Crave - 14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Merrick had been tossing and turning for quite a while before he finally gave up and threw the blanket off of his naked body. He couldn't keep his mind from returning to what happened in the exercise room...how Jenson's powerful frame had felt… his weight pressing him into the mat. He had been so turned on that he couldn’t decide between friction against the mat below him, or pressing back against the vampire’s hard cock.

The shower had been an even bigger test of his willpower. He knew Jenson was watching him out of the corner of his eye. When he saw the evidence of the vampire’s arousal jutting thick and hard from his body, Merrick had to fight the urge to drop to his knees and take Jenson into his mouth… to taste the man. The problem with that fantasy was he knew Jenson wasn’t ready. It was too soon after losing Kel. Jenson might want him, but if Merrick pushed, the vampire might bolt, or worse, hate himself for giving in.

He let his mind wander back to the shower room. Groaning, he took his hard cock in hand and, with a firm grip, slowly stroked its length. The image of Jenson’s body, glistening with beads of water, pushed him quickly to the edge. With a grunt, he arched his back and felt his cock throb and twitch in his hand as hot cum splashed his chest. Falling back to the bed, he panted for breath and waited for his heart rate to slow. He couldn't remember the last time he had gone so long with only his hand to satisfy him.

With a tired sigh Merrick grabbed a dirty shirt and, after a quick clean up, felt like he could finally sleep. Closing his eyes, he thought about the coming adventure. Despite his age, the idea of finally going on a mission with Jenson, like they’d talked about when he was a child, sent a thrill through him. He fell asleep physically sated, with a smile on his face.

The next day was full of activity as they prepared for arrival. Their landing area had been chosen because it allowed large ships to dock directly on the planet. The plan was to have the ship’s crew live on board for the month, working with members of the building team to construct a landing base. The ship’s lab facilities would also be available for any tests that couldn’t be run in the field. Jenson’s group would drive a couple of hundred kilometers away, and set up their operations base. The location for the base was adjacent to a large lake, which they were assured contained drinkable water. Audra was originally supposed to stay with her ship, but it was quickly decided she would travel with the researchers and leave her second in command in charge of the crew.

The landing was uneventful, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they touched down safely. No one had forgotten the previous sabotage attempt, and tensions were high. The territory between the ship and the operations base was rocky and rough, so they brought specially designed vehicles manufactured to handle the rough terrain. Soon after landing, five vehicles were driven off of the ship, loaded with materials and supplies. Merrick and Jenson rode separately, with Jenson’s vehicle taking the lead. Everyone remained on full alert as they navigated through the unfamiliar territory.

The ride was challenging, and Merrick was jolted so hard a few times that he bit his tongue and tasted blood in his mouth. The ground leveled as they entered a forest, and he took the opportunity to study his surroundings. The trees had deep black trunks and blood red leaves, which blocked out most of the sunlight. Every so often he thought he saw something moving in the tree branches. He wondered if it was the small primate-like creatures he knew inhabited the area. When they finally reached the clearing that would be their home for the next month, Merrick saw a group of males standing near the lake. At this time of the morning there was still a light mist over the water behind them.

The convoy pulled up to a stop in a line at the edge of the clearing. Merrick jumped out quickly, and heard the others exiting the vehicles behind him. Jenson and Audra got out of the lead vehicle and came to stand beside him. The vampire stiffened and gave Merrick a sharp look. His gaze swept over the younger man before settling on his mouth. The vampire had a strange look on his face as he stared intently at Merrick’s lips. Self-consciously, Merrick touched them and felt moisture. He pulled his hand away and saw a small amount of blood smeared on his fingertips. He looked up at the vampire and shrugged. “It was a rough ride.” He watched Jenson’s eyes shift from blue to black, and the look of hunger in the vampire’s eyes sent a thrill of excitement up Merrick’s spine.

“You should be more careful,” Jenson said quietly. The vampire reached up to touch Merrick’s lip when he heard Audra chuckling quietly behind him. With a deep breath, he pulled his hand away and muttered, “Wait here,” before turning to walk, solo, to the group of five males.

