Chapter 100—Maxx
Eleven Months Later.
Our shuttle’s engines whirred slowly, their gentle drone mixing with the lapping waves and the rustle of wind through the jungle outside.
Klio-3 had dramatically changed since we’d last been here. Now, it was a sight to behold—lush and vibrant, with jungles sprawling for miles in every direction. Vines twisted up both vacant, neglected beach houses, and giant ferns dotted the much smaller beaches and swayed gently in the ocean breeze.
We had no reason to be here other than a quick stop on our way to Earth to visit Nera’s parents and introduce them to their newborn grandchild. But we wanted to come back to where our love story really began with sand and sunsets, danger and deceit, passion and tenderness.
The platform where we’d filmed had been reclaimed by nature. Weeds grew through cracks in the floorboards, and bioluminescent mushrooms and moss covered much of the handrails.
I took it all in from the shuttle’s viewscreen, reliving memories from when we were on the show.
The last I’d heard, Pete had made it to Universal Hollywood and was filming an action movie that was supposedly already creating a lot of buzz. More than anything, I hoped he was happy doing what he enjoyed and licking cameras everywhere.
Nera had hired Oreo and Smitha to be her own personal style team, to which they’d immediately agreed. Now, though, they were off honeymooning, the two of them as happily married as Nera and me.
Miekil had headed back to his home planet, and after some sweet-talking from Nera “to encourage our bromance,” he’d agreed to come visit and meet our baby in a few months. It would be great to see him again.
The rest of the cast and crew had all but vanished the day Nera and I got voted off the show.
“My god, look at how much it’s changed,” Nera murmured, not wanting to wake our baby in her arms.
Her name was Nyxx, and she was the most perfect little girl who’d ever been born, other than Roxxanne and Lucy, of course. Her tiny fists were clenched tightly in sleep, her features mirroring both of her adoring parents. Nera’s bottomless brown eyes shot through with jagged purple lightning bolts. A mix of silvery skin and scales. And a head full of wild dark hair that refused to be tamed. Even at six months old, she was a stubborn fighter.
Roxxanne had fallen head over heels in love with her little half sister. I had too, instantly. Every time I looked at both of my daughters, they left me breathless.
I nuzzled Nyxx’s soft, warm head with my nose as I angled the shuttle toward the line of bungalows. They were still there, half hidden by the jungle’s embrace.
“You think the sex toys are still in the closets?” Nera asked with a light laugh.
I chuckled. “Don’t forget the machetes.”
“Gah, the memories of this place are still so surreal.” She shook her head. “I both loved and hated it in equal measure.”
“An unforgettable experience, to be sure.” I touched our shuttle down lightly on the small expanse of beach so we could stretch our legs and look around briefly.
There were stories of pirates and smugglers operating on the fringes of civilization, taking advantage of this planet’s isolation, but right now, it appeared empty. Still, I wouldn’t be leaving this shuttle without my father’s sword.
I sometimes missed the machete, but my sword was lighter and deadlier, and definitely not the preferred choice of certain reality dating shows.
We wouldn’t find any signs of Earth Space Fleet here. Ever. Shortly after we lost Alien Love Paradise, TV view screens all across the universe sprang to life, displaying a cascade of damning evidence against them.
Whispers spread like wildfire as realization dawned, and then those whispers turned to shouts demanding accountability and punishment. Earth Space Fleet disbanded into a puff of smoke. Some fled. Others were arrested.
Captain Mike Early got ten years in prison for just his role in trying to sell a Xenoxx scale on the black market. Nera had watched the video of him being led away in handcuffs at least a hundred times.
Was it enough? Would it ever be enough for what they put us both through?
Part of the evidence that came out proved they were the ones responsible for poisoning the Xenoxx water supply, for assassinating my father and brother, for the embassy attack that killed Bexx and me, and for the plot that nearly took Roxxanne, all for the sake of taking our valuable planet.
The nonexistence of Earth Space Fleet didn’t change any of that, but nothing could. I’d come to accept that. As long as they weren’t around to point unnecessary fingers at the Faid, at Rain, the Killians, or the Xenoxx, life for many of us could return to normal.
Or as normal as possible anyway.
Nera blew a kiss to her caterpillar in the jar on the console, and as we stepped out onto the shuttle’s platform, I took a deep breath. The air was thick with moisture and smelled of sweet flowers and salty sea.
Nera inhaled deeply too. “Smells like…Loserville.”
“Loserville never smelled so good,” I said, stealing a kiss.
For June and Rico, the human male with glasses, this planet might smell a lot different. They were the winners of Alien Love Paradise after a tumultuous game of Boxing & Bingo, which was exactly what it sounded like. Nera and I didn’t participate because she was pregnant and needed to give the victory to June, which led to our automatic loss. Even though Miekil was a close second place behind me and could have easily been the winner of the show with June, he bowed out as well.
Each of us had had to pay a hefty sum to Umo, which I’d taken care of for all of us.
We started toward the nearest bungalow—our bungalow. As we did, Nera turned to look over her shoulder at the pulsing beacon on the clifftop. As she did so, whether subconsciously or otherwise, she shielded Nyxx with her body.
I didn’t tell her that Rain still lived here, and she didn’t ask, but I was sure she knew. Rain and I still corresponded by email, sometimes daily, none of which included any of her usual bubble-popping to thwart hacking attempts. Not anymore.
I forwarded these emails to Nera.
They went unread.
It was never a point of contention between us. Nera’s feelings about Rain were complicated, and they had every right to be. If and when Nera was ready for forgiveness, I would support her. If not, I would still support her.
