Well if asking him to pretend to be my bodyguard so we can get a new dimriel crystal for the Mother Ship is too far, then that’s just too bad,Lucy thought to herself indignantly.He’s just going to deal with it because there’s no way in Hell I’m coming back here without it!
She had no idea all the crazy things she would go through before she came back to the Monstrum Mother Ship again. If she had, she might have turned around and stayed right there with Iyanna and Dra’vik.
But by the time she found out, it was much,muchtoo late to turn back…
NINE
T’ZAREN
T’zaren paced beside the sleek, gold long-range shuttle they would be taking to B’ron Three. He wasn’t happy with the ways things were working out at all.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go on the mission, he told himself. The Mother Ship was his home—she had given him sanctuary when the Darklings swallowed up his home world—he wanted to save her if he could. He just didn’t like going on what might be a dangerous mission with the little blonde—withDr. Lucille Heartwood, he corrected himself.
Dr. Lucille didn’t seem nearly serious enough to deal with a Twainer, in his opinion. The strange creatures, who were two people in a single body, had also been present in his old universe. T’zaren knew they could be dangerously unpredictable.
Also, he didn’t like having to pretend that Dr. Lucille was hisS’rentha. It was too close to the truth for comfort, considering the way his body reacted whenever she was around him.
Unbidden, the memory of her blindfolding him came back in a burning instant. He felt his back flare as he remembered her small, soft hands placing the mask and then cupping his cheeks. And after that, she’d run her fingers through his hair, making him shiver helplessly with need as his Sen Stripe flared over and over in a mixture of pain and pleasure.
Had she had any idea at all of what she was doing to him?
T’zaren didn’t think so. She didn’t understand his kind—she didn’t know that the touch of aS’renthacould bring a Stri’vor male to his knees—or bring out the extreme lust that lived inside him.
Every touch of her small, soft hands on his body made his desire to reach out and touch her—to taste her—stronger. By the end of the ordeal, his shafts were both so hard he’d felt like he could fuck through solid granite and he had wanted her so badly it was all he could do to stay in his chair instead of rising and pulling her towards him.
That was unacceptable behavior, however—even with a fakeS’rentha, he reminded himself. He couldn’t go grabbing the little blonde just because his stupid body kept mistaking her for his own personal goddess.
Why don’t you just admit the real reason you don’t reach for her?whispered a little voice in his head.It’s not just that she doesn’t look or act like a S’rentha is supposed to—it’s because you’re scared. Fucking frightened to death—admit it!
T’zaren tried to push the voice away but it wouldn’t go. Instead, it seemed to get even louder.
What if she acts like that other female—that Ashley—when you tell her you want to worship her?it demanded.What if she’s disgusted by your desires? By your needs? These Earth females aren’t like your own kind, you know. They have different customs—different values. What if she finds your need to worship her repulsive?
T’zaren told himself firmly that it didn’t matter what Dr. Lucille Heartwood thought of his needs and desires because she was never,evergoing to be hisS’renthaand that wasfinal. She was never—
Just then he heard two sets of footsteps approaching. Turning, he saw Chief Commander Rarev and Dr. Lucille herself striding towards him. Dr. Lucille had put on a black jacket over the silky white blouse she wore but it was open at the front, so it still showed the curves of her full breasts as well as a generous portion of cleavage, he saw with dismay. He couldn’t help remembering that when she’d been standing next to him in the Commander’s office, he kept on imagining what it would be like to peel open that blouse and suck her ripe nipples…
Enough! You can’t think like that! You’re going on a mission together—you have to be serious,he lectured himself.
“T’zaren! Hello!” Commander Rarev raised one hand to him as they got closer. “All ready to go, I see?”
“Yes, Chief Commander.” T’zaren nodded stiffly. He saw that Dr. Lucille was carrying a bag that looked like some kind of luggage. “May I take that from you, Dr. Lucille, and stow it in the ship?” he asked, keeping his voice courteous but cool.
“Thanks, but I can handle it myself,” she said, matching his tone and arching an eyebrow at him. Clearly she had decided to keep some emotional distance between them, T’zaren thought. Well, so much the better. Considering the way she made his Sen Stripe flare, it was far better if they stayed apart as much as possible.
“Very well.” He gave a curt nod. “This way—the ship’s hatch is already open.”
“Wait, please.” Commander Rarev raised his hands to stop them both from going. “T’zaren, before you leave, you know I need your oath of protection for Dr. Heartwood,” he said.
T’zaren felt himself tighten inside, but he knew his Commander’s request was not unreasonable. He was going on this mission to protect and serve the little human female—he needed to state that formally before they began.
Stepping forward, he went to one knee before her.
“Please—give me your hands that I may pledge my oath,” he said formally.
“Oh, um…” Dr. Lucille didn’t seem to know what to do at first. She fumbled with her luggage for a moment before handing it to Chief Commander Rarev, who was waiting patiently to one side. Then, finally, she put her small, soft hands in his.
Again his Sen Strip flared—making him glad that he was still wearing a shirt to hide his shame, though he usually didn’t bother with one. T’zaren looked up at her and tried to be cool, calm, and collected. But something rose up inside him—something he couldn’t control—and he spoke the words that came to his lips.