The rest of the day, they exploredGlowen’da.As they walked around the city, Sharon realized the similarities to Earth. The contact and constant flow of travelers between the two planets were slowly blending the cultures. Although the landscape was alien, there was a familiarity she felt as she walked and asked questions.
She was surprised as well by how much she and Liken had in common. They had both lost their parents at a young age. They both enjoyed reading and similar types of music. As they went from place to place, there was a strange sense of comfort between them. Liken surprised her with his enthusiasm. He seemed to be having a good time just being with her, seeing things through her eyes. It was flattering.
Inevitably, after a time, Liken turned them toward home. Sharon’s feet and legs were beginning to feel the effects of an afternoon spent walking. When they reached the house, Sharon felt her earlier tension begin to return. Turning quickly toward the bedroom, she said, “I’ll just rest a while.”
Liken stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You can rest in here,sherree.”
She looked away from him. Her eyes lighted on the couch and she immediately took a step back. “I don’t think so.”Their conversation after the Oath ceremony, when he said he could repeat any intimacy, flashed through her head.
Turning her into his arms, he said, “I had hoped we made progress this afternoon. Why do you still fear me?”
She looked into his face. He seemed honestly perplexed. “I’m not afraid of you. I just think we should take things slowly, that’s all.”In fact, she was hoping they could put off any form of intimacy for several days…or more. She needed time.
A dawning understanding passed over his face. “I think I see. You do not fear me. You fear yourself.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She felt the first stirrings of anger.
“Very well,then. You fear your response to me.” He sounded understanding, but his face was hardening. He was growing frustrated with her.
Sharon said, “I don’t want to fight. I just want you to leave me alone for awhile.”It was time to put more distance between them, if she could.
“This I will not do.” His voice was firm. “You are trying to retreat. You hide from me but more…you hide from yourself. You want me just as much as I want you. You are bound to honor your oath. This is our knowing period. What we do is expected.”
“I didn't expect it, okay?” Her voice was rising. “I’m tired of you throwing duty in my face. I know what I vowed. Theoretically, I guess just skipping off planet and having sex with a strange alien guy is supposed to be easy. But it’s not. I’m not casual. The two guys I was with before may not have been heroes, but they were decent guys that I cared about. You want me to just get naked and have sex with you like it’s easy. It’s not. I’ve never been with someone like you. You make me feel…” her voice faltered.Sharon suddenly realized that she was afraid of how he made her feel.
“Out of control? Hot? Overwhelmed?” he suggested huskily.
Sharon paused at his words, and thinking quickly, nodded.“Okay fine. All of those things.” She didn’t like where this discussion was going.
“Is that so bad,sherree? The attraction between us is intense. It is our fortune. You say you do not like feeling out of control, but I know sexually, it makes you hot. I know seeing you that way makes me hot. You may not be comfortable and safe like in your controlled world, but you like what I say to you. You like what I do to you. I would wager that right now you are wet from my words. Mayhap you need to learn that there is no harm in giving up control. That you are safe with me.”
He was right, but she didn’t like admitting it. She was wet from his words. She blushed knowing her tightened nipples were obvious against the thin barrier of her top. There was no way he could fail to notice her obvious arousal. Her body was betraying her.
Liken could see and sense how affected she was by his words and presence. He reached out and ran his hands along the sides of her body in one slow stroke.Sharon tried to move away, but he merely picked her up and carried her to the couch. Coming down on top of her, he again pinioned her hands as he had earlier.
Peering into her face, his voice brooked no argument, “I will not take you tonight. I will bring you to peak with my hands and my mouth on this couch until we grow hungry. We will eat the evemeal with you in my lap, my hands on your body. Then we will return to this couch. You will come for me,sherree. You will ache and come and ache for more. You will get used to this hunger between us. Your comfort with me will be assured. But know this, tomorrow there will be no clothing between us. You will not hide behind the safety of your inhibitions. I am a Shimerian male. We are highly sexual, dominant beings. I will not pretend otherwise. To truly know me, you must be willing to know yourself.” Somewhat angrily, his mouth came down on hers.
His hard kiss gradually gentled into teasing caresses. As she responded with less reluctance and more enthusiasm, he left no part of her untouched. The feel of his hands and mouth through the thin barrier of her clothes was excruciating.
