Page 36 of Chased by the Alien Mercenary (Monster Mercenary Mates #6)

Lyra

Boarding the ship after a smooth and successful landing in their hangar bay was like the curtain falling on the crazy chapter of my life down on that planet.

I hoped I’d never have to visit that place again, no matter how idyllic it looked in daylight.

Stepping into the pristine, though rather dark, bay was like leaving all of that behind and starting on the next chapter of my life.

That felt good. Especially since Solear still held one of my hands in his, anchoring me to him both physically and mentally.

I was not alone; I had him, and whatever came our way, we’d face it together.

“Yes, we will,” he agreed, smiling in my head just for me.

He snarled at the large gargoyle guy when his wing passed close to us at the same time, and that just made me happy.

I’d captured the heart of my beastly alien, but he was still a little feral and wild, and that just seemed right—like I hadn’t changed the heart of him, but he’d melted around me.

If I’d thought arriving on the ship and being truly safe was the big change, then the visit to the med bay…

it was like getting a makeover. The ship’s doctor was the most unexpected alien of all—tentacles instead of legs, many of them—but the upper body was much like those Aderians from the planet below.

He had a closed third eye on his forehead, though, which was a very intriguing mystery.

He gave me nutrients, healed my scrapes and bruises, and afterward, I felt reborn.

Of course, all he did was nod at Solear and hover the tissue regenerator over his back for a brief moment.

I had to be satisfied that was all my mate needed to stay healthy.

The doctor also insisted on giving me implants that would allow me to read the alien scripts out here.

I was all for that, but it surprised me that he’d do that kind of elective surgery—minor as it was—so soon.

His mysterious smile and Solear’s one-word endorsement that I should made me lie back for it, though.

I’d never had ocular implants, but it didn’t take the doctor more than a minute to take care of the very non-invasive procedure.

When I blinked afterward, it was instantly clear that more had changed than just the fact that I could now read the fluid, odd script on the medical monitor next to the bed.

Solear carried me from the med bay into what I’d previously thought was an entirely black and gloomy hallway.

A hallway identical to any other we’d walked through to get here in the first place.

Now, though, I stared in surprise at the beautiful colored lines that wove themselves along the walls.

They were indicators of direction, I discovered when I focused on them.

One color for the bridge, another for the hangars, one for the med bay, and different ones for all the various decks.

“Oh, no wonder you guys wanted me to do this immediately. What a clever trick!” Solear just grinned, silent amusement radiating toward me.

Then he took me to his bunkroom, small crew sleeping quarters with two bunks on either side of the wall.

A row of lockers at the back indicated eight possible occupants, if these guys slept in shifts, but all beds except one were made with military precision, unused.

“When Aramon shared the bunkroom with us, I did not dream out loud. But now he bunks with Evie, and I kept waking my bunkmates.” Solear’s explanation tugged at my heartstrings.

My poor guy. He must have felt so abandoned and alone!

The only decoration, the only sign of my mate’s personality inside the austere space, was a beautiful, hand-drawn map hanging over his bed.

It was on thick parchment and clearly of a desert with a camp of some kind, each line contributing to a beautiful impression of the place.

It might be a map in theory, but it was also a rendition of the place, the dunes of sand in rich reds and yellows, the colorful patterns on each of the tents in agonizing, minuscule detail.

Whoever had made this was an artist, and that map looked cherished.

Solear drew me to the pile of black and gray things lying at the foot of his bed, his expression on his intense, marked face a little awkward.

“The map is of where Aramon rescued Evie. Tass made it and gave it to me. Tass was… well, he was my first attempt at making friends.” He did not share these words explicitly with me, but I sensed his feelings of inadequacy at making friends.

He wasn’t quite sure if he’d succeeded—he couldn’t even hold a conversation with the guy.

Even telepathically, he seemed to think, he struggled with that.

Then it became obvious that there was something else about that bothering him too, but he did not share it.

I planned to circle back to that later. First, though, I wanted to shower, eat, and sleep for, like, a thousand years.

