See Prologue (A) for Disclaimers

(See version A of this chapter instead)

Chapter Four

Tao kissed her back, passion working its way in only slightly before he pulled back.  His hands went to her shoulders, sliding gently across her skin before slipping under the broad shoulder-straps of her dress.  He bent his head and kissed her neck again, then her collarbone and the slope of one shoulder, his mouth moving in slow, sweet kisses.  Again he pulled back, his eyes meeting hers and silently asking permission.  Miren smiled in response.

With an answering smile, Tao took her hands in his own and led her back to the blankets spread on the soft grass beneath the tree.  When they reached it, he lifted his hands to her shoulders again and kissed her softly.  His hands returned to the straps at her shoulders, pushing them down slowly until the fabric rested lightly on the tops of her breasts.  He pulled away from her mouth to lay gentle kisses on the swell of her breasts, then caught the rough-woven, loose-fitting cloth about her waist and lifted it.  Miren raised her arms to allow him to pull the dress completely off, shivering slightly as the night breeze touched her bare skin.

Tao looked down at her for a moment, his gaze reverent, and for the first time in her life Miren felt actually attractive.  Tao was enchanted by the silvered beauty of her body, perfectly proportioned into a slender hourglass shape.  She was of middling height, but her body was slender despite pregnancy, a sign of past malnutrition.  Her waist indented slightly, her hips gently wide and carrying the weight of the child in her womb well.  Her small breasts were beginning to swell with milk, and the nest of dark curls at the apex of her thighs promised soft sweetness.

Tao raised his eyes to her face, again asking permission.  Miren smiled.  His head dipped and he kissed her throat, then collarbone; his knees bent as he continued the kisses lower, his lips touching lightly on her breasts.  He lifted his head again and looked into her eyes, smiling sweetly.  "You are so beautiful," he told her in a murmur.

Miren smiled back, fighting the nervousness that was suddenly catching her now.  No one had ever looked at her like this, touched her like this . . . she suddenly felt as if this was her first time.  In a way, some part of her acknowledged, it was.  "Am I?" she asked, genuinely.

Tao stared at her, surprised.  "Yes.  Did you not know that?  Did no one ever tell you?"

Miren shook her head.  "No," she said, in answer to both questions.  "I don't think Terrons see beauty really.  Women are . . . women.  They said my mother was pretty, but . . . I've never known if I was."  She chuckled, bitterness in the sound.  "When a woman is with child is the only time a Terron is not rough with her -- by Zad's order, in case the child is male.  But the only thing I've heard a Terron say of her looks then is that she seems like an overripe fruit."

Tao looked at her steadily, an expression on his face very like the one she had worn at his own opinion of himself.  Slowly, he shook his head.  "You are beautiful, Miren," he said quietly.  "In many ways.  Your beauty is in your heart: in your strength and courage, kindness and intelligence.  But it is also in your face and form.  And being with child only adds to that beauty in my eyes."  One hand cradled her cheek, but the other lowered to curve against the swell of her belly.  "You carry life within you, Miren.  That is something no man can ever do, something . . . beautiful, and glorious, and precious."  He looked at her for a long moment, then added softly, "You are precious."

Miren swallowed hard against the tears she found burning her eyes.  She raised her hand to his face, caressing the strong line of his cheek and jaw, and whispered his name.  Tao smiled and kissed her lightly, then slowly lowered himself to his knees, kissing his way down her body.  Kneeling, he pressed his lips to her round belly, kissing it lightly, like a worshiper paying homage to something holy.  Miren whispered his name again and joined him on the ground, his hands rising to offer her support as she did so.  She chuckled at the glimpse of concern on his face as she lowered herself.  "I'm not that far along yet," she told him.

Tao smiled and nodded.  "No," he agreed, and kissed her mouth again.

He allowed the passion to ignite this time, while his hands traveled incongruously gentle across her skin, caressing her breasts and then sliding deliciously slow to her back.  Miren arched slightly into his touch and sighed in encouragement.  A thought occurred to her as she tried to return the caresses and found cloth in her way.  She wanted to feel his skin under her fingers.  Badly.  Miren murmured his name in a tone meant to summon attention.  When he complied by lifting his head from her shoulder, she said, a bit breathlessly, "You're wearing too much cloth."