The next hours were unbelievable. He was relentless. Using his hands and mouth, he brought her to climax after climax. As he had promised, he never removed her clothes. Even sitting at the table, eating, one hand always roamed her body. Leaning back against his chest, she accepted bites of food, as she arched into the fingers tweaking her nipple or gliding between her legs.
Later, back on the couch, her body grew exhausted. When he finally sat up and moved away from her, she felt like there wasn’t a nerve on her body that hadn’t been stroked. She was swollen, her breasts tender. Between her legs, she throbbed and felt a pulsing awareness of him with every beat of her heart.
Looking into his harsh countenance, she marveled at his control. He hadn’t lost it once. It was frightening. His face was lined with the costs of his effort, but he had certainly made his point.
Early on, her defenses had toppled. She had eagerly sought his caresses, even encouraged them. He had given her pleasure after pleasure, but always stopped short of removing her clothing. He had a deeply ingrained sense of honor. He hadn’t misused her or gone back on his word. She couldn’t pretend to herself any longer. She did know a lot about this man. She did want him. She couldn’t fight both him and herselfany longer.
Getting up on shaky legs, she faced him. “I’m going to sleep now. You’ve made your point. I want you. I’m not really afraid of you.” She felt vulnerable, exposed. “We’ll sleep together tomorrow. But you might think about this: sex isn’t enough to tie me to you permanently. I may go to my grave wanting you, but I’ll be buried on Earth. I’m not going to get lost in you and your world. I’m entitled to my own dreams.”
He looked genuinely shocked. “I don’t want to take everything from you, Sharon. I want to build a life together with you. If a life on Earth was possible, I would be there with you.”
She looked skeptical. “Easily said, when you’ll never have to do it. It’s so easy for you. You get everything you want.” She gave him a level look and then left the room.
He watched as she left, his body screaming for release, his emotions in turmoil. Liken felt like howling. He dropped his head into his hands. The only thing he truly wanted washer.
In the quiet of the room he was temporarily using as a sleep chamber, as the night progressed the activity of the previous hours kept playing through his mind to torment him. He remembered her softness, her response to his caresses, and the way her body would get wet at his touch.
That night Liken got very little sleep. Besides the aching frustration of his body, his thoughts restlessly turned the situation with Sharon over and over. She was resentful of leaving her homeworld and her own plans. She felt fearful of her vulnerability to him. Perhaps the best way to lessen that fear was to demonstrate to her that she had power over him as well. That wouldn’t be any problem.
He sighed. Only someone with her level of inexperience could have missed the effect she had on him. His cock felt painful with the need to go to her and show her immediately.
Another problem was her need for control, for not letting go. She didn’t like to lose control, didn’t like to be open and vulnerable. Well, she was fighting a losing battle. She was wrong in not realizing sex could form a level of intimacy more powerful than a hundred of her Earth “dates.” She was so powerful in her vulnerability and so totally unaware of it.
She was so beautiful and honest in her responses. It reached him on emotional level that he had never experienced with any previous partners. Because she was so reluctant to share herself, it merely made the sharing more poignant, more special.
He felt powerful when he drew a response from her, it was true. But at the same time, he felt helplessly drawn to her. He wanted her more than he had wanted any other woman physically. Mentally, he wanted to know her thoughts, to see the world from her viewpoint. Emotionally, he wanted to bring joy to her life and watched those eyes light from within with happiness. He was well and truly mired in her. There could be no going back at this point.
He turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He had to find a way to make her want to stay. With a grimace he faced his next thought. He had been very careful with her thus far. Once they began having sex, the urge to merge telepathically would grow stronger. He would eventually lose control.
If she worried about being lost in him now, he could imagine her reaction to that. She would be horrified and panic. If she rejected him during the merge, he could hurt her terribly. He had to initiate her carefully.
When they did merge, she could leave him at a later time. The loss of immediate mental intimacy would be incredibly painful for him. He was risking a lot more than she seemed to think. He had to find a way to bind her to him heart, mind, and soul. He sighed. Easy for him, she had said. Right.
Sharon spent a restless night tossing and turning in her bed. She could hear Liken’s movements in the other bedroom. The house was so quiet that she could hear the rustle of the sheets as he turned one way and then another. A couple of times, she tensed as she heard him get up from the bed and pace the room.
