They both sagged, gasping, letting the warm water flow over them. Girma straightened first and touched his member. It rose of its own accord, but then fell flat again. “I need more.”
Zell almost groaned. “Can we use the bed this time?”
Girma laughed, but it was a strained and bitter laugh. “Yes. That’s a good idea.”
She dragged him out of the shower, as wet as he was.
“Lie down.”
Zell frowned because she was acting so strangely, but he followed her wish. When she wrapped a leather restraint around his wrist, he froze, heart in his mouth. “What…?”
“Trust me.” Girma pulled his other wrist back and tied it. Soon she had him spreadeagled on the bed. She even tightened the bonds to stretch him out before she crawled onto the bed and looked at his member.
Zell stared at her. “Are you all right?”
“No, I’m not,” she snarled. Her eyes were huge and her hands were shaking. She put them on his member and rubbed it. It twitched a little but didn’t rise.
Zell swallowed hard and barely managed not to flinch. Memories of Ssasssal rose unbidden.
Girma flicked her finger against his member, and this time, he did flinch.
“Are you crazy?” His voice was a mere whisper, and he almost regretted giving in to her wild wish.
She shuddered, ignoring his question. “I need something to keep you big. For as long as I want to.”
Zell gaped but he gave her the answer she needed, still trusting her, still loving her despite her strangeness. “Look for a tiny leather belt. There may be one in one of the many boxes. It’s a common instrument.”
She left him on the bed and started rummaging through the cupboards in their rooms. When she returned, her whole body was shaking. She held up the little leather belt, and he nodded.
Zell already felt the strain in his extremities. Girma really was in a mental fit, but it was too late to stop her.
She put a hand on his member and worked it until it had risen to its usual size. Quickly, she tied the leather band around its base and tightened it with shaking fingers, pulling hard.
Zell moaned, as pain and desire mingled. He strained against his bonds, lifting his hips.
She flicked the top of his member with a fingernail, and a shudder ran through his body. His vision clouded. For a moment, it was Ssasssal looming over him.
She rose up and lowered herself onto him. Her warm, familiar well enfolded him, and he threw his head back and moaned again, in pleasure and relief. His hips bucked.
Then she rode him. Oh, how she rode him!
He had no idea how many times he shuddered into a release, only to be primed and then released again. His member simply couldn’t give up, not when it was collared into service like that.
Finally, she collapsed on top of him, trembling and sobbing. He still throbbed inside her.
He wished he could hold her, but he was immobile, stretched to the limit, his strength gone. Helpless.
She pulled herself up and moved her hips again. His member pulsed and ached.
“Girma…”
“Yes?” She frowned.
“I can’t… can’t… anymore. Please stop.”
Her mouth twisted and she bared her teeth. She reached and touched his testicles, letting her fingers caress them, playing with them.
Zell’s mouth dropped open in shock as his whole body twisted, anticipating terrible pain.
She rode him again, and to his utter surprise, he found he had one more release in him.
When she lifted herself off him and took the leather band off his member, he could hear his blood pounding in his ears. Blackness danced on the edge of his vision.
The last thing he felt before slipping into exhausted oblivion was her gentle kiss on his throat.
Chapter 14
“What was that all about?”
Zell had woken in the bed as usual, curled up with Girma, under their blanket. His member ached a little, but otherwise his latest sexual experience could have been a bad dream. Girma snuggled closer.
“Ever since that Dile took you, you haven’t been yourself. I have tried everything I could. But you didn’t really respond.”
Zell blinked.
She kept talking. “I needed to get you back here. Into this room. With me.”
He had no words, and she simply went on.
“And that terrible execution showed me how.”
“What?”
She nodded against his chest. “Those two were meant to be you and me, I’m sure of it. Ssasssal showed us what she is planning for us. And we both got the message. And I kept thinking and thinking. She tried to put fear into us. My worst fear is getting abused and tortured and killed in sex, like that woman. So I asked you to take me hard, to test the idea.”
“Did I hurt you?” Zell was worried, remembering the raw force he had used.
“A little. It felt right. I brought me back to my body. A part of me left it when Shabs first took me because I was so afraid, and because he did hurt me at first. Did you know that a Dile member has hard bits?”
“No.” Zell was almost speechless.
“Anyway, I realized that having to watch what that Dile bitch did to you kept this part of me away from me. I noticed that I often drifted away. And I noticed the same in you.”
She kissed him as gently as she always did.
“And then I thought I might be able to bring you back here as well. If I did what she did but differently.”
“Holy stars.” He stared at her. Then he closed his eyes and felt for his body. He could indeed feel it all, and he welcomed it, even the soreness in his member. Yes, she was right, he had not been entirely in his body since that day. He sighed and pulled her closer.
“That must have been very hard for you.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Very. I wanted to cry all the time. It was so hard to hurt you. To put you through all this.”
“It was awesome,” he mumbled into her ear, and his member stirred slightly at the memory of her ride. “And you didn’t really hurt me much.”
She heaved a huge sigh.
“Dile members have hard bits?” Zell simply had to ask.
