Brought the Stars to You (6 page)

He was breathing heavily, the sensations a delight to him, unlike
any other he had experienced, despite the material that separated
them. With a soft groan he nodded, responding to her, "It is...
for you too?"

She nodded, her motions slow and careful, her clit jammed against
his hardness, her eyes fluttering closed, "Let me know if it
gets too much for you," she offered quietly, "Did you touch
yourself while thinking of me last night?" Though she had asked
the question in less crass manners earlier, she wanted to hear him
speak again, encourage his desire for her, to remind himself of
intimate touch.

At least, that's what she told herself, but truly it was something
that tight ball in her stomach demanded to know. She wanted him to
have lusted for her, to have needed her as badly as she needed him.
Perhaps it was the alcohol emboldening her, numbing her hesitations,
but she felt that he was special. Different.

His neck craned as he strained from the grinding and rubbing of
her expert form atop his member, his eyes narrowed into slits. He
could barely control himself, but managed to respond. "Yes...
yes I did, Ardanna." Licking his lips, he choked down the
embarrassment even as it burned hotly at his cheeks, "More than
I have since I was but a youth." His fingers rubbed in behind
her, to her back, thumbs stroking beneath her breasts without
touching them.

She smiled at his admission and a small wave of pleasured moans
were his reward for honesty, her body moving instinctually as she bit
in her lower lip again. Her breathing was rougher, and she had
developed a bit of a sheen to her chest and forehead. She shivered
and brought her body into his, folding in upon him.

Shuddering beneath her ministrations, he clutched onto her firmly,
his head then moved on over her shoulder as he breathed in sharp,
panting gasps. Perhaps he lost himself then beneath her grinding, his
slight gasp and the soft groaning hinting at it, or perhaps he was
just that terribly unused to such attentions, the sensations
overpowered him. Shutting his eyes he confessed in a strained voice,
"Such things I thought of doing with you..." there was a
certain pain in his words beneath the pleasure.

"We should probably take a break," she moaned
regretfully. She shivered against him, holding onto him tightly for
another moment, "Go look for your friend."

His grip didn't loosen until she reminded him of the forgotten
mission. It was so reckless of him to not have stopped her sooner.
Breathing heavily, panting a little he was still reluctant to part.
"I..." he stammered to find something to say.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her words sincere. She didn't
want to go back any more than he, but she knew she was losing control
on the situation, on herself. She pulled away slightly and for the
briefest second, it seemed like she was going to lunge in and kiss
him, a pulse traveled quickly through her body, but she fought the
urge, "I'm sorry."

Quite flustered, his brown face turning a deep reddish hue, he
shook his head, "It's okay, Ardanna." His hands remained at
her sides, gripping her ribcage, "There's nothing for you to be
sorry about." He looked up to her shyly, his hair partially
hiding his eyes as he smiled, "Will you still spend the evening
with me?"

Her skin was dewy and the scent of her arousal had grown stronger
in the air, "If you want," she said after a pause, "On
the floor…I'd be pleased to."

He kept his gaze down, looking quite embarrassed at what
transpired--or his part of it anyhow. "I'd appreciate it. We
don't have to do anything except talk. Ever. I enjoy just talking
with you."

Kieren arrived the same as he had the entire week, right at
opening as dusk broke. He owned little in the way of clothes; Fiato
were known for living by simple means. Still, he was making an
effort; his dark hair was brushed and set neatly, his outfit cleaned
and pressed. With so much time--and cash--spent here, he was quite
familiar with the place and moved through to look for her--HIS
dancer--immediately. The time spent there had been mostly wasted from
a work perspective, and his stake out was quite ineffective with so
much time spent either alone with or distracted by the exotic dancer.
The smile upon his face hinted that tonight would be no exception.

She had been keeping an eye out for him as well, his pattern set
in her mind. There were moments of intensity with him that frightened
her and she tried to keep the champagne to a minimum after that first
time. Even that didn't help much, though. She still craved him like
she'd never wanted anyone before, and the smile that lit her own face
was genuine.

