Rassan

by Elle Harper

  And here Rassan was. Caring for her in every way.

  She’d had to nearly die, cross galaxies to get here. And every moment had been worth it.

  “I’m perfect, my love,” she murmured softly, shifting her hips a tiny bit and moaning, letting him know she was ready for him.

  He lowered her back down to the mattress and, supporting himself above her on his elbows, he started moving his hips, thrusting in and out of her.

  By the second thrust, she was ready to come undone.

  By the third, she was crying out in desperation.

  And with the fourth, she fell apart for him again, crying his name raggedly, panting and moaning. “Don’t stop,” she begged, and he obliged, thrusting in and out of her through her orgasm, giving her what she desired, cursing low under his breath, the sound so full of lust and need it made her blush.

  By the time she finally came down, he was taking her faster, his body tense beneath her hands as he kept thrusting into her.

  “Your turn…” she panted, and he met her gaze and then raised himself up onto his hands, as if he was doing a push up, and started thrusting harder into her, the angle changing. They groaned and panted together and her hands gripped his powerful shoulders and her legs wrapped around his thighs urging him deeper and before she knew it, he froze and the released the sexiest, lowest growl she’d ever heard as she felt his warmth flow into her aching body.

  They held each other tight as they regained their breath, trembling and panting together, limbs tangled.

  “I love you,” she whispered, kissing her way along his neck, reveling in the feel of his solid weight pressing her into the mattress.

  They fell asleep, and woke to do it again. And again, and again as the suns rose again in the sky before they both finally fell into a deep, blissful sleep, wrapped in each other’s arms as the sound of the waves breaking against the shoreline filtered in through the windows.

  Chapter Nine

  They spent the next two days at Rassan’s beach house alternately working, cuddling, kissing, and making love. He’d had her in bed multiple times, bent over the kitchen table, watched her face as she’d fallen apart while they bobbed in the sea together.

  And every time felt even better than the time before it as they learned one another’s bodies.

  And it still hadn’t been enough.

  She’d oohed and aahed and done that sweet little excited gasp every time she found a new plant on their expeditions along the shore, and to his delight, they’d stumbled upon a plant with medicinal value that had grown quite rare in recent years. She’d carefully harvested some of the seedheads to grow her own samples upon their return.

  And now, here they were, seated in their compartment of the transport for the long journey back to base.

  She’d asked why, when they were so technologically advanced, they still used normal ground transport for things like this.

  “Because, love. If we lose touch with our world by being separate from it all the time, we cease to understand how connected we truly are to it. My people made that mistake once in our early days, and it nearly cost us everything. Never again.”

  She’d smiled and cuddled close.

  That had been their second day, in between bouts of lovemaking. Now, she was lying on the seat, head resting in his lap, dozing as he gently played with her hair, feeling the silky locks slip through his fingers as he admired her.

  In these quiet moments, he prayed he could be enough for her. That he could keep her happy and make her always feel as loved as she should.

  They’d decided, lying naked in bed the previous night with the moonlight streaming across their bodies, that she would move into his officer’s quarters on the base. It was larger than her own quarters, since the officer lodging was meant to, hopefully, house the families of high-ranking soldiers.

  Family.

  They had left it unsaid, that possibility. They had not been careful, and he’d lost track of how many times they’d been together. Likely, it was impossible for the two of them to make a child together.

  He wondered how she would take it if they found that the opposite was true. Would she be happy, or would she feel trapped? Would she want to be a mother, with so much work yet to be done?

  Would she want it, knowing that for a good portion of the time, she’d be raising any children they had alone?

  He shook his head, playing with her hair more. No sense borrowing trouble. Or joy, as the case may be. They would deal with that if and when they got there.

  All too soon, the transport was pulling through the gates of the base; this was the last stop of the journey, and he doubted many were exiting here. He gently shook Harper awake, amused that she’d slept for the entire journey.

