Full House

by Susan Hayes

  Their tongues tangled as he moved over her and wedged a knee between her thighs. The hairs on his chest rubbed against her breasts, and the sensation made her nipples go diamond-hard in seconds. She arched against him, pressing their bodies together as she speared her hands into his long hair and kissed him deeper. His beard tickled, and she knew she’d end up with whisker burn before they were done. She didn’t care. In fact, she liked the idea of wearing his marks, even if it was only temporary.

  He kissed his way down her body, devouring her an inch at a time. When he reached her breasts, she drew his head in closer, and he complied with her silent demand by closing his mouth over one taut nub and sucking hard. A jolt of pure need sizzled from his mouth to her clit, making her arch against him again. His fingers closed over her other nipple, stroking and tugging it until she was half-wild with need and aching for more.

  As he moved lower, she raised her head to watch, admiring the powerful build of his body and the way his size dwarfed hers. She’d always been too big. Too thick. Too tall. But not with him.

  He reached her navel and circled it with the tip of his tongue. “Open for me.”

  She parted her thighs, the movement crushing more of the sweet smelling grass that cushioned her. She’d never made love outside, with the sky overhead and the sun streaming through the leaves to mark them both with dappled light. It was decadent and wonderful, and she wished with all her heart that somehow, they’d be able to stay here and make a life together. What kind of life that would be, only time would tell.

  “Stop thinking, scout.” He parted her folds with his calloused fingers and pressed his mouth to her pussy. After that, she couldn’t have held a thought in her head if she wanted to. Pleasure bloomed deep inside her, sending her senses soaring.

  He teased her with light flicks of his tongue, never using enough pressure to let her come. His fingers slid into her channel, filling her with slow, steady thrusts that made her tremble.

  She raised her legs, planting her feet on the ground so she could raise her hips higher, pushing against his mouth until he finally gave her what she craved. He drew her throbbing clit into his mouth, working it with tongue and suction until she shattered into a thousand bliss-filled pieces.

  When she opened her eyes again, he had risen to his knees and was watching her with a self-satisfied expression on his handsome face.

  “You know, some ancient religions on Earth used to believe that making love in the fields would help the land become fertile and increase their harvests. I think we should make that a tradition for our future colony.”

  She laughed and crooked her finger at him, beckoning him closer. “How about a tradition just between us?”

  He moved over her, slanting a torrid kiss to her lips before answering. “I like that idea even more. Every spring we’ll do this at least once. And when the day comes you don’t meet me out here, I’ll know our time is over.”

  She slid her hands into his hair and gripped tight, forcing him to look at her. “I’m not sure what the future holds for us, but I don’t see a day when I don’t want to do this with you. Not until I’m old and gray and you’re still…”

  She stopped talking and kissed him. She didn’t want to think about the fact that while he was more or ageless, she wasn’t.

  “Hey, none of that. We’re not talking right now, remember?” he settled his big body between her legs. “Two days ago I thought I’d die without ever seeing another being. One day ago you arrived and told me I was going to lose my home. Today, you came up with a way to save it, and me. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”

  She kissed her way along the chiseled line of his jaw, loving the way the rasp of his beard felt against her face. “And there you go, being sweet again. If you keep this up, I’m going to end up loving you, and then where will we be?”

  His brown eyes widened, and his face broke into a smile so bright it rivaled the sun. “Veth, I hope to find out.”

  “Me, too.”

  He groaned and pressed his cock to her entrance. “Say it again, Sevda.”

  “I’m going to love you someday, Raze.”

  He buried himself inside her, his gaze never leaving hers. “I hope someday comes soon.”

  “Me, too.” She watched his expression as he claimed her. There was a tenderness in his eyes she hadn’t seen before, and the promise of something deeper.

  He withdrew slowly, then powered into her with enough force to make her moan. She released his hair and let her hands fall to his shoulders, holding onto him as he took her with a passion that blazed so hot it threatened to burn her alive.

  His lips found hers as they came together, hips pumping, breaths ragged, hearts racing. His cock stroked deep inside her, igniting desires and flooding her with so much pleasure she was almost drunk with it.

  Her nails raked across his skin as a primal force tore through her. She pulled away from his kiss and raised her head to sink her fangs into the muscle of his shoulder. He hissed and fucked her harder, the two of them locked together as they reached the apex of their climb.

  His cock thickened and jerked and the orchard rang out as he cried out her name as his orgasm hit. His wild, shuddering thrusts pushed her over the edge shortly afterward, and time slowed, allowing her to enjoy the moment one pleasure filled heartbeat at a time.

  As reality slowly returned, Raze withdrew, shifted to one side and stretched out beside her. She snuggled in close, and he draped an arm around her waist, holding her to him. “How long will you have to be gone?”

  “Too long.” She sighed. “At least another month, possibly longer. That’s just for the mission. Then, I have to wait to get my scans verified and wait again for them to process my payment and my request to end my contract. It could be three or four months before I can come back here. I’ll have to ask Eddi for a more accurate estimate.”

  “Two standard months, twenty-eight days,” Eddi’s muffled voice came from under the pile of their clothes.

