by Meg Ripley
A strange expression crossed Geming's face and his body noticeably stiffened.
"Farther than you could imagine."
****
Geming turned and started to walk away, but River scrambled to her feet and called after him.
"You can't just leave us in here. What was that cube you got us out of and the silver snowflakes?"
Geming turned back to look at her and she saw the gems flash green.
"They weren't snowflakes," he said with a sharp edge of bitterness in the words, "they were information."
"What do you mean?" Jordan asked.
"They were information," he repeated. "They contain all of the history, the thoughts, memories, family trees, innovations, facts…everything about this planet is within them."
This planet. River repeated the phrase in her mind, trying to process what it meant. Not only were they no longer on Earth, but this sexy, intense man standing in front of her was certainly not human.
"What is that cube?" Jordan asked.
Geming sighed and gestured for them to follow him, seemingly resigned to their continued presence. They moved deeper into the warehouse, passing through large sections of the walls that stood open like they had been abandoned partway through closing. He led them onto a set of metal stairs and River hesitated before stepping onto them.
Jordan stepped close behind her and touched a warm hand to her lower back, offering encouragement and comfort as she moved up the stairs, the sound of their feet on the metal reverberating loudly through the warehouse. It made her relax, emboldening her enough to peer over the railing and count the remaining steps to the landing. She repeated the numbers as she climbed, putting each behind her until she finally stood on the landing at the top.
Geming led them along a catwalk overlooking the empty floor of the warehouse below and into another room. This space had a soft yellow glow from illuminated strands that hung around the top of the walls. An odd assortment of furniture and other items filled the floor, creating the impression of an apartment thrown together from discarded odds and ends.
He dropped down onto a low circular cushion and they followed suit, settling onto a thickly padded curved bench in front of him. He waited until they were still before he spoke again.
"Everything that can be known by anyone born on this planet is within those bits of information you called snowflakes. Thousands of years ago, our kind traveled to your planet to create an alliance. These representatives agreed to help build a massive wall to aid in the protection of the country in exchange for the protection of our collective wisdom."
"The Great Wall?" Jordan asked.
Geming nodded not moving his eyes away from River.
"It offers no benefit to the people of Earth, but it is everything to us. Only a very few authorized members of our society are allowed access to the information and can share it with others."
"With the picture frames on the walls?" River asked.
"Yes. These teachers can attract to them the information that they desire and display it on the screens. That is how they control who learns what information and when. It's meant to protect everyone."
He didn't sound convinced that this was the actual result of the process and River leaned toward him. His body replied in kind and she could feel a strange, engaging heat building between them.
"Are you a teacher?"
"No. That is why they're after me."
"Because you got near the cube?"
River knew she sounded confused, but she was having difficulty following what Geming was saying.
"The problem isn't the cube, it's the Wall. Everything we know as a collective is within the Wall. The elders stored it there after the completion of the Wall. You stepped through the portal between the two planets, something very few of either of our kinds have ever done."
"Why?" River asked.
Geming sighed and looked away, his eyes holding dark emotion that kept him from making eye contact with them.
"That cube was not designed to teach, but to weaponize. Any of my kind who steps into it takes on all of the information contained within the Wall. Every thought, emotion, innovation, memory, and moment of history goes into that person, empowering him to destroy other people, other planets—even the entire galaxy if he so chose. The teachers keep this information tightly controlled from most and use it as a weapon in others."
"Knowledge is power," Jordan whispered and River suddenly remembered the engraving on the door in the Wall.
"Yes. The guards in China protect the knowledge within the Wall and the portal to our planet not because there is a threat to Earth, but out of tradition that has passed through the generations since the Wall was built. It is this history and tradition that keeps them in their place."
"Isn't that a good thing, though?" River asked.
"Tradition isn't always best," he stood up sharply and crossed over to a window in the curved wall, "Now that you're here, going back will be extremely difficult. You should rest tonight and we'll make plans tomorrow."
"Plans for what?" Jordan asked.
"You should go up to the roof before you go to sleep," Geming said, ignoring Jordan's question, "Tonight is the meteor shower. I promise it is like nothing you have ever seen before."
River felt Jordan take her hand and pull her to her feet. He led her across the room to the window. Geming pushed the glass out of the way and Jordan helped her climb out onto a fire escape. It felt out of place and strange to stand on something so mundane as a fire escape surrounded by the sleek buildings and impossibly fast vehicles, but at the same time it was oddly comforting having a moment so familiar.
"What are we doing?" she asked as Jordan continued to guide her onto a metal ladder that led up the side of the building.
"We're going to watch the meteors."
"Really?"
"We're here," he said as if that was all of the explanation she needed.
They reached the roof and Jordan lowered himself to the flat, rubberized surface and she settled beside him. It felt soft and resilient beneath her, a definite contrast to the hot asphalt she was accustomed to on the roof of her apartment building at home.
