by McGill, Brie
Orion smirked. “How far you have fallen. . .”
Wolfram sipped his tea. “I was indeed the fool.”
“Echidna would use technology to elevate herself above every living creature, and rule with an iron hand.” Orion pushed strands of hair from Ninkasi’s face.
Aleister cast him a neutral stare. “The Brotherhood advocates the use of technology for social control.” He slurped his tea. “I’ve spent my whole life fighting it and I will never turn the tide.”
“There were a few others who were truly taken with the beauty of these creatures—your kind.” Wolfram tilted his head, looking to Ninkasi with sorrow. “We came to this world because we loved them and wanted to elevate them. We were used. Those that vehemently advocated a visit to your world wanted fine earthly pleasures—gold, jewels, crops, and wives—and they wanted them insatiably, all unto themselves. They wanted control and dominion. When we arrived, there was no return. They made fools of us, those of us that didn’t wish to wreck this planet. . . and they made a mess of this world.”
Orion sat with a hand on Ninkasi’s chest, listening to her body: her breath slowed, stabilizing. He felt a sweeping sense of relief.
Wolfram tipped the silver pot over his cup. “They taught the surface dwellers how to make weapons for war; they taught counting, which birthed labor and greed; they taught the women cosmetics, and thereby vanity. Some of us taught medicine, and of the stars; but this was not enough to save them.” He turned his head and sighed. “They drove us underground, but not before their culture had been poisoned, not before they were given tools they were not yet prepared to use. This destruction reigns today.”
Ninkasi’s body convulsed, and she gave a soft cry.
Orion dug his nails into her shoulders. “What’s wrong with her?!”
“She will be fine.” Wolfram stood up. “The blood product never fails. She needs only to rest. Come, let us take her to a spare chamber.”
His ass hurt.
It had been two days—or what felt like two days, it was impossible to gauge the movement of the sun from miles and miles underground—of sitting on this ancient, rickety chair without a cushion, two days of watching, waiting, rotting.
Orion dozed for brief moments, waking in a panic and chastising himself with cruel, skin-purpling pinches.
This was his watch over Ninkasi.
Wolfram said she would wake soon.
Orion suspected he and Wolfram operated on different clocks, had different definitions of ‘soon.’
He refused to let her die. He would sit awake until she grew bored with death and returned to her body. He refused to leave this room.
He should have gotten his head straight and told her he fucking loved her long before any of this mess.
He should have told her when they were safe together. . . and he never should have left the chateau. He was a selfish bastard.
Renwick kindly brought him food and drink.
Wolfram appeared once with a bag of desiccated pink and purple lichens, rolling papers, and a torch lighter as complicated as the injection device. 'Mome Raths,' he called them.
Echidna stole his fucking cigarettes; he might as well smoke some momes.
They weren't as grounding as tobacco, and, unfortunately, did nothing to numb his senses; but the taste was sweet, like birthday cake, and the lichens imparted a slight calming effect.
Watching the rise and fall of Ninkasi's chest, Orion constantly assured himself that since the administration of the blood product, her breathing had stabilized and she would survive.
Sometimes, he knelt beside the bed, resting a hand on her chest, running fingers through her hair.
He was terrified to think she might sleep forever.
He tried to chase the haunting thought from his brain.
Ninkasi’s head rolled to the side.
Orion leapt to his feet, knocking over the chair behind him.
She gently rolled her head the other way and shifted her legs, rustling the blankets.
Heart thudding, he climbed on the bed beside her, placing a hand against her cheek.
Moaning, she turned toward him, and her eyes fluttered open.
“Ninkasi.” Orion rolled on top of her, holding her face with both hands.
She smiled, and then winced, trying to push him away.
Sitting up, he blinked, bewildered.
Ninkasi grabbed his arm. “Help me up.” Her voice was weak.
With one arm, he scooped her into a seated position.
Her head crashed against his chest and she shut her eyes, breathing heavily.
“Are you okay?” He rubbed her head.
“Yeah, I. . .” She lifted a hand to her forehead. “Yeah. Ugh. Where. . . am I?”
“Long story.” Orion fought the urge to throw her down onto the bed, to hug her as hard as humanly possible.
“Orion, I. . .” Pulling at his shirt, she pressed her cheek against his chest, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I really have to go to the bathroom, but I don’t know if I can stand up.”
He promptly stood, locking his arm around her waist and slinging her arm around his neck. They took little steps together toward the door.
“What happened to me?” Ninkasi leaned against him, catching her breath. “I feel like I slept for an eternity.”
Exhaling with distaste, Orion opened the door. “We’re still underground.”
She sighed. “Damnit.”
“We’re so far underground that” —he guided her down the hall— “the atmosphere is toxic and you can’t breathe it.”
Ninkasi squinted, trying to bring her surroundings into focus. “Umm, are we dead, then?”
He shook his head. “We found someone to help us.” Orion opened the door for her. “He gave us a place to stay, he gave you an antidote, and he’ll help us get out of here as soon as you're well.”
