by Pearl Tate
We enter a large living space where Tara squeezes my hand and looks at me questioningly as my senses are overwhelmed. Streams of light come in from the windows onto the topside world. For the first time, I’m seeing the above ground world in person.
CHAPTER TWELVE
- Nitara
Mihile carries me the entire time we traipse through the tunnels. Despite the lights that many of the men are carrying or have strapped to their bodies in some fashion, I’m relieved. Especially at the beginning when we first leave his home.
The tunnel is dark and narrow, so unless you have someone right next to you with a light, all you get is some flickering and residual shadows around all the men’s big bodies. It also gives me plenty of time to think about our kiss and get even more aroused as he rubs me gently against him with each step. I know it’s not supposed to be sexual, and I keep telling myself that! But there’s no way to deny that my libido is now in high gear.
Except for the brief feeling of his hardening cock when I was sitting on his lap in his room, I don’t know whether he feels the same way. If he does, he’s definitely hiding it well physically. After all, some of the sexual tension I’m feeling could be from him, too. All I can think about is how I don’t want to have a wet spot on myself when we stop.
When Mihile begins speaking to Selas, I’m thankful that he’s taking the time to talk in English. It isn’t perfect and his accent is worse than mine, but he’s miles ahead of me since I don’t know any Quasarian except for the basics the girls taught me on the trip here.
Hello. Good-bye. Thanks. That kind of thing. They said it was a waste of time to learn anything else, since I’d get the nanos into my bloodstream from exchanging bodily fluids with my mate, and then I’d “know” Quasarian within a day or so. The nano technology integrates it into your brain somehow.
As I wiggle, Mihile lets me lower myself down, and I turn to see Karen and Susan waiting to talk to me off to the left, only a few steps away. “Hey!” Karen waves to her side, and I sidle over, wondering why she’s being so weird.
“Yes?” When I question her, her gaze flickers to Susan who rolls her eyes impatiently.
“You weren’t gone very long,” Susan begins innocently enough. “When you went to his room. Did you…?”
Shaking my head quickly, my eyes flicker over to Mihile, confirming he’s still speaking with the other men. It’d be embarrassing to have him overhear us talking about him and sex. Why do they want to know anyways? Nosy or what?
“Well, I’m not sure how much you know about the mating, but based on how everyone else’s has gone…” Susan’s voice drift off as I look at her blankly. What’s she talking about?
Karen leans forward on her staff, dropping her lips to my ear. “Every male has gone through a transition once the mating is completed. Like for you, you’ll be able to get the nanos and heal your genetic disease? Well, he’ll go through his own transition. Getting bigger and stronger and with him… who knows what else?”
I nod to acknowledge I do understand as my eyes flicker up to look at Susan who’s trying to look casual next to us. “We’re just saying… if you get the opportunity… you know?”
I try not to panic at the idea of having sex. I mean, technically, I’m probably not a virgin any longer. Kind of. Honestly, I don’t know the full extent of the violation on the bus. I don’t remember anything but pain, and I’ve had plenty of time over the last couple weeks to come to terms with what happened there.
And they’re right. Mihile has already shown that he has some kind of strange capability, controlling energy. He’s alluded to seeing it and harnessing it. Plus, being able to travel out of body and “see” everyone’s energy.
Not to mention I like him. Like really like him. It won’t be a hardship at all.
My eyes shift over to where he’s still talking, and I think about his incredible body and how he looked in the pool at his place. All slick and inviting with the colorful mating marks flickering like some kind of incredible tattoos over his chest. I’d never have thought I’d be attracted to someone with such… pale skin. He’s the complete opposite of what I know my parents would have chosen for me.
Not to mention he’s an alien, but still. He’s unique, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s mine. Even now, I can feel myself drawn to him. Wanting him.
Squeezing my legs together, I feel the moisture that’s gathered between my folds. Damn. Is this normal?
“When you…” April walks up behind Susan as I begin talking without thinking. I don’t even know these women that well.
