Chapter 144

Breakfast over and Joyce tucked into bed, Jeff put on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. As he started for the basement to work out on the machines, he realized he had an escort, more like an entourage: Arlene, Ann, Jennie and Melissa.

"Mind if we work out with you?" Arlene asked, bumping her hip against his as they walked down the hallway.

"No, of course not, but don't you have to be in school?"

"Daddy, it's us. Jennie and Melissa have finished all their high school courses. Ann and I have started on our college curriculum, as you know, and Jennie and Melissa will soon. We'll have our 'official' high school graduation ceremony shortly. We're all caught up for now, and besides, it doesn't make any difference when we do our work. We got involved in a project and worked late again yesterday, so we're going to exercise with you this morning."

"Good," he said, putting his arm around her as they all continued down the hall, "you guys can spot for me with the free weights."

"Sure," they all said.

Ann continued with, "We like to watch you lift. It makes us horny," she finished with a sexy giggle.

Jeff could feel pressure beginning to build against his jock strap as his dick started to swell. He tried to shift his mind to his coming workout.

Jeff had worked through a series of different lifting exercises, finishing with bench presses. His four young wives had been working out as he did, but were now standing near him as he worked through his final routine. This time, however, he had more weight on the bar, by far, than he had ever lifted before, more weight than it seemed possible his frame could lift. Still, his body had adapted during the last weeks until it took many reps to tire him. Little One had assured him his bones, muscles and tendons were denser and far stronger than an unenhanced human could ever be. Amazed at his own body, and fully knowing he could never have done this without the Ship's and Little One's enhancements, he had reached the point of even feeling a little guilty that he could do so many things so easily.

Lying on his back as he extended his arms and pushed the weights up, well into the exercise, his body glistened with sweat almost as if it had been oiled. Although he was not consciously emitting pheromones, it was obvious that something was exciting his wives. Each of them sported prominent nipples and flushed faces. Well, I couldn't find many things that would keep my mind off the pain more than the sight of those nipples, he thought as he pushed his body. "Thirty-nine," he said aloud..."forty." He was past his comfort zone. I can do ten more, he thought. This is more weight than I've ever lifted, and it almost seems like cheating. I'm well into the area of real weight lifters, yet my body doesn't look like one of the big lifters.

He strained through five more. Five more to go. I can do it. I can do it. No pain; no gain, he told himself as he pushed the weights above him again. Then a little later, "Forty-six," he said aloud, his arms beginning to tremble some.

"Dad?" Arlene said, a little concern in her voice. She nodded to the others and they positioned themselves to help rack the bar if he couldn't make the lift.

"Forty-seven," Jeff strained out, pronouncing each word separately, as his arms reached full extension. The bar came back down a little faster than he would have liked, but he pushed up hard again. "Forty-eight." His arms had shaken more that time.

"Dad. That's enough."

"Only need two more," he gasped out. "Gonna do fifty," he said through gritted teeth, fire in his muscles.

"Dad, I don't like this," Arlene said, a frown creasing her pretty face. "If you can't push it up, we'll never be able to get the weights off you."

Jessie and Melissa, worried about their husband, had positioned themselves on either end of the bar so that they could grab the weights and help their husband rack the bar, if need be. Arlene and Ann were standing behind the stand ready to grab the bar and help, also.

"Forty... nine," Jeff gasped out, as he reached full extension, then, "Jennie, Melissa, you're too close; your feet are under the weights. Get back," he hissed out.

Both girls spread their feet away from the path of the weights should Jeff lose control, but they hovered with their hands near the bar, just as Arlene and Ann did standing behind the rack. Jeff took a couple of deep breaths, then pushed again. The weights came up two thirds of the way and stopped, their upward movement stalled. Jeff's arms shook, the ribbons of muscles standing out on his arms, the veins like pulsing ropes. A groan accompanied by a massive effort and the weights went on to the top of the lift.

"Fifty!" the young wives called out as one.

Jeff, his arms trembling, began to move the bar back the few inches so that it would drop into the slots of the rack, but something happened to his body, a body that had been pushed even beyond what a Prime could do. The weights wavered. The young wives all grabbed the bar and heaved upward with all their might, trying to help their husband guide the bar into its cradle. Jennie and Melissa, with no thought for their own safety, now had their feet in the path of the weights on the end of the bar as they strained. Jeff's right arm had cramped, a muscle knotting up to suddenly produce a bulge in his right triceps, the pain intense, the arm suddenly weakening at the most critical moment.

"Get clear," he yelled out. "Get clear. I'm going to drop it. Move!" he screamed out.

