Page 43 of I'm Not Your Pet

Roark nuzzled my cheek affectionately.

Maybe I was his pet, but at that moment, I didn’t fucking care. I was too fucked out, and too happy. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it had gotten me alien dick, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.

Life was good.Reallygood. Better than I could’ve ever expected considering the ever-present threat of pirates hanging over all of our heads. With every shipment we gathered, the weight of the fear of losing our cargo became heavier and heavier.

The crew was more subdued than usual, and I would’ve been too—if I wasn’t so busy being blissfully happy. Sex. Who knew?

It was mind-boggling to me how fun it was to share physical pleasure with someone as exuberant and responsive as my mate.

Several days had passed since Huu-goh and I had officially become mates and though I was still somewhat nervous that I would not be able to give him what he needed, I was also filled with determination.

Because Mala had been right about me.

There wasn’t a single thing that I’d wanted in my life that I had not figured out how to achieve. I’d wanted to chase my father’s dream and touch the stars, and I’d done that. I’d wanted to climb up the ranks, and I’d done that too. I’d wanted to captain the ship that I had called home since I was a young recruit—and here I was, captaining it.

Making Huu-goh happy was the most important mission I’d ever embarked on, and failure was not an option. Which meant…that it was time to stop avoiding my mentor.

Mala gave solid advice when it came to the heart—he was as trustworthy as he was blue—but Ushuu was many moons older than the both of us. He had knowledge about the galaxy and the species that inhabited it so vast that it made my understanding look paltry in comparison.

Perhaps he would know better how to help Huu-goh adjust to our lifestyle?

Perhaps he could give me insights into huu-mans that the pamphlet from A&R had not.

It was lunchtime when I returned to Huu-goh and my rooms.

He was unsurprised to see me, as I often made time in the middle of the day to visit. Some of the antsy-ness that he’d been exhibiting before was creeping back in, though our time spent in bed had slapped somewhat of a bandage on the situation.

If huu-mans were anything like Sahrk’s, sex released chemicals in the brain that oftentimes left people feeling happier, more connected, and settled. After observing Huu-goh for a few blissful days, I inferred—chemicals or not—the intimacy of the act was more than likely the cause of his emotional turnaround, rather than the actual release itself.

If I was being blatantly honest, the idea of allowing Huu-goh outside our rooms terrified me.

Maybe more than it frightened me to take him to the planets we’d visited along our route. There were other resources then. Allies to rely upon. Armies to protect us, should things go sour. Out in space we were on our own entirely—and while I trusted my crew with my life—the only person I trusted with Huu-goh’s was me.

The worst atrocities I’d ever seen had happened on board this very ship when pirates had attacked. And while I knewthat we were well-equipped to deal with threats now, that didn’t change the fact that if Huu-goh was out in the hallways he could get auto-locked out of the rooms on board, should we be attacked.

It was a safety mechanism on all Sahrk ships now. To keep the crew safe away from threats. To enable pirates to take what they wanted from the cargo without casualties. Before, when I’d been a youth, such things had not been created. We were peaceful beings. But that didn’t mean we couldn’t fight. In fact, one could argue that our bodies were built for fighting. From our teeth, to our tendrils, down to the bare bones of our society and the way we thrived on physical competition.

Too many casualties, however, had altered the way Sahrks dealt with such things.

I knew better than anyone how dire things could become.

I knew I was over-protective.

I knew that.

But it was so difficult to get my body to do the thing that scared me the most. Especially now that Huu-goh had become my mate officially. The idea of losing him the way that Ushuu had lost his love was crippling. Just thinking about it made my chest grow tight, my hearts sluggish, and my limbs too icy to properly transform.

Still, I could recognize that by locking Huu-goh away I was hurting him too.

And though that didn’t change howscaredI was that he could be harmed—by something innocent on board he didn’t understand, or pirates, should they attack our vessel—I couldn’t stomach the thought that I was the one causing him pain.

He was far too curious to be trapped in these rooms—even if the terrified, paranoid part of me whispered that he would be safe here. And that nothing could injure him within these walls.

He deserved better than being attached to a paranoid fool.

Which was why we were going out today. For the first time. And why I’d invited Ushuu to come to lunch with us, even though my hearts would not stop thumping, and taking this step made me feel as though my legs were about to give out.

Huu-goh glanced over my spots, a little frown on his lips. It was so odd to see someone emote without teeth like I possessed, but I found it cute too. The little flaps looked particularly soft and lick-able when they turned down like that.

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