by Amber Stuart
“You love him,” I gasp it out and she turns to look at me.
“Ridiculous,” she barks.
“Is it?”
“Yes,” she says staring straight ahead with her arms clasped behind her back.
“I don’t think so. Oh you might not love him in the way I do. The deep aching need for him to be by your side when he’s gone. The emptiness I felt when he wasn’t in my life. The way he makes me feel. It’s not that kind of love you’re right. It’s a different kind of love.”
“You’re babbling you ridiculous human,” she says.
“How long have you two served together?” I ask.
“Active duty twenty-five years,” she says.
“Twenty-five years plus sleep time. You’ve spent thousands of years together. What that must be like. Of course you’re close but you don’t know how to deal with it do you? You don’t feel an attraction to him but you love him. You want him to be safe.”
“Insanity, we are soldiers. We’re never safe.”
“Oh? Tell me Benji, did you worry, even if just in the back of your mind, that he wouldn’t come back? Did you think and gnaw over the idea of what if something happened to him?”
She doesn’t answer me but I see on her face I’m getting through to her.
“It’s okay. I understand. I’m guessing that before, cause I do know I was with him before, that I didn’t. I don’t remember everything just big pieces so it’s a guess. I bet we had a fight though. Just thinking it through. That you wanted to protect him and I took that completely wrong.”
She glances at me for just an instant and I know I’ve nailed it.
“You are an insufferable bitch,” she says.
“Thanks. You’re kind of a stiff, stuck up one, truth be told. Does that mean we can’t find common ground? Since we both love him?”
“I do not ‘love’ him. He is my Commander. I respect him. I work for his survival.”
“Okay,” I say. “Then respect him. Let me ask you this, when he’s happy, does it make you happy?”
Her lips purse, giving me an idea that she might actually answer me so I wait. The elevator comes to a stop and the doors slide open. Benji steps out into the hallway then turns back towards me since I didn’t step out with her.
“Coming?” she asks.
“Answering?” I respond.
She closes her eyes and I’d swear she’s counting to ten. When she opens them her jaw is tight, her lips pursed into a tight line, but she nods.
“It does,” she says as if admitting the darkest secret of her heart.
“Good, me too,” I say stepping out. I hold my hand out to her. “Hi, I’m Abby. I’m very much in love with your Commander. As his Chief Mate I’d like to start fresh and maybe we can get to know each other. I’m not going anywhere and I’m sure you’re not either. So can we start over?”
She stares at my extended hand. Two crew members approach down the hallway and they both stare at the two of us facing off while trying their best to not appear to be doing so. They wait for the elevator and Benji stands stiffly watching my hand the entire time. The elevator opens, they enter, then she grabs my hand taking me by surprise.
“Yes,” she says. “Yes I think this is a good decision.”
I smile as we shake hands.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Vin’s quarters are not large but what would I expect on a spaceship? Space, despite it’s infiniteness outside, is at a premium on the inside away from the vacuum. They are nice though. He has a sitting area with a small couch and a chair, a coffee style table between them. There is a thing that looks like a tablet sitting on the table so I go over and pick it up. It takes me only a moment to figure out how to activate it and see that it is a tablet with a book on it that he’s been reading. I smile as I realize it’s a romance.
There’s an archway that leads to a very small kitchen. I don’t see a fridge or stove though so I poke around. Finally I see something that gives me a sense of deja vu and I realize it’s a replicator. A machine that somehow creates food on demand. It takes a bit but I finally figure out how to get a cup of tea out of the thing then carry that with me on my exploration.
I find a restroom tucked into a corner behind a simple door but next to it is another door and that leads to his bunk. The bedroom is small and almost identical to the one on the shuttle we took up here. When I reach the small dresser I see the one thing that stands out. A rectangle made of some kind of clear crystal. When I try to pick it up it doesn’t move and I realize it’s mounted somehow to the dresser. Of course it’d have to be or it wouldn’t still be sitting in it’s place after the evasive maneuvers and hits the ship took. Feeling around, there’s a slight indentation on the back and when I put my finger over that the thing comes to life. Beams of light dance up and out, swirling, then they form into an image. A hologram of me. Well not me, but me. The former me I guess. The similarities in features are striking and I get why it must have been weird for Vin.
The door to the apartment opens and I move my finger away turning the hologram off. Leaving the bedroom I make it to the door then stop. Vin is standing in the middle of the room staring at me. He’s smiling but tense. I can feel it from here. I cock my head to one side waiting for him to speak but he doesn’t say a thing.
“Vin, what is it?” I ask.
He raises his hands and then spreads them out palms open. He shrugs and looks away before looking back at me.
“What now?” he asks.
“What do you mean?”
“The threat is gone. What now? What about us? Where do we go from here?”
“Do we have to go anywhere?” I ask.
“I’ve filed my reports with home world,” he says. “I expect they’ll have us return to cryo and continue our watch over your planet.”
“Oh,” I say.
This isn’t what I expected. What did I expect? That he’d take me off across the galaxy and show me the stars? Was I really that big of a fool?
