Alien Skin Market by Lizzy Bequin

CHAPTER 40: MAUREEN

Night on this world fell surprisingly quickly. Within a matter of minutes, the surrounding jungle, which had already been dark to begin with, transitioned into an impenetrable blackness of such totality that it seemed to have a palpable physical presence. Combined with the thick, sticky humidity of the jungle air, it was like being submerged in tar.

Maureen was glad she had decided to stay put.

Even with Rawn to protect her, trekking through that alien darkness would not have been advisable.

As night had descended, the jungle had come alive with the sounds of alien creatures. Hoots and squawks and blood curdling growls echoed through the trees, making Maureen shudder with fear. She was grateful she had Rawn here with her, and she clung to his warm, thick coat, taking comfort in his size and the low steady sound of his breathing. Even his rich, earthy scent was comforting to her.

Before the lights had gone out completely, Maureen had rummaged through the Raksha’s satchel. It had not contained much, and most of the stuff was a total mystery to Maureen, but she had found at least one useful item—a small handgun.

No flashlight, unfortunately. That would have come in handy. Oh well…

With Rawn’s help, Maureen had used the last dregs of daylight to collect some firewood. Between the two of them, Rawn and Maureen had managed to amass a good sized stack of dry branches, as well as some smaller twigs for kindling, and some dry mossy stuff that could work as tinder. They had finished gathering these materials just as nightfall had dropped the world into total pitch blackness.

Now, blind in the darkness, Maureen picked up the pistol. She had looked it over thoroughly and found no ammunition magazine, which led her to believe it was some sort of energy weapon. Next, she felt on the ground in front of her until she found the little pile of tinder. She memorized the position of the tinder pile and aimed the pistol toward it.

“All right,” she sighed. “Here goes nothing.”

She squeezed the trigger, and for a fraction of a second, the surrounding jungle lit up as brightly as a lightning strike. There was a clap of thunder and a small explosion that sent clods of dirt flying into the air.

In another instant, the darkness closed in around them again, and Maureen’s ears were left ringing from the blast.

“Fuck me,” she muttered. “Okay, that was a little excessive.”

But…it had worked! All over the ground in front of her were bits of burning moss. Maureen carefully scooped these into a little flaming pile, which she placed into the convenient little crater left by the pistol blast. She then quickly covered the burning tinder with small twigs. As the twigs started to catch, Maureen began piling on larger and larger pieces of wood. Rawn watched intently while she worked, his intelligent eyes studying every movement.

After a few minutes, they had a decent sized fire going. The yellow tongues of flame licked at the wood and provided a warm sphere of light that pushed the shadows back.

Maureen shoved the hair back from her face and grinned.

“Not too shabby, eh?”

Her big furry companion returned her smile, and his dark eyes glittered like jewels in the firelight.

“Rrrrrrrawn!”

Maureen suddenly had a flashback to those Frosted Flakes commercials where Tony the Tiger would say “They’re Grrrrreat!” and she burst out laughing uncontrollably.

“Why thank you, Rawn. I agree, it is a pretty grrreat fire, isn’t it?”

Maureen gave Rawn a loving pet, then she sat down on the ground several feet away from the fire. Even though it was night, the jungle air was humid and warm. The fire wasn’t necessary for heat, but its light provided a welcome comfort. Maybe it would help to dry out the ground a bit too. The moist soil was kind of squishy under Maureen’s naked backside, but honestly, she was too tired to care.

“Come on, sit down,” Maureen said, and patted the ground.

Rawn settled down behind Maureen and she leaned back into him like a big furry couch. She reached up and scratched under his chin while they both stared into the hypnotic fire.

Her eyes drifted over the tops of the flames to look at the escape pod. The reflection of the fire was dancing across its glassy surface like a crystal ball. Maureen could see the Raksha lying inside. He still hadn’t moved a muscle since Rawn had stuffed him in there earlier.

It was a little unnerving to be in such close proximity to that violent killer, but Maureen was confident he was secure. And besides, she had Rawn to protect her.

As if reading her thoughts, Rawn started to purr softly. The rumbling sound vibrated through Maureen’s back, and she smiled.

“Yeah, you’ll protect me from anything, right Rawn?”

He lowered his head and gently nuzzled Maureen’s face. Maureen planted a soft kiss on his snout. She reached up and stroked the side of his head, marveling at the feel of his powerful jaw muscles.

“Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s go to bed, furball.”

Rawn nuzzled her again, then licked her face. His broad, flat tongue was warm and wet against her skin.

“Rawn!” Maureen giggled. “Are you trying to get slobber all over me?”

His snout nudged into the hollow of her neck, and he licked her there too. His tongue tickled her, and Maureen cringed and giggled at the awkwardly pleasant sensation.

“Hey, stop it,” she laughed.

Rawn started to move, robbing Maureen’s body of support, and she had to put her arms out to keep herself from toppling backward.

“Hey!”

