She could also fully admit that to herself because ain’t no way in hell she would ever admit it to anyone else. Even Tasha couldn’t pull that information from her.

  She would keep walking and enjoy her view because soon, he would be gone. Then, all she’d have were these memories she created with him.

  An hour later, they came to a fallen tree trunk. Kien, placing one hand on the dead tree, leaped over the obstacle. She stood on the other side, out of breath and tried to work the logistics of climbing over the tree in her mind. Going around it wasn’t an option. The thicket of thorny vines tangled on either side of it made that impossible.

  Climb it is.

  She reached out to dig her fingers in the grooves of the tree and lifted a nurse shoe to brace against the side. Kien leaned over to hook a hand under her arm and lifted her up and around. It happened so quickly she didn’t have time to react. When he sat her feet on the ground she stood there in mute shock.

  She didn’t weigh that much, maybe one-hundred and twenty-five pounds, but it was the ease in which he’d handled her that left her swooning. No grunts, no groans, just a one-handed lift and she was over a five-foot structure.

  He hopped down and looked in the direction they’d been traveling. “We should be coming up on the lake.”

  “How deep is this lake?”

  Kien continued on, forcing himself through the foliage and she followed. “Deep enough for a spaceship. I should’ve asked if you know how to swim. If you can’t, I’ll make you a camp and you can wait for me here. I won’t be long.”

  “Again. I’m not missing out on seeing an alien spaceship.”

  He glanced back at her. “We’ve never had anyone beside us and the mechanics onboard. You’ll be our first official guest.”

  “You or the other guys have never had female company onboard?” Why had she asked that? Now she sounded all types of desperate.

  Kien shook his head. “We visit bedmates where they reside. Halo One is plain and simple.”

  Her heart dropped at hearing his words. Of course, he had women or “bedmates”. If his dating life that she’d witnessed on Earth was any indication, Kien probably had a small harem of them littered across the galaxy.

  Not my concern.

  Kien pushed through some bushes and stopped. “We’re here.”

  She joined him to stand in a clearing with a large lake. It looked like a hidden gem. While there weren’t any fishermen at the moment, she guessed during the mornings, there would be more than one boat floating on the tranquil lake with the men inside casting their reels over the side. But because of the late hour, the sun less than an hour from setting, the lake was still and quiet and they were alone.

  “Are you sure this is it?”

  Kien studied the device in his hand. “This is it. I have a strong signal coming from the middle of the lake.” He turned to look at her. “How good are you at holding your breath?”

  “I was on my junior high school’s synchronized swim team.” She glanced around. “This lake is a nice size but not so big I would have to worry about a current or anything like that. It’s probably about twenty feet deep.”

  Kien squatted and pulled the trash bags from his backpack and stuffed their bags inside. He tied them into knots. He kicked off his shoes and stripped to his underwear and she did the same. He put their clothes into another bag and also knotted it.

  “You hold the bags and I’ll hold you,” he said.

  “But I can swim.”

  “I’m sure you can, but I can go faster, even while holding you, and I know where the entry hatch is. We’ll get there in no time at all.”

  Nisha bit her lower lip and looked at the lake. Holding his breath for two or three minutes might not be a thing for him, but for her? She would be struggling at the minute mark. It had been a while since she’d had to hold her breath for more than a minute.

  Kien watched her. “Humans can hold their breath comfortably for thirty to ninety seconds. I looked it up before we came. If I hold you, I think I can get us to the hatch within a minute. You on your own wouldn’t reach it within ninety seconds.”

  “Okay. I trust you.” Nisha took a gulping breath. Kien wouldn’t let her drown. “If I’m struggling, you’ll take me back to the surface?”

  He gave her a nod. “I’ve got you.”

  AND HE MEANT THOSE words. He had her.

