I grunted when a broken branch bumped into us, jamming against my ribs with a punishing blow. I couldn’t look back to see if Yaseke was okay; I had to stay focused on the bank. My muscles burned so bad, all I wanted to do was rest for a second, but as soon as I stopped swimming, we went under. I gasped and flailed with my free arm as I sucked in some water, coming up choking and coughing. We sank again, and I kicked my feet hard until my head broke the surface.
My feet struck bottom as I swam desperately the last few feet. I stumbled through the water until it reached my knees and then fell on the rocks. It hurt, but I was too exhausted to care about the bruises or even take my feet out of the water. Rolling onto my side, I heaved Yaseke up next to me. He was pale, his isitziu markings dark blue on his body. His wrap had come off in the water, and he was completely naked.
My shirt and shorts had stayed on, though. My fingers trembled as I fought to get my shirt off as the sodden fabric stuck to my skin. The sun was beating down on us, but I was still so cold. I knew Yaseke had to be too, and he wasn’t conscious. His body wasn’t even shivering.
That was dangerous. I had basic first aid knowledge and knew I had to get us warmed up. The sun and being out of the water would warm us eventually, but first we had to get away from the river. Avoiding our pursuers was vital. It was hard to get my shirt unfolded enough to wrap around Yaseke’s body, but I had his groin covered at last. He moaned when I rolled him over so I could tie it securely.
Maybe he was waking up. I couldn’t carry him, and we had to move. “About time something goes our fucking way.” I tugged him onto his back. “Yaseke?” I shook his shoulder. “Yaseke? Are you awake? Come on, man, I need your help here.”
His eyelids trembled, but he didn’t open them. He began to shiver. I needed to finish getting him dressed to protect his groin from the jungle, and then get him awake so we could find somewhere safer to hide.
I accidentally palmed his cock when I was pulling the tails of my shirt between his legs and around his waist. I jerked my hand away as he groaned and moved his arms. I knew I wasn’t groping him, but I didn’t want him to wake up thinking I was. Yaseke’s head rolled to the side, and he began to cough.
I pushed him away from me and began rubbing his back. He coughed harder and then retched. I winced in sympathy at the harsh sound. It took a minute, but gradually the spasms eased, and his breathing got a little easier. I rolled him over onto his back.
He blinked up at me. One hand came up clumsily to wipe at his mouth. He grimaced.
“Dade?” His hum was faint. “What happened?”
“We were attacked and you were stunned.” I traced my fingers below the blue mark on his shoulder.
“Where are—” A coughing spasm shook him. He curled into a ball, holding his chest with one arm. I sat and pulled him up to lean against me until he stopped. He gasped for air, drawing in a few ragged breaths.
“Maybe you shouldn’t talk yet. Where, as in where are we? Is that what you were asking?”
He nodded.
“I don’t know. I ran into the jungle with you in my arms and almost fell into this river. There wasn’t anywhere else to go, so I let it take us downstream. I have no idea how long we were in the water, but it felt like hours. We’re totally lost unless you know where we could be.”
Grimacing, Yaseke shook his head. I’d been afraid of that.
“Fuck!” He flinched away from me. “Sorry.” I rubbed his back. “I didn’t mean to startle you. This is a bad situation, though, and I’ve been in enough to recognize just how bad it can get. Is there anything we need to worry about? Animals or predators that might attack us if we head into the jungle?”
“Some small creatures, no large predators within a day of the capital.” His hand trembled when he pushed his hair back from his face. “Should be safe.”
He sounded a little better, and his shivering was slowing. I looked around nervously. “Can you walk? We really need to get away from the river.”
“I don’t know.” Yaseke cleared his throat. “I’ll try.”
The sun had already started to dry us off, and some of the dangerous chill from the water had faded. I’d stopped shivering, but I was exhausted. My legs felt rubbery as I struggled to my feet. I stumbled and winced as a pointy rock jabbed the arch of one of my feet. I took a big step forward and opened up my stance. Finally I was able to stand still. I leaned forward and offered Yaseke my hand. Grunting, I pulled hard as he pushed up off the ground. We must have looked like a pair of drunkards when Yaseke finally got up to his feet, leaning against each other and swaying.
