Broken Flyght – Chapter 21

We return to a quiet ship.

Lia is asleep on an inflatable bed right in the middle of the art collection. She has let the sheep sleep there too which I’m ambivalent about. As long as they don’t destroy anything. This is why Sally, the goat, always stays penned up. She’ll eat anything. Anything.

“I’m going to head to bed,” Marcelo whispers as we soft-foot it through the cargo bay anterior walkways. “Let’s all sleep in and deal with everything else later.”

“Can’t,” I say, and Marcelo yawns. “We leave at eight. Lady and Lord Correa are set to go.”

“I’ll leave a message for them that we’re delaying by an hour. I really think you should get some sleep. You look miserably tired.”

I glance at Jinzo, and he nods.

I probably just look miserable.

“Fine. See what you can do.”

We leave Marcelo at the door to his shuttle and continue on to the crew quarters. My quarters are on the top floor, not far from the bridge. Jinzo’s are on the bottom floor, closer to the engine room and cargo bay. He stops me on the steps outside of his corridor and takes both of my hands.

“You need to rest,” he says, lifting my hand up to kiss my fingers. Desire blooms in my belly, hot and constricting. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll whip up a feast for breakfast, and we’ll spend time together on the trip to Ossun.”

I want to protest. I’m so ready to sleep with him. But I know he’s right. I do need the rest.

He lets go of my hand. “Go to sleep, Vivian.”

“Yes, Jinzo,” I repeat in the same tone of voice like I did the night before.

But when I get to my room, I realize there’s no way I will sleep. Frogger isn’t here. He must be sleeping somewhere else in the ship. My room is a mess because when I packed, I didn’t put anything away. I don’t have my favorite pajamas or even any of my toiletries because they’re all still at the hotel. And my bed isn’t made. I had stuffed the sheets in the pulse washer before I left.

I sulk as I go to the washer port on the wall and pull out my sheets. They’re a wrinkled mess and not as clean as I’d hoped. I should’ve put them on the heavy cycle. I dump them on the bed and stare at them.

Fuck this.

I leave my room, head down the stairs, and cross to the auxiliary cargo bay.

My lights are on, and the seeds are all growing now. With only one bank of bays lit up, the seedlings of the beans and a few other things I’ve sprouted are showing promise. A few more days and I’ll have a lot growing here. On the far side of the bay, something new has shown up — a small, child-size plastic pool with fish swimming around in it.

Yay! Lia was successful.

I kneel down at the pool and count twenty fish. Good. She got an appropriate number. Once I get the main tank filled with water, I can move the fish in there and then really start to grow these seeds. My heart races as I consider that I’m only a day away from having this business running full speed ahead. I dip my fingers in the water and let the fish approach them. A flash of my fear from the previous hours, drowning in the sea, streaks across my vision, and I yelp as I pull my fingers back.

They’re fine. They’re okay, Vivian. Tilapia have never been known to hurt a person. They’re one of the few animals we brought directly from Earth.

Sinking to my heels and resting on my hips, I think about all the work I have to do, the nightmares that wait for me when I close my eyes, the inevitable crushing blow that will come with the news reports tomorrow morning.

A quiet, grinding creak precedes Jinzo’s bare feet appearing in the doorway. He’s changed into a black shirt and black shorts. I forgot to change. How stupid is that?

“You’re not very good at resting, are you?” he asks.

“Nope. Even if I go to sleep, it won’t be restful. So why bother?”

He sighs as he pads across the long bay to me. His eyes take in all the surroundings — the growing trays, the lights he just installed, the twists of green climbing out of their seed pods. He has questions.

But he doesn’t ask. He holds out his hand.

“Come with me.”

Hand in hand, he guides me to his room. I’m impressed with the way he’s made it his own after only a short time here. He keeps his lights low and soothing. On the desk, he has a small bowl of seashells, a candy bar, and a photo of… I think his mother and father? They look the right age. His bed is made. His clothes are put away. His black bag sits against the wall, out of the way.

The door closes behind me, and the desire from earlier is back at full force.

Yes.

My body buzzes as it heats up.

“Vivian, why don’t you spend the night here with me?”

I close my eyes and nod my head eagerly. Yes, yep, definitely, good idea.

My legs won’t move, but that’s fine. He comes to me. His right hand slips under my hair, and when I open my eyes, he’s looking deep into mine.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I am now.” My voice is stuck in my chest. And that’s okay too. Because I don’t need it.

