by Lily Harlem
“More coffee, yes,” I said, topping up my mug. “And would you like an orange, Magic?”
“Orange, Magic. Orange, Magic.” He bobbed his head and shuffled left and right.
“Come down here then.” I reached for one of the last oranges I had for him. He’d gotten through his stash quickly.
He spotted it and let out an ear-piercing squawk.
A feather floated down, a blue one this time, and I picked it up knowing Anki liked them.
Thinking of him made me smile while I peeled Magic’s orange.
“You can stay out of your cage for a while,” I said. “As long as you’re a good boy.”
“Good boy. Good boy.”
Despite what I’d said, he hopped into his cage. Clearly that was where he wanted to eat his orange.
He seemed content, so I locked his door then slipped out of the room. I’d go and find Mateo, make sure he was okay.
It was strange, this tug between two men. It wasn’t unpleasant; in fact, it was nice, really nice, but I knew I had to be careful of both of their feelings.
And as long as Mateo is committed to it not being a problem, we’ll all be fine.
Again the corridors were empty, and I walked quickly toward the bridge.
“Oh!” Rounding a corner, I’d crashed into a huge body.
“Uma.” Hurin stepped back quickly, almost dropping his tablet.
I dragged in a breath; it had been knocked from me. “Where are you going in such a rush?”
“To find you actually?”
“Really?” Now that surprised me.
“Yes, I wanted to pick your brain about one of the sleepers.”
“My brain?” He’d never given my brain much credence in the past.
He frowned, which only changed his expression from surly to downright grumpy. “Yes, you’re the only other person on board with any kind of medical knowledge.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, I—”
“You have a degree in zoology, you understand anatomy and physiology.”
I shrugged. “I guess that’s true.” I paused. “What’s the problem?”
“There’s one sleeper, his stats are slightly out of synchrony, not enough to be alarming, but…”
“But you’re worried.”
“I can’t put my finger on it. No reason to wake him, it’s just…off.”
“Shall I take a look?”
“Sure.” He gestured to his right. “Let’s sit in there.”
“In the games room?”
“Yes. It will be sufficient.”
“Oh, okay.” I glanced up the corridor. It seemed Mateo would have to wait.
“Were you going somewhere?” Hurin asked. “Well…obviously you were.”
“Just to the bridge to see Gavyn and Mateo.”
“Gavyn isn’t there, he’s in his quarters. He had a headache, so I advised him to take a mild analgesic, some fluid, and lie down with the fluorescent lights off.”
“Oh, okay. And yes, that sounds like a good idea.” I hoped Gavyn was all right. The burden of carrying around his grief for the loss of his sister to a Trad weighed heavily upon him. Perhaps I’d go to him later, see if there was anything I could do to help.
Hurin led the way into the games room. It had a pool table, a laser dartboard, a few consoles for artificial reality experiences—mainly early century Middle East war games—and a pile of traditional board games, including Monopoly, and a few comfortable white leather sofas.
Hurin sat at a shiny chrome table and placed his tablet on the surface.
I took a seat next to him.
Whenever I was physically close to Hurin, which wasn’t often, I was reminded of his size. He was easily the biggest guy on board Equinox. Add in the fact he never missed a workout, he was beefed-up, too.
“This,” he said, swiping to another screen.
I peered closer. “Tell me what I’m looking at.”
“He’s sleeper number seventy-one, a human male aged twenty-eight. Caucasian, no previous medical history, and blood type A.”
“Okay.”
“And it’s this which is concerning me.” He tapped a figure that said 37.4. “This is his peripheral temperature in centigrade. It’s a low fever, only just above normal for a sleeping traveler.”
“Anyone else recording that?”
“No, everyone else’s core and peripheral temperatures are within normal parameters.”
“And how long has it been raised?”
“Twenty-four hours now.”
“Could be a dormant virus, shingles, that sort of thing.”
“No, he, like all the others on board, have been vaccinated against that and everything else Earth has a vaccine for.”
“A common cold?”
“Mmm, could be. Though it would be a long incubation for that.” He tapped another number. “Forty-eight.”
“What does that mean?”
“His pulse, it’s forty-eight. That’s slow, notably slow because he has a fever which would usually make a human tachycardic not bradycardic.”
“Yes, that makes sense.” I frowned. “So why has his heartbeat gone in the opposite direction?”
“That’s why I’m confused. I hoped you might know. Have you seen it in animals in the past?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But you could radio the observatory and ask what they think.”
“It isn’t that serious. And you know what they’re like. It will be lots of forms for me to fill in.”
“True.” I rubbed my lips. “Why don’t we watch him for another twenty-four hours and see if it settles? It’s not exactly life threatening. And if it’s still raised we’ll see what the others think before we do anything.”
He nodded but didn’t appear convinced.
“It’ll be all right, Hurin.” I rested my hand on his wide forearm which was coated in hairs as dark as that on his head.
The moment our skin connected, he snatched his arm away.
“Sorry,” I said, bunching my fingers into a fist so tightly my fingernails dug into my palms. “I didn’t…I mean…I…”
He stood, his lips a flat line, and tucked the tablet beneath his arm. “Thank you, Uma. For sharing your thoughts.”
