Questionable Morality - Chapter 18
Questionable Morality
Chapter Eighteen
His arm was asleep, but he didn't care. The comforting
weight of his lover resting on his arm was a price he would willingly pay his
own life for. Thankfully, Hoshi's ordeal on the Klingon ship was short-lived
and her status had protected her from the barbarism so prevalent among that
race. After showering, Hoshi seduced him.
--
No words were spoken as Hoshi strode from the shower to
the bed. Reed sat on the bed, gingerly smoking his cigar, and trying to calm
his nerves. Mayweather's contact in the media had come through with flying
colors. Politicians and CEOs of various companies from Vega Colony to Earth
were resigning. Some were even dying of mysterious ailments. Of notable mention
was a small article where Admiral Forrest had been found comatose in his cell.
All reports point to natural causes, but Reed knew better.�
Their role in the demise of the syndicate was far from over
and he knew Hoshi was still in danger. His worrisome thoughts were extinguished
when his lover took his cigar from him and placed it in the ashtray.
Hoshi dropped the towel from her body, her skin red from the
heat of the shower. No matter how hot she turned the water, she couldn't get
warm. She stood on an edge, somewhere lost, even to herself. The bitter cold of
her resolutions on board the Klingon ship left her empty inside. A warm
solitude emanated from Malcolm, which drew her closer to him. Only with him
buried deep inside her would she stave off the demons.
Reed appreciated his lover's naked form in front of him, yet
did not move, mindful of the traumas she had experienced over the past several
weeks. He was unaware of the internal struggle that claimed her soul piece by
piece as she resolved to confront and kill her father.
Seeing his budding arousal tenting his boxers, Hoshi knelt
in front of him and hugged his thighs. She sighed as he stroked her hair
softly, so softly she almost didn't feel it. He was so warm and she longed to
be warm again. She rubbed her cheek against the growing bulge and tongued the cloth,
looking up as she did so.
He sounded a low hiss through clenched teeth and raised his
hips as her fingers tugged on the material of his clothing. Gone were his old
inhibitions, his love for her replacing the scars. Hoshi licked the head of his
cock, the molten core of her mouth quickly surrounding him, establishing the
predominance she sought over him. He couldn't close his eyes. The sight as well
as the texture of her indulgence had frozen him.
Holding her hair out of the way, Reed glanced toward the
window. The reflection against the darkness of space made the perfect mirror
and he watched as her head bobbed up and down. One hand circled his shaft while
the other slid between her legs. Reed could feel his end close by and moved to
push her away but she dug her claws into his thighs. He didn't want to end this
way. Something pushed him to claim her in the most fundamental way there was.
Gently and with shaky hands, he pried her off of him.
He wasn't prepared for what he saw in her eyes. The same darkness
he held for so long reflected back at him from her and it angered him. Had his
darkness consumed her? Reed clasped her shoulders and shook her. "What did
they do to you?"
"Nothing," Sato replied coolly and tried pushing
away from him.
"Tell me!" he insisted.
Hoshi shivered, yet managed to look directly into his eyes,
tears threatening in hers. "I have to leave you. There's something I have
to do."
Seeing the tears well in her eyes, Reed knew she wasn't lost
to him and a sense of relief washed over him. "Tell me," he spoke
softly, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.
Unable to deny him the truth, she told him. "I have to
go to Earth."
Reed waited, tears silently spilling down his lover's
cheeks.
"I'm going to kill my father."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Reed hugged her tightly to him.
Whereas she wasn't a killer, he was. He held no qualms over taking a life,
especially one who deserved to be taken. No words could be said which would
console her, so he held her trembling form as she fell into a restful sleep.
--
Sleep eluded him for he found himself unable to let her go.
Reed had left her only once during the night. They were now on their way to
Earth under the dubious auspices of the Imperial Guard. Cutler was dead and her
unique tattoo had been harvested, ready for a quick skin graft onto Reed.
Luckily, he was the same blood type and had had enough smooth skin on his hip
left to make the tattoo believable. He had resigned himself to the task at hand
� her father would die, but not by her hand. It was time for closure. His lover
needed her freedom, even if it meant that he would give up his.
The ruse was perfect. He would carry out the delivery of the
'special hit,' and when he was close enough, Reed would kill her father. Hoshi
would receive the closure she needed and be able to lead the rest of her life
in peace. Even though the man wasn't her biological father, he had raised her.
