Gray Card

by Cassandra Chandler

  He paused in the doorway to her room. Evelyn was sitting at the foot of her bed, hands clasped in her lap. Her glasses were low on her nose and she hadn’t bothered to push them back into place. She was staring blankly at the floor in front of her.

  His throat seemed to close. Something was very wrong. He practically leapt into the room, then knelt at her feet.

  “Evelyn, what’s happened?”

  Her eyes were glazed when she looked at him, not the bright, sharp gaze he was used to. She almost looked as if she’d had a mind-wipe. Cygnus X, it couldn’t be.

  “I met your liaison today,” she said.

  Rage surged through him. Adam hadn’t thought that Todd would approach Evelyn directly. What had Todd done to her? And how could Adam not have thought to protect her sooner?

  “What did he do?” Adam asked.

  She must have read the guilt on his face. Her eyes focused and the brightness seeped back into them, fueled by anger. Adam felt hope flutter in his chest. He knew this Evelyn. And—thank the stars—she knew him.

  “It’s my turn to ask the questions. Here’s the first one.” Her brows drew down on her forehead, her lips pulled into a frown, and she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose forcefully. “Are you an alien?”

  Adam felt as if the ground had given way beneath him and he was free-falling. Not since his first zero-g maneuvers had he been this disoriented. His stomach was ricocheting against his ribs, his heart frantically looking for escape. His mind whirled pointlessly, offering nothing helpful, except the one word that escaped his lips.

  “Yes.”

  She shoved him hard. He was surprised by her strength and already off-balance enough that he toppled over. She leapt up, towering over him, hands clenched into fists at her sides. For a moment, he wondered if she was going to kick him where he lay.

  “You jerk! I can’t believe I actually fell for your ploy! You used me!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You want to stay on Earth so bad you’ll do anything, even marry me!” Her voice hitched on the words, but rage quickly pushed aside any sorrow on her features.

  “You’ve got it backwards.”

  “Right, because I’m just a stupid, un-evolved, hairless monkey from a backwater planet that’s as rich in resources as it is lacking in technology!”

  The sentiment was all too familiar. Damn him, Todd must have told her so much. Things that were forbidden for an Earthling to know.

  Todd was setting them up, trying to make the Council mandate a mind-wipe. They might even decide to take all of her memories of Adam.

  But he and Evelyn could fight this, as long as they fought together. Adam needed her by his side.

  “That’s not true.” He tried to get through to her with the humor she had taught him. “Besides, don’t Earthlings think they evolved from primates rather than monkeys?”

  “I swear, I will kick you in your teeth.”

  Her voice was deadly calm, but she was talking to him, at least. He could get through to her. He had to.

  She started pacing back and forth, pulling strands of hair loose from her ponytail. “Earthlings! God, I’m just an Earthling to you!”

  “You’re not just anything to me. You’re the woman I plan to marry. The woman I love.”

  “Drop it! I know you’re just trying to get your Gray card.”

  “Gray card?”

  She stopped pacing and lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, a crack in her defenses opening that Adam desperately needed to navigate. Her voice lost a bit of its edge. She was falling back on humor, as always.

  “Like a green card, but for aliens.”

  He remembered the tiny gray creatures in so many of the TV shows and movies she had shown him. Grays. Adam couldn’t help himself—he started to laugh. He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.

  “It wasn’t that funny,” she said.

  Pulling himself together, he managed to stand, wiping at his eyes. “How can you say something like that and still doubt why I want to marry you?”

  She lifted her chin, eyes blazing. “What, that I’m not funny?”

  Adam took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He was going to set this right. Period.

  “You are hilarious. You are ridiculous. Absurd.”

  “Such flattery. How could I possibly resist you?”

  He dared to reach out and gently cup her elbows. She didn’t pull away, but she did look like she might head-butt him. She had even more fire than he knew.

  “You are completely unpredictable. You make me look at the universe with new eyes. You make me laugh at myself, at everything. You taught me how to enjoy life rather than just existing. You think I want to marry you to stay on Earth? I don’t give a damn where we are. I just want to be with you.”

  Her lips softened ever so slightly. He might not have noticed at all, except he was having trouble not staring at them. She let out a sigh and her arms relaxed a bit in his grip.

  “Were you ever going to tell me? Maybe after the first kid came out green?”

  “Wouldn’t she be gray?”

  That earned him the faintest glimmer of a smile. The time for dissembling was over. If Todd had stepped on the mine of telling Evelyn they were aliens, there wasn’t any more damage Adam could do. And there was plenty he could fix.

  She pushed her glasses up her nose and crossed her arms again. He was expecting more questions about his origins, so was surprised when Evelyn said, “She?”

  What a thing for her to focus on. It made his heart pound, his stomach fill with butterflies. His life with her would be full of laughter and wonder, love and family.

  “Or he. As long as it’s a surprise, I don’t care.”

  “It usually is with us monkeys. You’ll just be lucky if you get out of the delivery room without me throwing poop at you.”