Yaseke looked down. His forehead wrinkled. “What is… is this your shirt?” He fingered the fabric I’d wrapped around his waist and between his legs.
I smiled. “Sorry. Your wrap got lost in the river. I didn’t want to leave you uncovered, and it was all I could think of to put on you.”
Yaseke smiled as he looked up at me. “Thanks, I guess.” He peered across the rocks at the jungle. When he looked back up at me, his smile was gone. “I don’t think I can walk on my own. I know that you don’t like being touched, but I think I need your help.”
I blinked. I hadn’t even thought about my fears. It didn’t bother me to touch him, and the tight grip he had on my arm didn’t hurt me at all. When we touched, it was as if I’d never had my mind messed with at all. I hadn’t realized how completely alone I’d felt until that moment. It had been so long since I could touch anyone, or have them touch me, and not be afraid of what I was feeling.
Yaseke’s hair had flopped back down into his eyes, and I pushed it back for him, enjoying the soft, silky feeling of it curled around my fingertips. “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
There was too much at stake for me to worry about my sudden craving for touch at that moment. I shoved it aside and focused on making it into the jungle.
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was cooler under the canopy without the sun to warm them. Yaseke limped, every muscle in his body aching. He was comfortable in the edges of the jungle, near the city, but they were far beyond that area. He knew the river flowed parallel to the city for a short distance, but then it turned and headed south toward the ocean. Wide tracts of jungle separated the city from the interior of the continent and the beaches. They were wide enough that going through it took most of a day’s travel by vehicle. Walking? It could take days, if they didn’t get lost. He had no way of guessing how long they’d been in the river while he was unconscious or how far they’d floated.
Their only luck had been coming out of the river on the right side to begin traveling north. Yaseke had hopes of coming across some hunters, or possibly one of their abandoned camps, but right then they had to manage on their own.
Dade’s arm was around his waist, holding him close and helping him walk. The shirt he’d wrapped around and through Yaseke’s legs had dried and rubbed with every step, irritating the skin on his thighs. He didn’t even want to consider how the rest of his body looked after their day tromping through the jungle.
Yaseke stepped forward, and one knee buckled as the joint protested. He groaned when Dade’s hand tightened on a bruise on his hip and kept him from falling. His entire body felt like it had been beaten to a pulp.
“Fuck!” Dade cursed and stopped, holding Yaseke closer to him. “Can I pick you up? We’ll move faster, and it’s started to get darker in here.”
The light had grown dim as the shadows grew. Night fell early in the jungle. “We need shelter,” Yaseke said. “There are some nocturnal predators. Nothing that could kill us, but there are dangerous animals that might be drawn to the scent of blood.” Dade had a cut along his ribs inside a deep bruise. It had broken open again when he caught Yaseke and kept him from falling. “You can’t pick me up anyway; you might have internal injuries. We need to get you help.”
“I’m sure you can check me out when we stop; you’re a doctor, after all.”
Yaseke grimaced.
He wasn’t really, not that kind at least. He sighed. “We can’t keep going. We might find something in that grove of sampanga trees I see over there. A lot of animals avoid them.”
They were holding each other up by the time they reached the soft brown trunks. The slim trees pulsed with light in the dim dusk, stripes and spots that glowed and then faded. A bird landed in a tree as they entered the grove.
His mouth falling open, Dade stared as the lights grew around the bird’s feet on the knobby limb. With a loud squawk, the bird beat its wings and then flew away.
“See, animals don’t like how they take the energy. Most of the larger animals learn about sampanga trees when they are young. Hopefully that will keep us safe.”
There wasn’t a bed, or even cushion of moss, in this area of the forest, but Dade and Yaseke managed to pile up some dead leaves. Lowering themselves carefully, they sat on the softened surface at the base of a huge sampanga tree that had split into three trunks. Several branches hung low to the ground, almost like arms cradling their hiding spot.
