Chapter Nine

 

 

“I haven’t taken you on a tour of the ship yet.” He mentioned it casually as they walked the halls.

She shrugged. “We have been busy.”

He sighed. “Yes, that. Did you want to learn about the punishment given to the head of medical?”

“No. She acted in malice, and as long as she isn’t able to do it to me again, I am fine. Mlia wine is off my items to try now.”

He chuckled. “You are wise beyond your years.”

“I am wise based on my experience. I have just had more of that than most.”

“True enough. What did you want to be before the cataclysm?”

She wrinkled her nose. “A florist. An organic farmer, I wanted an apiary. All of those occupations took a short, sharp shock and stopped at the strike. When the world broke, so did my dreams.”

He let out a grunt and turned to lift her. “That’s it. You need a distraction.”

She thought that it was supposed to be her job, but she didn’t say a word. He walked swiftly through the halls, and she smelled greenery. A door opened, and she gasped at the forest and farm that was laid out in front of her.

“We will get a better view.”

It was the only warning he gave her as he crouched and launched them upward. She shrieked and wrapped her arms around his neck as his wings flexed and scooped air out and down.

Fiona finally opened her eyes and looked around, seeing upper levels and the forest below. “You generate oxygen here?”

“Not really; it costs more than you would imagine keeping the plants whole and active, but it does provide a morale boost to the crew. They have concerts in the gardens, most of the fresh food is grown here, and it provides a reminder of Idel.”

She smiled as she saw some of the variety of skin tones that she associated with Earth. “How many humans did you bring on board?”

“With yourself counted? One hundred and twelve. They seem to be doing well. They are relieved to work in the gardens.”

She chuckled and held on as he flew them lower, across the fields. “It was the first thing we lost. Stored food only lasts so long, so getting hydroponics up and running was imperative. I volunteered for that job, but my skills were needed elsewhere.”

He let out a sound that she interpreted as a growl. He pulled them upward and wrapped his wings around them while he let the ship’s gravity pull them down.

Fiona was secure in his embrace, but she squeaked in shock when she counted the seconds, and they were nearly to the ground.

His wings opened and billowed back behind him as he caught them inches from the soil.

She smacked him on the chest as he settled down on his feet. “Thank you for giving me a heart attack.”

He laughed. “I was after distracting you.”

“It was effective.” She was shaking, but there was a giggle in her mind. The inner chuckle shocked her. If she had to have near-death experiences to make her snicker, she was going to die laughing.

“Would you like to speak to some of your people?”

She tensed. “No, that won’t be necessary.”

Aarak frowned. “Why not?”

“Sexual prudism is a common theme in Earth cultures.”

“But... they used you.”

“It is also a highly hypocritical societal construct. Males are encouraged in sexual promiscuity, but women are villainized for it. It puts us in the lowest social class, and there is no way out once you are in it.”

He wrapped his wing around her, and they began to walk toward the exit. “So, when you said there was nothing for you...”

She moved toward him slightly. “It was exactly what I meant. They would not allow me to have a place among them if they knew what I was doing after the impact and definitely not if they knew I was your intimate companion. I would be contaminated beyond measure.”

“But, the folk here do know.”

Fiona looked up at him. “Are you going to make me live with them?”

He frowned. “Of course not. You will remain with me at all times.”

“So, it isn’t an issue.”

“I suppose not, but I thought that seeing your people would make you happy.”

“Seeing the plants makes me happy. Let’s stick with that. Tell me about the trees and the bushes.”

He took her on a tour of the Idel plants, and the head horticulturalist was only too happy to show her the leaves and tell her about the root spread and growth schedule. She lost her mind in the details of the plants, and for a short moment, she was happy.

She was examining a short berry bush and turned to grin at Aarak. His surprise made her laugh, and the horticulturalist was shocked when his lordship caught her up in his arms, and he flew her up to their living level.

His flight had crewmen and women hitting the deck to get out of the way, and by the time he had landed in front of their quarters, she was pretty sure what had lit his fire.

He didn’t make it inside. He pressed her against the wall and shoved her skirt upward. She gasped at the feel of his cock pressing into her, but it narrowed to enter her and thickened once it was inside.

He held her and stared into her eyes, not moving his hips.

Confused, she frowned, but soon, his cock began to twist and rub inside her, and she stared into his eyes in shock.

She sighed, whimpered, and clung to him with all her strength as he took her higher than she had been with him before his cock sent out the attachment that stimulated her clit.

