by Stella Cassy
Then I was hoisted up to a porthole. I grabbed hold of the ledge and looked over my shoulder at Lehar. He kissed me and I kissed him back. His smokiness was strong in my nose. My eyes burned. He pointed out the porthole. Down below, the only thing left on my plot of land was the pool house. The pool was a black smoking hole. The guard sat in his guard booth, but there were no neighbors left. It was as if one of those runaway wildfires ravaged my community, which had never been in danger before. The smoke from below seeped through the walls.
Again, I looked behind me. Lehar threw his back and slid his hand between my legs. He entered me from behind, moving in and out. I moved my hands from the ledge to the glass, arched my back and moved in rhythm with him. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I leaned my head back on his chest and squeezed my legs together. “Lehar, love me—”
I jackknifed up in the bed and ran my hands over my face. My body damp with sweat. “A nightmare…”
An orange and blue Drakon grinned down at me with a mask on his face.
I closed my eyes and opened them again. He was still there. The walls, the floor and his entire jumpsuit were white. I lay on a glass table with a white dome over it. It was the second brightest room I’d been in since arriving. I shivered and looked down at my bare legs and arms. Why was I in only my underwear? I remembered being near the incubation chamber and feeling lightheaded. Lehar had been with me.
“Where is Lehar?”
“He will wait.” He glanced at the door. “Do not worry about him at this time. Such a relief,” he said. “You’re awake, and I can finally get food.” The Drakon patted my arm and ran a beeping four-pronged wand over me. “Your respiration and heart rate are elevated somewhat, but not dangerously so. Fortunate that I have Captain Tarion’s mate to compare your vitals, or I would have no idea whatsoever to tell our impatient captain.”
“Are you a doctor? I fainted. I don’t faint.” I took a few deep breaths to shake the dream from my head. I swore I could still smell smoke. “I was on my way back from the nursery and then I lost my footing.”
He patted my shoulder “Yes, and, silly human, you are under weight for your condition.”
“My agent would disagree with you.” She was always recommending personal trainers who could get rid of that extra ten pounds she swore would be the key to securing the plus that was missing from my A status. “What condition? Slight anemia does run in my family, but I’ve never had any problems before.”
“Any expectant mother has to intake more calories than you may want, but it is a necessity considering your state,” he said.
“Mother of what? I don’t have a cat or dog. I don’t have time for that right now.”
“You are pregnant. It is hard to say how many Earth months at this stage. Most likely one if Carissa is our test subject.”
“Wait, you’re mixing me up with her, the one with the big belly who, by the way, looks nothing like me.” How much could he really know about Carissa, really? How many humans had he examined? “Nope.” I shook my head. “Not possible.”
“You have had intercourse at least once within recent weeks with a Drakon. Perhaps multiple?”
“No! Just one.” Being with any other alien, Drakon or whoever, seemed ridiculous. Just a short time ago, being with Lehar was ridiculous. This Drakon doctor seem so sure, but how could he be with a human? Carissa and I were probably his only human patients. “You’re a Drakon doctor.”
He moved to the end of the bed and tapped a screen on the wall. Multiple displays of what was obviously my body, my flat stomach, appeared. He pointed to a tiny bean-shape in the area of my pelvis.
“I know a whelp when I see one, even in a human female. It has distinct marking. Drakon genes are dominant.”
He would think that. Arrogance was also dominant in Drakon males. “He said it was rare to get pregnant this quickly.”
“Accurate with Drakon females, but it has happened nonetheless. We will monitor your progress. If you do not want to injure yourself by passing out all over the ship, you will adjust your caloric intake immediately.” He rolled a tray of food in front of me with more than I ate in an entire day.
“I can’t eat right now.”
He went to the other side of the room and returned with five clear tubes the length of my forearm and the width of a pixie stick. “High nutrition food to take with you. Eat one per solar along with your regular meals. At your next appointment, I hope you will not need more. Eat one now and you may return to your quarters.” He twisted the top off a strawberry colored one and placed the others in my lap before moving to the wall of monitors near the door.
I squeezed some of the orange red mush into my mouth and braced myself, not expecting the tangy berry flavor filled my mouth.
How was I going to raise a half Drakon on Earth? What would he or she look like: him or me or both of us? My parents being from two different cultures on Earth was nothing in comparison to what my child would face. Could I bare that? Could he or she? The world would never leave us alone. I hugged my middle and kept eating until half the tube was empty.
A trill sounded. The doctor glanced at the door and back at me.
I could totally forget my current role. Even if I got back in time and they were willing to shoot a month later than scheduled, I couldn’t be a pregnant beauty pageant queen. A big belly couldn’t be hidden prancing around in a bikini and evening gowns. There was no way my people could spin that one. There was no explicit clause in my contract, but there was certainly the standard weight requirement this would definitely fall under.
Clutching the tubes to me, my head thunked on the foam. I froze some eggs just in case my fertility expired before I was ready. Mother. Not a role I expected to be playing for about ten years.