“I think this is as safe as we’re going to find,” Yaseke said. It was a dubious safety, though, and if he were any less exhausted, it wouldn’t feel like nearly enough protection to allow him to sleep. Exhaustion made him too tired to find anything better.
Now that they were settled, he looked at Dade’s cut and pressed carefully around his ribs.
“Well, what do you think? Will I live?” Dade’s smile was strained, but Yaseke was amazed he was joking at all.
“I think you’ll be okay. It might scar, though.” He knew telling Dade his secret wasn’t a good idea, but he’d saved his life. Yaseke didn’t want to lie to the male who’d kept him alive when he could so easily have left him to die.
Yaseke licked his lips. He didn’t want to keep anything from Dade. He was drawn to the male. Of course he hadn’t admitted that to Larede when he’d told his friend he wouldn’t treat Dade.
“You know, yesterday, when we first met, I said I did mostly research. I do have some medical training, what we all have to go through. I didn’t say I mostly research, and treat, mental health.”
Dade jerked away from him. “You’re a head doctor?” he hissed. “What, did they all think I was nuts or something?” His eyes widened. “You do, don’t you? Especially after I told you what I can do.” His voice was horrified.
“No!” Yaseke held out one hand but didn’t try to touch him.
“Yeah right. You expect me to believe you? My god, that’s why Larede left, wasn’t it?”
Yaseke shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. There really was an emergency. I’m sorry I wasn’t up front with you in the beginning. I was asked to check on you, to assess you. I agreed, because they seemed so concerned, but after I met you, I knew that you weren’t insane. You’ve been through a lot, and that will have affected you in many ways, but I couldn’t see any sign you were a danger.
“If I had, I would never have agreed to be left alone with you. At that point, I didn’t want to be your therapist. I did want to help you”—Yaseke bit his lip; it was embarrassing to admit—“but I was attracted to you from the first moment I saw you.” He sank down in the crackling leaves. “Even then I could have put that aside, if you needed me as a therapist. But you don’t, Dade. Talking might help you, but you’re not in danger of harming others or yourself. Telling the Toleral about what happened to you might help, though.”
“Or it could get me in some big trouble. You don’t think he’d tell all those old guys on that council thing? The ones who wanted to force us into bonding?”
Yaseke sighed. “Seral told me about their plan afterward. They really tried to do that?”
Dade nodded sharply.
“That’s shameful. I’m assuming the Toleral prevented it?”
“Seral exploded on the council, and then his dad agreed with him.”
Yaseke let out a breath. “Good. You know, Dade, even if you can’t tell them, you can talk to me anytime. I don’t think you need me as a counselor.” He looked up, staring at Dade and hoping the man standing over him would hear the sincerity in his voice. “But I’d like it if you opened up to me because I’m your friend.”
Dade blinked, and then his shoulders sagged. He collapsed to the ground on the other side of the leaf pile. It was still warm, but a breeze ruffled the leaves around them. They both shivered as they sat in silence. Finally giving up on Dade saying anything, Yaseke settled back into the leaves. It was cool enough that he tried to burrow deeper and considered piling some over his body like a blanket.
The leaves rustled, and then Dade was next to him.
“This is ridiculous. Just”—Dade’s mouth tightened into a thin line—“just come here. There’s no reason for us to be cold because I’m a standoffish bastard.”
Yaseke goggled at him. Is that what Dade really thought of himself? He was perfectly justified in avoiding touch, if his touch empathy was that intense. Clearly the humans had some advanced technology and the lack of principles to do exactly what he’d described. He’d been tortured.
“I don’t think you’re a ‘standoffish bastard’.” Yaseke lifted a hand when Dade opened his mouth. “Okay, you’re standoffish, but you’ve good reason.”
Dade sighed as Yaseke moved closer to him, combining their warmth. “I know we just met yesterday, but it still feels like you had this big secret, and finding that out….”
“I understand. I knew you would probably be angry when I told you what Larede wanted me to do. I want you to know that I wasn’t going to do it. I refused yesterday, but I did hope that we could be friends, and I still do. That’s why I came by to invite you on the walk.”
