Companion's Dilemma (Brace for Humanity Book 5) Read online

  When he pried her off him and washed the blood from her, she made a face. He washed himself from top to toe, and she wrapped herself a drying cloth. He stepped out and dried himself off.

  She turned and walked into the bedroom and toward the wardrobe. His arm caught her around the waist, and he hauled her to the bed while her mind cackled in triumph.

  “You are incorrigible.” He sat on the bed and settled her on his lap facing him.

  She stroked a hand through his damp hair. “You looked like you could use some stress relief.”

  She wrapped her free hand around his cock and pumped slowly. His eyes closed, but the third one kept a narrow-eyed look on her with his lashes quivering slightly.

  She grinned and kissed him, nipping at his lower lip. She kissed her way down his chin to his neck. The muscle flexed as she gripped it with her teeth, and she kept moving downward, sliding off his lap until she was kneeling on the floor.

  His mind was tense, and he replayed the image she had sent him of her on her knees in front of him over and over.

  Sarah trailed her fingertips up his inner thighs and back down again as she leaned toward him, feathering warm breath over the head of his cock. He was tense, and she kept her mind blank so that he couldn’t see what she was doing a moment before she did it.

  Close examination of his cock showed her velvety dark-pewter skin, a nearly charcoal-coloured cock head, and the vaguely conical shape that the Rrassic were designed so that they fit in a variety of orifices. If the head fit, they could get in anywhere.

  She leaned in and wrapped her lips around the dark head, stroking his shaft with one of her hands in a light but firm grip.

  He groaned, and a quick look upward showed her that the only eye he had open was the third. She suckled as she pulled back and breathed in and out via her nostrils as she worked him, taking him closer and closer to the edge.

  Her own pleasure was riding on the back of his, and she felt the heavy throbbing between her thighs as she continued to suck and stroke.

  He came to a decision, and she only had a moment before he carefully detached her from him, and then, he lifted her to the bed on her hands and knees at the edge of it, he stepped between her thighs and slid his cock into her without any hesitation. She was so wet he went in easily, and as he began to thrust deep into her, he reached around to stroke her clit in a quick and furious frenzy.

  She groaned, grunted with the impact, and whimpered from the assault on her clit, finally letting out a low guttural cry that accompanied her body trying to shake itself apart while gripping him tightly.

  He gripped her hips and grunted as he pounded into her, against the subtle clasp of her muscles. She listened for the signal of his impending orgasm, but her body flared suddenly, and a second round of trembling and shaking took her over, with bright images burning behind her eyes.

  Lekorh groaned and shoved into her hard, his hips pressing spasmodically as he thrust against her. She could trace the outline of his pleasure, but her own was getting in the way.

  He chuckled and ran his hand down her spine. “There will be other days, Sarah, other memories.”

  His body shook as his cock spilled into her again. He collapsed on her, and his weight took her to the bedding.

  She sighed and relaxed, snuggling into the sheets under him. He was finally relaxed and in a good mood, and she was delighted to have been able to help since she was the issue that had gotten him into the protective rage.

  “You were not. He made a choice to pursue you without your consent. I have to say, I have rarely seen a Zjin so surprised.”

  She sighed and tried to turn over, but he kept her there, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. “I want you to stay here while I finish the meetings this afternoon. We are going to be discussing the future of Rrassic-human offspring with the women who have their foetuses in the canisters. I do not think that it is a situation you can contribute to, and you may be a distraction to Niiva. She needs to focus on what she wants to do as her first two samples have just entered gestation.”

  She blinked and looked for why, finally nodding. “You don’t want my opinion of the matter coloured by the ideas of others.”

  “Yes, and the humans don’t know that you are the Saya-human. We are trying to pretend that you are simply my companion, or as your folk think of it—sex-slave.”

  He pressed another kiss to her neck and levered off her. She had pretended outrage, but instead, she moved to his side of the bed and crept under the sheets.

  She wondered if there was a wet-spot with the Rrassic, and she was just malicious enough to find out.

  He got dressed, and she realized that he was going into a room with mated Rrassic and humans, and he smelled like her. The humans might not know, but their mates would.

  Lekorh went in in a far better mood than he had left in, and though she had pretended to be going for a nap, she was filled with energy.

  A quick shower took care of the minor amount of cum that had leaked out, and what had emerged seemed to absorb into her skin. The scent was similar to Lekorh’s, a light musk with a strange spicy contribution.

  She went to the terminal and checked her correspondence. A note from Yoris was there.

  I thought you should see the designs before he makes the choice for you. I am voting for the third as formal wear and the others as day wear.

  She opened the attachment, and she blinked. “Well, at least I am going to have a bra of sorts.”

  The clothing consisted of loose trousers that tied around the waist, a breast band that was held in place with straps that were rather pretty, and a long vest with a hood.

  She sent Lekorh the query about which one he liked. It was fun to be able to annoy him while he was in a meeting.

  When they finished their fast-as-thought discussion, she went to order her clothing, and he knew what a stripper pole was and how it was used.

