Starlight Gleaming Ch. 17

Her eyes lit up with a smile full of love. Wiping her face, she turned and headed into the shower stall, starting the water.

Cholan said, "It's four in the morning. I'm going back to bed, to try and get some more sleep."

"Good night, Cholan. And thank you for your support," Calia said with a smile. She hopped up to sit on the counter.

I leaned over and gave Cholan a kiss before she left. Then I gave Calia one as well.

Stepping into the water, Ixma and I washed each other. There was no real urgency, but rather it was a continuing of our becoming reacquainted with each other again, and a savoring of being intimate together. Soaping up her small breasts, I ran my thumbs over her sensitive nipples. I was surprised when milk escaped.

"There was wetness earlier, too. Are you still nursing Mina?"

"Sometimes. Calia helped with that for awhile." She watched my thumbs gently play with her hard nipples.

"I recall we've had some good times in the shower together." I brushed strands of wet hair from her face.

Running her hands over my chest, she nodded. "That night in the hangar, with everyone watching you take me was so hot. You held me in the air by the strength of your arms. I couldn't do anything but take what you gave me. Over and over and over. I thought you might split me apart at one point. And I came so good on your nice, hard cock, Ranji. And I came again when I felt you giving me your hot come."

Her hand drifted down, stroking my shaft, encouraging it to expand and lengthen.

Under the spray of the hot water, I leaned in to her, kissing her cheek. Nibbled her ear lobe. "Did you? Hmm. I also remember the night Sisi came to us. On the ride home, you told me you wanted me to bone you."

Giving me a sultry smile, she said, "I remember that. A bittersweet night. Sad for Sisi, but that was the night you told Mama that Sisi could stay, and you'd stand by her. You made Mama so happy, Ranji. And later, in the shower, just like now, you took me with your hard cock, giving me firm strokes until I came on you as you gave me your love. You can bone me again, Senior Lieutenant. I want your hard cock inside me, sir, and I want to feel you coat my womb with your hot, Senior Lieutenant's seed. And if I scream, I assure you it will be with the utmost respect and love."

Pulling her into my arms, I kissed her, my tongue finding hers, and we explored each other's mouths. Her hands held me close while I pressed myself against her. Breaking apart, both of us breathing heavily for a handful of heartbeats, we renewed our kiss, both of us now hungry to taste the other.

Lips sliding apart, I nibbled along her jaw, then ran my teeth down her neck. She groaned as she bared it to me. Her hand stroked my engorged shaft. Lifting her up while pressing her against the shower wall, I inhaled a breast.

Crying out at the sensation, her legs lifted and wrapped around my waist. As I sucked, I was startled by the warm, thin milk filling my mouth. Swallowing, I sucked harder, and my mouth filled again. Ixma arched, pushing her breast toward me.

"Oh, gods, yes! Drink from me!" Her hands held my head as I swallowed several times. I shifted to the other breast, and she groaned as I fed from her.

Looking up to her, pinned against the wall, she husked out, "I love you so much, Ranji!"

Moving my arms under her legs, she aided me. Letting her drop down, she reached between us, guiding my cock toward her slick center. My hands slid down to cup her rear.

As my hard knob parted her puffy nether lips, her eyes closed. "Oh, gods, you're so hard, and ah! You're stretching me..."

Pushing into her, I soon reached bottom, my flared crown brushing against her innermost core. Her mouth dropped open as I began a firm, thorough probing of her pussy. Side to side, then stroking for depth, then side to side again. Her hands gripped my arms, squeezing as she moaned out her pleasure. All the while, hot water sprayed between us.

"Look at me!" I said. I could already feel myself coiling toward release.

Her eyes snapped open.

"I am your man and you are my woman." All the while, I continued stroking within her long, velvety passage. "Do not ever call yourself a bastard girl again, Ixma. Do you understand? You are a warrior, of decent, hard-working Free Farmer stock. Mina is our daughter, Ixma, yours and mine. I see you, Ixma Ba'lanchicotl. I see you."

"Oh, Ranji!" She watched me disappear into her body for several strokes. Then closed her eyes again. Moaned louder.

I pushed harder with each stroke, shoving myself against her yielding mound. Pleasure and tension neared the precipice. Long strokes became a deep, grinding, thorough exploration of her inner depths.

Her fingers dug into my shoulders. "Harder, Ranji! Harder!"

"Gonna come... inside you... Ixma!"

