Gundar placed his dishes on the tray he’d carried them in on and took hers from her hands. Picking up the now full tray, he said, “That’s not necessary, I’ll place them in the unit. The sleeping area is through that door,” he nodded his head towards the door, “and if you wish to cleanse your mouth first, you will find a human toothbrush on the counter along with a paste that the ship’s supply officer assures me is the most popular.”
Darla stared after him as he walked to the kitchen. She’d hoped that she’d missed a guest bed or that the sofa would pull out or something. Gundar returned.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“There’s just the one bed?”
“Is it not large enough for both of us to be comfortable?”
“I, uh, well, how do I say this? I thought I’d have my own bed.”
Gundar looked astounded. “But we are mates. Mates sleep together.”
“Yeah, I get that. But, we only just met today and we’re not married yet. I know some girls hop right on into bed with a guy, and not just to sleep either,” she babbled. “But, I’ve been raised to be a good girl, and we just don’t do that. It’s supposed to be marriage first.”
Gundar blinked at her. “But we are married, in the Mylos tradition. We have merely not sealed our bond, nor have we had a human ceremony.”
“We’re married? When did we do that?”
“When I came for you and accepted you as my bride. You’d already signed the contract, it became binding when we were matched and I came for you.”
“That was our wedding?”
“That is a ceremony, yes? So, not our wedding. You are planning that fairytale happy ever after one. It was, however, our marriage pact.”
“And this bond thing?”
“The physical act of mating and claiming.”
“Is that,” she cleared her throat nervously. “Is that tonight?”
“It doesn’t have to be. But, as my scales are in full display, the longer we wait, the more urgent our coupling will be.”
“The scales thing?”
He nodded. “My body has reacted to the pheromones of my perfect mate and has gone into full courtship mode. The longer I wait to couple with you, the more my animal brain takes over. The hormones will heighten my aggression and fuel my drive to copulate to frenzied levels if not sated. Too long, and I could die from the stress it places on my body.”
“Well, damn. So, waiting until the wedding is out, huh?”
“I can wait a few days only,” he confirmed. “Though my hormone levels will be rising exponentially the entire time.”
Darla nodded. “I understand. It’s just a lot has happened today, things I hadn’t expected or planned for.”
“Then tonight, we shall only sleep,” he vowed. “Though I can do so on the couch.”
Darla smiled weakly at him. “Thanks. I can’t kick you out of your bed though. Jut sleeping is fine, though. I’m going to go brush my teeth. My new clothes haven’t arrived yet. I don’t suppose you have anything I can borrow to wear to bed?”
“I can loan you one of my shirts, though you will ned to roll the sleeves up.”
“That works. I’m just, uh, gonna go brush my teeth. If you could get that shirt for me and knock on the door, I’ll change in there.”
Gundar inclined his head. Darla made her escape to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, she whispered, “Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m already married! And we have to do the horizontal tango before he goes all caveman on me and maybe even dies. No pressure though, right?” She turned the water on and glanced about. She didn’t see the toothbrush or toothpaste.
“Um, hello, bathroom?”
“How may I assist you?” the AI replied.
“I’m looking for the toothpaste and toothbrush Gundar said were in here.”
A hidden receptacle pushed out from the wall next to the sink. Inside was not just any old toothbrush. It was a dental pick irrigation system that came with removable heads, one of which was a toothbrush. Next to it was a tube of Crest toothpaste.
“Thank you.” Darla removed the tank from the irrigation unit and filled it with water before refitting it. “Fancy,” she said, fitting the toothbrush head and placing toothpaste upon it. “Be handy if there were instructions.”
“It would be best to brush first with the paste, then turn the unit on, so as to not wash away the paste before making use of it. Then continue brushing until two minutes is up, turn off, and switch to the water flossing tool, using that until you run out of water. It may be necessary to refill the tank.”
“Right. Thank you.”
A knock sounded on the door. She opened it and peeked out. Gundar was holding a shirt out to her, as promised.
“Thank you. I’ll be out in a moment.”
As soon as I super clean my teeth and gums and get changed, anyways. Hopefully without getting toothpaste and water all over the place.
Chapter Thirteen: Gundar
Gundar removed his shirt and trousers, changing them for a loose pair of sleep pants. He walked to the dresser and pulled a brush through his long, pale tresses.
“Ohhh, can I brush your hair?”