He turned and took long, swift strides to the door.
And then he was gone.
I stared at the seat he’d occupied. Hurin was a mystery. A puzzle I couldn’t solve. I knew he was different anatomically to the other men on board, and I couldn’t deny him having two cocks fascinated me. But there was something more. It was as if a barrier was fastened around him. One that was tough, dark, and impenetrable. The only softness I’d seen from him was when he’d expressed his determination to protect me from the Trads which had tailed us for a short while. Then passion had flashed in his eyes, and a steely set to his jaw told me I’d be safe if he was my protector.
But other than that, he’d given away nothing. He had secrets, yes, and was new to having the company of a woman…me. But I was sure there was something more that made him the way he was.
And I would find out what. It wasn’t as if I didn’t have the time.
Chapter Four
I glanced at my watch and stood.
Gavyn and Mateo usually did their daily bridge inspections in the morning, about the time Anki and I checked on the goats and Hurin put on his scrubs to go into the sleeper pod.
But if Gavyn was lying down, then Mateo would be alone on the bridge. Which suited me well. It was him I needed to speak to. It was a tug in my heart, a need to be close to him and make sure he was all right after giving me his blessing to spend the night with Anki.
The corridors were silent, and I counted the rivets in the floor, beside the emergency lighting, to pass the time on the ten-minute walk along Equinox’s port side.
When I reached the vacuum-sealed door, I paused and peered in through the small round window.
As I’d suspected, Mateo was by himself.
He sat in
a large leather swivel seat beside a monitor, and with a pen in his hand, he appeared to be logging readings into a file.
I tapped the button, and the door slid noiselessly open.
Stepping in, I cleared my throat.
He turned, and when he saw me, he smiled. “Hey, hun. What do I owe the pleasure?”
“Just wanted to say good morning.”
He placed his pen down. “Good morning.”
I walked up to him, and he parted his legs so I could step between them. I cupped his cheeks and set my lips over his.
Gently, he rested his hands on my waist and returned my kiss.
He tasted of mint and smelled of his usual delicious cologne. His kiss was like coming home, familiar and safe, and so damn sexy.
“You should come and say good morning more often.”
I smiled. “Usually Gavyn is in here. He wouldn’t like you being distracted by me.”
He gave my ass a squeeze. “I like the distraction.”
I kissed him again, hoping he understood the depths of my feelings for him and that nothing had changed between us just because I’d been with Anki.
“Are you all right?” I asked, pulling back and stroking my fingers over his blond hair. The overheads lights were dim, but the strands still shone golden.
He paused for a second, then, “I am if you are.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
He nibbled on his bottom lip and slid his palms to the small of my back, then to my butt again. “I can’t pretend I’m thrilled that it wasn’t me in your bed last night, but equally I know I can’t be selfish and have you all to myself.”
He paused, and I waited for him to continue.
“There’s just not enough women to go around. It’s not how it was for our parents. We, us men, we have to share.”
I nodded. “And it’s taking us all a while to get used to the new way of running relationships.”
“Yes. And I’m grateful for your patience.”
“I care about you, Mateo, I always have, you know that.” I ran my hands down the column of his neck and rested them over his collarbones. Love radiated from his eyes, not jealousy, not frustration, and for that I was grateful.
I glanced at the door. It had resealed.
“I’m sorry if you were…unsatisfied last night,” I said, my voice a husky whisper.
“Perhaps I sorted myself out.” He twitched his eyebrows.
“Did you?”
He chuckled. “No, I’m a big boy, I can wait for my woman.”
“A big boy, huh?” I traced my fingers down his chest, over his black t-shirt, to his abdomen. “And how big are you?”
“Getting bigger by the minute.” He glanced at his groin. He wore sweats, and a clear outline of his cock was visible through the material. “As you can see.”
“I can.” I licked my lips. A surge of desire gripped me—desire to give Mateo pleasure and hear him gasp in delight.
I kissed him again, but only for a second, because then I sank to my knees between his legs and rested my hands on his thighs.
A brief look of surprise swept over his face, then he smiled. “Uma?”
“We’re all alone, right?”
“Yes.”
“So it’s okay if I do this.” I stroked his cock over the material of his clothing.”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat and shifted slightly on the seat. “I guess so.”
Beneath my touch, he hardened further.
“I want to taste you,” I said, reaching for the waistband on his sweats. “Here. Now. On the bridge.”
“I’m sure there’s rules against it.” He shoved at his sweats, and his cock sprung out. “But what the hell.”
I held his eye contact and swept my tongue over the tip of his cock.
He groaned and filled his hands with my hair.
“You like that?” I asked.
“You know damn well I do.” His jaw tensed. “But we better be quick.”
“I can make you come quick.”
“Not usually something I’m proud of, but on this occasion, I—” His words turned into a long groan as I wrapped my hand around his shaft and fed his glans into my mouth.
Closing my eyes, I set about my task, concentrating on moving my lips with firmness and hugging him with my tongue. I bobbed up and down, and his hands followed me, holding my hair.
As his breaths got heavier, sharper, his fingers tightened and his cock came to full hardness.
