Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I t felt wonderful removing her work jumper and slipping into a comfortable lounger. She sometimes forgot she had breasts when she wore the constricting uniform for too long.

A heavy-handed pounding on her door caused her to rise from her bed. She slipped on a robe and went to investigate who had the nerve to disturb her. The monitor showed Commander Goody leaning against the door. It didn’t surprise her to find Branson standing outside her quarters.

She released a heavy sigh as she pressed the button allowing Goody entry. He hadn’t slipped his outerwear back on and had a jar of cream in his hand.

“Reg said this will absorb most of the minimal radiation we were exposed to,” Branson said. “Can I trouble you to help me out?”

How could she refuse? She wondered why Reg or one of his men didn’t aid their commander. Maybe it was just an excuse to see her in an unofficial role.

“Of course,” she replied. “Please enter.”

He stepped into her quarters and locked the door behind him. The jar of cream was placed on her living room table and he proceeded to remove his shirt.

Her earlier assessment of his muscular chest had been right on, but not the scars on his back. She traced the scars with her fingers, causing him to outwardly shiver.

“What happened?” she asked.

Branson shrugged. “The life of a soldier, I suppose. None of us go unscathed for too long. Laser fire leaves the worse scars but doesn’t cause you to bleed out in most instances. It’s repeated exposure that will kill you, causing your blood to boil.”

The images in her mind were too terrible to dwell on. She unfastened the top of the jar and spread the cream over his back. He shuddered at her touch. The more he reacted to her fingers running across his flesh, the greater her core ached for him.

He turned and she applied the medication to his shoulders and torso. Branson took in several deep breaths as she worked her way down his chest.

With unsteady hands, she undid his belt and watched as the material fell to the carpet. She continued to administer to his needs while trying to ignore his erection.

“How close did we all come to dying today?” she asked after completing her task.

A conversation would hopefully cause her mind to migrate her thoughts away from his body to what had transpired on her ship earlier. The event had been chilling and should’ve under normal circumstances mitigated the lustful thoughts running through her mind.

He took ahold of her shoulders and lifted her to her feet. His rough hands removed the first layer of her clothing. Her robe slipped to the floor, joining his pants.

“Too bloody close, kitten,” he said before his lips claimed hers.

The jar she’d been holding fell to the floor as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He made quick work of removing her lingerie. Only her panties remained undisturbed.

Branson lifted her into his arms and walked toward the bed. This was not where she expected their relationship to go after their initial adversarial meeting. She’d gotten glimpses of the man underneath the military facade over the short period of time she’d known him.

“Do you want me as much as I want you?” he asked.

“More,” she replied as he placed her on the bed and removed her panties.

She’d already pulled back her bed’s linens, preparing to get a couple hours of sleep. It was doubtful she’d get any rest before another emergency plagued her small spacecraft. Cassidy needed this more than sleep.

His erection rubbed against her thighs, reminding her of its existence. She didn’t need a reminder. It took all her willpower when she was applying the cream not to remove his briefs and take him into her mouth.

Their urgency was so great, there was no need for foreplay or words of seduction. The bomb had placed them in the situation where they needed an immediate release. He entered her with a single powerful thrust.

Her legs wrapped around his waist allowed him to plunge deeper into her core. When he filled her to the hilt, she tightened her hold on him. Her muscles squeezed him, causing a groan to escape his lips. Once she released her hold on him, he moved within her. The friction they created together adversely impacted her ability to breathe.

“ What the hell is going on here? ” Titus communicated through their link.

Whenever she planned to have sex with Niles, she blocked the access to her room from the cats. Branson’s seduction had been fast and unexpected.

She extended her hand and threw a small decorative pillow at the cat. “ Get out and tell your pals my bed is off-limits for the time being .”

“What just happened?” Branson growled in her ear.

“Nothing,” she replied. “The cats are used to sleeping with me. Don’t stop what you’re doing.”

A confident masculine smile appeared on his face. He knew she liked what he’d been doing with every groan and cry that escaped her lips. To reinforce her words, Cassidy tightened her legs’ grip on him.

Niles had been an adequate lover, but Branson was in a league of his own. Her body erupted in the most powerful orgasm she’d ever experienced. The cry she uttered echoed around them.

His body shuddered when his own release planted his seed within her. Her fertility had been medically halted. Months of isolated space travel made reproductive cycles an unnecessary burden. If and when she ever became land-based, she’d consider the possibility of a child.

“That was incredible,” Branson muttered into the crook of her neck.

His lips brushing against her jugular vein caused her to moan. Her sexual desire for him hadn’t been saturated. She doubted it ever would be.

“You’re welcome to stay and get some sleep,” she said. “It’s not every day you’re forced to mess with a bomb. At least I hope that’s not the case.”

He gathered her into his arms and she nestled against his chest.

“Thank you for the invitation,” he said. “You are far and away a more preferable bunkmate than Wendell. He would’ve kept me up all night blowing his nose. If you give me a little time, I wouldn’t mind going another round.”

Branson rolled onto his side and took her with him. She cuddled against his hard-corded muscles. His body’s heat warmed her. It was certainly more enjoyable than sharing her bed with three cats.

She told herself not to get used to him or develop feelings for the man who would exit her life as quickly as he entered it. Too bad she rarely took her own advice.