The immense sky stretched above River as she laid on her back, staring up at it. All of the light from the city seemed to have dimmed to near nothingness, making the sky seem almost tangible in its blackness and the stars so vivid, she felt like she could reach up and fill her palm with them like the shards of silver in the cube.
Suddenly one glowed an incredible pink and shot out of place, streaking across the blackness with such brightness it left a sparkling trail that lingered for a few seconds before seeming to rain down. Another repeated the stunning show, this time with a color like tropical water. River jumped to her feet and rushed across the roof and started back down the ladder.
"River," Jordan called after her, "Where are you going?"
"Wait there, I'll be right back."
She climbed the rest of the way down to the fire escape and found Geming still standing at the window, his head leaned against the frame as he stared up at the sky. The gems embedded in his skin were grey, emphasizing the heartbreaking beauty of his face.
He looked startled to see her appear in front of him and she reached her hand out to him.
"Come watch with us," she said.
Geming looked at her with a touch of intrigued confusion and she extended her hand more insistently. Finally, he took it and let her pull him out of the window.
They climbed up the ladder onto the roof and took their places, River lying between them as they gazed up at the explosion of colors now streaking across the sky as though someone had dipped a paintbrush into a swirl of colors and shaken it to splash them across a black canvas.
She took a long breath, suddenly very aware of the men on either side of her.
****
As they continued to watch the meteors, River felt her hands twitching, wanting to reach over and touch both of the boys beside her. She cl
osed her eyes, trying to regain control of herself, and then glanced over the Geming, hoping that talking to him might distract her.
"Why did you say that tradition isn't always best?" she asked. Her voice came out low and powdery and she saw his eyes slide over to her.
"They call me Revolution because that is what I want to cause. I don't believe that the knowledge of our planet and the planets beyond should be used as a weapon and that my kind should be forced to contain the thoughts and emotions of millions before him just so he can use it to kill. I discovered the cube and the portal. Now I want to destroy the knowledge within the wall so that it can never be used to weaponize anyone else."
"But wouldn't that mean destroying everything that your people already know? Wouldn't you lose all of your history, your memories, your traditions?"
"The traditions of a people are not worth the sacrifice of the future of that people."
She was opening her mouth to speak when she noticed that the gems beside his eye were now a dark, velvety purple. Touching her fingers to them, she met his gaze.
"What are these?"
"They display my current state."
His breath had deepened when she touched him and now he was staring at her with intense concentration as if trying to memorize her.
"They were red in the building with the cube."
"Danger."
"And green downstairs."
"Frustration."
As he spoke, his voice was softening and River could feel his body slowly easing towards hers. She felt magnetized to him, wanting to reach out and touch him further.
"And grey by the window."
"Loneliness."
"And purple now."
His eyes lowered.
"I don't know."
"No?"
"I've never felt this before."
His eyes were slumbering and she could see the slow, deep rise and fall of his chest. She rested a hand to the front of his shirt and felt his heart pounding beneath his ribcage.
"I think I know what it means," she whispered and leaned forward.
River's mouth touched Geming's and she flicked the tip of her tongue across his lips. He drew in a breath and pulled his face away from hers.
"What was that?" he asked.
She smiled and laughed softly.
"A kiss. Don't you kiss here?"
Geming shook his head.
"I'm sorry."
His eyes widened slightly.
"No," he said, "Don't be sorry."
"Can I teach you?" she asked quietly, choosing her words carefully.
He nodded, but instead of River kissing him again, she moved away from him. She turned toward Jordan, who had curved slightly onto his side to watch them, and used one hand to pull him up by the front of his shirt. As soon as he was sitting, she swung one leg over so that she straddled his hips, settling herself down into his lap.
Placing her hands on either side of his neck, she lowered her mouth to his and drew him into a deep kiss. Jordan's lips parted beneath hers and she felt him teasing her tongue with his, drawing it into his mouth so he could suck on it gently. She rolled her hips against him, immediately feeling him harden and twitch beneath her. Her fingers came to the front of his shirt and worked their way down the buttons, pushing the fabric back off of his broad shoulders to reveal the body she had been thinking about since she first started her study abroad program.
River pulled away from the kiss and looked over at Geming who was watching them intently, his eyes dark and the purple of the indicators in his skin pulsating. She gestured at him with one finger to come closer. He crawled toward her and she raked her fingers back through his hair, burying them in the thick strands at the back of his neck so she could pull him forward into another kiss.
Her mouth moved against his and she felt him responding, mimicking her movements until he was kissing her passionately, drawing a whimper from her chest. He took his mouth away from hers long enough to remove his shirt and then caught it again. River felt four hands come to the hem of her shirt as both men worked to strip away the garment.
The shirt coming up over her head took her mouth away from Geming's, and before she could put it back, Jordan turned her face and kissed her again. Excitement and desire were rolling through her belly and she rocked harder against Jordan's hips, enjoying the pressure that built in her core as it cradled his growing erection.
