Chapter Sixteen
TAYLOR RE-ENTERED THE SUITE expecting Maia to be up and about, or at least in the shower. She wished she had taken one herself before escaping from the room. Hopefully, Andrew hadn’t noticed her disheveled appearance and wouldn’t forget his promise of discretion.
Concerned that there was no sign of her prisoner, Taylor made her way to the bedroom. Her eyes widened when she peeked through the door. Maia was still in bed, sprawled on top of the rumpled sheets. A slight smile spread across Taylor’s face as she took in the ikthian’s deep, even breathing. She was still fast asleep, just as Taylor had left her. And even while she was sleeping, Taylor felt the same tug of attraction as the night before. There was no way Maia could be exerting any sort of mind control over her at the moment.
Since Maia wasn’t awake to notice, Taylor took the opportunity to study her more closely. During their wild, regrettable encounter, she had been in such a rush that she hadn’t paused to admire the view. Now, Taylor wished she’d taken a little more time. If Maia had been human, her skin would have probably been a paler shade. Taylor could almost picture it. She would have been a very beautiful human by anyone’s standards.
Something about the way Maia was positioned invited a closer look, so Taylor walked around the bed and surveyed her, taking note of the way her body curved, of where her hipbones caused two slight swells on either side of her pelvis. Everything from her beautiful fringe down to her webbed toes drew Taylor’s gaze. And then there was the tempting flesh between Maia’s legs. The similarity of their anatomy really was astonishing, now that Taylor took time to think about it.
She crawled onto the bottom of the bed, balancing on her elbows. There, she could see the details much more clearly. The lips between Maia’s legs were completely hairless, like the rest of her body. They were a darker shade than most of her silvery-white skin, but her clit was no longer swollen. Taylor reached out to part her folds, but stopped. She had already tiptoed the edge of a moral line by sleeping with her own prisoner, and Maia couldn’t agree to anything while she was unconscious.
Before Taylor could retreat, Maia whimpered. Her hips rocked forward slightly, and Taylor gasped as some of Maia’s wetness rubbed onto her fingers. Without meaning to, Taylor ran them over Maia’s clit, and she watched in wonder as it started to swell with need. Maia arched up from the mattress, bringing both hands to the back of Taylor’s head. It seemed to take her a moment to realize what was going on, but when she did, she spread her legs wider. "Don’t stop," she muttered, her voice still thick with sleep.
Taylor pulled her mouth away and lowered her fingertips to Maia's entrance. Now that Maia was awake, her reservations had vanished along with her resolve. She slid inside with two fingers, curling them forward and trying to find the same magical spot as before. Maia’s sharp hitch of breath let Taylor know when she hit the right place. She dipped her head and took Maia's clit back into her mouth, lashing her tongue over the tip.
Maia's hips twitched, and more wetness flooded around Taylor’s knuckles. Pleased with that reaction, she sucked more insistently at the firm ridge in her mouth, relishing the way it seemed to grow harder between her lips. It had been so long since she had gone down on someone, and she was determined to enjoy herself.
Slowly, she released her prize, placing a few more kisses on its tip. Maia’s clit stood out from beneath its hood, and Taylor moaned softly as she ran the fingers of her other hand over it, making the ridge pulse. She took it in again and sucked greedily, enjoying the soft whimpers that came from above her and the slick heat pouring into her hand. With every pull of her mouth, Maia’s inner muscles seemed to squeeze tighter around her.
Taylor pulled out, smirking as Maia groaned at the loss. "You’re already close, aren’t you?" she whispered, looking down at Maia’s glistening folds.
Maia’s only response was a quiet cry of need. "Please, Taylor. Do not tease me," she begged.
The sound of Maia’s pleas tugged at Taylor's heart. She dipped her head again and took Maia’s clit back into her mouth, causing the ikthian to let out a strangled sob of relief. Taylor slid her fingers back inside as well and began a gentle thrusting motion. The more she curled them forward, the more Maia’s hips bucked. She released little gasps of pleasure with each thrust, writhing in an attempt to get closer. Taylor sped up the motion of her hand. She had meant to hold out longer, but she found herself getting carried away again with Maia's need.
