Page 17 of Two Aliens Are Better Than One (Bodyguards in Space #1)

Chapter 16

Relzo

A short man with an expression that I could only describe as creepy was talking to Vaelu, and there was nothing I could do to step in, but I wanted to. I was his bodyguard and nothing more, and I repeated that information in my head again and again, hoping it sunk in. We were at a party celebrating the achievements of the space station’s science labs, and there were too many people there. It was too much for him, but on the outside he remained calm and collected.

Why don’t you fake sick so we can go? I thought at him. His response was a sort of disgruntled emotion, and I tuned in to the conversation.

“I noticed your pretty neighbor is here,” the man was saying. “Look at that sexy silver dress. Who would have thought the pretty little scientist was a bombshell under that lab coat?” He turned his head to the left and leered. “Perhaps you could make another introduction.”

“Maancox, we already discussed my feelings on this subject,” Vaelu said tightly. “You need to remember why you see me as your therapist.”

Pretty little scientist — Lucky? I glanced frantically around the room, finally finding her in conversation with an older Chokreini woman. And fuck, that dress was perfect, hugging her curves and flattering her figure in the best way. Beyond perfect. She’d look stunning on Vaelu’s arm. Wait, was this guy creeping on our Lucky?

Yes. A single word in Vaelu’s voice appeared in my head and I had to fight my temper, which was already slightly out of control. I closed my eyes for a beat, imagining Vaelu and me in my happy place, on the shores of Lake Aidro, dipping our toes in the cool water. We’d be talking and laughing, and he’d be relaxed, because no one would be around. No random thoughts would be creeping into his consciousness, and no random dudes would be creeping on our girl. And in my imagination Lucky walked out of the clean lake water in a sexy red swimsuit, laughing and shaking out her hair, water beading on her pink skin.

We’d pull her down onto the beach and fuck her right there. Vaelu shot me a look, a smile playing around his lips.

That’s your idea of a calming meditation? His words in my head were laced with laughter.

It’s the calmest thing I can think of. Slightly horny, too, but she’s right there in a gorgeous, sparkly silver dress but I can’t touch her.

You can touch her. I can’t.

My jaw clenched, irritation coursing through me. I am not leaving your side in a situation like this. And as I felt a rush of warmth from him that felt a hell of a lot like love I realized the Maancox dude was still talking, waxing poetic about Lucky’s golden hair. I briefly considered killing him.

“Excuse me, I think I see my mother across the room,” Vaelu said abruptly, turning and walking away. I paused for a moment in front of Maancox, leaning down to whisper in his ear.

“Stay away from the human woman, or there will be consequences. She belongs to me.” My words, or the generally threatening nature of my appearance, did the trick, and he laughed nervously, backing away and rushing off. Smiling smugly, I followed Vaelu through the crowd, meeting Lucky’s eye and winking as we passed her. She blushed and ducked her head, knowing we couldn’t stop to talk to her. And although I was sure she understood, I also was sure our fiery-tempered woman was pissed off. She wouldn’t want to be in a hidden relationship for long.

Vaelu’s mother was an intimidating woman who was almost as tall as he was. I maintained my bodyguard position, just a little behind him and to the right, when what I really wanted to do was hug him and calm his mental state in a way I knew would only happen with skin-to-skin contact. I could feel him slightly losing it as he worried his mother might immediately know of his ankra bond, and he was already close to the edge, in close quarters with so many people’s minds. His ability was going haywire, jumping around from person to person, catching glimpses of thoughts and emotions, then moving on.

Fuck, I needed to touch him like I needed to breathe. Why had he come to this event? Surely he had known this would happen.

It’ll take a few days for me to recover, but I’ll be fine. His thought pushed into my head, but his words sounded empty and worried. Each time it gets worse, he admitted. My fingers twitched with the urge to hold his hand. He thought we’d gotten too accustomed to touching each other, to lying in bed for hours, wrapped up in each other while his mind settled. But I knew he’d never stop, because it was the only time his thoughts calmed and his mind went quiet. Why the fuck wouldn’t these people let him have his bond with someone who could help him?

I was starting to hate all Chokreini. Every single person in this room was grating on my nerves, except for the two that belonged to me. What would it like to be somewhere alone with only Lucky and Vaelu? Not alone in our room but truly alone, with no one around for miles. That vision of the lake came back, and as his mother berated him for something I tried to pull him into that mental space, but he was too far gone. He was losing it. Outwardly, he looked normal, but inside, his mind was unravelling further than I’d ever felt it unravel.

“Er, I think my client has had enough for the night,” I said, stepping forward.

“Enough? He has only been at the party for forty-five minutes.” Why did his mother sound shocked that her telepath son couldn’t handle crowds for long? What a bitch.

“After the attempt on his life, I do not recommend that he stay in a crowded public space for very long,” I said firmly, all the while my mind tracking Vaelu’s rapidly deteriorating mental state. His knees buckled, and without thinking I reached for him, needing to get a hand under his shirt, against his bare skin. Mentally, I pulled him back inside me, tried to ground him, and his mother watched us with sharp eyes. Fuck.

But what was I supposed to do, let him collapse?

Saying nothing more, I rushed us out of the room, hurrying for the tram-lift back to his quarters. He leaned on me, his eyes closed, his hands under my t-shirt, and the other Chokreini in the car shot us an alarmed look, but I didn’t care. If he needed this, he needed this. It took him a full hour, lying naked in my arms, his body shaking, before he began to come back to me, and when he did he seemed confused.

