by Mardi Ballou
But he’d have time to look more closely later. They were headed to a huge golden building that evidently functioned as a welcoming station for newcomers.
“The welcome ritual is interesting,” Paul explained to him and Trey. “Soleil and I have both participated as welcomers, but this will be our first time to experience it on the receiving end.” From the way Paul and Trey were grinning, Val expected they’d be in for something amazing.
“What’s going to happen?” Trey’s voice sounded gruff.
Paul and Trey looked at each other. “Maybe we should allow you to experience the element of surprise.”
“Okay,” Val said, though he was hoping to pry a bit more information from the two smug Apollans before he went in. “I just hope I don’t make a fool of myself. You know that I’m up to whatever’s expected of me -- both giving and receiving.”
Paul and Trey actually giggled.
Silk banners in jewel hues, some of which he couldn’t name any more than he could the color of the sun, covered the walls of the large, roofless room their escorts led them into. As everywhere else on this planet, the sun dominated the scene. In the center of the structure was a dais, and Val saw platforms at different heights in various places. Seeing the sliders on the bottoms of these platforms, Val realized it would be simple to shift them around into different configurations. Very subtle, sexy music insinuated itself from hidden speakers. Val couldn’t identify the instruments but he’d never been good at that sort of thing.
“Welcome to Apoll’ex.” A gorgeous nude hunk of man with cocoa brown skin, green eyes, shoulder-length mahogany hair and an erection of monumental proportions greeted the four of them with a huge smile.
“Ray!” Paul threw up his arms and hugged the man with a great deal of energy. Val reminded himself that jealousy was not his thing. He remembered Apollans believed in non-exclusive pairings and the eternal multiple ménage. The deep kiss Paul and Ray exchanged meant absolutely nothing. Val clenched his fists, hard.
When the two men came up for air, they had their arms around each other’s shoulders. “When I heard you were one of our newcomers, Paul, I had to trade assignments to get on the welcoming detail. But here I am. I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am you’ve returned to us.”
Paul actually got teary-eyed. Oh, please. Val turned away in disgust before he made some derogatory remark he’d probably regret later on.
“And Soleil,” Ray gushed on. “I’m ecstatic you’re back.” Now Ray went into a liplock with Soleil that had Trey looking a bit green. Good. At least Val wasn’t up this creek alone.
Holding hands with both Soleil and Paul, Ray said, “Even though you two know what to expect, I’m going to explain the upcoming ritual for the benefit of our first-timers, Val and Trey.” He nodded to them. Despite his desire to hold on to some detachment, Val felt himself melt. He’d have to watch that.
“To cleanse the physical and psychic dirt of your travels off,” Ray said, “each man will be bathed and massaged before our sexual ritual of Bien Venu -- Welcome.”
Four hunks of varying size and color -- but all alike in being even-featured, gorgeous and well-endowed -- came to escort them to their baths. Despite the group nature of the upcoming ritual, the baths were individual. Val didn’t feel great about this.
“Paul,” he called over the shoulder of the Apollan in charge of him, “can’t we stay together?”
Paul shook his head. “This part’s private. Relax, Val. You’ll enjoy it.”
Right. Despite the amazing good looks and manner of his bather, whose name, appropriately, was Heat -- or maybe because of them -- Val was determined not to let his guard down. Heat was tall and fit, of course. All Apollans were. His skin had a yellowish tint and he had long black hair and an East Asian cast to his brown eyes.
“Were your travels challenging, Val?” Heat asked as he led Val by the hand to a cubicle, which turned out to have an oval pool of golden water.
Val figured Heat hadn’t been briefed too fully about the complications of the trip, and he decided not to use his bath time to vent. After all, the eager Heat had done nothing to merit Val’s scorn.
“Would you like me to disrobe you or would you prefer to remove your own clothes?”
Val figured he’d do a faster though likely less sensuous job in getting naked. “I’ll do my own,” he growled.
