-flowing and clean as far as I knew. I’d drunk out of it many times before.

I searched a stretch of riverbank with more cover and let her down on a dry rock under the shade of a tree. It wasn’t enough coverage for my liking, not with so many hunting us, but it would have to do.

I handed my empty flask to Lily before heading back into the trees. I picked up a sizable fallen branch and carried it back to the river. If there wasn’t enough cover, I’d just have to make more.

Lily stood on the rock, gawking at me.

“What?” I looked around to see if she was gawking at anything else. Nope. I was the only one here.

“You’re carrying a tree.”

“A branch,” I corrected. I set said branch down next to the tree so it added extra shade and coverage.

“To-may-to, to-mah-to.”

I had no idea what she meant.

“Stay in the shade of the tree and hide under the branch if you hear or see the search bots. Don’t leave the rock.” I turned to leave.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“To hunt. You are hungry. I will feed you.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

I grunted in acknowledgment and entered the woods to find us a meal.

Approaching the river, I’d avoided several dozen holes in the ground, holes almost hidden in the leaf litter. I recognized the signs of a colony of small burrowing creatures; I’d also heard their calls often throughout our trek. I didn’t know the official name of the little beasties. I called them tasty.

I settled in front of a series of openings in the ground and slowed my breathing, readying myself to use the same hunting technique that my ancestors had used. They’d hunted much larger prey and more dangerous prey, however, and would be embarrassed at the tiny creatures I now waited in ambush for.

I copied the call I’d heard earlier the best I could, then stayed as still as possible, feeling for any vibrations under the ground. The movement started in just a few seconds. I concentrated on it, trying to deduce which of the openings the creature—make that creatures, more vibrations joined the first—would pop out of.

They were all headed toward the burrow opening to the left, the one farthest from me but still close enough for me to strike. A muzzle popped up through the hole and sniffed. I wasn’t worried; I’d strategically stationed myself downwind of the openings. Even if it did smell me, it wouldn’t recognize me as a predator.

As expected, it crawled out, not sensing any danger.

A shadow passed over us a fraction of a second before something swooped down and picked my would-be lunch up its claws. I moved quickly and snatched the flying creature out of the air before it could fly off.

It wouldn’t get away with stealing my prey.

The flyer screeched and struggled in my grasp, releasing the smaller creature in its claws and kicked wildly, trying to free itself.  The little ground-dwelling creature snapped out of its daze and hurried back into the burrow to warn the rest of its friends. I guess we were eating whatever I’d caught instead.

I’d seen these flying creatures before, roasting over a fire at the port. Again, I didn’t know their name, but they were awfully tasty, probably better than the burrowing critters. It was a decent size too, and one would be enough for more than one meal.

I dispatched it quickly and returned to Lily, but she wasn’t where I’d left her. Grumbling, I searched for her along the river. I’d told her not to move. I found her stuck on her hands and knees in a patch of carnivorous grass, her naked ass in the air.

She pulled on her leg, trying to free herself, but only managed to jiggle her ass.

She yanked her hand and got it free of the sticky sap, but she had nowhere to put it now except right back onto the patch. She held it awkwardly in the air and threw her weight to the other side, trying to free her second hand. It threw her off-balanced instead, and she landed on her elbows, getting even more stuck than before.

Her ass was even higher. Beautiful.

How? How did she end up here? And why? Why was the universe tempting me?

I cleared my throat, and she turned to look at me. The panicked look in her eyes faded once she saw it was me.

“Crap! You scared me.”

I stood there for a moment, enjoying the view. I was tempted to just drop my covering, kneel behind her, and teach her a lesson for leaving the rock when I’d told her not to. I wouldn’t get stuck on the carnivorous grass. I was strong enough to break out from their hold. It took them a while to start producing the digestive juices to dissolve their usually much smaller prey.

“Are you just going to stare? Or are you going to help me?” She didn’t look impressed.

I cracked a grin. “I told you not to leave the rock.”

“I was trying to refill your water for you.” She jerked her head to the abandoned flask by the side of the river.

It had been empty. She’d been trying to help, but she could have gotten seriously hurt. I hadn’t expected her to be too weak to pull free from the grass. Left this way, she would be in trouble by nightfall, even if no other predators found her.

“You are lucky nothing found you before I got back. These woods are dangerous. You need to follow my directions.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I should leave you here while I dress my kill. I do love the view.”

She turned her head to glare at me, and I leered exaggeratedly at her perfect bottom on display. “You ass!”

“I believe it’s your ass on display.” I knelt next to her and gave her rounded bottom a loud smack.

She hissed.

I checked the skies. “There aren’t any enemies around, and the grass won’t start producing digestive juices for a few hours yet. You’ll keep.”

“Digestive juices?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch.

I pointed to the tiny buds forming around her. “See those?”

“Flower buds? I didn’t see them before.”

“Not flowers. And you didn’t see them before because they weren’t there. The grass develops the parts containing the digestive fluids only after it has caught its prey. There’s no point in wasting the energy otherwise. Each bud forms a small cup that fills with acid after it latches onto its victim. If you watch one carefully, you can see it growing. It only takes a few hours to develop.”

And as if to prove my point, the bud right in front of her grew a little bigger.

“Crap!” Lily started struggling in earnest. “Get me out of here!”

Realizing she’d probably already learned her lesson, I wrapped the arm that wasn’t holding our future lunch around her middle and yanked, pulling her free from the sticky patch. As much as I enjoyed the view, it was probably safer for us to stay under cover.

I carried her over into the river and dunked her in. She gasped at the cold water but immediately started scrubbing away the sticky sap. I picked up the flask and filled it farther upstream.

“Ugh! Get this off me!” She looked over at the patch lining the bank. She paused her scrubbing, her eyes on a pile of bones from a small animal. “ That’s creepy! I should’ve noticed the signs.”

I picked her up again, still dripping wet, her uselessly unprotective garment plastered against her body. Both suns were out, and she would dry soon. Then, I leaped over the patch and headed to the tree to start our meal.

Chapter 7: Lily

I didn’t think of myself as a crybaby, but all I wanted to do this very moment was stomp my feet and throw a fit. This forest was horrible, and I wanted to go home. I’d had a shitty few days, and it wasn’t getting any better.

When Xadren had told me he didn’t plan on keeping me, I’d almost started crying. Sure, I’d just met him, but I knew he was a decent fellow. That was more than I could say for anyone else I’d met outside of Earth.

I didn’t want to be left with a stranger. I’d fumed quietly to myself until I realized Xadren hadn’t expected to find me to begin with, and he owed me nothing. I wasn’t being fair to him. If anything, he was doing a favor getting me to his friend. He was most likely a better choice than anyone else on the planet.

I pushed a sweaty strand of hair off my face. The planet’s two suns had dried me quickly after my dunk in the river, but they also gave me the universe’s worst sunburn. The forest canopy protected my skin while we traveled, but the damage had already been done while I was out there stuck on that terrible grass. I’d been glad to get back under the shade of the trees, until biting bugs found me and made me their lunch.

The only good part of today had been lunch itself. I’d been wary about eating a flying lizard—I swore that was what the creature Xadren had brought back looked like—but it had been delicious. We hadn’t even used any salt or spices, and it had come out perfectly seasoned and mouth-wateringly tender. It was the ultimate cheater meat for those who couldn’t cook.

