‘This gives me great pleasure,’ Maaka said. The hungry grin of a predator matched the intensity of his unblinking eyes.
She pointed at him. ‘Your clothes are next.’
He grinned as he kicked off his boots while he pulled and tugged at his borrowed uniform, tossing it aside to reveal his glorious body. She looked her full, liking the long lines of his limbs and his well-toned torso. Her gaze lingered on his proud erection and her mouth dried. He sat back on the edge of the bunk, linking his hands behind his head. The action thrust his chest forward and showcased his beautifully muscled physique.
Sherise pressed her legs together, the friction of skin against skin made her long for his weight pressing into her. With trembling fingers, she soothed the long line of her tunic over her belly. Fold by tiny fold, she gathered the material into her hands until her bare legs were revealed and the hemline dangled a mere centon below her sex.
She waited a beat.
Maaka unlinked his hands, braced his fists onto his thighs and leaned forward, giving the impression that at any moment he would pounce.
His breathing was heavy and slow, hers short and quick.
Ever so slowly she lifted the hem of her tunic, higher and higher. Over her stomach, her ribs, her breasts. Her movements excruciatingly slow, she lifted the garment over her head and tossed it aside.
‘So beautiful and all mine.’ Maaka reached out and pulled her to stand within the spread of his legs. He rested his face against her belly, rubbed his rough cheek against her, then placed open-mouth kisses over her smooth skin. Sucking and licking, he kissed his way towards her smooth mound.
She shuddered and soothed her hands over his shaven head, pressing him closer. Her head flung back, she moaned as he delved between the folds and lapped with his tongue. A tremor shook her legs. She staggered, gripped him harder, pushed him closer, ground her sex against his hot, moist mouth. Her pulse thrummed with urgent demand and wetness trickled between her legs.
Maaka growled.
‘I can smell your lust for me.’ His grip left her waist. He pushed her legs wider apart, his hands slipped round to her bottom, one to knead and grip her cheek while the other fingered her sex from behind, spreading her cum over her swollen clit and up to her star-shaped hole.
He dipped his tongue lower and under. Sucking and nibbling with his demanding mouth until a scream formed in her throat she dared not utter in case he was discovered. She clamped down, whimpered, gasped and panted. She ground herself against his face as a rapture splintered like a starburst inside her mind and she gave herself up to her first orgasm.
Her limbs trembled, her heart pounded, her breasts felt swollen and heavy, her nipples puckered and extended to tight peaks. She ached to feel his warm hands cup and mould them. She wanted his lips against hers, his mouth sucking her breasts, his weight holding her down. She wanted his cock wedged to the hilt inside her. But there was nothing she wanted more than to give him the same fulfilment.
She tried to push him away but he ignored her. Using his lips and tongue like weapons, he kissed and licked until she moaned while a crescendo of want built in her lower belly. He parted her folds with his fingers, inserting one, then two fingers deep inside her. Her muscles clamped around the intrusion. He moved them ever so slowly, in, then out. He blew over her heated flesh and she pushed down over his hand. She was sure a trillion flymoths fluttered inside her belly and her head was spinning, spiralling like a powerless shuttle falling from the sky.
Maaka raised his head and removed his hand. He stood and examined her face which felt as if a solar flare had scorched her skin. He captured her lips in a hard dominant kiss that ground his mouth against her teeth. She tasted her cum on his lips, mingled with his minted breath. She could do nothing but hold onto his shoulders when he swept her up into his arms then positioned her face down on the bunk.
‘Move around to face the wall,’ he ordered.
He grabbed her waist and pulled her onto her hands and knees until she was on all fours facing the wall, the bottoms of her legs and feet hanging over the edge of the bunk. He spread her legs wider, his fingers mined her cum and smeared it over her clit and hole, then he gripped her waist.
She held her breath and closed her eyes. She could feel his thick cock pushing at her entrance. In a little. A little bit more. Sherise flung her head back and pushed back against him but he gave a short soft laugh and eased away.
