Title: Written on the Land

Author/pseudonym: Tinnean

Fandom: Creature from the Black Lagoon

Pairing: David Reed/Creature

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: Not mine! Never mine! Okay, sorry, I've got myself under control now. This belongs to Universal-International, from the story written by Maurice Zimm.

Status: new

Date: 9/01

Series/Sequel: No, but a variation of this pairing made an appearance in the It! The Terror from Beyond Space fiction, The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky.

Archive: OK, I surrender. Yes to all the list archives. (I'm so easy!)

Summary: What appears to be a fossilized clawed hand is found on the Amazon. It leads scientist David Reed to uncover what he had buried in his subconscious years before.

Warnings: cross species sex of the same gender, implied m/f, spoilers for the movie.

Notes: According to the movie, the Creature was from the Devonian era, and was either 150 million years old, or the sole survivor of his species. I've decided to take this an entirely different route, and I have changed his looks a bit. For those who haven't seen the movie, scientists travel up the Amazon in search of the rest of the body a fossilized hand belongs to, concluding it might be the connection between mammals and amphibians. The last thing they are prepared for is the living, breathing reality of the Creature.

// represents mind speech.

This is for Athea, who really wanted me to give Dr. Dave to the Creature; for Gail, who's willing to come along, no matter what; and as always, for Silk, because without her, I wouldn't be doing this.

Note: Paul Sarone (played by Jon Voight) is from the 1997 movie Anaconda.

Note: This contains bondage and attempted rape.

Note: I did the best I could with the Portuguese, but desculpe (forgive me).

Chapter 7 Note: Apparently, the rules of rigor mortis didn't apply to 50's movies. Also, the description of what was found in camp might be a bit over the top. Be aware.

Chapter 8 Note: Apparently, in the 50's, they didn't know archeology needed to be done with brushes and not pickaxes.

Chapter 9 Note: Some quotes are directly from the movie. Honest folks, you can't make this stuff up!

Chapter 13 Note: Quick Spanish lesson. Mi vida- my life. Beseme, mi corazon- kiss me, my heart.

Chapter 14 Note: Thanks to Anne Higgins for this one. Her story Mating Season clued me in on how to get David pregnant.
Note #2: I have it on very good authority that there is a belief out there that saurians maintained their body temperature by vibrating or purring. Either way raises interesting possibilities.

Chapter 15 Note: Song Lyrics, Goodnight, Sweetheart, and this version is by ShaNaNa.

Prologue
By Tinnean

The pictures had been in my head for as long as I could remember, showing me things, showing me places, showing me *beings* that had never been seen on Earth. They told me with images that I was not alone, that someone was always with me. That I had a friend.

Oh, my mother and father were there, and I knew they loved me. But they loved each other more, and looked on me as an intrusion, minor perhaps, but an intrusion nonetheless. My parents could live with me, but they could just as easily live without me.

When I was old enough to hold a crayon between my fingers, I began to reproduce the images I saw behind my eyes. Mother patted my head and assumed I was drawing imaginary things.

As I grew older, she told her friends that I had such an interest in fish, I was sure to be an ichthyologist when I grew up. I didn't know then what an ichthyologist was, or I would have told her that the creature I drew wasn't a fish.

It was something my friend had often seen on his own world. For as I grew older, I realized that these thoughts were coming to me from someone who was not of this Earth.

I knew what he looked like, although I *didn't* know what he looked like, if you understand what I mean. He was very tall and very strong, and he had deep blue eyes and thick black hair. He was the most handsome man in the world, and no matter what I did, he loved me unconditionally.

The only time I tried to tell her about him, she got this really uncomfortable look on her face and wound up taking me to a doctor who specialized in little boys who didn't leave behind their imaginary friends. He kept asking me if Father touched me in inappropriate places. Or if he spanked me on my bare backside.

I finally got tired of his stupid questions and told my parents I didn't want to see him anymore. When they pressed me for a reason, I dispassionately repeated the doctor's insinuations.

I had never seen Father turn that shade of purple before.

There was a lot of intense discussion that night, between my father and my mother. "For chrissake, Vivian! He's only a boy! I should think you'd be proud he had such a vivid imagination!"

"But this spaceman he claims talks to him..."

"Do you want our friends to think I abuse the boy?"

The next day, she called the doctor and cancelled my appointments with him.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and learned never to talk about the friend who showed me such amazing tableaus. If Mother ever asked about him, uneasily awaiting my reply, I would give her a patented child-humoring-an-adult look and simply say, "Motherrr! I'm too big for that stuff now!"

And she believed me.

