Dream Drive Ch. 03

Jackson tried to think of some excuse, but she'd cut off the obvious escape route. Unless he wanted to outright brush her off, he wasn't getting away.

Eh, fuck it. He'd just have to live with offending her. He didn't care all that much in the first place anyway.

"Jackson Vedalt!"

Jackson held back his sigh as a little girl walked up to them. He recognized her from the dance - she was positioned behind Chaki. "Yeah?"

"Jula," Malaki said, "Jackson and I are speaking. Run along."

Jula ignored Malaki. "I saw Chaki. She was going to change clothes. She probably left her dress in the ceremony tent."

"Which way is that?" Jackson asked.

The girl pointed. "It's next to Yukatan's tipi. Look for the white and red feathers strung around the top."

Jackson nodded. "Yeah, right. Thanks. What's your name? Jula?"

She smiled and folded her hands behind her back. "Yep."

"Thanks for the tip."

"Jackson, what about the feast?" Malaki said.

Jackson shrugged. "It's not going anywhere. I'll eat later. See you then."

"That's a promise!"

Jackson walked off into the camp. He'd have to thank that Jula girl for real, later. She was a candidate for sainthood as far as he was concerned.

Jackson had to wander for a bit, but eventually, he found Yukatan's tent. It was hard to see the color in the dark, but the prominent feathers were hard to miss. Behind it, at the edge of the encampment, was the lonely ceremonial tipi.

He stepped up to the entrance flap. "Chaki?" he called. "Are you there?"

Her voice came back a moment later. "Jack?"

"Yeah," Jackson said. "Can I come in?"

"...hold a moment."

Jackson tensed. Part of his brain told him to stay where he was.

The other half remembered her shapely, muscular body dancing in the night. That half rose up and viciously shredded his better judgement. He pushed the flap aside.

He heard her gasp. There was no fire in this tipi; it was darker than it was outside. When he straightened, she was turned away from him, her usual outfit held to her chest. Otherwise, she was naked. He couldn't see her well at all in the darkness, but the hazy outline of her body was enough to make him want her.

"Jackson," she hissed. "This is totally improper."

"...didn't we have this discussion?"

"That was then, this is now!"

"It sure is."

"Jackson!"

"Order me out," Jackson stated. "Tell me to leave the tipi, and I will."

Chaki said nothing.

He closed the distance. He placed his hands on her shoulders. She swallowed audibly.

He smoothed his hands over her bare shoulders. "...if you..."

He trailed off.

He'd been forceful with their relationship. He'd pushed it far out of his comfort zone. It was invigorating. Thrilling.

But maybe that's exactly why he felt so uncomfortable.

The lust in his head told him to pin her down and have his way with her. It told him to stake his claim in the most physical manner possible. It told him to throw the stupid nice-guy bullshit into a gutter and get on with it before he lost his chance.

Fuck you, Jackson told that part of his brain.

Running on sexual instinct was like burning gasoline. He could set a hell of a fire, but he might blow himself up.

It was like fighting back a tidal wave. But he knew how to control himself, didn't he? He let the wave wash over him. It was like turning into a ghost; letting the energy swirl down, run around him, through him. He steadied his breathing, and when he opened his eyes again, he'd frozen the ocean solid.

"If you don't want this, Chaki...please say so. I would never force myself on you, ever."

Chaki said nothing.

Jackson took another breath. "I...about our debt, Chaki, from me saving you. You don't owe me anything. Consider it all paid in full. I did what I did because I thought it was right. You don't have to push yourself into anything. I -"

"Spirits," Chaki said. Jackson stopped. "Here he is, in my tent, beholding my nakedness, after I gave him that dance, and still I cannot seduce him?" She turned to face him. Her eyes shone in the dark. "You must have a heart made out of stone. I suppose I am to be impressed."

The layered shell of ice he'd carefully constructed over his heart cracked. The ocean of calm started to boil.

Jackson gripped her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. Their lips found one another in an instant. He kissed her hard, and she kissed him back even harder. She dropped her dress. It pooled at their feet.

Her body was against his. He felt the softness of her breasts, the smooth muscle of her legs. She lifted a foot off the ground and wrapped it around his back. Her tongue sucked his into her mouth and played with it. He grabbed at her, everywhere, feeling at her thighs, her ass, her back, as if trying to soak the sensation of her through his skin.

Jackson broke off the kiss. His heart was hammering. "Holy shit."

