by Cora Blu
“Thank you, Captain; I can handle it from here.”
Abruptly he returned to the controls. For the first time Sadie noticed Montage to his right flipping switches and pressing buttons. Broad shouldered as the captain, Montage held a classic handsome quality to his features set off by a hint of cruelty in his eyes. The long burgundy ponytail at the back of his otherwise bald head gave him a Japanese flair. They all had black with burgundy eyes she had to fight not to drown in.
“Ms. Alexander, there’s something you need to know about a karuntee.” He shifted, angling his broad shoulders enough for their eyes to meet, addressing her politely yet stiff as a board left out in the snow. “Seldom do we have humans on the station or in our daily lives. It’s wise to remain with the captain while on the beach.”
She stroked a hand through Norese’s curls, as if it medicated her jumpy nerves. “Thank you, Commander,” she said when the interior faded to a soft glow around the base. “I’ll remember that and hope everyone else remembers I was brought here by force.”
The captain’s shoulders tensed. “I’m done hearing your complaints, Ms. Ochi.” His voice came out a harsh force of nature, consuming her calm by the intense tone.
“Ms. Alexander,” she corrected him, not wanting him to know the level of control he held over her with the sound of his voice. “Ochi is my middle name, my mother’s maiden name.”
Montage shook his head.
“I will refer to you using whichever name appeals to me…Ochi!”
To hand over power wasn’t her style, but staying alive was the top priority. She scoffed under his harsh forceful tone and shook her head. “Fine, Captain Farkus. This is your world, and these are your people, not mine.”
“Thank you...Ochi,” he said her name slower, tempting her to have another outburst. She didn’t take the bait.
The night saturated the shuttle in spotty shadows. Sadie’s stomach plummeted when they exited the bay to float out into space as smooth as a ride in a new Cadillac. Through the side window, the station appeared large, almost egg-shaped with eight brackets supporting it. A reddish-blue flat ring circled the circumference of the station much like a freeway in the mountains.
Adjusting her hips, she craned her neck around and took in the magnificent view. Simply blown away by her surroundings, she said a silent prayer. By the time she’d said, “Amen,” Norese’s hand covered hers, her warm body snuggled close and her breathing quiet. In the near-black interior, Sadie listened to the captain and Montage discussing shipments of fuel, and metals, and dealing with humans.
“How many clean shipments came in from the central hemisphere?” the captain asked.
Montage tapped out a series of buttons on the transparent panel as he answered, “Sector Seven hasn’t received a contaminated shipment in the last eight months. The last conference between you and the human captain appears to be making headway.”
The Captain slid a lever forward and the shuttle tilted back then leveled off. “Good. Holston’s a good man.” He chuckled. “Of the few humans I can tolerate, Holston I trust.”
Sadie coughed.
“Did you say something, Sadie,” the captain asked, looking over his shoulder, his features hidden in the shadows.
“You said fuel comes from the Earth and you recycle it up here creating a cleaner burning fluid for smaller engines. Then you manipulate the metal making it stronger, and then you sell it to our government.” She held up a hand gesturing in the shadows. “Why is this a secret?”
Montage angled his chair around, his eyes and tight features partially visible. “Humans are dirty. At one point, your species attempted to steal our technology, having no way of understanding our mother language.”
In the dark, she rolled her eyes. “You speak English, the same language of the dirty species.”
When would she learn to keep her mouth shut? Montage’s shoulders tightened. His hand came up inches from her face. Sadie instinctively shielded Norese, cupping her to her breasts.
A hand shot out of the dark, clasping around his throat. Montage groaned. Aroc slammed him back in his seat, making it strain the bolts holding it together. Their faces were inches apart. “Sadie is my guest. Treat her with respect, at all times, Commander. In my presence and out!”
Tension in the cabin built, robust as a fifth body taking up space.
