Page 63 of Tempting Cargo
“The nearest space station to the Sol system. It was a weekend away.” It had only been a month, but it felt like a lifetime ago. “We wanted to see something new and, well, even though humans aren’t allowed out of the system, people always find a way, don’t they? Some pirates gave us passage.”
“Was it worth it?”
I didn’t have to consider for long. I caressed her, hands trailing up to her breasts. “Definitely.”
“Flatterer.” She batted my hand away. “I am trying to be serious and you are distracting me with bed sport.”
I couldn’t resist touching her again. “Is it working?”
She growled, but I took in everything, from her soft curves, to her hard spines, and the face I’d once thought monstrous. Lose everything to gain a few days with her? “Yes, of course it was worth it.” I gave her a squeeze. “But I can’t speak for my friends. I’ve always wanted to explore the galaxy. To travel. The outer territories aren’t the best place to live, and I’ve always dreamed of being among the stars.” And while it hadn’t happened in any of the ways I’d imagined, here I was. “Tathar Refuge was… like Draim and Aurora Five had a giant baby with some space junk and gave it to a wannabe neon artist to dress it.”
Shohari lifted her head off the pillow and gave me an incredulous look, headspines twisting in emphasis. “Skyk me.”
I grinned. “Quite. You said you had empathy. Does that mean you have history with the Reserve?”
“Skykking ulth-brained shit suckers.”
I hid a snort. “I’ll take that as a yes? I told you mine, you tell me yours.”
“Fine. It was when I was much younger. My parents insisted I pick up a shipment. How was I supposed to know the location was in some kind of turmoil? Everybody else knew because it was all over the news, but we didn’t read the news because we were Orithian, and it was only seemly to consume Orithian media.” Her upper lip warped in a sneer. “My old crew were very traditional. We were captured because we looked suspicious, and interrogated. And those fools thought they were back on Orith and tried to bribe the soldiers, which made it worse.” Distress coloured her voice, and she took a steadying breath. “It was only my talking that got us out of there, and even then it wasn’t pleasant.”
I knew full well how unpleasant Galactic Reserve interrogation could be. “I’m glad you got out. Are the Reserve always that bad?”
She swung her head against the pillow. “Only if they think they have cause—which happens more than it should. You shouldn’t have to fear them, but people like you and me are understandably wary. I freely admit my reaction to them is excessive.”
“Excessive to others, maybe. Not to us.” I ran a hand through her headspines and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Is that how you ended up with your current crew?”
“Yes. After the ship was nearly confiscated, I managed to convince my parents I needed different crew, that their picks were a liability. And I presented them with impeccable references.”
She looked so innocent, I laughed. “Dare I ask if these references were legitimate?”
She smiled beatifically. “Regardless, that is how I came to have an Orkri’ian crew.”
“Well, they’re great.”
“They are.” Weariness crept into her voice. “They make this whole situation bearable.”
I pulled her into a hug. Seeing how funny and insightful Shohari was just served to reinforce how hard she must have worked to create her gruff, spiky exterior, and how much her situation had taken from her. She sounded far more jaded than her twenty-eight years, and I ached to ease her anguish.
Once her barriers were down, they were down, I realised. Or maybe that was just because she was sex-drunk. We both were.
Was this what falling in love felt like?
We had to pause our detailed discussion on anatomy every time we needed to physically demonstrate something. Once I learned her cum came from underneath her hood, I had to examine it—for science, of course. And when I’d mentioned other ways humans have sex, and she’d learned about the prostate? I agreed to let her try to find mine, as long as I could see if she had one too—which she insisted she didn’t.
A porn site on the galaxy’s version of the internet showed me asuhlaand what it did. Why couldn’t my body could do that for her? I hated that I couldn’t be everything she needed, that one day she might find someone else, someone kri’ith, anyone who wasn’t me.
Shohari’s hands wandered over my arse. “What if I fucked your hole instead?”
My well-used dick twitched with enthusiasm. “We can try it, sweetheart.” Though I’d only ever topped before, I wanted to try everything with her—to explore all the ways our bodies could complement and fit.
If only we had enough time to do that. If we did, maybe we’d have enough time to make the rest of it fit, too.
I didn’t say any of it. I didn’t dare burst this fragile, tender bubble we’d created.
The rumbling of our stomachs became too much to ignore. After a quick shower each, Shohari threw a robe-type garment at me, and we headed for the mess hall in what I could only describe as oversized caftans.
Imani and Fenn sat at the wide, metal table, hot drinks cupped in their hands, and they greeted us with knowing grins.
