Alien Romance: Hunter: Space Commander's Fated Mate (Space Beasts Book 3) (4 page)

Juliet only had the outfit that she’d worn on the shuttle, plus a few things that Zalgar was able to get from the remnants of the crash for her. Still, it wasn’t much, and all of it was starting to look dingy and well worn. Her blonde hair was probably greasy and dirty, always tied up in a bun or braided up to prevent any knots.
 

She looked like a homeless person while Samara looked like some badass warrior princess.
 

“How could you be so stupid, letting it live this long?” Samara asked, motioning to Juliet. It was like the blonde wasn’t even there. Zalgar’s fiancée, along with his friend, looked absolutely furious.

Was this going to change things? Would he help her anymore, or was she on her own? Even worse, would he actually act on their words, or let them do something to her? Juliet hated to imagine it, thinking that they had formed some kind of friendship in the past few weeks, enough of one that he wouldn’t outright murder her. “They’ll kill you if they find out, and then torture and kill it.”
 

“You should just put it out of its misery,” his friend, Jahan, said.
 

“’It’ is a ‘she,’ thank you,” Juliet interrupted. She was afraid for her life, yes, but that didn’t mean she was going to be talked about like she was some pest or vermin, even though Juliet knew that was exactly what the other two saw her as.
 

Samara looked at Juliet for the first time since first being introduced. “You think we care?” she snarled, then stared angrily back at her fiancé, “Jahan is right. Just put your pet out of its misery before someone else does.” Juliet didn’t miss the evil smirk on the woman’s face when she began to turn and walk away, directed completely at Juliet.

That woman would skin me alive and feed me my own fingers, if she could
, she thought to herself. But she put on a brave face, glaring right back. Juliet normally didn’t confront people, but it was a matter of pride now, some part of her competitive spirit that was coming out around Samara.
 

As the female alien disappeared into the trees, Jahan nodded his own agreement. There was concern in his eyes, though. “What are you doing? This isn’t like you. Zalgar Torgu doesn’t run away from his friends and defend what should be his enemy.”
 

Juliet hadn’t ever seen Zalgar. She’d seen him annoyed, frustrated, happy, even lonely, though she didn’t dare to tell him she could see through his façade sometimes. But in that moment, she saw his anger. “You think I’m an idiot?” he asked Jahan, “I don’t need to be berated like a child by you and Samara. I know what I’m doing.”
 

“We’re just-”
 

“Sticking your nose where you shouldn’t,” Zalgar interrupted firmly. He stepped closer to Jahan, using his size to intimidate him. They seemed like friends before, but the way they talked now… It was like a superior berating a young cadet. “I left that city, not my friends, and my friends should know why. After defending you people, doing what I’ve had to do to keep that city alive, I deserve the respect and ability to come and go as I please.”
 

Jahan shook his head. “That’s a vain way of thinking.”
 

Zalgar laughed, though there was no humor. “If they say so, ask them how it feels to get a taste of their own medicine.”
 

A beat passed as the two stared at one another, as if in a staring contest. Juliet wondered what would happen if Zalgar would lose. She didn’t find out, what with Jahan being the first one to look away. “We’ll be back in three days. They’ll be with us.”
 

“That supposed to scare me?”

Jahan glanced over at Juliet and then back at his friend. “Yes. In this current predicament, it is.” He then turned away in the direction Samara had gone, disappearing between the trees.
 

Silence fell over the two that remained. Juliet had so many questions burning inside of her. It was less than an hour ago that she’d almost kissed Zalgar, when she’d felt like she knew where they stood, at least as far as friendship went. But now she had no clue what they were going to do, what he was going to do. It was the first time that Juliet really realized just how dangerous it was for her to be with him, dangerous for him.
 

“You never told me you were getting married,” she said suddenly, and immediately she regretted it. Was that really the most important thing to take away from what just happened? “I mean, it’s just weird that you’re out here by yourself instead of… Y’know, with her.”
 

Zalgar clenched his hands into fists. “Samara misspoke,” he replied quietly, “We were engaged.”
 

Juliet raised her eyebrows. “Oh… What happened?”
 

“Does it matter?” He was tense that much was clear, and that scared Juliet, though she tried not to show it. If Zalgar was worried, that must mean that it was bad, whatever it was that they were dealing with. “We have three days to get you out of here. If that.”
 

