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before he attached the milker. I closed my eyes and let it work its magic.
I don t know how much time passed before Qhan disconnected it and
removed me from the frame. I thought he d take me back to bed, but then I
realized Mark had, at some point, left the room.
Qhan led me through the house, which was even larger than I first
thought. He took me through a room I suspected was the kitchen, out a back
door, and I found myself in a large, fenced-in yard.
Mark lay in the middle, in the soft grass, face up with his eyes closed
and a smile lighting his features.
Qhan led me over to him, drove a stake into the ground, and hooked my
leash to it. Then he retreated to the shaded patio and sat reading a hand-held
computer device.
Mark didn t open his eyes. This is my idea of heaven. Did you ever
have a yard?
I sat in the grass next to him. No yards on Ganymede. I closed my
eyes and tipped my face to the sky, enjoying the feel of the warm sunlight
on my pale body. I realized how tan Mark s skin was compared to my pasty
white flesh. Being outside, for me, was a rarity. In my life, the only times
I d been outside on a planet were my two trips to Earth in the military.
Admittedly, there were far worse places to be held in captivity.
They won t keep us out here too long. Or else they ll move us to the
shade for a while. He waved in the direction of a few trees off to one side,
one that bore pinkish fruit.
I lay back next to Mark. Then I felt his fingers brush mine. I didn t pull
away.
When he realized I didn t object to the contact, he loosely curled his
fingers around mine.
After a few minutes, he softly spoke.
Love has earth to which she clings
42 Tymber Dalton
With hills and circling arms about
Wall within wall to shut fear out.
But Thought has need of no such things,
For Thought has a pair of dauntless wings.
He looked at me. That s the old Earth poet, Robert Frost. Ever hear of
him?
No.
He continued reciting. I realized I enjoyed the sound of his voice.
Soothing, warm, rich. How long for him since he d been able to freely talk
with another human in his native language?
On snow and sand and turf, I see
Where Love has left a printed trace
With straining in the world s embrace.
And such is Love and glad to be.
But Thought has shaken his ankles free.
He chuckled. That s not the whole poem. I used to love his works. I
remember quite a few of them.
I felt him roll to his side toward me, not releasing my hand. Please
don t fight them, he whispered. Please don t do something to make them
send you away. I ve been so lonely. When he started looking for another one
for me, I thought finally, I wouldn t be alone. But the first two he picked
were grunts who needed a lot of re-training and gentling to fit in. They got
pissed at me for accepting my fate. They didn t understand. He sniffled.
Like I said, the last one nearly killed me.
I opened my eyes and saw him near tears. I didn t have any friends on
board the ship. I wondered what happened to Billy Akins and felt a brief
moment of sadness for that kid, who was probably scared witless wherever
he d ended up. Mark wasn t just alone on an alien world, he was lonely.
I had a choice to make. I could accept this, enjoy it, and take each day as
it came, or I could make myself and Mark miserable by wishing things were
different and trying to uphold principles I didn t even believe in.
I rolled onto my side and propped myself up on one elbow. I laced my
fingers through his and squeezed. I never liked the military anyway.
Acquainted with the Night 43
He laughed then blinked away his tears. Thank you, Dale. I can t tell
you how grateful I am.
His cock had inflated again.
Jesus, will I get like that, too?
He looked down and laughed then rolled onto his back again. He let go
of my hand and started stroking. Yeah. You ll find when you re carrying,
toward the end, you re only really satisfied if you re hooked to the milker.
You can jerk off, but it s not nearly as strong. He proceeded to do just that,
his hand slicking pre-cum over the purple, engorged head, quickly bringing
himself to climax, but his cock barely softened.
I watched, my own cock now hard.
I heard Master s voice, and we both looked. He stood on the patio next
to Qhan, talking with him. They watched us, their body language indicating
how pleased they were that the pets got along so well.
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