Alien Collective (32 page)

M
Y MAIN COMPETITION
for Jeff’s romantic affections left, squawking happily at the male A-Cs who’d come to take her, and Jeff and I got undressed.

“I still miss it here,” I said as I dumped my clothes into the hamper. “Not all the time, but sometimes.”

“Me too, baby,” Jeff said as he did the same, then kissed the back of my neck. “So let’s celebrate being back.”

“It’s been a pretty active day. You want to take a shower first?”

Jeff chuckled. “Sure, since I know I disappointed you by not ravaging you in the elevator.”

Spun around and kissed him. “That’s right. You owe me.”

“Then let me pay up right away.” Jeff picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. We made out the entire way to the shower. I’d have been impressed that he didn’t knock us into walls or trip while doing this, but I was too busy grinding against him while his mouth ravaged mine to stop to applaud.

Showers with Jeff were always well worth any water waste and always in my Top Five List of Things To Do as Often as Possible. He had us inside and me up against the tile in short order.

Pre-Jamie we could take hours on foreplay. Post-Jamie we’d really learned to go for the gusto right away, and then get fancy later if there was time. Sure, she was being babysat by both sets of grandparents, but why tempt fate? While he moved his mouth to my neck, which was my main erogenous zone, and I started the moaning that was likely to become howling shortly, I pushed against Jeff’s perfect butt with my legs. This was my way of telling him I was more than ready for his thrusters to get into action.

He chuckled against my skin as he slid me up a little and slid his mouth down to my breasts. “You know I have a routine, baby.”

Indeed he did. From day one, Jeff had made me orgasm at second base, and by now he considered it a point of pride to ensure this record remained unbroken. As his tongue twirled around my nipples and he sucked and gently bit them, sure enough, I flipped right into wailing as a climax washed over me.

While my body was still bucking, Jeff slid me onto him and I started to hit the high notes. He was incredibly well proportioned, for a draft horse, and any time he did this, it felt like I was having a continuous orgasm.

We ground against each other as the water poured over us, my hands running through his hair and over his back, while my legs shoved against the best thrusters in the world and he ran his teeth all over my neck.

Jeff bucked and I flipped even more over the edge than I already was and Jeff joined me. The soundproofing in the Lair wasn’t up to the standards at the Embassy, but it was a lot better than when we’d housed on the transient floors, so I didn’t worry that anyone else was listening to me yowling like a cat in heat.

My body’s frantic thrusts slowed and he let me slide to the floor. I nuzzled my face between his impressive pecs, enjoying how the water ran through the hair on his chest, while he stroked my back.

It had been short and sweet, but that was fine, because we really did need to clean off. Oh, sure, we helped each other soap up and, once cleaned off, did a repeat performance, this time smelling springtime fresh. But still, for us, a quieter night.

We got out and Jeff dried off at hyperspeed. Technically I could, but it was always a little risky for me, and I just didn’t feel like concentrating.

He kissed me as I wrapped a towel around my hair. “I’ll just go warm up the bed.”

“Oh, I like where your head’s at. Both of them.”

Got my hair down to damp and combed through and decided that was good enough for the work I planned to do in just a few moments. Was going to leave when I happened to glance at the back of the bathroom door, which wasn’t fully closed or opened. The door had a hook and there was something on it.

As with every A-C facility, the Elves had it stocked with our clothes and other necessities. Because I was prevented by Algar from talking about him, and he blocked my thoughts about him from others, I found it easier to just still think of the Operations Team as the Elves most of the time. It caused me a lot less mental pain.

But, showing that Algar was indeed the one on the case, there was a slinky negligee hanging up here that hadn’t been there when we went into the shower. Jeff had never needed sexy clothes to work up interest, but who was I to argue with the King of the Elves? Perhaps Algar was into this look and was watching us on his 24/7 Porn Channel. Or maybe it was just a nostalgic nod to our wedding. Decided to put the lingerie on and not care.

Heard music starting, “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera. Excellent choice, since Jeff had Jagger’s moves and everyone else’s too.

