They tumbled awkwardly onto the bouncy surface, sorting a tangle of body parts and trying to maneuver each other into a position more conducive to love play almost with a sense of desperation—kissing, touching, and caressing whatever bare patch of flesh they could reach at the same time. Garryk caught her waist abruptly, shoved her to one end of the bed and fell over her, flattening her breasts with the weight of his chest. He undulated against the tight little spikes her nipples had become as if seeking a more comfortable position. The delicious abrasion of his hair-roughened chest against her sensitive nipples sent keen shards of sensation through her. She arched her back, following his movements to rub against him.
He released her abruptly, surged upright until he was balanced on his knees and began a search for the closure of her slacks with an expression of frowning intensity. She grabbed for the side closure herself. He shoved her fingers away, released the button and zipper and dug his fingers into the waistband, pulling her slacks and panties off at the same time in a series of jerks that dragged her toward him. When he’d removed them, he caught her legs and parted them, guiding one to either side of his shoulders. One of her heels landed on the edge of the mattress and one foot hit the floor as he released his grip and grabbed her waist again, shoving her back up the bed.
He burrowed his face between her breasts as they settled and then scaled one mound to the peak, capturing the throbbing bundle of nerves with his mouth. It was like being branded. The force of the jolt knocked the breath from her for several moments. The sensations that poured through her were so acute they were a shock to her system and she couldn’t decide for several moments whether it was agonizing pleasure or only agonizing.
Her womb contracted almost painfully when the wave hit it and she sucked in the breath she’d lost, clawing her way back up toward consciousness. Moisture flooded her channel as the muscles along it began to quake frantically in a demand to be filled. “Garryk!” she managed to gasp out in a voice that rang with nearly hysterical need.
It penetrated his brain just enough to work like a boxing bell. He let go of the nipple he’d been torturing and swooped down on the other, sending her spiraling toward darkness again. When she managed to pitch herself toward the surface once more, she sucked in a choked breath. “Now!” she gasped, planting a palm on his forehead and trying to pry him loose. “Garryk!”
He jerked his head upward, staring at her drunkenly for a moment before the demand seemed to click in his mind and then he surged upward. She thought for a moment his only intent was to gag her with his mouth and silence her, but he arched his back, curling over her enough to spear the head of his cock into the mouth of her sex. She grunted into his mouth at impact, struggling to find a hold on him to drag him in. Her hands skimmed the hard muscles of his back and waist in a frantic search for a hold and finally closed on his buttocks. She tightened her grip as he thrust, ignoring the pumping motion of his hips and pulling steadily as he struggled to coat his cock with enough moisture to slide home.
After a moment, he broke from her lips, sucked in a couple of deep breaths and mentally threw his shoulder into his task, plowing a little deeper, shaking with the effort. She felt the skin along her inner thighs tighten with the strain and then ease as he broke the impasse and drove deeply. Thankfully, he caught himself before ramming her womb. She flinched anyway in anticipation, but then relaxed when he caught himself and focused entirely on enjoying the feel of his flesh as it glided back and forth along hers in pleasurable friction that sent waves of keen sensation through her.
The climb toward her peak was a swift one, aided by the accumulated need of days of doing without. She curled tightly around him—arms and legs—as she waited breathlessly for the ascent. The first electrifying jolt tensed every muscle in her body for endless seconds until it released its grip and then surged again, over and over until she was completely inundated by the heated waves of pleasure, her mind floating free of her body like a balloon caught in a current of air, drifting up toward the sunlight and then down toward a dark pit. She lost all buoyancy when the waves of bliss finally drifted away.
Garryk uttered a choked string of curses and profound praise as he lost control. “Gezis! mabay, Gezis! Jods, that feels ….”
At his words and the feel of his body jerking in release, a rash of pebbling skin erupted all over her, sending another warming wave through her. Gravity exerted itself, pulling at her until she felt almost too heavy to breathe. She yielded to it abruptly, allowing it to pull her toward oblivion.
Garryk sank heavily against her, huffing hot breaths against her neck and ear that lifted flocks of goose-bumps that raced across her skin in waves that made her shiver in reaction. He dragged in a deep, shuddering breath finally and shifted his weight to the mattress beside her, easing the pressure enough that Chelsey managed to suck in a deep, sustaining breath of her own.
“Mabay?”
“Mmmm?”
Garryk framed her face with his hands, dreading what he had to say to her, but there was no hope for it. “I’m sorry as hell I had to do that to you, mabay. You know I would never hurt you? There wasn’t any choice. They were already there by the time I realized what was going on and managed extricate myself from … the situation I was in … and get to your place.”
Chelsey stared at him blankly, a frown of confusion and uneasiness slowly crinkling her brow. “What are you talking about?”
Something flickered in his eyes—relief then discomfort and finally acceptance. “You don’t remember? That’s why you weren’t pissed off,” he muttered.
