Chapter 4
Four
As they wandered through the ship, people stared and whispered. Jax was walking right next to her, his arm brushing against hers with every step.
“Do you have to walk so close to me?”
“General’s orders,” Jax replied. “I don’t like it either, human.”
“Yeah, but do you have to follow them to the letter? Can’t you, like, walk ten feet behind me?”
“No. I am your shadow now,” Jax said. “Where you go, I follow. General Kai has spoken.”
Elara rolled her eyes. Now he’s following orders. Of course he is. The moment it inconvenienced her, Jax was suddenly a stickler for the rules.
Elara hoped she wouldn’t run into any friends with this blue terror shadowing her every step, but she had no such luck. When they got to her quarters they saw Kylie, who bunked next door. Her friend’s eyes grew big when she saw the tall, blue alien walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Elara.
“Uhm, hello Elara. Captain,” Kylie said with a nod. “How did your hearing go?”
“Oka—”
“Terrible,” Jax interrupted her.
Kylie raised her eyebrows. “How so?”
“We must sleep together,” Jax replied.
Elara’s mouth fell open. She wanted to correct him, but she was too shocked to muster a reply.
“Yes, I don’t like it either,” Jax continued. “But the general has commanded it. He believes it will bring more unity to our team.”
“Hold on a dang second,” Kylie said. “General Kai has said it will bring more unity in the team if you sleep with Elara ? That’s what he said? Those were the words our boss used? Verbatim?”
“More or less,” Jax answered. He towered over the two humans, and waited for Elara to open the room to her small dorm with his arms crossed. “Well, human? Are you going to grab your things or not? I want to get this over with.”
“So, is this like, just a captain thing, or this is like a group-team-bonding exercise?” Kylie asked. “Are all the Dragans pilots getting in on this? Because if so, that’s going to be a tight fit.”
“Kylie!” Elara said, finding her voice once more. “What the hell?!”
Kylie shrugged, raising her hands defensively. “Hey, I’m just trying to figure out what kinda weird freaky sex-thing our Dragan overlords have in store for us, alright? Before I’m suddenly next in line! I’m not built for that sorta thing. But good luck to you, girlfriend. You’re going to need it. I’m fairly sure he’s big. Big -big.”
Jax’s brow furrowed. “Weird, freaky sex-thing?” He asked. “To what do you refer, human? Is there unusual mating going on?” Jax sniffed the air. “I do smell something peculiar…”
Elara rubbed her temples. At this rate, this was going to be one long month.
“No, blue-brains. That’s not what’s going on at all. Kylie, forget everything you just heard, okay? The general did NOT command us to do anything like that. We have to work together for a whole month, and that includes rooming together. But there will be no sleeping of any kind. I mean, there will be some sleeping. The snoring kind. Got it?”
Kylie cocked her head to the side. “Kinda? So you two are not…?”
“NO!” Elara shouted as she punched in the code to her dorm. “Never!”
The door whirred open. Her room was small and cozy; just a bed, a tiny desk with a chair, and a locker to keep her clothes in. Bathrooms were shared — such luxuries were for commanding personal only.
And lying there, in the middle of her bed, out in the open, was her sex toy. A blue vibrating dildo that helped her release stress, and made the long, lonely nights out here among the stars bearable.
Elara looked at it, absolutely mortified. Of all the colors in the rainbow, why did it have to be blue?! She had forgotten all about it, with the stress of the meeting, and suddenly being thrust into this new situation and all.
But there it was, in all its penis-shaped glory.
Elara practically leapt into her room and threw her covers over her toy, hoping that Kylie or Jax didn’t see it.
No, screw that. This was her room! Why was she feeling ashamed for what she did in here?!
“Out!” She said, whirling around. “Both of you! Give me some space!”
“Sure, sure,” Kylie said quickly. “Not even here, Elara. Good luck with… him . See you at work!”
Jax, meanwhile, refused to move.
“No,” he said, arm’s crossed. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I just need a moment, is that too much to ask for?”
“Yes.”
Elara just stared at the tall, blue mountain. “That was a rhetorical question.”
“Okay.”
Elara bit her tongue to keep herself from lashing out. Breathe, woman. Just breathe. It’s one month. One long ass month. That’s all it is.
She grabbed some clothes and her toiletries as Jax watched her every move. His bright eyes never seemed to leave her, as if he was enjoying making her uncomfortable. Bastard .
“All done,” she said. “Let’s see how much you like it when I invade your space, Jax.”