Her laughter changes to a whimper and she squirms. I rest my weight on the back of her thigh, pinning her leg back so I can eat my fill of her cunt. "W-what about Sterre?" she asks me, and when I thrust the tip of my tongue into her core, a hot ripple of pleasure moves through her. Alice moans, her next words incoherent.
I know what she's asking, though. What about her pet? Her guardian that's been at her side day and night the entire time we've been here? The Sister isn't exactly set up for two carinoux, and we've got one on Jerrok's station with Sophie, waiting to be sold. I'm not about to deny Alice anything, though, so if she wants to bring it, I'll carry the creature myself. The damned thing can sleep on my side of the bed. "You want to bring Sterre with us?"
I move up to her clit, folding my mouth around it in the way that makes Alice sob, and drag the ridges of my tongue over the sensitive spot.
She sobs again, and then I realize she's really crying. It's not just pleasure. Huge, wracking sobs rip through her, and I press one last kiss to her thigh and then move up to lie next to her. She curls up against me, pressing her head to my chest and I hold my mate close as she weeps.
"I can't take her from her home," Alice tells me. "I can't. She's meant to be here. She's meant to be free."
And I hurt all the more for her, because I know it's not just Sterre she's thinking about.
65
ALICE
After crying in the middle of sex (always an embarrassment), Kaspar holds me until I weep myself to sleep.
He's a keeper. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry all over again. How is it that I keep losing everyone that comes into my life? First I lose all of Earth and my family there. Just when I start to get used to the pain, I lose Helen, Ruth and Jade, my found family. I fall in love with Kaspar and I know I'm going to lose him, and it's like a knife in the gut.
And now my sweet, protective Sterre, who is the best friend and companion a girl could ask for.
I cling to the carinoux after she returns from hunting and drops another ugly parrot at my feet. I start crying again. I can't seem to stop, which worries Kas. He slides out from under the control panel on the ship, a mass of wires wrapped around one strong arm. "You all right, Sunshine?"
He's asked me that every five minutes. Of course, I keep crying every five minutes, so I guess it's right that he worries. "I'm fine," I blubber. "Just emotional." Maybe this is the way my pregnancy shows itself. Not in my boobs or in my appetite, but in my weepiness. I seem to be getting messed up over everything this morning.
I'm just so damn…sad.
"How's the comm panel coming?" I ask with a sniff.
"Not well," he admits, propping his arm up on his raised knee. "The parts are pretty unfamiliar to me. I guess tech has changed quite a bit in the last fifty years or so." Kaspar blows out a frustrated breath. "I hate to say it, but we might be heading to steal a ship after all."
"That's fine. That was the initial plan, right?"
He nods. "I just wanted to avoid putting you in danger if possible."
He…did? That's so unlike him. I burst into fresh tears, which alarms the poor guy even more. "You're so sweet," I sob. "We'll get through this. Don't worry."
"I didn't keffing worry until you started crying all the time, Sunshine. Now I'm terrified."
I give a wet giggle. Funny how Kas hasn't been scared of anything yet, but me snotting and crying over stupid shit is scary to him. "It's fine, really." I swipe at my wet face, and Sterre helpfully licks away my tears. "So what now?"
He tries to look glum, my poor Kaspar. "Now we get ready to leave and head off into danger to steal a ship."
"Come on. You have to be a little excited about that."
He squints. "I mean, a little? But only a little. I'd feel better if I knew you were safe the entire time." He picks up his data pad, and his nostrils flare. He shakes it, then shakes it again. "Fuck."
I blink. That might be the first time he's ever cussed human-wise. "What's wrong?"
Kas turns the pad toward me. "It's dead." He takes a deep breath, and then another. "My lungs feel all right, though. I think." But he stares at the pad again, a faint look of worry on his face. His breathing speeds up a little. "There's just no way for me to monitor them now."