by M. K. Eidem
He wouldn't make up an excuse.
But he had, and that cheapened everything they just experienced together.
Taking a deep breath, she buried those hurt feelings, then pushed away from the wall and headed toward her resting chamber. She wasn't going to let Commander Jamis Dexxirs' reaction affect her. She'd gotten what she wanted from him. It was still early, and it was going to be busy. Now she needed to get back to work, but not until she changed her lower coverings, or panties, as her mom would say. Once done, she headed back to work.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Jamis’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the edges of the viewport in his office, blindly staring out of it. He couldn't figure out what the ruk he'd been thinking back in The Brink. He'd never treated any female the way he had Cali. Oh, he'd used the incoming transmission trick before. Both he and Taarig had, but only as a way to avoid speaking with high-ranking officials. Or when they just wanted to leave an exceptionally dull gathering. He'd never used it as an excuse to leave a female before, especially one that had satisfied him so completely the way Cali had.
She shouldn't have been able to do that, take his entire cock. She was Earthan. There were Apre females that weren’t able to do that, but she had, and because of it, he'd nearly broken the essential tenet all Apre males followed, never to release their life-producing force in a female he didn't intend to make his Lalla.
It had to be a conscious decision for an Apre’s third testicle, known as their creation sphere, to descend and impregnate a female. It was always the male's choice, unlike most species where it was up to the female or happenstance. But once the male allowed it, that was the only female with whom he could have offspring.
He'd barely been able to stop his sphere's descent. His control had been that far gone. Jamis thought he had himself fully back under control until he realized he hadn't even bothered to get Cali out of her clothes before he'd fucked her against a wall. He hadn't taken the time to caress the breasts that so intrigued him, hadn't kissed her.
Gods, he'd never done that before, not even in his youth when he was learning control. To do so with Cali was unforgivable.
Hearing the door of his office slide open behind him, he turned to find Taarig entering.
"What's got you so tense?" Taarig questioned as he moved toward a side cabinet. It was long past the end of their shift, and he, for one, needed a drink. After preparing two glasses, he poured a healthy dose of skotsk into each, then crossed the room, set one down in front of the now-seated Jamis before he settled into the chair in front of the desk and sipped while he waited.
"What makes you think I'm tense?" Jamis asked, twirling the glass in his hands instead of lifting it to sip.
Taarig's eyebrows rose slightly. After their years together, it had become a tradition between them to share a drink after a long shift.
"Because you’re not drinking that fine Apreian skotsk I poured you and because I know you."
Jamis huffed out a humorless laugh. "If that's true, then you should know I never have more than one skotsk per day."
"You already had one? Without me?" Taarig looked for the evidence. "What did you do? Drink it straight out of the bottle?"
"Gods no, that would be sacrilege."
Taarig silently waited.
Sighing heavily, Jamis continued. "No, I had one at The Brink."
"What?" Taarig sat up straight, not sure what question to ask first.
"I won't discuss this here." Picking up his glass, Jamis rose, going to the door, separating his private quarters from his office. He placed his hand on the bio-scanner. When the door slid open, he walked through, knowing Taarig would follow.
Jamis’s quarters consisted of the most spacious living area on the ship. It was able to have two large couches, several comfortable chairs with side tables, and an eating area. Another door off the living area led to a sizeable resting chamber with an attached cleansing room that would comfortably accommodate a male Apre. It was why when they entertained a female together; it was always here. Taarig's quarters were across the hall, and while they mirrored Jamis's, everything was on a smaller scale.
Jamis found himself wondering what Cali would think of them. He'd seen nothing of her actual quarters, having taken her against the wall as he had. But he was sure she'd appreciate his.
"J?" Taarig asked, using his private nickname for Jamis.
"Hmmm?"
"The Brink?" Taarig prompted, settling onto one of the couches. "Why did you go there? You never have before."
"Neither have you," Jamis reminded him, moving to the couch across from Taarig.
