Atticus's Angel

by Pearl Tate

  From the sounds of it, neither is Lisa, who says that she can’t believe how she was treated by what she felt was government officials on Earth. How they kept her in a cell. The stories she’s shared at our meetings have been incredible.

  Reptile aliens working with the government at one of the poles on Earth? From what some of the women have said, it’s not totally far-fetched. Even though I’m not familiar with the stories, many of them say they’re common conspiracy theories.

  Bren and Hannah seem to come to an agreement as they turn back to face everyone. Putting his arm around her much smaller frame, he addresses the room. “Hannah’s going to contact them. Since we can see the Marel’s spacecraft, they can certainly see us. It’s better to open the line of communication. We certainly don’t need to add any enemies and unknowns to our list right now. So silence.”

  You could hear a pin drop as we don’t make a peep, but I’m thankful when Hannah raises her voice as she turns and settles into Bren’s chair that’s pretty much in the center of the View Room. “You’ll see them on the screen in front of us, probably just the liaison they choose. Even though everyone here will see them, they’ll only be locked in on my face.” Flipping her head around, her eyes scan the room. “But I can hear you, and I don’t need the distractions.”

  The View Room is kind of like their version of a command room and right now, it’s full. There’s a murmur as a few people agree, but for the most part, everyone just nods. My heart speeds up as the seconds tick by. Hannah’s talking to Bren and a couple other people on work stations around her.

  Before I realize it, they look like they’re set, and Hannah’s clear, calm voice begins counting down. “Five… four… three… two… connecting.” The screen flickers briefly but stays dark. Hannah doesn’t say a word for a moment. Turning to the man next to her, she calmly asks, “Are we connected, Torko?”

  Her only answer is a nod, and she turns back to the screen, her back to us. It only takes a second for me to realize she’s reverted to Quasarian. We slip back and forth between them at home, but in general, around the ship you hear mostly English. Maybe because the women talk more than the men, and speaking in your native tongue offers all the slang you’re used to?

  I’m not sure, but Quasarian just doesn’t seem as commonly heard. Of course, I understand it perfectly—along with the other languages that Atticus knows due to him “sharing” his nanos with me. It’s awesome to not have to study to know what he knows. Language, biology, and all the other studied applications he’s come in contact with during his studies. It’s definitely handy.

  “I’m Hannah Becker, Earth-mate to Bren Khar from the Planet Quasar. I represent the Discovery’s males as the Mate Union Lead of the Quasar Council-appointed captain.” Pausing dramatically, it even takes me a minute to digest the carefully construed words she’s spouting. “The Discovery wasn’t apprised of a Marel representative arriving in our zone. Please acknowledge and explain.”

  Since there’s nothing on the screen in front of us, I jump as a heavily accented voice responds in the Quasar language. “It might do you well to check in with your Council. We’d been informed that all Quasar ships were destroyed. Imagine our surprise when we saw the Discovery beginning it’s rotation so far out from your planet. What game are you playing with your Council?”

  “No game.” Hannah’s factual and neutral response gives nothing away. “Just caution. But this isn’t something that we can discuss with you. We only wanted to initiate our zone warning before contacting the Quasar’s Council. You’re saying they’re aware you’re here and aware of your intentions?”

  A chatter of ticking streams across the communication between us and for a minute, I think we’ve lost our connection. It sounds like a weird kind of interference. “Yes. As per our previous agreement with your people, we’ve arrived to renegotiate.” Bren’s shaking his head no at Hannah, indicating he has no idea what they’re referring to.

  Giving nothing away, Hannah nods slightly. “Then we’ll check in with our Councilors and confirm their agreement. Thank you for your time.”

  There’s another brief chittering and the line closes with an audible snap before a low chime begins. “That’s a confirmation that the communication has truly ended.” Atticus turns me in his arms to bury his face in my neck, tickling me with his hair, lips, and breath as he kisses me gently.

