Page 25 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin (Alien Fated Mates #1)

25

H eat radiated from the sunbaked rocks, and I wiped my brow with a corner of my shirt while checking the last few snares with Bonic. Our time together passed in comfortable silence, but when I checked my wristport I realized our private time together was coming to an end. I wanted Bonic to understand how much I cared for his brother and that I wasn’t an overbearing buffoon all the time.

“These will make a wonderful lining for our family nest. Jast will be pleased. Only the softest fabrics are used to cradle new lives, and these are among the softest I’ve ever felt.” Bonic admired the brilliant white fur of the brace of linobee he’d trapped in the craggy rocks .

“Here”—I passed over my two linobee—“you might as well add these.”

“Thank you. Our youngling will be very comfortable.” He ran his large blue hand over the fur.

“Makir has enough linobee pelts to start a fashion line. They won’t be missed.” I chuckled.

Bonic nodded as he wound the snare wire up and handed it back to me.

“So, you and Makir are kind of a big deal?” Finesse was not one of my finer character traits.

Bonic’s deep laugh echoed off all the jagged ebony surrounding us.

“Will you make Makir leave?” I blurted before he could respond. The question had been constantly on my mind since dinner yesterday.

Bonic secured the linobee to his brace. “You’re a strange alpha. I’ve never met one so uncomfortable in his own skin. Why do you doubt my brother’s love for you?”

Huh? That wasn’t what I’d expected him to say . More like—‘You’re no match for my brother. He’s worth ten of you.’ My lack of ability to be a good alpha was what I doubted. And maybe my ability to hold Makir’s interest as a lover.

Then the rest of his words wiped out every thought, blanketing my mind like an avalanche, turning everything arctic white. He thinks Makir loves me?

“Geo, are you coming?” How had he got so far ahead of me?

I stuffed our snaring supplies into the backpack so hard my fist almost drove through the bottom of the bag, then hustled to catch up. “That’s because I’m not truly an alpha. I’m just a fat gay guy from Earth who’s had one terrible relationship and happens to be good at building houses.”

Shit, did I say that out loud? Heat rushed to my ears, and I ducked my head.

I searched for a reaction from Bonic’s tail as he spoke. “You’ve got the tether, am I correct?” Except for when he wrapped it around Jast, Bonic’s tail gave away no emotion, unlike Makir’s.

After unscrewing the lid from my water bottle, I took a long drink. “I can sense him. It’s like he’s attached to me in some way. I found him when he was in trouble out here.” I looped snare wire idly in and out of my fingers. “But it’s more than that. I didn’t just find him. I was driven to find him.” Like my whole life’s focus suddenly existed to ensure his safety.

“You’re an alpha, whether you choose to believe it or not. You protected my brother from Raz. My brother’s eyes have turned, and he now submits to you over me. The start of a true bond is in place. His song calls to you. When full, the tether will become stronger.” His intense lavender eyes met mine, so different from his brother’s soft looks. “Lornians search their whole life to find their true mates, and many settle for a lesser bond, which can be very fulfilling, but nothing compares to a true mate bond.”

I followed Bonic through a narrow section of the trail.

“This is rare and should be cherished, not feared,” he said. Bonic found shade under a flat rock and folded his long legs over the cool moss that grew there in springy curls. I ate up every word he said. “It’s painful for true mates to be away from each other for extended periods.” He unhooked a linobee from his belt and carefully scraped and prepared the pelt for travel. “You’ll find that Makir will not want to be away from you, and you won’t want to be away from him.”

Yeah, no kidding.

“He won’t return to Lorne without you.” Bonic’s lips flattened.

My heart floated like a helium balloon as I packed a layer of moss over the hide to help it cure. “Well, all that means is we’ll have to visit Lorne when the youngling comes.”

Bonic’s shoulders relaxed, and the corner of his mouth tilted slightly. I’d said the right thing. With a quick movement, I rolled the treated linobee and placed it in my backpack.

The wind gusted, and the air grew heavy and ominous. Slivers of rock pitched and heaved as the ground shook, sending us to our knees. The tether snapped like a live wire. Makir’s in danger. My heart leaped into my throat.

Bonic and I jumped to our feet in a flash. Vibrations rolled under us as we tripped and staggered, bolting toward our buzzing tethers. The quakes matched those from the last time the worm had surfaced. Chest heaving, I ignored the burning stitch in my side. The hot spring entrance was still much too far away. Makir…

“Fuck, they’re underground,” I shouted as chunks of rock snapped off around us and burst through the ground at odd angles below us.

