“Stop scaring them, Pixie. Your sister already warned me that you might need a little push to climb in,” Dathrow chided as he sat her gently down on the regen bed. Taking her shoulders in his hands, he guided her down until she was lying flat and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “The longer you stall them, the longer it will take for us to go see your sister. Now cooperate.”
Feeling as if she was a kid again getting scolded by her parents, Pixie made a face as the pod’s door came up to glide closed. Afraid to move or blink, Pixie stayed perfectly still and noticed that the inside of the dome was lit. The lid itself was cloudy so it didn’t seem as enclosed as she’d feared. After what seemed like just a minute or so she heard a beep and then the door started to open.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Dathrow asked as he helped her sit back up and move off the unit.
“I guess not…that was still kind of an asshole move though. What if I would have had a panic attack or something?”
“Poppy explained that you do fine in these situations once you stop overthinking them.” Dathrow was so calm it pissed her off a bit.
“By the way, can we go see her now? Can we? Can we?” The regen bed completely forgotten, Pixie bounced from foot to foot at the prospect of seeing her sister.
“She reminds me of one of those dogs…” Tamin whispered to Rodin.
“With the bouncing and her energy…” Rodin agreed.
“I can hear both of you and the next person who compares me to a dog will end up neutered. Comprende?” Giving the two doctors her serious face, she waited for their nod of agreement before she softened her statement with a grin.
Dragging Dathrow by the arm, she started chanting, “Poppy now. Poppy now,” hoping the verbal annoyance would hurry him along.
“Slow down, Pixie. They are not leaving their apartments and I messaged them our progress when you were with the doctors earlier.” Amused at her impatience, he tugged her arm to slow her down. Laying his arm across her shoulders, he made sure to brush up against her every couple of steps.
“Is their apartment close to ours?” Pixie wondered out loud.
“We are one floor apart, but considering how big the ship is, I consider that lucky.”
“I never got the chance to ask, what is it that you do? I know Wheaton is on the council but you’re not, right?”
“No, I am not on the council yet. I am hoping I can achieve that eventually,” he explained. “I am the same breed as Wheaton but I am in the security program.”
At Pixie’s expression of confusion, Dathrow continued, “I handle shipments on and off the ships, make sure that the ship is secure, and also accompany councilors and act as part of a protective unit when they make diplomatic missions.”
“How much longer before you think you will be a councilor?”
Dathrow shrugged. “Most likely another year or two, depending on my performance. I received a commendation when I helped rescue the women who Demascus had kidnapped, so that has helped my standing. It also depends on if a current councilor steps down or retires.”
“You don’t seem concerned about the time frame for moving up.”
Dathrow stopped in front of a door she assumed was Poppy’s apartment and turned to her. “I have other things I want to concentrate on right now.” Stroking her cheek, he leaned down until he was staring directly into her eyes. “You are my most important mission so far. Being a councilor had been an aspiration of mine, but that was before it was possible for us to have brides. Now I can see more pressing matters than sitting on a council.”
Dathrow seemed so sincere Pixie had a hard time feeling bad for the distraction she knew she was going to be.
“Are you ready to see your sister?”
“Hellz yes!” Without waiting for him to wave his bracelet over the door, she reached up and knocked. The banging sound was loud and jarring. “Oops, I forgot you guys didn’t knock here.”
The door swished open quickly and before Pixie knew it, she was caught up in the arms of her little sister.
“I knew you were the idiot who was knocking on the door!” Poppy laughed, her hug squeezing tighter.
“Sorry, I forgot to use my space bracelet.” Pixie leaned back to get a good look at her sister. “Holy shit, Pops! Are you going to have a twenty-pound baby? You’re huge!”
Poppy swatted at Pixie as they walked into the living area. “You are such a bitch!” she laughed and then poked Pixie in the side. “Somebody has been having an affair with Ben and Jerry.”
Poppy was barely able to dodge Pixie’s hand that reached out to smack her shoulder. “You can’t hit a pregnant lady! Protect me, Dath! Protect me!” Poppy waddled behind Dathrow who was staring at the sisters in amusement when somebody cleared their throat.
