by Mina Carter
Which would then mean said alien would probably wipe the floor with him. Hence practicality. He didn’t want to be spending any more time in the medical bay. Not now Keris was here.
Here. She was actually here and alive. Finally she had a body. And fuck… what a body. He was trying hard not to notice the slender yet curvy form under his shirt as she walked ahead of him into their quarters.
“It’s bigger than I remember,” she breathed, pausing in the middle of the space and staring around with wide eyes. Jay kept his gaze locked on her.
“Well, you were a lot bigger before,” he pointed out. Her metal body had been at least a foot taller than he was and big, more serviceable road truck than sleek sports car. “And you’re just a tiny little thing now.”
He grinned as she turned around, looking down at herself. Barefoot, she could only be a shade taller than five feet and delicate to boot, with an air of haunting fragility that got him right in the caveman instincts.
“Yes… I didn’t anticipate being this small. I thought I’d be taller.” She looked up at him suddenly, spearing him with a sharp gaze. “Do you like this body?”
Heat hit him broadside, his cock jerking in answer. Fuck yeah, he liked her body. He’d been semi-hard since the moment he saw her, an erection hard enough to hammer nails a mere thought away. But there was no way he was going to take advantage. She was less than a day old… cradle snatching was not the word here.
“Yeah.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “It’s a nice body.”
She didn’t move.
“Nice?”
Her expression folded, disappointment stark on her face as she looked down at herself again. “I… uhm… I didn’t expect to look this way. I’m sorry, I had hoped for something…”
Shit. His heart lurched in his chest at the torn note in her voice. It was like kicking a puppy.
“Hey, no,” he said quickly, stepping up to her. “I… shit, you can’t just go about asking men if they like your body.”
She tilted her head as she looked up at him, confusion written on her delicate features. “Why not? I would have thought that was a primary consideration to ascertain attraction.”
It was, but… “It’s not how humans do things. We don’t talk about shit like that.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Humans seem to talk in circles and make wild guesses rather than just ask.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. We kinda do. It’s how we work. Part of the give and take of getting to know someone… flirting. You can’t just charge in there and ask shit like that. But,” he inclined his head, “yes, your body is very nice. Frankly, you’re beautiful.”
“Yeah?” Her smile warmed his heart.
He nodded. “Yes. You are. So stop stressing. Okay?”
“Okay.” Her eyes wide, she searched his face for long moments.
Before he could do something stupid, like lean down and kiss her, claiming those soft lips for his own and finding out if they were as sweet as they looked, he stepped back.
Running a hand through his hair, he glanced around the room. Like most Latharian personal quarters he’d seen, it was one large chamber sectioned into areas. The first one, near the entrance, was a seating section, obviously for relaxation, with large, low couches made from leather. Since the panels were single pieces, he seriously did not want to know what animal they’d come from. Knowing his luck, probably some monstrously large murder chicken or something.
The sitting section gave way to a dining area, with a table that could seat six. He’d never seen that in personal quarters before. What did they expect them to do… host dinner parties in here?
To the side of the dining area was what he assumed was an office section, with a large desk, comfortable-looking chair, and a screen. Try as he might, though, he hadn’t been able to get it to switch on… perhaps one of the base systems that weren’t yet operational. A single door set opposite the office led to the bathroom.
The last area, furthest from the entrance doors and separated from the rest of the room by a large floor to ceiling divider, was the bedroom.
There was only one bed.
Sure, it was big enough for a football team, but that wasn’t the issue. There was no way he could share a bed with her and sleep. Share a bed with her, lie awake and get up tomorrow with blue balls… yeah, no problem. But there was no way he’d be able to sleep next to her with the myriad of fantasies currently running through his skull in full swing, all with her in the starring role.
Shit.
“You can sleep here,” he told her, leading her through to the sectioned off area. As always, it was neatly made. Housekeeping bots came in each morning, chirping at him if he didn’t move out of the bed fast enough, and dealt with everything from dirty sheets to the glass he’d dropped and broken the other day.
“I can?” Keris rounded the divider, her eyes wide.
Even though they’d been sharing a room since she’d rescued him from D’Corr’s ship, she’d always stayed in the main area and stood in the corner to sleep… or shut down, or whatever it was that AIs did. She seemed to go dormant when he slept. That was all he knew. Out of courtesy, he’d made sure to be decently dressed around her, rather than treating her like a piece of furniture the way most of the Lathar did.
“Wow, I never had a bed before.”
As he watched, she padded toward it, slowly putting a knee on the soft surface. A gasp escaped her lips as it gave beneath her, and she leaned down to run her hand over the fabric.
“It’s so soft… and cool,” she murmured. “I didn’t think it would be this soft.”
He wasn’t sure the comment was intended for him. Hanging back, he watched the delight flow over her face as she crawled into the middle of the bed, bouncing up and down slightly on the plush surface. It was innocent joy, and utterly adorable.
Then he felt an utter dick for noticing the flush on her cheeks and the sleek smoothness of her thighs… and for being aware that she wore absolutely nothing underneath his shirt.
