Astonish Read online

  She giggled again and stroked his hair.

  “You don’t mind the bite?” there was a flicker of insecurity in his eyes.

  She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I don’t know. We will have to try it again just to make sure.”

  Chapter Seven

  Dinner at the village was sparsely populated. Ceelie smiled sheepishly at the exhausted couples that did manage to attend. Warcoth and Gilla were sitting side by side, occasionally holding hands as they passed food to the avatars that were, themselves, a little tired.

  The curious gazes that focussed on Ceelie’s bite were intense and constant. She finally had to ask Rimeer, “I am guessing that the biting is no longer a common thing.”

  He wove his fingers through hers. His hair gleamed from their bath. “It is not. Drinking of the water brought them closer to the planet, so a bond is formed on a sub-network of senses now. They do not need the more aggressive bond that my people formed.”

  “You bonded by blood.”

  “It proved compatibility. The women bit the men, the men the women and if either suffered from any side effects beyond the euphoria, the match was negated.”

  She leaned forward. “You would enjoy being bitten yourself?”

  He sighed. “You are not equipped to engage in that sort of bite.”

  Ceelie twisted her lips and contacted Hassoi. Would he truly want me to be able to bite him?

  Yes. He yearns to feel your teeth in his flesh as you tighten around him.

  Can you start the change?

  It has already begun.

  Ceelie smiled. “I might be. You haven’t seen all the changes that Hassoi has engaged in. He simply didn’t get your entire list.”

  “I told him not to change your appearance.”

  “He took that to mean teeth as well. He is working on it as we speak.” She could feel the tingle of power that accompanied Hassoi’s changes. It was an odd feeling to have fangs taking the place of the first three teeth next to her incisors on either side. These teeth were meant for serious slicing. There was no doubt about it.

  “You will have to bear with me as the teeth come in.” She ran a finger along the edge of her teeth. When she tasted blood, she pulled her finger out.

  “You seriously asked Hassoi for bonding teeth?” Rimeer’s features took on a cast that she was becoming intimately familiar with. He was turned on.

  “I did. Since we are bonded mates, I may as well go all the way, so to speak.”

  He pulled her onto his lap and settled her against him. “Hassoi is healing you, but you have had enough going all the way for the day. Relax and rest. We will be travelling quite a bit over the next few days, so you will need to rest when you can.”

  “Why will we travel?”

  “Your people need to see you. Hassoi has spread the word that he has tapped a second avatar and that she is not of this world. They will need to see you to understand.”

  Biting her lip, she looked up at him. “Am I that hard to fathom?”

  Rimeer hugged her tightly. “It is a pursuit that I will give myself to for the next thousand years or so. After that, I may ask for a hint.”

  She sighed and leaned against him, Hassoi hard at work healing and reshaping parts of her body. She dreamed of Earth until Rimeer woke her again.

  The air was crisp and cold. She shivered, but it was a reflex that was unnecessary. Her body registered the cold but did not feel it.

  “Where are we?”

  Rimeer set her on her feet and walked with one arm around her waist. “We are at the top of the world. The northernmost of Hassoi’s people reside here.”

  They waded through snow and paced across icy stones. A light came close to them and one of the Hassoi came out to greet them.

  “Welcome, Avatars. Rimeer, it is good to see you again.” The smaller male smiled at her bond mate before he bowed to her. “Welcome, lady. Hassoi’s choice was well made. You are carved of the ice and as beautiful as the stone.”

  It is a compliment. They live in the ice and are comparing you to the most lovely of their crystals.

  Thanks for the heads up.

  Hassoi’s amusement spilled through her and Rimeer chortled. “She is indeed, with the steam of the deepest hot spring.”

  The headman raised his brow and gestured for them to follow.

  They walked through the snow and entered a cavern that was lit from within. The walls were made of rainbow crystals that shared light from one to the other.

  “The entire village is underground?” Ceelie tried to keep her voice low.

  “It is. They grow their crops, raise their children, live, love and all under the surface of Hassoi.” Rimeer kept his arm around her as they entered the bright light of the underground village.

  The headman waved his arms. “I offer you the hospitality of our home.”

  Rimeer nodded. “And we accept it gratefully.” His voice carried in the sudden silence and a cheer broke out.

  Rimeer lifted Ceelie’s hand and pressed a kiss to it. “My bond mate, Ceelie Orlie. Chosen of Hassoi and my beloved.”

  She smiled at the faces that had more grey than green. “I thank you for your hospitality. It is appreciated.”

  Another cheer sounded and they were being shepherded to the head table where a meal was waiting.

  “Is this standard?” Ceelie whispered to him as course after course of food was offered.

  “It is when we are on a wedding journey.” He offered her a piece from his plate and she nibbled delicately at it.

  “What is a wedding journey?”

  “Each newly wedded couple needs to visit and pay homage to their ancestors when they are first wed. They visit the homes of their last three generations and then they can return to the village of their choice to build a home of their own. Most couples meet at cross-village festivities, so there are usually a minimum of two villages involved.”

  “I did wonder how cross-breeding was accomplished.”

