by Imogene Nix
His chest expanded as he filled his lungs, and he imagined the place his mother had always spoken of. A lush, green garden filled with fragrant flowers. Exhale. It calmed him, the sense of quiet he always experienced once more filling him. The stiff muscles in his shoulders, arms, and torso releasing the pent-up tension.
A rustle alerted him, and he opened his eyes. Meredith, in a lacy, flimsy gown, stood before him.
“Chowd?” she said uncertainly.
The gown settled on her frame, showing her perfect form. Small, pert breasts with peaked buds and a hint of those pink nipples barely hidden under the light covering called to his gaze. She swallowed, and he rose, his body moving without conscious thought.
Chowd concentrated on her as he moved forward, seeking a sign of welcome. His hands clenched and released convulsively at the thought of touching her delicious skin. Of kissing those soft, pink lips. Of joining his body to hers.
Sweat beaded his upper lip. His legs felt like vats of noodles, and his body shivered at the invitation he hoped this represented. “Meredith?”
“Come to me?” Her luminous eyes shone in the half-light, and his breath caught at the back of his throat.
What she was offering... His mind splintered, his deepest desire rising in his chest. “Are you sure?”
She smiled lightly, nodded, and—bless the stars—moved forward. Her slim hands rose to his shoulders and touched lightly, but the heat her fingers generated burned him.
“We can take this slowly if you prefer.” Her words came out a mere whisper, and he felt the warmth of her breath against his skin. He shivered anew.
Sensations burst like stars within him. He leaned in, and she met his lips. His hands snaked around her waist, pulling her closer against his body. The feel of her against him... Tiny zings of electricity rippled under his skin as nerve endings reacted to stimuli.
She shivered as his tongue dipped into her mouth, and the moan he swallowed excited him further. She moved against him, and his body cried out for skin-to-skin contact. Her hands tangled in his hair, and...dear stars! He had to close his eyes as he accepted the onslaught of sensations.
Chowd felt her pull back slightly. “What did I do wrong?” Have I gone too fast? Fear and confusion welled while his heart stuttered in his chest.
She shook her head, smiling slightly, and reached for the buttons of his ship suit. “Let’s make you more comfortable.” Her voice wobbled a little, and the touch of her fingers at his chest filled him with wonder.
Inch by unbearably slow inch, she revealed his skin. Finally, the last button gave, and his whole bare chest was exposed to her. He started to lift his hands, but she brushed them away.
“Not yet,” Meredith whispered, her breath caressing him as she dipped her head forward to touch his skin with her petal-soft lips.
He jerked as her lips made contact. Chowd held himself rigid, feeling the swamping emotions, all the while burning for her touch. Meredith’s fingers skimmed over his skin, peeling back his shirt. His shaking hand rose to the small strap sitting across her collarbone, but she danced away from him.
“Not yet.” A shiver worked through her body as she whispered the words.
He wanted to hold her. Touch her. His body raged with the now-familiar desire, but this time...this time it was returned. Chowd felt his body tighten, hard and aching, with a need he’d never before experienced.
Meredith moved back to him, a teasing smile on her lips as she slipped the shirt off his shoulders. “So beautiful.” Her hands caressed his shoulders, smoothing over muscles very few had seen and none before had touched. His breath hitched.
Her warm fingertips slipped down his chest, finding the small, brown nipples and toying briefly before returning to their downward track. He shuddered as they found his flat stomach, his navel, and he felt one finger dip within slowly, swirling before moving onward. His muscles clenched involuntarily, his body burning hotter than he had ever experienced before.
“Let me touch you.” The guttural words resonated through his burning body.
“Only if you follow me.” She smiled, holding out one small hand, which he gripped, and she led him toward the dark cabin beyond.
* * * *
Meredith shivered with anticipation, knowing deep inside her that the wait was almost over. Her belly warmed and filled her up with a long, slow curl of delicious heat, and excitement zinged through her veins. His hand entwined in hers, fingers locked as they headed toward the cabin in silence.
