31. Chapter 31
We were shown to our rooms, and I stared through the large window at the beautiful sight before me. Earth trees were very different from Vandruk's. Even the bushes didn't resemble ours. The snowcapped mountains made for a breathtaking backdrop, and I would have loved to explore the human wilderness.
Yet everything inside me itched to return, if not to Vandruk, at least to IC headquarters, where Tzar-Than and our warriors were stationed. Not knowing what was happening there was more than unnerving.
That was, until the phone I had been giving rang. Suspiciously, I stared at it, unable to read whatever message ran across the screen.
"Just swipe it with your finger," Rachel advised.
I tried. And tried again. Nothing. With a small sigh-giggle, Rachel took it from my hand and expertly swiped her pointer finger across the screen. She handed it back. "Say hello."
I didn't particularly care for the amused glint in her eyes at the cost of my pride; then again, she looked excited and beautiful, and that was really all that mattered.
"Hello." I managed.
"Ghan-Zahr?" a familiar female voice called from the phone.
"Sa?"
"Hey, it's Amber, hold on a sec."
Rachel's phone rang. When she picked it up, a high-pitched screech echoed through my phone into my ear, and I nearly dropped it.
"Sorry"." With a rueful grin, Rachel retreated into the other room, perplexing me, when next I heard her voice through the phone.
"Better?"
"Much," Amber replied. "It took some doing, but we should all be connected now. Say hi everyone."
A chorus of hi's followed, too many to catch each voice, but it sounded like all of us were now on the call . Tzar-Than, Dzur-Khan, Dhan-Gahr, and their gallies, Rachel and me.
"All right, Tzar-Than, Gwyn, fill us in. What's happening over there?"
"Well, as you already know, we found the hostages and let them out." Gwyn's voice sounded out.
"I told you to stay back," Tzar-Than complained, muffled in the background.
"Yeah, yeah, let's hash that out later," Gwyn shushed him. "Right now I'm going through a lot of data here and sending what I think might be important to Jenna."
She took a deep breath. "Oh, and before I forget, I discovered that Matt's implant is disintegrating. They haven't received a decipherable message from it for a while."
That was good news. Or would have been. I thought about Matt and the sacrifice he was about to make, wondering if this would change his mind.
"It would be easier if you sent me a link to log on remotely," Jenna advised.
"All right, you two, work it out in a private call," Amber bossed. "Rachel, did they give you a laptop?"
"Yes," Rachel answered, and it was weird hearing her voice louder through the phone than the muffled reply from the other room.
"Good, start writing that exposé we talked about"," Amber continued in her bossy voice.
"On it," Rachel replied.
"I'll call you with data as soon as I have some," Jenna inserted.
"Perfect"," Amber praised. "Now we all have each other's numbers. We need to keep ourselves updated, but be advised that we're probably being listened to."
"What do you mean?" Dzar-Ghan asked.
"That the government and probably IC are listening to every word we are saying right now," Jenna explained.
"So let's keep this short and—"
"Hold on," I interrupted Amber. "Tzar-Than, are you and the warriors safe?"
"We are. We've got the entire building locked up and patrols moving. Not even a flyck would come through unnoticed"," he replied. "All the humans are gone. The human soldiers are outside on the other side of the wall and… helicopters"—he stumbled over the foreign word—"are circling. Otherwise, we're good."
Feeling reassured, we ended the call.
"Ghan-Zahr, you have to see this bathroom. Oh, I can't wait to take a shower. Come, you have to see this." Rachel's voice lured me after the call dropped.
I haven't had a moment yet to appreciate the spectacular rooms we were given, far grander than what I had considered luxurious while I was at IC. It was just another stark reminder of what I was taking Rachel from. My heart ached at the idea of not being with her but also at the idea of taking this from her .
"Ghan-Zahr!" Her voice sounded impatient.
