by Rebel West
“Incredible,” he mutters. “You’re completely at my disposal and in my control, and you gave yourself to me for this. I could do anything to you, Cali. Anything. So many things. I could make you wait until next sun to come. Should I do that?”
“No.” Tears roll down my face from the strain of holding back the orgasm.
“Maybe I’ll fuck your ass, then,” he decides, “and let you come when I do. Of course, if you don’t want to wait for that orgasm, you’ll need to use the anal device to help stretch you out first, or the experience won’t be pleasurable enough for you to come.”
“Yes, put in the device, please,” I beg, ready to say and do anything to come. “Put it in me and stretch my ass out, and leave it in as long as you like, I swear I won’t argue or you can use the strap, I’ll wear it all week if you want, just please fuck me.”
“Roll over,” he says, and helps me flip to my stomach. He arranges me on hands and knees, giving me some slack between the wrist connections so I’m comfortable. “Spread your thighs and brace with your elbows,” he orders.
In an instant, he has another anal device and presses it to my asshole, where it slowly enters, expands and contracts like before to fit. I sigh into the sensations.
By the time he says, “You’re ready,” and slides the device out, I’m bathed in a sheen of sweat and feel incoherent with need. I tense up when his cock pushes at my anus, but when he says, “Relax and push against me,” I’m able to obey.
“I don’t think you’ll fit,” I cry, but he does, slowly, inch by inch, and my tissues stretch to accommodate him. I groan at the harsh burn and wriggle, and he does something to the clit toy that makes it start to vibrate. I fall back onto my elbows, overstimulated in a pleasurable way, so drugged with the sensation that I feel nothing but pleasure as he pushes his way fully into my ass.
“I’m all the way in,” he said, his voice proud. “Now I’m going to fuck you. Brace yourself.”
I push against the mattress as he begins to move, dragging his thick cock out of my anus, then pressing it back in. It’s tight and it hurts, but in a way that only makes my pleasure stronger. The clit vibrations increase in intensity. Then his cock starts vibrating, too, and the rings are so tightly pressed to my inner tissues, stimulating me in ways I’ve never experienced, that I start to fly off the edge.
“Lock, I’m going to come,” I cry out.
“Not yet, or I’ll strap you tonight and tomorrow,” he warns. “I’m going to enjoy pumping you first, so you need to wait. Think about whatever you need to hold back.”
I’m about to about to die from want when he finally demands, “Now. Come now if you want to orgasm, or I won’t let you later.”
All the vibrations in my ass and clit and nipples overwhelm me, and I scream out my pleasure and shudder over and over as I come in the most glorious orgasm of my entire life.
I must have passed out, because I awake some time later to find myself cradled in Lock’s arms, and when I squeeze my muscles, pleasure zings through me, like last time. I sigh and let myself float back into a cloud of bliss. Warm and safe in his arms, I drift up into a sea of blue and stay there, doing nothing but feeling this amazing sensation in my belly and clit, in my breasts and ass, a euphoric sense of well-being and pure happiness.
I don’t know how long I relax, but eventually—an hour? Two hours? I rouse myself and sit up on his lap. “Lock?”
“Cali.” He leans down to kiss my lips. “How are you?”
“So, so good.” I smile.
He lies back and pulls the blanket over both of us. “Relax.”
His touch is soothing and I admit, “I’ve never felt this good with a man before.”
He smiles at me, a smug look of pride. “Good.”
“Don’t brag.” I punch his hard arm. “Ouch! You’re like stone there.”
He laughs and grabs my small fist in his strong hand. “You’re so soft,” he says, wonder in his voice. “So responsive and soft. I never thought I’d…” He breaks off.
“You never thought what?” I prompt.
He’s silent for a few seconds. “I’m not the type of male who has relationships,” he offers. “I’ve had sexual partners, but I’ve never been tempted to stay with someone longer term. Even spend the night.”
“Is it your role? As prince? Do females here just want you for your title?”
He tilts his head. “Sometimes they do. That’s not the real issue. Sharing my life with someone—it’s just not something that’s interested me. It’s always seemed too complex to even contemplate. How could I merge myself with another being? They were just never enticing enough.” He shakes his head. “That sounds arrogant, but it’s how I feel.”
