Coming Together: At Last, Volume One

by Alessia Brio, L. A. Banks, Lisabet Sarai

  She locked her jaw. He recognized that now, while they were alone. But he hadn't once sent for her or spoken to her since his release. Hadn't sent the mental images and pleasure that had fired her body, steeled her determination, cemented her courage. She had fought for the other Taurins, of course, but especially for him. With no word from Kee, she'd assumed she was no longer needed. Or wanted.

  "Inaritu—"

  "Kee,” he interrupted her. “Taurin Kee. I am no leader of you."

  "Kee.” Her eyes slid closed as she struggled to keep the emotion away, struggled to keep her voice even. “For my role in the Taurin rebellion, I was stripped of Imperial citizenship. My application for Taurin citizenship has not been approved. Without it, I can't stay here. I have no ties. I'm going buy passage to one of the Outer Planets.” Where she'd have to hide her identity and probably fight every day to survive when all she wanted, all she craved, was to once again lie atop a grassy hill with Kee beside her, staring at the purpled sky above them and sharing dreams.

  "We have ties.” Long brown fingers touched her cheek. “You are the mother of our freedom. You believed in Taurins before Taurins believed in our selves."

  A shudder swept her as she covered his hand with her own. In the beginning she'd often just held his hand, marveling at the delicate look of his three fingers and thumb with their extra joints that made her human hand look stubby in comparison. “Taurins always believed in Taurins,” she corrected, her voice tight. “You just had to believe you deserved to have your world back. You had to believe you could take your world back."

  "Ananda.” His voice seemed to fill the room as he gripped her shoulders. “We believed because you believed. You never let us forget. The people have told me all that you did, all that you bore for me, for Taura. You are tied to Taura."

  "Am I?” She dared to stare up at him despite the threat of tears. “Am I tied to Taura?"

  "To more than Taura.” He leaned closer, his expression intense. “We have ties, Human Ananda and Taurin Kee,” he said softly, then kissed her.

  Her body surged at his kiss, heart pumping, blood racing, everything in her reaching for him, needing him. She felt a familiar and oh-so-needed tingle suffuse her body as Kee's consciousness brushed against hers, seeking permission to merge. She granted it eagerly, desperate to feel him inside her again. The gentle but steady press seemed to fill her to the point of bursting, but she took a deep breath, and then Kee was with her.

  The room fell away as Kee took them above the capital city and away, away to the wide grassy plains of Mar Blythys, where she'd first met him. Where they had shared each other's bodies through their psychic connection while he'd been imprisoned and she'd planned then led the final assault that had won Taurin freedom.

  Atop a slight rise, beneath the sprawling arms of a kouaka tree, lay a beautiful and intricately woven Taurin blanket. Without another word, he set her on her feet. He gathered her hands but held her away, his eyes roving her body, his soft smile one of wonder and approval.

  "Your mind is full.” A rumble swept through Kee as he leaned over her. “The curiosity in your thoughts first brought me to you. Now I sense that you are nervous. Why?"

  She said the only thing she could. “I missed you, missed this. So much."

  "I have missed you too, Ananda."

  "Then why did you leave me?” she burst out. “The day you were freed—you left me. Do you know what that did to me? Do you know how much that hurt?"

  "Yes,” and the way he said it, the fierceness in his gentle eyes, told her that he knew exactly how much it hurt.

  "Then why?"

  "There was much to plan. You gave me freedom, I didn't want to give you chaos. You yourself said the needs of the people came first, that you could not find happiness until the Taurins found freedom. A heavy lesson you taught me, to put my people over myself. Over you."

  "Kee."

  "You have no need to apply to be Taurin,” Kee continued. “You are Taurin. You inspired our people, you birthed our freedom. You are Taurin."

  Ananda covered her eyes, suddenly overcome. Kee pulled her into his arms, soothing noises rumbling from deep in his chest. “Does this not please you, to be Taurin Ananda?"

  "It does.” She couldn't tell him how much. “You honor me.” She finally had a family and place to belong.

  He smiled down at her. “Yes, we are your family now."

