Close Encounters (11 page)

Unafraid but curious, I watched his face loom larger in my vision until he blocked out all external stimulation. Slowly, so very slowly, his lips, warm and firm, touched mine.

M
ating rituals vary wildly from race to race, but kissing is one of those odd practices that cross every societal boundary. Any species with lips—and there are a few without them—does it in one form or another.

Thor did it
very
well, indeed.

His kiss shouldn’t have surprised me. There had been a spark between us since the beginning, and I’m not an innocent by any means. I’d been kissed more times than I could count. But nothing that had gone before prepared me for my reaction to Thor.

At the first touch of his lips, prisms of deep, rich light shot across the landscape behind my closed eyes, increasing the dizzying sense that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore, Toto. And it didn’t matter. I only knew Thor’s arms were around me, his mouth devouring mine.

His lips were hot, demanding, and my arms snaked around his neck, pulling him even more tightly to me as I went up on tiptoe to reach him. With a mind of their own, my hands buried themselves in his hair, and my tongue tentatively touched his before plunging into the exercise wholeheartedly. Electricity jolted through me, tightening my muscles, turning my stomach inside out and making me ache in places where I hadn’t ached before.

He tasted so wonderful that I moaned. The jolt turned into a power blowout as he slanted his head to reach me better, his lips moving on mine, luring me to further abandon all thought and simply react. I’d gone through the standard sexual training in the crèche, and considered myself reasonably sophisticated. Sex was fun, something to be enjoyed whenever possible. The only time I’d had a problem with sex was the one time I’d tried to turn the act into something more. But even then, staying in control hadn’t been a problem for me. That appeared to have changed, and in a big way.

For a timeless age, I drifted in a place where nothing existed except Thor. His scent, so warm and erotic and male, enfolded me, turned my legs to jelly. If he hadn’t been holding me up, I would have collapsed.

The buzzing in my head became a chorus of musical chimes, a symphony of epic proportions. And for a split second, I caught a glimpse of something I couldn’t explain. On a mental plain, a hexagonal building made of faceted black crystal floated above a lush green paradise. Sunlight sparked off its surfaces, creating a rainbow effect on the surrounding foliage, and I was filled with a longing so intense it was painful. This was where I belonged, a place where I’d never be alone again. It was beautiful and safe and perfect. Something to be desired with every fiber of my being. Mentally, I reached for it, desperate to touch it, to hold onto it at all costs. It was so close…

Abruptly, Thor pulled back, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “Kuyya,” he rumbled the Buri version of my name, his voice rich and husky, and then dropped his forehead to mine.

It was hard to determine which of us shook harder. But mixed with the overwhelming passion was a feeling of grief and loss so strong that my eyes filled with tears. The building was gone.

What in the thirteen hells was wrong with me? Maybe I should have Max check my hormone levels? At the very least, I needed to put some space between me and Thor.

It wasn’t until I tried to step back that I realized my feet were dangling a foot off the ground. At some point, Thor had straightened, taking me with him. Probably didn’t want to get a crick in his neck, I thought a tad hysterically. “You can put me down, now.” My voice came out a whispered croak.

He grinned at me, white teeth flashing. And then he shook his head.

“No?” I glared at him suspiciously. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

One shoulder lifted in a shrug, and he loosened his grip, allowing me to slide down his body. I was temporarily distracted from the conversation when I noticed Thor’s state of arousal. At least, I hoped to the goddess of the fifth hell he was aroused. Because if he wasn’t, I was going to be in Big Trouble when he got that way. It said a lot about my state of mind that I never doubted we would eventually make love.

Keeping my gaze away from his loincloth, I forced my mind back to the subject of communication. “Please, if you understand me, I need to know. This whole thing could be settled in a matter of hours, and your people safe.” I grasped his arm. “Is there a way we can talk?”

He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek, his expression indecipherable.

Soon.

The word floated across my mind like a gentle ripple on the surface of a still pond, leaving me to wonder if I’d imagined it. After all, anyone who saw floating crystal buildings while they were being kissed senseless could have a severe reality problem. Maybe I’d accidentally come into contact with a hallucinogen.

