by Ava York
I reached out with my other hand, trying to draw her closer. I kept my grip loose so she could pull away if she wanted to. Even though her body was tense with resistance, I knew she wasn’t going to struggle.
Something in her was slowly caving away, like sand under a tide. Either she didn’t want to resist, or she couldn’t remember why she wanted to.
With both arms, I pulled her against my chest.
Her body seemed to be crying out for my touch. I could sense hot spots waking up all over her and wondered if it would be enough to open her up to me. She curled against me, almost completely relaxed as she pressed her cheek to my chest.
For a few seconds, there was nothing but our breathing. Her fingers curled softly against my chest, feeling like hot embers that slowly fed the heat inside me.
Touching her felt more natural to me than breathing. I waited to feel resistance from her, but it didn’t come. Instead, she crept even closer to me, resting her arm across my waist.
I stroked her hair gently, not wanting to push too hard. When she pressed her body against mine and turned her head up, it took every ounce of my strength to stay still and let her come to me.
Her lips touched mine, slowly and with hesitation. I kept myself in check, letting her set the pace. Slowly, she got up on her knees, running her hands across my chest and shoulders. When she trailed her fingers across my neck, spider soft, I shivered at the intensity of it.
I responded to the kiss without escalating it, feeling her confidence growing with each passing second. My hands moved by themselves, stroking her waist and pulling her closer. As her body pressed against mine, she wrapped her arms firmly around my neck and leaned into the kiss.
My hands tightened on her waist, my lips and tongue taking control. She bent over me, opening herself and letting me kiss her. My hands started roaming around her body, and she reciprocated my exploration.
I pushed upward and to the side, until she had to lie down, pulling me on top of her. With my hands touching her and my mouth pulling on hers, I felt something in me topple over, all of my attention becoming more insistent.
She turned her mouth to the side suddenly, crying out. I sat up immediately, disentangling myself with some difficulty.
“Are you okay?” My voice was husky as I tried to remain in control.
“I’m okay.” She didn’t sound okay.
I ran my hands over her gently, the swell of her hips and long thighs tantalizing under the fabric of her gown. She writhed a little, but I could feel that edge of resistance in her still.
“Will you let me pleasure you?” It was the only thing I could think of to say. My mouth was practically watering from the scent of her sex. Every part of me wanted in on the action, but if I got to feast on her, it would be more than enough for now.
If she could just trust me, even if only a little, I could bridge the gap between us. I just knew it.
She stayed quiet for some time, enough for me to think she was going to send me back to the floor. I started to talk myself out of anything happening, when she spoke one beautiful word.
“Yes.” It was soft but unmistakable.
I ran my hands up her thighs, pushing up the gown. I moved slowly, keeping to the gentle pace she had set. I wanted her to know at all times that I would stop the second she told me to.
“Just trust me,” I whispered as I fell on my belly between her thighs, lifting her legs over my horns to rest on my shoulders. Tension ran through her and I knew she was scared. I could also feel she was so aroused and curious it was going to overtake her fear.
“Trust me,” I whispered again as I drew my face nearer to her pussy. “Relax and let me pleasure you.”
Just before I touched her with my mouth, I felt tension running right through her. It was as if she was about to run or fight me. Then I parted those sweet inner lips with my tongue and caressed her clit with the tip.
“Sweet mate.” I took another taste, deeper this time. “Delicious mate.”
Lila gasped, gripping the sheets in both fists. As I opened my mouth, licking deeper and caressing her inner folds, she writhed, hips gently surging up and down. I couldn’t help smiling as I worked my lips even deeper, knowing that she was over the fear now.
She thrust her hips up and down, ragged gasps tearing from her throat. I rode through those first moments of high sensitivity, carefully licking at her clit and moving lower to tease the inner lips and pressing my tongue into her slit.
When I kept putting pressure deep into her pussy, teasing my tongue inside, I felt her whole body relax. She let her head fall back, moans rising in her throat. I could feel her getting wetter and it only made me lick deeper into her, desperate to taste her juices.
She started to rock slowly up and down, keeping up a rhythm between her clit and the deep cave of her pussy. I moved with the pace, letting her pleasure herself while I held out my lips and tongue as a sacrifice to her awakening lust.
As she started to cry out, I gripped her ass hard. I pulled her towards me and wrapped my lips around her clit, licking at it firmly and sucking on it. Her limbs were shaking, her skin was flowing in waves of goosebumps. I could sense the great tremors coming from far away and kept up my slow, careful attention.
The orgasm rocked through her, her clit pulsing in my mouth. I enjoyed the sensation for a few seconds, moving down to her pussy to taste the wet waves as they started to flow. She went loose and still under me, murmuring nonsense as I ate the orgasm from her, encouraging a chain of smaller ones that made her buck and thrash.
I licked across the hot, plump lips once more as I sat up, crawling up her body.
I took her in my arms and pulled her close to me, trying not to think in this beautiful place of sensuality and growing trust.
Lila
Everything changed, but in an odd way, it didn’t. I felt like time stood still as we settled into new routines.
