Chapter 1
When that recruitment had turned into something akin to ‘you are a space wizard, follow this elf and learn magic’ he hadn’t even the foggiest idea of what to expect. When that further turned into him being loaded into a spaceship and traveling light years through space to a massive, interstellar, traveling academy ship named the Valor’s Bid, he’d just decided to go with it and see where it led him. All that had been before he’d discovered the gender disparity in the greater galaxy and his place in it. Going with it definitely led me somewhere interesting. Desmond thought to himself, shifting slightly in bed and nuzzling into his ‘pillow’ gently. The ‘pillow’ shifted slightly under his head and his bedmate gave a quiet sigh before pulling him tight to her chest. I just never expected to be used as a teddy-bear by an eight foot tall, gorgeous, Amazonian, alien woman who is madly in love with me. Chloe breathed quietly behind him, the exhalation ruffling Desmond’s hair gently, and her arm under him shifted, drawing him closer to her chest once more. Her arm wrapped over top of him pulled his waist against her bare abdomen. The motion of her breathing caused his ‘pillow’ to shift again and Desmond turned his head enough to poke his nose into the side of her generous breast, making Chloe giggle. “You seem to like doing this with me,” Desmond chuckled. Chloe made a noise of agreement and squeezed him closer once more. “Why shouldn’t I? You are the perfect size for this and you definitely aren’t complaining,” she replied, squeezing him again. The motion had the side effect of compressing his head slightly between her breasts, as the one above his head settled on top of his cheek. “Should I complain? You make a great pillow, after all.” Desmond kissed the breast he was using as a pillow. “I know some guys would complain about being treated like a body pillow, but I can only see it as a benefit. It does balance out the fact I struggle to reach the top shelves.” Desmond was barely over five feet six inches. While not ridiculously small, he felt like a child next to Chloe’s seven foot, nine-inch height. She tended to loom over everyone else, even the Uth’ra that he’d met, who normally towered over all others. “Some guys would still see it as emasculating. At least that was how you described your homeworld to me,” Chloe murmured quietly and he could feel her nuzzling into the back of his head. “Some guys are insecure. I don’t need to be insecure with all the attention you pay me.” Desmond reached behind himself to pat Chloe on one muscular thigh. He felt her tail switch happily, the little tufted cow's tail wiggling behind her to land limply over his waist too, and he patted it gently. “No reason at all. And I’m not going to be the only one paying you attention either, if I have my way. You’ll have plenty of other girls looking after you once we get to fill out the team some.” Chloe reminded him gently, one large hand rubbing his chest while she took another deep breath behind him. Desmond heard the quiet scrape of her horns against the durable material of the pillowcases while she shifted. Chloe was half taurine Taari, and half Uth’ra. The combination was one of the more rare ones, given the feelings of the Taari species on the matter. Desmond had learned that the Taari were the only species in the known universe that would actually produce cross-breeds. Normally, when two different species bred, they would produce offspring whose species matched that of the parent that shared their gender. As such, if the mother was an Uth’ra and the father a Dwerg, then daughters would take after their mother and sons would do the same for their father. Chloe had gotten bits of both of her parents' species. She had inherited her large, forward sweeping horns and tufted cow’s tail from her mother’s side. Apparently both Taari genders sported horns, while her muscular build came from her father. Her extreme height was a unique mix from both parents, leaving her looming several inches over other Uth’ra or taurine Taari. The species’ traits had combined together into what Desmond thought of privately as his personal ‘tower of power and snuggles’ since Chloe was his bodyguard as well as his lover. Definitely a tower of something… Desmond thought with a half grin, remembering the shower the two of them had shared after finishing the midterm examinations, as well as the energetic toss in the bed right after it that had led to their cuddling and nap. “Everything okay in there, Des?” Chloe’s voice was concerned, and he realized he’d been daydreaming about watching the water run down over his lover's curves. “Yeah, I’m fine.” “Okay, you just…went quiet when I mentioned other girls and, uh, I worried,” Chloe said quietly, squeezing him again with both arms this time. “It’s fine, Chloe. That’s how it’s done out here, right?” One of the unexpected things Desmond learned when he reached the greater universe was the gender disparity amongst the intelligent species. Apparently, the ratio could skew quite a bit from race to race, but men were outnumbered at a minimum of three to one, and more often seven to one in the wider universe. As adepts, the title used in the greater universe to describe those who could use magic, the gender disparity was even further skewed. Desmond was the only male in his class block, so one amongst roughly three hundred other cadet-adepts in his classes. He knew there were a half dozen other males in his year, but he hadn’t run into them. He’d seen several more males out and about on the ship, but the only interactions he’d had with them were a trio of Taari males