The Ambassador's Suite
by T'Sia
Sa/Am, NC-17 (MA)
Summary: A Vulcan Ambassador and an intoxicated human woman claim the same
hotel suite - can this go over well?
Disclaimer:
Notes : Thanks to Saidicam
for the comments and encouragement to post and thanks to Selek for his
excellent beta-skills.
This is also my first NC-17 with explicit scenes...soooo...
I'm a bit nervous about posting <sheepish grin> This
story was supposed to be one hot scene so please don't expect any major plot
development ;)
WARNING: This story contains explicit sex-scenes. If this is not your cup
of tea - don't read.
----------------------------------------------
"What do you mean there is no room available?" Amanda asked, drumming
her fingers on the counter. Her patience was running out quickly. What did that
guy mean by 'no suites available'? Michael would be here soon and she wanted to
prepare the room before he arrived. The room and... herself.
She blushed with the thought but the nervous expression of the concierge behind
the counter chased away all pleasant feelings.
"Look, this must be a mistake. My name is Amanda Grayson and I booked a
room for this weekend." She rummaged around in her bag and took out
a piece of real paper and placed it on the desk. "Here, I made a
reservation," she said and looked hopefully at the man behind the counter.
Now he had to understand.
The front desk clerk shrugged apologetically. "I am sorry Ms. Grayson.
There has been a fire in another hotel so we had to take some of their guests
whose rooms were destroyed. Some of those guests are important politicians and
diplomats who are attending a conference."
Amanda raised an eyebrow. "So what? Does this
entitle them to take rooms that are already occupied? Why can't they go to
another hotel?"
"The other hotels are booked up due to the conference, Ms Grayson. I
regret but I have to execute the directives of the hotel management," the
desk clerk answered.
Amanda's shoulders slumped. Her hopes to get the booked room dissolved and
mentally she already saw the plans for the weekend crashing. All
for nothing. The preparations, the money.
"And I'm one of those unimportant guests who will be forced to give up
their room for one of them, right?" she concluded. "You can't do
that."
"Let me assure you Ms. Grayson, we deeply regret this inconvenience.
We will of course refund the money. You also have the opportunity to take a
coupon and ..."
Amanda waved him off. "Yes, I am sure you do regret this," she said.
She wasn't in the mood for hollow phrases now. The truth was that nobody gave a
damn about her plans. This guy would work until his shift's end and then he'd
go home or meet with his girlfriend. "Neither your apologies nor
your coupons are finding me a place to sleep or replace the precious time I had
to sacrifice for getting this weekend off. So kindly keep your regrets to
yourself," she spat, needing someone to blame her anger on. She knew she
was being unfair for he was not responsible for the fire in the other hotel or
for the decision to give her room away. Hell, she didn't even know if he had a
girlfriend. But her disappointment was so great that she didn't care who was
responsible.
The corners of the clerk's mouth sagged in disapproval at her tone of voice but
he caught himself and restored his excusatory stance. He opened his mouth to
speak but was interrupted by Amanda's chiming communicator.
With dismay she noticed the clerk instantly used the opportunity to turn his
attention to another guest while she reached into her bag to retrieve the
communicator. He didn't seem to have much luck with the next customer either
for Amanda had to put one hand over her free ear to hear who was calling when
the next guest started his ranting tirade upon being denied his room. She
stepped away from the counter to get out of the range of the loud voice and
made her way through the mass of upset guests who had arrived with the recent
shuttle. "Hello?" she almost yelled into the phone.
"Amanda? Is that you?" a male voice asked.
Amanda frowned when she recognized the voice. "Michael? Of course it's me.
You dialled my number, remember," she said impatiently and was sorry the
instant she had spoken the words. Michael was not responsible for her problem.
Damn, she wished she could find someone who could be made responsible. Thoughts
of speaking to the manager of the hotel crossed her mind when she remembered
she was still speaking to Michael. "Why are you calling, Michael? Where
are you?"
In his office Michael played with a pen while trying to find a way to break the
news to the woman at the other end of the connection. She was waiting for him
and expected him to arrive any minute now. He really should have told her
earlier, he scolded himself. He should have told her many things earlier, his
conscience added. He swallowed dryly. Amanda didn't have the slightest idea.
How could he ever explain ... ?
"Michael?"
"Uh, I am in my office, actually," he answered quickly and was
silently glad about the fact that Amanda's mobile device allowed audio
transmission only. Nevertheless he cringed in forecast of her reaction.
"You are where?!" Amanda's voice said louder than necessary, not
disappointing his expectations. He briefly wondered if she had not heard him
through the background noise but the chances for that were rather low. He tried
nevertheless.
"In my office, dear" he repeated, feigning innocence. He also raised
his voice as if to drown out the background noise he heard from the hotel
lobby. What was going on there? Damn, how could he prevent her from making a
scene? "Look honey, it seems I won't make it this evening. But maybe we
can go another time."
"What?!" Now Michael was sure Amanda's tone
of voice was not due to the racket surrounding her. "Michael, are you out
of your mind? I booked this suite months ago. We
planned the trip. What makes you think it could be postponed that easily?"
Michael fidgeted with the pen and dropped it. It clattered to the ground and he
hastily reached for it, trying to come up with a good explanation for messing
up Amanda's plans. "Look sweetheart, I got an unexpected load of work. Of
course I will compensate for the loss of credits." For a moment only the
background noise could be heard. "Amanda?"
Her voice didn't sound angry any more, just defeated when she answered this
time. "Do you really think money is worrying me now? You promised me,
Michael. We are both working so hard that we barely have time for each other.
Do you even remember the last time we spend a weekend together?" She
didn't give him time to remember and continued, "Besides, as you know
you're not the only one who has business to attend to. I interrupted my project
for what should have been a relaxing weekend for both of us. I was looking
forward to it for quite some time."
Michael sighed, her sadness eating at him. Uncertainty showed in his features
and real regret tinged his voice when he said, "I'm sorry, honey. I will
make it up to you. I promise." He noticed the finely manicured hand appearing
in the range of his vision, heading steadily for the console to interrupt the
call. "I will call you later, Amanda," he said before the slender
finger with the bright red nail polish pressed the 'off' button.
--- Part
2 ---
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"
a female voice sounded from beside him.
When he didn't answer he felt hands on his shoulders, kneading his cramping
muscles. "She's upset. And she will be even more so if she finds out
the real reason for me messing up her plans," Michael said and stared
blindly at the desk.
"Don't worry, dear. She'll not hear it from me. That's your job," the
female voice said close to his ear now. Sharp teeth nibbled on his earlobe.
Still he didn't react. He turned his chair to look at the tall slender woman clad
in a skin tight red dress, her black straight hair framing her face. She
crossed her arms in front of her chest when she saw his uncertain expression
and sighed exasperatedly. "You look pitiful, Michael." she said and
walked over to the mini bar to pour herself a drink. "Really, you should
develop some sense of confidence and tell her clearly it's over," she said
and turned when she had finished preparing her drink. She tapped the long
polished nail of her index finger against the glass she held. "One would
almost think you regret what is between us."
"No, I don't." Michael got up and paced. "I mean. it's not as easy as you make it sound, Simone," he
answered, running his hands through his thinning hair. He stopped in front of
the window that overlooked the city of
He heard the high heels of Simone's shoes clicking on the parquet when she
approached him. The physical difference to Amanda made it easier for him to
focus just on her when he saw her reflection approaching in the window.
Tall and meagre, with her straight jet black long hair she was the exact
opposite of Amanda's petite curvaceous built and her short hairstyle. Damn!
There he was comparing them again. In order to forget about Amanda he focussed
on Simone's hips that swayed with each of her steps. His gaze travelled down
her long legs, remembering how it felt when those legs wrapped around him
tightly while he... He suppressed the thought
and closed his eyes. But like a traitor his mind's eye continued the picture of
Simone approaching like a cat. The high clipped sounds of her shoes ceased when
she stopped closely behind him. He started when she touched his back and ran
her hands along his ribcage to stroke his chest. She pressed against him and he
could feel her taut nipples nudging his back while her hand began a resolute
journey down his body. He swallowed dryly and Amanda's image blurred when his
desire for Simone grew. He took her hands and kissed them, then he turned to
her and she framed his face with her hands. The touch of her lips made him
forget everything else. The kiss grew more passionate and he ran his hands over
her body, backing her up against his desk. He lifted her easily and sat her on
the smooth surface. Then his hands travelled under her skirt and up her thighs.
Simone just smiled and leaned back, amused by the hunger in his eyes.
Michael flinched when the com unit beside them chimed. Simone just looked at
the flashing light and then her gaze switched to Michael. Noticing his impatient
expression and the rasping sound of his breath she decided to torture him and
pressed the receive button. There was nothing more fun than seeing him
struggling with his excitement when being unable to release it.
"Yes?" she asked as if to give her panting partner some more time to
recover, but well knowing her husky tone of voice just made it even more
difficult for Michael to concentrate on anything else than his desire for her.
For a brief moment only bits of a heated discussion could be heard through the
com link. "Who's there?" a female voice finally asked.
Simone blinked when hearing Amanda's voice and then her mouth set into a
predatory smile. She shrugged at Michael when she saw his panicked expression
and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, seems the cat is out of
the bag. Now is as good a time to tell her as any other," she said
innocently.
"Tell me what?" Amanda's disembodied voice said. "What the hell.? Who are you?"
Michael swallowed and tried to give his voice a normal sound. "Amanda?
Look I'm just in an important talk with my assistant," he answered, still
a little out of breath. Simone rolled her eyes. 'Coward,' she mouthed to
Michael who gave her the death stare.
"Assistant, important talks - I see," Amanda repeated, her voice
devoid of emotion.
Michael was not sure what to make of her tone and laughed nervously. "Yes,
I need help with all that work." 'Damn', he thought, knowing his
explanation was more than thin. Why did she have to call back anyway?
Silence answered from the other side but he could almost hear understanding
dawning until he heard Amanda taking a deep breath. "Sure. You poor dear,
working so hard," she said, her voice tinged with sarcasm. "Well, in
case she isn't your new fitness trainer who's chasing you around your desk, I
know only one kind of 'work' that is so straining that you have to pant as if
running a marathon."
"Amanda, please let me explain. It's not what you think." Michael
started but Amanda interrupted him.
"Oh, shut up, Michael and don't add insult to injury! How stupid do you
think I am? Not what you think," she mockingly imitated him. "I
thought you were smarter than that, trying to come up with such a standard
phrase? Besides, how can you possibly know what I think now?" she asked
her voice unsteady when grief about the betrayal overshadowed her initial ire.
"How can you have the slightest idea?"
"Amanda, please listen. Why don't you let me explain."
Michael tried again but a low hiss interrupted him.
"Explain?" Amanda asked incredulously and her words hung in the air
like impending thunder after a lightning stroke. "You don't need to
explain anything to me anymore. Go to hell, Michael. Oh, and don't forget to
invite that 'assistant' of yours over. As far as I am concerned the two of you
may roast forever united."
"Amanda," Michael began again but the connection was cut, this time
from Amanda's side. "No, you don't hang up on me!" he yelled
and slammed his fist on the desk. How he hated when she did that!
Simone shook her hand as if she'd burned it. "Whew, quite a spitfire,
isn't she?" She awaited an answer but Michael just stared at the com unit.
Amanda's hurt affected him. But hell, if she hadn't called back she wouldn't
know! Why didn't she leave him alone? He had told her he was working! The
thoughts didn't help much and he was still angry that she had cut the
connection. When he extended a hand to reroute the call Simone slung her arms
around his neck, sliding closer.
"Don't worry, darling. Forget her. I think we just got her
blessings," she said and smiled.
Michael stared a moment without really seeing her, irritation evident in his
eyes. His mind was still with Amanda. How dare she hang up on him? They
couldn't part like that - they just couldn't. He loosened Simone's arms and
left the office without another word.
--- Part
3 ---
Amanda closed the communicator and only barely resisted the urge to throw it in
the large aquarium beside her. For a second she pondered the idea to drop it
and crush it under her feet, but grief drowned out her fury. 'That bastard,'
she thought. 'I'm so stupid. I book a room, make arrangements for a romantic
weekend and he's going at it with another in his office!' Tears burned in her
eyes and she closed them for a moment. Self pity and fury were battling
inside her. When one of the feelings got the upper hand she looked up and her
features froze in a determined expression. That guy was having fun? Fine! She
was going to have fun also! She'd have a ball!
She firmly grabbed her suitcase and saw her fortitude drown in the mass of
people fighting with the hotel staff to get their rooms. While she hesitated to
plan her next move the elevator to the upper levels arrived. People were filing
out and a new group of guests boarded the car. 'Now or never,' she thought and
queued for entering the elevator. The lobby was so crowded with chaos that no
one would notice if she slipped in and went to the upper levels to re-conquer
her room from whomever it had been given to. She would *not* travel the entire
way back to New Atlantica or search for another hotel
- the latter option impossible anyway with the conference taking place and most
of the hotels being booked up. She smiled, self assured, and slipped inside the
elevator car with a group of other guests who politely smiled back at her -
except for the Vulcan standing in the corner.