  Tugging back, I look over my shoulder at Hannah, where she’s standing next to Bren. “Is that is, then? All good?”

  Atticus’s eyes flick over my shoulder to look at them before his serious gaze settles on me again. “Well, we confirmed that they don’t appear to plan to attack us at this point. We’re in a vulnerable position, since they seem to know we’re supposedly dead to the Council. If they’d planned to attack us, I’m guessing they’d have done it by now.”

  I understand the logic, and as he lowers me down, I hear Hannah and Bren’s voices calling everyone to listen up. Atticus and I aren’t the only ones talking, and I’m guessing most of the guys are explaining things to their mates like Atticus has to me. “Everybody, let’s just make sure we’re all on the same page.”

  Brittney’s face is serious as she stares at Bren and Hannah too. Bren’s booming voice easily drowns out the last little bit of talking still happening around us. “We’re going to contact the Council now. You’re welcome to stay or go, but we’ll plan on sending out minutes of all the conversations this evening. Plan to reconvene here in the morning. We’ll give an exact time in the minutes. At this point, Hannah and I will plan to set up a meeting to go to the surface of Quasar and meet with the Council.”

  This is the part that I can tell Hannah’s worried about. It’s why they have the team with Brock, Matthias, and Selas on their way in a different spacecraft. They should be in position by morning.

  At the same time tomorrow, at least one other Quasar spacecraft like the Discovery called the Prospect should have arrived. They’ve been traveling toward Quasar, just as we have since the Explorer went silent. From the sounds of it, their captain doesn’t really believe that they could have any spies on board, but with everyone on the Explorer presumed dead and after Bren sent him video of Vekel leaving the medical bay and gaining access to engineering, he’s not willing to take the gamble with everyone’s life.

  I’m broken out of my reverie by Atticus. “Have you all seen enough? Do you want to go back?” His head swivels between Brittney and I.

  Nodding already, my head turns to look at Brittney just as she answers no. “I just want to stay a while longer. I’ll be fine.” Her hands are stroking up and down her upper arms nervously. I don’t blame her. With her mate away—and I mean really far away—it has to be strange not to feel the connection I’m so used to now.

  Even though I’m not completely healed, my mannerisms and personality have already changed drastically. I’m not depressed at all, and my shyness is a thing of the past. I can look almost anyone in the eye, and it’s super rare that I’ll realize I’ve fallen into a repetitive behavior.

  Grabbing Brittney’s hand, I halt it’s movement on her arm as I squeeze it gently. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  Pointing over to Susan, she assures me quietly, “No. I’ll be okay. I’m just going to go hang out with the other women who were left… not that we were left!” Giggling, her mood lightens as she takes off weaving through the room.

  I watch her back as she walks away, thinking about how this’ll be the first time we’ve had the medical bay, living area, and bedrooms all to ourselves. As we turn and head toward the exit, I squeeze Atticus’s hand gently so he looks down at me. “Is it possible to lock the door to the medical bay?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  - Atticus

  I don’t know what to think at my mate’s shy question. The look on her face is calculating as her eyes drop from mine to the floor in front of us as we walk to the lift. When she slides inside and I follow her in, she doesn’t put any space between us, instea
d wrapping her hands around my neck to pull me down to her.

  Eagerly, my lips meet hers and my tongue plunges into her mouth. Her sweet, minty flavor bursts over my tongue as I encourage her to reciprocate. It’s taken time, but my mate has definitely learned what she likes and has begun to verbally let me know.

  Ashlyn’s shy nature has begun to diminish—not only with me—but with life in general. She says she’s becoming more normal, but I disagree. She’s just more focused. Instead of retreating inside and letting her body mask her thoughts with repetitive movements, she can stay present and controlled, taking in her environment and responding to it in a whole new way. It’s been liberating for both of us.

