The Passenger Ch. 01

I listened to the sound of my own voice as I spoke. The words coming out of my mouth seemed to belong to someone else.

"But we didn't find anything. It was getting dark when we went back to the ship and we were tired. The spaceport was very run-down. Most of the lights hadn't worked in ages, and the cargo carriers were being held together with mud and crating tape. When one of them veered off course we never saw it coming. It ran straight into her and she died instantly. One moment she was with me, the next she was gone."

I felt Anne's hand squeeze mine. I didn't see her face. I felt numb. But also, somehow... The pain was just as it always had been, but this time it seemed more remote, more manageable.

"I'm sorry," she said simply.

I looked up. Shrugged. Sighed.

"It was years ago. I've been flying the Slowboat by myself ever since. I never met someone I cared much about, either, after that."

The pain was a dull ache inside me. But only that, and it slowly receded.

"I mean I'm sorry I asked, Harvey. I didn't mean to open up any old wounds."

"That's alright. You didn't know. And it's about time I got over it, anyway."

"That's not how it works, she said gently. "One of the things I've learned over the years is that everything in life comes with a price tag. And she was your whole life. She will always be a part of you. Harvey, some pain is simply not meant to go away."

"I know."

I looked at my cup, decided against another sip.

"Maybe you drink too much of that stuff," she told me.

"That's what Lisa used to say. And she was right. It'll probably keep me up all night."

Anne stood up, gathered up some of the dishes and cups and dropped them into the autokitchen's return chute. I took the remaining cups off the table, got up as well and walked around to the 'kitchen. She turned, and suddenly we were standing very close to each other.

I dropped the cups into the chute without taking my eyes off her face.

She looked back at me.

And suddenly we were in each other's arms.

How we got there is something I'm still not sure of, but there we were. The fragrance of her silky-soft, honey-blond hair reminded me of a field of heather that I had once walked through, long ago. It smelled of summer and sunshine.

She took a slow breath, her body warm and soft against me, her face very close to mine.

"So what do you do, during all those long sleepless nights in hyperspace?" she whispered.

Then she kissed me. Her lips were soft. Her mouth opened and the tip of her tongue touched mine, lightly and hesitantly at first, but within moments our kiss grew passionate, then fierce, and she moaned softly as my tongue wrestled with hers, her hands at my back bunching up the smooth material of my flight suit as I held her against me.

I have always had enough sense not to get personally involved with any of my business relations, and especially not with passengers, if and when they traveled aboard the Slowboat. Things are likely to get complicated and, potentially, very messy. But this was different, in a strange way that I was unable to explain. She was different. There was a... a resonance between us, a connection, a level of familiarity and comfort that I hadn't known since I'd lost Lisa. Even though we'd only met that morning, it was as if we'd known each other for a long time. Still... What the hell was I doing? What was I getting myself into? This wasn't like me. This wasn't like me at all.

All these thoughts went through my head when my lips let go of hers. Some of it must have shown on my face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"Nothing... It's just..."

She gave me a shy little smile.

"You mean the whole what-the-hell-is-happening thing? Yeah. I feel it too. But it that really such a bad thing?"

I answered her by pulling her close once again. Her lips parted when my mouth touched hers, and as our tongues played together in that ancient dance that knows neither music nor beat, my hands slid down from the small of her back to the swell of her buttocks. They felt smooth and firm under the soft fabric of her coveralls, and my hands explored those lovely curves gently but eagerly.

Was it really such a bad thing? We hardly knew each other. But Lisa's death had taught me one thing: seize the day. And she would not have wanted me to spend the rest of my life alone and hurting. Maybe it was time.

After what seemed a long while, Anne gently broke our kiss. She took my hand and led me to her cabin. When she pushed the button and the door slid open, I noted with approval that she had kept it neat and sparse. The bed was tightly made and her duffel bag was securely stowed in the luggage rack.

She turned and faced me. Then she touched the collar of her coveralls and did something with it. The front of her coveralls opened and the garment slid down around her shoulders. She shook her arms out of the sleeves, let it drop, stepped out of it and shoved it aside with her foot. She wasn't wearing anything underneath.

And there, before me, she stood, in all her naked glory.

