Azure Phoenix, Chapter Ten
#13 of The Azure Phoenix
Whoo, it's been a bit longer than expected to get this out here, and I do apologize. Life had a bad habit of getting in the way, but here we are at Chapter Ten, and we are now officially halfway through!
_ _As I said, falling asleep in Zuri's arms had always made me feel safe and loved in her embrace. It never could have occurred to me that it would ever change. But change it did. We were sleeping soundly after our last little tryst when suddenly I awoke to the feeling of her arms squeezing me tightly. And not in an affectionate way, but in a very painful way, making it hard for me to even breathe. She was holding onto me for dear life, as though I may slip away from her. As I struggled in vain to get out of her, I heard her muttering something under her breath, an almost plaintive whisper. I stopped squirming, my ears straining and swiveling back to try and make out what she was saying. It must have been a nightmare, judging by how panicked her voice sounded, how plaintive her tone was.
"Don't go, please don't go, don't leave me," she kept repeating it over and over again, her arms flexing and crushing me each time she said it. While I'm normally against waking someone up in the middle of the night, at this point, I was going to wind up with a bad case of bruised ribs if this continued. I began by gently tapping on her forearms, then on to patting her on the hip when that didn't work. Finally, feeling her muscular arms begin to really restrict the intake of breath, I reached around and pinched her belly.
That did the trick. With a jolt, she bolted upright, releasing me from her grip. I rolled over onto my back and took an enormous breath, looking over at her as I filled my lungs with air again.
"Denryk!" she cried out, her silhouetted form glancing around the room before my hand found her thigh. Her own hand quickly took mine, and I gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Hey, you ok?" I asked softly.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she nodded. "Just a bad dream."
"It seemed like it was pretty intense, do you wanna talk about it?"
"No," she replied rather emphatically, "No. Just a bad dream." There was a pause for a moment, and then I felt her slip out of bed. "Think I'm going to go for a midnight swim. You coming?"
"Wha-...right now?!" I asked, suddenly caught off guard. "It's the middle of the night!"
"So?" she asked as she turned on the light and began rummaging through her drawers. "Mum's asleep and the pool's on the other side of the house, so it's not like we'll wake her up."
"I can't help but feel as though you're trying to distract from talking about your nightmare."
"It was just a bad dream," she repeated as she pulled on her swimsuit, a monokini that left very little to the imagination. "If you change your mind, I'll be in the pool. Don't keep me waiting, loverboy..."
Before I could even get a word in, she'd already sauntered out the door, shutting it behind her. With a heavy sigh, I tossed the covers off and tried to remember where I had put my swim trunks...
*******************************************
After a few wrong turns, I managed to find the pool, the familiar smell of chlorine guiding me towards it, along with the soft glow of the pool itself. There was a single light on over the sliding glass door leading outside, but much of the light came from the lights within the pool. Every few seconds, they would shift between deep purples, vibrant greens, and of course, beautiful blues. At first, I didn't see her, but as the lights changed colors again, I caught sight of her, swimming near the bottom of the pool. I tossed my towel on the chair next to hers, and sat down on the lip of the pool, letting my feet dangle in the water while I waited for her to come back up for air.
I didn't have to wait for long as she surfaced next to me, shaking out her dreadlocks as best she could. "Glad you could finally join me," she said playfully, "Thought you weren't going to make it for a bit."
"Got a bit turned around a few times," I admitted.
"Well, you're here now. C'mon in!" she smiled, beckoning me in. And as much as I wanted to join her, I just couldn't let this go.
"Zuri..." I began, and her expression immediately changed.
"A bad dream, that's all it was," she said, trying to cut me off.
"'Don't go, don't leave me.'"
"What?"
"That's what you kept saying. 'Don't go, don't leave,' all the while holding on to me like I was going to fly away if you relaxed your muscles for even a second, and at the end, I could barely breathe. That doesn't sound like just a bad dream to me, Zu."
She sighed, her head dropping to her chest as she thought it over.
"Do you trust me?" I asked bluntly. Her head whipped back up to look at me.
"Of course!"
"Then let's work this out, together," when she didn't respond, I continued. "Look, we've bared our souls to each other a lot over the past few days. What's another five minutes?" There was another moment of silence before she sighed and pulled herself out of the pool.
"You're lucky I love you," she grumbled as she sat next to me, both of us just staring into the pool, watching the colors shift and change. "So...how do we do this?"
"Uh...I guess you could start by telling me about the dream."
