Blaha and Luis - Parcour

Her home was empty. Without Luis, the small apartment echoed. It needed a male in it. She needed a male in her. Where was he?

She flew up above the hive to look for him. The ground around it was bustling, but not with humans. She heard a thump nearby and turned in that direction. She dropped a couple of feet in shock. Luis was on the roof, and running across it to jump to the hive opposite. She held her breath until he landed safely.

She dived down and landed in front of him. "How did you do that?" she demanded.

Luis was panting and sweating, but his teeth gleamed in a euphoric smile. He grabbed her for a quick kiss, pulling her against his half clothed body. He wore baggy shorts and a pair of gloves. "This city is a free runner's paradise. Even the lower gravity is fun."

"What is a free runner?" She stood, blocking him from another one of those terrifying jumps.

"Parcour, babe."

She still had no idea, so he swung out over the edge of the roof, using hands and feet to drop a level, then another one. She flew along beside him, as if she would be able to catch him if he fell.

On the way down, she had a perfect opportunity to observe the way his muscles flexed and bunched with each movement. The tautness of the sinews at the back of his leg revealed the strength it took to hold himself like that. Sweat dripped down his back, tracing the line of his spine.

The way he went down the side of the hive reminded her of an insect. Sometimes it seemed that the only thing preventing him smashing to the ground was an invisible pair of wings. "These buildings are great, so many different levels with different hand and footholds," he told her.

He stopped, took a breath and then leaped across a chasm to the open door of her apartment. Blaha barely stifled her shriek.

He landed neatly on the entrance, and grinned at her. "I could get used to this."

She followed him in.

He was already wiping the sweat off his chest when he asked her "So how did your meeting with the queen go?" Her silence alerted him. She had no idea what was showing on her face, but he dropped the towel and gathered her into his arms.

"Babe, it can't be as bad as all that."

She leaned against him, taking comfort from the strength of his arms, and allowed herself a few weak moments. Then she pushed away. "Yes, it is as bad as that. Worse than that. The Queen wants me to finish the job." She ignored his recoil. "And thanks to you, I can't kill anyone."

He had flinched when she mentioned her job, but then he straightened. "Whoa, time out. What do you mean, thanks to me you can't kill anyone?"

She moved away from him and busied herself picking up the towel while she told him Javon's theory. For the first time, he looked truly rattled. His mouth was open and he seemed stunned.

He shook his head. "No, that's not possible."

She pointed to her computer. "Have a look for yourself. It happens."

Instead he kept his attention on her. "So what you doing to do now?"

She went back to tidying the already neat apartment. "I don't know. I'll have to get my brother out of the palace, then we'll have to disappear. I'll start over. I'm not sure what I'll do but I'll find something."

She thought she had kept all trace of self-pity out of her voice, but suddenly Luis's arms were around her. "Ah babe, I've got a better idea."

Blaha let her head rest against his chest. "What?" "Come to earth with me."

She straightened so fast her antennae whipped.

"What?"

"Sure. I'm going back to earth in a few days. Come with me. You'd love Miami and I'd love— " He hesitated for a second. "— you to come with me."

She stared up at him, hardly daring to hope.

"What about my brother?"

"Bring him. You said the kid can't fly? Neither can anyone else on earth. He'll fit right in." His face was calm, as if he didn't care about her answer, but the arms holding her were tense. And he was holding his breath.

She smiled. "Yes. Yes, we'll go to earth with you."

He whooped and lifted her, spinning her around so that her wing knocked over a glass. Then he kissed her.

An explosion of heat, and energy and taste washed over her. For two heartbeats, she allowed herself the luxury of kissing him back, then she pushed him away. "We can't."

He allowed him to move back a pace but his brows drew together as he frowned at her. "Of course we can. We already did."

She brought her hands up, a fragile barrier between them. "We can't do it again. It drains you, and makes me unemployable."

He reached for her. "I don't care."

She stepped back, not sure whether to be flattered or terrified. "Well, I do. We can't do this again."

His face hardened, and she paused, struck by a thought. "Does this mean you don't want me to go to earth with you?"

He jerked his head back, truly surprised by the question. "Of course not. No matter what, I want you with me. But I don't believe we can't be together." He moved to take her back into his arms.

She stepped back. "Well, I'm not having you collapse every time we mate." She tried to make a joke, to lighten the atmosphere. "Apart from how scary it is to see you like that, I'm getting tired of the attitude of the drone in the Human Market every time I buy more chocolate. He knows what it's for."

Luis scowled. "Point him out to me and I'll deal with him. He not make that mistake again." For someone who abhorred violence, he looked very bloodthirsty. But to her relief, he turned away and started to pace.

"There must be a way," he said after a few minutes. "My uncle is married to an Erisian, and he looked too damn healthy for my taste.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Each time we mated, you passed out."

"Tell me again what Javon said."

She repeated it, and he paced around her small living room, considering it. "So kissing is the worst?" She nodded. "Then it's simple. We don't kiss. Or rather, you don't kiss me."

