Gateway to HeVan (14 page)

Makor heard the tears in her voice and needed no more urging.  He could easily see by her glistening fold she was ready for him.  She was offering herself to him.

He came up over her and fitting himself, slowly entered her.  He wanted to go slowly; he wanted to prolong the feel of her wrapped around him, pulling him in.

Maggie lifted her legs up and wrapped them around his hips
.  Makor rested his weight on one hand while he used the other to touch every part of her he could reach.  Her body had changed since he last touched her.  Her breasts had grown larger and the areoles around her nipples felt different to the touch.  Next, he ran his hand over the swell of their unborn children.  She had also grown here in the month he’d been in the tank.  He continued slowly moving in and out of her body as he rediscovered her body.

Hakor had also removed his clothing.  He didn’t
join
his brother and his mate on the bed.  Ever since the two of them had been bonded so they could be matched to the same mate, they also had a deeper connection to each other.  He was getting more enjoyment watching his brother and his mate reconnect than he would have if he
joined
in at this time.

“Makor, please, I need more,” Maggie moaned.

He heard her pleas and raised himself up to where he could get greater purchase.  Taking hold of her hips, he began moving faster.  The room was filled with the sound of flesh hitting flesh.  Hakor was so enthralled with what he was seeing―he began fisting his own cock in a rhythm to his brother’s thrusts.

Makor could tell Maggie was close.  He was close, too, but he wanted them to go over together.  He reached down and found her clit.  He began pulling and pinching her clit with his fingers.  Maggie cried out his name as her orgasm rolled over her.  Makor followed as her orgasm triggered his own, her inner muscles milking him of his seed.

In the chair, watching them, Hakor groaned out his own release.  He saw Makor ease Maggie down on her side, then came down on his own side, facing her.  Maggie traced her fingers over his face.  He leaned over and kissed her lightly as Hakor got into bed on the other side of her and molded himself to her back.

*
***

BianCa was being carried in Thors’s arms down the corridor as she pointed out the way to her quarters. 

“I’m so glad you’re real.  I thought I was dreaming you.  All those stories you told me.  You made me believe I was important to you.  I’ve never really been important to anyone before.  You care about me—for me and not because of who I am.  I remember you telling me that, too.  I know I’m babbling but I’ve been quiet for so long and I have a lot of things to tell you.”

By this time, they had reached her quarters.  She passed her hand over the scanner and opened the door.
  BianCa didn’t even have a second thought.  She knew she should have died and didn’t want to die without experiencing
joining
with someone who was her choice.

“We will talk.  Right now,
I need to celebrate the fact that you are healed,” he said.

“The best way to celebrate a healed body is to use it in a very pleasurable way,” she answered, in full agreement with his plan.

They undressed each other slowly, each taking pleasure as more and more skin was revealed.

“You’re so tall
and strong,” said BianCa as she ran her hands over his bare shoulders.

“We’ll start out this way,” he said, laying down on the bed and urging her to straddle him.

“How does this work?  I’ve never had sex this way before.”

“I’ll show you.  We won’t be having sex; we’re going to be making love,” he said
, and she nodded her head.

Putting his hand between her legs, he tested her readiness.  Feeling how wet she was, he guided her down onto his cock.  After helping her rise and fall a few times with his hands on her hips, she got the idea and started to move on her own.  Allowing her a chance to explore the sensations on her own, he stopped trying to guide her and instead let his hands roam over her perfect breasts.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured to her. 

He wasn’t sure she heard him; she was involved with what she was feeling as she moved up and down on his shaft.  Rising up until he was just at her entrance and then making small movements that drove him crazy before sinking deep again.  Then she would rock her pelvis, using her muscles to squeeze him before rising up and repeating her actions.

He wasn’t going to be able to take much more of this teasing so he reached between her legs once again to find the hidden nubbin’ of pleasure within her folds.  He began stroking lightly and then increased the pressure.  Suddenly he realized moving slowly wasn’t doing it for her.  She threw back her head, arching her back and thrusting her breasts forward as she moved faster and faster.

Thors kept up with her, never letting his fingers move away from her clit.

“Thors―what’s happening?  I feel so close to something―” she shouted even as she moaned.

