Chapter Seven: A New Turn
When the siren went off, Galen was taking his turn helping out in the clinic. Ashera thought it was important that all of them could perform basic medical care, and so she made them take turns cleaning the clinic and watching while she set broken bones and wrapped cuts and gashes and the like. Nothing major, just enough that it might save their life or the life of one of their fellows one day in the field or on a job.
It was simple work, washing out tubs and changing the linens on the cot, organizing bandages and gauze spray so that they would be easy to find when Ashera needed them next. There were rows of shiny metal boxes on a shelf, each labeled with what they contained, and Galen didn’t have enough medical knowledge to know what they meant. He knew they contained little tablets that dissolved on a patient’s tongue and could dull pain or put someone to sleep or cure a fever.
The Imperials had better medicine, of course. When he’d last been on one of the Allied Planets, they’d just come up with a serum that could regrow and repair failing organs. They didn’t have anything like that out here in the nowheres, but they were more than making do.
And then the siren went off, and Galen dropped the tray he’d been holding with a clatter, swearing under his breath.
Ashera had been bent over a tablet, making note of their inventory, and her head snapped up at the sound. “What now?” she asked.
“Maybe another human falling from the sky for you to take pity on,” Galen replied, though he sounded more tired than bitter these days. It was funny how not talking to the human woman made him feel like he was missing out on something.
He couldn’t explain it. She irked him something awful, and he didn’t trust her, but she was...interesting. She was something new in this life that was often the same every day. And she had a spirit to her that he found intriguing. Or something. It didn’t really make sense, and he didn’t know why he couldn’t stop watching her when they were at the circle. But there it was.
And it had been too quiet lately, leaving him with too much time to think. He'd been on the verge of looking for some job, any job, to do just so he'd have something else to focus on, but the siren going off worked just as well.
It meant that there was someone or something approaching that shouldn't be, and when Galen heard the sound of a ship's engine, passing over close enough that it meant the vessel meant to land here, he grinned.
"Finally."
Ashera rolled her eyes. "Do you have a problem with peace?" she wanted to know, putting away her boxes and vials and stepping into the back room.
This was one of Galen's favorite sights, even though he'd never tell her that. Ashera was a healer, and she enjoyed being able to help people and when things were quiet. That did not make her weak, which made Galen respect her more than he had ever expected to.
She emerged from the back room with a weapon in her hand. It was a weapon that just made sense in her hand, a long, thin sword with a basket hilt that she wielded with deadly precision and grace. There were symbols etched into the blade, and she kept it immaculately clean, wiping and disinfecting it after every battle.
"Not in our nature, Ashera," Galen said. His sword was in the corner, and he was pleased that he never went anywhere without it. "Shall we?"
Ashera rolled her eyes, but gestured for him to go first. "Let's see what the racket is about."
They got outside in time to see the ship in question landing in the distance. It was unmarked, Galen could tell that much from here, and when Carro saw them, she came over.
"Bounty hunter," she said, and no one needed more explanation than that.
Galen made a face and spat in the dirt. "Scum. Sucking off the Imperials' boots while pretending it makes them free."
"Quite," Ashera said, and there was steel in her eyes and in her voice. "Where is Nora?" She glanced around, as if she expected the human woman to be armed and standing with them.
Carro and Galen exchanged a look and Carro shook her head. "I left her somewhere safe. She doesn't know how to fight."
"Perhaps we should change that," Ashera said. "If she's going to stay."
No one looked at Galen then, and he knew why. But he had bigger things to worry about at the moment. Namely, that the ship had opened its hatch, and imps were pouring out of it.
They were literally imps, too, which was hilarious. It wasn't a nice thing to call the sprigs, a race of creatures that inhabited the planets right outside of the Imperials' control and often did their dirty work, but Galen didn't care.
They were about three feet tall, had dark skin and sharp teeth and wielded little daggers that were usually coated in poison.
Their stature was funny, but if a bunch of them ganged up on a person, that person was likely to die.
And there were at least twenty of them heading over the hill, ready to take them on.
Galen drew his sword and took his stance. He wasn't running from imps. "Don't give them any ground," he said through his teeth, eyes never leaving the small, advancing army. "Don't give them anything."
He could hear the sound of the others arriving and taking their positions, ready to fight. The imps weren't in charge of this operation, Galen was willing to bet on that, but they would have to deal with them before they could move on to figuring out who was in charge and where they were.
