“You know what… What the hell,” he says to my surprise as he slips off his jacket and then the soft gray shirt he’s wearing beneath it.
I am in awe of his broad shoulders and the ripples of muscles that cross his flared chest, which starts wide at the top but tapers as my eyes move down toward his waist. In his physique lies the pure definition of strength, and apparently my eyes and other parts of me find him attractive. He hasn’t given me permission but it’s too late, my fingers are riding across his skin. He has a solid structure but he’s lukewarm to the touch. And yet I don’t find his body temperature repellant.
“What the hell?” he mutters as he flinches in surprise.
He’s reacting to the i’lek’u that sparkles in my eyes. I too am shocked by my natural reaction to him. This has never happened to me and in embarrassment I drop my face to vaguely study the solid stone beneath my feet.
But he puts a finger under my chin and lifts my face. His mouth is caught open and he’s staring at me. Only now do I realize what I’ve done.
“I apologize,” I say as I gently remove his hand from my face.
“For what?” he breathlessly asks.
“I was rude. I violated your being.”
He frowns thoughtfully. “I can’t believe you touched me,” he whispers distractedly. “I never let anyone touch me like that.”
I shake my head as my shame deepens. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t.” He softly swipes the back of his strong hand down one side of my cheek. “You can’t know what you’re doing to me,” he whispers. “You’re too new to know.”
“Then you forgive me?” The hope is in my eyes.
He takes a step closer. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
I gulp before explaining, “It’s our custom to ask if we’re seeking amusement or pleasure by touching a strange being.”
“That’s a custom?” He narrows his eyes. “And I’m strange?”
“You’re new to me too,” I say with a smile. Happy the opportunity arose where I can convey that thought to him.
Chex releases a sweet and jovial laugh. “Only if the shitload of my enemies can see me now. Get clean,” he says, still laughing while thumbing over his shoulder, “I’m going to find my own watering hole because I want you to give me permission to violate you too.”
“Oh,” I sing. “You can touch me!” I gladly slip out of my pal’k and toss it into the pool of water.
His laughing comes to an immediate stop.
I’ve angered him. I can see that by the look on his face. But then his eyes fall over my breasts and then down my sternum to my pelvis. I see that he wants to touch me, explore who I am as I desire to explore who he is.
“It’s okay,” I say breathlessly, trying to constrain this strong urge to experience his hands on my body.
He takes a pause, deliberating I presume. He moves closer to me and slides his fingers between my thighs. I inhale sharply, and so does he as I look to see his hand massage my flesh. It goes higher and higher until he touches my genitals. He’s kneading the human point of my body called a clitoris and a strange sensation is gradually overtaking me. It’s like the hum of the ak’arunu, an instrument that resembles a flute.
“Is this what you’re inviting me to do to you?” His voice is husky and seductive.
I can’t speak because the song he’s playing is growing louder. A moan escapes me.
“What are you doing?” I’m finally able to whisper.
“I’m making you come.”
“But I’m already here?” I find myself whimpering.
He flashes a smoldering grin. “What are you feeling, Ad’ru?”
What am I feeling? I feel weak in the knees and I need to hold onto something or I’ll sink into the earth. What I feel? “Pleasure,” I finally whisper.
“Do you want me to stop?”
I can feel his cold breath sweep across the very tip of my receptive nipple. But his face - I can’t see it because the lids of my eyes have fluttered closed. They’re still heavy but I lift them as high as I can.
That’s when I see that his top lip is curled and stretched over his two pronounced canine teeth.
“Yes, stop,” I gasp, no longer under seduction’s spell.
I watch as his fangs slowly retract. His fingers, his instruments of pleasure, abandon me but he still holds me close to him.
“Are you afraid of me, Ad’ru,” he whispers.
I want to say no, but instead I tell him the truth. “I’m afraid of what you are able to do to me.”
