by Cora Blu
She blinked so fast Aroc thought her eyes would dry out. “You want me to leave my life on Earth to stay here in outer space with aliens?”
Aroc scowled, dropping his gaze down his chest to take in his color. Did she see him as an alien? “Are we inferior to you, Sadie?”
“Captain, if you give me a few days to think this over, I can decide if—”
“You misunderstand me,” he corrected her immediately. “Your acceptance of my offer isn’t an option. You will help me raise Norese.”
He dropped his attention to Norese, working her way over to touch the tips of Sadie’s fingers. At the first connection, she scampered back onto his lap burying her face in his chest.
Sadie made a sound with her mouth he took as irritation with him as she cut him a side-glance, then worked Norese from his arms. “Who taught you how to hold a little girl? Come here, sweetie. Daddy’s got your dress all wrinkled holding you like that.” Norese uncurled her arms from around his neck. Aroc sat in awe at the two, now sitting comfortably together as if mother and daughter. The picture of the two of them hand in hand smoothing out the hem of the dress trapped him in the moment. That’s when he caught those brown eyes focused on his hand on the sofa inches from her leg. Sadie dropped her gaze to Norese now smiling up at her. Had she realized she wasn’t afraid of Norese? Sadie’s voice brought him out of his fog. “How do I know any of this exists, Captain?”
He scrubbed a hand over his clean-shaven head, massaging the tattoo of a moon over his right ear. How could he convince her this was real?
He caught her eyeing his black boots, and something lit up within her face. Aroc noticed she appreciated his attire, staring at his vest and cargo pants when she thought he wasn’t looking.
He crossed the room to the window extending his hand out to her. With his other hand, he pressed the button on the sill, raising the shade and revealing the beauty of the galaxy. Outside the window, the space station’s landing dock bustled with shuttles leaving and arriving. Through a second window, he gestured to the floor below them on the station. Shops run by merchants, the canteen where karuntee went to have a drink after work—a small world supporting the space stations inhabitants.
Shuttles parked in their lit bays, small illuminating strings of light outlining their individual slots. He took a second, observing contemplatively at the scene stretched before him. What would this look like to Sadie? Scary. New. Unbelievable. Out the windows, the black atmosphere back dropped the entire scene of moving vehicles, with an incredible presence.
“Sadie, fear is a form of denial.” He waited a few minutes. “Come look down at Earth from this advantage.”
Aroc stepped away from the window, offering her the view. When he peered in her direction, his building irritation quieted. The surreal vision reassured him his decision to bring Sadie up here was what his daughter needed.
Norese rested her head on Sadie’s lap, gripping her fingers under the edge of her shorts. He liked the contrast in their skin colors. A soft brown and the tinge of wine of Norese’s hand blended perfectly—chocolate with a blush.
His little female trusted no one and here she accepted this human immediately. That’s what she needed. The touch of a human she drank in like nourishment.
“Sadie, come and look at the stars from this advantage.”
Minutes passed. Aroc pressed the button for music on the control panel. The soothing sounds of violins played out from the upholstered walls.
“Violins,” Sadie observed tipping her head back, following the hypnotic sounds floating in the air.
“I find it a relaxing way to spend my evenings. And Norese responds well to string instruments while I work.” He went to her, his boots scuffing on the floor. Sadie bolted up from the sofa, getting to her feet. To his astonishment, she held Norese clutched in her arms in a protective manner.
“Stay over there,” she warned with a hand out in the air. “I can see it from here.”
Before he could comment, Norese had her arms wrapped around Sadie’s neck whispering into her face. “See outside…see outside.” Her little voice tightened his heart.
Sadie adjusted Norese on her shapely hip then stepped around the table to stand before the window. Tentatively, she placed a hand on the glass, wiping her fingers back and forth over the smooth surface.
