Transformation Space - Marianne de Pierres [46]
‘You need both hands to climb,’ said Juno.
Trin tied the tube in a knot to make his carabinere happy. ‘I will see you before light.’
Djeserit walked with him until they were out of sight of the caves.
‘Take care, love,’ she said. It was the first time she had used an endearment.
He peered into her face. Her tight skin, a tribute to her mixed heritage, had aged in the harsh environment. She looked more mature than the girl he had first lain with, in the dry-gardens of Villa Fedor. He touched her hair. Despite spending less time in the water, it still felt stiff, as though the sea didn’t want to relinquish its effect on her.
At least she was cleaner than the rest of them. How long since he’d washed with a cleanser? How long until he would? ‘And you, Djes. Let the korm and Tivi carry what you catch. Don’t tire yourself by doing too much. Or overuse the pods.’
Her thin lips parted in a smile. ‘You, also.’ She slipped her hand into his pocket and shook the pods.
Her touch near his groin sent a shot of pleasure through his body. Though they lay together every day when she returned from fishing, neither had the energy for more than the comfort of being close. In addition, Trin found the proximity of the others inhibiting in a way that did not seem to bother some of the other men.
He took her hand from his pocket and drew her further away from the caves. Above them was the sheer rock of the summit; below, the line of brush clinging to the dirt.
‘Trinder?’ she whispered.
Without answering, her steered her to a spot among the bushes and then pulled her close. His lips tasted of her briny skin and his hands felt the taut lean warmth of her muscled body.
She responded by pulling away and slipping her robe off, to stand naked before him. She pointed at the ground, but he shook his head and turned her from him, bending her over. The ground was too rough for her bare skin. He would not risk injuring her, so he pressed himself inside her this way.
She stiffened at first but he stroked her back and murmured gentle reassurances. Her body began to soften in his grip. Instinctively, she started to move in rhythm, arriving at her climax before him.
His success in pleasuring her quickly fuelled his own fervour, and he reached release almost straight away. He stood, hugging her to him, his hands cupping her narrow waist.
‘Trinder, there is—’
‘Hush,’ he said. ‘Do you hear something?’ A crackling sound, at odds with the island’s night noises.
Djes slipped from his embrace and pulled her robe on. ‘No. But I must go and fish now.’
‘Si,’ he agreed.
They pressed their lips together, and then she cupped his face. ‘I’ll think of you.’
He smiled, turning his lips to the palm of her hand, feeling the webbing between her fingers scraping his cheek. Perhaps he had not lost her to the sea yet.
They climbed up from the brush to the rock line, where she left him to return to the caves. Trin stood for a moment, savouring the solitude and the physical release from their moment of intimacy. He and Djeserit had paired under the worst of circumstances, yet their regard for each other sustained itself. And now the passion had returned. For a moment he felt content, a ridiculously impossible feeling under their circumstances but real enough.
Another noise in the brush behind him shattered his moment of peace. He scanned the shadows but could see nothing other than the shapes of stunted trees. Perhaps there was an animal in there.
A sense of uneasiness crawled into his stomach.
Keep moving.
MIRA
Mira stared at Linnea. ‘It’s a girl. It must be. There is no—’
‘Not according to this thing.’ Linnea had placed the baby in a bubble crib by the bed and was watching the diagnostic display.
Another cramping pain struck Mira before she could reply. Not as intense as the birthing contractions, but deep even so.
‘Afterbirth,’ pronounced Linnea. She left the crib and slid more absorbent film underneath