by C. V. Walter
It was the most grown up, clear sighted thing she'd ever heard from someone his age and reoriented her attitude toward their relationship. She loved him, was happy to be his mom, and really enjoyed being his friend as an adult. Losing that would break her, she thought.
Chapter 20
When Mintonar walked in, bags of food in one hand and her helmet under his arm, it was to find Maw-lee wrapped in a blanket with silent tears streaming down her face. He put the things down on the table that was initially intended for dining and had become his office when he wasn't at his actual office.
She looked up at him and sniffed, a watery smile on her face.
"Welcome back," she told him. "Whatever you got smells amazing. How was your day?"
"Busy and far too long away from you," he told her, coming to kneel by her side. "You were smiling when we talked. What happened while I was on my way home to make you cry?"
"I'm still smiling," she said, offering him a weak, though obviously genuine, smile. "Just too much time alone in my head with nothing to do but think. I need a book or a project. Something to do that doesn't involve taking apart your rooms with no tools."
"Do your thoughts trouble you so much?" he asked, reaching out to caress her cheek. The way she was curled in the chair put her face on a level with his and she leaned her face into the gentle touch.
"Not usually," she mumbled, kissing his palm and sending a bolt of desire through him. "Well, sometimes, when I think about how much I miss my son. He's lived with his father and his father's family since I filed for divorce five years ago and we never got much time together. I've been working on the space station for the last year or so which makes it even harder. He's a good kid and I miss him."
Pain shot through Mintonar's heart at her admission. "I'm sorry, Maw-lee," he said.
"Not your fault," she said and sniffed again. "And nothing that can be done about it right now, either. I'd rather hear about your day. Tell me all about the long and terrible day you spent away from me that was only terrible because you were in the office and you weren't curled around my body instead."
He laughed and she smiled at him, kissing his palm again. "Truly, being away from you was a torment, particularly because I could imagine you sleeping in my bed. And now, I come home to find you wrapped in my blanket and crying because you could not go for very long without seeing my face. Truly, Maw-lee, I am humbled."
"You're terrible," she said, biting gently at his hand. "I suppose I should let you feed me before I start interrogating you about your day at work so I don't have to tell you about the thrilling adventures of me taking a shower, finding pajamas and trying to make your little toy work."
"A wise decision," Mintonar said. "And if you'll join me, I may even be able to talk while you eat."
He stood and offered her his hand. She let the blanket fall away and took his hand to stand. The shock of recognition ran up his arm from where their hands touched and he reveled in it. The feeling, no less strong than it had been the first time they'd touched, was becoming one of his favorite parts of the day.
"You like that, don't you?" Maw-lee asked, smiling up at him.
"Like what?" he said, pulling her against his body so he could wrap his arms around her.
"That little zing of whatever it is that happens when we touch. You get a silly smile on your face when it happens and it's very cute," she said, her voice muffled by his chest.
"I do, cherna," he said, running his fingers through the hair cascading down her back. It was soft and clung to his fingers in a way that fascinated him. When he'd first seen her, it had been a nuisance, a large mass of something that was in the way of the work he needed to do to fix her. It had been an afterthought to everything else he needed to do and he hadn't thought anything about it being matted and stiff when they'd gotten her out of her suit. Now, though, he couldn't imagine not being able to touch it as it flowed down her back and over her shoulders. The way it flirted with her hips made him want to follow it with his fingertips.
"That feels nice," she murmured into his chest. "You can keep doing that as long as you'd like."
"I will admit that this mane of yours fascinates me," he said. "Our people have nothing like it. It is very like you, I think."
"You have hair," Maw-lee protested, drawing back to look up at him. "You've even let me play with it."
"It's coarse and can be vaguely decorative," he said with a dismissive wave. "Its best function is to show off our horns, which are much more important when it comes to attractiveness."
"Huh," she said, looking up at him. "That's fascinating. It makes sense, though. Do you decorate them or anything?"
He smiled at her question and pulled her back against him. "I don't but mostly because it can cause problems in the medical bay. Back in the cities of my home world, there are entire industries dedicated to decorating horns."
"Do your women have horns, too?" she asked, thinking of the nail salons that had been part of her routine every week for most of her life.
'They do," he said. "Though they look slightly different than male horns."
"And are theirs decorated?"
"Of course," he said. "I would tease you and say no, only the men decorate their horns, but you'd find out I'm a liar in the next couple of days."
"Really?" she asked, then realization crossed her face. "Really! I can meet some of the others?"
"You would have a schedule full of doing nothing but meeting all the women on the ship if I allowed it," he told her. "They've been making a point of stopping by or calling my office to ask about you at every chance."
"And interrupting your work, you poor thing," Maw-lee said, laughter in her voice. "And why won't you allow me to meet everybody?"
"Well, to start, you haven't had your translator implanted yet. I want to give your body a chance to finish healing before I add a foreign object to it."
"More foreign than the one you've already put inside it?" She asked and Mintonar felt his heart race.