The beauty that the loose, slightly baggy fit of her clothing had had been hiding was nothing short of magnificent. Locks of her honey-blond hair just touched the creamy skin of her shoulders. Her collarbones were delicately sculpted. Her high, large, beautifully shaped breasts rode her chest proudly without drooping or sagging, and they were tipped with a pair of perfect nipples. Her waist was slender, the swell of her hips a thing of beauty over a pair of creamy, perfect thighs, and between those thighs the lovely, pink slit of her hairless pussy beckoned, full of promise. Even her feet were perfect, with slender ankles and toes that were just right. She took my breath away.

The smile she gave me was like a sunrise.

"I know that staring is often considered impolite," she said. "But I've always found it one of the sincerest compliments."

"Anne... I... You are..."

"Shhh... "

She took a step forward until her naked skin touched the font of my flight suit.

"Sometimes you talk too much," she whispered.

She wrapped her arms around me and lifted her face, a hint I was not slow in taking. Her lips found mine and we kissed, her tongue hard against my teeth.

Her hand slid between us to move down the front of my flight suit along the fastener, opening it. She slowly moved the fabric aside as her hand slipped in, caressing my chest. Her lips let go of mine as she took a step back, parted the front of my flight suit further, then pulled it down until I could step out of it, leaving me standing in my shorts. She looked at them and smiled.

"Old-fashioned. I like that."

She put her hand on the rapidly swelling bulge at the front of my shorts, and I felt myself harden further under her fingers until the elastic cloth was taut and straining.

"Hmm," she said. "I like that, too."

She put her thumbs under the waistband and pulled my shorts down. My erection sprang free, quickly reaching full hardness now that it was no longer confined. She knelt, pulling my shorts down all the way. When she had them around my ankles I stepped out of them. She tossed them aside. Then she sat on her knees before me, eye to eye with my bobbing erection.

"Oh my," she said softly, and I will admit I felt pleased. I've been with only a few women after I lost Lisa, on an occasional basis and usually briefly, and none of them had said anything about it. Which was fine with, me since I'm not really hung up on the size or shape of my cock, but it's nice to be appreciated. And Anne seemed to really like what she saw.

She touched my hard shaft with her fingertips and I gasped at the contact. She slid her fingers across the blue-veined skin, feeling the hot hardness underneath, caressing her way down to the root before running her fingers across my balls.

"Anne..."

She looked up at me and smiled as she wrapped her hand around my hot, throbbing shaft, bent forward and, ever so gently, licked across the sensitive underside of the head with the tip of her tongue. Then she opened her mouth and put the straining head of my cock between her lips. As it slowly slid into her mouth, her lips slipping around the sensitive crown, I moaned softly. The feeling was amazing.

She wasted no time. She began to bob her head back and forth, gripping my now rock-hard shaft with her hand as her soft, wet lips slid back and forth across the slick head of my cock. With her other hand she cupped my balls and began to caress them, moving her hand in slow, small circles. The slick, wet friction of her lips felt incredible, and her fingers on the skin of my sack sent electric jolts of pleasure through my groin.

"Oh, Anne... Oh, gods..."

She took my cock deeper into her mouth, and the tight, wet friction felt better than anything I had ever experienced. I was in heaven. My legs began to tremble and my knees almost buckled with the intensity of the pleasure. I felt the familiar tingling begin at the base of my cock.

"Anne... If you keep that up... You're going to make me... Ooohhhh..."

She let my cock slip out of her mouth just in time, and I was able to hold back the impending explosion, if only just. A clear thread of pre-cum connected the glistening, swollen head of my cock to her lower lip. She licked it off, looked up and me and smiled.

"I think you need to lie down," she said. "You'll enjoy it more that way."

She stood up, took my hand and led me to the bed. She turned me around until the edge of the bed touched the back of my legs and gently pushed me down on my back. She moved my legs slightly apart, then she took my hard shaft in both hands and stroked it gently, up and down, up and down...

"I can't wait to have all of that deep inside me," she whispered.

She bent forward and her soft, silky hair fell down to tickle my thighs and my stomach, hiding her face from my view. I felt her soft, wet lips touch the tip of my cock once more, and her tongue played across the now super-sensitive underside of it. I groaned; the pleasure was so intense. Then I felt her lips slide down around the head of my cock, slowly, ever so slowly... When the smooth, wet caress reached the crown of my head I shuddered and another loud moan escaped me. The pressure continued to build at the base of my cock and I felt my hot, hard length twitch in her hands.

