“Oh, good! You made so’ala! I’m totally beat, even though you carried me everywhere yesterday,” she said with a chuckle, eagerly taking a sip when he set the tray down.
Apodis sat next to her, grabbing his own mug,though his hand was too shaky to bring it to his mouth just yet.
Zenith jumped on the bed, and Gemini scratched under his chin, earning her a contented purr.
“Good morning, Zenith.”
“Good morning, Gemini. Your redecorating is very nice,” he said, and Apodis groaned internally, not wishing to bring more attention to the strange habits.
“Thanks!” she said, taking a bite of a zinthian cake, her eyes rolling as if it were the most heavenly thing she’d ever tasted.
Apodis imagined that look on her face in a different context, then chided himself for such a thought.
“What are we going to do today?” she asked, giving him a far too eager grin.
“Oh, well, I suppose we should rest, shouldn’t we? You said you were overexerted from yesterday.”
The sight of her grin fading felt like he’d been stabbed in the chest, though she seemed to cheer up a moment later.
“You should show me your workspace! I took a quantum cartography course way back in undergrad, but I’ve never really seen a whole setup before.”
Gemini pouted as she looked at him, like she was begging. Which he supposed she was? As if he would deny her. Besides, as much as he loved hiswork, it wasn’t exactly the most riveting subject matter. Surely that would calm some of her hormones, at least for a bit.
“Of course! I’d love to show you.”
Apodis could not have been more wrong.
It had all seemed so innocent, Gemini nodding attentively as he explained how to use the quantum scanner and telescope, but he’d made the mistake of sitting at his desk to show her some star charts on his computer and that was when she had made her move.
She was swift despite her injury, sitting in his lap as if that were a completely normal thing to do. Was this normal? It didn’t feel normal, not when she seemed to grind against himpurposefullyas she examined the charts he was showing her. She was definitely interested, asking questions and clicking through the diagrams on her own, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she had an ulterior motive.
He wasn’t sure where to put his hands when she was controlling the keyboard, awkwardly resting them on the arms of the chair to avoid touching her. Oh, he had gotten himself into this mess, and he was foolish enough to believe he could still get out of it.
“Would you like to see the orb? It should bevisible now,” he said, desperately needing her to get off his lap before his cock fully awakened.
The thought of her feeling him pressed against her pert bottom was positively mortifying, even though he was fairly certain that was exactly what she wanted.
“Now? In the daytime?” she asked, turning to look at him with a devious glint in her eyes.
“Yes! Here, let me help you up,” Apodis said, perhaps too quickly, supporting her as she stood and guiding her back over to the equipment.
Gemini seemed disappointed, though she said nothing as he lined up the telescope, taking a couple of long minutes to focus the image—and catch his breath—before offering the eyepiece to her. She hobbled in front of him with a sly smile, then peered through the ocular lens, her mouth agape.
“Oh,wow. Apodis… it’s beautiful. This thing is really powerful, huh?”
Apodis chuckled, unseemly pleasure flowing through him at the thought of impressing her. He stood right behind her, could smell the blood pumping through her veins, the scent of alona blossoms tempting to drive him to madness. Her short, fiery hair left her neck exposed, the skin succulent and smooth, a perfect canvas for his mating mark.
“One of the best a civilian like myself can buy,” he said, his voice embarrassingly hoarse.
It had been a huge expense, but worth it since itmeant he could continue taking jobs, ones he received the full payment for instead of having to give a cut to his old company.
“So cool!” Gemini said, turning back to him. “You’re really living my dream life.”
She bit her lip after she said it, as if her own words had embarrassed her, but he smiled sincerely.
“I am glad you like it.”
She wrapped her arms languidly around his shoulders, and it felt so natural, like they were two people fully comfortable with each other. Apodis relished the sensation—and the fact that she couldn’t seem to keep her hands off of him—though he felt guilty knowing the likely cause. He rested his hands on her waist, trying desperately to stay in control, to not make an utter fool out of himself even though his inner alpha was begging him todo something.