She tilted her head, smiling, hanging on the open door. “That’s good news.”
Orion bowed to dismiss himself, and returned to the room. He sat on the bed, feeling the luxuriant duvet between his fingers. Lifting the pillow to his face, he smelled the faint trace of Ninkasi’s body.
A wave of heat swept over him. She likely drooled on the pillow.
He stood up, pacing toward the door, and peered into the hall. Would she be able to walk back on her own?
He hoped she hadn’t suffered any permanent damage from her episode, and was only dazed.
He was grateful she woke up. So incredibly grateful.
He had no idea what he would have done if she didn’t. Wolfram was a godsend.
Not wanting to disturb her with his voyeurism, he darted inside the room, awaiting her return.
Rainbows
XX.
Ninkasi flushed the toilet, clamping a hand against her forehead. Of all the times, of all the places—this was a new low.
Kidnapped, underground, and on her period.
She crushed her knuckles against the wall in an effete punch, her knuckles smarting while the wall remained unscathed. Did they make tampons in this secret underground world? Did anyone know what a tampon was down here? What if she wanted a pain killer? God knows what they took for pills here.
At least it wasn’t heavy. At least she wasn’t pregnant.
Her cycle was wrecked. She left her seeds at the chateau.
She wandered out of the bathroom, cursing to herself.
She caught a brief glimpse of Orion peeking out the door; when she entered the hall, he promptly retreated.
With one hand against the wall as a guide, Ninkasi tottered back to her room.
Orion lay sprawled on the bed, palms behind his head, ankles crossed, comfortably awaiting her return.
Biting her lip, she meandered toward the bed. “You look cozy.”
He sat up, pulling her into bed with him.
Easing herself into a comfortable position, she lay beside him, her head on his chest.
“I was worried we wouldn’t do this aga
in.” Holding her in his arms, he pressed his forehead against her forehead. “Ninkasi. . .” He stared at her intently.
She felt the heat rise to her face.
He kissed her slowly, with one of his hot kisses, the kind of kisses that made the pressure drop in her head, made her float toward him. “I love you.”
Opening her mouth, she choked on her breath. “You love me?” She lifted a hand to her chest.
Cradling her face in his hands, he kissed her again, devouring her lips like dessert. “I love you,” he whispered.
Words stuck in her throat—she couldn’t believe her ears!
Showering her with an endless rain of kisses, Orion advanced to her neck, behind her ear. He covered her collarbone with red hot kisses, breathing heavily, touching her with gentle fingers, kissing her like today was his last day on earth.
Pulling herself toward him, her lips trembled.
He slid down the bed, delicately lifting her nightgown, kissing her belly.
Running fingers through his hair, she moaned, squirming beneath him. There was nothing more amazing than when he held her, when he kissed her—she was crazy about him and she wished he’d never stop.
Orion kissed the middle of her inner thigh, patiently working his way to the top, taking the time to appreciate every inch of her body. His hands caressed her hips, her legs, her belly, reaching out to squeeze her breasts.
Wriggling beneath him, Ninkasi moaned, relaxing her legs.
With an expectant hmph, Orion journeyed to her other leg, licking, sucking, nibbling an erratic path up her body, edging closer to the one place she didn’t want—but oh so wanted—him to touch. Carving a slippery and intricate path with his tongue, he abruptly veered toward her center.
She whimpered, guiding his head with her hands.
Hovering above her sex, he blew against her skin, tickling her.
Moaning, Ninkasi squirmed, closing her thighs around his head.
Pushing her legs apart, he communicated his desire with a molten stare. “May I continue?” He glanced at the space between her legs.
She felt her face turn red.
He ran a finger along the edge of her most sensitive place. “Yes. . .” Orion planted a lingering kiss at the top of her inner thigh. “Or no?”
She grabbed his wrist.
“You don’t want to?” Lifting his head, he raised an eyebrow.
Ninkasi sighed, frustrated. “Of course I want to!”
“Then what’s the problem?” Orion took the edge of her panties in his teeth and leaned back, snapping her underwear against her body.
Her head burned: did he just confess his love to her? “It’s that. . .”
“That what?” He nibbled her thigh, hovering inches above her body.
Ninkasi bent her knees, throwing her arms out in exasperation. “I’m perioding.”
He stuck his thumbs into her underwear. “And?”
“And. . .!” She tucked in her legs, pulling them together.
“If you don’t want to. . .” He persisted in lightly stroking her.
Gasping, she pulled a pillow over her face in the event she might be noisy, muffling her words. “I thought you wouldn’t. . .”
He teased the entrance to her body with his fingers. “I love you.”
She squirmed, head spinning. She wanted to take his hand and push it further inside her—
He waited another moment, inserting his finger halfway, caressing her. “More than the world.”
“Orion, I—” Moaning, she spread her legs and shook her head yes.
He licked the edge of her sex with long, leisurely strokes, kissing her with smoldering kisses, the kinds of kisses he gave her mouth.
