by L P Peace
‘Where’s Kentor and Sidha?’
‘Not coming anytime soon,’ Bedvir grinned.
The Gahdi laughed, and Danielle felt herself flushing.
Aerdan caught Danielle’s eye as they got closer. He held his hands over his head in a gesture of victory. ‘I won!’
Danielle laughed and, letting go of Bedvir, she crossed into Aerdan’s arms. He settled them around her, looking down at her, his eyes bright and his grin wicked.
‘Me too!’ Haddis said, winking at her.
Danielle laughed and held an arm out to him, which he took. ‘My conquering heroes.’
‘Don’t get complacent. You have to do the next task now.’
Danielle turned to look at Gahdi Inria. ‘What’s next?’
‘Now we have to turn the ingredients into olgi,’ Aerdan said.
‘It’s hard,’ Haddis added. ‘Especially with new ingredients.’
‘Oh lord,’ Danielle whispered.
‘But we have a couple of hacri first, so let’s get some food and drinks,’ Haddis said, pulling her from Aerdan’s arms.
‘Conquering heroes,’ Aerdan said, grinning at Bedvir.
‘She’ll think differently when she hears about that stinging root you almost sat on,’ Bedvir replied.
‘Almost,’ Aerdan said, he struck like an adder, a quick kiss on Danielle’s cheek. ‘Almost.’
* * *
The next day and a half went by as the Temerin moved from one game to another. Five more people were knocked out during the olgi competition, their concoctions somehow not becoming olgi and even worse, one of them creating a stench so bad most of the crowd left while the contestants found different ways to block the smell from their noses so they could continue.
Aerdan, Tonni, and Haddis all passed, as did Tarkin.
Another four were knocked out when they had a tree cutting competition with Temerin working in pairs. There was a rock clearing competition on the beach and a swimming competition.
Aerdan never won any of them, but he never came in last either. Haddis had won the rock clearing competition, which was rolling boulders over the beach and away from the surf, but was knocked out in the swimming competition along with Tonni. All the way through, Bedvir assured her Aerdan would be the victor.
There was just one more competition to go.
Drinking.
Because of course it was.
Aerdan and Tarkin were the only two left in the competition now, and Tarkin was taller and larger than Aerdan. Danielle worried Aerdan didn’t have the constitution to survive against the other Temerin, who’s determination to win had only grown as the others were knocked out and it came down to these two males.
The first night after the race, they’d returned to their blanket. There, Aerdan had brought Danielle to her first release, moving her fingers out of the way to replace them with his own when she asked him to. She was awoken twice more with Haddis and Bedvir all wanting to experience what Aerdan had.
Danielle was aware that Haddis and Aerdan were going into the woods to relieve themselves and was beginning to feel bad that she wasn’t helping them when they were with her, but they would hear nothing of it. Still, she felt selfish and was determined to find a way through her freaked-out psyche so that she could be with them properly.
She was falling in love with them. But she’d known that for a while, even though she’d tried to deny it to herself. It was one of the reasons she was so worried about coming between the three of them. But that really seemed to be something they’d overcome on their own.
They were the complete opposite of her. Where she was serious, they were playful. Where she was anal retentive, and knew she was, they were careless. Where she remembered things long after they’d occurred, her three males let things go. She was learning from them, not necessarily good things, but things she needed. Things she should have learned a long time ago.
The past seemed to have less of a hold on her, and she found muscles that had been tense for decades were suddenly and slowly unwinding.
They were good for her, these three males. Kentor and Sidha too. They didn’t just take care of her; they didn’t let her take herself too seriously, and she needed that. She realised she’d gone from not being taken seriously by the people she needed most, to taking all criticism—no matter how kindly meant—to heart and acting defensively. That had put her on the attack, and when she thought about Zoe Winters, when she thought about the way she hated her, she realised now it was because she could see so much of herself in Zoe and took her own self-hatred out on the poor woman. She’d have to find a way to make it up to her at some point.
The second day of the games passed into evening. The six crewmembers of Compound Errors spent what they could of the day together and, along with the rest of the Temerin, made their way to the beach for the final game.
