Page 23 of Fire Forged

“Push?”she asked, then pressed the center of the bulkhead.It didn’t move.

“Harder,” he rasped.

With a shove, the bulkhead slid open.

She didn’t step into the passage, nor did he nudge her.Instead, he ran his nose up the nape of her neck, amid her soft curls.

“Let me know if you need…anything,” he said, gripping her elbows to keep her close.

Her breasts rose and fell with every jagged breath as the seconds ticked past.She twisted to meet his gaze, the gray of hers tempestuous.“Thank you.”

Her footsteps thumped along the passage before disappearing into her quarters.He leaned against the ladder while adjusting his pants around his Fuyra-hard malehood.The scent of her hair lingered in his nose.The fleeting taste of her skin tingled his lips.

Alodon’s balls, the Maker has chosen well.

He slid into the pilot’s seat and stared unseeingly at the console.Lock her in?Oh, he wanted to but in his quarters.Why did she always leap to the worst scenario?That, in itself, intrigued him.

He stalked her mother.

He kidnapped children.

He trapped her on purpose.

The phantom sensation of her in his arms tightened his body.Her curves against his hard edges had been everything he’d hoped for and remembered from the visions.She hadn’t noticed her backside pressing against his malehood.Nor had she realized how her fingers had dug into his chest like when she’d accused him of kidnapping.It was as if she hadn’t considered he’d find her attractive and had been ‘content’ to sit on his lap.

And the way her nipples stretched the fabric of her tunic.He closed his eyes, recalling from his visions their sweet color against her paler skin tone.With hours left before Edon’s shift-start, Nerx had time to take care of his morning chore and hopefully ease his throbbing arousal.Then he would attend to his tasks and perhaps write a poem about Britta and what she was starting to invoke in him.

Chapter Seven

Aldursatinachair beside Mom, reading on her tablet.Mom stood in front of the wall-mounted screen, skimming through what looked like medical articles.

“Um, hi,” Britt said, offering a weak wave.

“Where’ve you been?”Mom asked, pausing on an image of a woman giving birth, caesarian, if Britt hazarded a guess.She averted her gaze.It was too late to have that fixed in her mind.

“On the star deck.”She eyed the bathroom, desperate for a shower.

“We’re going to be a while.Will that bother you?”Mom crossed for a hug, then leaned back to rub her hands up and down Britt’s arms.

Could she sleep with these two discussing what-nots and procedures?She grimaced.She could try, for Mom’s happiness.

“Or use my quarters in medical,” Aldur said, setting the tablet on the table to rise.“Let me grant you access.”

Britt flashed him a smile.“That would be wonderful.Thank you.”

She hurried into the bedroom to grab a baggy T-shirt and a fresh set of clothing for tomorrow.Clutching the bundle to her chest, she trailed Aldur into the empty common room.Beyond the bed in medical was a door.He led her there and gestured to her to place her palm on the panel.She did, this time knowing what to expect.

His quarters was a small studio apartment.A bed was tucked into the corner.A door beside it had to be the bathroom.To the left against a wall was a counter with a rehydrator and replicator, and two chairs were placed to the right, below a wall-mounted screen.

“I will set these to Earth English.”He tapped on the counter while she dumped her clothes on the closest chair.

“Tell me, Aldur, how long does it take reach your planet?”

“Two weeks at full fusion pulse,” he said, without facing her.“Order anything you need, including garments.”

“Thank you again, and good night,” she managed as the door closed behind him.

Two weeks?She slumped, leaning against the door to stare at her room for the night.How things were going between Mom and Aldur, this seemed like an upgrade.Here, she could sleep in, spend hours curled up in a chair reading or watching something on the screen.During the day, of course.Aldur had to sleep somewhere.

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