Love and Whiskers

by Olivia Myers

  He smiled and turned to go.

  “What if she’s not?” I asked.

  He stopped, facing the other way.

  “Argo?” I pressed.

  “She’ll be placed in the program when she’s old enough.” He turned to see my reaction.

  My head shook back and forth in a silent “no.”

  “It won’t come to that,” he said putting his hands on my arms. “She’ll thrive. She’ll be a queen among our people.”

  “How do you know?” I asked, eyes watering.

  “Because she’s part of you, Rachel.” Argo’s eyes were hazy from the wine and he leaned in. “She’s special because her mother’s special.”

  “Argo…”

  His full lips pressed against mine, and he gathered me in his strong arms as we kissed. It was both urgent and gentle, careful and passionate, and I found myself swept up in all the emotions swimming through me.

  He was kind. He was real. He was safe.

  His hands skimmed the skin of my bare back, making me shudder with the sensation. Warm and light, his practiced fingers traced the curves of my body, trailing over my stomach to my ribs and beneath the bottom of my breasts.

  I pulled back with a gasp and Argo backed away, frightened. “I’m sorry. Rachel, I’m so sorry.” He ran out the door and down the corridor before I could respond, his kiss still hot on my swollen lips.

  Argo didn’t come the next few days and I spent my time in a fog, bouncing from one state to another. Finally I decided that I had to do something. I’d become too complacent because Argo made me feel safe. But I would never be safe as long as I was here. In ten weeks or less, I’d be fodder for their breeding experiments. But Argo… my mind kept coming back to the kiss we’d shared. He’d been drunk, but was it possible he had real feelings for me? If he did, maybe I could use that. If he felt this bad about a kiss, what would he do for me if he had sex with me? Would he feel guilty and devoted enough to let me go? I could escape into the unoccupied part of the Earth. Somewhere the Vendi weren’t practicing or had already captured.

  I could save my baby and myself.

  Maybe all I had to do was seduce Argo.

  That night he came to me again, carrying a box of candy he’d smuggled as an apology. “Can you ever forgive me? Rachel I never meant to take advantage. Please believe me. I swear I will never drink near you again.”

  “Oh, Argo. I know you would never hurt me on purpose.” I opened the box and tasted a purple treat, which was similar to chocolate. It melted in my mouth. I bit the corner suggestively and licked all my fingers slowly, murmuring, “Mmmm.” When I checked, he was staring, mouth ajar. So I stepped up close and fed him the final bite, letting my touch linger on his lips.

  “Rachel,” he sounded anguished. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, stepping up to him sideways so that my breast touched his tight leather bodysuit.

  He swallowed and took a step away from me. “Rachel,” he breathed.

  “I know you want me, Argo.” My throat grew tight. I didn’t like making him feel uncomfortable, but I would do anything to help my baby. “You’ve protected me at every step. You saved my life and my baby’s life.” I fought against the tears that threatened and stepped close again, backing him right into the wall where I reached up and clasped my hands behind his neck, letting my fingers slide through his silky bronze hair.

  “You don’t owe me anything,” he said, looking down at me, caught between fear and anticipation.

  “I know.” I tugged his head down and reached up on my tiptoes to meet his mouth. This time, our kiss didn’t start out tentative or careful. I explored his mouth with my tongue as he gripped me closer, splaying his hands across my bare skin and lifting me against him until I no longer touched the ground.

  I threw my legs around him, straddling his hips. I had to lean back to make room for my growing girth, but he was strong enough to hold me like that. He carried me to the cot, where he sat me down and brought his hands around to my chest, his thumbs sliding over my nipples. I threw my head back, breathing hard as he kissed the skin of my throat and down to my breasts. By the time he passed my round stomach, I was gripping the edge of the cot in anticipation, barely able to control myself. Argo knew how to touch me in a way unlike Neil ever had.

  I spread my legs apart, eager to welcome his warm mouth and tongue, and my body exploded with passion. “Oh, Argo,” I moaned, gripping his head.

