A Lost Kitten (31 page)

John leaned his head against the glass. Why did it have to come to this? He took a deep breath. Vanilla. He carried Jasira’s scent with him. How was he going to endure the distance?

John straightened. He was a Seacat. He would remain strong, find his car, then return to his beloved’s side and apologize for leaving without saying good-bye. He would visit Jasira as many times as need be. She might be dead, but she was his soulmate. His place was by her side. Not even the war was going to take him away from her for too long.

Needing a distraction, John decided to explore the ship. He removed the top two layers of his clothes and placed them inside the drawers he found mounted to the wall of the bedroom. He then headed to the front door. Perhaps he could contact Sea Base Nine and find out more about the war. Before he opened the door, the bell rang. He pressed a button on the keypad to the right to open it.

A woman looked up at him. John’s heart skipped a beat. He swiftly scanned her face and petite figure. She wore a short-sleeved, tan shirt over a long, solid brown skirt. Her nut-brown tresses flowed about her shoulders. Her lips were full and pouty. Her nose, small and delicate.

She looked exactly like Jasira. She smelled exactly like Jasira. How was that possible? No two people looked exactly alike. The woman smiled. John’s heart accelerated. What was going on?

“John.” Her voice was smooth, silky, and completely feminine. Her daring gaze bored into John, touching his soul. He swallowed. No woman except Jasira had that power over him.

“You do not recognize me?”

Of course he recognized her. She looked like his soulmate. John scrutinized her features. This woman had to have some sort of marking or blemish that his Jasira did not have.

“I thought you would recognize me if you saw me. You should at least know my scent. You enjoy it so much.”

Slowly, awareness dawned on him. Her smile widened at his growing eyes. “It can’t be…Jasira?”

She stepped closer. “The one and only.”

John’s heart beat painfully. “That’s…not…possible. Jasira’s dead.”

“I was not dead—just not solid.” She pressed her body to his. She reached up to touch his face. “Each time we were together, your soul gave me its life energy. It drained you, but it restored me a little each time. Now I am solid again.”

John tentatively touched her arm. The woman was indeed real. “Jasira?” His eyes begged her to assure him it was not a dream.

“My love.”

On a strained cry, John snatched his soulmate from where she stood. Embracing her tightly against his body, he hungrily kissed her. Her response confirmed it. She was Jasira. John released her shoulders to touch her back, arms, bottom, and thighs. Jasira was indeed tangible enough for him to touch. His passion exploded.

He released her lips to look down at her through glowing eyes. “I expect you to explain everything. But right now…” He quickly lifted Jasira into his arms, turned around, and dropped her onto the bed.

His bulky frame covered hers like a blanket. He found her mouth immediately. The room filled with the sound of material ripping as he tore her shirt apart. He seized Jasira’s breasts. He admired the pale globes as he molded and caressed them. Their pink nubs pointed up at him, begging to be kissed.

On a growl, John closed his mouth over one hard pebble, tracing a circle with his tongue. He nipped the tip, then soothed it with long strokes. He did the same to its twin. Jasira’s moans inflamed him. John quickly drew both mounds into his mouth and suckled each in turn.

Jasira arched her back and held John’s head in place. John ripped off his shirt and rubbed his torso against Jasira’s, scenting her his. His soul trembled. His need intensified. He did not waste time removing his boots or his pants. Instead, he lowered his pants to his thighs and hiked Jasira’s skirt up to her waist. He found her entrance instinctively.

He paused to look into her eyes, brown like his own. He held her gaze as he tilted his hips forward. Jasira’s familiar heat and tightness greeted him, along with something new. Moistness.

John’s features crumbled. “I can feel your need for me.”

“You have no idea.”

Jasira’s wetness beckoned him. John inched forward, answering her body’s call. He stopped when he encountered resistance.

“You’re still a virgin. How?”

“I was mist, remember?” Jasira squeezed his bottom. “I was able to claim you, but you were unable to claim me.”

Her words made John desperate to possess her. “I claim you now.” He closed his mouth over Jasira’s and swallowed her cry.

John felt Jasira stretch and give way to his size. Her sheath covered him like a snug glove. John’s urgency escalated. For too long he had wanted to touch her. For too long he had longed to show Jasira how much he cared for her. Finally, it was coming true. His beloved spirit was solid, beneath him, accepting him as her lover.

John clasped Jasira’s hips and raised them to greet his steady force. “Jasira…” He drew a nipple into his mouth.

He knew he should go slowly, but his core was on fire, forcing him to respond to its demands. John knew what it wanted, what it craved. His soul had searched the stars for its other half. Now with it being so close, it sought to fuse with it, to become whole.

John clasped Jasira’s inner thighs, spreading her wide for his onslaught. He glanced at where their bodies met. His tool was slick with blood and Jasira’s need. John moaned and pushed deeper, harder, making Jasira cry out his name. Her body willingly offered itself to him. Her face expressed ecstasy, satisfaction. It placed tears in John’s eyes.

Now
he understood what the others were saying. To mate with one’s soulmate was indescribable. He had thought he would never experience any of it with Jasira. He had feared their misty relationship was all they would ever have. He was wrong. And he thanked his God for it.

John closed his lips over Jasira’s breast. She whimpered his name. He peeked up at her eyes. They expressed fear, wonder, and confusion. They begged him for an answer. John knew what was happening. He gripped Jasira’s thighs tighter and pushed harder. Deeper. Faster. His own passions soared skyward. Retaking Jasira’s mouth, John greedily absorbed her powerful, orgasmic cry.

