Page 28 of Ava Stargazer (Planet Xai #2)

Vox put a band across his chest and several phasers within it, adjusting the length. He sat on the bed in the engine room. Ava’s alcove there had been expanded over the last few cycles by punching out one of the walls into the adjoining storage closet. As she painted the walls, he’d taken it on himself to expand their sleeping area, giving them both more space to rest comfortably.

He began taking inventory of the supplies left on the shelves while Ava watched from the bed. They would be arriving at Cipra after the next rest cycle, the plan already solidified. Their approach in Celestial would be in the stealth mode enabled by the Spry. They would orbit to find a few areas they could land, then shuttle or walk over to enter the facility on foot. Cutters were fixed and oiled, ready to be used if they needed to break in, but Vox was hopeful a more discreet entrance could be found.

He tightened the synthetic strap on his chest, thinking it through. We'll get whatever data we can and then get back to Xai as fast as possible.

Ava watched him prepare, anxiety on her face as she spun the com watch on her arm. She had not been sleeping well the last few nights. Vox knew that because he had woken up several times and realized she was not there beside him. When he connected with her, he mostly found her in the solarium, or wandering to lookouts, where she watched the stars.

He felt at a loss at times on whether to join her or give her privacy. She has had so much to think about. Besides just going to Cipra now. Nostrils flaring, he regarded her as she watched his preparations. Once we are done and back on Xai, she can continue to live again. We both can.

Vox held up an additional strap and shook it, getting her attention. “Come here, Ava. Let me try this on you.”

Ava slid off the bed and walked toward him and his arsenal of weaponry on the counter. Her voice belied her fear. “I thought Cipra was mostly deserted. Why do we need all of this?”

Vox adjusted the buckles on her while he answered, “We don’t really know what to expect. The logs from Ebel are all that we have to go off of really. They indicate that there are offensive capabilities to keep the facility safe and that an invitation is needed to enter. They are doing something unclean there. It is best to expect unclean minds and actions to go with it.”

“Okay.”

“Hopefully it is deserted. There haven’t been any references to it anywhere officially. But I’d feel more content if you had something for self-defense on you as well. It would be foolish to not prepare for any possibility.”

Ava squinted her eyes at him, as if she was seeking clarity. “So you do not think there will be combat, right?”

Vox shook his head as he put the band across Ava’s chest with one phaser on it. He was gentle with her as he slid the buckles closed. His hands were steady and did not betray his nerves. Ava looks stressed enough for us both. After he secured the strap and tested it by pulling on her chest lightly, he took her head into his hands and looked into her eyes. “It will be fine, Ava, when we get there. I do not think there will be much fighting.”

She looked up into his eyes, hers wide and vulnerable. “How do you know? How can you always be so calm?”

He let go of the straps but kept gazing into her eyes. “What is the alternative? If I give in to chaos I will become it. This place is not hostile to us. We are hostile to it. Ava. I will break them for you.”

Ava swallowed. “That shouldn’t always be the first line of thinking though. To just overpower everything. That’s not right either, Vox.”

Vox paused to consider that. It’s true. At some point, we will become what we hate if we approach every situation with extreme hostility.

He cleared his throat, justifying his line of thinking. “Cipra was a facility that captured and bred all sorts of innocents and sold them into slavery. I think for here, at least, a hostile mindset is warranted.”

Turning to the side, she pulled her legs up to her chest. “You’re right. This place. It’s evil. It’s not just the fighting that I’m worried about.”

Vox was about to try to dismiss her fears again, but the slumped shoulders and curled up posture made him hesitate. Just ignoring her fear will not make it go away. He took a deep breath, frustrated, both with his nerves and knowing that he couldn’t just put her in the same action mindset that he was able to tap into. Her mind is not the same as mine. In a gentler tone he continued, “I know there is more here personally for you, Ava. It is easier for me to focus on what I can do to prepare.” When her eyes were back on him, he pointed to the supplies next to the bed. “Like these weapons, just in case.”

She fiddled with the strap on her chest, adjusting it so it fell lower on her instead of across her neck, where the biologics’ strap also lay. “How do you know you can break who we find?”

Vox dropped his brisk actions and took a different tack to try to reassure her instead. Standing close, he leaned over her, arms on either side. “Because I am strong. I can always break a weak mind.”

Ava looked at him speculatively. “Other than the ones you can’t read, like the Haroo.”

“Yes, but their bodies are weak.” Vox looked at her and smiled smugly. “I am strong physically as well.” He leaned even closer. “Did I tell you that Rhutg even felt something from the Haroo when we went to mediation? We might need to revise that statement of not being able to read them.”

Ava rolled her eyes at him, took the phaser out of her belt and placed it on the counter, then walked over to push him back on the bed. She laughed. “I can still push you over though.”

Vox, amused, went easily, rolling backward to lay splayed out on his back. The room felt heated from her being so near. Yes, she can . His hand raised to her face. I love hearing her laugh. Taking advantage of her laughter, he leaned up to nip at her neck. His tongue lingered on her before taking the strap to pull her closer. Soon, the strap around her was undone and thrown to the floor.

