Chapter 12

12

J enny woke several hours later, her eyes swollen from crying and her head throbbing. For a moment, she forgot where she was. The bed was a lot more comfortable than the apartments on the space station.

She rubbed her eyes. They felt smooshy from the swelling.

Everything felt smooshy. Like her entire world and reality. Not just her physical world, but her mind.

Traveling to space.

Living on a space station.

Meeting beings from other worlds.

Mating one.

Rather, potentially mating with one.

She glanced over her shoulder and studied Karuk. He’d held her while she cried, and he held her while she slept.

Being in his arms felt safe and warm. And she was certainly falling for him. Anyone who tried so hard to remain stoic while still looking like he could take out an army for her got a lot of points in her book.

Part of that made him feel that much safer in his arms.

She watched him sleep. His eyes were closed, but his eyes danced beneath his lids.

He must be dreaming , she thought to herself. She wondered what he must be so actively dreaming about.

His past?

His hopes and fears?

She couldn’t guess. He’d said he was an assassin. Some part of her thought she should fear that, but she didn’t. He didn’t scare her. He only made her feel protected.

Besides, he treated her cat with respect. Annoyance, obviously, but respect. She would probably be annoyed occasionally if she could hear Mr. F’s thoughts.

Still, she wasn’t scared.

If anything, he impressed her for not being an automaton who followed orders without giving them any thought.

He’d stood up for his own principles, even when it would cost him everything.

And it might still cost him his life. He’ll be looking over his shoulder every day for the rest of his life. However long that would be.

Who knew how long he really had? How long anyone had, really.

He might as well enjoy his time.

She let her gaze run over his features.

She should take her own advice. Especially when she was lying in a bed with a being that looked like he did.

The pale skin didn’t look so pale in the light, and the flecks of gold that seemed to glisten in his skin sparkled even more, with the dancing light of the Christmas tree from the living room still creating their magical light all around.

A piece of hair covered his face, and she brushed it away.

He truly was a beautiful specimen. His shoulders were broad and firm, his stomach fairly flat, though she could see muscle lines through the clothing.

Lying next to him, she felt small.

She had felt so tiny when he scooped her up outside the bathroom and carried her into the bed. They laid there, and he held her tight while she cried over what Phil did.

How in the world was she going to get out of this one? It was so much, she just wasn’t sure that even if she got any public information taken down, that it would be enough. It was obvious many people had her personal contact information. She would have to get a new phone number, new email, all her social media would have to be shut down.

Though really, that wasn’t horribly huge. She wasn’t a big social media person. Mostly, she just liked to post quick videos and photos of cool stuff in her life.

The coolest thing, though, was all of this with the aliens, and she couldn’t post any of it, because of the NDA’s that she signed going into this project.

That was going to be such a mess.

“We should just go back up to the station,” Jenny said. “Just live there. We don’t have to be here. Or better yet, get on a ship and travel to another galaxy. Just get out of here completely.”

“And let him win?” Karuk asked, not opening his eyes.

She shook her head. “I was just thinking about all the things that would have to be done to block and disconnect myself from the internet. It is overwhelming.”

“We shall solve this together. That is what mates do.”

She smiled and scooted so they were pretty much face to face. “Oh yeah? What else do mates do?”

He put his hand on the back of her head and brought her down to him for a kiss.

This one was as passionate as before. Yet it felt even more profound. Deeper even. She put her hand on his cheek, and when her tongue darted out, meeting his, they danced around each other.

He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her on top of him. Their bodies pressed against each other as they kissed, and he ran a hand up and down her back.

It felt fantastic.

More than that.

It felt right, being there, in his arms. To feel his body against hers. All of him. Including the manly part that felt shape wise, anyway, similar to Earthling cocks, but that was through clothing.

Would he be the same?

He rubbed against her in the right ways.

He released the kiss, trailing his lips down her neck, and she sighed, the sensation burning to her toes.

When they finally were face to face again, she looked into his eyes and smiled. “I think I’ve been waiting for you for my whole life,” she said.

He chuckled. “I have the same feeling.”

She ran her hand over his chest. “So, how’s your anatomy?”

He stared at her. “Adequate?”

She giggled. “I guess I am just wondering if I need to do anything for your parts.”

“I doubt, with all the scanning and testing that the IDA does for their customers, that they would match two beings who are not sexually compatible as well.”

“Makes sense,” she said, and ran her hand over him.

