Page 14 of Searching the Skies

She composed the first few words of a response but then ripped the civilian communicator off her arm and shoved it deep in her bag. As much fun as the two of them had had together, it was better, she thought, to leave Marcus behind. Clean breaks were easier, and she’d already severed ties with Pasurea once. Nothing prevented her from doing it again.

The shuttle arrived at the lower dock of the spaceship. Geneva slung her bag over her shoulder and disembarked. It was late at night by the universal military time, and no one roamed the hallways as she headed straight for her bunk. Dropping her duffel bag onto the floor, she stared at it for several moments as she contemplated whether or not to unpack it and decided it could wait for a later time. After a brief change of clothes and a brushing of her teeth and hair, she was glad to collapse into her own bed and plummet into a dreamless sleep.

***

By the time morning rolled around, it was if she’d never been gone. She dressed in the appropriate fatigues for morning duty and made her way to the dining hall for breakfast. The gelatinous blob of indistinguishable food on her tray appeared oddly comforting. As she poked at it with a fork, the entire table shook.

Ash made a crash landing into the seat across from her, another familiar sight that pleased her. His standard cheery grin spread across his face. “Hey there! Welcome back!”

She took a bite out of her breakfast, which somehow tasted far better than it looked. “Thanks. It’s good to be back.”

“Everything okay?” Concern flickered in his eyes. “I didn’t want to press you for details before you left, but I was worried about you.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” She took another mouthful as she debated how much to tell him. “I hadn’t been home to see my parents in a very long time, so I went to pay them a visit.”

He nodded. “They all worry about us out here. I guess it’s good to go home every now and then to assure them we’re still breathing.”

“Not with my mother,” she muttered.

Ash frowned, an expression out of place with his usual upbeat demeanor. “I’m sorry you didn’t have a good trip.”

“Well, it wasn’t all bad,” she admitted. She bit her bottom lip and tried to decide how much to reveal to him. “I got to catch up with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. It was a nice surprise.” While not the entire truth, it wasn’t a lie, either.

The smile reappeared. “Good to hear.” After glancing around to check if they’d attracted the attention of anyone nearby, he reached across the table and covered Geneva’s free hand. “I missed you while you were gone,” he said in a low voice. “I know it sounds crazy considering we barely know each other, despite all the time we’ve served here together. But I want to get to know you better. You’re far too much fun to be a mere work acquaintance.”

She startled when their skin made contact, almost as if he had caused an electrical shock; clearly, he hadn’t lost the ability to make her blush in her absence. “I can’t argue with your plan,” she said. “And I don’t have time to argue anyway. Not if I don’t want to be late my first morning back.”

Ash stood and walked alongside her as she disposed of the remains of her meal. He escorted her as far as he could before they had to go their separate ways and gave her an appropriately chaste farewell once they were in view of other soldiers. Back at her designated post, Geneva slipped into her usual routine without any challenges. However, as had been the case whenever on board the ship lately, the tempting distraction of the well-muscled officer lingered in the back of her mind.

As easy as it was to get back to work, it also consumed most of her time. Despite their best intentions, she found it difficult to ensure her path crossed with Ash’s. Aside from the occasional rushed mealtime conversation, in the week that had passed since Geneva’s return to the ship, she hadn’t seen much of her new friend. While she mused over this thought late one evening as she headed back to her quarters, someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her out of the hallway.

Her initial response would have been to incapacitate her attacker, but before she could react, he grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the wall of the pitch-black storage closet. A familiar set of lips closed in upon hers, and she reciprocated the kiss for a few moments before wriggling away. “Ash!” she whispered. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I couldn’t keep my hands off you any longer.” He released his grip on her wrists but slid over her arms, past her shoulders and neck, and cupped the sides of her face in both hands before kissing her again. She relented and let her tongue mingle with his, but their location tempered her excitement with a hint of apprehension.

“What if we get caught?” she murmured against his mouth.

“I jammed the lock.”

“Did you really?”

“Do you care?”

While she paused to give her response some careful thought, he snuck his hand down to her left breast, running his thumb over the peak of her nipple before giving it a light squeeze. “No,” she answered.

The cramped closet was barely big enough to hold two people, especially one the size of Ash. Darkness prevented Geneva from seeing a single thing around her, but such trivial matters no longer concerned her. Though her feet collided with some misplaced tools, the only thing on her mind was the man yanking her shirt away from her pants.

A brief stab of guilt tore through her mind as she recalled the delicate touch of Marcus removing her clothing. She pushed the thought away and remembered her vow to leave the past behind. As Ash leaned against her and resumed his assault on her mouth, she ran her hands over his chest, relishing the outline of his pecs beneath the scratchy fabric.

It was a race against time to avoid being discovered. Geneva stumbled in the darkness as her pants were all but torn off her body, and she caught herself on the handle of some sort of drawer recessed into the adjacent wall. Everywhere she turned, she met with a cluttered corner or protruding object. Despite the obstacles, Ash managed to work her pants off over her high laced boots as she fumbled with his belt. Since the idea had been planted in her head, nothing would stop her from reaching her goal.

His belt buckle undone, she made quick work of the other various fasteners and shoved his pants and underwear down to his knees. As he pulled her in for another kiss with one hand, the other one traveled down to her smooth cotton panties. He groped at the heat emanating from her cleft, stroking the soaking-wet cloth. Realization set in—yet another barrier needed to be eliminated. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath. Before she could respond, he ripped the offending garment off her body, letting the remains flutter to the floor.

Geneva tried to muffle a shriek as the elastic snapped away from her legs, and he silenced the noise with another frenzied kiss. With little effort, she located his erect cock and tugged at it. A drop of lubrication emerged from its prominent head. After another brief check with his thick fingers, he pushed her legs apart.

Ash placed his hands beneath her thighs and hoisted her up with ease. She braced her feet on the opposite wall and hoped she wasn’t kicking into anything important. The wall behind her stood cold and unyielding, and she expected she’d be sore, if not covered in bruises, the next day. Any worries vanished with the feeling of him penetrating her. All she wanted was for him to take her right there, and she’d stop at nothing to satisfy her craving.

He pumped into her over and over, the forces of gravity assisting him in bringing her down on his cock each time. Geneva buried her face in his shoulder near the base of his neck. Conscious of the possibility of being exposed in a public place, she forced herself to choke back a scream and settled for biting down instead. A yelp of surprise escaped his mouth. It disappeared into the previous silence of the tiny room, and he continued to pound her against the wall as noiselessly as possible.

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