by Gun Brooke
“Her having a following can be used against us,” Vayand muttered. “If enough people admire and follow her, she can use this power for her own purpose.”
Adina wanted to throttle her supreme commander. For him to talk about the woman she loved that way, as if she was about to overthrow the government the first chance she got…
“And she could even become president.” Tylio smiled wryly. “What you are saying about Briar, you could easily have said about me when I campaigned against my opponent five years ago. I had a following, I made sure it grew, and thus I seized power.” Tylio stood and walked slowly around the table. Her smile waned, and the steely expression in her eyes made it clear she had reached her final conclusion. “Caya is a medium who receives visions at different intervals about what might happen if we don’t do anything about it. When we alter anything she sees in her visions, her premonition changes or goes away completely.” Tylio stopped at Adina’s chair and placed a steady hand on her shoulder. “Briar is an oracle. If her sister sees the future, Briar senses the present. She reads us, our feelings, our relationships, but this woman’s ethics far surpass any of ours. She is learning how to turn her gift on and off, as it bothers her greatly to accidentally ‘overhear.’ Her gift for counseling people in pain or suffering from mental illness will benefit our entire community. What we must do, and this is something I’m prepared to put before the cabinet and have our legislators make official law, is never take advantage of them to a degree where it hurts them, physically, mentally, or emotionally.”
Adina wanted to get up and hug the president, but thankfully that impulse was brief enough for her not to make a fool of herself. She gazed around the table and saw a few frowns, but no one openly opposed the president’s statement. Meija actually wiped at her wet eyelashes.
“Now,” the president said and returned to her seat, “I for one want to know what Meija said that made Korrian come up with the grid technology.”
“I have no idea, Madam President,” Meija said, shaking her head.
“Korrian?” Tylio tilted her head.
“Sure you do, Meija,” Korrian said and put her arm around Meija’s shoulders. “You couldn’t stop talking the other evening about how you and your father used to go fishing.”
“Fishing?” Meija gaped. “What do you—oh, Creator of mercy, you mean net. Fishing with the nets from our old boat. You took this”—she pointed at the still-glittering screen—“from that?”
“Sure did.” Korrian grinned at her wife, and the looks they exchanged made Adina get up.
“If that’s all, Madam President, I’m afraid I have to return to my quarters. Today is my first day out of hospital, after all.”
“Certainly, Commander. You’re dismissed. For yet another week. That’s an order.” Tylio smiled warmly.
Adina returned the smile. That was the best idea of the entire afternoon—fishing nets and all.
*
Briar walked toward Adina, unable to take her eyes off her where she sat on the side of the bed. It was such a relief to have her back home in their quarters, where Briar had resided alone as Adina had to spend ten days in the hospital. Now, after they had shared an evening meal and enjoyed some more of Caya’s herbal tea, Briar couldn’t keep her hands off Adina any longer. She knew very well it was far too soon for Adina’s healing body to engage in passionate lovemaking, but if she didn’t touch her now, she would go crazy.
She had suffered through the ten nights alone, tormented by nightmares and scattered images of people’s feelings streaming in from outside when she couldn’t filter them out. The only thing that kept her going and positive was knowing Adina would come home soon and they’d be together.
Caya had been a source of equal amounts inspiration and awe. Her little sister’s character grew each day, and her maturity was impressive. This didn’t stop Caya from being her usual irreverent self, but that in itself was something Briar could recognize and latch onto.
Now, all she wanted to latch onto was Adina. As she approached the bed, she could see small beads of perspiration on Adina’s forehead and became concerned. “Are you in pain? Can I get you anything?”
“No. Well, you can, but no, I’m not in pain. But you seem to be, if I interpret the feelings you’re radiating correctly,” Adina said, her voice strained.
“What?” Briar blinked and tried to figure out what Adina meant. Then she realized her arousal at the sight of Adina was all it took for her filter to go down. She usually could choose how and where to direct her own emotions, but this time it was clearly more than she could handle.