"Yes," he said firmly. "Healing as quickly as you did is very draining. Adding our night full of exercise and I was very happy to see you resting even if you were not asleep when I returned."
"Exercise?" She laughed. "Is that what you're calling it? And what about what we're doing now? Are we increasing interspecies harmony?"
"Obviously," he returned. "We are building diplomatic relations."
"A very diplomatic answer," she grinned.
"Well, I have had to learn quickly, but I had a very good reason to learn."
"Yes, I imagine explaining to your boss why you're keeping an alien in your bed required a lot of diplomacy."
"He wants to meet you," Mintonar said.
"Who, your boss?"
"Captain Cretus has expressed an interest in the alien aboard his shit and would like to know how she is faring and what the implications for the ship and the mission are," he said.
"Oh, alright then. I suppose this can't happen until I get the translator? And it's going to be more of an interrogation than a meet and greet."
"That would be a fair assumption."
"Well, I can't say that I blame him but, in my defense, you all hit my space station and knocked me into space. I'm not here to steal any of your secrets or anything."
"I know that," Mintonar said and bent to kiss her gently. The gentle kiss became more urgent and he finally broke away to see Maw-lee flushed and panting in his arms. "I'm sure the captain will understand and just wants to know how the space station came to be there in the first place."
Her eyebrows turned down as she opened her mouth to reply. "It's there because we built it there? Did you expect it to be on the other side of the planet or something?"
"Not exactly," he said. "We didn't expect it to be here at all."
"Oh. I mean, I guess we're not as advanced as your people but we've had space travel for a while now, and we're working on getting out of the solar system."
Mintonar shook his head. "There are so many
questions, I can't begin to ask all of them so this will have to wait for the captain. Instead, why don't we have dinner and you can ask me all the questions you want."
"And you'll answer?" She backed away from him and turned to the table.
"As much as I can," he said. "I might not have all the answers but I'll tell you what I know."
He gestured to one of the chairs he never used and took his usual seat, making sure the desk top was locked so an accidental touch didn't activate the screen and controls. When he pulled out the containers from the mess, Maw-lee watched with interest as he opened them and set them out between them.
"Those aren't ship rations," she said, sniffing appreciatively.
"No, I thought you might enjoy trying some real food. As much as the ration packs are intended to be enjoyable, there's nothing like eating fresh food."
He started telling her what everything was and she nodded, listening intently, but he could tell she didn't understand most of it. Which was to be expected, he told himself. This was her first real foray into his life, into his world, and she'd understand more as she learned.
Wild tarro heart, from the herds at the top edge of his family’s traditional lands, was considered a delicacy on other parts of the planet. Tarro were impossible to domesticate for more than a generation or two but his family had been cultivating the wild herds for as long as they'd lived in the region. It went well with grivlac, a purple root vegetable known for being sweet and slightly spicy, and elic, a leafy green vegetable that was as much a weed as it was anything else but which was known for being good for the reproductive system.
It was a courtship meal; one he would have served her at home when he intended to ask her to make their attachment permanent. Since their attachment was already well on the way to being permanent and he'd missed the chance to actually court her, he wanted to at least do this for her, even if she didn't understand it right away.
"Is there an order to eat all of this in?" she asked, eyeing the food in front of her. "Or a special technique or something?"
"You'll notice everything has been prepared in small, bite-size portions. This means they're intended to be picked up with your fingers. There are no special utensils involved though it is customary to have somebody else feed you the first bite from these dishes."
Maw-lee looked up at him through her eyelashes. "It's a seduction dish?"
She didn't sound upset by the idea.
"Traditionally enjoyed by couples who have shown a degree of compatibility aside from the initial recognition. Not exclusively," he lied. "But it has become one way to increase intimacy between two people."
She gave him a slow smile. "Who's supposed to start?"
Mintonar shifted uncomfortably though he tried not to show it. "The one who provided the meal will feed the other."
Her knee bumped against his leg as she moved closer. "Then, by all means, let's follow tradition."
Chapter 21
When the chime went off to tell them the next cycle had begun, Molly had only had an hour or so of sleep. And she'd managed that by stomping down hard on her libido and insisting they get some rest. Dragging herself awake to hit the button on the alarm, she couldn't help but notice Mintonar's hands on her breasts and pelvis, absently kneading at her skin while his soft breath puffed against her hair.
While she debated how to wake him up to turn off the chime, she noticed the ache between her legs and smiled. Worth it, she decided.
Dinner the night before had been one of the most erotic experiences of her life and she'd had no idea the sex after was even possible. For a brief moment, she'd thought that existing to be fed and fucked by a sexy alien was a fine way to spend the rest of her life.
Her libido agreed and her mind tried to remind her that there were other things in life than the four f's. It was mildly successful but her hormones asserted themselves and she found herself turning in Mintonar's arms and placing a gentle kiss against his chest. His arms tightened around her and he ground his hips against her.