“What? When you, what?” Susan glances at April, leaning forward slightly to ask, “Do you want to talk alone?”
Letting an exasperated laugh escape, I roll my eyes. There are probably close to thirty of us here, and this isn’t a big space. The tunnels here are a little wider, but still.
“Did I interrupt something?” April turns to look over at her mate, Chevepak, who’s talking with Selas and Mihile now.
“No,” I hurry to assure her. April’s been the closest and nicest person to me here so far. We aren’t the best of friends or anything, but that’s all on me. And maybe it’s cultural.
The American women tend to be louder and much more open about their personal lives. I envy their easy conversation and teasing about sex. “I just was going to ask if it’s normal to feel so… drawn to one another?”
“She means horny,” April turns to the other women with a smirk as I grab her arm, squeezing and shushing her. My face burns with embarrassment, even though she’s right.
Susan moves next to me, placing her back to the men as she drops her lips to my ear. “Yes. Totally normal and perfectly alright. No one really says too much about it, but part of the mating is the pull. The undeniable attraction that makes you horny as fucking hell. Okay?”
Susan pulls back to look me in the eyes, raising her eyebrows and waiting for my confirmation. I let out a sigh of relief, nodding slowly, happy to know I’m normal. Glancing over my shoulder quickly, I look back at April who’s smiling with a full grin, white teeth flashing. “Did you just think I was the loosest, horniest broad you’ve ever met when Chevepak and I had sex back at the Proscribe Movement Headquarters earlier?”
I don’t answer as my mouth drops open slightly. Honestly, I wasn’t even positive that’s what occurred. I guess that confirms that.
“Perfectly normal.” Karen leans in to add her two cents. “Inconvenient usually, but don’t think you’re unusual or anything. I don’t really know if there is a convenient time right now with so much going on.”
“Yeah. If I had my way, I would have liked to wait… get to know one another… date…” A look of horror and disgust crosses April’s face across from us as Susan shares how she feels. If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess she had a sexual assault in her background.
But April’s face has me giggling as she interjects. “This is a done deal. Dating is a waste of time anyway. You only see the polite, fake side of a person while you date, so you might as well find out right off the hop if you’re compatible in bed—”
“Are you ready?” April’s eyes shift to Matthias behind us, and Susan turns around with a smile. I don’t even see Karen take off on my other side, but April moves closer as they both leave to join their mates. Other bodies shuffle around us as we watch Chevepak and Mihile turn from where they’re talking to Selas and heading our way.
Leaning in, April’s voice is teasing despite the advice she’s sharing. “Just go with your instincts, Tara. You’ve always seemed very intuitive, and from what I’ve seen over the last two weeks on the Discovery, everyone’s mate is perfect for them. You’ve been paired up with a lighter version of Alexander Skaarsgard. That’s one fine motherfucker.”
She makes an obscene noise in her throat that lets me know she’s not blind and can see all the beauty I do in his form. A streak of jealousy shoots through me, and at the same time, Mihile gives me a quizzical look as he gets close
r. I can’t help but wonder what he sees in my energy when I feel like that? Can he sense that a part of me just wanted to rip out April’s eyes even though her mate is standing right next to mine?
“Just let your natural instincts take over. Go with the flow, and try not to be so controlled.” Skipping forward, she throws herself at Chevepak, jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist shamelessly, kissing him with the same amount of passion that she shows about everything.
Okay. Right. Watching them tangle tongues sends me right back to thinking about my earlier kiss with Mihile, and I look up at him. I notice he’s watching them with interest.
Well… now he’s seen kissing too.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- Mihile
For the first time, I’m looking at the above ground city with my actual eyes. Even though I’ve had visions of this place, they don’t compare to the awesome splendor of actually seeing it. Of course, the largest and most dominating feature in the city is the Sanctuary, and the Ambassador Building is not very far behind it. But hundreds of other dwellings rise up off the road system.