  “Gross. And again—inaccurate. You aren’t a monkey, or did Todd neglect to mention your origins?”

  “He had plenty to say on other topics.”

  Adam didn’t doubt it. “Humans did evolve from something resembling a primate, but not on this planet.”

  Her eyes widened and her lips parted. That caught her attention. “Where did we evolve, then?”

  “Sadr-4. We’re from the same planet. Millennia ago, a colony ship went off course and crashed here.”

  “That’s not in any of our history books.”

  “Their ship was destroyed and they had no means of manufacturing anything. Survival, dealing with an alien world, vying for resources with the already-evolving Earth hominids—that closely resembled our own ancestors… I think they had plenty to handle. Their origins just got lost along the way.”

  “Hence lost colony?”

  “Exactly.”

  “So you and I are the same species?”

  “Fundamentally. Our DNA has just been a bit…altered.”

  “Altered how?” She stared at his chest and leaned a little closer, unclasping her arms so she could gently tug on his shirt. “I didn’t notice anything out of place earlier.”

  “You wouldn’t. Everything is in order and carefully controlled. Geneticists take care of all the details of childbirth in the Coalition of planets that I’m part of.”

  “All the details?”

  “Yes. Women don’t want to deal with the pain and discomfort of carrying children in their bodies when they and their partner can just place an order for exactly what they want.” In most cases.

  “Your parents must have been thrilled with you,” she said.

  “Actually…” He swallowed hard, struggling to speak the words. But she needed to know. “I’m considered defective. The command abilities my parents requested came through, so I’m of great use in the military, but physically… I don’t exactly fit in at most Coalition soci
al events. That’s one of the reasons I prefer life on a ship. My parents received a full refund.”

  Her eyes snapped to his, anger sparking in their loamy depths. Adam hadn’t previously felt the pain of his parents’ rejection the way he did in that moment—one of the downsides of becoming more aware of his feelings. Looking into Evelyn’s soulful eyes—connecting with the empathy he saw there—made it worth it.

  “That’s awful,” she said.

  “It’s just the way things are. My society isn’t as emotional as yours. Or as physical.”

  “Not as physical, huh?” She smiled briefly. The distance he felt between them was narrowing, but he hadn’t quite closed the gap yet.

  “As you discovered. We still have sexual urges, but there are many other things vying for attention. And the biological drive to reproduce has pretty much been rendered obsolete. The Coalition has developed various chemical solutions that meet most of the emotional and physical needs of our citizens.”

  “You mean people take drugs instead of having sex?”

  “Quite often. But if the drugs don’t satisfy the person’s drives, they find like-minded individuals and have sex with the assistance of Coupling.”

  “Coupling?”

  “The chemical mix that facilitates sex. It takes the body through the entire process within a few minutes, from arousal through orgasm.” Adam couldn’t believe how easy it was to talk to her about this. He hadn’t even spoken so frankly with the women he’d used Coupling with. “People most often use it alone, but if taken with a partner, the drug does all the work for us. We have to act quickly to keep pace with it, in fact.”

  “How romantic. And you’ve only ever had sex while taking it?”

  “It would be unheard of to attempt sex without it. I was already seen as unusual for preferring sex with a partner. I suppose I’m something of a throwback in more ways than one.”

  She slid her arms around his neck and leaned forward until their chests were touching. “You have to love the classics.”

  “Do you?” Adam had clearly stated his feelings and intentions, but she had yet to say those words back to him. He knew he wouldn’t truly rest until he heard them. Until he knew for sure.

  “Love you?” Her face relaxed and the warmth flowed back into her smile. He felt as if his heart had stopped.

  “I do. I love you, Adam Smith. Whatever your name really is.”

  Chapter Eleven

  If Evelyn doubted Adam’s feelings before, all of that was wiped away by the expression on his face when she told him she loved him. His eyes softened, his lips parted, and he looked at her as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying.

  They really had it bad for each other.

  He lifted his hands to her face, tracing his thumbs over her cheekbones, then leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. It wasn’t long before his mouth became more insistent. His hand slid around her waist, pulling her closer.

  Evelyn tightened her grip on Adam’s neck, reveling in every feeling. She didn’t wait for an invitation, but trailed her tongue along his lips until he opened his mouth to her. His tongue met hers, thrust for hungry thrust.

  He gripped her ass, rocking her against his erection. He parted from her for a moment—just long enough to lift her shirt and pull it over her head, then fling it away. Thankfully, she had put on her best bra before going to the University. He ran his fingertips over the lacy fabric.

  “How do I get this off of you?”

  “There’s a clasp in the back.”

  “Turn around.”

  “Is that an order, General?” She had meant it as a playful tease, but a shadow crossed his face.

  “What else did Todd tell you about me?”

  “Nothing that we need to discuss right now.” She brought her hands to his face, running the backs of her fingers along his cheek. “I know you’re a good man, whatever planet you’re from or rank you hold.”

