by Sonia Nova
Rachel blushed at his comment, but when he stepped forward, pushing her flat on the bed and starting to pull off her clothes, she didn’t protest. Erro took his time undressing her, kissing every inch of her flesh as he exposed it. First, he tugged at the buttons on her blouse, opening each one of them, and then running his lips over her chest where it peeped out above the t-shirt she’d put on underneath. He slid it down, exposing the soft, silky skin of her elbows and forearms.
“Erro!” she gasped when next he yanked off her t-shirt with a swift, forceful tug.
Her flesh was heated, and it turned pink under his touch. Erro smiled wickedly as he bent to taste as much skin as their positions allowed before he felt for, and finally discovered, the clasp at the back of her bra.
When he pulled the delicate pink garment free, he brought it up to his nose and breathed in her scent. Rachel blushed hotter than ever, her breasts turning into aching peaks as the cool air of the room hit them. Her lips parted, and her eyes became hooded as she focused her gaze in on Erro’s lips, hungry to taste them again.
She yearned to pull him against her, to feel his hard body against hers and kiss her until she lost sight of everything else, but Erro only smirked at her. Hadn’t he just uncovered more flesh that needed to be kissed first? Rachel groaned, realizing he was going to tease her, and she buried her head under one of the pillows.
Erro scooted down slightly, alerting her to his intentions, and Rachel sucked in a heady breath. His hands slid upwards from her belly, each one encircling one of her breasts, holding them up for his delectation. He bent down, taking one eager nipple between his lips, expertly flaying it with his questing tongue.
Rachel moaned and writhed as he gently tortured her, loving every bit of it. Her hands traveled into his hair, and she pushed down gently on his head, pressing his face against her heated skin.
Lying like this, with their flesh touching, and with every intention of doing a whole lot more, the combined force of the energy between them multiplied. Looking into his eyes, Rachel knew he was feeling it too. Emotions and sensations coursed through her at lightning-fast speed – some of them her own, some of them not – and the sheer intensity of it made her moan. Nothing Erro had told her about being his ele’a had prepared her for this feeling.
Erro’s stiff cock throbbed against her thigh, and the hardness of it felt glorious against her body. His glow intensified, and Rachel gasped when he thrust it against her side.
Erro smiled wickedly as he removed her panties.
“Are you going to kiss that too?” she asked, uncovering her head and casting him a hopeful smile.
“I’m going to kiss every part of you,” Erro informed her as he started to scoot his body even further down.
Rachel bit down on her bottom lip, her muscles tensing in anticipation as Erro parted her thighs. Her body was on fire, and she knew only Erro would be able to quench it. Every part of her ached with need, and wherever he touched her, her flesh felt gloriously relieved. When his lips moved between her labia and his tongue began to lap at her juices, Rachel nearly jolted off the bed. Her head rolled backwards on the pillows, and she fisted the sheets at her sides.
The feeling was so intense, she didn’t even have the ability to moan properly. Her jaws hitched open and quivered, her body began to twitch and flail, and Erro had to capture her around the thighs to hold her still.
His lips and tongue were electric, and she couldn’t get enough. Wave after wave of pleasure erupted through her as an orgasm more intense than anything she’d ever felt in her life took over her body.
“Erro!” she shouted joyfully as her pleasure peaked, reveling in the way he could make her feel. It was nothing short of incredible, and they were just getting started. She was just about to tell him she felt greedy, that perhaps they ought to switch places, but before she could find one coherent word and string it together with another, it was already too late.
With an eager thrust, Erro entered her with that magnificently hard, huge cock of his, and she was lost. She shouted his name again as he hit home inside her. Whatever she’d just been thinking about was abandoned in favor of clamping her legs around Erro’s waist and holding on for dear life as he began to move.
She grabbed him by the back of his neck, dragging his face down to hers. She practically devoured his lips and tongue, and his delighted grunt of pleasure told her how much he liked it when she took charge.
