“You mean that their males act as pimps” said Jo.
“No their females organise their own customers. The males are just happy to have an easy life. Now enough Jo, you know more about our ways than most other girls brought here. It’s time to go in as the night is cooling and we are about due for some rain” and with that Acorus picked her up and carried her into the villa, shutting the garden door behind him.
Chapter 10
When Jo woke up the sun was shining through the shutters and she was surprised to see that Acorus was still asleep. He had her nestled into him with one big hand splayed across her stomach.
She lay there quietly not wanting to wake him, as she wanted time to think. Her mind ran over all she had learned the night before. Yesterday had certainly been a day of revelations. As she thought about Acorus’ love making the night before it struck her that she must be pregnant. She tried to work out how she felt about that. Certainly not overjoyed, she’d wanted to do so much with her life, now it was all finished. As she lay there mourning the end of everything she wanted, she felt that she should hate Acorus, but when he murmured in his sleep and moved against her, she knew that she could never hate him. He had been in a very difficult position, what would a leader on Earth have done if the human race had been threatened with extinction?
The Sceriae had done their best, with the limited knowledge they had of humans, to make a horrific experience less so. Kylie and Julie, who had been on Scerior for many years, had certainly made a life for themselves. In fact Kylie was happier, more cared for, than she had ever been on Earth. Jo didn’t know about Julie’s life on Earth but she certainly wasn’t miserable. Acorus treated her as if she was a fragile doll, and he treated Julie like a well known friend.
It suddenly struck Jo that she didn’t want to be a doll or a friend to Acorus. She wanted to be an important part of his life. Not a toy or a broodmare, but a partner, a mate, someone he respected and whose opinion he valued. Her mind ran over the limited knowledge she had of how things were organised on Scerior and she wondered what she could do to become a respected citizen. But first she must stop Acorus from treating her as he treated Kylie and Julie, only having sex with them when it was necessary to make them pregnant. She must make him want to spend time with her. He appeared to like her as a person, not just as a female body, so that was a good position to start from. He already talked to her more than he seemed to talk to Kylie and Julie.
Jo had known for a long time that she was ambitious, as well as clever, and now she knew that Acorus thought her beautiful, she intended to use all her cleverness and looks to get what she wanted. As her Gramps used to say ‘Don’t put off ‘till tomorrow what you can do today’.
With that thought she wriggled round to face Acorus and started to tickle his neck with butterfly kisses. He jerked into wakefulness and Jo could feel that it wasn’t just his brain that had reacted to her kisses. He looked at her in surprise and said “What are you doing?”
As she fluttered her eyelashes at him she did wonder if she was being a bit too obvious, but she answered “It’s morning, I’m waking you up. I didn’t want to dig you in the ribs, as I thought you might think I was attacking you!”
Acorus raised his head so that he could look at her properly and murmured “Mmm, good thinking, I might have broken your neck if you struck me while I was sleeping, and what a waste that would have been!” and with that he turned her over so that he was on top of her.
“Oh”, Jo protested “I didn’t think you’d have the energy for sex after last night”. At that he flung his head back and laughed “Hoped, don’t you mean! Big mistake, Sceriae males recover from mating very quickly”.
Jo licked her lips and said “Talk is cheap, ohh” as he covered her mouth with his and spread her legs with one large muscled thigh.
Acorus teased her until she was almost screaming with desire. As she panted breathlessly, Acorus stopped teasing her and just hung there looking into her eyes.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked.
Jo gazed into his eyes and gasped “No. Make love to me Acorus” and with that she took him into her hand and guided him into her throbbing cunt.
It was Acorus’ turn to gasp as with her other hand Jo pulled him down onto her. At that moment there was a quick tap on the door and Tsu bustled in carrying clean clothes.
“GET OUT!” roared Acorus and Tsu dropped the clothes and backed out quickly.
Acorus pushed his hand under Jo’s bottom and said “Now where were we?” then he fucked her until she had lost her voice, only a croak escaping as he took her to a crashing climax, both of them coming together.
When they were lying side by side, Acorus started to laugh and Jo couldn’t help joining him, “Poor Tsu, she’ll be a nervous wreck for the rest of the day!”
“I have never raised my voice to an Escorii in my whole life. I will be apologising for months” moaned Acorus.
“I’m so sorry” and Jo sat up and tried to get out of bed.
“Not so fast” Acorus easily pulled her back down. He held her there and looked at her searchingly “Jo, am I right in thinking that you enjoy mating with me?”
At that, Jo could feel herself blush. Had she played it wrongly? Would he think less of her? She forced herself to look into his eyes and said “I enjoy you making love to me. You are the only man I have made love with properly. You have been gentle and patient making a difficult situation easier. I like you and am grateful that you took me for yourself. I shudder to think how I would be feeling if I had been given to anyone less intelligent and caring”.
Acorus took her into his arms and kissed her eyes her nose and finally her lips.
“I think we will do very well together” he said and they both closed their eyes and cuddled into each other.
After a while Acorus sighed and said “We really must move. I have my duties, and you will have to placate Tsu!
“I’ll have to placate Tsu?” said Jo frowning “it was you who roared at her”.
