The Alien Commander's Surrogate

Episode Twenty-Three

Salex

I was acting like a lovesick youngling with his first crush when it came to Hillary. I'd walked past her door a half dozen times today, even though I had no real excuse to be on this side of the ship. At least not right now. It was even more ironic since Ghantlan was over by my office doing some calculations for me.

And now I was standing outside his door once again. I knew she was in there, I'm not completely sure how. But the closer I was to his rooms, well their shared rooms, the more settled I was. And while I knew it was certifiably insane, patrolling where she rested with my youngling in her belly soothed a need in my core that I had been struggling to deal with the past few days.

But I couldn't ignore her any longer. She'd gone around Ghantlan this past time, messaging me directly through her tablet and thanking me for the clothing. I had read the message at least five times before replying, making sure that I kept my eagerness as recessive as possible when I suggested that we meet up in person today.

She needed me. I needed her. I could feel it in the ache of my bones, the blur that threatened my mind.

Cementing that into my mind, I raised a first and knocked lightly on the door. Even from here, her scent was thicker, more potent and I swallowed it down, as I listened to the footsteps on the other side of the door. They were faint, light. Hers.

The door whooshed open and something clicked into place as her wide-eyed gaze met mine. But instead of the things I'd been planning to say, all those times I'd practiced as I walked these halls, flew straight out of my mind. Instead my voice came out a low growl.

"Did you check who was outside your room before you opened the door?"

Hillary's face falls and she steps back, crossing her arms. "No."

"What if I had been dangerous? Feral?" I wanted her to be scared, to understand how close I was to losing control. What it might mean if I gave into the instincts that screamed at me every moment of every part of the day? But instead, she only sighed, the sweetness of her breath washing over me as I held myself in barely in check.

A single dark brow lifts sardonically. "Are you feral? Dangerous?"

I stepped over the threshold, crowding into her space with ease. I see her eyes shift again, growing dark. "Little one, I may not be feral, yet, but being around you is pushing me ever closer. And to be clear, I've always been dangerous."

"Not to me. Right?" Her eyes narrowed and my chest fell a little.

"I could never hurt you."

Her face softened, "Problem solved. Now do you want to come in or not?"

I pressed in, a hand circling her waist while my other dropped to cup the curve of her belly. "To be clear, everyone on this ship is a threat in my mind. Anyone and everything, and they will remain a threat until I can get you safely to Trenzia."

Her forehead dropped forward and I can feel the way her breathing rattled out against my skin. "If we get to Trenzian."

The deep v-neck of my tunic is gaping and her warmth breath brings life back to my skin. My thumb moves a little against the curve of her belly. "We will get there," My hands move as if of their own mind, one curling around that little pointed chin and pulling up until her blue eyes are boring into mine. "I will not fail you."

Hillary sighed, the sound a little gasping as my chin ducks. "Salex?"

"Shh," I whispered, leaning over her, "Let me give you what you need."

AUTHORS NOTE:

Steam coming in the next chapter....brace yourself :P