Tao blinked, then smiled slightly.  In the bright moonlight, Miren could see the pupils dilate a bit further in his pale eyes.  He unwrapped the belt from his hips and tossed it aside; the shirt soon followed.  Miren's breath caught slightly, surprising her.  Slowly, with the same gentleness in his own touch, she placed her hands on his shoulders and let them glide down.  The hair on his chest was sparse but silky, sliding through her fingers as she followed the line of his muscles.  He was not as well-developed as Dar, but there was no mistaking the strength in those muscles, nor the beauty of his form.

Miren leaned her head down to rest her cheek against the warm skin of his shoulder, breathing in his scent, memorizing it, letting it sink into her awareness.  She kissed the side of his neck as he had hers, and smiled as his breath caught in his chest.  She raised her head and found her lips captured in another kiss.  She went with it, leaning into him as his arms came around her gently, but her hands slid down to the top edge of his pants.  She pulled away slightly and murmured against his mouth, "Still too much cloth."

Tao let out a soft sound that might have been a groan, and rid himself of boots and pants with surprising speed.  Miren chuckled slightly as he stayed half-lying on the blanket and pulled her down towards him, smiling brightly as the stars.  She remembered the first time she saw him smile, in the Terron camp.  She had said something -- what exactly, she could not recall -- but it had amused him and his smile had surprised her.  It had been a very long time since she had seen anyone other than a warrior smile, and this was the first time she had seen this  kind of smile: bright, playful, and not at the expense of another.  It had been the first time Miren had allowed herself to think of what the outside world must be like, to have such people in it that could smile like that.

She did not tell this to Tao as she stretched out, partly on top of him, only smiled as she looked at him and brushed her fingers through his hair.  Tao raised his eyebrows.  "What?"

Miren shook her head.  "Nothing.  Just thinking, remembering."

Tao raised himself onto one elbow, shifting so that she changed position and lay on her back.  He smiled down at her.  "No memories tonight," he admonished her.  "No thoughts.  Just feel."

The first time she tensed, Tao pulled back instantly.  "Shhh," he murmured.  He pulled away to give her room, his hand rising to stroke through the hair by her forehead.  "It's all right."  His gaze moved down slightly, as if to ascertain why that touch had called such memories, and tensed himself.  Shining dimly in the bright moonlight were scars he had not seen under the shadows cast by their bodies.

They varied in shape and size and cause.  Bite-marks, the indentations so clear that they must have been deep when made, ranged across her collarbone and concentrated on her small breasts.  Thin lines as if from sharp nails -- or a small blade -- slid in random places across her chest, ribs and belly.  Tao felt rage curl tightly in his gut, and his expression hardened.  He forced his fingers to unclench and looked at Miren's face.  She was watching him, perfectly still; something hunted lived within her expression.   Do you still find me beautiful? her eyes asked.

Tao's eyes locked with hers for a long moment, then slowly he lowered his head.  His lips touched the first scar lightly with a kiss, then moved to the next, and the next, and the next.  He continued until he had covered each one with a kiss, as if that could somehow heal the wounds she had been given.   Perhaps not the physical ones, he thought,  but the ones on her soul. . .  He looked up again and found her still watching him, tears shining in her eyes.  He pulled himself back up to lie fully beside her and kissed her again on the lips, the touch gentle but passionate, telling her exactly how beautiful he still found her.

Miren kissed him back, almost desperately.  When they pulled apart, Tao wrapped his arms around her, simply holding her and letting her heart ease.  Miren held onto him tightly, letting his strength and stability settle into her and become her own.  After a long moment, Miren lifted her head from where she had buried it against his shoulder and looked straight into his eyes.