Each day felt more comfortable than the last. Slowly but surely, I was adjusting to life aboard the Calliope.
Kyre repaired what he could before we reached a proper shipyard.
I tried to help, but after realizing half of his tools were too heavy for me to lift, I gladly ceded my spot to Derrix.
During the day, I tried to help Javik organize his varied collection of samples, experiments, and things that were simply ‘interesting’ in the med bay.
And at night, I shared the bed with Rekker.
We hadn’t done anything since that first night together.
It certainly wasn’t for lack of desire.
There was plenty of desire, but I wasn’t yet sure how far I wanted to take this. When we were in bed together, in the dark with no one else around, it was easy to get swept up in the intensity of things.
When his head was between my legs, I wasn’t thinking about anything but how I wanted to stay suspended in that moment forever. That wouldn’t be a problem if I didn’t have my family to think about.
I still needed to get back to them.
I knew the payment they’d received in compensation was more than enough to make up for my absence, but that didn’t matter.
I belonged on Earth, on the farm, with my family and my animals.
Didn’t I?
“You look like you’re contemplating the origins of the world,” a voice said, startling me from my thoughts. I looked up to find Javik.
“No. I’m just thinking about my family.” I saw no point in hiding the truth.
“You miss them?”
I nodded. “Terribly.”
“Once we complete this mission, I’m sure Rekker will arrange a way for you to contact them.” Javik didn’t speak with reassurance, he spoke as if his words were an obvious fact, which was ultimately more comforting.
“I’d like that.” I swallowed, clearing my throat. “Speaking of Rekker, have you seen him?”
Rekker and I had developed a routine of sorts. Rekker woke up earlier than I did to start his daily duties aboard the Calliope. I knew
he met with the crew every morning to debrief. While he did that, I showered and dressed.
When I’d been unceremoniously shipped off to Rekker, I only had the pack I’d brought with me. It contained only a few articles of clothing, all of which were now worn and dirty. As I spoke to Javik, I wore one of Rekker’s shirts, folded and tied so that it better fit my frame.
It was midmorning now. By this time, Rekker usually joined me on the bridge for a late breakfast.
“You were speaking of me?” Rekker approached the table with an easy smile. “Nothing bad, I hope.”
“Exclusively bad,” I teased.
“I’ll leave you to your breakfast,” Javik said with a slight bow. “I trust you’ll visit the med bay when you’re finished here?”
It wasn’t just helping Javik organize the med bay, no matter how badly it needed it. I greatly enjoyed learning from him. To my surprise, alien doctors and Earth veterinarians weren’t all that different.
He and I were able to converse easily. It was one of my favorite parts of the day.
“Glad to see you’re making friends,” Rekker said as he slid into the chair across from me.
I’d taken it upon myself to fetch our usual breakfast from the galley. Unfamiliar fruits, something that resembled oatmeal, and a tall glass of thick, pale blue liquid that tasted somewhat like watermelon.
“Javik and I have a lot of common interests,” I replied.
“He must think highly of you,” he said thoughtfully. “Javik isn’t one for conversation.”
“He’s taught me a lot about the Mahdfel. I now know all of your weaknesses.”
“You should,” Rekker grinned. “You’re one of them.”
My smile faltered.
“Because I’m your mate, right?”
“Indeed.” He dropped his gaze. “Does it bother you to talk about it?”
“About being mates? No,” I said after a moment of consideration. “But I’m still adjusting to the idea.”
“Of course,” he said quickly. “You don’t have to act a certain way now that you know. You’re still your own being. You aren’t obligated to do anything now that you know.”
“I’m still obligated to fulfill my contract,” I muttered.
“That’s different. I despise the contract as much as you do. Though I can’t say I’m upset that it brought you to me.”
“I wonder how things would be different if we were allowed to meet in a more natural way,” I mused. “I probably wouldn’t have struck you in the jaw with a mop handle.”
“I should hope not,” Rekker laughed.
The tension fizzled out around us as we settled back to our breakfast.
“You were talking to Javik about your home,” Rekker said.
“Just that I miss my family,” I said. “And the farm.”
“Once we get through this mission, I’ll make sure you can get in touch with them.”
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Javik said you’d say that.”
“He knows me well.”
We fell into a comfortable silence. As we finished our food, I started wondering about Rekker’s profession as a captain.
“Do missions like this make up most of your work?” I asked.
Rekker shook his head. “Not at all. This one is highly unusual.”
“What would you call usual?”
“My team and I are usually called in to deal with violent Suhlik,” he explained. “Just before we were assigned this mission, we spent weeks tracking down and dismantling a Suhlik breeding ring.”
I clamped a hand over my mouth. “How awful!”
“It was. We almost didn’t make it back.” Rekker’s eyes clouded with memories that haunted him.
“Was that the worst mission you’ve ever done?”
“No, but it was close,” he said. “We’ve been through some bloody battles together. We’ve all saved each other’s lives on more than one occasion. I almost took a projectile in the heart. Cedroc was able to keep me alive until Javik could patch me up.”
