Celestial Seductions: The Complete Series: An MM Gay Paranormal Mpreg Romance Collection

by Odin Nightshade

  “Okay.” Hunter replied, his voice with a distinct edge, as if he were gripping onto sanity for dear life, afraid of losing his purchase on it altogether. “I am an alien. You are an alien. We, in fact, are aliens.” He looked down at Orion wide-eyed.

  “Well, not quite. You are half one of us, half one of the human kind.”

  “Oh.” Hunter made a noise like a strangled laugh. “That's good. So I'm only half human? Great!” His mouth twisted in an angry grimace and he turned away from the man beside him, swiftly.

  “Please.” Orion held out a hand. His dark eyes were tormented. “Stop being so angry.”

  “I'm not.” Hunter replied, and suddenly the anger drained out of him. He slumped forward, feeling tired, and weak and suddenly old. “Really, I couldn't be angry.”

  “Good.” Orion smiled. They lay quietly for a moment, seeking solace in each other's arms, wound tightly around each other’s forms, as if to protect each other from the truths unfolding in the room.

  “So.” Hunter sat up, a wry smile on his face. “I'm half like you, and half human.”

  “Yes.” Orion confirmed.

  “That's why...” Hunter gasped. “That explains everything! Why my dad was so cagey about my mother, why he seemed so distant. Why I always felt alone, like an outsider.” He felt his heart soar. He kissed Orion again, passionately. “Thank you so much! I suddenly understand.”

  Orion smiled. “I am so sorry you had to suffer like that.” He kissed him in return.

  “Well,” Hunter smiled, “it's okay now. You made it understandable, defused it.” He smiled. The implications of all he had heard were too many to think about, but the most important thing for him was that so much finally made sense.

  “I'm glad.” Orion replied.

  They lay quietly for a while.

  “So,” Hunter continued. “You, and your nation, are here to breed with humans?”

  “Yes.” Orion nodded. He coughed delicately.

  “So that means I...” Hunter paused. The implications suddenly exploded together in his head. “I...Oh. Man.” He slumped backwards onto the bed. “I'm pregnant.”

  Orion looked down, miserably, brow knotted in bitterness and misery. “Yes.”

  Hunter laughed. He sounded like a man in mental torment. He lay back, thinking.

  “That explains a lot.” He said after a while.

  “It does. I am sorry.” Orion agreed.

  “Sorry?” Hunter spat. “You impregnated me without my consent! For your own gain!”

  “Yes.” Orion was not looking at him. “But I am deeply in love with you, and want very much to make a life together. Please, come with me to my world so we can live together, as a family.” His violet eyes were wide, and raw, filled with love.

  Hunter looked back at him, his heart aching as if he had been punched there.

  Silence.

  “No.” Hunter sat up after a few moments. He looked quite wild.

  “Hunter...”

  “No!” Hunter rolled over, and was across the room in an instant, pulling on his clothes, moving like all the world was hostile and after him. “No.” His voice was hard. “You have told me there are other worlds, and you are an alien. I am an alien. I am pregnant.” His voice was hard. “Now you want to abduct me?” He said, shrill. “No way.”

  “Hunter...no...”

  “Get away from me!” Hunter did not raise a hand to him, but he moved away and Orion stood back, as if he had been struck.

  Hunter walked through to the hallway, found his shoes and pulled them on, even as he reached for his briefcase and searched a pocket for keys.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Out. Away.” Hunter said, walking to the door. He slammed it behind him and ran down the flights of steps, taking two at a time. Out into the night.

  The air was cold and dead outside, the night hushed to a silence Hunter would not have believed possible. He barely noticed. The street was quiet and he had no idea what time it was. Nor did he care. His anger made his feet swifter than he would have believed possible, and he strode through red lights and green lights and past sleeping vagrants and through deserted parking-lots. He could not stop thinking about all the things that he had heard. All the wild, impossible, tormenting things. He was not human! How could that be possible? He would dismiss it, but the problem was that it made sense. A terrible kind of sense. He had never known who his mother was. Now he knew why. He did not have a mother. His father had never talked about his origins. Now he knew why! His father might not even know about his origins.

