Uh'luka let out a huff that shook his cheeks before opening his eyes. They rapidly focused in the bright light, and Asha's form became clear. He smelled blood. His heart raced for a moment, thinking it might be hers. Uh'luka's tongue slipped from his throat to flick across his teeth, but it didn't taste like metal.

His memories returned, and a growl vibrated his chest, "Ain…"

Asha crossed her arms, "Ain did what he had to. Don't be mad at him."

He sat up and reached out to Asha, but she turned her back to him. Her body language was all too familiar. Yautja females did that often enough. Uh'luka's shoulders slumped.

She'd only called him it once, but he'd never forgotten, "I am an asshole."

A laugh burst up from her throat and her teeth couldn't stop it, "Yes, yes you are."

Uh'luka's spiky brows drew inward.

"But I know you don't mean to be."

Asha slowly turned to look over her shoulder. When her light brown eyes flickered up to meet his, something fluttered in his stomach. His lungs cemented, leaving him without air. No other female had ever made his body malfunction.

She leaned forward and Uh'luka tipped up his chin, giving her access to his throat—something he wouldn't do with a yautja female she was upset. Asha's arms slipped around him. He heard her inhale as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. Uh'luka's arms wrapped around her, drawing her closer.

"You hurt me--again."

His lungs collapsed in his chest, making it hard to get out the words to comfort her, "It wasn't my intention."

"I know, but...Maybe I should stay at Ain's house for a while."

His arms tightened around her.

"It wouldn't be long. Just until you can control your temper."

"Don't do that. I'll behave better. I won't injure you again, Asha."

She didn't say another word, making him think that she didn't believe him. There was nothing he could say to change her mind. He'd just have to show her. Uh'luka slid his fingers into her long black hair, being careful not to knot it. It was shiny, soft, and so unlike his own.

It was several minutes later that Uh'luka detected a scent in the air. It was so faint, he almost hadn't noticed it. His pupils dilated when he drew in a deep breath. Her scent wasn't like yautja female's, yet the same basic components were there, and his body's reaction was identical.

Uh'luka was hardly doing anything. To see whether it was the movements of his hand, he stopped. Her scent didn't lessen. As her thumb brushed across his scales, the smell actually became stronger. He couldn't read the oomans thoughts—but he could smell her arousal and knew she was thinking of him.

A lump formed in his throat and his pulse quickened but he wouldn't let himself be swept away by desire. His movements remained calm and controlled. Uh'luka rubbed one hand up and down her back before slipping it under her shirt. He lightly scratched his claws down her spine and felt her shiver.

His other hand lifted to her face. His knuckles brushed across her jawline before sliding down her neck. One nail traced her collarbone. Still, the ooman remained complacent. With a purr, his claw dipped between her breasts. He felt her lips twitch against his neck.

She was allowing contact, but with the ooman, he'd learned that didn't mean he had breeding consent. To test her, his fingers slid up her leg and under her skirt. When he neared her center, the ooman clamped her legs shut. She pushed on his chest to lean away from him.

"Uh'luka, what are you doing?"

He tried to run his hands along her body to keep her submissive, but she pulled away from him anyway. Before disappointment could settle in his gut, he watched Asha lay on her back. Her legs were still in his lap and one arm was under her head. Her lids were half-closed, relaxed. The ooman was merely being coy.

Uh'luka carefully turned his body on the couch, exuding a strong musk laced with pheromones. His chest rose and fell like a racehorse, fighting to maintain his excitement as his hands slid up her legs. He gathered the fabric of her shirt and the ooman merely blushed. His heart raced faster as his hands continued, revealing more skin to his hungry gaze.

She stopped the fabric from going over her breasts, "I'm still mad at you."

He tried to push the fabric higher but she wouldn't cooperate. He'd have to settle for what little skin was already exposed. Uh'luka's eyes dropped to her flat stomach and the scars that marked it. As he traced one line with his thumb, a weight settled in his chest. Uh'luka sat up.

Asha pulled her shirt down, "I thought yautjas liked scars...If they're ugly, I can—"

"That's not why I stopped."

She placed her hand on his shoulder, "Then what's wrong?"

"I'm the cause of those scars."

Asha shook her head.

"You could have gotten away. All of them were too focused on me."

"Except Sajuu...If only I had remembered to put up the shields." She shrugged, "But then they would have just shot me out of the sky."

"No. The wrist device linked to my ship was destroyed. Mah'ku could fly my ship but likely hadn't accessed all functions. I don't believe the ship wouldn't have self-destructed...You probably would have escaped if not for me."

Asha let out a breath, "I understand why you went after Mah'ku. If we had escaped, he would have continued kidnapping and torturing more people. You did the right thing."

"I went after Mah'ku because I wanted revenge. Then when he defeated me, and I was put in that cage again, I told him—"

"Shh, Uh'luka. Stop. None of that matters anymore."