Her breath fell across his neck. "Did you like my dance?"

"...it was like..." Jackson snorted. "It was great. Well. It was more than great. But, you know. I dunno."

Chaki's made a smile like warm cookies on Christmas evening. Jackson didn't know he could feel the way that smile made him feel.

"Jack," she said, "just take your time."

Jackson took his time.

"...it was like watching starlight that had come down to the earth," he said.

Chaki pressed her mouth to his neck. She kissed him there, wandering across his skin with her lips. "...that's nice, Jack," she said. "It makes me feel good. But I want to feel...hot."

Jackson's brain floated in ecstasy for a moment. She sure learned fast.

"Your dance..." Jackson grabbed her hair and tugged her mouth off him. "It made me want to do this," he growled. He shoved his mouth against her again, almost bruising his lip. She bit back with an equal, ravenous force.

He slapped a hand to her ass. A pitched mewl escaped her throat. He gripped her flesh, then ran his finger up her side and settled on her breast. She moaned in earnest as he groped at her skin, pulling, squeezing. He pinched the nipple.

"Haaa..." She gasped again. "Jack."

He made a questioning grunt.

"...take me," she said. "Mount me. From behind. I want to be taken like that."

Jackson responded by leaning her back and latch his mouth to the breast he'd been groping. He used his grip on her hair to lower her to the floor and took her nipple into his mouth.

"Jackson..." She was on her back, now, lying on the floor of the tipi. She ran a hand through his hair. "...babies suckle there, not men."

He broke off for an instant. "What? I can't have it too?"

Chaki grinned. "I guess that makes you a big baby."

Jackson lowered himself over her. "One that's about to fuck you until you scream."

Chaki's blushed deepened, but she licked her lips. "Actions speak louder than words."

"But not until I finish what I started," Jackson added. He slid back and used his hands to part her thighs. "Down here." He pressed two fingers into her hole.

Chaki's hips rose off the ground almost immediately. "Oh...this again?" She breathed as more of his fingers stroked her lips. "I can...live with that, for now."

"I have other ideas," Jackson said. "I'm feeling pretty damn hungry." He lowered his head down and licked up the wide lip of her sex around the edge of her slit.

Chaki shuddered. "Ooh...is that your..."

"Tongue," Jackson said.

He'd done this before, out of a certain sense of obligation. This time, he wanted it. He wanted to watch her squirm for him.

He fell back down and flicked his tongue up the sides of her pussy. One finger was pressed just inside her entrance. He crooked it slightly and rubbed the wall of her tunnel.

The flesh he'd tasted in the Hub was perfected, but off, slightly, like the plastic taste of old bottled water. It was fake. Chaki was different; she was warm, musky, scented. Earthy. It wasn't as pure, but it had everything pure water lacked.

"Oh my...oh my spirits...Jack..." Her fingers worked through his hair and gripped the back of his head. Powerful thighs constricted around his torso. Her feet worked to find purchase at his back, draw his body in closer. "Please don't stop this time. Just keep going."

Jackson slid his tongue up, down, sideways, tracing shapes across her wetness. He lapped at her like a man thirsting for a drink. Maybe it was just that he hadn't eaten, but she really tasted amazing.

He found her clit again. Her legs were tightening so much it was hard to get at it. He used his other hand to pull the sheath open and set his mouth over it, letting warmth fall across it. He kept playing at her entrance using his other index finger, rubbing it back and forward.

Her stomach rose and fell in waves. Her hips bucked at him; it was a challenge to keep his face steady. He pressed in harder to maintain the same contact, keeping his mouth in an O shape around her clit. He worked his lone finger around in her hole, prolonging the moment.

"Oh, more, Shakhan curse me!" Her hands had been everywhere, on her body, her breasts. Now that he had halted before that final moment, he felt them quickly return to his head. "More, Jack, please!"

And then he set his tongue down on the clit. He licked across the top, then flicked it with the tip of his tongue. Her hips twitched, shocked by the pleasure; her crotch came up and bumped his nose hard enough to hurt.

He was barely in control of it anymore. He rode her with head, trying to follow her hips. He pressed his mouth around her clit once again, and this time, applied a slight suction. He bat at her engorged nub with his tongue.

That was enough to send her over.

Her body arced like a live wire. Every muscle clenched. Her thighs crushed against his cheeks. Her hips rose up forcefully enough to drag him a few inches across the ground. Her hands gripped his hair so hard it hurt.