He tilts his head curiously as he searches my face for meaning. Funny, he doesn’t realize that I’m afraid of the mere essence of what he is—a Selell who upon the Earth thirsts for blood. It is in that universe where consuming every drop of my blood can give him unimaginable power. And when I’m drained of my lifeblood, I will die.
“You should get cleaned up,” he finally says as he lets go of me. There’s a change in his tone of voice. His passion has subsided and I already miss his touch and nearness.
“Are you leaving?” I ask as a sudden feeling of impending loneliness creeps up on me.
“Hell no,” he says emphatically. “I’m dirty too.”
“So you’ll bathe with me?”
He lifts one side of his mouth again, showing me a flash of teeth. “Get in.” He nudges his chin toward the bubbling water.
I’m relieved that he will stay. Standing on the edge of the pool, I leap off my feet and curl backwards, diving into the water. The pool is not very deep. I swim approximately ten feet below the surface before my hands touch the bedrock floor. I’m surprised by how warm and soft the water is as I head back up to the top. When my head emerges past the surface, the first thing I see is Chex standing at the ledge of the pond and he’s completely naked. I can’t take my eyes off his male organ. It’s long and erect and he’s watching me observe it.
What an interesting sight. Tryst doesn’t have one. However, the Selell Lario Exgesis did have one and I could feel it against me whenever he held me close to him. But I’ve never seen it like that in the open. I do want to touch it but Chex’s two canine teeth once again touch his lower lip.
“Don’t worry, Darling; no means no,” he says and in an instant he’s in the pool beside me.
As we study each other, I’m reminded of the giddy feeling I get whenever I’m aware that he’s this close.
“So what’s all this bonding shit about?” he asks, leaning in slightly closer to me.
When I become aware that I too am inclining toward him, I stop myself, swallow the lump in my throat and say in an unnaturally high voice, “We, the daughters of the House of Benel are bonded to Selells.”
He’s slowly swiping his arms back and forth, treading water. “Selells, vampires… Why vampires? Why not a less brutal creature?”
“Out of all the creatures on the Earth contained in flesh, you are the least brutal.”
“Ha!” he scoffs. “And why is that?” There’s vulnerability in his curiosity.
“Because your days have been longer and that has made you wiser,” I reply, paraphrasing a key point my father once taught me.
After one burst of movement, he forgets his vow. His arms are wrapped around me and his hands are at the bottom of my back, holding me close to his firm exterior.
“Do you know what it is to live for centuries, thirsting for blood and not having it because no human in their right mind is going to give it to you? I don’t know where you got your intelligence from, but you might want to regard my species as the most brutal blokes you’ll encounter in every shitty universe in existence. You want to know why?”
My lips part as I think of an answer for him but he says, “Because we’re fucking desperate, Ad’ru. We’re fucking thirsty. All the fucking time.”
Multiple thoughts are competing with each other in my head and the one that’s tethered to the desires brewing deep inside of me win.
“Are you thirsty now?” I can only ba
rely mutter, unable to look away from his pulsating fangs.
He slowly shakes his head. “Not recently.”
“So you’re not thirsty for my blood?”
He touches one of his sharp teeth. “You’re talking about these?”
I nod stiffly and since I’m finding it difficult to breathe, I stop doing it all together.
“These are bonded to this.” He thrusts his hand under the water and pushes his firm organ against my pelvic bone.
Once again, I’m hosting a multitude of competing thoughts.
“Why are you frowning?” Chex whispers, breaking my concentration. “What are you thinking?”
Du, or “for one,” I’m thinking how he and I are definitely bonded even if it’s not in accordance with the Pact of Gogulon. His loyalty and the way I trust him unites us. Dut, or secondly, I wonder why his man part grows so rigid when his fangs throb like that? If he’s not thirsty for my lifeblood, then what does he crave so powerfully? Yes, these thoughts are strong, but I have one that’s more stalwart than the others.
“Well,” I begin timidly, “I wonder what are you supposed to do with that.” I point down beneath the water.
