by Cara Wylde
Aedar nodded. He was the writer, but that didn’t mean his brother wasn’t good with words, too.
What followed was an extensive overview of what they had discovered in the ship’s database after they had worked with the Terrans to unravel the secrets of the Danube Valley Tablets. The story was complex and convoluted, but Kryan and Aedar did their best to tell it and explain the more obscure details as clearly and concisely as it was humanly… well… Kralianly possible. They had rehearsed their speech countless times to make sure they didn’t leave anything out. Anything but… the small, tiny, insignificant mention that Avery Tonkin was their lover. Not their pleasure slave. That was just a role she had accepted to play to help them gain a powerful advantage over the rest of the Alliance. When they got to the part where they had to introduce the SPG and the work they had done together, the Captains spoke about Avery in few indifferent words, and made sure to leave the impression that she was nothing but a trusted ally. Not even an intimate friend.
Was it weird that she almost felt a pang of regret deep in her heart? When the slight feeling of unease nestled in her stomach, she removed her hands off their shoulders and took a couple of steps back, returning to her team. She had to act like the professional that she was. It shouldn’t have been this hard. It shouldn’t have made her feel as if she was lying to herself, as if she was playing the most difficult role of her career. It did, though, and she had to force herself to ignore the unexpected emotions bubbling inside her ribcage and focus. Focus. Focus. Focus.
“Get a hold of yourself, damn it! What are you? A schoolgirl?”
Kryan and Aedar spoke for a little over twenty minutes. Before they closed the channel, they invited anyone who wanted to meet the Terrans to proceed to the common room.
“Now you know,” Aedar closed the speech. “The Kralians and the Terrans are brothers and sisters. We don’t only share a gene sequence, we share a piece of history. Crew and civilians of the Hordaa, it’s time for you to meet your family from the other end of the Universe.”
“Oh, I almost teared up there,” Avery said sarcastically, earning herself a disapproving look from Captain Shaw. “What? It was very eloquent and emotional.” When her boss didn’t say anything and neither softened his gaze, she turned away from him, so she could roll her eyes.
Lisa cocked an eyebrow. “Are you okay?” she mouthed.
“Fine!”
The IT girl shrugged, as if to say she hadn’t meant anything by it.
Avery pinched the bridge of her nose, then followed the others. Kryan and Aedar were leading them off the Bridge and down a long, narrow corridor that she could only guess led to the common room. She wasn’t in the mood to make new friends, nor to be the blonde female Terran in a manly uniform everyone loved to stare at, but she couldn’t exactly back away now. If she were to be honest with herself, she didn’t know where these thoughts and emotions were coming from, either. She had insisted that Kryan and Aedar kept their relationship hidden for a while longer. The SPG couldn’t know about it. Not yet. If she were to have her way, Captain Shaw would never hear a peep. Then, why did she suddenly feel so… left out?
The common room was packed. Purple men and women, some in warrior outfits, others in what could be considered more normal clothes… They were all there, all waiting to meet the Terrans. They were mostly silent, some exchanging whispers in a language Avery had never heard before. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were speaking in their native tongue. However, when they shook hands with the members of the SPG, the Kralians smiled and spoke in English. A few minutes in, and Avery found herself sitting in a comfortable chair, answering questions. Most of the Kralians’ curiosities had nothing to do with their mission, with the cold war between the Alliance and the Terrans, or with the Danube Valley Tablets. The huge group of purple women that had gathered around Avery wanted to know everything about her clothes, her job as an undercover agent, and the reason why a beautiful woman like her would choose a life of hard work and a career that, surely, had been designed for men. Avery blinked in confusion but did her best to answer their questions. Before she knew it, she caught herself beginning to explain herself to them. The second she started telling them about her childhood and her father’s tendency to criticize her for being too emotional and sensitive, and for crying too often, she realized she needed a break. And a glass of water.
“Agent Tonkin…”
Avery closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Aedar’s voice was music to her ears.