Scars of all shapes and sizes tracked across his body, though most of them blended in with his skin. I wanted to know the stories behind all of them.
But before I could ask, we were interrupted.
“Captain.” Kyre, the engineer, appeared at the table.
“Yes?”
“We’re near Silva. They’ve got the best shipyard anywhere near our route.”
From what I’d gathered, the Calliope could still function, just not as efficiently as she was capable of. At least it wasn’t scattered through space as debris, like the Suhlik ship. We’d been more or less ambling through space over the past few days, rather than zooming.
“Excellent,” Rekker said. “Tell Cedroc he has permission to land.”
“Yes, Captain.” Kyre hurried away.
“What’s Silva?”
“It’s a small planet, barely bigger than your Earth moon.”
“Another planet?”
The words caught in my throat. Though it seemed silly, the realization that I truly wasn’t in my own galaxy anymore hit me harder than expected.
“Are you all right?” Rekker asked.
“Yes,” I stammered. “It’s just that I never imagined I’d leave the Milky Way Galaxy, ever.”
“I know it’s daunting. Silva is a relatively safe planet. It has a single outpost where species from all over the galaxy congregate. It’s neutral ground, for the most part. The outpost itself is small, though it’s packed with all kinds of supplies and goods. The Suhlik usually don’t bother with Silva since it’s out in the middle of the black and doesn’t have much as far as loot-able goods go.”
“That makes me feel better.” I laughed nervously. “I’d like to live through my first week in space.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said with surprising seriousness. “That’s what being mated to a Mahdfel means. You’ll never have to worry about your safety as long as I’m nearby.”
My heart fluttered against my ribs. I knew he’d just told me I wasn’t obligated to do anything or feel a certain way now that he was my mate, but damn! He sure made it hard not to completely fall for him.
My mind flickered to my family almost immediately, like a self-timed punishment. Guilt flooded my mind, stamping out the fluttery feeling Rekker awakened in me.
I shouldn’t feel as torn as I did. Rekker was a stranger.
My family was the most important thing to me. The farm was my life.
It was no question that I needed to go back, even though something in my heart whispered for me to stay close to Rekker.
“We’re going to land soon, so hang on tight.” Cedroc’s voice came over the speaker mounted on the wall.
Rekker let out a long-suffering sigh.
“No matter how many times I go over the proper landing procedure, he never sticks to it.”
“Will he land safely?” I asked.
“Without a doubt,” Rekker assured me. “He’s one of the best pilots I’ve ever worked with. It’s just that no matter what I do, I can’t get him to say ‘All hands, secure yourselves and all precious cargo. Initiating landing sequence’.”
I stifled a laugh. “Do we need to secure ourselves?”
“Not really.” Rekker shrugged. “Cedroc is a smooth lander. You can watch from the viewport if you like.”
The idea of seeing a new planet was too much to resist. I walked to the nearest viewport and looked out. Below me was what I originally thought to be snow-covered plains. As we drew closer, I realized it was a sea of white-leaved trees with deep blue trunks and branches.
“It’s beautiful!” I gasped.
“The forest sits atop a lake that spans most of the planet. The outpost is built on bridges and platforms between the trees suspended over the water. It’s a small settlement. People who want to settle here have to apply, sometimes even wait for years, otherwise the very beauty that attracts them would be overrun.”
“Wi
ll the Calliope fit?”
He nodded. “Certainly. I’ve brought the Calliope through here several times. It’s one of my favorite places.”
“I can see why,” I said, marveling at the beautiful landscape.
Before long, the outpost appeared. I spied a long dock filled with spacecraft like the Calliope. Thankfully, the dock didn’t appear to be full.
The Calliope tipped to one side as Cedroc brought her around. I lost my balance. Rekker reached out and pulled me to him before I fell over. I leaned into his chest as the ship lurched again.
“Maybe Cedroc isn’t as smooth a pilot as I made him out to be,” Rekker chuckled.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” I joked.
“No. But I’m prepared to take advantage of the situation.”
With a smile on my lips, I relaxed against him.
As we approached Silva, I couldn’t help but feel excited.
I couldn’t wait for Rekker to show me this beautiful new planet.
Rekker
The Calliope docked between two streamlined space vessels, each about half her size. Very few permanent residents owned space vessels on Silva. It was a simple place with simple people.
Not a bad life actually. I wouldn’t mind living in a place like this when I retired, if I ever retired.
Lila’s fingertips brushed over my skin as she took in the view. My arms were still draped around her, though she no longer needed me for balance. As she watched this new world unfold before her eyes, I watched her face.
My mate was a sight to behold, no mistake.
“I hope you braced for that landing.” Cedroc’s voice came through the intercom, disrupting the moment.
Lila barked out a laugh as she stepped away from me. Cold air filled the space between us. I would’ve gladly stood like that with her for hours.
“Was that for the purpose of annoying you?” she asked.
“I think so,” I chuckled.
“I suppose it’s his way of making the job fun.”
“Because exploring the unending vastness of space and not having to pay for the fuel isn’t fun enough.”
“You don’t pay?” She tilted her head.
