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

setting the warmth into cold dark.
    It was not care she displayed, but self-preservation.
    She realises my worth to her survival at least.
    Nonetheless, impressed by her practical response to a threat, he knelt to shove aside the dead, floppy head.
    Using a talon, he sliced under pallid flesh and removed its translator.
    The one his alien mate wore was a newer model, but it wasn’t programmed with the languages of the slaves, nor programmed to communicate with his own device, so he could at least comprehend some of her words.
    He needed her to understand him, and wanted to understand her, so he could better care for her needs.
    Disturbed by the stink of the dead, he picked the Zozon up by its foot then tossed it out of the lair into the jungle.
    Other gladiators would appreciate the meat.
    Feet pounded and sent vibrations into the soil as opportunists who waited to see the outcome scattered.
    A blur darted past the liar entrance.
    The Zozon carcass was gone.
    Venomous sealed the exit then gestured his Rä’Na closer.
    She hesitated only long enough for his dual hearts to thump thrice, and stopped closer to his body than before.
    The signs of acceptance were satisfying.
    He clasped her chin and turned her head.
    Seeming to understand his intentions, she pushed her filaments back to bare her rounded ear.
    Treating her flesh as the most precious fleck of gold, Venomous used a claw to slice open her skin then plucked out the disc shaped translator.
    She whimpered, so he rumbled soothingly.
    After licking it clean, he replaced the old with the one he’d pulled from the Zozon.
    It concerned him her skin did not seal itself.
    He laved her bleeding flesh with his tongue, holding her chin tighter when she gasped and jerked.
    “If you were Rä my saliva would cleanse and heal you,” he lamented. “I can only hope this provides comfort.”
    Her gaze locked with his as she smiled. “Understood you!”
    Venomous grinned back, and tried not to feel discouraged when she paled and flinched.
    Why do my smiles distress her?
    He replied, “As I now understand you.”
    She touched under her ear. “Happy we talk.”
    “I am He, Venomous One.” His voice was gruffer than intended. Emotion swelled in his chest at the importance of the moment. He was to learn his mate’s name. “What do your people call you?”
    “Am Lumen Young.” She stuck out her hand. “Call Lumen.”
    He clasped the breakable appendage between his own, sensing she wanted to ritualise this greeting.
    It felt odd, they had already mated and bonded, but he would do whatever made her happy and feel secure.
    “Lumen,” he murmured.
    A strong sounding name, but he didn’t know what it meant and it was short.
    It did not describe her hatching nor the traits her kindred hoped to nurture within her.
    No matter, she was his .
    She, Lumen of the Stars he would call her.
    While he felt uncertain if she deserved the honour of the name, a deeper drive from within compelled him to bestow it.
    “What species are you?” he asked. “I have never seen your kind.”
    “Am human.” She looked him over. Lost colour as her gaze lowered. “You?”
    “I hatched in the Northern province of Rök. I am of the Warriors Guild.” He boasted, but only in wanting her to know she was well protected. “I was a’Rä. As your mate, I am now Rä’Vek.”
    Her expressive eyes widened and jerked to meet his. “Mate?”
    What happened between them had been definitive and needed no explaining.
    He tilted his head, amused at her shock. “I always felt an affinity for the masculine, but no female called forth my stem. Then you. Now I grow stronger until my seeding.” He was so curious about her. He wanted to touch but she seemed afraid. “What is your planet called?”
    “Earth.”
    Unoriginal.
    Younger civilisations tended to be so.
    Venomous tasted the air.
    Emotions too jumbled and numerous to isolate into a sole state of being.
    He scowled, unsure of what to do or say to appease her