Sometimes she would wake up from dreaming about Paul, and sometimes she could still feel the ghost of his embrace wrapped around her, the memory of his lips pressed to hers. It was always the worst in the mornings when she’d awaken to find herself alone in her room. The second worst was in the evenings when her mind pondered whether or not things could have turned out differently.
As if they could sense that her melancholy was due to a break up, her sleazier classmates had started to flock towards her like scavengers to a fresh kill. They would catch her before or after class in the hallway or the parking lot with the worst attempts at gaining her attention, much less affection.
Laura would shy away from them and do her best to deflect their advances. Still, her resistance did nothing to deter their attempts.
It had been two weeks that Laura had held out on making a decision. She had run away from Paul and she knew there was no easy way of returning, even if she wanted to. Despite the madness of his claims, as the days passed she began to think more about the month they had spent together and all of the wonderful things he had done for her.
At the end of the second week, Laura received a letter and she immediately recognized the handwriting. It was from Paul.
Laura, I know I must have freaked you out with everything about being-well not being who I have made myself out to be. I’m sorry, truly. I don’t expect you to forgive me, much less to want to be with me, but I would like the opportunity to fully explain myself to you. I will meet you after your classes tonight. –Paul
Her heart ached just at the sight of his handwriting and thinking of all of the other little notes he had written for her. She didn’t know whether she desperately wanted to say “yes” or “no”, but it did not matter either way what she wanted because his note had not really given her an option.
*****
Laura was slow to gather her books after class. She hoped that everyone would leave quickly so that none of them would have to witness her meeting with Paul. She silently willed them all to disappear as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed towards the parking lot.
As she walked out the door she scanned the lot for Paul and found him on the far side of it. When he caught sight of her he waved and she had to ignore the painful flutter in her heart. She half-heartedly acknowledged him as she headed towards her own car.
While she was unlocking the doors, she heard a gravelly voice behind her. “Hey there, baby doll, what are you up to tonight?”
“Nothing,” Laura answered, without even turning to face the guy.
“Why don’t you come out and have a drink with me,” he suggested, “and maybe afterwards we can have some fun.”
“No thanks.”
She unlocked her car door and was about to get in when the guy jerked hard on her backpack. “What’s your problem?”
Laura turned to face the man, he was middle aged, at least 40, with a receding hairline and tobacco stained teeth. “I’m tired,” she said in a flat tone, “and I want to go home.”
“What, too many house calls in the suburbs got you too worn out for a nice guy like me?”
“Excuse me?!?” Laura clutched her keys in her hand and forcibly restrained herself from hitting the guy.
“Oh please,” the guy scoffed, “we all know about your little ‘business’ of visiting those guys out in the suburbs. It’s just not fair that you think they’re somehow better than any of us guys here.”
“How dare you-” Laura had her hand pulled back and ready to deliver a sharp blow to the head when another voice interrupted.
“Excuse me, sir, but did you just call this lady a whore?”
Laura looked up in amazement to see Paul standing there. She felt such a mixture of emotion that for a moment she almost wanted to hit him as well.
The sleazy man did not waver from his opinion and before he could finish saying yes, Paul had clocked him so hard that the man was knocked unconscious. Almost immediately he shrunk in on himself and began apologizing to Laura who did not know what to do other than to stand there with her mouth agape.
Finally, her ability to speak came back to her.
“Paul…Paul…Paul!” She could not manage to get him to stop with his tidal wave of apologies until she shouted at him. Finally, he was quiet and she was able to tell him, “Thank you.”
It was amazing to her how the last few weeks had turned him around. His quiet and reserved demeanor had taken quite a blow and he seemed not even half as sure of himself as he used to be. He also looked worn out, his posture slouched and his eyes looked tired, but that simple thanks lit a spark within him that she was honestly glad to see.
She felt a million things going through her in that moment. Yet somehow she seemed to be the one who was remaining calm. He was the one who seemed broken, and she wanted so badly to fix him and make everything better.
In a way, it was actually painful for her to see him like this. Part of what had kept her resolve so strong all this time was telling herself that this didn’t hurt him as badly as it hurt her. As long as she could make herself believe he wasn’t in pain, it was easier for her to push forward.
There was no denying what she saw in front of her, however. There was no way her mind could spin this to where she didn’t feel responsible. She was the one who ran away from him. She broke him, and now she wanted to fix him.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he said, “but I don’t want you to think I’m crazy. I just want to talk, and if you want me to leave you alone afterwards I will. I just want the chance to explain myself.”
“Okay,” Laura agreed. “Should we go back to your place?”
*****
Back at Paul’s house, Laura sat patiently on the couch absent-mindedly running her fingers through Aspens silky fur. It was soothing to pet him, and she was glad to see that he was doing well.
Paul was sparing no details about his mission. He told her everything; from his training back on Beseda, to his first task on Earth, to his current mission. He allowed her to ask all the questions she wanted and offered information for things she would never have considered asking.
