The bitter tang of anger misted the air.
“My care upsets you?”
Air rushed past the plush strips of her mouth, gem eyes dull when they met his. “Me tired. Please go?”
Later, inside the safety of the lair, she wriggled from his arms and headed for the nest.
She sat then stared at him with a stony expression.
Venomous did not like the weight of her scrutiny, it felt as if she judged him and found him lacking.
He surmised, “You are angry.”
“Yes,” she snipped.
His tongue tasted the air.
The jumble of scents confused him, and made him restless. “You are unhappy I sent you with Yofk.”
“Unhappy?” She glared. “Me swear, if you no so damn scary.” Her slender fingers curled in the air to shake in a fist. “Know what like waking to strange place with alien demand sex? Again.” Her voice was loud by the time she finished. Her eyes glittered, and her cheeks flushed. “Well?”
“What would you have had me do?” He closed the space between them then crouched. “You were unable to stay awake. I could not protect you in the pit. Yofk offered, and I accepted. He is the best lesser mate I will find you in this place.”
The angry glare remained in full force. “Lesser mate?”
“On Rök, a female takes a lesser mate. If her primary mate dies, she has a protector.” He tilted his chin to his chest. “That is not your way on Earth? Many cultures have this practice to safeguard their widows, my Lumen.”
“Culture....” Her eyes rounded. It reduced the effect of her angry stare. She swallowed. “You die and Yofk be mine mate?”
“Yesss.”
“No mean take mine body now!” She flung out an arm, expression murderous. “No like Yofk!”
“A lesser male need only join with you each time his scent fades, and your body no longer recognises his claim.”
“No!” She flashed her palm. “Human no like Rä. No choose mate by scent. Male who no Venom taking sex is–!” A stream of words he didn’t understand came out garbled through the translator. “No be with Yofk! No ever!”
She ranted on, but he had to interrupt her. “These important words do not–”
“Argh!” She clutched hanks of her hair. “Try remember different customs. Hard when no talk right.”
“Indeed,” Venomous gestured between them, “but I am here for you. Ask what you will of me.”
“Sweet again.” She gazed at him helplessly then let go of her hair. Her hands slapped her thighs. “Try understanding my view. What call when male force female who no Rä’Na?”
It took many moments for what she implied to sink in, and take root in his mind.
The idea was so startling, Venomous plopped onto his backside. “No. No. This is not done. There is no forcing.”
“Venom, please. Rä have male and female. Must be history where male use force.” Her lips thinned. “Forced me.”
He dipped his head in a downward jerk, a strong denial of her claim. “It is not possible. When our mate calls forth our stem, we align to her, and this locks our reproductive cycle to hers. It will not firm for a female we are not mated to. Only as a lesser mate, or widowed can a Rä take another.”
Lumen rubbed her forehead with her thumb and forefinger. “Lesser mates? How stem go hard if a’Rä? Me think a’Rä no gender.”
“Only Rä’Vek are granted the honour of a widow’s protection.”
Stilling its circular motion, she pressed the flat of her hand to her brow. Her voice was odd. “You be lesser mate?”
“It is a likelihood.” Even after mating an offworlder many would seek his strength to protect what they cherished.
“Right,” she whispered. “No like this thing.”
“There are no other Rä here,” he pointed out feeling as if she needed reassurance, but unsure of what words would ease the rigidity of her body.
“Asked you do?”
Venomous sensed his answer was important.
He also sensed the right answer was one that would displease her. “It is an honour. A tradition I am obligated to accept if it comes from a male I respect.”
Averting her gaze, she trembled as she pushed the hand that rested on her brow into her hair again. “Okay. Talk on that other time. What happen when Rä’Na die and leave behind Rä’Vek?”
“Not a thing. His urges fall dormant unless his scent brings another a’Rä into maturity.”
“Trade lesser mate place so Yofk keep me safe when work?”
“Yesss. I would have explained.” He inched his clawed hand closer to her leg. “You were recovering from the Opda sting.” He hesitated before touching her ankle. When she didn’t shake him off, he eased closer to rub her cheek with his knuckle. “I did not mean to frighten you. I had no choice.” He took a long breath, hoping she would not think him weak for his next confession. His voice was as tight as his chest when he spoke. “I did not want to give you to him. It pained me.”
The scent of her resentment dissipated.
“So mad at you. Understanding now.” She huffed a laugh. “No think Yofk happy with trade.”
Venomous struggled not to snarl.
He did not care if the male was fulfilled, he should have been honoured to touch her soft flesh. “I scented his arousal, but not yours.”
“Apology.” She held his claw with her hand, and moved her cheek against it. “Me understanding lesser mate part of Rä world, but no mine. I no do.” She chewed the side of her mouth as if fearful of his reaction. “Clutch for He, Venomous One only. Fight other male. Understanding?”
Knowing her vibrant emotions, part of him did understand.
He felt protective and possessive of her in all ways.
The shame he’d felt during his internal debate to hand her over no longer mattered.
They had much the same thinking about whom her body belonged to, but the practicality of having a lesser mate remained.
