Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron)

by Pond, Rebecca Lorino

  Grace was amazed at what she saw as she passed under the arch. You could smell the rich soil under the grass and hear the birds singing in the trees. The colors were amazing as well. Flowers of all sizes and colors were mixed in with the grass and you could smell the sweet fragrance of their perfume in the air. She heard the sound of water and started pulling Zane toward it. Just next to her feet was a stream several feet wide and deep. Swimming in it were beautiful fish with rainbow colored scales. She looked to him for a name and he seemed to know what she wanted. “That is the food you tried last night, fouson.”

  “It is a beautiful fish. Too bad it doesn’t taste as good as it looks when it is alive.” Grace said shyly.

  Zane brought her over to a bench near the stream, “Would you like to sit for a few minutes? We can relax a bit if you want.”

  As she sat on the bench she said, “This place is beautiful Zane. Is this what Theron looks like?”

  “Some of Theron still looks like this. We had cities on our planet much like the one you lived in. They had many tall buildings and transportation similar to your trains as far as the eye could see. The Drylons came in and started bombing the cities, making them what they are now, wastelands. The people that survived moved into the forests. We made our homes among the trees. The trees on our planet are so much larger than the ones on this ship. These are babies compared to the ones we live among.” She could tell that he was envisioning his planet just by the faraway look in his eyes.

  “What made them stop attacking?” She asked.

  “They never really stopped. I guess with the aid of our allies, we beat them back pretty hard in our last battle. Now, they seem to be rebuilding their bases and troops. We are still at war with them, but we have other ships that are assigned to dealing with the Drylons and protecting the planet. Right now, Theron is pretty well fortified. We have many ships stationed around the solar system as well as a large space station in orbit around the planet. The only way they can attack now is to do it when we are far away from our home. They just have not been lucky enough to find us while we are away.”

  “How long has this war been going on?” Gracie asked pulling a long piece of lavender colored grass that was growing near the bench and feeling its texture against the skin of her fingers.

  “Our planet was always a peaceful planet. We had all the natural resources that we needed to survive. We could grow our own food and we still can. You see, we trade with many civilizations in many galaxies as well as have many allies all over the universe. Our biggest asset is the cavementon we mine on the adjacent planet in our solar system. I believe the cavementon is what attracted the Drylons to our planet. Ten years ago we started trading with the Drylons and it was a big mistake. When the Drylon’s elected a new leader, Gatton, we saw aggression between the Drylons and many of our allies start to increase. Under Gatton’s leadership, the Drylons broke peace treaties that had been in place for hundreds of years and started a war. Together with our allies we continue to fight them and will continue to do so until the peace is restored to the universe.”

  “You said that you fear that the people of your planet will go extinct if you do not find suitable mates. What happened to your people?”

  “The Drylons main focus has been to force us off our planet. How better to do that, than make our civilization extinct. They started focusing on capturing or killing our females and children. Without the females, we cannot have babies. Thus, this ends the circle of life. We left two years ago on our current mission. Now that we have found your planet, you and your fellow earth women may be Theron’s greatest hope for survival.”

  “That is really a humbling notion. I really hope that we can help you. I can see that you and your warriors are a very proud race and if your fellow warriors are anything like you, honorable as well.” They sat a few minutes contemplating this. “Not to change the subject, but I am a bit hungry now. Do you think we could go and find that alien pizza?” She said to Zane. His planet had been through hell the last few years. She could identify with him. Her planet had seen more war, death, and cruelty in the last 15 years than it had since the cold war. It was terrorist that took her family away.

  “Sure, follow me.” Zane led her back to the transport tubes and they got in. She placed her hands on his chest and waited for the tube to take off. “Level 32”, he said to the personal transport system and just like that, they took off. They reached the food court and he took her around to look among the vendors to see if she could recognize anything that resembled an “alien pizza”. She described to him what a pizza on Earth was and instantly he figured out what would be the closest food resembling the description. He took her to the vendor he suspected would have what she was looking for and asked the attendant, “Did commander Zeb order something from your stand last night?”

  “Yessss, Dr. Zane,” was the reply from a weird creature. His mouth resembled that of a snake with his long slithering tongue waving between his scaly lips.

  “Can you make me the same thing you made him?” Zane asked him as the vendor nodded yes. Then he glanced in Grace’s direction. He noticed she was puzzled, “Is everything alright Gracie?”

  “Yes, I am alright. I know you mentioned that there are other races of traders on board. Is he one of those?” He looked kind of odd, reptilian to be specific.

  “Yes. He was from a planet that used to have dense rainforests and ice on the poles similar to yours. However, the Drylons came in and stripped it of all its natural resources, set up a base there, and now it is a virtual wasteland. It is dry and desert like and the atmosphere has weakened so much that it can no longer support life independently. We recently declared the planet a “dead planet”. It has an unpronounceable name so we call it UV-49. When the people of their planet could no longer survive the conditions there, most of them left to planets that were like the one they knew, and some went on to sell themselves as slaves to other passing ships.”

