by Imogene Nix
A small face, ringed with black hair ending in waves, popped around the corner. “Duvall!” she squeaked. “You came!” A little dynamo, judging by the way she zoomed into the room in old holey jeans and light blouse, catapulted into his arms. Mellissa sat back dismayed when Duvall turned to meet the black-haired woman who had launched herself at him
“Mellissa, meet my kid sister, Meredith Gentry. Aka Bouncer.”
Meredith raised her head, and violet eyes in porcelain skin and pink bow lips looked back at her. A grin split her face. She was utterly gorgeous.
She winked at Mellissa. “Hi, Mellissa. Welcome to the mad house. Hey there, Elara, Gray.” She looked at Chowd, who gave her a brief nod. A tinge of red crept over the young woman’s face. “I know you. Chowd, right?” She held out a hand and he reciprocated, though Chowd didn’t look very comfortable.
Mellissa knew Chowd was a man of few words, yet he said even less than usual as he watched Meredith, the crest of red creeping over her cheeks as he watched her greeting the others who had arrived.
“Mum, we need to talk to Meredith, and we don’t have much time. We can only stay tonight, and it’s something we can’t share. Can you leave the kitchen to us for a while?”
Kathryn’s eyes grew wide, but she firmed her lips. “If it has to do with your sister—”
“It’s okay, Mum. I’ve been expecting Duvall. Look, you go and we’ll wash up while we talk, okay?” Meredith wheedled, and for a moment Mellissa was sure Kathryn would refuse.
“Fine. Just make sure everything goes back where it belongs.” There was a touch of asperity to her words, but she quickly left them to it.
Elara and Grayson jumped up, clearly used to the lack of ceremony in this household, and before Mellissa could blink, they had the sink full of sudsy water and tea towels in hand as Meredith settled herself into a seat opposite Chowd and Duvall.
Mellissa hopped up and grabbed the tea towel from Grayson. “Since you obviously know your way around this kitchen, I’ll dry the dishes and you can put them away.”
They worked quickly and companionably, both Elara and Mellissa looking to give Chowd and Duvall the freedom to talk with Meredith. While he helped in the kitchen, Grayson asked the occasional question for clarification on matters. Mellissa tried hard not to pay attention, but a name mentioned caught her ear, and she listened quietly.
“Crick Sur Banden. I’ve heard that name before…just can’t place it.” Mellissa thought for a moment. “Wasn’t that the name of the man in…” She fished for the right words. “That was the alien in the photos from earlier, wasn’t it? And the name the Admiral used.”
Both men nodded, watching her intently.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. I’ve already told you I have no idea who he is, or even seen him in real life.” She looked at Duvall, willing him to accept what she said.
He watched her carefully, as if searching for something, before slowly nodding. She wanted to growl at his lack of trust.
She wasn’t aware that Elara had detected her hurt, until the woman was beside her. “Don’t mind them. After all the years we’ve been fighting the Ru’Edan, Duvall probably has lost the most at their hands. Be patient with him.”
Elara’s soft words soothed the ache in her chest a little. “Yeah. I know what you’re saying.”
Another soothing rub on the arm and Elara moved back to the sink.
Duvall and Chowd spent the next ten minutes in deep conversation with Meredith about what she had seen and heard in the transmission room while Mellissa, Elara, and Grayson zipped around the kitchen putting it to rights. As the last bowl went into the cupboard, she heard Duvall tell Meredith to prepare her things for an early-morning departure.
Meredith rose and circled the table, dropping a quick kiss on Duvall’s cheek before heading back out the door she had come in through. She turned quickly and said, “Don’t forget dinner is early here, and Mum will want free rein soon. You’d better clear out or be prepared to help cook.” She chuckled as she left the room.
* * * *
“Well, it seems there was more to you being chosen, Mellissa. Come and sit down and I’ll fill you in.”
She looked at Duvall questioningly.
He motioned to the chair beside him and looked at Grayson and Elara. “You’d better hear this too,” he told them, and they settled back into their seats.
“Mellissa, do you know a Jem?”
