by Julia Sexton
Sandy still on fire from those lips, sat up. “You speak! That means you understand. All that hissing and growling was just to keep me in the dark.”
Josh put his hand on her arm. “Don’t make him angry,” he whispered. Sandy brushed his hand off.
“General. You are right. I am a human. But you are wrong. I am not inconsequential. Haven’t your studies all these years shown you that every human life has value? You say you want to understand suffering and why humans make bad choices. But look at you. You have dismissed me as “inconsequential.” You’ve preyed on Josh’s human nature and made him a prisoner and you’re trying to take away his honor on your planet. You haven’t learned anything from your great mission. All those years of collecting data, studying neuroscience, trying to get to the part of the brain that makes humans,” she faltered.
“That makes humans, humans. Well, the part of the brain that makes humans human is the heart. I’m a human and I am telling you this. You’ve missed the point.”
The only sound was the waves pounding on the shore.
Josh stood. The general hissed. “This is worse than I thought.”
Josh and the general growled and hissed at each other. Then the general turned and walked out the door. The lock clicked in place behind him.
Josh turned to Sandy who was slumped on the sofa. He sat beside her. He reached out his hand to touch her arm.
“Josh, I’m so confused right now. I can’t think. Everything I said to the general was true. You need to understand that, too. Whatever that momentary physical attraction, we have to use our brains. As humans we are rational. Even though what I said to the general was true, our feelings do lead us astray sometimes. We balance that with rationality.”
“Sandy, I didn’t realize what I felt until just a few minutes ago. I’ve hurt you at the deepest level by taking away your freedom. It is life’s most precious gift. I’m beginning to understand that. I’ve lived protected and then privileged. I was pampered. I’ve always had my own way. Now, it’s really hit home, because mine is taken away, too. This is the first time since I came to Earth that things have turned against me. The moment they threatened your life, I know you were priceless to me. In my privilege, always getting people to do what I wanted, I hadn’t valued anyone as, well, a person. ”
“No, Josh. I had a weak moment. I apologize. What just happened, it happened. People aren’t always in control of their emotions. It was a physical attraction. Nothing more. I need to go to bed now. So much has happened in the past two days. I’m confused. I’m hurt.”
Josh reached over to kiss her. She fought her body’s response. She put her arm out and touched his chest. She felt his strength and dropped her arm. Then she leaned into him. It was as though their bodies were made to fit. He put his arms around her enveloping her in his strength. She wanted to kiss him again. Her body was on fire.
Chapter 6: Bound Together
Sandy awoke the next morning with a feeling of deja vu: back in her prison with no way out. And now she was locked in with Josh Harrington. Mmmm. Josh, she remembered the tingling excitement of his lips on hers and the deep stirrings and the fire that erupted in her body. She languished in bed in a half-asleep state remembering his embrace. She touched the place on her breast where his fingers had caressed her. She felt the stirrings and the fire.
Then she thought about her impossible situation and dowsed all her fire with an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. The power of the Zinkans was so dominating she couldn’t think of a way to get out of this terrible prison. Maybe Josh would know. His mind was as powerful as his body. He was the perfect mix.
Suddenly out in the hallway deep growls and savage hissings reverberated down the corridor. Sandy sat up. Was the General back? What would happen to them?
She was tempted to open the door and take a peak. She grabbed the grey-blue robe. She remembered Josh’s hands when he first handed it to her. Now when she put it on it was like covering herself with his presence.
She tip-toed to the door and opened it a crack. Nothing. The growls subsided to low, muttering hisses. She still could see no one. She opened the door a little wider. Josh was pacing back and forth in the great room hissing and muttering to himself. He waved his hands.
“Josh?” she queried.
The hissing stopped abruptly. Josh turned. His grey-blue eyes focused intently on her face. As she watched his entire body changed. She watched as the anger left. He smiled.
“Sandy,” he purred her name. “Are you clearer this morning?”
He walked toward her with his arms open ready to take her in.
Her body ached to just fall into those arms and let the waves of passion ride through her. She wanted to feel his lips, his hands gently caressing. Her mind said. Alien. Alien. He says he is human but I just heard that hissing.
She stood riveted to the spot as her body and her mind battled to control her next action.
“Josh, good morning.” She couldn’t help smiling at the pleasure he’d brought into her life. His kiss was unlike any she had experienced before. Her entire body responded to the delicate pressure of his lips.
“I thought…I thought the General was here.”
Josh put his arms around her. Shivers of pleasure raced down her body.
“Does he frighten you?”
“Yes. All the time I’ve know you I’ve seen you as powerful, but he has us both trapped here.”
“I am so angry. I don’t remember ever being so angry and frustrated. I’m not used to feeling helpless. I’m cut off. I have no access to the world. I have no idea what is happening with my business ventures. I can’t connect to the office or to colleagues overseas. I’m raging with frustration.”
Sandy nodded.
“And, something else is happening, too. I can’t explain it. When I see you, I feel warm…inside. I don’t mean lust, it’s something else. I don’t know what it is.”
