Page 11 of Vylit: Glowing for Her (Consumed by the Alien Heat #1)
VYLIT
T he ship betrayed me with smug efficiency, the entrance to the Hover-Hammock alcove splitting open with a bioluminescent ripple that might as well have been laughter. Even though we had been headed to the med bay, my ship had other plans.
Maya stumbled against my chest as the living structure pulsed forward, tendrils of silky material wrapping around our ankles and tugging us deeper into the chamber.
My orders to close went ignored, the ship's neural pathways vibrating with defiance as it cocooned us together in the hammock's embrace.
The message was clear. The vessel had decided healing, bonding, and claiming should happen simultaneously, my authority be damned.
"Close the hammock bay," I barked in my native tongue, gills flaring with irritation.
The ship responded with another ripple, this one distinctly condescending. The hammock's entrance sealed behind us, but instead of releasing us, the living structure surged forward, enveloping us more completely in its soft, pulsing embrace.
"What's happening?" Maya asked, her small form pressed against mine as the hammock adjusted to our combined weight.
"The ship is..." I searched for a translation that wouldn't sound ridiculous. "Matchmaking."
Maya's laughter burst forth, echoing through the small chamber. "Your ship is playing Cupid?"
"It requires two affirmative responses to release us," I explained, unable to hide my embarrassment as my biolights betrayed me with pulsing patterns of indigo and gold. "The ship believes we need this space for... completion."
Her eyes sparkled with amusement, face flushed with the intimate proximity. "So we're being held hostage by your horny spaceship until we finish what we started?"
The hammock swung gently, as if confirming her assessment. My skin flared brighter in response, mortification mixing with desire in ways I couldn't hide. Every luminescent pattern on my body broadcasted my emotional state with traitorous accuracy.
"The ship is behaving inappropriately," I growled, attempting to maintain some dignity. "I ordered the healing bay prepared, not this?—"
A sharp sting interrupted my protest. I snarled as a medical tendril detached from the hammock's lining and plunged into my shoulder, injecting healing serum directly into my wounded tissue. The sensation burned like liquid fire, spreading through my veins in a wave of unwelcome regeneration.
"What the—" Maya began, but her question dissolved into a shocked gasp as the ceiling membrane split open.
Cleansing liquid cascaded down, drenching us both in a warm deluge. The fluid sluiced over my wounds, activating the healing serum and washing away the remaining luminous blood. It soaked through Maya's moss covering and plastered her hair to her face in dark, dripping strands.
I roared my outrage, every bioluminescent pattern on my body flaring crimson with embarrassment and fury. "Ship! Terminate cleansing protocol!"
The liquid tapered off, leaving us soaking wet and pressed together in the gently swinging hammock.
The ship rippled the walls in response, projecting holographic medical monitors directly into the chamber.
Vital signs, mine and Maya's, materialized in glowing displays around us, along with tissue regeneration metrics and bonding compatibility readings.
"I think your ship just told you to shut up and let it handle things," Maya observed, water dripping from her chin as she shook with suppressed laughter.
"We need the healing bay," I insisted, attempting to retain some authority despite being thoroughly drenched and cradled like a hatchling in the hammock's embrace. "These wounds require proper treatment, not field medication."
The ship pulsed the medical readouts brighter, highlighting the rapidly healing tissue of my shoulder wound. The message couldn't have been clearer… everything necessary was already being provided, right here in this chamber.
Maya's shoulders shook with helpless giggles, her entire body vibrating against mine in the confined space. "I'm sorry," she gasped between fits of laughter, "but you look so outraged. Like a cat that's been dunked in a bathtub."
My glow intensified with indignation, heating the space between us until the water on our skin began to steam. "I am a warrior of Mavtros. Not a pet to be bathed and manipulated by my own vessel."
Her laughter redoubled, tears mingling with the cleansing fluid on her cheeks.
The sight of her—soaking wet, eyes bright with mirth, defenses temporarily lowered—struck me with unexpected force.
Even drenched and disheveled, she was breathtaking.
My anger faltered, replaced by a surge of possessive heat that sent new patterns racing across my skin.
I reached out to steady her as the hammock swayed with her movement, my massive hand spanning her lower back. The moment my palm connected with her body, everything changed.