“Would you like to see the greenhouse we have on the Hordaa? We’ve started growing some Terran plants, and I heard you’re a big fan of… Brazilian coffee?”
“You’re growing Brazilian coffee beans?!”
Aedar simply smiled and offered her his hand.
Gratefully, Avery took it and followed him out of the common room. Finally, she felt like she could breathe. Kryan was waiting for them on the corridor.
“Seriously, you’re producing Brazilian coffee?”
“Why are you so surprised?” Kryan asked. “You know that our scientists can use Terran, Norgavian, Cattalian, Minarian, and Valgan DNA to build a short-term connection between the species, and you’re impressed that we have Brazilian coffee?”
“Point taken. May I have a huge mug of the stuff?”
“I’ll ask someone to bring it to the greenhouse.”
“I want it Simon Chen style.”
Aedar chuckled. “Your wish is our command.”
Avery did her best to hide her smile and failed epically.
CHAPTER THREE
“Oh. My. God.” Avery hesitated before entering the immense room the Kralians called a greenhouse. First off, it was far from green. “This is a rainbow-house.”
Kryan rolled his eyes, and Aedar chuckled, but Avery was too fascinated with the view before her to pay them any mind. She finally stepped over the threshold and advanced between two rows of green, blue, and red plants. Gently, she touched a long, red leaf, and yelped at the tiny sting.
“Careful with that one,” Aedar advised. He placed his hand on her waist and guided her away from the plant.
“What is it?” Avery studied the tip of her fingers, which were starting to turn as red as the leaf she’d touched.
“Claria Rog. It’s a Cattalian species of what you’d call… squash? Except the fruit is pink and the taste is closer to a cucumber.”
“Huh. Let me guess… the leaves aren’t edible.”
Aedar smiled. He kept his hand on her waist. Even with what the simple touch did to him, to his thoughts, emotions, and body, he couldn’t let go. Not yet. He felt his brother hovering close, as if he was trying to reach Avery too, but at the same time doing his best to keep his distance. Aedar knew Kryan was too stressed about having the SPG among their people to allow himself to enjoy Avery’s presence. Then, why was he there? He’d told Kryan he could show her around the ship himself and that he didn’t need to worry about a thing. But, of course, his brother couldn’t stay away. They had both stayed away from her for too long, and they just couldn’t take it anymore.
“The plan has to work,” Aedar sent telepathically, and hoped Avery didn’t catch the concern it carried.
“It will,” Kryan answered without making a sound.
Avery cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at them.
“Are you guys okay?”
Aedar gave her a large smile, and Kryan nodded, still lost in deep thought.
Avery fixed Aedar with her big, blue eyes. She could feel something was not quite right, but she couldn’t place it. It was a feeling, a sort of foreign sensation… She’d felt it before, but not like this. It didn’t belong to her.
“I agree with Kryan,” she said. She reached out to touch his rough cheek and smiled at the glaring contrast between her pale hand and his purple skin. “If what I feel now… just by being so close to you… a single touch… breathing the same air as you… If all this is as real an
d powerful as I perceive it, then it will work. One taste of this, and the cold war is over.”
Aedar bit the inside of his cheek. He’d seen Avery do it so many times when she was nervous that he’d unintentionally adopted the gesture. He leaned into her touch and kissed the palm of her small, soft hand.
“It’s real,” he whispered.
Avery sighed. She relaxed for a moment as she got used to the link between her mind and his mind, her heart and his heart. Her body tensed once again when she felt Kryan’s hands on her shoulders, then down her arms, caressing her through the rather thick fabric of her suit jacket. She needed another minute to get used to his thoughts and emotions, too, and they all stood like that, in silence and contemplation, waiting for their inner turmoil to settle down.
“Is it just me, or are we getting better at this?” Avery smiled mischievously.
“It certainly is… easier,” Kryan murmured.
