At first all she’d been aware of was the sensation of being deliciously warm despite the fact that it was cold outside. It reminded her of waking up in her snug down sleeping bag in the nippy fall air when Daddy had taken her on hunting trips.
Then she became aware that her “sleeping bag” was breathing.
When she opened her eyes she had been curled against his big body, her head pillowed on his chest with his long, muscular arms wrapped around her. Charlie was mortified to find that her bare breasts were pressed against his side and that she had even thrown one leg over his lean hips as though she was trying to climb him like a tree.
She would have tried to extricate herself gracefully without waking him up but Stavros was already awake. He was looking down at her with an unreadable expression on his face which somehow made her feel even more naked that she already was.
“Oh my God,” she’d groaned, scooting away from his warmth in a hurry and wrapping a sheet around herself. “I’m sorry.”
“Why should you be sorry?” he’d asked in obvious confusion. “I told you to come to me for warmth if you needed it.”
“Yes, but I didn’t mean to…to wrap myself all around you like that.” Charlie’s cheeks had been hot with embarrassment. After the events of last night, she had promised herself firmly that nothing else even remotely improper was ever going to happen between herself and her partner again. And then the very next morning, she found herself pressed against him naked, trying to climb him like a tree. Ugh, I’m an idiot! “I’m just…really sorry. It won’t happen again,” she babbled.
“I did not mind,” Stavros said quietly. “And if it does happen again, that will not bother me either.”
“Well it bothers me,” Charlie had said and then fled to the bathroom and cursed herself for a fool the entire time she was taking a shower.
She looked up from her breakfast to see Stavros staring at her, as if he too was remembering the undignified way she’d woken up all wrapped around him.
“Here.” She shoved another stuffed peenee-wee tube in his direction. “Eat up.”
He took the tube and ate it without comment then deposited one had had made for her on her tray.
Somehow the rest of breakfast passed and Charlie choked down all the donut/dill pickle flavored pasta-pea tubes. When they had all cleared their trays, she turned casually to Ssstha.
“So you guys know this place better than we do. What’s next on the agenda? Maybe some free time?”
“Meditation hour is right after the morning repasst,” Ssstha answered, her long forked tongue flickering on the last word. “It is a time for quiet reflection or visiting the cleansing pool. And after that, morning classes.”
“So where are you two taking classes?” Charlie asked. “You’re so advanced—I bet you’re already in the Circle of Oneness.”
“We have not reached that destination yet,” Hssthnk said seriously. “But we hope to soon. Right now we are still in the second circle—the Circle of Discovery.”
“And what sort of classes do they teach there?” Stavros asked. “We ask purely for information—we want to know what to expect when we reach your level.”
“Well, mostly the classes are about the discovery of your mate’s body,” Ssstha said. “So far we enjoy it very much.”
“I’m sure you do,” Charlie said, trying to smile. Crap! Discovery of your mate’s body? Like we didn’t do enough of that last night. We have to get that damn Heart thingy and get out of here ASAP before we get promoted!
“Is the second circle far from the first?” Stavros asked.
Hsssthnk shrugged, an oddly snake-like gesture.
“Not far. Simply take the middle corridor as you leave the dining area rather than the first. When you come to the purple door, you will know you have arrived.”
“Purple door—got it.” Charlie smiled. “Hopefully we’ll be seeing that purple door soon.”
“We wish you much progress in your relationship.” Ssstha touched her arm lightly and smiled. “I know some of the rules seem strict or strange to you, but being here in J’lorgon’s Mind truly has done wonders for Hsssthnk and me.”
“Indeed it has,” Hsssthnk said, rising from the table. “Come, my love,” he said to his wife. “Let us go and meditate together before our first class.” He gave her a meaningful look and Ssstha giggled.
“Yes, of course. I do think some meditation would be in order.” Then she looked at looked at Charlie and Stavros who had gotten up from the low table and were also standing. “We will see you at the midday repast.”
“Yeah, see you at lunch time.” Charlie watched them walk away, the snaky tendrils of their hair entwined. “Okay, that was weird,” she muttered to Stavros. “Is it just me or is ‘meditation’ a euphemism for doing the nasty around here?”
“I do not know what that means or what they intend to do,” Stavros said. “But for us it means an hour of unsupervised time. Let’s make the most of it.”
“Right—let’s go.”
* * * * *
They walked casually out of the dining area together, as though heading back towards their rooms. But instead of taking the corridor that led back to the individual couples chambers, they took the middle corridor as Hssthnk had directed.
Stavros kept a sharp lookout around them as they slipped down the long metal hallway but none of the Hossans who had been serving in the cafeteria were paying any attention to anyone except each other. He saw several pairs, including Nar’sa and Ta’no engaging in the light hair-tip caress they seemed to enjoy so much and a few more were simply staring soulfully into each other’s eyes.
He thought of staring into Charlotte’s deep brown eyes like that and a finger of flame licked over his spine. Gods, he hoped he didn’t have to do that. For how could he keep the way he’d been feeling about her out of his gaze if he had to lock eyes with her so intimately?
