Alien Skin Market by Lizzy Bequin

CHAPTER 23: MAUREEN

After the horribleness of the past days, dinner aboard The Longshot was a pleasant surprise. Maureen had not known exactly what to expect when it came to alien food, but based on Bethany’s story about the alien meat market, she had not had high hopes. Maureen’s brain had conjured all kinds of disgusting alien delicacies—space slugs, lizard brains, tentacles and such. Luckily, the actual meal had been nothing like that. It was alien comfort food. Savory meat, steamed veggies, and warm buttery rolls. Okay, so Maureen had no clue what kind of animals the meat came from, and the rolls had a weird greenish tint to them, but her gnawing hunger had made it easy to overlook those details.

Then there was that blue liquor the guys liked to drink. T’lon, it was called. The stuff really had a way of sneaking up on you. Even though Maureen only had two small glasses, she could definitely feel its effects.

But as with any meal, the most important part was the company. And despite their frightening appearance and perpetual shirtlessness, the Raksha guys proved themselves to be gentlemen. Okay, maybe not Jrayk so much. He was a shameless flirt and a bit of a braggart, but his wild stories were entertaining, and in spite of her situation, Maureen even found herself laughing at his jokes.

All in all, the dinner provided some much needed relaxation. Even hot-tempered Rawn behaved himself, and he took quite a liking to the big quiet Raksha named Vaul. Maureen was happy to see that.

It was a huge relief to find herself in a safe place.

Still, Maureen was not completely at ease. Far from it, in fact. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Bethany had told her in the recording. There was a very real possibility she would never see Earth again, and that thought filled her with despair. But Maureen tried not to think about it too much. For now, they were heading to Rak, where she would meet Bethany. After that, she could investigate the possibility of finding her way back home.

After dinner, Tristn and Vaul retired to the galley to wash the dishes, and Rawn joined them, probably in the hopes of scoring some scraps. At the rate the furball was growing, it was no surprise he had such an appetite.

As for Jrayk, he offered to take Maureen on a quick tour of the ship.

As they left the dining room, Maureen caught Tristn casting a warning glance in Jrayk’s direction. Those two were clearly competitive.

Well, there was no need for them to feel competitive over her. As far as Maureen was concerned, she was a passenger on this ship and nothing more. The fact that she was surrounded by three ridiculously attractive alien males was not lost on her, but soon they would be arriving at Rak, and after that they would head their separate ways. Entanglements, emotional or otherwise, would be unwise.

Maureen had already made up her mind.

She could look, but she wouldn’t touch.

Unfortunately, Jrayk clearly did not have the same no-touching policy in place for himself. It wasn’t that he groped her. His touching never strayed into inappropriate territory. But as he guided Maureen around the ship, she constantly felt his strong hands on her bare arms or the small of her back, firmly but gently steering her body.

Maureen’s instinct was to pull away. She had always considered herself an independent woman, and she had never been too keen on the idea of a man physically leading her that way. Her attempt to get into salsa dancing had been short-lived for that very reason. But there was something about Jrayk’s strong, confident hands that she found irresistible.

And besides, Jrayk wasn’t a man.

A male, yes. But not a man.

Maureen did her best to drag her attention away from her touchy guide so she could actually focus on the details of the ship he was showing her. After all, it was important for her to understand the layout of the vessel in case of an emergency.

Though the ship itself was not very big, a surprising number of rooms had been squeezed into its cramped space. Most of these rooms branched off the central corridor that ran down the middle of the ship like a spine.

The cockpit, which Maureen had already seen, was located at the front of the ship. Behind this, there were some storage rooms with weapons and tools, the dining room and galley, a latrine, a small enclosed shower, and a small escape pod that made Maureen claustrophobic just looking at it. There was no way three Raksha, herself, and Rawn could all fit in there if there was an emergency, and she voiced this concern to Jrayk.

“Don’t worry,” Jrayk laughed. “There’s enough room for you and me.”

“Where I come from, a captain is supposed to go down with his ship,” Maureen teased back.

Jrayk gave a playful growl.

“It’s the same for the Raksha. But then, I’ve never been very good at following rules.” His hand strayed dangerously low on her hip. “Now come down here, I want to show you the engine room…”

Maureen followed, but she still had an uneasy feeling about that escape pod. Jrayk didn’t seem concerned about it, but that did little to reassure Maureen. They were in outer freaking space, after all. There were plenty of things that could go wrong.

After the humming engine room, Jrayk showed her the hatch leading down to the storage areas on the underside of the ship, explaining that the craft was originally used as a smuggler ship.

Did that mean Jrayk was a criminal then?

