by Anthology
He clutched the back of her neck. “Damn, you’re a stubborn woman.” He dropped his hand to his side. His nostrils flared as he drew in a deep breath. “Fine.” He crossed his arms across his wide chest and stared out into the infinite night. “Here’s my theory. Since no light escapes a black hole, we need to travel faster than the speed of light to escape gravitational pull. If we concentrate the crystal fuel into one power boost, we may be able to break free.” His expression deadly serious, he tilted his head and looked her straight in the eye. “Are you willing to risk everything for that one chance?”
Chapter Three
Lorie pressed her fist over the knot in her stomach. “I’ve never heard of a spacecraft this size exceeding the speed of light.”
“Me either.” The desolate look in Dodd’s eyes said they didn’t have a chance in hell of escaping the black hole. Ever. Yet he didn’t stomp on her hope. “The question is, do you want to try? We could become famous as the first explorers to see the inside of a black hole and come out to tell about it, or we could be missing in action for a long, long time.”
A chill skipped across her shoulders. One chance for freedom. Dare she take the risk? If they failed…
They mustn’t fail.
“The likelihood of getting rescued from inside a black hole is extremely small.” She shoved her fear aside. “So what do we have to lose? I think the chance of getting out is better than staying,” she said softly.
“Right.” He didn’t sound convinced.
For the first time since she’d met him, he looked disappointed. He took her hand in his and stared at her.
“What?”
He gave his head a small shake and squeezed her fingers. “Damn, if you’re not the first woman who’s twisted my guts in a knot since Hannah Mitchell stole first place from me in the sixth-grade science fair. And I’m going to lose you.”
Her heart jumped into her throat. “What are you saying?”
“If we make it back, there’s going to be a media frenzy, scientific inquiries, psych tests and more. Then we both have to focus on new IDC positions. No time for us.“
“You want there to be an us?” she asked with surprise.
“It would’ve been nice.” He gave her a wobbly smile. “But then you would’ve discovered all my faults, like how arrogant I am and quick to judge. I’m not always honest either,” he said with chagrin. “Sometimes my charm is more sarcasm than flattery.”
She raised her brow at his admissions.
“There are things from my past that haunt me,” he said solemnly. “You don’t seem to have that problem. I’m flawed. You’re not.”
She dropped her head to hide the incredulous expression on her face and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He had a dark past? It couldn’t be half as bad as hers. “I have plenty of flaws.”
“Not in my eyes.”
A blush of delight warmed her cheeks. “Is this where your sarcasm comes into play?”
“Not at all. I’ve never met a more selfless, honest, hard-working and caring person. Everyone in Engineering speaks highly of you. Yogaslav told me you covered double shifts for four weeks when he had a family emergency on Earth. Goodson still talks about the time you shoved him away from an electrical panel right before it flared and fried everything within three feet.”
She shrugged. “They would’ve done the same for me.”
Warmth glowed in Dodd’s eyes. He cupped her cheek and gave her a sad smile. “You’re everything I wish I could be.”
“I’ve heard similar stories about you.”
“Ha. I’ve never saved anyone.”
“No? What about that misunderstanding by the Hubbard visitors who thought our signal lights were weapons? Your calm intercession avoided disaster that day.”
“They weren’t a big threat. If they had been, I would’ve recommended the station commander vaporize them. Not very diplomatic of me.” He gave her a roguish smile. “I especially wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” Before she could say a word about defending herself, he swept her mouth with a light, sweet kiss.
“You know, Henderson, this tender side is why the whole space station population is in love with you.”
He tilted his head. “Including you?”
The question took her off guard. “I…uh, sure. I’m your biggest fan.”
His smile stretched into a cocky grin. “Is that so?”
She looked away, afraid she’d revealed too much. With a negligent shrug, she said, “Yeah. You’re all right.”
He reached out and grasped her chin, forcing her to face him. “I think you’re all right too.”
