Marcael: A Terraneu Novel, Book Five

by Stormy McKnight

  When they were able to catch their breath Brennae teased, “You are supposed to use the shower to get clean. Not dirty!” She grabbed some soap and started scrubbing him clean, and then handed over the soap so he could reciprocate.

  ~*~*~*

  When they were lounging lazily in her bed later that night Marcael asked about something that he had just noticed.

  “Why do you have so many pillows?” He pointed around the bed.

  Brennae blushed when she thought about the reason for her pillows, and then explained. “I read somewhere that if you are serious about lovemaking you should have a lot of pillows. Small ones, large ones, round, square…” her voice trailed off when she caught his astonished expression. “What?”

  “What exactly do you do with the pillows?” Marcael had grabbed one and held it up as if to gauge what it would do to enhance his lovemaking.

  “You use them as props.” She went to take the pillow from him but he dodged her and she ended up flat on her stomach. Laughing she went to roll over but he stopped her with a hand to her lower back.

  “Hold on.” She could hear the familiar heat in his voice. “I am beginning to see how some pillows might be effective.” He moved his hold onto her hips and lifted her up. Before she could ask, what he planned to do a pillow was stuffed under her stomach. He followed the first pillow with another until she was able to place her forearms on the bed and relax her body on the pillows.

  Her heated check was resting against the cool bedding, “This is nice.” She knew with her butt pointing in the air Marcael was getting a great view and with anyone else, she would be embarrassed at the position she was in. Marcael was not just anyone though, he was her mate and she would do anything he wanted.

  “I wish you could see yourself sweet one.” Marcael was rubbing his hands along her hips and thighs. His fingers trailing close to the vee of her legs. “You are so perfect.”

  “Remember what I said about foreplay?” Brennae groaned. “That applies to right now as well.”

  “You are an impatient minx.” Marcael moved behind her and Brennae felt the length of him rubbing against her making himself wet. When she pushed back against him, he slapped her buttock playfully. “Not just yet.” He rubbed himself along her nerve endings. Every time she pushed back against him, he would smack her buttocks again. She was ready to scream when she finally felt him nudge against her. “Now I think you are ready.” Before she could agree, he held her by the hips and drove himself into her. She dug her arms into the mattress and used them for leverage to push back. She did not protest when he pulled back because she knew he would not leave her. He did nudge her knees apart to get better traction between her legs. Then he was pounding into her harder than ever before.

  She could feel his balls swinging and slapping against her with every thrust. Just when she thought she would fly apart Marcael pulled out and flipped her over. He did keep one pillow angled under her lower back and buttocks. Then he pressed along her from hips to chest, only using his forearms to keep a bit of his weight off her. Brennae wrapped her legs around his upper thighs and pushed against him to get him moving again.

  “I was so close.” Brennae dug her nails into his shoulders, “Make me fly Marcael.”

  He did not waste time building up a tempo, when Brennae told him to move he just started flexing his hips madly. “You feel too good.” He placed frantic kisses along her neck and shoulders. “Fly for me sweet one.” He moved his mouth to her breasts and tormented them with his hot tongue, “Fly for me.”

  When Marcael latched onto her breast and tugged the shooting pleasure sent her over the edge. With a muffled groan, she went flying apart, her nails dug into his back and her legs locked against his. She could feel Marcael tense and seconds later with one last thrust, he found his release too.

  Rolling to the side Marcael laughed breathlessly, “I really need to read more if there is that kind of advice in books.”

  Brennae smiled naughtily, “You would be surprised what you can learn in a book.” She had tucked herself into Marcael’s side and yawned hugely. “There are a few that I think you will appreciate. I can even skip to the good parts if you want.”

  Marcael tucked the blanket around them and ran his hands over her hair, as was his habit. “I would like that sweet one.” He pulled her more tightly against him and she heard him whisper, “How would you feel about filing for a home in New Haven before we leave for the North?”

