The pair rushed their way out having only to stop twice to have a quick shoot out with the few guards that weren't involved with rounding up runaway slaves. Berret found himself wanting to stay and kill all the slavers, but with the freed Chiana with him, he didn't dare risk it. That debt would have to be collected another day he decided. Perhaps after he left Moya he would return to finish up this business here. They made it outside and ran for the unmanned landing field where the Transport Pod was parked. They'd just reached the ship's hatchway when a group of men led by Lucsen burst onto the far end of the field. Seeing the Shrike and his Nebari slave about to escape, the slave trader gave orders for his men to stop them. Berret spun and with a curse started firing his pistol at the group of men, but the range was too great and the bolts where falling short.
"Come on!" cried Chiana from inside the Pod.
"Luk ki VaIsh!" the Shrike swore in Luxan and then ran up the gangway into the Pod, the door closing behind him. Chiana was already at the co-pilot seat and the Pod lifted before the hatch had finished cycling shut. Berret made his way up to the pilot seat, glancing out side ports as he went.
"Damn it!" he cursed as he saw the security men running for their own ships. Within microts they were lifting off in pursuit of the escaping Transport Pod.
He reached the pilot seat and dropped into it, taking over from Chiana. He'd wished he could have brought the Wraith with her weapon systems instead, but the Pod was hardier as far as being able to handle the planet's stormy weather conditions, and it was all that had been available.
"They're gaining!" said Chiana as she watched the scanning scopes. Berret knew that they'd never get away from the faster ships by going into orbit toward Moya. Instead he pitched the Pod's nose downward and dived back toward the planet's surface, letting the craft's greater weight assist in giving them the advantage of speed in a dive then the fighters had.
"Where are you going?" asked Chiana excitedly.
"I'm taking us out into the desert," answered the Shrike.
"What the hezmana for?"
"So we can get away. Find me a storm on the scanner that's close by... then find me a surface survey of that area from Moya's downloaded databanks."
Chiana worked over the instruments for a few microts and then reported,
"Major storm front bearing 183 degrees and closing... I'm accessing the data files now." She looked up from her work and said to him, "I hope you know what you're doing."
The first pulse bolt streaked by the pod and exploded in the sand dunes under them.
"No, I'm working by my pant's seat as John likes to say... hurry up with that survey!" Berret said.
The Transport Pod was not made for dog fighting but Berret managed to twist and turn enough for the pulse bolts fired at them from the pursuing ships to miss. The Shrike ran the shuttle along almost at ground level, forcing the faster fighters to slow down to hug the terrain behind him.
"I've got it!" cried the Nebari girl, "What are we looking for?
Behind them a ship exploded as it took a turn to fast and ran itself into something unmovable.
"We need a canyon with caves or a large cavern somewhere near the edge of the storm that's coming. It has to be big enough to land the Pod in," said Berret.
The girl scanned the data for a few microts, gritting her teeth as several near misses shook the craft.
"Okay, there's one six metras from us, bearing 093 degrees. We'd have to hurry; the storm's almost at that position," she reported.
Berret banked the Pod hard over and set the throttle to full. The move cause the fighters to over shoot the transport and have to turn around to catch up. Neither of then spoke as they watched their scanners. The storm front was growing larger and starting to cover the pulsing green dot that was their destination. Behind them the red dots that indicated the following warships grew closer.
"We're not going to make it!" said Chiana.
"Yes, we are," replied the Shrike stubbornly as he fought to keep the bucking ship under control as it began to hit turbulence from the approaching sand storm. On the screen a red dot blinked out.
"Look, another one's gone. Their ships must not be able to handle the punishment from the storm," the Nebari girl said.
"More likely it's the sand getting into every thing and cutting their engines. Fighters would be built more for speed and not have all the filters a Transport Pod has," answered Berret.
Ahead of them they could see the solid dark cloud rushing at them, looking almost like a solid wall of sand metras high and extending in both directions as far as the eye could see.
"We're frelled!" said Berret in awe of the storm's power. He was just about to turn to the girl to apologize for failing to make it to the cavern in time, when she shot up straighter in her seat and pointed out the forward view screen,
"There! Look!" she shouted. Ahead of them he saw the gapping maw of the cavern... their sanctuary.
The storm descended in all its fury as the Pod settled to the cavern floor, out of harm's reach. Chiana and Berret watched the scanner with bated breath as each of the blips that represented a pursuing enemy ship where swept up and destroyed by the storm until the screen was clear of contacts.
