Alien Revealed (6 page)

“Tattoos here had to hurt like a bastard,”
he said silently to her as he traced their path with his wet fingers.

* * *

Alinna groaned in pleasure and in frustration. She needed David—needed the release he could provide, the escape from all the tension of the mission. But he was surprising her again, both with his insight in how to please her and most importantly with his uncanny psychic abilities. He wasn’t even asleep. This time, he had reached out to her mentally while fantasizing about her. He’d drawn her into his daydream, altered the physical limitations his mind had set upon it, and was now addressing her mentally, just as though he were born to the ability. Which she supposed he was, just not in the way the Inarrii expected a human to be. The races were far more similar than simple appearance.

Alinna gasped as David stroked her
sinaa.
She should be pulling away, should be escaping the base to find some way back to her people to make her report. What she now knew about the humans was enough to finalize the decision on a direct approach by the Inarrii for a Treaty, she was certain of that. But that would mean leaving David, an unappealing thought considering she wasn’t even sure she could get home. Alinna’s pulse raced as he stroked her again, slowly teasing open the folds of her
sinaa
until he could touch the center of her longing. He was the only thing keeping her from going insane on this lonely planet. She didn’t want to leave David, and she certainly wasn’t ending this now. She needed him.

With bold strokes, he brought her to the edge, so close to orgasm that she whimpered his name. Then he stopped, only to begin a slow exploration of her
L’inar
with his tongue down the length of her body. She breathed deeply, inhaling his scent. His cologne added a crisp touch of spice to his natural musk, much as an Inarrii male in heat’s scent would. He was too slow, there was too much, and she needed more, now. She rocked against him as he mapped out every inch of her
L’inar
with his lips and tongue until he reached the innermost lines on her thighs. His skin was cool as he touched her, but his lips and tongue were hot, a surprising and delightful combination. He’d done this before, in the dream they had shared, and each touch of his hot tongue sent pulses of pleasure down her nerve lines.

Just as she was about to beg him to take her, she stiffened. He
had
done this before. She had allowed him to begin
M’itta lensahn,
the first step in the Inarrii mating ceremony, and she was allowing it
again.
Tracing her
L’inar
with his tongue marked her as his. If she let this continue, would they be mated? He had no
L’inar
nerve lines to taste and trace, so she couldn’t have completed the ceremony, could she? Her mind raced back to the previous night.

“Oh fuck,” she swore.

“Not yet.” He laughed at her, looked up to meet her eyes. He must have caught her shocked look. “What’s wrong?”

“We shouldn’t do this…I don’t really know you…” she trailed off as he lowered his mouth again to nuzzle the wet lips of her
sinaa.

“You know me. And we both want this, need this.” He spoke against her sex, the warm breath from his words teasing more pleasure from her throbbing core.

He was right about that. She did need him, and she could read his yearning as easily now as she had read his honest desire to help her earlier. They were two different species; surely she couldn’t complete the
M’itta lensahn
anyway, without
L’inar
to follow on his body. With a hard thrust of his finger, he penetrated her and the worry flew from her mind. He sucked hard as he fucked her with first one, then two long fingers, and she felt the orgasm he’d begun earlier rush back to engulf her.

Her inner muscles rippled over his fingers, and he licked her juices, prolonging her pulses of pleasure. Before she could recover, he flipped her over, propping her up on her knees before him. He ran a hand over the curve of her ass, squeezing first one cheek and then the other. He traced her
L’inar
there, as well. Unlike some Inarrii women, she had several stray lines curling over her ass cheeks to trail down to her sex from behind. Few Inarrii men thought to stroke them, and David’s touch delighted her and teased her with its primal focus.

He bent to touch his lips to her nerve lines, sucking at them gently. She groaned, her body talking for her as she parted her thighs and rocked her hips, asking him to touch her again. Her nipples rubbed against the sheets, teasing them while he slid his finger back inside the lips of her
sinaa.
When his hot breath touched the opening of her ass, she shuddered at the sensation, but nothing prepared her for the intense pleasure he brought to her as he slowly rimmed her anal opening with his wet tongue. As he explored, his fingers continued to stroke her, and when he pushed his tongue into the tiny hole of her rear, she shouted out in shock and pleasure.

“Right now, Alinna, you are mine. Let me take you any way I please, and I will take care of you.”

Said mentally, it was so close to a mating promise Alinna almost stopped him, but she needed this, wanted him. He was so unlike any Inarrii she’d been with, and he drove her desire beyond the level of anything she’d ever felt.

“Yes.”

