Wed to the Alien Prince by C.V. Walter

Chapter 17

"Very little, actually," Mintonar said. "At first. They're going to learn what you're body looks like, how it functions, and what all the pieces do."

"Shouldn't you know that already?" Roger asked.

Mintonar sighed. "Yes, we should," he said. "And I thought we did. Humans are close enough to Orvax that most of their systems function the same way ours do in ideal circumstances. As we've been learning, most humans are not functioning under ideal circumstances."

"And the ideals are different for different humans," Mindy put in. "What works for one human can be disastrous for another. Our basic systems are the same, it's the details that will mess you up if you get them wrong."

"The sheer amount of variety possible for humans is astonishing," Mintonar said. "Theoretically, the Orvax should be capable of the same."

"Not if you fix all the anomalies," Kaelin said.

"What was that?" Roger asked.

"The anomalies," Kaelin said. "The little quirks in the genetic code that make people like me or my brother. You guys select for the strongest genetic match, right? The ability to make the strongest offspring?"

"That's right," Mintonar said.

"So, you have pairings that are meant to make good genetic kids and you have the bio-nanos that recycle any of the damaged stuff, right? Does that include, like, eggs and sperm with wonky genetic code?"

The question looked like it surprised Mintonar and the prince.

"It repairs damage to the cellular level," Mintonar said slowly.

"Okay, but how does it define damage?"

"It-" Mintonar started, then stopped.

Mindy and Molly were staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"How do you know about that?" Mindy demanded.

"Doesn't everybody?" Kaelin asked, confused. "I thought everybody knew how cells worked? We covered it in biology in elementary school."

"It's not that simple," Mindy said.

"It might be," Mintonar said.

The women looked at him. "What do you mean it might be?" Molly asked.

"Oh, the details are going to be much more complex but that might be one of the questions we should start by asking," Mintonar said. "Which is why the only thing the bio-nanos are going to be doing is learning how she's made and what the implants do."

"They won't change anything?" Roger asked, the tension in his face telling her just how much concerned he was with what was happening. "How will they power themselves? io-nanos use damaged cells and waste to function."

"They have been told to use very certain bacteria and virii that have been identified by both the existing bio-nanos and the ones in the humans to be dangerous to fuel themselves. Dead cells are also acceptable but only after they've been analyzed."

"So, does that mean, what?" Kaelin asked.

"It means," Molly said. "That walking around the ship and interacting with as many people as possible will make them work faster."

"Oh!" Kaelin said and it felt like her smile was taking over her entire face. "And they won't change anything?"

"They can't," Mindy said. "Literally can't. They're going to act like well-targeted white blood cells, mostly, until we can get more information about how they need to react to your body to be more helpful."

"That means she can't get the translator yet," Roger said.

"That's right," Mintonar said. "But it's progress. And the more physical contact she can have with our people, the better."

Whatever response he had, Roger nearly growled in his own language.

Kaelin's head shot up and her eyes were wide at the sound of his angry statement. He sounded so possessive, her heart sped up at the idea that he could express himself that way.

"Then," Mintonar replied in English. "You'd better get to it. The sooner the better, actually, and with as much variation as possible."

Roger actually growled and Kaelin felt herself blush. Molly hugged her shoulders and Mindy put the device Mintonar had handed her against Kaelin's shoulder.

"Ready?" she asked.

"More than," Kaelin said.

The gaze Roger turned on her was hot and took her breath away. She barely felt the sting of the needle that delivered the bio-nanos to her system.

"How long will it take to start working?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the prince.

"It already has," Mintonar said, his attention focused on the screens around him. "And since the preliminary readings match what we were expecting from the readings from the room and your interactions with Molly and Serogero, I think they're doing what they're supposed to do and working as expected."

"Do you need her for anything else?" Roger asked him.

"No, she's free to go," Mintonar said.

Roger covered the distance between them in a couple steps. He held his hands out for hers and was surprisingly gentle when he pulled her up and towards him.

"Are you really going to just run off with her like that?" Molly asked, her voice betraying her amusement. "I mean, we were thinking she could go with us and get dinner, maybe take a walk around the ship."

"She can meet you for dinner later," Roger said. "In a week or two."

"Roger," Kaelin protested and Mindy giggled. He kissed her, long and hard, and she forgot why she was protesting when he pulled back.

"Maybe," Roger said.

