Moonlight Horizon
By Michelle Harris aka
Lady M. Harris
A Sailor Moon Love Story: Rini and Elios
Chapter 6
Rini was hot. She was tired. She felt dirty and she was sick of the jungle, already. Her, Elios, Bark, and two guides, Ramos and Dave had been traveling for the past week and a half through the thick vegetation of the jungle.
She swatted at a pesky mosquito; glad that she was lathered up to the neck with a natural herb repellent that Marilee had prepared for her and the rest of the crew. Her clothes stuck to her body, and she felt as if the grim was forever embedded within her skin. She wiped her hand at her forehead, trying to stop the trickle of salty sweat from getting into her eyes. She immediately wiped the moisture on her hand onto her pants, and then was disgusted with the dirty mark she left on her pants.
Before her, Elios cursed an explicit string of words that even made her blush, his wings looking battered, having taken the brunt of the vegetation that kept catching on his wings as they moved through the thick branches and shrubs along their trail. He was moody and irate to everyone in their group, his body not easily adjusting to the intense heat of their surroundings on the ground for long periods at a time.
Thank God, they were halfway through charting the Cycle. Rini sighed, her gaze lowering over her lovely eyes. She couldn't help it even as her gaze caressed Elios' back in front of her. Despite the short tempers in the jungle, the atmosphere between Elios and her was highly charged with awareness. There were times when she would turn his way and find his gaze intense upon her. Most of the time, she had to look away from him; her heart doing their usual rapid palpation's within her ribcage as she read the hunger in his fierce, blue gaze.
Rini understood what was going on, she wanted the archangel like she wanted no other man before him. And she knew that he wanted her. But was that all she wanted from him? She knew that deep in her heart that it probably went beyond that. That her relationship, if it ever happened with him, would be significant to the both of them. She didn't want to dally with him, she wanted...she wanted...what did she want from him, she asked herself a thousand times throughout their trek? And more importantly, what did he want from her?
Within the next hour, they decided to make camp. Elios took her around the vicinity of their camp while they recorded the area with their charts in their hands. The rest of the men did the setting of camp. Although she understood what he expected her to record, the mathematical equations were still Greek to her. She was constantly amazed by the amount of intelligence that lurked behind Elios' sharp gaze and his comprehension of the equations.
By the time her and Elios were done recording the charts, they were once again sharp with one another. An hour or more had probably lapsed since their camp setup and Rini was longing to wipe off the sweat from her body. They camped near a small stream that flowed through the jungle. It afforded them clean water, to finally be able to clean some of the grim from their bodies until they were able to find a real body of water or actually return to the compound.
Disgruntled, they returned to camp, not saying much to each other. They joined the group of men sitting next to the campfire, quietly talking amongst themselves and eating from the provisions that they had brought with them. Rini took the offered cup of steaming soup from Ramos, and sat down next to Dave, who eyed her and Elios with bemusement. Though she preferred to clean herself first, her stomach rumbled furiously indicating to her that she hadn't eaten since sunrise that morning.
"We spotted a Katitz herd nearby while you guys were gone," Ramos told Elios who nodded in response while he ate his soup.
"We have to take special precautions around the herds as the females are in heat and the males are particularly moody," Bark added, his gaze meaningfully going into Elios' direction.
Rini wondered if he was really referring to the Katitz or to her and Elios' situation. Well, at that point she didn't care. She threw her wooden bowl down next to the pile of discarded bowls beside her and got up silently, wiping at the dirt that clung to the bottom of her pants. She wasn't washing the bowls tonight, she grumpily thought.
"Great," she responded to their comments. "I'm going to my tent to clean off some of this mess from me."
"Wait," Elios stood up as well, the grace obvious in his movements, "you'll have to make sure that someone is with you if you need to go to the-uh-bathroom," he added.
Rini smirked.
The dark, golden brow lowered over his gaze serious, ignoring her smirk. "I'm serious, Rini."
Rini turned her back on the archangel, stomping to her tent in a fit of temper.
Elios followed her, his stride just as determined as hers. He grabbed her arm, just as she reached the opening of her tent erected by Ramos.
"Wha--?"
"I'm dead serious, Rini! If a Katitz wanders into our camp, I don't want to worry over the fact of where you are," Elios snapped as she struggled against his grip on her arm.
"And I'm dead serious!" Rini quipped back, releasing her arm from his gasp. "I'm tired and I'm filthy, and I couldn't give a flying freak if one-one of those things came in here!" She hissed back at him.
His eyes narrowed to furious slits at her.
Rini knew she was being unfair to him and to the rest of their party. She understood the dangers they were facing while camping out in the midst of nowhere. He was probably just making sure that no one came to any harm.
Another one of those annoying mosquitoes silently buzzed by her face and then disappeared like a puff of smoke and distracting her with its disappearance.
Elios stared at her face, his gaze centered on her jaw. His face screwed up just as annoyed by the mosquito that decided to interrupt their argument with its presence. In an instance, before he could think of what he was doing, he smacked Rini gently on the side of her face.
Rini closed her eyes in stupefaction and astonishment, unable to believe that Elios had just slapped her. Her body trembled with silent rage as she held back the tears that threatened to escape from her clinched eyes. The last straw was hearing Elios' deep chuckle.
She opened her eyes and struck back at him, her hand solidly connecting to his right cheek. She wondered what happened to her usual, common sense. Especially since, she had failed to notice the surprise that had crossed his features when she first opened her eyes.
Elios touched his tender cheek with stunned disbelief as Rini gasped with shock that she had actually hit him with her hand. They stood staring at one another, there, deep in the humid and hot jungle of Hades Island, two powerful and two very much in love with each other individuals, as they continued to measure each other. Neither one of them wanted to admit who was wrong or just too stubborn to admit their attraction to another that was growing stronger and swifter with each passing moment that they breathed.
