Baffle (6 page)

“Nice. What am I supposed to do now, by the way? I am guessing that you don’t want me taking off and whirling through the universe in one of those aforementioned shuttles.”

Geor froze in place. “I had not thought that far ahead. Would you consider taking some time away to learn about the people of Crixox before settling on a new job?”

She shrugged. “I suppose so. Aliaha was willing to take me out to visit her family.”

“It is a good start, but remember that you have to be with no less than three guards at all times.”

“I don’t think that I am still in danger. Kema seems willing to fix anything that goes wrong with me as it comes up.” Sinder was prodding at him just to see his reaction.

Crixox took over. “You are pushing buttons, to use your vernacular. He is seething. Was that your intent?”

She winced. “Not really. I am just not used to being confined or having to answer to anyone. When did you learn Terran phrasing?”

He chuckled, his eyes bright. “You are not the first Terran Avatar, nor will you be the last if the planets have any say in the matter. Your minds have so much space for us that it makes sharing the body very easy for both parties.”

Kema was humming happily in the background, proving Crixox’s point.

Sinder sighed. “Tell Geor that I was not trying to rile him up.”

The blue eyes faded and red surged back to the fore. Geor dragged in a controlled breath. “I accept that you didn’t know I am sensitive to thoughts of my female going elsewhere.”

She held her breath at the irritation that flared through her at his assertion that she was his. She blasted air out through her nose in a snort and felt her ears go back. “You may want to watch the possessive pronouns, or I might just baffle you again.”

They were still walking slowly through the paved pathways of the city. Their confrontation had occurred on the move.

“Baffle?”

“Strike you with confusion. I am still able to do that even though Kema is living in my body. In fact, I have more control and power now than I did before.”

He nodded with a jerk. “Neutral topic. What does your name mean?”

She snickered. “Not that neutral. My mother was a fan of fairy tales, and she named me after her favourite character with a change to the spelling, so it would not be that obvious.”

“Fairy tale?”

“A story of supernatural beings who assist humble humans to find true love or rescue themselves from adversity. They are usually told to children.” She smiled. “Do you have stories like that?”

He cocked his head, the horns gleaming in the light of the rising moons. “I vaguely recall tales of that sort, but I have never been one to believe in true love.”

Sinder felt part of her fade and turn grey at that phrase. “Ah. Reality has taught you differently?”

“The women who swayed through my doors and lifted their skirts were enough to confirm that they are just as opportunistic as the males.” His features were grim. “It is our way.”

She looked around her at the people, some of who stopped to watch their slow procession. They looked happy enough, some in couples, some trios and others quads. “If it works for them, why complain?”

“Would you turn to another male if you got bored?” There was a silent desperation in his posture.

She sighed and stopped, turning to take his hands in hers. “My people generally take one mate and keep them until it becomes inconvenient. Many pair bond for their lives but others separate and seek what they thought was missing. I left my world, because I wasn’t interested in seeking either a permanent or temporary link to someone who may change their mind.

“Fear of rejection in one form or another has plagued me all my life. Now, instead of being not enough, I fear I am too much for most males. Where does that leave me?” She raised her gaze to his and left the question hanging in the air.

Chapter Nine

Geor lifted her hands to his lips and heated first one inner wrist and then the other with his breath. “I think that we should continue this discussion in a more private setting.”

Her body was tingling at the light caress of her skin. She licked her lips. “I am a big fan of discussing things.”

He smiled, curled one of her hands around his arm and changed their direction back toward the temple at a much faster pace than they had used coming out.

Kema’s singing took on a sensual turn, and it made Sinder ask,
What are you doing in there?

I have never had sex with a being like me. Planets usually just touch minds and leave it at that. This is a first time for me, so I am trying to keep your mood up.

As Kema finished her thought, she sent a spike of heat through Sinder’s channel. It felt for all the world like a finger was inside her as she walked.
That is really weird. Knock it off.