She knew he could by rights come into her room and begin touching her again. Her body, exhausted and swollen, still ached with the knowledge of what he would do to her. Yet, each time, he returned to bed without entering her room. She was relieved. Mostly.
She thought about why he hadn’t just finished things between them tonight. He wanted her to get used to him sexually. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was being so careful. He could have pushed her into more. She was helpless in her attraction to him. There was more to his caution than he was telling her. She felt sure of it.
He was an alien. Granted, he appeared to have the same equipment as any Earth male. Why the caution? Wasn’t sex the same? She thought about the two times she’d felt his mind brush against hers. She didn’t like the thought that he might enter her mind the way he would enter her body. She had avoided asking him about the mind thing because it was too scary.
There had been too many things happening in too short a time. She felt overwhelmed. She hadn’t wanted to deal with even one more surprise – especially the thought of him inside her head. Would he be able to read all her thoughts? Her secrets? Would he be able to do it anytime or just during sex? What could he do? She felt like running away from him as far and as fast as she could. Her heartbeat in her ears, she struggled to calm down and reason things out.
Liken’s sudden appearance in the doorway at the moment nearly scared her to death. She gave a muffled shriek and stared at him in alarm.
“Sharon, what is frightening you?” he asked gently as he came into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He was dressed only in a pair of loose black pants, tied at the top with a small white cord. His chest, large and muscular, gleamed in the dim light as the lights suddenly became a little brighter.
“Did you do that?” she asked in surprise.
“What?” he seemed confused by her question.
“The lights. How did you make them brighter? Where are they?” She kept looking around the room for some kind of light source.
He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “Yes. I did make it brighter in here. I will show you how another time. You are very anxious. What is wrong?” His voice was soothing.
It was strange. Since he had entered the room, she had been feeling calmer. She didn’t know if it was his presence or the interruption from her disturbing thoughts. She needed to get a grip. Whatever the mind thing was, she couldn’t just freak out about it and have a heart attack. She needed to know more about it. Maybe it wasn’t what she thought at all.
She needed to approach this logically and get more information. Liken reached out and gently brushed her hair off her forehead. Looking at his face etched with concern, she decided now was as good a time as any.
“Liken, what is that mind thing you do?” her eyes bravely held his as she braced for the worst.
His face carefully went blank. “This is what has you so fearful?”He had hoped to avoid the explanation until after their merge.
“Well, yes. I mean, I started thinking about tomorrow. About us being together…” her voice grew a little fainter. “What’s going to happen? Will you be inside me? Inside my head?”
Liken could see even in the dim light her cheeks were flushed. She was embarrassed, but still wanting answers. He felt an unexpected wave of tenderness go through him. How to explain without scaring her to death? “Sherree, you don’t have to be fearful. When our bodies join, our minds will join as well. It is a wonderful thing, a beautiful thing.”
She sat up a little, carefully keeping the sheet around her. “Okay, but what does that mean? Is it just for a moment? I mean, am I going to have you in my head all the time after that?”
She looked very unhappy at the thought.“Not exactly. It’s a little hard to explain. I would rather show you than try to describe it.” He was aroused at the mere idea of it.He was trying to hide his growing arousal from her, but it was impossible to hide the hardness pressing outward from his pants.
Pinned by his heavy-lidded gaze, Sharon felt uneasy. He wasn’t really answering her. “What’s the big secret? Why won’t you tell me?”
Liken didn’t want to lie to her, but he couldn’t tell her either. For a fleeting second he wished she had picked Challenge or Capture. He could have merged with her immediately without her consent. It would have been shocking and painful for her, but effective.
The impulse to possess her was strong and the talk of merging was making him hot. Reminding himself that Sharon would not be Sharon if she had picked one of the other options, he decided to give her a small preview without revealing everything. It might lesson her fear. Provided he could stay in control enough to withdraw in time. Time…
Suddenly he realized it was past halfeve. In fact, his time restriction was up. He could take her now. Looking into her face he realized she was growing angry at his evasion. She had no idea that they could now move to the last stage. Perhaps that could work to his advantage.
He moved his body closer to hers on the bed. Something must have shown in his face because Sharon suddenly gave a violent pull on her sheets. It sent him tumbling to the floor.
He ended up sprawled on his butt, eyes wide in shock. It was a contest as to which of them was more surprised. Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes were huge.