Never would he encourage a deprivation of her basic rights.
“When we return to Rök, one must be chosen for you, my Lumen.”
“No!”
Aggravated, his brow scales bunched.
A battle for another time then.
“Yofk has agreed to watch you without payment, though I believe he will try to coax you still.”
She snorted.
He fought a grin, his human found his sharp teeth disturbing.
“I will not insist you accept him,” he decided, “but upon return to home world you must take a lesser mate.”
“And I say– Wait.” She gripped his arm, gaze sharpening. “Return Rök?” Excitement coloured her tone. “Us escape?”
“Thsst! I told you that is impossible.”
Her elation died, hold relaxing. “How get there?”
Venomous rose then went to the stone slab seeking the thing he’d traded his hardsuit for.
The item he’d traded treasured gold for.
He picked up the communication unit he’d worked on for twelve solars then handed it to her.
Up until she’d come into his life, he’d felt a vague need to return home, but now it was the most pressing thing on his mind.
He could not keep her safe until an opportune time as he had hoped.
Eventually, the other gladiators would find a way to stow their differences, and attack as one to take her.
They had to leave.
As she cradled it with wide eyes, Venomous ran his thumb over the activation pane registering his print for access.
The device lit up and pulsed.
Dark red light splashed across their engrossed expressions.
Venomous watched it with a deep sense of satisfaction.
Building it had been trying.
He was not a Scholar practised in mechanics, but he’d remembered enough to hobble something together from the cluttered heaps.
“We cannot escape, my Lumen, but we can be rescued.”
She gazed at him as if he’d forged the th
ree moons. “How quick come?”
Turning his attention from the communicator unit to her eager face, he realised she didn’t comprehend how the technology functioned.
He had to manage her expectations, perhaps disappointing her.
Sighing a hiss, he pulled her from the nest onto his lap. “It could be cycles. I calibrated the transmitter to a frequency often used by our communications axis, so we have a good chance of being discovered.” He paused. “Rök is a closed world. We do not promote our existence, nor do we welcome offworlder settlers. There are only Rä on home world, and Sylphs, a species contented to serve. We shun visitors. Our galaxy is a busy place, but we live outside the normal political manoeuvrings.”
“No see how matter? Send message, they hear.”
“No. The only communicator shell I could salvage was not compatible with the Rä signalling system. It is a wave formed in a specific pattern that repeats our location.”
At her confused look, he simplified, so the translators would work.
He could see some of what he said was not getting through, and she guessed as best she were able.
“A beacon that will guide one who searches,” he made clear.
“Have machine to tell friend calls home?”
“Only if they look, and we do not scan for deep space transmissions often. As I said, we do not concern ourselves with offworlders.”
She frowned then rubbed his shoulders. “How L’Odo catch?”
“Dei San pirates captured me on Zoi Quay. As a warrior for the Northern province, it was my turn to visit a trade planet for supplies with warriors chosen from the other territories.” He slumped. “They caught me unawares. The tourist quadrangle is chaotic. So many scents and vibrations surrounded me, I could not differentiate a threat from a mere passerby. I was unaccustomed to the big crowds and loud noises. It is the seat of the Intergalactic Alliance. A Council is always in session to hear petitions, so many alien species visit there for that. Or to trade flesh.” He sounded pissed. “My kindred warned me not to think myself invincible. I was a gifted a’Rä, and grew arrogant. I travelled from my group to explore the marketplace, its strange architecture. Zoi Quay is overwhelming, and I was an easy target.”
“People looking for you?”
“No. In the event of an emergency, such as one of us going missing, it is protocol to return to home world. This is what they would have done. The Senate would have convened, and a vote cast as to whether a search for me would be successful.” He brooded over it, but the indignation passed quickly. He no longer felt bitter or forgotten. “Many slaves are bought and sold on Zoi Quay. It was my own fault I was lost.”
She accepted this with a sympathetic look. She studied his face. “Tired?”
“It will be good to rest. Are you hungry?”
“Yofk feed.” Her lips quirked at some memory. “Am worry for you. Two rotation no rest.” She rolled out of his arms, dragged her tunic off then burrowed under the furs. “Come.”
He greedily took in her nudity.
Two palms rubbed his thighs as the other two reached for her. “You invite me?”
Eyes laughing, she shook her head then went to grab hold of his hand. She hesitated. “No claws?” He retracted them, and she tugged on his hand to draw him down. She pillowed his head on her chest lumps then massaged his throat scales. “Relax.” Her voice infused with dry amusement. “Protect you.”
Laughter vibrated his chest as he settled his weight between her legs.
He liked her funniness.
Unsure of how far his welcome extended, he wrapped his arms around her then waited for rejection.
He allowed his mind to quieten when she did not protest the intimacy. “You are appeased then?”
Frowning, she made a noise indicating she didn’t understand.
“Yofk,” he clarified.
She tensed. Her touch moved to his face. “No have choice?”
“No.”
“Well then.” She stroked his quills. Gold beads tinkled. “Put trust in you. You do things I no understand, well, I must manage.”