  He stood, leaving me in an intense state of desire, while he removed his leather suit. His body was perfect and his erect cock was huge, but it didn’t frighten me like Rythe, which I’d later learned was the name of the Vendi who’d attacked me. I trusted Argo and I knew he’d take his time. I just hoped not too much or I might burst.

  “You are so beautiful, Rachel,” he said, stroking my face as he positioned himself, pressed against my stomach.

  “So are you,” I said.

  “Are you sure about this?” he whispered.

  I nodded, unable to speak, but thrusting my hips up toward him, encouraging him to enter me. And he did, pressing slowly inside of me. I groaned with the delicious torture of it and gripped his shoulders tight.

  “I can’t resist you,” he murmured, lifting me and thrusting inside, further than I’d ever imagined. My body arched against him and I gripped his waist with my legs. He turned and pressed me against the wall, continuing to thrust inside of me as he watched my face. Wave after wave of ecstasy shook my body and I cried out, no longer in control of myself. But he kept going, making me cry out again and again as he sated his own desires.

  When we finished, he held me close, caressing my hair and kissing my head tenderly. “Are you all right?” he asked finally.

  I nodded against his chest, now glistening with sweat. “That was amazing.”

  “Thank you,” he said, tilting my chin up so he could see my flushed face. “You’re not bad, either.”

  I smacked his pecs playfully.

  “The truth is,” he said, pulling his suit back on, “I never made love before.”

  “Wait,” I said, stopping in my tracks. “You were a virgin?”

  “Was it terribly obvious?” he asked.

  “No. I mean it’s not like I have a ton of experience, but that was amazing.” I wasn’t lying. “I think you rocked the baby to sleep,” I said, rubbing a hand over my stomach.

  Argo came over to lay his hand over my own and we stood there for a minute, just smiling at each other.

  “Argo?” I asked, picking another sweet from the box he’d brought me.

  “Hmm?” he asked, leaning back against the wall, looking quite satisfied.

  “How’s the project going so far?”

  “Well,” he said, straightening, his eyes lighting up like they did whenever he talked science. “Very well. Statistically two of every three females has been impregnated successfully. We have twenty women in similar rooms being given the highest level of medical care.”

  “Wow. Are they… happy?” I asked, grimacing a little at the idea.

  Argo wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t speak to them the way I speak to you.”

  “I see. And what of the other one in three?” I asked.

  “We’ve lost eight. Mostly due to idiots like Rythe. The other two have not been impregnated and we will be trying in the lab tomorrow.”

  “What if that doesn’t take?” I asked, pushing him to the cot and sliding into his lap.

  “I don’t know, but I imagine they will be eliminated like the rejections from the invasion.”

  I nodded, cuddling against him. “Argo, on Earth, where the Vendi have taken over, what have they done with the survivors?”

  Argo sighed, stroking my arms. “Must we discuss such unpleasantness?” he asked, kissing my head.

  “Tell me, please.” I buried my face in his neck and teased at the skin with my teeth.

  His breath sped up as he spoke. “We’ve created camps whe
re others like me have sorted and prepped other women. The results are encouraging and we will need to bring many back to the home planet to solve our problem. The men were considered superfluous. I am sorry.”

  “Do you think what they’re doing is right?” I asked, pulling back slightly so that I could see his face.

  “Not anymore.” He let his fingers slide through my hair. “It has become increasingly difficult for me to do my work, Rachel, and you are the reason.”

  I leaned in for another lingering kiss and helped tug his suit back off. This time, a bit braver, I let myself explore every inch of rust-colored skin, every rippling muscle, every crevice. By the time I climbed on his lap, working myself over his cock, he was ready. “I can wait for you,” he breathed, straining with his eyes pressed closed. But it didn’t take me long either. It was like our bodies were made for each other and every part lined up perfectly.

  We finished in unison, but before I could climb off of him I found myself being pulled off from behind.

