by Bailey Dark
She kissed my forehead again and whispered, “I feel you…”
Electricity spiked through her lips, into my forehead, shivered through my face, tendrils of pinpricking energy spun down my head into my spine, all the way down, like capillaries filled with fire, spread from her telepathic whisper into my mind.
“I feel you, too…” I whispered back as I pulled up to look at her, lowering my hands from her back, to hold her ass in my hands, the turquoise fabric of the dress soft and simple in my hands. I squeezed and she squealed the cutest little purr and dove in to kiss me full on the mouth, pushing me back to the ground.
The kiss was deep and long, ravenous, our tongues battling for control, flicking and licking at each other, and when we came up for air, it was like surfacing from a deep dive in our planet's ocean. I stared at her in awe as she backed off me. Then she stood, and I reached up for her, afraid she was going to leave, afraid she was going to run away, again, as she seemed to do. But, instead, I watched, with incredible delight, as she slipped out of her panties, then knelt down to undo the buckle on my pants.
Ceritha shoved my shirt up my stomach a bit, so she could kiss, lick, and nibble at my stomach and hips as she slowly slid my pants down my legs, revealing my hard, hard dick. She gasped as she saw it. She looked back at me as she took it in her hands, stroking it gently, teasing the tip with one hand as she stroked it with the other. I moaned out supreme delight and lay my head back down, not even able to keep my eyes open, ripples of that same electricity going from her hands through my body.
She gently took the head of my dick into her mouth and sucked hard on it, flicking her tongue at the very tip and my entire body seized with pleasure. She kept one hand running up and down the shaft, the other cupping my balls.
“I told you I was skilled in hand-to-hand combat…” Her voice was smug in my head.
I laughed and was stunned at how giddy the laugh sounded but then I reached for her as she sucked my dick in and deep throated me, but I pulled her off and up into a hug, heaving her back onto me so that she straddled me. She posed there a moment, eyes wide, and I nodded.
“I want to be inside you…”
“I want to feel you fill me up…”
“Please, Ceritha… Let me enter you…”
Her hesitancy was clear and shook me from my delirious, desirous daze.
“I’ve never done that…” she finally said. Her fingers were shaking against my skin. Her eyes were misting a bit and I wondered if she was going to cry.
I stopped and grabbed her, moving her off me. “It’s okay. We don’t have to do this, yet.” I smiled at her and brushed her hair back around her face. “You’re so beautiful, Ceritha.”
She blushed and pulled her dress down around her as she knelt next to me. “I’m sorry… I’ve always avoided doing that…” she gestured at us, “by being good at that…” she gestured from her hands to her mouth to my still very hard dick.
I nodded. “I can understand that. It’s okay. We can wait. We have our lifetime together, and I want you to be ready.”
Ceritha smiled and shook her head, looking up and away, clearly shaking away tears. Then she leaned in and kissed me. The kiss was that same, full, passionate pressure and lights burst in my brain, it was as if I could see prisms on my eyelids, I felt her full emotions pressure through telepathically, her gratitude, her wonder at how I could know her reluctance, and honor her desire. I also could read something else… I was gaining ground… She was starting to fall for me… She was falling for me because of my compassion.
That thought, so resoundingly clear in her mind as she kissed me, startled me. I was known as a leader who had significant heart, it was true. They chided me for it, sometimes. And I was proud to use compassion and passion. But the fact that that was what attracted her to me the most, was surprising. Not my strength, or discipline, or nobility? But, my compassion?
Well, I certainly loved her intelligence, her brain… Even though her body and face were also incredibly, bone-rattling gorgeous…
I tangled my hands in her hair and whispered back some of the thoughts to her, too, letting us meld and share telepathically. I was stunned by this connection… How was this possible? I let her feel my own gratitude and my own desire for her, beyond just her body, but also for her brain… Letting her know I wasn't just using her as an alliance bride, I wanted to honor her as the brilliant woman she was.