  “I’m not proud of everything that I’ve done, but most of my missions were about keeping the peace. It’s important to me that you know that. And most of those missions, the people that I stopped…”

  She moved her hands to the back of his head. “We have time. I want to know everything about you. But right now, I need this.”

  She dragged his lips back to hers, kissing him deeply. Grabbing his shoulders, she turned him around so he was standing at the foot of her bed, then gave him a shove. He went along with it, sitting down on the bed hard and falling back on his elbows.

  “Now, can we please stop talking?” she asked. “I have much more interesting things in mind for us to do.”

  She reached behind her back and unfastened the clasp of her bra, then smirked as she pulled the lacy garment off and threw it aside. His gaze locked on her breasts and he nodded.

  “Very good,” she said. “I hope you’re as good at taking orders as giving them.”

  Adam grinned, then leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m yours to command.”

  “Oh, I really like the sound of that.”

  She ran her fingers through his dark hair. It was so soft. That was probably part of his DNA. She tried not to think too much on that, all the implications associated with his origins.

  Evelyn wasn’t close with her parents, mostly because they didn’t understand a word she said. But they loved each other. The idea of being grown in a petri dish, and then returned to sender…was just too terrible.

  “I can’t say that I like your expression right now,” Adam said.

  “I’m not obeying my own orders. Now is not the time for thinking.”

  “What is it the time for?” He gave her a gentle smile, his hands slowly roving over her back.

  “Kissing would be good.”

  “Where shall I kiss you?” He started to work the front of her jeans, undoing the button and slowly pulling down the zipper.

  “Like I said, you have really good instincts.”

  “In that case, there’s something I’ve wanted to do.”

  He leaned forward and clasped one nipple in his mouth, flicking his tongue over the surface until it tightened. Evelyn gasped, burying her hands more deeply in his hair and hugging his head to her chest. She kicked off her shoes as he slowly worked her jeans down over her hips, taking her panties with them.

  He moved to her other breast, teasing, kneading, caressing. Her body ached for more. She wanted him all over her, inside her.

  As if he sensed her need, he slid his hand between her legs, two fingers gliding effortlessly deep into her while his thumb traced lazy circles around her clitoris. She grabbed his shoulders to keep herself from falling over. The room was starting to spin again in a very good way.

  “Okay, I’m going to fall over if you keep doing that.”

  “I’ll catch you.”

  Her smile transformed to a gasp as he hit a particularly sensitive spot. “Oh God, that feels so good.”

  “Then let me keep doing it.”

  Warmth coursed through her body where his hands were working. At some point, she wasn’t even sure when, he put his other arm behind her, helping to hold her up.

  “I want more,” she said. “All of you. Now.”

  Her body ached as he pulled his hands from her and stood. He unfastened his pants and pulled out his cock, barely pausing as he picked her up and spun them around.

  Her knees hit the back of her bed and she let herself fall back. Adam followed, covering her body with his. He reached between them to guide himself to her core, then buried himself to the hilt with a groan of pleasure.

  Or maybe it was hers. It was hard to tell, and she didn’t really care to sort it out.

  He immediately started thrusting deep. No preludes, no hesitation. Evelyn wanted to give him more. New sensations, new pleasures.

  She wrapped her thighs
around his waist so he had even better access, and raked her fingernails down his back. She felt his shiver with every part of her, everywhere they touched.

  The valley of his spine seemed particularly sensitive. She trailed her fingers down the length of it, splaying her hands over his ass and squeezing the muscles that were rhythmically contracting—pushing him deep within her, pulling out to the protest of her body.

  Her body was lighting up everywhere. She must be glowing. No one could feel this good—this energized, this ready to explode—without glowing.

  “Moons, Evelyn,” he grunted out. “That feels…too good.”

  He kissed her before she could respond, so she dug her nails into him, playing with the threshold between pleasure and pain. He rewarded her by pushing himself up on his hands and angling his hips to grind against her clitoris with every thrust.

  The fireworks began, small explosions at first, that quickly built into a cascade of color and energy, making every cell in her body feel alive.

  “Adam!”

  His own cry mingled with hers as his thrusts became more desperate, uncontrolled, the force of them rocking the bed. Her body clenched tightly around him, joining the pulsing of his cock, the heat and wetness of his contribution filling her.

  He buried himself deep and stayed there, head back, eyes tightly shut, a look of such rapture on his face she knew she’d never be able to forget it. The thudding of her heart in her ears slowly subsided, tension she hadn’t noticed melting away into the mattress beneath her.

  Adam lowered himself to his elbows, careful not to put too much of his weight on her as he had the first time. He nuzzled her ear, nibbling on her earlobe and kissing her neck.

  “We need to keep doing that forever.” It took several breaths to get out her sentence, but she managed it.

  “Absolutely.”

  He rocked against her again, kissing her deeply. She could feel him softening inside of her, her body no longer stretching as much to hold onto him. He didn’t seem willing to end their union, which was fine with her. The relaxed connection was wonderful in its own way.

  They were going to get married. The thought sprang up unexpected, but no longer accompanied by surprise.