Chapter 11

11

- Maeve -

I never thought I'd see a beautiful cock. They're mostly just weird. But this one is like a piece of art, like one of those sculptures inside the alien art gallery.

There are feathers, there are alien features, there are ridges and spirals and bulges. It all looks designed to please as much as possible. I saw it back in the crazy greenhouse, but I was so deep in the trance that it just registered as something wonderful. Now that I can admire it for real, it creates a hard surge inside me. It's big, but not so huge that it's frightening. I want that.

Arelion has spread his wings, and the spectacular feathers rustle as they're presented in the most eye-catching way. He seems to fill all the space in the big room, being the only important thing in here.

That, I realize, is not voluntary. It's a mating reflex for him. And it works, too. His presence overshadows everything, and I want nothing more than to mate with this peacock-like alien.

I kneel down, grateful the Bululg at least make their floors with a bit of softness to them.

Grabbing his cock with both hands, I glance up at him. "May I?"

"Who am I to question a fake custom?" Arelion rasps. His cock twitches hard in agreement.

"Exactly." I give the tip of his alien rod a quick kiss.

The sharp intake of breath from above tells me he didn't expect it.

"That should be a custom," he breathes shakily.

I wet my lips and unsexily drool some out on his tip. "Actually, this is the fake custom."

I open as wide as I can and take the whole head of his cock into my mouth. It slides easily enough, and I let my hands slide down the shaft, too.

"Oh dear void…" he growls. "That's incredible…"

I can't take him that deep, but I use my tongue in a swirling motion to give him as much pleasure as I can. God knows he deserves it. After all he's done for me, with great cost to himself, losing his ship and being shot many times, this is the least I can do for him.

But I can't fool myself. This isn't because he deserves it. This is what I want.

And I want more than this. Much more.

Arelion's breath has become irregular, and when I look up at him, his eyes have taken on a glassy look. It may be time to move on before I take it too far.

With one hand on his cock, I unzip my suit and pull it halfway off. Kicking off my boots, I have to disengage completely to get my suit off.

Arelion gets rid of his pants and then helps me take my bra off. There's no ceremony here — we're both more than ready for this. And he's seen all of me before.

With me bared for him, he takes me into his arms, his cock a hard presence between us.

"I like fake Earth customs," he growls hoarsely as he lifts me. "One day, I will show you an Eoan custom."

I follow the most natural move in that position and curl my thighs around his waist. "What is it?"

His yellow eyes bore through me, crystal clear. "One day."

He kisses me, first softly and then becoming more demanding. I lean into it, wanting to enjoy all the good things life will offer me before I get myself into some kind of deadly trouble again.

"Is that," I pant when we disengage, "because I made you wait for my custom and it turned out to be fake?"

"Yes. I will punish you by making you wait for my custom. Because mine…" he kisses me again, "...is a real one."

I throw my arms around his neck to keep myself upright. In this position, I'm spread wide open for anything coming from below. "Now I'm curious."

Something is sliding against my girly parts, something hard and insistent.

"How curious are you?" Arelion growls. His hands are holding me up, and he lowers me a half inch.

The hardness right under me is making firm contact, spreading my most sensitive parts.

"More than that," I breathe.

He lowers me another half inch. "This curious?"

I gasp. Now the tip of his cock is at my entrance, pointing the right way. "More."

He lowers me again, and with a wet little squelch, his cock penetrates a tight spot. "More than that?"

"Yes," I moan. "More."

He stays there. "You're a very curious woman."

I clench his neck between my arms, practically trembling from anticipation. "Is that bad?"

"Everyone should be this curious," he growls into my ear as he lowers me again.

I yelp as his hard, alien cock stretches my very center and wakes up dormant nerve endings in there. This is an invasion I can learn to like.

"More!" I whimper, wanting all of him inside. How did I make him this hard?

He lowers me again, reaching the limit of how deep he can get in me. "Your curiosity has gotten you into this."

My sex adjusts to the penetration as he stays inside, the slow throbbing of his rod resonating all through me, as if we're one. It makes me feel privileged to be so close with this perfect male, as if he really finds me attractive. "Good."

