Traveler: Planet Athion Series (Equinox Book 1)

by Lily Harlem

  “Your blanket is going over soon, we need to get some sleep.”

  He pecked his mirror, as though kissing it.

  I often wondered how much of what he said meant anything to him. Sometimes he seemed to comprehend the sounds he made, almost human-like. Other times he really was just performing as an excellent mimic.

  I stripped off then jumped in the shower. The smell of the soap reminded me of home. But I didn’t care for the nostalgia. London had become a dangerous place full of traps and deception packaged as perfect dreams.

  Would I ever settle again in the United Kingdom or would I have to find another continent? Perhaps I was destined to remain in space for the rest of my days and give Earth a miss altogether.

  I rinsed and dried off, then with a towel wrapped around by body and my hair twisted into a ponytail, I brought up the monitor screen for the goats’ pen. A quick look told me all was well.

  Knock. Knock.

  I turned to the door.

  Knock. Knock. “Uma, it’s me. Can I come in?”

  I smiled, and a little flutter quivered in my belly.

  Mateo.

  I opened the door.

  “Hey, hun.” He smiled, flashing his neat white teeth, the skin around the corners of his blue eyes creasing. “What are you doing?”

  “Isn’t that obvious?” I gestured to the white towel covering my modesty and raised my eyebrows.

  “Let me guess.” He stepped in, curling his arms around my waist as he kicked the door shut. “You’re waiting for me.”

  I laughed and flattened my palms on his crisp white shirt. “I thought you’d be on the bridge for the first twenty-four hours.”

  “I made my excuses to Gavyn. It’s been too long since I kissed you.”

  He pressed his mouth over mine and pulled me near.

  I fluttered my eyes shut and opened up for him. Mateo was one hell of a kisser. I was sure he must have qualifications in it along with his space pilot licence.

  He darted his tongue in, searching for mine. He tasted of mint, as though he’d just brushed his teeth.

  I squeezed closer, tipped my head, and enjoyed the sensation of his body heat on my skin. There was something super sexy about him being in his uniform and me being nearly naked.

  He ran his hands down my back and cupped my buttocks. Holding my ass, he groaned into my mouth. “I want you, now.”

  A damn fine erection prodded my belly through his clothing, and a swarm of need gripped me. I hadn’t even known I’d wanted sex until Mateo had shown up. Now it was all I could think of. It was beginning to consume me—a wild fire of lust rushing through my veins and setting me alight for him. “So have me.”

  “I will.” He tugged at the towel, and it slipped away, landing at my feet.

  He roamed his touch over my back and ass as if wanting to touch all of me at once but didn’t know where to start. My hard nipples crushed up against the cotton of his shirt, and his cool belt buckle touched my skin.

  Finding the buckle, I undid it, my fingers fumbling slightly. We didn’t break the kiss as I shoved at his pants, pushing his boxers down with them. His cock sprang out, and I grasped its steely length.

  “Hell yeah,” he murmured against my lips. “Work me like that.”

  “No,” I said, staring into his eyes. “I have a better idea.”

  “What?”

  “Fuck me, Mateo. Fuck me.”

  “Fuck me. Mateo. Fuck me,” Magic repeated. “Fuck me, Mateo. Fuck me.”

  “Shit.” I giggled. “That sounds so wrong coming from a parrot.”

  Mateo glanced at the bird then laughed. “You’re not kidding, can you…?”

  “Cover him up? Yes. Hang on.”

  I untangled myself from his arms then quickly draped the blanket over Magic’s cage. He gave one squawk of protest then was quiet.

  “I forgot we were being watched,” Mateo said, dragging off his shirt and stepping close again.

  I pressed my hand over the red circular birthmark on his clavicle. “He sees and hears everything, remember.”

  “Yeah, well, what I’m about to do would likely scar him for life.”

  “It would?”

  “I think so.” He grinned then kissed me again. He scooped me up so I was face level with him.