Jumping out of bed, she was careful to wrap the sheet around her body quickly. Backing toward the door, she let out a nervous little giggle before she could stop herself. “I really didn’t mean to do that. It’s just…you had that look you get right before you pounce on me. I was just going to grab the sheet and get out of bed…” Her voice was shaky with suppressed laughter.
“You think thrusting me to the floor is funny, do you?” His voice was fierce, but she could see a gleam of amusement in his eyes. He stood up with fluid grace and began stalking toward her slowly.
“No, not really.” She tried not to laugh, but he had looked so shocked. It was the first time she had ever had him at a disadvantage and it felt good. “I can’t help it if you’re clumsy, you know…” She continued to back down the hallway. Looking around wildly, she turned around quickly and made a sudden break for the kitchen.
Giving a mock growl, he caught her quickly and swung her into his arms. Laughing, he managed to keep a hold of her while she wiggled and squirmed. Looking into her laughing eyes and flushed face, he had never wanted her more. His expression changed to open desire.
Sharon stopped squirming as she instantly became aware of her position. Looking down, she realized the sheet had become loosened and was dangerously close to falling off. With a quick grab, she managed to keep from losing it altogether. Clutching it to her, she looked up into his face. In his eyes was a naked hunger that took her breath away. Swallowing past the sudden lump in her throat, she said, “I think you should put me down now.”
His arms tightened. Suddenly moving toward her bedroom, he agreed. “Yes, I think I should.”
When he reached the bed, he gently put her down on her back, and then followed her. Covering her body with his own, he kept most of his weight on his elbows as he gazed into her face.
Sharon began to tremble. “It’s time, isn’t it? We’re not going to stop this time.” Her eyes searched his face, although she already knew the answer.
Shifting his weight to one side, his body no longer looming over her, he moved the other arm across her until his hand gently closed on hers. Her fingers were white where they gripped the sheet. “No,sherree. We’re not going to stop this time…” His voice was husky with need.
He began prying her fingers from the death grip on the sheet. Unconsciously responding to the need in his tone, she began to relax her grip. When she let go, he took her hand and slowly brought it to his mouth. Gently kissing her fingers, his mouth moved to the palm of her hand. She felt the moist heat of his mouth on the sensitive center of her hand as he gently licked then sucked. She felt a wave of heat all the way to her toes. Her trembling increased.
Feeling her body tremble, he released her hand and began gently stroking her hair. “Sherree, I know you are afraid of the merging.” He hesitated. “We will go slowly. We will do this thing together.” Again, he searched for words. “I have not merged before either. I know what I have been told. But that is not the same as doing it. My mind will touch yours, just as my body touches yours. I will go slowly, but there will come a point when I lose control. You will feel but a brief pain, a flash, like a piercing headache. And then there will be only pleasure for both of us.” He waited for her response. The ache to possess herwas likea living thing inside him.
She raised a trembling hand to his face. “Okay.” Her eyes were tear-bright as she put a shaky smile on her face. “We’ll try this together. I can handle a little headache.”
At the gentle touch of her hand on his face, he shuddered. He was so proud of her he could barely breathe. “Sherree, I need you to trust me in this. When the time comes, I am asking you not to turn away or fight me. It will be frightening, but please trust that it will be all right in the end. I will not let anything bad happen to you. You know that, do you not?”The promise in his voice eased her as nothing else could.
Her eyes were full of dawning wonder. “I do know that.” This big, fierce man was practically vibrating from her touch on his face. He wanted her very badly, but he was trying very hard to reassure her. He didn’t just want her. He wanted her willing. He wanted her to trust him.
This wasn’t just sex. Until this moment, she had felt completely helpless in her attraction to him. Now, she suddenly understood that he was just as helpless in his attraction to her. It was quite a revelation. Somehow, it made her feel stronger, more powerful. She had felt off balance and overwhelmed since he had suddenly appeared. Now, for the first time since that moment, she understood that maybe he had felt just as off balance.
She had been trying to cope with sudden changes, but he had been trying to figure out how to make that coping easier for her. She still felt nervous, but a lot of her fear vanished. He was doing the best that he could, just as she was. Moving her hand from his face to behind his head, she began to pull his head toward her. When she felt his breath on her mouth, she whispered, “I trust you, Liken.”
