Askance (6 page)

He rested, his weight on his forearms on either side of her torso, his head against her neck.

They were both breathing heavily and with weak arms, Silari raised her hands and wrapped them around him.

Three minds were coasting in the afterglow and Silari still wasn’t sure that she would ever get used to having Niiko inside her every day.

Casual nudity had never been something Silari had considered as an option for a lifestyle, but it seemed appropriate when the clothing that she had access to involved so many tiny details and so much precision.

She was looking at the detailed embossing of Maksuan’s ascension to the post of Avatar. “What were your original plans for your future?”

Maksuan was wearing a short wrap around his hips and he looked at her in surprise. “I think I wanted to get married, have a family and work in the family greenhouse. It has always been a source of regret that I was unable to continue with the plants as Avatar.”

“Why?”

“Why couldn’t I work with plants? It is unseemly. It does not suit the station of the Avatar.”

“Why not simply have it as a hobby? A form of stress release.”

He paused while scrambling some eggs, quickly moving the pan off the heat. “It has not been done before.”

“Oh, honey, I plan on doing plenty of things that have not been done by an Avatar before. It doesn’t make them wrong, just different.”

He grinned and Niiko nodded in encouragement. “Well, apparently you are the excuse that Niiko has been waiting for.”

Silari snickered, “That or Niiko considers me an option for stress release.”

It was true—every time Maksuan and Silari got together, Niiko was there. His favourite position was when she was on her side, Maksuan was thrusting into her from behind and he was caressing her from the front. To be caressed by nothing less than the soul of the planet was an honour, but the electric prickles were still a turn on.

She sat at the low table as Maksuan provided her with breakfast. “I think you should do it. Start small. A planting house on the edge of the residence and then expand it. Hey, take over the room I was in during the selection. That room got amazing light exposure.”

He grinned. “Niiko insisted that you were to get that room. Your mind needed the space he said and who am I to gainsay my Planet.”

She laughed. She argued with Niiko every time he spoke in her head. Sure, he could take her over whenever he wished, but she and Maksuan both knew that she was there to cater to the female population. In recent years, they had been denied certain freedoms and it was time to right the problem.

As she ate her breakfast of eggs and flatbread with a cup of tea at the ready, she understood why he had brought her here. This place was where Niiko had tapped his first Avatar and their faces were now in place on the wall next to Maksuan’s solo promotion as well as his grandmother’s face forever immortalized in stone and in the genetic line that she left behind. It was a strong legacy and one he should be proud of.

If her family had been half as supportive, she might still be back on Earth, sharing holidays with them rather than somewhere across the galaxies eating eggs on an alien world.

Chapter Ten

Silari sighed happily. She was running her hands over the scars on Maksuan’s back and enjoying occasionally reaching around to flick his nipples in a teasing manner. Every time she did so, his cock twitched.

As hobbies went, teasing your lover in the shower should always make the top five. It was simply that important.

Her slick hands worked around to his cock and the tight balls just under the shaft. He was a clean freak and so she was taking care to get his shower just right.

“You delight in teasing me.” His harsh growl made her grin.

“I really do.” She pressed her breasts to his back and slid herself over the marks on his spine.

It was a meeting of equals now. Their bodies were matched by damage and survival and as Niiko joined them each time they had sex, their responses were now keyed together by power.

She laughed as she ran her nails lightly down his chest and he arched against her. He spun in place and lifted her, slick and kicking, into his arms.

“Enough teasing. Since you are feeling better, we had better take a soak before we consider getting back to our residence.” He simply walked with her to the edge of the pool and jumped in.

She spluttered as he continued to hold her, her jaw just above the water.

When he moved back to have a seat on the ledge, she shifted to straddle him, slipping the head of his cock into her and beginning the glow of power in them both.

Silari moved down as he thrust upward and she rode him in a slow, deep rhythm while the water around them started to bubble and churn.

