by Tracy Lauren
“You drive,” she tells me in a dismissive tone, denying the fun she just had. She stands and makes her way to the console, taking one last swig of liquor, straight from the bottle.
“Hey! Stop that,” I tell her. “I have been charged with caring for you this night and I take that charge very seriously.”
“Last one, I swear,” she replies as she returns to me. She does not seek out another seat, but actually climbs back into my lap, pushing my arm away to lie sprawled across my legs. This time I cannot keep my erection at bay. The intimacy and familiarity is intoxicating to me, it is a far cry from where we started. She must be too tipsy to notice my hard length pressing against her backside, because even with this newfound comfort between us, my sweet V would surely jump right out of her skin if she knew how badly my body aches for her. I must school myself in patience with this female, especially in matters such as mating. Just as I am thinking these things she wiggles and leans forward in my lap, kicking off her shoes. I have to bite my lip again. This female will be the death of me, I am sure of it.
Once she settles back in against me I take us up and off of the surface of the barren moon, returning us to the vast openness of space. All the while, V watches through the viewing window.
“It’s not all bad,” she admits quietly.
“No. It is not,” I agree, and my tail reaches up and wraps itself around her calf. She pulls her long skirt up above her knees. The flowy fabric pools high on her thighs, exposing more of her creamy flesh. She does not seem to notice. Her fingers trail down to touch the hard tip of my tail, curious and exploring. The end of a tail can be dangerous in a fight, but when she touches it like this…it feels mildly erotic. My hand goes to hers, she does not know what she is doing to me. I mean to stop her, but she instantly becomes distracted by my claws. Gingerly, she strokes the length of each claw. Slowly, deliberately…one by one.
“You really are an alien, aren’t you? You’re like something out of a children’s fairy tale,” she says, still studying my hand.
I grunt in acknowledgement, liking the sound of that, and she looks up at me, only inches from my face. Easily, I could lean down and taste her soft, pink lips.
“You’re like the big bad wolf.”
My easy smile turns into a frown. “I do not know if I like the sound of that. Tell me your tale and I will decide if you have insulted me,” I tease.
She lets out a long sigh, but does not argue. She closes her eyes as if remembering the tale and begins speaking before she opens them again.
“There’s a girl making her way through the woods, heading to her grandmother’s house with a basket full of treats and goodies. A wolf spies her along the way and runs ahead. He gobbles up her grandmother and climbs into her bed, waiting for the girl.”
“Does the big bad wolf arrive then, to kill the evil wolf, saving the girl?”
Her eyes pop open. “No, there’s only the one wolf.”
“This is a terrible story then. You think I am like this bad wolf?” I eye her with a frown.
“No! That’s not the part that reminds me of you!”
“Well, get on with it then,” I tell her with a smile.
She huffs at me, but continues the story. “So, the girl gets to her grandmother’s house and goes inside. She sees the wolf in her grandmother’s bed, but at first, she doesn’t recognize him and she says, ‘Grandmother, what big eyes you have!’ and the wolf answers, ‘The better to see you with.’ Then the girl says, ‘Grandmother, what big ears you have!’ and the wolf answers, ‘The better to hear you with.’ Then, the girl sees the wolf’s fangs and she says ‘Grandmother, what big teeth you have!’ and the wolf says—”
“The better to eat you with?” I finish for her.
“Yeah, how did you know?” she asks suspiciously.
“I think you are right, this wolf and I do have something in common.” I smile and let my tail slide higher up her thigh. V’s eyes go wide. It almost seems as if I can hear that drumming again, only this time it is coming from V. I only meant my touch as a tease, but when she does not pull away I am encouraged.
Her studying gaze moves to my face and she runs her fingers up along my jaw, higher, until she reaches my horns. “You’re so hard here,” she says, and I have to bite my tongue. Anything I could say in response to that would be too filthy for my female. She wiggles to get higher. Wrapping her arms around behind my head, she pulls my braid free.
“I’ve never seen you with your hair down!” she exclaims, running her fingers through it and tousling it. It’s all I can do to not dip my head forward and lose myself in the swell of her breasts. So, instead I lose myself in her eyes. She still runs her fingers through my mane, but her gaze locks onto mine now and the drumming within her increases. Neither of us speak.
Finally, I must break the silence. “It is time for bed.”
“I’m ready,” she says, her voice quivering. I lift her up and carry her to the bed, setting her down gingerly. She looks up at me with heavy-lidded eyes and lips parted.
“The bathroom is through there. Feel free to look through my closet to find something more suitable to sleep in,” I tell her, and her eyes go wide.
“Oh. Okay, thanks,” she says, flushing red and turning away from me.
I quickly return to the bridge. I have to jump in place and shake my head to get V out of my system. All I want to do is run back and seduce her. Instead I think on what our next adventure might be. Well, I pretend to think at least. I already know where it is I want to take her.