With a little moan, he took her mouth. The kiss was fierce, his mouth hard and demanding. Thrusting his tongue between her lips, he swept inside, enjoying the sweet taste of her. When her tongue began to duel with his, his control, already sketchy, slipped. He moved his hand from her hair and swept it to the edge of the sheet to pull it down. Hearing her low gasp, he suddenly paused and pulled back. “I am sorry,sherree.” His breath was coming in pants. “I want you so much…” With effort, he pulled himself back under control.
Her lips were swollen and she looked dazed. With more tenderness, he returned to her mouth and began gentle, biting little kisses. He moved his mouth across her face to her ear, and then slowly down the side of her neck. His hand, at the top of the sheet, began to inch it down. When at last it was down to her waist, he pulled back a little to see her.
Sharon opened her eyes. He had stopped the drugging kisses to the side of her neck. She froze as she realized the sheet was now down by her waist. His face was pulled tight, his eyes nearly black with wanting. His eyes moved over her breasts like a physical touch. She could feel her nipples hardening almost painfully.
With a little sound of approval, he moved his head down and began to suck. With a loud moan, she arched into his mouth. Pulling back a little, he began running his tongue around and around the hardened tip. “You are so beautiful…so responsive…”
He switched to the other breast and began licking and sucking it. “I want them hard and red from my mouth…” His hand moved back to her abandoned breast and began massaging. Sharon shuddered with the pleasure of it. “You feel so good to me,sherree…” His mouth continued to tease and torment her breast.
His fingers on the other breast began to focus on her nipple. He gently rolled and pulled. Sharon could not hold back another moan. He quickly switched breasts. Licking, sucking, even gently biting, his mouth was driving her out of her mind. She brought both hands to the back of his head and pressed him even closer.
With a pleased chuckle, he complied, growing rougher, more demanding. “That’s it…you are feeling it now, are you not?” She was twisting underneath him, trying to get closer. “I think I will keep these nipples hard and wanting all the time. You are very sensitive. I plan to discover how sensitive…”
Her hips were rising and falling. He was still on his side, half bent over her. He caught the edge of the sheet in his hand as her hips rolled upward and pulled it quickly past her waist. Pulling back from her breast, he looked down at what he had revealed.
She was incredible. Those full breasts tapered to a small waist then rounded to generous hips. The dark triangle of hair between her long legs was glinting with moisture. He felt his mouth water.
With a little groan, he moved so that his upper body was between her legs. She raised up a little on her elbows to look down at him. Holding her gaze, he began placing light kisses on her stomach around her navel. She looked dazed, as if she were in a trance. The musky smell of her sex lured him downward. Still holding her gaze, he licked down her stomach to just above her curls. Her head went back and her entire body shuddered.
Placing light kisses into her curls, he kept his eyes on her face. Blowing gently into her hair, he said firmly, “Look at me…” She lifted her head slowly as if it was heavily weighted. Green eyes locked with blue as he said, “Watch me taste you…”
With that, he swept his tongue in one long glide from her clitoris downward. Probing her opening, he pushed his tongue into her as far as it would go, and then journeyed back to circle her clit. He began to gently lap, reveling in her taste, her smell. He moaned low in his throat and the vibration nearly sent Sharon over the edge.
Her body had been reduced to sheer sensation. The feel of his handsas theymassagedand tormentedher breasts, the feel of his mouth and tongue between her legs were all too much.She was hot, her body aching. She couldn’t seem to get enough air. He was eating her alive.
She was wetter than she’d ever been in her life. She could feel that slick wetness dripping down. She could see his head moving between her legs. As he gently sucked on her clitoris, his demanding gaze held her captive. One hand moved from her breast. There was a sudden pressure inside her sex as one long finger probed.She felt herself tightening, the tension building. She wanted his hardness between her legs, filling her up. She wanted his cock plunging into her. She muttered, “Please…”
He moved back from her to stand up. Still lying on her elbows, she watched him as he untied the top of his pants and pulled them down, stepping out of them. He wore nothing underneath. He stood back up, already moving to get back on the bed.
“Wait!” At her word, he froze in surprise. Licking her lips without realizing just how provocative the sight was to Liken, she said huskily, “I want to see you.”
