Every morning she got up early to make homemade bread, or sweet rolls, or flat cakes. Then she got started on any pastry dough and fillings she might need for the Last Meal’s dessert. Last, she made a variety of other First Meal foods and then ate with the crew when they got up.
The crew were on their own for Mid Meal—though Lan’ara often left out a selection of sandwich or fold-over ingredients for them to choose from. That way she was able to spend several uninterrupted hours with Laxah learning med tech protocols.
After a short break, she was back in the food prep area, making Last Meal, which always included a delicious dessert for most of the crew and a sweet-soil concoction for Captain Glo’ll.
She had the satisfaction of getting rave reviews every night and every one of the crew took her aside privately to tell her how much they had missed her and her cooking. Even Krax and Kreeva agreed on it, though the Duplo pilot hardly ever agreed with him/herself on anything.
Captain Glo’ll adored her too, and treated her more like a daughter than a crewmate. Her room and the common area were always adorned with the fresh flowers he constantly grew for her, making the ship a much brighter place.
In the evening, Lan’ara had time to relax and read—sometimes more med tech articles but often she also read for pleasure from the well-stocked ship’s library. (Captain Glo’ll believed in the improvement of one’s mind by reading.)
Sometimes she went to the common viewing room and watched a vid with Laxah and Psoas. The three of them laughed over the comedy vids from Psoas’ world—(which were funny almost by default because of all the long, stretchy characters bending and contorting their bodies every-which-way)—and had serious discussions over the dramatic vids from Laxah’s planet, which never included any males at all.
It was a good life—the life Lan’ara would have chosen for herself from the start, if she hadn’t had to go to the Twyleth Tigg Academy in order to keep her mother and brothers from starving. And yet, she couldn’t help feeling like something—or someone—was missing.
At first she tried to tell herself she was imagining it. She swore to herself she didn’t miss the big Kindred—didn’t miss his touch or the gentle way he had always cuddled her after loving. How many times had Laxah told her she didn’t need a man to be happy?
“We do without them entirely on my planet,” she told Lan’ara. “And believe me, dearie, nobody misses them in the least! Big, hairy, stupid beasts that they are. I wonder that the Goddess even bothered creating them in the first place!”
Lan’ara told herself she agreed with the Med Tech. And she was grateful—that at first—she didn’t feel any touch cravings or the need to be filled. The hungry flower inside her seemed to have furled its petals and gone to sleep, which suited Lan’ara just fine—at least during the early days of her new life.
However, as the days and weeks wore on, she couldn’t help looking at Need, sitting on the opposite end of the table from her during meals. He never said a word but sometimes when she looked up unexpectedly, she caught the big Kindred studying her with an expression of fierce regret on his face. He always looked away quickly and sometimes Lan’ara wondered if she’d imagined it. Sometimes she even wanted to confront him about it—to demand why he kept looking at her.
But that would mean initiating a conversation with him which might lead to other things…things she would do better to not think about, Lan’ara told herself firmly.
After a solar month or so, though, she found she was thinking of them—quite a lot. Because at that point, her body seemed to reawaken.
Lan’ara blamed it on the stupid wash blossoms, which inhabited every bathing tub on the ship, including the one in the tiny bathroom of her new cabin. For a long time, she forced herself only to take sonic showers in order to avoid them. But though the sonic blasts were bracing and powerful, they didn’t leave one feeling truly squeaky clean like a real soap and water bath did.
At last, one night when she couldn’t sleep, Lan’ara allowed herself to take a hot bath to relax. She told herself she would only take a quick dip—so fast that the wash blossoms wouldn’t have time to bother her. But she was reading an interesting novel from the ship’s romance section on her tablet and before she knew it, she was lost in the world of the book and had forgotten all about getting in and out of the tub in record time.
She came to a particularly spicy scene and became so engrossed in the narrative, she didn’t notice anything else. It wasn’t until she started to feel a soft, warm, pulsing pleasure at the tips of her breasts and between her thighs that she realized the wash blossoms had found her.
Lan’ara thought about trying to get them off, but what they were doing felt too good to make them stop. They reminded her of the way Need had gone down on her—lapping her pussy until she moaned and gripped his hair, riding his tongue as he made her come again and again…
No, she told herself hazily. No, don’t think like that—don’t remember the past. No matter how good what he did felt, he also hurt you. Remember that, Lan’ara—remember the bad things he did! Always calling you “girl” and pushing you away in the morning and selling you to Pouncenblast…
But somehow the bad things wouldn’t stick in her mind while the wash blossoms were working on her. All she could think about was how good it had felt to be held in the big Kindred’s arms and how he loved pleasuring her with his tongue…
She spent a long time in the bath that night. And a long time every night afterwards, too.
It was after that first bath, however, that her problems began in earnest, Lan’ara thought. The hungry flower inside her—which had been content to sleep for the past month—had now awoken and it was clamoring to be fed. She began to have the touch cravings again, and the needs to be tasted and held and filled weren’t far behind.