  Apparently, he’d worn her out. Poor thing.

  She groggily sat up and he kissed her sleep-warmed cheek, then found her shoes and put them on her feet.

  “You don’t have to do that, you know,” she said, smiling and gently caressing his cheek.

  “Oh, I know. But I happen to like doing little things for you when I can. And as long as you don’t mind me doing them.”

  She leaned down and kissed his cheek, and he smiled and held out his hand, helping her up. They gathered their packs one last time, and made their way through the small station, then into the base itself.

  “Home sweet home,” she murmured, and he nodded, holding her hand as they walked. There wasn’t much point in trying to hide their relationship here. She’d be moving in with him immediately, after all.

  He greeted several soldiers who stopped to salute him as they walked toward the residence building. Harper smiled at each of them as they greeted her as well with a respectful, “madam.”

  As soon as they stepped into the main entrance of the residence hall, they were swarmed by her crewmates, each who took her turn hugging and exclaiming over her.

  “You look so well-rested.”

  “And happy!”

  “And you’re holding grumpy’s hand!” Kat exclaimed, and Harper felt her face heat as the rest of them commented over it, looking between her and Rassan. Rassan squeezed her hand reassuringly. All of the commotion raised the curiosity of some of the soldiers who had been sitting at one of the nearby tables in the eating hall, and they got up and joined the group. Harper watched as Kat coolly looked away from a towering Izothian with short black hair.

  “Nice to have you back, Commander Rassan,” he said, saluting Rassan smartly, as did the other soldier.

  “At your rest, Faraad,” Rassan said, and Harper knew he was saying it at least partially so she’d know this was the person they’d been speaking of. He was taller than Rassan, much thinner than Rassan, and had an almost studious air about him. Harper glanced at Kat to see her carefully ignoring the newcomer.

  “You two know Harper, yes?” Rassan asked, and both of them greeted her with those same respectful “madams,” though Faraad looked at her thoughtfully.

  They chatted with her crew and the soldiers for a few minutes, then she looked up at Rassan and he met her gaze.

  “If you all wouldn’t mind, we’ve had a long journey and Harper needs to move quarters before she can relax.”

  “Wait, why?” Kat demanded. “Why is Harper moving?”

  “Because I’m moving into Rassan’s quarters,” Harper explained, cheeks burning. She forestalled any more explanations, shaking her head tiredly but smiling at her friends.

  “We’ll help,” Kat said.

  “So will we,” Faraad said, volunteering himself and the other soldier.

  “I really don’t have that much to move…”

  “We will help anyway, Harper,” Faraad said, smiling at her. “It’s our pleasure.”

  It took one trip for their little caravan to carry all of Harper’s worldly belongings from her quarters to Rassan’s larger ones. She could tell her friends were ready to settle in and stay a while and exchanged a look with Rassan.

  “I think my beloved is tir
ed,” he said, and she smiled at him. Her crew took the hint and filed out, hugging her as they went, Kat lingering a moment longer as Faraad spoke to Rassan.

  “You seem happy,” she said, and Harper smiled.

  “Because I am happy.”

  “It looks good on you, sweetie,” Kat said, hugging her again before walking out. It was impossible for Harper to miss the glare she sent at Faraad when he waited for her and they walked out together.

  She turned to Rassan and he stepped forward and hugged her. “Welcome home, Harper. Thank you for making me the happiest male in the galaxy.”

  Chapter Ten

  Several weeks later…

  They’d had two weeks of what she supposed honeymoon bliss was like before Rassan was shipped to the warfront. He’d explained his role when they’d held each other in bed their second night living together.

  “Like your Earthen fighter pilots, I guess, is the closest I can describe it. Except we’re in the vastness of space, using laser cannons and force fields. And we’re stationed on larger ships closer to where the fighting is, because we want to keep them out there, instead of anywhere close to home.”

  “Smart,” she’d said, trailing her fingers along his bare chest.

