by A. Payne
“Tomorrow we’re going shopping.”
“Huh? Shopping?” With his mind drowning in lustful thoughts of every sexual fantasy he’d had since their first intimate night, he could barely focus on her actual words. “Why?”
The answer came on the sound of ripping fabric. Zoe’s right hand fisted in his shirt and yanked, tearing the cotton like tissue. If anything, her dominant display made him harder and more desperate.
“Get this all off, Zo.” Despite her pretty undergarments, Victor craved the sensation of flesh against flesh, and nothing would satisfy him until the last scrap of peach lace hit the floor. Afterward, once they were both bare, hands free to roam and fingers able to reciprocate eager fondling, they moved toward the bed until the mattress hit the back of his legs and Victor found himself abruptly sitting on the edge.
Zoe straddled him. Her fingers traced a wandering journey that began at his taut abdomen and worked their way upward over his pectorals, drifting through the fine hairs scattered across his chest. Her hands remained in constant motion, exploring without the hindrance of clothing.
“I don’t… I don’t like to be on the bottom.”
“Then you don’t have to be,” Zoe whispered against his ear. Without another word, she surrendered the top position and drew him down with her to the bed. Victor lowered easily atop her, settling his body against receptive curves. Her legs fit perfectly around his hips. Beneath him, Zoe made no judgment and set no expectations. Her affectionate gaze tilted up to him with desire and absolute patience in her golden eyes.
Weeks of foreplay had made one thing abundantly clear: neither Zoe nor Victor had any desire to drag it out another second.
With one hand, Victor guided himself between her thighs until only a forward plunge remained. He took it and dove in, savoring every second until he buried deep within her. Zoe’s body molded around his length in complete acceptance, as hot and snug as he’d envisioned in his best dreams.
The women of the past ceased to matter, obliterated from Victor’s memories from the first moment he and Zoe connected in sweet bliss.
“Sweet God, say something, Zo.”
“Perfect.” Her eyes shined damply in the undulating blue light from the window over the bed.
“What’s wrong? Am I hurting you?” Victor’s slick backstroke drew him partially from within her. It was instinctive, an instantaneous reaction to her possible discomfort.
Zoe’s fingers promptly pressed into his shoulders, followed by a sharp cry to the contrary, “No, don’t stop!” She lifted her head and delicately brushed her lips against his mouth. He indulged her in a sweet kiss, tasting another luscious hint of native fruit and their shared wine against her tongue. “I’m happy, Victor. You feel amazing. The absolute furthest thing from hurting me.”
After a shaky exhale, he smoothed his fingers over her brow. Her disobedient bangs remained in a persistent disarray. “You worried me.” I don’t want to hurt you. Never. I’d do anything to keep you safe.
Zoe took his hand and pressed it against her breast. “Feel how my heart is racing? That’s all you.”
Lowering his mouth against the hammering pace of her heart, Victor teased his lips over her nipple until the tip stiffened beneath his tongue. His hips moved, and together they found their own pacing, the heel of her foot pressed against his muscled behind. She urged him deeper while his fingers reacquainted with her naked contours.
Shallow gasps and low moans punctuated every thrust of their bodies. Zoe showed no restraint in the complete privacy their room provided. She vocalized her pleasure with breathy grunts and impassioned cries for more huffed against his ear. Each call, every single moan from her lips crested him higher on the next wave of ecstasy.
Making love to Zoe wasn’t merely about sex. It transcended all physical pleasure, an explosion of euphoria as surreal as achieving nirvana. As each thrust reunited them in sensual bliss, their souls twined, branded by loving warmth and mutual adoration. Her strength became his anchor, her complete acceptance his salvation from a troubling past.
Without a word, Zoe clutched his hand before lacing their fingers together. The fluttering in Victor’s stomach was matched by the swelling in his chest. For the first time in a long while, he felt as if he were exactly where he belonged.
