Worlds Apart

He pushed out his chair and stood, extending a hand to her.

"Come on, let's pay our bill and get out of here."

CHAPTER 8: NO MORE HESITATION

They rode a mag-lev train down to the spaceport, which was on the outskirts of the city to protect its inhabitants from the eventuality of a crash. The green fields and farmland abruptly gave way to a massive, sprawling complex, practically a self-contained city in its own right. There were several terminals of curving glass and steel, each one linked by a complex network of mag-lev rails and roads. The surrounding area was occupied by long runways and huge landing pads that were encircled by bright edge lights that helped to pick out their shapes in the darkness, joining with the glow from the nearby buildings to create a small ocean of light in the middle of the wilderness. Jamie could make out several control towers rising up into the air, their windows picking them out against the black sky.

The base of the orbital tether was located nearby, a several-meter-wide strand of what looked like black cable rising up into the darkness. It was anchored to the ground by a skeletal, ring-shaped structure made of exposed beams and hefty machinery the size of a building in its own right, flanked by sturdy supports that extended deep into the earth. Despite its immense size, this was only a transit tether, intended for carrying passengers. The larger variety were located off the coast, their anchors ringed by artificial islands that serviced waterborne cargo ships. Massive interstellar freighters would dock at the stations in orbit that served as their counterbalance, loading and unloading cargo from around Coalition space that would then be ferried up and down the elevator.

For traveling around the planet, passengers would board high-altitude aircraft that would carry them to far-away destinations in relative comfort. He could see the glare of one such plane already, its belly still glowing a dull red from the heat of reentry as it cruised towards one of the landing strips.

"Never been to the spaceport, Jamie?" Liz asked, smiling at his expression.

"Once, as a child, but I've never had a reason to visit since. My dad brought me to watch some of the ships take off."

"You're so muddy," she chuckled. "Maybe I should take you to Borealis one day, just for a visit. I could spend some time looking out for 'you' for a change."

The train slid to a stop at one of the stations, and they stepped out into a terminal. It reminded him of a skyscraper that had been built sideways, much longer than it was tall, but still maybe twenty floors high. The roof was mostly glass, like a giant greenhouse, the stars visible above. The majority of the building was taken up by a large concourse that was lined on either side by stores and restaurants, escalators and elevators leading to the higher floors. It was packed with people, even so late in the evening, thousands of travelers hurrying to catch their next flight.

Jamie noticed that Liz was drawing less attention here. If there was anywhere one would expect to encounter an alien on Earth, it was a spaceport. He could even make out a few of them, standing head and shoulders above the crowds. There was a reptilian Krell, a species that resembled a giant, eight-foot-tall alligator walking on its hind legs. The humans gave it a wide berth as it plodded along, an oar-like tail that was half the length of its body dragging on the ground behind it, jagged teeth protruding from its long snout. It had a hunched posture, its shoulders broad enough that it made even Liz look frail, its hide made up of thick scales the color of spinach. He could see the way that its muscles rippled as it moved, its flesh quivering with every step. Its weight must be closer to that of a car than a human. It was nude, but it seemed to have no external genitalia, no secondary sexual characteristics to cover up.

There was also another Borealan, similar in stature to Liz. This one was a male, and he was wearing blue overalls that identified him as Navy personnel, the color contrasting with his orange hair and fur.

"My hotel is up on the fifteenth floor," Liz said, guiding him over to a glass elevator. The doors opened automatically, Liz mashing the buttons with her padded finger. It was large, more like a freight elevator than the ones commonly found in residential buildings, perhaps scaled up to handle large aliens and heavier cargo. A whole party of humans and their luggage could have fit inside it easily.

They began to rise, the tiered, balcony-like floors of the terminal whipping past. The doors opened once more when they reached their destination, Liz taking him by the hand as she led him out onto a more narrow plaza. They weaved through the throngs of people, eventually arriving at a facsimile of a building. Many of the storefronts were designed to resemble shops, and this one had been made up to look like the entrance to a hotel, a pair of ornate pillars flanking the doors.

