by M. K. Eidem
"That is truth, but…"
"But what?"
"I've just never considered that a female might want the same thing," Ull found himself admitting.
"If it's not for their enjoyment, why do you make sure they find their release before you Join with them?" Trisha questioned.
"Because it's the only way our female’s channel can become slick enough, so she isn’t harmed when a male Joins with her."
"It's because she isn't aroused," she told him.
"Aroused?" he asked.
"Excited about the Joining," she told him. "It's why touching and kissing are so important for Earthians. It arouses our body, a male's cock gets hard, and a female's channel gets wet."
"Without touching your pleasure nub?" Ull's eyes widened in shock.
"Pleasure nub?" It was her turn to be puzzled.
"Yes, when it's stimulated, your channel slickens, and you find your release."
"You mean my clit," she said, finally understanding what he was talking about.
"Clit," he tried the word out on his tongue and found he liked it.
"Yes," she told him, "and while stimulating it will cause a female to orgasm, other things can also excite a female enough, so her channel gets wet."
"Wet?"
"Slick enough to Join," she clarified.
"And touching and kissing do this for Earth females?" Ull's mind was racing. He hadn't realized this. Why hadn't his brother told him? Then again, why would Ynyr, with how surly Ull's attitude had been?
"Yes, and if your mother and father are now resting together, then I'd say it's the same for Tornian females." Trisha frowned as Ull just stood there for a moment. He then seemed to reach a decision, and his eyes locked with hers.
Trisha's breath began to quicken, her eyes widening when Ull slowly moved toward her with a lithe grace rarely seen in such a large male. He kept walking until their bodies were a hairs-breadth from touching. It forced her to tip her head up to maintain eye contact. "Ull?"
"You are truly beautiful, Trisha." Slowly he ran a knuckle along her jaw. "Your skin is so smooth and soft and your hair." He tucked a loose multicolored strand behind her ear. "It is unlike anything I've ever encountered in the Known Universes."
"I…" Trisha tried to make her suddenly dry throat work. While she found Ull attractive, she never believed he thought she was. Not after the way he'd treated her and talked to her. She was only a means to an end as far as he was concerned.
Ull closely watched every expression that crossed Trisha's face. He saw shock and disbelief, but beneath it all was fatigue. He suddenly realized everything he'd put her through that day. How was it she hadn't complained? Not once after her initial shock, and he hadn't even thought to feed her. It had taken the Kaliszian Minister to do that. A Tornian female would never tolerate such abuse. Goddess, he was no better than Daco.
"I should leave," he murmured, yet he couldn't stop himself from cupping her jaw, or his thumb from caressing her lips. "You need to rest."
"I do," she breathed out, but she didn't move, her gaze remaining locked with Ull's.
"Before I do," Ull's voice was as low as hers, "I was wondering if I could experience my first kiss. With you."
The throat, Trisha had finally gotten to work, tightened up again. Dear God, to be Ull's first kiss. She couldn't believe how much she wanted that. You never forgot your first. It would further complicate an already extremely complicated situation, but God how she wanted to. Trisha knew she and Ull didn't have a future together. Still, she wanted him to remember her.
Slowly, she rose on her toes, bringing Ull's head down with one hand while the other rested on his chest. Tipping her head to the side, she brushed her mouth along his, surprised at how full and soft they were. Brushing them a second time, she couldn't resist lightly nipping at his lower lip. When Ull growled, she slipped her tongue inside to tease his.
“This is kissing?” Ull pulled back just far enough to whisper hoarsely. His eyes blazed into hers, his breathing ragged. Goddess, how had he not known such a thing was possible?
“One type, yes," she murmured back, her breathing just as ragged as she stared up at him.
"Show me more," he demanded, closing the distance between them.
Trisha willingly opened her mouth to him, her tongue teasing his, then retreating until he became an active participant. That's when she got lost in Ull, his touch, his taste, in how he made her feel like she was the most desirable female in the world.
But it wasn't true.
Ull would have responded just as passionately to any woman that kissed him.
That realization had her ripping her mouth from his. "Ull," she gasped, "we have to stop."
"No," he growled, trying to recapture her lips.
"Yes!" She turned her head to evade his determined lips. "Please, Ull," she pleaded. "Stop!"
Ull didn't want to stop. He wanted to continue this fantastic thing called kissing. Never in his life had he gotten so much pleasure from such a small act. Instinctively he knew there was more pleasure to be experienced, but the slightest sliver of fear in Trisha's voice had every one of his protective instincts kicking in. Breathing heavily, he slowly released her and took a step back.
"Did I harm you?" he asked gruffly, his gaze taking in her flushed cheeks and swollen lips. He didn't see any injuries, but she was so much smaller than him.
"No," she quickly reassured him, "but we both got carried away."
"Is that a bad thing?" he asked.
"It is when we're supposed to be working together for the betterment of both our people."
"Can't we do both?" he questioned.
"I'm not planning on leaving Earth, Ull. Are you planning on staying?"
"No."
"Then there's no reason to start something that can't go anywhere."