  Again he cupped my ass, and this time I wrapped my legs around his waist. His cock tip nudged my entrance, and when my back contacted the wall, he entered me the first inch.

  “You feel so good,” he gasped.

  “So do you.” I ran my fingers into his blond hair. “Now can you just get on with what you came here for and fuck me, Mateo?”

  “Coming right up.” A frown creased his brow, and his lips tightened, then he plunged deep.

  I cried out in pleasure, the sound ending when the air was shunted from my lungs.

  It soon became clear he wasn’t messing around today. There’d be no sweet love making as there had been in the past. Mateo was on a mission to make us both come…fast.

  As he thrust, his body rubbed over my pubic bone, stimulating my clit. I crossed my ankles in the small of his back and tilted my hips. He was getting it just right, and his thick cock inside me, massaging my G-spot, was sending me dizzy with want.

  “Christ Almighty,” he muttered, gripping my ass tighter. “Are you…nearly there?”

  “Yes. Don’t stop. Oh…” Just another few deft strokes were all I needed. “More.”

  He caught my mouth in a wild kiss and seemed to drive even higher into me. Fucking with feral passion and abandon. I adored seeing this side of him—the hot professional pilot revealing his lust.

  My climax claimed me. It held me in sweet ecstasy for a few delicious moments then spun outward, radiating through my belly, chest, and limbs. I gasped and grunted.

  He joined me, his release extending mine as he came high inside my pussy.

  “Oh. My. God.” He punctuated each word with sharp thrusts of his hips then stilled.

  Holding his face, I touched my nose to his. He was breathing fast. So was I.

  “That was…incredible,” he panted. “You’re incredible.”

  “You did most of the work. I just hung on for the ride.”

  He grinned suddenly. “And what a ride, huh.”

  “It always is between us.” I kissed him, gently, softly, melding my lips to his.

  “This is something special, don’t you think?” he said, releasing my left buttock and tucking a strand of loose hair behind my ear. “More than fuck buddies.”

  “It started off as fuck buddies, we agreed.”

  “It started off with me saving your ass, remember.”

  “You know I’ll never forget what you did for me, Mateo. If it hadn’t been for you I…” A lump caught in my throat.

  “Shh. Much as I’m heartened by your appreciation, I would like you to forget the devil who tried to take you that night.”

  “I’m working on that. It’s better for me up here, in space.”

  “I knew it would be when I got you the application form.” He paused. “So how about it.”

  “What?”

  “Turning us into something more.”

  “More?” I clenched my internal muscles around his cock.

  He groaned, and his eyes glazed. “I want more every time we’re together. It’s like I can’t get enough of you, Uma.”

  “So what are you suggesting?” I wasn’t sure why he’d changed his mind about our friends-with-benefits agreement but I was happy to find out where his thoughts were going. I wasn’t totally in love with Mateo, but I knew I could be.

  “Can we stop hiding our relationship?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Be boyfriend and girlfriend. It’s not like it’s forbidden by the observatories.” He paused. “And I want us to be exclusive.”

  Chapter Four

  Exclusive? Why did that word scratch through my brain like fingernails on a chalkboard? “I’m not sure.”

  He frowned.
“What aren’t you sure about? I thought we had a good thing going on.”

  “We have.” I unlocked my ankles and glanced away.

  He lifted me off his cock before setting me on the floor. “So what is it?”

  “Why change it?”

  He stooped and dragged up his pants which had pooled around his ankles. As he tucked himself in, he said, “Because feelings are growing.”

  I reached for the towel and wrapped it around myself again.

  “At least they are for me.” His usual ready smile wasn’t there.

  “Mateo.” I took his hands in mine. “I think the world of you, you know I do. And I love being with you whether we’re naked or just hanging out. You’re one of my favorite people in all the universe.”

  He pressed his lips together.

  “And you’re definitely boyfriend material.”

  “So what is it? I’m starting to feel like a leper.”