Jennie and Melissa jumped back, but to a straining Jeff, it seemed to take forever for them to get clear. Finally, he jerked his head forward as the bar slid past and the weights crashed into their pads on the floor. Despite the thick padding, the force of the massive weights slamming down caused spider cracks in the industrial grade cement floor.

Diana had been walking toward the classroom chatting with Helen when the Queen suddenly started. Between one word and the next, as Helen reached to open the classroom door, Diana began sprinting down the hall. Snatching the stairway door open, she crossed the small landing, put her right hand on the slick mahogany railing of the stairway and launched herself.

She had seen it done in a movie once, the actor, really the stuntman, had grabbed a stairway railing and jumped. He had controlled his descent past a dozen steps with the pressure of his hand on the railing, to slam directly onto the landing. With no conscious thought for her own safety, Diana had done the same. The hand on the railing had produced a somewhat controlled fall. She realized she was going to be short and tried to push against the railing to extend her arc, but her right heel touched the edge of the last step, then her left foot followed by her left knee slammed into the floor as she rolled and came to her feet, her run continuing.

She burst into the weight room just as Jeff dropped the weights. She saw the weight miss his head as she stumbled on the injured knee and heel to fall on him as she called out his name, "Jeeefffff."

Jeff, frustrated, knowing he could have easily gotten from under the weights in time if his wives hadn't been trying to restrain the weights, thus exposing them all to danger, was trying to untangle himself from the five crying females who seemed bent on resisting his efforts to the death. Then he realized it, "Diana's hurt," he finally yelled. "Move, please."

Helen came crashing into the room, her eyes wild. "Jeff..."

"I'm fine. Ummph," he got out as yet another body piled into the mix, "but Di's hurt."

"It's nothing. It's nothing," the Queen said past choked-off sobs. "I just skinned my knee. Are you all right? That bar almost hit your head."

"I'm fine, Baby."

Then a wet, nude Kayla, Glock in hand, came running in, murder in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Kayla. I'm fine. I just dropped the weights," Jeff hastily said, her eyes seeking targets as she protected her mate.

Kayla turned to glare at him, then like a lioness, she began to pace, her body full of adrenalin, flushed, her nipples swollen and erect, her breasts jiggling.

"You scared the piss out of me," she got out. "I was in the stupid shower all the way at the other end of the Retreat. I should have been here with you."

"No," Jeff said. "You did not have to be with me. Please everybody, just calm down. I'm not hurt. Nothing has really happened other than a loud noise when I dropped the weights."

Rolling off him, Diana hissed in a breath.

Jeff stared at her knee. "You didn't just skin that knee; look at it. You must have whacked it pretty hard. What happened? What did you do?"

"I guess I was in a hurry coming down the steps," she understated. "I must have hit the knee when I landed."

"Landed?" he questioned, frowning.

"Yeah, I, uh, guess I kind of jumped."

"Shit. You jumped?" he hissed out.

"Yeah, I guess."

"We need Little One, right?" Melissa said.

"Yeah, she's in her drawer."

Suddenly, there was an avalanche of wives pouring into the room, all asking what happened. Pandemonium reigned for a few moments.

"I'm gone," Melissa got out as she rushed through her sister-wives and out the door.

"Melissa, no need to run," Diana called out, but Melissa was already out of earshot.

All his wives were asking questions. "Di hurt her knee and foot," Jeff told them, trying to calm everyone.

Diana was clad in her usual home attire: shorts and a pullover top, the others similarly dressed, except the nude Kayla who had slumped down on a nearby bench. "Easy Baby. Just lie still," Jeff said to his Queen as he ran his hands down her leg, checking her knee.

Diana winced as he gently squeezed her knee. He turned his head to look at her face, "What in the world were you doing?"

"Coming to you, Silly. What else?"

"But why?" he said, glancing at his other wives who were staring back at him.

"But you, uh, called me ... I heard you. Well, I guess you didn't exactly call me, but ... You were in danger ... I guess it was a feeling or something. Oh, I don't know. But I heard you," she insisted.

"Oh, shit," Jeff quietly said as he sat back to look at her.

"My right heel, too, I think," Diana said, trying to distract her husband from what she knew he was thinking.

Jeff slipped her low-top tennis shoe off, then gently squeezed her right heel. Seeing the wince, he started to ask when she said, "I think I clipped it on the last step when I landed. That's probably what caused me to fall on my knee."

"How did you do that?"

"Well, I jumped down the steps. I, uh, grabbed the railing and jumped, but I must have been a little short, because my heel hit the last step."

"Damn, Di. That drop has to be fifteen feet or so."