Aroc drug his nails through the pelt of hair that grew on his right shoulder, his blunt nails reaching his skin. Her scent filled his nostrils. He sought refuge over at the replicator by selecting a second cup of coffee, black, 120 degrees. He took a gulp and the hot liquid burned his tongue. He needed to remove her scent from his system.
“Captain,” she called, the soft point of her chin jutted out over her shoulder. “Where are the shuttles coming from?”
The cup made thudding sound when he set it on the counter. “We have stations throughout the galaxy where most of the population resides. I have a second home in a different sector where I plan to take us for a month.”
Sadie spun around, eyes wide. Every time she moved the tank top rose, exposing a glimpse of her navel. He enjoyed the sight of more and more.
“I can’t stay here. I need to go check on my family.”
He looked into her eyes. Norese’s finger’s threaded through Sadie’s thick hair. The weight lifted from his chest knowing Norese found comfort in Sadie.
“I can’t let you go back to Earth, Sadie,” he admitted to both of them. The clarity of his desire hit him hard. “Norese needs you in her life, teaching her things I’ll never be able to as her father.”
Chapter 4
Had she heard him correctly?
This alien with the voice of a dream and a body of a mythological being, wanted to keep her as what? Nurse? Slave? In home school teacher to his daughter. What was her title? Sadie thought her heart would pound out of her chest. The sight of Earth, however many miles out of reach, brought home the longing for her sister.
Small fingers tunneling beneath the elastic securing Sadie’s ponytail roused her to the alien toddler perched on her hip. She divided her attention between her and the seven-foot tall alien ten feet away.
The tattoo above his ear of the moon appeared realistic the way the shadow around the clouds floated across as if a breeze followed him. That wasn’t what she found bizarre. On his shoulder grew a three-inch radius of wine-tinged hair. His body, packed rock-hard with muscles, shoulders to what she could only imagine hid beneath his cargo pants, was gorgeous.
Jostling the toddler on her hip, Sadie froze, feeling something pointy under her fingers as she stroked her back. It moved under her hand. She panicked, arms falling away from Norese’s body.
Aroc lunged, catching Norese seconds before she hit the floor.
Sadie backed away to the far side of the room, her hands flat against the wall. Soft cries filled the room.
“Captain, I didn’t mean to drop her, honest!” she babbled, tripping over her feet to get away from the fire in his eyes. “Look at her back. Something sharp scratched my hand. It’ll scratch her soon if you don’t do something.” She flicked her fingers in the air gesturing toward Norese. “Go ahead…Under her shirt before it bites her, hurry up!” she sputtered, anxious yet knowing giving him orders would end badly for her. What could have crawled up her shirt?
Norese continued to wail. Captain Farkus laid her across the sofa facedown. He rubbed her back. Her cries slowly quiet down to a low murmur. Sadie’s heart broke down the center, leaving her wanting to cry.
She frantically waved a hand in the air gesturing toward Norese. “Oh, good Lord, punish me later after you look at what’s on her back.” He stalked her down the hall where her back encountered a panel. Mechanisms whirred behind her then she fell through a door sliding open. Stumbling backward, she bumped into a desk. A lamp tumbled to the floor. Face up, she panted, extending her hands to stop him from crushing her. The rapid pulse of his heart filled her hands. “Whatever torture you’ve got planned, do it later. Norese is more importa
nt than exacting punishment on me right now.”
His gaze roamed her face before he closed a hand around her throat, pushing her chin up with his knuckle. “Stay in here until I call you.”
His bark rattled her nerves, cutting off access to the proper words at the moment. She focused on the window to avoid eye contact with the hulking form molded to her body. Warm air from his parted lips danced a slow burn across her cheek.
“I have little patience for fear, Sadie.”
Her legs hung over the edge of the desk. Under the press of his groin, she lay pinned to the hard surface, unable to lift him from her body. Neither was in an arousing mood, yet she couldn’t help noticing how thick he was snug against her thigh. She bounced a little when he braced his hands next to her head then shoved off her.
