Page 14 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin (Alien Fated Mates #1)

14

I leaned into the solidness of Geo as he carried me through the hot spring. Always so gruff on the outside, I now had a little more insight into his inner workings. Under the belly sucking and squared shoulders lay a tender heart.

Blessedly cool after our last mating, I couldn’t help but rub the pad of my index finger through the wet fur that covered Geo’s chest. The dark, springy curls begged to be touched. I loved the sensation of the coarse locks clinging to the length of my finger.

Though my heat amplified every sense, I longed for our tentative connection to have taken root the same in Geo as in me. With each greedy wave, I rode emotion and parked reason.

“You good now?” Geo placed me on my feet as we reached the shallow shoreline of the hot pool. His hands lingered below my ribs as if he didn’t want to put me down.

The sudden temperature drop improved my senses, but I missed his warm solidness. Although my heat wasn’t complete, the inferno and tunnel vision had abated for the moment.

How could I do this to myself again? I knew the strengthened bond after a mating frenzy didn’t equal love.

Geo filled the void of caring protector so well that I almost forgot that alphas could turn from loving to terrifying in the span of a breath. I shook the water from my fur, along with my dream of a soul-linked mate. That path only ended in pain. Determined to minimize the effects of our bond, I stood tall. “I’m fine, Archbuilder. Thank you for ensuring my safety.”

Geo’s forehead furrowed. “Back to Archbuilder, huh?”

I grabbed the sack of supplies and headed back up the tunnel toward the cave’s main entrance. “Yes. Thank you for servicing me, but we can keep it professional in between.” From now on, I would just use Geo as an outlet to satiate the needs of my heat and nothing else. We would not complete the bond—if that was even possible. The full moon would be over tonight, then we’d return to town, and with my hovery complete, Geo would be out of my life. A few more days and this would be over.

He walked beside me, scrubbing his beard before kneading his temples. The softness in his eyes was replaced by a cool blankness. “Whatever you need, Makir.

“Ow! Stupid-ass cave.” Geo staggered behind me.

“What are you doing back there? Hurry up so I can put together a meal for us.”

The more sex we had, the more the tether thickened and solidified our connection. It vibrated with its own life force. I didn’t need Bonic to tell me that humans and Lornians were compatible when my heart pulsed with the truth. But only the grand omega could confirm whether an omega and alpha went beyond compatible. If she blessed a couple as soul-linked mates then the full bond ceremony could happen.

“Oh, you know, just going for a jog with my eyes closed. What the hell do you think I’m doing?”

His night vision was terrible, and I’d forgotten entirely. I backtracked through the dim light. A check of my wristport confirmed dusk neared. My stomach growled. Usually, there was a fully equipped room prepared for my heat, complete with lots of water and high-protein food. I sucked on my lip, envisioning the luxurious swaths of fabric past alphas had provided—they made the loveliest nests.

“Here, take my tail.”

Geo jumped, one foot cradled in his hand. “Jesus Christ, you are part cat.” He yelped as he staggered back and bumped the wall again. “Make a sound, would ya? Let a guy know when you’re in the vicinity.” He groaned as he cradled his stubbed toe.

“Quit acting like a youngling.” I wrapped my tail around his wrist. “Come on, you big blind Earthling.”

Geo huffed but allowed me to tug him along. “Do you think JayJay left us anything good to eat?” He moistened his lips with his tongue and ducked his head as if hiding from his comment.

I’d seen annoyed Geo. Angry, passionate and workaholic versions of Geo had also shown their faces. But shy Geo was new and cute, and it poked at the edges of my resolve to keep our relationship at the acquaintance level.

His eyes flicked to mine, tracing my face and following the trails of water running down my chest and stomach.

“Quit looking at me like that,” I groaned as my cock lengthened in its pocket.

Geo’s thumb brushed over my tail where it wrapped his wrist.

I snatched it away .

“Fine, little lion, I won’t touch your fluffy tail like that. Give it back to me, and I promise to be good.” His deep voice sparked a cascade of shivers along my tail that pooled at its base like hot lava.

“Behave,” I snapped at him, wrapping my tail around his wrist again. I was soaked, starved and horny. We could not go at it again until I had something other than Geo in my mouth. Plus, I didn’t want him to walk into any more walls.