Came out to see Jeff indeed in bed, on his side, head leaning on one hand, the covers pulled back. He looked Centerfold Sexy and I did my best not to drool. He saw me, his eyelids drooped, and he got the Jungle Cat About to Eat Me look on his face. I loved that look. It was probably my favorite look in the world.

“Nice,” he purred. “When did you get that?”

“Tonight. The Elves apparently want us to celebrate, too.”

“They need a raise along with Pierre.”

Slid into the bed with him. Jeff pulled me to him and kissed me, deeply, his tongue twining with mine while his hand slid over the small of my back.

Wrapped my arms around him as he pulled me closer and we rubbed against each other. The silky fabric of the negligee made a nice contrast to skin and hair, and, shocking absolutely no one, I was instantly ready to go again. My pelvis thrust against Jeff’s and, happy day, he was ready and rarin’, too. I loved when we were in sync like this.

However, while he was ready, Jeff was also going for nostalgia. He rolled me onto my back and his hands and mouth proceeded to wander my body, paying particular attention to my neck and breasts, sliding the negligee out of the way and then sliding it right back, but in no way letting the rest of my upper body feel left out.

Within short order, my hips were thrusting like mad and I was back to moaning. Jeff moved down, presumably because he wanted me back to yowling. As his tongue ran over me, I obliged.

He obliged as well, and delved his tongue deep inside me and I went for High C, while the music changed to “Addicted to Love”. While I was singing the song of Being Jeff’s Woman in harmony with Robert Palmer, Jeff flipped me over onto my stomach, his mouth still doing its good work downstairs.

He shoved my thighs up so my butt was in the air. He ran his hands over my back and down my arms, moving them so he could hold my wrists next to my knees. I couldn’t really move in this position, but I was too busy having an intense orgasm to complain. Jeff growled against my tender, quivering flesh and I screamed into the pillows.

“Like that, baby?” he asked, mouth still against me.

Tried to reply. Only managed a yowl. He seemed okay with this, at least if his mouth’s ministrations against me were any indication. He built me right back up and tossed me over the edge again, while I moaned, and yowled, and begged for him to stop and keep going at the same time.

As this latest orgasm subsided and “Love” from Elefant came on, he ran his tongue up and nipped my butt. I bucked as he nipped the other side. Jeff let go of my wrists and let my legs slide down, then he ran his tongue up my spine, which made me quiver easily as much as everything else had. He reached my neck and gently bit the back of my neck.

“What do you want, baby?” he purred into my ear, as my hips thrust against the mattress.

“Oh . . . God . . . you . . . Jeff,” I wailed. “I want you . . .”

“Mmmm, that’s what I like to hear.” He put his arm around my stomach and moved me up onto my hands and knees, and with that, the music slid into Heart’s “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You”, he slid my legs apart with his knees, then he slid into me.

He always felt perfect inside me, but in this position the feelings were even more intense and he felt bigger and as if he was going even deeper inside me. I moaned as his hand went around my hip and between my legs.

We thrust against each other and he stroked me in time, building me up again and again, only to hold off just as I was about to go over. Jeff always played me as if I were a saxophone and he was Clarence Clemens. Fittingly, Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” came over our airwaves.

I was definitely hitting all the high notes when Jeff finally decided to be kind and let me crash over the edge. This time, he went with me, roaring as he exploded into me and I went from High C to High Wail.

He pumped into me, hands on my hips, until our bodies slowed down to match the rhythm of the song. As the song finished and “On Top Of The World” by Imagine Dragons started, he pulled out, and flipped us both onto our backs. I turned onto my side and draped my body over his, snuggling my face into the hair on his chest while he stroked my arm and kissed my head.

“I love you, baby,” Jeff murmured against my hair.

Kissed his chest. “I love you, too. I’m really glad we didn’t die today.”

He hugged me. “Me, too. Feel better now?”

“Mmmm, yeah. But you know what would make me feel perfect?”

He chuckled. “No, what?”

Leaned up and kissed him. “Doing it again. And then again after that.”

Jeff grinned. “Sometimes it just sucks to be me.”

A
FTER MORE FANTASTIC SEX,
and as Lifehouse crooned “You and Me”, we fell asleep wrapped around each other.

Wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep when my dream started. Happily, it wasn’t my favorite congressional hearing dream, and I wasn’t in the gray formless mass, either. This was a new one—I was in the woods. I wasn’t a fan of the woods, and these woods didn’t look familiar.

They were kind of creepy woods, as I looked around. There were definitely “things” behind trees, or running past, that I could just catch out of the corner of my eye. I spun around to see what was there, but I couldn’t get a clear look.

“
Kitty
.”

The voice sounded very far away, almost whispered.

“Who’s there?”

“
Kitty
?” The voice sounded a little closer but still far.

“ACE? ACE, is that you?” Something small bounded out from behind one of the trees. It was fluffy and adorable, but also hazy and indistinct. “Fuzzball?”

The Poof mewed at me and jumped up and down. Then it took off. I followed.

Fuzzball dropped out of sight. I ran to where the Poof had been to see a big, gaping black hole. “
Alice in Wonderland
much, whoever’s in charge of this dream?” But I followed the Poof down the black hole.

Tumbled over and over, and as I did I saw not blackness but stars, nebulas, galaxies, and more. It was like a fast-moving panorama of the universe. This was better than the woods, but I wasn’t getting the point.

Landed, and it didn’t hurt, confirming that I was indeed dreaming. Got to my feet and looked around. More woods. Different woods, at least as far as I could tell, yet still creepy. What a lack of an improvement.

Saw a small body lying on its side and ran to it. It was Jamie, sleeping and looking quite peaceful, Mous-Mous snuggled to her chest and clutched in her hands. I reached for them but they dissipated like smoke.

Took this to mean that Jamie was indeed asleep. Wondered if she’d really been asleep when we’d gotten back or if she was disappointed in her inattentive parents. “ACE? Are you here? Is Jamie okay?”

“Yes, Kitty, ACE is here. Kitty should not worry. Jamie was asleep and is asleep now. Jamie is safe. Jamie had a busy day and was very tired.”

The voice was much closer. Registered that I was hearing it through my ears, versus in my mind. Remembered that this was how dreams worked because they were all in my mind. Looked around to see if I could spot ACE. Nothing.

“Um, how busy was she, ACE? How much of our survival was dependent upon her?”

“Not as much as Kitty fears. Jamie . . . met Sandy.”

Controlled my reaction, which was fear. Fear would wake me up and I wanted to talk to ACE as long as I could. Plus, Sandy hadn’t actually hurt anyone. So far, and as far as we knew. Focused on the woods around me and tried to relax. The woods didn’t help much. “How did that go?”

No response. Looked around again. Still nothing. Worried I’d woken myself up by worrying. Looked up. There, in the tree, was Fuzzball. “Where did ACE go?”

The Poof mewed and jumped up into a higher branch. It so figured. Well, at least I was still asleep.

Climbed up. This was easier than it should have been, but that was one of the benefits of dreaming—you could do things in dreams you couldn’t in waking life.

Reached the very top. There were clouds right at my head. Fuzzball jumped to the top of another tree, and I followed. We did this for a while, until we reached a little house perched on top of a tree surrounded by a haze I realized was smoke. The house didn’t have a chimney, but it wasn’t burning, either. Just smoky.

The house was more like a shack, and it was also familiar. It looked like the prisoner shacks on the outskirts of Guantanamo.

“Curiouser and curiouser. That’s my line right about now, right?”

Fuzzball mewed and went inside. I followed.

To see a small, dark-haired, Dazzler-beautiful older woman who still managed to look completely intimidating sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Hey, kiddo, how’s it going?”

I wanted to run to Gladys and grab her, but figured she’d dissipate like Jamie had if I tried. Felt as though we were moving, but we were still inside the shack. Risked a look around. I could see a giant elephant-like thing underneath us. “Hey, the Pachyderm is part of ACE’s collective consciousness? Really?”

“It’s your dream, kiddo. Many things are in here. Some of them are really bizarre, too, let me tell you. But that’s not why we’re here. Relax. Take a load off.”

Did as I was bid and sat down in the same way as Gladys. Fuzzball went to her and sat in her lap. “Things have been better. They’ve also been worse. What’s going on?”