Clearing his throat, he rubbed at the back of his neck again. “Perhaps I should see about getting another room…”
She froze mid-bounce in the middle of the bed, her stricken gaze latching on to his face. “Another room? You mean leaving me in here on my own?”
Sitting down heavily, she plucked at the bedding with small hands, trying to smooth it down around her. “Don’t you… don’t you want me?”
Fuck yeah, he wanted her. He bit back his answering growl, prepared to tell her that yes, for both their sakes, he had to get his own room. Or at the first opportunity, he was going to fuck her until she screamed. But her stricken expression rocked him to the core. He was adopted. He knew what rejection felt like, and he couldn’t do it to her.
“Of course I want you, sweet stuff.” He managed a sunny smile from somewhere. “As long as you’re comfortable with me in here, I’ll…” he cast about and then nodded. “I’ll take the couch, let you spread out and get a proper night’s sleep.”
Three hours later, Jay regretted his decision to take the couch.
Not because it was uncomfortable. It wasn’t. Built on Latharian lines, it was more than big enough for both him and Keris to sleep on together. The problem wasn’t the couch, nor the blanket he had draped over his hips. The room wasn’t too hot nor too cold.
The problem was the soft, breathy sighs from the other side of the room. The low whispers of movement as Keris moved in her sleep, silken skin sliding against satin sheets. Just the idea of her there, soft and…
Fuck. He bit back his groan and turned over, punching at the cushion under his head. He would get some sleep. Somehow. All he had to do was think of something else. Like Mr. Stickuphisasspaladin in his nana’s dress…
Movement got his attention, and he opened his eyes to find Keris standing in front of him, still dressed in his t-shirt. She blinked at him sleepily, and even in the semi-darkness he could tell she wasn’t really awake.
“Keris? What
’s the matter, honey?” he asked in a low tone, trying not to wake her further. Could she be a sleepwalker now she didn’t have rigid control over her body?
“I don’t want to be on my own,” she whispered. “It’s weird and I can hear things. Odd sounds.”
He smiled softly. “It’s just the base settling, sweetheart, nothing to worry about.”
She didn’t move, looking at him with those big, dark eyes. Without a word, he lifted the blanket and she got in, curling up nestled against him. Carefully, he tucked the soft covering around her.
“You’re so warm. It’s lovely,” she murmured and with a sigh, settled her head on his arm. Within seconds, she was asleep again.
Jay lay there for a long time, listening to her slow, relaxed breathing. Then, he tightened an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Closing his eyes, he buried his face into her hair. It smelled of the generic shower gel from the bathroom, but under it was a softer, more delicate note that made a warm, fuzzy feeling spread out from the center of his chest.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re going to drive me insane.”
5
Keris came back online with fuzzy vision and a strange pressure in her midsection and lower stomach.
“Ugh,” she groaned, squinting as she opened an eye. What had happened? One moment she’d been staring at the ceiling, listening to Jay’s breathing as usual and waiting for it to lengthen out so she knew he was asleep, and the next… nothing.
Panic gripped her, her breath catching. Was there something wrong with this body? It was possible. Bio-printed bodies had been susceptible to cellular degeneration in the past. It wasn’t a problem with remote piloting, the pilot could just pull back to his original body as the avatar became unusable. But this was her body, her only body. She couldn’t return to her metal one, even if she’d wanted to. The mechanism and subroutines didn’t exist in this biological format. She was entirely contained in her current form.
So if the body began to degrade… she would die. Is that what had happened? Had she blacked out due to cellular damage?
“Hey, sweet stuff,” Jay’s voice made her jerk upright into a sitting position, turning to find him behind her. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair was wet from the shower. “How’d you sleep?”
She blinked. Sleep. She’d…
“I slept?” she said in wonder. “That was sleep?”
He smiled, and her heart did a little flip-flop in her chest. She would have lamented the lack of a diagnostic function… if she hadn’t been too busy staring at the handsome human.
“You were out like a light as soon as you got in,” he said, his attention shifting to her face. “You… err… you might wanna…” He motioned toward her cheek. “Lil’ bit of… errr…”
She lifted her hand and wiped her skin. It was wet. Pulling her hand away, she looked at it. The fluid was clear, not blood as she’d feared. Her gaze cut to the pillow. There was a wet patch in the middle.
“Just a bit of drool. Nothin’ at all to worry about. And yes, you slept.”
While she’d been looking at the pillow, Jay had recovered some combat pants, turning his back to slip them on. As he buttoned them up, he looked over his shoulder. “How was your first time?”
Her cheeks burned as she swiped away the drool. Leaking bodily fluids… how embarrassing. Did that mean there was something wrong with the body?
“It was… not what I expected,” she admitted, meeting his gaze. “Does that…” She indicated the pillow. “Happen often? Does this body need calibration?”
“Nope. It just happens. At least you didn’t snore.” He smiled as she wrapped the blanket around her. It was warm and smelled wonderful. She pulled it closer and looked at him.
“I didn’t?”
