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“Hungry?” she inquired.

“No. The voyage fare you brought sufficed. Thank you.”

That was hard to believe considering how big Payim was, but she had a feeling he was used to surviving on less, either from the war or when he was in the orphanage. The thought made her sad. Her family was hardly rich, but they never went hungry and on Sundays you were guaranteed to get stuffed to the bursting point at the family dinner.

“You know when we get off this planet I’m going to feed you like you wouldn’t believe. You’re going to think I’m fattening you up for a sacrifice,” she informed him.

“Ah, this sounds like a worthy challenge if you are eating as well.” Something ornery twinkled in Payim’s eyes.

“What was that look?” She eyed him somewhat suspiciously.

Payim’s expression turned guilty. “It was not a thought I should share.” He shook his head.

“Oh, now you definitely need to tell me.”

“No.” He adamantly shook his head.

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Do it. Tell me. I want to know. I can keep this up forever. Tell me. Come on,” she pestered him until his eyes crinkled up and she knew he was grinning behind his mask.

Then his expression shifted and he pinned her with his dark gaze.

“I was thinking about how full your hips will get, and the way I want to grip them, my fingers sinking into your flesh as your lush thighs cradle me while I rut atop you.”

“Oh.” A shiver worked up her spine, goosebumps erupting on her skin. That was not what she expected him to say at all. “Challenge accepted.”

Lust sparked in Payim’s eyes and for a moment she thought he was going to act on it, but he quickly turned and continued walking.

Elena sighed in disappointment, but Payim was right. They had to reach his ship and make repairs before it got dark. They’d already wasted daylight goofing around. There was no time to act out what he’d described. Except her body refused to see reason. She felt jittery and the butterflies in her stomach refused to settle. It had been like that all day. The harrowing near-death experience just made the fire burn hotter and now it was set to explode. She was anxious to feel Payim kiss her again and slowly run his large, capable hands over her body. She’d been building up the moment of what it would feel like to have him between her thighs. Would she be able to withstand his lust? Would it hurt if he bit her? Would Payim’s mysterious mating hormone work on her, or would they just be friends with benefits? The more time that passed, the more nervous she got about all of it. Elena sighed again, though it sounded more like a whine, as she slumped in the pod.

Payim quo Desero

Payim held his breath as he connected the cruiser’s coupler to the Miran Sona power cell. He’d witnessed the Osivoire technology adapt to other systems before and the process was amazing. He just hoped there was enough life left in the cruiser.

Come on, assimilate it.He stared at the loose connection, willing it to work.

One strand tentatively branched out from the coupler, grafting to the power cell, like a tree root seeking water. Light flickered and pulsed along the wiry tendril as it siphoned off a trickle of energy.

“That’s it,” he quietly murmured encouragement, as if talking too loudly would scare the cruiser, halting the process.

Another, then another spindly connection branched out, latching onto the power cell, seeking more power. He released a relieved sigh when the webbed connection was solid enough he felt confident it had worked.

“I think we’ve got power!” Payim shouted, as the gauge on the cruiser went from blue to yellow.

Swiftly he adjusted the settings inside the maintenance hatch, so only the systems he engaged were powered. There was no sense in wasting the resource unnecessarily. It's not like the vessel was ever getting off the ground again.

“Awesome.” Elena smiled as she peered out from the cruiser.

“The Osivoire tech is surprisingly adaptable. If this was one of the old Cadi cruisers this wouldn’t have been possible. It’s a shame my people spent so much time fighting with each other when we could’ve been creating and discovering things like this of our own.” He pulled off his muddy boots before joining her in the cruiser.

“Ain’t that true. My people are the same. Hindsight is always a hundred percent.” Elena nodded in appreciation as she handed him a washrag.

“I’m thankful the bony warriors are our allies.”

Hastily he washed off the ash and sulfur dust from their trek as he headed straight for the comm. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but getting the Osivoire vessel to assimilate the power cell was only half the battle.

“It’s going to work. I can feel it,” Elena whispered as he reached for the comm system.

He glanced at her and she nodded, looking supremely confident. He smiled, loving the faith she had, then turned back to the console and quickly swiped it on. Instantly the comm shuddered to life, though the viewscreen was too damaged to function.