“I can understand that.” I think back to Earth and my failed relationships. “When your schedules don’t ever coincide, and the other person can’t understand how important it is to isolate just one more marker, and then just one more—not because I’m obsessed. Well, because I am obsessed, because the obsession will lead to a cure for a kind of muscular dystrophy.” I sit up, animated, waving my hands. “And then he gets pissed because I don’t wish to see a movie every night. No, it can be hard.”
I flush. “And that might be too much information.”
“Or not enough.” Lock pulls me back down, gently, into his arms. “Affairs of the heart can be the most complex kind. But you’re a doctor. You should know all about the heart.” He smiles and flicks a nipple.
“Ouch. Surely even a regular citizen like you knows that emotions don’t come from the heart. And anyway, the brain is my specialty. And the spinal column.”
“You want to know what my specialty is?” His voice is lower now, sexy. He pushes against me, and it’s obvious which part of his body he means to showcase.
“Mmmm... do tell,” I murmur, rolling over. “I’m all ears.”
“Oh, Dr. Taylor,” he chides. “Your ears are not the part of your body that I’m interested in right now.”
“Is that so?” I reach down to grab his cock, hard and thick, and stroke.
“That’s right,” he growls, and proceeds to show me what he means. It’s a good night.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Morning. Too soon, Lock starts to dress. “I’m sorry, but I must go.” He shoots me a look of apology. “I have meetings.”
“Now?” I glance at my wristlet. “Oh. I guess it’s work time.”
“They never end. And with Maxxon insisting that we start a transfer of power, it is all the more critical.” He sighs. “He is losing hope that a cure will be found in time.” A tendon jerks in his neck. “And frankly, so am I. It’s taking too long. We will have to find a way to notify the public with minimal fanfare and anxiety.” The tension shows in the lines on his face, the dark under his eyes.
“I’m sorry.” I feel so guilty. What the hell am I doing, fucking him, when I should be buried in the lab, studying anything and everything to see if I can find a way to help Maxxon?
“It is not your fault. You are doing what you can, which is all anyone can ask.” He smiles. “Best of luck today with your work. Please try your best to work with the doctors, yes? As I said, I trust them completely, and I need you to do that, too. If you need more water samples, I will have someone accompany you to get them.” He presses a kiss to my neck, and is gone.
I look after him, and then head into the shower to stand in the glorious hot water for a long time, letting my mind zone out and enjoy the residual pleasure that still lingers.
* * *
I need to use a MegaSam E machine to find living paramecia in the water, and my droid has located one for me—without alerting Dr. Amakka or Dr. Jayya. I requested it to be a private order delivery. When I pull up the instructions and specs on the holo, I discover that although it’s more advanced than the microscopes I use on Earth, it won’t be that hard to learn how to manipulate it.
I insert a sample of the water, in a small tube, into the holder of the MegaSam E and pr
ess analyze. It takes only a few seconds for the machine to hum into action. A holo screen blinks up with two organisms pictured, small clear squiggles on a blue background.
“Match organism to known types.” I blink-click.
The screen flashes: “Organism match 1: Albotons C. Organism 2: No match. Organism is unknown.”
I frown. “Match organism 2 to all known types on planet Luminar.”
“No known types. No match. Organism is unique.”
“But how can that be?” I wonder aloud. “It’s not possible.” Then, to the computer, “Find most similar match.”
“No similar matches within genus. Closest match is Albotons C, a rare microorganism that exists only in isolated water pockets on the planet.”
I stand up and pace around the lab, seeing not the silvery walls and high-tech scopes, but the stream and the flowers, the waterfall.
Is it possible that this new organism is infecting Maxxon? If it is similar to Albotons C, but not identical, it’s possible that it is able to affect Luminarians. I need to test it out on his tissue samples, except I don’t have any new ones; I just have the pictures of the pitted samples that Dr. Amakka took the other day.
I stop pacing and tap my finger on the silver wall. If there are any new samples in the general system, I could use one for testing.