She touched his face with her fingertips, tracing the line of one cheekbone, then his jaw, studying every detail of him.  Her eyes and then fingertips settled lightly against his mouth.  That sweet, caring, wonderful mouth.  Tao watched her, letting her make her choices without a sound.  Finally, she smiled softly, her eyes lifting from her consideration of his mouth, up to his eyes again.  She tilted her head forward and kissed him softly, then pulled back slightly.  "Tao," she murmured.  "Sweet one . . .  Make love to me."

Tao smiled softly and kissed her, gentle still, but turning long and sweet, and slow.  Gently, he shifted her onto her back and once again laid soft kisses across her skin.  Miren sighed and took firm control of her instincts, commanding her mind and body to forget every touch she had known before.  A few times more, that command slipped and she would tense -- and each time, Tao would kiss her gently, touch her gently, whisper that it was all right, and the fear would be washed away.

"Miren," he said gently, when she tensed at one point.  "We can wait.  It's all right.  There's no rush --"

But she shook her head firmly.  "Yes, there is," she told him fiercely.  "I don't want to live in fear, I don't want to take comfort from having no human touch at all.  I want this, I want you -- and not just to chase away the fear."  She paused and her eyes flashed with anger.  "And I refuse to let those bastards keep me from it!"

Tao blinked and restrained a laugh.  "You're truly  angry," he realized aloud.

Miren blushed slightly, but nodded.  "The Terrons controlled me, ruined my life, for far too long.  Now that I'm free . . . I won't let them do it anymore.  Not here, not now -- not with you.  I--"  The blush strengthened.  She forced herself to continue.  "I've never  wanted anyone before, Tao.  I've never felt pleasure, or anticipation . . . but every time you touch me . . . it feels so . . . good.  I want you to touch me.  I want you to make love to me.  I want to feel you. . ."

Tao swallowed hard and covered the rush of emotions inside him by following her wishes.  He proved himself a sweet and careful lover, giving as much as he received, if not more.  He had not had many lovers, and never been truly in love with any of those, but he knew the secrets of a woman's body.  Their lovemaking was slow and tender, filled with emotions and pleasures Miren had never felt before, though she had heard stories of such things from other slave-women.  His breath was warm and soothing on her neck, his voice matching it.

"I won't hurt you," he reminded her.  "I'll never hurt you . . . I promise.  Shhh. . ."

Their bodies shone in the bright silver light, following a motion almost as old as time and nature, breath coming faster in their lungs.  Miren was awash in pleasure, from his touch, from his motion inside her, from the sheer idea of the tenderness he showed.  Fear and anger were swept away, despair, hopelessness, anxiety . . . nothing existed but the feel of his body against her, inside her, the ebb and flow of life and love, and how things were  meant to be.

When their love-making ended, the heavens receded gradually, leaving them hot and exhausted and utterly content.  Eventually, they pulled the other blanket over their tangled limbs and fell asleep, lying safe within one another's arms on the soft bank of the river, under the smiling gaze of the full moon and her array of stars.

Some distance away, Ruh settled his chin on his paws and let out a low rumble of amusement and approval.  In his considered opinion, it was about blessed time.

Next Chapter

Email the author!
[email protected]

Main 'BeastMaster' Fanfic Index
'Debts of Love' Series-Fic Index

Back to Main Library Index         Back to Main Fanfiction Index

Adventures of Sinbad   ~~~     Andromeda   ~~~     Angel   ~~~     Babylon5   ~~~     BeastMaster: The Series   ~~~     Beauty & the Beast
Buffy the Vampire Slayer   ~~~     Charmed  ~~~     The Crow: Stairway to Heaven   ~~~     Crusade   ~~~     due South   ~~~     Farscape
Gundam Wing   ~~~     Highlander: The Series   ~~~     Miscellaneous Fiction   ~~~     Mortal Kombat   ~~~     Mortal Kombat: Conquest
Poltergeist the Legacy   ~~~     Raven   ~~~     (TSAo) Jules Verne   ~~~     The Sentinel   ~~~     Stargate SG1   ~~~     Star Trek: Voyager

I can't fix it if I don't know it's broken, so if you see anything wrong,  please let me know.  Thank you and enjoy your stay!