Time stood still for a moment as she stared into his beautiful blue eyes. Was it possible the catch of the galaxy truly cared for her? It was unfathomable, and yet, the way he looked at her seemed…special.
“I have one request,” he said softly, dropping his hand from her chin.
“What’s that?” she asked, totally under his spell.
“You give me that blowjob you promised before we’re blasting through space faster than the speed of light. It might be difficult if you try it during super-G mode.”
His dancing eyes and smug tone raised her hackles, but she couldn’t call him on it. First of all, she saw it as a defense to cover his moment of tenderness, and second, she had made the offer. Besides, she was eager to see the hard planes of his body and his legendary big cock.
The timing sucked, but would there be a better time than right now? Her gaze dropped to the long ridge at his crotch, clearly outlined by his tight flightsuit. Great Jupiter, she’d like to hold him in her hand, stroke his silky length and make him beg like she begged for release. If she relieved him of his sexual frustration, maybe he’d focus on the crisis at hand.
Ten minutes of play wouldn’t alter their situation for better or worse, would it? “Since it’s going to take all our concentration to work out—aah!”
A triumphant gleam lit his baby blues as he wrapped both arms around her and jerked her against his body. Heat leapt from his gaze. Each heartbeat thumped against his chest and pounded against her skin. “I need you, Lorie,” he said seriously yet savagely. He tilted his head and crushed his moist lips to hers, stealing her breath away.
Heaven knew she needed him, too. Fear and desperate yearning had her clinging to his solid strength and his warmth, unable to let go.
The neck of his flightsuit ripped like tissue paper beneath her sharp nails. It was too tempting not to take advantage, so she stripped it away from his muscular shoulders. “Mmm,” she moaned with delight into his mouth and then broke the kiss so she could ease back and drag the ripped fabric down the rigid contours of his torso. His chest flexed as she ran her fingertips over the hard planes. Eagerly, she smoothed her palms down his flat stomach, tearing the thin material along the way until she bumped the tip of his erect cock. “No skivvies, Henderson?”
“Pointless,” he mumbled as he nuzzled her neck.
“Oh,” she gasped softly, lifting her shoulder against his tickling kisses.
She grabbed his burgeoning shaft, learning its size and shape using long, firm strokes. “I approve.”
A chuckle shook his chest. “Of going commando or the size of my cock?”
“Both.”
While he licked circles on her neck, she kissed the space between his collarbones, and then dragged her wet lips down between his pectoral muscles. The hand not wrapped around his silky-steel rod slid around his back and squeezed one firm ass cheek.
With a muted grunt, he set his hands upon her shoulders, gently pushing her lower. As she dipped down, following the thin line of hair between his ribs, his fingers tightened. When she stopped and slipped her tongue into his bellybutton, he sucked in his breath, drawing in his stomach. The stiff shaft encased in her hand twitched.
“Suck me, baby.”
With a mischievous grin, she raked her teeth over the skin below his navel and sucked a bit of his flesh into her mouth.
“Oh. Mmm.” He laced his fingers into her hair. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
She licked the rosy mark she’d left on his skin. “Oh. You mean this?” she asked while she stroked him.
“Yesss.” He sounded breathless as he guided her mouth to the tip of his cock. “Right there.”
“Here?” Her tongue skimmed over the slit in the tip, lapping at a pearl of pre-cum.
“That’s…a good start,” he said brokenly.
It was fun teasing him. She smiled inwardly at the power she held over him, amazed he didn’t push her faster than she wanted to go. Oh, he wanted her to hurry up, she knew, but he held back. Good thing. Nothing killed the mood faster than forceful, rushed foreplay. She slipped her mouth over the big knob and gave it a little suck.
He rocked up and down on his toes.
Taking pity on him, Lorie settled into a more comfortable position on her knees and took his cock deep into her mouth. This beat worrying about their immediate future.
Above her head, a rush of breath swooshed from his lungs. “Oh fuck. Yeah.” His breathing skipped as she slid her mouth up and down a little faster. “Oh my God, that’s good, Lorie.” Beneath the fingertips of her left hand, his buttocks clenched.
