Jailmates

by Lesli Richardson

  “How…how is that possible?”

  “I don’t know, buddy. I never had time to get into kinky shit. Maybe I’m kinky. All I know is…” I kiss them again, deeply, enjoying the way their hands tighten around me, where they’re resting against my lower back. “That I really liked it, and I’d really like to do it again.”

  They finally nod. “I would like another round.”

  Still without dislodging them from my ass, I lean back so they can sit up and shrug off the top of the jumpsuit. Then I unstrap their legs and, without me climbing off them, we work together to peel the jumpsuit down and off. Mostly with the blanket staying in place, too, which helps give us some privacy from the pervs I know are watching outside the room.

  Does that give us sexual ninja bonus points or something?

  I’m not sure if Mohrn egged me or not. I can’t tell yet, and I don’t feel like interrupting what we’re doing to check. If they did, they did, and I’m sure H’looder will be ecstatic about it.

  Not to mention it’ll mean I’m extra horny for a couple of days, and unable to take care of it to my true satisfaction.

  I hit the button to raise the head of the bed more, and now they can lean back comfortably. I lean forward, pull the blanket over me, and kiss them. Under the blanket, their hands settle on my hips, gently kneading my flesh. I plant my hands on either side of their head and stare down into their eyes. I wish this was in the privacy of the conjugal room. Hell, I wish this was in the privacy of a home—our home. Even if just a room in my family’s small apartment.

  Except…

  No. I have a mission now. I might not be a lawyer, or an expert on Pfahrn laws and their legal system, but I am an expert kick-ass researcher. I will figure this out for Mohrn, and I will make sure they never have to leave their beloved planet.

  I will do this for them if it’s the last thing I do.

  “What troubles your mind, Sy?” they softly ask.

  I don’t have to lie. “I worry about you when I’m not with you. Perk of the rank of being a spouse.” I kiss them again and nature takes over between us.

  Thank you, Maxim Colonies.

  Once I get Mohrn free and we—hopefully—work out something between us permanently, I think I’m going to leave all my augmentations in place.

  I like that I respond to Mohrn the way I do. I like feeling the way their soul lightens when I kiss them.

  I love feeling them grow hard inside me.

  I fucking love getting bit. Maybe there’s a little bit of bionanotech magic they can do there, toughen my skin or something.

  Maybe they can do something so I can reciprocate with Mohrn and bite them.

  When I start moving, riding them, this time I’m in control. Mohrn stares up at me, a thick mixture of awe and what I hope is love swirling through their soul as they watch me.

  Then again, maybe I’m caught up in the effects of the venom, and none of those feelings are real.

  I don’t know.

  I don’t care, either. In this moment I love Mohrn, and I hope and pray they love me as much as I think they do.

  Their hands trail up and down my sides, Mohrn gaining confidence as I ride them.

  “That’s it, buddy,” I encourage. “This isn’t any different from what we’ve done already.”

  I can feel it when passion takes over inside them, like sweet heat rising within their soul and filling every corner of their mind, until me and what we’re doing is all that’s there.

  No worry, no guilt, no stress—just passion building and closing in on combustion.

  That’s all I want from them in this moment. To take their mind off the rest of the world and their circumstances and to focus on me.

  Hope that doesn’t make me a narcissist. Except I know that there isn’t a lot they can focus on in their life right now other than being stuck in prison, and why, and on our interludes.

  I opt to position myself so they can reach my right shoulder this time, even it up.

  Leaning in, I nip their lower lip and offer them a playful smile. “We’ll need a long shower after round two, buddy.” I hope there’s a shower panel behind the curtain in this room, or at least one in this wing. If not, the Guyardiens are just going to have to get us to a damn shower.

  They fucking owe me.

  Correction—they owe Mohrn.

