by Elin Wyn
“Even if you recklessly endanger yourself in the process?” I asked.
“You’re one to talk,” Rokul replied. “In case you’ve forgotten, the first time I saw you was when you were suspended by your ankles over the mouth of a carnivorous flower. You don’t get to scold me about reckless endangerment when you’re just as bad about it as I am.”
“I’m still mad at you for killing the Helmria Ithalma,” I replied.
“It was going to eat you!” Rokul exclaimed.
“It’s a critically endangered species,” I said.
“Like I said, you have no room to talk,” he laughed.
Our food was placed in front of us, halting conversation for the time being. I hadn’t eaten anything that day. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was. I had a bad habit of delaying meals or skipping them altogether when I was really focused on a project. I cleaned my plate before Rokul was halfway through his.
“This is what I meant when I said you’re the first person I’ve had to try to keep up with,” Rokul laughed between bites. I sipped a glass of water as he finished his meal. I’d finished my drink before we got our food, but I felt no need to order another one.
Rokul paid our tab when we finished our meal.
“I’ll walk you back to your place,” he offered.
“You don’t have to,” I shrugged. Realizing how I must’ve sounded, I quickly added, “but I’d like it if you did.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Rokul opened the door for me, but I stopped short. Outside, it was pouring rain.
“I think I’ll take that second drink,” I laughed.
“Sorry, we’re closing up,” the women who’d served us spoke up.
“We can make it in the rain,” Rokul grinned. “It’ll be fun.”
“If you say so,” I replied. He took my hand and pulled me out into the rain. Within seconds, my clothing was soaked through.
“This was a terrible idea!” I shouted to Rokul as we dashed through the empty streets of Nyheim. Everyone else had had the good sense to go indoors.
“This was a great idea!” Rokul called back. “We don’t have to fight against civilian foot traffic to get anywhere.”
I directed Rokul through the empty streets until we reached the Blooming Bud. The bar was closed for the night, but there was a rusty metal staircase secured to the outside of the building that led up to my rented room.
I fumbled with the key when we got up the stairs.
“Hurry up,” Rokul laughed. “I don’t think these stairs can hold both of us.”
“Not helping.” The cold seeped through my skin, making my hands tremble.
“Just let me do it.” Rokul plucked the key from my hand and opened my door. I burst inside and immediately went to turn on the heater that had only worked once since I’d moved in the other day.
“Interesting place,” Rokul said as he took in the bare-bones room. My single room was furnished with basic, but outdated, kitchen supplies, a couch with several suspicious puncture wounds, and a metal frame bed with a thin mattress and a single blanket.
“It’s affordable,” I shrugged. “And I just got here.”
Rokul sat down on the couch. It groaned under his weight.
“Have you considered getting a permanent place in Nyheim?” he asked.
“I’ve thought about it,” I replied. “Someplace nicer than this, sure. I just don’t know if I want to stay here.
“Oh?” Rokul frowned.
“I don’t feel like working in Dr. Hines’s lab is right for me.” I took a seat on the couch beside him and hoped it wouldn’t break. I didn’t want to pay for damages. “I can handle working in labs if I have ample opportunity to be in the field, but Dr. Hines isn’t going to let me do that for a while. And if she does eventually let me do field projects, it’ll be done under her name, since it’s her lab.”
“That doesn’t seem right,” Rokul frowned.
“Technically, all of my projects would be her projects, since she’d be the one funding them. That’s just how it is,” I shrugged.
“I can see why you’ve never liked working in labs,” Rokul replied. “Does that mean all of Annie’s work with the soil samples belongs to Dr. Hines?”
“Annie got lucky,” I said. “She discovered everything by accident and most of the work on the soil samples wasn’t done in Dr. Hines’s lab. Annie will get credit for everything if she publishes her findings, unless General Rouhr claims it.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Rokul said. “I doubt he even realizes he could do that.”
“He doesn’t seem like the sort that would pull something like that,” I agreed. “That’s why I don’t mind working for him.”
“Leena certainly likes having you around,” Rokul chuckled. “When we all lived together on the Aurora, Leena shared the lab with others. Now, everyone’s scattered. Her sister temporarily relocated to Glymna and Jeneva’s confined to her bed until she has her child. Dr. Evie Parr is the only other human woman who’s consistently in the building with her, though they work in different areas.”
“Glad I could be there for her,” I said because I didn’t know what else to say.
“If you were to leave after completing your work for General Rouhr, I think Leena would be lonely.” Rokul nodded seriously. “I think she would miss you.”
“It’s not like I’d never visit,” I laughed. “And I think Leena is more than capable of managing a healthy social life.”
“Leena isn’t the only one who would mind,” Rokul muttered.
“Oh?” I smiled slyly. “Who else would miss me when I leave?”
“I would,” Rokul said without hesitation. A pleasant shiver ran up my spine.
“I’d miss you, too,” I admitted.
“I can’t see you working in a lab day in and day out. An exciting life in exciting places would suit you,” Rokul grinned. “But I hope you’d always come back to visit between projects.”
