Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Thank you so much to Fameanon and maba7x for reviewing!
Meral tapped his finger against his thigh in an uncharacteristic state of nervousness. He wasn't sure why, but he had the notion that his life was about to change drastically, if he went on this trip with Judith. His dreams had been wild of late, even though his fever was still five years away, and her name echoed in his nightly visions more times than he could count.
Judith...she always came willingly to him in his dreams, laughing in the face of adversity and showing him a more optimistic outlook on life. The taste of her lips and the feel of her skin still haunted him, and he sighed as he saw her coming towards him. She seemed almost predestined to haunt his steps, hound him until he relented and pursued her in return.
"Good day to be goin' home to de sunshine, eh, Mister Meral?" she said cheerfully as she set her bag down beside him. He nodded mutely, trying not to let his eyes linger on her form. She was also scantily clad in his dreams, silk brushing erotically over her bare skin.
"Don' fret, Meral! Soon we be baskin' in de glow of de sun in Jamaica, ai?"
"Indeed," he said stiffly, glancing behind him, hoping L'Vek and Emmie would get here soon. He glanced down when his PADD beeped, and he glared at the message.
Board the shuttle with or without us, L'Vek had instructed, and he sighed, then looked up at Judith.
"We have been told to board with or without L'Vek and his T'Sai," he said, then nodded his head toward the shuttle. Somehow he felt as if he had been set up.
"Oh, come on, Vulcan man! We be 'eaded to the sunshine!" She skipped up the ramp and twirled her hips, dancing to music only she heard in her mind.
Meral tucked his PADD into his pack and folded his hands in front of him, reluctantly boarding the shuttle. He sat down in a seat far away from Judith, his tongue mute, his eyes fixed on the front wall of the shuttle. He fought to keep his bio-controls in line as Judith moved seats to the one next to him. He watched her mocha skin run over the fabric of his robes, just next to his arm.
"We gonna 'ave so much fun Meral, yes we will, bruda Vulcan!" She leaned up and kissed his cheek, clapping her hands as she came to rest again in her seat.
Meral heard his PADD beep again, just as the shuttle doors shut.
Meshkhenet and I will not be making the shuttle. Have an agreeable trip.
Judith glanced down at her PADD as Meskhenet messaged her. L'Vek and I are off to Vulcan. Have fun!
She laughed and looked at Meral. "Ya get de feelin dat dese two set us up, ai?"
He was silent for a moment. "Yes, I did get that notion. Unfortunately, the shuttle will not turn around."
"I am dat bad, eh?" She rolled her eyes. "Jus' wait till you see dat ocean an' dat sky. It be 'eaven on Earth, dat's what I'm talkin about."
He glanced out the window as the city disappeared, and she shook her head, stroking his arm, trying to soothe him. He looked at what she was doing, and she slid her hand down to his and covered his hand with hers.
Meral's eyes widened. "You do realize touching my hand is..." he mentally weighed his words, "...touching a Vulcan's hand is tantamount to caressing any man's erogenous zones." He forced himself to look at her.
She laughed, "I don' be believ'n dat Mister Vulcan. You be 'aving me on!"
He frowned and lifted her hand. He had done this in his dream, only they were among nature, and nude. He caressed her fingers with his, his barriers down so she could feel the erotic tingle that he sent through the pads of his skin. He slid them back up on the soft tan pads of her hand. He started to feel as if he was going to growl as he looked at her unmarked skin. He pulled back and withdrew into his chair.
"Do you understand now, Judith?"
She expected it to be nothing special, but then a pulse of electricity moved up her arm, down her torso and set things deep within her aflame. She gasped and looked around wildly at the other passengers, but none of the three other people on the shuttle were paying attention to them. A woman and her son were seated two rows behind them. The boy was sleeping, and his mother was reading a book. The only other passenger was four rows in front of them, a businessman tapping away at a PADD.
She nodded and quickly crossed her legs. "Don' do dat to me, Mr. Meral. Jus'...not now."