"Oh dren, that was close!" the Nebari girl sighed as the last light winked out.
Berret nodded in silent agreement as he moved to power down the Transport Pod.
"How long will the storm last?" asked the Pixie.
"About one and a half solar days," he answered, trying to keep busy with make-work to avoid meeting her eyes. Even after her abduction the tension in their relationship had not abated, if anything, it seemed to have doubled now that they were back together. Berret almost felt like he would burst from the pressure. Having secured all the Pod's stations, the Shrike began to remove his armor and clean it for something else to keep busy with.
The bruised woman sat back down in the co-pilot's seat and wordlessly stared out at the storm.
"I suppose you're gonna say, 'I told you so'... that I always find a way to get into trouble?" Chiana asked after a few microns of silence between them.
Berret had run out of tasks to perform and couldn't think of anymore, so he moved up and joined her in gazing out the forward view port at the storm raging outside the mouth of the cavern. Taking the seat next to her, he watched the blowing sand sketch designs in the air at the cavern's mouth.
"No," he said after a few microts just as Chiana began to think the Shrike wasn't going to answer her question. She stole a glance at the man beside her. Chiana was surprised to see he was at a loss for words as much as she.
"What are we going to do, 'Ret?" she finally asked him in a quiet voice.
Berret tore his gaze away from the hypnotic chaos outside the ship to look at the battered Nebari woman. He thought about pretending he didn't understand what she was referring to in order to avoid answering, but he knew that was the coward's way out. He also knew that how he answered her question would decide the future of their relationship, whether or not they parted as enemies or friends when he left Moya. When it came down to it he was as much to blame for Chiana's recent misadventure as she was... if not more so. He was too much in the young woman's debt to treat her so unfairly.
"I don't know," he finally answered her honestly. "I only know I don't want it to be like this between us anymore."
Chiana looked down at something in her hands as he answered her. She seemed to be contemplating her next question with great care.
"So what's that tell you?" she quietly asked. "Before you answer, this time I want you to think with your heart... not with your head."
Although he thought his heart sometimes spoke an alien language, Berret already knew the answer without really having to consider it. Despite his fear of rejection, he forced himself to answer her honestly.
"You are my heart..." he told her. Despite his resolve to tell her his feelings, he found it hard to look her in the eyes, certain of the refutation he'd see there in her dark orbs. "And that I don't want to be without you." Berret looked back out the view port. Swallowing hard, he confessed in a quiet voice, "Here in the Territories... I'm only lost and far from what was once my home, but without you... I am empty."
The Shrike stole a glance back in her direction. Chiana only slightly nodded her head at his response. The small woman did not betray a single emotion as she continued to stare down into her cupped hands. Berret thought it was a bad sign that she refused to met his eyes. The whole time she had been missing he'd been frantic with worry of never seeing her again. He'd never be able to tell her how he felt about her, even if he didn't believe she could possibly feel the same way toward him. He steeled himself for her rejection. Even though there was no hope that the Pixie would ever care for him beyond their strained friendship as crewmates, he at least could console himself with the knowledge that he finally had the courage to tell her how he felt, before he left Moya and her life forever.
Chiana finally spoke again after what seemed like an eternity to Berret.
"Back there," she started then paused a microt to lick her lips as the air in the Pod seem to suddenly go as arid as the desert outside the carven. "When you were in the room outside where Lucsen was holding me prisoner. I heard you tell him that he had something that belonged to you. Did you really mean that?"
Knowing the Nebari woman hated to be referred to or treated as property, Berret began to apologize.
"Chiana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it in that way at the time. It just came out..." he started.
Chiana spun on him. "Did - You - Mean - That?" she asked again, her eyes flashing, demanding an answer from him. "Do you think that I belong to you?" she asked again.
Berret was at a loss for what he thought was the correct answer she wanted. She was staring at him intently waiting for a reply. His first instinct was to deny the statement knowing how she would react to anyone thinking they had control over her. However something else warned him that to deny it would be the biggest mistake of his life. Unable to decide, Berret closed his eyes. Remembering her request that he answer her last question with his heart instead of his head, he ignored all the explanations and excuses his head was supplying and allowed his heart to throw caution to the wind and to answer for him once more.
"Yes."
The response came from Berret's lips and he felt that it was the most positive answer he'd ever given to anyone in his life, both present and unremembered past. Berret braced himself for the Pixie's anger at the applied ownership but when he opened his eyes she was back to looking at her clasped hands, an uneasy smile on her shiny black lips. After a few microts she looked back up at him.
