by Rachel Clark
The humans already on Jernodria were working desperately to convince the council that most humans were peaceful, but their arguments weren’t helped as file after file of the history of Earth and its peoples hit the planet’s media disproving everything cooler heads tried to say.
It was an awful situation, but with the future of Jernodria relying on human dal-sheras to carry the podlings to term, rational, calm debate seemed impossible. It was a highly emotive issue and already it was tearing the fabric of Jernodrian society apart. Some even claimed war was inevitable.
“How long till we reach Earth?”
“We’re roughly halfway.”
“Already?” Zed asked, both simultaneously glad to be closer to his goal and terrified for what it might mean for the people of Earth.
“I won’t attack without provocation,” Bik said grimly. “Not even if those are my orders, but ships are being dispatched as we speak so we’ll have only a few Earth weeks to try and restore some sort of calm.”
“I can’t believe it’s come to this,” Zed said quietly. He missed his brother desperately, but Reyne would never have agreed with the current political climate. He’d believed in peace. He would never have endorsed the sort of action that was now being taken in his name.
Zed closed his eyes and silently prayed for the peaceful future his brother would have wanted.
* * * *
Ben tried to hide his relief as he heard the car Daku and Chris had taken into town slowly make its way down the long dirt driveway. They’d chosen this spot deliberately. The farm house was tiny, barely more than a large room, but it was built far from the road and was surrounded by open fields. Anyone trying to sneak up on them would have a hell of a time getting close before they were spotted. Not that they expected trouble here. This place was completely unrelated to any of the Jernodrian High Council’s assets on Earth and was in no way related to Chris or Felicity. For anyone to find them here would be sheer dumb luck. Not even the Council knew where to find them, and Ben was quite happy to keep it that way. Only Reyne’s brother, Zed, had the coordinates. As long as no one was able to break the encryption they’d used to send the message—and that seemed unlikely considering how much more advanced Jernodrians were in that way—they should be safe.
But that didn’t stop them from having contingency plans.
The property also had a storm cellar with a hidden entrance. It was currently filled with supplies, so if it became absolutely necessary they could hide in there for several months. It certainly wasn’t something Ben wanted to try, but it did give them all a measure of peace.
“Is that Chris and Daku?” Felicity asked as she moved to the front window to peek through the curtains. It was clear she was trying to hide her own fear, but he was glad to see her shoulders relax when she identified the car. Thankfully it seemed Daku had dropped the illusion he’d been using when they’d driven onto the property. His skill was the only reason they risked going into town. They might have enough canned supplies to last months, but it got a little repetitive after a while, and Naith had always preferred to work with fresh food. At the moment, his cooking was the only highlight of each boring, monotonous day.
In some ways it reminded Ben of the trip to Earth—nothing to do for three Earth months. But with Reyne it had been a holiday, a chance to spend time together and explore the connections between them. They’d actually enjoyed the chance to relax and bond. But the past twelve weeks had been nothing like that. They’d struggled through their grief together. Even the deeper relationship they’d wanted with Felicity hadn’t developed very much as each of them coped with Reyne’s loss in their own way.
They had a connection to her, but it wasn’t nearly the relationship they’d once dreamed of.
Naith moved to the window, looking over Felicity’s shoulder as he rested a hand on her hip. She’d grown used to their affectionate touches over the past several weeks, but none of them had pushed her to accept more. It was enough, for now, that she didn’t mind sharing Chris with them, and if the sounds they’d heard coming through the wall many nights were any indication, her relationship with Chris was at least progressing nicely.
“Do you need some help with dinner?” Felicity asked Naith as they both headed toward the door to help Chris and Daku unload the groceries they’d bought.
“I’d like that,” Naith said as he reached for her hand and they went outside to meet the car.
Chris came into the room a few moments later, his arms full of groceries and a wide smile on his face. Ben put down the electronic tablet he’d been using to check the internet for Jernodrian news and moved to help unpack. “You look happy,” he said as Chris leaned over to give him a kiss.
“I suppose I am,” he said as he wrapped his arms around Ben and hugged him close. “I miss Reyne, but I’m very grateful for the family we still have. I know it’s not a true Jernodrian family pod, but I don’t think Reyne would have wanted us to ignore the happiness we can have together.”
“No he wouldn’t have,” Ben agreed as he held the human close. He inhaled deeply as he took in his podmate’s unique scent. “It feels like weeks since we’ve been together.”
Chris laughed softly. “It was only last night.”
“I know,” Ben said with a soft laugh of his own, “but if everything had gone according to plan we’d be working hard to convince you and Felicity to let us impregnate you both by now.”
“Whoa,” Chris said stepping out of Ben’s embrace, “I think you better check your facts on anatomy. It’s the human females who carry the babies.”
“I know,” Ben said, watching his human mate closely for signs that he was teasing him now. He relaxed when Chris grinned. “For a moment there I thought you really didn’t know.”
“Know what?” Daku asked as he, Felicity, and Naith all walked into the small cabin with more groceries in their arms.
Chris looked a little bit pale. “Ben seems to think men can become pregnant.”