Erro pounded into her, and her body continued to enjoy the ride. If she’d had even the slightest thought of allowing this guy to fly off to Miami without her, his movements completely eradicated it from her mind.
Pleasure built inside her, crashing over her in a wave as she felt herself falling over the precipice once more. Another orgasm took over her body, this one even more intense than the last, putting her former orgasm to shame.
Erro tensed above her too, emptying himself inside her with a violent rush. As her pleasure peaked, Rachel bit her bottom lip so hard, she was sure she’d left a bruise, but right at that moment, she didn’t care. Joy filled every particle of her being, and she laughed, a giddy, happy sound unlike anything she’d uttered before.
Erro joined in, laughing right along with her.
“You’re mine, ele’a,” he said, sighing. “Tell me you are mine, Rachel.”
“I’m yours,” she agreed in utter contentment, curling up against his chest as he slipped out of her and rolled himself on his back.
“And I am yours,” Erro said, pressing a soft kiss on her shoulder, just as she was starting to drift to sleep. “Now and forever.”
* * *
Hours later, Rachel cracked open her eyes. To her disappointment, she found her bed empty. Erro was not with her in the bed, but he had covered her up with the blankets. Hopefully, that meant he hadn’t suddenly come to a different decision about last night and run off somewhere. Not that she really thought he would.
Pushing the blankets aside, Rachel sat up. Butterlies danced in her belly when she realized that Erro had most definitely not run off, but was in fact sitting on the other side of her bedroom, by her desk. He was applying a salve to a wound on his thigh and had pulled out some kind of a communication device, it seemed.
She cast him a wordless smile as their eyes met. He smiled back at her, his skin glowing a golden light, but it was his smile that lit up the room and made Rachel grin even wider. He pressed a button on the communicator’s side.
“Pilot 3387 to Okanogan Base, come in?”
“Pilot 3387, we are so glad to hear from you,” came a voice from the other end. “We heard from the team yesterday that you survived the crash. That is most fortunate.”
“Yes… Most fortunate,” Erro said distractedly, his eyes shifting quickly to Rachel again before he concentrated back on the conversation. “What is the status of the pirate pursuit?”
“Sir, the three pirates were apprehended and forced to take us to the human females,” the man on the other end reported. “Twenty-three females, to be precise. That’s practically one abduction per hour using the clocks of this world.”
“And what actions were taken at that point?” Erro wanted to know.
“Sir, a total of four Varron pirates landed in Alaska after your battle. After we liberated the women, the pirates attempted to escape, but we pursued them outside the atmosphere. We would have engaged, but a larger fleet was lurking just behind this world’s moon. Additional troops were deployed to deal with the situation.”
“You did not engage?” Erro asked with a frown of disgust.
“No, sir, the troops from last night were instructed to stand down and collect you instead,” he explained. “Whenever you feel ready to leave, of course. But it seems like the folks down south think you’re a pretty valuable commodity.”
Erro grinned, winking at Rachel as he said, “Yes, I certainly hope they’d think that, since I am the best damned pilot in the whole Union fleet. Anybody else in my situation probably wouldn’t even be alive.
”
“Modest much?” Rachel snorted, hiding her smile.
“When do you think you’ll be able to collect me and my mate?” Erro asked the Communicator on the other end.
“Hold on, sir. I will connect you directly with Private Drey so that you may discuss the details of your pick-up.”
A clicking noise sounded on the line, and soon, another voice came on, “This is Private Drey. I hear you are ready to be picked up, Captain?”
“Glad to hear from you again, Private Drey,” Erro said. “Yes. My mate and I are ready to depart. Can you please give me an estimated time of arrival?”
“So you convinced her to come with you, sir?” Drey asked, chuckling. “I thought you might.”
“Yes, of course I did. She’s my ele’a,” Erro grumbled. “Never mind all that, though. We just need to know how long before you arrive so she can begin to pack the things she wants to bring along.”
