The Warden of Cryosleep

"You researched things I would like?"

"Yeah, I did," he said unabashedly.

"That must have been some presentation I gave," she said with a smile.

"Oh, it was. 'Declining Morality in Cryosleep' I think it was called."

Alice's smile disappeared along with any hope of a relationship of any kind with the engineer. She could only forcefully swallow the lump in her throat.

"What?" he asked when he saw her face.

She pushed out of her chair and backed toward the opening to the corridor. "You're a fucking asshole."

"Alice?" he called out as she disappeared and ran for her room. Once inside, she collapsed against the edge of bed and attempted to calm her shaking hands.

Four years before, Alice had been offered an unbelievable sum to speak at the Sigma Outpost University on her latest research. At the time, she had given presentations at universities and cryogenics facilities dozens of times, but for this event, the university specifically asked for the details of her current research, and they paid her accordingly. They had learned she had made significant advances in cryosleep, evaluating the effects on the mind rather than the body, but she didn't anticipate the fallout.

In front of thousands, she had presented her data on how cryosleep robs the mind of the activity and stimulation in craves, resulting in the disorientation, memory loss, simulated events, and confusion experienced by patients. The longer they had been under, the worse the effects. She knew the only way to totally avoid the results of cryosleep would be to ban it entirely.

After the audience raged against her and her data, she had been escorted off Sigma and returned to the IGEA at Gamma. It had saved her from witnessing the riot that left three dead. If she hadn't been paid the two billion credits, she would probably have regretted the event. As it was, she had barely managed to salvage her career and was more than halfway to her goal.

But now Weston threw it in her face. Just as she hoped to get away from him, she heard the rushing air of the door sliding open.

"Go away," she said loudly before he had a chance to start.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I said, get out." When he failed to move away, she stood to let a hand lash out to strike him but her fist only bounced away harmlessly. She let her left hand fly out and slap his cheek with as much force as she could manage. Weston barely reacted, only reaching to grab her wrists to prevent future strikes.

"Let me go. Get the fuck away from me." She contemplated spitting in his face to get him to leave.

"Alice, I'm not going anywhere. I didn't mean to upset you."

She wasn't upset with him, really. She was upset at herself for falling for it. How could anyone find her attractive at the single lowest point of her adult life? How could he think her anything but horrible after she started a mob that caused three deaths?

When she could do nothing else, Alice conceded. Weston slowly released his grip around her wrists. He sat on the floor and rested his arms on his propped up knees, a clear sign he was going to stay. Alice sank next to him.

"Everyone knows cryosleep has gotten way out of hand," he started quietly. "It was supposed to be for short periods for intergalactic travel, not the ultimate sign of wealth and power. Hell, there are people who are awake for a month and sleep for a hundred years."

Alice lifted her head to evaluate him as he spoke, carefully scanning for any sign of a lie.

"When you gave that presentation, you were the first person to ever speak out against it. You had factual evidence that it was damaging patients to be under for so long, and you proved that some cryogenists had known it for years. No one wanted to believe it. And even when they turned on you, you wouldn't let up. It's important to you."

She dropped her head and contemplated his words. After accusing him of lying to her, she had learned he might be one of the few to ever truly understand her research, though he gave her more credit than she deserved. She'd done it for the money. To top it off, he had worked to get onboard the same flight to tell her so.

"Alice?" For the first time since she had met him, he seemed at a loss. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said-" He stopped when she threw her arms around his neck, causing him to topple over with his back on the floor. Still she held tightly onto him.

To her great relief, he only lay on the floor and rubbed his hands gently over her back as she took comfort in the warmth of his chest. Fingertips grazed the fabric of her shirt providing a tantalizing, tranquil sensation. That simple motion did more to calm and comfort her than anything else could have.

"I'm sorry I upset you," he whispered again before he planted a sweet kiss above her ear. "You make me forget everything else." Another kiss landed on the corner of her jawbone.

How Dr. Alice Hill, elite cryogenist for IGEA, had managed to find herself clinging to the muscled chest of a perfect man, she had no idea. But now that she had him, she had no intention of letting go.