Rini cried out in surprise when Elios hauled her into his arms, the steely bands encircling her and crushing her against him.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he whispered hoarsely into her hair.
Rini sobbed out a gasp against his neck, hearing the soft endearment on his lips, feeling the deep shudder that flowed through his powerful body. The anger evaporated, replaced by awe as she listened to his words.
"I didn't mean to hurt you-God knows, how much I care about you," he admitted, huskily, tearing into the deep recesses of her mind, melting the core of her heart as the soft words flowed like sweet honey over her. "I was only trying to kill a mosquito that had landed on that lovely skin of yours."
"Elios-" she whispered and laughed softly when she finally realized why he had hit her in the face. It had been a gentle slap, her belated mind reasoned with herself. But the longing was starkly evident and unmistakable in her voice as she raised her head towards his. She leaned her body fully against his, the ache swelling within the pit of her belly, needing to be closer to him.
He groaned, unable to resist the lips that were oh so succulently within his reach, feeling her soft curves mold against his body with infinite ease, just as if her body was exclusively made for him. His tongue delved deeply, hungrily into her mouth tasting the sweetness he found there. Tongues tangling in a dancing foray of passion and desire. This time, his hands were daring, exploring every soft curve, roundness and every dip. He reached into the band of her shirt and pulled out the white blouse and then his hands were touching the warm flesh of her back and sides, boldly brushing against the roundness of her breasts.
With a certain wildness born of her own desire, Rini hands tangled in his long hair, reveling in the softness and silkiness she found threading through her fingers. She threw her head back and ended their deep kiss, but it only allowed Elios to ravish her exposed throat, where her neck connected with her collarbone while her heart sped rapidly beneath the cage of her ribs.
With deft fingers, he loosened the scones on her head, allowing the full breath of her mane to tumble free of their confines and to flow over her back like a mass of pinkish cascading waterfalls. God, but she was just too damn beautiful to be real, never having met a woman of her worth or beauty, his mind thought as he stared her breath-taking loveliness. Not even the two most beautiful women whom served him and others within his clan could compare to her. He wanted her badly and was willing to wait for this princess until the world boiled over if he had to.
Once more kissing her lips, he straightened, his arms still encircling her as if not wanting to let go of his quarry, he gazed into her eyes, a soft smile tugging at his lips.
Rini smiled softly, gently back at him, the checked fires curling like burnished smoke in her gaze.
"Come with me," Elios commanded softly, his blue gaze simmering with torrid heat and then unexpectedly he heaved her into his arms. He shot straight up into the air with a mighty lunge and cleared the tops of the tall vegetation with one mighty slap of his wings.
Rini held tightly onto him and wondered how it would feel to always wake up within those arms. The warm wind whistled through her hair, but it did not cool the ardor that burned deeply within her.
Within moments, the lush vegetation parted, providing a clear opening for a landing and giving way to a small waterfall and below the waterfall lay a small lake. Lush, tropical plants of every green variety and type, native only to Paradise grew in abundance everywhere, with spots of large, wildflowers dotting the entire, closed off area. Two large birds nearly half the sizes of humans of extraordinary color and beauty flocked and played in the rushing waterfalls, ignoring the intruders as if instinctively knowing that they were no threat.
It was paradise within paradise.
Rini cooed at the sight of the sparkling, clear water when Elios touched down near the waterfalls, onto a large boulder, worn smooth from its constant contact with the rushing waters. He grinned at her, unable to keep from chuckling as she eyed the water with longing.
"Oh my God!" She gasped out with wonder, trying to steady her balance on the large boulders.
"Come over here," Elios guided her underneath the waterfall. She came instantly and exclaimed loudly when the cold water washed over her, immediately cooling her hot skin and washing away the grim and filth from the past week and a half.
She smiled with enjoyment, watching Elios enjoying the cool, refreshing waters as well. He spread wings wide, taking the time to rinse each one underneath waterfall until they were back to their blinding, white color. When he reached up to remove his vest, Rini came to him, her hands stilling his.
He stared down into her lovely face, wordlessly allowing her to unbutton his vest. Likewise, he reached out and lifted the white shirt from her, baring her round breasts for him. Elios sucked in his breath as he stared at those luscious orbs, perfect in their shape and form; the misty pink nipples erect from the cold water rushing over them. He resisted the urge to touch them. It wasn't long before her pants joined her shirt as well as his own clothing.
"You are everything I dreamed..." Rini breathed as she stood staring, caressing his splendid body in admiration. Burnish bronze skin, sinew, and cord muscles that dipped here and there on his superbly sculpted body. Her fingers skimmed lightly over his hairless broad chest, trailing over the hard stomach that quaked beneath her touch.
"And you, I..." Elios replied huskily to her statement. He pulled them slightly out of the waterfall. "Come to me," he pulled her into his hard embrace, his body heating at the touch of her fully naked body against his.
"Elios..." Rini gasped, fully aware of the powerful body against hers. She stared down between them, her eyes growing wide with curiosity at the sight of his fully aroused member protruding erotically against her quivering stomach. It was huge and thick, throbbing against her as if it had a life all its own.
"That is what you do to me, every time you're near me, Rini," Elios uttered hoarsely to her. He leaned down and began to trail kisses all over her throat, his large hands now lifting to cup her lovely breasts. He cupped the roundness that filled his hands, alternating between fondling and rubbing the crested nipples until they puckered hard against his palms begging as if begging for attention.
Rini gasped as erotic fires spiraled upwards, spreading and lifting, taking flight within her. The touch of his mouth was simply heaven on her and when his lips finally settled on one of her nipples, he began to whole heartily sucking at the nubs, nibbling or alternating between gentle bites. She then surely believed that she had died and gone on to heaven. His hands followed where his mouth had been, touching her everywhere, and tasting at every opportunity that was given to him.
