As he loved her with his body, he also loved her with his mind, and her love echoed back to him. He knew the exact moment she surrendered to her desire for him and silently urged him to fill her with his member. She opened her thighs for him just like in their dream, and the flower of her sex glistened with her juices. He held himself above her with the head of his cock poised at her entrance until he sensed her unspoken plea to fill her to the hilt.
Hankura slid his cock easily into her slick tunnel as far as he could and Michelle, Chelle in his mind, gave an inarticulate shout of pleasure. He pulled part way out and pushed in firmly as she arched her hips up to meet him.
More! More! Her mind shouted into his. Deep and hard, fill me with your cock, Hankura, my beloved. Only you have ever made me feel this good.
In her mind, he saw a vision of a fountain shooting water high into the air. As their arousal increased they were carried on that stream up into the air he knew with certainty they would climax together when they reached the summit----and they did---each time hey made love that day.
They made love many times on a bed of soft moss until they lay exhausted in each other's arms. By then the sun was starting to set. The air had grown cooler, but they hardly noticed anything except each other in the heat of their embrace. They laughed aloud together, relishing the pleasure of finally meeting.
Eventually, they got up, intending to dress. Then, suddenly they were kissing, and a new shock of awareness reverberated between them. Hankura hugged Michelle close and groaned as her nearness aroused him yet again.
There was so much he needed to tell her--things he'd kept from her when he shared his memories with her--things he wished he didn't ever have to tell her. Soon enough, she would know everything about him. Hankura didn't want to think of that just then. He only wanted to make love to her again. One more hour in her arms wouldn't change the future or the past . . .
CHAPTER THREE
It was dark when Michelle led Hankura from the forest and into the clearing where her cabin stood. As they walked along the path in the moonlight, Hankura sensed that Michelle was feeling hurt and angry with him now that the glow of their mating had faded some. He stopped and drew her around to face him. What is troubling you, love?
Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at him. "Why did you let Jerry die?"
He flinched as though she had struck him, and his eyes grew bright.
You didn't have the strength, She-ell. I didn't save you, you saved yourself. I just helped you find the way. To save Jerry, you would have had to give up your life force---and that may not have been enough . . .. I'd hoped you'd understand why I withdrew. I couldn't bear your pain. I would have saved him if I could, She-ell. I'm deeply sorry that I couldn't.
As she sensed how deeply the memory hurt him, Michelle put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. Jerry wouldn't have wanted her to sacrifice her life for him, and she understood that Hankura could not have saved him. Hankura held her close and grieved with her for a man he had only known through her.
He trembled against her, and Michelle looked up into his face. His eyes were bright with tears, and the force of her own grief was echoed back to her. Suddenly she understood how vulnerable he was to her pain. She hugged him tenderly, wanting to soothe him. After a moment, she looked up and saw the tiny wound on his throat. She touched it with her finger and concentrated on making it heal. When she took her finger away, it was gone.
Now she began to realize even more clearly the strength of the bond between them. But she wondered if that was enough for them to build a life together on Hankura's world.
Hankura sensed her doubt. How can you doubt it, She-ell?
"Oh, Hankura--I've dreamed of this moment so many times. In the worst times, I prayed for you to come. Now, I just don't see how our lives can fit together. I want you for my mate, but I just don't know how I can live on Aledus. We don't even speak the same language, except in our minds. What can I be on Aledus with just what I learned on the streets of Farringay? I don't know your customs, Hankura, I can't even read!"
Hankura framed her face in his hands and shook his head with a rueful smile. I admit that you'll be an alien there. But you have the intelligence to learn everything that you need to know. I'll teach you much of it myself. Michelle, I must go back. I promised.
"Yes, and you wish you hadn't. It worries you. Why?" she asked aloud.
He sighed and averted his gaze. My family wants me to come back. I just want to forget our bitter parting and go on with my life. Father says I don't understand why they had to send me away instead of taking me to Belderon. He wants a chance to make up for that. I don't think he can.