“I am falling for you, too…”
Ceritha pulled back from, blushing furiously, pulling at her dress, and she punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Some sparring match this turned out to be."
“Oh, I won,” I said.
“Ha! You think so?”
“Definitely.” I pulled my pants up as if that declared the championship. She adjusted her panties.
“How do you figure? I was the one that was on top.” Her lips came together in a cute little I told you so pout and I couldn’t argue with it, so I grabbed her and kissed her so hard I thought the lights in the lab would burst.
A knock interrupted us and we jumped apart as if there were an explosion nearby. I wondered why we both reacted that way. It was perfectly acceptable for us to be making out. We were pledged to be together…
“Enter,” I said, when I received the nod from Ceritha, standing and busying herself at the chemistry table, trying to soothe out her sex hair.
“Prince Axis, Commander Cartari is looking for you. He is in the command room. There are reports of pirate sails off the shore.” The sailor stood at attention, in full salute. There was a trace of fear in his eyes. I looked at Ceritha and she looked back at me with sad eyes.
“Thank you, sailor, I will head there at once. Please, will you find Bravos Ilisa and Laro and tell them to meet me in the command room with the Commander. Dismissed.” The sailor saluted and disappeared.
“I need to assign you a guard right away. Please stay in the lab until they arrive and then trust them and obey their orders. It sounds like the attack is coming sooner than we expected.” Tell her… I told myself. Tell her that Gorgin is looking for her specifically… I don’t want to scare her… Don’t be an idiot… She is strong.
She flashed her eyes my way and threw her hands down at her sides. “I understand. Go do your Princely stuff. I will obey your guards.”
I looked at her doubtfully. There was a significant shift in her mood. She was placing items around on the table, moving them from one place back to their original spot with swift, angry movements. She seemed to be fighting an inward battle. What had I done wrong? Hadn’t we just had a wonderful time?
“I’m sorry, Ceritha…”
“It’s fine, Commander. I’ll be fine. Go.”
Why was she calling me Commander, again? Hadn’t we broken through to being Axis and Ceritha with each other? “I think I should wait here with you until the guard arrives.”
“I would like to go get some air. Would that be all right?” Her lips were set in an angry line.
"Yes, that's fine. We can go out to the gazebo for a moment. Just five minutes, though, okay? Then you must come back and stay in the lab."
She flurried her hand in my face as she stalked to the door. “Fine.”
As we exited the lab, I tried to touch her arm but she shrugged out of my reach and then I had to lengthen my stride to keep up with her speedy footsteps.
“Ceritha, what is wrong? What changed—?” I tried to grab her arm but she shrugged away again and kept walking down the hall toward the door that led toward the dock that held the gazebo.
“Prince Axis!” Another sailor came running down the hall. I stopped.
“Princess, please, hold up a moment.” She paused and waited, shifting from side to side and clenching her fists. I turned to the sailor.
“Prince, there is word that Gorgin himself is here. His ship is one of those just outside our harbor. Commander Cartari is anxiously awaiting your decision. Our closest cannons are aimed toward them and we need to know to attack�
��” The door to the outside slammed and I looked over quickly. Ceritha was gone. I groaned. Hopefully she wouldn’t be far ahead of me.
“Tell them I will be there right away. Also, please tell Bravo Ilisa to meet me at the gazebo immediately.”
“Wait, Prince, there’s more to my message.”
I turned back to the sailor, already two steps toward the door. Damnit… Hopefully she wouldn’t go anywhere other than the gazebo, but I had a bad feeling about this… That girl… She was trouble in more ways than one…
Twelve
Ceritha
I tore out of the hall and turned sharply around the corner, leading away from the dock that held the gazebo and toward the little short dock where my StarChaser was tied. I didn’t just need some fresh air; I needed to fly in that fresh air.
What in the world am I doing? Letting myself have feelings, letting myself be touched by, nearly give myself to, a man that I hardly know? What the hell am I thinking?
