by Kyle, Celia
“Yeah, looks like you’ve done a good job.” Standing over me, Montier peers at the phase converter and nods approvingly. “I’ll go see if Lokyer is booting up the terminals correctly up on the bridge. I don’t want to fry the damn thing during takeoff.” Without waiting for us to say anything, he places his power tool on his large mechanic’s belt and ambles out toward the exit. Stopping right before the doors, he looks back at us over one shoulder. “Just radio the bridge once you’re done. All right? The sooner we’re out of his planet, the better.”
“You got it.”
It takes just fifteen minutes for us to be done with the installation. Smiling, I help Ilya bolt the panels back in place and then grab my comms unit to tell Lokyer he’s free to start powering up the ship.
“Understood,” he says. “I’ll have the ship ready for you.”
“Great, I’ll be up there in—”
I’m about to say “five minutes,” but I fall silent as my eyes find Ilya’s. After working together for hours, Montier’s presence forcing us to try and ignore the chemistry between us, the atmosphere in the room is so heavy with electricity I can almost hear it crackle. Yeah, there’s no way I’ll be up on the bridge in five minutes.
“Huh, I’ll be up soon,” I finally continue. “There’s just something I need to take care of.” Shutting the comms link, I push the unit to the side and offer Ilya a smile. She returns it almost immediately.
“Am I that ‘something’ you need to take care of?” she asks me, the teasing tone in her voice enough to make my heart tighten.
I don’t hesitate before replying.
“Damn right you are.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ilya
“We shouldn’t,” I start to say, nervously licking my lips as I look around the room. Aside from the two of us, no one else is here, the steady hum of the converters our only company. Still, Montier might return at any time. “I mean, this is the engine room.”
“So?” Pushing himself up to his feet, Swipt throws his power tool to the side and offers me his hand. Hesitantly, I take it in mine and let him help me up. Once I’m standing in front of him, my heart immediately picks up the pace. “It’s just the two of us in here.”
“I know.” A smile spreads across my lips as I realize I won’t be able to resist him. So what if this is the engine room? After last night we shared in a crappy boarding room, I’ve been dying to go for another round. Swipt’s body is my new obsession, and definitely one I can’t resist, no matter how hard I try. Although, truth be told, I haven’t been trying that hard.
“We just finished installing a phase converter in record time,” he continues. “I think that deserves a celebration.” Reaching for me with one hand, he cups my face and returns my smile. Slowly, he leans in and brushes his lips against mine. My eyelids flutter gently, and I go on tiptoes as I let our kiss become the most important thing in the universe. I let it become the only thing that matters.
“Yes, a celebration,” I whisper against his lips, both my hands resting on his chest. Parting my lips with the tip of his tongue, he kisses me deeply while his hands roam down to my hips. He pulls me against his body and then spins me around; pushing me back, he pins me against the engine block, his heart beating fiercely under the palm of my hand.
Once more, I feel that electric swirl of emotions inside me, and the realization that I might have found my better half hits me hard. The universe is a vast and merciless place. To find someone like Swipt...I don’t know what I did to deserve such a thing, but there’s no denying that fate seems to be on our side.
Gently, Swipt pulls my shirt over my head and then unclasps my bra. As the cups droop over my breasts, the warm air in the room caressing my skin, he’s quick to pull it free.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he whispers softly, cupping my right breast with his hand, “but I’m the luckiest man in the universe.”
“We’re both lucky.” Laying my hand on top of his, I look up into his eyes. I memorize every line of his face, from the chiseled lines on his jaw to the hard edge on his eyes, and then breathe out slowly. “I’m glad we found each other, Swipt.”
“So am I,” he continues, and then leans in to kiss me again. His free hand wanders down to my waist to pull my pants down, and I kick my boots off in a hurry. Once I’m down to just my thong, Swipt moves in to press his hand between my legs. He applies the right amount of pressure—not too much, not too little—and a soft little moan bubbles up to my lips.