“Remem ….” Chelsey broke off as her mind rapidly replayed the last memories she had before she’d wakened in this strange place and for the first time she realized Garryk shouldn’t be there—at least not if her memory served her. “I was picked up by federal agents—at least that was what they claimed,” she said slowly, struggling to remember memories that were spotty simply because she’d been so shocked by the entire incident she hadn’t really understood what was going on. “They said they were looking for you—that you weren’t really Garryk Sinclair.”
Pulling away from her, he got up and straightened his clothing, which prompted her to scramble back into her own clothes.
“What is it? What’s going on, Garryk? What did they mean? Why were they there?” She paused. “What is this place? Why am I here? This isn’t about Lawrence, is it?”
He caught her face between his palms again. “Shhh, baby. It’s ok. I swear. You’re in no danger … now. I’d never allow harm to come to you while there’s breath in my body. You know that, don’t you? Believe that?” he added, pulling her close against his frame.
Despite his reassuring warmth, Chelsey discovered she couldn’t find the comfort and solace she generally found in his arms. “My god, Garryk! What is going on? You’re starting to scare the hell out of me with all this cloak and dagger stuff! They said you weren’t Garryk Sinclair, that it was an alias, but they wouldn’t tell me anything else.”
He didn’t say anything for several moments. “I’m the same person you’ve always known—the man who loves you—that I hope you love.”
Chelsey was warmed by the declaration and briefly distracted.
Actually, she wanted to dismiss her doubts completely, but there were too many questions in her mind.
She pulled away to search his eyes. “I do love you. You have to know that.”
He swallowed audibly. “It’s nice to hear it …. I thought, but no one’s ever a hundred percent convinced, you know.”
She managed a faint smile. “No. It takes lots of reassurance.” She pulled away, plopping down on the edge of the bunk they’d vacated. “I still need to know the whole truth—now. I need to understand what’s going on.”
He shook his head, seemed to consider joining her and finally turned to pace instead.
He struggled for words for some moments, dreaded telling her something he knew she was going to have a hard time even accepting—that
would shock, horrify and very likely infuriate her if and when she did accept it—but there seemed no way around a bald confession at this point and he thought it might be less of a shock to her if she heard it all now—before they arrived at the new colony. “I’m not who you think I am.” He frowned, shook his head as if by doing so he could erase his mistakes, but he’d gone over and over them for days and finally realized it didn’t matter what he could have done. What mattered was what he had done because he couldn’t start over and he couldn’t undo the damage—not now. “I honestly thought I could make it work—here—that there was no reason you had to know. Not that I’m saying that would make it ok, but …. It couldn’t hurt you if you didn’t know.” He paused to gauge her reaction, decided to ignore the dawning anger in her eyes, and continued doggedly. “In the years I spent here before, I perfected the role I was forced to play to gather the Intel my people needed—or at least I thought I had.” His true background in the institute where he’d been produced and reared had made him singularly well suited for the life they’d invented for him. “I knew—thought—I could blend in and that you’d be far happier here on your own world with your own people
“Stupid, of course, but I didn’t think you could handle the truth and it wouldn’t have been safe for you to know—it would’ve been dangerous for me, naturally, but it would’ve been dangerous for you, too.
“In any case, I’d already established the lie before I ever met you and I wasn’t just under orders. I was under close watch. I didn’t have a choice in that.”
Chelsey gaped at him, so stunned by the sudden revelation she couldn’t process it. One part did stand out, however—glaringly. “What?” Cold terror washed over her. That explained why the Feds had, to all intents and purposes, taken her prisoner! “Oh my god! You’re saying … Are you saying you aren’t really a doctor? That you lied to a judge? Don’t you know that’ll get you in jail? Oh my god! Why would you do that?”
Resentment flickered through Garryk. He had lost her trust and it seemed doubtful he would ever be able to regain it. “I am a doctor … just not ….” He shook his head. “I’m not from here, mabay. There are some things I couldn’t tell you, but I’ve been as honest about everything else as I could be. Everything you know about who I am, now, is true. My past isn’t—wasn’t.”
Chelsey blinked at him, more confused not less. “But … but … your school records.”
“That was an identity invented for me—not by me—to protect me so I could get what they wanted. I was sent by my people to scout, to find a new home for our people.” He hesitated, but he wanted her to know that he hadn’t deceived her by choice. “I was sent before anyway—when you and I first met. This time I came ….”
He broke off uncomfortably. Subconsciously, he believed he’d come for her, that she was the magnet that had drawn him back to her world, but he hadn’t consciously acknowledged that until he’d seen her again.
Well, not even then. Not at first.
He was afraid if he claimed to have come just for her that she would see the tiny cracks in that story and pick it apart.
Like why had he been here for months without contacting her before the party … that he hadn’t even known was for her?
To his mind, it changed nothing. As soon as he’d arrived he’d set about trying to blend with their society and part of that blending meant finding work and earning the money to pay his way in their currency.
And that was a huge part of their mating ritual, for that matter—which made it even more important.
That didn’t mean he hadn’t done it for Chelsey.
But she might not see it that way.
