by Dixon, Ruby
"Couple of weeks," I say. "I imagine there's more direct, faster routes, but we're going to try and stay off the main shipping lanes. Less questions."
"And then how long at your friend's?" She looks over at me. "Jerrok?"
"Just long enough to get the Sister up and running. Jerrok's not a big fan of company…and he's probably still mad at me for leaving Sophie and the carinoux on his doorstep for as long as we have." I grimace at the thought, because I can only imagine how pissed he was when he found out about the carinoux that we neglected to mention. I hope it hasn't torn up his entire station. "Sophie will be joining us after that, I imagine."
She looks at me thoughtfully. "I hope she doesn't feel I'm taking her place."
"Sophie?" I make a choking sound even as I power down the pod. "How are you taking her place?"
Jade shrugs. "She might feel threatened if another human shows up with you."
"I doubt that. Sophie's the mildest little thing. You won't have to worry." I hope Jade isn't threatened by Sophie, though. Sophie's pretty enough, as humans go, but I've never felt anything for her other than sympathy and responsibility. She's a good kid…whereas I feel completely and utterly different about Jade. The feelings I have for this female are decidedly not brotherly. "It's going to be fine," I say again. "Are you worried?"
She considers for a moment. "No, I don't think so. Just thinking aloud."
A horrible thought occurs to me. Jade's been acting a little odd since we got onto the Jabberwock, and I initially attributed it to all the changes, but a new worry's making itself known. "You…do want to go with me, right? If you don't, I'll understand." I practically choke on the word. "I'll take you somewhere safe if that's what you'd like—"
"Adi," Jade says softly. She takes my hand in hers and rubs her thumb over my palm. We probably should be getting out of the pod to go and help with the others, but I don't want to leave until we get everything straightened out between us. "I love you. Of course I want to go with you. I don't know why you'd think otherwise."
I shrug. "I'm not great at reading people. I think my past relationship with Shaalyn shows that." I give her a wry smile. "But you just seem a little distant in the last day or two and it's worrying me."
"I'm fine. I promise."
"I don't think you are." I clasp her hand between mine and rub it. "Like I said, I'm not good at reading people, but I know you. "You've been worried about something…and with the sickness…"
Kef me. A horrible thought crosses my mind.
I study Jade's face, looking for answers. What does a human look like when they're sick? Do they look haggard? Circles under the eyes? Because Jade has both. I thought it was because of what we've been through, but now I'm wondering. "Are you dying?" I choke out.
If she's dying, she's going to take me with her. I can't imagine a life without a happy, healthy, smiling Jade.
Her eyes go wide and her mouth drops open. She squeezes my hand, shaking her head. "Adiron, I'm not dying—"
"You wouldn't tell me if you were," I point out. "You don't like it when I worry—"
"Adi—"
My mind is racing. If she's sick, we can fix this. There are doctors out there that know about treating humans. "Change of plans," I say abruptly. "We have the Jabberwock abandon the Buoyant Star. We can get to Jerrok's asteroid a lot faster that way, and once we get the Sister, we can find a doctor—"
"Adiron," Jade says softly. She reaches out and touches my chin, directing my gaze to hers. "I'm not dying."
"Jade—"
"I'm pregnant."
I blink. "You're what?"
"Pregnant." The worried look crosses her face again. It's the same expression she's worn for the last day—the slightly pinched, slightly distant, stressed expression. "I think they did something to me when I was sleeping. Modified something. At any rate, I'm pregnant, and you're the father, and we're going to have a baby."
I stare at her. "You're not…dying?"
"No." Her expression is grave. "I found out when they did a medical scan on me before they put me into stasis, back on Shaalyn's ship. I'm pregnant, and that's why I'm sick. I wasn't sure how you'd feel about being a father, and so I've sat on the news, but I figured it was time to tell you—"
Before she can finish, I reach over and haul her out of her seat, tugging her into my lap. She sprawls against me, her arms going around my neck, her thighs straddling mine, a confused expression on her face. I look up at her…and then I crush her against me in a tight, relieved hug. I bury my face against her neck and hold her tight.
