I’m afraid that if I force her to confront her fate, she will only choose another male. Again. I will answer the questions she asks because I want her voice in my ears, but there are things on Earth that she does not need to worry about.
The Lurker tech being one of them.
That is why I can’t let her leave my den, not anytime soon, and it has little to do with the bears, pigs, and the Death Adder nearby. Although the pigs worry me.
I don’t know what pigs she has up in the stars, but the pigs here on Earth… They are intelligent, ferocious, and cruel. They will eat anything and chase prey for miles. They travel in large packs and are incredibly resilient. The best a hunter like I can do is kill one to distract the rest, because they will stop to eat their fellow rather than come after me.
But pig meat is the tastiest meat, which means I will be facing them again soon to procure some so I may hear Gemma moan.
I will feed my female the best food there is, and chocolate rations that must be a thousand years old are not the best.
She wipes her hands on her pants and stands. She peers at the stuff around us now that she’s awake and fed, rising on her tiptoes to eye the items further down the bunker. My nest is in the back, hidden, and I wonder if she’s looking for it.
I tense, my member pressing against my scales. I hope she is searching for it.
My nest. Where my scent covers every inch, where she will soon bask naked for me to gaze upon, getting my scent all over her. Where I will hold her down and claim her body. Where I can tie her up in my tail...
The mating act between humans is… feverish. I have studied what the screens have shown me thoroughly.
“Do you have any Lurker tech here?” she asks.
My hands' clench. She is not searching for my nest at all.
“Yesss.”
“Can I…” She meets my eyes. “Can I see it?”
I sit back, mulling her question.
“No.”
“No?” A wrinkle forms between her eyes.
“You and your people are here for their technology. You’ve made that abundantly clear.” It’s powerful and hard to find because the other nagas and I keep it hidden, but I know where there are caches of it. “I want something in exchange,” I decide on the spot.
She regards me warily. “Exchange?”
I nod, rising. Her eyes flip to my tail, which slides to coil around her. She pulls her limbs in. “I want to see you in exchange.” I indicate her body.
This is a fair exchange, but the way the blood rushes from her face tells me otherwise. She grabs hold of her torn clothes and bunches them in her small hands.
I will not relent.
“You want to see me?” she whispers.
She knows what I mean.
“As badly as you want to see this alien technology. And much more so.”
“That’s unfair!”
“Why?” I cock my head. “You have seen all of me. It is only fair I get to see you.”
“You showed me your cock of your own volition, not because I asked,” her voice quickens. “That’s completely different.”
“You are a communicator, aren’t you?”
Confusion flushes her face. “Yes… but—”
“Then you know what making a deal is, and how deals benefit both parties? I will show you what you want if you do the same for me.”
The blush returns to her cheeks. “My body is not part of any deal, especially one made between males who think they’re unbeholden to anyone else.”
Her words anger me, but I keep it locked away. “There are no males here but me, Gemma. Only me. Only ever me. If your human males hadn’t discarded you, I planned to steal you anyway. I was readying to do just that before Zaku approached the facility. Your body and who it belongs to will never be questioned again. It is mine by right.”
“No, Vruksha, it’s mine.”
I slip my tailtip closer to her feet, and she doesn’t seem to notice. “And the Lurker tech you so desperately want is mine.”
She crosses her arms, pulling them to her chest. Another shield, one she uses often against me, though a weak one at that. It makes her chest rise, emphasizing her curves, and I like her curves.
We stare at each other for a time, and I can see thoughts running behind her eyes.
An hour passes in silence, neither of us backing down. She is considering the arrangement.
My pelvic region tightens, the scales around the sheath of my member itching to release it.
When I think she’s about to give in and accept this perfect exchange, she rises, turns her back on me, and steps over my tail. I watch as she finds a corner between some of my treasures and curls up on the ground, facing the wall. Her stiff shoulders rise and fall for a while, and when they ease, the tension brought on by our exchange leaves her.
The little human has shut me out.
Again.
Impatience and curiosity settle within me.
Hours go by as I watch her sleep—or try to sleep—adjusting and tossing, again and again. At one point, I bring a large bear pelt from my nest and wrap it around her, and watch as she snuggles into it with a sigh, loving the way her red hair gathers amongst the fur. I debate picking her up and carrying her to my nest where I know it’s most comfortable.
I wanted to the night before, but whenever I approached, she shrank from my touch.
My exhaustion builds as the day comes to an end. Still, I wait, keeping her trapped, unable to leave my post.
I want her answer. I have all the time in the world.
I know she’s thinking about my proposal between her dreams.
That is why she tosses and turns. I grin.
How badly does she want what I have? What only I can give her? The warmth and protection I can offer? I only ask