“Yes,” he says. “What do you want Abby?”
“Maybe we should sit down,” I say, walking over and taking a seat on the small couch.
I pat the seat next to me. I love the way I’m pulled into him when his bulky muscles settle in next to me. I snuggle up against his bulging arm and rest my head on the mounds of his shoulder.
“What would make you happy?” he asks, moving his arm behind my shoulders so that I’m resting on his chest.
I don’t answer him at first. It feels so good to be here with him like this. Curled up, comfortable, safe in his arms. He makes me feel beautiful in ways I didn’t know I could. I don’t feel too big, frumpy, or anything but loved when I’m in his arms. I feel as dainty as a ballet dancer, as beautiful as any princess. I feel the way a woman should be made to feel by the man in her life.
“Vin,” I say. I have to swallow hard my mouth is so dry. “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh,” he says stiffening and sounding disappointed.
A long silence ensues. This is not the reaction I expected. I’m confused and there’s a tingle of fear. “Well, I should make sure you get back home then.”
“What?” I ask my voice cracking.
“I will get you home so you may be with the father of your child.”
“What are you talking about?” I push myself up right so I can look into his eyes.
“I do not understand. Do you not wish to be with the father of your child?”
“Of course I do!”
“Well then I will return you home so that you can be,” he says.
“Are you dumb?” I ask.
“No, I don’t believe so,” he says staring at me.
“You…” I trail off letting my anger drift with it. “Vin, it’s yours. It’s ours. We are pregnant.”
His mouth drops open and he shakes his head side to side.
“But, that can’t be, we’re not, it’s not possible.”
&n
bsp; “Tell him that,” I say pointing at my belly.
“No, you don’t understand, it’s not possible. Our races are incapable of cross-breeding.”
“Well that’s not the case now. Ansila has confirmed it.”
“We’re having a baby?” he asks, excitement rising in his voice.
“Yes!”
He leaps to his feet and grabs me off the couch spinning us around the room, holding me lightly in his arms. We laugh until tears are flowing from my eyes then he pulls me in and kisses me. He carries me to the bedroom and lays me gently on the bed. We kiss. Longer, kisses that go on and on. Long, loving kisses as we caress each other and slowly our clothes are lost to the floor.
“Is this safe?” he asks.
I shake my head at his silly question. “Of course.”
He lowers his head to my nipples taking them in his mouth and rolling his tongue over them. His hand finds my wetness and he slides a finger inside. I moan into his mouth as he fills me, my hips bucking wanting more. Our tongues dance with each other as he drives his finger in. He pushes in, curls it up, then slides it back out causing the cup of his hand to just graze my clit.
It makes me feel like I’m being wound up, pushed to the top of a beautiful mountain that I know will take me over the edge into an amazing orgasm. He continues the motion and I squirm under his ministrations. His massive cock throbs against my leg where it’s crushed close to me. I take it in my right hand and slowly stroke it matching the speed of his hand inside me. Now it’s his turn to moan as I lightly squeeze, stroke, then release. I repeat the motion as I turn into him, lifting my top leg up to continue allowing him easy access to my inner self.
My breasts press against his hard chest and as my nipples make contact with him I almost come right then. Electric shock sensations shoot from my hard buds through my nervous system and I feel myself clench down hard on his finger. It’s an amazing sensation I’ve never felt before causing my back to arch, my hips to thrust, and force myself further onto him driving his finger deep inside. His finger curls and hits my g-spot and everything explodes. I’m seeing stars as I buck wildly while squeezing his dick hard in my hand.
He buries his head next to my neck as I go wild in his arms driven by pulsing need. As it passes, he rises up on to one elbow then he moves over me. His massive, throbbing cock is at my opening and I whimper in anticipation of the coming penetration. I need him so badly it’s driving me insane. He holds himself above me then lowers down on his amazingly strong arms. Our lips meet in a gentle kiss then he thrusts into me fully in a single, piercing strike. I’m so wet he slides in without resistance and I scream out my pleasure as my nails dig into his back.
He plunges so deep it fills me even more than any previous time as my walls expand to accept him. He holds his position pressing against my innermost core. His eyes are closed and a soft moan of pleasure escapes his lips then he pulls back slowly. So slowly, teasingly, retracting his girth and my walls close behind his retreat. He pulls back until the head of his cock is just inside my folds then he pushes forward in another single motion.
His control is super-human. He keeps this slow pace up letting the tension build until it feels like I’m going to burst. I’m wound up so tight I don’t think I can stand anymore. I want, no I desperately need, release. As if reading my mind he increases his speed thrusting in and out faster. Then he loses control and we’re fucking with wild abandon. Our hips move in perfect synchronicity, rising to meet each other as we thrust, lock, retreat. Over and over. In a testament to his stamina he continues to hold back but he’s grunting and the sounds of his pleasure make me even hotter.
“Abby!” he cries out, thrusting in fully and holding. His cock explodes and so do I. I fall over the edge of my pleasure, losing myself among the stars.
