Skyport Virgo 1 - Refuge (13 page)

"Pike!" Laleh's cry of ecstasy made his chest swell. She came hard and fast, her cunt clenching and releasing around his thrusting cock. His thumb stayed on her clit until she practically wept for mercy. Only then did Pike release the hold on his own orgasm.

Hands planted on either side of her head, Pike fucked her hard enough to shake the bed. His breaths came in little gasps and pants as he chased the heights of ecstasy. Laleh held tight to his shoulders, her teeth against his bicep. "Pike! Uh! Uh! Uh!"

His orgasm hit him like a ton of bricks, shocking him with its intensity. Eyes clenched, he couldn't breathe as his cum rushed through his cock and spilled inside her hot depths. For a moment, Pike thought he might actually black out. He jerked a few times, his balls pressed up against her slippery skin, her juices drenching them both.

With a guttural groan, Pike relaxed and practically collapsed atop Laleh. Her arms curled around him, holding him tight as they both fought to breathe, to think. When he could move again, Pike rolled onto his back, his cock sliding from her core in a gush of fluid. Laleh made a strange noise. He glanced over at her and couldn't help but laugh at the slightly disgusted expression on her face.

"Sorry," Pike said, drawing her close to his chest. "That's the not so glamorous side of sex."

Looking rather pensive, Laleh snuggled deeper into his embrace. "I suppose it's a small price to pay."

Pike smiled. "You could say that."

She played with the hair on his chest and walked her fingers up to his chin. She traced his jaw. "Thank you," she said eventually.

Considering that an odd statement at a time like this, Pike looked down at her. "For what?"

She pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. "For making this an experience I'll never forget."

Even as she spoke, Pike realized he'd never forget it either. Just now, they'd shared something so real and significant. Pike knew the connection between them had been reinforced. Part of him wondered if it could ever be broken.

Pike hugged her even closer and claimed her lips sweetly. "Anything for you, Laleh."

And he meant it.

Laleh loitered outside the entrance to the
Spica's
bridge. Before he'd left to report for duty that morning, Pike had asked her to meet him for lunch. He'd said nothing about whether or not she was allowed to enter the bridge though. She chose to play it safe and waited in the busy hall. She watched the seemingly never ending stream of crew members darting in and out of the bridge or scurrying down the hall.

"There you are!" Pike announced as he appeared in the hallway. He leaned over and pecked her cheek.

Heat blossomed on her skin. Just that innocent kiss made her think of all the wondrously naughty things Pike had done to her for half the night. He'd completely worn her out. How he'd managed to roll out of bed so early, she'd never understand.

Pike took her arm and led her to the elevator. "You find those schematics and that cadet manual I left out for you?"

Laleh nodded. "I studied them all morning. Hopefully I'll have everything memorized by the time we reach Virgo."

Pike chuckled as they stepped into an empty elevator. "I'm not going to test you, Laleh. I just thought they might help you adjust a little better to ship life."

"If I'm going to learn some, I may as well learn it all."

"Fair enough." Pike trailed his fingers over her cheek. "Did you get enough rest?"

She shook her head. "The trade off was definitely worth it."

He smiled devilishly. "We'll have to start a little earlier tonight."

Laleh trembled with anticipation. "We could have dinner in our quarters. I could cook something."

Pike looked surprised by her offer. "I've never had a woman cook me dinner. Other than my mother, of course."

For some reason, Laleh found that rather comforting. The idea of being the first woman to do something for Pike filled her with excitement. She'd accepted there were few, if any, things she could do with Pike inside the bedroom he hadn't already done. But outside the bedroom? The possibilities were endless.

"Any requests?" Laleh wondered as they stepped off the elevator.

"Surprise me," Pike answered and guided her through the mess hall. They grabbed trays and separated as they sought out the foods that appealed to them. As Laleh piled her plate high with fresh veggies and fruits, she inadvertently picked up on a one-sided conversation across the salad bar. It was the language that piqued her interest. Outside of her graduate courses, Laleh hadn't ever heard Pimmalanian actually spoken. Hearing it now was something of a novelty.