Next morning’s light filtered through the pinprick holes in the cave’s domed ceiling. The moon had set, and the mating frenzy had come to an end. My eyes traveled over Geo’s thick body, peppered with bruises and scratches, up to his face where dark shadows lingered below his eyes. I swallowed hard as I took him in, splayed like an offering, unabashedly naked. Even in my pathetic excuse for a nest he looked magnificent when relaxed, so tired he didn’t bother with his belly sucking as he drifted in and out of sleep.

Mayor Yurst had mentioned the full moon lasted two nights on Tern when Bonic had questioned him during my orientation. With no Lornians on Tern, I shouldn’t have gone into heat, but my tether with Geo had been enough to trigger it. It would be hard to distance myself from Geo until my next heat. My womb already ached with emptiness.

I felt done in. Wrung dry. Lethargy and depression weighed heavy on my shoulders. Geo would know nothing about omega aftercare, and I wouldn’t be the one to explain it. My broken state hit me like a plasma hammer and I dropped to my haunches, burying my face in my hands.

The last alpha I’d mated with had ruined me. In Lorne, unable to bear children, I’d been left an omega with no purpose. Every omega’s instincts drove them to nurture a family, and mine would remain forever unfilled. I’d vowed to reinvent myself on Tern, but the burden of my lost purpose overcame me every full moon .

I shook Geo awake, longing for my luxurious Lornian nest. The desire to hide from the world while being pampered by a devoted alpha stirred beneath my skin. Instead, we’d have to manage a long, dusty trek back to our separate nests.

Geo stretched, his voice hoarse after our long night, his fingers idly scratched at the fur on his belly. I passed him the last of the dried mantu strips he seemed to adore. “Archbuilder, my heat is over. Let’s head back to Yurstille.”

I chuckled as he jumped, shocked at his own nakedness.

“Heat?” He plucked the jerky from my fingers, hunching over as if to hide his body as he searched for his overalls.

I rolled my eyes. “Are all Earthlings so shy?”

Geo rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he hopped around with one foot in his pants.

Without warning, the cave shuddered. Pink dust shook loose from the pockmarked holes in the cave’s ceiling, glittering in the early dawn.

Not again.

My muscles grew rigid. “We’re getting out of here, now. Before this cave collapses on us.” I held Geo’s hand for balance as he jammed his feet into his boots, then scooped up his belongings.

“What is it?” Geo latched the closure on his belt, thumbing the knife’s hilt.

“I’ll explain on the way!” The cave vibrated again, and loose rocks showered down on us. My tail wrapped around Geo’s wrist as we ran to the entrance and into the red glow of dawn. Hitting the cooler air was like passing through a wall, and I shivered at the contrast to the humid cave.

Another shudder sent jagged shards toppling over the ground like icicles shaken loose.

“Down on your belly. Now.” I gestured with my tail as I squished myself into the narrow slit I’d occupied two nights ago. “We’ll wait here until all is clear.”

Geo’s breath puffed in front of him in white clouds. “Clear from what?”

“Did you notice the field of massacred mantus when you arrived here?” My voice wavered as I relived the awful night and the carnage of the aftermath.

Geo’s cheeks pinked. “I was a little preoccupied.”

A sharp shriek echoed through the hiding spot, and from our vantage point, a giant worm-like creature slammed its body to the ground.

“Save us, Sola.” I clutched Geo’s hand, my heart racing.

Geo’s eyes widened as his grip grew painful. “Jesus Christ, what the fuck is that thing?”

The enormous worm was nearly translucent. It writhed up on its end before throwing itself over its earlier kill and shredding it with razor-sharp teeth.

“I think it’s mad.”

“You think?” Geo snarked. “That big bastard is pissed.”

Stripped carcasses lay strewn across the plateau. “It must have been planning to come back for its kill.” The enforcers and Rock Dwellers had butchered and removed most of the mantu it had annihilated in its earlier killing spree.

With its meager meal, the night crawler reared up and dove under the ground once more.