Anne must have sensed how close to the edge I was right now, but her head continued to bob up and down, slowly but insistently, and her lips and tongue did wonderful things to the head of my cock. The pleasure built and built... Then she began to suck, and the pleasure grew even more intense.

"Anne... Oh gods... I'm going to... I'm going to..."

On and on she coaxed me, closer and closer... My pleasure rose, rose, and I teetered on the brink for what seemed the longest time... Then her fingers touched the taut skin covering my balls, sending electric jolts of pleasure through my groin, and with a scream I exploded in her mouth.

Gods, I came! How I came! I screamed in ecstasy as my back arched and my body shuddered on the bed. She held my shaft with both hands and kept me in her mouth as she sucked, sucked, and I felt a thick stream of cum blast out of me, then another one, and another. I felt her swallow as I spurted and spurted into the hot wetness of her mouth, her lips locked around the crown of my head as my orgasm went on and on, like a supernova that continues to burn with searing brightness even after its initial explosion.

Bright spots danced before my closed eyes by the time the pleasure finally began to subside. I was panting like I'd run a marathon. I felt my cock slip out of Anne's mouth as she sat up, lifting her hair from my thighs and stomach. Small aftershocks twitched through my groin as she lay down next to me, her large breasts against me. She put her head on my chest and one arm around me as I lay there, my breath gradually slowing. The fragrance of her hair as it fell softly against my skin mingled with the smell of my cum that still lingered on her lips. It was a heady combination.

Finally I opened my eyes. If I hadn't, the wonderful relaxation would have carried me off to sleep, and it was much, much too early for that. I took a deep breath and sighed.

"That was..." I began.

Anne put her finger on my lips. She pushed herself up, then bent down to kiss me. I could taste my own cum on her tongue, salty and slightly sticky. For some reason I found that incredibly arousing.

I managed to free my left arm that had been trapped between us, put it around her and pulled her close. My other hand found its way around to her back and I caressed her spine. Her skin was so smooth. My hand slid down to the small of her back until it reached the swell of her buttocks. They fit the palm of my hand perfectly.

I held her in my arms as I rolled over, gently maneuvering her until she was on her back and I was looking down on her, resting on one elbow, essentially reversing our positions. I looked into the green pools of her eyes, and there in those depths I saw something that I could not quite name, something very beautiful. It seemed a good time to kiss her again, so I did.

While our tongues played with each other, my hand caressed her hair, the side of her face, her neck, her shoulder, her collarbone, then down to the upper curve of her breast. My fingers ran lightly across the smooth, soft skin there, then down across the lower edge, tracing the round, flowing curve, down, around, and back up. A small shiver ran through her.

My fingers moved inward, drawing circles across the soft, round surface of her breast, gradually moving closer and closer to that sensitive tip in its center. As my finger ran over the small bumps on the outer edge of her areola she shivered again, and her shoulders tensed in anticipation.

Then, ever so gently, the tip of my finger brushed her nipple, stroked its side, then ran across the tip. Our kiss muffled her soft moan. I began to rub across her nipple with my fingertip, felt the already engorged nub swell even more under my caresses, until after a few moments it was almost as hard as my own cock had been in her hands. She moaned again, louder this time, and my lips released hers.

She smiled lazily, a dreamy gaze in her eyes as they looked up into mine. She raised her hand and stroked my hair, the side of my face. Then she gently pushed my head in the direction we both wanted it to go. I put a last, light kiss on her lips before my mouth slowly nibbled its way down across the edge of her jaw and on to the side of her neck, starting its long trek southward.

My lips and tongue played across her skin, tracing their way from her neck across her shoulder, then back inward, pausing at the dimple at the underside of her collarbone, then ascending the upper slope of her breast. The tip of my tongue traveled down and around to trace the curves it found there, just like my finger had done earlier on her other breast. Slowly and teasingly my lips moved inward. She moaned softly, a sound that spoke of pleasure, of longing, of a need for me to stop teasing her and give her what she wanted, right there, right now. But it would have been a shame to rush.

