STORY EXCERPT

Trina watched the boat chug across the waves, and for an instant she felt a prickle of panic. Sure, she could come on like a terrorist, but inside she was quivering. She even raised her hand to call the boat back, intending to beg the youth to stay, perhaps even bribe him. She’d never been abandoned in the wilderness before.

But begging would be humiliating, and Trina had once vowed never to be humiliated again. So she snatched her hand down and, after just a second’s hesitation, whirled around and headed for the shore. She struggled to hold on to her hat and rummage through her briefcase at the same time.

“Ignorant aliens,” she muttered to herself, angry for feeling weak even for a moment.

The dock was wet, and an iridescent film of wetness was slippery underfoot. Trina skidded, nearly plunging into the sea, but caught her balance just in time by grabbing a tree branch. Gingerly, she staggered onto the rocky shore. Boulders slick with lichen were separated by patches of rank weeds. She spotted a break in the trees farther up—perhaps a path. Muttering to herself, Trina began to climb over the rocks.

She grabbed for a handhold in the bushes and heaved herself upward. Her Terran-made boots slithered ineffectually on the stone, more proof that she should have made better plans before jumping into this story with such abandon. Panting as though she’d run a marathon race, she discovered she’d traveled less than ten meters. Suddenly the bush she’d been hanging on to gave way, and Trina slipped, landing on her beautiful behind with a squishy plop.

“Damn!”

She’d landed in a puddle. The seat of her new trousers was totally soaked through.

“What kind of gods-forsaken place is this?”

“It’s my gods-forsaken place,” growled a humanoid male voice above her on the trail. “Now who in all of the hells are you?”

The first thing she noticed was that he was carrying a laser weapon. A big, nasty-looking thing. Trina clambered to her feet, raised her hands over her head, and tried her best to manufacture a cocky grin.

“Let me guess,” she said as ingenuously as possible. “This is your island, and your name is Rayal, and you live here with a bunch of other castaways, right?”

He did not smile back at her. He was a tall Erdan male with a whip-thin body encased in tight trousers and a big-shouldered tunic. The bulge in the front was enormous. His face was hard and sharp featured with at least three weeks’ worth of beard that made guessing his age difficult. His hair was black, long, and shaggy, as though it were growing out from a month-old haircut. Trina had a quick impression of flecks of gray at his temples.

But most arresting were his eyes— black and burning with such hostility that Trina took an involuntary step backward. The weapon resting alertly in his hands was of the photon variety, and from the way he handled it, it looked dangerous, indeed, Trina thought. She swallowed hard and tried to muster a friendly smile.

“Look,” she said, “I wonder if you would mind putting that thing down? It’s quite distracting and makes me a little nervous, you see, and I want to be absolutely clearheaded when I explain to you who I am.”

He narrowed his eyes and made a quick inspection of her figure, as if expecting her to pull a missile launcher out of her briefcase or a big machete from her hip pocket. There was more than mere suspicion in his expression, though. He was ready for serious trouble. She raised her hands higher and wiggled her fingers.

“I’m harmless. See?”

Still visibly wary, he lowered the muzzle. He hadn’t exactly been pointing it at her, Trina told herself, but when he finally crooked the weapon under his arm, she relaxed.

“Well, isn’t this much nicer? How do you do?”

She cheerfully marched up the trail toward him, her hand extended for a friendly shake.

“My name is Trina. What’s yours?”

He ignored her hand.

“What are you doing here?”

His voice was low, barely a rumble, which made Trina’s sound loud and raucous even to her own ears.

“Well, I’d like to explain that in detail to your employer. Perhaps you could take me to him?”

“My what?”

“The one you work for. Mister Berner is his name, so I hear. You’re some kind of caretaker, I assume?”

He did look like some kind of classic henchman, a daunting specimen with a tough, smoldering look, and a pair of strong-looking hands that appeared capable of wringing necks. Trina tried her winning smile again.

“It would sure save a lot of time if I just talked to you both at the same time.”

Stone-faced, he said, “This is private land. You’ll have to leave.”

“But I’ve come such a long way to talk to this Berner character!”

“I’m sorry the trip was for nothing. There isn’t anybody else to speak to you, miss. I’m alone here.”

Trina managed to fake a flirty look.

“Perhaps I’ll have a look around anyway, just to be sure.”

He barred her path by moving the barrel of the laser gun.

“There’s no need,” he said. “This island is deserted. You’ll just get hurt.”

“Oh, I’m tougher than I look.”

He glanced at her again, clearly not believing her for a moment. Her jacket was stiff with newness, her trousers still creased. Her boots were totally wrong for the terrain, and the expensive leather briefcase she’d dropped on the trail looked more suitable for a major city corporate boardroom on Earth than the back of any Erdan beyond. He shook his head.

