Ellie’s cries for help spurred Alex into action.

At that moment, it didn’t matter that he still didn’t trust her, or that she’d just flaunted her gloriously naked body in front of him.

She was in trouble and he was going to help her.

He made a dash for the water where she was standing. Ellie was making a big show of pulling at her legs, as if something underwater was grabbing her and trying to yank her under. Alex splashed across the small river to where she was standing, soaking himself in the process until he could get to Ellie.

With one smooth motion, he grabbed the naked Vestan woman and threw her over his shoulder as he turned back to shore. Mentally prepared to feel something wrapping around his legs, Alex high-stepped his way across the river until his feet landed in the mud near solid land. At that point, he gestured for Jenna to cover his rear as he laid Ellie down on the ground, his eyes searching for blood.

“What happened?” he asked, leaning down low. “Where did it get you? What was it?”

To his complete and utter shock, Ellie was no longer screaming but rather, she was starting to laugh. Her stomach started to shake from laughing so hard, causing her large breasts to ripple with every vibration.

Ellie’s blue-green eyes sparkled with mischief. “Got you,” she said teasingly.

Alex didn’t know whether to be relieved or whether to throw her ass back in the river.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” he demanded, his tone harsh and unyielding.

Ellie leaned up, placing her weight on her elbows. In the process, her breasts were placed nearly against his face. It was now even harder to ignore her stiff nipples now that they were in his line of sight.

“You’ve been so tense,” said Ellie to Alex. “It was just a joke. I just wanted you to try to relax a little. Not everything has to be so serious all the time.”

Alex could only shake his head, completely speechless.

After a moment, he finally found the words. “Are all Vestans like you?”

Ellie actually giggled. “I think you’ll come to like my people in time. You may like me already and not even know it.”

Ellie gestured to his pants which were already strained with the evidence of his erection. Even as pissed as he was, he couldn’t help that looking at her body had turned him on.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to understand you,” said Alex, shaking his head at her as he readjusted himself. He stood up and marched over to Jenna, who was also glaring at Ellie.

“Lighten up, you two,” said Ellie, standing to her feet once more. “And take your clothes off and come bathe with me!”

She made a playful dash for the water, trying to splash them once she was inside. As she carried on in the water, Jenna crossed her arms under her breasts.

“I don’t like her,” she said, glaring at Ellie. “That’s not the kind of joke to play out here, not with the danger.”

“She’s different, all right,” said Alex. “I haven’t figured out what her game is yet.”

Jenna snorted. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s trying to seduce you, Alex. I doubt anyone just goes naked whenever they want in Vesta. She wants you to look at her. You can tell it excites her.”

The truth was that it excited Alex a little to look at her. Seeing Ellie naked was a wonderful thing. The female body was never more in its glory than the picturesque display that Ellie gave him.

The only way the situation could get any better was if Jenna peeled off her clothes and joined the other woman.

Alex shut his eyes lest his erection make a return. When he opened them again, he looked down at his clothes and his hands, noticing all the dirt and grime from their travels.

“Maybe it couldn’t hurt us to have a limited bath,” he said to Jenna. “Just to clean up a little.”

Jenna bit her lip and looked at Ellie again. “I don’t think I could get naked with her here.”

“We’ll just do what we can,” said Alex, smiling in the process. “Modesty is a little different on Earth after all.”

That seemed to placate Jenna and for the next thirty minutes, they took much more secluded baths by themselves while Ellie tried to frolic about them. At one point, Ellie got too close to a half-naked Jenna, which caused the blonde to tell her to go away angrily. Ellie laughed and made her way to Alex, who was in the process of changing clothes to allow his wet ones to dry.

In the process, Ellie moved around him until she could get a glimpse of his nude front half. Her eyes latched onto his member.

“Wow,” she said, eyeing him handily. “Now that’s a really beautiful cock.”

Alex looked down to see his member already responding to her compliment. He tried to cover it quickly.

“You don’t need to cover it on my behalf,” said Ellie with a grin. “I bet you’ve made a lot of girls happy with that monster. Does Jenna love it?”

Alex gave a glance over to Jenna where she was now putting her shoes back on, oblivious to their conversation.

“Jenna and I haven’t . . . we haven’t slept together,” said Alex.

Ellie gave him a queer look before a smile grew on her face. “Her loss then.”

She then reached over to squeeze his cock through his underwear.

Alex reacted quickly, especially since Jenna was now making her way toward them.

“What are you doing?” he hissed.

Ellie just blinked at him like what she did was the most natural thing in the world.

“Feeling your hard cock,” she said simply. “What’s the problem?”

“Ellie, you have to understand that whatever customs you have here on Vesta aren’t ours,” said Alex, pulling his pants all the way up. “Back on Earth, we don’t just grab someone’s crotch, especially someone you barely know.”

Ellie stuck out her tongue. “Prudes. You’re going to be in for a shock once you get to Vesta. We’re a lot more open with our sexual mores there.”

With that, the Vestan woman turned her back on him and walked away just as Jenna closed the distance.

Jenna looked at Ellie and then down to Alex’s crotch. “Did she really just do that?”

“I can’t tell if she’s being genuine or if this is still her trying to hide something from us,” said Alex. “Either way, she’s a strange kind of woman.”