She shrugged. “Cause and effect. Plans put in motion. Many things are going on, as they always are.”

I’d been too vague. ACE preferred it when I was literal and exact in my questions because it made answering questions easier, and clearly that extended to anyone who was part of his collective consciousness as well. I wanted to rephrase the question, knew that if I could figure out what the endgame was I could stop whatever bad was coming toward us. But I couldn’t manage to grasp the right words.

“What should I do?”

Gladys gave me a long stare. “You need to focus on what matters most. You haven’t been. You’ve been focused on finding enemies, not protecting friends.”

“I saved Vander and Serene. Well, me and the others. And a good offence is the best defense.”

“And he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.”

“I wish you’d run away.”

Gladys shook her head. “I have peace here. So does Michael, and this one,” she patted Fuzzball. “We aren’t alone.”

“What about Naomi?”

“Trust me, she’s not alone. But you need to focus on what you can affect, kiddo.”

“Jamie misses her almost as much as Chuckie does. I’m worried about him, about both of them, and all the rest of your family. Is that what I’m supposed to focus on?”

Gladys shrugged. “Every A-C on Earth is part of my family. Even the bad ones.”

“Does that mean you think we should be trying to flip your half-siblings, even though Siler says we can’t do it?”

“I think that you need to focus on the thing that will do the most good for my people. And that when top assassins speak, you should listen.”

The house shook, and Fuzzball jumped out of Gladys’ lap. The house tipped, and Fuzzball and I both fell through the open door.

“Hang tough, kiddo,” Gladys said, sounding far away. “That’s the ticket. Hang tough.”

The sensation of falling while asleep isn’t beloved by most and I was firmly in the majority on this one. Going down the hole hadn’t been bad—it hadn’t felt like falling. This did, in a big way.

As I fell, I heard ACE again. “Kitty must think right.”

Landed before I could ask what right was in this case. Only I didn’t hit the ground. I landed in someone’s arms.

“Thanks,” I said as someone put me down. Realized that someone was Michael Gower.

Even as a spirit, Michael was big, black, bald, and gorgeous. He flashed me his standard You So Hot, Babe smile that he’d given every woman over the age of eighteen when he’d been alive. “Any time. You look lost.” Fuzzball jumped onto Michael’s shoulder, purring like mad.

“I am lost. Fuzzball’s my White Rabbit, Gladys was the Caterpillar, so you must be the Cheshire Cat. Does that mean you’re here to lead me out? Or do I get to visit the King of the Elves and whoever the heck Algar’s queen would be?”

Michael cocked his head at me. “You’re the queen, Kitty. You’re always the queen. Remember that—the queen guards the king.”

“I’m supposed to guard Algar?”

Michael kissed my forehead. “By guarding your king, you guard everyone, including him.”

“Who is my king, then? Is it Richard, or Paul?”

“The king has always been your king.” Michael grinned. “But don’t worry—you’re the best there is at guarding this king. Just remember . . . you’re the queen, Kitty.”

With that, Michael and Fuzzball faded away, and, in typical Cheshire Cat style, the last thing I saw was Michael’s grin. But even that faded.

I was in the dark, literally and figuratively. Gave it one last shot. “ACE, I was able to think about Algar with you.” Fantastic. That wasn’t what I’d wanted to say.

But it garnered a response. “Yes. Algar cannot control ACE and ACE cannot control Algar. Algar and ACE have . . . an understanding.”

“God and the Devil usually do.”

“The Devil is in the details.”

That didn’t sound like ACE. Didn’t sound like Algar, either. Looked around and, sure enough, Mephistopheles was waving at me, from quite far away, but I could see him and everything around him clearly. He was surrounded by video screens, and each one showed a scene from all that had gone on the day before. It was a confused, muddled view, just like my mind right now.

“Huh?” The darkness was fading. I could hear Maroon Five singing “Love Somebody”. That meant my alarm was going off and I was going to wake up really soon. “Mephs, I sincerely would like to know who the Mastermind is.”

“Guard all the power pieces,” Mephistopheles said. “It’s not time for the endgame. But it’ll be the end if you don’t think right.”