Her own hands began their own self-exploration of discovery. The dips and valleys of banded muscles released quivers from Elios' body as her fingers slightly skimmed over his smooth skin with a feathery touch. Learning the feel of his muscular chest, the corded feel of his buttocks, the dip in his back and the hard thighs that touched her limbs. When her hands reached that part of him that was straining against her stomach, she heard him suck in his breath, his body shuddering violently as her fingers closed over the velvet length. Her fingers tightened over the thickness and then gentled as she released her hold but not quite letting go, wanting to understand why he was so hard there.
"Oh God-" he gasped out, unable to stop the instinctive thrust against her hold around him.
"Ohh--" She exclaimed in titling surprise and elation that she could cause such a reaction from him. She glided her hands up and down the thick shaft, reveling in its hardness and velvety softness. When her hands reached below his pulsing length to cup the soft round orbs, he growled low at her, stilling her hands for fear of spilling himself without having pleasured her.
"Rini...?" He ventured cautiously, settling his hips between her soft, pale thighs, the urgency now both evident in their touch and kissing, their hands entwined together as one as he trailed more fiery kisses along her neck and chest. "I would show you more, sweetheart-but I don't think I can wait any longer," he gasped as he felt her soft folds beginning to engulf him with its burning heat and surrounding his swollen member.
"Please...Elios," she begged, not quite knowing what it was she begged for as she felt that hard part of him begin to ease slowly into her. He came upon her barrier and then abruptly stilled in disbelief as he stared down into her lovely, strained face.
"I didn't know-"
"Does it matter?" Came her soft reply as her shapely limbs wrapped around his hips.
"No-I guess it doesn't now..." he uttered thickly and with sudden gentleness. By God that he was her first! His stunned mind reeled with the intense, male satisfaction. "I'll try to be gentle, but I can't guarantee-" he groaned, cutting himself off and then surged deeply into her enveloping warmth, breaching her barrier. In an instance, he was fully impaled within her deep crevice where she was tight and sweet, encasing him until he felt like exploding in her.
Rini cried out as she was thoroughly filled by his foreign thickness. It stretched her and filled like no other feeling she had ever encountered or dreamed. She reached up with trembling arms and threaded her fingers within his golden hair, testing her hips against this new feeling, adjusting to the throbbing thickness between her thighs.
In turn, Elios drew in several, sharp breaths of air, his body reacting violently to her movements. He was ready to erupt like a raging volcano.
And then nothing mattered afterward to Rini as Elios started a slow thrust into her, the fire flared deeply, igniting like a single, striking match. She could feel every deep thrust, the slow drag of his shaft against her flowering folds before plunging back into her before she could miss its absence. The fiery flames flickered over her, higher, and higher, her hips lifting to meet his lead, gentle and tender at first, and then the urgency grew steadily, like a slow burn, unbearable for the both of them as they tried hungrily to reach that pinnacle over the rise. And then it burst upon them like cascading kaleidoscopes, splintering and shattering them into a million pieces of sensual sensation, before releasing them softly back into the light of reality.
Several moments later, Rini opened her eyes slowly, gazing with new eyes at her surroundings. The wild birds still squawked loudly at one another, chirping or squabbling at one another as bird were ought to do. She became aware of the waterfall still rushing beside them. Her gaze trailed back to Elios, noting the deep, lapis blueness of his gaze settled on her face, a sultry and tantalizing grin on his face.
He leaned forward and gently kissed her lips, caressing them with his tongue as a lover would do.
And that was what he was, her lover, her amazed mind whispered to her. Her lover, Elios, this archangel to the planet they called Paradise. He was hers, her mind seized on the possessive state immediately and she liked the thought, immensely.
"Rini," the deep rumble of his voice, caused her body to shiver and tremble as they were still connected, the sensual glitter in his eyes hypnotizing and enigmatic.
"Elios..." she shuddered as he moved ever so slightly in her, still apparently hard and swollen. She could almost imagine how they looked on the boulder and a blush erupted across her cheeks at his and her obvious wantonness.
"I am hardly satisfied, my sweet flower..." a lazy smile tugged at his lips, the gesture curling her insides and reawaking the blanketed fires within her that she hadn't recognized until now.
"But-you-you...." She gasped as he began moving slowing in her once again.
"I know, sweetheart. But I still have much to show you before the evening is upon us and with so little time--," he groaned as he kissed her upturned lips, his tongue lightly flickering over her lower lip with sultry delight, before trailing down further and further down to those lovely breasts of hers. He reached down and grasped her lowered thigh, pulling it up against him as he steadied his position within her, his hips already moving easily backward and forward within her. And then it started all over for her and him, the delightful wonders in a world that only belonged to heighten touch and taste and sensation.
"We gotten word from the compound," Bark started toward Rini and Elios after they arrived back at camp. Searching their surroundings, Rini noted that the remaining men had packed most of their gear.
"What's going on?" Elios released Rini, setting her down carefully to the ground like his precious cargo.
"Marilee radioed in that Cerus has taken a more formidable stake around Paradise by posting warships close to our atmosphere. Paradise has readied their warships as well. The Nations Fleet is standing by as our allies, sending two more Commander ships from Earth full of warships. They have asked the status of our position in breaching the Cycle," Bark reported. He turned to Rini, his gaze softening somewhat over what he had to report to her.
"What's going on?" Rini asked, anxiety straining her features.
"It's not very good news and yet some of it is," he took a deep breath.
"Spit it out, Bark," Rini resisted the urge to be impatient.
"Your mother is on her way here to help you and the archangel get out of here," he started, hearing her exclamation of surprise. "But it's because your father has somehow disappeared."
