Her hands searched through the assorted tools and produced the Master's Pin. Holding it up, she tried to insert it into the stabilizer, but it didn't fit—it never fit anywhere. I hadn't seen a Master's Pin in years and took it from her, thoughtfully looking it over. A strange sensation moved something deep in the recesses of my brain, but before I could analyze it, Alice asked, "What is this tool?"
I held it out to her, with my eyes locked on the very tip of it. It resembled a cluster of stars, shaped unlike any other tool, and proven to be useless as such. "It's called a Master's Pin. As far as I know, nobody has ever used it, but it's become a symbol of your trade."
She smiled, "A symbol?"
"Yes," I nodded. "It's kind of strange, really, but every kid knows what it represents and that the person who holds it can fix anything."
"Oh, I like that," she beamed, turning the Master's Pin this way and that.
I wasn't one to believe in legends or tales, but I thought Alice might enjoy this little story. "It's said that it's hundreds of thousands of years old and that one day, an engineer will use it to open the gates to Heaven or Hell." I grinned. "So be careful with it."
Her mouth formed a perfectO. My cock responded immediately as my body remembered the kiss we had shared. Frygg. My entire being hummed with the desire to taste those lips again. Why did I have to get this close to her? Now, I could smell the sweet scent emanating from her, making me dizzy. The scent was like nothing I had ever smelled before, and yet it called to a deep-buried primal instinct in me.
Arousal!
I swallowed at that realization.
The little human female was as aroused by my presence as I was by hers.
Distance. You need distance. Now!
"I need to check on something," I mumbled, basically running from the bridge. I felt her gaze bore into my back, but I didn't care what my hasty retreat looked like; I was running away like a coward.
I would have loved to be able to lean against the wall as soon as I left the bridge and take a deep, steadying breath, but with all the humans beleaguering the hallway, it had to wait until I reached my quarters.
Once there, I was able to do just that and try to get the hard beat of my heart and my traitorous cock under control. What the frygg had just happened?
You're horny, my mind informed me.
Well, thanks for that brilliant observation, asshole, I retorted.
This was the most useless information my brain had ever conjured. I hoped to the stars that there would be a Fighting Pit on Astrionis, because the balled-up emotions inside me needed an outlet, and what better way than to fight? Yeah, I liked that idea. I would ask for two Pronex and… a chatyr—a dangerous predator. No, make that three Pronex and two chatyrs. That sounded like a good plan. That would exhaust my pent-up emotions.
How will you spend a nightwithouther in your room? My mind countered.
Frygg. The bastard was right.
I slammed my palm a few times against the wall. The stinging helped some. Not enough. When had she burrowed herself that deep under my skin? Or was this just something the mating marks made me think and feel? Did they, by any chance, release some kind of pheromones? One that made me react to her like this?
I considered the possibility and liked it. I liked it very much because it would mean that as soon as I was away from Astrionis and her, I would be able to return to my normal life. Well, not quite, I still had things to investigate, but at least my mind would be distracted, and my cock wouldn't be constantly yearning for her.
Fighting Pit! And spirits.
That would numb my body until I was far enough away fromherto stop craving her with an irrational fervor that bordered on being possessed.
I pulled up information on Astrionis and searched for the closest option to where I would land.
Frygging old school Pandraxians!
No Fight Clubs! No spirits!
Damn, those backworlders. I might understand the lure of hunting with a sword and spear instead of a blaster. But these damn traditionalists took it several steps too far. They shunned spirits and, it seemed, fight clubs.
Frustrated, I expanded my search for nearby places that would offer me the relief I craved and found several not too far: Pandrax. Of course.
Fine, that would do.
I could do that. I knew I could wait another day or two. I would have to. And as far as the sleeping alone part was concerned… I would give her a comm. So we could talk to each other every now and then. I liked that idea, too. She had grown on me, like… a friend… Yes, a friend. One I didn't want to fuck. Not at all. Once we had some distance between us, it would be nice to just… talk to her.