  “I wish I could take you to my spot at the river,” they softly say. “The water is warm enough to bathe in most of the year. I love to go there and wash myself. Then I lie in the shallows with my head in the mud and stare up at the sky. It is very serene and a blessing to me.” Their breath hitches. “I cannot believe I will never see it again.”

  I want to blurt it out and know I can’t. They will probably try to stop me if they know I know.

  It will horrify them, at this stage, to learn they technically breached the contract.

  I’ll find some way of challenging the damn contract without breaching it from Mohrn’s end. I will bring a challenge.

  Because I’m their fricking mate, I have authority to do that kind of stuff.

  Legalities, FTW, in this case.

  Meanwhile, I stare into their gorgeous turquoise eyes. “I promise you, I don’t know how, but I will do whatever I can to make sure you get to see your spot again. You and I will go there together.”

  They shake their head. “I cannot,” they whisper.

  Grabbing their face again, I kiss them. I need to turn this around. I don’t know what kind of emotional backlash going through that mating rage will wreak in Mohrn’s body, if there’s like a hangover effect or something.

  Maybe a little hair of the dog, so to speak, to get them back into a more solid state of mind, is just what the Mohrn-mohr ordered.

  I ride them, kissing them, and as passion takes over with them I nudge their mouth to my right shoulder.

  Mohrn kisses my shoulder before biting—

  YES!

  If I’m actually speaking, it’s probably in tongues. My cock almost immediately explodes again as the venom enters my body, quickly spreading and strengthening the bond I feel with Mohrn.

  Their love.

  Their fear.

  Mohrn’s hands grab my ass and they grind up into me, a low rumble rolling from them as I feel their cock hardening, fucking me, filling me.

  I whimper when Mohrn finally releases their bite several minutes later and kisses my shoulder, licks it. I’m shuddering, coming, still gripped by a long, hard orgasm that feels like it’s never going to quit.

  Holy.

  Shit.

  “Sy?”

  “Shhh…” I’m limply draped across their chest, their arms holding me. I don’t want to move, don’t want to speak.

  I want to bask in this feeling.

  I want to swim around in this glorious perfection filling my brain and soul and heart right now.

  Mohrn is my soulmate, of that I have no doubt. They’re terrified to lose me, but they love me. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but if it takes every fucking last bit of cash I have, I will figure out how to free Mohrn from prison and clear their name.

  Then I’m going to take the big pink bastard to bed and never let them out of my sight, much less my arms, for the rest of our lives.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  It turns out there is a shower in the curtained corner. We stand under it, holding each other, kissing, not talking.

  I don’t want to talk. I want to listen to Mohrn’s thoughts and it’s killing me to not tell them I can understand everything currently pulsing through their brain.

  Except I know.

  If I do that, they will ask me not to intercede.

  I know I can find a way, some way, to invalidate the contract.

  I have no clue how long we’ve been in there, but once we finally pull our clothes back on and I start toward the door, it swings open and Dehnzen stands there.

  Alone.

  “Where’s that fucking asshole doctor?” I growl.

  T
he Alpha apparently senses it’s best not to fuck with me. He holds up his hands in a universal placating gesture. “I sent him and the others away. I have already filed a report about his behavior. He will be terminated.”

  I get right in the guy’s face. “Do you have any clue how pissed off I am at you right now? We had a fucking deal!”

  “Sy, please.”

  I wheel around at Mohrn’s nearly whispered plea. They still stand in the room, hands clasped together and barely able to lift their gaze to mine.

  My rage dissolves as I return to Mohrn and pull them into my arms and tip their head onto my shoulder. “It’s okay, buddy. Nothing like this will ever happen to you again.”

  “No, it will not,” Dehnzen says. “I have already put in an order to move Mohrn to the trustees wing.”

  “Why weren’t they there to begin with?” I ask.

  “Because there is a minimum time required before being allowed to do that, and I had no way to do that without raising suspicions. After this incident, I can, due to special circumstances.”

  “Whoever hurt them better end up hurting themselves.”