  Finally she yielded to the urge to thrust her hands into his hair. Smoother than synth-silk and darker than space, the touch of it sent pulses of sensation racing through her. Multiple strands wrapped around her arms as Kee's eyes closed to slits, the rumble deepening in his chest.

  What would his hair feel like sliding across her bare skin?

  His eyes opened, focused on her. “I wish to show you."

  Long fingers trembled as he worked at divesting her of her flightsuit and undergarments. At his urging, Ananda reclined on the blanket, the soft weave cradling her body. For long moments Kee just stared down at her. Then his hands loosened the folds of his tunic. Ananda rose to her knees, holding her breath as the material slid down the obsidian of his skin, revealing the magnificence of his form. Taurins were humanoid, just taller. From her time in Mar Blythys, she knew male Taurins didn't have nipples, a fact that had caused some gender confusion when male humans had disrobed—well, that and the fact that Taurin males were proportionate to their height—

  Kee smiled at her, and she reined her thoughts in. She still couldn't believe she was with him again, in this magical place where they had first explored each other.

  "I have missed you, Ananda,” he breathed, leaning over her. His hair slid over her skin like a sensual blanket as he kissed and hummed down her body, causing her to shiver. “I have missed your pleasure."

  The first touch of his tongue between her thighs had her crying out, her hands digging into his hair. The dark strands seemed to come alive, stroking her nipples, brushing her stomach, teasing her thighs, adding to the delicious sensations buffeting her body. She could feel Kee's pleasure at her response, the deep rumble from the center of his chest that reverberated throughout her. Wave after wave swept through her as his thick tongue pushed inside her pussy, stroking deep.

  She groaned, deep and guttural as he began fucking her with the thick length of his tongue. Even though she knew it was mental, not physical, her body reacted for him, her sheath liquefying for him. All the while, he continued the sound so much like an pseudocat's, but that animal's purr had never made her feel like this. It stoked her desire, leaping high and higher still, until her orgasm slammed into her like a warhead.

  This, this was so much more than the other mind sex sessions they'd had. As soon as she came back down, he shifted his mouth to her clit, his long fingers thrusting into her pussy. She cried out, her entire body bowing being the pleasure arcing though her. Planting her feet on the blanket, she lifted her hips, offering herself completely. He pulled his fingers from her soaked pussy, teasing over her puckered opening before thrusting into her ass. She groaned in pure bliss, surrendering utterly as he fucked her with fingers and tongue and hair and mind.

  Pleasure blew through her like the plains winds, scouring away everything but Kee. She knew this was purely mental, that they were actually in her quarters at the spaceport, but she still cried out as her body crested, coming hard as Kee thrust inside her with fingers and tongue. He pulled his fingers from her body but kept his mouth fastened to her clit, kissing her with steadily lightening touches.

  "Are you still with me, Taurin Ananda?"

  She opened her eyes to find Kee beside her, his hair still draped enticingly over her body. She could open her eyes every sunrise like this and be a very happy woman.

  "I am still with you, Taurin Kee. I believe. I'd forgotten that it's a matter of pride for Taurin males to make their females come multiple times."

  He laughed. “You won't forget again."

  "Not bloody likely."

  She reached out, touc
hed his hair. Warm and silky, it wound around her fingers, making her sigh. “Why do you wear your hair loose now? Aren't you still a warrior?"

  "I am.” The sunset brown of his eyes deepened. “It will remain loose until my mate braids it."

  "M-mate?” Kee was getting bonded? No wonder he'd stopped sending to her when he was released.

  She shrank back, swaying slightly from the emotional blow. “Why didn't you tell me? You thought you could just—just fuck me and get rid of me?” Nels wasn't right. Nels wasn't right. She tried to pull her mind from his, desperate to get away.

  "Taurin Ananda.” Arms locked around her, pinning her to the blanket. She struggled to break his mental and physical grip, but he held her fast.

  "Ananda.” He dropped his forehead to hers. “Will you honor me and give me braids?"

  Her breath caught. “Me?"

  "Yes. You caught me from the first. You stood with me through the worst. Now I wish for you to stand with me through the good."

  "Oh, Kee.” She didn't know what to say.

