The cruiser veered right, left, up, or down as Garran navigated through the field of meteors, and when dust particles made contact with the ship, I closed my eyes until the cruiser stopped shaking.
I screamed when we snuck between two asteroids.
“Yes, I will need to take the same route. But don’t worry. The meteors are not as close as they look, but if I did accidently come near one, this would happen,” said Garran.
He steered the cruiser toward what appeared to be a baseball-sized meteor, and just when I thought we’d make contact, the ship hummed, a bright light exploded against the windshield, and the ship rocked violently.
“What the hell was that?” I blurted, as the restraint against my chest puffed, keeping me securely pinned within my seat.
“I don’t know the translation, something more advanced and powerful than the light amplification process used on Earth.”
“Light amplification. You mean a laser.” The cruiser vibrated, and a barrage of space particles pattered against the ship’s metrium shell.
“Yes, the ship’s laser destroyed and redirected the space matter, but now we’re passing through what’s left of it, a dust cloud, more concentrated than the one we passed through before.”
My heart kicked into high gear as I frantically gripped the sides of my seat once again.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t realize how afraid you were.” He smiled, and the calm in his voice extinguished my panic.
“How much longer before we’re through?”
“We’re almost there. Close your eyes, and when I tell you to open them, we’ll be at the edge of the galaxy.”
I closed my eyes and forced my fingers to uncurl from the sides of the seat. I counted slowly, and as the ship’s ride gentled from a series of jerks into a mode that felt like we weren’t moving at all, my body relaxed and the pulse in my neck became undetectable.
“Open your eyes, America.”
Garran stood before me, bent slightly at the waist, one hand behind his back and his face close to mine. He lowered to his knees to meet me at eye level. Under the harsh ceiling lights, the shadows between his overlapping shell plates disappeared.
“Don’t worry. Everything’s okay,” he said, his face plates as relaxed and milky as the light above the helm.
“Automatic pilot,” I gasped, eyeing the empty, high-back chair. The bridge was bare, and no sound stirred the room other than a soft, steady swishing of engine noise.
“Yes, and for you,” he said, presenting a tall, skinny glass filled with blood-red liquid. “Quip wine.”
He smiled and I blinked, my eyes brimming with tears as my heart took residence in my throat—again. Through the blur, Garran’s face plates almost seemed to disappear, melting away into one pale sheet of skin.
“Quip?”
“It’s a special fruit that grows on Enestia. I think its taste will please you.”
“Thank you.”
Garran slipped his hand into mine and gave it a squeeze. “There’s no need to worry, I promise. Our technology is well beyond that of Earth’s. This ship is incapable of an engine failure, and besides, my piloting skills are, like I said before, awesome.”
The temperate coloring of his eyes, his gentle tone, and the placidity of his shell plates were almost enough to put me at ease. “I’ll try not to,” I said with a return squeeze and scanning left and right.
I took the glass and lifted it to my lips. As the red liquid hit my tongue, I braced myself for something bitter and foreign. It was surprisingly sweet and acrid at the same time. My throat warmed as it spilled down to my stomach, and within seconds, the tightness in my muscles eased and the spread of space through the window became beautiful—awe inspiring—instead of menacing.
The sense of urgency I felt on Enestia was suddenly gone. Garran’s plan was no longer just in place, it was in progress. Space was not my enemy, it was my friend, its silent, unending miles of nothingness a cushion of comfort, protecting me from the fear of being recaptured and taken back to the Enestian king.
Though the cruiser was probably traveling faster than I could fathom, I felt a strange sense of calm. Garran and I could finally take a deep breath, relax, and stop looking over our shoulders for trouble at our heels. The anxiety was still there, my body revving a hundred miles a minute, but the unexplainable peace kept my thoughts steady. A deep breath, followed by another sip of quip wine, settled my stomach. Our mission was almost complete.
Arching my back, the restraints against my chest loosening, I gave my shoulders a stretch and examined my fingernails, the red polish a mere memory, having almost completely chipped away.
I smiled and licked my lips, and Garran smiled back, his knight’s eyes lit with an eternal fire than made me want to kiss him. Moving forward, my restraints released and then sucked back into my seat’s interior.
His heritage badge caught the light when he came closer, flashing an array of colors—yellow, blue, purple, and red—as the largest stone centered among the rest sparkled deep green, the same rich color as his tunic. I took another sip of wine and admired the tunic’s filigreed pattern of gold as it curled and turned with soft but masculine lines between the setting of stones.
He set his gaze on the metallic floor of the ship, and the plates in his face and neck froze like a statue. What thoughts loomed within the smooth shell of his head I didn’t know, but his eyes turned lost and scared.
“You’ve heard from Enestia,” I stated.
“Yes, my father signaled the ship and my communication cuff several times while we were in the meteor field, but I didn’t answer and aborted all channels of communication between this ship and my home planet, so they couldn’t track our course.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to be sorry.”
