Conyod blinked. “Well, Erybet definitely needs some intervention as well—”
“You all do,” Hupsan interrupted. His expression as he looked at Conyod was kind. “We discussed whole clan counseling, though at the time I didn’t realize just how big the problem was. Intensive live-in therapy is called for in this instance for every one of you. You are in great trouble yourself, Conyod. The stress of the last year – even before, when you couldn’t contact Erybet and Sletran while they were on New Bethlehem – has been monumental. If you don’t get help, I fear you will shake apart even as your clanmates recover.”
Govi nodded. “He’s right. We’re a sensitive breed, which serves our clans well. But we tend to forget our own needs in deference to our clanmates. We often don’t see the damage we’ve been dealt until we’re in crisis.”
“I’m not in crisis. I’m fine now that I finally know what’s going on,” Conyod hotly protested.
“You feel fine because you’re angry and there’s a problem to solve. Once everyone else is taken care of, it’s all going to come crashing down on your head.” Govi frowned. “It’s not a weakness to accept help, Conyod. You know that better than most.”
“But, but there’s Rachel.” Conyod looked at her, his gaze searching. “She’s thriving.
Today has been stressful, but things are beginning to work out. You are okay?”
Rachel nodded. She was even capable of speaking normally once more. “I’m still worried about Sletran, but once he’s been completely cleared of the charges, I’ll be fine.”
Govi found a smile. “I simply can’t get enough of hearing you talk, Ray-Ray, whether it’s Kalquorian or your native language. When I think of the shattered, silent young woman who was brought here not so long ago and how far you’ve come, it makes me feel good.”
He turned to Conyod again. “There is no doubt Rachel’s progress is ongoing. But she now belongs to a clan struggling to find itself. To re-invent itself actually, since none of you will ever be the same after all you’ve been through. She needs to know exactly what is going on with all of you and how to help you live with the trauma you’ve suffered.”
Hupsan was adamant. “You’ve got to let go of the reins, Conyod. This is more than you can fix, especially since you’re as broken in your own way as your clanmates.”
Conyod had nothing to say to that. Rachel took his hand, offering what little comfort she could.
Govi typed some notes on his computer. “I’m going to call around and see what I can find.
You said Bevau offered to sign off on whatever Sletran needed. Since what he needs is the best possible care and his clanmates to share in it, that’s exactly what I’ll arrange for the lot of you.”
“The emperor may not appreciate that,” Conyod said.
“No, but neither does Bevau appreciate Clajak berating him, which is what will happen if he doesn’t follow through.” Govi grinned at Rachel. “My Dramok is Emperor Clajak’s personal aide. He knows exactly how to push his buttons in matters like this.”
Rachel’s eyebrows rose. Govi had some really serious connections, and he was apparently not afraid to use them. And for her clan’s benefit too. Her warm feelings for the Imdiko grew.
Now they were home, and Conyod’s mood seemed to lift a little as they stepped into Sletran’s private room. The Nobek used it mostly to work out and practice moves that reminded Rachel of Earth’s martial arts. His space had a reflective surface on one wall. The wooden floor beneath Rachel’s feet seemed solid but it had some give to it too. A thick mat lay in one corner, and wooden and metal parrying rods of various lengths and thicknesses hung on the wall opposite the mirror. Another wall contained vids and shelves with personal items stacked on them.
Conyod poked around the shelves. “He won’t need much from in here, since he won’t be allowed any sort of weapons. He keeps all his clothes in the sleeping room’s closet, so I’ll have to go in there to find him something clean. Let’s see, what else?” He grabbed a handheld from one shelf. “I’ll load this with some reading material, lectures, and music he might like.”
Rachel was interested in the vids. They looked similar to the badges that had hung on Breft’s office wall. These also had Kalquorian words written over them, but she couldn’t decipher enough of the symbols to figure out what they said.
Conyod noticed her fascination. He smiled. “Our Nobek does a lot for others.” He started pointing to each one, explaining them in turn. “This one is for heading up a rebuilding effort when a Joshadan village was impacted by an earthquake. This one is for volunteering on a search and rescue effort when a shuttle went down in the mountain range near my parents’ home.