She nodded. “But he can control them somehow. He has been very good about that ever since.”
“Dile females have hard bits in their wells.”
“Oh.”
“I wonder if they can control them, too.”
“Probably.” Girma sounded very practical. “And they probably need them for their sex.”
“Except they only have sex with us. I really wonder why.”
“We should ask Ssheyrra.”
“Yes… And they don’t have love, either,” Zell said very thoughtfully. “I wonder if that’s connected.”
Girma just sighed. “At any rate, they have created a world where they use Humans as they please, thinking we’re animals to keep and breed. And I have never seen a truly happy Dile, either.”
“The whole world is one big wrong,” Zell said. “The only place where it is right is in the Tribes.”
Girma shook her head. “No, it isn’t. The Tribes don’t include Diles, and they live on this world just as we do.”
Zell hated her words, but he knew it was true. This world was home to both Humans and Diles. Or Rraussha, he corrected himself. He sighed.
“I wish we could find a way to change that.”
Girma laughed a little. “Listen to us. Two pets who are lucky to have a kind Master. And we talk about changing the world.”
Zell chuckled as well. “Well, it never hurts to have a goal. And it is a truly worthy goal to find a way to make Rraussha and Humans live together as equal on this world. Imagine how awesome that could be. We might even travel to the stars again.”
Girma hugged him tight. “That is a wonderful dream and goal. Thank you for that vision. May our children see it come true.”
“Children!” Zell stared at her. “We… can’t have children right
now, can we?”
Girma shook her head. “I have an implant.”
Zell relaxed. The last thing he wanted at the moment was to get Girma pregnant.
“But I would love to have children eventually.” She sighed and kissed him. “Yours, most of all.”
Zell felt his body heat up at those words. “Oh, Girma. I would love that, too.” For a short moment, he saw little babies in his mind, with black hair and green eyes. He banished the vision. They were still pets, with a powerful Dile enemy. They would need a lot of luck not to end their lives screaming their lungs out in that arena.
Zell was kissing Girma and caressing her folds with his fingers when the door whooshed open. He sighed, kissed Girma again and gave up on lovemaking for now. She sighed with him, wiggling her hips against him.
Shabs still looked dreadful. His color was off, dark blotches dominating his skin.
Zell lifted the blanket, inviting him.
The Rraussha hesitated for a moment, then actually did come to the bed and lay down between them like a large, forlorn child. Zell watched Girma pull him into a hug and then put a hand on Shab’s shoulder.
The Rraussha shuddered.
“How can you be so loving after what you saw yesterday?” he asked in a subdued voice.
“Because we know you hated it at least as much as we did,” Girma answered, caressing his skin.
“I am ashamed of my race.”
Zell patted his shoulder. “Shabs, they just don’t know better. All their lives they have treated Humans as animals. Used them as they pleased.”
“Yes.” The Rraussha sounded even more dejected. “And I did, too.”
“So why would they feel bad about two animals being subjected to torture as entertainment? They probably applauded Ssasssal’s horrible inventiveness.” Zell’s insides twisted as he said that.
“That is the truth,” Shabs whispered.
“Tell me, have there been executions that were fast and merciful?”
“Yes.” The Rraussha began to accept Girma’s attention. “Many.” He didn’t elaborate on the methods, for which Zell was grateful.
“I thought so,” he said. “I would even bet that most Rraussha are not sadistic.”
“It is possible.” Shabs’ color started to shift very gradually. Girma’s hands went lower on his body, and the Rraussha sighed.
“Zell just told me about his dream,” Girma said, between kisses.”
“Your… dream?”
Zell laughed. “Yes, we dream in sleep, but that’s not what she’s talking about.”
“Oh. Would you mind telling me?”
Zell took a deep breath. “I dream of a world where Humans and Rraussha respect each other. Where we are equal and create a better life for all of us. I was taught we came from the stars, and maybe, together, we could return to them.”
Shabs paled to a very light green.
“I apologize,” Zell said immediately. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. What did I say?”
With a visible effort, the Rraussha calmed himself down. “You don’t know, you cannot know,” Shabs finally said. “In fact, it is a wonder you know what you do know, considering the amount of time that has passed.”
Zell blinked in confusion, exchanging a look with Girma.
Shabs took another deep breath. “The fact that we came from space is not general knowledge. That I’m talking to you about this is technically treason.” He needed more deep breaths to continue.
“You see, we Rraussha are a race of very high mating aggression. We almost died out because of it when technology gave us the ability to find each other easily and quickly. So our long-gone ancestors developed rituals and the first contracts. Mating with each other outside of those is a reason for instant execution. We have lived by those rituals for centuries and severely controlled our urges ever since.”
He sighed. “You can imagine the frustration this caused. So our ancestors poured all that energy into science. We developed space travel. In order to preserve our race, they created several colonies which destroyed their space ships after landing. And the Rraussha in those colonies must never know of space travel and other worlds, in case one of them breaks the rituals. Only the Leaders of each colony can know the full history. When a Leader loses his or her position, they are killed to preserve the secrets. I only know this because my mother was a Leader and told me in secret.”
