Korjh's Bride

by Clarissa Lake

  They walked out in the morning sunshine and to the barn together. Zara was delighted that her horse Dema seemed to remember her and nickered softly when she approached. The big mare lowered her great head for Zara to rub her soft muzzle. A simple command from Korjh and the horse moved underneath her saddle and stood calmly while it was lowered to her back.

  The pad was attached to the saddle so that a separate blanket was not necessary. Zara had never seen a saddle quite like it. It most resembled a traditional English style saddle with a grip across the front made of entirely synthetic material. The seat was the most comfortable Zara had ever used and had been custom fit to the horse’s back. It had a self-tightening cinch that automatically set it to the correct size for the horse.

  Should the horse puff up and hold its breath, the cinch would readjust itself as programmed. It had a safety stop so it would never get tight enough to injure the horse. After their first ride together, Korjh had shown her how to fasten the cinch so it would set itself. Zara was pleased that she could do it herself now.

  The bridle was actually a hackamore with no bit. All of the horses were trained to them. Zara could probably have mounted the horse herself if she led it to the block of steps by the exit from the barn, but Korjh seemed to like lifting her up onto its back and helping her off.

  They rode the paths between the crop fields so Korjh could see for himself that everything was growing as it should, receiving enough water and fertilizer. There were also tiny bots that were used for pest control rather than putting chemicals on the plants to kill insects. These were programmed to hunt the insects and remove other minute lifeforms that would ruin the crops. They were all controlled by the central AI which could be monitored from Korjh’s com room.

  He had drones to monitor the fields and report to the AI any problems. Actually, going out to the fields was not necessary; it was just something Korjh did when he took his horses out for a ride. The same was true of the tikas pens, but he liked to see that they were in good health and hadn’t injured each other or if some of their natural predators native to the area hadn’t broken through the force fields and killed any of them.

  Zara got to see the tikas on this ride. She had seen pictures of them online, but they looked bigger up close. Unfortunately, they looked like cute little dragons, and she felt sorry that they were killed and eaten though Korjh mostly kept them for their eggs. The pens where they were housed contained large pastures with some wooded areas where they could roam freely and the hen houses were open, so the birds weren’t cooped up inside nor were they overcrowded.

  Most of the tikas were hens for the eggs. Only a few cocks roamed with the hens, and the rest were culled and used for meat. Those that Korjh didn’t keep for his own use were processed and shipped to food suppliers that sold and delivered them by bot trams directly to the consumers or exported off world.

  Zara learned all this while they were riding the horses side by side. She could see how much Korjh had accomplished on his own and that he was rightfully proud of his accomplishments. She enjoyed just being with him and learning about his farm.

  The horse Dema was a pleasure to ride because she knew what was expected of her. Before they went to the trails, Korjh refreshed her on the use of her legs as well as the reins on the hackamore. After she had demonstrated what she’d learned, they had gone on their way.

  They rode for about two hours this time before returning the horses to the barn. Once they were unsaddled, Korjh turned them out to the pasture. They would return to the barn on their own at sunset, and it would automatically close them inside. Korjh liked to ride almost every day and seemed happy to have her company on those excursions around his considerable acreage.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  After Korjh and Zara consummated their marriage, they went into honeymoon mode, making love frequently and in almost every room in the house. Unless they were going outside, they hardly bothered to dress.

  Zara’s language implant was completely absorbed into her mind so that she could speak, read and write Gal-common. She then learned to use the Modonne AI-Net and found sites that showed formal clothing styles for men. She showed a few that she liked to Korjh, and they found two of them were available in Sezrop.

  Since the invitations Korjh sent were all accepted, he acceded to Zara’s wish to buy himself a formal outfit for the event. By then he had also heard from Zara’s friend Naomi to set up a reunion of the two friends and introduce their respective mates. So, Korjh said they would go to buy new clothes on Sezrop on that day since it was before their gathering.

  One day after their morning ride, Korjh took Zara up on her offer to play master and slave. He installed a hook on the headboard of the bed, then used the cloth belt from Zara’s bathrobe to tie her hands over her head to it. He didn’t have anything soft to tie her ankles with so he left them free.

  As he stood by the bed looking down at her, she looked so sexy it made his cock hard just watching her. She was playing her part wholeheartedly with anguished glances at him and her breasts heaving in mock apprehension. She gave him a little wink, so he knew it was role play.

  He sat down on the bed and put his hand between her legs and dipped a finger into her opening. She squirmed, making a little whimper. She was wet for him already---as turned on as he was. So, he lay down on the bed beside her on his side propping his head on his hand while he stroked her face with his fingers. He put the finger with her essence on it in her mouth and told her to suck it. She did as he said and didn’t stop until he took it away.

  Korjh went back to stroking her with his hand, drawing his fingers lightly over her skin. His fingertips moved slowly down her chin to her neck and back to her chin a few times, then down over her neck venturing over her upper chest, deliberately not touching her breasts. He smiled as her nipples puckered and stood erect and her breath came faster. When he still didn’t touch them, Zara arched her back to draw his attention to the full rounded half globes.