  The free exchange of information was rather fun, and she looked forward to doing it for an extended period of time. Preferably locked in the bedroom with a supply of snacks.

  Chapter Twelve

  The clothing parcel arriving was a lot of fun. Lekorh was trying to meditate, and she kept jostling him out of it for the fashion show.

  He gave up and watched as she switched between the bras and trousers, mixing and matching them with the vest.

  He smiled. “Do you know why we wear the open vest?”

  She shook her head. “There isn’t much on Saya in the accessible archive.”

  “We wear our status marks on our chest. When you gain journeyman status, it would be traditional for you to begin your tattoo. When you become a master, it would be increased to this level. If you manage to gain the title of ancient, your entire chest is covered with designs.”

  Based on his previous day’s activities, she asked, “What if we get pregnant? Is there a tattoo for that?”

  He grinned. “No, but we could make one. Right now, your breast band is fine, but as your tattoos are created, the fabric will minimize.”

  She turned from side to side. “So, what is the significance of the vest?”

  “It shows the marks and lets folks know that we are not combat troops.”

  “The hood?”

  “Hides the eyes. There is still an impression of them when folks look at us. The third eye is a link into the psyche of the Rrassic, so our kind are trained to look for it.”

  “And it is easier to get into someone’s mind if there is no eye contact.”

  “That as well.”

  She chuckled. “So, how did the stripper pole go over?”

  “She requested three more so that she can teach classes.” He smiled hopefully. “Are you interested?”

  Sarah raised her eyebrows. “Am I allowed?”

  He thought about it. “Perhaps we could get one installed here, and she could teach you privately.”

  She grinned. “She probably would.”

  Niiva was as open-hearted as she was open-minded.
Sarah had been able to move through her thoughts with ease and nudge them in a way that made her uncomfortable but kept Niiva from knowing exactly what she was.

  “Have you done your scans today?”

  She gave him a dark look. “Yes.”

  “Do them again and tell me what you find. There is something new happening, and you will need to attend to it.”

  She wrinkled her nose and stalked to her meditation station, flicking her robes out around her in dramatic fashion.

  She looked at the cycling colours and let her mind drift free, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

  She went through the minds rapidly, looking for anything strange and then remembered that he had said new. She focused on the gestation facility, and her eyes went wide. “The baby is coming out.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, she is. I have notified the facility and Iktabi as well as the parents. In the future, I am making this one of your tasks.”

  She nodded. “Wow. That is so cool. Are they on their way?”

  “They will be there within the hour. Put on your formal clothing as this is an auspicious moment that will be recorded and sent back to our headquarters.”

  She smiled and got up, heading back to the wardrobe and removing the elaborately embroidered clothing that was her formal garb.

  She stripped, and to her surprise, he did the same. They got dressed side by side, fixed their hair, and then, she was next to him in the lift.

  “This feels very tense to me.”

  He nodded. “It is. Bree is an accelerator. Her child developed at an abnormally fast rate, which means that she could build an entire colony on her own as long as she had medical assistance to remove the embryos.”

  “Do you think we will have children?”

  “It is unlikely, but it is possible. Saya usually occur naturally in the population, but I have been unable to find a record of them being bred between the Rrassic and another species.”

  They got to their pod, and he entered a new destination.

  “It takes us straight to the gestation centre?”

  “It does. We are already under security protocols, so there is only going to be one checkpoint inside the facility.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Good.”

  She was nervous. She loved babies. Their emotions were always so raw and honest. There was very little that they could do that would upset her, and they were completely harmless if slightly messy.

  “So, they are going to be taking her off-world?”

  “They are. She will be raised with others as they come due, and her parents are being encouraged to procreate as rapidly as they can to get a step up on our population.”

  They were whizzing along the new line, and she simply tracked her location via the thoughts of those above her. “Is there an ideal number?”

  “Twenty thousand warriors are what we are looking for.”

  “Interesting number.”

  “That is the point at which we mobilize and join the Rrassic defense forces. Until then, we are personnel supply.”

  The pod stopped, and they disembarked.

  “Right. Got it.” Sarah lifted the hood of her ankle-length vest, straightened the front, and smiled at the Saya next to her. He geared up as well and nodded.

  It was time to go formal, and she was prepared to play at being the companion.

  They were scanned and verified before they were allowed into the gestation centre, and from there, they were escorted up to the floor where the canisters were held.

  Lekorh murmured, “We are the first ones to arrive.”

  Sarah nodded and moved around the space under the watchful eye of the attendant.

  The baby who was making her debut was in a canister that was glowing with blue light. The tiny mind was excited because the people around her were excited. She was going to meet the parents who had read her stories and sang songs to her and the others in the gestation tubes.

  Sarah was amazed at the awareness of the tiny specks that surrounded her, but it must be like a baby crying in a restaurant. Once one went off, the others followed.

  The baby was sucking on her fist in the snug confines of the cylinder. She had enough room to move, but just enough.

