Deleth murmured softly as he awoke, the tantalizing touch of lips on his throat drawing him out of his slumber. A shaft of golden light sliced through their cover of greenery; he and Efet were bathed in the most beautiful glow of early morning, and the entire world seemed more delicious than it ever had before.
Efet lay draped over him, her legs tangled with his, and as he woke, she made a little welcoming sound before capturing his lips with her own. Deleth moaned into the kiss. He was enjoying this manner of kissing more every time he tried it, and Efet was skillful, her lips and tongue working together to coax him into a frenzy of need for her. Through their contact, he clearly picked up emotional impressions - desire, and curiosity, mostly. If Deleth's emotions could have been painted as a maelstrom of colors colliding and bleeding together, dark reds and blacks mixing and separating, then swirling with whites and grays and sending up sparks, Efet's were bright and clear blues and yellows, confident and thrilling, with very little darkness muddying it up. He could not quite believe his luck in having her in his arms, so ready and willing, and he could no longer doubt that she truly desired him.
He plunged his hands into her hair, then clasped her tightly and rolled them so that Efet lay beneath him. She smiled up at him. "Well, good morning to you."
Propping himself up on one elbow so he did not crush her, Deleth brushed his lips against hers, then lower to her chin. "Are you hungry?" he asked her, prepared to back off if she gave him a sign.
"Not for food," Efet told him, and drew him closer.
Deleth hesitated only a moment, then let his hand stray down to the edge of her blouse. Efet arched her back, urging him on, as he slid the warm flat of his hand up her sternum, then cupped a breast. She was wearing a sort of brassiere, and he didn't know how to remove it, so he just caressed her through the fabric. Efet pressed a hand against his chest, moving him back far enough that she could sit up and shed her blouse, and then the brassiere under it. She was now nude except for her underwear. Her eyes were hooded and glimmered as she looked at him; she was enjoying this.
He swallowed as he reached out again, this time stroking the scaled ridges on the sides of her neck, which caused an intense reaction in Efet. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned so loudly that he startled a bit. Thankfully, the waterfall drowned out their sounds. Deleth was relieved to find her neck scales were not at all cold or slimy, and then felt ashamed of himself for even thinking of something like that to begin with. Her scales were hot and cartilaginous to the touch, and flushed as he stroked her. Evidently this is an erogenous zone in Cardassians, he thought, right before pulling her to him and kissing her just under her chin. Efet writhed against him, her scales darkening, as she moaned and clasped her hands around his shoulders. Deleth found her breasts again, his thumbs sweeping over her nipples. Her scales formed a pattern outlining her breasts, terminating in a little vee at her navel.
Efet took one of his hands and guided him between her legs. At this point, Deleth was so aroused that he could no longer summon any objection to any of this. When he felt a little rush of wetness against his fingers, he pulled Efet into his lap, crushingly close, thrusting up against her until she, the more rational of the two, pulled a little away to shed her underwear.
Likewise, Deleth made to shed the last of his garments, his head cooling just enough for him to pause for a moment, struck by a flood of self-doubt. Would she find his body alien and unappealing? Perhaps she would be repulsed by his genitals? Efet noticed his hesitation, and placed a hand on his arm. "It's all right," she told him. "I'd like to see you." She batted her eyes playfully. "I saw you that first time in the nude, if you will remember."
She had, but that hadn't been a sexual encounter. For some reason, that seemed to make a lot of difference. Deleth steeled himself and removed his clothing, moving to cover her quickly. His cock brushed against her thigh, which felt so good that he almost embarrassed himself then and there. Summoning all the willpower he possessed, Deleth lay her down and concentrating on lavishing her body with kisses, focusing on her so that his own ardor would cool a little, finding his way from her breasts to the little dip of her navel. He had never done anything like this before, but he'd seen some of the more... erotic holos popular among young Romulan men, and had some idea of what to do. He desperately hoped Efet was built enough like a Romulan woman that he wouldn't make a fool out of himself. So far she was still enthusiastically urging him on, her hips bucking up towards him, her hands twisting in his hair.
