Chapter Twelve
In the days following the second dinner incident, Eva remained quiet, not deliberately ignoring Kerr, but locked in her head, worrying. It wasn’t like her. She’d never been one to bite her nails or pace or lose sleep because she couldn’t turn off her mind. But so much had changed in such a short time.
One thing she couldn’t stop thinking about was Eryn. Despite Kerr’s assurances Ram could be trusted, she couldn’t help being concerned because, when it came to stubborn, the staunchly loyal and determined security chief had her beat ten times over. With the safety of everyone on the Odyssey her primary directive, she’d never submit to her warrior because she would see it as abandoning her mission—and her crew—something Eryn, who had risked capture to save an injured teammate on the hunting planet, would never do.
Eva also worried over her lack of transformation and what it meant for a future with Kerr. If he was concerned over her lack of visible changes as proof of their bond, he never let on. But she checked the mirror every time she passed it for a glimmer of gold in her eyes, her light hair turning dark, or a hint of a tan. And she scanned her body when she bathed for a new mark, no matter how small. There was nothing, and the more time went by, she was convinced there wouldn’t ever be. As far as Eva could see, she and Kerr matched in one way—great sex, which was nice for now while it was new, but what happened in another week, a month, or a year when she stayed the same old Eva?
How long before Kerr admitted it wasn’t going to happen, or someone else brought it up, like one of the elders? Then what? She was one of the few fertile women on the planet. If breeding was the goal of mating like he said, would he step aside and give her to another? What kind of life would it be, coldly passed from man to man until she got knocked up.
And there were no guarantees it would ever happen—what then? Who would want her? Where would she go? How would she live? She could get a job, but what would she do for a protector, since one seemed to be required on this weird-retro planet? Could she still live here at the capital, perhaps in a guest room downstairs until she, or they—likely Kerr and his council—figured out what to do with her?
But as she thought about it, she realized she couldn’t stay here. Kerr would move on after her. He was young, and heaven knows he was virile, sex three and four times a day would be something he’d miss. And he needed an heir. He’d search for another match even if he had to go off-world again to find one. The thought of him with another woman made the heaviness in her stomach twist into knots.
Returning to the Odyssey would be so much easier. In time, and with distance, her heart might heal. But her ship, quite literally, had long since sailed.
Filled with a sense of disquiet, she turned to the comfort of Kerr’s arms. It was a double-edged sword though because, with each passing day, her feelings for him grew stronger. It would make their inevitable parting even more painful. With her emotions turbulent in the extreme, she sought refuge in the rooftop garden.
One afternoon, while in the hothouse, repotting some root-bound plants into larger containers, she paused, scratching her nose with the back of her soil-covered hand. A shrill squeal into the quiet startled her, and she jumped, knocking over a full pot of peat.
“I should have known if there was dirt to play in on this planet, you’d find it.”
At the familiar voice, she looked up and grinned when she saw Lana.
In her excitement, Eva dropped everything and ran, dirt-covered hands and all, meeting her friend halfway down the center aisle. They hugged, laughed, and chattered over each other, even shedding a few misty-eyed tears, and acted like it had been years, not days since they’d seen one another. While this was going on, they also ignored Trask who stood a few steps away looking on with an indulgent smile.
“I’m so glad you have a greenhouse to keep you busy,” Lana said while looking around.
“Let me show you the gardens,” Eva gushed excitedly. “Some of the plants will blow your mind.”
Still holding her in a sideways hug, Lana twisted to her warrior. “Can I stay for a while?”
“It’s why I brought you, paulova, for a visit with your friend.”
Her mood brighter than it had been in weeks, Eva turned to thank Trask. The words halted on her tongue when she saw Kerr standing alongside the general, amusement flickering in his eyes as he also took in the scene.
Moving in, he pulled her out of Lana’s embrace and answered her unspoken question. “You needed cheering up, sprite, so I asked Trask to bring his mate around.”
He nudged her chin up for a kiss, though he didn’t dive in right away. Instead, he caught her upturned face between both hands and wiped her cheek and nose with his thumbs. “You had dirt smudges,” he explained before he planted a potent kiss on her lips. It was brief, and he was walking away with Trask the next minute. “Enjoy your visit; we’ll be back before it’s time for the evening meal.”
