Winter

by Michelle Love

  Ryker got his cut a bit but he’s going to let his hair and beard grow out, he says. I expect to have a caveman by my side in no time. I run my hand over his still short hair. “I like what you’ve done with yours too.” I kiss his cheek and love the way he’s smiling and smells kind of musky from all the sweat he’s built up while doing all that manual labor on the tents. “You love this, don’t you?”

  He nods as he picks up a tin plate with some unappetizing white and gray food on it. Plus, the pill that will add some real nutrition to the meal. “Here you go, baby.” He hands me the plate and gets one for himself then we go to get our cups of water to drink with it.

  “Thank you,” I say as I laugh. “And to think just yesterday, we were eating at a five-star restaurant and look at us now.”

  We walk over to where everyone has sat down together, on the ground and take a seat, Indian style, to join them. Chatter is all I hear as everyone talks about the progress they’re making.

  “The tent will be up before night falls. And the solar panels seem to be charging, even in the dimmer light. Have you checked yourself today?”

  With raised eyebrows, I ask, “What do you mean, checked myself?”

  He grins, sheepishly and whispers, “You know, with the stick? Have you checked your urine? Is tonight a go for us?”

  “Oh, no I haven’t yet. I’m kind of waiting on the latrines to be built. Most of the females are waiting on that. We’re not like you guys who don’t seem to mind trotting over to the edge of the area to let it all go.”

  He nods as he takes the pill first. “I get it. But you will make sure, right? I’m kind of red-hot for you, baby. Something about all this hard work and the idea of you and me working together on this has me kind of crazy for you.”

  I’m not extremely happy that this is making him so hot for me. I can see it in his eyes, he thinks this might make me change my mind. I know it won’t.

  “I’ll make sure I get that done before we retreat to our little cubby-hole in the tent.”

  As he takes the last bite of the tasteless food on his plate, he leans in and whispers, “And cleaning up after our long day will probably have you aching for me too.”

  I laugh a little as he’s just being so cute and adorable. “So, you think a little sponge bath from you is going to make me ravenous for you?”

  With a low growl, he nips my neck. “I hope so.”

  “Hey, Gia, do you think we’ll be able to send larger trees to Mars?” the cook, Jana, asks me.

  “I think we should make a companion drone full of larger trees that can go with the first shuttle. The ones we brought won’t make fruit for at least a year. And that environment will be different. At least we can streamline the cross-pollination process with this test.”

  “Great idea, babe!” Ryker holds up his hand for a high five and I laugh as I give him one. “You’re already learning from this experience and it’s only been a day. What else will your brilliant mind figure out? I can’t wait to find out.” He gives me a quick kiss then gets up and holds his hand out to help me up. “Back to work.”

  I nod and go with him to put our plates and cups in the tub, so the kitchen staff can clean them up for lunch. We only have the exact number we need, nothing will be wasted. I get another quick kiss then Ryker heads out with the other men to finish up the tent and I head back to my garden work.

  Looking around as everyone gets back to their specific tasks, I have to admire everyone here. They’re all so dedicated and excited. It’s rubbing off on me. But I still can’t think about leaving my family behind. It’s bad enough I have to stay away from them for six months.

  Don’t even get me started on what would inevitably happen if I did go to Mars when I had to have a baby, sans pain meds and technology!

  RYKER

  Watching Gia, skipping with a couple of other young women, makes me smile and laugh. She’s so laid back, here in the dome. She thought not being able to have her computer would depress her. She’s anything but depressed!

  The evening is setting in fast and dinner is being served. The other couples are taking theirs to their new bedrooms, to eat them alone. I pick up the vitamin supplements and put two servings of food on one plate, then pick up a cup of water and make my way to our finished personal chambers.

  Catching Gia looking at me, I give her a nod. She picks up our ration of bathing water that was made fresh today and heads my way. I wait for her in the open living area of the giant tent and she steps in next to me as I show her to our new little home.

