by J Palliser
"I guess."
"I thought so. Let me show you something," she said, tuning down a dark alley.
"Show me what?"
Aka'i ignored her. "You see, Makovian relationships are not exclusive," Aka'i explained as they walked through the darkness. "For example, my Prime is an officer with security."
"That's your first husband, right?" "Yes. He is a security officer," she said, descending a long staircase towards a single wooden door. "But I also have three other husbands and two wives."
"You have four husbands and two wives?" Sonya blurted out. "Not in the same sense that you think of it," Aka'i explained. "My Prime is what you would consider my husband. The others are all secondary to him. I maintain a sexual relationship with them, as well as a casual social relationship."
"Sounds extremely complicated," Sonya observed as Aka'i knocked on the door. A Makovian man opened it and gestured for them to enter.
"It is," Aka'i laughed. "Virtually every Makovian is related by marriage to every other Makovian, directly or indirectly."
"Lovely." "Actually, it helps to discourage conflict. Going to war against a stranger is easy. Killing a relative is not." They passed down a short hallway and into a waiting room filled with chairs. Aka'i waived to an attendant, who smiled back and opened a door in the back for them.
"How does this relate to me? I don't think Kara would approve of me having vice-girlfriends." "Look around," Aka'i smiled as they went through the door into another, longer hallway. The hall was lined with glass doors, most of which had curtains drawn across the inside. A few, though, did not. Inside, Sonya could see Makovians, usually two to a room, all of whom were having sex. As they walked, Sonya saw couples, and sometimes threesomes and beyond, engaged in every possible form of sexual activity, including a few that Sonya had never considered.
"Holy shit," she gaped, stopping at one of the doors. The room was darkly lit by a single red light. Inside were three women, each one covered in a different colored gel, licking it from each other's bodies.
"Oloota'i oils," Aka'i explained.
"That's a mouthful," Sonya commented, still staring into the room. "Yes, that's the idea," she smiled. One of the women noticed Sonya staring, and smiled broadly at her. The woman leaned over, whispering in the ear of one of the other women. She, too, turned to look and when she saw Sonya, the two Makovians smiled to each other.
They quickly pounced on the third women, showering her affectionate caresses. They pleasured her relentlessly for several minutes before the woman arched her back and wrapped her arms around one of them. Sonya could see the woman's torso expand and contract as she gasped for air, desperately holding onto her lover.
The woman she was holding onto slowly lowered her to the bed, and the two women gently caressed the one who had just climaxed. Sonya gasped when, as the woman panted desperately, the oil covering her changed color, from dark blue to orange. The woman gasped again, and pulled one of the others into a kiss.
"What was that?" Sonya asked, suddenly short of breath. "When Makovians orgasm, we release several compounds through our skin," Aka'i smiled. "The oils react with those compounds and change color. Each time you climax, the gel turns a new color. Each color also produces a unique sensation."
"Like what?"
"Well, the dark blue produces a mild tickling sensation, while the orange feels warm."
"Amazing."
"Yes. Those three almost always use Oloota'i gel."
"You know them?" Sonya asked, finally able to look away. "Oh, not well. The two who looked at you are each other's Prime. The third is married to both of them. They are in here every couple of weeks, always together, always using the oil," she explained casually. "They spend hours pleasuring their mutual secondary, only occasionally climaxing themselves."
"Why?"
"Because they enjoy it," Aka'i shrugged. "Beyond that, I don't know. It doesn't really matter."
"What is this place?" "This is a place where people can come and experience each other's love in whatever way they wish. I come here maybe once a week."
"With who?"
"Different people," she shrugged. "Usually my husband, sometimes someone else."
"Why did you bring me here?" Sonya asked finally. "To see these two," Aka'i smiled, gesturing to a room a few doors down the hall. She led Sonya the short distance down the hall, gesturing to the window. Inside were two very old men, lying in bed together, holding each other in their arms. Several projectors in the ceiling shined images onto the walls, simulating a panoramic view from a mountain top.
"What are they doing?" Sonya wondered aloud. "These two are here every week at this time," Aka'i explained. "And every time, they just lie there, holding each other. The mountain is in a range north of here. It's where they met. They're each other's Primes, and have been for many, many years. They used to have sex, but they're too old for that now. The strain would probably kill them," she laughed softly.