This time there’s no smile before our lips meet. We’re serious about this kiss and where it will lead. I reach out and pull him to me by his shirt, not wasting a moment before I slip my hands up underneath to glide along his smooth skin. My lips move independently of my thoughts which remember him topless the other day. The muscles, the dips of arms and stomach — he has a hot body.

Not that that’s important or the only thing I look for, but it’s a bonus, for sure.

The kissing is moving on. His lips leave mine and travel down my neck.

“Mmm, Vivian. You’re…”

“Shhh.” Nope. Don’t say it. I don’t want the false flattery, the ‘you’re so beautiful’ phrases that other men try on me. Don’t go there. Don’t speak. Don’t tell me lies to get in my pants.

He chuckles under his breath as I dip my fingers into the waistband of his shorts.

“Salty,” he whispers. He drags his tongue up my neck, and a rain of chills flows down my back. I moan, and he pulls away. His fingers work their way to my shirt. “You didn’t shower or even change.”

“Nope. Take it off.” I’m skirting the line between desperate for more and bossy.

He grabs the hem, and I lift my arms to release myself from my shirt. I never want to see it again. I do the same to him, and his shirt comes off.

He pulls me to him to kiss some more, and everything about the way he kisses thrills me. I love his lips, the way he takes my breath and holds it hostage. But I growl in frustration. It’s not enough.

I throw my head back for some air. “The bra has to go.” I reach behind me to release the clasps, and Jinzo’s smile deepens as his eyes travel over me.

I’m not modest, but something tells me to turn around and lose not only the bra but everything. Give him a good look at all of me, the legs that have been nothing but trouble, my soft stomach, my firm breasts (my best feature, if I’m being honest).

I peek over my shoulder as I climb into his bed. I’ve left him stunned and speechless, his mouth open, and he takes a long moment to snap out of it, strip down and join me. I’m pleased with what I see of him before the covers come over us.

Now I’m pushing things fast. I’m so desperate for a release, for this feeling of skin on skin, the closeness, that my kisses are deep. I’ve split my brain in two. One half is following my hands as they explore his body, down his back, over his ass, around and back up. The other half is reveling in his weight and the zaps of energy as our bodies move together.

I lift my legs to wrap them around him when he gasps and pulls back from my lips.

“Vivian.”

I keep my eyes closed and lift my head to kiss his neck and shoulder.

“Vivi.” His voice is insistent. He snakes one arm up behind my head to prop himself up, and the other comes to my face. “Look at me.”

I blink my eyes open and realize I’m so close to jumping off the cliff of an orgasm, I didn’t even see the edge coming. Jinzo’s body rests on mine, and his eyes are keen, watching every little twitch.

“How long has it been?”

“What?” I ask, letting my hands coast down his body. I angle my eyes so I can look down. He’s ready.

“Vivi,” he says, with a huff of a laugh, “look at me.”

“I am,” I reply. Oh yes, I am.

“Up here.” He jerks his chin, so I meet his eyes again. “How long has it been?”

The question didn’t register the first time, and it doesn’t now either. He shifts his body to put more pressure between my legs. I gasp and try to wiggle my hips.

“You… you’re like a woman who hasn’t been fed in weeks and now you’re at an all-you-can-eat buffet.”

Oh.

“How… long?” he stresses.

“Three years?”

The pure sex that flowed from his eyes turns to wide-eyed shock.

“Three years?”

He pulls up and away from me, and cool air floods in to put a huge damper on my, well, everything.

“Three years,” he repeats, anger flooding his voice. “Where has your number one been? I thought maybe a few weeks, but…”

“Stop.” My voice is way too authoritative for how I feel inside. “Stop, please,” I plead, softening. “I told you. We broke up three years ago, and I haven’t been with anyone since.” I reach up and try to encourage him back, but he’s firm. “He only just returned to me, and… there hasn’t… Please, Jinzo. Don’t make me beg you.”

I’m completely exposed now, naked from top to toe, and I just want us together. I reach up and skirt my fingers across his jaw.

He relaxes, settling his weight back on me. “You, and only you, get to call me Jin.”

I can’t speak. I don’t want to.

I am the luckiest woman alive.

His lips meet mine, and the rest is nothing but a blur of heat, skin, and my brain folding in half over and over again.

—-

No.

My eyes snap open, and panic rushes through me so fast, I have to suck in a deep breath to stop the moment from attacking me.