"But you want him to. You want him to love you and be proud of you." Michelle turned her face to kiss the palm of his hand. "I feel your need to go back, and I need to be with you. I hate this place, but I'm not sure I want to leave knowing that I may never come back."
Life for us on Aledus could be difficult, he admitted. There was more he could tell her, but maybe things had changed after twenty years. Still, worries nagged at him.
Michelle sensed his concern, but she attributed it to fears about making peace with his family. "Don't worry, Hankura. They'll be proud of you."
As she hugged him tightly, he let himself be drawn into her optimistic mood. She was scared enough by the enormity of leaving everything she had ever known. He didn't want to frighten her anymore---especially if it might be for nothing.
After a few more minutes, they started walking toward the cabin again, following the pasture fence. Michelle's big red stallion whinnied and trotted forward to greet them. She spoke to the horse in low tones and rubbed his soft muzzle.
Hankura watched curiously. Having little experience with domestic animals, he didn't quite know how to respond. He drew his understanding from Michelle's rapport with the animal and tentatively reached to pet its head. In turn, the stallion nipped playfully at his shirt.
"See? Orion likes you already."
He sort of reminds me of a Wholaskan I met on Velran. Of course, your beast doesn't have Fask's intellect. Fask was an astrophysicist, not a beast of burden.
"Fask is the one who taught you how to run your ship."
Hankura nodded. Without him, I might never have found my way here alone.
Michelle frowned as he opened his mind to let her understand the problems he'd experienced with his guidance computer and the damaged fuel crystals.
"Where can you get new crystals?" she asked.
He put his arm around her shoulders, and they began to walk toward the cabin again. Jed Rankin said that I could buy them in Farringay if I didn't mind paying an outrageous sum. I have the credit chips. How can I get to the Starport from here?
She gasped. "No, Hankura. You can't go to Farringay. Berke is there. He is overlord. He controls most of the city and probably Rankin, too. You wouldn't be safe, there."
I'm not afraid of Redmyn Berke. I'll fight him if I have to. I need those crystals. We'll never get off this world without them. I can go for them alone if you're afraid.
"No. I am afraid, but I won't let you go alone. I know Farringay. I can help you."
Do you have transportation?
"Orion is all I have. It's three days ride---more riding double."
That will have to do.
"But you don't even know how to ride!"
Hankura shrugged. "I'll learn."
Michelle flashed him a brilliant smile that made it hard for him to breathe. They'd made love again and again, and he still wanted her. But it was far more than mere lust.
When they touched and joined as one, she gave as freely of her mind as she did her body. In passion, Michelle could touch his soul as no one else ever had. She made him feel strong and whole---at peace with his universe for a long time after those moments when she was his universe and he hers.
He sensed Michelle's embarrassment as she read his memories of their lovemaking. They gave her pleasure, yet she seemed t
o be uncomfortable with her own sexuality and the depth of the intimacy they shared.
Ah, Michelle. He grinned at her in the moonlight and cupped his hand to her cheek. Our mating was satisfying when we did it. There's no shame in enjoying the memory. She looked away in confusion, and he could sense her blocking his telepathy instinctively. She wasn't ready to give him access to feelings she hadn't sorted out for herself yet. He nodded in understanding. "You did promise me some food."
"Yes." She took his hand and led him into her darkened cabin. She found her way to the table and the box of matches upon it. Lighting one and touched it to a candle on the table then moved about the cabin, cupping her hand over the tiny flame while she lit the other candles. "Now, I'll build a fire in the stove to cook our food. We can make plans to go to Farringay while we are eating."
While she went about her tasks, Hankura was left to explore the three small rooms of the cabin. He knew how to reconstruct damaged organs or grow new ones from a single cell, but he knew little about cooking food in this primitive manner. There wouldn't be much use for such skills on Aledus, so he saw no reason to learn them.