Throwing a leg around him, she pressed against him and continued pressing kisses against his chest, his neck and his shoulders. She had to stretch and writhe against him to reach the underside of his jaw and his hands dug into her ass.
"Maw-lee," he groaned, dipping a finger between her legs. "I thought you wanted to sleep."
"I did," she gasped. "Your alarm woke me up."
He growled out something in his language and the chime stopped. Then he rolled her on her back, bent his head to kiss her, and slid inside. His kiss caught her moan and she couldn't help but wrap her leg around his hip and meet him thrust for thrust.
She had almost gotten used to the constant rise and ebb of pleasure, with sharp contrast brought by the sudden orgasms he inspired, but she didn't think she'd ever take for granted how he felt holding her while he was inside. It felt like he couldn't get enough of her, and she felt the same. Her next orgasm pushed him over the edge and she loved that she could feel him splash inside of her.
Mintonar stayed inside her long after he'd stopped thrusting, holding her against him and pushing his pelvis into hers.
"Do you want breakfast, big guy?" she asked him, running her hands idly up and down his back. She wasn't in any hurry to move and he might start again if she asked nicely. Or not so nicely. Or really just moved suggestively. She was trying to decide what she wanted to do when he pulled away from her slightly, bent to drop a kiss on her lips, then pulled out and sat back.
"Was that your plan, Maw-lee? To seduce me into feeding you?" he asked, a smile pulling up at the corner of his lips.
"Of course," she said. "Did it work? Or should I do it again? Maybe use a slightly different technique? Should I ride you this time?"
His eyes widened and his breath hitched. "Later," he said. "But, yes, definitely, later. This morning, you must eat and you must see the other thing I brought with me last night."
"Other thing? Oh, right, the thing you brought besides the food. What was it?"
"You did not recognize it?"
"No?" she said. "Should I have?"
Mintonar stood up and she tilted her head slightly to appreciate the sight of him walking to the table. For a doctor, he was in amazing shape. Unless his entire species looked like that thanks to the bio-nanos in which case, she was very grateful to the nanos for her view.
He came back, the mess of plastic and wires in his hand, and set them down in front of her on the bed. It looked like a giant bowl with wires glued inside it, more hanging out, holding onto a control pad she recognized.
"Holy shit," she gasped. "Is that what's left of my helmet? What'd you do to it?"
"I understand it was damaged in the accident and I had to remove it rather quickly to get you out of it and to the regen table. Alvola kept as much intact as he could but I understand much of the brittle part crumbled off as he was taking the covering off."
"I guess it served its purpose," she said. "Which was to keep my head intact enough to be put back together."
Her eyebrows knit together when she noticed some of the lights on the inside of the helmet were blinking.
"Have those been doing that for a while?" she asked, pointing at them.
"I do not know," he told her. "I admit I have not paid much attention to this, though I don't remember them blinking when I tried to look for the videos Alvola said he got to play. Are they supposed to do that?"
"They're indicators," she said. "The batteries are guaranteed for something like ten years so that shouldn't be the problem. Let me see if I can find out what the problem is."
"Will it take long?" he asked.
"Um, maybe. Most of the controls for the helmet follow line of sight on a screen from the inside. I need to make sure all the controls are working before I know how to start looking for the issues."
She picked up the wired control for the helmet, something that was usually kept strapped down and out of the way while the suite was being worn. Most techs probably didn't even k
now it was in there, content to have somebody else deal with them when they were off duty.
The projector was still working and the view that would have come up on her visor splashed across the blanket. She moved the helmet until the projection moved to the wall and settled it in her lap so it could be steady while she flipped through the menus. A dozen malfunction errors pulled up, telling her which areas of her suit were compromised. With a snort, she cleared them and went into the diagnostics panel.
According to the clock in the suit, she'd been on the alien ship for ten days. Scrolling through the days full of alarms showing everything off line or malfunctioning, she came to the day of the crash. The numbers told her just how close she'd come to death and she shivered.
Pulling out of the diagnostics to the main menu, she saw that she had messages waiting for her. Text ones from friends she had meant to read after she got off her shift, a couple from her son with funny pictures, then several more panicked ones when she didn't respond. There were more than twenty voice messages from him, as well, and she could feel the tears start to run down her face.
She checked the date on the last message and felt her eyes widen.
Mom, your helmet is still pinging and it's showing a dozen malfunctions but it also shows atmosphere. You're listed as missing and nobody is admitting anything. I'm going to assume you're still alive. CALL ME
Molly looked up to see where Mintonar had gone and heard him moving around in the kitchen area. She didn't have a keyboard attached so she hit the auto replies.
Can't talk, she sent. Miss you. I'll call later.
She needed to listen to the voice messages but the speaker was missing. She went to open one up and heard nothing, though it indicated it was playing. Molly sighed and stopped it, backing out of her messages to the main menu. She went into the files and saw the most recently played videos. They were all the emergency first aid ones, dealing with trauma and injuries.