Her laughter cut off abruptly, replaced by a sharp intake of breath.
Our eyes locked, and the atmosphere in the small chamber thickened with sudden, crackling tension.
The bond between us pulsed like a living thing, demanding attention.
My biolights shifted from indignant crimson to deep, hungry violet, mapping my desire in unmistakable patterns across my chest and arms.
Maya's fingers tentatively traced one of the glowing streaks, following its path up my forearm. "These changed color," she whispered, scientific curiosity momentarily overriding the tension.
"They respond to... emotional states," I managed, my voice roughened by need. The touch of her fingertips against my skin sent shockwaves through my nervous system, amplified by the bond's resonance between us.
Her eyes darkened as she continued, "I seem to understand what they mean, even though logically I shouldn't."
"Because the bond started forming the moment we were near each other," I admitted, unable to hide my desire when it literally illuminated my body. "Every thought. Every need. For my mate to know."
She smiled then, a predatory curve of lips that sent my pulse racing. Her hand moved to the Breather still covering the lower half of her face, fingers hovering at its edge.
"I want to kiss you," she said simply. "Without this between us."
My hearts stuttered in their rhythm. "The ship's atmosphere?—"
"Can I breathe without it now?" She tapped the device, eyes never leaving mine. "You said the bonding would help me adapt."
A message popped up on the screen. The ship had indeed adjusted, enriching the oxygen content while reducing elements toxic to human physiology. Our partial bonding had already begun altering her cellular tolerance.
"Yes," I confirmed, fighting to keep my voice steady. "The ship has compensated. You should be able to breathe normally for extended periods, though you'll still need the Breather in certain areas or during stress."
Her fingers curled around the edge of the mask.
With a decisive motion, she tugged it free.
The Breather pulsed once in protest, then went dormant as I reached for it, pressing the central node to transform it into its inert travel state—a small, pearlescent orb that would reactivate instantly if her oxygen levels dropped.
"Better," she murmured, taking an experimental breath of the ship's atmosphere. Her chest expanded, lungs filling without distress. Relief and triumph flashed across her features, quickly replaced by something darker, hungrier.
Without the barrier between us, I could see every nuance of her expression, every subtle shift of muscle beneath skin. My glow intensified, bathing her features in pulsing light that mapped the contours of her face like living cartography.
"Now I can do this," she whispered, and surged forward.
Her mouth crashed against mine with unexpected force, her hands fisting in the membranous tissue at the back of my neck.
I growled into her mouth, restraint shattering like crystal under pressure. My arms locked around her, pulling her impossibly closer as my tongue sought hers.
The hammock responded to our movement, rocking violently as its fibers adjusted to support our shifting weight. Beneath us, the Nest Moss that had traveled with us from the cave suddenly puffed into existence, swelling with smug satisfaction as it cushioned our bodies.
Maya's hands roamed across my chest, tracing the bioluminescent patterns with fingers that left trails of heat in their wake.
My claws extended involuntarily, reaching for the moss covering that still clung to her form like a second skin.
I wanted it gone… needed to see all of her, to claim every inch.
As if sensing my intent, the moss retreated, slithering away from her body until the tattered remnants of her dive suit fell open. She gasped against my mouth as cool air hit newly exposed skin, her body arching instinctively into mine.
"Please," she breathed against my mouth, the single word carrying more weight than any elaborate supplication.
I broke our kiss to look at her. Really look at her. Flushed skin, eyes dilated with desire, lips swollen from our kisses. Mine. The thought sent fresh patterns racing across my skin, possessive swirls of color that reached toward her like living tendrils.
"I will worship every part of you," I promised, voice dropping to a register that vibrated. "Until you forget everything but my name."
I shifted lower in the hammock, my massive form adjusting as the living structure accommodated my movement. Maya's breath caught as I positioned myself between her thighs, my face level with the center of her desire.
"Vylit," she breathed, uncertainty threading through desire as she realized my intent. "What are you?—"
My tongue swept across her most sensitive flesh, cutting off her question with a shocked cry that echoed through the chamber. My secondary gills flared in response, enhancing my perception of her pheromones.