“We have it already,” Marrex replied. “See?” He moved Juniper’s fingers to the bottom of his cock, right between the two black bands. Juniper could feel hard lumps beneath the wet velvet of the shaft. Slowly, Marrex pressed his fingers into the lumps and a thick ribbon of the clear liquid, something Juniper had assumed was similar to precum, shot out of the bottom slit in Marrex’s cockhead and splashed down on him, covering his groin and hand, warm and slippery.

  “Wow,” Juniper said.

  “Special glands,” Marrex said in a husky voice. His eyes were on Juniper’s hand fondling himself, and his breathing was deep and measured. “I’ll go slow.”

  Nodding, Juniper spread his knees further, holding onto the backs of this thighs. His pulse was swift and light, as if his heart were beating too fast to push enough blood through his system, and he realized he was scared—but that was part of the allure. However, when Marrex finally started pushing his cock against Juniper’s pucker, Juniper let out a cry and shoved at Marrex’s hips.

  “Wait… w-wait wait… Oh god. Hang on.” Immediately, Marrex froze, and Juniper panted a few jittery breaths. “Just try not to impale me, ok?”

  “We can stop.”

  “Not on your life.”

  Chuckling, Marrex leaned down and kissed Juniper softly on the lips. “All right. Ready?”

  Juniper nodded.

  When the head of Marrex’s cock breached the tight ring of muscle, Juniper tensed, the pain sharp for a moment, and then he let out a few short breaths. “Ok. More.”

  Marrex grunted and thrust, causing Juniper to gasp and grit his teeth. “Fuck. Ow… oh god… that hurts,” he said, his voice breaking. “But… oh fuck… the good kind. Go on.”

  Looking at him questioningly for a moment, Marrex’s big chest heaved with his breathing, his nostrils flared and fangs bared, and then he resumed, bit by bit, forcing his huge shaft into Juniper’s body, pausing at Juniper’s whimpers and wails of protest. However, when Marrex hit a second sphincter or a bend when he wasn’t more than halfway in, Juniper yelped and dug his nails into Marrex’s thighs.

  “Stop!”

  Again, Marrex stopped moving, and Juniper lay there for a moment with his eyes closed.

  “Ok, go… slow as you can,” Juniper whispered. He put his hands on his belly and thought he could feel the bulge as Marrex penetrated him deeper. Juniper’s cock, which had softened considerably, perked up at the idea, and he let out a shaky breath.

  Marrex began thrusting his hips, not going much deeper but working up to a rhythm that had Juniper moaning and pushing up his own hips in eagerness. That’s when he noticed a warm tingling sensation that spread from his ass all the way to his extremities, making him a bit dizzy, like he’d just taken a hit of some kind of drug. It felt good, but he frowned, shaking his head to try to rid himself of it. The pleasure just increased, getting stronger until it felt like his dick was a hot, throbbing pulsar.

  “What the… I think something is wro—Oh god,” Juniper yelled, not able to finish his thought before his balls let loose and his cock blasted cum onto his chest. Marrex let out a low moan and quickened his pace a bit, curling his hands around Juniper’s waist as Juniper trembled and twitched, groaning with each sublime volley, lost in the blistering climax that throbbed through his entire body.

  When Juniper could breathe again, he let out a weak laugh, inwardly cursing himself for getting off so easily… then he realized that instead of subsiding after the peak, he was about to climax again.

  Through clenched teeth, Juniper grunted and thrust his hips, emptying his balls a second time. Again, there was no relief, just a swift climb right back up to the pinnacle of orgasm. He came a third time with a yell and shook his head. “Marrex… there’s something… ahhh fuuuuuckkk,” Juniper groaned as his body was pulsing and twitching through another orgasm. “I-think-I’m-having-a”—Juniper let out a sob as another exquisite wave of pleasure crashed through him—“reaction-to-whatever-is-in-your… huhh.” He was covered in sweat and trembling like a leaf as he continued to climax over and over again.

  “It’s just a stimulant,” Marrex said, thrusting faster again. “It’s harmless.”

  “Harm… lessssss fuck,” Juniper gasped, his whole body throbbing through another orgasm.