Unfortunately, it’s also very easy to see the pollution that has contaminated not only the air, but also the buildings. The sky is gray and dim from the impurities, creating a set of rings around the setting sun. I stare amazed out the window of the room Tara and I have been ushered into. The door shuts quietly behind me as Tara comes back with clean clothing and towels.
Moments later, I feel the undeniable pull of her in my vicinity right before her arms wrap around me gently as she peeks around my body, hugging me from the side. “It’s incredible, isn’t it?”
Glancing down at her, I watch a myriad of shades shoot through her aura, swirling in a rapidly changing rainbow of colors. “You’re incredible.” Looking back out the glass down on the city, still unlit from my control over the power exchange, I think about how sad it is. “This city… Quasar itself… it’s dying. Just like our previous planet did thousands of years ago. We repeated the mistakes of our past.”
Sliding in front of me, she rests her chin against me as she gazes up at me with a small smile. “Very similar to Earth. Probably an identical story to many civilizations. Man… I mean nature…” Tara laughs self-deprecatingly as she corrects herself again. “Well, I guess that’s a story that crosses species boundaries, huh?”
Unable to resist taking her in my arms any longer, I grasp her hips and butt, sliding her up my body as she clings to me so sweetly. Our lips meet with a shock of recognition as she wraps her legs around me like April did to Chevepak earlier in the tunnels. Watching the two of them almost begin the sexual act in front of us earlier made me realize that everyone else is taking advantage of what we have.
We have found one another and we have this moment… right now. We need to seize the happiness afforded us and enjoy every blessing as it happens. Tara… she’s my blessing. The most incredible gift I didn’t even realize I was missing.
Opening to her, I plunge my tongue inside her mouth. She’s sweet and giving as our bodies greet each other in a way I never dreamed possible. I can feel every swirl and delicate lap all the way to my balls. An incredible aching has begun as I imagine my cock sliding inside her at the same time.
Tara’s hands grasp large chunks of my hair as she pulls herself closer, rubbing against me in a way that makes all her curves press against me. More than anything, I want to experience being with her, studying her. I know we don’t have a lot of time, but I’m encouraged by her enthusiasm as I walk over to the sleeping platform set up in this room.
Dropping my knees onto its surface, I slowly lower to my side, never breaking our connection, devouring her mouth as if I need it to breathe. At this moment, I’m sure I do. She’s everything to me. My light, my connection to this reality… the very fabric of all I need and want…
As our heads touch the pillows, she pulls our faces apart, pressing her hand against my neck while she catches her breath. Panting slightly, she smiles and I automatically return the expression. Lights flicker in her deep eyes as we study each other silently for a moment.
“I have something to tell you before…” Worried, I brace myself for bad news. I can sense conflict in our bond as she runs her fingers up my neck before pulling them back to smile at the hair follicles that cling to her like static. “My name isn’t Tara… not entirely anyways. It’s Nitara Agarwal.”
When she doesn’t say anything else, I raise my eyebrows. “You have a beautiful name, Nitara. But is that it?” I can still sense her indecision, as if there’s more but she’s conflicted on how much to share. Or unsure of how to proceed.
Pressing her lips together, she smiles tightly, nodding. “Pretty much. I mean… I definitely want to… you know… be intimate with you. Right before I left Earth, I was assaulted on the bus… sexually. It may not mean as much to you, since being a virgin doesn’t seem to be a priority in this culture—”
“Doesn’t mean as much to me? You were violated! That means everything to me.” The lights in the small room begin to flicker, and I realize I’m losing control of myself.
Tara’s eyes widen, and a spike of fear shoots through our bond. I can hear scrambling outside the door and a rumble in the distance before I take a deep, steadying breath. One… two…
“Are you okay? Holy shit, you scared me.” Her voice is a whisper as she moves her head closer to mine on the pillow. As I nod, she continues, “I’m fine, too. Honestly, I don’t remember much of it. I was clobbered in the head so many times that I blacked out—”
My throat is closing as I try to inhale, and I wheeze out, “Stop! Nitara… please.”