I smacked away another bitey bug and grumbled.

Back on Earth, mosquitos did a number on me. They loved me, and my body hated them. I reacted to each bite by swelling up; each bite that would have been less than a half-inch on someone else would swell to two inches across on me.

It seemed space bugs loved me even more. I already had several bites swelling up on my leg, and the skin around each bite felt hot and feverish. The annoying buggers left Xadren completely alone.

A particularly persistent alien nuisance flew around my face, looking for a place to land. I waved it away, but it came right back.

Alright, that’s it, no more mister nice guy.

I was stuck in an alien forest, with no shoes, no underwear, no bra, a ripped nightie, a sunburn, and a gargoyle that planned to drop me off with a friend to get rid of me. Plus, I was getting dizzy, and I felt a headache coming on.  I was done. Stick-a-fork-in-me done!

“Argh!” I yelled, swatting at the damned thing. I didn’t want to actually touch the bug, but it needed to die. “Die! You! Mother! Fucker!” I swung wildly at it.

I managed to get it on the last try, but I also managed to lose my balance. I fell back with a squeal—I was sitting on Xadren’s shoulders again—but his tail caught me by the shoulders and pushed me back upright.

“Easy there.” His tail stayed wrapped around my back. “What is wrong?”

“I’m being eaten alive by these bugs.” I pointed to the heated welts forming around the bites on my leg.

Xadren lifted me off his back with one hand like I was just a toddler and maneuvered me so that he held me in front of him and checked the bites.

“They itch like crazy, and they feel hot.” I rubbed my temple. “And I’m getting dizzy.”

Another bug, clearly not deterred by his dead comrade, flew in for another nibble.  Xadren swatted it away.

“These creatures never bothered me before. You must taste good to them.” He checked me over again and frowned. “You have changed color.”

“It’s a sunburn from when I was by the river. Those two suns are stronger than I’m used to, and I didn’t exactly start with a base tan.”

“Humans are too delicate.” Another bug flew in, and he swatted that away too. “And delicious.”

“They didn’t bite me yesterday.” The world spun around me, and I gripped my head. “I think I need some water.”

I reached for the flask at his waistband and managed to get it loose. I took a sip, hoping it would make the dizziness go away, but it didn’t. The world still spun.

“We were in the knoll of the bower tree; the leaves give off a chemical that drives away the insects. It’s part of the trade for nutrients from its occupants.” He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against mine, careful not to get me with his short, pointy horns. Those horns had made great handles while I was on his shoulder. “You are burning up. We need to find another bower tree to rest.”

Xadren’s lips formed a thin line, and his face turned serious, looking once again like a grumpy gargoyle. He didn’t put me back on his back, choosing instead to carry me in his arms. I leaned over to put the flask back and groaned as another wave of dizziness hit me. I closed my eyes to stop the spinning.

“Just hold onto the flask. Relax. I will get you to safety.”

The forest whizzed by as he stomped full speed ahead. He was worried. I didn’t know how to read alien faces, but I knew this much. Could you imagine if I was done in by bug bites and a sunburn? How embarrassing!

I watched Xadren’s face through half-closed lids as he traveled. How had I thought of him as scary at first? He wasn’t scary at all. Well, maybe he was when he was angry or to his enemies. But not to me. He was kind of cute, in an ogrish kind of way. I had my own protective monster.

But he isn’t mine, I reminded myself. He planned to drop me off at his friend’s, which sucked. It sucked a lot. I wanted to stay with him, and not just because he was damned good with his mouth and I wanted to know what else he was good with.

I’d almost wanted him to take advantage of my predicament by the river, but then I’d freaked out. Maybe it was for the best not to know; it would make it easier when he left. I couldn’t miss what I’d never had.

I looked away from his face to the forest around me.

“Ask him to keep you.”

I looked around but didn’t see anyone.

“Who said that?”

“Ask him to keep you,” the strange voice repeated.

I looked down to my hands at the flask. “Did you just talk to me?”

“Who else could it be?” it replied.

“I can’t ask someone who doesn’t want me to keep me. It’s not the same.”

“He wants you.”

“If he did, he wouldn’t be bringing me to his friend, Fire, or whatever.”

“Coal, his friend is Coal,” the flask said cheekily. “And he totally wants to keep you. All you have to do is ask.”

“What do you know? You’re just a flask full of water.”

“At least I’m not full of shit.”

What the hell was I doing, arguing with a flask? This was ridiculous. I decided to ignore it if it spoke to me again, but it didn’t speak again. I might be going crazy, but I was going to choose my own level of crazy. I drew the line at quarreling with inanimate objects.

I looked up at Xadren, but he was oblivious to my conflict with the flask. Good, that would have been hard to explain.

“I need to put you down,” said Xadren. “I found another bower tree, but I need to check if it's occupied.”

He put me down on the ground, but my knees collapsed under my weight. He grimaced before carefully setting me on the forest floor, leaning up against a tree trunk.

“Don’t move.”

Don’t move? As if I could even get up. This sucked. Forget asking him to keep me; I was probably going to die from a couple of bug bites. He wouldn’t even need to make the rest of the trip to Coal’s place.

An eternity later, something made a huge racket as it clamored down the tree. I lifted heavy eyelids to see a cross between a Tasmanian devil and a raccoon facing off against Xadren. It made a horrible screeching sound, something you’d hear before some scary shit got you in a video game.

Xadren held up a pair of something round and fluffy; then he tossed them over the monster raccoon’s head. The thing turned and chased after them.

“We’ll give them back the burrow when we are done,” Xadren said as he picked me up again. “As long as we are in it, the mother wildling demon wouldn’t be back.”

Wildling demon? It was probably named after its screech. I’d probably shit myself if I heard that at night in the woods.

I didn’t know how he managed to get me up the tree, but the next time I opened my eyes, I was inside the bower. This one was a little more lived-in than the last, with piles of small animal bones and fur in one corner and a pile of white fluff in another.

Xadren was nowhere to be seen. I hoped he hadn’t abandoned me. I didn’t think he’d do that, though, not after carrying me through the woods.

Something tickled my foot, and I looked down to see a living pom-pom. This cutie must be the baby version of the demon creature I’d seen earlier. Hadn’t Xadren thrown two of these fluff balls at the vicious animal before it left? This one was much smaller than the other two. It must be the runt.

It looked up at me with huge eyes. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was real—I’d been talking to a flask earlier—but I took a gamble and spoke to it. If it spoke back, I’d know it was a figment of my imagination.

“Hello.”

It didn’t speak back. Instead, it dove into the pile of white fluff to hide. Oops, I’d scared it.

“I’m sorry. You must be scared. I’m sorry we scared away your momma.”

It poked the top of its head out from the fluff pile and chirped at me, then seeing I wasn’t going after it, it bounced back out and sniffed at my foot. I sure hoped it wasn’t smelling me to see if I was edible. I could barely move, and if it wanted to take a chomp out of me now, I wouldn’t be able to stop it, even if it did look like a living pom-pom.

Instead, it just bounced a little higher into the curve of my stomach—I was lying in a fetal position—and cuddled in. Maybe it was cold. I didn’t mind. It was kind of cute, and we did chase away its mother. The least I could do was spare some body heat.

Another wave of dizziness hit me, and I closed my eyes again.

I sure hoped Xadren got back soon.

