Aftermath - Ann Aguirre [110]
He pins my wrists over my head as if my submission can expiate those long, lonely turns, and so I yield, this one time. By his faint smile, he knows it will not become a habit.
Mary, it’s good. His thought? Mine? It’s all the same right now. I have his leashed desire in my head, so I thrum with heat inside and out; his arousal drives my own. He tastes the sweetness of his hard length rocking inside me, just as I know the delicious feel of my slick heat. I’ve never been able to finish this way, so I struggle as the sensations become overwhelming.
March lets himself down on his arms, shifting his angle inside me, and claims my mouth in a scorching kiss. It’s too much after such a long drought, and I arch beneath him, quaking through a relentless orgasm. He comes with me a few beats later, his body tightening in long, inexorable strokes.
Afterward, he rolls to the side and wraps me in his arms, face nuzzling my coarse curls. “I’m so glad you’re back. Now you can come home.”
Home. What does that even mean for someone like me? I have wanderlust in equal measure to grimspace cations in my veins.
“You mean Nicuan?”
“The flat is more than big enough for all of us,” he says, assuming I will go where he leads, even now.
In times of war, I would. No question. He is a great general, willing to sacrifice his own pleasure for the good of the Armada. I remember that very clearly. And I agreed with that decision. I don’t regret it, however painful it was then. Any other course would’ve been selfish. Our continued cohabitation would’ve had a deleterious effect on morale, no doubt. Because how could the rank and file trust a commander who was shacking up with his second in command? His decisions would be questioned, particularly in regard to his orders to me.
But this isn’t wartime, and I’m not a follower. He has to know that deep down. March is the other half of my heart, but I don’t know if I can do this, even for him. I have promises to keep. Torment twists my face, and he sees it. Doubtless he feels it, too.
“March . . . I have business to finish here.”
He seals a finger against my mouth, stilling my instinctive protest. “Don’t make up your mind now.”
“Did you bring your nephew?” I ask.
He nods. “He’s with Dina and Hit tonight. You can meet him tomorrow.”
I’m not sure about that, either. Mary, he’s been raising this kid for the last five turns, while I was fighting monsters and slogging through ruins. It’s mind-boggling. For the first time, I fear we’ve taken such divergent paths that they may not meet up again. But this isn’t a night to think such thoughts. For now, he’s here, and I’m in his arms. If there’s a good-bye looming, I won’t face it now, coward that I am.
.UNCLASSIFIED-TRANSMISSION.
.AFTER LONG SILENCE.
.FROM-SUNI_TARN.
.TO-EDUN_LEVITER.
My dear Edun, it has been such a long time. I have thought of you often over the turns, wondered if you were well. We live in such interesting times, do we not? I am seeing claims that the Maker homeworld has been located and in some other ’verse as well through a gate on Marakeq. I will need to send a delegation to explain to them their rights, as they shall soon be overrun with scientists and research teams. Somehow, I was not surprised at all to discover Ms. Jax at the heart of the whirlwind. She carries chaos like an overcoat.
But I speak of her only because she is a name to us both. That is not the reason I have contacted you, as I am sure you well know. You may have seen on the bounce; I finished my final term as chancellor. I am a free citizen now, and at liberty to pursue friendship with whomever I so choose, regardless of past allegiances and/or political affiliations. If I did not imagine the fondness between us, I should like to accept your