They were in the worst possible place they could be. The tunnel could collapse at any moment. The tether tugged urgently, increasing the pounding of my heart. My lungs stung, searching for more air, and my legs strained as I ran faster than ever before. Idiot, why had I thought we would be safe? My alpha instincts to protect reeled. Once again, I’d failed Makir.

Bonic whipped around the sharp corner as if his life depended on it. I followed, practically on his heels. Linobee pelts smacked against his legs as he jumped the shards strewn across the path.

Pink dust filled my lungs, the displaced earth in the air choking me.

As abruptly as they’d started, the quakes stopped, and the monster grew quiet.

Why? Had it caught its prey?

Panicked, I reached for the tether hard, pouring all my desire and will for Makir to be alive and well into our bond. The message caught and held, and a sense of warmth spread throughout me.

A lifetime later, we arrived at the cave entrance, panting. My heart plummeted. An enormous boulder blocked their exit.

“Blant!”

“Fuck. They’re trapped.” Bent over with my hands on my knees, I sucked in air. Bonic’s tail lashed beside him, and I straightened and laid a hand on his elbow. “We’re getting them out of there.”

His gaze never moved from the boulder, but his chin dipped, and his jaw clenched so tightly a crowbar might not have been able to pry words free.

“We’re coming! Hang on!” I yelled, hoping Makir could hear and praying for his safety .

“We’re all right.” JayJay’s booming voice, scarily muted, carried from inside the cave. The rock rolled slightly, then fell back again.

JayJay must have been trying to push it up and out. From the grassy plateau, the bastard worm shrieked an ear-piercing warning that chilled my bones.

“Follow me. I have an idea.” I tore down the path to the plateau, scanning for the beast, but it must have retreated below ground. It was like déjà vu, only this time Bonic was in step beside me. “There.” I pointed to the mantu rib cage I’d hoped would remain and exhaled a sigh of relief. “We should be able to use those as levers.”

Bonic clasped my shoulder. “Good thinking.”

The unwieldy bones jostled between us over the broken ground as we rushed back toward the entrance. Soon a long, curved bone was wedged under each side of the boulder blocking the entrance. “On the count of three.” I tipped my chin toward Bonic.

Bonic’s neat top knot had unraveled, and his long mane whipped at my cheeks. “JayJay…on three, heave,” he shouted.

JayJay’s muffled reply was barely audible.

In unison, we roared, “One… Two… Three…”

The gap grew, and JayJay’s grunts of effort were music to my ears. My muscles bulged and my heels dug into the ground, but no purchase could be found. Before my feet skidded beneath me and the rock slipped back into place, Makir’s panicked cry rang out. “Geo, I can’t breathe.”

He’ll pass out if I don’t get him out of there.

“Again,” Bonic bellowed.

“One… Two… Three… Heave!” I shouted.

The long rib creaked and bent as I pried. Please don’t snap, I begged.

The boulder gave way, and the relief flooding me left me lightheaded.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I was engulfed by a bundle of gingersnap and juniper as I marveled over how thankful I was that Makir had been trapped with an eight-foot Rock Dweller .

“Bless the goddess Sola, you’re all right!” Tears ran down Makir’s face. His lavender eyes overflowed with love. “You’re hurt.” He manically rolled my hands palm up and down, examining cuts I’d been unaware of, then drew a finger over a large gash in my pants. “What happened?”

I gulped. My heart hurt so much, but in the best of ways. No one had ever looked at me like that before.

“Shhh… I’m fine now. I’ve got you, little lion.” My hands smoothed over his pointy ears, his hips, down the tip of his tail and over the zipper covering his protective pouch. “You’re fine. We’re fine.” I pulled his face down to my chin and breathed deeply into his mane. The sounds around us slowly drifted in.

Ginger joined us, clinging to my elbow, her arm trembling, and I pressed her to my side until her knees grew solid in our huddle.

From our circle I watched as Jast reassured Bonic. “Yes, I’m positive I’m all right.” Jast cupped Bonic’s jaw. “The youngling’s fine—feel for yourself.” She gathered his hand in hers, and with their fingers intertwined, she placed his palm on her belly. “Janny hovered over me the entire time, just as you would’ve.” She smiled at her guard, and Bonic slapped him on the back.

Ginger moved to stand behind a stiff JayJay and planted her hands on her hips. “Let’s get the hell out of here. I don’t want to be around when that screaming thing returns. It gives me the major creeps.”

With Makir safe and his tail wound around my calf, my mind wandered. What I felt for Makir was uncontained. It escaped and spread like glitter, no matter how hard I tried to rein it in. My emotions were a force of their own whenever Makir came near. That was part of the problem. I hated the constant roller coaster. I didn’t know how to alpha.

