by Speer, Flora
“Later,” he said, lifting her toward the ladder. “We are going to wait, remember?”
She stood in the cockpit watching him climb aboard. He wanted her. One glance at him told her that. She sighed with a mixture of relief and anticipation. The bunks in the cabin below were too narrow for two people, but at least they were not the water.
Reid put out one hand to touch her face and smooth back her dripping hair. Janina forgot that she was half-frozen by the icy water, forgot her fear of the sea, forgot everything but Reid.
Then he did an odd thing. He held her by the shoulders, keeping her at a distance so their bodies could not touch while he leaned forward to kiss her. His mouth was sure and warm, his tongue a tormenting delight inside her. Janina put out her arms to pull him closer, but Reid kept her away from him. She ended the kiss with her hands clutching at his upper arms, her nails digging into hard muscle. When he let her go, his fingertips teased at her breasts before he moved away from her.
Janina drew in her breath with a quick, hungry gasp. She half expected him to urge her down to the cabin so he could make passionate love to her at once. With her blood pounding in response to his touch, she would not have resisted him. Instead of making for the cabin, he reached to the deck and pulled on his recently discarded trousers.
“For safety,” he said, grinning. “Until we have eaten, at least.”
Eat? What was wrong with him? Didn’t he know how much it hurt to want him and be denied? She did not know how to react to this peculiar treatment, and she was still too inexperienced in the ways of men to make any protest.
“It would be wise,” Reid told her while fastening his trousers securely, “for you to cover yourself, too. Since we are planning to wait.” Still grinning, he ducked through the hatch and disappeared.
Janina wrung out her hair, twisting it hard to let the excess moisture drip over the side of the boat. She picked up her clothes, but decided she did not want to put them on again. She had worn the same tunic and trousers for days. She wanted a change. In one of the storage lockers, she found a pale yellow, lightweight blanket. This she wrapped around herself, twisting and tying it to hold it tight. It covered her from armpits to ankles, leaving her shoulders and arms bare. The fabric was thin but warm, so the evening air did not chill her.
Reid was at the solar unit in the galley, busily preparing their meal. They were to have several kinds of the roots Janina had dug and stored, which he had sliced and was stewing with herbs. There was a kettle of hot dhia brewing for them to drink. He looked around when she joined him, raising his eyebrows in appreciation of her costume.
“That’s very seductive,” he said, planting a kiss on her right shoulder. “Shall we eat on deck? I don’t think it will be too cool, do you?”
“Reid, I don’t understand what you are doing,” she began.
“You will, later,” he promised, kissing her other shoulder. “Just have patience. Will you bring the bread and the cups?”
She followed him back on deck, where he set the hot bowl of stew on a bench. The sky was flaming orange and gold. The tall rocks that formed the inlet were glowing with golden light on one side, while on the opposite side of the inlet they were shadowy silhouettes against the radiant sunset. Calm water lapped quietly at the hull of the boat.
Reid went below again, to reappear with bowls and spoons and the kettle of hot dhia. As he seated himself beside her, he leaned over to lightly brush her lips with his. Then he filled a bowl with stew and handed it to her.
“Eat,” he said. “Enjoy a meal without rocking around at sea.” There was laughter in his eyes when he looked at her.
“You are teasing me,” she accused.
“Are you enjoying it?”
“I’m not sure.” The stew was hot and tasty, the roots still crunchy, as they should be. Refusing to look at Reid any more, Janina bit into a piece of root, savoring it.
I can tease, too, she thought. When Reid reached across her for the bread, which she had laid on the bench next to her, she leaned forward so that her breasts brushed against his arm. He turned his head to look directly at her. She smiled innocently, lowering her eyes. Reid settled back on his side of the bench, munching on a chunk of bread. She thought she heard him laugh under his breath.
“May I have more stew?” He held out his bowl. Janina took it from him and leaned forward to pick up the ladle from the larger bowl. When she did so, her wrapped garment fell slightly apart, revealing one of her knees and half of a thigh. While both her hands were occupied in ladling out the stew, Reid placed one of his hands on her exposed knee, then moved it upward so that it slid under the edge of the fabric to the top of her leg. He left his hand there for a moment, fingers spread, one finger edging provocatively into the hair between her thighs.
Janina nearly dropped the stew. Reid withdrew his hand to take his bowl from her shaking fingers.
“Thank you,” he said politely, and began to eat.
It took a few minutes for Janina to regain her composure and think of a suitably titillating response to what Reid had just done. Smiling to herself, she rose from the bench and went to the kettle of dhia, which Reid had set on the deck.
“Perhaps you would like something hot to drink,” she suggested, kneeling by the kettle. As she moved downward she made certain her knees pulled on the fabric just enough to lower the upper edge of her garment until her breasts were half uncovered. When she leaned over the kettle she knew he could see the curving space between her breasts. Her amused excitement at this stimulating game they were playing, coupled with the rubbing of the fabric against her nipples, made them stand up noticeably.