  “It’s just…” I paused, struggling to find the words and not hurt him. That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had to be true to myself. “It’s just I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to…”

  He raised his eyebrows.

  “I don’t like the restriction exclusive implies.”

  “Of being with just one man?”

  I hesitated, then, “I guess.”

  “So who else have you got your eye on?” He released my hands and stepped back.

  I shook my head. “It’s not like that, it’s going forward into the future. I’m not the settling down type.”

  “Because of what happened in London? That was a long time ago now. I know it was a close shave and one hell of a fright, but I saved you.”

  “Thank goodness. And I’ll always be grateful.”

  He nodded. We’d had the conversation many times.

  “But maybe London is part of it.” I shrugged and reached for his hand again. “A little bit at least.”

  He allowed me to wind my fingers with his. “I’m a patient guy.”

  “You have to be up here.”

  “Not what I meant.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ve got the patience to wait until you’re ready to be my girlfriend.”

  “Can I be your girlfriend but not commit to being exclusive?”

  He sighed and ran his other hand over his hair. It was sticking up, and a few strands at the front were slightly damp with sweat. “I don’t know.”

  “Will you think about it?”

  “Yes. I’ll think about it.” He straightened his buckle then smoothed his hands down his shirt. “I should get back to the bridge.”

  “Wait.” I fixed his collar. “There. You’re all set.”

  He smiled, just a faint tip of his lips, then kissed me on the cheek. “You’re special, you know that.”

  “So are you, Mateo. Very special to me.”

  When the door closed with a quiet click, I blew out a breath. My heart rate was still tripping along after the wild sexual encounter with Mateo, and thoughts were rushing through my mind just as fast.

  Exclusive.

  I don’t want that.

  And I didn’t. There’d been tales of human women on Athion with several lovers, all of whom shared and cared for her without jealousy. Until Mateo had uttered the word exclusive, I hadn’t fully realized it was something that appealed to me, having my own harem of aliens.

  Athions? Me with an Athion? In a relationship?

  Anki was gorgeous and easy to be with. Hurin was also gorgeous…but not so easy to be with. It wasn’t a stretch of my imagination to see why these women on Athion were happy with the arrangement of having several men.

  Does that mean I want a ménage a trois?

  A sudden giggle burst upward. I’d only been on board Equinox a matter of hours, and here I was, fantasizing. Usually that didn’t start until a few months into the journey and I was bored out of my mind.

  Ménage a trois? But who with? Mateo and Gavyn? There was no doubt about it, Gavyn was a hunk. However, like Hurin, he could be sharp around the edges sometimes. Not as brooding and sullen as Hurin, but a little ‘off’ on occasion and definitely a man who kept to himself.

  Anki and Mateo? Now that could work. Two fun guys, drop-dead sexy, and into me—or at least I suspected Anki was. He’d said I was beautiful after all. A human and an Athion making love to me, giving me orgasms, making me scream their names over and over. Hell yeah.

  A hot flush ran over my chest and tightened my nipples.

  “Get a grip,” I muttered, folding back the blanket covering Magic’s cage.

  “Get a grip. Get a grip,” he mimicked. “Fuck me, Mateo. Fuck me, Mateo.”

  “Hey! Stop that.” I waggled my finger at him. “You mustn’t repeat everything you hear me say. It will get you into a heap of trouble…and me.”

  “Heap of trouble. Hello. Who’s a pretty boy, then?”

  “You are.” I filled his seed bowl then added a few slices of apple. “Eat that and try and be quiet about it. Tomorrow you can spend more time out of the cage with me, I promise.”

  This time he didn’t respond. He ducked his head and started on his apple.

  I covered him up again then flopped onto the bed. Although my body felt satisfied, my emotions didn’t.

  Mateo asking me to be his exclusively had stirred something up inside me, and I couldn’t let it rest.

  But rest I did, eventually, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  When the alarm woke me and the bright overhead lights came on automatically, I had to drag myself from the depths of slumber.