  He’d nodded. “But it means that when I’m on duty, it’s weeks, sometimes months, at a time. I’m sorry, love.”

  “You did warn me. A few times. I knew what was coming, and I accepted it. I will wait for you, my love.”

  And now she stood with Aavi and the assistant Aavi had assigned to her, in her lab, surrounded by seedlings and drying flowers and herbs and flask after flask of possible medications, watching the large comm screen.

  “Casualties today on the warfront. In a surprise attack on our forces, the Sha’tar made use of an older fighter jet, one our military has since stopped tracking. They flew it directly into the center of one of our elite squadrons. In the chaos, we have yet to learn the names of the honored lost. We do know that it involved our primary special targets squadron, led by Commander Rassan. As of this moment, Rassan has been unavailable for comment.”

  Harper didn’t hear anything else as her knees gave out beneath her. Only Aavi’s quick movement, grabbing her around the waist, kept her from crashing to the floor.

  “Now, now. None of that,” Aavi said gently, guiding her to a chair. “We don’t know anything yet,” she said, but Harper barely registered it over the pounding in her head. Her gaze went back to the comm screen, which was showing a live shot of the scene of the attack, shredded, mangled pieces of fighter ships floating in the vastness of space.

  She clamped a hand over her mouth and rushed for the restroom, barely making it before she lost it, getting sick over the commode.

  All she could think of was her beloved out there.

  Drifting.

  Alone.

  She started gasping for breath, unable to halt the panic attack that was taking over. Aavi came into the restroom to find her bent over, trying to breathe. She vaguely thought she heard Kat’s voice, then she felt herself being held between Aavi and Kat, her mind in complete chaos as they brought her to her and Rassan’s quarters. She unlocked the door and numbly let them help her settle into bed.

  “I want to give you a gentle sedative,” Aavi said kindly. “Will you allow it?”

  Harper nodded, tears streaming from her eyes. At the moment, she didn’t want to feel or think anything, unable to picture anything but the horrid image in her mind of Rassan floating alone in space.

  Aavi gently rubbed something wam on her temples, and within moments, she was pulled into blissful emptiness.

  “We can’t tell her that now,” Kat’s voice said, sounding echoey, distant, but yet close.

  “She needs to know,” Aavi argued. “Maybe it will help.”

  “Help?” Kat asked harshly. As Harper pushed back into consciousness, she realized that Kat sounded tearful. “How is that going to help her?”

  “It will help her realize— Look. She is waking up.”

  Harper opened her eyes to see Kat sitting on one side of her bed, Aavi on the other. Aavi looked at her kindly and held her hand.

  “How are you feeling, my dear?” she asked softly.

  “Rassan… any word yet?” she asked.

  Aavi shook her head. “A search was started. There were no bodies among the wreckage.”

  Kat shot her a glare and was about to say something, and Harper shook her head. Her friend calmed, as much as Kat was able to, anyway.

  “How is that possible?” she asked softly.

  Aavi took a breath. “Command thinks the Sa’tar may have sent in a cloaked ship or two to take prisoners,” she said gently. “They’re trying to discover what may have happened as we speak.”

  Harper nodded, trying not to launch into another panic attack.

  “The good news is, Faraad and a few of the others had been left behind to guard the base. Faraad has been tracking Sa’tar communications and ships. He’s barely slept. He is our brightest and best at espionage. If anyone can find where they are, Faraad can,” Aavi continued.

  “Too bad he didn’t catch something beforehand,” Kat murmured, and Harper shook her head.

  “He couldn’t have seen that coming,” she said quietly. “Is that what you were arguing about telling me?”

  She watched as the two women exchanged a glance, Aavi’s glowing blue eyes meeting Kat’s brown ones. A moment of unspoken communication, then Kat sighed and gestured at Aavi before grasping Harper’s hand.