He unleashes a booming laugh, one that echoes throughout the forest.
“You’re way too sexy to have to ask that question!” He grabs me again, which is an act he does so freely. “You’re beautiful as hell. But I’ve never given a shit about all of that. Like you said, a vampire lives a long time and I’ve been in this fucking body for centuries. Beautiful women are as abundant as the flies on shit,” he spits. And then he narrows his eyes and gazes deeply into mine. I’m immobilized in his embrace and powerfully- hypnotic glare. “It’s all that you are, Ad’ru. I don’t want to fuck you. You make me want to put in the work it’ll take to make love to you.” He sips air between his teeth as he closes his eyes to say, “It’s torture to know that Exgesis gets to have you like the Ze Feldis, Elo, and Aksin get to have your sisters. Fucking torture.”
My pulse is racing. Especially since I think I understand what he’s trying to convey. “So,” I begin. “You would use that on me, like my sister’s bonds will use it on them. Sex?”
I gasp at the revelation. Sex! That’s what he wants to engage in with me.
“You lust after me?” I conclude definitively.
He’s grinning at me and I sense he’s amused by my inquiry. “You can say that.”
“Hey, Adore.” A familiar and lackluster voice says from behind Chex.
I jump, startled. And curve around his towering physique to see Na’ta standing at the edge of the pool. My thoughts are once again split. Chex’s last reply still turns in my head but I’m excited to finally see my sister standing strong before us.
“You look well,” I say to her.
She lifts her eyebrows suspiciously at Chex in particular. “I see you’re becoming acquainted with the ways of man.” She’s being cynical of course, which is the natural way of Na’ta.
“To be continued,” Chex whispers in my ear as he slides a finger up my clitoris. I have an automatic response to the sensation.
“Adore!” Na’ta barks. “Get out of the water!” she demands while scowling at Chex, who’s glaring at her with that toothy smile and eyes narrowed to slits.
I’m still slightly dazed but I’m able to swim over to the edge of the pool and lift myself out of it.
“You’re dripping wet,” Na’ta observes with her nose crinkled.
But she still embraces and kisses me on the cheek.
“I was so damn glad to see you,” she whispers while squeezing me tightly.
“I’m glad to see you too,” I sigh.
However, I’m also a little miffed that she’s here at all! I want to ask her why she came to this universe in the first place! But Na’ta is quick in all things. Her demeanor changes when she releases me and looks past me. “Is he your Selell?” she asks, eyeing Chex.
I turn behind me to glance at him. He seems very distracted by my nakedness although he is making an attempt to follow our conversation. “No,” I sadly answer.
Na’ta nods once. She has a pragmatic expression on her face. History has taught me that that look means she’s conjuring a plan that usually involves the threat of death or injury.
“That’s too bad,” she mutters, looking afar off. “We could’ve used your bond to easily open the gate to Tetra. The combined power of the i’lek’u will open it in a jiffy.”
“Tetra?” I manage to blurt out before she can continue with her bossiness.
“Adore, behind the gates are the souls of Selells who are dead,” she says as if I do not already know this. “We have to go get Telman out of there. He’s still of flesh and here, beyond the Earth, breath. The souls can kill him and he’ll be lost to me forever.” She’s flustered by the time she finishes saying this.
“Give me five seconds,” Chex says from the rear.
And in less than that time he’s standing next to me, clothed and holding my wet pal’k up for me to take.
“She can’t wear that,” Na’ta says as she reaches to swipe the garment out of his hands.
“Hey! Manners!” Chex gripes as he pulls it before she can snatch it from him. He puts it securely into my hand and now I have it.
Na’ta snorts, slighted because, in her mind, he just won. That’s how Na’ta thinks. She has to get her way to be victorious.
“You sure this one isn’t your bond?” She continues to sneer at him. “Since he so easily inserts himself into family matters.”