Her simple answer was enough. He stroked her again and slowly tongued her ass until she shuddered. When she thought she would come again, felt the orgasm growing within her, he pulled away and knelt behind her. Gripping her hips, he centered his cock against her sex, then rocked her back against him until he was deep inside her. He groaned, his control clearly on the edge. With a slow motion, he pushed her forward again until his cock sprang free from her
sinaa.
He pressed the wet tip against her ass.

Alinna shivered and swallowed hard. No Inarrii would fuck her here. It wasn’t formally taboo, but it wasn’t something she’d ever heard of being done. David’s fingers pulled against her hips, rocking her backward against his cock. The thickness of him had her shaking her head. But he reached around her to stroke her
sinaa,
the cool skin of his arm inadvertently brushing the
L’inar
on her hips, adding to the immediate pleasure of his fingers caressing her core. She relaxed, concentrating on the pleasure, and moaned aloud as his cock breached her. For a second, she tensed, but he continued to pleasure her
sinaa,
rubbing the tiny center of her nerve clusters as he thrust slowly against her.

Pleasure built, and she cried out, losing herself to it. Everything in the world disappeared except for the feeling of his hands and cock. With shock, she realized he was stroking his entire length inside her. While he wasn’t long by Inarrii standards, he was certainly wide, and it was amazing that it felt…good. She pressed back against him, no longer needing to be guided. She set the pace now, grinding back as he fucked her ass with his cock and her
sinaa
with his fingers.

David growled her name, his thrusts less controlled. He was nearing his orgasm. The thought of him spilling his seed inside her in this way drove her wild. She bucked back against him. It was enough to push her into a shuddering mountain of an orgasm. Her reaction drove his, and he gripped her hips hard as he pumped his orgasm into her ass. After a moment, they sank down on the bed. He pulled his cock free of her, its length still hard. He wrapped his arms around her.

“If I open my eyes for real now, will you disappear?” he whispered into her ear, his breath tickling the curve of
L’inar
near her throat.

“Yes.”

“Then let’s sleep.”

Alinna closed her eyes. Her body still hummed with pleasure. How could he imagine sleep would be possible? But she felt his body relaxing behind her. Slowly she settled against him. Human skin temperature was lower than Inarrii, but it felt good cradled against her back. Perhaps sleep would be possible after all. She felt her eyes drift shut.

Then she groaned as her internal command unit pulsed to life.

“Base to Unit Nine, Alinna Gaerrii, report.”

Alinna eased from the mental rapport that David had established and returned to her body. He would have to sleep without her. She tapped the sensor on the skin below her ear, activating the communications mode of her internal command unit. Although she knew no one from the Inarrii base could see her as she spoke on the focused channel, she sat up in her bed and wrapped her body in the light coverlet.

“Alinna Gaerrii, Unit Nine responding.
Inar tel sahiir.
” She spoke the Inarrii welcome before she could catch herself, then fisted her hands in silent frustration. Using her native tongue on a line that might be monitored was a novice mistake. Being contacted when she had just settled in with David, a human she’d been meant to watch, had unsettled her nerves more than she’d thought possible. “Is this code secure?”

“We believe it is, although the time until probable discovery is limited.” Alinna recognized the deep voice of her commanding officer, Commander Jannii Finar. “Agent Alinna, are you injured? Do you need retrieval?” Concern laced her commander’s inflection.

Alinna swallowed hard against a sudden wave of yearning. She missed her people. Everything was different here, even the scent of the air. At home she could smell the salt of the oceans no matter where she was. Here the hint of chemical air cleaners never left the buildings, and the scent of the forest where she’d landed was so foreign with its pine vegiforms that she would never forget it. She would never get used to the blue skies of Earth either, compared to the warm red mists of her home planet. Only the exquisite pleasure she’d found in David’s arms over the last two nights had made the stress she was under bearable.

“I was injured, but I have received medical treatment.” Alinna rushed to deliver more information before the commander could assume she’d been discovered. “I’m posing as a human psychological evaluator. It’s too complicated to explain now, but currently I am operating undetected and have gathered more information in the last two days than I have in the last four months.”

“That was not in your directive, Agent! We must get you out of there before you are discovered.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible, at least not at this time. I’m located inside Starforce Base One. I am currently conducting interviews under my cover as a psychtech, and I have made a huge discovery—” A sudden rumbling boom interrupted her words. The crystal vid monitor on the wall across from her bed rattled with the vibration.

“What is that?” Commander Finar demanded.

“I don’t know…” A second boom sounded, loud enough to echo in her ears.

“Scans indicate the base is under attack. You must leave the base immediately and contact us outside its perimeter.”