In a flash, he stood as nude as Heat, who blinked in apparent surprise at Val’s speed. Of course, Heat had no experience of vampiric powers. Val shivered, realizing that if Heat had met the only vampire already on Apoll’ex, he might very well be out of commission and recovering now.
“If you’ll permit me,” Heat said, “I will cleanse you in the waters. Part of this cleansing process is a soothing massage to help relax you.” Val felt so tight after the stress of the trip and then the hold-up before they were allowed to enter, he figured a massage would do him good. He nodded.
He climbed down the stairs into the oval pool. The golden water, a perfect warm temperature, rippled soothingly around him. It came to just below his nipples and was of uniform depth throughout. He dipped down to wet himself up to his chin.
“We have a special blend that’s designed to clean and relax. It’s made from a distillation of native plants kissed by the sun.” As he spoke, Heat began to clean and massage Val. In addition to having sensitive, powerful hands and fingers, Heat made great use of the hard oval, similar to but much more sensuous than creamy soap, that he rubbed over Val’s tense muscles. As advertised, Val began to relax.
Now Heat added his lips and tongue to the massage. At the first brush of Heat’s lips on his skin, Val startled. Then he reminded himself that what he was experiencing was part of the Apollan ritual of welcome. At this moment, Paul, Trey and Soleil were in similar situations. Despite the pang in Val’s heart at being away from Paul, he’d agreed to participate fully in the ritual prior to entering this very alien culture.
Val was just about lulled into semi-sleep when Heat took hold of his cock. Val nearly flew out of the pool. “This is an essential step in the pool ritual,” Heat murmured. “For each ritual to be a success, you must liberate a share of your intimate bodily fluids.”
“All the rituals?”
Heat nodded. “Yes. Bodily fluids are considered essential for the proper worship of our dear sun.”
Interesting. Everything Heat said accorded with what Paul and Soleil had been trying to teach him and Trey. Heat led him to the side of the pool and sat him down. Using his hands and the product, Heat encouraged Val to open his legs and let his erection bob right below the water’s surface.
“I see you are prepared to worship,” Heat whispered, fondling Val’s dick with highly skilled fingers. “Please allow me to accommodate you in this.” Despite Paul’s preparations, the reality of being welcomed this way stunned and fascinated Val.
He inclined his head. Closing his eyes and pretending Paul was with him, Val gave himself over to Heat’s ministrations. Heat stroked his cock, massaged his balls and the tender skin of Val’s inner thighs. Val responded strongly to Heat’s confident touch. Heat was ahead of him, anticipating everywhere Val wanted to be stroked and exactly how much pressure would make him groan with pleasure.
Under Heat’s attentions, Val felt himself grow impossibly thick and long. Soon he felt like he was bursting with the need to release his come. Oddly, he had no desire to touch Heat. For now, encouraged by the other man, Val felt completely absorbed in himself, in his own needs and desires.
With Heat urging him on, speeding up and slowing down at strategic times, the aroma of the cleansing product and the golden waters, the soothing sounds of Heat and the water murmuring, Val felt his orgasm begin to build. Feeling as if he’d been waiting forever for this moment, Val howled out all the emotions of the past few days and hours. His legs spread wide, he shot his come into the air and water.
Heat let out a triumphal cry. “Welcome to Apoll’ex!” He hugged Val, then the two
of them dipped into the water for a final cleansing.
Val wasn’t sure what to say. Was “thank you” appropriate? Later he’d have a million questions for Paul. Val’s admiration for Paul’s initial survival on Earth with no guide and no help increased.
Heat jumped out of the pool and ran to get drying cloths. When he raced back, beads of golden water glittering off his skin, Heat was smiling even more. “Let me help you out of the water.” He extended a hand to Val, who climbed out on his own.
The towel was thick and warm. Though Val started to dry himself, Heat insisted on performing this chore.
“Now we must hurry,” Heat said when Val had clothed himself with a small, plain loin covering.