  Lekorh walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We need to step back and wait. The parents have arrived.”

  The next half hour was spent standing slightly behind Lekorh as the excited humans gathered respectfully with their mates for the tremendous honour of being there to see the first human-Rrassic hybrid draw breath.

  She saw Niiva and her mate standing near the others, and she didn’t wave. Keeping her face neutral was tremendously difficult.

  She watched the baby slide out of the tube and the medics quickly taking care of the umbilical connection.

  “The canister massages the umbilical cord and pumps all the blood into the infant in a mimicry of the action of a live birth.”

  “That is neat. You guys have put a lot of effort into making healthy little ones.”

  “The mortality rate for humans in delivery is unacceptable, so it was determined that all pregnancies should be removed from the host and placed in the canisters. It is safer for the women.”

  “Safer, but there are those who would want the experience.”

  “We will deal with that issue once our population has met expectation.”

  Sarah didn’t nod, but she sent him a murmur of understanding as Bree held her daughter for the first time.

  There was a moment of tense silence, and then, the child let out a wail that turned into a bellow.

  “It is her war cry. She’s a fighter.” Sarah fought her grin.

  Lekorh’s mind was startled at the sound. He had expected the soft sounds that he associated with infants.

  She played him a track of the worst infant wails that she had heard over the years. He blinked slightly and remained at his post.

  Iktabi and Isabella walked over, and they admired the new addition to the population, the others all walked over and congratulated the trio.

  When most of the folk had wandered off, Sarah stepped around Lekorh and walked over to Bree, Arix, and little Remi.

  “Congratulations, she is beautiful and very smart. She is going to be a fierce fighter.”

  Bree looked at her. “Didn’t you used to work at the teashop in the main market?”

  “I did. I am now companion to the Saya.”

  Arix straightened. “It is an honour to meet you.”

  Sarah smiled. “It is my honour to be here today. Remi is going to make waves in our society.”

  Bree grinned. “I think so, too.”

  Sarah reached out and paused. “May I hold her?”

  Bree dumped Remi in Sarah’s arms.

  Sarah grinned and turned to Lekorh. “I don’t think he has seen one of these up close before. I will be right back.”

  Lekorh met her halfway, and he touched the baby’s cheek. “She is silver and pink.”

  “I am guessing that it is the combination of Rrassic and human genes. Maybe her body will go through a Nool phase.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “Our females do not.”

  “Yes, but this is a whole new being. She thinks you are shiny.”

  He sighed and tickled the baby’s chin. “I know.”

  Sarah grinned, and she returned to the parents who were discussing leaving Imrahl with the baby and most of the canister library. Producing the hybrids was about to go into high gear. The handoff was swift, and Sarah returned to Lekorh’s side while the overseer and his mate discussed the situation with the new parents.

  Sarah looked at the occupied canisters and thought about the future of the Imrahl population-generating colony. The children were going to start coming fast and in large quantities. She hoped that the Rrassic were braced for it.

  Lying in Lekorh’s arms that night, she smiled. “It is too bad that it is unlikely that we can make a child.”

  “It really is. I would love to see if we
could make a daughter with our mixed genes.”

  “Not a boy?”

  “The Rrassic can make males. Making a sane female is far more difficult.”

  Sarah’s shoulders shook as she laughed. “I would say that it comes down to a stable environment, no matter how wild the girls get.”

  “So, having Bree and Arix with her will be helpful?”

  “Very.”

  He sighed and pulled her close. “Good.”

  “Would you go to raise your child?”

  “I could not, but I would definitely send you to an accelerated world to raise them.”

  She smiled slightly toward the night sky. “I am still not sure how the time bubble dimensions work.”

  He started to explain it, and before he got around to letting her know that she would only be missing from Imrahl for a week while she and the child lived out twenty years. She was asleep before he got to the child’s third birthday.

  As a sedative, there was nothing like a temporal discussion to get the melatonin firing.

  Watching the transport being loaded with all of the canisters with current embryos was another ceremonial moment. Sarah stood next to Lekorh and watched as the flying unit filled with canisters was activated and moved toward a portal at the port.

  The parents of the gestating little ones waved them off, and Bree, Arix, and Remi were off to the creche world. With the incursions of raiders, it was safer for the next generation to be beyond reach until they were grown. Regular shipments of embryos and new human and Rrassic caretakers would be sent out.

  Sarah rubbed at her neck and waited until the flyer was gone and the portal was closed. There was a support team waiting for them, and it was a good thing. Sarah hoped that when her little one was sent to the creche that there was someone like Bree on the other side, taking care of her.

  Lekorh looked at her sharply. “What?”

  She smiled at him. “Nothing. I just need to check something at the med centre.”

  He stared at her in shock. She remembered how he had looked that morning with his canines extended as he bit down on the join of her neck and shoulder. Stimulated ovulation occurred in certain species on Earth, but she hadn’t given much credence to it until the chemical reaction started inside her and her senses were keen enough to pick up on them.