Love at First Bight

Chapter Nine

It didn’t seem important the next morning. Emi had a day off from training classes, and Aaron still laid wrapped around her. The twins weren’t in bed.

“Good morning,” he whispered. “Are you feeling better?” Her eyes must have betrayed her shock. He smiled. “The way you tracked me down last night. And the way you’ve been acting. Plus the chip. That, and the twins told me.”

She closed her eyes and groaned. “They have big mouths.” He leaned over and kissed her, sweet and slow, his tongue lightly tracing the seam of her lips, distracting her the way his kisses always did.

“I cannot imagine life without you here,” he said, staring into her eyes. “And that’s the truth.” He started to say something else when the com alert tone sounded.

“Sorry, Aar,” Ford apologized, “but Graymard just buzzed. Needs you in his office asap for a consult briefing about a new applicant.” Aaron swore under his breath. “Thanks, Ford,” he said, loud enough for the com to pick up his reply. “Tell him I’ll be right there.” He’d immediately switched from lover to captain mode. He kissed her again and was out of the bed before she could say anything.

“I’m sorry, Em,” he apologized over his shoulder, jogging for the head. “One of those times it sucks to be captain.” She flopped back in bed, staring at the ceiling. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Sometimes it sucks to be the crew, too.” He gave her a quick kiss five minutes later as he rushed out the door.

The twins worked on the bridge while she ate breakfast. Emi considered seeking them out but knew they were busy and didn’t want to distract them. She tried calling Donna at work. They talked for a few minutes, but Donna couldn’t take a long lunch break.

Emi walked over to the cafeteria with her hand-held console, wanting time out of the ship, at least. She spent an hour eating a leisurely lunch, reading a book on her console, occasionally chatting with some of the other crews. They didn’t do a lot of socializing, not because it was discouraged but because they were all so busy.

When she’d finished eating she moved outside to the cool, shaded gardens to read some more. The middle of winter, but New Phoenix was balmy if you stayed out of the sun. Not so much during the summer, unfortunately, when it was scorching hot outside even in the shade.

On her way back she thought she heard angry voices. In the distance she saw Aaron stalking to the ship, away from the Kendall Kant’s Captain Elloy, who looked smug and arrogant. By the time she reached the gangway, he’d also disappeared.

She found Aaron storming around the galley, alone, the twins giving him wide berth.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He set his jaw as he slapped a sandwich together. “Nothing. Just assholes running their mouths, that’s all.” He looked at her and his face softened. He leaned over and kissed her. “Nothing you need to worry about.” He took his sandwich with him. She suspected he was off to the engine room to work on something, or at the very least to calm down. That was his place to relax, where hers was the hydroponic lab.

Emi decided to make good use of her time and went to the retrofit construction office to put in plans for some final modifications she wanted for sick bay and the hydro lab. She stood at the counter, talking with the foreman in charge of their ship, when she heard amused male voices floating from an open office door.

“I cannot believe those… faggots got that ship. They have no business getting a full heavy. What have they done to deserve it?” Emi froze. She knew that voice. Captain Elloy from the Kendall Kant.

The horrified foreman tried to distract her but she held up a staying hand as she listened.

Elloy continued his rant. “Not only they get a ship that’s too good for them, they get an Alpha-ranked med officer? A female Alpha-ranked med officer? Screw that. I could understand her picking the Braynow Gaston over us, that wouldn’t bother me. But the TB? Fuck, that should stand for ‘The Buttfuckers.’” Hoarse, braying laughter, and Elloy continued. “She’s probably a friggin dyke, picked them so she never had to get laid…” The voice trailed off. The foreman had walked over and quietly pulled the door shut, his face red. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “He’s an asshole. Aaron and the guys are good at what they do. The K-2 guys are just jealous, that’s all. Aaron and the guys got the better ship and they got the beautiful girl.” He smiled, trying to diffuse the situation.

Emi held onto her rage and somehow made it through the rest of their talk. When the office door opened minutes later, Elloy and another foreman stepped out. The captain only paused a second when he saw her.