Could it be? He was growing feelings for her, deep feelings. She recognized the signs. He didn’t. Was it because he was alien, or because he was so preoccupied with himself and his ventures that he’d never really connected with someone?
Josh continued. “I feel like I am going to explode. I have no access.” He took his arms away and paced into the room.
Despite her reserves, Sandy wanted him to come back. No, don’t go away. Stay like that. Stay like that forever. What was happening to her? Here she was a trapped prisoner, imprisoned by aliens with another alien and at the same time she was longing for his touch. She was touched by his humanity.
“That first day when I felt that anger, I made a vow. Exercise is the way prisoners stay fit. But it’s more than that, exercise calms the anger. I’ve gone swimming every day. Come on, let’s go swimming. It will help.”
Josh looked at her in disbelief. “Swimming? I have to do something constructive. I need to see if there is some way I can reconnect the computer to the system here, not just to the mission data.”
“OK, well I’m going to go for a swim. Do what you like.”
Sandy returned to her room and quickly slipped on her swim suit. She looked in the mirror between the dressers. Yes, her suit complimented her breasts showing the tops and a very distinct cleavage. Her narrow waist swelled to rounded hips. She liked what she saw. Is that what Josh liked, her female form? Was that all there was to it? Well, to be honest, she liked his male form.
She dove into the water and started her laps. The heated pool water was just cool enough to keep her wanting to move. She luxuriated in the movement of her body. She didn’t push but worked hard enough to keep a steady pace back and forth across the pool. As she moved she felt the tension slip out into the water. Her rhythmic strokes were steady and strong.
After ten non-stop laps in the small pool she pulled up to rest for a second. Josh stood over her. His tall, muscular form cast a long shadow in the morning light.
“I couldn’t make it work. I decided you might have a good idea.”
�
��What! The great technician and scientist, Josh Harrington, is defeated by technology,” she mocked.
“It’s complicated.” He cast his grey-blue eyes over the water then looked down at Sandy. “I’ll race you.” Before she could answer he was in the water and several laps ahead.
I’ll beat you, Josh Harrington, popped into her mind. She realized that the tone was lighter. Now they were in this together. She pushed off and swam with steady strokes.
By the time she was at the other end of the pool, Josh had already pushed off in a turn. I’ll beat you. Faster than a blink she turned and pushed with all her might. Her trim body glided through the water. They returned to the far side of the pool at the exact same moment.
And then, both of them burst out of the water in breathless laughter.
Josh reached out and touched her shoulder. “I need a woman who can keep up with me.”
Sandy took in a breath. He was so close next to her with nothing on but his swim suit.
“You’re a fast one, alright, Josh,” She breathed out. “And so good looking. There. I had to say it.”
“You think so?”
“Oh, yes. Not just good looking, hot.”
He looked into her eyes. “Except for the kiss…”
“Oh, the kiss. That’s when I knew.”
“You mean it’s not one-sided. You seemed so distant last night and this morning.”
His hand moved from her shoulder down her arm. She felt the heat rise in her body.
“Oh, no. It’s not all on one side at all.” She moved closer to him in the water, little ripples flowing around them.
“Being the boss, I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“Josh, that’s so old-fashioned. I’m a woman in my own right. I can take care of myself. You need a system upgrade on your knowledge of women in today’s world.”
He laughed and pulled her close so she felt his breath on her cheek.
“Well, my technician, I think you’ll have to give me the code.”
Sandy sighed and leaned into him. She felt the strong muscles of his chest flex as he moved his arms to hold her. Wrapped in his strong arms, she felt safe. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this safe with another man. With Bob, the musician, she’d always felt that she was the one taking care of him. She leaned in even closer. She lifted her leg and wrapped her ankle behind his.
Josh took his hand and lifted her chin so she was looking up at the strong, chiseled face, his cheekbones still covered with small droplets of water.
“May I?”
This was it. If she agreed now there was no going back. She felt her breasts tighten and her nipples pucker against the strong fabric of her suit. She tingled with excitement and desire. The water was cool but inside she was on fire.
She parted her full lips, looked back into his unwavering eyes, and reached up to touch her lips to his. His lips met hers, more tentative than the night before, somehow holding back from the assertive pressure. He kissed her over and over in light brushing touches against her lips. First in the middle. She was ready for it now. Then he drew back his head and gave her another light kiss on the left side of her lips, like a butterfly settling on a petal.
He trailed light kisses across her mouth until he reached the other side of her mouth. Sandy had never had anyone treat her with such delicacy. She never knew there was so much to kiss just on her lips. Such tenderness.
As light as his kisses were she felt she was going to explode. Explode with delight, and recognition, and passion. Her body ached for him. She felt heat rising. The wetness she felt was masked by the water of the pool, but she knew it was there.
He moved his lips full over hers, parted them and kissed with strength. She could feel his desire, and she could feel his cock pushing against her heat.
More than that there was a connection between them. It was an unspoken understanding. A hunger rose in each of them as his lips pressed with fervor and his tongue slid along the expanse of her lips.
