Chapter 5 Abby

Abby couldn’t believe it: she was lying all wrapped up in Grogen’s brawny arms! Damn, he smelled good. She was warming up now but she didn’t want him to let her go, so she stayed there and pretended she was still cold.

She knew that he was only trying to warm her up because she’d been frozen head to toe by the snowstorm, but that didn’t stop her brain from making this into something more, especially since they were both half-naked under the thin blanket.

He shifted, and the reason why he shifted brushed against the underside of her legs. Their proximity was affecting him as well, but he was trying to hide it. The thought of him getting hard for her had lust coursing through her body.

Shit! She hoped he couldn’t smell it. Talleans had an amazing sense of smell. The azak flower, rich and redolent with its exotic perfume, was between them. Hopefully it was enough to cover the scent of her arousal.

She wasn’t sure what to think. A part of her was thrilled that she could pull such a reaction from him, especially since she’d never once seen him lose his iron control. But he’d never come onto her before, and Tallean males were known to be very aggressive sexually. If he was interested in her, wouldn’t he have made a move by now?

The reaction must be to their situation, their nearness, and her state of undress. Not to her. Besides, wasn’t it rumored that the scent of the azak blooms was a mild aphrodisiac to Talleans? The flower was also supposed to increase fertility. That was why they coupled underneath it during the winter solstice.

With the arrival of humans on Reka 5, the azak flowers were also used during the Christmas season in place of mistletoe, being white and all. Of course that led to misunderstandings every year, some genuine, some “oopsie-how-could-I-be-so-silly” artifice. Bottom line, if you stood under azak flowers with a Tallean male, you were just as likely to get a peck on the cheek as you were to be hauled off to bed, depending on how much he wanted you.

Hauled off to bed with Grogen. Now that was a fantasy she could get lost in. But it was just that—a fantasy. Or was it…

She shifted her hand, which had been next to his muscular chest, and pressed a palm to his warm, firm pecs. He didn’t make any move to stop her as her fingers explored his skin. Tallean skin was thick, almost like buttery soft leather, and most Talleans were hairless, even the men. Grogen’s chest was completely smooth, though she’d on occasion seen tiny hairs trailing down into his low-slung waistband when he stretched.

She slid her hands up to his broad shoulders, enjoying the feel of his muscles. It was dark in the room save for the tiny orange light coming from the heater Grogen had set up earlier, and the darkness made her bold. She shifted her weight so that she sat more upright in his lap, and the motion rubbed the unmistakable bulge under her ass.

That was when she realized that Grogen was completely naked from the waist down.

She knew he’d taken off his pants because they had been covered with melting snow. She also knew that Talleans tended to go commando. She just hadn’t…put the two together. And here she was, only in her undergarments.

The movement had Grogen reacting, except instead of pushing her off, he ran a hand up the back of her neck and fisted her hair possessively. This was so different from the reserved Grogen she knew, but she didn’t have time to ponder. He pressed his parted lips to hers, and she felt the sharp tips of his pronounced canines. Her breath hitched.

Kissing mouth-to-mouth wasn’t a Tallean custom, but many living in the colony had adopted the human ritual. Grogen was unaccustomed to it, but after a moment of uncertainty his lips moved on hers, and she was enveloped in a rush of helplessness and need. She kissed him back, giving in to her desires.

She clung to him as the kiss went from gentle and exploratory to fierce and intense. He plundered her mouth with his tongue, tasting her, claiming her, demanding her surrender.

His hard cock bumped against her clit, and she realized it was totally her fault because she was rolling her hips against his. She was wild and wanton with need, and the sensations were stealing her ability to think.

He yanked her head back, and she hissed as he dragged his fangs down her neck, his breath fanning over her throat through his open mouth.

Then he froze, and all she could hear was his unsteady breathing. The pause finally gave her enough time to think.

Holy shit! She was dry humping her boss on the breakroom couch.

And now, after that wild, intoxicating kiss, he’d frozen. Was he freaking out right now? Was that why he had stopped? Heat flooded her face. Before he could push her away, she scrambled off his lap, only to bump into the low table in front of the couch.

She gasped, windmilling her arms, but did not fall.

“I got you.” Grogen caught her and sat her back down on the couch. The moment was over. “I will set up the generator. The heater doesn’t have much of a charge left, and you need light.”

Then she was left sitting alone on the couch. Almost immediately the chill seeped in despite the heater humming away in front of her.

The sounds of Grogen coming in and out of the room and moving around had her peering from place to place, trying to see where he was. There was a click and a soft whirring sound, and the lights came back on, dimmer than usual. He must have hooked the shop up to the portable generator.

It was only now that she saw everything he had brought into the room. There was a bag of supplies, another with his clothes, the power generator, and enough groceries to feed an army. Definitely enough frozen tepins to last till the end of the year.

The fat, flightless birds offered both eggs and meat. They were also easy to raise, even aboard spacefaring ships. Because of that, they were now raised all across the galaxy. They reminded Abby of quails, but much bigger and juicier, with a layer of fat like ducks.

Grogen approached the table with a box connected to the generator by a wire. She leaned in to see what he was doing.

“Oh! An oven!”

“Yes. My cabin does not have a proper kitchen.”

“I guess it’s lucky you were all set to go up there, then. And I was lucky you came by to check on me. It would’ve sucked to be stuck here with no light and no heat. Thank you.” Her face reddened at the memory of him warming her and what they’d done afterward. But then he’d ended things by pausing… She did her best to pretend it hadn’t happened.

“You have not eaten an evening meal. I will make enough for both of us.” He unwrapped one of the frozen tepins and placed it inside the oven, still frozen, and selected a setting. “I apologize. My cooking skills are limited.”

“I don’t mind. I’m just grateful there’s food. I didn’t exactly plan to be here tonight, so I brought nothing.” She eyed the still-wrapped packages of frozen tepins doubtfully. “Shouldn’t we get all that frozen before it thaws?”

“We should. But I don’t think there’s enough room in the fridge.”

“I used to hang my food out the window in the winter at my old workplace on Earth since we didn’t have a fridge. Can you do something like that here?”

He brightened. “I can bundle them up and tie them outside so the storm doesn’t blow them away.”

Grogen got to work moving and securing all their food outside, and Abby searched the staff room cupboards for that all-purpose spice mix she’d seen the other day. She was too embarrassed to tell Grogen that her father was willing to sell her off to cover a debt. She shouldn’t have let it get to this point anyway—she should’ve kicked him out the first time she found out he was gambling again. But she hadn’t, and now, here she was.

She knew she’d have to tell Grogen eventually, but it would be easier when she wasn’t hungry and had had some time to think how best to put it.

She returned to find a slew of missed messages on her comm unit. She ignored the ones from her father and answered the one from Jenny, who, as expected, was offering to let her crash at their place.

Jenny: Come stay with us. That’s what couches are for.

Abby: You’re going to regret offering.

Jenny: Why?

Abby: Because I haven’t found a new place to stay. I might have been a teensy bit impulsive sending the message to the housing office before nailing that down.

Jenny: No prob. I’ll comm around and see if I find anything.

Abby considered telling Jenny about Grogen showing up but decided not to, at least not just yet. She thanked her friend, promised she’d still make it out to the festival to see her, then got up to see if Grogen needed help.

This winter solstice was turning out to be most interesting indeed.