by Sy Walker
“We tell him she run off and get eaten by wild animals. Plenty in the jungle,” the other said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
“You don’t want to do that,” Valerie pleaded. Everything in her mind was a muddle of confusion, and she stared into the faces of the people she had angered. “I didn’t choose to come here, and I didn’t choose to be with him. If there was a way home I’d take it, but there is none. So, I am stuck here.”
“No matter,” the first said, and she walked over to her with the stick poised to enter Valerie’s shivering body. “We don’t want you here.”
“Wait!” Valerie screamed and her hands shot up before her. “Please.” She was crying now, and she was shaking as she imagined what they might do to her. But she wasn’t about to stay there either to find out. As soon as she saw an opening she started running. She heard them tearing through the trees, twigs and brambles in their pursuit of her, and when she felt them closing in on her, she screamed.
Just then Malek emerged from a clump of trees to her right, and she veered in his direction, stumbling into his path as she raced to the safety and protection of his arms.
“What is going on?” he asked when he saw Valerie stumble before him. The women who were hot on her trail halted.
“We play with her,” the outspoken woman said.
“This doesn’t look like play,” Malek said and hopped from the Tsar. He stooped and helped Valerie to her feet.
Valerie was shocked at first, that the women would tell Malek they were playing and not actually trying to kill her. But then she stopped and looked at their faces, and even now they seemed more afraid than she was. She had never seen a villager punished before, but she could only assume it was terrible enough to drive fear into the lot of them.
“Is that true Valerie?” he asked her. She nodded affirmatively, and brushed off her clothes. “Are you sure? I heard you scream.”
“I’m sure. I was just out walking and saw something that scared me. That’s all,” she told him and smiled. Malek did not believe that was all there was to it, but he only had her word to go on.
“Alright. Would you like to ride with me?” he asked her.
She thought about that, and of the possibility that they could continue with their earlier plans if she were to remain; it would be ludicrous not to accept his offer. “Sure,” she told him, and he lifted her onto the animal and then hopped on after her.
In all the time Valerie had been in Masawa, she had never faced as much aggression as she had that day. She wasn’t sure whether or not it would be good for her to tell Malek what happened, so the women could be punished, but how would that help her? How would the others view her after that? Even though she was the victim, she would seem like the aggressor.
She was still contemplating what to do later that day when she saw one of the women approach her. It was the one who had pointed the stake at her, and Valerie tensed and drifted closer to the hut when she saw the woman getting closer.
“No need to be afraid,” she told her when she got to her. she folded her arms and looked around the village at the other people walking around and getting involved. “Why you not tell Malek what we do?”
“I don’t know what he would have done, and you looked terrified, so I didn’t. I get that I don’t belong here, and I’m not trying to take anyone’s place, but I did not ask for this,” Valerie said and brushed away a tear that was rolling down her cheek.
The woman smiled and went over to Valerie. “It ok,” she told her and rested her hand on her shoulder. “You ok.” Then she turned and walked away.
Valerie felt the weight of a thousand anchors lift from her shoulders, and her heart warmed when she saw Malek walking towards her. He got to her and swept her up in his arms, and without warning he kissed her, fiercely and passionately, as he was wont to do on occasion, and then everything else was forgotten.
CHAPTER 9
Malek stood and watched as the women readied Valerie for the ceremony. She was beautiful to him, and the people loved her. He had been waiting for the right woman for the longest while, and for quite some time he thought he never would. He had resigned himself to a long and lonely life, or to relocate to the Yacuza, abandoning his people in the process, in the hopes of finding love. He was still contemplating his options when he stumbled upon this strange creature in the jungle of Tundra. At first he had been alarmed, and frightened of her, until he realized she was more so of him. He had been fascinated by her difference, and over time, her complete beauty. Now as he stood waiting for her to be escorted to him, he felt nothing but pride, and nothing of treason.
“Malek,” he heard someone call from behind.