There was a concierge in a red uniform behind a glass window that was embedded in the wall, just to the right of the double door entrance, and he sprang to attention as he noticed Liz. She was easy to recognize, the man probably remembered her. She waved to him with a furry hand, and he hit a command on his console, the doors sliding open to reveal a lavishly decorated lobby complete with a crystal chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. It had a hardwood floor that probably wasn't real wood, polished to the point that it reflected all of the lights above it like a mirror. There were a few pieces of furniture scattered around, some chairs and couches, a low table strewn with tablet computers that the guests could use.

Jamie was awestruck, he would never have expected to find such a thing in a spaceport terminal. Judging by the height of the ceiling, it must extend up through several more floors, too. Liz had not been lying, money didn't seem to be an issue for her now.

"I'm staying in the 'large guest suite' on the upper level," Liz said, winking at Jamie. They mounted the dual staircase that wrapped around the foyer, carpeted in red and gold with ornately carved faux-wood banisters, and made their way up to the landing above. They proceeded down a carpeted hallway, coming to a stop at one of the doors. Liz drew a keycard from one of the pockets of her jacket and flashed it past a sensor embedded in the frame, the panel sliding open automatically to reveal an open-plan suite.

It was ostentatiously decorated, like something a traveling dignitary would find comfortable, all wood furniture and shag carpet. There was an en suite bathroom containing a hot tub that looked more like a small swimming pool, a seventy-inch display on one wall, and a truly gigantic bed that took up most of the space in the main living area. Jamie had been expecting a Borealan-sized bed, but this was even larger than he had pictured. It was piled with blankets and pillows like a rat's nest, and it looked wide enough for half a dozen of the giant aliens to lounge comfortably, perhaps designed to accommodate entire packs. The mattress was large enough that an average car could have parked on top of it with room to spare. The furniture reminded him of her parents' house back in the day, every chair and table scaled up for Borealan use. The lighting in the room was dim and yellow, creating a calming -- and he had to admit -- romantic mood.

One entire wall was taken up by a window that looked out over the spaceport, allowing the occupants to see the vessels coming and going. It was well-insulated. Not a sound could be heard from outside, even as Jamie watched a spaceplane begin to accelerate down one of the runways in the distance.

"Compared to this hotel suite, I can see why you weren't too impressed with my apartment," Jamie muttered as he began to wander around. The counters in the kitchen area were topped with marble, and the oven was big enough that he could have climbed inside it. The appliances were all brushed metal, they looked very high-end. There was a coffee machine that more resembled some kind of exotic car engine. Maybe he could have a play around with that later if she'd let him.

"It's not that I've developed expensive tastes," Liz insisted, seeming a little embarrassed by the extravagance of her lodgings. "This is one of the few hotels in the area that can accommodate aliens, and I asked for their largest room, figuring I'd need the space. This is the one they gave me."
By the time Jamie had turned back to face her, she was sat on the edge of her giant bed, its mattress sagging under her weight. He reached up to loosen the collar of his jacket nervously as she patted the sheets beside her, watching him expectantly.

"Hope you didn't cool down on the way over here," she teased, noticing his hesitation.

"I'm just...a little out of practice," he replied. He realized that they hadn't even done anything yet, and his heart was already racing, his face flushing a shade of crimson. Why was this so much harder when it wasn't spontaneous, when her intentions were so clearly announced?

"I don't think all the practice in the world would help you now," she chuckled, extending a hand in invitation. "Just relax, let me take the lead for now."

He walked over to her, his heart leaping as he delved his fingers into the silky fur of her palm, Liz's hand so large that she could enclose his own completely. He remembered how their fingers had interlocked the last time they had done this, but each of her digits was closer to the thickness of his wrist now. Although he had known Liz his whole life, and this wasn't even the first time that they had made love, everything seemed so new. The nostalgia of being reunited with an old lover blended with the excitement of an encounter with a stranger, and he couldn't pretend that he didn't like the feeling.

"Don't feel that you have to do all the heavy lifting just because you're...bigger," he muttered as she drew him closer. Now that she had a hold of his hand, she wasn't letting him go, tugging him between her legs as she perched on the edge of the bed. She pulled him up against her torso, putting their faces about level, her jacket creaking as he sank into her bosom. The fur on her collar tickled his nose as she leaned closer, whispering in his ear.

