Lunar Eclipse

by Gun Brooke

  “I can’t think of anyone else who knows more than you do about this world.” Beaux smiled broadly now.

  Moon fell into Beaux’s arms, needing to feel her warmth, thus proving this was all true and not just the crazed dream of a lonely woman. As Beaux wrapped her arms around Moon, holding her close, it began to make sense. All the insane turn of events ever since the shuttles landed, it all lined up in her head, making it easier to grasp. Her story had started already during the attack of the Utopia. Before then, she’d been hovering in midair, emotionally, enduring her days, certain this was the course of her life, and nearly forgetting her real name. Now she was Moon de Cruz, not only to herself here on Haven but to all these people who intended to remain, at least for now, on the planet she loved.

  Looking up, Moon returned Beaux’s smile tremulously. “This seems too good to be true.” She locked her wrists around Beaux’s neck. “But I can’t think of anything that would make me happier than you staying here.”

  “Are you kidding? You’ve given me a new purpose, shown me that money alone won’t make me happy. Being here on Haven and supervising scientists, anthropologists, and who knows who else will benefit from visiting will be challenging in the best of ways.” Her voice became huskier. “That you’ll be here with me…will be wonderful. I hope you feel the same way.”

  Moon pressed her lips to Beaux’s, reveling in their softness. When Beaux opened her mouth, Moon met her tongue with hers, and the kiss became so much more. Clinging to Beaux, she tried to convey how she felt, how much she adored this woman. Not having to say good-bye to Beaux had saved her life as much as anything the subterranean beings had done for her this time around.

  “Oh, my.” Beaux pulled back enough to speak a few words. “I take that as a yes.”

  “Yes.” Moon couldn’t believe how her feelings could change from despair to utter joy in such a short time. She stood in Beaux’s arms, surrounded by the sweet air of Haven, its plethora of animal species, and next to her, she felt Dancer lean into them both.

  “We have company,” Beaux murmured against the top of Moon’s head.

  “I know.” Moon reached down and twirled one of Dancer’s ears. “He’s part of the deal when it comes to me.” She peered up at Beaux, thinking that the woman she loved had never looked more relaxed or free.

  “Good. I’ve grown accustomed to his pretty face.” Beaux chuckled and hugged Moon closer again, pulling them down onto their knees next to Dancer. She cupped his chubby chin and pressed her nose to his. “And you, young man, are the reason we’re both alive.”

  Dancer looked cross-eyed at Beaux, obviously trying to meet her gaze. “Tsh-ah.”

  “What? A vowel? I’m impressed.” Beaux grinned at Dancer, who managed his own version of a smile in return.

  Moon held on to the ones she loved, and she too couldn’t stop smiling.

  Epilogue

  Eight months later

  The arm around her waist hugged Beaux closer. Smiling and only half-awake, Beaux hummed contentedly as she pivoted to face the woman behind her. “Good morning.”

  “It is. I’m so glad to be back in the tree. Winter was brutal.” Moon pressed her lips to Beaux’s.

  “It was, but also blissfully short. Still, sharing one of the subzero tents with you and Dancer was fantastic. I must admit, if I don’t have to maneuver through one meter of snow any time soon, I’ll be thrilled.”

  “It was fun sometimes, though.” Moon took some of her long hair, darker after the winter months with very little sun than when Beaux first saw her, and dragged it in a tickling pattern against Beaux’s neck. “Like when Dancer tried going downhill on an old deck plate.”

  Beaux guffawed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more terrified quadruped in my life.”

  “Don’t let him hear you refer to him by the number of his paws.” Moon kissed a trail down Beaux’s neck. “He’ll send a brummer after you.”

  “Wouldn’t be…surprised…” Beaux arched against Moon’s caresses. She often found it too good to be true, the way this woman made her feel. They had taken the physical side of their love slowly, for Moon’s sake. Beaux admitted she had needed time as well, as she harbored a profound fear of inadvertently hurting Moon, physically or emotionally. It was hardly a surprise that Dancer was the perfect catalyst that seemed to realize when they needed him. He was a constant source of comfort and comic relief.

