Epilogue
Lotus Adaamas
That was five hours ago.
Walking out of the spa that Pax had told her about, Vivra brushed her skin, and it felt flawless. She’d had no idea a Demon-run planet would have the best samqua massage but, it did.
Leaving the spa, she walked down the sidewalk to the bar where Pax was waiting for her. Her Minky pinged, and she saw a message from one of her providers.
Hey, sweet lady, I just saw your bid for a monster-sized water tank. I have a few I can send you. 567 keleps, and they’re yours.
Z
Z was a male who was able to fill a lot of her special orders. He lived and operated out of Lotus Adaamas. She had never seen him, but he was using the same pet names that all the other Demons used. She wondered what kind of Demon he was.
He was also the one who’d sold her the pixy pistol.
She didn’t need the tanks, but she did need a new gun, so she quickly responded.
Z,
Too slow, already got the tanks.
Vivra
Quantum message was quick, but he didn’t return her message for ten minutes.
Sweetness,
That hurts, hope the tanks are as good as mine are. But, how about I send you what I have in stock and you can take a look.
Z
Vivra didn’t look at the attached stock. Instead, she quickly typed out:
Do you have another pixy pistol? Need a replacement or two. If so, same amount as last time?
Vivra
Then she hit send and waited. She turned in her chair, moving back and forth, feeling less than productive. When the Minky screen pinged, she felt her heart pick up a few beats. Opening his message it read:
Sweetie?
If you used your pixy, then something happened. You okay? And I have something better than a pixy. I’ll give it to you for the same price. And send it to wherever you are with no cost on shipping.
Z
And everyone kept saying Demons were jerks. Most of the ones she knew were great. She pulled up the old order wire from the pixy pistol and sent the one hundred and seventy-five keleps from her personal account. Then she responded.
I’ll be on Lotus Adaamas until tomorrow. Will it be ready by then?
Vivra
She was a little impatient, hoping she could get her new weapon before she left. It took twenty minutes for a response this time.
You’ll get it by then.
Z
Also, I look forward to meeting you.
She looked forward to meeting him, too, but she didn’t say so. She stuffed the Minky back into her pocket and continued down the sidewalk, watching a lot of Demons pass by, completely oblivious to her.
Vivra had wondered many times if it was strange that she didn’t feel weird about being mated. It had happened fast, but Pax had made the transition so…casually that she didn’t feel weird.
Walking into the pub, she heard Kirca music and realized that she wasn’t a fan. It wasn’t too bad, though. She saw Sassen and Ekhov at the bar. She sat down next to them and scanned the room for her mate.
When she didn’t see him, she commented on the glasses in front of Ekhav. “Three drinks? Starting off with a bang, huh?”
Speaking louder to be heard over the music, Ekhav answered, “These are for Pax. He ordered two for him, and one for you. I had to guard them, though.”
“Why?”
Ekhav pointed at the dance floor. “Because your male is a Red Demon. And they like to party.”
Vivra followed the line of her co-worker’s arm and saw her mate dancing in a group of males and females. She picked up her drink and sniffed it, snorted at the horrible burning scent, backed off and then hailed the bartender.
A Night Demon approached her, two pointed horns at his temples. “What can I get you, sweetheart?”
“Do you have anything from my side of the ‘verse?”
He smiled. “That I do, but I also have something else you might like. Trust me?”
Sassen shook his head. “Don’t do it.”
“Yep, make me something tasty.”
The Night Demon gave Sassen a look as if to say, “See? Told you so.”
Arms wrapped around her, and she felt lips press against her neck. Pax’s scent was strong, and she didn’t resist his touch. Leaning into him, she gave him her exposed neck.
“Mmm. Tasty.”
The Night Demon placed a pink drink in a martini glass in front of her.
“What’s that?” Pax asked. He reached for it but she swatted his hand away. “Mine. You can drink whatever you got me.”
“Whiskey. And you can still try it after you drink whatever that is.”
She took a sip. A sweet, flowery, and earthy taste tingled her taste buds. She set it down and thanked the bartender.
“Come dance with me?” Pax asked.
She did. And after about an hour, she was done dancing and ready to play since Pax kept rubbing, pinching, and teasing her.
She took another swig of her drink, finishing it off, then told Pax, “I need a thirty-minute headstart, then come and find me.”
He winked. “I’m going to check on Rannn and his talk with his sister on the way back, then I’ll be there.”