“Yes, I would,” I smiled. “Someone has to make sure you don’t drive you brother insane.”
“Oh, I’m going to drive him insane whether or not you come to visit,” Rokul joked. As we spoke, we slowly angled our bodies to face each other. His smile was infectious and warmth radiated off him, drawing me in closer.
I shivered, painfully aware of the throb in my skin caused not just by cold, but by arousal. Rokul was so close. The time I thought might never come was at hand.
I wanted him to tear my clothes off and warm me up with his mouth. That mouth that had forever changed me with a kiss.
My thoughts were uncontrollable, and I didn’t have to worry about my body. Rokul was there, on me.
“You need to get out of those clothes.” Rokul slung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close in an effort to get to me stop shivering.
Surrendering to my urge to touch him, I tucked my head into the crook of his neck in an attempt to absorb as much heat as possible.
As he held me, I lifted my chin to look up at him. I found him looking down at me with a warm, almost sleepy look in his eyes.
I wasn’t sure who moved first. I might’ve lifted my head up to him or he might’ve lowered his head down to me. That didn’t matter. All that mattered was the moment when our lips touched.
I felt every part of my body relax against his. He held me closer. I was content to let him take control of the moment. I needed him to show me how to do this.
He cupped the base of my head in one large, warm hand. My hand slid up his chest. I could feel his heartbeat against my fingertips.
The only things that existed anymore were his hands, his warmth, and his lips.
In that moment, I utterly belonged to him. My hands ran up and down his body, and his mine. It wasn’t just about warmth. It was about need. We both had it, and we would both obey it now.
Nothing could stop us.
A clap of thunder caused me to flinch, breaking the spell.
Okay, a big loud cracking sound making me jump did shake
things up a bit.
“It sounds like it’s whipping up into a proper storm,” Rokul observed. There was a thickness to his voice that I knew must be the lust we both shared.
“It’s been a proper storm,” I agreed. My hand pressed more firmly against him, saying in touch what I couldn’t with words as I continued. “It’s getting late and that rain isn’t going to let up any time soon. Why don’t you just stay here for the night?”
“Are you alright with that?” Rokul asked. There was that dark, delicious quality in his voice that sent tingles to my brain stem. I wanted him so much.
“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have offered. I’m not a naturally hospitable person,” I laughed, a little nervously.
It also pressed my breasts against him, which I craved. I wanted to feel him on me, all over me. Desire didn’t have any logic to it, it was just one instinct overtaking another. My lips and my lust weren’t connected in the slightest.
“Shocking,” he joked.
Rokul respectfully turned around while I changed out of my wet clothes.
I tugged on an old shirt and a pair of soft sleeping pants. When I faced him, he’d taken off his own shirt. I tried not to stare at the broad, well-shaped expanse of his chest, but I couldn’t help myself. He didn’t seem to mind my gaze.
“I’m not sure I’m going to fit on the couch.” He frowned.
“Share the bed with me,” I blurted out. A blush crept up my cheeks. Oh god. Had I really said that out loud?
Rokul froze.
“Only if you don’t mind.”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t have offered if I minded.”
He strode over to the bed and removed his soaked pants, revealing fitted black shorts underneath. He climbed into bed and made himself comfortable before pulling back the covers for me.
I climbed in next to him, leaving a few inches of space between us. Rokul wrapped an arm around me and pulled me against him. I let myself curl into his warm body.
“I won’t let you freeze,” he joked.
“Too late.” I pressed my ice-cold hands against his bare chest. His skin felt like fire.
“Skrell!” he swore as he covered my hand with his. “That can’t be healthy.”
“It’s fine,” I laughed. “I’ll warm up in a little while.”
“I’ll make sure of that.” Rokul moved so that most of my body was in contact with his.
The overwhelmingly delicious sensations of his body against mine were a heady mix, a refuge from reality as I focused intently on just the sensations. The masculine scent of him. The sound of his heartbeat. The movement of his breathing.
The way he held me.
The cold didn’t stand a chance, because the joy in this moment was bone-deep.
As I started to warm up, we fell asleep listening to the sound of the rain.
Rokul
There was this terrible tingling in my arm that woke me up. As I lay there, groggy and yawning, I realized that I couldn’t move my arm, something had it pinned.
I took a second to remember where I was and who I was with, and I grinned.
Somehow, Tella had ended up using my arm as a pillow, and now I was paying for it.
I ever so gently pulled my arm from under her head, not an easy thing to do, and upon my release, climbed out of bed and started rubbing my arm and shaking my hand. It was excruciating for a couple of minutes, but eventually full blood flow returned, and I was back to normal.
This was a price I’d gladly pay again and again. It felt incredibly calming and soothing to have her sleep in my arms. It was a sense of belonging like I had never felt before -- she seemed to fit there exactly and I found myself shutting my eyes for a moment to recall the scent of her hair, the rise and fall of her chest.
I looked back at Tella’s sleeping form and wondered what Takar would say to my having feelings for a human woman.
This… might not be good.