“Senator,” Jenson said as he approached the shore. He stopped a few feet away from the group and bowed slightly. “Thank you for welcoming us to Alect-3. I trust you weren’t waiting long?”

“We only just arrived,” the taller male answered, inclining his head slightly in Jenson’s direction. His voice had an interesting crackling sound to it… it reminded Merrick of a wood fire. He studied the males while waiting to be presented to the group. All were tall and slender and had the long blue-black hair common to their species. From a distance they resembled humans, but on closer inspection, they didn’t have a nose or nostrils and their red and orange pupils were vertically slit. They also had six long and slender fingers on each hand.

While watching the interactions, Merrick noticed Audra stiffen beside him as Dr. Forbes came up beside her. The tall redhead stood slightly ahead and in front of the petite vampire… almost in a protective stance. Merrick stifled a laugh. If he knew Audra, she wasn’t going to tolerate being treated like the ‘little woman’ for very long.

“Let me introduce my team.” Jenson turned and indicated that everyone should approach. As the vampire introduced each person, they acknowledged the Alectarans with a nod of their heads. They were all briefed prior to the mission that, unlike in the vampire and human culture, shaking hands was not an acceptable form of greeting with this species. When Jenson introduced Audra, Merrick saw a couple of the males grimace in disgust. Despite the less than polite greeting she received, Audra took great care to be respectful, even though Merrick was sure she hated every second.

“The female is in charge of your ship?” one of the males asked, roving his eyes over Audra’s body. Merrick saw Dr. Forbes’ eyes flash in anger. His body twitched, like he was suppressing the urge to attack the man who appeared to be insulting Audra.

“Yes,” Audra said, meeting the male’s eyes. Her voice was steady and controlled. “I’ve been the captain of my own ship since long before any of you were born.”

Merrick felt his lip twitch at the shocked look shared between the group. A younger male near the back of the group sneered, clearly angry that a female would dare speak to him. He deliberately turned away from Audra. “So it’s true that vampires allow their females to speak in polite company. Why does the Counseurie insist on doing business with such a species?”

Audra stood stiffly beside Merrick as she visibly struggled to control her temper. He could hear murmurs of discontent within their group. Audra was highly thought of, and the disrespect she was being shown was not being taken well.

“Counseur Rossud,” the male Jenson had addressed as Senator snapped at the younger man. “You will hold your tongue.” The shorter male muttered an apology to the Senator and lowered his head, but not before he sent a hateful glare to Audra. “My apologies,” the Senator said, addressing Jenson. “Counseur Rossud is young. He is still learning the fine art of diplomacy.”

It didn’t escape Merrick’s notice that although the Senator apologized for the Counseur speaking out of turn, he did not apologize for what had been said. The tension in both groups was palpable.

“I understand there were some issues before our arrival?” Jenson asked, taking the focus off of Audra, at least temporarily.

The Senator sighed. “Yes. An unfortunate incident. There were several impulse disrupters set in the area. There is no need for concern however; our security personnel neutralized all of the devices.”

Jenson nodded. “And the perpetrators?”

“They’re currently being investigated,” the Senator said, although Merrick noted some evasiveness in his response. His instincts told him the male was holding something back. From the sidelong look the vampire gave him, it appeared Jenson agreed. After several more minutes of discussion, the Alectaran group said their goodbyes, and boarded their small shuttle.

“What was that about?” Audra asked when the shuttle lifted off. “All of that fuss for a five minute greeting?”

“I was wondering the same thing,” the vampire said as he looked down at his sister. “You kept your temper admirably.”

Audra snorted. “It wasn’t easy, believe me.”

Jenson laughed, and with a nod to the building crew who had accompanied them, he indicated they could start constructing their temporary shelters. While they were being erected, Merrick and the security team set up a perimeter around the clearing. Several drones were released to augment the guards on watch, and motion sensing cameras were placed strategically throughout the camp. Merrick wasn’t leaving anyone’s safety to chance.