  “It used to be managed by war. We would take the unwed females of the defeated village.” He tore apart a loaf of bread with his long, strong fingers.

  “How old were you when you became the avatar?” She sipped at the water she was given.

  “I was in my third decade, still too young to see what I saw. I knew that there had to be a better way to live, a way that would still the battle between my people. I went and asked Hassoi for an option and this is where I ended up. I do not regret it, but it has not been easy for me at times, as your life has not been for you.”

  She swallowed. “You saw my past?”

  “I did. It was most enlightening. You have spent your life trying to do your best and being thwarted at every turn. You will not be blocked from you path here. You will be honoured for your efforts.”

  Ceelie couldn’t imagine a lifetime where she was given respect, but she would trust that she might understand it in time.

  “Why do the folk travel? Why not simply stay in one place?”

  Rimeer grinned. “Sex.”

  “What?”

  “When our kind have sex, we create a wave of emotion that spreads like a stone dropped into water. The cascade is felt and it stirs other couples into mating. A newlywed couple is always welcome in any village for this one side effect.”

  Her blush filled her cheeks and snaked down her chest.

  “Have I mentioned how much I like your change in colouring when you are flustered or aroused?” Rimeer drew his fingers across her skin just under her collarbone.

  “No. You haven’t mentioned it. So, as a bonded couple, we are expected to have sex in every village we visit?”

  His waggling eyebrows were answer enough.

  She stood up, dropped into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What are you waiting for?”

  His laughter spilled over her and he got to his feet, carrying her to a guesthouse.

  As they moved together, they felt the power mount until it spilled into the air a
round them, blessing the village and its people with a joyful lust that cascaded outward in an ever-widening circle.

  Ceelie cuddled up next to Rimeer and had to admit, it was beyond her to sneer at another race’s tradition, especially when the results were so…satisfying.

  Chapter Eight

  They managed to visit three or more villages per day. By the time they finished their circuit, Ceelie was exhausted.

  “I just want to sleep one night in your arms without trying to screw our way to a village’s prosperity.” She yawned and smiled at her mate. They were moving rapidly through the forest again. Her speed walking had kicked in during the middle of week two.

  He was looking a little ragged around the edges. “I agree. I want nothing more than to curl around you and simply feel you breathing softly against my chest.”

  Warcoth greeted them at their return. “Congratulations on your triumphant tour, Avatars. We have been blessed several times over as the waves of your celebration washed over us.”

  Ceelie groaned. “The blessing was our pleasure, Warcoth.”

  It was true. There had been an endless wave of pleasure, pebbles in a pond and they had run across their own effect several times during their travels.

  Rimeer stood behind her and loosely draped his arms around her waist. “Is there any news we need to know, Warcoth?”

  “There is a tangle of briars growing in the forest, but Hassoi has assured us it is nothing dangerous.”

  Ceelie looked up at Rimeer, “What are you and Hassoi up to?”

  He chuckled. “It’s a surprise.”

  Warcoth smiled at her. “Lady, the villages have been sending clothing for you. Apparently, Rimeer has been hard on your attire.”

  Ceelie grinned. The green gown that she had started with had died at the nineteenth village at the abrading surface against a rock wall. The replacement that the village had offered lasted until they spent a night next to the hot springs.

  She had come up with a compromise for the frantic seamstresses who only had hours to create something for the avatar. She was currently wearing two wide swaths of fabric. The first was folded carefully and wrapped around her breasts, the necklace that Hassoi provided her with was knotted in the centre as support. Around her hips, she knotted another panel of fabric that allowed Rimeer access while giving her a socially acceptable appearance.

  To Ceelie’s eyes, her clothing reminded her of old sword and sorcery movies. All she needed was a few pounds of jewellery and she was ready to play the role of barbarian queen.

  Rimeer was more than happy with her clothing. The wrap around her waist did not fight his hands and with a few short tugs, she would be naked. With even less effort, he could flip the skirt out of the way and thrust into her. It was a win-win scenario.

  “Can I see the surprise?”

  He paused and consulted Hassoi. “Yes, you can.”

  Without a goodbye, he took her hand and they walked rapidly from the village toward the wall of briars.

  They stopped and she recognized the area. “This is the mouth of the spring. It is hidden behind the tangle.”

  The wall of briars was huge. It was over thirty feet tall and over a hundred feet wide. “What is in there? Sleeping beauty?”

  He laughed. “Now that we are here, it will retract.”

  His words were the trigger that the vines seemed to need. As they watched, the briars crumbled into dust and exposed what they were hiding.

  “Holy heck.” Ceelie’s mouth opened in shock.

  It was her house. The house in her mind that she had clung to while her world had rocked around her. It was made of wood, stone and living trees, but it was her house.

  “How did…it’s my…” she took step after step forward.

  Rimeer let her enter on her own.

  Ceelie wandered into the house and explored it with her enhanced speed. The rooms were as she pictured them. The furnishings were perfect and in the centre, where she had placed a fireplace in her mind, was the spring of Hassoi.

  She turned and looked at her bonded mate. “It is all here. Everything I ever dreamed of, it’s all in here. Why?”