“I can’t. You don’t understand, these people are important.” Rapid crashes punctuated her words, the final detonation cutting off all communication. An explosion rocked the building and shook the contents of her room hard enough that a glass fell from the bedside table. “Commander Finar?” The coded channel was dead, and she hadn’t had the chance to tell her people the most important thing she’d learned: humans could possess psychic abilities.
M’ittar,
mental communication, was a vital facet of Inarrii life. With it, the humans had the potential to be true partners to the Inarrii.

Alinna threw back the coverlet, reached for her clothes as the sound of another explosion resonated through the air. “By the gods, what is happening now?” she muttered aloud. She jammed her legs into the same uniform pants she’d worn earlier and secured the top as she moved toward the exit. Her leg protested briefly with pain, but she ignored it.

Her door wouldn’t open. She slammed her shoulder into it, using every ounce of her Inarrii strength. Slowly it yielded, and she was able to force it open enough to escape. Since nothing held the door shut on the other side, she surmised it had been held closed by some security order. Although there was no damage immediately visible, alarm bells sounded in the deserted hallways, and the faint acrid scent of burning plastic tainted the air.

Alinna hesitated for a moment. With the base under attack, this could be her only opportunity to re-establish contact with the Inarrii from her position within the base. If she could access the human communications line now while the channels were likely filled with defensive chatter, she would be able to use her comlink to hide her messages within theirs. She hesitated, looking left and right down the empty corridors. It was risky. She would have to have direct access through a communications center in order to bypass any active monitoring system. She took a deep, steadying breath.
Passing on the information about the human ability to use m’ittar is worth nearly any risk.

Moving into the corridor, she accessed her internal command unit. She retrieved a map of the complex and used the directions it provided to head for the nearest communications command room. Behind her, the crashing sounds of destruction continued, most likely outer walls of the building collapsing under the onslaught of the attack. She shook her head at the folly of navigating through the building.
I’m safer outside. Someone is trying to flatten this place.

The emptiness of the corridors unsettled her nerves. Alinna opened her senses, trying to make sure that no one had been injured nearby. She had to complete her mission, but these people had helped her. She would do everything she could to help them in return, even if she had to expose herself as she attempted to make contact with her people. Her empathic senses pointed the way. In the direction of the communications center, others had been attempting to flee the building, and several felt either injured or trapped. It was difficult to tell exactly what was happening under the psychic overload of surprise, fear and anguish.

She rounded the corner of the hall, taking the left turn only to run into a corridor blocked by rubble. She checked the map displayed on her retina, but there was no immediate route to the people on the other side, or to the communications center. Instead she turned around and wound a trail through the hallways, her command unit plotting the pathway as she went. The roaring sound of distant laser fire spurred her on. Her plan was to circle around the hallways until she arrived at an area where she could both contact her people and be of some help to the humans. Several times, she forced her way through locked doors, slamming her shoulder against them and wrenching their handles past the breaking point.

Finally she reached her destination and started to work her way through the next door. On the other side lay the communications center, and on the other side of that were at least four injured people. The explosions had stopped, but she could still feel the anxiety of the people she was trying to reach. As she breached the room, she instructed her internal command unit to access the abandoned communications computers on the desks all around her. As it attempted to do so, she rushed to the opposite side of the room.

“Hello, can you hear me?” Alinna called. She looked around frantically for something to help her force her way through. In the stark office, there was little to help, and she groaned in frustration as her internal unit told her it was unable to access the humans’ communications system due to the power fluctuations from the attack. She slammed a fist against the metal door, determined to help someone, even if she could not help herself or her cause. The door didn’t budge, and she was growing weak. Her leg had begun to throb, the half-healed slash sending waves of pain through her body. Desperately she grabbed a chair and methodically smashed it against the unyielding door.

Alarm bells rang again, screeching in her ear. She threw her weight into the fight but could not get through the frozen access. Her
L’inar
lines stood on edge, and endorphins raced through her system as the stress of the moment ran through her body. She slammed the chair again and again against the door, shutting off her empathic senses against the clamor of human fear until she got through.

“Dr. MacPherson, stand down!”

Alinna started and turned around to face the person shouting at her. Her breath came in gasps as she realized she’d lost control, forgotten where she was as she struggled to get to those who needed help. A uniformed security officer faced her, his hand resting on the weapon at his side. The blaring alarm had stopped, and the people she had been trying to rescue on the other side of the door were strangely silent.
Dead, or gone?

“Put down the club, and face the wall.”

“Club?” Alinna looked down at the piece of metal in her hand—all that remained of the chair she’d been using against the impenetrable door. Her senses flooded her with the knowledge that the man considered her a threat, and that the people she’d been trying to reach were gone. They’d moved to safer locations and medical help. She shook her head, dropped the metal chair leg and turned to the wall.
How long was I standing here smashing the place to bits?