  “Should I stop?”

  “N-no… no!” Juniper almost screamed as he came hard again, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He could barely see, and it felt like his entire groin was electrified and throbbing, but not with any pain. Juniper gasped and moaned through yet another climax, and another, his dick just going through the motions, long spent of any cum left in his body. He wondered if it was possible to die of pleasure.

  Marrex let out a harsh sound, his claws scraping Juniper’s sides, and he went perfectly still though Juniper could feel the pulses in his stretched-out sphincter… which sent him into yet another full-body orgasm. This time he could only mewl softly as he wept and shuddered. Finally, Marrex pulled out and lay down beside him, pulling him into his arms. Juniper only barely registered that the captain’s sweat smelled like a cross between cloves and black pepper, because even though Marrex had stopped fucking him, another wave swept over him, leaving him twitching and clutching at the captain.

  “Are you all right?” Marrex asked, sounding breathless and amused.

  “I think… that went… rather well,” Juniper rasped, then promptly passed out.

  Juniper woke up in his room, naked and alone in his bed. He rubbed his eyes and whispered, “S1N?”

  There was a static crackle, and the cat appeared on the pillow next to his head, staring down at him with whiskers trembling.

  “You called, lover boy?”

  “What time is it? What happened?”

  “You passed out,” S1N answered, turning around once to curl into a ball with his nose only inches away from Juniper’s. He yawned. “And it’s late.”

  “Passed out from what? Did I have some kind of allergic reaction to Marrex?”

  “No. Just sheer exhaustion. And by my scans, you’re still needing another few hours. So… close your eyes and go back to sleep, Human.”

  Juniper continued to lie there, staring at the ceiling. He was sore just about everywhere, like he’d had one hell of a workout. His abdomen was probably the worst… he felt like he’d done a thousand crunches. No doubt it was from tensing and writhing through all those orgasms. Juniper frowned and gingerly cupped his balls. They were swollen and tender to the touch.

  “Were you watching?” he asked S1N.

  “Unfortunately.”

  “Could you tell how many times I came?” Juniper winced as he shifted to investigate his ass, and found himself sore but not overly bruised which was surprising.

  “Thirty-seven times,” S1N replied.

  “Holy shit,” Juniper said, laughing. Then he clutched his abs and groaned. “Ow. Can I get a painkiller?”

  VAL appeared in the air above him, his slightly transparent face a swirl of lavender and lilac.

  “Of course, you can, but it will take approximately fifteen minutes for the delivery droid to get here. Conversely, you can get up and go get it yourself in five.”

  Juniper gave an exasperated sigh. “That’s it. I’m going to install a replicator in my room.”

  “The captain has a distribution port in his room,” S1N said and started purring, his eyes closed. “Why not move in with him?”

  “Um. I don’t know about that,” Juniper said. He tried to sit up but decided it wasn’t worth it and flopped back on the bed. “Fine… Send the droid.” He looked over at S1N. “We had sex—that doesn’t automatically mean I should just move in.” He rubbed his face. “Besides, he hasn’t asked me to.”

  “And he probably won’t… I don’t know if you noticed, but our crotchety captain is a bit of shrinking violet when it comes to his affection for you,” S1N said. “You’re the one who put the moves on him, remember?”

  “Hm” was all Juniper replied, and then he narrowed his eyes, spotting something on the table next to his bed. It was a long-stemmed rose in a narrow vase, the flower bright blue at its heart with blue so dark it was almost black edging the petals. Juniper smiled at the beautiful gift. “He really does like me, doesn’t he?” he asked quietly.

  “I can tell you that right now he’s sitting up in bed reading, but he hasn’t flipped a page in a long time. His heart rate is elevated, and his pleasure hormones are unusually high. I can’t read his mind, of course, but I’d bet my whiskers he’s thinking about you,” S1N replied.

  Juniper closed his eyes with a grin and let out a long happy sigh. He wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about Marrex, not yet anyway, but he definitely wanted another go at that magic dick of his. Though, perhaps he should look up how to counter the effect it had on him—at least a little. He didn’t know if he’d survive another thirty-seven straight orgasms.

