Into the Stars

by Gwendolyn Field

  I’m a few minutes early, hoping I can slip in and be seated already as the others show, but to my horror they are all there when the door slides open, sitting quietly, and all of their eyes dart to me at once. I stand there stunned for a moment, feeling the press of their hungry, male gazes, before I have enough sense to go in and take a seat beside the chef. He stares sidelong at my chest before he notices me watching and gives me a smile that he probably thinks is friendly, but it feels more like a leer. I smile tightly in return and fold my hands in front of me, sitting up straight.

  “Now that we’re all here I can announce we’re going to Clyvorn.”

  My heart jumps, and the chef sucks in a breath beside me. Clyvorn is the first planet in the nearest galaxy, and it was almost destroyed by intergalactic war. It was once beautiful with a rugged mountainous landscape, but recent pictures depict charred, brutalized lands devoid of life.

  “It’s come to our attention that troops from Belie are attempting to colonize there, and use it as a station. We’re joining with elite forces from Keplar and Gliese to rid the planet of them and pave the way for new life on Clyvorn. Whoever holds power in Clyvorn holds the key to travel between our two galaxies. We cannot let them take hold.”

  In unison the six other men grunt, “Hooah,” to show their agreement, and the deep, resounding ring of their voices ripples through me. Stars help whoever crosses these men. Belie is our greatest enemy, and is constantly trying to take over other planets in their galaxy, while those of us in the Milky Way attempt to work together in harmony.

  “Estimated trip time is thirteen months and twelve days.” Captain Lexon looks at me and the chef. “Reesa and Chef Gulikson, you are not to disembark when we arrive. I will have more instructions closer to time, but the two of you are not to set foot on Clyvorn for any reason.”

  We both nod. I have no desire to be in a warzone, but I can’t help wondering what will happen. Will we hover in the nearby atmosphere, waiting? Will they send the ship back to Earth or Mars and leave the soldiers on Clyvorn? I suppose I’ll find out next year.

  “That’s as much as we can tell you,” the captain says gruffly. And then he turns his attention on the chef, Gulikson. “Is the Mars military allowing their cooks to skip PT these days?” The blond, Rawko, smirks in amusement, but quickly schools his expression when nobody else seems amused.

  Gulikson’s lips purse. “I keep to the kitchens. Physical training is hardly necessary.”

  “While you’re aboard this ship, you will stay fit. I expect you to visit the gym no less than five days a week. Understood?”

  Gulikson’s lips tighten further and I feel a touch embarrassed for him. “Understood,” he mutters.

  “You may both leave.”

  I stand, following Gulikson, feeling several sets of eyes on my retreating back. Someone murmurs something as I step out the door, and muffled chuckles are silenced as the door slides closed. My cheeks heat as I wonder what was said. These men set me on edge like no people I’ve ever met. They don’t adhere to the social standards of politeness.

  Gulikson grumbles as he walks quickly on his short legs toward the kitchen. I head back to my room, wondering if it had been worth getting dressed up for. But a personal Nevesta is always expected to look her best.

  At dinner time, I’m too nervous to eat much. I’m still not certain if I’m being visited tonight. I sit in my room picking at the bread and soup until it goes cold and I send the tray back. Then I literally pace the room. I stop to stand under a spritz of lavender again, this time adding a touch of lemon to brighten my spirits. I breathe deeply and move to the wall panel to turn on calming music.

  A knock makes me gasp and jump at exactly eight o’clock. Stars!

  Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, my.

  My stomach is quaking as I step to the door and press a shaking hand to the panel. It slides open smoothly and Rawko’s grinning face is there, his blue eyes so colorful I can only stare. When I don’t move, he looks past me into the room with curiosity.

  “My apologies,” I say. “Please, come in.”

  I’m so nervous. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous. Not when I lost my virginity. Not the first time Colonel Ravarsh lay me on his bed. Never.

  Rawko strolls past me and next thing I know his shirt is over his head, tossed against the wall. A large tattoo of Earth’s Army emblem is on his back—a fighting eagle—its wings ripple with the movement of his muscle as he crosses to my bed.