Chapter 8: Xadren

Panic filled me when I returned and couldn’t rouse Lily. She was alive, though; I’d heard her heart beating faintly in her chest.

I rolled her over and saw the round ball of fluff in her arms.

A baby wilding demon. The adults were vicious and took down prey many times their size. They did a war dance to confuse the larger prey and then attacked, going for the jugular. The one I’d flushed out earlier from the bower had put up quite a fight and had only conceded to my claim on the tree because I’d thrown its cubs at it.

It seemed I’d missed one. This one looked like a runt. I doubted it would live. The mother had known too, and had left without it. It was sad, but that was life.

It was harmless and probably hadn’t even cut its teeth yet. If it comforted Lily, I’d allow it.

“Lily?” I shook her again but got no response.

I’d managed to get her up into the bower; no easy task since she’d been limp and barely responsive and couldn’t hold on to me if she tried. I’d tied her to myself with some vines and climbed up.

Then I’d done some desperate searches on my communicator to find out what was wrong with her. I learned some species reacted badly to the bites of the blood-sucking insects in the area. There was a protein in the varmint’s saliva their bodies couldn’t process.

I hadn’t known, since I’d never been bitten before. They didn’t find my kind to be particularly tasty. Lily, however, they found irresistible.

Most reactions were not deadly, though it took time for the worst of it to pass. A poultice made with the pulp of a local plant helped draw out the problematic proteins. Lucky for us, this plant grew anywhere the offensive little bugs lived, so it was a matter of finding and recognizing it.

Even though I knew Lily couldn’t hear me, I talked to her as I prepared the poultice, a simple process that involved mashing up the leaves. I told Lily about the last job I’d taken and how I’d learned too much about the people I was supposed to protect, and they’d sent their enforcers after me. I told her how I wanted to keep her for myself, but it was too dangerous for her to stay with me with three Zintazi enforcers on my tail.

I knew she was still upset about my plan to leave her with Coal, but I didn’t see any other way around it. Keeping her would put her in too much danger.

I spread the pulp over the bites, which had swelled up on her body. The leaves had anti-inflammatory properties, and I used the leftovers on her sunburns. The burns were my fault. I hadn’t protected her thin, delicate skin from the twin suns.

Then I took the giant bower tree leaves I’d used to carry the plants back and went to work, fashioning some bottoms for her. The local people used these leaves to make temporary protective clothing that warded away the biting critters. Lily was woefully underdressed anyway, and I should have done this earlier.

I enjoyed seeing her half-naked and hadn’t even thought of her delicate skin being exposed to the elements. It was something I never had to worry about. My skin never burned on this planet; the suns weren’t strong enough.

I had a lot to learn about caring for a female. And even though she wasn’t to stay with me for long, I wanted to care for her well while I could.

Maybe when the Zintazi lost interest, I’d return and find her unclaimed. It was highly unlikely, though. Even if Coal wasn’t interested in a female, someone else would claim her.

The idea angered me, and I couldn’t stop the growl coming from my throat.

The little wildling pup woke and made a terrified noise, burrowing against Lily’s body, shaking.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I grumbled.

I tore a leg off the leftover from our lunch and tossed it to the pup. I doubted it could eat it without teeth, but it could try. It sniffed it, recognized it as edible, and took a bite. It gnawed at it, and I saw that I’d been wrong; it had teeth. He was just much smaller than other wildling pups its age.

Lily didn’t belong to Coal yet. She was here with me, and until I relinquished control of her, Lily was mine.

Lily moaned, and her eyes fluttered open. “Xadren?”

“Lily.”

“Am I dead?”

“What? No. No. You’re alive.”

“Oh, that’s good. I thought I died.” She blinked a few times. Her eyes were unfocused and glassy; she was still delirious.

“Can you hold me?”

“Yes. I’ll hold you.” I settled around her body, holding her the best I could without disturbing the poultices.

“You’re keeping me, right? I want you to keep me.”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to keep her. I wanted to keep her so badly.

Now that she’d asked, I couldn’t say no, but I couldn’t say yes either. I knew that when the Zintazi came for me, she needed to be as far away from me as possible. I wasn’t selfish enough to condemn her along with me.

Lily shifted her weight, knocking off a few pieces of mashed-up plant matter. She grabbed me by the horns and pressed her lips to mine. I froze. Some species mated with their mouths before mating for real. This must be it.

I moved my mouth experimentally, copying her movements, and found it very arousing. I swept a tongue into her mouth, tasting her. I pushed her down into the soft cushion of the bower and devoured her mouth until she was moaning with need.

When I lifted my head, glassy eyes stared up at me, barely focused. Fuck. She was still under the influence of the toxins. This had to stop. We’d continue tomorrow when she was lucid.

“Not now, my sweet. Tomorrow, I will give you everything you need. I can’t keep you, but until we part, you are mine. And I take care of what’s mine.”

“Promise?”

I made a decision then and there. Not many escaped the Zintazi enforcers, but there were stories. It was time I added my name to those stories. Even if I had to lure them out and destroy them all, I would come back for Lily.

“I promise. I will even claim you as my mate.” I didn’t tell her that my kind could only claim one mate their entire lives.

“What’s that?”

“It means I stay with you and care for you forever. It means you are mine, and I am yours.”

She hummed and smiled at him. Then she yawned. Moments later, light snoring told me she was asleep again.

A mate. Why had I even said those words? I thought of my tail wrapped around her ankle, the warmth I felt in my chest when I thought of her, and the panic I felt when she would not rouse. It couldn’t be, could it?

I unhooked my communicator from my belt and entered the code to reach Coal.

“What do you want?” he grumbled through the speaker.

“I’m dropping by with—”

“No, you‘re not. No one’s coming here.”

I ignored him. “—a female. A human.”

That caught his attention. “You found one of the pods. The whole fucking Hub has been talking about those pods.”

“For someone who claims to hate everyone and not care what happens in the galaxy, you sure know a lot about what’s happening at the Hub.”

Coal grunted. “Why bring a female to me? You found her; you keep her.”

“I can’t keep her, at least not yet. I need you to keep her for me. I have a tail I need to shake.”

Coal guffawed. “Finally got yourself into trouble? Who is after you?”

I didn’t reply.

“Fine, keep your secrets. I’ll keep her for you, but only because I owe you for last time. Three days max. If you don’t return for her after that, she’s mine to do whatever I want with.”

“I didn’t know you wanted a female.”

“I don’t,” he grumbled. “Bring her here; then, you have three days.”

“We are at the base of your mountain. We will arrive tomorrow.”

“Try not to die before then, will you?”

I ended the communication.

I hadn’t made any real plans to evade my executioners except to keep running, but that was no longer a solution. I needed something more permanent that didn’t involve me dying.

My job as security for hire meant I couldn’t provide for a female the way I wanted. I couldn’t bring her on a mission, and I didn’t exactly have a home to leave her in. I drifted from job to job. The closest thing I had to a home was my ship: a ship that would be shot down on sight by the Zintazi if recognized.

Even if I somehow managed to go back to my old life unrecognized, a human alone on a ship parked a lot while I traveled for work was a recipe for disaster. If anyone found out she was inside, they’d steal her immediately.

I could always pivot my line of work so I could stay on the ship with her. But that would require upgrading my ship, big time. I protected my clients in the flesh with my body. I was a good fighter, quick for my size. Protecting ships from attack required the right type of ship with enough firepower.