He lifts me again, slowly. On the way out, his exotic cock stimulates every spot inside me and turns them on like old fluorescent lights, first hesitant and confused, then bright and humming with pleasure.

And with heat. I know I must be dripping. The wet sounds give my arousal away.

"More," I demand, worried he'll stop here.

"Curious and impatient," Arelion grunts. "My favorite qualities in a woman."

He lowers me again, all the way in one smooth move, taking his time.

My center receives him with less resistance. Sparks of pleasure shoot through me, starting at my sex and spreading fast. "Oh yessss…"

He lifts me, taking all my weight in his hands. It frees me up to just enjoy, knowing I don't feel heavy to him.

He fucks me slowly and deeply, setting off tingles and igniting little fires in my center.

I hear myself moan louder and faster in encouragement. Because I've been ready for this for a long time.

"I want this so much," I groan, half delirious because I'm over a certain threshold and I can feel the orgasm coming. "Fuck me!"

He keeps it up, the feathered root of his cock stroking by my clit. At first it's torture, too soft and frustrating for what I need. But as it goes on, my body becomes more sensitive to that touch and it builds up to something really wonderful.

"Faster," I urge.

Arelion obliges, lifting and lowering me so fast I can't separate between the thrusts in and out. It all flows together into a continuous sensation of being taken and invaded and pleasured in the best possible way.

The climax grows in me until Arelion fucks me even faster and I have no choice but to come along for the ride.

I scream and moan and whimper as the flood wave washes through me, finally giving me what I wanted from him.

Arelion slows down again, then goes stiff and roars like a lion when he sprays his juices into me, hard and fast.

That sends me even higher in my climax, feeling fantastically happy that we're both enjoying this so much. "Ohh yeahhh…"

He gradually slows down and finally lets me stay with his cock all the way inside me.

We pant and breathe together, me sometimes shivering with the aftershocks.

"I like your curiosity," Arelion grunts into my ear. "You can be as curious as you want."

He stands there for a while with me clinging to him, then lays us both down on the floor.

"Sorry you lost your ship," I say into his chest. "It was because of me."

"I think it was because of the Fus gang," he rumbles so I shake all over. "They shouldn't try to abduct lone females. I don't think much blame attaches to you."

"But trouble attaches to me. And I keep dragging you into it, when all you did was help."

"If this is trouble, then I must say I enjoy it." His hand cups my naked buttcheek and squeezes.

I sigh comfortably. "I never thought good things could happen inside Bululg spaceships. What is that place we're going to?"

"Gigori? It's an asteroid. It was first hollowed out by mining. Then it was owned by an eccentric alien, and then it was abandoned. It was discovered by a military pilot, and some friends of mine moved in."

I trace my finger on his massive chest, enjoying the firmness of the muscle and the smooth skin. "What will they say when you bring me there?"

"I think they will say ‘hello'. Possibly ‘greetings'."

I lightly slap his chest. "Hey, you know what I mean! Is it a secret base? Will they want strangers there?"

"The owner of Gigori will not mind it. I promise you that. Now I have to wonder what happened with Cerak and the food." Arelion lifts me off him and uses me as a counterweight to get to his feet in one smooth move of pure strength.

I'm not used to being manhandled this easily, as if I had all the mass of a piece of styrofoam. But I can easily learn to like it. "You don't think they have bathrooms somewhere, do you?"

He puts me down, giving me a peck on my forehead. "I think I saw some things like that in one of the rooms. Six doors down."

We get dressed and go back into the corridor. Right outside the door someone has placed a tray with strange-looking items on it.

"Ah, the food," Arelion says and lifts it. "Typical synthetic stuff, but it should be nutritious enough. Probably not too tasty. I'll bring it to the control room while you look for those facilities you need." He nods down the corridor, then strides off in the opposite direction.

I'm left on my own in the eerie, blue light of a Bululg spaceship. I know there aren't any aliens left aboard, but still my skin crawls as I quickly find the sixth door and confirm that it does indeed have an alien bathroom of sorts. At least there's water that seems to not be too full of chemicals. I freshen up as well as I can and return to the control room.

"There you are," Bari says, meeting me with her bushy tail wagging. "Finally another girl. These guys get really boring after a while."

" Someone gets boring," Cerak says in his metallic voice. "We weren't bored until you showed up."

