by Medley, Lisa
“No. I’m very full.”
“Cole, why don’t you and Noah look behind the bar for a to-go box for her dessert?”
Noah gave Tessa an odd look but rose along with Cole and did as she asked. When they were away from the table, Tessa leaned forward.
“You know, your family fed us quite well when we visited with them. I know this is much different from what you’re used to.”
“Everything is different.”
“Don’t worry. Noah will take care of you. He’s a good man. He won’t let anything bad happen to you. Of course, you need to stop putting yourself into jeopardy, too. No more stunts like stowing away on spaceships or running away. He cares for you, Ela. We all do. And not just because we brought you here. You’re an amazing person. You’ll find your way in this world.” Tessa reached out and squeezed her hand.
Ela doubted there was a place for her in this world, but she no longer doubted Noah. In fact, he was all she could think about. Well, Noah and that delicious smelling dessert.
Noah boxed the chocolate and took a long draught of the dark amber drink in his hand, emptying the glass. Cole raised his eyebrows and whistled.
“That was a double, buddy. You’re gonna feel that in a few minutes. Booze goes straight to your head up here. Why do you think NASA banned it?” Cole laughed.
“I’m not driving until tomorrow.”
“Damn good thing,” Tessa said. “Do you have everything you need?”
“We’re good.”
“Alrighty, then, can you find your way back or do you need a guide?” Cole asked.
“I can get us home.”
“You always do,” Tessa said and smiled.
Chapter Nine
Ela spent an eternity in the bathroom, while Noah paced in the bedroom outside. Showering wasn’t currently an option with their limited water supply. The bathroom consisted of a space toilet and a small vanity and was the size of an airline potty. What could possibly be taking her so long? He felt like an awkward school boy, waiting for her. She’d sent some pretty clear signals earlier, but now he was beginning to second-guess himself. Maybe he was taking advantage of her. What if she thought giving herself to him would make him change his mind about the wormhole? He’d thought he’d made himself clear that wasn’t an option. Having that conversation again would ruin his chances with her. Seriously, what was taking her so long?
The door clicked and then opened. Ela stood in the doorway. Her hair, parted down the middle and swept forward on each side of her face, hung low over her very naked breasts. Her pert nipples peeking out between the strands were somehow all Noah could focus on. His eyes lasered in on her breasts and, before he knew it, he’d crossed the bedroom and taken hold of her, drawing her against him. Her skin was warm and soft beneath his hands, which he slid down the curve of her lower back to cup her buttocks. He’d passed up his first opportunity with a naked Ela. No way he’d miss his second.
“You’re so beautiful, Ela.” Noah nuzzled his face into her hair. “Are you sure you want this?” Her tongue flicked along his throat in reply. “No, Ela. I need to hear it. I need to know you want me, but understand I still can’t take you home. Not back to your real home.”
She stilled beneath him. Panic rose from his gut. It was as he’d feared. She thought sex would change his mind. He started to pull away, but she clutched at him.
“I want you, Noah. I want to be with you. I know you won’t take me home.”
“Not won’t, Ela. Can’t. Do you understand the difference?”
After a long pause, she answered. “Yes,” her disappointment clear through the transcom translation. God, what he wouldn’t give to be rid of the transcom.
“I want you, Ela.”
Noah bent and scooped an arm beneath her knees, settling her into the cradle of his arms. He carried her to the bed and laid her out across it. Her body was a buffet of delights waiting to be consumed. He knew exactly where he wanted to start. He smoothed her long tresses out of the way then cupped his hands along the sides of her face, bending to kiss her properly, long and slow. Savoring her this time and praying for no more interruptions. Her hands slid through his hair, and she arched beneath him, wrapping her legs around his and pulling him to her. Rigid and throbbing, his cock wept each time she brushed against him.
Ela’s hands tugged at his belted pants, struggling to unfasten them. He pulled back and slid from the bed, making quick work of the belt and shoving his clothing to the floor. She pushed up on one elbow to look at him. There was nothing shy in her gaze now. A smile curved upward at the corner of her mouth.