Realizing she’d never experienced an orgasm increased his need to give her one.  He began lifting his hips on each downward movement of hers, increasing the force of their
joining
and pushing deeper within her.  He could feel the tension increase as she came right to the edge and then toppled over into oblivion.  Shouting out his name, she slumped over him.

He gloried in her pleasure
, but he hadn’t followed her.  Now he rolled them over.  Curling his upper body, he wrapped his arms underneath her thighs and hooked his hands over the backs of her shoulders.  She was spread open.  Her hands were free but she could not break out of his hold.  She didn’t want to.

His hips began moving in and out, faster and faster.  Slamming hard and going so deep, he touched her womb.  She lifted her hands to his shoulders as he pounded
into her.  His hands kept her in place as he increased his pace. 

“Open your eyes.  I want to see your eyes as I spill my seed into your warm
, welcoming body,” he grunted out.  He was shocked he could still speak coherently.

Her eyelids felt like lead but to please him, she opened them, looking directly into his, even as she felt herself nearing another peak.

“Again, come again, now!” he shouted as he slammed home and stayed there. 

It was too much
, she followed him over.  Her spasms gripped him, holding him inside her as her body shook with the power of her orgasm.

As he moved to the side so as not to crush her, she moved with him.  She didn’t want him to leave her body; she wanted to stay connected to him.  Understanding what she wanted, because he was in no hurry to leave her either, he pulled her leg over his hip and once again rolled onto his back.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as their breathing slowed to normal.  Within moments, they were both asleep. 

It was the middle of the night and once again, Natalie was awake.  Her menstrual cramps were very severe again.  She went to the bathroom to change her tampon and pad because she was up, anyway.  Her bleeding was so heavy she needed to change every three to four hours, even using both.

After dealing with that, she
went to the sink to wash her hands.  Looking in the mirror, she was not surprised at how pale she’d gotten.  Dark circles stood out beneath her eyes.

I guess this is what happens when you stop taking birth control and have your first period in nearly six months
, she thought. 

She
was standing at the sink when a really severe cramp hit and she cried out, falling to the floor.  Peet and Reeko rushed into the room to find her on the floor. 

There
was already blood staining the long T-shirt she was wearing. 

“Reeko, call the medical bay.  I don’t care how normal this is supposed to be for Earth females; I want Lady
Catherine to scan her for an illness,” said Peet.

Reeko rushed out of the room then came right back with the large blanket from the bed.  Peet wrapped Natalie in the blanket while Reeko was contacting medical.  Since Natalie started bleeding, she was in too much pain to make love.  So she wore long
t-shirts and her mates had started to wear cotton lounge pants she had replicated for them.

Natalie was clutching her stomach and moaning as her mates rushed her to medical. 
Catherine met them in the medical bay.

“Bring her in here,” she said as she led the way to an examination room.  “Put her down on the table.  I’ll come and get you once I’ve examined her.”

“Can’t we stay here with her?” Peet asked.

“It would be better if I examined her first.  Please wait outside.”

Reluctantly, they left the room.  Catherine was worried about the amount of blood Natalie was losing.  When she removed the blanket, she saw Natalie’s t-shirt and underpants were soaked with blood.  Working quickly, she started cutting her clothes off.  She wanted to give Natalie something for the pain but needed to complete her preliminary examination first.

“Natalie, can you tell me when this started?” she asked.

“I started my period the morning after we
joined
.  I guess my body has gone so long without a period, it’s catching up.  These cramps are bad; can I have an aspirin or something?” she begged, even as she pushed her hands into her stomach.  Another gush of blood poured out of her.

Catherine
knew this was more than a heavy period.  Her mates usually let her handle examining the women on her own, but she didn’t want to wake Maggie, who was a nurse and normally acted as her assistant.  She’d only gotten Makor back yesterday and it was the middle of the night.  Still, she was going to need help so she called out for the on-duty medical to assist.  Pulling out a scanner, she started running Natalie’s vitals.

Her blood pressure was too low
.  She was obviously hemorrhaging and Catherine was concerned she might be going into shock.  She had stripped Natalie of her clothes, the tampon and pad, and was attempting to slow the blood flow with packing when Rapha arrived.