She breathed a sigh of relief when the lift door closed without the hotel staff
noticing she didn't have a valid ID to go up to the suites. This hotel had been
Michael's idea and he had told her the suite was located on the top floor and
so she exited the lift on the top level. With relief she noticed the floor had
only one suite directly ahead and she set off to claim it. She didn't see the
Vulcan from the elevator following her. Several bell boys were just leaving
after having brought luggage into the spacious room and Amanda smiled and gave
them their tip. Then she waved them off and walked into the suite as if she
owned the place.
"Excuse me, T'sai," a male voice said from behind.
She jumped lightly and turned back to the corridor. With surprise she saw that
the man who was speaking to her was the Vulcan she had seen in the elevator. He
had been so quiet during the ride that she didn't notice he hadn't left the car
on one of the other floors. So this must be the guy who wanted to have *her*
room. How dare he? She scrutinized the Vulcan. He was tall with distinctive
features, wearing a floor-length, dark grey robe and a matching outer cape. His
gleaming black hair lay smooth against his head and his brown eyes studied her
with interest. He was quite attractive she had to admit but the shock about
being betrayed by Michael still sat too deep to think of any man in a positive
way. 'Showtime,' she thought grimly and walked back to the entrance.
"Yes?" she answered and focussed the Vulcan with a hard stare.
"What can I do for you?"
"T'sai, I regret to inform you that this is the ambassador's suite,"
the Vulcan said calmly, obviously not the least bit impressed by her commanding
tone.
Amanda resisted the urge to scoff. Of course this was the 'Ambassador Suite'.
She knew it because she had booked it. Same room name was to read on the shiny
panel on the wall near the door too. Was this Vulcan dense or unable to read?
She nodded carefully. "I know that. So what?" she answered, crossing
her arms in front of her chest.
"This room is already occupied, T'sai. I must ask you to leave," the
Vulcan replied with a pleasant voice.
'Polite even when trying to boot someone out,' Amanda thought. Just what she
needed right now - people being nice and polite.
"You are right," she answered. Did the Vulcan's face look a tad
relieved? 'Now you just wait,' she thought and relished the anticipation she
felt upon preparing her counter strike. "And you are wrong," she
added, noticing an almost imperceptible frown crease the Vulcan's forehead.
'You didn't see that one coming did you?' she thought with an evil mental
snicker.
"I do not understand."
'He *is* dense,' Amanda reached a mental conclusion. "Okay. Let me explain
then. You are right. This room is already occupied," she said and tapped
herself on the chest. "It is occupied by me. You are wrong to assume I
will leave. I do not care who you are or why you think you can take this room
away from me. I booked it long before your hotel burned down. The one who will
leave and find himself another room is not me but you," she added, her
finger now pointing at him.
The Vulcan frowned openly. "I do have a room, T'sai. However." he
began but Amanda interrupted him.
"Great!" she exclaimed, her patience finally drained. Why wasn't he
just going then?! "In this case you'd better do us both a favour and
retreat to it." Her gaze fell on the key card the Vulcan held loosely in
his hand. "Is that the key card to your room?" she asked. The Vulcan
looked down briefly, confused about the sudden change in topic.
"Negative," he said. "This is the key card for this room. T'sai,
I must ..."
"Go to my own room now," Amanda finished for him and quickly snatched
the key card out of the surprised Vulcan's hand. She dropped it into her
cleavage to bar the Vulcan effectively from a possible attempt to retrieve the
card. "Tell whoever intends to reside here that this is *my* room and I
will not leave. This is my last word on it," she said and slammed the door
shut, leaving the puzzled Vulcan standing in the corridor. She peeked through
the spy hole in the door. 'Eat this,' she thought when the Vulcan remained
standing in front of the door a second longer.
--- Part
4 ---
Soran stared at the closed door. This had
not gone well and he wished once more that he possessed Sarek's negotiation
skills. But he was grateful he had decided to inspect the room before Sarek
returned, otherwise he would not even be aware there were problems with another
guest claiming the suite. But the woman's presence was not only an
inconvenience but also a severe problem. Sarek would not be pleased by this
unexpected turn of events, especially not in his current condition. The woman
was acting most illogically. She had to leave before Sarek arrived.
He briefly thought about his friend walking the streets of New Rome right now,
his protection a robe with a large hood to mask his identity. He had tried to
reason with Sarek and make him accept a guard. But his friend's condition had
so worsened during the trip that adding the stress caused by the fire in the
other hotel had led to him being unable to tolerate other males without
extensive meditation beforehand. So he had explicitly demanded to go walking
alone. Unable to bear the unprotected state of his friend Soran had, however,
acted against Sarek's wishes and had secretly ordered a guard to follow the
ambassador at an adequate distance. He knew it was vital Sarek was left alone
as best as possible for the time being and his fragile controls not be strained further, but it would have been a serious
negligence if Soran had let him go unprotected. He could only hope the guard
was discreet enough to remain undetected by Sarek. Determined to immediately
take care of the issue with the woman, Soran turned and called for the
elevator.
~*~
When the Vulcan had disappeared from view Amanda sighed with relief. She
briefly wondered whether the Vulcan would return with security and remove her
from the suite. But with all the chaos he would need a lot of good fortune to
find anyone to help him. She decided to forget about him for the time being and
turned to survey the room.
"This is called the 'Ambassador Suite'?" she asked loudly when she
noticed the suite was actually one large room with ostentatious furniture and a
king size bed. "I paid how much for this?" She quickly interrupted
her thoughts before feeling sorry for the loss of credits. "At least there's no roaches ... yet!" she exclaimed and laughed
at her own joke. She sobered and wiped a tear off her cheek that had escaped
her controls. She didn't want to cry. Not for *him*! But nevertheless her sight
went blurry when her gaze fell on the broad bed she had hoped to occupy with
Michael. Since this hotel and suite had been his idea she wondered how many
women had shared that bed with him already. The thought left a bitter taste in
her mouth and she pushed it out of her awareness.
She had to spend the night in the city anyway before catching a shuttle back to
New Atlantica the next day. For now she would forget
about Michael - that jerk. 'I hope he hits his knees
on his desk,' she thought and a smirk tugged at her mouth. Determined to have
as pleasant a night as possible she let out an exasperated sigh and ordered the
champagne and strawberries - as had been planned before. Then she went into the
spacious bathroom where a great Jacuzzi was set into one corner, surrounded by
a slanted glass cylinder that held water plants and exotically-coloured fish.
She smiled and watched the small animals in the tanks while the tub filled with
water.
Shortly after, the doorbell chimed and she returned to the main door. Peeking
through the spy hole she made sure the Vulcan was nowhere to be seen in the
corridor. She smiled satisfied when she noticed that at least room service had
been unaffected by the chaos so far. Then she opened and accepted the small
cart with cooled champagne and strawberries. Rolling everything into the
bathroom she shed her clothes and sank into the warm soothing water, turning
the jets on to gently massage her body. She ignored the glasses standing beside
the cooling unit and grabbed the bottle of champagne instead.
"To you Michael," she said sarcastically and took a generous sip,
almost choking on the foam shooting out of the bottle. She giggled when the
cold and tickling bubbles ran down her chin and over her neck to mingle with
the swirling water of her bath. She popped a strawberry into her mouth
afterwards. Adjusting the music controls she ordered a classical piece from the
computer and leaned back in the tub. Pretending to be comfortable she ignored
the tears that slipped down her cheeks to disappear in the sea of bubbles
surrounding her. She didn't hear the door to the suite being opened half an
hour later.
--- Part
5 ---
Sarek waited impatiently for the concierge to open the door to his suite. His
face didn't reveal any of his inner turmoil but his fingers twitched
occasionally. The young man fumbled with the door lock and Sarek's irritation
grew. The muscles in his jaw began to work and he had to clasp his hands behind
his back to keep himself from shoving the young man aside and opening the door
himself. He ran through a series of mantras that were supposed to calm his
thoughts and ease the aggression, but while he repeated them his negative
emotions found a way through.
He wondered if it had been the correct decision to take on this mission, but he
had felt adequately well when leaving Vulcan. He had not expected his condition
would worsen again. But his assumptions had proven to be false. Leaving Vulcan
so soon after his first pon farr had probably been a mistake. 'After an
unresolved pon farr,' an angry voice inside him added and his thoughts slipped
back to his wife - no, his ex-wife - who had broken the time of mating after he
was out of immediate danger. He did not know why T'Rea had done this and could
also only speculate about her reasons to terminate their bonding afterwards.
She had just made those decisions after he was out of immediate danger, leaving
him not with a lethal but very uncomfortable situation. He realised that he had
deemed himself out of danger too soon - but now it was too late and he had to
deal with the aftermath of a broken pon farr. But what if the blood-fever
returned full force? A mixture of despair and anger coursed through him and he
had to redirect his thoughts. Those musings were unproductive. Besides, the
healer who accompanied the delegation would make sure that this would not
happen. The thought relaxed him somewhat and he remembered the healer's advice
and concentrated on the task at hand.
But the current situation didn't offer any solitude either. First he had had to
change the hotel due to the fire shortly after his arrival - the sight of the
flames being a painful reminder of the mixture of heat and lust that had burned
inside him only days ago, the embers always ready to roar up into flames again.
Then the new hotel had been unable to provide quarters for all of his
delegation - only Soran and a couple of guards had been granted rooms. The
remaining party had been sent to yet another hotel. Having felt aggression
about the inconveniences growing unbearable he had decided to take a walk to
calm his agitated thoughts. Fortunately the side roads had been mostly deserted
and the night air was cool and refreshing. But nevertheless the walk did not
alleviate his condition for the presence of the guard Soran had sent after him
disturbed him greatly and only increased his agitation. Soran had meant well
but he would have to be admonished for disobeying a direct order. After the
walk he returned to the new hotel only to find the lobby drowning in chaos and
the receptionists unable to find the second key card for the suite. He had been
informed that his aide had been given the first key but Soran was nowhere to be
found either. So the concierge had to accompany him to the suite to open it
with the master key. And now this nirak was too
clumsy to open that door! His inner rant had become louder and louder and he
closed his eyes as if he could thus shut out the negative feelings. His
behaviour was unacceptable. He concentrated on letting the anger flow out of
his body when he exhaled. He had to perform the exercise three times before the
concierge had finally opened the door.
"Here you go, sir," the man said, obviously relieved. He stepped back
when Sarek swept past him into the room. He waited a bit longer and the Vulcan
turned.
For a moment the gazes of the two men locked. Sarek's control snapped. 'Rival,
kill him,' whispered the voice in his head. He narrowed his eyes, measuring the
distance to the other man. He could reach him with three large steps ... He
wouldn't even know what hit him. Sarek's muscles flexed and he moved.
The young man in the corridor swallowed nervously and couldn't shake off the
feeling that he was targeted in. 'Knock it off,' he told himself silently.
'That's a Vulcan, he wouldn't ... '
The Vulcan seemed to move as quickly as lightning and ... WHAMM! The door
flew shut and the rush of air ruffled the young man's hair. For a moment he
remained standing in front of the door - completely stunned. What was up with
that guy? He had looked as if he would kill him. Okay, he had been clumsy with
the keys but this was his first day and ultimate bedlam had consumed the hotel.
He had to deal with and to apologise to countless guests whose rooms had been
given to the conference delegates. On top of that, he had been asked to show
the ambassador to his room after he had embarrassed himself and the hotel in
front of this same man when he couldn't find the keys.
The conscierge chewed his bottom lip. This behaviour
was extremely attypical for a Vulcan. Had he done
something offensive? No, he remembered. Nothing that couldn't
be explained with the stress of his first day at work. Besides, the
Vulcan had seemed tense in the lobby already. Maybe he was ill ... or insane.
It was said that Vulcans could do strange things with their minds. He swallowed
again and felt the urge to leave immediately but his gaze focussed on the
master key that was still in the keycard slot. He'd
had no opportunity to retrieve it, yet. When the light in the suite was
switched on he could see a dark shadow by the door -
and felt extremely watched. What if that guy was really crazy and was
about to change his mind and come out and get him? With a shivering hand he
reached for the key and the swooshing sound when the keycard slid out of the lock seemed to echo back in the
empty hall. His gaze returned to the door and he saw the shadow broaden as if
the Vulcan came closer. The human's instincts screamed retreat and he whirled
and fled down the corridor to the staircase, not bothering to wait for an
elevator.
--- Part
6 ---
Sarek heard movement at the door and again hot fury shot through him. 'Rival! Kalifee!' whispered his
blood. He shook his head. This was impossible. He had endured pon farr. There
was no female to defend. Nevertheless, he still shivered violently from his
recent outburst. The young man outside had no idea how close
he had come to death. Sarek knew now that he shouldn't be here. If only the
other delegates had not explicitly demanded his presence he could have stayed
on Vulcan. He frowned when he realized this wasn't the whole reason he had
agreed to the voyage. The truth was he didn't wish to stay on Vulcan. He had
almost acted as if fleeing from the situation of a sudden severance of pon farr
and divorce. It had all come too quickly to be dealt with in his current
condition. But where had his hasty actions taken him? What had he almost done
to that man? He had lost control. Only in the last second his cultural training
had kicked in while reason fought with instinct and he had slammed the door
instead of crushing the other male's skull. He breathed deeply and shook his
head violently when an offending odour hit his nostrils. His sharpened senses
during pon farr allowed him to smell the human male despite the door and space
between them. The pure presence of him meant provocation.