***

Warm hands caressed her naked body, gradually pulling her from one of the most restful slumbers she’d experienced in a very long while. Once she realized she wasn’t dreaming, her heart raced.

“Good morning, kitten,” he said between kisses along her neck.

Her response was halted when his lips claimed hers.

His knees moved between her legs and pushed them apart. He entered her slowly, unlike the three times they’d made love the night before.

Inch-by-inch, he filled her. His actions were slow and steady as her body awoke and eagerly participated in the morning exercise. The activity certainly beat working out in the gym.

“ I was promised salmon, ” Jasper complained.

“ Give me an hour, ” she replied. “ I just woke and you know what I’m like in the morning. ”

It was hard not to have what Branson was doing to her spill into the pathway she shared with the cats and the remainder of her crew. At least there hadn’t been any attempts to enter her room last night. The cats must have bunked with Niles or Elon.

A large hand grabbed her chin and moved her head.

“Come back to me,” Branson ordered. “What do the cats want?”

She shouldn’t have been surprised that’s where his mind migrated. Her cats were more than members of her crew.

“I promised Jasper salmon for helping you with the bomb and you’d cook it.”

Amusement softened his expression. “Can we finish here first? I’m working up an appetite of my own.”

It would be so easy to get used to this man in her bed. He revealed another side of himself – a loving, caring male.

She moved to the rhythm he set. Where last night had been frantic lovemaking, this morning’s romp had been a celebration of life. He caressed her body with great care as he moved inside her. His gaze concentrated on her face, watching her expression change as her body came alive.

All the men she’d been with over the years had only been concerned about their own release. This man seemed genuinely interested in whether or not she accomplished her own climax.

“God, you’re so tight,” he said as his forehead rested against hers. “It feels so damned good.”

The inferno within her erupted. Pleasure cascaded from her core. He once again captured her cries of pleasure with his mouth.

His back arched as he reached his own zenith. There was a degree of satisfaction that they’d been able to give each other pleasure. Space is cold, but they found incredible warmth together.

She expected he’d roll out of bed and head for the shower. There was certainly a lot they both had to do today, including providing Jasper his salmon. Instead, he remained on top of her, running his fingers across her cheekbones. Was he remembering the contours of her face for when the mission was over?

“I meant it when I said you could stay in my quarters.” Cassidy wanted to enjoy him for as long as she could.

A slight dimple appeared on both sides of his cheeks when he grinned. She didn’t know why she hadn’t noticed them before. “I’ll take you up on your offer. We’re both covered in perspiration. We should shower before your cats stage a mutiny.”

Cassidy had never showered with a man. She was out the door or her partner was as soon as they’d finished having sex. This was a novelty for her.

It felt natural standing beside him, them both naked. He was solid muscle. If there was an ounce of fat on him, she didn’t see it. She suddenly became self-conscious of the flaws in her own body.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

He’d been able to ascertain her mood had changed. That was how in tune they were with each other.

“Your body is perfection.” She decided to leave it at that.

One of his arms wrapped around her waist while the other massaged her breast. She’d never grow tired of his touch.

“A man likes a woman with flesh,” he said. “It gives us something warm, soft, and wonderful to hold on to.”

He kissed her then and she melted in his arms. Cassidy had already grown addicted to his taste. The nights would be longer and colder without him, regardless of the cats.

She knew it was ridiculous to focus on him leaving while he was still there.

As soon as he released her lips, his glance moved around her quarters. “Show me where your shower is.”

She took his hand and traveled the several steps to the shower’s entry. Cassidy pushed the button and the steel door slid open.

Branson’s eyes scanned the stall, a puzzled look on his face. “Where are the knobs and the shower head?”

“It’s an ion bath,” she said. “We don’t carry water aboard The Fury . Whatever we need to drink is created by using our hydrogen and oxygen tanks. Gas cylinders are used for fueling the ship, creating an atmosphere, and whatever else we require. We are self-contained.”

He took another look into the stall. “It looks like a coffin.”

Cassidy took his hand and led him inside. The stall may resemble a coffin, but she’d soon have him thinking otherwise. She closed the door, turned on the ion stream, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Small ion molecules washed over their bodies as they kissed, enhancing the experience. She always found bathing invigorating, but nothing like this.

“Close your eyes so your eyelids can be cleaned,” she instructed.

“Will the mist harm our eyes?” he asked. “Based on how the rest of me is feeling, I really don’t care.”

She laughed. “The ion mist will destabilize any disease or grime in your eyes. I’ve always found it stimulating.”

The foreplay that had been lacking in their urgent lovemaking was actively pursued in the small confines of her ion capsule. The element accentuated the feeling as his fingertips explored every inch of her he could reach in the small confines of the chamber.

He lifted her against the wall. Small ion elements massaged her back while his hands positioned her knees to straddle his hips, opening her to him. Once again, he was inside her. It was clear neither of them had enough of the other.

“It feels so good to be inside you,” he whispered into her ear as if he didn’t want to be overheard. “I don’t think I’ll ever want to travel without one of these ion baths. How long can we keep your cats out of your quarters? As long as I’m here, you’re exclusively mine.”

Branson could have a girl in every port. She didn’t care. For the limited time they had on the mission, he was solely hers. Together, they took sex to another level.

Voices bombarded her mind. The cats had enough alone time and demanded her company. She groaned as Branson exited her body. It was time to face another day; that much closer to whatever they faced in the Gamma Five asteroid belt.