"Yeah, I know, but the railing slowed my descent. It should have worked, and it did work. I just skinned my knee a little. Now let me up; I'm fine," she said as she sat up.

"You're not going anywhere until Little One checks you out. I don't think anything is broken, but I'm not certain, and I'll bet when you stand you're going to find out you have a bad sprain at the least."

Suddenly tears trickled down the Queen's face. "I was so scared," she managed, trying to hold back sobs.

He pulled her into his arms. Holding her head against his chest and stroking her long, flowing hair, he whispered into her ear telling her how much he loved her.

"We were walking down the hall chatting," Helen offered. "I reached to open the classroom door, and when I looked back, she was sprinting down the hall, and I do mean sprinting."

Arlene sat on the other side of her mother, hugging her. Melissa came hurrying back with Little One. At Jeff's nod, she put the Healer on Diana's knee. All Jeff's wives, other than Kayla who remained on the bench, were now sitting on the floor as near to the couple as they could get. The little alien made a chirping sound and the blue beams came on under her.

"Oh, that feels better," Diana sighed as Little One stopped the pain before working on the torn ligaments.

"How?" Jeff quietly said as he locked eyes with his wife.

Diana sighed. "I just suddenly knew you were in trouble." Then after a moment, "I ... It was like the bear attack. They were the most intense feelings I've ever had, other than an orgasm. I was thinking about what Helen and I were talking about. I had planned to tell Hope we would leave for the art supply store in thirty minutes. Suddenly this feeling just overrode everything, and I guess without any conscious thought at all I was running down the hall. It was as if you were calling out that you were in trouble. I just had to get to you."

"Oh, shit, Di. I'm sorry." I need to have time to think this through, the Prime thought. This can't happen every time something goes wrong. If the girls hadn't been so protective, I could have easily gotten out from under the weights to let them fall harmlessly. Then Diana does this. This Prime thing has gone too fucking far. She could have broken her neck jumping down those stairs.

Little One beeped and began moving down Diana's leg. A moment later she crossed over to the other leg, then settled on Diana's right foot. "Oh, that feels nice," Diana sighed when the pain there went away also. Reaching down, she put her hand on Little One. "Thank you, My Sister."

{{{ You are welcome. }}}

Diana jerked.

"What?" Jeff said.

"I heard her," his Queen responded. "I heard her. I'm sure of it. She said, 'You're welcome.' ... Well, kind of. That's what she meant. I'm sure of it. Oh, I don't know; I just know she told me you're welcome."

Jeff stared at his wife. The other wives looked at each other incredulously, but just quietly talked among themselves.

A little later, Little One chirped again, and Jeff put her on his shoulder, but didn't pull the collar of his tee shirt out for her because of his sweat-covered back.

{{{ The smell of your sweat is not offensive to your mates, nor to me, }}} the little alien sent to him.

Jeff smiled and patted her with his hand. Maybe not, but it is to me. I'll shower first, then let you ride my back if you wish.

Jeff stood and helped Diana to her feet. "Well that started our morning off with a bang. I humbly apologize to all of you for my stupidity. I should have quit at forty-nine." Turning back to his Queen, "Di, I don't know what to say. Thank you, My Love, but please, don't do that again. Nothing is worth your getting hurt."

{{{ Your arm is injured. }}}

It can wait until after my shower. But Little One had already marched down to his triceps.

"You're hurt," Diana said with concern evident in her voice.

"Just a pulled muscle, heck, more of a charley horse than anything else. It's nothing. But you, My Wife, could have been hurt badly."

Diana hugged him. "Hush, Husband. I'm not some fragile vase that breaks when it falls. A couple of skinned places aren't anything to make a big deal over. Now I need to get Hope to that art supply store. Who's going with me?"

"We are," Arlene, Ann and Jennie said.

"Selina wants to go too," Arlene added.

"Okay. Our shorts are going to be a little cool for the occasion," Diana teased. "You can stop by and tell Hope and Selina, then run change."

Giggling, holding hands, Arlene, Ann and Jennie took off together.

{{{ You should not take risks like that, }}} Jeff understood the Healer to say after he unscrambled the thoughts she sent him.

Yes, Boss, he sent, then when his shoulder stung, Ouch. That smarted, he sent back as her mental chuckle came back loud and clear.

Kayla stared at him for a moment, walked over, grabbed the back of his head with her left hand, pulled his head down and kissed him hard, jamming her mouth to his. "I'll be waiting in the shower," she almost snarled as she pulled back, her pupils dilated and her nipples still hard and elongated. Whirling around, she marched out the door, oblivious to her nudity, the Glock still casually held in her hand.