She turned to look at him. Her nipples tightened to buds of desire. She wanted this man so badly. Moving closer to him, she smiled in the half-light, his face shadowed and mysterious. “I want you, Chowd.”
She placed her hands on his bare shoulders with a light touch, glorying in the feel of his skin, silky soft and so warm. He moved closer as she did, and their lips met and clung while their bodies touched at breast and thigh.
When he granted access, she investigated his sensuous, full lips with her tongue. A moan of desire rose in her throat and robbed her thoughts as he touched her waist lightly. What started as tentative became more sure, as if he understood her need.
“Yes, touch me there.” She had to remember he’d never done this before and scrabbled madly against the burning need that ratcheted higher and tighter within her body, but the thoughts skittered away once more beneath his careful caresses.
His mouth lifted from hers, and she mewled softly at the loss of such drugging pleasure. “You’re so beautiful, and I want to make you happy.” He settled his lips to the tender skin of her neck and kissed her.
His long, open-mouthed touches sent shivers rocketing through her system. She arched backward, giving in to her body’s desire for his touch. Firm hands inched up over her rib cage, and molten fire followed. Her heart rate increased as his fingers rested just below her breasts.
“Meredith?”
“Please...” she moaned.
His hands snaked upward to cup her aching breasts, and she shivered. He hissed out a tight breath, and she groaned.
“Come. Come with me...” Meredith stepped back, her body ready for this next step. She slipped the hands under the straps, but he stopped her.
“No. Let me.” His voice, deep and liquid, whispered against her skin as one finger slipped beneath a strap, tracing a light circle before pushing it from her shoulder.
Then the other strap fell free, the soft material sighing as it dropped, catching briefly on her breasts. She watched the incandescent glow in his face as her skin was bared to him. He reached out a tentative hand, pushing the fabric away. It dropped to the floor soundlessly.
“You’re so amazingly beautiful.” His shaking hands once more clasped her waist, and he lifted uncertain eyes to hers.
“Touch me.”
His hands slid upward, cupping the supple flesh, soft fingers tracing the nipples, and she rocked slightly. Then he molded her flesh as she cried out with pleasure at his gentle grazing.
“Is that...” He stopped, uncertain once more.
“It’s perfect. You’re perfect.” She reached out, touching his hand, and his face cleared once more, his full lips twitching slightly.
She fumbled with the buttons and clasps on his pants until she finally freed him from their confines and felt his hot flesh beneath her hands. She trembled, then dipped her gaze, seeking the sight of him. How can I not?
No underwear. Her mouth dried as she took in the erection jutting proudly up from his body, nestled against his belly.
Fascination wound through her. “Your skin. It’s bare?”
“It’s natural for the Ru’Edan.”
Her belly quivered as she slid her hand down the silky flanks of his thighs. “You’re truly amazing.”
Then she leaned in, skin to skin, her nipples barely touching his chest, but the feeling... Oh my! The feeling is electric. Meredith’s lips met his and clung in an exotically hot, dark kiss.
When he retreated for air, she gathered her s
cattered senses. “Take me to the bed.”
They moved together, and he nearly pulled her over as their feet caught in the tangle of discarded clothing.
“Barsha!” His growl made her smile as he bent and removed his offending clothing and boots. They flew through the air, landing with a thud against the wall. She giggled, and he glanced up, his lips quirking.
Meredith stepped delicately away from her gown, watching him before she sat down on the bed and patted the side. “Come join me.”
“What about...” He stopped and swallowed.
“Pregnancy control? Not a problem. I have an implant.” She smiled broadly as he moved like a dangerous predator to her side, and the bed dipped under his weight.
Meredith felt his hands, the soft touch on her shoulder, and she turned into him, lifting her legs to the coverlet as he rolled her to her back, leaning over her slightly. They kissed again. His hands roamed over her body, learning the dips and swells, as her fingers traced the muscles of his back. She lay back, watching him investigate. A feeling of deep satisfaction built that it was she he would learn this lesson with.
