Authors: Jade Allen
“So, why did you guys come down here in the first
place?”
“We could ask you the same thing,” Viseer grumbled
from his place at the teleporter.
Allie looked at him bemusedly; he was so much more
wound up than Araimeer. How did they work together on missions? She decided to
try to mollify him to speed up her questioning. “I’ll tell you what I was
doing,” she said.
Araimeer’s face lit up with joy, and Allie felt a
sudden rush of warmth for him. “Oh, tell us! Tell us!”
She grinned and slipped her hand into his,
intertwining their fingers as she spoke. It was far more comforting than it
should have been, but she forced herself to ignore how surreal the situation
was. “My ship sent me down to look for an old galleon—a ship from the Spanish
Armada—called the
Isadora.
It probably has a ton of gold on it, or some
rare spices, or—“
“An ancient artifact?”
Allie looked at Viseer, who was standing and
staring at her now, his brown eyes narrowed but his expression far more open.
“Yeah…or an ancient artifact.”
Araimeer looked stunned, but Viseer smiled at her
genuinely for the first time since they’d met. It made his hawkish face
striking, and his gaze was almost hungry.
Where did that come from?
“Well, what do you know? Maybe we’re not so different after all.”
Allie’s heart started to race. “What do you mean?”
“We’re down here looking for an artifact, too,”
Araimeer said. “And we can’t leave until we get it.”
“What is it?”
Araimeer sighed. “It’s a chunk of a rare element
that is, essentially, concentrated electricity.”
Allie blinked and then shook her head in
disbelief. “That doesn’t sound possible.”
Viseer scoffed. “You’re talking to two alien
travelers at the bottom of the ocean who rescued you from a murderous mutant
jellyfish, and you’re having trouble believing electricity can be concentrated
into something tangible?”
Allie blushed, and Araimeer laughed in surprise at
Viseer’s bluntness. “I guess you’re right, but why would you even need that?”
“Our job is to jump around the galaxy and retrieve
artifacts our people lent to one lifeform or another. Our artifacts are sought
after because of their nature, though we can use them far better than humans.
We’re actually partially electric,” Araimeer told her. He picked up a slim
silver tool that looked like a wand and tapped it against the unfinished
teleporter; a golden spark shot from the tip of the instrument to the blocky engine
of the machine, and it emitted a short
buzz
that set Allie’s teeth on
edge. “That’s only a little example of what we can do with any conductive
material. But with the lightening stone, we’re far more powerful.”
“It’s like an enhancement,” Viseer supplied, and
he looked so annoyed she almost laughed; Allie guessed he didn’t like sharing
information with humans. “We’re at our weakest right now, which is why we
appear so human. With the stone, we’re less humanoid and we can manipulate any
form of electricity in any condition.”
Allie gaped at him.
“Any
amount of
electricity?
Viseer looked thoughtful. “I think humans had a
figure called Zeus who could throw lightning bolts, right? It’s like that.”
“
What?”
Allie squeaked, her heart in her
throat. What would happen if they got out into open water?
Araimeer saw her panic and poked Viseer’s shoulder
to silence him. “It’s not what you’re thinking! We can control it completely.
It’s not all that scary. We’re not monsters or anything. We’re more like…”
“Gods,” Allie finished for him, and her voice was
a whisper. Viseer and Araimeer exchanged a long look; Finally, Viseer closed
his eyes and sighed, while Araimeer bit his lip and slid deep into thought.
Suddenly, Allie had the feeling that this wasn’t the first time a human had
come to this conclusion. Maybe that was why Viseer was so eager to keep her in
the dark. Allie thought about Collin, and how quick he’d been to slip back into
a subordinate role when he thought she was upset with him. What would it be
like to have every person you met treat you that way? If she felt lonely on the
ship sometimes, how must two aliens travelling the galaxies feel?
Her heart swelled with compassion at the same
moment her sense of unreality finally settled in. Allie decided that there was
one thing to do: move forward. They needed the artifact, and she would help
them get it; they’d figure out the rest later. She remembered what Viseer said
earlier, about her ship assuming she was dead; she felt a rush of gut-wrenching
pain as she thought of Carter’s reaction, but she shoved it away before it
could take hold of her.
