The next day, when we met, Lao’k took my hands and kissed them. “I want you as you are.”
“I’m not beautiful.” I countered disappointedly.
He smiled at me. “I am rather fond of your form.”
Words. Anyone can say them.
He kissed my hands again, and forced me to look at his eyes. His gaze felt intrusive, like he was staring at my soul, it left me feeling naked. Images of us in bed danced through my mind. He kissed down my right hand to the wrist, his mouth hesitated over the scar half circling it. Slowly, deliberately and without breaking eye contact, he traced the scar with the tip of his tongue. I felt the sting of heat rise in me. “Stop!” I pulled my hands away, but he kept hold of the right. “Then what do you think of Alyssa?” I challenged.
“I have not considered her, nor do I have reason to.” He stated.
“She’s beautiful, ask Captain Ruiz.” I said pointing to Ruiz.
“Whether she is, is based only on your people’s perception of beauty. You are pleasing to me, Alei.”
More images of us together. He was trailing kisses along my body. The sensation of his lips on me sent a shiver down my spine, an urge blossomed in my abdomen. I wrung my hand free. “Get out.”
“Alei.”
“Please. Just. leave.”
He left without another word or protest, Captain Ruiz followed after him. I locked the door and stayed in my quarters for the rest day. I was sad, angry, aroused and frustrated.
My thoughts and emotions were a mess. The images Lao’k had put in my mind left me unsettled, I found myself day dreaming how it would be to be intimate with him. Alyssa’s question on what his body felt like whispered at the back of my mind on repeat with the memories of the times he’d hugged me. The way he’d licked the scar on my wrist came back in vivid detail along with the heat it had caused. That scar was one of the things I knew didn’t make me beautiful and I had several other unappealing scars under my clothes. The fantasies... How would I seduce him? He’d never find me beautiful and definitely not sexy.
I avoided Lao’k for two days. By the third, I was going stir-crazy in my self-imposed confinement. I opted to visit Kishna and the labourers in the Botany bay, the walk would do me good, maybe clear my mind. The door opened to Lao’k and Captain Ruiz standing on either side. “Hello, beautiful.” Lao’k greeted me with a smile.
I ignored him and carried on to the Botany bay. That’s where all the plants are kept, those needed by farmers and new variants the scientists aim to propagate. The bay is probably the only part of the ship with a high ceiling. It looks like they cannibalised the level above to make head space. There’s an irrigation system that runs water through channels in the floor. Water is recycled from other areas on the ship, treated and released on schedule in the channels. The bay is open space, so anyone with access can walk past our plants, I’ve not been comfortable with that setup, but so far things have been fine.
Kishna was showing the labourers one of the Leucaena trees. We’ve been growing new ones from stem cuts, then cutting them back after the seed pods turn brown. My brother’s idea. Other farms consider Leucaenas useless. They don’t produce fruit, grow and spread fast, and even as saplings their roots run deep making them tricky to get rid of. Worse, they spread hundreds of seeds, all of which are viable. In no time they turn into a mass of short shrubbery and in a year you’d have a thicket of thin trees. But that’s what most farms miss, this makes them invaluable to growing on arid land. Cut them down regularly and the tenacious bastards will have multiple branches growing from the trunk casting shade in large areas. Still, the best thing about them is that they don’t need a lot of water, and can encourage crop growth just as well as fertilisers, this makes them perfect for Mars and our budget!
Lao’k stood right behind me. He didn’t say anything, but I could smell him and feel the warmth of his body. No amount of ignoring and self control kept my fantasies at bay. I fought the temptation to lean on him, to let the fantasies run wild a little. As my temperature crept upwards, a thin layer of perspiration blanketed my skin.
Kishna demonstrated how to cut the stems and set them in pots before leaving the labourers to replicate the steps.
“How are things?” I called walking towards him. I needed distance from Laok. He’d find it difficult to walk between the rows of pots and bins.