But Galen didn't have time for logic once the imps rushed closer. The battle was upon them, and this was his element.
The imps raised their daggers, and Galen laughed, batting three of them aside with the flat of his sword and sending them flying while he whirled to engage another.
Compared to his massive weapon, their little daggers were nothing, and poison didn't matter if it never had the chance to strike.
One of the bigger imps growled and tried to engage him in a one on one battle, but he was still about three and a half feet shorter than Galen and was armed with something that wouldn't even put a scratch in his sword.
"You don't want to do this, imp," Galen said, a teasing smile on his face. That made the imp fly into a rage, for some reason, and he launched himself at Galen, who stepped away neatly, letting the little man go flying past him.
He turned to engage him with his sword again, knocking the dagger from the imp's hands with ease.
The sprig bared his teeth, and Galen rolled his eyes and beheaded him. Easier that way, and then he wouldn't have to listen to the indignant squeaking.
There was the sound of a horn call from up on the hill and another wave of the sprigs came rushing out of the ship.
"Oh for—” he heard Jonton say, and he turned to see him getting swamped by six or seven of the little creatures.
Galen wasn't worried though. One second it looked like Jonton was overwhelmed, and the next, all the imps were flying through the air, some of them striking the ground hard, others landing in craters or slamming into rocks.
He gave Jonton a salute and went back to carving his way through the tiny horde.
He paused long enough to flick his sword clean of blood and saw a dark figure moving through the city. Whoever it was was creeping among the buildings, and heading in the direction of Carro's workshop.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that was probably where Carro had stashed Nora, and Galen ground his teeth together and huffed out a breath. It would solve a lot of problems to just let whoever that was find the defenseless human and have done with her. Galen had never had anything like a code of honor before. If you were strong, you survived, and if you weren't then you died and you probably deserved it.
But...
He swore under his breath and took off at a run, mowing down imps as he went. He would feel guilty if something happened to Nora, and that was a new sensation to have about a veritable stranger.
Still, he pushed himself, and made it to the workshop in record time, just in time to hear the bounty hunter talking about the Imperials.
"That's just too bad for them, isn't it?" he said.
The look of pure relief on Nora’s face startled him for a moment, and then the bounty hunter was rounding on him.
“You just don’t know how to stay out of trouble, do you?” he asked.
Galen grinned. “Bris,” he said. “It’s been a while.” He was familiar with this particular hunter. The four arms should have given him away immediately, but he’d been distracted. Bris was the hunter who had come close to dragging him away to the Imperials’ justice a few years ago, managing to wound him in combat and get him cuffed and on the way to his ship.
Of course, Galen had escaped, and he was actually the reason why Bris only had one eye now. Which was amusing, but Galen kept his grip on his sword.
Bris had a gun in one hand and a sword in two others, and when he moved to attack him, Galen’s body moved by reflex. It was Bris’ favorite way to fight, using his two extra arms to his advantage, and that wasn’t surprising at all. Galen would have done the same thing in his position. Unfortunately for Bris, since the last time they had fought, Galen had been training to counter his tricks. Never let the same enemy hurt you the same way twice, and all that.
So he was ready for the attack, and he deflected it and then brought his sword in a sweeping arc that sliced off the hand that was holding the gun before he could shoot Nora with it.
It was hard to say who looked more shocked, Nora or Bris, but the former backed away, and the latter howled with pain, so Galen knew which one he needed to deal with first.
And it was simple enough to deal with Bris from there.
A few slashes of his sword had Bris down to one arm, and then one well placed thrust had him dead on the ground, bleeding out an inky black blood at Galen’s feet.
“Carro’s going to kill me,” he muttered under his breath.
Nora was still staring at him, eyes wide and mouth open. “You...you…” she said, seemingly unable to complete the sentence.
Galen rolled his eyes. “What? You think I should have let him live?” he snapped, irritated. “You think I should have let him walk away? That’s not how this life works, and if you can’t deal with that, then you should leave.”
He felt oddly defensive with the way she was looking at him. He couldn’t tell if it was horror or awe in her eyes, and he didn’t want either. Galen had to wonder how many people she’d seen die in front of her like that, and he looked away and down at the arms and body that littered the floor.
“I…” she said and then he heard her take a step forward. “Thank you.”