  He came from another planet. A planet several light-years away. A planet that was Orion's home. That was dying. He walked, and the words filled his mind, giving him no chance to see where he was going, or to care.

  The most tormenting thought of all was that Orion loved him. That he had risked life for him. That he wanted to take him back. How could he live with that? How could he live with the fact that someone could love him so profoundly? Stupidly, insanely, in all his short, busy and full life, he had never considered that he might be loved, had never imagined how it might feel. He found the prospect daunting, painful and completely terrifying. It made his heart ache.

  “You don't mean it.” he said aloud. “You're lying.” He felt desperate, and shouted it into the quiet night. “You're lying!”

  The night was silent. Nothing returned to him, not even an echo.

  “Orion?” Hunter whispered, quietly. Suddenly he felt drained, and hurt, and very, very miserable. A tear, cold and wet and slow, slid down his face.

  He stumbled and sat down, not caring where or in what he might be sitting. “Orion?” He sobbed. “I didn't mean it. I love you.”

  His breath heaved in his chest and he sobbed. All the hurt, all the longing, all the years of loneliness seeped out of him and ran down his cheeks with the icy, flowing tears.

  It might have been hours that he sat there; he did not know. When he sat up, he felt completely drained. Something inside him felt healed, too. Whole, resolute. Like he had never felt before.

  He stood. His legs collapsed under him and he sat down heavily, exhausted and panting. After a few minutes he tried again. This time, he stood up and managed to stay upright.

  “Okay.” he breathed out. He felt full of purpose, more resolved than he ever had about anything in his life before. He would go home. He would find Orion. And he would even go back with him. How could he not? He loved this man, and Orion loved him. What else was there that mattered? He shook his head, smiling. He felt more certain about this than he had ever felt of anything in his life. He turned and looked back the way he had come.

  It took a long time to find his way back. He had simply walked, on his way here, paying no heed to his surroundings, and it was difficult to guess which way he may have come, and which way to go back to his home. He had never been in this part of town before, this distant and insalubrious part of the city. He walked stiffly, lip clamped between his teeth, hoping that he did not look like a man in a business suit, hopelessly lost on the wrong side of town.

  After an hour and a half of walking, he sighed with relief. There were buildings he recognized! He felt elated. Another half an hour, and he would be home.

  He walked through the streets, heart rising. The morning was breaking softly in the sky, painting the sky above the high-rise yellow and red by the time he found his apartment-block and returned.

  He felt elated! He had made it. He had made it, he was in love, and he was going home.

  He bounded up the stairs, unable to contain his elation. “Orion!” he shouted, “Orion!”

  When he unlocked the door, the bed was made and Orion was gone.

  Chapter 10

  The sun shone through the window of the apartment, slanting in with the morning. Hunter sat up heavily and walked to the kitchen. He put the kettle on and made coffee, and sat down, heavily, at the kitchen table.

  Fragments of his dream still floated through Hunter's head. The fee
ling of Orion's arms around him, his body close. The smile with which he had greeted him.

  The light was warm and bright, filling the air around him. Hunter sighed. He had dreamed that night. As he sipped the coffee, he thought about the dream. Orion had been so clear in his dream, talking to him, holding him, telling him all the things he had not told him before. Repeating his love and his offer of passage home. Hunter, this time, had returned his love. They had kissed, and loved, and fallen asleep beside each other, wrapped together, hearts beating close together.

  Hunter had awoken with new purpose, and a sense of certainty. This was the first morning he had risen from his bed, having spent the last week in a state of exhausted, drained numbness. He had called in sick, and stayed away for a week. He had even considered, when he was lucid, calling the doctor. He was convinced he was losing his mind. And the sense of hopelessness was all-pervading. Without Orion, he did not even want to sit, never mind to carry on living.

  He had lain in bed for a week, leaving only to take short trips to the bathroom, and, once or twice, for coffee. Last night, however, he had dreamed. And this morning, the sunlight slanting in had woken him and, for the first time, made him smile.