He had only barely refrained from attacking the guard following him through the
streets but this was too much. His hand reached for the door handle and
everything blurred in a green haze of hatred when he pulled the door open
quickly. The corridor was empty; the door to the staircase was slowly falling
shut. Suddenly satisfied by the mere fact that the other male had disappeared
Sarek closed the door. He leaned heavily against it and desperately tried to
hold on to the fragile shreds of control the man's absence had given back to
him. He needed to calm himself, needed to rid himself of that nagging and
scorching feeling inside. He felt too agitated to meditate, though. The urge to
either destroy something or to relieve the pressure in another way was almost
unbearable. For an instant he pondered the latter option and the thought of him
touching himself gained an immediate response from his body. He suppressed the
thought. This was not like him. But the pressure remained.
His thoughts returned to T'Rea. She might have saved his life but it would not
be easy for him to endure until the flames eased off. The thoughts of her
having abandoned him pushed aside the sexual excitement and replaced it with
anger. Sarek moved further into the room and shed his outer robe. The cloth was
heavy from rain, as were his thoughts. During the journey he had still felt his
emotions boiling beneath a thin layer of control that only extensive hours of
meditation had been able to provide. Even now, that fragile control had failed
him. He had almost killed an innocent man. He wrung the cloth of the robe in
his hands and wished he had taken Soran's advice and refused the assignment. It
had not been wise to accept it in his fragile physical and mental condition
that made control of his emotions a torture.
Again he ached to relieve himself of the pressure he felt but that was not an
option for him - not now. He was out of danger so the physical urges should be
suppressed. Why had she left him? A fresh flood of rage and hurt coursed
through him and the cloth in his hands tore. Consciously he loosened his grip
on the material. The muscles in his jaw twitched and his teeth rattled with the
difficulty of controlling his ire. He must consult the healer in the morning.
Attending the talks was impossible in his current condition. The decision made,
his gaze focused on his luggage neatly lined against the wall. Just one
suitcase disturbed the picture. It stood obviously misplaced and aside from the
others. He approached it and narrowed his eyes. This suitcase didn't belong to
him. Couldn't they do anything right in this hotel ... on this planet?! First
the trouble with the rooms, then the chaos with the key cards, then this idiot
almost failing to open the door - and now they had placed another guest's
suitcase in his room!
The flames of his fury roared up. And where was Soran?! He paced the room until
the movement eased his anger. When the rushing sound of blood in his ears grew
faint he became aware of another noise. Tilting his head he listened carefully
and traced the sound to the bathroom door. He recognized the soft piano tunes
of a Terran classical piece. But he didn't want music! He wanted silence!
Annoyed he pushed open the door and came to a dead stop on the threshold when
he saw the human female lying in the spacious bathtub.
--- Part
7 ---
His former agitation was blown away by her presence and he watched her, unable
to tear his gaze away from her. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be
asleep. Sarek's gaze travelled lower to the champagne bottle lying between her
breasts, one slender hand resting atop it. Unbidden his gaze slid from the
bottle, as if his eyes were unable to find a hold on the smooth glass, and
glided down to rest on the soft mound of the woman's left breast. Fascinated,
he watched the areola dipping in the soft foam that covered the waters surface,
emerging and disappearing with each deep breath the woman took.
Staring at her breast Sarek felt his pulse quicken. He grabbed the doorframe
and it creaked in his grip. Anger returned. His lack of control was disgusting!
And what was this female doing in here? She had to go away! He marched into the
room and turned off the music. The breeze caused by his rapid movement rippled
over the surface of the bath water and caused the nipple of the woman's breast
to stiffen with the change in temperature. His gaze glued to the exposed flesh;
once again Sarek felt an immediate response of his own body. The woman's
eyelids fluttered open and she tried to focus him in.
"Didn'I say I wouldn't leave?" she slurred.
Then her gaze seemed to focus a bit more. "Hey, you aren't the guy from
... from," she stammered. "No madder. Who'r
you?" she asked, trying to sit up, obviously too intoxicated to care about
her uncovered state. The water in the tub sloshed over the rim and splashed on
Sarek's boots. "An what'r
you doin' in here?"
Sarek's posture stiffened and his rage about the inebriated female residing in
the bathtub drowned out the stimulation caused by her naked flesh. "I am
Ambassador Sarek and this is my room. You will leave immediately," he
informed her with a rough voice, not trusting his fragile controls to hold out
much longer.
The woman giggled. "Ambassador. Suuure," she slurred and bent over the rim of the
bathtub, looking him up and down. "Fancy dress, though," she mumbled
while studying his ornate shirt and then she giggled again.
"I assure you, I stated my position correctly," Sarek answered
stiffly, trying to ignore the slender line of her exposed back.
The woman smiled and lifted a hand in defeat. "Fine. 's
you wish, baby. Your game ... for now," she added then frowned.
"Who's the other guy, then?"
Sarek was confused. "Who do you mean?"
Amanda waved a hand. "Well, the other Vulcan ... with the grey robes
..." Damn, she couldn't remember his name. Had he given one?
According to her description she could only mean Soran. Sarek's
nostrils falred. He knew quite well why it
bothered him that she had spoken to another male but ....
why had Soran not seen to it that she leave his suite
before he arrived then? He added another point to the admonishing list for
Soran. Outwardly he remained calm, however. "He is my aide," he
supplied evenly.
Her gaze seemed to clear a bit upon hearing that and she snorted. " 'think I heard that before. Just hope for your wife
he doesn't do you the." *hick* "... same
service."
Sarek frowned because her remark made no sense. But the mentioning of his wife
sent a stab of anger through him. "I will not tolerate this invasion into
my personal matters. You are obtrusive and intoxicated. You will leave.
NOW!" he said, louder than he had intended. The woman looked at him with
bright blue eyes. Fascinated he noticed how much the colour resembled the
oceans of her home world. To him it felt as if they were inviting him to cool
himself in their blue depths. He shook with desire for her. Desperate
about being confronted with the imminent failure of his controls, he whirled
and left the room.
His last words momentarily cleared the alcoholic haze in Amanda's head.
"Intruding? Me?" she mumbled to herself. "Who's intruding here?
Now wait. I'll show you who's gonna leave," she
threatened and got out of the bathtub. She almost slipped on the wet floor but
caught herself and stood on wobbly legs. Grabbing a robe and tying the belt
loosely she exited the bathroom, still dizzy. Searching the room she spotted
the Vulcan standing in front of the window, his fists clenched tightly at his
sides. She was still too dazed to wonder about his angry posture and staggered
in his direction, almost bumping into him when she reached him. "Your room?" She laughed humourlessly. "Let
me tell you something, dear. This is *my* room and if someone's gonna leave here then it's you!" she said and stumbled
a step back when the Vulcan whirled to her. She saw fire roaring in his eyes
before his gaze grew calm.
"I have been given this room ... " Sarek
began with forced calmness.
"And I booked and paid for it long before you came," Amanda
interrupted him and pointed a wavering finger in his direction to emphasize her
point.
He didn't answer for a moment and just stared down at her. "You cannot
stay," he then said very softly.
Amanda's eyebrows rose. "No? Watch me," she said, stifling a yawn.
The stress of the day had taken its toll on her and all she wanted to do was
sleep. It was probably all a dream anyway. Alcohol clouded her thoughts again
and she didn't believe what she saw and neither did she expect to remember
anything in the morning. A Vulcan ambassador in her room -
yeah, sure. It was all a nasty, bad dream. But she had to admit the
fantasy Vulcan looked pretty good with his unusual wavy hair and the brown eyes
so soft and so much on fire at the same time. It was surprising what the mind
could come up with when under the influence of drugs. Too bad nothing of it was
real. It was just too bizarre. She went over to the large bed and barely missed
one of the four poles when she flopped down on the mattress. She was asleep as
soon as her head hit the pillow.
Sarek remained rooted to the spot, flexing his hands, unsure what to do. After
some moments of stunned silence he began to pace rapidly. Suddenly he stopped
dead in his tracks and then grabbed his outer robe - not even realizing it was
torn - and went to the door. Someone had to remove that female from this room!
He watched his outstretched hand while reaching for the door handle; it was
shaking badly. He needed a plan. What if someone saw him in this state?
Unacceptable - he must meditate, he MUST! And then?
Then he would call someone to remove the woman. Yes, that path of action
sounded satisfactory.
He turned up the temperature in the room to a comfortable level and switched
off the lights. With forced calmness he went as far away from the bed as
possible, took off his shoes and sat down, facing the wall. He tried to steady
his swirling thoughts, but only barely surpassed the first stages of
meditation. Again and again his mind would begin to twist and turn, like the
funnel of a storm, picking up speed and force as time passed. The mere presence
of a human female beckoned to his boiling blood. He could also hear her turning
on the bed. He could hear her breathing. He could smell the bath essence and
her natural scent underneath and the stimulation of the fragrances almost undid
him. Impossible! He was a Vulcan! He clung to the thought like a drowning man
to a lifeline and stubbornly ignored the urge of his flesh. Instead of
surrendering to his passions he set his iron will on holding out long enough to
be able to call someone to make her leave.
--- Part
8 ---
A sound disturbed Sarek when he had finally managed to meditate. He opened his
eyes. The room was still mostly dark and he listened intently. Then he heard it
again, the rustling of bedclothes and a soft moan. He tried to concentrate and
suppress the effect of the sound that stirred recent memories, but nagging
thoughts intruded his fragile cocoon of control. What if she was in pain? If so
he would have to help her. Sarek shook his head, then
he exhaled forcefully and rose quickly.
As if dreading the sight he turned hesitantly and cast a look at the bed. The
glow of the aquarium tanks in the bathroom shed a shimmering light on the
woman. Her breathing had become more erratic by now and she writhed. As if
being drawn nearer by invisible forces, Sarek approached the bed and came to
stand beside it, staring down at the woman. The robe had opened wider due to
her movements and the deep slit revealed her heaving chest. Her skin glistened;
she was sweating. Her head lolled from side to side and she moaned again and
then pushed up her chest in her sleep. Sarek watched her in fascination,
instinctively knowing it was not pain that caused her reaction. He could almost
physically feel the erotic mental waves she was radiating. Rationality was
still close enough to let him know that what he did was shameful - he shouldn't
watch her having an obviously extremely stimulating dream. But he couldn't move
and stayed as if captured by her presence and being held slave by his own
increasing arousal. Slowly he sank to his knees beside the bed, his breathing
rhythm aligning itself to hers.
A knock on the door made his head snap up and his eyes narrowed in anger when
he heard Soran's voice outside. What was he doing here? His head spun back to
the human female. Was he coming for her?! Soran called again and Sarek's rage
did a leap. Another male! A rival! How dare he? She was *his*! He must get rid
of the male. Quickly he got up and went to the door. Opening it just a crack he
squinted into the brightly lit corridor and glared at Soran, no longer seeing
the friend of long years but only the rival in pursuit of *his* woman.
~*~
Soran waited for Sarek to open the door and his concern increased when Sarek
didn't answer. His odyssey to intercept Sarek before he could enter the suite
had not been successful. First he had been told security was too busy with
others guests to be able to remove the woman from the room, so he went to
search for the Vulcan guards but couldn't find them at the location the hotel staff
had indicated. After returning to the reception desk he had been very concerned
upon being told that Sarek had already been show to the suite. The situation
was dangerously unstable if the Terran woman was still residing in the same
room. In Sarek's current condition the presence of a female could be highly
disturbing to his controls and even endanger the woman's life if Sarek acted on
his urges and she refused him. Sarek still needed additional sessions with the
healer to overcome the remnants of a broken pon farr.
Soran permitted himself the emotion of relief when he saw Sarek answering the
door. His friend looked tired and squinted into the corridor, his nictating membranes reflecting the light to protect his
eyes. Soran was a bit surprised to see this reaction. Usually the Vulcan eye
adapted very quickly to changes of light intensity. Maybe Sarek had been asleep
already? The focus of his ponderings interrupted the creation of further
theories.
"What is it?" Sarek demanded lowly.
"I ask forgiveness for disturbing you, my friend; however, there was an
unauthorized visitor in your room. I asked her to leave but she would not
comply," Soran said.
Sarek's mood darkened. So Soran had indeed spoken with the woman - with *his*
woman. He thought about taking revenge in a quick fight but the rustling of
bedclothes in the room behind him redirected his thoughts. "She is not
here," he lied to Soran.
Soran looked surprised. "Indeed? She did not seem to be willing to leave
voluntarily when I asked her to. I wonder what had made her change her
mind."
"This is none of you business. Leave me alone. I have to meditate,"
Sarek answered brusquely and shut the door.
Soran was a bit taken aback by this rude behaviour, but he reminded himself
that Sarek's agitation was to be expected after the recent trouble. He only
hoped the healer could alleviate his symptoms until the talks started.
Otherwise he would need a good reason to cancel them, one that satisfied the
other delegates and that didn't violate Sarek's privacy. A participation in the
talks in his condition was out of the question. An unresolved pon farr could
become dangerous to the point of the male falling back into the blood fever if
not treated properly. Of course the return of the fever could only happen when
an adequate stimulation was applied. Since Sarek was able to establish enough
control to speak to him it seemed that the woman was gone and thus there was no
cause for stimulation. So the security service of the hotel was better than he
had initially thought. But Sarek's mental condition had still to be attended
to. Soran returned to his room but made a mental note to contact the healer as
soon as possible.