Then they both kissed deeply, lost in the depths of the kiss and their hunger for each other but not wanting the kiss to end. She didn’t know a kiss could last that long or be so deep. So full. A moan came unbidden into her throat as she pressed her lips to his with a fever of desire.
She reached up and grabbed the back of his head with both hands. Her tongue pushed into his mouth and explored the taste of him, the smooth inside of his mouth hungry with wanting. Below in the water she felt heat explode between her legs.
Her ravenous feeling seemed unquenchable. Her heart beat wildly. Was this what love was? This deep, deep longing, and acceptance, and knowing all at the same time. Did he feel it? Or was Josh immune to the human passions?
“I want you,” his voice rasped overcome with desire.
“I need you,” Sandy breathed.
She imagined she could spend every day of the rest of her life with him. Just like this. Knowing each other in a deep understanding.
She felt his thigh brush against hers and a trail of fire shot up her leg. Every inch of her body was consumed with a longing so strong she felt out of control. “Yes,” she whispered huskily. “Yes, yes.”
From the other side of the pool, she heard a hiss. Josh moaned then pulled his lips away from hers. His thigh moved against her and away as he turned. Her desire flamed as the sensation of his skin rubbing against hers flared through her body.
“General Baliik,” Josh uttered, still husky as his passion dwindled.
Sandy was surprised at the general’s color. The faint, vein-blue had disappeared and he was milk white. She hadn’t noticed before how big he was. As tall as Josh, but with huge arms and legs. A very powerful being.
“As I knew. And just so I recommended. We are ready to meet in the room. Please dress. I will wait and escort you down.” He walked to the door and stood impatiently as Josh and Sandy pulled up out of the water.
“What does he mean? What’s happening.”
Josh replied deep feeling in his eyes and then concern. “I don’t know. I don’t know. Get dressed, you are going with me.”
Chapter 7: Judgment Court
Sandy and Josh walked down the long hallway. General Baliik stomped behind them clutching the red pen-like object in his hand.
Even with Josh next to her Sandy was apprehensive. These…things…wanted to get rid of her. Josh had sacrificed his freedom to stop them. She shivered. Josh held her hand as they walked. The closer they got to the room the more her sense of dread built. It was as though everything inside her head was turning black. Josh squeezed her hand when they arrived at the door.
“Enter,” General Baliik commanded.
Josh pushed the handle of the door and opened. The three of them went into the room. General Baliik walked to the table and sat.
Sandy noticed that this time there were two more chairs at the table. In the center, directly across from where General Baliik settled into his chair. He motioned to the chairs.
General Baliik began. He turned his head around and spoke in the hisses and grunts of Zinka to the others at the table. Then he turned to Josh and Sandy.
“For the sake of the…woman, I will speak your language.”
“Thank you,” Josh replied with sincerity.
“Thank you,” Sandy echoed in a whisper. Her hands were cold and clammy. Her heart thumped. She was certain everyone could hear it.
General Baliik pulled out a tiny red rectangle. “The plenary of Zinka has made a grave decision.” His once blue skin was white with tiny filigrees of orange. He looked at Josh.
Then, he began to “read” from the rectangle. “We the Plenary of Zinka Sectors have met with The Absolute…”
Josh whispered to Sandy, “That’s my father.”
“…and in concurrence in every regard with the statements from the High Absolute which have been transcribed and appended herein…” General Baliik, stopped. Glanced at the table. Dropped the red reader. Hissed and then growled. And, then…he disappeared! He
disappeared before Sandy’s eyes. The only thing left was the little reader.
Sandy sat stunned. She felt Josh relax next to her. Obviously the general’s disappearance was a great relief to him. She felt the black darkness in her head, that sense of dread, dissipate as Josh relaxed.
She leaned close to Josh and whispered, “What happened?”
“His time here in this environment was at an end. He had minutes to get back to Zinka before he expired.”
One of the other Zinkans had picked up the red reader. He began reading aloud but this time in the hissing language of Zinka.
Sandy watched Josh’s face turn stern, then angry, then resolute. The Zinkan continued to read. Two of the Zinkans at the table got up and left the room. As the Zinkan read, Josh glanced at Sandy with a big smile. His body had relaxed. His blue-grey eyes sparkled, and his cheeks tightened with a very big smile.
“What?” Sandy breathed.
“Shh,” Josh whispered back. “I’ll explain in a minute.”
The two absent Zinkans returned to the room. The reader stopped speaking. All six turned to Josh and saluted by raising both hands above their heads and hissing in unison. Then, as the general before them, they disappeared.
Josh looked into the middle distance. “I’ll have to adjust. But we’re free.”
Sandy could tell he was relieved, but she also sensed he was troubled in some way.
“Josh, please tell me. Tell me what they said.”
“We’re free,” he repeated. “I’m free. According to the decision, I am no longer a Zinkan. I have been denounced and banished.”
“Denounced? What does that mean?” Sandy felt the pit of her stomach tighten.
“My heritage is taken, my Zinkan father has renounced any of my Zinkan characteristics. The planet has declared that I am not only not a prince and leader, but not a citizen.”