"I was the one unsure of myself last time, I was the one trembling as you held me," she cooed. Her lips brushed his skin, a wonderful shiver sliding down his spine with every sultry word that she spoke. "I don't mind switching roles."
"Y-you really know what you want this time, don't you?" Jamie stammered.

"I told you I wasn't going to hesitate anymore," she replied. She reached up suddenly, catching his face in her hand, slowly drawing closer as she parted her lips in anticipation of a kiss.

"Just...uh, try to be gentle with me," Jamie began. "You're a lot bigger than I am now."

Liz rolled her eyes, but it was not a gesture of exasperation, rather one of a woman frustrated by her own desire. She bit her lip, those green eyes fixing him, her pupils dilated into dark circles that seemed to draw him in with a hypnotic power.

"That's gonna be hard if you keep talking like that," she grumbled. "God, I don't know how I kept my paws off you for as long as I did when we were horny teenagers. Do you know how fucking difficult it is to masturbate with claws?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but she filled it with her tongue, her soft lips meeting his own shortly after. His eyes widened in surprise, then his lids began to droop, a jolt of electric pleasure fizzling through his nervous system. It was somewhat of an awkward kiss, they still hadn't grown accustomed to each other enough to overcome their disparity in size yet. He never got used to the length of her tongue, to its surprising dexterity. She had such fine control over it that she could probably have used it to pick a lock, his growing erection straining against his clothes as he felt it curl against the roof of his mouth, its pointed tip stroking his palate.

The length of slick muscle coiled and twisted as though it was possessed of a life all its own, glancing his inner cheeks, wrestling with his tongue as Liz overwhelmed him. He couldn't have conceived of such a deep and probing embrace. This one was far more passionate and sexual than when she had kissed him in his apartment, imbued with her lust, her desire tangible. Her familiar taste ignited his senses, and he found himself leaning into her, returning her affection as best he could manage.

It was a futile endeavor, her tongue was so powerful. There was little he could do other than relax into her embrace and let her do as she pleased. He began to feel light-headed, running out of breath, stars dancing before his eyes as her organ roved in his mouth. Her lung capacity was so much greater than his own now that she could keep up her lurid kissing for what felt like an eternity. Her winding tongue tickled the back of his throat, her movements slow and teasing, the warmth and wetness making his spine arch involuntarily. He couldn't concentrate on anything other than the wonderful sensations that assailed him.

Finally, she pulled away, her wet lips linked to his by a stray strand of saliva. She slowly withdrew the length of her tongue, Jamie acutely aware of every inch that slid past his lips, his overbearing partner giving him one last tormenting lick as she broke off.

Jamie panted as he caught his breath, his erection now straining against the fabric of his underwear, rigid and aching. Liz kept his cheek cradled in her furry hand, her sharp claws pricking his skin, her emerald eyes peering down at his burning face with all the hunger and anticipation of a cat holding a struggling mouse by its tail.

She was right, there was no practice, no experience that could have prepared him for this. Liz was more than he could have handled, more than any human could hope to handle. But he wanted this, now more than ever. He felt a pounding in his chest and a throbbing in his loins that threatened to drive him crazy if he didn't seek relief, a tension that threatened to consume him.

"Sorry," she chuckled, wetting her lips lasciviously. "I forgot that you can't hold your breath as long as I can."

"Do we need a safe word?" he joked, Liz giggling into her hand.

"Nah," she purred, "I'll treat you like a baby bird."

She took one of his hands in hers, sliding the other down to the small of his back, as though they were about to start ballroom dancing. Instead, she spun him around, lowering him down onto the bed. He lay back, Liz planting her hands to either side of him as she cast him into shadow, her weight creating deep indents in the mattress. One of her hands slid down to cup the bulge in his pants, Jamie gasping as she gave him a gentle squeeze.

"Feels like you're ready," she whispered, leaning in to breathe warm air in his ear. "Try to relax, I won't bite. Not unless you want me to..."

