The doctor’s astute gaze assessed the crowded lobby. “Not this time. I’ll call Meghan and see if she can come in early for her shift. Between the two of us, we can handle it. You keep clearing patients.”
Adria didn’t argue, the experienced nurse midwife would make a better assistant, though she was disappointed,
Her mentor put her hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get you in to see one. I’ve got five other women on my caseload due in the next month. I might have to call you in the middle of the night, though.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Then, we’ll definitely get you in to one before your exams.” More cries of pain, these louder, wafted down the hall. “Sounds like she’s in transition. Gotta go.”
An hour later, Adria had diagnosed three upper respiratory infections, an unidentified skin rash she chalked up to contact dermatitis, and a severe case of allergic rhinitis, something she could relate to.
This last patient was a horticulturist who operated a greenhouse in town. From what she could glean between sniffles and sneezes, most of Lynette’s plants were from Earth, started by seeds or bulbs after she arrived. Her goal was to introduce familiar species of fruits and vegetables to the colony, but she was also working on a few cross-breeding experiments with plants native to Terra Nova. Adria suspected one of these was the culprit since her own symptoms hadn’t returned when she did, the winter cold having taken care of whatever had bothered her during the growing period. She could definitely sympathize with the young woman and her red nose and watery eyes.
A short time later, while sitting in the rear of the office, entering notes into her tablet, a red-cheeked Meghan arrived.
“I got here as quick as I could, but I had to walk,” she explained as she pulled off her coat and gloves. “It’s freezing out there, and that’s coming from a Chicago native. I think it’s going to snow again.”
“Probably,” Adria agreed although she didn’t understand her reference. “I hear we should expect a lot of it.”
A woman’s wail of pain stopped further conversation.
“From the decreasing interval between the screaming, I’d say you better hurry,” Adria told her. “They’re all the way in the back.”
She tossed her outerwear on the counter then, after a quick nod, she rushed down the hall.
Silence fell momentarily, a rare event in the clinic these days. The reprieve wouldn’t last long. The lobby was empty as they didn’t schedule patients during their lunch, but the next was due in at 1:30. Despite the quiet, excitement hummed in the air. The daddy-to-be had looked frantic and the mom-to-be was in pain, but that would be forgotten soon enough, and they’d end the day with a child. What joy he, or she, would bring them.
For Adria, taking care of more and more young ones in the clinic was bittersweet. As more ships arrived and women on the colony became prevalent, so would the children and new births. She’d thought it would be easier dealing only with humans, but it wasn’t. It still stung that she didn’t have a family in her future, and today, more so than most days, she was reminded of it.
The image of a blue-eyed golden-haired child popped into her head. Not for the first time, either. As she and Beck grew closer, and spoke of more than just the benefits of their friendship, but of something more permanent, the image came to her more often.
Was he being sincere when he claimed to be grateful he and his ex-wife never had kids? He spoke of the uncertainties of their world, and of the new colony, and was glad he didn’t have a child as an added worry. Beck wasn’t one to lie, unless he was sparing her feelings.
He did have a lot of worries, however. So many were depending on him getting the colony ready. Setbacks, mishaps, and delays, especially with winter here, could result in many who wanted to come being unable to. Left on an unstable world to wait longer could prove fatal.
She wondered if his broad shoulders ever got tired of the burden he carried. He didn’t show it; instead, he seemed calm and, as always, levelheaded. Adria didn’t want to add to that burden, and if she could bring him a little ease, she intended to. She’d certainly done so last night when she surprised him in the shower. She still blushed at her boldness.
A call on her communicator from Amy reminded her it was classic movie night at the rec center. When she went to the bathroom to ask Beck if he wanted to go, she’d caught a glimpse of his outline through the steamy glass. A big man with perfect proportions—desire had slammed through her, making her nipples peak painfully and liquid heat flood her sex. More than going out on a cold night to sit in a crowded hall on hard metal chairs and watch ancient Earth history, she wanted to stay here and play with Beck.