Lan’ara began to feel irritable and moody. She told herself it was only her body, reacting to the Lust Bacterium still in her system. She even looked through both the ship’s library and Laxah’s medical books to see if she could find a cure for the symptoms they caused. But the only mention she found of them was an article stating that they were a proprietary strain of bacteria grown exclusively by the Twyleth Tigg Corporation with no mention of how to overcome their effects.
At last, she began to feel desperate. She was having dreams about the big Kindred and taking long baths with the wash blossoms every night which only made the ache inside her deeper and hotter. She was at a loss to know what to do…until she ran across an article in the library that talked about Kindred males and their physiology.
“The Kindred are well known for their love of pleasuring their females,” the article read. “They have a genuine biological need to taste their mate’s juices and suffer deeply if they are deprived of them.”
Lan’ara put down her tablet in order to digest this particular nugget of information. She’d always known that Need enjoyed tasting her, but could it be that the big Kindred was in the same dire need she was, right at this very moment? Could he be craving her the way she was craving him?
If so, Lan’ara thought she knew a way she could get her own needs met without letting things get too personal again. No matter what happened, she didn’t want to lose the autonomy she had gained, but she couldn’t go on with her body stuck in a constant loop of unrequited desire and denial. She had to do something.
And now she knew exactly what to do…
Sixty
Need was sitting on the couch, reading—or trying to read, anyway—when he heard a firm knock on his door.
He frowned and put down his tablet, wondering who it could possibly be. Captain Glo’ll usually didn’t bother him on his off-hours unless there was some kind of emergency and the rest of the crew knew he was a private person who rarely socialized—aside from the occasional drink he took with Psoas, that was.
Of course, it was out of the question that the person at his door could be Lan’ara. She never spoke to him now—not that Need could blame her. She had the right to be angry wi
th him the rest of her life if she wanted to and he fully expected she would be.
Now that he could no longer have her, he understood exactly what he had lost. She had begun to truly blossom as a member of the crew of The Dark Star and her new confidence was sexier and more attractive than her subservience had ever been. She had always been beautiful but she was no longer trying to hide her intellect. The way she carried herself with such assurance and fulfilled her new duties with pride and acuity made Need want her more than ever.
And he could have had her, too, he reminded himself—if he hadn’t been so damned determined to throw away the happiness the Goddess had sent him with both hands. He cursed himself daily for the foolish, stubborn way he had acted and swore that if he ever got another chance to win Lan’ara’s heart, he wouldn’t waste it.
Not that he ever expected to.
Which was why he was so surprised when he opened the door of his quarters and saw Lan’ara standing there.
She was wearing a distractingly revealing outfit, he couldn’t help noticing—a silky white robe which contrasted beautifully with her creamy brown skin. It tied between her full breasts and ended at mid-thigh, showing her lovely legs.
“Yes?” he asked, frowning in surprise. “What can I do for you, Lan’ara?”
To his relief, she didn’t tell him to keep her name out of his mouth or call him “my Lord” in that sarcastic tone she’d used the last time they’d spoken. Instead, she nodded her head to him—clearly addressing an equal—and spoke in a businesslike voice.
“May I come in, Needrix? I have a proposition I’d like to make to you.”
“A proposition?” Need’s eyebrows lifted nearly to his hairline but he stepped aside quickly to allow her entry.
“Yes.” Lan’ara stepped into his living area and waited while he shut the door before speaking again. “Can we sit on the couch? This might take a minute to explain.”
“Yes—of course.” Need made an “after you” motion with one hand. “Would you like anything to drink?” he asked.
Lan’ara shook her head, her long waterfall of curly hair flowing with the movement. Gods, she was beautiful, Need couldn’t help thinking! He missed holding her so much it hurt, but he made himself come and sit at a respectful distance on the couch beside her.
“What can I do for you?” he rumbled, looking down at her when they were both comfortable.
“Well…” Lan’ara cleared her throat. “I think it’s what we can do for each other,” she said at last, lifting her chin to look him in the eye.
“Please explain.” Need made a “go on” gesture.
“I was reading a scientific article on the physiology of different humanoid species in the universe,” she began. “And it happened to include a part about Kindred males.”
“Oh?” Need was intrigued. He knew that his species had been well-documented in several scientific journals. They were, after all, unique in many ways from all other species in the known universe. Since the Kindred race was 95% male, they were genetic traders—constantly looking for new humanoid females to mate and bond with. They were also unique in the way they valued women and worshipped a Goddess. He wondered what aspect of his culture or biology had intrigued Lan’ara.
“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “And the article said that…that Kindred males have a biological need to taste the juices of their female. Is that true?”
Need felt his breath catch in his throat as his shaft began to harden.
“Hell, yes, it’s true,” he admitted, trying not to let his voice dip down into a growl. It had been so long since he had tasted her sweet pussy! Gods he really hoped she was going in the direction he thought she was…
“Well, that’s kind of the basis of my proposition. You see, I still seem to have the Lust Bacterium in my system which gives me certain, er, needs too.” Lan’ara cleared her throat again.
“I see,” Need said slowly. “So you propose that we meet our mutual needs together?”