And these three are for his work in donating his time to teach Imdikos self-defense. He says those awards actually belong to me, because I was the one who got him started doing it.”
Rachel looked at him questioningly. He smiled, his expression nostalgic.
“It’s kind of an embarrassing story. I was a teenager at the time, fifteen years old. I’d run away from home because conditions had become so stifling following my brother’s death. You saw how my mother and Nobek father are still very protective of me.”
Rachel nodded. “They love you.”
“Yes, but it’s the kind of love that does more harm than good if not kept in check.”
“So what happened after you ran away?”
“I ended up in a town that was close to a Nobek training camp. It had given leave to its students that day, and four of them about my age decided to pick on me. They’d been drinking, and the situation was getting physical. Sletran, who was older, saw what was going on and got pissed off. He was there in an instant and had them all on the ground before they knew what had hit them. Busted a knee on each of them so they couldn’t get away. Then he took a stick and whipped them all like children in front of everyone.”
Rachel’s eyes went wide. “Wow. You’d never met him before?”
“No. That was our introduction.” Conyod chuckled at the memory.
“Then you became friends?”
“I suppose you could call it that. Sletran marched me to the authorities when he found out I’d run away from home.” Conyod hesitated a moment, making Rachel think there might have been more to the story than that. He shrugged. “It was a mess, because it’s considered a very big deal when a young Imdiko leaves home like that. Anyway, Sletran took an interest in my welfare for whatever reason. He visited me when he was able, and taught me how to defend myself. He said being an Imdiko was no excuse for not being able to fight. I was kind of small at the time and easy prey for bullies.”
“You filled out nicely,” Rachel said with a naughty grin.
“So have you. You were a skinny thing when you first got here.”
“Back to the story,” she insisted, getting a whiff of his spicy arousal aroma. “When did you know you wanted to be clanned with him?”
“Almost right away.” Conyod chuckled. “I had the worst case of hero worship you can imagine. When he went into the military and was stationed too far away to visit easily, I’d send him messages all the time.”
“You were in love.”
He snorted. “I was infatuated, a little boy with a very big crush. I thought about him every day and made a pest out of myself. He put up with it, which shows you just how patient he is. I was still just a kid, so he didn’t take me seriously for a while.”
“How did you end up being in the same clan?”
“I grew up. I stayed in touch with him all those years, and he was kind enough to send messages of encouragement as I trained for my psychology career. Then towards the end of my basic schooling, I attended a three-day conference near where he was stationed. I got him to meet me for dinner. A few mugs of kloq later, he followed me to my room.”
Rachel grinned. “You smooth devil. I guess he liked what you had to offer.”
Conyod played nonchalant. “I don’t like to brag, but I couldn’t have gotten rid of
him after that if I’d tried. Not that I did try, you understand.”
Rachel laughed and he joined her. “I wish I could have seen the two of you, getting to know each other.”
Conyod pointed to a vid showing a picture of him, Sletran, and Erybet sitting on the balcony, the three relaxed and seemingly happy. “He’s got a few stills stored in that vid of us all.
Show stills, clan pictures, oldest first.”
The vid projected a new shot. This one had the three looking much younger and laughing at each other as if they’d just shared a joke. Sletran and Erybet were in green and brown formsuits and tall boots that reached to their knees. Their belts had holstered percussion blasters and knives. Rachel guessed these outfits were their military uniforms. Metallic bars, two on Sletran’s chest and three on Erybet’s, seemed to denote their rank. Between them was a beaming Conyod, looking impossibly young and happy in a dark green outfit of well-fitted trousers and jacket.
“Our clanning ceremony,” Conyod said. His smile had dimmed, and he was blinking fast.
The vid went through several pictures, all of which showed a very happy clan as the years passed, their faces not yet touched by tragedy. Not yet touched by New Bethlehem. It made Rachel wonder how she herself had changed after her imprisonment, even if her scars hadn’t been present. If she saw pictures of the time when she’d been with Marcus, would she recognize herself?