The room swirls and tilts before it stabilizes. My vision is blurry, and my head hurts. I groan as I force my fingers to let go of the wet sheets. Yes, maybe the sheets are somewhat damp from sex, but I’m one-hundred percent positive they’re soaked from the sweat pouring off my body.

Jinzo… Jin stirs and rolls over but doesn’t wake. I’m still naked, and when I peel the sheet from my body, I cringe at the cool air. I need to get out of here.

They’re coming for me. I’m a dead woman.

The clock on the wall catches my eye. 04:55?

Wait. Stop.

I groan as my head throbs again.

It was a dream. I was being chased in my dream. No one’s coming for me. In fact, I only fell asleep about thirty minutes ago. I was exhausted… and happy… and satiated for once. And I really thought falling asleep next to Jinzo would put me out for a few hours at least.

I wish I could pull the sheets out from under him and hide them. What am I going to tell him when he wakes up? I should get the heck out of here and hope he doesn’t say anything to me when I see him in a few hours.

I rise to my feet unsteadily. My legs are made of jelly, and I may have trouble sitting for the next few days — all signs of good sex. But this headache is a real problem, and my mouth is as dry as a desert. I grab one of the free blankets from the bed and wrap it around me then head for the bathroom. Once the door is shut, I sit on the closed toilet and snap the first aid kit out of the wall looking for pain meds. The seal on the first aid kit is still intact, no one has used it, so the painkillers are easy to find. I pop two in my mouth and wait while they dissolve across my tongue.

At the sink, I search through Jinzo’s belongings until I find an empty cup in the medicine cabinet. I rinse it out, fill it up with water, and drink. Gah, ship water is so tasteless, but I fill it up and drink again and again.

A soft knock at the door stops me and my heart.

“Vivi, are you okay?”

I reach forward and slide the door open. Jinzo is standing there, a blanket wrapped around his waist.

“Hi,” he says, yawning. “I was shocked to find you awake. I thought you’d sleep at least a few hours.”

“I guess not,” I say, wincing as I look up at him.

He reaches out to touch a lock of my sweat-soaked hair.

“Hmmm,” he says. “Maybe my skills are slipping.”

“No.” I grab his hand as it falls away from me. “You’re not. You’re…” I shake my head, looking for the right word. “Breathtaking. I’m just a mess. Broken. Hopeless.” I lean over to the sink and refill my cup. “Thirsty.”

“Well, you left at least five cups of water in the sheets, so drink up. I’ll change the bed and get you some pajamas. You wait here.”

I rest my aching head against the wall as I watch him change into shorts and then strip the bed and remake it with new sheets. He chooses three blankets for us, turns down the ambient temperature, and invites me back to bed. I change into a pair of shorts and a shirt he gives me, and then I snuggle into a dry spot next to him on the bed.

“I like that there’s no judgment when it comes to you,” I whisper as I pull his arm around me and hug it to my chest.

“Judgment? Who has time for that?”

“Lots of people, unfortunately.”

We’re quiet for a few moments.

“Vivi?” he asks before laying his lips on my neck.

“Hmm?”

“I need you to tell me about the seeds.”

I sigh and turn over to face him. Slipping my legs through his and under his ass, I hug him close and rest my cheek on his chest. He squeezes me and settles his lips on the top of my sweaty head.

“Back at the casino, you looked at me and said you hadn’t told me everything about the seeds. And I had never seen so much fear in someone’s eyes in all my life.”

“I need to apologize to you… for spying on you.” I yawn and close my eyes. “Those men showed up, on Orbital Station, to follow me around the first time I met you, and I was worried you were working for Athens Industries.”

“Athens? Why are you afraid of them?”

“If they find out what I have, I’m dead. We’re all dead.” I press my aching forehead into his chest. “Ai and Marcelo both said you were clear, but it’s how I found out about Cressida. Sorry.”

His arms tighten, and I wake up just enough to remember what to do.

“Hand me my wristlet, please.”

Jinzo reaches for the head of the bed and grabs my wristlet. The projection is bright on my cornea for someone with a headache, but I navigate to the seed database, add Jinzo as an authorized user, and send him an invitation to look at it.

“There. Now you’ll have all your answers.”

He puts my wristlet back and grabs his datapad.

“I’ll talk to you in a few hours,” I whisper, folding myself in on him. He drapes a blanket over me, and I finally, really and truly, drift off to sleep.