With a visible nod in relief, he walked to the head of the bed. Turning her body toward him, she took a slow inventory. He was magnificent. The hard, sculpted muscles of his chest gave way to a narrow waist and lean hips.
His cock thrust upward proudly toward his stomach. It was larger than the ones she had seen before. Just the sight of it made her mouth go dry. It was about eight inches long, with a large tip already nearly purple in color. As she looked, it gave a little jump, as if in recognition. With a start, her eyes leapt up to his face. He was watching her reaction closely. With a little smile of approval, she licked her lips. “Wow. You are amazing.”
A broad grin spread across his face. Apparently, human male or alien male, they all wanted some sign of approval when their masculinity was on the line. His voice was deep and rough. “I am glad you think so,sherree.”
Her smile widened in response. Reaching out her hand slowly, she let one fingertip glide from the tip of his cock all the way to the base. When she reached the base, she encircled it with the rest of her hand.He was so large; she could barely put her fingers around him.His answering groan was so loud, she nearly let him go.
With lightning reflexes, he brought his hand over hers, holding it in place. His head was thrown back with his eyes tightly shut in pleasure. Sharon felt her body tense with wanting. He looked so hot. As his hand moved hers on his cock in slow up and down motions she watched the planes of his face grow harsher.
He looked powerful and vulnerable at the same time. His masculine beauty singed her senses. Feeling a shudder move through him, she felt powerful. She suddenly stopped the motion of her hand. “Look at me, “she demanded.
He opened his eyes abruptly. He looked wild, nearly out of control. She could see him visibly trying to grab hold of his discipline. Some devil within her wanted to push him right to the edge. To make him as out of control as he always made her.
Without warning, she leaned over and took as much of him into her mouth as she could. The feel of his hardness in her mouth was nearly indescribable. His skin was smooth and soft, although his cock was hard and huge in her mouth. She could actually feel him throb as she lightly stroked her tongue along his length.
Liken froze, every muscle in his body locking into place. He was totally focused on the moist heat of Sharon’smouth on his cock. It was unbelievable. Jerking his hand out from under hers, he brought both hands up to her head, trying to hold her in place. His knees felt weak and he could literally feel the blood drain from his head.
She disregarded his gesture and began to move her head up and down, her mouth moving almost the length of his cock, sucking. His heart seemed to stop in his chest. He could barely breath. His hands clenched fistfuls of her hair as she moved again and again carrying him closer to the edge. With a moan, he gave himself up to the pleasure and to her. He let her take him with her mouth until he knew he was in danger of coming.
Drawing on every ounce of discipline he possessed, he pulled her head back and away from his cock. When she raised glowing green eyes to his face in question, he stared down at her. With a muffled oath, he pushed her back on the bed and came over her, letting her feel the full weight of his body, the intensity of his need. Shifting underneath him, she felt his hard cock graze her sex and suddenly went still beneath him. Breathing heavily, he shifted his weight up onto his elbows and used his legs to push hers apart. Leaning down, he began kissing her frantically.
Sharon was overwhelmed. Liken’s lower body was pressing into hers. His mouth was eating at hers like he was starving. She returned his kisses eagerly, wanting more, needing more of him. With a muffled moan into her mouth, he began to rub his cock against the outside of her sex. She was drowning in sensation. With an answering moan, she pressed her hips upward into his weight.
It took a second before she realized something else was happening as well. She could feel his mind pressing against hers. Even though he had done it before, it startled her enough to make her go still beneath him.
With a little moan, he breathed into her mouth, “Trust me,sherree…please…it will be so good…”
His hips pushed down against hers again, pantomiming the act they both craved. She pushed back, feeling bursts of pleasure at the friction of their bodies. He immediately adjusted his position so that the next time he pressed, his cock pressed at the entrance to her opening. She shook with desire and nerves. “I do want you…” She raised her hips.
His next thrust took him a little inside. He slowed his movement. “You are so tight…I will be careful…” With a gentle thrust, he moved further in.He could feel the tightness of her inner walls gently stretch to accommodate him.
Sharon felt his hardness filling her. She was stunned by what she felt. He was too big. She had to relax or it was going to be painful. She gasped and tried to ignore the pressing feeling of him in her head. She could feel the weight of his mind against hers like a tangible thing. It was scary. He seemed to be pushing into her body and into her mind at the same time. She was tensing up. She couldn’t help it.
