by Auburn Seal
“I'll check with my contacts at the Bureau of Ddaeran Affairs and see if I can buy them some time. I think I can make something happen.”
"Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. Okay, tantrum officially forgiven. This really means a lot.”
"My pleasure, Lev.” He smiled as sweetly as he could muster. Agreeing to help the Ddaeran had clearly bought him no goodwill. Not that he actually planned on helping.
This time it was him that disconnected the call, but not until he’d made sure she was ready to receive him with open arms.
CHAPTER 5
Abramov Command, New Seattle, New Eden
October 1, 12 AA
Levra stood in the reception area with Enric, waiting. Nearly everyone else on the ship that brought the crew from the Nova Mere platform had disembarked by now, but Gunnar was delayed for some reason. She tried to keep the annoyance at bay. She knew these things took time, but Enric was getting restless. And she was so nervous. She couldn’t wait to see him, but was worried about the man who would greet her. Would it be pre-mission Gunnar or the asshole who seemed to have taken his place while deep in the Altius system.
When she saw a man with dark hair walking in the distance, she did a double take.
Her breath left her. “Gunnar.”
Her heartbeat sped up as she picked up Enric and held him in one arm and pointed toward Gunnar with the other. “Look, Enric! It’s Daddy. Do you see him?”
He walked closer, conversing with the woman in uniform who walked next to him, but then Levra lost sight of him. There were a few people in front of him, blocking their direct view. Finally, the last person moved out of her line of sight, and he walked through the gates, his eyes searching the small crowd that was left. As soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up. She raced across the distance between them, holding tightly to Enric’s hand as she closed the distance between them and threw herself into his arms.
A moment later, Enric crashed into them both, causing them to all nearly topple over. He pulled the boy into his arms.
Levra’s words failed her. She felt tears on her cheeks but couldn’t speak. She clung to him and Enric and sobbed into his chest. She hadn’t realized how empty her life had been until she was in his arms again.
“I’m home, Lev. I’m home.”
Eventually he let go of Levra and held Enric with both hands. “My son. You have grown so much. I have missed you! You look great, buddy.”
Enric let go of his dad and signed excitedly. “I took care of Mommy while you were gone, Daddy. Just like you asked.”
“Of course you did. You are my brave boy. I’m so happy to be home.” His voice broke, and for a moment, his eyes clouded over. Levra watched his eyes change and considered how difficult this must be for him, seeing how much of Enric’s life he’d missed.
The reality of his situation struck her.
He’d missed them as much as they had missed him, but at least she’d had Enric. And Mera and Alena. He’d not had any of his family. Crew mates, sure, but crew wasn’t the same as family—the people who loved you back.
She pushed the depressing thoughts about what his journey must have been like out of her head. He was home.
It was over now. He was home.
Levra watched Enric squeeze his dad’s neck and her heart broke a little as she watched the tears begin to form in Gunnar’s eyes. Home.
Nothing else mattered anymore. It was over. She violently forced out all thoughts of regret, anger, and grief. He was home, and everything would return to normal.
After the initial hugs and greetings were exchanged, the young blonde woman who’d been walking out with Gunnar cleared her throat. Gunnar blushed and turned to her. There was something that passed between Gunnar and the blonde woman that triggered a warning for Levra and left her feeling uneasy.
“Ana, this is my wife Levra. And my son Enric.”
He turned to face Levra. “This is Ana. She was one of the communications officers for the mission.”
Ana extended her hand to Levra. “Nice to meet you. Gunnar spoke about you all the time.”
Levra reached out and shook Ana’s offered hand. “Thanks for keeping him company, Ana. It’s nice to meet you too.”
The blonde officer smiled sweetly, maybe too sweetly, at Levra. “I’ve heard so much about you. I feel like I already know you. Gunnar had so many nice things to say about you. Talked nonstop for five years, actually. Drove most of the crew crazy with tales of you. It’s so nice to finally meet you. You are as beautiful as he said.”