That thought put Maureen’s law enforcement instincts on alert, but she didn’t say anything. After all, it wasn’t like the FBI had jurisdiction out here. And somehow the thought of hanging out with an alien smuggler was oddly exciting.

Finally, Jrayk led her back toward the front of the ship while showing Maureen the living quarters lining the starboard side of the craft. There were separate berths for himself and Vaul, followed by Tristn’s larger room, which contained not only his bed but medical equipment as well. Jrayk explained that this room had been specially outfitted for this trip.

“So Tristn doesn’t normally travel with you?” Maureen asked.

“Void no!” Jrayk growled. “Are you kidding? We’ve been traveling together for barely one cycle, and it’s a miracle we haven’t killed each other yet. No, normally it’s just me and Vaul aboard this craft.”

“Tell me about Vaul,” Maureen said. “He doesn’t say very much.”

Jrayk nodded and stroked his stubbled chin. “Yeah, he’s always been that way, even when he was an adolescent.”

“So you have known each other a long time.”

From the way Jrayk grinned, Maureen could tell he was really fond of his massive friend.

“Yeah, we grew up together. The habitation sector where we lived was a rough place, so having a big friend like Vaul was a good thing. Later we served together in the war with the Jrukharri. He saved my life during that war, and ever since then he’s felt responsible for me. I couldn’t get rid of the big oaf if I tried.”

Maureen could tell by the orange glint in his eye that the words were spoken with affection.

At last, they arrived back at her own small room. Jrayk stepped inside the small space with her and shut the door behind them. Maureen’s pulse spiked.

“Um, is there something you wanted to show me in here?” she asked.

As soon as she had uttered the words, she regretted them. She was nervous, and perhaps still a little tipsy from her two glasses of t’lon, and she had just blurted the question out as a bad joke about the lack of decoration in the room. But she quickly realized her words could easily be construed to have a much naughtier meaning. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

Jrayk’s trademark smirk curved one side of his mouth.

“Maybe there is something I want to see.

His hand curled into a loose fist, and his knuckles caressed her bare arm. Hard knuckles, callused and scarred from years of working and fighting. Soft, unblemished human skin. The contrast made Maureen almost dizzy with excitement.

A shiver wriggled through her body. It was not just a response to Jrayk’s sensuous caress but more so the low, smooth quality of his voice, which rumbled into Maureen’s deepest epicenter like an illicit touch.

“You are frightened of me, human?” Jrayk asked. He did not sound particularly concerned.

Maureen lifted her chin defiantly. “No, I’m not.”

“Why not?” Jrayk purred.

Maureen shivered again. When next she spoke, her voice came out weak and breathy.

“I’m not helpless,” she stammered. “I can take care of myself. And besides, Bethany assured me the crew of The Longshot would treat me with the utmost respect.”

Jrayk’s eyes glowed a little brighter.

“Perhaps Beh’thani is too trusting of a criminal such as myself…”

His hands gripped Maureen’s arm just above her elbows, and she was suddenly aware of the extent of the alien’s strength. His callused palms slowly glided up her arms to her exposed shoulders, then her neck, then her cheeks, which heated under his touch.

“What a strange creature you are,” Jrayk said softly. “Your skin changes color with your emotions. I can’t tell if it is a warning or something else, but I like it. I like this color…”

He cradled her face in his huge hands and leaned closer until his breath ghosted over her face and stirred her hair.

“But I like the color of your eyes even more…”

“Really?” Maureen whispered.

Her mind knew she should pull away from him, but her body refused to comply. She was totally entranced by this powerful, confident alien male.

“Yes, really. At first I thought they were the color of amber, but now I see I was wrong.”

“What color are they?”

“They are not just one color…”

For a moment, his face dipped so close their lips grazed, and goosebumps sprang up all over Maureen’s skin. Then he pulled back, teasing her, toying with her. The scent of him saturated her senses until she felt intoxicated with his masculine aroma.

“…During the war with the Jrukharri, I was captured and imprisoned for almost five cycles. The cell where they kept me had no windows. For almost five full cycles, I never saw the sky. They starved me, tortured me, but that was nothing. The worst part was never seeing the sky.”

Maureen was dimly aware of her hands touching the Raksha’s bare chest.

“Jrayk,” she whispered.

“When the war was over, there was an exchange of prisoners. I was set free. But even the Jrukharri ship that bore me back to my homeworld had no windows. I never saw the sky until I reached Rak and stepped off that ship. It was dawn, and the sky was the deepest golden hue I have ever seen. The color of freedom. Sometimes, when the light catches them right, I see that color in your eyes, human.”

Maureen all but melted in his arms. When his mouth came down to claim hers, she offered no resistance. Their lips seemed to meld together, and a jolt of electricity traveled down Maureen’s spine, then back up again.