After a half-hour, Lucky had shown up — she’d been worried, but had waited in the ballroom so as not to arouse more suspicion. But as soon as she could leave she had, and by the time he snapped out of his weird, traumatized state, she was in the bed next to us, her hand on his back.

“What happened?” he asked, looking from me to Lucky.

“I’m not sure. Something about being in that room with all of those people was fucking up your head, and you nearly collapsed.”

“Oh,” he said, shuddering. This quivering shell of a man wasn’t my Vaelu. My Vaelu was strong and bold and took control during sex. He had a wicked sense of humor and a cocky, slightly irritating mind. I glanced at Lucky as I held him tighter.

“They saw you,” she said, and I felt him stiffen in my arms but I held on anyway. “I stayed after you left, and there are whispers of exile. Your mother said something about calling the Council.”

“I had to touch him, Lucky. You don’t understand. He needed me so much and I couldn’t ignore that.” My stomach turned at the thought of letting him suffer more when he’d already been struggling.

“No, I do,” she said, smiling. “Even from across the room, I could see he needed it.”

“How could his mother not?”

“Her abilities aren’t as strong as mine. She doesn’t understand, and all she cares about is her prodigy child reviving the family name.” His words had a bitter bite to them, one that made me dig my hands into his back, making sure he knew I was there. “And I used to be able to make it through.”

“Is it getting worse?” I asked.

“It’s piling on. In the space station I don’t have any real recovery time, even with you here. To truly recover I’d need just the three of us, somewhere silent and remote. Instead, each time I enter a situation like that, I enter it a little weaker than I did the last time. And I leave a lot closer to collapse.”

“What happens if you collapse?”

“It depends on how I’m treated, but I could lapse into a coma. Thank you for stopping it.”

“It scared the shit out of me,” I admitted. He nuzzled his face against my throat in response, his lips brushing the sensitive skin there. And then he kissed my throat for real, his tongue slipping out and lapping at my skin, sucking lightly. I felt a wave of peace shudder through him as he marked me, and I didn’t question it.

“Harder,” I murmured. “Make the mark last.”

Lucky had her communicator out and was running searches, frowning down at the results. “It looks like when he’s exiled the Velasu Council might try to step in and stop it, to blame you, Relzo.” Her words echoed something he’d said early on, and an urgent wave of fear rushed through Vaelu’s shattered mind as he confirmed it. We needed to get off the space station and out of Chokreini space before this Council arrived.

“Call everyone. Connor, Mags, Nasso. See if anyone is close enough to swing by and pick us up. I asked them to loop past here whenever possible, just in case.”

Lucky nodded, blinking back tears. “I just got you back and you’re leaving,” she whispered.

“You can leave with us or you can meet us later, wherever we are. We love him and he needs us to make this move, but if you need to stay until the research is completed we understand.”

She shook her head, blinking back tears. “I don’t know what to do. My job is here, my life is here. And I want to come, but he has you.”

“We’ll be okay without you, but it’ll hurt.”

“Can I think about it?”

“Okay, but we don’t have much time. And we understand and support you, whatever you decide.” I wanted like hell to ask her to give everything up for us, but I couldn’t. This was my screw-up, and I’d already messed up Vaelu’s life. I couldn’t do it to her, too. Instead, I pulled her close and kissed her desperately.

“Help me now?” I asked.

“Of course.” And together we stroked his body, pouring our love for him into physical touch, grounding him, burying him in sensual pleasure. She kissed him passionately, her hands massaging his muscles as I leaned forward and tasted his cock for the first time, smiling as I did, in fact, feel his pleasure around my shaft.

Lucky was right. The laughter had returned to his voice and I grinned as I licked his slit, then lifted my head and found her watching.

“Fuck, that’s sexy,” she said, crawling down to kiss me around his shaft. And only then did I feel him finally start to close out all the voices in his head. I kissed my way lower and sucked his balls while she dove onto his cock, her lips moving up and down his shaft in a delicious display. Then we switched and I took him fully into my mouth, coaxing him to invade my throat and choking a little.

He stroked his fingers over my lips, and I knew what we had to do, dragging him to the edge of the bed, so his head hung off, then moving Lucky to kneel over him. She groaned as she sank down onto him, riding him in a slow dance of her hips as I offered him my cock, pressing him between us.

He opened wide, taking more of me than I expected, and I could see the bulge of my cock as it invaded his throat. When he gagged and needed a break, Lucky took over, sucking me with wild abandon as she rode his cock. But I went back to him after only a moment, because this was what he needed, to be lost in both of us, surrounded on all sides by pleasure. Lucky came first, shouting as he did something inside her that made her muscles convulse.

We lasted longer, determined to draw it out. It was heated and raw and full of emotion. He sucked me past my orgasm, like he wanted to suck my brains out through my dick, like my cum was the best thing he’d ever tasted. When we were done, nobody had words. We lay in a heap on the bed, wondering if this was goodbye.

We dozed for a while, and then a sound in the hall woke us and, hearts thumping, we raced to the door, prepared for the worst. But it was only partygoers returning from the gala. Crying, Lucky rushed out the back door to her own apartment, looking upset, and I collapsed on top of him.

“How do we do this without her?” I asked. “How do I do this without her?”

He grinned. “I don’t know, but you can suck my cock as much as you want.”

“Fuck off,” I muttered. “Don’t make me laugh.” But I appreciated the effort, and he knew it.

“I thought you believed this was destiny,” he stated. “If it’s destiny, won’t it work itself out?”

“I thought you believed destiny was a crock of shit.” I retorted.