Raxxians. The green monsters that ate humans.
A flash of clarity hit her, and Darla forced herself to focus. There would be time for that later. For the moment, she wanted some answers.
“You say that these runes are what give me extra strength, but you also said they do other things.”
“Which vary from person to person, yes. It is a symbiotic relationship with the pigments. They react to your particular biology and needs, forming the power runes accordingly.”
“And you say it does this all on its own?”
“Yes. There is no conscious interaction with your pigments.”
“Huh, okay. So this Infala rune. It’s a strong one?”
“One of the most powerful. It forms with a bond to your heart, and when completed, it will draw you to your mate.”
“But what if I don’t want to do what it says? What if I don’t like my mate?”
Heydar’s expression grew serious. “There is no denying the Infala rune. None would even dream of it. Once the pigment is set, so too is your fate, and only death can break the bond.”
“Well, okay then,” she said. “Thanks for clarifying all of that for me. It’s not the sort of thing we’re familiar with back home.”
“I am aware of this, and it is one of the reasons I am impressed with you. To adapt so readily? To accept a foreign, an alien way of life after being so recently snatched from your own? It demonstrates remarkable character and strength.”
Darla’s cheeks were red, she just knew it, but at this moment she didn’t care. She pulled his hand from her stomach and laced her fingers with his.
“You’re not so bad yourself, you know,” she said, pulling his arm close and kissing his bulging bicep tenderly.
She would have had to be blind to not notice the stirring in his groin. It was such a small thing, just a gesture of affection and appreciation, yet it drew such a reaction. Darla couldn’t help but feel special. It was a heady feeling knowing she had that kind of effect on so powerful a man. It was damn near intoxicating.
“Okay, I suppose we should keep moving,” she said, shaking it off. “You said you thought we could reach the crash site later today, right?”
“That was my original assessment yesterday from our elevated vantage point,” he replied. “However, while the terrain has been much more forgiving today, the course we have been forced to follow has pushed us off from a direct approach. I fear we will not be able to reach it before nightfall.”
That meant a campout. Darla’s pussy reacted before she could even voice her thought, growing hot and wet with anticipation. She unconsciously licked her lips, wondering what his thick, ridged cock would feel like in her mouth.
“Uh, so you’re saying we’ll need to bed down somewhere tonight?” she asked, her body electrified at the thought of it.
He squeezed her hand and gazed into her eyes. “Yes, we will spend one more night before reaching our goal.” A little smile creased the corners of his full lips as he stared at her. “Come,” he finally said, gently pulling her much smaller hand in his. “We should be on our way. There is still much ground to cover before nightfall.”
She followed gladly, walking hand in hand with this enormous hunk of alien manliness. Her arousal dimmed slightly as they moved, but the lingering anticipation would in no way be entirely quenched. Only one thing would do that, and she was looking forward to it with every fiber of her being.
Who would have thought? she marveled. Me. And an alien.
It would have taken steel wool to scrub the smile from her face just then. She had no idea exactly how it had happened, but here she was, growing really fond of this guy. And for once the little voice of doubt in her head remained thankfully silent.
She just wondered when it would eventually rear its ugly head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Darla and her enormous alien companion made good time on their trek once they put aside any thoughts of further shenanigans. There would be time for that later, and the promise of bedding down together was not far from either of their minds as they pushed ahead at a blistering pace.
They walked hand in hand at points, at others Heydar would gently place his hand on her waist as she stepped over an obstacle. But it wasn’t in a patronizing way, and she could see the arousal in his eyes just beneath the surface. To be fair, she was feeling pretty much the same way, wishing he would just bend her over a rock and fuck her senseless.
All the little touches were adding up, and fast, and her body was absolutely on fire from the sustained arousal. But it would be some time before they turned in for the day, and in the meantime, it meant an ongoing and subtle foreplay that they were both looking forward to bringing to fruition.
“We will need to be on our guard if we happen upon any roadways or frequented paths,” Heydar said, pausing to take in their surroundings with a more critical gaze. “It could be quite dangerous.”
“What do you mean? The Oraku are really nice people.”
“But there are many more races on this world than just the Oraku. Rohanna the elder made that much abundantly clear. There are other settlements here. Offworlders as well as indigenous people. The Oraku stay away from them as much as possible, but even they sometimes have to fend off raids. The Dohrag in particular are apparently quite a problem here.”
“Dohrag? What’s a Dohrag?”
“An offworld race, brutish and combative, but a people with advanced technology and abundant weapons. Not an adversary you would wish to get on the bad side of, if at all possible.”
“And the Oraku fight with them?”
“Not as much fight as fend off their raids.”
Darla flashed him a confused look. “Hang on. You said the Dohrag were advanced. Like, way more advanced than the Oraku.”
“They are, yes.”
“Then what would they even bother raiding them for? I mean, food? They can just catch their own and it would be far less trouble than stirring up a fight with the locals.”
Heydar stopped and turned to face her directly. “It is not crops and livestock they seek. The Dohrag come for females.”
Darla’s stomach dropped. “Females? What do you mean, females?”
“It is as you surmise,” he said, gauging the serious look in her eye. “There are several races on this world who value females as a prize. But the Dohrag? They are particularly nasty pieces of work. They travel the stars in small groups, their ships crewed entirely by males.”
“No women?”
“Not a one,” he replied, shaking his head. “The Dohrag are a foolish people who ignorantly do not believe in sending females on missions of any significant duration. In so doing, they not only deny themselves the skills women clearly possess, but it is also terrible for the morale of the all-male crews.”
“I bet. How long are these missions, exactly?”
“Years. Many years. The leadership never ventures from their creature comforts, so they are not affected by their edicts. But in their quest for non-distracted efficiency they have caused a systemic morale problem. It was not always this way, mind you, but the shift of power on their world skewed their path toward that of foolishness.”
“I’ll say,” Darla agreed. “And holy hell, those guys have got to be hella pent up. No wonder they’re restless.”