“So, this artifact. Do you know what it looks
like?” Allie got to her feet and started to look at the bowels of the ship,
staring into every exposed nook and cranny in case the two aliens had left
something behind during their scavenge. “Or where it could be?”
Araimeer stood and looked at Viseer, and there
was a pregnant pause. “Yes,” he said finally. His tone made Allie turn toward
him, and his expression was pained. “To both questions, actually.”
Allie tugged at her ripped orange diving suit
impatiently, looking from one cloaked alien to the other. “Well? What are you
waiting for? Let’s get it.”
Araimeer laughed. “Well, thanks for your spunk,
Allie. It’s gonna be a little harder than just picking it up.”
“Why?”
Viseer went back to tinkering with the engine,
and Araimeer smiled wanly. “It currently belongs to that jellyfish you met
earlier.”
Allie stared at him.
I can’t believe this. I
should have called in sick.
“So how the hell are you going to get it back?”
Araimeer walked over to her, and she could see the
lines around his eyes in startling clarity. How long had they been without
sleep? “We just need to draw it against the dome. It will stun it long enough
for one of us to be able to stab through its stomach and rip out the stone—I
know,” Araimeer said apologetically at the look of disgust on Allie’s face.
“But it’s the only way. We can’t get it to come back, though. It won’t follow
the bubbles. The stone made it into some power-hungry beast. It’s only drawn by
electricity or nuclear energy, apparently.”
Allie looked at Viseer, then back to Araimeer. He
saw her train of thought immediately and answered the question before she could
form it. “We could try to generate electricity, but we need to activate our
electroglands.”
Allie looked at him, mystified. “Electroglands?
Glands that produce electricity? Like with the endocrine system?”
“Yes,” Araimeer said, sounding impressed. “It’s
hard to get both of our heartrates up for long enough, though. We could try
fighting, but that would cause too much damage to our bodies and our
surroundings. The only other thing is…”
He suddenly stopped talking, and his blue eyes
widened in regret. “I don’t want you think I’m suggesting—I didn’t—never
mind!”
Allie watched in confusion as Araimeer walked away
from her and crouched over the transporter with Viseer, who didn’t move or even
acknowledge the other alien. She narrowed her eyes and stepped over the stacks
of books until she was behind them, waiting until Araimeer looked up to crouch
next to him and smile warmly.
“What is it, Araimeer?”
Araimeer shook his head. “We’re not supposed to
mate with humans.” He raised his eyes to hers, and Allie shivered—there was
emotion held there that he couldn’t possibly feel after knowing her for so
little time.
Allie ignored the quickening of her pulse and sat
next to him on the soft soil, feeling the cool sand beneath her diving suit.
“Why not?”
“We could hurt you,” he said quietly. “Even kill
you.”
Allie heard his words, but all she could focus on
was the delicious surge of adrenaline coursing through her body as she watched
his strong hands work on the machine. All she could think of was what she’d
said earlier that day—she wasn’t feeling challenged by the Navy anymore. She
was missing the passion, the rush—the
spark.
Here was that spark, in
spades.
Allie put her hands on Araimeer’s shoulders, and
she heard his breath hitch. “Araimeer, I’m going to die down here if you guys
don’t do something. I can’t stay down here forever, and by the look of those
bags under your eyes, neither can you.”
Araimeer’s eyes bored into hers, and the silence
stretched between them for so long that Allie briefly wondered if she should
shake him. Her skin tingled with need, but she forced herself to wait, to make
him come to her. His eyes dropped to the curve of her lips, and she saw the
desire register in his eyes, the hunger that had been plain there since they
first met. They were drawn to each other, and it was more than physical; Allie
wondered if they’d been pulled together by fate. If every step she’d taken had
been leading up to this moment, then what harm could taking this step be? She
heard a faint
hum
, and she shivered as the sound slithered across her
skin.
Viseer stood abruptly and spoke without looking
at either of them. “I’m finished.”
Araimeer twisted around and looked at the engine,
blue eyes moving frantically as they examined the teleporter. “It’s ready for
the stone?”
Viseer nodded. “As soon as we can get it.”
