TICEES (69 page)

Korba’s term of endearment melted her soul. She took several calming breaths as she stared into Shan’s azure eyes, azure, the color of ecstasy. And then she cried out as she was instantly rewarded with his painless and unhindered entry. She looked up into his warm gaze, and she smiled back, closing her eyes and giving herself to him.

Shan closed his own eyes as he was swept away by the beautiful sensations that filled his body and soul. But his movements were still tentative, and he moved in and out of her gently, giving her time to adjust to his size and feeling for her barrier.

Chelan looked up at him, waiting for a familiar response. She watched him carefully as he slipped into her deeper and deeper, and soon she saw the surprise on his face as she took his entire length.

Shan shuddered and looked down at her in amazement. “Oh god, woman,” he breathed and immediately he began his smooth, powerful pelvic thrusts.

Chelan was beside herself in rapture as she watched him move over and in her. He rested on his elbows on either side of her and she soaked in all that was the masculine splendor of the Iceanean warrior. His shoulders were wide and powerful, his arms supporting him as easily as if they were cut of stone. His chest was broad and sculpted, his massive pectorals leading down to the lean washboard abdominals that contracted and released to the rhythm of his hips.

She licked her lips as she looked at the contour of the V-shaped muscles that led to his maleness, the vision of his glistening penis entering her over and over sending her to a plane of delight beyond reality itself. Then, as if reading her thoughts, he stopped and slowly withdrew from her depths. Chelan gasped and then feasted on the vision before her as he pushed back onto his knees and sat on his heels before her. She looked at him, his long black hair framing his handsome face and cascading down his chest. His penis was pulsing up along his beautiful abdominals, his erection absolutely magnificent. One powerful hand reached for his own engorged flesh, and she thought she would come by simply watching him. His hand slid up over his tip and then down, retracting his foreskin back from his swollen glans. He was so wonderfully aroused, so deliciously thick, the sight of his distended head caused a nearly unbearable ache to take her from head to toe, pooling deep in her pelvis.

She looked down past his fist to his widely spread legs, his powerful thighs. But when she looked to his heavy testicles hanging in open invitation to be taken, she felt herself flood with carnal heat. Her eyes widened as she saw his penis throb despite his grip, and his testicles contracted.

Then he extended his free hand to her. “Come here,” he commanded in a deep rumble.

Chelan rose, her body trembling with a sexual hunger so voracious she felt almost deranged. She reached for his hand, and he yanked her to him. He took her by the waist and lifted her over him as though she were weightless. Then he studied her as he allowed her to melt ever so slowly over him, his rock-hard organ piercing her swollen, dripping softness. Her legs straddled his thighs, and he lowered her until he was fully sheathed, and then he held her very still.

Chelan sucked in a breath as she watched his luminous eyes take in everything about her, his fingertips following every contour of her pretty face. Then he reached for her neck, his fingers lacing behind her as he kissed her deep and tenderly, his tongue consuming her sweet mouth and her honeyed lips.

His fingers then traveled out along her slender shoulders and down her back, exploring every dip, every curve. His tongue traced over her jaw and down to her neck where he buried his face, his lips tasting, his tongue savoring her until her whole body shuddered with the most delectable sensations, her womanhood squeezing the thickness within her, hard.

Chelan’s fingers fanned out over his shoulders and then back to his neck, where she entwined her fingers in his thick mane. His strong male scent intoxicated her, infusing her equally with love and lust, permeating her senses with a longing for him so deep she never wanted him to leave her body.

Then one of his hands curved under her bottom, his forearm slipping under her. His other hand slithered back up to her neck where he grasped her hair in his fist. Chelan moaned as he pulled her head back, exposing her throat to him. She heard a guttural purr escape his chest as his teeth raked over her vulnerable flesh. Then he raised her, his powerful forearm supporting her easily, and she felt him begin to move within her. He withdrew slowly until he came right out … and she whimpered, his tip teasing her soft opening. Then he tilted up … deeper and deeper.

