One Big Bite by Michele Mills
7
Roxy paced at the entrance to the mine shaft, watching for one of the rumbling lifts to stop at her level. Because she really, really wanted Gorzan to return like he said he would.
Living alone wasn’t her preferred way of living. She’d lived with roommates her entire time at university and worked alongside a team at the lab, so this utter quiet was…strange. There should be chatter, laughter, and…just someone nearby to talk to, to lean on for support, to ask questions of and… Ugh. It really was lonely.
This week she’d either been eating what food Gorzan had left for her or trying not to cry again over Petrov’s death. It was still shocking, knowing the Lurks had killed Dr. Petrov. She’d been spending all the rest of her time using her tablet to try and think through a way that would have her arriving at IHO. What would be perfect was if she could transport one more time from Timbur to Salo, but how? How could she get from this level to the transporter station without being caught? And she had no more currency to purchase another ticket.
Sometimes she thought about saying “fuck it” and getting on the lift and going up to the main level and just marching into the office of the CEO and turning herself in. But how could she then talk them into immediately letting her go back to the IHO headquarters? Would she be arrested, or would they treat her as a long-lost friend? Gorzan had said she would be given special consideration because she was “royal pigment.” But did that mean also they would want her to stay on Timbur or go instead to the Xylan home planet, Chronos? And could she trust the CEO to not be in collusion with the Lurks? Her research didn’t show the Lurks listed as historic allies of the Xylan, but that didn’t mean anything.
And also, Gorzan of Forty-Five was the male who’d placed his honor before hers. She exhaled. And that meant something. She couldn’t just leave him without a word of goodbye. Not after all he’d done for her.
Gorzan had arrived in his mining uniform, with all his gear, and gotten down on bended knee in front of her and she was instantly distracted from her fears that he was going to turn her in. This wasn’t a male to fear or distrust, he was now her protector. For a minute there she’d thought he was going to propose, and the weirdest part was, she would’ve loved it. But even so, she’d felt bad for him, down on the rocky floor of the cave. She’d put her hand out to help him up, only to be schooled that she was accidentally offering her hand in marriage. Or testing of mating compatibility? She’d researched Minecorp, the planet Timbur and all about the Illibrium and the bios of the miners on this level, but she’d failed to research Xylan mating protocol?
Oops. What a mess.
Oh well, at least she knew he wasn’t helping her as a way to get into her pants. This wasn’t an “I’ll help you and then you help me, wink, wink” situation. Thank gods. Xylan did not rape or even pleasure mate—this made her immediately feel safe in his presence.
And now she couldn’t keep her mind off the idea that she’d almost asked this miner for his hand in marriage. And instead of her “normal” fretting over how she was going to get in touch with the IHO and get herself out of the mine and to Salo, she was entertaining, in great detail, the idea of actually marrying—Gorzan.
Marrying an Illibrium miner?
No way. She continued to pace at the entrance to the mine shaft. Marriage meant she’d have to live here for the rest of her life! The idea was crazy. Illibrium miners were fever bonded to their personal crystals. They were highly paid workers and hugely respected in the four sectors. Fifty percent of the beings who arrived on Timbur were attuned to the Illibrium. But beyond that—being able to form a fever bond with a crystal—only a tiny percentage of beings were found to have that special ability. The engineers who worked with the crystals that powered space stations and battleships and even whole planets—they were attuned but not fever-bonded. The miners were the beings with the strongest and healthiest level of bond. Without these miners there would be no Illibrium as a power source because the crystals refused to emit power if it wasn’t harvested correctly.
And why was she thinking of marriage? Roxy was on the run from the Lurks, with an experimental concoction in her veins and living in a mine shaft—and this is when her heart goes pitter patter? One day she’d get married—maybe. Like ten years from now? She’d been busy at university, and then starting her career. And now she was a nomad, trying to stay alive and get a secret serum to another planet. Not exactly good timing to start a relationship with someone.
And anyway, she had a terrible track record when it came to guys. Her last boyfriend was a Gravian who’d cheated on her with her roommate. The boyfriend before that stole from her. And the guy before that broke up with her because he’d claimed she was frigid. She just wasn’t someone who’d ever understood the whole excitement over sex. What was the big deal? It was a necessary chore she’d performed for ex-boyfriends, to keep them happy because they seemed to like it. She’d never had an orgasm from sex. She’d gotten really good at faking orgasms in order to help the males save face and to make it stop already. Any orgasms she’d ever had were self-induced by her trusty vibrator.
There’d been no dating for over a year now and Roxy was perfectly happy in her solitude. The lack of boyfriend drama was fabulous. She’d been focused on her career and that was fine.