Liken slowed even further. His forehead was coated with sweat. He looked like he was in agony. “Sherree, stay with me… “ His next thrust was firmer, making significant headway. He was nearly all the way inside her now.
She could see what his gentleness was costing him. With a deep breath, she consciously focused on relaxing her inner muscles. The press of his mind against her had eased a little, which helped. The next thrust he went deeply, completely inside her. When he was in her to the hilt, they both stopped moving for a second. It was exquisite.
Sharon felt stretched and full. It was so incredible. For a moment she shut her eyes, just savoring the feel of him deep inside her. Then her eyes opened and locked on his in wonder.
Her look seemed to melt something inside him. His eyes lit and his mouth curved tenderly. Leaning down, he softly kissed her mouth. He began thrusting gently in and out of her.
Each thrust inward lit her on fire. She began to move with him. She wanted more. Eyes closing, head thrown back, she arched upward further, seeking the strength of his body. Her hips surged to meet his thrusts.
As if he had been waiting for that response, he arched his spine. His thrusts became harder, faster. With each thrust, she could feel his mind pressing harder against hers. His mind was probing at hers, just as his body was probing. Eyes opening in fear, she held his gaze as if her life depended upon it.
With a moan, he muttered, “trust me… please…”
At his plea, she felt something inside herself give. She did trust him. Suddenly, she felt a blinding pain in her head, as if someone had driven a spike through it. She screamed.
They both stopped moving. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she instinctively moved her hands up to her head. For a minute, all she could feel was the overwhelming pain. Then, gradually, she became aware of something else. Feelings, not her own, began to register. She could feel him in her mind like a wave. It was like he was moving through her. She could feel waves of concern and regret, but mixed with those was a sense of satisfaction and possession.
His voice was gruff with concern. “Are you alright?”
Feeling a little hysterical, she shook her head no. She couldn’t speak.
“Just relax for minute,sherree. All will be well. You have my oath on it.”Sharon could feel and hear his sincerity. His actual words suddenly penetrated. Oath was probably an unfortunate word choice at that moment.It was their stupid oath that had gotten her into this…whatever this was,she thought angrily.
Reaching down to place a gentle kiss on her lips, Liken said, “Maybe so,sherree, but I am grateful for that oath. I am grateful for you.”
With a start of surprise, she realized he had known what she was thinking. She immediately wondered if he could read her mind all the time now. She was horrified at the thought.
With a little smile, he said, “Notall the time,sherree. I will never completely leave you, but you will have some privacy. To do otherwise would be unhealthy for both of us. Ahhh, you still feel horrified. Do not fear this merging, Sharon. There are a great many benefits for me to show you.” He gently thrust into her body. “Let me show you.”
A strong wave of pleasure caught her by surprise. She was feeling not only her own pleasure, but his as well. As his thrusts grew stronger, she arched her body in response.
With a little moan, he said, “Yes, that is it… “
His thrusts increased in tempo. As she rose up to meet him, she felt waves of pleasure surging back and forth between them. It was impossible to separate the two sensations. With a groan, she pushed against him harder, wanting more.
He rose up on his elbows, gaining leverage. He was really surging into her hard, pulling back, then surging forward to the hilt again and again. It felt so incredible that she could barely breathe.
Looking down into her face, Liken muttered, “Merging allows me to know how you feel when I do this…” He pushed into her hard on the downstroke and used his hips to pin hers.
She felt the pressure on her clitoris and cried out in surprise and pleasure. His answering groan was deep and husky. He kept stroking her like that again and again, making the pressure inside both of them build higher and higher.
Without realizing it, her hands were running from his shoulders down his back all the way to his hips. She grabbed onto his ass and held on, her nails biting into him. The tiny pinpricks of pain nearly sent him over the edge. He slammed into her harder. With a muttered oath, he grabbed one of her hands and pulled it over her head, then quickly did the same with the opposite hand. Holding both arms over her head, he kept pounding into her.
With ruthless precision, he never lost rhythm. They were both moaning now. Sweat turned their bodies slick. Driving into her, he stared down into her face. Between gasps of air, he said, “Go over…just give into it…no more control,sherree…only this…” He was rough, demanding, pushing her even harder.