Like the body in her dreams, her scars lit from within and Maksuan’s did the same. When she looked into his eyes, Niiko was there and in the reflection of her own features shown there, she could see the Planet burning in her own eyes.

Power began to spike and twist inside her. New nerve endings, new patterns of pleasure glowed within her and showed on her skin.

She started to move faster when Maksuan rubbed her clit with two fingers and she froze in place the moment that her orgasm struck, the energy of Niiko flowing between them at all connected points and magnified by the water. He gripped her hips and groaned as his body spilled inside her. How long they were locked together, she didn’t know, but when she came back to herself, she was cradled against Maksuan’s chest and smiling into his shoulder.

“How much more time do we have?”

“Two days. We can do whatever you wish.” He stroked his hands down her slick back in a tireless motion.

She looked up at him with a timid smile. “I have an idea, but you might not like it.”

His gaze was curious. “Tell me.”

With him still inside her, she outlined her request and though a fine tension ran through his body, he agreed to take her where she wanted to go.

A less formal robe was waiting for her on the bed. “How does he do that?”

“The ways of our Planet are his own. I only know that, somehow, he manages to make beds, cook food and fetch clothing when we are in his heart.”

Silari slipped into the blue robe and wrapped the sash around her until she was supported and snug on all sides. “How do I look?”

He was back in his normal white shirt with flowing black trousers. “You look lovely, as always.”

For some reason, when Maksuan said it in that husky voice of his, she believed it.

The sandals that were next to the bed came up to mid-calf when she had finished the laces and buckles. She wished that there were a greater leather-to-exposed-skin ratio, but they were typical Yeruan footwear, so she was going to keep her opinion to herself.

“Thank you. You look stunning yourself. Are you sure that you are willing to do this?”

“If you ask it of me and it is possible, I will do it. I know you would not ask lightly.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek before he started to bind up his hair.

“Why are you doing that?”

He smiled. “When visiting relatives, it is advisable to not give them anything to pick on, or so has been my experience. This is a pre-emptive move on my part. You are an alien, they will expect nothing of you.”

She looked down. “Is something wrong with my method of dress?”

He gave her a once over. “The robe is two inches too short. Your hair is too short for a proper Yeruan woman, but then you are the Avatar. You are exceptional in every way.”

Her robe twitched and she looked down. It was growing. “What the hell?”

Maksuan raised a brow. “You are wearing a robe made of Niiko. My grandmother mentioned it once. She had been bathing and a group of hunters stumbled upon her. Niiko wove her a robe of water and energy.”

There was something in his tone. “Your grandfather was in that group, wasn’t he?”

Maksuan laughed. “Yes. He had thrown his outer garment around her, not knowing who she was. When she politely handed it back a few minutes later and she was wearing a gown embossed with his family crest, he knew destiny when he ran into it.”

“That is a wonderful story. What was his name?”

“Wexuan. Wexuan Nikan, head of the Nikan clan.”

Silari wasn’t sure if he knew it, but his chest puffed out when he spoke of his family. There was pride involved and she was glad for him.

“Shall we see if they are amenable to a visit?”

He finished wrapping his hair into a tight queue and smiled at her. “I suppose that now is the only time we have.”

As they walked out of their private retreat, there was not a doubt in her mind that Niiko was with them the whole way, waiting to see if they needed him for support. He would be waiting in the wings in case his power was needed to get the Nikan family under control.

The skimmer ride started out fun and he pointed out all the mountain ranges, lakes and towns on their way. They kept to the unoccupied paths, but farmers waved as they passed and occasionally, Maksuan stopped the skimmer to introduce her to the people who were working the farm.

As they moved further away from the Avatar residence and the heart of Niiko, the agrarian practices became more involved.

It was amazing to see the change in the landscape from the towns and cities to the farms and outlying areas.

“Has the planet always been separated like this?”

Maksuan grinned, “Every evolving planet has come up on a basis of solid farming. Once you can feed your people, the arts and sciences can flourish.”

