by Cara Bristol
“You have a way with words—not to mention hands,” she said.
“Only for you,” I said.
Though she had only the use of one hand, she made good use of it, dragging her fingers down my body, flattening her palm against my chest before grasping my cock. My essence beaded at the tip. She ducked her head and took a swipe with her tongue. I jerked. When she drew the crown into her mouth, my entire body lit up. My horns felt like they were on fire. I squeezed the bottom sheet in my fists, pulling it loose from the mattress.
She stirred delicious torment in me. Her eyes twinkled with merriment then grew sultry with desire. I tugged her away and started to mount her.
“Wait—wait,” she said. She rolled toward a folding chair, grabbed a worn-looking package, and tore it open to reveal a disk.
“What’s that?”
“Condom.”
“Con Dom? What’s that?”
“I haven’t been seeing anyone in a long time, so I don’t have a birth control implant.”
Birth control? The meaning dawned on me. “You wish to prevent having kits? You don’t want them?”
“I do want children. I just don’t wish to conceive any today.”
Her desire for children in the future reassured me, and perhaps it was for the best. If she got pregnant now, the space flight to Dakon might cause her to become ill. Better to get settled first and then have kits.
She rolled the Con Dom onto my manhood. “Hope there isn’t an expiration date on these things,” she muttered.
“Are we good now?” I asked.
“Perfect,” she said.
I climbed on top of her, her legs came around me, and I guided myself into her, sucking air through my teeth as her tight, slick walls closed around my manhood. I suspected the sensation would have been even more intense without the Con Dom, but the contact still sent shock waves of pleasure through me. Swiveling my hips, I rocked into her, seating myself. I groaned. “You feel so good.” My horns felt like they would explode on my head.
“You feel incredible.” Her thighs gripped me, and her heels pressed against my ass. She rocked her pelvis, and I began to thrust. Slowly, at first, to savor the sensation then faster as desire spun out of control.
Sweat burned my eyes, but it was nothing compared to the fire inside. I forced my eyes to remain open, watching my mate’s face as ecstasy claimed her. Her features contorted with rapture, her neck arched, and she cried out.
Orgasm rushed through me on a powerful tide. Muscles contracted. Grinding my teeth, I thrust hard and fast as my essence spilled from body.
I collapsed, bracing on my elbows so I wouldn’t crush her. I buried my face in her damp hair, letting the after-tremors course through me. I nuzzled her neck.
She turned her face, and we brushed lips, our breaths mingling. She smiled against my mouth, and I sensed her contentment was as great as mine. This closeness, this belonging, this affection was what I’d sought, why I’d come to Earth. There were men from the dating agency who’d been in the system for months but still hadn’t met their matches. How fortunate was I?
Moxie cautioned me to grip the Con Dom before I withdrew. After I had disposed of it in the bathroom, we curled up together in the bed. She lay in the crook of my arm, her head on my chest, her leg wedged between mine.
I pressed a kiss to her damp, messy hair. I loved how rumpled she looked, that I had rumpled her more.
Her injured, wrapped hand rested on my bandaged chest. I picked it up and kissed her wrist. Against my lips, her pulse raced, and renewed heat coursed through me. “We’re in sync, you and me.”
“It’s amazing how well we mesh together,” she said. “I’m so glad I met you.” She peered up at me. “We haven’t known each other very long, but I feel like we have. I wasn’t sure how this human-alien thing would work, but our differences make us better, stronger as a couple because we can’t take anything for granted. I’m so glad you’ve come into my life.”
“I could not imagine being with anyone but you, Moxie. The Fates have smiled on us. We were meant to be together.”
“I feel the same way.”
I couldn’t ask for a better opening. I shifted so I could better look into her eyes. “Will you be my mate?”
“We’ve talked about this, but I need to understand what mating means to you. On my planet, we call mating marriage. The contract is legally binding, but it can be dissolved. Sometimes the union lasts a lifetime.” Her mouth twisted. “Some couples divorce after a few months. Often, couples forego the contract and just live together as partners.”
“On my planet, mating means bonding for life,” I said. “If a man and a female are fortunate, they have kits together.”
She scooted upward and kissed me. “I never thought I could care for somebody so quickly. I’m falling in love with you, and I want to be with you. I think becoming mates could be in our future, but before that happens, we should date a little more so we can be sure.”
I was already sure. I knew Earth people had different expectations than Dakonians, but disappointment settled over me. My feelings were absolute. On Dakon, we bonded when our hearts told us it was right. Moxie’s heart seemed to be telling her it was right—but she still insisted we wait. For how long? “I had hoped we’d already be mates when we went to Dakon.”
“Dakon? What?” She bolted to a sitting position. “I can’t go to Dakon. My life is here on Earth. My job, my future game company, my family.”
I sat up, too. “I can’t stay on Earth. I have to go back.”
“I know you’ve said that before, but you’ve already come this far. You’re here now. Why can’t you stay? You have a job carving ice. We’ll be together.”
“I can’t abandon my son.”
“Son?” She gaped at me. “You have a child?”
I nodded. “His name is Joho. He’s seven.”