Crushing her to my chest, I think about all the times I was so sure I’d lose her. At that time, I wasn’t even sensing her… it was before. But now I know about the capture on the Marel spacecraft. That was the first time I really lost it, feeling her fear. Knowing she was petrified. It’s what started my captivity, exposing the charade my mother’s been perpetuating my entire life.
“I’m sorry!” Her tiny hands pat my cheeks as she looks at me in horror. “I’m sorry. I just can’t seem to say the right things right now. And your eyes… when you start to lose it like that, they swirl with the same colors as your mating marks. It’s incredible.”
Whispering, she leans back to study my face as I clutch her hands in mine against my chest. “Are you frightened of me?” I gasp out between deep inhalations, still steadying my focus. The noise outside our door has settled as I bring my attention into a more targeted distribution. We decided when we arrived that my control over the energy use throughout the planet was one of our greatest advantages, causing chaos and lack of planning on our enemies part.
Sliding closer, Nitara stares into my eyes as she answers, “Not at all.” She’s still whispering as she leans forward, our breath mingling between us before she captures my lips in a chaste kiss. “I’m so thankful for you. You’ve no idea what it was like growing up in New Delhi. The harassment… well, suffice it to say that you’re the complete opposite. I know I can trust you to take care of me and never treat me—or any other woman for that matter—the way I’ve been treated for my entire life. I don’t understand how the boys and men aren’t taught better, but the complete lack of respect for women—even their mothers and sisters—must be what perpetuates the cycle which so often escalates to violence. I can’t express to you how… safe you make me feel.”
Smiling tightly, Nitara moves until our lips are just slightly brushing, and I pull her into my arms to devour her lips. The now familiar zing of pleasure bounces between us, growing as our lips stay locked, but she struggles in my arms, putting distance between our bodies.
Breaking away from me, she leans back slightly. “I want to see you again.” Her fingers are already parting the material on my robe, so I lift to pull my arms out before reaching down to grasp my underwear, pulling the robe from beneath me as I lift to remove them, tossing both articles to the floor as if they’re off
ensive.
Giggling, Tara’s eyes stay locked to mine as I drop back onto the bed next to her, waiting to see what she’ll do. Her laugh dies slowly as her eyes drop to my chest. Reaching out, her fingers flutter above my chest before I grasp her hand and flatten it to my skin, inhaling deeply as her arousing scent fills the air.
I’m dying to see her naked too, but I won’t rush her. This monumental moment between us shouldn’t be rushed. Lifting my hand from hers, she starts to trace the fine lines of my mating marks, sending out sparks of color between us that look like bolts of lightning with sparks of flaming bursts that fade out about an arm’s length away.
As her hand travels down my torso, I hold my breath, rubbing her hip lightly. I’ve given up all pretenses of trying to control my hair. Even the hair follicles around my throbbing dick stand at attention, pointing toward her in anticipation as they vibrate madly.
“Your skin is beautiful. So white and perfect.” Her hand slips further down, so close to my cock that I hold my breath in anticipation of her touch. I concentrate on her face, watching as her eyes widen as she looks at me. “Does this hurt?”
Her fingers skim over my skin, and I’m confused with what she’s referring to until I notice her hand hovering slightly over my throbbing cock. “No,” I respond as I capture her hovering hand and slowly move it until she’s resting her palm against me. “Of course, this feels even nicer.”
Her eyes shoot to mine, returning my smile slowly. “I bet it does.” Running her fingers lightly over the skin, I jerk under just that small touch as wicked shards of pleasure radiate out from where she’s stroking me. It feels nothing like any other time I’ve been touched. Not only is this the first time my cock’s become engorged so fully, but it’s also the first time any other person has touched me there.
Biting her lip, Nitara looks up at me again before whispering, “Would you like me to show you mine now?” She giggles slightly, a teasing tone creeping into her voice as she removes her hand, bringing them both up to unfasten her own clothing.