Eventually, Victor slipped his free hand between their joined bodies and used his fingers to help her along. As her body tightened, her nails buried into his back to leave sharp stings of intermittent pain, quickly forgotten in their shared passion.
Tension stiffened Zoe’s athletic frame from head to toe until she tossed her head back and cried his name. It was the beginning of the end; their careful rhythm lost, abandoned in lieu of frenetic thrusts that slammed their bodies together with mounting desperation.
Climax seized Victor on the next thrust, the glorious moment passing with Zoe’s legs wrapped around his hips and their fingers clasped tight. She held his hand the entire time until their heaving breaths eventually became softer kisses.
“Think you’re up for more?” Victor touched his lips to her brow tenderly.
Zoe’s hips undulated in response. “You certainly are.”
His lover’s experience and overactive imagination guided them through several positions, each one more colorful and entertaining than the last without threatening his preferences. Zoe’s gentle guidance made him feel alive again, easily restoring the vitality lost during his year of mourning.
“Hey, Zoe?” Victor murmured afterward as they lay in a sweaty sprawl across the enormous bed.
“Hmm…yeah?”
“I’m glad you’re my patient.”
After all, news of a talented cyberware technician lured her to the Jemison. The very cybernetic talents Ylona encouraged him to train and develop had introduced Zoe, the new love of his life, into his world. His Eloran wife had saved him from loneliness even in death; she’d given him Zoe.
“Me too.”
At the end of their lovemaking, Victor suggested a shared shower. They washed each other tenderly beneath the lukewarm spray. And then they laughed like children when Zoe took off with both towels and forced him to chase her to recover one.
The desire for conversation and cuddling landed Victor and Zoe in the bed again. They snuck beneath the blankets and pressed closely together, and for the first time in a long while, Victor cleared his mind of all other cares.
“Mm…Your persocomm is beeping wildly. Must be a bloody landslide of messages asking where we’ve disappeared to,” Victor muttered. As if they didn’t know.
“I’ll mute it.” Zoe crawled out of their blanket nest and retrieved the small communication device clipped to her dress. She cycled through her pile of messages and tossed it aside again. “Saskia says there’s a party in Atlantica tonight. An hour by shuttle.”
Victor considered it. As much as he wanted to enjoy some public time in the fun and sun with her, he hadn’t realized how much he craved the privacy away from their peers. “I’d rather spend the rest of my night alone with you.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
So they did.
Chapter 21
“Trevor invited us along for a hike and some parasailing. His online lady friend made him promise to get some fresh air in the outside world.”
“Good for Flidais. Still, as much as I adore Trevor’s company, I don’t know if I want to share you today either,” Zoe admitted. “I’m feeling incredibly selfish.”
“A private hike then. We’ll catch up with him tomorrow.”
More than a dozen paths led from the most popular tourist attractions, winding into the overgrown thickets and jungle flora. All the hot spots for the traveling population centered around the planet’s inhabitable land mass. Three miles of trekking through the lush growth was enough distance to escape civilization, and afterward, the landscape treated visitors to an abundance of natural growth. Waterfalls, quick-flowing rivers, and trickling caverns were only some of the other wonders Vict
or had found over the years. He’d gladly share them with Zoe. Skinny-dipping with her in some freshwater stream became his next priority.
They enjoyed a five mile morning hike through the tropical terrain, ensuring their privacy away from the more adventurous crew members. Curls of steam rose from a hidden hot spring where Victor coaxed Zoe out of her clothes with minimal effort. To make new memories of a planet already close to Victor’s heart, they made love again on the leafy shoreline where the sand had bled away into dense and silky foliage.
Eventually, once their racing hearts calmed and they felt up to the task of returning to civilization, they bathed in the pristine water and returned to the carefully navigated path. Zoe only got them lost once when Victor put her in charge of the holomap.
“You could have said there was a cliff there.”
“It was on the map,” he said with a laugh. “I thought you were being adventurous. I’m all for taking the climb down if you are.”
Zoe swatted him.