Feigning interest in the selection of dressings, Laleh edged around the corner of the bar. She spotted one of the civilians from her orientation course, Ambassador Leroy, talking agitatedly at the video screen of his transmitter. Listening discreetly, she figured out the problem. She considered whether or not to intrude on the conversation. Fearing the ambassador might stroke out from sheer aggravation, she waded into the fray.

Laleh touched his arm and drew his attention. The elderly gentleman glared at her, his brown eyes flashing annoyance. "Yes?"

"Tee-leh," Laleh said, "not tee-lek."

Confusion played on the ambassador's face. "Excuse me?"

"You've been requesting to speak with the secretary of sidewalks," she quickly explained. "I think you want to speak with the secretary of commerce, yes?"

Ambassador Leroy scowled. "Damned translation programs!" He gave her a curious stare. "You're fluent in Pimmalanian?"

"Yes."

"Good." He handed over the transmitter. "Tell him I wish to speak with the secretary of commerce, and I won't be fobbed off on some lowly assistant."

Leaving her tray on the edge of the bar, Laleh accepted the transmitter. Getting the proper secretary on the line wasn't half as difficult as translating between the ambassador and secretary who often talked over one another. She did her best though.

"Thank you." Ambassador Leroy pocketed his transmitter.

"No problem," Laleh replied, grabbing her tray. Before she could move along, the ambassador engaged her in conversation.

"You're the admiral's wife, yes?"

Laleh nodded. "But that's not all I am."

"Obviously." He smiled at her snappy remark. "Do you know how rare Pimmalanian fluency is?"

"I do. I was the only student at Federation University of Houston to study Pimmalanian in over three decades."

"I'm not surprised. Do you speak anything else?"

"I'm fluent in seventeen languages and am knowledgeable of the various dialects of many of those," Laleh said, trying not to sound too conceited. "I recently earned my doctorate in sociocultural xeno-anthropology so fluency in a variety of languages was necessary."

"Impressive," Ambassador Leroy replied. "Still," he said pensively, "that's quite a few more language fluencies than I'd expect from a person in your field."

"I lived in Houston's Delta Sector. Within my apartment building, I had access to at least a dozen languages," she explained. "I've always had a knack for soaking up language."

"I'd say it's more than a knack," he murmured, his gaze dancing over her shoulder. "I think your husband is waiting for you."

Laleh glanced back and spotted Pike waiting patiently a few feet away. "I should join him. His lunch break is rather short."

"Of course," Ambassador Leroy replied. "One thing…"

"Yes?"

"You said you'd recently earned your doctorate. Do you have a position waiting for you at Skyport Virgo?"

Laleh shook her head. "I haven't had time to send out any resumes. I'm hoping to find something once we dock."

"Come by my quarters tomorrow morning around ten," the ambassador instructed.

"And bring your resume."

Shocked, Laleh watched him saunter away. Pike joined her, his eyebrows raised expectantly. "What was that about?"

Bewildered, she smiled at him. "I think I just found a job."

* * * *

Pike cast one last glance around the bridge before nodding to Captain Arnot, his relieving officer, and striding out of the ship's control center. A spring in his step, Pike strode determinedly through the halls. He wanted to see Laleh.

Just the thought of nibbling on her neck and listening to those soft sighs she would undoubtedly make had his groin tightening. One night with her and he was hooked. All day he'd been plagued with explicit visions of Laleh in the throes of passion. Leaving her to report for duty that morning had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done. Pike had desperately wanted to call in sick so he could roll her onto her back and sink into that tight, wet cunt one more time.

Because she'd been a virgin, Pike had feared she wouldn't find sex all that enticing or might have been hesitant to express herself. But he couldn't have been more wrong.

Between the sheets, Laleh was a hellcat. She oozed sensuality and a reticent confidence that made him weak with desire. She might smile nervously when asking him to touch her a certain way or to take her harder, faster, but she
asked
. That she felt comfortable enough to speak up assured him he'd done right by her.

The second Pike stepped into their quarters the most delicious scents filled his nose.

His mouth nearly watered as he moved through the living area. He spotted the dining table and stopped. She'd covered the plain metal table with a brightly striped cloth in various shades of blue and green. A pair of complementing placemats and a simple glass vase rounded out the decor.