Arelion is leaning back on a console and eating a crisp-looking, brownish square that's got wisps of steam rising from it. "Try the food. It won't kill you."

I normally wouldn't touch food made in a Bululg ship, but I am hungry, and it could be argued that this ship no longer belongs to those cruel invaders of Earth. Certainly we took full possession of their holy room just now, and that feels like a nice victory.

The food is bland and must be immensely processed, but I can't live the rest of my life on the energy bars.

"Is this a good ship?" I ask, chewing some flavorless rolls. "I mean, compared to your old one?"

Arelion picks another piece of food from the tray. "I like that it doesn't smell of trash. We haven't tried the weapons, though. And while we're in hyperspace, we can't."

"Would you be willing to sell it?" I ask. "I mean, I obviously can't buy it. But the Earth Resistance may be able to. I can think of several ways to use a Bululg ship against the Bululg."

"And I can think of several ways that this is a terrible idea," Cerak scoffs metallically. "Starting with the fact that you're really wanted by the Bululg. They know you're up to something important. That's why they attacked us. I asked the computer on this ship. Next time, they'll come at you with many ships, full of armed Fresks."

"I would consider it," Arelion drawls, ignoring Cerak's objection. "I will still need it for a while. After my mission, I'm sure some kind of sale could be arranged."

I take a swig of semi-sweet juice, feeling better about my mission. This flying saucer is the fanciest spaceship I've seen. With transportation like this, we might be able to track down Tara in an easier way.

‘We?' No, I can't expect Arelion to drop everything and help me. He would obviously be a great asset. And of course I shouldn't need him to help. I can do it on my own. But it can't hurt to ask.

Maybe. At some later time.

"All right. How far are we from Gigori?"

- - -

W e're still hours away. When we're done eating, Arelion and I find a dark room where we lie down on the floor. I crawl close, and he folds his wings around us both. It makes me feel warm and incredibly safe.

Arelion falls asleep right away, his breathing almost alarmingly slow.

Damn it. I never thought I would meet someone like him. I always saw my whole mission as a desperate and nearly suicidal attempt to find Tara. I expected trouble and obstacles all over the place, with enemies and Bululg allies hiding behind every door. And I've had a lot of those already. But with Alerion beside me, I felt confident. Until the Bululg showed up, but even then he turned a hopeless situation into a serious victory. And then the celebration of that…

I push my knees together as tingles shoot through me. That was incredible. Some of it was relief from having been saved from what I thought was certain death, but most of it was because it was him .

Dare I think that this can actually last? It's probably not a great idea to start hoping for that. We're both on separate missions. I'll just be grateful for this experience and make the most of it. Maybe some of his friends on Gigori can help me instead. I should make friends everywhere.

I look over at Arelion. It's not completely dark. His face looks innocent and relaxed. He's unspeakably manly and serious and mostly grumpy, but then he has this less serious part of him where he makes jokes and tries to cheer me up. He really didn't have to do any of those things.

This is probably the only time I'll see him sleep.

I lean over and place a soft kiss on his cheek, stroking one hand on the golden comb on his head. It's soft and warm, and it looks like the world's most outrageous mohawk.

"Thank you," I whisper.

- - -

" T his is Gigori," Arelion says when we step out of the Bululg saucer and into a rough tunnel that looks like it was gnawed through the rock by some giant rodent. "Some friends of mine live here. It's a safe place to stay while we think of what to do next."

I get a warm feeling when he says ‘we', as if we're a team now. "And you're sure they'll like me?"

We walk along the tunnel, which is lit by small points of yellow lights. It's bitterly cold, and the air feels thin.

"Oh, I didn't say that," Arelion's voice echoes from the tunnel walls. "But they won't object to you being here."

I really should have asked more about these people. This tunnel makes shivers run down my spine, as if we're walking into catacombs. A strange idea strikes me. "Are they… dead?"

He laughs. "I hope not! But you'll see."

I relax. Of course my overthinking got me jumping straight for the creepiest possibility, that this was some kind of mausoleum. "All right."

"Anyway, the miners that hollowed out this asteroid stayed here for a long time, and they turned the spaces they'd dug out into living quarters. The next owner turned them into something else."