  I’m hard as a rock as the door slides open to our floor. Typical. My only consolation is that I’m not the only one. In fact, right outside the door is one of our neighbors. “Kalo. Sue.” My voice is gruff as we step out of the lift, strategically keeping Ashlyn in front of me.

  Waving briefly, Ashlyn smiles at Sue before adding, “See you later.”

  That’s exactly what I can tell is different. Actively participating without prompting. When Ashlyn first arrived, it was hard to get her to talk even if you asked her a specific question. She was slow to answer and brief, no matter what the topic was.

  Tugging on my hand slightly, she pulls ahead, and I eagerly follow her. She’s excited, and I sense that she has something in mind she wishes to share with me, but when we enter the medical center, she hesitates, stopping in the middle of the room and dropping my hand.

  Hesitating next to her, I look down, trying to determine what she’s thinking. “What is it?”

  Cupping her cheek gently, I pull her attention back to me, wrapping my other arm around her. She relaxes into my hold like she always does. I know she feels the same soothing vibration flowing through her that I do as we touch. We’ve talked about it, and she let me know she’s talked to other females about it too. It isn’t necessarily something that everyone experiences, but it’s an awareness that we all have to a certain extent.

  Her eyes flicker over my face, almost searching for something before she opens her mouth, smiling. “Can you lay down in one of the beds?”

  Now that I didn’t expect, and a part of me considers questioning her. Instead, I release her to back up toward the door. “Yes, just let me secure this…” It’s uncommon to have the doors to the medical bay locked, but I don’t care. The only person who’d I’d feel bad about is Brittney, and Ashlyn knows about how long she’ll be. Of course, she’ll keep that in mind.

  With the release block engaged, I look around the room and head over to the closest bed. Sitting gingerly, I look over at Ashlyn who’s trailed behind me to the narrow exam area. “I’m going to need you to remove your clothing and put this on. Leave the opening in the front.”

  She pulls out one of the thin, wrap robes that are given to patients for exams. My cock, which hasn’t gone down since the lift, twitches in anticipation of her watching me undress. It’s almost as if my dick has become a separate entity from me, similar to my hair follicles. With concentration and some work, I can control them normally, but when Ashlyn’s around, it becomes its own separate, living, breathing thing. And that thing can’t always be controlled. She has her own way of managing them both.

  To my disappointment, as I release the fastener on my gray flight suit, Ashlyn leaves the room. “Where are you going?” Trying to sound casual, I pull my sleeves out one at a time as she answers.

  “I’ll be back.” Her giggle seems out of place as it echoes down the hall, but I finish undressing and putting on the robe.

  The fabric is thin and short, and I make a mental note that we should have two sizes, one for the males, as well as for the females. We only have one size, and on the females they’re quite large, but I’ve increased in size over the trip to Quasar and this barely meets on my stomach, only offering a slight overlap to cover my cock that’s lifting the fabric indecently.

  Shrugging, I settle back on the narrow bed, wondering where Ashlyn has gone. It seems like she’s been taking a good while. My mind wanders to the release block, and I begin to worry about someone needing access. There’s always a possibility of an emergency, and I’ve been busier than ever in the last rotation without Brock. But with the excitement of coming into Quasar’s vicinity, all communication is now quiet.

  Movement out of the corner of my eye draws my attention to the hall when Ashlyn comes into view. My breath hitches as I take in the short white coat she’s wearing with only some sheer fabric on her legs. The material is entirely see through and only comes up to the middle of her thighs on her legs, just under where her white coat stops. The top of each leg is ringed with white lace and as she walks, I can see there are straps holding onto the lace, because skin peeks out enticingly with each step she takes toward me.

  Her stride is different too, and looking at her feet, I see she’s wearing shoes with a very high, sharp heel. Something deep inside me twists as I rub my aching cock self consciously. She’s dressed this way on purpose to entice me, and her efforts are working perfectly.