Her abdomen flexed, and her moan cut off. She came silently, her throat closing up along with the rest of her body. She remained like that so long Jackson thought he might have fried a circuit somewhere.

She hissed out her breath, and she shuddered back into half-relaxation. Her small, round breasts rolled as she heaved her breath back. "Jack..." Her words were muttered. "That...I didn't know it could be like that. Spirits. I feel possessed by it."

Jack couldn't keep the grin on his face. He watched her as she recovered, deciding not to try and push her further for a few moments. "Woman," he said, "I haven't even taken my clothes off."

A stupid sort of smile twisted Chaki's lips. "I can't imagine better than that."

"You won't have to imagine."

She bared her teeth at him in an expression of pure, lust-soaked animalism. "I want everything. All of it." She sat up, suddenly, and grabbed at his shirt. "Why are you still wearing this?"

Jackson sat up to make the task easier. His leggings were tented by his cock. He reached for his belt.

"Chaki! Chaki!"

It was Shaka's voice. Jackson made a frustrated sigh. Again with this woman?

Chaki hissed louder than he did. "Shit, shit in a stream, dead suns and shit, shit on your feet, shit!" Her head turned. "Jackson, get over there, under the clothes!"

"Just tell her you're not decent," he whispered.

"That only works on men! And women that aren't my mentor!"

"Chaki, are you there?!"

Jackson dove for the far corner of the tipi. He wrapped himself in all the hides he could find. A dress from Chaki flew at his face. He pulled it over his head.

"I'm here," Chaki called. "I was changing."

Jackson couldn't see anything, but he heard the tent flap open. Feet on the tent floor. "What's taking so long? You said you wanted to be part of Jackson's ceremony. I was just going to explain a few details before we..." Her voice stopped. "...hmm?"

"What?" Chaki asked.

"I'll have Yukatan move the tipi," Shaka said. "Something smells off. In any case, girl, I can't eat without my student."

"Sorry," Chaki said. "The dancing...I must have been more tired than I thought, even with your healing. It hit me hard."

"Oh." Shaka's voice was concerned. "I apologize. You should have mentioned it."

"I didn't want to leave Jula alone."

"I suspected she was following you," Shaka said. "I will pretend I did not hear that, for her sake."

"Thank you, Shaka."

"You were excellent in the dance. The women were showering praise on Landri, though some of my own friends thought you looked a little uncomfortable in that dress of yours."

Chaki snorted. "It wasn't my first choice."

"Perhaps it should have been. I think you'll have ten new suitors by tomorrow morning."

"The only suitor I want isn't even part of the tribe."

"Ho," Shaka said. "Such boldness. And here I thought you were playing it down."

Chaki cleared her throat. "Recent events have changed my mind."

"You are perfectly entitled to change it," Shaka said. "He won't remain in tribeless for long. Speaking of which, where did he get off to? This is the time for him to be introduced to the others."

"...we spoke briefly, after the dance. He said he wanted to get away from the crowd. He went to the creek."

Shaka sighed. "I shall have to drag him back. Meet us there. If I don't get food in my stomach soon, I'll die a few years earlier than I intend."

There were footsteps. The tent flap shifted. Jackson stayed still, just in case.

A hide was lifted off his face. Chaki was looking down at him. "You have to run to the creek! Go out the drainage ditch!"

Jackson didn't pause for pleasantries. He went to the back of the tipi, where the ditch was dug in case of rain. He crawled out and under the hide wall on his knees and elbows, then sprinted headlong around the edge of the camp. It was a longer route, but he couldn't risk being seen by Shaka.

Running with an erection was not easy.

By the time he reached the creek, he was wheezing. His chest was burning. He fell to a knee and sucked in air. The trickle of water just ahead glinted in the lights from the camp.

He ran his tongue over his lips. He could still taste her there. It was drying on his mouth and chin; extract of Chaki.

He bent down over the creek and splashed his face a few times to clear his head. He'd softened enough that it wasn't as uncomfortable. He fixed his pants around his belt.

Footsteps made him look up. Shaka was walking toward him. "The delinquent warrior. Come, Jackson. You cannot avoid a proper introduction."

"You caught me," Jackson said. He stood. "Lead on, spirit guide."

"I feel as though I am herding wild animals, running to-and-fro across the camp," Shaka said. "You might as well be, at your age."

"I'm not that wild."

"I wonder."

As they walked back through the tipis, Jackson had a sudden thought. He focused on his health bar. Below it was the word essence, and the number 25. Same as before.

