Lovers in the Woods (29 page)

“Not so much at a time, Saji.” Her clothes
fell to the ground soft like feathers. “Your ticket to the moon is
valid, but the spaceship will take off a few minutes later. Some
preparations have to be made.”

“The spaceship is already late,” he tried to
joke. “Ground personnel should hurry with the checklist.”

“Already on its way.” She laughed and held a
head harness before his face. His smile vanished. “Oh, I know, it’s
not what you expected, but conversation is only interesting for so
long. I want you to concentrate on what I do with you.” She kissed
his cheek and ear. “Come, Saji, you want to play along. I know
it.”

“No, Sananda, I want to have a chance to say
stop.”

“No need to. I promise to behave.” Her eyes
told of the many wonders of love and lust. She was used to be
convincing and when he hesitated she caressed him down to his
groin. “You want this. You want me to go down on you and shoot you
up to the moon a second later.”

He swallowed his doubts in a rush of
craziness and nodded.

“I knew you would be reasonable, my
love.”

“Wait! What’s that in the middle?”

“
A gag with Talagg-bark and a center piece
to keep your tongue down. No talking anymore.” Sananda pulled the
strings over Sajitar’s head before he could think again. The gag
settled in place and she closed the strings behind his head. “Nice
look. Don’t fret, Saji. Just enjoy. I keep my promises.” She
caressed his cheek, then crawled down toward the foot of the bed to
fasten his ankles. Sajitar did not protest, absorbed in watching
her snug derrière. She crawled backward and purposely touched him.
He twitched, caught in the game and hoping to get more.

Sananda smiled at him and he realized he
might get more than he asked for.

He wanted to call
stop
and
let me think about
it,
but there
was her hot mouth over his cock, her hands on his balls and still
he got a front row look at her buttocks. He flexed his fists, torn
between simply enjoying what she dished out and fighting how much
his body wanted to be taken. A tiny voice urged him to stay tough
and not let her win, but the attack of lust ruled and the effect of
the Talagg-bark left him no choice.

His eyes were wide when she placed her
derrière on his face, tempting him, allowing him her scent but not
her touch. He moaned and pulled at the bonds to no
avail.

Sananda giggled like a girl playing her
favorite game.

“I knew you’d want me, Saji. You always did.
And I can’t tell you how much it excites me to see you strain for
my love.”

She turned around to sit across his legs,
teasing him by licking his glands while she kept eye contact. Her
small teeth showed and he watched her nip and tug at his balls,
completely drawn to her despite his attempt at staying cool. The
sensation was incredible. He did not want it to end. She gently bit
him and rolled her tongue around his cock like an experienced whore
and yet she was so much more. Rich men would have paid her
thousands of credits if she had been at their service, but she only
took men she adored.

Sajitar panted. He fought for
air while Sananda used lips and tongue and hands to drive him
crazy. He was already dizzy and yet yearning for more.
Harder
, he wanted to plead, but only guttural sounds escaped his
throat.

“
I set the rhythm,” she warned him when she
placed her petite body over his straining cock to ease him inside
of her. He was crazed and close to collapsing. If she talked to
him, he could not tell through the rush of blood. His cock seemed
to have a life of its own, craving satisfaction. Sananda still
smiled, put her hands on his belly and stretched as far as she
could. His cock hit her cervix and that small touch was enough to
push him over the edge. He exploded inside her and would have
screamed if he had been able to. He did not hear anything she said
or demanded. He could not say afterward whether he had hurt
her.

When she left him he was on the verge of
unconsciousness but satisfied. He knew that Sananda had him back
for good.

The question remained whether he could
stand what she wanted to do with him.

Chapter
Thirteen

Rayenne
searched for an
occupation to digress from the single thought of how to leave
Wang’s palace without raising suspicion. So far she’d had no luck.
There was no reason to travel back to the city and if she did, she
would not know where Sajitar was kept. The place of Wang’s abode
was secret and remote so she still had no clue how to leave and
find it again. She already had the idea of a transparent cloak that
shielded the palace and the surrounding land from searching eyes.
There had to be a reason—however strange—that neither police nor
other master criminals had ever detected Sananda in her
lair.