  “At least our shelter is finished,” I say as I take her to the third personal tent, within the huge tent that is home for us all for the next six months.

  With a gesture for her to step through the unzipped opening, she smiles and goes inside. “No way!”

  “You like?” I place the plate on the small table and pull out the chair for her. “Our personal dining area.”

  She takes the seat after placing the bottle of water on the bathing stand. Everything is small, lightweight, and portable, while being very efficient. And she seems to be amazed at all the things in our tent. “A chandelier, Ryker? How?”

  “It’s collapsible. And it runs off the solar panels that cover the top of the main tent. So, we have electricity. Once you pour that water into the bathing station, we’ll have a type of running water.” I point at another zippered door. “And behind that door is our very own portable toilet. Now, it will have to be taken to the latrine and emptied every morning but we have one. I’ll handle that unpleasant task.”

  She can’t stop smiling and that has my heart filling with hope. “I can’t believe this. It’s amazing.” She points at the door I’ve left open, by pulling back the two sides of the zippered door. “And what’s back there?”

  I chuckle and take her hand. “Let me show you our bedroom for the next bit, baby.”

  When we get to the opening and she can see inside, she gasps and I find my smile just won’t fade. “Ryker! How?”

  “The mattress can be rolled into a tight cylinder. When unrolled, the material inside of it can be fluffed up, so you have yourself a very comfortable bed. Nice, huh?”

  She nods and looks up. “And yet another chandelier. And you picked out my favorite shade of blue for the blankets and pillows too. Ryker, this isn’t what I pictured at all. I… I….” She turns to me and wraps her arms around me. “I love it!”

  Rocking her in my arms, I whisper against her cheek, “I thought you would.”

  “Let’s eat and then get down to washing this dirt off us,” she says as she pulls back to look at me. “I kinda have the hots for you right now, my caveman.”

  Chuckling at her name for me, I take her hand and lead her back to the table to sit down. “And just what does that mean, Gia?”

  “It means, you are much like a caveman, an extremely capable one. And all too soon, I know I’m going to lose sight of your handsome face as you grow out your beard. But I’m beginning to think I just might like that.”

  “Are you also beginning to think you might just like to go to Mars too?” I cross my fingers and hope she is.

  Her laugh is light and airy and even though she’s shaking her head, I know she’s thinking about it. She can’t fool me!

  Taking our chairs, she taps the tabletop and asks, “And how about when children come along? What would you do to make this place bigger, to accommodate them too?”

  “Excellent question and on that subject, are we good for tonight?”

  She nods and sips her water. “For tonight we are. So, expansion, how would you do that?”

  “I think it would be easy to make orders of more tents from Earth that could be brought in on the supply shuttles that will come. Why? You planning on coming with me and giving me a bunch of Martian babies?” I laugh but I hope she’ll think about doing just that.

  “Martian babies!” She laughs and shakes her head. “I don’t know about that. Now, Earthlings, I can do.”

  I stop
and look at her to see if she’s serious. “You’d have my kids, Gia?”

  Her eyes cut sideways as I think she didn’t mean to say that. “I would if you were going to be around to help me raise them. But you won’t, so I guess I shouldn’t have said such a thing. I’m sorry.”

  Placing the nutrient pill on her tongue I hand her the glass of water. “Drink up your nourishment, baby. I have big plans for you.”

  She takes the pill down then picks up mine and places it on my waiting tongue. “Your turn.” Our eyes hold while I swallow the pill then she leans in and kisses me. “I love you so much, Ryker. I don’t think you have a clue how much I do.”

  All I can do is look at her. I want to tell her, for the thousandth time that we can be together forever if she’ll just come with me. But I know I’m beating a dead horse when I use my words to coax her. So, I decide to use a bit more than that.

  I pull the band off the bun it’s holding her hair in and run my fingers through it to loosen and free the dark waves of silkiness. “No makeup, hair in a tasseled state, yet you’re still every bit as beautiful as you’ve ever been. How do you do it?”

