Page 26 of Argurma Warrior (The Argurma Chronicles #1)

M eg was fidgety. The meal he had provided her with had been an unusual combination of flavors that she would have chosen herself but had been surprisingly delicious. It had also been over too quickly and now that they had finished, she wasn’t entirely sure what the plan was. He usually left for the second half of the day to work on the ship. His decision to stay inside, as sweet as it was, also threw her. She didn’t know what to expect or his own intentions for how the rest of the day should pass. Did she invite him to spend time with her?

Oh, she had a few ideas of what she could do with him if she had him in a room with her, ideas that she’d entertained in privacy when her own horniness from spending so much time with him had become too much to ignore. Especially after everything he said. But they were also different species, and she couldn’t be sure that he wanted that with her. Sure, he might want her to run away with him and fly off into adventures in space, but that didn’t mean he was offering some great romance as her mate. Hell, he was also an alien who believed that actually intensely feeling something was a malfunction. He could have meant that entirely differently than how she took it. While Meg had spent the last couple of hours imagining possibly getting a taste of the sort of happy ever after that Terri was enjoying, for all she knew, she could be completely wrong and he was working out their permanent living arrangements onboard his ship.

Fuck, it would be embarrassing to offer and be completely rejected because he did not find the idea of sex with her appealing. He certainly didn’t give away any sort of signals about what he felt toward her. If anything beneath all of his programming as he'd explained it. Maybe he didn’t even feel sexual desire and it was all embarrassingly one sided.

She swallowed back a whimper. Wouldn’t that be just perfect?

She just didn’t know what to do. Should she just throw caution to the wind and throw herself at him and hope for the best? Fuck, how did someone even do that without looking like a complete idiot? As humiliating as it was, it had been easy with Dale because he arranged her how he wanted or gave her specific instructions. She never actually had to do anything to initiate and, toward the end there, she had tried to avoid doing anything at all that would get him in the mood… she certainly had no idea what to do with her body when it came to enticing an alien. Or her hands for that matter, especially with all the anxiety she was currently feeling, hence the fidgeting.

She glanced at Kaylar from beneath her lashes as he finished putting away the rest of the cleaned dishes. He had not only cooked but had insisted on cleaning as well if that didn’t make him damn near perfect, aside from the whole human science experiment thing and being as emotionally present as a brick. She felt taken care of and appreciated and damn if that wasn’t erotic as fuck.

Maybe if she created an opening, he would make a move?

“So,” she drawled nervously. “Did you have a particular plan for what you want to do tonight since you aren’t working on your ship.”

He turned toward her, fussily toweling off the water from his hands as he did every time he got the least bit wet, and dipped his chin. “Yes.”

Her heart leapt and belly clenched with excitement, but she managed to crack a smile and try to seem at least a little relaxed and not ready to crawl out of her skin with anticipation. “Oh? Like what?”

He peered at her, his big body moving closer as he stepped forward, closing the space between them. Her pulse raced as he leaned down slightly, his gaze slipping slowly over her. It took her only a moment to realize where it came to rest was no longer on her body but on the dagger strapped to her body. Her heart dropped as he nodded to it.

“I will teach you how to use that thing. You are quick and brave, you only need a little instruction on where to hit and the best method to disable an attacker, and you will be able to take down a much larger, stronger male without difficulty. It will serve you well once we leave the planet.”

Her arousal died and shriveled up in her belly. Well, damn.

“Oh,” she murmured and forced another smile to her lips. “Okay, that sounds great. Thank you, Kaylar.”

His lips curled in a smile that was becoming increasingly more common to see on his once dour expression, and he inclined his head.

“I am pleased to do so, Meg. If you had this instruction you could have felled me without too much difficulty given the advantage of surprise. I will not fail you by withholding these lessons from you.”

“Right. I appreciate that,” she chirped with feigned happiness.

She really shouldn’t be disappointed anyway. He was going to teach her how to kill him if she needed to. That showed considerable trust not only in her capabilities but trust in her as a person that she wouldn’t use what he taught her against him without a very good reason. She should be honored by that… hell, she was honored by it, but she was also really, really disappointed that his mind had not led down more intimate paths. They had never just spent an evening together and just relaxed. All of their time together had a very specific purpose—scavenging and eating typically. And now it was more of the same—except this time, self-defense.

It was necessary for her to learn for her own safety. It would give her some independence and autonomy so she didn’t feel like something just being taken care of, but a real partner. And it showed that he believed in her capability to do that!

But damn!

He cocked his head in consideration. “We will practice in the lobby. It has the most ideal amount of space and will take minimum effort to clear.”

