by Kyle, Celia
“This was—”
“Perfect,” I cut her short. “This was absolutely perfect.”
And it was.
It really was.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Varia
“Where exactly do you think you’re going?”
Solair moves to push himself off of me, but I lace my legs around his waist and keep him in place. Now that I’ve had a taste, there’s no way I’m letting go of him so easily, and that’s precisely what I tell him. His eyes widen with surprise, but they quickly light up with lust once more.
“Aren’t you tired?” The tone of his voice tells me he already knows the answer.
“Are you?” I throw back at him, and a grin takes over his lips. The cock inside me hardens again, and I find myself returning his grin. “That’s what I thought.” Sliding one hand down my chest, I reach for his second cock; I lay my fingers on top of it and press it down, pushing his flesh against my clit.
“You’re one of a kind, Varia,” he whispers, slowly rocking his hips against mine as he builds a gentle rhythm. He seems aware that my body is way more sensitive now, but he doesn’t let that stop him. His pace keeps increasing with each passing second, and it doesn’t take long before he’s ravaging me with the same intensity from before, his eyes never leaving mine as he thrusts. “Where have you been all my life?”
“I could ask you the same question.” Placing both my hands on his face, I raise my head and crush my mouth against his, allowing our tongues to dance and wrestle in a frenzied way. Tightening my legs around him, I twist my hips around and force him to roll to the side. Even though his body is far more imposing than mine, he allows me to do it all the same, and I quickly find myself on top of him.
Grinning like a madwoman, I take over our little dance, riding him so intensely that it’s only a matter of time until my muscles start complaining from the effort. Not that I pay these complaints any heed. The exhaustion I’m feeling is as sweet as the pleasure he has unleashed on my body, and it does nothing to stop me.
“You’re so tight,” he tells me, the lines on his face deepening as I start riding him even harder than before. I open my mouth to respond, but I don’t have the strength to do it. Instead, I just use my inner walls to give his hardness a firm squeeze, the surprised look on his face almost making me laugh.
“And I’m full of surprises,” I tease him, running my hands up my body until they’re cupping my breasts. I keep looking at him as I play with my own body, my fingers softly massaging my hard nipples, and that seems to fuel the hellfire of lust burning inside of him. Whatever surprises I might have, he wants every single one of them.
Matching my movements, he thrusts upward, burying his cock so deeply inside me that I can’t stop myself from gasping. Reacting instinctively, I reach down with one hand and grip his second cock, stroking it so frantically that pain shoots up from my wrist to my elbow. He’s still slick from his own juices, so my fingers glide easily over his entire length, making my movements seem frenzied and out of control.
“You’re driving me fucking insane,” he growls all of a sudden and, before I can do anything to stop him, he sits up on the mattress and places both hands on my backside. He pulls me against him, trapping his second cock between us, and I throw my arms over his shoulders as I kiss him again. Locked in such a tight embrace, we settle into a more forgiving rhythm, our two bodies swaying back and forth at a smooth tempo.
Despite the gentleness of our new rhythm, the fire inside continues to grow. As we remain trapped in that sweet cadence, my insides turn into a veritable furnace, and this time my inner walls tighten up around Solair’s cock on their own. I bite on his bottom lip as I come, my whole body tensing up without warning. I push myself against him with all that I have, forcing him to stop moving, and I let pleasure wash all over me.
I don’t move for a few seconds, but that moment of stillness seems to stretch endlessly. I just let my breathing match Solair’s and open my eyes lazily so I can take in the blissful expression on his face. I make note of each line and detail, from his strong chin to the strength and kindness in his eyes, and I engrave it all on my mind. No matter what happens, I don’t want to forget this moment. I want to remember it for the rest of my days.
“You’re not done. Are you?” I release a soft chuckle and rest my forehead against his. I still feel the throb of his two cocks, one inside me and the other pressed against my stomach, and that’s all I need to know that he’s far from being done.
“How did you know?” he asks me with a chuckle of his own. Tenderly, he pushes me off of him, and I sit down on the mattress. He goes up to his knees, allowing his smile to turn into a thin line, and then all kindness melts out from his eyes as his predatory gaze returns. “I don’t want this to end, Varia. What I’m feeling right now is not even a want… it’s a need.”
I give him a teasing smile. “If you need something, why don’t you come and take it?”
He responds by closing on me ferociously.
Grabbing me by the hips, he turns me around until I’m lying on my stomach and then forces me to push my ass up. It doesn’t take a genius to know what he wants, and I’m more than willing to give it to him. Going up on all fours, I wiggle my backside at him, and then my breath catches in my throat as he presses his body against mine.
One of his cocks pushes its way past my inner lips easily, and I groan as I feel its thickness stretching me widely once more. The other lodges itself between my ass cheeks, its harsh throb against my entrance making me want so much more than what I’m getting right now. Still, I have to take it slow. Solair isn’t what I’d call human-sized, and I have to take things slowly if I want to be able to walk after this encounter.