  Already, I feel precum dripping from the head of my cock lying hard across my stomach, wetting the robe where it drapes across me. As she comes closer, I take in the tablet she’s holding across her chest and how she’s put her hair up, making her look serious but sexy at the same time. “Can you tell me what the problem seems to be today?”

  My mouth opens in shock for a moment as I realize what she’s doing. We’ve discussed this, and she called it “role playing.” When you take a real life—or even a totally made up idea and turn it into a sexual fantasy. I can’t wait to see what she does next!

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  - Ashlyn

  A groan comes from Atticus’s mouth before his hand lowers to his bobbing cock, straining against the robe indecently. It really doesn’t cover much. Barely past his dick. His long, muscular legs bend slightly as his hand clutches himself. “I have a really bad ache—right here.”

  “Hmm.” Looking at the display, I tap over to the scanning program before reaching next to the bed for the portable hand scanner. “Try to relax, this’ll only take a few moments.”

  I trade the display for the scanner and take a step back to make sure I give him a good view of my outfit. I can tell he’s impressed already, and all he can see is the thigh-high stockings and heels so far. Over the last week or so, Rachel has been teaching the Ashen technology on textiles to everyone.

  It isn’t what you think. Suffice it to say that some of us are way better at it than others. Rachel’s a pro and has started producing items for other women when they ask. One of the biggest requests is lingerie. It’s a big hit with all the men, but this is the first time I’ve had the nerve.

  What better to combine than my being a doctor fantasy with lingerie that Atticus is sure to enjoy? Wait until he sees the rest. Running the scanner slowly, I watch with fascination as his body loads into the system. Recognizing him immediately, it starts the comparison from the previous scan that was weeks before when he showed me how to use it.

  He’s grown, and not just between his legs. Trying not to get distracted from my role, I tilt my body over him suggestively and know I’ve accomplished my goal of giving him a peek down my white lab coat when his breath audibly hitches. “You appear to be growing.”

  His deep chuckle almost makes me lose character. “Oh, Ashlyn. I always grow around you.”

  Ignoring his witty pun, I move to the end of the bed, adjusting it to lower as I look between his legs which he only spreads wider. I love eyeing his muscular naked body—well, almost naked. As my mouth waters, I consider how much longer I need to play this game. Right now, all I can think about is climbing on top and shoving him inside me.

  Tugging the bed away from the wall, it moves easily on the casters they use. I can barely feel his weight that’s easily three times my own. Flipping the bed until the head’s near my lap, I lower it until it’s around my thigh heig
ht. It’s laughable how low it looks, but now I can walk around him and eye him up, bending periodically to give him a good look at the g-string underwear and garter belt.

  Atticus leaves no doubt he’s seen it as he grips the base of himself, grappling with his control before sputtering out, “What… what is that you’re wearing?”

  Giving him a serious look, I put down the scanner and slowly start unbuttoning the doctor’s coat, exposing the white push-up bra that actually fits me and makes my chest look perky and huge. When I have the guts to look back up, his eyes are glued to the white bra, garter, and panties set I’ve exposed.

  When he doesn’t say anything, I walk up the side of the bed toward his head before his hand reaches out to skim along the lace cups tentatively. Throwing my arms back, I thrust my chest into his hand while letting the coat drop to the floor behind me.

  Plucking the robe tie, I continue up to his head, leaning over him and dropping my head for a brief kiss. As I pull back I whisper, “How’re you feeling now?”

  Atticus’s mouth gapes, but his hands are busy, sliding along my side and upper thigh, making shivers race through my body. I’m pretty sure I’m as turned on as he is as I feel his hand reach around my bottom to dig his fingers into my ass cheek, pulling me forward to trace my underwear down to where I’m wet with anticipation.

  “Ashlyn,” he doesn’t even look down as my palms spread the robe open, fingers drifting over the dips and valleys of his chiseled chest. His cock bobs at me invitingly. “You look beautiful…”

  I think he plans to say more, but his words drift off as I settle my first knee next to his head. “I want to try something.”