He would probably chastise me for it. While we had both admitted that the human females were attractive, at least some of them, we had originally made fun of Vrehx and Axtin for falling for them.
And here I was, doing the same thing.
It wasn’t just the physical parts of Tella that appealed to me, although I was determined to study her body more closely and much more often. It was her mind that drew me in, as well.
The idea that she was so willing to study something no one else had an interest in, that intrigued me.
The fact that she presented herself as such an independent woman that could fend for herself piqued my interest.
The tiny little things she did that counteracted that ‘tough girl’ persona held my curiosity.
There was so much to Tella that I didn’t know, and I found myself wanting to know more about her every minute, every second, every breath of the day.
I quietly chuckled to myself as I moved to the far side of the room so I wouldn’t disturb her. I began my morning exercises and tried to stay as quiet as possible.
My mind drifted through fantasies of waking her with a kiss. Of waiting for her eyes to recognize mine and then for her lips and legs to part for me. I wanted to claim every inch of her with my mouth and tongue, with my hands, to reinforce my possession.
I wanted to whisper something sweet in Tella’s ear and pull her tight to me.
I wanted to climb in bed with her and let the blackness of sleep envelop me, perfectly entangled with her, like nothing else mattered.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how much she had changed me.
We were similar, Tella and I.
And, for the first time in a long time, I had to admit that I was a bit scared.
Not scared. Of course not.
Apprehensive.
What if she didn’t feel as strongly for me as I did for her?
It was obvious we were attracted to one another, as evidenced by our time together, but what if I was the one that felt more, and she didn’t?
She had already admitted that she wasn’t the type to stay in one place. She liked to move around, keep exploring, keep moving, keep active. I respected that. I was similar to her in that aspect.
My only reason for staying in one place for an extended period of time was Takar. The exciting thing about military life was that we moved around, we were rarely in one place for long, so I understood her that way.
As I switched to sit-ups, I wondered about how life would be with her. I could almost guarantee that it would be an adventure, even if we didn’t travel all over the planet. Just dinner with her was an adventure, so I could imagine what a lifetime would be like.
Why did I want to be with her so badly? Life in the military was generally solitary, certainly dangerous, and it was guaranteed to shorten your lifespan. That was why you either didn’t form connections with too many people, or the connections you did make were stronger than almost anything else.
And that was before the Xathi had attacked.
Now, nothing was certain, and life was short.
If she chose to reciprocate my feelings, I was positive we would be happy, but for how long?
Other than my brother, I had never had a close relationship. What kind of relationships did Tella have in her past?
“Unngh, will you keep it down over there?” I heard Tella moan.
“Sorry,” I whispered. Without realizing it, I had worked up a good sweat and must been making too much noise. I settled down and began my stretching exercises as she rolled over in the bed and went back to sleep. Her naked back looked smooth and beautiful, if you looked past her scars.
That was the other thing, what did I know about her?
What if she was the type to be in a relationship but not be in a relationship? What if she was interested in enjoying our time together, but was not interested in being exclusive? Could I handle that? Would I be okay with that?
I finished my stretches, went to the small kitchen, and looked for a way to make coffee. At least that was something I knew about humans, the
y all liked coffee. Not seeing a coffee-maker around, I decided to fake it. I got out a small pot, filled it with water, and put it on the stove to warm up. Then I found a small jar of the powder in the back of a cupboard and coffee filters. I took two filters, filled one with instant coffee, then folded it and tied it up into a modified baggie. I wrapped it in the second filter, tying it off as well. When the water was near boiling, I put the coffee baggie in the pot and watched as it began to steep.
Within minutes, I had a pot of coffee. I got down two mugs from a cupboard and filled them with coffee. I made a small mess, but it was an easy clean-up. I had heard of humans drinking their coffee either black, with sugar, with cream, with ice, with whiskey, or with milk. But I didn’t know what Tella had, or what she’d want. I left it untouched, she could add in whatever she wanted.
I brought the coffee to the bed and flipped on the light. With light already coming over the horizon, I figured it would be acceptable to turn on the interior lights and wake her up. She was even more beautiful as she woke up, her hair mussed and covering her face, her overexaggerated moan she let out as she stretched, her perky breasts defying gravity clearly revealed in the thin shirt.
“What are you smiling at?” she asked as she pushed the hair out of her face.
“You. Morning,” I answered.
“Did you make coffee?” she asked again as she swung her legs out of bed. She had yet to cover up, so modesty wasn’t one of her strong points, at least not with me.
“Yep.”
“Why?” she yawned.
I shrugged. “Humans like coffee.”
“Huh. Not all humans. I drink it, but only once in a while. The last renter must have left the fixings for it behind.” Her smile took the sting out of her words. “Thanks,” she said with a kiss to my cheek while she took the cup.
“I am at your bidding,” I said with a promise in my smile.
She smiled and winked back. “Then I’ll have to think about something special to ask for.”
Tella
For the first time in a long time, I didn’t want to go to work. The coffee Rokul made for me was bitter, but he was so proud of making something that humans like, so I drank it all without complaint.