Moaning, I start thrusting back against him, and he’s quick to respond to my movements. His thighs slap my ass cheeks over and over again until the sound of flesh on flesh fills the entire room. I swear it’s the most perfect sound I’ve ever heard in my entire life. We remain locked in our frantic embrace until my moans and his groans have blended with the sounds of our bodies clashing; locks of hair are plastered to my forehead, beads of sweat rolling down my face, and I feel on the verge of collapsing. And yet…
I want so much more.
“Harder,” I find myself saying, repeating that word over and over again until I’m screaming it out at the top of my lungs. Not one to hesitate, he gives me exactly what I’m asking of him, ravaging me in such a way that I can’t help but think I’m having an out-of-body experience. Ecstasy is whipping at both my body and soul and, by everything that is sacred, it truly feels like we’re at the center of the universe, all of it spinning around us.
When we finally surrender to the inevitable, our bodies in complete synch, a bright flash of light explodes behind my shut eyelids. I remain perfectly still as Solair offers me all of his seed, my body his for the taking, and I only move once my muscles finally reach the breaking point. I collapse on the bed, completely spent, and I don’t even look to the side as I feel the mattress shifting under Solair’s weight.
For a moment, there’s silence, our ragged breathing the only sound in the room. Then, gently, he reaches for me and brushes one finger against my spine, tracing its length in a tender way. He takes his finger all the way up to my neck, and then goes down my jaw until he’s touching my lips. Slowly, I turn around so I’m facing him, my eyes meeting his. I want to say a lot of things right now, but I don’t. I just take his hand and smile.
After all, some things don’t need to be said.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Varia
M’Kal station features a large dome with numerous curving glassteel panels, allowing a view of the sea of stars and the different merchant ships as they drift to and fro across the starscape. I find that my gaze keeps drawing up toward its more than fifty-foot height. The amount of engineering that had to go into building must have been staggering. I can’t find much practical purpose to such a high, vaulted ceiling, oth
er than eliminating the normally claustrophobic feel of space stations.
Walking abreast of me, Solair turns a smile my way.
“Amazing. Isn’t it? Many of the bas reliefs were carved by the same artist who worked on the Queen.”
“It is amazing. Both in scale and beauty.” I return his smile and feel that particular tickle in my belly when I’m into someone and the feeling is mutual.
Into someone. That’s the barest way to describe my feelings. The time I spent with Solair in his cabin was sweet and sensual, and I found it easy to let go and simply enjoy being with him. Things have definitely changed between us, for the better, but there’s still some things to work out. But now, for the first time since we met, working them out seems not only possible, but simple.
Behind us, members of Solair’s crew and a team of women handpicked by Marion, follow in our wake. The busy port has many sapient species I’m not directly familiar with, members of the League who rarely interfere with the war-torn regions of the galaxy.
The League has studiously remained neutral in the long, brutal war between the Ataxian Coalition and the Trident Alliance. I’m a bit worried I’m dragging Solair toward the conflict that he never had any part of by asking him to harbor IHC fugitives on his ship. It weighs on my conscience, but it’s a burden eased by the gentle laughter of my alien lover, as well as his deft and sensitive touch.
God, I’m acting like a giddy schoolgirl. I thought I’d left such frivolity behind when I joined the IHC Marines at sixteen, but here I am right back in it. Solair makes me feel it’s okay to be both strong and vulnerable at the same time, and I owe him so much for that.
“You seem troubled.”
I shake my head and give his hand a squeeze. “I’m always troubled, but don’t take it personally. I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“I am as well.”
We head around the circumference of the docking ring, gradually working our way to the admin office. Solair intends to pay our docking fee before heading down a ring to negotiate with a merchant he’s worked with before.
“So tell me about this Hudd person we’re going to meet later.”
Solair cocks an eyebrow at me, and his lips stretch in an easy grin. “He’s a sneaky bastard, a shrewd negotiator, and has a penchant for the dramatic. You’ll like him.”
“So you say. If he can help us find the things on Marion’s list, I’ll hug the guy.”
“A side hug only, I hope.” He chuckles, belying the jealous words he spoke with his tone and manner. “I’m certain that if Hudd can’t help us directly, he’ll be more than happy to point us in the right direction, for an only marginally exorbitant finder’s fee.”
“If this guy’s such a mensch, why do business with him at all?”
Solair shrugs. “For a merchant who calls M’Kal station home, he’s a paradigm of virtue. Also, even if he’s a bit persnickety, he does find fantastic bargains. For an operation such as ours, men like him are a necessary evil, and he’s far less evil than most.”
When we get to the admin office, there’s a short line to wait in. Solair directs Kintar to take our entourage—and their fully laden hover sleds of goods—down to the merchant ring in preparation of our transactions with this Hudd character.
Solair glances over at me as we shuffle forward in line. “I can’t stop thinking about our encounter in my quarters.”
“Encounter?” I shoot him a teasing smile. “Is that a euphemism for the fact that we fu…”
“Made love? Indeed.”
I chuckle and entwine my arm with his. Right now, in this instant, all of my problems don’t seem so big or scary. Maybe that’s what finding your person is all about?
At last, we reach the front of the line and Solair jams his cred stick into the automated console.
“Tonnage…trajectory…oh come on, why does it matter how many cargo bays I have? Four thousand creds? You leeches.”