“Yes.” Lan’ara lifted her chin, looking him squarely in the eyes, though her cheeks were flushed with obvious embarrassment. “I’ll let you…let you taste me on a regular basis as long as you help me meet my needs as well.”
“You mean as long as I make you come, hmm?” Need growled softly. She always had had trouble reaching the peak on her own, he remembered. Which was one reason it had been his great pleasure to help her reach it with his tongue or fingers…or shaft.
Lan’ara’s cheeks got darker.
“Well…yes,” she said, still meeting his eyes. “Of course, this doesn’t mean that I love you again—or even like you, for that matter,” she added quickly. “It’s just an acknowledgement that you need something from me and I need something from you—that’s all. It will be a no-strings attached, completely equitable arrangement between the two of us.”
“Agreed.” Need nodded gravely, though his shaft was hard as a rock. She could talk all she wanted to about this being a simple, no-strings “arrangement” but he knew that if he could get close to her body, he might also have a chance to win her heart.
And a chance was all he needed.
“Did you want to start right now—tonight?” he asked, seeing the way she was shifting her hips around from side to side on the couch. He recognized that sign from the time they had spent together—Lan’ara was having touch cravings. She needed to be caressed and tasted—needed it badly. Still, she hesitated and he could feel her weighing her options while she tried to decide how to answer him.
“Of course, we could wait until tomorrow if you’re busy tonight,” he said, trying to keep his tone light and unconcerned. “I don’t mind—whatever works for you, works for me.”
“No…” She bit her lip and shifted again. “No, I think…tonight would be all right. If you’re not busy.” She nodded at the tablet he’d been reading. “It looks like I might have interrupted you.”
“It’s all right,” Need assured her. “It can wait.”
He slid off the couch and went to his knees before her. Gently, he placed his hands on her upper thighs, feeling her shiver like a nervous equine under his touch.
“How can I serve you, my Lady?” he murmured, looking up at her.
Lan’ara bit her lip and he felt her quivering under his touch. Would she like the role-reversal he was playing here—or would it make her angry again?
To his relief, a little smile played around the corners of her lush mouth.
“You want to serve me, do you, Kindred?” she asked softly.
“More than anything, my Lady,” Need assured her hoarsely. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“Well, to begin with, you can take care of these…”
Pulling the tie between her breasts which held her short robe closed, Lan’ara bared herself for him.
Need sucked in his breath at the sight of her creamy brown breasts tipped with berry dark nipples. Each one had a droplet of amber fluid perched on its peak, reminding him of the many times he had sucked them before.
“My lady, your breasts appear to be full of nectar,” he growled softly. “May I have your permission to suck them and ease your pain?”
“Yes.” Lan’ara thrust her bare breasts out to him eagerly. “You may.”
“Thank you, my Lady,” Need rumbled and, leaning forward, he sucked the first ripe peak into his mouth.
Lan’ara moaned and threw back her head, giving herself to the pleasure of letting the big Kindred suck her breasts. This was what her body had been needing! Well, this and…other things, she admitted to herself. But they could cross that bridge when they came to it. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy feeling Need’s hot mouth on her nipples again.
He took his time with her, as he always had in the past. That was one thing Lan’ara liked about him—he never rushed their time together. He always sucked and licked and tasted her until she was ready to call a halt, and this occasion was no different.
She shifted on the couch, trying to put off th
e inevitable but unfortunately, the way he was sucking the tight peaks of her nipples made her pussy feel hotter and hotter. At last, she pushed his head gently away and looked down at him.
Need looked up, his bronze eyes half-lidded with lust.
“Are you ready for me to move on to tasting your pussy now, my Lady?” he rumbled, raising an eyebrow at her. “Are you ready to spread your thighs for me and let me lick your creamy folds?”
Lan’ara’s breath seemed to catch in her throat. Gods and Goddesses but he was good at dirty talk! It made her feel so wet and hot between her thighs to hear him talking in that deep voice about what he wanted to do to her.
“Yes, of course,” she said, trying to keep her strict, business-like demeanor. She rather liked the way he was calling her “my Lady” and deferring to her the way she had once deferred to him. Most men, as Laxah told her, had a hard time letting a female call the shots. But Need seemed the relish the chance to serve her as she had once served him.
Maybe he’s trying to show me that he’s changed, Lan’ara thought. Maybe he’s hoping I’ll give him another chance.
Then she pushed the thought hastily away. She wasn’t here to give second chances, she told herself firmly. She was here to get her needs met. And the big Kindred seemed eager to meet them.
So eager, in fact, he was already spreading her thighs to reveal the tiny white silk panties that went with her robe. Lan’ara bit her lip when she saw the wet spot in the middle of the thin fabric—proclaiming to the world how extremely hot and turned on she was.
“Gods, my numalla,” Need groaned softly when he saw how wet she was.
“I…I’m not your numalla anymore,” Lan’ara reminded him. “Not your anything.” But though she meant the words to come out firm and stern, they were rather breathless instead and she felt a little shiver of desire go through her when he spoke to her so possessively.
“Forgive me,” Need growled softly. “Please forget I said anything and let me serve you, my Lady.”
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