by Sky Winters
Then, slowly he rose and rested her against the canvas, and hovered above her, with the moon as his light and the stars making their own showy display of brilliance. Valerie’s chest heaved, and though she was nervous, her body called to him, and for each time he touched her, she trembled. He removed the dress he wore, and in one fluid motion he tossed it aside and stood before her, his bronze skin appearing anything but that in the silvery glow of the moon. She held out her hands for him, and he knelt before her and removed her clothing. When he came down before her again, he found the hard surface of her taut nipples, as goose pimples lined her entire frame. He suckled her breast, and tasted every part of her, crisscrossing her ample frame and not seeming to get enough.
On his return trip, when his mouth came down over her breast, Valerie gripped his head and kept him there as she heaved and panted. It had been a while since she felt a man take control of her body, and she surrendered to this strange creature on a planet she had wandered onto. Her hands groped at him in the dark, and she felt his firm chest, her hands splayed and she dug hard into him. He let out a howl, and then his eyes grew red with passion. His manhood, waving uncontrollably, too eager to taste of this beauty, became too hard for him to control. He held onto it and with unsteady hands, guided it inside her. Her breathing intensified then, in the same measure as his, and she jerked as she felt him fill her up.
She tried to push him off, anxious that her experience with the average man had not physically prepared her for him, but he eased into her, using her natural lubricant to aid him, and then he buried himself deeper. Valerie wrapped her feet around him, now comfortable with his size, and urged him deeper. He was slow to respond at first, but his speed increased with his heartrate, and soon their howls and moans challenged the sounds of the jungle. Valerie dug her nails deeper into his taut buttock cheeks, keeping him inside her until she felt her hot fluid spilling over him. He paused, as if he had never experienced that before, and then he pounded. Her body rocked as he rolled her around on his member, and when he felt his own passion coming to a climax, he bellowed and let ring a sound so loud it awakened the creatures.
Malek gripped her, and under the light of the moon, he filled her with everything she had always needed, but had never gotten. When it was all over, he fell on his back, his body appearing as if painted, and she leaned over on her elbows and watched him. Her shivering drew his attention, and he quickly covered her with the clothing they wore before. Then he pulled her into his arms, and the heat radiating from him caused her to sweat profusely. He didn’t fall asleep afterwards, as she had grown accustomed to. He held her there, and they talked about her world and his, and he played with her hair as she did his now flaccid self.
Not long after, she saw a sly grin on his face, and in the wee hours of the morning, unbeknown to the world around them, they got lost in another round of making jungle music.
CHAPTER 8
Everything was euphoric for Valerie and she comfortably settled into what quickly became life as usual in Masawa. She had all but forgotten that she was in a strange place she wasn’t altogether intimate with as yet, so when she decided to go exploring in the jungle alone, something she had seen others do before, she didn’t anticipate that she would be in any danger. Her smile was as bright as the sun itself, and she walked along the trail, her hands running over the large leaved plants that surrounded her. she listened to the sounds of the animals as they scurried about, getting lost in the natural trance that pervaded the place.
She was so caught up in the moment she did not hear when the jungle grew still, until the threat was immediately upon her. She heard something snap behind her, and when she turned, she fell backwards as something pummeled into her. she scrambled to her feet, just in time to see three women bear down on her, armed and gnarling like rabid animals. She staggered backwards, her arms thrashing about as she tried to hold onto something.
“What is this?” she managed to ask. She had seen them before, sometimes at the river, but they had never exchanged words.
“You come to our home. Take our man. Not right,” one of them screeched. “We make you go back.”
“No,” Valerie said as she started to move back. “Your people wanted me here. Malek wants me here. I didn’t come here to cause any trouble.” She was growing more frightened by the minute, and she tried to delay what she thought to be her inevitable demise. She did not know how to fight, and the women were trained and angry.
“What if Malek find out?” one of them turned to the others and asked. “He punish us.”
“We tell him she run off and get eaten by wild animals. Plenty in the jungle,” the other said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
“You don’t want to do that,” Valerie pleaded. Everything in her mind was a muddle of confusion, and she stared into the faces of the people she had angered. “I didn’t choose to come here, and I didn’t choose to be with him. If there was a way home I’d take it, but there is none. So, I am stuck here.”
“No matter,” the first said, and she walked over to her with the stick poised to enter Valerie’s shivering body. “We don’t want you here.”
“Wait!” Valerie screamed and her hands shot up before her. “Please.” She was crying now, and she was shaking as she imagined what they might do to her. But she wasn’t about to stay there either to find out. As soon as she saw an opening she started running. She heard them tearing through the trees, twigs and brambles in their pursuit of her, and when she felt them closing in on her, she screamed.
Just then Malek emerged from a clump of trees to her right, and she veered in his direction, stumbling into his path as she raced to the safety and protection of his arms.
“What is going on?” he asked when he saw Valerie stumble before him. The women who were hot on her trail halted.