The pile of things at the foot of his bed turned out to be clothes, girl clothes, at that.

Simple shirts and leggings, and, blessedly, also normal, modest underwear.

Solear didn’t want to let me out of his sight when I asked for the shower, and the bathroom hidden at the back of the bunkroom was tiny.

The two of us barely fit inside together, but we made it work.

I was very happy to get the chance to truly look at the wound on his back, but like they’d all claimed, it really was superficial, a bit of an abrasion, but that was it. He really was fine.

It was an even tighter fit to roll into his bunk together, but so worth it.

I slept like the dead, and for once, it appeared that Solear did too.

When I woke, I did not recall being part of his dreams, and he was still sleeping when I blinked open my eyes.

I couldn’t believe what had happened to me, but lying there, tucked against his chest—safe and warm—I couldn’t regret any of it, not when this was the result.

Though I had not wanted to admit it or see it, I had been on the run all my life.

Seeking a connection with someone, but never daring to expose myself for it.

I’d hidden behind my camera, the way Solear had hidden behind his twin, but we were both done with that.

Now we had each other, and the future had never seemed so bright, even if I had no clue what it held for me.

Then my guy blinked open his eyes, the scarlet light soft and warm and still a touch sleepy.

His face had seemed so fearsome to me once, with the white markings that looked so much like a skull.

A Day of the Dead kind of face paint, only his never washed off.

It had grown on me, because that face now meant safety and love.

I could see the handsome lines of his sharp cheekbones and defined jawline, and the whitish marks on his lips just made them seem lush and welcoming.

Then he offered me the sweetest, most tentative smile, and my heart leaped in my chest. “I love you,” I whispered to him.

He did not say it back to me aloud; he did not even think it at me.

But his feelings washed over me as he rolled us and claimed my mouth.

Like a warm hug, I felt all the care, all the tenderness, and yes, all the love.

Mandy and Evie had invited me to a tour of the ship, but that could wait.

I forgot all about it when Solear laid his claim, a rough growl beginning to rattle in the back of his throat.

When his hand slid down to cup my breast beneath my thin shirt, I was gone.

“Take me, mate,” I urged him, and that was all the instruction he needed.

His hands were rougher as he freed me from my new clothes, shaking as he parted my thighs and pressed his head between them.

Okay, he could lick me first, fuck me later.

I was onboard with that plan. “Yes!” I shouted, toes curling into the mattress as an orgasm crashed through me, hard and fast.

He rose over me then, eyes on fire, beautiful cock straining between us.

I loved the gleam of metal from all his piercings as he slid inside of me, and I loved the friction each bump brought even more.

We were together, mind and body, and that made the pleasure intense, too much.

He came with me in just a few deep thrusts, our pleasure crashing together.

A tidal wave, a combustion of passion. It couldn’t have been more perfect when he held me tight, curled us together afterward, and, with a soft rumble, rocked us back to sleep.

***

Solear

I had brought Lyra to Evie and Mandy and discovered that Harper was there too.

It felt very odd to leave her in their care, because leaving her had meant abandoning her unprotected before.

This time, she couldn’t be safer, so I had to try, but I still struggled to calm my breathing just outside the door for several minutes.

Aramon would say I was doing the right thing—I knew that—but panic still filled me at the thought of leaving.

Still, Lyra had looked excited to speak with them and get the “lay of the land,” as she’d called it. I needed to give her this.

“Harper is a journalist! She’s excited about writing an article on the meteor storm I shot pictures of!

And about the raid on the mansion—we’re going to collaborate!

” Lyra’s excited words burst across my mind, eager, like she simply couldn’t wait to share this with me, to make me part of it, even when I wasn’t there.

She didn’t know I was still by the door, that I hadn’t made it across the hallway to Tas’s greenroom like I said I would.

That foray of telepathy, initiated by her, unknotted something inside my chest. She wanted me to be part of her visit, even when I wasn’t there, and that check-in let me know she was okay.