I was guessing the orbs were the ports and seeing how there were six of them, that was a lot of room for ships.
Rema made a little huffing sound. “Anu, you are a marvel.”
Thank you, but it is my people that are the marvel. I am only a small part of our legacy.
A picture of Jack’s face flashed in my mind, covered in blood and gleeful, and I smiled. I’d say the Rijiterans had earnedthat compliment. I wondered how the Rijiterans would react to seeing all this? None of the ones on Earth had ever been to space, and to my knowledge, didn’t even know they were aliens. Though, with how Jack had rolled with the punches, I imagine the others would be much the same. The Rijiterans didn’t strike me as the kind of species that was easily shocked. They were probably going to show up and take over like they’d never left.
This orbital station was a starting point, the first domino. It was the building blocks of their ruined empire being picked back up and started anew. An Empire I was now going to be part of, along with the rest of the universe if they choose to join with us.
“What do you think life is going to be like once the war is over? I mean, with the Rijiterans back on top and the Unity gone,” I asked Rema, shifting to bring my attention back to him.
He took a deep breath, his chest straining the linen shirt he was wearing in a way that drew my eyes. My mouth watered and another flower bloomed at the top of my cheek bone. I reached up and plucked it, the tiny pulling sensation no longer bothering me, and flicked it at him.
Rema caught it with one of his lower hands and brought it to his nose to smell, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again to give me a glazed look.
“I don’t know. Better, I hope. Jack is an honorable female, even if she is the most bloodthirsty creature I’ve ever met in my life, and I’ve spent the last twenty years with Aga.”
I snorted out a laugh, watching as Rema tucked my flower away in the pocket of his pants, and cocked my head again. “How old are you, Rema?”
He pressed his full lips together, scrunching his brows. “I am eighty in Solarius rotations, but I think in your Earth time I am closer to sixty? I cannot remember the exact time difference.”
Oh, I did enjoy a good age gap. Rema’s sexiness just went up a notch, smashed through the ceiling and rocketed off into the ether. Another flower bloomed on my arm.
Rema eyed the new addition with a pained look, shifting in his seat again.
“Tell me why we have to get permission first before you’ll allow me to see you naked?”
Rema startled, jerking his gaze from my flowers to my face. “It is not permission, as you would think. It is more of a traditional passage, an integral part of my culture that ensures both parties are in agreement,” he explained, his voice had a distinct edge to it, and the small tang of saltiness touched my tongue. I’d hurt his feelings, goddamnit. Me and my big mouth. I was being an insensitive ass right now because I was horny, and that was never okay.
My stomach twisted and I held up my hands, ignoring the flowers on my wrists. “I’m sorry, Rema. I shouldn’t be pressuring you. It was wrong of me. I respect you and your traditions. I shouldn’t have asked that… again.”
Rema’s hurt faded, and he gave me a small smile. “It is okay, Patty. I understand your frustrations, I feel them too. I just want to do this correctly, so that there are no doubts. Not with you and not with my family.”
I breathed out a deep breath. “Okay, absolutely. We do this the right way. No more teasing, I promise.”
Rema’s smile widened to show his teeth, the sharp upper and lower canines flashing. “I do not mind the teasing. I am keeping a mental tally of all the times you torture me so that I can punish you for them later.”
Laughter burst out of me, and I plucked another flower to throw at him. He caught it again, pocketing it. “You’re so on. We’ll see who’s punishing who in the end, big guy,” I purred to him. His blush came back, turning his pointed ears pink. He’dpulled his black hair away from his face today in a half braid, so his ears were on full display. His blush was one of my new favorite things. It brought out the pearl color of his skin, and made his cheekbones extra sharp. Rema was very elflike, but his body build was all orc. All burly muscles and wide shoulders… each of his four arms could easily win any and all arm wrestling competitions. His face was wider than what a fantasy elf would typically have in the books, but he had that ethereal beauty thing down pat.
One of his wings shifted, stretching out along the wall, the long flight feathers flexing apart almost like fingers.
“Is it uncomfortable?” I asked, pointing at him. He was nearly sitting on his other wing, and leaning back against the upper part of it.
“Hmm?” he asked, and then looked at his outstretched wing and back to me. “Oh, no. They are very flexible, the ligaments have far more stretch to them than what you would find in your own body. The muscles are also thicker, the skin tougher. You wouldn’t be able to pull even a smaller down feather out using the whole of your body weight. So, I can contort them to accommodate most seating comfortably. Thank you for asking, though.”
Having massive wings seemed like a huge pain in the ass to me, even if they were beautiful, but then he always seemed to know where to put them. Though, the plus of him having wings was all that added muscle, with a larger chest and back to accommodate them. Jack liked to drool over Ohem’s chest, but I think Rema’s was better. Not that I was biased or anything. Not at all.
My eyes drifted to his chest and more flowers bloomed on my arms. At this rate, I was going to be just flowers.
Rema’s eyes closed. “We need to get out of this shuttle.”
Agreed. I breathed in deeply, letting our combined emotional outputs settle over my taste buds like sparks of fire. My fingers tightened painfully over the metal bars of the harness, and I tipped my head back against the wall, closing my eyes against the urge to crawl to him. My skin felt tight over the rigid muscles of my body, until I trembled with the effort of staying in my seat. The enclosed space was making the spicy flavor of his arousal gather in the air in a thick cloud and it was driving me insane.
Docking now.
A burst of breath left me, relief loosening some of the tension that had gathered in the air like a cord pulled tight, and I smiled at the air around me. “Thank you, Anu. I’ll miss you.”
And I you, but don’t fret. I sent ahead a communication relay to Tuanov so you’ll be able to stay in contact with us. Be safe, and remember that you are of the Rijitera and better than them.