“It is not my intention to displease you.”
She hummed. “You seem care. Hard stay mad when you want make happy and keep safe.”
“You are priceless to me.”
“Gratitude.” She quieted, thoughtful. “Am excited by rescue.”
“I understand this.”
“Maybe.... Um, maybe Rä come, go Earth?”
Venomous’ hearts stopped.
A savage sound vibrated in his chest before he controlled himself. “Do you want to go back?”
She seemed startled then uncomfortable. “Why no want go home?”
“Answer my question. Then I shall answer yours.”
“Am obligation,” she announced. “Venom no want human.”
“Untrue.”
“Think me pretty?”
“You attract me,” he confirmed grimacing at where her thoughts headed.
“How clear,” she muttered.
A short, uneasy silence.
Her caress fell away. “You no pick me if had choice. Biology force you.”
“What you speak of is the way. Grandfather chooses his warriors’ Rä’Na.” He paused. “This choice pleases me.”
“Here we alien. On Rök, I alien.”
Venomous found it gratifying she believed their return to home world was definite, and not an uncertain hope.
“You are my Rä’Na,” he said wishing to soothe her. “That is all that will matter to them, and all that matters to me.”
“Rä no care me human?”
Venomous would not lie, nor would he invite problems to their nest with premature fretting. “I mated a who not a what.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Rä experiment?”
“If our positions were reversed, would your people do such bad to me?”
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. “For knowledge.”
“Then do not judge my species by the standard of yours. This Rä’Vek will never let such evil touch his Rä’Na.”
When she spoke her voice was small. “Take me from you. Do horrible things like L’Odo.”
“It will not happen.”
“You say mate offworlder no happen much.”
“It is not done,” he corrected as she wouldn’t be one of a few offworlder mates.
She would be the only one.
“Am try be wise,” she said chin lifting. “Am try–”
“And succeeding in convincing yourself of fears you needn’t have. I am with you. You will be safe on our home world. You know I will protect you.”
Head bobbing, her hands returned to his body, stroked the flesh between his shoulder blades. “Okay, babe.”
The trust implied by her tone and sudden acceptance had him frozen.
He’d come to expect far more resistance from her when she grew upset about a thing she believed she could change, or influence by being stubborn.
She’d conceded only after he assured her that he was hers, and would keep her safe.
The lure of strong kindred did not pacify her, only his promise.
It was strangely compelling, endearing.
Holding him tighter, his mate snuggled deeper into their nest, and caressed his head, breathing in his scent, and taking comfort in his warmth.
The last thing he saw before succumbing to sleep was the communicator blinking.
***
Venomous’ Rä’Na woke to dry lips nuzzling under her chin.
His tongue flickered over her skin tasting the delicious, heady scents she secreted, the finest he’d known.
She giggled, scrunching her snub nose then snuffling like a hatchling.
Venomous’ mouth twitched into a closed smile then he stood, and stretched. “Good rising, my Lumen.”
Warm in their nest, she watched him with slumberous eyes.
She pushed onto her elbows. Yawned. “Why up? Rest rotation?”
“We shal
l wash then gather food.” He helped her stand then shimmied her ratty tunic over her head. “Remember to–”
“Me know, me know.” The material pulled free, and the black-blue spirals of her hair swirled around her face and rounded shoulders. “Stay near all times.”
“Always, always.” He touched his knuckle to her jaw. “You feel refreshed?”
“Much.” She leaned into his body and rubbed his sides. “Sleep healer.”
Her caress lengthened and turned rougher.
“Venom,” she breathed clutching his hips.
He dithered, but finally placed his lower hands on the small of her back. “My Lumen?”
“Touch.”
“I am.”
Gnawing the inside of her cheek, she lowered her gaze. “Like me?”
He narrowed his brille, wondering if she asked a trick question.
There were times he read her so well.
Others....
He thought he understood her signals, but while his instincts insisted one thing years of training advised another.
“Yesss.”
She brushed her lips over his jaw.
Taking his hand, she guided him lower on her supple body.
Lower still when he hesitated on the gentle curve of her stomach, so unlike the ridges of muscle on a Rä female.
“Touch,” she repeated then leaned up on her toes to touch mouths.
He remained unmoving as she used her teeth to tug on his bottom lip.
Smiling eyes met his. “Kiss back?”
Kiss, a wonderful thing she did he treasured.
Making a funny sound in his throat, he slanted his mouth over hers.
It was good, so he applied pressure, as she had, and he found this, too, was good.
Exploratory, his tongue flickered over the seams of her parted mouth then withdrew as he opened all his senses to make certain she enjoyed his play.
She licked at the threshold of his mouth then hummed in pleasure at his taste.
Pushing her tongue deeper, she licked at his fangs.
The play was no longer playful.
Play took on a blatant, erotic slant when flickers of the rocking, thrusting movement his Rä’Na preferred flashed in his mind’s eye.
His body heated, and his thoughts veered to clutch.
Why the kiss made him think of it, he did not know, and the desire to grope, squeeze, and cover her became urgent.