“Sinder, what is wrong?” Geor slowed his step.

She looked up at him and grimaced. “Kema is attempting to help your efforts.”

He paused for a moment then grinned.

She really wanted to punch him, but he increased their pace, and they moved with their guards into the temple. Once out of sight of the crowds, Geor lifted her in his arms and moved with alarming speed toward his office and their quarters.

“I am not going to change my mind about the discussion. You don’t have to run.”

Crixox swirled into Geor’s eyes and shared space in the consciousness. “He has been celibate a while, he is in a slight hurry to have you naked and moaning under him.”

The shiver that ran through Sinder had nothing to do with Kema and everything to do with the image that ran through her thoughts.

The door to his office opened just in time for him to slam through shoulder first. The door to the bedroom opened and was closed the same way.

He set her on her feet at the edge of his bed.

She asked the question in her heart. “What do you want from me?”

He paused, and Geor regained control of the body. “I want you to react to my touch, I want to wake next to you in the mornings and I want you to let me help you plan your day until you get used to the High Nalu.”

Sinder blushed, “I already react to your touch. The changes in my body have made it far more sensitive in what I consider to be strange places. I will wake next to you if you are not an early riser, which I know you are, so you might be out of luck there. As for planning my days, I will take all the advice I can get.”

“Then I would like to show you what parts of your body will sing when they are caressed. It is important to embrace your new culture.”

She nodded soberly. “Very important.”

He lifted her hand and pressed a soft kiss to her inner wrist. Her pulse sped up, and when he nipped her skin, her heart thudded heavily.

She shuddered as he used his mouth to caress her inner elbow, and when he tongued the skin, she fought to keep her knees steady. “How is that happening?”

He smiled and turned his attentions to the other arm. “It was said that when the High Nalu were created, the women did not wish to couple with the men. The men were in a hurry, and the women experienced little to no pleasure. The gods changed the women and the men of the High Nalu so that they would continue to breed.

“The women became sensitive to touch in certain areas that could be accessed in public. This meant that they had a better chance at reaching a climax with their partners and were more likely to pair bond with one particular male. The males were changed to crave the taste of their female and to hold back on their release in an effort to bring pleasure to their partner.”

She shivered as his hands worked at the closure of her wrap top.

He explained. “The clothing that the females wear is designed to conceal, flatter and yet expose certain areas to assist in their partner’s efforts.”

She let out a low moan when he trailed his fingers down her neck, across her shoulders and down to her elbows. “This is bizarre. I have never had so many spots on my body that have driven me nuts.”

He chuckled and stepped forward as her breasts were exposed to his gaze. He ignored them in favour of her ears.

She held tightly to his shirt as his tongue cruised the edge of one ear and then the other. The light touch of his wet tongue followed by the cool air sent prickles of sensation through her breasts. Her nipples tightened to hard nubs, but the deep ache she was feeling was far lower down.

She gasped as he traced minute kisses down her temple until he met her lips. Her hands clenched in reflex as she twisted up to get more of his specific taste. When he parted from her and continued his torture on her neck and collarbone, she whined low but licked her lips to catch the last taste of him.

His hand moved ahead of his mouth, touching, caressing, arousing and teasing all in slow strokes. A few short tugs and her skirt was around her ankles, leaving her in her open shirt, her skirt at her ankles and sandals on her feet.

She was in a haze of pleasure and swaying dramatically when he finished stroking the base of her spine and her knees gave way.

“You held out longer than I thought you would.” With a grin, Geor lifted her and placed her on the huge expanse of his bed.

She learned something very important about the men of the High Nalu, their horns kept their partner from crushing their skulls with their inner thighs. The cool horn rapidly warmed as it was pressed against her straining thigh. As Geor used his tongue to taste the slick honey that he had encouraged her to generate, she twisted on the sheets, her arms flailing for a grip.