Where was Gorzan?
She chewed on a nail as she waited. Darn it…she had to admit she had an epic crush on this guy. But it wasn’t like he felt that way about her in return… He didn’t want to marry her. Sure, he’d wanted her to call him Gorzan instead of his crew name, and that sounded somehow intimate. He’d been nice and, in fact, chivalrous, like the stories she’d heard of knights and soldiers of old from the original planet. But he was just there to help her out, which he felt was his duty.
And she hadn’t even given Gorzan her real name. She’d thrown out the name of a neighbor she remembered from back home on New Earth. Maybe that wasn’t a good decision? The guards at intake knew her real name because she’d used her IHO badge as clearance to purchase a ticket to Timbur and so they’d allowed her a temporary stay as they checked to see if she was attuned to the crystals.
Even though she’d marked her trip confidential, this didn’t mean the Lurks would never discover her whereabouts, it only meant a delay. The mole the Lurks were paying off could have told them of here whereabouts. And then because Timbur had her logged in under her legal name, her citizen ID and even alongside her IHO badge, the Lurks would eventually search destinations universe-wide and find her, confirming the mole’s tip.
She felt bad for lying to Gorzan, but she was doing it not only for her own protection, but his as well. She didn’t want him to become a target because he was close to her. He’d vowed to place her honor before his, but she would protect him too, if she could. And if the mismatch between the name of the human they’d found at intake and the human in this shaft caused a moment of delay, all the better.
What was taking him so long?
She sat cross-legged on the rough floor and took out her tablet and researched Xylan mating in the hopes that she’d learn enough to not embarrass herself this time. There were so many damn rules! Xylan followed their Scales of Xylan Law implicitly. There was even a mating database?
Her brow furrowed and she couldn’t help the pout that formed on her lips. Was Gorzan on a mating database looking for a Xylan Margol wife? A wave of jealousy hit her hard at the thought of other females of his species asking to perform “testing of mating compatibility” with him.
She glanced down at herself. All she had was the utilitarian work outfit she’d arrived in, which she hand washed every two days in the pool and spread out on a rock to air dry. One tiny bar of soap had been left behind in the workroom and she used it to wash her clothes and to wash her body in the pool. She desperately missed her favorite hair products. Her hair was now in some kind of massive natural curl that normally she’d hate because sleek and straight was her go-to. Submerging in natural pools of water was usually out of the question because it would mess up the hair and nothing was allowed to mess up the hairstyle. But she was now a girl who jumped right in and got her hair wet. Yesterday she’d parted her hair into four sections and braided it back along the side of her head and tied it into a bun at the nape of her neck. The moment she’d left New Earth for University on Kolothan, she’d changed to sleek and shiny, thinking it looked more professional. But her mind flashed to the Xylan—an entire species who prided themselves on their long braids. The Xylan females she’d seen in the transporter station and at the mine all had long, beautiful braids too. She touched her own braids, which were soft and neat. Hmm. Maybe this would be her new look?
Gorzan seemed awed by the fact that she was royal pigment, but did he…did he think a human was attractive? Or was he only focused on mating his own species? It was true that her skin color was darker than his. She didn’t know much about Xylan because she hadn’t happened to have come in contact with their species as much in real life, but she did know that they separated themselves into two distinct castes: Margol and royal pigment. He seemed really perturbed by the fact that she was this “royal pigment”. Was it because she wasn’t Margol? Some beings were like this—only planning on ever mating their own exact species. Roxy had never really cared about that, all that mattered to her was finding a male someday that she could love. Someone who wouldn’t lie, cheat or steal.
She blew out a breath. Jeez, maybe she did want to get married someday soon…
A soft ding alerted her to the arrival of the lift.
She bounced up, knowing this meant her new friend and protector was returning. The miner who’d “placed her honor before his.” It was nice knowing, after a whole week of running and hiding, that there was at least one being out there in the universe who’d pledged to help. Gorzan didn’t know the full story—about the Lurks who were chasing her or what she carried in her blood, but he still was a being she could count on and that was refreshing. And actually, the fact that he unconditionally accepted her without knowing the truth about why she was here was pretty awesome. It made her like him more.
The mining cage stopped, and the heavy doors slid open and there was Gorzan.
She let out a dreamy sigh.
Meal packs were slung over his shoulders, and he rolled a suitcase behind him and carried some type of bag for his work uniform and gear. This time he wore dark civilian clothing. He stepped toward her in perfectly fitted trousers, heavy green boots and a black fitted long-sleeve shirt that perfectly defined his epic chest. And that hair of his was so glossy and perfect. It swept off his face and trailed down his back.
