by T. J. Quinn
Even though I was a little sore from the full body workout of our earlier coitus, I moaned in delight as he filled me again and wrapped my legs around his hips. He drew back and thrust into me with deliberate slowness so that he was as deep as he could go and pressing against my core. I hummed and moaned, closing my eyes.
“Harper, look at me,” he whispered urgently. “I want to see the passion in your eyes as I mate you.”
As I did, it was almost like I could see into his mind as well. I saw my future in his eyes and a spark of much more than the carnal desire that flared between us nearly every time we touched. I knew at that moment that even if it were possible, I could never go back to my old life. Just as well, because I felt almost certain I would never be forced to choose.
Zared was mine! And I wanted to be his. This slow, deliberate ascent to sexual nirvana made my whole body quiver as I clung to him with my arms and legs. It seemed like we were on the brink for a long time before Zared murmured huskily, “Come for me Harper. Come for me now.”
He punctuated that with a deep demanding kiss, and my response was almost immediate. I made a sound that was between a scream and a shout as I clamped down on him inside me. Then he came, too. When it ended, we stayed joined under the fine, warm mist.
Gazing raptly into his violet eyes, I brought my hand up and stroked his cheek with my fingera. I didn’t know how I would feel this much this fast, but I did.
“It’s partly the pheromones,” he said softly, as though he had read my mind. “Each time we mate, my body leaches them into you through the pores in your skin. They make you amenable to mating so you will feel an emotional attachment to me.”
I must have looked like I didn’t believe him.
“It’s true. I wasn’t going to tell you yet, but my conscience won’t let me keep it to myself,” he said in a quiet tone.
“Oh, so you seduced me to make sure I would agree to become your mate.”
“I did,” he said without apology.
I smiled at him and laughed softly.
“You’re not angry?”
“Are you sorry?”
“I am not.”
“Neither am I.” I smiled and kissed his mouth lightly. “You gave me a choice in the beginning. I chose. Would you have just let me go if I chose the other way.”
“It would have been hard, but I would have.” He signed. “My honor would demand it even though it would mean I would never mate or have a family.”
I couldn’t bear to think of him alone for the rest of his life. “That’s not going to happen,” I murmured and kissed him where his neck and shoulder met.
He groaned and hugged me.
As I felt him wane inside me I put my feet to the floor and let him slide out of me. He held my head gently between his large hands and kissed my lips gently. The look in his eyes told me what he didn’t say. I was his and he knew it. The funny thing was that didn’t scare me at all.
We finally finished our shower about an hour after we started. I could see for the near future what would probably happen anytime we got naked together. I didn’t know all that much about pheromones as to whether they were potent enough to make me want to fuck a guy who wasn’t as attractive as Zared. I honestly didn’t think so. It was him.
Once we were dressed, he guided me back to the conference room where Scarlet Andrews, Zoe Addison, and Nora Reed were sitting and watching a holographic program with several other species women of humanoid women. The three from Earth seemed especially glad to see me. They got up immediately to come talk to me. They were wearing extra large shirts like the one Zared gave me and they appeared to have showered because their hair was clean and shiny.
We had been lucky to have a toilet and a small sink between us on the slave ship.
Zared discreetly left me alone with my friends and went to the bridge of the ship. He would be back after we had time to talk to show us around the ship and the unrestricted areas we could go without an escort.
After the door closed behind him, Scarlet made a gasping sound for dramatic effect. “You’re fucking him, aren’t you?”
“Well, that’s really discreet, Scarlet,” I said and laughed. “According to Zared we are soulmates and I am his fated mate---for life.”
“We figured there was something between you two the way he was holding you after we found out that we probably can’t ever get back to Earth,” Zoey said.
“What’s going to happen to us?” Nora wanted to know.
“Right now, we are on our way to the Consortium to return Kyanna to her family. Zared says you can either take asylum with them, or on Farseek, where these warriors are from. It’s possible you might find your own mates among the crew. But he says that Farseek would be roughing it. While they were off fighting for the Consortium, the enemy all but destroyed their world and took most of their people as slaves.”
“That’s horrible,” the three murmured.
“Zared doesn’t know if his family is alive or dead. They were all gone when he and the crew got there and most all the buildings on the planet were destroyed,” I explained to them. “They got hired to rescue Kyanna from the slavers. Two of those from the ship that brought us, were from Farseek. They hate slavers and slavery, so they just took us all.”
“It sounds like it would be like the pioneer days back on Earth,” Zoey said. “I love you guys, but I’m not sure I’m up for that. I always said roughing it for me was a hotel without room service. I think I want to see what this Consortium has to offer---modern conveniences, I hope.”
“I’m with Zoey,” Nora said, “---unless I find a big, hunky warrior man like Harper’s.”
“I think I’m going to throw my lot in with the Farseek crew,” Scarlet said. “I was getting discharged just before the slavers got me. They have women in their company. I should be able to fit in. They save our asses from slavery. I feel like we owe them.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about soldiering, and I don’t want to live like they did back in the pioneer days,” Zoey grumble. “The best I can do is give them my thanks. Honestly, I would like to find a rich Consortium husband to hook up with.