"No, but I plan on rectifying that as soon as I have the chance," Taarig told him, sipping his drink.
"So, you're attracted to her too."
"Who wouldn't be?" He didn't need to ask to know Jamis was referring to Cali. "She's gorgeous."
"She's also Earthan," Jamis reminded him.
"So? It didn't stop your interest. Tell me what happened."
"I went to talk to her."
"Right. Talk," Taarig snorted, letting Jamis know he didn't believe him.
The side of Jamis’s mouth jerked up. He should have known he couldn't fool his friend. "It is the reason why I went, but I can't say I didn't have hopes."
Taarig ran an assessing gaze over his glass as he took another sip of his skotsk. He knew Jamis would tell him when he was ready.
"It wasn't anything like I expected."
"The bar or the female?" Taarig questioned.
"Both. The bar, you need to go, T," Jamis used his private nickname for Taarig. "The Brink's not the kaatopa I expected it to be."
"We've been to Wik Corp bars on other Star Bases. None of them were kaatopas."
"That one on Star Base One was. It was dark, dirty, and needed jettisoning out an airlock."
"True, but that Star Base has been in operation for over a thousand standard-years, and I'm pretty sure everything in it was original. Our Star Base has only been operational for fifty standard-years, so there's no way it could be that bad."
"It's not, but it's also unlike any Wik Corp bar on any other Star Base."
"In what way?" Taarig asked.
"Well, besides it being clean, decently lit, and serving Apreian skotsk when requested?" He couldn't help but smile when T's eyebrows rose at that. "It has a viewport that's at least ten times the size of mine."
"What?!" Taarig surged forward, his precious skotsk coming dangerously close to sloshing out of his glass. "Gods, how were they able to modify the hull without the Coalition knowing? Without us knowing?"
"Cali claims it was part of the original construction."
"Impossible, and she's not old enough to know that for sure."
"True, but you'd think former Base Commander Ra or his Sub would have told one of us about it."
"Ra was an idiot. The honor of commanding a ship shouldn’t have been given to him, let alone a Star Base. Sub Commander Zoo didn’t volunteer any useful information once he realized he wasn’t promoted to Star Base Commander. Gods, don't you remember the mess he left?"
"True. Still, you would have thought we'd have heard about it from someone."
Taarig just shrugged. He knew he and Jamis weren't the most approachable of Commanders. Even among their fellow Apre, they were considered a force to be reckoned with. As the only two Apre on the base, few dared to approach them regarding anything other than Coalition business, especially those in the lower ranks. He and Jamis liked it that way because it made maintaining order on the Star Base easier.
So not hearing about the viewport didn't surprise him, but he wished he had. While the Star Base was massive, it was still a completely enclosed structure, and there were times he just needed to see the stars, if only to feel like he was free.
"I contacted the Wik Corp requesting to see the construction plans, but don't expect them to grant the request."
Taarig huffed humorlessly, "As if that would ever happen. They'll claim it viola
tes their privacy and security protocols. Wik Corp likes to keep their secrets."
"That's the Gods’ truth. You'd think the Paramount himself was running the company."
"Those Zagreus like to keep their secrets too," Taarig agreed. "Sounds like I need to visit The Brink and check it out."
"You do."
"And Cali?" Taarig let the question hang there, knowing Jamis would understand what he was asking.
"If she's interested in both of us, then I'm more than receptive, but I'm not sure she will be after the way I left her."
"What are you talking about?"
"Gods, T," Jamis finally took a drink of his skotsk. "I don't know what came over me."
"You upset her?"
"I didn't stick around long enough to find out," Jamis gruffly admitted.
"That doesn't sound like you." Taarig knew Jamis wasn't into small talk or cuddling once he was satisfied. He left that for Taarig, but Jamis had never been cruel or abrupt. If he were, females would never return for more, and they always did. "Tell me what happened."