She looked around, took in the flowers, bushes, and trees closest to her, then looked up at the tall, dome-like ceiling. She wanted to explore some more, but she didn’t want to lose the calm, well-balanced connection she’d just established with her Kralian lovers. She really didn’t see any other way around it. Quickly, before she changed her mind, she grabbed Aedar’s hand, then Kryan’s, and pulled them both toward the back of the greenhouse. She felt very much pleased with herself when they followed her obediently.
Kryan looked down at her small hand locked with his. It felt weird… No, it wasn’t actually a feeling, it was more of an image. If someone were to see the three of them like this, what would they think?
“I don’t care,” Avery said.
“Sorry?” Aedar snapped out of his own thoughts and noticed the slight change in his brother’s emotions.
“I don’t care what anyone would think if they saw us like this.”
Kryan furrowed his brows. “That doesn’t make any sense. You’re the one who wanted to keep our relationship a secret. Now that our people know about the SPG, they all believe you’re just an undercover agent turned ally. You wouldn’t want anyone seeing us together like this.”
Avery cringed silently. He was right. The decision had been hers, and now she was thinking and saying the exact opposite. What was wrong with her? She couldn’t stick to the story she herself had created. With her fingers wrapped into Kryan’s and Aedar’s strong grips, she felt as if she were bi-polar.
“I… I don’t know,” she managed to whisper.
Aedar squeezed her hand gently.
“Avery, we understand. Don’t worry about it.”
“What do you understand? Why I want this to be our secret, or why I seem to change my mind every five minutes?”
“Both.”
She let out a heavy sigh but didn’t feel any relief. For now, it was best to let this go and simply enjoy their presence. She led them toward the tall tree that seemed to dominate the entire greenhouse. It looked like nothing she had ever seen, with a thick, black trunk, and massive, round leaves growing directly out of it without any need for branches to support them. It vaguely reminded her of the beanstalk from “Jack and the Beanstalk”, one of the fairy tales she had enjoyed the least as a child. Something about the idea of giants towering over the small frame of a poor human had never sat well with her. It was the only story that still gave her a feeling of vulnerability and hopelessness every time she thought about it. And now, as she was standing a few feet away from the black trunk and looking up at the purple underside of the leaves, she could feel a pang of panic stabbing the walls of her stomach. She gulped as silently as she could and did her best to keep her anxiety under control. For the hundredth time in her life, she cursed herself for not working on it in therapy.
“Rima Daren. The dark tree of Kralia,” Kryan said thoughtfully. “It’s the only one we could save before leaving our home forever. Once planted, it grows into an adult tree in less than a Terran month, and it lives for around six hundred Terran years. It only blooms once every three Terran years, though, and its flowers are priceless. On the Hordaa, we harvest them with patience and care, store them securely in dry places…”
“What do you do with them?”
“Tea,” answered Aedar. “The flowers are purple, and they make the richest and most healing purple tea. It can help with any kind of ailment if you drink it. On open wounds, a compress soaked in Rima Daren tea will disinfect it and help the skin knit itself back together in a matter of hours.”
“Wow! Any chance I can get a few ounces of these magic flowers?”
“Not for sale,” Kryan chuckled.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Not at all. We’ve refused to sell to the Cattalians, the Valgans, the Minarians, and the Norgavians. What makes you think we’d sell to the Terrans?”
Avery pouted. When Kryan pulled her away from the majestic tree, she followed him reluctantly. At least, with the new information, the Rima Daren didn’t remind her of the beanstalk anymore, so her anxiety subsided.
“Brazilian coffee,” Aedar whispered in her ear.
She shuddered. Yes, she could see the green, beautiful leaves that reminded her of home, but all she could feel was Aedar’s warm breath on her neck.
“Oh, I forgot to ask someone to bring you a cup.”
Avery placed Kryan’s hand on her waist, then turned around to face Aedar. She looked deep into his silvery eyes.
“It’s too late for coffee anyway.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “That’s new. I had the impression you drink coffee at any hour.”