Deleth parted her legs and allowed himself a moment to examine her most intimate place. She was scaleless here, but a small tuft of black hair topped her pubis, just above the lips that hid her delicate sex organs from view. The lips parted, and he found a little button, in the same inverted teardrop shape as her chufa, but much smaller, only the size of his smallest fingertip. It was swollen and had a soft blue color. He nosed in just a little, feeling the trembling of her legs as she anticipated his next moves. His friends back in the academy who'd had more success with women had bragged of how their lovers tasted, sweet and wet like tropical fruits, but Deleth licked her and found this was like putting his tongue to a battery - metallic and electrifying. Her legs clamped around his head, and the sensation of her soft thighs, the taste of her on his tongue, and her musky scent, was driving him mad. Deleth was sure he could spend the rest of his life between her legs and die a happy man.
He pried her legs far enough apart to try a finger in her opening, which made Efet writhe and throw her head back, biting out words between her lips that she had never, ever taught him in her language lessons. Much to his relief, Deleth was sure they were physically compatible. At this point, he would've found some way to make love to her, but finding he could probably enter her was the best possible outcome. He continued his ministrations with his mouth, eager to pleasure her that way as he was far gone enough to know that, once he entered her, he wouldn't last long.
Efet's breasts heaved, and she cried out her pleasure before falling into a heap in the sand. "Deleth," she whispered, reaching for him. He forgot his self-consciousness as he climbed over her again, pressing their mouths together. She wiggled a hand between their bodies and Deleth almost yelped when she touched his cockhead. "You're so... silky!" Efet said, letting her fingers caress him. He felt his face burning, but eagerly followed when she guided him back to that opening between her legs. Efet pushed her heels into the sand, pushing herself just a little to help him find his way inside. Once he was seated within her, Deleth could no longer hold himself back. His instincts took over, driving him to find a punishing rhythm, his hands gripping her hips and holding her still as he took her. He did not remember to kiss in her people's fashion; he was too far gone. Efet instead licked and kissed his shoulder, her hands holding on as best she could. His release overcame him; it felt as though it were torn from him. He spasmed, gripped her tighter, hard enough to leave bruises, and growled as he poured his seed into her.
They lay there connected for some minutes, as he pulsed within her. Efet stroked his head, purring softly to him. She felt safe and warm and, perhaps for the first time since the Klingons took her at the little outpost, she forgot to be afraid. The world was contained within the two of them, and no one could intrude on them.
He disengaged from her and lay beside her, nuzzling her ear. His cock, now softening, lay back against his leg, a little of his seed still to be seen upon its head, the seed pearlescent ivory in color and more viscous than that of Cardassians. She felt sore between her legs but it was a good kind of sore, the kind that reminded one of the healthy experience of sex, with just a hint of the aftershock of her orgasm.
They dozed uncommonly late, each one reluctant to return to the unpleasant realties waiting for them outside the grotto. Out there, all that awaited them were their Klingon captors and unfriendly Nausicaans, a thick humid jungle, and sheer rock walls that offered no escape. In here, they had a private little world for just the two of them.
At last, hunger drove them up and made them dress. "We should still investigate that phaser fire from yesterday," Deleth told her.
Efet shook the sand from her blouse and slipped it back on. "Do you think the Klingons killed the Nausicaans?"
"Most probably. But it wouldn't be wise to let our guard down, there were still three Nausicaans left and no guarantee the Klingons killed all of them."
They cautiously peered out of their little grotto, and seeing nothing amiss, quickly slipped into the sheltering jungle, Efet leading the way towards where she'd heard the phaser fire, which led them upriver. "This is the way to the far wall," Deleth said, seeming a little concerned. "The terrain gets very rocky as you go uphill, and there's little foliage to cover you. I can't imagine the Nausicaans made a camp out in the open. The Klingons must have driven them there during the hunt."
Deleth hadn't lied about the rough terrain. As they went uphill out of the river basin, more of those great boulders pierced the landscape, and little rocks littered underfoot, making for slow going. As usual, Deleth was more surefooted, with Efet more than once beginning to slide down a slope of tiny rocks as she followed behind him and having to be rescued.
They took a break to eat berries under the shade of a tenacious tree sprouting from the unwelcoming terrain. They ate quietly, both lost in thought.