  “Eddi! Why are you still monitoring me?”

  “Because you have not deactivated Sunrise Protocol. Might I suggest you do so? It’s apparent that Raze is not a threat.”

  Raze chuckled. “I forgot to tell you about that.”

  “Oh. Oh, fraxx.” Sevda blushed. “You aren’t recording, are you, Eddi?”

  “Raze made the same inquiry. No, I have not been recording.”

  “You can deactivate Sunrise Protocol, Eddi.

  “Confirmed.”

  “But since you were listening. Do you really think we can get back here in three months?”

  “I have been referencing my astronavigation software. If we depart in three days’ time, there is a window that will allow us to decrease our time in system by a week or more. I have replotted the rest of our journey as well. I know you do not appreciate it when I backseat drive, however, this time I thought it prudent.”

  “I don’t know if she appreciates it, Eddi, but I do. Thanks.”

  “You are very welcome, Raze.”

  “Don’t encourage her, Bear. I have to deal with her for the next three months, you don’t.”

  “She’s given us an extra day together, and she’s going to bring you back to me faster than you thought. I’m very thankful.” He reached up to cup her breast in one hand. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “You’re going to be too busy doing paperwork and filing claims to miss me much. And that’s before you consider all the work you do around here. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  He blew in her ear. “And we’re going to talk every day, right? There’s still so much I don’t know about you.”

  The suggestion made her heart do a happy triple-beat with a somersault at the end. “We’ll talk. It would be nice to have someone to talk to every day besides Eddi. I bought her some personality upgrades before this mission, which is why she’s so damned quirky now. I was hoping for a better conversationalist, but I got a nag, instead.”

  “Oh, she’s not so bad
. She helped me see a few things I was missing. She takes her job of making sure her pilot is safe and happy very seriously. She can keep that job until you come back here.”

  “And then what?” she asked.

  “Then, I’m hoping that keeping you safe and happy becomes my job. We’ll need to find a new task for your AI.”

  “She can help you run the colony. That should keep her busy.”

  “Run the—Fraxx, no. I just live here.” The look of panic on his face made her laugh.

  “If you file the paperwork, you’re going to be doing more than just living here. You’ll have to be the leader, at least while things are getting set up.”

  “Leader?”

  “Of the colony, Bear. Try to keep up. If this is a colony planet, eventually there will be others here. That’s part of the deal.”

  He exhaled sharply. “Other people. Fraxx.”

  “They don’t have to live here, in your valley. In fact, given the flooding issue, I think it’s best we pick another location. Maybe where the river leaves the valley?”

  “Maybe. There’s good land there. Plenty of room to build.”

  “You’d only have to lead them for the first year or so. We’ll have to stay with them, though. Help them adjust and get settled. You know this planet. The weather, the seasons, the animals and plants. They’re going to need your help.”

  He hugged her to him and sighed. “They’re going to need our help. I might know this planet, but people…I don’t know much about them at all.”

  “I’ll teach you. I know this isn’t exactly what you wanted, but it beats losing it all, doesn’t it?”

  He nodded, still mulling things over. “But not in this valley.”

  She laughed. “Right. Not in this valley. This place is just for us.”

  “And after a year of helping, we come back here to stay,” he insisted

  “We’ll figure this out. I’m not leaving for another three days. We’ve got time to make a plan.” Planning was something she was good at. Setting goals and finding ways to reach them had been what pulled her out of her grief at losing her family. Making plans for her future had kept her moving forward no matter how hard things got.

  Now she had a new plan, and his name was Raze. He’d offered her the one thing she wasn’t sure she could have found anywhere else: acceptance.

  Raze chuckled. “I had a plan. Come here. Live quietly. Never leave. Then you came along. Since you ruined that, I think it’s only fair you help me make a new one.”

  “Your plan sucked. Ours will be better.”

  He pressed a kiss to the top of her shoulder. “I think everything’s going to be better, now.”

  Lying in the grass, wrapped up in the arms of her lover and with a new future ahead of them, Sevda had to agree. Things were finally looking up, for both of them.

  Epilogue

  Raze walked out of the cool, dim sanctuary of the barn and shielded his eyes against the glare of the late summer sun. The heat was harsh enough he had released the noats from their pen for the last few days so they could take refuge in the orchard, where the trees offered some shade.

  The crate he carried contained the last of the corn he used to feed the livestock over the winter months. He set it down with the others. Over the last week, he had started to accept that he would have to leave this place. Torex had challenged his claims, retaliating with lengthy legal arguments and strongly worded warnings to vacate the planet immediately.

  Sevda’s scans had revealed this world was rich in ores and minerals, and the mining corporation wanted to tear the planet to pieces in order to get to them. Before that happened, he would be gone, taking with him a few saplings of his favorite fruit trees and his herd of noats. Soon, they’d be the only things left of this place.

  He’d been angry at first. Enraged that Torex was taking even more of his life in the name of profit, but as the days passed, he’d let go of his anger and found acceptance. He wouldn’t have been able to do it without Sevda. Even though she’d been gone for almost three months, she’d become more ingrained in his life with every passing day.