At nearly the same instant that I began coating her walls with hot, sticky semen, Ixma cried out, her body quivering as she clung tightly to me. I felt her muscular sheath rippling along my entire length.

Trembling, she clung to me. "So... so good!"

"Take it all, Ixma. Feel me deep inside you, filling you up. Do you feel it?"

"Yes!" she cried. "I'm clean and alive again."

I kissed her and brushed water from her face. "You always were clean, Ixma. From the day you were born. You are a warrior. Your enemies are dead, and you are still standing. Repeat it."

Staring at me, her mouth opened, but no words came out.

"He will die, Ixma," I promised. "Now say the words."

"I am a warrior. My enemies are dead, and I am still standing. My Ranji sees me and he loves me, and I love him with all my heart."

I had to kiss her again, so I did. My ejaculations had faded, but it felt good to just stay there, ensconced within her body, savoring the connection between us.

When I felt myself start slipping out, I let down her legs. Ixma winced.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Need more practice," she replied, then grinned. "A lot more, Ranji."

We soaped up and rinsed off, and I turned off the water. When I turned, she hugged me.

"Better?"

"Yes, Ranji. Thank you."

After drying off, we exited the shower stall. I noticed the chair first, and the lights had been replaced by several burning candles. Calia sat patiently on the counter by the sink. The surprise was Janetta, sitting on the toilet.

Wiping herself, Janetta stood up, flushed, and went to the sink to wash. As she dried her hands, she looked at Ixma. "You've had us all worried for a long while. Are you going to be all right now?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Good. We have to share him, Ixma, and not wear him out. Mina's in the other room -- now stop and wait a moment! She came in a bit ago, looking for you, followed by Sisi. They're sleeping with your mother, and they're both fine. Lady Kandikan checked to make sure where they were, so she knows they're here. And what about you, Ranji? Are you coming back to bed?"

"He needs a shave, Captain," Calia interjected. "I have beard-burn between my legs, and I am positive I'm not the only one. Ixma's going to do the honors."

Grinning, Janetta ran the back of her hand along my cheek. "Good call. You gave my innards such a good working over, I had to pass on the wonders of your mouth on my pussy. Tonight, however, when we go to bed Ranji, I'm planning on some alone time with you, and your face needs to be smooth. Got it?"

"Yes, Captain," I answered, contrite.

Giving my butt cheek a squeeze as she went by, she said, "Good man."

"My beard is really that abrasive?" I asked Calia.

They both nodded. "It's not long enough to lay flat," Calia explained. "Besides, you look much better without it. You have a firm jaw, and it gets lost when you grow a beard."

Calia hopped off the counter and guided me into the chair.

"You sure about this, Calia?" Ixma asked.

"I can shave myself," I said. "I do it all the time."

"Apparently not enough to remember it's a daily task," Calia replied tartly. "So sit still and behave. Besides, she's been practicing with the razor."

Having been put in my place, I sat.

Calia applied the hot towel to my face. Ixma was nervous, so Calia talked to her. I learned that Ixma, prior to being with me the first time, wanting our first time together to be special, had had a pubic wax, but that it had hurt a great deal.

Ixma worked carefully.

During my absence, Calia had persuaded Ixma to try shaving instead. A razor would be more frequent, but a great deal less painful. Ixma had agreed on condition that Calia teach her how to shave others. Enter Cholan. They had the routine down so that Calia or Ixma shaved, and the three of them were done within a few minutes. A necessity, since until recently, Cholan and Ixma had their work at the hangar, and couldn't spend a lot of time fussing around.

Ixma nodded, then smiled. "Yeah. Thanks, Calia. Your talking helped." She wiped off my face with a damp towel, then stood back. "How is it?"

I ran my hand over my face. Smooth! "Good job, Ixma. First rate."

"Are you going back to bed, Ranji?" Calia asked.

"No. I haven't had a chance to do any exercise in over a week, and I've let myself get even further out of shape. I'm going to go for a run."

"Take Sisi with you," Calia said.

Ixma blinked, then grinned. "That's a good idea. She'd like that."

"She's what, four years old? She can't keep up with me."

They both laughed. "Of course she can't," Calia replied. "Styen exercises with them when he's here. He has a fitted strap-on harness to carry her with. They go on the South Trail, then he drops her off, and continues on the Southwest Trail."

"Besides," Ixma added, "she's going to be five in a few months."

