Page 40 of Alien Jeopardy (Mated & Afraid #1)

CHAPTER

THIRTY-NINE

Ellison

The next day comes too early.

I’m sore.

Sore from the athletic requirements of the previous day’s trials, and sore from Ka-Rexsh’s bedroom skills, too.

Not in a bad way, though—it’s a sort of delicious tenderness that reminds me I had a really good time with him.

A really, really good time with him.

“You’re smiling,” he says. His lips brush against mine, his fang snagging on my bottom lip, followed by his tongue lapping at the spot. “Does that mean you’re happy? You did not give me your high five last night, so I wasn’t sure if I had earned it well enough.”

That has me opening my eyes wider, and I stifle a yawn. “What?”

“The high five.”

I inspect his face for signs that he’s joking around, but he doesn’t so much as blink, which is a bit creepy.

“Does the high five not mean you were pleased with my sexual prowess? Is it not how you show your sexual partner that they brought you pleasure?”

“Ah.” I clear my throat. “Well. It doesn’t mean that all the time.”

How the hell am I supposed to get myself out of this one?

“I can see I misunderstood,” he says, and there’s a hint of coldness that surprises me.

“Hey,” I say, putting my hands on either side of his face. “Don’t be upset, it was a misunderstanding. I will high five you if you really want that, but it doesn’t have some deep meaning.”

He inhales, nostrils flaring, gaze darting between my eyes.

I continue on, since he doesn’t seem to be calming down just yet. “If you want, I can show my appreciation another way.”

A terrible, silly part of me wants to hold up both hands and teach him about a double high five, but I don’t. I just wait.

“How?” He cocks his head.

“May I touch you?” I ask, and it comes out a lot sultrier than I expected.

He swallows, then nods. “My body is yours to do what you will with.”

So instead of giving him a high five, I kiss my way down his body, inspecting every muscle, every scar.

“That one is from an accident with a halvek.”

I kiss the raised edge of the scar, then run a fingertip along it. “What’s a halvek?”

“A large animal. Livestock.” His voice is strained, and I smile, loving that I can make him sound like that.

“Mmm,” I say, continuing my path down his body. Last night was about me, and then we curled up together and slept.

I want to make him feel good.

I want him to know that I care about how he feels, too.

High five or not.

His hand fists in my hair, and I finally get down to the prize—that thick alien cock. It’s already hard, and I watch it move as I run my hand idly up and down it.

Moisture and heat pool between my legs because I already know how damned good Rex feels inside me.

Like this, though, eye-to-eye with it, it’s pretty intimidating.

“This, what your dick is doing… it’s called what?” I ask him, then lick the tip of it, causing him to hiss and groan before I get an answer.

“I’m going to come before you get on top of me if you keep that up,” he says with a groan. His talons tickle my scalp, reminding me of the wonderful way he washed my hair last night, the way he took care of me.

“Maybe that’s what I want.” I give him my most devious grin.

“It’s called skithing,” he manages. It sounds like sky-thing, and it makes no sense to me.

Can’t say I’m surprised there isn’t a translation.

Dicks don’t do that back home, that’s for damn sure.

Not that I’m complaining. My body tightens up in anticipation, and I have half a mind to hop on top and have some fun.

But no.

I want to show him that I’m pleased with him, and I’ve never had anyone turn down a good old-fashioned blow job.

He is definitely the first I’ve been with who didn’t demand one, though.

I lick up and down, working up the courage to put my mouth around him. When I finally do, Rex is tense all over, his thigh muscles standing out and his stomach twitching in anticipation.

“Fuck, hyrulis, you tease me with your wicked mouth.”

I bob up and down, trying to get used to the strange sensation of a pulsing dick—but I must be a coward because it’s… well, it’s just not for me.

His cock leaves my mouth, and I wipe my lips with the back of my hand. “I can’t get you off like that—I’m not used to the skithing thing. I could get used to it, though.”

“Good,” Rex tells me, his fingers gripping my hips and pulling me upright. “I want to come deep inside you. It’s where I belong, and you know it too, even if you don’t want to admit it yet, my Ellison.”

With that, he lines himself up with me and I slam down, then luxuriate in the delicious feel of him. Whatever the skithing is, it feels much better on my G-spot than my uvula or whatever.

The longer we tangle together, sweaty and breathless, the more I think he might be right.

He might have a point about belonging there, because I’ve never felt this good in my entire life.

In that moment right before orgasm, as my body builds closer and closer to release, I see it all with a clarity that I’m sure later I’ll blame on hormones—but I can see it.