"Daddy?" She whispered with shock, not realizing the infancy way she called her father. Normally she called him by the name of father, but such a state reverted back to the only way she felt comfortable calling him and that was the way she always felt when Darien had protected her as a child. Her legs were suddenly unsteady. She reached out a hand blindly, trying to find a tree to lean upon and encountered Elios' arm.
"Easy," Elios grabbed her by the waist, her sudden support and anchor over the news. Elios turned toward Bark, the concern and uneasiness lining his face, as the other men in the background strained to hear the news. "Did they say when the queen would arrive?" Elios asked.
"By tomorrow," Bark replied over Elios' cursing. They seemed to be doing that a lot, lately.
"That means, I'll have to fly all of us back to the compound," Elios summarized. He looked back over the encampment again, glad that the men had already taken the initiative to clean up most of their area. They would have to come back for the gear lately, as there was no way he could carry two and the supplies.
"The other angels will be arriving with the queen as well," Bark added the final, stunning news.
Elios gaze up shot toward in disbelief, amazed at what he was hearing.
"They fear that the queen's or Rini's powers will not be enough to break through the barriers of the Cycle, so they will be lending their voices to help--whatever that means," Bark shrugged his shoulders. He didn't understand completely what the angels would be doing and he hoped that the archangel would explain.
"What do you mean by lending their voices?" Rini was finally able to ask with her voice now steady. She looked gratefully at Elios, who nodded his head in understanding.
"The Gloria Hymn, when sang by all the angels can shatter a Cycle's field for brief moments," Elios couldn't believe it, that they would gather together from the far corners of the world, for him.
"Why didn't we do that earlier?" Rini exclaimed with hope shooting through her heart.
"Because it's never been performed before and there was no need until now, it's only recorded in the Oracles as an act that we could use as a weapon if the need ever arise," Elios sighed.
"The Oracles of Paradise, I've heard of that," Bark replied with excitement. "Have you ever seen it?"
Elios nodded in deep thought, "They're not much to look at, just a bunch of programming languages that's obsolete and data that makes no sense to the programmers on staff in Elysium. I don't even think any of Earth's programmers could make any sense of them," he finished. "I take it then that we need to get some sleep in order for us to get back tomorrow?"
"Seems like a good idea, especially since our light will be gone in about thirty minutes," Bark replied as they started walking back to their tents. Bark shared his tent with Ramos and Dave, while Elios made a large nesting area in a nearby treetop, the hot evening air nearly making it impossible for him to breath or sleep. Rini's tent sat next the men's, directly underneath the tree that Elios would sleep in.
Rini heard Dave's low grumbling how clean her and Elios seemed while him and the rest of the men were still smelling like the jungle sweat as she reached her tent. A tiny smile escaped from her as she tried to think of the light banter going on between the men, instead of thoughts on her mother and her missing father.
Elios noticed the smile on her face and his thoughts of disquiet disappeared seeing her soft smile. Since the men were already in their tents, he grabbed Rini, catching her off guard and swiftly kissed her hard on the lips. He let her go so suddenly that she would have fallen if it weren't for his large wings catching her from her descent backwards.
"Do not worry, princess, the morning light will bring hope," he stated softly to her surprised expression.
"Thank you-" she gasped quietly, tears suddenly welling in her eyes and threatening to fall.
"In Elysium, my chambers are very large, Rini," he started, hoping to take the tears away by infusing desire in its stead and taking her by surprise with the change of subject. He had only been able to take her three times by the waterfall, hardly enough to satisfy his needs or for the fact that he still wanted her beyond anything that he ever understood he thought as they stood staring at one another. "Large enough for an archangel to spread his wings, to make them quiver as desire roars through his veins."
Rini gulped, as her overactive imagination fairly flew through her mind, her newly awaken body responding swiftly to the enticing images floating through her mind. Those images of her, lying underneath a certain wicked angel with vibrant blue eyes, in the middle of a very big bed. Then the thoughts stopped abruptly as her brows drew fiercely together as another thought struck her.
"What?" Elios shot back at her frown.
"Have you ever-ever done that in your chambers with someone else?" She asked, her voice quivering, all the sudden she didn't want to know, actually. What did it matter who he was with before, when now she knew that she'd do anything to make sure that she was his only lover.
"Uh...no, I have never taken a woman in my chambers before, if that's what you're asking. You could be the first and perhaps..." he invited and trailed off, almost admitting to her that she was the only one he ever intended to take to his chambers. But instead, he snickered as if not giving away any of his thoughts. He could already imagine her exquisite body laying on his bed, her long, pale-pink hair spread about her in artful disarray, the languor desire slumbering in her reddish hue eyes as she stared up into his face. He wanted to groan at the thought. Already his member was rising beneath its tight confinement.
"Oh you.... you're contemptible!" She burst out, laughing softly and enjoying his sexual banter, noting the intense hunger look blazing across his chiseled features. She suppressed the renewed desire already beginning to recognize the hunger that grew within her. She wanted more than anything to fling herself against him, but didn't dare with Bark and the other men in the next tent to hers.
His brow shot up devilishly as he turned away, his wings spreading slightly in preparation for flight, "dream of me, princess for I surely will think of you," was his parting shot. With mighty lunge into the darkening sky, wings spread wide, he was gone in moments, leaving a trail of white feathers, showering her with his lingering presence. He left Rini standing at the opening of her tent watching him fly towards the top of the tree, with longing evident in her eyes.
As she turned away about to enter her tent, she heard a distinct, gutter growl that froze her insides and paralyzed her limbs. She glanced nervously toward the dark shrubbery and gasped with fright as yellow and green eyes gleamed steadily at her.
In the next, frightening moment, there was nothing but a dark golden blur as a large snarling beast leaped from the cover of the bushes as her scream pierced the jungle night.