"Why are you showing me this?" "Look at them. Does it look like they are experiencing anything new?" she said. "No, they're here for that familiarity you mentioned. You see, the 'new' feeling is easy to get. But that familiar comfort? That feeling of perfect peace and contentment? That's hard to find, and that's why they always do the same thing. Most people here do the same thing every time, like these two old men."
"So, you're saying I should just be content with the familiarity?" Sonya said skeptically. "Of course not," Aka'i scoffed. "But maybe the two of you should come by here before your ship leaves. Try something out. Get that 'new' feeling. Then, when you're holding her in yours arms, maybe you'll know what you're looking for." Sonya gazed at her for a few moments, considering what she had seen and heard.
"What should I try?" she eventually asked.
"Oh, leave that to me," Aka'i smiled, leading Sonya back towards the exit.
27
Twenty-Six
Makov IV Capitol City, 1813 hours Where is she? Kara thought as she sat in the waiting room. She looked up at the attendant, who was working busily on her computer across the room. After a few moments of staring, Kara hung her head and sighed. Come on, Sonya.
"Come on, Sonya," she heard a voice say down the hall behind her. Kara leaned in her seat, looking down the hall to the entrance. Kara smiled to herself when she saw Aka'i pushing a nervous looking Sonya down the hallway towards her.
"What took you so long, love?" Kara asked, extending her arms.
"Casana ambushed us," Sonya sighed, wrapping her arms around Kara's waist and planting a short kiss on her lips.
"What?" Kara said, cocking her head as she held Sonya in her arms.
"Literally," Aka'i laughed.
"I'll tell you later," Sonya blushed and looking away.
"I can't wait," she smiled happily. "So, what do we do now?" she asked Aka'i over Sonya's shoulder. "Right this way," the Makovian said, gesturing towards the attendant. Aka'i led them across the room and down the darkened hall. All of the blinds were shut, and the hall was silent save for their footsteps. Kara looked around apprehensively as she followed behind Aka'i and Sonya. After a few dozen meters, Aka'i stopped at one of the doors. "Here you are," she smiled. "Have fun."
Slowly, Sonya reached out and tentatively took hold of the door handle. Pausing, she looked back a Kara, and their eyes locked. Kara smiled, and Sonya felt the fear and tension drain from her body. Turning back to the door, she opened it and stepped inside the small room with Kara right behind her.
It was completely empty. "What the hell?" Sonya sighed. Frowning, she turned around to ask Aka'i what was going on, but the door was closed.
" Just take your clothes off and put them in the receptacle," came Aka'i's voice over a speaker. Sure enough, there was a small slot in the wall next to the door. Most of the wall was taken up by a mirror and lights which, along with the speaker in the ceiling, the door, and the receptacle, were the only things on the walls, floor, or ceiling. The rest was a padded cube, about four meters to a side.
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"What?" Sonya called back, looking at the speaker in the ceiling. She heard a click, and the mirror became transparent, revealing Aka'i standing in the hall, pointing towards the receptacle.
"Put your clothes in here," she repeated.
"Can you hear me?" Sonya asked.
"Yes, but only until you put your clothes in the receptacle," she answered.
"What the hell are we supposed to do in here?" Sonya cried.
"Each other," Aka'i replied, and flipped a switch. The window became a mirror again, and Sonya shook her head.
"You better not be able to see this," she said as she began to unbutton her jacket. " Relax. Nobody is going to be seeing anything," Aka'i said a bit too happily for Sonya. She opened her mouth to protest, but Kara cut her off.
"Easy, love," she said, tossing her jacket onto Sonya's head. "Hey!" she laughed. As Sonya fumbled with the jacket, Kara leaned against the door while she unlaced her boots. They stripped off their clothes, and deposited their jackets, boots, socks, pants, and undergarments into the receptacle. "All right, now what?" Sonya asked somewhat impatiently as she closed the receptacle. The moment it clicked shut, the lights went out and they were plunged into total darkness.
"Have fun!" Aka'i chirped. Sonya and Kara stood silently, staring into the total darkness. "Oh, great," Sonya sighed, finally breaking the silence. "What happens now?"