  "Say yes."

  She threw her arms around his neck. “Of course, yes. Absolutely yes. Forever yes.” She kissed her thoroughly, tasting his joy, his pleasure, his need for her in ways that needed no translation.

  Finally Kee pulled away. “You will forgive me?"

  "For what?"

  "I thought that Human Nelson stood for you."

  "Stood for me?” She frowned. “Oh, you mean like family?"

  "You have said he is like your brother. I spoke to him of joining with you."

  With his mind still linked to hers, Ananda saw his memories of meeting with Nelson, seeking to make Ananda his mate, and Nels refusing to give her to an alien. So her friend, the man so like a brother to her, who had fought beside her to free the Taurins, had in the end betrayed her.

  "I'm so glad you didn't believe him."

  "Human Nelson has left our planet,” Kee informed her. “He will not be welcomed back to Taura. It is not what I wanted, but it is the best way."

  "What did you want?"

  "Something more painful."

  Her sudden bark of laughter faded as she realized for the first time how truly alone she was. “I have no one to stand for me. I come to you with nothing."

  "You come to me with everything I want,” he told her, stroking her cheek. “My second mother's family has offered to stand for you in the joining. We will celebrate Taurin independence and our bonding."

  The significance wasn't lost on her. Having Taurin Rea's family standing for her was the same as being adopted. “Will we have a triad or quad like your parents?"

  "If we both wish it in the future. For now I want Ananda to myself."

  Then the vision fell away. Instead of softly cushioned grass, Ananda knelt on her sleeping cushion. Instead of Mar Blythys, Kee's heat surrounded her as he knelt behind her. She could feel the thickness of his extended cock, hot and snug between her thighs and long enough to touch her from buttocks to clit with some to spare. No wonder this was the preferred mating position for Taurins. Her tongue passed over suddenly dry lips as she wondered if she'd really be able to take him as she had in their shared visions.

  Like before, his voice rumbled deep in his chest, his hair sliding over her skin as he kissed his way from one side of her neck to the other. The sensation was so much more intense, so real, so divine. He pulled the thick curtains of hair forward so that it cascaded over her breasts and pooled on her thighs. Her nipples tightened instantly causing her to groan as she leaned her head back against his shoulder. The purr low in his chest rippled through her again, soothing and firing her senses simultaneously. She realized there was a cadence to the vibrations, almost a song. Exactly like a song.

  I will please you, Taurin Ananda, his voice whispered through her mind as his hands stroked up her belly to cup her breasts. In response, her nipples tightened to hardness like triridium crystals, her entire body thrumming in tune to his song. I will stand with you always.

  His hypnotic humming continued to thrum through her as his left hand slid between her thighs, seeking her heated core. She groaned as his fingers danced across her clit, gently probing, discovering. With their minds still locked together, she knew how important it was that he please her, that she come again before he physically entered her for the first time.

  "Kee.” She obliged him, rocking against his cock, her breath stuttering as she felt it slide against her outer lips. “You feel—you feel—” She broke off as Kee sent her spiraling into another orgasm.

  Even as she struggled to return to her senses, the thick tip of his cock breached her slit. Her breath caught as he paused, then pushed further in. Oh so slowly, so exquisitely he slid into her waiting body, thoroughly filling her hot sheath. When she'd taken all of him, they stilled, marking the moment they were finally and completely joined. They groaned in unison at the exquisite sensuality, their pleasure echoing through each other.

  "Taurin Ananda,” he whispered, his voice unsteady as he pulled her close. “Taurin Kee-Nanda."

  "Yes.” She leaned into him, offering her body, her heart, and her mind to him. “Taurin Kee-Nanda."

  As real as their mental sensual interludes were, this—this physical act was so much better. Feeling what it felt like for him to push into her for the first time had Ananda closing her eyes in the effort to manage the sensory overload.

  Kee opened completely to her, allowing her to see how he'd longed for her even as their races became acquainted. How it had saddened him when Imperial Earth's intentions became known and he'd thought he'd lost her. How overjoyed he'd been when she'd joined them, even as he'd feared for her safety. How his imprisonment had been bearable thanks to their psychic sex, even though he feared she'd reject him face to face.