She did not look at Reid while she poured out the dhia and handed him his cup. She thought that if she met his eyes she would burst out laughing - or she would throw her arms around him and plead with him to take her at once. Either action would spoil his pleasure. She would wait, and let him set the pace. Meanwhile, she would continue to tease him, and to let him tease her into heightened awareness of his masculinity and of what they would surely do together before much longer. This game was exciting, and it was fun.
Reid reached for the cup of dhia she held out to him, but before he took it he flicked a finger across one of her hard, tight nipples. She almost erupted into wild laughter. She almost tore off the blanket so she could fling her naked body into his arms. She did neither. It took great effort, but she restrained herself.
“Come sit beside me again,” Reid invited with apparent calmness.
She rejoined him on the bench at the stern, but she coyly kept her distance, making certain not to touch him. Reid laughed and put one arm around her, pulling her back to lie against him. Giving up coyness, Janina leaned her head on his shoulder. His arm now lay along the railing behind her.
The sun had set. The sky grew dark, then lighter again when the moons rose, spreading twin silver trails across the water.
“They are more than half full,” Janina observed, trying to think about something other than the strength of Reid’s shoulder beneath her head. “That will make sailing at night a little easier.”
“Hmmm.” Reid was nibbling at her earlobe, his breath warm against her skin. Then she felt his mouth along the side of her throat. His arm slid off the railing to lift her nearer leg, separating the fabric again as her knee bent. She felt his hand stroking from knee to thigh. His other hand moved across her shoulders, pausing to dip into the hollow space between her breasts.
“Reid,” she whispered in surrender as he gently bit at her shoulder.
“I think it is time to clean the dishes,” he said softly. He sat her up, straightened the blanket over her legs, and began to collect their bowls. “Will you pull up a bucket of water to wash them, or shall I?”
In the surge of frustrated desire she now felt, she was sorely tempted to push both Reid and the dishes into the sea. Instead, with a toss of her head she flung her hair over one shoulder and went to draw a bucket of cold water. When she bent over the b
ucket to wash their cups, Reid’s arms came around her from either side. He had a spoon in each hand, and he plunged both into the water, moving closer to her, letting her feel his hardness against her back. His fingers laced through hers inside the bucket. His tongue drew a fiery line from the bared nape of her neck to the edge of her now-imperiled wrap. She was afraid the blanket would come loose, leaving her naked for him to tease and play with. When he reached for the stew bowls, she slipped under his arm and moved to the far side of the deck where she could adjust her costume in safety.
“Here.” Reid handed her the clean, damp dishes, piling one into the other. “Take these below.”
Presented with her back, he ran one hand across her buttocks, while with the other he lifted her hair to kiss behind each ear. Janina began to tremble so violently that she almost fell through the hatchway. Behind her, she heard the splash of the bucket being emptied. She hastened to put the dishes in their storage rack.
Reid lit a small solar bulb in the cabin and then closed the hatch against the suddenly cold night air. The bulb shed a soft golden light over the little sleeping area. There was so little room to move that he accidentally brushed against her several times while he removed his trousers. Or perhaps it was not by accident.
Now his fingers were busy at the top of her wrap, unfastening it. When her hands came up to hold it against her bosom, he let go of it and sat down on one of the bunks.
“Put it on the other bed,” he said.
Janina turned around. For some reason she did not want him to watch her while she removed the covering. She pulled the blanket off and folded it carefully, then laid it down, smoothing it with both hands. She was still unable to face him. She continued to stand with her back toward him.
He caught her by the hips, pulling her backward to sit on his lap, adjusting her position until his distended manhood probed upward between her thighs.
“Now,” he said in her ear, “we will do it very slowly.”
She could not move. Her head lolled on his shoulder while he played with her breasts until she cried out, begging him to stop. His hands ranged across her abdomen, leaving her trembling with aching desire. He separated her thighs and moved his hands between them with agonizing slowness. Looking downward, Janina saw his manhood, huge and hard. Galvanized by the sight, she caught it between her hands, held the hot, throbbing length and began to stroke it.
“No,” he whispered hoarsely. “There’s no hurry. Let me go, Janina. Let me love you this time. Afterward you may do whatever you want.”
A short time later he told her to stand up. When she did, on shaky legs, he turned her around to face him and sat her down again so she was straddling him. And at last she had what she wanted. He was inside her; he had never filled her so completely. Her head thrown back, she gripped his shoulders, moving to an instinctive, sensuous rhythm.
Reid lay back on the narrow bunk with Janina on top of him, letting her move however she wanted for a while. Then, just when she thought her heart would stop from the intensity of her feelings, he moved again, separating them a little, letting the building tension cool without withdrawing from her completely. He clasped her in his arms and turned over so that Janina was beneath him. She felt his weight on her and the full force of him driving into her, over and over, the tension building again now, until it carried her out of herself into a glorious, shattering climax that took both of them at the same instant and left them drained and quivering long afterward.
* * * * *
They slept until the next day was well begun, and neither minded the narrowness of their bed. Nor did they rush to leave their safe harbor.