“Sadie,” he said through compressed lips. “Our language consists of many intricate symbols and lengthy phrases. Many still speak it within their homes.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off the captain. If Montage wasn’t her friend before, the captain stepping in on her behalf didn’t help their relationship.
“Montage, Commander, I understand that you feel exposed with me in your world, but if you don’t like us, why build a treaty?”
“We were exposed by a rogue, leaving us with unfavorable options to secure the safety of our world, Sadie,” the captain said. “In that treaty your government chose to allow a select number of business owners access to our technology, setting up a central location out here in space—a neutral station. Our people are aware of humans. I’ve banned them from visiting Earth unless as a part of the current mission,” he, informed her in a diplomatic tone that neither praised nor condemned his decision. It was a law. End of discussion. Not for Sadie.
“Why keep our two races apart?” What did it say about the captain marrying a woman from Sadie’s world?
“Karuntee have a physical advantage over humans.” He huffed. “I’d spend my time bailing my people out of your prison system.”
True.
“Like I said,” Montage added, “humans are dirty.”
“Commander,” she said, directing her voice to the other alien. “I’m not dirty and I can read. Learning your language is not above my intelligence. Your arrogance is what would land you in prison down on my planet.”
The swift move between men was a blur. Sadie drew back in the chair, curling Norese closer. The captain held a short blade to Montage’s side, their faces inches apart.
“I would mourn the loss your absence would leave on my life and the karuntee population.” The captain pressed the blade tighter. Montage suppressed a groan. “Take a second look at the comfort my daughter finds in Ms. Alexander’s arms. Turn your face and look.” Sadie felt the weight of his gaze on her, the heaviness lingering even after he returned his attention to the captain. “Two years since the doctor placed Norese, my miracle, in my arms and she’s never had a mother. Sadie’s protection comes second only to Norese’s. Do you have a problem, Commander?”
“None,” he said, then clenched his teeth. The muscle under his tattoo flexed, making it appear to move above his ear. What the hell just happened?
Her stomached twisted into a knot, the sensation leaving her with her jaw gone slack. Did her captor, Captain Farkus, place her on his personal protection list of people never to touch?
Montage drew a hand over his ponytail at the back of his head, stroking it repeatedly. He brought it over his shoulder, resting it over his chest. The tension in his shoulders eased, then he reached under the edge of his vest to massage the patch of hair, oddly to her, grew on his shoulder. The three-inch wide patch of hair, she’d witnessed him rubbing back in his home while he thought she was asleep when the doctor examined her. Did that provide the same relief as rubbing one’s temple? Their eyes met and he caught her staring. Heat snaked up her throat.
“The pelt,” he said, “is a sign of a fully matured male, Sadie. Would you care to know its purpose, why we rub it?”
She nodded, knowing good and well if he said it was sexually stimulating, her panties would be drenched in under sixty seconds.
“It represses arousal.” The first drop of moisture slipped from her body. “When a female’s blood pressure is up, it triggers arousal in a male, mated or not. Never argue with a male you’re not mated to, unless you’re doing it to gain his attention. I suggest you wait until you know you can handle a karuntee, before teasin
g a full grown male.”
Her mouth went slack. The two aliens were getting a hard-on listening to her argue.
“I appreciate the warning, Captain. I had no idea. It wasn’t my intention… flirting. I have a tendency to speak my mind when I feel I’m being challenged.”
He turned back to the control panel, his movements jerky and tight as he worked the buttons and keys. “You have much to learn.”
“Keep that in mind,” she added to his warning, “I’m learning. First offense shouldn’t count against me.”
Montage’s tight body visibly relaxed, the vein in his neck no longer held an erratic pulse.
“Sadie, Ms. Alexander, it’s said a child can sense a cruel person, avoiding them in a room.” Montage gestured toward Norese asleep in her arms. “Norese is selective in who she allows to touch her. And my captain has never threatened my life for anyone. You must be special.”