Nope! That life was not for Lily. It wasn’t safe.

I thought of my ship and all the places it had taken me, but it was expendable, especially if it meant I could keep Lily. I thought of the credits I’d worked for years to save; accessing them would immediately alert the Zintazi of my whereabouts. Luckily, I’d squirreled some away in another account.

I could make more credits and buy another ship. But I’d never find another Lily. It was time to make some plans and set some wheels in motion.

Three enforcers, that was all I had on my tail. I blew out a breath. That was usually no problem for a Balvanite, but Zintazi enforcers trained their whole lives to kill and were armed with personal stealth technology and enhancements. Fair fight or not, I had to deal with them. If I wanted a chance at a life with Lily, it was my only choice.

Chapter 9: Lily

I woke up with Xadren wrapped around me. His tail once again had circled possessively around my ankle. The next thing I noticed was how remarkably parched I was. I felt as if I’d turned into a desert. I searched for Xadren’s flask.

That was when I noticed the slimy poultices all over my legs. There was one on my arm too. I lifted a soggy leaf and saw that the swelling had gone down underneath. Whatever it was, it seemed to be working, so I put the compresses back and looked around for the flask again.

Once I’d found it, I stared distrustfully at the container in my hand, worried it would speak to me again. When it didn’t, I opened it and took a long swig. I felt better almost immediately. The long nap and water were game-changers. Gone were the dizziness and confusion I’d felt before. For a moment there, I’d thought I was dying. I was glad I’d made it.

When I put down the flask, Xadren’s opal eyes stared back at me.

“You are awake. How do you feel? You would not wake before.”

I pushed myself to sit and cleared my throat. “I feel a lot better, thank you. Your flask isn’t talking anymore.”

It had told me to ask him to keep me. No. I couldn’t do that. I wouldn't want him to keep me out of guilt or responsibility. I didn’t want to be someone’s responsibility just because he picked me up first. I wanted Xadren to really want me.

“What do you remember?” he asked, concern still on his face.

I tried to recall the last thing that had happened after I decided to stop replying to the flask. Everything was fuzzy, and I couldn’t tell what had been a dream and what had been reality. All I had were bits and pieces, and none of them made a lick of sense.

I looked around. We were in another bower tree. That’s right! I remembered being carried up here.

“I remember you kicking out the devil creature and throwing two fluffy things at it. Everything after that is a foggy mess.” I remembered being inside the bower and talking to someone or something, but I had no idea to who or what was said.

“Nothing else?”

I dug into my brain again. “Nothing.”

I startled at movement by my feet but realized it was the fluffy devil creature baby.

“Oh right, I remember the baby devil thingy.” That was probably what I’d talked to. At least it was alive and not a flask.

The creature gnawed on a piece of our leftovers. It noticed me looking at it and pulled the meaty bone, which was larger than its body, toward me.

“I think I’ll call you Tiny. You’re teeny tiny next to that bone.”

It settled between Xadren and me and continued gnawing on its prize, its little teeth tearing little pieces of meat off and leaving marks on the bone. So much for thinking it was harmless. Those teeth were sharp. I was glad it hadn’t tried to eat me while I was delirious and helpless.

Xadren frowned at the little critter, picked it up, and deposited it into the pile of white fluff. Then my alien gargoyle sidled in close and pulled me into his arms. “You had me worried. How do you feel now?”

He’d been worried about me. Maybe he did care after all.

“I feel great.” I did. I was well-rested, and I didn’t feel any of the dizziness of before. “Whatever this plant is that you put on me worked miracles. We can keep traveling if there’s still light out.”

I started to get up, but he stopped me.

“No, we should still rest for a while longer. There are no drones or scanners after us, and we have gone far enough today. I ran with you a long distance to find this bower tree.”

“Thank you for caring for me.”

He grunted. “You are mine to care for.”

You mean, until you drop me off with your friend, I thought bitterly.

I knew I should keep my distance so I wouldn’t fall for him any more than I already had. I pushed away, but he held me tight and rubbed his nose against my face and neck like a cat marking its territory.

Whoa, that was some kind of hot.

He didn’t stop there; he pushed me down onto the soft lining of the chamber and continued rubbing down my body. His nose brushed over my nipples, and they pebbled, growing sensitive.  He covered one with his mouth, nibbled it with his lip, and growled. The sound went straight to my crotch.

Who the fuck was I kidding? It was going to hurt anyway when he left. I might as well get as much of him as I could now, while I could. I didn’t want to look back on today and realize I’d missed my only opportunity at a connection with him, even if it was just for a moment.

I had no idea what future awaited me. What if Coal didn’t keep me for himself and sold me off instead?

Fuck it. I needed to enjoy every last moment I could, and I planned to start now with Xadren. His scent enveloped me, and I felt safer than ever, despite being in an alien forest. I might not feel this sort of safety again, and I needed to  enjoy it while I could.

I bit my lip as he trailed downward. A massive hand landed on my chest, keeping me pressed down into the soft vegetation, as his possessive nose-rubbing reached my lower belly. I moaned when he rubbed his nose into my pussy. Then I moaned some more when he added tongue.

“I want you.” It came out a vibrating growl. “I need to touch you, to taste you, to know you are alive and well.”

“Yes! Please, I want you too.”

I wanted to explore him as he’d explored me before. I took one more swig of the water and pushed him down onto the bower floor playfully. I knew I couldn’t actually move him if he didn’t want to be moved, but he lay down on the floor, hand behind his head, an amused look on his face.

I grinned and dragged a finger slowly down his chest and over every bump of his washboard abs. Then I followed it with kisses, and his body tensed underneath my hands and lips. His thick erection pressed against the front of his pants.

I hadn’t gotten the chance to touch him last time, and I wanted to feel his hardness in my hands now. I reached for the clasp on his belt and undid it. He lifted his hips and pushed the clothes down for me.

It was magnificent. Thick and heavy and hard-as-rock with the wide ridge running up and down the back. A flared mushroom-shaped head tipped the end. I stroked it, marveling at how silky the skin felt, despite how hard it looked. It bobbed in my hands, and I licked my lips. He’d already sampled me; now it was my turn.

I licked the broad stone-gray head and closed my eyes as the masculine taste of him invaded my mouth and took over my tastebuds. I wet my lips before covering him with my mouth, swirling my tongue over the tip. He swelled even more, and his cock twitched in my mouth. A deep growl sounded from Xadren, vibrating the entire bower.

“Yes,” Xadren hissed as his fingers threaded through my hair. He took over, moving my head in long strokes up and down his cock. “Fuck! You look perfect with your lips wrapped around my cock.” He growled low.

The sexy sound, combined with the feel of the tip of his rock-hard length pressing against the back of my throat was a huge turn-on. I looked up and saw Xadren’s face frozen in pleasure, his sharp teeth glinting in the light shining through the bower’s canopy.

I added a hand to pump his length, and he inhaled sharply. I loved the effect I had on him. It made me feel powerful on a planet where I had none. I reached a hand down to play with myself.

“Let me.” He adjusted our positions. “Be a good little female and ride my hand.”

I moaned around his cock as I rocked my hips. It felt good to be alive, and I planned on taking advantage of every moment.

