Zoren did just what the doctor asked. He was amazed that he was able to move it so well. It took him a little bit longer to rotate his hand but he could do it. “Amazing,” he said out loud.
“This is much better than I had hoped for. Zoren, I am happy to say that you should make a complete recovery. Jeeka hand me that towel, please.” Holding his hand out as he marveled at what he was seeing. “I am going to wipe away the cream and your skin should be mostly healed.” As he wiped off the foamy cream he heard Laura gasp. He could see that she was impressed. Other than the bright pink color of the newly repaired skin you would have never known the skin had needed staples just a few minutes ago. Zane continued his instructions to the patient. “I am going to release you today and let you go back to your quarters. You cannot do any heavy lifting for several weeks so I will notify your supervisor that you will be on light duty. A physical therapist will check on you this afternoon and give you some exercises to help you build up strength in the arm. I must emphasize that you need to take it easy, you are not 100% yet. Do you have any questions?”
The patient looked around and said, “No, I don’t have any at this moment.”
“Great. I will see you around. Call the clinic or come back in if you need us.” He put his hand on the warrior’s back and made to leave the room with Laura following close behind him.
“What was that cream? How did it heal his skin so fast?” Laura asked amazed at what she just saw.
“Laura, you will see many things that will amaze you. Our medical capabilities far surpass the ones you have learned on your planet. Your people will catch up though, you will see. The cream I used contains the extract of a tree that grows on our planet. It stimulates the stem cells in the body to rapidly heal the wound, calling to them if you will to the site of the injury. I must go to check in with the commander. If you have any other questions, I am sure Jeeka can answer them for you.” He smiled at her as he left the room. “Welcome to our team Laura.”
He went to the command center and helped out where needed. The inventories were almost complete and his staff ready for the trip home tomorrow. When all that he could help with was complete he made his way home. Manual labor was much tougher than he remembered and his body ached from all the heavy lifting. It was time for a shower. As he made his way into the quarters he saw Grace with bare feet in a little black dress setting the bar with food that she had prepared. Next to each plate was a glass of wine from the bottle that he managed to bring up to the ship from her apartment. “What is all this for?” He said as he walked up behind her and kissed her neck.
“This is for nothing in particular. When I saw that wine in my bag, I set it aside. Tonight I decided I wanted a glass and thought that it would be even better with a nice dinner. So, here we are.” She laughed and placed her hand on top of his as it rested on her abdomen. “I made you a feast. I hope you are hungry.” She turned in his arms, now facing him. He slowly moved to kiss her, tasting the wine she must have just sampled from her glass.
She pushed him back a bit, “I know what these kind of kisses lead to. I am hungry so it will have to wait until after dinner. Are you ready to eat?”
“Let me just wash off and change. I will be right back,” Zane said. A few minutes later he returned and smelled wonderful, however she preferred the sweaty manly smell of him just a few moments ago. They sat and he told her about his day, emphasizing how hard he worked. The food was delicious. She was really starting to get the hang of the kitchen. She also added some of the spices that he brought back with him to season the normally bland food. “The food is wonderful Grace. You really cooked a great meal.”
She was flattered, “It was nothing. Well, actually, it is nothing the food rehydrator can’t handle.” She giggled taking a sip of the wine. “This is good wine. Do you have anything similar to wine on your planet?”
“Yes, we have several things that are like wine. However, they are not easy to obtain on the ship. We don’t want a bunch of drunken warriors at their stations.” He smiled and looked up at her. “I spoke with Brylon today. He gave me a solution to your power problem.”
Her eyes lit up as she contemplated using her electronic devices again. “Can I get one?” She asked.
“I brought you two but I can get more if you need them.” He pulled them out of his pocket and handed them to Grace. “You just pull off the back and adhere it to the battery of the device. It will automatically charge using the ship’s core power.”
“This is great. Can I go and try it?” She said excitedly.
“Sure, I will get the dishes.” She ran into the bedroom to grab her laptop and brought it to the living room, sitting on the sofa. “Does it have to be directly on the battery or just near it?” She asked Zane.
“Brylon said it had to be placed on the battery pack.” She realized she would need some tools. She had a small tool kit she kept in her luggage and went to retrieve it. Carefully opening the back panel she placed the sticker directly on the battery pack and screwed the cover back on. She pushed the button to turn on the computer and it started up. To her delight, the battery charging icon was lit up on the toolbar. “This is so wonderful. Now, not only can I write but if I want something to do I can play games on my computer as well. Thank you Zane!”
Zane finished placing the dishes in the washer and came to sit by Gracie bringing the wine goblets he just topped off. “You like to play games?” He said as he sat next to her placing his arm around her.