Halfway around the lake, Merrick spotted an area where the ground had been disturbed. Normally this wouldn’t have bothered him, especially since they were next to a water source, but something about the tracks seemed unusual. Crouching down, he took a better look at the ground. The tracks were nothing like he had seen in the reports he had read regarding the planet. They were comprised of four claw marks; three where the toes would be and one for the ‘heel.’ In all his years of study, Merrick had never seen anything like this. One set of tracks lead from the woods to the water’s edge. Another set led back into the woods. Merrick followed the trail only a few meters before the prints disappeared. He examined the surrounding area closely, and found a trunk of a tree with slashes torn into the rough bark, as if something had used its claws to quickly climb into the branches.

Merrick programmed a small drone to catalogue his findings and headed back to the camp, searching for Jenson. He finally found the vampire by the vehicles, talking to one of the builders. “Jenson,” he called out as he jogged up to him. “You got a minute?”

The vampire turned at the sound of his voice and smiled. “Sure. What’s going on?”

“When I was walking the perimeter I noticed some strange tracks on the far side of the lake. Bipedal… but nothing I’ve ever seen before.” Merrick looked over to the area where he had spotted the tracks. “I don’t remember anything in the briefings about a large bipedal species indigenous to this planet?”

Jenson`s brow furrowed. “There are several primate-like species, but nothing larger than 40 kilograms.”

“This was definitely larger than that. If I had to guess I would say about 185 cm and 90 kilograms, and its feet were clawed.”

Jenson’s surprise over Merrick’s discovery was clear. After grabbing a couple of scanners, Merrick led Jenson around the lake. The vampire investigated the tracks leading from the woods for several minutes, with Merrick following behind him. “These don’t come from anything native to this planet,” the vampire confirmed as he stood, wiping his hands on his dark pants. “You said the tracks stopped in the woods?”

Merrick nodded and pointed in the direction of the scarred tree. “It looks like it went in there and climbed into the canopy after a few meters.”

Jenson stood in front of the tree and touched the claw marks. “Have you taken samples?”

“Yes.” Merrick stood behind the vampire, watching him, while keeping an eye on forest around them. “I had a drone take video and organic samples. It should be on its way back to the ship by now. The science team will run the tests and send me the results.”

“Good.” Jenson nodded, and then looked up into the branches. He reached for a sturdy branch and pulled himself up, quickly disappearing into the thick canopy. Even knowing where the large man was, Merrick had a difficult time seeing him in the thick foliage.

“There are claw marks up here as well,” the older man’s voice drifted down. “And some sort of symbols.”

“Anything you recognize?” Merrick called up to his friend. Jenson was so well travelled, and had encountered so many unusual species that if any would know what this creature was, it would be his vampire friend.

“Maybe…,” the vampire said thoughtfully, before Merrick heard him move to the next tree. “There are marks here too.” The man moved from tree to tree, sometimes backtracking if he lost the trail. Merrick followed from below, on alert for any unusual movement in the trees. After half an hour of tracking, Jenson climbed down and landed beside Merrick. "There are several sets of marks in the trees here. They go off in multiple directions. I can’t tell if it’s one creature, or a group. We might want to set up some additional monitoring in this location."

Merrick agreed, and proceeded to set up several surveillance cameras in the area. They were night vision and motion sensing, so if anything moved, they would see it.

“What the hell do you think it is?” Merrick asked as they made their way back to the base.

“I have an idea,” Jenson said, looking deep in thought. “I’ll have to do a little more research to be sure.” He turned and looked at Merrick briefly. “The question is: how did this creature get on Alect-3?”

When they got back to camp, Merrick went to the building housing the offices and labs, and commed the ship’s science officer to confirm he had received the samples. The male advised that the tests were underway and the video had been uploaded into the ship’s computers. Merrick thanked him and immediately pulled up the data. The readings from the probe indicated the creature’s size was larger than Merrick’s initial estimates. He was reviewing the footage from the forest when he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up as the vampire walked in and sat in a chair across from him.

“We may have a problem,” the older man sighed. “I think the tracks are from an Eceran flauros.”

“Shit,” Merrick swore out loud, leaning back in his chair. Jenson wasn’t kidding. If there was a flauros on the planet, they had a problem.