She ended the kiss and climbed off of him carefully, turning so that she could kneel in front of Geming. Her fingertips ran down his chest and she nuzzled his face with her nose.
"You say you don't kiss here."
"No."
She bit her bottom lip and touched his belt.
"How do you mate?" she whispered.
"Only the warriors mate," he replied.
Behind her, she could hear Jordan shifting and it sounded like he was undressing the rest of the way. A moment later, she felt his fingers on the clasps at the back of her bra and the pressure released as he opened them so that it fell away from her breasts. There was a slight growl from Geming's throat and River smiled.
"Only the warriors?"
"Yes."
"What does everyone else do?"
She lowered her fingers to the front his pants and ran them along the waistband.
"We take the knowledge chosen for us by the teachers and we use it to innovate and advance."
River loosened the top button on the front of his pants and he let out a soft grunting sound. She moved down to the next button.
"So, you don't know what it feels like for someone to touch you?" she asked, releasing the next button.
Jordan's warm, strong hands came around her and cupped her breasts, kneading into them and causing her to drop her head back against his shoulder, moaning at the touch. His mouth brushed the curve of her neck and River arched her back so that she nestled back into his hips, seeking the pressure of his erection against her.
Suddenly she felt Geming's hand grasp the front of her pants and pull her forward, taking her out of Jordan's arms and pressing her against his chest. She gasped, surprised at the sudden moment of dominance and excited by the intensity in his eyes.
"Teach me," he said, and kissed her again, the pressure of his lips stronger and more confident know.
Jordan's hands returned to her body, smoothing around her waist and lowering to the front of her pants. He unfastened them quickly, drawing the zipper down and then grasping the sides so he could ease them off of her hips and down her thighs. She shifted her weight so that he could remove them as she continued to kiss Geming.
Jordan removed her shoes, socks, and pants, and then she felt him come up behind her again, tracing his fingertips along the strings on the sides of her panties. His hand flattened onto her lower belly and she felt him guiding her backwards, easing her off her knees so she sat on the rubber surface of the roof. She realized he was sitting behind her, his knees up and his thighs parted so he could pull her close to his body.
Positioning her between his thighs, reclining back against him so that she was staring at Geming, Jordan ran his hands down her body and onto her thighs. He tucked his hands between her knees and pushed her legs apart. Bringing his mouth back to her neck, he brushed his finger down the apex of her thighs and River knew he could feel her wet heat through the lace. She gasped as he moved the panties aside and drew his finger up through her folds.
Jordan pushed his body harder against her from the back to support her and continued to touch her, slowly exploring her body and tracing feathery strokes across the taut bud at her peak. She felt it emerging more as he touched, seeking more of the pleasure he was giving her. River moaned, writhing against his chest as he reached his finger down to her opening to gather some of her hot, slick fluid so his touch would glide across her more easily.
A few seconds later, she felt a tug on her panties and realized that Geming had approached her and was removing the scrap of lace from her body. Once completely bare, Jordan sp
read her legs further and she arched as cool air brushed against her. Her eyes were closed, but River could feel Geming's finger join Jordan's and begin his own exploration.
Jordan's tongue slicked across her shoulder and she moaned softly.
"Lick me," she whispered.
Jordan's hand moved up to her breast and was instantly replaced by Geming's tongue. He mimicked the movements of Jordan's fingers, licking across her with patience and reverence, occasionally pausing to circle her most sensitive spot until she was writhing and gasping against Jordan.
She was just on the brink of climax when she felt Jordan's hands grasp her hips firmly and lift them up. He led her backwards slightly and brought her down on his length, filling her so suddenly she cried out and reached behind her to grab his hair. Her eyes snapped open and she saw Geming watching them, his eyes hungry.
River adjusted her position so that she was on her knees straddling Jordan, and reached for Geming. He stepped forward and allowed her to finish unbuttoning his pants. Once they were open, he pushed them away, discarding them along with his shoes.
"Stand up," she instructed breathlessly.
Jordan's hips were rolling beneath her, plunging his shaft into her at a deep, steady rhythm and she took a moment just to enjoy the intense feeling of his length massaging her walls. When she opened her eyes again, Geming was standing in front of her, his thick, gorgeous erection at just the perfect level for her to open her mouth and flick her tongue across its tip.
Geming gasped and River smiled, reaching up to wrap her hand around the base of the shaft so she could draw him all the way in against her tongue. Jordan's pace increased and she picked up the rhythm with her hand and mouth, stroking with both as Jordan pushed into her again and again.
Geming's hands came to the sides of her head and his fingers tangled in her hair. His sounds surrounded her, blending with Jordan's from behind her and creating a combination that nearly pushed her over the brink.
"I want to be inside you," Geming groaned.
River turned her head to kiss Jordan before withdrawing him from her body and climbing off his lap. She turned around, bending forward so she was on her hands and knees, presenting herself to Geming and positioning her mouth over the tip of Jordan's cock.