by Pearl Tate
Just like my mother, he seems to know exactly what to say to spur me into action. Turning on his lap, I can’t help but finish the sweet dish in record time. Tasting like strawberries and banana, it really isn’t a hardship.
This is the beginning of my new life. My new job—my first job ever! With my first boyfriend—again, my first boyfriend—ever.
Excitement bubbles through my veins at the thought of spending the entire day with him. I’ll have to do my best and pay attention very closely to everything he says. He wouldn’t fire me if he wasn’t happy, would he?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- Ashlyn
Walking out into the medical center today, makes me see the room with entirely new eyes. The beds lining the far wall are only spaced far enough apart that people can move between them, and I realize for the first time, that there’s a man lying in one of the beds. When we came in yesterday, I was too overwhelmed by the circumstances with Atticus, and seeing Brock for the first time, to even notice how sick the alien man in the patient bed looks.
“This is Vekel. Unfortunately, he was sent out with us on our last visit to Quasar—we believe, as a spy.” Atticus talks like I should understand all this. His matter-of-fact tone as he pulls back the sheet and begins looking Vekel over, makes me wonder if he’s already told me this.
“A spy?” I look at Vekel’s tall but smaller muscled frame. Do they know this from something on his body?
“Yes, well… it’s a guess. Based on the fact that he and Callim both grew up and came from a Sanctuary for orphans on the planet Quasar, we believe he was sent to keep an eye on us all and report back to the Council.” When I don’t respond, Atticus looks up at me where I’m standing across from him. “Callim is Shelly’s mate.”
Wild thoughts start tumbling through my mind. Could this be the same Shelly he referred to before? Of course… it must be. After all, they don’t have many women, and it doesn’t appear they’ve any Quasar women on the ship. None that I’ve seen… yet.
Atticus waves me over, breaking my trance as I consider how foolish I’ve been. “Come over here and let me show you how we monitor him with the handheld device.” His voice is calm and doesn’t hold any of the antagonistic tone that I’d think it might based on how silly and self-centered I’ve behaved.
The handheld device is really easy. Completely color coded and intuitive, it doesn’t take long by using Vekel as an example to review the display compared to his body. I’m happy as Atticus continues to hold and touch me while we work together to swap out Vekel’s bedding. This really is just like working in a hospital!
We work together silently, shifting and rolling Vekel, although I suspect that Atticus could do it alone easily. The fact that he lets me help, more than makes up for the fact that he’s humoring me. I’m used to people allowing me to “help”, but doing every little aspect themselves like I don’t understand they’re treating me like a child. I’m self sufficient, and more than once I’ve argued with my mother about whether I could live alone or not. I think there’s no doubt she’d have loved if I could live on my own, but there was no way I could ever support myself.
After we remove the used linens, he shows me out to insert them into a chute in the ship for cleaning. I don’t really understand? Does this take it somewhere else in the ship for someone to put them in a washing machine. Before I can ask, Atticus hesitates, surprised by something, but as I glance around, I don’t see anything going on…
“Damn it! I’ve just been notified of over twenty-five requests for female scans. Intake evaluations… and Brock’s leaving…” He’s distracted as I trail behind him to the room’s main computer terminal where Brock is standing already.
“I’m sorry, Atticus. I got the notice too.” Brock’s scanning through the communications which appear on the screen in a list similar to email.
Atticus wipes his forehead with the back of his arm while pulling me over and into his side. “It’s fine. I’m going to get Ashlyn to swap all the linens on the intake beds around the room, and then I’ll have them organized enough that we can group them by details they gave on the pre-evaluation forms.”
Looking down at me, he sighs before quizzing me, “Then, maybe you can learn how to monitor and handle responses. Maybe? Booking them as they come in?” His voice is hopeful as my heart soars. This is so incredible!
