Orion's Belt - A Dark Sci-Fi Western Romance

“Oh my goodness,” I whisper to myself under my breath as I am flooded with every kind of chemical my body can make to get me ready for the most carnal and filthy of acts. He has a crazy physical effect on me. Just looking at him makes me forget myself.

And he’s still not done undressing.

His pants come off next. He’s facing away from me, so I don’t see his manhood, but I do see the powerful perfection of his long legs, his thighs muscled, his cheeks perfectly shaped, two thick slabs of male perfection.

I don’t think this way. I don’t look at men with lust. I don’t watch, open mouthed, as they take perfect dive form and launch themselves into water holes. Orion in motion is fucking stunning. He has the power and grace of a wild animal, and all the wiles of a man besides.

But what do I really know about the man? He refuses to talk about his past. All I know about him are the stories everybody tells – but they don’t really match up. The Orion I know is nothing like a ruthless murderer who murders everyone ruthlessly. He’s hardly murdered anyone since we’ve met, at least, hardly anyone who wasn’t already trying to murder us.

He surfaces, tossing his hair back from his face with two hands while treading water. “Water’s nice!” He calls out. “Come on in!”

Is he inviting me to get naked with him in the water? Is that… no. Yes. Is…. My brain has more or less shut down and continues to stay closed for business as I watch him swim, water cascading from his muscular arms and shoulders and down his back. Every time he surges from the water I am treated to the sight of his naked body in motion. The creator’s workshop was working overtime when they made Orion. He is a work of pure art.

“Get cleaned up!” He calls out again.

I have a choice. Retreat to the corner of the river where he can’t see me, and I can’t see him, or get naked just like he is and display myself to Orion Steelbane. Dammit. I’m back to mentally referring to him by both names again.

Without the courage to get undressed in front of him, I slip around the corner of the river, undress quickly and splash and soap as fast as I can before diving into the shirt he leant me. By the time I’m done washing my clothes, Orion is out and dressed again. I’ve missed my chance to be with him in a naked kind of way, not that I had the nerve to do that anyway.

Denying my disappointment to myself and hiding it from Orion, I make my way to the river bank where he has made a fire, and seems to have caught several fish while swimming. It shouldn’t surprise me. He’s an apex predator from head to toe.

“Hungry?”

“Yes,” I admit. I’m hungry in more way than one, but he’s going to think I’m talking about the fish.

“These should taste good,” he says. “I’ve got some salt in my pack, if you grab it from my horse?”

“Sure,” I say, glad for the little bit of distance that might let me clear my head. I tramp through the undergrowth with his shirt coming down nearly to my knees and my boots almost coming up that high too, which leaves me with only a flash of knee exposed. I look ridiculous.

Orion

She looks adorable.

I love the way her dark hair cascades over her shoulders, the curls dripping over her cleavage which is not quite hidden by my shirt. It is open at the neck and on her that opening goes all the way down between her breasts, showing occasional flashes of skin which are so much more alluring than all the wanton display of a saloon girl.

Josie has no conception of how attractive she is, how her eyes flash when she is excited, or scared, how her cheeks color and the freckles stand out and those molten chocolate eyes of hers try their best to escape mine but always come sliding curiously back.

She’s obviously not used to men. I think she’s learned to be scared of my kind, and probably for good reason. There’s nothing as dangerous on this planet as a man who has decided to have his way with a woman.

I concentrate on cooking the fish, try to put the filthy thoughts out of my mind. It’s been a while since either one of us ate anything fresh. Ideally I’d find some roots, but this hard rocky ground doesn’t really lend itself to vegetable growth. Everything around here has thorns and bristles, including me.

Josie comes back with the salt and hands it to me. She seems nervous, and I’m guessing it’s because she saw me strip down in front of her. Not that I meant anything by it, just wanted to get as comfortable as possible as quickly as possible. I never gave a moment’s thought to the properness of it or not. I guess I should have.