by Tia LaBeau
She turns back around and faces me. “Not murderess?”
“No. Now will you tell me what happened on Mars?”
“I would only tell that sort of story to my husband, and you my friend, are a pseudo-husband. When it comes to secrets, pseudo-husbands don’t count.”
I brush my hand across her belly. “The mobil is still set for Io. I have not changed course, but you do not have to pay me to take you there. I would take you there for free.”
“I’m sorry your plan of getting a wife so that you could buy an asteroid didn’t work out.”
“It is fine. I can save up for another.”
She slaps my arm. “You’re terrible,” she says.
“And you’re beautiful,” I retort.
“Can you kiss me?” she asks. “I want to take my mind off of everything. You know, I could get caught on Io, and I’m so worried about my sister. I can’t risk even using your comms to reach out to her because everything is tied to one’s coordinates. They’ll track us down if they haven’t already.”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t think about it before. It was so stupid, but if the security somehow got ahold of Olivinia Evawa’s records, they might have tapped her comms and put two and two together if they’ve gone through her bride videos. They might have our coordinates already.”
I turn on the feeds. Cleo's face is up on the feed again, same reward as last time, no indication that they know where she is.
There’s another feed that appears that nearly kills me on the spot. A picture of Olivinia Evawa. She is dead. I can’t believe it. I tap Cleo without looking at her.
“What?”
“Look,” I say.
“Oh my, what? No,” she says. She gets up out of bed and walks over to where the feed hovers.
“They got to her. We’re toast now.”
I run to the cockpit, check the view around me. I don’t see anyone following us. If they had our coordinates, wouldn’t they be following us?
“I’m not sure whether we should continue to Io or do something else.”
“It’s no matter,” Cleo says. “If they aren’t after us now, they can’t really track us. We’ve left the spot we were in. If they find us, it’s because they’re guessing, but it’s possible.”
“I need time to think,” I say.
She reaches out to me, brushes my arm with her hand. “This could be the last of us Xerxes.”
“It could indeed,” I say. “What should we do?”
“Some people have a tradition where they have a special last meal before they die. You know, before they are executed. If they find me, that’s what they’ll do, execute me. So I think that instead of a special meal, that I have a special fuck.”
“Will you tell me what happened now?” I ask. “On Mars?”
“After,” she says.
“After what?”
“After we lie back down together and touch each other.”
“Oh,” I say. I get up out of my seat in the cockpit and follow Cleo back to the bed. She stands in front of the bed, so I stand in front of her and tip her delicate chin up. I love the way her skin seems to glow as if the sun rises off of her. I lean in and kiss her.
We kiss for a while, and it’s the best thing ever. Then Cleo runs her hand down my stomach and grabs my hardness. I bite my lip. It feels so good. I love the way she makes me feel. I think that I would die for her if anyone tried to take her away from me.
She pulls me out of my pants and gets down on her knees. She pecks me on the stomach with her soft wet mouth. Then she runs her tongue over my belly button which sends a shock down into my crotch. I grab her by the shoulders.
“Don’t do that,” I say. “This is getting too serious now.”
“I don’t need your warnings, Xerxes Nic,” she says. She emphasizes the sound of the “c” in Nic.
I hear her tongue click, and then her mouth is on me, pulling me down her throat without fear. How does she do that? Shouldn’t she gag? I grab a fist full of her hair. Not too hard though because I don’t want to hurt her. It’s all very strange what’s happening, but there’s something very healing about sex.
I brush my hand against her cheek. The way Cleo looks up at me nearly kills me. She works her mouth on me fast, then slows. There are little flicks of the tongue here, there, suctioning too. But when she nibbles, I almost can’t handle it.
I put my hands on her shoulders. “Stop,” I groan.
“Why?” she asks. “Don’t you like it?”
I frown and nod my head yes because I do like it, love it actually.
I grab her and lift her off of the floor, throw her over my shoulder and spin her around and onto the bed. I smack her on the ass and then squeeze a handful of butt cheek before I lie her down.
“You want me?” I ask her.
She shakes her head no. “Okay,” I say, backing away.
“No, come back,” she says and squeals.
“Tell me what you would like for me to do to you, Cleo Chou.”
“Whatever you’d like Xerxes Nic.” She rolls over on her stomach, which is a shame because I’d like to admire that lovely face of hers.
I climb up on the bed, get behind her and run my hands up her legs.
“Take these off for me,” I say pulling at the waistband of her pants.
She rolls over on her back and wiggles out of her pants.
“You really look nice, Cleo,” I say. “I don’t think that I would like to let you go.”
“Is that so?” she asks.
“I’m not sure, let me check,” I say.
I grab her and flip her back over so that she’s on her stomach again.
I kiss her from her ankles up to just below her buttocks. It’s a very nice butt, very pert. I pull her underwear down with my teeth, all the way down past her ankles and off because I need full access. I spread her legs a little and slide up behind her. This is a tricky position, but I slide into her anyway. I make it work.
She’s so wet and tight. It’s driving me wild. I could be with her for the rest of my life I think. I stop for a second at that thought. I shake my head. I can’t be serious, can I?
