Scarlet
It was really hard holding back from Pyrr’s desire to mate with me. We were practically rubbing sparks off each other. I guess I just needed time to get used to the idea, along with the fact that we would not be going back to Earth anytime soon---if ever.
The governor of Halor invited us to stay there where it was safe and peaceful, or we could stay with the mercenaries and eventually settle on Farseek with them. The majority of the Halorans were a different species of a humanoid than the Farseekers. Harper said that we were genetically compatible; they just had different skin pigmentation, hair and eye colors.
Harper, Zoe, and Nora were my only friends from Earth. Harper already committed to Commander Maktu which meant she was staying. I wasn’t going to live on Halor without her. I doubted Zoe or Nora would stay there either. Harper believed in their solmatu recognition. The way I felt being with Pyrr was starting to make me a believer.
We finished our tea and Pyrr returned our empty mugs to the processor. Then, he turned and offered his hand to assist me as I slid out of the booth. Something in his eyes told me he was going to make his move. He pulled me against him with one arm around me and used his free hand to tilt my face up to kiss me.
As his lips settled against mine, I slid my arms around him relishing the warmth of his firm muscular body. He felt wonderful, and his kiss was so tantalizing, I wanted to take all that it offered. His tongue slid in between my parted lips and danced around mine. I made a soft mewing sound in my throat at his thorough exploration of my mouth. When his lips finally lifted from mine, my whole body was trembling with desire. The press of his cock against my belly didn’t help.
“That felt every bit as good as I thought it would,” he said with an affectionate smile.
I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “It did.” Slowly, he released me and stepped back.
I wasn’t sure whether I was relieved or disappointed. But I was getting hungry.
“Give me a minute.” He ran his hand down my arm in a tender caress. Then he went into the bedroom I guessed to use the bathroom, and maybe to adjust his cock.
Glancing down, I could see my erect nipples outlined under my shirt. I crossed my arms over my chest willing them to relax. If that didn’t work, perhaps the added warmth of my arms would make them less conspicuous.
Pyrr returned momentarily. He looked at me with a faint smile, like he wanted to hold me again, but was refraining because of his reaction to being close to me. He rested his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Shall we go?
“Sure,” I said and started toward the door.
Pyrr fell into step beside me and put his hand on my back as we walked to the lift down to the floor where the mess hall and the conference room were located. There were about thirty of the mercenaries and close to the same number of the rescues in the mess hall when we arrived. It didn’t seem all that different from the messes I had been in as a soldier.
There were several long tables in a row side by side lengthwise with benches along both sides of the length of each table. All were anchored to the metal floors that were painted or infused with a dark green tint. The walls were a pale mint green.
The meal was self-serve cafeteria style. The variety was limited though I neither saw nor smelled anything that seemed unappetizing. Pyrr pointed out things he thought were worth eating. I got a casserole dish that looked like a stir-fry with meat and vegetables, some fruit and some cold tea. It was delicious after the protein bars they fed us on the slave ship. The dog biscuits I used to give Billy tasted better. I tried one once to see if they were good enough for my boy. They weren’t. I found a recipe and made them for him after that.
Pyrr and I chatted about our backgrounds. His world was higher tech than Earth, but he grew up in a small town like I did. Only he had brothers and sisters, where I was an only child. Mom couldn’t have any more after I was born. We had a dog, and a cat and I had playmates in the neighborhood. Pyrr told me that he had three brothers and two sisters and his whole family was among the missing.
He seemed to be handling it okay, but there was pain in his eyes when he spoke of them. But it receded as he told me about the ruda he’d had for a pet. He showed me a picture on his mini-tablet. It kind of looked like a cross between a small horse and a baby rhinoceros with paws like a dog. He was the size of a miniature horse. In earlier times of his people, the larger versions were used as beasts of burden to ride or pull wagons. Their ruda was named Pomtu, and he followed the kids everywhere when they were out playing. Pyrr figured it was probably killed in the Sargan attack on Farseek. Rudas lived between twenty and thirty years, and he was still the family pet when he left Farseek to fight for the Consortium.
We sat there and talked for a long time after we had finished eating, through three shifts of evening meals. I told Pyrr things about me that I had hardly told anyone else---except maybe Jake. By then my past was starting to seem like another life in another universe.
Finally, we just sat there looking at each other in silence, until he slid to the end of the bench and stood up. He waited as I did the same and we walked out of the mess together. Again, he put his hand lightly on my back as we walked together to the lift.
“Come with me?” he murmured as the door slid opened.
I looked at him for a long moment and stepped inside. He followed, and the door closed behind him.