"I-I feel the same way," she slightly stammered. "That you belong to me, or more like... that we belong together. I never thought I'd ever feel this way about anybody. Nobody's ever wanted me around long enough for me to feel this way, that is," she explained in uncharacteristic shyness.
Berret found himself confused why the woman would confess something of that nature instead of becoming angry with him like he thought she would. Furthermore he couldn't understand why anyone would not want Chiana's company. The girl was mischievous surely, but she had a good heart. She'd already proven that by showing a killer like himself much more compassion then he truly deserved.
"I don't usually follow my people's customs much," she went on to say. "But I think this is the next step for us."
She held out her open hand for him to see what she'd been holding inside it. Resting in the middle of her palm were two earrings. Each small earring was divided into three equal loops that where joined at the middle with the other ends equal distances apart to form a sort of triangle. Inside the loops was an intricate knotted design. He'd never cared much for jewelry, but something in the reverent way she displayed them to him made him pause. Suddenly he found himself thinking they were the most beautiful works of art he'd ever seen.
"They're Nebari Bonding Earrings," she supplied before he could ask. He'd never seen a pair and it took him a few microts to understand what she was asking. Berret was shocked and deep in his chest, his heart skipped a beat.
"You mean you're asking... that you and I... that you would consider..." he stumbled and tried to start three times. He finally paused and took a deep breath as it hit him like a physical blow... she wanted to be with him.
"With all I have done... I'd never dared to hope that you could possibly feel that way for me," he confessed to her.
"That's the problem, you never thought about hoping for more. You just took it for granted that I couldn't ever love you... you never asked how I felt," she said. "So, I'm asking you. Do you have an answer?"
She looked back at the deck of the Pod, all of a sudden feeling there might be a chance he might refuse after all the problems they'd had recently.
"We can have Zhaan and Malika perform the ceremony like they did for John and Aeryn when we get back to Moya," she suggested to cover her moment of uncertainty. "That is... if you want to? I'll understand if you don't want to be bonded to me."
Berret recovered from his astonishment and answered quickly, "Yes... absolutely."
"Huh?" she asked, the doubts making her ramble and momentarily forget which question he was supposed to be answering.
"Yes. I want to be bonded to you," he said, and then added in almost a whisper, "If you'll have me."
Her uneasy smiled transformed into a genuine smile of happiness. The Nebari girl squealed in delight as she leaped up from her seat and landed in a still stunned Berret's lap. She kissed him soundly and then hugged him to her as hard as she could.
"You'll see, we'll be so happy together," she promised him in a whisper.
Berret found himself strangely content with the small woman sitting in his lap and chattering away. Not even caring after his legs went to sleep, he was just happy to have her close again. He listened as she made plans for the celebration after the bonding ceremony and he found himself getting caught up in her excitement. She noticed he hadn't spoken in awhile, so she asked,
"What are you thinking about?"
Berret asked the Nebari girl, "You don't doubt that I do truly feel something for you, do you? I know I have difficulty putting emotions into words, let alone recognize what they are even after all this time. I just want you to know that I do love you. Zhaan, Shenna and all the others have always been correct. I have loved you from the first time I laid my eyes upon you in that alley. I just didn't know that was what it was yet."
"Are you telling me that because it's what I expect to hear... or because it's what you feel?" she asked.
"No," he said with a slight smile because he understood why she would ask that question. "I truly do love you. I just wanted to be sure you knew that is how I really feel.... how I have always felt."
She hugged him tighter. "I know you do, and thank you for telling me," she said.
A mischievous smile settled on her black lips a microt later and she leaned closer to him to whisper into his ear.
"I know how we can spend the next day entertaining ourselves."
"How?" he asked.
"How do you think?" she purred as she brought her lips closer to his. Just short of touching her lips parted and her tongue darted out to tease him with a promise of pleasure to come. She'd teased him like this before, but to her surprise Berret pulled away and gently caught her head with both his hands before she could tease him. She wondered what was wrong as he stared into her eyes and then she understood.
His eyes seemed to say, "Not between us... not between us ever again."
She'd use teasing with her other lovers in the past as part of casual romance, to keep things at arms length. He was letting her know he wouldn't accept anything less then her entire soul and all of her love.