Jenna didn’t respond to that directly. She let out a small sigh and crossed her arms again. The expression on her face was largely unreadable but Alex thought he detected something he hadn’t seen from Jenna before.

And it looked a lot like jealousy.

After the break at the river, the trio continued moving, this time on the northerly course that would lead them to the Vestan city. That evening, Alex spotted a small cave that could be used for shelter for the night, and after seeing that the cave was empty of any wildlife, they set up their sleeping bags and ate more of the freeze-dried food (one of which they shared with Ellie since she had no other food supplies).

Ellie ate ravenously, devouring the disgusting chicken-fried steak meal that Alex could barely stomach.

“You eat like someone who hasn’t had a decent meal in a long time,” said Alex to Ellie. “I’m curious about how you were sent out to find us without an ample food supply.”

Her answer, like the other answers she’d given him, wasn’t that believable.

“Most of my food supply went bad,” said Ellie, not looking him in the eyes. “I discovered halfway out of the city that mold had taken root in half of my supply. I had to dump it, and I ate the last of my reserve the day before I found you.”

“What would you have done if we were hungry and without food when you found us?” asked Alex. “We would’ve starved alongside you.”

Ellie shrugged. “Maybe. But I had hoped you’d taken some food with you from the colony ship. Otherwise, we’d be very hungry right about now.”

Alex looked over at Jenna only to find that she was giving him a questioning look in regard to Ellie’s statement. Judging by the look in her eyes, she didn’t believe the story either.

Alex decided to probe her story a little more to find any weaknesses.

“Tell me more about who actually rules in Vesta,” asked Alex. “I’ve heard there’s a council that makes all the major decisions in the colony but I don’t know much about it.”

Ellie looked uncomfortable as soon as he asked the question, which he noted as she started to talk.

“You’re right, Alex. The Vestan Council is the leading body of the colony, deciding most matters that affect the well-being of the entire planet. It’s a five-person body made up of our leading members, although in its current form, there’s one faction that is noticeably more powerful.”

It was the way she spat out the word faction that caught Alex’s attention.

“What are the different factions?”

“The main one with all the power right now is led by Belladonna Worthington and Cassara Torneau. Both of them are descendants of the original colonists, their grandfathers being key allies of our legendary founder, Allen Vesta, in establishing the colony. These two women are completely unlike their grandfathers though. They are petty, arrogant, and completely self-serving, and it’s my belief that their actions will eventually cause the complete collapse of Vesta.”

“You feel pretty strongly about it,” noted Alex. “But how can two women dominate a council of five? Who are the other players?”

Ellie swallowed hard as if the topic was painful for her. “There are currently two openings on the council. One of the previous members, Bradley Rose, was killed recently in a bear attack. His position wasn’t filled before I left to come find you. The other two positions were the other faction in the city, the faction led by Eleanor Vesta and her cousin, Annette Moore. Unfortunately, Eleanor was exiled from the city by Belladonna and Cassara for opposing them.”

“Why was she exiled?” asked Alex.

Ellie let out a long sigh. “It was a vote of no confidence in her leadership ability. The recent attacks on the colony by the bears has caused a lot of death and destruction to the colony. Belladonna and Cassara whipped up the remaining colonists and placed the blame on Eleanor’s shoulders. They said she wasn’t doing enough to protect the colony. They seduced Bradley in order to get them to vote in their direction. Unfortunately for him, it was the last thing he did before he was killed. Majority ruled and Eleanor was banished from the city, leaving only her cousin Annette on the council.”

Ellie stared off into space. “Sometimes I wonder how the city looks since I’ve been gone. I’m sure it’s already in a state of collapse.”

“You don’t have a high opinion of Belladonna or Cassara, do you?” asked Jenna.

Ellie shook her head vigorously. “Not in the slightest. They think they know how to handle the bear problem but the attacks on the colony are only getting worse. They prioritize making money for the colony over our own safety, which has gotten a lot of people killed in the past year. There are so few of us that we need to focus all of our energies on our defense but they can’t see that. Mining is very big in Vesta and it’s only gotten more important in recent years, and all that money is flowing into the hands of a few small families.”

“Let me guess,” said Alex. “Belladonna and Cassara’s families are reaping the benefits?”

Ellie nodded. “Which is why they don’t want to stop to focus on our defense. The bear attacks are a relatively recent event. Allen Vesta and the earlier generation never had to deal with them, and since there wasn’t much of a threat to the colony from the native wildlife, our defenses were really lax. We have a small defense force but half of them have been killed in the last year. People are getting afraid to venture outside the biospheres of the colony and for good reason. Death could come at any time.”

Ellie shuddered and rubbed her arms with her hands. “It’s not a good situation. And Belladonna and Cassara are only making it worse.”

By this point in the conversation, Alex had a hunch about what was really going on. He decided to act on it.

“I bet your grandfather would be upset to see the state Vesta is in today,” said Alex.

Ellie nodded quickly. “He’d be so upset, Alex! Our family has worked too hard to—”

Ellie caught herself in that moment, realizing what she’d done. Her panicked eyes locked on Alex, who could only smile in return.

“So Ellie is short for Eleanor then?”

Knowing there was no point in lying anymore, Ellie could only nod her head.

“Damn you, Alex. Yes, I’m the exiled leader of Vesta. I’m Eleanor Vesta.”