Untitled by Unknown Author

Once they ate, what remained except the mess?
       In her imagination she saw Rising Moons declining into nothingness, she powerless to stop it. Telling herself that could happen regardless of what she decided did little to ease her conscience. Stay or go she would feel responsible if Rising Moons failed.
       But if she went with Kaliq and Kamal would she even know what happened to Tante's academy? Tante's academy stuck in Eden's mind. Rising Moons would always be Tante's regardless of who became headmistress.
       Sighing, Eden turned her attention to the Go column. She willed herself not to censor her thoughts and wrote Fa bulous sex . But it was more than sex. It was the feeling of connection, of belonging that she'd miss most if she stayed at Rising Moons. Despite her deep affection for Colette—an affection they shared—Eden had no other true friends. The students her own age probably resented her. The Goddess knew Azura did! The younger ones probably thought her a snob. Which made staying at Rising Moons impossible—in any capacity except as a temporary lover to strange men
       She wished her men were here so she could question them about their home world. The very thought made her realize she'd made her decision. She didn't know what she would do on…whatever planet they came from, but she knew she no longer belonged at Rising Moons.

    Chapter Eleven

    The Andromeda Galaxy

    Eden, feeling as if she were floating on a cloud, awakened slowly. Someone had taken away her bedding. She could feel air caressing her naked flesh. It tickled a little, but soothed her as well. Sitting up, she discovered she was floating on thin air. She shrieked. ―D'dan! Stop this…this whatever it is this instant!‖ She lay back, impatiently tapping her fingers on her naked stomach.
       Then she remembered. She had agreed to this journey—Goddess blast all lists of pros and cons!
       Kamal floated into her sightline. Seeing his smug expression, she wanted to shriek again. Instead, refusing to let him see her fear and— unwarranted, she admitted—resentment, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts and glared at the ceiling. It seemed as far away as the floor. Being suspended made her nauseous, but she swallowed the impulse to heave. She didn't intend to soil the bed she saw beneath her. With her luck,
    she'd land in her own vomit.
       ―Good morning,‖ Kamal said, his voice flowing over her like honey.
       She closed her eyes.
       ―I think,‖ Kaliq said somewhere near her right ear, ―Eden doesn't want to talk to us.‖ His breath felt warm along her neck.
       ―Too bad. We'll keep her here until she listens.‖
       ―We'd all be more comfortable on the bed.‖
       ―I don't know, Kaliq. I can think of a dozen things—pleasurable things—we can do suspended. And far better than we could on a bed.‖
       ―Ahh. So can I.‖
       Their body heat flowed along her sides. She yearned for the touch of their warm flesh against hers. Only because I'm cold, she told herself. This chilly room…that' s why my nipples are puckered , but the chill didn't account for the warmth in her pussy or the emptiness she felt there.
       ―If…if I promise to listen will you release me?‖
       ―R elease? As in put you down?‖ Kaliq asked.
       Kamal said, ―Or release as in take you back to Venus? Leave you there?‖
       ―The first we could accomplish. Were we so inclined. Which we're not.‖
       ―Nor are we inclined to take you back to Venus.‖
       ―B-back?‖ Her mouth suddenly and painfully dry, she could barely ask the question. Her heart beat so hard, she feared it would pound out of her chest. She wouldn't survive another space flight! She'd die from fright.
       ―You've survived the worst of our trip, Eden.‖
       ―We've been in stasis until an hour ago.‖
       ―And if you're honest with yourself—‖
       ―You'll admit you weren't