Stay tuned to Chapter 7! Lady M. Harris
By Michelle Harris aka
Lady M. Harris
A Sailor Moon Love Story: Rini and Elios
Chapter 6
Rini was hot. She was tired. She felt dirty and she was sick of the jungle, already. Her, Elios, Bark, and two guides, Ramos and Dave had been traveling for the past week and a half through the thick vegetation of the jungle.
She swatted at a pesky mosquito; glad that she was lathered up to the neck with a natural herb repellent that Marilee had prepared for her and the rest of the crew. Her clothes stuck to her body, and she felt as if the grim was forever embedded within her skin. She wiped her hand at her forehead, trying to stop the trickle of salty sweat from getting into her eyes. She immediately wiped the moisture on her hand onto her pants, and then was disgusted with the dirty mark she left on her pants.
Before her, Elios cursed an explicit string of words that even made her blush, his wings looking battered, having taken the brunt of the vegetation that kept catching on his wings as they moved through the thick branches and shrubs along their trail. He was moody and irate to everyone in their group, his body not easily adjusting to the intense heat of their surroundings on the ground for long periods at a time.
Thank God, they were halfway through charting the Cycle. Rini sighed, her gaze lowering over her lovely eyes. She couldn't help it even as her gaze caressed Elios' back in front of her. Despite the short tempers in the jungle, the atmosphere between Elios and her was highly charged with awareness. There were times when she would turn his way and find his gaze intense upon her. Most of the time, she had to look away from him; her heart doing their usual rapid palpation's within her ribcage as she read the hunger in his fierce, blue gaze.
Rini understood what was going on, she wanted the archangel like she wanted no other man before him. And she knew that he wanted her. But was that all she wanted from him? She knew that deep in her heart that it probably went beyond that. That her relationship, if it ever happened with him, would be significant to the both of them. She didn't want to dally with him, she wanted...she wanted...what did she want from him, she asked herself a thousand times throughout their trek? And more importantly, what did he want from her?
Within the next hour, they decided to make camp. Elios took her around the vicinity of their camp while they recorded the area with their charts in their hands. The rest of the men did the setting of camp. Although she understood what he expected her to record, the mathematical equations were still Greek to her. She was constantly amazed by the amount of intelligence that lurked behind Elios' sharp gaze and his comprehension of the equations.
By the time her and Elios were done recording the charts, they were once again sharp with one another. An hour or more had probably lapsed since their camp setup and Rini was longing to wipe off the sweat from her body. They camped near a small stream that flowed through the jungle. It afforded them clean water, to finally be able to clean some of the grim from their bodies until they were able to find a real body of water or actually return to the compound.
Disgruntled, they returned to camp, not saying much to each other. They joined the group of men sitting next to the campfire, quietly talking amongst themselves and eating from the provisions that they had brought with them. Rini took the offered cup of steaming soup from Ramos, and sat down next to Dave, who eyed her and Elios with bemusement. Though she preferred to clean herself first, her stomach rumbled furiously indicating to her that she hadn't eaten since sunrise that morning.
"We spotted a Katitz herd nearby while you guys were gone," Ramos told Elios who nodded in response while he ate his soup.
"We have to take special precautions around the herds as the females are in heat and the males are particularly moody," Bark added, his gaze meaningfully going into Elios' direction.
Rini wondered if he was really referring to the Katitz or to her and Elios' situation. Well, at that point she didn't care. She threw her wooden bowl down next to the pile of discarded bowls beside her and got up silently, wiping at the dirt that clung to the bottom of her pants. She wasn't washing the bowls tonight, she grumpily thought.
"Great," she responded to their comments. "I'm going to my tent to clean off some of this mess from me."
"Wait," Elios stood up as well, the grace obvious in his movements, "you'll have to make sure that someone is with you if you need to go to the-uh-bathroom," he added.
Rini smirked.
The dark, golden brow lowered over his gaze serious, ignoring her smirk. "I'm serious, Rini."
Rini turned her back on the archangel, stomping to her tent in a fit of temper.
Elios followed her, his stride just as determined as hers. He grabbed her arm, just as she reached the opening of her tent erected by Ramos.
"Wha--?"
"I'm dead serious, Rini! If a Katitz wanders into our camp, I don't want to worry over the fact of where you are," Elios snapped as she struggled against his grip on her arm.
"And I'm dead serious!" Rini quipped back, releasing her arm from his gasp. "I'm tired and I'm filthy, and I couldn't give a flying freak if one-one of those things came in here!" She hissed back at him.
His eyes narrowed to furious slits at her.
Rini knew she was being unfair to him and to the rest of their party. She understood the dangers they were facing while camping out in the midst of nowhere. He was probably just making sure that no one came to any harm.
Another one of those annoying mosquitoes silently buzzed by her face and then disappeared like a puff of smoke and distracting her with its disappearance.
Elios stared at her face, his gaze centered on her jaw. His face screwed up just as annoyed by the mosquito that decided to interrupt their argument with its presence. In an instance, before he could think of what he was doing, he smacked Rini gently on the side of her face.
Rini closed her eyes in stupefaction and astonishment, unable to believe that Elios had just slapped her. Her body trembled with silent rage as she held back the tears that threatened to escape from her clinched eyes. The last straw was hearing Elios' deep chuckle.
She opened her eyes and struck back at him, her hand solidly connecting to his right cheek. She wondered what happened to her usual, common sense. Especially since, she had failed to notice the surprise that had crossed his features when she first opened her eyes.
Elios touched his tender cheek with stunned disbelief as Rini gasped with shock that she had actually hit him with her hand. They stood staring at one another, there, deep in the humid and hot jungle of Hades Island, two powerful and two very much in love with each other individuals, as they continued to measure each other. Neither one of them wanted to admit who was wrong or just too stubborn to admit their attraction to another that was growing stronger and swifter with each passing moment that they breathed.