“I don’t understand. You said you weren’t mated.”
“Falla and I grew up together with the understanding we would bond. When I asked her, she put me off, but we did engage in relations. She got pregnant. I thought for sure she would finalize our bonding, but instead, she said yes to another of my tribesmen. Since we are in the same tribe, we are both able to take care of Joho. He spends part time with me in my hut, part time with Falla and her mate.”
I looked at her. “That’s why I have to get back. I fear the longer I’m away, the more distant in his memory I will become. I can’t leave my son.”
“No, you can’t leave your son.” She leaped up, yanked the sheet off the bed, and wrapped it around herself. She paced the room. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did tell you. I said I had family I had to get back to.
“I thought you meant parents, siblings.”
As much as I appreciated my planet, if not for Joho, I would have remained on Earth. The mating attachment was so strong, only a child could break it. Facing Moxie’s consternation now caused me to question my motives and actions. Had I been purposely obtuse, maybe misled her a little to allow a bond to form and strengthen? It was asking a lot for someone to leave her home forever. To keep my family, Moxie would have to give up hers.
No wonder she looked so shocked.
Then a horrible thought struck me. “Maybe…you can’t accept someone else’s kit?” Dakonians loved all children. They were a gift from the Fates. Falla’s mate fully accepted Joho. My son was fortunate to have three people who loved him more than life itself. But I had known a rare few who had rejected a child sired by another. Could it be Moxie couldn’t accept my child because he’d been mothered by another female?
“That’s an insulting thing to say!” Her eyes flashed with such fire, I knew that wasn’t the problem. “Of course I would love your son. But I can’t leave. My life is here.” She pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “I’m this close to finishing T-Rex Island and starting my own company. I can’t do that on Dakon. You have one computer for the entire planet!”
; “Your game, flashing lights, and computer make-believe matter more than me?” I slipped out of bed and pulled on my leggings and my tunic. I shoved my feet into my boots.
“Of course not. But I’ve known you for less than a week. A stake in the industry is what I’ve worked for all my life. It’s a dream about to come true! It’s why I tolerate Miles’ bullshit. I have the potential to earn a lot of money—but it’s not about the money. It’s about creation, creativity, a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. To build something from nothing. That’s huge.”
“Your company that doesn’t exist yet is better than having a mate and a family.” I felt heartsick. How could this be happening? She was in my blood, my veins, my being. To separate from her would be like ripping off a part of myself.
“No! Don’t you see? Here on Earth, I can have both. I can run a company and have a husband and a family.” She looked at me pleadingly. “Can’t you bring Joho to Earth?”
“Over Falla’s dead body,” I said. “If he were solely mine, I could. However, Falla would never permit me to take him away, nor would I. He needs his mother and his tribe. My people fought very hard for survival after the asteroid hit and destroyed our civilization. Dakonians are courageous fighters who do not ever give up. That is my son’s heritage. I cannot rob him of that.”
“We’re at an impasse.” Moxie sank onto the bed.
I couldn’t believe a short time ago we’d scaled the heights of passion only to crash into despair. I’d thought I had it all: the love of a mate, Joho, the potential for more kits. A few heartbeats later, I’d lost everything but Joho.
Perhaps the feelings were all on my side. If she could throw the love we had shared for a game, perhaps she didn’t care as much as I did. I’d been ready to commit; I’d asked her to be my mate. She’d wanted more time to “date,” to get to know each other.
“How long can you stay on Earth?” she asked.
“I have about a month.”
“That’s all?”
“Other aliens have complained Dakonians have an unfair advantage and are preferred by Earth women, so a moratorium will go into effect. There’s one last ship going to Dakon. I have to be on it.”
“Where do we go from here?” Moxie pulled herself up tight, wrapping her arms around her knees, her body position and expression closed. She’d barricaded herself against me. She’d asked a seemingly open-ended question, but she’d already answered it.
There wasn’t anyplace we could go.
“I’ll see myself out,” I said.
Chapter Eleven
Moxie
The front door clicked shut, and I burst into tears. I threw myself facedown on the bed. It smelled of Sixx and sex, causing me to cry harder. Hopelessness enveloped me. He’d said at the start he intended to return to Dakon, but when he’d started talking about mating, I’d assumed he decided to stay. From what I’d heard of his planet, it was desolate, frigid, and primitive. Earth could offer so much more. We didn’t have to live in the city or in a warm climate. There were plenty of rural areas, cold places. All I required was a strong ’Net connection, and I could live almost anywhere—except Dakon.
I would never ask a man to leave his child—nor would I respect anyone who would. Any man who would abandon his child was no man at all. Sixx had to return. He was doing the right thing, and I admired him for it.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t breaking my heart. I thought I had time to convince him and had assumed we could grow into our feelings, get to know each other, become sure. With the certainty I would lose him came the certainty of how much I cared. His departure would rip a hole in my heart I doubted could ever be mended. He had referred to the Fates as having chosen us for one another.
The Fates had played a practical joke.
I couldn’t leave. Sixx couldn’t stay.
Ha. Ha.
I rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom to splash water on my swollen eyes. I donned a shortie robe and went to call my mom. My phone sat next to the pastries. I’d never seen a man enjoy a doughnut the way he had. Tears welled in my eyes. I grabbed the tray, ran to the kitchen, and dumped the leftovers in the trash. I’d never be able to look at another doughnut without crying.
It was bad enough when you couldn’t meet a nice guy, but it sucked more when you met one and then had to give him up.
I powered my phone up and called my mom.
“Sixx and I broke up.”
“You broke six of what?”
“Sixx is the guy I’ve been seeing.”
“You’ve been seeing somebody? Who? You don’t mean the alien you met the other night, the Dako-dago—”
“Dakonian. Yes.” Tears slid down my face.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”
“Mom, what am I going to do? I like him. I think I love him.”
“He doesn’t like you?”
“No, he does.” I sniffed. “He asked me to be his mate, which is like a wife on his planet.”
“Wow. That’s fast. Even for me.”
“Dakonians are like that. They believe in Fated partners. When you meet somebody, it’s either right or it isn’t.”
“So, you like him; he likes you. Why did you break up?”
“Because he’s going back to his planet.”
“When?”
“In a month.”
“Well, maybe you have time to convince him to stay—”
“No. He has a little boy.” I wondered what Joho looked like. Did he resemble Sixx? I’ll bet he was cute as hell.
“Well, then you go to Dakon.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“For one thing, you’re here. My friends. My job. The company I’m going to start.”
“Honey, I will miss you like crazy, but if you have a chance for true love with a great guy, you should follow your heart. You hardly see your friends anyway. You’re planning on quitting your job. The game and your company haven’t gotten off the ground yet. It seems to me you’re letting a sure thing go for a chance at a maybe.”
That was how my mother saw things. Every relationship she’d ever been in was the real deal—until it wasn’t. From my point of view, the situation was exactly the opposite. My game and company were the sure things I’d be giving up for a maybe. Well, Sixx was more than a maybe, but I had only met him a few days ago! He couldn’t leave his son. I understood. But how crazy would I be to give up what I’d worked years for just as it was about to come to fruition? I mean, who would do that?
Besides my mom. She’d do it in a heartbeat.
What if I got to Dakon and I discovered we were incompatible? According to what Sixx had said, returning to Earth wouldn’t be an option. What if I wasn’t truly in love but infatuated? What if I was just horny for a hot alien? What if I hated Dakon? What if Joho’s mother tried to make my life miserable? What if I began to resent having to abandon my dream?
“I don’t talk much about my job with EGG or T-Rex Island or the company I am starting partly because most people don’t understand the technical coding stuff and partly because I need to keep proprietary information secret. But this is my passion. I’ve never wanted to do anything else. This is why I went to college, why I work fourteen-hour days and weekends. When I create something from nothing and it comes alive, the satisfaction is indescribable.”
“Oh, you mean creating something from nothing like giving birth to a child?” My mom paused to let her words sink in. “That’s what you’ll be giving up.”
She would never understand. I shouldn’t have to choose between love and success. It wasn’t fair! I should be able to have both. If I’d met a nice Earth guy, there wouldn’t have been any question.
If I’d wanted an Earth guy, I shouldn’t have joined the Intergalactic Dating Agency. But I’d been assured the aliens tended to remain here. Why did I get the one who had to return?
* * * *
I’d spent most of the night crying into Sixx’s pillow, awak
ening Monday morning groggy and looking like crap. My swollen, red eyes clashed with the purple bruises from the mugging. Going to work had never appealed less, but moping in my apartment didn’t thrill me, either. I could have called in sick and worked on T-Rex Island, but negative associations clung to that, too. My game was the whole reason Sixx and I were doomed.
So, I dragged my sorry ass out of bed, showered, pulled my wet hair into a pony, and donned a pair of yoga pants—black like my mood—and a T-shirt that said Fuck Off and sallied forth to work.
I screeched up to the building around my usual time—early. A couple of nondescript, unfamiliar sedans, one white, one tan, were parked at the far end of the lot, but Miles’ Corvette was the only staff car I recognized. I’d assumed the workaholic slave driver would expect everyone to report as usual, but no one had arrived yet. I needed to reconsider my assumptions; they hadn’t been panning out lately.
I’d checked to see if Sixx had tried to contact me, but no new messages from anybody had come in. If Miles had canceled work due to the break-in, he would have texted the staff. So where were they? Equipment had been damaged, but he would have a contingency plan. He’d had all of yesterday to get new computers. I felt a little guilty for not coming in or offering to help, but I was dealing with my own crisis.
One crisis per customer. I locked my car then strode to the entry keypad. I raised my right hand—crap. Besides a PIN, opening the door required a right thumbprint. Miles would have to let me in. As I dug into my purse for my phone, the door flew open. Miles stood there.
“Oh! I was about to call you to let me in.”
“I saw you on the camera.” A muscle ticked in his cheek. He looked pissed but appeared to be trying to control it. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up.”
“Sorry. I have a lot of stuff going on right now.” I brushed past him. “Where is everybody?”
“I texted them to not come in today.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I didn’t get a text.”
“I needed to talk to you in person.”