--- Part
9 ---
Sarek remained standing at the door, his gaze glued to the spy hole that showed
the other male in the corridor. His cramped muscles relaxed when the male left.
He turned swiftly and returned to the bed, his gaze focussed on the woman like
a predator stalking its prey. He sank to his knees beside her again and watched
with glistening eyes. Her movements had increased and she gripped the sheets
and sighed deeply.
The sound echoed through him and the vibrations seemed to directly centre in
his groin, tickling and stimulating him. Heat roared up from between his legs
and he allowed it, allowed the blood to be pumped into his genitals. The
pressure he felt when they pressed against the confines of his pants was
exquisite. He reached out with quivering hands. He must touch her now. He
opened the belt of the woman's robe, all inhibitions forgotten. He didn't care
that she was a stranger, he didn't care that he was acting shamefully. He was a
male, she was a female. All that mattered was her and the increasing pressure
and urgency in his body. The mantras the healer had taught him to control his
lust were forgotten. His breath quickened and his pupils dilated until even the
pale light from the bathroom seemed to draw bright unstable patterns over her
body as if she were glowing from inside.
When she moved again, the robe slid from her body, revealing her small but firm
breasts. Sweat drops glistened on her skin and the curls of her pubic hair
while her breathing increased to a pant. She writhed, moaning continuously now,
the sound rising in pitch and volume. Beads of sweat ran down her ribcage and
Sarek extended a shaking hand and caught the moisture with his finger tips. He
brought his fingers to his mouth and tasted her. He closed his eyes and a
rasping sound not unlike a low growl rose in his chest when he tasted the salt
of her sweat. The aroma set off a series of sharp nerve impulses that triggered
recent memories of a similar taste and he sighed and spread his bent legs wider
to allow his genitals to swell even tighter.
He opened his eyes and stared down at the human before him. How alien and how
beautiful she was. The light brown locks were damp from sweat and clung to her
head but her features were soft and delicate even when caught in a grimace of
sweet agony. The thin brows over the tightly closed eyes were bunched together
and her soft mouth opened when her panting increased. He must have her now, he
must. He tore his shirt off, shredding the material in the process and reached
for his pants to let them suffer the same fate. Not able to resist the
temptation he slid his hand lower for a moment and cupped his erection. The
feeling coursed through him like an electric jolt despite the cloth still
covering him. Wanting more he reached lower to run his hand over his testicles
and squeezed them once - hard - grunting with exquisite pain before running his
hand upwards to stroke himself again. His back arched reflexively and his hips
jerked forward. The muscles in his groin constricted and he felt the
first drops of pre-cum wetting his undergarments. A wave of heat rolled over him
and he whimpered when his body took possession of his mind. Suddenly the woman
uttered a cry and she convulsed and shuddered on the bed, her chest heaving in
hard erratic breaths.
Amanda's eyes snapped open and she felt a presence beside her. Her head jerked
around and she started when she saw someone beside the bed. She took in the
man's Vulcan features and thought to see Satan himself kneeling beside her. She
was almost at eye level with the Vulcan's midsection and a very predominant
bulge caught her attention. 'A very aroused Satan,' her fogged mind whispered
in bad humour. She tore her gaze away from the obvious display of male arousal
and glimpsed his face again. The Vulcan's eyes glistened brightly like those of
a cat in the dark and the light from the fish tanks in the bathroom painted
irregular patters over his face and bare chest. An instant later he seemed to
be as startled as she was, her intense gaze having snapped him out of whatever
fantasy his mind had been caught in. But as quickly as the startled gleam in
his eyes had emerged, it vanished and his gaze seemed to pour raw lust over
her.
Sarek felt his rationality surfacing and gasping for its last breath only to be
immediately submerged again in the maelstrom of lust. "Aduna," he
whispered lowly.
"What?" Amanda asked, still dazed and sat up. She stared down at him
kneeling beside the bed and her vision cleared. She remembered dimly how she
had spoken to this man before. What was his name? 'I must be dreaming,' she
thought. A Vulcan wouldn't kneel beside her bed, half naked and very much
aroused. She assessed her own body's condition and found herself sweating and
her genitals swollen. Memories of her dream came back to her - a dream of this
man before her, staring at her as if frozen in
time. Shame washed over her but it was drowned out by the blood rushing in her
ears while she observed the Vulcan in rapt attention. He didn't move and his
face was half thrown in shadows but in the light from the bathroom she could
clearly see the outline of his jaw muscles that twitched occasionally. Was she
still dreaming? If so it was a decidedly nice dream. Still not sure if he was
real she extended a hand and tentatively touched the Vulcan's chest. His
muscles twitched violently beneath her fingers and she jerked her hand back.
She wasn't dreaming!
--- Part 10 ---
She retreated on the bed but quickly the Vulcan grabbed her wrist. He held her
gently but would not completely let her go. Both froze, he desperately trying
to regain control over himself and she being torn between arousal and instinct
to flee.
Amanda's thoughts raced. What was she thinking? She didn't know this man. But
damn he was so good looking! No! He was a good looking *Vulcan*! What was up
with him? Was he ill? Insane? Did it matter? He wanted
her and she responded to him. The reason wasn't important, was it? The rapid
thoughts made her blood hammer in her temples and she closed her eyes. The
Vulcan slowly sat on the bed and tugged at her wrist, almost gently and she
gave in a bit and shifted nearer.
"Please," she heard his rough whisper and her eyes snapped open.
Instantly the Vulcan's gaze targeted her like a phaser. He shivered and his
teeth rattled as if he were cold. But the room was warm. it
could only be ... a wave of excitement rushed through Amanda. Damn, after
the humiliating experience with Michael it felt so good to be wanted. Was that
the reason for her not caring *why* the Vulcan wanted her? She swallowed and
licked her lips. The Vulcan's eyes followed each of her movements. She
remembered a name she had heard earlier. "Sarek?" she tried softly.
He closed his eyes as if savouring her voice. "Ha", he breathed in
Vulcan. "It is I, t'hy'la," he continued in a mixture of Standard and
his mother tongue.
She didn't know the last word but it sounded nice. Carefully she lifted her
free hand to touch his face. When her fingers hovered only inches away from his
skin she felt heat emanating from him and trembled, but not from cold. Suddenly
his eyes snapped open and he quickly grabbed her other wrist with his free
hand. The action startled her and she flinched.
That seemed to anger him and he pulled her roughly against him. Fear washed
over her but it was instantly replaced by lust when their naked chests touched.
The Vulcan drew a ragged breath and closed his eyes again, a soft moan escaping
him. Then he flexed his fingers around her wrists and pushed her away, putting
a bit of space between them. She frowned but stared at him mesmerized while he
seemed to be torn between passion and reason. Right now she wasn't sure which
she wanted to win out. He shivered, then opened his
eyes. Out of an impulse Amanda leaned forward and gently nibbled at his chin.
He jerked back as if her lips were of fire.
"No!" he commanded. "I must ... control ..." he gasped and
his eyes rolled back into his head.
His grip had loosened enough so that Amanda could get one of her hands free.
Concerned that he was in pain she wrapped it around the back of his head to
hold him. "What is it? Are you in pain?" she asked.
His eyes opened and he looked at her with a feverish gaze. "I ... ache ...
for you ... please ..." he said between gulps of air.
"For me ...," Amanda echoed. Although not knowing the cause she
understood what he was implying. 'It is obvious. But you don't know him,'
sounded a warning voice in her head. 'So what? You're
not married .... You don't even have a lover anymore.
You're free to do what you want,' answered another.
"Forgive me," the Vulcan breathed.
"Shhh," Amanda answered, her decision made.
Slowly she leaned forward until their lips tentatively met. Upon the touch they
both shrank back as if electrical charge had driven them apart. They both
blinked in surprise and he made a move to retreat but then his right hand
seemed to develop a will of its own and guided her hand he still held low. She
swallowed dryly when she understood where he was heading. She watched their
hands disappearing between their bodies and she nervously licked her lips and
jumped when her fingers touched something hard. His hand slid over hers and
laid it flat against his groin. He drew in a hissing breath and threw back his
head when her hand pressed against his erection, still hidden below a layer of
cloth.
Amanda felt the air rushing from her lungs; she couldn't breathe anymore. A
remote thought wondered if the genital anatomy of Vulcans was similar to that
of Human males but the incredible pleasure he seemed to gain just from her
touch was taking her breath away. Her blood rushed in her ears, almost drowning
out the sound of his harsh breathing and her hand moved on its own when she
stroked up and down the front of his pants just to see him enjoying her touch.
His head spun back to her and his eyes opened. Black pools stared at her while
he panted - his mouth agape - and she realized for a moment that he was totally
at her will. She almost smiled with the contentment the thought gave her and
she gave his genitals another stroke. Curiosity returned to her and,
unsatisfied with the indistinct outlines she could feel through the fabric of
his pants, she carefully reached for its closure to see what she would find
beneath. Her triumph was interrupted when she realized the closing mechanism
was unknown to her and she couldn't open it. She swallowed nervously and detached
her other hand from him to help in the effort of freeing him from the tight
confines of his pants. He tried to be patient while resting his hands on her
thighs and then massaging and stroking her flesh with increasing strength. His
breathing became harsher and when he finally lost his patience, both of his
hands were suddenly over hers and tore away the seal on his pants. Quickly he
spread his legs wider and grabbed her hand to guide it roughly to his scorching
flesh. He cried out when her hand met his skin. Amanda almost drew back her
hand at his strong reaction but curiosity and surging desire dispelled any
reservations she might have had. Gaining confidence she carefully examined the
foreign contours further and began stroking him rhythmically.
Sarek reached for her hand and guided her movements. Her touch felt so good ...
The heat and pressure became almost unbearable. Yes! Yes! He could feel it. The
release he had suppressed was so close. With incredible speed his hand
came up and touched her face.
Amanda gasped startled and closed her eyes in a futile attempt to block out the
wave of incredibly erotic images that filled her mind at his touch. When the
pictures didn't disappear she realized with a shock that he must somehow have
connected with her mentally! She had heard Vulcans possessed telepathic
abilities but she had never imagined a connection of minds to be this intense.
At first she recoiled in fear but the sensations rolling over her wave by wave
washed away resistance and trepidation. She heard moans and deep sighs, felt
skin against her skin, enveloping and being enveloped. It was incredible and
her mind drowned in the foreign sensations that seemed so familiar all the
same. She moaned loudly and forced an echoing sound from him when her hand
squeezed his flesh. Opening her eyes she zeroed in on his mouth and again slid
a hand behind his head to grab his hair tightly. He remained motionless for a
second and she finally pressed her lips to his, kissing him breathlessly and he
responded in kind to her passionate touch. Through the haze of sensations she
remotely felt her body's need for air. She tried to ignore it, not wanting the
kiss to end but the feeling got more intense and she began to feel dizzy from a
lack of oxygen. He didn't loosen his mouth from hers but fed on her as if
drinking from a life saving well. On the verge of suffocating she bit him on
the lips - hard. He yelped and growled and she felt his blood, hot and coppery
in taste.
--- Part
11 ---
Catching their breath they stared at each other and she finally released her
hold on him to shrug off the robe. His hands stroked the exposed flesh of her
shoulders. Suddenly impatient he gripped both open ends of the closure of his
pants and tore it wide open, shredding his undergarments in the process. Amanda
stopped briefly in getting rid of her robe when his erection sprang free and
his torn undergarments allowed full view of his manhood and the well-sized
testicles nestled directly below. The part of her that had wondered about his
anatomy earlier pushed forward and wanted to examine him further but she
struggled for breath and swallowed when desire overtook her. The last conscious
thought was that she didn't know this man and shouldn't do this; he was a
stranger, an alien ... But all reason fled when he dragged her onto his lap and
she settled herself over him. There was no time for any more kisses or
fondling, both were desperate now for the joining. She swiftly reached between
them and held him steady while she slowly lowered herself onto him. She felt
the double ridges she had discovered earlier slide inside her and held her
breath when her weight made him penetrate deeper.
She didn't seem to do it fast enough for him for he shivered and moaned, held
his breath and then panted again until his hands were suddenly on her
buttocks. He held her tight when his hips jerked forward and he buried
himself deeper with each quick and hard lunge. She held still and thought she'd
pass out from the pleasurable sensation when she felt herself stretch and glide
over him. One of his hands returned to her face and the most incredible feeling
washed over her when she not felt her own body but his as well through the
mental connection. Her flesh felt cool and smooth to him, enveloping his burning
member inside her. The relief was only brief, though, and the pressure in his
groin increased with every passing second. Everything in his behaviour radiated
his need for release and she felt him squirm and swell within her. The mental
connection flared and the sensations he shared intensified - the tight
squeezing of her inner walls, her skin against his and finally the insuperable
urge to thrust drowning out any other feeling. She heard his laboured breathing
and pressed herself against him, grabbing his shoulders as she held on tight in
anticipation.
Her position brought his face close to hers and his gaze locked with hers when
he started thrusting into her, deep and hard, exhaling forcefully with every
impact of his pelvis against hers.