“If you’d like, we could come and help her out,” Drey offered. “We’ll be along shortly. She can pack my cargo bay full, if she needs that much space.”
“I’m sure the offer will be appreciated. Erro, out,” he said then, and set the device onto the table. Rachel could see a tiny red light blinking, but her human ears couldn’t pick up on the subtle beeping noise that would allow the other pilots to locate them.
“I guess I should cook some breakfast so I can pack up the pots and pans,” she said. “I’m not going to leave a new set behind.”
“The men won’t be long, most likely,” Erro said. “You may wish to prepare food for them too.”
Sure enough, the two pilots – Private Drey from the day before, and another, unfamiliar pilot – walked through the door well before the food came off the stove, and Rachel greeted them warmly. After a hearty meal, she set to the task of deciding what would stay there, and what she intended to bring along.
“If you want to bring it all eventually, we can hire a moving team,” Erro reminded her, smiling.
Rachel scoffed. “Most of my clothes here are meant to withstand the cold, so they don’t need to go to Florida. My real treasures are safely stored in San Diego with my mom and dad. I have a lot of little keepsakes around here, but they’ll mostly go into one box, as far as I can tell.”
“Zig and I can certainly get started on loading,” Private Drey offered.
“I’d say all the stuff in the kitchen, for sure,” Rachel decided. “And while you guys do that, I’ll gather up all my trinkets and other goodies. Other than that, I think we’ll be good to go.”
“And what about the Christmas tree?” Erro teased.
“Don’t be silly, Erro,” she told him. “That thing’s not even a real tree. The ornaments are just some plastic things I bought at the general store. I never planned on it being anything special, it was just something to look at since I had to miss out on Christmas with my family.”
“Not special?” Erro protested. “This may be just another Christmas to you, ele’a, but to me, it was very special. It was my first Christmas, and it was the day I finally found my mate.”
“Fine, we can bring the tree,” Rachel said, chuckling.
Erro smiled back at her, but then his expression fell all of a sudden. “So, are you sad?” he asked solemnly, surprising her with the question.
“Sad?” she cocked an eyebrow incredulously. “What would I be sad about? This is the year I found my mate too, Erro. I’m the happiest girl around.”
“So you won’t miss it, then?” he persisted. “Leaving your snow world behind?”
Rachel laughed. “Of course I’m not sad. If I had to choose between the bitter cold of Alaskan snow, and the warm, sandy beaches along the Florida coast, I’d pick Florida in a heartbeat. Who could ask for a better Christmas present than that? Especially since I’d get to be there with you.”
A smile lit up his face once more, and he seemed to agree. Before Rachel could say another word, his lips were already on hers. His arms came around her as he swept her away in the most passionate kiss, making her feel safe, loved, and more cherished than ever before.
Just as she should, as his ele’a.
EPILOGUE
RACHEL
The Florida Observatory was a whole lot bigger than the one in Alaska, and so much warmer that Rachel thought she was cooking even though it was barely above seventy. Although she was originally from California, and never thought she would get used to the freezing cold of Alaska, it seemed that her body had adjusted to it at least somewhat, because now the heat of Florida seemed nearly unbearable.
Not that she would change it for anything. She was glad to be back in the sun – even if it meant that she needed yet another adjusting period.
She’d just spent a wonderful day with Erro beachcombing, but now she had clocked on for the night shift, and was ready for another night of calibrating computers or punching old data into the databases – the same old.
“Rachel? You’re here? Thank god!” Her boss Sandy exclaimed with a relieved smile as she walked into her work station. “I thought I was going to be stuck dealing with this mess on my own. I believe you told me you’re trained to Communicate, right?”
“Yes, though so far I’ve only ever simulated,” she replied, her heart skipping a beat as she realized what the woman was about to say next.
“Well, sweetheart, now’s your chance,” Sandy said, guiding her over to one of the viewing ports. “Angel’s off on maternity leave, and Mark is nowhere to be found. Looks like it’s you and me. Here, put the earphones on. Our boys are en route right now, and they should be engaging any time now.”