“They’re learning, albeit slow. But Leucaena’s aren’t easy to kill; they’ll make good practice.”
He took my arm and pulled me further away. “I thought you got rid of the alien.” He whispered.
“He was outside the door.”
“Still, you shouldn’t have brought him. Now they’ll be distracted.”
“I didn’t bring him, he followed on his own.”
Alei, I have discovered I am jealous. Seeing you with Kishna. Lao’k’s voice echoed crystal clear in my mind. My breath caught in my throat, panic pulsed through my veins, I felt like a child who’d been caught in the middle of mischief.
You never said anything about the Captain.
You’ve never considered him armorously. You have had thoughts about Kishna.
He’s my friend and someone I trust completely!
Kishna and I walked around to a few bins and pots, inspecting seedlings and plants. I sighed when I got to an isolated pot. Kishna caught me by the waist as he stepped around. “What’s up?”
“They aren’t growing as well as I thought they would.” I said pointing to a pot with Momordica charantias. “And look, they’re strangling each other.”
“Told you, they like to run wild. The pot’s stagnating their growth, and they’ve got no neighbours to latch onto. That’s why they keep entangling.”
“I am this close to uprooting them. I want them to give me a pod first though.”
“Why not put them in a few pots with some younger Leucaenas? At this rate, they’ll just kill each other.”
“You know how unruly they are once they have a host. I’ve got seeds, I’ll just have to try them on Mars.”
When I turned, I walked right into Lao’k. He grabbed hold of me and kissed me, right there, in the midst of everyone. His lips were soft like marshmallows. The fantasies I’d swatted away earlier fought for dominance, pushing away rational thoughts. I put my hands to his chest wanting to push him away. Big mistake, he was like a hot cup of tea under my palms. Yet even as our tongues danced, I felt something mean and dark in him peak its head out. He was glaring at Kishna. Mate guarding. I admired that kind of thing in books and movies, but the leads shared mutual affection for each other. I wasn’t interested in Lao’k; he was just a new pretty face with an interesting background. I’ll be over the infatuation and my fantasises soon.
He put an image of us entangled in bed foremost in my mind again. My breasts ached, my hands made their way around his neck, my breathing raced out of control. I wanted him. No. He’s making me want him. Kishna stepped forward, but Lao’k cut him off with a wing.
“Let go of her. She doesn’t want you.”
Stop it!
Lao’k folded his wings and broke off the kiss.
I slapped him and stormed off to my quarters. Kishna checked in with me a few moments later, he’d let the labourers off early. “How are you feeling?”
“How do you think! You know me, I hate public displays of affection. He can read my mind, he knows that, and still—”
I was angry at Lao’k, so angry that every memory of him fuelled me on. My thoughts must have been loud on the common channel, because Mal’k reached out to me. Alei?
Keep your brother away from me.
What has happened? Mal’k’s concern was genuine.
I do not want him near me again!
Alei I’ve hurt you, embarrassed you. But I needed to draw a line for Kishna and anyone else.
“Is he outside the door?” I turned to Kishna angrily.
“He was when I came in. Captain Ruiz and a few other guys as well.”
Alei...
Leave me alone. Better yet, go find Alyssa. She’s desperate for some attention. Make her your companion, but leave me out of it.
Do not lock me out again. He pleaded.
I wasn’t going to pity him again, I walked to the door and stepped into the hall.
“Captain Ruiz, I no longer feel safe around this Alythe man.” I declared glaring at Lao’k.
Alei!
Captain Ruiz and his guards escorted Lao’k from the hall. Later, I heard from Alyssa that Klein’s meeting with Mal’k and his councillors was also suspended. Of course, rumours ran rampant throughout the ship afterwards. Alyssa had her questions but I didn’t answer them. I avoided the common area for a few days, stayed holed up in the room, trying to work out how I’d block out Lao’k and the others.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FLRODOvFg
and then Add to home screen.