Page 2 of Gairo

“Baby, I like seeing my handprint on your butt. Do you get wet to this? Let me check.”

I slid my fingers into her slick wetness, and I knew that she liked spanking as much as I did.

* * *

By the timethat dawn came, I knew every inch of her body in a way that made my blood heat with an unquenchable fever. My body was exhausted by how many rounds we had gone for last night, and somehow I wanted more. I wondered to myself how I could ever let her go after only a year and a baby to boot. I understood better now why so many of the warlords had done everything that they could to make their heart-mates fall in love and stay on planet. I didn’t know much about her past or her desires beyond what she liked in the bedroom. I needed to find out the keys to what my heart-mate wanted and needed so that I could keep her with me always. She had fallen so willingly in my bed, but it didn’t mean a promise for forever. I got the impression that she could casually hook up. Unfortunately for her, I was playing for keeps.

PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

VERONICA

“What do you want? What makes you happy?”

“I’m not sure. I’m just glad I don’t have to go back to the colony where I’m from.” I gave Gairo a summary.

“I could kill that judge for you.”

Laughing, I shook my head at him. “You’d have to take out the entire colony. I don’t want to go back there ever. This planet is my first stop in traveling the galaxy. The Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency was my ticket out of that colony. I didn’t get married to a space marine.”

“Why would you need to get married to a space marine? What’s wrong with a warlord?”

I laughed at his naivety. “There’s nothing wrong with a warlord. There’s a reason why I am in bed with you now.” I rubbed my cheek on his. “And I’m glad that I get you for an entire year before I leave the baby and you on this planet.”

Gairo got a funny look on his face. “Is it that easy to leave me?”

“I’m not made to be a housewife in any manner of the word. You’re going to have to figure out how to take care of our young one without me. I’m out of here after a year.”

“I don’t want you to leave. What can I offer you to stay?” Gairo’s tone was serious.

I shifted uncomfortably. It was fun to roll around in bed and make a baby. “Hey, you’re kinda ruining the mood.” I knew what I was here to do. He sounded like he wanted to change the contract to keep me forever, just like back on the colony. I didn’t want to be tied to any man forever, in any world or any planet.

“What would it take for you to change your mind? I don’t want to raise our child alone.” Gairo looked upset.

I shook my head. “It’s called surrogacy for a reason.”

I hated the flash of pain that covered his face. “I have somewhere else to be. I’m a pilot, you know.” He coughed and rubbed his eyes for a moment. “I need to leave. I’ll be back later. Your omega heat is almost over, anyway.”

Had it been a few weeks? I couldn’t tell. There was no time inside of here, just the desire to make a baby with natural inception. I knew that he didn’t have a pressing schedule. It was better for us to keep some distance in between us. He didn’t like that surrogacy meant that I’d leave the baby.

I watched as he put on a change of clothes from his pack. I kept my mouth shut. In the colony, men threatened to lock me into a room by myself when stuff like this happened. My mother had ensured that it went on for about five minutes maximum; being an apothecary meant that they could call me out at any time. It was hard for the men to actually imprison me when I was a midwife and apothecary. I knew way too much about childbirth and child-rearing to get caught in the colony.

Suddenly, Gairo was gone. It was as if I was touching a sore tooth inside of my mouth. I had lost track of who I was for a while. I looked at the sheathed knife that I had sneaked away from his pack while I had been awake and he had been asleep. It was so small that he could probably ignore it for a while. I didn’t plan heists for nothing.

I thought back to the transport ship. Sarah had been incredibly silent while I was getting here. I had a lot of fun with my large, sexy alien who couldn’t get enough of his genetic match. It seemed like Sarah needed more of what I had found in abundance. I wanted to go look for her, but I had not moved from my cabin. There was a replicator here for any food that I felt like ordering.

I put on some of the clothes that were hanging in the wardrobe. I decided to conceal Gairo’s small knife in my wardrobe, just in case. It didn’t seem like I needed it here; I was good at planning for low probability situations.

I was going to go find Sarah from the transport ship and make sure that she was okay, now that I finally had a moment to myself. I wasn’t a prisoner, just a surrogate.

BACK TO THE COORDINATES

GAIRO

Ichecked the board for what I could pick up today. After that shock, I still wished I was between Veronica’s thighs. She did her best to annoy from time to time, but I liked her bratty behavior. Sometimes, she was annoying just to rile me enough for another round. Other times, she turned me on by being extraordinarily stubborn.

When I put on my belt, I had been missing one of my knives. I shook my head and didn’t talk to her about it. I had a set of knives that had cost me an entire paycheck. I knew which one was missing: it was the smallest one that I kept on my belt at all.

“What is happening, my commander?” I hailed Soren.

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