by Lisa Lace
Ayrie pulled back unexpectedly. “Sorry about that.”
“You don’t have to apologize for anything.”
“I should go, Elle.” He squeezed me one last time before going downstairs.
I watched him until his back disappeared through the door, then sighed and flopped down onto the bed. I allowed myself a few minutes to mope about our pathetic situation.
But that was all. I told myself that I couldn’t wallow in misery for too long. I wouldn’t sit around waiting for Ayrie to come back. In the meantime, I was going to find something to do.
I hung the quilt outside to air out. I cleaned the shack, sweeping out the downstairs areas we hadn’t touched yesterday. I cleared out the soft grasses we used for sleeping and collected fresh plant material, bringing its sweet scent with me and spreading it over the loft.
After that, I brought the quilt back up and laid it out, then sat down on the bed to rest. I hadn’t recovered from yesterday yet, and I was asleep before I knew it.
When I woke up, the slanting bar of sunlight on the floor had moved quite a bit, and I thought a few hours had passed. There was still no sign of Ayrie. While I worked, I had become hot and sweaty. I realized that I smelled terrible.
I needed to take a shower or a bath. The closest I would get to either one was a swim in the ocean.
Ayrie hadn’t said the water was dangerous. I suppose neither of us had wanted to go back in after our narrow escape. But I wanted to get clean now. Today was the hottest since we had crashed on Vandwa. It would be lovely to cool off in the sea.
When I made my decision, I headed down to the beach. Earth’s waters were too polluted to play in them. We had to save all our fresh water for drinking, and countries still fought wars over water rights. There was none of that on Vandwa; only clear, blue water everywhere I looked.
As long as I didn’t go out too deep, I should be safe even though there were creatures in the ocean. I watched carefully for danger before I stripped off my clothes and went into the sea, bringing my filthy pants and shirt with me.
The water wasn’t cold. The weather was so warm that it felt like bathwater. And it was clear, too. I couldn’t see a trace of aquatic life, which surprised me. The experience was refreshing and exhilarating.
It felt naughty to be swimming out in the open, completely nude. I washed my clothes and left them in the shallow water before starting to float on my back. I was grateful for the first chance to relax in a long time.
I had never really been alone on Earth. My life with Ayrie on the starship hadn’t been much different, but there was an underlying tension between us that kept me on edge. On the island, there were no other people and nothing to make me stressed. The only thing around was me, naked and honest. And for the first time, I liked the woman I saw.
I stayed in the water for a long time before coming out and spreading my clothes to dry. I decided to take a walk along the shore. I went just far enough to explore before turning around and coming back to my clothes. I was clean and dry, and I suddenly felt tired. I lay down on the warm sand with the sun beaming down on me, feeling like a bare-skinned water baby finally coming to land. I fell asleep again, completely at peace.
AYRIE
I made the fire as quickly as I could. Once the flame was stable, I fed the green leaves into it, creating a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from miles away. I stayed and added as many smoke-generating leaves as the fire could take. The flames died down after another hour.
Before I left, I stamped out the fire and covered it with dirt. I didn’t want to have to flee to the ocean because we accidentally burned down the island.
For the entire time I was tending the fire, all I could think about was Elle. Was she all right? Had she passed out again? What if she lost consciousness or stopped breathing when I wasn’t there and couldn’t help her?
I paced around nervously. When my task was complete and I could finally go, I decided that the agony of taking out my wings would be worth it if it sped up my return. I could land in the jungle and retract my wings so she wouldn’t know about them. I planned to go into the shack the same way I left. Elle would remain unaware of my secret.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Everything went according to plan until I returned and couldn’t find her anywhere. I frowned. Where was she? At the bathroom trench?
I peeked in that direction to see if I could spot a head of short brown hair, but I didn’t see anything. Eventually, I went over to make sure she hadn’t fainted while she was relieving herself. There wasn’t a single sign of her.
I was starting to get worried. I had expected to find Elle sleeping or resting when I came back. Instead, she had wandered off somewhere. I looked around and noticed that she had cleaned up a little and changed the bed.
Maybe she had wanted to take a swim. I needed a bath, too. I took off running to check the beach. On the sand, I found the first sign of Elle. She had spread her clothes out on some rocks to dry. Elle herself was nowhere to be seen.
Had she followed me up the trail? I had only come down the part which came out near our cabin, so if she had been moving at the same time, I could have easily missed her. I hiked back to the base of the hill and looked up the trail as far as I could see. I didn’t think she would have gone hiking. If I couldn’t find her, I would have to open my wings and search for her from the air, but I wanted to put that off as long as possible. I didn’t want her to know.
I ran back to camp, feeling more and more frantic as the minutes went by and I couldn’t find her. I shouldn’t have left her alone. She had said she was a lifeguard and could take care of herself in the water, but maybe she had an accident.
I looked in the water along the beach, just in case. There wasn’t a trace of her, like in the jungle near our campsite. The afternoon passed without me seeing Elle’s sweet face at camp.
I had lost her. I walked back into camp after another search, feeling dejected. She had neatly cleaned the loft, but it was empty now. I decided to rest inside while I tried to absorb the reality of what had happened.