Rannn had a sister? Rannn apparently had family all over the place. She waved goodbye and smiled, knowing she had a very long and pleasurable night planned.
Outside, she checked her messages and saw that her mechanic had arrived. The one she had found and put in the transfer papers for. She typed with one hand.
Time to check in. Meet me at the dock, we’ll take the transporter together up to the Garna.
Garna was too big to dock, and most of the hull work was being done as she spoke. Sands would probably still be up, watching over the progress. It was the perfect time to introduce him to his new employee.
After a quick five-minute walk, she saw a tall, bronze-colored female with thick, wine-colored, shiny hair. Her eyes were a soft brown, and she was wearing a light blue tank top that showed off her toned arms, a red-orange bra, and tight, grey jeans with thick grey boots that strapped tightly all the way up her calf. She looked like a sexy mechanic. Vivra liked her already. She didn’t look shy for a Terran. She had confidence stamped all over her face.
“You’re Lita?”
Lita looked at her. “You the crazy chick who likes meeting people in the dead of night?” Then Lita pulled out a wrench and clicked the sides, turning it into a lazer cutter. “Had to bring a defense weapon, ‘cause I’m not trying to get abducted by some Demon.”
Vivra felt her lips pull into a smile. “That sounds smart. Did you need to grab a bag or anything?”
Lita gave her an odd look. “Oh, girl, I don’t pack light. And moving from Puerto Rico, I had to bring all my stuff. My truck is in the cargo bay of the ‘verse transporter, they’ll ship it to Garna once I send word.”
“Sounds good to me,” Vivra said, keeping the smile out of her voice. She was getting excited about introducing the Terran to Sands.
Lita followed her onto the transporter. Once inside, the pilot called out that they were leaving the planet. A short, ten-minute ride up, and they were docking on Garna. Both unbuckled, and Vivra walked Lita out of the transporter, then down the ramp and into the docking bay. She looked around and noticed that it looked empty.
“He’s around here somewhere. Come on,” Vivra said as she checked Lita in and assigned her a room. When they made it to the exit, Vivra pulled a Minky from the ship’s storage and handed it to her. “This is your personal Minky. It has all the ship’s information and a directory. I’ve also put on a map of the ship and your room number is highlighted here.” She skimmed through the screen on the Minky and showed her where they were and where Lita’s room was.
“Cool. Cool.”
Behind her, Vivra heard a huff. A male huff. She turned around and smiled, her search for Sands was over.
“I said my team was fine.” Sands’ dark hair and eyes didn’t look angry, just annoyed.
Vivra hoped that Lita wasn’t too put off by the dismissive first meeting. “She’s already checked in. You can send her back, but you have to fill out why and get it signed off on by the captain. And I will make sure Rannn knows why I had to sneak her on.”
Sands looked behind her for a moment and then looked back at Vivra. “I know you didn’t like it when Pax assigned workers to you, so I expect this is the last time you do this.”
It wasn’t going to be. But she would wait another six months.
“I’m not sure what you two got goin’ on, but I need to know if I should send up my trunk or if I’m headed back home,” Lita said with her unique accent.
At that, Sands said, “Terran?”
“Of course,” Lita said with a scoff. “Where else would you find my skin tone in the universe?”
Sands responded curtly, “Everywhere. Grach. Kirca. The OutWorlds. But being a Terran, you wouldn’t know anything about that.”
Vivra turned just in time to see Lita’s confused look.
“Yeah, welcome to the universe.” Sands was just as sharp as he had been before.
Thankfully, Lita didn’t act as if she heard his tone. “What are Grach an Kirca?”
Sands crossed his arms over his chest. Lita quickly looked over the cybernetics and then added, “Seriously. I’ve never heard of those planets.”
“You crank?” he asked.
“Do I know how to work on anything with an engine? Yes. You gonna answer me now?”
His eyes cut to Vivra. “If she knows how to crank on a spaceship, I’ll keep her. If not, then you know why.” Jerking his chin to Lita, he said, “Come on, the contractors will be here to finish the patches soon. You can watch. Take notes.”
Pulling her thumb to the side, she said, “Um, my trunk?”
Sands unlaced his arms and left. Lita rolled her eyes and began mumbling something about dios.