“Your fault,” Briar whispered knelt before Adina. “You’re so damn beautiful and I’ve missed you.” She gazed up at Adina, studying her symmetrical features: deeply set amber eyes, high cheekbones and smooth, flat cheeks, her jawline a sweeping line from her earlobe to her chin.
“And I’ve been going out of my mind in that place without you.” Cradling Briar’s cheeks, Adina pulled her up for a kiss. Her lips and tongue added to the fire, and Briar whimpered as she pushed her hands into Adina’s short, silky hair and held her in place. Nibbling her lips, Briar could hear Adina’s breath catch.
“I know you’re supposed to take it really easy, but I can’t leave you be. What does that say about me?” Briar gasped as Adina placed kisses along her neck down to her collarbone.
“Tells me you want me as much as I want you.”
“I do. I’m going to stop…soon…or at least try to.” Cautiously, Briar unfastened Adina’s shirt and pulled it off her shoulders. Adina assisted eagerly and removed the shirt completely. She moved with some stiffness, but Briar didn’t pick up on any signs of pain. When Adina removed Briar’s shirt in the same efficient manner, she looked mesmerized as she studied Briar’s slight frame.
“You’re the most beautiful woman on Pathfinder.” Adina cupped Briar’s breasts, and unable to resist, Briar let her arousal soar. She arched into the touch, and when Adina flicked her thumbs over Briar’s nipples, she cried out and began moving her hips. The friction of damp fabric against the sensitized folds between her legs made her whimper again.
“Do you have any idea how this makes me feel?” Adina said, gasping. “I’m so turned on, and then you somehow show me everything you feel and it hits like a damn sledgehammer. This…this is like nothing I’ve ever…ever felt.” She tore open the fastening of her own trousers and then repeated the maneuver with Briar’s. “Take them off.”
Standing quickly, Briar dropped every stitch of her clothes and helped Adina yank her trousers off. She couldn’t wait to feel Adina’s body against hers and climbed back onto the bed. Adina had turned, and now she leaned against the pillows, pulling Briar back to straddle her thighs. She cupped Briar’s breasts and weighed them tenderly. The small pink nipples hardened further and seemed to beg for her attention. “Move closer.” Adina smiled as Briar willingly bent down enough for her to take the left nipple into her mouth. Hard, puckered, and still so velvety, it had a texture and taste that Adina loved. She wrapped her tongue around the nipple, licked it over and over, bit it gently, only to lick it again. Aroused beyond compare by the rhythm she gave herself over to, Adina only switched to the other breast when Briar breathlessly begged her.
“You’re about to drive me insane. Oh, please…” Briar moaned and grabbed at the pillows behind Adina’s head. “So good, so good.”
When both nipples had turned bright red and Briar didn’t seem like she could take anymore, Adina reached down and cupped the slick folds between Briar’s legs.
“Adina…” Her name was a sigh on Briar’s lips. Willingly parting her legs, Briar began unfastening Adina’s shirt. As Adina helped Briar remove it, she groaned when her fingers returned and spread Briar’s folds. “Oh, damn. So wet. I knew it.” Smiling wistfully, Adina began to caress Briar, who in turn moaned and tried to capture the fingers and have Adina push them inside. She hadn’t indulged in physical release like this in years, and now she was ready to self
-combust.
“Your fire is inside me as well. When I touch you, it’s as if I can feel it. Not the touch but what it does to you…Briar…”
“Go inside, Adina. I need you.”
Adina pushed two fingers into her. “There…that’s where you need me, don’t you? Please, tell me—”
“Yes. Yes! Ah!” Briar couldn’t remain still. She pulled back and pushed forward, impaling herself on Adina’s long fingers, over and over. “Yours. I really am yours. Adina…oh, please…” She needed release. She needed Adina to deliver her. It was Adina or nobody. Briar was certain this woman was the only one she could love this way. Her mind wide open now, no pretense, no lies, she let Adina in completely.
“Briar! Oh, how…how are you…” Adina curled her fingers inside and rubbed faster and harder. Crying out, Briar pressed two knuckles into her mouth to prevent herself from screaming loud enough to alert the neighbors. Hiding her face against Adina’s damp neck, she whimpered with each breath. She was about to come, and the heat building inside her was quickly ripping at her seams.