“What?” His neck twinged with pain with the speed that his head snapped up at that. “What did you say?”
“Thank you,” Nora said again.
“For what? Dismembering a hunter in front of you? You’re welcome.” The words came out more harsh than he’d meant for them too, snapping out between them like a whip. Nora flinched, and Galen was both gratified and dismayed to see it.
“For saving me,” she said in a small voice. “He was going to…”
“It wouldn’t have ended well for you,” Galen supplied. “Anyway, I didn’t do it for you. I owed him.”
And before Nora could say anything else, he was walking away.
The rest of that day was devoted to clean up. Bodies had piled up everywhere, and it was easier to burn then in the incinerator than try to bury them or hide them. Galen looted Bris’ body himself and then dumped him and his arms into the chute, sending him down into the flames.
Cattilda came to stand next to him while the hunter burned. She touched the place at his side where she knew that Bris had wounded him before. “Good job,” she said, and then walked on.
He had done a good job. He’d even scrubbed the blood from the floor of Carro’s workshop so she wouldn’t kill him with her glare. And yet.
And yet he still kept seeing that look in Nora’s eyes, and it bothered him that he didn’t know what it meant. Two days went by, and Galen didn’t see Nora at all in that time.
“I think she’s a little…” Carro said when Galen asked, clearly searching for the right word. “Traumatized? I don’t know. It was a lot for her, what happened. And, you know.”
“What?”
“You know,” Carro said again, which was frustrating because clearly he didn’t know. “She thinks you hate her.”
“Oh.”
Frustration welled in him, and he rubbed a hand over his hair. He didn’t hate her. He didn’t. There were very few individuals that Galen hated. The Imperials and the sprigs were two good examples of groups that he hated, but people were complex.
And Nora…
Well.
He didn’t know how to explain what he felt about Nora.
She was at the circle the next night. She looked pale and withdrawn, sitting in her seat and barely making eye contact with anyone. Donlan stood to address their assembled mass, talking about the attack still and asking Carro what they could do with the ship that Bris and his army of sprigs had left behind.
Galen half listened, but mostly he watched Nora.
She didn’t look up from where she was staring at the ground in front of her. Her gaze seemed distant, and where usually, she caught him in the act of staring at her, this time she didn’t seem to notice at all.
It was very weird.
His brow furrowed as he considered his options.
Once Donlan had finished speaking, they all dug into their food. Nora didn’t seem to eat much, just pushing the food around on her plate and picking at it listlessly. Irritation prickled in him, making him stab at the meat on his plate with more vigor than was necessary. But honestly. She was just sitting there, looking timid and scared and like she’d never had any spirit at all, which he knew wasn’t true.
When the meal was over and the group started to break up, Nora got to her feet, smiled unconvincingly at Carro and then made to head back to Carro’s house, while Carro headed back to her workshop.
Galen’s feet carried him after Nora.
He followed her for a good bit, waiting for her to turn around and tell him off or something. Anything to show that she wasn’t broken all because she’d seen someone get dismembered in front of her. She’d never survive here if that was all it took to shake her. It only got worse from what she’d seen.
They walked for a good five minutes, and Galen knew that she knew he was following her. He wasn’t trying to hide it, and she didn’t even turn around to acknowledge him. That just made it worse.
“Nora,” he snapped, using her name to her face, which he didn’t usually do.
“What?” she asked without turning around. “I’m just going home, Galen. You don’t have to breathe down my neck.”
‘Breathe down her neck’? A curious phrase. He wasn’t anywhere near her neck at the moment. “I want to talk to you,” Galen said.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said. “Leave me alone.”
A growl built in his throat. He was tired of hearing that. “I want to talk to you,” he said again, tone sharper.
“I don’t care.”
“Nora—”
"I get it!" Nora snapped finally, turning on her heel to stare at him. "You don't like me. I get that, okay? So you can stop harping on about it now because I know that’s all you’re going to say. You don't like me, and you don't trust me, and you don't believe that I don't remember anything, blah, blah, blah. But it's been weeks, Galen. Weeks. And I haven't done anything to deserve the way you've been following me around and needling me. Do you think I want to be stuck here? No. I would much rather go home, but that's apparently not an option, and I don't even remember where home is exactly, so I'm here and neither of us are happy about it, but I'm trying. I'm trying, and you're just complaining like a...a big, grumpy child!"