She glared at him. He had the nerve to smile before talking to the foreman. “Get the hover lift, I’ll show you what I mean. Up on the top of the ship, I want to…” The door closing behind them cut him off.

Sudden pain in her palms made her look at her hands. She’d dug her fingernails into her skin with her clenched fists, almost drawing blood.

Emi quickly finished and returned to the Tamora Bight, in full run as she hit the gangway to the main hatch. She’d glanced at the next berth. Sure enough, Elloy and the foreman were up top with one of the other grunts looking at something.

She glanced at her ship and grinned, her idea now fully formed.

Racing down the main corridor, she tried to find the guys and located Ford in the secondary corridor. She grabbed his arm, pulling him behind her. “Come on!”

“What?”

“I don’t have time to tell you. Follow me.” He easily jogged behind her up to the bridge. Caph was in the common area, but she didn’t have time to get him. She wanted to do this while she still had an audience. Racing up the ladder to the observation dome, she waved Ford up behind her. “Hurry!”

“What is going¯”

She grabbed his hand as he reached the platform, pulling him to her and kissing him.

He only resisted for a second, then got into it. She turned them around so she could peek and waited until the men on the top of the K-2 were finally looking their way.

She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Just play along, Ford,” she said, careful to keep her face turned from the window. They were about thirty feet away from the other men, but she didn’t want to risk them being able to read lips.

When he tried to speak she laid a palm along his cheek as if to turn his face and kiss him. She mumbled, “I’ll tell you later. We have to give the K-2 crew a really dirty show.” They were visible from the waist up from the other ship’s vantage point.

“Okay,” he murmured against her hand. “You’d better tell me later. I gotta hear this.”

He set her down. She worked his shirt off, dropping it off the platform to the bridge below, kissing his chest. “Don’t be obvious, but are the K-2 guys watching?”

He must have glanced. “Holy shit, yeah, their jaws are dropped,” he muttered out of the side of his mouth.

“Good. Make it look real.” She dropped to her knees, pushing him back against the side of the dome. “Pretend I’m giving you the best blowjob you’ve ever had.”

He threw his head back like she’d just deep-throated him. “Why fake it, sugar?”

“I’ll tell you later. They still watching?”

“Oh, yeah. Now there’s two more guys up there. We should charge admission.”

She stood up, kissed him, then worked her way back down his body. His cock was rock-hard, and it was tempting to do it for real.

Instead she gently squeezed him through his pants. His responding growl wasn’t faked.

“You said you’re not a tease, babe.”

“I promise I’ll put out when we’re done, sweetie. Just play along for now.”

He pulled her to her feet and kissed her. “If we’re going to give them a show, we’ll give them a damn good show. I ain’t gonna fake it.” He lifted her shirt off, knowing she wore a sports bra underneath.

He dropped her shirt off the platform.

Caph’s voice startled them from below. “Hey, why the fuck is it raining clothes? What’s going on?”

Ford glanced down at him. “I don’t know. Emi wants to give the K-2 assholes a peep show.”

“Oh. Well, in that case.” She heard Caph’s feet on the ladder, and he appeared a moment later.

Ford knelt down and undid her pants while Caph kissed her.

“Mmm, I didn’t know you were wild. You said you weren’t.”

“I’m not,” she gasped as Ford’s tongue found her clit. “Don’t be obvious, are they still watching?”

Caph glanced sideways. “Five of them. Looks like some refit crew with the grunts.”

“Good.”

She glanced down, finding the com panel and positioning her finger over the external PA button. Ford worked in earnest, meaning it when he said he wasn’t faking it. Caph kissed her and Emi felt her climb to release, suddenly not caring there were several men a few yards away watching.

At the last moment she hit the com panel, ensuring her passionate cries¯she didn’t fake it, but she’d admit to enhancing them a little¯were broadcast to the entire dry dock.

“Yes!” she screamed. “I want that sweet cock in¯” Gasping, she hit the switch again.

Ford and Caph froze.