  “Harper…” Aavi began. “You may already be aware… I checked you over while you were unconscious, to see if there was anything more I could do for you. And I wasn’t sure…” she met Harper’s eyes. “Did you know you are with child, Harper?”

  Harper stared. “What?”

  “Your child. Rassan’s child… you didn’t know,” Aavi concluded, and Harper shook her head. Aavi took her other hand, and the three of them sat together in silence. Harper couldn’t wrap her head around any of it. Rassan’s capture— she refused to think of him as dead— and now this.

  A child.

  “He’ll be such a good father,” she said, her voice breaking on the last word. She sat back and closed her eyes, felt tears spilling from beneath her eyelids.

  There was nothing to say, so Kat and Aavi did all they could: they sat with her. The rest of her crew eventually made their way in, along with Laalia, who wasted no time at all in climbing into bed next to Harper and sharing stories about all of the scrapes and dangerous situations Rassan had been in over the years. Harper knew she was overdoing it, making Rassan sound even more amazing than he actually was, but she didn’t care.

  It gave her hope.

  The next two days passed in a blur of glowing comm screens, tears, and panic. People came in and out of Harper’s room and lab all day, checking on her. At Aavi’s insistence, Harper had been furnished with a direct feed so she could hear the rescue team talking. Kat had argued, saying it might stress her out more, but Harper had overruled her friend. It made her feel better knowing people were looking, that they were devoting every waking hour, and going without sleep, to find Rassan and the others.

  It was late on day three. Too late, but Harper couldn’t sleep. She’d taken to talking to Faraad, who was always at the end of the rescue comm.

  “We’ll find him, Harper. I promise. I’m not done messing with that grumpy bastard yet. And he has a kid to spoil.”

  She smiled at his words as she transplanted another holy basil seedling, propagated from seeds she’d brought from home. They were testing it as a fertility treatment. So far, there had been promise, but it could have just been dumb luck.

  “Yes, he does,” she murmured, glancing down at her still-flat stomach before potting the next seedling.

  “He’s going to be such a— “ Faraad began, and then broke off.

  “Such a what?” Harper asked.

  Faraad cursed in Izoth, then cursed again, louder, laughing. The words tran
slated roughy to, “that son of a bitch!”

  “Faraad?”

  At the other end of the line, Faraad was laughing and yelling, and then someone hit the switch and a live feed came up in Harper’s lab.

  A Sa’tari ship, heading to the defense base.

  “Command, respond. This is Commander Rassan of the First Izothian Fighter Division. We are en route in a stolen Sa’tari fighter. Respond.”

  Harper put her hands to her face, happy tears streaming down her cheeks at the sound of his voice, Within moments, her lab was full of people hugging and kissing her, cheering, kissing each other. Together, they watched and listened to the rest of the exchange as Faraad answered, excitement evident in his voice.

  “Command to Commander Rassan. We hear you. Welcome home, Fighting First.”

  Another cheer went up, and Harper found herself trapped in the biggest group hug she could have imagined as her crew, Aavi, and Laalia hugged her in celebration.

  Chapter Eleven

  All he could think of was her.

  Harper.

  She waited for him, and there was no way he was leaving her alone.

  When the Sa’tar launched their insane suicide mission into their squadron.

  When he floated, listless and alone in the great emptiness of space.

  When they came for him, hauled him aboard, and proceeded to beat and torture him to gain knowledge about his people’s weaknesses, he thought of her.

  And he plotted.

  And he and his men took their chance when they saw it, overpowered their much-smaller enemies when the opportunity arose. Fought their way out. Stole a ship.

  And then headed for home.

  More than home. Her. His life.

  He barely made it through his debriefing without punching the head of the security council in the face.

  She was there. He needed to get home.

  Faraad had assured him she was okay.

  He paced on the transport home.

  Barely greeted the soldiers who saluted as he got off the transport.

  Paid the barest of respect to Aavi. Much less than was her due, but she took it in stride.