Araimeer turned back to Allie and swallowed, hard.
She could see him forming excuses, but she could also see him fighting to beat
those excuses into the ground; he clenched his fists and groaned, shaking his
head of shaggy brown hair in frustration.
“Viseer?”
Viseer sighed. “I think it’s the only way,
Araimeer. She’s right. We have to get out of here.”
Araimeer nodded, excitement plain on his face.
“But what are we going to do afterward?”
Viseer smiled and turned to Araimeer, his brown
eyes twinkling as he started to unclasp his robe. “Oh, we’ll figure something
out.”
Araimeer looked surprised, but he laughed softly
and watched Viseer’s robe fall to his feet, revealing a slim body built like a
swimmer’s—all broad shoulders and narrow waist, muscled thighs and long calves.
Allie shivered, her eyes moving down his body to rest between his legs and at
the patch of curly black hair surrounding his member.
This is going so fast,
she thought, and
when she looked back at Araimeer, he was standing and pushing his robe to the
sea floor, too. His body was wider, more powerfully built, and a shock of
ginger curls surrounded his long, thick shaft. Allie felt a rush of moisture
between her legs, and her breath started to quicken.
Araimeer held out a hand. “Come on. We’ll be
gentle.”
Viseer was smiling faintly at her as Araimeer
began to unzip her suit, peeling it away from her slim shoulders as he pressed
gentle kisses into her back. “Are you okay with this?” Viseer asked, and his
voice was filled with desire. “Both of us at the same time?”
Allie was taken aback, both by his question and
the urgency in his voice. She saw how much he’d been holding himself back from
her, then; his grouchiness really had been a front. Araimeer hands were on her
hips now, and his lips were brushing across the bare skin of her round ass. She
nodded at Viseer, and he moved forward and kissed her, one hand wrapped around
the base of his erection as his tongue gently massaged hers.
Allie leaned into the kiss, thrusting her right
breast forward into Viseer’s hand as he cupped her flesh and ran his thumb
across her nipple. She let out a soft moan and moved his hand away from his
shaft, wrapping her own hand around his thickness to gently tug on the base.
Araimeer pulled her to her hands and knees, and
Viseer followed, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, his mouth slack
with pleasure as Allie stroked him toward his climax. She watched in awe as
streaks of gold started to appear on his muscles, flashing in the light of the
dome, and she was overcome by how beautiful he was; the next moment, her focus
was stolen by the feeling of Araimeer gripping her waist and pressing himself
against her slick opening.
Allie gasped and threw her head back, catching a
glimpse of Araimeer’s lustful gaze as he thrusted himself inside her from
behind, filling her body with a pleasure so intense that her legs weakened.
Allie bent forward on her hands, and Araimeer gripped her waist as he thrust
against her, his breath coming hard and heavy as her wet walls swallowed his
shaft.
Allie gripped Viseer’s shaft more tightly and
moved her mouth over the head. Her body felt like a live wire, but the pleasure
she felt from being filled by the two aliens was so intense she didn’t think
she could stop if she wanted to; the energy she felt from their passion was
stoking a flame in her that she thought had been extinguished long ago. She
worked her mouth along Viseer’s shaft slowly, watching his reactions as
Araimeer screamed in pleasure behind her. The flashes of gold were returning,
and the heat in her body seemed to be building to a peak; Araimeer’s
nails dug into
her ass as he slammed into her, and each thrust came with a dizzying jolt of
electricity. Viseer’s eyes were wild, and his hand was gripping the back of her
head as he watched her head bob on his shaft.
“Allie!” Araimeer shouted, but it seemed to be
coming from far away. Viseer’s breathing was getting far away too, but she
could feel the energy welling up in her body as they neared their climaxes.
Then both men thrusted into her one final time, and as they emptied themselves,
the air in the dome was filled with static energy, and an ear-splitting
crack!
shot through the air. Allie felt like her heart was beating outside of her
chest, but her skin was crackling with energy, too—as the aliens pulled out of
her, she was startled to see that her once pale skin was emitting a soft light.
Even the veins in her wrists were lit up with a golden tint; Araimeer and
Viseer crowded around her to compare their glowing bodies.