“Wow, you’re serious. Those poor bastards. Whoever came up with that plan really had it out for them. I can’t imagine going without sex all year except for one day. Not that it hasn’t been a while for me, but damn!”
“Some species consider at least that much to be fortunate. Among the Forad, females are so scarce that although they have their duty to donate their genetic material for breeding in artificial wombs, most males never know the touch of a female unless they pay for it offworld.”
She looked at him thoughtfully. “Artificial wombs, huh. Your planet doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.”
“Which is why I spend most of my time away from home,” he said with a laugh.
Leaning forward, she locked eyes with him, her lips quirking upward. “And have you known the touch of a female, Ehmhy?”
He swallowed nervously, his whiskers fanning out before flattening again. “Once,” he admitted gruffly. “It wasn’t an experience that I take much pleasure in recalling. Copulating with a Gida female was quick and uncomfortable. They have tentacles and are not gentle with what they do with them,” he muttered in embarrassment. “There are a few females of other species who can sometimes be found, but their time is often unavailable as they are in high demand.”
Geree pursed her lips. “That was your one and only experience? A round with a space prostitute?”
He nodded reluctantly.
“And here you are, surrounded by a lot of women, some of them throwing themselves at you when we met, and you still act with more self-restraint than most guys I’ve ever known.” She brushed her fingers along the fur on his jaw. “I really admire that,” she said, giving him a final pat before lying back against the pillows. “Come on. We need to get some sleep. Early morning and all.”
He reclined on the bed beside Geree and watched over her as she drifted off to sleep. Only then did he allow himself to curl his body around her, his tail slipping across her leg as he joined her in slumber.
Chapter 6
Gerry couldn’t believe how close she’d come to throwing herself at an alien last night. No, that wasn’t fair. He wasn’t just a random alien. She’d come close to throwing herself at Ehmhy. She was insanely attracted to him for some reason. That whole “cat man” thing did something for her, and finding out what a genuinely great guy he was had been the icing on the cake. Still, it was so unlike her to want to jump into bed with a guy she’d just met. Only a sliver of common sense kept her from opening her mouth and offering herself to him.
She couldn’t even say with any sort of certainty she would have been able to resist if he made a move. One touch, one gesture of invitation, and her resolve would have melted like butter on toast. But damn her luck, he hadn’t done anything except lie chastely by her side.
His tail flicked where it lay across her leg, and she smiled. Gerry stroked his tail and grinned as he shivered. What would he do if she pulled his tail? Holding back a giggle at the mental image of him jumping from the bed like a cat who got his tail caught under the rocking chair, she wrapped her fingers around his tail. She tugged but to her surprise he shuddered and moaned. His eyes snapped open and, between her last breath and her next, she found herself rolled beneath him, pinned to the bedding.
His pupils blown wide, Ehmhy looked wild, like a feral creature instead of the restrained male from the night before. His lips were parted, showing the tips of his fangs as he breathed her in. Her body reacted instantly, heat pooling in her belly and wetness weeping from her pussy to slick her thighs. Her belly quivered as he leaned down and dragged his nose through her hair, dragging it across her jaw and down the column of her neck, a loud purr vibrating through him and into her. His rough tongue flicked over her pulse, and Gerry gasped, thrusting her hips up against him. Ehmhy growled against her skin.
The door rattled as a fist banged against it, interrupting Ehmhy’s downward exploration. His eyes widened, his pupils constricting, and he scrambled off her to duck into the bathroom. Considering that her shotgun apartment was basically a bedroom with a mini fridge and an attached bathroom, it was a smart move. Gerry groaned and pulled herself out of bed, heading over to the door. She looked down at herself. The sleep shorts and oversized T-shirt were presentable enough to greet whoever insisted on banging at her door at such an early hour.
Pulling open the door, she frowned at the two men standing just outside. Two serious-looking guys dressed like they were going to a funeral... or had a government job. She’d put her money on the latter. With a polite smile, Gerry crossed her arms and leaned against the doorjamb.