“Who can blame you after what we’ve been through?” I said. “I might feel the same way, if this thing with Zared hadn’t hit me the first moment our eyes met. I already made my choice, but if that’s what you want, Zoey, you should go for it.”
“I’m not sure yet, but I want to see how I might fit in there before I decide,” she replied.
“I do, too,” Nora added.
“Just be careful,” I warned them, “I got the impression our mercenary friends don’t think much of the Consortium. They believe that the Consortium deliberately withheld the information about the attack on Farseek to keep them fighting their war.”
“That sucks, considering what happened to Farseek,” Scarlet said. “All the more reason to stick with our mercenaries.”
“They are going on to another world to rescue some more of their people after Kyanna is returned to Halor. Zared hinted that things could get dicey---but they’re going to rendezvous with another of their ships like this one,” I said. Roughing it on a world in ruins was not my idea of a good time, but I didn’t trust the Consortium. They sounded like a bunch of elitists that though the people of Farseek were expendable.
“The Farseeker’s are really hunky guys except for their weird coloring,” Scarlet said, “it’s not quite gray and not exactly blue.”
“Not as strange as their hair colors,” Nora said.
“Color is only skin deep,” I said. “Zared said, if we weren’t genetically compatible, he would not have recognized me as his fated mate.”
“Do you love him?” Nora asked.
I shrugged, because I didn’t really know yet. “I think I will,” I said slowly. “They do things a little differently here. These guys have a keen sense of smell and they can tell by scent if you are their fated mate or solmatu. They feel it is a great blessing and you will be treated well.�
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“Even if I don’t find a soul mate, I’m inclined to stick with this bunch. They pulled us out of the slave auction when they didn’t have to---and the Consortium left their world undefended in favor of their defending their wealth.” Scarlet said. “We owe them. But you two can do what you want,” she said to Zoey and Nora.
“When you put it that way,” Nora said, “we kind of do owe them.”
“You’ve got a couple more weeks to decide,” I said. “that’s how long it will take us to get there. You will get to meet some more of the crew---men and women. If you get to know them, you might like to stay with them or not.”
I was going to say more, but someone strode into the conference room behind me. Zoey giggled and Scarlet smirked while Nora looked off to the side. I knew it had to be Zared by their reaction, and I was a little annoyed. They were acting like school girls. Then I laughed because they were behaving like they normally would if we hadn’t been kidnaped by alien slavers and taken so far from Earth no one knew how to get us home.
“All right you three,” I said. “Stop acting like we’re back in high school.”
“Ladies, would you like to get out of this conference room and see some more of the ship?” Zared asked.
I turned around and smiled at him. “We would,” I said. I keep my hands clasped in front of me so I would reach out and caress him to emphasize my claim, as I saw some of the alien females looking up at him with interest.
Zared turned toward the contingent at the other end of the room, variety of humanoid species and asked again. Some of them got up and came to join our little group. There were ten of us all together. The other seven seemed too shy to even answer.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Harper
I fell into step beside Zared and the other women followed behind us. I wasn’t thrilled about being seen by the crew wearing a t-shirt and barefoot, but I wanted to see the more of the ship and meet some of the others.
Where the conference room looked like what you would expect in an office building, we went through some areas that reminded me of a battleship I’d toured when I was in school. They were not like Star Trek. They were strictly utilitarian painted metal with multiple conduits. The floors were metal and cool under bare feet, but mostly smooth. The worst ones were the textured deck plates that covered access to who-knows-what were not comfortable to walk on at all.
Zared showed us where the bridge was located as one of the places we were not welcome. We were introduced to so many people, I couldn’t possibly remember their names. I was impressed that Zared knew everyone by name. I have since learned all of their names, even those who are no longer with us. But I am getting ahead of the events. I was surprised to see that almost a quarter of the crew were female.
I could see that they weren’t quite sure what to make of us, but they were not unkind. Most of them were tall and athletic and beautiful. They all had brightly colored hair in a variety of fluorescent colors. No one had plain brown, blond black or any of the tame, ordinary colors I was accustomed to seeing back on Earth. Some had skin tones almost as light as Caucasians to dark gray, almost black with many variations in between.
Zared showed us the restricted areas first which included the propulsion modules that housed the engines, the AI center, as well as the bridge. The areas we were allowed to move about freely were the three places we were housed, the mess hall, and one other rec room. We could visit crew quarters, but I was the only one at that point who would. The biggest concession is that we were allowed access to each other.
There was no reason for us to expect to have access to the restricted areas. It was a matter of security. Zared expressed sympathy to the group for the accommodations. But they were so happy to be free from the slavers, they didn’t care. It was temporary. Most of them would be going home once they got to Halor.
After they had been introduced to the women rescued from the slavers, the crew began to socialize with them during their off-duty time. Mostly they would dine in the mess hall together or watch holovids in the rec room. Some shared sex and a few formed relationships. Some of the crew just wanted someone new to talk to.