Zell exchanged another look with Girma. So Shabs was indeed high among his people.
“And the Rraussha here were lucky to land on a world with a colony of Humans,” Zell said. “Humans who are physically compatible, at least mostly. And not organized enough to fight back a determined force of invaders. Which means here, on this world, you found a way to have sex and relief while not mating, by making Humans your pets.”
“Yes.” Shabs sounded very tired. “I am ashamed of it.”
“Having sex is not bad,” Girma said after a while. “I enjoy it with both of you. I don’t want to stop doing that.”
“Oh, Ancestors,” Shabs whispered. Then he pulled Girma close with a shudder. “Please,” he whispered. “Please.”
She bit him, and Shabs hissed in surprise. Moments later, he was thrusting into Girma’s ready well, moving with a desperation that felt quite familiar to Zell. He slipped out of the bed to give them more room.
Very thoughtfully, he retreated to the yard. If anything, his dream had become stronger by what Shabs had revealed. Humans and Rraussha needed each other, he thought, desperately needed each other. By cooperating, down to the level of sex and all the way up to traveling to the stars, they could only win.
If he could only think of a way to make that happen.
Chapter 15
When Shabs and Girma joined Zell in the yard, they both smiled. She looked a little smug, while Shabs had regained his usual color and a twinkle in his eyes.
“I have called Ssheyrra,” he announced. “She has all the expertise to value your thoughts, and possibly the means to shift popular opinion on Choomans.”
He went and put a hand on Zell’s shoulder. “And thanks to your vision and Girma’s words, I finally have a glimmer of hope. If we can create cooperation here, if we can build a society with mutual understanding and respect for our races, we could bring that to the stars and thrive together.”
Zell pulled the Rraussha into a hug, with his heart flying. “Yes, that is my dream, Shabs. I’m so happy you’re sharing it now.”
The Rraussha turned to a color that Zell had never seen before. Purple rings appeared on his skin, and his smile was bright. “We shall celebrate. I’ll be back in a moment.”
He returned with Ssheyrra and a couple of Rraussha in his wake. They were carrying trays of food and beverages, deposited them on the table in the yard and vanished again.
Ssheyrra looked confused.
“It’s a celebration,” Shabssam said with a smile.
“But for what?” She looked around at Zell and Girma.
“For finally having found my destiny. And if you want, our destiny.” His gesture included all four of them.
She sat down and took a deep breath. “Explain.”
They all ate, while Shabs laid out what Zell and Girma had discussed with him. Ssheyrra’s eyes got bigger and bigger.
“You told them all that?” she finally whispered.
Shabs shrugged. “Zell knew some of it already, through the tradition of his Tribe. He put together most of the rest himself. All I did was clarify our history. But you need to look beyond that, my dear. You need to look at the future.”
“A future where Rraussha and Choomans work together, you mean?”
“Very much so.”
She shook her head. “I don’t see it.”
Shabs sank back into his chair, his color darkening.
Ssheyrra stretched out her hand. “I am sorry. I don’t doubt that Choomans are intelligent. In fact, I have a new study ready to give more evidence to that. But I’m not sure about the benefits
of a cooperation.”
Zell got up. “May I touch you? As an experiment?”
She frowned at him, then nodded.
He put a gentle hand on her arm, then started stroking her skin. Her eyes went wide. “Rraussha don’t touch like that.”
“I know.” He just kept on doing it, then leaned to nibble on her neck.
She shuddered. “Please stop. This is… very discomforting.”
Zell stepped back. “My apologies.” He went to Girma, walked behind her and started stroking her, then kissing her on the neck.
Ssheyrra’s eyes widened again. “Is this what you do before… mating?”
Zell grinned. “Before making love as we like to call it.”
Her jaw dropped. “Making love,” she whispered. “Dear Ancestors. It has been right before my eyes.”
He nodded, giving up his playful attitude. “That is what Humans can give you. What I could give you.”
She looked shocked.
“I think he’s good at it,” Shabs said after a while. “Girma certainly has expressed her pleasure with his lovemaking.”
Ssheyrra got up and wandered around the yard, fingering a plant or two. She avoided looking at Zell. Finally she shook herself and stepped up to him.
“I have never had that experience,” she said hesitatingly. “I have avoided thinking about this particular activity all my life. I don’t have enough status for a contract, and I never considered just taking a Human male. It never felt right, given what I know.”
“It would be my gift,” Zell said quietly.
“Oh, you two.” Shabs stood and gave both of them a shove in the direction of the bed. “Get on with it.”
Zell exchanged a look with Ssheyrra and caught an amused tilt to her head. He held out his hand.
To his surprise, she took it and allowed him to lead her to the bed. He hid a sigh. Would he always have to woo virgins?
He made her lie down next to him and started stroking her skin again. “This is my first time with a Rraussha,” he explained, quickly pushing memories of Ssasssal away. “I know what pleases a Human, but I don’t know what pleases you. So we need to experiment, and you need to tell me what feels good and what doesn’t.”
She nodded, then licked her lips nervously. “The stroking feels good. But it sometimes tickles.”
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