Long moments of silence passed, broken only by the slurp of her wet mouth and Dodd’s sporadic low groans. His fingers tightened on her scalp whenever she took him deep and stroked her tongue up and down his thick shaft. He especially liked it when she sucked and lapped at the bulbous head while stroking his shaft. His breathing grew more erratic with each sensuous slide.
“I’m close!” he shouted as he pushed her away.
For a second, she was confused by his action, but then he slipped his hands beneath her arms and lifted her up off her knees. In one long fluid stride, he backed her up to the control panel and set her down on the rounded edge.
“Whoa! What am I sitting on?”
“It’s all useless communication equipment,” he said, plucking her breasts through the torn slits of her flightsuit. “You should tear all your clothes like this, Lorie.” He grasped both mounds within his broad palms and caressed them roughly. Heat flashed in his eyes as he pressed the bountiful flesh together, creating a deep cleavage. “Oh, baby.” He swooped down, dragging his tongue over one nipple and then the other.
He blew on the glistening tips. With a little hum, he homed in on the left one, wrapped his lips around the bud and sucked.
On a gasp, she gripped the sides of his head, wanting to stop the sudden ache that shot down to her cunt and then, never wanting the ache to stop. He licked and sucked and nipped until her breasts swelled with passion. She wrapped her legs around his thighs, hungry for him.
He released her tender nipple and turned to the other one already taut with wanting. A few sensual licks later, he plunged a hand between her legs and ripped open the center seam. He shoved aside her torn panties and stroked her center, searching for entry.
Her breath seized in her lungs when two thick fingers plunged into her moist channel.
“This is just a preview of what’s coming, Lorie,” he said with a sensual growl. “Wait until I sink my cock into this juicy pussy of yours.”
Hot arousal tugged low in her belly.
“But…” They’d both received a clean bill of health before the flight, but how had the cryonics affected her STD-birth control inoculation? She stared helplessly at him, wanting him inside her more than anything, but smart enough to act wisely. She expected to escape this black hole and she didn’t want any surprises down the road. “Protection?”
He brushed his lips across her cheek. “Don’t worry. That shot I gave you earlier contained plenty of protection.”
Relief rushed through her veins. “All right then.” She spread her legs wider for him and smiled shyly, unable to say anything more as she watched his fingers glide past the torn fabric into her flushed, swollen sex.
“You’re super wet. Ready for me.”
It wasn’t a question, but she nodded anyway.
After a few more deep slides, he withdrew his slick fingers. Grabbing her behind the knees, he pushed her legs up, forcing her back onto the flat panel, and ripped the inner seam wider until a huge gap appeared. “Hold your legs up and open, sweetheart. I want to look at you.”
Hot and eager, she obliged him.
An instant later, he knelt before her. “A natural redhead, I see,” he said, running his damp fingers through her bush. Her pulse skittered as he flicked a fingertip at her clit and then slid his fingers between her lips, collecting her cream. “And a pretty rosebud, too,” he said as he smeared her cunt juices around her puckered hole. “Do you like anal play?”
“Sometimes,” she admitted warily, squirming beneath his light touch. “I, uh…”
She lost her train of thought as a single finger found her anus and pressed into her to the first knuckle. Reflexively, she squeezed the digit and moaned quietly.
“Easy, honey.” Holding his finger in place, he spread her labia with his thumbs and licked the lush interior.
“Do you like that?” he asked huskily, glancing up at her with dark fire in his gaze.
“Yes.” Heart in her throat, she shimmied closer to his steamy breath. Shards of icy-hot pleasure broke low in her belly when he lapped her cunt a few more times. “Definitely.”
“Just say ‘fire’ if I do something you don’t like.”
The ease in which he’d given her a safe word stunned her. Had it slipped out unbidden? She hadn’t heard that his exploits leaned toward sexual play that required a safe word. Maybe they were more alike than she thought.