Garran pulled me to my feet and brought his arm firmly about my waist, making me practically weightless under his power, and I slid my palm against his chest and felt his breast plates, hard and defined, where thick muscle was hidden underneath.
“I want to show you something.” His shoulder pressed tightly against mine, Garran led me to the largest window to the left of the helm.
He stood behind me, wrapping his arms about my waist and resting his chin upon my shoulder.
“The glass is cold,” I said when I leaned forward, and my breath fogged against it.
“Space is cold,” said Garran, his words warm against my neck. “Do you see that?” He pointed.
A swirl of purple and pink enveloped a pocket of stars, churning the void into a carousel of light and color. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure of the English translation, but it’s incredibly dangerous, despite its beauty.”
I tried to suppress a shiver, but Garran’s sensitive shell detected my movement and held me tighter.
“There’s no need to worry. It’s farther away than it looks.”
“What would happen if we got too close?”
“We would join that whirlpool of space matter, and our engines and life support capabilities would be thrown off-line.” As I turned in his arms to face him, he smiled slyly, his left cheek plate rising.
Spinning in a whirlpool—that’s what I was—detached from the planet and people I loved, and the farther we moved away from Enestia, Garran joined that same maelstrom of uncertainty where I was already a member.
Was he having second thoughts about his decision to take me home? And what if something happened to Garran in the process? Was I prepared to live with that guilt?
“Garran, you shouldn’t have done this. You’re giving up everything for me.”
“And it was my choice to do so.”
His answer wasn’t enough. Another wave of guilt made my stomach sour. He blinked and inched forward until he was close enough for me to count the golden dots on his irises.
“Earth is where you belong, where you will be away from my father.”
His chest first brushed and th
en pressed against mine as he moved closer, his arms dropping to my hips. I stroked his cheek with the back of my hand, and he kissed the top of my shoulder, the rub of tunic fabric under his warm lips making me shiver.
“And there’s something else… Nes tesilin avor.”
“What?” I asked, mesmerized by the shimmer in his eyes and the melody of his words.
“It means that I care about you very much.”
And I cared about him deeply, too—this brave prince in a shiny tunic. My heart wavered, each breath heavy, making me light-headed. I took another sip of wine.
Garran’s hands, leathery and strong, held me delicately at the waist, each fingertip like a spark against my skin, and I tilted my head toward him until our foreheads and noses rested against each other.
I wanted Garran to hold me, his hands firm against my back while I nuzzled my head under his chin. As I tossed my head, a strand of hair stuck to my lips, and he caressed them with his fingertip, sweeping my hair away from my face. I placed my hand against his warm cheek and navigated his facial shell, running my fingers across his lip plates, then tracing the ovals of his eyes when he closed them and sighed.
“How much longer until we reach Earth?”
“Not long. A time equivalent to eighteen Earth hours.”
“And then we’ll never see each other again.” The thought of not seeing Garran again brought a pain to the pit of my stomach—an uncomfortable emptiness—something I couldn’t fill without having him in my life.
“Yes.” Garran lowered his head. “But I wish that were not the case. If only there was…”
“Was what? Tell me.”
“A way for us to be together, but the radiation would be too strong for you on Verla as well, like it would be on any planet in my galaxy or even the next sector closest to your planet. The only life-sustainable planet in your own galaxy is Earth, and we both know I couldn’t live there with you. Not like this,” He forced a chuckle and rapped his fist against the shell on his forearm.
“Are you sure you can’t go home? Maybe your father will be more lenient than you think, and he’ll understand and forgive you.”
“No, my father would never forgive me for this, but it doesn’t matter.” He lowered his chin to his chest, and I watched the shell panels of his abdomen rise under his tunic with his next long breath. “Enestia is no longer my home, not while my father is king.” There was a flash of sadness in his eyes. “When I can put an end to my father’s evil? I’ll return and take the throne.”
“But until then, are you sure you’ll be safe on Verla Three? How will you—?”
He put his finger across my lips. “Don’t let my problems become yours. You’re the only thing that matters to me right now.”
“But my problems are yours.”
“And we only have eighteen hours left to be together. Let’s not waste them.”
Still holding my hand, he kissed my cheek, stoking the fire in my heart. I set down my glass of wine and reciprocated with a soft kiss that became harder when his hands wrapped around my back.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Garran
America thrust her hands under my shirt, the tips of her fingers raking my shoulders. I brought her to the floor of the cruiser, my hand against her back, lowering her slowly while her lips and tongue were hot and twisting with mine.
Her kisses were powerful, filled with the same urgency I felt, knowing that this was our last time to be together. Every stroke of her tongue kindled my burning desire to explore her soft body and enter her again.
“You are the most beautiful, amazing creature I’ve ever known,” I told her as her lips worked against mine in sweet rhythm, mimicking the cadence in which I rocked my lower body against hers. “I will miss you more than you know.”
“Things happen for a reason,” she said through a soft breath against my ear. “I believe that. I always have. You were meant to be my first.”