Even as that exultation flowed through her, another emotion took its place. Emptiness welled inside her, and she cried out as her body responded to him. “More. Oh, dear stars! More.”
Her throaty moan propelled him into action. His fingers found their way toward the downy hair that hid her heated core, slick and damp with need for him and his touch. He fondled her, and she writhed beneath him.
“Tell me what you want. Tell me.” He whispered the words against a breast before opening his mouth over the hard nub and suckling.
“Fill me. Touch me. I want you inside me.” Her words were broken as she wound the fingers of one hand in his hair while guiding his other to the places she needed him to fill. His fingers slipped between the damp skin folds.
She bucked against him. She pulled her hand from his head and ran it down his back, savoring the damp slickness of his skin. Down to his rounded buttocks that quivered beneath her fingertips, slipping over the skin of his flank and inexorably working toward his cock. Meredith grasped him firmly, and her reward came with his harsh grunt of pleasure. He bucked as she pumped him gently, feeling his satiny hardness in her hand, the soft roundness of the head.
His fingers moved faster and harder, slipping within her body as she pumped him. Both of them shuddered with pleasure, and their bodies moved urgently.
“Not this way. Not now.” Her mutter broke through the welling pleasure, and she gulped air.
He wheezed and she framed his face with one hand, slick sweat coating her palm.
“Meredith?”
“Wait.” Meredith pulled his hand away, letting go even as she made to pull him over her body. His eyes glinted in the half-light as he positioned himself at the entry to her core, the burning tip calling to her urgently. “Chowd.”
His head dipped as he pushed into her, and their mouths fused once more, her legs rising to wrap around his waist, flexing slightly as she welcomed him within her body in one surge. His body stiffened for just a second then began the ancient rhythm. They moved together, slowly at first, letting the pleasure build to a higher peak.
They moved faster, harder, and higher. Sighs of pleasure filled the air, and fingers gripped tightly as they clung to each other’s sweat-slicked skin.
More. Faster. Harder.
The pleasure that continued to build within her body ached to be completed. She moved toward it, and finally the orgasm hit her like a wave, her cry captured within his mouth as he shuddered with completion. The feel of his jetting seed almost overpowered her as she floated in a sea of sensual ecstasy.
Slowly their heart rates dropped, and they moved together, his front nestled against her as he caressed her hair. The feeling inside her chest grew to bursting. She lay supine in his arms in the dark.
“Thank you,” he whispered against her hair, and she sighed.
“I hate to tell you, big boy, but I got as much out of tonight...this morning...as you did.” She deliberately chose a light tone. He was sensitive in so many ways, and the gift he’d given her was immeasurable. Fragile, like his ego, she thought silently. “Besides, I’m thinking we could practice again later.” She pulled his arm around her. “But for now, we’d better get some sleep. We have a number of things to do in the next couple of hours and need a little rest for our weary bodies.”
“Sleep then, my beautiful Meredith. I will wake you in the morning.”
She rested against him. Quiet filled the air, and she listened to the thump of his heart beneath her ear as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 5
Meredith liked coffee. And small pastries filled with fruity fillings. Chowd knew she snuck them from the mess hall on occasions, when she thought no one watched. Chowd arranged the ones he had appropriated on a plate, wondering if he should have grabbed one of each, not just the four varied fillings.
He checked the chrono and worried. How will she react if I wake her? He mentally cursed himself for his vacillations before heading into the room, where she had already begun waking, saving him any more to-ing and fro-ing with himself. She stretched in the bed like a well-fed cat, and he watched, entranced, as she slowly realized he stood there.
“Good morning. You look like you’ve already been up for hours.” Her hair was mussed and sat like a halo around her pixie face. A small smile crept across her perfect pink lips, and a light, telltale blush colored her cheeks as she focused her sleep-heavy eyes on him.
