by Elle Harper
“So, I was thinking another couple of days hiking through here. There is a small settlement in that direction, in a large clearing. We can pick up transport there and then move toward the desert. And our last stop will be the seashore, where you’ll probably want to spend a few days, before we head back to base. I was thinking that way you’d get to see and collect samples from various biomes. But if you want to do it another way—”
“No, that’s perfect. Thank you.” She put her hand on his arm, feeling his muscles, so firm and solid and just so damn capable, beneath her palm. “I would have floundered around, trying to navigate this place to do exactly that.”
“You would have managed just fine, Harper,” he said, and her heart warmed even more toward him.
“I would have. But it wouldn’t have been nearly as efficient. Or nearly as enjoyable,” she added, feeling a blush rise to her face. “I mean. I don’t just mean last night…”
He chuckled softly and lightly tugged a wisp of hair that had fallen free of her braid. “I know. And I’ve been enjoying myself too. It feels odd to be anywhere other than in a fighter or a military base.”
“Good strange, or no?” she asked as they started walking.
“It is good. It’s nice to have a reminder like this of just how beautiful Izoth is. I’ve been fighting for our people, but I’d also hate to see our planet turned into the barren wasteland the Sa’tar had turned the other worlds they’ve conquered into.”
They walked, him a few steps in front of her, as usual. “So you’ve been fighting them a long time.”
“My entire life. And my father’s life before that. He said the Sa’tar first began their attacks when he was a boy. They haven’t let up since.”
Harper had made use of her portscreen in her first few days on Izoth, reading about Izothian history and the conflict they currently found themselves in. The Izoth were a peaceful and technologically superior race. But they did not reproduce easily or quickly, which had been a benefit during times of peace, since there had been no concern about overusing the land or being able to feed everyone. But in times of war, when men and women died regularly, they found their population slowly but steadily declining. Izoth was the last bastion of peace in a galaxy that the Sa’tar had turned into their own personal stockpile of natural resources. They’d set upon each world they’d conquered like locusts, eventually leaving nothing behind but rock and dust and broken worlds.
So far, the Izothians had held strong. But if their population continued to decline, or unless they found allies somewhere, it was clear that they would fall as the others had. It would take much longer, granted, but it would happen. She knew they had their biggest brains working on shields, defensive technology, weapons that would annihilate their enemies if they needed to. But in that regard, the Izothians were secretive. Which was smart. Why let the enemy know what you’re capable of?
She shook herself out of her thoughts about history and the war. “You’ll probably have to go back out and fight again after we get back, right?”
“I will. We’re required to take a certain amount of time off after extended time on the warfront. This is mine, and then I’ll be resuming my normal duties upon my return.”
She stared at the back of his head. “So this was supposed to be your vacation time?”
“Yes.”
She sighed.
“What?”
“You’re supposed to be relaxing and you’re spending your off time escorting a stranger so she can collect plants…”
He stopped and turned, forcing her to stop before she bumped into him. “I volunteered for this. I am assisting someone who’s trying to help my people, and also trying to find her place in a life she never asked for. I’m spending time with a female who twists me up inside in ridiculous ways and tastes like paradise. Believe me, this is much more enjoyable than trying to force myself to relax on a beach somewhere.”
“But…”
“You seem to keep insisting that you’re some kind of obligation to me, that I’m helping you out of the good of my heart or because I feel like I have to. Think about what you know about me, Harper. Am I especially generous with my time? And do I strike you as someone who gives my attention to anyone I don’t want to give it to?”
He let the words hang there between them for a moment before turning on his heel and continuing on. She followed in silence, turning his words over in her mind.
Not an obligation. In her last relationship on Earth, she’d felt like nothing but an obligation. Someone Jay had been required to spend time with, a certain allotted time before he felt he’d adequately met her basic needs as her fiance, and then he’d gone off with his friends and… well. Better not to think of who else.
All of that was literally worlds away now, and she wasn’t going back there.
The thought put a bit of a bounce in her step as she followed her lumbering guide through the rainforest, stopping every once in a while to collect samples, take photos, or jot notes. A few times, he pointed out plants she might be interested in.
“If we walk through the day, we should make the clearing settlement by dusk and be able to catch a late transport to Aaranar, which is the largest settlement in the Aaranian Desert. But there wouldn’t be any stopping for a midday meal,” he said.
“We can eat while we walk. I’m excited to see everything.”
“I know you are,” he said, and she was fairly sure she could hear a smile in his voice.
They walked through the day, and Harper never uttered a complaint. His appreciation and respect for the tiny Earthen grew by the moment, along with his affection and desire for her. When they reached the clearing and waited together for the transport, he watched as she stepped toward a nearby fruit stand, conversing quietly with the very startled grocer. While all of Izoth knew they now had Earthens living among them, only those in the military base where they were living were accustomed to seeing them. She seemed less strange to him now, less alien. He knew it would not be the same for everyone.
