Dureena's legs popped into the dark room and she fell through a hole in the ceiling, landing with a catlike grace. Moving quickly, she set up several candles.
Max Eilerson looked into the dimly lit room. "What did you say this room was again?"
"I don't know what it is. It's small, it was hard to get too, and there's writing on the wall. The Captain thought you should see it."
"And why couldn't you just take some film and bring it back to the ship?"
"Don't you think I tried that? There's something in the rocks that effects the output. Are you coming down or not?" She finished lighting the candles.
"Yeah, give me a minute." A moment later Max landed on the floor with a soft thud. "Damn."
Dureena chuckled and offered a hand to pull Max to his feet. "Watch out for that first step. It's a doozey."
His response was a scowl. Still silent, he approached one corner of the room and began studying the markings on the wall. After a moment, he noticed Dureena was still in the room. "You don't have to stay."
"You think you can get out of here by yourself?"
Again, Max didn't answer. Instead, he returned to the wall.
What seemed like hours later, there was a low rumble. A few small rocks fell out of the hole in the ceiling, most barely missing Dureena.
One knocked her in the shoulder, sending her sprawling. Max dropped his book and pen and rushed to her side. He helped her sit up, resting her head against his leg. "Are you okay?"
In an effort to sit up, she grabbed his hand. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. Help me up."
Max stood and pulled Dureena to her feet, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around her waist. She stood very close, her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. "Thanks." She didn't move away. Neither did he.
After a long pause, he spoke up. "Well, it looks like we just have to wait until they find us." He stepped back slowly
She stepped back, looking up the hole. "Damn. It's blocked solid."
Max turned and studied Dureena for a moment, saying nothing. When he noticed her watching, he returned quickly to the wall.
"Well," He said after a long silence. "There's nothing on here about medicine." He looked at Dureena, who was sitting on the floor, rubbing the back of her neck. "You feeling okay?"
She stopped abruptly. "Just a stiff neck. I'll be fine."
"I see." Max studied her for a moment. Finally putting his book away, he stretched, not realizing how cramped he felt. "I could use a break. Mind if I join you?"
She didn't reply, merely gestured at the floor beside her.
Eilerson sat, suddenly very aware of Dureena and her closeness. Not that he'd never noticed her before - he'd had more than one dream about her - but he'd never actually been alone with her before.
Dureena began to rub her neck again, trying to ignore the human beside her. After a moment, she felt his hand on hers. Sitting up straight, she pulled her hand away. "What are you doing?" She turned to face him.
Max held his hands in surrender. "Sorry. I was just going to give you a shoulder massage. It might help the tension."
"Oh." She looked at him hard, her night-eyes seeing in greater detail than he ever could. His face betrayed no avarice; no ulterior motives. She met his eyes and wasn't sure she liked what she saw there; kindness. "Fine. Just remember; I'm faster than you are."
"Aheh. Don't worry, you may be beautiful, but I think I can restrain myself." The words fell from Max's lips and he was powerless to stop them.
He gathered her hair gently and placed it over her shoulder. Shifting into a more comfortable position, he began to massage her shoulders. "Geeze, your shoulders are in knots." He skillfully began to work the tension from her muscles.
Gradually, she relaxed under his touch. Moving his hands to the base of her neck, he was startled when she jumped. "What happened?"
"I-I'm sorry. In my race, the back of the neck is very ... " She paused, searching for a word.
"Sacred?"
"Sensitive."
Max raised an eyebrow. "I see. So, should I stop?"
"You could." She turned to smile briefly at him. "But I'd rather you didn't."
Max shifted again, placing his legs on either side of her hips. Flexing his fingers, he placed his hands on her shoulders. Working slowly, he began his thumbs at the base of her neck. They worked up her neck, working each muscle gently, skillfully.
Dureena's hands found his legs and gripped them gently. As he continued to work the muscles in her neck, her hands trailed slowly up and down his legs. Max was grateful for the several inches between their bodies. His hands gradually softened from a massage to a caress. After a moment, he heard a purring sound.
Leaning forward, he saw Dureena's face. Her eyes were half closed and she seemed very content.
Swallowing hard, Max did something he'd wanted to do for a while. Pulling her hair back over her shoulder, he ran his fingers slowly through it. The purring didn't change, so he was encouraged.
Dureena purred and bent her head forward. Max gathered her hair together, savoring the silken feel beneath his fingers. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward and exhaled slowly, his hot breath caressing Dureena's neck.