“Not family’s, just Ad’ru’s,” Chex snaps back. Just as I knew he would. He’s not one to spurn confrontation, and neither is she.
“Oh,” Na’ta cynically sings as she carefully takes the pal’k from me. “You speak Enuian, I see.” She curls her top lip. “Ne’lek’ Ad’ru ne’tekk’ta lep’ot.”
Chex takes his hardened gaze off of her and looks to me for interpretation.
“She said that you only want to see me naked and wet.”
He lifts his eyebrows and sniffs, only vaguely amused by that.
“Plus, where we’re going, you can’t wear this.” She shakes the pal’k in her hand.
“Where are we going?” I ask warily.
She points her chin at Chex. “He’s going to have to do. It would be nice to have the Selell with the light to get us in but I think a few drops of his blood will open the door.”
“My blood?” Chex exclaims. “No one takes my blood. Not even her.” He stabs his thumb in my direction.
“I’ll be back,” Na’ta says, ignoring his protestation.
And faster than instantly, she’s gone.
Chex blinks as if his eyes deceived him. “Did she just disappear?” he asks surprised.
I shake my head. “No, she holds the power of speed,” I explain. “She’s moving through space but at a speed no other creature other than the Creator himself can travel.”
He flinches, taken aback. “God?” he scoffs. You believe in that shit?” He narrows his eyes to slits as he studies me. I can tell he’s searching for something in my expression and I have no idea what that is.
I hesitate even though I do have a concise answer to his unexpected question. “I have no beliefs,” I finally say.
His stare grows more intense. I’ve seen that look on all of my sisters’ faces when they were introduced to Enu and their plight for the first time. He cannot comprehend what I have said.
“Should I explain?” I ask him because with all we’ve experienced, he’s earned such an honor.
He shrugs nonchalantly. “Go for it.”
“Go for it?” I ask frowning, confused by his words of choice. “Does that mean yes?”
He grins at me and it’s one of my favorites, the one where he doesn’t show any teeth. “Yes, that means yes,” he says politely.
I can’t help noticing the tiny black fleck under the outside corner of his left eye, and how his right eye is narrower than the left. There’s a deep line that begi
ns at the point of his chin and ends at his earlobe and tiny specks of black hair dot his jaw and the skin above his top lip.
“Yes,” I begin distractedly, but quickly refocus on our conversation. “You can’t ascribe belief to what is real. What is true is simply truth, not belief.”
He studies me without speaking a word. I start to squirm because even though he’s simply focusing on my face this time, there’s still a burning desire in his eyes.
“I like you, Ad’ru. A lot,” he suddenly confesses.
“You do?” I say in a strange, high-pitched voice. He’s still making me nervous.
“Yeah,” he breathes.
He’s in front of me but reaching behind me. I breathe deeply through my nostrils because his strong hands are kneading the rounds of my buttocks and pushing me into his firm organ.
“I want to kiss you,” he says with his mouth close to mine.
I gulp. “You do?”
“But I don’t want to be rushed.” He kisses me on one side of my cheek and then steps back.
I’m baffled until Na’ta appears standing in the place where he once stood, just not as close.
“Here,” she says draping a green pair of pants and a black cotton short-sleeved shirt over my shoulder. She drops a pair of black boots on the ground in front of me. “Put these on. And there are socks in there,” she says, referring to the boots.
I notice she’s wearing the exact same outfit.
She snaps her fingers. “Hop to it, Adore, we don’t have much time to waste.”
“You want me to hop?” I ask, confused by her human vernacular.
“I meant hurry up and get dressed,” she amends with patience and no mockery in her tone.
I take a glance at Chex and then Na’ta fully clothed and I’ve never felt more exposed. This is why I pick up the boots and scurry off behind a tree to get dressed.
“By the way, I’m Navi,” I finally hear Na’ta say to Chex as I take care to slip the pants on over the lower part of my body. “And you’re Chex.”
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