by Lisa Lace
"Jesse," she whispered. I took a nipple into my mouth, sucking hard, then switched to the other one as she groaned and pressed her big, soft breast up into my mouth.
I drove into her more quickly.
"Look at me, Ann," I said, wanting to see her eyes.
She opened them slowly, as if she were coming back from a far-away place. I swallowed. I didn't know what I saw in her eyes, but I knew it was reflected in mine.
I leaned down, unable to stop myself. I kissed her deeply, twisting a nipple at the same time. She came instantly. The feeling of her clenching around me as I plunged in and out of her hot wetness sent me over the edge. I groaned, stiffening, as I emptied myself into her. Her orgasm was still going. She looked beautiful.
A few minutes later, when we lay curled up together, I realized I had a significantly different opinion of her beauty yesterday. What was going on with me?
"Jesse?" She lifted her head to look into my eyes.
"Mm, hm." My hand was tracing lazy circles on her back.
"I guess morelia is a crazy aphrodisiac, huh?"
She smiled, but I drew my eyebrows together, counting to myself.
"Even the largest dose of morelia can only last four hours. The body will clear it out by then, no matter how much you drink."
"Four hours," she said, frowning. "But that means it would have passed through my body at around twelve or one in the morning. We've done it at least…"
"Twice since then?" I said. "Yes, that's right." I shrugged. "I guess we're good together in bed."
"You guess we're good together?" She didn't believe what I was saying. Her eyebrows nearly touched her hairline. "If the morelia wore off long ago, good is not how I would describe it."
"How would you describe it?" I knew I was fishing for compliments but I couldn't help it.
"Amazing, incredible, mind-blowing, like nothing I've ever experienced before."
"And that was after the morelia wore off?"
She nodded.
"I haven't had many women who weren't under the influence of morelia, so I guess I did okay."
She shook her head at me. "You heard the sounds I was making, right? I can't make that shit up." She frowned as if hearing herself swear for the first time. "I mean, I can't make that stuff up."
"Humble's not a word people usually use to describe me."
"Maybe I'm seeing another side of you," she said, looking as if the idea intrigued her.
I sat upright, suddenly remembering all the work that was waiting for me. It was the busy season for the farm, and everyone had to pitch in. It was time to rise.
"Where are you going?" she said, surprised.
"I need to do work. You may have another day or two off, but after that, you must start to learn some new skills. Mrs. Boyko will teach you everything you need to know. "
"I thought the servants did the work here," she said. She didn't look dismayed at the idea of working, but she was trying to understand life on my planet.
"The servants help with the work, but we share it equally. It is my understanding that on Earth, some types of work are better than others but that isn't the case here. The owner of the farm works as hard as his stable boy. Neither is considered better than the other."
"Nice. So I'm going to work, probably as much as Mrs. Boyko."
"You would be hard-pressed to work that hard, but that's the idea."
"I got it. I put in long hours back home, too. It's nothing new to me."
"You did?"
She nodded, sitting up. I was momentarily distracted by her lush breasts before she pulled the sheet up to cover them.
"I don't need two days off. I can start today. I have more energy here than on Earth. I sleep well, and I haven't been working, so I'm all rested up and ready to go.”
I nodded, pulling on my shirt, which hung on a chair next to the bed. She had certainly been energetic last night.
She held up two fingers. "I had two jobs back home. That was enough to pay for my mom's life, and I was able to save enough to go to school and become a teacher.
"You were the one who earned the money to care for your mother?" he asked, a little surprised.
"During the day I would take care of three and four-year-olds, teaching them. At night, I would wait tables, like the woman you and Porter were ogling when I arrived."
"I wasn't ogling her," I said, drawing my eyebrows together. How had she noticed?
"Yes, you were," she said, giving me a glance that indicated she had seen right through me.
"It's good you know how to work. It will make your transition easier." I patted her thigh and got up to find my pants.
"So will spending the nights in your bed," she muttered. I didn't know if she meant me to hear, but I liked it.
Some time later, we were sitting in the kitchen. Our knees touched under the table. Mrs. Boyko was serving us some gruel.
I had helped Annalee get dressed. It would take a while for her to learn how to put on her clothing. She had cursed her outfit in an unfeminine way, but today I found her language amusing. What had happened to me? Was I truly besotted with this girl within a day?
It was evident that everyone was glad Annalee was here. I supposed I was too. The staff was up and bustling about, having breakfast and discussing what work should be done on the farm today. The women wished her good morning and the men made jokes about how she had slept, making her blush.
Our appearance, coupled with the sounds that came from the guest house all night long, ensured the marriage was binding. I had already confirmed the witness had signed the papers, making everything legal.
In the morning, Father's lawyers had come to transfer the deed to my name. My father was relieved to know I had inherited the farm.
We all looked up when we heard the sound of horses galloping into the yard. One of the stable lads went to see who had arrived. Annalee looked at me curiously, and I shrugged, continuing to eat my breakfast.