Adria stepped out, closed the door, and unmuted her communicator.
“I’ll have to take a rain check.” She’d picked that term up from Beck, when he’d had to postpone the picnic he’d planned—at least three times by her count—and it had still never happened. Joining him in the shower would be her picnic.
“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. Are you sure? It’s a double feature of sci-fi flicks.”
“Movies about aliens, Amy?” she asked drily. “Don’t we get that enough in real life?”
“Yeah, but I really consider these comedies. The old technology, especially the vehicles and the ships and the clothes...its hilarious. Maybe next week?” she suggested.
“It’s a date. I promise. I’ll even buy the popcorn.”
There was a pause, then she replied in an exaggerated tone, “Gee thanks, Doc. I hate to break it to you, though, the popcorn is free.” She chuckled. “Gotta go or I’ll miss the opening credits. Night.”
Amy and her movie were forgotten as soon as she reentered the bathroom. Beck was bent over washing his legs, and his glorious backside was aimed her way, though it was blurred by the water on the obscure glass. She wanted to see it, and everything else, clearly.
Her fingers were on the zipper of her jeans—something she practically lived in now—at the same time she kicked off her sneakers. Her pants came down and were left in a wad as she pulled her T-shirt and the body-hugging undershirt over her head. Human women could keep the uncomfortable bras with the scratchy lace and all the wires—ouch.
Naked, she approached, grateful Beck had a glass half-screen instead of a full set of doors. He was scrubbing his hair when she silently stepped into the shower with him. Then she knelt in front of him and took his length, impressive even when soft, into her hand.
He jerked violently at her touch.
“What the...?” His surprised protest turned into a groan when she sucked him into her mouth.
The other time she’d done this, he’d been in complete control. This time, by taking him unaware, she was in charge, though she doubted it would last for long. As she slurped and teased and swirled the length his shaft, he grew to full hardness.
She didn’t know which she liked better. Him sliding into her with the full-on glory of his cock in readiness for her already or the knowledge she could make him that way with the mere touch of her fingers or the brush of her lips.
His hands sank into her hair, and he tugged her head back, stilling her motions though not pulling out of her mouth. “Surprising a man in the shower isn’t smart. I could have perceived you as a threat and reacted accordingly. You might have been hurt.” As she anticipated, Beck took control, same as always. He pumped his hips forward then slowly withdrew, his cock sliding the length of her tongue before sinking back in. “In hindsight, I’m beginning to see”—his voice lowered to a growl—“and feel, how much I like your kind of surprises.”
While guiding her head, he thrust forward, sending his rigid thickness toward the back of her throat. She concentrated on taking him and not choking, which wasn’t easy when she couldn’t breathe without getting water up her nose. He must have realized that, because he pulled out and lifted her to her feet.
First, he kissed her and stole the rest of her breath. She clung to his shoulders, the rest of her—wet breasts, belly,
and thighs—adhering to the front of him. Next, he hooked a hand behind one knee and pulled it up on his hip. She gasped when the head of his shaft rode the seam of her woman’s flesh...her pussy as he called it. Her head fell back as she struggled for air, her chest heaving she wanted him so. Then his mouth slid up the side of her throat to her ear.
“Turn around and put your hands flat on the wall,” he ordered. “Time for me to return the favor with a little surprise of my own.”
Eagerly, and without hesitation, she spun and presented herself as bidden. He nudged her feet apart with one of his own.
“Shower sex can be tricky. Everything is extra slick. Grab that bar and hang on, while I hold onto your hips.”
As soon as her fingers curved around the safety bar, he slid inside her. He felt amazing stretching and filling her, but that wasn’t a surprise. She loved having him inside her. Next, she heard a squirt and felt a trickle of cool liquid on her bottom. One of his big hands massaged it into a thick lather. He ran the fingers of the same hand, slick with soap, through the cleft between her cheeks until he found the hole in back.
