by S. J. Smith
“Did you see what the noise was?” she asked Pov as he helped her out.
“No, haven’t had a chance to look,” he said honestly, taking a gaze around. “Shit-” he said and started running. She followed his gaze and saw what had upset him. Halfway into being dragged into the ground was the ship, with Bren blasting his guns at the creatures who were trying to suck it under. He had drawn attention to himself alright, and to their vessel.
Juniper ran with all the strength she could, her cyborg companion quickly beating her to the ship. He had whipped out his gun and was firing away at the creatures, taking out mass amounts of them while aiming to keep them away from the ship.
“WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?” Bren’s voice was much louder than it needed to be and it made Juniper’s ears throb in pain. He was quickly punching in the code to open the ship and let them in. When they were almost at the ship, just twenty feet away from it, one of the pincushion creatures that was trying to drag the ship down sliced a hole through Juniper’s suit and her leg, she didn’t immediately lose oxygen, her suit was skin tight and it took a moment for the air to be able to seep out all the way- it was still working it’s hardest to supply it. However, she was bleeding heavily.
Pov had made it to the ship, he didn’t see she’d been hurt, she was still trying to run but having trouble with her leg. Bren pushed Pov the rest of the way into the ship and then leaped out, his suit also being sliced by the creatures, but he didn’t care, it didn’t matter. He ran to her, now only fifteen feet from the ship, lifted her in his arms and ran back, quickly shutting the door behind them.
“Pov get us the hell out of here,” she said, gasping for air as oxygen filled her lungs again, she winced in pain at her leg. Bren hurriedly carried her to the large medical bay.
The lift off from the planet’s surface was rough, the creatures really were trying to keep them there, but when the thrust of the ships’ engines started scorching them they were finally set free, climbing into the atmosphere where any stragglers were detached immediately.
Carefully, reverently, Bren helped Juniper remove her suit, revealing her now bruised body. He noticed a handprint on her hip but didn’t pause or mention it. He handed her a shirt out of the scrubs drawer and she thanked him, sliding it on. The bleeding wasn’t as bad as it had looked, it was a long cut, but not that deep or thick. Bren stopped the bleeding and cleaned it quietly. Applying a solvent, he then bandaged her leg with an adhesive to stop any more blood from escaping.
“Thank you so much,” she said, turning her leg over and taking a look at his handiwork. He disconnected the speaker from his system, and finally let himself drop into a chair beside the exam table.
“You’re going to have to limit how much you’re on that leg for today and tomorrow,” he said, still looking at her leg.
“I can definitely do that,” she replied, glad to know it wasn’t anything serious. He still wasn’t looking her in the face. “Are you okay?” she asked, truly concerned.
“I was just convinced I lost you,” he said, he looked up at her with those brilliant green eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, it’s not just the job or this bullshit mission,” he paused to gain his composure. “I don’t know how what parts of me that are alive could go on living without you,” he said plainly, he was avoiding eye contact again.
“Oh, Bren,” she said gently, lifting his chin with her hand so that he could look her in the eyes. “I care so deeply about you also, of course I do,” she kissed him softly on the lips, her breath shuddering from how personal and pure this moment was. He kissed her back softly, taking her hand in his.
“Why didn’t you tell me then? Why do you always act like I’m getting in the way of your work?” he asked.
“Because you are,” she kindly laughed, she didn’t mean what she said with malice but he frowned anyways. “But maybe, I should learn that there are more things in this galaxy that are as important as this job is to me, like passion and kindness,” she explained. She stood, while he remained seated, and kissed his forehead. “We’ll figure this out,” she said softly before leaving the room.
Bren looked down at his hands for a moment before cleaning up the room and leaving too, he needed to have a word with Pov.