When a third kiss struck her exposed neck, the resulting electricity caused her to take action. She turned her head enough to find the lobe of his ear and suck it into her mouth as he let loose a shuddered exhale.

"Hey, we don't have to-" he pathetically objected until her lips wrapped around the sensitive skin along his neck. Alice enjoyed knowing he would never really turn her away.

As she teased him with sucks and nips on his neck and ear, her hand silently moved down until it found the bulge. She rubbed it with the palm of her hand in time with her motions along his neck, prompting it to solidify in her hand. Moving up to the elastic waist of his pants, it was a simple matter to dive in and find the hardening cock buried there.

"Damn," he nearly coughed out as her long fingers gripped him and began moving from top to bottom. She knew she had him when his lips searched out to find hers, and upon finding them, threw his tongue inside. His teeth gently grated across the skin of her bottom lip until he released it with a quiet sound.

It was a minor adjustment to slide her shoulder over so that she was square against his chest and could have full access to the sweet taste of his kiss. Alice kept one hip lifted so she could reach into his sweatpants and work the expectant cock to an erection with ease. Her fingers stroked along the ever-increasing firmness, squeezing just as she reached the head before sliding back down. Every few strokes, she rubbed along the vulnerable flesh that coated his balls.

Weston could only clamp his hands around her shoulders in a futile attempt to push her away. Their kiss broken, Alice looked into his eyes and saw everything she needed to know. He wanted her, and his only struggle was in taking his time to have her. She was too precious to risk.

When he lowered her down, she let her lips fall against his neck, but this time she let her teeth grate just slightly, just enough to send a series of throbs into his cock. By then, he had grown to a size that made him difficult to manage single-handedly.

"If you're-" he attempted to protest again. In response, she squeezed her hand around his cock and watched his face contort with ecstasy. Alice only released him to tug at the waist of the pants that restricted her movements.

"Alice, wait," Weston managed when she no longer had an eager hand around him. She only ruffled her brow and dove under his waistband again refusing to let such a moment pass. After the last encounters left her without a taste of him, she was ready.

Lifting off his defined chest, she used both hands to pull at his pants and slide them down until they clung to his ankles, releasing his engorged cock with a light bounce. Full as it was, the mushrooming head looked ready to burst. A violet vein reached up along the shaft and disappeared around the side.

Alice lowered herself between his legs as she slid him into her mouth. Her lips barely made it halfway down when he struck the back of her throat forcefully. She furrowed her brows as she realized how little of him she'd managed to take.

Weston didn't seem to mind; he let a quiet moan escape as she pulled back and rested momentarily on the swollen head. Before she let him go completely, she gave a slight suck and released him with a popping sound as the engineer struggled for control.

"Shit." He spoke in desperation but he made no moves to stop her.

While Alice knew there were millions in the galaxy with more sexual prowess than her, she was nonetheless confident in her skills. There were few who had her attention to detail when it came to giving head.

She carefully slid her tongue along the border of head and shaft, sensing the pulsating of an aroused man as she moved to lightly flick the tip. To contrast the light movements of her tongue, she immediately dove down and swallowed as much of him as she could handle. Weston threw back his head in response.

It was hard not to smile as she worked him over effortlessly. She circled the head with her tongue ever so slowly before rapping at the hole. When he was fully sensitized, she took him fully into her mouth and watched him coil from the pleasure of it.

After several minutes of what she knew to be near-torture, she changed her tactics to prevent him from coming. She knew he was getting close. Instead, Alice turned to lay a line of sucking kisses along the shaft until she reached the soft and wrinkled skin across his balls. She'd just pulled a bit of him into her mouth when she felt a strong leg lift beneath her.

Weston deftly moved her up enough that he could grab hold of her shoulders and turn her roughly to the ground. While her head was a little shaken by the sudden contact with the metallic white floor, the strong hands that grabbed at her buttons left her dripping for more.

Coarse motions opened her cotton top and revealed her modest breasts. Smaller than most, her barely B-cups demanded the full attention of the man who'd lost control of himself. His mouth sank down to pull them in as the nipples stiffened from his touch.