“Perfect!” she enthused and inwardly winced with the realization that she was overselling it when he looked down at her curiously. She cleared her throat awkwardly and waved toward the kitchen door. “Did you want to start now, or…”

“Now is sufficient,” he agreed as he moved ahead toward the door. He cast a thoughtful look at her over his shoulder. “Unless you require to rest first.”

There was a note of uncertainty in his voice as if he were unsure if she actually wished to do this with him and she quickly shook her head. Although this wasn’t what she had hoped for, she did want to learn it and she did want to take advantage of the opportunity to spend the time with him.

“Nope, I’m good,” she assured him.

He smiled again and led the way out through the door and down the hall to the lobby. She had to admit that his choice was practical. There were no more windows there than there were in any other place in the laboratory and the furnishings consisted of a few small couches and chairs arranged around a couple of glass tables. A faded magazine sat on one table where someone had forgotten it. Kaylar didn’t even glance at it as he pulled the table off to the side. Not wanting to just sit there and watch while he worked, Meg grabbed an upholstered chair and grunted at its weight as she dragged it across the room until she was able to set it against the wall at the far side. Brushing her hands off on her thighs, she turned to face the room again to grab the next one but froze in bewilderment. Somehow, in the time she’d managed that much, he’d finished the rest of the room, leaving a broad carpeted area open for use.

Kaylar stood in the center of that space, his vibrissae twisting where they rested against his shoulders. His mandibles flexed as his glowing eyes fixed on her face and a soft purr started from him but suddenly cut off as he stiffened and stood straighter. Raising a long, flimsy bit of foam material that he’d clearly stripped from something when she wasn’t paying attention, he wordlessly tossed it at her feet.

She guessed that was intended to be her weapon. She released the breath she was holding. She had half expected him to insist that she try to stab him with her blade. Thank fuck for small mercies. She would feel bad if she actually managed to stab him—and it would suck if she accidentally stabbed herself while she was trying to hit him.

“You know,” she said as she walked toward him and stooped to pick up the foam, “I kind of enjoy your little purr you have. You don’t have to stop it for me.”

He chuffed and shook his head. “It is a distraction that puts me at an advantage. It is not conducive to your training.”

“Spoil sport,” she teased as she adjusted her grip on her “weapon.” “It could be fun.”

“This is not meant to be fun,” he challenged with an emphasizing click of his mandibles. “Now prepare yourself.”

Grimacing, Meg mimicked his stance but squeaked when she was forced to dodge his sudden barreling attacking. She danced out of his reach every time he shot toward her so that they were moving around the room but she was painfully aware of how clumsy her movements were and the fact that he was clearly moving at only a faction of his normal speed to give her plenty of time to move out of the way. Even with him slowing down his strikes, she barely kept ahead of him and couldn’t even think of trying to get a counterstrike in.

“Fuck!” The curse burst from her painfully as her side collided with the edge of the lobby wall.

It had an immediate effect. Kaylar slowed to a stop and cocked his head, his vibrissae curling forward toward her in a gesture of concern. Her hand went to her back and she winced but she took the opportunity to catch her breath while she was at it, eyeing the large Argurma as she dragged air in and out of her lungs slowly.

“I don’t think this is working,” she pointed out. “I can barely keep ahead of you with you working at half speed.”

He chuffed. “Accurately it was one sixth of the usual force of my normal parring speed.”

“Lovely,” she replied flatly. “That just makes my point for me. There is no way I can even think about defending myself if I’m struggling just to stay out of your way. Frankly, it’s a waste of time because I wouldn’t fight someone like you unless I completely had the advantage of surprise. Otherwise I would just run and get out of there. I wouldn’t be dancing around you like an idiot.”

His mandibles clicked slowly, and he dipped his chin. “This is an accurate assessment. Very well. I will give pretense of ignorance of your presence, and you shall attack me.” He turned away, giving his back to her. “I have closed my eyes to terminate my optical input. You may begin.”

She stared at his back, a small smile creeping onto her face. This was entirely silly. He still knew she was there regardless of his attempt to give her the advantage, but she appreciated his effort.

Okay, I might as well make the most of it.

Shaking out her arms to relieve the tension in them, Meg slowly circled behind him and lifted her foam blade. The heavy muscles of his back shifted beneath his suit as if he were casually just shifting his weight and unaware of her creeping up behind him. Her tongue traced over her lips as she focused on what she assumed would be a vulnerable spot between his shoulder blades. Throwing the full weight of her body into him, she leapt on him, bringing her foam blade down quickly with her full strength behind it as if it could actually pierce his suit and harm him.

To her shock, his vibrissae coiled around her wrists, binding them roughly together despite the gentle caress of the rattle-tipped ends just as he reached back and gripped her flight suit, yanked her through the air and over his shoulder until she was clasped tightly to his body and his vibrissae swarmed wriggled over her shoulders, neck and along her cheeks as if caught by excitement. A growl rumbled from him as his glowing eyes squinted down at her. Meg’s breath caught as she waited to see what he would do with her now that he caught her.