  Kien cradled and handled Nisha as if she were the most precious cargo in the world, because she was. While she clutched their bags and buried her face in his chest, Kien held her tightly and kicked his way toward the hatch. It was easy to spot his spaceship when he’d reached the ten feet mark.

  Although the ship was cloaked, he knew the tell-tail signs of it. While the lake teamed with fish and vegetation, there was a void where the ship was. The murky waters of the lake reflected back at him.

  He pushed ahead as Nisha’s nails dug into his arm. She was running out of air. They were so close. He kicked faster and harder to finally reach the hatch. Once there, he pressed his palm against the hidden key. It illuminated when it registered his handprint. He input the secure sequence of keys and the door slid open. Nisha hit his arm in a panic.

  Kien pushed inside the water-filled compartment. He slammed his hand on the inside panel and the door shut. He rubbed Nisha’s back, hopefully giving her comfort. After the door shut, the water began to drain. She dropped their bags and clutched him close. He held her tighter.

  Just a few more seconds.

  As soon as the water drained from the ceiling, he lifted her above his head. Even while his head was still under water, he could hear her gulping breaths of air.

  He held her there until the water drained past his head then brought her down to perch on his hip. She still took gulping breaths, and her eyes were full of panic.

  “Are you alright?”

  She nodded. Her wet hair plastered to her face and neck. Her long eyelashes still had water drops on them.

  “I didn’t think I would make it,” she said in a hoarse voice. “I overestimated how long I could hold my breath now. Junior high was a long time ago.”

  He ran a hand across her back again. He could feel the tremors of her straining muscles. “You did it. The hard part is over.”

  When the water was at his knees, he allowed her to slide from his grasp to stand. She leaned over, bracing her hands on her knees and coughed. After making sure she was fine, Kien went to the console that controlled the set of doors separating them from the rest of the ship. He input his code again and initiated the sequence that would wake up Halo One and bring the oxygen and temperature online.

  “It’s going to take a while for the ship to regain a comfortable temperature. It’ll be cold when we get in there. So, we’ll need to change into dry clothes right away, otherwise you’ll be in danger of getting hyperthermia.”

  He turned to glance at her to make sure she understood. She nodded even as her teeth chattered, and her lips turned blue. She was already experiencing the side effects of hyperthermia.

  As soon as the water drained, he opened the door. A blast of cold air hit them. Without the life support systems online, the temperature of the ship had dropped to the lake’s temperature.

  Kien pulled her firmly inside and let the chamber door shut behind them. He opened her bag first, retrieving her backpack. She tried to help him, but her hands shook, and she couldn’t firmly grasp anything. Kien pushed her hands aside and grabbed a rolled-up set of clothes that she had.

  He encouraged her to lean on him while he helped her into sweatpants and thick socks. He pulled a t-shirt then a sweatshirt over her wet hair. After he put her coat on and zipped it for her, he donned his dry clothes.

  Nisha tried to pick up her bag, but she couldn’t grasp it with shaking hands. Kien scooped her into his arms.

  “M-m-my b-bag.”

  “I’ll come back for it,” he said as he carried her through the narrow hallway of the ship. “I’m taking you to my room. It’s a much smaller space. It’ll warm up there quicker.”

  The ship was set to warm up the bridge and the living quarters first. When he got to his room, he pulled back the blanket on his bed and laid her inside. While she melted, going deeper under the cover, he initiated the heating mechanism under his mattress.

  Space was cold. While they had systems in place that kept their core body temperatures at an optimal level, each bed was equipped with a heating mechanism under it. The same system also controlled the temperature of the floor in his room.

  Nisha pulled back the blanket. “You need to get in too.”

  Kien paused. While he’d spent the last few nights wishing she would invite him into her bed, he wasn’t prepared for the actual action. He paused for seconds longer. His brain volleyed between panic and happiness at the same time. His chest tightened and his stomach flipped topsy-turvy.

  “C-come on. P-please. I n-need the extra body heat.”