“I must be,” she drawled thick and southern, uncertain how to take what just happened. She held the captain’s world in her arms.
***
An hour passed. The shuttle pulled into what Sadie thought was a replica of the other space station until they were inside exiting the bay. Warm air and lush trees surrounded the clearest water she’d ever seen, mimicking the exotic islands she’d watched on TV. The difference was it boasted red sand and white palm trees with thick tree frons that swept down to the ground under the weight of the afternoon breeze. Vacationing with an alien may prove an adventure she could handle. Theresa would never believe her if she made it back home alive.
The scent of warm cinnamon filled the clean air as they crossed to a blue glass wall on what appeared to be a contemporary apartment building. Montage slid back one side of the glass door, ushering her and Norese inside. The captain hung back, speaking with two other karuntian.
The modern amenities had Sadie in awe as she laid a sleeping Norese on the sofa facing the glass door. Before she got comfortable, Montage suggested she take Norese to her room, two doors into the hallway.
She did. In awe, Sadie walked around the room that was an exact replica of the room in the space station. Soft pinks, greens, and yellows on every wall appeared to be the solar system from the eyes of a two-year-old girl. Touched by Aroc’s overwhelming love for his daughter, she smiled, thinking of the way he stood up for her in the shuttle. Was she living the story of The King and I in outer space? Both men were bald and handsome.
The weight in her arms brought her out of her haze. On the bed, Sadie removed Norese’s shoes, setting them in her closet, then pulled a blanket over her sleeping form. When the sound of violins filled the room, Sadie knew the captain had come inside the apartment.
Depressing the button, she left the room, folding her arms around her body to return to the front room and see the two males watching her approach. Captain Aroc Farkus held a hand out to her, yet all she focused on was the fact that he wore no vest. Swim shorts and bare feet rounded out his wardrobe, and for the first time she got a good look at the tattoos trailing his arms. Circles and lines crisscross one another in a miasma of symbols and honor pledges decorated down to his forearms. His stomach appeared fake. The shadows and valley’s created by the intricacy of his sculpted muscles, held her attention captive.
“Let’s go for a walk on the beach. It’s a warm day, the water’s clear, and we both could use some time alone.”
Her pulse fluttered. An unnatural rhythm beat through her heart at the visual of him on the beach. She cleared away the image, turning to take in her new home. “Can’t I see the rest of the house first? Get my bearings? See where I’m sleeping tonight.” And test the lock on the door. “Maybe I’ll take a nap with Norese.”
“No,” he commanded, his tone ending her attempts to stall being alone with him, half-naked. “Crandall will listen out for Norese until she wakes.” He eyed her attire, then came into the apartment. “Put on the suit…we’ll swim and have some breakfast. Do you have an idea of what time it is, Sadie?”
Out the window, the atmosphere was always dark. “Early morning?”
“About 10am...a few hours ahead of Earth’s time.”
“And you want to go swimming?”
He rested a shoulder casually along the wall and folded his arms. “You refuse my generous offer of hospitality to share a meal and a swim?”
She dropped her head in surrender. “The white string bikini you replicated that leaves little to the imagination…you want me to wear it?”
“Our females swim nude more times than they wear a suit, Sadie. Wear a suit or swim naked—your choice.”
When the fog cleared from his admission, she thought about the other name he’d said. Sadie scanned the room, unaware there were others traveling with them on their abrupt vacation. “Who is Crandall?” she asked when a muscled man came through the glass door. He was beautiful, near pretty. However, the burgundy goatee and ripped body marked him as far away from feminine as the captain did in her mind. Karuntian were hulking giants, prone to resembling a motorcycle gang in her eyes.
“Captain,” he greeted, setting down what appeared to be the case to a typewriter. Montage carried it to a table, and opened it to reveal several electronic devices.
Sadie left them to go change.