She looked at his lips, and when she opened her mouth to speak, only a weak “mhm…” made its way out. She lifted herself on her tiptoes, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips to his. Her arms latched around his neck, Kryan’s chest pressed against her back… In other circumstances, she wouldn’t have been able to stand on her own two feet as the Kralian seemed to suck the life out of her as he caught her tongue between his teeth and teased her playfully. Avery moaned, squeezed the muscles in her thighs as she felt herself gush, and held on to Aedar with all she had.
Kryan leaned in and started tracing small kisses and bites along her neck, pulling at the jacket and the classy white blouse underneath to reach the delicious skin of her shoulder. His other hand was still on her waist, his fingers digging deep into her clothes. Too many clothes, way too many clothes. Kralian fashion was much more practical than FBI fashion. Why did she have to be covered so well, so conservatively, and so… unflatteringly? Frustrated, he let out a low grunt as he pulled at her jacket and delighted in the sound of ripping fabric.
“What are you…? No!” Avery pushed Aedar away and turned around to face his annoying big brother. Her resolve dissolved when Kryan fixed her with his intense gaze. “Idiot,” she whispered as she let him ravish her lips just as he’d done with her innocent suit jacket. She couldn’t resist him. Aedar was sweet and gentle, so she usually had a chance to pull herself out from under his spell, but the trick never quite worked with Kryan. The alien ship captain was rough and possessive. When he claimed Avery, she couldn’t say “no”, couldn’t back away, and couldn’t slow down even if she wanted to. It was a good thing she didn’t want to.
“Maybe we should find a more private place,” Aedar said as he ran his hands up and down her sides and teased the lobe of her left ear with his lips and teeth. “Anyone could walk in on us. The greenhouse needs daily tending.”
Avery broke the kiss and slowly bit at her swollen lower lip. She needed more. She needed to kiss them both at the same time, feel their strong, naked bodies against hers…
“What do you suggest?” she asked with baited breath.
Kryan smiled knowingly. “I believe you’ve never been in a ship captain’s quarters.”
“Mmm… only in my dreams.”
“You dream of us?” asked Aedar, slightly baffled.
Avery blushed. “I’m not giving you details.”
Kryan rolled h
is eyes. “You don’t have to. We can pluck them out of your memory if we want to.”
She punched him lightly in his rock-hard abs. “Oy! What about privacy?”
“What about it?”
“Yours or mine?” Aedar asked his brother, and Avery knew he was referring to the above-mentioned captain’s quarters.
“Mine. Yours are boring.”
Without another word, Kryan turned on his heels and pulled Avery toward the exit.
Aedar followed them, a small smile playing on his lips. He was sure Kryan was having a great time leading the way, knowing that the little human was following him like an obedient puppy, but he was having even more fun watching her perfectly round and tight hips swaying from side to side, as if dancing on a rhythm of their own. It was such a shame Avery’s long, beautiful legs were covered by the straight black suit pants. She wasn’t wearing heels either, and Aedar had to admit that high heels were kind of his guilty pleasure.
Avery could feel Aedar’s gaze on her body. She turned around slightly and blushed at the sight of him hungrily taking her body in. He was thinking of her naked, trapped under his weight. His favorite position… It allowed him to take control and tease her until she begged. She swallowed heavily and focused back ahead, trying to memorize as much of the Hordaa as she could. The corridors were long and winding, and from time to time, they would pass small windows that revealed pieces of the infinity of stars and planets beyond. Every time, she wanted to stop and press her nose to the cold glass, let the incredible view take her breath away, but Kryan would pull her further, increasing the pace as if he was losing the little patience he still had by the minute.
She could feel his heart beating between her temples. Yes, it sounded so weird! After all this time, she was so shocked by how she could hear them inside her head, feel them inside her own body. Like she had three hearts instead of one, but not all in her chest. Her whole being was one beating heart, pumping so much blood, adrenaline, and anticipation that she was sure her brain would explode one day, and then she’d be done. That would be it. What a pleasure to have walked the Earth and seen it from space, too. Goodbye, now.