“We play with her,” the outspoken woman said.
“This doesn’t look like play,” Malek said and hopped from the Tsar. He stooped and helped Valerie to her feet.
Valerie was shocked at first, that the women would tell Malek they were playing and not actually trying to kill her. But then she stopped and looked at their faces, and even now they seemed more afraid than she was. She had never seen a villager punished before, but she could only assume it was terrible enough to drive fear into the lot of them.
“Is that true Valerie?” he asked her. She nodded affirmatively, and brushed off her clothes. “Are you sure? I heard you scream.”
“I’m sure. I was just out walking and saw something that scared me. That’s all,” she told him and smiled. Malek did not believe that was all there was to it, but he only had her word to go on.
“Alright. Would you like to ride with me?” he asked her.
She thought about that, and of the possibility that they could continue with their earlier plans if she were to remain; it would be ludicrous not to accept his offer. “Sure,” she told him, and he lifted her onto the animal and then hopped on after her.
In all the time Valerie had been in Masawa, she had never faced as much aggression as she had that day. She wasn’t sure whether or not it would be good for her to tell Malek what happened, so the women could be punished, but how would that help her? How would the others view her after that? Even though she was the victim, she would seem like the aggressor.
She was still contemplating what to do later that day when she saw one of the women approach her. It was the one who had pointed the stake at her, and Valerie tensed and drifted closer to the hut when she saw the woman getting closer.
“No need to be afraid,” she told her when she got to her. she folded her arms and looked around the village at the other people walking around and getting involved. “Why you not tell Malek what we do?”
“I don’t know what he would have done, and you looked terrified, so I didn’t. I get that I don’t belong here, and I’m not trying to take anyone’s place, but I did not ask for this,” Valerie said and brushed away a tear that was rolling down her cheek.
The woman smiled and went over to Valerie. “It ok,” she told her and rested her hand on her shoulder. “You ok.” Then she turned and walked away.
Valerie felt the weight of a thousand anchors lift from her shoulders, and her heart warmed when she saw Malek walking towards her. He got to her and swept her up in his arms, and without warning he kissed her, fiercely and passionately, as he was wont to do on occasion, and then everything else was forgotten.
CHAPTER 9
Malek stood and watched as the women readied Valerie for the ceremony. She was beautiful to him, and the people loved her. He had been waiting for the right woman for the longest while, and for quite some time he thought he never would. He had resigned himself to a long and lonely life, or to relocate to the Yacuza, abandoning his people in the process, in the hopes of finding love. He was still contemplating his options when he stumbled upon this strange creature in the jungle of Tundra. At first he had been alarmed, and frightened of her, until he realized she was more so of him. He had been fascinated by her difference, and over time, her complete beauty. Now as he stood waiting for her to be escorted to him, he felt nothing but pride, and nothing of treason.
“Malek,” he heard someone call from behind.
He turned and smiled when he saw Master Shakh approaching. “Right on time,” he said and hugged his elder.
“Wouldn’t miss union of Earth woman with Xenon man,” he said and grinned. “She make good leader with Malek.”
“I think so too,” Malek said and looked over at Valerie who had just raised her head. She was fully clad in white, and the smile she wore was her only accompanying accessory.
“If she stay,” Master Shakh continued.
Malek creased his brow and turned to the man. “What do you mean ‘if she stay’? We become one today; she already chose to stay.”
“But that was before discovery was made,” Shakh told Malek.
“What discovery?” Malek asked. He felt his heart rate increase suddenly, and it thumped against the wall of his chest, the sound reverberating within him he could feel his temples quake.
“When she first came, woman wanted to return to Earth. She came here not of free will. She chose to stay maybe because she thought no way back. Shakh discover way back in three moons.”
Malek heard what Master Shakh was saying, but he refused to accept it. He looked back at the woman being led to him, and in that moment his fear was greater than his love. “Must we tell her about it?”
“Shame on you Malek. You are noble one. It is the only thing to do,” he said and smiled as Valerie got to them. “Now, let us continue.”
Malek stood next to Valerie, in the moment he should have been enjoying the ceremony, with his mind everywhere but there. He was afraid she would seize the opportunity and leave, but as the wise one had said, it was not his choice to make; there was only one course to take.
“Wait,” he said. He sighed and stared at the ground and then turned to Valerie.
“What is it?” She had been the victim of cold rejection before and she was not prepared for a second dose.
He stroked her face and gave her a half smile. “I’m afraid I must tell you something.” She looked at him expectantly, reminding him of a wild animal trapped in a snare. “Master Shakh just gave me some great news. It seems the gateway to Earth will be re-opened three moons from now.”
Valerie’s eyes popped as she thought about the implications. She could return home, and to a life she had…her thoughts fell flat there. It didn’t take long for the smile that had begun to form to wipe itself into obscurity. She looked at Malek, and saw the sadness in him, but she knew she would not be able to decide right then what the right course was.