“Where to?”
“The main ritual. The others await us.”
Chapter Three
As long as he was stuck on Earth with no hope of returning home, Paul hadn’t allowed himself to think about how much he missed Apollan rituals. But once he set foot on Apollan soil, his sense memories rushed back. After his journey, every moment of the bathing ritual resonated for him with heartbreaking significance.
He hadn’t previously met his welcomer, a young man named S’laire. The first whiff of the beloved cleanser brought tears to Paul’s eyes. He’d managed to contain those tears until S’laire began to massage his erection. After he’d come, he’d wept uncontrollably. S’laire comforted him, reminding him the worst was behind them all. Paul fervently hoped so. After his first taste of home, he couldn’t believe he’d survive any further exile -- even with Val by his side.
The four of them had to find Retkove and free Apoll’ex from this scourge. Despite their guarantees to the Apollan officials, Paul knew it would be a mistake to underestimate Retkove. What if he and the others didn’t stop the bastard before he did even more damage to a victim? Any further crimes on Apoll’ex might get them all booted off the planet -- permanently.
Despite these worries, Paul immersed himself in S’laire’s attentive care. The four new arrivals had to focus fully on the welcoming ritual to show they’d come in good faith, with full intention of participating in the ways of the Apollans. Paul realized he and Soleil, as vampires, were classified as deviants. Apollan generosity included modifying the rituals to meet particular needs. This tolerance would not extend to the vampires’ feeding off their Apollan hosts, even as part of sex rituals.
When the four vampires came out of the baths, they met in a large gathering room. Twelve greeters awaited them -- three for each newcomer. Of course, each greeter fit the general description of Apollan handsomeness and fitness -- each blessed with the glow of the sun’s magic touch.
Paul bit back a grin at the inscrutable expression on Val’s face. He could easily understand that his lover needed time to sort out all the details of their surroundings. Though he’d told Val about Apoll’ex, no words could do the reality justice.
“That was some bath.” Val stood quite close to him. “You look different.” He studied Paul for a few moments.
“You look different too, Val. The waters impart special qualities to those who bathe in them.”
“Magic waters, eh?” Val shook his head. “I never thought any place could live up to all the hype I heard about Apoll’ex -- but man, oh man. What’s the secret ingredient?”
“I’ll describe the process later, but it looks like we’re to take our positions now for the next part.”
Val cleared his throat. “Speaking about that. I know you said there are no exclusive pairings here on Apoll’ex, but I expected we could be together in groups, like we’ve done with Trey and Soleil. But, uh, that bath was one on one.”
“Yes,” Paul acknowledged. “And this ritual is going to be three on one, and we’re not going to be together for any part of it.”
Val narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. I know we talked about all that on the voyage and such. Here on Apoll’ex, you and I can be together, except it’s a whole different way. And there’s no jealousy.”
“No, that kind of emotion is strictly Earth bound, one of the curses of your unfortunate home planet.” Paul wished he could make this huge transition easier for Val, but, in the final analysis, his lover would have to extend himself to achieve the necessary adjustments -- always with Paul’s full support.
“Right. But I’m an Earthling. And by virtue of being a vampire, you’re no longer completely Apollan either. Give me a hand here. How can we balance it all?”
Paul put a hand on Val’s arm and felt, to his utter amazement, that his lover was trembling. Burning sunspots, not even Retkove in his full villainy had ever affected Val so strongly. “What we do with our cocks here, Val, that’s not exclusive. We can have sex with each other and with many others. That’s the Apollan way. Can you deal with it? Because if you can’t, we’ve got to work out a way for you to be happy here, with our ways.”
Val nodded. “I’m trying to deal, but right now everything here is too new and weird. Paul, I guess I need something from you, something that tells me what we’ve had isn’t over.”