A foamy, sea green coloured outfit brought out the slight hint of
green in her blue flesh, and she walked over to him with a confident
stride, holding her arms out for a friendly embrace.

"Ardanna," he said, wrapping his arms around her, his
heart warmed immensely. "I trust you've been well since last
night?" he asked softly, the pair no doubt drawing attention
from the staff, not the least of which were her bosses, happy for
such a willing dupe to sink a small fortune into her each night.

She was already leading him to their familiar room, "Of
course! Was a good rest last night. What about you? No trouble
sleeping, I hope?" she paused before the hostess, looking at him
to ensure this was his desire for the night.

He produced his card with the swiftest of motions, no delay as he
set them up for the night, a bottle of champagne ordered--whether
she'd drink a lot of it or not--and a warm smile for her. "I've
got something for you," he whispered to her secretly once they
were in the familiar room, "a gift that you CAN take with you."

Her ears perked at the promise of a present, guiding him into the
room, the heavy fabric brushing against her soft skin, "A gift?"
she looked at him with widened eyes, "What is it?"

Pulling his robe from his shoulders, he tossed it onto the table,
laying the bottle aside and produced a small little device from his
pockets. Ushering her towards the bench, he was all smiles as he
wielded the tiny little three inch long metal device, "It
occurred to me that something which was denied me in my training,
might be something I could finally give you that was both meaningful
and able to be taken with you, regardless of what anyone might try to
do."

"What is it?"

Giving her a toothy smile, he reached up, brushing some of his
hair from his forehead and eyes, "This isn't it, Ardanna. It's
what it holds," he said, twisting the device and activating it.

Suddenly the whole room was lit up with a holographic image of a
foreign world, lush jungle all about them. She startled backwards at
the sudden light, frightened for the moment. A gasp pushed through
her lips before her posture softened, eyes widening as she stared,
looking around at the image from multiple angles.

"I always cherished the sights and sounds of the worlds I
visited, Ardanna. But my master and the instructors always taught
against material attachments and longing, so I was never allowed to
record what I saw."

"Wh--" her words stopped, her breath inhaled sharply as
she listened. "You recorded this?"

Pressing a button, a small tripod extended from the device, and he
laid it out carefully. Shaking his head he said softly, "No. I
wanted to, but I was never allowed..." smiling over at her, he
looked serenely happy, "but I paid a trader here about a week
ago to procure a holographic-projector with footage of some of the
worlds I've visited, and others. He delivered it today."

She pressed her body against his, resting her head against his
shoulder, "Where is this?" she asked softly, her voice a
low whisper as she tried not to disrupt the almost magical vision
that filled the room.

He placed his one arm in around her waist, resting his head
against hers as they looked around at the holographic image. The
emitter even started to give the sounds of some odd warbling
creature, perhaps a large bird, amidst a light flurry of cricket-like
noises. "It's from a world called Mulroon. No natural
intelligent inhabitants, but a wealth of exotic, beautiful life."
He looked at her, beaming with the shared experience.

A rush of questions came to mind, but she didn't want to overwhelm
him. She licked her lips, trying to think of the most important one
before deciding, "What brought you there?" she looked at
him, knowing such tender affection for a man so kind and so smitten
with her, and for which her budding feelings were blossoming.

His eyes narrowed, not in anger or frustration, but some mild
determination at the memory of his experiences. "There were
people who came there, to exploit it, and use it for material
benefit. They were reckless, they cared nothing for the harm they
were doing to it. So we were sent to negotiate with them... to
extricate them if necessary."

"I see. That's very noble of you," she smiled brightly.
"What was your favourite part of it?"