Breathing deeply, Ninkasi closed her eyes, relaxing into his magical touch.
Orion took his time, sucking on her, swirling his tongue, whispering inaudible secrets into her body. Hands moved up and down her thighs with smooth strokes.
Hips shifting, she moaned.
With two fingers, he parted the edges of her sex and slowly, dutifully continued his kisses, skirting the entrance to her body with his tongue. He penetrated her center, lapping at her, tickling surprised gasps from the back of her throat with light and feathery touches.
She swept her fingers through his hair, feeling him, holding him close against her body while he did the unspeakable to her.
Orion positioned one hand beneath his face, inserting a finger inside her body. He licked upward, away from her entrance, teasing and tickling a circle around her sensitive spot.
Ninkasi bucked her hips, crying out for more.
Inserting a second finger, he twisted them inside her, discovering another sensitive point inside her with a gentle tap.
Shutting her eyes, she cried out, heaving her hips, urging him on.
The tip of his tongue gently grazed her pearl, his fingers working inside her body with steady, maddening strokes.
She squealed, the stimulation too exquisite, too well-timed, applied with just the right amount of force. She had yet to meet a man who savored her so completely and was so receptive to her needs.
Orion increased the speed of his tongue’s caresses, flicking it over her with different styles of strokes, soft and staccato, firm and long, swirling, side to side, moving on her with passionate intensity.
And then she felt it—she was about to lose it—crushing his head between her thighs, Ninkasi raised her hips to meet his mouth and exploded with a shattering orgasm. Her body pounded, fluttering. Clamping a pillow over her face, she cried out, hips rocking for more, waves of ecstasy crashing through her.
Orion removed his fingers when the chaos in her body subsided, etching a few final words with light flicks of the tongue.
She flattened her legs, closing her eyes, resting in a moment of stillness.
Taking her by the arms, he pulled her up so she sat with him. Coiling his arms around her, he held her against his chest, his chin on her head.
“I—” Ninkasi tilted her head, looking up at him with wide eyes. “I wanted to tell you for a while, but I wasn’t sure what you would say—”
“You wanted to tell me what?” His nose brushed against her nose.
“That I love you.” Her stomach quivered, and she dug her fingers into his shirt. “That I fell in love with you. That I don’t want to leave you and live my life like we never met.”
Placing one hand on the back of her head, he pulled her in for a kiss.
Ninkasi savored the moment, tasting his mouth. “Why do you think I came after you, all this way?”
“I know.” He kissed her again. “I should have told you sooner.”
Untucking his shirt, she slipped a hand beneath the silk, feeling his bare chest.
Biting his lip, Orion watched her and groaned. He pulled his shirt over his head, spoiling her with the decadent spectacle of his bare chest. He sat on his heels and tugged reciprocally at her nightgown.
Smiling, she slipped her pajamas over her head and tossed them away. She curled her fingers around his belt, pulling it away from him.
He lunged forward, pinning her to the bed, and wrested the belt from her hands. “Oh, no, you don’t.” He widened his eyes.
“I don’t get to what?” She grinned.
“You are forbidden to have one of these” —shaking his head, he snapped the belt— “until you get your strength back.”
She forcefully unbuttoned his pants. “Then I forbid you to wear any clothes.”
Tilting his head in acknowledgment, Orion climbed out of his pants.
Ninkasi crawled under the blanket and lifted it like a tent, inviting him inside.
Crawling on top of her, Orion entangled his limbs with hers. One hand cradled the top of her head, holding it in place, while he covered her neck with kisses.
A wave of dizzy excitement sweeping through her, she relished the warmth and weight of his body pinning her to the bed. She reached for his hardness and directed it to the entrance of her body.
She moaned in his ear.
He adjusted his position, and plunged inside her.
Ninkasi gasped, locking her legs around his hips, lifting her hips to meet him.
Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, Orion pressed his cheek against her cheek and groaned, sliding all the way in.
“You did miss me.” She rocked her hips, little gasps escaping her throat each time he tapped the limits of her body, pushing her closer to the headboard of the bed.
He withdrew, lifting her hips and pulling her body away from the wall; securing one hand around her lower back, he inserted himself, sinking into her, moaning with delight. He paused to lick her fluids from his hand, and dug his elbows into the mattress on either side of her head, punching into her.
Curling her legs around his waist, Ninkasi swept her hands up his back and grabbed his shoulders, hanging on while he pushed her into rapture. She delighted in the sensation of his bare, muscled back rippling beneath her fingertips.
He slung her ankles over his shoulders sat up, lunging into her.
The blanket fell around them.
Yelping, she reached for his sides and threw her head back in delight.
He powered into her body, stroking her sensitive spot with his thumb, transfixed with her arousal.
She flung her legs open, reaching for the headboard behind her, and thrust her hips toward him.
He teased her for a moment, taking his hand away, licking his fingers and slowing his pace, entering her halfway, retreating, and slowly reentering halfway again.
She fought to lock her knees over his shoulders and wrestle herself closer, so she could pull herself onto him.