  Rimeer smiled. “You give me everything that I need, why should I not give you what you want?”

  She rushed into his arms and held him, feeling Hassoi join their embrace. It was a genuine emotion, not a protocol, not an attempt to be politically correct for an audience. She wanted nothing more than to hold him all through the night and at this moment she realized that it was possible.

  She sighed and rubbed against him. “Can we go to bed?”

  He laughed and Hassoi smiled through his eyes. “Did you have me build a bed?”

  “Three that I counted. One should be big enough for Rimeer, so can we just have a nice rest without engaging in the sacrifice of pleasure?”

  Hassoi grinned and stroked her cheek. “You have more than earned it, but on the morrow, I will need my avatars again.”

  Rimeer replaced Hassoi in his own body and sighed. “Which way to the bedroom?”

  She laughed and stepped out of his embrace, taking his hand and hauling him to the second level where the master bedroom held court.

  She untied her breast wrap and let it slither to the floor while she worked at the knot that held up her skirt.

  When she had first started traipsing around barefoot, she had expected her feet to pick up dirt. Hassoi didn’t let his avatar get dirty. Her skin repelled dirt and attracted nothing but her bond mate. It was a funny situation, but she only needed to shower or bathe after sex. Cum was the only thing that stuck to her newly slicked skin.

  Rimeer’s clothing didn’t fight her and his erection bucked lightly as she pressed a soft kiss and lick to it while she knelt to draw his trousers down. “The boots are all yours, Rimeer.”

  He snickered and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling his boots off, one by one.

  Ceelie turned back the covers and slid inside, holding the blankets up in invitation.

  He didn’t make her wait. Rimeer slid in next to her and gathered her in his arms. They both sighed happily.

  “I have to tell you, in the last month, I never thought that this would happen, though I did dream of it.”

  Ceelie looked up at him in shock. “I thought that I was the only one dreaming of some quiet time with you. I mean I enjoyed everything we have done and everywhere we have done it, but this was what I needed.”

  He cuddled her tightly against him, stroking his hands up and down her spine.

  His erection was still between them, but he showed no inclination to use it and that was fine with her, though her body whined a little in disappointment.

  The afternoon light spilled over them as their breathing synched and they fell into a light sleep.

  As evening fell, Ceelie woke in Rimeer’s arms. She turned so that her back was against his chest and snuggled in tight. One of his hands cupped her breast and he nuzzled the joint between neck and shoulder. With his thigh, he lifted her upper leg and his cock slid against her wet folds.

  He rocked his hips slowly against her, working into her slowly and deliberately.

  The golden haze of pleasure rippled over her as they rocked lazily together. There was no frenzy, no intensity, no urgency, only the pleasure of two bodies working together in harmony.

  They shifted position and she rode him until his face took on an expression she knew very well. Laughter welled as he lifted her, flipped her and brought her to her hands and knees.

  He thrust back into her, pounding hard and fast until she bucked back and screamed as light surrounded her in a bright, burning wave. He shouted and slammed against her, grinding his hips to her buttocks as his cock jetted wave after wave of cum into her.

  When their bodies stilled and their breathing returned to normal, they curled together, still joined and got a good night’s rest.

  Chapter Nine

  The ships came as a bit of a surprise to Ceelie. She had gotten used to the low-tech that
was the standard on Hassoi. Her com unit was in her home, just as she had designed it and since she knew that none of the folk had been in the house during construction, it did make her rather curious as to who had installed it.

  Three shuttles came down and landed in the clearing, each disgorging a representative of a different species or gender.

  Ceelie and Rimeer walked toward the newcomers together.

  Ceelie was surprised to see two Sector Guard uniforms with the third male. “Greetings, visitors.”

  The woman in the uniform stood near the male and the connection between them was almost visible. “I am Counsel, this is Contract and over there is Representative Tau of the Tival. We have come to help the process along.”

  Rimeer kept an arm loosely around Ceelie’s waist. “Please, come with us to the negotiation area. Food has been prepared.”

  They waved their guests toward the tables and chairs that had been set up under the canopy.

  The Tival Representative kept staring at Ceelie and she looked at him with Hassoi in her eyes. “You are staring, Representative Tau.”

  He swallowed nervously. “I was told that you harboured ill will toward my people.”

  She laughed. “It was Keeln that I did not like. He considers his employees to be property. As a Terran, I am no one’s property.”

  Tau looked to Rimeer. “Would you agree with that statement, Avatar?”

  Rimeer chuckled. “Ceelie and I are bond mates. I am hers as she is mine. It is an equitable arrangement.”

  Counsel and Contract smiled at each other.

  Ceelie stifled a laugh. She knew all about the partners of the Sector Guard. Several Terrans were members of the Guard and a bonding was part of their partnerships.

  Counsel smiled at Ceelie, “May I walk with you? I would like a moment alone.”

  Ceelie pressed a kiss to Rimeer’s cheek. “You boys play nice.”

  She gestured to Counsel and she started to walk along the edge of the woods.

  Counsel smiled at her, her Wyoran features quite pleasantly attractive. “I have been sent to make sure that you are adapting well to being an planetary avatar.”