  “Dr. Zzzzane. Your food issssss ready.” The creature handed it over the counter to him.

  Zane asked the vendor, “Can we get some leppa juice as well?”

  “Ssssure.” The creature said as he handed two glasses out to Gracie. She took the glasses from him reluctantly not knowing what she was dealing with. Dealing with odd looking aliens was new to her. Zane brought the pizza to the nearest table. It was not very crowded in the food court at this hour. They only saw isolated groups of workers on the various tables around them.

  “Are you ready to address the council tomorrow?” Zane asked as Grace was taking a bite of the pizza. She had to agree with Avery, this was quite tasty. Actually, she had not given much thought about the meeting with the council. She was grateful that she would still get the chance to meet with them even though her behavior was atrocious yesterday.

  "To tell you the truth, I really didn't think I would get the chance after the way I behaved yesterday. I thought for sure that you would have changed your mind about letting me present my ideas at the meeting." Gracie shook her head in disappointment, looking away. She was really ashamed that she acted the way she did.

  "Grace, what you have chosen to do with your wealth is important for the future of your people on board this ship. I admire your generosity and fully support your idea. These women are lucky to have you represent them. I would still be very happy to accompany you if you want me to." He said as he looked intently into her eyes. Hoping she would still want him to go with her.

  "Zane, I don't deserve a guy like you. I am glad you are on my side. I am really sorry about yesterday."

  "Let's just call this our first argument. It is hard enough for two people thrown together in the best of circumstances to never have a fight from time to time. I think you and I can both agree that we were not paired in any kind of normal way." She nodded at him, agreeing with what he just said. "I will do my best to convince you that I am worthy of your love and affection. Will you promise me that you will try and get to know me better before you make any concl
usions about living aboard this ship with me?"

  "I promise, I will do my best,” she replied and meant it.

  They stayed in the food court finishing their pizza and talking about what to expect when they met with the council. Gracie would most likely have to wait outside until all the other official business was taken care of. She was excited about the prospect of making a difference for the future of Theron. After finishing their meal, they went shopping to replenish the food she wasted yesterday and Zane found her a hair dryer.

  Being out of their quarters did a world of good with regard to her outlook on the future. She could see what she had to offer the Theron warriors and their new earth mates in her proposal to the council.

  After they finished putting all their purchases away, they collided as they tried to get out of the kitchen at the same time. They looked at each other surprised. Hesitant she said to him, “Thank you for a wonderful day.” She did not know how to request what she wanted from him. She was afraid he would want more from her, but she was even more terrified that she would not be able to stop herself and find herself wanting more. “You know, at the end of a “good date” on my planet, we have a good night kiss. I am still not sure I want to go further than a kiss. Zane, would you kiss me?”

  Zane gazed deeply into her eyes and spoke no words. He had waited patiently for her to ask this of him and now he was finally getting what he wanted. He gently moved her hair behind her ear lightly brushing the skin of her cheek with his fingertip as he cupped her jaw in his hands. Slowly, he moved in and brushed his lips against hers, moving his hands to cradle the back of her skull for more purchase. He waited for signs from her to determine just how far she wanted him to take this kiss. He could tell that she wanted more as she lingered there opening her mouth and letting him in. He slowly entered her mouth with his tongue and to his surprise she placed her hands behind his head pulling him towards her, deepening the kiss.

  Amazing did not even describe it. The kiss was charged and electrified even. She never had this feeling before in her life. It took all she had to end the kiss and gently push him away. She could tell that this man would be important to her and could easily see herself spending the rest of her life with him. She wanted to make sure that they knew each other well before they went any further. She had several relationships that moved too fast and ended just as quickly.

  He clearly did not want to stop kissing her. He used every ounce of willpower not to pick her up, drop her on the bed, and have his way with her. He also felt the same intense reactions as she did during the kiss and it was just as magical for him as it was for her. He was determined to take this relationship at her pace. Unfortunately for him, he realized clearly tonight would not be the night when she pushed him away. He saw the obvious physical signs of her arousal. Her eyes were dilated even though the room was not bright, her heart rate was elevated, and her breathing was deeper and more rapid. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her, he knew it. He did not like having to wait another day but he would follow her lead. Who knows what past personal experiences she used to build the temporary wall that now stood between them?

  After her shower, she sat in the bed with her journal. She began to plan out all the things that she needed to accomplish when she was down on the planet’s surface. She wrote down the businesses that she needed to dissolve her personal ownership of, properties that either needed to be sold or distributed among family members, and plans for all her money to be placed in trust. When she was finished she went to the kitchen to get some water and upon returning Zane was already tucked into bed and waiting for her to join him.

