by S. E. Smith
“This is getting weird again,” Caitlin said.
“When was it weird before?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but a horrific noise drowned out her words. A large gray beast was charging toward her on four legs, a thick row of bristly spines running down the top of its neck. Long, thin appendages sprouted from its head on either side.
The only thing between Caitlin and the creature was a fence made of coarse natural cylinders. It was more blank space than substance.
“Look out,” he yelled. He leaped between her and the beast, slapping his hand on his forearm.
Moons, his bracer was back on his ship, along with all the other weapons that might help him. He was on his own.
He widened his stance, fists raised as he prepared to face the thing.
“Wait a minute,” Caitlin said. She slipped under Marq’s arm, standing between him and the creature, and pressed her hands against his chest.
The moment she touched him, Marq felt a blast of energy rocket through his body. It was as if it grounded him into the earth and shot up to the stars above them. His skin tingled and heated, his ears started to ring. His muscles tightened, as did his groin.
What is this?
He wanted to look at her, to try to gauge if she was having a similar reaction, but didn’t dare take his eyes off the beast in front of them. It stopped at the fence, opening a long, wide maw filled with enormous, blunt teeth. The horrific sound blared at them again.
“Bert,” Caitlin yelled. “You’re being rude.”
The creature—Bert—screed in a breath, then bellowed at them once more.
“Oh my God, donkey.” Caitlin took her hands away from Marq to plant them on her hips as she stared defiantly at the beast.
It took an effort of will to keep from reaching for her. Marq’s body remained attuned to her proximity, a vivid awareness thrumming through him.
“Seriously, you need to settle down,” she said. “I know he’s new, but it’s okay. Brigid vouched for him.”
Marq straightened. This thing was apparently Caitlin’s guardian. He didn’t want to have to fight it to take Caitlin with him, and he certainly didn’t want it coming along to watch over her. Bert would fill most of the space in Marq’s small transport ship. Marq needed to earn Bert’s trust.
“I apologize for startling you,” Marq said. “But as I have told Caitlin, I mean her no harm. Nor do I wish to harm you.”
Bert shook its head, the blade-shaped appendages twitching and pointing toward Marq as if scanning him. They must be antennae.
Marq wished he had received more information about Earth’s life forms, but none of the soldiers aboard the Reckoning were supposed to go planetside. He wasn’t prepared for this. He knew there was an astounding amount of diversity on the planet, but would never have imagined anything like the creature before him.
A near-identical being, slightly smaller than the first, emerged from a crude shelter near the building they’d been approaching. It crossed the fenced-in area and stopped at Bert’s side.
“Why can’t you be polite like Ernie?” Caitlin said.
Bert let out a series of snorts and grunts. For some reason, Marq’s translator wasn’t picking up the language.
“What’s it saying?” Marq asked.
Caitlin narrowed her eyes at Marq. “Are you making fun of me?”
“Making fun?” He racked his brain, trying to understand what she meant. No part of this interaction had been fun. Well, except when she’d placed her hands on his chest. And even then, “fun” didn’t seem a strong enough word for what he’d experienced.
She continued to glare at him for a moment, but then headed toward the structure in front of them. “Come on. I need a few things.”
Apparently, Bert had given his approval. Marq eagerly followed Caitlin.
Metal clinked against metal as she picked the correct access tool to open the door to the building. It was a much more manual process than entering chambers aboard Marq’s ship. Similarly, she had to flip a switch to illuminate the area once they were inside.
He followed her through the entry space into a smaller room off to their right. A desk protruded from one of the walls, and shelves and cabinets lined most of the others. There were a few chairs that appeared comfortable, yet practical.
This must be her office. The room only had one window, which looked out into Bert and Ernie’s enclosure.
Wait, were those companion animals? Like Meredith?
The fence around them was sort of like a cage, and that would explain why Marq’s translator didn’t work on the sounds Bert made. But Caitlin had spoken to Bert as if it could understand her. Then again, he’d been doing the same with Meredith of late.
Caitlin lifted a large black bag from one of the chairs and set it on her desk.
“It’ll help if I know more about what’s going on,” she said.
“Dane brought me a cat a few weeks ago. Her name is Meredith.”
“Hold on,” Caitlin said. “Who is Dane? Because Brigid thought you were Dane when I described you.”
“He’s my brother. We’re twins.”
“Oh, like Brigid and I.”
Caitlin smiled at Marq, and his heart made a palpable thump in his chest. His skin heated again, and more of that electric tingling spread through his body.
She hadn’t even touched him. Why was he having this response?
He pushed his questions aside, focusing on his mission.
“Not really,” he said. “But we do have identical appearances.”
Caitlin’s eyebrows drew together over her nose. She was growing cautious of him again. He could now read the signs. If she was anything like Dane was with his patients, bringing her attention back to Meredith would divert her suspicions.
“Meredith has been listless the last few days,” Marq said. “When I ended my duty shift today and went to check on her, I found—”
His throat tightened painfully. He swallowed, feeling as though something had lodged itself in his windpipe, then coughed to try to clear the pathway to speak.
