Small lemon in this one. More like a Dixi cup filled with lemonade, really. ^.^ Anywho, you have been warned.

Luar'ke-de had been training me for a month and I believed that it was the hardest thing I'd ever done. He insisted that because I was a human female, smaller and weaker by nature, that was all the more reason to work on endurance. I would never be as strong as our enemies, so he decided to focus on other areas. Two miles. Running. In the sandy, cold water. I had thought that after the first night he trained me that I had been tired, but I hadn't known what "tired" was. Any time I slowed down when running, he'd hit me, sending me into the water ("Want to be warm? Then keep moving."). I'd learned not to bother getting angry with him because he saw it as insubordination and disrespect which led to a great deal of pain. It was also a waste of energy that I was in desperate need of. I was covered in bruises earned just from the running. Those were the not-so-bad bruises. The really ugly ones were from the actual training itself.

I was forced to start applying Epsom salt compresses to my bruises each night before bed and I blessed Lar'ja's higher body temp. If it hadn't been for him being curled around me every night, I was sure I'd wake up impossibly stiff. He had taken to training himself elsewhere and Luar'ke-de hit me any time I'd ask where he was ("He will survive. Worry about you."). He'd also taken to hitting me if I "moved wrong" while training with the weapons ("Only those that move well survive.").

The last time I had really laughed had been a month previous when I had taken my revenge for the lake incident (Lar'ja had managed to find all the speakers). In spite of the cold rain, when Luar'ke-de had returned, he'd dragged me outside and had me run in the water. It was incredible that I hadn't gotten sick yet.

The pain was sharp and I hit the ground hard. I lay there for a moment, too hurt to move, but the knowledge that I would be in even more pain if I didn't get up got me going before I'd even heard the "stand and ready". I was breathing hard and was shakey, shoulders slouched against the hurt as Luar'ke-de watched on with dispassionate eyes. He looked at me coldly.

"Were not paying attention."

"No, Master."

"Why?"

"I have no reason good enough, Master."

"You will do better."

"Yes, Master."

"Prepare!"

Humility was the only way to keep him from hitting me, it seemed. And yet, I preferred it that way. If it was all fun and games, he wouldn't really be doing me any favors. This was, I knew, for my benefit; to keep me alive so that I'd be able to traipse the cosmos at Lar'ja's side later. So I did as he commanded and prepared myself. We were not working with a weapon today; it was all hand to hand and I was learning by hurting. The Yautja, or so it seemed, were not big on lectures and theory. He did not show me the mechanics of a move. I was expected to find my own solution to each new problem fast enough to keep me on my feet. In one of our spars, it was always the first person to fall that lost.

I kept my eyes on him. I was done wasting energy today and he always seemed to have more to spare. Let him waste energy. He seemed to read the decision in me and his golden eyes warmed a touch before fading back into the coldness of his expression. It was all the approval he ever gave me.

And this time it was all the warning I got.

I cannot convey what a terror it is to have an eight foot tall creature charge at you with a roar of pure fury. When I had been fighting the candy amandas in my kitchen, too much was happening for me to take a moment and be afraid. Now, I had just enough time to realize how very breakable I was when he was there in my space, aiming a low (for him) roundhouse at my head. I knew better than to try to bring my arm up and deflect unless I really wanted a broken arm, so as much as possible, I had to dodge. Had to keep moving. If he got a hit on me at all, I'd go sprawling in a lot of pain. Luar'ke-de did not pull his punches.

I also knew that hitting him was a useless expenditure of energy that I could ill afford. I simply wasn't strong enough to move his mass with a hit or kick. I had to work with my strengths; intelligence, creativity, determination. Even though this was hand to hand, arm wrestling was out. Period. I had to somehow lure a guy who made it a cherished hobby to take on the baddest dudes the cosmos had ever seen into making a mistake, and I was counting on him underestimating me. I had woken up this morning tired of getting new bruises. Now, I was determined to do something about it.

He kept me dancing around a bit, until sweat trickled down my face, before trying the roundhouse again. I went into a controlled side-shoulder roll and came up just in time to grab his descending foot in my hand. With all of my remaining strength, I stood and heaved at the same time, throwing him off balance. While he was still teetering in surprise, I dropped and swept his foot out from under him and sent him crashing in a startled heap.

For the first time, I had won. I had used leverage and his notions about me against him and it had paid off. I grinned in tired elation, knowing he wouldn't make that mistake again. But damned if I didn't savor my victory now.

He looked at me in shock before it slid away in favor of a smirk of approval, "Perhaps not so hopeless after all, Student."

I was so tired I had a headache, but it was a happy headache, "Thank you, Master. I have a good teacher."

He stood and noted the black, night sky. The porch light haloed him and when he turned back it was as though his golden eyes glowed though I new they didn't, "Believe that is all for today. Did well. Better than expected. Do not let it go to your head, though." He cautioned with a nasty smirk, "Now go greet your mate. He has been waiting. There is some to discuss before the night is through."