Mellissa jumped quickly in surprise.
“We know Crick Sur Banden is involved, just not how. This has his fingerprints all over it.” He looked back at her. “You said you’d heard that name before?”
“Just from you and the Admiral. Previous to that, no.”
“What about a Jem?” he asked again.
“Yes, she’s my assistant. Why?” She leaned forward. “Did she have something to do with this?” She tapped a foot agitatedly. “She’s a good girl. A bit flighty and young, but I can’t see her getting into something dodgy.”
He looked at her worriedly. “No, she was the mark, apparently. They knew she worked in a bookstore and had been in contact with a messenger. Someone called Andurs. Does that ring a bell?” he asked.
“God, yes! That’s her current boyfriend. She met him in the store about…I don’t know…five or six weeks ago? He had been a sort of semi-regular until then. Then suddenly he kind of pursued her in earnest. He brought her flowers and popped in almost every day. Oh God! Is she in danger?” Mellissa’s voice rose, and her fear radiated. “We have to help her. Can we?”
She looked around. Duvall reached out and placed a hand on hers. Grayson and Chowd shared a long and meaningful glance.
“She is in danger, isn’t she? We have to go back and find Andurs and find out what they plan by going back in time. Then we can help Jemma at the same time.”
“Just so long as...”
The bubble of worry in the pit of her stomach pitched and wobbled.
“We have to go back. But, Mellissa, she’s not the primary objective. Finding the contact is. We’ll do what we can for your friend.” He cleared his throat, and her stomach dropped. “Just so long as it doesn’t jeopardize the mission.”
The words exploded in her brain. The words just so long as it doesn’t jeopardize the mission in particular. She nodded, but knew he had suspicions when his eyes narrowed at her quick acceptance.
* * * *
Duvall, Grayson, and Elara opened up during dinner, sharing anecdotes from their early days together, making for a lively meal. Duvall made comments about their karaoke singing abilities, comparing notes about their adventures throughout the galaxies, and Kathryn shared many stories from both Duvall’s and Meredith’s childhoods, ensuring the atmosphere remained buoyant.
Duvall’s mother, a cook of some local renown, had made a magnificent rack of lamb and chicken with local vegetables, which she declared Duvall’s favorites, followed by crème caramel that melted in the mouth. Mellissa marveled that with the hundreds of years that had passed simple foods remained a staple dinner.
At the end of the meal, the group sat back, relaxing in their chairs with deep glasses of wine sourced from throughout the galaxy. Mellissa watched the by-play between those at the table, feeling welcomed and part of the tight-knit group. Even Chowd had unbent and seemed to enjoy the mutual respect and genuine affection of the group.
The family was clearly close, even though Duvall had been fostered by the Gentrys after his parents death during a Ru’Edan raid on the planet where his father was a scientist. She learned that Meredith had been only weeks old when Duvall had come to live with them. Duvall had followed his foster father in the Admiralty, and in quick succession, so had Meredith.
“So there I was, in the parking lot, three boys surrounding my vehicle, and the next thing I know…” Meredith loosed a tinkling giggle. “...here comes Duvall doing the big brother thing. He single-handedly scared all of them off. Oh, it was so funny, because the look on his face!”
“
Yeah, well, how was I supposed to know they weren’t intimidating you?” His gruff voice carried traces of annoyance, and the intriguing thought of Duvall on a white horse charging to the rescue had Mellissa snorting into her wine.
“You weren’t. Anyway, not long after that, I received notification of my acceptance into the academy. But I’ve always known, no matter where I was, Duvall would be in my corner.” She hugged him hard, and he screwed up his face with embarrassment.
“Why did you join?” Mellissa couldn’t stop herself from asking, and Meredith gave her a smile.
“Well, my Dad gave everything for the Admiralty. And would have continued, except Mum really struggled on her own. Then I had Duvall and later Gray and Elara as guides. I was lucky, too, that the Admiral encouraged me to learn the languages and comp systems. It seemed like I had everything and I needed to give something back.”
Meredith shrugged and Mellissa mulled over what she’d said.