‘Please … what are you doing?’ The pleading sob burst from her throat.
She wanted him. Now.
He slipped a little further inside, rotated the rounded knob of his cock until her juices soaked her skin. His fingers dug into her waist holding her still and she could feel all that heat, all that luscious hard weight of him, a centon or two from her body.
Then, before she could collapse screaming onto the bunk, he thrust. Hard. To the hilt. His heavy balls smacked against her skin. His breath was hot as lava against her back. He thrust again, and again, and again. Each time driving a little further inside until he was grunting while he rammed into her, over and over. His touch left her waist, snaked with rapid swiftness around her to clutch and squeeze her breasts in his hands, his body now lying against hers while he slid back and forth, in and out.
Pressure built, she pushed back against him. She no longer knew where she ended and he began. Faster and faster. There! White heat flashed over her skin, brilliant sparks of colour exploded inside her mind like a super nova as his climax plunged her into a rapture that shuddered through her with volcanic force.
Maaka collapsed onto the bunk and gathered her to his side. He nuzzled her hair, pressing kisses against her temple. Gradually, the pounding of Sherise’s heart lessened. Replete, she snuggled into the shelter of his tight embrace and fell asleep, soothed by the steady cadence of his breathing.
Chapter 19
Sherise slavered a liberal dose of some thick golden substance over her bread and took a healthy bite. The sweetness hit her taste buds and she moaned with appreciation.
‘It’s called honey. Made by bees,’ said Kade. ‘What happened to you last night? I came back to the temple and found you’d hightailed it out of there.’
But did you return alone or with peacekeepers to arrest Maaka? Sherise tensed where she sat and, head lowered, busied herself with her morning meal. ‘I came back to our quarters.’ Eventually. She took another bite and chewed.
‘Humph.’ Kade shoved her plate aside and rose to her feet. ‘You’ll be collected in about half an hour for that tour. Don’t keep them waiting.’ She fished inside a pocket of her tunic and brought out her sun shades. With a flourish, she covered her red-rimmed eyes and strode out of the room. The door slammed behind her.
It appeared Sherise wasn’t the only one who had lost sleep the night before. But she wasn’t tired. Rather, her blood sung in her veins and her heart felt so light it could have floated up to the stars if not anchored within her skin.
The rectangular-shaped eating room was empty apart from Sherise. Where were the other occupants? Were they workers or scholars? She had yet to even lay eyes on them. Her gaze settled on the empty place beside her. Bree was another who appeared to have eaten early and departed.
If her friend was not careful, she would miss the tour. Her continued insistence on solitude was not healthy and Sherise chanted a prayer of comfort for Bree. Sometime this day, she must see what she could do to ease her friend’s pain. If we can repair the Quinnie, I have a chance to fix her unhappiness. But in doing so, I will lose Maaka.
She finished the remainder of the bread doggedly, even though her hunger had fled. She’d learned long ago to make the most of every opportunity to eat. Absently, she swirled her fingers in the droplets of honey left on her plate. Around and around, much like her thoughts this morning.
Maaka had left as soon as the night faded into the day. One essence-stealing kiss and then he was gone before she could even think about questioning him. She shifted on the chair and winced,
feeling a few aches and pains that definitely hadn’t been there yesterday. She smiled, remembering how many times Maaka had turned to her and caught her up into his arms.
Where would he hide during the daylight hours? Would the peacekeepers find him? Would he survive the day? Or had he sneaked beyond the dome walls and was, even now, returning to his life in the ruined city.
She pressed a sticky finger against her suddenly tense forehead as her euphoria evaporated, leaving her feeling slightly sick.
The history of the Lycaneans troubled her. There was more to be told, she was certain. Had Maaka deliberately withheld information? Was he guarding secrets he could not trust her with? Something other than a desire to attain access to technology was driving his thirst for war. She of all people could understand the longing to live a life free from hardship and toil. With medicine and science, his people would prosper and live long. All this she could understand and yet … there was a turbulence, a rigidly held rage contained deep within his essence that must be the result of something other than a lack of resources.