My mate. My keffing beautiful, perfect mate.
“Adi?" Jade asks. "Your horns are in my face…"
I swing my head wide, so I don't jab her in the face. I don't let go of her, though. I don't think I'll ever let go. I keep her tight on my lap, running my hands up and down her body. She's pregnant. My mate is pregnant with my baby. I stare down at her belly. It's always been rounded, which I love. I know it's too early to see evidence of our child, but I look anyhow. Just because. "Jade."
"If you ask me how it happened, I'm going to be very disappointed," she teases, her voice falsely light. There's a hint of nervousness on her face. "I'm not sure how you feel about being a father, but…I don't think I want to get rid of it."
Startled, I meet her eyes again. "No. Don't get rid of it." I put my hand to her stomach. "Please."
"Then you…you're happy?" She looks as if she desperately needs reassurance. "Tell me what you're thinking. It's not something we've ever talked about and I know it's a big change…" Her voice trails off and she looks ready to cry. "I just don't want to mess up what we have."
It's moments like this that I wish I had a smooth tongue like Mathiras. I wish I'm not the dumb one. I wish I could think of beautiful, reassuring things to say that would make the worry ease off of her face. That I could tell her that I'm utterly flummoxed, but in the best way. That I'm amazed that we've made a child between us. And that child will be incredible. It'll have her smarts (hopefully) and my…well, it'd probably be better if the baby was mostly Jade. She's smart and strong and proud and brave. We're going to have a family. A few years from now, I'll be able to hold my son or daughter in my arms. I'll be able to raise him or her just as we raised Zoey, and just as my father raised us.
It'll be a new person to look after, a new bruise in my heart. Already my chest aches with the thought, and I'm both terrified and elated and I want nothing more than to hold that child RIGHT NOW…even though I know I'm not ready. But I don't know how to sum all those things up. I don't know how to tell Jade how overwhelmed this makes me, or how much bigger my emotions feel at this moment. How I don't think I've ever been so happy, and yet it feels like more than that.
A thousand times more.
But I can't think of anything, and she's looking at me with worried eyes, so I come up with something. "Yay!"
She blinks. Recoils a bit. Smacks my chest. "Yay? That's all I get? Are you fucking serious, Adiron?"
"I'm not good with words," I tell her, my voice stupidly husky with emotion.
She crosses her arms over her chest.
I put my hand between us, touching her stomach. "I just…" Kef me, there must be a breeze in here. My eyes are watering. "I'm good. I am. I just can't think of the right words that you'd want to hear."
Jade's expression softens. She reaches up and brushes a bit of dampness off my face. "Just tell me that you love me."
"I love you," I manage hoarsely around the keffing knot in my keffing throat. "So much."
"Are you happy?" Her voice is soft.
I nod.
A tiny smile curves her mouth. "I'm a little terrified. Happy, but terrified. How are we going to raise a baby in space?"
I touch her stomach again. I can't stop touching it. I wonder how long it'll be before I'll be able to feel the little guy—or girl—in there. "We'll make room on the Little Sister. You're not leaving my side."
"I just…after what happened with
Shaalyn, I worry it won't be safe." She bites her lip. "But I don't want to force you to give up your dreams."
"My dreams?" I repeat dumbly. Does she not get it? "Jade, you are my dream. A family is my dream." I rub my knuckles lightly over her stomach. "Corsairing is just a way to make credits. If it becomes dangerous or if you start to hate it, we can do something else."
"Are you sure?"
"A thousand times sure," I tell her. "Who knows, maybe we'll set up on Risda like Kivian's brother. They seem happy enough."
A little smile curves her mouth. "What about your brothers?"
That's definitely a question. It's always been just the three of us—and Zoey. We took in Sophie, of course, not because we needed another crew member, but just because she was lost and afraid and she just seemed desperate to have a job of some kind. After years of Zoey on the ship, it was odd to have no female presence. Jade and I—and a baby—would definitely change the dynamic. I can't do stupid shit anymore just for fun. I've got a family to think about. "When we find them again, we'll work something out. They won't mind more crew."