“Is there something I can do for you boys?”
Neither one so much as cracked a smile.
“Yes, ma’am. We are investigating a murder that happened at the corner of your street. We were wondering if you may have seen or heard anything unusual.”
Gerry arched an eyebrow in disbelief.
“You guys sure don’t look like cops to me.”
The sour guy on the left shifted toward her, and Gerry couldn’t mask her surprise when she heard a low growl issue from the direction of the bathroom. Both of the men at her door stiffened. She played it off by patting her belly.
“Can we make this quick, guys? I haven’t eaten yet and my tummy here won’t shut up until I do.”
They both regarded her suspiciously, clearly neither one buying her story. Gerry didn’t give two fucks; her garden of fucks was barren and set on fire. She raised both eyebrows, wondering if either was going to challenge her bullshit story. Much to her relief, they didn’t.
“We are affiliated with another branch of the government,” replied the less dour of the pair on the right. “About last night...”
Gerry shrugged. “I didn’t hear anything. It was Mardi Gras, though. I wouldn’t have paid too much attention to anything short of an explosion outside my house.”
“You may not yet be aware, but wreckage has been found all over the surrounding area of New Orleans. We’re finding it bit by bit, mostly through citizens reporting it. We are very concerned that whoever is responsible for it may be highly dangerous, ma’am.”
She widened her eyes in faux alarm.
“Wreckage? Wait a minute, did Toni put you up to this? I swear, this Men in Black shit is right up her alley. Just the sort of prank she would pull!”
“No, ma’am,” ground out the one on the left.
“We have footage that shows you with a peculiar looking man in the Quarter. Where is that man now?”
“Hell if I know. It was a one-night stand, and not very memorable if you get my drift. Behind all that makeup, there wasn’t much to work with. But a good time was had by all,” she finished with her best smutty smile.
“I see.” He still didn’t look convinced. If anything, his brow was pulling into a deeper scowl as if he knew she was fucking with him. Still, he merely reached into his pocket, pulled out a crisp white card, and handed it to her. “If you remember anything at all, please call us. We’ll be in touch.”
Gerry kept her fixed smile straining on her face until the door was firmly shut between her and her unwanted visitors. Holy shit, she just had actual MIB guys on her porch! Shit was getting real. She turned around to let Ehmhy know that they were gone when she found herself squashed against a dark red furry chest.
“Oomph,” she wheezed.
His hands brushed all over her and his nose trailed against her neck and shoulder, inhaling her scent as his ragged breaths settled. It took a few minutes before the growling finally stopped. Gerry leaned back the best she could from within that iron grip and looked at him.
“Hey, are you okay?”
His arm shuddered with remnants of aggression under her hand. “I did not like those males so close to you without my protection.”
“Yeah, well, if you hadn’t had the foresight to hide, this whole thing would have been a lot uglier. We’re all right. Give it a couple hours and we’ll head out. We’ll probably have a tail, but we can lose them in the Quarter bef
ore we head to the Lower Ninth Ward.”
She bit her lip. “I don’t think they’ve found your engine room yet. If it’s hidden among debris and abandoned buildings there, it may be some time before it is noticed. Still, we should hurry so that we find it before they do. No doubt they’re picking up pieces of your ship everywhere if they know that you’re here and suspect you for killing that guy last night.”
Ears pinned back in distress, he tugged on her arm until he pulled her into the warm shelter of his body. He was about six and a half feet tall, and all of that was curved around her. Gerry couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt protected by someone dependable. She nuzzled her cheek against the dense, soft fuzz on his chest and buried her fingers into the thicker fur along his shoulders and neck. A soft purr began to rattle her, and her lips curved into a smile against his chest. Unfamiliar emotions tugged at her while his warm, rough hands stroked down her back.
