by Viola Grace
Tarun flipped her bags onto the bed and lit the fire in the hearth. Anna watched him carefully, knowing that she would have to learn that skill for herself. As light bloomed beneath his hands she looked at the careful construction of the house that he had brought her to.
The wood was cinched so tightly together that not a hint of air passed through anything but the windows. The floor was immaculate, not one trace of dust or dirt was anywhere.
“Did someone tidy up for me? This place is so clean.” She tried to fill in the silence with idle conversation. Anything to take her mind off of the view of Tarun’s firm backside as he bent over the fire.
“Yes, the guest quarters are usually where we put visitors. But as you are going to be living here we allocated you to a house for a woman alone.”
“Is it unusual, for a woman to live alone that is?” She was attempting to get a handle on their culture and every bit of information was precious.
“Not very. Most women choose to marry, or are worn down by suitors.” He flashed her a laughing look. “My own mother often complains that if my father had not been so persistent, she would have lived a nice quiet life.”
Anna giggled, but stopped in surprise at herself. “Ah, but then you would not have been born.”
“And there you have the only reason that she laughs and admits that perhaps a quiet life was not for her.” He finished with the fire and laid out the food he had collected from Ilyssa.
Anna sat across the table from him and viewed the food laid out before her. It seemed to be a joint of meat and a loaf of bread, with a few fruits and vegetables tucked to the side. She sighed in relief at the sight of the meat. She had been terrified that they were vegetarian.
“As the guest, you must go first.” He gestured to the food and sat back to wait.
“Do I have to eat everything or just one thing before you start?” Erring on the side of caution she grabbed the bread and tore off a piece. It was crusty, fluffy, and very tasty.
“Just one is sufficient.” He reached forward and tore a few strips of meat off the joint, then popped the meat into his mouth.
Anna dove into the meal with gusto, carefully trying everything that was on the table, and making notes in her head as to flavors. When her belly was groaning with food, she stopped eating.
As soon as she stopped, so did Tarun.
“Is this another custom? You can’t keep eating if I don’t?” Anna was exhausted from the stresses of her day. It was making her cranky, and it showed in her voice.
He swiftly cleared the remains of the meal from the table. “No, but you are tired. You need to sleep. I will see you tomorrow.”
“Oh, goodnight then.” Anna stumbled over to the bed and was out before her head had even hit the pillow.
Tarun looked over at the little alien. She certainly was not what he had expected.
Given the communications that he had had with the Negotiator, he was expecting a mouse. She was instead a predator, hesitant but determined.
The ship suit that she wore did not do her justice. Her breasts pushed against the fabric in a way that even the unflattering cut of the suit could not disguise and the flare of her hips made his hands clench with the effort to restrain himself.
The Nyx festival was only seven days away, if he worked quickly, they might just make it. But he was going to have to push the bounds of their attraction faster than he wanted to. He grinned and walked down the path to his own home, what a challenge. This was going to be fun.
* * * *
Over the next two days, Tarun came to her house every morning, took her out into the forest to orient her in her new environment. She learned to set snares, find edible roots and what berries were safe to eat. She learned where the clean water flowed out of the rock beside her cottage, and the most efficient way to heat it. This came in very handy for bathing but she missed a full sized tub.
On the third day a knock sounded on her door and Anna poked her head out. “What is it to be today Tarun? Hunting? Fishing? Something else that would be incredibly uncomfortable?”
Tarun leaned casually on the outside of her cottage, looking at his nails as he replied to her verbal barrage, “Bathing.”
“Bathing? Oh…great.” Anna flushed scarlet and stepped out of her cottage, closing the door behind her.
“You’ll need soap. And a change of clothing.” Tarun kept his face neutral and gazed out at the forest around them as he waited for her to go back in and get her supplies.
“Ok, ready.”
Tarun led the way down the hill behind her cottage and she followed silently. Once again she marveled at the wildness of the world around her. It was like going into the mountain ranges on earth, but with almost no chance of running into another sentient being.
It was only half an hour later that he swept aside branches with a murmured, “Here we are.”
A waterfall spilled from twenty feet above into a steaming pool one hundred feet across. The flowers surrounding the pool were a fantastic mix of jewel tones and Anna surmised that the dyes of the marketplace may have had their origins in those very blossoms.
She was about to remark just that to Tarun, when she stopped in her tracks at the sight of him disrobing with complete disregard to his fascinated audience.
Broad, lithe shoulders led to narrow hips, tapering into an ass that she could bounce a coin off of. Suddenly the furious color in her face was back. Anna had never been fixated on a guy’s butt before, but now, she finally understood the obsession. Wow.
He dove into the water and the splash woke her out of her contemplation of his…assets. He took off with a strong stroke, cutting through the water without making a ripple.
She waited until he was halfway across the pond and quickly began to shed her own clothing. Dropping the ship suit into a heap at her feet, she tried to kick free of her boots, to find that they were securely fastened to her feet. He was three quarters of the way across now.
