CHAPTER 35

Artemis

‘D on’t let them take me again, A,’ Libby cried in my arms. ‘It hurts. Don’t let them hurt me anymore. I want to go home.’

I rocked her gently back and forth as I whispered soothing words into her hair. My own tears and pain pushed to the side because they were nothing compared to hers. Not today. Today, I had been poked and prodded, chunks of my flesh and bone removed for them to study under a microscope. But Libby had gone through the first round of surgeries for their new implants. Ones I’d received just last week.

I remembered how much I screamed and cried, but since they used a paralytic rather than anaesthetics, I was awake and aware the entire time. I felt everything, and then it was Libby who comforted me.

We took turns far too often these days. At first it was just a few tests here and there. Nothing too serious, like drawing blood or running as fast as we could for as long as we could. How much weight could we lift, how long did it take to heal a small cut, that sort of thing. Until one day they took one of us and she didn’t come back. Their attempt at grafting a robotic body-part into her to replace the one they cut off ended in her death, and they became frustrated.

They were mean to us when they were frustrated.

‘I’m gonna get us out of here, L. I promise. Just you see, we’ll be free and fall in love and raise our kids together. It’ll be amazing.’

She sniffled. ‘Can we even have kids anymore, A? Won’t the nanites destroy that chance?’

I hadn’t thought of that. I didn’t know how the nanites would react to a pregnancy, but I refused to think about it now. I wanted to pretend. To imagine a future with a loving husband and a round belly and little feet running through the house, echoing off the concrete walls.

No, not concrete. I would never live anywhere near concrete. I’d live in a tree, high up off the ground. With the Drakferns. I’d look out my window to see the rainbow of colours as they flew by, their feathers bright and beautiful.

Maybe I’d fly one day too.

‘Just imagine it, L. The life we could live, away from here. The freedom to choose. No experiments, no surgeries, and no pain. The sun on our faces whenever we pleased. We could see the ocean,’ I rambled on and on until her body relaxed into mine.

‘I think I want to sleep now, A.’

‘As long as you wake up, L.’

‘I will if you will,’ she replied, the phrase one we repeated to one another many times over the years.

‘I will if you will, L. Get some rest.’

When her eyes closed and her breaths evened out, I held her closer and watched over her while she slept, keeping her safe the best and only way I knew how.

???

My eyes snapped open before my internal alarm could wake me up. It was still dark, and I was in one of the single pull-out beds in Addy’s spare room. I hadn’t taken Bromm up on his offer to share a bed the past couple of nights, taking the cowardly route by letting two of the other pairs take turns in the larger beds.

Bromm had managed to snag the bed opposite mine, however, so when I sat up to find him already awake and watching me, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

'What are you doing up?’ I asked him in hushed tones so we wouldn’t wake the others.

'Couldn’t sleep,’ he said. ‘I was sorta hoping to have a snuggle buddy, but I didn’t get the chance,’ he said, giving me a pointed look.

I was unsure how to respond to that, so I didn’t.

‘You wanna shower first?’ he asked instead .

‘Yeah, may as well hop in now,’ I accepted the offer. We both knew I was going in first anyway.

‘I’ll just be here. Thinking of you. Naked and soapy. Soapy and naked.’

I huffed out a quiet laugh, unable to stop myself. ‘Okay, okay. I get it. Why don’t we go to the living room and we can talk and not wake anyone up?’

He pouted adorably. ‘So no soapy nudity?’

My lips pulled to one side in a smirk. ‘Not yet.’

He sighed dramatically but when he stood he followed me out, making sure all doors to the living room were firmly shut to ensure our privacy.

‘You said you were okay with me saying no,’ I started the conversation before he could.

He grimaced. ‘Arty, I would never force you to do something you weren’t comfortable with or didn’t want to do. But you also said my feelings were reciprocated, so I’m holding onto hope.’

‘Bromm…’ I began, but didn’t know what else there was to say. I wanted him. Bad. But I couldn’t have him. It was as simple as that.

‘No, listen. I will respect your wishes. You told me no and I’m not forcing you, but I need to get this off my chest. Whatever it is that’s holding you back, and whatever it is that you’re hiding – yes, I know you’re hiding something – I don’t care. You’re all I think about. Every night I replay your words in my head, the confirmation that this isn’t just one-sided. I remember the way you taste, and the feel of your body beneath mine. I also frequently fantasise about being a bad boy so you’ll punish me accordingly,’ he winked. ‘But most of all, I can’t seem to stop my feelings for you from growing. I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone else, and I don’t care if you’re hiding an extra arm attached to your abdomen or whatever it is you don’t want me to see. I just… will you give me a chance? To prove that I’m worth it, that you can trust me?’