“So, what do we do?” she asked, “You said you were coming up with a plan.” But he’d never once told her about any progress he’d made, how close he was to fixing that problem.
 

He shook his head, quiet for another moment while his brain worked. “There’s no other way besides sneaking you in. And they’ll see you’re not one of us. I have an idea for that though.”
 

Juliet waited, expecting Zalgar to continue. When he didn’t, she sighed. “Are you going to share with the class?”
 

“Yes. Catch your fish first.”
 

Suddenly remembering what they’d first come here for, she ran to her fishing rod, seeing it start to bend and jerk, the line tight from something pulling on it. Juliet took the rod out from where she’d planted it between the rocks, just like Zalgar had and began to struggle with the line, reeling it in.

Zalgar came up behind her, so close that she could feel the warmth rolling off of his body. “You can’t just reel it in,” he instructed, “You have to pull it too.” Juliet inhaled sharply when she felt his hand cover hers, pulling gently at the fishing rod. “Bring it closer to your body in smooth, firm movements.” Juliet did as he said, pulling their hands closer to her torso. His thumb brushed up against her stomach, just below her breasts.
 

“Like that?” she asked.
 

“Yes.” Zalgar’s hand dropped, and he stepped away. “Now drop the tip of the rod, and then reel in.” 
 

Juliet found it easier to follow his instructions, easier to focus now that there was distance in between them. She did as she was told; dropping just the tip of the rod in one, smooth movement. And then she started reeling in as fast as she could.

The blonde watched, a smile growing on her lips when the fish started to get closer and closer, flopping against the surface of the water as it grew shallower. It was nothing like the fish she saw at home, but she’d tasted it now, thanks to Zalgar’s previous catches, and her mouth started to water. Triumph ignited inside of Juliet, making her forget, at least for the moment, that they’d just been given a time limit on her escape.
 

“I did it!” she gasped, excitedly, the fish now just a foot away from her face, still twitching from the lack of water. Zalgar took the fish off the hook, gripping it tightly in his large hands before throwing it into the basket. He didn’t look as happy as Juliet had expected he would, especially since he’d been the one to press for her fishing lessons so much. 
 

“You did good,” he said, and when he looked at her, Juliet noted some pride in his eyes, though the rest of him was still so tense, “It’ll be a fine last dinner, if any… We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

Juliet frowned. “But they said three days.”

Zalgar snorted, grabbing the basket as he made his way back to the cave. “That doesn’t mean anything,” he replied, “If they’re smart, they won’t give us to the end of the night.”

Chapter Five

He was in a rush, moving quickly. Juliet had to practically run to keep up with Zalgar’s long strides back to the cave. “What are we going to do then?” she asked breathlessly, just as they neared the entrance. It was the only time that Zalgar stopped, looking all around them. Scared of his paranoia, Juliet looked around as well.

The forest was quiet, besides the chirping and buzzing of the animals around them. Satisfied, he turned back around and headed inside, lighting a fire to create more light in the room.

“We grab enough supplies for a day trip, and we make our way into the city. We should be there by night and can use the darkness to sneak you into the hangar more easily,” Zalgar explained, meanwhile moving to the bag beside the bed and dumping the contents out. It was full of the ointments and saps that he used on Juliet’s wounds. “Sit down. We need to check your wounds.”

Juliet obeyed immediately. She was used to following his instructions at this point, and mostly it had to do with the fact that Zalgar was the only person she could trust on this planet. He hadn’t steered her wrong yet. Sitting down, she followed the routine that they’d set up, popping out her legs and dangling them in front of him to get full access.

Everything was healed at this point besides the burns from her space suit’s straps, but Zalgar was careful and thorough each time he examined her. Juliet remembered the last time, when his hand was on her inner thigh, how her legs had opened unthinkingly. There had been an unreadable expression on his face, and then he’d pulled away. That was a week before, and she was sure that she’d scared him away.

She tried to behave herself this time, remembering her arguments for trying to stay as unromantic with Zalgar as possible. Not to mention, Juliet didn’t want to be so forward that he grew irritated.

She rolled her ankle as his thumb brushed over the cut caused by an exposed tree root. His touch was always so shockingly gentle for someone who was once a warrior and still a fierce hunter. “This seems fine,” he mused, moving further up to her calves. Juliet hummed in agreement.