“Not without Reyne,” Daku said sadly as he moved to unpack the bags he’d been carrying. “Even if I prepared both coden-volas to impregnate you, the pregnancy wouldn’t take because Reyne didn’t claim you as a dal-shera before he died.”
Chris suddenly looked a whole lot like he was going to faint. Ben and Naith quickly moved to his side.
“You mean it’s true? That I c–could have become pregnant?”
“Of course,” Daku said, finally realizing Chris’s tone was one of distress. That was another sad thing about losing Reyne. As yala-coldar, Daku had a type of empathic-like link to all of his podmates, but without Felicity and Chris being claimed he couldn’t sense them and had to rely on observation and intuition like the rest of them. “I thought Reyne explained all of this to you.”
“I guess…I suppose…maybe I misunderstood him,” Chris said, shaking his head as if to clear it. He finally smiled when Felicity giggled softly.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Don’t be, baby,” Chris said his color starting to return to normal. “I should probably have paid more attention when Reyne explained it. I guess I missed a few pertinent points, but honestly, ending up pregnant just isn’t something a human male usually has to worry about.”
“It’s not something you need to worry about now, either,” Daku said with a smile that didn’t hide the anguish he was feeling. “When the time comes, you and Felicity will have children the usual human way.”
Ben smiled when Felicity stepped into Daku’s embrace and held him tight. They’d grown closer over the past few weeks, and in some ways it was probably easier for Daku to accept comfort from someone who hadn’t known Reyne. Thankfully Felicity was proving to be the amazing person Chris had described to them. Her capacity for love—especially under such frustrating circumstances—made the woman so very special to them all.
He didn’t catch the whispered exchange between Felicity and Daku, but his own happiness grew brighter when they excused themselves and went into th
e bedroom. Naith was grinning broadly as well.
“Do you think…”
Chris winked and stepped back into Ben’s arms. The wild kiss that followed left him in no doubt of what Chris thought might be going on in the bedroom.
* * * *
Daku wasn’t certain what Felicity was expecting. They’d become friends in the past few weeks, but so far she hadn’t indicated to anyone but Chris that she would like to expand their relationship to include sex.
“Chris said Jernodrians only really look human with their clothes on. Is that true, Dak?”
He smiled. Chris had proven to be quite adept at teasing the people around him. Some of the outrageous stories he’d told them, with a completely straight face, had left them all wondering how much of the rest of what he said was accurate. Granted, he usually let them in on the joke, but with a track record like that it was probable Felicity didn’t believe his explanation on Jernodrian anatomy. That was assuming of course, that he hadn’t exaggerated or made up something that was even wilder than the truth.
“That description is at least accurate,” Daku said as he sat down on the edge of the mattress so that Felicity didn’t need to look up to see his face. “Yala-coldars and coden-volas have barbs at the end of our cocks instead of testicles below them. I also have a barb at the end of my tongue.” He opened his mouth and pointed to the small sheath on the underside of his tongue where the barb retracted when it wasn’t required.
“Is that why it takes so many people to make a Jernodrian baby?”
“Pretty much,” he said with a casual shrug. It hurt to talk about things that would never eventuate, but it also felt nice to share such details with Felicity. “The dria-coldar claims each family member, slightly altering their DNA in the process, and making us all compatible for procreation. When a family decides to create podlings the yala-coldar prepares the coden-volas by injecting each of them with both tongue and cock barbs simultaneously, and then the coden-volas impregnate the dal-sheras by penetrating them simultaneously and pricking them with their barbs at the same time.”
“Would the DNA change have given Chris a womb?”
“Not quite,” Daku said, wondering how to explain. He’d briefly studied the female form and human-style reproduction as they’d traveled to Earth, but he’d concentrated more on learning the native language for the area they were going to live in. He’d been surprised to realize humans had so many different languages. No wonder the planet’s history was full of conflict. If people couldn’t communicate, how could they understand anything about each other?
“So how would a human male carry a Jernodrian child?”
“Basically the pregnancy takes over the digestive system.” She frowned at that, her natural curiosity combined with her sharp mind very obvious. The mix was quite appealing. It was truly sad that Reyne hadn’t lived to meet her. Daku felt certain his dria-coldar would have loved her as much as he, Chris, Naith, and Ben already did. He nodded before Felicity could ask her next question. “That’s why the coden-volas develop an ability that basically provides everything a dal-shera needs during the pregnancy. They essentially pass on energy and nutrients via touch.”
Felicity smiled at his explanation. “I have a friend who would have preferred that. She spent nearly the whole nine months of her pregnancy throwing up. She was terribly stressed that the baby wouldn’t develop properly because she couldn’t keep any food down.”
“I’ve read about that sort of thing,” Daku said as the realization drilled through him that Felicity could face the same horrendous illness with a normal human pregnancy to Chris. “I hope that you don’t suffer the same symptoms, but I assure you we’ll do everything we can to help you through the experience.”