Acorus laughed and pushed her into a sitting position “Never the less we must get up”
Jo turned her head to look at him “Are you going to ask an Escorii to fetch our clothes out of the gazebo, or are you going to fetch them yourself?”
It was his turn to look at her “I do not do menial tasks” he growled, but Jo knew him well enough by now to know that he was joking so instead of becoming afraid she flung herself at him and started to tickle him. She discovered that he was extremely ticklish, which delighted her, he was squirming and laughing “No, no, not there”.
Suddenly he turned the tables and grabbing her hands expertly flipped her over, so that he was on top. Jo was laughing and fighting so much and he was saying “Lie still you hell cat” that they did not hear the first knock on the door. His knock ignored, Kheta banged on the door as hard as he could.
Finally Acorus heard him and holding Jo still said “Yes what is it? Come in and let me know what you want”.
Kheta opened the door cautiously and entered the room, closely followed by Khala. Acorus’s other Escorii servant. As he saw Kheta, Acorus rolled off Jo and sat up, “What is so urgent, that you disturb me like this?”
Kheta bowed low and said “General you told me yesterday that it would be an early start today, and to have your armour ready. Your aide is also waiting outside. He says that he needs you to decide what to do about the Chomanay assassin”.
Acorus swore in his own language, then he said something to Kheta, who bowed and left the room. Acorus turned to Jo and said “Now look what you’ve done. I’d forgotten all about the Chomanay. Cover yourself and I’ll let Kheta, Khala and Belain in. He can give me an update while I shower and dress”.
At that he jumped out of bed and going to the spoke to Kheta in his own tongue. Then he disappeared into the shower with Kheta following. Shortly
after the bedroom door opened again and Khala came in with a Sceriae soldier, not quite as tall as Acorus but much bigger round his body.
Even though Jo knew that it was body armour on top of a human like body, she still slid down under the covers as he stalked across the bedroom. As he looked at her she saw that his eyes were cold with no humour in them at all. She shuddered at the thought that she could have been given to him. As he disappeared into the bathroom Jo sighed with relief, and just then the bedroom door opened again and Tchu entered followed by Tjai and finally, timidly, by Tsu.
Tchu picked up the clothes that Tsu had dropped and folded them onto the table, then all three Escorii approached the bed. Jo looked at them thinking she should be embarrassed but wasn’t. Finally she said “I’m so sorry that you had a fright Tsu and AC. Lord Acorus was sorry that he shouted at you, but he didn’t expect to be disturbed”.
“So sorry, I did not expect him to be here still. It is not usual when... urm... well it is not usual”.
“If you would be so kind to fetch some food and drink, I’m starving and maybe Lord Acorus would like something too. Oh, I’d forgotten his armour. Well anyhow if it’s here he can decide to eat or not”, Jo babbled trying to ease the atmosphere.
“Do you want to dress?” Tchu asked, obviously disapproving of Jo being naked with other males in the room.
“Yes, good idea I’ll just fling on a Kaftan and then I can shower when everyone’s gone” Jo replied.
Tsu held out a Kaftan over Jo’s head as she sat up in bed and then Jo slid out of the bed and pulled it down so that she was decent. She was sitting on a chair by the table brushing her hair when firstly the two Escorii males came out of the bathroom, and out through the bedroom door. Then came Acorus’s aide, who was saying something over his shoulder to Acorus who was still in the bathroom. Even though he spoke in Sceriae it felt to Jo as if he had made a coarse joke, and she kept her eyes down so she wouldn’t have to look at him.
It was a relief when Tsu, Tjai and Tchu entered carrying trays of food and drink. They were just finishing setting it on the table when Acorus came out of the bathroom. As he spoke to them, they bowed and went out of the room. To Jo’s surprise he wasn’t wearing his armoured helmet. He had the rest of his armour on but his head was bare. Looking at him Jo could see that on his neck you could not tell where the armour finished and his skin began.
She smiled at him and as she did so his face softened and he walked over to her, “I’m starving, I’m glad that you ordered food. After last night I feel as if I need to build up my energy” and he took her chin in his hand turning her face up to him so that he could kiss her mouth. He kissed her long and sensuously and Jo felt her body respond to him. Unfortunately his body responded too and he said “Damn, body armour is not the most comfortable thing to get aroused in!”
At that Jo laughed and joked “Mmm, now I know how to get my own back”.
Acorus sat down at the table and began to eat. Jo ate quietly for a while but then she couldn’t keep quiet any longer “What did you discover from the blue haired man? What reason did he have for trying to kill you?”
Lifting his head Acorus said in an exasperated tone “Do you ever stop asking questions? You are like a Sceriae female, always wanting to know everything”.
Jo held his gaze “Is that such a bad thing? As I have no choice but to try and integrate myself into your society, and if I have children don’t you want them to be of an enquiring and intelligent nature”.
Acorus grinned “If you have children? Surely you know after last night you are definitely going to have a child”.
Jo shrugged “We might not be compatible”.
Shaking his head Acorus said “You have a clever answer for everything”.
“That’s because I am clever” snapped Jo and then wondered if she had gone too far as he frowned at her. However his mind was on other things, so he ignored her bad manners. He was worried about what he had learned from the Chomanay. Historically the Xenorii had avoided angering the Sceriae. They knew that Scerior was a much more advanced society than their own. The Xenorii had space flight but were limited as to the range of their ships, while the Sceriae ships could travel unlimited distances. They travelled so fast that it made any universe accessible. Although they had taken many weeks to carry Jo and the other girls from Earth to Scerior, that was because they had called at other planets along the way to trade, because they needed time to make sure that the girls were detoxed before they reached Scerior.
However, what with the raid on Dariae the other day, and now he had learned that it was Xenorii who had forced the Chomanay into trying to kill him. What were they up? They were a scourge on weaker societies and the Sceriae had come to the rescue of scores of species who had fallen foul of them.
Suddenly he became aware that Jo was talking to him “Acorus, you appear to be worried. I know I know nothing about life here on Scerior but I’ve always found that discussing something with another person enables me to reach a sensible conclusion”.
Looking at her once again, he came to a decision. Apart from Ileya, who lately appeared to be distracted he had no one of equal status to discuss his worries with. To appear weak and indecisive would not reassure his people who looked to him for leadership.
“Jo, you must not speak to anyone about what I am going to tell you” he warned sternly. As Jo nodded, looking at him seriously he continued “The Chomanay male was ordered to kill me by the Xenorii. Why he does not know. To force him to do this they have captured his whole clan, and are keeping them hostage on one of the dead planets they use as bases for their ships. As their method of space flight uses a very dangerous fuel, they do not keep too many on their own planet. Haaka, the Chomanay who tried to kill me, is begging me to kill him. The Xenorii told him that all his clan would die if he failed in his mission and without his clan he is an outcast, doomed to be alone until he dies”.
“Oh that’s awful” Jo exclaimed “Can’t you rescue his people?”
“He thinks that because he failed, to kill me, they will all be dead now. Unfortunately I know more of the Xenorii’s ways than he does, even if he had killed me they would not let his people go. They would have kept them and farmed them. The Xenorii drink blood! Their planet is poor and they are so lazy they do not grow crops, so to keep their strength up they drink other species blood”.
“What like vampires?” Jo asked.
“I think I know what you mean from some of the films we took from Earth, so no not like vampires. They put a tube into a main blood vessel and every day, that creature’s blood is drawn off. They are clever enough only to take an amount every day, that will not kill the donor. If one of their donors die they feed it to the others”.
“Oh my god they’re worse than any horror writer could make up”.
“Much worse” said Acorus “they also have an insatiable desire for females and young males of any species”.
“How can they have a desire for any species?” Jo asked
“I don’t know. All I do know is that it is better to be dead, than in the hands of the Xenorii” and Acorus rubbed a hand over his head in exasperation.
As Jo digested what he had told her she realised that this man, and he was a man to her, was decent and honourable and wanted to make his star system a good place to live. Whatever he decided to do would affect every planet in that system, so it had to be the right decision. Also, surely, the Queen and her council would have some responsibility for that decision too. She said as much to Acorus and he nodded but added that whatever he recommended in relation to alien problems, or anything that the army had to do was usually agreed with. Realising how powerful a person he was made Jo realise even more what a kind, decent nature he had, and if she had been half in love with him before, she was absolutely and completely in love with him now.
“So, Jo” Acorus was saying �
��what solution can your clever human mind conjure up?”
For once thinking carefully before she spoke Jo asked how quickly the news of Haaka’s failure, would reach the Xenorii, and was it possible to send different news quicker?
“I don’t follow what you mean, Jo”.
“Well Haaka must have been told how to get the news of your death to the Xenorii, so if you tell him that you will try to rescue his people he will assist you with all he knows. Then you must put out a bulletin declaring that you are dying from the poison on the blade and also that Haaka has been executed. If that news reaches the Xenorii who have Haaka’s clan they will relax, and as you said farm them. It will be terrible for them but if you can reach them quickly you may be able to rescue a good lot of them”.
Acorus jumped to his feet “You are right Jo. At least I will be doing something” and with that he hurried into the bathroom, and came out within minutes wearing his horrific head armour. He went over to Jo, took her hands in his and said that he would send news of what was happening, Then he hurried out of the bedroom.
Jo sat as if in a dream, praying that he would be alright because she loved him, but also she needed him to enable her to make a useful life for herself on Scerior.
Her reverie was interrupted by the return of her Escori. They came in carrying clean bedding and after putting her load on the end of the bed Tsu approached Jo and sitting opposite her asked her if she was alright.
Jo smiled at her and reaching out taking one of Tsu’s hands in hers said that she was absolutely alright, and that Tsu was right about Lord Acorus being kind.
Tsu beamed back at her and said that she had known that once Jo got to know him, she would like and admire him.
“It’s obvious that you adore him” Jo smiled “and he thinks very highly of all of you
Escorii. Before Tsu could say any more Tchu bustled over saying “Come on, Jo there is a lot to do. You must have a shower and massage, and Tsu the bed must be changed”.
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