His thumbs moved in firm circles, massaging into her muscles. Her fingers dug into the sides of the chair, withholding from making any noises or further moving her legs. Slowly, he moved up past her knees, the scrapes and shallow cuts there long since healed and without scars.

“Anything else hurt?” Zalgar asked quietly. Juliet shook her head, and he responded with a firm nod. Fingers sliding up to her thighs, he went to the worst of the wounds. The skin that was there was still rough from where the straps burned her skin, but it didn’t hurt to the touch anymore. “And here?”

“Only when you press hard enough,” the blonde said honestly, frustrated when that statement caused him to stop drawing circles into the skin and leaving his warm hands resting on the skin instead. “I’ll be fine.”

Zalgar sighed. “You always say that,” he muttered, “You said that even when these wounds were fresh.” He went back to the now-empty bag and shoved the sap inside that he used for the burns. “We’ll take this, just in case. The rest is room for food. Fit what you can, while I clean the fish and prepare tonight’s meal.”

Juliet let her legs down, but his hands stayed at her thighs for just a moment longer. Before he could move away, she stopped him, one hand resting on his. “Wait,” she said, “Can you just tell me why you ran from the city?”

She looked down at their hands, not wanting to meet the glare that she knew he was giving her. It was the same glare he gave her the first time she brought it up. “I mean, you lost your friend and your fiancée for doing it, probably your whole family. Why’d you choose to give everything up to be by yourself?”

“I told you not to ask me about the city,” Zalgar said, voice low.

She sighed, looking up finally and brushing a hair away from her face. “I think, given the circumstances, you owe me some more information. What are you walking me into when we get to the city? Why do they want you back so bad?”

His eyes looked at her, pained. “None of that is important to getting you out of here.”

“I think it is,” Juliet persisted, though she tried to keep her tone gentle, “I’ve told you everything that you’ve ever asked me. Why can’t you do the same?”

There was a moment of hesitation, a moment where Juliet thought he was really going to tell her what happened, something about his past, and why he decided to pick loneliness over the life he had before. But then he fully sat up, sliding his hand out from under hers, away from Juliet. “We’re done talking about this. I need to go start on dinner.”

Juliet stood up with him, knocking over the chair. “But-”

“If you try to talk about it again,” Zalgar warned, “You’ll find yourself out of here and navigating your own way to the city.”

She scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. Juliet wanted to call him on his bluff. They had only had each other for the past month, and while she needed Zalgar in ways of physical survival, things like getting food and shelter and starting fires, she knew that she had helped him too.

He was happy to have someone there, was growing warmer to her every day. He made her smile, too, made her happy to have company, and that was something that very few of her friends could do back home. Her own
boyfriend
hadn’t been able to do that.

“You wouldn’t.”

“You want to bet?” he challenged.

“Yes, I do,” Juliet said bravely, “You wouldn’t do that.”

“And what makes you say that?”

She didn’t expect him to ask her that. Juliet expected a refusal or some acceptance of what she was saying, not further inquiry. Even her answer was completely unexpected, Juliet not thinking before the words came out of her mouth. “The way you’re looking at me right now. The way you looked at me down at the river.”

“Wha-”

“You almost kissed me,” she went on. Her heart was racing, while her mind was yelling at her to stop talking about these things, reminding her that she was crossing a line that they would be stupid to cross. “I thought it was just me at first, but you were leaning in too, I know it. You like having me around, whether as a friend or… Or… As something else.”

Zalgar didn’t respond, and Juliet was almost afraid that she was wrong. Had she really imagined it, the leaning in, how he grew hard every morning while curling his body around hers? Had she imagined the friendship, too? The camaraderie?

She was almost ready for him to follow through on his threat of making her go out on her own. But then, he gave her another unexpected reaction. In one smooth movement, Zalgar was closing the distance between them, his hands wrapping around her waist and pulling Juliet tightly against his body.

She gasped, her arms finding their way around his neck. Juliet didn’t see who leaned in more that time, their lips crashing together, battling for dominance. While kissing Zalgar, the human female didn’t think she’d felt more relaxed in the past month. She was completely absorbed in his touch, how strong and muscular his arms felt as they tightened around her, trying to keep Juliet as close as possible.

She didn’t think about anything past the way his lips smashed against hers with a burning passion that Juliet had yet to experience in her short life. Juliet didn’t think about the fact that she was still stranded, that they had been found out, and that there were very slim chances of her getting home alive. In Zalgar’s arms, she felt safe.