Before I could decide, Thor took my hand and tugged me toward my hut. He was still holding it when we entered the clearing and I came to a screeching halt.

Junior and Ghost were stacking my belongings in a neat pile outside the door. Junior must have conquered his fear of the hut, because even as I watched, he headed back inside for another load in spite of the protests coming from a large flock of dragon birds. They were diving and swooping and screeching as though they thought the Buri were robbing me blind. As soon as the tiny creatures spotted me, they settled to the roof of the hut, looking smug and tossing you’re gonna-get-it-now chirps at Ghost and Junior.

I yanked my hand from Thor’s grip and strode forward. “Hold it right there.”

Both Buri ignored me, Ghost actually walking around me to put another crate of supplies on the ground. I would have sworn the dragon birds gave a collective gasp at this rudeness.

I propped my hands on my hips. “Max!”

“Yes, Kiera?”

“Why didn’t you stop them?”

His tone was injured when he answered. “You told me not to interfere with the Buri unless they tried to board me.”

“That didn’t mean you should allow them to ransack the hut.” I actually forgot myself to the point where I was speaking aloud instead of subvocalizing, and the Buri gave me odd looks.

Fortunately, they still couldn’t hear Max. I wasn’t sure how they’d react to his disembodied voice floating through the air.

“They aren’t hurting any of the equipment. They haven’t even entered the lab. I think their intent is to move you to the Buri village, and you’ve always spent time living with the races you’ve been assigned to. You said the only way to really know a species is to live with them, learn their culture.”

“You don’t have to quote me, damn it. I know what I said.” Smart-ass ship. It didn’t help that he was right. But for some reason, I was uneasy about moving to the Buri village. I glanced at Thor to check his reaction, and discovered he was emanating a palpable air of satisfaction.

With a sigh and a deep sense of resignation, I went to the storage room and pulled out the antigrav sled. Junior’s eyes lit up, and he immediately began transferring everything to the pallet. Not only did they load my clothes, they loaded everything from the supply section of the hut. Only the lab and kitchen units remained. Max could supply power remotely if I chose to move the entire setup, but living in one of the Buri buildings would make me more accessible to the clan. And I could always come back anytime I needed to use the lab.

With the sled loaded, they wasted no time heading back to the village, several flocks of dragon birds trailing along in our wake. Junior and Ghost took the lead, tugging the sled behind them, occasionally exchanging comments and laughing. Thor, back to his dignified silence, stayed at my side, occasionally allowing our arms to brush as we walked, each contact sending nearly visible sparks between us. I needed to get my mind off the sexual vibrations he was sending in my direction. “Max, where’s Crigo?”

“He’s—busy.”

I rolled my eyes at the tinge of embarrassment in his voice. “Well, I guess if he comes back to the hut and I’m not there, he’ll figure out where I’ve gone. If he can’t, I’m sure a dragon bird will inform him.” I was being sarcastic, but to my surprise, two of the little birds immediately took off, headed in the direction of where I’d last seen Crigo. Could it be?

Nah, just my imagination.

We were near the village when Max spoke again. “Kiera, one of my satellites is receiving a transmission from the Federation Archives.”

“Any idea what it is?”

“From the size, it’s probably the information you requested on the Ashwani.”

Thor scowled at me, but I paid him no attention. “Let me know when you have the data downloaded.”

“I estimate it will take approximately twenty-four hours to sort through it for relevance.”

“Okay.”

The truth was, I didn’t care much about the Ashwani at the moment. All I wanted was some time alone to try and sort out what had happened when Thor kissed me. My reaction to the crystal building had me worried. Even now, there was a dull, hollow ache in my middle that felt suspiciously like homesickness, an emotion I’d read about but never experienced. Max was the closest thing to a home I’d ever had, and where I went, he went.

Dammit, maybe Thor’s kiss had triggered the one major flaw Gertz left in my psyche. A need to belong, to be part of a larger whole.

And somehow that need manifested as an image of a crystal building?