"Into what?"

"Again, it's easier to let you see for yourself. Ah, here we are. The main living section."

There's a door in front of us, looking ancient and rusty. Arelion knocks hard on it, opens it, and goes in. I follow, into a bright room with metal walls. Our boots clang on the metal floor.

There's suddenly someone behind me, and I spin around. "Shit!"

There's just a rainbow, like a specter of colors that moves.

"Sponz," Arelion says as he calmly turns. "I knew you'd be the first to greet us. Maeve, this is Sponz, my friend and ally. He doesn't speak much."

The rainbow is suddenly in front of us without seeming to move. Then it's gone.

"He's very fast," I rasp, my heart thumping. "How did he get past us?"

"His species won't tell us how they do it. I suspect they don't know how it works. But it can be useful to have a friend who moves that fast. There should be more people here."

The room is all bare metal. Above us there's another floor made from metal mesh, and I spot well-ordered stacks of crates and heaps of strange items up there. Some kind of storage, probably.

In the middle of the room there's a normal table with big chairs and tall benches around it.

Arelion sits down and motions to me to do the same. "This is the common room. It's where we eat and make our plans."

"Are they all like Sponz?" I ask, jumping up to sit on the lowest chair in the room.

"No, he's the only one of his kind. I don't know how many are here right now."

I lean back and dangle my feet. "How long do you think we'll stay?"

"I haven't thought about it. It's the kind of place where you could easily get stuck and not leave for a long time. A few days, perhaps. I have places to go. And so do you."

"Do you think we should try to solve our missions together—" I begin.

Before I've finished the sentence, a door opens in the other end of the room and a large being enters. It looks a lot like a carnival parade, the way Arelion looked the first time I laid eyes on him. This one is a light bronze with golden specks, and it's obviously a female.

As she comes closer, I can't help but feel a sting of envy. That's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. She's smaller than Arelion, more dainty and much more feminine in the movements and the shape. But that face is beyond perfect, with large, golden eyes and lashes as long as my pinkie finger. Her head comb is matte silver, and she wears a clingy green leotard-like garment that makes her look almost exaggeratedly feminine.

She's more subdued than Arelion, graceful where he is outrageous. Still, I get why a flock of Earth peafowl is called an ‘ostentation'. Being in a room with just two of these things makes me feel so scruffy and invisible that I'd love to slink off my chair and skulk back to the ship, where I could bitch to Bari about the unfairness of the world.

"Your Supremacy," the new arrival says, her voice warm and melodic. "We thought you might be coming."

"Good to see you, Peroena," Arelion says and gets to his feet. "This is Maeve, a new friend from planet Earth."

She looks at me with golden eyes. "Glad to meet you, Maeve. I have not heard of that planet, but I'm eager to learn. Hopefully our Arelion hasn't dragged you through too much trouble. He tends to attract it. But you look like you can hold your own in any situation."

Of course she flatters me, and of course she speaks Interspeech out of politeness. She's making it hard for me to dislike her.

"Greetings, Peroena," I reply. "There has been some trouble. But we're not sure about which one of us attracts it. I think it's mostly him, and he thinks it's all me."

She chuckles, a trilling sound like silver bells. "Then you will fit in perfectly here on Gigori. We're all troublemakers, one way or the other."

"Peroena is a general in our army," Arelion rumbles. "The reason she asks about trouble is that she loves it. Ah, here comes another soldier."

A big, squat alien comes lumbering through the other door. It's brown and immensely furry, with the moves of a predator and the air of a big, dangerous bear.

He would remind me of Chewbacca from Star Wars if that character were wide instead of tall.

As he approaches, Peroena gracefully gives way on the floor.

"A guest is a person who has been invited to visit or stay at someone's home," the newcomer says. "This person is typically given special hospitality or treatment during their stay."

"That's right, Virlu," Arelion says slowly. "Maeve is a guest from planet Earth. She and I may stay here for a day or two."

"A day is a measure of time," the furry alien says sincerely as he stops. "It is longer than an hour and shorter than a month. It is standardized to be twenty hours."

I glance around to see if this is a joke. But everyone seems perfectly serious, as if they're used to Virlu speaking like an encyclopedia.