But, what in the world is that intense electricity between us… What is that flow between us? That has to mean something, right?
That’s just because he has never let his guard down enough to connect with someone before. He is pouring too much emotion into me. It’s overwhelming us.
This is stupid. This is all just so stupid.
I yelled and berated myself as I ran, my turquoise dress whipping at my ankles as I ran to the docks. I quickly found my little sailboat where she was tied up, white paint and wooden accents gleaming in the after-midnight moonlight. Yes, I had said I would stay with my guard that Axis was going to assign, and yes, he said we were under attack, but I couldn’t see or hear any cannons firing, and I wouldn’t go far. No pirates would care about some little sailboat in the water just floating around the bay.
I loosened the painter and pushed off from the dock, quickly unfurling the sail and finding the wind. It rushed into the sail, luffing it up, luffing my hair back with it, and I steered the rudder into the stream to lead us upwind, hardening the lines, and setting a swift pace to leave the docks behind.
I let loose a delicious sigh of relief. There was no sign of Axis running behind me on the shore. He hadn’t tried to call out to me telepathically yet, either, which I was fully expecting. He would probably be furious.
I shook back my shoulders. I didn’t care. I wouldn’t take the sailboat out for long. I just needed… I just needed to be free…
I imagined his hands on my body, his lips on mine, his hands in my hair… The starlight painted the memory of his touch on my skin and I couldn’t help but smile. Something felt so right about his touch… His hands were so sure and strong…
What am I really running from?
This boat was sure and strong, too. She was a beauty. A gift from my Commander. Maybe he really did care for me… He surely seemed to be trying… And his compassion for the animals was heartwarming. He was giving his all and he was capturing my heart—
A shuffling at the bow of the boat caught my attention. Had an animal found a little nesting place in the canvas tarp?
The shadow’s movement grew into the shape of a burly, stout man, a silhouette in the darkness, stepping toward me into the moonlight’s beam, hands out wide to keep his balance. His visage appeared. My heartbeat quickened and I looked around quickly for any weapon. He had beady eyes, a pointed black beard, stocking cap on his head, the tattoo of a raven fleeing up the side of his face. A pirate!
“Hello, Princess…” He snarled, then lunged for me.
I swung the boom around into his face, nearly capsizing the boat, but it caught and hove-to with a sharp uptick, wake rushing in the turned side of the shallow boat, drenching our feet, and I scrambled to the other side. I gathered my telekinetic power, heart in my throat, standing on the side of the boat, ready to leap off and into a teleport, but just a moment before I had enough power gathered, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back inside, slamming me to the boat's wet floor. I hit my head on the other railing and lights split my vision. I rolled aside as he tried to slam his fist down into my head again, but instead, his fist splintered the seat. I jerked his hand that held my wrist hard as I rolled, so that he plummeted downward, thumping his head into the railing this time. I won’t go without a fight!
He hadn’t released my wrist, but I managed to twist his arm around to the other side of the mast, strung it out backwards as he tried to gain his feet back. I leveraged his arm, then I rammed my foot down hard on it right at the elbow joint.
He roared as it snapped and he released my wrist. I jumped toward the bow, across the listless boom, gathering the teleport power again, but he was there before me, his one arm hanging limp, his other fist coming at me before I could dodge it, and then it slammed into the side of my head and I could hardly register that I was falling before everything went dark.
Thirteen
Axis
I could tell as soon as I stepped out the door that there was no one at the gazebo. I cursed and looked around wildly. Where the hell did she go? My best bet was to go to the gazebo and wait for Bravo Ilisa to meet me and send her looking for Ceritha. And tell others to hunt for her as well. A whole search party would need sent out for the Princess.