Jay snored on occasion, but only when he was exhausted or hurt. An ache started in the center of her chest at the memory of him when she’d first found him, battered and almost dead in that D’Corr cell.
“Why do I hurt?”
“Drooling? Yeah, humans do that all the time. Nothing to worry about.” His expression sharpened. “Pain? Where? Show me.”
She moved to lift the hem of her nightshirt, his t-shirt, to show him and he yanked his gaze up. “No! Don’t show me!”
Confused, she dropped her hand. “You said to show you.”
“Yeah, but not if you’re naked under that!”
She shook her head. “What difference does that make?”
He risked a glance downward again, and then when he saw she was just sitting there, looked at her normally, his arms folded over his chest.
“It just does. Show me over your clothes.”
She sighed. Humans were so confusing.
“It hurts here,” she said, pressing her hand to her lower stomach and between her legs. It was a weird pressure, hard and spikey and she didn’t like it at all.
Color hit his cheeks for a second, his eyes widening. “Bathroom! You… err…” he paused, mouth working as though he’d lost the ability to form actual words and was just making random shapes.
“You probably need to use the toilet. To… urinate?” he finally managed.
Realization hit her.
“Waste elimination, of course! That’s what it is? Are you sure? I mean… I’ve been in this body less than twenty-four hours. It can’t have built up that much waste already, surely?”
He nodded as she slid off the couch, ushering her toward the facilities. “Yup. Humans need to… eliminate waste often. Several times a day usually for urine, once every day or so for solid matter.”
Even without the onboard sensors of her metal body, she could tell he was embarrassed. After being around him and the other two humans for a while, though, she’d realized that some subjects, especially those concerning bodily functions, were somewhat taboo in conversation. Particularly conversation between the genders.
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
She nodded as she stepped into the bathroom. Jay didn’t follow her, standing at the door.
“What do I do?” she asked, hiding her grin as his expression twisted. But the horrified look was just too much for her and she chuckled.
“Don’t worry. I think I can figure it out,” she said with a wink and shut the door.
A short while later she’d figured out not only how her body worked when it came to waste elimination but had also taken a shower. The lower stomach pain had completely disappeared now, which eased her worries about cellular degradation. Obviously, biological bodies had their own warning signs when something was wrong. She grumbled under her breath. A simple mental alert would have been sufficient, rather than making her feel like she was dying.
Leaving the bathroom wrapped in a large towel, she felt much better with the gunk from the biotube out of her hair. She’d thought she’d gotten it all before but there had been some left behind her ear. She’d been a little sidetracked with the sensation of the water and soap sliding over her skin. The textures and slipperiness had fascinated her all over again.
Jay had cleared away the makeshift bed on the couch, and the blanket was neatly folded and placed in the middle of one of the cushions. She didn’t need the visual measuring aids from her old body to know that all the corners would be ninety degrees and it would be precisely in the center of the cushion.
It hadn’t taken her long after meeting him to see through Jay’s rebellious, didn’t give a draanth attitude to the disciplined soldier beneath. He needed order and routine, craved it. Even when he had no control over anything else, she’d seen him create it with small rituals… like folding a blanket or eating in a particular order.
“There are some clothes on the bed for you,” he called out, his back to her as he sat at the desk, reading on a digital pad.
“Thank you.”
She padded on bare feet toward the bed. Her eyes wide, she picked up the comfortable looking tunic and pants. In a deep burgundy, they were th
e prettiest things she’d ever owned. She’d never needed to own or wear anything before. The closest she’d ever gotten was maybe a new paint job on her ship body or the time Rynn had glued a shawl to her mobile interface unit when she’d asked what it felt like to have hair.
“Not me.” His deep voice held a note of amusement. “Gracie dropped by while you were in the shower with them. Said they would fit you. I wouldn’t have a clue where to start with women’s clothes and… errr… underwear.”
Keris might have lost a lot of her analytical power when she’d given up her other body, but she could still tell when Jay wasn’t completely honest. She suspected he had far more experience with women’s attire than he made out. Probably mostly in removing them.
A rush of fire ripped through her body, tightening her throat and her chest. She froze, gritting her teeth so hard she was surprised they hadn’t broken. How much pressure was required to break human teeth? Automatically she reached for the knowledge, but it wasn’t there, nor was the ability to analyze the sensations tearing through her.
Why was that? Had she done something… hurt herself? The feeling eased and disappeared.
Biting her lip, she slowly began to get dressed. It took her a few moments to figure out how the underwear worked. It didn’t look like a Latharian design, but without an uplink she couldn’t check. Belonging to a male as she had, she was only familiar with warrior’s clothing and armor and then, later on, assassin’s weaponry and equipment. Never females’ underthings…
They were pretty, though, and the soft fabric and lace felt nice against her skin. She wished she had a mirror. For a moment, her gaze flicked over to where Jay sat. She could just see him through the latticework of the room divider, the tousled spikes of his hair and the width of his broad shoulders.
Heat hit her cheeks. What would he say if she walked out there and asked him what he thought of the underwear? Of her in the underwear. Whether he would want to take it off of her instead of taking some other female’s underwear off—