She stiffened. “Beck, what are you—?”
“Shh, just hang on to the bar and feel. This is my surprise for you.”
One finger circled the tight pucker over and over, came out to gather more suds, and repeated the motion. Then she dragged in a choked breath when he changed the angle and slowly slid inside. It was broad, and the feeling was odd but also exhilarating in that it was naughty and must be taboo. Her arousal spiked, and she couldn’t keep from rocking back on the cock filling her. This, naturally, impaled her more on the digit in her bottom, which, from the thickness she guessed was really his thumb.
It didn’t stop advancing until the heel of his hand bumped again her cheek, then he splayed his fingers over her bottom, his thumb still buried deep, and thrust into her faster.
Her moans echoing off the tile rose with the steam, and her fingers turned white from the force of her grip.
She fought off her climax, wanting to make this wild, forbidden, erotic moment last, but Beck had other ideas. He moved his thumb in opposition to his cock filling one hole while withdrawing from the other, and if that wasn’t enough, the hand steadying her hip moved to the front of her sex. His fingers found the hard nub in font and, while he curled over her back, his lips opened on her shoulder, and he worked her clit, filled her tight ass, and drove hard into her pussy.
As her orgasm claimed her, she dropped her head to the backs of her hands clutching the bars. Her body shook, especially her legs that were quickly turning to jelly. If not for Beck’s strength, she would have slid to the floor into a sated puddle. But he wasn’t through, he moved faster, harder, deeper, and the only reprieve he gave her was to release her clit and wrap his arm around her waist.
Whether he drove into her five times or fifty she wasn’t sure because his unrelenting possession spurred another climax on the tail of the other. When that one rocked through her and she clamped down helplessly on the welcome invaders in her pussy and ass, she heard him shout his own release.
In the aftermath, he finished bathing, washing her as well as himself, and he hadn’t bothered to use a sponge. Instead, his soapy hands and fingers had glided all over her body, finding each curve and dip and crevice. By the time the water ran cold, she was weak-kneed and finding it hard to stand let alone walk to the bed. Beck had to dry himself then her, and carry her there.
Once he slid in beside her and curled around her back, he chuckled. “That, my sweet girl, was quite a shocker. What other wicked ideas do you have in that cunning mind of yours?”
Glad he was behind her and couldn’t see the fiery embarrassment on her face, she asked quietly, “So you enjoyed it?”
“Do you really have to ask? I was rock hard at the first flick of your tongue.”
“Terra Nova to Adria. Come in, Adria.”
Fingers snapped in front of her face, and she blinked.
Her head came up to find Amy grinning at her.
“What?”
“You’re sitting here with a secretive smile on your face and a faraway look in your eyes. That’s what.”
She gazed back at her, not sure how to respond. Was that a question?
“Wow,” Amy laughed. “Have you got it bad.”
Like most humans, the woman was confusing her, which wasn’t all that hard, considering she was still slightly dazed from her Beck daydream. She didn’t hide it well when her attempt at clarification came out with little more than a grunt. “Huh?”
Her friend leaned forward and whispered, “You’ve got the hots for Beck Kincaid. Admit it.”
“I...uh...what?” Realizing she was stammering in disjointed syllables, she shut her mouth and shook her head.
“It’s okay, Adri. He’s gorgeous and with that body...” She whistled softly. “I’d do him.”
“Amy! You will do no such thing.”
She laughed. “I’m joking. I’m not a poacher, especially on a friend’s man.”
“He’s not my man,” she insisted, although she desperately wanted him to be. “We’re just friends.”
“Right,” she drawled. “Women lose touch with reality when they’re daydreaming about their friends every day.” She paused to consider her a moment. “What I don’t understand is all the secrecy. Are you afraid someone won’t approve, like your badass brother? He’s mated to a human. Don’t you think he’d understand?”
“I thought you were going to get us lunch. I’ll have one of those veggie wraps.”