that had tried to cause trouble for Chloe. The answer he’d gotten while looking into the gender disparity had been that it was somehow related to the fact that one male could impregnate many females, so many species adapted in that direction either via a mass die off or environmental pressures. Only Earth, now Terra as it was called after being claimed by the Hegemony of Velvet Stars, had stuck closer to the one-to-one ratio. “Yes, I know it is going to be an adjustment for you,” Chloe interrupted his wandering thoughts again. “You’ve told me of how things worked back on your homeworld, but you do seem to be acclimating. Just trust me to look after your herd. I’ll make sure you won’t regret it.” “I know you will, Chloe. I do feel a bit self-conscious that I don’t want to share you with another man, though.” Desmond hugged the arm that was wrapped around him, and Chloe sighed happily. “Why would I want another man? I’ve got a great one right here, so I better take care of him. Speaking of your herd, we should review the options for expanding the team. I know we can’t put bids in until tomorrow, but we should review the list. I’m curious if Sasha made it,” Chloe murmured into his hair and Desmond grunted a sigh. Sasha had been a rather cute Hyreh girl that they had rescued on a mission a few weeks ago. Apparently, she’d been impressed enough with their actions that she’d enrolled in the military, and Chloe had confided in him that she hoped to join his unit if she could perform well enough. “You know that I’m not going to expect to sleep with every guard on my team.” Desmond shifted again and Chloe took this as him requesting his freedom, but squished him against her chest one last time playfully before letting him go. “I know, Des. But you should keep an open mind all the same. The teams will be together for a decade or more. Many teams seek comfort in each other, even when there isn’t a male on the team. I won’t say that any girls we add will expect to sleep with you, but I guarantee they will hope for it. And I won’t let anyone try to force the issue.” Chloe sprawled across the center of the bed, lounging naked with her body on full display. She was just as full of figure as he remembered, though it had only been minutes ago they had been going at it like rabbits, so it wasn’t as if the memory had time to fade. Chloe was heavily muscled, but it had not come at the cost of her womanly figure either. Full breasts hung on her chest, while silver hoop piercings glittered from her fat, pink nipples. The cut of her abdominals was subtle as they accented her tummy before flowing into generous hips and down to legs that were ‘thick enough to kick a hole in a keg’, as a friend of theirs would say. A collection of hickies and bite marks also frosted her thick neck and shoulders from their earlier romp. She sported a mop of thick, dishwater blonde hair cut short to keep its curls under control, while bright green eyes watched him with a mixture of affection and concern. The overhead light glinted off the tungsten ring that sat roughly two-thirds of the way down her right horn. It was a gift from Desmond on their first date. While he watched her, Desmond could see as her mood turned towards something dark and her expression fell while she watched him. “You don’t regret…” she asked and Desmond shook his head, cutting her off rapidly. “Never am I going to regret my precious Chloe. Not meeting her. Not falling for her. Not loving her,” Desmond said in a firm tone. A shiver ran down Chloe’s body, from the tips of her black horns to her toes. She dearly loved her pet name from Desmond. Precious just fit her in his mind, and that was why he’d given the name. She was so focused on protecting him that he had to look out for her in turn to ensure she took care of herself. “Okay, I just wanted to hear it again…” she replied in a shy tone, her gaze falling to the bed between them. “Come on then, Precious.” Another shiver ran through her. “Up and at ‘em. You were the one who wanted to get ‘back to work’. Unless I used too much ‘excessive force’ on my precious Chloe, and she needs to rest more.” The tremble that ran through her body made her breasts shake alluringly, and Desmond considered going after her for a second time. But the reminder of duty got Chloe going, and she scooted down off the foot of the bed and to her feet. Swaying slightly as she stood, the horned woman winced a bit while getting to her feet. The motion revealed a couple of reddening hand-prints on her thick backside, while her tail fell into place. She’d been enthusiastic about them in the moment, but now patted one of the hand-prints gently. “Oof, definitely ‘excessive force’, but I did offer and don’t regret it.” She shot him a smirk before ducking into the bathroom with a slight limp. “Dibs!” Desmond just rolled his eyes and followed Chloe into the bathroom, starting the shower while she used the facilities. He was glad that the toilet had its own cubicle, since the bathroom was shared amongst the rooms of his suite. While he was adjusting the water of the shower, he heard Chloe flush a moment later before emerging and stepping into the shower with him to rinse off. “Want me to heal it?” Desmond asked offhandedly, getting some body wash from the dispenser on the wall of the shower stall. Chloe’s tail switched slightly, but she shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I want to savor the lingering feeling some. It’s a pleasant reminder that you find me attractive.” He could hear the blush in her voice. “As you wish, precious Chloe. Now, give me that strong back of yours and I’ll help you wash up.”