He turned and smiled when he saw Master Shakh approaching. “Right on time,” he said and hugged his elder.
“Wouldn’t miss union of Earth woman with Xenon man,” he said and grinned. “She make good leader with Malek.”
“I think so too,” Malek said and looked over at Valerie who had just raised her head. She was fully clad in white, and the smile she wore was her only accompanying accessory.
“If she stay,” Master Shakh continued.
Malek creased his brow and turned to the man. “What do you mean ‘if she stay’? We become one today; she already chose to stay.”
“But that was before discovery was made,” Shakh told Malek.
“What discovery?” Malek asked. He felt his heart rate increase suddenly, and it thumped against the wall of his chest, the sound reverberating within him he could feel his temples quake.
“When she first came, woman wanted to return to Earth. She came here not of free will. She chose to stay maybe because she thought no way back. Shakh discover way back in three moons.”
Malek heard what Master Shakh was saying, but he refused to accept it. He looked back at the woman being led to him, and in that moment his fear was greater than his love. “Must we tell her about it?”
“Shame on you Malek. You are noble one. It is the only thing to do,” he said and smiled as Valerie got to them. “Now, let us continue.”
Malek stood next to Valerie, in the moment he should have been enjoying the ceremony, with his mind everywhere but there. He was afraid she would seize the opportunity and leave, but as the wise one had said, it was not his choice to make; there was only one course to take.
“Wait,” he said. He sighed and stared at the ground and then turned to Valerie.
“What is it?” She had been the victim of cold rejection before and she was not prepared for a second dose.
He stroked her face and gave her a half smile. “I’m afraid I must tell you something.” She looked at him expectantly, reminding him of a wild animal trapped in a snare. “Master Shakh just gave me some great news. It seems the gateway to Earth will be re-opened three moons from now.”
Valerie’s eyes popped as she thought about the implications. She could return home, and to a life she had…her thoughts fell flat there. It didn’t take long for the smile that had begun to form to wipe itself into obscurity. She looked at Malek, and saw the sadness in him, but she knew she would not be able to decide right then what the right course was.
“I never thought I’d get the chance to return home,” she whispered and let go of his hand. “At nights I dreamed of it, when I just got here. I…I…”
“It’s alright Valerie,” Malek told her. “I won’t keep you here if you want to return home. It is understandable.”
“I can’t do this right now,” she said, and then she turned and walked away.
The gathering parted as she did, and Malek stood there next to Master Shakh as he watched her walk away. His heart cried out, but there was no way to appease it. He felt Shakh’s hand on his shoulder then.
“Be strong great warrior; the day has just started, and it is long. Many things happen before sun sets,” he told him, and then he walked off with the rest of the village with him.
Malek heard what the old man said, but he found it hard to believe in it now. He w
anted to get angry at himself, for falling in love with a dream. Of course she would want to return home; he would if he ever wandered onto a strange planet with strange people. So he would never deny her the chance of returning. With his head held down, he trudged to his tent, his heart a hundred degrees below the point it had been only a few minutes ago.
When he got there she was waiting for him, and she came forward to meet him. “I don’t know what to do,” she cried.
He held her, squeezing her to him, and he felt her tremble against him. “Don’t worry. We will figure it out together,” he told her. He felt the emotion well up inside him in the same way he suspected it was consuming her, and not knowing what else to do, he held her head back and kissed her, so that everything else would be still.
CHAPTER 10
Valerie and Malek spent the next few weeks acting as if the moons would not pass, and that their future was not hanging by a thread. They lived as they had before, with Valerie not making a decision in either direction. Until the day before the gateway would reappear.
She woke up in a sweat on that morning, and sprang from the bed. “Ssh,” Malek whispered and pulled her back. “Let’s not do this today. We knew this would happen. Let’s just get through this last day.”