The flight seemed to drag on forever, as she could not find it in herself to talk to him. His gesture had caught her off-guard, and she was more confused than ever. She liked Meral, longed to bring him up out of the dumps and make him happy in any way she could, but the way he was starting to look at her made more...intimate urges come to the forefront of her brain, urges she hadn't dealt with in many years.
Finally, they made their descent, and even as they moved down out of the clouds, she felt her spirits lift, and she led him out of the shuttle, her hips swaying. She turned once the other passengers were out of sight, and she twirled around, laughing in joy. "Welcome to Jamaica, man!" she exclaimed, gesturing him forward with a crooked finger. "Don' dat sunshine feel good now?"
Meral did find the heat a relief. The humidity struck him in the first breath, but the moisture was something he was used to, only much colder in San Fran. Stepping down on the ground, he looked at his surroundings. It looked a bit like Risa.
He watched as Judith come to life, swaying her hips and laughing with careless joy. He thought she was lively before but now it seemed like a spark had been ignited within her very soul.
He had kissed her in the Vulcan way on the shuttle and it silenced her. He found that...fascinating. Was it because she was so stunned by the feel? Or was it perhaps because she was repulsed? She turned and smiled up at him with her arms spread wide.
"Dis be my home land Mister Vulcan man! Dis be where life start!"
He frowned, and he was about to speak when he saw women and men walking by, dressed scantily in nothing more than underwear, it seemed. His eyes widened and he knew if Judith were to parade thusly, it was going to be a long week, and a lot of meditation would be required.
He stood next to her, trying to look at anything other than the now steady parade of people barely dressed, and his eyes found the ocean. He frowned again. "Every place on this planet is watery..." he mumbled, and shouldered his pack. He wanted to turn back around and enter the shuttle again, but somehow he knew if he did, he would only be delaying the issue.
He mustered himself and looked at Judith. "What now?"
"Come to de hotel and den we explore, ai?" She took his wrist and pulled him along, and she noted that he seemed uneasy still. She slid her grip down to his hand and squeezed.
"Come now, me Vulcan, don' be frettin'. Look at dat sun shinin, eh?" She pointed to the burning ball of fire arching across the sky, and she noted that his color looked more vibrant here. He looked more green, but it didn't make her concerned. His blood was green, so Emmie had told her.
She caressed the meat of his thumb, then let go and gestured for him to follow. She grinned, her entire body sparking to life. The weather was so much better than in San Francisco, and she skipped all the way to the hotel, which was right down the causeway from the transport station.
She waited outside Meral's room, the door was lashed together bamboo, giving it the true island feel. She could see his shadow passing back and forth under the door. She put her hands on her hips and giggled. "Come on, Mister Meral! I see you in dere. It be time ta go out and explore da sunshine, ai?"
She knocked on his door and saw his shadow pause. She nodded and whispered, "Come out, come out."
She had a whole host of things for them to do: a river tour, zip lining, and the hidden treasure deep in the island where he could taste the world of her culture all made by the people the same way they'd been doing it for hundreds of years.
Meral was pacing back and forth, trying to gather his thoughts for this upcoming three-day tour with her. Even now, she haunted his steps, chanting to him, taunting him...calling to him. He sighed and straightened his robes.
He opened the door and saw her waiting there, her hair partially covered by a colorful knit cap. He straightened his robes again and waited for her to lead the way, and he followed her back out into the sunshine, pausing by the fountain outside the hotel. There was so much water here, it was making him a bit queasy. But the sunshine did look aesthetically pleasing on the water, and he held out his hand, absorbing a little of the spray.
"Come on, Mister Vulcan man," she called, gesturing him forward. "Come see me mudda country!"
He followed behind her, eventually falling in step with her, glaring irritably at all the scantily-clad humans around him. Did these people have no sense of modesty? It was warm, yes, but his people had figured out a way to keep out heat. Were these humans too childish to figure out a similar way to keep themselves cool without stripping down to their undergarments?