She stepped between his knees and pressed her small hand to the side of his face. “That is a sweet thing to say. I don’t suppose Naith and Ben could develop that skill without getting me pregnant.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.” But then memories of how his coden-volas had comforted him many weeks ago drilled through his mind. “At least I didn’t think so. Dual penetration is usually used only for impregnation sex.”
“So they’ll never develop that skill?”
“I honestly have no idea. A lot of Jernodrian traditions and behaviors have been unchanged for many generations. Things are altering with the addition of humans to our families, so I suppose anything is possible.”
* * * *
Felicity shrugged. “I guess only time will tell,” she said, trying to sound casual. She wanted to roll her eyes at the clichéd response, but since Daku was relatively new to human interaction he’d likely never heard the expression before and would be confused by her eye-rolling behavior.
She couldn’t deny that the Jernodrian way seemed like a far nicer way to procreate. Male pregnancy aside—and the thought of Chris pregnant still made her giggle—it meant that a woman wasn’t alone, wasn’t solely responsible for her child’s wellbeing as it grew inside her. Her friend’s husband had been wonderfully supportive, helping his wife as much as he could, but he’d had to pick up extra shifts to cover the income his wife had been too sick to earn, so she’d spent an awful lot of time alone and ill during her pregnancy. It had actually been one of the things that had made Felicity less envious of the couples around her. She’d dreamed of the type of supportive marriage Daku and his husbands offered, but for most people the reality fell far short, even when both partners tried their best.
Daku moved his hands to rest lightly on her hips, his touch soothing in a way that wasn’t quite the affectionate, but mostly platonic, touching they’d indulged in up till now.
“Can I make love to you, Felicity?”
She felt him shiver as she shook her head slowly. “It feels like I’m cheating on Chris.”
He smiled then, his hands tightening on her hips as he turned his head toward the door and called for her human lover to join them. It took a few moments, but Chris finally managed to stumble into the room. His clothes were half off, his lips were swollen, and his pants did nothing to hide his hard cock. It was very obvious what he, Naith, and Ben had been up to.
“Felicity feels like she’s cheating on you,” Daku said as he reached over to pull Chris closer to them both.
“Why?” he asked in a concerned tone. “You know that’s not true, Flick.” Chris moved to cuddle her from behind and urged her a little closer to Daku. “I share an amazing relationship with all of the people in this house. I want that for you and Dak and Naith and Ben as well.” She sighed as he caressed Daku’s hands where they sat on her hips. “Is that the only thing holding you back?”
“Yes,” she admitted, feeling very shy. She’d never expected to feel sexual attraction to more than one man at a time, but she couldn’t deny the need coursing through her at this moment.
“Do you want me to leave”—he lowered his head to her ear, his voice taking on a deep sexy tone—“or should I stay and…supervise?”
She giggled nervously. She honestly couldn’t help herself. She’d never considered doing anything kinky yet suddenly everything seemed that way, but then Daku moved his hands higher and started to caress her breasts and she could barely remember to breathe.
“N–Next time.” She sighed softly when he pressed a kiss to her neck, and then leaned around her to kiss Daku. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too, baby. So does Dak.”
“You do?” she asked breathlessly as Chris reached around her, undid the zipper on her jeans, and lowered the material down her legs. Daku held her steady, his eyes never leaving her face as Chris pulled the clothes away and then knelt down to press a small bite to her bottom. She yelped in surprise, practically leaping onto Daku’s lap as she tried to escape the small sting.
“Of course he does,” Chris answered for Daku when he seemed incapable of forming words. His hands had already slipped lower on her thighs, his large thumbs caressing over her skin as he continued to watch h
er reactions. “Let Daku make love to you, Flick. I promise you’ll never regret joining our family pod.”
Daku’s hands stopped moving as he waited for her answer. Hell, she was naked from the waist down. If that didn’t signal her willingness to be here, she wasn’t certain what would.
“Say ‘yes,’ Flick,” Chris prompted as he caressed his hands over her pussy and wickedly flicked a finger over her swollen clit. Her knees wobbled at the incredible sensation, her body on fire, but her mind suddenly very clear. It was in that moment that she realized how uncertain Daku was of her acceptance.
She stared into the eyes of a man she truly admired for his capacity to love and protect the people around him, and then nodded and whispered the word he needed to hear.
“Yes.”
Chapter Six
Naith had Ben naked and underneath him before Chris came back into the room. Judging by the hard cock that sprang free from his pants as he dragged off his clothes, whatever was happening in the bedroom hadn’t deflated Chris’s arousal any.
Ben writhed as Naith continued to slide in and out of his ass, the beautiful sounds his lover made winding his own need tighter. He grinned when Chris climbed onto the mattress and reached for Ben’s cock, his hand sliding up and down their lover’s shaft as Ben gasped and tried to hold back his own orgasm. Chris teased him mercilessly, grinning in triumph when the barb at the end of Ben’s cock began to swell. Naith’s own barb reacted as well, the sharp scrape of it over Ben’s prostate making both of them whimper with need. Fuck, sex with his husbands had always been incredible, but somehow Chris made everything so different. His actions weren’t dictated by the traditions of Jernodrian generations before them.