  “They are. Three of them. Newly incarcerated, only a week. They were considered nonviolent and low risk. They have been moved to solitary and will remain there for a year each.”

  I want to fucking punch the assholes myself, but that has to be good enough. “How can I trust you after this?” I ask him.

  I hear the Alpha’s distraught sigh. “You have no reason to,” he finally says. “But my men and I are still in your debt due to our failure. Until you declare our debt paid.”

  I ease Mohrn around so I can look Dehnzen in the eyes. “I want to be able to send Mohrn stuff. Food, books, whatever. No more restrictions. If it’s a permitted item, I get to send it.”

  He nods. “I will personally see to it. As long as it’s a permitted item from the list, I will personally deliver it to Mohrn as soon as it arrives.”

  “I want Mohrn to have daily access to a com terminal, too, so they can communicate with me. Video and messages.”

  “Done.”

  I close my eyes and press my cheek against Mohrn’s. “What would you like me to send you, buddy?” I whisper to them.

  “I…I do not know.” They’re back to feeling borderline terrified, but through their mind I see them thinking about how much they miss drawing, and I know exactly what I’ll send to them.

  But I can’t exactly say that right now, because they’ll know I can see it.

  “What’s your favorite food, baby?” I ask. “I’ll learn how to cook that and send it.”

  They think it before they even say it, so I know there has to be some truth to this new ability of mine. “Kh’aumbau.”

  “Can Cloohdlin show me how to make it?”

  “Yes. Phey made it for me frequently. Phey always treated me kindly.”

  Good, that wasn’t me just hoping for a bit of decency from the dude, then. “As soon as I learn how to make it, expect regular packages of it.” I make Mohrn look me in the eyes as I cup their cheeks. “I love you.”

  Fear and doubt flitter through their mind again, worried this is nothing more than the effects of the venom on me.

  And fuck, I can’t reassure them no, it’s not just the venom.

  Already, they’re preparing themselves to settle back into that dark, lonely rut they’re usually stuck in after a lifetime of being told they didn’t matter and weren’t worthy of breathing.

  “I love you, too, Simon.”

  We’ve been in there for six hours, it turns out. Dehnzen has cleared the corridors and leads me and Mohrn to Mohrn’s current cell, where two more Guyardiens join us and help me and Mohrn gather all their things so we can move them to their new cell.

  The new cell is slightly larger. As a trustee, Mohrn will now have a daily chore to do, the bare minimum they’ll need to remain in this wing, but it’ll be good for them to get out and move around more often. Their chore will be there in the trustee wing, keeping them safe and alone for most of the day, as most of the trustees are out and about in other parts of the prison.

  “Is this acceptable?” Dehnzen asks me.

  No, it’s not, because Mohrn doesn’t belong here in the first place, but I can’t say that.

  I look at Mohrn. “Is this okay?”

  They finally nod. “It is very good, thank you.”

  Dehnzen steps out of the cell so I can have one last hug with Mohrn. “Love you, buddy,” I tell them. “Honesty is first, right?”

  Mohrn nods.

  “When we communicate, you need to tell me if there are problems. I’ll talk to Dehnzen for you. All right? Do not keep shit from me.” Famous last words…

  But Mohrn nods. “Thank you. I love you, too.”

  I force a smile for them. “I had a surprise for you I was going to tell you at our next visit, but I guess this is our next visit.”

  “What?”

  I tell them about the new visitation schedule, and Mohrn engulfs me in a hug. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. Surprise!”

  Mohrn draws in a ragged breath. “Thank you so much.”

  I reach up and gently massage Mohrn’s scalp. “Anything for you. I’m not going anywhere. I mean, I can’t stay here with you, unfortunately, but I’m always going to be waiting for you.”

  “You are the first person in my life to ever grow angry on my behalf.”

  Dammit. The big pink bastard is going to make me cry. “Get used to it, buddy. Because I’m always going to be in your corner and fighting for you. That’s my job.”

