Chapter Six
She scooted over in bed, and Birun slid in next to her, wrapping her in his arms and tucking her head against his chest.
She felt warm and secure, and he was right, the jewellery didn’t get in the way.
“Now, what do you know about getting stubborn species to mate?”
She chuckled. “Well, from a personal aspect, the Terrans that I knew were wedged together, and usually that results in a lot of babies but about two percent of normal population growth. Stress and malnutrition kept us from cycling. No cycles, no babies.”
“How often do you have a cycle?”
“Can’t you just yank that out of my head?”
“I could, but unless I need a visual, I would rather not.”
“Oh. Well, when my body fat is at a good level, it is about every twenty-eight to thirty-five days, depending on stress levels.”
He paused. “That is... unusual.”
“We were told that we are planet fillers.” She looked up at him.
“Ah. So, you have heard that phrase.”
“Yup. Anyway, I went looking into what makes a transplanted species successful, and I talked to some experts on Bellen as an intellectual exercise, and they pointed out that the end days for species cause different reactions. Some fight, some give in, and some turn to a higher power and are then appalled when it takes an unexpected shape.”
“So, what do you recommend?”
“Get an expert. There are a few. Send them in and introduce them to the Pericoff. See what they can tell you and find out if the species even wants to save itself. If not, give it a quiet place to fade, but if even ten percent want to fight to have the next generation, give them a chance. There must be a compatible species out there for them.”
“I have not looked since I obtained them.”
“Well, I guess we will start looking at the options when we get up.”
He laughed. “Do what you like, but we will not leave this room for a week.”
“Why?”
“Because you need to be completely familiar with me, and I with you, so that there is no embarrassment or hesitation. We need our consorts to come to us without hesitation. When we are hungry, we are hungry.”
“And it is my duty to fulfill that hunger as soon as possible.”
“Correct. I am glad you are so practical about it.”
“Nebel and Lily are friends. I have seen it. There is little to no hesitation, and public or private gets equal play.”
He chuckled. “Another thing to thank Nebel for.”
She snorted and stroked his chest. “Do you have markings under here?”
“I do. If I power up, they become visible. They are also sensitive, just so you are aware.”
She blinked and eased her fingers down and around him, reaching almost to his wings. He was soft and warm all over.
“So are you.”
She sighed. “I am sure I will get used to that.”
“My reading your mind? You are adapting well.”
“Thanks.”
“Now, tell me about other Terrans you are worried about.”
She grinned at him. “Really?”
“Really. I will begin looking for them. It will ease you and possibly gain more experts for the base.”
She nodded. “Well, I don’t know if any of them are alive, but I have a list of people and their general appearance.”
“Begin the list. Boss is listening, and he has my authorization to begin looking through all Terran records.”
“Well, first, there is my friend Em. Emican Ruiz. She brought my homework and helped tutor me when I was with my grandpa and recovering. Skin, light brown, hair black, eyes dark brown. She was artistic when we were kids and was shorter than she should have been because she was constantly short on food.”
“Why?”
“She was one of seven children, and her father left, so her mother was the only one to bring income, and she was supporting eight people.”
He nodded and got the image from her mind. “Was that common?”
“No. They were taunted frequently because of their family size, but her mother had three sets of twins. Em was the only singleton.”
“Do you have siblings?”
“No. I... don’t think so. With my father, I suppose it was possible.”
He paused. “Do you mind if I look for your relatives?”
“No, please. Go ahead. I know Zoey has sisters, but I haven’t seen them. Can you look for her relatives as well?”
“Of course. Tell me about others.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. I understand that you have not been with your own kind aside from your relative. He has passed, and now you are free to seek out more of your species, and I am in a position to bring them to you.”
“I would like to see other species.”
“I have access to them.”
“You don’t want to be the only two people in the world?”
“You are becoming my world. The rest will ebb and flow around us.” He stroked her hair. “Or I could have a workshop set up for you on one of my other worlds, and we could make our home there while this world slowly wakes up.”
“I want to stay here in the long run, but how many people can stay at Sanctuary?”
“Two thousand. There are enough base materials, food, and water systems to support two thousand.”
“Well, first, we spend some time finding as many of my friends as possible, and then we see who wants to write research papers on waking a world.”
