by C L Rowell
“Yes—”
“Yes—” I nodded, putting it together in my head piece by piece, “of course, she did. She had to have known because you said your people sneaked onto their planet to hunt, too. It wasn’t like it was something new. It was an ongoing competition. Right?”
“Yes.”
“This is the part I don’t understand—if she was disguised as a man, why was her being pregnant with his heir held against your group? Were you just supposed to magically know it was her? This was plainly her fault. She knew the consequences of what they were doing. She knew what would happen if they got caught and yet she chose to do it, anyway. If she brazenly assumed they wouldn’t get caught simply because she was with them—” I shook my head, speechless. “That was her stupidity. So, for him to demand your people hand over the one who shot her—even if they knew who did it, that’s just wrong.”
“I agree.”
Then something he said came back to me. “You said they took the last females before you were born?”
“Yes.”
“But that makes no sense. How were you born if there were no females?”
“Frozen eggs. We were test tube babies, conceived and grown in test tubes, and raised by testy old men with the help of a handful of androids.”
I leaned forward. “I don’t understand. That’s crazy. What were they thinking? They were old. What if they’d died and left you on your own while you were tiny?”
“They were thinking, best case scenario, they’d get a mix of ten or fifteen females and a few males to perpetuate our species and ensure the future of our planet.”
“But—brothers and sisters?” My stomach churned at the thought. “Umm, eww?”
“No! We aren’t kin. They each… contributed DNA—”
“And kept track of who was who?” I relaxed. “That makes sense.”
“It may have also been all that saved us when it turned out we were all males.”
“You mean because they were your fathers?”
“Yes. We were told that the majority of them were all for dumping us out for the scavengers to find and feast on. They derived immense joy from informing us of that very fact every chance they got.”
“Aww,” I squeezed his hand. “That’s messed up.”
“Luckily, two or three felt we deserved a chance to grow up and hopefully find compatible mates that would help us to…”
“Repopulate the planet?”
“Yes.”
“So that’s the only reason you want me? Because I have a potentially compatible womb?” A dagger of pain pierced my heart, pissing me off, and I jerked my hand back. “If we turn out to be incompatible, or I’m barren—or you are—will I find myself kicked to the curb in the name of progress?”
“What? No!” He knelt in front of me. “I want you, whether we have children or not.”
“But you said—what about repopulating your world?”
“That would merely be a bonus. Feel the way my hearts pound simply from being near you, breathing the air you breathe.” He took my hand and pressed it to his warm hard chest, and I could indeed feel two unmistakable, distinctly separate, heartbeat patterns against my palm.
Unable to resist the urge, I caressed his skin with my fingers and felt both heartbeats increase in speed because of my touch. My breath came faster as my heart pounded in response. Raising my head, I gazed into his eyes and whispered, “Kiss me.”
The last word barely left my mouth before his lips were on mine. He kissed me carefully, ever mindful of the sharp teeth behind his lips—but he kissed me thoroughly. Nothing escaped his attention. He licked my lips and kissed and suckled my tongue. I squirmed in my seat as my nipples budded and the jewel at the apex of my thighs throbbed with desire. He peppered kisses across the bridge of my nose, my eyelids, my cheeks. He nibbled my earlobes and left a trail of love bites down my neck. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted more—so much more.
Unable to sit still, I slid out of my seat and into his arms, straddling his legs with mine. I wrapped my knees around his hips and my arms around his shoulders, molding our bodies together. It still wasn’t close enough.
“We have to stop,” he finally murmured, slowly pulling away.
“Why?” I nibbled a path up the side of his thick neck to his ear, “What if I don’t want to stop?”
He tilted his head so I could reach his ear and neck easier. “Our first time should be in a comfortable bed.”
Our first time? I froze and pulled back. “It’s not my—you’re not my—” I cleared my throat as my heart dropped into my lap, “Will it change anything if you aren’t my first…”
His eyes widened as he understood what I was saying. He shook his head. “No! No, no, no, that isn’t what I meant. I meant it will be our first time together and I want it to be special. You shouldn’t be bent over the back of a chair for our first joining. There should be soft lighting, music, refreshments—or, at the very least, a comfortable bed.”
“Oh.” I felt my cheeks get hot at the thought of being bent over a chair, but I bit my tongue, not wanting to rain on his plans. “How far away is this comfortable bed?”
“Not that far.”
I leaned in close and sucked his plump lower lip between my teeth, nibbling and licking suggestively. “How fast can you get us there?”