I leverage myself comfortably, making sure not squish her with my weight. I’m deep inside of her now. I wonder how she can handle so much of me.
“More,” she whispers.
“More? Are you sure?” I ask. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Just do what I say,” she snaps.
“Yes, Cleo Chou, whatever you say.”
She’s throwing it back at me now, moving with my thrusts. I can’t help but groan on her shoulder. Her shoulder is wet with light perspiration. I’m not sure if it’s hers or mine. I kiss her lightly on the neck. She reaches back and grips my hamstrings with her hands. I work into her, faster and faster, then I slow down.
I pull out of her and flip her back over on her back. I mount her, but I do not lie flat on her. Instead, I lift her legs straight up in the air so that her blue toes are pointed straight up to the heavens. I close her legs, and then I enter her again. I push into her. Her tightness is trying to pull everything out of me, but I won’t let it. My sack will stay full.
I kiss the backs of her legs as I push in and out of her. She grips the mattress of the bed, and she throws her head so far back that I can only see the arch of her sleek neck. I rest her legs on one of my shoulders and push up her shirt. It glides up her delicious rib cage.
The skin of her torso is sticky but smooth to the touch. I spread her legs wide. She relaxes them. I bury my face in her breasts. I want this contraption off of her bosom— this thing which hides some of the sweetest parts of her from me—so I gnaw the middle of the contraption apart with my teeth.
Her breasts spring free. She looks down at me. “What did you just do? Did you just bite my bra off? That was my only bra.”
“I needed to get it off,” I say. “Thought this was a quicker and more pleasurable way to do it.”
; She laughs. “Okay, then,” she says. He pushes my head deep into her billowiness. I find a nipple with my lips and suck one of the delectable nibblets into my mouth. I have to suck now. I want as much of her nipple as I can have. When I’m done with that one, I move on to the other.
She moans. I take this as a good time to pull back, balance on one of my arms and pump into her hard. I expect her to jump back, but she doesn’t. She wraps her legs around my backside and pulls me closer to her.
“Not too much, now,” I say.
“Why not? Give me all of you. Who knows what the future holds?”
I thrust into her now like my life depends on it. Our hips are clapping up against one another’s. She’s as excited as I am, I can tell. I’m holding on. I cannot allow myself to ejaculate inside of this woman, but she is so wet and so tight, and her body is so smooth. She smells like musky fruit, and I’m struggling to maintain control.
“Grab my throat,” she says. “Not tight enough to choke me, just firm.”
Her eyes are so calm when she says this that I’m about to collapse at the way she’s looking at me. A lover that can melt you with one look is more than lethal when they’re touching you. Is there life after this death? I have to resist. She is a mail order bride, purchased for the sole purpose for which she will no longer be able to fulfill. I say this to myself over and over again, trying to calm myself down, but with each stroke, the words are being erased from my mind.
I have my hand on her soft throat. I’m not squeezing tight. I want more of her, so I grab the back of her head. Her long brown hair gathers in my palm. I’m pounding into her now, but when I slow down, that’s when the danger comes. I don’t know what’s happening. I’ve lost my control. Ah, I’m coming, and I can’t stop.
The expression on her face when she comes is one I wish I could record and keep forever. I know it’s the lermi in my ejaculate that has her now. The lermi in my cum has its own tickling stroking power in the organs. She furrows her brow, shivers, and begins to sob.
“It’s okay, Cleo Chou,” I say.
“Can you call me Cleo Nic, for just one moment,” she says. “Best orgasm ever. Although, if you just got me pregnant we’re in trouble.”
“Okay, Cleo Nic.”
She grins, rolls over on her side and shudders.
I caress her back. Death could come for me now, and I’d be a satisfied man.
I roll over on my side and fall asleep.
I wake up to her nibbling on my ear.
“You want more?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says.
I turn around and pull her by wrists. Then I slap her on the ass. “Sit on my face,” I say.
“Oh, okay,” she says. She moves swiftly, and soon I have Cleo pussy in my mouth, and I’m happy. I nibble her lips apart and work my tongue against her clit. I’ll save the lermi for later. I want to ease her into it. She throws her hands against the wall to anchor herself. I smack her playfully on the butt. She jerks forward.
Her legs are shaking, as the moisture from her body trickles down my chin. I lap her tastes and deeply breathe her smells up into all that is my olfactory system. “Hmm,” I hum. My throat vibrates. The vibrations travel into her labia, making them sing against my lips. And now, I release the lermi. I lick slowly, to make sure that she feels all of it. It melts into her. She moans, then groans, then jerks, buries my face into her, and shivers. She falls limply backward onto the bed. Her cheeks are rosy.
“You are too much,” she gasps.
“And you are not enough,” I say.
We fall asleep together. It is the best sleep I’ve ever had in my life.
We spend another few days together, making love five to six times a day, only stopping for food and supplies when we need to. Our bodies are spent by the time we get to Io. We hover outside of Jupiter’s moon for a little while. I think we’re both afraid of landfall.
“I’m ready to tell you what happened on Mars,” she says.
“Okay,” I say. I sit back in the cockpit, putting the mobil on auto. I listen.