  “So this is what you were saving it for, Doctor,” mocked a gruff and familiar voice. Just the sound made me quake, as I recalled how Rythe had cracked that woman’s head against the wall and nearly raped me… or worse.

  “Let me go!” I screamed, wriggling in Rythe’s enormous hands. I kicked and squirmed but only hit air.

  “Feisty one. I think I’ll gas it.”

  “What?” I tried to reach Argo, but Rythe swung me around, flinging me over his shoulder and we moved quickly down the halls, back toward the cell room I’d been in initially. Gas? Then I remembered the woman who’d panicked in the cell all those months ago and how the orange gas came and froze her in place. How the Vendi had moved her like a doll and taken her away.

  I started beating on his back with my fists. Argo was chasing behind us, ordering him to stop. He was still naked and I doubted he had any magic syringes on him this time. As big as Argo was, he was no match for the brute that had me.

  The room with the cells was empty except for two women in the back corner. Their bodies were bruised and broken. I was thrown into a cell on the other side of the room.

  I scurried to stand and threw myself toward the exit, only to hit the invisible wall, already in place. “No!” Screams tore at my throat as I threw myself against the force field again and again.

  The Vendi sneered at me and pushed an invisible button. The gas crept in through the bottom of the cell and I danced out of its path, holding my breath as Argo charged the larger alien. He smashed into my cell, his face pressed against the invisible wall. The gas was half way up my body now and my skin tingled. I drew a quick fresh breath, sticking my neck as high in the air as possible.

  Argo reached for the button on the wall to release me, but Rythe tackled him, pushing him the other way. The baby kicked my ribs, and I drew in a sharp breath.

  By the time I tried to close my mouth, I could no longer control my muscles. I was frozen in place no matter how hard I tried to move.

  The orange gas dissipated around me and I was stuck, staring at the two brawling Vendi, unable to help Argo. Please don’t die, I thought. Not because of me.

  Tears fell unhindered from my eyes and slid down my face as I watched the monster punch Argo over and over. He pulled Argo to his feet and I was sure he would deliver the final blow, but instead he dragged him over to look at me. He punched a few invisible buttons and grabbed me by the neck, dragging me forward.

  “Why don’t you watch me with your favorite? Is that your baby in there, Doc? I think we should replace it with mine.” He laid a hand across my stomach and terror ripped through me. What was he going to do to my baby? Not my baby! Silently, I screamed.

  “No!” Argo was able to say it out loud. Fury lit his face and he lunged for the other Vendi, knocking us both back several feet, which seemed to only piss Rythe off. He threw me to the side and stormed toward Argo who waited, fuming, fists clenched, chest heaving. But instead of crashing into him, he smacked into an invisible wall.

  Trapped, the Vendi pounded like a frightened child – much like I had – as Argo pushed a button and the space filled with orange gas. When it cleared, Argo again pushed buttons and pulled me into his arms, ignoring that I couldn’t move. He hugged me tight, kissing my face.

  “Rachel, oh thank The Great One you’re okay. I’m so sorry. So sorry.” He lifted me carefully and carried me to his lab where I’d first been examined and laid me on the table. Soon he came back with a syringe and showed it to me. “I’m going to inject this. It will release your muscles. You and the baby should both be fine.”

  I felt the pinch in my arm followed by a melting sensation that ran from my head to my toes. I collapsed into his arms, crying.

  “It’s okay now, Rachel. I have you.”

  “But it isn’t okay. How long do you have me, Argo? How long can you protect me and my child? You know it’s a losing battle. The only way to be sure you can save us is to let us go.” I hadn’t meant to ask so quickly. The plan was to seduce him, make him fall in love with me, and then play on his weakness. But all I’d succeeded in doing by making love to him, was realize how I’d fallen for him myself.

  I squeezed his arms in desperation, searching his eyes for empathy, but they grew hard instead, and he gently pried my hands off of him. “Where would you go, Rachel?”

  “I don’t know. Away. West, I suppose. Or to another country.”

  “The project will be deemed a success. The Vendi will farm your world for able-bodied women. The only safe place would be an extremely rural area.”