  "Kee,” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks to dampen his hair. “Oh, Kee, I was always yours. If you'd looked deeper, you would have known."

  "I feared to,” he said, his voice barely a breath against her ear as he stroked into her again. “In our minds we shared so freely that I could not hope it would be the same face to face."

  He shuddered. “When I discovered that you were not at Mar Blythys, and Nelson then refused me—"

  "Don't.” She twisted enough to kiss his cheek. “That's over now. The dark days are done."

  "I believe it, with thanks to you.” His long fingered hands settled around her waist, guiding her hips. “Live in my self, Taurin Ananda,” he whispered as he stroked deeply inside her. “And I will live in yours. Be in my mind and let me into yours. Share my life, for now and ever."

  She clenched around him, her nails digging into his thighs as she increased her pace. “I will live in your heart, Taurin Kee, as you live in mine. I will be in your mind as you are in mine. I will share your life, for now and ever."

  Pleasure swirled inside her as she felt it build inside him, doubled sensation that stole her breath. Then Kee gave one last hard thrust. As he locked them together, the tip of his cock hit her most sensitive spot, rocketing her into orgasm. A keening wail tore from her as she rode the explosive ecstasy. Seconds—minutes—later, Kee joined her, his pleasure turning the world white-hot.

  Long moments later, she opened her eyes to find herself lying on her side on her sleeping pallet, Kee still firmly lodged inside her. Secure in his arms, she lifted several strands of his hair, twisting them into a braid. “You don't know how long I've wanted to touch your hair like this."

  He laughed. “I do. Once during the uprising, you'd asked if you could rebraid my hair for me. You didn't know the significance of that, but it gave me great hope."

  "By the uprising, I was already in love with you,” Ananda admitted as she ran the braid across her lips. “I'd seen that only wives or mothers braided a warrior's hair, so I knew it was important. I wanted to be important to you."

  He caught her hand, brought it over her shoulder to kiss. “Never doubt your importance to me. I wouldn't be here without you, without your hear
t. ‘Love’ is such a simple word, but I feel what it means to you. I love you, Taurin Ananda."

  She tugged his hands back around her, happily wrapped in his body and his luxurious fall of hair. “I love you, Taurin Kee."

  "We will have a formal braiding ceremony with our people, and you'll weave a part of yourself into my braids,” he said. “I will take some of my hair and make it into braid for you to wear on your wrist."

  He slowly withdrew from her, leaving her breathless again. She rolled onto her back as he rose, extended a hand to her. “Mother of our freedom, holder of my heart—Taura waits for us to celebrate our new lives. Will you stand with us?"

  Smiling with her whole self, Taurin Ananda gave her mate her hand. “Always."

  They refreshed and redressed, then left to celebrate the start of their new lives.

  * * * *

  seressia.com

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Refuge

  © Lisabet Sarai

  "Excuse me, do you have a pencil?"

  I jumped. I had been daydreaming about home, eating somtum and gai yang with Mum and my brother Daeng under the tamarind tree in the backyard. The light tap on my shoulder dragged me back to the smelly, dusty camp where I was supposed to be on guard.

  "What?"

  "A pencil? Or a pen?” The young woman gestured back towards a knot of kids gathered in the shade of the water tower. She held up a sheet of corrugated cardboard scavenged from some trash heap. “I'm teaching them their alphabet. I've got this but nothing to write with."

  She wore a faded T-shirt, baggy shorts and flip flops. Her hair hung down her back in a messy ponytail tied with an old shoelace. Still I could see that she was pretty, slightly built, with sharper features and paler skin then the girls back home. Her smile appeared genuine, though her eyes appraised me nervously. I guessed that it took some courage for her to approach me, a uniformed soldier with a loaded rifle—never mind that I was only a year or two older than she was, and wanting nothing more than to go back to my family in Yasathon.

  I leaned my gun against my thigh. “I've got a pencil back at the barracks, but I can't leave my post until my shift is over. Maybe you could postpone your lessons until after three? I'll bring it to you then."