Sighing in her sleep, Hoshi turned, resting her hand on his
chest and throwing her leg over his thigh. Her body pressed flush against his,
chest-to-chest and waist-to-waist. Her feminine heat exposed to him, all he had
to do was take her. His mind went blank with the need to claim her and he
flexed his hand on her hip.
Her eyes opened slowly and she smiled, "Make love to
me, Malcolm."
Obligingly, Reed slid his hand between her folds to test her
readiness. Her slick heat coated his fingers and guided his rigid cock to her
core. Pushing himself to the hilt, he rested, memorizing the feel of her. He
was hers as much as she was his and he didn't know how he was going to let her
go.
--
She touched his beard gently, drinking in the sight of his
face as he rested. Somehow the sight of him made the darkness that threatened
her fade away, yet the shadow of what she needed to do loomed over her. With
great care, Hoshi kissed Malcolm then started to move away from him.
A tender hand clasped her wrist. "You don't have to
kill him."
Sighing, Hoshi tried to pull away.
Reed held on to her wrist and gave her a gentle tug in his
direction. "You haven't thought it through," he stated, hoping she
would sit still long enough to hear out his plan.
"Why did you come for me?" retorted Hoshi, trying
to antagonize him and put some distance between them. He belonged on the Intrepid.
He always would, and she would always be grateful for what he had done for her.
For the last five years she hadn't realized she had been running from her
father.
"Do you really think you're going to waltz right in and
kill your father?" Reed questioned. "Surely, he has some sort of
security in place and�"
"Why did you come for me?" she repeated and
remained perfectly still.
"After everything that's been on the news�" he
continued.
"Why did you�" her voice rasped.
Pulling her into his lap, Reed claimed her lips, forcing her
lips apart and thrusting his tongue deeply into her mouth.
Groaning, Hoshi returned the kiss fervently, digging her
nails into his chest.
Finally he broke the kiss, his breath heavy and forced as
his lips trailed more kisses upon her face. "Because I need you." His
inflection belayed a need that was more than physical.
"I � can't," she cried and tried pulling away from
him again.
Always astute, Reed could see that she was deliberately
trying to push him away. She was trying to isolate herself. "You have to
listen to me, Hoshi," he began softly and nibbled along the sensitive
shell of her ear.
She could barely focus on his words as his hands tweaked her
body to a feverish arousal.
"Your father and his associates know there is a bounty
hunter on their way with you. They want you alive," he murmured in her ear
and nuzzled her neck, kissing and biting it. He needed her to agree. He needed
her off guard.
Groaning her response, Hoshi raked her nails across his
back. The logic of his words permeated her arousal. She really hadn't thought
it through, the urge to confront her father blinding her mind to reason.
Reed twisted her off of his lap and knew she had surrendered
herself to his words and touch as she lay limply on the bed before him.
Touching her intimately, he reclined next to her, telling her of his plan.
"I'll be that bounty hunter and I'll deliver you so that you can �talk to
your father." He thrust three fingers inside her dampness and rubbed her
clitoris with his thumb.
Shuddering her release around his fingers, reason quickly
asserted itself. "No," she panted plainly, aware it was pointless to
argue with him, yet still feeling the urge to do so.
Reed flipped Sato onto her back and pressed his hardened sex
against her softness, teasing her with a fuller penetration than before. His
hands held her wrists above her head. "Yes," he growled and slowly
pushed into her. "You do it my way, or you won't do it at all."
The scent of their sex lingered in the air and Hoshi tried
to free herself from his grasp.
Firmly embedded inside her, Reed released her wrists and
held himself above her. "You won't get past your father's security,"
he murmured along her neck, somehow maintaining control as his lover ran her
hands up and down his back.
The heady haze of passion crowded her judgment, but her
resolve would not waiver. She needed to proceed alone. There was no way she
would endanger the man she loved. Reed stopped moving inside her. "I
warned you," he hissed against Hoshi's throat. "I won't let you go
again."
Her orgasm wavered on the edge and Hoshi moved around him,
her throaty gasps of pleasure underlying the seriousness of the conversation.
"Unless you plan on knocking me�" she panted, "over my head and
dragging me �"
Reed growled and stilled inside Hoshi.
She smiled in satisfaction as she felt his juices mix with
hers. His weight crushed her, but she paid it no mind, feeling as though she
had just won a very important argument.
