Venomous: Erotic Science Fiction Romance (Alien Warrior Book 1) by Penelope Fletcher

to growing pains, he’d looked down and fretted that her tight body would reject him once it grew to full size.
    To his relief his growth slowed, and he was sure with preparation she could take him in at least one of her vents.
    This calmed his fears she would suffer during his seeding.
    Already he could feel the fires heating his blood, the tightening of his sac.
    Am I pleasing to her view?
    His chest puffed out and he widened his stance to show his physique to its advantage.
    It was his wish that she took pleasure from examining his form with her eyes.
    She might grow bolder, and continue her exploratory perusal with her hands.
    He felt a dart of disappointment when his preening met with a shuffling of her feet, and an alarming heating of skin.
    Excessive touch was not a Rä trait, but he’d hoped his mate’s species took a more tactile approach to affection.
    “There is danger outside.” He pointed hoping his message would penetrate her uncertainty. “You must not leave my side.” He clasped her squashy hand between his then ducked his head to level their gazes.
    It was peculiar to look down on a female.
    Lowering his body to meet hers yielded a more natural result to his mind, which expected his female to be equal with him in all things.
    “Stay with me and no harm will come to you,” he promised squeezing her hand to physically convey his pledge of protection.
    At her return squeeze, he thought she understood him as her head bobbed in what he assumed was a gesticulation of agreement.
    She said something with an attitude that could be obedient, or highly offensive, who knew?
    He gave into an urge to run his claws through her cranial filaments.
    She shied at his touch, but did not stop him.
    Encouraged by her lack of trepidation, he feathered his finger pads though the soft mass, taking care not to sever the delicate strands with his claws.
    He kept his secondary hands behind his back, fighting the temptation to grab hold of her and explore to the content of his hearts.
    As she remained docile, so far as to lean into him, he broadened the contact to a gentle sweep of his knuckles across her cheek.
    It was an intimate gesture of affection most Rä’Vek indulged in after many solars of a happy union.
    It pleased him she did not flinch, or think him overzealous.
    She caught his hand and said something in her melodious voice.
    When he angled his head sideways to indicate amusement, she looked stressed and pointed to her stomach.
    Shapely legs crossed, she hopped from foot to foot.
    He realised she needed to expel wastewater, a function not inherent in Rä, but he’d witnessed in other species since his enslavement.
    Patting the juncture of her thighs to show he understood, he turned and shoved aside the heavy black rock.
    Dawn had yet to come.
    Moist air and the pungent scent of jungle billowed through the opening.
    A knife thrust from the shadows.
    He grabbed the shank aiming for his neck then yanked the malefactor close enough to wrap another hand around its throat.
    The emaciated Zozon squealed, its many eyes blinking in its sallow face.
    Zozon were a nonviolent species from a world with a lower point of gravity.
    Their planet’s temperate atmosphere and gentle terrain developed the bipeds physically inferior to the warrior species that originated from the more hostile worlds.
    Often the slaves forgot they came from nations of great honour.
    They had forgotten there was more to life than digging in the dirt, fighting for dominance, and trading flesh to mount or eat depending which hunger reigned fiercer.
    It should not have challenged him.
    Venomous snapped the Zozon ’s spindly neck then spun at his mate’s horrified shriek.
    Tensing, he expected her to fly at him in a fearsome rage.
    She kicked the unclean blade from the limp, three-fingered hand across the lair then looked to him, concerned for his wellbeing.
    The considerate reaction pleased him.
    A smile dawned, yet his mouth thinned at the last moment,