"I will show Maeve around the place," Arelion says and helps me down from the chair. "We came in a flying saucer that used to be a Bululg warship. Feel free to inspect it. Aboard you will find Cerak and another robot."

"A robot is an artificial being, a machine that can move and do work," Virlu informs us.

"What happened to your old ship?" Peroena asks.

"It was impounded on Maranar Labs," Arelion grunts. "By now it's either been sold for scrap or just sold."

He leads me through the other door. Outside we're back in the tunnels, and we follow one that snakes its way through the rock until we get to another door.

"You should hold my hand," Arelion says. "What lies behind here is hard to prepare for."

I grab his hand, worried there might be nightmarish dangers behind it. "Is it safe?"

He frowns. "I'm still not sure if it's safe for the mind. But I haven't taken great damage yet." He opens the door and leads me inside.

It's a big, bright room. It's white and shaped like a cone with the thin end down. A wide path spirals tightly up the sides. If you took a giant bar of white soap and screwed a huge screw through it, then removed the screw, you'd get a hole like this. And it reminds me of pictures I've seen.

"It's a branch of the Guggenheim," I mutter.

"Hmm?"

"I said, we have something like this on Earth. Much smaller, of course. And different."

"Ah, then there must be mines on Earth. This is the main mine of the asteroid. The miners worked their way up from below, spiraling outwards as they gradually dug out the ore. That's where the shape comes from. The color comes from the eccentric owner who came here much later. They painted it all and installed the light. And they put the objects here, as some kind of collection. It's quite striking, I think."

We're standing about halfway up the spiral. At regular intervals, there are little spots of light that shine on strange objects, all different. There must be hundreds or even thousands of them.

I walk to the nearest one. "What is this?"

"I haven't been able to find out exactly what it depicts. It's probably a sculpture, like most of the other objects."

The thing does look like a sculpture, all crystals and weirdness. "On Earth we call this ‘art'."

"Ait?"

" Arrrt. It only exists to be itself. It has no other function."

Arelion reaches out and taps the sculpture with one finger. It rings with a bright, many-layered ting . "I thought that sound meant something."

I try the same, making a different, deeper bong that lasts for a long time and seems to go up and down a long scale of tones. "Maybe it does. Maybe it's part of the art. Or maybe I'm completely wrong and it's just a part of an alien hyperdrive."

"No, I think you may be right. On Eo we also make objects that are made for no particular purpose, except to look like other things or persons or such. But we prefer our art to be beautiful, whereas these things are mostly strange. Some are quite unappealing."

We walk along the spiral, going up.

The next artwork is a cube that looks simple, but when I look closer, there are smaller shapes within it, and then even smaller shapes within them, and then shapes that seem to move and pull away, as if into an infinite space…

"Maeve." Arelion touches my shoulder.

I snap out of it, suddenly conscious that minutes must have passed. "Oh, sorry. It's hard to look away from that."

He nods. "That's what I meant when I said this is a place it's easy to get stuck in. Many of the objects are like that, some of them much worse than this one. Sometimes after I've been in here, I dream of them at night. But still I come to look at them whenever I visit Gigori."

We walk on.

"Peroena called you ‘Your Supremacy'," I state. "Does that mean that you own this place? Or does it have something to do with the job you want?"

"You're right on both counts. The ‘job' is that of Supreme Leader of the planet Eo. And I already have it. The people elected me some time ago. But I was prevented from assuming the position because a warlord called Buroteo invaded our capital city and occupied the planet with thousands of alien troops. I barely escaped with some of my friends. Buroteo claims that the Fire Mages never acknowledged that I'm the rightful Leader, and so I must be considered unwanted."

Arelion's voice is flat, but I can sense the tension below the surface.

"But they did really acknowledge you?"

He snorts. "It's been hundreds of years since any Supreme Leader of Eo has needed the acknowledgement of the Fire Mages. It's an ancient custom that has lost all meaning. No, it's a completely made up reason that would never work if Buroteo hadn't brought his troops to the planet. That is strictly forbidden, by the way. You don't bring alien forces to Eo itself! It's a capital offense. But that's not the worst part. He's now locked the planet down and started the most repressive rule we've ever seen. There are executions, disappearances, and arbitrary arrests. The courts of law have been dissolved, and the population lives in a state of fear. Buroteo has started a cult of personality, and he insists on being called Liberator. Anyone who opposes him is arrested. There are many other things that I can't bear to think about. But none of it can continue!"