Once the door closed, Sadie drew in a breath. She had to keep in mind he was an alien. Her thoughts drifted to Norese. What did she have on her back under her dress?
Confused and concerned, she rocked sideways, rolling over on her stomach, her fingers gripping the edge of the furniture. She rested her face on the cool surface to catch her breath. There was power in knowledge and if he wasn’t going to explain what she felt under Norese’s dress, she’d find out by snooping around. Sadie studied the floor to ceiling bookshelves perfectly laden, full of books and folders.
Determined not to be isolated by her fear, she came around on shaky legs to settle in the cushioned chair, drawing her feet under her hips. She had to relax. His scent surrounded her, musky and warm, reminding her of cinnamon. Spicy. Sadie wedged her knee to the edge of the desk to spin the chair, the room going by in a blur.
When the spinning stopped, the brevity of her situation swamped Sadie. On the desk, unfamiliar electronics sat situated off to the right. Lights and buttons glowed from small glass windows.
A floating galaxy hovered over a square base on a shelf across on the wall. Atlases and books on fossil fuel packed a glass shelf. A folder labeled Treaty lay sideways on the desk.
With the folder in hand she squat on the floor. Folding her bare legs, she noticed the floors radiated heat through the carpet fibers. How could a society of aliens progress over humans? What other phenomenon had lay hidden up here in the galaxy?
Flipping through the loose pages, she devoured the information.
This treaty, formed between human government and the karuntee species of moon dwellers, is based on the agreement to supply the technology to recycle fuel on a space station set up by both parties. An alien outpost will oversee the final product to assure the integrity. Captain Aroc Farkus of the Karuntee Federation has the option to revisit this agreement once every year. If either party abuses this treaty the affected party has the right to end such contract after going before the council.
“Now you know all I’ve said to be true.”
Startled, she whirled around on her behind, falling back on her elbows.
“I expect complete cooperation from you from here out, Sadie.”
Papers spread out over the floor floated under the shelving and desk. “I—I had no idea any of this existed. What’s fossil fuel? Where do you recycle fuel? How hard is it to do that?” The words died in her throat upon seeing his boots stop on either side of her on the floor. He squat down to face her, placing his hands under her shoulders. She cuffed his biceps thick as pillars under her hands.
“Get to your feet,” he urged gripping her back, the heat of his hands bleeding through her tank-top. “You need to see this.”
Captain Farkus stood before her without a vest covering his body, sculpted chest inches from her lips. Together they bent forward as he retrieved the papers from the floor. His arm remained secure around her waist.
“Let go of me, Captain. I can see without you holding me to your bare chest. I’m not impressed. And I don’t sleep with aliens.” Not on purpose. Her last boyfriend could have been labeled an alien, as he had no clue what to do with a woman’s body.
“Your words suggest courage or pure defiance, Sadie Ochi Alexander. Most females, or males for that matter, would never deny my wishes.” His grip tightened. His arms, like steel straps, encircled her back with his fingers digging into her ribcage. She drew in a tight breath, pressing their bodies to meld to the other’s. He didn’t appear to notice and allowed her to struggle.
“I don’t entertain tyrants, Captain. I’m not agreeing to every depraved idea to cross your mind.”
“You’ll do or perform whatever task I command.”
“Not that. Nothing’s worth sleeping with an alien.”
“Do you think I’m in short supply of females wanting to share my bed, Ochi?”
She wouldn’t look at him, letting her eyes go downcast when he shook her hard enough to bring her face up to his. His eyes smoldered black and burgundy as he stared down at her. “Why assume the only reason I’d have need for you would be for sex?”
The erection pressing on her stomach indicated he longed for more than someone to cook dinner. His grip shifted. The shape and length of the bulge imprinted in her mind, Sadie altered the angle of her hips, making it worse. She calmed, taking a cleansing breath. The soft well-endowed length pressing into her raised the question, did his wife enjoy sex?
“Answer me when I speak to you!”