“It’s out of the question. You’ll have to leave.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Barnur said, “I don’t think I can keep my hands off you.”

“Why try?” she asked softly, her pulse tearing out of control. “What’s stopping you, Doctor?

He looked at her steadily.

“Are you sure? I’ve had a few bad experiences.”

With difficulty, Trina said, “I’ve been afraid to try again. I haven’t been able to—”

“To trust anyone?”

Shyly, she nodded. “I guess that’s it.”

Solemnly, Barnur said, “I won’t hurt you, Trina.”

“I know that. You’re sweet. You’re…I don’t know, exactly. I’m amazed that I feel so comfortable with you. I’ve known you for such a short time, but I—I keep thinking about us like this.”

“Like this?”

“In bed together. Do you want to undress me?”

Barnur smiled and caught the hem of the shirt that had become hopelessly twisted around Trina’s torso.

“Very much. But my conscience is trying to stop me. I want to make this special for you, Trina.”

“It is special. You make me feel…I’m not sure. Excited and scared, but—but like you think I’m all right.”

“You’re more than all right. You’re beautiful. And sexier than you know.”

He knotted his fists in the shirt.

“Trina, I want you, too. But it’s obvious that my life is a mess. I can’t declare my love and carry you off to live in a dwelling unit in the Terran Colony. I—”

“I’m not asking for promises.”

She wound her arms around his neck and tipped her mouth up to his.

“I think it could be right, that’s all.”

She kissed him, then looked up into his eyes.

“Shall we?”

He groaned and surrendered. In an instant, the shirt was up over Trina’s head, and there was fire in Barnur’s eyes again when he gazed at her nude body. Trina blushed and caught her hair in her hands in an effort to shield herself from his hungry stare. Gently, he pulled her hands back.

“Don’t,” he said. “Let me see you.”

“I’m nervous again.”

“It’s not nerves, love. It’s desire you’re feeling. See?”

He touched her swelling tits, rolling the erect nipples with exquisite gentleness between his fingers. Trina gasped, and the throaty sound that escaped from her lips made Barnur smile. He nibbled her earlobes, then whispered exactly what he wanted to do with her. Hearing him say it made Trina blush all over again, though they were certainly words she’d heard before in a different context.

He curled one arm under the nape of her neck, and his other hand caressed down her body, cupping each breast, fanning across her belly. And finally delving between her thighs. He gently caressed her soft brown pubic hair, and then he began licking her ever-sensitive clit. But not to bring her to climax, at least not yet.

He just continued on, drawing small, tantalizing circles on the soft skin of her legs. In time, growing dizzy, Trina reached to touch him, but Barnur caught her hand and brought it to his lips.

Unhurried, he kissed her palm, then transferred his mouth to hers. Trina wound her arms around his neck, pulling him deeply into the kiss. Her head swam. She felt her heart pounding. She tried to listen when he spoke, but Barnur had to repeat himself.

“You’re not using any birth control, are you?”

“No, of course not. It’s forbidden by the Imperium on underpopulated planets.”

“Then you know,” he said, “that you could get pregnant?”

Trina gulped, for the thought hadn’t exactly been at the forefront of her mind.

“Well, I—Oh, dear, what now? I’ve gone and spoiled things—”

Barnur grinned.

“You haven’t done a thing. It’s the way this planet also works, love. I’m afraid that even illegal contraceptives aren’t exactly on my list of regular supplies, so—now, don’t look so desperate. There are plenty of things we can do, you know.”

“Show me,” Trina said, reaching hesitantly for the hardening dick between his legs.

She tried to smile. “Tell me what to do.”

“Do what you like,” he told her.

She did. Tentatively at first. But gradually with pleasure. She loved looking at his body, and touched and caressed and laughed when she triggered a response. Barnur took over soon, though. If perhaps he grew exasperated with her inexperience, he didn’t let it show. He tumbled her onto her belly and teased Trina’s neck with kisses.

He massaged the slender muscles of her back and tantalized the round curves of her shapely butt. He smoothed his hands up and down her slim legs, learning their contour and searching out the sensitive spots behind her knees. They wrestled and caressed. They were tender, then rough. Their laughter soon turned to hoarser sounds, and their actions became swifter.

And at last Trina found herself crying out as sensations blossomed inside her, nurtured by his hands and his mouth, growing more unbearably wonderful by the moment. His finger was well lubed, and it began to gently penetrate her anal place. Then two fingers. She gasped as both went in all the way.

“Let go,” he murmured, adding softer words lost amid the swell of rushing blood in Trina’s ears.

He lay on top of her, and his swollen cock entered her anus slowly.