"I think this is it," Kara shrugged before realizing that Sonya couldn't see it.
"It's kinda cold in here." "You think so? I wonder how we could keep warm," Kara replied suggestively, but Sonya didn't respond. "Love?" Kara could hear Sonya's breath quicken, but still she didn't respond. "You okay?" She heard the shuffling of feet and a soft thump as Sonya fell back against the wall.
"Who's there?" she asked, barely audible.
"What?" "Who's there?" "Sonya, it's me," Kara cried, rushing towards where she assumed Sonya was. She groped around with her hands, but felt only the soft floor.
"Who's there?" Sonya nearly yelled from a few meters in front of Kara. The redhead crawled forward until her fingers touched the smooth, firm flesh of Sonya's thigh.
"It's me, sweetie!" she cried again. "It's Kara!" She reached up and her hand felt Sonya's cheek. The moment it made contact, Kara felt a jolt run through Sonya's body.
"Kara?" she whined desperately.
"Yes! Yes, it's me, baby! It's Kara!" she smiled, tears forming in her eyes as she threw her arms around Sonya. "Oh, god, I thought I was alone!" Sonya sobbed, squeezing Kara in her powerful arms. "I thought I was alone again, in the dark, and I could feel the blood on my hands."
"Blood? You mean from your nightmare? You had it right here?" Sonya didn't speak, but Kara felt her head nod. "Oh, god, baby! Are you okay?"
Sonya hesitated, lost in the feeling of Kara's body against her own. She felt familiar hands softly stroke her hair, comforted by the pressure of Kara's weight on her body and by the sensations of the redhead's breath on her shoulder. "Yeah," she sighed calmly. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Do you want to leave?" Kara asked, pulling back from Sonya in anticipation of the answer. "No," the tall woman whispered, and tightened her grip, trapping Kara in her arms. "I want to stay here with you. I love you, Kara."
"I love you too, Harry," Kara giggled. "Just this once, I'll let you get away with that. But only because I want you," Sonya said as she leaned her head forward. She tried to kiss Kara, but missed her lips. Instead, she landed somewhere between Kara's ear and her left eye. "This might take some getting used to," she smiled to herself.
Kara took Sonya's head in her hands and pressed their lips together, pushing her tongue past Sonya's lips to paint her teeth with the tip. As she did, Kara slid a knee forward, pressing it lightly against Sonya's groin. Sonya rolled her hips forward, pressing her sensitive flesh against Kara. In response, Kara slid her knee backwards, away from Sonya.
"Hey," Sonya moaned, breaking the kiss. "Come back!"
"No," Kara chirped back, slowly dragging her fingers up and down Sonya's thighs. "You are going to have to wait." "Ugh," Sonya groaned. "I hate waiting." "I promise you won't hate this," Kara whispered lustily as her hands trailed up Sonya's sides. They passed over her shoulders and down her arms, the nails gently grazing the skin as they went. When she reached her hand, Kara slipped her fingers between Sonya's. Without warning, she lifted Sonya's arms and pressed them to the wall above their heads. Kara pressed her knuckles to the wall and lifted herself up, just enough to break contact with Sonya.
And she waited. Sonya stared into the darkness, futilely trying to see Kara. She saw nothing. She heard nothing, smelled nothing, and felt nothing aside from Kara's hands pressing on her own. Her mind focused in on that pressure, and it became the only thing in Sonya's world. She closed her eyes and relaxed, and as she did she heard something. Sonya focused, trying to make out the faint sound. At last, she recognized it.
Her heart. The thumping grew louder, pounding in her ears. But behind it, she heard something else. Like a soft whisper, incoherent and barely audible, Sonya recognized it as Kara's breathing. Her mind shifted its focus to the sound, and the pounding of her heart faded. After a few moments, she noticed a slight heat on her neck and shoulder: Kara's breathing.
Sonya could now smell Kara's sweet scent, could taste a hint of her saliva in her own mouth, could almost feel her smooth skin. But not quite, and it tortured her. She longed for the familiar touch of her lover, to hold her tight and feel her shudder and quake in ecstasy. But she felt nothing. Even the floor seemed to disappear, and Sonya felt as though she were floating in a vast, dark sea.
