by Mason, Jolie
“Do you still want to come?”
He laughed a low, rolling, dark laugh. “You really have no idea.”
Nina blushed and cursed herself for it. Thankfully, he couldn’t see the schoolgirl reaction because she hadn’t activated vid. “Not that I’m not dying here, but will anyone be suspicious about you visiting a guest in their quarters?”
“Depends. I cannot stay the night, but it is not terribly unusual to have a drink with a friend or a passenger of some stature. You have stature, no?” He laughed again.
No one should have a laugh like that, she thought with a shiver. It should be illegal for anyone to be sexy when they laugh. She leaned heavily on the wall next to the door panel.
“Then get your ass down here, Captain.”
His chuckle through the comm sent tingles down her spine one more time. “Yes, your highness.”
He disengaged the comm first. Nina had already showered, or what passed for one in space, and dressed in a nightgown. She grabbed a robe from her bag because opening the door like this would just be too obvious. Then, she waited.
The hatchway door beeped. She pressed the ID. Sevarus, Ra’dan Captain said the simulated voice. That was fast, she thought. She triggered the door, and he didn’t even wait for her invitation. He plunged into the room and, closing the hatch, hauled her close for a long hello.
“Everyone’s in quarters or at duty stations.” He spoke between strokes of his mouth on her lips. “I missed you.”
Her powers of speech shut down. Nina clutched his nape and fought to deepen the kiss. She couldn’t think beyond getting him to the bunk. Awkwardly, they pulled at his uniform and her robe, until it puddled in red silk at his feet. She couldn’t remember the sequence. She was barely aware of moving as he pulled her this way and that, removing their clothes as quickly as possible. Before she knew it, she was beneath him, arching into his bared skin and digging her nails into his shoulders. She whispered his name urgently with the word please. His mouth hovered over her ear, as his hand pressed firmly against her abdomen. “Slow down, T’ista. Shh. Slowly.”
Nina heard the sob in the word no when she spoke and wondered at it. Was this sensual creature really her? His fingers pressed her back down, wandering between her legs. Suddenly, she stopped moving. Her full attention centered on the sensation of his hand exploring the intimate valleys of her body. “Ra’dan”, she pleaded.
“We have time. Let me.”
His hand turned and his fingers slipped so softly into her body. She pushed into his hand. “Oh,” she sighed. Her eyes fluttered closed as he toyed with her, finally filling her, giving her what she needed. He moved soft then fast, hard then slow, until she almost rode the waves of her body like a tide.
His hand kept playing her like an instrument. She gasped when his mouth closed on her right breast. It took only moments for him to turn her whole body into liquid heat. Nina arched into him as the waves of sensation began right where he touched her and spread until she was aware of nothing but pleasure. She wasn’t quiet, but he didn’t cover her mouth like the last time. She did, pressing her wrist over her mouth as she rode the orgasm he wouldn’t let end.
“No”, he said softly. “Put your hand down. No one else can hear you. I want to hear you.”
His words. Oh, dear gods. He used his hands, his words, and she came again, harder and louder, calling his name. She sank slowly back to the ship, his arms. For a moment, she thought she’d been out among the stars, just for a moment.
She pulled him to her. “Ra, inside now.”
He didn’t have to be invited twice. Sliding home, he pressed her to the bunk with his kiss, a wild, breathless kiss. She spread her legs wider, wrapped them around his back. It was so very good. Nina reveled in it. Touch overload.
She hadn’t been sure what she’d been missing all this time, but now she knew. She felt full, not just her body. She felt like part of him merged with part of her, spirits or souls. Something. It wasn’t strange, or odd. It was natural.
There were moments she thought she could feel what he felt. She would swear she felt the soft give of her own flesh on his as he pushed home hard, felt the pull of sensation as he pulled back. She almost thought she could feel the cut and burn of her nails in his back, her back. All the sensation tripped something in her and she moaned loudly, coming harder than she would have believed possible once more.
