“I give you the Peace of Mellure,” V’terre said, although he couldn’t see her. Perhaps she stood outside this enclosure. Either way, he modestly covered himself with his hands. He realized she’d obviously seen every bit of him but he was conscious now and a bit embarrassed. The Mellurean continued to address him in her calm, measured tones. “I had to pick apart each molecule in your body to excise the material inserted by the bumbling amateur who tortured you but now you’re fully human once more. No trace of the other remains. As to your mind, your memories of the ordeal you endured will still be there but dim, lacking detail. You’ve been healed, inside and out, Trevor Hanson. Go forth and live your life with our gratitude and thanks. I charge you to be worthy of the gift.”
Flashes of golden light poured from him now, from every pore. The display and the power were too much for him to handle and he fell but never touched the floor of the mysterious bubble. It seemed he was drifting through the galaxy itself inside an expanding envelope, mighty nebulae spinning in whorls of astonishing color everywhere he looked, stars of all size and colors blazing for him…the vista was awe inspiring and he hoped he’d remember at least a little of it when he awoke.
He had to be dreaming, right?
Waking with a start, rising from the pillow ready to fight if necessary, he found himself alone in his sickbay room. The lights were on but dim and a fresh uniform lay across the nearby chair, with shoes tucked under the bed. Drawing a deep breath to steady his nerves, he threw back the sheet and stood up. He felt normal, as he had not for too many years. V’terre’s words ran through his head as he hastened to the small bathroom and did his best to check himself out in the mirror. No wings, no tentacles, no scars, no third eye, at his normal 6’2” height. Gripping the edge of the sink to keep from falling out of sheer shock and elation, he took a few moments to savor the state of being an ordinary human man again.
Thoughts of Gianna crowded into his head and he was consumed with the desire to see her. Rushing back into the room, he got dressed and pulled on the shoes and opened the door. Evidently it was ‘night’ on board the ship and the place was deserted except for him. He walked through the corridor to the front desk and greeted Relba, the night nurse.
“Dr. Shane left orders you were discharged and free to go as soon as you woke up, lieutenant,” Relba said. “Congratulations on your quick recovery.”
“Thanks, and thanks for the excellent care. I appreciated everything the doc and you and the staff did for me.”
He didn’t linger but exited onto the Level A concourse, which even at this hour had a certain amount of passenger activity and of course the casino never closed. Walking briskly, Trevor headed for the cabin area of this deck and soon was standing in front of Gianna’s door. Maybe Maeve alerted her but before he could ping for entry the portal slid aside and his beloved stood in front of him.
With a glad cry, she pulled him close, inside the cabin. “V’terre said you’d be fine but I was so worried. You had so many terrible injuries from the fight with Sela-Miil-Dazklr. I wanted to stay in the room with you but V’terre said it would be better for you to wake up by yourself.”
“I need you,” he said. “I will always need you.” He kissed her long and hard and reveled in the way she melted into his arms. They stood locked together in an embrace as desperate as it was passionate, bodies pressed against each other, the kiss scorching as their tongues danced. Yielding to impulse, he picked her up and headed for the bedroom. “I won’t know I’m truly recovered until I’m sure I can still please you.”
Gianna kissed his cheek and chuckled. “I’m sure there’s not going to be any problem there.”
Trevor took note of Verlaine, gamboling by his side and said, “Sorry, pal, you have to stay out here. No audience allowed.”
The hound sat on his haunches and then lay down with a woof.
Trevor laid her carefully on the bed. After toeing off his shoes, he stripped off his shirt and pants with an urgency he couldn’t completely understand, except for the knowledge they’d barely survived an ordeal that could have taken the life of either or both of them and he craved the intimate connection with Gianna now to put his world back in order, to know in a way beyond skin deep she was safe. And his.
She’d already pulled off her robe and now she removed the nightgown with an impatient tug, breaking one fragile strap, letting the garment drop to the deck carelessly.
“I love you.” His heart was full of the joyful emotion as he looked at her.
“I love you too,” she said. “I was so afraid I’d never see you again, never be able to tell you what you meant to me—”
He came over her on the bed and ended the conversation with a resumption of the passionate kiss, to which she responded with no hesitation, nothing but eagerness, running her hands over his body as if to reassure herself he was truly there in her bed and back to himself. Reaching between their bodies, she touched his cock and the feeling of her fingers on him practically drove him to climax. Trevor groaned breaking off the passionate kiss and bit his lip with the effort it required not to take her before she was prepared. “I want you so badly, I’m not going to be able to be gentle or to take my time.”
“I’m ready for you, I don’t want foreplay right now—I want you buried inside me so we’re one,” she said.
His aching shaft pushed against her folds, slipping inside slightly because as she’d said, she was highly aroused, creaming for him. Trevor thrust his hips, going deep into her silken depths. Gianna met him move for move, even as she wound her tongue against his, both of them nearly frantic to reconnect after the terror of the past several days. Now she locked her legs around his butt to lock him in place, although he took delight in varying his strokes to bring her additional pleasure.
Breathing hard, she shifted her hips against him, contracting her inner muscles in a way that only made him harder and closer to climax.
When she reached the pinnacle of this hard driving, passionate reunion, he heard her moans of ecstasy and he let himself go as well, holding her tight and safe in his arms. “I’ll never let you go again,” he said, hardly recognizing his own voice, thick with passion. “I promise.”
They made love again more slowly, taking time to explore each other’s likes and preferences, exchanging long languorous kisses in between using their mouths, tongues and fingers for mutual arousal and fulfillment in other creative ways. Trevor made sure to take his time once he’d entered her, driving them both from plateau to plateau of arousal and frustration, keeping his pace slow and steady until she was begging him for release and he was shaking with need. Their shared orgasms were powerful and deeply felt, leaving them ready to sleep dreamlessly, curled in each other’s arms.
In the morning, Maeve woke them up, her voice slightly louder than usual. “I have my robos bringing you a special breakfast from Chef Stephanie,” she said. “The meal will arrive in three point five minutes. You have an appointment to meet V’terre in suite 255 on Level Two in two hours and I strongly suggest you not be late.”
Gianna gasped and fled from the bed. “Of course not. But I need a shower first and I have to wash my hair.”