  “That would be nice.” She kissed against his chest distractedly.

  “Just nice?” Marcael sounded offended.

  “My love,” she emphasized with kisses, “Where we live isn’t as important as being together. We can stay here and join our two domes until we are finished traveling. If you want a home in New Haven, then that would be fine too. I just want to be with you.”

  “I would like to get started on our home in New Haven. We should have a few days before the trip north. By the way, did I mention I was asked to join the male council?”

  “What?” Brennae’s shocked yell echoed around the dome.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  About Six Months Later

  They had arrived back in Terraneu two days ago and it was just in time. Tonight was the celebration dance and he was finally going to see what all the excitement was about firsthand. Brennae had given him a quick kiss and then hurried out the door. She had warned him that the preparations for the dance would keep her busy all day. Brennae said she would use her decorating duties to catch up with family and friends around Terraneu, that way when it was dance time she would be all his. The way the little minx had purred the words prompting him to race her for the door, but she had slipped out of his grasp. All he caught was her husky laughter floating back to him and something about what she would do to him “later”.

  Marcael moved back into the bedroom and got his clothes. He was supposed to drop Star and Jasper at the groomer since they had just come back from the north and both sacath needed a good cleaning and trimming. It was either that or they would shed all over their living dome and Marcael was positive Brennae did not want that. They were just making some progress in giving their living quarters in New Haven a ‘homey’ feel.

  He was really enjoying their home site in New Haven. Being a square of four, there were a few changes from a single dome. One was the much larger living space. Two was an inner courtyard that they could do with as they pleased. Some couples used the courtyard for hammocks, others made the extra space into a private lounge area, and still others used the space for children’s play equipment. For now, they were going to use the courtyard space to display things they found on their journeys. In the case of the trip north, Brennae had brought back…plants. He knew she had been hoping for something with fur and possibly more legs, but they had not come across any animal life for her to domesticate. He figured the presence of the sacath on the trip had been the reason that the wildlife avoided their caravan. He had spotted many different tracks, but nothing came near them. So Brennae had settled on plant life. He was a bit worried about how they would adapt to the difference in temperature, but for her sake, he was hoping they would survive.

  Brennae wanted to eventually add to or replace all the flowers and foliage in their bathroom, living spaces, and paths outside. Since he did not have a preference, he told her to do whatever made her the happiest. It was a good thing the material they had used for indoor planting in the bathroom could be used anywhere in the domes.

  Looking around at their living room Marcael smiled. He had surprised Brennae with a framed digital collage of images taken during their trip. He had also had some snow placed around the edges inside the frame as an added touch. Brennae’s uncle had created a special chemical that would keep it from melting, so they had a permanent reminder of their first encounter with snow. Just looking at the images brought him back to the expedition north.

  Marcael had learned a lot about Brennae on that journey. She was invaluable with the sorrem.
He could not count how many times she saved them from disaster with her knowledge of the animals. She was funny, entertaining, loving, playful, and had he mentioned stubborn? They had their share of disagreements during the trip, but they had worked them all out. He was happy to say that even her Uncle Knaleg had stopped watching him so closely. Thinking of her uncle made him laugh. Catherine had stayed behind since their twins were still school aged, so he had grumbled and fussed the entire time away from his family. As addictive as Brennae was to him, he imagined he would act the same way in twenty years. He could not begin to know what it would feel like to be a father away from his children.

  When they had arrived at the location Knaleg had chosen the real work began. They had started with erecting a square of four domes for medical, transporting, technology and caging. Marcael laughed at the creatures of habit the men of Terraneu were. This new camp had the exact same center as Terraneu, and the work would begin on getting a ring of domes built around the square of four for visiting quarters. They did not have the materials to build the ring of visitor domes, but the additional resources needed to get those domes done could come and go through the transporter. Brennae had said in her professional opinion it was too cold for the sorrem this far north, so they had sent them back when the transport was able. The site needed to be quality checked by the council members assigned to the duty, but Marcael was sure that it was going to pass. He figured in less than three months they would be opening the northern vacation destination for visitors. They were waiting on naming the site. After more members of the community were able to go north, they would all vote on the name they liked for it. He was going to submit the name Sierra Summit. He thought that had a nice ring to it. Brennae swore it would be a long while before she wanted to go north again, so she would pass on giving the camp a name. The cold weather had not bothered him or the sacath. Star, Jasper and Titan had been along for the trip and frolicked in the snow without any issues.

