Jaxar
Chapter 8

Jaxar: Twelve

hours.

Jaxar had raced ticking clocks before, restarted failed engines moments before life support failed, but the pressure of dwindling time had never caused his palms to sweat.

He started with food. Everyone had to eat, and he wanted his mate in the best possible mood and intended to ply her with a decadent meal. Knocking briskly on the door of her abode, he waited exactly five seconds before opening. "Come with me," he said.

Esme, the other female, stood on the other side of the door, hair wrapped in a towel and face covered in a green substance. "Van! Your alien is being creepy again," she called, walking away from the door.

"He's not my alien-" Vanessa emerged, face also encased in green. She wore an oversized tunic not long enough to cover anything below the waist and black undergarments. He approved. "Is that a cow?"

Jaxar held up his bundle, presenting the sliced roast. "No. It is buwch." He prepared it with a spice rub that his cousin, Stanelle, swore by. While he could gnaw on ration bars when hungry, he preferred to cook for himself but the meals he made were not so elaborate. "I wish to converse."

"With meat?"

"I thought you would enjoy sharing a meal while we converse."

One corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement and the slight expression sent a burst of tingly, charged excitement through him. It was not the searing, live-wire pleasure like when they kissed, but more of a small jolt of static electricity. Still enjoyable and he wanted more: more touches, more kisses, more half-smiles.

"I brought other items, in addition to my meat." He twisted slightly, revealing the hamper that hung over his shoulder on a strap.

The other female chortled, just beyond his line of sight.

"Sure. Let me get this mask off and maybe put on some pants." She gestured to the kitchen and vanished into another room.

He did not mind her attire or lack thereof-but kept that opinion to himself. Working efficiently, he spread out a blanket on the floor and emptied out the contents of the hamper. Originally, he planned for a picnic and brought a variety of dishes best served cold. They could recline on a blanket and watch the stars emerge as the sky transitioned from day to night, but rain required that he modify his plan.

He pushed furniture against the walls to make room and added pillows around the blanket for comfort. Voices from another room showed him how much time he had to prepare. He pulled out the wine glasses just as Vanessa returned to the room. "Something wrong with my table?" she asked.

"We're having a picnic," he said. The idea did not originate with him. Nakia had planted the seeds when she wistfully talked about picnics in the park with her family.

"I can see that." Vanessa gracefully sank to the ground and arranged a small pile of pillows behind her back. "I would ask if you brought enough for everyone, but you brought enough to feed an army."

Jaxar grinned. He had some idea of the foods Vanessa enjoyed, but he wanted to exhibit the wide selection available on his ship. "Every bite is from the Judgment."

"That's your ship, right? Is that pineapple?" Vanessa reached for the container of the golden sweet, chunky fruit.

"A worthy foe." He liked the challenge of dissecting the prickly fruit. "I enjoy a snack that fights back." That comment won him another half-smile.

"Did you

I make everything yourself?" She opened the container of cherries soaked in alcohol, then dipped in chocolate. "Oh my God." She inhaled the aroma, her eyelashes fluttering, licked her lips, and popped a cherry in her mouth. "Oh my God. So good," she moaned, and his cock twitched.

"The ship's cook is responsible for those. It is a favorite of the warlord's mate,” he said.

"I haven't had cherries in months." She plucked a second cherry from the container, closing her eyes as she bit into it slowly.

He split a fresh roll, still warm from the oven, and added a slice of buwch and a dab of spicy-sweet relish that complimented the flavor of the meat. He held out the morsel to her.

She hesitated before accepting. "You wanted to talk," she said.

Jaxar grinned, entirely too pleased to see the female he desired to claim as his mate, eat the sustenance he prepared. "Is the meal pleasing?"

"It's leagues better than what they serve in the cafeteria. I mean, it's hot and has the correct number of calories and vitamins to be nutritional, but it's not chocolate-dipped cherries."

"The Judgment grows its own fruit and vegetables, so there will always be cherries and pineapples." And anything else she craved.

"Are you seducing me with fresh fruit?"

"Is it working?"