"Come for me," Taylor said, breaking her seal around Maia’s clit just long enough to whisper the words. Her free hand wandered up along Maia's stomach, nails raking over the twitching muscles there.
Maia’s thighs trembled, and her hands tightened in Taylor’s hair. "Oh, Taylor," she sobbed as she pulsed over and over. With each contraction, the tightness in her body loosened until she was a shivering mess.
Once the ripples faded to aftershocks, Taylor withdrew her fingers and placed a few kisses on Maia’s inner thigh. "You liked that, huh?"
Panting and blushing, Maia draped an arm over her face. "Yes," she admitted, her voice slightly muffled in the crook of her elbow.
Taylor crawled up by her side and collapsed next to her. She ran a hand over Maia’s stomach. "Hey, are you all right? Did I do something wrong?"
Maia shook her head. "No. I am just getting accustomed to…this. I told you to keep going." She removed her arm and met Taylor's eyes. "You were…you made me feel wonderful."
"So did you," Taylor murmured, with a small smile of satisfaction on her lips.
They stared at one another for a while, drawn into a reflective silence. Maia turned and reached out to stroke Taylor's arm. "We made a mistake," she whispered, her smile receding.
Taylor withdrew her hand, breaking the contact between them. She took a deep breath. "Yeah, I suppose we did."
"Taylor, we both know nothing can come of this."
"Yeah, I know."
Taylor sat up and deliberately shifted toward the other side of the mattress, but Maia followed, reaching out to clasp one of her shoulders and gently drawing her back. "That does not mean that I do not feel…" Taylor swallowed to loosen the knot in her throat as one of Maia's thumbs traced the line of her jaw. "Even though we cannot do this again, I want you to know that it meant something to me."
"If it meant something, why do we have to stop?" Taylor asked, even though she could come up with several answers to that question on her own. She knew it was wrong, but she was desperate for an excuse, any excuse. When Maia didn’t answer right away, she sighed. "You’re right. I’m sorry. I mean, I’m your guard…"
"This reaches beyond us, Taylor. You are hardly my guard anymore. This planet is my prison, and you happen to be the person they elected to keep me company. But none of that matters. I will be traded away to the Dominion within a few weeks, and once I am taken back to Korithia, they will kill me."
The words seemed so final as Maia spoke them. Taylor felt her stomach twist into a hard knot. "Don’t talk like that." The thought of Maia dying made her chest ache. "Maybe…maybe we’ll just keep you on Earth. Maybe you have some information, something useful…"
"I doubt the rest of your species would care for my research," Maia said, her voice gentle, yet firm. "And humans certainly do not care for ikthians. It is obvious every time I leave this cell." Maia massaged Taylor's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but Taylor's muscles only bunched up further. "The negotiations will take several weeks yet. Perhaps something will change between now and then. We have no way of knowing."
Taylor nodded, letting her shoulders relax slightly. "Yeah, sure." Captain Roberts had been so sure Maia would provide them with something useful when they had first arrived on Earth. Now, Taylor was devastated that her mentor had been wrong.
"You will survive this, Taylor, but for now, we should refrain from being physically intimate anymore."
Even though she knew it was the right decision, protests rang in Taylor's head. Her eyes began to sting. Suddenly, she wanted Maia close to her. "Can…can I hold you at least?" she asked before she could think better of it. "Just for now?"
"Of course," Maia said, curling up against Taylor’s chest as they settled back down onto the pillows. "Just this once, and then…"
"Then we stop," Taylor whispered, unable to hide the sadness in her voice. She breathed in Maia's scent and bent down to kiss the top of her head. If this was going to be their last moment of intimacy, she wanted to memorize every part of Maia that she could. It seemed like everything had happened far too quickly. Maia had only just come into her life, as odd and twisted as their relationship had started.
"Sleep well," Maia sighed against Taylor's throat, brushing the soft skin with her lips before she closed her eyes and surrendered to a fitful sleep.
Taylor remained awake for a long time afterward, listening to Maia breathe and trying not to think about how that kiss would probably be their last.