A drip of pre-cum basted my tongue, and my excitement grew with his. I adored giving Mateo head. He didn’t hold back, he let me know how much he enjoyed it.
“Ah, yeah. Hun, that’s so…fuck, you’re good at that.” He groaned. “But I’m going to…”
I cupped his balls with my free hand and rolled them gently.
He moaned again, and his hips rose to meet my mouth.
I was lost to him, lost to the sensation of his cock and the pleasure he was about to release.
“Uma!” He held my head close so he was fully seated and his glans tickled the back of my throat.
And then he came. His cock throbbed to the beat of my pulse, and hot cum flooded my mouth.
I swallowed it down. More arrived. I swallowed that, too. The sound of his gasps rang around me, swirling into my memory.
“Oh God,” he said, sliding his cock in and out, much slower now. “That was…”
I allowed him to slip from my mouth, and, holding his cock, I smiled up at him. “Fast? Intense? Fun?”
“All three of those things.” He smiled. “Thank you, hun.”
“Actually, that was against three separate bridge rules.” A familiar deep voice invaded my blissful state. “Though you both should know that already.”
Gavyn.
Mateo stood, dragging his sweats into place. “Fuck,” he muttered and stood half in front of me.
I straightened, my stomach sinking and a rush of heat swarming over my neck and cheeks.
Gavyn stood by the door. He was smartly dressed in dark pants and a short-sleeved white shirt which had his captain logo embroidered over the right side of his chest. He had his arms folded, and his eyes were narrowed.
I clasped my hands together and swallowed. Mateo’s salty taste hung heavy in my mouth, and my heart was still romping along at a rapid pace.
“I…we were…I mean…” Mateo said, snapping his t-shirt straight and fastening his hands behind himself.
“I could see what you were doing, Officer Ty.” Gavyn slid his attention from Mateo to me. “Let’s just hope for both of your sakes the observatory CCTV isn’t on.”
“Shit.” I glanced at the top right-hand corner of the bridge.
“That would have been quite a show for them.” Gavyn frowned.
“It isn’t on.” Mateo turned to me. “I turned them all off, Uma, when we increased the magnetic field. No point having them on with all of that interference. Don’t worry about the observatory having seen anything.”
“That’s one good thing.”
Gavyn strode into the room, his shoes making sharp clicking noises on the floor. Still he looked at me, and when he drew level he stopped, and his gaze seemed to bore into a very deep, very private part of me.
I had no idea what to say. An apology for giving my boyfriend—one of my boyfriends—a blow job didn’t sit well, though of course I knew it wasn’t something we should have indulged in on the bridge. For a moment I thought about running, making a dash for it and sorting this mess out later, but that wasn’t the type of person I was. So I steeled myself to be strong and take whatever reprimand he was going to dole out.
“I think,” Gavyn said, his voice low but firm, “you should leave Mateo to get on with his tasks.”
“His tasks,” I repeated.
“Unless there’s something else here you need to do, Uma?”
“No, there isn’t, Captain Rivers.” Tilting my chin, I made eye contact with Gavyn. Yes, he was the captain of this ship, and yes
I had to obey his commands, but I wouldn’t be made to feel guilty for being a sexual female with needs and an understanding of male needs. “I was actually just going.” I shrugged, hoping to pull off nonchalant, even though that wasn’t how I felt and didn’t think it would wash at all. “I’d finished what I was doing.” I paused. “But you probably know that.”
His eyes widened a little. There seemed to be a slight flush to his cheeks, and his lips were damp, as though he’d just licked them.
How long had he been standing there?
A while. I was sure of that. In fact, I’d bet Magic’s favorite mirror on it.
He got off on watching us.
That thought flashed through my brain. Gavyn had enjoyed the show. He’d taken up a voyeuristic position and settled in to watch. He could have made his presence known much sooner, I was sure of it.
Why does it turn me on? To know he’s seen us intimate?
A smile tugged my lips, I couldn’t help it, and I tilted my head. “Though just so you know, I haven’t done that to Mateo before.”
Gavyn didn’t reply, but he did lick his lips again.
“Well, I have, but not in here, not on the bridge.” I gestured to Mateo. “That was a first for us both. For me to give him a blow job here.”
“And a last, you giving him a…blow job in here, that is.” Gavyn shifted from one foot to the other. “What you do in your private quarters is up to you.”
“What we all do in our private quarters is exactly that, private,” I replied
What does Gavyn do in his? Does he take himself in hand?
A small tremble shimmied over my belly at the thought of Gavyn masturbating. Would he tonight? After seeing us?
He was standing close, so close I could feel his breaths. I wondered if he could feel mine, if he could smell Mateo on me. Would he have liked to join us? Would he have liked me to suck his cock when I’d finished with Mateo?
“I’ll see you later,” Mateo said suddenly. He marched to the door and pressed the button. It slid open, shifting the air very slightly.
Still I studied Gavyn. He was a mystery to me. His words said one thing, but I was sure he meant another. Or at the very least there was something going on in his head that he wasn’t letting me see.
But like Hurin, I would get to the bottom of it. Our captain intrigued me.