Geor reached up and grabbed her hands, placing them on his upper horns as he continued to feast at her sex, his tongue flicking at her clit before sliding lower and delving deep.

The ridges of horn under her hand were a distracting sensation, but as she used her grip to control his rhythm, she found herself on the edge of release. It was a powerful feeling, Geor was giving himself for her pleasure, and she wanted nothing more than to return the favour.

“Geor, I want you inside me.”

Her low whisper got an instant result. Fabric flew, and soon, his dark blue body was sliding over and into her with deliberate attention. Her sex stretched, and in her mind, Kema made some adjustments.

Geor slid into her until he was fully seated, and her body clasped him in a slow even rhythm.

Sinder knew that his ability to fit inside her was part of Kema’s renovation. No way would that ten-inch cock have fit into her otherwise.

She looked into his eyes, and his bright red gaze made her smile. “Just you and me.”

He threaded his fingers through hers and pressed her hands next to her head. He rocked his hips against hers, and the slide and drag of the wide head inside her became central to her focus.

The room was dark, Geor was dark, so it was only when his thrusts took on a sharp frenzy that she noted the glow that was coming from her skin and his. Despite what they had agreed on, the planets were with them as their bodies approached release.

The feeling of his thighs sliding against hers with every thrust, the slow rub of his palms against hers as he mimicked the motion and rhythm within soon had her at the edge of orgasm once again.

When the fire inside threatened to flare out of control, she opened her mouth, only to be silenced with Geor’s kiss as her scream came out in a broken surge of gasps. Geor groaned into her mouth in exchange, and she shuddered as she felt his cock bucking and twitching inside her.

He shoved into her with jerky motions as his cock spewed the last of his cum inside her. His lips moved against hers slowly, coaxing her into a kiss that urged her to lean up into his oral caress.

She licked his lips and tasted him, rapidly growing addicted to the flavour. It was one of the best things she had tasted in her life, and she wanted to stay lost in his kiss forever.

Geor raised his head and smiled. “That took the edge off. Now, a little tidying up and we can begin all over again.”

She shivered at the delight in his expression. It was going to be a very educational evening.

Chapter Ten

Kema was purring happily in Sinder’s mind.
Why are you so happy?

Crixox’s energy signature feels wonderful.
In Sinder’s mind, Kema was tumbling around in her own afterglow.

Sinder shifted, and Geor’s arm clenched around her. Smiling, Sinder laid her arm on top of his, weaving her fingers into the spaces between Geor’s.

He didn’t speak, but she heard his horns sliding across the pillow a moment before he trailed his lips up and down her neck. “Good morning, Avatar.”

She stretched and shifted her legs to straighten out the twinges. “Good morning, Avatar. I am surprised that you are still here. Usually you are in your office before I wake up.”

“I have no plans for my day other than spending time with you.” He pressed soft kisses to her shoulder and she sighed and turned over to face him.

The ridge of his erection was hot and throbbing against her belly as she pressed to him. “Geor, you can’t ignore your schedule just because I am here now. You do your thing, and I will find mine, eventually.”

He blinked in surprise. “You don’t wish to spend every minute of every day with me?”

She chuckled. “If Kema’s estimate of my new life span is accurate, we will have plenty of time together. We don’t need to mesh our lives into one mass. You can have your interests, I can have mine, and we can meet in the middle for others.”

His red eyes were glowing with a confusing welter of emotions, but his body was speaking loud and clear. Geor reached down and lifted her thigh, draping it over his hip and opening her to his touch. His fingers caressed the back of her knee, and slick moisture crept out with his delicate touch.

She reached between them and stroked the column of his cock, gently moving her hand on his slick dark blue skin until he was flexing with every shift in her palm.

Sinder levered herself upward to put his cock at her entrance, and with a coordinated flex of their hips, they joined together. He slid one hand through her hair to cup her skull and brought her head to his for a kiss as they leisurely met and retreated in a slow-motion recreation of the frenzy of the previous night.