“Ahem. Who was going to hit a pregnant lady?” Wheaton asked, his voice low and serious.
“Pops, you better tell him we were just farting around. He seems pissed.” By the time she’d finished speaking, Pixie was hiding behind Dathrow next to Poppy.
Poppy moved from her hiding place and immediately jumped into Wheaton’s arms, her legs going around his waist and his hands under her thighs to hold her up. Wheaton gave Dathrow an amused smile over her shoulder.
“Are you two done yet?” he asked, his voice betraying his amusement.
Poppy squirmed closer and quickly pecked his lips and then jumped down just as fast as she’d climbed him.
“Yeah. I just like giving Pix shit. She was always the skinny one and now we’re on even ground I felt the need to fuck with her.” Poppy turned and looped her arm around Wheaton. “You look great, Pix. Really great…and I’m not just saying that because I missed you like hell.” Giving Pixie a considering glance, she added, “And you’re happy. That’s something I haven’t seen on you in a while.”
Pixie smiled up at the male beside her and then turned back to her sister. “I am happy. I’m starting over with my own space hunk. How could I not be happy?”
The women shared identical smiles while the men watched with understanding.
“It must have been very hard to you to be apart from your sister for so long, Pixie.” Wheaton nodded at her. “I know that I have heard much about you from my little flower. If you are anything alike then you have missed her just as much.”
Wheaton lowered his arm and smacked Poppy on the ass, giving her a little push to go and hug her sister again.
“I need to discuss some items with Wheaton, if that is okay, Pixie. Why don’t the two of you relax and catch up while we do that?” Dathrow had already started moving toward Wheaton and pulled a tablet out of the small bag he’d been carrying around all afternoon.
Poppy and Pixie moved to the living room, not wasting a second of their time together while the men moved to the kitchen bar to sit at stools and started talking quietly.
“Are you supposed to be this huge already?” Pixie blurted out, not worrying about hurting Poppy’s feelings.
“Bish! I am exactly as big I need to be. I told you the pregnancies go faster here.” Poppy blew a raspberry in her direction as she sat crossways on the couch and put her feet on Pixie’s lap.
“I’m not rubbing these crusty things if that’s what you’re trying to hint at,” Pixie teased her sister.
“Nah, I get plenty rubbing from Mr. Tall, Dark and Alien over there.” Wiggling her eyebrows at Pixie caused Pixie to snort in laughter. “I really did miss you, Pix.”
“I missed you too, Pops. I missed you too.”
As the women caught up on everything that had happened, they quickly found themselves acting as if their previous months apart had not passed.
* * * * *
The men took turns glancing over at the pair and smiling when one or the other would laugh. Wheaton also spent time watching Dathrow.
“She resembles Poppy more than I remembered,” Wheaton said quietly to the man sitting at his side, his voice apparent with concern.
“Yes she does. It was a surprise to
me as well. They are similar yet different,” Dathrow observed from his seat.
“They are two separate people, Dathrow. Of course they are different,” Wheaton replied. Taking a moment to think, he lowered his voice even more. “Poppy was concerned when she found out about your match to her sister…”
Dathrow raised his hand up to ward off the statement he knew was coming. “Wheaton, I understand her concern. I will assure you that what is between Pixie and me is unique. I felt an instant attraction to her on Earth at our very first meeting and it has only grown more since she arrived. There is no need for your or Poppy’s concern. I will admit that there was an attraction toward Poppy when I met her…but I know she is yours, and I am positive that even if she was not, I would have only reached a close friendship with her.”
At that “attraction” comment, Wheaton growled low in his throat.
“Pixie is smart, funny, sexy and mine. There is no confusion that she is not her sister.” Making sure to keep eye contact with Wheaton, Dathrow emphasized his earlier statement. “It is Pixie whom I want, not her sister.”
Wheaton studied his friend for a moment. Realizing that Dathrow was completely sincere, he gave him a small nod and then pointed to the tablet again. “Now that we have that out of the way, and I can make sure my lovely wife knows her sister will be taken care of, can we get back to work?”
* * * * *
After working for a bit, the men prepared dinner in the food replicator. Pixie watched Dathrow like a hawk while he was pushing buttons and quickly caught on to how it worked. She was anxious to go back home and try to program her favorites into their own machine. After the food was finished cooking, Pixie stroked the top of the replicator and whispered “my precious” until Poppy smacked her arm and made her go to the table.
While they ate, Pixie and Poppy teased each other by telling the men about their shenanigans back on Earth.
“And she called him Puny Peter! To his face!” Pixie couldn’t help but break into giggles over the ashamed look on Poppy’s face.
“It was awful,” Poppy moaned, covering her cheeks with her hands. “It just slipped out!”
“Slipped out!” Pixie sputtered between laughing, “Don’t you dare throw that fork at me, you set that one up yourself,” she yelled when she saw Poppy imitate a spear with the utensil.
“Ladies, if you are done torturing each other, we should head back to our quarters,” Dathrow said loudly as Poppy threatened to kill Pixie.
“Agreed.” Wheaton grinned as he helped clean up their plates. “You two will see each other tomorrow. It is getting late and the baby makes you tired enough.”
“Boooo!” the women chanted as one. Then, “Pinch, poke, you owe me a coke!”
Once the women had hugged again, for what seemed like the millionth time, Pixie finally let Dathrow lead her to the door.
“See ya later, bish!” Pixie yelled as they were leaving.
“Love ya, whore!” Poppy shouted back, as Wheaton and Dathrow both shook their heads.
Pixie looped her arm through Dathrow’s. Walking slowly, content with a full stomach and happy to have seen her sister again, she smiled up at the handsome man beside her.
“Thank you for that.”
“For what?” Dathrow asked.
“For letting me see Pops on my first day here. I know that we spent our whole evening there and we didn’t have to,” Pixie told him.
Stopping in his tracks, Dathrow took her by the shoulders and stared at her for a few moments. “I would never keep you from your sister. You two were separated for long enough. I knew how excited you were to see her.” Chucking her under her chin, he turned to start walking again. “Plus we have all the time in the world together. A few hours was no problem at all.”
“You’re totally different, aren’t you?” Pixie wondered out loud.
“From what?” Dathrow asked while they walked.
“From my ex. He would have pissed and moaned about wanting to see Poppy so quickly after I got here.”
“Why would he piss and moan? That seems odd,” he asked in a perplexed voice.
“I meant he would have complained. He wasn’t Poppy’s biggest fan.” Shaking her head at her own stupidity, she continued, “I don’t think he liked the person I was when I was around Poppy.”
“Why? You two are very much alike. If he didn’t like Poppy then how did he like you?”
“That’s the thing…I don’t think he did,” Pixie admitted, her voice sounding sad, “but that’s over and I don’t want to talk about him anymore.”
“I agree. He is an asshole.” Lifting his brow up, he gazed down at her, “That’s how you say it, correct?”
“Yeah, he was a big asshole.” Laughing at his use of a word that he obviously wasn’t comfortable with, Pixie hugged his arm tighter. “I’m ready for bed. How about you?”
Dathrow’s walking sped up as soon as he heard the word bed. “I am always ready for bed.”
Giggling as they rushed down the hallway to the lift, Dathrow hugged Pixie tight to his side.
Chapter Ten
Pixie paced in the tiny bathroom of her new home. Stopping in front of the small mirror over the sinks, she braced her arms on the basin.
“Just go out there, Pix. You want this. He wants this. Everything is cool.” Talking to herself in the mirror, she ran her hands through her hair. “Just be cool.”
Pixie almost jumped out of her skin when a knock on the door startled her.
“Pixie? Is everything okay? You have been in there for a while now.” Dathrow’s concern was apparent in the tone of his voice.
“Ummm, yeah. I’ll be out in a second,” Pixie shouted to the door, now feeling stupid for taking so long in the bathroom. Studying her reflection, she wished she’d chosen a sexier set of lingerie for the first unveiling but there was no point in dwelling on that now. Giving herself a fresh swipe of the deodorant she had in her makeup case, Pixie fluffed her hair and walked out of the bathroom, to come to an immediate halt.
Dathrow was standing beside the bed, storing something in the drawer on the nightstand and straightened when she walked in. Dressed in only his leather pants, he was a showstopper. Perfectly formed and cut, he reminded her of a swimmer with his long, defined limbs. Dathrow had a small amount of hair on his chest that led down into a happy trail that ended at the waistband of his pants.
“I was not sure if you wanted to undress me or not, so I waited for you.”
“Uh?” Pixie was unable to think clearly and apparently it was affecting her speech. “Undress you?”
Stalking slowly toward her, Dathrow stopped when there was just a small space between them.
“Yes. I was unsure if you wanted to finish undressing me.” He reached for the strap of her bra and slowly moved it down her shoulder. “I would like to undress you as well.”
The cups of Pixie’s bra were sturdy enough that they stayed in place, even with the strap now down on her arm. Feeling her breath catch, she watched as Dathrow slowly reached forward to mimic the action on the other strap.
“It fastens in the back,” Pixie pointed out as she licked her lips.
“My pants open in the front. Do you want to go first or shall I?” Watching her closely, he stepped forward to brush his chest against the tips of her breasts.
“I can go first.” Reaching forward with shaking fingers, she lowered her gaze to the fastening on his pants. After fumbling for a few moments, Pixie glared up at him in frustration.
“What the fuck! How do these open?” Jerking on the front of his pants, she felt him chuckle lowly as he reached down to help her. His hands guided hers to the fasteners that started at the top. Once the placket was open, he dropped his hands to let her finish on her own.
Pixie took a deep fortifying breath and opened his pants as far as they would allow. Noticing nothing but skin, Pixie ran her hands around the band at the waist, cupped her hands over his firm butt and pushed down his pants. Cupping his hard ass,
Pixie let his trousers rest for a moment at the tops of his thighs before squatting down and pushing his pants as she went. Keeping eye contact with Dathrow almost killed her. She only looked away when he cocked his brow at her as if daring her to view what she’d uncovered.
Stroking her hands down his thighs and legs, she helped him clear his leathers free of his feet before smiling up at the man before her.
“Wow.”
Pixie was speechless. Every single bit of Dathrow was gorgeous. Taking in the light smattering of hair on his thighs and legs, she focused on the part she had a hard time keeping her eyes off in the first place. Pixie was one lucky lady. Their height differences were large enough that with her kneeling, Pixie was staring up at his cock. It was beautiful. It looked as if it was almost carved from marble with a slight curve upward and Pixie felt her mouth water.
Feeling fingers tap her shoulder, she gazed up to meet smoldering eyes.
“I would like to explore you as well,” Dathrow said, one hand now gripping his cock and lightly stroking up and down. As he helped her to her feet, Pixie felt the hard length of him brush against her.
Reaching for him, she put her palm over his and mimicked his movements, only stopping when he gently moved her hand away.
Staring at her for a few moments, Dathrow reached behind her to undo the clasp of her bra. Pixie shrugged the garment off her shoulders and tossed it to the side as soon as it was clear of her arms. Not waiting for him to move to the last piece covering her, she hooked her fingers in her panties and wiggled them down.
Pixie stood still after kicking her panties away, sure her loud breathing was a giveaway of the nerves she felt. Never had she been more turned-on than she was now. Reaching up with shaking hands, Pixie set her palms on Dathrow’s shoulders.
As if that was the cue he’d needed to move, Dathrow stepped forward. Bending his knees to reach under her ass, he scooped her up against his front, the new position allowing him to reach her mouth easily without bending down. As Pixie’s lips met his, she wrapped her legs around his waist and felt his member poke the empty space created beneath her.
Warriors of Phaeton: Dathrow (Bridal Pact) Page 7