As for how she felt about him—well, there was little doubt about that. For a little while when he woke to find her snuggled against him, he’d thought she might be warming to him. Then she had woken fully and the horrified expression on her face when she found herself naked and pressed against him had made it clear she was most definitely not. She had fled into the bathroom and had been avoiding eye contact with him ever since.
Stav sighed. And why shouldn’t she want to avoid me after what I did last night? Clearly she still fears me and mistrusts my intentions.
Not that he blamed her. He distrusted his own intentions. Though he continuously told himself that Charlotte was off limits, his body refused to listen. Just being near her and smelling her sweet scent made his fangs ache. And smelling his own scent which was now overlaying hers, made his cock throb.
There was no denying it—he had marked her last night. Even though he hadn’t injected her with his essence, rubbing against her so intimately had still been a way of claiming her as his own. No male with a halfway decent sense of smell could miss it. Though she had taken a shower, his scent still lingered around her like a subtle perfume. It just—
“Hey, check it out,” Charlotte murmured, breaking his train of thought. “What do you think is going on in there?”
The curving corridor had doors with sliding panels along its surface but most of them were closed. They had just come opposite one, however, where the door appeared to be stuck. Half an inch of space remained between it and the jamb but that small amount was more than enough to see that something was going on in the room beyond.
Several couples were sitting facing each other on the blue thera-mat which had raised itself into low backed seats, the better to support them. At the instructor’s word, the male of each couple reached out to caress his female. It was difficult for Stav to see what exactly they were caressing since they were mostly alien species and often had different body parts than what he was used to. But from the soft sounds of pleasure coming from the females, it seemed to be something that gave them pleasant sensations.
“What
are they doing?” Charlotte whispered, her eyes wide.
“It appears to be some kind of intimate touching,” Stav murmured. “I have no knowledge of many of these species so I cannot tell which parts are being caressed intimately. But if I had to guess, I would say secondary sexual characteristics.”
“You mean the guys are fondling their women’s breasts—right in front of God and everybody, right?” Charlotte made a face. “Okay, yet another reason why we need to get out of here.”
“To avoid letting me fondle your breasts?” Stav arched an eyebrow at her as they continued their search for the elusive purple door.
Her cheeks went pink and she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Well, not in front of everybody anyway! That kind of thing ought to be private.”
“So you would allow it if we were in private?” He knew he shouldn’t goad her but he couldn’t help wanting to see if she would give any indication of how she really felt about him.
“Of course not! Or…I guess if we were taking a class and trying not to blow our cover…” She sighed. “Look, let’s just get the Heart and get out of here—okay?”
“Agreed,” Stavros said. “In fact—”
But just then they rounded the corner and found themselves staring right at the purple door that led to the second circle. Unfortunately someone else was there before them.
“Well, well…hello again.” The Joined One turned to face them, a sharp look on both its faces. It was the same one that had tried to teach their class last night—Stavros recognized its features. Instinctively, he stepped in front of Charlotte, putting himself between her and the misshapen thing.
“Greetings, Joined One,” he said evenly. He could feel Charlotte pressed against his back, taking deep breaths and a surge of protectiveness rushed through him. That damn thing isn’t going to touch her or even get near her—not while I’m here! he swore to himself.
“Greetings…Stavros, correct?” the male face said.
“Indeed.” He inclined his head warily. “It is a pleasure to see you again, Joined One.”
“And it is a puzzle to see the two of you,” the female face spoke, frowning. “Whatever are you doing here so far from the first circle where you belong? I hope you were not spying on any of the other classes.”
“Such things are strictly forbidden,” the male face announced, scowling. “The couples who come here must know that whatever activities they engage in will be kept in strictest privacy and confidence. Anyone caught breaking the rules—”
“I assure you, we did not come here to ‘spy’ on anyone,” Stavros said. He had a twinge of unease as he remembered the strange class he and Charlotte had peeked in on. “We were simply…”
“Lost. We’re lost.” Taking a deep breath, Charlotte stepped out from behind him.
“Oh, hello Charlotte,” the male face said, smiling at her in a way Stavros didn’t care for at all. “I see you are brave enough to face us this bright morning.”
“Good morning,” she said evenly. Stav noted that her voice only trembled a little and she was holding her chin high. He felt a surge of admiration for her. She had wept in his arms like a child last night from a nightmare this thing had given her and yet today, she was speaking to it as if nothing had happened.
“So…lost, are you?” the male face asked skeptically. “But there is nothing down this corridor but the entrance to the second circle—The Circle of Discovery.” It indicated the purple door behind it.
“Oh, I…” Charlotte seemed at a loss for what to say.
“We hope you were not trying to get into an area that is expressly forbidden to you. That also, is against the rules. Not that it would do you any good.” The male face glowered at them. “Go on—press your palm to the door panel. Try to get in.”
Charlotte stepped forward bravely, not flinching though she was only inches from the Joined One, and pressed her palm to the silver rectangular panel beside the purple door.
At first nothing happened. Then her hand was outlined in red light and Stavros felt a sharp pain in his own palm he knew was coming from her.
“Hey—what in the Seven Hells did you do to her?” he demanded, turning on the Joined One in fury. How dare it hurt the female he cared for?