He glanced up at the mirror to see Darla entranced at the sight of his hair and the brush. It would be a rather intimate act, to have her groom my hair, he decided. One step closer to sealing our bond. He nodded and turned, holding out the brush.
“Come sit here on the bed, I’ll be able to reach ya better,” she said, climbing onto the bed. He obeyed, a faint smile on his face. Darla knelt behind him and began gently brushing his mane. “It’s so nice and soft. Very silky. You take good care of it, I can tell.”
“The wash unit is programmed with excellent cleansers,” he agreed. “I was just about to brush and bind my hair for the night.”
“Bind it?”
“Yes. I twist the strands and fasten them, so they do not tangle as I rest.”
“I can braid it for ya. You got a ponytail holder?”
“I do not have a horse, so no.” Gundar felt puzzled. Surely she knew they did not keep livestock onboard!
Darla laughed. “No. I meant an elastic band thingy to fasten the braid with.”
“There is one on the dresser. I shall get it.” He stood and took the three steps to the dresser, returning with the requested hair fastener. It was made of a satiny fabric that stretched.
“Thanks.” Darla resumed brushing, taking care to brush from root to tip, remembering to not neglect the hair underneath. Next, she divided his hair into thirds. “It’s so lovely and thick, too,” she said.
Warmth suffused Gundar at his mate’s words. She finds me pleasing, as I do her.
She began twisting the sections together, going to within an inch of his ends before wrapping the hair fastener tightly about the ends. “There ya go.”
“Thank you. I would like to enquire as to your vernacular.”
“Okay, what would you like to know?”
“A few moments ago, you called my hair fastener a ‘thingy’.”
Darla laughed. “Well, I wasn’t sure if you had an actual elastic band, or used something else, but I knew you must have some sort of thing, right? So, ‘thingy’. Also sometimes called a whatchamacallit, a doohickey, or a dumaflache. You call also use those in the plural, like, 'He went to the store and bought some of those doohickeys that Mama collects.'”
Gundar cringed inwardly. It sounded inelegant, but he had begun to suspect that not knowing the local slang had his crew at a disadvantage. He decided to teach his supply officer these terms, one never knew when they might come in handy. Such as when renegotiating trade, so that they were getting the right things at the correct prices. “I understand.”
“Good.”
Gundar stood. “I must now take my turn to cleanse my mouth and relieve myself. I shall return.”
“Okay. I’m just gonna crawl under the covers, if that’s okay?”
Gundar looked at her creamy legs peering out
from the hem of his shirt. Heat suffused him. “Yes, that is fine.”
“You got a particular side of the bed?”
The bed was in the center of the room with the door out of the room equally distant from both sides, so Gundar shook his head.
“I’ll just pick a side then.” She clambered off the bed and Gundar took himself from the room. His mate had no idea how enticing she looked, especially while wearing his clothes. He shut the bathroom door behind himself and lowered his sleep pants, taking his aching cock in hand. He leaned his head against the door, groaning at the sensation of his hand stroking the raised scaly ridges that flushed his hard cock. The blue here appeared even darker. He swiped his thumb against his weeping tip and spread it on his shaft, stroking up and down. As he began to leak heavier, he dragged his strokes past his tip in order to catch the slick fluid that oozed from his slit. Now slicked up, he could add speed and a twist to his strokes. He groaned, imaging it it was her small hand gripping him, teasing him. He imagined her urging him on, eager to see him come and taste his essence from her hand afterwards. That image did it, sending him over the edge. He bit down on his lip hard to stifle his shout.
He cleaned himself and wiped up where some of his cum had spilled onto the floor tiles then went to the sink to wash his hands. He cleaned his teeth and emptied his bladder. He now felt certain that he could climb into bed next to his delectable mate without being in agony. Returning to their room, he found her tucked under the covers on the right-hand side. She’d left the left-hand side turned down for him. He smiled at the thoughtful gesture and slid beneath the sheet. “Lights off, Xeranos,” he said. The lights began to dim, simulating a sunset followed by the darkness of night.
“Night,” Darla said, sleepily.
He rolled to face her and placed a soft kiss on the back of her neck. “Sleep well.” He arranged himself to spoon her and felt her stiffen, then relax and melt against him as she realized he was not going any farther. He listened in the dark as her breath evened out and her body became even more pliant. He matched his breaths to hers and soon, he too was fast asleep.