“She’s going into shock; we need to make sure her blood pressure doesn’t bottom out,” she said
, as he rushed in.  She would find out later why the on-duty medical called her mate instead of coming himself.

They worked well as a team and soon had Natalie stabilized.  Then they took Natalie into surgery to stop the blood flow and save her life.  Two hours later, Natalie was resting comfortably and
Catherine went into the waiting room to speak to her
Ankida
while Rapha organized some orderlies to clean up the surgery and examination rooms.

Both Peet and Reeko stopped their pacing when she entered.

“She’s doing fine.  She’s sleeping right now.  Please, come and sit; we need to talk,” she said, gesturing to a grouping of chairs in a corner.  She carried a tablet in her hand and had a stylus to take notes with.

“I’m afraid Natalie has suffered a miscarriage,”
Catherine explained.

“What
does that mean?  Is she going to be alright?  Is she dying?” asked Reeko.  Coming from a planet that hadn’t seen the birth of a child in over five hundred years, meant they were unfamiliar with the term.

“It means Natalie was pregnant with your child and she lost the baby.  She was bleeding too much.  You were right to bring her in
; she could have bled to death if we hadn’t stopped it,” explained Catherine.

“But you
did stop it?  She’s going to be alright?” Peet wanted to know. 

He and his brother exchanged looks.  They were sorrowful their child was no more, but more concerned about their mate.  They would mourn the loss later.

“Yes, she is and she’s going to make a full recovery.  I can’t find any reason for her miscarriage.  It’s not uncommon for a spontaneous miscarriage under certain circumstances.  Natalie is a healthy woman, in good physical shape.  I need you to tell me everything Natalie has done since you
joined
.  Where has she been, what has she eaten, everything.  There are other pregnant women on this ship; we need to make sure none of them lose their babies, too,” she said.

They spent the next two hours going over everything that happened from the time they
joined
to the next morning when Natalie had begun to bleed.  Catherine sent word to the kitchens to have various foods pulled from the menu until she could check them in the lab.  She had samples sent over.

Rapha came in to tell them Natalie was awake.  They could come in and see her now.  The two of them rushed to follow Rapha as
Catherine looked over her notes.

To cover all her bases, she needed to make a transmission to the medical facility on KowLer.  She got up from the chair in the waiting room and went directly to her office.  Just as she was sitting down, Rapha appeared in the doorway.

“My love, it’s the middle of the night.  You are also pregnant and you need to rest, too,” he said.

Rubbing her hand over her own burgeoning belly, she realized he was right.  “I’m thinking of the possibility of my own miscarriage.  Let me just record a message to be sent to the various medical facilities on the planet.  I’ll send it to the KowLer’s Health Administration and let them disseminate it.  This is too important to wait until morning, and for half the planet below, it’s daytime, anyway.  I told Peet and Reeko not to mention the miscarriage to Natalie.  She needs to sleep, too.  I’d like to put off the explanation until I can tell her why it happened,” she said to her mate pleadingly.

“Alright, I know you won’t rest until you’ve sent the message.  Just remember every medical on staff will be working on this.  The lab is already testing the foods we took on board from KowLer.  We should have those results by early morning,” he said.

She explained her plan to talk to the doctors on KowLer as they walked.  She wanted to know of any miscarriages which had occurred there.  Rapha agreed with everything she had to say as he gently steered her out of medical and back to their quarters across the hall.

Back in her room in medical, Natalie was feeling groggy.  She knew something more serious than a heavy period had occurred.  At the edge of her brain, the answer hovered.  She wasn’t ready to face it.  When Peet and Reeko were shown in, she could see by the look in their eyes she was right.  Refusing to ask, so it wouldn’t be acknowledged, she held out her arms.  The bed wasn’t large enough for all three of them.  Peet sat on the chair facing her and clasped her hand while Reeko spooned her from behind.  Soon she was asleep again.  Peet gently reached up with his free hand and wiped the tears from her face.  He looked over at his brother and saw the same worries reflected there.

“Whatever she needs,” he started to say.

“Yes, we’ll support her and grieve with her,” his brother answered.

*
***

The next morning, armed with information she’d received from KowLer,
Catherine went to give Addie her daily examination.  She would bring up the test results at the same time.