Flicking the fabric to the side, he brushes one finger up my wet inner lips while he presses his thumb right above my clit. A shiver runs up my spine as I feel his touch, and I react without thinking. Allowing both my hands to go down his body, I unbuckle his belt and pull it free from its loops. I tug his pants and boxers down and, without a moment’s hesitation, grip his two hard cocks by the root.
I start stroking him gently, my fingers going up and down his entire length, and he returns the favor by caressing my aching pussy. He does it masterfully, the tender movements of his fingers on my flesh enough for my blood to boil inside my veins. He keeps going until my moans start filling the entire engine room, their sound returning to me as a quivering echo, and only then does he change gears.
“I need to have you now,” he growls, both his hands landing on my hips. Pulling me up and into him, he picks me up from the floor, and I respond by throwing my arms over his shoulders and lacing my legs around his waist. I return his gaze, hold my breath, and then close my eyes as he starts lowering me over one of his cocks.
“You can have me anytime you wa—”
I don’t get to finish my sentence.
Thrusting fast and hard, Swipt unleashes hell upon every single one of my nerve endings. A firewave crashes against my body, the heat turning me into a supernova, and for a moment I even forget where and who I am. I become nothing but a vessel for pleasure, all my thoughts and consciousness fading into nothingness.
“So...fucking...good…” I say between hard breaths, resting my forehead against his as he starts thrusting at a merciless pace. Keeping his second cock trapped between our bodies, its thick shaft rubbing against my clit as he thrusts, he leads the way into an ocean of pleasure...and I’m more than ready to drown in it.
I kiss him deeply as I surrender to the violence of his embrace, his movements those of a predator hellbent on not letting his prey escape. It doesn’t take long before I let madness overtake me. Moving my hips as fast as I can, I try to match his feverish movements, beads of sweat already pooling on my forehead.
“I’m gonna come, I’m gonna—”
Before I can prepare myself for it, my inner walls become as tight as a vise around Swipt’s hard length, and my whole body tenses up. The rising pressure inside me looks for a way out, and I grit my teeth as I feel a maddening heat take over my entire existence. Even my soul feels like it’s on fire.
Throwing my head back, I let my moaning shift into full-blown screaming, as my voice bounces off the walls and echoes throughout the room. Still pistoning into me, Swipt keeps ravaging me as I ride a wave of pleasure; he’s eager to stop me from coming down, his movements ensuring I remain at the top of pleasure’s summit.
“Ilya,” he breathes out all of a sudden, and next thing I know his two cocks are throbbing viciously. One of them pulses between our two naked bodies, and the other strains itself against my tight inner walls, and then...well, it happens fast.
He comes with a low groan, his two cocks spilling all of his seed. I suck in a deep breath as I feel it filling me up while ropes of his milky seed fall across my naked chest, beads of it rolling down my stomach.
Closing my eyes, I take one deep breath and savor the moment.
The steady drone of the converters, the stillness in the room, and the warmth of his naked skin...it’s magical. I would change nothing about this moment that. In fact, I could remain like this for hours and—
“Swipt, what the hell’s taking so long?
” I hear a loud voice say through the comms unit hidden in Swipt’s discarded pants. “It’s been half an hour now. We need you on the bridge. Get your ass up here.”
Chapter Seventeen
Swipt
When Ilya and I slip out into the corridor, it’s amid a profusion of giggles, whispered innuendos, and a general giddiness that just won’t quit.
“Uh, your shirt.” She points at my brocade doublet, and I realize I’ve misaligned the buttons. We both burst into greater peals of laughter as I try to fix it.
“Allow me.” She gets in very close to me while undoing the shirt, her fingers nimbly picking at the buttons until they’re in their proper alignment. Just the smell of her is driving me crazy, but we’ve been summoned to the bridge. No more time for levity, no matter how pleasant.
I slip my hand into hers, and we make our way to the bridge. The people we pass in the corridors, both human and Kilgari, all take note of the new parameters of our relationship. Most of them are all smiles, but I notice a few—from both sapient species—turn an envious eye our way.