Now, it was Ra’dan’s voice raising in a triumphant shout as he came inside her, pulsing. He kept riding her, even after his body finished. She loved the feeling that he didn’t want to stop, that he couldn’t stop even when the act was over.
They both continued to relive the moment, until they slowed and, finally, stopped. He was still inside her, his hand running over her body as he whispered her name. She pressed her face into his neck. He kissed her face then her shoulder.
“You know this is crazy, right?”
His mouth ran over her jaw to her ear where he answered softly, “I finally feel sane.”
The urge to cry settled on her, and a small sob escaped her. Then another. She held onto him and soaked his shoulder with salty tears. He held her and crooned to her. His voice soothing her eventually.
“Why are you sad, Star?” She smiled at the nickname.
“Not exactly sad. I’m happy. A little bit. And afraid a little. What happens if this doesn't work? What will I do then? This is all so fast. Last night, you mentioned what might happen if you keep me. All I can think about is what happens if, one day, you decide you don’t want to.”
His eyes closed a moment. The muscle in his strong jaw tensed. “I don’t believe that day will ever come while I live”, he said.
“No one ever does.”
“Others have abandoned you. I have not.” Ra’dan bent to kiss her forehead lightly. “And keeping you is no longer a question. I must. We will just have to be smarter than our enemies. You are my family, as much as Marm or my sister ever were.”
Her face crumpled and tears spilled forth again. “Okay, now I’m happy”, she sobbed. He laughed shortly, cuddling her into his chest one more time as she cried.
*****#*****
It took three days to reach the Orion system, and Nina had only been able to sneak away with Ra’dan once to his cabin. They’d had to keep their distance for the most part. She lived on the memory of that first night shipboard, and the things he’d said and meant at the time.
In the days and nights since, he'd appeared to avoid her. Left alone with her thoughts, she'd started to doubt a few things; herself, him, their chances.
Right now, she stood beside Luca on the bridge of the Carry Bell watching Orion Prime come into view, a mass of oceans and clouds. The young pilot laughed often, and was, even now, teasing the Captain over open comms. They reminded her of nothing so much as siblings terrorizing each other.
Luca closed the channel and snorted. “Gods, I love doing that. So, you looking forward to going home?”
The question had been asked innocently enough. Nina sighed. “Not exactly. Life on Orion can get complicated fast.”
“Guess it really isn’t that much fun to be a princess.”
“I might have been royal, but I’m not actually anything. There is no title associated with being the younger sibling. Strictly, winner takes all, as governments go, and I’ve never disagreed with it one bit. It’s just that being the relative of royalty puts you at a distinct disadvantage in any conversation where the word no might be a factor.”
Luca looked at her and snickered a bit. “I read that. So, what’s the goal here?”
“I want to get help for the Sor. If she were to send enforcers to drive out the slavers, the rebellion would be finished in days.”
“What’s the odds on that?” It was clear that Luca gave it very long odds.
“Oh, probably, just about what you’re thinking.”
“Do you have a game plan?”
“Sure, don’t get killed. Don’t get Ra killed. Anything after that is
just gravy.”
Luca looked sharply at her. “What’s Ra’dan’s part in all that? How’s he at risk in your scenario?”
Nina cursed her tongue. She’d gotten too comfortable, let her guard down. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
The other woman stared right through her with suspicious, calculating blue eyes. “No, you meant just what you said. Why would he be in danger? Are you two a thing?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“Well, normally, I wouldn’t, but now I’m all thinky. You aren’t looking me in the eye right now. When he’s around you, he occasionally goes Safety Neon, indicating intense sexual interest or anger. He hasn’t killed you yet. Yeah, I’m having the thoughts. You and Ra'dan are involved?” When Nina didn't answer, she nodded, “And you're thinking your family may misbehave.”
Her head bowed. “My sister isn't speaking to me much, and she’s an empress with vast power. He needs to stay off the screen.”