Vox rolled her on her back and pinned her under him, pressing his pelvis into her. “Are you so sure you can push me over?”

She smelled like citrus from the soap she’d brought on board from Xai. He placed one hand on her breast and sat up, straddling her, then gave a questioning look. With his other hand, he pushed her hair behind her ears and ran his fingers down her cheek, tilted in the way she liked. They had not joined for several cycles, with the pressure from Zeed earlier and now the uncertainty of what lay ahead at Cipra.

It was like a drug was missing from his system to have any distance from her. To feel unsettled like this weighed on his soul. I miss it, the connection. But after telling her she had a choice, he was now uncertain about pushing or coming on too strongly, despite knowing that she still wanted him. I want her to be sure . Hearts pounding, he pulled back his hands, uncertainty in his eyes. But Ava reached up, wrapped her hand around his head, and pulled him back down. Yes, Ava. He would not deny her.

Ava sucked in a breath, and Vox felt her nipples harden from his hand wandering across her breasts. She looked down at his fingertips. He knew, compared to her, he was so powerful. But with her, so gentle. Always so gentle. “You are so beautiful, Ava. My Ava,” Vox said softly, stroking his hand down her side. He saw Ava look down and blush, watching his hands move.

Vox knew it was hard for Ava to believe him sometimes when he said that, surrounded by the Phor as she had been, but Vox’s eyes always shone with sincerity. “And so soft,” Vox murmured, pulling his hand across her front.

“Yes, Vox.” She pushed the straps aside and took off her jumpsuit and biologics, watching as he did the same across from her, matching her movements.

Lust came over him, fast and strong, as he watched her jumpsuit come down. Her skin was a cream color, different, with breasts, unalike their females, who were flat there, but both had the same nipples to feed young.

She is perfect . Especially when he felt her mind sing, echoing the desire he felt. And echoing that she still wanted him. Only him.

His cock was already extended out of the protective slit that it usually resided in as he pushed his jumpsuit down. Ava reached for it without hesitation, pulling her hands along it in the way that she’d learned he liked, scooting up close to him on the bed.

He shone and connected with her, feeling that she missed him too, and that she’d noticed their distance the last few days.

She trailed her hands along his length and he shuddered. He knew it always made her feel powerful to have him come undone in her hands. It was a novel experience for him too, as one who always tried to control everything.

This cycle, though, he removed himself from her grasp well before that would happen. “I want inside of you, Ava,” he said against her lips as he hovered over her. He kissed her deeply, until she could feel his want for her inside her blood.

When his lips left hers she whispered, “Alright.”

He leaned down to her opening and licked her, his tongue giving off that slightly electric feeling as it traveled, and he mentally felt her pleasure when it connected with her clit, vibrating through her whole body and making her squirm even harder. He licked gently, lingering when he felt the twitches that happened in her with every stroke.

Ava shut her eyes tight, taking in the sensations, and he took satisfaction as she shook, squirming away, the heels of her feet pushing back on the blankets.

Vox reached up and splayed his large hand over her abdomen and pressed down firmly, stilling her movements while he continued tasting her, until her body began to clench involuntarily and her mind seemed to leave their connection. He took note of the movement, giving one last long lick that made her feel a jolt now from being oversensitive before withdrawing his frilled head and glancing up with a feral gaze to see her reaction. “I like when that happens. And the way your mind feels,” he said softly, closing his eyes and resting his head a moment on her stomach.

Ava let out a sigh as she watched his head move with her breathing. “So do I.”

Vox moved slowly up her body, whispering into her skin things in his language. Things her translator probably couldn't pick up, but the meaning should still be clear. Until he crawled over her to connect foreheads, while positioning himself below, at her entrance.

He kept his head pressed to hers as he eased in, filling her completely. Vox waited until she adjusted before his rhythmic motions continued, the engine whirling in the background. A low hum of pleasure vibrated his throat. Her hands tightened over his back, soft fingernails digging in as his pace grew rougher.

Despite lust overwhelming him, he kept his own hands gentle. His twin hearts were beating so hard he knew she could feel them with her arms around his back. His hands pressed down on her firmer until he came with a low hiss and pushed himself all the way in, emptying himself. Through her mind, he felt her feeling of completion added to his own, which gave him that feeling of rightness that always happened after they joined.

Vox kissed her forehead as he withdrew. “Always my Ava. My sweet bird.”

He handed her one of the towels from the side of the bed and held it to her sex to catch his seed leaking out as he moved behind her to hug her close.

Ava readjusted the towel and snuggled her back end into his pelvic area, his cock already retracting into its protective slit, leaving a smooth surface in its wake. He felt her mind becoming quieter, her worries from earlier seeming nonexistent in this moment. He held her from behind and listened to the engine whirl until Ava fell asleep with a smile on her face.