What was painful at first soon became a pleasurable heat between her legs and
she leaned back her head and let him guide their movements, pressing herself
against him to increase the feeling and take him fully with each thrust. The
mental connection lost a bit of its intensity when he loosened his hand from
her temple to grab her shoulders. He held her body angled away from his and she
understood his intent when he slid one of his hands to the small of her back to
support her. She leaned back to allow him deeper penetration and relished the
sensation of him filling her over and over. She felt his hand stroking her
face, exploring her mouth with his fingers and she caught him between her lips,
biting him before allowing him to descended lower over her throat.
Fascinated by her hammering heart rhythm that was so different from the fast,
almost vibrating beat of a Vulcan heart, Sarek slid his thumb over her neck to
feel the pulsing life beneath. His hand travelled lower and grasped her
breasts, one after another he kneaded and stroked her flesh, tweaking and
tugging her nipples, his attention focussed intently on the pitch of her moans
like a musician listening to the tune of his instrument. His gaze went down
further and he watched himself disappear inside her when he thrust and emerge
slick and dark when he drew back. The sight spurred him on and he gave a series
of quick hard strokes, forcing a high pitched cry from Amanda. He felt her
inner walls constricting around him and sensed the answer from his body when
his testicles tightened in anticipation. He drew her up close to him and buried
his face against her shoulder, stilling his movements to ease the feeling of
imminent climax. No, not yet!
Amanda could feel his breath leaving hot wet traces on her skin when he pressed
his face into the crook of her neck. She felt him tense and waited breathlessly
when he stopped moving. One of her hands travelled into his hair, gripping it
tightly and then massaging his scalp while the other glided over his back,
nails lightly scratching over the skin. A shiver ran through him and she could
feel him drawing his brows together against her neck. She bit her lip,
impatient for him to start moving again. She was so close... Breathing a low
impatient moan she slid against him and nibbled on the tip of his ear. She
sighed contentedly when he twitched inside her and then picked up his former
rhythm. Their chests slid slickly together, stimulating the sensitive nerve
ends in her nipples to an almost unbearable peak. A familiar sensation settled
deep within her and with each blow the heat tied up to a tighter knot. She
grabbed him harder and bit her lip when she clung to him in anticipation of the
release she knew would sweep over her in an instant.
She almost didn't realize the feel of his hand back at her temple while the
other still held on to her buttocks to press her firmly against him with each
stroke. She gasped when he burst into her mind and she felt what he felt. The
pressure in her groin seemed to increase ten fold and a cry escaped from her
mouth. She felt herself clenching around him in imminent release and through
the established bond she felt his body echoing the sensation when his testicles
tightened in preparation for ejaculation.
Her eyes half closed Amanda stared past his shoulder while her gaze was
focussed inside. In silent understanding their bodies seemed to communicate
through mirroring each sensation received from the other, adding fuel to the
circle of lust with each joining of their genitals. At last her eyes closed in
bliss. Her expression changed to a frown that intensified until her features
were drawn into a grimace of sweet agony. She drew several ragged breaths and
exhaled with a deep moan when the tightness in her loosened and her whole lower
body quivered in ecstatic waves that rippled out to every extremity. From the
tips of her fingers to the tips of her toes, rushing right up her spine,
crawling under the skin of her head, causing goose bumps to rise on her whole
body, she stiffened and rolled her hips, groaning deeply.
Sarek felt her quivering around him, her hands tightening almost painfully on
his back. He tried to slow his thrusts to postpone the inevitable and draw out
the exquisite sensations he felt but the feeling he received through the mental
connection undid him. Helplessly, he gasped in release when she stiffened and
he felt her fingernails sharp and painful on his back. But the pain was pure
pleasure and he grunted and bit down hard on the juncture of her neck when he
felt the end of the unendurable tightness inside him. His genitals pulsated and
his hips jerked against her with every spasm of his ejaculation while he pumped
all the essence that had tortured him for so long into her body.
--- Part
12 ---
Amanda slowly opened her eyes. She still trembled from nervous overload, every
nerve in her body tingling from the experience. She felt her thoughts mingle
with images that were not of her mind. But what had been a fire moments ago was
now a soft warm glow hovering at the threshold of her consciousness. The room
was silent apart from their heavy breathing. As if emerging from a dream as
before she lifted her head and stared straight ahead. What had she done? She
still had her arms slung around the Vulcan and he was resting against her, holding
her tight. This couldn't be true. But when she turned her head she saw the tip
of a pointed ear beside her cheek. Bad enough that she did this with a man she
didn't know but a Vulcan? Doing this? But it was true; it had happened. But why? She was confused and tried to disentangle herself
from him. At first her limbs felt like jelly and her muscles were uncooperative
but at last she was able to grab the Vulcan's shoulders and pushed at him. To
her surprise his arms tightened around her and she felt his lips moving against
her neck.
"Worla trasha, ashal-veh," he murmured and his voice vibrated
against her skin, stoking the embers of the recent fire inside her.
She froze momentarily, suppressing the growing heat. "Wha ... what? What did you say?" she asked with
a shaky voice, surprised how weak it sounded.
//Don't leave, beloved, please ... don't leave//
She jumped startled when the words vibrated through her mind. She couldn't even
say in which language they had been spoken. She just understood. Before her
mind could recoil from the intrusion she felt warmth surrounding her, soothing
her fears and searching for her company. The Vulcan emphasized his mental words
with a gentle bite on her shoulder and his hand trailed down her back and, as
she had done before, he used his fingernails very carefully to stimulate her
skin. Amanda shivered and felt goose bumps rise on her back.
"Beloved?" she croaked. She shifted slightly to avoid his hand
pleasuring her back and the movement caused her to shift her hips. Instantly
she felt him tense, the muscles of his back flexing beneath her hands. He
trembled and pressed against her and with a trace of alert and anticipation she
felt him hardening inside her for a second time. She moved again but he held
her and the stroking of his hands became more insistent while he started to
trace the line of her shoulder and neck with gentle kisses.
"But … we ... we don't know each other," she weakly protested
and bit her lip to suppress a moan, trying to hold on to the last straw of
reason. 'As if it weren't already too late for this,' a voice inside her
remarked sarcastically. She silenced it in favour of enjoying the Vulcan's
touch.
"Shhhh," he murmured and continued his way
of kisses along her jaw line, slowly travelling under her chin and to her
throat. Instinctively she leaned her head back a bit, but not yet ready to
submit completely she didn't allow him full access. She felt his hand travel up
her spine to reach into her hair. He tugged lightly until she surrendered with
a deep sigh and exposed her throat to his searching lips.
At once she felt him latch on to her and a low growl rose up from within his
chest as he sucked her skin into his mouth and marked her as his. She exhaled
with a hiss and her brows drew together when his touch on her throat bordered
on being painful. But just when she was about to whimper, he released her flesh
and she used the opportunity to slip her hands into his hair and tugged as he
had done to force his head up in turn.
For a moment they gazed deep into each other's eyes. He seemed way beyond
control but Amanda knew this was the last opportunity for her to break the
mounting tension. Did she want to end it? She heard the nagging inner voice
that told her to stop but her body certainly didn't agree. She felt waves of
pleasure rising from between her legs when he shifted lightly, moving inside
her. She licked her lips. What was so wrong about doing this? They were adults
and free to do as they pleased. A brief thought of Michael only confirmed her
determination instead of changing her mood. 'Shut up,' she told the nagging
voice and ran both hands through the Vulcan's hair, enjoying the soft wavy
texture.
"Yes," she breathed and captured his mouth with hers. She began the
kiss passionately, dipping her tongue deep into his mouth to join with his. She
felt him grab her tighter and his strength appealed to her and increased her
initial arousal. When the nagging voice in her was drowned out by the touch,
the taste, the feel of him she relaxed and the kiss became more sensuous until
they had to let go to draw air.
For a moment they gazed at each other once again, none of them speaking, only
observing. Something was different from their first joining. Amanda didn't know
what it was but his eyes were much more intense this time. He didn't radiate
this urgency anymore. He was rather calm, but still determined. Slowly he
lifted a hand and placed it at the side of her face. She expected to feel him
in her thoughts again and was surprised how little this frightened her. She
almost longed for the company of his mind that bathed her in its closeness,
making her feel as if she was being caressed by warm sunbeams. But he didn't
establish contact, just watched his hand as it stroked back a damp lock of light
brown hair. Gently, he tucked it behind her ear and as if being casually
curious he tilted his head and watched his fingertips explore the rounded shell
of her ear.
Amanda closed her eyes and relished the touch. How could such a simple
sensation be that erotic? She opened her eyes and carefully leaned into his
hand. She was surprised to feel how soft his palm was and felt the urge
to explore his hand further. She detached him from her face and slid her other
hand from his shoulder to loosely hold his hand between hers. It was heavy and
almost double the size of hers and she marvelled at
his skin tone that looked dark against her creamy flesh. 'How strong it is -
and how gentle it can be,' she thought. She carefully examined his long
graceful fingers, running the tip of her index finger over the back of his
hand, fascinated by the clearly visible veins causing ridges in his skin. That
reminded her of something and she playfully rolled her hips and was rewarded
with a twitch of his penis inside her. He swallowed dryly and his nostrils
flared. Then he calmed himself and watched, mesmerized, at how her eyes
glistened through her lashes.
"Sorry," she whispered and smiled. Continuing her exploration she ran
her finger over the protruding veins and watched fascinated how they reappeared
when her finger continued its journey. She turned his hand when she had reached
his wrist and ran her finger up his palm back to the tip of his middle finger.
She stroked each of his fingers tortuously slow and noticed with interest how
he reacted when she touched his middle and index finger. Curiously the touch of
these regions also intensified the glowing presence of his thoughts in her
mind. She had heard about the mental bonds between Vulcan couples, but it was
for life, wasn't it? A twitch of panic made her wonder if this connection could
ever be loosened but a caressing tendril out of the glowing centre took away
her fear. She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed his fingers. He seemed to
enjoy her touch but licked his lips and shifted impatiently. The caressing mind
tendril grew more intense, glowing brighter like iron being heated in a forge.
The tightness in her groin intensified and she realized it was his feelings
that were being transmitted over the miraculous connection. She sighed
deeply and leaned back a bit, shifting herself on his lap more solidly. She
smiled softly when she saw him closing his eyes in bliss.
--- Part
13 ---
When he looked at her again his gaze was intense. Supporting her lower back he
ran his fingers from her throat between her breasts to her navel, stroking her
abdomen gently. His hand descended further and he touched her pubic hair and
slipped his fingers lower until he found her clitoris.
Although having visibly followed his journey down her body Amanda jumped when
his hot fingers touched her. When her head snapped up to regard him in surprise
it was him who smiled softly at her. She didn't even feel surprise about his
bizarre behaviour anymore and felt herself mirroring his expression even though
she thought he was getting weirder by the minute. Sitting up again she lifted a
hand and carefully traced his full lips, as she had done to him before he
caught her finger with his teeth and held her gently. She smiled and then
replaced her finger with her lips, wrapping her arms around him.
He relaxed upon being reassured he would not be left alone and the kiss was
soft and lingering. He surprised her when he broke the kiss and slid a hand to
the small of her back to support her. He came up on his knees to lower her on
the bed and she held her breath when his weight shifted onto her until he
supported himself with his arms. His lips started to place feathery kisses on
her face, outlining its contours before he slowly travelled down to her throat,
gently brushing over the spot he had marked before. Her breasts beckoned him to
descend further but he seemed to realize he had to withdraw from her if he
wanted to do so. He searched her eyes and she smiled gently.
Reassured that she would stay, he carefully withdrew. The air in the room
although raised to almost Vulcan norm was cold on his exposed flesh and he
winced and seemed to decide whether to return to her smooth and warm cocoon. A
slight chuckle arose in Amanda's chest at his obvious discomfort.
"You laugh at me, woman?" he asked his voice barely more than a soft
rumble.
Amanda smiled. "Never," she said teasingly.
He was over her in an instant and pinned her arms over her head. "Don't
laugh at me," he said, his eyes glistening.
Through their physical connection Amanda felt the vibrations of his voice in
his chest, causing her nerves to tingle. She was confused about his dominating
behaviour but some other feeling drowned out the confusion. She tried to move
her arms but he held her effortlessly. Feeling her heart rate increase she bit
her lower lip when a wave of excitement washed over her and she realized this
time it was her who was totally at his will. The primitive display of
possession triggered a hidden instinct she seemed to be defenceless against.
She wanted to fight it, not to submit that easily, but his closeness and his
touch intoxicated her. She felt his penis against her body, vibrating with the
fast rhythm of his heart and instead of fighting him she reluctantly opened her
legs and her breathing increased to a helpless pant. "Yes," she
moaned. "Please. now."
Sarek tensed above her and she felt him twitch noticeably when she begged him.
His brows bunched together and he exhaled forcefully when he fought his
reactions back under control. His eyes opened and he tilted his head slightly,
regarding her curiously. He released her arms and smiled when she instantly
gripped his back, massaging his muscles. She bit his chest and he grunted when
her hands slid in his pants and grabbed his buttocks to pull him roughly
against her. One hand sneaked between them and he jumped when she took hold of
him to guide him back inside her. Quickly he reached down and took her hand to
bring it over her head again. She sighed impatiently and bit his neck but he
rose up further on his arms, detaching her from him.