Lifting her hand as she smiled, Vivra whispered, “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”
“No, Viv, you’re going to need it,” Pax said, reaching out and hooking both of his hands around her waist. Then he lifted her up and over his shoulder. “You were suppose to be ready for me, have a sexy outfit on, but now I’m too ready, and you’re out of time.”
Vivra was not happy to be over his shoulder, but she was okay about not having to walk. “I guess that means you have to take off my clothes then.”
“And spank you.”
Vivra was faced the opposite direction, so he couldn’t see her facial expression. If he did, he would know that she wasn’t into spankings. “Nah. I’m more of a death by orgasm kind of girl.”
“You’re just going to have to trust me on this. You are definitely going to like what I have planned.”
She always liked what he had planned. He was thorough and slow and took his time to work her up over and over again. And even when he was purposely moving slowly, she ended up loving those times, too.
Her mate was awesome.
“I thought it was my turn,” she said with a pout.
“It will be, as soon as I’m done with you.” Which meant, it would never be her turn to do all the things she wanted to do to him. He enjoyed being the one giving pleasure. Then he took his own, not letting her give him any of it.
But being a thoughtful mate, she let him have his way.
***
It was morning, and Vivra was sore. But more to the point, she was hungry. She was wrapped in Pax’s legs and arms so she couldn’t move, which was actually fine with her, she loved his warmth. It filled her insides, and it was like hugging a bed heater. She was already used to him, and if she ever went to bed without him when he worked a different shift, she didn’t sleep well.
“Pax, you awake?”
He didn’t answer in words just grumbles.
“You awake?”
“Yessssss.” He sounded super tired, and his eyes didn’t open.
“Want to get me breakfast?” she asked, lightly bouncing on the bed. She was starving and she needed some food.
“No.” He rubbed his face against her neck and then slowly removed his limbs from hers. Giving her a quick kiss, he sat up and rubbed his head. “I am pretty sure I drank the entire bar and then came to have sex with my mate.” He looked at her. “Or was that a drunk dream?”
“I don’t know, but I might remember if I got some food in my stomach.”
He made a long, audible exhale. He slowly moved from the bed, put on a pair of pants, disregarded the shirt, and slipped on his boots. Then he gave her a you-owe-me look and left.
She smiled, checked her Minky, and saw a message from Z. He had her item and would personally deliver it to the ship. Her smile brightened. Breakfast and her new pistol? Excellent way to start her day.
She snuck out the door and stopped when she saw Yon storming out of Yelena’s cabin. Vivra walked up and peeked in.
Yelena was sitting on her chair in a Federation t-shirt and shorts, hands in her lap, head down.
“Hey? You okay?”
Yelena’s eyebrows rose, and a soft curse left her lips.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Vivra asked while scanning the cabin to see if she could figure out why Yon had been in the room. The bed was made, and Yelena’s Minky pad was on the table. The room looked clean and untouched.
Without another word, Yelena stood up, shaking her head. “Nothing.”
Vivra didn’t believe that nervous voice. “Be honest with me right now. Did Yon threaten you. Hurt you?” Yon was Yunkin, and one of Rannn’s closest teammates, she doubted he would have done something like that, but she was past blind loyalty.
Yelena’s whole stance was rigid. “No. I swear.”
“Then why are you back to being terrified to even look at me? I thought we were friends.”
Finally, black eyes peered up at Vivra. “We are. I just did something I shouldn’t have, and Yon made sure I knew to never do it again.”
Uh-huh. Not going to cut it. “What exactly are you not allowed to do?”
Yelena swallowed, looking painfully uncomfortable.
Vivra said, “You don’t have to tell me. But I’m not going to let someone else dictate your life. You get to live your way. Do not let that male or any person tell you how to live your life.”
Yelena nodded, but Vivra realized that the Flourg didn’t look confident as she did. Maybe one day she would get more confidence. Either way, she had a Demon to meet outside the ship, and another she needed to return to because he had her breakfast.
“All right, I will see you around.” Vivra left the room and quickly made her way to the docking bay. She sent the captain a request for approval for Z’s ship to be allowed to dock. Seconds later, Rannn approved the request, and she alerted Z.
Waiting in the bay, she watched as the small ship slowly hovered in, touching down gently. The side door hissed before opening.
A tall, well-built, olive-skinned male stepped out. He had dark hair and a dark beard and mustache. It extended far past his chin. He looked Terran at first glance.