Pike took a moment to look around and realized she'd finished unpacking the box of collected kitsch. For the first ever, his quarters felt like a home, not just a group of rooms for sleeping, showering, and catching the occasional sports event. He couldn't believe how big of a change she'd made with just a handful of artistically placed picture frames, vases, and curios.

Ponytail bobbing, Laleh stood with her back to him as she tended something on the stove. He could just barely see the hot pink buds tucked into her ear canal, feeding sound to her ear drums. Pausing at the entrance to the shared dining room and kitchen, he watched her, amused. She obviously hadn't sensed his presence and continued singing as she stirred a pot of the brightest yellow rice he'd ever seen. He recognized the lyrics from one of Vega's latest hits. Even though he wasn't a fan of the intergalactic pop star, there was no escaping Vega's music.

His gaze traveled over her pert backside, her ass nicely outlined in a pair of low slung jeans. An orange tank top bared her slim arms and the gentle curve of her neck. His hand reached out to cup her bottom but pulled back. Startling her while she stood at the stove seemed like the worst possible idea. Instead, Pike cleared his throat.

Laleh gave a small jump and whirled on him. She grinned and tugged the pink buds from her ears, stuffing them in her pockets. "Hey! You're home."

Pike moved closer and slid his arms around her waist. She held a slotted spoon awkwardly to the side as he kissed her, his body buzzing with need. Knowing he couldn't have her right then, Pike kept the kiss as chaste as possible. He released her and she moved back to the stove. He stood close behind her, hands on her hips, as he watched her tend the two pots. "Smells delicious."

"Pomegranate chicken and saffron citrus rice. I had to improvise a little." Laleh switched off the heat beneath both pots. "The market is fairly well stocked, but they didn't have everything I needed. I managed to wheedle a few strands of saffron from the chef in charge of the mess hall."

Pike snorted at the image of Laleh cajoling the Chief Petty Officer of the kitchen to hand over a sampling of the herb. "You're something else, Laleh."

"I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. The worst he could was say no, right?" She shrugged and pointed to a cabinet. "Plates, please."

Pike helped Laleh finish up dinner. He found the shared domesticity oddly exhilarating. He hadn't set a table in decades, not since he'd left his childhood home and embarked on the adventure that had become his Spacefleet career. Sitting down to dinner with his wife filled Pike with an almost wistful sense of homecoming.

"Where did you get that?" Pike eyed the single pink blossom in the vase centered on the table.

"The greenhouse," Laleh said, handing him a plate of steaming food. "I found it by accident and struck up a conversation with one of the officers assigned there. His Spacefleet research is with vegetable plants, but he likes to grow pretty things for his own amusement. He cut that peony for me when I told him it was my favorite flower. Sweet, huh?"

"Very." Pike slid into his seat. "It sounds like your second day aboard the
Spica
was better than the first."

"Huge improvement," Laleh agreed, picking up her silverware. "And your day?"

As they tucked into dinner, Pike hesitantly launched into a description of his day. He tried to gauge Laleh's interest, not wanting to bore her with the somewhat boring details.

She seemed genuinely interested though and asked him a dozen or so questions. He could tell some of his answers didn't satisfy her. The idea he simply did some things because of regulations, regardless of how ridiculous and repetitive they were, obviously perplexed her. Pike sensed Laleh, for all her brilliance, would have made a poor Spacefleet officer.

Accepting orders without question would have proved most difficult.

"I'll help with that," Pike offered as Laleh started to clear the table.

She waved her hand. "I've got it tonight."

"You sure? You did cook after all."

"Positive."

Pike stood up and pecked her cheek. "I'll be in my office then. I have some notes for my log."

Glass of water in hand, Pike went to his office. He sat down behind his desk and vocally logged into the record system. He tapped the widescreen and read the various entries automatically captured by the ship's documentation program, dictating additional notes where necessary. Every time he issued a command on the bridge, it was immediately logged. In times of distress, Pike could activate the mobile transcription program that would recognize his voice anywhere on the ship and log all actions.