“Fast. Why?” His eyes glazed over and his voice pitched higher as I brazenly ground against him, leaving a damp spot on his pants as evidence of my desire.
“If you want our first time to be in a bed then the sooner you can get us there the better.”
“As you wish.”
The takeoff pressed me back against the cold hard edge of my seat and his weight held me there. I eyed the room around us, confused, “What just happened?”
“You said to take you to the bed I mentioned, yes?”
“Yes?”
“So, that’s what I’m doing.”
I searched the room. Seeing no one else and no place for a driver, I asked, “Who’s piloting this thing?”
“I am.”
My stomach nosedived. “And where is this bed?”
“On my ship.”
I studied him from the corner of my eye as panicked butterflies tickled my insides. “You have a boat?”
He grinned at me. “No.”
7
Alex
◆◆◆
She pushed at me, “Let me up.” I could see sparks of anger burning in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re gorgeous, I’ll give you that, but I don’t do crazy. Let me up.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m leaving.”
“You can’t.”
She snorted. “Because you locked the door? Please. I know how to work a lock.”
“No, you can’t leave because we’re already out of your planet’s atmosphere and climbing rapidly. Even if you could override the security controls and open the door the only thing you’d accomplish is killing us both. Is that what you want?”
She shook her head slowly back and forth. “You can stop now. I’m not drinking the Kool aid. There’s no way we could move that fast and still be alive.”
“With your planet’s technology, maybe. This isn’t your planet’s technology, though.”
“You’re wasting your breath—”
“I can prove it.”
“Really? How?” She folded her arms over her chest. “You just said you can’t open the door and I don’t see any windows.”
I focused my attention outward and activated the link between the viewing screen and the aft cameras. I could tell I’d succeeded without even looking, simply from the way she clutched me closer. I felt my lips curve into a wide satisfied grin. “How’s that for proof?”
“How can I be sure it’s real? All I have is your word.”
“You aren’t going to believe until I present you with something you can see and touch, are you?”
I let her go a
nd watched as she struggled back into her seat. She avoided my gaze.
“Words are a dime a dozen, and, in this modern-day computer literate world, images can be manipulated. Do you blame me?”
A low chime sounded in my ear and I smiled. “You want proof?”
“Maybe not when you say it like that.”
My smile widened as the scene on the viewer changed. “Too late.” I opened a link to the Tarselese’s main computer. To my surprise, although still cloaked, she was awake and fully powered up. “Hmm.”
“What?” She sat stiffly in her seat, staring at the door opening in the middle of space. To her credit, she didn’t scream or pass out, but simply watched.
“Someone beat us here.”
She tensed even more if possible. “Is it bad guys?”
“Hmm? Oh!” I shook my head. “No. Four of us went down in separate pods. I thought I was going to be the first one back. Apparently not.”
“Who beat you back?”
“I don’t know.” I let the pod’s autopilot take us in. “We’ll find out soon enough, though. The Tarselese will have alerted them to our arrival by now. They’ll probably be waiting to greet us once the pod’s secured.”
“Do you think they’ll object to my presence?” She kept her head bowed but I could see her watching me through a thick fall of auburn curls.
“Why would they? You’re the whole reason I was down there.” I held out a reassuring hand, “Come on and I’ll introduce you.”
“If we must.” She latched onto my hand like it was the only thing between her and instant death, sticking to me like glue and shadowing my every step. I tried to hide my pleasure over what I saw as proof that she felt safe with me, but I apparently wasn’t very successful at it. Ever observant, she smacked my arm with her free hand. “Don’t look so smug.”
I laughed out loud, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Alex! Glad to see you made it back in one piece—and laughing, at that. Who is this miracle worker that has you laughing like a carefree youth?”
I met the smiling eyes of our leader. “I could say the same about you. It isn’t often that we see you with a smile on your face.”
“You can blame Sylvie for that.” He stepped to the side, revealing the breathtaking blond who’d been hiding behind his back.
“Hey!” Her eyes were as large as saucers as she latched onto him.
“Nice to meet you, Sylvie. I’m Alex, like he said, and this…” I raised Aly’s hand and twirled her, spinning her front and center before she knew what was happening. “This beautiful young woman is Aly. Aly, say hello to Zander and Sylvie.”
“Hi,” she bit her lip, visibly flustered. “Nice to meet you both.”
“You, too,” Sylvie offered.