  “Then I’ll go into the woods. I don’t care. I can survive.”

  “And the baby? How will you deliver your own child? Rachel, you need a doctor.”

  My stomach turned. Argo was a good person, but he was still a Vendi and I was just another human when it came down to it. Why would I expect him to risk his own position or who knows what else just to help me?

  “I see.” I let my hands fall to my sides and turned away, unable to look him in the eye. I’d fallen for him. My kidnapper. What was that called? Stockholm Syndrome? But to him I was just a fascination. A unique sex slave that had a human child he could use to further a political career.

  I was such an idiot. My future and probably my child’s were with Rythe or someone like him. For the first time, I wondered if there was a way I could end my own life.

  “Rachel?” Argo asked. “What are you thinking?”

  “Please take me back to my room.”

  “Rachel!” Argo spun me around and held me until I looked at him. “You need a doctor and I happen to know one that’s available. But we have to leave before Rythe is discovered. He is an army general, and what I did back there is a capital offense. So even if you don’t want my company, at least accept my offer of a ride back to Earth.”

  The truth dawned on me slowly and when it registered on my face, Argo let me go.

  “You want to come with me?” I asked, barely daring to believe it.

  “I believe after studying the Earth’s geography and knowing the plans, Northern Canada would be our best bet at survival and a normal life. I have a wristband that allows me to use hologram technology to disguise myself as a human male should anyone else get too close It works much the same way as the language filtered through the ship.”

  “Will we be able to speak to each other down there?” I asked.

  He gave me a funny smile. “I’ve been learning English. I’m terrible, but maybe you can teach me more.”

  Argo ran over to the cabinet in the corner and pulled on a new leather suit and a watch. He then pulled out what looked like a large suitcase and tossed me something soft and red.

  “Put that on, Rachel. You need clothes.” He smiled and waited as I slipped the simple cotton dress over my head. It draped easily over my enlarged breasts and stomach. I could have cried because I felt almost human again.

  “But how could you have had time to prepare all this?” I asked, glancing at the suitcase.
>
  Argo smiled. “I’ve been planning this for over a month. I was hoping to surprise you. I thought it might be easier for you to give birth here, where I have all my equipment. You would have woken up with a baby and your freedom. I have more supplies loaded and ready on a recycling vessel. They’ll pay no attention to us.”

  “So even before we made love…”

  “I’ve had feelings for you for a long time, Rachel. Now let’s get out of here.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered as he took my hand and led me out the glass doors toward freedom.

  And I vowed, when I had my freedom, I would use it to free the women in the sky above, and in the camps below. I would be with my love, and we would all be free.

  THE END

  Alien Petals

  Smoothing her long brown hair self-consciously with her manicured fingers, Kimi Wilson joined the rest of the scientific mission team in celebrating their victory in the space ship's laboratory.

  "What's next for us after this?" her teammate Lia asked. She was one of the well-known IT experts in the current human community on Planet Venora, which they all considered their home.

  Kimi was still flustered from her quick, spontaneous tryst with their security officer Lee 5 who was a huge, powerful cyborg that had been sent to protect them. She recalled his every touch and felt her face heating up. She was afraid Lia could actually see through her.

  Raissa, an award-winning botanist she idolized, spoke up. "Tim's already in the cockpit getting ready for our departure. We should clean up here and change into the proper gear now."

  Everybody helped pack away the food and wine they had consumed. The plant samples they had extracted from Planet Earth were safely put away, ready for initial testing once they were gliding in outer space on their way back to Planet Venora.

  Within a few minutes, they were all dressed appropriately and strapped in special seats in the center area of the ship, awaiting the take-off. Kimi took a sideward glance at Lee 5, whose handsome face was as expressionless as ever, as if nothing had happened between them earlier in the bathroom. His ebony hair looked slick as always, while his bulging muscles seemed about to burst through his classic uniform. She could imagine the lustrous metal that made up his arms and legs integrated with his well-built human body.