He slid his hand over her side, along the edge of her breast. She shivered from the contact.

He shifted, so they were both laying side by side.

And they kissed again.

This time, she moved her hand along his body, and he did the same. He stroked her, making her moan as he caressed her side over her hip. Everything tingled and burned with excitement. She hadn’t felt this kind of joy physically in a very long time.

He just felt good.

He pulled her flush against him, and she could feel his male part pressing on her center.

She rocked into him, the size of him impressive through his clothing, and from what she could tell, she was in for a great time.

He ran his hand over her ass, and she bent her leg, wrapping it around his hip. He moaned at her move and she slid her leg up and down around him, allowing her more physical alignment with him in all the good ways.

Their kissing got even more passionate, the more they touched each other.

She couldn’t stop. She reached for the edge of his shirt and started pulling it away so she could get to his flesh.

She had to touch his skin.

She needed it.

Karuk shoved her back, just enough that he could separate them so he could pull off his shirt. He sighed, removing the shirt, and stayed still for a moment.

And oh wow, he was amazing to look at.

The gold flecks carried all over his body, and his skin had varying colors and tones in it, not just the pale she’d seen in his face. It was beautiful. She’d seen nothing like it.

He was magnificent.

She put her hands on his chest and stroked him. Feeling along his powerful muscles and pushing toward the center, and her fingers trailed down his body to feel his hips through his pants. She slipped them just inside the top to feel the skin beneath.

And he pulled away again, but this time, to remove the last of his clothing. In a blink, he was gloriously naked before.

He truly was beautiful.

“Good grief, that’s huge,” she said, staring at his very hard cock.

“Larger than you expected?” he asked.

She nodded. She reached out to touch him, but froze.

He took her hand and put it right on him.

He sighed as she touched him, running her fingers up and down the thick shaft. He didn’t have a head like she was used to seeing. If anything, he was smooth from tip to base, the gold flecks in the skin and much less hair at the root of his shaft.

She was not complaining about that.

Not even a little.

“Do you approve?”

“Not sure yet,” she said, leaning toward him.

She got closer still and licked the tip.

Karuk gasped.

“Not used to that?” she asked.

“No.”

She grinned. Because now she had something she had to do. And she licked him again, sliding her hand up and down the shaft as she licked and tasted the tip.

His flavor was different, but not in a bad way. It was nice, in a way.

He reacted with touches and moans and general movements of appreciation, making her want to do more and more to entice him and bring him to his climax.

She kept circling the tip as best she could in her mouth—it was a little large for her to take it too deep—but she used her hands to stimulate him otherwise.

He groaned and cried. At one point, his hands tangled in her hair.

“Stop,” he said.

She pulled back. “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

He shook his head. “Exploring this again sometime would be appreciated, but not now. I have other plans for you.”

She raised her eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” He grabbed the edge of her shirt, and pulled it off her head, though he made a face when he saw the bra. “Take that off.”

“Sure,” she said, and pulled it off, tossing it to the floor.

“Better.” He pushed her down onto the bed and started kissing her again. This time, he let his kisses go down her body.

He bit and teased her nipples, making her cry out as he worked his kisses all over her upper body.

His kisses on her lips were great, but so were the ones he gave her nipples.

And down he went.

When he got to her bottoms, he didn’t wait for her to take them off, he just jerked them off her and revealed her nakedness.

He knelt on the bed, just staring at her.

Jenny watched him, and she bit her lip, wondering what he was going to do.

Excitedly, she waited.

She honestly didn’t care what, she just wanted him to do it.

And quit admiring her.

“Please, you’re making me wait,” she said.

“I’m devising a plan of attack.”

She reached for his hand. “This is not a time for a plan, but just improvisation.”

He groaned and came back down, kissing her. This time, their bare parts pressed against each other. She rocked her hips into his, feeling that impressive cock against her girly bits, and it stimulated her, making her moan.

He started down her body again, peppering kisses all over her as he worked his way down. She sighed and whimpered as he brought out all these amazing sensations with every touch.

How was he doing that? The scientist in her wanted to know how he drove such powerful feelings in her through this. Did he have some kind of pheromone?

The other parts of her wanted her scientist to shut the hell up and enjoy this.

While he kissed her breasts again, he didn’t take as much time there, because he was moving lower.

She groaned as he kept his kissing going down her body, his hands all over her legs and hips as he moved.

When he reached her center, he slid his hands in the middle first, stroking her from back to front, feeling all the places along her.

