Beyond Galaxy's Edge (22 page)

Fuck. Electricity skated down his spine, gathering at the base. She started to rise and fall in a dance designed to bring a man to his knees.

He kept his arms around her, cupping her breasts. But he wanted to see her face. See the emotions racing over it. He looked across the room and smiled.

“Look up, Nissa.”

She lifted her head. The mirror attached to the wall directly across from them reflected back the decadent picture of Nissa riding his cock, his arms banded around her, his palms on her breasts.

She whimpered. “You fill me up.”

His control was in tatters. “Yeah, sweetheart, this pussy of yours was made for me.” He thrust up with his hips, meeting her own downward thrust.

She cried out. He started surging upward, no longer fighting the need roaring through him.

The slap of flesh against flesh melded with her husky cries and his groans. He slipped a hand down until he found the tiny, slick nub between her thighs and worked it with his thumb.

“Justyn! Please…fuck me.”

He surged to his feet, using his arms to hold her in place, his cock still lodged deep inside
her. It was only three steps to the bed. He pushed her down on her hands and knees and then hammered into her.

She reared back and one second later was screaming her climax. Two more pumps and Justyn drove himself to the root and unloaded his release inside her. Her slick channel clamped around him, milking every last drop from him.

When he collapsed on the bed, he at least had enough sense
left to fall to the side and tug her with him.

Their chests were heaving, sweat glueing their damp skin together.

“That was…” Nissa couldn’t seem to find any words.

“Mind-blowing? Incredible? Out-of-the-galaxy amazing?”

She giggled. “All of the above.”

Justyn pulled her closer, burying his face against her neck. A giggle. From Captain Nissa Sander. Damn if he didn’t feel like he’d won
the Galactic Lottery.

“Well, I think it’s time I show you how good round two will be.”

She looked over her shoulder at him, eyes wide. “You’re ready again? So soon?”

“Well, that’s a challenge if I’ve ever heard one.” He rolled her beneath him and before she could say another word, he slid inside her.

A choked cry caught in her throat and her eyes closed. “Okay, Phoenix. Do your worst.”

***

“Nissa? Sweetheart? Time to get that fine ass of yours out of bed.”

Nissa buried herself deeper under the covers and ignored the voice buzzing at her like an annoying Wylda fly. She was tired. And sore. She wanted to sleep. Her alarm hadn’t gone off, so her duty shift couldn’t have started yet.

A hand snaked under the covers and tweaked her nipple.

She yelped and opened her eyes.

Justyn stood beside the bed, completely and unapologetically naked, the morning sun streaming in and outlining every inch of him.

Every inch.

Eyeing his already hardening cock, she remembered just how well he’d used it last night. They hadn’t slept until the early hours, and by then she’d lost count of how many times she’d orgasmed.

She sat up, licking her lips.

He groaned. “No. Don’t do
that. Every time you look at my cock and lick your lips, my brain short circuits.” He shook his head. “We have a meeting with the Memory Keeper in less than an hour. We have to bathe, and dress, and I’m going to make you breakfast.”

“You cook?” she asked.

He wrinkled his nose. “Not really. Dare refuses to call it cooking, but I want to try.”

That he wanted to try, for her, made her heart
go soft. She looked around, even though her eyes very much wanted to keep looking at every glorious muscle on his body. “How are we going to get dressed? Our clothes are outside.” She felt a rush of heat to her cheeks. Goddess, they’d stripped each other naked outside, in full view of anyone who could have been walking past.

A comical look crossed his face. “Shit. Now I’ll have to go get them…naked.”

Nissa laughed. Being with him made her feel so damned light and good. She sat up straighter, the sheet falling away from her. Justyn’s gaze zeroed in on her chest, his eyes glazing over.

“How long until our meeting?” she asked, voice husky.

“Fifty minutes.” He placed one knee on the bed. “We can’t be late, it’d be rude. Right?”

“Right.” She stared at that hard cock only inches away from
her.

“Are you sore?” he asked. “We didn’t really stop much last night.”

No, they’d taken each other, over and over. She moved her legs, felt the aches that reminded her of him. “A bit.”