--
He was a quiet man by nature, but he was unusually quite as
he sat by and sipped his tea. Reed watched as Hoshi carefully chewed her food,
savoring each morsel like it was a delicacy. In between bites, she argued why
his plan was foolish and how she needed to do this on her own.
Essentially, she kept saying the same thing, only rewording
it. "It's just something I have to do by myself," she yawned.
Luckily, Shran was agreeable to Reed's plan and saw the
tactical advantages and the potential to garner favor with potential allies, even
if those allies were on the verge of a civil war. Reed had censured Hoshi's
access to the media, not wanting to get her hopes up or worry her. He still had
yet to inform her of the deaths of Spangler and Robinson.
Vega Colony was currently under martial law, the political
structure of the government quickly dissolving under public scrutiny. Business
dealings on Vega had screeched to a halt and Earth markets were experiencing
their first even recession.
Reed had contacted Tucker and had learned that Lieutenant
Governor Calhoun was being very cooperative and had agreed to turn state's
evidence. Apparently, the man realized that he was dead whether he talked or
didn't talk and had decided he was going to take as many people down with him
as he could. Tucker, Vale, and Zamora were safe within the confines of Andorian
space, with access to everything the needed � communication's arrays, medical
supplies and technology upgrades.
"I appreciate your offer," she stated
matter-of-factly, trying to remain calm and collected, not wanting him to see
the bundle of nerves that had knotted in the pit of her stomach. She needed to
make a clean break from him � more for herself, or him, she didn't know.
"Besides, you have your career to think about. The convoy needs you now
more than ever. I have a funny feeling that the convoy isn't out of the woods
yet."
Shaking his head in acknowledgement, Reed set his cup down
and watched as his lover stifled another large yawn. Soon, she would be asleep,
and he would be able to administer a more stable sedative for her transport
back to Earth. "The convoy is perfectly safe," he mumbled, before
blowing into his cup.
Her eyes grew heavy and she shook her head. "I can't
believe how tired I still am," she murmured behind her hand. Sure, they
hadn't spent the entire time sleeping, but it had been almost two days since
Reed had rescued her. A flood of heat consumed her and she felt her face flush.
Sliding a hand inside her robe, she loosened the sash. "I'm so hot."
Sitting his cup down, Reed merely stared at her. "I'm
sorry about the side effects."
Fanning herself furiously, Hoshi stopped. "What?"
Reed crossed his arms over his chest. "We'll arrive on
Earth by tomorrow, and I'll escort you under the guise of a mercenary."
She stood quickly and the room started to spin. She wanted
to yell at him, but the cotton feeling in her mouth prevented it.
Moving quickly to help his lover as she stumbled toward him,
Reed continued talking calmly. "Things have changed. Your plan was a
suicide mission. I won't let you go like that." Her fingers clutched his
shoulders and the look in her eyes made him falter. For the first time in his
life he contemplated that he may have made a wrong mistake. He held her in his
arms. "I � I'm sorry."
Her eyes closed and her body succumbed to the drugs.
--
Acting Captain Em Gomez stretched out the kinks of her day
as she walked down the hall. The last of the victims had been buried, funerals
attended, wakes held. It was foolish to hope there was an end near, but the
news updates could hardly keep up with the corruption, which loomed around the
moral character of humanity. Rounding the corner, Em stopped in her tracks.
Travis Mayweather paced back and forth in front of her quarters.
As she approached him, she saw his agitation. "What's
wrong?"
Freezing for a moment, Travis quickly swept Em up in a hug.
"The Horizon�" his voice caught with emotion.
Em gasped, expecting bad news.
"They're fine," he whispered. "They're in the
Orion system."
"That's wonderful," Em smiled, hugging him back.
No more words needed to be spoken, their mutual joy giving
some measure of relief over the stress of their lives. His lips sought hers,
her mouth opening willingly for his. Travis felt the kiss pool within his groin
and he pulled away quickly. "Perhaps we should take this inside."
Nodding her agreement, Em keyed her code and pulled him into
her quarters. As soon as the door closed behind them, clothes became little
obstacles that their hands divested of quickly.
Travis pressed Em against the door and ran his tongue along
the seam of her lips. In desperate response, she opened to him, their kiss
seemingly lasting forever.