It didn’t matter if she was dead or had disappeared. Either way, she was gone. I couldn’t feel any emotion, and it reminded me of losing my mother.
Were the two situations really that similar? Was I so close to Elle that I felt this strongly about her? I thought I didn’t love her.
I was going to try again. Maybe Elle was hurt somewhere in a place I had overlooked. I couldn’t give up so easily. I would look down from the air before combing the entire island systematically. If she was on the island, I was going to find her. I hadn’t been a great husband so far. I was determined to do better from now on.
Wincing at the thought of deploying my wings twice in a short timespan, I steeled myself against the pain and released them. I cried out as torment filled my head, spreading out from my back into every cell of my body. Every time I took out my wings, my body fought against me. When the anguish finally ceased, I took to the skies.
I flew back and forth across the island searching for any sign of Elle. I went down the beach that I had already walked down twice today. It took a third time for me to see her body.
She lay in a little hollow pointing toward the jungle. I had walked right past the spot before, but a dune had hidden her from my line of sight.
I dove down and landed, stifling my cries of agony as I retraced my wings for the second time in a day. As soon as the shaking stopped and I could walk, I made my way over to her.
She was nude and looked as pale as a corpse. I dropped to my knees, and a wretched groan escaped my mouth.
Not Elle too. I hadn’t known that I needed her. But now that she might be gone, I couldn’t imagine what I was going to do without her.
Chapter Nine
AYRIE
I don’t know how long I knelt beside her, afraid to touch her and unwilling to learn the truth. The wind picked up and ruffled her hair. The rosy glow of sunset filled the air. From a different perspective, t
he scene would have been considered beautiful.
When I saw her move and sigh, relief flooded my body. I leaned over, putting my forehead on hers and inhaling her sweet scent. She wasn’t dead, after all. Once the moment passed, I realized I had overreacted when I thought she was dead. All the important women in my life had slowly passed away before my eyes. On some level, I expected that to happen with Elle, too.
As I tried to calm myself, Elle opened her eyes. She looked at me quizzically before giving me a sweet smile. Elle took my hand without saying anything and kissed it. The innocent gesture made me aware she was nude. My cock started responding immediately, but I ignored it and picked Elle up, beginning to carry her back to camp.
She spoke up when we approached the shack. “Ayrie, why are you carrying me?”
“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t?” My words came out gruff because I was still feeling worried about her.
“Is there something happening that I should know about?”
“What were you doing out there?” I knew I looked upset, but my concern was quickly changing into anger that she had worried me so much. I put Elle over my shoulder, making her squeal, and carried her up the ladder. As I set her down in the loft, I could see her realize she wasn’t wearing any clothes. Her cheeks flushed pink as she put one arm over her breasts and reached her other hand down to cover her sex. I ignored my desire for her body, wondering what she was going to say.
“I cleaned up and decided to take a swim.” Her eyes looked like she was still waking up. “I walked along the beach. When I got tired, I laid down in a warm spot of sand and took a nap.”
“Anything might have happened to you, Elle.” My voice sounded harsh, but I couldn’t control it.
She frowned at my tone. “Anything could happen to me here, too. It’s not like we have an impenetrable fortress.”
Hearing about something impenetrable drew my eyes down to the hand between her legs. What were we talking about? My brain short-circuited as I thought about penetrating her fortress.
“Anyway, I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal about this.” Elle was getting defensive in a way I hadn’t seen since we left the mothership. “I went swimming and took a nap. Was I supposed to ask you for permission?”
“No, of course not. But I was worried. I couldn’t find you, and I looked everywhere.” I felt harassed and frustrated because I knew nothing could come from my arousal. “I thought something happened to you.” I stopped talking. I didn’t want to reveal the extent of my imagination.
“I was totally safe.”
“I looked and couldn’t find you. I didn’t know where you were.” I ran a hand through my hair, which was getting long and needed a cut. I closed my eyes, wondering if I looked like a madman. When I glanced at her again, I couldn’t figure out the expression on her face. She didn’t look angry anymore.
“Where’s your shirt?” Her voice trembled.
I looked down at my bare chest. I had left my shirt somewhere after I deployed my wings. When we flew, our torsos were nude, and we lost tops all the time. I shrugged, getting caught in the snare of her eyes and finding myself unable to look away.
Elle crawled across the bed toward me. She wasn’t bothering to cover herself any longer, which meant her perfect breasts were swinging and distracting me. “Were you really worried about me?”
I nodded. I felt my cock become fully erect. I was unable to look away from the sexy, naked goddess approaching me. I tried to speak but something caught in my throat. I coughed and tried again. “Elle, what are you doing?”
“It’s something we should have done a long time ago.”
“We can’t bond with each other.” I felt frustration fill my chest.
“Of course not. I know you don’t love me.”
“I never said that.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. She looked as surprised as I felt. What was I saying?
“Ayrie, weren’t you the one who said even though we can’t bond we can still have fun?”