She trapped his earlobe between her sharp teeth and tugged it gently, making him squirm on the silken sheets. He heard the clicking of metal as she hooked one of her curved claws around the zipper on his jacket, pulling it down and spreading the garment open to reveal the white shirt that he was wearing beneath it. Her furry fingers brushed his neck as she moved up to the collar, popping open the buttons one by one, tearing it open to expose his bare torso. She bit her lower lip as she scanned his musculature with covetous eyes, tracing the contours of his abdominal muscles with the fleshy pads of her fingers, her sharp talons as light as a feather.

"You're just as lean and as hard as I remember you," she growled, her lust getting the better of her for a moment.

She leaned in suddenly, dragging her tongue across his naked skin. The barbs were rough, but her organ glided on a coat of slippery saliva, its warmth reminding him of a hot towel. She drew back, gazing down at him, her ample chest rising and falling conspicuously beneath her bomber jacket.

"I had almost forgotten how good you taste, Jamie," she murmured. She pressed her pink nose into the nape of his neck, breathing in a lungful of his scent as though she were smelling a bouquet of flowers. "How good you smell..."

He flinched as he felt teeth on his throat, the sharp points pricking into his skin, followed by the textured surface of her damp tongue. She mouthed and licked, peppering his neck with lingering kisses, sucking his skin between her puffy lips to leave red marks. It made Jamie dizzy, heightened his senses, like someone was cranking up the dial to eleven. Some primitive part of his brain warned him that having this powerful creature biting at his vulnerable jugular should fill him with dread, yet at the same time, his conscious mind was drunk on the pleasure of it. His nerves were alight, his brain fizzing and popping like his skull had been filled with soda. He yelped in surprise as he felt Liz rake her claws down his ribs, applying just enough pressure to excite him, but not to break the skin.

She was playing him like some kind of instrument, plucking at his nerves like the strings of a guitar, reveling in his every gasp and sigh. The teasing was becoming too much to endure, every tender kiss followed by the sting of her claws, every doting lick chased by the prick of her fangs.

Just when he was starting to consider begging her to stop her relentless teasing, she took a step back from the edge of the bed, watching him gasp and shudder with a knowing smile. He felt her fingers on his pants, propping himself up on his elbows as he watched her unfasten his belt with remarkable finesse considering the size of her fingers. She hooked her claws into the fabric of his jeans, tugging them down, underwear and all. She let the garments fall to the shag carpet, her lips parting subtly as her gaze lingered on his member.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who did some growing while we were apart," she cooed, curling her velvet fingers around his vascular shaft. Jamie fought the urge to push into her hand as she traced the veins with the fleshy pads on the ends of her digits, as soft as marshmallows. Her fur was just as exquisite as he remembered, soft and fine, like she was wearing a silk glove. She gripped his shaft more firmly, burying it in her downy palm, his member throbbing and flexing like a caged beast. She began to stroke, squeezing gently as Jamie thrust into her hand reflexively. Her pace was painfully slow, never giving him quite as much as he wanted, keeping him longing for more.

His unfocused eyes wandered up to her chest, the beginnings of her cleavage just visible beneath the furry collar of her bomber jacket. Liz brought her free hand up to the zipper, tugging it down tantalizingly slowly, ensuring that Jamie was watching as the weight of her breasts began to part the garment. They soon spilled free, bouncing gently beneath the insubstantial fabric of her tank top with no bra to contain them. The white fabric contrasted with her dusky skin, the way that she was leaning forward giving Jamie a clear view down her top. Calling them huge would have been an understatement. Each one was about the volume of a beach ball, the gentle movements of her hand as she slid her fingers up and down his length making them sway subtly, hypnotizing him. The top did little to preserve her modesty, the outlines of her nipples clearly visible, tenting the material.

She released his shaft, then leaned down to breathe warm air on the sensitive tip of his member, wetting her lips with her long tongue. Jamie watched with bated breath, his stomach fluttering, his member aching in anticipation as she hovered a mere inch above his erection.

"Oh fuck, Liz," he stammered. "Are you-"