Mission: Planet Biter (Veslor Mates #4)(10)

“Vera Wade? You need to let me go.”

The alien’s deep voice held a growling tone. It was scary—everything was—but at least it didn’t change. He was consistent. So was the solid feel of him. “You won’t leave me?”

“I won’t.” He cleared his throat. “We will have to strip everything off. Do you understand? I don’t want you even more terrified. We’ll be bare-skinned. That’s why this procedure is usually performed on a single person.”

She knew that. Decontamination was a solo process. No two employees ever shared a chamber, since they had to strip naked. The idea of letting the alien out of her sight, of not touching him, was way worse than the loss of her dignity. He might disappear and she’d be right back inside that security room.

Alone. No hope left. Trying to hang on.

“Don’t leave me,” she pleaded.

He gently patted her back. “I won’t. I need to put you down. You must stand straight if you’re able. We’ll be sprayed, then we must remove everything down to our skin. A secondary spray will happen and we’ll be scanned. I will stay with you. Just open your eyes to look at me. I am right here.”

She nodded against his hard-shelled body. “I know. My eyesight keeps messing up.”

“I believe that. Your eyes are doing strange things in the black centers. I will be right here with you. This is a small shower room. It’s been sealed since I carried you in. If it helps, human medical staff are observing. You are not alone with me.”

“Not alone,” she whispered, mentally chanting it, too. She wasn’t alone anymore, locked inside the security office. It had to be real. Her alien was really there, holding her. He felt solid to her touch. But the thought of letting him go made her want to sob. What if her alien was a figment of her imagination? What if―

“Release me,” he growled. “Open your eyes.”

He gently tugged on her, trying to lower her down his body. She stopped fighting and forced her eyes open, lifting her head to stare at his face through the glass faceplate of his suit. Those strange but beautiful eyes of his were locked with hers.

“I’m right here.”

Her feet touched the floor as he slowly lowered her. She clutched at his suited arm though. He glanced at it as she stood on shaking legs, her knees about to collapse under her.

He took a step back but didn’t rip his arm away. “Start the process,” he called out, his gaze still locked with hers. “The spray will be warm. You should close your eyes for that. Just for a few seconds. I’m right here. Close your eyes.”

It was tough to do but she followed his orders. Keeping her hand on his suit helped. He still felt real. She silently chanted that over and over in her head as warm spray doused her. That felt real, too.

It stopped, and Vera opened her eyes, staring at the big alien. He was still there. He hadn’t disappeared.

“Now we need to strip everything off. Please release my arm.”

Part two of decontamination needed to be completed. She knew the drill. If the scanners picked up anything on them after they were hosed down naked, part three would be a bitch. That involved more spray, some scrubbing, and being zapped with blue lights that would kill anything on the surface of their bodies.

Another scan would happen at that point, and if it still showed something—which was the worst nightmare situation—they’d be placed on beds in sealed tanks for more testing while quarantined. She never wanted to find out what happened to the people who ended up in those tanks.

“Vera Wade? You need to let my arm go. I must remove this suit.”

“It’s just Vera,” she whispered, concentrating at his face. She was seeing spots again. It took a lot for her to release his arm. He couldn’t back away from her; the room they were in was too small. It was designed for a single person, not one human and a big, tall alien in a suit. He reached up and gripped his helmet, gave it a twist, and lifted it off.

His hair was cut short, a shock of black that appeared thick. Those pointed ears were really something. He turned a little, placing the helmet on a high shelf. Then he faced her again, reaching for the suit connectors on his upper body.

“You need to remove everything,” he urged.

“Right.” Her clothes were wet now. She wasn’t cold though. The room had to be heated. That was a nice upgrade from the last decontamination shower she’d used. It had been freezing. She refused to look away from him as she began to tug off her wet pajama top.

The alien kept his gaze locked with hers, not staring at her breasts as she pulled the thin, soaked material off her skin, then fingered her pants. They were sagging badly from being wet, the bottoms to the set only having thin elastic at the waist.

He opened the suit, revealing a tight black top. He dropped the upper half of his suit and reached for his waist, pulling up the shirt. He had a broad chest, muscled arms, and dark skin. He also had thin fur. It was so fine, she wasn’t sure if it was even real. It could be her imagination.

She swallowed as she tried to bend a little, still staring at him, to remove her pants.

She swayed, and suddenly his hands were on her upper arms, steadying her. She closed her eyes and panic hit. Was she back in the security room? It was possible she was only dreaming that she’d been saved.

She threw herself against him, hugging his waist. Firm skin that felt hot plastered against her as she clung to him.