She sighed again. "Alright. We were on the Phoenix when we got hit by something. The hull was breached, and everything starts getting sucked out. I'm trying to hold onto you, but you...you're not even trying to hold onto me. You're trying to leave, like everything else...and I just...I just...I couldn't lose you. That's when I woke up."
"You aren't going to lose me."
"How do you know?" she spat. "How do you know you won't lose me? We're in a pretty rough profession. Denari and Bjorn are an exception, not the norm, and even he's missing a few more bits and pieces than when he started."
Her visceral reaction caught me a bit off-guard. She had a point, and I hadn't honestly given much thought to it. I struggled to find the words, but eventually, I found them. "Because...I have faith in you," I began haltingly, "I know it sounds...trite, but...I do. And even if something did happen to you, you will always be in my heart and on my mind. If there's something I've learned, its that loved ones don't go away once they've passed on. They stay with us, guiding us, shaping us. That's how I know you aren't going to lose me."
There was a long silence, a stillness in the air. I thought I heard her sniffle softly, and then say "Is that your mother again?"
"No, this one's all me. Something I learned when Dad passed away."
"...I'm afraid," she whispered softly. "I'm afraid of losing someone like that. I spent my childhood losing things-friends, toys, books, relatives. The only constants were my mum and my sisters. I learned to live light, to be ready to pack up and go at a moment's notice. I didn't want to keep going through the pain of losing things, so I just...never really connected with anything. I think that's part of the reason I became a bounty hunter. It's so...transitory. You pick up a batch, grab them, pay the crew, and move on. Deep down...part of me always knew. I just didn't realize it."
I nodded, pondering her words. "...so...how do we correct this? What do we do now?"
"...buy stuff?" she quipped, and we both laughed at that, breaking the tension we hadn't even realized was building up and lightening the mood. "Seriously, though, I think, maybe, I should buy a few things. Make this my home. Begin to plan things long-term."
"Long term, huh?" I asked. "Like, maybe, making a second home on the Phoenix?" I offered, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. She looked over at me and smiled softly. "Captain, are you asking me to move in with you?"
"If you'll have me."
"Well, then, how can I say no?" she smiled. "I love you, Denryk."
"I love you, too, Zuri." We embraced each other as our lips met in a passionate kiss, and as we held each other, my duplicitous lover used her size, strength, and the element of surprise to roll us both into the pool.
I quickly made my way back up to the surface, sputtering and coughing, trying to wipe the water from my eyes as I heard her cackling behind me. "You should see the look on your face!" she howled, shaking the water out of her hair.
"Oh, that is IT!" I shouted and lunged towards her. Zuri laughed and eeped playfully as she dove down to escape me.
*************************************************
A little while later, having exhausted ourselves chasing one another in the pool, we floated on our backs next to one another, gazing up at the night sky.
"So where'd you learn to be so graceful in the water?" Zuri quietly asked.
"Something I learned over time, I guess," I shrugged, or at least, as best I could. "Always loved swimming in the ocean as a kid, and in the Navy, our preliminary zero-gee and suit integrity training was in water before moving to hard vacuum."
"Does this mean you're this graceful in zero-gravity as well?"
"It's been a while, but...maybe? Only one way to find out," I quipped.
"Probably shouldn't do that with the rest of the crew on board."
"Not without ample warning, at least."
There was another long silence before Zuri spoke again. "Have you ever had sex in zero-gee?"
"Can't say that I have. Wanna add that to the list?"
"Oh, absolutely. And what else is on this list of yours, loverboy, hmmm?"
"Just that. Oh, and my revenge for you being such a tease."
She laughed at that, her voice soft and sultry. "You know you love it."
"I do," I agreed, nodding. "But still, I have vowed revenge, and revenge I must have."
"Mmm...looking forward to that. Do you worst, Captain," she chuckled.
"What about you, Zu? You have a list?"
"I think we covered most of it..." she trailed off, then rolled over, standing up in the pool instead of floating next to me. "But there is one thing...c'mon, follow me."
My curiosity piqued, I flipped over and swam after her, hauling myself out of the pool as she gracefully climbed up the ladder. "Where are we going?" I asked as she walked past our towels.
"You'll see," she said, looking over her shoulder to toss me a playful wink. She sauntered on, her hips swaying seductively as she ran her hands along her sides. When her hands reached her shoulders, her fingers slipped beneath the monokini's black fabric and tugged it loose. Without missing a step, she peeled the bathing suit off and kicked it aside, leaving her fully exposed. And I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating, Zuri nude is glorious. And while her front half is my personal favorite, her back half cannot be understated. The definition and tone of her back muscles, her powerful thighs, and of course, her round and ample rear.