  In the dream, he had told Orion all the things he had wished to say. Told him all the things he had wanted to say the day before, if he had only had the words to do it with. And Orion had returned his words, saying all the things Hunter most longed to hear him say. And they had loved all night. Hunter woke filled with purpose.

  He lifted the phone and took it to the table with him, the eggs frying in the pan as he dialed the number. He was starving.

  “Mrs. Wyatt? Hi.”

  He held the phone a little away, smiling as her delighted exclamations reached him down the handset.

  “I am fine. Yes, I really am. The doctor? Well, I'm sure he'd let me come in. I'll be there in an hour.”

  More delight worked its way across the network, and Hunter grinned. He really had no idea he was that well-liked at his work. He shook his head, smiling.

  Ten minutes later, the eggs were done, and Hunter finished two plates of breakfast in record time. He felt a little queasy afterwards, and sat back, hoping he would keep it down. He checked the time and sipped some coffee, hoping to settle his aching stomach.

  As he sat back, he felt something. A fluttering, a stab of motion, in his abdomen. The baby moved!

  He blinked, and grinned. He felt completely incredulous, and absolutely wonderful. All at the same time. It was true! It must be! He really was pregnant.

  He thought back to the visit to the doctor. He had seemed perfectly healthy. A brief search through the pile of letters he had not read revealed the printout from the blood tests at the lab. They were all negative. No ulcers. No infection. Nothing they could find. He shook his head. It was true! He was actually, really, pregnant.

  As he sat back, the scents of toast and freshly-ground coffee wafting about his head, he felt a sense of peace and contentment like he had never felt before. He was pregnant, he was in love, and soon he would return with his lover to a home unknown. He knew it, because he had dreamed with him, and he would make it true.

  Hunter leaned back and smiled.

  Thirty minutes later, showered, dressed and clean, he was on his way to work.

  The office on the top floor of the building was quiet with the evening. Hunter leaned back after a long day of work. He felt contented, but also restless. He knew somehow that Orion was close. He just knew it.

  He looked down at his desk. Much to his amazement, it had not been too demanding to catch up the week of work, and he is already further than he would have thought possible. The out tray is fuller than the in, and the desk has its customary neatness again, the only untidy thing being the desktop calendar with its elaborate to-do list.

  “Mrs. Wyatt?” Hunter called over the system.

  “Yes, Mr. Cavendish?” The woman's voice said back, sounding cheerful. She had been attentive and welcoming all day, and Hunter was amazed.

  “I'll leave in about an hour. If you could bring through the paperwork for the Circuits deal?”

  “Of course, Mr. Cavendish.”

  A few minutes later, she appeared, a folder of official papers in her left hand and a pen in her right. “Here we are,” she began, smiling, “all up to date. Just waiting for your signature, Mr. Cavendish.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Wyatt.” he smiled at her, genuinely touched by her caring; by everyone at work and how kind they had been during and after his long absence.

  He looked through the papers and signed them. The deal had gone through, despite his dramatic luncheon, he thought, smiling wryly. That was a good result.

  He checked his emails again and answered the most pressing ones. After an hour, he fetched his coat and left.

  At home, Hunter ate a large salad. He really wanted tomatoes. He shook his head at himself. Was this what being pregnant was really like? Amazing.

  He worked out for a while, amazed by how weak and emaciated he was after his week of illness, and also by how quickly his strength was returning now that he was well again. Everything was perfect. He was just slightly wistful. If only he could find his way to Orion, send him a message. He knew he was coming back, he just wished he could find him. Everything else was perfect.

  By ten o' clock he felt exhausted, and, after a shower, he slipped between the coverlets and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

  He woke, feeling a light shining on his eyelids. He half-sat, and felt an arm move around his body, holding him gently. He opened his eyes. The light was white, and bright, and strangely cool, not invasive at all. The arm around him was strong, and firm and gentle.

  He turned round. It was Orion.

  “My dear.”

  They kissed.