They celebrated their return to civilization with lunch at a beachside cafe. Cuddled side by side on a wide hammock, they shared a colorful salad of local fruits and a plate of double-tail prawns stuffed with marauder crabmeat.
“What’s this one?” Zoe asked, curiously holding up a piece of fruit for Victor’s inspection. Tiny pink seeds dotted throughout the rounded, canary yellow slice.
“Sunfruit. Try it. They’re only harvested for one month of the year here. The Jemison arrived at the best time, really. Three weeks ago when we should have pulled in this wouldn’t have been ripened enough for picking.”
“Mmm, wow.” Zoe eagerly dug through the bowl for a second piece. “It’s tarter than I expected but yummy.”
“If you want sweet, try this instead.” He offered a bumpy, slightly soggy grey berry, not bothering to hide his chuckle when Zoe warily eyed it. “I promise it tastes better than it looks. I asked for this specially. Local secret.”
Zoe leaned in and took the fruit from his fingers with a teasing nip. A quizzical look crossed her face which quickly morphed into a pleased smile. “Okay, how have I never tasted this before? It’s like liquid sugar laced with… is that wine?”
“I told you, a local secret. The Elorans ferment the berries after plucking. You miss a lot when you take liberty in Atlantica,” he teased.
“We need to buy a bottle or five.”
“Already ordered three to be sent to our room. Anything more and customs won’t allow us through.”
“Yes, but if you get three and I get three, then we have six,” she replied with a sage nod.
“You’re wise beyond your years,” Victor teased, brushing a gentle kiss across her lips.
Beachside lunch for two was followed by a trip through the colorful market stalls. Every time a ship pulled in, the natives, both human and alien, set up a weekend surface bazaar to peddle their wares. The latter preferred to trade for physical objects over galactic currency.
An aqua-skinned Eloran lured Zoe over with an assortment of carved sea stones. The crystalline rocks littered the ocean floor, polished to a satin finish by years beneath the water.
“Look, it’s one of those crabs.” The decorative carving masterfully depicted the vain crustacean with an ornate shell of fan shaped coral.
“As ugly as the little blighters are on the outside, their interior polishes like mother of pearl. This was carved from the inside of his bottom shell,” Victor explained, much to the Eloran woman’s surprise. She clapped giddily and nodded her head, sending her sleek waves of green and pink striped hair bouncing over her shoulders.
Native Elorans lacked the capability for human speech. They communicated through a series of sounds and inhuman vocalizations that carried beneath the water to express emotions. Among their own kind, they conveyed deeper meanings and thoughts through physical contact. Sometimes they shared the psychic experience with humans.
“Really?” Zoe’s eyebrows hiked upwards. “It’s actually pretty and it’ll be a nice reminder of our visit, even if you did laugh at me.”
“Your little shriek was adorable. Well worth the two seconds you glowered at me.”
Zoe rewarded his teasing with a kiss then shooed him off to look around while she bartered for the keepsake. A wandering pace through the stalls lightened his pockets and wallet, exchanged for his favorite soap and a few local sweets. By the time he caught back up with Zoe, she was carrying a new woven basket full of her own purchases - and the rest of her belongings from her purse.
“Let me guess. She traded your bag for the crab.”
Zoe beamed up at him and Victor ducked his head to kiss her dimples.
“She did, actually, but then she threw in a basket. I think she must have understood my worry about making you have to carry everything.”
“What can I say? They’re a considerate people. As for you…” Victor peered down at her collection of goodies. “I can see that you’re an impulse shopper.”
“What? Okay, so I want my own seasilk sheets,” she fussed. “Yours spoiled me.”
Victor grinned. “And all of that?” He gestured to the polished coral trinkets, bracelets, and glittering shells. Bright jewels shone from the surface of a unique hair comb crafted from a coral shrimp’s tail.
“The bracelets are for my sister,” she defended. “Well… most of them anyways. And… oh fine, I’ll put some of it back.”
