He settles me into the blankets as we undock. Elix strips out of his armor and clothes, exposing radiant skin stretched over muscles that bulge as he crawls his way to me.
He kisses me deeply as he unbuckles my charred laser-tag armor and frees the ABR suit from my body. Every touch of his tongue is a tender, healing caress until I am on fire beneath him, and my skin looks new again.
I feel raw in the blankets as he spreads my legs and links kisses in a loving chain down my belly to my delicate flesh. Elix suckles my nub in admiration, sending scorching waves of need through my core. I slick in eager anticipation, throbbing and ready to receive him.
He slides a finger inside me, then two. Elix grunts in lust, withdraws his fingers from my pussy, licks them, and replaces them with his tongue, curling it inside of me, lapping up my wetness.
I try to steady myself in the blankets, but the high he gives me is climbing fast.
Elix licks my clit and then crawls up to me. “I don’t want to hurt you or our offspring, but I am a raging mess. I need to feel you. So please tell me if I am too hard on you.” Then he eases his engorged shaft into me.
“You are definitely hard,” I gasp as I tighten around him. “But don’t stop.”
“Are you sure?” Elix leans closer, grates my neck with his teeth, and then licks away the sting. “I can smell the change, taste it, too. You may have to kick me off when you’re tired.”
“Wh-what? Why?” I breathe as he penetrates me with more force.
Elix pants in my ear. “Because my kind go into hyperdrive when our mates are pregnant. It’s a protective measure. We keep you warm, stay close to keep you safe, and make sure you feel good so the offspring grow strong.”
He swells, stretching me and igniting a glorious euphoric sensation that I don’t want to end. “Anything you want, just tell me.”
Elix eases out of me and back in again. When he clutches me close and nestles his face into my neck, I know I’m right where I want to be.
Hours pass that he makes love to me again and again in our nest. Then Elix reclines behind me while we look out at the stars through his window. He braces me against his broad chest, his abs cushioning my back as he calmly thrusts into me.
It is a beautiful, gentle bonding that makes me love him so much more. I know with the way he handled the Nebulous child, he will make a good father. He is protective, tender, and strong.
Elix kisses my temple. “I swear that I will protect you to the darkest corners of the universe,slia ahmani.”
36: Elix
A year has passed since I found Zariah. She is by far the best part of our family. Teol has remained a good friend and has introduced us to Cylene and Vitus of Nytheralia who also found one another through the Alien Bride Race. They have kindly opened their home to our offspring and Caddok while we take a short trip to resolve one final issue related to Zariah’s family.
Rosy bonded us in one final act, an honorary bride match to me, televised after the official race had ended. I clutch the stone amulet Rosy gifted me that once belonged to her Larisien mate. I swore as she passed that I would find a way to keep our species alive. She is with the stars now, but I will never forget her.
With the help of a special chameleon cloaking device introduced by Aurelius, one similar to that which he added to MONA and our Scintilla, Zariah makes herself completely invisible.
“Ready?” I ask, glancing outside at the red planet of Mars hovering below us.
“Never am. But I need to see him one last time.”
I guide her through the prison facility that orbits Mars. Since Zariah gave birth to our twins, she’s become more driven than before. She’s the planner, the instigator, the one who seeks to end our division by healing common weaknesses and bonding us all where we are strongest.
The federation has given Zariah a special department to coordinate rescue efforts for orphans and refugee camps on the outer rim, which I’m now a part of thanks to a confession from Jiuli. She’s recently joined our growing team and has ignited the core of an Isonian soldier under General Viriden’s command.
I’m already looking forward to returning to work on medical advancements with Viriden and Ihna.Sometimes, our rescue missions lead us to discover previously unknown species. But together, we’re finding ways to save everyone we can.
Caddok has opened up more since the twins’ arrival. He definitely has Zariah’s curiosity about others. I know he will grow into a good being like her. I just hope he’ll be ready to untangle relations with his native empire when the time comes. Either way, he’s found a safe home with us.
I think back to what Zariah said when she told me she wanted to visit her brother as we make our way to his cell.I don’t want us to end up like my family. I don’t want our children to lose one another like my brother and I did. Just because we come from one place doesn’t mean we have to choose to be the same. Our ancestors do not have to decide our actions today.
I take up a guard post in the shadows of the hallway outside his cell. I know where she is even though I cannot see her without MONA’s help or my iris enhancements. But for security purposes, all augments and tech are highly regulated. Since Zariah is female, she is permitted a cloak in the all-male prison.
Few ever visit this place, even fewer females. But I’ve had practice keeping track of her when she’s invisible. I know her position by the soft breaths she takes, the way her armor rustles under the cloak, and the lingering scent of her first heat since she brought our sons into the world.
Her brother lifts his head inside his cell. Cazir knows someone is watching him. He gets up, walks to the bars, and finds my eyes in the shadows. “What do you want?”
“To forgive you,” Zariah says right in front of him.