  Gathering the sacath and leaving New Haven Marcael hurried along the path to the groomer, Star and Jasper stayed right on his heels. When he stopped at the dome that held the groomer and pointed, “Go” both sacath hit the ground and rolled onto their backs, feet pawing at the air. “Stop being such big babies and go!” Marcael waited and when the sacath refused to budge, he got the assistance of the groomer. Dragging Jasper behind the groomer who was dragging Star, Marcael was huffing and puffing. “You need this Jasper. You stink!”

  “I know what Brennae wants done Marcael. I’ll take if from here.”

  Marcael was happy to leave the protesting sacath and make his way to the fabricator. He had requested a special necklace made for Brennae and he wanted to pick it up before she caught him and ruined the surprise. He marveled at all the activity around the community. These dances were a very popular event if the buzz of excitement in the air was any indication. He saw volunteers putting up twinkle lights, banners, and streamers all over the paths, benches and even in the park and swimming pond.

  “Marcael? Can you come to the council dome?” He heard Kniam in his mind.

  “I will be right there. I am at the fabricator and it will only be a moment.” Marcael answered back. When he had his package, he turned along the path and walked to the council dome.

  When he arrived, it was only the male council at this meeting. Kniam, Knollig, Knaleg, Kneus, Thian, Asteen, Ailech, the newly appointed Baylech, and himself. Marcael took his place at the table and the meeting was called to session.

  Kniam looked around the table but his gaze stopped on him. “With your mission north, and having just arrived back after everyone left for Antilles, we want to make sure you know what was accomplished yesterday and what we left on Earth.” He nodded to Kneus and his brother started talking.

  “We sent all of the atmosphere cleaners we could make in the time we had to build them, the equipment to monitor their progress and more probes. All of those items will remain cloaked of course. There were no indications of native activity just like your mission.”

  Knollig smiled, “It went very quickly. I don’t think the team was on Earth for longer than a couple of hours.” He looked to Kniam, “You would think that Knadyn, Knacayn, and Knalech had stayed there for years the way they went on and on about the mission.”

  Kniam smiled indulgently, “Yes they are young and very excited to do a mission to Earth. I figured it was a good one to start them with.”

  “They had to start somewhere.” Kneus laughed at his son’s eagerness.

  Marcael smiled at the image of Brennae’s brothers and how pumped up with pride they must be feeling. He remembered his first mission for their grandfather. Could it be that it was really so long ago? Shaking off the memories of a life he no longer recognized, Marcael asked, “Is the plan still the same. To gather the data in six months and then decide on an extended away mission?”

  “Yes nothing has changed in that regard.” Kniam answered, “Once we have an idea on the changes our atmosphere cleaners have done, if any, we can decide on further missions. Now that the Northern holiday camp is being finished we need to decide on a time frame for the mission to expand to the West.”

  The talk turned to when the caravan would be leaving again, how long it would take, and who would be going. Since this camp would be in a tropical location, Knaleg insisted that Catherine and the twins were going this time. Marcael knew he was not going to miss seeing Brennae on the sandy beach, so it was decided who would be traveling. Knaleg insisted they could be back before the next Antilles mission if they left in a few days. It was going to take them a shorter time traveling to get to this expansion. Setting up the square of four and prepping the area would take less than three or four months tops Knaleg assured the group.

  When it was time to call the meeting so everyone could get ready for the dance, Marcael was surprised to note the increased excitement coming from the males. Up to this point, he thought it was just the women who were anticipating the dance. He asked the males about it before they could hurry off.