***
The next few days that followed Juniper didn’t leave her room that often. She’d eat, check on the ship’s progress, and that was it. In her room she wrote the most detailed report she could muster, almost a hundred pages on what the experience was like down on the planet. She sketched the creature out on her handheld device, and properly sealed away the clippings she had gotten, and the one quill she had been given by the creature. She honestly didn’t think they were trying to harm her, rather she was sure they were scientists like herself, trying to learn all they could about the invaders from space.
When she’d finally finished documenting the mission, it had been a full week that she’d basically been avoiding her two shipmates.
When a knock came on her door an exact week since they launched back into space, she wasn’t terribly surprised.
“Dinner will be served on the observation deck in about an hour,” Pov said, smiling apologetically. “It’s a formal meal so I’ll be wearing my best,” he added, looking disdainfully down at his own clothing.
“Why so fancy?” Juniper asked, curious.
“We’re starting on a new leg of our mission, the two of us thought it would be nice to celebrate that a bit,” Pov explained without really going into detail.
“Alright, consider this my RSVP to the event then,” she teasingly said, smiling. She expected Pov to flirt, but he didn’t and it confused her.
“See you then,” he said, leaving her doorway and heading down the hall. She watched him, her brow furrowed in confusion.
*****
The two men had come to terms with what they needed to do.
“I love her,” Pov said softly. It was the day after their mission had ended, the two men were standing in the kitchen drinking coffee, Bren was leaned against the counter.
“I do too,” Bren admitted. Giving the words air and letting them out was the single most relieving sensation he'd ever had. He did love her, he knew it.
“She's made it obvious that she has feelings for us too, if she kissed you like that,” Pov said softly, staring at the ground between them. He was calculating.
“Then what? I don't want her to have to choose, that would mean one of us is pissed off for the rest of the mission,” Bren complained, taking a drink of his coffee. He loved her and he wanted her to be happy though, if she asked him to he'd set his feelings aside. He knew this.
“Why can't we just share?” Pov asked. The angry look that Bren shot him made him flinch and explain himself. “I know she's not an item to be passed off between us, I'm not saying that, I'm just saying why make her pick? Why not just go all in together?” Pov explained.
“I'm not gay,” Bren commented defensively.
“It would be all about her, not us,” Pov countered. “It would be both of us in a relationship with her, we could lay the lines out for it more clearly with her if she'd have us,” he said as he looked up at Bren.
“Do you think she'd go for it?” Bren asked concerned, he hadn't considered this before.
“I think that she'd love it, she told me she's married to the job, so why not have the crew as well,” Pov said smiling.
“Alright,” Bren replied. “Let's give it a go.”
When she left her room an hour later Juniper was dressed in the best dress she owned, it was sleek black and the hem had a pattern of small ribbon-like pricks that made it look like stars and galaxies were visible up her calves and thighs. She had washed her hair and worn it down, letting her natural curl be visible throughout her mahogany locks. On her feet were her only pair of heels, making her legs look like they went forever.
As she walked onto the observation deck she felt as beautiful as space itself.
Pov was a
lready seated at the table, and the way he looked at her when she walked in made her feel naked and almost feral.
“You…” he paused his words to stand up and pull out a chair for her. “You look incredible.”
Juniper smiled demurely, sitting in the seat and looking at the table setting. It was an odd one, hers in the middle and the two other seats on either side of her instead of across from her as they usually sat. Before she had time to mention it, Bren was coming out of the kitchen with a couple trays of food.
By the time all the food was brought out, Juniper could see he’d gone overboard in the most delicious way. There were Cornish game hens, that had originally been saved for holidays, a dish of cooked mushrooms and green beans in a brown sauce, red skin mashed potatoes, a brown gravy, and tomatoes stuffed with rice and veggies. It was almost too luxurious.
“What’s all this about?” she asked, legitimately curious.
“Enjoy your food, we can explain that later,” Pov responded, filling her wine glass.
“How did your report go?” Bren asked, cutting into his hen.
