by Juno Wells
“But if I go with you, what about –”
“We can come back for your dog. And we can come back to visit your parents, and your friends.”
“And if I don’t go… If I don’t have this baby with you that’s supposed to save your planet… What happens to you?”
“Don’t worry about me, Ava. I’ll be fine. The Alluvians have been at war with the Zatharians for centuries. What are a few centuries more?” Aster took my hands in his, and then slowly kissed each individual knuckle. “Ava, I love you. And I don’t just love you because we’re fated to be together. I don’t love you because a prophecy told me I had to. I love you because you’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. You’re beautiful, and you’re brave, and you’re curious, and you’re difficult. There’s nothing I want more than to spend my life with you. But if you don’t want to come with me, then I love you enough to let you go.”
My mind reeled. I loved this man – I loved him more than I had ever loved anything. But could I leave my whole life behind? My whole world behind? I’d had to make plenty of tough decisions in my life, but nothing as tough as this. “Aster, I don’t… I don’t know…”
He didn’t let me finish my sentence. He pulled me into a deep, world-shaking kiss. It was the kind of kiss that people write poems about. It was the kind of kiss that people wait their whole lives to get. His kiss said everything, and I fell into it the way I always fell into it: wholly and completely. I lost myself to him, to this strange, beautiful man.
“The choice is yours, Ava,” Aster said, pulling his lips away from mine. “I’ll be in my ship. I’m going to leave in five minutes.”
Then he turned around and walked away.
I stood in the grass and looked up at the starry sky. What the fuck was I going to do? I’d always been so independent: I had my own business, I owned a home. There was a way that I imagined my life going. And it had nothing to do with prophecies, or fated babies that were meant to save the universe. It was a lot to take in. It was a lot of pressure. Could I really leave my planet, to go live in some distant galaxy?
But Asterion… I had no doubts about him. I loved him, with every fiber of my being. The thought of living my life without him – changing my name, moving to a new city, never seeing him again – it made my body physically ache. I thought of the Alluvian saying Aster had told me: ‘Never turn your back on an adventure.’ I wanted adventure in my life, didn’t I? Wasn’t that what I told my best friend Beth I’d wanted just minutes before I’d met Aster?
How could I turn my back on my destiny? How could I turn my back on fate? The universe wanted us to be together. The universe needed us to be together. And I wanted him. I wanted him so bad I could feel it in my bones.
Then I thought of what Aster had said to me at the police station: ‘I traveled through galaxies to find you, and there’s no way I’m losing you now.’
Just like that, all my doubts fell away like sand in a windstorm. There was no way I could let him go.
I ran towards the open door of his ship, my feet kicking up clouds of dirt as they hit the ground. In seconds I was inside, suddenly breathless, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes.
“Don’t you dare leave without me,” I shouted. “I’m coming with you.”
Asterion stood at the far corner of the ship. He turned around, and his indigo eyes met mine. He smiled.
Chapter Sixteen
From space, my beautiful blue planet Earth looked so small, so peaceful. I looked out the window of Aster’s ship and watched as it receded in the distance. I knew I would be back to visit my home again, but I still felt a small pang of heartache upon leaving. Life as I knew it on Earth was in the past now. I turned away from the window and looked at my future.
Aster sat in front of a control panel, fiddling with knobs and switches. His back was as straight as an arrow, and his gorgeous lips puckered slightly as he concentrated on the task at hand. He looked so calm, so serious, so shockingly handsome. Not even thirty minutes earlier, he’d killed the biggest, baddest motherfucker in the universe, and now he sat, expertly piloting his ship through space.
Damn, he was cool.
I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “I’m just setting up autopilot,” he said. He clicked a few more switches, then turned to me. “There. Done. Now, if you’d like to call anyone, I suggest you do it soon before we’re out of range of Earth’s satellites.”
“We can make phone calls up here? In space?”
“For the next five minutes or so we can.” He placed his hand on the control panel in front of him. “Who do you want to call?”
I gave him Beth’s number. He pushed more buttons, typed a few things into a keypad, then handed me a headset and a microphone. I heard ringing, then Beth’s voice cutting through the static.
“Beth, it’s me,” I said. “Listen –”
“Ava! I called you a million times! I saw on the news that something happened in your neighborhood, and then some crazy nut-job attacked the police station, and I couldn’t get a hold of you…” She’d spit her sentence out so frantically that she had to stop and take a breath. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Beth. Calm down. Everything’s okay.” I needed time to figure out how to explain everything to her. But at the moment, I was just going to have to lie. “I wasn’t… I wasn’t home when that stuff happened in my neighborhood. And I’m not at home now. So I need you to go over and get Pepper. Take care of her for a while. Use the spare key I have hidden by the back door. I should be back in a few weeks to get her.”
“A few weeks? Ava, what the hell is going on? Where are you?”