Gasping as Travis's kissed his way from her mouth to her
neck, Em wrapped her hands around his cock and started stroking him.
With a sharply exhaled hiss, Travis picked Em up and carried
her to the bed. "I felt so rushed the last time we were together," he
admitted, spreading her pliant limbs about the bed leisurely, and kneeling
between her legs. He started to kiss and lick her breasts.
She arched her back and offered herself to him, gasping as
he slid some fingers inside her dampness and fingered her. She whimpered when
he took them away, but smiled as he rubbed his glistening fingers around her
nipples. He licked a finger and offered another, which she took it greedily
into her mouth.
Travis nipped at her areolas, sucking and licking back and
forth between the two. He pulled away from her for a brief second and flipped
counter to her, his feet to her head and vise versa. He nuzzled the nest of
dark curls and gasped in surprise as she devoured his cock. In response, he
lifted her leg and spread her open before him, burying his face in her musky
scent and licking her.
Em groaned and tongued his balls, nuzzling further into his
pubic hair.
She opened her legs wider and he thrust his tongue up and
down her slit.
Grinning as the sounds of her orgasm filled the room, Travis
aligned his body with hers and pressed the tip of his cock against her.
"Yes," Em hissed, as she greeted him.
Sheathing himself completely inside her, Travis started to
rock back and forth, taking comfort inside her.
--
Trip Tucker peered into the shadowy darkness, counting his
blessings and praying that God granted him more. Lita had been ecstatic to hear
of her friend's rescue, but he could tell she tapered her enthusiasm around
him. There was still no word on Lizzie's whereabouts. Lita stirred and murmured
in her sleep and Trip soothed her, a cold shiver running up his spine.
She had been through so much, and in the end he had almost
lost her to Cutler. Upon finding out about Cutler's activities, Trip requested
a complete medical examination of Lita. Between the ships in the convoy, only
two medical officers were available and they were stretched thin between the
wounded and causalities. After he explained the circumstances, Doctor Hlis
agreed to see her.
Both Trip and Lita were still in shock over the news they
received. Not only did they discover that Lita was pregnant, Doctor Hlis
confirmed that a second embryo was forming. It was still too early to tell, but
it looked as though twins were a definite possibility in their future. Other
than that, Lita was healthy and the perfect candidate for an uncomplicated
pregnancy.
"You need to get some sleep, Captain," she mumbled
against his chest.
"I can't," sighed Trip. "I've got too much
running around in my mind."
"Maybe I can help," she purred seductively and
started kissing her way down his chest.
He had no time to protest as her hand circled his hardening
cock. "Li Li!"
Giving a quick lick to his chest, Lita continued to stroke
him and kiss her way down. There was no struggle, especially once her mouth
settled over his phallus.
Trip groaned as her hand and mouth worked over him, coaxing
him to the brink of an orgasm. "Lita please," he whimpered.
Tasting his pre-ejaculate, she knew he was close, so she
increased the tempo to push him over the edge.
Mental and physical exhaustion overtook him as he came, Trip
unable to do anything other than tremble under his lover's attentions.
Lita crawled on top of him and offered herself up as his
human blanket. He always slept best whenever she slept on top of him.
--
The room shifted and the subtle vibrations of an impulse
engine woke her. Holding her head, she sat up.
"Hold on to something luv, we're going through
reentry!" a familiar, yet thicker British accent sounded throughout the
cabin of the small shuttle.
Hoshi couldn't see his face, but she knew it was Malcolm.
Confused, she looked over at the pilot's seat and saw somebody with white hair
and blue antennas.
"I'm sure you've got some choice words for me, but now
is not the time," Reed stated matter-of-factly as he held a protective
vest out to her. "Put this on. I don't want to take any chances in case
fire is exchanged."
His words made very little sense to her as the haze of her
sedative wore off, but snips and pieces of the last day came flooding back to
her. Hoshi glared at him. "You're a fool! I've got to do this alone.
I've�"
"Both of your plans are foolish!" admonished the Andorian
who piloted the shuttle to the prearranged landing coordinates. "And I
can't believe I'm sticking my neck out for yours, Reed."
Gauging Shran's mood by the low set of his antennas, Reed made
no pretense of arguing with him. "We've been cleared to land at pad 189 in
Okinawa."
Blanching, Hoshi realized she was not far from her father.
The time had come to stop running and face her demons.
*****
TBC