He was so manly and sexy, she couldn’t handle it. Gorzan looked like a fashion model for the vid channels, showing off a new workwear style. She stood there, quietly staring as he strode from the lit-up mining cage and into the shadowy recesses of the mining shafts. This male could easily have his own cooking show on the food vid channel. He’d be famous.
He stopped in front of her. “I brought you something.”
“More food?” she clapped. “I love that dessert you made with the two biscuits and the fruit jam and the dark custard inside.”
“Yes,” he chuckled. “I brought more food. But we also thought you might need other supplies.”
Uh oh. Her brow furrowed. “We?” Who had he told about her location? “I…I thought you were going to keep my whereabouts secret.”
He walked past her, towards the workroom, and she followed behind. “I told my crew,” he said. “I had to tell them; I can’t keep something like this from my brothers. I live with them, and they will see me coming and going.”
Her mouth twisted. “Oh.” It still sounded super risky. The whole crew on this level knew she was here? The fewer beings who knew, the better.
“And my brother’s Bride, Lila of One, was there for our crew meeting—she’s also human. She was worried about the fact that you were living alone in the mine shaft, so she sent this for you.”
Roxy stumbled behind him. “W…wait, did you say a human lives with you? And she’s your sister-in-law? One of your brothers is married to a human?”
He handed her the handle of the wheeled suitcase. “Yes, three of my brothers are mated to humans. I thought I said that earlier? I told you I’ve met other humans.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t say…”
Garzon opened the workroom door and they stepped inside together. She blinked as more lights than ever before flicked on. “Why did those overhead lights turn on for you? They’ve never turned on for me,” she groused.
He shrugged. “I’m a miner. This workroom is coded to me.”
“Oh.” Suddenly the height of the ceiling made sense, as did the extra-long bunk and the tall toilet. This workroom was fit for a tall Xylan, not a human. Gorzan wasn’t wearing his work gear and there was more lighting in here than in the front cavern or next to the spring in the back of the mine shaft. The lighting allowed her to see his features more clearly. Fangs peeked past sexy full lips and his hazel eyes were framed with impossibly long eyelashes. And he smelled like the fresh scent from a cleansing unit.
He placed the dizzying array of hefty meal packs on a small worktable, hung up his work gear and then took the suitcase from her hands and placed it on the bunk for her. Meanwhile she stared at every move he made, watching the sleek undulation of hard muscles under fitted clothing.
“Female?”
What would his biceps feel like? They looked rock hard. His ass was…
“Female?”
She blinked and looked up. “Yes?”
“This is for you, from my sister-in-law, Lila of One. She packed clothing and other supplies she said she thought a human female would appreciate. She wishes to contact you through your tablet and speak to you so she can make sure you are well and see if you require anything else.”
Oh wow, so sweet. She placed her palm against her chest. “Really? She did that for me? It’s true, I don’t have anything. I had to sell everything so I could afford to purchase a transporter ticket to come here. Thank you. But…oh no…I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to communicate with her on the tablet.” Her accounts were dark because she was worried this might be a way for the Lurks to trace her.
“I’ll tell her you would rather speak to her in person.” Gorzan pulled out a pair of green gloves. “I brought you your own ‘gloves of the unmated’ made specifically for human hands.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“All unmated Xylan wear these to avoid accidental testing of mating compatibility.”
“Got it.” She slid the gloves on right away.
He grunted his approval.
“Wait. Did you say that your sister-in-law was going to come here to talk to me? That’s not a good idea either.”
He stepped closer and spoke gently, “Don’t worry, female. No one will speak with you unless I’m certain they won’t cause you harm. My brothers and their mates have pledged to protect you.”
“They have?”
“Yes. You’re not alone anymore. You have help. Let us help.”
And suddenly they were so close. He gazed into her eyes and was taking deep breaths, causing his wide chest to expand and contract. He smelled so good. And…
“Your hair is beautiful,” she blurted.
Why had she said that? Why?
His lips twitched. Then the miner leaned in, cupped the back of her neck and pressed his nose against the top of her head and inhaled. “No, your hair is beautiful. And you smell amazing.”
She did? And he liked her hair? Like this?
She shifted on her feet, trying to relieve the heat blossoming between her thighs. His gloved claw was still wrapped around the base of her neck, and she loved his possessive touch. Basically, he could toss her to the bunk and fuck her right now and she’d be down with that. Jeez. What was wrong with her? She’d never felt like this for a male before.
His claw tightened and a growl rumbled in his chest. He pulled back and gazed down at her. “I can smell your arousal.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “You…you can smell my…? Oh no.” Heat flamed across her face. She wished the ground would crack open and swallow her up whole. Could this be any more embarrassing?