“It’ll never be over, Val,” Paul whispered. “No matter how many lovers I’m with in rituals.” His mind whirled as he tried to come up quickly with a way to reassure Val. The very thought that Val could doubt their connection -- And then, thank Apollo, it came to him. “What do you think about this? To celebrate our special bond, how about we pledge to be exclusive in our intimate feedings. I’ll feed only from you, and you only from me.”
Val closed his eyes and touched Paul at the base of his neck. Contrary to his usual style, he didn’t respond quickly. “Yes. That will be one way we continue our bond on this planet. Maybe we’ll think of more as we go forward.”
Val’s acceptance eased some of Paul’s anxieties. “Feeding, and, whenever we can, fucking.”
Val hugged him.
A large robed man came to summon the four newcomers to the dais where twelve gorgeous men awaited them. “Please follow me.”
“What’s going to happen?” Val asked.
“Our guide will explain as soon as we take our places on the dais.” Before they separated, Paul kissed Val on the lips. Then they each assumed the places the guide indicated, as did Trey and Soleil.
* * *
Val felt like he’d landed in paradise only to discover he’d left some vital body part behind. Or maybe paradise had been when he and Paul were together, united in their passion and their deprivations. Paradise lost.
Bloody hell, he was turning into some sort of sentimental slob. Paul assured him their special bond existed despite the fact they were each separately about to become intimate with several strangers. Apoll’ex might be paradise, but viewed through another lens, it was fuckin’ weird.
He needed to stop brooding and listen to the instructions from their leader, an imposing guy wearing a purple robe. All the rest of the men in the room wore only brief loincloths like the one Val had put on after the bath.
“Welcome to Apoll’ex,” the leader intoned. “Now that you’ve bathed in the sun-blessed waters, you are ready for our central newcomers’ ritual. Each new man will stand between the greeters. There are two tiers of greeters on one side, a solitary on the other. As you accept our greetings, dear travelers, you can choose how many attendants you desire at one time and assign each as you will. Many travelers choose to receive and provide fellatio while enjoying anal play. But the greeters will accommodate variations to please our guests.”
Three on one? Val had to admit to being intrigued, though he still wished Paul were with him for the fun.
“Does anyone have any questions?”
Val glanced over at Trey, who looked slightly less clueless than he felt. Though he knew Trey and Soleil were very close, Val understood Trey’s curiosity probably trumped his other emotions right now.
Both Soleil and Paul went over to the leader for a whispered conference. Something they said seemed to surprise him. They explained some more. He nodded. Both Soleil and Paul resumed their positions.
/> “I understand two of the newcomers are returning Apollans, which gives this ritual a bit of an unusual flavor. Even more so because all four of you are also vampires. News of your arrival here has been spreading on Apoll’ex.” He sighed. “Change comes, even here. I understand from Paul and Soleil that vampires have rituals of intimacy unlike our own. We’ve decided to modify the après-ritual to accommodate vampiric needs. When we have completed the sexual salute and given erotic thanks to the sun for our continued well-being, the vampire pairs will have privacy for their intimate feeding.”
Val looked over at Paul and winked. Then, following the leader’s instructions, all the men went to their assigned spots.
The first step of the ritual was for the four men in each grouping to greet each other with a hug. After asking his name and where he came from, information Val knew they already had, the three Apollans introduced themselves to Val. Each man was gorgeous and sexy in a unique way.
A man with dark purple skin and short purple hair went first. “I’m Chaud Rayze.” Chaud would take the aft position unless Val directed him to do otherwise. Judging from the size of the erection tenting out his loincloth, Val figured he was in for quite a ride and indicated Chaud should stay right where he was.
Brule Flame, whose bright orange hair lived up to his name, took top position, while blond Lumin Bianco sat facing Val’s crotch. Despite his mix of emotions, Val’s carnal nature sprang forth and demanded precedence. Everything in the room -- sexy music and the sensual scents of testosterone and musk -- was designed to seduce. Val knew Paul was nearby, simultaneously being serviced by three hunks as attractive as those now focused on pleasing him.