Her mouth dropped open. "That's impossible. I love kissing you."

"Try." He gathered her into his arms and nuzzled her neck. The feel of his beard tickling her sensitive skin made her giggle, and she pulled his head back so she could nip at his neck.

He growled, and she loved the sound so much she did it again. She reached up to pull his mouth down to her. She froze. "This isn't going to work. I can't stop kissing you." She pulled out of his arms.

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, making it stand up in untidy spikes that she found oddly sexy. "There must be a way..."

He stilled, looking at something on the floor. and turned to her with a determined expression. "Blaha, do you trust me?"

She was so occupied with the sound of her name on his tongue that she almost missed the question.

"Of course," she said absently.

"I hope so." He bent and pulled the belt of his jeans, then advanced on her.

"What?" She put out her hands to fend him off. He caught them deftly and looped the belt around her wrists.

She struggled furiously, but only succeeded in tightening the leather. "What are you doing, you bastard?" How could she have been so mistaken in a man?

"Hush." He stepped in closer and put his arm around her, pulling her against her. But he didn't let go of the belt. "You said you trusted me. I'm going to make sure we both have a good time."

Still wary, she looked into his eyes. It was still Luis. He hadn't changed into a monster. But he did look as if he were enjoying this a bit too much. She had no idea what he had in mind, but trust had to start somewhere. She nodded.

He grinned, and brushed a swift kiss against her mouth. It was over before she could enjoy it. He examined her living room, then eased her to the floor, on top of Sapati's rug. He took the free end of the belt, pulled her hands over her head and tried it to a convenient post.

She struggled but couldn't free herself.

He stood over her a like a conqueror. "Now I have you at my mercy, babe, I gonna do all sorts of evil things to you." His smile turned evil when she struggled. "Oh babe, this is gonna be fun."

He dropped down beside her and traced her face with his fingers, so lightly she could barely feel it. But the echo of the touch flashed through to all her nerve endings. He kissed her swiftly again, then explored her face with his lips and hands.

Her antennae were not normally sensitive, but under his skilled fingers, they seethed with sensation. He was fascinated and played with them until she writhed on the rug. "Please, please." She couldn't have said what she wanted.

"Oh babe, we're only getting started." Luis's voice had dropped to a low growl, it made her want him more.

Then he discovered her pointed ears, and couldn't resist tasting the points with little bites that made her part her legs in invitation. She had done the same to Javon with no idea of what she was doing.

The thought of Javon halted her excitement. Luis noticed. "What is it? Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No. It's just... Javon."

He scowled. "He's not here. I am." And he renewed his assault on her nerve endings, kissing the delicate skin under her ear while his hands explored her ribcage. One hand trailed down the exposed skin of her upper arm, pulling a whimper from her. When had she developed so many nerve endings?

He kissed his way down her neck, and the sensation was maddening. "Let me go," she pleaded.

He laughed. "Oh no, babe, I like it like this." He continued to torment her, searching for the caress that she liked best. When he realised she liked the feel of his bodyhair, he dragged his beard across her skin, then allowed his chest hair to tickle her. That one seemed to affect him as much as her. He stopped, groaning "If I do that, I won't last."

He allowed more space between them, and explored her at his leisure. "So pretty," he marvelled and she felt pretty. She also felt on the edge of madness.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Shut up and fuck me." He laughed and ran his tongue over her stomach, then nudged her thighs further apart.

"Open up, babe, Daddy's coming home."

That startled her enough to bring her head off the rug. "What?"

He laughed. "Never mind, just open up."

She retracted her lorcia eagerly, then held her breath while he examined her closely. He inhaled appreciatively. "Oh babe, so pretty."

"Like a human female?" She couldn't help asking.

"No, but who cares? This is you." He bent down to kiss her.

Blaha lost it after that. She had no idea what he was doing, only that it felt like nothing ever had before. She struggled against her bonds, desperate to get free, but with no idea if she was going to stop him or lock him in position. That portion of her brain that controlled words went on the blink. She was gasping and whimpering and screaming at him.

He gave an occasional breathless laugh, but didn't stop what he was doing. He was still wearing his damn shorts. What was she doing wrong?'

"Fuck me, dammit," she panted, and finally, he relented. Faster than her dazed brain could follow, he stripped and was back in position. He slid in with a sleek lunge that stole the breath from her lungs.

"Blaha!" he groaned, and the sound of her name was almost enough to push her over the edge. Now he was as out of control as she was. He pounded into her without finesse, but she could read the passion and need on his face.

"Luis, Luis, Luis," she chanted his name as her own passion rose higher and higher until she feared she would die when it hit.

He roared her name and pounded into her even harder, and she exploded. His mouth closed on hers while the world went out.

When she was able to pay attention to anything again, she was untied and curled up beside him. Her nose was buried in his chest, and the rug had been pulled over both of them. She looked up.

He grinned down at her. "See, that worked. You up for doing that again?"

She smiled back. "I guess I am."