Finally breaking through the foliage, we stood before the bungalow door. The snick of the doorknob releasing echoed around us as I pushed it open. Every footfall echoed off damp walls, making me feel like an intruder in a forgotten tomb.
“Hello?” I called.
No answer, not that I expected one. The inside of the bungalow looked surprisingly well-kept, with only a thin, undisturbed layer of dust on the floor and the bed.
“It feels like we’re home,” I said softly, pulling Nera close for a kiss that instantly ignited flames.
She pulled away, her eyes alight, and grinned. “I’ll check the closets.”
She handed me Nyxx, and I shut the door while she scampered off to the nearest closet.
“Ah, bummer. Empty,” she announced.
Gently, I shook out the satin bedspread with my free arm. “No machetes on the top shelf?”
“Nope.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to make our own fun.” Laying the bedspread back down, I settled Nyxx on top of it and smoothed her soft yellow tunic embroidered with intricate patterns, signifying peace and unity.
She hadn’t started rolling yet, and the bed was king-sized, so I wasn’t worried about her safety.
“Oh?” Nera asked. “What did you have in mind, Your Highness?”
“I think you know, Your Highness.” I backed her against a wall, a low growl rumbling from my chest as I pressed my body against hers.
I leaned in to devour her lips with mine. We were already working on baby number two, sometimes hours at a time.
I would never get enough of my beautiful star.
“Are the memories of this place driving you as crazy as they are me?” she asked between my hungry kisses.
To answer, I shoved my hands up under her thin tank top and bra and ground myself against her while I rolled my thumbs over her nipples.
Nera let out a small moan, arching her back in response. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
My hearts raced as I pushed her shirt up over her head and ridded her of her bra, exposing her full breasts to my wandering hands. I lifted one breast toward my mouth and sucked one nipple between my teeth while I pleasured the other into a hardened pebble with my tongue.
“I can’t promise I won’t wake the baby,” she breathed.
The scent of her arousal intoxicated me and instantly coaxed out my three sexual serpents. While they took care of my pants and wound their way toward her, I found the hem of her shorts and slowly slid them down her legs. She kicked off her shoes and stepped out of them easily.
I’d always worshipped her body, but after childbirth, she was somehow even more beautiful. I took all of her in with a hungry sweep of my eyes.
A small gasp escaped her lips as I cupped her pussy through her panties, finding the fabric soaked through already. Her hips bucked against my hand in response. The two slender kaxxui sucked on her nipples while the larger one stroked its body down the length of my aching cock.
With a swift tug, I pulled her panties to the side. Our combined breaths were heavy and ragged, especially when I pushed inside of her to the knuckle, groaning in ecstasy at how wet she was.
My cock pulsed against her as I ground into her, my kaxxui jerking me off even harder. Nera trembled as I added a second finger inside of her, and then a third.
“You feel so perfect,” I growled into her mouth. “Are you ready for me?”
Instead of answering me with words, she wrapped her legs around my waist, her eyes hazy with lust.
Quickly, my third kaxxui unwound itself from my cock and delved toward her clit. I replaced my fingers with my cock, never once breaking the rhythm of my grinding hips.
She buried her head into my shoulder to muffle her cry as I sank into her. I smiled against her neck, my teeth lightly scraping the tender skin while I thrust deeper inside of her.
Nera’s walls clenched around me, pulling me in tighter as she neared her climax.
At my silent command, the two slender kaxxui writhed a slow dance toward her ass. The third sucked on her clit while its body coiled along my slick cock and heightened every thrust.
Massaging her other breast, I flicked my tongue over her taut nipple, sending a deep tremble down to her toes.
She moaned, her body arching into my touch. “I will never get enough of you.”
“Nor I you,” I assured her. “I love you, Nera.”
“I love you too. So much.” With a gasp, she tightened around me, pulsing around my cock as her orgasm overtook her.
I kissed her through it, a blazing one that set my soul on fire for my wife all over again. My release barreled down my spine with powerful force, and I soon followed her over that blissful edge. Shuddering violently, I groaned into her mouth, my seed filling her up.
Still locked together, still tenderly kissing, we caught our breaths, our collective hearts pounding in unison.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
I traced her bottom lip with my tongue and breathed her even farther inside myself. “For what?”
“For bringing me back here.” She gazed at me, a small smile playing on her lips as she reached up to stroke my face. “Other than escaping death all the time, I really enjoyed it.”
“Me too.” I sighed, nuzzling my face against hers. “We can come back again whenever you want.”
Nodding, she turned to look at our daughter on the bed. “Do you think she knows we’re here? Rain, I mean?”
“She probably does know somehow. I’m not sure.” I didn’t press any to get to the root of her question. I simply let her sit with it at her own speed and depth.
As if thankful for that, she leaned in to kiss my cheek, her lips soft against my scales, but she didn’t say anything else, her thoughts whirring behind her dark eyes.
We dressed leisurely, stealing more kisses and loving touches, and then we hovered over our daughter and did the same to her.
When we finally left the bungalow, Nera once again stared out at the pulsing beacon, no longer shielding Nyxx as she did so. “I hope she does know. And I hope she knows we might be back again someday.”
I nodded, pulling her closer with my arm around her shoulders. That almost sounded like a resolution, not one forged in forgiveness, but acceptance.
Like her world was finally spinning in the right direction.
As we walked back to the shuttle, the sunset slowly dissolved into night. Stars twinkled above like promises unbroken, leading us to a future filled with love and happiness for an alien Faid clone warrior king and his perfect human bride.