Sananda had been careful not to let
Rayenne know anything about the ride. Before she even thought about
the drink she’d received in her coach, she had already been asleep.
Realizing that Sananda would trust no one, Rayenne had refrained
from curses and complaints. If she wanted to play the game she had
to obey Sananda’s rules.

From her luxurious suite, Rayenne went for
a walk through the large garden to enjoy the sun and maybe find out
by the surrounding hills where she was or what kind of machine
worked to hide the whole place. No one hindered her and she took it
to be a good sign to walk free. However, the guards were present
wherever she went. She could not tell if they were out to watch
her, but it was obvious she would not go anywhere unnoticed. The
coaches waited in a large barn, the B-horses were sheltered in
paddocks larger than small towns she had seen. Tessla and Bunty
were in one of them and the peaceful sight of the two companions
standing close to each other made her smile.

She went to caress them when her gaze fell
upon a man on the path to the left of her, slowly sweeping old
leaves into a heap. He was tall and lean, his hair dark and short,
uncovering large ears. He wore a light yellow shirt and
close-fitting pants that ended at his knees. She stood rooted to
the ground. Logic said it could not be him, but her heart wanted it
to be him. The tunic he wore was mud-stained and fringed at the
short sleeves. Rayenne doubted it was the latest in gardener
fashion, but he wore the clothes with a stance that said he did not
care for his looks.

She had watched Thannis for weeks in the
village to eventually find out about his past. She had had no
success until she left the village with Sajitar, but she knew his
looks and bearing perfectly. And this man with the tunic was either
Thannis or some close relative.

When the man turned and looked up, a smile
blossomed on his face.

“Thannis?” Rayenne started walking without
thinking. “Why are you here?”

“
I?” The man stopped sweeping and put a
hand on his chest, looking over his shoulder in mock surprise. “I’m
Ranien, the gardener.” He left the wheelbarrow and got closer,
opening his arms as if to embrace all the plants around. “Keeper of
herbs and some lore about the woods and what grows
around.”

“That’s a mighty title.” She could not help
returning his smile. A part of her was disappointed. She longed for
a friendly soul.

“Yes.” He laughed and bowed to her. “At your
service. If you have questions about this garden, I’m your
man.”

“I’m Ray. Nice to meet you.”

“Very nice indeed.” He cocked his head to eye
her, smiling impishly. “You are a guest of the lady, I suppose?
Have you seen the wonders of this garden already?”

“No, I came out to look after my B-horse.
We’ve been through the woods for a long time and I wanted to make
sure he’s okay.”

“You’ve traveled long, I’ve heard.” He
propped both hands on the handle of his rake and gave her a look of
undivided attention. Rayenne could not help but compare him to an
eager yet innocent child. “Was it adventurous? Compelling?”

“
We sure had some adventures, yes. But it
was no journey for the sake of traveling. We just wanted to make it
through.”

“You had company, I understand.”

“Yes, I came with Sajitar.”

Ranien rolled up his eyes and did not even
try to hide his displeasure. Seeing her quizzical gaze, he
sighed.

“Sajitar left the premises and caused a lot
of unrest. The lady disapproved of his departure and undertook
quite a few steps to get him back. So it was on you, finally, to
bring him home. My congratulations. You saved us much trouble.”

“
Why?” Rayenne kept her face blank. This
man appeared to know much more than she would have credited him, so
she would learn what she could.

“Haven’t you heard?”

She shook her head and he sighed.

“Saji was her favorite. He had everything he
could have wanted and still he fled the premises to go undercover
somewhere. All the other people living and serving her suffered a
lot because of his behavior.” He ogled her as if to judge her
position toward Sajitar and the lady. “Did he not tell you
anything?”