"No," he commanded. "Do not touch me." He watched Amanda
staring up at him in rapt attention. She obeyed and lay still. Her eyes widened
when he shifted his weight and grabbed her other hand. He held her arms over
her head, effectively pinning her down with his weight and immobilizing her.
She panted and squirmed beneath him. That seemed to please him. He knew what
she wanted and smiled slightly. "Not yet," he rumbled.
"When?" she asked, swallowing forcefully.
"When I say," he answered and emphasized his words with another
gentle bite at her throat.
Amanda licked her lips. She had no explanation why this game was exciting her
so much. She wasn't the submissive type and had never allowed Michael to
possess her that way. It must be his rather playful than earnestly dominating
manner that made this game thrilling. This Vulcan had plucked a string inside
her no one else had ever touched and she wanted him too much to deny him his
wish. She smiled and was rewarded with an answering twitch of his mouth.
Returning to the game he peered at her with daring eyes while he loosened his
grip on her hands to see if she would comply. Satisfied with seeing her
grabbing the pillow instead of trying to touch him he lifted himself from her
and quickly took off his pants. Settling down again he began to trail kisses
and licks down her throat. He felt himself stiffen when her breasts came close
to his face. He inhaled their fragrance and finally touched his tongue to the
soft mound. As before the salty taste of her skin crackled along his nerves,
triggering passionate memories and eliciting another anticipating twitch of his
manhood.
Amanda froze when he touched her and only the beating of her heart made the
flesh of her breasts quiver with every beat. "Please," she begged
again and finally he had mercy on her and took her nipple into his mouth, using
his tongue to massage it against his palate. Amanda arched beneath him and he
heard as well as felt the vibrations of her moan through the touch of her skin.
He stroked and kissed her breast and then switched to the other, almost
bringing her on the verge of screaming before he continued his journey down her
body. He kissed her quivering belly and delved his tongue into her navel,
watching fascinated how her whole abdomen drew in away from his touch. He
repeated the action and she reacted in the same way as before, eliciting a
smile from him. But the smile disappeared and was replaced by an intense
expression when the first fragrance of her feminine scent wafted up to his
nostrils. Staring mesmerized at her glistening pubic hair he slid lower and
positioned himself between her thighs. Inhaling deeply he parted her lips
carefully and touched his tongue to her clitoris. The smell and taste of her
was decidedly different from a Vulcan female but nevertheless triggered the
desired reaction in him. Or was it just the awareness of what he was doing? He
shoved the analyzing thoughts away and chuckled inwardly at the shocked
reaction of his controlled mind that briefly surfaced in the boiling sea of
emotion.
Amanda jerked sharply beneath his touch and clenched the pillow in her hand. He
looked up to her briefly but recognized her writhing and moaning as sign of
lust rather than pain so he bent back to his task and this time took the
swollen nub into his mouth, rolling and massaging it gently with his tongue. He
heard Amanda moaning continuously now and the bedclothes rustled when she
gripped them hard and tore at them. He stopped his ministrations and saw her
brows furrowing together in frustration about not finding release when feeling
it so near.
Her legs opened wider and he watched with interest when she placed a hand
between them and started stroking herself. He allowed it and occasionally
kissed her fingers and her sensitive flesh in turn. Unconsciously he slid a
hand down along his body and touched himself, stroking and massaging his
testicles and penis while he kissed her. Soon the blood sang in his ears and his
world narrowed to the place between his legs that demanded release. With a
grunt he pushed her hand away and finally crawled over her. Supporting himself
on corded arms only their genitals touched and she received him willingly,
reaching for his throbbing penis and guiding him to her opening. He sank down
on his forearms and in his haste almost thrust before being at the right place
but she held him steady and released him only when he was securely positioned
at her entry.
She opened her eyes and found him looking at her. He shifted his weight to one
arm and his hand touched her temple. Like a bonfire his thoughts burst into her
mind, dancing on a wave of passion that lapped deep into the farthest corners
of her mind and body. Goosebumps rose on her skin and her breath caught in her
throat when he caressed her mind with tendrils of his, wrapping himself tightly
around her thoughts, not to frighten or possess her but to be as close as
possible to her. She gave a sound just above a whimper and tears leaked out of
her eyes at the incredible close and erotic contact. In contrast to the wild
animalistic joining of the first time he now held eye contact with her when he
pushed his hips forward, gently entering before reaching down and drawing one
of her legs up to open her wider. Making sure she was prepared he looked down
at her and when she gently pushed against him in confirmation he thrust into
her with more strength until he was fully inside her. She received him with a
hiss and clenched around him.
Sarek paused briefly to catch his breath and squeezed his eyes shut, his face
contorted by the effort of suppressing immediate climax. Soon he surrendered
his controls in favour of pure pleasure and slipped his hands beneath her
shoulders and bent his head into her neck. The slapping sound of wet flesh
filled the room when their bodies came together over and over.
Faster and faster they went and just at the moment Amanda thought she'd pass
out from pleasure she felt the familiar floating feeling. She bucked up beneath
him and grabbed his back hard when the muscles of her vagina began to
constrict, rippling in a series of incredibly pleasuring seizures. Letting it
happen she shut out the world around her and rode her climax, holding tight to
her straining partner. The moment her nails dug into his flesh, Sarek lost his
rhythm and tensed. He thrust deep once more before his movements smoothed out
and she felt him pulsate when his hot seed was pumped inside her. He gave a low
strained sound against her neck with every spasm and his hips moved reflexively
before he lay still and relaxed.
--- Part
14 ---
For a few minutes the exhausted lovers just lay unmoving, not willing to
disturb the soft glow of fainting heat between them. Sarek's breathing slowed
little by little and he turned his head away to lay it flat on the pillow
beside her. His thoughts were foggy and he was not able to grasp one as they
flew by; the questions about the identity of the woman he had just shared bed,
mind and pleasure with seemed important but he was too tired to chase after
them. Rational thoughts eluded him and the issue of right and wrong seemed to
be irrelevant as long as his body tingled and felt sated for the first time in
days - hopefully not just for the moment. The thought made him twitch
with uneasiness and for an instant he grabbed the woman's shoulders tighter and
pressed himself against her before he gratefully sank deeper into the cosy haze
of fatigue that dragged him down into slumber.
Amanda lay still beneath him, only occasionally stroking her hand over his back
and into his hair amazed at the soft texture of this hard body's shell.
However, no matter how much she wanted to just savour that moment her nagging
consciousness demanded answers. Answers she was not yet prepared to give but
the low treacherous voice of her conscience refused to be put off any longer.
She closed her eyes tightly and tried to evade yet again. All she wished was to
stay in this state of bliss as long as possible - which certainly was not much
longer. Her breathing had changed from the former excited pant to a
strained gasp the longer she lay buried beneath her lover. She could feel his
full weight bearing down on her when the tension in his muscles slowly eased
and he was about to fall asleep. Almost reluctantly she loosened her embrace
and wedged her hands between them to push against his chest, trying to make him
move off of her. He gave a disapproving sound and grasped her shoulders to keep
her from moving.
"Please," she whispered. "You're crushing me."
At last he heavily slid off her but kept one hand possessively over her
abdomen. She took a deep breath and her chest protested. She turned away
from him on her side to breathe easier. Instantly he slid closer and wrapped
himself around her from behind, nuzzling her neck and then lying still. Not
moving, almost numb, she listened to his breathing that gradually became slow
and deep as he was falling asleep, leaving her alone with her swirling
thoughts. What had she done? She had slept with another man, with a stranger
and to top it all a Vulcan! Why had she done it? Why had *he* done it? Did it
matter?
Unbidden thoughts of someone to whom it would surely matter surfaced - Michael.
But then, did he really mind? How serious could he be if it was that easy for
him to cheat on her with that 'assistant' of his? How long had this been going
on behind her back? How long and how often had she shared him with other
women during the years they were together? The thought hurt and she moved
uncomfortably, feeling the Vulcan's arm tightening protectively around her
waist. Tears came to Amanda's eyes. At least one man wanted her, she thought
bitterly. She had no idea why this stranger acted as he did and how long
he would, but now in this room at this time, it didn't matter. They seemed to
float like being in a soap bubble, isolated from reality. As long as it lasted
she was his and he was hers. But the bubble was fragile and ready to burst all
too soon throwing her back into a world that had become cold by the actions of
someone she believed was in love with her - and she with him. Tears slid over
her cheeks. Carefully she wiped them off her face. The Vulcan stirred in his
sleep once more as did the fragile connection that still bound their minds
together. He subconsciously seemed to feel her pain and his mind instinctively
wrapped a protective blanket of comfort around her thoughts, warming her
mentally as his body did physically. She grasped his hand and drew it up to
place it against her chest. Slowly, her mind fogged by the comfortable warmth
around her she fell into a deep dreamless sleep that sheltered her from reason
and reality.
--- Part
15 ---
A noise similar to a soft snore woke Amanda a few hours later. She was
disoriented and her mind seemed to be dragged down into sleep, making the
process of waking up feel like trying to rise from thick jelly, but somehow she
felt it was important she wake up. Before she even opened her eyes she knew she
was in for a major headache when she felt her blood sloshing through her head
like thick syrup. She lifted her head and squinted. A bluish haze greeted her
eyes - that and a narrow streak of light from the bathroom. Disoriented her
gaze travelled to the other side of the room. The curtains were open and she
could see three moons hovering in the dark blue sky. She blinked in confusion
until she realized she wasn't in her apartment in New Atlantica
- then she remembered the hotel room.
She memorized having a bath and...oh dear, too much
champagne and no water afterwards to prevent dehydration. 'No wonder I have a
king-sized headache,' she thought. She had never been good at handling that
stuff. But there was something disturbing her, something that didn't seem to be
caused by the after effect of alcohol. It felt like a low murmur - inside her
head! That was odd. She had never experienced such a thing before. She tried to
pinpoint its location but the unsettling murmur evaded her searching thoughts
each time she reached for it. Feeling the headache worsening, she finally gave
up on chasing the phenomenon. Her head flopped back on the pillow and she
winced when the pain thrummed through her temples. She lifted a weary hand and
rubbed it over her forehead. She heard movement beside her and froze. Her eyes
were still closed but for the first time she listened intently and heard deep,
even breathing beside her that she had miraculously ignored before.
Carefully she opened her eyes and saw someone lying beside her in the bed. She
was sure she had entered the room alone. The person next to her was definitely
male by the size of the hand that lay on the pillow beside her head. Her eyes
focussed in on the long and slender fingers, then followed the line of the arm
to the well formed chest that was heaving steadily while the man slept. His
face was turned away from her and she could only see a mass of dark wavy hair
but this was definitely not Michael - this man had a smooth chest. Her thoughts
wandered off for a moment. How she loved to stroke her hand through Michael's
chest hair.
Michael. The name cut through her. Betrayal! Michael had betrayed her and she
had gone into the room alone and ... She closed her eyes and swallowed
convulsively when the rest of memories from the night hit her. She felt cold,
then nauseous. All the feelings from the previous night were back - hurt,
anger, desire and passion, comfort. But this man ... this Vulcan.!
With a start she sat up straight and immediately regretted it when the blood
hammered in her head and her stomach clenched. Squeezing her eyes shut, she
swallowed forcefully, breathed deeply and held her head as if she were afraid
it would fall off. When the feeling eased and she trusted herself enough not to
throw up all over the bed, she opened her eyes again and almost fearfully
stared down on the man beside her. Although he was still sleeping she hastily
grabbed a bed sheet and covered her nakedness. Some hidden voice inside her
scoffed and told her that it was obviously too late for such modesty. She
closed her eyes briefly. That was true. She could still feel the sticky
evidence of their lovemaking between her legs. 'Stupid! You didn't even protect
yourself!' the voice ranted on. She ignored it but still felt awkward sitting
naked beside a stranger. 'A stranger you slept with', said the annoying
voice. 'Shut up!' she snapped back and it sounded so real to her that she
stared down at the Vulcan for a moment to see if she had spoken out loud and
wakened him. But he just inhaled deeply and then lay still.
What to do now? Surprisingly, the voice didn't offer further wisdom this time.
Suddenly the urge to run away overcame Amanda so strongly that she barely
resisted the urge to jump up and run from the room. Questions started to rain
down on her; yelled by her remorse, they seemed as loud as if they were
actually echoing through the room. Why had she done it? Did she want to hurt
Michael with this? How stupid! She had no idea what had made her lose control
over herself. Not that she would mind having a passionate night, but with
someone she didn't know and whose name she couldn't even remember correctly?
What had he said his name was? She couldn't remember. How embarrassing!
She shook her head as if she could bring up the memory that way, without
success. The information was gone. However, one thing was for sure, it had been
wrong. But she had been hurt and it had felt so good to be wanted so she had
just let it happen. She looked at the peacefully sleeping man. She bent forward
until she could see his face. His eyes were still closed but she remembered how
they had glistened when she awoke from her dream and saw him kneeling beside
the bed, obviously very aroused after witnessing the effects her erotic
fantasies had had on her. Her eyes widened. How could he? This was
so humiliating, although she had to admit that she had challenged fortune by
refusing to relinquish the suite and getting drunk. The erotic dream might have
been the revenge of a mind that got no opportunity to work out the feeling of
shock and betrayal before she shut it up it with the help of alcohol. What had
happened afterwards was a storm of passion and erotic images. With accurate
brutality her mind delivered every picture, every touch, every scent and every
feeling of the love-making. It left her in a state somewhere between bewildered
and aroused and she closed her eyes and counted to ten to calm down, afraid
that her hammering heart would wake up the Vulcan beside her. Her eyes snapped
open when she pondered the thought. If he woke up now she'd have some serious
explaining to do.