Somewhere along the way he had started to gently caress her face, his touch light even on her bruised cheek. Chiana had become so lost in his ice blue eyes that she couldn't remember when he began the loving touch. He slowly drew her toward him, when their lips finally met it was gently and without a hint of teasing. She folded nicely into his arms, their bodies becoming one as their passion turned more urgent and the kiss deeper. Chiana last coherent thought was one of surprise. "Where did he learn this from?" she asked herself before pushing the thought aside and becoming lost in the moment. If she had been able to ask him the question... Berret would have told her his heart was teaching him how.
"Come on!" cried Chiana from inside the Pod.
"Luk ki VaIsh!" the Shrike swore in Luxan and then ran up the gangway into the Pod, the door closing behind him. Chiana was already at the co-pilot seat and the Pod lifted before the hatch had finished cycling shut. Berret made his way up to the pilot seat, glancing out side ports as he went.
"Damn it!" he cursed as he saw the security men running for their own ships. Within microts they were lifting off in pursuit of the escaping Transport Pod.
He reached the pilot seat and dropped into it, taking over from Chiana. He'd wished he could have brought the Wraith with her weapon systems instead, but the Pod was hardier as far as being able to handle the planet's stormy weather conditions, and it was all that had been available.
"They're gaining!" said Chiana as she watched the scanning scopes. Berret knew that they'd never get away from the faster ships by going into orbit toward Moya. Instead he pitched the Pod's nose downward and dived back toward the planet's surface, letting the craft's greater weight assist in giving them the advantage of speed in a dive then the fighters had.
"Where are you going?" asked Chiana excitedly.
"I'm taking us out into the desert," answered the Shrike.
"What the hezmana for?"
"So we can get away. Find me a storm on the scanner that's close by... then find me a surface survey of that area from Moya's downloaded databanks."
Chiana worked over the instruments for a few microts and then reported,
"Major storm front bearing 183 degrees and closing... I'm accessing the data files now." She looked up from her work and said to him, "I hope you know what you're doing."
The first pulse bolt streaked by the pod and exploded in the sand dunes under them.
"No, I'm working by my pant's seat as John likes to say... hurry up with that survey!" Berret said.
The Transport Pod was not made for dog fighting but Berret managed to twist and turn enough for the pulse bolts fired at them from the pursuing ships to miss. The Shrike ran the shuttle along almost at ground level, forcing the faster fighters to slow down to hug the terrain behind him.
"I've got it!" cried the Nebari girl, "What are we looking for?
Behind them a ship exploded as it took a turn to fast and ran itself into something unmovable.
"We need a canyon with caves or a large cavern somewhere near the edge of the storm that's coming. It has to be big enough to land the Pod in," said Berret.
The girl scanned the data for a few microts, gritting her teeth as several near misses shook the craft.
"Okay, there's one six metras from us, bearing 093 degrees. We'd have to hurry; the storm's almost at that position," she reported.
Berret banked the Pod hard over and set the throttle to full. The move cause the fighters to over shoot the transport and have to turn around to catch up. Neither of then spoke as they watched their scanners. The storm front was growing larger and starting to cover the pulsing green dot that was their destination. Behind them the red dots that indicated the following warships grew closer.
"We're not going to make it!" said Chiana.
"Yes, we are," replied the Shrike stubbornly as he fought to keep the bucking ship under control as it began to hit turbulence from the approaching sand storm. On the screen a red dot blinked out.
"Look, another one's gone. Their ships must not be able to handle the punishment from the storm," the Nebari girl said.
"More likely it's the sand getting into every thing and cutting their engines. Fighters would be built more for speed and not have all the filters a Transport Pod has," answered Berret.
Ahead of them they could see the solid dark cloud rushing at them, looking almost like a solid wall of sand metras high and extending in both directions as far as the eye could see.
"We're frelled!" said Berret in awe of the storm's power. He was just about to turn to the girl to apologize for failing to make it to the cavern in time, when she shot up straighter in her seat and pointed out the forward view screen,
"There! Look!" she shouted. Ahead of them he saw the gapping maw of the cavern... their sanctuary.
The storm descended in all its fury as the Pod settled to the cavern floor, out of harm's reach. Chiana and Berret watched the scanner with bated breath as each of the blips that represented a pursuing enemy ship where swept up and destroyed by the storm until the screen was clear of contacts.
"Oh dren, that was close!" the Nebari girl sighed as the last light winked out.
Berret nodded in silent agreement as he moved to power down the Transport Pod.
"How long will the storm last?" asked the Pixie.
