Chapter 5
GEMINI
If anything told Gemini how unimportant she was to her crew, it was the fact that Castor had barely seemed worried when she called him from Apodis’ comm.
“Oh, yeah, we all assumed you’d headed to the site early,” he’d said, a statement which had burned her very soul.
What the actual fuck? She had been missing all night, and not one of her coworkers had bothered to even wonder where she was.
It made her decision to stay with Apodis for the day all the more reasonable when her team didn’t even care that she was gone. She’d dressed in her newly clean clothes, the fresh scent of laundry doing little to overwhelm the spicy natural aroma that oozed from Apodis’ pores.
Ooze was the wrong word. He didn’t seem like a guy who oozed, well, except for whatever came out of that cock she’d seen this morning. Her mouth had actually watered, like she was a dog begging for a bone, but the bone was the rock-hard length that had been tenting Apodis’ gray sweatpants.
It’s not like she’d never been around an attractive person before. Hot people were a dime a dozen in Neuroplex Prime, but she couldn’t remember the last time her libido was so… inflamed.
She had felt the intense urge to slide her leg over Apodis’ waist and see what that big cock could do, an urge which she still experienced deep in her throbbing core, her body electrified by his presence.
He’d even made her breakfast this morning, a delicious array of Oslieth foods that had filled her stomach and made her chest light. It was paradise after roughing it at camp for so long, and the thought of returning actually made her muscles clench with anxiety.
No, she wasn’t going to overstay her welcome, certainly not. He was just being nice by entertaining her and probably had better things to do than carry her around his property all day.
But Gemini couldn’t deny that there was something so nice about being in his arms, the heat of Lumeris hardly bothering her as he stopped in front of a gorgeous, flowering tree.
“This is an ustretta,” he said, setting her lightly on her feet and circling an arm around her waist.
If sweat hadn’t already been beading on her brow, it would have in this moment, the strength of his grasp around her middle catching her breath in her throat.
He smiled as he reached up and grabbed one of the flowers, a star-shaped blossom with fuzzy petals shimmering with an eerie bioluminescence.
It was as if the plant was breathing, the pink light pulsing with life as Apodis cupped it in his hand.
“They bloom this time of year and are a perfect garnish for any dish. Slightly bitter and peppery. Would you like to try one?”
“Sure,” Gemini said, making a show of sticking out her tongue for him.
It had the effect she wanted, Apodis’ eyes wide and his cheeks flushing dark maroon as he placed the delicate bloom in her mouth. His thumb lingered on her lower lip for a moment too long—or so she thought—and a burst of bitter flavor danced along her taste buds.
A few seconds later, there was a tingling sensation, her mouth numbing slightly.
“What do you think?”
“I’m not having an allergic reaction, am I?” she asked, and he shook his head with a laugh, popping a bud in his mouth.
“No, the tingling is normal.”
Like hydroxy-alpha sanshool, a molecule that caused the same type of sensation in Earth plants like Sichuan pepper flowers.
“It’s very good,” she said with a smile. “I’ll have to remember this for my notes.”
“I can take down any audio recordings and photos on here and send you the files,” he offered, gesturing to the comm on his wrist.
“That would be great! I left my notebook at your place and don’t want to miss anything.”
Apodis raised a brow.
“Pen and paper, huh?”
“How antiquated,” Zenith said, once again rubbing up against her leg.
Apodis closed his eyes like a disgruntled cat dad, and Gemini had to stifle a giggle. The two of them were quite a pair, Apodis’ endless patience and Zenith’s snarky quips.
“I enjoy the physicality of it. And being able to come to my own conclusions without the AI trying to shove facts down my throat.”
Apodis chuckled, nodding his head knowingly.
“I agree. I don’t use pen and paper, but I disabled the artificial intelligence on my devices. It’s easier now that I work for myself and am not required to utilize the tech like I was at my former company.”
Someone else fed up with AI? A true shock, at least if the Oslieths were anything like humans.
“I want to make a collection of my notes, like one of those ancient almanacs or nature diaries. After I clean up my sketches and organize things, of course. There’s so little out there regarding xenobotony that isn’t related to the profit margins of different pharmaceuticals,” she said as Apodis scooped her back up in his arms, Zenith leading the way further into the forest.