He squeezed his eyes closed. “Take a bath and I’ll grab our clothes.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Plenty of time later for more of what I plan to do to that gorgeous body of yours.”

But it was already too late. She was sore, but desire was running hot in her veins again. She grabbed his arm to halt him. “I have another idea.”

He cocked his head. “What? You’re going to cook?”

She smiled. “No. Something I think you’ll enjoy a lot more.” She pushed forward, planted her hands on his chest and pushed him onto his back. In one lithe move, she straddled his thighs.

His beautiful,
thick cock was hard and straining upward against his ridged stomach. She bent down and licked at the head of his cock, loving the musky male taste of him.

His groan was long and loud. “Nissa…”

“Just close your eyes and let me say good morning.”

“No way am I closing my eyes. Watching you naked on top of me is a memory I’ll take to my grave. Right along with the one of you wrapping that sinful
mouth of yours around me.”

She kept her eyes on his as she gripped his cock and lined it up. She sank down, feeling every inch of him stretch her sore tissues.

“Jesus, Nissa.” His hands gripped her hips. “You drive me crazy.”

And she did her best to do just that, riding them both to a hot, sweaty orgasm.

Forty-eight minutes later, bathed and dressed, Nissa and Justyn hurried down the path leading to the Memory Keeper’s home. Nissa munched on a tart orange fruit while Justyn finished some sort of pastry he’d found in a basket in the cottage.

The Memory Keeper’s house was the same domed style as their cottage, but larger, with a second, adjoining dome at the back. Some sort
of vine grew up the side of the white walls and its door had been painted a bright, cheerful orange.

Nissa finished the last bite of her fruit and licked the juice off her fingers. “See, told you we’d make it on time.”

Justyn was staring at her mouth and fingers. “Stop that.”

Goddess, she couldn’t stop grinning this morning. “Stop what?” She sucked her index finger into her mouth.

He stepped
close, gripping the nape of her neck. “How can I have had you so many times last night and come inside you only thirty minutes ago and still want you?”

She leaned into him. “I want you, too.”

Their kiss was slow and deep but she felt the fire under it, simmering.

“You must be Justyn and Nissa.”

Nissa swallowed a squeak. Justyn turned them so she was tucked under his arm and they faced
the newcomer.

He was…really old. Nissa was used to people not showing their age. In charted space, it was easy enough—if you had enough e-creds—to have your wrinkles smoothed and your hair stimulated to always produce color.

This Hydraen man wore every single line on his long face like a badge of pride. He had a soft smile and deep-blue eyes many shades darker than his skin. His eyes twinkled
with a spirit that was anything but old. He wore simple linen pants and a tunic with gold embroidery at the edges.

“I’m Tonald, Memory Keeper of Meni.”

“Justyn Phoenix and this is Captain Nissa Sander.”

Nissa nodded, trying not to be embarrassed that this man had caught them going at each other like old Earth rabbits. “A pleasure to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to see us.”

Tonald waved
them inside. “I was intrigued by your story.”

The cottage had a serene feel. Plants hung from pots dangling from the domed ceiling. The furniture was all smooth lines of golden wood, clearly carved here on Hydrae, and piled with cushions of a pale natural fiber. Nissa slid a hand over the back of the couch, the wood glossy and smooth under her fingers.

“An artisan here in the village carves
the furniture. He’d prefer to work on his sculptures all day, but he insists he also has to pay the bills.” Tonald gestured at the couch. “Take a seat. I’ll brings some refreshments.”

Nissa and Justyn sank on the couch. He scooted close enough for their thighs to touch, but his gaze was studying the room, catching on the painting of desert sand dunes lit by the first blush of morning light.

“I expected to see a library with a console or plas-sheets or even books,” she murmured.

“Physical records are not the only one way to preserve the memoires of a culture.” Tonald set a wooden tray on the low table in front of them. Three long glasses filled with green liquid sat beside a curved glass jug of the same fluid.

Nissa accepted her drink from the Memory Keeper. “How do you record
your history, then?”

“We do have some electronic records, although our computer technology is far behind everything I’ve heard about within the galaxy. We also paint and carve. One of our favored methods is our oral storytelling traditions.”

“That’s not your primary method, though.” Justyn leaned forward, dangling his drink casually between his knees.