18
Lehar
Pretty in Pink or Blue
I paced back and forth. What was wrong with my little human? Was it the trip planet-side? A delayed reaction to Kanet’s pungent air mixture, which did not agree with some?
I tried to contact Tarion and was met with continued silence. I sent Dashel a message for additional drills for emergency corridor protocol.
Lara was delicate, and I had sated myself as much as she allowed me, depriving her of adequate rest every lunar since she had joined me in my quarters. I would not touch her for at least five solars. I would send her to her quarters for extended rest and at regular extended intervals thus forth. I would consult Tarion— no, he would just laugh at my predicament or lecture me as he had done earlier. At a minimum, I should have discussed with Carissa any dietary or other matters I should be aware of. There had to be some special care for human females.
The healer would know what was best.
I stabbed the door chime and then put fist to door on the healer’s examination room. I passed my palm over the sensor and overrode the lockout code.
The healer stood in the doorway blocking my entry. “Captain, as I informed you the last two times, your slave is recuperating. There is no need for you to remain here.”
“Where is your first medic?
“Captain, sir, he is attending to a crew’s sprained leg tendon from an extended session in the rec bay. Your slave needs rest during this time,” the healer said with a reproving look he was bold enough to bestow on me.
“Healer what is exactly wrong with my human?” I asked. “Explain immediately.”
“Nutritional supplements and significantly increased rations. More sleep. That is my prescription.”
“Are you saying she is malnourished because ...” If he suggested I was not treating Lara well again, he might want to seek a position elsewhere. If he were easily replaced, he might soon find himself a doctor to the Moset. “I am not starving her or depriving her of rest. She gets adequate of both.”
“What about you?” He pulled out his mediscanner and waved it over me from head to toe. “You are late for your periodic screening. Any dietary or personality changes?”
I slapped it aside. “Do no
t concern yourself with me. Tell me about Lara.”
I would rather a lecture from him than Tarion on taking better care of my human. My only defense was ignorance of human physiology. Deathstars to my usual captain’s equanimity, which typically served me well with the most quarrelsome and had become so much a part of me I didn’t know any other way to be. Not in that moment.
Did he really believe I was some heartless slaver keeping her on minimal calories while I unveiled myself at her expense?
The healer said, “I can manage her nutrition and rest if she were allowed to solar here for a while —”
“No,” I said.
“No.” Lara’s sweet voice sang out at the same time. She peeked around him with an arm full of nutritubes in her arms. “Lehar, don’t talk to him like that.” Her eyes were bigger than normal and discolored.
“Your eyes are red again.” I went to her and held out both arms, pulling her against me. “You have been crying. What is wrong, my Lara?”
She smiled and splayed her hand over her stomach. “I’m having a baby Drakon.”
I looked from the healer, who nodded with brows raised, to Lara. “Gods and spirits, how could this have happened so quickly?” Everyone knew Carissa’s pregnancy had been out of the ordinary. She was a true brooder. Was Lara too? Or was I just lucky? Were all human females so fertile? That would explain the Pax’s monopoly on them.
“I don’t know.” She looked up into my face.
The beginning of my line was growing inside her. Another Hielsrane Drakon, my heir.
“I will be back to talk to you, “I said to the healer.
With a gentle hand, I tipped her head back, pressing my lips to hers. I kissed her so long that when I looked up, we were alone in the outer room of medical bay. Was she as strong as Carissa? Strong enough to carry a Drakon? I picked her up and carried her into the corridor.
“I need to consult with Tarion about Carissa’s diet and her daily routine. I never really thought about all the details. I need to go back and talk to the healer, arrange a conference. You should sit in too if you feel like it—”
Her body shook in my arms and I stopped. She looked up, laughter in her eyes and voice. “You don’t need to do all that or carry me around like an invalid, Lehar. He said I wasn’t eating enough. That’s it.”
“We should get you nutrition immediately then. You will eat it all. I usually end up eating the remainder of your food. That is over. Lara?”
“I just had one of these.” She raised one of the tubes. “I’ll eat it all. I promise, every morsel for the baby, of course, I will.”
All we encountered gave us speculative glances but a wide berth. Steps from my quarters, my handheld communicator sounded on my waist. I ignored it and carried Lara inside.
The transmission transferred automatically to the vidwin. “Lehar, you’ve left me five messages,” Tarion’s voice boomed through the room.
“Yes. Coovoo —”
“I got your transmission,” he said. “Your video is malfunctioning?”
I set Lara on her feet and she went immediately out of range of the screen to her stool. I toggled the screen to video.
His eyes lingered too long, darting from side to side as if he knew she was in the room. Unable to see her, he focused his attention on me and raised a brow. I walked to the nutrition dispenser and ordered her a tray of food with extra large portions. I extended the tray and seats.
“You were right,” I said. “The Coovoo have announced their allegiance with the Moset—”
“They have never been allied in the past,” he said.
“In the transmission, the Moset standing with them might be one of their lower level officials. His face was familiar but the footage of him was too brief and grainy. An alliance like that does not happen on a whim. I believe that we may be entering into a trap.”
“Is the Moset in our system?” he asked.
“The scans came back negative.”
