Page 22 of Atlas: Colony: Nyx #5(Intergalactic Dating Agency)

TWENTY-TWO

The door flew open, but there was no one on the other side. Peri marched into the orchard. "Atlas?"

She found him leaning against a particularly gnarled apple tree, with a contented looking meowl in his arms. God, they looked so cute together. Like he might actually be a nice guy, someone worth dating and maybe even having a proper relationship with, instead of someone who spent all night screwing a girl, only to ignore her the next morning.

Peri shook her head. Who cared? The sex had been great, but she wasn't looking for a relationship. Not when she was hoping to leave the planet on the next ship out. She'd never meet another man who could show her the stars quite like he had, though.

She swallowed. "I'd really like to be on my way now, so if you could open the place back up again so I could go home, that'd be great. Before I go, I'll show you where the computer's storing all the comet data, if you want to analyse it or something. Seeing as I never made it to university, that was never really my thing."

She'd chosen coming out here over going to university, and her dad had supported her in that decision. Sometimes, she wondered if things might have been different if she'd stayed. Oh, her dad still would've had that final stroke that stole him from her, but she might have discovered a comet on her own in the Solar System by now, and named it in his memory.

"When you're picking a name for the comet, it would be really nice if you could name it after my dad. He died before we left Earth. His name was Zoran Bold. The Bold Atlas comet, maybe?" She managed a hopeful smile. After all, that was her last name, too, and while it wouldn't be named after her, it would still be something.

Atlas leaned over and set the meowl on the ground, where she promptly pounced on the remains of Peri's dress collar and savaged it with her beak. He straightened. "I hate to tell you, but I won't get naming rights unless we can document the comet thoroughly. This is the only functional observatory in the Altan System, and if we didn't get enough data...all it'll get is a number designation, unless someone with a science vessel spots it. Then they'll probably name it after their ship."

Peri shrugged. "I don't know how much data we need to have in order to claim naming rights. Again, not my thing. But I'll show you what we do have, and you can work that out. Just remember – Zoran Bold, okay?"

She turned on her heel and strode back to the computer, blinking furiously so he wouldn't see her cry. God, she missed her dad so much right now. That's why she was tearing up. It was homesickness, damn it, not mourning what might have been between her at Atlas if he wasn't such an arsehole.

She pulled up the main data folder, without looking back to see if he'd followed her. "This is where the computer stores all the data from the telescopes and spectrometers. These are stills, composites, and video, separated by date. It's standard file naming protocol from the observatory where I used to work back on Earth, and seeing as the files here were set up the same way, I figured the same protocol would apply here. Feel free to change it if there was a better system you used on your planet. You've got a better computer system here than we had at home, so it can do all your composites in house. From what I've seen so far, it's better than the ones we used to get from NASA, without the reams of paperwork we'd have to fill out, followed by months of waiting for time on their supercomputers." She pulled up the haloed peanut picture. "See?"

Atlas leaned over her shoulder to peer at it. "What is that?"

"It's your comet, on its closest pass last night. No tail yet, just the coma, but I'm sure you'll get pictures of the tail on its way out of the system. The computer system is tracking its path pretty well, and it's set up to follow it, no matter what changes the path makes after it's been around the sun."

"You...how did you do that? You can't have learned all that in one night!"

Another shrug. "I helped my dad out at an observatory on Earth. He'd take me to work most nights, from as far back as I can remember. I had a little sleeping bag and flip out couch where I could sleep in his office, though he usually set it out in the observatory proper, so I could sleep out under the stars. When I got older, he started teaching me how the system worked. By the time I was fifteen, I knew more than the technical officers who were paid to be there, and when they lost their jobs to budget cuts...well, I just took over. You have all the same software here, so it was just like being at home, but everything was better. More processing power, bigger mirrors, more powerful lenses, the works. And no paperwork to use the supercomputers. Just the click of a button and you're in." She closed her mouth before she could say more. She wasn't allowed to talk about the Colony Management System, even if it no longer had an artificial intelligence in charge of it.

"You're...you...do you want a job?"

Peri blinked. She hadn't expected that. "But...I'm not qualified. I have no qualifications at all. I didn't even properly graduate from high school, because I transferred to the FarmStars program."

Atlas pointed a shaking finger at the screen. "You are the only person in the entire Altan System who knows how to use the observatory computer system. That picture is enough to get you hired as the Chief Technical Officer. We'd have to work out what your salary would be, but I know I have a budget for staff. I just haven't been able to find anyone. You...stars, you're like a dream come true. I'll even name the comet after you. You and the meowl, seeing as she's the one who spotted it before I did."

He reached for the keyboard and typed BOLD MIRANDA into the comet's name field. A moment later, all the file names in the folders changed to reflect the new name.

"But don't you want your name on it? It's your comet, and you're the only qualified astronomer here."

Atlas shrugged. "I wanted to be the one to discover the first comet in a red dwarf system, but I never wanted my name on it. It just seems...crass, I suppose. Whereas naming it after your father and the meowl...that's perfect."

"I...I don't know what to say."

His eyes burned into hers. "Tell me you'll stay."

Every part of her wanted to say yes, but she still couldn't believe it. "But...what about last night? Won't it be awkward working together, after...that?"

Atlas swallowed. "I can control myself. Usually. When I don't have solstice fever...I can keep my pants on."

"Put pants on, more like," she quipped.

He glanced down. "I could do that, if you want."

Staring at the still clearly visible bulge in his loincloth, Peri thought long and hard for a moment. Could she stay here? Did she want...?

"I did promise I'd help you relieve that solstice fever thing..." she began. "How much longer will you be...um...afflicted?"

"A few hours, I believe."

A few hours of unbelievably incredible sex. If they did it again, she'd never want to leave. But he could also give her the stars, so she could stay here and see the sky. Maybe even spot another comet...

"And after that?" she ventured.

He looked nervous. "If you want, you could make it one of your conditions of employment. I could lock myself in my office during the solstice, so I wouldn't distract you from your work. I'm not sure I could resist your pheromones otherwise. Even now..."

She followed his gaze to his groin. Yes, he definitely wanted her. "And what if we just locked down the whole observatory, like a quarantine, as it were, and had crazy yeti sex all over the place until you were over your fever?"

"You want to have sex with me again?" He blushed so hard, the fur on his face turned a delicate shade of pink. "I mean, I definitely want you, but I thought..."

"We still have some time before the comet comes back. What do you say we ride out your solstice fever right here, under the stars? We could drag a mattress in here, and maybe..."

His eyes lit up. "I have a better idea. Let me show you my office."

He led the way upstairs, to what looked more like a studio apartment than an office. A big bed up on a platform, a kitchen off to one side, and even a bathroom tucked behind a partition. In the middle was a circular sectional sofa. It was all very functional, and the bed was nice, but she still favoured her idea of a mattress on the observatory floor.

Atlas pointed at the ceiling. "Do you like the view?"

Holy fuck. It was like the observatory ceiling, but a complete dome, open to the night sky. Well, super heavy duty glass, to keep the atmosphere in, but...

Within moments, her bare back hit the bed, and Atlas was buried deep inside her. Her orgasm built so fast, she was gasping his name before she knew it.

"Say you'll stay with me, here, and I'll be yours every night you want me, just like this," he promised.

"Yes, oh yes..."

How could she say no to a dikar with the most amazing dick in the whole universe, who gave her the stars?

"Oh my God, Atlas, YES!"