Tamping down her irritation, Sadie gripped his arms to steady herself. Fear made her mouth dry. Lust made her sex pulse. “I’m unnerved and out of my element floating around in outer space with an alien.” Her southern twang crept out into her tight words. "What could you possibly want from a thirty-year-old black woman from the south?" She let him place her on the chair.
“I want you.”
Sadie’s body temperature spiked ten degrees. Sweat collected at the nape of her neck.
“Sit here.” His voice added more heat, bringing her body to a fevered pitch.
She watched as he concentrated with his back to her now. Deep guttural sounds emerged from his throat, rattling her nerves. Dark circles ran the length of his spine. She drew back, shoving the chair into a bookshelf and sending books scattering across the floor.
“Leave them.”
His sharp tone dried up the saliva in her mouth. Pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth, she made her mouth water then forced words to cross her lips. “What’s happening to your back?” She inched closer, nails digging into the chairs upholstery, using the furniture to separate them. “Doesn’t it hurt to have your spine manipulated this way?”
He shook his head. “Run your finger around one of the circles, carefully, Sadie.”
She refused to touch him, curling her fingers into a fist.
“Unless you enjoyed hurting my daughter, Sadie, touch my skin and learn the correct way to handle a karuntee.”
On shaky legs, she came from behind the chair, her fingers flexing with each step.
The captain took her hand, brought it to his back, and held it to his flesh. The skin was soft and healthy as any humans. Aware her touch may be uncomfortable, she walked her trembling fingers around the circles. Solid. A pliable texture, similar to the human nose, Sadie simultaneously caressed hers to verify her suspicions…cartilage.
He tilted his chin back over his shoulder, the profile strong and commanding. The position curved his back inward sending his muscled behind to rub her navel. Neither moved. Sadie pretended not to notice the firm muscles planted against her abdomen.
“Sadie,” his tone a warning, “step back. Don’t touch my spine while I release my spikes.”
No fear. Inhaling, Sadie found a sliver of composure and tried not to faint. Cream-colored cartilage began to emerge from the center of each circle. Sadie’s stomach churned, twisting with revulsion. No blood or gore, only the skin stretched similarly to a woman giving birth minus the screaming.
“When you held Norese, she relaxed, which if you’re not experienced, can release your spikes, hurting someone and destroying your clothes. Norese’s tore her favorite dress.”
Sadie muted the soun
d of her sigh by closing her hands over her mouth. That’s huge for a little girl to have her favorite anything destroyed.
“Norese’s karuntee instincts aren’t as sharp compared to other children. She’s afraid of the sensation.”
“Captain, that’s because her situation is unique. No matter where she goes, she’s a minority and the captain’s daughter. I’m confident they stare at her when you take her out among the other karuntee.”
“No karuntee would dare treat her with disrespect.”
“Good.” She didn’t bother telling him he lived in a dream world thinking the others didn’t stare. Swamped by guilt knowing Norese would grow up confused, Sadie held back tears of regret. “I would never hurt a child, Captain. It’s not who I am.” She hesitated, voice gone thick and shot him a dirty look. “You claim you know and respect the way I handled Timothy, yet you threaten my life when you’re the one that let me walk into this situation blind. I know nothing of your anatomy.” If she weren't terrified, she’d have a hand on her hip to go along with her lecture. “What purpose do the spikes hold?”
“I like that you search for answers, and not shy away from the truth.” There was that intense stare that made her uncomfortable. “They’re weapons. I hope you never get to see me use them. It’s violent, and I terrify you, Sadie.”
She was when she first arrived. Rightly justified, and now she needed answers.
“You often fight with your spikes, Captain?” She dropped her arms to the crooks of his elbows, her fingers tracing the outline of his tattoos. Only motorcycle gang members or ex-cons wore this many tats.
“Markings of a karuntee captain, Sadie. I’ve earned them through the years. And to answer your question”—he flexed his forearms the muscles swelling under her hands—“I fought often enough, since humans arrived on our station after we signed the treaty.”