Rini cried out in surprise when Elios hauled her into his arms, the steely bands encircling her and crushing her against him.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he whispered hoarsely into her hair.
Rini sobbed out a gasp against his neck, hearing the soft endearment on his lips, feeling the deep shudder that flowed through his powerful body. The anger evaporated, replaced by awe as she listened to his words.
"I didn't mean to hurt you-God knows, how much I care about you," he admitted, huskily, tearing into the deep recesses of her mind, melting the core of her heart as the soft words flowed like sweet honey over her. "I was only trying to kill a mosquito that had landed on that lovely skin of yours."
"Elios-" she whispered and laughed softly when she finally realized why he had hit her in the face. It had been a gentle slap, her belated mind reasoned with herself. But the longing was starkly evident and unmistakable in her voice as she raised her head towards his. She leaned her body fully against his, the ache swelling within the pit of her belly, needing to be closer to him.
He groaned, unable to resist the lips that were oh so succulently within his reach, feeling her soft curves mold against his body with infinite ease, just as if her body was exclusively made for him. His tongue delved deeply, hungrily into her mouth tasting the sweetness he found there. Tongues tangling in a dancing foray of passion and desire. This time, his hands were daring, exploring every soft curve, roundness and every dip. He reached into the band of her shirt and pulled out the white blouse and then his hands were touching the warm flesh of her back and sides, boldly brushing against the roundness of her breasts.
With a certain wildness born of her own desire, Rini hands tangled in his long hair, reveling in the softness and silkiness she found threading through her fingers. She threw her head back and ended their deep kiss, but it only allowed Elios to ravish her exposed throat, where her neck connected with her collarbone while her heart sped rapidly beneath the cage of her ribs.
With deft fingers, he loosened the scones on her head, allowing the full breath of her mane to tumble free of their confines and to flow over her back like a mass of pinkish cascading waterfalls. God, but she was just too damn beautiful to be real, never having met a woman of her worth or beauty, his mind thought as he stared her breath-taking loveliness. Not even the two most beautiful women whom served him and others within his clan could compare to her. He wanted her badly and was willing to wait for this princess until the world boiled over if he had to.
Once more kissing her lips, he straightened, his arms still encircling her as if not wanting to let go of his quarry, he gazed into her eyes, a soft smile tugging at his lips.
Rini smiled softly, gently back at him, the checked fires curling like burnished smoke in her gaze.
"Come with me," Elios commanded softly, his blue gaze simmering with torrid heat and then unexpectedly he heaved her into his arms. He shot straight up into the air with a mighty lunge and cleared the tops of the tall vegetation with one mighty slap of his wings.
Rini held tightly onto him and wondered how it would feel to always wake up within those arms. The warm wind whistled through her hair, but it did not cool the ardor that burned deeply within her.
Within moments, the lush vegetation parted, providing a clear opening for a landing and giving way to a small waterfall and below the waterfall lay a small lake. Lush, tropical plants of every green variety and type, native only to Paradise grew in abundance everywhere, with spots of large, wildflowers dotting the entire, closed off area. Two large birds nearly half the sizes of humans of extraordinary color and beauty flocked and played in the rushing waterfalls, ignoring the intruders as if instinctively knowing that they were no threat.
It was paradise within paradise.
Rini cooed at the sight of the sparkling, clear water when Elios touched down near the waterfalls, onto a large boulder, worn smooth from its constant contact with the rushing waters. He grinned at her, unable to keep from chuckling as she eyed the water with longing.
"Oh my God!" She gasped out with wonder, trying to steady her balance on the large boulders.
"Come over here," Elios guided her underneath the waterfall. She came instantly and exclaimed loudly when the cold water washed over her, immediately cooling her hot skin and washing away the grim and filth from the past week and a half.
She smiled with enjoyment, watching Elios enjoying the cool, refreshing waters as well. He spread wings wide, taking the time to rinse each one underneath waterfall until they were back to their blinding, white color. When he reached up to remove his vest, Rini came to him, her hands stilling his.
He stared down into her lovely face, wordlessly allowing her to unbutton his vest. Likewise, he reached out and lifted the white shirt from her, baring her round breasts for him. Elios sucked in his breath as he stared at those luscious orbs, perfect in their shape and form; the misty pink nipples erect from the cold water rushing over them. He resisted the urge to touch them. It wasn't long before her pants joined her shirt as well as his own clothing.
"You are everything I dreamed..." Rini breathed as she stood staring, caressing his splendid body in admiration. Burnish bronze skin, sinew, and cord muscles that dipped here and there on his superbly sculpted body. Her fingers skimmed lightly over his hairless broad chest, trailing over the hard stomach that quaked beneath her touch.
"And you, I..." Elios replied huskily to her statement. He pulled them slightly out of the waterfall. "Come to me," he pulled her into his hard embrace, his body heating at the touch of her fully naked body against his.
"Elios..." Rini gasped, fully aware of the powerful body against hers. She stared down between them, her eyes growing wide with curiosity at the sight of his fully aroused member protruding erotically against her quivering stomach. It was huge and thick, throbbing against her as if it had a life all its own.
"That is what you do to me, every time you're near me, Rini," Elios uttered hoarsely to her. He leaned down and began to trail kisses all over her throat, his large hands now lifting to cup her lovely breasts. He cupped the roundness that filled his hands, alternating between fondling and rubbing the crested nipples until they puckered hard against his palms begging as if begging for attention.
Rini gasped as erotic fires spiraled upwards, spreading and lifting, taking flight within her. The touch of his mouth was simply heaven on her and when his lips finally settled on one of her nipples, he began to whole heartily sucking at the nubs, nibbling or alternating between gentle bites. She then surely believed that she had died and gone on to heaven. His hands followed where his mouth had been, touching her everywhere, and tasting at every opportunity that was given to him.