The blonde woman with perfect white teeth and tan skin smiled a perfectly acceptable smile and a flash of jealousy nudged at Levra. Maybe she didn’t need to feel so bad for Gunnar if this is who he’d been spending his time with for the last five years.
Levra dismissed her negative thoughts and summoned her most polite expression. “This is our son, Enric.”
Enric smiled up at Ana, a little googly-eyed at Ana’s obvious beauty. He signed the words, “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Ana looked at Levra questioningly. “He doesn’t speak?”
Levra thought it odd this woman who had spent five years listening to Gunnar talk about his family didn’t know that his son was mute. She shook her head, “Not with his voice. He signs to communicate. He said it was nice to meet you.”
Ana seemed to recover quickly. “He can hear though?”
Levra nodded.
Ana looked at Enric and spoke. “Nice to meet you too. Your dad sure missed you, kiddo.” Ana ruffled Enric’s hair in a friendly gesture, and then turned back to Gunnar. “Well, I better be going.” Ana waved and walked away with a final smile—possibly a smirk?—in Levra’s direction. Was it regret Levra saw in her eyes?
Don’t be paranoid. She chastised herself and then grabbed Gunnar’s hand, trying not to notice the thin waist and swaying hips of Ana as they headed for the concourse exit.
“You must be starved, Gunnar. Would you like to go out or eat at home?”
“Home sounds good. Let’s go.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek, sending shivers down her spine. How she had missed this man.
“Home does sound good, doesn’t it?” she asked playfully, leading him and Enric to the exit.
They traveled back home, and Levra set about making a meal for her men. It felt so surreal to have Gunnar home again. She stole peeks at him as he told Enric all about his trip to the Altius system.
“There’s a planet called Tortia. Time doesn’t work the same way there. For every year you experience on New Eden, someone living on Tortia would live twenty years. For obvious reasons, we couldn’t spend a lot of time on-planet. I’d be an old man by now if we had, so we had to do short shifts on planet, and then analyze our data and conduct experiments back on the ship.”
Levra watched Enric sign his excitement to his father. “Amazing,” he signed. “Why is time different there?”
“It has to do with the planet’s proximity to a black hole, but we really don’t understand it all yet. That’s part of the reason for the mission and the experiments.”
Levra enjoyed watching Enric and Gunnar get reacquainted.
“We had to travel through a wormhole to get there. In fact, I was on the same ship—the SS Northern Light—your mom and I traveled to New Eden from Earth on.”
Enric spent the rest of the time before dinner showing his dad all the cool moves and secret worlds he’d discovered in Wonders of Earth. Levra smiled as she watched. He was really quite good.
“Oh,” Gunnar turned the conversation to Levra. “I’ve got a contact at the BDA who said to have the Ddaerans turn in the list of abilities and then he will make sure it gets lost. Providing the registry will get the Ddaerans at Dwyr off the BDA’s radar for a long time.”
“Thanks Gunnar. I really do appreciate it.”
Gunnar continued to relay bits of his trip all through the meal. They held hands throughout the meal, and she often brought his hand to her lips, reminding hers
elf continually he really was home. She wanted to talk to him—she had so much to say—but she knew Enric needed this more. She could wait. They’d have time to get reacquainted after Enric went to bed.
After dinner, Levra let Enric stay up later than usual to spend more time listening to Gunnar tell stories from his adventures in space. When they finally went to bed, she was exhausted from the emotions of the day and eager for some adult time with Gunnar.
She turned the corner into their bedroom—what had been only her room for five agonizing years—and he surprised her, catching her up in his arms and kissing her soundly.
“Welcome home, Gunnar.”
He answered her with a kiss.
He was so warm. Strong, gentle, and warm.
Their kiss deepened, and Levra felt her body waking to a part of herself that had been dormant. Passion raced through her as she loved her husband with both fiery lust and the tentative touch of a new lover.