"Goddess..." I breathed softly. "That is a glorious view." She grinned back over her shoulder.
"Flatterer." She smirked as she opened a door that led into a small shower and fur dryer setup. She stopped in the doorway, looking at me as she crooked her finger slowly in my direction. "C'mon, loverboy. Showertime."
"Yes, ma'am," I grinned and quickly followed her inside. Zuri turned on the shower before she slowly turned around, her sapphire eyes looking me up and down with a hunger inside them.
"I think you're a tad overdressed, don't you?" she smirked. It took me a moment, distracted as I was by her form in all its naked glory, before I realized what she was referring to. I grinned sheepishly and slid off my bathing suit, leaving me just as exposed as she was. "Much better," she remarked before she leaned down to kiss me. My hands found her hips as hers reached between us to tease and toy with my cock. I gasped softly into the kiss, prompting my hyena to chuckle as her fingers danced up and down the length of my shaft. She continued to tease and toy with me as we made out, my own hands sliding over her hips to grab her rear. It was her turn to gasp this time, breaking the kiss to grin at me. "Cheeky fucker," she quipped, giving me a playful lick on the snout before moving away from me. Turning, she sauntered over to the shower, stepping under the spray. As the water ran down and through her fur, she placed her hands on the wall, slowly bending over and presenting me with a breathtaking view of her ass. "What are you waiting for?"
I didn't need to be asked twice, and I quickly got behind her. With one hand gripping the base of my shaft while the other caressed her rear, I positioned the head of my cock at her entrance, feeling how slick she was in a way that had very little to do with water. A low moan escaped me as I teased her, slipping the tip in, rubbing and teasing the folds. "Ooh, you tease," Zuri moaned as she looked back over her shoulder, a lustful, hungry look in her eyes. I grinned back at her, blowing her a kiss as I slowly slipped inside. She pushed back, matching my pace until our hips met, flexing her inner walls around my shaft. My cock twitched, spurting a jet of pre deep inside her and I gasped, a shiver running through my body. We stayed that way for a few seconds more before I grabbed her hips and began to thrust into her. Slowly, at first, savoring just how tight she was, hungrily clamping down around my member, drawing more moans from me.
Zuri was matching my pace, pushing back against me as I thrust into her, our hips slapping together as the pace began to increase. As we moved, I draped myself atop her, my hands moving up her sides and over her chest, caressing and stroking her breasts.
"Mmmmm...there we go, loverboy, just like...ah!....just like that..." she moaned, thrusting back against me with even more enthusiasm. I responded by placing soft kisses along her shoulder blades, my fingers teasing and circling her nipples, the cold metal of the barbell piercing a contrast to the warm flesh and fur. A gentle tug elicited a gasp, followed by a loud moan from my hyena. "Oh, fuck! Fuck, yes, Denryk!" I couldn't help but grin and gave her another tug, on the other nipple this time, and the reaction was even stronger. A powerful shudder went through her, her knees buckling for just a second, and her tunnel clamped down reflexively on me.
"Fuck, Goddess, Zuri!" I cried out, a shiver running up my spine from the sudden, unexpected wave of pleasure. I thrust into as hard and fast as I could, feeling myself growing closer and closer to release. Not wanting to leave Zuri behind, one of my hands left her breast and slipped down between her thighs. Her head snapped up, and she looked over her shoulder at me, not understanding why I had moved my hand.
"What are you-ah! Oh, nnnngh,ffffuck!" Her question was cut off as my fingers found her clit, rubbing it and the area around it. She shuddered again, and this time, it was almost too much as her sex spasmed around me.
"Ah! Z-Zuri!" I cried out, trying to warn her.
"M-me too! Nnngh, cum with me, loverboy!" she commanded. It was one I could not disobey. I thrust into her one last time, and with a howl of ecstasy, came deep inside her, rubbing her clit furiously as I did, wanting to take her over the edge with me. Her orgasm came soon after, throwing her head back, her howl joining mine as she spasmed and clamped down around my cock, eager for every drop of seed. And I gave her everything I had, feeling my shaft pulse and twitch as it emptied load after load inside her.
Finally spent and sated, I took an unsteady step back, slipping out of her and panting hard. Zuri made no move to stand up, instead, sliding down the shower wall and sitting on the floor. She looked up at me with a sated smile and beckoned for me. I managed to stumble over to her and ease myself onto her lap, resting against her as we shared a slow, passionate kiss. Her arms wrapped around me in a loving embrace, and as we lazily made out, basking in the afterglow, I realized that things could change. But working together, we could make it a change for the better...