  * * * *

  Dehnzen is quiet when he walks me back to the transport bay. “Send me the list,” I tell him. “To my com. Expect a package as soon as I can get it put together and shipped up.”

  “Understood. I will.”

  We reach the transport bay and I have to wait for the incoming skiff from the MC station. I turn to him. “I meant it. If Mohrn comes to harm again, I will purchase your work contracts, all twelve of you, and you’ll spend what remains of your life in fucking misery.” I glare at him. “Just because I wasn’t a grunt doesn’t mean I don’t know how to fight like one. I saw shit in battle that would make you puke your guts up. I had guys dying all around us on one planet, guys trying to protect me and my techs because we were desperately working to get a communications station back up and running to call in reinforcement troops and air support. I saw Gantranciel ripping the heads off screaming men after impaling them with their fucking pincers.”

  I step in close, in his face, and drop my voice. “So don’t let my appearance fool you any more than Mohrn’s appearance fools others. Because if I need to take retribution for them, I’ll make what you saw of them in their mating heat rage look like sunshine and giggles. I’ll make you beg for your deaths while I literally take you apart at each joint with my bare hands. Do you understand me?”

  He actually pales a little before he nods. “Understood.”

  “Good. And you fuckers aren’t going to make that debt good any time soon, either. Definitely not until after Mohrn’s safely out of this fucking place and back with me, where they belong.”

  The skiff takes me to H’looder’s station. I’m still angry and jazzed up on venom and upset I have to leave that place without my Mohrn.

  Mine.

  It’s the middle of the night station time, but by the time I reach H’looder’s lab, he’s there and waiting for me.

  “How is Mohrn, Simon?”

  “Office.” I walk ahead of him. There, I begin spitting out the story, and halfway through my angry ranting about what happened…

  I burst into tears.

  At least H’looder isn’t scared of me in my emotional state. He retrieves tissues for me and calls two of his techs to the lab. “I know this is difficult for you, Simon, and I’m not trying to be insensitive, but—”

  “Yeah, I know. Samples.” I sob into another tissue. “That’s why I’m here. Why am I crying?”

>   Now that Mohrn knows about the Guyardiens, there’s no reason for me to conceal what happened from H’looder, so I’ve included that information.

  I haven’t told him about the mental connection I now have with Mohrn, though. That’s one thing I’m going to hold back because I can’t let Mohrn find out yet.

  “I don’t know,” he admits. “It is probably due to the circumstances, maybe something to do with the venom.”

  “I think he egged me, too,” I say. I still haven’t checked to be sure, but it feels like it.

  The Veraci gets points for being quick on the uptake and sussing out my feelings. “How about once we take the blood samples, you let us give you a sedative so we can do the rest of the things that we need to do?”

  I nod. “Thank you.”

  I wake up late the next day station time curled on my side in my stateroom, with the temperature there set perfectly.

  At least they know me here.

  I reach over to the other side of the bed, where Mohrn would normally sleep. I can practically feel them there.

  I can still feel them in my mind, a little. They’re achingly lonely right now without me.

  That makes me cry again.

  I finally get myself moving and take a shower, order breakfast in my room, and grab my com while I’m waiting.

  I have a message from Dehnzen.

  I peruse the full list of approved items I can now send to Mohrn or buy for them from the prison commissary.

  Art supplies is near the top of the list.

  I think about the little sketch they made of me and I immediately order paper, colored pencils, and other items from the commissary, and they will be delivered to Mohrn almost immediately. I’ll buy more, items they don’t have there but which are approved, and send them, too.

  If I can’t bring the outside world to Mohrn, maybe they can brighten their world in some way.

  When my food arrives, Dr. H’looder is with them, and he remains behind to talk. “I’m going to send you back to Pfahrn with a variety of sample containers,” he says. “I’d like you to get some for me over the next few weeks.”