Even if they do, Jade and the baby come first. They won't, though. I know my brothers. They know how miserable I've been since the Shaalyn incident. They'll be thrilled that I'm happy…and something tells me Kaspar and Mathiras might be tangled up with her friends.
That's a future worry, though, and I'm a male that likes to live in the present. So I press a kiss to Jade's plush mouth…and then kiss her again, because there's nothing better than kissing my female. I bury my hands in her hair when she lets out a soft little sigh, and I deepen the kiss.
Jade chuckles against my lips, trying to pull back. "Won't someone see us?"
"Don't care," I say, capturing her mouth again. I slick my tongue against hers and put my hands on her hips. I lift her up, just a little, and then drag her cunt against the length of my cock. "No one will look."
She moans, rocking her hips against mine, creating more friction between us. "Adi…we shouldn't."
"Yes we should." I tug on her jumper. "You think it doesn't turn me on to know that you're carrying my baby? That I put my child inside this gorgeous body of yours?"
I hear Jade suck in a breath, followed by a whimper. Her hands go on my face, and then she's kissing me even harder while she lifts her hips up so I can undo the fasteners on her trou.
My gorgeous, hungry mate. Kef, I love this female. I growl against her pretty mouth, even as I tear at her clothing. The fasteners come apart, and I shove at the material between us, until it pools between her thighs. When I touch her cunt, she's hot and slippery, and she rocks against my fingers with a moan.
"No one's going to look," I promise her between kisses. With one hand, I undo my own trou, and my other hand plays along the folds of her cunt, searching for her favorite spots. I slide a finger into her heat, using my thumb to tease her clit. She practically sits on my hand in her eagerness, panting my name against my mouth. "If they do look," I whisper, "all they'll see is you bouncing on my cock. They'll see that I'm giving it to you so hard. That I'm so deep inside you. No one's ever claimed you so hard, have they, Jade?"
"Never," she pants against my mouth. Her hands are greedy as I free my cock, and she strokes me before guiding me toward her body. I hiss when the head of my cock nudges against her entrance, and I can't wait any longer. I grab her hips and thrust up into her, slamming her down onto my length. She moans again, wrapping her arms around my neck, her mouth hungry on mine.
"You want everyone to see me claiming you?" I ask between pumps of my cock into the tight clasp of her sheath. "You want everyone to know that I own this body? That you're my mate and this is my cunt? That my seed goes here?" I nip at her lower lip. "That my seed got you pregnant?"
I love the whimper she makes.
No one's out here, of course. If they could see into the pod, I'd drag Jade to the back and kef the daylights out of her properly. As it is, the engine of the pod is on the bottom, so the windows are far too high for anyone to see in. We can see below, but no one can see us. Which is a shame, because the sight of my glorious mate riding my cock, panting with need, is the best sight ever.
"Mine," I tell her, lifting her up and rocking her back down onto my cock. "You're mine, aren't you?"
"Yours," she breathes. Her breath hitches, her cunt tightening around me, and I know she's close. "Yours, Adi."
"Gonna come for me?" I drag my hand from her hip to the front of her body, teasing the little clit that's poking out from her folds. "Gonna squeeze me so tight it's like you're milking my cock? Because you need it?"
Jade cries out, her body shuddering over mine, and then I feel it—the clamp and squeeze of her cunt as it ripples with her release. She comes hard and fast, our bodies slapping together and making lewd, wet sounds. I love it. Love her. I tell her that, over and over again as I drive into her, seeking out my own release. Doesn't take long—she feels far too good—and I bury my face against her neck and bite at her soft skin when I come, filling her with a fresh round of seed.
For some reason, it gives me animalistic pleasure, and I growl through my climax, latching an arm around her waist and holding her tight against me as I fill her cunt with my release. Jade clings to me, her fingers in my hair as she murmurs my name over and over again.
When I can breathe, I relax back in my seat and let out a heavy sigh. "You're amazing."
"You're just saying that because you nutted," Jade teases, leaning forward to press a little kiss to my mouth. She likes cuddling after sex, small touches that draw the pleasure out for longer, and I'm happy to oblige.