She ended her rant there, and Galen watched her breathing hard. There was anger glinting in her light colored eyes, and he couldn't help but think to himself that high emotion looked good on her. It was a welcome change from the non emotion she’d been displaying just moments ago. She was clearly fed up, clearly irritated with him, and all he could think about was how interesting it would be to kiss her right then and there.
It was something his mother had pointed out about him when he was a little thing, and his friends among the Amakari had echoed the sentiment. If something was dangerous and likely to burn him, he was more interested in it.
It was true now. When Nora had been just a lost, sniveling human in his eyes, he hadn't given her a second thought in that way, but now that she was this...fiery, angry thing that stood up for herself against him, suddenly all those feelings that had been fluttering around in the pit of his stomach came roaring up, demanding to be acknowledged and acted on.
"I like you fine," Galen heard himself saying in a frustrated tone. It bothered him sometimes that he was bad with words and that his actions tended to broadcast different things from what he was actually feeling.
"Oh please," Nora said. "You do not. You've been on my case since I got here, and all I've ever tried to do was be your friend. But I think Carro was right. You don't have friends."
Now that stung, and Galen's face closed down. "She said that?"
"She said that you're like..." Nora made a face. "Well, I don't remember the exact word she used because I've never heard of it before, but basically she said that you push everyone away all the time like a small, prickly animal."
"Like a thorningal," he said. Yeah, Carro had said as much to him before to his face.
"Yeah, that," she said. "And she's right."
Galen nodded. "She is. But you are not."
"Why? Because I'm human? Because there's no possible way the little, lost human girl could know what she's talking about?"
He shook his head this time and took a step closer to her. "No," he said.
"Then why?" she demanded, hands balled into fists. "Tell me why I'm wrong?"
Instead of answering, Galen gave into the pull he'd been feeling towards her for some time now. He took another step and then another and another until he was right in front of her. Her face was flushed with anger, and she was breathing hard, staring up at him with an unwavering glare, waiting for him to tell her.
He kissed her instead.
He cupped her face in both hands, noting briefly how big his hands were compared to her head. His thumbs rested on her cheeks and he tipped her head back, leaning down until their mouths met.
It was like fire.
A spark jumped between them in his mind, and he made a low noise of approval as heat swamped him. It was like she was an inferno of emotion and he was dipping himself into it, not fearing the burns.
For a moment, Nora stood stiff and unmoving, either shock or disgust keeping her from reacting. Galen pulled back before he could get too consumed.
"I'm--"
He didn't even get the apology out before she was fisting her hands in his shirt and tugging, clearly trying to drag him back down for more.
That he could do.
Galen kissed her like he wanted to devour her. He poured all of his frustration and pent up longing into it, one hand sliding down from her face to wrap around her waist and drag her even closer.
The noises she made were exquisite. She moaned softly into his mouth and practically mewled when he bit down on her lip, returning the favor with her teeth on his lip in a way that pleased him to his core.
He had no idea how long they were kissing for, but when they finally parted for more than a half a second, they were both breathing hard.
Nora's eyes were bright as she looked at him. Slowly, she released her grip on his shirt and put one hand up to her mouth. He could still see it as she licked her lips slowly, and it made something low in him go tight with approval. She had a lovely mouth, that was true. Pert and now red and a little swollen from his kisses. Galen had to keep himself from pulling her to him again, waiting for a reaction before he tried for anything else.
When it came, it was not the reaction he'd been hoping for.
Nora started laughing. It bubbled up out of her at first, small and soft, but before long she was nearly bent double, clutching at her stomach as she laughed hysterically.
Galen narrowed his eyes. "What is so funny?" he bit out.
"You!" she said, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. "Oh my god, Galen."
It was such a turn around from her earlier anger, and Galen didn't know what was happening. He stood there helplessly while she laughed, unsure of what he was supposed to do or say next.
So he just waited for the peals of laughter to subside.
Finally, Nora seemed to be able to catch her breath. "Sorry," she said, sounding winded. "That was mean. I wasn't laughing at the kiss. The kiss was...really good."
Well, that was something, at least. "Then what is so funny?" he asked again.
"You. Your whole...thing. You've been so rude to me since I got here, you've been standoffish and weird and not nice, and now I find out it's just because you like me. You're like some boy in middle school, pulling a girl's pigtails because he can't just admit he likes her and wants to share her blocks."
