Kirk

by Tasha Black

  “Careful,” Kirk said coolly.

  “You’re lucky you’re not going to jail,” Kate told Spencer. “Now here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to be polite to those guards, you’re going to leave, and if I catch you at any Con I attend in the future, I’m going to tell the truth about what happened, and I’ll have copies of the security footage to back me up. Do I make myself understood?”

  Spencer scowled at her, but nodded.

  “Good,” Kate said, turning on her heel.

  She gestured to the guards and they jogged up to retrieve Spencer immediately.

  Kate turned back to watch as they led him outside.

  He looked smaller somehow. She hoped he would remember their arrangement.

  “Whether he honors that agreement or not, you have me now,” Kirk said, echoing her thoughts. “It just means I can’t let you out of my sight.”

  “Good thing I don’t want you to.” Kate smiled up at him.

  “Let’s go home,” Kirk said, his voice husky.

  26

  Kirk

  Kirk stood in Kate’s room.

  It seemed that she had been in the shower for hours, though the clock told him it had only been minutes since they’d returned home.

  He paced the floor like a tiger, trying not to let himself get nervous. It was important that tonight be special, that he sweep her off her feet.

  He caught sight of his own reflection in the mirror over her dresser and stopped to peel his t-shirt over his head, remembering how she had reacted to the sight of his bare chest.

  The man staring back at him in the mirror looked human - larger and more chiseled than most, but human. Soon, Kirk would be truly human.

  When his brothers back in Stargazer first told him of the click, it had frightened him to think of being trapped in this form forever.

  But now it felt right. Everything felt right when Kate was near.

  The sound of her footsteps in the hallway roused him from his thoughts.

  She opened the door and he stared at her, unabashed. Her curving figure was silhouetted in the light from the hallway. She had wrapped a towel around her breasts like a tiny dress.

  “Hi,” she said softly.

  “Hi,” he replied, loving her sudden shyness. “Come here.”

  She padded over slowly and stood before him, gazing up with those luminous brown eyes.

  He reached out and slipped his finger into the place where her towel was tucked.

  Kate’s breath caught, but she didn’t protest. Her eyes danced.

  He swept the towel off her like a matador and flung it to the ground.

  She giggled.

  “This is no time for giggling, woman,” he told her. “We are joining for life. This is serious business.”

  “Life is not serious business,” she informed him. “Life is wild and ridiculous. Haven’t you learned anything from the time you’ve spent with me?”

  He bent to kiss her smiling lips.

  Her mouth was minty and delicious. She kissed him back like she meant it.

  His whole body surged with lust. He closed his eyes, willing himself to slow down, to please her first.

  Kate pressed herself closer, her bare breasts flattening against his chest.

  Kirk groaned and pulled back.

  She looked up at him with glittering eyes.

  Oh, how he loved her unapologetic need. Earth women in movies were so demure. They needed saving, They pretended not to want to be held and kissed.

  But this woman of his would drive him to distraction.

  “Lean back,” he told her.

  Her eyes widened slightly, but she did as she was told and leaned back against the dresser, the position thrusting her hips forward.

  He prayed by the moons of Aerie for the strength to be patient.

  Kate watched him, her lips parted slightly.

  Kirk placed his hands on her waist and knelt before her, pressing his face to her belly.

  She gasped in surprise, but didn’t wiggle away.

  He kissed his way down to her hip, licking away stray droplets of water on his way.

  By the time he reached her thighs, she was trembling.

  “Slide your feet apart,” he told her.

  She obeyed and he nearly groaned at the sight of her pink sex glistening just inches from his hungry mouth.

  Her thighs tensed with anticipation.

  He leaned forward leisurely and pressed a kiss to her tender opening.

  Kate moaned lightly and he heard her nails click against the dresser.

  He smiled and pressed his mouth to her again, licking a slow line upward through the sweet spiciness of her.

  She moaned again.

  He slid a finger inside her, his cock throbbing at the wet heat of her.

  Kate whimpered.

  “Easy,” he whispered to her.

  He licked her again, moving his finger slowly.

  Her sounds were like music.

  Kirk spread her folds with his other hand to allow his tongue better access to her stiff little clit.

  She cried out and thrust her hips out slightly as if begging for more, so he gave it to her, stroking her lovingly with his tongue as he slid his finger in and out of her velvet depths.

  “Ohhh,” she moaned.

  He pulled back, slowing his movements just enough to delay her climax.

  Kate shivered.

  He applied himself to her once again, lapping at her and working her with his hand until she was panting with need, her thighs stiffening.

  Again he slowed his pace.

  “Please,” Kate moaned brokenly.

  He would have liked to have teased her all night, brought her closer and closer.

  But his own body was humming with need and his heart ached to claim her. There would be other nights for games.

  “Let me take care of you properly,” he whispered to her, standing and leading her to the bed, their bed.

  She crawled in and lay on her back, arms open to Kirk. Her cheeks were flushed pink. She had never been more beautiful to him.

  But that would always be true.