She tells me that she didn’t kill Zeid Furmi. That it was her sister who did it. And that it wasn’t murder, it was self-defense. Zeid was trying to rape her. She explains to me Zeid’s history and what Olivinia Evawa told her about her own sister.
I’m amazed that Cleo was willing to do that for her loved one, but then again, I’m not so amazed. She’s brave and strong. Any man would be lucky to have her as their wife.
“Cleo, please, why don’t you stay with me?” I ask. “We can go back to the asteroid belt and settle down there.”
“You want to buy an asteroid. You’ll need me to be present at the purchase, but my face is all over the news feeds.”
“I know. I’m willing to forgo that plan. For you.”
“But you said that you were hoping to buy the asteroid, to provide for your family, to give them a reason to leave Protos.”
The truth is, trying to get my parents to come here simply because of the property is silly. I’ve been hiding from this fact all along. Listening to Cleo makes me realize that if my parents really and truly cared for my brother and I the way that I want them to, they’d be here already, by my side. That doesn’t mean they don’t love me. It just means that it is their way. If I love them truly, I will have to accept it. Love is a selfless thing. Only the lover need be selfless. Cleo Chou shows me this with her words and her actions.
She grabs my hand. “I don’t need the asteroid, anymore,” I say. “I can get by with just you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes,” I say. Cleo looks grave. “What is it?” I ask.
“I can’t keep running,” she says. “And that can’t be the life for you. What if we were to have children and then I’m caught and taken away?”
“Then I will take care of them, but I see your point.” I know what it feels like to lose parents, and so does Cleo Chou, as she has shared with me many things from her past in these last days. “I can’t let you go back there.”
“I have to. It’s the way my story goes. I don’t want to run anymore,” she says.
“Not even for me?” I run my finger along the line of her chin to her cheek.
“Well, for you, maybe,” she says turning away bashfully. “But no, I can’t imagine a life without my sister either.”
“If you die, she will be without you.”
“Maybe my gesture will show her that she need not run from anybody, that she need not be afraid. I don’t know. Whatevs. Let’s just get the fuck out of here. I can catch a ship back to Mars, and if I don’t make it, well then, fuck all.”
“I won’t do it.”
“You won’t do what?”
“Let you get back on a ship.”
“I have to.”
“No you don’t, I’ll take you back to Mars,” I say.
This is death. I do not want to take her home.
Location: Mars, Population: 6,456,789,235
Sonafabitch, I’m dead, I say to myself as Xerxes’s mobil descends onto Mars. I’m bold. I have him park the mobil not too far from my apartment, in the public port, and we walk the space conveyer the rest of the way. I use my key to get in.
“Freda?” I ask.
She runs out of her bedroom and rushes me before I can even get all the way through the door. She touches my face, trying to see if I’m real or something. She kisses me hard on the cheek.
“Chill, girl, damn,” I say, containing myself. I’m just as happy to see her as she is to see me, but since my shit’s fucked up, and I’m about to be locked up, I can’t allow myself to get too excited. Excitement can make you sloppy. “They’re looking for you,” she says.
“No shit, Sherlock,” I say.
“Who is that?” Freda asks. Her eyes are opened wide. She’s peering past me.
“Oh, that’s Xerxes,” I say, turning around. “Xerxes, this is my little sister, Freda.
Freda is wearing tights, a sweatshirt, and those kind of ballet
slippers that don’t have very hard soles on the bottom. She can roll those things up and put them in a pouch.
“Nice to meet you, Freda Chou,” Xerxes says.
Freda nods. “Nice to meet you, Xerxes. Hmm, he’s cute,” Freda says to me, but she’s got her eyes on him.
I think she’s surprised that I brought someone home with me. “He’s mine,” I say. “Even after I die.”
She shrugs. “I’m glad you came back because I’m going to go in and tell the truth. That it was me who killed Zeid.”
“Oh no, you won’t,” I say.
“Cleo, I don’t understand why you insist on taking the fall for me,” Freda says.
“Because,” I say. “Just do what I say.”
There’s a knock at the door.
I’ve been waiting for this moment. I answer it.
I can’t believe my eyes. It’s Celeste, Moon Company’s wedding officiant and navigator.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask.
“Can I come in?”
“Yes,” I say.
She’s wearing a track suit, and Moon sneakers. Her blond curly hair is tied up in a messy bun.
“They killed Olivinia and the receptionist bot,” she says as she’s walking into the apartment.
“I know,” I say. “At least they didn’t get you.”
“Not yet,” she says. “Olivinia was a good person. It’s really a shame.”
“Do you know who is responsible?”
“I think it was the Governor’s guys,” Celeste says. “And I don’t think it had anything to do with you. I think he came after her because of her quest to find her sister. Olivinia is connected. I think the Governor was scared enough of her that he killed her, or at least had her killed. That guy never does his own dirty work.”
“What are you doing here, Celeste?” I ask.
“I came because Olivinia sent me. She wanted me to convince your sister to join Moon Company Brides so that she could get as far away from the Governor as possible. She thought that maybe he would be after Freda next, especially since he couldn’t find you.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t find me.”