The Mad Lieutenant: The Lost Planet Series, Book Three Page 9

  Once the danger has passed, Draven carefully helps me to my feet. As he checks my suit and gear for damage, he explains, “Rocks, debris from the mountain that broke off during the geostorms. We must be careful. If I tell you to get down, you get down without hesitating. Will you do this for me?”

  His voice is urgent, pleading. Recognizing his desperation as fear for my safety, I nod. “Of course. As long as you don’t put yourself in any danger either.”

  Draven leans closer to press the face of his gear against mine. I close my eyes and imagine him holding me like he had the night before. “I have no desire to meet The Eternals, Molly. Not anymore.”

  I read the gravity of his words in his eyes and tears spring to mine before I push the rush of emotion down and back. Not now. I couldn’t save my own child, but I will save Aria’s. “Later,” I tell him. “Let’s get out of this mess, and then we’ll do the dirty.”

  Draven winces comically. “Dirty?” he asks with a shudder. “Must we?”

  Despite the precariousness of our situation and the constant howl and threat from the flying rocks, I laugh. “Sex, Draven. Sex.”

  He quirks his head then turns around. “We morts do not like getting dirty. Dirt contains germs and can be dangerous. But I agree that mating can sometimes be so.” He glances over his shoulder and gives me a heated look. “I’ll get dirty, but only for you, my mate.”

  “Then, let’s get going and get to the other side.”

  We travel for hours more, dodging missiles of jagged rock. Out of nowhere, Draven is struck by a boulder the size of a small squirrel. He flips, ass over tea kettle, and lands some dozen feet away, still for a few long, heart-wrenching moments. Still holding the tether, I inch my way toward his still body, my heart in my throat.

  When I reach him, I huddle down and shake his shoulder. “Draven?” I say over the comms. “Draven, are you okay?”

  He doesn’t respond. My heart lurches into my throat. “Draven!”

  “Mortarekker, I must be getting old. I couldn’t move fast enough.”

  I melt over him like a pile of hot wax. “You scared me. Are you hurt?”

  “My pride is a bit bruised, but I am well.” Holding the tether for balance, he gets to his feet with a groan. “We must keep going, or we’ll be here when it gets dark.”

  “Oh no, uh-uh, no, sir. We’re not going anywhere if you’re hurt. We can find somewhere to stay for the night and let you rest.”

  Draven gestures around us at our dusty surroundings. “Where would you suggest? The vacuu-pod would blow away in seconds. We must keep going.”

  He starts to leave again, and I plant my feet until he looks back at me in frustration. “We will keep going until we find a suitable place for shelter, and then we’ll stop for the night.” When he glares at me, I add, “Either we find a place for shelter or I’ll sit my happy ass down right here and won’t move another inch.”

  Instead of getting mad, like I expect, Draven smiles at me, which makes me a little uneasy until he says, “My mate is a fighter. I like this. Fine. We’ll keep going until we find a suitable place for the vacuu-pod.”

  I didn’t really expect him to agree with me, so he’s already gone several feet ahead by the time I catch up with him. The winds seem to increase in intensity the longer the day grows until we’re nearly leaning forward to touch the ground in the effort to keep upright. Each step only brings us precious inches forward, and I’m already regretting my stubbornness. Finding shelter in this desolate place when we can barely see will be next to impossible.

  Eventually Draven directs me to inspect the right side of the crevasse while he canvases the left. Unable to see through the thick sheets of dust, I have to rely on touch through the padded gloves. Even holding my hand out to palpate the rock walls on my side proves difficult with the gusting wind, but I force myself to do it.

  For Draven.

  I’m humming another song to myself some time later when my hand suddenly disappears into nothingness, and I fall to the side, pushed by momentum and the relentless gusts. A scream tears from my throat as I tumble into darkness and crash to the ground with a breath-stealing flump.

  The comms fill with Draven’s shouted, “Molllyyyyy!”

  My bones and joints aching from the impact, I lie there for a moment until I get my bearings. When I can speak, I say, “I’m okay, but I think I’ve found our cave.”

  “Stay there,” Draven instructs. “I’m coming.”