Blinking, I consider the fact that I may mess it up…
“It’ll be fine if it isn’t always perfect. They should all be lucky if we get them through here in the next few rotations.” Atticus must be able to sense my insecurity and worry about messing up.
Nodding, I pull away, ready to go take care of the bedding. Household chores were never my favorite, but I always liked the routine. Making my own bed every morning is something I’ve been doing since I was seven.
As I hurry to the first bed in the corner, I can hear Brock and Atticus discussing the different diseases that have been mentioned more than once in the communications. Some of them I recognize, but there are a few that must be really rare since I’ve never heard of them before.
I’m on the second bed when I hear Brock call out, “Good-bye, Ashlyn!” He’s out the sliding door before I even have time to look up at him.
Atticus smiles over the top of his screen. “He’s off to the planet to meet his mate.”
I smile back, wondering what she’ll be like. Will she like me? Will she have the same disease as me? Wouldn’t that be weird?
I’ve moved to the third bed when I hear mumbling from Vekel’s bed. It isn’t anything I recognize or understand but he keeps repeating it. At first, I ignore him since Atticus is doing the same, but he isn’t far away in the corner.
Moving to the bed next to him, I’m tuning him out while I work. Vekel’s voice comes and goes. “Verka dadin passhama kaloo. Verka dadin passhama kaloo.”
Over and over and over. Geez.
Reassembling the bed, I squeak in surprise and fear as a large hand grabs my upper arm.
The first thing I see is hair! Everywhere! Hair flying at me and around me before exposing Vekel’s crazy face in front of mine. “Verka dadin passhama kaloo!”
My arm burns where he’s grabbed me, and my legs give out in fright as I slam my body back away from him, crashing into the bed behind me. The narrow cot on wheels crashes over as Vekel’s body follows me down, and he slams into the frame next to me.
The roar filling my ears doesn’t register at first. With my fright and pain, I flip onto my stomach, taking advantage of the fact that he’s released me when his body slams into the bed next to me. Scurrying away on my stomach, I’m lifted bodily into the air with my arms and legs still paddling under me before I realize it’s Atticus.
He crumples to the floor with me in his lap, clutching me tightly to his chest. When I hear footsteps, I fear the worst—Vekel’s up and coming toward us, and I curl into a ball instinctively, pressing myself into Atticus’s chest.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- Atticus
Sorting through the patient inquiries, I watch my mate as best I can. There are so many already! It seems that every male on board has put in a request to have their mate scanned and progress tracked regularly.
I understand their concern and interest. I’ve just finished reviewing Ashlyn’s file, and the details boggle my mind with how basic the problem is. One protein-making gene malfunctions and that’s all it takes. Instead of working properly in conjunction with the others, her DNA has repeated the faulty protein more than one hundred times, causing the gene creating the protein to shut down. According to the human information I’m provided, they normally see this repeated less than forty times.
If every female now on board has something this simple…
A wail cuts off my thoughts, and I look up startled to see Vekel sitting up and grasping Ashlyn’s arm. She’s looking over her shoulder with her back to me, but all my protective instincts burst into overdrive.
I’m not fast enough though! Even t
hough I’m around the cabinetry and at her side almost instantly, she’s fallen into the side of the bed, pulling Vekel—who hasn’t released Ashlyn’s arm—with her into the frame as it crashes over. Grasping her back, I lift her away from him, summoning the closest crew on my short range neural implant. Glancing over at Vekel, I see he’s immobile and stop to take a moment to watch him as I slide down the wall, where Ashlyn crumbles into my lap.
How could this have happened? With how he’s been over the last five rotations or so, I’d never have guessed he could grab her—let alone would. Two males run through the door, heading for the crashed over bed where Vekel’s still unconscious, crumpled against the frame. Ashlyn shudders and stiffens in my lap as I yell, “He appears to be unconscious again, just straighten up the beds and throw him in it.”