“Mm, evasive maneuvers. Nice try, but I think it points to something being wrong in the brother department. Or is it Beck? Oh, honey. I’ve heard he went through a rough divorce. Is he gun-shy? Is that it?”
“Gun, what?”
“Afraid to pull the trigger.” She huffed a laugh, suddenly. “I don’t mean that trigger. I’m sure your tall drink of water isn’t shy about anything in the boudoir.”
Adria stared at her, waiting for some of the words to make sense in her head. They didn’t. “Are you speaking English? Because half of that was gibberish to me.”
“Hey,” Amy said as she held up her hands defensively. “Don’t get peeved at me. I’m just asking. Just because I’ve given up on romance doesn’t mean I don’t know things. If you want, you can come to me.” Her expression serious, she reached over and squeezed her arm. “And I mean that, honey.”
“Thanks, Amy. You’re a good friend, but really, there isn’t anything to discuss about Beck and me. In fact, we’re going to play pool at the Watering Hole tonight, as friends, if you’d like to join us.”
“Really? You wouldn’t mind me horning in on your date.”
“It’s not a date. Ask around. Beck and I have done this for weeks, and, before me, he went with his friend Lana who is now mated to my badass brother, as you call him. Beck’s a nice guy and enjoys spending time socially with a gender that equates to 56 percent of your current population at last count.”
“Around here, it’s more like 5 percent, but we’re growing,” Amy observed. She went on with a smug smile, “And if telling yourself you and Beck are just friends”–she raised both hands in a gesture the humans called air quotes on the last word, then shrugged—“whatever helps you sleep at night, girlfriend. Although, I’m betting that’s Beck, too.”
A baby’s cries filled the corridor as Juna walked through the doors at the far end, saving Adria from more of this embarrassing conversation. She was beaming,
“It’s a girl,” she announced. “Mama, baby, and Daddy, who almost passed out when I asked if he wanted to cut the cord, are all doing fine.”
Amy elbowed her in the side. “See? More and more every day. Maybe by this time next year, we girls will have cracked the 10 percent mark.” She grabbed her coat from a hook on the wall and her bag from a drawer in the desk, slinging it over her shoulder. “I’m off to the deli counter to get lunch, and I might swing by the grocery to pick up some pink bubble gum ciga
rs on the way back.” Then she laughed. “Though in this Podunk town, I’ll probably have to settle for the smelly real ones.”
“As long as you don’t light those nasty things in my clinic,” Juna called after her.
Adria watched her bubbly friend wave at the affronted doctor before she sailed through the front doors, letting in a burst of cold. She also listened as her other friend muttered under her breath about outlawing tobacco entirely on the colony while the occasional muted cries of the newborn filled the air.
She should be happy. She had friends, a budding new career, and, today, was surrounded by hope with new life. She wished she could be as positive as Amy, or as contented in her career as Juna, and as blessed as the new mother in the back. Instead, combined with her rapidly waning time with Beck, it made her regret even more what she couldn’t have.
Chapter Twelve
Adria checked out front again, scanning right and left, or as much as she could through the window. What was keeping him?
It was dark, the clinic already closed, and Remus, her escort home tonight, was half a time cycle late. She’d never known him not to be on time.
Maybe she should call Beck.
She checked the time. He’d said he had something to do after work but was due at her place in an hour. She was looking forward to seeing him, even though their time together was brief. She hated when he left her bed in the wee hours and had to trudge out into the cold. Even his heated kisses at the door couldn’t compensate because, bottom line—she wanted to spend every minute possible with him before she had to go.
No, she’d give Remus a little more time because she didn’t want to disturb Beck and delay his arrival. He was planning to cook for her. That was exciting, but she was more eager about dessert, which she hoped would be her spread out on the table, or the couch, the floor, or the bed. Maybe all of the above—the man certainly had the stamina for it.
Her cheeks burned at her lewd thoughts, then she grinned, wondering how she could blush after everything Beck had done to her, and be eager for more.
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