They ate together, sitting close, their legs lightly touching but none of the heightened arousal of earlier. Adrenaline had put an end to that. For the time being at least. But this was nice too. A closeness that frankly took Darla by surprise at how comfortable it was. How easy.
Heydar cleaned up the remains of the meal and thoroughly doused the embers, then he wrapped the animal that would be their dinner tightly and bound it to his pack. Fully clothed and ready to go, he led her out into the daylight.
“We must remain quiet and move quickly,” he said quietly.
“What is it? I thought you said the Raxxians weren’t here.”
“I said they did not stumble upon our resting place. But the longer we are out here, the more likely it is they have sent a retrieval team to this world.” He glanced around, scanning for any danger but finding none. At least, not yet. “Come. Let us be off. We have much ground to cover.”
He hid the worry in his eyes, but Darla picked up on it all the same.
Oh, Heydar. What have we gotten ourselves into?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Heydar and Darla had not wasted time packing up their gear and heading out toward the section of downed ship. They had gotten caught up in the moment, but that temporary bliss had been shattered, interrupted by not only a wild animal, who had paid the price, but also the rude reminder that the Raxxians had lost a valuable ship and would no doubt be working on retrieving their cargo post-haste.
They moved quickly over the hilly terrain leading to the crash site. It wasn’t nearly as rocky in this section of their trek, and the rises and dips were far less intense than the craggy cliffs they had to traverse previously. That allowed Darla a moment to allow her heightened senses to take in the sounds and smells as well as the sights around her.
There was a faint tinge of smoke in the air, but incredibly subtle. Something had burned but how far away there was no telling. The flowers and foliage were also giving off novel smells, vibrant and healthy, adding to Darla’s much improved mood.
Alien animals were making what she assumed were normal alien animal noises, but like the trace smoke, she had no idea where exactly they were. Judging by Heydar’s relaxed gait, none of them were close enough to be an issue. In any case, they would be at the crash site soon enough.
Heydar’s long legs were churning at a substantial pace, but Darla found herself keeping up much easier than before. Her legs felt even stronger than the other day. Yes, it was definitely the pigment healing into her body and giving her a boost, she reasoned.
Interestingly, the increased strength seemed to peak in daylight hours, and the higher in the sky the sun traversed, the more revitalized she felt.
Of course, he said the pigment draws its power from not just this galaxy, but specifically from the sun’s rays. No wonder I feel so good.
Darla lifted her shirt as she walked, unfastening her waistband as well, looking at the lines of ink running along her body. She noticed Heydar abruptly stop with her peripheral vision, sensing him more than seeing him, truth be told. Likely one more perk of this alien stuff living in her skin.
He looked at her curiously, then stepped closer, her bare midriff triggering a twitch and noticeably growing bulge in his trousers.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Just checking out your handiwork. I feel amazing. I realized the sun must be supercharging the runes and stuff. Is it always going to be like this?”
He nodded. “Sometimes more intense than others. It is dependent on what sort of star acts as a system’s sun. Different solar systems possess different varieties, and no two are identical. This system in particular appears to have a rather powerful sun. I wonder if that might be part of the reason your pigment is bonding to your body so quickly.”
“Whatever it is, me likey,” she said with a little chuckle. She ran her finger over one of the curving lines on her flank, tracing it lower toward her hips, feeling the pigment react to the pressure of her touch. Interestingly, the ink changed hues, shifting subtly before her eyes.
Heydar actually seemed a little flustered watching her hand dip into her waistband. It was not long ago at all they were very nearly fucking like wild animals, and with that memory still fresh, it would take a lot more trekking across difficult terrain to force that from both of their minds.
Heydar kneeled in front of her and leaned in close, his hot breath making her skin ripple with goosebumps of anticipation despite the warm air and physical exertion. But he didn’t touch her. There was no warm, wet mouth pressed to her belly. Instead, his eyes widened slightly, the gold rims flickering in the sunlight as what looked to be shock registered on his face.
“This cannot be,” he said quietly.
“What can’t? You’re the one who said I was amazing, right?”
“And you are. But this? It is unheard of. Here, turn so the sun is at your back.”
She did as he directed and looked at the line of ink he was pointing to. It was a sloping curve, leading up from her belly to her flank, curving around her breast until it came to an end at the nascent Infala rune on her clavicle.
The ink was dark, almost indigo blue-black, but he had added highlights of the luminescent white pigment. With her belly shadowed by the sun at her back, she could see what drew his attention. The white lines were faintly glowing, drawing power from the sun. What’s more, they seemed to be creeping along her darker markings, adding a bright accent to even more of her body.
Whatever plant they had extracted this rarest of pigments from, it clearly liked its new host body.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said, running his finger along the line, fascinated by the ink while also noticeably aroused by the woman bearing it. “The Oraku graciously provided me with some of the rarest of pigments with which to complete your first runes, but you have taken them in and increased their potency in a manner unheard of.” He stood up, his hand still resting on her exposed stomach, a hot gleam in his eye, as well as a look of utter fascination. “You defy logic, Darla of Earth. What amazing sort of creature are you?”
Darla felt her cheeks grow warm at his gaze while another part of her anatomy flared with an even greater heat. “I’m just a girl from Earth, is all.”
“You are far more than that.”
She placed her hand atop his, holding it firmly to her skin. “You say my body is developing the runes you started faster than normal, right?”
“That it most certainly is.”
She made eye contact, then glanced away, her cheeks even warmer. “What about the Infala?” she asked, wondering if it was the bonding rune that was making her feel this way about the strange alien she had disliked so recently.
He reached out with his other hand, grazing her breast through her shirt as he did. Darla’s nipples hardened at once and she felt her pulse rate spike. His fingers gently pulled open her collar and trailed down to her collarbone.
“The Infala is not yet fully developed,” he said, allowing her shirt to slip back into place. “With the way your body reacts to the pigments, I am quite certain you will be very aware of it when it does.”
She nodded, swallowing hard. Is it getting really hot out here, or is it just my raging hormones? she wondered as she pressed his hand against her belly harder, hoping he would slide it lower, even out here in the open, Raxxians be damned.