  As I wait for him to backtrack and reach the opening of the cave, I look around to see where exactly there is. It’s less of a cave and more of a passageway, really. A crevasse inside the crevasse. The floor is covered in inches of the red-orange dust and the walls are a solid granite-looking rock of ebony, glossy and glittering with shards of lighter rock. A blue light beckons from the far end of the passage, a beacon in all the crimson.

  Draven joins me a short while later. “Are you all right?” Before I can answer, he’s crossing the small space to my side where he carefully inspects my suit. I wait patiently until he’s done, understanding his need for reassurance. “You’ve done well.”

  “I don’t think this first room is big enough for the vacuu-pod, but if we follow the passage, we may find a bigger opening, and we’ll get farther away from all the dust.”

  “Follow me,” he says, heading toward the blue light.

  We make our way to the back of the passage, leaving the howling red glow from the crevasse behind. “What is this blue light?” I ask. “Have you ever seen anything like it before?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ll be careful in case there is anything dangerous. I will protect you.” He retrieves his zonnoblaster from his pack and holds it at the ready.

  I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing him say he’ll take care of me. I can protect myself, but it’s comforting to know I don’t have to do everything alone. With Draven as my mate, I won’t ever have to be alone again.

  The deeper we go into the mountain, the brighter the blue light glows. Dual threads of apprehension and excitement weave themselves inside me. It could be some sort of ship. Maybe we could use it to find Willow. I dismiss the thought before it can completely form. Willow is gone. There will be no saving her.

  “Don’t worry, my mate. These caves feel abandoned.”

  “I’m not worried,” I answer.

  “You were singing your La-La song over the comms,” Draven responds.

  “I was not,” I snap.

  “You always La-La when you’re feeling anxious. There’s no need. We would have seen signs of other life if there were something living here.”

  “I do not sing when I’m anxious.”

  “That’s true,” he says as we round a curve and then another. “You sing when you’re happy, when you’re sad, when you’re working. Except you sing different tunes with each mood. You’re my little songbird.”

  “Shut it, Lieutenant, and keep walking.”

  “Yes, mate,” he answers, and even though I can’t see his face, I can hear the smile in his voice over the comms.

  When there is no more dust and the sound of the howling wind can no longer be heard, Draven comes to an abrupt stop. I slam into his back, but his great form doesn’t even jolt.

  “What is it?” I ask. Then, I look around his shoulder and gasp.

  The passageway dead-ends at an immense cavern filled will brilliant turquoise water.

  “A pool!”

  A beautiful, glimmering pool. After the long, dusty walk through the crevasse and days of staring at the barren, desert-like landscape of the planet surrounding the facility, I’d almost forgotten how beautiful water can be. The blue glow seems to be emanating from the water itself.

  I automatically go to take a step toward it when Draven tugs at my arm. “What? It’s gorgeous.”

  “We don’t know if it’s contaminated. Before we do anything, let’s set up the vacuu-pod, and I’ll measure the R-levels.”

  With a mournful look at
the shimmering pool, I follow Draven across the cavern to a smooth patch of gravel beach deep inside. As Draven sets up the vacuu-pod, I study our surroundings and find the pool of water isn’t the only thing different. I’d been so distracted by the water, I didn’t notice the myriad of plant life blooming from the most unlikely places. Cracks in the black rock. Streamers of dark blue seaweed fluttering under the surface.

  Once Draven finishes setting up the vacuu-pod, he joins me, also in awe of the cavern. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “You’ve never been here before?” I ask, stepping closer to the pool.

  “We tend to stick near to facility. It’s safer.” He pulls a device out of his pack. “Let me check the R-levels here.”

  “Are you sure I can’t go swimming?”

  “Not unless you want to catch a disease.”

  I slump and sit at the entrance of the vacuu-pod as I watch him take samples from the gravel, the water, the air, and even the plant life. He shakes his head each time, his brow furrowed.

  “What is it?”

  “This place…it’s as though it’s untouched. Life flourishes here. These plants, this water, I’ve never seen R-levels so low. I have to take these samples back for Galen to study. I don’t know what it means, but he will.”