The amount of fear I sense through our bond is almost a bitter taste in my mouth as I gather her up tightly in my arms, yelling over my shoulder, “One of you stay with him. I’m going to examine Ashlyn.” Knowing she won’t want anyone around, I carry her into our private living quarters and sink onto the couch.
She’s shaking or rocking, or maybe it’s a combination of the two. I take deep breaths, trying to slow my racing heart. It would have been so easy to kill him. I considered it. If he hadn’t already been unconscious, I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to control myself. What does that say about me as a doctor?
“Ashlyn. Ashlyn.” Beginning to rock with her, I chant her name, creating a sing song tone that seems to calm us both. It’s a long time before she wiggles slightly, letting me know she’s ready to be released.
Sitting back, she collapses against me, tilting her head back. “He scared me.”
Blowing out a breath of frustration, I try to calm myself. “Of course you were scared. He grabbed you and looked like a crazy male. He wasn’t thinking clearly. His hair follicles were everywhere.”
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she leans in and presses her lips lightly against mine. It’s our second brief kiss, and her mouth’s plush surface meeting mine makes everything else disappear around us. It’s just us, relaxing together. When she pulls back, I can’t help but leaning forward to pull her to me again. Placing a hand at the back of her head, I urge her lips to me for another kiss.
This time, when our lips meet, they mash together, and she makes a tiny, surprised sound but doesn’t pull away. Instead, we both freeze before her lips begin working against mine, rubbing and caressing. Paying attention, I let her lead.
Mimicking her light motions, I kiss her back. When I feel her tongue flick against my mouth, I do the same and taste her sweet flavor in a burst of sensation that almost overwhelms me. Our tongues meet again, brushing against one another tentatively as I restrain myself. There’s nothing I can compare this to. Kissing with our tongues mating makes my head spin and cock harden instantly.
Her mouth is warm and smooth, and her tongue feels like silk. She rubs it round and round, darting into my mouth over and over, moaning as her arms tighten around my neck, and she melts into my embrace. My cock is throbbing under her, and I absently wonder if she can feel it as well as I can.
Ashlyn doesn’t stop though. She keeps kissing me, her lips and tongue frolicking against mine with dainty, teasing grazes. I’m tempted to take over, to take this further, but I know this is a temporary distraction and I’ll need to go relieve the male waiting with Vekel in the medical center. But I’m astounded by how much I’m feeling at the moment. Right now, I just want to focus on this—on her.
She breaks away with a start, staring at me with wide eyes when I can focus enough to open my own. “Wow.” Her breath floats across my lips that she’s staring at intently.
Squeezing her to me, I chuckle lightly, wondering if I even have to go back to work. But then I think about Vekel and the reality of the situation comes crashing down on me. “Are you sure you’re alright? I feel awful about what happened, and now we’re kissing, and I haven’t even checked you over yet—”
Her hand settles across my face, fingers pressing on my lips and halting my self-flagging. “I started it, and it helped. I needed to forget about… him and what he was saying…”
Surprised by her words, I shift back, looking down at her seriously. “He was talking?” As she nods, I add, “What was he saying?”
Shrugging, her eyes flicker around the space before dropping to her hands that she’s pulled from around my neck and begins wringing in front of her. “I couldn’t understand.”
Ashlyn’s eyes widen as she looks up at me seriously. “It was your language, not mine. Something like ‘Ver-ka da-din pass-ha-ma ka-loo?’ But I don’t know if that’s perfectly what he said, but generally?”
Sinking into the back of the couch behind me, I think about what she’s saying. I do know what that means—and I must report it in. “Is that all he said?”
Ashlyn’s lightly fingering her slightly swollen lips as she looks at me. “Yes… Over and over again. He was even saying it as he grabbed me. What does that mean?”
Taking a deep breath, I think about the repercussions of scaring her, but honestly, I’m not going to keep anything from her. She’s my partner—my mate. “I’ll have to report it to Bren. We’ve been toying with the idea that he’s a spy, but those words seem to confirm that hypothesis. Roughly, it means, ‘I must report in immediately’… what would be nice to know is who and how he’s reporting in, but that’s the least of my concerns right now. I only want to make sure you’re alright. Did you hit your head or anything?”