  Chuckling, Juniper shook his head and winced. He was getting horny again just thinking about it, but his body was a wreck.

  “How much longer until the droid gets here?”

  “Twelve minutes.”

  With another irked sigh, Juniper folded his hands over his chest, resigned to wait.

  It was nice that Marrex hadn’t just assumed and taken him to his own bed to recover—Juniper had never been a stay-over kind of guy, more like a that-was-fun, I’ll-call-you-maybe kind of guy—but the more he thought about it, the more he felt a little disappointed that he hadn’t woken up to that great big furry body next to him.

  Chapter 10

  Cut to the Chase

  Marrex was twiddling one of the toggles on his armchair, his mind circling the Human as it had nonstop since they’d coupled the day before. What was Juniper doing right now? Was he reading? Eating breakfast? Choosing one of his eccentric outfits?

  Is he thinking about me?

  Growling low over the silliness of his thoughts, Marrex shook his head, then frowned. That was interesting too—he was still unused to how light his head felt without his secondary horns. Marrex lifted his hand and looked closely at his fur. It was definitely brighter, and the nail beds of his claws were smoother, more like they had been before his change. Did he dare hope that somehow his interactions with Juniper had reversed some of his transformation?

  “Marrex?” came Juniper’s voice, startling the captain out of his thoughts.

  Marrex looked over at the door and stood in the same motion, nearly stumbling in his haste. “Hello,” he replied.

  Juniper’s hair was wet and hung loose over his shoulders. Today he was wearing a pale-blue poncho over a pair of glittery silver leggings and his feet were bare like usual.

  “Can I come in?” Juniper asked. “Or… is it ‘on’? Can I come on to the bridge? How do you say it?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Marrex replied, then realized he sounded curt and cleared his throat. “I mean: whichever you prefer. And yes, please do.”

  With a soft chuckle, Juniper stepped through the doorway. “Thank you.”

  “How… are you?” Marrex asked, wishing he knew what to do with his arms. Did he cross them? Put his hands on his hips? Never before had his arms felt completely superfluous.

  “Good,” Juniper replied. “You?”

  “Good… you?”

  Marrex grimaced when he realized he’d already asked him that. Juniper groaned and rubbed his face, shaking his head.

  “What?” Marrex growled, hunching his shoulders defensively.

  Juniper came closer and looked up at Marrex, his big brown eyes serious. “Let’s just get something out of the way, ok? I hate it when it gets all awkward… Marrex, I really enjoyed last night. I had the time of my life. I only wish I wasn’t so sore this morning because I would throw you down right here and now and ride the hell out of that gorgeous dick of yours.”

  Marrex was so startled that he could do nothing but stare at the young man for a few seconds, and then he began to laugh. Juniper grinned up at him.

  “You like that?” Juniper asked. “I prefer cutting right to the chase.”

  “It’s… refreshing,” Marrex replied.

  “Now your turn.”

  Marrex opened his mouth, then closed it. He shook his head and tried again.

  “I… ah. Hm.”

  “You’re going to have to do better than that.” Juniper smirked.

  “I’m not used to talking. Period.”

  “Were you never much of a conversationalist, or is it because you’ve been sulking all by yourself in this crypt of a spaceship for so long?”

  Sulking? Marrex was about to argue but stopped himself. After all, it was true.

  Juniper searched his eyes, his cheeks a little pink. “Did I just overstep?”

  “No.” Marrex placed a hand on Juniper’s shoulder and squeezed. “Here.” He backed up, pulling Juniper with him, and sat down in his captain’s chair. Patting his lap, he said, “Up.”

  Grinning, Juniper turned around and sat down on Marrex’s thighs, and when Marrex put his arms around him, he sighed and leaned back against his chest.

  Marrex brought his face close to the side of Juniper’s neck and sniffed his skin, causing Juniper to giggle and squirm.

  “What… what are you doing?” Juniper said, letting out another peal of laughter when Marrex snuffled him again.

  “I’m smelling you,” the captain murmured. “You’re beautiful to look at, but just as beautiful to smell. My species has a great appreciation for scent.”