“I met someone, Beth. And we’re… taking a trip together.”
“You met someone? Who? When? How? Is he another online dating guy?”
“I don’t have time to explain all this right now. I have to get on a plane. I promise, I’ll explain it all later.” I felt terrible lying to my best friend, but what was I supposed to say? Besides, it wasn’t a total lie. I was sort-of on a plane. “I’ll just tell you this, Beth. I think you were right about that whole fate thing. The universe sent me someone pretty damn amazing.”
“Awww,” Beth cooed, her voice turning as sweet as honey. “I’m happy for you. I mean, this is crazy, but I’m happy for you. I’ll go get Pepper, don’t you worry about her. Have fun, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
You mean like run away to a distant planet with a smoking hot alien? I thought to myself.
I checked in with my parents in Florida next, and kept it short and sweet. I knew if I told my mother I was taking a romantic “vacation” with a guy I’d just met, she’d worry herself into a hospital. Instead, I told them I was going out of the country for work, on a special assignment. I left out the part where I told them that the next time they saw me, I’d probably be pregnant with their grandchild.
“So, that’s that,” I said, taking off the headset with a sigh. “All my cover stories are in order. Now I just have to figure out how to actually explain what’s going on. But I can worry about that later. Come here, you big sexy alien.” I curled my finger at Aster.
Aster closed the distance between us and took me in his arms. He gave me a soft kiss, full of promise. “I’m so glad you came with me, Ava. Now that I’ve met you, I couldn’t imagine life without you.”
“Me neither,” I told him. “Why is that? How did we fall so quickly? Is it because of the prophecy?”
“Partly, yes. We were meant to fall in love.” He squeezed my hips and pushed his body against mine, and I felt a flutter of warmth rush through me. “And our bodies were meant to mate. But on Alluvia, some mates take years to develop deep feelings for each other. They have to get to know each other. The bond isn’t always so deep, and so immediate.”
“But ours is,” I whispered, pressing myself tight against him.
I didn’t know why I’d fallen so hard and so fast for Asterion. Maybe it was just destiny –
our bodies carrying out some biological imperative. But as I kissed him, enveloped in his strong arms, I thought that maybe it was something else too. Maybe it was just true love.
“So, Ava,” he said, once he’d finally pulled his mouth away from mine. “There is one more pressing matter we need to attend to.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
Aster looked me deep in the eyes, and when he spoke, his voice virtually vibrated with pure sexiness. “I need to get you pregnant. Now.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Now? Right now?”
“Right now,” Aster said, his voice low and deep. “Once you’re pregnant, you’re safe. The Zatharians can’t hurt you.”
“I don’t understand. Why not? The Zatharians are evil brutes. I can’t imagine they’d have any problem going after a pregnant lady, even if it is about one of the most despicable things you could do. You mean to tell me that they’re all of the sudden going to respect the precious life I’m carrying inside of me?”
“No, Ava. I mean once you’re pregnant, they literally can’t hurt you. They can’t kill you. The water that protects an Alluvian fetus in the womb also protects the mother. You will be, for lack of a better word, indestructible.”
Whoa. Indestructible. I’d had to accept a lot of strange new realities since I met Aster, but this might have been the strangest of them all. “But I’m on birth control… I don’t think it’s gonna work. Not yet.”
“Birth control doesn’t matter,” Aster said, shaking his head. “Earth medicine can’t stop this.”
I felt my heart jump into my throat. This was really happening. Aster wanted to get me pregnant. Immediately. I paced around the deck of the ship, wringing my hands. I thought we’d have more time. I thought I would have time to make it to Alluvia, settle in, and get used to the strange new life that awaited me. Then maybe we could talk about having this prophesied baby that was going to save the universe.
“Just give me a minute,” I said. “This is a lot to take in.”
“I’ll wait,” he replied. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked so casual, like some hot guy waiting for a bus or something. But he definitely wasn’t waiting for a bus.
I sat down on the floor and put my head in my hands. Was I ready for this? Was I ready to be a mother?
Of course I was. It was all I’d ever wanted. I wanted a baby. And I wanted Aster. I’d jumped into his spaceship and left my whole world behind because it was what I wanted. And if this wasn’t adventure, what was?
I looked up at Aster, who was still casually leaning against the wall. When my eyes met his, he cocked an eyebrow and gave me a sexy, naughty smile. Damn, that cocked eyebrow was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. And that smile was incendiary. I felt my need for him deep within me, in the deepest part of me. Why had I questioned this, even just for a moment?
“Okay,” I said, my voice shaky with anticipation. “Let’s do it.”
In a split second, Aster crossed the room and scooped me up into his arms. “Let’s get in the water,” he said, his voice reverberating like a spreading fire within my body.
I looked at the large tank of water next to us. “In there?”