“You are a perceptive man, Mr. Phoenix.”

Justyn shrugged. “I’ve visited here many times, taken note of things. Besides, your big head is a giveaway.”

Tonald smiled. “Yes, my race has some mental abilities.”

“Telepathy?” Nissa frowned. At the bonfire feast she hadn’t noticed the telltale giveaways telepaths usually had—the long pauses, the tilted heads. That said, she had been rather distracted.

“No, not telepathy, although some
Hydraens do have some mild telepathic capabilities. Mostly we have exceptional memories.”

She took a sip of her drink. It tasted far better than she’d anticipated—citrusy and sweet. “So, you just…remember all your history?”

“Simply put, yes.” Tonald took a sip of his own drink. “As our children are schooled, those with the most exceptional memory abilities are singled out for the role of Memory
Keeper. We are trained to hone our skill. I can remember every single historical event passed onto me in exact detail, in color, and I can access those memories at will.”

Incredible. Nissa wondered if she would like an ability like that or if it would drive her crazy. “How far do the memories go back?”

“Millennia.”

Her skin tingled. She edged forward on her seat, setting her drink down.
“Do you remember a ship called the
Nero
stopping here?”

“No.”

She blinked. “Maybe it didn’t stop at Meni. Somewhere else on the planet—”

“I don’t just have the memories of Meni, I keep memories for the entire planet.”

Nissa ran a hand over her head. “The
Nero
had to have passed through here. All our research—”

Tonald’s expression was apologetic. “No ship called the
Nero
stopped here.
At least, not that was recorded.”

A dead end. She saw Justyn thrust a hand through his hair.

She straightened. Maybe they were going about this the wrong way. “What about a man named Horatio Griffin? He was a captain.”

Tonald went quiet for a second, his gaze moving inward. “Yes. He was here. Almost a thousand years ago. He and some of his surviving crew were rescued and brought here by
an Arnissian freighter.”

Nissa grabbed Justyn’s arm. Her nails were digging into him but he didn’t seem to mind. “Did they have anything with them? Belongings?”

“No, it seems they were lucky to escape with their lives. They lost most of their crew. And they were very, very upset to have lost their cargo.” He tilted his head. “Although they never mentioned what it was.”

So, it sounded like
the Constitution never made it off the
Nero
.

“What happened to the ship?” she asked.

Tonald shook his head. “I don’t know. It isn’t in the memory. I only know it was a catastrophe.”

She squeezed her eyes shut.

“They spent a lot of time here. A few survivors even stayed, joined with locals, and made a life here. Captain Griffin, however, always planned to leave. It seems he spent much time
with Nelen, she was Meni’s Simulator at the time.”

Justyn frowned. “Simulator?”

“An artist who specializes in exact reproductions. Mostly pictures of families, children, homes. Some of her work still exists, she was exceptionally good.”

Nissa and Justyn exchanged a look.
Someone capable of creating a convincing replica of the Constitution?

“One night, Griffin and his remaining crew disappeared
without a word. As did a starship that had recently arrived to partake of the caravanserai’s hospitality.”

They’d stolen a ship and left. “There’s no record of where the Arnissian freighter rescued them from?”

Tonald’s brow creased. Then he shook his head. “No. I’m sorry.”

Nissa huffed out a quiet breath. Nothing that could send them in the right direction. She glanced at Justyn.

He shrugged.
He had no ideas either.

They chatted with Tonald a little longer and thanked him for his help.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful to your quest.”

“You’ve been wonderful,” Nissa said. “Thank you.”

“Would you like to see some paintings that were created by a descendant of one of Griffin’s crew? It was a woman who stayed on here in Meni and eventually married a local artist. Her name was
Claudia Volkov.”

Claudia! Nissa nodded. “She was the ship’s comms specialist.” And Anderson Chan’s secret love.

“Yes.” Tonald led them through an arched doorway to an adjoining room. “All her descendants have been artists. These are some of my favorite works by an artist named Anderson Elson.”

Nissa stilled. “Anderson?”

“Yes. Claudia’s first son was named Anderson and the name’s passed
down through the family. There’s always at least one Anderson in every generation.”