“Sound reasoning.” She placed her hand on his wrist and asked, “How much farther to your family’s holdings?”

“You are able to see the edge of the greenhouses just over that rise.”

He slowed the throttle as they got closer.

“How long has it been since you visited your relatives?”

“Twelve years. My grandnieces and nephews are busy and our paths rarely cross.” There was a tense twist to his lips as he spoke.

“Breathe in. If this doesn’t work out, you won’t have to go back to visit, but if it does work out, you will have a new extension to your life. Having relatives who care is a good thing and I hope that that is what we are walking into.”

Acres of greenhouses began to appear as they approached.

“Maksuan, what does your family do precisely?”

“We develop species of plants for alien worlds and a variety of new colony planets. They try to design a plant that will thrive in but not overwhelm the local ecosystem. It is a difficult prospect and each greenhouse row represents a different atmospheric balance.”

She was staring at the endless march of glass and gasses with awe when he aimed the skimmer for a large house in the centre surrounded by smaller domiciles.

With a deliberate sigh, he set the ship down and turned off the engines. It was now or never and never was no longer an option.

Chapter Eleven

“It was Ukani who convinced Wexuan to start this branch of farming. The Nikan plants are now thriving on over fifty worlds.” His grandniece Seehai was the current matriarch of the family and she was giving Silari the family-business history as they sipped tea on the porch.

Maksuan was with his oldest surviving nephew and touring some of the newest greenhouses. He had been surprised at their warm welcome, but he was willing to see how far the polite company was willing to go.

Silari didn’t know what he was waiting for, but if he were braced for something, she would back him up.

“So, the Nikan family has done well from its association with the Avatar.” She held the cup between her fingertips and lifted it to her lips.

“It has. We simply wish that he would pop by more often.” Seehai sighed. “My grandson Wexor was to blame for that. He got drunk and insulted the memory of Ukani. Maksuan took offense, but he had to hold Niiko back. The Planet rocked and rolled under our feet and we lost three acres of greenhouses.”

“So, it wasn’t Maksuan that caused the problem, it was Niiko.”

Seehai inclined her head. “Technically, it was Wexor. Ukani had been the beloved of Niiko for a very long time. Her handling of matters for the Planet was one of the great sacrifices that she made.”

Silari poured tea for the older woman. “What was said?”

“Wexor said that Ukani had never loved Wexuan. That she had married him to satisfy Niiko.”

Silari blinked in surprise. “Whoa. That is a little over the top. Planets do not choose their Avatars lightly, they select their representatives with care after deliberate investigation.”

“It hurt Ukani to leave Niiko, but she loved Wexuan and did not want to watch him slowly die while she lived on, so she begged for her freedom and he granted it.”

“You have no idea. Niiko loves and attaches to each one of his Avatars. When he is actively in my mind, I can feel his grief for all of those who have gone before me. It is why he wanted me to join with Maksuan. He wants to feel the joy of love for himself from both sides. It is a feeling that he has been lacking. He has been incomplete.”

“So when Ukani left him?”

“His soul ached and he took the first mind offered to him. Parkalo was good but not a precise match. Eighty years later, he was eager to take Maksuan on as Avatar, even if it meant losing Ukani completely.”

“What do you mean
completely
?”

“No Avatar ever loses their touch with the Planet, we do not merely host him, he becomes us and we him. You cannot undo what he does to us simply by withdrawing the power. The pathways are burned in our mind, the rivers of power simply dry up, but the riverbed remains. Does that make sense?”

Seehai nodded and sipped at her tea, one of her granddaughters walking out to bring them a try of food. “Thank you, Dreena.”

“You are welcome, Grandmother.” Dreena knelt nearby and waited in case they needed anything else.

“What you have said has explained many mysteries in the family. No one could ask Ukani, it was obvious that the grief was still fresh, though it was pushed aside when she began to have her family.”

“Do you have pictures of her?” The image in her mind that Niiko provided did not tell her how Ukani’s family felt about her.