  He blinked, and a succession of images of Kate throughout her life flashed before his eyes. One had a pregnant belly, one had lines under her eyes, and one lay back against the bed, her long, silver hair spread out against the pillow.

  All were the most beautiful. And each was more beloved than the last.

  27

  Kate

  Kate lay back in the bed, breathless with need.

  Kirk stood over her, magnificent in the moonlight that streamed in from the window.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  She felt for a moment as if she were the alien, her mind unable to comprehend any language in the face of the relentless demands of her body.

  The words arranged themselves in her head at last. He was going to make love to her.

  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

  He smiled down, those steel gray eyes warm and kind.

  He crawled on top of her, caging her head between his arms, and pressed his forehead to hers.

  “I love you, Kate,” he told her. “I will always love you.”

  “I love you too,” she whispered.

  He kissed her slowly, carefully. She would never get used to such patient kisses.

  But she could feel his cock, desperately hard and throbbing against her belly. Surely he couldn’t make her wait forever.

  Then he was sliding a hand down the curve of her hip, lifting her leg to wrap it around his waist.

  Kate felt suddenly nervous. It wasn’t like she’d never done this before. But it had never been like this - never felt like it was the most important thing that would ever happen to her.

  Kirk lifted himself slightly from her, using his hand to guide himself against her opening.

  She whimpered with the pleasure that licked her insides at the place where the tip of him touched her.

  He kissed her
again and she jogged her hips upward, begging wordlessly.

  He growled into her mouth and then pressed himself slowly inside her.

  “Kate,” he groaned.

  Kate froze, her hips slightly lifted, and felt her body stretching to accommodate him.

  Kirk held still, as if waiting for her discomfort to subside.

  The slight pain blossomed into pleasure in a heartbeat and Kate sank her nails into his shoulders, frantic.

  He responded instantly, drawing himself out of her slowly, then filling her again.

  Kate felt the pleasure building inside her already, thundering closer with every breath.

  Kirk nuzzled her neck and plunged inside her again, his movement less controlled.

  She moaned as he filled her, jogging her hips up shamelessly, chasing her release.

  Kirk brushed her lips with his and slid a hand between them to massage her clitoris as he thrust inside her once more.

  Her climax was a tidal wave now. It carried her higher and higher then broke as the pleasure crashed down on the shore again and again.

  Kirk groaned and came with her, filling her as she tightened around him in endless convulsions of ecstasy.

  The air seemed to go out of the room for an instant, as if the pressure had dropped.

  Then Kate’s head fell back against the pillow at last.

  “That was incredible,” she breathed.

  “Kate,” Kirk said, kissing her nose, her forehead, her cheeks. “How I love you.”

  He rolled to his side, so as not to crush her.

  It was only then that she noticed something was different.

  “Kate,” he breathed in wonder.

  She looked over at him and saw that a lock of her hair was floating in the air between their faces, as if she were underwater.

  “Are you doing that?” she asked.

  He shook his head.

  Then she realized she wasn’t touching the bed anymore.

  “Dr. Bhimani explained that this might happen,” Kirk said. “Sometimes we are able to share our gifts at the moment of clicking.”

  Kate gazed at him in wonder as the petals from the flowers they had swept to the floor last night began to lift and swirl around the bed.

  “Are you okay with this?” he asked, worry marring his handsome face.

  He had changed her life forever, by just being part of it – taken the things that might have once seemed like negatives and turned them into something magical. How could she not be okay with that?

  “I love this,” she whispered, trying to figure out why this was so familiar, when it would have been impossible for her to imagine such a moment.

  Her happiness was so intense she felt she would float away like a balloon.

  Kirk took her hands, squeezing them gently between his, and she felt anchored in spite of her floating body and the swirling rose petals.

  Then it hit her.

  This was the dream. Some part of her mind had known this was coming, had seen it was her destiny.

  “What is it, Kate?” Kirk asked.

  “I can’t wait to see what comes next,” Kate said, pulling gently on his hands to bring herself back to him. She had a lifetime to tell him about the dream. Right now she only wanted to feel him inside her again.

  He smiled up at her and she pressed her lips to his in a patient kiss of her own.

  28

  Kate

  Kate must have fallen asleep in his arms after making love for the second time.

  She awoke to the sounds of muffled giggling in the hallway.

  She lifted her head from Kirk’s warm chest.

  He made a sleepy sound of protest.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered to him. “The others just got home, I want to say hi. I’ll come right back.”

  “Not without me you won’t,” he murmured, opening his eyes and trapping her in his hypnotic gray gaze.

  A shiver of desire shot down her spine.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” he asked, one eyebrow arched.

  Kate launched herself out of bed.

  Kirk laughed as she wrapped a robe around herself.

  He got up and pulled on his jeans while she ran a brush through her hair.

  She threw his t-shirt at him.

  “You really want me to put this on?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said with a grin. “I like watching you take it off.”

  His gray eyes flashed.

  “Friends and food,” she reminded him.