There is an old UPC flight training planet not too far from here. It was abandoned years ago and has since been occupied by a trading outpost. The old courses remain and many people still gather on the old desert planet to race.
It is not the safest of places, and not simply because of the derelict courses, but mostly because of the people who make the post their home. If I am honest with myself, I have wanted to go there from the beginning and I think V is finally ready now. Besides, she will be with me. What could possibly happen if I am there to watch over my female?
I make the decision and set the course. Transferring voice controls to the bedroom, I make my way there. When the door opens, V is already asleep beneath the covers. I ready myself for bed and peel back the covers, curious what she might have chosen to sleep in. I expect to see her in an overly large shirt, but she is wearing only her tight bodice top and thin panties.
I click my tongue in disappointment at myself. She must not have been able to get the top off on her own. I should have remembered and offered to help. It is too late to wake her now, I suppose. I tear my eyes away from her sexy form and slide into bed, taking a few deep breaths to calm the waves of heat coming off of me. It takes some time, but finally I am able to fall asleep.
In the morning it is the feel of V pressed against me that rouses my senses. Just as I had predicted, I am lying on my back and she is curled tightly to my side, an arm and a leg thrown over me. She is beginning to rouse as well, and I wrap my arms around her in an embrace. I am not ready to get up just yet, but V pops up hastily. Her eyes are wide and her hand shoots to her mouth.
“Is everything—”
She jumps up before I can finish and makes a mad dash for the bathroom. A second later I hear her heaving.
“Poor V,” I sigh, following her to the bathroom to help her through this.
Chapter 22
V
I hear Dax coming and I try to kick the door shut behind me.
“Stop that, female,” he says, grabbing the door just before it closes and forcing his way in. “I am here to help you.”
“Stop calling me female. It sounds so clinical,” I groan into the bowl.
“What would you prefer I call you? Human?” he asks, and I hear the faucet turn on.
“If you’re going to call me anything like that I’d prefer ‘woman.’” The word rustles up a distant memory of my dad calling my mom “woman.” I have so few memories of my mom and dad to
gether, or of my dad at all for that matter, but this one is a fond one. I remember him calling her “woman” with pride. It wasn’t derogatory when he said it. No, he said it with pride. Like he was claiming her as his woman.
I feel Dax’s hands on my shoulders, propping me upright. “Here, drink.” I gulp down the water he passes to me.
“Slow down,” he warns, but it’s too late. I push the cup away and hear it spill onto the floor as I start heaving again.
“Woman. Seems like a silly thing to call you, I prefer V, but I will call you “woman” if you like,” he says, talking over my sickness.
“You said you wouldn’t let me get sick,” I whine once the wave of nausea passes.
“I am still learning you. I should have been more strict,” he says thoughtfully as he strokes my back. I barf again.
“Oh, just go away! You’re making this worse!” I complain, blindly swatting at him.
“How?” he asks plainly, neither offended nor eager to leave.
I gag a couple more times before I can answer. “This is so embarrassing.”
“You never have to be embarrassed around me,” he replies simply.
“Easy for you to say,” I point out, sitting up finally. He reaches over his head and pulls down a towel. Instead of handing it to me, he uses it to wipe my face and forehead. I feel way too shitty to move, so I let him. He sets the towel aside and tucks a few stray pieces of hair back into my loose braid.
“I have been in your position before. Though I must admit it was only once. It felt so terrible I have never allowed myself to go back to that place again. I know you do not feel well, you do not have to feel embarrassed on top of that. There is no reason to be,” he assures me with a shrug. Still, I huff out a skeptical breath.
I rest my throbbing head against the cool metal seat of the toilet and close my eyes. “Is it a good story at least?” I ask him.
“Not one of my best. It was my first year off Javan. I had just signed up for my mandatory duty towards the UPC. The other trainees and I got carried away. We had planned a night of fun on a planet called Thaad. It has massive cities and a thriving nightlife.”
“Did you raise hell all over Thaad?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, no. I drank too much at the start of the night—a lightweight you called it? I never even left the room. Our planetary leave came and went and all I saw was the up close and personal view of one of Thaad’s most forgiving toilets.”
“That’s funny. I can’t imagine you losing control like that.”
“I lose control more often than you might realize.” He gets to his feet and I hear the shower turn on. I strain my eyes to look in his direction.
“Would you like me to help you undo your bodice?” he asks politely.
“Who’s showering?” I wonder aloud.
“You are, woman,” he replies, working to pull me to my feet. But my limbs are like wet noodles and I lean heavily on him.
“Nooo,” I whine.
“It was not a question,” he says, working the intricate ties of my too tight and confining top. I submit, still putting my weight on him. As the fabric loosens, I hold my hands over my breasts to keep them covered.