Alice let her hands move across his back and tug against the fabric of his navy blue cotton shirt bearing the IGEA logo on the chest. He momentarily paused his foray of her breasts to let her pull the tee over his head. She inhaled sharply as she marveled at the detailed musculature that hovered over her.

"Wow, I, uh-" she said until she succumbed to the fervent kisses on her collarbone, stretching up her neck until finally finding her accepting mouth. Lips crashed together as fluid poured out of her and began to soak the fabric between her legs.

As if somehow sensing her inability to wait any longer, Weston pulled off the last bits of clothing that lay between them. When his skin pressed only against her skin, he abused her further by inserting a single digit into the well-lubricated folds of her pussy. The sensation of an object pushed inside and the resulting pressure caused her hands to reach out and clutch at his shoulders. He clearly wanted to repay her for the agony of her slow, delicious blowjob by only sliding one finger into her.

"Fuck, just do it," she demanded breathlessly. True to his style, he teased her for a while longer, a gentle tongue flicking, and a single finger slipping in and out, before her finally pulled out entirely. A gush of fluid flowed after him.

Weston lined himself up, gave his cock a few hard strokes for good measure, and pushed in. With proper warm-up and all that had transpired that morning, it was incomparable to her experience with him the day before. She was only mildly aware of how her nails dug into his skin.

A heavy arm pushed against her elbow and slid along her forearm until her wrist was pinned to the floor above her head. The other joined it a moment later. Weston used a single hand to press her down as his hips slammed in forcefully and wonderfully.

Alice half expected him to gas out a minute or so into it, but to her pleasant surprise, he continued to pound against her vigorously. Held up with only his one free hand, the muscles of his chest rippled from the effort, though she could scarcely keep her eyes open to see them. The large size of his cock sent strong waves up her torso, down to her fingertips, and radiating into her head until she had to clamp her eyes shut to keep from coming too soon.

No one had ever fucked Alice the way that Weston did. He was strong and not afraid of using his strength to hold her down or lift her up. He didn't ask to pin her to the floor and fuck her until she couldn't stand it anymore, he simply did it. He didn't apologize for her aching wrists from the pressure of his weight. When the orgasmic uprising toppled over the edge, her muscles clamped around him and wild screams erupted. Her back arched brutally as wave after wave crashed against her.

Just as she hoped to come down and bathe in the aftermath, Weston's own moans sounded and his thrusts increased in vigor. Alice couldn't handle the faster, stronger motions when her own nerves fired at every touch. She couldn't help but fall over the edge again with him.

Spent from his release and exertion, Weston lowered himself to the floor and rolled onto his back. Both lay collecting their breaths until Weston moved an arm to roll her into his side. She happily obliged.

"Still hungry?" he asked to break the comfortable quiet.

"Ravenous," she replied. Before he had the chance to get away from her, she wanted to pull one last move, one she was pretty sure he wouldn't expect from her.

Alice sat up and turned so that she could reach his limp cock with her mouth. Sticky with her juices, she pulled the sensitive piece into her mouth and carefully sucked it clean before letting it go with a popping sound for emphasis. When she sat up, the look on his face couldn't have been any better. It was sweet enough that she couldn't help but kiss him and let him have one last taste of her.

"Holy shit, I'm in trouble," was all he could say after, a sloppy grin coating his cheeks.

Ten minutes later, dressed in a pair of comfortable pants and a cotton tank top, a delightful bite of pancake rolled in her mouth as Alice let her gaze fall across the counter to the man who had cooked her breakfast. With the technology available, hardly anyone bothered anymore. She was confident Weston had little love of the old ways as she did, but rather he had taken the time to learn, though she wasn't entirely sure why.

"Got any plans today?" he asked as the last of his pancakes cooked.

"Oh, you know, the usual: process some data, read a book, fuck your brains out."

Weston's eyes shot wide open before a grin broke across his face. Dumping the last pancake onto his plate, he walked around the cooktop and pulled her up to meet his kiss. His lips lashed out as if hungry and his tongue roved to find hers. It was the moment that made Alice question how she was going to manage her duties for the next two years; she didn't want to admit how interested she was in the man in front of her.