He watched carefully. His people were not violent or intolerant as a rule, but there were always outliers, those who for one reason or another didn’t fit into society. He knew that there was some uproar about the Earthens being there among that tiny, always dissatisfied, always angry segment of their population. He’d seen the discussions on the comms channels about eradicating the Earthens before they could cause any trouble. Their queen had expressly forbade any harm against the Earthens, reminding the citizens of who the Izothians were, that they welcomed knowledge, and expanding the limits of understanding. Their new citizens, for it was clear that the queen expected to grant them full citizenship, were to be treated as any other Izothian.
The outliers had just loved hearing that.
Luckily, after the first startled moment, the grocer was speaking easily with Harper, and he knew that was in no small part due to Harper’s ability to put people at ease with her soft voice and kind smile. When Harper finally stepped away, the elderly Izothian woman running the stand was smiling, calling farewell to her as if they were old friends.
Harper walked back to him, smiling up at him as she held out a kuris, which, he’d mentioned once, was his favorite fruit.
He smiled at her and took the gift, for that was what it was. They had a very short season and he’d usually been off-world when they were being harvested. It had probably been a few years since he’d had one.
“She assured me this one was perfectly ripe… I hope it’s okay,” Harper said softly as he looked at the deep red fruit in his hand. He smiled up at her.
“It looks and feels perfect. Perfect color, just the right amount of give… you have to share it with me, though.”
“Oh, no! This was for you. She was pointing out the different fruits she had and when she said the name of it I remembered you saying it was your favorite…”
Something in his gaze made her pause, and blush, and glance down. And he knew then that his desire to kiss her breathles
s must have been clear on his face.
“Thank you, Harper,” he said quietly, and she looked back up at him, still blushing.
“You’re very welcome, Rassan.”
He gave her a small bow of his head, then bit into the kuris, a low hum of happiness escaping him when he tasted the much-loved fruit. He chewed, swallowed, and smiled at Harper.
“I insist. You deserve to know what a gift you’ve given me.” He held the fruit up to her lips, and she smiled, then took a bite, her eyes on his. He could see the moment the flavors exploded in her mouth. Her eyes widened a little and she chewed, a small smile on her face as she savored the fruit.
The tiniest dribble of pink juice from the fruit clung to her full bottom lip, and he couldn’t help himself. With his free hand, he brushed it from her pout, watching her blush, feeling her entire body go warm.
Gods, how he wanted to feel her warm like that when she was naked beneath him….
She gave him a small, nervous smile, and he felt himself smiling back before taking another bite of the kuris. It felt impossible to take his eyes off of her, and at this point he was tired of fighting the urge to stare at her. He held the fruit out again, and she smiled in thanks and took another delicate bite.
Just then, the transport pulled up, and they stepped on and were directed toward a small compartment. The nice thing about longer travel (the suns were just now setting and they would not arrive in Aaranar until quite a while after nightfall) was that the transports for it provided compartments for privacy. Each one could fit up to six people, and instead of uncomfortable transport seating, each compartment contained two long, cushioned seating areas.
He paid their fare and then thanked the porter and closed the door of their compartment behind them. Harper was shrugging her packs and bags off, setting them near the window. He closed the window that looked out into the corridor.
He wanted her to himself for a while. And he knew that curious stares eventually wore on her.
He was still holding the other half of the kuris in his hand, and he held it out so she could hold it while he unbuckled and removed his packs as well, setting them next to hers. She’d kicked her hiking boots off and he followed suit. They may as well be comfortable.
He took the rest of the kuris from her and watched as she sat on one of the cushions, tucking her feet beneath her and looking out the window. He sat down beside her, and she glanced back at him in surprise, then smiled.
He held the fruit out for her again, and she took another small bite. This time, he did what he’d longed to do back at the transport station. He leaned in and kissed her, tasting the juice of the kuris on her warm, soft, full lips. He’d wondered whether her people showed affection this way or not, but when she kissed him back, it became clear that they did, and that Harper was very, very good at it.
He heard himself growl deep in his throat, an unconscious sound of pleasure. He also felt her shiver against him when she heard it. He drew back, reluctantly, only long enough to give her another bite of the kuris and take another for himself before devouring her mouth again. It went on that way, until the kuris was gone: taste, kiss, taste, kiss, the sweetness of the fruit mixing with the sweetness of her mouth in a way he knew he’d never forget. And once the fruit was gone, all he desired was the taste of her.
When he kissed her, it was as if she’d been struck dumb, as if every brain cell and every molecule in her body froze up and decided to stop working, incapable of handling the sensation of Rassan’s lips on hers. It was only a moment, though— a moment of shivers down her spine, of her pulse racing, her nipples immediately forming hard, almost painful peaks— before she started kissing him back, and the shock melted into something much warmer, much needier, much more intense than any kiss she’d ever experienced. He wasn’t gentle with her exactly, his lips hard and demanding against hers, but he wasn’t hurting her, either. It was that perfect balance of caring and forceful that turned her into a puddle of need.