One of his hands moved down over her hips and to her thigh. With one rough movement, he hiked her leg up to his hip, then did so with the other. Juliet could feel his hardened length pressing firmly into her, and she pressed back against him, moaning into his mouth.

Her hands moved up into his dark hair, untying it from the bun that he had it constantly put up in. Zalgar’s tresses fell down just an inch short of his shoulders, and her fingers eagerly tangled themselves up in them.

So caught up in the kiss, she didn’t realize that he was laying her down on the fur blankets until she felt something soft against the back of her arms. Juliet pulled away to breathe, smirking softly when she saw Zalgar’s face, his eyes blackened with lust and lips red, swollen from their rough kissing. Juliet had never seen a sexier sight. “I thought you needed to make dinner,” she said breathlessly.

The alien growled, taking her hands and holding them firmly above her head as his hips continued to press into hers. Juliet could feel through the few layers of clothing between them that he was big, bigger than Simon, or any other Earthling boy she’d been with before. She realized that when she’d first felt him against her, waking up in the morning next to him.

Juliet moaned at the thought of it now, wanting him to take her completely, fuck her into the furs that they’d shared for the past weeks. Zalgar seemed to share the same thoughts. “I’ve been wanting this for too long,” he murmured, dipping his head low and biting at Juliet’s ear lobe, “I’ve resisted… For
so
long…”

“Why?” she asked breathlessly, squirming beneath him.

He chuckled low in her ear just as her hips pressed up into his. “A hunter is always patient,” Zalgar replied, “When he’s patient enough, his prey will come to him.”

Juliet wanted to roll her eyes. They could have done this earlier, but it was in his nature to turn this into a sport? To wait it out and see her crumble? She remembered his challenge when she’d first told him that she wanted to keep a distance from him while they slept in bed together.
Good luck with that
. She should have kept her mouth shut, and then maybe he never would have challenged her, would never have held back just to prove a point.

After that, Zalgar didn’t play anymore games, and Juliet didn’t mind that at all. She felt the same hunger he did, like they were on fire and the only way to extinguish it would be to get as close to each other as they could be.

Juliet pulled at the strings on his vest, trying to get them untied as quickly as possible without further knotting it in the process. After a couple of minutes of fumbling, she finally had it unlaced, pushing it off his shoulders. By that time, he already had her shorts peeled off and thrown to the opposite side of the room, and took off her shirt the first chance he had after she finished with his top.

She wanted to examine his body, fingers dancing over Zalgar’s taught muscles. She marveled at the way their skin looked together, the contrast of his olive tone compared to her pink tone. But Juliet noticed she wasn’t half as pale as she had been before, tanned by days out in the wilderness and sun. A thin sheen of sweat covered him, glistening in the fire.

Juliet didn’t want to stop looking. Lifting her gaze, her blue eyes met his lilac ones, and she realized he’d been doing the exact same to her, looking over her body, admiring it, lusting after it even more.

“You’re beautiful,” he said in true amazement, “Are all humans this beautiful?”

Juliet laughed, lifting her head up to kiss him, appreciating the flattery. She knew she was good-looking on Earth, but right now she was covered in dirt and grime and sweat. Her hair was a mess, having only had her fingers as a brush for the past month, and she was stripped of any makeup or scented soaps. And yet Zalgar still found her beautiful in this raw, completely natural form of herself.

With her lips busy, she tried at the laces on his pants, untying them much easier than his vest. Zalgar assisted by pushing them down to his knees and off of his body, managing to keep their bodies as close as possible.

“Zalgar,” Juliet moaned, a plea for him now that their bare bodies were pressed together. He was so warm, so strong, and she didn’t want to stop this feeling, this feeling of being absolutely and completely safe. “Zalgar, please.”

He didn’t hesitate. His prey was begging for him, and with her body writhing beneath him with want, Juliet had him too distracted to say something clever or to gloat. Taking her thighs in his hands, he kept her legs firmly attached to either of his hips and pushed forward into Juliet’s warmth, joining them completely.

Juliet had never been so completely filled. She gasped, her fingers finding his shoulders and digging her nails into his skin. He started to move, sliding his cock back and forth, and her fingers raked all the way down to his ass, squeezing his cheeks in time with his thrusts. “Don’t stop,” Juliet murmured, “Oh God, please don’t stop.”