"Shaka," he said, "I remember you and Chaki mentioned essence. What is it, exactly?"

"There are two parts to all life," Shaka said. "First is the life force. The second is essence. The life force is the energy of the body. It is in the blood and the muscles. Essence is the energy of mind and spirit; it lies in the soul, and conducts magical strength. Together, they form a united whole."

"Do you use essence to cast spells?" Jackson asked.

"Indeed," she said. "Runes demand it as penance."

"How do you gather more, after you use it up?"

"Rest, recovery, meditation," Shaka said, "though one can only hold so much essence at once. This limit is determined by the strength of one's spirit. And then, only those born with the talent can sense essence, gather it into themselves, and place it into runes."

Jackson wondered about that. He'd rested for a short time, but his essence hadn't changed. "Do you gather essence when you kill things?"

Shaka stopped and looked at him. "...no. Do you?"

Jackson nodded. "I collected some when I killed the rattok, but I didn't get any from resting. Is that bad?"

Shaka frowned deeply. "I do not like what that implies. We shall explore this further. But later. For now, we feast."

###

Chaki managed to make it to the feast in one piece. She wandered past the gathered tribesmen, arms folded. She only half-heartedly acknowledged the waves and hellos and compliments to her dancing.

Her mind waxed over her experience in the tent. It had been exquisite. Unique. She didn't know her body could experience that sort of pleasure. For a moment, at the pinnacle she had so sought, her mind was stretched in blissful focus, completely tuned to the singular moment.

How quickly they had become close. But then, he had wanted it. He had sought her out. And she let it happen, because she wanted it, too.

A small worry broke through her feelings. Was she just young and stupid? Was she caught up in the moment? It was proper to make a man work for attention and promise his loyalty, not to give everything away at the first sign of attraction.

But she felt so safe with him. She felt that if he was there, nothing would hurt her. Perhaps it was from how he saved them. Perhaps it was because he reminded her of father. Perhaps it was his quiet calm, his small smiles, his banter. Maybe it was all of them at once.

Spirits, she felt intoxicated by him. Hidden under that calm was a hungry and adept lover. His passions burned brightly; he was only practiced at keeping them buried. He wanted to coax his true self out of him. She wanted to see him at his peak.

She shook her head, trying to banish the thoughts. It didn't help much. Regardless of their attraction, things weren't supposed to move this quickly.

"Chaki."

Her mind worked against him, but her body remembered other things. The words he'd said still echoed in her skull. He hadn't even taken off his clothes. He hadn't even used his...his phallus. She bit her lip. What would that be like?

"Chaki?"

She looked up. She was near the vats of hot soup. Boonta's flat face was staring at her. He was holding out a bowl.

She took it from his hands automatically. "Thank you."

"You seem distracted."

"Mmm."

"...your dance was amazing, as always," he said.

She nodded vaguely, entering the line for soup. Hopefully Jackson would be back soon. "Thanks."

"I am sorry, for earlier."

"...what?"

"I was forceful, back then," Boonta said. "I was caught up in my passions. I shouldn't have raised my voice. I am better than that. I wish to make amends."

Chaki sighed. "Forget it, Boonta. I have passed the point of caring."

"At least allow me to make a proper apology."

"Do as you wish," Chaki said. She held out her empty bowl.

One of the servers, Julka, ladled her a good helping. He nodded to her. "Good work, Chaki. The spirits are sure to be pleased this night."

"Thank you, Julka."

"Certainly." He spooned another bowl and offered it out.

"Thanks," Boonta muttered.

Chaki made her way back toward the fires. She sipped lightly at the steaming soup; it was good, but it needed to cool. Boonta followed her. She tried not to sigh.

She spotted her mother and Hanta standing together, along with Palla, and made her way toward them. "Hanta!" Chaki called. "How are you?"

Hanta was a short man, but he had a powerful stature. Pound for pound, he likely outdid even Boonta. He was one of the drummers during the dance, but his true calling was hunting. When Chaki's father was alive, they had been good friends; they practiced both the drum and the bow together quite often.

He smiled at her approach. "I am very well, Chaki." He looked at Boonta, and nodded, but said nothing. Boonta bowed and nodded back in respect. "You danced exceedingly well. I haven't seen the like in years. It felt like its own dance, set apart from the others."

"You flatter me."

"Landri, you have raised an excellent daughter," Hanta said. "You should be proud."