She would never be apart from him for this long again. She reveled in the feel of his lips as they connected with her lips, her cheeks, her neck. He unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it down over her shoulders and arms and tossed it across the room. Then he moved to her waist and removed her pants. Her body was alight with frayed nerve endings as his touch electrified her body. She began to unbutton his shirt but stopped when his mouth traveled down her chest toward her breasts,distracting her. When his teeth fastened around her erect nipple and clamped down, she screamed.
“Ouch! What are you doing?”
Levra pulled back and looked at Gunnar, confused. This wasn’t normal behavior for her husband.
Gunnar laughed. “Relax, Lev. Let’s try it rough.”
“Uh, I’m not sure, Gunnar.”
“Don’t be a prude,” he said, biting her again.
“God, seriously. Stop, Gunnar,” she said as she covered her breast and stood up. “What have you been doing all these years in space? Or who? Maybe answer that question.”
She tried to keep a teasing tone to her voice, but a dark thought rose up as Ana’s perfectly tanned face crossed through her mind.
He stood up and walked toward her. “It’ll be fun. Something new.”
“New? Seriously? Normal would be new. It’s been five years since we had normal.”
He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders and backed her into the wall. “Okay, calm down. Don’t ruin this.”
She willed herself to calm down. Relax, Levra, she thought. He’s been gone. Give him some time to get reacquainted with normal life.
She embraced him and kissed his neck. “I’m ready. Really, I’m good.”
He looked at her, questioning her with his eyes, and when she nodded her reassurance, he kissed her softly, reminding her of the man who she’d kissed goodbye five years ago.
She responded, satisfied he’d moved passed whatever had come over him. Gunnar was home.
His touch was sweet, almost as though he were discovering her body for the first time, and she drank in the feeling of being loved. He clung to her as he finished inside of her, shuddering with release, and then pulled her onto the bed next to him.
“Your turn, baby.”
She fully relaxed into his arms as he manipulated her body like it was an exquisite violin and he a master violinist. When she reached her climax she dug her nails into his back and bit his shoulder before collapsing into a blissful calm.
“I thought you didn’t want it rough.” Gunnar chuckled as he kissed her neck with gentle lips. She might have answered him, but she wasn’t sure. Together, they drifted into a haze which wasn’t quite sleep but not quite wakefulness either. She was enveloped by his scent and the feel of his strong warm hands wrapped around her, cradling her in a cloud of ecstasy.
They lay on the bed, breathing heavily and clinging to each other. After five years of waiting, their first time together again had gone quickly. But she didn’t mind. They were both satisfied. She listened to him breathing and felt his heart thudding in his chest.
“I’m so glad you are home. You were so long away—too long.”
He caressed her arm and breathed into her ear. “I know baby. I couldn’t get back any sooner. I did try. But we had—complications.”
“I’m so glad you are back,” she repeated. “Wait, what kind of complications?”
She played with his hair, noticing silver strands that only began to hint at his forty-five years. He’d aged on this trip, which was expected. Five years was a long time, but it looked good on him.
“Technical stuff. Nothing too serious, but it took a while to deal with. Tell me what I’ve missed here.”
She sighed. She was glad he was home, but she knew her husband well enough to know when he was glossing over the so-called “complications.”
“Does this have to do with the planet you went to in Altius, Tortia? The one you were telling Enric about where time passes differently?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Tortia was pretty much the beginning of the problems we had. But we worked it out. But then there were some deaths that were unexpected. That added some challenges.” He shrugged. “I don’t really want to talk about it, okay?”
The complications were probably life-threatening. But he was home safe, so she’d give him a pass—at least for tonight. There was time to work on that. He was home now.
She loved thinking that. Every time she tried it on, her world settled in a little more snugly around her. Gunnar was home and now they could start living. Raising Enric together. Having a normal life. Maybe another baby? She wasn’t sure if she wanted another one, but at least now it was a possibility she had the luxury of considering.
Finally.