Valerie’s chest heaved as she allowed him to calm her, and then she sank back into his arms. He enveloped her, and then his lips found the smooth skin at the base of her throat. Her heartrate instantly quickened, and she closed her eyes as she anticipated what was to come next. He slowly and methodically removed her clothing, and when she was bare, his tongue went to work making art along her body. He circled her breasts with his tongue, and groped her sides as his needs increased with the size of his manhood. He felt her hand on him now, squeezing him, and he suckled harder as he felt himself grow with her touch.
He kissed her sides, her navel, her inner thighs, and ran his tongue over that pink wet spot beckoning to him for more. He felt her tremble, and as the fire raged within him, he guided himself into her. She winced at first, and her head fell back when she gripped the bedding and curled her toes. He slowed until her tension abated, and her insides hugged him, commanding him to give her more as she grew hotter and wetter. Then he sank into her over and over again, matching her rhythm with his, and Valerie moaned long and hard, not wanting the moment to end.
Malek raged on, and he gripped her thighs as he plunged into her faster, harder and deeper. She panted, and when he rolled her onto her side and entered her again, it was too much. She cried out and dug her nails into him, and the pain she inflicted got intertwined with his euphoria, and he felt himself tingle as he neared his climax. He pressed down into her firm skin with his palms as he released everything into her. She held onto him, keeping him inside her, even when it was over.
And then they lay there, for hours, not saying anything, until sleep stole the uncomfortable silence between them. When Malek opened his eyes again, it was after midnight. The gateway would open when the sun was highest in the sky and the moon covered it. The time was close and he still wasn’t prepared to let her go.
At dawn, she rose, her eyes melancholy, and filled with as much confusion as her heart. Malek wasn’t there, but by the time she got dressed, he parted the slit in the canvas and stepped inside. “It is time.”
He held her hand and led her to Master Shakh. “We go now,” he told her. “We not have much time.”
They got to the spot where they had first found her, and Malek led her to the entrance of the portal. “This is it,” he said and stood back.
Valerie stood there, the shimmer actually visible now that she was looking. She reached out and touched the spot, and then her hand fell to her stomach. “And if I go back, how long before this opens again?” she asked.
“Not sure,” Master Shakh answered. “May not be for another hundred years. Not every time moon meets sun it opens.”
“A hundred years,” she said softly and then walked back to Malek. “That’s a long time to be without the father of my child.”
Malek made a start, and then he made two steps to her with his long stride. “Your what?” he asked.
“That’s right,” she told him and held his hand and placed it on her stomach. “We are going to have a baby.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, and the smile trickled slowly onto his face.
“Not before yesterday, but it’s true. We are going to have an Earth-Xenon baby,” she said and laughed. Malek howled and hoisted her in the air.
“So, does that mean you will stay?” he asked, when her face was level with his.
“I loved my home, but for the last couple of years, I felt like I was somewhere I didn’t want to be. I tried to run from it, by going to Mexico, and if I hadn’t done that, then I wouldn’t have found you. So yes, I will stay with you. I just wanted to come here to get some closure or peace, or whatever. I needed to so that I would be really sure I wanted to stay. And, my sweet Malek, I do.”
Malek needed to hear no more, and as Master Shakh nodded his approval to the couple, he held her and kissed her, more fiercely than he had ever done. When he let her go, he set her down, and knelt so that he was facing her stomach. He kissed her there, and she hugged him, and in the jungle where they had first met, they were one again.
************
A few months later, right by the waterfall where they first consummated their union, she held a babe in her arms. Malek was next to her, and he stared lovingly into the eyes of his first born.
“He looks just like you,” Valerie said and smiled.
“He is the first born of a new line of people. He has my blood, your heart and the history of our two people. He will be strong and a fierce leader.”
The baby grabbed a fistful of his mother’s hair then and gurgled. “I agree with you about him being strong,” she laughed as she entangled the lock of hair from his arms.
“That’s my boy,” he laughed as he reached over and took him. He stood with him, the feeling of love and joy radiating between him and his son, and Valerie sighed, feeling more contented than she had ever been. She watched the orange glow of sunset as it slowly disappeared behind the trees in the distance.