“It went well, actually, looking back I realized how lucky we were to get out of there,” she stated matter-of-factly as she lifted a fork full of mashed potatoes to her lips. Her shipmates nodded in agreement.
The meal went by really well, they were able to just talk and enjoy each other’s company in a way the three of them hadn’t since they started the mission. As Pov gathered the dishes, Bren was in the kitchen finishing setting up the dessert.
“What is this?” she asked him again, he smiled at her and her face warmed.
“We’ll tell you over dessert,” he answered, before taking the dishes into the kitchen.
Dissatisfied with that answer, but happily full from dinner, Juniper settled back in her chair and tried to relax. Dessert was ice cream with real fruit on it. It looked so fresh, Juniper was surprised at this, not thinking there was any more real fruit left on the ship except for the strawberries they were growing in the hydroponics bay. The men settled into their chairs next to her, and didn’t touch their dessert yet. She looked back and forth between them expectantly.
“We’ve been talking,” Bren began, resting his hand on Junipers.
“We both have extremely strong feelings for you, and we don’t want to have to make you choose, it would just cause tension, so we were hoping you’d be happy with having the both of us,” Pov continued, smiling. Juniper’s face flushed.
“I have honestly been thinking about the same thing,” she admitted. “I didn’t know how to word it, but I’m so relieved you were both thinking the same thing,” her heart was fluttering in a rapid beat in her chest. “I like you both, you've helped me through so much here, and I've grown to be so attached,” she paused. “I'm sorry that I ever let you feel like an interruption of the work, you're both more important to me than that,” she said, looking between the two of them.
“I feel the same for you,” Pov said, Bren nodded.
“I would love to date both of you,” she concluded, feeling her face grow redder. It was embarrassing letting them know how she really felt.
“Good, that’s so excellent,” Bren said, obviously pleased.
“So this is our first date then,” Pov motioned to the table. “What did you think?”
Juniper wanted to laugh, and she let herself. A soft giggle that she didn’t expect to come out of her own mouth.
“I think I’d love to thank you both for such a lovely evening after dinner,” she flirted coyly, it was the men’s turn to blush. Juniper lifted her glass to her lips and took a long draw of the wine, she was excited to show them how she felt.
***
They had ended up in Pov’s room as he had the largest bed. Bren was busy kissing Juniper, their lips sweet still with the taste of the fruit from dessert. Pov was taking the opportunity to help Juniper undress by unzipping her gown. He kissed her back, from the nape of her neck down to the curve of her back, before he removed the dress, eliciting a moan from Juniper into Bren’s mouth.
They had Juniper lay on the bed, Bren pulled down her lacy black underwear, and quickly Pov had his hot and wet tongue on the lips between her legs, kissing and licking, the cold metal of his arms against her legs aroused her even further. She moaned again, bunching her fingers in his ginger hair. Squirming as he circled his tongue around her clit.
Beside the bed, Bren was making a little bit of a show for her, taking off his shirt to reveal a very well-muscled chest. Her eyes were drawn down the center of his six-pack abs, down to the waistband of his pants. He began to take them off.
“When they got to me after the accident, a lot of me had to be replaced, but they made sure that I could do everything a man would want to do,” Bren stated. He dropped his pants to the floor and Juniper could clearly see something heavy in his underwear, she wanted it. “They didn’t go for the natural look, but they really did make it into a work of art,” he said smiling at the expression on her face.
Pov slipped a finger into her entrance while he continued to circle her clit with his tongue and she gasped, distracted.
“Take them off,” she said, motioning to his underwear, she had to see this.
It was beautiful.
It jutted out from him in glorious shiny silver colored metal, a stripe of glowing red light went straight up the bottom, it was handsomely thick and she wanted it so bad.
“It’s so big,” she murmured, excited and intrigued.
“Which is why it’ll work best with the three of us,” Pov explained, his face was shining from her juices, his dark eyes looked hungry and lustful. She pulled him up and kissed him, tasting herself on his tongue but not caring.