Twenty minutes she’d stalled, gathering her nerve to go out into the room to join the captain. Smoothing out the ties at her hip from the length of material around her waist, Sadie looked up and the sight before her pebbled her nipples. He stood dripping wet, water glistening on his bald head under the manmade sunlight streaming through the glass window at his back.
The appreciative glances from all three men didn’t help her anxiety in the least. But nothing kept her from drooling over Captain Farkus’ black swim trunks slung low on his lean hips. Her eyes drifted to the tattoo in the shape of a star with eight points encircling his navel. His skin glistened with beads of water dripping from his clean-shaven head. Yesterday she was at a funeral for her parents. Today, she was in outer space living an adventure. What would her mother say: You don’t get this day back tomorrow so make it worth remembering.
She pretended not to care she was outnumbered, walked over to him, and waited by the door. The warm air danced over her bare skin around the scrap of material he called a bikini.
“The beach cleared of everyone, so you have it alone today.” She accepted his hand as he extended it to her. “Crandall,” he introduced himself. “Ms. Alexander, at your service.” He bowed an exaggerated sweep of his body before her. She smiled, loving his unexpectant gallantry.
“Crandall,” she returned his curious greeting with a small tip of her head, mimicking his adorable nature. “You’re loaded with personality. I can see why Norese likes you.”
The wide smile full of flesh tearing teeth, oddly sexy on this male, made him stunning to look at. “If you need anything, ask for Crandall and I’ll pop over from the station.”
“I’ll remember that.”
A tug on her hand brought her around to the captain leading her outside.
“He’s young.”
“And pleasant,” she added with a smile she hadn’t intended to share, but it was nice to finally see a little southern charm even if it came from an alien a million miles from Earth. “I like him. Crandall’s hospitable.”
He harrumphed.
“Is that a problem, Captain?”
“That you find my male attractive?” He shot her a suspicious side-glance as they traipsed over the dense sand unbalancing her steps.
She worked to keep up with his long strides. Every few feet their bodies rubbed together and he’d catch her around the waist to steady her steps. Then he’d release her, without a word. Her alien was a gentleman. “I said I like him. I didn’t say we made plans to get married.” The women on her block back home would stop wearing panties if they saw Crandall, or Montage for that matter. Should it concern her she left the captain out of the males she willingly offered to her friends? Yes.
“Y
ou have that freedom, Sadie. Our relationship is strictly business.”
That should have made her happy. It didn’t.
Her toes sank into the sand, the red flecks sticking to her feet and legs. She slowed her steps then reached down, running her fingers through the cool granules. She fell back in step allowing the sand to fall from her hand…so pretty.
“You put off a generous amount of heat, Sadie,” the captain commented, looking down at her. The glow from the alien manmade sky danced over the bridge of his nose.
“How can you feel my body heat?” she asked, meeting his stare.
“I’m karuntee. We survive off instinct. I can sense your body temperature change when I’m too close. In earlier times, when more of us lived on the moon—a most inhospitable place—one honed his skills to stay alive. We are moon dwellers, yet most no longer live on the moon, preferring a more civilized existence on a space station.”
“No one can live on the moon, Captain,” she commented. “Where did your people come from?”
He ran a hand over the bare skin of her shoulder, while his attention went to the manmade sky. “Once we lived on a planet that gravitated toward Saturn. Many abandoned our world to begin anew on the moon. We debated going to Earth. After the report of seeing animals in zoos and slaughtering of people that were different from the majority, my people created the space station. Over time, our technology grew from hours and hours of studying the galaxy. We’re slightly uncivilized compared to humans, but our people are brilliant.”
They had to be to have built this fake vacation home.
They walked to a black and white striped cabana and the captain knelt on the sand taking Sadie’s hand to settle her at his side.
“Where is your family, Captain? Parents, siblings?”
“My sister, Nedra, lives on a different station with her husband. Once I mated a human, my parents no longer considered me their son.”
“I’m sorry,” she offered, placing a hand on his forearm. “They’ve never met Norese, have they?”