"I lost control," he admitted quietly. "Ever since I woke up with Cali beneath me in that escape pod, I've wanted to get her back there. I thought I had it under control until I saw her in my office, wearing that barely-there outfit, and it hit me all over again. She was just as feisty and strong in that shelter. So, I went to The Brink, planning on doing my damnedest to get her beneath me again. And there she was. Behind the bar in an even skimpier outfit than she'd worn in my office."
"Skimpier?" Taarig choked on the sip he'd just taken.
"Yeah! Gods, I got so hard I could barely sit down, and the little imp knew it." He arranged his hardening cock into a more comfortable position before continuing. "She flirted and teased and challenged me the way no female ever has, and then she surprised me."
"How?" Taarig leaned in close, wanting to know.
"I told her that I wanted to fuck her, so she got someone to work at the bar and took me to her quarters."
"Just like that?" Taarig's eyes swirled with excitement.
"Just like that."
Taarig slumped back in his seat. "Gods, you have to love a female that knows what she wants and goes after it. So, what happened?"
Jamis proceeded to tell his friend how he'd taken Cali against the wall. How they hadn't even made it into her quarters. He'd fucked her like one of the larger, sturdier females they were accustomed to, and how he'd faked a transmission on his link to leave.
"You did what?!" Taarig couldn't believe it. He knew Jamis had never done that before. "Why?"
"I panicked." Taarig was the only male Jamis would ever admit something like that to. They were more than friends. They bonded in a way few would understand. While triads were common for some species, they weren't for the Apre, not anymore. There had been a time in their distant past when the shortage of females had made triads necessary. But that was no longer the case. He and Taarig hadn't planned on bonding the way they had, but they'd grown up together and found they were attracted to the same types of females. So instead of competing for them, as most Apre males would, they'd made a game out of it, seeing if they could convince the female to accept both. To their surprise, many females were more than receptive to the idea.
Now, while he enjoyed fucking a female alone, as he'd done with Cali, Jamis enjoyed it more when Taarig was involved because he could lose himself in the actual act. At the same time, Taarig took care of the finer points of dealing with the female. They only ever touched each other when the female needed it to find pleasure.
"I got so lost in Cali's tight little body, in her having an external and an internal erogenous zone, that I didn't even get her clothes off. I just pushed her against the wall, lifted her skirt, and fucked her."
"She has two erogenous zones?"
"Yes, and she was already wet before I even touched the external one between her legs, but when I did… Gods, she was so responsive."
"Ruk, Jamis," Taarig muttered, adjusting his cock. It had been too long since he'd had a female. "I need to visit The Brink, but first I'm going to my quarters and fuck my hand."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Two days later, Cali poured herself a glass of maasika rabarberi wine when her link beeped her mother's incoming transmission tone. Smiling, she touched her link.
"Hey, Mom. I was just thinking about you."
"You were?" Cali easily heard her mom’s happiness.
"Yes, I was pouring a glass of the maasika rabarberi wine that you sent me."
"You are? Well then, I'll have to pour a glass too. It will be like we're together as we talk."
Cali smiled and settled into one of the couches she'd ordered when she'd known she would be purchasing The Brink. Triz had owned The Brink for nearly fifty years, and she didn't want to think what he'd done, with who or where in her new quarters. Her brother was very open about how much he enjoyed having sex with some of the universe’s more unusual species. She'd cleared out every piece of furniture he'd left, giving it to whoever wanted it, then sanitized the entire space.
"There," her mother's voice coming through the link pulled Cali's thoughts from Triz. "So, are you sitting on one of your new couches?"
"I am, but how did you know I got new ones?"
"Because I know you. There's no way you would keep what was once Triz's, especially in your home."
"You know me well."
"You're my daughter, of course, I do. Although I had to find out from your dad that you bought The Brink from your brother." Cali detected just the slightest hint of hurt in her mom's voice.
