Virgin (28 page)

The look in his eyes conveyed the message clearly. If he wasn’t in love, he might as well have been, because he believed it to be true. Perhaps that was all it took.

“I’m not arguing.” Snuggling in beside him, Ava felt warm and contented—and loved. She couldn’t think of a more perfect ending to the day… until Dax began purring.

Chapter 18

Ava had looked forward to spending a day at the beach with great anticipation. Despite her affinity with water, she’d never had the joy of swimming in an ocean—on any world. Unable to afford vacations to the shore on Rutara, she’d had to be content with public swimming pools, along with the occasional lake or pond. She hadn’t been swimming at all on Luxaria. There were no large bodies of water near Luxton City, and the public pools were a hazard to the health of any species.

Strolling hand in hand with Dax to the nearest shore, Ava’s first glimpse of the sea gave her a thrill unlike any she’d ever felt—except, perhaps, the vision of Dax without his clothes. Awestruck, she stood for a moment, taking it all in.

Sunlight danced on sparkling waves beyond rugged rock formations jutting from the sea out beyond the breakers. A pleasant breeze blew steadily over water as clear and blue as the sky, setting gigantic palm trees in motion. Flowering plants bordered the sand marking the boundary, their huge, brilliant blossoms forming a wall over thirty meters high. Waves lapped the shore, the occasional rogue crashing over those who waded in the shallows. The pure white sand felt silky and warm beneath her feet, and Ava loved the way it tickled her webbed toes.

On the beach, sun worshipers abounded, lying on gaily striped lounges or beach towels. Small tents dotted the sand above the high tide mark for those who wanted privacy, while beach umbrellas shaded the rest. And, as everywhere on Rhylos, there were shops and concession stands selling everything anyone might need or want on a day at the beach.

A quick glance at the other beachgoers proved Waroun correct. Clothing might have been optional, but if there was anyone there who wasn’t nude, Ava hadn’t spotted them yet. On top of that, fully a third were engaged in sexual activities of some kind. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any children about. Ava was wishing a few of those present had opted against the nudity, but it served to eliminate Dax’s inhibitions very nicely. He was easily the most gorgeous male on the beach and better looking than many of the women. His body was perfect, but as she’d noted before, it wasn’t just the way he was put together. It was the way he moved—effortless, smooth, and fluid.

If Dax was still thinking about what had occurred the night before, he didn’t mention it, leaving Ava to assume that he still wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. She was of the opinion that it was more of a profound Zetithian sexual experience than anything to do with the stone, but she kept that to herself, focusing instead on the beauty of the day, and most of all, the ocean.

Stripping off her clothes, Ava sprinted across the sand and dove straight into the waves. The shock as she hit the cool salt water was orgasmic; a beached whale thrown back into the sea couldn’t have felt more relief. Breathing the water as easily as air, she swam deeply, delighting in the steady pull against the webbing between her fingers and toes. Light from above penetrated the clear depths, and farther out, a coral reef lay before her, teeming with life. There were a few other divers about, but most required devices of some kind. Very few were as free as Ava.

She swam to the sea floor, graceful tendrils of seaweed brushing her arms and legs as she passed. The reef was almost entirely covered with plants, and their diversity challenged her imagination. Fish of every shape and color swam among the various corals—some fan-shaped while others looked more like flowers. Anemones waved their tentacles as she swam in for a closer look. Her fingers touched plants and animals she’d never seen, and whose names she would never know. Ava had studied aquatic life through books and such, but never having seen it firsthand, she now realized the vibrant colors and awesome perfection made names irrelevant. Terms like brain coral, sea urchin, nudibranch, and mollusk didn’t begin to describe the stunning flora and fauna of the sea. They were all too beautiful for words.

Just like Dax.

Ava glanced up toward the surface. If only she could share this with him...

She swam upward, her hair waving like the tentacles of the anemones below. When she broke through the surface, she could see Dax standing at the water’s edge as though afraid to get his feet wet. Luke was digging in the sand nearby.

“Oh,
wow
, Dax, just—wow! You’ve
got
to see this! There’s a fabulous reef out here. It’s like an enchanted forest! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Dax bit his lip, frowning. “You were gone a long time.”

He didn’t seem angry, but if Dax was worried that she might drown, she knew the time she’d spent submerged would have seemed like an eternity. “Sorry about that. I’ve been dreaming of diving in a place like this all my life. It’s absolutely incredible!”

Dax gave her a weak smile. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Now, Dax, you’ve got to at least get wet.” Wading through the surf, she took his hand. “Come on, now. You can do it. Just take a few little baby steps.”

Dax seemed a bit leery of the water, but it wasn’t long before Ava had coaxed him into water up to his knees—which would have been hip deep for just about anyone else.

She swam out into deeper water. “Come on out here. You can still touch the bottom.”

“Yes, but it’s not so much touching the bottom as it is that I can’t see what’s down there.”

“Trust me, there’s nothing dangerous here. Just some truly amazing sea creatures. But I’ll check again if it makes you feel better.” She dove beneath the waves and took a good look around. There wasn’t much to see that close to the shore. A few small fish swam by, but certainly nothing with teeth. She surfaced, exhaling the water.

“How do you
do
that?” he said, shaking his head.

Ava shrugged. “It’s the Aquerei in me. I used to freak people out when I went swimming as a kid, so I tried not to do it much.”

“I’m sure it’s nice to be able to breathe water, but I don’t want my head underwater even for a second.”

“What a wuss! Guess I forgot you were a cat.”

“Doesn’t seem to bother Luke any.” The puppy frolicked along the shore, barking at the waves, obviously not minding a bit when they washed over him. “Too bad we Zetithians aren’t more like dogs.”