Once the men left, the two friends stared at each other in silent commiseration. Eva held it together for no about two seconds before she crumpled, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“Oh, honey,” Lana crooned as she encircled her shoulders, rocking her gently in a soothing, motherly embrace. “I know how you feel. It’s like an intensely true to life sci-fi movie that just won’t end.”
With someone to voice her fears to, at last, they came shooting out one after the other. “I keep hearing Eryn’s words, repeating in my head. Then guilt swamps me, making me sick to my stomach. While we’re here in the lap of luxury, what is happening back on Earth? And what about the Odyssey? They’re eight men down, a loss of seven scientists, which is a major hit for the success of the mission. We were the best of the bunch.”
“What would you have us do, Eva?”
Grim-faced, she shook her head. “I don’t know.” She swiped at her wet cheeks, without answers, but feeling somewhat better having unloaded a little. “Have you seen her since the night of the banquet?”
“No. Trask says Ram has taken her into isolation.”
Eva pushed out of her arms. “Like solitary confinement?”
“She’s not in prison. He says it’s like we were on the ship. Just her and Ram, no one else, in hopes the transformation will finally take hold.”
Eva shifted uneasily. “Eryn and I are the only ones who haven’t changed.”
“I noticed. You’re the biologist. Why do you think that is?”
She grimaced. “I know plant chemistry, not people. Especially not the people of a strange alien race.”
“What does Kerr say?”
“I mentioned it the night of the welcome dinner. He shrugged it off, saying every couple is different and hasn’t mentioned it since. I’ve been afraid to bring it up again, but, Lana, I think there’s been a terrible mistake.”
“No, the mate testing is supposed to be foolproof.” Her friend’s face clouded with uneasiness despite her denial.
“What other explanation can there be? We’re unknowns to them and their tests. Maybe Eryn and I are anomalies of some kind.”
“Yet Kerr seems pleased. He is, isn’t he?”
“Of course, the sex is great and frequent.”
“Is it for you, too? Great, I mean?”
She flushed. “The subject of sex has come up more in the past two weeks than in my entire lifetime.”
Lana nodded. “I know. It’s all they seem to think about. They are very sexual creatures.”
“Three times a day is more than very. I’m surprised I can walk.”
“Tell me about it.”
Her eyes met Lana’s, and they both grinned, but Eva’s quickly faded as her worries flooded back in.
“Going from a three-year dry spell to almost too much of a good thing is a bizarre new reality. What happens when the novelty wears off, and he’s stuck with an untransformed mate? I’m so confused, Lana. One minute, all I can think about is Kerr and jumping his bones, and, the next, it’s all about leaving and getting back to our people and our mission. And there’s this overwhelming guilt I have for even thinking about staying, not to mention the whole captured-by-giant-aliens thing. And the spankings and discipline with vocal restraints.” Her hand rose to her throat, and she swallowed.
Lana’s eyes grew wide. “Has Kerr—?”
“No! A spanking, or several, that’s all.”
“Is it so bad, Eva? I mean, Trask has, you know, spanked me, too, but…” Her hands flew to her cheeks which were bright red. “I’m ashamed to admit it, but it’s actually kind of nice. It stings, but not much, and I get warm and tingly, and he really knows how to make it all better.”
As she watched Lana fan her face with both hands, Eva grudgingly whispered, “It’s the same for me with Kerr.”
“Really?” Her hands dropped into her lap, and she blew out a breath as she chuckled. “Thank goodness. I thought it was just me.”
“No. Even if I don’t have gold eyes and black hair, we connect especially well in the sex department. It’s embarrassing, though. He makes me furious sometimes but then barely touches me, and I’m like Eryn said—a mindless sheep.”
“Don’t forget subservient to his feet and bowing at his cock.”
Her friend’s deadpan tone had Eva glancing up. At her waggling brows, she couldn’t keep from laughing, not realizing until then how much she’d missed her.
“I think you’ve got it backwards. But, yes”—she raised her hand—“slutty Eva is alive and well on Primaria.”
“So is slutty Lana. How can we not be? They’re big, strong, and gorgeous, and Trask is the most skilled lover I’ve ever had. And did I mention big as in all over?” She started fanning herself with her hand again.