Aerdan brushed a kiss over her lips, then split from the crew to join Tarkin in front of the surf.
‘I really don’t want to watch this,’ Danielle said. ‘Does it need to be a drinking game?’
Her parents had always drunk. Coming home from the clubs, stinking of booze and crashing around the place. They whisper-shouted to stay quiet, ‘Dani’s in bed,’ before some stupid argument about cooking food before bed broke out. Sometimes it was for, sometimes against depending on if her mum felt like a responsible adult that day.
Danielle wondered what kind of drunk Aerdan was. It worried her.
‘This is how it’s done,’ Bedvir said. ‘All will be well.’
‘We should have loaded him down with carbs first,’ Danielle said. ‘Plenty of water. This is gonna be a shitshow!’
Cuulden appeared and walked over to a table that had been set up in the sand. Aerdan and Tarkin moved in and joined him.
Aerdan’s eyes found her and he winked, a mischievous grin on his face. His whole body seemed to be buzzing with excitement and the crowd was watching with a silence that belied their eagerness as they waited for Cuulden to talk.
‘This is such a macho bullshit competition,’ Danielle whispered.
Bedvir pulled her into his side, Haddis snickering and holding her hand.
‘We all know the rules,’ Cuulden said. His eyes flickered over Danielle. ‘They drink and keep on drinking until there is only one standing. If either of them are sick, they forfeit the competition.’
The crowd roared in assent, forcing Danielle to cover her ears. When the crowd quieted, Cuulden raised a hand. It hovered in the air for a few moments as an expectant hush fell over the spectators.
The hand dropped.
Both Aerdan and Tarkin raced to the table upon which two dozen glasses, at least, were sat. They both knocked down the first drink in a few seconds, then the next. The third went a moment later, followed by a fourth.
‘This is so stupid,’ Danielle said.
Around her, the Temerin seemed to think the exact opposite. They were shouting and cheering both of them on. Though Danielle liked to think that there were more people shouting for her Aerdan, than Tarkin.
It was around the ninth drink that things began to slow down. Though, Danielle couldn’t help noticing that Tarkin slowed first and Aerdan seemed to slow in response. He was watching the other male like a hawk, she realised. When Tarkin slowed, so did Aerdan; when Tarkin got a second wind, Aerdan sped up.
‘What’s he doing?’ Danielle asked.
Bedvir chuckled.
‘He’s pacing him.’ Danielle said. ‘Why?’
‘Why not?’ Haddis answered with a shrug. ‘He’s going to win. There’s no point drinking more than he needs to.’
The sun was setting behind the two males, and someone had lit tiki-style torches on either side of the table. Drinks went down, and a couple of males started refilling the table.
Tarkin was visibly struggling now, whereas Aerdan seemed to be unaffected. At one point, the green-grey Temerin stopped drinking and dry heaved.
‘Oh my god!’ Danielle said, closing her eye
s. He wasn’t being sick, but he was close.
There was some more heaving, then silence. ‘He’s continuing,’ Bedvir said, his hand stroking her back soothingly. ‘You can look.’
Danielle opened her eyes and watched Aerdan as he watched Tarkin down another drink.
The crowd were counting along as they drank and Aerdan had kept to the same pace as Tarkin the entire time. Fifteen drinks had now passed their lips, and Danielle couldn’t help but admire them.
But there was no way they were going to be able to drink this much without consequences.
‘This is some macho bullshit!’ Danielle shook her head but couldn’t help laughing when Aerdan winked at her again.
Tarkin picked up his sixteenth glass. His eyes looked unfocused and he was leaning heavily against the table. He sipped on the drink, and the crowd jeered at him. Beside him, Aerdan was standing with his sixteenth drink in his hand, untouched.
Tarkin took several more sips, before the mocking of the crowd became too much and he began downing the drink. As soon as he did, Aerdan practically inhaled his glass, putting it down and picking up the next one before Tarkin was done with his.
‘Bloody hell! Where does he put it all?’