He bent and riffled through his pants pocket. Cole had slipped him a condom when they were searching for a to-go box. Noah had felt like a high schooler accepting it. Embarrassed that they seemed to know exactly what was on his mind. At the moment, though, enduring a few moments of embarrassment was totally worth it. He tore the packet open and unrolled the condom onto his cock.
“Why do you do that?” Ela asked.
“It’s a condom. It will prevent you from becoming pregnant.”
Ela’s eyebrows shot up. “This is certain?”
“Pretty certain. I mean, it could break or have a hole in it or…yeah, it’s certain. Pretty certain.”
“That is good, then.” Ela reached out to him. “Come and show me this wonder.”
Noah was more than happy to comply. He crawled onto the bed and settled beside her, his hand spread flat over her stomach. Bending, he took her nipple into his mouth and circled it with his tongue. Her hips jerked in response, and he slid his hand lower to rest on the soft curls of her mound. Moving to suckle the other breast, he dipped his finger into her. Ela scooted her body down the bed, urging him to delve deeper. Her breath quickened with each thrust. So wet and ready for him already, but he wanted more than a quick lay. He wanted to please her, not just make her come.
Leaving a trail of kisses along her body, he moved down the bed. He sucked along the hard ridge of her hip and down the inside of her thigh. Her leg curled behind his head and urged him toward her center. Pushing her thighs open with his palms, he rubbed his thumbs along her folds then spread the moisture along both sides of her clitoris. Ela jerked beneath his hands and gasped each time he brushed the hard nub.
He bent to press his rough, day-old beard against her thigh and inhaled her scent. “God, Ela.”
Teasing her proved nearly impossible. His body demanded release. He stroked his tongue between her folds and across her channel, tasting her for the first time. Ela clutched the sides of his head and pulled him closer, deeper. She cried out in pleasure, something even the transcom couldn’t translate, encouraging Noah to continue. He laved at her folds then plunged his tongue deep into her channel, exactly where he wanted his cock to be.
“Noah, please.”
Noah rose then moved up her body, spreading her thighs wide with his knee. Her legs clutched behind his buttocks and locked him to her as he positioned the head of his cock. Before he was ready, Ela pressed her heels under his buttocks and brought him home, her warm heat closing around him. He rocked into her, slowly.
“No, faster,” Ela begged.
Noah picked up the pace, stroking in and out of her in increasing measure as the tension in his balls built. His head snapped back as he plunged into her and ejaculated with a shuddering gasp. After several long moments, he regained his composure and set to ensuring the same release for Ela. Rising to his knees, he grasped Ela’s hips and snugged her body tightly to his, keeping his semi-hard cock inside her as he stroked her nub with his thumb. Slowly, then faster, as her body tightened, coiling for release.
Ela’s hands curled around the bedding. Her body trembled as she rode out her orgasm. Her channel constricted around him as her body tremored through the last of the pulses.
Noah withdrew carefully then removed the condom, wrapped it in a tissue, and tossing it into the trash can nearby. He lay next to Ela and drew her into an embrace, her head resting agai
nst his chest.
“Thank you, Ela,” Noah said, kissing the top of her head.
“That was very entertaining.”
Noah laughed, wondering if the transcom had gotten her response right. Either way, she seemed content enough and hadn’t hustled to get away from him. Always reassuring after having sex with a person for the first time. Not that he really remembered that.
He curled his body around hers, spooning her against him as they stared out the giant viewing window at the Earth below them.
“That is our home?” Ela said.
“It is. No matter how many times I see the Earth from here, it never gets old: the blues of the oceans, the browns and greens of the continents, the wispy whites of the sky.”
“My father would have loved to see this. He always believed in the powers of the Creator, the One Who Lives Above. In the beginning, nothing existed. Only darkness was everywhere. The Creator awakened and made all of this: the Girl-Without-Parents, the Sun-God, the Small-Boy and then the four gods created the Earth. They created a big, brown ball, smooth, treeless, and plain. Then they made water on the west side. The Earth was even more beautiful, but still plain, so they flooded the Earth and the rushing waters created the mountains, hills, valleys, and rivers. Creator also wanted sky so they made that, too. Creator and the gods made all.”