“Of course, unlike Duvall, who was top of his class all the way through and requested flight school, my path was more cerebral.” Meredith laughed as Duvall snorted. “Okay! So I know you remember when I wanted to join flight training. My instructor used to duck each time he saw me coming.”
“Yeah, he was terrified you might actually sneak through and get to fly a shuttle.” Duvall grinned. “The only thing she could do with them was bring them down…in a fireball. Eventually, he took you aside and told you not to try any further.”
“I’m so pleased he did. Cryptology isn’t exactly the most exciting aspect of what the Admiralty does, but I do it very well.”
Mellissa must have silently broadcast that she didn’t understand what cryptology was, because Meredith glanced at her and chuckled.
“It’s the science of making and breaking codes.” Meredith smiled. “I actually did my thesis on the codes of Crick Sur Banden. He has an intriguing use of coding systems that, I don’t know, just appealed to me. I’m now the highest-rated currently serving officer with the Admiralty that works totally with the codes of Sur Banden.” She shrugged it off, but Duvall was obviously very proud of her achievements, boasting about her being named head of her class and securing a plum position on Aenna.
After the meal, Meredith, Kathryn, and Chowd excused themselves and headed to their rooms. Duvall and Mellissa, with Grayson and Elara, moved into the garden and under the light of twinkling stars. Knowing that in the morning they would have to leave to save the world was sobering. They sat on old wood seats in a paved garden, so far removed from the world they inhabited daily. The scent of exotic flowers filled the air and their senses. Nothing could remove the fact that these people, quietly soaking up the night, were warriors. Perhaps warriors with metal birds, but nonetheless they knew the dangers and accepted them.
Earlier, Kathryn had taken Mellissa aside to let her know that her presence was welcome and that as a friend of Duvall she always had an open door. Especially given that Duvall had put her bag into what she could tell was definitely his room, she understood also that Kathryn’s words meant if something grew between herself and Duvall, there would be no familial dissent.
Mellissa felt touched by the warmth of Kathryn’s words, and though she knew his mother wanted to know more, she hadn’t pressed. Besides, what could she say? They were enjoying the passion that ran rampant without a commitment. This may be the future, but no mother would want to know that her son had formed a relationship with a woman for sex without commitments, would she?
They retired late to his room, lined with spacemen of all shapes and sizes, ships and models of planets and starships hanging from the ceiling. They entered the room silently, hand in hand.
When they stopped at the edge of the bed together, her gaze questioned him, and he opened his arms. Mellissa stepped up to him and into his arms. They stood quietly for a moment with her head against his chest. The skylight from the top of the room let in the shining moonlight.
Without a word, they moved apart. He reverently removed her clothing piece by piece and kissed every inch bared slowly to his gaze. His face glowed in the moonlight. Then Duvall stood, looking at her. Mellissa reached for him, but he lightly stepped away.
“Duvall, I want you. I want to feel your skin against mine,” she said, her purr throaty and her hands seeking.
He moved in, shucking his clothes, then stood, letting her look her fill. He shined in the moonlight, a perfect male specimen, and she drew in an unsteady breath. He reached down as she reached up. Their bodies touched as her nipples, now hard, scraped across his chest. His erection pushed at her belly. Lips met and clung in drugging kisses that pulled at her senses. Mouths and tongues danced. He pulled away long enough to find the erogenous zone on her neck. He licked and kissed her until she writhed in his arms, both his and her hands quietly seeking.
“Duvall?”
He slid a finger inside her hot, moist core, and she moaned. She grabbed his erection in her hand, running her thumb over the end, finding it soft and responsive. It jerked under her fingers. His finger withdrew and circled around the aroused flesh, just barely touching. She moved her hand up and down his engorged length. He threw his head back, the muscles in his neck corded as he hissed between clenched teeth. Mellissa smiled, watching his reaction. Then she gasped as he slipped a finger back into her, hastening the rhythm of his hands in and out and in and out. Smooth. Intensity flaring in their eyes, she burned beneath his hands.
