Page 91 of Trove’s Purpose

Chee wasn’t thrashing anymore. She was completely limp, boneless and unmoving but for the series of hard twitches that kept wracking her frame. Her breathing hadn’t slowed at all, her eyes were still rolled back and unfocused.

His cock heaved. It twitched so hard he felt it against his pants and he groaned, nearly collapsing from the sensation.

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe after so long without ever hardening properly, his cock was broken and he was suffering for it now.

Genuinely concerned that something was wrong, he grabbed for the front of his jumpsuit and ripped it open. It wasn’t sexual. He was certain he’d pull apart the gray fabric and see that his cock was ripping open from the amount of blood in it.

But no. His cock was…

Well, normal for his species. Hard, twitching in the open air, a drop of precum glistening at the tip. It hurt even worse now that it wasn’t contained.

Trove stared at it. Somewhere between confused, horrified, and hungry.

He knew what to do with his cock. He’d never used it before, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew he could push Chee’s legs apart and make space for himself before thrusting deep. And the way her inner muscles were clenching and twitching right now, he knew it would feel good.

At least, for him. He had her so sensitive and swollen right now, it would hurt her more than it would feel good.

But he could fuck her. He could fuck his mate. His female. He could…

“Trove…”

Chee’s voice was rough, uneven. He looked up and caught her gaze, though it was partially unfocused and completely foggy. She was barely able to look at him, and he could see her struggling just to stay awake.

But her gaze was on his cock as well. She looked scared, but not uninterested.

He could fuck her. He could.

And that thought made him sick.

“I’m sorry,” he barely managed to say before pushing himself off her. He gathered his jumpsuit around himself, hiding his shame, before he jogged from the room. Breathing hard, still with the scent of her imprinted on his nose.

Part of him was screaming to go back, to take from her what he’d never had from another female. An experience that would be theirs and only theirs. Something that couldn’t be tainted because it was exclusive to them.

But the very idea made him sick to his stomach, and he didn’t understand why.

So, like a coward, he got away before he did something that would taint this thing between them.

Chapter 30

Chee

Coming back to Heava Yu was like a treat. The planet was somehow even more beautiful the second time. Her memories had just not been able to do the place justice, and her imagination couldn’t do justice to reality to make it better than it was. So, when she stepped out of the landing shuttle and looked around, she was almost just as stunned as she had been the first time. She took a deep breath, finding herself grateful for the fresh, delicious air.

Could air be filling? This air felt filling. Like she might not have to eat or drink anymore because she could subsist on that alone.

Which was stupid, but this planet really was incredible.

Goldie had been convinced to come this time. She resisted, still not wanting to come down without Alred. But he managed to get her to do so by asking her to get pics for him to admire and stories for him to hear. As a mechanical being, his sensory inputs of the world were different from theirs. However, he could ‘see’ and ‘hear’ even better than they could. And that was the only way he had of experiencing reality beyond his core.

Asking Goldie to give him memories was probably the best argument he could make to get her to come. So, they got to watch as she experienced this beautiful planet for the first time.

They were going to stay for the rest of the night and leave tomorrow. After getting the cup, they’d head to Holotulle where Hyde lived so they could deliver it.

Which meant Chee was this close to finishing her end of the deal with Hyde.

She should be excited. She should be focused only on the goal.

But she could only focus on Trove.