Authors: Julia Sexton
Once again, he stroked her red curls. This time in spite of her thoughts, Mary's body responded. The feel of his large fingers on her head was soft and gentle.
"Ac'von, I don't know you. I can't."
Instead of answering, he drew his hand down to her face and caressed her forehead, then across her eyes down to her cheeks. Now she felt the fire. Her nipples hardened in response. Her groin grew hot.
His hands continued down, his thumbs outlining her jaw, as his fingers lightly touched her neck. She felt her hair slide across her neck as his fingers gently caressed.
"This is crazy," Mary murmured.
His hands continued down, caressing as they went: her chest, her breasts, her abdomen, her thighs, her knees, her shins. Then he undid one boot and slid it off her foot. Mary gasped. She was on fire with his tantalizing touch.
Ac'von kissed her naked ankle as he deftly undid the other boot and slipped it off and to the floor. Mary was lost. All of her wanted to touch all of him. He was the most magnificent man she had ever seen.
She fumbled at the fastenings of his tunic but couldn't find the way to undo the clasps.
"Not yet," Ac'von whispered.
His hands moved upward in the same gentle slide that had brought them down to her boots. Mary sighed, then gasped as his hands traveled higher up the inside of her thighs.
"Oh," she cried. "Oh, oh. Don't stop."
Ac'von continued the hand journey up to her neck. He unfastened her dress. Mary was limp as he raised her arms to remove the dress. She was certain that with some secret Raman formula she would melt, right there on the bed. The image of herself as a puddle on the bed made her laugh softly.
"Did I miss an Earth cue?" Ac'von asked.
"No, no," Mary murmured from her melting pool. "I had a vision of myself melting."
"A good sign," he said as he unfastened his tunic down the side. Mary reached out to touch his chest. She traced the hard line of his pectorals as he slid the tunic off his arms. She felt the muscles flex under her fingertips.
He bent over to undo his boots.
"Wait," Mary admonished. She got off the bed to kneel on the floor as she unfastened his boots. She slipped one down his hard calf and over his foot. Then she slid the other one. She put her cheek against his calf. His skin was soft over the hard muscle.
Ac'von reached down and lifted her to stand. "Ah, better than I imagined." His eyes scorched her naked flesh. Inside Mary, the fire roared. She could see his arousal pressing against the fluid fabric of his pants.
His arms reached out and drew Mary against his body. He reached up to her breast, taking the nipple and areola between his fingers. He squeezed. The fever inside was so hot she thought she would burn his skin. He took the nipple into his mouth alternating lick and sucking. Mary knew that she had never had so much pleasure in any sexual encounter. She was mad with desire. All she wanted was Ac'von. Ac'von inside her.
As he sucked, his fingers parted the hair at the mouth of her arousal. Then his index finger found the slit. It slid over her nub between her swollen lips, then plunged in as his thumb made small circles with her clit. Mary was panting so hard she couldn't think. Her body responded in instinct.
She found the fastening for his pants. She was getting skilled at Raman fastenings. She parted her legs and straddled his. She rode along his powerful thighs and then her opening found the hard tip of his shaft.
They both cried out at once. Ac'von pulled her up as he slid onto the bed. He lay beneath her as his shaft pushed inside her wet walls.
Swiftly they reached a steady rhythm as Mary rode up and down his member. Then she pushed down so that it went as high as it could. Waves of pleasure brought her to an ecstasy she didn't think possible. Her body was centered in her sex.
Ac'von responded by pushing harder. His hands gripped her arms as spasms took his body to ultimate pleasure. At one last push, Mary felt his hot juice spurt inside her as her body surrendered to the waves again.
She collapsed on to of him, feeling the length of his body beneath her. She moved her hips up off his soft member and rolled to the side.
Mary snuggled against him. "There is much to consider."
Ac'von touched her face. "You are the most magnificent queen Rama has ever known."
"I'm not queen yet."
CHAPTER SIX
The next morning Mary awoke alone…in her room. Ac’von was gone. The walls had come back together separating her from him. Her body still tingled from their mating last night. Ah! She was beginning to think in his words. Well, mating was what it was. S
he was emotionally exhausted. How could she care about a man who had abducted her, taken her from everything she knew, and then transplanted her in a very strange environment…a different planet!
In her half-awake state her body tingled with the remembrance of their passion. The physical part was more than she would have dreamed.
Ac’von. She heard a light tapping on the door in the moveable wall.
“Breakfast is ready here when you are, my queen.”
Mary sighed. She really wasn’t ready for this queen role. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
His scent was on her body. Last night’s encounter returned vividly in her mind. She luxuriated in the memories of all they had done. She had never known sex could be so intensely exciting. Still, it was just sex.
She was certainly not ready to be queen of a planet she’d known less than 24 hours. Then all of yesterday’s events swirled together: finding herself abducted to a new place, Tu’ver, The Combat and all of it’s gore, the late night conference.
Bits and pieces of images flashed through her mind, in no logical order. That was definitely the most event-filled day of her life.
A quick shower cleansed her of yesterday and Ac’von’s scent. Her auburn curls tightened in the water. Mary was very, very relieved that showers and other bathroom functions mirrored Earth.
Apprehensive as she was, she felt refreshed and ready to face her second day on Rama.
Please, don’t let it be as full as yesterday.
In the closet, she sorted through the black garments until she found a pair of pants that fit like leggings and a tunic, much like the on Ac’von wore yesterday.
She slipped on a pair of short boots, fluffed her drying hair, strode across the room, and opened the connecting door.
“Ah, Ac’ver. Good morning. I am so hungry after last night.” Ac’von gave her a significant and pleased look.