I come down slowly. He’s holding himself over me letting my pleasure fade before he pulls out then he rolls to the side and we spoon together and in moments I fall asleep in his strong arms.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Abby,” Vin says my name softly and I snuggle up closer to him without opening my eyes. “Wake up my love.”
His words don’t do anything to wake me up but fill me with more of an urge to cuddle closer still and go back to sleep. He brushes my hair out of my face then kisses my cheek whispering my name. I give in at last and open my eyes.
“Morning,” I say then stretch my stiff muscles.
I smile as I feel the soreness of complete satisfaction in my lady parts. My man knows how to please his woman.
“Good morning my love,” he says. “There’s much to do and we have decisions to make. Would you like some breakfast first?”
“Sure,” I say sprawling myself out across the bed. “And a shower.”
“Of course my love,” he answers.
I get up and go the small bathroom where I wash. When I come out with a towel wrapped around me, Vin has prepared breakfast at the small table before the couch. I grab a coffee and sit down to munch on a piece of bacon. Tucking my legs up under me, Vin sits down in the chair facing the couch so we are more or less eye to eye.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“There are many decisions to be made and if we don’t figure them out first others will for us,” he says.
“What are you talking about?”
“The baby mostly,” he says. “Ansila will have to report this to our home world. This has never happened. As such they will most likely order our return, along with you, to home. They will want to test and monitor the child.”
“What!” I exclaim. “What kind of life is that for a kid?”
“I don’t think it would be overly invasive. It sounds worse then it would be. You have to understand this isn’t supposed to be possible.”
“Sure, okay, but still. It’s our child! I don’t want our baby to be poked, prodded, and tested like some kind of animal.”
“That would not happen,” he says with certainty.
“How can you be sure?” I ask.
“Because I will not allow such,” he answers. “This is, after all, my child.”
His certainty gives me some reassurance so I settle back into the couch.
“Okay, well what are our options?”
“One, I cover up the report. You stay here on Earth and nothing changes. Two, we report it and we’re ordered home. You return with me. Of course I would then be asking your hand in commitment as part of such a thing. It would be embarrassing and damaging to my career if I was to have a child out of commitment.”
“Commitment?” I ask. “Are you saying you’d ask me to marry you?”
He looks thoughtful for a moment then nods. “Yes, that would be the local term for the situation.”
“Well you could be a bit more romantic about it,” I say.
“Oh,” he looks abashed. “I’m sorry, of course. I’m laying out options for you. I did not mean it to come across so coldly.”
“Okay, well just so you know space-boy, I expect romance with my proposal.”
“Of course my love,” he says.
“Okay so that’s two options, what else you got?”
“Third we go on the run. We hide the baby, we hide you, and I protect you from any and all comers.”
“Any and all comers? What do you mean by that?”
He frowns deeply before answering.
“Abby, I don’t think you understand the enormity of the situation. The information is known. As soon as Ansila did the scans it went into our computers. Once there I have no doubt that it was broadcast out to various of our allies and our enemies who are spying on us.”
“Your allies spy on you?” I ask.
“Abby, it is a galactic empire, we are advanced but some things I don’t think will ever change.”
“Well that sucks,” I say.
“Yes, yes it does. They will know and they will come after us. I might be able to hide us and keep us safe but it will be a li
fe on the run. We will not be truly safe ever.”
“Oh,” I say. “All because of the baby?”
“Yes,” he says.
“But, I guess I just don’t get it. Why such a big deal? What’s it to any of them?”
“No one knows. It’s never happened before. There are forty-two different species in the Galactic Empire and twelve knowns ones, like humans, that are not yet integrated. Of all those cross breeding has never happened. It’s unheard of and until now thought to have been impossible. You, we, are unique. They’ll want to know how and why. Also what does it mean? Genetically speaking the baby will be an entirely new race.”
“Uhm, yeah, I really hadn’t thought of the implications I guess.”
“If we return to my home world, we’ll have the full protection of the Lantarian government. I have allies there still. We will be kept safe. In return, they’ll want to run some tests, monitor our child, especially its growth. Is that too much to ask?”
“I’m more worried about the whole what happens if we don’t to be honest.”
“Me too,” he says.
“What about… my home. Here, my…”
My what? I have no family left here. I don’t have any real connections. I have a dead-end job that pays the bills. I have Kelley. I feel a momentary sadness that the only person or thing I’d miss from here is her. Am I really that lonely? I never felt that lonely. I never felt that happy either though if I really look at it. I’ve certainly never felt anything like they way Vin makes me feel.
“Okay,” I say.
“Okay?” he asks.
“Let’s do this. Can I say good-bye to Kelley first though?”
“Of course my love. I’ll take you down myself in a shuttle.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
My palms feel sweaty as I walk up to Kelley’s door. Vin is at my side and his presence is reassuring. I knock and wait as my stomach ties itself in knots with anticipation. Kelley opens the door and her eyes go wide then she throws the screen open and pulls me into a bear hug.