  “Nice room,” he says, running a hand over my bedspread before he turns and hops up on it. “The music is interesting, though.”

  I blush and turn off the nautical sounds of Earth seas and water gulls.

  “Ever been to an Earth beach?” he asks.

  I wish. “No. This is the first time I’ve left Mars.”

  “Wow.” He gives me that grin again, which brings about a boyishness in his face that contrasts with the body of hard muscle beneath. And he’s not even one of the largest of the men. I wonder how old he is. My age?

  “Can we take your hair down?” he asks.

  “Oh…” I reach up to touch the bun. “Of course.” My hands tremble as I reach up to pull out the pins and place them on my vanity table. He watches unabashedly as my hair cascades over my shoulders and down my back.

  “I always think of Mars girls as having crazy hair colors and blue lipstick.”

  “Yes, well…” I bite my lip, feeling foolishly old fashioned for keeping my natural coloring. Sheralyn’s is as blue as the Caribbean.

  “Don’t worry. I like it,” he says. Then he beckons me forward with two fingers.

  My heart accelerates as I walk to him. His hands take my waist, and he opens his legs to pull me between his knees. One heartbeat later his mouth is on mine, and his hands roam up my back, finding my neck so he can pull me closer and kiss me harder.

  A small moan escapes me at the feel of his firm body, the heat of his mouth, the ripple of his tongue against mine. It’s been too long since I was properly kissed—nearly a year ago when I went to that new sky club with Sheralyn and kissed a stranger on the dance floor for hours. The Colonel pecked my lips softly in greeting each time he saw me, but never anything like this.

  Rawko’s hands become stronger and he moves them to my shoulders, sliding down the silken material as I reach back to untie the ribbon at my lower back. My dress falls in a pool around my feet and Rawko leans back.

  “Fuck me to the stars,” he whispers as he looks down at my skin and undergarments.

  His language causes a bolt of heat to flash to my core, and we’re kissing again. This time his hands find my breasts and squeeze them through the lacy fabric, which suddenly itches against the taut buds of my nipples.

  I’m breathing hard. So is he.

  This is how it should feel, I think, and guilt stabs me on behalf of the Colonel, who treated me so well. But he’d never been assertive like this and it’s kind of nice not to do all of the work.

  Rawko is apparently done with making out. His feet hit the floor and he’s pawing my slip of lace panties down my legs. I kick them off, and then he lifts me and tosses me on the bed with a bounce that makes me laugh. The sound brings another grin to his face. He reaches for the belt on his camouflaged pants, and I’m holding my breath as he seems to move in slow motion.

  The belt is undone, dangling.

  His fingers flip open the button.

  The zipper is flying down.

  His pants fall down his muscled hips.

  Rawko is wearing no undergarments, and his cock appears harder than any man’s I’ve ever seen. He takes himself in his hand as he looks at me, and I swallow.

  “Are you scared?” he asks, watching me with fascination.

  I start to shake my head, but decide to admit, “A little.”

  He nods, as if this is understandable, but it doesn’t stop him from putting both palms on my bed, followed by a knee, and another knee, as he prowls until he’s over top of me, and I’m openi
ng my legs to accommodate his strong hips. He is heavy and solid, but he holds himself up without effort.

  Rawko wets his finger with his mouth and reaches down, looking between us as he finds my core. I gasp as his finger circles, his saliva mixing with my own moisture. He watches, enthralled, as he takes his cock in his hand and presses the hardened head to my opening. Then his eyes roam up my body, to my eyes, and he thrusts. My mouth opens on a sharp inhale and he grins again. This time it’s a devilish look as he pulls nearly all the way out and slams back into me again, stretching me and sending a shock rippling through me. I squeeze my eyes shut and he halts.

  “Am I hurting you? Because, fuck, you’re tight.” He sounds surprised, like he wasn’t expecting that.

  I don’t want to admit that it hurts a little, so I shake my head and force my eyes open, telling my body to relax.