Ava shook her head. “I don’t think that would be an improvement at all. You’re much better as a cat. Dogs don’t purr.”

Dax grinned. “Like that, do you?”

“Oh, yes,” Ava said. “It makes me feel contented and sexy at the same time.”

“Speaking of different species, Waroun once told me that Aquerei like to mate underwater. Is that true?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Ava replied. “Never been to Aquerei. It might be a common practice—I mean, it sounds great, and I’m sure I could do it, but I wouldn’t want to drown you.”

“Might drown the scent too. Can’t fuck without it.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

Dax burst out laughing.

Scowling, Ava splashed water at him. “It isn’t funny.”

“No, but the look on your face was priceless.” Still chuckling, he added, “If it came to that, I could probably use some of the ‘fluffer’ techniques.”

“Pussy juice on your upper lip?”

“Maybe, but you couldn’t splash me like that again. You might wash it off.”

Ava eyed his flaccid penis with disappointment. “Wish I’d thought of that before I got in the water. I probably don’t have any left now. Bummer.”

“Hey, there, Fish Lady,” Waroun called out as he approached the shore with Teke, Diokut, and Quinn. Threldigan was nowhere to be seen. “Figured we’d find you two down here.” He glanced sideways at Dax. “What’s the matter, Super Kitten? Don’t like the water?”

“Not particularly,” Dax replied. “Ava wants me to learn how to swim, but I think I might do better in a swimming pool.”

“Not being able to see the bottom is freaking him out a bit,” Ava confided. “I checked and made sure it was safe, but he doesn’t believe me.”

“Oh, I believe you, all right,” Dax said. “But I still don’t like it.”

Teke and Diokut were already removing their body stockings and, as Ava could have predicted, they had dicks that were just like the rest of them, which is to say, long and skinny, almost twiglike. In comparison, Dax looked like he had a tree trunk sprouting from his groin—or would have if it had been erect. She could easily change that by sitting on his face, but considering the stares he was getting from the other ladies on the beach, she thought it might be best to keep it down.

Threldigan sauntered up with a woman on each arm. Ava recognized the lady on his left as his partner with Onca from the night before, a lovely Mordassian with pale green skin and long tendrils curling from the nape of her neck. The other was one of Dax’s infamous Davordian hookers—the brunette, to be precise. Ava swam closer to Dax. She was taking no chances that the Davordian might go after Dax’s balls again—his wonderfully suckable balls…

Suddenly, sex on the beach was becoming a necessity rather than a fleeting desire. Reaching between her legs, Ava felt the slickness there despite the debriding effect of the salty seawater.

“Here.” She passed her finger beneath his nose. “Take a whiff of this.”

The effect was instantaneous. With his next breath, Dax’s soft cock snapped to attention, ready for a rider.

Twining her arms around his neck, she backed away from the shore, taking him with her. “Can’t have that hooker spotting your hard-on,” she whispered. “You remember her, don’t you?”

Dax rolled his eyes. “How could I
possibly
forget? If she’s here for a piece of me, well, she’s not going to get it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll see to that. Your balls are mine, and I will guard them with my life.”

Dax glanced over at Threldigan and his two ladies. All three of them were now lying on a blanket. Threldigan’s cock looked like a Maypole with two maidens dancing around it. “Threld is keeping the ladies pretty busy, but you do whatever you feel is necessary. I kind of like the idea of you protecting them.” He gestured toward her necklace. “Speaking of protection, should you be wearing that thing in the water? I’d hate for you to lose it.”

Ava reached instinctively for her pendant. In her haste to explore the ocean, she’d forgotten she had it on. “The chain is really strong, and the attachment is secure. It’s funny, but keeping it in a box in a drawer all these years seems so wrong now.”

Dax smiled warmly. “If you’d left it in the box, I might not have had that spiritual event, or whatever it was, last night.” His smile seemed to indicate that sleep had put the event into perspective as she’d suggested, at least to the point that he could deal with it.

Ava still had her doubts. “I’m still not sure the stone had anything to do with that. You Zetithians have visions anyway. Now, if
I
were to have a vision, I’d be more inclined to believe that the stone was responsible, my being half Aquerei and all.”

“True, and maybe the stone just happened to be part of what I saw, but it was still—” He stopped there, as though at a loss for words.

“Pretty cool?” Ava suggested.

“Very
cool.” Grinning, he added, “Of course, the
sexual
event was cool too.”

“Ready for another one?”

“Absolutely.”

Ava was keeping steady eye contact with him as she led him into deeper water. His penis was now fully submerged but remained erect. “You okay out here?”

Dax nodded. “As long as you’re with me, I think I’d be okay just about anywhere.”

“Sweet talker.” She licked her lips. “Would it make you feel better if I sucked your dick?”

“Um, that would make
anything
better, but can you really do it in the ocean?”

“You bet I can!”

“Well, be that as it may, chest deep is as far as I’m going.”

“Actually, chest deep would be perfect, because then I can suck you in complete privacy.”

“Unless another one of your Aquerei friends swims by.”

“There are several of them out here,” Ava acknowledged. “Wonder if any of them is the one who robbed Quinn.”

“He’s probably keeping an eye out for him. Though I’m not sure what good it would do. If there were no witnesses, and it’s his word against Quinn’s…” Dax didn’t have to finish that thought. Given their reputation for belligerence, no one would take the word of a Drell over an Aquerei.

Ava shuddered in revulsion. “We should probably steer clear of all of them. I know I’m related to them, but honestly, Dax, they give me the creeps! Their hair looks more like a sea urchin than something that should be growing from a humanoid’s head, and that iridescent skin is just plain fishy!” She swam up to Dax and climbed into his arms, peering over his shoulder. “Here comes one now,” she whispered. “Where are Threldigan and his cape when you need them?”