John’s eyes grew brighter. Jasira’s first climax fueled the fire in his core. He pulled his head back just as a mighty roar escaped him. Shockwave after shockwave rocked his convulsing body. Like before, his claws dug deep. Unlike before, they left their mark on his soulmate.

John slowly returned to reality. He was still conscious. He immediately looked at his hands. There were no torn sheets, nor claw marks on wood. He held Jasira’s legs apart. Blood flowed from two sets of five long, vertical cuts that reached from the tops of her inner thighs down to her knees.

“What have you done?” Jasira breathlessly asked, pain etching her beautiful face.

John figured he must look sadistic, but he could not keep his smile hidden. “What I have longed to do since the first day you touched me.” He carefully released her legs and lowered his torso onto hers. “I marked you mine.” He lovingly brushed his lips against hers. “Forever.”

John pushed inside her sodden shaft, swallowing her surprised yelp. He knew he should take care of her legs, but Jasira had tormented him for too long. It was his turn to make love to her. And he intended to do so as often as Jasira allowed him that evening.

Jasira was in bed with her eyes closed and a wet, cool rag on her forehead. She touched her stomach and groaned. Covering her mouth, she snatched the rag, vaulted off the bed, and rushed into the bathroom. She knelt before the toilet and immediately vomited.

She had developed airsickness within hours into their journey. It refused to go away. She had taken to eating smaller, more frequent portions. It did not help. By the third month, her stomach was unable to hold food, leaving her weak and dizzy. She spent a great deal of time either in bed or with her head hanging over the toilet.

John entered the bedroom carrying a tray of food for two. He immediately heard her familiar retching. He quickly placed the tray on the bed and rushed into the bathroom. Jasira was throwing up the tea she had recently finished.

John grimaced. The situation was not good. Jasira could barely keep any food down. She had lost too much weight. He feared for her health.

He entered the small room to help Jasira keep her long hair away from her face. “You’re not getting any better, are you?”

Jasira wiped her mouth with the wet hand towel she held. “How can I get better when this ship will not stop moving?” she snapped.

“But you can barely feel this ship moving.”

“Maybe you cannot, but I can.” Jasira dropped her head over the bowl. Barely any fluid fell from her lips. She coughed. “I want off.”

“We can’t get off. We’re nowhere near Sea Base Nine.”

Jasira stood. She spared John a glower before she went around him toward the small sink. “I have been on this ship for three lunar cycles. I want off!” Jasira reached for the faucet to turn it on.

John watched her brush her teeth and wash her face. “Jasira, you know the plan. After a quick check on Oceanica, we’re heading to the empire with Andros.”

Through the mirror, Jasira flashed him an icy glare. She spit into the sink. “Leave me there.”

“On Oceanica?”

She nodded.

John scowled. “Are you crazy?”

Jasira rinsed out her mouth. “I’m tired of throwing up, John.” She washed her toothbrush. “I’m obviously not made for flying. I need to be on solid,
unmoving
ground.” She washed her hand towel with soap.

“Maybe it’s not airsickness,” John countered.

Jasira rinsed then wrung out the washcloth. “Oh, spare me. We only managed to make love twice before I started to get sick. The ship’s dokter examined me. Nothing is wrong with me except for my stomach. This ship is making me sick. I need relief. I need to get off.” She turned off the faucet.

Jasira headed toward the bedroom. She tilted to one side, bumping into the doorframe. John quickly encircled her waistline with his left arm. Clasping her right arm, he helped his wife into bed. He moved the tray of food to the other side of the medium-sized mattress. Jasira folded the towel, then placed it on her forehead. She released a long, agonized groan.

John observed her from the foot of the bed. She was right. The ship was making her sick. The airsickness may or may not subside with time, but would Jasira be able to endure the retching long enough to find out? Would he allow his beloved to grow dangerously weak instead of giving up his desire to reach home? He could not let anything happen to Jasira. He could not go back to having her as a ghost.

John moved closer to her. He bent over and placed a kiss on her nose. “I will notify the others.”

Jasira peeked up at him. “About what?”

“About our change of plans.”

The look on Jasira’s face turned hopeful. “You are letting me stay on Oceanica?”

“No.
We
are staying on Oceanica.”

“What about your empire?”

“I will inform my warriors of my location. We’ll stay at my cousin’s home until the Barge can retrieve us.”

Jasira frowned. “I do not want to board another ship.”

“We can’t stay at Sev’s home forever. It’s not a part of my empire. I have to get you back to Laaren, my home. I’ll have the Barge come and pick us up. It’s faster, smoother. Once on Laaren, you don’t have to board another ship again.”

Jasira whimpered. “How fast is it?”

“Faster than any ship out there. The Barge is the Sea-anan Royal Starship, and it’s capable of flying on overdrive like our personal escorts.”

Jasira thought about it. “Fine.” She closed her eyes. “But once we are on Laaren, I do not want to see another ship for a very long time. No matter how fast it travels.”

“Promise.”

Jasira reopened her eyes. “I thought Laaren was under Daehog’s rule?”

“According to Space Control. I’ll find out more once I contact Sea Base Nine.”

“When will that be?”

“As soon as I leave this room.”

“What if the situation has not changed?”

“Then we’ll stay at Sev’s home until it does.”

“When will we arrive on Oceanica?”

“Tomorrow.”

Jasira closed her eyes. “Oh, thank heaven.”