Chapter 6
Natasha woke the next morning with a strong desire for eggs and crepes with plenty of fruit. She knew it was her body and the nano-machines working feverishly to heal her, but even knowing this didn't affect her appetite.
It was early still. There probably wasn't anybody else awake on the ship just yet she knew. She'd always been an early riser and usually preferred to work out before breakfast, but her stomach was having none of it!
She slipped out of her bed naked as usual, feeling comfortable in her skin but this time put on a light silk robe. She had company on board and didn't want to embarrass herself or one of them. Then she headed for the kitchen. Maybe afterward she would have the energy to exercise a little.
Karl hadn't been able to sleep much with Mallory potentially and probably still on the planet. So it was, he found himself sitting in the living area in the near pitch dark and sipping a cup of a spicy chi tea blend. And thus, he was there to see a nearly nude Natasha as she ghosted into the living area and through it toward the kitchen. She was in an almost sheer short silk robe that hid little and accentuated her curves beautifully. He'd seen her in a tiny swimsuit, but hadn't had time to really appreciate her beauty then. He'd been too worried about whether she would live to even pay attention. Now however...
She never even noticed him as she made her way to her destination and set about programming an early breakfast for herself. He couldn't see much of her until she passed in front of the door on her various errands. He didn't know if he should say anything or not, but finally decided it would only be polite. She probably wouldn't appreciate being surprised in that way in her own home. "Good morning beautiful." He said in an easy voice. She jumped a little at the sound and whirled around to see, but the surprise on her face wasn't so much funny as happy.
"I didn't see you there," she said as she brought up the lights a little in the living area and smiled at him, "I didn't expect anyone to be up this early. Oh, you look like you've been awake awhile. What are you drinking?"
"A cup of chi tea." He replied with a mild grin for her. "I guess either I'm not the only one who doesn't sleep much, or you're a really early riser."
"This is early, even for me!" Natasha giggled, "I was hungry! Care to join me for breakfast?" At his nod of thanks, she made a couple of adjustments to the auto-kitchen programming before joining him in the living area with a hot cup of coffee.
It was then she realized he wasn't wearing much. Then a second later exactly how little she herself was wearing. She hadn't really expected to run into anyone at this time of night and so, her clothing selection had been more for forms sake than anything. He was wearing only a pair of bike shorts which nicely confirmed her observations on the station. He was slim but corded with wiry muscle that was probably deceptively strong. Even relaxed, he looked magnificent.
He seemed in reasonably good control of himself and a furtive glance at his groin showed an impressive but soft looking bulge in the right place. His shorts left very little to the imagination. It was a bit exciting, but at the same time a bit of a letdown too. She'd always enjoyed the anticipation of her first sight of a partner's anatomy, especially when he was hard. She knew she was going to sleep with him, the only question was when it would happen. She wasn't disappointed by what she was seeing by any means, she just knew she would miss the anticipation. It was always like waiting to open a gift. Sometimes the gift was good, other times not so, but that was all part of the fun. Still, his not being hard did leave some of the anticipation... She realized she was still staring and hid her blush behind her coffee cup, drinking slowly but deeply to hide her embarrassment. There was no way he could've missed where her eyes were looking.
Karl hadn't missed it either, but hadn't wanted to embarrass her any more than she already was. Too, her attention was flattering. He took the opportunity of her distraction to take a look at her as well. He was more successful in hiding his action, but his physical reaction almost gave him away anyway. It took all he had to suppress it enough not to be obvious what he'd been doing. They reached for each other's hands at the same moment, each giving the other a respite from the momentary awkwardness. Each knew what the other had been doing though and they both found themselves laughing quietly together. That broke the tension and the next thing they knew they were kissing passionately, all inhibitions forgotten for the moment.
When they broke, they were both breathing hard and flushed. This was going way too fast for both of them. Neither had been prepared or even looking for anything like this when they'd come to Aphrodite. They both started to speak at once and ended up laughing again.
Karl was the first to recover and begin speaking again for which Natasha was thankful. She didn't want to be the one to say what had to be said. Her heart was screaming at her to rush into it and worry about the consequences later. "It looks like we both agree at least, or I hope so anyway. Otherwise, I'm making a very big mistake I'll probably never be able to forgive myself for. But, this is going too fast. I think maybe we should try to slow it down a bit. Take a little more time getting to know one another, you know? I don't want to take a chance at ruining a really good thing because we were impatient."
"Exactly." Natasha agreed looking relieved. She wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tight this time. He returned the hug and they stayed that way for a long while before relaxing into the sofa and snuggling together comfortably. When the auto-kitchen alerted them, their breakfast was ready, they got up hand in hand and moved to the table. Karl seated Natasha as he had the night of their dinner date before going and retrieving their food and drinks.
They ate slowly but heartily, talking quietly, sharing small anecdotes and jokes.