Conyod’s voice ground out between clenched teeth as he watched pictures change. “Look at them. That’s who they used to be. That’s what Commander Akrij destroyed. That’s what that gurluck took from me.”
His fist suddenly slammed into the wall, making it shiver. His scream reverberated, making Rachel’s ears pop. “You hateful bastard! They trusted you! I swear by my ancestors, even if you aren’t the killer, I’ll break your bones for this!”
He kept screaming, unleashing a torrent of pain and fury. Rachel realized Emperor Bevau hadn’t really been joking when he’d spoken of an Imdiko gone violent. She thought if Akrij had been there at that moment, Conyod would have done everything in his power to kill him.
After a few earsplitting seconds, the screams stopped. Wracking sobs replaced them. He fell to his knees and hunched over, his body lurching with every harsh burst of emotion.
Rachel knelt next to him. Her eyes were streaming as she wrapped her arms around his jerking shoulders. “You’ll get them back, Conyod. You’ll get them back now that we know what happened. It’s going to get better.”
He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her against him as he shed long-overdue grief against her breast. She held him close, humming a comforting tune and rocking the distraught Imdiko. How long the storm lasted, she didn’t know. She simply held him and loved him and reassured him as best she could. Rachel was now her beloved’s shelter, repaying the long months of his care in kind. And while she hated the pain he was in, she wouldn’t have traded this moment of being Conyod’s strength for all the world.
Rachel stroked his long hair, kissing the top of his head as the worst of his agony slowly passed. He raised his face to hers. She pressed her mouth to his, letting her tongue slide between his lips to stroke its twin. He moaned, returning the kiss with a desperate hunger.
“Let me love you. Let me show you it’s going to be all right,” she whispered into his mouth.
“Yes.”
She rose and went to the corner to drag Sletran’s workout mat to the center of the room.
“Lie down,” she encouraged Conyod. He did so.
Rachel pulled his boots off, and then moved up to kneel between his legs. She found the front seam of his formsuit and opened it down the middle of his chest. She leaned over him, propping herself on one hand while using the other to open the formsuit wide. She kissed the skin she bared, her lips traveling over its smooth expanse. When she found the dark brown disc of one nipple, she ran her tongue over it, making the tip pebble. Conyod groaned, his eyes becoming unfocused. She sucked gently, and he hissed with reaction.
“Ray-Ray,” he moaned.
She kissed her way over to the other nipple, treating it to kisses, licks, and sucks. She felt his groin swelling beneath her belly, and he moved against her in reaction to the attention.
Rachel rose up, grasping the shoulders of his formsuit and pulling it down. He shifted to help her peel it from his upper body and arms. She stripped him down to his narrow waist and went back to tasting.
His body was a gorgeous collection of lumps and bumps of muscles. Rachel’s hands and mouth explored him all over, tasting the salty-sweetness of his skin, tracing every line of him.
Conyod was nearly panting as she mapped his abdomen with fingertips, lips, and tongue. The formsuit was hard pressed to contain his engorged cocks.
He tried once to reach for her, but she leaned back, gently batting his hands away. “Let me love you,” Rachel reprimanded him.
“The man is supposed to take care of the woman,” Conyod complained.
“This is an equal relationship, is it not? Isn’t that what you once told me?” She grinned.
“That means I get to be on top once in awhile.”
He scowled. “Just because I’m an Imdiko doesn’t mean I like to surrender.”
“Conyod, I know that. And I love that you’re so strong. But I’m strong too, and sometimes I need to express it.” She reached up to stroke his cheek. “I enjoy how you and Erybet and Sletran take such good care of me. I haven’t had that in a long time. Right now though, I want to love you. I want you to know how much you mean to me.”
He looked at her but didn’t speak. She decided to take that as an agreement to keep going.
Before he could change his alpha mind, she tugged at the front of his crotch, opening the seam.
