by Rinelle Grey
It might not be warm enough to sleep here, but maybe they could stay an hour or so…
He stepped towards her and slipped his arms around her waist before it even occurred to him that he was still damp with sweat. Thank goodness for the white powder Marlee had showed him. She said it was made up from some sort of crushed rocks mixed with salt. It might not stop him sweating, but it did stop the stink.
All he could smell was Marlee’s own scent of musky sweetness. It was enough to make him forget all about the spaceships.
Driven by a sudden need, he kissed her, softly at first, then more insistently. She clung to him, and a shiver ran through her. “Are you cold?” Concern and disappointment warred in his head.
Marlee shook her head quickly. “Not at all.”
Tyris smiled softly. “Do you think Nerris will notice if we’re a little late home tonight?”
Again she shook her head. Tyris understood. He didn’t feel like words right now either. Instead, he kissed her again. Then he pulled back reluctantly. “I should probably clean up a little.”
“I don’t mind,” Marlee said, not letting him go.
That was all the encouragement he needed. He was probably going to get hot and sweaty again soon anyway. Taking Marlee’s hands, he pulled her into the bedroom, closing the curtain behind them.
If only the roof hadn’t collapsed, how many times would they have made love in the last few months? How much had they missed out on?
But if the roof hadn’t collapsed, forcing them to move in with Marlee’s parents, he would never have heard about the anysogen, and he wouldn’t have realised there was a chance he could repair the Hylista. And if they hadn’t been interrupted that night, he probably would have asked Karla to remove his implant by now. Marlee could even be carrying his child.
For a moment, the vision blinded him, making him hungry for the warmth of the family he’d never really had. It was almost enough to make him toss out the thought of returning home.
If only it were that simple. If he could guarantee Marlee would fall pregnant, it would be tempting. But he couldn’t. He groaned and pushed the thought out of his head. He was here, now and so was Marlee. And if things went the way he planned, he could go home and be with Marlee.
He pulled her down onto the unmade bed, ignoring the sharp pokes of several bits of straw.
As he kissed her thoroughly, he marvelled at how much her little breathy sighs and moans turned him on. He never had to wonder if they were real. He slid his hands under her jumper over her soft, smooth skin. She groaned against his lips as his hand edged up to rub at the underside of her breast.
The last of the sun’s rays had taken any warmth with them, and even though Tyris wanted to remove every clothing barrier, it was too cold. Tonight he would have to be quick, much as he wanted to take his time.
His hand reversed direction, sliding down across her stomach, under the waistband of her skirt and under the edge of her pants. She drew in a sharp breath, her eyes wide and dark. “Tyris,” she mouthed softly.
He thrust against her, the longing to be inside her heating him even through the layers of clothes. When he slid his fingers between her legs, he drew in a breath at the moist warmth, ready to skip straight to the main event. But he held back.
He wasn’t her first partner, he knew that, but he suspected that not many had focused on her pleasure. He wanted to make sure this experience surpassed any other. So he reined in his own desire and watched the look on her face, eyes closed in rapture pulled taut, as he rubbed his fingers over her.
He knew the moment she came close to the brink. Her head tossed from side to side, and her hands clutched him, pulling him down closer. Her mouth made a little ‘O’, but nothing came out other than short sharp breaths. He groaned softly, placing soft kisses all over her face wherever he could reach as she shuddered in release, moaning his name.
Did it get any better than this? He barely even noticed the gathering darkness or the cold creeping in around the curtain. She opened her eyes and stared up at him, blinking slightly. She breathed his name softly.
He brushed her hair out of her eyes, wishing he’d stopped to bring the lamp in so he could see her better. His desire had calmed just a little, a lull before the storm.
Until she reached for him, pulling at the cord that tied his pants. She fumbled a little in the darkness, and he pulled the knot undone himself too impatient to wait. The pants slid down, and she reached out for him, stroking with a feather’s touch. Desire built in him, but he forced himself to stay still. He didn’t want to say or do anything that might make her stop. Slowly her movements became more sure, more firm, and when she wrapped her hand around him, his breath was coming in ragged gasps. Not able to wait any longer, he rolled onto her, battling with the folds of her thick skirt.
She pulled them out of the way, bunched up around her middle, a frustrating barrier between them, but not enough to stop him. He slid into her, the wait only having made his need stronger. He raised himself on one arm and cupped her face with his other hand as he thrust into her. The expression of delight on her face and the way she clung to him etched itself into his memory.
He groaned in release and thrust into her once more before his arms gave way and he collapsed on top of her. She held him close, hands stroking his back.
Soon, if this weather held, he would be finished the repairs and then he would have time to spend exploring every inch of her soft body. If it would be several more weeks before he could get to his ship, he might as well enjoy them.
Now though, the cold was creeping in. Most of the ice that had melted during the day would freeze again overnight. Reluctantly, he rolled off Marlee and straightened up his clothing then held out his hand to help her up.
As they walked back to the hall where everyone would be eating after the hard day’s work, he glanced up at the Tenacity again hovering over them all like a sentinel, and his earlier thoughts returned.
“What sort of condition is the Tenacity in?” he asked.