For a long moment, she lost all perception of time and place. She was only conscious of Jrayk’s soft lips and searching tongue, his powerful arms coiled around her back, his warm scent filling her lungs.

Then she felt his hand on her breast, and she jolted back to her senses.

She gasped against his mouth and pulled away.

“Jrayk, wait! You…you shouldn’t touch me there.”

The Raksha glanced down at his hand, which remained firmly cupped around Maureen’s breast. The only thing separating her skin from his palm was the wisp-thin fabric of her dress.

“Why not?” he asked. “I find your chest mounds very appealing.”

“I know,” Maureen said, growing flustered. “You mentioned that before. But on Earth, it’s not appropriate for a man to touch a woman’s chest mounds like that. At least not until they have gotten to know each other a little.”

Jrayk remained unconvinced.

“We do know each other, M’reen. And your chest mounds are inviting my touch. Look how firm and rigid your nubs have become.”

With his thumb and forefinger, Jrayk gently pinched Maureen’s erect nipple through the tissue-thin cloth. Another electric jolt shot through her body, and she gasped.

“Oh…”

“My anatomy grows rigid for you as well, M’reen. Here, feel…”

Jrayk gripped Maureen’s butt and dragged her to him, crushing their bodies together, and she felt the hard, hot length of his arousal pressing against her soft tummy. Meanwhile, his other hand remained on her breast, his thumb brushing over her protruding nipple.

Maureen whimpered at the overload of sensations, his scent, his fingers, his erection throbbing against her abdomen. Heat pooled in her loins. Wetness too.

“Jrayk…Jrayk, please…”

“Please what?” he growled low. “Do you wish me to desist? Or to continue?”

Maureen knew she should put an end to this. For one thing, this was no time to be thinking about sex. For another, she still barely even knew this guy. He was virtually a stranger. And most important, they weren’t even the same species. Hell, she didn’t even know if their anatomy was…compatible.

God, but he felt compatible though.

Very damn compatible…

Despite her misgivings, Maureen found herself rising to her toes, lifting her face toward Jrayk’s handsome countenance, offering her lips for him to claim. Her arms slipped around his thick neck. His hand glided up her back and clasped a fistful of her hair.

Their lips crashed together in a bruising kiss. Sharp fangs grazed dangerously against Maureen’s tongue, but she only kissed him harder. Jrayk growled into her open mouth, sending deep vibrations all the way down into her belly and below.

Something tickled between Maureen’s legs, and she realized it was her own abundant wetness spilling down her inner thighs.

Her body was ready for him, ready to take him inside.

She had never felt arousal this strong before. A desperate animal desire that threatened to consume her whole.

Maureen’s hand moved to the front of Jrayk’s breeches. Her fingers touched him through the thin silk, first petting his long shaft before dropping lower to fondle his heavy testicles. God, he was so big, so virile…

Their lips separated, gasping. Their faces touched, forehead to forehead, nose to nose.

“Jrayk…what are we doing?” Maureen gasped.

“I don’t know.”

That unexpected answer took Maureen off guard. She sensed Jrayk wasn’t simply flirting or teasing her. He was being serious. But what exactly did he mean?

Before Maureen had a chance to say anything, a voice bellowed through the outer corridor. It was the doctor, Tristn, and from the sound of it, he was pissed.

“Jrayk!”

Maureen pushed herself away from the Raksha captain, and half a second later, the door to her room whooshed open again. Tristn’s body filled the rectangle of the door, and his eyes blazed menacingly behind his glasses as he looked from Maureen to Jrayk.

Maureen’s face heated with renewed shame. Although Tristn had not seen them touching, Maureen knew the signs were obvious. Her hair was mussed from Jrayk’s passion, her skin flushed and lightly sheened with sweat. And then, of course, there was the massive erection tenting the front of Jrayk’s breeches. Oh God, and what about her own seeping arousal? Could Tristn sense that, she wondered? Could he smell it?

There was no question about it. They had been busted.

For an awkward, hanging moment, nobody spoke. Then Tristn pointed his finger at Jrayk, claw extended, and he growled. “Captain. May I have a word with you in private?”

Though his wording was polite, his tone made it clear that he wasn’t asking nicely.

Jrayk flattened his ears and growled back, and for a second Maureen thought there might actually be a physical altercation. But then Jrayk glanced back at her and relaxed.

“Fine,” he said.

He stepped out into the corridor, and the door whispered shut behind him.

For a full minute, Maureen just stood there unmoving, her body still buzzing from everything that had just happened, her brain struggling to process it. Even though Jrayk had left the room, his scent still lingered in the air, and his taste still clung to her lips, refusing to let Maureen’s arousal pass.