While she fumbled with the buttons of my tunic, I pushed hers toward her chin, exposing, once again, the most beautiful breasts I had ever seen—soft with pink, firm centers—unlike the hard, bulbous shell of Enestian women.
She sighed and licked her lips when my tunic fell open with the last button. Her warm hands ran the length of my chest, and when they reached the top of my leggings, the pressure below became almost unbearable.
I helped her slip from her leggings, my hands trembling as each inch of her exposed skin added to the fire pulsing deep within my shell.
“I will miss you so much,” she said and ran her tongue along my chest, the pressure of her lips just enough to make every inch of my body tingle.
She bent her legs, and I caught one of her knees in my hand and massaged it lightly, tracing the cap beneath skin and then gliding my fingers to her inner thigh, squeezing its yielding but tight muscle.
“Ah,” she said with a sigh, and clasped my buttocks, her fingers hard against my shell, massaging, working their way to my front plate.
“Not yet,” I said and touched her most delicate place. She tilted back her head, and I kissed her throat, holding back the urge to catch her bottom lip with my shell and give it a soft bite.
“Am I hurting you?” I said through a string of kisses beneath her ear.
“No. Keep doing that,” she said, her breath heavy against me.
I continued, touching her delicately. She blinked, her eyes glinting in the overhead light, and the skin on her chest sparkled with perspiration. A moment later, her back arched, and she moaned with pleasure while pushing herself against my hand.
“More. I want more.” She pushed me upward with her palms.
“Too heavy?” I asked.
“No.” She smiled. “You’re just too hot for me not to do this.”
“Do what?”
“On your back, alien.”
I shifted, and she straddled me, her pelvis against mine, her palms on my shoulders. Beginning at my lips, she kissed my shell tenderly, guiding her tongue along the contours of each plate.
“Don’t move,” she teased, “or you’ll pinch me.”
Keeping still was pleasurable yet torturous at the same time. My hands ached to fondle her soft breasts and re-explore her other places, and each time the sweet tip of her tongue ran between the sections of my chest, the tingling in my extremities shot below.
Her fingers dug at my waistband, exposing more shell. My lower plate was still intact, but it burned with the desire to be touched as she continued to inch my pants downward. Once it was uncovered, she cupped my bulge of shell, massaging her fingers against it, as I feverishly stripped off my leggings.
The pressure was too intense. America gasped as my plate slid away violently, and I was exposed. On her knees, she moved backward and lowered her head, coming down upon me in an act of passion I’d never heard of, or would ever expect. The plates on my stomach tightened as my body tingled, and the pleasure I was experiencing spread through my chest.
Her hair swung forward, brushing the casing at my hips and waist, sending the scent of something herbal and fresh in my direction. She released her mouth from mine and rose, then positioned herself on me, easing down slowly with her knees on either side of my pelvis until I was completely inside.
“Are you okay?” I asked her when she closed her eyes, bit her bottom lip, and held her breath.
Chapter Thirty-Three
America
Sinking gently, I took him inside me more easily than I did the first time. With my palms against his chest, I moved slowly. He reached for me, and I leaned forward, my speed increasing and becoming more rhythmic.
A wave of heat and pleasure erupted in a spasm of sweet delight that radiated up to my neck. Every inch of my body danced with something so powerful my heart beat wildly and my breathing turned shallow.
“Yes, Yes,” I screamed. “Garran. Yes.”
He moaned and slammed the palms of his hands against the metal floor, the sound it made echoing with a sigh as he took a deep br
eath and groaned, and I could feel him spasm. The rings of shell at his neck overlapped as he brought his chin to his chest to look at the place where we were connected. His gaze, passionate and penetrating, concentrated on mine, and we stared at each other unblinking, still in awe with what we’d just done for a second time.
I lifted away, he withdrew, and I fell against him, the hot skin of my chest against his warmth. He smelled so good. I took a deep breath, enjoying the fragrant blend of honeyed moss and hot shell. I nuzzled against him, his heavy breathing against my ear, the top of my head under his chin.
“For humans, is that customary while lovemaking?” he asked softly.
“What?”
“What you did, using your mouth?”
“Oh, that.” I laughed. “Yeah, so Enestians don’t?”
“No, at least not that I know of. I’ve never heard of that form of lovemaking before.”
“On Earth a lot of couples do that to each other.”
“Each other? So the male puts his mouth on the female, too?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know or I would have.”
“No, that’s okay.” I kissed his cheek. “I’m not sure I’d want those shell lips of yours anywhere near there,” I joked.
I rolled onto the floor next to him, the cold metal against my warm shoulders giving me a welcomed shiver before I turned onto my side and snuggled against him with my head on his chest. And while my body lifted and settled with his steady breathing, I studied his alien body, the curves and contours where muscle bulged beneath it and the plates of shell defining a silhouette identical to that of a human.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he said.
“And I don’t want you to.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Garran
“I’m taking you to the same location where you were abducted,” I told America while I fastened the last button on my tunic, and she pulled her shirt over her head. “Is that far from your dwelling?”
Gamma Rift Page 20
