Page 9

CHAPTER

SIX

AIDY

I think this parasite has eaten part of my brain.

Because I just let a stranger—a guy I barely know, a growly feral alien—jerk off and come on my tits.

And I liked it. Encouraged it. Want him to do it again.

My head is fuuuucked.

The throbbing hum in my chest almost feels like music at this point, it's so loud.

The sound hasn't gone down any, either. It just hums and purrs, and I don't know how to make it stop.

If it wasn't for the fact that I feel so good, so healthy, I'd be panicking.

As it is, I merely treat it as an oddity.

Will I be hearing it in my sleep? Absolutely. Can I stop it? No. Explain it? Nope.

It's just…humming.

But when we step outside into the snow, the biting wind is as fierce as ever, yet the edge has been taken off of it.

With the piles of furs wrapped strategically around my body, it just feels like…

wind. It no longer feels like ice scouring the first layer of my skin away.

Whatever this parasite is doing to me, it's keeping me warm, and I'll take it.

Maybe that's why Corvak says we need it to survive. Makes sense.

I peek over at him from under my lashes, my cheeks hot.

His confusion over what to do with his erect cock was rather charming.

Like he had no clue how to make it go down.

I guess if what he says is true and he was on medication to suppress his needs, it'd make sense that he didn't know anything about sex.

And apparently I've grown a submission kink because I loved seeing him touch himself and talk about how he owns me.

I've never been so damned horny in my life, and I barely resisted the urge to touch myself.

Even now as we step forward into the snow, my clothing rubs between my thighs and chafes in a way that reminds me that I didn't get to come and my slick, needy pussy is very, very aware of that fact.

Corvak pauses as we take a few steps forward, and I wonder if he's going to notice that under the layers of fur, my nipples are tight and aching. Or that my pussy is practically squelching with each step I take. He eyes me and then gestures at the pack on my shoulder. "Give me your bag."

I don't, because he's carried most of the load so far. He's done so much while I've just struggled to survive. "I can manage. I'm going to start pulling my weight. We're going to be equal partners from here on out."

Corvak just gazes down at me, a smile distorting his mouth and making his lower tusks prominent. "Equal partners?"

He says it like I've just said something cutesy, adorable, and unbelievable. Just like that, my pussy turns into the Sahara. So much for lusting after him.

I really am an idiot for losing myself in the moment.

I scowl in his direction. "So what's the plan, Corvak? You're the one that's been scouting. Where are we headed?"

The big alien doesn't notice my change in mood. He simply rubs his chest, thoughtful, and gazes around us. "So far I have seen nothing but more dangerous rocks and ice. We will go deeper into them, to where it is more difficult to survive. The more inhospitable the better."

His line of thinking seems to be the opposite of mine. "Don't you think we should try to get out of the mountains? Find someplace better than this?"

The look he shoots me is openly incredulous, as if I started speaking in tongues.

"The mountains are defensible. The snow makes things treacherous.

If it is dangerous to remain in the mountains, then that is what we will do, and we will establish a fortress stronghold.

Then, we will force our rivals to come to us. "

"A fortress," I repeat. "In the mountains?"

Corvak nods. "We are going to outlast the others. The best way to endure is to make it impossible for them to get the upper hand. In this case, we want defensible ground. We dig in and wait to be retrieved."

It makes sense…I guess. I'm not looking forward to the thought of staying in the cold, inhospitable mountains if there are other options, but I'm not the expert on these situations. "And what happens after we're retrieved?"

He glances over at me, his brows drawn. "I'm not entirely sure."

"I don't know if that makes me feel worse or better."

"It is the game that has been set for us," Corvak replies. "All we can do is play it."

His practicality soothes my irritation. He's right. This is what's been set out for us. The only choice we have is to succeed…or die trying. And after getting a glowing worm inserted in me and sleeping in dirty caves for the last few days, I'm not keen on dying.

So we walk. And we trudge through snow. The drifts are deep, and I end up letting Corvak walk ahead of me so he can plow forward and I follow behind him in the path he's made.

The pack on my back, stuffed full of furs and food, grows as heavy as stone.