“Yes, it is kind of embarrassing but I love games, especially role playing games and puzzle games. I like to play games when I am blocked and can’t figure out what to write next. It takes my mind off of the pressure of getting the story down and relaxes that part of my brain. After I play a few rounds of something, I can usually get into a mode where the story just flows from my fingertips onto the screen.” She shut down her computer and placed it on the table then reclined into his arms. Grace was enjoying the silence of the room and the warmth of his body next to hers.
Zane broke the silence. “You know, we are leaving tomorrow.”
Grace breathed out slowly, “I knew that we wouldn’t be able to stay here forever.”
“I can’t wait to take you home with me. You are going to love our house. My mom and dad are going to adore you.” He kissed the top of her head. “Are you having any second thoughts, my love? You are so quiet and that is quite unusual for you.”
“It is, isn’t it?” He could feel her smile while her face rested on his arm. “I always was a talkative person. I could probably talk to the wall if necessary.” She looked tenderly up at Zane and said, “I am ready for wherever you will bring me. I look forward to our next adventure.” She touched her glass to his and took a sip.
“I love you Grace. I am so glad I found you out there on the beach.” Zane looked into her eyes.
“You are a wonderful man Zane. I am glad that you found me, I love you.” She kissed him on his lips and placed her glass on the table in front of her and he put his next to hers. She turned to face him and waited as he looked at her with intent. She saw the desire he held for her displayed in his eyes, how his soul burned for her. He leaned toward her, slowly taking her head in his hands with his fingers slowly running through her hair. She could feel the energy transfer from his touch move like an arrow to her heart. Was it possible to love someone this much, so much that life would not be worth living without his presence?
He kissed her slowly and thoroughly. She slipped her hands under his shirt feeling the taut muscles that were hidden just underneath the soft fabric and started to pull it over his head, discarding it to the floor. His scent was intoxicating, it lingered all around them. She kissed him down his neck as he moved to unzip the dress and slip the thin straps over her shoulders. He urged her to lie on the couch then pulled the dress and her black lace panties down over her legs and dropped them onto the floor on top of his shirt.
She was there on the couch only wearing the matching lace bra
. She watched him as he looked her over with approval, hunger. He wanted her bad and she knew it. “I need you Zane. Please don’t keep me waiting.” That was all it took. He undid the fly of his pants and lowered his body onto her. She moved her hands softly down his back and under his waistband to push the pants out of the way. He wasted no time. He was ready to fulfill her request. As he penetrated her, she moaned softly into his ear. “Oh, Zane!” she said as they rocked into each other.
He moved her so that she could sit on top of him as she adjusted her position to give herself the most pleasure. It was so intense. She was not a virgin by any means before she met him and she never had sex that was as passionate and fulfilling as it was with Zane. She couldn’t hold out any longer as she felt the wave of her orgasm warm her body just as she felt the pulsing of his within her. They stayed there motionless for a little while, breathing heavy and resting. Her heart was full to bursting. Yes, it was possible to love someone this much. She loved Zane that much. It was totally possible.
Chapter 24
The next morning Gracie was full of questions. When are we leaving? What is going to happen? Will I be able to see anything from the window? Can I stay with you in the clinic? Since I can’t come with you, do you think that I could stay with Avery? My Gods, was it possible for her to have no further questions???
He had to get out, she was driving him crazy. “Grace for God’s sake, you can’t stay with me and I must stay in the clinic. I will go right now and see Zeb to find out if you can stay with Avery during the trip. I will be back shortly,” Zane said as he left the apartment. Finally, it was quiet. Finally, he had some peace. When she got nervous or scared, she tended to talk incessantly. It would have been cute on any other day but this was also a stressful day for him. As much as he would like to stay in his quarters with Gracie, he was required to be at his post.
He rounded the corner to the command center and saw it was bustling with activity. He could see all members of Zeb’s crew at their stations.
“Hey Doc, how’s it going?” Ceran greeted the ship’s doctor.
Zane gave his head a shake as he walked by Ceran, “Things could be a bit better.”
Zeb heard his friend’s reply, “What is wrong. Is your mate ill?”
He explained how Gracie had not stopped talking since she got up this morning and that she tended to do this when she was nervous. He mentioned how along with the stress of his impending responsibilities in combination with her nervousness was pushing him over the edge. He was at his wits end.
Zeb laughed. “Why don’t you bring her over to see Avery while we travel through the holes? I cannot leave the command center until we are safely through each hole and I am sure Avery would enjoy the company. There is not much she can do while the ship is traveling, and you understand why I do not want her leaving our quarters unaccompanied.”
Zane thought for a second, “You know Zeb that is an excellent idea!” He asked his friend when he could bring her over.
“You can go get her now. The ship will be leaving within the hour and I told Avery that I would not return to our quarters until after we arrived at Theron. I will have a message sent to her immediately to let her know that Gracie will be coming for a visit. That way she will not be alarmed when you arrive at the door.”