  After washing and dressing, I felt a little better. I poured a coffee, then while I waited for Anki to answer my knock at his door, I began to feel better.

  He opened it as I was taking a sip from my flask.

  “Good morning. Er, do you say that in space?”

  “I do.” I smiled at him. “Got to try and keep some sense of order to being awake and asleep.”

  “Good plan.” He shut his door. Like yesterday, he had on a pale brown tunic tied at the waist and long pants. His short brown hair was damp, as though he’d not long showered and brushed it.

  We walked in the direction of the goats.

  “Have you eaten yet?” he asked.

  “No, breakfast isn’t really my thing.” I held up my drink. “As long as I have coffee I’m okay.”

  “I’ve never understood the human obsession with that drink.”

  “It’s good, very good.”

  “The taste?”

  “Yes, that and the kick it gives you.”

  “Kick?”

  “Yes.” I laughed. “For me it’s like a kick up the butt in the morning. It gets me lively.”

  “Ah, I see. Lively. Full of energy. Then perhaps I should get a taste for it.”

  “You should. In fact, I’ll make you one later, in my room. I’ve got some of the good stuff.” I stopped at the door to the goat pen.

  He turned to me with a smile. “Our first date?”

  I shook my head but found it impossible not to return his infectious grin. “Coffee. Not a date. A cup of coffee.”

  “A guy can hope.”

  I opened the door and was instantly hit with the sound of Dolly bleating. “Let’s give the control panel a quick once-over and then milk our special lady. We can give it a more thorough check when we’ve made her comfortable. And I’ll show you how to adjust the methane gauge in case you need to.”

  “Okay, boss.”

  Within minutes we had Dolly on the milking stand. She had a bowl of grain to eat and was quite happy to be there.

  “First it’s essential to use the sanitizer wipes,” I said, demonstrating how to clean Dolly’s teats. “And then with the smaller collection receptacle ready, wrap your thumbs and forefingers around the teats to trap the milk and gently squeeze it out.” I did just that, and small white jets of milk hit the pail.

  “Wow, comes out faster than I thought,” he said, studying my hands. “And
the teats are much bigger.”

  I smiled. “Now move that receptacle away and put the bigger one there.”

  “Why?” Anki did as I’d asked.

  “The first couple of squirts could be contaminated, so we don’t want that in our collection.”

  “I see.”

  I began to milk, the familiar rhythm one I always enjoyed. After a minute, I turned to Anki. “Want to try?”

  “Sure.”

  “You washed your hands, right?”

  “I did.”

  I moved out of the way.

  Anki curled his blue-tinged fingers around the teats as I had, then he copied my squeeze and release technique.

  “Be careful not to pull,” I said.

  “Okay.”

  “And also try to do it quickly, otherwise she will get bored and start dancing around and causing mischief. Not Dolly particularly, she’s a good girl, but others will.” I gave her a fond stroke. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you, little lady.”

  Anki appeared to be a natural and was soon finished.

  “I think we’re done,” he said.

  “Yep, so just one last thing.” I shuffled closer to him then took his left hand in mine. His fingers seemed so thick and wide compared to my own, yet I’d just witnessed how gentle he was. “We need to gently massage the back and base of the udder to encourage further letdown.”

  We were so close his breaths breezed onto my cheek, and his cologne caught in my nose again. A little flutter of interest tugged at my breasts, and I took my time with his hand in mine.

  “And then,” I said, for some reason my voice lower and huskier than before, “one last massage of her teats.”

  I released his hand, and he did just that. A dribble of milk came out.

  “That’s all there is to it.”

  He turned to me, his face so near I could study every fleck of amber in his brown eyes.

  “I think you’re a natural,” I said, pressing my fingernails into my palms. The sudden desire to touch him, to run my hands through his thick Athion hair was almost overwhelming.

  “You do?” He leaned closer.

  I swallowed and nodded. His lips were so sensual; the bottom one had a tiny indent in the center.

  What would he be like to kiss?

  My lips tingled at the though.