“Um, honey? What did you just do?” Ford asked, looking up.

She smiled, crooking her finger at him. “Come here, we’re not done yet.” She wrapped her arms around him, sandwiched between the men. Caph was shocked into silence, but she felt his erection pressing against her through his pants. “Pretend like you’re fucking me.”

Ford ground his hips against her, then nipped her earlobe. “Sure you don’t want me to do it for real?” he growled.

“In a few minutes, in bed. They still watching?”

“Yep.”

A moment later she heard pounding footsteps running into the bridge below them. “What the fuck is going on up here?” Aaron yelled.

“Uh oh. Busted,” Caph said.

Emi laughed. She noticed Aaron’s surprise when he looked up and saw her lean over the ladder.

She was about to respond and explain when their ship com signaled. Aaron frowned and answered. “Yes?”

“Captain Lucio, this is Dr. Graymard. I’d like a word with you and Dr. Hypatia in my office, please. Now.” Aaron glared at her, and her heart thumped in an unpleasant way.

“On our way,” Aaron said, his eyes on her.

Shit. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. She hadn’t thought about the consequences. She’d been too pissed.

She pulled her pants up, and they all descended from the observation platform, then she put herself back together.

“What the hell where you guys doing up there? And do you realize the whole dry dock knows?”

She smirked. She wasn’t apologizing. “Good. I hope they know. I hope they all heard it.” She pushed past him, but he caught her arm and spun her around.

“You will give me an explanation.” She shrugged him off. “I’m sure Graymard will want to hear it too. Might as well only tell it once.” The twins stared in stunned silence as she stormed off the bridge, Aaron angrily stalking behind her.

Aaron tried to talk to her on the way. As she passed the Kendall Kant, she saw there were still four men standing on the roof. She smiled, waved, then flipped them off.

Aaron grabbed her arm. “What the fuck are you doing, Em? What the hell has gotten into you?” he whispered angrily.

“Something I should have done a while ago, Captain,” she said.

He didn’t speak, confused by her tone.

Dr. Graymard’s face looked an unhealthy shade of peach. The vid screen on his office wall was frozen on a frame obviously taken from a security camera mounted in the dry dock rafters.

She winced. She hadn’t considered it being captured for posterity.

Dr. Graymard didn’t speak at first, studying her, then apparently evaluating Aaron’s angry stare as he glared at her. Graymard addressed her. “Well, Dr. Hypatia?”

With a glance at Aaron, she told the story. By the time she finished, Aaron had a hand over his eyes, shaking his head. He was upset, but also trying not to laugh.

She hoped.

Graymard leaned back in his chair. “I see.” He turned from her to Aaron. “You didn’t know, Captain?”

He looked up. “I heard the PA like everyone else. I was down in the engine room. I had no idea what was going on, but that’s no excuse, because I’m responsible for what happens on my ship.” He glared at Emi again.

Emi turned to Graymard. “Look, if you’re going to punish anyone, punish me. Don’t give them demerits because of me. I wasn’t going to let that bastard get away with that. I’m sick of him and his crew of merry assholes talking down to my boys.”

“You know, I thought you would be a good assignment to their crew, Dr. Hypatia. They haven’t earned a single demerit since you joined them, and that in itself is a miracle. I thought you’d be a good influence on them. Now it looks like just the opposite.” He studied her for a long moment, then finally laughed. “No, no demerits this time. Just don’t do it again. I have to admit, you’re very devoted to your captain and crew, aren’t you?”

“Fucking A.”

“Dismissed.”

She followed Aaron out and thought he’d talk to her, but when she tried to speak he held up a staying hand, not meeting her eyes.

Now she couldn’t read him clearly, his swirl of emotions scaring her. Oh gods, she didn’t fuck this up, did she? He wouldn’t get rid of her over this, would he?

Aaron didn’t speak on the way back to the ship, his angry wall thick and impenetrable. Once there, he returned to the engine room to whatever it was he’d been doing.

Scared, she found Ford and Caph waiting for her in the rec room.