Her own hands began their own self-exploration of discovery. The dips and valleys of banded muscles released quivers from Elios' body as her fingers slightly skimmed over his smooth skin with a feathery touch. Learning the feel of his muscular chest, the corded feel of his buttocks, the dip in his back and the hard thighs that touched her limbs. When her hands reached that part of him that was straining against her stomach, she heard him suck in his breath, his body shuddering violently as her fingers closed over the velvet length. Her fingers tightened over the thickness and then gentled as she released her hold but not quite letting go, wanting to understand why he was so hard there.
"Oh God-" he gasped out, unable to stop the instinctive thrust against her hold around him.
"Ohh--" She exclaimed in titling surprise and elation that she could cause such a reaction from him. She glided her hands up and down the thick shaft, reveling in its hardness and velvety softness. When her hands reached below his pulsing length to cup the soft round orbs, he growled low at her, stilling her hands for fear of spilling himself without having pleasured her.
"Rini...?" He ventured cautiously, settling his hips between her soft, pale thighs, the urgency now both evident in their touch and kissing, their hands entwined together as one as he trailed more fiery kisses along her neck and chest. "I would show you more, sweetheart-but I don't think I can wait any longer," he gasped as he felt her soft folds beginning to engulf him with its burning heat and surrounding his swollen member.
"Please...Elios," she begged, not quite knowing what it was she begged for as she felt that hard part of him begin to ease slowly into her. He came upon her barrier and then abruptly stilled in disbelief as he stared down into her lovely, strained face.
"I didn't know-"
"Does it matter?" Came her soft reply as her shapely limbs wrapped around his hips.
"No-I guess it doesn't now..." he uttered thickly and with sudden gentleness. By God that he was her first! His stunned mind reeled with the intense, male satisfaction. "I'll try to be gentle, but I can't guarantee-" he groaned, cutting himself off and then surged deeply into her enveloping warmth, breaching her barrier. In an instance, he was fully impaled within her deep crevice where she was tight and sweet, encasing him until he felt like exploding in her.
Rini cried out as she was thoroughly filled by his foreign thickness. It stretched her and filled like no other feeling she had ever encountered or dreamed. She reached up with trembling arms and threaded her fingers within his golden hair, testing her hips against this new feeling, adjusting to the throbbing thickness between her thighs.
In turn, Elios drew in several, sharp breaths of air, his body reacting violently to her movements. He was ready to erupt like a raging volcano.
And then nothing mattered afterward to Rini as Elios started a slow thrust into her, the fire flared deeply, igniting like a single, striking match. She could feel every deep thrust, the slow drag of his shaft against her flowering folds before plunging back into her before she could miss its absence. The fiery flames flickered over her, higher, and higher, her hips lifting to meet his lead, gentle and tender at first, and then the urgency grew steadily, like a slow burn, unbearable for the both of them as they tried hungrily to reach that pinnacle over the rise. And then it burst upon them like cascading kaleidoscopes, splintering and shattering them into a million pieces of sensual sensation, before releasing them softly back into the light of reality.
Several moments later, Rini opened her eyes slowly, gazing with new eyes at her surroundings. The wild birds still squawked loudly at one another, chirping or squabbling at one another as bird were ought to do. She became aware of the waterfall still rushing beside them. Her gaze trailed back to Elios, noting the deep, lapis blueness of his gaze settled on her face, a sultry and tantalizing grin on his face.
He leaned forward and gently kissed her lips, caressing them with his tongue as a lover would do.
And that was what he was, her lover, her amazed mind whispered to her. Her lover, Elios, this archangel to the planet they called Paradise. He was hers, her mind seized on the possessive state immediately and she liked the thought, immensely.
"Rini," the deep rumble of his voice, caused her body to shiver and tremble as they were still connected, the sensual glitter in his eyes hypnotizing and enigmatic.
"Elios..." she shuddered as he moved ever so slightly in her, still apparently hard and swollen. She could almost imagine how they looked on the boulder and a blush erupted across her cheeks at his and her obvious wantonness.
"I am hardly satisfied, my sweet flower..." a lazy smile tugged at his lips, the gesture curling her insides and reawaking the blanketed fires within her that she hadn't recognized until now.
"But-you-you...." She gasped as he began moving slowing in her once again.
"I know, sweetheart. But I still have much to show you before the evening is upon us and with so little time--," he groaned as he kissed her upturned lips, his tongue lightly flickering over her lower lip with sultry delight, before trailing down further and further down to those lovely breasts of hers. He reached down and grasped her lowered thigh, pulling it up against him as he steadied his position within her, his hips already moving easily backward and forward within her. And then it started all over for her and him, the delightful wonders in a world that only belonged to heighten touch and taste and sensation.
"We gotten word from the compound," Bark started toward Rini and Elios after they arrived back at camp. Searching their surroundings, Rini noted that the remaining men had packed most of their gear.
"What's going on?" Elios released Rini, setting her down carefully to the ground like his precious cargo.
"Marilee radioed in that Cerus has taken a more formidable stake around Paradise by posting warships close to our atmosphere. Paradise has readied their warships as well. The Nations Fleet is standing by as our allies, sending two more Commander ships from Earth full of warships. They have asked the status of our position in breaching the Cycle," Bark reported. He turned to Rini, his gaze softening somewhat over what he had to report to her.
"What's going on?" Rini asked, anxiety straining her features.
"It's not very good news and yet some of it is," he took a deep breath.
"Spit it out, Bark," Rini resisted the urge to be impatient.
"Your mother is on her way here to help you and the archangel get out of here," he started, hearing her exclamation of surprise. "But it's because your father has somehow disappeared."