“Ouch!” Charlotte gasped at the same time, pulling her hand away. As she did, a deafening claxon began to sound.
Bwaaa…bwaaa…bwaaa it whooped and lights up and down the corridor began to flash. Charlotte and Stavros gasped and covered their ears. Both faces of the Joined Ones gave them a superior smile. Then it pressed its palm to the silver door panel and the alarm was silenced.
“You see? None who have not been cleared to enter the circle may access the door. So your attempt to enter where you are not allowed would have failed even if we had not caught you.”
“You didn’t have to hurt Charlotte to prove your point,” Stav said angrily. He went to her and took her hurt palm in his, examining it. “Are you all right? That was a painful burn.”
“Oh—I forgot you could feel it too.” She gave a shaky laugh. “Yes, it hurt like hell but I think I’m okay.” Her hand was a bit red but the color was fading rapidly to normal. Clearly she would bear no permanent harm. Still, the idea that the Joined One had dared to give her pain filled him with rage. He turned to it, his hands clenched into fists.
“Charlotte is mine to protect and I swear by the Goddess if you ever dare to harm so much as a hair on her head again—”
“Oh, Charlotte—Stavros, how good to see you here already. But why was the circle breach alarm sounded?”
It was Nar’sa, coming up to them with Ta’no right behind her. With an effort, Stavros swallowed his rage and forced a smile to his face.
“Hello,” he said, smiling pleasantly.
“You told them to be here?” the male face of the Joined One demanded.
“Certainly, Joined One.” Ta’no bowed to it reverently. “We sent a message to their rooms and asked that they meet us here.”
“You did? I mean—you did! Which is why we came.” Charlotte beamed at them. “And now that we’re here, just like you asked us to be,” she continued. “We’re not sure why you wanted us.”
“Yes, Nar’sa and Ta’no please explain your thinking,” the Joined One said. “I thought these two were hopelessly incompatible and needed remedial help.”
“They did at first, Joined One,” Nar’sa said, bowing. “But they made remarkable progress last night. So remarkable that Ta’no and I made the joint decision today to promote them to the Circle of Discovery.”
“You did?” Charlotte’s eyes got wide. “I mean…that is…”
“Wonderful,” Stavros finished for her quickly. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. “We are so pleased. Thank you for the faith you have placed in us.”
“We hope it will be justified,” Ta’no said, frowning slightly. “It will reflect poorly on us if it is not.”
“Ta’no is correct.” The Joined One’s faces spoke together this time “It would be a pity if he and Nar’sa were forced to take a punishment in order to relearn who they could trust and who is untrustworthy.”
Charlotte put a hand on her hip. “Ya know, for a place that promotes peace and love and togetherness, you’re pretty quick to point the finger and talk about punishing people.”
“We do what we must to ensure the continuation of J’lorgon’s Mind,” the male face said grimly.
“We must run it in a way that inspires unity and love—in a way that J’lorgon himself would have agreed with,” the female face said.
“And if we must punish interlopers or wrongdoers to make that possible, then we will do it, as distasteful or distressing as it may be to us personally,” the male face finished.
To Stavros it didn’t sound like the prospect of punishing people was either distasteful or distressing to the Joined One. In fact, from the look on their faces when Charlotte had been burned, he suspected they might rather enjoy it.
But he held his tongue and kept that thought to himself—he and Charlotte were on thin ice as it was. Better not to arouse any more suspicion than they had already in the Joined One.
“Well if you feel they are ready for the second circle, then you must also feel you are ready to teach their next class,” the male face said now, speaking to Nar’sa and Ta’no.
“We do feel ready, Joined One,” Nar’sa said bowing again. “It is a simple class—guided meditation and spoken affirmation. I think Ta’no and I can manage it.”
“Indeed.” The female face of the Joined One smiled at her. “You are doing well my dear—we are quite proud of your progress. Soon, I am certain, the cleansing pool will see fit to begin your fusion of two into one.”
“We pray you are right, Joined One,” Ta’no said, bowing also. “It is our highest aspiration to achieve the same kind of union you have mastered.”
From the corner of his eye, Stavros saw Charlotte shiver but she kept her mouth closed. Clearly she was repulsed by the idea of their two counselors becoming one being, like the Joined One in front of them. He had to confess the idea didn’t appeal to him either. No matter how much you might love someone, would you really want to be physically joined to them for life?
“Well then, carry on. We will be checking on your progress with these two periodically,” the Joined One said to Nar’sa and Ta’no.
They both bowed deeply again and murmured, “Yes, Joined One.”
The Joined One turned and moved away down the corridor. Then Nar’sa turned to Stav and Charlotte. “Well, are you prepared to be granted access to the second holy circle? All you have to do is press your palm to the panel.” She tapped what seemed to be a coded sequence on the silver panel with her fingertips. “Now.”
“Um…” Charlotte stepped back, flexing the hand which had been burned by the panel earlier. Stavros could still feel the echo of her pain in his own palm.
“I will go first,” he said, stepping forward. “The Joined One made a point by burning Charlotte earlier. That is why she is reluctant.”