Page 23 of Theirs to Crave
She tugged at the bottom of the strange garment all the Humans wore, then bent, returning my greeting. She stumbled slightly, and I reached out to steady her.
Soft. She was furless, but her flesh was so supple. My fingers squeezed, feeling the give, then I pulled my hand away.No petting without permission, I chastised myself.
Her sibling with the impossible name said something in a worried voice, but Estrayuh responded without taking her eyes from me, and he settled.
I focused on my purpose. A purr of sympathy vibrated low in my chest as I noticed the shorn fur over her forehead. Spirits, how much had she suffered? I let my gaze linger on her engorged chest, then exaggerated my movements as I looked into the jungle around us. My ears were quirked inquisitively when I met her eyes again.
The expression on her face was...strange. Her mouth was open, showing off those small, flat teeth, and the tiny patches of fur above her eyes had lifted, almost joining her head fur.
I tried again, tracing my hand in front of my own, smaller breast, mimicking the outline of hers swollen with milk, and then lower, describing a belly full with child.
This time her expression was all too easy to recognize. That was definitely anger. Oh, no.
Chapter 7
Estrella
¿Qué chingados? Am I really being fat shamed by an alien? Now?!
I thrust out my chin. The effect was slightly ruined when I tried to cross my arms and winced, but I recovered and fisted my less-wounded hand on one very rounded hip instead. Savior or not, Litha could kiss my fat ass if they thought I’d put up with that kind of shit.
A picture of what that might look like flashed into my overtaxed brain, and heat rushed to my cheeks. I was getting delirious. Too much stress.Back to sanity land, Estrella, I urged myself, then had to swallow a laugh. No part of this scenario—bloody, battered, recently emancipated, and standing in an alien jungle—had any resemblance to sanity. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to ground myself.
Litha’s eyes widened, and they took a quick step back.
Ha. Some things didn’t need words.
My alien savior turned adversary tilted their head, cat-like ears flicking, and crept forward. When I only watched themwarily, Litha drew in a deep breath and raised an arm to try again.
I squinted. Litha only had the one arm. The other aliens—could I call them aliens when we were on their planet? Didn’t that makeusthe aliens?—had two arms each. Whether it was congenital or from an injury, it certainly hadn’t slowed them down any.
I blinked past the hazy memory of Litha leaping at me, bug blood thick on their snarling face.
What I wouldn’t give for a flashlight. The rain had let up for the moment, but it was still so dark that all I could make out were impressions. Size. Shape. They were big. Not fat—I scowled harder—but tall. Standing upright, Litha towered over me by several feet.
The clouds parted. Moonlight shimmered on Litha’s wet fur, which was...purple? Their long tail flicked behind them like an anxious cat’s, and I couldn’t look away from the hypnotic movement.
Litha made a noise, almost a coo, and touched their hand to their chest.
That hand had four fingers, including the thumb. And claws—although I remembered them being larger before. During the battle.
I watched the hand slide lower, my eyes widening as it cupped a small but definite breast, then ran across Litha’s flat stomach. I swallowed. Okay,thatgot a reaction. Setting that aside to freak out over later.
Claws sliced through the air between us, then Litha reached out, careful not to touch me as she outlined the more generouscurve of my chest. My eyebrows furrowed and I tilted my head as she bent her arm in an awkward “C” shape, making an exaggerated show of looking around while...chirping?
It was weirdly adorable, but I had no idea what the hell she was trying to convey. When I just followed her gaze, Litha growled in frustration.
Her teeth were just as big as I remembered.
“Vavailesha! Itsook ha’vavailesha setal?” Litha asked, pointing to me, Ria, and Cass, then spreading her fingers and indicating the jungle around us. Her tail whipped behind her.
“Uh, Estrella?” Cass panted a little—probably from pain and shock—but amusement was clear in her voice. “I think—I think Litha is asking about babies.”
I whipped my head around to stare at her and stumbled again. Pinche head wound. I caught myself, blinking stupidly.
“THEY WANT US TO HAVE BABIES?” Ok, that could have come out better.
“Ah, no. I don’t think so.” Cass was having trouble holding back the laughter now. “I think she’s askingif wehave babies. Because, you know,” she waved at her chest, “our boobs. At a guess, their women only look like us when they’re nursing.”