Pushing back her desire, Gerry stepped out of his embrace. The undisguised longing in his eyes stole her breath. She wanted nothing more than to throw herself back into his arms. Instead, she threaded the fingers of one hand through the longer fur along his jaw as she smiled up at him wistfully. She reminded herself that he was an alien and would be leaving soon.
There could be no possible future for them.
“Let’s get you dressed back up again,” she said regretfully. “Your disguise is going to be a bit harder to get by with today but if anyone says anything, we’ll just say you’re a street performer.”
His ears flicked and his eyes seemed sad, but he nodded his head in agreement. He wasn’t the only one feeling regret. Although she knew she made a smart decision last night, part of Gerry wished she had taken the chance to enjoy what little time they had together. As she helped Ehmhy find his gloves, she decided that the next time the opportunity came around, she wouldn’t waste it.
FRUSTRATION WAS BECOMING a familiar companion for Ehmhy. Frustration over losing his nephew to human brigands, and now frustration over the ceaseless need churning in his gut for Geree. That they now had human officials after them did not improve his mood any. All he wanted to do was find Ferikal and hide someplace safe with his nephew and female until his cousin arrived. Not that Nuralo wouldn’t give him a ration of shit for it.
To Ehmhy’s surprise, the area that Geree called the Quarter was quiet. There were people out and about, but it seemed to be mostly bleary-eyed shopkeepers up early to begin their day. Some customs were universal.
Geree made only one stop, and that was to acquire sustenance before they headed further on. Ehmhy obeyed her request to wait for her in a shadowy alley where he would be unlikely to attract attention, but he didn’t like it. He alternately retracted and protracted his claws within his gloves, his muscles tight until Geree returned with two hot cups.
Handing one cup to him, she nudged him so that they would continue on their way down the road she indicated. Ehmhy watched with interest as she popped open her cup and took a long drink of the steaming contents. He looked down at his own and sniffed it. Spices and some sort of foreign milk teased his nose. It didn’t smell bad. In fact, the combination appealed to him. He opened his own cup and took only the smallest taste to test. The steamed milk and exotic spices hit his mouth with an explosion.
Never had he tasted anything like it! He licked his fangs and stared down at the brew, marveling at it. He could make a fortune trading it to Forashual alone! He tapped a finger on his cup as he considered just how many products Earth had that could be acquired. The merchant in him began to crunch numbers in excitement. As soon as the Intergalactic Council opened Earth up as available for trade as a recognized planet, Ehmhy could return and make a killing every revolution!
“What is this?” he purred lustfully.
Geree’s eyes shone up at him with amusement, no doubt understanding full well just how much he was enjoying it.
“It’s a chai latte, or what I call a personal slice of heaven. Good, isn’t it?”
“It is beyond description,” he agreed, his mind still spinning on how he might best market the product and what planets would pay well in credits for it. Geree’s husky laugh drew his attention back to her.
“The look on your face right now reminds me of my Uncle Darrel. He’s a salesman and he would get a glint in his eyes when he thought he hit upon something good. You have that very same glint,” she chuckled. “You wouldn’t happen to be a salesman, would you?”
“As it happens, I am a trader by profession. My family has many generations of fine traders. And you are right,” he laughed, “this drink intrigues me. I think there are many planets where it would do well if I can get the Intergalactic Council to allow trade rights to Earth on my license.”
The tiny segments of fur on her brow lifted in an expression of surprise.
“That sounds very... complicated. I guess bureaucracy is alive and well in the universe,” she joked. She handed him a paper bag, which had a sickeningly sweet smell to it. He promptly handed it back to her.
“My apologies, Geree. I do not care for very sweet things. Please enjoy my portion.”
“No problem. More for me” she said cheerfully as she reached into the larger sack from which she had pulled the smaller bag. “I have something you might prefer instead.”