With her hand in his, he turned to the door and pulled her along behind him. Not that he had to pull hard, she was only half a step behind him and that only because she wasn't entirely certain where they were going.

"Make sure she eats," Mintonar called after them just before the door shut.

They made it out to the hall in front of the Medical Bay before Kaelin realized she should ask where they were going. "This isn't the way to the quarantine rooms," she said.

"We're going to my quarters," he told her.

"Are they far?" she asked.

He turned and she ran into his chest, his arms wrapped around her to keep her steady and pull her close. "Too far," he told her and kissed her again, his lips and mouth taking control of hers with a kiss that left her breathless. He backed up just enough to run a hand through her hair before leaning down to kiss her again.

A short time later, how long Kaelin couldn't tell because she always lost track of time when she was in his arms, the sound of a throat being cleared behind them startled her out of her daze.

When she turned her head to look, Roger put a hand up to pull her face into his chest, and looked up over her head.

She recognized the voice and some of the words in his language. Roger gave a deep sigh and let her move her head to look up at him.

"Our return was anticipated," he told her. "I do not know if-"

"Kick them out," she told him.

"Pardon?" Roger asked.

"This might not be our honeymoon but we've gone through a lot to have tonight. Kick them out, deal with it tomorrow. Unless something is on fire or the ship is about to blow up, there is nothing that can't wait until we're," she paused and licked her lips. "Done."

"Do you think we'll be done soon enough to handle what's likely to come up?" he asked, a smile flirting with his lips.

"No," she told him seriously. "But we'll be in a better place to deal with it and I won't be about to scratch out the eyes of anybody who's likely to stop us at this point."

Roger looked up and relayed some information to his valet. "I will be busy for a while," he finished, looking down at Kaelin.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up for a kiss. His arms squeezed around her waist and she stopped being aware of the ship around them. Slowly, his hands slid down her back and her sides to settle under her ass and lift.

Her legs wrapped around him like they had a mind of their own and her aching core suddenly had a solid rod to rub against that both helped ease the ache and made it worse.

"Bed," he growled against her lips.

"Okay," she breathed and shifted her hips making both of them groan.

He pushed her back against the wall and pulled her ass up to rub hard against her again. "I will not take you in the hallway," he ground out, rocking his hips until they were both nearly mad with need.

"Take me to bed," she told him. "Please, Roger, don't make me wait any longer. I've been so patient, please."

She hadn't meant to beg him. The words demanding he take her bed, give her pleasure, and satisfy her had been in the back of her mind for days.

"Your wish," Roger said. "Is my pleasure."

He didn't put her down and she didn't know if he could if he'd wanted to. Her legs clamped hard around his waist and he squeezed.

"Hold tight, cherna," he told her. "I will not drop you but there will not be time for dawdling when we get to the door."

"Hurry," she breathed, and buried her face against his neck, small moans of pleasure escaping her lips with each step.

Arms tight around his neck, she couldn't keep herself from kissing and licking her way along his shoulders and up his throat. The edge of her teeth against the place on his neck where the tendon was rigid with the effort to carry her earned her a growl and a nip on her ear.

Roger never stumbled or slowed on his way to his quarters and it was the welcome sound of the door hissing open behind her that told her they'd reached their destination. Kaelin lifted her face up for a kiss and he took her lips in a hard, brutal plundering that he'd only hinted at being capable of before.

The distant sound of her shirt ripping was followed by him pulling her legs from around his waist just before her butt hit the bed. Hard fingers at her waist pulled her pants off and she leaned back to watch him pull off his own clothes.

The blurry outline of the alien in front of her told her that she'd lost her glasses somewhere along the way but she didn't want to think about that. Instead, she squinted at him until he started to resolve into a more solid form.

Then he was on her again, his arms wrapped around her while he bore her back onto the bed. They were both naked and the feel of his skin against hers was enough to make her gasp with pleasure and clutch at his shoulders.

It was the feel of liquid beneath her fingers that made her pause long enough to look up at her hands and see the quickly drying blood on the tips of her fingers. "Roger," she gasped, then moaned while his fingers explored every curve and dip on her body.

"Kaelin," he groaned against her lips. "I need you. We can do slow soon but I need you now. Tell me you're ready."

"Yes," she gasped. "Now, please."

If she'd been thinking beyond anything but the next place he would touch, the next explosion of pleasure, she might have tensed for his intrusion. A moment of discomfort was swept away by the overwhelming explosion of pleasure that came with finally being as connected as it was possible to be.