  The sight of his bulging arms, pecs, and abs as he moves inside of me again, watching me, is overwhelming. Never once does he put his elbows on my shoulders and rut away. He wants to see me, and he wants me to see him. I run my hands over his muscles as he moves inside me. I look at what he shows me, the way our bodies join, slick, heated, glorious.

  Rawko begins to move faster, then he abruptly stops, deep inside of me with his eyes closed.

  “Reesa?”

  “Yes?” I breathe.

  “They kept us really busy on Mars. It’s been three weeks for me, and you feel…fucking…out of this galaxy. I’m not sure how long I can last.”

  I breathe a laugh. “It’s okay.”

  “I need you to come so that I can.”

  “Pardon?” I stiffen.

  He opens his eyes again, then narrows them at me. “You have to come first, or with me.”

  “Oh…” I have no idea how to explain that I might not, despite how amazing it feels. But an explanation ends up being unnecessary, because Rawko begins to move, deep inside of me, pressing up against the bundle of nerves that usually only I can activate. He moves, circling and arching in a way no man ever has. I reach for his hips, and pull him against me fully, lifting my hips to press us together harder. Rawko groans, and I can’t believe how good it all feels. For once, I focus on my own body, not just my lover’s.

  His grin turns sly, as if he senses the change in me. Round and round his hips go, rubbing me fully, until I’m panting for air, my abdomen clenching. He lowers his body closer to mine, pressing against me enough to set my core on fire. Every nerve ending explodes. I cry out and cling to him as his thrusts become harder, and I’m hitting the headboard. He shouts and grits his teeth, and I feel him pulsing inside of me, our orgasms shattering us together.

  We remain like that a full minute, our sweating bodies stuck together, trying to catch our breath. It didn’t last long, and yet it was the most amazing experience I’d ever had with a man. Rawko notices my head is wrenched to the side where I’ve been shoved into the headboard, and he laughs as he slides an arm under my back and pulls me down.

  He kisses the side of my head and we suck in loud breaths when he pulls out of me. Rawko rolls to his back, looking up at the ceiling.

  “This is going to sound crazy,” he says. “But I feel like I just popped your cherry.”

  That must be an Earth phrase. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I feel like I took your virginity. You seem innocent to me.”

  I roll toward him, feeling suddenly shy. “You have in a way. That’s the first time I ever…”

  His brow draws together and he stares. “First time you ever what? Wait…your first orgasm? No.”

  I nod.

  “You’re fucking serious?”

  I nibble my lip. “Well, my first during sex.”

  He punches the air with his opposite arm and says, “I am the fucking man!”

  This elicits laughter from me, and my entire body and mind relax. He’s not in a hurry to leave me, so I take advantage of his chatty nature.

  “Can you tell me about the others?” I prompt.

  He props a hand beneath his head. “What do you want to know?”

  “Anything, really.” I pause to work up the nerve. “Perhaps what they’ll want from me? How I can make them…happy?”

  He snorts. “Happiness isn’t a normal state of mind for most of this crew, but I’ll tell you how you can please them in bed. That much I know. You can’t get a bunch of horny men together for long travels and not end up passing the time with stories.”

  I prop myself on an elbow, eager.

  “My best mate, Devlar, is the redhead. We’ve been together since basic training, and we went to flight school, then elite intergalactic training together. He’s the most like me when it comes to women. He comes across like an asshole sometimes, but don’t be afraid to give it right back to him.”

  Great, I think. I’m not the quick-tongued bantering type. I need to up my game.

  “Tiko…” Rawko chuckles as he considers the darkest man with rows in his hair. “Tiko’s an ass man, so he likes it from behind. Doggy style.” My cheeks heat. My sexual experiences have truly been boring in comparison with most.

  “Milaz,” he says, rubbing his head to remind me he’s the bald one. “Old Dirty Mouth. He’s badass. If we get time with a Nevesta during war, he won’t even take his weapons off. Fucks with everything strapped on. He likes it rough.” He catches my frightened look, and smiles. “Nah, don’t worry. I’m not trying to scare you. I think you can handle it.” I give a small nod and try to mentally add up the names he’s listed so far.

  “Then there’s Tripoli, the stallion.”