  She slipped into the bed. She smiled at him and laid her head down on her pillow. Neither of them said a word. They did not need to. It would happen, and most likely soon, but not tonight.

  Chapter 12

  She woke up with Zane’s arm draped across her chest. His hand was cupping her breast. He seemed to be sleeping and unaware that he had moved into this position on the bed with him cuddled close behind her. She moved as slowly as she could to turn her body without waking him. She wanted to watch him sleep for a little while. She could see his eyes moving rapidly under his lids and the long lashes that accented them. A woman would give her right arm to have lashes that were as thick, long, and dark. He was so beautiful in his sleep. Everything about him was right for her and she was falling like she never had before. She was falling in love with him.

  He opened his eyes to find her looking at him. She had a serious face as if she was studying and memorizing every little detail of his face. She did not look away but just smiled when he looked into her eyes. When he realized where his hand was placed, he started to blush as he pulled it away. “Good morning Grace. Did you sleep well?” It was the only thing he could think of to say.

  “Good morning. I slept like the dead.” She said. “What time is it? We have the council meeting at noon today, right?”

  “Yes. Would you like to go use the bathroom first?”

  “Sure. I won’t be long.” She got out of the bed and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He took a deep breath. It was getting more and more difficult to restrain himself around her. He wanted her so very much. He was definitely going to need a cold shower this morning.

  She came out of the bathroom and said, “It is all yours.” He was reluctant to get up. All he was wearing was his pajama pants and he was sure that she would not miss the sight of his animal attraction to her under the thin fabric. He was going to wait to make his way into the bathroom but she was just standing there giving him a puzzled look probably wondering what he was waiting for. He decided that maybe it would not be a bad thing to let her see the effect she had on him. He lifted the covers off of him and got out of the bed. She looked at him and immediately saw his hard cock making its presence known to her. She turned red, obviously embarrassed and maybe just a bit impressed. Actually, she was likely extremely impressed because she actually lost the ability to speak which was rare for her. He went in to the bathroom and started to work on that cold shower. It should be an interesting breakfast conversation when he got out.

  She heard him start the shower. Oh my God, she thought as she looked at him and all his male glory, his ample hardness hidden behind the thin fabric of his pants. She started to feel aware if the ache in her loins. She was at wits end. There was no way she would be able to hold off much longer. It was hard enough to look at him without wanting more. Her desire for him was increasing exponentially by the second. “Good Lord, please have mercy on me,” she whispered and made her way into the kitchen. She thought she would try her hand at preparing breakfast for him. When they put the items away in the cabinets, he described what to look for when rehydrating food. She wanted to make the powa ona she had on her first morning on the ship. She took out the packet of red dried food, opened it and placed it in a shallow bowl, placing it in the rehydrator and pressing the button. As she waited for the food to rehydrate, she prepared another bowl and two mugs with tolka, adding the hoonay nectar sweetener and a splash of ona milk just like they liked it.

  Zane walked out dressed for the day and watched as Gracie reached into the cooler and pulled out the yazo fruit to sprinkle on the powa ona she just prepared. The mugs of hot steaming tolka were placed next to the bowls. She was really becoming proficient in the kitchen. She shyly announced, “I made you breakfast this morning. I hope I did it right.”

  “I am sure that you did, it looks wonderful Gracie. Thank you.” He said as he took his place at the bar. She could not help the color change in her skin that started traveling up her face as he looked into her eyes. She remembered his getting out of bed this morning and him knowing that all she could see and focus on was his manhood standing at full attention in her presence. She knew that she had a very real effect on him. She waited for him to try his food before she dug into hers. “This is really good," he paused between bites and said, "Why is it that food always tastes better when you don’t make it yourself
?” He laughed and continued to eat hungrily.

  She began to eat. She smiled and replied, “I don’t know really. I don’t usually cook. I hire people to cook for me or I go out most of the time. The only thing I really make for myself is a quick sandwich or cereal. I also can make really good single serve coffee.”

  “Are you ready for this afternoon?” He asked giving her a sideways glance.

  “I think that I am. I have outlined all the points that I need to make in my journal. I also have made a list of all the things I have to take care of when I am back on the planet. Are there any women on the council?”

  “On the ship right now are two council members. One is a woman, Vencenza and the other is her mate, Francescon. They are good people and represent the people of our ship well. In our race, men and women are treated equally and have equal chances to fill any job. For example, both my mother and father are doctors.”

  She finished her breakfast and took her last sip of coffee. “Do you mind if I leave this here while I get ready?” She pointed to her dishes.

  “Don’t worry. I will take care of it.” Zane said. “You did prepare the food after all, I can clean up the dishes,” he said mocking what she told him yesterday.