None of that made any sense to him, and Galen just blinked at Nora, bewildered. "What?"
She laughed, softer this time. "Never mind. My point is, girls are usually only into kissing guys who are nice to them. Especially when they look like you."
Galen looked down at himself and then back at her. "And that's a good thing? Looking like me?"
"What do you think?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I think I would like to kiss you more," he said, being more formal than was strictly necessary because he didn't want any misunderstandings. He liked Nora. He liked kissing her. He wanted to do it more.
"Then kiss me," Nora said simply, and Galen didn't need to hear anything else.
Carro's place was closer, and they both knew that she would likely be occupied in her workshop for the next several hours. She was taking apart the ship Bris had come on and she had to keep going back and forth from where he'd crashed it to her workshop, and she spent more nights sleeping in her workshop than she did in her home.
Which served Nora and Galen's purposes quite well for the moment.
Galen had gotten impatient halfway there, and had grabbed Nora up, slinging her over his shoulder as they made their way for Carro's house.
Nora had protested, as Galen knew she would, but he just laughed and patted her bottom, whisking them down side streets until they got to their destination. It was easy enough to kick the door open, duck through it, and then kick it closed behind them. He sat Nora back down on her feet and then kissed her again, this time with even more intention.
He was known for being rough with his lovers, and even Cattilda had commented on it, and she was one of the sturdiest women he'd ever encountered. So when he bit down on Nora's bottom lip and heard her whimper, he forced himself to draw back and use his head.
Blood was pounding through him, and he was already half hard at the thought of taking this woman for his own. Galen wanted her pinned down and spread out for him, limbs quivering while she took everything he had to give her. She'd look beautiful, he knew that. A flush on those lovely cheeks, her hair rumpled, her mouth open on her moans.
Gates.
But he had to stop for a moment. He had to think. "Are you alright?" he asked her, looking her over.
Nora was breathing hard, and she licked her bottom lip where he'd bitten it. It was enough to make him want to bite it again, but he refrained. For the moment.
"Yeah," she said finally. "Yeah."
"You sure?"
"I'm." Nora cut off and glanced around. "A little nervous."
"Why?" Nervous didn't mean the same thing as unwilling, but Galen needed to know that she wanted this as much as he did before he was willing to go any further.
"Look at you," she said, gesturing to him. "You're massive. You could break me."
True enough, but. "I wouldn't," Galen said. "I won't hurt you. I'll keep you safe."
"Even from yourself?"
He snorted, amused, and then nodded. "Even from me."
She looked down at the ground and then back up at him, and a smile curled around her mouth. "Alright, then. I trust you."
For a moment, Galen had to stand there, a bit stunned. He hadn't considered trust in the rush of feelings that had washed over him. All he'd known was that he wanted her, and he was used to getting what he wanted.
But she trusted him. Which was...good. It was a good feeling.
"Good," he said. "Come here." He held a hand out to her, and she went to him with no hesitation. Galen smiled and tipped her face up with one hand, wanting to see her eyes. They were dark with desire, and she licked her lips again. Her hands were shaking, but it seemed like it was more excitement than nerves this time.
She rose up on her toes and kissed him hard, and Galen smiled into it, letting her lead this time. She kissed with passion and experience, and it warmed something in him to see proof that she wanted him too.
"You know how you said you weren't going to hurt me?" Nora whispered when she drew back for breath.
Galen nodded.
"You don't need to be super thorough with that. I like to feel it."
And oh ever single, Galen was two seconds from throwing her to the floor and having her right then and there when she said that. He growled and bit her lip again, hands going to her waist to grip hard.
When she moaned for him, his blood thundered, and he was already hard in his pants, his cock pressing against the front of them, as if demanding to be freed.
With a tentative motion, Nora reached for it, her hand sliding down from Galen's chest to press against his hardness. He hissed and pushed his hips forward, seeking more friction.
"Oh my god," Nora breathed. "You're huge."
"Proportional," Galen pointed out, even as he preened with pride.
Nora rolled her eyes and pressed her hand down harder, making him moan for her. Oh, she was feisty, and he loved that. His eyes went darker, and suddenly, he was done playing around. There was a time and a place for teasing and playful banter, and he enjoyed that just as much as the sex itself sometimes, but he was quickly reaching the point where he had to have her, and he had to have her now.
