by Cara Carnes
A panel opened to reveal a hidden room that she had failed to see before. Tentative steps led her toward the sound of gurgling water. It couldn’t be. An amused grin lit Kandos’ face, and her eyes widened in disbelief. An Ancient Earth hot tub. Devices such as these were banned since water had become a scarce commodity over the centuries, and showers were now solar.
It was only because of the generosity of Cadar that many worlds had water. Even worlds whose races did not use the scarce commodity sought the advanced solar-powered system as an energy-saving device, and only the Cadari had the technology to do it. Rina did not understand anything about the highly sought invention, but knew it created water out of a planet’s atmosphere and provided a hydro resource. In some cases the Cadari device could even be used to regenerate the ecosystem to produce water once again. But it still remained a highly controlled resource everywhere.
“How did you get one of these?” Hologram images of lit candles danced flames across the water. Slow footsteps filled the room as he approached.
“I intended for this to be the location of our first joining but knew I could not handle it, given the level of our need at the time. I wanted this to be a special union we could remember for all time.”
Her throat constricted while tears streamed down her face. He looked around awkwardly, clearly unused to sharing such intimacy with someone, and she wondered if anyone else had been brought here, but the look in his eyes told her no one else mattered.
Leaning into his tall frame, she kissed him hungrily. He lifted her up and carried her into the tub, setting her down gently on one of the seats. “You are the most beautiful and passionate woman I have ever met, Rina. Men like me don’t share emotion easily, but I must tell you this. If you remember nothing else of me, cling to this one night and this one moment in time. Our souls will always be together if you can do that.”
She cried tears of sadness and longing as she kissed him hungrily. The tenderness of his kisses tormented her need to have him inside her. But he intended to make love to her slowly this time.
His masculine scent implanted itself in her mind. Her hands roamed slowly over his sinewy flesh, her mouth trailed a course down his neck and across his powerful shoulders.
His mouth descended and sucked softly on her breasts. His fingers danced across her flesh so lightly she barely felt it. Whimpering at the loss of the heated water when he laid her down on the shallow step of the tub, she moaned in delight feeling his mouth begin its course of magic between her legs.
Her eyes opened, her gaze falling on the glass paneling on the ceiling of the room. The stars danced across the sky as his tongue delved into her heated core. She writhed under him, begging for more. She closed her eyes, savoring the sensation of his touch, his taste, his scent and his possession.
When he sucked on her clit, she shouted his name to the heavens. The wave of pleasure lifted her up and carried her into the stars above her. Her secret desire for this night to never end resonated in her mind.
He brought her back into the water and turned her to face the edge of the tub. Spreading her legs, he positioned her so that the jet stream of heated water would hit her swollen clit, and she moaned when she felt him slide into her.
Her labored breath prevented speech, her pulse raced and her heart stammered at the tenderness Kandos gave to her. Tears hit her shoulders as his cock took her slowly and deeply, each thrust taking her to the pinnacle of pleasure.
Knowing his dominant male persona would not handle her realization that he was crying, she fought the urge to comfort him. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with his as they fell on the surface surrounding the tub. She grasped his hands in hers and clung to him with all her might. His arms wrapped around her, his body moving in unison with hers.
The nibbles on her earlobe coursed through her body as she convulsed around his cock. The sensation of his cock thrusting into her mixed with the sound of their joining. He was hers, even if it was just for tonight. The tenseness of his body behind her signaled his climax as he rubbed her clit, and soon her orgasm spiraled through her. A rapid heartbeat welcomed her when she turned and collapsed on against him. There was something about the sound of his breathing that calmed her. Just knowing he was there with her sated her need. “Where did you get this relic from and how much trouble are you in for having it?” She looked around at the hot tub once again, still surprised to see it.
The rumble of masculine laughter filled the small area, his arms looped around her waist to pull her closer to him. “You know Cadari law. Everyone gets a certain number of credits every year for the position, plus extra credits for doing a good thing for the community, staying out of trouble and other things like that. I simply have a lot of credits to spend and seldom do. You can get just about anything if you have the credits for it, you know.”
Rina contemplated his statement, realizing how fortunate Cadari citizens were. Technology enabled them to have a simple life, with no need to work more than one day each week. With all housing and monthly necessities provided, she imagined the credits could be used for many extracurricular purposes. “What does everyone use their credits for?”
“Depends. Many only get a few and use them to add personal touches to their homes. But anyone who works more than their required amount gains a large amount of credits. Many Cadari have begun to use them to help other planets out.”
“It surprised me when I found out about the one day a week requirement. I’ve never known a Cadari who didn’t work every day.”
“We love to help, and most positions are to assist others in some capacity. It is the Cadari way, and hopefully it will find a cure for the tagratis nightmare soon.” She curled into him, knowing words would express nothing worthy of this joining. The silence filled the room as she allowed one last tear to fall down her face.
She stared up at the three moons. The largest one was a pale blue that almost disappeared in the night sky, its light diminishing against the slightly smaller yellow moon beside it. The illumination emitted from it seemed focused on the smallest of the orbs, which was pale green. “They are so beautiful. It is strange to see so many different colors.”
“They are made of different gases. Ancient Cadari folklore tells that the largest moon is the protector, whose light had faded because he has been away from his family too long. The mother moon emits all her energy to protect her child, who was born shortly after the warrior left home. The orange flecks on the surface of the parent moons are their tears over not being able to share the joy of his birth.” His reflective voice echoed through the room, but his breath fell softly in her ear.
“It was also believed that if you call upon the spirit of the mother moon she will grant your request if your pain is strong enough for her to feel. When I was a child I used to lie outside my facility and pray to the father moon, asking him to return my father to me. He never did though.”
Rina stroked his face and kissed his chest softly. “That is a beautiful myth. On Ancient Earth, they used to believe a wish would come true if you made it on a falling star. I used to spend hours staring up at the stars of a night, trying to see a shooting star but never did. The skies were always too murky.” She wanted to know more about his childhood, wanted to share that time with him. She wasn’t sure how to though. “What is a facility?”
“A place I was kept while my father was away. Since my mother died when I was younger, there was no one to care for me in his stead.” His gaze remained on the stars above them, but she could see the twitch in his jaw.
“That must have been lonely.”
“I survived. It made me stronger. I learned a lot in there.” None of it was something a child should know, she guessed, based on the tenseness in his muscles.
“This is such a beautiful place. Thank you for sharing it with me. I will treasure it always.” A smile formed on his face as his gaze met hers, and his lips brushed against hers.
Weariness overcame her, but she fought it knowing morning w
as creeping up on them. She felt like a princess when he lifted her out of the tub and gently dried her off, and knew she was when she curled into his body in his bed. She clutched the aquamarine stone around her neck, softly wishing for a miracle to occur. Knowing that it wouldn’t happen, she knew she must leave before he awoke.
Chapter Four
The building sat at the edge of the Cadar capital city, Grivolno, and was much larger than Rina expected. Made of the same alabaster material as every other building she had seen, the facility protruded from the mountainside. It dominated the cliff it perched on and a soft orange glow culminated at the peak of the building’s roof.
“Why is it set so high up?” It was the only building she had seen that high above ground. She shouldn’t have been surprised to find Solvan sitting outside Kandos’ home. She hadn’t thought it in his character to let her go alone.
Fear raced through her mind as her heated flesh tried to forget about the delights of the night before. She was grateful for it but knew it would take a long time to heal the hole left in her soul. Maybe turning tagratis wasn’t such a bad thing after all—at least the dementia would blur the line between reality and fantasy. She would forget everything dear to her and succumb to the driving needs of her flesh.
Shaking herself out of the somber mood, she saw Solvan watching her and motioned toward the facility, reminding him of the question she had asked.
“Harder to get away from. Most of the people brought here look for an escape since they all dread the retreat. This facility originally housed Cadari victims only, and our race hates heights. Perching the building at the top of a cliff like that guaranteed most would not venture outside the facility.” Rina knew many more races now used the facility to screen potential tagratises.
“It must have been difficult to change things when other worlds began bringing their people here. I never understood why Cadar has so freely given to everyone else and taken care of the tagratises exclusively.” Many worlds had offered to help finance the tagratises retreat, but Cadar refused any assistance.
“It was a privacy issue. If they accepted help, they’d have to share the location. The Council does not feel we know enough about some of the factions of people to judge their intent. It would be too easy to go there, seize the tagratises and exploit them for financial gain. It is our problem, and we will see to it.” She listened, her gaze locked on the detainment transporter in front of them.
“But why did your people take it upon themselves in the first place?”
Solvan shrugged. “Some feel it is our duty because we are the reason for this mess. It is our enemy who began it, no one else’s. Others of us believe it is the right thing to do since we are blessed with the resources needed while many are not.”
Blessed was an understatement. They were beyond wealthy and had the technology and ability to seize entire galaxies should they want to. But the Cadari were known for their generosity and protective presence.
Great. There was a line. The large transporter in front of them lurched forward slowly, and Rina wondered how many people were in it. Able to carry at least one hundred comfortably, the transporters roamed the galaxy picking up whatever tagratises other civilizations needed assistance with.
There were six docking bays, and all three of the ones for inbound tagratises had a line. Two of them appeared to be for outbound transporters, and one in the center had no line at all. It was also the only unmarked station.
Solvan slid the vehicle into the empty docking bay. She should have known it would be for guards and medical personnel. She heard the footsteps of the guards as they came forward. She got out, willing her mind to remain numb as her eyes wandered the hatch and saw so many women and men lined up. Most were restrained, their bodies writhing against the guards who maneuvered the latest batch of victims against the wall where a row of seating appeared out of nowhere.
“Solvan. What brings you here?” Rina kept her gaze down and ignored the man speaking, not prepared to be part of that line. Her body thrummed with adrenaline, still aching for Kandos. She wanted to go back and crawl into his bed, needed to feel him inside her once more before she did this. It had been a mistake to leave without saying goodbye.
“I have someone to check in. She is special.” His voice was lowered but it still carried the distance of the area. Additional guards soon came forward but stood a respectful two feet away. Their muscular bodies, outlined in the same black outfit Kandos wore, drew her attention. She expected her body to react immediately, to crave their touch, but the effects were minimal. The aquamarine necklace worked better than she expected. Kandos would be pleased, but just thinking about him increased her arousal. Soon, a pool of sensual, liquid need replaced the dull ache between her legs, her mind remembering last night.
She averted her eyes to the commotion on the other side of the room. One of the male guards was fighting to keep three Cadari women behind the line, but they had other intentions. Their hands roamed over his body, ripping the uniform he wore, clawing their way up and down his body. She looked around, expecting to see other guards rush to his aid, but they had problems of their own. Crowds of tagratises worked in unison to overpower the guards.
Two were down so far, their uniforms shredded. A male tagratis was straddling one guard, whose cock was in the mouth of a wanton female. Rina shuddered, unable to imagine turning into one of those poor creatures. But she was one. The need flowed through her veins—her body responded to it already. Yet she could still control the impulse to act on it.
The male tagratis tossed the female aside. She emitted a piercing wail into the air. The man’s mouth quickly began working on the guard’s rigid cock, and she watched in avid fascination as the tagratis took the entire length of the other man’s member into his mouth. The guard was now being held down by four tagratis, and his scream for help filled the hangar, but was quickly followed by a loud groan of pleasure. He had surrendered to the tagratis male and now thrust his cock eagerly into the mouth working on him so diligently.
The tagratis male continued pleasuring the guard, surprised to not see anyone come to assist him. Rina looked around and saw the other guards dealing with the crush of tagratises, none of them intent on helping their downed comrade.
Rina jumped, startled by Solvan’s hand when it grasped her arm. “Come, we must leave here now. The number of tagratises that just came in overwhelmed the guards. They will use a tranquilizing agent in the air in this sector soon to take back control. I wish you to be far away from here before that happens.”
It was easy to forget that Solvan had experience here since he normally arrived as the processor. He led her through an expansive corridor. Restraints secured along the passageway reminded Rina of the imminent doom. Would they restrain her?
“We are almost there. This passage is normally filled with tagratises. We must have arrived before the rush, so this shouldn’t take too long.” Solvan’s words of encouragement did little to quell the pangs of fear racing through her. Computer banks screeched with each step she made down the corridor and she felt the pulsating beams of the security cameras on her. Rina and Solvan paused before a large set of double doors that began slowly shifting open. Rays of immense lights pouring down in straight lines to the floor filled the opening. She looked to Solvan for guidance.
“Keep walking. They detect security breaches. If you are with me, you are fine.” Solvan’s grip on her arm increased. The weight of his body pressed against her side urged her forward and into the immense stream of light. She wanted to do the right thing and turn herself in, but the panic of needing to run set in. Horrible images of miserable loneliness filled her.
“I don’t want to do this. Can’t we wait?” Her fear-laced words stung her ears. She hated sounding weak but doubted she had the courage to see this plan through. What had she been thinking?
“Calm yourself, you are doing great. This is not an easy thing to do. Why do you think no one has done it before?” Solvan’s voice sent
calming waves of tranquility through her body as they stepped through the entryway and into a large room. She looked around at the normal appearance. The same alabaster color was used on the walls and furniture and the same soft amber lighting filled the room.
Behind a pane of glimmering glass, Rina knew people watched her. She looked around, seeing she was the only one there. Needing to do this, she swallowed the sense of dread creeping up on her and stepped forward. The smile she gave Solvan was a weak gesture of gratitude but the only thing she could handle.
She moved forward, and her gaze lit on the surface behind the shield. Unable to see anything beyond the glimmering surface increased her nerves. “I’m here to turn myself in as a tagratis.” A loud echo filled the expanse of the room, followed by a hum nearby as a bank of computer monitors flicked on beside her. In the largest screen she could see three men glaring angrily at her.
“Solvan! What manner of joke is this? Did you not see the chaos about to rain down on us? It is unbecoming of someone of your station to resort to such lowly tactics as this. Take this girl back where you got her before she is harmed by a real tagratis.” The older gentleman’s face reddened with each word, the gray hair on his temples moving slightly. His lips thinned when Solvan approached the camera on the edge of the wall’s surface.
