Alien Tango

said. “We should land around ten.” I opened my mouth, and he put his hand up. “We had to go around some weather, it caused the delay. And, James, I have Alfred on the ’com. He’s sending a team to check on Smith.”
    “Who’s Alfred?”
    Reader gave me a grin. “Jeff’s dad.”
    “You keep the headsets.” Tim and Reader both gave me looks that said I was a chicken. True enough, at least in this case. “Everyone else is fast asleep. Not sure if I should wake them up or not.”
    “Let them sleep for another few minutes,” Reader said. “Jeff in particular needs the regeneration.” This I knew to be true. Sex, even great, mind-blowing sex, didn’t regenerate him. Sleep did, being in an isolation chamber did it better, and, I’d discovered, watching old TV reruns helped him, too. He insisted that cuddling with me helped as well, but most of our cuddling sessions ended in sexual acrobatics. Then again, we were on an airplane, and I wasn’t going to start anything with the others aboard.
    “Okay, I’m going back to the cabin. I’ll wake them up in a little while.”
    “Sounds good.”
    “James, before I go, do we have weapons with us?”
    “Plenty. We go equipped for war at all times.” He was serious. Five months in, this shouldn’t have felt like a surprise.
    “Good. I guess.” I wandered back to my seat. Martini had shifted and looked like a big cat to me, stretched out and ready for a tummy rub. I knew better than to do that, though—too many others about, and besides, he needed the sleep.
    He cracked an eye. “C’mere.” He pulled me into his lap. “How much more sleep time before you tell me what you’re upset about?”
    “Thirty minutes or so.”
    Martini flipped a blanket around me and shifted again, so I was still in his lap but lying down. “Good. Close your eyes, think calm thoughts.”
    I snuggled my face into his neck and practiced Serenity Time. At least, that’s what I called it when I was trying to keep my emotions low and quiet. I wasn’t very good at it, even though I practiced every day. Quiet time for me meant “think about all the things I want to do,” not “focus on the lotus blossom.” My kung fu instructors despaired of my ever getting anywhere in the sport because of it. My track coaches had merely seen it as proof I was a sprinter. Martini felt I was just wired horny. He was probably right.
    However, I gave it my best shot with the lotus blossom. Nada. Tried for the Happy Place. Worse . . . now all I could think about was Martini naked. Then again, while it didn’t keep me calm, it sure kept me happy.
    I spent some time trying to choose my favorite position, naughtiest location, and most mind-blowing orgasm. I gave up on the orgasm—it was like trying to rate different levels of nirvana. Favorite position was “whatever one we’re in right now,” so while I could enjoy reminiscing over our repertoire, I couldn’t come up with a definitive answer.
    Naughtiest location, however, was a good one, and that kept me occupied for quite a while. Elevator, the Pontifex’s office, top of the Empire State Building, cave off a main trail in the Grand Canyon, and potentially our just left but fondly remembered maintenance closet were vying for positions in the Top 10. Of course, the men’s room in Guadalajara and the women’s in the Paris Metro were also highlights. The cabana in Cabo wasn’t really naughty, but it was still my favorite. The best vacation I’d ever had, one week of pure bliss. We hadn’t been able to get away anywhere since then, not even for a weekend.
    “My fave, too,” Martini murmured. He always knew when I was thinking about Cabo. “You’re not clear on how to get to a calm place, are you?”
    I shifted in his lap, which caused him to give a low growl. “Not my fault.”
    “Uh-huh.” He lifted me off his lap and deposited me gently in the seat next to him. He stretched, then kissed me, deeply, for quite a while. He pulled away, eyes half-closed. “I’d love to move this conversation to the back of the plane, but we might as well wake everyone up so you can bring us up to speed.”
    I nodded. He stood up, belt buckle in my face. I sat on my hands and forced myself to lean back.
    Martini grinned at me. “I promise, we’ll get a room.” He wandered back and shook the others awake while I reined my libido in, albeit unwillingly.
    In addition to everything else, the chairs swiveled. Everyone shifted their chairs so we were