She lost track of how long they kissed. After the kuris was gone, he paid the sort of focused attention to her that he had the previous night in their tent, his lips, tongue, and teeth adoring her mouth, urging her to keep kissing him, almost demanding more. She met his kisses, determined to give him whatever he desired from her, and she was lost.
His arms were tight around her, her back pressed up against the back of her seat, trapped between it and his solid, muscled body. She knew her bottom lip would be swollen from his kisses; he enjoyed nipping and biting her lip, and each time he did, he felt a corresponding throb between her thighs.
He switched to a one-arm embrace, holding her tightly, almost possessively in one arm, still kissing her, as his other hand found her breasts and he began squeezing and rubbing and teasing them through the fabric of her shirt and bra. She whimpered softly against his lips and received a growl of desire in return. She felt his hands at the buttons of her blouse, and then at the front clasp of her bra before he cupped one bare breast in his large, strong palm, and she moaned in pleasure against his lips.
He stopped kissing her lips long enough to trail kisses down her chin and throat and up the side of her neck before he whispered in her ear.
“You’ll need to be quiet, your majesty. Thin walls on these transports.... Not a sound now. Understand?”
She nodded helplessly, clenching her thighs together against the persistent, needy ache he was arousing in her.
“Good girl,” he murmured. “Now come here.” He sat back and gestured to his lap. She could clearly see the thick, hard bulge at the front of his pants, and she blushed deeply. She straddled his hips, and he wasted no time in grasping her hips and pulling her down, making her feel his need through the clothes they were wearing.
“Feel what you do to me, Harper,” he whispered, and even in his whisper, there was that growl of need. “You drive me insane.”
“Rassan…”
“Kiss me,” he demanded, and she needed no more encouragement than that to lean forward and kiss him, her body resting against him, feeling his hardness pressed to the apex of her thighs. It only took a moment for his hands to find her breasts again, cupping them, massaging them, fingers teasing and pulling at her sensitive nipples as she gasped and whimpered and kissed him as if stopping would mean they’d both cease to be. Which it almost felt like they would, like she’d fall apart if she had to go without his lips on hers, his hands caressing and squeezing and doing all manner of devious, delicious things to her breasts. Her hands gripped and massaged his broad shoulders, and without realizing it, her hips started moving, her body teasing his through layers of fabric, his heat still very evident despite the barriers. He groaned and pinched her nipples and she gasped, barely preventing herself from crying out at the sudden sensation. She felt him smile against her lips before he did it again, eliciting another gasp from her.
“So damn sweet… so eager to please, aren’t you, Harper?” he murmured as he kissed a trail down her throat.
“Y-yes…” she whispered.
“Who do you want to please, your majesty?” he asked, gently biting her throat before kissing it more.
“You,” she said on a soft moan.
“You forgot something,” he murmured, licking and kissing and sucking his way along her collarbone.
“What?” she asked, barely able to think past the sensations his mouth and his hands were giving her.
“Yourself. Unless pleasing me pleases you, we’re doing it wrong.” He stopped kissing her, hands resting idly on her breasts for a moment, looking deep into her eyes.
“It pleases me,” she answered quietly, keeping her eyes on his. “More than you know.”
“I can’t do everything I want to you here. We’re going to have to calm down before we both forget where we are,” he told her, and she nodded and rested her forehead against his, lifting her hands and running her fingers through his long black hair. His hands rested just below her breasts, his thumbs brushing the sides of her breasts as he hel
d her on his lap. They sat like that, both of them trying to bring their breathing back to normal, her gaze locked with his. She’d had a few lovers on Earth. None who could do with a kiss what Rassan did. A couple considered themselves dominant, but only in that pushy, superficial way that only worked when she was in the mood to appreciate it. Rassan’s form of dominance was in everything he was. Every word, every motion. And more, he genuinely seemed to care about her comfort and happiness, which was what a dominant partner was actually supposed to care about. Or so she’d read. She’d never actually experienced it herself.
Until now.
And, oh, how she wanted it all.
She wasn’t an idiot, though. She knew this was a different pace of life than he was used to, that he was practically wed to the warfront, that she was a pleasant distraction from the rest of his life. When they returned to the base, she fully expected things to go back to the way they’d been. That he would be businesslike and short and focused, when he was around at all. She knew there was no way this was a long-term thing. He might want children someday, a partner in life… and she was not Izothian. Even if biologically they were able to work together, he would live hundreds, maybe thousands of years. She would be gone in the blink of an eye.
“What is going on in that fascinating mind of yours, Harper?” he asked softly, eyes still on hers, thumbs still caressing the sides of her breasts.
“Too many things,” she said, hoping it would be enough.
He seemed to sense she wanted him to drop it, and he did, nodding and kissing her softly again. “That does not surprise me. You’re a brilliant woman.”
She rolled her eyes and sat up straighter. He did not remove his hands from her, continuing his soft, gentle caresses, his gaze slowly traveling down her body. She watched him, blushing as he admired her full breasts, her soft stomach, before his eyes made his way back to hers.