"Daddy?" She whispered with shock, not realizing the infancy way she called her father. Normally she called him by the name of father, but such a state reverted back to the only way she felt comfortable calling him and that was the way she always felt when Darien had protected her as a child. Her legs were suddenly unsteady. She reached out a hand blindly, trying to find a tree to lean upon and encountered Elios' arm.
"Easy," Elios grabbed her by the waist, her sudden support and anchor over the news. Elios turned toward Bark, the concern and uneasiness lining his face, as the other men in the background strained to hear the news. "Did they say when the queen would arrive?" Elios asked.
"By tomorrow," Bark replied over Elios' cursing. They seemed to be doing that a lot, lately.
"That means, I'll have to fly all of us back to the compound," Elios summarized. He looked back over the encampment again, glad that the men had already taken the initiative to clean up most of their area. They would have to come back for the gear lately, as there was no way he could carry two and the supplies.
"The other angels will be arriving with the queen as well," Bark added the final, stunning news.
Elios gaze up shot toward in disbelief, amazed at what he was hearing.
"They fear that the queen's or Rini's powers will not be enough to break through the barriers of the Cycle, so they will be lending their voices to help--whatever that means," Bark shrugged his shoulders. He didn't understand completely what the angels would be doing and he hoped that the archangel would explain.
"What do you mean by lending their voices?" Rini was finally able to ask with her voice now steady. She looked gratefully at Elios, who nodded his head in understanding.
"The Gloria Hymn, when sang by all the angels can shatter a Cycle's field for brief moments," Elios couldn't believe it, that they would gather together from the far corners of the world, for him.
"Why didn't we do that earlier?" Rini exclaimed with hope shooting through her heart.
"Because it's never been performed before and there was no need until now, it's only recorded in the Oracles as an act that we could use as a weapon if the need ever arise," Elios sighed.
"The Oracles of Paradise, I've heard of that," Bark replied with excitement. "Have you ever seen it?"
Elios nodded in deep thought, "They're not much to look at, just a bunch of programming languages that's obsolete and data that makes no sense to the programmers on staff in Elysium. I don't even think any of Earth's programmers could make any sense of them," he finished. "I take it then that we need to get some sleep in order for us to get back tomorrow?"
"Seems like a good idea, especially since our light will be gone in about thirty minutes," Bark replied as they started walking back to their tents. Bark shared his tent with Ramos and Dave, while Elios made a large nesting area in a nearby treetop, the hot evening air nearly making it impossible for him to breath or sleep. Rini's tent sat next the men's, directly underneath the tree that Elios would sleep in.
Rini heard Dave's low grumbling how clean her and Elios seemed while him and the rest of the men were still smelling like the jungle sweat as she reached her tent. A tiny smile escaped from her as she tried to think of the light banter going on between the men, instead of thoughts on her mother and her missing father.
Elios noticed the smile on her face and his thoughts of disquiet disappeared seeing her soft smile. Since the men were already in their tents, he grabbed Rini, catching her off guard and swiftly kissed her hard on the lips. He let her go so suddenly that she would have fallen if it weren't for his large wings catching her from her descent backwards.
"Do not worry, princess, the morning light will bring hope," he stated softly to her surprised expression.
"Thank you-" she gasped quietly, tears suddenly welling in her eyes and threatening to fall.
"In Elysium, my chambers are very large, Rini," he started, hoping to take the tears away by infusing desire in its stead and taking her by surprise with the change of subject. He had only been able to take her three times by the waterfall, hardly enough to satisfy his needs or for the fact that he still wanted her beyond anything that he ever understood he thought as they stood staring at one another. "Large enough for an archangel to spread his wings, to make them quiver as desire roars through his veins."
Rini gulped, as her overactive imagination fairly flew through her mind, her newly awaken body responding swiftly to the enticing images floating through her mind. Those images of her, lying underneath a certain wicked angel with vibrant blue eyes, in the middle of a very big bed. Then the thoughts stopped abruptly as her brows drew fiercely together as another thought struck her.
"What?" Elios shot back at her frown.
"Have you ever-ever done that in your chambers with someone else?" She asked, her voice quivering, all the sudden she didn't want to know, actually. What did it matter who he was with before, when now she knew that she'd do anything to make sure that she was his only lover.
"Uh...no, I have never taken a woman in my chambers before, if that's what you're asking. You could be the first and perhaps..." he invited and trailed off, almost admitting to her that she was the only one he ever intended to take to his chambers. But instead, he snickered as if not giving away any of his thoughts. He could already imagine her exquisite body laying on his bed, her long, pale-pink hair spread about her in artful disarray, the languor desire slumbering in her reddish hue eyes as she stared up into his face. He wanted to groan at the thought. Already his member was rising beneath its tight confinement.
"Oh you.... you're contemptible!" She burst out, laughing softly and enjoying his sexual banter, noting the intense hunger look blazing across his chiseled features. She suppressed the renewed desire already beginning to recognize the hunger that grew within her. She wanted more than anything to fling herself against him, but didn't dare with Bark and the other men in the next tent to hers.
His brow shot up devilishly as he turned away, his wings spreading slightly in preparation for flight, "dream of me, princess for I surely will think of you," was his parting shot. With mighty lunge into the darkening sky, wings spread wide, he was gone in moments, leaving a trail of white feathers, showering her with his lingering presence. He left Rini standing at the opening of her tent watching him fly towards the top of the tree, with longing evident in her eyes.
As she turned away about to enter her tent, she heard a distinct, gutter growl that froze her insides and paralyzed her limbs. She glanced nervously toward the dark shrubbery and gasped with fright as yellow and green eyes gleamed steadily at her.
In the next, frightening moment, there was nothing but a dark golden blur as a large snarling beast leaped from the cover of the bushes as her scream pierced the jungle night.
Stay tuned to Chapter 7! Lady M. Harris