Alinna fought for control as she turned her back on the stranger. She shuddered as he touched her wrists. He was binding them together. Warnings from her first days of under-cover training flashed through her mind. This was exactly the sort of thing she was supposed to avoid. She could probably break free, but her cover, or what was left of it, would be blown.
Kahemnit dal,
she swore. Only one thing would make it worse.
Please gods, don’t let him see my L’inar.

* * *

David stood inside the base security office, where he’d been called to report after the last attacker had been repelled. He resisted the urge to pace the floor. His team hadn’t been allowed to join the defense, and the unsatisfied urge to fight, to defend his people, had him on edge. Consciously he knew the team and the new ships were too valuable to launch during a sky-to-base attack like this—they were meant for space maneuvers not air—but damn, it had been hard to sit and wait.

Now he was waiting for Alinna, or to find out what was going to happen with her.
What the hell was she doing smashing up a restricted area?
The thought circled around and around in his mind. For the first time, he wondered if Captain Branscombe had been wrong. What if she wasn’t a Starforce undercover agent? What if she was with some other agency, one of the anti-space colonization throw-back groups? He clenched and unclenched his fists.
She does have those unusual tattoos…
What if she was involved in the attack on the base?
This is my fault.
He’d known she was there under an assumed identity, and he’d done nothing.

The theory certainly explained her apparent lack of experience when it came to maintaining her assumed identity. An undisciplined rebel group wouldn’t provide the kind of training to keep up the façade long term. But it didn’t explain how she’d gotten on the secure airjet in the first place, or how she had changed the records stating she was Janet MacPherson. Branscombe swore the methods involved in the record alterations were definitely Starforce. The theory didn’t match the need he felt from her either, the sense of loss and helplessness. If she really was from one of the anti-space groups, she’d have nothing but contempt for him. He was career Starforce, a pilot, for God’s sake. All he would feel from her would be hatred.

The inner door opened. “Major Brown, please come in.” The burly security chief stepped inside and motioned David into the interrogation room. Alinna sat at a table, her hands clasped in front of her, her face serene, but tired. Her hair hung in a ragged mess, and her uniform was in disarray. Her knuckles were scraped and raw, as though she had been in a fight.

David glanced more carefully at Alinna, taking in her slightly sagging shoulders and pale face. Even in her disheveled state, she was beautiful, sensual. If she wore a smile instead of the blank look she now sported, she would appear to have rolled straight from her bed after a night of rough lovemaking.

He grit his teeth.
Get a grip. She could be a traitor.

“It seems Dr. MacPherson lost her way trying to get out of the building.”

David looked at the security officer. The man smiled sympathetically at Alinna.
How the hell did she talk her way out of this?

“Yes, I tried to make it out of the building, but I just seemed to be going in circles.” Alinna spoke quietly, her eyes focused on the table before her.

“The strike is over, the attacking ship destroyed. Unfortunately, we have no confirmation on their identity.” The chief shook his head in frustration. “We’ve asked Major Brown to escort you back to your rooms. That section received very little direct damage, unlike the rest of the building.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck.

“Thank you. I would like to go to my room. I’m quite tired.”

David could hardly believe it. The woman had been in a secure area, had a completely flimsy cover story, and they were letting her go without a complaint. From what he’d heard, she’d even done some damage. Surprise turned to annoyance as the security officer offered her a hand to gently help her to her feet. David felt his eyebrows quirk upward and quickly controlled his reaction.
This guy wants her so badly, he’s nearly drooling.
David was completely ignored during the exchange, and it did not feel good. His stomach tightened as Alinna smiled at the chief. He suppressed the need to growl at the interaction.

“If Dr. MacPherson can to go, I’ll take her to her room.”

Alinna’s eyes flicked toward him.

“Of course she can.” The man held Alinna’s hand a moment longer than necessary. “But would you be available later to talk again? We’ll need to clear up a few more details.”

David ground his teeth together. He watched Alinna smile at the man as she responded to what ought to be a formal inquiry and was instead almost an invitation to dinner.

“Of course, Chief. You know where to find me.”

“Let’s go,” David growled.
Before I knock someone flat. She’s got a lot of explaining to do.

Surprise flickered over Alinna’s face. David frowned, wondering if his voice had sounded as abrupt and angry to her as it did to him. She walked to the door and looked with uncertainty back over her shoulder at him. David stalked forward and brushed past her out of the interrogation room and security office. He kept silent as he led her back to the section of the building housing her office and private rooms. If he said anything now, he’d lose his temper, not a great idea with the chief watching them.