“An admirable goal. I would love to read something like that.”
Gemini smiled, circling her arms around his broad shoulders as Apodis set off after the little caerulian.
It was a lovely day filled with plant species new and old, some she had already studied on this trip, though with lots of interesting new insights as to how the Oslieths utilized them.
Apodis had collected some bitter leafy greens called canar and orange, funnel-shaped mushrooms that looked a lot like chanterelles.
Gemini enjoyed the pleasant sounds of birds chirping as they sat near a beautiful vista, resting after the long trek through the mistforest. The view was awe-inspiring, the sun setting over the ridge of trees in the distance and the bioluminescent fungus beginning to light the ground with a violet glow.
“I hope I’m not putting you out,” she said, suddenly aware that they had spent the entire day together, and he hadn’t tried to hurry her along once.
“Not at all,” Apodis said with a smile that melted her heart.
“What do you do for work?”
Perhaps she wasn’t the only one playing hooky from her job today.
“I’m retired, though I still freelance from time to time. I’m a quantum cartographer, but I’m not on any jobs at the moment.”
So he was definitely smart, the quiet and lonesome profession making total sense for the male sitting beside her.
“Retired? How old are you?”
“Fifty-two.”
“And how old is that in human years?”
“I don’t know. The oldest Oslieths live to be one hundred and twenty.”
“So, almost the same as humans. You’re older than I thought you were.”
Perhaps not the most polite thing to say, but they’d slept in bed together. She’d curled up against his chest this morning.
They were practically friends.
“Oh? Is that a good or bad thing?”
Gemini considered it, a smile pulling at her lips.
He certainly looked nothing like Castor, who was also in his fifties, strong muscles bulging at the fabric of his shirt.
His hair was silver, which may have been a sign of aging, but it suited him, a glittering compliment to his ultraviolet complexion.
He certainly seemed a lot more mature than the human men her age who always wanted to play games on the apps.
It was like no matter how compatible they seemed, people were always looking for something better, like a more suitable match was just one more swipe away. It was exhausting to never be enough.
“Good.”
“You like older males? I mean, uh, in a…” Apodis trailed off, a pained expression on his face, like he couldn’t come up with a good way to finish the sentence.
He was really cute when he got all nervous like that, even though there was absolutely nothing intimidating about her.
“I know what you mean. And I do.”
“Oh…”
There was a beat of silence, and this time, it was only slightly awkward.
“How old are you?” he asked finally, turning his attention back to the spectacular view beyond.
“I’m thirty-five.”
“Very young…”
“Too young for you?” she asked, only slightly joking.
“Um. Well, I’m more than happy to be friends with adults of all ages.”
Ouch. That was a brush-off if she’d ever heard one.
I mean, she wasn’t expecting him to be her soulmate, but maybe a romp in his cushy bed wouldn’t be the worst thing in the galaxy before heading back to her cot. But clearly whatever his cock had been doing earlier truly was a simple case of morning wood and not anything to do with her.
The words definitely stung, but she swallowed the knot in her throat, trying to smile. It was her own fault for thinking Apodis was doing anything other than being helpful and kind. Like he’d really flirt with someone like her.
“It is past dinnertime,” Zenith said, ambling up like he hadn’t just overheard the awkward conversation.
The caerulian had impeccable timing, and for that, Gemini was thankful.
“Right you are, Z!” Apodis said, hopping up and reaching his hand down to her.
She begrudgingly took it, letting him haul her up while careful not to put any weight on her injured ankle.
His hands settled on her waist, his tentacles brushing over her shoulders and around her neck, delivering a cool blast as the suckers stuck to her sweaty skin.
She was chilled immediately, like she had her own portable air con, the sensation sending a shiver down her spine.
“You looked warm,” he said with a gentle smile, and she furrowed her brows despite the blissful cool tingling her skin.
He sure was handsy with his friends, but she supposed he was just being polite.
He seemed intent on being a good host, and that was nice of him.
Forget romantic options, she didn’t even really have any friends back on Earth, certainly not ones who would go to such an effort to show her around and care for her injury.
Gemini tried to skirt out of his grasp, but before she could take a step, he was pulling her into his arms and cradling her to his chest.
“Come along,” Zenith said, leading the way back toward the cabin while Apodis and Gemini shared a silent smile.