“A redhead, huh?” Zander chuckled as she flushed and attempted to smooth her hair. “That’ll keep you on your toes.”
“Be nice or I’ll ask her to teach me a few tricks to keep you on your toes.” Skipping forward, Sylvie latched onto Aly’s arm and squeezed, “I have a hunch we’ll get along like two peas in a pod. Would you like for me to show you around?”
“I’d love it, if—” she glanced over her shoulder at me, “Is it okay with you?”
“Go ahead,” I nodded. “I’ll meet you at my quarters when you’re done, and we can grab a bite.”
“His is the door across from mine,” Zander clarified for Sylvie’s benefit. “Aren’t you glad you didn’t take it over now?”
“I dunno…” she slanted her gaze toward Aly. “If she decided to give Alex the boot, I think she’d make an awesome roommate.”
“Hey, now—”
“Just kidding!” She shot him a cheeky grin and cocked her finger at him like she was shooting a weapon. “Gotcha.”
As we watched them walk away, I teased him, “She’s softened you up already, hasn’t she? She’s got you right where she wants you.”
“Just wait. Your turn’s coming.”
“Coming? Ha! I was wrapped around her finger from the first moment I laid eyes on her. Heard anything from Allister or Raimo?”
“No, but then I didn’t hear from you either. I’m not worried. There’s time.”
I sighed, staring in the direction the girls disappeared in. “Wish I could be one of their flies on the wall right about now.”
“Why a fly?” His nose wrinkled in distaste. “Isn’t that a bug?”
“It’s a figure of speech, which you’d have caught if you’d studied harder.”
“Eh,” he shrugged. “You still didn’t answer my question. Why a fly?”
“You know they’ve got to be talking about us.”
“They do?”
“Think about it.” I laughed as I headed to my quarters, leaving him standing in the middle of the corridor.
8
Aly
◆◆◆
“So, how did you two meet?”
I turned my head to look at her. “He rescued me.”
“Wow, for real?”
“Yep.”
“Well? What happened? Don’t leave me hanging!”
“I guess you could say I trusted the wrong people.” I told her about Leroy and Felicity and the dingy hotel room.
“He really ripped the door from its hinges?”
“He really did. When I laid eyes on him standing in that doorway, he reminded me of a tan, hotter version of the Hulk. I didn’t know if he was my savior or an even worse bad guy.”
“I can see the resemblance,” she nodded, laughing. “When I met Zander, he reminded me of a giant—still does, if I’m honest. I could wear my tallest heels and still feel tiny next to him. I wonder if the other guys are as big as these two.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.”
“Me, either. Come on, let’s finish the tour. Zander’s probably pacing the floor already, wondering why I’m taking so long.”
We spent over an hour exploring the Tarselese. She showed me the engine room, the entertainment area, the cafeteria, the observation deck.
I craned my neck to look around, “Why is everything so plain and sterile?”
“I know, right? It’s so monotonous, so…”
“Boring?”
She giggled, “Exactly! Where are the pictures? Books? Knickknacks? You can tell a man designed it without any input from a woman. There’s no color anywhere! It drives me crazy.”
I groaned, “Speaking of men, Alex is probably worrying about me. I guess we should head to the sleeping quarters before he comes looking for me.”
“Yeah, Zander’s probably wearing a path in the floor by now.” She giggled at the thought. “This is the longest we’ve been apart since we met. I actually kinda miss the big lug too, though.”
We retraced our path to a nondescript hallway I’d noticed in passing but hadn’t thought much about since it didn’t look like it would lead anywhere exciting. Veering into it, I followed her down a blue and gray corridor, past a pair of matching featureless white doors, to a second set located near a dead end. I studied it, letting my eyes bounce back and forth from it to the hallway behind us and back.
“That’s a weird place to put a dead end.”
She laughed, “That’s all you noticed? My first time down this way, the theme song for The Twilight Zone was playing in my head. I was relieved to see the dead end because it let me know I wasn’t in some kind of time warp, walking past the same two doors over and over and over again for all eternity.”
At that moment the door on our right opened. “There you are! I thought I heard voices.” Alex appeared so happy to see me it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Miss me?” I teased.
“Yeah.”
I sighed, happy. “That’s so sweet.”
“Well, I’ll leave you two to get settled.” She grinned really big and added in a singsong tone, “Enjoy the shower.”
“The shower?” I turned to look at her only to see her disappearing behin
d the door across the hall. I turned back to him, “What’s so special about the shower?”