Would it mean behaving like some dude bro for the rest of our lives? Maybe Dr. Ten had a prescription for that. An anti-alpha medication. There must be something like that, right? But if it meant experiencing this kind of love…this adoration…this want to never be separated, then I’d do whatever it took.

Screw my plans for a construction company of my own on Earth. I was never leaving Makir’s side.

Bonic’s arms were wrapped around Jast, his hand splayed over their unborn youngling. She wasn’t complaining about his fawning for once as he carried her over the sharp rocks back to the hoverbikes. Ginger was shaken but held up remarkably well, holding my hand as we navigated the churned ground. Makir’s tail was wrapped around my wrist, and JayJay’s jovial personality was nowhere to be found as he marched through the rocky outcrop like a Rock Dweller on a mission. Janny took up the rear scanning for danger.

A shriek rent the air. Like a thunderbolt, the crack sent a flight of woodskies into the air as we reached the miraculously unharmed hoverbikes. The monster worm’s message was loud and clear.

I’m still here.

JayJay grew unnaturally still, almost haunted. “Hellsna.” His lawnmower-like voice rang out. He had everyone’s attention. “That thing—you named it a worm monster—it’s a ‘hellsna.’ We fight them on my home planet Yagras. I’d recognize that scream anywhere.”

Makir’s tail unwound from my waist and leashed my wrist, cuffing our hands together.

“You used to fight those things?” I gasped.

“JayJay, if you would come with me to visit Mayor Yurst before my departure regarding this matter, I would be in your debt.” Bonic’s authoritative voice coaxed a reluctant agreement from the giant Rock Dweller.

“I’m glad you know what we’re dealing with and all, King Kong”—Ginger let go of my hand and strode to JayJay—“but can we get the hell out of here?” She tugged on his rigid arm and pulled him to his hoverbike.

At the private departure lounge the next morning, I wiped a stray tear from Makir’s cheek and pulled him closer to my side. One hand drifted up and down his rib cage, the other waved goodbye to Bonic and Jast as they passed through the final security checkpoint with Janny on their heels.

Bonic turned back for a minute, lashing his tail. “Mayor Yurst is about as competent as a batsa, but the message was driven home. He will take action. You have nothing to fear with JayJay in your arsenal.”

Makir rushed toward the gate for one last goodbye. “I’ll miss you.” Their tails spiraled together.

“Me too, brother.”

“Best of luck with the delivery,” I called out as Jast brushed away her tears.

I embraced Makir as Jast and Bonic departed through the gate. Through the tether, I sensed a hollowing in Makir’s heart. His sadness ate at me until it became unbearable. I would do whatever I could to erase it.

My palm smoothed over Makir’s long spine. “What’s a batsa?”

His tears turned to a choked laugh. “It’s like the putty a youngling plays with. It forms into balls and long rolls and whatever shape you wish.”

“Ah, Play-Doh.” I stood in front of him and brushed my thumb over the skin under one blurred lavender eye. “That sounds about right.” I chuckled, then smiled up at him with a depth of emotion I couldn’t quite place, but it left my heart a little less empty. I hoped he felt it too. “We can go and visit them any time you want. I can’t handle you so sad.”

He swallowed hard and nodded.

The first snow fell thick and blue, and Makir put his clients on hold for the hovery. With Ginger’s help, he’d sewn enough linobee mittens and what she called Davey Crockett-style hats to outfit as many of Yurstille’s residents as possible. They’d even roped in Sully’s kids one day to help. This weekend’s market profits would be incredible if they didn’t give away all their goods first.

I found them sitting together—Makir’s messy blue hair mingled with Ginger’s silvery-white—consulting on a new pattern on the long concrete dining table I’d built. Dusk’s sunrays glowed over the entire scene. Charz and Pika lay in the nest Makir had made for them after they’d taken over his. They were crashed out under the table in it. The kitchen air was rich with the scent of roast chicken, and saliva pooled in my mouth at the savory aroma. My heart filled with a sense of domestic bliss that was entirely new to me.

What if this could be mine forever?

“Smells good in here.” My entire front crowded Makir’s bent form at the table, and I nuzzled into the place on his neck where the fresh juniper scent concentrated, hardening instantly. His fragrance grew more appetizing each day. “I’m hungry,” I growled, licking into that delicious spot.

Makir whimpered.

I was likely pumping out alpha pheromones, but when Makir smiled like that, some other part of me took over.

“Woah, Nelly.” Ginger fanned herself with her hand.

“We’ll be back in a minute.” The deepness of my voice surprised me.