Chelan gasped. She was his for the taking. He pulled on her hair harder, forcing her to arch back strongly, her breasts thrusting forward. His mouth took her aggressively as he began his powerful thrusts. He seized her nipple, his teeth teasing her as he drew on her forcefully. Chelan thought every nerve in her body was going to explode. Only a man as powerful as the men of his world could hold her in such a position so effortlessly, her pelvis pressed into his as he took her over and over again, his muscular thighs and hips driving him high into her, filling her to her core.

Chelan finally cried out, the intensity of her orgasm shocking her, and suddenly his motions slowed and his mouth left her breast. He released her hair, and both hands curved under her bottom as she sagged against his chest, her arms hooking around his neck. Tremors surged over her and through her, her whole body contracting powerfully over and over. And just when she though they had ceased, he allowed her to rest partially on his thighs as he reached between them and slid his thumb down over her clit. Chelan gasped as new ripples of delight fanned out through her pelvis.

Utterly spent and totally content, she finally looked up at him. His eyes were on fire, a sly smile quirking at the edges of his gorgeous lips. “What about you?” she asked breathlessly. He tipped her back and laid her on the floor. He hunched over her, and in two powerful drives, he came.

Chelan clutched at him as he straightened out over her, watching his weight on her, his mane cascading around her. He continued moving within her, his motions now slow and tender. Then he began to withdraw, but Chelan’s hands flew to his buttocks, preventing his motion. “No,” she pleaded. “Stay in me, please.”

Shan smiled down at her. “My pleasure,” he responded huskily.

They rested for a short time, and then their lovemaking began again. Both wanted the feelings never to end, but finally, Shan reluctantly backed off. He did not want to rub her raw. He could tell that it had been a long time since her last encounter, and he would stick to his word of not hurting her. Then he picked her up, and they both collapsed into the pool to relax and to soak away the fluids of their passion.

*****

And so their time together continued. Shan explored the connecting tunnels, gaining more strength with each passing day. They spent their mornings with their bodies intermingled in love, and their afternoons in training. In the evenings they rested and chatted.

Chelan listened to him endlessly as he spoke of the Empire, his work, and his people. He went into great detail about many of his missions, his recounts holding Chelan rapt for hours on end. It was as though she was experiencing endless science fiction movies, the characters speaking to her in person for her own private showing. And it was fortunate on many levels that Shan worked under Toran’s command, for she could not have endured the mere mention of Korba, Dar, or Fremma, their memories too painful to withstand.

Chelan in turn alluded to her story, but she was vague and let him know in no uncertain terms that she did not wish to speak in depth about her life in the Southlands of Iceanea, her life before her arrival in the Dead Zone. But to keep him partially satisfied, she did speak of her friends back home, weaving some of her Earth adventures into the mix, keeping everything very simple. She was extremely wary of keeping her intelligence downplayed and her vast education completely hidden. As a result, she asked him countless questions about his world’s technology, absorbing all the information with a passion as she always had. But many of her questions had to begin on a very elementary plane with the hope that he would elaborate on the basics, which he was more than happy to do.

Shan still respected her privacy, but he knew that eventually he would piece together her story. He would not push her now and take the chance of having her withdraw from him. But in the future, he would know all, one way or another. There was a spark within her that told him she did not belong in this primitive world that she had been cast into. And the fact that she seemed to accept her lot despite her obvious intelligence screamed of subterfuge and deception. With time, he was sure that he would ferret out the true story. He just had to be patient and cautious.

One of Chelan’s favorite topics was her theory on the cavern’s existence, and although that whole area was out of Shan’s expertise, he listened with genuine interest. She also spoke a lot about the Batex, which had not made an appearance since Shan’s arrival. Chelan surmised that there was simply too much commotion and scent around for them, but she was sure that Shan would probably encounter them on his travels through the tunnels. Regardless, for the moment, they were not necessary. Her stores of food were still ample, and she had not even touched the caches of frozen meat she had stashed near the surface.