For the second time that evening, Galen scooped her up. He carried her through the house, bypassing Carro's room and heading straight for the guest nook that Nora had been set up in.
It wasn't so much a room as it was a corner of the house with a bed in it, and the bed was neatly made and all of the belongings that Nora had collected since she'd been here were stacked neatly under it.
Galen wasn't surprised. He didn't give any of it more than a passing glance, though, determined as he was. He tossed Nora onto the bed, grinning when she bounced, and then climbed on after her, moving so he could pin her down to the sheets.
She gasped when one of his hands circled both of her wrists, pinning her hands over her head. She gave some token resistance, twisting her wrists and tugging to see if she could move him.
She couldn't.
As if that was some kind of magic, her legs fell open for him, and Galen laughed and then settled himself between them.
"You like this," he breathed, lowering his head until his lips were just an inch from hers. He could feel her breath as she let out shuddering little exhales, and when his free hand made its way to that secret place between her legs, he could feel the heat and wetness of her through her clothes. "You really like this."
She swallowed hard, and it was nearly audible, and she nodded. "Yes. Please, Galen."
"Please what?" he asked her, dipping just a bit closer to her mouth while his hand rubbed her through her pants. "Tell me what you want."
Nora arched for him, pressing her crotch even harder against his hand and grinding against it. "Please, please, please. I want you. Please."
Gates, the begging. He couldn't deny her anything when she asked for it like that, and he swallowed hard and then nodded. "Stay," he said, a growl in his voice as he pressed her wrists down harder for a moment and then released her so he could use both hands to get her pants and underthings off.
Her skin was soft when his hands brushed against it, and when he looked up, he could see that she had obeyed him and her hands were still above her head.
“Good girl,” he said, giving her a lopsided smile.
Once she was undressed from the waist down, Galen could smell her arousal. It was heavy and musky, and it made his mouth water. His hands, as if they had minds of their own, took up positions on her body. The left one went back to holding her wrists down and the right went right for where she was hot and wet and needy for him. And Gates, she was wet. His fingers were slick as soon as they touched her there, and he smiled, rubbing through the wetness, learning her body.
He'd never been with a human woman before, but there was a first time for everything. Galen just needed a second to make sure they were put together the same way that women of other species were.
It didn't seem that different, and his fingers made a thorough exploration, which had Nora pulling against his grip and making low, eager noises for him.
"You're a..." she broke off to moan again and then arched. "Tease."
"I'm not teasing," Galen said. "You'd know if I was teasing."
And he wasn't intending to draw this out for the sake of it. He wanted to make sure that he was doing this right before he plunged into her, but he'd had enough of waiting just as she had.
His cock was throbbing insistently, and he reached down to his pants to free it, letting it spring free in the cool air.
Nora lifted her head so she could get a better look, and her eyes widened at the sight of him. Galen grinned. At full hardness, he was a specimen, even amongst the others of the Amakari, and it was going to be interesting to see if Nora could take him.
She certainly looked like she was ready to try.
Her legs spread open even wider, and Galen grabbed himself and rubbed the head through her wetness, groaning at how the soft, wet heat felt against the sensitive tip of his cock.
"Oh god," Nora moaned, head tipped back and eyes closed. "Galen, please."
He didn't think he was ever going to get tired of hearing that word from her mouth. Asking for him, begging for him, demanding him. She wanted him. Many, many (many) women had wanted him over the years, but this one...he didn't know why, but there was something different about being wanted by Nora.
So he obliged her. Slowly, so slowly, he pushed the head of his length into her, eyes falling to half lidded at how silky she felt on the inside. Those walls were wet and warm and they pulled him in, even as he fought to go slow and not hurt her.
Nora's breath caught in her throat, and she swallowed hard. "Oh god," she said on a low voice. "Oh god, oh god."
"Do you want me to stop?" Galen managed. He wasn't sure he could have stopped if he'd tried, but for her, he would make it happen.
But Nora shook her head frantically. "Don't you dare," she said through her teeth. "It's just getting interesting."
The laugh burst forth from him, easing any lingering reservations he might have had. Her body wanted him, and the rest of her seemed to be in line with that, so he pushed his way in until he was sheathed to the hilt in her welcoming entrance, panting and fighting to hold still so that they could both adjust to the new sensation.