For all her words otherwise, she did not believe he was a man who lusted for power. She chewed her lip and, rising from the table, tidied the area.
So, something else. Did it lie in his past or was it a part of the present?
How to find out?
Perhaps some secrets were meant to remain untold. But she felt driven to ease his demons if she possibly could. Given she was determined on her course of action, perhaps this was the only thing she could do for him.
And then there was Kondo and how he’d helped Maaka sneak into the city. His allegiance would need to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
First though, she had an official tour to attend and a long discussion with the Commander was at the top of her schedule. She snapped the cupboard door shut and with new found determination left the communal area. Some sectons later, armed with her satchel, Sherise exited the building to find a beaming Puridean man waiting beside a bubble vehicle.
***
Hunger growled in the empty hole that was Sherise’s belly and her swollen feet burned from blisters. The sandals had not been an inspired idea. Surely she had traversed the entire city that day? Her feet certainly felt as if she had walked from one end of the solar system to the other. Their tour guide had appeared determined to show them every park, every statue, perhaps even every street the city possessed.
She bent, lifted a foot and rubbed an ankle that pulsed with pain. The tour had been a total waste of their precious time. A quick glance at Dyrke’s thinned mouth revealed she wasn’t the only person thinking along these lines. She’d tried several times to draw him aside for a discrete conversation, but each time she’d been foiled by the guide with his fatuous smile and constant flow of words.
In the end, the tour had consisted of Dyrke, Kondo, herself, the shuttle captain and three other ensigns dressed in Darkon battle armour, one of whom she was fairly certain was Maaka. Lord Barid had excused himself on the grounds of fatigue and, when it had quickly become apparent they would be shown nothing of significance, Kondo and the suspicious ensign had slipped away.
By the stars, if only she could follow them.
Their guide was tedious to the extreme. His voice whined on and on about the blessed life they all led and how favoured they were in the eyes of their god.
A quick glance established her bearings. Around the next corner was the temple and the cool interior would be bliss for her overheated body.
‘Commander, I feel the need for prayer and will stay awhile in the temple.’
‘As do I,’ Dyrke said in a rush. He turned to the guide and inclined his head. ‘Thank you for your excellent tour. However, we must impose on your time no longer. We can find our way back to our quarters.’
Ignoring the guide’s spluttered protest, Dyrke placed his hand under Sherise’s elbow and they walked off, their men marching along behind.
‘By Cercis’s small toe, I never thought we would get away,’ Sherise said.
Dyrke snorted. ‘That one could talk a warrior to death.’
Sherise laughed then sobered quickly. ‘I have a lot to discuss with you.’
‘Let us rest inside.’ He turned to his men. ‘Wait here,’ he instructed, then mounted the steps with Sherise.
They entered the dim interior and Sherise studied the room, relieved to find the temple empty. The last thing she needed was to engage in a battle of words with that implacable priestess. She slumped onto the hard timber bench and toed her sandals off her feet.
‘Do you think we can be overhead?’ Dyrke stared around him.
‘I have no idea. I assume you have already noticed the vid-cams everywhere?’
He bit out, ‘Affirmative. When I questioned the Board about the level of their security, I was bombarded with “infiltrators”, “disturbers of the peace” and “the necessity to maintain order”.’ He snorted. ‘Not even the military camps on Darkos are run with such surveillance.’
Sherise agreed, but time was too short to indulge in useless debate about their motives. Who knew when they would be interrupted? Although she could have sent a message via her personal comms at any time, she needed the decisive, clarity of the Commander’s views and his calm presence; he reminded her strongly of her brother, Tarak.
But where to begin? She started with what little she’d discovered in the archives and detailed everything Maaka had told her about the different tribes, finishing with her theory of not being the only space-faring race to land on Earth. ‘And if that’s true and they or their descendants are alive, they could well be responsible for intercepting our communications.’