I hide my laugh behind my hand as he punches in the data. Everyone keeps talking about Solair’s sense of humor, but this is the first real evidence I’ve seen of it. I guess we have been going at it pretty hard… well, we were going at it pretty hard in his cabin, but in a much different context.
Once the docking fee has been paid—amid a constant storm of grumbling about inflation and the effects of the distant war—we take the lift down the center spoke of the M’Kal station and arrive on the slightly slimmer merchant ring. The smells of the market hit my nostrils before the doors even slide all the way open.
I gape at the sight of hundreds of sapients engaging in negotiations, carefully squeezing produce, and moving stacks of cargo to and fro. It’s the best tangible example of controlled chaos I’ve ever seen. While it’s impossible to take in all of the sights and sounds at once, no one seems to be getting in each other’s way, though more than a few hot arguments spike up.
“Come, I think I see our people.” Solair grasps my hand and we move single file through the milling throng. My head is on a swivel, taking in the various sensual delights even as he tugs me inexorably forward. I’ve been to a lot of ports and I consider myself to be pretty jaded, but the color and tumult of the M’Kal station is a few notches above the mundane.
We reach what first appears as a seller’s booth, but then it resolves itself into the open cargo bay of a docked vessel. A Kilgari male stands with his arms akimbo, a half grin creasing his wizened features as Solair and I stride up to join Marion and the others.
This must be Hudd, and I can see that Solair did not undersell him, at least from what I can glean from his appearance. Hudd wears a wide-brimmed cap with something between a feather and a giant reptile scale stuck in its gold band. The loose blouse adorning his torso features a plunging v-neck to display his chiseled chest, and a midnight blue cloak shimmers on his broad shoulders. This guy takes peacocking to a higher level. Each of his arms jangles with dozens of bracelets, and a cigar juts from between his lean fingers.
“Oh, just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse. It’s you.”
Solair grins and moves up to stand before Hudd. “Don’t pretend like I haven’t made you a much more financially stable male, Hudd. You look forward to seeing my gorgeous face in your shopfront.”
Hudd puffs on his cigar and arches an eyebrow high on his golden-skinned face. I notice that like Kintar his horns are filed down to mere nubs.
“Is that what you think? Please. Every time you come around your miserly ways keep me out of my wife’s bed. She has seven other husbands, you know, and they don’t have to negotiate with a cheapskate privateer like you.”
“I would think a man of your talents would see it as a challenge.”
I hide my smile behind my hand. It’s obvious to me that Solair and Hudd have a grudging respect for each other, and all this word play lacks any serious venom.
“Would you now? That’s not the sort of challenge I like to engage in.” Hudd sighs and leans his hands on the low metal panel he uses as a counter. “All right, Solair. Let’s stop pretending like we’re friends and get down to it.”
“I would never dream of pretending to be friends with you, Hudd. I wouldn’t want to hurt my reputation.”
“Your reputation is already ruined because you pay so very little for goods I have spent much to acquire. I assume you want the usual assortment?”
Solair nods, crossing his arms over his chest. “You assume correctly. For once.”
“Well, I don’t know if you pay much attention to current events…”
“As much as anyone, I suppose.”
“How droll. Anyway, given the situation on Armstrong, and the sudden reemergence of the Reaper threat from the Badlands, everyone’s tightening their grip on their credsticks. People are scared. I’m going to have to hit you up for a twenty percent increase in my usual commission.”
“Twenty percent?” Solair scoffs, his golden-skinned face creasing. “Come on, Hudd. A smart guy like you wouldn’t let current events pry even a sing
le, solitary cred out of your account. You have to be able to do better than that. Twelve percent.”
“Twelve?” Now it’s Hudd’s turn to scoff. “You’re breaking my balls, Solair.”
“That’s a bigger commission than you got last time.”
“True, in the way that a Vakutan is bigger than a Shorcu, which is to say not by much. Eighteen percent, you stingy bastard, and damn you for my upcoming blue balls.”
“Your marital affairs are of no concern to me, Hudd. Fifteen percent.” Solair crosses his arms over his chest. “Final offer.”
Hudd glares for a long time, but then he breaks into laughter and holds out his hand, palm facing outward. Solair presses his own palm against it, and they do a sort of ritualistic circling with them, which I assume seals their bargain.
First his astonishingly gentle touch in the bedroom, and now this humorous side emerges. I’m beginning to think I might be falling in love with this golden-skinned, horned rogue.
And the idea does not frighten me nearly as much as it should.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Solair
As Varia, Kintar, Marion, and our bearers look on, I begin the inspection of the cargo I gleaned from Hudd’s tight, clutching fingers. The deal we made is fair, to be sure, but I was hoping it would be a little fairer for me, if you catch my meaning.
The cargo awaits my scrutinizing gaze on four separate hover sleds, each covered with a shiny silver tarp pinned to the sled via taut white twine. Most of them are about waist height, though one narrow container is over seven feet tall. I untie the complicated knot securing the tarp on the first bin and fling it aside, revealing what lies within.
“Well, at least this cargo is something I recognize.”