****

By the time I was ten, the images had long been interspersed with words, and my friend had told me of the many exploits of his crew. He was the captain of an exploratory ship that had been sent out to rechart planets with which his Confederation had long since lost contact.

Whenever he spoke of this, his thoughts were tinged with sadness, although he refused to tell me why. The last time I pressed him about this, however, I somehow managed to slip behind the screen that shielded his innermost thoughts and saw the reason.

He was not expecting to return to his home world! His commander had sent him out on a wild goose chase. His ship, Dev'o's Honor, was running short of everything: supplies, fuel and equipment, and with each planetfall he lost more and more of his crew.

It was a suicide mission!

I withdrew in horror, and he never knew I had seen his deepest fears, that his ship would be condemned to wander through space until nothing living remained aboard. I had also seen the love he bore his chief engineer, and although I didn't quite understand it, a stab of jealousy ripped at me.

He. Was. *My*. Friend!

Jealousy was an unfamiliar emotion, and this reaction shocked me.

I was so ashamed of myself that I drew my own mental shield around me, effectively closing my friend out.

His attempts to speak with me were rebuffed, and I could feel his confusion and sorrow.

But he thought I was a good boy, and I could not let him see how bad I really was.

After a couple of days in which I sternly lectured myself on the proper behavior of friends, I felt it was safe enough to reach out and touch his mind again.

The relief of my friend was so great that I was filled with self-loathing, but again I shielded my emotions from him, telling him simply that there had been problems that had required all my attention.

He never questioned that there had been problems before and I had never shut him out.

And it never dawned on me that it was a two way street-if I could shut him out, then he could just as surely shut me out.

But what he was concealing from me was far more life-shattering than I could ever have imagined.

****

It was a protest, a howl, a scream of rage, railing against some unknown injustice. And it tore through my skull, yanking me violently out of a sound sleep. I had never known my friend to be so out of control.

I whimpered from the pain in my head, the confusing images flowing in oranges and reds, vermilions and cochineals and colors I couldn't name, slicing into my brain.

Curled into a ball, my arms wrapped around my head, I burrowed deeper under the covers. My lips were bitten raw as I battled to keep my sobs as silent as possible.

I wanted my mother, but I knew if I went looking for her, I'd simply be told I was too big a boy to come crying to her in the middle of the night, and she would order me back to my room.

Protests of my own were flung from my mind into the vastness of the void. "Stop! Please stop! You're hurting me! Please, please, please!"

Abruptly the pain vanished. It was as if a soothing blanket of comfort settled over me, as if caring arms embraced me.

//Hush, little one.//

I should have been really frightened, but the warmth of that voice in my mind drove all my fears away.

//What's wrong?// I ventured to send the question out into the night.

//Nothing is wrong, my precious little friend. Come the dawn, everything will be fine. I regret disturbing one so young.//

//I'm not a baby!// I thought huffily. I had caught the image of something small and helpless.

A ripple of wry amusement caressed my mind. //Go back to sleep, little one. And thank you.//

//??// I was becoming very drowsy.

//Your timely objection brought me out of my anger, and perhaps I shall be able to prevent this calamity which is about to overtake my ship.//

//!!!// Suddenly wide-awake, terrified for my friend, it was a wordless protest.

Soft tendrils of thought enfolded my mind, reassuring me that all would be well. //Sleep!//

Unable to do anything by obey the subtle pressure that was nudging me back toward slumber, I projected a message I had never dared before. //Love you.// I wished I could hug him.

//And I you, little one.// A sensation very like a kiss brushed my forehead as I drifted into sleep.

The next morning when I awoke I reached for the mental connection with my friend.

Only to find it gone.

Written on the Land
Part 1

I sat up abruptly in bed, sure I had heard my name being called.

The silence of the night met me. I rubbed a hand over my eyes and stilled as I realized I was not in my own room at my college dorm.

The naked body next to mine in the rumpled bed was sprawled in sated abandon. My companion snuffled and snorted. Was it only yesterday that I had truly found that appealing? I eyed him uneasily, then carefully slipped out from under the covers. My clothes were scattered all over the room, and I quietly hunted the stray articles down. Stepping barefoot into my shoes, I tiptoed toward the door.

"Davey? Don't leave yet, love."

I felt as if my stomach wanted to crawl up into my throat. "I have to, babe. I've got a paper I have to finish and an early class I have to audit. I'll...er, I'll call you, okay?"

I was out the door before he could answer me. Of course I'd never call him, never sleep with him again, never have anything more to do with him.

He called me 'love'. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue, but then again, maybe he meant it. I had told him from the start that all it could be between us was just sex, that I didn't believe in love, but it looked as if he hadn't taken me at my word.

Either way, I couldn't take the chance. Loving someone hurt too fucking much.