“You are already wet and ready for me.” He repositioned us again, flipping me over onto my belly and yanking me up to my hands and knees. “I can’t wait anymore. I need you now.”

He spread his knees to get low enough to line us up. I looked back at him poised behind me; he was massively built, and if he wanted to hurt me, he could. He had the look of raw hunger on his face as if he starved for me, but I trusted him. I was safe with him.

“Scream into the floor. There are still others looking for us.” He pushed my chest and face down onto the soft vegetation. “I’m going to fuck you, Lily. I’m going to give us both what we need.”

I shuddered in anticipation at his words as a firm hand gripped my hip and pulled me back so the lips of my pussy wrapped around the head of his shaft. He growled, and a hand slid up to caress my breast. Then it slid down my body until it teased at my clit. I panted. I ached so much for him, it almost hurt. I wanted him in me now.

He pushed in slowly, and I struggled to breathe as he filled me so full it felt as if I would burst. I clawed my fingers into the plants lining the bower.

He moved slowly at first, letting me get used to him. But as I became slicker with wetness, he pumped into me hard and fast. The bumps on the ridge of his cock seemed perfectly designed for me body. They rubbed something inside of me with every movement, and pushed my shaking body ever closer to the precipice.

I cried out as he drove into me, grunting and snarling. He rutted into me like a beast, and I loved every single moment of it.

His finger, which had been simply pressing on my clit, moved, and I was overwhelmed with pleasure. My body shook, and my insides fluttered wildly around his thick cock. White-hot tingles shot down my spine and through my fingers and toes. It was too much. I screamed as my climax tore through me, sending ecstasy to every cell in my body.

Chapter 10: Xadren

The sounds coming from Lily’s mouth were the sexiest things I’d ever heard, even when muffled by the greenery beneath our knees. Her pussy clenched and unclenched around me, pushing me ever higher.

Everything about her was perfect, and I wanted to stay locked together with her until the stars stopped burning. I loved her complete surrender to me. I loved how she trusted me. I loved being inside her.

I drove into her a few more times before I finally lost control. With one hand on her ass and another under her belly, I hammered into her with wild abandon, thrusting in uncontrolled bursts and grinding against her ass until a vicious sound tore from my mouth, and I exploded into her depths.

She whimpered under me, and I rolled us so that I spooned her from the side.

“You okay, little one?”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed. “Never better.” She cuddled back against me as the living lining of the bower cleaned us up.

I buried my face in her hair and inhaled her scent. She was sweating, and so was I. Our sweat mingled together, and it scented right. Now that I’d had her once, I knew that I’d need her for the rest of my life. I’d starve without her.

Moments like these were what I had to fight for. Before meeting Lily, I hadn’t had a good reason to fight, so I’d run instead. I ran to this lawless planet of thieves and outlaws with no plans for the future except to keep running. I saw now that running was not enough. I couldn’t keep it up forever. I held in my arms the reason why I must take care of my Zintazi tail once and for all.

Lily was worth it.

She yawned. “I think you tired me out.” Leaning back against my chest, she closed her eyes. “You know, I’m glad we had this together, even if you can’t keep me.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat as if trying to hide her sadness. “I like you. I’ll remember our time together. Thank you for saving me on the cliff, and thank you for bringing me somewhere safe.”

Lily really didn’t remember our conversation. She still believed I planned on leaving her with Coal forever.

“Lily, I— ” I started to tell her about our conversation, but paused.

I imagined her in tears if I promised to return for her but was killed by my pursuers instead. I hated to leave her sad, thinking I’d given her up, but it would be easier for her to think I was still alive should I fail to stop the assassins.

I’d tried to avoid a bond with her but failed. It might not be a full mate bond, but there was something there.

I didn’t know the first thing about human mating rituals. Were they like the Balvanites? We could only mate bond with one person our entire lives, and once bonded, our lives were forever tied. This was why a male Balvanite went into a berserker state when his mate was threatened; she was quite literally his life.

What would happen to Lily if she formed the human version of such a bond with me and I died by Zintazi hands? It was best to let her believe I planned to leave her so she could guard her heart.

Even if humans didn’t form bonds like ours, I didn’t want her grieving for me if I never came back for her—not because I didn’t want her, but because I was dead. It was best to leave her with Coal, believing the plan hadn’t changed. Then, after I’d freed myself from the hunt, I’d return to surprise her.

“I’m glad we had this too,” I finished.

She’d forgive me for misleading her. I was only doing it to save her from more heartbreak should I fail my mission.

The baby wildling devil waddled over, full from its meal, and crawled into the warmth of Lily’s arms.

“Do you think its mother will come back for it?”

“She’ll return with her other babies when we leave.” I didn’t mention that most runts never survived. The mother could only feed two babies at a time, and if this one was smaller than the other two, it would lose the fight often.

“Well, Tiny, you can cuddle with us for now.”

“It’s not tame.”

“It’s still a baby, and it’s lonely. It cuddled with me when I was sick and didn’t bite me once. I don’t think it thinks of us as food.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “I had a pet back on Earth. He’s probably starving now. I know Fin’s just a goldfish, but when I bought him, I made a promise to care for him. A promise I couldn’t keep because of a bunch of little green men. Let me at least care for this one while I can. We did chase off its momma.”

“Alright, but if he bites you, he’s gone.”

I kissed the back of her head, and she mumbled something unintelligible.

“Rest now, little one. I will hold you tonight.” And every night until the end of time, if I returned alive.

Chapter 11: Lily

Xadren was gone. After our magical moment in the bower, he’d still left me at Coal’s and disappeared. I’d known he would leave, and I understood why he had to, but it still hurt like hell. I’d been a sulking mess since he left. Poor Coal was stuck sharing his home with me and a baby wildling, two things he’d never wanted.

Tiny was currently gnawing on a bone; something Coal had given him to stop him from chewing on his furniture. The furniture looked rustic and hand-made from the trees in the area. It must have taken a long time to make.

I’d expected Tiny to stay in the bower to wait for his mom to return, but when we left, he’d followed along. Xadren had tried to put him back, but we’d found him following us again.

Coal lived alone, and his cabin was a one-room, open concept affair. There was no privacy whatsoever for either of us. He tried to ignore me, choosing to focus on whatever he was working on instead.

When I’d first gotten in wearing my thin nightie, Coal had narrowed his eyes at me, shook his head, and tossed me one of his tops. It was huge and hung to my knees like a dress, but at least I was more covered up now. However, I wished I was wearing Xadren’s clothes instead.

“Why are you sulking?” the fire demon rumbled from his computer. “It is only a few days, and he will be back for you.”

The poor fire imp—that was what he looked like to me, but I didn’t say it out loud—hadn’t even figured out that I was here to stay yet. He probably thought he was just babysitting me. Xadren hadn’t explained much when he’d dropped me off. He’d barely said a word to his friend, just a simple thank you, and disappeared. He couldn’t get away fast enough.

“He’s not coming back,” I mumbled.

“You have that little faith that he’ll survive? You have not seen him fight. His kind are formidable fighters when pressed. I gave him three days to come back for you. You are a good incentive to deal with whoever is on his tail.”

What the hell was he talking about? “What do you mean you gave him three days?”

Coal frowned at me from his workstation. “In our comm call. He asked me to keep you until he could get rid of his problem. I gave him three days.”

I hadn’t known about this at all. “When was this? I thought he was leaving me with you permanently.”