I was speechless. No one had ever admitted anything close to that to me before, let alone about me. I wanted to cry. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to cry while I kissed him.

So I surged forward and did just that, damn the consequences.

My lips found his easily in the darkness, as if they were pulled together by magnets. They were as plump and soft as I remembered, and his salty-sweet flavour burst on my tongue when I used it to spread them. His own tangled with mine, smooth, strong, and delicious, but he didn’t fight me for dominance. No, this man knew his place and it was beneath me.

His hands rose to my hips where he gripped me, trying to pull me closer so our bodies would press together, but I couldn’t have that. I had enough sense to know that my secret needed to remain hidden for a little longer.

I pulled away and his lips chased mine, eager for more.

Why’d you stop?’ he panted.

‘You can’t touch me,’ I warned him, and his gaze probed mine.

Satisfied with whatever he found there, he agreed. ‘You can touch me , if you want,’ he offered, and I gave him what I hoped was a sultry smile.

'I intend to.’

‘Wait… really?’

‘Really.’

‘ Yesss ,’ he drew out the word on an excited hiss.

I pushed him towards the sofa. ‘Lie down.’

He fell back, spreading himself out for my viewing pleasure.

I kneeled on the floor beside him, my eyes raking over his prone form. The way his chest heaved with his heavy breaths, the lust in his gaze, the growing tent in his pyjama pants, even the way his beard twitched as if the tentacles wanted to reach out to me.

I raised a shaky hand and laid it flat on his chest, fingers splayed, to feel his heartbeat racing under my touch. I smoothed it slowly over his pecs, catching them on his erect nipples and causing a reaction from him that made my own core throb and pulse. The wetness forming between my thighs made them slick even through my clothes.

I added my second hand as I dragged them lower, feeling the hard abs beneath the thin layer of padding, then I snagged the hem of his shirt and pushed it up, slowly revealing his scaled skin. On the way up, the scales were rough as I stroked them the wrong way, but he didn’t seem to mind. I smoothed them back down again after I pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

‘You’re stunning,’ I breathed the words.

‘So are you,’ he said, his own tone low and breathy with want.

I flicked one of his nipples again to see if I could make him gasp the way he did before and smiled to myself when I succeeded. I hadn’t expected to experience so much pride over making someone else feel even an inkling of pleasure.

‘Pinch it,’ he commanded.

I didn’t want to hurt him, so I took the small nub between my fingertips and gently pressed.

‘Harder,’ he said, his voice so gravelly I swore I felt the vibrations all the way down to my core.

I obeyed, applying more and more pressure until he was writhing and moaning beneath me. I played with them for a while, eager to see what other reactions I could coax from him. He didn’t disappoint.

When my arm accidentally bumped into his fully erect cock, his shaft pointing straight towards the ceiling, his groan was deep and needy. ‘Please. Touch me. Everywhere. I’m yours to do with as you please,’ he begged so sweetly.

‘Are you sure?’ I asked, keeping the knowledge that this couldn’t last beyond this from ruining the moment by pretending everything was different.

‘Yes. Please , Arty. Your touch feels so good.’

I toyed with the idea of stopping before things went too far, but they already had. So I fingered the waist of his pants, teasing him with the promise of removing them. He didn’t want to wait, however, and shucked them off before I could tell him not to.

‘That was supposed to be my job,’ I complained, but my mouth watered at the sight before me. He spread his legs so I had easier access, his cock bobbing with his movements. It was long, thick, and veiny, and purple with the blood flow blending with the blue of his skin tone. His tentacles were still curled around the base but twitched when my breath ghosted over them, ready to unfurl when I wanted to play with them, too.

But I focused on the head, first. It was a deep plum colour and shaped much like a blunt arrow. The curve at the top glistened with precum, and I wondered what it tasted like. I realised I could find out if I wanted to. I made eye contact with him and held it as I lowered my mouth to the tip, poked my tongue out and licked up the drop that had emerged.

Bromm groaned long and low. The taste exploded on my tongue, salty and musky and not at all what I had expected, and I liked it better that way. It was a flavour I had never experienced before, and I wanted more of it.

His groan was louder the next time I licked him, flattening my tongue to gather more of his taste. I had to pull away to shush him. ‘Keep quiet. If you make too much noise you’ll wake the others and I’ll have to stop.’

He pulled his lips into his mouth, but it wasn’t enough when I bent over him again, this time sucking his tip into my mouth to try and pull more of that delicious liquid out of him. He bit down on his knuckles, but a sound still escaped.