This entire experiment had been a mistake.
Marq, along with many of his crew, had gone through a procedure that suppressed his emotions. Even so, discovering that he had a brother—and that they both had been conceived naturally, rather than genetically engineered—had been an enormous shock.
Marq had thought that recovering his emotions with his brother Dane’s help would be a good thing. It was supposed to help Marq understand others. To enjoy life more fully. But he couldn’t select which emotions he experienced.
This fear was not something he would wish on another.
Caitlin crossed over to him. She rested her hand on his elbow. This time, his body’s reaction was muted—warmth spreading through him and helping him to relax and focus.
“Hey, it’s okay,” she said. “We’re going to do everything we can for Meredith. It’s obvious that you love her very much.”
The room tilted in Marq’s perception. He felt as though the floor was rising up toward him, but realized Caitlin was simply helping him into a chair.
“Put your head between your knees and try to slow your breathing,” Caitlin said. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
He didn’t understand why contorting his body would help, but did as she instructed. His skull stopped feeling quite so empty.
“This is what it feels like to love another life form?” he asked.
“‘Life form’?” She laughed softly. “Sometimes. Our pets are family. And like family, they can bring us some of our greatest happiness and greatest anxiety.”
He had felt happiness playing with Meredith. And he was certainly feeling anxious now.
Marq sat up straight, staring at the ceiling.
“It worked,” he said.
“What worked?”
“Dane’s treatment. He wanted me to learn how to love something. That’s why he gave me Meredith.”
“So, s
he’s like a therapy cat or something?”
“Yes.” Marq rubbed his chest. A dull ache filled him. “But this feeling… It hurts. It physically hurts.”
“Well, yeah. Strong emotions can manifest in our bodies.”
Like the emotions—and reactions—he was having to Caitlin.
She reached out and gently stroked his hair. He closed his eyes so that he could focus on her touch, blocking out the fear that threatened to overwhelm him.
“I’m sure this isn’t what your brother had in mind,” she said. She picked up his hand and squeezed it. “But don’t worry. We’re going to figure this out.”
Chapter Three
“Tell me more about Meredith,” Caitlin said. “What makes you think she’s sick?”
“I know she’s sick.”
“Okay.” She walked back to her doctor’s bag and started rummaging around in it, making sure her standard examination tools were there. She didn’t have to make house calls often and wanted to be prepared. “But more information will help.”
She crossed to her medicine cabinet and unlocked it while they spoke, then pulled out a few vials that could be helpful in a variety of circumstances, along with some syringes. She hesitated a moment before adding a potent tranquilizer.
Just in case Brigid is wrong about this guy.
After putting everything in her doctor’s bag and relocking the cabinet, she said, “Have you noticed changes in her behavior lately? Sleep patterns? How much she eats?”
“Yes, I have.” He sat up straighter. “She eats as much as always, and I’m careful to only give her as much as Dane instructed, though she often begs for more.”
Caitlin snorted. “Don’t they always?”
Marq plowed on. “She’s been sleeping even more than usual. And she isn’t as interested in her toys. But the strangest thing is how she’s been dragging my clothing to the pallet where I sleep and making nests out of them.”
Pallet? Why would he be sleeping on a pallet?
“She seems to prefer clothing that I’ve already worn,” he said. “And when I went to check on her today, her breaths were heavy and rapid. I tried to remove her from her nest and she let out a sound of great unease.”
“Oh boy…” Caitlin turned around. “I don’t suppose she has a nice, round tummy, does she?”
“I… I suppose so,” he said.
Caitlin let out a laugh. “It sounds to me like your cat is about to have kittens.”
Marq swallowed hard, nodding.
“Kittens,” he repeated. “Is it serious? Can you do anything about it?”
She burst out laughing. “I can find them good homes, once they’re weaned.”
“What does ‘weaned’ mean?”
“Okay, enough.” She closed up her bag. “Did my sister put you up to this?”
Why had she even asked that? There was no way Brigid would ever do anything like this. Caitlin was the jokester of the pair. But this was too weird.
Maybe it was some stupid idea from the person Brigid was working for. Marq could be part of one of those reality shows where people played tricks on others. But Brigid wouldn’t do that to anyone, least of all her sister.
Something else was going on.
“Are you ready to leave?” Marq rose to his full height. His very impressive full height, especially when he was standing so close to Caitlin’s own five-foot-one inches.
She should be intimidated, but instead, her body lit up like it was having its very own fireworks show and Marq was the guest of honor. Her skin pebbled in goosebumps and tingling heat pooled between her legs.
“I’m… I’m not going anywhere,” she said.
“But I need your help.”
“No, you don’t. There is no emergency. Your cat is going to have kittens. It happens all the time.”
“I don’t know what kittens are,” he ground out. “I don’t know what to do.” He turned and let out an explosive breath, running his hands through his hair, then holding them on top of his head. “Dane never should have smuggled Meredith onto my ship.”
“Your ship?”
Marq turned back to her. “Yes, my ship. No one on board knows what to do about kittens. Please, I need your help.”
How could he keep a straight face while saying these outlandish lines? He seemed so earnest.
For a moment, she almost believed he didn’t know what kittens were. Or donkeys, for that matter. It would explain his weird behavior with Bert earlier.
But that was just crazy.
“I’m sure Meredith is fine.” Caitlin couldn’t resist the urge to reassure him. “And she knows how to handle her kittens better than anyone.”
Marq started tapping on his watch. “Kittens. What in the name of—”
The color leached out of his face as he stared at the display. It must be one of those smartphone watches.
“Offspring.” His voice was a reverent whisper. “Meredith is about to have offspring.”
He stared at Caitlin, eyes wide and jaw lax as if he was in shock.
She let out a sigh. “There’s really nothing to worry about. Cats have kittens all the time. It’s the most natural thing in the world.”
His lips pulled into a huge smile, the skin around his eyes crinkling. “Kittens!”
She’d thought he was gorgeous before, in a brooding weirdo kind of way, but this…
His smile lit her up to her toes. She could barely catch her breath as heat flooded her belly and her knees became weak.
Marq let out a laugh. He swept her up in a huge hug, lifting her from the ground and spinning her around. She latched her legs around his waist so the momentum of his spin wouldn’t make her accidentally kick anything in her office.
Part of her wanted to protest being picked up, but a bigger part was swept along in his joy. His laughter was so heartfelt, Caitlin couldn’t help but join him.
He spun them till she was dizzy, laughing the whole time and hugging her tight. Finally, he stopped and pulled back to stare at her earnestly.
“How do I help Meredith take care of them?” he asked. “What do they need? Special food? More toys?”
“Marq.” Caitlin rested her hand on his cheek. Wow, his skin was smooth.
He sucked in a breath, his gorgeous lips parting, inviting her to…
She caught herself as she started to lean toward him. What the heck was she thinking?
She cleared her throat, then said, “Meredith is going to be fine. And I bet the kittens will, too. What you described is perfectly healthy and normal.”
“Will you please come with me to check on her and confirm this?”
Caitlin laughed and nodded. “Sure. But you’ll have to let me down, first.”
“I… If I lower you…” He stammered a bit, then said, “I’m having another physical manifestation of emotion.”
“Do you need to sit down? I don’t want to fall on you if you pass out.”
Although…
“It isn’t due to concern for my cat,” he said. He pinched his lips shut tight, pressing them into a line. His tanned skin flushed pink on his cheeks and neck.
“What is it then?”
“Your proximity.”
“Oh.”
She loosened her legs slightly, letting herself slide down in his arms a bit. He hissed in a breath through his teeth as she felt a hard ridge just beneath her bottom.
Holy crap.
“Oh!” Did her voice always sound so breathy and…smitten? She wasn’t sure she cared at the moment.
The most gorgeous guy she’d ever seen, who adored his pet—pets, now—and wanted to take the best possible care of them, was unmistakably and undeniably as attracted to her as she was to him. At least, physically.
She’d take it. Heck, if she thought he wouldn’t be too worried about waiting a little longer before checking on Meredith, she’d swipe all the stuff off her desk and let him take her right there.
“I have no intention of acting on my body’s response to yo
u,” he said.
Well, that was an ice bath to her ego.
“Oh, you don’t want to—” she began.
“No, I do want to. I mean, I would be open to exploring…” He let out an exasperated breath. “I don’t know the correct social protocols and don’t wish to offend or frighten you.”
Her brain seemed to lock up. Her body did the opposite.
She leaned in and kissed him.
At first, he froze, but then his arms tightened around her, pressing her close. He tilted his head, moving his lips against hers. Gentle at first, but then faster and firmer.
She opened herself to him and he immediately accepted the invitation, sliding his tongue in deep. His hands shifted to her ass, pressing her against his dick as he started walking toward her desk.
Maybe she’d get to live out that fantasy after all.
He’d taken a few steps when he stopped, breaking off the kiss and pulling back. “I can’t,” he said. “I didn’t mean to—”
His eyes were clouded with lust. She was surprised she could string two thoughts together herself. They stared at each other for a moment, catching their breath.
Okay, that had been impulsive. Still, she didn’t regret it.
“How about this,” she said. “We go check on Meredith and make sure everyone’s okay. And then we…explore our physical reactions to one another.”
He smiled and nodded slowly. “Agreed.”
Chapter Four
The fresh air outside of Caitlin’s office served to clear Marq’s head. He couldn’t believe how carried away he’d become earlier. When she kissed him.
His dick was still hard. Remembering her lips on his sent tingling energy radiating out from his chest, filling him with warmth. He needed to pull himself together. They were heading for the Reckoning and Marq needed to be focused.
It was difficult, walking next to Caitlin, illuminating their path with a beam of light emanating from his watch.
He wanted to kiss her again—to touch her in some way. Perhaps he could reach out and hold her hand, as Dane and Brigid often did.
Marq wanted to ask Caitlin more questions than he could count. What kind of creatures were Bert and Ernie, and why did she talk to them as if they could understand her? For that matter, why did Marq speak that way to Meredith? As a veterinarian, Caitlin must have keen insight into such matters.