Adina shifted beneath her, and her hips mimicked Briar’s movements in a smaller, more careful pattern. “I can’t believe this. It’s crazy.” Her voice trembled, and she closed her eyes as she rubbed Briar’s clitoris with the heel of her hand each time she pushed farther inside. “I feel you. I feel this…You’re so hot, so horny, I can’t hold back. Oh, fuck…You’re going to make me come too!”
At the profane expression, Briar’s thighs tensed up. Small, glowing needles gathered in her clitoris and pierced every part of her abdomen. As her orgasm charged through her, she sensed that Adina’s did too. Piercing her, the orgasm seized Briar, held her captive together with the woman she adored, whom she couldn’t imagine ever being without.
As they began to calm down, Briar bent and gently sucked on Adina’s right nipple, then the left, and when she carefully ran her teeth against it, Adina trembled again, like an aftershock. Carefully, Briar held Adina. She didn’t allow Adina’s newly healed body to come undone beyond control. She rocked her gently as she too basked in the slow-burning feelings and caught her breath.
“That…you were amazing…” Adina kissed Briar and then held her close. “You’re incredible.”
“And you’re so sexy.”
Chuckling breathlessly, Adina said, “And I wish I was healed enough to fully engage, but I haven’t regained all my strength. I hope you allow me to come looking for more, and by that I mean reciprocate, when my ribs have reached full re-merge.”
“Oh, you bet. You didn’t think you’d be rid of me that easily, did you?” Briar returned the smile. “I’ll wait for as long as it takes, but in the meantime, this way of doing it wasn’t so bad, was it?” She hoped Adina would agree but still didn’t breathe until Adina nodded.
“I’m ready to try just about anything with you.”
Blushing now, Briar avoided Adina’s eyes. “Really?”
“Anything that naughty mind of yours can conjure up. I’m not sure what it is about you, but you make me courageous in all sorts of ways.” Adina caressed Briar’s hair.
“Please.” Briar crinkled her nose. “You dare to trust Caya and me when very few do. You save people, even people of my genetic makeup, as it were.”
“Don’t talk like that. I don’t want you to think of yourself as less for being a changer, and that goes for Caya as well. I’ll insist you keep your chin up and not ask anyone’s forgiveness or approval. There’s no need.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Briar sighed and snuggled close to Adina’s less-injured side. She tugged the covers over them as the air in Adina’s quarter quickly cooled their sweaty bodies. Resting in the safety of Adina’s presence, Briar inhaled her special scent. Amazing. “I love you, Adina. I love you with everything I am.”
Adina had stiffened but now melted into the pillows. “Briar. Oh, Briar, I’ve never loved a single soul the way I love you.”
Briar pressed her lips to Adina’s, and these were the best kisses of all—soft, deep, and with no rush or very much fever behind them. Briar’s toes curled and other muscles relaxed. Feeling boneless she yawned against Adina’s shoulder. “Mind if we sleep a bit, Adina?”
“Not at all. I need one more pillow against my other side for support though.”
Briar tucked them both in with the covers and several more pillows. As she rested her head on Adina’s shoulder, she knew she’d sleep for hours.
*
**Day 190**
Adina rolled over on her back, moaning as her sore ribs reminded her of their existence and newly mended state. “Damn.” She looked up at the ceiling and was about to attempt getting up when a slender arm wrapped around her waist.
“Don’t you dare move, Commander.” Briar moved closer, pressing her naked body against Adina, who turned out to be in the same state of undress. “I finally have you where I want you.”
“So it would seem, yes.” Adina ignored the soreness and pulled Briar closer. “Were you able to sleep?”
“Considering I had your hot body right here and couldn’t do anything about it—I mean, I draw the line at almost-unconscious women, truly—I slept fine.” Briar rose on one elbow and kissed Adina lightly on the lips. “I admit I didn’t sleep well when you were in the hospital, but having you here, knowing you were safe, was enough. I needed that reassurance and the physical closeness, I think.”