The door flew open without warning. The same men from the Bureau of Purity we had seen at the inn burst into the room. Mrs. Boyko frowned. "What do you think you're doing?" she said. "Coming into a house that way? Shame on you. Haven't your mothers taught you manners?"
"They're from the Bureau of Purity, Mrs. Boyko," I said, standing slowly. Annalee looked terrified.
"I don't care where they're from. There's such a thing as knocking," she said indignantly. I noticed she looked slightly whiter, and her voice was weaker than before.
"We are here to perform a search," one of the agents said. "Who is the man of the house?" I noticed Annalee's eyes roll but ignored them.
"I am. I have recently inherited from my father," I said, trying to remain calm. There was no reason for any of us to be frightened.
The man handed me a piece of paper, and I scanned it. They were conducting searches of all the nearby houses.
As if I couldn't read, one of them spoke up. "We are searching all of the houses surrounding the inn. We are confident nothing is in your house, but the man punished today might have hidden objects in your other buildings."
He didn't seem to believe he wouldn't find anything. To me, it looked like he thought we were all guilty, but I supposed that was his job.
"You won't blame us if you find things we don't know about, will you?" I asked, worried.
"Of course not. We know what types of devices he carried. None of the people here would have access to such things."
They pushed past us and began to investigate the upper floor. It took them nearly an hour to search the entire house and associated buildings. During that time, no one went to work. We all remained silent and frozen, waiting for them to finish and for our farm to be declared clean.
"Get everyone lined up in the yard," the first man said to me when they had finished their investigation.
"Why?" I asked. He gave me a dark look. "I mean, why, sir?"
"We need to search your people, too."
I didn't like this, but I instructed everyo
ne to assemble. Annalee stayed by my side. She looked sick from fright, and I knew it was because she had recently seen a man killed. It was enough to make any of us afraid. For someone coming from another planet, it must be unimaginable.
First Sun was high in the sky, making us all hot, with Second Sun about to rise. Third Sun was still on the other side of the planet, chasing his brothers across the sky in an endless circle.
I was surprised when the second man knelt at Mrs. Boyko's feet and picked up her skirt.
"Hey," she said, kicking at him.
"My companion will check your skirt hem for anything illegal, ma'am."
He felt around her entire hem and moved on to the next person, who was a man. He was forced to empty all his pockets as the Bureau man patted him down.
"People who have contraband often keep it on their person," the first man explained, walking up and down in front of us while the second man continued searching. "They are afraid we will discover things. They mistakenly think hiding them on their person is safer."
"Jesse," Annalee whispered into my ear. "I have to go to the bathroom."
"Right now, you can't," I hissed back.
"I have to." She seemed desperate, and I shrugged.
When she began walking away, the first man barked at her. "You there. Where are you going?"
"To the privy," she said, as quietly as possible.
"No one is allowed to leave until our search is complete."
"I really have to go," she insisted. "I'm at the end of the line. I'll return before you reach my spot."
"What if you are trying to get rid of illegal substances before we search you?" he said with a smug smile.
"Are you kidding?" she said. "I know how seriously this planet regards the law."
"Are you new to Yordbrook?"
"Yes," she said, choosing not to elaborate. She lifted her hands. "Okay, okay. I'll hold it. But I'm blaming you if I have an accident."
She seemed unconcerned and playful, but I knew she was lying. And the first Bureau man also realized something was wrong.
"Search her next," he said, flicking his head at Annalee.
Shit. She was standing beside me, looking calm and relaxed, but I could feel the tension coming from her body.
The second man knelt down at her hem. She gave me a glance that was meant to be reassuring but only amplified my concern. He felt around, and I held my breath. Did she have something in there? Was that why she was so nervous?
"I have something, sir."
My heart stopped. I looked at Annalee in fear. She didn't look like an innocent woman being unjustly condemned. She looked guilty.
His companion appeared immediately with a knife out. He cut along the hem and gently shook it. Something fell out into his hand.
It was a technological device. She had smuggled it in.
I glanced at her in consternation.
Why would she have done something like this? No wonder she had been afraid. Why hadn't she disposed of it while they were searching the house? Was she stupid?
And even before today, when she had seen a man killed, she could have destroyed the device or hidden it somewhere. Anything that would prevent it from being found in her possession.
The first man from the Bureau held up the device triumphantly. The yard was as silent as a funeral.
"This woman has been found in possession of technology. In two days, she will be executed in Willford with the other lawbreakers."
Annalee closed her eyes in pain.
They couldn't take her from me when I had just found her. I was starting to realize I cared about her. And now she was going to die.
Chapter Nine
ANNALEE
Have you ever imagined what it would be like if people spoke the way movie trailers sound?
Dying was the easy part. Breaking my promise to Kyle? That was going to be hard.
None of it was true, but it sounded good, at least. I don't know what I was thinking, but part of me thought I would be above the law, or they wouldn't catch me with my phone. Maybe they would give me a special off-worlder's dispensation.
I didn't get any mercy, and now I was going to die. In retrospect, all of my decisions seemed bad. Coming to this planet, keeping the phone, marrying Jesse, and dragging him into this nonsense.
