Knell (7 page)
“It is my job.”
“And my burden, so don’t let me avoid this opportunity. I might never get my nerve up again.”
“Should I go slow?”
“This can move at whatever speed you like. I won’t know the difference.”
He brushed his lips across hers and the speaking was over.
Loxin stroked her neck and trailed his fingers down her spine, which made her press to him out of reflex. He cupped her buttocks in each hand and squeezed gently.
She felt the thick bar of his erection and the slick trail it was leaving on her inner thigh. Her own moisture was apparent, but she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be doing. She touched his ribs, moved her hands up the bands of muscle across his chest and slid her exploration around to his back where she stroked the underside of his wing. A spurt of hot liquid dampened her thigh as his cock jerked in response to that light touch.
Loxin rolled her to her back and moved down her body, licking and sucking at her skin as if each inch tasted differently. She shook and twisted under him until her legs parted and invited him in.
It seemed he had been waiting for the invitation. His fingers caressed her sex, and she arched when he slipped one into her opening. It slid in easily and she felt embarrassment mingle with the intense heat.
He worked at her for a while, slipping another finger in and stretching her and then another. The three fingers moved with a controlled motion within her while his burning red gaze watched her reactions.
Dot shuddered as her release approached with all the subtlety of a freight train. She ached, she burned and when he stroked over her clit with his thumb, she screamed.
He removed his fingers and thrust inside her, easing in bit by bit. There were a lot of bits.
He groaned as he managed to work his way into her completely. Once he covered her, his wings flared out around them both, encapsulating them in a dome of musk and sex. Loxin stroked slowly into her with undulating rocks of his hips.
Dot let her hands do what they wanted to, and she stroked his arms, shoulders, neck and jaw. As he thrust into her, she nipped his jaw and ran her hands over his body until she was caressing the base of his wings again.
He shouted and thrust hard into her, holding himself in place as he shuddered in release.
He lowered himself until he was kissing her again.
“This time, we do it together.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant until he withdrew until the wide head of his cock was the only thing inside her and then he surged into her in a slick motion. He repeated the move and she moaned.
Dot bit her lip to stop the noises and he kissed her.
“Don’t hold back. No secrets here, remember?”
She gave him what he wanted, every moan, whimper and grunt. She gasped when her second orgasm struck, waves of warm sensation running through her nerves and clasping the invader to her body tightly.
His shudder followed along with the slow clasp of her channel. His groan echoed against her ear and his weight pinned her to the bed.
Loxin murmured, “Stay here.”
He slid out of her and left the bed. When he returned, he had something in his hand that he pressed between her thighs.
Embarrassment didn’t cover it. She closed her eyes and tried not to concentrate on the hand that was cleaning her most intimate region.
When he was done, he lifted her against his chest. “We will adjourn to your room until the bots can clean up. I don’t think you would sleep well in my bed tonight.”
He carried her back to her room, and to her tired amusement, he tucked her into bed and crawled in next to her, covering her with one of his wings.
She rubbed her face against the soft feathers and smiled. They kept her warm and made her feel loved. Her mind froze as that word came into her thoughts.
Love was not something she had expected to feel, nor did she expect it to be directed at her. She was content to be wanted and she definitely was.
No one commented when Dot and Loxin arrived for breakfast together.
They had a day to prepare for the event, but they were going to be preparing while en route. It was a three-hour flight under normal circumstances and there was no reason to rush with the amount of warning she had given them.
Jekross got a cooking lesson in, and with his help and some very patient diners, Dot made her first meal.
It wasn’t horrible, but there wasn’t the same enthusiasm for the consumption that the Guardians normally expressed.
She grinned. “It is fine, guys. My first meal is edible but not very tasty. I can deal with that.”
Ralos gave her a sympathetic smile. “The first time is always awkward.”
Yekesh nodded. “You will gain proficiency with practice and there is always the dispenser if we get desperate.”
Loxin was having a hard time stifling his laughter.
Dot groaned and covered her face with her hands. She mumbled. “Thank you for your words of encouragement.”
Jekross pitched in. “You are very loud. Nice healthy lungs. We may want to work on soundproofing if you are going to do that often. We need our sleep.”
Dot pounded her forehead on the table while the others laughed.
“Isn’t it time for you to head out and save people?” She looked up and gave them all narrow-eyed gazes.
They grinned and took care of the dishes while she contemplated how to bury herself under the floor tiles.
She paused and she heard someone in her mind. It wasn’t a scream, it was a shout, and she knew that voice. It was hers.
She would keep this one thing to herself until they were back. She didn’t want them distracted from their assignment at the Yainin glacier.
When they were all in their battle suits, she saw them to the door and stroked Loxin’s feathers quickly before they loaded into the ship.
Once they were up and away, she went looking for the armoury that she had seen on day one. If she was going to be telling someone to get the hell away from the base, she was going to need something to back it up.
They might not need weapons on a mission but that didn’t mean that the base was undefended. Weapons training had been her best course.
The news reports showed the Guardians doing their thing, but there was an issue. Two of the children had suffered severe hypothermic shock before they could be dug out of the collapse. They had escaped from their group and no one had noticed. Jekross had found them when he had sensed the teacher’s need.
The Guardians were staying to talk to local schools and wait until the children were out of danger.
She had dutifully recorded the event the moment that they had been past the point of no return. No one had contacted her yet.
She slept fitfully, and when her alarm went off, she got her messages. Jekross’s face on the com was unhappy. “You should have mentioned this. We could have left one of us with you.”
“You were all needed. You had worked out your plans, and they were dependant on you all being there. I don’t even know why I am going to be shouting at someone, but I am not screaming…well, not in pain.”
“You are defenseless.”