To him, the dwelling was tiny and incredibly shabby, but it looked clean. Hankura thanked the Goddess he'd had his inoculation therapy before leaving Velran. Only she knew what insidious diseases this barbaric world harbored. Before leaving Earth, Michelle would have to undergo the therapy, too. He was glad it wasn't painful because, under the circumstances, he was the only one to administer it. It would be hard for him to cause her pain even in her own best interests.
Hankura shuffled around the simply furnished sitting room, and picked up various objects and examined them. Touching each one, he sensed Michelle's aura in them.
He shook his head introspectively and wondered what Casir would make of all this. Knowing Casir, he would take it all in stride---especially Michelle. A smug grin tugged at the corners of Hankura's mouth. Here was one woman Casir wouldn't be stealing from his affections as he had Jana and Delara.
He was surprised at his sudden hostility when considering that someone might try to do that. He and Michelle were bonded now, and this made him intensely possessive of her as his mate. Pity to anyone who tried to take her from him.
Michelle pushed her hair back over her tanned shoulders then carefully spread the coarse blanket on Orion's back. She settled the saddle on top of it and tightened the cinch while Hankura watched. He handed her the bridle, then held the horse's head while she slipped the metal bit into its mouth.
"It's going to take even more time than I thought to get to Farringay since you've never ridden before. You're going to be pretty sore after the first day," she said as she buckled the bridle into place.
I'll survive. His smile was wry. "She-ell---" he said the word to her again as he tried to put his thoughts into the strange words of her language. Pronouncing the words was more difficult than he expected. It would take some practice. He shook his head.
"You called me that before. My name is MI-chelle." she pronounced it slowly for him. "But you can call me Chelle if you like. It sounds nice when you say it."
She-ell is who I see when we touch. She-ell is who you were in my dreams---who you are in my heart. It means beloved or dear one in Aledan.
"How could I mind that?" She grinned. "My brother used to call me Mishy or Mish, but Chelle sounds nice. Would you mind if I called you Hank sometimes?"
"I won't mind," he said slowly. "Chelle---" His pronunciation was closer to hers, but he still had trouble focusing his mind on the words in the current Anglic dialect that he needed to express his thoughts. So, he reverted to telepathy.
Do you think I'll have trouble buying my fuel cells? I have plenty of standard credit chips. But will they demand a visa or immigration permit?
She shook her head. "I doubt it. They don't bother off-worlders unless they are merchants or they cause trouble. They won't take much notice of one stranger cashing in a few thousand chips for some Verlian crystal cells. We just have to be careful not to draw attention to ourselves while we're in Farringay. Mrans are bringing three million credits on the black market these days, and there are enough people around who wouldn't think twice about killing you for that kind of money.
You're afraid, but you still want to come to the city with me.
"Well, I have a bad feeling about letting you go to the city alone. You don't know what it's like, and you can hardly speak English. I don't know anyone who speaks Aledan. Forget about using telepathy with anyone but me."
Hankura nodded. I'm glad you decided to come with me.
When she had finished saddling the horse, Hankura helped her hook their light packs and bedding to the saddle. He went to open the door, so Michelle could lead Orion out of the stable then gestured for her to stop. He stood poised for a moment as though he were listening.
Two men are coming in a craft---they're looking for you.
"Berke?" she asked, and Hankura shook his head. "No, he wouldn't come himself. He probably sent Bart and Mason, the bastards," she muttered.
Michelle came to his side and peered out through the crack where he held the big wooden door slightly ajar. A small hovercraft set down lightly, and Bart and Mason climbed out. They went to search the cabin first. Finding no one inside, they started for the stable. Both were armed with laser-stunners.
Without warning, Hankura gripped her shoulders and pushed her behind him. He drew out his weapon and held it poised to fire a stun beam at the two approaching men. Then, he thought better of it. As they reached the shed, he overwhelmed them with a mind barrage, and they crumpled to the ground.
"You should have killed them," Michelle murmured.