Nora squirmed where he had her impaled on him, bucking and arching and moving her hips in tiny circles. Galen watched for a moment, and was still surprised when she went tight around him and let out a low moan of pleasure.
"Did you just..." he asked, staring at her.
Her cheeks flushed red. "Yes," she said, defensiveness in her tone. "I couldn't help it."
She couldn't help it. He was inside of her finally, but hadn't started moving yet, and she had already come for him. The thought of it stirred the low heat in his belly, and a growl slipped from his lips without his control.
This woman. She had been tempting him in one way or another since she'd arrived on his moon, and now he finally had her. "Do you want to stop?" he asked again. It wasn't strange for some women to be finished with him once they'd reached their pleasure.
"No," Nora said. "I want to see you come. And I can probably come again."
That was all he needed to hear.
He still started slow, hips rocking into hers, pulling out just a bit and then pushing back in, testing the waters. Nora had to be sensitive from her first climax, but she took it, making soft, mewling sounds as he worked himself in her.
Her walls felt good around him, and the drag of it sent sparks of power dancing through his belly and down his spine. Galen fought to keep the pace slow and easy, not wanting to overwhelm her, but as he pulled and pushed into her the rhythm of his heartbeat started to sound like 'take her take her take her take her', and it was hard to ignore.
"I won't break," Nora said breathlessly, as if sensing the direction of his scattered thoughts. "Come on."
His next thrust was harder, practically slamming into her when he pushed back in. The next one after that was harder still, and it set the pace as he pounded into her body, seeking his pleasure. He could tell from the blissed out expression on her face that Nora was enjoying herself, and she made no effort to keep quiet, instead moaning and gasping how she felt, his name falling off of her lips time and time again.
"Nora." Galen said her name back, liking the way it sounded when he was breathless with pleasure, and it wasn't long before those walls were rippling around him once more and she was arching up sharply, crying out her release.
He slowed down just enough to not overwhelm her, but didn't stop, working her through the pleasure and keeping it building. She was trembling under him, but he was so close now, his own release teasing at the edges of his awareness, daring him to stop now.
"Come on," Nora was panting. "Come on."
He came. He pulled out of her and replaced her warm body with his hand, but it took only seconds before he was hissing and letting the sensation take over, closing his eyes and feeling it all crash over him with an overwhelming amount of force.
Galen grunted a swear as he shook with it, and then panted hard, feeling like he'd been in an intense fight.
Slowly, he opened his eyes to look at Nora and if he hadn't been so worn out already he would have been raring for another go. Her hair was mussed, and when he released her wrists, there were red marks in the shape of his fingers around them. She looked like she was marked as his, sweaty and sticky and pleased, and something primal and territorial roared its satisfaction inside Galen's chest.
He smirked. "Had fun?"
Nora rolled her eyes. "You're insufferable." But she smiled back at him, shifting over so that there was room for him lie down if he wanted to.
He wanted to.
Neither of them spoke for a long moment, and then Galen let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry."
The tension reached a higher level. "For what?" Nora replied, cautiously.
"For how I've treated you. You have to understand, though. These people are all I've got left in the universe. This place is the only home I have. What we've built here is all we've got. And the thought of someone threatening that..." He trailed off, not wanting to get overly sentimental. No one had time for that.
"I know," Nora said softly. "And...it's alright. I understand why you were like that. If some stranger was sniffing around my family and friends I would be suspicious, too." She frowned. "At least I think I would. I don't remember if I have a family or friends."
"That has to be hard."
She sighed and then nodded. "It's...difficult. I wake up in the morning, and all I can remember is here. I keep trying to think back, but I just end up with headaches. Ashera says the memories will come back on their own if they're still there, but. It's just hard. Not knowing who I am."
Galen honestly couldn't even imagine. He'd built this person that he was now from the scraps of who he'd been before, and if he ever forgot who he was, he didn't think he'd be able to handle it. "Well," he said, feeling a bit foolish. Comforting people wasn't his strong point. "You have a place here. For as long as it takes."
Nora glanced at him, a smile playing around her lips. "Really? You'd let me stay?"
"Donlan already said you could," Galen pointed out.
She made a face at him. "But you're saying it now. That's different."
"Why?"
"It just is. Trust me."
Galen was beginning to think he did.