The stolen canteen slung around my neck feels like a brick.

I regret not letting Corvak take my bag, but how much of a weenie would I be if I whimpered and carried nothing?

I grit my teeth and endure it, because there's nothing else to be done.

No valet is going to show up and take my burden from me.

No one's going to come and give us a ride.

As the day wears on, the scenery changes. Corvak deliberately picks the most inhospitable-seeming paths, looking for a way to climb higher and ever higher. We don't see anyone else, so his plan seems to be working.

I begin to feel more and more defeated as the hours drag by.

The furs that are tightly wrapped around our feet are soaked from the snow, and the sharp rocks stab at the soles of my feet, because fur isn't a great protector.

It grows colder, and the environment looks increasingly awful.

There's no break in the landscape, either.

Very few trees, very few animals, just more snow, more rocks, and more misery.

As it grows dark, the overcast sky turns from a muddy gray into a deep, thundery near-black that looks like storm clouds.

"Should we find shelter soon?" I ask, chewing on a piece of jerky as we walk.

We've eaten a few bites as we've traveled, but Corvak hasn't paused to take a break, and I don't want to be the wimp that demands one.

My feet throb, my back aches, and my face feels wind burned.

I mention none of this, because I don't want to be a weenie.

Whatever is going on in my chest is still distracting me, too. Its hum grows louder as the time passes until my ears are filled with the noise.

To make matters worse, my thoughts have been…

indecent. All day. I keep thinking about this morning and Corvak touching himself.

His appealing confusion on what to do. For some reason, even though he says silly things like "you belong to me" and "you're my prize", I'm not scared of him assaulting me.

They sound like bluster, especially when he touches himself and comments that he's never done it before.

I don't think most guys would admit that so freely, but he doesn't know to be ashamed of it.

And because it's all new to him, my brain pounces on that like a cat on catnip, and I turn over filthy scenarios in my head all day.

Me showing Corvak where his cock actually goes.

Me licking his cock and watching his expression as he experiences it for the first time.

Me seeing what that enticingly strange protrusion above his cock can do.

It feels like exactly the wrong time to be thinking horny thoughts about my companion, but I can't seem to help myself. My thoughts continually circle back to earlier, to his cock, to his awe at how aroused he was.

What would he have done if I'd stripped down and touched myself along with him?

"This looks like a suitable place." Corvak is climbing a heavy ledge ahead of me, his strong arms and legs making the task seem easy.

His ass is eye-level with me, and I can't help but stare at it.

Even covered in piecemeal furs, I can still see the outline of the bubble underneath.

He had a great ass in that loincloth, I recall.

Stump tail or no tail, there was no hiding that fantastic muscular outline, like the ass of a male figure skater or ballet dancer.

An ass you can bounce quarters off. An ass you can sink your face into and just lose yourself. An ass?—

Wait, did he say he'd found a suitable place? I force myself to pay attention, giving my head a little shake to clear it from thoughts of me with my nose buried in his yummy backside. "I'm sorry, what?"

He finishes hauling himself up to the ledge and then leans over to hold a hand down to me. "A good place to sleep for the night. Come see."

"Am I a party pooper if I point out that we're still outside?" I ask as I put my hand in his. I don't climb so much as Corvak just hauls me bodily up to his side, and for some reason, that turns me on again. So strong. So fit. Such a good butt.

"You are not a pooper. And I do not see any caves," Corvak says with a shrug, then points behind him. "But underneath these rocks, the wind will not touch you, and we will have our backs to stone. It is a good spot and defensible for the night. We'll continue going higher in the morning."

Sleeping outdoors. Yippee. If this is anything like the movie Pitch Black , we'll be dead the moment it gets dark.

If this was Predator , we'd be found by the aliens in a flash.

If this was a zombie flick, we'd be sitting ducks.

I bite back my whiny response, because it's not like he can make a cave appear out of thin air.

He's doing the best he can. I eye the rocky overhang.

The rocks themselves are coated with ice and snow and some tendril-like vines, but underneath the rock, a bit like a half-open clam, there's bare rock, just enough for us to wedge ourselves inside and cuddle for the night.