“So wet,” he whispered.

“You make me that way,” she said.

He pressed kisses throughout her, stroking her as he did, tasting her center as well. He would kiss her, then used his fingers to penetrate her deeper, which made her moan more, then he would go back to kissing her.

Back and forth he went until she thought she was going to scream.

In a good way.

A few more strokes, and he sent her into orgasm, crying out and rocking her hips into his hand.

He smiled and adjusted his position before he plunged his cock into her.

She cried out again, still in the final shivers of the orgasm, and as soon as he entered her, another one built.

My god, was he like, expanding inside her? It felt like he was customizing the shape to fit her perfectly.

He shifted slightly, and she could already feel a new orgasm building.

In and out he started, slow at first.

“More,” she said, shifting her hips to stretch as wide as she could for him.

He increased his pace.

She rode it out as long as she could, before the orgasm burst out of her again.

He cried out, his own exploding as well. He thrusted his hips into her three times, before he groaned, and fell on top of her.

“I… That was…” he whispered.

“Yeah, I know,” she said.

She didn’t have any words either for that.

Eventually, they both got up.

After they had round two.

And a shower. Which only made round three happen.

Good thing the shower was large and built for two.

A girl could get used to this kind of sexual sedation, that’s for sure. Eventually, she managed to put a gown on. It seemed the best choice, considering how sore she was.

Sexually sore—which is never a bad thing.

Karuk slipped into a pair of pajama pants as well.

She stared at him. “Do you not wear underwear?”

“Is that what you call the small layers you wear under your clothing?”

She nodded.

“No. I do not wear that.”

Jenny grinned. Good grief, he was always commando when he was around her? Made all their interactions seem a little more intense now.

“Why does that make you smile?”

“Since it goes against our society norms here, it’s considered kind of naughty to go with no kind of underwear.” She licked her lips.

“I take it you like that sort of naughty thing?”

“I like that sort of thing, yes.”

“What if I told you that you could not wear those silly underwear pieces either?”

“Maybe I won’t. Sometimes,” she said. There were certain times, of course, she’d have to, but every once in a while, she could go without.

That would be a fun option.

She climbed out of the bed to go get something to drink. “I’ll be right back. Want something to drink?”

“Not that brown bubbly stuff.”

“You didn’t like the soda pop. Interesting.”

She went and got them both glasses of water.

As she came back into the bedroom, she saw her phone on the table, the screen brightening, like it had received another notification.

She sighed. “I can’t,” she muttered as she walked back into the bedroom.

“You cannot what?”

“That whole thing with Phil doxxing me. I mean, how did he even know I was here? It’s not like I told very many people where I was going. The only ones who knew, really, were my boss and my parents.”

She took a sip of her water. “Wait.” She handed him the glass and darted back out to get her phone and brought it back into the bedroom.

Something came to her.

Something she thought she’d seen before, while she first started going through everything.

“What did you discover?”

“I’m not sure, but I think I may know…” She started scanning the messages.

Not the yucky ones, which only seemed to grow in numbers, but the ones from her family.

“Surely, I didn’t see that before.”

“A clue, possibly?”

She raised her eyebrow at him, not wanting to laugh at how silly that sounded coming out of him.

“I have an idea.” She scanned the messages from her parents.

There it was.

Her stomach started to flip-flop again.

“My parents told him where I was.” She held up her phone. Right there, in an email, her mother explained how Phil had come by their house, asking about Jenny, because she hadn’t been answering his calls. He said he’d been worried about her, and her parents slipped and told him she was working with the aliens on the ship.

She read it, then handed it to Karuk, who read it as well.

His face got that stoic look again.

“Do you think they intended to?” he finally asked.

“Honestly, they probably didn’t realize it was an issue. They knew we weren’t dating, but I hadn’t told them about Phil’s stalking. I didn’t want to worry them. So they had no reason not to tell him where I’d gone.”

“Their mistake has put you in danger.”

She shook her head. “Not intentionally. Still, there has to be something that can be done to fix it. And soon.”

Because the notifications kept coming.

Texts and emails and DMs.

All of them filled with hate, and vitriol that could get her attacked, or worse. Here on The Bridge, or even on the space station, she would be safe, if only because of the security.

But there was only so much she could do from The Bridge.

It made her sick, but she knew what she was going to have to do.

“I’m going to have to go back, and start shutting everything down.”

“You’re not going alone.

“I hoped you would say that.”