The golden passages lead us to the bridge, and as soon as the door slides open and everyone turns to see our arrival, it’s obvious we’ve bonded as mates. Even the normally dense Grantian picks up on the jalshagar vibes coming off of us in waves.
Varia gives us a knowing look, but her smile isn’t teasing or mocking. It’s born of genuine pleasure at seeing us happy together.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, not you too.”
We turn to where Lokyer sits in his nav seat, shaking his head though a smile twists his thin golden lips.
“I’m afraid so, Lo-man. Doesn’t mean we still can’t hang out sometimes.”
He laughs and holds up a restraining hand. “Don’t get me wrong, Swipt. I’m pleased beyond measure to see you’ve found your fated mate.”
“Really? Thanks, Lokyer, that means a…”
“Because if a goofy, sawed off runt like you can find a mate, there’s hope for me yet.”
Everyone laughs, even Ilya, and I turn a rueful glare at her even as my lips part in a toothy smile. “Traitor.”
“Oh come on. It was funny.” She elbows me in the ribs playfully.
Lokyer casts his eyes toward the ceiling, his tone growing plaintive.
“Please, Precursors, or Ataxia, or—what’s that human guy? Bhuammed Christ the Dalai Lama? Anybody who’s listening, how about you arrange things cosmically so I can find MY fated mate?”
“Covering his bases, this one.” Solair laughs, but his smile slowly fades. “We’re all very happy for the two of you, Swipt, but I’m afraid there’s no time to celebrate.”
“Right, of course.” I straighten up and snap off a salute, though it’s hardly the protocol on a laid-back ship like the Queen. “Reporting for duty, sir.”
“Don’t call me sir. It makes me feel old.” Solair lifts his gaze just as the bridge doors open and Fiona comes striding in. Much like Ilya, she’s a genius when it comes to fixing and designing devices. But Fiona prefers electronics and circuitry, whereas Ilya is more enamored of mechanics and engineering. The datapad she holds in her hand must have critical information because Solair stares pointedly at it. “Perfect timing, Fiona. We were just about to start the briefing.”
Fiona takes in the way Ilya and I are standing close, and her eyes glitter with understanding. She smiles, obviously happy for us, but there’s a tinge of sadness as well. I’ve long suspected she and our chief engineer Montier are suspiciously close to each other, but perhaps it’s not what it seems on the outside.
“I was able to decrypt all of the data from the marines Ilya and Swipt scavenged. I spent time on the one they said was the commander of the group.”
“And what did you find?”
“His identification marked him as a Commander Davenport of the Interstellar Human Confederation’s Space Corps Marines.”
“Go on,” Solair prompts, knowing there is more to come.”
“According to his comms, Commander Davenport was attached to a division in the IHC Space Corps known as Project Blue Dawn. He’s listed as being attached to the IHC Prestige, which is the ship that never seems to leave us alone. But that’s not all.”
“Okay,” Solair says, listening intently.
“All of that information I was able to decrypt from the dead commander’s personal comms system. I couldn’t get any more. But when I tried to cross reference that with the IHC database… I found nothing.”
“Nothing about what?” Solair asks.
“Well, nothing about… nothing. There is nothing about Project Blue Dawn. Nothing about the Prestige. Nothing about Captain Zayne. It’s like these men, this ship, and this operation don’t exist.”
“But we know it exists,” I say. “They tried to blow us up.”
“Here’s the thing. We know the Prestige exists because we’ve seen it with our own eyes.”
“Not to mention she fired on us,” Lokyer interjects.
“But there’s no mention of it on the IHC database. No flight logs, no maintenance schedules, nothing. It’s as if it doesn’t exist. But if it doesn’t exist, why does it have two command officers on board?”
