Mission: Planet Biter (Veslor Mates #4)(16)

“How many of your kind are on this ship?”

“My grouping has four males.”

She realized she was caressing the skin on his arm around her waist instead of clutching it. His body solidly pressed against her back, curled around her, and he was really warm. She felt safe. “I think I want to sleep. You won’t go away?”

“I won’t let you go, Vera. Rest.”

“Thank you. I’ve seen some aliens before on stations. I avoided them because I was terrified that I’d accidently insult them or give them the wrong impression. I worked with a woman on my first job who told me about something that had happened to her on a station. She smiled at an alien that resembled a bird. She thought he was pretty cool-looking. Then he got upset because she tried to walk away. It turned out, on his planet, a woman smiling at a man means she’s agreed to become his wife. But you’re so nice that I don’t care if you think I’ll marry you. Thank you, Roth.”

He made a soft snorting sound. It might have been a laugh. “I don’t expect anything from you in return for taking care of you.”

She fought back a sob. The gratitude she felt toward him almost overwhelmed her emotions. He had to have the patience of a saint to put up with her. “I know I’m crazy right now. I’m so sorry.” She stopped brushing her fingertips over his skin and clung to his thick wrist. “I knew all my coworkers pretty well. Some of us have worked other jobs together. They’re all dead, aren’t they?”

“Don’t think about that now. Get well first.”

“How can I not think about it? Why me? Doctor Hazel was so smart. She should have survived instead.”

“You’re a total fuck-up. You should be dead.”

She flinched when her father’s voice suddenly sounded in the room. “You’re not here! Fuck off!”

“Vera?” Roth held her tighter.

“Tell him go away!” She clung to Roth’s wrist.

“Who, Vera? Do you want me to let you go?”

“No!” She panicked. “He isn’t really here, is he? Please tell me he’s not.”

“We are alone together in this room.”

Her alien’s words comforted her.

“You need to die so I can get money from that company you work for. Be a good daughter for once and just fucking die,” her father taunted. It sounded like he spoke just inches in front of her face. “Die, Vera. Just fucking die like all the others!”

She started to sob and struggle in Roth’s hold, attempting to turn over. He didn’t let her go, but she managed to roll enough to bury her face against his shirt, clutching it. It also made him straighten his legs.

“Vera,” her alien rasped next to her ear. She felt his hot breath on her skin. “Whatever is going on in your head, it is just that. In your head. I have you, and you are safe.”

She nodded.

“Don’t listen to that fucking alien. He’s lying to you. God, you’re such an idiot! Your mother should have birthed me a son. Boys are smarter. I wouldn’t have left her if she had. But no, I got you. You’re fucking worthless.”

She’d heard her father say that to her before, when they’d argued in the past. That had been very real. “This is why I hate you. You’re such an asshole! I don’t owe you shit. If I die, you won’t get a penny. That would mean I’d listed you as my beneficiary. I excluded you to make sure you’d never profit from me.”

“Vera, stop.” Roth deepened his voice. “It’s the drugs. Listen to me. We are alone in this room. It is you and I.” He stroked her back and put his chin on the top of her head again, cocooning her against his chest.

Then he began to make a rumbling sound, and his chest vibrated against hers.

She focused on that noise, and liked it. The vibrations were nice, too. Like a massage where she was pressed close to him.

Her father didn’t say anything else. Maybe her alien had chased him out of her mind with that sound. Or he had distracted her from the crazy. Whatever it was, she relaxed.



Roth knew the moment Vera drifted to sleep. Her breathing remained slow but even. He relaxed his hold on her. The poor female heard voices that weren’t real and saw imaginary things that terrified her. He hoped the drugs would fade from her system and she’d be well soon.

Medical personnel quietly entered the room, checking Vera’s information displayed on a screen somewhere behind him. A few of them seemed uneasy at his presence. He didn’t care if they were comfortable or not. All that mattered was the female. Somehow, he’d become Vera’s solace. She trusted him, and he refused to disappoint her.

Dr. Kane came into the room at one point, scowling at him. “This isn’t appropriate.” She kept her voice low.

“Human customs don’t concern me. Promises do. I promised to remain with this female.”

“You’re sharing a bed and holding her.”

“I swore I’d hold her.”

The human doctor stepped closer. “It’s breaking the rules.”

“I do not care.”

She crossed her arms over her white coat. “Are you interested her?”

“I’m concerned about this female.”

Dr. Kane lowered her arms. “I mean, are you sexually interested in her?”