  Now Moon made Beaux unable to think of anything but her hands, lips, and how her naked body felt against Beaux’s. There was magic in how their breath mingled, their blood sang in their veins, and, in Moon’s case, how her golden eyes turned fluorescent.

  Around the gently swaying tree house, flying creatures hummed, buzzed, and chirped. These sounds blended with all the other sensations their lovemaking created, together with the way Moon’s skin tasted under Beaux’s greedy tongue.

  “Feels like you want to devour me,” Moon said, her voice catching as Beaux nipped at the thin skin below her ear.

  Beaux chuckled and knew she couldn’t wait. Like on so many other mornings, she wanted to show Moon over and over just how much she loved her. She had been ready to promise Moon everything for months now, but every time she tried to raise the topic of Moon’s legal status, fear rose in those golden eyes, and Beaux would drop it. So, in moments like this, when they were both naked and vulnerable with each other, Beaux gave everything of herself, held back nothing. And Moon returned each caress, each term of endearment with the same fervor. As they rose and fell against each other, hands searching and finding the points of pleasure so familiar by now, eager to explore, Beaux cried out, hiding her face in the abundance of Moon’s fragrant hair. Moon wrapped her arms and legs around Beaux, pressing against her, chanting something inaudible under her breath, until they both dropped, fell, and floated.

  Beaux sobbed Moon’s name over and over, stunned at how the orgasm had overtaken her.

  “Beaux?” Moon leaned in over her. “Are you crying?” Her hair fell forward and hid them from the sun’s first rays through the opening by the bed.

  “No. Well, yes. I suppose.” Beaux sat up and held Moon against her. “You steal my breath and I love you. So much.”

  “I love you.” Moon’s smile nearly changed Beaux’s mind, but her lover deserved better. She was entitled to the truth.

  “Get dressed. I have a surprise.” Beaux stood and pulled Moon with her.

  “A surprise?” Moon looked suspicious rather than excited, which was expected.

  “Yes. Come on.” Beaux moved to the adjacent room, where they had let their clothes fall. They wore simpler uniforms these days, as there was normally no need for protective gear, unless they went on a hike. Beaux pulled on her off-white coveralls and rolled up her sleeves. Watching Moon do the same, she began climbing down the rope ladder.

  They walked the kilometer to the camp with Dancer right behind them. The camp had grown to twice its size since the Empress returned with more scientists. Even a group of eight artists had been approved to visit Haven. Two nights ago, there had been a banquet, or as Tracks had put it, one hell of a party, at the camp, to celebrate the knowledge accumulated and all of the Empress’s crew being together again. The ship would return to Territorial space before next winter, which would give them almost three hundred days together.

  Beaux walked up to the large structure that the miners who had decided to remain on Haven had begun to build from fallen tree trunks and boulders once the snow melted. One of Haven’s laws was that nobody could cut down a tree, or pull up plants, without it being a life-or-death situation. Everyone had the animal attacks in clear memory and didn’t want to see a repeat of them.

  “The first room is ready,” Beaux told Moon and motioned for her to step through the main opening. “We have our first legal officer settling in as we speak.”

  Moon paled. “Legal officer.”

  “Yes. And please trust me. Please?” Beaux’s heart contracted painfully at the clear signs of Moon�
�s fear. “It’s all good.”

  “All right,” Moon whispered, taking Beaux’s hand and clinging to it. Her fingers felt like ice.

  * * *

  Moon stood before a tall, handsome man who had rounded the rustic desk that had seen better days, judging from the scratched surface, and only Beaux’s hand kept her from bolting.

  “Ms. De Cruz. I’m pleased to meet you, finally. My name is Park Tromos. Do call me Park.”

  “Only if you call me Moon.” Shaking Park’s hand, Moon wondered if he knew she used to be a slave. That fact alone would make most people from Cimeria Prime recoil.

  “I can tell I make you uncomfortable, Moon, so I’ll get right to the point. Here is a document that states once and for all, and beyond any reproach, that you are a free woman.” Park handed Moon a tablet. Blinking repeatedly, Moon tried to read, but she was trembling too much. She turned to Beaux. “What?”