However, the way the humidity hung in the air was making small beads of moisture stick to his skin. It was uncomfortable, but he reminded himself that San Francisco was worse. He did feel much better in the sun, and it did bring him back to life in a way.
Judith stopped at the first small store and tugged him into the door, "Now I know you be hatin what we about to do, but trust me, Mister Vulcan. We need to change out dem clothes. Where we be goin, if you don't want creatures and bugs up in your clothes, you need ta change."
She picked out a wife beater and a pair of cargo shorts. She pressed them into his chest, and then playfully pushed him into the changing room. "Hand me out da robes, dey be delivered and waiting for you back at da 'otel."
"Judith," she heard him growl in protest.
"I be serious, Meral. Der is a reason why we dress de way we do. You'd be fill of chiggers before you knew! Go on now, I am pay'n."
She grinned and leaned against one of the racks. She knew she was being naughty; there weren't too many terrible things lingering where she was going to take him, but she wanted to get a look at what was hidden under all of those repressive fabrics. Plus, it was her experience that the best way to make someone go native was dress them like the natives.
"Giant spiders and ticks as big as ya fist, Mister Vulcan," she muttered low enough no one else could hear, but he could.
The moment she saw the first layer of his clothes flip across the door she took them. She lifted the fabric to her nose, taking a long slow smell. She purred softly, loving the spicy scent on his collar.
He heard her make a noise of appreciation, and he wasn't sure what she was so appreciative of. It made him warm just thinking about it. He pulled off the second layer and tossed it over the door, and she took it. He listened closely, and he heard her take a long sniff of his clothes. He frowned, his ears getting hot, his fingertips tingling. She emitted a low moan of longing, or so it sounded, and he shivered, slipping out of his pants.
He tossed them over the door and suddenly smelled a lovely scent, something warm and inviting, and it was coming from the other side of the door. He wondered if someone was passing with cinnamon in their bag, because that was the closest scent he could ascribe to the aroma tickling his nose.
Meral pulled the tank top over his head and pulled it down, then slipped into the cargo pants she had tossed over the door. He looked at himself in the mirror and thought he looked absolutely ridiculous, but he had to show Judith.
He opened the door and let her see, folding his hands stiffly behind his back. She was silent, her lips parting slightly, and he watched her eyes as they roamed over his body. They lingered on his broad shoulders and chest, on his abdomen, on his arms and legs.
"Well, Ms. Keeler? Is this acceptable?"
She blinked a couple times, and then grinned. "One more ting, Mister Vulcan." She pulled out a pair of masculine sandals. "You change into dese, Mister Vulcan. I already pay fo everyting."
Her grin widened, and she watched as he bent over to change his shoes. She licked her lips, finally getting to see a bit of what those Vulcan men kept hidden. She couldn't resist the temptation anymore, so she ran her hand over his bare arm.
"Now don't dis feel betta?" she said in a sing song way, not really caring if it was better for him, it was better for her. She took his shoes handing them to the man behind the counter. "Room tree-oh-two," she said, sliding her credit chip across the counter to be processed.
She smiled at him again as she waved him forward. "Oh, Mister vulcan man, I 'ave to say...you look like one sexy beast in dem new threads. Now you be a part of the good looking scenery every body come to see."
They left the store after the shopkeeper handed her the credit chip. "Now you ready to 'ave an adventure?" she batted her eyes at him as she gently tugged him along.
An electrifying tingle ran through him as she stroked her hand down his slightly hairy arm, and he frowned at her, suppressing a shiver. She had called him a beast...and she meant it as a compliment. The tips of his ears felt warm, and he even felt his cheeks flush. She linked arms with him and pulled him down the street, and whether he was ready for an adventure or not, he was going with her.
She kept shooting approving glances at him, and he sighed, stiffening his posture. He didn't want to be put on display like this, and he noticed more people were staring at him. Most of their expressions did not change until they saw his ears, and then they did a double take. He didn't care that the glances were approving, he just wanted to be out of the public eye.
She took him to an island transport and shoved him on, and he took a seat, silently cursing L'Vek for sending him to this place.