I play with the globes of her glorious ass, fascinated by her lack of tail and the bounce her cheeks have. She really does have an amazing body. "Well, yeah. But it's true. If I didn't think you were amazing, would I have gotten you pregnant?"
She snorts, tucking her head against my neck and then snuggling close. Her movements make her body twitch on my cock, reminding me that I'm seated deep inside her still and our bodies are messy. We'll have to do a bit of cleaning up before we get out of the pod…and I'll need to air it out to get rid of the sex smell.
"I hope no one was filming that," Jade tells me as I rub circles on her ass with my hands. "Do these things have cameras?"
"I kinda hope they were filming it," I admit. "I'd love a copy."
She smacks my chest. "Very funny."
I was serious, but I just shrug. A vid of Jade in all her splendor, riding my cock? What's not to love?
Her hand traces a pattern on my chest, and as she starts petting me, I realize she's getting all pensive again. "Are you sure you're happy, Adi?" Jade asks in a soft voice. "About the baby?"
"I really am," I say, and I mean it. "I'm keffing delighted. Being a father is on my list of five favorite things."
Jade lifts her head to look me in the eye. She's grinning as she does. "But let me guess, you won't say where on the list it is?"
This time, I absolutely will. I give my lovely mate a serious look. "Being a father is number two on my list of favorite things, right below being your mate. Because you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Jade. Nothing will ever change that. I love you. I love every moment we're together, and I can't imagine waking up a day without you by my side. I want to grow old and gray with you, with a dozen children that look just like you." I give her a rueful look. "And we can hope none of them inherit my smarts."
She lets out a soft little cry, and then her arms are around my neck and we're kissing again. "Stop that. You’re smart. You’re brilliant and clever and I love you, too," she says between kisses, and her hips rock against mine. "I love you. I love you. I love you. And our kids would be lucky if they were as smart as their father. So lucky." She licks at my parted lips, all intensity. "Just like I'm lucky to have you."
Jade rubs her body against mine, the tips of her nipples dragging across my chest. Our kissing grows more intense, and she's in no hurry to leave her spot on my lap. If anything, her movem
ents become more obvious, her body rocking down against mine. My cock realizes it might be getting lucky again and starts to pay attention once more. I kiss my mate harder and run my hand lightly over the controls, making sure that the pod is locked.
The world outside can just wait.
Epilogue
Weeks Later
ADIRON
I always thought not much changed in the universe. That we race around in crazy circles for this or that, but nothing ever truly changes. As we disembark on Jerrok's station, though, I can't help but notice that things are very different.
Jerrok's clean, for starters.
It shouldn't be a big deal, of course. Everyone bathes. For the last several years, though, every time I'd visited Jerrok, he seemed to have a new layer of filth on his skin, his clothing equally dirty, his hair long and stringy. He didn't care about being clean, he said. Why did it matter when he never saw anyone? Who wanted to look at him anyhow?
But when the Jabberwock arrives, Jerrok greets us with a smile, and he's wearing clean clothing. His skin glows a brighter blue than I've ever seen, and his long hair is carefully braided between his horns, tucked out of the way. And he's holding hands with Sophie.
So…I guess that happened.
Sophie looks good, at least. Her cheeks are pink and she smiles shyly at the crew of the Jabberwock as they visit and chatter and work on refueling the ship. They won't stay long. The Buoyant Star is floating in space, tethered and hidden behind a nearby asteroid, and Jerrok has plans to put a neutralizer on the ship that will disguise it from any readings. We've sent a comm out to Lord sa'Rin on Risda III informing him of our findings, but it'll take some time for him to get back to us.
In the meantime, Jade and I will stay here. Once we figure out what to do with the Star—and the Little Sister, who's also docked here, is ready to go—we'll head out and look for my brothers. We'll be out of Jerrok's hair soon enough…but something tells me that he'll mind less than he normally does. He seems almost like a different person. If it weren't for the prosthetics and the mismatched eyes (and the surly attitude) I'd think he'd been replaced by a clone of himself.