by Lisa Lace
I activated the intra-ship transporter system and materialized on the pad in the royal suite. My family had the privilege of having transporter pads in our rooms, but everyone else was forced to transport into the hallway. Royalty had its privileges. As I approached Ayrie and Elle’s door, it opened. Jayne emerged and bumped into me.
“I’m sorry, Arnon.” Jayne looked distracted.
“Is she doing any better today?”
Jayne shook her head. “This fever is really something. None of the drugs we brought from Earth are bringing it down. We think that years of malnourishment in the Districts left her with a weak immune system. I’m going to get a shower and some dinner.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Want to come?”
“As tempting as that sounds, I’m going to have to decline. I want to check on Elle for myself.”
“Ayrie’s been there as long as I have. You should try and get him to eat something. Or sleep, at least.”
“I can try, but I don’t think he’s going to listen to me.”
“I know. I understand your brother. Do your best.”
I kissed Jayne before she left. When I walked into the dim room, I felt my anxiety increase. The situation reminded me of when my mother was sick.
“How are you doing, Ayrie?”
Ayrie didn’t bother answering me. He was sitting the wrong way on a folding chair. His arms were on the top, and his chin rested on his forearms. His eyes focused on the woman in front of him.
I sat in the other chair, which was still warm from Jayne’s body heat. The last time we fucked was three days ago. We would have to catch up tonight. We weren’t supposed to let more than two days elapse without having sex to get her pregnant as soon as possible. During her fertile cycle, we were expected to fuck every day.
I had to save these lustful thoughts for later. My brother looked like a wreck of a man. I wondered what was going on in his head.
“She’s still sick, and it’s my fault. We weren’t getting along with each other. I knew she was stressed out. She was scared to go into space. I think the events affected her immune system. You know the lecture Allex always gives us about health? I could have been more understanding and helped her fight this off.”
His eyes looked empty.
“I don’t love her.” He didn’t stop long enough to give me a chance to speak. “But I promised that I would take care of her. I’m messing this up already.”
“You’re not making any sense, brother. There was nothing you could do.”
“I should have protected her. I couldn’t save Mom, either.” I wondered what had happened to my brother. He sounded illogical and not like himself at all.
“Allex is working on it. He’ll make sure everyone is okay. It’s not going to be like before.” I tried to sound confident, but I couldn’t believe myself.
He turned to look at me. “How do you know that?”
“I have hope. That’s all I need. The odds are completely against it.”
“No one thought a disease would take all the females on our planet, but it still happened, didn’t it?”
JAYNE
Arnon and I were busy all day and into the night. I spent my time checking up on the women from Earth. If they weren’t terribly ill, I would visit, trying to help keep their spirits up and inquire about the care they received. For those who were unconscious, like Elle, I would sit with them, hoping I could make them free better by my presence.
I think I just made myself feel better. I felt entirely responsible for everyone who was sick, and I felt like I had let them all down, especially Elle. I should have been more understanding with her. I had no idea what sort of life she had come from or what type of person she was. She might be prickly, but I could have made friends with her if I had enough time.
We had made instant judgments about each other. I hoped that if I continued my attempts at friendship, Elle would see I was genuine. I didn’t look at her like she was a project. I wasn’t in the business of fixing people, nor did I want to be. If I got the chance, I would have to show her that I meant what I said about being friends.
She was in the worst condition of everyone. Allex looked grave whenever he came in the room. The team of doctors and researchers were working to find the source of the illness, but their tests required incubating a culture for twelve hours. With everyone so impatient for the results, it might as well have been twelve years.
Even though Arnon checked in on Ayrie and Elle frequently, I could tell he was keeping his distance from the women. I suspected he thought the experience would be just like when his mother passed away.
I didn’t blame him. If something that traumatic had happened to me, I would be terrified of it occurring again. There was still too much we didn’t know. Allex had said it was impossible to tell if the illness was because they were female or because they were from Earth. Either way, a handful of people, including me, were still unaffected.
The men were going crazy. I wondered if there was something I could do to take Arnon’s mind off his troubles.
ARNON
I didn’t want to fly, but I needed to fly. People from Auxem had a biological reason to take their wings out and use them every few days. If we didn’t fly, we ran the risk of infecting our wings in their pouches. High-stress conditions made it more likely that we would have medical problems.
There was a special section of the ship that was completely open from top to bottom and perfect to take out our wings. The area was off-limits to humans, and it was off-limits to the public tours of the ship.
I had been wearing formal attire all day during meetings with my father and his senior advisors. We were plotting our course back to Auxem and which planets we would use to resupply. I slipped into some comfortable pants and went into the bathroom to get my wings out. Jayne wasn’t home, but I didn’t want to risk changing in the bedroom. She might catch me in the middle of unfurling my wings. I didn’t want her to learn about our suffering.
When I tried to secure the door, the lock wouldn’t close at all. I contacted the maintenance crew, who said someone would fix it in a few hours. I closed the door firmly and hoped it would be enough.