His cocks spilled out, hard and flushed dark with eager need. They gleamed with his natural lubrication, making him slick. With a sigh, Rachel bent to him, inhaling the spicy aroma of his arousal. Her hands closed over the base of each penis. Conyod jerked in reaction.
Her eyes rolling up to watch his face, Rachel dipped her mouth towards those livid exclamation marks. Her tongue started with the smaller of his two cocks, right above where her hand gripped him. She slowly licked up the underside of the shaft, tasting his sweetness, feeling how his pulse throbbed faster at her erotic touch. Conyod’s eyelids fluttered, and he emitted a long groan. His cocks swelled fatter and harder than ever.
Rachel licked all the way up his shaft, pausing to close her mouth over the tapered tip. She sucked all the wetness she found there, swallowing it before starting a new journey up the larger cock’s underside.
He watched her, his lips parted and eyes half-lidded. When Rachel arrived at the top of his primary cock, she found a reward waiting there: a single sweet drop of pre-cum. She took it from him with a delicate swipe of her tongue. Sweet-salty-spicy goodness washed through her senses.
She bathed his cocks with her mouth; licking, sucking, kissing, nipping. In no time Conyod was writhing beneath her assault, his groans continuous. His warm hands rubbed over the back of her head, her neck, her shoulders. His hips rose and fell, feeding his need into her accepting mouth. She took his front cock as deeply as she could, pumping the rest of it as well as his second cock with firm grips.
“Oh Matara, how beautiful you look holding me in your mouth! I love you so much,”
Conyod said. His ass thumped against the floor mat, driving in and out as he clutched at her shoulders. She was making him wild. Rachel grinned.
“Ready for something else?” she asked. She flicked her pink tongue over the opening of his front cock, coaxing more pre-ejaculate out.
“Whatever you want,” he gasped. “Just tell me.”
“I’ll show you instead.”
Rachel released him and pulled her dress off over her head. She stood over the Imdiko, enjoying how his eyes drank her in. Yes, enjoying it. Not flinching because he saw her scars.
Not being afraid he’d find her ugly.
; She shrugged off her bra, dropping it to the floor. Conyod licked his lips, staring at the soft mounds topped by dark, stiff nipples. Rachel rubbed them for him, making them as pebble-hard as she could. Her lover’s hands twitched, as if he could feel her flesh in them.
It was time to give the power back to Conyod, power he desperately needed. What had happened to his clan, what continued to happen, was making him feel incapable. Weak. He needed his strength, and she needed to give it to him.
She pushed her panties down over her hips and let them drop to her ankles. Then she stepped forward, placing her feet on either side of Conyod’s head, letting him look straight up at her pussy.
“You see, my love? Even lying there on your back with me standing over you, even now you control me.” Rachel reached down, spreading her pussy lips, showing him everything. “I’m doing this because I want to please you. Because I want you to be happy with me.”
She pressed two fingers into herself. Her head fell back and she moaned at her own touch.
At the knowledge Conyod was watching her touch herself. She pumped her fingers in and out, fucking her pussy for his enjoyment. “For you, Conyod. For you.”
“Yes,” came his voice. His hands gripped her ankles. “Show me. Let me see you pleasure yourself until you’re right on the brink of coming.”
Rachel did as he commanded, pressing in deep and curling her fingertips to apply pressure to her G-spot. Hot, boiling rapture bubbled through her. She groaned and felt herself dripping.
“That’s it. Let your juices fall. You taste so good.”
Rachel closed her eyes. She pinched her nipple, imagining it was Conyod’s rough touch that sent shards of painful pleasure straight down. Her hand moved to the other breast, pinching harder. She cried out and arched into the punishing touch. Her nipples throbbed. She thrust into her pussy faster.
“Good girl. Now play with your clit. Make it so you’re ready to come, but stop before you do.”
“Yes, my Imdiko.” The words floated from her as her fingers slid down from her breasts, moving over her belly, down to her navel, then further down still to her hairless mound. They found her pleasure button, swollen with want and slippery with her honey.
Alien Redemption [Clans of Kalquor 06] Page 36