Aster nodded slowly. “We need Alluvian water to make a baby.”
My heart fluttered wildly in my chest, and my body trembled. But I wasn’t nervous, and I wasn’t afraid. I was ready.
Chapter Eighteen
Aster undressed me slowly, stopping to plant kisses over my skin as he took off my clothes. The last time we’d made love, it had been a world-shaking experience, and I had a feeling that this time would be even more incredible. As we stepped into the water together, I thought back to that last time, to the way he’d made my body feel. I’d never experienced anything like it. It was an understatement to say that Aster was a good lover. He was a monumental lover, literally out of this world.
My skin flushed with anticipation as Aster moved his hands over my body, caressing my curves. “If we do this,” he said, “there’s no turning back, Ava. Once we mate like this, you’re mine.”
“There’s already no turning back, Aster.” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and looked him deep in the eyes. “I’m yours.”
Aster leaned in, brushing his lips against mine, giving me one of his signature teasing kisses. As soon as I reached out for more, he pulled back, leaving me wanting. He did this over and over, his lips barely touching mine, his tongue gently sliding across my lower lip. I’d lunge forward and he’d pull back, smiling, then lean in again. At the same time, his hand was similarly teasing my sex, his fingers trailing over my aching bud, barely touching it. It was maddening, delicious torture.
“Please,” I gasped. “I want you, Aster.” I took his cock in my hand and squeezed, and his eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath. Then he clasped his mouth over mine, claiming me, giving me the Earth-shattering kiss I’d been so desperate for.
There was no more waiting, no more teasing. We couldn’t fight it any more. We devoured each other, kissing desperately, hungrily, our skin sliding together in the water. Aster’s mouth broke away from mine and roamed my body, kissing and licking, sending shockwaves of delight rippling through me. I leaned back and steadied my hands against the edge of the water tank as Aster’s tongue found my nipple, circling around it before moving lower, over my belly, my hips, my mound. His face slid against my inner thighs and his tongue found me, dancing over that most sensitive spot, coaxing an aching need out of me until my limbs began to quiver. I plunged my head underwater and breathed as I had before, thanks to Aster’s strange Alluvian magic.
We were completely submerged, and Aster’s tongue probed me, opening me up like a blooming flower. It was so overwhelming, so exotic to be pleasured under the water, and I lost myself to his skillful touch. It felt as if I was drifting out to sea, being carried farther and farther out. My body tingled, my heart thrummed. And just when I thought I was about to break into a million pieces, Aster slid up the length of my body and looked me in the eyes.
We couldn’t speak under the water, but we didn’t need to. Everything that needed to be said was already there, in our eyes. Just like before, I felt the desire in his eyes like a physical force. And I could feel his love, too. I reached out for him and our bodies collided together, then I felt Aster slip himself inside of me.
I arched my back and cried out, my muffled moan echoing under the water. We pushed against each other, our movements fluid and graceful, and with every stroke I felt my body burn brighter and brighter, like a supernova, a starburst. We twisted and turned, locked together, water splashing against the sides of the tank. Our mouths found each other and we kissed between gasps and moans, climbing higher and higher together to the point of no return.
The pleasure came in waves. My first orgasm was gentle and delicate, like a breeze, and I rocked my hips against Aster as rippling ecstasy coursed through me. The next orgasm hit harder, like a punch, as Aster pounded into me, my back pressed hard against the water tank. The one after that was like an explosion, blindingly bright, and my whole body tensed as Aster’s shaft slammed into me with savage, aching intensity. But I still needed more, and so did he. He pinned my arms above my head and claimed my mouth in a deep, passionate kiss as he thrust his length deep inside me, sheathing himself to the hilt. We spun around in the tank, water violently sloshing over the sides, our muscles clenched tight.
I’d never felt anything like it. It was more than passion, more than sex. It was otherworldly. Our moans echoed in the tank, reverberating, encircling us in a haze of aural bliss. My body felt like a raw nerve, every millimeter of my skin alive and tingling. And Aster kept going, taking me higher and higher until I was almost delirious with pleasure, panting, my limbs shaking. And right at the peak of ecstasy, our heads shot out of the water and we gasped, taking in air. I felt an orgasm hit me that felt like an atom bomb in my core and I wailed with pleasure, digging my fingers into Aster’s skin. And at the sa
me moment he found his release, sending his seed deep within me as his body shook against mine, his breath ragged.
“I love you, Ava,” he gasped as he came.
Chapter Nineteen
We spent the next few days making love as Aster’s starship carried us through the galaxy. We did it in the water, out of the water, and on virtually every surface available to us. We had sex until our legs buckled and we collapsed, our bodies dripping with sweat. Just one word, one touch, one look sent our bodies crashing together once again, consumed with white-hot passion. We couldn’t get enough of each other.