Becoming a teacher wasn't that important. I did good work with those three-year-olds. Kyle loved me...if he still remembered Miss Annalee. Maybe he had forgotten me by now, and I had risked my life to keep an empty promise to him.
Strangely, I didn't regret it, not even now in the middle of a disaster. I looked around and saw sympathy in some eyes but disgust in others. One thing I didn't see was a single face in the crowd that looked like they might help me. That included my new husband's. I stepped forward and held my hands out together, not looking at anyone and trying to be brave.
Someone spoke. "Sir, she's new to Yordbrook. She doesn't understand our ways." It was Mrs. Boyko. She was defending me, bless her heart.
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse," the Bureau man said curtly.
Before they pushed me into the cart, I heard Jesse's deep voice ring out across the yard.
"May I say good-bye?"
"Who is speaking?"
"I am," Jesse said calmly. "She's my wife."
"Be brief," the Bureau man said, stepping away to converse with his companion. I didn't turn to Jesse. Instead, I listened to his footsteps as he approached.
I thought about how he had made me feel last night and our aborted year together. I wasn't planning on staying longer than that.
When Jesse walked around and put his hand under my chin, making me lift my head and meet his eyes, I wondered if I might change my mind before the year was up.
He didn't hesitate but leaned in and kissed me slowly, deeply, as if he were learning my lips by heart and storing up the feeling to remember me by when I wouldn't be here anymore. It was hard to believe that he was the same grumpy man I married yesterday.
I lost myself in him as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tightly against him. As his lips brushed my ear, I heard him whisper only four words, but they gave me hope.
"Be ready. Don't sleep."
I held my breath as he stepped back. There wasn't an indication on his face that he had said anything to me.
"I will see you on the other side of death," he said, loudly enough for the crowd to hear. There was the sound of a woman's muffled sobbing.
He whispered, "It's something we say when we think we're seeing someone for the last time."
I nodded, unable to speak. Jesse backed away as one of the Bureau men came around and shoved me roughly into the cart.
"The execution will take place in two days." He smiled cruelly at Jesse. "You're welcome to come and watch her die. It serves you right for marrying an off-worlder."
I saw Jesse's lips tighten, but he didn't say anything. The Bureau terrified all the natives here. I didn't blame them. I was intimidated myself.
But Jesse had implied he would try to come and save me. I couldn't imagine Jesse the farmer rescuing me. Hadn't that been what he meant? I didn't know for certain, but I clung to the small hope and infinitesimal amount of comfort it gave me.
As my cart bumped and bounced down the road, I started to cry. How had I ended up here? Would my grand adventure end tragically? I would have to wait and see what kind of an alien I had married.
As if things weren't bad enough, now it was raining.
I still wore the long blue dress given to me when I arrived at the planet. It went all the way down to my toes and was long-sleeved, covering me completely. Right now, I was thankful it had a hood. I drew it to my face as the rain drizzled down on me. It had been pouring for hours. Pulling it closer didn't really make a difference. The water had soaked through my clothes, and I was shivering with cold, but doing something proactive made me feel better.
There weren't many things I could do to comfort myself. I wrapped my arms around my middle and
huddled against the side of the cart, hoping the day would end peacefully with a washroom. I would kill for a chance to relieve myself.
The jolting of the cart had rattled my head all day long. I lost my glasses somewhere in the mud, and I wanted to get out and dry myself. I wasn't anxious to go to sleep. If I didn't escape or get busted out by someone, I would have the opportunity to sleep forever starting tomorrow. The thought gave me chills.
Abruptly the cart stopped. A Bureau man came down and unhitched the back of the wagon, pulling it out roughly.
"Get down," he said, jerking me off the back of the cart without warning. My legs had fallen asleep. They buckled under me, but I managed to stand my ground after a slight sway. I didn't want to collapse and show weakness in front of these men. "We're staying here tonight."
"I need to use the restroom," I said. "And change into dry clothes."
He snorted at the audacity of a woman asking for what she needed, but he reluctantly brought me to a small building on the side of the main one. It appeared we were at an inn, but a more desolate and less prosperous one than the inn near Jesse's home.
I went to the privy and discovered another problem. It was difficult to relieve myself when my hands tied in front of me. The guards refused to untie me when I went in, so I was forced to be creative, especially considering my dress and various layers of underclothes.
I managed to do my business and get my hands washed in the basin. I even managed to put all of my clothing back in its proper place and get back out without asking for help. My reward at the end was a stern-faced man shaking his head at me as I emerged.
I ignored him and followed in silence as he made his way around the puddles and moved toward the primary building of the inn. He brought me to a small room with no bed or furniture of any kind. It might have been a storage room before its present use as a cell. There were no windows.
It wasn't a modern jail cell, but I knew it would keep me confined as well as the highest security prison on Earth. I hesitated in the doorway. The Bureau man gave me a hard push. I fell, twisting to avoid landing on my hands and possibly breaking a bone. I didn't need to add that to my list of problems. Instead, I took a hard hit on my hip, and my head smashed into the floor.