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“Here, eat,” he said, placing the bounty in front of her like some ancient offering to a pagan goddess.

“Oh, and I found some Galangus tubers as well. They’re a Dotharian seeding crop.

Fantastic for energy. Took a little digging, but the rain did all the washing for me.

I’ll put them on the fire. They cook quite rapidly, so it looks like we’ll have a hot meal after all. ”

He moved across from her and squatted down to work, the flames blocking her view of his distracting bits. He put the tubers on the fire and sat back to dry off and watch them cook.

“Zeph?”

“Yeah?”

“What did you mean by Dotharian seeding crop?”

“Ah, right. I sometimes forget this is all so new to you. So, the Dotharians are overseers of thousands of systems and countless worlds, right?”

“I got that part.”

“Okay, good. So, the thing is, they decided a long time ago that within their realm no one should ever go hungry for want of food. Like, even the most impoverished person has the right to sustenance.”

“Very considerate of them.”

“It is, truly. And to that end they sent specially selected crops, chosen for nutritional profile and ease of growth and had them seeded on all suitable planets within their realm.”

“All of them? Even the uninhabited ones?”

“Yes, even the uninhabited ones, because sometimes life throws us a surprise. More than a few wayward ships have become stranded for a time, and it is those crops that kept the crews from starving.”

“I wish we could get over our petty arguments back home to do something good for the whole of society like that. But sadly, I suppose we just aren’t as evolved as your Dotharians.”

His smile faltered. “They do a lot of good, don’t get me wrong, but they are also a bit extreme about some things.

Take the runes, for example. Not possessing them is a capital offense.

Same goes for theft of medical supplies.

There are more, but you don’t need an exhaustive list. The point is, there is always a darker side, even to the most benevolent seeming of rulers. ”

“As long as they leave us alone, I’m fine with whatever weird rules they want.”

Zepharos chuckled, but a slight look of concern creased his brow. It was removed a moment later when he pulled the steaming tubers from the fire.

“Watch your hands. Don’t burn yourself.”

“Like you just did?”

“I almost burned myself,” he replied with a laugh. “Big difference.”

“Uh-huh. Surrrre,” she shot back with a wide grin, eliciting a cheerful one of his own.

“Oh, shut up and eat your food.”

And eat she did. It was a fantastic flavor and not at all what she’d expected from his bland description.

“Tuber” was the most basic of words, and this was anything but that.

The flavor was like a mix between a sweet potato, a spiced apple cake, and something else she couldn’t quite place.

Some strange, delicious alien spice that mixed in and tied it all together.

She inhaled her food with ravenous joy then leaned back, happily full, and comfortably warm.

Zepharos made one more trip out into the rain to collect some soft leaves for bedding, then placed them near enough to the flames to dry but not get crispy or catch fire.

The two then sat and talked, forgetting about their nakedness, and simply enjoying the conversation, talking about their lives and dreams until it grew dark.

Once again Zepharos offered his warmth as the big spoon, and Maria gladly accepted, a thrill jolting through her body as he wrapped his arms around her.

She also felt the heat radiating from his cock, but once more he moved his hips back, respectfully keeping his manhood from intruding on her sleep as they both drifted off to a sound slumber.

Maria roused in the middle of the night, the fire now just embers. She slid from Zepharos’s arms and placed another log on the fire then lay back beside him, staring openly at his erect cock, hardened in his sleep.

Fuck. Look at that thing , she marveled, her clit pulsing with something she really didn’t expect in some random cave out in the middle of nowhere. But the reality was, she was horny as hell. Turned on to the point of distraction, even.

She shifted her eyes to his face then the slow heaving of his broad chest. He was sound asleep.

Maria lay down nearby but not too close and slid her hand between her legs as she stared at his amazing body.

She was going to go slow but her clit was buzzing with need, and the burst of electric joy as she pressed firmly then began rubbing little circles was incredible, shooting bliss through her entire body until her abs and legs clenched up hard as she came with a blast of white static rocking her brain, her arms and legs going numb for a few seconds as she was overcome by the release.

Holy hell. I really needed that , she marveled, shocked by both the speed and intensity of her climax.

Satisfied, she rolled closer and nestled back into Zepharos’s warmth, pulling his massive arm over her and drawing him near as she drifted back to a very satisfied sleep.