I didn’t answer as she pressed her body against me. Her soft breasts pressed against my hard chest and I felt her hard nipples rubbing against my skin. When she hooked her hands around my neck, I couldn’t help but respond to her touch. After all my pent-up anxiety, adrenaline was still pounding in my blood, and I wanted to release all the coiled energy in my body.
“Take me, Ayrie.” When Elle looked at me, her eyes were on fire. “Take as much of me as you can.”
I didn’t need another invitation. I claimed Elle’s mouth with mine. The lust surging through my body made it impossible to be gentle. By the way she responded, maybe she didn’t want me to be gentle.
Her fingernails raked my back. She sucked on my tongue as I thrust it in and out of her mouth. It was the way I wanted to move with her body farther down, but couldn’t. She began to squeal, and the noises made me harder. I wanted to take her sweet body. I palmed her breasts and pinched her nipples. I needed to taste them.
I laid Elle down in the bed that smelled of sun-warmed grass and took my pants off. I kissed from her mouth down her neck and over to her breasts. Closing my eyes, I took her nipple into my hot mouth and sucked gently. She gasped and arched her back toward me, encouraging me to take more of her. I sucked and nipped her breasts. They were small, round and firm. From the noises she made, I wondered if she was so aroused that she would come already.
I wanted more.
I continued playing with her breasts while my hands worked their way further down. I ran my fingers along the length of her leg and slowly back up, feeling excited as I went past her knee. Slowly, I drew my fingers up her inner thigh, pausing only for a moment before I cupped her pussy. She started to pant as I rubbed in soft circles around her clit, never touching it or moving inside. I played with her for a long time, until she twisted beneath my hand and pressed her hips against me. I finally slid my finger into her and found her slick, hot, and wet.
My eyes fluttered closed as I slid my finger along the length of her folds, rubbing on the nub at the top each time.
“That’s the spot.” Her breath came unevenly. I increased my speed, and her moans increased with it.
She was getting to me. I had to see her come.
ELLE
Ayrie wouldn’t stop rubbing me, which felt unbelievable. I was so far gone at this point that I couldn’t tell which way was up, let alone what my name was. Without any warning, he slid a finger deep inside me, making me sob from sheer pleasure. A moment later, he added another finger, and I gasped as I felt my pussy start to stretch. I hadn’t been fucked in a long time. As he began thrusting his fingers in and out of me, I felt a flush of heat bloom all over my body, and the pleasure started rising, a sure sign I was going to come.
“Don’t stop, Ayrie.”
In response, he circled my clit lightly but faster. He added a third finger, and I thought I couldn’t take it for much longer.
“Touch your breasts.” I hovered so close to orgasm that I could hardly stand it. Did he want me to do that while he was watching me? The thought made me even wetter than before. I wasn’t sure if I should, but I couldn’t help myself after he suggested it. I pinched my nipples and squeezed my breasts as he continued to stimulate me.
“Do it now.” He leaned over and sucked my clit as he thrust his fingers into me. “I want to see your face.” The thought was sexy and dirty. Combined with his mouth on me, it shot me over the edge. I screamed and came apart. My hips thrust up against him and my body writhed. We had messed up the bed, but I didn’t care. Bliss filled my entire body. I cried out as I convulsed and spasmed around his fingers.
He pulled his hand out of my body and wrapped his arms around me. Contractions rocked my body until I lay still. He held me gently and started kissing me again. I had thought I was spent, but I felt the desire begin to build. I wanted more from him. But first, he needed something from me.
I worked him out of his underwear, and he hissed as I ran my hand along his
cock. He was a good size. I longed to have him inside me. I couldn’t have him down there, but I could do other things.
I pushed Ayrie onto his back. He put his arms under his head, lifting it so he could watch me. I felt my sex tingle at the idea he wanted to see what I was going to do. I hadn’t done this before, but I wanted to taste him and learn what it would feel like to take him in my mouth. I kissed down his chest until I reached his cock. I held him with my hand at the base and kissed the tip.
He groaned in pleasure.
I sucked gently on the end, testing his tolerance. He inhaled sharply, and I thought I must be doing okay. I took more of his cock into my mouth until I bumped up against my fist. He was too big for me to take all of it in at once. I began sucking and moving up and down.
It felt fantastic. I wanted Ayrie in my mouth, and I wanted to please him. It made me feel sexy and powerful. I had never felt that way before.
A moment later, he came and I swallowed it all. I had never thought I was that kind of woman, but giving him pleasure made me happy too. I wished he could come inside me. Even if he couldn’t fuck me, what we had was something to remember.
He rolled over to face me, and we twisted our legs together. We kissed for a long time, lost in the magic of the pleasure we brought each other. We washed in the sea before coming back and falling asleep immediately.
By the time I woke up in the hot darkness, I was halfway to an orgasm. I took Ayrie in my hand and started pumping him as he touched me. After only a minute, the feeling of slick skin-on-skin had us both coming in gasps and pants. My pussy was still hot and wet. I wanted him to slide up inside me in the darkness of the night, where nobody would know.
I knew I would regret the idea in the light of day, so I lay back in an orgasmic haze and went back to sleep. Ayrie held me close and whispered alien words into my ear.