Marlee’s eyes went to it as well. “Nerris and Nelor keep it maintained, but I don’t know if it would fly anymore. It’s not fast enough to get to an inhabited planet anyway.”
“No, I realise that. But it might have parts I could use to repair the Hylista.”
Marlee tilted her head to one side then shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. It’s locked though, and no one is allowed to visit without the council’s permission.”
Tyris frowned. “I’d rather not tell them I’m trying to repair my ship just yet. Is there some way we could have a look around without telling them? I wouldn’t take any parts without permission, but there’s no point asking if there isn’t anything I need.”
Marlee considered for a moment. “There is one possible way,” she said slowly.
“What?”
“Nelor has a key.”
Tyris fell silent. Though Marlee and Nelor had talked a couple of times, there was still a tension between them. Could he trust the young man to keep their secret?
“It’s worth a chance,” he said. The old ship had to have rocket boosters. If he could find the parts he needed, he might just be able to get out of here.
“I’ll ask him tonight.” Marlee’s footsteps hurried towards the hall, as though impatient to have an answer.
“No, not tonight,” Tyris said. “If we start asking questions, Nerris or the rest of the council might guess what we’re doing. Tomorrow will be better.”
“If we can get a job that is somewhere near where Nelor is working, we might be able to talk to him inconspicuously,” Marlee suggested
Tyris nodded. “It might be better if I talk to him alone though.”
“Why?” Marlee stared at him.
“Because it’s my ship and my responsibility,” Tyris said. “I don’t want Nelor to agree to this because he feels he can’t say no to you.”
Or to not agree to it because he felt he could. If he had to put a little pressure on Nelor, it was b
etter that Marlee not be involved.
Marlee nodded slowly. “All right then. I’ll find a job somewhere else, and you can tell me how it goes at lunch.”
*****
WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE village hall early the next morning, quite a crowd had already assembled. Even after a week of hard work, an air of anticipation and excitement hung in the air. The hall buzzed with people talking, excitement raising the noise level.
Tyris felt keyed up, even more so because of his plans for the day. “So if I get drawn before Nelor, then I obviously can’t choose to do the same job. Or he may choose a job where only one person is required,” he said in frustration.
Marlee nodded. “There’s always that risk. We’ll just have to wait and see.” She was always so easy-going, but impatience gnawed at Tyris. The long period of idleness and the realisation that he’d been tricked into thinking escape was impossible frustrated him. He wanted to get to work without any more delays.
Unfortunately, delays seemed to be unavoidable. He stifled a sigh.
They joined the people lining up to receive their numbers then waited while the council members and the village elders drew and chose their jobs. Tyris had expected the elders would choose easier jobs—surely that was why they went first—but as they had every day this week, nearly all of them elected to do some sort of physical work, mostly on the barn.
He glanced at the piece of paper in his hand as the next lot of numbers were called. Seventy-eight. Now there was nothing he could do but wait.
Beren began calling out numbers and writing names in charcoal beside the job list on the wall behind him. The list was long: working on the barn, preparing the ground for planting, repairing other buildings, and checking the last of the stores. So many things to do to keep a community running.
“Thirty-four.” Jaimma walked up and chose to join those digging up the fields for this year’s crops.
“Seventeen.” Another young woman walked up, and chose to join those planting seeds in the greenhouse.
“Seventy-eight.” Tyris looked at the number in his hand in dismay then looked at Marlee. What should he do?
Marlee pulled the number from his hand and thrust hers at him, then walked up to the stage. She chose to join Jaimma digging. She smiled at him as she left the hall, and he smiled back.
“Fifty-nine,” Beren called.
“Thirty-seven.”
“Forty-three.”
“Nineteen.” Finally Nelor walked up onto the stage, and chose to begin cutting down saplings to replace the roof supports on the barn.
Five numbers later, Tyris’s number was called. When he also asked to cut trees, there were a few raised eyebrows, but no-one commented. Beren told him where to find an axe and then moved on to the next number.
Tyris exited the hall and looked around for Nelor. The young man strode towards the far strand of trees, so Tyris grabbed an axe and hurried to catch him.
As he entered the woods only a few steps behind Nelor, the man turned. “Hi, Tyris.” His voice sounded casual, but Tyris didn’t miss the curiosity in his gaze.
“Where will we find the best trees for supports?” he asked.
“Towards the stream probably.” Nelor pointed.
He could check on the height of the stream as well. Tyris liked the efficiency of that. “Lead the way,” he said.
As they walked towards the stream, Tyris said, “Nelor, I wondered if I could ask you for a favour?”
“What?” Nelor’s expression was guarded.
“Marlee said you have a key to the Tenacity?”
Nelor raised an eyebrow. “Why do you want to know?”
Tyris hesitated. But he already knew this was his best option. “I’m wondering if anything there could be useful for repairing my ship.”
“You think you can fix it?” Nelor’s eyes lit up. “That you might be able to get back to the central planets?” His voice was rushed and eager.
“Maybe,” Tyris said cautiously. Why was Nelor so excited? Before winter, when Marlee had first raised the possibility with him, he hadn’t believed it was even possible. “If I can find replacements for the damaged parts, I think there is a chance.”