“I never thought I’d get the chance to return home,” she whispered and let go of his hand. “At nights I dreamed of it, when I just got here. I…I…”
“It’s alright Valerie,” Malek told her. “I won’t keep you here if you want to return home. It is understandable.”
“I can’t do this right now,” she said, and then she turned and walked away.
The gathering parted as she did, and Malek stood there next to Master Shakh as he watched her walk away. His heart cried out, but there was no way to appease it. He felt Shakh’s hand on his shoulder then.
“Be strong great warrior; the day has just started, and it is long. Many things happen before sun sets,” he told him, and then he walked off with the rest of the village with him.
Malek heard what the old man said, but he found it hard to believe in it now. He wanted to get angry at himself, for falling in love with a dream. Of course she would want to return home; he would if he ever wandered onto a strange planet with strange people. So he would never deny her the chance of returning. With his head held down, he trudged to his tent, his heart a hundred degrees below the point it had been only a few minutes ago.
When he got there she was waiting for him, and she came forward to meet him. “I don’t know what to do,” she cried.
He held her, squeezing her to him, and he felt her tremble against him. “Don’t worry. We will figure it out together,” he told her. He felt the emotion well up inside him in the same way he suspected it was consuming her, and not knowing what else to do, he held her head back and kissed her, so that everything else would be still.
CHAPTER 10
Valerie and Malek spent the next few weeks acting as if the moons would not pass, and that their future was not hanging by a thread. They lived as they had before, with Valerie not making a decision in either direction. Until the day before the gateway would reappear.
She woke up in a sweat on that morning, and sprang from the bed. “Ssh,” Malek whispered and pulled her back. “Let’s not do this today. We knew this would happen. Let’s just get through this last day.”
Valerie’s chest heaved as she allowed him to calm her, and then she sank back into his arms. He enveloped her, and then his lips found the smooth skin at the base of her throat. Her heartrate instantly quickened, and she closed her eyes as she anticipated what was to come next. He slowly and methodically removed her clothing, and when she was bare, his tongue went to work making art along her body. He circled her breasts with his tongue, and groped her sides as his needs increased with the size of his manhood. He felt her hand on him now, squeezing him, and he suckled harder as he felt himself grow with her touch.
He kissed her sides, her navel, her inner thighs, and ran his tongue over that pink wet spot beckoning to him for more. He felt her tremble, and as the fire raged within him, he guided himself into her. She winced at first, and her head fell back when she gripped the bedding and curled her toes. He slowed until her tension abated, and her insides hugged him, commanding him to give her more as she grew hotter and wetter. Then he sank into her over and over again, matching her rhythm with his, and Valerie moaned long and hard, not wanting the moment to end.
Malek raged on, and he gripped her thighs as he plunged into her faster, harder and deeper. She panted, and when he rolled her onto her side and entered her again, it was too much. She cried out and dug her nails into him, and the pain she inflicted got intertwined with his euphoria, and he felt himself tingle as he neared his climax. He pressed down into her firm skin with his palms as he released everything into her. She held onto him, keeping him inside her, even when it was over.
And then they lay there, for hours, not saying anything, until sleep stole the uncomfortable silence between them. When Malek opened his eyes again, it was after midnight. The gateway would open when the sun was highest in the sky and the moon covered it. The time was close and he still wasn’t prepared to let her go.
At dawn, she rose, her eyes melancholy, and filled with as much confusion as her heart. Malek wasn’t there, but by the time she got dressed, he parted the slit in the canvas and stepped inside. “It is time.”
He held her hand and led her to Master Shakh. “We go now,” he told her. “We not have much time.”
They got to the sp
ot where they had first found her, and Malek led her to the entrance of the portal. “This is it,” he said and stood back.
Valerie stood there, the shimmer actually visible now that she was looking. She reached out and touched the spot, and then her hand fell to her stomach. “And if I go back, how long before this opens again?” she asked.
“Not sure,” Master Shakh answered. “May not be for another hundred years. Not every time moon meets sun it opens.”
“A hundred years,” she said softly and then walked back to Malek. “That’s a long time to be without the father of my child.”
Malek made a start, and then he made two steps to her with his long stride. “Your what?” he asked.
“That’s right,” she told him and held his hand and placed it on her stomach. “We are going to have a baby.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, and the smile trickled slowly onto his face.
“Not before yesterday, but it’s true. We are going to have an Earth-Xenon baby,” she said and laughed. Malek howled and hoisted her in the air.
“So, does that mean you will stay?” he asked, when her face was level with his.
“I loved my home, but for the last couple of years, I felt like I was somewhere I didn’t want to be. I tried to run from it, by going to Mexico, and if I hadn’t done that, then I wouldn’t have found you. So yes, I will stay with you. I just wanted to come here to get some closure or peace, or whatever. I needed to so that I would be really sure I wanted to stay. And, my sweet Malek, I do.”