“That would be great and I know Gracie would love to spend time with Avery. She has been asking about her for the past few days. I will go and get her. Send the message to your mate and tell her to expect Gracie in about thirty minutes.” Zane turned and left the command center excited to tell his mate that she would spend some time with her friend Avery.
As he walked in, she was steadily typing the contents of her journal into her laptop. “Grace, I have good news. How would you like to go and spend some time with Avery while we travel through the worm holes to Theron?” He saw the excited expression cover her face.
“Oh, thank you Zane. I am so excited! Let me go get my shoes on and I will be ready to go.” She shut down her computer and ran to the bedroom. She couldn’t wait to spend some time with another girl. She really missed her girl talks with Emily. Maybe she could find Avery as kindred as she found her best friend on earth. It would be nice to be able to confide in someone who shared the experience of being abducted as well what she was feeling for Zane.
She could hardly contain her energy. It was hard for her to stop moving. She was nervous of the method they would use to travel to Zane’s planet. In school she was told that a worm hole would crush whatever traveled through it. However, she knew that the ship would be fine. It got here via worm hole, right? She was just unfamiliar with all this business of space travel. Having someone to share this time with instead of being nervously alone was definitely a perk.
They made their way to Zeb and Avery’s quarters, Gracie still excitedly chattering the whole way. As Zane announced to Avery that Gracie had arrived, her excitement was bubbling over.
They both ran to each other and shouted out the each other’s name. “God, I am so excited to see you!” Gracie said as she hugged her friend tight.
Zeb left the girls shortly after. The girls were still giggling about Zane’s reaction to Gracie’s suggestion of ordering Chinese food. They sat and talked about what Avery was going through. All of a sudden, Avery mentioned that a Theron warrior was able to detect when their mate conceived and Zeb was confident that they were successful last night. It took all of Grace’s power of persuasion to get Avery to let her call Zane to see if they had tests to determine if this was true. When Zane brought the test for Avery to use, she found out that not only was she pregnant but she was carrying a girl. Zane seemed happy to hear the news. It would successfully confirm his suspicions that the earth females would be able to carry Theron children.
After Zane left she made Avery and herself a wonderful meal using her newly developed cooking skills. Avery was quite impressed with her ability in the kitchen, asking Grace to instruct her on how to prepare food and wash dishes. Turned out Zeb had been handling all of the cooking and cleaning. She wanted to help but did not have the nerve to ask him to show her.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” Grace said as she placed the dishes in the dishwasher.
“Sure,” Avery said.
“I know that this is personal and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I just can’t explain what I am feeling. I know that these guys just took us away from our lives and we should be really pissed off about that, but I have never felt anything for anyone like I feel for Zane. I mean, the sex is incredible. I can’t even describe how intense it is, how fulfilling it is. I have had relations in the past but never like this. Do you know what I am talking about?” Gracie asked. She was a bit embarrassed disclosing her personal life with someone she just met but she needed to know if this was real.
“I know exactly what you mean. I did not have a lot of experience with guys before I came here but I can tell you that I have never, ever felt the love I feel for Zeb. He is amazing. I am glad someone else is experiencing this too. I hoped that I wasn’t imagining it either,” Avery said as she put her hand on Gracie’s arm and smiled. “So, you and Zane went to New York City for 6 days. How did it go? What were you doing down there?”
Grace explained her mission to Avery and told her about the time she was able to spend with her family as the papers were being drawn up. “It is really surreal. Just a few days ago, I richer than you could ever imagine. I could go anywhere and do anything. Money was never an object for me and now I am dirt poor and don’t have a two pennies to rub together. Everything I had is put in trust for us in case that we need to return to earth. It will be there for our kids, your daughter, if they need it.” They giggled as they grabbed each other’s hands.
Just then the lights flickered on and off and the ship shifted, almost knocking the two women off of the sofa they were sitting on. Dishes were falling out of the unsecured cabinets and glass was crashing down to the ground. Avery’s animals jumped onto the sofa to
be with her. Gracie went to stand up and call Zane to find out what was going on but just then another bout of violent quaking hit the ship and she was knocked back onto the sofa.
“What the hell was that?” Grace and Avery said at the same time. Avery looked terrified. She could only imagine how she appeared. She was trying to keep a level head. So much for that, the lights went out completely when the ship listed again. The dimmer lights were trying to turn on but they eventually went out too. It was really dark and as Avery started to speak they both saw a silhouette of a body standing in the doorway.
“Who’s there?” Gracie shouted trying to sound more intimidating than she actually was. It was not working to keep the intruder at bay. He was slowly but surely continuing to approach them.
As Grace and Avery slowly took a step backwards to distance themselves from him, Avery shouted, “Zeb is that you? Answer me, damn it!”
Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron) Page 27