Frantically, she pulled at the laces. Working at the knots with her fingers, darting glances to Tarun’s progress in the water. Any moment now he would turn and look at her. And find her naked and tangled in her own shoes.
From behind her Hesper let out a cry. Anna looked over at Tarun’s bird and smiled at her predicament, seeking comfort from the avian.
“It is bad enough to be naked with a stranger; much worse however is being caught on the shore. I feel like a fish, snarled in my own net.” She laughed and resigned herself to the thought of Tarun catching her in the open, scars and all. The marks that she bore from her stint as a pilot were unsightly to say the least.
Hesper swooped down in front of her and pecked at the laces. With a few deft motions of her head, she had loosened the laces and Anna could pull her feet free of the boots.
“Thanks Hesper! I owe you one.” Anna stood, stretched luxuriously and slipped into the water before Tarun turned around.
Fortunately she had left her bag within easy reach, and she began to soap herself quite thoroughly. She brusquely moved her hands from neck to breast, then belly and between her thighs, the warmth that had been generated by looking at Tarun‘s backside was fading. Each leg was soaped in turn. Then.. she ducked her head below the water to rinse and lather her hair. She looked over and saw Tarun on his returning lap and quickly rinsed the last of the soap from her body. Confident that she had managed her ablutions unwatched, she leaned back against a rocky outcropping made smooth by eons of water swirling past it. She glanced down to make sure that the water covered her completely. It did, barely.
Ah, finally clean. The pool was the offspring of a hot spring and thus pleasantly warm. Gentle pulses in the water relaxed her to the point where she didn’t even notice when Tarun slid up beside her.
“So, Anna, enjoying your bath?” Tarun hitched himself out of the water and up on a rock near where she sat. This gave her the option of meeting his eyes when she spoke to him, or ogling his entire body. Tough decision.
She opted for
eye contact, but it wasn’t her first choice.
“It beats heating up water in the kettle.” She dropped her gaze slowly and looked around her. Enjoying the view as it drifted over his body and over to the landscape around her. “This is beautiful. Is it a popular place for people to visit?”
“No, the majority of people here have their own bathing spots. This one is a little out of the way.” He stretched luxuriously in the sun and Anna’s flush crept across her breasts beneath the water, watching the play of light on his skin. In the midst of the bright morning light, he was a dappled gold.
Feeling warmth spread throughout her belly and gather between her thighs again, she hunched down even further until her jaw was even with the level of the water.
“Anna, if you keep going, you’re going to drown. Unless your species has an undisclosed ability to breathe water.” His eyes were closed, but his voice was wry. He continued to lie supine, completely relaxed as he absorbed the sun’s rays.
She sat up quickly, “I’m going to swim for a bit. I can find my way back. You don’t need to wait for me.”
“That’s alright, I don’t mind the wait. Take your time.”
Frustrated and thwarted, she slowly stroked out into the center of the pool moving easily through the water. The years spent as a pilot in the tank had made her an excellent swimmer. She dawdled as much as she could, swimming and treading water until her body was heavy with fatigue.
With no other choice, she pulled herself back to the shore where Tarun was still sunning himself. He had flipped to his stomach and his head was turned towards the water. With a start, Anna realized that he had been watching her swim. Hesper had flown over her several times, crying out to her and then circling back to a branch near Tarun. The bird was currently preening her ebony feathers after taking her own dip in the warm water.
“Ok, Tarun. Let’s go.” Steeling herself, she pushed herself out of the water on shaking arms, and walked, dripping and blushing, to her clothing.
She tugged on her ship suit making no effort to make eye contact with her guide. It went slowly on over her dripping skin, but finally she was able to fasten the front closure. Her boots were even harder to apply, but they did get laced up.
By the time she had finished, Tarun had put his leather trousers and shirt back on, laced up his boots, and was leaning against a tree with his back to her.
“I’m ready. Thank you for waiting.” She felt it was only proper to be polite, even though getting dressed in front of an attractive guy that looked far too young for her had been a source of extreme embarrassment. Especially since the sight of him had caused all of her hormones to surge into full alert.
“Follow me. Ilyssa’s husband Nayef should have delivered your lunch by now. He said he would drop it inside some time in the morning.” He paused to let her catch up to the quick pace he had been setting.
He watched the careful steps that she was taking to make her way up the slope. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, just a little stiff. I haven’t swum for a while. The sun has probably scorched me to a crisp.” She wrinkled her nose and felt a slight tingle in the skin, letting her know that the pale skin in the water was pale no longer.
Chapter 3
"You have completely changed color.” Tarun stopped and stared at Anna. Looking her over from head to toe.
“Just wait, it’s going to get better. Do you know any merchants who make lotions?”
“What kind of lotions?” Tarun was curious and very concerned. He watched her careful steps on the path.
“Lotions to moisturize my skin after the burn. Same as you would if someone scorched a hand in a kitchen fire.” She continued her stilted progress up the hill with legs that felt weighted with lead.