  After teasing her for a while, he cupped her left breast with his hand and kneaded it. Zara rewarded him with a moan. Korjh circled the nipple slowly with his fingertips. He lightly plucked at the peak, then he pinched and twisted it until she whimpered a moan. She squeezed her legs together, and her hips moved so Korjh he had hit the threshold of pain pleasure. He did the same to her other nipple then went on stroking her body.

  Before he was close to finishing, Zara lay quivering with desire. Cooing and murmuring her pleasure. He got up on his knees beside her so he could reach her legs and rub her feet while he decided what to do next. He pushed her legs apart and saw her pussy was glistening with her juices. Then he started kissing her toes and sucking them one at a time and watched her pussy pulse as it contracted on itself.

  Zara undulated her lusciously curved hips, and he knew she wanted him inside her, but he wasn’t ready to give it to her even though it was rock hard the whole time they were playing. Instead, he kissed his way up her leg to her pussy and pushed open her fold and kissed her swollen core. Zara groaned in pleasure and throbbed against his lips.

  He took his mouth away and pushed two fingers inside her as deep as they would go, then in and out, fucking her with his fingers.

  “Master, more, please,” she whimpered the plea. Korjh knew she wanted to come.

  Korjh looked up into her eyes that were dark with passion and wanting. He couldn’t deny her any longer. He pressed his mouth to her center, tongued her clit, and sucked it gently while his fingers worked inside her. She didn’t stand much of that until her pelvis started tilting up and down and she let out several long ahs in pure ecstasy as powerful waves of gratification rushed through her body.

  Zara continued to quake and shudder even after he took his mouth and fingers away.

  Korjh smiled and moved to her side again kissing her face and stroking her breasts and kneading them gently with his hands. He loved the way they felt against his hands, smooth, soft skin, firm yet pliable.

  His cock was s
o hard, he knew he couldn’t hold off much longer. Korjh took his hand and lightly gripped her chin turning her head toward him to kiss her mouth. She opened readily to his kiss and met his tongue eagerly with hers.

  “Master, I am yours,” she whispered. “Anything you wish, I will do for you.”

  “That’s what I like to hear from my little slave,” replied, playing his part. “Spread your legs wide female. I’m going to have you now.”

  Doing just as he said, she added, “I am ready for you. Take me hard, Master.”

  Korjh knelt between her legs spread wide and paused to look at her with her hands tied loosely her eyes darkened with passion and her soft lips pink and plump from his kisses. Her sweet pussy was splayed opened and glistening still for him to fill her. She looked so damn sexy he couldn’t wait for a second longer.

  He lay over her and buried his cock into her in one slick move.

  Zara gave a cry of delight then said, “Thank you, Master. Do what you will.”

  Korjh took her hard and fast losing the last thread of his control. As he rammed his shaft into her again and again, Zara moaned and murmured words of encouragement, egging him on.

  “Oh, Master! Yes, yes, Master. Thank you, Master. Hard, Master, take me.”

  It didn’t take long to make her come, then the contractions of her orgasm took him over the top as well. Korjh growled in triumph and satisfaction, throbbing inside her as his hot semen surged into her. His erection hardly waned even then, so he stayed on top of her pressing her into the mattress.

  He reached up and untied Zara’s wrists, signaling the end of the game. Zara smiled up at him. “That was fun, Korjh,” she said and wrapped her arms around him, rubbing and caressing his back.

  “It was.” he grinned back at her then kissed her with reverent tenderness. It had only been a month since she arrived, but he could no longer imagine his life without her. Their passion for each other was well matched, and she seemed to like pleasing him as much as having him pleasure her.

  But then things started to change.

  At first, Zara’s marriage seemed idyllic as Korjh doted on her and he was an excellent lover and solicitous of her every need. But after a few weeks, Zara started to feel restless and even a little homesick. It seemed like Korjh was with her every minute of every day whether they were out riding or checking things out on the farm. Even when she was working on her drawing screen designing, he was right there hovering.

  Zara barely had a minute to herself that he wasn’t right there watching her every move.

  Zara had tried to com Naomi, but she could only leave a message. Either they were out, or they weren’t taking calls yet. She just needed someone to talk to besides her husband. She missed Ellie most of all. Zara wanted to tell her friend about her feelings, but she knew Korjh would feel hurt if he saw her emails.

  He probably would see them because his cybernetics were tied into the house AI.

  Zara had sent her friend several emails that Ellie hadn’t answered. Some best friend.

  How could she feel this way when she had the perfect husband and the ideal life? Was it all a mistake?

  Zara thought this new life would make her happy. She had journeyed to another world to be with a man like none she had ever known. But it seemed like one endless vacation. She missed Earth. She missed girl time with her friends. It seemed like she had nothing useful to do.

  Most of all, she needed time to herself without Korjh hovering over her all the time. One day, she tried to pass on their morning ride just to have an hour to herself, but Korjh didn’t get it.