“I don’t need much sleep. I have breakfast in the other room if you would like.” He indicated the other room with a languid hand, attempting to hide the tension within him. She looked at him, surprised, and he grinned at her reaction.
“Can I shower and dress first?” She rose, allowing the sheet to fall and showing her glorious body to him.
Heat flooded his body together with the adrenalin caused by his sudden arousal. He remembered the feel of her against him and swallowed.
“You could share with me if you like.” She smiled sweetly, filling him with heat, and he knew she was flirting.
He felt flustered, and while his body urged him to agree with the proposal, his mind tried to weigh up the positives and negatives in taking up her offer. It must have shown on his face, since she sighed.
“If I do, I fear we’ll be in there for far too long. When you’re finished, come through to the office.” The best way to deal with this is to remain on task. He nodded at his thoughts. They seemed wise.
“Chowd?” Her voice now sounded a little unsure, and he felt like something had hit him hard, the warmth he had just experienced evaporating and leaving a cold hollowness lodged in his chest.
“What?” he asked. A small frown marred her face. “Meredith?”
“I...last night? I wasn’t too...forward, was I?” Anxiety lit her face as her words filled the air, and the knot of panic in his chest released. The air in his lungs expelled with a hiss, and he lurched forward.
“No, Meredith. Last night was perfect.” He looked for signs that she didn’t believe him.
She smiled tremulously. “I wasn’t sure. Maybe, then, I could have a good-morning kiss?”
Realization dawned. What an idiot I am! He moved toward her and enveloped her in his arms. His lips met hers. The kiss warmed the empty spots inside him, and he had to push away when arousal once more reared its head, tempered this time with tenderness.
He ran a light hand over her tresses, feeling the silky length beneath his trembling fingers. “Now, go and shower. Otherwise your breakfast will be cold.”
He turned and left her but kept an ear on her movements as she showered and dressed, the whole time weighing and measuring his responses and actions. His usually calm exterior in disarray, he struggled to regain control of the constant see-saw which left him feeling confused and uncertain, an experience totally foreign to his usual pattern of behavior. He didn’t know for sure if it could be considered a nor
mal reaction or some aberration that he should report to Elara. He didn’t have anything much in the way of data to fall back on.
Meredith appeared in the doorway, uniform in place, and joined him in the room. She raised an eyebrow as he handed her the plate. “Pastries?”
“Your favorite, I understand.”
She smiled conspiratorially. “Just don’t tell anyone. Duvall always teased me when I was younger about my sweet tooth.” Meredith bit into the treat, her eyes closing as she savored the taste.
She really is a woman of many facets. She allows herself to indulge her sweet tooth, yet she’s sensual, with a brilliant mind. She’s witty, and yet still so shy.
“You said you don’t need much sleep?”
He blinked away his thoughts and reached out a hand to capture a tiny crumb which sat on the corner of her mouth. His gaze clung to hers as he drew it to his mouth. She visibly shuddered as did he, and his breath caught at the hunger he detected in her gaze.
He shook himself free of the sensual haze and considered her question. “Ru’Edan usually sleep for around four hours in every forty, unlike humans, who usually require eight in every twenty-four. As a hybrid, I can manage six over about thirty-four but find longer hard to manage. I believe it’s a genetic difference on the DNA level, though there aren’t a lot of differences between humans and Ru’Edanians, which is why we can impregnate human women, and it is generally believed human men should be able to do the same to Ru’Edanian women. Not that I’ve heard of any such pairings before.” He shrugged, uncomfortable with the conversation, but he knew they had to have it.
“Chowd? I know who and what you are. It makes no difference to me.” Her soft words had him looking up to see the compassion and some deeper emotion in her eyes.
“It should.” His harsh outburst spurred her to stand, wide eyes betraying her emotions, before an angry look crept over her face. She poked a sharp finger at his chest.
“No. I know who you are. Deep inside is what counts. Every time you’ve had an opportunity to go back to him, you’ve stayed steadfast and loyal to your uncle. To Duvall. To the ship.”