Chelsey stared at him as if she’d never seen him before—because she abruptly felt like she hadn’t. He might as well have been speaking gibberish.
Like the ‘gibberish’ she’d grown accustomed to hearing when he made love to her, her subconscious abruptly threw into the mix as a sudden revelation.
The ‘gibberish’ that might actually have been his native tongue?
Knowing how desperate she was to believe anything Garryk told her, she shook that thought. She didn’t understand anything he’d said to her. But a sick feeling had begun to gather inside her.
This was going to hurt—maybe more than she could stand.
This was going to break her heart.
“I don’t understand. What are you talking about? They sent you? Who? To scout for what? You’re not … you aren’t a … Russian spy, are you?”
Frustration flickered through him, impatience. Not with her, but with her government.
She didn’t believe him—didn’t believe anything he’d tried to explain and he wasn’t sure anything he could say would convince her.
“Not Russian. I’m not from this world, Baby. I was sent years ago—under the cover they created, the background that you knew. I was sent to discover if this world would be acceptable as a colony world, and I have to say it would be if it was up to me. It’s a beautiful place—has a lot to offer—mostly because of you.
“The trouble is your world is facing the same problem mine is—or was. It’s dangerously overpopulated for the available resources and it’s only going to get worse. It wouldn’t support a colony because it can barely support the life here already.
“We haven’t been allowed to mate in three generations—to couple or reproduce naturally. The government controls the births and the donors for the minimal reproduction they allow. We were desperate—not that I actually had a choice of whether to come or not. I was institutionally bred and the government owns me—Or did. I paid that debt by risking my neck coming here to scout for them.
“Unfortunately, I had to report that Earth wasn’t a good candidate. But they have discovered some very beautiful, very suitable colony worlds and now they’ve lifted the mating ban.
“I thought I could offer you a choice—that I could stay with you or, if you were willing, you could come with me.” Actually, he’d thought/hoped he might be able to maintain his identity and he’d never have to tell her, but he didn’t think that would go over well if he told her. “I don’t have the luxury of options anymore. I didn’t really have any choice but to go to the hearing or I would’ve avoided it. I did my best to cover my ass, but something didn’t pass muster. I’m guessing they checked my background and it didn’t hold up.
“Those red flags brought the Feds down on me—on us—They jumped me a few nights ago. Maybe they were on to me right from the start and just hadn’t connected the dots before. I don’t know. I did get that proximity alert and that might not have been someone accidentally stumbling across the scout ship. They may already have been looking for me.
“Whatever the case, it wasn’t safe for either of us for me to linger.
“Jods only knows what they would’ve done if they’d gotten me to the facility they were heading for. I know I didn’t want to know. I had to go. We had to go. I’m sorry as hell that it came to this, but they clearly know that I’ve been living with you—possibly even that I’ve fathered a child on you—and that means you and the baby were in danger even if I’d considered leaving you. I swear I’ll do all that I can to make you happy, to make it up to you. The new colony world is beautiful—as beautiful as your world, maybe more … because it’s young and unspoiled.”
Chelsey stared at him blankly, still trying to wrap her mind around what he’d told her—and completely unable to. It comforted her that, despite everything, he hadn’t said she didn’t matter to him, but if he had truly cared wouldn’t he have told her everything? Before there was no choice? “You’re scaring me, Garryk. This doesn’t make any sense! You know that, don’t you?”
Garryk stopped pacing. After studying her for a long moment, he glanced toward the window. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
Frowning, Chelsey studied him uneasily for several moments and finally got up, following him to the window.
Vertigo hit her the moment she got close enough to take in the entire
view. There was nothing but night sky.
Well, besides the planet Jupiter that looked way too frigging close!
Comprehension eluded her. She simply stared at the view, trying to wrap her mind around it and explain it, understand it.
It wasn’t a picture, optical illusion. She tried to convince herself it was, but it just looked too real to accept that.
“I’m sorry as hell, baby,” Garryk said gruffly. “I just … I didn’t know of any way to prepare you for this.”
She stared at him, but she hardly heard anything he said. “I … I need to lie down for a little while.”
Relief flooded Garryk. “Good thought! Rest, baby. I’ll be back to get you before we hit the wormhole. That’s a little rough and you’ll have to get into safety harness.”
Chelsey nodded, but she didn’t even try to assimilate that. She felt like she was going to pass out and that was all she could focus on at the moment. She returned to the bed, crawled onto the surface and curled into a tight ball, struggling with nausea and dizziness until, thankfully, she dropped over the edge of awareness into nothingness.
She was certain she didn’t sleep long—that time, which aroused uneasiness about her sleep before. Because she still didn’t remember anything from the point that the agents had dragged her into that car ….
Getting up after a moment, she looked around until she discovered a bathroom.
By the time she’d managed to figure out how to use it—with the help of the computer—she didn’t need any more convincing. She knew she wasn’t in Kansas anymore. She just wasn’t sure of how she felt about it.
The Visitor: Alien Hunger Special Edition Page 20