“Get in me,” she murmured to Pov. He wasn’t going to argue. He stretched her again with his fingers briefly before putting on a condom and sliding in, his human cock was hot and felt just right. She moaned, and Bren came over and kissed her again, Pov started increasing his speed. Juniper could feel herself getting close, and she was ready, so ready. Pov’s thrusts started to become erratic, moving faster and more forcefully inside her until they came together. His hands had placed fresh bruises on her hips and she loved it. She kissed him sweetly and he pulled out and kissed her thigh before discarding the condom.
“I want you to ride me,” Bren growled, his voice had gotten deeper with lust and Juniper was definitely responding to it.
“Thank you,” she said softly. Bren sat on the bed, his head against the headboard, and Juniper crawled towards his lap. She tested the texture of his beautiful cock with her fingers, and then her tongue and lips. Bren moaned and leaned his head back. “You can feel it?” she asked in wonder, amazed and excited.
“Every bit,” he responded, patting his lap. Obediently, Juniper climbed onto his lap, her entrance fluttering with excitement and anticipation. “Easy now,” he said, leading her hips down onto him.
The burn of the stretch was exquisite.
“Fuck,” she said aloud, lowering herself slowly. It was hot and wasn’t giving at all, but it was so thick she couldn’t stand how good it made her feel. She bottomed out on it, waiting for a moment to move back up over it again, thankful for how wet she was. She could feel the bed dip as Pov sat down on the bed behind her, watching in rapt attention.
As she got used to it, she began to speed her pace a bit, Bren’s hands guiding her up and down, his eyes devouring her in pure ecstasy.
“Oh god, Bren,” she moaned. “I don’t know what to do with myself, I feel so full of you,” she said, arching her back and still going at the best pace she could.
“There’s more,” Bren said gently, his smile was wicked. “Are you ready June?” he asked, making eye contact.
“If it gets any thicker I’ll split in half,” she said, laughing a little but getting cut off in a moan.
“Count down from three for me,” his grip on her hips tightened.
“Three, two,” she pauses to gasp, and then, “one.”
&nb
sp; It felt like the entire world had imploded on her. Not only was his amazing cock large, but now it was also vibrating as he helped her move up and down on it. She sobbed out in surprise and arousal, she was extremely close to coming and she felt like she was dying in the best way.
“Come for me June,” Bren said softly, and within a couple more moments she did.
She was shaking so hard, the world around her was just a hum and the slapping of skin, she felt like she had left her body and was flying openly among those planets and stars that she spent so much time chasing after. As she came down from it Pov kissed her softly, helping her lay on her back and relax, her breath came out in desperate gasps and her whole body felt like it was pleasantly pulsing.
“You’re so good,” Bren said, leaning over and lying next to her and Pov.
“I think you two just screwed the life out of me,” she said, not caring how crass it sounded. She could really do this, have her career and travel to the unknown and back, and still get to have a fulfilling life emotionally as well. She loved these men and they both loved her, she felt endlessly lucky. She kissed both of the men again softly before catching herself drifting into a warm and dreamless sleep.
THE END
Bonus Story 27 of 40
Forbidden Love
Jeremih
“My son, we must discuss a matter.” I glanced behind me as my father’s baritone voice echoed across the marble floor of the great room. I had been looking out over the gardens as the servants readied for the party my father was throwing to welcome the delegates of nearby covens. Every three months he held meetings for the covens to discuss ways to keep the peace between all three in Rochester. Before the actual discussions and negotiations, he would host an extravagant party to welcome the coven leaders and the members of their court.
“Yes father?” I asked as I turned around to face him. Nicolai was in many ways my exact copy, apart from the years that showed in the silver of his once blond hair and the wrinkles, only heightened vision could make out, around his eyes and the corners of his mouth. That and his yellow eyes were different from my golden ones. Otherwise we had the same square jaw, intense brow, hawk like nose, and high cheekbones.