‘What you have said makes sense. But we need this information verified. Our chief tech officer advised this morning, progress has been made on the Quinnie’s sensors. In two to three days, they should be operating at optimal capacity.’
‘That is good news. The Quinnie will not be taken off-guard.’
‘I also suspect there will be difficult days ahead of us.’ Dyrke sighed and stretched out his long legs. ‘The three teams working on the hull have been ordered to check for pieces of foreign matter and two more teams are working with the demolition crew on the starboard side. Nothing has been found so far. I did receive a very interesting message from the chief engineer. A massive energy surge was detected during the time when we were flying from your friend, Maaka’s, settlement to the Fortress. It lasted for several Earth hours.’
‘Any idea of the source?’
He nodded. ‘The burst came from the very centre of the city.’
‘By the stars,’ breathed Sherise. ‘Solar energy could not have caused it, otherwise the chief would not have mentioned it. If only we could discover the true nature of these people’s power.’
‘Their secretiveness is beginning to annoy me. We cannot afford to trust them.’
‘I agree. How are the passengers holding up? I will return to the ship tomorrow, if you can organise a shuttle. I want to brief them on the situation here in person.’
Dyrke cleared his throat and Sherise looked at him in surprise. ‘Lord Barid has been negotiating the transfer of the passengers off the Quinnie.’
‘What! I did not agree to such an action,’ she snapped. ‘I made it clear they were to remain on board until we’d ascertained it was safe. And with every day that passes, I become increasingly concerned that they will not be safe on this planet.’
‘Barid outranks me.’ The Commander lifted his hands. ‘He overrode my objections and my insistence on your direction. He claims he has been assured the welfare of the passengers is guaranteed and that this is in their best interest. He ordered the passengers to be apprised and by all accounts, they are keen to disembark.’
‘Zurska! When?’
‘In two days’ time, after suitable arrangements have been organised for their accommodation.’
‘Then we still have two days to finalise our investigations.’
‘You could deny his o
rder.’
‘I know. And I will do so, Dyrke, if I am not one hundred per cent satisfied these people will be well looked after.’
‘Good. There is one other matter regarding Lord Barid. He has spent a considerable length of time these past days in the company of a young woman called Lilith. I wondered if there was a connection between his order and her.’
Sherise pleated the material of her pants between her fingers and frowned as she considered his words. ‘I’m sorry, Commander, I can’t see any reason why she’d want the passengers here in the city.’
‘Blame it on a suspicious military mind.’ He shrugged. ‘I will escort you to your quarters.’
‘Thank you but no, Dyrke. I’d like to pray for a while.’
‘As you wish. Stay safe, Sherise. I will head back to the Quinnie tonight and visit the injured in the medie chamber. I also intend to go over the data from the energy surge and read the reports from the damage control crews. Kondo will be available should you need him.’
‘Please update me on the wounded’s progress when you can.’
The Commander inclined his head. After biding her farewell, he strode from the temple.
So many matters to consider. Sighing, Sherise closed her eyes and forced her mind to free itself from her many thoughts. She chanted a prayer for guidance for several minutes, then opened her eyes, blinking to adjust her sight to the gloom. Another woman had entered while she’d been praying and now knelt a row or two in front of the pulpit.
Curious, Sherise stared at the pale gleam of golden hair that tumbled unrestrained from the woman’s bent head to her waist. The woman raised her head and turned. Across the rows of benches their eyes met. She smiled and rose to her feet, beckoning Sherise forward.
Sherise fished for her sandals, then skirted the bench and walked down the aisle.
No, not a woman, but a young girl on the cusp of womanhood. And she was beautiful; the perfect image of a mythical being with light-blue eyes and creamy skin. Sherise fiddled with her tunic, aware of her flushed face and untidy hair, feeling awkward as she stopped and towered above the diminutive figure. But the girl smiled again and extended a dainty well-cared for hand with polished pink fingernails.
Quest For Earth Page 22