I took a deep breath and unfolded them, wincing and bending over as the searing fire shot through my body. It felt like I was lying on a bed of red-hot nails. The sensation didn’t stop at my back. It radiated through my entire body like my body was rejecting the wings.
We couldn’t naturally fly. Our wings were scientifically engineered to protect us from environmental dangers. We would not have survived on Auxem without them, but it came at a price.
I gasped for air, trying to calm down. The feeling was awful. To us, it was worth it, but I doubted the humans would agree with us. Just like before, they would send us back to our home planet alone to face our inevitable extinction.
I left the bathroom and stepped onto the transporter pad, reappearing in the flying room. When I returned, dripping with sweat and tired from an hour of exercise, I saw Jayne sitting on the bed in red panties and a red baby doll dress. The outfit was lingerie I bought for her on Earth.
I grinned. I was getting lucky tonight.
JAYNE
When Arnon materialized on the transporter pad, I pulled my hand away from where I had been touching myself. He had his wings out. Sweat covered his body, chest glistening from his efforts.
“You look pretty good in that. Let me hop into the shower.”
“Why don’t you come over first?” I had been waiting for a while, and I was so aroused that all I wanted was for him to take me.
“I’m a little sweaty here.”
“Sexy.”
“My wings are out.”
“Also sexy.”
He stared at me curiously. Did I remember the size of his cock when he had his wings out? Of course.
“I remember.” My breath caught in my throat. I went to him and pulled down his pants. He was bigger than I remembered. “I took it once.”
“As long as I don’
t break you...”
“Let’s do it like the first time,” I whispered.
He grinned wolfishly at me and unhooked my bra. It fastened in the front, and his manipulation made my breasts spill out into his hot hands.
“They’re perfect.” He gently squeezed them, then tossed the bra aside and led me to the counter in the kitchenette. Before I could blink, I was sitting on it. He kissed me with such intensity that our teeth clashed. I didn’t care.
Arnon hooked his fingers in my panties and ripped them off me, opening my legs wide. I held my breath as he lined himself up with my entrance. “Are you ready?” He slid a hand down to check for himself.
“I’ve been waiting for an hour. What do you think?” I gasped when he slid two fingers inside me, stretching me in preparation. He took his hand away, immediately pushing in an inch. I moaned as he sank into me. I looked down and gasped when I realized he was barely inside. How could he possibly fit? He pressed in farther, and I started to pant. I couldn’t take all of him. What had I been thinking?
“It’ll fit.” He paused to let my body adjust itself to accommodate his girth. “It did before, remember?”
I didn’t bother answering. Instead, I pulled my knees back to spread myself wider. The sensation was so intense that I was sweating.
He took my lips, kissing me deeply, his tongue moving in and out of my mouth. I wanted him to taste my pussy the same way. “Do it now.” He thrust hard, sheathing himself to the hilt as I cried out.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m more than okay. Fuck me.”
He bent and sucked my breasts until I was moaning and gasping, writhing against him where he penetrated me completely.
“Arnon, I can’t wait anymore.”
Only then did he begin pumping slowly in and out of me. I looked down at our joined bodies and felt my arousal increase when I saw his cock moving.
“Faster.”
He plunged into me, taking the space up so slowly that I thought I would go insane. There was a method to his madness. I finally felt myself crest as an orgasm washed over me with an unexpected blast. He pounded against my pelvis, then stopped until I felt him cum inside of me. His seed filled me and sparked another orgasm. The contractions squeezed every drop out of him. When we were both spent, he lifted me and lay me down on the bed with my legs up the wall.
I wish I could say we fucked again immediately, but after my tiring day, I fell asleep with him beside me. I was satisfied, happy, and content with my life.
I would have slept through the night if I didn’t have to pee. With a groan, I dragged myself out of bed to go to the bathroom. My bladder seemed to hold less than before. I wondered if that was because of the space travel. I would rather be sleeping in a sex-induced coma instead of stumbling around our darkened room.
The door was closed. Shit. In general, the accommodations on this ship were fantastic, but it would be nice if there were two bathrooms in a suite. Whenever Arnon was using the bathroom, he made sure the door was locked. It seemed a little excessive to me. Why would I want to see a grown man peeing?
I really had to go, so I tried the door, hoping I might get lucky. It opened! The bathroom was dark and lit only by a small night light, which was why I didn’t notice that Arnon was already in the bathroom.
What happened next was shocking. Arnon saw me come in, but he was in the process of retracting his wings. Arnon panicked when he spotted me. He tried to stop the process, but couldn’t do anything. It appeared to be impossible to halt the action once it began.
Something went wrong.
As he pulled in his wings, his face contorted in distress, and he broke out into in a sweat. Arnon bent over, curling in on himself like he was in agony. He let out a groan, and I stepped forward.
“What’s wrong?” I didn’t dare touch him. “Can I help?”
He turned to me, eyes dull with suffering. “Get the hell out of here.”