Chapter Eight
Trisha stared at the reflection in the cleansing room's mirror, taking in her towel-wrapped body, wet hair, and the lines of pain bracketing her eyes. Reaching into the toiletry bag, she'd brought, she pulled out the prescription bottle she'd filled the day before.
God, had it been just yesterday? That didn't seem possible. She'd planned on taking a little time to come to terms with what she'd learned, to decide what she wanted to do, and then contact her tío. But Ull's arrival had changed all that. Now what she wanted was secondary to the millions, no billions of lives that would be affected if she couldn't find a way for Earth to work with the Tornians and Kaliszians. Her tío, if he knew, would disagree. But she also knew if the situation were reversed, he'd do just as she was.
With a heavy sigh, she opened the container and popped one of the white, inconspicuous tablets into her mouth, swallowing it down with water from the sink. After she finished drying off, she pulled on the sleeping pants and top she'd packed and headed to bed.
Tomorrow was going to be a big day, and she needed her rest. So why was she staring at the ceiling, thinking about how amazing kissing Ull had been instead of sleeping? And how she wanted to do more than kiss Ull. She wanted to be more than his first kiss. She wanted to be his first everything. She wanted him to know he was special, that he mattered. It was something everyone deserved. Unfortunately, she also knew that she'd never be the one doing that for Ull, and that hurt her heart. So, while she couldn't guarantee Ull would find what other Tornians had with Earth females, she could do everything within her power to give him a chance. With that in mind, her mind quieted, and sleep claimed her.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Ull stared at the ceiling above his bed, wearing only resting pants, his mind in turmoil. Goddess, he hadn't wanted to leave Trisha. He wanted to learn more about how to pleasure a female. No, that was an untruth. He wanted to learn more about how to pleasure Trisha. He wanted to know if his kisses had aroused her enough for her channel to slicken without him touching her pleasure nub. If it had, that would mean Trisha was as attracted to him as he was to her. He could then claim her, Join with her, make her h
is Lady.
'That will never happen. Trisha won't leave her backward planet, not unless you give her no choice. Give none of them a choice. You are a Tornian Warrior, a first male, and a future Lord. Force them to defer to you! Take what you want! It's the Tornian way!'
Every one of those thoughts was truth except the last one. It wasn't the Tornian way to take what they wanted, not even before the Great Infection struck. Ull had learned this in his studies. It was something his manno had told him all good Lords needed to know. That the way they were now is not the way they once were.
He wouldn't be a fit or worthy Warrior if he forced Trisha to do something she already said she wouldn't do. Trisha deserved better than that. All the females did, and it would be up to him to make sure his brother warriors knew it too.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"What do you mean we can't all go?" Other voices quickly echoed Craig's question.
Trisha held up her hands to quiet the group. She'd asked them to remain in the eating area after first meal the next morning. She'd known this was how they were going to react and couldn't blame them. They wanted to get back to their lives and their families.
"I'm not saying you won't all be going home, Craig." Trisha looked to the leader from the male group. They had been the ones taken over eighteen months ago, and one of them had died while in captivity. The two women with them had become True Mates to a Kaliszian General and a Commander. "I'm saying you can't all go at the same time. The shuttle only holds ten, including the pilot and co-pilot, which means we have to go down in groups." Murmurs began to fill the room, and she knew what they were all wondering. Who got to decide who went when. "As President Garcia's representative, it's up to me to choose that. What I've decided is that you will decide. You've had enough taken away from you, and been forced to do things you never should. The decision will be yours."
Complete silence followed her statement, and from the back of the room, Ull's respect for her grew. Trisha had instinctively known that if she picked the groups, there would be resentment. By giving them that power, bitterness went away. The President had chosen his representative well.
"There are women who have young children. They need to get back to them as quickly as possible." Vanessa, the older female who had emerged as the leader of the second group, said stepping forward.
"There are men that do too, and they have been gone a great deal longer," Craig argued back.
"No matter who goes when," Trisha broke into the conversation, "You won't be reunited with your families until everyone has been cleared and interviewed."
"What do you mean?" Ull tensed as the Earth male Craig took a step toward Trisha. "Medically cleared? We're all fine." Craig looked around the room, and Trisha saw other heads nodding.
"While I've been told you are all healthy and carry no contagious diseases," she looked at Ull for a moment. "I'm sure you understand our doctors need to confirm that before you can be released. Not only for the safety of your families but for the rest of the world."
"But we will be released," Craig pressed, and Trisha suddenly understood their fear. An alien species had imprisoned them. They didn't want to be imprisoned by their own.
"Of course!" She let her gaze travel over the room. "The Tornians and Kaliszians are here because they want trade agreements with Earth. All of Earth. That means that soon everyone on Earth will know about them and what happened to you. In return for the agreements, the Tornians and Kaliszians will make sure that what happened to you doesn't happen to anyone else."
"Good," one of the women muttered, causing Trisha to smile. It said something about the human condition that even after everything that had happened to them, these people's spirits survived.