“What’s the story?” Rachel asked her, all business now as she set the headgear into place. Sandy took a seat to her right and set up as well, so the next words she heard came through her earpiece.
“It looks like those damned Varron pirates are trying again,” Sandy sneered, rolling her eyes. “They’ve sent in over twenty ships this time in their bid to punch their way through, and it’s likely that they’re going to get past our boys no matter what we do. The base is on high alert, and they’ve sent thirty troopers out for the first wave. And I’m pretty sure your boy, Erro, is one of them.”
Rachel’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of her mate’s name. “Oh, is he?”
A feeling of unease arose inside her at the thought of Erro on the battlefield, but she pushed it away as quickly as it had appeared. He fought every day to defend the planet after all. Instead, she said to Sandy, “Well, don’t be worried. I won’t neglect the other pilots just because I have a favorite. I know how to do my duty. Besides, I’m not too worried about Erro. To hear him tell it, he’s the greatest Union pilot alive.”
Sandy chuckled. “He must be telling the truth,” she pointed out. “If he wasn’t good, he wouldn’t even be alive.”
“There is that,” Rachel reluctantly agreed.
Of course, she knew that each time a pilot went out, it could very well be his last, but she preferred to tell herself that Erro was invincible. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that he had faced the Varrons all on his own – with just a few troops and no Earth Observatory on his side.
And while his ship had crashed and burned, he himself had survived. Invincible and immortal, he had to be. And now, he did have the help of an Observatory – and her. Rachel knew she didn’t have a thing to worry about. She wouldn’t let anything happen to him.
“Okay, look sharp, Rachel, only two minutes until magic time,” Sandy added. She magnified a portion of the screen that showed the Varrons to one side, and the Union ships closing in on them. But then, the Varrons must have picked up their boys on their radars, because some of them began to race toward them.
“Heads up, troops,” Rachel said into her microphone. “You’ve been spotted. Multiple bogeys, moving your way. Only half of their fleet, though. Looks like they’re hoping the other half might be able to take you by surprise.”
The translator device not only changed her words into Union,
but it also changed the pitch and tone, modulating it into an unrecognizable, neutral tone. Long ago, it had been realized that allowing a pilot to identify the voice of their guide was ill-advised. It made perfect sense, especially in a case like this one, where Erro might realize Rachel was speaking, and be distracted by it. Distraction was the last thing any soldier needed while he was out there risking his life.
“Good call,” Sandy told Rachel, suitably impressed.
“Thanks,” she replied, smiling.
“Don’t get cocky yet,” Sandy scolded. “Thirty seconds to engagement. Let’s get ready to rumble!”
“Troops, these boys are coming in fast and hot, and to your left,” Rachel added. “I recommend full shielding and a full charge on those back-up cannons. My count is twelve, and two of them are breaking away now.”
“Confirmed, control,” said Erro in an efficient, clipped tone. “We have visual.”
“Team leader, you are clear to engage.”
“Affirmative,” he answered, then instructed the other, “FL Four, FL Seven, take care of the stragglers. They’re probably trying to flank us. I’ve seen this play from their book before.”
“Yes, sir,” came another voice Rachel didn’t recognize.
One of the starfighters broke away from the fleet, taking another pilot along with him. The first shots of the battle were fired by the four ships off to the side, though very little time passed between the missiles exchanged between them and those lobbed between the two main bodies.
“Attack plan Delta,” Rachel said. “The other ships are on the move, heading to the right of your current position. I count fourteen Varron ships among them. Be advised, base is now sending in a second set of fighters to help fend them off. ETA about three minutes.”
There was no immediate response from anyone this time. Seconds trickled by, and Rachel’s breath caught in her throat. Her initial feeling of unease was back although her rational mind knew that the troops were currently engaged in battle and that all their concentration was on the fight before them. But still, her heart raced faster than ever before and her palms sweated as she waited impatiently for an answer.