"About one and a half solar days," he answered, trying to keep busy with make-work to avoid meeting her eyes. Even after her abduction the tension in their relationship had not abated, if anything, it seemed to have doubled now that they were back together. Berret almost felt like he would burst from the pressure. Having secured all the Pod's stations, the Shrike began to remove his armor and clean it for something else to keep busy with.
The bruised woman sat back down in the co-pilot's seat and wordlessly stared out at the storm.
"I suppose you're gonna say, 'I told you so'... that I always find a way to get into trouble?" Chiana asked after a few microns of silence between them.
Berret had run out of tasks to perform and couldn't think of anymore, so he moved up and joined her in gazing out the forward view port at the storm raging outside the mouth of the cavern. Taking the seat next to her, he watched the blowing sand sketch designs in the air at the cavern's mouth.
"No," he said after a few microts just as Chiana began to think the Shrike wasn't going to answer her question. She stole a glance at the man beside her. Chiana was surprised to see he was at a loss for words as much as she.
"What are we going to do, 'Ret?" she finally asked him in a quiet voice.
Berret tore his gaze away from the hypnotic chaos outside the ship to look at the battered Nebari woman. He thought about pretending he didn't understand what she was referring to in order to avoid answering, but he knew that was the coward's way out. He also knew that how he answered her question would decide the future of their relationship, whether or not they parted as enemies or friends when he left Moya. When it came down to it he was as much to blame for Chiana's recent misadventure as she was... if not more so. He was too much in the young woman's debt to treat her so unfairly.
"I don't know," he finally answered her honestly. "I only know I don't want it to be like this between us anymore."
Chiana looked down at something in her hands as he answered her. She seemed to be contemplating her next question with great care.
"So what's that tell you?" she quietly asked. "Before you answer, this time I want you to think with your heart... not with your head."
Although he thought his heart sometimes spoke an alien language, Berret already knew the answer without really having to consider it. Despite his fear of rejection, he forced himself to answer her honestly.
"You are my heart..." he told her. Despite his resolve to tell her his feelings, he found it hard to look her in the eyes, certain of the refutation he'd see there in her dark orbs. "And that I don't want to be without you." Berret looked back out the view port. Swallowing hard, he confessed in a quiet voice, "Here in the Territories... I'm only lost and far from what was once my home, but without you... I am empty."
The Shrike stole a glance back in her direction. Chiana only slightly nodded her head at his response. The small woman did not betray a single emotion as she continued to stare down into her cupped hands. Berret thought it was a bad sign that she refused to met his eyes. The whole time she had been missing he'd been frantic with worry of never seeing her again. He'd never be able to tell her how he felt about her, even if he didn't believe she could possibly feel the same way toward him. He steeled himself for her rejection. Even though there was no hope that the Pixie would ever care for him beyond their strained friendship as crewmates, he at least could console himself with the knowledge that he finally had the courage to tell her how he felt, before he left Moya and her life forever.
Chiana finally spoke again after what seemed like an eternity to Berret.
"Back there," she started then paused a microt to lick her lips as the air in the Pod seem to suddenly go as arid as the desert outside the carven. "When you were in the room outside where Lucsen was holding me prisoner. I heard you tell him that he had something that belonged to you. Did you really mean that?"
Knowing the Nebari woman hated to be referred to or treated as property, Berret began to apologize.
"Chiana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it in that way at the time. It just came out..." he started.
Chiana spun on him. "Did - You - Mean - That?" she asked again, her eyes flashing, demanding an answer from him. "Do you think that I belong to you?" she asked again.
Berret was at a loss for what he thought was the correct answer she wanted. She was staring at him intently waiting for a reply. His first instinct was to deny the statement knowing how she would react to anyone thinking they had control over her. However something else warned him that to deny it would be the biggest mistake of his life. Unable to decide, Berret closed his eyes. Remembering her request that he answer her last question with his heart instead of his head, he ignored all the explanations and excuses his head was supplying and allowed his heart to throw caution to the wind and to answer for him once more.
"Yes."
The response came from Berret's lips and he felt that it was the most positive answer he'd ever given to anyone in his life, both present and unremembered past. Berret braced himself for the Pixie's anger at the applied ownership but when he opened his eyes she was back to looking at her clasped hands, an uneasy smile on her shiny black lips. After a few microts she looked back up at him.
"I-I feel the same way," she slightly stammered. "That you belong to me, or more like... that we belong together. I never thought I'd ever feel this way about anybody. Nobody's ever wanted me around long enough for me to feel this way, that is," she explained in uncharacteristic shyness.