“Okay,” she said, sucking in a deep breath as he wiggled the finger into her ass until it slid to the second knuckle.
His mouth descended on her pussy, kissing and licking and sucking. She bit her lip at the incredible yearning that shot through her. Her body bowed in pleasure. Oh, Dodd. You live up to your reputation.
“Relax.”
She tried, especially when he wiggled his tongue over her clit like that, but every touch made her bear down and rock against him.
He withdrew his finger and primed her ass with more of her cream. “I’d love to fuck your ass,” he said as he dipped his finger in and out in a steady rhythm. “But I want to feel your cunt wrapped around my cock first. I want to see your face flush with desire as I plunge into you over and over again.” He gave her clit a quick hard suck. “I want to hear you scream my name.”
“Oh God.” Her inner muscles clenched with need. She clutched the edge of the control panel until the muscles in her forearms burned. Between his tongue laving her pussy and his finger teasing her anus, she rocketed toward orgasm. “Fuck me, Dodd.”
Dodd stood and looked down at her with a hint of victory twisting his lips. The hands that had held her, excited her, now gripped her hips. She missed the intimate touch in her ass and his hot breath on her pussy. Craved it. But the promise of his long rigid cock plunging in and out of her sopping cunt made up for the loss. She stared hungrily at the masterpiece at his groin, thrust outward from the dark nest of curls at a perfect forty-five-degree angle, probably something only a sexually ravenous female engineer like her would notice, she thought with an inward grimace. She inhaled deeply. “Take me any way you want. I am so ready.”
“I’ve waited a long time for you to say that,” he said with a sincerity that surprised her. Eyes sizzling with heat, he braced one arm on the panel, took his erection in the other hand and guided it to her cunt. With a steady glide, he pushed deep.
She arched up as he slowly withdrew. The pressure of his cock set a flash fire burning beneath her skin.
“I’ve wanted to fuck you for so long,” he said as his slick shaft slid along sensitive inner muscles, filling her and retreating, driving her mad.
“All you had to do was ask,” she panted.
“Are you kidding? That’s not…” He shook his head. “You’re so damn snug.” He closed his eyes for a f
ew long, deep strokes. His lips parted as he rocked between her legs.
Pressure on the ship’s hull shook the panel beneath her ass, the vibration darting straight through her cunt. As good as it felt, the shock wave worried her. Please, no catastrophes now, she silently pleaded to whatever deity held their fate in its hands.
Dodd pushed deep and stilled until the tremor faded away. “Wow,” he exclaimed in a rush of breath.
When he looked at her again, the dazed look in his eyes cleared, burnt away by the searing heat of passion. “I want to know the real you, Lorie.” He leaned forward, scooped his arms beneath her shoulders and drew her up against his damp chest, driving deeper into her center.
Held tightly in his embrace, her heart swelled with warmth and happiness. She wrapped her legs around his hips and threw her arms around his neck.
“Especially the naughty vixen you hide from the world,” he added with a look of reproof.
A guilty flush burned her cheeks. How did he know? She kept her erotic toys in a biometrically sealed container. Intimate play had been limited to private appointments at the Pleasure Club. Even her best friend thought she was sexually challenged. Did he sense the white-hot flame in her no one else did?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” With a playful grin, she rubbed her breasts over his solid chest. The friction shot a warm tingle from her nipples to her belly.
Dodd must’ve liked it too because a moan rumbled in the back of his throat. One hand slid down her back and gripped her ass, his fingers digging into one fleshy cheek. He tucked his chin into her neck and pumped faster, harder.
Heat rushed up her neck into her face. Low in her belly, the spiral of an orgasm spun tighter and tighter. “Dodd,” she murmured softly, desperately, clinging to him. In her mind, she formed the words to tell him how good he felt inside her, how she’d dreamed of this and never wanted this moment to end, but he distracted her by slipping his hand lower on her butt, into the gap of her torn uniform, and working two fingers past her tight ring into her ass. A gasp tumbled out along with a sob of joy.