Chapter Fourteen: Gundar
Darla was still sound asleep, burrowing deeper under the sheet and into her pillow making snuffling noises that Gundar found to be endearing. He left the bedroom quietly and showered, afterwards electing to wear the uniform he’d placed in the fresher the evening before instead of one from the closet, lest he wake her. Padding silently across the floor, he decided to eat in the mess hall. He commed his chief fleet stores supply officer, Brannix, asking him to meet him at the mess hall closet to the bridge for a morning meeting.
Brannix was waiting for him anxiously when he arrived. Gundar explained what Darla had told him about the clothing and other goods listed in their database. Brannix’s face suffused with anger. “I apologize, sir. I had no idea.”
“It is as much my fault as yours. I looked over the agreements and signed off on them as well. I will contact them first thing and make use of the vernacular my mate has taught me. This way they will see they can no longer trick us, as we understand better.”
Brannix nodded. “I too, would like to learn this, to better negotiate as we expand on trade.”
Gundar grinned and began explaining about whatchamacallits, dumaflaches, whatchahoosies, thingies, and doohickeys.
“Such colorful language and so many names that are vague, yet indicate specific items,” Brannix said.
“Yes, it is no wonder we failed to understand just what they were selling us and bought overpriced goods, paying for a name.”
Brannix grinned. “I would like to be there when you speak to them. I think they will be in for a surprise when they find you are on to them.”
“Xeranos has sent ground crew to the homes of the humans in charge of the distributors we use. They should be on their way here now,” Gundar smiled wolfishly. “Let us see if they wish to try their tricks when face to face with the warriors they tried to profiteer from.” Brannix hummed in agreement. “We shall go to conference room one as soon as we are notified of their arrival.”
The two men finished their meal. Brannix and Gundar went their separate ways. Gundar entered the bridge, checking status reports and signing them off. First Officer Herlief looked somber as he explained the purpose of the meeting.
“When I saw the message on my kunnarskyn, I knew something of import had happened. They’ve already docked and security tells me the humans are angry and posturing. They have been confined to conference room one as requested.”
Gundar gave a curt nod. “Good, let them be angry. They have not dealt with us fairly and with transparency. Also, I have uploaded a report on recent English language vernacular to your kunnarskyn. Please see that it is distributed to all crew.”
“It shall be done.” Gundar tapped the kunnarskyn on his wrist. “Kunnar, please let Brannix know that the humans have arrived. I shall wait for him outside of conference room one so that we may enter together.”
“Notification in progress,” the communications AI chirped.
“You have the bridge,” Gundar told Herlief, vacating the command seat and exiting the bridge.he arrived outside of conference room one mere moments before Brannix. The two warriors nodded at each other. It was time to set these humans straight. Gundar palmed open the door.
“Now see here,” an angry overweight, bald man shouted, his face red. “You can’t just drag us out of bed like this.”
A younger man still in his lounge pants and a t-shirt stood, slamming the palms of his hands onto the conference table. “What is this all about, anyway?”
Gundar, Brannix, and the security personnel already present drew themselves to their full height. The man sank back down in his seat while trying to not appear intimidated. Gundar said, “You have each been brought here because you are a distributor of goods to the fleet. When we negotiated with each of you, it was with the understanding that we would be getting the goods that an average human would buy for themselves. It has come to our attention that this is not the case. Instead the doohickeys and whatchamacallits are all brands usually only bought by the elite and those with aspirations to copy them, the price extortionate because it has a special name on the label. This is not acceptable. We are not here for you to profiteer from. You will present an amended list of goods with reasonable prices, which will be gone over by Fleet Supply Officer Brannix, here. He will verify each and every item by cross matching with retail outlets my human mate has indicated as being where the average human purchases food and goods from. Do not try to think that you will slip by any further overpriced thingies. We have no such need for dumaflaches whose price tag is based mainly upon the ego of the designer.”
The room had gone silent as he spoke.
“Dumaflaches?” the first angry man repeated.
Brannix and Gundar both nodded at him, crossing their arms and revealing a hint of fang.The man swallowed. Gundar continued. “It would be unfortunate if this plundering of the Mylos treasury were to come to the attention of our home world. Economic aggression is not tolerated.”
A woman in her pajamas and slippers spoke. “Economic aggression?”
“Plundering of the treasury is an assault upon the Mylos Empire,” Gundar said evenly. “To do so, invites certain... unpleasantries.”
“You mean war,” the younger man muttered.
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