I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. Arelion, the elected leader of a whole planet? And yet, once I'm over the first surprise, I accept it as obviously true. I've never met a more natural leader than him. "So how will it help if you get the archmagus to acknowledge you?"

Arelion takes a deep breath, calming himself. "Then Buroteo's argument crumbles, and I can legally bring my own forces in to defeat his aliens. Most of them would desert him, anyway. If an archmagus gets involved, you don't want to be on the opposing side."

"And if he won't help you?"

His jaw clenches. "Then I will have to bring forces in illegally. It will be a real war, with both sides fighting hard. And while I'm sure we'll win, I want to avoid the bloodshed. But I refuse to accept my people being repressed by anyone. I'd rather die than watch it happen."

We stop at the next artwork, an ever-moving flame made from some kind of luminous plasma. It dances and shifts before our eyes. It's even more hypnotic than the other one.

"Don't look at this too closely," Arelion warns. "I once had to come and get Peroena out of here after she was gone for nearly a day. She was standing here, staring at this thing. She might have starved to death without knowing it. The next one is much better."

I look up at him. "I never knew you had that kind of responsibility, Arelion. Supreme Leader of your planet."

He shrugs. "It's not the kind of thing I broadcast. It would be ridiculous to make a big splash about it when I can't even land on my own planet without being attacked or arrested. The galaxy is full of people who claim to be the rightful rulers of their planets. Most of them are out of their minds. In my case, it happens to be true."

We reach another artwork. It's a cylinder coated with intricate, metallic panels that shine like mirrors, but are really pictures of landscapes and cityscapes. As I get closer, they start to move like films, spinning soundlessly all the while. Clouds slide past alien suns, beings walk or crawl, plants sway in the wind. It feels as if time passes really fast in the images, and I get the impression that things are getting better with each passing moment. For some reason, the images give me a calm, happy feeling, as if they're telling me that everything is going to be all right.

I sigh as some tension leaves me. "This is a nice one."

"One of my favorites here," Arelion agrees. "I've come at least once to Gigori just to look at that and be reassured."

Imagine that. The hyper-confident peacock-like ruler of a whole planet sometimes needs to strengthen his confidence. It only makes me like him more.

I grab his hand and squeeze. "I'm sure you will be the best ruler of your planet. I know what it feels like to be on a planet that's under bad repression, and it's worth a great deal of sacrifice to get out of that."

He squeezes me back and fixes me with his intense gaze. "Some even prepare to make the ultimate sacrifice for what they believe in."

I meet his gaze without flinching. "Sometimes that's what it takes."

He nods thoughtfully. "I think we will both accomplish our missions. Maybe together."

We saunter up the spiral's mild incline. I like his warm hand around mine, glad he can take the time to show me alien art when he has a planet to save. I guess we both need a little bit of downtime after these intense few days.

The next sculpture seems to be floating in thin air. It clearly depicts two humanoid creatures tightly entwined and embracing, but the shapes are fluid and impossible to pin down as they keep changing, slowly twisting as if in some kind of ecstasy. Their bodies are merged in a harmonious union, full of warm light. There are no recognizable body parts, so it's too abstract to be pornographic. But still it's the best depiction of passionate lovemaking I've ever seen, capturing the emotional part perfectly.

I immediately feel its impact in my very center, and my hand clenches around Arelion's. "That's… very well made," I rasp, my throat suddenly gone dry.

Arelion gives me a little smile. "Thank you."

It takes me a couple of seconds to grasp it. Then I whirl around, astonished. "You mean… you made this?"

He gives me a lopsided smile. "I enjoyed making sculptures in my youth. I had a teacher who encouraged me, and for a fleeting moment I thought I had a talent for it. Much later, when I discovered Gigori and claimed it for Eo, I brought my favorite of the art I made. It's preposterous to put it here, among the real works of art. But I was never the shy type."

"It's incredible," I gush sincerely. "You must have been very much in love when you made it."