With a deep sigh, I turned from the window, only peripherally aware of the large swimming pool . What a useless thing, I mused. There were no fish inside to catch and eat, and the water wasn't even drinkable.
I followed the sound of Rachel's voice and a shower running. I knew what a shower was, had used it before, and agreed that sa, this was a marvelous invention, but I failed to understand why Rachel sounded so excited about it.
Well, the mystery unraveled when I found her standing naked from head to toe under the spray. My cock instantly rose to the challenge and her mischievous grin. She crooked her finger at me, and I was all too happy to oblige. Forgetting about my gloomy thoughts and contemplation of a future with this amazing gallis, I was determined to enjoy the moment of bliss she was offering.
Ridding myself of my clothes, weapons, and boots, I joined her in the oversized shower. Rocks decorated the walls, making it appear like a cave. Recessed lights emphasized the intimacy of the space. When I stepped next to her, I understood her excitement better. This shower was beyond compare to the utilitarian box at my previous accommodations on Earth. The spray of the water was not only coming from above but from the sides as well. Rachel's hand moved to a knob in the wall, and the spray intensified. I couldn't have cared less about any of this, though. All I had eyes for was her.
She was beautiful, with her wet hair plastered to her body and water running off her soft flesh. Perky nipples stood out, begging to be kissed, caressed, sucked. But there was one thing I desired more than anything. I placed my hands on both sides of Rachel's face and brought my lips down to hers.
She responded instantly, throwing her arms around my neck and pulling herself up to her tiptoes to return my kiss with the fire she had shown me in all of our sexual encounters. I loved the way she didn't hold back, giving her all in everything, most of all here and now.
My hands moved to her luscious ass, grabbing a cheek in each palm. I squeezed her supple flesh, moving her up until her feet were all but dangling off the ground. Her sex pushed against my cock.
Our tongues entwined, mindless of the spray of the water running down our faces. She lifted one leg and draped it over my hips. I increased my hold on her ass, and she lifted the other leg, crossing them behind me, grinding her sex against my hard shaft.
My lips left her mouth to trail down the curve of her neck. Obligingly, she arched her back. Her trust in me to keep her up was humbling. I would never hurt her. Never. But you will , a voice whispered inside me. I told it to shut up. If this was the last time Rachel and I could make love, I would give her my everything. She deserved it and so much more. Instead of giving in to the gloomy thoughts, I enjoyed kissing her skin freely, remembering how I had yearned to touch her just like this not too long ago. And for a few days, I had reveled in that privilege.
My tongue flicked against her nipple before I sucked it into my mouth to swirl it around. Her little keening mewls would have been reward enough, but I enjoyed teasing the stiff bud.
Her sex was pressing right against my cock now, bathing in its heat. One of her hands moved away from my neck, down between us, to guide me inside her. By the gods, nothing had ever felt as good as entering her did. Her passage had been molded for me. It fit like a wet glove.
A keening sound turned into a deep moan as I pushed in deeper, pushed her back against the wall while moving my hips back and forward. I brought my hands to her hips so I could move her up and down my cock more easily. This, here, was straight Koronae. Nothing in this entire universe compared to this sensation of her and me being one. I lifted my head to bring my lips down on hers in a deep kiss, moving my tongue in and out of her just like my cock. Her legs around me tightened. She was almost there. I tensed, forced myself to hold back just a few more moments, and commanded my swollen balls that were ready to explode to wait.
At some point, I had no idea anymore if it was water or sweat pouring down on me as holding my orgasm at bay became more challenging with each thrust. Gods in Koronae, her walls were beginning to massage my cock. With a roar, I released her lips and jerked my head back while pumping mindlessly into her as my balls pulsed to release my seed into her.
Her arms and legs held me in a vise-like grip as she screamed her pleasure out into the shower stall. "Ghan-Zahr!"
Her screaming my name in the midst of her ultimate bliss swelled my chest with pride and made me come harder than ever before.
"Rachel!"