  “You’re free. Truly free.” Beaux whipped at her eyes and made a choked sound. “I received the confirmation only last night.”

  “You paid for me? For my freedom?” Moon gaped and looked at the tablet again, but she couldn’t focus.

  “Not at all.” Park took the tablet back and scrolled down the document. “My researcher looked into your background, which wasn’t easy, but as you’ve gained quite the following back in the Territory, it did open some doors. As it turned out, you were never legally a slave.” Park’s kind voice as he uttered the impossible words made Moon’s knees give way, but Beaux caught her and held her tight.

  “What does that even mean?” Moon asked, staring at Park.

  “Your mother was a runaway for reasons that we don’t know, at least not yet, and she was trafficked by slave traders. She was pregnant at the time, and false documents were created by ruthless people. As she was not a legal slave, then neither were you. The crimes committed against you and your mother, and, unfortunately, thousands of other people like you are finally being addressed. This instance has also given the politicians that are opposed to slavery a bigger platform, which is, of course, a good thing.” Park sighed. “And I inundate you with too much too soon. The most important thing is that you are a free woman when it comes to your legal status. Everything else that we’ve found out about your past is in the document in the tablet. Captain Lestarion has asked me to continue my research about your background, but she also told me that I take my orders from you when it comes to that. If you rather I didn’t, I won’t.” He gave Moon the tablet back again, and she clutched it to her chest and hid her face against Beaux’s neck.

  “I’ll be outside in the lovely weather,” Park murmured, and Moon heard him leave.

  “I meant to pay for you and set you free. That was my first thought.” Beaux cleared her throat. “I was prepared to anger you, because I sensed that you wouldn’t want me to. Then I got the first indications that your case was special, and I kept the information from you. I’m sorry.”

  Moon lifted her face to Beaux’s. “You’ve done more for me than anyone else. This,” she said and held up the tablet, “is a miracle. I’m not sure if I need to know more than Park already told me. Maybe.” Moon flung her arms around Beaux’s neck. “I love you. You loved me when you thought I was a slave. To you I’m a person. I’ve always felt that. And to me, you’re…you’re everything.”

  Holding each other, they stood in silence in the room where Moon knew she would always feel she’d come full circle. Crashing onto this planet and finding a new life, literally, was the start. Learning the truth about herself was a dizzying mix of relief and sadness, but having Beaux by her side made Moon certain she would work through it.

  They walked outside with their arms around each other. Dancer jumped up and trotted over, nudging at their hands until they crouched before him. He looked back and forth between them and gave a muted “tft” before pressing his nose into theirs.

  “I suppose this is his version of a group hug,” Beaux said, smiling.

  “So, a group nose?” Moon said and began to laugh. She looked over at the mess-hall tent and saw people turn and look their way. Tracks, Somas, and Nia began walking toward them, and when Moon raised the tablet and waved it at them, Nia began to run. Moon looked down at Beaux, who was still scratching Dancer’s ears. “Nia knows what you’ve been up to, doesn’t she?”

  Beaux nodded. “She helped.”

  Turning her face up toward the sun, Moon had never been happier. This was home, not just for her, but for Beaux and for their friends.

  “You look happy,” Nia said as she reached them, followed by the two men. “What’s up?”

  Moon ruffled Dancer’s ears. “I am. And I owe a lot of that happiness to you. I’m free. Turns out, I was always free.” She wrapped her arms around Nia and hugged her. “Thank you.”

  “Um. Yeah. That.” Nia cleared her throat and then laughed. “So, what do you plan to do with this newfound freedom?”

  “As a matter of fact, I have a brilliant idea.” Moon wrapped her arm around Beaux’s waist. “Why don’t we all go fishing?”

  About the Author

  Gun Brooke, author of more than twenty novels, resides in Sweden, surrounded by a loving family and two affectionate dogs. When she isn’t writing her novels for Bold Strokes Books, she works on her art, and she crafts whenever possible—certain that practice pays off. Gun loves creating cover art for her own books and others using digital art software.

  Web site: http://www.gbrooke-fiction.com

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gunbach

  Twitter: http://twitter.com/redheadgrrl1960

  Tumblr: http://gunbrooke.tumblr.com/

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