  “We don’t have to go out today if you don’t want to,” he said. “If I take Bakus out without Dema they will both be upset.”

  Zara sighed. “Korjh, if you don’t mind, I would just like to take a walk---by myself.”

  “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked gently. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “It’s nothing, I just need some time to myself. That’s all. Since I’ve been here we spend every minute together,” she tried to explain. “Sometimes, I just want to be alone. Don’t you ever feel that way?”

  “Not really,” he said. “But I have been here alone for a long time---far more time than I ever wanted. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

  “I just want to go for a walk. I’m not asking for permission, I’m going,” she said.

  “What’s wrong, Zara?” he asked gently.

  Zara looked at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. It wasn’t any one thing. It was everything. “I don’t know,” she said finally. She thought if she told him she was homesick, he would take it personally.

  She turned and started for the door, wondering if it would even open for her.

  “Zara wait,” Korjh said going into the kitchen. He opened the cooler and took out a bottle of water and brought it to her. “You should take this, and wear your hat, it’s hot out there.”

  She took the water and then got her riding hat from the hook by the doorway. She put her hand on the ID plate, and nothing happened for a few seconds, then it opened as if waiting for a command. The ground level door opened as well, and she walked up the ramp without looking back.

  As the doors closed behind her, Korjh turned and punched the wall. An ordinary man would have broken most of the bones in his hand. He just scraped his knuckles and bruised the soft tissues over his metal reinforced bones. There was a fist-sized indentation in the wall covering.

  She was upset, and he had no idea why. He wanted to hold her and soothe her, but she wanted to be away from him. He didn’t understand what was happening.

  Everything seemed to be perfect, just like he planned. Zara knew before she came that he had no close neighbors and no close friends. He told her outright that it would only be the two of them most of the time.

  It was hard those first days when he wanted her so much and knew she wasn’t ready for him to fully claim her. But once he had, everything seemed better. How did he not know she wasn’t happy?

  What could he have done differently? He quickly surfed through his memory banks for anything he could have done to make her unhappy. He could find nothing. Zara seemed like the loving wife he thought he had married---until today. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be in the same room with him. She would rather be alone than with him.

  That hurt a lot. What if she had changed her mind and wanted to go home---back to Earth? Korjh didn’t want that. Sure, he could force her to stay. All he needed was to change the code on the door to keep her inside. She didn’t know how to operate the air car even if she did get out so she couldn’t get far.

  Korjh didn’t like her out there by herself. Despite the conversion to farmland, there were indigenous predators in the desert, poisonous reptiles, and plants. In the hottest season, the temperature in the desert plain could get as high as 120° Fahrenheit. That day it was about 90°. She didn’t know the desert like he did. She could be in danger, and he wouldn’t even know.

  With that thought, he used his cybernetics to launch one of the observation drones to locate her and monitor her. He told himself it was for safety reasons, but also because he wanted to know where she was and what she was doing out there. This sudden estrangement was upsetting him. She was everything to him. Now she didn’t want to be around him?

  Something was wrong; he just didn’t know what. He didn’t know how to fix it.

  Zara didn’t know how long she walked before she started to cry. She loved Korjh, yet the last few days with him had seemed stifling. It wasn’t just the last few days either. He was just always there. Everything was automated, and there just wasn’t that much to do.

  While she didn’t miss having to do cleaning and laundry, she had never had this much time on her hands and never had spent all her time with just one person. She had no job, only her designing which would have been fine except for Korjh hanging around talking to her and sometimes seeming impatient with her ignoring him while trying to create.

  She found herself wishing he
would just go away and find something to do. Or she wanted she could go someplace on her own. Sometimes she wished she could go home, just for a little while, to be where things were familiar, even just go for a drive.

  Now she felt like she was all alone on the planet with just Korjh for company. Most of the time that was all she wanted. Zara had changed her whole life to be his wife, and while it was mostly all she hoped, it wasn’t enough. She needed space, and she needed purpose. She was more than just somebody’s mate.

  Zara didn’t know how long she had walked, but she was starting to feel hot and sweaty under the desert sun. She had wanted to walk someplace different than the paths among the crops on the farm. She stopped and opened the bottle of water Korjh had given her, drinking down about half of it.

  She turned and looked back in the direction she thought she had come, looking for the outbuildings of the farm. Zara nearly panicked. They weren’t there.

  Turning in a circle, slowly, she finally spotted the greenhouse. She hadn’t walked in a straight line as she thought. She was about 40° to the left of the yard. Then she spotted the garage/hangar that housed the aircar, and slowly started walking back.

  By the time Zara got back to the house, she had been out in the sun for over an hour. She was hot, sweaty, and tired but she felt a little better. On her way back, she realized that she should try to talk to Korjh about her feelings. None of it reflected on how she felt about him, but mostly how she felt about herself and getting her bearings with the radical changes in her life.

  Zara put the empty water bottle into the recycling bin then went wandering through the house looking for Korjh. She needed to make things right with him, but she went through the house and didn’t find him. Zara shrugged to herself guessing he might have gone out on his horse after all.