“Was there anything amiss in your meeting with Neswove?” he asked.
“He was more obnoxious than usual, but he did not say anything he doesn’t normally.”
“The Moset in the video is a possible decoy.” Tarion said, as he sat up straighter. “Hold your position but stay alert. I will verify this with our sources.” The screen went black.
Lara came back and sat across from me and I pulled her into my lap. “What’s going on?”
I put a noumat up to her lips and she ate it and the next one I gave her.
“It seems our allies on Kanet are not as trustworthy as we thought,” I said. “We will get you more variety to tempt your palate. They have excellent foodstuffs planet-side all throughout this sector suitable for a mother-to-be. I will send crew to retrieve a wide variety for you.”
“But what are those half-bunny warriors up to?” She swallowed, then licked her lips.
“We don’t know. Someone in their regimen is possibly supporting the centaur rebels.”
“I’m not surprised,” she said. “So we’re not going to Coovoo?”
“We wait for Tarion for now.”
“I want to know more about them.”
“Do not worry. They are a mere nuisance.”
“Tell me about it anyway. Later, though.” She turned around and straddled me. “Time for me and you time.”
I tipped her chin up and kissed her lips. She greedily sucked my tongue into her mouth, which always had a mind of its own and locked around hers. I laid her down and bared her of all her clothes before I realized what I was doing. I pulled away from her for a second. Her breath mixed with mine, coming together nearly too fast to slow down.
I cupped her face between my hands. “You need to rest.”
She laughed lightly between kisses across my face. “The doctor said I didn’t have to behave any differently except to eat more.”
“He also said to rest, but he does not know much about human anatomy. He’s had a single human patient, Carissa, briefly, and he didn’t deliver Matilda. I need Tarion’s healer to attend you when you are ready to deliver in case of complications.”
She hugged me. “We’re not as delicate as you think. It will be months before I have to be careful. Look at Carissa.”
“She is not newly arrived from Earth. I need to get your diet updated and monitored—”
She rested her forehead against my chin and her shoulders shook with laughter again. When she looked up, her smile was wide. She pulled open the magnetic straps of my uniform. “I need something specialized right now. I think my hormones are kicking in already.”
“What about before you were pregnant? You seemed quite eager.”
“Maybe it happened the first time,” she said with a sly smile. “That would explain the spike in my sex drive.”
I snuggled her in the crook of my arm, freeing her hair so that it was loose and wild about her head before curling up against her and basking in the floral scent of her hair.
19
Lara
A Deeper Connection
I trailed my fingers along his caudal; I liked that name much better than tail. His eyes fluttered closed and a soft sigh escaped from his lips as my fingertips circled the little dome near the end. No matter how lightly I touched him there, he always felt it, moaned, even while he slept.
My biochemistry was definitely unbalanced. What would I be like by the time my baby arrived? Every day that passed seemed as if I’d been gone for a week, as if my life back there, in L.A., were a dream and this surreal experience, my reality. How was I going to get used to everyday life, scripts, sets, paparazzi, ever again? My old life had seemed extraordinary; now, it seemed very ordinary. Too ordinary? I never thought of myself as one of those thrill-seeking junkies.
His caudal lay between my breasts. He pressed them together with one hand while his other hand winded down my stomach, pausing at my belly button. His fingers circled it, before dipping down, his fingers lightly tracing over my hipbones. Just like a trigger, my tong
ue flicked over the tip of his caudal, circling around the underside of the dome before I pulled the tip into my mouth, sucking gently.
His chest vibrated against my back and his fingers travelled down between my legs. We performed these movements as if we rehearsed them. He knew exactly what to do to build the scream at the back of my throat, too.
“How do you know how to do that?” he whispered, his breathing hotter and shorter than usual.
“I just want to touch and kiss every part of you.”
I wanted my mouth on his ears, his chest, his caudal, his cock. Maybe it was just him who made me feel slutty. Maybe I had a temporary case of oral fixation. Pretty sure that’s what a shrink would diagnose.
“I need to taste you too. All of you,” he said. “I will pleasure you with my hands and my tongue until you give birth. I will not penetrate you again.”
“Huh? No, really, not necessary.” I laughed. “You’re worse than a first-time dad in a sitcom.”
“Lara...” He frowned between kisses down my neck and shoulders. “You fainted. A Drakon baby is growing in your human body. It has to be a strain on your system, and you are a first time mother.”
“You’re right and sweet, but sometimes, women feel faint when they’re pregnant. I didn’t know I was eating for two. Surely Carissa was not treated so delicately.”
“I will ask Tarion and his doctor,” he said.
“Until then, we can resume our normal nighttime activities.”
“I can please you without penetration,” he said. “Let me show you.”
“Please, show me.” My leg muscles clenched in anticipation.
“Leave it ‘til later.” I brushed his hand away from my neck, where he was attempting to undo the necklace around my throat. Impatient, I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him down into a deep kiss. “Do that breath thing again, please.”
“That might be inadvisable,” he said. “Mating heat has aphrodisiac effects on Drakon females, possibly on humans.”