****

The next morning, I sat in the front row of the lecture hall, enthralled by the guest speaker. Dr. Carl Maia was a compactly built Brazilian with dark good looks and a fascination with his chosen field of archeology that flashed in his brown eyes.

He spoke of the strange things that had been found along the Amazon, which was so long it almost bisected the South American continent.

Sitting on the edge of my seat, eager to take in each word that fell from his lips, his full, sculpted lips, my own lips parted, and I felt my... interest begin to stir. Periodically his tongue would peek out to moisten them as he paused to gather his thoughts.

"And so," he said, bringing his lecture to a conclusion, "we continue to learn from those that came before us, whether mammalian or amphibian, or a curious blend of the two. Remember, gentlemen. And you, also, young lady." He nodded graciously to the one coed who sat before him, her skirt hiked high above her knees. "The record of life is written on the land."

There was applause, and the older man beamed appreciatively.

I would have liked to remain behind, to talk further with him. That remark about a link between mammal and amphibian was intriguing.

However, his interest looked to be claimed by the young woman who was now leaning forward, giving him an eyeful of her bounteous endowments. That sweater couldn't have been any tighter if it had been spray-painted on her!

I stifled a sigh. It wasn't important, anyway. He really wasn't the type I usually made a play for, which was short, blond and androgynous.

And he was a professor. I made it a point never to get involved with my instructors. I knew the end result would be that they would fall in love with me, and when they realized I would never reciprocate, I would wind up with a failing grade. I couldn't chance it. My goal was to be the youngest Ph.D in the university's history.

"One moment, young man!"

Startled, I turned as Dr. Maia gave the girl a rueful smile and left her sitting there, rather disgruntled.

"You wanted to speak with me, Dr. Maia?"

"You are David Reed, yes?"

"Yes, I am. How did you know?"

"I have my, how do you say, sources?" His smile was charming, and I regretted that I would be unable to taste it.

"What can I do for you, Doctor?"

He linked his arm with mine and urged me to begin walking with him. "We go have a cafe, a coffee, yes? And you will tell me what you thought of my discurso, my speech?"

I was flattered. Usually, when I was interested in someone I was the one who made the first move. Life was too short to wait for the object of my fascination to decide to approach me. And if I were turned down, well, there was always the next one.

I had a reputation for being a Don Juan, but I was about to be instructed by a master.

****

We went to a coffee house off campus, and Dr. Maia got us two coffees, black, no sugar. I wondered how he knew my preference.

His dark eyes gleamed as he raised his cup to sample the brew, and then he grimaced. "Ah, my young friend, someday you must come to Brazil as my guest, and you will sample *real* cafe!"

I studied the fragrant liquid in my cup, hesitant to let him see the desire that was sweeping through me. "I'd like that very much, senhor." I began to trace random patterns on the tabletop. "What did you wish to speak with me about, Dr. Maia?"

"Seu pai, your father, he disapproves of this trail of broken hearts you leave behind wherever you go. He wishes me to persuade you to change your ways."

The smile I tossed him was slightly bitter. "That is an old conversation between my father and I. He wishes me to give him grandchildren at some point."

"This is the hope of most parents."

"It will never happen. Did he by chance tell you that those broken hearts I've left behind all belong to the male of the species? That I have no desire to bed a woman?"

"To get a child, it is not necessary to love its mother," he remarked dispassionately.

"This is true, but it is necessary to *want* its mother, at least enough to achieve an erection." I shrugged. "For me, that is impossible."

"Ah!"

"And why did he choose you for this task, senhor?" Father would never permit such intimate family skeletons to be revealed to an outsider.

"We are very old friends, and I have a little experience in these matters myself. Although I prefer to take men to my bed, I have a number of children in Rio. It can be done."

"No!" I stood abruptly, my chair almost tipping over, and took some bills from my pocket to toss onto the table. "I told you, that is *not* an option for me! *Never*!"

Perhaps he saw how the knowledge of never fathering a child ate at my secret soul. Perhaps he was aware of how the weight of my father's disapproval was like acid on my emotions. Perhaps...

Perhaps, nothing. It was unimportant. I turned to leave, and the other man seized my wrist, pulling me to a sudden halt.

"I have completed the commission your father set out for me. You will do as you will, being true to yourself." Dr. Maia turned over my restless hand, his fingertips caressing the thin skin above my pulse, which rocketed out of control. "Now I may speak for myself. Am I being presumptuous in thinking I might persuade you to consider taking an old man such as myself into your bed?"

My lips parted and my cock became rigid. I dropped back into my seat and moaned softly, a sound that only he was close enough to hear. "You are not an old man, senhor. And truthfully, I would like nothing better. But then you would fall in love with me, and when I couldn't love you back you would fail me!"