He turned and walked toward the house and I turned to the tree line that Luar'ke-de had indicated, seeing Lar'ja standing there with a grin, "Wish I could have seen his face, Baby Jess."

I snickered and walked (limped) over to him. He pulled me close and I melted against him, content, "He did look really shocked."

He chuckled darkly, obviously happy about the notion, "Am proud of you, Baby Jess. Have made fast progress. Learn quick. Am pleased."

"Thanks, Lar'ja. Though I suspect it'll only get harder."

"True, but I have faith."

"How is your training coming along?"

We made our way slowly to the house. He purred, keeping one hand on my back, "It goes well. Am acclimating to the modification made to my mask very well. It is a good day." Then he grinned down at me deviously, "Know how it could get better, though."

I couldn't help it, I laughed. I could hardly move and he wanted to get it on. Typical. Maybe I could talk him into going slow? I smirked, "We'll see."

"Ahhh, Baby Jess. You know you want."

I did, actually, but still… "Luar'ke-de said there were things we need to talk about. That comes first. Then… well, anything's possible."

He purred again and, bending down, swept me into his arms. He held me for a few moments and I eased into his warmth. If I could have purred, I would have. I had my arms around his neck and held onto him. His right hand pet the back of my head and my finger tips played at the back of his neck. I savored these moments. I didn't think I'd ever felt such closeness to anyone before, but since agreeing to be his mate, I found that I truly adored him. I had known I was very fond of him before, but this was different. This was completeness and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sighing, I pulled away, brushing my fingertips along his jaw line, "We need to get inside."

"Yes. He gets angry when kept waiting."

"Yeah. I noticed that."

We made our way into the house, but I made everyone wait while I took a shower. There was simply no way I was going to sit there for who knew how long after a day of sweating, bleeding, and rolling around on the ground. Clean, wearing my black, cotton sweatpants and tank top and feeling half-way human again, I rejoined everyone in the living room. Larja was sitting on the couch and pulled me onto his lap. I let his warmth soak into me, easing my aches. The Arbitrator was sitting in his chair, and waited for us to get settled before speaking.

"Know where they are," He said without preamble, "Has taken a while because they move their ship around constantly, but have found them and have been keeping track of their movements. Have waited until Mei-jadhi had progressed enough in her training and now that she has managed to win a spar, Believe it is time you both know."

"Do you know what they've been up to, exactly?" I asked.

He looked at me, golden eyes hard, "Do not. But based on evidence, believe I have a good idea. Appears that they are using your town as a place to breed kainde amedha. For what reason am unsure. Seems to be slow. Considering the rate at which a Queen lays eggs and how quiet your town remains, believe they destroy more eggs than keep. Wise, probably, but strange still. The kainde amedha answer to no one but the Queen. Can only guess since I have never seen such before."

"This is a mess." I said. He nodded.

"It is. But is not an impossible mess. Tomorrow, will start teaching you how to use our technology. Would not do to have you accidentally blow us up."

I grinned, excited, "The mask?"

He snorted, "And the wrist console. Yes. Will still be running tomorrow, though." He said with an evil, sadistic grin.

I sighed. Oh well, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

He stood and reached for his mask on his right hip, leering, "Suggest you get as much rest as you can. If Lar'ja-thwei will allow you rest tonight."

Lar'ja snickered and I looked at Luar'ke-de incredulously before sulking, "Surely you have better things to be doing right now."

"Indeed. Tomorrow."

With that, he left and Lar'ja's arms tightened around me. I felt an answering heat. Now that I was clean and warm, the prospect of being intimate with Lar'ja tonight had greater appeal. He purred and the vibrations rumbled lightly down my back and I felt my body coil in anticipation. He leaned his face in and his lower mandibles brushed the sides of my neck softly from behind, making me shiver. His hands lightly rubbed my arms and sides, careful of my bruises and I leaned back into his heavily muscled chest.

I'd been up since seven in the morning and it was now eleven thirty three at night, but I was wide awake under Lar'ja's wandering hands. His mandibles brushed my neck again and he purred, "Tell me you do not want, Baby Jess."

"I could, but it'd be a lie."

He chuckled and it was a very masculine sound. Pulling me close, one arm behind my back and the other under my knees, he stood and made his way to the bedroom, purring and trilling softly against my ear the whole way. Setting me down gently on the bed, he eased my clothing off of me, far more gentle this time than the first he'd ever undressed me, and refused to let me help. Climbing up onto the bed, his hands smoothed over my skin, the tips of his claws grazing my flesh and I shivered while he built the picture of me in his mind, a smile pulling his mandibles. He squeezed my breasts, thumbs brushing over their hardened peaks, rolling and tugging with his hot hands. He leaned down and drew a slow, wet, heated line from cleavage to just below my right ear with his cat-like tongue. My skin felt fevered and tight and I tilted my head to give him easier access. His hands left my breasts and moved to my waist, and then my hips, but his tongue swept up the underside of each breast in turn, licking and using his bottom mandibles to gently tug and massage each nipple. Damp heat pooled between my legs and my hands came up to gently cradle his head to me, not wanting him to stop. He rumbled a satisfied purr and his hands slid lower to gently squeeze my thighs, careful of my bruises.