“You’re tired. I should not have let you swim so long.” With that he flipped her into his arms and carried her through the path and back to her cottage. There was indeed a meal waiting for them. As soon as she was set on her feet, she crossed the room to her bed and ripped out the top sheet. The suit was pressing against her burned skin and pain was prickling through.
Feeling that he had already seen all that there was to see, she stripped out of the uniform and boots and wrapped her body in the sheet from her bed.
When she sat at the table and began to serve out the food for them both, he was just standing there bemused. She began to eat her snack of bread, cheese, meat, and fruit.
“Tarun, please have something to eat.” She looked over at him, and his gaze was on her.
He took the other chair and began to eat his lunch, still bemused.
“Where do your scars come from? I hadn’t noticed them before.” Tarun tried to keep his tone conversational, but he was genuinely curious.
She froze for a moment, and then realized that there was no point in hiding them. “They’re not something that I am particularly fond of. They are the points at which implants were sent through my nervous system and linked me to the ship that I piloted. When I was injured, they removed the implants and the marks will fade in time I am told.”
Anna shifted slightly in her chair. She was hot, burning up. The stupid swimming in the unprotected pool had caused her full-body sunburn. The next few days were not going to be pleasant.
“What? What’s wrong? Anna, you look flushed.” Tarun was suddenly kneeling by her side as prickles of pain raced up and down her skin.
“Tarun, the faster you can find the burn lotion, the happier I will be.” She sighed and stood, walking to the window and staring out at the amazing vista. She was surrounded by mountains and forests, her favorite styles of wilderness.
“I‘ll be back as soon as I can.” He walked up beside her, grasped her chin in his fingers, and kissed her.
At first it was hesitant, seeing if she would reject him, then his tongue swept in to tangle with hers. She felt her body sway to his, she moaned. He tightened his fingers on her and his tongue continued to thrust into her in a steady beat as her body began to fit itself to his.
His head lifted and his lips were shiny and swollen. He gave her a smile and a tiny peck on the forehead and then left the cottage.
She would have sat down heavily, but her butt was one of the areas that was making itself known with alarming speed. So she waited, with one hand to her lips and her breasts tingling from where they had met the hard planes of his chest.
It seemed like hours to her, but it was only a few minutes later when Tarun came through the door, with a jar of something in his hand.
“Over there, and lie down.” His tone brooked no opposition, nor was she in any state to argue with him. She shuffled over to the bed, keeping the sheet tucked around her and stopped. She glared at him for a few moments, and when he had turned his head, she unwrapped the sheet and lay down on her stomach. The fabric still covered her from ribs to ankles and her arms tucked in at her sides to shield her breasts.
“This cream is meant for burns suffered from heat, so I don’t know how well it will work, but here it goes.” She heard a popping sound as the jar was opened, and a pleasant smell, like mint and cucumber wafted past. She felt rather than heard him put the jar next to her on the bed, and felt again, the sheet being whisked off of her body in one sharp tug.
For a few seconds she welcomed the cool air against her lightly burned flesh. Then, she felt his hands touch her skin with the soothing salve.
“Oh, Tarun, that feels wonderful. Thank you.” She sighed as the cool lotion was swept down her shoulders, across her back and between her buttocks. Each inch of flesh was caressed with the slick substance, and Anna let out gratified groans and moans as the release of pain washed over her. Her body was warming in a way different from the burn at his touch, she moved against his hands lightly and moaned with relief and pleasure as he smoothed the cream over her.
Tarun was having less fun. The noises she was making sounded like intense sex, and the sight of her in the pool was hovering behind his eyes at all times. The scars that she feared were hardly
noticeable against her pale skin. Her eyes were her most notable feature. They were huge, the dark green of the silent forest, framed with lashes in a thick tangle. Those lashes were closed now as he gently smoothed the cream over the angry red of her skin. He had never seen anything like it. The Avari darkened slightly in the sun, but nothing like this.
He had, in fact, enjoyed displaying for her on the rock. He had known she was looking. Based on the way her nipples had hardened and the bolt of lust that had shot through her eyes, she found him attractive. The feeling was mutual.
He had not yet found a mate and transformed, thus he retained the appearance of a new adult, and would until the next Avari Nyx.
“Turn over.” His voice was low even to his own ears. Stroking her flesh had caused a response in his trousers that was rapidly becoming uncomfortable. He shifted to take the strain off the leather, and watched her struggle to maintain her modesty as she lay naked before him.
Given her sunburn, he should not have noticed her blush, but he did notice the signs in her breasts once again. As he drew his fingers across her hot pink flesh, she shuddered in response to his touch. Her breasts tightened and lifted as he rubbed the cream into them. The hard little points of her nipples prodded at his palms.
Pretending that nothing was amiss, he continued his exploration downward across her ribs and then rubbed the lotion in a circular pattern across her belly. He noted that her thighs parted slightly. He could see a hint of moisture gathering in the tight curls at the junction of her thighs. Each leg was treated, swirling his fingers in a manner that caused her feet to flex and her belly to suck in violently. Finally, his fingers traveled up between her thighs.