Chapter Sixteen
ARNON
She had seen me.
There was only one thought in my head on an endless loop as I tried to cope with the usual torture of retracting my wings. She hadn’t figured everything out yet, but she would, one way or another. She was a smart woman and when she connected the dots she would leave me.
By this time, losing the women in my life was a familiar experience. But this was something different and worse. If Jayne left me, she would be choosing to go, and that was a pain that was new to me. The pain from my wings seemed to go on for longer than usual as if the suffering in my mind and heart had intensified it. It took some time for me to see normally again.
What was going to happen now? Jayne would know soon. Would she hate me or want a divorce? How could I have screwed up this badly? I was breaking every rule my father had made to benefit us.
“Arnon?” Jayne’s voice came through the door. “Are you okay? I’m worried about you.”
I came out of the bathroom looking normal, with no signs of the suffering she had seen only a few minutes earlier. I didn’t answer her. Nothing I could say would make the situation better.
“You seem okay now.” She looked confused, but I could see her mind working. “Why do you always go to the bathroom to put your wings away or take them out?”
I didn’t answer her.
“Why were you in so much pain before and now you’re fine?”
I examined the wall as if it were the most exciting thing in the world.
“You’re still hiding things.” Sorrow filled her voice. “How can we have a marriage with secrets between us?”
I turned to her and told her the truth, for once. “I don’t know.” I grabbed my shirt from the couch and walked out the door.
I wandered aimlessly, needing to talk to someone, and found myself in front of Ayrie’s room. He wasn’t an expert in dealing with women. None of us were. I thought he understood my situation, though, and might be able to give me some advice.
My pulse pounded as I rushed down the hall. I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around the ramifications of Jayne’s newfound knowledge. Ayrie opened the door as soon as I knocked. He was always up late. Ayrie was alone in the room, and Elle was still in the medical ward.
“How’s Elle doing?” I asked.
“You’re not going to believe this, but I think Allex and his team figured out what’s making them sick.”
Good news would pull me out of my misery. “They did? What was the problem?”
“It’s a combination of two things. The humans don’t travel in space as much as we do, and a lot of them are getting space sickness. That would be bad enough by itself, but to make things worse, someone brought a flu virus onto the ship with them. We’re immune to the flu, and some of the human women are too. But the women who are prone to space sickness and vulnerable to the flu are getting hit twice. Elle was one of the unlucky ones. The doctors are treating them now, and they should all be fine within a week.”
“That’s one piece of good news for today.” My brother must have heard something in my voice that revealed how upset I was.
“Is something the matter?”
“Jayne found out about my wings.” I sat down on the couch, rubbing my temple.
“Is that news? You took her flying a couple of days after you met her.”
“Let me be specific. Jayne knew about my wings, but she didn’t know about the pain.”
“You should start at the beginning. What happened to you? Tell me everything.” He looked curious. Usually, he had an expression of bored indifference on his face. It was odd for him to show so much concern.
I had so much energy that I started pacing around the room. “When I returned from flying tonight, I teleported into our suite. Jayne was there, wearing some lingerie I bought for her.”
Ayrie held up a hand. “You know, as it turns out, I don’t want to hear everything. Skip over what happened next. I’ll use my imagination. Well, tell me one thing. Were your wings out?”
“Yes
. She likes them.”
“Really?”
“Doesn’t Elle? I assumed it was something particular to Earth women.”
“I don’t know what Elle likes and doesn’t like.” It seemed like he was deliberately obscure. “But we’re talking about you, not me. I’m assuming that the problem wasn’t about the sex?”
“Of course not. It was afterward.” All of a sudden I felt deflated, and I sat down on the couch again. “She fell asleep. She sleeps for a few hours after we’re intimate, so I usually take the opportunity to change my wings in the bathroom.”
He nodded.
“When I went in, I noticed someone had broken the lock. I didn’t worry about it because she was out.”
“She never wakes up, except for the one time you need her to stay asleep.” Understanding dawned on his face. “Had you started already?”
“Yes, and of course I couldn’t stop. Jayne watched the whole thing. And when she offered to help because she thought something was wrong, I told her to get the hell out.”
“Sometimes saying nothing can be better than saying the wrong thing.”
“The worst part was when I came out looking like a human. She was confused at first but quickly started figuring things out and asking complicated questions.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing, but I almost revealed everything when she started asking me. The bond demands complete honesty between the partners.”
“Right. It must have slipped my mind.”
Ayrie had bonded himself to Elle. How could he forget this?
“Before I left, she asked me how we could have a marriage with secrets. I said that I didn’t know.”
“I’m not an expert on women, but it’s clear to me that was the wrong answer.”
“I know. Well, I know now, at least.” I ran my hand through my hair and forced it to stand on end. “What am I going to do?”
“Well, Father can’t find out. That’s for sure. You’re going to have to make her promise to keep this secret too. It’s going to be a lot of pressure on her, though. She’s a chatty one.”