“It’s your purchase, Zo. Ignore me, I’m only taking the piss out of you again. Enjoy the time away from the ship,” he coaxed her. Otherwise, he’d be forced to return and purchase the very things she removed from her basket.
“Honest, I’m being good. I didn’t even try to stuff that dress in. I had no idea the Elorans wove such pretty silk.”
“They don’t. Elorans only began to wear clothing when the first human settlers came. They do it for our modesty.”
“So…” Zoe ran her gaze over him from toe to head in a slow, leisurely manner. “You mean if we weren’t such prudes I’d get to see you running around in nothing but your birthday suit?”
“You’ve seen me in my birthday suit,” he replied amicably while easing into step beside her. The crisp ocean breeze was alive in the air, infusing every woven article with the smell of the saltwater. Lingering traces of it clung to Zoe’s skin, along with the fragrance of a native citrus she’d dabbed against her throat. Victor breathed it in and set his cheek against the top of her head. “Get the dress. You’ll regret leaving it once we’re in flight.”
Without need for further convincing, Zoe made her final purchase of the evening and returned to him with an airy, semi-translucent fabric fashioned into a strapless, knee length dress. Multiple layers of the gold and green material maintained modesty, but fluttered into an asymmetrical gauzy hemline against her thighs when she held it up for his approval.
“It’ll look great on you,” Victor said.
“You don’t think it’s too short?”
“Uh. No?”
“My dad would call it scandalous and my brother would feel compelled to duel you for daring to escort me in such a shameful state,” Zoe told him.
“I take it that your region of Tallulah is rather…” A war of humor versus horror raged in Victor, divided clearly over the matter of her admission. What the hell kind of family am I about to get myself attached to? “Backward then?” he finished awkwardly.
“It’s rather old-fashioned, yes. Some of the newer cities, like where Daniels hails from, aren’t quite so traditional.”
“I see. And they’ve reinstated dueling. That’s always grand. Do I need to purchase a revolver to practice my draw and aim?”
Zoe chuckled. “It’s not as bad as some places. Astreya, for example.”
“I suppose you’ve brought this up for a reason and I’m to be accompanying you home during leave?”
“Oh…” Her gaze dropped and she tucked the ends of her hair behind her ear. Since their first meeting, Zoe’s hair had grown out almost two inches. “V
ictor, I left home to escape all that sort of stuff. I wouldn’t drag you there unless you wanted to go.”
Their wandering path toward Pacifica Cove’s resort slowed and eventually came to a halt. Victor turned Zoe toward him with a hand to her shoulder. “Do you want me to go home with you?” he repeated.
“I think my sister Merrilyn would like you.”
“How long has it been since we met? Five months? Six?” Victor smoothed the same disobedient lock of hair away from her brow. “And almost as long since we began dating. Meeting your family seems like the next logical step. I don’t mind.”
“Maybe when this is all over, if you still feel that way, we can plan a trip,” Zoe compromised as she linked their hands together. “C’mon, I’m ready for our little private bubble again.”
“Fair enough.” Knowing her tense relationship with her family, Victor didn’t push the issue. Still, the idea held a certain appeal for him. I can do things properly, the way she deserves.
“I didn’t think it was possible, but you’ve worn me out with your outdoor escapades.” Zoe flopped down on the bed the moment they returned to their room and set their souvenirs aside.
“Are you so certain of that?” Victor asked, feigning his most lecherous expression. A crooked finger from Zoe was all the encouragement he needed to join her on the bed and strip away her clothes.
They didn’t stop until true exhaustion held them captive. Once they sweatily collapsed on the sheets, they twined their limbs and snuggled close to trade kisses and affectionate murmurs.
“God, I feel like a new man.” Laying a path of affectionate kisses up her throat, Victor nuzzled the sensitive hollow behind Zoe’s ear.
“I never would have guessed there was a randy teenage boy inside of you waiting to get out.”
“A tired boy now.”
Curled together, sleep came easily. Victor enjoyed the nights Zoe spent with him on the ship and always slept better with her at his side. Their time alone on Elora was no different.
