I hadn't counted on just how painful it would be, or that it would take a week of rubbing salves into the head of my cock as I waited for it to heal. I didn't realize that being around Ruth would make my cock immediately harden, which intensified the pain and made it difficult to walk or even think straight.
I've avoided my female. I've avoided touching her, or kissing her, or anything other than the occasional caress, because I'm afraid of my cock getting hard and my piercings getting infected. I can't imagine it growing more painful than it already is, but I'm assured by Sakkar that if things get infected, it could be Very Bad. So I've been careful. So careful. I sleep on the floor and spend time with the men and avoid Ruth as much as I can without hurting her feelings. If she asks, my plan is to tell her that she needs time to recover. That she's fragile.
Which, she is, but right now my cockhead feels far more fragile than Ruth.
As I head down the ramp of the ship, I resist the urge to stick my hand in my trou and check my bits. For the first time in a week, nothing hurts. It almost feels like a trick of some kind, but the true test will be an erection. That shouldn't be difficult, as being around Ruth and thinking about touching her makes me harder than I ever imagined.
Lost in thought, I don't notice my female until my boots touch sand. Ruth stands a short distance away from me amongst the coral trees. They're strange, leafless wonders that look more like fingers reaching for the air, but some have rain anemones that send out tendrils into the sky and look like flowers. Ruth says it's pretty, but to me they're poor cover if there's a blaster fight. She's got a flower clipped behind one ear and wears nothing but a filmy silken tunic that's supposed to be for sleeping. Her skin is golden with sunlight and she looks incredible, bits of sand clinging to her bare legs as she moves forward to greet me.
My cock immediately surges and I flinch instinctively.
"Are you okay?" Ruth asks, worried. "Is something going on?"
Nothing hurts below the belt. There's no burning, no pinch of pain, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Everything is fine." I move forward and press a kiss to the top of her head. "Are you enjoying the beach?"
"Don't change the subject," she tells me. "Why were you boarding the Eye? Are we being followed again?" Her expression turns worried. "Are you keeping something from me?"
Is she worried we're not safe here? This little island paradise is pretty, but it's absolutely not defensible. The only thing it has going for it is the knowledge that we'll know anyone is coming long before they actually arrive. There's nowhere for them to hide…and not much of anywhere for us to hide, either, really. "The beaches are nice, aren't they?"
Her expression turns furious. "Don't keep things from me, Straik. Whatever's going on, I want to know."
My fierce, beautiful female. I love that she looks so very angry with me. She's fearless, my Ruth. I want to beam at her with pure pleasure and pride at the sight of her. That, and I want to cover her up so the crew doesn't get to stare at her gorgeous body that's barely covered with a scrap of silk. I pull her against me, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I visited med-bay, nothing more."
This time, she makes a sound of pure exasperation. "I've told you a hundred times, I feel fine."
I don't correct her in her assumption that I was visiting Sakkar about her. I just hug her against my chest. "I'm just being careful. You're fragile."
That word never fails to rile her up. At “fragile,” a scowl spreads across her face. She grabs a fistful of my heavy tunic and drags me forward. "That does it. We are both officially on vacation as of now. Is the ship safe?"
"Yes."
"And the crew has their guard rotations locked? Someone's on alert at all times?"
"All times," I agree, amused at how authoritative she's become suddenly. "Would you like to verify it?"
"No," Ruth tells me. "I know you've got it under control. But all that means now you get to enjoy yourself." She marches me forward, her feet digging into the sand. "And the first step is to experience the beach. I can tell just from looking at you that you haven't yet."
She's right. The thought of getting saltwater on my fresh piercings seemed like the worst idea ever. Even now, I'm not sure about the concept. "I don't know…I can enjoy from afar."
"You're going to enjoy the water," Ruth says, ever demanding. "I'm going to strip you down to your underwear and you're going to frolic in the waves with me, damn it. This is your vacation, too." She turns toward me, and leans in, on her tiptoes as she tries to get in my face. "And then after we play in the water a bit, we're going back to my room and we're going to fuck like bunnies. Unless you have a problem with that?"