“I know what you mean,” Adina said and nuzzled Briar’s neck. “I know exactly what you mean. I sure as hell didn’t sleep well in the hospital. My mind played tricks on me, and I kept thinking the bastards with the white garnet would finally get to you when I wasn’t around.”
“That’s kind of funny, because when I finally did sleep, I had nightmares about them attacking the hospital again. I actually woke Caya up twice to make sure I wasn’t suddenly having visions. She put me at ease. As in ‘go back to sleep, you fool. Nothing’s going on.’”
“Thank goodness you don’t get to have every single changer trait. I’d lose count.”
“And I have my hands full with learning my abilities and limitations as it is, thank you very much. This whole thing with words entering my mind when it’s not me thinking them can freak anyone out. Trust me. And speaking of that, you’re pretty fantastic for not freaking out. Much.”
“Everything happened so fast. That said, I did go through my own moments of doubt and trepidation. I wouldn’t call it freaking out, but I was concerned.”
“Only fair.” Briar pressed her lips against the top of Adina’s head. “Most people would have tossed me out an airlock, metaphorically or literally. I’m grateful you did neither.”
Adina knew Briar was right. So much fear and prejudice against changers, and the situation was complex because all Oconodians thought they’d left this issue behind. Stroking Briar’s back in small circles, Adina kissed the silky skin behind Briar’s ear. She was in love with a changer. An empath. She thought of the word the president had used. An oracle. “I love you. I can’t be without you.” Adina knew things were complicated, but that part of it was really very easy.
“I love you too. And, Adina, you are my moral compass. You know about discipline and about overcoming something that brought you great pain. I can depend on you if and when these gifts threaten to get the better of me.”
Adina held Briar closer. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re the one with strength and character. If I didn’t trust you to do the right thing with these gifts, these abilities, I wouldn’t be here like this. I’d still be trying to be your friend and help you, but I can give myself to you like this only because I trust you and your good intentions. As I see it, you might be tempted not to use your gifts enough, for fear of alienating or scaring people.”
“True.” Briar wiped at an errant tear. “And just to be clear—I do realize that for our relationship to work, I need to respect the boundaries of privacy with you—especially with you.”
“I’m an open book anywa
y, I’m told,” Adina said, chuckling. It was time to pull back from the seriousness a bit. “It’s my easygoing nature, of course.”
Briar snorted. “Yes, it’s that fun-loving party girl inside you hide so well.”
“I must hide that side of me even from myself.” Adina used her thumbs to push away the tears still clinging to Briar’s eyelashes. “And as for your ethics when it comes to your gifts, I trust you. Even if you should find yourself in a position where you can’t stop it from happening, I know you’ll never deliberately misuse your ability.”
“I heard the president officially called me an oracle.” Briar pursed her lips. “I’m not sure I like that sound of that.”
“I understand. It’s a daunting title, since an oracle is considered someone all-seeing.” Adina could understand why Briar recoiled from that epithet.
“Eh, no, not that. Or not just that,” Briar said, sliding enticing fingertips up and down Adina’s arm. “It’s—for the love of the Creator—an oracle! That sounds like someone who’s really old.”
Adina blinked. “Wha—oh, Briar!” She laughed—a loud, head-thrown-back kind of laugh that allowed the last bit of tension making her shoulders and jaw clench to seep out of her system. “Is it any wonder that I love you?”
“I love you too, Commander.” Briar slipped her arms carefully around Adina’s sore body. “When you’re all healed, I’ll show you just how much.”
“I’m counting on that, Nurse Lindemay.” Curling up with Briar under the covers, she was happy just to have her close. Briar was alive, so was she, and neither of them had anybody lined up to air-lock them.
“Today will be fun,” Briar said and sounded sleepy again. “I know going through yet another debriefing is a pain, but afterward we can all visit with Caya. Korrian and Meija will be there. And I don’t have to have my sister’s clairvoyance to surmise that Thea Tylio will make an appearance.”