I shook my head in disgust. Even for me, that was reaching, and all it proved was my desperate desire to find a logical explanation. The situation on Orpheus Two was dangerous enough without getting sidetracked by an emotional meltdown. It was imperative that I stay mentally healthy and alert.

Squaring my shoulders, I pushed the inner turmoil aside and concentrated on the Buri. There were some changes in the village since I’d been there a week earlier, and I looked around in surprise when we entered the clearing.

Two new buildings were going up, the smaller of the two nearing completion. It sat nestled among the inner circle of older structures, and when completed would look very much like its neighbors.

The larger building was a different story altogether. It was situated away from the other dwellings and looked about ten times the normal size for a Buri home. And that wasn’t the only anomaly. Instead of adobe, they were using natural stone to erect the walls.

Considering they’d only had a week, the construction was going amazingly fast. The walls were almost finished, and I could see flat stone floors inside. When completed, it would be a magnificent structure, proving yet again that the Buri were advanced enough to be considered a developing society.

The building’s lines were graceful, with large, arched windows and doors to allow for air circulation. Thick pillars already stood in place, support for an overhanging roof that would create wide porches on all sides to block out the hot sun.

Could it be a religious edifice? Did the Buri even worship a higher power? Most races did have some form of organized religion, and they ran the gamut from worshiping blades of grass to messy, bloody sacrifices. There was even one planet in the far reaches of the universe that required men to worship their mothers-in-law. Which was probably the reason their males all had such nasty tempers.

GEPs were pretty much left to decide the issue for themselves, since training in religion wasn’t required for most jobs. The more religious Naturals, however, were of the opinion that since GEPs are man-made, we have no souls. I could have argued with them, but I figured it was a waste of valuable time.

I’d seen no sign of worship among the Buri. Still, except for my honor guard, I hadn’t been around them much, and it did make sense that the building was some sort of religious edifice. I made a mental note to check into it. You could tell a lot about a species from the gods they worshipped.

“Max, any idea where they’re getting the stone?” I was back to subvocalizing again. While the Buri working in the area had taken note of my arrival, none of them seemed surprised that I was moving in, and I didn’t want to disturb them by carrying on a one-sided conversation.

“There’s a quarry at the other end of the mountain. The stone is coming from there. It would appear they’ve been cutting it for some time now. They have a large amount stockpiled.”

“How are they moving it?”

“By hand.”

Involuntarily, my eyes widened. Each block was approximately one foot square and ten inches thick. It must have taken every Buri in the village, working twelve hours a day, to carry that many bricks.

Well, that was one problem I could solve, if Thor would allow it. I turned, only to discover that he was looking at me expectantly. “What?” I arched a brow in question.

He gestured toward the building.

Did he want my approval? Strange. But then, he had a right to be proud of the new construction. It was gorgeous.

With a smile, I nodded. “It’s beautiful, Thor. I love it.” I moved closer to him, lifted my hands to his temples, and visualized Buri loading blocks onto the antigrav sled. There was no way to be sure it would work, but I figured it was worth a shot. I’d realized that touch appeared to play a part in our communication. Every time he’d reacted to what I was thinking, we’d been in close physical contact.

“It would make hauling the stone easier,” I said, in case he really did understand me. “And faster.”

His lips curved into a smile, and he nodded before motioning one of the females forward. Her hair was a dark gray and I remembered her from my last trip. She was obviously young, but older than Junior and Churka. She smiled at me as Thor growled a question, then answered him and pointed at a small building beside the one I’d seen him emerge from that first day.

He gave a curt nod and rumbled a few orders at Junior and Ghost to get them moving toward the dwelling. So Thor had ordered a house prepared for me, had he? That meant he’d started out this morning with the intention of bringing me here. He wasn’t doing it because of our run-in with Frisk and company; he was doing it because he wanted me near. The knowledge made me feel much happier about relocating to the village.

It also made me want to grab Thor and snuggle up in those strong arms. And that was scary. I didn’t understand what was happening to me, but it had to stop. Sooner or later I would have to leave Orpheus Two and Thor behind. Until my indenture was paid off, there was absolutely no choice in the matter. And why was I even thinking about it?