'Really? Why?' asked another part of herself. 'It
takes two.' The voice was interrupted by the movement of the Vulcan. Amanda's
eyes grew wide and for an instant she forgot her own discomfort. Ready to jump
and run if he woke up, she stared wide eyed, but he just mumbled in his sleep
and turned over. The sleek bed sheet draped over his hips slid down in slow
motion and brought his well formed backside into view. She remembered feeling
the muscles shift under her hands while she looked at the skin that gleamed
softly in the narrow streak of light from the bathroom. How strong he had felt,
all of him. She blushed at her own thought. She hadn't even noticed that she
held her breath and now released it when the Vulcan relaxed and continued
sleeping.
Now was the best time to leave. Carefully she got out of the bed and darted
into the bathroom. She cleaned her private places, then picked up her discarded
clothing and left the bathroom after hastily putting them on. With a tinge of
sadness she looked down on the sleeping Vulcan for a last time. He had been so
passionate but gentle and tender at the same time. She couldn't find a rational
explanation for his bizarre behaviour. She didn't know much about his species
but enough to know it was odd that he had so determinedly searched out contact
with her. Maybe it wasn't true that Vulcans were cold fish. Or he was just the
same kind of lonely and hurt soul in need of comfort as she had been when she
allowed a total stranger to touch her in such an intense and intimate way.
Anyway, she would probably never know. She was sorry to have to leave him like
that but it would be best for both of them.
She turned and tiptoed to the door in order not to wake him. On her way she
came by his bags that stood lined against the wall. What man travelled with so
many bags? Who was he? Did he mention a title? No matter. She just had to get
out of here as quickly as possible. The whole thing had been a terrible
mistake. Whatever had caused the Vulcan to act so much out of character was
surely entitled to cause a lot of follow-up problems and she was in no way up
to them. Her own involvement would certainly only serve to makes matters worse.
Besides, after the initial shock about Michael's betrayal she felt anger
replacing the abandoned feeling and she decided to give him one hell of a bad
time for treating her so badly.
Picking up her suitcase she made her way to the door. When her hand hovered
over the old fashioned doorknob she cast a last look back at the Vulcan. Guilt
flooded her about the fact that she was leaving so cowardly before they had a
chance to talk, but it would be better for both of them, or so she told herself
again. She opened the door and quietly slipped outside. Closing the door
carefully she breathed a sigh of relief.
--- Part
16 ---
She turned and stopped dead in her tracks when she found herself face to face
with Michael who had just left one of the elevators. Devoid of any ability to
react Amanda just stared at him for a moment. His sudden presence rendered her
speechless and effectively messed up her plans to take him to task for his
actions. "How did you get up here?" she finally said, wondering what
caused her to ask such a trivial question after what had happened since last
night.
"I slipped in with the cleaning staff," Michael answered, looking her
up and down. She looked as tired as he felt after having spent half the night
in heavy traffic to get here.
Amanda stared back at him and then she nervously ran a hand through her hair
and fought with the top button of her blouse so that he wouldn't see the bite
marks on her neck. She blushed when imagining what a mess she must be with
rumpled clothes and mussed hair.
"You stayed in the suite all night long?" Michael asked.
That finally brought back Amanda's anger. "That is none of your business
anymore," she said, her eyes glistening.
Michael breathed deeply and seemed to swallow a heated reply. "Look,"
he said and took a step closer. He lifted his hands defiantly when Amanda
stepped back when he approached. "I made a terrible mistake."
He tried speaking in a calm voice but by the flash in her eyes he could see his
confession wasn't making an impression on her.
"Yes, Michael. You *did* make a terrible mistake," she answered.
"What are you gonna do now? Ask my
forgiveness?"
Michael shrugged and looked at her with big excusatory eyes. "Would it be
too late for that?"
Amanda just glared back, not having anything doing with his puppy dog eyes.
"What if it were?" She didn't give him time to answer and continued,
"You know, Michael, it doesn't matter if I forgive you or not. You already
made your decision."
"But, I'm truly sorry," he said and spread his arms. "And I'm
here now." He looked down and dropped his arms. "I miss you," he
murmured.
Amanda set down her suitcase forcefully. "You're here now?! And that makes
it all better, huh?" She shook her head, smiling sarcastically. "You
simply admit to having made a mistake and I'm supposed to forget that you
cheated on me. That would suit you just fine, right?"
"No, of course not. But. I won't see Simone
anymore. What else do you want?"
"Oh, Simone, that's her name then," Amanda said, her anger rising.
Michael's brows bunched together. "Yes, that is her name," he said
forcefully. "But what does it matter? I won't go back to her and I'm sure
we can find our way back to each other."
Amanda crossed her arms in front of her chest, shaking her head slowly.
"You know what, Michael? I think you don't know what you want. You are
like a kid with too many toys. You always want the one you currently can't
have."
Michael looked at her with a defiant expression. "No, I can make final
decisions. And I did. I'm willing to make it up to you. So… what do you say?
"
Amanda just stared at him blankly. How could he be so naïve to believe she
would just dismiss what happened? 'Yeah, sorry Amanda, I did it with my
assistant but now I'm back and all is fine.' He couldn't be that stupid, could
he? If possible her regard for him dropped even lower. What had she ever
appreciated about him?
He misinterpreted her silence as positive musings about his proposal and
stepped closer and took her hands. She tried to shake him off but he wouldn't
let go of her. "Amanda, please listen," Michael said and held her
tight.
"No, let me go," Amanda said and again tried to break his touch.
The collar of her blouse opened and Michael's gaze fell on a purple bruise at
the base of her neck. He knew these kind of markings
very well. Usually they were a sweet reminder of a most passionate night. But
what was wrong here was that they were not his. Could she…? He narrowed his
eyes and increased the pressure on Amanda's hands. "What is this?" he
said suspiciously. Amanda's averted her gaze and she didn't answer. "I said,
what is this?!" Michael yelled at her, feeling
his anger doing a leap.
Amanda's gaze snapped back to him and she flinched by the angry expression in
his eyes. He had never been this furious with her. She stumbled back and fell
over her suitcase.
--- Part
17 ---
Sarek awoke to agitated voices coming from outside the suite. His mind was
foggy and he needed several seconds to remember what had happened during the
night. His gaze went to the place beside him. It was empty. Shame flooded him
when he remembered the events of the previous night. Inwardly he prepared to
forsake his career. What he had done was inexcusable; he had forced himself on
a woman. Where was she? He frowned and again became aware of the agitated
voices outside of his room. He got up and went to the door only realizing in
the last moment that he wasn't wearing any clothes. Quickly, he retrieved a
robe from the bathroom. By the time he had reached the door again, the voices
had become even louder and the demand of a woman to be released was followed by
a hard thudding sound. After Sarek had opened the door he froze. The woman he
saw on the floor in the corridor was the same he had spend the night with.
Shame was forgotten when he saw the human male who was bent over her, holding
her wrists and displaying an angry expression.
Without further thought Sarek approached the man and grabbed his arms. The man
yelped at the painful pressure and released his hold. Again Sarek's blood
boiled and he felt the almost uncontrollable urge to slam the male into the
opposite wall. Only with tremendous effort did he manage to push the human away
from him.
"Who are you?" he rasped with a hoarse voice. "How dare you
assault my woman?"
"Your what?" Michael had found his voice and watched the other man
with a bewildered expression. He was Vulcan but his face looked unmistakably
angry. Vulcans didn't get mad, did they? The man had positioned himself between
him and Amanda and was watching him through narrowed eyes. His hair was mussed
and through the cleft of the robe Michael could see part of the Vulcan's
heaving chest and noticed the bite marks on it. He remembered the bruise at
Amanda's neck and his gaze switched to her, but she refused eye contact and
averted her face. Slowly he put the puzzle together: only one room on the
floor; Amanda leaving the suite in a rumpled state; this guy coming after her not looking a tad more groomed than she was; and both
bearing physical marks of passion. Could it be? Those two?!
But it was said Vulcans didn't have any sexual interest! But both Amanda's and
that guy's appearance as well as the quick glances they had exchanged when the
Vulcan entered the corridor could mean only one thing. However Amanda had
managed to get that dude into bed, she must have done a thorough job and judging
by the marks on the Vulcan's chest they must have had one hell of a good night.
He laughed humourlessly. "Oh, I see," he said and glared at Amanda
who had gotten up from the floor and retreated from both men. "You
play the hurt innocent soul. But I see you comforted yourself quite
quickly," he said and then slapped a hand against his forehead. "And
I came after you. I'm such an idiot." He took a step in Amanda's
direction. Sarek instantly tensed and attracted Michael's attention. "Your woman, huh?" Michael spat. "You know
what? You can keep her."
Sarek's hands curled into fists. "I do not require your permission,"
he growled.
Michael nodded. "Yeah, right. As it seems you
didn't bother before," he ranted on, not realizing the danger he was
potentially in by testing the Vulcan's controls to their limit. He pointed to
the woman. "C'mon, take her back to the room and the two of you can
continue where you left off!"
Impertinence! roared Sarek's thoughts and the last
shred of his rationality was chased away again by a green haze of rage. He set
off to rid himself of the offending presence of the human.
Michael saw the Vulcan coming and raised his fists to be prepared. His anger
and hurt about Amanda's behaviour made him leave reason behind and he didn't waste
a thought on the sure odds for him losing this fight. Someone had to take his
anger and if this Vulcan dude offered himself, hell, why not!?
But surprisingly Amanda was faster than the Vulcan and stepped between the two
men. She put a hand flat against the Vulcan's chest to stop his momentum and
mirrored the movement with her other hand in Michael's direction. She felt the
warmth emanating from the Vulcan's skin and again the odd whispering in her
mind came back through the touch. The connection seemed to calm him
immediately. She felt a rush of memories from the last night surging over her
together with a feeling of protectiveness. She shivered briefly and realized
they were not her thoughts which caused the reaction. It felt wrong to have her
mind influenced but it was so right all the same. The feelings were accompanied
by a fierce urge for possession, however, and this angered her. How dare this
Vulcan claim her?! How dare Michael offer her for trade?!
"Stop that!" Her sharp voice startled both men and they broke the
fiery lock of their gazes and stared at Amanda. She was shivering and close to
tears. She looked at both men in turn. "How dare you two do this to me?
I'm no one's property around here," she said and her furious gaze defied
Sarek's smouldering eyes. The Vulcan didn't react, only his nostrils flared in
a gesture of suppressed agitation. But he remained rooted to the spot, for the
time being content enough with her close presence. Amanda turned to
Michael. "And as far as our 'relationship' is concerned," she
inhaled deeply to ban the tremor from her voice, "you betrayed me. I
trusted you and I was always honest with you. Whatever I did last night is none
of your business anymore. You gave up access to my personal life when you began
that affair with your assistant. I don't owe you an explanation. In fact
you don't deserve one. Why are you here, anyway? Why don't you go back to your
office and continue screwing that assistant of yours like you have been doing
for who knows how long?!" Her voice had risen with each word and when she
finished, she was almost screaming, not even noticing the unusual vulgar nature
of her speech.
"Right, and you .. and
you are any better?" Michael shot back. "Look at you. You feel hurt
and the next thing you do is climb into bed with some alien. Did you two even
take enough time to introduce yourself to one another?"
Amanda felt the pressure against her hand on the Vulcan's chest increasing as a
sure sign he was losing it again. Before she could say something to ease the
tense atmosphere, the doors of the elevator opened and three Vulcans exited the
car. Amanda recognized one of them as the guy who had asked her to leave the
night before. The second was one hulk of a man, possibly a bodyguard, and the
third carried a small case and wore a robe adorned with lots of Vulcan glyphs
she could not identify.
The Vulcan she had seen the day before took in the situation, scrutinizing her
and his compatriot behind her. His brown eyes seemed to look deeply into her soul
and she averted her gaze, believing that he as well as the others knew what she
had done. Michael was right. She had been stupid to give herself to another man
she had never seen before and whose name she didn't even remember. She had
never felt so humiliated in her life and felt weak upon seeing her world
crashing down on her. The bizarre situation blocked her thoughts. Unable to
cope with the conflicting feelings and her embarrassment, she fled down the
corridor in the direction of the staircase.
"No," she heard her lover of one night call after her and a commotion
following the shout told her he was trying to follow her. That knowledge only
increased her speed and she burst through the door and almost blindly flew down
the steps that seemed to have no end. She did not care about the startled
glances she received when she broke into the lobby and fled the hotel to
disappear in the crowds passing by outside.
--- Part
18 ---
"Kroykah!" Soran yelled when the woman fled
and Sarek was about to set after her. Sarek slowed his pace upon hearing the
command but didn't give up the pursuit completely, so the guard stepped forward
and blocked his passage. The man was several inches taller and much heavier
than Sarek. Shaken back to rationality by the ancient command to cease combat,
the ambassador seemed to realize that a fight with the guard bore little chance
of him winning and he came to a halt. He flexed his hands for a few seconds, a
part of him obviously still deciding whether to attack the guard.