Then she burst into tears. The men pulled her down to the couch, finally calmed her, and got the story of what led up to the incident out of her.

Ford laughed. “That was pretty quick thinking, sugar. Inventive.” Caph agreed. “The dry dock will be talking about this for years.” She shuddered, her breath coming in hitching gasps. “But what’s Aaron going to do? He’s really pissed. He wouldn’t talk to me all the way back, then he went downstairs.” She closed her eyes. “I wish I hadn’t done it. Now he’ll get rid of me.”

“No!” they echoed, hugging her.

“He won’t do that!” Ford insisted.

Caph tried to reassure her. “Honey, what you did is nothing compared to some of the shit we’ve pulled over the years. If he hasn’t gotten rid of us, trust me, he won’t get rid of you. He just needs to cool off, that’s all.”

She shook her head, tears falling. “I’m almost sure he will. You didn’t feel how pissed he was.” She pushed up out of their laps and headed to their cabin. They started to follow. She shook her head, unable to face them. “No, please. I need to be alone for a little bit.” Ford caught her hand, waiting until she looked at him. With his thumb he gently brushed her tears away. “Hey,” he said. “Someone told me they’d take care of me after we got done with our little impromptu performance.” He said it gently, teasingly, trying to break her funk.

She let him pull her in for a hug. “I’m sorry, Ford. I will. Just not right now.” The men let her leave.

She curled up on their bed. Aaron had been so…angry. That’s the only way she could describe how tense, nearly vibrating he’d been.

She would have to confront him sooner or later about it, get it over with. Maybe he’d let her spend one more night on the ship with the twins before she had to leave.

Emi waited until she felt Caph and Ford return to the bridge. Then she sought out Aaron in the engine room. He sat, cross-legged, his back to her, on the floor by an access panel. After consulting the hand-held console on the floor next to him, he reached in and did something.

From the change in the set of his shoulders and the feel of his energy, she knew he sensed her presence.

Once he finished his task he sat back. She spoke. “I’m sorry, Aaron.”

He flinched. He didn’t turn, and somehow, that made it worse.

After another moment of silence, she spoke again, almost desperate. “Please, let me stay one more night, at least.”

“What?”

He turned. While angry, he was also confused. “What are you talking about?”

She looked at the floor, unable to take the weight of his gaze. “Let me have one more night so I can say good-bye to the twins. Please.”

“You’re leaving?”

She blinked, not anticipating his shocked and questioning tone of voice. “What?”

He closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath before looking at her again. “All right, Em,” he said in a calm voice that didn’t match the energy flowing from him. “What are you talking about? Let’s start over.”

“You’re not kicking me off?”

His energy shifted again. While still angry, now he was…amused?

He leaned back against the wall. “Why would I do that?”

“After what I did.”

He studied her, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. “I’m not getting rid of you. Not over this. Pissed? Yes. I’m very pissed. But I’m not getting rid of you.”

“You’re not?” He wasn’t just yanking her chain, was he?

After a few long minutes, he met her gaze. “I’m not getting rid of you. I am pissed because I expect more from you than I do from the twins. The twins could walk alone into an empty room and manage to earn demerits for something. They attract trouble like the moon pulls the tide. You’re responsible. Besides needing a med officer and the fact that your personality fits with ours, I hoped having you with us would help me keep them out of trouble, a second set of eyes on them giving me more time for my duties. I never in my life imagined you’d be the instigator!” His voice climbed in volume and strength toward the end of his monologue.

“Em, you’re responsible. You’re an Alpha-ranked healer, for chrissake. They don’t just hand those out in fortune cookies. I expect the twins to get into trouble because they’re the twins. I expected you to keep them out of trouble, not lead them into it. Am I pissed? Yes. I don’t need you fighting our reputation battles for us. We’ve dealt with shit worse than that for years. There probably isn’t a single fucking slur we haven’t had hurled at our faces or invoked behind our backs, but our record speaks for itself. And that’s why the DSMC gave us the Tamora Bight, and Elloy and his grunts are stuck in a mid-heavy.”