Uh'luka tried to continue what he was saying, but Asha suddenly brought her face close and pressed her mouth against his cheek. Her lips applied the slightest amount of suction before pulling away. The touch was strange, but it sent sparks down to his very core. His jaw hung open, unable to continue his sentence.

Asha inched closer. One hand wrapped around his muscular shoulder while the other slid up his bare chest. She placed a kiss along his lower mandible, then another on the slender digit at the end. Her breath trailed across his skin before her tongue slipped into his mouth. Uh'luka jerked away and snapped his jaws shut in a swift movement that could have cleaved her tongue in two.

He'd seen the way oomans kissed. They looked like they were mating with their mouths the way they nibbled at each other's lips and their tongues entwined. The idea sent a throb to this groin. He has so hard he ached, but it was one mating ritual he couldn't do.

"Asha, no. My teeth will cut you."

Undaunted by his warning, Asha tugged him back to her. Her mouth opened and closed slightly as she worked her lips over his skin. She used her tongue sparingly, but every time he felt it, his cock jumped. She kissed the bottom of his jaw, then his neck, then his chest, and continued lower. He couldn't move. If he did, it was all over—he'd claim her too roughly. Every cell in his body told him to conquer, breed, impregnate.

His claws dug into the cushions, into the metal frame. He had to distract his thoughts or risk injuring her again. His mind brought up images of the scars on her belly. His guilt took him back to the night of their escape...

Uh'luka's body was riddled with pain. He'd failed. His white eyes looked around the familiar walls of the cage, knowing he'd be starved and tortured for many more cycles. Yet, all he could think about was the ooman.

Uh'luka managed to lift his hand up. "Wait..." he wheezed. "the ooman…She's on my ship."

One of Mah'ku's followers grunted, "A trick."

Sajuu crouched down, peering into the cage, "No, he's fond of the child-maker..."

"Get the girl." Mah'ku growled, his voice deep and rough.

Uh'luka groaned as he flipped to his back. His fingers and toes were going numb with the loss of blood and his vision darkened around the edges. He fought to stay awake until he saw the ooman. As the minutes slid by though, a sense of dread overcame him. When Sajuu caught the ooman, he'd cause as much pain as possible.

When he heard approaching footsteps, Uh'luka struggled to lift his head, but it wasn't the ooman. It wasn't even Sajuu. An older male limped up to Mah'ku. There were still a few red and yellow quills stuck in his skin. He opened a small metal case filled with blue vials.

Mah'ku tipped up his chin with a snort, "You came to kill me. Kayabi went to destroy the spinal fluid samples. The ooman fled...It's a pity none of you succeeded."

When Sajuu returned, both hands were stained with blood, "She was on his ship. She had Earth's coordinates logged and was about to take off."

Both Mah'ku and Sajuu both looked down at him in the cage.

The air was thin in his lungs, "Bring her to me."

"Now why would I do that, Pet?"

"I won't resist. I won't kill any more of your clan. I won't try to escape. Just give me the ooman."

"No." Mah'ku straightened and led the others away, leaving Uh'luka behind bars.

His guilt felt like a chestburster wriggling in his chest cavity. She deserved the truth, "Asha...after they caught me, I told them where to find you."

"What are you talking about?"

"That night we escaped."

"Sajuu told me I'd been ratted out...I didn't believe him." Asha slowly pulled away from Uh'luka. "You're the one who told them where I was?"

"Yes."

Asha leaned away until she fell back against the other side of the couch, "Sajuu cut me open with his nails. He reached his hand inside me and removed my organs. I felt ill weeks after that; I felt like I was dying."

Uh'luka reached out to stroke her leg, but she jerked away from him. He tucked his mandibles close to his mouth.

"You know I would have come back for you, Uh'luka."

"By then, Mah'ku would have relocated the clan. He wouldn't have taken a chance if you escaped."

Asha rubbed her hand down over her mouth, her eyes glazing over. She shook her head, then leaped up from the couch and went to her room. Uh'luka's eyes went to the storage units still strewn around the floor. He gathered all the trinkets from his ooman kills and threw them away, then grabbed the labyrinth fish skull.

He pushed her door open with his knuckles and peered inside. The ooman didn't look at him as she tugged on a pair of pants. She grabbed her armor off the wall next and started lacing up. Uh'luka didn't ask permission to enter. Instead, he slipped behind her and set the polished skull on her dresser and turned away.

"Why Uh'luka?" Her voice broke, "You just couldn't stand the idea of me being free if you weren't?"

"That's not the reason."

"Then tell me why."

"I didn't want to be alone."

Her brown eyes looked up at him, widening slightly as her lips parted. The soft expression didn't last but a second. Her jaw tightened and her brows pulled into a scowl. Asha shoved past him, intentionally bumping into his side.

~Yautja translations:

Chestburster - stage of xenomorph lifecycle