Chapter Six #3
Sasha felt heat settling low in her belly, and something she hadn’t felt in a long, long time started to flow through her. A liquid warmth, an urge that started suddenly and grew, until, like last night, she wanted to explore with Gideon.
“Goodbye for now, my Queen,” he said, rising and bowing.
“Goodbye for now,” she echoed, watching him back away.
Sasha flopped back on the bed when the doors closed behind him. “Oooh,” she let out a long, shaky breath. “Maybe...”
“YEP,” DR. MARCUS LOOKED at the hemoanalyzer.
“You’re good to go, Sasha. I can start the injections, but they’ll have an impact on your hormones pretty quickly, in the next day or two.
Layla said it was even quicker with her and Rupex,” Marcus lowered his voice and winked, “but I suspect that might have been pure lust, too.”
“Ah. It’s not lust over here. Actually, I’m getting more worried about the size issue. He’s big. I’m not.”
“Right. Well, I assure you, we are compatible, with a little patience and a lot of lubricant, whether it’s naturally created or from the bottle of warming liquid lubricant I included in the kit that’s in your quarters.
” Marcus sat back down in his chair and looked at her.
“If you’re apprehensive, you could just wait until next cycle.
The window is going to be shorter on this one, anyway, and that’s Farhet’s fault, not yours. ”
“It’s a shorter span, but it’s still something. It could work, right?” Sasha asked.
Marcus nodded. “It could. I don’t give it my highest odds, but... Well, you know, if you’re a little apprehensive, this cycle might be your practice run. Getting to know each other and feeling comfortable. I must say, I like Gideon’s ways far more than Farhet’s. What do you think?”
“No contest. Gideon is wonderful,” Sasha said firmly.
Marcus grinned. “I knew I liked you. You are an excellent judge of character. And if you like Gideon so much, you must know he won’t push you to go faster or farther than you’re ready?”
“I do know that. But I also... I want it to be painless. Can I just get some sort of numbing shot?”
“No. That’s not something we do.” Dr. Marcus shook his head. “It could lead to greater pain later. You wouldn’t be able to feel what’s comfortable and what isn’t.”
“Nothing has ever felt comfortable there. I don’t have any physical problems, and I don’t have abuse issues. I didn’t lie in my files; I passed my physical exams. I just haven’t enjoyed smaller human men, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to enjoy something a lot bigger.”
“Then all the more reason to feel things, go slowly, and take your time. If you want me to speak frankly with Gideon about your need to go slowly and carefully, to work up to him, then I will.”
“No. I can do it,” she said, letting out a shaky breath. “But these shots... Do they make you want sex, even if you don’t like it in general? How is that possible?”
“Hormones, my dear. They’re pushy little fellows.” Dr. Marcus paused. “If you’re not sure, I don’t need to give you the injections. There isn’t a hard deadline.”
“I’m sure, I’ve just never... Well, not since the first time. I thought it would be good, and it was not. Ever since then, each time I’ve tried, the enjoyment has been less.”
“Repeated disappointments, hm?”
“Exactly.”
“You know, Sasha, I feel like Gideon is an incredibly thorough, detail-oriented, and efficient sort of person. He’d have to be capable of getting done a huge array of tasks to work for someone like Farhet.
If pleasing his surrogate Queen and ensuring she feels no discomfort is his directive, by Bastet, he’ll do it!
” Marcus rose and walked to the steel refrigeration unit.
He put his paw on the handle. “Do you trust him?”
Sasha nodded.
“I do, too.”
She swallowed. “Let’s do this.”
GIDEON SHUT THE TABS on his database computer, his cock achingly stiff after “studying” the materials provided about human coupling, supplemented by his own research, which included reading some expert tips from women who worked in the Sapien-Three Pleasure Parks.
All of it created such arousal in him—and at the same time, confused him.
Some women disparaged men with small cocks, yet the files he’d received from Dr. Marcus and the surrogate program explained how large objects could cause pain and discomfort for humans.