“I think it is time to go,” she said as she gathered their things and got up. Baby Malachi needs his rest.”
Malek turned to her and reached for her with his free hand. “Let’s go home.”
They walked off together, disappearing into the trees that opened a path to home. Her last thought then, when she looked back, was of getting away from the hurt she had experienced. Never in a million years did she dream she would have found love on another planet. If she had ever thought love could be out of this world, she had not thought far enough. She held on to the hand of her mate as he led her home. THE END
RETURN TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS
VAMPIRE ROMANCES
Vampire Duke
“Ahhhhhh!” Isabelle shouted as a violent spasm took over her body. Her eyes shot open, “Where am I?” Her question was directed at the treetops. Isabelle grabbed for her shawl, and wrapped herself tightly in the flimsy silk fabric. The thin cotton of her white chemise gown let the chilly morning air pass straight through. It was now morning, which was all she could tell from her current position lying on the forest floor. The sky had lightened. It felt like only moments ago Isabelle had been dancing at Colonel Raglan’s debutante ball.
The surroundings were familiar, but how she got there uncertain. Isabelle sat up and saw the path that led directly to the back gardens of her family’s estate. Isabelle fought her way to standing. Her muscles and bones had chilled in the night air. Isabelle was shaking and her limbs refused to work the way they should. She needed to find the will to walk home.
Looking down she saw a cloak on the ground. It did not belong to her. It was Kitty’s good riding cloak. As she wrapped the heavy wool around her shoulders, memories of the night before came flooding back.
“He has not arrived,” a disappointed Kitty Ragla
n, the colonel’s daughter, greeted Isabelle with a kiss on the cheek. The ruffled collar of Kitty’s pastel blue gown danced in the breeze created by the wearer’s quick movements. Kitty had been the first young woman in town to find out about Edmund’s return. It did not take long for the rest of the girls to find out. “Why did you not bring a coat?”
“You know how these parties bore me,” Isabelle said, “You are the dancer. I am much more at home in a library.” The girls laughed as Kitty guided her friend by the hand into the ballroom. “I am only here to see Edmund. I will leave le bon ton for you.”
“Hang their manners,” Kitty laughed, “Stay with me tonight and have fun.” The friends were opposites in almost every way. Isabelle often thought that was why they got along so well. The girls had taken a seat at a table close to the dance floor when a hush fell over the room.
Dark hair could be seen drifting over the sea of powdered wigs. Blue streaks coursed through the slick black hair. His pale skin almost shimmered in the light of the ballroom. Everything in the room had stopped as the Colonel led the guest of honor onto the floor. People immediately started to walk forward. Isabelle and Kitty found themselves fighting their way through the crowd. Edmund had been one of their best friends as a boy, but he no longer looked like a boy.
“Ouch!” Isabelle turned on Kitty, who didn’t even notice that her friend was upset as she dug her nails into Isabelle’s arm.
“He is magnificent!” Kitty whispered, but very loudly. Isabelle had to admit that Kitty was right. Edmund had always been somewhat good looking. Now before their eyes he stood, a perfect specimen. He was tall, with broad shoulders. His piercing blue eyes seemed to look into your very soul. When they found Isabelle in the crowd she could feel the recognition light up in them. She knew that she was not going home early.
They had been the best of friends. Isabelle had always felt very close to Edmund. It had hurt her so much when he had left. On the night before he left she tried to persuade him to stay and he surprised her, “But you are why I have to go,” Edmund smiled. “I can never be good enough to marry you until I prove myself.” Isabelle was shocked by everything Edmund was saying. Isabelle had been promised to Victor Raglan, and Edmund knew that. It was also shocking, because Isabelle never thought of marriage. Not just with Edmund, but in general. Isabelle didn’t spend much time thinking of the subject even now that she was older. She did spend a lot of time thinking about Edmund.