  Her smile devastates me. “Ryker, I know you’re full of crap but I do love the way you make me feel.”

  “This stuff is going to taste the same whether it’s cold or warm,” I say as I stroke her cheek. “How about we forgo dinner for now and get cleaned up then I’m going to get you all dirty again.”

  She nods and gives me a shy smile. “Let’s do that.”

  Pulling her up as I get up, I take her to the middle of the room and unzip her blue jumpsuit. We all wear the same thing, a uniform made out of a dirt resistant material. Placing it in the cleaning closet, I turn to look at her as I take mine off too and place it next to hers.

  Pressing the button, the vacuum system begins the process of pulling away the dirt and sweat off the uniforms to make them good as new for tomorrow. There are no night clothes. Our birthday suits will have to suffice for this test, anyway.

  The washcloths have built in microbes that will clean our skin when mixed with a small amount of water. She takes her place on the bathing mat while I get the cloth ready with a bit of water. Starting at her toes, I move the cloth in a circular fashion, ridding her body of the dirt and perspiration after a day of hard labor.

  I find her watching me as I take my time to make sure every part of her has been cleaned then she gets up and I take the place she left vacant. With a new cloth, she cleans me up and leaves me wanting her more than I knew possible.

  Grabbing her wrist as she places the cloth on the edge of the wash basin, I get up and throw her over my shoulder, igniting laughter from her as I carry her to our new bedroom. “Caveman!”

  “I’m about to show you how caveman I am, baby!”

  Tossing her onto the bed, I gaze at how gorgeous she is then I dim the light and crawl over the bed to get to her. Again, I start with her little toes and kiss them, trailing kisses all the way up until I’m right where I want to be. Hovering over her and already feeling my breath going ragged with desire for her.

  GIA

  I can’t imagine why my body is reacting to Ryker’s so much more than it ever has, and it has reacted to him a lot!

  His dark eyes hold mine as he moves his body over mine, only slightly allowing our bodies to graze against the other. “Tell me,” he whispers.

  Reaching up to try to pull him down to me, to cover me with his body, I find him taking my wrists in one of his hands and holding them down, over my head. I suck in my breath as he looks at me with dominating eyes. “I love you,” I say in an attempt to soften him.

  “Tell me who you belong to,” he says as he moves his hard cock over my sex, sending sparks all through me.

  “You,” I breathe out as I arch up but find him staying just above me. I can feel the heat from his body and I’m dying to have him all over me. “Ryker, please.”

  His mouth takes mine, but he still keeps his body just out of my reach. When I try to wrap my legs around his waist to pull him to me, he pulls his mouth from mine. “Stop.”

  I do as he says and put my legs down on the bed. “Please, Ryker,” I moan.

  He gives me an evil grin then kisses my neck, driving me even more insane with his little nips and sucks. I wiggle a little and find him giving me a hard bite. “Be still, Gia!”

  With great frustration, I groan and give up, letting him toy with me until I’m quivering with need. When my body starts shaking, he stops his delightful torture and lets my wrists go, so he can pull my legs up to where he wants them. My feet on either side of his head, spreading me open for him.

  He locks eyes with me as he pushes his large hard erection in. His eyes close as he relishes the sensation. With an easy movement, he slides back out of me, all the way then makes another easy stroke.

  I moan as he’s still toying with me. I want him all, I want it fast and hard and he’s not about to give me what I want. He pulls all the way out with every slow stroke, making me miss him for a few seconds before he eases himself back into me. Over and over, he slowly tortures me until my body goes into an orgasm of unbelievable proportions.

  Biting my lower lip to keep myself from screaming with the deep sensations that rage through my entire body, I find his body shaking as he’s held himself back for such a long time, too.

  When he pulls all the way out of me, leaving me under the pressure of my climax and yearning to have him back inside me, I cry out, “No!”

