Lili Ann Baker has been enjoying her time as a cargo captain. She spends huge swathes of time alone getting world building materials to where they are needed and the appreciative recipients give her the feedback that she needs. When she delivers the final harvest containment to Geko 7, the party that erupts is wild and she is invited by the grateful population to enjoy the fruits of their first harvest.
Admittedly, Lili Ann has more wine than she can account for and the next morning she wakes up in bed with a man who does not meet the specs of the colonists. She assumes he is a pilot, like her, and sneaks away in the early dawn hours.
Her ascent is denied by a hungover ground control and she has to wait on the tarmac until the local government can sort things out. Imagine her surprise when her bedmate is leaning against the side of her vehicle, the mind of the Geko 7 swirling in his eyes.
Yavoy has been waiting for decades to find a woman of his own and despite her rather relaxed language, Lili Ann has something that completes him, an enthusiasm for life.
The first course was a fresh salad topped with marinated fruit and a crisp wine. The alcohol went straight to her head and she felt a distinct relaxing around the neck and shoulders.
She was just settling into the warm, fuzzy feeling she was experiencing when Yavoy filled her glass again. She laughed. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“No, simply relaxed. You seem far too tense.” He grinned and toasted her.
A few of the Jerican smiled and whispered together as Lili Ann leaned a little closer to her dinner companion.
The appetizer was lovely. Flowers were arranged in a pattern that mimicked the mountain range to the south.
“This is lovely.”
“Niabbru flowers. Ounce for ounce, they contain more protein than any of the meats on Geko 7.” He smiled and lifted one by the small bit of stem left over. “They also have an intoxicating aroma.” He extended the flower to her and stroked it across her chin.
She blinked in shock through her slightly fuzzy haze as she realized that she was being seduced. The scent of the flowers was quite heady indeed. Her eyes widened in surprise as her body interpreted the smell as a sensual caress. A man stroking a finger between her thighs could not have had more effect. “What the hell?”
He laughed. “I was wondering if yours were one of the species seduced by the flowers. Niabbru means to stroke from within. I am guessing that it was the effect you experienced.”
She blushed. “How does it do that?”
“It works on sense memory.”
“What?”
He chuckled. “It does not work on virgins.”
She covered her face with her napkin and tried to cool her blush. “Gotcha.”