I can see a future with Ka-Rexsh.

It’s full of laughter, and comfort, and pleasure, and safety.

And partnership.

He could be a partner, and so much more.

The orgasm rips through me at the same time as that epiphany, and I sag against him, exhausted and happy and nervous all at once.

I like Ka-Rexsh, and I’m pretty sure I could love him, too.

Possibilities run through my head as he runs his hand down my bare back and over the thick curve of my ass.

“I like every bit of you, but this part,” he squeezes, and I laugh. “This part is my favorite, I think.”

My alien is an ass man. Who would have thought?

I smile broadly at him, and he returns it, kissing the tip of my nose, then my mouth.

The comms tablet chimes where we set it to charge last night. Rex pulls away from me slowly, and I sluggishly roll from the low platform of the bed, his release still hot and dripping from within me.

“I’m going to have to clean up before I can answer that,” I tell him.

He smirks from the bed, the low pre-dawn light filtering in through the tiniest of windows just above ground level, casting him in greys and greens.

“You’re beautiful,” I tell him.

“You honor me,” he says, the smirk replaced by solemnity. A hand settles over his heart, talons missing on all five of his fingers now.

The sight—and knowledge of the reason why they’re gone—makes me blush, and I clamber into the pool before I get any more embarrassed.

Or worse, I say the words on the tip of my tongue. It’s too soon to tell him I might love him.

It can’t be love. Not yet.

By the time I’ve cleaned up, it’s past dawn, and the underground sleeping area’s bathed in a golden light. Rex follows me into the tub, and I’m tempted to slap his butt, but I know if I touch him like that again, we’ll just end up in each other’s arms all over again.

I’m trusting the AI’s word that we’ve had privacy so far, but I don’t doubt the minute our deal is up from the reward challenge, we’ll be streamed everywhere again.

Regardless of any compromising positions we might find ourselves in.

Regretfully, I towel off with the seemingly endless supply of towels next to the rock-hewn tub.

“Oh my god,” I say out loud, staring at where my clothes fell the previous night. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What’s wrong?” Ka-Rexsh is next to me in a flash, dripping all over the polished rock floor.

“My clothes.” I point, and for some reason, I’m hit with the uncontrollable urge to laugh. “This isn’t funny,” I wheeze, and all I can think is that my body is getting rid of the excess adrenaline through my funny bone. “I’m sorry,” I say.

Bending over, I grab the clothes off the chair.

Sometime in the night, yesterday’s clothes were taken.

And replaced with a set of extremely familiar pajamas. My pajamas, to be exact, though dirt- and hole-free, as if they were painstaking recreated.

Maybe they were.

I sink to the floor in my towel, dumbfounded and staring at the clothes with my mouth hanging wide open.

“I don’t like what this might mean.”

“You’re right to worry,” Rex tells me, a heavy hand on my shoulder.

I reach up and squeeze it, thankful for the small comfort of his touch.

“Most men would tell me there is nothing to worry about,” I blurt.

“I’m not most men. I think this means that Ken No Privates is up to something.”

“Or he just liked watching me in my pajamas,” I venture. Rex using the very formal name of Ken No Privates isn’t quite as funny as it was yesterday.

“That might be worse.”

“It might be,” I agree.

The comms tablet chimes again, and I shimmy into the clean clothes, grateful at least that the thick sports bra and underwear are also there. Going braless on this ghost alien space station sounds positively horrible.

The hairs stand up on the back of my arms, and I squeeze my eyes tight, trying not to panic as memories of yesterday morning’s near-death experiences wash over me.

How was that only a day ago?

It feels like a lifetime ago.

“I want to get out of here,” I finally say through gritted teeth.

“We will,” Rex says quietly, still hovering beside me. “We will.”

Blowing out a long breath, I force myself to calm down. One of my therapists taught me that trick after the Roth attack, and though it doesn’t always help, it does now.

In and out, I focus on the feeling of the air filling my lungs, my diaphragm, imagine it carrying life-giving oxygen to every finger on my hand, every toe on my foot.

I am alive.

I am sore, but uninjured.

I’m not alone.

I am not alone.

“I will keep you safe, hyrulis,” he says, as if he’s reading my thoughts.

I open one eye, and he’s crouched in front of me, a worried expression on his face.

“I know you will,” I tell him. It’s true. I know he will do his best.

At some point along the way, I chose to trust him.

Now, I’m sure I can.

He helps me to my feet, and I finally pick the comms tablet off the top of the small table I set it on last night.

A quick look tells me the chat’s been active while Rex and I were… also, ahem, active.