She tensed, and he swooped in to grab her, pull her down on the bed with him, and his mouth touched hers. His tongue speared into her mouth, mimicking the movement of his fingers. She moaned again, and he pulled his hands free.
“Barsha! I love the feel of you, to touch you. To fill you,” he said, his voice guttural and low with need.
She opened her legs, and he crawled between them. His eyes were slits of fire, his face hard with need. Her heart was racing, and the need on his face nearly tipped her over the edge.
She grabbed his shoulders. “Now! I want you inside me now!” Mellissa demanded as quietly as she could. “Oh God! Duvall! Please!” Her voice splintered.
His hands grasped hers and held them away from her body, his smile wicked. He once more opened his mouth over her neck. Mouth wide, he sucked lightly, then ran his tongue over the site he had just loved. He lifted away from her, hooded eyes glinting in the starlight. His gaze dropped to her breasts. He moved slowly, rubbing his hands over her breasts, weighing and measuring. Adoring. Her hands grasped the cotton sheets beneath her body.
His lips softly touched one perfect, peaked nipple, opened and lightly blew, torturing them. Then he opened his mouth over the peak and licked, sucked hard, and when she felt she couldn’t hang on, he stopped, changed sides, and blew, then sucked the other. The pressure mounted and grew as she writhed beneath him. Slowly, he pulled his leg up between hers, which were now open for him, and rubbed against her intimately. Up and down while her body tried to contain the wildly escalating throes of pleasure. She nearly bolted off the bed.
Mellissa reached for him, but he laughed and continued the torture, finding the valley between her breasts and licking his way to her navel. He investigated it with his mouth until it became too much for both of them. He moved down her body, and continued to her core, which burned for his touch.
She grabbed his shoulders and tried to pull him up. Once more he refused. He found her heat, the one he’d stirred to a raging fire. One quick lick excited her further, and she gasped and bucked as he repeated the action. She writhed below his hands and mouth, feeling the mounting pressure of ecstasy.
He moved back and gazed down at her. She knew her body flushed rosy with exertion and sheened with sweat in the starlight. She bucked up, kissing him hard on the mouth, her taste on his tongue, then pushed him back toward the sheets, her mouth now the arouser, her tongue taking control.
“God, I love what you do to me,” she murmured, even as she dropped tiny, nibbling kisses at the corner of his mouth.
Wit
h a moan, she waited for just a brief minute before continuing down the side of his jaw. At his Adam’s apple, she gave a flick of her tongue and he arched. He tried to grab her, but she danced away from his hands.
Making her way down his body, she nuzzled his nipples. So beautiful, she thought, inhaling his scent, spicy and exotic. She laved her way down his torso toward his erection jutting proudly from his body. Her mouth opened once more and slowly settled on the head of his penis. Softly, she suckled at him, and he jerked beneath her.
He tried to hold her still with a guttural, “Wait!”
She paused, looked up at his face, and watched as he fought for control, her heart beating a rapid tattoo in her chest. He held still, his breathing ragged, body tightly clenched, and eyes squeezed shut. With her mouth still closed over him, she teased, licking the tip of her tongue over his head.
Then slowly, oh so slowly, she let her lips move up and down his aroused length, gently pulling with her mouth as she sought to push him closer to the edge, faster and faster until his firm hands grasped her, halting her.
His chest was heaving as he grabbed her, pulling her up his body. He flipped her over so she was lying on the bed, then moved between her thighs. He slid his hand over her where she was damp and aroused. He rubbed again, and she almost came, shuddering with the sensations.
Sensing they were both at the end of their endurance, she guided his cock to her body, and he plunged quick and deep. She cried out, but he captured her cry with his mouth. She held on desperately, both pounding and pumping each other in their search for ecstasy. Tongues danced, and both gasped incoherently as they moved, her short fingernails digging deep into his flesh.
He demanded more, pumping faster, their bodies damp with sweat as they exerted themselves in the most intimate of ways. She rose to his need, winding tighter and higher, head thrown back, until finally with one more powerful, flexing pump they exploded, holding on to each other, both lost in the awe of a passion so strong that it blocked out the world.