I summon the droid. “Please search for tissue samples with Maxxon’s DNA in the system.”
“Searching. No samples are currently available.”
“Can you look again?” I blow out a breath.
“Searching. Results show no samples in the system. You may contact Dr. Jayya or Dr. Amakka for further assistance.”
“Negative.” I sit down in one of the rolling armed chairs and put my face into my hands to think. “Dr. Jayya and Dr. Amakka probably have all the good tissue samples stored in secret in their labs, anyway.”
“Searching Dr. Jayya’s lab.”
“Never mind—” I start to say, when the droid beeps.
“Tissue samples located in Dr. Jayya’s lab. DNA is a match to Maxxon. Labeled Sec 1, Sec 1.2, and Sec 1.3.”
“Oh, wow.” I put a hand to my mouth.
“Retrieve samples for examination?”
“I have clearance for that?” My eyes widen.
“Interlab clearance has been previously authorized by Dr. Jayya during send of Lamixx D. It has not been revoked.” The droid beeps again. “Seventeen tissue samples labeled with Maxxon’s name recovered from Dr. Amakka’s lab, but DNA does not match. Retrieve samples?”
“No. I need to think.”
My stomach roils and for a second I think I’ll vomit, but I breathe deeply, and the sensation passes.
If both doctors have extra samples in their labs, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just that they promised to share with me any and all data, and neither of them mentioned these additional secret samples. If I ask to see them, will they say yes... or no?
I make a decision. “Retrieve samples.” If I have authorization for lab to lab transfer, I am damn well going to use it.
It’s a matter of seconds before the air shift whooshes with one incoming delivery, and then the second.
I grab the slides from Dr. Jayya’s lab and put the first one under the scope. It is scribed with “Independent sample from Maxxon.” What I see makes me gasp. Instead of the pits that have shown up on every single slide so far, this one shows a frayed worn pattern to the myelin.
“Oh, my God,” I mutter, glancing around me, but the lab remains silent, except for the humming droid.
The second slide and third one are the same—the sheath is worn away in a ragged pattern, and there is not a single pit mark at all. But one sample shows something that looks like a paramecium—is it possibly the thing I just isolated from the water sample? I look more closely, unsure if it’s a bad stain, a sloppy prep, or the organism. But the more I stare, the more I become convinced it’s the organism.
“Compare organisms,” I order my holo. “From Sec 1.3 and my sample.”
The system beeps. “Match confirmed.”
“Shit.” I dart my eyes around again, and bite my lip. “What do I do with this?”
Why does Dr. Jayya have these samples in her lab that aren’t uploaded anywhere to the shared database, and why do they look so different? Are these real samples of Maxxon’s tissues, and is Dr. Jayya the one replacing them—for her own reasons—with pitted ones?
I suppose it’s possible that Dr. Jayya has independently come to the same ideas that I have, and is, for some reason of her own, performing secret research. Or maybe the thing in the slide is an attempt to slow the progress of the disease, or even re-myelinate. Because there are no notes associated with this, I have no way of knowing.
I reach for the samples from Dr. Amakka’s lab, the ones labeled as “Maxxon muscle tissue” but apparently have a different DNA, not Maxxon’s. These make my heart race faster. The first sixteen are clean muscle tissue, without any damage at all, and have a sub-tag listed as “base.” The next one shows pitting, a little more severe than anything in Maxxon’s tests to date, and doesn’t have a sub-tag at all. But when I looked at the date stamp on the sample, I curse. It is dated for tomorrow.
My head swims.
I pull an AutoPipe sampler and drop some of the water with the two species of paramecium onto one of Dr. Jayya’s slides, the one labeled “independent sample from Maxxon.” As I watch, mouth partly open, breathing shallow, one of the paramecium types drifts to the tissue and starts to attack the myelin sheath. When I zoom in, I see damage that looks just like the frayed damage already present.
Fingers trembling, I use the AutoPipe sampler to drop a tiny glistening globe of the water onto one of Dr. Amakka’s slides with the unknown DNA, one of the ones labeled “base.” Again, one of the paramecium types began to attach to the myelin and wear it away in a frayed pattern.