Geo muttered something about a movie called Tremors and his friend Ginger while he rubbed the fur of my tail between his index finger and thumb. Free of his stranglehold grip, I shook my hand out.

“Stop that.” I pulled my tail from his fingers. My body quivered from the aftermath of my heat and the fear of the monster buried somewhere below.

“Do you think we’ll make it back to your hoverbike?” Geo placed a hand on my back and surveyed the area.

My legs were like rubber, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the ring of earth left in the creature’s wake.

Geo nudged me. “Can we make it?”

“D’Rasma thought it was nocturnal.” My lungs heaved, unable to fill with air. “But…this proves it can get us during the sun’s rotation too.” My tail fluttered at the edge of my fraying nerves, and I gasped. My lungs contracted as I struggled to take a breath .

“Makir, I’ve got you. You’re safe with me.” Geo’s voice drifted at the periphery of my hearing, and his pale green eyes narrowed into slits.

My vision dimmed as blackness overcame me.

I awoke cradled in Geo’s arms as he navigated the sharp edges of the rocky outcrop.

“Shhh…rest now. We’re almost there.” He soothed me as I twisted to get free of his arms.

“I’m fine now,” I lied. He embraced me, holding me steady as I gathered my feet. I stayed pressed against him because my legs had turned liquid, not because of the warmth of his chest or his soothing scent, and definitely not because of his display of strength. He carried my larger body across the harsh terrain as if I weighed nothing.

“Wanna tell me what happened?”

I swallowed. “Certain things…” The casual air I’d hoped to project fell flat, replaced by a barely there whisper. “Trigger panic attacks in me.”

“Yeah… Like giant-ass worms?” The calm he exuded loosened my shoulders, and my arm settled on his lower back.

“No. More like alphas… I mean…things that destroy for no reason.” I choked. He swept me into his arms once again before I could protest, and I drifted back to sleep.

“Wake up, little lion,” Geo murmured, placing me on my feet, his hold solid on my hips as we arrived at my hoverbike.

Geo passed me the water container JayJay had left for us. “Here, have a drink. Do you think you can drive?” The concern in his pale green eyes made it difficult to hold to my new rules. Acquaintance only. Be professional. When I flicked my tongue out to catch the drop of water on my lip, his pupils dilated, and the blatant desire forced me back a step .

“Yes,” I squeaked as I clambered onto my bike. When Geo climbed on behind me, every muscle in my lower back tightened. “Ah, where is your hoverbike?” I gulped.

“Don’t have one.” He squared his shoulders and sucked in his belly. It still spread around my ribs like a warm hug. “I don’t know how to drive one.”

His hands seemed unsteady on my hips, so my tail wrapped around his waist and pressed him closer to my back. I loved the push of his soft belly against me a little too much. Plus, he needed to be secure. Right?

Thankfully or unthankfully, the flight home allowed for no discussion, only the hyperawareness that came from having his body flush with mine. My tail pet him, and whenever I grabbed it to hold it still, the next moment it would resume touching Geo, unbeknownst to me.

The hoverbike quieted as I pulled up in front of the archbuilder’s office. “This good?”

“Yep.” His eyes didn’t meet mine. He unwrapped my tail from around his waist, and his hand swooshed through the soft tip, sending a cascade of shivers up my spine.

Thanks for coming to my aid when you thought I was in danger. Thanks for servicing me during my heat.

Those were things that I could have said. Instead, I was tongue-tied as I attempted to meet his eyes.

“Boss man.” The boom of JayJay’s jovial voice broke the tension. “You made it back.” His brow ridges dipped as he assessed Geo. “I thought you would look more relaxed.” His laughter drew the rest of the Rock Dwellers out to greet us.

Sully passed me a large satchel and a huge set of mantu horns where I sat straddling my hoverbike. “A gift for you from D’irk, D’Rasma and D’Argon.”

Geo growled when Sully attempted to help me situate the satchel across my back. Sully held his hands up and backed away while the Rock Dwellers’ rumbling laughter filled the air .

Geo patted my back as he took over. “You’re good now. We’ll be there at seven suns tomorrow.”

I flew the short distance back to my dwelling, missing the warmth of his touch already. The tether grew taut as the distance between us stretched, longing to be near Geo.