Berret found himself confused why the woman would confess something of that nature instead of becoming angry with him like he thought she would. Furthermore he couldn't understand why anyone would not want Chiana's company. The girl was mischievous surely, but she had a good heart. She'd already proven that by showing a killer like himself much more compassion then he truly deserved.
"I don't usually follow my people's customs much," she went on to say. "But I think this is the next step for us."
She held out her open hand for him to see what she'd been holding inside it. Resting in the middle of her palm were two earrings. Each small earring was divided into three equal loops that where joined at the middle with the other ends equal distances apart to form a sort of triangle. Inside the loops was an intricate knotted design. He'd never cared much for jewelry, but something in the reverent way she displayed them to him made him pause. Suddenly he found himself thinking they were the most beautiful works of art he'd ever seen.
"They're Nebari Bonding Earrings," she supplied before he could ask. He'd never seen a pair and it took him a few microts to understand what she was asking. Berret was shocked and deep in his chest, his heart skipped a beat.
"You mean you're asking... that you and I... that you would consider..." he stumbled and tried to start three times. He finally paused and took a deep breath as it hit him like a physical blow... she wanted to be with him.
"With all I have done... I'd never dared to hope that you could possibly feel that way for me," he confessed to her.
"That's the problem, you never thought about hoping for more. You just took it for granted that I couldn't ever love you... you never asked how I felt," she said. "So, I'm asking you. Do you have an answer?"
She looked back at the deck of the Pod, all of a sudden feeling there might be a chance he might refuse after all the problems they'd had recently.
"We can have Zhaan and Malika perform the ceremony like they did for John and Aeryn when we get back to Moya," she suggested to cover her moment of uncertainty. "That is... if you want to? I'll understand if you don't want to be bonded to me."
Berret recovered from his astonishment and answered quickly, "Yes... absolutely."
"Huh?" she asked, the doubts making her ramble and momentarily forget which question he was supposed to be answering.
"Yes. I want to be bonded to you," he said, and then added in almost a whisper, "If you'll have me."
Her uneasy smiled transformed into a genuine smile of happiness. The Nebari girl squealed in delight as she leaped up from her seat and landed in a still stunned Berret's lap. She kissed him soundly and then hugged him to her as hard as she could.
"You'll see, we'll be so happy together," she promised him in a whisper.
Berret found himself strangely content with the small woman sitting in his lap and chattering away. Not even caring after his legs went to sleep, he was just happy to have her close again. He listened as she made plans for the celebration after the bonding ceremony and he found himself getting caught up in her excitement. She noticed he hadn't spoken in awhile, so she asked,
"What are you thinking about?"
Berret asked the Nebari girl, "You don't doubt that I do truly feel something for you, do you? I know I have difficulty putting emotions into words, let alone recognize what they are even after all this time. I just want you to know that I do love you. Zhaan, Shenna and all the others have always been correct. I have loved you from the first time I laid my eyes upon you in that alley. I just didn't know that was what it was yet."
"Are you telling me that because it's what I expect to hear... or because it's what you feel?" she asked.
"No," he said with a slight smile because he understood why she would ask that question. "I truly do love you. I just wanted to be sure you knew that is how I really feel.... how I have always felt."
She hugged him tighter. "I know you do, and thank you for telling me," she said.
A mischievous smile settled on her black lips a microt later and she leaned closer to him to whisper into his ear.
"I know how we can spend the next day entertaining ourselves."
"How?" he asked.
"How do you think?" she purred as she brought her lips closer to his. Just short of touching her lips parted and her tongue darted out to tease him with a promise of pleasure to come. She'd teased him like this before, but to her surprise Berret pulled away and gently caught her head with both his hands before she could tease him. She wondered what was wrong as he stared into her eyes and then she understood.
His eyes seemed to say, "Not between us... not between us ever again."
She'd use teasing with her other lovers in the past as part of casual romance, to keep things at arms length. He was letting her know he wouldn't accept anything less then her entire soul and all of her love.
Somewhere along the way he had started to gently caress her face, his touch light even on her bruised cheek. Chiana had become so lost in his ice blue eyes that she couldn't remember when he began the loving touch. He slowly drew her toward him, when their lips finally met it was gently and without a hint of teasing. She folded nicely into his arms, their bodies becoming one as their passion turned more urgent and the kiss deeper. Chiana last coherent thought was one of surprise. "Where did he learn this from?" she asked herself before pushing the thought aside and becoming lost in the moment. If she had been able to ask him the question... Berret would have told her his heart was teaching him how.