He chuckles. "It's a fantasy, not a depiction of something real! We're so pure when we're young. So innocent! This is what I imagined it would be like to love someone."

I discreetly send a glance to his middle. There's definitely some twitching going on there.

The sculpture pulsates and writhes, the shapes changing and giving the impression that they're giving each other great pleasure without ever quite reaching any kind of climax. The erotic tension just keeps rising.

Arelion places one hand on my back and lets it slide downwards.

I'm so highly strung with sensual tension that his cool touch feels like an electric shock, making me gasp.

"I know a better place to go," he growls, voice hoarser than usual. "They must have finished inspecting the saucer by now."

"They must," I agree, suddenly needing more than just the touch of one big hand.

We quickly return to the living section of the asteroid. Arelion makes some comments to Virlu about needing rest, then finds an alien shipping crate that he lifts onto one shoulder before we quickly make our way back to the saucer. Being out of sight of the sculpture does nothing to dampen my arousal. I need him in me again.

We make our way to the room with the bonsai-like garden. Arelion opens the crate, takes out some big items I can't identify, and before I know it there's a big, red tent in the room. It's domed and must have sleeping space for a good-size family.

"Are we going camping?"

"I've prepared a lot of equipment for my army for when I attack Buroteo," he explains. "And it's so important to test it before it's used. ‘Camping' is not a bad word for it."

I look inside. The walls are thick, and it looks comfortable. "That's what we say in the Resistance, too. Everything must be tested. You never know what military equipment might be used for."

He grabs me around the waist, lifts me off the ground, and carries me inside the tent. "I think this one will be put to a use that nobody's thought of before." He lays me down on the floor, which is soft like an air mattress.

There's no reason to be coy about this. We both know what's about to happen, and we both want it. I quickly pull off my jumpsuit and underwear, and Arelion gets rid of his boots and silvery pants. His alien cock stands skywards as he kneels in front of me,

I look up at him, the anticipation making me breathless.

He impatiently pushes my knees apart, spreading me open for him.

Giving me a quick glance to check that I'm fine with it, he dives into my dripping crotch with his mouth first, licking and sucking and creating some scandalous sounds.

"Ooh yesss…" I moan as his immensely talented tongue takes my body down the same delightful path as before, in the crazy greenhouse experiment. But I don't want that path to go all the way to the fireworks at the end.

I buck as he hits a sensitive spot and keeps swirling there, sending hard sparks of joy to my very center. This is getting very close, and I feel one foot starting to shake.

"Not yet," Arelion chuckles coldly and slides up along my body, his wings folded out over us. "You're impatient, I know that."

He gets into position and pushes his cock into me, pinning me with his eyes.

"Yes!" I sigh urgently to his unspoken question. "Fuck me!"

He does, thrusting into me in one stroke, filling me up and creating such heat and delight inside me that I arch my back, groaning.

I grab his thick shoulders and hang on to him as he thrusts in and out, setting my sex on fire with lust and taking what he wants from me. And I want to give him everything. This time there's no tension — I know he fits, I know he's good, and I know those fireworks are coming.

He growls as he thrusts, slow and steady, just taking me and enjoying it.

"Oooh…" I moan, as the heat builds up again. I curl my legs behind his back, my toes touching the soft feathers of his wings.

"My woman," Arelion growls. "My beauty."

His words bring the climax much closer.

"My protector," I wheeze, as his feathers tickle my clit in just the right way.

I hold my breath as the orgasm builds and then breaks loose.

"Yeahhh…!" I shake and buck under him.

He puts more of his weight on me, pinning me down.

I love that, the contact with his whole body, having no choice but riding out this climax.

"My female." He thrusts faster, then roars hoarsely as he releases inside me. "My love."

The word sends bliss all through me, and I give myself over to it.

He slows down and stays on top of me, heavy and hard, keeping me under him while I calm down and ride out the aftershocks.

Finally he simply rolls us over, so I'm lying on top of him, sweaty and exhausted and happier than I can remember.

Maybe this can work. It's a ridiculous thought. But just like an entire room gets lighter from a tiny streak of sunlight through a door, so my mind gets brighter from just that tiny, completely unrealistic hope. Just maybe this can become something.

"I love you," I mumble.