  “You’ll see.” Knollig stated with a smile. “It isn’t that the dance isn’t fun because everyone has a good time.”

  “It’s what the dancing leads to.” Thian hurried out the door.

  “What did he mean?” Marcael wondered at Thian’s parting words. He knew what dancing led to in the privacy of their dome when he held Brennae. Surely, Thian was not suggesting it happened in public.

  “Well you’ve lived for thousands of years Marcael.” Knaleg laughed and hit him on the back as he passed by. “What do you think he meant.” Then he hurried out the door laughing even harder at Marcael’s expression.

  “I’m staying out of this one.” Kniam moved past him out the door. “We’ll see you at the dance later.”

  Marcael just followed the other members out the door. He was suddenly apprehensive about attending the celebration. What if it turned into an orgy and he had to kill someone for touching Brennae? Worse than that, what if she got mad at him for not participating? What if…suddenly he started laughing. The males had been teasing him and he was letting his imagination get away from him. There was no way that Brennae was going to ask him to participate in an orgy. She was just as possessive as he was. He was going to have a good time at the dance and make sure that Brennae did as well.

  *~*~*

  Now he knew what the excitement was all about, the celebration dance was like nothing he had ever participated in before. The Watering Hole had set up a table so that you could get refreshment without having to leave the park. The music was loud enough to hear, but not so loud that you could not talk. The lights were bright in the middle of the dancing area, but then they got shadowy and romantic the farther on the edges of the park you went. Everywhere you looked there were couples, families, and friends all enjoying themselves dancing, drinking flavored water, swimming or showing off their football skills.

  Brennae had insisted that they did not have to find her family to say hello, but Marcael had insisted t
hat it was okay. He understood that she had been to more of the dances than he had, and she did not want to spend the night surrounded by family. He just wanted to make it a quick visit. Spending time with her family in an informal setting was a revelation for him. Everyone was talking over each other, and he would have sworn that the women were managing to talk about everything at once. The children had begged permission to leave and play with friends already so it was just the adults left. Not long after that everyone else scattered to dance, or drink, or swim and Marcael moved with Brennae to the edge of the dance floor.

  “I got you something.” He whispered against her ear as they danced to a nice, slow song. Pulling the necklace out of his pocket, he held it up so she could see it shining in the light.

  “It’s beautiful Marcael.” She went to reach for it but he stopped her.

  “There is a surprise to it.” He showed her the little nick that when pushed with a fingernail the necklace popped open. Inside was a glittering snowflake. “Do you remember when your Uncle Kneus came north to inspect the transporter?” When she nodded her head he continued, “I had him separate a snowflake from one of the snowballs we had thrown around, and then I added the rest of it to our picture collage.” He smiled at the stunned look on Brennae’s face then gently turned her so he could put the necklace on for her. Moving her hair over her shoulder and kissing the skin that was revealed he sighed, “I want to add some sand from our trip to the beach when we go.” Turning her back around, he softly kissed her lips. “If that is something you would want.” He hurried to say in case she thought he was being presumptuous about what she would like added to her gift.

  “It’s perfect Marcael.” She wrapped her arms around him, “I would love to place some sand from the beach into my necklace.” The song changed but was still a slow one. Brennae was pressing her lips against the side of his neck and he felt her tongue slowly lick against his skin. The immediate answer in his groin almost made him stumble. He grabbed handfuls of her ass and pulled her harder against him. Their movements matched the tempo of the music and it occurred to Marcael that slow songs were like making love, only standing up and with clothes on. He slowly worked them further into the shadows, until they were completely engulfed by darkness. He was not as open as the other residents of Terraneu were when it came to public displays of affection. What he wanted to do with Brennae was meant for a bedroom, he just did not think they would make it that far. She had been rubbing against the front of him, her fingers digging into his skin and her mouth moving more desperately along his neck.