“You were right,” Janina murmured, her face against Reid’s shoulder, feeling his hands on her, knowing what he could do to her. “It can be exciting to wait, and to make love slowly. But not always. Sometimes there is an urgent need.”
“Urgent,” he whispered, pulling her hard against him, entering her as though he understood exactly what she wanted and needed at that moment. “I love you, Janina.”
“Oh, Reid.” But before she could tell him how much she cared, how much he meant to her, he began to move in her so that she was unable to speak, and it seemed to her that words were unnecessary. Their bodies explained everything.
Before they sailed onto the open sea once more, the sun was as high as it would rise so near to the polar region at that time of year. The wind was stronger, pushing them along with the current, but also chilling them. Janina brewed kettle after kettle of hot dhia for them to drink, and they piled on every layer of clothing they could find in the lockers. Still their faces grew red and chapped, and whenever their hands got wet, their fingers were soon numb.
“Just another day and night after this until we round the cape.” Reid answered Janina’s unspoken question as the sun sank below the cliffs.
“Then the weather should become warmer and the days will grow a little longer as we travel toward the equator.”
Janina stood next to him, nursing a cup of hot dhia, trying to warm her hands on it. She scanned the sea around them as she had done so many times during their voyage, searching every bit of the ocean as though by keeping a constant watch she could ward off what she most feared.
She froze. There, just above the water off their stern, lay something.
She struggled with rising panic, with her desire to avoid revealing her cowardice to Reid against the need to warn him of danger, and with her hope that she had been mistaken. She looked away, then looked back again. It was still there.
“Reid.” He glanced at her, appearing surprised at her tone. “The sea monster has come for us.”
He looked astern, in the area she indicated, and shook his head.
“I don’t see anything,” he said. “It’s so late in the day that the light may play tricks. It could have been a long shadow cast by an unusually large wave. The sea is rising.”
“I know what I saw,” she insisted.
“Whatever it was,” he replied, “we can’t do anything about it except try to sail away from it. The only weapon we have is a fish spear.”
Janina did not sleep at all that night. She stayed beside Reid in the stern except for an occasional quick trip to the galley to refill their cups with dhia. She would not leave him, not until the sea monster killed them both. Until then, she would remain by his side, and, so that he would not know how terrified she was, she would keep silent about the creature she knew was lurking in the sea, waiting for them.
Chapter 14
When Tarik’s group of ten settlers first arrived on Dulan’s Planet, Herne had appropriated one room of the building they called their headquarters, decreeing that it would serve as hospital and sickroom for anyone who needed to be isolated while ill or injured. After the shuttlecraft returned from the site of the volcanic eruption, he ordered the still-unconscious man they had rescued carried into the bare white room. Alla offered her services as his assistant in any treatments that might be required, as did her friend, Suria.
“I fail to see how anyone who is both spaceship navigator and midwife can help me,” Herne said to Suria. “And as for a botanist-zoologist - you would only get in my way, Alla.”
“I have done a lot of dissection work,” Alla protested.
“On humans or on peculiar animals?” retorted Herne, looking irritated. “What we should have among the colonists is another physician.”
“If you had one, you would only find reasons to quarrel,” Suria observed tartly. “What you need for this man is someone who can serve as nurse so you can sleep occasionally. A decent night’s sleep might improve your temper.”
Herne did not answer her. He was too busy cutting off the man’s clothing. When he had finished, he took up the laser knife to cut through the golden bracelet the man wore on each wrist. He tossed the jewelry aside with the rest of his patient’s tattered belongings, leaving it to Alla to rescue the bracelets and lay them in a safe place. Next Herne used the diagnostic rod to check his patient
’s condition one more time before he began the necessary repairs to the battered man.
Suria moved silently to the instrument table. Without being asked, she began to hand Herne what he needed, while Alla monitored the life-recording machine. Repair of the man’s severe internal injuries was completed first, following which, at Herne’s order, Suria started an infusion of universally acceptable artificial blood. Next Herne quickly cleaned a deep laceration on the man’s left arm, removing a pressure dressing he had applied during the return trip and resealing a torn artery before melding the skin back over the wound with practiced precision. Then he went to work on the man’s leg wound, cleaning it and setting the broken bones before melding the skin there, too. Finally, he immobilized the leg while he used sonic instruments to fuse the shattered bones back together.
As Herne worked, Alla watched the life-recording machine carefully, wanting the strange man to live with an urgency far beyond normal concern for a fellow being. She could see from the readouts that the man was so deeply unconscious he needed no anesthesia during the repairs Herne was making. In fact, with his near-fatal injuries, anesthesia would have been dangerous to him, but had it been required, Alla would have administered it. There had been only a few minor medical emergencies since they had come to Dulan’s Planet. Each time Herne had grumbled sourly about his lack of staff and the lack of medical training of both Suria and Alla, and then he had allowed them to assist him. They were growing used to him by now. Flame-haired Suria made a face at Alla over Herne’s bent head, and Alla smiled back at her.