Shan spent some of his spare time fashioning crude tools from the bones of the Batex that Kayla had saved. One of his first endeavors was to fuse several of the tiny bones together with the fine surgical laser. Then he sat Kayla down one night and tackled the task of combing out years’ worth of mats and tangles from her long hair. It took him hours of patience, and Kayla hours of endurance, but finally he made his way through the voluminous silk. When he had finished, his eyes grew large at what he beheld. Her hair was fine and glossy, and when she stood, the combed-out strands hung to a length below her buttocks. Shan was mesmerized by its beauty, and he could hardly keep his hands away from both it and the demure woman that was concealed beneath it.

Chelan also appreciated his attention to her golden-brown mane. The release of her hair from the bondage of its own tangles was a welcome relief. After he had removed all the matting, Chelan felt as though her head had been lightened by several pounds. Shan attended her each night, meticulously caring for the tresses before they slept. Chelan in turn saved him work by braiding it each evening and before each workout, something Shan had never seen before.

His hair, in turn, was another matter. Korba had not been kidding when he mentioned that their hair grew quickly. Shan had arrived with shoulder-length locks, feathered beautifully as with most Iceanean men. But now it hung nearly to his waist, its glossy blue-black color and its incredible thickness covering his body like a thick winter blanket. And that was exactly what Shan wanted. He would need the extra protection in the Dead Zone when he left, and he had no intentions of cutting it. Chelan was ecstatic over it. She loved it, its unkempt shagginess befitting the cave barbarian she figured he had become, and she laughed at her thoughts. Besides, with all that hair to grab, it was easy to keep him subdued and close to her.

Shan had been using rocks for weights, and Chelan knew that he was nearly back to his former self. His bad leg still stiffened on him easily, but he had his full range of motion and most of his strength. And now Chelan knew for sure that it was just a matter of time before he left her. They had never discussed just when the fateful day would arrive, and Chelan had no desire to know.

She had awakened early one morning, her crazy twenty-four-hour clock causing problems as usual, but that day her trouble was amplified by her all-too-familiar cramping. Her periods had not been very regular since her tumble into the caverns, and she had often wondered if it was due to the stress, or the loneliness, or simply because of her diet. She had finally quit trying to predict them, dealing with them only when they presented. This was her first period since she had begun sexual relations with Shan, and she was extremely agitated. She knew that her cycles were not a big thing to the Iceanean men, but they still were to her.

She slipped out from under Shan’s arm and dressed, slipping a pelt into her bottoms to catch the blood. Then she put on a knee-length tunic and bound the waist tightly.

Shan awoke sometime later and watched her move about the cave. He detected a change in her demeanor immediately, and he rose up and approached her as she crouched by the pool. She cowered under his touch, and he became concerned, but he did not pry. She continued to avoid him the rest of the morning, and he noticed that with time, her aloofness increased. It was the first morning they had not spent coupled in ecstasy in weeks, and he was perplexed.

Finally, he could stand her avoidance no longer, and he wondered what he had said or done. He walked over to her and grabbed her tightly, thwarting any ideas she may have had about fleeing. “Tell me what’s wrong, Kayla,” he pleaded, his eyes full of concern.

Chelan looked down and took a deep breath. She realized once again that she was being childish, and she peered up at him. “I’m bleeding,” she whispered.

Immediately, his eyes twinkled. “Ah, my shy woman. Is that all? You had me worried that I had done something.”

Chelan smiled at him timidly. “No, I assure you that you have done nothing wrong. It’s just that it makes me uncomfortable.”

Shan’s face became serious as his hand slid over her abdomen. “Are you in pain?”

Chelan simply shrugged. “It’s okay. It will go away.”

Shan shook his head at her and took her by the hand as he led her back to the furs. “Down,” he ordered, and Chelan sat.

Shan pushed her to her stomach and began massaging her lower back, paying special attention to pressure points.

Chelan closed her eyes and sighed with relief. These men knew more about her own body than she did, and in a way it angered her that she was so ignorant. She was a product of a confused and repressed society, and her world’s restrictive values and overall ignorance only served to hurt those it meant to protect. Chelan smiled. She was glad she had met the people of the Empire. Though they were warriors and cold-blooded killers for the most part, they were real, feeling people, not animated characters that preached one thing while doing another.