Eventually the tip of my tongue brushed her pebbled nipple and she moaned when she felt it. My fingers found the nipple of her other breast again and resumed their earlier ministrations as my tongue played across the hard, sensitive tip that it had made such a long and pleasurable journey to find. Her breathing deepened, and the soft moans began to grow louder and more frequent.

With my thumb and forefinger I gently squeezed her one nipple while scraping my teeth lightly across the surface of the other. I began to nibble softly on that sensitive nub, running my tongue across its tip, flicking it lightly back and forth. Her moans became more urgent, more insistent. But one thing you learn during the long weeks in hyperspace is that you have more time on your hands than you know what to do with, so I was in no hurry.

Rolling her one nipple between my fingers and gently tweaking it, I began to suck on the tip of her other breast, softly at first, then harder, until I felt the sensitive bit of engorged flesh expand to touch the edge of my teeth. When I flicked my tongue across the tip of her nipple, her body suddenly grew tense.

"Oh gods, yes, Harvey, yes, just like that, yes, yes, oh... Oooooh... OoooOOOHHH!! Oh! Oh! Oooh!

Her body shuddered as she cried out, and her chest rose to meet my caressing mouth and fingers. Her moans and shivers continued for a few seconds, then she relaxed and sighed deeply. When I let go of her nipple with my mouth and looked up at her, I saw that her eyes were closed and she had an utterly satisfied smile on her face.

"Was that..." I began.

"Yes... Yes, it was. Wow... Harvey... Nobody has ever made me cum that way," she whispered.

I had known, in theory, that it was possible for some women to have orgasms just from having their nipples played with, but Lisa hadn't been one of them. Apparently Anne was different. I silently told my ego not to get any delusions of grandeur, but still I felt pleased with such a promising start.

I gave her nipple a last kiss, then slowly moved my lips to the valley between her breasts. I put both my hands on those lovely mounds and gently stroked them, feeling the smoothness of the skin, the plumpness of the flesh, soft yet firm, the hardness of the sensitive tips. She smiled; her eyes still closed.

"Hmmm... Do that some more..." she said softly.

I slowly moved my hands in gentle circles, caressing the smooth skin, her nipples hard against my palms. Meanwhile my mouth continued its southward journey, sliding across her sternum and the smooth expanse of her stomach. When my lips reached her belly button I let go of her breasts and slid my hands down across her skin, lightly scratching it with my fingernails as I went. Her back arched and she shuddered, then giggled.

"Harvey, you tease! Stop that!"

Apparently she was ticklish. I carefully filed that bit of information away for possible future use. Meanwhile, as my tongue played with her belly button, my hands slid further down to touch the gentle mound below it. Then I moved my hands apart until my fingers traced the outline of her hips.

"Sit up for a moment..." she whispered.

I obliged, and she moved her legs apart and pulled up her knees until her thighs wide were spread wide before me. I knelt down between them, but I did not yet go where she wanted me to. Instead I put my hands on the knee of her left leg, stroking the skin, then moved them down across her shin until I touched her ankle. I bent down to kiss her foot, then quickly tickled the underside, for which I was rewarded with a loud squeal. I did not let my fingers linger at that ticklish area, though. I wanted to tease her a little in addition to giving her lots of pleasure, but too much tickling wouldn't do right now.

I began to move my lips and hands upward again, slowly, teasingly, caressing her skin and softy kissing it, one hand on the outside of her leg, one on the inside, my lips traveling everywhere. Up and up I crept, hands and mouth, across her shin, her knee, and finally her thigh. There I slowed down and my caresses became more deliberate. With one hand on the outside of her thigh, my mouth and other hand on the inside I slowly moved closer to the apex between them, where her sex waited for me, wet and ready and begging for my touch, and her skin became more and more damp under my touch as I got closer. Once again her breathing deepened with the growing anticipation of feeling my lips and tongue where she wanted them most.

But not yet. My mouth passed by her hot, wet center and moved up to kiss the mound above it. Then I moved down to her right leg and repeated the treatment I had just given the left one. Her sigh sounded like a mix of deep contentment and slight frustration. Good. As long as that balance kept tipping in the right direction I would continue to take this nice and slow.