"That's because I didn't want you to influence him." Cali didn't need to see her mother to know she would argue. "Because you would have, and Dad’s never denied you anything you've wanted."
After a moment's pause, Dakota chuckled, "That's true."
"Which is why I didn't tell you. I wanted to get The Brink on my own merits, which could only happen if it went through the normal process at Wik Corp. No one there knows who my dad is."
"You are so your dad's daughter." Dakota's frustration at that was easily heard but also the love and pride. "Always trying to prove yourself."
"You would know."
"Yes, and after all this time, I'll tell you the same thing I tell him. You have nothing to prove. Not to me. Not to any being in the universe."
"And that, you know, isn't true because Dad’s Earthan, and I look it." It was an old argument, and one Cali knew they would never see eye-to-eye on. Not with what she unfortunately knew.
"California…"
"How's your wine, Mom? Is it close to what you remember from Earth?" Cali asked, knowing it would distract her.
"It will never be as good as the strawberry rhubarb wine my Grandma Rose, your great-grandma, made on her farm every spring, but it's close."
"Tell me about her," Cali encouraged, drawing her knees up as she sank deeper into the couch. She knew her mom loved to talk about the family she'd left behind. It was bittersweet for her, but it also kept their memory alive, and Cali knew her mother needed that. It made her feel not so alone in this vast, empty universe.
It was late, and a second bottle of maasika rabarberi had been opened by both females before the conversation finally ended. Cali couldn't believe they'd talked so long. Oh, she and her mother had always gotten along. After all, Cali was the youngest and only female in the family of nine, but still, they hadn't talked like this in years. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed it. She'd have to make sure they did it more often.
Chapter Seven
Taarig moved through the door of The Brink that a Galaian male opened. Now was the first opportunity he'd had to get here since his conversation with Jamis. He'd initially planned on only waiting for a few days, long enough for him to figure out how best to approach Cali after the way Jamis had left her. But then problems began occurring on the flight deck that demanded his attention.
Parts went missing, which typically wouldn't have garnered his atte
ntion, except these parts were critical to the base's defense systems.
Next, they discovered altered flight path coordinates for arriving and departing ships. If not for the Controller's quick thinking, there would have been multiple collisions.
Then, one of the coupling mechanisms that moved ships around the flight deck suddenly released, sending an airship crashing into two others that were waiting for fueling. Luckily, fuel hadn't been flowing at the time, or the resulting explosion would have killed every being on the deck.
It had taken him seven days to get everything cleaned up, fixed, and investigated, but there'd been no satisfactory answers.
For any of it.
They found the lost parts in another area, but it was still unexplained. The crew had verified the coordinates transmitted for approach differed from what the ships received but were also still unexplained.
As for the coupling, one had never released like that before, but still, Taarig had every one of them inspected and several replaced. It had caused a massive problem as ships had to circle the Star Base waiting to land.
But he was finally here, and he wasn't going to let anything stop him from talking to Cali. His gaze traveled around The Brink, taking it all in, as he stepped inside. Jamis was right; this wasn't a kaatopa bar. Anything but, and he couldn't believe it had taken them this long to discover it. The viewport immediately drew his gaze; to see the stars like that… but he wanted to see Cali more. Turning, he moved toward the bar.
The female that walked up to take his order wasn't Cali. For not only was she swollen with offspring, but she had the distinctive olive skin-tone of a Galaian.
"What can I get you, Sub Commander?" she asked.
He didn't question how she knew who he was. Everyone knew who he was on this Star Base. "I'm looking for Cali."
The female turned her head, her gaze going to a dark area high along the wall to her right. After a moment, she touched the glowing link in her ear.
"Yes?" she asked; her gaze returned to Taarig, then said, "Yes. Alright." Without another word, she started making a couple of drinks, and just as he was about to ask what she was doing, she set them in front of him. "Take these if you want to see Cali." She gestured with her head toward the dark area, then moved on to her next customer.