“You’re mad because I got back at them?”

“I’m mad because now the dry dock is going to be talking about it for years. Em, while I appreciate your heart being in the right place, you don’t have to fight our battles for us. We’re happy with our arrangement, it works for us, and we don’t feel a need to justify it to anyone else. We never have.” He sighed. “You’re not off the ship. If I didn’t bounce the twins for putting a truck in the middle of the cafeteria, I’m not bouncing you for this.”

“But you’re mad at me.”

“Yeah. I’m mad. And I’m disappointed.” That was worse. She’d rather he just be mad. She didn’t want to disappoint him. She didn’t speak, didn’t know what to say.

“Talk to the twins. They understand. They’ll probably be better at explaining it to you. I’m the captain. I’m always the captain, I have to be—it’s my job. Until the day we’re no longer on a vessel and we’re all civvies, I’m captain first. I can’t have crew running around doing shit like that. That isn’t the twins getting into a bar fight or something.

Yes, your heart was in the right place, absolutely. But don’t do anything like that again.”

She nodded.

He tipped his head to the doorway. “I’ll be up in a few hours. I want to go through these schematics for a while longer. Give me more time to calm down.”

Relieved, she returned to the crew area. He’s not getting rid of me.

That set off another round of tears.

Before the twins could see her mental state she made her way down to the hydro lab. She’d found a good combination of nutrients that slightly accelerated plant growth, and she’d experimented with which plants thrived under the grow lights.

She currently had several tanks of tomatoes, several kinds of greens and lettuce, squash, carrots, bell peppers, beans, a variety of herbs, and two types of melons. Because of the controlled environment, seasons were irrelevant. She used seed stock that would keep well, and the men had been very pleased with her efforts. She also had test flats of other vegetables started, trying to find as many varieties as she could so she could alternate them during the trip. And she grew several small fruit trees in individual tanks¯papayas, bananas, two types of oranges, grapefruit, and lemons. It wasn’t possible to enhance their growing season as much as it was with the smaller plants, but it would be welcomed supplements to their mostly pre-packaged diet once in space.

Working in the hydro lab had become her favorite way to relax, even though it was technically work. Sometimes she could think of her parents without wanting to cry, her childhood in Montana, the house in Bozeman before her parents took the job requiring them to spend over half their year on the moon at the research facility.

Caph whistled as he walked in. “Hey, they’re looking great!”

“Yeah, just keep Ford away from them.” He grinned. “You ain’t kidding.” He pulled her to him. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m not booted.”

“I knew you wouldn’t be. We tried to tell you that.” He rubbed her back. “I think you could behead the K-2 crew and as long as you weren’t in jail, Aaron would keep you on board. You’re good for us.” Emi couldn’t hold the bitter comment back. “Yeah, the crew slut.” His reaction startled her. He grabbed her shoulders and held her so he could look into her eyes, his face severe. “No,” he said, sharply.

“Stop that. That’s not what this is about. We love you. If you never slept with us, or if you said that’s it, no more, he’d still have you on board. You’re a damn good doctor, your personality is perfect for ours, and you don’t give a shit about our personal lives. Seriously, you say, ‘Sorry boys, no more nookie,’ and that’s fine.” He wasn’t lying, but he spotted the doubt in her eyes. “Seriously, Emi. You say the word, we’ll get the refit crew in here today and have them build out a private cabin and head for you. I’ll go get them right now, it’ll be ready by tomorrow. You can’t leave us—we need you.” He gently shook her, punctuating his last words.

There was more behind his comments, she felt it, but he carefully hid it. Not the same way Aaron buried his, but his playful side masked it well.

“What happened to you guys?” she asked.

He pulled his hands away and dropped his gaze. “I can’t talk about it.”

“Crew story?” Her acidic tone returned.

Caph nodded. “That, and I can’t talk about it. I don’t like to even think about it.” He turned and walked out of the hydro lab, leaving her speechless.