"It's why you also need to be interviewed. The President needs to know everything that happened to you, your treatment, and your opinions, so he can make an informed decision in his, and ultimately, the world's dealings with the Tornians and Kaliszians."
"But, our families will be notified we're alive?" Trisha knew why Vanessa was asking. Vanessa wasn't just a wife and mother; she was also a grandmother. Her family had been a major driving force in keeping her group’s disappearance in the news.
"They will be, as soon as you are cleared." Trisha could see that didn't sit well with them, but it had been the guidelines her tío had given her when he contacted her earlier that morning. "The government has all their locations and will begin bringing them to North Dakota once everyone is cleared."
"North Dakota?!" nearly everyone questioned, and Trisha understood their confusion but just shrugged.
"That's what President Garcia ordered." She didn't see any reason to expand on that. "Now, I'm going to give you some time to talk amongst yourselves, so you can decide who will be on what shuttle."
"One more question." Trisha looked at Vanessa. "How long will it be between the shuttles?"
"One or two days, as long as the doctors don't find any problems when they examine you."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
"You handled that very well." Ull allowed his hand to brush against Trisha's as they leaned against the wall outside the eating area. He wanted to do more, wanted to feel her body pressed against his again, but knew he couldn't. Not with the Kaliszian present.
"You did," Jakob agreed, standing across from them.
"Thank you." While Trisha didn't want to, she subtly moved her hand away from Ull's. She couldn't think clearly when he touched her. Last night had proven that, and she needed to. Millions of lives depended on her. "They deserve to have control over at least some part of their lives again. Because once all this gets out, their lives, and the lives of their families, will never be the same."
"What do you mean?" Jakob asked.
"I don't know how it is in your world, but on Earth, we have the news media. It's a group of people that gather information and report it to the rest of the world via television, the Internet, and radio. They are all going to want to interview them to find out what 'really' happened to them."
"But, they will be telling your government that." Jakob frowned at her. "Won't your Government then inform this media of what they said?"
"They will, but that information won't satisfy everyone. Some will believe the government isn't telling them everything."
"Your people don't trust what your Leaders tell them?" Ull frowned at that. While he didn't always agree with Emperor Wray's decisions, he trusted his Emperor was doing what was best for his people.
"Some do. Some don't." She looked from Ull to Jakob. "Do you always believe what your Emperors tell you? Never wonder if there's something they're leaving out?" Their silence told her everything. "So, they will be interviewed to see what if anything the government didn't tell them. It will be crazy for them for a while. There's also going to be the problem of the media wanting to interview both of you." Her gaze moved between Ull and Jakob.
Ull growled his displeasure at that, while Jakob just asked. "Why would that be a problem?"
"Because you don't speak English and they aren't going to be able to understand Tornian or Kaliszian. Someone will have to be your spokesperson to the press."
"You," Ull growled.
"Most likely, yes." She nodded in agreement. "At least until more people can use your educator or you learn Earth's languages."
"I understand there is more than one." Jakob found that surprising. While every species in the Known Universes spoke their own language, there was a central language with slight variations depending on region and status.
"Thousands," Trisha informed him. "So, it's going to take a great deal of time before everyone understands why you're here and what that means for Earth."
Ull frowned at that. While he'd known he would need to spend some time on Earth, he hadn't believed it would take very long to convince Earth's leaders they needed them. Now, Trisha had him doubting that.
"Are you the only one that can pilot the shuttle?" Trisha's change of subject pulled Ull from his thoughts.
> "What?" Ull asked.
"Are you the only one that can pilot the shuttle?" she repeated.
"No." His brow lowered as he looked at her. "Why?"
"Just trying to figure out the logistics of getting our people home while you and Jakob negotiate with the President and other world leaders."
"You believe he has contacted them?" It was Jakob's turn to frown. "Before we have an agreement? My understanding is that all the people taken were from your country."
"That we know of," Trisha corrected, "and yes, while the President of the United States can decide for the citizens of his country, an agreement of this magnitude affects the entire world, and therefore they will need to be involved with it."
Before either male could question her further, the door to the eating area opened, and the female called Vanessa stepped out.
"I believe we've reached an agreement."
"Wonderful." Trisha pushed away from the wall and followed Vanessa back into the room.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Trisha sat next to Ull as the shuttle took off from the Searcher, loaded with the first to return. The returnees decided members from each group should go, so the President could get an accurate depiction of what they were facing as the two groups had such diverging experiences.
The men had been taken as slaves and survived horrific conditions in the mine they were found in. It resulted in the death of one of them and grievous injuries to both women they’d kept hidden.
The women, while terrified, had been treated relatively well compared to what Trisha had learned had happened to the Earth woman, Kim, who was now Empress of the Tornian Empire. The Kaliszians had discovered them on a Ganglian ship before they were sold or raped.
Still, only two men were on this shuttle besides Ull. The men had decided that while their captivity had been longer, and significantly harsher than the women’s, the women still needed to return first. Jakob had stayed behind to care for those remaining and keep them informed of what was happening.