  They talked daily, usually in the evenings after they’d both eaten their dinners. She’d adjusted time aboard her ship to synchronize their days. He’d learned so much about her since she had left. He knew her favorite food was something called a meringue, and that her nose crinkled whenever she was irritated. He also knew that she was the only being in the universe whose laughter always made him feel better about things. Each night she’d blow him a kiss before signing off, and he couldn’t wait for the day that he could have her back in his arms again and kiss her for real. He’d even trimmed his beard for her, because she had mentioned that it tickled when he kissed her.

  In two days, they’d be together again. Time had never passed so slowly. Every time he walked outside, he’d catch himself looking up at the sky, hoping to see her ship.

  He went back inside the barn. He was done packing for the day, but there were still chores to do. He checked the water levels in the chicken coop, then took a few minutes to gather up the eggs from the nesting boxes and set them in the basket he used to carry them to the cabin each day.

  Sevda was bringing as many supplies as she could fit on board, and he was looking forward to being able to restock his pantry with staples like flour and sugar again. Maybe they could use some of the eggs to make a cake or cookies or maybe even those meringue things. He had no idea how to bake, but the idea suddenly appealed to him. He wanted to do something to mark her return –that is, once he let her out of bed.

  He finished collecting the day’s eggs and set off for the cabin. He barely got beyond the barn doors though, when the noats started bleating in agitation.

  “What’s got you wooly-faced fools in a tizzy this time?”

  Several of the grazers came charging out of the orchard, eyes wide with fear as they made straight for the barn. Was there a predator on the prowl? He doubted it. If there were, all of the noats would be hightailing it inside by now. They weren’t the brightest beasts, but they had good instincts when it came to staying alive.

  A few more noats appeared at the edge of the orchard, all of them staring up at the sky. He turned and looked, too, and grinned when he saw a slash of white standing out against the blue. A ship’s contrail, followed by a glint of silver. He grinned and called out to the animals. “We’ve got company!”

  He kept half an eye on the descending ship as he quickly set aside the eggs and filled a bucket with grain. He rattled it loudly enough for the noats in the orchard to hear. Recognizing the sound, they came trotting across the yard and into the barn. He had them secured inside before the comm device in his pocket started to chirp. He fished it out, still grinning.

  “You told me you weren’t going to be here for two more days, scout. Everything okay?”

  “I missed you, you big, grumpy bear, so I burned a little more fuel and got here early. Is it safe to land behind the cabin? I saw you putting the noats in the barn.”

  “You’re good. I cleared more space back there so you should have plenty of room.”

  “Then I will see you when I land. I’ve got some news to share.”

  “I don’t care about news. I’m just glad you’re back.”

  He was whistling as he closed up the barn and jogged toward the landing area he had cleared for her.

  The sleek scout ship made a perfect landing, far different from the drunken approach it had made the last time it touched down on this planet.

  The door opened almost immediately, and Sevda hopped down before the ramp had finished extending.

  Veth, she looked good. Her blue-black hair gleamed in the sun, and she was wearing a white sleeveless top that clung to her curves and showed off a tantalizing amount of golden skin. He opened his arms and she ran to him, throwing herself into his embrace with enough force to make him take a half-step backward even as he lifted her into his arms.

  “Hello, sweetling.”

  �
��Hey, Bear. Miss me?”

  He barely managed to answer her before his lips crashed down on hers. “Yes.”

  She wrapped her legs around his hips and kissed him back, mouth open, her hands buried in his hair. The air damn near sizzled with the heat coming off of them, and he swore to himself that whatever happened, he would never let Sevda fly out of his life again.

  He turned and started walking toward the cabin. “Where are we going? I’ve got a ship full of stuff we need to unpack.”

  “Why bother? We’re not staying here. No sense in unpacking everything but a few staples.”

  She started to laugh. “Who says we’re not staying?”

  “Torex.” He stopped walking to stare down at her beaming face.

  “I know something you don’t know,” she sang the words with glee. She cupped his scarred cheek in her hand. “We’re staying, Raze. The colony is approved. All you have to do is sign an agreement with the IAF, and we can stay forever.”

  That didn’t make any sense. “What’s the Interstellar Armed Forces have to do with colonization?”

  “Usually, nothing. This is a special arrangement. I don’t know the details, yet. I think they’re classified. They said they’ll explain before you agree to anything, though. When it started to look like Torex was going to win, I talked to some friends of mine, looking for advice. One of them has connections with the right people, and here we are.”

  “Who are the right people? I’m sorry, sweetling, but I’m still trying to catch up here.”

  She laughed. “I know. And I only got the message last night after we talked, so I don’t know much more than I already told you. My friend’s name is Phyl Harrington, and she’s a cargo pilot out on the Drift. As it turns out, she’s friends with a group of cyborgs that live there, and somehow, that wily old smuggler has made friends with some high ranking IAF officers, too. Veth, There’s so much I need to tell you. All of it good news. Amazing news, actually. If you say yes, they’ll even dose me with medi-bots. Can you believe it?”