Nikhil(63)

"I can only vow that I will fight with my last breath to return to you, my Mackenzie. I will never abandon you."

Mac's gaze searched Nikhil's, and she knew he was telling her the truth. His truth. He wasn't going to give her a false promise, but he also wasn't going to abandon her willingly. "Alright, I can live with that."

Her stomach growled, stopping her from saying anything else.

"I will get you first meal," he said immediately getting up.

"I could eat, but first I need to use the cleansing room." She blushed as she told him that.

"Alright, I will help you." He held out a hand to her.

"I can handle it myself," she told him, but still took the hand he held out.

"You are sure?" he asked helping her up, frowning as she tried to keep the sheet wrapped around her.

"Yes, but first." Reaching up, she pulled his head down for a deep kiss. "Good morning."

Nikhil's response was instantaneous as he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet to capture her lips for another kiss. Goddess, he would never get enough of her. He felt his shaft rising as she wrapped her arms around his head pulling him even closer. He moved to lay her back down on the bed when her stomach made its desires known again. Reluctantly he broke off the kiss and put her back on her feet.

"Use the cleansing room," he told her gruffly. "I will have first meal ready for you when you return."

"Alright, but make sure you get some for yourself too," she said and lifting the sheet so she wouldn't trip on it, made her way to the cleansing room.

Nikhil watched her hurry away and waited until the cleansing room door closed before moving to dress. His shaft was still extremely hard and it wasn't happy at being confined inside his pants. If it had to be confined, it wanted to be inside her tight channel, not his uniform. Ignoring the discomfort closing his pants caused him, he went to get his Mackenzie's first meal, stopping only long enough to lean down and pick up her covering from the floor, placing it on the bed where she would see it.

Mac stared at her reflection in the mirror and couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her hair was flowing in waves around her face, and she knew she had Nikhil to thank for that, vaguely remembering him running his fingers through it during the night. Her lips were puffy and swollen, again thanks to Nikhil, this time from his kisses that had rocked her world.

Smiling, she touched the crystal revealing the tankless toilet and hurried to complete what she needed to do so she could get back to Nikhil. Wrapping the sheet tighter around her, she exited the cleansing room. Meaning to find Nikhil, she paused seeing the shirt she had been wearing lying on the bed. Quickly, she put it on and went to find him.

She found him frowning, putting his comm back on his belt as she walked into the room. She felt her breath catch and her heart beat a little faster at the stunning specimen of male. He was standing there in just his pants, and he was all hers. Smiling, she walked up to him.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Yes, but I need to report to duty."

"Right now?"

"Not until after we have first meal. Come," he gestured to the couch where he had placed two meal packets.

"Are these always the same?" she asked after heating and opening hers.

"They can vary, it all depends on what the Tornians send," he told her.

"The Tornians?" she asked looking at him as she took a bite.

"Yes, the majority of our food comes from Vesta in the Tornian Empire," Nikhil frowned as he spoke. "Wasn't that in the educator?"

"It was. I mean I knew that's where you got the majority of your food, but not that there was so little variety."

"It is all taken to Crurn where it is processed before being distributed."

"I see."

"Is it not this way on Earth?"

"No. We have a large variety of food, and everyone chooses what they want and cooks their own."

"Truth?" Nikhil's eyes widened at the thought.

"Truth. Packets like these," she lifted what was in her hand, "are normally reserved for military, survivalists, or disaster areas."

"It is not something you eat every day?"

"No. These are the only ones I've ever had."

"I see." Nikhil silently ate his meal and wondered for the first time if what he would be able to provide for his Mackenzie would be enough to satisfy her. It seemed his world offered so little compared to what she was used to.

"Nikhil?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think you can get me one of those gray capes that the other survivors have?"

"What? Why?" he asked frowning at her. Those capes weren't meant for one such as his Mackenzie. They were made from an inexpensive, coarse fabric that could be rough on the skin. It was something that should never touch his Ashe's soft skin.