Page 26 of Crash Landed: The Daranthiki

She moaned softly against his mouth and whimpered when he finally pulled away with one final butterfly-soft brush against her lips. Zil smiled down at her, love brightening his glowing ruby eyes. His hands dropped to her hands, and he held them briefly, his fingers curling around her fingers and squeezing them lovingly before releasing her left hand. Her right remained firmly clasped in his hand as he gently pulled her back toward the tunnel.

They walked silently through the long tunnel that departed from the village and eventually opened up into a large docking bay. Several empty mining carts were lined up on one side, and the beacon was clearly visible at the center of the bay, its column rising up and disappearing into the mountains above them.

Zil started toward it, and as their hands were still tightly clasped Daisy hurried with him, but it didn’t stop her from looking around as he began to fire off the beacon’s sequence. The light brightened in pulsing waves, and Daisy froze as the faint outline of a large ship became visible in every pulse, only to disappear into the shadows between them. After several pulses, her heart sang with excitement, certain now that she wasn’t seeing things. She tugged Zil’s hand urgently until her big mate glanced down at her.

Grinning up at him, she tipped her head toward the corner. “Look. Just over there. Tell me you don’t see a fucking ship.”

He looked up and froze, his expression blanking for a moment in surprise. The smile that curled his lips was slow, but one that reached his eyes, filling them with delight as he looked back down at her.

“I would say that is a ship,” he agreed.

“Do you think we could—”

“Why not?” Zil chuckled as he quickly drew her to it. “The beacon has not been fully initiated yet, and anything within the mines has been long abandoned. A cargo ship is not ideal, but it will get us out of here without any questions asked.”

“To begin our life of adventure unhampered by red tape?” she replied in breathless excitement as they closed the distance to it.

“To begin to truly live,” he rasped.

And that was exactly what they did. The engines, despite lying so long in silent wait, roared to life, and when the dock’s latch slowly opened to reveal the starry heavens above, Daisy leaned into her mate as he wrapped his arms around her, and they rose to meet a new life among the stars—together.

Chapter 21

Despite its age, and the calculably high amount of work that it was going to need to be updated and reconfigured, Zil was satisfied with the ship. It was silent and fast, and that made it nigh perfect as far as he was concerned. Even more importantly, the previous captain had enjoyed considerable creature comforts so the captain’s quarters had a large bed and plenty in the way of bedding and furnishings. Enough for his mate to make appreciative little sounds when she saw it.

Her delight with the cleansing unit, however, had been unparalleled. She shrieked and stripped off the TRS and kicked it aside, abandoned as she enclosed herself within the stall running water hot enough to cause him some mild concern judging by the steam setting off a few outdated sensors. But she emerged rosy and clean with a fragrance that went directly to his cock.

Daisy stretched out on the bed with a moan of pleasure, a thin sheath of material wrapped around her, and her breasts lifting as she arched her back with pleasure. He had never seen so much of his mate’s skin at once. “I swear, the captain must have gotten this bed from a manufacturer of beds for the pleasure palaces on Galaxoros. I have heard of them but have never experienced anything like this.”

He studied her curiously. “Galaxoros. You have a strange preoccupation with it. You have mumbled about this place often enough in your sleep.”

His mate sat up with an indignant scowl. “I have not!”

Zil grinned. “Perhaps not as of late, but you have mentioned it frequently enough that I first suspected that you had a lover waiting for you there.”

Daisy snorted mirthfully and shook her head. “Not even close. In fact, my intention in going there was to be alone and enjoy some well-earned peace and quiet,” she said as she crawled across the bed toward him. Bracing a hand on his leg, she pushed herself up and skimmed her hand upward, higher on his thighs until he shivered in reaction. “Running away from my responsibilities, you could say.”

He approached the bed, his tail hooking flirtatiously behind him. He rested his hands on the bed, dropping eye level with his mate and smirked. “And now? Do you still wish to run from your responsibilities?”

She regarded him through her lashes, a teasing smile on her lips. “I would say that it depends on what my responsibilities are, Daranthiki.”

“Just two, little human,” he rumbled. “Love me and remain by my side.”

Her expression softened. “I can’t think of anything I want more.”

A growl rumbled in Zil’s chest as he looped his arm around his mate and pulled her against him, their bodies flush against one another. Lowering his head, he captured her mouth with his, drinking in her flavor as his tongue delved deeper to give her what she desired. Although she no longer required his nectar any more than she required the TRS when the ship possessed replicators, nutrient materials for said replicators that were still viable, and adequate temperatures, the sharing was a part of the pleasure of mating that he had never heard spoken of. It aroused him in equal measure as she sucked hungrily on his tongue. Every drop of nectar triggered something within sexual organs, exciting his eagerness to copulate as his cock thickened and lengthened in preparation.

He held her to him, his hands exploring her soft body. He slipped his fingers beneath the material wrapped around her torso to skate over the peaks of her breasts and explore the silky heat of her cunt. Although each touch elicited a soft sigh or a hungry moan, it was not enough. Gripping one corner of the fabric, he leaned back to put some space between them, breaking their kiss, and pulled it free, baring her completely to him.

Zil swallowed a groan at the sight of lush, naked flesh. Her breasts were softer in texture than anything he had ever touched before. He ran his knuckles down the side of one, watching the way her nipples tightened in response before cupping them in his hands and feeling the way the peaks pebbled hard against his palms. From there his hands dipped downward, tracing a path to the top of her mound before sweeping back over her plush hips. His cock felt like it could cut steel with how hard it was, but as much as he wanted to spread her beneath him and rut her, he was enjoying himself far too much.

From her bottom, he trailed his claws up her back, tracing the lines of strength to her shoulders before dipping downward again to cup her ass. That grip brought her hips and cunt in alignment with his pelvis so that the part of him that ached the most was pressed against her.

Daisy pressed little needy kisses along his throat and jaw, inflaming him further, but no... there was something he wanted to do first.

Growling deeply, Zil lifted her up in his arms. For a moment he allowed himself to savor the sensation of his mate wiggling excitedly against him, but then he lowered her to the bed. She whimpered eagerly, her legs parting, exposing her glistening sex to him completely. He caressed the side of one leg with his tail as he withdrew, his gaze hot on her as his eyes traveled over the visual feast that she made for him. His hunger for her expanded through him, growing rapidly with its ravenous demand to claim her completely... properly.

“So beautiful,” he rumbled.