She handed him a small wrapped square. He pulled the wrapping off and sighed to see bread, but in between the two slices was more of the delicious egg he’d eaten before with Earth produce. He could tolerate the bread to enjoy the rest of it. To his surprise, there was so little bread that it didn’t overwhelm him. He ate one and Geree immediately handed him another. The egg, the orange stretchy stuff, and the hot vegetables made for a satisfying morning meal.
At all times he was aware of a pair of human males tailing behind them. He instinctively bristled at their daring to follow them so relentlessly. It roused all his instincts to hide and defend his female from other unknown males. He growled low in his throat, his muscles tensing to spring upon those following them at the soonest opportunity.
As they neared the next alley, Geree grabbed his hand and darted into the shadows with Ehmhy in tow. Picking up on her intention, he scooped her into his arms to hasten his own movements and used a lifetime of training and instinct to dart between the shadows with seamless grace. More than once he scaled a wall to take him into another alley. Every so often, Geree squawked to check what street crossing they were at before they raced once more into the dark, hidden places between the old buildings of the Quarter.
After a short time, the scent of their pursuers faded and the tension in his muscles eased but he did not slacken his pace. In his arms, Geree marked the areas they passed through as she gave him direction. He did not slow until she announced that they had arrived at the Lower Ninth Ward. He was immediately struck by its spirit. It spoke to him of old ghosts, decay and ruin, and somewhere in all of that was the clue to where Ferikal had been taken.
Chapter 7
Gerry inspected the area, her lips pursed. Some teens standing on a corner were staring at them a little too hard, but they scattered when Ehmhy rumbled menacingly at them. It may have scared the shit out of them, but oh, it had the opposite effect on her. A part of Gerry wanted to curl into him and see what other noises he could make.
But for the most part, she was more concerned about the huge task ahead of them. Overgrown yards and abandoned, boarded-up buildings were all too common in this part of New Orleans. From what Ehmhy had said, the engine room wasn’t going to be terribly small, yet she still felt like they were hunting for a needle in a haystack.
At her side, Ehmhy frowned and brought his wrist computer-thing up to his face. A light on the face of it lit up as he said one word, “Ashdru.”
A husky feminine voice purred back in an instant.
“Ashdru online. How may I be of assistance?”
Gerry leaned in with wonder. Was it some sort of hi-tech version of Siri? She couldn’t take her eyes off the hy
pnotic swirl of light the wrist unit gave off. The way it pulsated as she inspected it made Gerry think it bordered closer to AI than anything that had yet been created on Earth.
“What in the world?” she murmured.
Ehmhy’s lips pulled up into a grin. “My cousin equipped my comm unit with Ashdru. She is a rudimentary artificial intelligence who was designed to assist with records, gathering data, as well as navigating alien interfaces. Unfortunately, she has a limited scanning range, so she hasn’t been much help.”
“My apologies, Ehmhy,” Ashdru replied in placating tones that made Gerry want to laugh.
He merely sighed and said, “Ashdru, do your scans detect the engine room segment in this area?”
“Initializing... affirmative. Setting signal on your comm unit. The engine room has been detected about three hundred zerics southeast.”
“Is the beacon still onboard?”
“Beacon status... intact and active.”
Gerry patted her companion on the shoulder as Ehmhy breathed a sigh of relief. While it didn’t necessarily bring him any closer to finding his nephew, the fact that their beacon was where it should be made the whole situation look a bit less bleak. At least Ehmhy and Ferikal would be able to go home and not be stranded on Earth with crazy human feds chasing after them.
Following the signal on his comm unit, they weaved their way through the tall grasses and back alleys, staying well away from any of the main roads. It wasn’t ideal, and they would’ve made better time on a clear, even surface, but the last thing they wanted was to draw attention to themselves. Gerry cursed when she tripped more than once over fragments of broken brick, although she did eye it out of habit. Her aunt was always looking for more red brick dust. She made a mental note to go back through alone later with a bag and a jar.
First Contact Page 5
