He wanted to share every moment with her. “My doll isn’t deserving of that honor.” He frowned at it. “I haven’t yet obtained your level of skill.”
“Your doll will make a child extremely happy.” She paused in her crafting of the heels of the boots. “The recipient will feel loved.”
Hoarse looked at his doll and then looked at hers. He preferred her fabrication, and there was a 95.2396 probability an offspring would have the same preference.
“You don’t have to bring your doll if you feel uncomfortable about that.” His female set aside the fastening tool. “I’d merely like to see you.” She leaned forward, her face remaining off-screen. “And you said you were a warrior.” Her laugh sounded forced, was misplaced after that statement. “Having a warrior nearby could be handy on a planet like Pollux Pequeno. The area around the docking bay is a little rough.”
“Did someone in that area threaten you?” A rumble rose in his chest and his fingers curled into tight fists.
The prospect of anyone touching his female made him want to kill beings.
“I don’t take foolish risks.” She didn’t answer his question. “I arrive in the middle of the planet rotation. And I’m inside a safe structure between sunset and sunrise.”
That didn’t ease any of Hoarse’s concerns. “I’ve seen beings decapitated while the sun’s rays shone on their faces. Not all dangers lurk in the dark, my female.”
“I’ll be fine.” Her tone was edged with doubt.
“You will be fine.” Hoarse would assure that projection was reality. “Because I’ll be there, protecting you.”
If he had processed she was in danger, he would have met with her immediately.
Frag his lack of ulu-fabricating skills. Frag his lingering doubts about his worth.
Her well-being came first.
She was his and he would safeguard her. Hoarse cracked his knuckles.
Relay, we require a shuttle craft. He contacted his friend through a private transmission line.
No one would damage his little fabricator.
Chapter Two
Arlicia desired a male whose face she’d never seen.
She wasn’t like her friend Zella. She had no inclination to mentor other beings.
Yet Hoarse, with his polite persistence, his flattery, his earnestness, had won her over, had convinced her to train him, as the warrior called it.
The images of his hands had fascinated her. If that part of him was indicative of his entire form, the male was huge. Both of her palms could easily fit into one of his.
And he was strong. He could snap a thread in two with ease.
His gray skin conveyed he wasn’t human. That had intrigued her also. She’d spent many moments trying to determine his species, seeking to find out more about his kind.
When their communications became verbal, her fascination with him had shifted into a lust she had never experienced with another being.
Hoarse’s voice was low and deep, and she could listen to it forever. Sometimes when she was alone in a working space and was fabricating a doll, she’d replay their past conversations merely to hear him speak.
Her nipples would tighten, and her pussy would grow wet.
Her body was reacting the same way now. She gazed around her as she exited the ship, half expecting him to emerge from the shadows. None of the beings in the docking bay on Pollux Pequeno were gray-skinned or as large as she suspected he was.
Bots extracted her container of dolls from the hold, placed it in a much smaller vessel. Those gifts would be transported to the academy Zella ran, would be ready for distribution at sunrise.
Arlicia merely had to convey herself and her small pack to the structure she’d reside in during the rest cycle. Normally, she’d walk there, but the ship had engine trouble and was late leaving the previous planet. Her surroundings were now dark.
The site was scary for a female alone when lit by sunlight. It was terrifying now.
“Excuse me.” She approached a male in a docking bay uniform. “Are there transports I can hire? I need to be conveyed to a nearby structure.”
“This ain’t a pleasure planet, female.” The male scowled at her. “And it’s the rest cycle. You should have made arrangements before you arrived.”
“The ship I arrived on was late.” She widened her eyes, attempting to appear as pitiful, as in need of help as possible. “It’s dark and I’m alone.”
“That ain’t my problem.” The male looked at her and sighed. “If you exit the grounds.” He waved toward a pathway. “You might find a transport there.”
She gazed along the pathway. There were light sources stationed at regular intervals around it. And there were vessels flying by it. It appeared…not entirely safe but survivable.
And she didn’t have much of a choice. Many of the beings who had arrived with her had been picked up by friends, family members, or transport services and were now gone. If she waited much longer at her current location, she’d be alone.
She extracted a fabric-cutting tool from her pack, gripped it with one hand, clutched her pack with the other, and walked. Her stride was long…for her. Her pace was fast.
Beings gazed in her direction, but they didn’t approach her.
She squared her shoulders and held out her arms, seeking to appear large and powerful. All she had to do was reach the entrance of the docking bay area.
The lights flickered increasingly violently as she progressed. Loose stones skittered under her booted feet. The soft pings seemed louder as the number of ships passing her lessened.
She walked farther and farther without seeing any vessels, any beings. Her fingers tightened around the fabric-cutting tool.
The entrance should be close. She turned with the pathway, stopped.
The next light source wasn’t working. The route was barely visible. Stacks of large containers loomed to the right of the route. She glanced in front and behind her. No ships approached from either direction.
There was a crunch like the tread of something, of someone heavy. She jumped, looked around her. Had that originated to the right or to the back of her?
Sweat trickled down her spine, underneath her flight suit. She couldn’t stay where she was. That would make her a target.
She took a deep breath, counted to five, exhaled, and ran.
“Where are you going, pretty female?” A human male stepped onto the pathway. He smacked a tube of metal against his palm.
Shit. She skidded to a stop, spun around.
“You want to play?” Another male stood there. He grinned at her. There was a chunk of an unknown brown substance wedged between two of his front teeth.
Two more males emerged from the shadows, positioning themselves to surround her.
“Stay back.” She lifted the fabric-cutting tool and turned slowly, pointing it at them, trying to keep all the males in sight. Her heart pounded.
There were four of them, one of her, and they were larger, appeared stronger.
“Are you going to fight us, pretty female?” The first male leered at her. “I like it when they fight.”
“I like it when they scream.” The male to her right smirked. “That makes me hard.” He grabbed his groin. “Scream for us, tits.”