The sound that she emitted was like again rather purrlike - if the cat was the size of an Excalibur landing shuttle.
He leaned closer, his breath brushing her neck as she spoke. "You sound like your purring."
Dureena whimpered softly with pleasure.
Max ran his thumbs slowly along the edge of Dureena's neck. Starting at her hairline, he trailed a path of feather light kisses down her neck.
"Oh gods ..." Dureena breathed, her hands gripped his legs more tightly.
"You like that?" His hands drifted to her shoulders.
"Mmmmmmm ... Yes ..."
"Good ..." He kissed her neck again, lingering, feeling her skin beneath his lips. Grinning mischievously, he licked slowly from the base to the top of her neck. He felt her fairly vibrating under his fingers. "Oh, you really like that ..." He repeated the gesture.
Dureena let out a strangled gasp, her entire body on edge. "Please ..." He felt one hand leave his leg. Looking down, his eyebrows flew up. Saying nothing, he began to kiss the side of her neck, one hand gently turning her head. His other hand reached for hers, pulling it gently away from her body and replacing it with his. He could feel her heat against his hand as he pressed it between her legs.
Her hand gripped his elbow as she caressed her through her pants. His other hand tilted her head. Their eyes locked a moment before his lips met hers. The kiss was short. Dureena suddenly pulled away, sitting up and facing Max before he could register that she'd moved at all.
"Wha-" His question was cut off as her lips pressed against his. Instinctively his hands found her waist. Somehow, together, they lowered her to the floor, Max moving atop her. His hands crept up her sides, surprised to find her breasts already bare. Moving his lips from hers, down her throat, he kissed his way down her breast.
Dureena's hands were not still. They tugged at Max's shirt, pulling it over his head. Next they went to his pants, unbuckling them expertly. She stopped and gasped with pleasure as Max's warm lips closed around her nipple, his tongue teasing the sensitive skin. She undid his fly with nimble fingers and soon it was his turn to pause.
He arched into her hand as she stroked him, driving him nearly to the edge. Frantically, his hands flew to her pants, searching for a way inside. Dureena's hands batted his away and she pushed him up gently. A moment later, he found himself without pants. She wrapped her legs around him and he felt that she too was naked.
He flowed into her quickly yet gently, both sighing deeply with contentment. He tried to begin a slow rhythm, but his own need combined with her urging him on caused him to increase the pace. A few feverish moments later Dureena keened beneath him. Max couldn't handle the sensory overload and joined her in orgasm.
A moment later, he began to return to herself. He turned his head and gently, tenderly, kissed the side of her breast, moving up to her nipple. Her hands found their way into his hair, caressing his scalp gently.
They heard a gentle rumble and pulled away suddenly. When the roof didn't fall on them, they glanced at each other, then silently began to dress.
For several moments they sat in silence.
The silence was finally broken at the grating of stone against stone. They both stood, very alert, as a section of the wall swung outwards.
"Oh, hello you two. Are you ready to go?"
"Hello Galen."
"That's a door?"
"Well, I'm not the archeologist Mr. Eilerson is, but I would say yes.
"Very funny Galen. Dureena, you're a thief, how come you didn't see that it was a door?"
The woman shrugged. "I'm a thief, not a technomage." She looked pointedly at Galen and exited the room. Max sighed and followed her.
=====================================================
Max looked up from the screen when the door chirped. "C'min." He pushed his glasses up. The earth quake had shifted the rock in the caverns, and now, somehow, cameras could be used to film the room. For the past 27 hours straight he'd been translating it.
The door hissed open to reveal Dureena Nafeel. He hadn't spoken to her since the day Galen had found them in the room. He looked up and sat still for a moment, studying her. He pulled his glasses off, his face unreadable. "Hello. Have a seat." He stood and gestured to a chair.
"No, thanks, I'm just here for a moment." She stepped into the room, letting the door hiss shut behind her. "I just need to say that ... what happened ... with us ... before ..."
He said nothing, his eyes quickly flicking over her body. She looked nervous, almost embarrassed. When she didn't speak for a moment, he did. "Okay, what about ... what happened?" He shifted as memories of the encounter filled his mind.
"It didn't. You got it?"
He nodded, picking up her entire meaning. "Yeah, I got it."
"Good. Now that we have that cleared up ... " She held out her hand, palm open. "You dropped this down on the planet."
Sitting in her palm was his ring. He reached out to take it and their hands met. They looked at each other for a moment.
A moment was all it took.
=====================================================
In his ship, Galen smiled.