“Good morning, Lady
Catherine,” said one of the guards at the door to the queen’s quarters.  He passed a hand over the door chime to let them know of an approved guest.

“Good morning, Warrior Arno.  How is Rachel doing?” she asked.

“She is well, as are the babes.  My brother is with her this morning.  She has stopped working in the library.  She grows tired easily these days.  She spends most of her time doing something she calls knitting.  Her moods are such, I’ve avoided asking her what it is,” he said with a quizzical voice.

Arjun opened the door to find
Catherine explaining something to one of the guards.  Arno had become concerned for his mate, so Arjun did not interrupt their conversation.  A few minutes later, Catherine finished, patted the warrior on the shoulder and entered the apartment.

“How is she this morning?” she asked as they walked down the hall.

“Addie is well.  I’m more concerned about you.  I understand you were called out late again.  How is your own health?” he asked as they entered the living room, which had become the center of Addie’s existence for the last two months.

“I’m just six months along and I’m only carrying one child.  I’m fine; I should be able to work right up until I deliver.”

She turned to Addie and began pulling out her instruments. 

“I do have some news.  The emergency last night was Natalie Warren.  She has suffered a miscarriage within ten hours of becoming pregnant.  I contacted the KowLer and they are also suffering from a higher than normal incidence rate for miscarriages.”

As she continued to speak, she carefully monitored Addie’s pulse and blood pressure.  “I’m happy to say you suffered no ill effects from healing Makor and BianCa.  While I’m happy you did, I’m also glad you didn’t come rushing into medical last night to try to heal Natalie.”

Addie waved
Catherine’s comment aside.  She didn’t want to discuss what she had done.  She was still trying to figure it out for herself.

“How is Natalie?” she asked.

“As well as we can expect under the circumstances.  Even though she had only been pregnant for less than a day, it’s still knocked her into depression.  I released her from medical this morning.  She’s clinging to her mates.  They’ll support each other through this.  I gave them some condoms.  I don’t want her becoming pregnant again right away.  Though her body has healed, her mind and heart need to catch up,” said Catherine.

“You said you had spoken to medicals down on the planet?” Arjun asked
, as he watched Catherine run her portable scanner over Addie’s belly, checking on each of the baby’s vital signs.

“Yes, Natalie and her mates
joined
and most likely became pregnant while down on KowLer.  They are gathering information and statistics for me.  I hope to hear back from them in a few days.  When is Glynnis leaving for HeVan?” she asked.

“She is packing all her things.  She doesn’t want to have to move over and over again.  So probably in a couple more days,” said Addie.

“Is it possible for her to leave sooner?  I only ask because the medical archives on Explorer give very little information on Nephilim pregnancy.  I would like to have updated information as soon as possible.”

Rune answered her.  “I’ll take care of it.  If you think it’s so important, I’ll see that her packing is completed today.  Should we abandon Addie’s plan and take both ships on to HeVan immediately?” he asked from the other side of the chair. 

As far as he was concerned, everything had been fine before now.  Something on KowLer was to blame.

Addie knew he was worried for her and the other pregnant women on the ship.  She wasn’t surprised he was arguing that they leave for HeVan immediately. 

“I thought of it, but Addie’s presence could be the only thing preventing further miscarriages.  Can we really just leave and have the possible fact of millions of women losing their babies on our conscience?” asked Catherine.

She finished her exam, pronouncing Addie and the babies in good health.

Rune’s brows creased as he considered Catherine’s words.  She was right, Addie would never forgive them if they took her away and that happened.  So he didn’t make any objections when Addie insisted they stay.

**
**

Many decks below from where Addie was talking with
Catherine and her
Ankida
, in a cabin over the engineering section, BianCa was just waking up.  She saw Thors sitting on the edge of the bed trying to scratch an itchy spot on his back.  Silently, she moved up behind him and ran her fingers up his back.  She felt two indentations on either side of his spine, even with his shoulder blades.  She could feel knobby protrusions just below the surface of his skin. Pressing down on them with her hands, Thors let out a long groan.  Looking over his shoulder, she saw he’d had an orgasm and shot his seed, hitting the wall by the bed.