Page 15 of Golden Darkness
He smirked. “My tongue compensates just fine.”
Chapter Four
Janessa shivered and stepped back, but he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back toward him. He bent low and kissed her, proving that his tongue could, indeed, act in a very mobile manner.
She was clinging to him; the marks on his body were a delightful topography she wanted to explore.
“Hmm. Well, as delightful as this is, we need to upgrade you to soft food, and by the end of the week, you should be on standard food.”
“So, we can get dressed now?”
He sighed. “As much as I would love to spend a few days or weeks with you, the ship needs to be righted, and we need to speak to your people.”
“Uh, that will be better coming from you.”
He frowned. “Why? Is our connection an issue?”
“Oh. Definitely, but I am mostly referring to the fact that they had to put me in a cubicle to keep the guys away from me on the transport out. I was going to be a large-vehicle driver or... something else. That gave some of the guys the wrong idea.”
He cocked his head. “Labour division along gender lines?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah. Very well, the captain and I will speak to them. If they agree to a few rules, they will remain free in the more relaxed areas of the ship... with trackers. I am not taking the chance of losing any more dangerous aliens in my ship.”
She frowned. “We are not very dangerous.”
He tapped her lips with a claw that wrapped around the tip of his finger but could extend when he wanted it to. “You are very dangerous, pet. I would destroy entire civilizations who dared to touch you. That makes you very dangerous indeed.”
“You... what?” She was stunned, and he left her standing in the bathroom while he got their clothing from the cabinet.
Janessa fought to get into the toga, and he got dressed and then helped her. He walked to her and got her arms through the wrists, and then he looked at her and cocked his head. “I think I have something for you.”
He walked into the bedroom, and on the far side of the large space, he ran his hand along the wall. A drawer extended, and he pulled out a length of heavy chain and walked back to her. The chain was covered with gems, and he looped it around her waist, connecting one end back to the chain.
The bright gold against the black was distinctive. She looked at him and smirked. “So, this is your colour scheme?”
He smiled. “The dark fabric allows you to be comfortable but conceals your body. If you want a light and bright colour that is transparent, we can do that as well.”
She blushed. “Sorry, Kethen.”
He sighed and picked her up. “I do not do things for fashion, but I think that dressing you in a version of my colour for the day will make it easier to keep folk from interfering with you.”
He walked out of his quarters and past some of the Kethic crewmen and women. They looked at Kethen, their eyes widened, and they grinned.
They passed a dozen more, and she finally had to ask, “What are they seeing that I don’t see?”
She looked up at him, and he had a slight smile on his face.
“I do not look like I want to eat the crew. That is new for me.”
Janessa blinked. “You are kidding, right?”
“Partially. They see in a spectrum of energy in me that you will acquire over time. I have energy in my system that I did not have before. I have always been strong, but now, I am becoming powerful, and my people are happy about it.”
Janessa looked away. “Wait, they can see that you got laid?”
“Mated. It is mating when you do it like we did.” He lightly squeezed her. “And linking when I can work myself all the way in. That is when the power transfer between us will be capable of starting another life. I am in no rush there, though. The longer I can have you to myself, the happier I will be.”