“That is a beautiful story, Ela.”
“Not a story like on your television. It is truth.”
Noah kissed the back of her hair. “It’s as good a version as any.”
Ela turned in his arms to face him. She brushed her palm against his cheek, holding it there. “While beautiful, this is dangerous work, being so near the Creator. It is perhaps not for us to know all of the secrets. Why do you fly these ships?”
“Life is dangerous, Ela. Everything worth having comes at a price. I’ve wanted to fly for as long as I can remember. My dad was a pilot in the Air Force. He died when I was young, but not before I learned to appreciate how amazing his job was. I joined the service in college and decided, if I was going to fly, I might as well aim for the pinnacle. I fell in love with space and did everything possible to make sure I would someday get there.”
“And you are not afraid?”
“I’m plenty afraid. I’m afraid of what Janson is doing with the wormhole. Afraid of what this place is going to mean. Afraid of having you in my life. And now”—he searched her eyes—“afraid of not.”
Ela rested her head against his chest, under his chin.
“I know this is not what you want, Ela. You can’t go back, but you can make a home here. I have a feeling there’s nothing you can’t do if you want to.”
Noah stared out the window, safe and comfortable with a beautiful woman in his arms. He wondered how many others were staring up at them. Such a strange juxtaposition. It was a view that, even though Janson was preparing to open up commercial space travel, few would ever be able to afford. Without his direct involvement, he never would have himself. Even with his windfall. Sharing it with Ela was unexpected but wonderful. Tomorrow, they would prepare to return and certainly have to face the music. He dreaded the inevitable investigation, but no way in hell would he let Janson, or anyone, hide Ela away again. Including himself.
***
Ela relished the warmth of Noah’s body wrapped around hers, his soft breathing reassuring beside her. Things had not worked out as she’d wished or expected. When she’d hidden on his ship, she’d been determined to force his hand…to find her way home. The longer she spent with Noah, however, the more she realized that not only was that not going to happen, but she no longer wanted it to.
This new world was full of wonders, which she might never understand, but many of them were amazing and magical. Noah was patient and kind. If not for her own father’s patience and kindness, she’d have been married off long ago. He’d defied their customs and allowed her free rein in her relationships, encouraging her to find her purpose. While she still didn’t know her purpose in this new time, her night with Noah made her finally understand how a woman could spend her life with one brave.
Noah’s transcom buzzed, startling them both. He fumbled for it along the night table. Ela lay still, listening.
“Yeah?” Noah said.
She couldn’t make out the other side of the conversation. Noah sat up in the bed beside her.
“How long do they have?” Noah scrambled from beneath the coverings and began pulling on his clothing while he listened. “Goddamn it, Cole. If this doesn’t convince Janson to stop messing with that fucking thing, I don’t know what will. This has to end.”
Noah disconnected and sat again on the edge of the bed, his shoulders hunched forward and his head hanging down as he examined his hands.
“What is the matter?” Ela asked.
“The wormhole research crew is in danger. It’s trying to eat them.”
Mention of the wormhole rekindled Ela’s interest. “Will they return through it, like you did? Like I did?”
“Not if I can help it.”
Chapter Ten
Blue Moon Hotel Conference Room - the Moon
“There’s really no other option.” Noah paced along the long wall of the windowless conference room.
“Not one that ends in a happy ever after,” Cole agreed. “The electromagnetic pulse they shot into the wormhole in an attempt to hold it open reflected back on their ship. They’re fried. None of their systems are working. Emergency solar cell batteries kicked in to divert their remaining oxygen supply to the bridge, but they’re dead in the black right now, figuratively speaking. That’ll be for real in about six more hours unless you hightail it over there and pick ’em up. Hell, it would take base fifteen hours plus if they left right now. No way that can happen. Nothing’s fueled up.” Cole looked at Tessa. “And their four best pilots are already in space. Flores is a damn good pilot, but he can’t overcome a dead ship.”