“I don’t have time for this!” I yelled to no one in particular, brandishing my fists in the air and tearing at my hair. Where could she have gone? Perhaps back to her room? Down to the docks? To her sailboat? There’s no way she would risk taking out her sailboat when there are pirates about, right? Well, there’s no way she could have risked it if I had told her they are seeking her out in particular…
I sprinted to the edge of the dock and looked down, trying to see if I could tell if the StarChaser was missing. There were just too many small sailboats. I couldn’t remember exactly which slip hers was tied up in. Damnit… I would need to go closer.
I didn't want to make an open telepathic call to her, just yet. That would be open for anyone to hear. Anyone that was listening to a telepathic call would be able to hear that the Princess had gone missing. Not only would that be incredibly embarrassing for the throne, that would have us lose any strategic advantage over Gorgin and his thugs seeking her out if they didn't have her already…
Ilisa burst through the doors as I passed by and I signaled for her to follow me.
“You’re going to be assigned to guard Princess Ceritha during the pirate onslaught. She says she is skilled in hand-to-hand and telekinetic combat. Serpul has never been under siege. I do not know her skill level.” I managed to slip in a thought of her other hand-to-mouth skill, making my pants swell uncomfortably as we ran, then redirected my focus. “She is not thrilled with the order of being guarded and has disappeared. I do not, at this time, know where she is. I believe she took out her sailboat, the StarChaser. I don’t remember the exact slip. I think it was next to the MoonBeam and DolgonDancer. We need to go see if it is still there.”
“Yes, Commander.” Ilisa was all business, no questions, taking orders. A good soldier, one of my best. I had trained her myself, most of her junior training. She was in one of the Bristola Spec Ops Units, a skilled marksman and pilot, and one of the sharpest strategic minds we had. She blended in well anywhere, with a fairly bland, moon-shaped face, pale blonde hair, a slim, unremarkable, but athletic build, and piercing, pale brown eyes. I trusted her with my life. I trusted her with Ceritha’s.
“Bravo Laro will be watching her, as well, but she will not know about him. You two can communicate telepathically to keep tabs on her. He has not yet been informed of his task.”
“Confirmed.”
“Let’s split up and see if there’s an empty slip between those two boats.”
Ilisa raced off further down the docks as I turned up one of the slip lines.
I jogged up and back. No dice. Next line. Ilisa and I combed through them. Finally, she waved me down and I sprinted to reach her. We stared at an empty cleat between those two boats. This had to be where the StarChaser had been.
Damnit
! Why had she taken it out? While we were under attack! Against my direct order! Did she think so little of me?
“Axis, where the hell are you?” Cartari was contacting me directly now.
“I’ll be right there. Ceritha is… missing. I think she took out her sailboat. I’m afraid Gorgin will be looking for her.”
“Send an open telepathic call for her.”
“Then everyone will know she is missing.”
“Better a hit to your pride than a lost bride.”
“Thanks, brother.” He was right, of course. And, even if the pirates didn’t have her yet and they were alerted to her being out and about, maybe her answering me would at least tell her to talk to me exclusively and I could tell her how important it was for her to get back, get back quickly, and get back carefully.
“Ceritha…” I called, opening myself telepathically. “Ceritha, answer me, please.”
I sought for a mental connection to her mind, the sensation of connection I had felt to her since we had started touching just days before… but it was profoundly blank. Almost fuzzy. Like it was turned off.
“Ceritha…” I tried again. “Ceritha, answer me, please.”
Ilisa looked at me and shrugged. “Maybe she has been captured and drugged.”
I clenched my fist and she took an involuntary step backward. I hadn’t intended to look like I would hit her. That wasn’t what my clenched fist meant: it meant I would kill anyone who would hurt my Princess.
And Ilisa was right; Ceritha might very well have been captured.
“Axis, you have to get to the Command room. Their ships have started to move. They were just sitting outside the harbor, but something has changed and they are moving into an attack formation. We need you now. I’m sorry, but you have to worry about Ceritha later. Or assign others to worry about her.” Cartari was right again.