At that moment, the droid beeps again. “One more sample located with Maxxon’s DNA in Dr. Amakka’s lab. Labeled ‘discard.’ Retrieve sample?”
“Yes.” My voice shakes. Holy fuck, this is not good. When the sample comes, I already know what I’m going to see, and it’s with a heavy heart that I slide the glass into the scope area and look down. As expected, I see worn, frayed myelin.
A chill comes over me and I start to shake. I pull up my holo screen and try to call Lock, but he doesn’t answer. I leave a message, voice trembling. “Lock, it’s urgent. I’m in my lab and I need to talk to you immediately, please. It’s an emergency. This is life and death, it’s not a game or a fun trip to get water, okay? I figured it out! I know what’s hurting Maxxon, and I know who’s doing it. It’s Dr. Amakka, and you need to get here immediately with guards, police and whoever you have, it’s—”
A cold pressure to the side of my head made me break off with a squeak. There’s a piercing pain, stronger than any migraine, and a wave of nausea. It’s like a shockwave goes through me, making all of my cells whiplash. I gurgle vomit in my throat and drop to my knees, hard, my eyes swimming with tears, blinded by flashes of lights.
“What the hell?” I try to say, but my voice won’t work. Through a haze of tears, I see Allik standing beside me.
He barks at me in Luminarian, and I understand nothing. He laughs at my dazed expression and repeats the phrase; I shake my head, dumb.
My translator—he’s deactivated it! Panicked, I grab my head, expecting it to be bleeding, wondering if I had a stroke from the shock.
Allik speaks in English. “Your translator is gone, and so is your holo screen access.” He grabs my arm and removes my bracelet, slipping it into his pocket. “Come with me.”
I pull back. “I don’t understand.”
“You don’t,” he snaps, re-gripping me. “That much is true.” He taps his device, opens the dissolve door, and forces me to keep up with his fast pace down the hallway. “But it is already decided.”
“What is already decided?”
He doesn’t answer.
“In here,” he says tersely, stopping at the door to Dr. Amakka’s lab. He waves his arm and the door slides open, revealing Dr. Amakka.
His face shows shock and surprise when he sees me, and he throws up his hands, exclaiming in Luminarian.
Allik answers, but clearly Dr. Amakka doesn’t care for the reply, because he frowns and shakes his head, seeming to grow more alarmed with each passing second. Finally Allik grabs a contour chair and shoves me into it. “I should have left your device on as a cuff,” he snaps, looking around the lab, then says something to the doctor.
The doctor hands over a roll of gauze, and Allik forces my hands to the chair rests and binds me firmly to it.
“What are you doing?” Fear rises up in me sharp and fast, a terror I’ve never experienced. I know what he’s doing.
“Silent.” Allik hits me across the face, a blow that makes me see stars and bite my tongue. I taste metal and a slick substance fills my mouth, and the dull pain prevents me from realizing until a second later: blood. My blood.
“You humans bleed like any animal,” Allik grunts, then speaks in Luminarian to the doctor, whose face has grown pale and troubled. He shakes his head, looking at me with some panic, and puts up his hands.
Bile rises in my throat. I don’t understand the words, but it’s clear enough: Allik is going to kill me. I pull at my wrists, but the fabric only tightens each time I do, until my fingertips swell and tingle with the cut-off circulation. I make myself stop and take a tremulous breath.
I’m smart enough to know that bartering with Allik could never work, so I need to think of something—anything—to get out of this situation. It’s nearly impossible to resist the urge to beg him, but I taste the blood in my mouth, and then more of it, and I cough it out with a wheeze. “I can’t breathe,” I rasp.
Allik ignores me. He taps his device and blinks into his holo screen, and my terror grows. He’s already ceased to see me as worthy of conversation.
“Please.” I turn my gaze to the doctor. I can’t speak in Luminarian, but he can see my abject despair. How can Dr. Amakka be a killer? If I can start some kind of antagonism between the two of them, even a small one, that could buy me time. Surely Lock will get my message and come to me!