Pulling away, Ashyln gingerly stands in front of me, peering down at herself carefully. Lifting the side of her shirt, I’m stunned to see a bruise forming on her side. “Just a little bump here. I’m glad he didn’t land on me.”
My blood starts to boil with anger and frustration—at myself. Her first day under my care, and she’s already hurt! I lean forward, grasping her hips, to tug her toward me and place a gentle kiss on the spot.
When I look up, her eyes are wide as she looks down at me. “It’s okay. I’ve had way worse. I don’t always pay attention well enough to where I’m going.”
Shaking my head, I stand up next to her. “This is my fault. I’ll be discussing this further with Brock when he gets back. We’ll need to make some sort of provisions and move him into a private room. We haven’t up until this point because we wanted to keep an eye on him. We thought maybe he’d say something or do something that would give us more information. Apparently, that worked, but I’m sorry you were hurt in the process.”
Moving into the food prep area, I get us both some water. When I turn around, she’s right behind me waiting. “I need to go back out and relieve Pulsar who stayed with him, but you’re welcome to lay down and relax.”
“No!” Her tone is adamant as she shakes her head. “I’m fine. It was just a little tumble, and I’m fine. I… I want to be with you… I want to learn.”
Sensing her sincerity and determination, I nod tightly. I’ll just have to keep a better eye on her. Keep her closer to me. That won’t be a hardship.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- Ashlyn
The rest of the day with Atticus flies by. Everything he teaches me is easy, and after we go out to let Pulsar leave for his other duties, Atticus shows me how to update the reservation request system he uses on the ship’s communication channels. That’s what he was doing while I changed the bedding.
Sure, it was scary when Vekel grabbed my arm like that, but my fear of not learning and not becoming “normal” is even greater than my fear of the large man. After all, he’s unconscious. It was almost like sleep walking. He didn’t appear coherent or even able to navigate around the beds. Why else would he stumble after me like that.
In fact, there’s a part of me that feels sorry for him. Could he be trapped inside himself like me?
From what I understand from Atticus explaining his condition, he’s been fed drugs his entire life. Drugs that he’s now addicted to, and Hannah, Atticus
, and Brock have begun a regimen of reducing them to try and wean his body off them. Even though physically he seems to be recovering, his mind hasn’t. It’s locked up inside, struggling to function just like my body.
The computer system I’ve been shown is easy though. It’s practically drag and drop like a computer game, and all on a tablet that I can carry around. Atticus showed me how to begin arranging them into slots where he created chunks of time based on the files supplied with the patients. That way the patients are grouped by their diseases.
It’s interesting and keeps my mind busy, which makes the day fly by. When Brock returns with his mate, I’m impressed with the tall woman who’s not capable of walking without a walker. Her disease is ravaging her body, but she still stands straight and proud as she’s introduced to Atticus and I.
They don’t stay long, retiring to their bedroom to “consummate their mating.” I’m so jealous. I want to be mated, and I’m hoping by being more forward, Atticus will be willing to fully commit to me too. I’m just not sure why he didn’t want to have sex last night?
Not that I’m complaining about what we did do… no, last night was wonderful. But I want to be normal. One hundred percent and sex is the way it’ll happen. He has to put his penis inside me. That’s sex. I know because my mother was very clear that sex is penetration.
I can’t get fixed by kissing, but that experience was the single most wonderful thing—next to the way Atticus touched me last night. But tonight, I’m going to make sure I touch him—like he touched me. I felt him hard against me when we kissed. It feels big, but if babies can come out that hole in me, than certainly he’ll fit inside me.
We’re mates. That would be stupid for us to be mates if we couldn’t have sex. Sex is the key. The goal. Tonight…