My mind did a quick calculation. "That's about twelve, nearly thirteen rads. Drops her off where?"

"Where the southeast trail intersects with the hiking path. It's only a rad from the house to the drop-off spot," Calia explained. "You know. Where the trail arcs back toward the house. You and Sisi head out. We'll walk down with Mina and meet you, pick up Sisi, and we'll walk back. She liked her time with her Uncle Styen. You had such a good start being her daddy, spending time with her before you left. It'll be good for you both."

"All right," I said with a grin.

Ixma and Calia quickly cleaned up, and we headed back to the bedroom. I went to the wall and looked at the display unit. It gave a read-out of the time, temperature inside, and outside weather, including wind and direction. Cool out, but not too cold.

Going through my dresser, I dressed in shorts, tee-shirt and running shoes. Dug through the closet and found my small hip pack. Then went through my duffle bag and retrieved my shoulder holster. Transferred my pistol and three magazines to it. Verified safety as on. Phone and ID card went into the hip pack.

As I got dressed, everyone else got up as well. I was surprised.

"I get to ride with Tenant?" Sisi yawned as she looked at Ixma.

"Yes, you do. We need to go get dressed. Come on, Mina."

Cholan, Calia, Ixma and the girls scurried out the door. To my surprise, Zinja and Janetta also got up.

"What are you doing?" I asked Janetta.

"Going with you," she scowled. "I'm not really fond of running. I prefer other types of exercise. But fuck me if I'm letting you out and about on your own. I just got you back, Ranji, and you have a nasty habit of getting into trouble when I'm not around."

Zinja, with her long legs, was probably a natural runner. She gave me a patient smile as she got ready.

Swinging by the kitchen, we grabbed several bottles of electrolyte water, and gathered at the southeast door. To my surprise, Bilan was there with his boys, carrying his own harness.

"You, too?" I inquired.

Bilan nodded. "It's good exercise, and I get to spend time with Mika."

"So, you and Mika ran with Styen and Sisi?"

"We did," he confirmed. "It's more fun when you have others running with you. It gets a lot of use from some of my troopers. And, they keep the trail safe and picked up."

One of the kitchen staff ran the blender and passed out several glasses of powdered protein mixed into a fruit smoothie. Janetta and her flight crew hurried through, downing drinks as they whizzed by. Ixma carried Mina in a hip harness, all bundled up against the morning chill. In preparation for the run, Mina was shifted and secured onto Ixma's back.

After a few minutes of stretches, Bilan and I were loaded up. Mika loaded up on Bilan, and I got fitted with Sisi. Sisi even had her own little pack.

When the harness was buckled on and she was settled into place, I thought that Sisi must be eating well, because she felt a lot heavier than the forty pounds I'd estimated.

Janetta set off, followed by Zinja, Cholan, and Ixma. They disappeared along the east-bearing trail, into the line of trees.

Bilan and I followed.

The morning was cool, and in some ravines it was almost chilly. Spring was still new yet, and it's always cooler in the mountains, especially in shaded areas. Along about the second rad, we began our uphill climb. I also began to feel Sisi's weight.

"Come on, Tenant! We're last!" Sisi urged.

"Working on it," I grunted, already sweating.

At the top of the first hill I paused, sucking air. Holy gods, I thought. I am really out of shape! I'd better be doing this more often!

Another two hills and I was heaving l like a bellows. Bilan waited at the curve in the downward trail, and after wiping my brow, set off to catch up. Twenty minutes later, we rounded the bend and saw several people waiting for us. Calia with Mina. My mother, chatting with Calia, turned and waved at us. Two armed ground service troopers, too, keeping watch.

My brother and I unloaded the kids and the harnesses. I couldn't believe how rubbery my legs felt. I struggled to keep upright, and downed my bottle of water. My shirt was soaked. Calia handed me another bottle, which I put into my hip pack. Ixma and Cholan stayed behind. They were done. The South Trail is only three rads, but it has some pretty steep grades on it, especially on the uphill portions.

Then we set off after Janetta and Zinja, to finish the longer part of the run.

The morning was nice.

I think.

I slipped into a sort of fugue-state, determined to complete the course, focusing on keeping my legs moving, one foot after the other. Bilan held back to keep me company. He kept laughing at me, and I let him. What was the reason I liked him again? To be fair, my head reasoned, that if I was that out of shape, I deserved all the laughter he chose to heap upon me.