  He looks at me with wanting eyes and rolls to one side, looking at me as he uses his hand to hold himself up and strokes my stomach with the other. He just looks at me until the intense orgasm is over then he smiles at me and takes my breast in his mouth as he plays with the other one.

  I struggle to catch my breath and feel as if I’m a mouse beneath the claws and mouth of a playful cat. His tongue moves in deft circles around my taut nipple. He pinches and pulls at the other nipple, making a mixture of pain and pleasure.

  When his hand travels away from my breast, down my stomach, my breath hitches in my chest as he plunges two fingers into me, then slides them up to play with my clit.

  The sucking and the rubbing have me going over the edge again. I buck as I climax again and groan with frustration. “Please, Ryker. Please!”

  He eases his sucking and stops playing with my clit, allowing the orgasm to wane. Again, he watches me. When I reach out to take his face and pull him to kiss me, he leans back to avoid my hands.

  “Naughty girl,” he says with a smile and rolls away from me, getting on his knees and tossing me over on my stomach. With a hard pull at my waist, he pulls me up on my knees and I’m on all fours, waiting for him to plunge into me, and gritting my teeth in anticipation.

  Instead of that, I feel him moving around and the next thing I know, he’s underneath me, kissing me intimately and further arousing me. His hands grip my ass, pulling me down to him as he eats me like I’m the best tasting thing he’s ever had. His growls and moans let me know he’s in a sexual rage.

  When I come for him, he goes even more ravenous, sending me into a frenzy of sensations. I gasp as he stops and find myself yanked back as he takes a chunk of my hair and thrusts himself into me with a loud grunt. “Baby, yes!”

  I moan as he fills me and push my ass back to him. “Ryker!”

  Savagely, he takes me, making me burn with passion. The raw emotion fills me and tears spring from my eyes as he makes hard and fast thrusts. One hand grips my waist, and I’m held still for him to take as he pleases.

  I cry out with another orgasm and he rides me through it. His teeth are clenched as he says, “Come all over my cock, Gia.”

  My body does as he commands then he pulls out and flips me onto my back and thrusts right back into me. A burst of air is knocked out of my lungs with the force and I find him looking wild. “Ryker!”

  He buries himself inside me then makes little pumps, his cock is so deep inside and the small motion has his body mo
ving in rapid pulses across my clit. Another orgasm takes me and he watches me. “You’re so fucking gorgeous when you come for me, Gia.”

  I can hardly breathe as he continues his assault on my body. I place my hands on his broad shoulders and ride the wave of absolute pleasure until it ebbs. Trying to steady myself, I whisper, “I am yours.”

  He slows his furious pace and kisses me. Deep, sensual, and sexy, his kiss goes on and on until he pulls his head back as he stiffens and spills himself into me. “Gia!”

  “Ryker!”

  I wrap my legs around him as my body milks his with another orgasm. Our bodies shake as do our lungs as they expel large amounts of hot breath.

  Panting like animals, he lies on top of me until the last shudder is felt. His heartbeat slows and returns to normal before he kisses my cheek and rolls off me, leaving me missing his weight. He gently rolls me to the side, to face him and pushes his leg between mine as he wraps his arms around me, holding me tight.

  “I can’t ever leave you,” he mumbles with sleepy words.

  My eyes, which had closed, open as I can’t believe what he’s said. “What does that mean?”

  I’m met with soft snores as he’s worn himself out, completely. I’ll get no answer tonight and maybe not even tomorrow as he seems kind of love drunk.

  Surely, he didn’t mean he won’t be leaving me and the Earth behind him!

  RYKER

  Half way through the test and it’s going fantastic. The first birth has begun and soon we shall see how the mother handles that. The group is clustered around the outside area we’ve created, kind of like an outdoor bar. Sans the alcohol, which we don’t have any of.

  “You know, the trip to Mars is only eight months long,” Allen, one of the engineers says. “I don’t see why shipments of good food and drinks couldn’t be sent to us. If we made more drones, do you think it would be possible to get more shipments?”