Makir squealed as I scooped one arm under his long legs, the other supporting his neck, carrying him bridal style to his room. Our room. Then, shoving my embarrassment down deep at having Ginger see me like that, I nudged the trailing dogs out of our space and closed the door with my foot. I recognized the signs now, and when the alpha took over, he was in charge .

Stop being embarrassed about it and accept it.

That was what D’irk had said, anyway. In our talk, he’d made it clear that treating Makir the way I had over dinner that night wasn’t okay, but he understood I’d never learned to control my alpha. If I kept resisting and fighting it instead of listening and giving in when necessary, the alpha would always rule. But if I let it have its way every once in a while, the two parts could live together harmoniously.

My muscles pulsed with heat. Makir’s longer torso was light in my arms. The hard length of my shaft pressed against his thigh. His loose blue mane tickled my hot cheeks, shooting sparks deep into my groin. His scent grew so enticing that I couldn’t keep my mouth from his.

He purred softly as his mouth opened to mine, and our tongues intertwined. He tasted sweet and spicy, like hiscus juice and the zilna he hid in a secret stash somewhere in this room. Though I had no interest in his horrid snacks, I found it cute that he concealed them. His lavender irises swirled, drawing me in.

“Fuck, why do you smell so good, Makir? It makes me crazy.” We slipped into his nest. Thank fuck he wore his hovic jumpsuit. My clumsy fingers only had to fumble over one zipper. Naked and aroused, I laid him on the white furs where our mixed scent lingered. My erection leaked as my nostrils flared in an attempt to inhale more of his scent.

“The full moon must be getting closer,” Makir purred. His tail snapped back and forth in front of his pouch, drawing my eyes to where his long blue fingers reached in and teased the opening. My mouth watered as the tip of his cock popped in and out of the protective pocket.

“Thought you were hungry?” Makir teased. Moisture beaded on the blue tip. He smeared it around with his thumb. I could already taste his gingery juniper musk. “Are you going to come and get it?” Makir stretched out an arm, highlighting the solid ropy muscle, and held his thumb toward me. “Or are you going to stare at me all rotation?” His scent, a flicker of his sweet smile and his purr all called to me like a thousand sirens.

“Little lion,” I rumbled, “I can’t think when you do stuff like that. ”

Makir licked his thumb. “You know what I love?” he purred. “When you don’t think. When you lose your tight grip on control.”

After stripping out of my overalls lightning fast, I straddled Makir, my soft belly hugging his pouch. My lips dipped toward his outstretched hand, eager to suck his thumb into my mouth. I savored every morsel before releasing it with an audible pop. Then, I licked my lips and stared into his mesmerizing eyes. “Tastes fucking amazing.”

I sat back and swatted Makir’s hand away from where his fingers were running up and down his dick, then reached into his warm pouch, pulling him all the way out so I could hold what was mine.

“Give me that.” I trailed my work-roughened fingertip down his length and tugged his tine gently. His slender spine arched, and another bead of liquid freed itself.

I grunted when Makir grabbed my ass and spread my cheeks. He was much stronger than his lean body suggested.

The shift put us close enough for him to wrap his long blue fingers around our stiff lengths. Mine short and fat, his long and blue, we fit together perfectly. My mushroom head plumped, and the lip rubbed over the bump on Makir’s cock. So slippery with our juices, his tine hit the rim of my head with each pass. I wouldn’t last long.

I bent forward and painted a long line up his throat with my tongue. His velvety fur changed to smooth skin, and I chased his mouth. At last, our lips found each other and clung, and Makir increased the pace, fisting our cocks, sending me to the edge and hovering. His song filled me.

Makir’s tail reached behind me, and the soft, fluffy tip tickled the sparse hairs on my balls. The suction buried inside the fluffy tip zinged over my balls with every kissing clasp and release.

“I need more. I want you inside of me.” My voice sounded harsh to my own ears .

“You want me inside of you ?” Makir repeated, dumbfounded, as he walked his tail’s suction back, baby step by baby step, until my cock leaked all over his pouch and the slide and drag between our cocks had me panting.

“Yes, now! I don’t want to cum like this. Want you inside.” I put as much alpha influence into my voice as I could.

“But I’ve never done that, Geo. I should’ve told you—” He shuddered as I palmed his cock. “I thought you knew.”

I mouthed the tendon up the side of his neck until I met his ear and exhaled hotly. “But do you want to?” With deft fingers, I plucked his tine. “Wanna see what this feels like in me.”

Makir gulped, and I chased his slender throat with my tongue. “I want to.” His voice was so low I might not have heard it if he hadn’t lifted my chin to meet his steady gaze. I bit and licked at him, eager to deepen our connection.

