strong fingers.
“In a galaxy this big,” she whispered, bending down to kiss him, “I’m still amazed by how we managed to meet.”
He shivered as the curtain of her unbound hair brushed across his nipples. “Maybe it was destiny?”
He cupped her buttocks and pulled her naked body closer. “Or lust?”
“Or,” she replied, nibbling delicately at his ear lobe, “both.”
When they stopped talking, when the weight of their words could no longer keep them apart, they held each other in a tight embrace, as if afraid that something would intervene to separate them if they didn’t. Their lovemaking was fierce and primal, Srin’s sweat dripping down on Moon’s taut body as he arched over her, Moon’s cries half-pleas, half-sobs as she shuddered in his arms.
It was over too quickly, their weeks of pent-up frustration expended in a handful of minutes.
“I’m sorry,” Srin gasped. “I didn’t…I couldn’t….”
Moon grabbed his face between her hands and pulled it down for a kiss. “Me neither,” she said. “And, to be honest, it felt pretty good.”
He pulled out of her grasp, frowning. “Good? In what universe was a performance like mine good?”
She pouted her full lips, trying to suppress a smile. “How about, in a universe full of people behaving like sex-starved teenagers?”
He hadn’t expected her to say that because he barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Sex-starved teenagers? Dr. Thadin,” he said, “I think I’ve fallen in love with you all over again.”
She linked her hands around his neck. “I’m glad you said that, because I have a suggestion to make, in about an hour or so….”
A single loud bang on their habitat door woke Moon from sleep. The events of the past few months had turned her into a light sleeper, and she jack-knifed into a sitting position in bed almost before the echo died down, instinctively reaching for the weapon on the small table beside her.
Silence.
Moon breathed in shallowly, frozen on the edge of the mattress, as the seconds ticked away. Surely if the noise heralded the Security Force, or even local enforcement, they would have broken in by now? Could it possibly be a drunkard, or addict, stumbling against the door while staggering home?
Picking up the small pistol, Moon slid out of bed and shrugged on a loose robe. Walking as noiselessly as possible, she stepped into the living room. It was empty, and she let out a silent sigh of relief. Keeping the lights off, she crept forwards to the front door and laid her ear against the panel.
Nothing. Not even the sound of receding footsteps reached her through the thin partition. As she turned away, however, she noted a small blinking light near the corner of the wall. Frowning, she walked over to it. She had never seen that light on before. Wracking her brain, she tried to remember what it meant. It wasn’t the visual prompt for a door chime. Garbage disposal? Civil alarm? Evacuation indicator?
Message receptacle!
Moon supposed it was a leftover from older times, when communications were sometimes left at someone’s physical address rather than being beamed directly to their personal units. In the darkness, Moon’s fingers scrabbled for a ledge or button beneath the blinking light, and when the small panel slid open, the light went off.
There was nothing inside the tiny hutch except for a small message chip, and even that was archaic technology. Moon closed the receptacle, walked to the habitat’s cheap monitor and inserted the token into the multi-input slot. Immediately, the screen glowed white and text appeared in cramped and stunted lines.
I WOULD LEAVE YOUR HABITAT IMMEDIATELY IF I WERE YOU. SECURITY FORCE IS SNIFFING AROUND. GET TO COLKEN SOUTH. THERE IS AN EMPLOYMENT CENTRE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY. MEET ME THERE IN SEVEN HOURS. I WILL WAIT FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES. DC
“DC”? Moon’s face cleared. Of course, that would be “Durega Consulting”. But she stared at the rest of the message
“In a galaxy this big,” she whispered, bending down to kiss him, “I’m still amazed by how we managed to meet.”
He shivered as the curtain of her unbound hair brushed across his nipples. “Maybe it was destiny?”
He cupped her buttocks and pulled her naked body closer. “Or lust?”
“Or,” she replied, nibbling delicately at his ear lobe, “both.”
When they stopped talking, when the weight of their words could no longer keep them apart, they held each other in a tight embrace, as if afraid that something would intervene to separate them if they didn’t. Their lovemaking was fierce and primal, Srin’s sweat dripping down on Moon’s taut body as he arched over her, Moon’s cries half-pleas, half-sobs as she shuddered in his arms.
It was over too quickly, their weeks of pent-up frustration expended in a handful of minutes.
“I’m sorry,” Srin gasped. “I didn’t…I couldn’t….”
Moon grabbed his face between her hands and pulled it down for a kiss. “Me neither,” she said. “And, to be honest, it felt pretty good.”
He pulled out of her grasp, frowning. “Good? In what universe was a performance like mine good?”
She pouted her full lips, trying to suppress a smile. “How about, in a universe full of people behaving like sex-starved teenagers?”
He hadn’t expected her to say that because he barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Sex-starved teenagers? Dr. Thadin,” he said, “I think I’ve fallen in love with you all over again.”
She linked her hands around his neck. “I’m glad you said that, because I have a suggestion to make, in about an hour or so….”
A single loud bang on their habitat door woke Moon from sleep. The events of the past few months had turned her into a light sleeper, and she jack-knifed into a sitting position in bed almost before the echo died down, instinctively reaching for the weapon on the small table beside her.
Silence.
Moon breathed in shallowly, frozen on the edge of the mattress, as the seconds ticked away. Surely if the noise heralded the Security Force, or even local enforcement, they would have broken in by now? Could it possibly be a drunkard, or addict, stumbling against the door while staggering home?
Picking up the small pistol, Moon slid out of bed and shrugged on a loose robe. Walking as noiselessly as possible, she stepped into the living room. It was empty, and she let out a silent sigh of relief. Keeping the lights off, she crept forwards to the front door and laid her ear against the panel.
Nothing. Not even the sound of receding footsteps reached her through the thin partition. As she turned away, however, she noted a small blinking light near the corner of the wall. Frowning, she walked over to it. She had never seen that light on before. Wracking her brain, she tried to remember what it meant. It wasn’t the visual prompt for a door chime. Garbage disposal? Civil alarm? Evacuation indicator?
Message receptacle!
Moon supposed it was a leftover from older times, when communications were sometimes left at someone’s physical address rather than being beamed directly to their personal units. In the darkness, Moon’s fingers scrabbled for a ledge or button beneath the blinking light, and when the small panel slid open, the light went off.
There was nothing inside the tiny hutch except for a small message chip, and even that was archaic technology. Moon closed the receptacle, walked to the habitat’s cheap monitor and inserted the token into the multi-input slot. Immediately, the screen glowed white and text appeared in cramped and stunted lines.
I WOULD LEAVE YOUR HABITAT IMMEDIATELY IF I WERE YOU. SECURITY FORCE IS SNIFFING AROUND. GET TO COLKEN SOUTH. THERE IS AN EMPLOYMENT CENTRE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY. MEET ME THERE IN SEVEN HOURS. I WILL WAIT FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES. DC
“DC”? Moon’s face cleared. Of course, that would be “Durega Consulting”. But she stared at the rest of the message
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