She failed to answer but accepted the chunk of pineapple he offered, the sticky juice dripping down his fingers.

Bit by bit, mouthful by mouthful, he fed her, sometimes by hand, sometimes by holding out a spoon, and finding great pleasure in the way she leaned forward to lick clean the spoon. He could watch her pink tongue lick her lips all day. An alarm chimed on his comm unit. "Come outside. There is something I wish to show you.”

Vanessa wrapped herself in a throw blanket procured from the back of a chair and joined him on the front porch. The rain had departed, revealing a clear night sky.

The second alarm chimed, and golden lights flared in the sky. Vanessa stiffened but relaxed as the golden light spread like honey, forming a dome over the crater that housed the colony and all its buildings. The dome coalesced into a hexagon pattern, then faded.

"A shield?" she asked.

"A shield," he confirmed. Currently invisible, the dome remained in place and would spark to life the moment impact happened. A code allowed ships clearance without issue. "The shield can withstand a prolonged bombardment." Vanessa hummed in understanding. In a future raid, the shield provided time for the civilians to reach shelters and for the Mahdfel to arrive. No more days of bombings, hiding in underground warrens.

"I am going to ask you a question now, but I want you to always feel safe, no matter your answer," he said.

"Oh, Jaxar, I don't think that's a good "

"Vanessa," he said, talking over her protest. He took her hand and her breath hitched. She grew pale in the moonlight, no doubt from excitement. She practically vibrated and he could hear her heart race. "My parents were a love match. My father knew my mother for one day before he claimed her as his mate. I never had the chance to ask them how they knew. They passed when I was young, but my uncle told me that my mother always said she knew in an instant. Meeting my father was like lightning striking her heart."

"That's a lovely story but-"

"I always wanted the same, to meet a female who struck my heart like lightning, but it never happened. I despaired. But when I met you, it was like a bomb blast." He grinned, pleased with his imagery.

He pulled her close, their bodies fitting against each other. Lightning coiled in him, flaring where they touched and begging to be unchained. His lips claimed hers and she melted into him.

She tasted sweet, of liquor and fruit. The scent of her, earthy and rich, filled his senses. Each touch was a jolt, a spark that burned brightly, and he needed more. The way her body responded to his told Jaxar that while Vanessa's heart still mourned her lost mate, there was a future for them.

The lightning inside him spread along his skin, illuminating his tattoos in a gratifying burn. Her heart thundered, the sound of it setting the pace for his own heart. He matched her beat for beat, lightning strike for lightning strike. Vanessa:

Clearly, the alien could not read body language. No part of her racing heart and stiff posture screamed, "Kiss me now!" But he did and holy hell was he was a fantastic kisser. Doubt and worry emptied right out of her head as her body forgot it was on the edge of panic. Full of fruit and chocolate and the best meal she had since leaving Earth, she craved a different type of dessert. If seduction before he shipped out was his intention, job well done. Consider her seduced. He nuzzled her neck, his fangs scraping over the sensitive skin. She stiffened and tried to pull away, but his arms held her tight. "No," she said.

His tongue traced the cords of her neck, removing the threat of a bite. She relaxed into the sensation as he covered her jaw with kisses and tugged lightly on her earlobe.

One night. She could do that. One night to be appreciated, to be worshipped in the way his eyes had promised as he hand-fed her. Her fingers brushed the glowing tattoos that peaked out from underneath the collar of his shirt. She believed she would never see that particular phenomenon again.

"I leave in less than eleven hours," he said, voice thick.

"Okay," she said, relieved to find the weight of her secret gone. He didn't need to know her complete medical history, didn't need to know how she was broken, because he was leaving in a few hours.

He cupped the side of her face, his rough hand cradling her with care as he peered into her eyes. This wasn't a long-term thing and they'd be ridiculous to pretend otherwise, he seemed to say with his warm gaze. The stars sang. "Come with me. Be my mate," he said.

The music that surrounded them vanished, leaving behind the hollow whistle of air swirling in the crater. Vanessa planted both hands on his solid chest and pushed away.

"No," she answered.