She stiffened. “I am not. I have weapons proficiency and the willingness to defend the base. Trust me. I will be fine.”
That was her first call. Her second was from Yacaro. A woman with white hair called her and smiled. “So, you are the other Terran I painted. Well, Oracle, I am calling with a warning. The Yinshin have decided that they want a being who can see the future. They tried here and Charm kicked their asses, but now, they are on their way to you.”
“Rhoda, right? I am Dot.” She smiled at the woman’s familiar facial structure. No weird bones, no plates, just nice and human.
“Hello, Dot. Do you hear me? There is an attack squad on their way, and by the time I was notified of it, they were in orbit. They are minutes away.”
Dot nodded. “I know. I have heard my own voice and heard weapons fire immediately afterward. The Yinshin, they are a weird sickly yellow, right?”
Rhoda blinked. “Right. You heard it?”
“I hear the future, one day in advance. I am ready. Thanks for giving me what I was missing though. I would hate to shoot down a supply ship.” She grinned.
Rhoda chuckled. “Your supplies are picked up by the Guardians from a dispensing depot under high security. No one goes to a base on Nixos but the Guardians.”
“Thank you for that, Rhoda. I look forward to speaking again.”
“Me, too, Dot. Welcome to the Nyal Imperium.”
Dot laughed and closed the com. She headed to the door, picked up the weapons that she had selected and she went outside to wait on the stone surface. Her uniform fluttered in the breeze, and she had her hair up in a charming Gibson-girl style, not that anyone could see it. The breastplate was snug and her hood was up. She had bent the dress code a little by wearing a thin bodysuit under the dress, but she felt very comfortable otherwise.
She looked skyward and saw the bright speck coming toward her. Her day of prep had let her find the broadcast com on her uniform. When it was easy enough to see the foreign shuttle, she broadcast, “Approaching vessel, please divert course or you will be shot down.”
There was no reply, and she waited until the ship was larger, she said it again. “Approaching vessel, divert course or you will be shot down.”
“We have come for the Oracle. Stand aside or bring her out.”
She smiled. That was enough for her. Dot picked out the first rocket launcher and she aimed it at the ship, squeezing the trigger as she exhaled.
When the first one was away, she loaded the second and fired immediately. Sure enough, a countermeasure was deployed to stop the first rocket, but the second cruised through to the hull.
The shuttle wobbled, but it was still coming toward the island that protected the base. She grabbed the EMP generator and struck the ship once more. It struck the rocky hills in the centre of the island.
Preparing for her own mission had been an education. She had learned about the island, the substructure and where folk could hide. It almost made her feel like a real Guardian.
She slipped the straps of the other guns over her shoulders and went striding into the forest, looking for her prey.
Dot had a few minutes. They had to blow the doors to get out of the ship. She ran through the forest and took up a strategic position with the stun rifle. It was time to party.
* * * *
Jekross got them to the base as quickly as possible, but there were no life signs within the base itself.
“Where is she, Jek?” Loxin was beyond agitated, he was cold.
“She’s on the ridge. There are twenty life signs in her immediate vicinity.”
Loxin went to the hatch and gave a short nod. In a moment, he had opened it and he was flying with a deadly purpose. Jek took the ship to the base, and together, the rest of the group ran to help.
* * * *
Dot saw the Guardian ship coming in, but she didn’t have time to get back to the base before Loxin was hauling her into his arms. It felt so good, she shivered, but the weapon straps she was still wearing got in the way.
Behind her, she heard a groan. She whipped out of Loxin’s embrace and fired the stunner at the Yinshin trying to get up.
“Why didn’t you return to the base?” It was a snarl.
She could see that he was tense. “Because I didn’t know what to do with them and I can’t lift them. I tried. All I could do was clump them together and keep zapping them whenever one of them woke up.”
His helmet blocked her view, but she thought he was working his jaw.
The shrubs seemed to explode as the rest of the team arrived. They looked around, shrugged and started to clean up her mess with force bracelets provided by their suits.
“Seriously, your suits generate handcuffs?”
He loomed over her. “Would you like to find out?”
Dot turned and poked him in the centre of his breastplate. “One day, perhaps, but I have had a very trying day and I just want to curl up on the couch in your arms. Is that so much to ask?”
He must have seen the wisdom of her request, because they were on their way to the base in seconds. She had her evening planned and her casserole would be ready whenever someone was brave enough to try it.
Loxin got her out of her uniform in seconds, but his took considerably longer. The reveal was quite worth the effort and they both crammed into the shower to remove the sweat of their exertions and the fear that both had felt. It wasn’t the only thing that they did together that afternoon, but it set a pattern.
* * * *
Jekross looked at the meal left in the heater and he sniffed carefully. It looked like a battlefield but was actually quite tasty. If Dot got more practice with the spice rack, it might be edged into wonderful.
Ralos sauntered over, “It smells pretty good. Should we wait for them?”
Jekross set the deep dish on the table and Keyesh sniffed at it carefully before reaching for the scoop.
“No. We are not waiting for them. After they mate, they will sleep in each other’s arms. They both had a scare today. They need it.” He sat and filled his plate and then his glass.
“They certainly do.” Ralos raised his glass. “To our fearless leader getting laid.”
They toasted to his sentiment.
Jekross wondered if Oracle would ever figure out that she was in charge. They had required a leader who was different in every way, and oddly enough, she was precisely what they needed, and they were the same for her. He might tell her that she was in charge, but only if she needed to hear it.
This story could have gone on and on. I had forgotten what fun the Imperium was. I need to get back there soon. But a deadline called so you can enjoy what there is of it and imagine the rest.
Dot and Loxin will appear in a future book…when I need them to.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace