males.
Which made Marlix’s accommodation all the more baffling.
He exhaled and smoothed his hands down her back. “Your skin is very soft.”
It sounded like a compliment. “Thank you,” she said and tightened her muscles to squeeze his cock, still half-hard and lodged inside her.
He sucked in his breath. “You did that on purpose,” he growled. Holy smokes, he had a sexy voice. If he were to talk dirty to her…but Tara guessed he didn’t know any sexy words. Hey, baby, want to breed? She stifled a snort of laughter and squeezed his cock again.
“You are teasing.”
He sounded so affronted, she did giggle then. If she had to get captured by an alien and had to sleep with him to secure her freedom, well, she could have gotten stuck with a worse kidnapper. Had he not abducted her, she would have no reservations about rolling around in the sheets with him.
“Yes,” she said in a pseudo-serious tone.
“Why?” Her mockery flew over his head.
“You make it impossible to resist.”
He fell silent for so long she lifted her head to peer at his face. Puzzlement had narrowed his eyes. She disengaged but stayed close and leaned on one elbow. “What is it?” she asked.
“I was thinking about what you said.”
“What was that?”
“That you did not wish to breed. That you could not produce offspring.”
She knew he had intended no malice, but his comment hit her like a sucker punch. She pressed her palm to her abdomen as tears sprang to her eyes. Blinking, she rolled away. She had packed her possessions and her anguish and fled Terra, convinced a new life, a grand adventure, would dull the pain. Until now, it had seemed to be working.
Picture-sharp memories flooded on a wave of emotion so strong, the incident could have occurred yesterday. Striding through a dark shuttle garage from her personal vehicle to her flat, her arms laden with packages. Did she have enough food in her apartment to fix dinner, or should she have picked something up? Then footsteps. Bobby. Her neighbor. The loner. Since she’d moved in, he’d asked her out many times. She had let him down easy at first, but as his overtures grew more frequent, brasher, and more suggestive, she’d rebuffed him far less politely. The glint of a knife. Packages hitting the ground. She’d focused on saving her face but had lost something far more precious.
Pressure built behind her eyes, her cheeks. Suck it up. Suck it up.
Marlix seized her arm, his touch firm but gentle. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing.” She averted her gaze. “I cannot bear children.”
“Why not?”
Was he devoid of all manners? All social graces? They may have done the horizontal tango, but that did not entitle him to ask probing, personal questions. She stiffened and lifted her gaze to glare at him. Good God, was that sympathy on his face? She did not need an alien’s pity.
“Because of this!” She raked a hand across her fading abdominal scar and burst into tears. Mortified, she buried her face in her hands.
She had not cried when Bobby left her bleeding out on the shuttle garage floor.
She had not cried when doctors managed to save her life but had informed her the damage had weakened her uterus to the extent she would be unable to carry a child to term.
She did not cry when Mother Nature mocked her with a visit each month.
Yet here, in front of an alien who could not understand her despair, she wept and wailed. With his palm, Marlix petted her head, two light taps. Repeated the action on her shoulder. Once on her thigh. He patted as if he were trying to find the right button to push to switch off her tears. “Tara…” Her name rumbled, the first time she’d ever heard him use it. “Do not—do not…”
The bed moved when he sat up. He settled an arm around her shoulder, his embrace tentative, awkward, as if he’d never hugged anyone. She cried harder.
He pulled her against his chest, and she found herself clinging to him, sobbing against his neck.
Which made Marlix’s accommodation all the more baffling.
He exhaled and smoothed his hands down her back. “Your skin is very soft.”
It sounded like a compliment. “Thank you,” she said and tightened her muscles to squeeze his cock, still half-hard and lodged inside her.
He sucked in his breath. “You did that on purpose,” he growled. Holy smokes, he had a sexy voice. If he were to talk dirty to her…but Tara guessed he didn’t know any sexy words. Hey, baby, want to breed? She stifled a snort of laughter and squeezed his cock again.
“You are teasing.”
He sounded so affronted, she did giggle then. If she had to get captured by an alien and had to sleep with him to secure her freedom, well, she could have gotten stuck with a worse kidnapper. Had he not abducted her, she would have no reservations about rolling around in the sheets with him.
“Yes,” she said in a pseudo-serious tone.
“Why?” Her mockery flew over his head.
“You make it impossible to resist.”
He fell silent for so long she lifted her head to peer at his face. Puzzlement had narrowed his eyes. She disengaged but stayed close and leaned on one elbow. “What is it?” she asked.
“I was thinking about what you said.”
“What was that?”
“That you did not wish to breed. That you could not produce offspring.”
She knew he had intended no malice, but his comment hit her like a sucker punch. She pressed her palm to her abdomen as tears sprang to her eyes. Blinking, she rolled away. She had packed her possessions and her anguish and fled Terra, convinced a new life, a grand adventure, would dull the pain. Until now, it had seemed to be working.
Picture-sharp memories flooded on a wave of emotion so strong, the incident could have occurred yesterday. Striding through a dark shuttle garage from her personal vehicle to her flat, her arms laden with packages. Did she have enough food in her apartment to fix dinner, or should she have picked something up? Then footsteps. Bobby. Her neighbor. The loner. Since she’d moved in, he’d asked her out many times. She had let him down easy at first, but as his overtures grew more frequent, brasher, and more suggestive, she’d rebuffed him far less politely. The glint of a knife. Packages hitting the ground. She’d focused on saving her face but had lost something far more precious.
Pressure built behind her eyes, her cheeks. Suck it up. Suck it up.
Marlix seized her arm, his touch firm but gentle. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing.” She averted her gaze. “I cannot bear children.”
“Why not?”
Was he devoid of all manners? All social graces? They may have done the horizontal tango, but that did not entitle him to ask probing, personal questions. She stiffened and lifted her gaze to glare at him. Good God, was that sympathy on his face? She did not need an alien’s pity.
“Because of this!” She raked a hand across her fading abdominal scar and burst into tears. Mortified, she buried her face in her hands.
She had not cried when Bobby left her bleeding out on the shuttle garage floor.
She had not cried when doctors managed to save her life but had informed her the damage had weakened her uterus to the extent she would be unable to carry a child to term.
She did not cry when Mother Nature mocked her with a visit each month.
Yet here, in front of an alien who could not understand her despair, she wept and wailed. With his palm, Marlix petted her head, two light taps. Repeated the action on her shoulder. Once on her thigh. He patted as if he were trying to find the right button to push to switch off her tears. “Tara…” Her name rumbled, the first time she’d ever heard him use it. “Do not—do not…”
The bed moved when he sat up. He settled an arm around her shoulder, his embrace tentative, awkward, as if he’d never hugged anyone. She cried harder.
He pulled her against his chest, and she found herself clinging to him, sobbing against his neck.
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