“So, how much leave do you get? And what are you going to do after it’s over? Do they already have a position in mind for you now that you are done with deep space explorations?”
His body stiffened after the last question.
“Don’t worry about it, Lev. We can talk about what’s next tomorrow. Tonight I only want to be here with you. Nowhere else.”
As much as she delighted that he wanted to be with her more than anything else, the tone in his voice made her nervous.
“Why don’t you want to talk about it, Gunnar?”
He nibbled on her neck and ran his hands over her breasts, making it very difficult for her to concentrate.
What were they talking about?
She ran her hands through his hair and kissed him, allowing herself to be distracted.
Again.
After a few moments of kissing, something broke through her reverie.
“Tell me,” she whispered into his ear between kisses. “How long? I want to know how long I get you to myself.”
“Lev, don’t be difficult. Tomorrow.” He had an edge in his voice that hadn’t been there before, but he kissed her again, this time a little rougher.
“Tell me.” Levra leaned up on her elbow and stared at him, playfully demanding an answer. “Tell me, and then I’ll kiss you,” she teased.
His eyes turned cold, and he let go of her and sat up. “You are impossible, Levra.”
Whoa. What is his problem? Words failed her. She stared at him, speechless, watching him as he stood up and unzipped the suitcase that he’d deposited at the foot of the bed. He began unpacking, opening and closing doors with much more force than necessary.
Levra felt a dread settle in her stomach. “Gunnar. What is the problem? I was teasing you. You know, being a little flirty.”
He whirled around to face her and shouted angrily. “I don’t want flirty, Levra. I want you to let this go, for once. You never just let it be. You couldn’t leave it alone and let us have a peaceful moment.”
“Let what be?” she asked, irritated by his accusing tone. “I just wanted to know how long we had to ourselves. Why are you so defensive?”
“I’m not defensive.” He opened another drawer and began piling his laundry in. “You make everything harder than it needs to be.”
Something was off. Why would he be so defensive? It didn’t make sense. Gunnar, her Gunnar, used to be playful and fun. This guy—who was this guy?
“How long, Gunnar?”
He sighed, slamming the drawer closed.
“Two weeks, okay? Two weeks. Are you satisfied now?”
Levra’s stomach sunk. “That’s all they are giving you,” she whispered, “after five straight years? Two weeks? I thought they’d give you at least a full month.”
He set his lips in a firm line and nodded, his eyes icy and hard.
“Okay, well, that’s not so bad,” Levra started. “We will make the best of it, and then when you go back to work, it won’t be so bad. Not like you are leaving again.”
She saw the look in his eyes and suddenly knew. She knew why he was so defensive.
“You aren’t leaving again. Right, Gunnar? We agreed. You agreed.” She knew her voice was climbing and closely approaching shrill. Enric was asleep in the next room, but she felt herself rapidly losing the battle for self-control.
He said nothing, and the silence lay between them like an impassable chasm.
“You promised.” She stared into his eyes for the length of a heartbeat, and then repeated in a whisper, “You promised.”
Her emotions were a jumble. Grief and anger were fighting confusion for the upper hand.
She steeled herself, willing herself not to cry. “Tell. Me. Right. Now. Tell me, you son of a bitch.” Her voice was hard and flat. The lack of emotion in her voice scared even her.
He whirled to face her, something between impatience and uncertainty playing out in his features. “I signed up for another mission.”
“You did what?”
“You heard me. Abramov offered me another contract, and I took it.” His voice was acid in her ears.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Levra stood and started pacing as she spoke quietly through her gritted teeth. Enric didn’t need to wake up and hear his parents arguing when Gunnar had only been home for a few hours. “We talked about this, Gunnar. You have missed Enric’s entire life since he was three years old. His heart has been broken for five years. He has stood at the window watching the ships land every day for five years, you bastard. Waiting. Just waiting for you. For his daddy. And you are going to throw it all away? You are going to go back on your word and leave us again?”