"The peaceful negotiations, mostly. It all went well and they
scaled back their operations, cleaned up what was left without a
fight. But if you mean the world," he peered around again,
sighting a dark segment of the jungle and pointing to it, an old
decrepit tree that was somehow venerable and well-aged despite the
fact it was dead and broken. "I was given a test to head into
the jungle alone and meditate. I found a place filled with dead trees
like that, left by something ages ago. I meditated there, on the old
destruction. But after a while I became distracted by the wildlife,
and instead I wandered and studied it... alone, without interruption
from my instructors. I enjoyed that best of all," he said
wistfully. "I wish I could have taken images of the creatures I
saw there."

"Maybe you'll get another chance someday without your
instructors; able to take as many pictures as you like. It's not as
though it's truly material attachments."

Pausing, she looked at him pensively, "Some of what you've
learned is so wise, and other parts so... needless. Our memories and
experiences are what makes us whole," she stroked along his
jawline, "It's natural to feel attached to beauty."

Soaking in each syllable with an affectionate dedication to her
wisdom, he nodded, "You're right. I think." His arm
squeezed around her waist, his voice soft, "They worry that
attachment to someone... or something, colours ones opinions; leaves
them off balance. Makes you vulnerable to reliance upon others, which
leads to reliance on machines. That we must be always calm and
serene, never angry or elated. Things like love and fear are strictly
harmful, and to be avoided."

Her nose crinkled and she looked away, disappointed by that line
of thinking. "It sounds rather bland. And like they distrust you
to act appropriately just because you, say, feel affection for a
certain planet. That suddenly all of your opinions are wrong because
of it," she shook her head.

There was a slight look of distaste on his face as well, but it
quickly made way to a smile--for her. His hand rubbed over her side
and hip ever so lightly, "They think that if someone feels one
emotion, allows it to blossom and grow in them... then they will let
others in. Love leads the way for dread and anger, and those lead one
to do evil deeds. Or so that is their argument, Ardanna."
Studying her beautiful blue skin and face, he smiled affectionately
at her, "I am growing to doubt it more and more."

"I know too many people who only feel hate and anger, and
there's no love in them. If the opposite isn't true, then I don't
think the reverse can be true," she shook her head, her face
pressing up along his jaw line for a moment. "And you don't need
to feel something to act wrongly. Some who do the worst things do it
for no other reason than because they can. No hate. No anger. No
love. No feeling."

His tan cheeks flushed as she pressed her face to his. "You
are right, Ardanna..." he said in a soft whisper. Nuzzling his
own cheek to one of her
tentil
, he brought his other arm up to her
shoulder, holding her in both as they stood amidst the faux jungle of
light, "How is it a singular person can hold wisdom greater than
a council of wise and powerful masters?"

She laughed in a light, girlish sound, modesty prevailing as she
shook her head, "I wouldn't say that," she said softly,
running her hand along his chest. "It's just what I've seen from
working here. They sound like they study emotions in a clinical
sense. In here... you see a full range of different people and
personalities. There's nothing clinical about it."

Lightly touching his lips to her blue skin in a chaste, faint
mimicry of a kiss, he pulled back to meet her gaze, "You are
right again. Perhaps the clinical approach has no place when it comes
to love. There should be balance, as they say, but..." he licked
his lips slowly. "How can you be balanced when you deny so much?
Live in such denial of yourself and others?"

She stroked his chest lightly, inhaling his scent, "There's
just nothing predictable about emotions, good or bad, and I suppose
they don't trust you to know the difference. But," she said with
a pause, "without love, how can you know compassion?"

Shaking his head slowly, he said, "I don't know, Ardanna. I
think that is something they were lacking in too, honestly."

Swallowing, he lifted his fingers up to brush the tips lightly
along her blue head-tentacle, tracing it backwards as he admired her
intelligence, wisdom and beauty, "I wish they could understand
what you've shown and taught me these past days, Ardanna."

"If they don't want to, they wouldn't understand," she
looked sad for a moment, wrapping her arms around him. "Everyone
has to find out what they need to know on their own, unfortunately."

"Such wisdom you have, it's astounding..."