Nearly blinded by whiplash from his eager kiss, Alice let her hand lower to caress the bulge created by the limp cock buried in his sweatpants. To her dismay, he pulled away quickly.

"Whoa, hey now. Gotta let it rest." Like nothing had happened, Weston returned to his plate and pulled up the chair next to her. "Now, what?"

"Maple syrup and strawberries." While she was thinking about it, she decided to ask, "Where did you get strawberries by the way. I've never heard of a long flight with fresh fruit."

"This is your first right?"

"Yeah, I've had a pair of three-months and the last was a six-month, but you didn't answer my question."

"Can we talk about it in a minute?" Alice had no idea what he could mean, but became distracted by the total look of ecstasy that filled his face when a syrup-laden pancake entered his mouth.

"Oh my god. Oh man. That's- Wow, that's amazing," Weston began raving as soon as he'd tasted it. He quickly stabbed another bite and popped it in to follow. "You ate this when you were a kid?" he asked when he had only a few left.

"Yeah, my mom made them."

"I think you've converted me."

"You mean, you think pancakes from scratch are better than some powdered paste from a machine?" Alice punched his arm lightly for effect.

Weston visibly savored the last bite with eyes closed and elbows on the counter before eventually swallowing. "Alright, come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To show you where the strawberries came from." Alice could only watch in confusion as Weston stood and turned toward the corridor rather than toward the kitchen storeroom.

"But-"

"Come on." Weston pulled on her arm to get her out of the chair and down the corridor behind him. At the base of the ladder to the upper levels, he turned and let her climb first.

"Where am I going?"

"Third level." Alice heard him and climbed up as she was instructed, but it made no sense. The top floor of the ship was for the automatic programming and computer storage. It housed all the hardware that kept them online and fully functional. There was no way they'd find strawberries in the motherboards.

As expected, the third level opened into a corridor that led to the Nav system, flight module, and data storage on one end, and the oxygen tanks, water filtration, and other life support systems on the other side. "Uh, are you lost?"

"Hardly. This is my ship, remember?" Weston looked rather pleased with himself as he sauntered down toward the guts of the life support system. Alice allowed herself to gaze upon the fine ass as it moved before falling in line behind him.

Weston stopped at the door with the LSS plaque and turned to face her. "Close your eyes."

"I'm good. I know what O2 tanks look like."

He made a grand show of rolling his eyes and waving his hands in frustration though his easy smile never dimmed. "God, you're such a science geek. Can't you have a little fun? Close your eyes." Rather than wait for her to oblige, Weston moved around her and covered her eyes with his sizable hands.

"Open the door," he instructed since his hands were both occupied. A moment of feeling about discovered the smoothness of the panel where she was able to find the button from memory.

Alice never heard the door open over the roar of the mechanisms churning inside the expansive room. Water raced loudly down pipes at least a foot wide as air purifiers hummed so that Weston had to speak loudly into her ear. "Forward a ways."

After a few steps, it became clear that it was easier for the blonde to lead her with his own movements than his voice. Weston navigated her through a veritable maze of pipes, wires, and panels before finally arriving at the door nearly hidden along the back wall.

Again, Alice keyed the door to open, but this time, only a penetrating quiet filled the space. She eagerly stepped in and let the door close behind her, drowning in a sea of silence and fragrance she hadn't thought she would ever experience again.

"Weston Ramsey, is that mint?" Even with eyes covered by his hands, Alice knew what she smelled.

On cue, Weston released her. An intense, yellowish light blinded the unadjusted eyes of the cryogenist. Blinking quickly and using an arm to shadow her face, Alice gazed out on the amazing sight. Row after row of greenery filled the space. Vines clung to the walls and arbors while saplings proudly displayed their flowering branches. A six-foot band of grass lined the periphery.

Alice covered her mouth with her hands in shock. "You like it?" Weston asked though she had no words to respond. She hadn't seen such a garden since her mom got sick a decade before.