She patches in her datapad to the holoprojector in Solair’s command console, and an image of a thirty-something human male appears. I feel as if there’s something sinister about his appearance, though I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s his dark, beady eyes, which seem to hint at many clandestine secrets of a vile nature. It could also be the sort of half smile he wears that only affects his lips. That’s not a mirthful smile, but one of someone who’s about to pull a DDT—damn dirty trick.
“This is Commander Bruce Evan Davenport. Much like the ship he’s the first officer of, he doesn’t seem to exist according to the IHC military database.”
“Could the data regarding Commander Davenport be redacted for security reasons?”
Fiona gives Solair a blank look before continuing. “I can deal with IHC security protocols, thank you very much. Even if there were redacted information, there would be a record of it being redacted. There’s nothing on Davenport in their database, nothing at all. He’s a ghost. Just like his captain.”
The image shifts and is replaced with a slightly older man with a thin bony face. Unlike Davenport, his countenance doesn’t hint at cruelty, just indifference. He seems the type of career military man who says things like “you must break eggs to make an omelet” while shooting a civilian in the face without batting an eye or even getting angry.
“Captain Zayne is a whisper in the wind, and his records don’t exist either. All we have is a name and this image.”
Solair rubs his chin and exchanges glances with his mate Varia. She clears her throat and addresses Fiona.
“Were you able to find anything out about Zayne using civilian channels?”
Fiona shakes her head.
“No, I’m afraid not. But I did get a few hits on Commander Davenport when I went through civilian records in the frontier. He’s listed on the IHC colonist database as having lived on a world named Cadrinda.”
“That’s a rather wide focus on the issue.” Grantian frowns, his golden skin wrinkling with disgust. “It could take us months to search an entire world the size of the Cadrinda colony.”
“Ah, but we won’t have to.” Fiona’s eyes flash with delight. “There’s no information on where Commander Davenport lived, but there is an Evan David Port with the same biometric profiles who has a subscription to the Xenogasm holo streaming service, and his address is listed on his account. I believe Commander Davenport was using a fake name. However, he can’t fake his thumb print and I believe he had a base on Cadrinda.”
“Xenogasm?” Ilya asks.
“Porn,” Varia says with a deadpan. “Human males who love looking at tits. No matter if they’re human or alien.”
“That sounds promising, but it might not be the same man,” I say and shake my head. “I can’t believe we’re chasing down a lea
d based on a porno.”
“Right now, this porno service is the only lead that we have,” Fiona says. “It’s up to us to see if it’s enough.”
“Maybe not, but it’s a good place to start,” Solair says out loud as he exchanges glances with his first mate, Grantian. Grantian subtly nods, and Solair turns back to address the rest of us.
“If Cadrinda is where Davenport has ties, that’s where we’re heading. Lokyer, make the calculations for a superluminal jump to the Cadrinda system. Swipt, get us off this planet before the Prestige comes sniffing around.”
“On it, boss.” I jump over the back of my chair and plop down heavily, fingers tapping the keys. The engines come to life without complaint, and I grin ear to ear. It seems Ilya’s repairs have us back in business.
“I’ve made the calculations, Solair. We’re about six hours out from Cadrinda.”
“Let’s hope we get there and find something,” Solair says. “I’d hate for this to be without climax.”
“Oh, you’ll climax all right,” Varia says as she heads to the lift leading off the bridge.
I grin, not bothering to turn around. Varia’s voice reaches my ears over the hum of the engines powering up.
“Ilya, would you be so kind as to join Fiona and me for dinner in the mess hall?”
Her tone has a certain lilt that makes it obvious what the topic of conversation is going to be at dinner.
“Yeah, I’m starving.”
As they exit the bridge, Solair starts laughing.
“To be a fly on the wall at that dinner, eh, Swipt? Guess now you’ll be a little more sympathetic toward your captain and first mate.”
I laugh as the Queen lifts off the surface.
“Don’t count on it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ilya
The door to the bridge hasn’t been shut for a nanosecond before Varia grabs my arm and stares at me with a goofy grin on her face.