Panting, we leaned against the shower walls. My heart thumped furiously against my ribs.
"That was amazing," she panted.
"You are amazing," I contradicted.
I released her legs, making sure she stood firm on them before retrieving my hands in search of soap to cleanse her.
"I could get used to this"." She giggled.
The soap was liquid and bubbled in my hands as I began moving my palms over her body. "You are so beautiful."
"You're not bad yourself"," she quipped, taking some soap into her hands and massaging my body.
"These scars?" She traced the lines of my khadahr markings.
"Part of the khadahr trials," I explained. "Last test. To prove our commitment to our people."
"How?" She kissed one of the raised shapes. Usually, I had no sensation on my scarred flesh, but I was very aware of every touch, every caress of hers.
"Priests soak a net in liquid from the Pit of Dagghar," I tried to explain.
"Pit of Dagghar?"
"Like… what do you call it… acid"." I snapped a finger, creating more bubbles when the human word came to me.
"You have pits of acid?" She looked at me in disbelief.
"Very large, too," I assured her. "People mistake it for small lakes."
She shuddered, but excitement crossed her eyes. "I can't wait for you to show me."
"There is so much I want to…" I broke off as reality once again caught up with me. As much as she might have thought she wanted to, I couldn't take her back to Vandruk with me. Not when I knew that she would never have a chance to return to Earth.
She didn't seem to realize my misgivings. She clapped her hands in excitement. "I'm so excited to see more of your world."
I moved out of the shower, grabbing two towels, so soft and large. I wrapped her in one, rubbing the water off her body. "Rachel," I began, unsure of how to proceed.
"What is it?" Alarmed, she looked up, taking my face into her hands. "Ghan-Zahr, you look like you've seen a ghost. What is it?"
"Rachel, I don't think you should return to Vandruk with me," I said.
"What? But why? Ghan-Zahr, what—" Her face was one large question mark, but I also saw hurt flick in her eyes, and that nearly broke me.
"Your world is here," I tried to make her understand. "We don't have showers on Vandruk; we have Pits of Dagghar that can kill you. Earth is safe—"
She stepped into my space, her finger lifted, moving back and forth in front of my face. "Oh no, you don't. You don't get to decide what is good for me or not. You don't get to tell me what I want."
Anger sparked in her eyes, making them appear much darker.
"I'm not telling you what to do," I replied, frustrated that I didn't have all the words to express my feelings, and shoved my hand through my hair. "I want nothing more than to be with you, Rachel, but Vandruk is dangerous, Vandruk is—"
She interrupted me again, "Beautiful and exciting, just like you, Ghan-Zahr."
I kept my heart shielded, not fully allowing myself to believe that she would choose Vandruk, me, over this , here. She was right about one thing, though, this was her choice. Not mine.
"I want you with me, Rachel, always"," I admitted. "I love you. But you need to be sure."
"I love you too, Ghan-Zahr"." She rose on her tiptoes. "And I am sure."
Right then I knew no amount of walls would keep my heart safe. It would shatter into a thousand pieces if she decided to stay. But I couldn't allow myself to let her see that. I needed to be strong. For her. So that she could make her decision without feeling too guilty, no matter what she chose, I would be there for her. Only when she wouldn't see, I would allow myself to fall apart and turn into the shell of a man I knew I would turn into without her.
The phone she had left on the counter rang.
"Your family"," I reminded her.
She looked torn, wanting to talk to me more, but the urge to answer won out.
"Yes?"
Her serious expression lifted slightly, but her eyes remained on me, filled with caution. "We'll be right there."
"My family has arrived," she announced.
"Go see them," I encouraged her. "We will talk later."
"You're not coming with me?" A renewed alarm moved over her features.
"I don't think your family wants to see your abductor. Go, enjoy. I see you at dinner and be ready to meet your family then."
"We talk more later," I assured her. Because I was weak and because I wanted her to know, I added, "I love you."