The Alien’s Seduction by Zoey Draven

Chapter Twelve

“Female, please.”

Cruxan heard the edge in his tone, but he was worried. Again, he was reminded of the fragility of humans as he watched his female shiver, as he heard her teeth rattle. His fists clenched as he looked down at her, doing his best to shield the rain from her body, to protect the fire that was in danger of going out.

The storm came on suddenly. Cruxan cursed, now regretting not finding a more suitable camp. Perhaps a cave in the mountain.

The sky roared. The mountain seemed to rattle with every thunderous groan the sky gave. Sheets of rain poured over them and the little overhang from the facev did very little to shield them from it.

His luxiva was cold. Drenched, her golden hair clinging to her pale cheeks and neck. She had her arms wrapped around her body and every tremble made him want to roar. Everything in him was in turmoil. He’d been begging her, to let him warm her. He didn’t feel the harshness of the cold, not like she did.

When the rains had come, they’d started slow. But as the sky darkened, as night began to fall, they’d only picked up in intensity.

And Cruxan could do nothing to spare his female the cold. He was helpless, watching her suffer. He’d had furs and rations on his hovercraft, for emergencies like these. Now, he could give her nothing.

Except his heat. Which she would not accept.

The fire flickered, damp. Any moment now, it would be extinguished, her only source of heat gone. Cruxan feared what would happen then, if his female remained stubborn.

His jaw hardened.

As if in answer, the last of the flames gave one last twinkle…and then went out, leaving them in darkness.

Cruxan could still see Crystal, though he knew she would not be able to see him. Not without the fire’s light.

“C-Cruxan?” Crystal called, her eyes searching for him, even as her body shook.

He cursed.

“Female,” he growled, going to her. “There are no more excuses. I need to warm you or you will freeze.”

When he touched her skin, he cursed again. His tunic, even her own tunic under his, was soaked through completely.

It would be a miserable night for her. A dangerous one too, if he couldn’t bring her internal body temperature up. The night would only grow colder.

“You need to undress,” he said, already knowing she would put up a fight.

She sucked in a breath. “No.”

“Crystal,” he bit out, desperate for her to understand. “This is not about us. Your skin is like ice. Your coverings are soaked through. They will suck away any warmth that I could give you.”

“Absolutely n-not,” she replied, though her teeth chattered as she said it.

“Female, please,” he murmured, cupping her face. Despite her protestations, she pressed her cheek into his touch, feeling his warmth. She gave a little groan at it and though Cruxan felt his blood heat at that sound, sex, for once, was not in the forefront of his mind. His only concern was protecting her from the storm, from protecting her from the cold. “I need to take away your suffering. Please let me. I have never begged before in my life but I am begging you now.”

That realization humbled him.

Another violent shudder racked her body. It was only early night. How much colder would it get before the morning suns rose?

The sky boomed again, loud and unforgiving, and his female let out a little frightened noise that tore at his chest.

“Please,” he whispered to her. The sky lit up with red lightening streaks, briefly illuminating the both of them. She looked so pale, her lips drained of their pink color. Her eyes latched onto his face in that moment before darkness returned. “I can keep you warm, if you will only let me.”

He watched as she bit her lip but her teeth clattered so much that she was forced to release it.

“F-f-fine,” she finally said, her shoulders sagging in defeat, while relief went through him. “B-but my c-clothes stay on.”

Cruxan pressed his lips together, but didn’t say anything on the matter. Immediately, he lowered his body and she turned into him with reluctance.

“Vrax, female, you are freezing,” he said quietly, her form pressing into his bared chest.

“I’m s-sorry,” she clattered out.

“I told you to stop apologizing for things that do not require one,” he said gently.

He positioned her so that she was pressed close to the side of the mountain, the overhang helping to protect her. He blocked any rain that made it past with his back and he pressed close, shielding her with his shoulders.

His arms came around her next, tightening around her back. Her whole body shivered, head-to-toe, but she tucked close, jamming her head underneath his chin, absorbing the warmth of his neck.

She groaned again, finally registering some of his heat, it seemed.

“I am sorry, female,” he murmured. “I did not expect the storm to be this violent. I should have prepared more.”

She shook her head, but didn’t say anything in reply. It took energy for her to speak and she needed all her energy focused on getting warm. With that thought, he pulled her closer, nudging her more deeply into his neck.

But it quickly became apparent that what Cruxan said was true. Her soaked clothes weren’t allowing her to retain any warmth and Cruxan knew that Crystal realized that too.

“Female,” he murmured after another moment.

“I…I c-can’t.”

“It is not an option.”

Her breaths came out quick. She was trembling more now but Cruxan questioned whether her new tremors had anything to do with the cold and everything to do with what needed to be done.

His brow furrowed. It was such a simple thing. Why did it frighten her so much?

Judging from her earlier reaction when he’d given her his tunic, Cruxan figured she was shy about nudity. Was that what this was about?

“I swear to you, female, on the Fates, that I will not look upon you,” he said hurriedly. “I only need to get you warm, female.”

Her trembling didn’t lessen. A howling wind raced through the clearing next and Cruxan felt the blow of it on his back, like an icy slap. He grit his teeth, knowing she was bound to feel some of it.

“I—I,” she started, her eyes meeting his in the darkness, though Cruxan knew that she would barely be able to make out his face, even this close.

Then he watched her shut those pretty eyes, blocking him out. He watched as resignation weighed down her chilled body. Her next words were so quiet that even with his heightened senses, he barely heard them.

“Please d-don’t take advantage.”

Something like dread and fury and grief roared through him, a strong, potent mixture that made his head spin. It took everything in him not to react.

A sickening suspicion rose at her words, at her tone, at her defeat.

“Never,” he said, his voice edged with a growl, though he tried to soften it at the last moment.

His heartbeat thundered in his chest, matching the storm. While Cruxan might not be as intelligent as Kirov, he wasn’t a fool. He could read something in her words that made him want to hurt whoever had hurt her. Many times over.

His Instinct prowled, restless, in his chest, the sensation as strange as the sudden emotion thrumming through his body.

He sensed Crystal’s arm moving between them and she sat up, hunching, her fingers on the hem of his tunic.

Immediately, Cruxan closed his eyes and assured her, “I am not looking.”

But he heard her. He heard the thick slap of her wet clothes as she peeled them off, heard her flesh against the soggy moss of the clearing’s floor. He heard the clothes land in a pile next to the extinguished fire and then he heard her rough breathing.

Next, it was what he felt, not what he heard. Icy, soft skin against his own. Crystal came to him, returning to her position, lying at his side. Cruxan pulled her back, with his eyes still squeezed shut, ignoring her pebbled nipples as they brushed his chest, ignoring her breath flutter over his neck. Her legs shifted, making contact with his still-clad legs. His pants were wet but he knew that taking them off was not an option.

She let out a shuddering breath and he could hear and feel her rapid heartbeat.

“Better?” he murmured.

After a moment, her arms pressed between them, the backs of her delicate hands resting just beneath his pectorals.

“Yes,” was her soft reply. She was still trembling, even as she admitted, “Y-you’re so warm.”

Take it, he urged silently. Take it all. Take everything, luxiva.

Finally, he opened his eyes, wrapping his arms around her back, though it made her tense.

“I will look nowhere but your eyes, female,” he told her gently. “I promise.”