  At hearing her stutter, he knew what he had to do. Kien slipped into the bed next to her. Nisha immediately curled next to him and let out a deep sigh.

  “So warm.”

  Chapter Nine

  Nisha didn’t fully know when her snuggling against Kien’s muscular body had turned from her trying to get warm, to something different altogether. One minute she was sighing softly at how warm and hard his body was, and the next, boom she was running her hands across every delectable muscle, and they were both naked.

  How the heck had they gotten naked so fast?

  She briefly remembered clothes being peeled off and thrown but nothing else besides their lips locked together the entire time.

  She should’ve cared about the situation, but she didn’t. Kien laying on top of her, with his lips on hers, was enough to make her forget about her ego and everything it currently tried to warn her against.

  Nisha succumbed to Kien as his wet kisses traveled down her neck, across her collarbone and to her chest. He whispered words in his language that made it clear why all of Point Breeze wanted to date him.

  Stop! This means nothing.

  She repeated the sentence in her head, attempting to decrease any blow to her self-esteem later on. Because while Kien’s soft lips grazed over her breasts and his tongue circled around them, she didn’t want to think about later on or the consequences of her actions in the present.

  Nisha pushed all doubts from her mind and arched her back in pleasure, pushing into his face more. His mouth became hungrier, tugging and kissing each nipple with need. Fire started to run through her veins, heat radiating from between her legs.

  She moved against Kien’s stomach and spread her legs wider, allowing him to fit better between them. Her clit pressed firmly against him, and she grabbed onto his hair, encouraging him onward. Kien delightedly ran his hands down Nisha’s arms and cupped her bottom, kneading it firmly.

  Her moans grew louder as the bulge between his legs became harder and thicker against her pussy.

  The press of his lips on her nipples was tight and commanding, just the way she liked it. “Kien,” she moaned in appreciation.

  Kien released her nipples and aligned himself against her intimate area. His hardness felt like a stone against her skin. She shuddered and let out a low moan as she dragged herself along its length. Nisha grabbed hold of his shoulders to steady herself, feeling the muscles in her nether region start to tense and release with each movement that they made together.

  “Can I taste you?” he asked hoarsely into her ear.

  She welcomed the thought. “Yes.”

  He slid his hand along her hip until he reached her intimate areas, parting them before pressing his finger over her engorged clit then dipping further. Her nails bit into his shoulder as she released a sound of pleasure, wanting more with every second that passed.

  Kien lingered at her opening, swirling in the wetness formed there. “Do you taste as good as you smell?”

  Before she could answer, he brought his wet fingers to his lips. He licked and sucked her wetness from his finger. He sighed deeply as his eyes fluttered closed. “Nothing can compare.”

  That’s what did her in. She reached a hand between their bodies. She hadn’t gotten to see it. But feel it was what she craved to do now. Nisha’s hand wrapped around his cock. Hot and hard as steel. She inhaled sharply. Her eyes widened.

  This is enormous.

  He wouldn’t fit, she was sure of it—but her hand couldn't help grazing the silky smoothness.

  Then. His. Cock. Vibrated.

  Nisha startled. “Whoa!”

  Kien chuckled. “I told you it vibrates.”

  She peered between their bodies. Her hand looked tiny compared to what she held in it. And there was no mistaking. It vibrated. “And no one questioned this?!”

  “Phate and Kien told me not to do it for the human females. But since you know about me...”

  One, she really didn’t want to hear about his fucking other women. Not right now. And two, she was more focused on this alien vibrator than the promise of getting her pussy licked.

  “How...how long can this go on?”

  Kien smirked. “Until you tell me to stop.”

  Nisha almost orgasmed on the spot. “Thank you, daddy,” she murmured as she spread her legs wider.

  As Kien lowered himself onto her, their skin met like fire. She felt an indescribable pleasure as she wrapped her legs around his waist while he pushed forward with each thrust. His cock vibrated ever so slightly, hitting all the right spots within her walls, sending shivers up her spine. It was slow but intoxicating.