Hankura frowned at her hatred for them and he was ashamed of what he had done. If he'd used psi on anyone on Aledus, he'd be facing a nice long jail sentence. His impulsive act went against all his training in psionic ethics. But they meant to kill him for his ship and to take Michelle from him. Realizing that he really did want to kill them bothered him even more. He understood why Michelle wanted to kill them, now.
He shook his head. Killing them won't bring your brother back to life. It wouldn't change what they did to you. It would just make us more like them.
"I have been at their level all my life, Hankura. This is my world. I kill them, or they kill me. That's the way it is."
Yes, but not the way you want it. . .. We'll take their craft to Farringay. We can be back before sundown---before they ever come to and realize what we have done.
"Only if you know how to kill the homing signal. Otherwise, it will lead Berke straight to us. Can you fix it?"
Hankura nodded. I will do it while you free the horse. We won't need him anymore when we come back. One of your scavengers will find him and claim him, or he can fend for himself. He will survive.
"Leave Orion?" Her eyes filled with tears as she realized he was serious. Until then, she hadn't stopped to think that leaving Earth would mean leaving Orion behind as well. Of course, they couldn't take him to Aledus in Hankura's tiny ship. She knew that but leaving Orion hurt nonetheless.
Hankura's expression softened, and he put his arms around her. She-ell, I know how much he means to you, how important he has been to your survival here. But we can't take him. My ship will seem small for two of us. I'm sorry.
His tenderness helped as she nodded against his shoulder and sniffed back her tears. At that moment, she consciously made her decision. She pulled away slowly and turned to unsaddle and unbridle her horse for the last time. As Hankura watched for a moment, he ached for the sacrifice she was making for him, wishing he could take the pain away. Finally, he turned to the hovercraft and went about deactivating the homing signal, but he found it hard to concentrate.
Michelle lingered over her task, stroking and talking to the horse as she unburdened him. Tears slipped down her cheeks and wet his mane as she hugged his neck. Orion nickered softly and turned to nuzzle her hair. This time the tears wouldn't stop as she imagined the empty place
his absence would leave in her life.
"This is it, boy. . . I'll never forget you. Go on with you, now." She slapped him on the rump and sent him running across the field toward the woods, kicking up his heels. Eventually, he slowed and turned to look back at her. Again, he nickered softly as she willed him not to come back to her. He seemed to understand and dropped his head to graze on a thick clump of grass. Michelle watched him until her tears stopped, then shuffled over to the hovercraft. Hankura had already finished dismantling the homing signal.
They climbed into the craft together, and Hankura began to study the controls. He knew how to operate such a craft, but all the controls were marked in a foreign language which neither he nor Michelle could read. However, Michelle solved the problem quite nicely. With the touch of a button, she set the craft on auto guide and voiced the necessary command. She had seen Berke do the same many times.
The craft lifted slowly into the air, pivoted forty-five degrees and shot forward. Twenty minutes later, they set down at the edge of Farringay in an abandoned warehouse.
Hankura and Michelle walked to a subway terminal where they took a tube capsule to the Starport using some of Hankura's chips to pay the fare. That took more credit chips than Michelle had seen in six months.
With luck, she might have gotten as much for selling the extra produce from her garden in the fall. Only she wouldn't be there for the harvest.
She was going to Aledus with Hankura, and they would marry according to his cultural beliefs. Michelle didn't feel marriage was necessary. They were already pair-bonded. For her, that was enough in a world where her life held little certainty from one day to the next. But being legally bonded seemed important to Hankura so she couldn't refuse him.
The purchase of the fuel cells at the Starport was uneventful. Michelle asked for the merchandise from the service counter, and Hankura paid the required number of credit chips. She was appalled at the number of chips it took for the five small crystals that were no bigger than the tip of her little finger. Hankura grinned and shrugged as he put the fuel cells in a zippered pocket of his shirt. He would have given all the chips he had to get them. They were that important.
The Aledan PSION: The Aledan Series Book 1 Page 3