Curling up a little, Yaseke winced. The shirt was really uncomfortable. “I know this is weird for you, since your kind seems not to have the same casual approach to nudity we do, but I really need to take off this shirt. It’s rubbing me raw. Do you mind?” Yaseke didn’t try to untie it until Dade nodded. He struggled with the edge of the knot, trying to get it undone. He huffed and then pushed his hair out of his eyes. “I can’t get it off.” It just figured.
Dade snorted. “Well, it was wet when I put it on you. Here, let me help.”
They were both hesitant, moving slowly as Yaseke relaxed on his back and Dade leaned over him. Yaseke jumped as the warm palm of Dade’s hand skimmed over the sensitive skin of his stomach.
Expletives ran through Yaseke’s mind as he felt stirring under the shirt. That was the last thing they needed. It was darker, but not dark enough to hide… that. He ran through a litany of disgusting things, each image worse than the next, trying to take his mind off the fact Dade’s hands were right there, so close to his cock.
“Almost….” Dade exhaled hard in frustration, leaning over to better see the tightened knot in the near-darkness. “Yes! Got it!” He tugged hard on the knot and pulled it open.
Yaseke couldn’t hold back his groan or the way his cock began to harden rapidly. He glanced down just as the sides of the shirt opened and exposed the way it jutted from his groin. Dade reared back.
“Oh. Shit. Um.”
Yaseke wanted to die of embarrassment. He wanted to apologize. He wanted to push Dade’s head down until his lips touched Yaseke’s aching need and swallowed it whole.
A vibrating hum tickled his shypsoid bone.
Dade was laughing. Not just that, he was even doing what Ryker called giggling.
Indignation filled Yaseke at first, but then he smiled. Humor welled up inside him, and he hummed in amusement. He lifted his hips, pushing his cock against his stomach and yanking on his shirt until it came out from under him. He sank back down and covered himself up with the shirt. Spread out, it covered quite a bit more of him.
Dade collapsed back in the leaves. “Sorry, sorry,” he gasped.
Yaseke shook his head ruefully. “Shouldn’t I be the one apologizing to you? You were just trying to help me, and I sorta stood up in salute.”
Dade started snickering a
gain.
Yaseke’s voice rose. “Well, it’s not like I could help it. You do know that our isitziu are compatible, right? You were almost touching me, and your breath was so warm on my stomach. It just happened.”
Dade’s laugh faded. He shifted uncomfortably, then shivered when a hard gust pushed through the trees. “Can we talk about that?” he asked slowly. He rubbed at his neck and then lay back down.
“What do you want to know?” Yaseke fought back a yawn. He was shocked Dade was still willing to lie there so close to him, though Yaseke knew the attraction wasn’t only on his side. Accepting, much less adapting to a new planet and species the way Dade was trying to do, wouldn’t come so easy.
“I don’t understand it, these marks and the attraction between us. What does it mean to be compatible?”
Yaseke considered how to answer. “Well, I don’t know all the medical jargon, but basically our isitziu markings are part of our cellular biology. Almost like gender characteristics, actually. But these go beyond male or female to a more basic compatibility. They indicate genetic matches to produce ideal offspring, which is why our pheromones seem to appeal so much to someone with similar markings.”
“So, there’s no choice involved? It’s all just a chemically induced biological imperative to breed together?”
Shaking his head, Yaseke smiled. “You haven’t claimed me yet, have you? Being close to me hasn’t forced you to join with me, even though we both feel the attraction.”
Dade shifted. He sounded embarrassed when he spoke. “I’m not exactly Caeorleian, though.”
“Close enough.” He could barely make out the side of Dade’s face, just a hint of his profile. “We could join right now, if we both wanted to. But it takes more than just being compatible, for most of us. Ryker and Seral were different. They are more compatible than any I’ve ever seen, their markings virtually identical. The doctors have postulated it is because he got a purer injection of Seral’s DNA than you and Nicklaus. You may not be full-blooded, but even Caeorleians can resist the pull. Fieo has not touched the other male who came from the ship, Nicklaus. I believe they will join in besedad sooner rather than later, though.”
Adverse Effects Page 6