“Good morning,” Mary said. Alert and
en guarde
. “Last night was quite spectacular…but all of yesterday everything was new. To you, you are home. For me I am on
another planet
far from everyone and everything I know.”
“I understand. After breakfast, we will go out among the people so everyone will see that you are even more beautiful close up than at a distance on a platform at The Combat. Then we will…”
“Wait!” Mary said. This one needed some serious training in how to talk to her. “Try again. Even though I am at a disadvantage in new circumstances, I am not your puppet. I will not be ordered around. If you want me to “be your queen,” talk to me as an equal. Make a suggestion. Ask if I would like to…”
Ac’von suddenly looked sheepish. His dark, almond eyes looked down. “You are right. I don’t have experience with women.”
Mary thought about last night and wondered at that statement. Was it all natural? Did he just know what to do? And, oh, he did it so well.
Ac’von cleared his throat. “Would you like to meet Our People after we have breakfast?” He paused. “Is that what I say?”
Mary had to smile. He really didn’t know. “Much better,” she said, giving him a genuine smile.
“I do want to learn about your planet, your people, your government, the food, how everything works…” She trailed off. She knew nothing, the list was endless.
“Can we start with what these food items are here on the table?”
She picked up what looked like an apple from a large bowl of fruit. “What is this?”
Ac’von smiled like a kid who had just done a good job. “That is azra.”
“Azra,” Mary said. She took a tiny bite. It tasted somewhere between an apple and a pear. “It’s good.”
She spent breakfast eating and learning the names of things. Then Ac’von taught her the names of furniture: bed, table, chair, window. Mary felt like a two-year-old. Well, she was a two-day-old on this planet.
Ac’von said, “Now some basic greetings for meeting people. Even a small attempt will make you popular.”
“I want to be popular?”
“Ah, yes,” Ac’von chortled. “A popular queen strengthens the entire planet.”
Mary thought about the Queen Mum in England and nodded her head. She got it. If she was going to be here on Rama and going to be a leader she understood the responsibility to inspire people.
So he taught her the Raman greeting which meant
Have you seen the sky today?
And, the polite reply,
Yes, it is beautiful
.
“Long ago, so far back that it is legend now, the planet was torn apart by factions, many tribes vying to rule. Everywhere, war and destruction, smoke and dust clouded the air. For several years, there was so much debris in the atmosphere people did not see the sky.
When people finally saw the sky it meant peace. That is why we treasure our Way. It keeps us from descending into destruction and fear. Ri’son’s challenge is a threat to that peace.”
“I’m glad you told me. It is like a puzzle. Pieces are beginning to fit together. What The Arbiter told me is making more sense. All right, let’s go. I want to meet the people of Rama. Oh, am I wearing the right clothes?”
Ac’von chuckled and reached out to touch her drying red curls. “Yes, everything in your closet is for a queen. Yesterday was a special occasion. Any other time follow your inclination…or ask Tu’ver. She loves clothes.”
Mary envisioned walking with Ac’von along the streets meeting and greeting. And, it was like that and yet, not, because an entire retinue of servants who bought things and bodyguards who kept a watchful eye surrounded them.
Ac’von told her she could have anything she saw. Mary said she didn’t know enough about Rama to make a decision.
The flowing mass of people and entertainers reminded her of the Renaissance Faire at home. Juggler troops performed on the corners or in small parks.
The porticoes along the streets were lined with vendors selling everything from clothing, to dolls, to basic food. The rivers of people recognized Ac’von and most of them Mary. She heard people whisper
Ac’ver
and look at her with approval.
When they came to a large park Ac’von raised her hand and they walked among the crowd. Every few paces they stopped. Mary said, “Have you seen the sky today?”
People nodded and clapped their hands as they responded, “Yes, it is beautiful.”
Children brought flowers and other small gifts. Mary thanked them. The servants put them in large sacks which they carried.
The people obviously liked Ac’von. They shouted greetings or threw handfuls of flowers.
“It’s the way Our People are,” he said. “Are you enjoying the morning?”
Mary could only say, “Yes.” She was. Her second day on Rama was proving more enjoyable. “But I feel as though I am on a holiday. I don’t feel like I live here.”
“It’s your second day,” Ac’von said with a grin on his chiseled face. The big smile somehow softened all the angles. He took her hand and pulled her against him.
“Ac’ver. You are Ac’ver in every way.” He bent his head, put his hands on her waist, and lifted her up, twirling her around. People clapped and cheered.
Mary was sure the startled look on her face was not queenly, but the People loved it. Then he set her gently on the ground. His lips touched hers and a great cheer went up.
Mary’s body responded in some kinetic memory of the night. Her breasts tightened and her groin tingled. Surely this was not queenly.
But, then, Mary Smith, unemployed microbiologist had no idea what being an almost queen on another planet was like. If the morning and the kiss were signs, she liked them.
“So, this is how you prepare for The Combat,” a voice growled.
Ac’von broke away. “The Combat is two weeks away, Ri’son. Meet your new queen, Ac’ver.”
Mary looked at the big, brawny, blond. He was dressed in red from head to toe. As big as Ac’von was, Ri’son dwarfed him. He was like a giant from a folk tale. Big.
Mary, tempted to call him Dr. Riesen, hesitated for a moment and then in her best Raman said, “Have you seen the sky today?”
Ri’son hesitated for a split second. “Yes, and it is beautiful.” Then he switched to English. “Miss Smith, what a change. Little Mary Smith, future queen. You are the cause of it all. It was your reports that set Ac’von on his cleansing mission. If I had known, I would have challenged you.”