Nelor nodded eagerly, then paused. His expression changed to a frown. “No one is supposed to go out to the Tenacity without permission from the council.”
“And yet, you have a key.” Tyris pointed out.
“Yes...” Nelor said slowly. “Dad let me have one. He got tired of sitting out there while I explored, and he knew I wouldn’t touch anything. Look, I want to get off this planet as much as anyone, but I can’t let you pull the ship apart without the council’s permission.”
“I won’t touch anything,” Tyris promised. “I just want to look, to see if there is anything useful at all before I bother the council.”
“Dad never minds a chance to go out to the Tenacity. I’m sure he’d be happy to take you. Maybe he could even make some suggestions?”
“Probably,” Tyris agreed. He paused, before adding, “But I’m not sure that they’re as eager to get off this planet as we are.”
“What do you mean?” Nelor asked. “Everyone wants to get away from the pollution here. Why wouldn’t they?”
“I wish I knew. At first I thought I was imagining it, until I found out that there’s refined anysogen here. Nerris didn’t even mention when I told him I needed it.”
He’d caught Nelor’s attention. “Why wouldn’t he mention it?”
“I don’t know. But it seems to me that he doesn’t want me to leave the planet.”
Nelor frowned.
Not wanting to offend him, Tyris said, “I could be wrong, but I’m not ready to risk it. You can understand how important it is for us to get off this planet.”
“Of course I do.” Nelor sighed and looked up at Tyris. “No luck with a baby?”
Tyris hesitated. He didn’t want to lie, but if a small omission could buy him Nelor’s cooperation… “No, no luck,” he said. It wasn’t a lie. He was just leaving out the reason why.
Looking back towards the village, Nelor frowned. Then he nodded. “Meet me at the Tenacity at lunch, and I’ll show you around. You can have a look, but if you want any parts, you’re going to have to ask the council.”
By then they had reached the stream, and though it ran quickly, the stepping stones were only a little below the surface. Another week and they’d be able to cross. Tyris swung his axe at the first tree, feeling more hopeful.
It was a start.
MARLEE SWUNG THE HOE DOWN again. The hard physical activity felt good, exercising muscles that had gone unused for too long.
“Are you okay, Marlee?” Jaimma asked.
Marlee chopped up a large clod of dirt. “Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You just seem, well, you’ve been really quiet lately. I know things were hard, with your roof falling in and having to find somewhere else to stay. I just wanted to let you know that I’m here if you want to talk.”
Was she wondering why Marlee wasn’t pregnant yet? Marlee sighed. “I can’t wait until the house is fixed. Nerris and Janey were lovely to offer to have us there, but I miss having my own space.”
“I can imagine.” Jaimma hoed half-heartedly at a clump of dirt that still seemed to be frozen solid in the middle. “I’ll bet that’s put a damper on trying to get pregnant.”
Marlee hid a frown. She didn’t feel like explaining that getting pregnant wasn’t even possible at this point. If she and Tyris didn’t manage to get off this planet…
It didn’t even bear thinking about. She looked up and scanned the tree line where Tyris and Nelor had disappeared over an hour ago. Was he having any luck? She dropped her eyes to her work again.
The girls worked in silence for a while. Beren brought a wheelbarrow full of the compost they’d been building over winter and dumped it into the middle of the field. Marlee began to turn it into the soil.
Jaimma stopped for a moment and leant on h
er hoe. “How’s it going?” she asked Beren.
“Not too bad. This is my third wheelbarrow load, but there’s plenty more to go yet.”
“Are you going to the gathering tonight?” Jaimma asked him, a little too casually.
“Sure am,” he said with a grin, and glancing up, Marlee saw him wink at Jaimma. She frowned. What was going on?
“Well, I’d best get back to work. Have fun girls.” Beren tipped his hat to them and wheeled his wheelbarrow off to fetch another load.
“What’s all that about?” Marlee asked Jaimma.
“What do you mean?” Jaimma asked innocently.
“You and Beren.”
To her surprise, Jaimma blushed. “We’re moving in together.”
Marlee stared at her friend. What was she thinking? “Jaimma, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jaimma said. “I don’t know why you can’t be happy for me, Marlee! I’m happy for you and Tyris.”
“Of course I’m happy for you. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, and you know you will be. Beren can’t have kids Jaimma.” She should have seen this coming, Jaimma had always been rather fond of Beren, and the council and her mother’s pressure over the last few weeks had only been lessened a little by the weather and the barn repairs. Marlee’s heart ached for her friend already. She didn’t want her to go through it all again.
Jaimma grinned triumphantly. “I’m pregnant!”
Marlee stared at her. “But… But I thought Beren…” she broke off, not sure what to say. Jealousy stabbed at her belly.
Jaimma looked around surreptitiously and instinctively Marlee looked around also. None of the other workers were close enough to hear what was being said, but Jaimma whispered anyway, “The baby isn’t his.”
Marlee stood up abruptly and stared at her friend. “Whose is it?”
“Rejan,” Jaimma admitted reluctantly.