Rawn moved around in front of her until his powerful arms were bracketing her hips and his massive body towered over her. Despite his size and strength, Rawn’s movements were gentle and not at all threatening. The fire limned his fur with its orange glow.

“Rawn?” Maureen whispered. “What are you doing?”

She scrunched her face as he licked her again, this time stroking his broad tongue right across her mouth.

His muzzle dipped to her chest, and he lapped warmly at her collarbone, her sternum, her right breast, her nipple.

Maureen gasped.

She gently shoved Rawn’s face away, and he stopped licking her.

“Rawn, you can’t…I mean, we can’t…I mean, you’re a…oh fuck me…I don’t even know what you are.”

His eyes stared deeply into hers, seeming to tunnel straight into the depths of her brain. Maureen sensed an intense desire in those dark, fire-flickering eyes. A desire to communicate, and a frustration at not being able to. For one strange, hanging moment, Maureen felt certain Rawn would speak to her if only he had the means to do so.

And she wished he could too. She wanted to know what was going on in that crazy, adorable head of his.

Beside them, the fire spit and crackled. The air filled with the pleasant, almost intoxicating aroma of smoke and charred alien wood.

Rawn’s breath ghosted warmly across Maureen’s skin. The wetness of the saliva on her nipple caused her to feel that breath even more intensely, and she realized her nipples were hard. Almost painfully so.

When had that happened?

Before or after Rawn had licked her?

Slowly, gently, Rawn lowered his face and licked Maureen again, this time just beneath the arch of her ribs. Maureen’s belly twitched in response. She didn’t say anything, didn’t push him away.

His muzzle moved downward to her belly button, then her lower abdomen. His warm breath whuffled against her flesh. His rough tongue laved. He moved lower still, into the soft nest of her pubic hair.

“Rawn,” Maureen breathed.

Her legs fell open of their own accord, making room for the beast’s massive head. His fur stroked against the quivering flesh of her inner thighs. His breath tingled the wetness blossoming from her hot center.

“Rawn, wait…”

The blade of his tongue swiped along her slit, doubling the wetness between her legs. Saliva mingled with slippery arousal. He licked her a second time, and his tongue’s papillae caressed her aching clitoris, sending a flash of intense pleasure shooting deep into her core.

“Oh God, Rawn…”

Maureen collapsed onto her back on the warm soil, legs open, lips moaning, fingers buried in the fur of his head, neither pulling him in nor pushing him away. She knew this was wrong, knew she should put an end to it immediately, but her body was out of her control.

Her back arched, raising her pussy like an offering for the lapping beast as another tongue-stroke set her pelvis on fire with pleasure. God, it felt so good, so natural to have him there—oh God yes, right fucking there—and she wanted to have him in other ways too, wanted to have him inside her body, moving, thrusting, fucking. It was so shamefully wrong to want such things, but after everything Maureen had been through in the past days, she simply couldn’t bring herself to care. She needed this, needed a release.

If Rawn couldn’t be a man for her, then maybe she could be an animal for him? An animal seeking pleasure in the darkness…

Beside them, the firewood shifted again, sending up a swirl of yellow sparks. The sound and the sparks startled Maureen out of her trance, and she bolted upright, shoving Rawn’s face away and clamping her legs shut.

“Rawn, no!” she blurted.

Rawn stopped immediately and drew back.

Maureen’s face heated with shame, and her stomach seemed to turn inside out. She scrambled to her feet and went to the edge of the circle of firelight. There was a plant there with large, soft, heart-shaped leaves. Maureen tore one leaf away and used it to wipe away the sinful wetness from between her trembling legs.

It occurred to her she was acting rashly, without thinking, allowing her sudden shame to blind her to potential danger. For all she knew, the plant could be some kind of alien poison ivy. But it was too late to worry about that now.

When she was finished, she crumpled the besmirched leaf and threw it away into the darkness.

She turned around and found Rawn looking at her silently. He was wearing a hurt expression that needled Maureen’s heart.

“Fuck,” she muttered.

She walked forward and embraced him, burying her face into the soft, warm fur of his neck.

“Rawn, I’m sorry,” she said. “I…I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. It’s just…oh, it’s complicated. You’re complicated. I’m complicated…”

She kissed his forehead.

“Maybe in another life, furball.”

“Rawwwn,” Rawn groaned.

“Come on, it’s late and we both need to get some rest.”

Maureen added some wood to the fire, and Rawn lay down in front of it. Then Maureen curled up in the warm curve of his body. He placed a furry, protective arm over her body and drew her gently against him. It felt good lying like that. It made Maureen feel totally safe and protected. There was no telling what monsters were lurking in the shadows of this otherworldly jungle, but Maureen had no doubt Rawn would defend her against them.

She looked past the flames of the fire at the escape pod where the bad Raksha was still unconscious, and she wondered at how different Rawn was from that creep.

At least some creatures in this universe understood the concept of “No means no.”

With that thought, Maureen snuggled her body even deeper into Rawn’s thick fur and her mind faded off into sleep.