  “Stallion?”

  “Yeah, like the horse?” I know what a horse is, I just don’t understand why he’s called one. When I blink, still confused, he says, “Never mind. He has Italian blood from his Earth side. It’s an Earth saying.”

  “Okay.” I feel stupid, but he goes on.

  “He’d probably be happy to just go down on you all night long, and have you suck him off at the same time. You know, sixty-nine?”

  I do know, but not from personal experience. I’ve given and received oral sex, but not at the same time. I nearly sigh as my inexperience crashes down on me.

  “And…the other man?” I ask. “The one with the light eyes.” And the scar. He’d frightened me the most with those malevolent arched eyebrows and hard stare. The Missus said he was born and raised on Mars, but he definitely hadn’t come across like a usual Mars humana, laid-back and temperate. It’s true that most men from my planet who aren’t gentle-spirited join the military.

  “Yeah…” Rawko chews his lip. “The halfy.”

  I frown at the rude word for someone who’s half-human and half-extra terrestrial. Surely he’s joking.

  “I honestly don’t know his story, but rumor has it his mother was of Mars and his father was of Keplar.” I feel myself go cold. Keplar people are like humans in most way with varying cellular and physiological differences. For example, I know that their testicles are inside their bodies, not outside like human men. But the most fearful thing about Keplarians were their lack of empathy. They actually have to be trained in areas of compassion and emotion. They’re good beings for the most part, but it took hundreds of years to get past our differences and become allies. I’d personally never met a Keplarian.

  “See,” Rawko continues. “Yahni doesn’t talk about it with us, but we hear plenty. Word gets around among men in tight quarters, you know?”

  “What have you heard?” I ask.

  “He just has…dark tastes.” He eyes me.

  “He likes dark women?” I look at my medium-brown skin, not light or dark.

  “No.” He laughs now. “Man, you really are innocent. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care about that. Rumor has it he frequents the Hush Houses on your planet.”

  I quietly gasp. “Oh.” Hush Houses are for those with particular fetishes that common Nevestas aren’t expected to entertain. “But why? I mean, what does he seek there?”

  He shrugs. �
�Fucked up shit. He’ll kill me if he knows I’m saying any of this.”

  “I won’t tell,” I promise. My heart is hammering now.

  Rawko eyes me. “They say he likes to pretend he’s raping women.” A chill shoots down my spine. “Wants them to fight. Likes to tie them up and gag them and stuff.”

  Stars above…I don’t know if I can do that.

  “But that’s not expected of you, Reesa,” Rawko says. He turns to me. “Cap made it clear that normal rules apply here on the ship.” Normal rules. One-on-one traditional sex or oral sex.

  “Will Yahni be happy with that, though?” I ask.

  Again, Rawko shrugs. “Maybe not. He might not even visit.”

  We’re both quiet a few minutes. I think about when the Missus had introduced us. She’d seemed nervous about Yahni. I was certain she’d known of his Keplar heritage and purposely not mentioned it. She’ll be hearing from me as soon as this mission is over.

  “And what about the captain?” I ask nervously.

  He chuckles. “Captain Lexon is abstinent.”

  “What?” I sit up, holding the covers over my chest as I peer down at him. He’s grinning again, probably teasing me. I nudge his arm. “Very funny.”

  “I’m serious!” He puts his hands up and outright laughs. “He won’t take a Nevesta, man or woman. I don’t know his story at all. Cap is a full out mystery to all of us except Milaz, who’s known him the longest. But I swear to you he’s not in your rotation of Vestos on this ship.”

  What could possibly be the captain’s reason?

  I’m so lost in thought I don’t realize the blanket has slipped down until Rawko’s warm hand is covering the lace over my breast.

  “You have beautiful tits, Reesa. Perfect, really.”

  Before I can thank him for the compliment, he flips me to my back and is on me again, his rock hard cock pressing into my abdomen. Are we to have sex again? Twice in an hour? He leans down and takes my bottom lip between his teeth. His hand clutches under my knee and hikes my leg up. Apparently so. And that quickly, I’m wet for him again.