Kaylar chuffed and gently dropped her to her feet, his vibrissae retracting from her so quickly that she immediately missed their touch. “Good attempt but your calculations were incorrect.”

“How?” she demanded as she glared in frustration at him.

“Many species have natural armor that protects their spines,” he replied. “Although our own flight suits are reinforced with light, flexible armor, which makes them still penetrable with enough force and speed, you are unlikely to score an immediate vital hit. Striking at an Argurma’s spine will enrage them more than it will likely damage them.”

“Fuck,” she muttered again. “Then where is the best place to hit?”

His hard brow raised slightly, his vibrissae curling. “Where do we appear vulnerable?”

She allowed her eyes to run down the length of him and her lips thinned with frustration. He was covered with the body suit all except his powerful arms which he chose to keep exposed. His lower legs were even additionally protected by the thick calf-high boots he wore. She wasn’t going to be able to cripple him by trying to hit the back of his ankles. Just then, his vibrissae curled up in the air, exposing the side of his neck and her teeth sank into her lip contemplatively. That wasn’t going to be an easy hit either since his vibrissae were a weapon all by themselves but if she grabbed hold of them with her opposite hand as she swung herself up high onto his shoulder, she could have a good chance catching the side of his neck with her blade.

“Your neck.”

He dipped his chin. “The neck, the eyes, and the gentil sheath on males,” he added, his eyes dropping to the slight bulge at the front of his suit. She blinked at that. A sheath? She’d just assumed that Argurma males were just lacking in that area and made up for it elsewhere. “These are the best places to strike. Even severing a number of the vibrissae can cause a significant amount of pain and shock that at very least you can use it to give you time to get away,” he rumbled, dragging her attention rudely back to the lesson at hand.

“Okay.” She adjusted her grip on her foam blade. “I think I’ve got it.”

“Good,” he rumbled, giving her his back again. “Now attack.”

She didn’t hesitate. She leapt upon him, keeping herself up along his side, her hand coiling in his vibrissae as she pulled herself up, only to find herself dragged over his shoulder again, this time much quicker as he purred down at her. She rolled her eyes up at him and huffed which made his smile widen as he set her down.

“Again,” he commanded, turning from her.

Again and again, she attacked from one side of his body to the other, all with the same results. She didn’t mind the leisurely brush of their bodies when he set her on her feet or the way his vibrissae clung to her and slid against her skin erotically, but she was ready to shriek with frustration from her failures. She was sweaty and her muscles burned and ached from the exertion. She was beginning to really want to murder him, especially with the way he chuffed and smiled down at her every time he captured her as if he had won another round of a game.

He didn’t even look the least bit tired. Bastard.

One more time. She had one more attempt in her before she was ready to cede to defeat for the night.

Bent over, her hands braced on her knees, Meg scowled at the sexy muscles of his back. Going at him from his side didn’t work because he was able to reach over and snatch her easily. He seemed to have to work harder to snatch her from his back but it would leave her working partially blind as she pulled his vibrissae away and struck his neck.

It was worth a shot.

Straightening, Meg rushed him, leaping up onto his back. Kaylar grunted in surprise, his arms coming back as his pale gray hands reached awkwardly for it. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she slashed at his hands with the foam and he snatched them momentarily away but just enough that she was able to grip his shoulder spine and haul herself so that she was able to wrap her legs around his torso. His body twisted in an attempt to dislodge her and those spines drifted dangerously close to her face. She couldn’t pull herself any higher without risking harm, putting her at an even greater disadvantaged angle as she kept herself tucked down low and shifted her grip from his shoulder spine to a thick cluster of vibrissae, dragging it back with her weight. She had no visual on his neck at all but slashed at it.

And missed.

The foam blade hit his collar bone but Kaylar dropped to the ground with Meg draped firmly over him. Bracing her hands against his back, she slowly pushed herself up onto her knees and his large body turned beneath her, his hip rubbing briefly and enticingly against her sex. She shivered as her thighs tightened, her eyes squeezing close for only a moment before she forced them to open to meet Kaylar’s hot stare.

“Not a vital hit,” he purred, “but still temporarily incapacitating. Our flesh around our necks, including the collarbone, is vulnerable beyond the protection of our shoulder horns. To prevent further damage, I yield to you. What would you have of me?”

Arousal rushed through Meg and her eyes closed, her pussy clenching on its own emptiness as she swallowed back a moan. All kinds of ideas of what she would like to have from him floated through her mind but nothing which she had the courage to voice aloud. In her current state she was confused about what exactly he was offering.