“Like this.” I pulled the base of his tail closer and rubbed the puckered hole under his tail with two fingers, gathering some of the waxy slick. Then I leaned back into the furs and spread my legs wide before grabbing my knees.

Makir stared, and his tail stilled.

When I inserted two lubed fingers into my hole, Makir’s eyes widened. The suction of his tail met my wrinkled pucker as if on instinct, and the combination had me writhing. A frisson of heat vibrated through me, sending me to a higher frequency, and—

“Not yet,” I begged. “Closer.” I hooked my heel around the curve of Makir’s ass until his hips were cradled between my spread legs. The wet heat from his dripping cock slid over my hole.

Makir squeezed his eyes closed, and I began to doubt myself. Was I pressuring him? Had I used my alpha influence to sway him?

I pulled his rigid body up onto my chest and lowered my legs. “Hey, I’m sorry.” One hand smoothed down the long curve of his spine. “We don’t have to if you don’t want.”

His stiff cock gently rocked into my belly, making my toes curl .

“Really, I meant it when I said you can say no. This isn’t just about me.” His tail softened as I ran it through my fingers.

Makir lifted his head from where he nuzzled my armpit and met my eyes. “I want it so bad, Geo, but when I tried with Reinik, well, he…” Tears blurred his beautiful lavender irises.

“Shhh…” I knuckled away his tears. “I suspected you’d been hurt before, but it’ll never be like that again, I promise.” Anger brewed deep in my gut, but I threaded my fingers through Makir’s mane and dug deep to find calm. Now was not the time to release the rage boiling under my skin. This was about Makir trusting himself. Trusting that whatever he wanted was valuable. “Follow your instincts, Makir.” I squirmed my hand between our stomachs and squeezed his flagging cock.

His lips met mine, and he kissed me so softly I thought I might melt. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, wanting to hold the syrupy sweetness running through me inside forever. If you only knew.

Makir’s long cock prodded at my hole, and he eased through the tight ring so slowly that every muscle clenched, waiting for release. “Just like that, little lion.” I grunted.

He placed his palms on my bent knees and leaned into me, driving deeper. “This is incredible.” His arms trembled as he held still above me, eyes filled with wonder.

I jerked when his tine met my prostate. “Right there,” I gasped. My knees clasped his waist as his balls touched my skin, and I worked myself against his fleshy protrusion. “Oh God, don’t move.”

“I thought this was about what I wanted.” His eyes sparkled as he sped up his thrusts, rocking into me in a perfect rhythm.

“Not going to last.” My legs were already starting to seize, a sure sign that this would be over sooner than I wanted .

I shifted onto my elbows, took one of Makir’s pale blue nipples between my teeth, and bit down. He jerked against me, shouting, “Geo!”

“Makir,” I cried in unison as his warmth flooded me and ribbons of my cum splashed his torso—a perfect blue sky streaked with jet streams.

The tether hummed, loose and sated.

“Can we do that again? Did you like it?” Makir lowered his gaze and turned away.

“The evidence is on your chest. I more than liked that,” I growled, turning his face back to mine and kissing him fiercely. “That tail of yours is nothing short of magic, and your tine, I have no fucking words for.”

His smile blinded me before he mashed his lips to mine in a graceless kiss.

He’s let his guard down at last. I’ve got you, little lion, all of you, every single part.

I held him until the world around me came into focus. The dogs scratched at the door manically. Music blared from the kitchen, and the mouthwatering aroma of roasting chicken sent my stomach rumbling.

I untangled myself from Makir and walked to the bathroom, returning after cleaning up with a warmed washcloth. Naked, I crouched behind Makir, setting him in the V of my legs, and dabbed him clean. I needed a minute to come up with the words that were just out of my grasp.

“Makir, I’m coming to terms with it. I really”—I cleared my throat—“like you, and I want you to do what you want when we’re, ah…” I gulped. “Together like this.”

Like him? You mean love him! Find your words, asshole. Coming to terms with it? Jesus… It doesn’t get much more romantic than that. Just tell him you don’t want to lose control. You don’t know how to be an alpha—yet.

“Okay…” He met my eyes. “I like you too?”

“Are you ready?” I switched gears, failing once again at expressing myself.

“I’m ready for everything with you, Geo.” The depth of truth in his voice turned my mouth dry, and my thumb rubbed vigorously up and down his tail .

“Um…I meant to head to the kitchen and get reamed by Ginger.” My cheeks grew hot, and I swallowed hard.

His eyes flickered uncertainly, but he still linked his fingers with mine and pulled us to our feet. “Let’s get dressed.”