“I did mention I’m surprised I can walk, right?”
“Yes, you did, lucky girl.” Her friend gave her an exaggerated wink with one of her stunning teal eyes—something Eva still wasn’t used to
She looked away with a sigh. “My body says yes, but my head’s a giant mess.” A butterfly landing on a bush nearby, made her recall her surroundings. “I’m lucky to have a place like this to retreat to when it gets overwhelming. I come up here, dig in the dirt, commune with nature, and drink tea.”
Lana’s brows lifted. “Tea? What kind? I haven’t had a good cup since we left on the mission.”
“Follow me.” Eva led her down a side aisle and stopped at a blue multi-petal flower.
“Blue daisy tea?” she grimaced. “It sounds awful.”
“The colors probably threw you off,” she told her with a grin. “This is chamomile, though they call it something else which is too much of a mouthful to say.”
Intrigued, Lana glanced around at row upon row of plants in the jam-packed greenhouse. “What else do you have in here? The odd colors make everything hard to identify.”
“Fresh fruit,” she replied, grabbing her arm and hurrying to the back where her worktable was located. “It takes some getting used to because the strawberries here are peach in color, and the peaches red like berries. Both are sweeter than any I’ve ever tasted, and they’re huge, like everything else around here.” She took a berry the size of her palm from a bowl of others she’d picked that morning. “Try one.”
After the first tentative bite, Lana’s eyes lit up. She proceeded to gobble up the rest of the light-orange strawberry and reached for another.
Eva bent to lift a basket off the floor. “I discovered these, too.”
“Please say pineapple,” she mumbled, her mouth full,
“Sorry, I haven’t come across any citrus yet, but check this out…white tomatoes, purple carrots, and pink lettuce.”
Leaning in, Lana picked up a tomato and brought it to her face for a sniff. “Mmm, why haven’t they been serving this? Meat, bread, and potatoes. Weird looking blue potatoes.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’d kill for a salad.”
“You can come over, and I’ll make us one anytime. I’m sure they serve what the men like. You have noticed the size of them, right?”
“Yeah.” She held her hands a foot apart. “I’ve noticed.” Then she burst into a fit of giggles.
Eva rolled her eyes. “And we’ve circled back to sex talk again.” She acted put out but was hiding a grin, the infectious nature of Lana’s bubbly personality impossible to resist.
“Oh. My. God!”
Eva started and turned around quickly, searching for a huge bug or a snake creeping up on her. She saw nothing to be alarmed over.
“Is that what I think it is?”
She followed the direction of Lana’s gaze to one of the only three green plants in the entire place. She wasn’t surprised she’d noticed the fan-shaped leaves with notched edges and the long, thin stem which was almost identical to Earth’s version of the plant.
“It looks exactly like cannabis.”
“That’s because it is.”
“You’re pulling my leg, right?”
“Nope, it’s definitely grade-A Primarian reefer.”
“How do you know?” Lana glanced at her shrewdly. “Have you tried it?”
“No, though I’ve been tempted.” Feeling more lighthearted than she had in days, her grin broadened. “Maybe we should…for scientific purposes, of course.”
“Kerr would have a fit.”
“Probably. As would Trask, but how would they know?” Eva began searching under the workbench until she found the metal box she’d stumbled upon a few days back. “I have something we can use.” Opening the lid, she held up a pipe. “I think this is Aylan’s stash.”
“Kerr’s uncle? The elder?”
She nodded. “What do you say? I’m dying to know what Primarian pot is like.”
It didn’t take much convincing for Lana to join her.
An hour later, they were reclining in the thick grass of the garden, staring up at the sky, and making up stories about the clouds floating by. And, of course, they were giggling.
“Look at the one over there,” Lana snickered. “Is it me, or is it rather phallic shaped?”
Eva looked where she pointed. “It’s you. I think it looks more like a dog. The oval one over there is the head and the smaller two his floppy ears.” She waved both hands at the sky as she described what she saw as plainly as the nose on her face.
“No,” Lana argued. She rolled over and, with both hands, craned Eva’s head in the opposite direction. “Look at it this way and the floppy things won’t look like ears anymore.”
From a different perspective, the phallus took shape. “Ah,” she said, giggling. “Now I see it. But it sure isn’t Kerr’s. It’s way too small.”
“Or Trask’s. There isn’t enough sky to do him justice.” Thinking this inordinately funny, Lana laughed so hard, she must have hurt something because she moaned between peals of laughter. With her arms around her waist and her knees to her chest, she curled into a ball on her side. “Stop making me laugh, La Croix, you’re giving me a stomachache.”
Her antics only made Eva laugh all the harder.
“They’re blazed,” a low rumbling voice stated.
“What do you think they got into?” another asked in response, this second voice as smooth as silk, and just as deep as the first.
“My guess? Aylan’s medicinal box.”
Eva twisted around so fast she got dizzy.
Kerr and Trask stood side by side, both with arms crossed and matching dour expressions. She elbowed her friend in warning.
“Aylan’s menicidal box,” Lana repeated, giggling when it came out all wrong. She stopped abruptly and tried again. “Mecidinal!” she declared, then frowned. “No, that isn’t right.”
Despite being caught red-handed and high as kites, Eva cracked up. Half laughing, half crying, she wagged a finger at her friend. “You are so stoned.”
“Am not!” Lana fired back.
“Are too! Totally baked!” Throwing her head back, she let out a peal of laughter.
“Trask,” she whined. “Tell Eva I’m not stoned.”
“Are, too!” Eva taunted, with a low, throaty chuckle.
Lana’s mate effortlessly scooped her up. “Let’s get you home, paulova.”
“Okay,” she sighed as she slid her arms around his neck. “Are you going to carry me the whole way?”
“I’m not sure you could make it otherwise.” To Kerr, he said, “I think we’ll miss dinner.”
“Understood,” he replied, amusement in his voice. “We’ll likely be absent, too.”
When they left, Kerr took Lana’s spot and stretched out beside her in the grass.
“My uncle isn’t going to be happy about this.”
“He won’t notice.” She held up her thumb and forefinger and squinted through a tiny gap. “We only took an itty-bitty bit.”
“Doubtful. He guards it well.”
“A box under the workbench isn’t much of a hiding place. I could teach him a few tricks.”
“But you won’t.” He rolled half on top of her, his hair falling forward in a silky curtain on one side.
Her breath caught, and when she was able, she blurted out, “You are the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.” He stared down at her for a moment, the beginnings of a spark in his fabulous eyes. When his lips twitched, too, she couldn’t resist touching him to make sure he was real. With two fingers, she traced along his full bottom lip and out to the ends where they curved up softly. “You’re even more handsome when you smile.”
“And you are beautiful, even while giddy on volanta, which has also made you adorable and sweet. I like this uninhibited side of you, mate. Too bad what you smoked is illegal without a healer’s express order.”
She made a face. “Primaria is hopelessly old-fashioned,” she complained. “My evolved planet legalized it eons ago.”
“We found our societal productivity was negatively impacted.”
She giggled picturing a workforce of stoners. “Scavenging for munchies keeps you busy. Wait,” she said, sobering for a moment to make a point. “You have alcohol. Doesn’t it impact productivity, too?”
He tilted his head, an eyebrow arched.
“The drink we had at the formal dinner, and what you gave me the night you captured me.”
“Ah, you’re referring to vilo, a fermented fruit juice which is very mild in comparison to the volanta plant which is what you two were smoking. And you’re right, vilo can also have similar adverse effects, but it is favored by the elder council who like to imbibe periodically, and its highly regulated. Drinking it in moderation is allowed, while the other will cost you.” Her skin tingled where he stroked his knuckles along her cheek. “You’ve broken the law, little one. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I say I’m hungry. Got any Doritos?” Then she collapsed into another fit of giggles. Again, he looked puzzled which only made her laugh harder until he lowered his head and stopped her silliness with his lips. Without thought, she put her arms around his neck and pressed against him, molding her soft curves to his solid contours.
Rolling again, he brought her over top of him, his hands sliding down to her ass where his fingers slowly bunched up her dress. “A fitting punishment for your crime is a bare-bottom spanking.”
“No, Kerr. That’s not fair. I didn’t know.”
He quirked his brow while curving his hands around her ass. “I surmise you strongly suspected it was forbidden well before you inhaled the first illicit puff.” His fingers slid into her cleft, separating and squeezing as one tip circled the sensitive skin of her puckered hole, gently testing its tightness. She groaned, wiggling atop him. “Admit it.” He watched her closely, his gaze dropping to where she caught her lower lip between her teeth as he eased his finger inside. “You knew I wouldn’t approve and were testing me.”
“I admit nothing, other than the hope you’ll take me right here in the garden.”
“I always want to take you, and the way you come apart for me when I do tells me you greatly enjoy it. Which makes it a reward, not a penalty.”
A delicious shiver of need ran through her as his finger sank in up to the first knuckle. She’d never been taken there before, although the idea had intrigued her. As the allure of the forbidden aroused her, she found herself pushing back against his finger. He obliged, the rumbling response in his chest half-groan, half-chuckle as he sank in deeper.
“My insatiable sprite, I’d thought some anal discipline might make you toe the line, yet at every turn, you challenge me to find an incentive to make you more compliant.”
“I respond well to positive reinforcement, Kerr. Keep going.” She tossed her head back, angling her hips more as he pushed in past the second knuckle then slid in up to the third. He shifted beneath her, freeing his cock, and guiding the head to her drenched channel, pausing to add a second finger in her bottom before he drove up inside her. The added fullness of the invading digits as he thrust home was incredible, and she cried out, the sound reverberating throughout the garden.
She buried her face against the corded muscles of his neck and hung on as he moved inside her, his fingers and cock finding a stunning tempo that sent her soaring. She rode the wave of pure pleasure as he stroked tirelessly into her until long moments later, he found his release while groaning her name gruffly into her ear.
Eva couldn’t move, nor did she want to, preferring to lay languidly over him like a blanket, enjoying the slow, intimate caress of his hands over her bottom, hips, and thighs. She basked in both the warmth of his arms and the glowing pink suns as they dipped lower in the sky.
They might have lain there forever if her stomach hadn’t intruded by growling.
“I should get you fed. It’s past supper.”
Her head popped up. He met her gaze with drowsy half-lidded eyes; only in sleep had she seen him so relaxed. “Don’t be mad at me over the pot. I wasn’t really testing you. When I found it, I got curious and had to see if it was like what we have on Earth. I couldn’t resist.”
“I was teasing you, sprite. How could I be angry when you were all giggles and happiness and cute as can be? I’d like to see you this way more often—when it’s not drug-induced, of course.”
Her smile faded. “This has been very difficult for me, Kerr. More so than the others, except Eryn. We’re proving the most difficult.” She went quiet, her eyes refocusing on his smooth chest. “What if we never…?”
“Not possible, mate. It will happen in its own time.” While still joined, he curled up to a seated position, bringing her with him, so she straddled his hard thighs. “Now, before you spoil my afterglow, let’s go down and see what Janus has stocked in the kitchen. I’m starved.”
She angled her head, considering his dogged tenacity as he continued to deny what she felt was an inevitability. He looked relaxed, and she felt the same way for a change. She decided not to press and climbed off his lap. “You’re on, Boss. Heaven knows I’m up for a munchie run.”
He came to his feet, giving her a grin. “Munchie run?”
“Uh…” She hesitated, unwilling to bring up her drug crime again since she’d gotten off so lightly. As he pulled her along toward the door, she giggled at her choice of words. She’d gotten off all right, but not lightly. Her goofy grin drew an amused, though questioning look.
“A munchie run is an Earth term for raiding the kitchen. Usually after—” She stopped, almost doing it again. “I hope you’ve got something I recognize. If not nacho chips or powdered donuts, maybe Cookies and Crème ice cream. Wait! Even better, pizza rolls.” While she knew it was a pipe dream, her taste buds did not, and her mind still conjured up vividly distinct memories of the greasy, spicy, totally-bad-for-you snacks, and her mouth began to water.
In the end, Kerr cooked for her while she assisted, creating his version of nachos, although she didn’t dare ask what kind of meat he browned or what the blue stuff was he sprinkled on top. It tasted good which was all that mattered. They worked side by side, laughing a lot, and as he fed her bites with his fingers, she managed to forget, ever-so-briefly, she wasn’t his mate.