To my shock, Dax suddenly tugs the shirt hard—pulling it down past my hips. It falls unceremoniously to the floor. “Dax!” I call out, still shielding my breasts. He starts to reach for the panties I am wearing and I dart back.
“I’ve got it from here,” I tell him, waking up just a little bit more. He shrugs and begins to exit the bathroom. Just as I think he is gone, he pops his head back in.
“Perhaps there is something more I can do to help?” That teasing light twinkling in his eyes.
“No, thank you, Dax,” I grit out.
“Are you positive? I could help wash your mane? Make sure you do not fall in the shower—”
“No, thank you, Dax,” I reiterate.
“Suit yourself. I will be waiting for you in the kitchen. Breakfast whenever you’re ready,” he says, and I groan. The idea of food right now is completely unappealing. I wave him away, and this time he actually leaves. I move to lock the door, but something stops me and I decide to leave it unlocked. Closed, but unlocked.
It’s probably the bravest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Maybe, just maybe, Dax will come back in while I’m showering. Maybe he might insist on washing my hair for me. Maybe this time he won’t be teasing me.
But the remainder of my shower is uneventful, though refreshing, and by the time I dry off and throw on some of the clothes from my rucksack I am even beginning to feel hungry. Barefoot, I pad out to the kitchen, running my fingers through my wet hair.
When Dax sees me, his eyes light up and a smile spreads across his face. What I wouldn’t give to be such a cheery and sunshiny person. Dax has a way of making a person feel like they are his best friend in the whole world…or in all of outer space, I mean. And when I think about it, he actually is my best friend. I don’t think I’ve ever been as close to anyone as I have been with Dax. I’ve shared some of my deepest secrets with him. Not all, but some. He’s also seen me at my lowest and hasn’t turned his back on me yet. I might not be that important to him, but he really is my best friend.
“I have news,” he says, sliding a cup of ceata over towards me. I take it gratefully.
“You found Earth?” I tease, my tone morose.
“Even better. I am taking you to an abandoned flight training planet,” he says excitedly.
“Oh?” I dismiss the information casually, but for some reason my insides prick with excitement. “I happen to think Earth would be better,” I tell him.
“Is that so?” he says, eyeing me for deceit. “I do not believe you, witch.”
“Witch?” I laugh out loud despite myself. “What happened to ‘woman’?”
“You are a creature worthy of many titles.” He smiles, delivering food from a cooking pot to a bowl. I’m surprised to find that it actually smells pretty good, despite how I spent my morning.
“What’s that?” I ask as he pulls in next to me at the table.
“My breakfast,” he replies. “I would be happy to share it with you, for a price.” He spears a piece of something that looks like meat and my hollow stomach growls in interest.
“What do you want?” I ask, setting my cup of warm ceata down.
“Let me tell you about Quar, the planet that we travel to,” he says eagerly, like a child anticipating Christmas morning.
“Pfft.” I get to my feet and begin rifling through the drawers for a utensil like Dax’s. “Like you need my permission to talk,” I point out. I find a drawer filled with those spear-like alien forks and grab one for myself, returning to Dax’s side at the table. I poke the thing into the bowl that Dax holds and pull out something that looks safe enough… maybe a vegetable? I pop it into my mouth and notice Dax watching me with a grin.
“Go on,” I usher him, feigning more interest in breakfast than his story.
“Quar was already abandoned by the time I served my duty to the UPC, but it was still a place navigators would visit when on leave. It had these old barracks everyone would stay in—the traders and merchants have turned them all into shops now, for the most part. But it used to be nothing more than a forgotten, dusty, old planet with forgotten, dusty, old buildings. We would have fires outside the hangars every night, after long days of flying and racing,” he explains, losing himself a little in nostalgia.
“It has changed some since the merchants have taken over. A few new buildings have been erected. Inns, a game house or two, that kind of thing. It is not wild as it used to be… Hmm, or perhaps that is not quite right. It is not as untamed as it used to be, but it is still just as wild, perhaps even more so—”
“Dax! What are you getting me into this time? What do you mean it’s wild? Are we talking wild animals or wild people?” I complain, straightening up.
“A little of each perhaps—”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
<
br /> “Wait, my sweet V, I have not gotten to the best part: the old training courses.” He ignores my grumbling and continues. “There are these deep and immense canyons carved out by ancient rivers. The canyons go on for miles, stretching out like the limbs of a tree. Some dip underground and follow cave systems, and others roll and crest with the hills. Along each training course there are structures, built up as obstacles—hoops to dive through, that kind of thing. Some have fallen over the years, obstacles still, despite their disrepair.
“The nights on Quar are as hot as the days, and pilots still come from miles around to race, to train, to show off their ships—”
“Is that what we’re doing?”
“I have better things to show off than my ship,” he says, eyeing me, and I wonder what he could be referring to…his flight skills maybe?