Coal grumbled something to himself I couldn’t catch, then louder to me, “Xadren needs to learn to communicate. And I’m the one who’s supposed to hate people. We should compare notes to get the whole picture. Did he say who was after him?”

“I’m going to butcher the name, but something that sounded like Sincity? Sintazzy?”

Coal’s face grew serious. “The Zintazi. No wonder he refused to tell me.”

“Why?”

“Because not many escape the Zintazi, and if I thought he would not return, I wouldn’t have accepted taking you in.”

“Thanks, I feel really wanted,” I said blandly.

“Nothing against you. But what female would want to live out here alone with a grumpy has-been warrior? It’s best I stay alone.”

I looked around the cabin. It was quaint and comfortable. It was located at the edge of a lake, and the scene from the window was gorgeous. “I wouldn’t be so sure. Plenty of women would love to live here.”

He waved my comment off. “Now that I know it’s the Zintazi, I have to find a way to help him. No offense, but I need him to return for you.”

“None taken.” Were these Zintazi guys really that good that Coal thought he needed to help Xadren so he would return? “How bad are these people after him?”

“They train their whole lives to kill and have no concept of fighting fair. The Zintazi modify their enforcers and executioners to not feel pain. They also have numerous technologies at their disposal, such as scans and cloaking.”

The scan! The one that had interrupted us that day. “Does the scan sound like a high-pitched whirring?”

“Yes. You heard it before?”

“Shit! I thought the little green men were scanning for me. They were looking for Xadren! The Zintazi know he’s here. Xadren took down one of the scanners yesterday.”

Coal tapped away at his computer. “It couldn’t be the royal executioners. I would have caught wind of it. It must be a private affair.”

“He mentioned something about a minor prince.”

“It must be the prince’s personal enforcers. That’s better odds. The Zintazi enforcers are dangerous, but they have weaknesses. The first is that they are focused on only their mark, making getting close to them if we are not their target easy. The second is that they have many implants that can be used against them if they malfunction. Not many know of this weakness, but I have fought them before.”

“So what are we waiting for?” I was eager to go find and help Xadren.

Coal sent me a conspiratorial look. “We might have an extra trick up our sleeves.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“You.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“Tell me, in the time you were with him, did Xadren spend a lot of his time touching you?”

I blushed. What type of question was that? “What does that have to do with anything?” I asked defensively. My sex life was none of his business.

“You misunderstand. I mean staying in contact with you. In his sleep, and when you traveled.”

Oh. “Now that I think of it, we were almost always touching.”

“And in the morning when you woke up, where was his tail?”

I thought of his tail wrapped around my ankle the last three times I’d woken up next to him. “Around my leg.”

Coal cracked a smile, the fire in his eyes flashing brightly. “This is good. You may be his mate. Balvanites go into a protective rage, a sort of berserker state, when their mates are threatened. Even an army of Zintazi enforcers might not be able to stop him then. But we don’t know for sure you are his mate, and we’ll need to put you in danger to find out, so it will be our last resort. The risk is too high.”

A berserker state. I imagined Xadren losing his shit and going ham on these guys. Someone his size could do a lot of damage. I figured a mate meant something like a wife or a girlfriend, I didn’t mind that one bit. Xadren was a good catch, even if he was horrible at communication. He was my best bet here, and that wasn’t even considering what he could do in bed.

“I don’t care about the risk. Xadren saved me, once from falling to my death and again from being plant food. He took care of me while I was delirious from the bug bites. If his plan was to beat the Zintazi and come back for me, I’d do anything to help him.”

“He’ll kill me if you get hurt.”

“We’ll just have to win then.”

He grumbled something about hating having a conscience and stomped over to a cabinet. I gawked at the arsenal of weapons behind the door. There was enough for an entire army. He reached into the back and pulled out a vest of armor, and tossed it to me.

“Put this on. Let's see if it stays on you.”

I donned the vest. Like his top, it hung to my knees. The stiff shoulders stuck out at the sides like an 80’s power suit. The neckline dipped low. It wouldn’t protect my chest or neck well.

“It will have to do; I don’t have anything else that will fit you. At least you will be a smaller target for ranged weapons.” He dug into the cabinet again and came out with a strange-looking electronic device. He held it up. “If we get the right frequency, this should disrupt the enforcers’ cloaking as well as the rest of their implants.”

That would take away their upper hand.

“I want you to stay hidden.” Coal held up another device. “You take the back up. These devices only work short range. With any luck, Xadren and I can handle the enforcers alone, and we won’t need to test the mate theory.”

He started to get suited up, and I turned away, so as to not watch him change. Coal was super fit, just like Xadren, but I had no interest in him. I had my eyes on one alien only.

Suddenly, a memory of Xadren promising to claim me as his mate came to me. It felt as if it had been a dream, and I wasn’t sure if it was real. Had he really made that promise? It must have happened when I was delirious. That was the only time it could have occurred.

I’d completely forgotten about it when I woke.

A high-pitched whirring rang out in the distance, and I stiffened—another scan.

“Come, female. We need to find him now.”

I got up to leave with Coal, and Tiny dropped the bone to follow at my heel.

“Bring the bone. If that thing chews my transport, he’ll be tomorrow’s lunch.”

I bent to pick both Tiny and the bone up and carried them to the vehicle.

Hang on Xadren. We are on our way!

Chapter 12: Xadren

They’d found me. I moved quickly through the trees, trying to get to a more densely growing part of the forest. They were cloaked while I was not, and I needed more cover to level the playing field. That had been why I’d lured them out of their ship and into the forest by foot.

Their personal cloaking technology didn’t hide the vibrations of their footsteps, and I knew they were closing in. As I’d surmised, there were three of them.

I ducked behind a scraggly tree and prepped my blaster. If I could take down one of them from long range, it would make dealing with the others easier. Guessing their location through vibrations alone would be a challenge, though, which was why I’d led them to an area with such dense foliage. The leaves and vegetation would give away their movement.

I squatted low and placed my palms on the ground, staying as still as possible. My camouflage wouldn’t work on them, despite the natural rocks and boulders in the area colored similarly to myself. They could see heat with their ocular implants; another reason for fighting them in the forest—the thick foliage blocked their embedded sensors.

Picking up a small stone, I threw it as far as I could, hitting a tree some ways away. I focused on the ground. Something off to my left turned, ever so slightly, toward the sound of the stone hitting the tree. That was enemy number one. Now I just needed to keep my ears on this one and locate two more.

I squinted at the location I’d sensed the vibrations, waiting for my adversary to move again. Instead, he suddenly became uncloaked, just for a second, his slimy blue skin flashing brightly against the browns, greys, and greens of the forest. Then, he was cloaked again.

What the fuck? Something was messing with the Zintazi’s cloak. I wasn’t going to question a good thing when I saw it. I took the blaster from my belts and pointed it at the now empty-looking spot where the enforcer had been. I didn’t feel any movement, so he must still be there.

The enforcer blinked into vision again, and this time, he didn’t disappear. He also didn’t dive for cover. He stood there in the open, an easy target. The enforcers had no idea their cloaks were compromised.

I pulled the trigger, aiming for his head, and the Zintazi enforcer was surrounded by the bright flash of energy from my blaster. He shook violently for a second before dropping to the ground.

That was almost too easy.