‘Wrap your hand around me,’ he ordered, and, eager to please, I did as he asked. My hand could barely fit around his girth enough for my fingers to touch, but I squeezed it gently. His own hand came down on top of mine and began to move us both.

‘Like this,’ he said, showing me what he liked.

I took mental notes. He enjoyed a firm pressure with long, slow strokes, and he especially loved it when I sucked him into my mouth at the same time. I experimented with my tongue, flicking it around the head to find his sweet spots, and I learned he enjoyed every time I passed over the seeping hole at the very top.

I was so focused on my attentions there that I startled when his tentacles shot out to wrap around my wrist, guiding me to pick up the pace. I noticed his hands were clenching on empty air, so I decided to give him something to do.

‘Play with your nipples for me.’

The noise he released was practically primal , almost a snarl as he did as he was told. His length was throbbing in my grip, and the suckers at the tips of his tentacles found every spare inch to suck on that I couldn’t reach. We worked together until he was writhing so much he was barely staying on the sofa, but I kept up my ministrations.

‘I’m close,’ he growled. ‘Trace your fingers over my ass.’

I wasn’t sure why he wanted me to do that, but I obeyed. My hand that was being used to keep myself propped up snuck underneath him and he lifted his hips to allow me better access. My finger found his hole and probed the area, and I found that it was slick. Was his body preparing for penetration? I tested the theory, slipping my finger inside him just to the first knuckle, and that was when he burst.

His mouth opened on a silent scream, his hips jerking into the air as spurt after spurt was pushed from his cock, shooting high into the air and landing on his chest, the sofa, my face. His tentacles twined around one another as if they needed something to hold on to, and his ass clenched around my finger to the point where I was fairly sure he cut off circulation.

His ass hit the cushion again when the cum became a small leaking stream, but he still twitched and moaned.

‘Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What the fuck?’

I pulled away from him when he swore, afraid I had done something wrong. Was fingering his ass too much? ‘I’m sorry,’ I blurted. ‘Did I hurt you?’

He sagged into the cushions with a breathless laugh. ‘Hurt me? Love, that was the most incredible, most intense orgasm of my life .’

‘Oh. Really?’

He sat up at the vulnerability in my tone, though it seemed to take some effort, and took me in from my knelt position on the floor. His hand came up to stroke my cheek and came away dripping with his seed. ‘Fuck, you look good covered in my come.’

His fingers slowly aimed for my mouth, a question in his eyes. I answered by parting my lips, allowing him to smear himself over my tongue. I sucked them clean, lapping up every last drop. He was surprisingly delicious, even though I couldn’t identify a flavour to compare it to. It simply tasted like Bromm.

‘You’re so fucking hot, eating me up like that. I wish I could return the favour.’

That single comment snapped me out of whatever delusional bubble we had curated, but I didn’t want this to end. Not yet.

‘Lie back down,’ I commanded. With a sultry look in his half-lidded eyes, he obeyed. ‘Good boy.’

His groan was reminiscent of the one he made when he came. ‘I love it when you talk to me like that,’ he admitted.

My smile was pleased, even though my sadness made it small. ‘Taste yourself on me.’ And then I kissed him again. It was slow and sensual, a delectable last taste.

‘Mm, we taste incredible together,’ he told me, his eyes drooping with exhaustion.

I pressed another kiss to his sweet lips in response. When he finally drifted off to sleep I grabbed his blanket from his bed and covered him, then got to work cleaning up the mess he’d made. When that was done, I stood over him and admired his sleeping form. He was so beautiful, even his beard. I wanted to explore what those tentacles were capable of; discover the things he could do as a lover. I wanted to play with his body and learn everything he liked and make him feel better than anyone else ever would.

But nothing had changed. This was just one last moment of weakness before everything changed, because I wouldn’t be sticking around much longer.

I gave him one last glance before locking myself in the bathroom, my hand already trailing down to relieve the pressure caused by what had just occurred.

It didn’t take long. Neither did the shower.

It was still the middle of the night, too late for anyone to be awake and too early for anyone to wake up, so I chose to use the free time to continue my search of the databases. Now that The Carina was docked I would have full access to any files stored on Nova Station and the academy.

I wanted to remain close to Bromm for a little longer, so I settled myself in on the armchair beside him and let my fingers drift over to stroke over his scalp. He sighed with sleepy pleasure and nuzzled deeper into the cushions, but didn’t rouse.

Tracing my finger over my holo-tab, still touching Bromm, I made the connection to the ship’s databases.

But what I found had me completely shutting down and raising all of my walls back up.

This was bad. This was very, very bad.