“We aren’t invading,” he tried to assure her. “It’s not like a movie with a hostile take over. We’re trying to assimilate into your species so that we don’t die out. Our home planet is in danger of being destroyed, so we’re looking for planets where we can coexist and blend in. That’s why my final mission was to…well, it was to test and see if cross breeding was actually possible between our species.”
“You were sent here to breed?”
“Yes, and to find out if the offspring would be strong enough to survive, despite my species lack of natural ability to exit on this planet without physical enhancements like the breathing filter. But I don’t want to treat you like that, Laura. I don’t want you to be the host to some science experiment. I want you to actually want to be with me.”
“What other enhancements do you have?”
“Most of it is actually data assessment. I essentially have an extra computing system implanted in my brain. It’s actually what I’m named after.”
“So Paul isn’t your name?”
“No. Paul is actually an acronym for the computing system that is installed inside of me. PAUL stands for Planet Assessment and Ubiquitous Learning system. My commander addressed me as PAUL-3957.”
“That sounds awful.”
“I’ve never had any other name,” he admitted. “On Beseda we were trained as children to be soldiers and by age 7 we receive our first pieces of hardware, usually the specific programing system that we are being trained for. For me that was PAUL. It’s been my name for so long I don’t remember if I had any other name before that.”
Laura took his hand. “I still think it’s a bit unfair. To be stripped of a name at such a young age and given a serial number. It’s almost barbaric.”
“It was necessary. In order for our species to survive we had to put the interest of the whole community above individ
uals,” he said. “Even if those individuals were only children.”
Laura reached out and took his face in her hand. “I’m sorry.”
As she looked into his eyes she saw something. It was that same spark from earlier tonight that kindled the feelings for him that she had tried to bury. Without even thinking, she leaned in and kissed him.
Paul kissed her back and she felt that same surge of electric energy that she remembered from their first kiss all those weeks ago. It set her feelings for him ablaze and she was certain now that she didn’t care what planet or what computer parts he was made of. All that mattered to her in this moment was that he was here, and his arms were around her, and he still had the same feelings that he had for her before all of this alien nonsense came up.
She pulled back for a moment and asked, “You don’t do any… different kinds of things do you? No weird alien things?”
Paul laughed. “Our bodies should be perfectly compatible. Aside from muscle density, oxygen intake, skin pigmentation and subtle things like that; we are developed almost identically as a species. Don’t worry, I did my research about this too.”
“That’s good to know,” Laura said as she leaned in for another kiss.
The kisses escalated as they held each other tight and began to explore one another’s bodies. They briefly broke apart for a moment as they each pulled their shirts off before their mouths crashed together again.
His tongue slid into her mouth and she moaned at the sweet taste combined with the excitement of his hands exploring the exposed skin of her back. Down they traveled, slipping beneath the waistband of her jeans to grasp her firmly by her buttocks and press her hips against his.
Aspen let out a short bark that brought the two of them back to the moment. Both of them laughed and Laura suggested, “How about we take this up to the bedroom?”
“Only if you can make it up there,” Paul said playfully with a wicked gleam in his deep brown eyes that she had never seen before.
Laura smiled back and took off, darting across the room towards the stairs. She made it halfway up before she was scooped off of her feet and into Paul’s arms while she let out a shriek of laughter. Pausing at the top of the stairs, he turned her around in his arms so that she was facing him. Laura took his face in her hands and their eyes locked for a moment before she kissed him, hard, while he carried her into the bedroom.
The bed was softer than she remembered as he laid her down on top of the crisp white sheets. Laura stretched out on the bed while Paul explored her body with his hands and mouth.
His hands trailed across her skin, fingertips as light as butterfly kisses, leaving goose pimples in their wake. And then he suddenly grabbed her, his hands warm and firm and strong holding her on either side, assuring her that he had no intentions of ever letting her go.
Slowly his lips discovered every inch of her body, making sure that every single piece of exposed flesh was getting the attention it deserved. Laura was already trembling with anticipation and she still had most of her clothes on.
As he kissed around her bra, Laura’s heavy breathing filled his ears. She was breathless, like a winded runner, but did not want him to stop by any means.
Paul reached around her, where her back was already arched, and unhooked the bra. She felt the release of the material, but he didn’t remove it right away. Instead, he teased her nipples through the sheer fabric, first with his fingers, and then with his warm breath and lightly kissing them.
Laura let out a small whimper as her breasts began to ache. Paul heard it as if it were a cue and pulled away the bra. The sudden exposure of her nipples made them ache, her arousal was so intense. He covered her breasts with his hands and pulled each one individually towards his mouth.
His warm and wet tongue circled lazily around her areola before flickering back and forth across her nipple. The sensation was driving Laura out of her mind. He had clearly done plenty of research on the subject.
While he was sucking on her breasts, his hands were busy unbuttoning the front of her jeans. When they were released, he began to tug them down, revealing her panties. His hands stroked her thighs, coming up from her knees and stopping at her panty line while his mouth still teased her breasts.