  He pulled on the shirt and opened the bedroom door and they headed out together.

  The giggling in the living room suddenly went quiet.

  “Hey guys,” Kate called.

  “Hey,” Cecily said.

  The four were piled up on the sectional sofa. The coffee table in front of them held six milkshakes and a white paper bag.

  “We brought you some dinner,” Bea said.

  “We thought you might need to supplement your strength,” Solo said.

  Buck elbowed him.

  “For the mating,” Solo qualified. “Why did you elbow me?”

  Buck shook his head in wonder as Cecily threw her head back and laughed.

  “Thank you,” Kate said firmly.

  Kirk sat and she opened the paper bag. The contents smelled heavenly.

  She pulled out two cheeseburgers in waxed paper and a cardboard tray of sweet potato fries.

  “Oh, yes,” she moaned, handing a burger to Kirk.

  When they were snuggled onto the sofa, food in their laps, shakes in their hands, she looked around.

  “So, how was dinner?” Kate asked.

  “It was awesome,” Bea said. “Non-stop text messages, of course.”

  “From well-wishers?” Kirk asked politely.

  “From well-wishers,” Bea agreed. “And from some frenemies pretending to be well-wishers.”

  “What is a frenemy?” Buck asked.

  “An enemy who pretends to be a friend,” Beatrix explained.

  “I don’t understand,” Solo said.

  “Give it time,” Cecily told him, in lieu of explaining.

  “Anyway, it was awesome and I’m really excited,” Bea said.

  “What’s the next step?” Kate asked.

  “I’ve got a meeting with the studio in two weeks,” Bea explained. “I just have to formalize things with the investors. I’ve already emailed most of them to let them know that you’re on board.”

  “Great,” Kate said. She wasn’t about to change her mind. She was excited, really excited, for the first time in a long time.

  Bea’s phone buzzed.

  “There it goes again,” Buck said.

  “It’s okay, it can wait,” Bea said.

  Kate’s phone buzzed.

  “Oh gosh, it’s probably Carol,” Kate said, slamming her palm into her forehead. “I really need to talk to her about our publicity stunt.”

  She placed her dinner down and slipped her cell phone out of her robe pocket as she headed down the hallway for her room.

  It was Carol.

  “Hi, Carol,” Kate said. “I know I have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “Not really,” Carol said. “I read it all on the gossip sites. Are you really doing this?”

  “I am, but don’t get excited,” Kate said, sitting down on her bed. “It’s SAG minimum.”

  “You know it’s not always about the money with me, Kate,” Carol said.

  Kate felt a stab of guilt. Carol was like a second mother.

  “I’m so sorry, that’s not what I meant,” she said.

  “I know, love,” Carol said. “But here’s the thing, and you’re not going to like it. You know Spencer Carson’s father was one of the investors for that project, right?”

  “I didn’t know,” Kate said, her heart sinking.

  “Well, he is - not under his own name, he’s part of a larger angel group but he’s the main investor and the decision maker,” Carol explained. “He just called
me.”

  Kate waited with bated breath.

  “He’ll only honor the funding they agreed to if Spencer plays the male lead,” Carol said.

  “Oh, god,” Kate said.

  “I told him no way,” Carol said immediately.

  “Bea really needs the funding,” Kate said, wondering if she could tolerate spending time with Spencer if Kirk was nearby.

  “She’s going to tell him no too, if everything I’ve read about her is accurate,” Carol said. “She’s probably telling him now. He threatened to call her next if I refused to make you agree.”

  Katie stuck her head out of her room to hear Bea on the phone already.

  “Absolutely not,” Bea was saying forcefully.

  “Yeah, he called,” Katie said. “Can I talk with you later?”

  “Sure honey,” Carol said. “Take care. And remember, Spencer Carson’s issues are not your fault or your problem.”

  “Thanks, Carol,” Kate said, hanging up as she headed down the hallway.

  “Here’s the thing,” Bea said. “Even if your demand weren’t completely unethical, no one would ever cast him in that role. He’s all wrong for it.”

  She nodded, listening.

  “Well, good luck with that,” she said. “Maybe Spielberg or Tarantino will go for it, but I won’t. I’ll find my money elsewhere. I’m glad we could clear this up before we got too far.”

  She paused again and Kate could hear Mr. Carson’s screaming through the phone.

  “Okay, then, bye-bye now,” Beatrix said, hanging up.

  She slid the phone back in her pocket and turned to Kate.

  “So, we have a funding gap to cover,” she said. “No big deal. One of my investors just dropped out. He wanted me to compromise my vision, and I won’t play that game.”

  “I know it was Carson,” Kate told her. “Carol just called me.”

  “Shoot, Kate, I’m sorry,” Bea said. “I didn’t want you to worry about it.”

  “It’s fine,” Kate said, trying to remind herself of Carol’s words.

  Spencer Carson’s issues are not your fault or your problem.

  But they were turning out to be Bea’s problem and Bea was her friend.

  “How much time do we have to find another investor?” Kate asked.