  Hunter moved back in his arms, feeling the familiar, beloved warmth surround him. He pressed his body close to Orion's, and felt the stiffening of his body, showing him already how aroused he was.

  They kissed again, slowly. Hunter felt desire racing through him, catching his heart like fire, building and blazing through him so that each part of his body tingled, nerves pulsing to breaking point.

  Orion's hands moved on his body, stroking him, and Hunter reached back, allowing his own touch to drift down Orion's body, stroking over the fine, firm muscled chest.

  They lay like that for a while, deeply content in each other's presence, delighting to explore each other. Orion entered him, then, pressing deep within with an exquisite slowness that made Hunter want to cry out, and gasp, and cry.

  They moved together for some time, exquisite and gentle, and when Hunter came he called out his name. Orion climaxed a second or two later, and they lay together in each other's arms, letting the perspiration cool and their bodies slowly return to the present moment, heart rate steadying back to normal once again.

  Hunter drifted off to sleep, and as he did so, he whispered almost-inaudible, “It's a dream, isn't it? Just a dream.”

  The light pulsed over his eyelids and Orion held him close and they slept.

  Next morning, Hunter stretched and stirred. The light was still white and bright and cool on his eyelids. The arm was still there. He sat up.

  “Good morning.” Orion said, lying beside him, sleepily.

  “Good morning.” Hunter sat up, and blinked. He stopped. “Uh...Orion?”

  “Yes?” He replied, lazily. He kissed the part of Hunter which lay closest to him, which happened to be his right wrist. He looked up at him, his violet eyes warm.

  “Orion,” Hunter replied, a little shrilly, “Why am I here?”

  Orion smiled. His lips traced Hunter's wrist, making him gasp. He looked down into violet eyes, warm and smiling and gentle.

  “You are here,” he began, “because I called you.” He punctuated the words with kisses, gently kissing his way from wrist to palm. Hunter shivered. He smiled, tentatively, and asked again.

  “Orion, my dear,” he paused, “where are we?”


  “The ship.” He smiled, wide violet eyes free of any guile. He was smiling; his face transformed with pleasure, watching the slow smile and bemusement spread across Hunter's expression.

  “What?” Hunter asked, incredulous. He was smiling, and laughing, eyes wide.

  “We're on the ship.” Orion said, softer this time, “going home.”

  Hunter laughed aloud. The joy that spread through him then was like nothing he had ever felt in life. He was with Orion, he was in love and loved. And they were heading home.

  “My dear?” Hunter asked, after a moment, “how is this possible?”

  Orion smiled. “It is.” He sighed. “When you fell asleep, you thought of me, yes? Your heart called mine.” He smiled again. “We speak with thoughts, where we come from. You might have noticed a heightened intuition at some times in your life?” Hunter thought about it and nodded, slowly. He did seem to have sensitivities that other people did not have.

  “Well,” Orion smiled, “that was all that was needed.” He kissed Hunter again, slowly. “You wanted to be here, you called me, and when you fell asleep you were thinking of me. That was enough to bring you here.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes.”

  “So my body and everything is here on this ship?”

  “Yes,” Orion confirmed, “it is.”

  “Well, good.” Hunter smiled after a moment. “I mean, I'd want my body to be here. With you.”

  “Good.” Orion smiled, violet eyes slanted, teasing. They kissed.

  Hunter felt his arms reach for the body beside him and, slowly, they made love. He could not have said if they lay together for hours, days or only a few minutes. Time stood still when they were together, as always.

  As they lay beside each other, Hunter marveled at how the blankets over them kept them so warm. Not too hot, not too cold. Just perfectly warm. It must be some special fabric, he decided, superior technology, and all that. He smiled. He would ask Orion, but he wasn't sure he'd understand the explanation anyway.

  It was strange, he reflected, that they did not seem to be moving at all. Not, he thought, that there were windows or anything, to give them any idea of how the scenery changed outside the windows. He decided he didn't want to know the reasons for that, either. He assumed they were travelling at some constant velocity, probably near the speed of light. Anything more than that, he reflected, didn't really matter. He was here, and they were headed home. That was all that mattered.