“I concur”, she nodded. “You two have known each other, what, four days?”
Nina pulled herself up to stand taller in the face of Luca’s doubts. She’d had enough of them to know what they looked like. “What can I say? I have a thing for safety neon.”
Luca began to laugh, then she began to howl. “Oh,” she sighed with tears of laughter streaming down her face as the laughing fit passed. “Oh, Ari’s gonna lose it when she meets you. You’re her, but shorter.” The laughter went on, until Luca finally brushed both hands over her eyes and squinted up at Nina.
“How do you think the empress is going to react to him?”, she asked.
Looking past her at the viewscreen, she answered, “She's not going to know if I can help it.” She turned her head in the direction of the pilot's console. “I don't like what I'm seeing on the feeds. The sister I know doesn't declare martial law on four planets. She wouldn't strip mine habitable worlds. Something is very wrong, and I can't keep Ra'dan from charging into it.”
Nina played with the hem of her long, flowing white blouse. She’d chosen the outfit to look more like herself, one of the royals of Orion and less like a doctor. “He has mentioned Ari in passing.”
“Only in passing?”, she said with her nose curled up.
“Yes, I know she saved him from a slave market. I know he was young. I know this is her ship.”
“It's not what you're thinking, I can tell you that.”
“I don't have enough information to think anything.” Nina's tone had tightened with the stress of the conversation.
“She's like a mother to both of us. It's not easy for him to talk about with anyone.”
“Especially, someone he's only known for four days. I understand. How long will docking take?” Nina was done discussing the subject. She'd had a lot of alone time to think about the whole thing, and one thing was abundantly clear. She was in deeper than her lover, far deeper. She suspected due to her vast inexperience with men and a pathetic need for love.
“Two hours with a line.”
“We’ll have a line to wait through. I received notice of a council meeting.”
With that, Nina turned and walked off the bridge rigidly, even though she tried to mask her hurt, she knew there was something odd going on with Ra'dan. He seemed to know too much about her state of being, and there were the strange occurrences when she thought she might be hallucinating the sensation of feeling his feelings, which begged the question; what might he be getting from her if that was a real phenomenon? It almost fit the description of the mate bonding among his people.
She knew that had to be impossible. She wasn't Sorian, for one thing, and he liked the sex, no doubt, but she didn't think he was looking for a forever thing, not really. He might have tried to convince himself, but she was a try on. She couldn't changed that, but she could do something, she thought. She could fight for the Sorian people. That would have to be enough.
She almost laughed at herself as she traveled the halls of the Carry Bell. She hadn’t been enough to win his heart or a place in his world, but, now, here she was trying to be his savior. It was almost maddening how weak and vulnerable she felt.
*****#*****
Imperial city was one large mega-metro crowded with skyscrapers comprised of hundreds of floors and forced green spaces where nannies walked babies and people gathered to indulge the fantasy of being outdoors which they technically were if you didn’t count the dome around the city proper.
Nina thumbed the key code to the penthouse she owned near the artist’s market. Her sister called it her indulgence, and it could be called that, she supposed. It was her escape. Certainly, it was monitored which meant she had to be very careful since Ra’dan had insisted he would come.
They had to make sure he played the role of bodyguard to perfection, even where they should be able to expect privacy. He’d dressed in straight black, loading himself down with weapons. She walked before him up the stairs to the private lift to the upper floors. Her intricately woven top draped off her body leaving room for a small weapon or two in her outfit.
There was unrest outside the dome, in the parts of the city reserved for the poor and the alien. The moment Luca had come to her with the planet alert she’d begun to doubt the whole exercise. Imperial City was run by her sister’s government. If there was unrest, was there oppression? Was her sister working for the people, and if she was, why were they revolting? Nina feared they were walking into a worse mess than they’d left behind them.
