Harper
I’m not usually one who falls apart any time things don’t go my way. This was the culmination of being ripped from my home by aliens and nearly sold into slavery, and then… then being told I could probably never go home to Earth again. I just started sobbing like a little baby.
Then this big, strong warrior man wrapped his strong arms around me and rubbed my back while I sobbed against his chest. I knew and he knew there was nothing else to be done. I don’t know how long I cried. I just knew I needed to get it out, and he just let me. I liked him already.
Soul mate. It must be true. My tears had stopped and I let out a shuddery sigh. Zared caressed the back of my head.
“Harper, come with me to my quarters so we can talk privately,” he said softly close to my ear.
I nodded. We left the room together while some of the other women were still crying softly. It probably wasn’t the best idea to go to his quarters, but I wanted to be with him. He had sounded sincere about talking privately, but when the door slid closed behind us, we came together, kissing like we couldn’t get enough of each other.
As my body molded against his, I could feel his erection against my belly. My nipples were hard and sensitive, and the solid muscles of his chest felt delicious pressing against them. I swear I felt his kisses all the way to my toes. My pussy throbbed for attention, but Zared made no move to go further than deep, wet, tongue tangling kisses from which he pulled back all too soon.
“I would apologize, but I am not sorry at all,” he said looking down into my face, his eyes gently mocking.
“Nor am I.” I laughed a touch nervously.
“I didn’t want to stop there,” he said, “but it’s not proper for me to claim you before our bonding period has finished.”
“What do you mean claim?”
“Mate with you,” he said. “My body says otherwise.”
He let me go and stepped back. I think I blushed as I looked at his crotch and saw he was still hard---for me. My crotch was still clamoring for a meeting with his as well. Since the feeling was clearly mutual, I thought it was best for us to separate for the time being. We stood there a moment, just looking at each other. Zared brought his hand up and drew his fingers down my cheek tenderly. We were both pretty smitten, but did that mean we should mate and have a life together? At that moment it didn’t seem like a bad trade off for what I had lost.
“And so does mine,” I admitted. “So now what?”
“I will order something to eat from the processor and we will talk,” he smiled faintly.
I raised my eyebrows. He was serious. I wasn’t sure whether I was relieved or disappointed. Hot, passionate sex would have felt pretty good just then, but I was also hungry and tired. Being kidnapped by alien slavers was not conducive to getting much rest, not to mention the excellent accommodations.
“You might call it courtship of sorts. It could last a few days to a few weeks,” he explained, though I doubt he used exactly those terms.
If I watched him talk, his mouth wasn’t forming the words I was hearing. It was like watching a movie made in one language then dubbed in English. The translator chip was helpful, but if I were stuck out here the rest of my life I wanted to learn the language.
He led me to a table at the side of the sitting room and gestured for me to sit. He took his place across the small table from me. He looked at the food dispenser on the wall and frowned slightly. “I don’t know what to get for you to eat,” he admitted.
“And I have no idea what to ask for.” I smiled at him. “Just pick something---not too rich or spicy. I don’t have any food allergies. I like fruits and vegetables, some kinds of meat, bread, cereal… Are there pictures?”
“Ah, yes holograms,” he said and pressed a touch pad/ on the side of the machine. He said some things that didn’t translate and s series of 3D images flashed on the table.
I saw a mishmash of something that looked like Chinese from my favorite take-out and said, “Could I try that?”
It sounded like he said ‘tar cat’ and I giggled thinking about the running jokes about cats and Chinese food. Momentarily a dish of steamy food was ejected from the machine. It smelled wonderful and came with a short tined fork to eat it with. Zared set the bowl and fork in front of me and a second bowl of the same was ejected.
“This is mostly vegetables with a little cultured meat and grain with mildly spicy sauce. Try it and tell me what you think.”
I picked up the utensil and took a small mouthful. Although it was steamy, it was just the right temperature to eat. I can’t quite describe what it tasted like. The meat was like a cross between veal and lamb and some of the vegetables reminded me of bean sprouts and broccoli mixed together with a grain like barley in a sweet lightly salty sauce. It was quite tasty.
“Mmm, this is good. Thank you, I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” told him. He seemed pleased as he smiled at me and started eating his own food. It was the first normal food I’d had since I’d been taken.
“Perhaps after you’ve eaten you would like to shower. I can give you a shirt to wear that would cover you better than that flimsy slave tunic,” he said between bites.
“That would be lovely,” I said.
“I will get you something more suitable when we get to Halor in about two weeks,” he went on.
“Then what?” I asked carefully.
“You are solmatu. I don’t think I can let you go. Don’t you feel it?”
“I know I’m completely attracted to you,” I admitted. But it was more than that. I felt he was someone I could trust, who liked me as I was starting to like him. “But I don’t want to be a burden. Back on Earth, I made my own living as a mail carrier. What can I possibly do here?”
“I don’t have an answer for you right now, but I will help you understand our ways. That should help you find your place here,” he assured her.
He was so kind and solicitous, I found it hard to reconcile that side of him with the fierce warrior I knew he must be. We talked and ate and laughed a little. He was easy to be with though I was always aware of the undercurrent of sexual tension between us. Sometimes, I would catch him looking at me with such passion smoldering in his eyes that I knew he was thinking carnal thoughts. Not that I was opposed, I just wanted a chance to know him better, but I knew I couldn’t hold out for long.
After dinner, Zared showed me how the shower worked and gave me one of his clean shirts. It was very much like a t-shirt without the ribbed neckline. It came to halfway to my knees and was made of a little heavier cloth than the slave dress. I was so delighted to be clean after so many days.
I was a little disappointed to find that Zared was gone when I finished in the bathroom. I didn’t know what to do with myself so I laid down on the small sofa in the sitting area and took a nap that lasted until the next morning.
I woke the to find I was covered with a light blanket and Zared was sitting in the chair across from the sofa watching over me. He smiled faintly as I opened my eyes and blinked a couple times to be sure I wasn’t dreaming.
“I’m sorry I had to leave, I was needed on the bridge to relieve the admiral.”
I sat up slowly, and smoothed down my hair. “I figured you probably had work to do, so I was just going to take a little nap.”
“More than a little nap. You must have been tired. You slept all night.”
“It’s been a long couple weeks, and I was stressed about my situation.” I stood up. “Be right back I need to use the ---lav.” It took me two minutes to figure out that the toilet flushed itself. Then I splashed water on my face and dried it with a towel that popped out from a cubby in the wall.
Zared stood when I came out and crossed the short space between us to take me in his arms and hold me close. In his eyes was the unspoken question, then he kissed me. He was gentle at first and then demanding. I opened willingly to his probing tongue and moaned as it caressed mine. That’s all it took to light a fire between us. I saw no reason to resist what I knew was coming. I wanted him, needed the release he could give me. Whatever else Commander Zared Maktu was, I believed he was a man I could grow to love. Then and there, I realized I wanted to love him.