“Listen,” Tessa said to Noah, “I know the last place you want to be is anywhere near that wormhole, but if you come home with Janson’s crew, alive and well, I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to abort any future wormhole experiments. They’ve got to be scared shitless right now. That EMP screwed them. Besides that, Ela will be the least of his concerns when you get them home. Hell, you’ll probably get another bonus.”
Noah shook his head, trying to reconcile the decision he’d already made. Of course he was going. The worst part was he was going to have to take Ela with him. Tessa and Cole couldn’t babysit her at the Lunatic for a week—or longer— and get any of their own work done on the base while he sorted this mess out and got the next cargo shuttle ready.
She wanted to go back to the wormhole.
Looked like she was about to get her chance.
***
Noah didn’t feel like listening to his playlist as they raced toward Amun. “Rocket Man” didn’t hold the same appeal as it had on his way up. Before, that was, he discovered Ela was along for the ride. Maybe “Another One Bites The Dust” would be a better choice.
Ela had been even quieter than usual during their trip. As they neared their destination, he couldn’t help but wonder if she secretly hoped he’d change his mind.
Hell and no would be his reply if she asked.
She hadn’t.
The asteroid came into sight, growing rapidly in his viewing window, but the swirling sky behind it captured his complete attention.
“Ela, strap in, like before.” He heard her fumbling along the rail toward the side wall to do as he’d asked.
“I am bound,” she replied.
“Hang on, this may get bumpy.” Noah had become expert at tethering their crafts to whatever celestial body was at hand, but he could already feel the pull of the growing wormhole storm on his ship. He could imagine how the crew of the CORA felt. Cosmic Origins Research and Advancement, his ass. If they couldn’t keep themselves mobile in space, what was the point? They couldn’t even communicate, for God’s sake. For all the
crew knew, they were hanging out to dry. They’d managed to send off an SOS beacon then a short Morse code transmission from a backup satellite radio that hadn’t been in operation at the time of the pulse, explaining what had happened. But there hadn’t been any reply sent back to them from the base as far as Noah knew.
He couldn’t imagine they were expecting a pickup. More than likely, they were waiting to die. A feeling Noah knew all too well.
Noah eased up as near to the ship as felt comfortable. Faces pressed up to the CORA’s viewing glass as he lined up his ship next to theirs, easing in toward the asteroid. Noah could make out the wide eyes of Captain Carlos Flores. Noah gave them the thumbs up, his cosmic version of a doorbell, then shot the tether to the surface. The last time, the damned wormhole had pulled a chunk of rock along with them into the hole. He needed to work quickly to ensure there wasn’t a repeat performance, but he needed help.
“Ela, you can unbuckle now. Come to the bridge, please.”
He heard the buckles release and released his own, floating free of the helm to meet her.
“I need you to watch this screen.” He pointed to the rear monitor, which showed the wormhole. “If anything changes—color, size, speed—you need to tell me immediately. I’m going to harpoon a magnetic tether to their ship so they can cross over to ours. If things get too hairy, we’ll abort.”
Ela’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.
“What?” Noah asked.
“Hairy? I do not understand why hair would grow upon them as they cross. Does this happen?”
Noah massaged his brow. “Dangerous. Dangerous, not actually hairy. Can you watch?”
Ela nodded. Noah turned to leave, but she caught his arm and pulled him back to her. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
He pushed away and floated back to the cargo hold. Without the ship’s forward acceleration, the gravity cuff had ceased. Donning the EVA gear alone was no easy task, but necessary. He opened the first shuttle door then removed the harpoon tether from the wall. Cole had used one just like it to land on the asteroid and right their collection rover months ago. Noah attached the magnetic attachment load to the end. He was harpooning a ship, not a rock. The last thing he needed was to shoot a hole through the side of their vessel and depressurize it.