‘That’s been a mystery to us for a long time,’ Bedvir said. ‘I’ve never met someone who could outdrink him.’
Seemingly determined not to be out done by Aerdan, Tarkin picked up another drink and began gulping. He was standing straight, his head thrown back, staggering in the sand.
Aerdan watched for a moment, before a knowing grin appeared. He quickly downed his drink, but instead of putting the glass down, he waited.
Tarkin wasn’t even halfway through when he tipped back and disappeared behind the table.
The crowd went insane.
As though he wasn’t even aware of them, Aerdan put his glass down, picked up another and downed it, and repeated it once more.
‘Why did he do that? He won.’
‘No ambiguity,’ Haddis said, clapping.
‘Aren’t we going over there?’ Danielle eyed the crowd, more than a little nervous.
‘No. Let the crowd have him first,’ Bedvir said. He didn’t voice it, but Danielle felt like he was holding back for her benefit. Though she wanted to show Aerdan her support, she was grateful.
A few minutes passed before Aerdan appeared on top of the table.
‘The games have decided,’ he called out. ‘Tomorrow, we leave. We head out there and we look for Tolomus.’
A massive cheer rose through the crowd. Danielle noticed Temerin who’d argued against the hunt were celebrating Aerdan’s victory.
Bedvir seemed to notice what had attracted her attention. ‘The decision is made. Now we all abide by it,’ he said. ‘Even the vocally opposed are obligated to live by this decision.’
People were still congratulating Aerdan, and it didn’t look like it was going to end anytime soon.
‘Come on. Let’s go congratulate him,’ Danielle said, taking the hands of both Bedvir and Haddis and leading them into the crowd. As soon as Aerdan saw them approaching, he jumped off the table, landing in the sand in front of her, and pulled her into a hug before dancing around, leading her in a quick jig.
Slowly the crowd dispersed around them. The music started up, and instead of the small gatherings the other parties had separated into, the Temerin intermingled, never sitting down.
More than a dozen approached them over the next hour. Their group growing as Aerdan retold the whole thing from his perspective until they were laughing.
Members of Haddis and Bedvir’s mitas all appeared. They gave gifts to Danielle, small pieces of jewellery and trinkets, telling her about why they were lucky, or why they would bring her fertility. Which gods they represented and how she should look after the item so they’d favour her.
Danielle thanked them all, even the ones looking at her hopefully for children, while Kentor packed them away in the bag he always seemed to carry.
Beside her, Aerdan suddenly became unsteady on his feet.
‘Right. I’m getting him back to the ship,’ Kentor said. ‘You three, enjoy your night without Aerdan,’ he laughed, taking Aerdan’s hand and leading him away. Aerdan broke away a moment later and pulled Danielle into his arms.
‘You are the most beautiful female we’ve ever seen, and we want to spend the rest of our lives with you,’ he whispered. He kissed her quickly, then was gone.
Danielle watched him go, stumbling between Sidha and Kentor, before the trees swallowed them. ‘What happened?’
‘It takes a while for him to show how drunk he is,’ Bedvir laughed. ‘He doesn’t want you to see him like that.’
‘Does he get like that often?’ Danielle asked, dreading the answer.
‘No, little one. Aerdan doesn’t like to get drunk. This is a special case.’ Bedvir pulled her into his arms. ‘And when he is drunk, he is an affectionate and sleepy drunk.’
Danielle felt something unknot within her. She didn’t like drinking. It left her feeling out of control, and she was too much of a control freak to deal with that. She didn’t like the idea of being in a relationship with someone who was a heavy drinker either. It brought back too many bad memories, but, when she really thought about it, she realised they’d never once drank alcohol with dinner in all the time she’d been on Compound Errors. As carefree and flippant as her men seemed to be, they took their ship and safety seriously, which until this moment, Danielle hadn’t realised how much that would mean to her.
‘Come, love, let’s get you to bed.’ There was a wicked gleam in Bedvir’s eye as he spoke. He called out to Haddis, who was deep in conversation with someone from his mita. Haddis made his excuses, and together the three of them disappeared into the forest. The first to go.