  When he’s finished, I tug him inside the vacuu-pod. As much as I want to take a dip in the pool, we have a goal and we’re both exhausted. “Maybe we can come back to take more samples. Bring Galen to study. If he gives the okay, maybe we can even come back to go swimming. The dust storm out there would be worth it if we could go swimming.”

  “You are fearless, aren’t you, Molly mate?” Draven says as he pulls off both of our gear.

  “Only with you,” I answer.

  In minutes we’re bundled in the thin blankets, Draven tucking me under his chin and pulling me close. “And I with you,” I hear before succumbing to sleep.

  12

  Draven

  I wake warm—too warm—and with my cock hard. Judging by the way I feel, I would say we’ve only been asleep for a few hours. I doubt the sun has come up yet. I should go back to sleep, but then I realize why my cock is hard. Hot lips kiss the side of my neck as my mate strokes at me through my unders.

  “You must get some rest,” I murmur, my voice thick from sleep.

  Her words are warm against my neck. “I’ll rest better if I’m…you know…”

  “Relaxed from the toxica?”

  “Yes. My mind is racing.”

  I roll her onto her back and kiss her in the blue glow from the nearby pool that’s visible through the window of our small vacuu-pod. It takes some wriggling, but we manage to undress completely. There’s not much room to service her like I wish with my mouth, so I have to settle for my fingers. I retract my claws as not to hurt her and massage her nub that vibrates with need. Easily, I work her up into a state that has her crying out my name. Then, I press the head of my thickness against her slick opening. With a hard push of my hips, I drive all the way into the depths of my mate. Her body is tight, hot, and hugs me in a way that makes me nearly feral with the need to claim her with my seed.

  A snarl leaves my lips as I buck into her. Her useless claws scratch at my scarred skin and moans rip from her throat. I attack her supple lips, relishing in the sweet taste of her. She likes sliding her tongue in between the groove of my forked tongue, which seems to make my cock twitch with delight.

  “Oh God,” she whimpers. “Harder.”

  I slam into her with a desperate fury. Her nog thunks against the vacuu-pod wall, making her giggle. With each laugh, her cunt clenches around me.

  Not ready.

  I’m not done devouring her.

  My lips find her neck, and I suckle her skin there. She whines when my fangs scrape along her flesh. The urge to bite her is nearly overwhelming. All of Calix’s and Avrell’s training is at the forefront of my mind. Diseases. Pathogens. Germs. None of that matters with Molly. If she has something, I want it too. Where she goes, I go. Even to The Eternals.

  “Harderharderharder,” she chants, her fingers sliding into my hair. She tugs at it and cries out, “Do it.”

  My mind grows black with lust and need as my fangs pierce her flesh. She moans loudly, her feet digging into my backside. The moment her blood floods across my tongue, I feel as though The Rades has overtaken me again. But instead of those monsters inside my nog, it’s my mate’s sweet moans that fill me up. I suck at the wound I’ve made before pulling away, so I can look at her. She cradles my cheeks with her palms and locks eyes with me. We remain transfixed on one another until my sac seizes up in pleasure, and I explode with my release. My cock spurts out every drop of my seed, filling my mate with what I hope is a little mortling of our own one solar.

  The toxica hits her blood stream, and her grip on my cheeks slips. I pull out, my cock still leaking at the tip, and take hold of her wrists. I kiss the insides of her palms. One and then the other. Then, I pin her arms down as I rain kisses down on her perfect face. She lets out a content sigh. Her eyes aren’t wild or confused. She’s sated and happy.

  I did this.

  I pleased my mate.

  Kiss after kiss, I reassure her she’s mine, and I’ll always take care of her. Eventually, I grow tired again and settle beside her. The last thing I remember before falling asleep is her fingertips gently brushing along my scars as she regained her movement after the toxica.

  “Rest my mate,” she whispers.

  ***

  Away from the refuge of the crevasse hidden in the mountain, my mind begins to clear some. The taboo feeling of what I did with Molly doesn’t seem to fade. If anything, I feel worse by the second. If Breccan and the others find out I bit my mate…

  Images of the reform cell below the facility make me shudder.

  I won’t go back.

  Molly wouldn’t allow it.

  That thought soothes me. She’s a fighter, my mate. Brave and resilient and beautiful. She is the sun, she is the sky, she is my everything.

  And she tastes so rekking good.

  I look over my shoulder and give her a wave. She grins through her mask and waves back. The winds are calmer this solar, but still brutal. Once reassured she’s still behind me, I keep trekking forward. I can’t help but think about the moment her blood hit my tongue. Sweet. So sweet. When we woke later, I’d felt shamed by the blood-crusted holes in her neck. All four of them. She’d simply gingerly touched them, her cheeks turning pink, telling me I was a kinky bastard. Whatever the rekk a kinky bastard is.

  Alas, it is true.

  I am this kinky bastard.

  Because the scene keeps replaying in my mind over and over. It makes my cock hard in my minnasuit beneath my zu-gear. Images of holding her down and biting her in other less conspicuous places has me groaning with need. Again, I look over my shoulder to make sure she’s safe. When our eyes meet, she’s no longer smiling.

  Fear.

  Pure, unfiltered fear.

  She points past me, her hand shaking against the wind.

  It’s her scream that does me in.

  “DRAVEN!”

  I’ve unsheathed my magknife and have already whipped around in time to see a sabrevipe tearing along the channel toward us. He’s large—fat even—and I wonder what he’s been feeding on to keep him so plump. His size is to my advantage, though.

  “Stay along the wall,” I roar to Molly as I cut through our link. I’ll need to be free to take down this massive beast.

  “Draven!” she cries out as her body hits the dirt.

  Now that we’re no longer tethered together, I prowl toward the sabrevipe that has stopped just ahead of me. It claws at the dirt and snarls at me. My eyes flicker up the side of the mountain wall.

  One. Two. Three.

  I count the handholds at my disposal. I’ll have to be quick. I cannot fail because if I do, it’ll get past me to my mate.

  Over my rekking dead body.

  I charge for
ward, my eyes on the beast while keeping the wall in my periphery. As soon as I’m close to the first handhold, I grab at it. I hoist myself up, my feet digging into the side of the mountain, then I hop to the next one that’s a little higher. Beneath me, the sabrevipe growls in confusion. I’ve just grabbed the third handhold when it darts its head back toward my cowering mate.

  No.

  Not happening, fat rekk.

  I drop from the handhold, so I land on the beast. It’s pink, hairless skin gets pierced with my magknife as my other arm wraps around its neck. It bucks, trying to shake me off, but I’m already pulling my magknife out again to stab it. Over and over in between its ribs. When it weakens and stumbles, I use my weight to force it down into submission. I land a fatal blow of my magknife into its ear.

  As soon as I’m certain it’s dead, I rise from its unmoving body and stalk after my mate. With a growl, I pick up the end of the rope in the dirt and roughly pull her to me. She stumbles but then rushes forward to keep up with my pulling. Once she lands hard against my chest, I let out a sigh of relief.

  “You’re safe now,” I rumble, squeezing her tight.

  “Draven, you scared the shit out of me,” she whimpers. “I thought you were going to die.”

  “We all go to The Eternals eventually, my mate. But not this rekking solar.”

  She pulls away slightly, and I tie us back together. The end is in sight, and after not too much longer, I pull her out of the mouth of the Gunteer Channel.

  The winds are gone now that we’re out of the crevasse that seems to suck air. What lies beyond confuses me.

  A valley.

  A green valley.

  I blink several times as I try to process the herds of rogcow munching on mosshay. It grows plentiful here. Even some trees I’ve never seen before grow within the valley, some ripe with fruit.

  Did the sabrevipe eat me?

  Have I gone to The Eternals?

  This is certainly unlike The Graveyard or any place I’ve ever seen on Mortuus.

  “It’s beautiful,” Molly whispers. “And the cows are here. Sokko will have his milk.” She lets out a tearful sob of relief as she unties the rope and walks forward to the nearest herd. Typically, the rogcows scatter when they see us morts coming, but not these. These beasts seem oblivious to the predator before them. They feed on the mosshay without care. Several ronk nearby.