He saw her, did a quick head to toe, and smiled. “Vivra. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
He held out his hand, a formal Terran greeting. It confused her because Z should have been a Demon. He used the same pet names as they did. But his formality, his facial hair, and his demeanor were all Terran.
She took his hand; it was warm but calloused. He must not only sell his parts, but make them, as well.
“You, as well.”
He turned around, grabbed a small package from his ship, and held it out to her. Impatiently, she opened the side and turned up the box, almost dropping the contents. Another small gun, this one sparkling white on the handle. The barrel was light silver.
“I call it a pink powder pistol.”
She snorted at the name.
“It holds three shots. It’s loaded with a wet, pink powder and it spreads like a shotgun, so make sure to point it directly at your target. The nanites inside the powder eat through the skin, quickly shredding the offender.”
Vivra almost dropped the pistol. “Into tiny pieces?”
“No, the nanites leave a residue, it chemically reacts with the skin. Needless to say, the body turns into pink powder. Easy clean-up.”
Easy clean-up? Sounded so…Demon. “I don’t clean up my kills,” she heard herself say, ignoring the images of Mish’s face in her mind.
“Good,” he said in a tone that sounded as if he meant it.
Stuffing the gun into her pants, she thanked him again.
“Stay safe, sweets,” Z said before entering the small ship and starting it back up.
Vivra waited until he lifted off before returning to her cabin.
When she returned, Pax was not back yet. She put the pistol into her safe and sat down in the chair next to the circular table to wait.
Ten minutes later, Pax walked in with a plate of food and set it down on the table. Vivra took one look at the spread and felt her mouth begin to water, but because she wanted to pick at Pax, she said. “What? No Niffy juice?”
Rolling his eyes, he made his way back to the bed, fell down on it, and mumbled, “I love you, but I’m not going back down there.”
Her lips curled up. She wondered if he realized that he’d confessed his love. Thinking about it, she liked how comfortable it felt hearing it. She wanted to hear it again.
“You love me?”
Pax was still for a second and then he tilted back his head as if he’d just realized what he said. His dark eyes turned to her, held hers, watched her. “I do.”
She wanted the words. “You do…what?”
A sparkle crossed his eyes. “I love you.”
“Yeah?” She licked her lips, feeling the words inside her soul.
He didn’t ask if she loved him back, she noticed. But when she didn’t respond, he turned back to the bed and snuggled the pillow, acting like it wasn’t a big deal. She didn’t like that. Moving from the table to the bed, she slid over his body, then reached up and nipped the side of his jaw. “Are you afraid to ask me if I love you?”
His eyes still closed, he answered, “I’m not afraid to ask. I’m just tired, Viv. Some Bolark kept me up all night.”
“What’s her name? I’ll use my new pistol on her.”
That got him to open his eyes. “You got a new pistol?” He moved and sat up, using his arms to keep her from falling off the bed. “When?”
“When you were getting me food. Met with my contact on Lotus Adaamas. He gave me a pink powder pistol.”
“I’ve never even heard of that.”
“It turns people into pink powder.”
He scowled. “How do you have the worst weapons to die from?”
She shrugged but wanted to go back to the previous topic. “Are you afraid I don’t love you?”
He half-shrugged and tried to lay down. She grabbed him around the neck, bringing her face to his, so close she could taste his breath. “Ask me.”
“Tell me,” he countered.
“Tell you what?”
“Tell me you love me.” His voice was soft. He didn’t wait for her to say it, he nipped her bottom lip.
He pulled it into his mouth and moved her down to her back, deepening the kiss. His mouth over hers, keeping her from speaking, she wondered if he really was afraid that she didn’t love him back.
“Pax, I do love you,” she said between kisses.
He didn’t let up or speak again until he had exhausted her with four climaxes and he finished inside her. “Forever. I will love you forever. That’s the truth.” He didn’t say it, but she knew about her kind’s poor mating habits. That they could and did find new partners frequently.
He was declaring himself to her forever.
Which she felt deep inside. So much so that she wanted to feel this way forever. And the only way she could was to be with him. Knowing what she knew about him, she also knew that he wasn’t going to get tired of her and pass her up for another female. He wasn’t going to treat her like an object, something Bolarks had a tendency to do with their mates.
She let him clean her up and return to bed before saying, “I mean forever, too.” She got to watch his toothy smile cross his face, the expression making his eyes crease.
She’d never get tired of her Demon. Sure, he was unexpected, but she wouldn’t change how things had turned out for all the worlds.