  “Oh.” Juniper craned his head to the side to accommodate Marrex’s slow perusal of his neck. He stifled another giggle. “Sorry, I’m ticklish.”

  “Mm.”

  “What do I smell like?”

  “You smell like you… it’s hard to explain—there aren’t really words for it in your language.”

  “That’s too bad. Maybe I should learn yours.”

  Marrex snorted in amusement. “I don’t know if I’d bother if I were you. It’s far harder to learn than your tongue.”

  “That’s something I’ve been meaning to ask: how do you speak it so well?”

  “I’m of royal blood… I speak a number of languages. And what I lacked in fluency when I came aboard the Stellerion, I soon made up for in practice—I couldn’t find a way to change the language settings on her interfaces. The ship was an Imperial delegation transport so everything was locked to Imperial Standard.”

  Marrex heard S1N chuckle to himself from above the viewscreen where he was curled up.

  “My ears were ringing for months from all the Ghelyxian cursing. It’s not a pretty language to listen to with even the nice words…” said the AI, stretching out his front paws. “I thought VAL was going to have a breakdown.”

  The captain ignored S1N and slid his hands up under Juniper’s loose poncho to pull it up. Juniper obliged and lifted his arms so Marrex could take it all the way off. Breathing in deep, he ran his palms over Juniper’s bare shoulders, pecs, then belly, smiling when Juniper’s scent took on distinct notes of arousal.

  Juniper let out a moan as Marrex nibbled at his neck, and S1N sat up, his fur bristling.

  “Oh god. Get a room,” the AI muttered and vanished.

  Juniper’s chuckle was interrupted when Marrex whacked him with his horn as he bent down to kiss his shoulder. “Ow!” Juniper said, rubbing the side of his head.

  “Sorry. Like I said… we don’t really kiss. Now I think I know why,” Marrex said ruefully.

  “Like I said… We’ll figure it out,” the young man replied. “With lots of practice.”

  “All right.” Though his tone didn’t sound it, Marrex was deliriously happy that Juniper wanted him. The most beautiful Human he’d ever seen… and he wanted Marrex. Lots of practice indeed… Though he didn’t know if Juniper’s feelings for him could ever run deep, Marrex knew he could be very happy just with the physical aspect. At least for a little while.

  The captain licked the side of Juniper’s neck and circled his nipple with his foreclaw, making the young man shiver, but then Juniper shook his head and just pressed Marrex’s hand against his breast.

  “I am way too sore for anything, you beast,” Juniper murmured, stroking the fur on Marrex’s arm.

  “What would you like me to do then?”

  “Just hold me. I’d like that a lot.”

  Wrapping his arms around Juniper, Marrex smiled. “As you wish.”

  Chapter 11

  Calling Home

  Arms behind his head, Juniper lay in bed watching Marrex get dressed. “Why do you bother?” he asked. “I’m just going to undress you the first chance I get.”

  Marrex looked up from buttoning his trousers with an amused expression. Over the last month, the Ghelyxian’s coarse fur had mostly fallen out, replaced by fur that was glossy and very short everywhere but his chest. Though the patterns down his front had stayed nearly black, the rest of him was now the exact same shade of brilliant red as the Ferrari Cloudshredder from the early twenty-fourth-century remake of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

  “You’re so sexy,” Juniper said with a shrug. “I just can’t help myself.”

  “You’re insatiable,” Marrex replied and resumed buttoning, a task that was easier for him now that his claws were shorter.

  Sometimes Juniper sort of missed how sharp the Ghelyxian’s claws had been, but he didn’t miss the stitches he’d needed after one particularly hot and heavy tangle with the captain.

  “Do you want me to get up with you?” Juniper asked, not really wanting to. The captain’s huge bed was far more comfortable than the one in Juniper’s quarters—not that he’d spent any time in his own bed in weeks.

  “No. Stay. I’m just going to take another look at that derelict ship VAL spotted yesterday.” Marrex walked towards the door, but he paused at the threshold and looked back over his shoulder. “You’re going to call them today?”

  Juniper nodded. Why did he feel so damn guilty about it? “I’ve put it off long enough,” he said. “I have to let them know I’m alive.”