But now, the other two were aware of their predicament. I felt their movement through the soles of my feet as they scurried for cover.

Whatever had knocked down the cloak must be near. The way the cloak had blinked in and out of existence meant the disrupting frequency had come into and out of range. I scanned past the point where the enforcer had stood, though I didn’t know what I was looking for.

Something was moving behind the trees; I felt it. Then a flash of dark red showed through the leaves. Coal! He was here to help. Of course, he would be. He probably saw this as a chance to stick it to some Zintazi enforcers.

But if he was here, where was Lily? He’d left her alone at his cabin. What if neither of us returned from this fools’ errand?

I felt movement heading toward Coal, and fast. I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed him.

“Zintazi incoming!” I yelled in warning.

I’d given away my position, but I didn’t care. I pushed through the thick foliage toward Coal. The other Zintazi enforcer headed toward me at a dead run, the ground vibrating from his footsteps. He got to me just as I got to Coal and saw him dodge a wickedly sharp blade aimed for his throat.

The other enforcer moved as if to throw something at me. I dodged, but nothing happened.

Coal chuckled. “Good luck fighting without all your tech.”

There were rumors of prototype devices that could cancel out all the Zintazi’s embedded technology. I hadn’t expected Coal to possess them.

The enforcer drew his blade and charged at me. I jumped out of the way, but the trained killer was quick. He was at me again immediately. We fought, dancing our lethal dance as he slashed at me repeatedly.

Even without their enhancements, the enforcers were deadly. They also had a one-track mind. Once they’d been given an order, they focused on it with iron determination. They had no other reason for living but to serve their masters’ purposes. Any personal wants or sense of self-preservation were wiped out long ago.

The only way to free myself from their chase was to make sure they were all dead.

I had the slimy blue bastard pinned to the forest floor when I heard Coal swear. Then, I heard a loud crunching sound of something breaking.

“Fuck! The disruptors.”

The enforcer under me shoved hard, suddenly many times stronger than he was a moment ago. I went flying into the closest tree.

I groaned.

It didn’t matter that I outweighed him or towered over him; the powered skeletal modification made him stronger than I could ever hope to be. He made the throwing motion with his hand again, and a beam of light shot out from his wrist. I dodged out of the way just in time, and the tree I’d landed on shattered like glass.

He shot another beam of light, and I rolled out of the way. The ground I’d been on was smoked and singed. The dried leaves on the forest floor glowed bright orange as they burned. I reached for my blaster and checked the cartridge. I had one shot left.

Fuck!

The enforcer shot once more, but this time, he aimed for the branch above me. I ran, but the heavy branch fell on me. I was a Balvanite; I had no trouble carrying entire trees, but he hadn’t been trying to kill me with the branch. He had been trying to slow me down.

I shoved at the branch, pushing it off my body and launching it right back at the slimy blue devil. But the second enforcer intercepted it, plucked it out of the air as if it weighed nothing, and tossed it aside.

Coal! I looked over and found Coal on the ground. He looked whole, but I wasn’t sure if he was alive. He should never have come to help me. This wasn’t his fight.

I turned to face the two Zintazis.

Lily. Who would care for Lily now? I had to get back to her.

I picked up the nearest rock and flung it at the closest enforcer. It stopped inches from his body and fell to the ground. His shields were back. This wasn’t a fair fight. They were walking weapons.

He stepped over the rock. “It is over Balvanite. Return to the ground from where you came.” Even his voice was electronic. Those things might have had a heart that beat, but they were not alive.

He made the motion again with his hand, and I braced for my final moment, my thoughts on Lily. I’d failed her. She was alone on this outlaw planet.

Nothing shot out from the killer’s hand. The other enforcer repeated the motion, but again, nothing happened. Something was jamming their technology again.

That was when I noticed a wisp of shiny dark hair peeking out from behind a tree.

Lily. Lily was here, and she had another disruptor.

The two Zintazi headed toward the tree, and Lily backed away. She didn’t run; she knew the device had to be near to work. One of the enforcers advanced on her, and I lunged to intercept him. No one hurt my Lily!

I grasped the Zintazi by the throat and threw him hard against a nearby rock formation.

I turned back just in time to watch the other blue brute pull Lily in by the hair.

She screamed, and the sound triggered something primal inside of me. I roared, suddenly full of rage at those who dared touch my mate. Lily was mine. I felt taller, stronger, faster. I charged at the dead male who touched what was mine. I rammed him into the trunk of a tree, but I didn’t stop there. Something screamed in my head to continue until he no longer moved.

I made a fist, as hard as any rock, and bashed it into his face. Then I did it again and again until I no longer recognized him as a Zintazi.

“Behind you!” Lily yelled. I turned to find the last enforcer behind me, blade in hand. Lily stood behind him, holding a rock over her head. She brought the rock down on the fighter, but the Zintazi didn’t even flinch. He turned from me to Lily.

He seized her by the throat, and red rage colored my vision. From out of nowhere, the wildling devil pup lunged at the enforcer. It wrapped its sharp little teeth around the enforcer's ankle and shook it wildly. But Tiny was outmatched. The enforcer kicked and sent the little pup flying into the brush.

I rounded on the male stupid enough to attack my mate. Grasping him by the bicep with one hand and by the forearm with the other, I pulled as hard as I could, tearing the offending limb apart at the elbow. Electric wires sparked at each end as blood spurted out, but the male did not react; he felt no pain. They’d removed any pain receptors that hindered his ability to fight to the death.

Death was what he’d get from me.

Despite being detached from the rest of the body, the hand still gripped tightly around Lily’s throat. I kicked the enforcer away to give myself time as I pried each finger off. Each angry mark left behind fueled my fury. She gasped for air when I finally freed her, and I put her safely behind me. I turned to stalk my final target.

I descended on my enemy, ignoring the blade slashing at my body. I roared as I tore his head clean off his body. I held the head up like a trophy and roared.

I knew the prince saw everything through his enforcer’s eyes. The technology might not be fully functional now, but the cameras were still running. The recording would be sent back to the prince the moment I turned off the disruptor, regardless of whether the enforcer lived or not.

The enforcer’s eyes blinked back at me, his face contorted into a crazed rage. It could do nothing now but make faces until the implants keeping the brain alive lost power. I looked into its eyes and spoke directly to the prince.

“Your last enforcer is dead. Send more after me, and I will bring the fight to your door. You will not survive it.”

I put the severed head down, aiming it at the body of the other dead Zintazsi. Before this fight, I’d known the enforcers were altered with implants, but now that I’d seen a severed head make faces at me, I thought of them as more machine than alive.

I turned to my mate.

Lily launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. “You did it!”

“I did.” I clutched her to my chest. “But not without your help. Or Coal’s.”

“Coal!” She looked around frantically for him.

“I’m alive,” Coal groaned. He’d pulled himself to lean against a tree trunk. “He must have knocked me out then went right back to his orders. I wasn’t his target. You were.” He turned to Lily. “I told you to stay hidden.”

“I had to get close enough with the second device. He broke the first one.”

Coal eyed the broken disruptor on the ground. “Ah, fuck! That was expensive.”

“I will cover the costs,” I said. “You saved my life.” I nuzzled my nose against Lily’s hair. “You both did.”

She pushed away and narrowed her eyes at me. “You lied to me and almost got yourself killed!” Now that she knew I was safe, she looked angry.