Something grazed her chest, just below the collarbone, and though it was only the faintest of touches, it felt like a whip cracking against her skin compared to the nothing she felt only a moment before. The sensation spread like a fire across her chest, setting her nerves ablaze. Sonya writhed under the sweet torment and her cheek brushed against something. It was soft and smooth, and she recognized it immediately. Sonya rubbed her cheek against Kara's, reveling in the touch she longed for.
"I know what you want." Kara's whispered words thundered in Sonya's ear. "I know what makes you feel good, what turns you on," she purred, and Sonya felt the heat of Kara's arousal as the redhead lowered herself down, pressing her hips against Sonya's abdomen. "I know your body better than you do. Let me show you."
Kara released Sonya's hands and wrapped her arms around the powerful shoulders, pressing her whole body against Sonya. At first, the overwhelming sensation stunned Sonya, and her arms fell limply to the floor. But while her mind could not act, her body could, and she soon found her arms wrapped around Kara's torso, pulling them together. Sonya lowered her head, kissing and nibbling on that sensitive spot on Kara's shoulder that she had discovered that first morning on the hillside.
"Oh, God," Kara moaned softly, her head falling to rest on Sonya's shoulder. She ground her hips against her lover's toned stomach, back and forth, side to side, and in small circles, leaving a trail of molten passion behind her. Every now and then, their nipples would touch as their bodies slid against each other, sending jolts of pleasure through both of them.
Smiling in the dark, Kara trailed her hands down Sonya's back to tickle the base of her spine. Sonya reacted exactly as she always had, and arched her back sharply. Kara seized the opportunity and pulled away just enough to lower her head to Sonya's breast. With perfect accuracy, her lips found Sonya's nipple and latched on, her tongue lashing furiously at the rigid nub. After a few moments, she released Sonya's breast and blew gently on the wet nipple, and was rewarded with the same sweet squeak that she first heard in the library.
Their hands and fingers and mouths danced over each other's bodies, hitting all the right places with a tickle here, and lick there, pressing all the right buttons in all the right ways. For what seemed an eternity, Kara writhed in Sonya's arms, basking in the attention of her mighty lover. Eventually, Sonya felt Kara begin to quake. Kara's pulse was racing, her breathing
fast and shallow, and her muscles tense as she neared the peak.
Then, she froze. She sat motionless in Sonya's embrace, cradled in powerful, loving arms. For an instant, nothing happened, and all of existence seemed to shrink until all that was left was two bodies grasping at each other in the darkness and the searing heat between them.
A moment later, a low, primal scream split the air. Kara's body shook wildly and she tried to curl up in Sonya's arms. Sonya felt her muscles clench and release, clench and release, over and over again as Kara cried and screamed and jerked in her arms. A flood of hot liquid poured from between her legs, coating Sonya's stomach and filling the air with a scent both sweet and heady.
Sonya's grip tightened, pulling Kara close as she thrashed wildly, holding her lover's head to her shoulder. Kara rode out the storm, jerking and screaming, finally coming to a rest in Sonya's arms. Her head was resting on Sonya's shoulder, her hands wrapped around the strong body in front of her as her senses slowly returned.
Kara opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Sonya pushed her back. Kara sat back, panting heavily, and was about to ask what was wrong when Sonya pounced on her. She was thrown onto her back, and immediately Sonya was on top of her. A storm of affection descended on her as Sonya covered her with kisses and nips and licks with dizzying, nearly frantic intensity. Kara could only throw her head back and gasp as Sonya ravaged her with affection.
Slowly, Sonya's frenzied attention crept down Kara's body, inching closer and closer to the center of her pleasure. Kara stretched her arms out above her head and tried to arch her back as the flurry passed over her chest, but Sonya pressed her against the floor. She shivered as she felt Sonya's fingernails run down her flanks, stopping at her hips and running back up her body.
Her toes curled and her heart fluttered as Sonya licked and nipped at the firm flesh of her stomach, so tantalizingly close and yet so far from her core. Take me, love,Kara thought. I'm yours. She smiled as the words passed through her mind, and though she didn't speak a word, she knew that Sonya understood. And just as she was Sonya's, so too was Sonya hers.