Once back at the house, I staggered through the hallway toward my own suite, and headed straight for the bath and its jacuzzi jets. I couldn't even manage to get undressed first. I just climbed in, closed my eyes, and let the water pound my muscles.

Janetta and Zinja were just getting out, and they laughed at me as they left to get dressed. They'd been naked in the water, but I was beyond caring. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was embarrassed and ashamed of myself, that I'd let myself go that much. I knew I needed more endurance work when I was crossing the hills during my last mission. But this was deplorable!

Calia came in and handed me another smoothie. She looked at me with concern. "Are you all right? You don't look so good."

"I'm wiped out and I'm ashamed about it. I'll live."

She nodded grimly. "Drink it down. It'll help."

I did, and settled back to let the jets pummel my body a little more. Calia woke me up when I started to doze. She helped me out of my wet clothes, wrung them out and set them to dry. It was an effort to climb back out of the hot tub. At her insistence, I climbed onto her massage table, which she must have set up while I'd dozed. She worked mostly on my back, but spent about half an hour rubbing a liniment all over my body. Gods above, I really loved her right then.

I would have hugged her, but she wrinkled her nose and playfully pushing me away, she settled for a quick thank-you kiss. The liniment worked well, but it was pungent, and she didn't want the scent on her clothes.

Feeling much better, I got dressed. Sitting at my personal computer, I checked for recent messages. While they downloaded, I looked up Senior Lieutenant Sisi Beytindl, Deedee's friend and mentor. I soon found her. She was still assigned to the hospital staff at Paxilman. Carefully composing a message to her, I explained that Deedee had died recently, and that we were going to be holding a memorial for her, and that if she wanted to attend, I'd provide transportation for her.

I next spent some time looking up Emilo Bitawel, the Armadillo driver that had given me a ride on a cold, rainy pre-dawn morning that now seemed a lifetime ago. Thinking on it, he'd probably saved my life. Once I found his contact information, I sent him a message, identifying myself by my real name and by the name I'd given him, and thanking him for his kindness. I let him know that I'd made it home to my family, and my daughters. I also asked him about his wife's response to the idea of magic hugs, and to tell me more about his children.

After that, I scanned for messages that were work related, and started to re-acquaint myself with the goings on. General notices and the like. I was tempted to call Sergeant Chita and Lieutenant Killayana and checked the time. It was just after eight. Tohingo being almost directly south of High Guard, we were in the same time zone.

Taking a chance, I dialed the Ground Service officer's number.

He picked up on the third ring. "Killayana."

"Lieutenant? This is--"

"Don't give me your name, as I'm positive that Air Security is monitoring my phone. Ground Security is working on the issue, but so far with no success. What your ETA?"

"Hopefully by the weekend. How are things going there?"

He exhaled. "Not good. Did you get my earlier messages?"

"I got a chance to read them yesterday," I told him.

"Then you know a couple of the buses were attacked last week. Two Air Service women were shot and killed right on the bus. All the others were hauled outside, then were beaten and raped by a gang of almost twenty armed men. They took the cameras we had installed. Unfortunately, they used condoms as well, which was very atypical, as they had to know we were taking samples for DNA testing. Besides the murders, physically injuring the women is all we can get them on. Their faces were covered and naturally no one knows anything. Almost half the women were Ground Service, and there are a lot of angry troopers. It was enough of an issue that the base commandant finally stepped in. Commander Barankoshto provides an armed escort on each route now. I assume you know what happened to your Personal Servant, to the corporal, and the others?"

"I know about the first two. Please, fill me in about the others."

"Sergeant Chita Wanwari was attacked three separate times. Raped each time." My gut went cold as he continued. "The last time, she was cut up pretty bad. She was in the hospital for almost two weeks. Your Captain paid to have her get nano-treatments, so she's healed. Lieutenant Lovyanchiti was also beaten and raped, abducted as she came out of the Commissary. She identified her attacker as Captain Tonca, but there was nothing that could be done, as he had several witnesses that said she resisted a lawful order for sex from a superior officer. Captain Xotochan of Logistics was asked if he wanted to press the issue, but he declined. Tonca is a sixth-degree Eagle Warrior, so that's no surprise. Fortunately, she was found by an armed patrol before a second incident happened. Commander Barankoshto ordered her to go to Tikún to attend the War College. That was... almost six months ago to the day. She should be nearly done now. Corporal Sowitwee went with her."