Efet looked at him over her food and wondered if Deleth would ever address this morning. What were they, anyway? Lovers? Was this a one-time thing? She had felt intensely connected to him, but she wasn't naive enough to think this alien - who had very different mores than her own - was in love with her after one bout of love making. She told herself that if they made it out of here alive, she'd probably never see him again, so it was best not to get too attached. He was sure to break her heart.
"Stop thinking so loudly," Deleth grumbled at her.
She let out a little shocked burst of laughter. "What?!"
"You look like you've twisted yourself up into knots with regret over this morning." Deleth looked down at his feet. She was reminded again of his self-consciousness, and wondered who had gotten to him and made him feel that no one would ever desire him.
Efet shook her head. "It's not like that. I'm not regretting being with you. It's just... the future seems so overwhelming right now."
He was looking at her now, with those soft dark eyes and the tenderest expression she had ever seen from him. Her heart fluttered a little. Perhaps only loneliness and necessity had brought them together, but Deleth had the look of a man who was consumed with passion. He stood and sat next to her, drawing her close to kiss her lips for a moment, then drew back just far enough to look her in the eyes.
"We'll face the future together," he told her.
Efet couldn't help the half smile that formed on her face.
They resumed their trek to the far wall, making good time despite the difficult terrain, and it was Efet who first spotted a black mark marring a boulder, mute evidence of a phaser blast that had not struck its intended target. They knew for sure they were close to the fight, and crept along as silent as could be, before coming across an incredible sight.
A great flood of rubble lay before them, at the foot of what had once been part of the rock wall. Some of the scraggly little trees had been burnt and burst in half from phaser fire; this area had seen the brunt of the fighting. It wasn't until they ventured closer that they saw a foot sticking out of the rubble, wearing a Klingon boot.
"This is no earthquake," Deleth whispered to her. "This was a landslide." He knelt by the boot, digging his hands into the rubble and digging a little to expose the Klingon's broken body, still clutching a cracked and useless phaser. "I'd say he fired at the wrong spot on the wall and triggered a landslide, burying himself here."
Efet covered her mouth with her hand in horror. "That's the Klingon who gave me my sack," she said, sinking to her knees.
"I think if we dig, we might find more of the guards," Deleth went on.
"And the three Nausicaans?"
"I'd say they're all buried under here as well, but I know I'm not that fortunate." Deleth dug around, throwing handful of rubble behind him in cloudy clods as he went. Efet felt too sick to her stomach to assist him. The sight of the only Klingon who had shown her any kindness had shaken her badly. After some minutes, Deleth called her over to see what he had found: a dead Nausicaan.
They began to understand what had happened. The Klingons had pursued the Nausicaans into this area, chasing them to a dead end with their backs to a wall. Something had gone wrong; a Klingon was disarmed of his bat'leth, perhaps, causing him to draw his phaser. Then a poorly aimed phaser burst had brought a landslide down onto them, crushing them and burying them in these tombs. Shaken by what they'd seen, Deleth and Efet retreated back downhill, back to the cover of the jungle, to recover and make sense of what was next.
"How many Klingons usually guard this place?" Efet asked him.
"I've always counted five," Deleth told her. "They come and go, probably as their orders change, but the number has always been consistent. They have a small guard's post near the landing strip, to the west of our grotto. When we first arrived here, my comrades and I considered besieging their compound, but the risk was too great as they outnumbered us and had weapons."
"If all the Klingons died in that landslide," Efet chose her words carefully, "then who's to stop us from entering that compound?"
"I'm sure its locked and the computer -"
"I'm an engineer," Efet reminded him. "If I couldn't break weak Klingon programming, I would never have earned my degree. If no one's guarding that compound, then I can get us in. You said they have a hovercraft, right?"
"Yes," Deleth said, his voice betraying his excitement. "A hovercraft they use to summit the walls and communicate using a relay of some kind!"
"We could do it!" Efet told him. "We could get inside that compound, take that hovercraft, and I could send a distress signal to my people to come rescue us!"
"Your people?" Deleth's face changed. His brow drew downwards as his lips fell into a frown. "We will contact the Romulan Star Empire and they will come for us."