Her hitched breath was becoming ragged. She wanted him so badly she ached and trembled with her need. She let out a soft moan when his fingers finally hooked around her panties and yanked them down. His fingers teased her, trailing across her mound but never going past the labia to find what was inside.
Suddenly, he removed himself from her completely. He stood over her splayed form and began to remove his remaining clothing. Even just his eyes roaming over her naked body left a tingling trail of sensation that made Laura quiver.
As he stood over her in his own nakedness, Laura was overcome with her lust. She reached out towards him and his hand met hers. She pulled him towards her. His erect manhood was pressed against her and she could feel the wetness practically dripping for him.
“I need you,” she whispered breathlessly, “now.”
Paul pulled back to angle himself for her while she held her breath in anticipation.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she whimpered, quaking with her need as he lifted her legs up into the air.
Her world exploded as he thrust inside of her. Slowly, he began by sliding out and back into her. It was exquisite pleasure to feel him inside of her, their hips meeting, pressing hard, and releasing.
Slowly the pace increased and the tension of impending release built between them. Laura’s eyes searched Paul’s face for an indication of where he was. His brows were furrowed, breathing heavy, and a bead of sweat rolled down from his hairline while he pumped in a hard and steady rhythm.
Laura’s moans increased in pitch as she climbed higher and higher into her ecstasy. She held onto to him tightly, pulling him closer and forcing him to release her legs. Her nails were digging slightly into his shoulders as she pressed herself harder and harder against him, willing their bodies to become one, until she peaked and the world seemed to drop out from beneath her.
Her breath halted completely for a second as she whispered in his ear, “Now.”
Paul understood and in a few quick thrusts his body tensed in her embrace and she knew he had found release. He collapsed into her arms and she held him tightly as they lay there on the bed entwined and gasping for breath.
Laura brushed his loose strands of hair back from his face and dabbed the beads of sweat from his forehead. His arms were locked around her waist and Laura could feel the combined fluids of their bodies dripping out around his still erect penis inside of her.
Gradually their breathing returned to normal and they untangled their bodies from one another. Laura looked around the room and noted the clothes strewn about and the wet mess that they were laying in. She noted that this was the most disarray she had ever seen in his house and she looked forward to creating more messes with him.
Paul stood up and Laura got a moment to admire his full figure and just how perfectly he was sculpted. Paul caught her gaze and asked, “What is it? Is my alien-ness showing?”
Laura laughed, “No. I’m just enjoying the view is all.”
Paul smirked and remarked, “I bet you would never have guessed that up until now I was a virgin.”
*****
Laura awoke the next morning, her legs a bit sore but entirely pleased with herself. She looked over across the pillow and there was Paul, his brown eyes were soft in the morning light.
“Good morning,” he whispered.
“Good morning,” she whispered back.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Well, when you finally let me sleep,” she laughed.
Paul tightened his arm around her. “I thought it was you who was keeping me up.”
They wrestled around in bed for a bit, their laughter filling the room, until Aspen got concerned enough to bark at them.
“Guess that means w
e should get up,” Paul suggested as he scooped her up in his arms.
A thought struck Laura and she asked, “Paul, of all the kinds of pets, why did you decide to get a dog?”
He paused for a second. “Well he’s actually… it’s called an accessory unit.” Before Laura’s gasp could turn into anything further, Paul quickly cut her off. “Not him personally, he’s not an alien. But I have this accessory system that I implanted in him. It’s mostly just for gathering data.”
Laura swallowed her comments about how horrible that was realizing that what he did never hurt Aspen. It was no different than the animals that researchers would tag in the wild. They had a symbiotic relationship, and since neither were harmed she supposed there was no reason to object to it.
“So,” Paul asked, changing the subject, “what would you like for breakfast?”
Laura smiled and pulled herself close against his chest. “Can I just have you?”
THE END
Bonus Story 21/40
The Bandit Biker Club
Olivia
“Yo, Liv! Beer me.” One of the hunky, tattooed guys called over to me, somehow managing to yell over the top of the heavy riff that was blaring over the jukebox.
“Sure thing.” I winked back, giving him a little show as I twirled around, allowing my Rockerbilly, fifties-inspired dress to sway as I went. That, combined with my over the top make up, red lipstick and curvaceous body, seemed to get a lot of the guys going. It was safe to say that the large number of tips I got kept me above water—financially. I flirted because I needed the cash, but also because I enjoyed the company of these men. They were different, and I adored that about them.
I loved working in Pete’s bar; I’d done so for a very long time, so I’d gotten to know the clientele pretty well. They were generally the sort of heavy rocker type guys who didn’t really fit in with the rest of society, which suited me just fine because I felt a little like an outsider myself. But just like the rest of them, I didn’t want to fit in. I was quite happy being me. I found it more fun not fitting in with societies rules.
In the Arms of the Dragon Princes Page 67