Some of the Pleasure Park experts claimed that men should be spontaneous, go hard, and be in charge, but the surrogate information suggested open, clear dialogue and lots of slow, gentle practice.
Who to believe? The human females who were apparently so skilled at sexual encounters that they pursued it as a career, or the Felid males in the medical profession?
The only one who can truly tell you which she prefers is Sasha, Gideon realized, and rose from his spot, well-aware that he couldn’t go see Sasha like that, with an erection that was even more prominent than the one he’d had that morning. That will not make her feel safe, not at all.
Instead, he found her name on the ship’s communication system, Guest: Sasha Cordovair.
He typed carefully, each word a heavy weight.
Guest: Gideon: How are you?
Guest: Sasha Cordovair: I’m fine! I got my first shot today.
He hesitated. First shot. According to the files he’d read, and apparently studied more than his employer, the shots would create a chromosomal compatibility—starting with mimicking the female Felid’s heat, and then a short window of ovulation and fertility.
Continued injections and a strict protocol carefully monitored by one of two trained physicians, Dr. Marcus being one of them, would help the female human carry a Felid cub to term in five cycles, and then a surgical delivery would occur since most Felid cubs would be too large for a female human’s delicate pelvis.
Pelvis.
Delicate.
Heat.
Gideon’s paws seemed slick as they tapped on the glossy screen of his comm.
Guest: Gideon: Are you well? Are you in pain?
Guest: Sasha Cordovair: I’m a little sore, but nothing major.
Guest: Gideon: Would you like to rest? If so, I will see you tomorrow.
Guest: Sasha Cordovair: I actually had a really good night’s sleep. You should know. You were there.
Gideon let out a breath that was so heavy it briefly fogged over the screen.
Yes, he’d been there. He’s been there for an incredible night—the best of his life, or at least of the last decade.
He felt free. There was the prospect of financial freedom, and the reality of being in a different environment where he was treated as an honored guest, not a servant or a freak of nature because of his coloring.
There were no chores and responsibilities, and no snobbish, pompous demands to deal with.
Even that abundance of good fortune paled when he remembered the hours of conversation with Sasha, easily telling her about his life, and being a sympathetic ear to listen to hers.
Her easy touches on his paw. The way she didn’t mind if his tail wrapped around her ankle.
Didn’t mind if they completely wrapped around each other and shared a bed.
Guest: Gideon: That’s right, I was. Would you like some company? I hear there are many games and media from throughout the Sapien-System and Felix Orbus Galaxy available in the lounge. We could have a game and some tea.
Some tea. Was that the proper thing to offer a human Queen? Tea was a traditional, stately beverage to serve a revered guest. Did that make it sound as if he was trying to be like Farhet? Too formal?
Guest: Sasha Cordovair: I would love that. Meet you in the lounge in a few minutes.
A few minutes!
Gideon glared at his erection. “This is not the time or place for you. Be gone.”
Of course, it didn’t listen. If anything, thinking about Sasha’s warm honey and wine scent made him harder. Thinking about feeling her warmth next to him again made his breathing uneven, and a low, soft purr started in his chest.
He had time to go spray himself down with cold water before meeting her. It was a necessity.
SASHA SAT IN THE LOUNGE aboard the Comet Stalker, looking over a strange game she’d never heard of before, a game with tiny goats and Knights— Felid males—as electronic players. “How does this work?” she muttered.
“It’s a game of maneuvering, speed, and strategy,” a delicious, warm voice explained, its low, pleasant timbre instantly putting a smile on her face.
“Hi, Gideon. So, am I right in thinking the Knights capture the goats, and the goats need to evade the Knights?”
“Ah, yes, but it’s a tricky task, because the Knight can go after any goat, or more than one.
You have to keep an eye on all pieces, at all times.
It’s a fun game, I promise, once you get the hang of it.
I used to play it with my sisters all the time,” Gideon said with a wistful note in his voice, sitting across from her.
For her, the table was at just the right height for a tabletop game. For him, it was surely meant to be a coffee table, something round the knees. “We could move to the tables over there?” Sasha suggested, pointing to the taller tables with high barstool-like seats.