His right hand slipped between my legs to cup me, his fingers sliding between my folds to rub along my opening and clit. I squirmed under him, making quiet whimpering sounds to convey my need and he responded with one of those hungry growls. His skilled fingers teased and played, urging my body to respond, and my back arched, head tilted back with a moan. With his hand bringing me closer and closer to the edge of climax, that incredible pressure building in me quickly, and the attention he was lavishing on my breasts, I felt my like a candle being swiftly, completely consumed. And I loved it, every bit of it, and never wanted him to stop.

Pleasure burst over me in a slick, hot rush and I cried out loudly, body surging under him. He held me securely, pulling his head back with a purr, finger nudging gently to keep me going just a little longer, giving me as much pleasure as he could. Finally the tide eased away and he held on to me, fingers softly petting the side of my neck and smoothing along my shoulder. I managed to finally open my eyes and look at him. His expression was pleased, content, but there was something definitely lecherous about it as well. I grinned and lifted my head to kiss his chin, "Dirty old man."

"Not old." He said, chuckling with a gentle push to my shoulder to get me to lay back on the pillow. He took his place between my legs and eased inside of me slowly, gradually so that I could feel each of the ridges along the top of his hot length. He rocked his hips and with each motion, I was filled with more of him until our bodies met. It felt amazing. His body temp was so much higher than mine that his hard length, filling me, throbbed with heat and stole my breath. I squirmed under him, whimpering, wanting him to go back to moving, needing that incredible friction, that fire, that only he could give me. Propped up on his hands, he grinned down at me, "Will prove."

And he did. Starting slowly at first, he swiftly built a rhythm that left me gasping and begging him not to stop. My nails dug into his back and that seemed to only excite him further. He growled, purred, and grunted his pleasure as he moved, faster and harder within me, my body firmly secured in his powerful arms. I ceased hurting and the world no longer had meaning. Everything came down to just the two of us and though he grunted and growled in increasing urgency, he waited. He held back his own pleasure and made certain of mine first, powering into me over and over until I was both consumed by heat and more alive than ever before. Surely something that felt so amazing had to be bad for me and would eventually kill me. Pleasure smashed into me, arching my back and making me scream. My body squeezed on his, and that was all it took to push him over the edge. He roared and his seed left him in a rush to fill me with heat.

It took a few moments afterward while we held onto each other, waiting for our hearts to slow, before I remembered how tired I was. It was a happy tired, though. I had won my first spar, I was going to get trained on how to operate alien tech, and I was in my lover's arms. Life was pretty good. I smiled, tired, fingers caressing the sides of his face and along his mandibles, "Mmm, you were completely right, Lar'ja."

"Ah, then I pleased, Baby Jess?"

"Absolutely."

"Good." His mandibles pulled into a smile and he pulled out of me, infinitely gentle, and moved to lay next to me. I curled closer to him, feeling his arms drag me closer in response and, exhausted as I was, it didn't take long before I fell asleep, safe and warm and listening to my mate's purring.

"Ok," I said, "This is way cool."

Holding the mask up but not letting it seal against my face, I switched between various types of visual settings, even night vision. How they could see anything but the heat vision, I didn't know and they weren't telling, but I could see them and it was bloody, fucking awesome. I looked around my living room and saw the two cats watching on curiously as hot little ghosts. I could see their veins and their little hearts beating, but they were in detail. I could very clearly tell which cat was which.

I wanted a mask of my own. Cool to borrow, but I wanted ownership.

Luar'ke-de rolled his eyes, "Mask is connected to these packs by these tubes. Have changed this pack to give you the air you breath, not what we breath."

"Hey, cool. I hadn't thought of that. Will that complicate things when we eventually leave here?"

"Lar'ja-thwei has a device in his lungs that converts your air into what he needs. Am helping him design one that does the opposite for you so that there won't be any problems. Not a priority right now, though."

He helped me put on the modified pack, put on the mask, connect the tubes for the oxygen, and secure the wrist console to control it all. Then he walked me through the targeting system for the plasma caster and I started laughing. It felt good to laugh again after a month of hard work and hearing about death. And I couldn't seem to help it; this was too funny. I wondered why I hadn't noticed sooner, but I did now. Lar'ja and Luar'ke-de looked confused at my laughter, but I couldn't explain it to them. They wouldn't understand.

I had a frickin' laser beam attached to my head!

Sorry. Couldn't seem to help myself.

Anyway, I own nothing. ^.^

Happy Reading!