Tamed By the Alien Pirate by Celia Kyle Page 0,42

merciful release.

I explode just a fraction of a second later, one of my cocks filling her up with my warm seed while the other shoots milky ropes of it over her naked chest. For a long moment, we remain motionless and silent, our two bodies still awash in that ethereal energy of two jalgashar locked together.

“That was incredible,” she finally says, and her whole body trembles as I slide out from her. Wiping the sweat off my brow with one hand, I take one deep breath before I say anything, my lungs still struggling to get the air in.

“It was more than incredible,” I tell her. “It was perfect.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closes her eyes as she tries to regain her focus. “Get dressed and lie back down on the chair,” she tells me, and I arch an eyebrow in surprise. “Sorry if I’m being hasty, but we really need to extract the compounds before the effect of the endorphins wears off.”

“Right.”

Doing as I’m told, I get inside my clothes and lie down. I watch her get dressed, part of me sad to see her naked curves go back into hiding, and then she grabs a compound extractor from one of the lockers. She presses its sharp tip against one of my biceps, and I feel the prick of a needle.

“Sorry,” she mutters, “I’m trying to be as gentle as I can.”

“You weren’t being gentle a few minutes ago,” I say and then chuckle softly. “Not that I’m complaining. So, you really think love and attraction are just chemical reactions? Or have you finally accepted that there’s more to it than just that?” I notice her cheeks turning red, but she clamps her mouth shut. “Thrase?”

“Well, you can’t rule out chemical reactions,” she finally says. “After all, everything has its roots in chemical reactions, right?”

“What kind of answer is that?”

“It’s an answer.”

“Don’t you have feelings for me?”

Putting the extractor down, Thrase takes a step back and folds her arms over her chest. She frowns, her lips turning into a tight line, the red in them slowly turning white. What the hell? Is she angry with me?

“Look, Zander, I’ve been terrified this entire time. This mission is getting more dangerous by the minute, and things are as bleak as they can be. Do you really think now’s the time for this?” She takes in a deep breath and, before I can get a word in, she continues. “What’s the point of having a conversation like this under these circumstances? One of us might end up dead, and then what?”

Stunned, I don’t know what to say.

I just reach for her and take her hand in mine.

“Thrase, that’s exactly why we should have this conversation,” I finally say, my eyes locked on hers. “I need you to know that I—”

Love you, I wanted to say, but I’m interrupted by Dr. Bastard as he strolls into the room. With both hands on his hips, he completely ignores me, his eyes darting straight to Thrase and then to the extractor.

“It’s been one hour,” he says. “Show me what you got, Thrase.”

Chapter Twenty

Thrase

As Zander is carted back to his cell—trying very hard not to smile—Dr. Mal stares with open glee at the results of my “experiment.” While he’s distracted, I finish buttoning my blouse.

I’m feeling giddy, and not just for the obvious reason. Dr. Mal seems to have finally accepted me into the fold, as it were. He sets the tablet down and turns to face me.

“Ah, Thrase… I never should have doubted you. You are much more valuable to the cause as a technician than a mere test subject.”

“Thank you, Dr. Mal.” I incline my head in acknowledgment of the compliment. “Does this mean my probationary status is concluded? Perhaps we could talk about my pay scale.”

Mal laughs and gestures toward me with an easy, relaxed grace.

“I think you’ll find our compensation plan to be beyond generous. We take good care of our own, Patriot Thrase. Very good care indeed.”

I cross my arms over my chest and arch my brows.

“Does very good care have a solid number attached to it?”

“How does a quarter million credits annual sound?”

I restrain my surprise as best I can. That’s easily three times the salary even a highly educated scientist can earn.

“It sounds like a good place to start negotiations.”

Mal cackles and takes a step toward the door. Then he pauses and glances over his shoulder.

“I’m about to have a virtual meeting with