  More.

  Nisha ran her fingernails down his back to his firm rear, gripping him tightly and pulling him closer. She shifted her hips to take in more of his length, the vibrations along her inner walls stirred sensations within her. “Oh shit,” she grunted, eyes rolling back in pleasure.

  “Are you okay?” he gasped.

  She clamped her legs around him and insisted, “I will let you know when it’s too much—I want to experience what that feels like.” White-hot arousal raced through her body as he resumed thrusting into her.

  She screamed loudly as her vision blackened briefly from the intensity of sensation; Kien stilled for a moment inside of her, allowing her to adjust to the size of him. How was she ever going to let this go?

  Her breath quickening, Nisha begged for more. He complied by plunging deep into her again and again. Every muscle in her body clenched as she could feel him working with complete control.

  Sweat glistened on his skin as they moved with perfect synchronization. Her stomach fluttered—it felt so right. His cock glided effortlessly despite the grip of her walls around him.

  “Yes,” she moaned.

  Yes, yes, yes.

  Waves of heat rose from her chest to her face. He grabbed hold of her thigh with one hand and lifted his body off her using the other arm. She was mesmerized by the sight of him working away, it was more beautiful than anything she had ever witnessed. Moving her hands down his chest, Nisha felt the texture of his coarse hair around his powerfully pulsating manhood. It looked too large to fit inside her, but as he moved faster, more and more of him disappeared deep inside her pussy.

  “Faster!” She begged in a whisper.

  Kien obliged with incredible speed and agility. The bed creaked and rocked beneath them and the sounds of their bodies slapping together bounced around the room. Every nerve ending within her seemed to be on fire with pleasure and then a sudden burst of ecstasy escaped from her lips as she peaked.

  Kien reared up like a wild beast, bellowing out in blissful satisfaction as he followed suit.

  Chapter Ten

  Nisha reached out, feeling the empty spot on the bed where Kien had occupied. She rubbed her hand across his pillow, feeling the dip where his head had been and smiled to herself. The emotion spreading across her heart was...happy...good. Before doubt and pain could work its way and like a vine, strangle all that goodness inside her, she cinched down on it. He was leaving, going back into outer space, but for right now, she could be content.

  She’d had the best night of her life, and not just because the sex had been amazing, but because of the connection they’d shared. A “wow” she’d never experienced before.

  Kien wasn’t hers or...maybe he was?

  She closed her eyes and shook her head. No. he wasn’t. He was an alien on a mission and his rescue ship was coming, then he would be gone. And, to top it off, he wasn’t even hers for the short month of his stay. What she felt right now? A dozen women in Point Breeze had probably felt the same these last weeks. Stupid, yet satisfied.

  Nisha groaned, rolled to her back and covered her eyes with an arm.

  What was she thinking? Kien was for the streets. No, worse. He was for the galaxy.

  There was a plethora of women in Minnesota pining for him and he’d already admitted to having bedmates littered across the galaxy. Of course, sex with him would be amazing. He’d had teachers near and far. There were probably females out there with two vaginas and two throats for all she knew.

  She opened her eyes to stare at the stark white ceiling and took a deep breath. Time to face reality.

  It’s only sex. That’s all. Nothing more. No reason to act like a Victorian virgin freshly deflowered.

  Nisha eased from Kien’s bed, being gentle on her sore and aching body. Although every muscle hurt, she was happy thinking about why it hurt. Kien had stretched her in all types of direction. That man could give a master class on how to please a woman.

  She went to the bathroom and stared at what she thought was the shower. She could’ve sworn she’d heard a whirring sound coming from here earlier this morning and made a mental note to take a shower as she assumed Kien was doing. But standing in front of it now, she didn’t recognize any of the controls. She was at a loss on how to get started. She couldn’t even tell where the water was supposed to come out of.