“See? You are the perfect consort and companion.” He stroked a hand down her back, cupped her ass, and lifted her thigh, sliding one of his in between. “Are you able to rest now?”
She smiled. “Let me remember a few more.”
Trin curled against him, stroking his back and murmuring the names and remembering the descriptions of her friends. Everyone came to a garage and repair shop when they passed through, and Trin was only allowed to talk to the girls. Her grandpa had his own hangups.
“He didn’t want you finding a partner?”
“No. He committed to being my caretaker, which meant he was protecting me against everything and everyone. He never talked about me having children of my own, if that gives you a clue.”
“Would you want children of your own?”
She looked at his dark eyes and laughed. “I would, and I do, and I know you do because I read the contract.”
“It is one of the things we are designed to want. Well, we are designed to want a consort; we are given the knowledge to adapt them to us.”
“Wow. I was just given the order to never be naked alone with a man.”
“Oh, dear. You are breaking a taboo?”
She smiled and moved up to kiss him. “You are a Hmrain. It’s a loophole I intend to exploit. You weren’t covered by his rules. Besides, you aren’t naked, you are wearing me.”
He laughed and held her head as they kissed. His tongue slid along hers and stroked slowly with a rhythm that became her entire focus.
Birun slipped a hand between them and began to stroke her sex with two fingers.
Trin held still, and he lifted his head from hers.
“You can move against my fingers, Trin. Your body is mine to enjoy, and your body is yours to enjoy. And my body is yours to do with as you will.” His voice rumbled across her senses, and she felt a low shiver starting.
“Fine, but keep your voice to yourself,” she muttered.
“No. It’s amazing. I can actually feel your arousal increasing when I hit certain frequencies.” He kissed her lightly. “Do any other voices set you off?”
“No. I let Boss choose things down to the final five voices, all masculine and all with the sort of same timbre. He used your voice, but he was watching me. The moment I reacted, he locked it in.”
“Boss has an interesting fascination with you.”
She smiled. “Yeah, well, everyone dipped their fingers into his programming. I used direct data transfer via halo.”
He paused. “What?”
“It was one of my designs that has probably been designed somewhere else. It’s the easiest way to program nanites. You put on a halo and think about what you want the nanites to do. If it doesn’t go against their base programming, they learn and take it on for future use.”
“Who programmed Boss?”
“Me, my grandfather, Nebel, and a few expe.rts on Bellen. My grandfather brought the canister, and they made a drinking game of it. Drunk inventors are a nightmare. That is why Boss has so much weird whimsy.”
He laughed, and the sound moved along her skin, causing her nipples to pebble and clit to throb. She whined softly, and his fingers moved slowly inside her. He guided her to her first orgasm, and she clutched at him as her sex pulsed around his digits.
He smiled and brushed his lips against hers. “That was wonderful, Trin.”
“Is it over?” She stared at him. She knew the answer but wanted him to say it.
“No, clever lady, it isn’t over.” His fingers continued to move in her, and he kissed her lips, her temple, and moved his way down her body.
The scrape of his tongue took her focus.
His voice rumbled against her with words she didn’t understand.
She guessed at the next twelve hours, and he didn’t disappoint.
He aroused her until she could take him in, and he made it about halfway.
He was covering her as he bit her shoulder, and heat flooded her pelvis.
Pleasure peaked again, and Trin stared at Birun as she fainted.
Trin woke up on a med bed, and she laughed at Birun’s concerned expression. She chuckled. “Boy, you look upset, Overlord.”
“You lost consciousness. I thought I was too rough.”
“I attempted to tell him that it was simply from overstimulation, but he brought you to the med bay immediately.”
She sat up. “I have been tired, not sleeping well due to the nightmares, and as you pointed out, my food consumption isn’t what it should be. I will be fine, in time, but things progressed, and here we are. Next time, just ease up after hour ten.”
She carefully swung her legs off the bed, and Birun scooped her up. He still looked upset.
“I can guarantee you that half of the Hmrain have fucked their new humans unconscious. As we develop stamina, it will be less and less frequent. I feel stronger already, if it gives you comfort.”
“It does, but a warning would have been nice.” He growled.
“I thought that was what all the screaming was about.” She leaned her head against his chest.
He stopped, and then a heavy thrum came from his chest. He began to walk back to his quarters.