All the tension building inside her seemed to tighten in that moment. With a scream, she let loose, feeling her body contract and then release over and over again. Waves of pleasure poured through her, sending her higher.
As her inner muscles milked him, he moaned loudly, still pumping. Her pleasure sent him right over the edge. With an even louder groan, he exploded, spewing into her. She could feel his warmth inside her as the waves of his pleasure suddenly hit her, too. She was blind with pleasure, deaf with it. For a moment, the two of them were locked together in shared pleasure, unsure who was feeling exactly what and not really caring. It was intense, unbelievable.
When the feelings began to fade, he seemed to suddenly realize he was leaning on her heavily. He carefully twisted to lie on his back, bringing her up against him. With her head on his chest, his hand rubbing her back, both of them focused on simply breathing. Eventually, the gasping sounds of their breaths ceased and the room grew quiet.
Sharon tried to make some sense out of what had just happened. It had been incredibly intense, unlike anything she had ever experienced. Sex was not like whatever this had been. This was something else.
Liken’s voice broke the silence. “It was not sex, Sharon. It was merging. And it was incredible.”
Sharon entire body went stiff. The hands on her back never faltered, just continued with their soothing motions. “I thought you wouldn’t be able to read my mind all the time.” Her voice held accusation as well as hurt. She rose up a little to see his face.
With a little grimace, he shook his head. “You misunderstood. I said you would have some privacy,sherree. It is not that I cannot read your mind all the time. It is more that I will not.”
“Well, stop then.” She was getting freaked out. “Wait a minute…you can do this any time, even if I’m not in the same room with you? Even if…”
His voice was patient. “Yes, even if you go back to Earth. I would like to remind you, though, that you will not be going back to Earth. Do you honestly think we are not compatible after this?” His eyes were beginning to glitter with anger.
He was angry, but underneath that, he was worried about losing her. Sharon realized she could feel his emotions quite clearly. She didn’t have any trouble separating what he was feeling from what she was feeling. There was some distance now. It was different than it had been when they were having sex, more clearly defined. Hmmm. He could read her mind, but she could read his emotions. That might prove interesting.
“I didn’t say we weren’t compatible sexually. But there’s more to a relationship than sex.” Her mouth turned up at the corners in a sleepy little smile. “Evenif it isgreat sex.”
Going along with her lighter tone for the moment, Liken consciously relaxed his shoulders. “Of course.” His voice held lazy male satisfaction. “Great sex, friendship, great sex, respect, great sex,liking, and then, of course, there is great sex. I did mention that one, did I not?” His smile was teasing.
She shook her head in mock surprise. “I believe that’s the first I’ve heard of it. And to think I held the belief that men are shallow creatures with no clue about what’s important in a relationship.” Her eyes were lit with laughter, but her lids were falling. She was trying to stay awake, but it was a losing battle.
With great tenderness his hand moved from her shoulder to the back of her head. “I think I do not have the energy left for this debate nor do you.” With a gentle push, he moved her head back onto his chest. “You are exhausted,sherree. Let us rest now. Tomorrow is soon enough to discuss male flaws.”
Unconsciously rubbing her check against his chest, she relaxed into the gentle feel of his hands moving soothingly over her back. She let out a little sigh. “Liken…”
Her voice was so soft he would not have heard her without his extraordinary hearing. “Yes?”
“It was beautiful, wasn’t it?” Her voice faded a little with each word. Her lids closed as she drifted off.
Reaching down to place a soft kiss on her head, he whispered, “Yes,sherree, it was beautiful.”
He lay there in the dim room, seeing images of Sharon in his mind. Sharon standing across from him as they made their oath. Sharon, staring at the portal her eyes wide with fear and courage. Sharon, at the table eating, biting into the yellowrerha fruit, her grimace comical as she quickly put it back onto her plate. Sharon, coming apart in his arms, in his bed.
With a sigh of his own, he reduced the room to darkness, and ignored the renewing ache in his body. The merging had been beautiful. But it was not just her physical beauty and their passion that had made it so incredible. It was her inner beauty as they joined that had brought such joy. He would never grow tired of experiencing the wonder of her.
They were going to be very happy together. She could not leave him. He would do whatever he must to make sure of it. Her comment about males being shallow echoed in his mind. His last thought before sleep claimed him rang with determination. He might be shallow, but stupid he was not. He would find a way to keep her.