Nina strolled through the spacious, modern rooms with their ridiculously vaulted ceilings barely seeing them as she got lost in worry. She pushed a button on the console by her bed. “There. Scramblers.”
“You’re sure?”, he asked behind her.
“Yes. They’re used to it. I hate the surveillance. It’s been a constant battle.”
“You are absolutely certain no one can see us or hear us?” he asked again.
She turned back to him. “Yes, why?”
His lips shocked her with a fierceness he didn’t show her often. He wasn’t his usual dark shade of green, but, when she pulled away to look at him in surprise, she saw that he wasn’t exactly what Luca called safety neon, either. His eyes burned with things he wasn’t saying.
His arms banded her to him. She bent into his body because she had no choice. “What’s wrong, Ra?”
“I just have a feeling.”
“What’s your feeling? I’m listening.”
She pushed back with her hands flat against his hammering heart. He pressed his forehead helplessly to hers. “I keep waiting for you to disappear. In this place...” He stopped and breathed in deeply. “It feels more possible.”
“You disappeared for a while up there”, she said it with an attempt of casual disdain. It didn't work. The note she actually hit was pathetic pout.
He ran a gentle thumb over her pale cheek. “I thought so”, he said. “I have not replaced all of the crew I needed to yet. I was trying to protect us from the more separatist elements in their ranks.”
“So you ignored me?”
“Star, I have a hard time concealing what I feel.” He did. She knew that. “So do you, Nina.” He gripped her arms and pulled her close once again until her back arched slightly in his embrace from her lack of height and his strong grip.
“Are you going to disappear, Star?”
She smiled at him and locked her hands behind his neck. “Did your Marm educate you in the old fables?”
Ra’dan nodded. “Some”, he answered.
“Did she tell you of the water and the earth?” He shook his head, and she ran a long tapered thumb along his brow. “Long ago, there was no rain because the water rested in the arms of the Earth of the three planets. Together, the earth and the water created laughing brooks, babbling fountains, and they ran down the mountains together. From high above, the sun watched this, watched them, and he was jealous because he was alone. One day, he grew so angry that he pulled the water away from the earth. He tried to take her for h
is own, but she fought him. It created a terrible roar, and the skies grew dark with storms. Eventually, the water pulled away and fell back into the earth’s arms, but the sun would never let her go entirely. He tried again and again, until the earth shook with his fury and the whole world was about to break apart. The water whispered to her love in his desperation, she said, let him try, love. Let him try. I will always return to you from the mountain, the highest point on Brin. I am yours, and distance can not change that. From then on, the water and the earth always came together to make life.”
She pressed her cheek into his softly. “Distance will not change me, Ra’dan.”
“It’s a good story, T’ista. It's a good story”
“Surely, you feel this. Connection. I'm yours. Can't you tell?”
He kissed her, blending their mouths almost reverently. “You have two standard to get dressed in your robes.”
She dragged him closer to her mouth, and it was never easy because he stood above her. “I only need one.”
The breath of the kiss blew into her mouth in amused frustration. He was thinking of their situation, of the danger they were both certain they faced at the palace. She wanted him thinking of her. Just for the little moment they had here, she wanted his mind focused completely on her. She pulled him with her to the bed.
*****#*****
Ra’dan found it wasn’t hard to act like a bodyguard when the body was as precious to him as this one. He wore dark glasses to hide where his attention was focused, and he worked very hard to remain impassive so that his skin betrayed nothing.
His star had no trouble. Once she was back in her element, she donned the robes she kept on hand for official events. This one was lace and feminine pools of fabric, stretching in wispy curtains around her legs. The last thing she looked, however, was innocent. Portions of the translucent material revealed a slice of chest here, a bit of breast there, until a man’s mouth watered to taste the scraps of skin visible through the strategically placed gaps. Her curves were accented by these peeks at her body. One in particular, right at that high spot on her hip, where the joint dipped toward the waist, kept him distracted, trying not to think about the last time he'd visited all those spots.
