Page 62 of Alien Peacock

“That’s it. A little further up… good. That would complete the sharp turn. It’s not something you’ll do a lot, but it’s nice to know. I think you’re a natural at this.”

I can’t help it — his caring, his ‘accidental’ touches, his closeness, and the danger we were just in make me think of what else we could be doing right now, seeing as we’re alone in a flying saucer.

I lean back against his hard stomach and gaze up at him. “This is exhausting. I need a break.”

“But you’re doing so well,” he protests, confused. “Don’t worry about those small mistakes— oh, I see. Yes, we absolutely need a break from thisextremelytaxing work.” His hands slide down my front until he’s cupping my breasts outside the armor plates and the jumpsuit.

“Maybe we can take that break right here?” I suggest, getting up from the small alien seat and turning around.

“There’s really nowhere else to do it,” Arelion says, busy taking my armor off. “The Bululg haven’t installed a break room.”

“But they have installed a floor,” I observe, stomping on it to demonstrate.

“So they have,” he says as if noticing it for the first time. He dumps my armor suit to the ground and pulls down the top half of my jumpsuit. “They must have known we needed one.”

I grin, feeling the last of the tension from Sprenk and the boarding leave my system and being replaced by something much nicer. I reach behind him to grab his firm, round butt. “Let’s make good use of it.”

- - -

When we finally get to Gigori and drop out of hyperspace, he lets me handle the controls and pilot us into the asteroid. He gives me gentle pointers and tips, making me feel the thrill of piloting a spaceship in space.

When we’re inside, I feel my shoulders drop. “This is fun.”

“Good,” he says. “You know how to fly it.”

I get up and stretch. “Thanks to my teacher.”

“Your teacher is incredible,” he replies modestly as he comes in to embrace me. “But I always say that the teacher is only as good as the student.”

I don’t want to leave the saucer. Outside, reality is waiting. And if I remember correctly, it’s a bleak one.

I hug him back. “No, I think the teacher has to be better. If he were only as good as the student, what would be the point?”

“I suppose agoodteacher has to be better than the student. A moderately good one only has to be one lesson ahead.”

I gaze up at him. “Oh, is that what you’re doing?”

He gives me a smirk. “And thewiseteacher never tells the student which one he is.”

“Well, I think you’re a good one.” I let one finger circle his chest. “Was it hard to fight in space? To lead your squadron?”

He thinks about it. “It’s hard in a way that makes it fun. It’s demanding, but satisfying. Especially when you’re defending your planet. There’s no retreat, then. You can focus only on winning without any thought to what might happen if you lose. There’s a great freedom in fighting for something with either victory or death the only possible outcomes. You know that feeling, too.”

“Not that cleanly,” I admit. “Because there’s not just my own fate at stake. I have to find Tara.”

“Ah yes. That reminds me.” He leans on a console, pulling me with him. “Gereaon, the Eoan who was shot on Sprenk, told me something.”

I tense up. “The one without feathers.”

“Keep in mind that this could have been anyone at all. What he said was that he saw an Earth female at the space station where he was taken. She had been captured as a spy some time ago, he said. She was supposed to be sold at an auction, but she was too dangerous to attract a buyer, and now she was scheduled for execution. He said she looked just like you, so much so that he thought that you were her.”

“Tara!” I exclaim, both excited and horrified. “That’s what the Bululg would do if they caught her!”

Arelion puts a hand on my shoulder. “There are many Earth females in space, my love. And the Bululgarein the business of selling them. It was almost certainly not her.”

But I know more about Tara’s ways than he does. “No, that was Tara. We’re not identical, but everyone can see we’re siblings. She must have taken some big risks and gotten caught.”

“Gereaon may well have thought that two completely different alien females of the same species look alike, even if they really don’t,” Arelion warns. “You need more information before you can be sure.”

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