“He spoke little about his time here. I think
it’s a nice place. Beautiful. Her home is more of a palace than a
house.”

The gardener nodded vigorously.

“It’s a marvelous estate. The building has
many rooms, some large, some small, and even a separate wing with
rooms only for the lady.” He wiggled his brows. “No one goes there
without her special permission.”

“I see.”

He frowned and bent to have a closer look at
her.

“Why did you call me Thannis?”

“I told you, I mistook you for someone
else.”

“Where did you meet this other man?”

Rayenne pondered what to tell him. The
resemblance to Thannis was as obvious as rain was wet, but she
hesitated to reveal her knowledge.

“Some time ago, in the woods.”

“And he looked like me?”

“In a way, yes.”

“Older or younger?”

“Older.” She wanted to lie, but could not.
Ranien’s eyes told her he would smell a lie miles against the wind.
“He lives in the depth of Emerald Green.”

“
Hmm.” Ranien’s face contorted as if he had
tasted something sour. He licked his lips and worked the rake from
one hand to the other before asking, “Do you know how long he has
lived there?”

“No. It could be many moon phases. I can’t
tell.”

“Was he satisfied with his life?”

“I think so. We stayed only for a short while
with him, so I cannot tell for sure.”

Ranien took a deep breath.

“I once had a brother. He went into Emerald
Green and never returned.” He waited for her to reply, but Rayenne
kept her lips sealed. “He left us because the corporations would
not listen to him. He said there were intelligent life forms in the
woods, but no one wanted to believe him.” He shook his head,
sighing. “My mother said he got lost. She mourned him for a long
time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“
That man looks like me, you say.” Ranien
looked over Rayenne’s shoulder into a distance only he could see.
“When he started wandering the woods, we all thought he would go
mad like so many others. Those who returned were sick and suffered
from nightmares. They talked about strange things and we all knew
that once that virus infected a man he could not be saved. But
Thannis came and went and we never had the feeling that he acted
differently.” He smiled sadly. “If you don’t count his obsession
with the creatures roaming the woods.”

Rayenne smiled, her heart hammering against
her ribs. All of her training about how to deal with suspects or
witnesses had not given her advice on how to get information on
friendly terms.

“Was there a strong resemblance?” Ranien took
up again.

“Yes.” Rayenne saw the pain in Ranien’s eyes
and felt sorry to have bothered him. “I thought he might be your
brother or uncle.” She smiled an apology and went back toward the
paddock to stroke the B-horses.

When she turned, Ranien had abandoned his
barrow to follow her.

“Did he look happy where he was?”

Rayenne thought that was an unfair question.
No matter her answer, Ranien would be disappointed. She exhaled,
gnawing on her lower lip. Bunty blew air against her chest, his way
of asking her to go on stroking. She rested her hand on his
neck.

“This man, Thannis, was a kind of wise man.
He was…healthy and he seemed to like where he lived. I can’t tell
you more as my time with him was short.”

“Are the Horlyns bad beasts? Do they truly
kill men like many say?”

“I have not seen one attacking a man, but
they are fearful to look at. And they are dangerous, no doubt.”

Ranien tilted his head, squinting at
Rayenne while his lips curled to a knowing smile.

“You’re telling me that the Horlyns would not
kill the men who venture into their woods? Is that right?”

Rayenne felt the urge to lie, but could
not.

“That’s right, yes.”

“So, then let me rephrase it. Where did all
those people go, who did not return from their travels?”

“
There are other dangerous beasts in the
woods. It’s not by the Horlyns alone that a man might get
killed.”

Ranien grunted something Ray did not
understand. “You do not want to tell me more, is that
right?”

Again, Rayenne wanted to twist her tongue
not to spill out what she knew. Yet the man’s behavior was that of
an eager, interested child. His eyes were innocent. She considered
it a shame to lie to him.

“Ranien, please, I don’t want to bother you
with things you…maybe don’t want to know.”