I visited with my Earth friends and the new friends I made among the alien women almost daily while Zared was on duty. We had sex a lot, but we talked a lot, too. I guess I was a little surprised that Zared’s life on Farseek was not fundamentally that different than mine on Earth. He grew up in a big family with five siblings, three sisters and two brothers and his parents were fated mates like we are. My family wasn’t as big, I just had one sister and a brother.
Farseek was a relatively young colony. It was still under development and growing at a steady rate. It was rich in metal ores and in natural resources and had good soil for growing crops. It was a thriving young colony still growing when the Empire came along and lay it to ruins. It was clearly an emotional topic for Zared and understandably so. His whole family lived in the same neighborhood, and now they were all missing. Zared feared they were all dead, though he hadn’t entirely given up hope. It was heart breaking to hear the story, and he was clearly devastated.
At least I felt that my family was safely going about their lives as usual. They might not have missed me for a week or so, because we weren’t in constant contact. They probably missed me the following week when I didn’t show up for Sunday dinner with the family at Mom and Dad’s house, the house where we grew up. It was about four weeks since I was taken from my home when I had that conversation with Zared. I’m sure by then, my family thought I’d been murdered and my body dumped somewhere or I was kidnapped by human traffickers. They weren’t the type to think I might have been abducted by aliens. Come to think of it, I’m not even the type.
I mean I saw all the Star Wars movies and some of the Star Trek series and movies, but I was more into sex filled romances novels. Probably because I had no sex life. At least that was no longer a problem. Zared and I quickly became attuned to each other so we were usually in the mood at the same time. I didn’t know what was going to happen when my birth control implant wore off. I wasn’t worried about pregnancy because my mate had his own implant for the same purpose. The major perk of mine was that I had no menses.
I still had a few months to worry about that. When I got a chance, I might ask one of the Farseekan women how one would deal with menses in this culture. I thought of asking Zared, but I felt a little self-conscious when I thought about it. I don’t know why I should have. The man knew every square inch of my naked body, but I did.
After we talked about our families, we were both feeling a little low. We sat on the small sofa in Zared’s cabin, lost in our own regrets, I took his hand in mine and brought it to my lips. “We are family now, Zare … and I love you.”
I never would have dropped the L-word first in any other relationship before Zared. But he was hurting so much and I had already committed to be his mate for life…. And I had known for a while that I had fallen in love with Zared the man and not just my smoking hot sex partner.
When I said that, Zared went still, then looked at me for a long moment before he murmured, “yes, we are, and I love you too, solmatu.
Then he pulled me onto his lap and kissed me long and deep, hugging me tightly. Next thing I knew he scooped me up in his arms and carried me into the bed. Of course, I knew what was coming next. We made love hard and fast then slow and tenderly. I knew I had said the right thing at the right time.
ZARED
I woke early to take over duty for Admiral Degatu. I slid out of bed stealthily so as not to wake Harper. She said the one thing I needed to ease my pain. Our bond is complete, yet I still crave our joining as much as the day I claimed her. I tried to keep my heart out of it from the moment I recognized Harper as solmatu. It’s one failure I don’t regret. Every time we mate she gives me everything. She puts her heart and soul into it, and she is so responsive when I pleasure her.
Some days when I return from duty, I’ve barely greeted her before getting
her naked and putting my cock into her. She seems to like the spontaneity, at least she said that. I think she likes the illusion of being dominated. Because it is an illusion. I would never hurt her or force her to have sex if she did not want it. No honorable man would.
However, there are times where she plays the aggressor as well, and I enjoy that just as much.
The timing for finding my solmatu is not ideal, but since I have been blessed I felt bound to claim her. It is the one good thing in my life after everything we’ve lost. Now I had Harper to love and to love me. It also meant something else I didn’t want to think about---that I had even more to lose.
I showered quickly and dressed, then stopped by the bed to watch Harper sleeping. We both put a lot of energy into our copulating. Although I wished for another hour of sleep, I didn’t regret the reason one bit.
I crept out of the bedroom and left our quarters to get a mug of tea and a protein bar in the mess hall before meeting with the night commander for duty. We were just hours from Halor orbit. From there we’d shuttle down to complete our deal with Evzen Guryon by returning his daughter and leave off the other abductees who were either staying on Halor or arranging for transport to their home worlds.
Lt. Advantu, has shown interest in Harper’s friend Scarlet. She had asked to join our company even before that. She has started testing, since that is the only way to determine if she is a suitable candidate. Although I spoke with Scarlet about her military experience, and I believe she will be a worthy addition to our company with some more training.
She will need to get a biochip implant that will impart our language directly into her brain as she must be able to read our language. Harper wants one as well. They are not expensive and it will help the Earth women adjust to our culture. Even if we learn the location of their world, it still may not be possible to return them.
Obviously, Sargus Empire slavers knew the location. It was likely that we would find more humans taken from Earth as we searched the Empire for our people. Degatu and I have debated on whether we should even in form the Earthers if we do find the location of their world and are unable to offer them transport there. I was no longer worried about losing Harper now that we were bonded, but I didn’t want to keep the knowledge from her if we learned the location of Earth.