* * *
It was strange, going through the forest without Aerdan. Settling down on the blanket that somehow always seemed to reappear on its own, despite them packing it away every day.
Bedvir tugged off his top and gestured for Danielle to come closer. He saw her hesitation. ‘Would you prefer to wait until tomorrow?’
Haddis came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. ‘Aerdan is well, Danielle. Each of us knows there will be times when we will not be with you and you are making love with one or two of us. We only want you to be happy.’
Still, Danielle hesitated. ‘So if I were to go to Aerdan tomorrow, just to be with him, neither of you would take offence?’
‘Why would we take offence?’ Bedvir asked. ‘When we know each of us will have private time with you.’ He walked over to her until she was pinned between both Bedvir and Haddis.
They were so much taller than her. Bedvir was taller than Haddis, and she had to tilt her head back against Haddis’s chest to look up.
A small, knowing smile touched his lips, his finger and thumb closing on her chin as he stroked her jawline with his other fingers. ‘You are so beautiful,’ he said.
Behind her, Haddis murmured in agreement.
‘Tell us to stop and we will,’ he said, his eyes suddenly sincere.
Danielle nodded, swallowing over the thick emotion and need that seemed to steal her breath.
Slowly, Bedvir took the tie that held her wrap dress closed and pulled on it. As it fell apart, Danielle felt her body tense, her breathing growing shallower. Bedvir stared into her eyes the entire time, letting her see him, letting her know it was him.
Behind her, Haddis pulled her dress over her shoulders, and then it was gone. He stepped closer to her, his bare skin contacting hers, warmth against the chill night air. He had no pants on, she realised, when she felt the thickness of his shaft press against her.
Danielle waited for the fear to start. For her past to come crashing into her, the memories of what was terrible to drown out the beauty that was now, but they never came. Letting out a sigh of relief, she tipped her head as Haddis’s lips connected with her throat and moaned as his tongue laved over a sensitive area she neve
r knew she had, her eyes closing.
A hand enclosed one breast, fingers playing with her nipple until it was a hard, taut point. Each pull and tug seemed to strike her between her legs and a dull, slow pulse began, promising something more intense as it slowly built.
A hand carded through her hair, pulling it out of her face. ‘Vrok, you are so beautiful,’ she heard Bedvir say, his voice thick with desire.
She opened her eyes and saw raw hunger on his face. She pulled him to her, hooking her hand to the back of his neck, their lips meeting in a clash of need Danielle had never felt before. Like before, his kisses were dominating. Bedvir was in command, and somehow Danielle seemed to know exactly what he wanted. His tongue invaded her mouth, his hand wrapping around the back of her head as he directed her movements, taking absolute control.
The pulse of need between her legs intensified, and Danielle felt herself become wet with want.
When he broke the kiss, he was smirking down at her as he took his pants off.
Danielle looked down and gasped. ‘You have two?’ she looked back up at him to find his smirk had only grown. Her quiet Bedvir was suddenly cocky.
Well, he would be, wouldn’t he?
Haddis moved behind her, and she suddenly felt what she thought was one thick cock were actually two. She felt two dribbles of precum on her hip.
Without thinking, Danielle reached down and took hold of one of Bedvir’s shafts. It bucked and throbbed in her hand. Bedvir let out a long groan, his eyes closing. Standing completely still, one hand gripping onto her shoulder, he submitted to her as she ran her hand up the very alien-looking peen.
‘There’s so much going on here,’ she whispered. ‘I’m sorry, Bedvir, but I need a closer look.’ Danielle got on her knees, and from the low light of the luminescent plant life, she took each of his cocks in her hands and studied them.
Bedvir was big. Both of them. His cock was deeply textured with bumps and ridges and almost folds of slightly tougher skin. They mirrored each other, so that the two sides facing each other were the same. In both cases, he got thicker the farther down he went, and along the back of each, a thick ridge ran along the centre, tapering to a mushroom head that was almost the same thickness of the bottom.