She shrieked as it sucked and pulled hard at her, her body shook, and she clawed at Aarak, trying to gain purchase on his impervious hide. Her channel clutched at him in spasms as she met his gaze, as per his demands.

The molten silver of his eyes went dark, and he began to thrust his hips into her, rubbing her against the wall.

He paused and shook his head, his gaze returning to normal. He leaned in and kissed her softly, still deep inside her.

She was dazed, a little bruised, and utterly perplexed.

Aarak wrapped her in his wings so no one could see any part of her, and he walked the few steps to their quarters.

Once inside, he walked to her desk and set her bottom down on the edge. Still, without speaking, he knelt in front of her and spread her legs wider, he leaned forward, and his tongue slid into the wet and swollen space his cock had just been in, and she whimpered as it thickened and twisted around inside her.

His hands wrapped around her thighs and held her still when she tried to back away, but she was locked in his grip while her senses pushed her higher and higher.

Fiona jerked, moaned, gripped, and let go of his hair, shivering and finally flexing her hands in frustration as she lay back on the desk with nothing to hold onto.

The tension burned in her, and when she couldn’t hold back any longer, she screamed and clawed at the desk.

He kept his tongue moving against a sensitive spot inside her until she was dizzy. Fiona slumped back, exhausted.

She was still dressed, coated in sweat and panting for air. Aarak pulled his tongue out of her, and he stood up to cover her.

He whispered against her lips. “You need to laugh more.”

She tasted herself on his mouth and blinked. “If I do, you might fuck me to death.”

He grinned. “Never to death. I swore to uphold your health, and I will do it.”

“Before or after you wear out my lady parts?”

He laughed, and she smiled. It was nice to see that he was happy that she had been happy for a moment. It had been swamped by panic and confusion, but the happiness had been there.

“Fiona, take a quick shower and get changed. We will be landing on Ekadi in two hours. You will need to learn what you can about their traditions and situation before we set foot on the surface.”

She nodded and tried to get up. “Um, you are in the way.”

“I have your juices all over me. A shower for me is a good idea as well.”

She yelped as he lifted her and carried her into the lav. She leaned against the wall while he unfastened her dress and removed her shoes.

“I can do this myself.”

He shrugged. “I chose the dress, so I will remove it. While my wrap was convenient, it is not suitable for the Ekadi weather.”

She grinned. “Too drafty?”

“Quite.”

He turned on the sonic shower and turned her, making sure that the dirt on her skin was vibrated into the suction unit. He treated himself to the same situation, and she realized that if she got to the wardrobe, she could pick her own outfit. With a grin, she dashed out of the lav and through the living quarters, pausing only when she saw the long-sleeved dress and boots that were waiting for her next to the bed.

“Oh, balls.” She slumped her shoulders and dragged her feet toward the bed, picking up the very pretty dress in rich green, black and silver, and pulling on the soft black boots. The laces on the boots needed to be tightened, but once they were, it was like wearing a very comfortable pair of long socks.

The dress was in the standard configuration of being a long coat with a series of fasteners that closed it between breast and knee. The fabric was light, but it still felt weird not to have any underwear on. The dress flowed around her and touched the abraded front of her thighs. As long as she wasn’t standing on a glass walkway, she was modestly dressed.

Aarak wandered over to the wardrobe, and he pulled out a pair of snug trousers, some black boots, and a black vest that was split to allow his wings to settle neatly around him. Watching him get dressed was always fun. Everything went from the bottom up to be settled into position.

He tightened his boots and turned to her. “How do I look?”

She sighed. “Very pretty. Just a moment.” She walked over to him and straightened the line of the vest before adjusting his banded hair to fall forward while the rest draped down his back. “There you go. Very nice and rather dignified.”

He frowned. “Your hair came undone.”

She blinked. “It is fine. I just brush it and let it go.”

“No. Sit on your desk.”

She looked over at her desk and frowned. “I am a little nervous when you say that.”

“Good. Now, put your bottom on that desk and wait for me.”

She sighed and went to hop up on the desk. She sat and swung her legs as she waited. He disappeared into the lav and reappeared with a brush and some of the same kind of clips that he wore. It was a cross between a metal bead and a small tube.

To her bemusement, Aarak brushed her hair, separated the two locks over her temples, and rapidly braided them into columns held with the beads.

He set the brush down and smiled. “There. Now you are appropriately dressed as my mate.”

She smiled back as she hopped to her feet and took up her tablet for more study with her butt appropriately on her chair. She was into the stories of the Ekadi arriving on their word when her brain processed what he had said. Mate?