“Let’s get back to the safety of my cabin.” Coal interjected as he picked up Tiny and cradled the creature in his arms. “Then you two can fight it out. As far as I’m concerned, you two are both idiots.” He groaned. “Everything hurts, and I’m hungry.”

I swooped my mate up into my arms. Now that the Zintazi threat was neutralized, and she was safe, I’d never let her go.

Chapter 13: Lily

The healing device I held over Xadren’s injuries beeped. He’d been stuck under the device for the past little while, and I’d already given him an earful about his communication skills, or lack thereof.

I was shocked when he told me I’d already asked him to keep me while I was delirious, and he’d already agreed. I didn’t remember any of it. Xadren hadn’t clarified when I woke because he’d been afraid he might not survive his encounter with the Zintazi.

I understood why he did it, but I was still pissed at him for putting himself in danger.

“All done.” I put the medical device down and leaned in to inspect the wound.

He still had a thick scar where the killer’s blade had slashed him. The blade had been edged with poison, but luckily, the poison didn’t work well on Xadren’s kind. Their bodies broke down most harmful compounds.

“Come here.” He pulled me into his lap. “Let’s get these handprints off of you” He took the medical unit and held it to my throat.

Xadren had wanted to heal me first, but Coal had taken one look at the blood oozing from the cuts and had insisted Xadren went first. He’d claimed it was to avoid staining his floors.

“I’m sorry I kept the severity of my situation from you and let you believe the scans were for you. I’ll be as honest as I can from now on, starting with this: you are my mate. I suspected before, but I know now.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Coal had mentioned it but hadn’t gone into details.

“It means that you are the only female for me, and I will care for you from now until my last breath. It means we will never be alone again. You are mine, Lily. And I am yours.”

I rubbed at the warmth exploding in my chest at his words, and happy tears threatened to squeeze from my eyes.

“So that means you’re going to keep me?”

“Forever.” He nuzzled my face with his. “I love you, and it would take an army to tear me from your side.”

“I love you, too.” I never thought I’d be saying those words to a gray alien gargoyle, but there was no other place I wanted to be than here with him.

Earth had been okay, but I never had anyone there willing to fight an army for me.

As if jealous of our closeness, Tiny jumped up into my lap and demanded to be part of the cuddle. Considering he’d jumped on one of those creepy blue guys to try to protect me, Tiny was welcomed into the cuddle pile anytime he wanted.

“Where will you go?” Coal asked, when he returned from washing up in the lake.

Xadren looked up at his friend. “My ship is parked at the main Hub. I doubt the prince will send any more of his valuable enforcers after me. It’ll take him a while to replace the ones he lost. But he may still target my ship. I plan on selling it and settling down somewhere on the planet for a while.”

“You’re not going back to your job?” I asked, worried that Xadren was overhauling his life just to keep me safe. I didn’t want him to change for me.

“Working security was an easy way for me to make credits, but I never loved what I did. I have some credits saved up; we’ll live comfortably until we find something we can do together.” He grinned at Coal. “Maybe we’ll consider moving to the mountains and being hermits.”

“Find your own mountain. There isn’t enough room on this one for all of us,” Coal grumbled. “You also owe me a disruptor. I came after you because I owed you a favor and didn’t want to get stuck caring for a female, but that was extra.”

“I’ll repay the debt with the credit I get from the ship. I should get one for myself too, to be safe.”

The communicator on the table buzzed, and Coal flipped it over. A red dot blinked brightly on a map, next to some alien words I couldn’t read. “Fuck! They’ve located another pod, and it's on this mountain. Every idiot with a hankering for credits is going to be swarming my mountain.”

“You’re not going to go find her?” I asked.

“I hate people. I just want to be left alone.”

That was too bad. Whoever was on the pod deserved someone decent.

“We should leave before they start arriving,” Xadren said. “I could take any of them on, especially if they threaten my mate. But I prefer not to fight. I’ve done enough of that already.”

Coal let me keep his top and even gave me two pieces of leather to wrap around my feet until I found proper shoes. Then we said our goodbyes and left him in his cabin to prepare for the rush of people that would soon arrive on his mountain.

“Is it really safe for us to head into the Hub with me in tow? Won’t people target me?”

“Not if they believe you belong to me.” Xadren grinned. “And you do. You are no longer unclaimed merchandise from a fallen pod. You are my mate. They will only bother you if they have a death wish.”

“I’m glad you were the one who found me on the side of the cliff.” I went on my tip-toes to kiss whatever I could. All I got was his chin.

“I’m glad I went to find out what an Earthling looked like.”

He lifted me up and over onto his shoulders. He seemed to enjoy traveling like this, and I didn’t mind. I held onto his horns for extra safety even though I knew his tail would catch me if I fell.

Tiny ran beside us like a well-trained puppy.

“Let’s get you into the Hub so I can get you some proper shoes and clothes. I should be able to sell my ship quickly. We can rent out a room after if you want to sleep in a warm bed. Or we can leave the Hub when we are done and sleep in the wilds if you feel safer out in nature.”

“You know, I kind of like the bower trees. Can we stay in one instead?” I was excited to see the Hub and all the different species and aliens that lived there, but I thought of the bower trees as safety. I also didn’t think Tiny would be happy staying in an inn. He’d probably chew everything up anyway.

“Of course, little one. We’ll stay anywhere you wish. You’ll sleep soundly tonight no matter where we are once I’m done with you. I’ll tire you out.”

“Is that a threat?” I asked, laughing.

“No, little one. That’s a promise.”

THE END

Also In Series

Looking for more in the Outlaw Planet Mates series? Check them all out on Amazon! With offerings from exciting names in science fiction romance, you’ll be sure to find more to enjoy.

Alien’s Mercy (Leslie Chase)

Alien’s Treasure (Elin Wyn)

Alien’s Jewel (Ava York)

Alien’s Challenge (Nancey Cummings)

Alien’s Fate (Eden Ember)

Alien’s Sacrifice (Cady Austin)

Want to know when we’ll be adding more? Check out the HUB on Facebook, where we’ll announce upcoming releases.

ALSO BY AUTHOR

TALLEAN MERCENARIES

A Deal for Zeylum

A Chance for Arus

A Promise for Vore

A Claim for Calix

A Minx for Ryek & Holden

A Captive for Kean

A Future for Zharor

TALLEAN MATES NOVELLAS

Becoming Mrs. Claws

Space Pirate’s Treasure

Space Merchant’s Jewel

XARC’N WARRIORS

Claimed by the Hunter

Wanted by the Hunter

Taken by the Hunter

Cherished by the Hunter

Rescued by the Hunter

Stolen by the Hunter

SHORT STORIES

Short stories available through Mailing List only.

Captain Bax’s Stowaway

Casch’s Runaway Mate

Pursued by the Hunter

Table of Contents

Contents

Alien’s Stone Heart

About Outlaw Planet Mates

Chapter 1: Lily

Chapter 2: Xadren

Chapter 3: Lily

Chapter 4: Xadren

Chapter 5: Lily

Chapter 6: Xadren

Chapter 7: Lily

Chapter 8: Xadren

Chapter 9: Lily

Chapter 10: Xadren

Chapter 11: Lily

Chapter 12: Xadren

Chapter 13: Lily

Also In Series

ALSO BY AUTHOR