The healer approached both men and murmured calming Vulcan phrases. He lifted a
hypo and pressed it to Sarek's exposed arm. The ambassador tensed when the
device hissed and injected its contents into his bloodstream. Instantly
coolness flooded him and he relaxed. Carefully the healer reached for Sarek's
arm, cautious to touch a place covered still by the robe to avoid mental
contact. He slowly turned his patient around. Sarek's gaze remained glued to
the door the woman had disappeared through and only reluctantly and under the
influence of drugs, he let himself be led back to the suite.
Soran breathed a sigh of relief. That had been close. He silently thanked the
architects of the building for installing security cameras. They might have
saved a life today. He had fetched the guard and the healer immediately when
the hotel personnel had informed him of a confrontation in front of the
ambassador's suite. He turned to the Human still standing in the corridor. He
had not bothered to go after the fleeing female. What was his role in this
situation? "Who are you?" he asked the human and was astonished to
see the man's sarcastic smile.
"Me?" he asked. Then he turned halfway to Sarek and the healer who
had reached the entrance to the suite. "I am the man before him," he
said tersely and pointed a finger at Sarek.
The gazes of the two men instantly locked and Sarek stopped dead in his tracks.
Soran assessed the situation immediately. The woman had obviously spend the
night in Sarek's suite and judging by her's and Sarek's
appearance as well as his friend's condition there was only one logical
conclusion for what had happened between them.
The anger the human displayed could only mean he was involved with the female,
his agitation therefore understandable, his provocation of Sarek foolish,
however. But how could he know Sarek was a very dangerous man in his current
state? They all had underestimated the severe nature of his condition. Soran
thought about the potential difficulties Sarek had brought onto himself when he
pondered the idea that the woman might not have given herself to his friend
willingly. He felt a pang of guilt. He was to blame also. He should have
prevented Sarek from making this voyage. It was, in fact, his mistake, not
Sarek's. Sarek's rationality was obviously impaired too severely to make
responsible decisions. But he had realized that too late. It would have
to be examined carefully what had happened between him and this woman. If there
had been violence to ensure her submission, he had to take the legal and
emotional consequences of Sarek's actions. But at first the matter at hand had
to be resolved. Two males making a claim on the same female was a dangerous
situation, no matter the species. He stepped between them, breaking the men's
eye contact with his mere physical presence. "I see," he
said and clasped his hands behind his back. "Are you her husband?" He
felt uncomfortable asking such a personal
question. It was not the Vulcan way, but he had no choice if he intended to
judge the situation correctly and assess the consequences.
Again the human smirked. "Hell no, I'm not." He sobered a bit.
"Maybe better this way," he added a tad more tame.
Soran breathed a sigh of relief. So this man had no legal claim on this woman
as his wife. His relief fled him again when he thought of Sarek possibly using
violence to get from the female that which his urge drove him to. The
disruption of a marriage was minor compared to the possibility of physical and
emotional damage the woman could have suffered. Kaiidth.
They had to face whatever consequences would follow this situation. Another
thought puzzled him and he braced himself for another intrusion in the human's
privacy. "If you have no claim on this woman, why did you seek her out in
this hotel?"
The human's gaze cleared again and grew hard. "I think that's none of your
business." He hesitated a moment and seemed to change his mind and his
gaze grew distant. "I came here to apologize but that is obviously no
longer necessary," he explained and cast a glance at the open suite door.
Then he looked at Soran to see whether the Vulcan understood his hint.
The dark head bowed. "I see," the Vulcan said. Soran was
arguing with himself. Should he tell the man that the woman might not have
subjected to Sarek willingly? But could he do that? This assumption was still
unproven. It was better to examine the issue further before planting false
facts into the human's mind.
"May I go now?" The voice interrupted Soran's thoughts.
"Of course," Soran asked. "However, may I ask for your address
in case it should be necessary to contact you?"
Michael frowned. "What do you need that for?" he asked but then waved
off an explanation. "Forget it." He was too tired to think about it.
What did it matter? He took out a small silvery case from his jacket and handed
the Vulcan his card. "There you go." He waited until the Vulcan had
taken it and then turned to leave.
Soran quickly scanned the card and a thought occurred to him. "Mr.
Crowe?" The man turned. "May I assume that the current events will handled with the proper procedure?" The human frowned, then he seemed to understand and nodded.
"Believe me, I have no desire to spread this kind of story," he said.
He'd lost his girlfriend to a Vulcan. How do you explain that you lost your
girl to such a cold fish? But then, this Vulcan had not seemed as unemotional
as they were said to be. He sure must have brought the others into trouble. He
smirked inwardly. 'Serves him right,' he thought. No wonder they asked for
secrecy after one of them having been involved with an emotional being like a
human. He briefly thought about spreading the story that Vulcans weren't so free of emotions as they claimed. But ... who would
believe him? All they would see was that he was even more boring than a Vulcan.
He would be the laughing stock all around if this should seep through. That was
something he could well live without. Amanda had made her decision. So be it.
Soran nodded. Until the matter could be examined further it was important that
no information left the circle of those directly involved. He had the human's
address so should he be needed to testify he could easily be found. But what about the woman? The hotel staff had been so
intensely occupied with managing the excess guests that they had not given him
the name of the female yet. Logic dictated, however, they must have it for she
had claimed to have booked the suite in the first place. What was even more
logical, though, was to ask the human who seemed to know her. "What is the
lady's name?"
The calm Vulcan's voice shook Michael out of his thoughts and his eyes clouded
with emotion. "Amanda," he said softly. "Her name is Amanda
Grayson."
Soran nodded, unable to read the emotion in the human's eyes. "I thank you
for your service." Then he lifted his hand. "Life long and
prosper"
"Sure," Michael said wearily, not bothering to return the Vulcan
greeting properly and entered the elevator. The Vulcan's puzzled gaze lingered
on him until the lift doors closed.
--- Part
19 ---
Soran raised an eyebrow and turned to enter the suite. His gaze fell on the
suitcase the woman had left behind. He gave the guard a brief command in Vulcan
asking him to wait outside, then he picked up the
abandoned suitcase and entered the suite, closing the door and thus shutting
out the security cameras. They had seen enough to make it difficult to keep
secret. He made a mental note to demand the discs the cameras had recorded
being handed out to him. Then he returned is attention to his friend.
He immediately spotted Sarek and the healer in one corner of the room. Sarek
was kneeling in a meditative stance, his palms laid flat together in front of
his face, holding a joss stick that dispersed calming incense. His gaze was
focussed inward and he was intently listening to the healer who sat across from
him, mirroring his stance. In order to give the healer some time to restore
Sarek's controls to a level of civil functioning Soran set down the suitcase
and stepped away to take in the room. He noticed with relief that it didn't
contain any traces of a fight. Only the bedclothes were rumpled but this was
not surprising after… He suppressed a blush at the thought.
He continued his survey but the only torn items seemed to be Sarek's clothes
lying beside the bed. The fact concerned him but that alone didn't offer enough
evidence to reconstruct the happenings of the night. He entered the bathroom
and his gaze fell to the tub. Through the now-clear water he spotted a bottle
lying in the tub and rolled up his sleeve to retrieve it. He read the label and
recognized it as an alcoholic beverage humans often served at receptions. The
tray on the small cart beside the tub held two glasses and a bowl of Earth
fruit. He noticed the glasses were unused. He doubted Sarek would indulge in
alcohol regardless his condition, or would he? When he had come to the room
last night, Sarek hadn't seemed intoxicated. But the woman had not consumed the
bottle all on her own, had she? This could have affected her behaviour
decisively. He sighed. There was no other way to know what happened other than
asking Sarek after his treatment and the woman after she had been found.
He returned to the main room. The heavy incense from the joss sticks filled the
air and by the intensity of the fragrance it must have burned down completely,
the lesson thus finished. He dared a glance at the corner and saw Sarek still
sitting there, his legs tucked beneath him, his eyes closed and his hands
resting palm down on his thighs. He seemed to be calm but Soran noticed with
concern that the healer just loaded a hypo, a clear indicator Sarek was not yet
able to control his reactions. After injecting it the healer murmured something
to Sarek who only inclined his head, his eyes still closed. Then the healer turned
to Soran, nodded and left the suite. Soran sat across from his friend,
mirroring Sarek's position.
He waited patiently until Sarek opened his eyes. Their gaze was cool and calm
and Soran was relieved to see his friend was 'back'. "I take it your condition
has improved?"
"Affirmative," Sarek answered with a soft voice.
"Will you be able to lead the talks today?" Soran asked carefully.
"Affirmative."
Silence stretched between the two men and Soran averted his gaze. What he had
to discuss was not a pleasant subject. He re-established eye contact with
Sarek. "I must know of the nature of the encounter between you and the
human woman. Is there a reason to inform the authorities?"
Sarek's eyes flashed for a brief instant and then his forehead creased in
confusion. His memories were still a bit foggy. It had taken him a great effort
to allow the healer to clear them for him. The experience was very personal and
humiliating. Not every detail of memory created during the last night had been
restored. What had happened between the woman and himself,
however, was obvious. He still felt a trace of heat rise in him when thinking
about her, but the heat was accompanied by apprehension. He was sure he'd had
no need to force her but what made her give herself freely to him if she was
involved with the other man? She had almost seemed to be in desperate need for
physical contact. Why had she done it? Why he had done it was obvious. Shame
flooded him. How could he have allowed himself to go so far? He should have
stayed on Vulcan and sought the help of a reldai to
erase the remaining fires in him. Instead, he had arrogantly declared his
passions under control. Now he had shared them with a stranger about whose
motives for cooperation he had no information.
"Sarek?"
Soran's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He sighed and folded his hands
in his lap. "My memories have not been restored fully." He saw Soran
tense and lifted a hand. "I know, however, that there is no reason for
your concern that I may have applied violence."
Soran averted his eyes upon Sarek's keen assessment of his disquiet. Sarek
waited calmly until Soran looked up again, but his friend's gaze was not
focussed on his eyes but on part of his exposed chest. Sarek looked down at
himself and saw the bite mark Amanda's teeth had left on his skin. He pulled
the robe closed, causing Soran to meet his eyes.
"This can be explained. It was not caused by violence." Sarek started
to explain, but faltered due to the personal nature of the subject. "It
was… she…" He tried again and a shade of green coloured his face.
Soran shook his head. "If you say it was not caused by violence, I believe
you. You need not explain, my friend." His gaze locked with Sarek's and
the other Vulcan was secretly relieved to see acceptance in Soran's eyes.
"We should, however, question her," Soran said. "Her friend gave
me..." Soran stopped when Sarek's eyes flashed upon the mentioning of the
other man. 'We are still not out of this,' Soran thought and waited until Sarek
controlled the reaction. "Her friend gave me her name and his card,"
he continued when Sarek's eyes were cool and even again. "We can contact
him if we do not find her."
"What is her name?" Sarek asked, ignoring the information about the
other human.
Soran frowned. "You did have a mental connection to her, did you
not?" he asked puzzled.
Sarek inhaled deeply. "Yes, I did," he said. 'I still do,' he added
in his thoughts. Still he had not probed her thoughts for a name. When they
were together it seemed so unimportant. The closeness of souls doesn't require
names. Maybe Soran could not know for he had not yet experienced the incredible
closeness and mental union of two beings during pon farr. Anyway, he had
shielded the link from the healer who would only examine parts of his mind he
had been given permission to examine. He knew Sarek was hiding a mental
connection but he would not mention that fact to anyone. Sarek told himself he
didn't know the reason for keeping it but the truth was he knew he did not want
to relinquish the feeling of closeness. Illogical as it was, he refused to give
that up yet. The healer had realized that and had not prodded him although he
knew it was vital they found the woman before the mental connection could do
damage in case she rejected it.
"What is her name?" he asked Soran again.
"Amanda Grayson," the younger Vulcan replied, possibly still
wondering how such an essential thing as a name could remain unasked during a
mental contact.
"Amanda," Sarek tried the pronunciation. The syllables formed well to
his ear and he listened to the mental echo of the name. He resisted the strong
urge to touch the link. She had fled in fear. If he touched her mind she would
only be frightened. His gaze cleared again. "You are correct, we have to
find her." He got up and walked to the bathroom. "Cancel the planned
meetings for today," he advised a baffled Soran.
"You intend to search for her yourself?" Soran asked, a bit confused about the sudden change in demeanour.
Sarek didn't even turn. "Yes."
"But what about the negotiations? You are to lead them." Soran
asked again. Why was Sarek changing his mind?
Sarek turned slowly. "I am not feeling well. It is vitally important that
I remedy this situation before entering a conference room, is it not?"
Soran bowed. "Perfectly logical, Ambassador. I
shall inform the delegates."
After his friend had left, Sarek went into the bathroom and stopped before
entering the shower. Picking up the small scarf that lay hidden between the
bathtub and the shower a hint of a fragrance waved up to him. He froze for an
instant and then lifted the item to his face and took in its scent. Immediately
a rush of memories burst through his mind, threatening to shatter his
newly-established controls. The scent was unmistakable - it was her.
"Amanda," he breathed. "I must find you."
THE END