"Quite the cock of the walk, aren't you, young David?"

"That does sound conceited. Perdoe-me, senhor. Pardon me." I rose once more to take my leave of the suave Brazilian, but his next words shocked me to immobility.

"You overlook one simple fact, young man. I am merely a visiting lecturer; my course is not graded. And I promise you, if I am so foolish as to fall in love with you, I will not hold you responsible."

Of course he would. I had learned that the first time I let a lover sink himself into my willing body. I had liked it, but not to the point that I would commit to a monogamous relationship.

But I wanted him. And I never denied myself a body I wanted.

"Very well, senhor. Your place, or mine?"

His teeth flashed in a blinding grin. "Perhaps you know of someplace else, caro. It would not be wise for me to be seen with such a charming young man in my rooms on campus, or in yours."

Of course. It was imperative to be discreet. "If you'll come with me?"

"Oh, yes, David. And you will come with me!"

****

We entered the room, and I found myself being kissed by the Brazilian. His mouth was lush and soft, at odds with his hard embrace. The heavy weight of his cock pressed toward my groin, and my own arousal grew.

He stripped off his shirt and opened his trousers, freeing the thick bulk of his cock. Dr. Maia's body, unlike that of all my previous lovers, was starting to relax into middle age. The hairs on his chest were shot through with silver strands which had not yet reached his head. Crow's feet defined the outer corners of his eyes, while deeply etched lines bracketed his mouth.

His hands were all over my body, searching out the erogenous points that would have me a whimpering mass in his arms. He pulled my polo shirt up over my head, keeping my arms trapped there in its confines. I bit my lip to stifle a groan as his fingertips threaded through the fine hairs of my underarms, and he tugged gently at them.

When the other man let my arms drop behind my back, he became busy with the button that fastened my slacks, letting the backs of his fingers graze over the hardness hidden by the material.

He unzipped my trousers and let them slide to my feet. "Sit, David!" he ordered hoarsely, and I dropped down onto the bed. Dr. Maia got my shoes and socks off, and then my pants. He pushed my knees apart, and settled himself between them.

I had never had a lover who restrained me before, and I was unbelievably aroused. I found my cock straining toward his mouth. The Brazilian probed the slit with his tongue, then lapped at the clear bead of precome pearling at the tip.

Breath was whining between my lips and I struggled to keep my eyes opened, needing to watch him do this to me.

"Do you like this, caro?" he asked, the warmth of his breath washing over the moist head of my cock. Dumbly, I nodded my head, and he gave a quiet huff of laughter. He rose and stretched forward, leaving me nowhere to go but backwards onto the bed. The rough material of his trousers abraded the skin of my hips and thighs.

"Please!" I moaned, rocking up to deepen the sensation.

Dr. Maia angled my thighs over his shoulders and leaned down to take my mouth in a kiss that mimicked the act we would soon be engaged in. As his tongue thrust in and out of my mouth, his slick fingers searched for my hole, circling it and driving me wild with tentative dips past the tight ring of muscle.

Still restrained, I was mindlessly enjoying what he was doing to me, and I would have hovered on the brink of orgasm for as long as he permitted. For it was he who was controlling everything I felt. But then he removed his fingers and replaced them with the broad head of his cock, sliding deep into me.

My lover wrapped his hand around my dick, and began to jerk me off as he plunged into my passage again and again. His mouth fed on mine, and before I realized what he was doing, he slammed into a powerful orgasm, filling my tight channel with his heat, and triggering my own climax.

He sank down on me, letting my legs slide off his shoulders, and with a satisfied groan, he tried to pull me into an embrace. Casually, I slid away from him and shook my arms free of my shirt.

"That was wonderful, Dr. Maia. Thank you."

He chuckled. "Perhaps you should call me 'Carl', David?"

"Of course," I murmured as I walked into the adjoining bath to clean myself off and return with a washcloth for the Doctor. But I would not call him by his first name.

"Spend the day with me, David."

I picked up my clothes and started dressing. "I must return to the campus. There's a paper I have to finish." He was easily the best lover I had ever had: on a scale of one to ten ranking at least a nine. But if I allowed him to sleep with me in his arms...

He waited until I had my hand on the doorknob. "What are you afraid of, David?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, senhor." This was becoming too personal.

"I think you do. I think you're afraid, not that I will fall in love with you, but that you will fall in love with me!"

I turned to give him a brilliant smile. Fortunately, the room was growing dim, and he could not see that it didn't reach my eyes. "Adeus, caro."

I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, trying to steady my breathing. No. I would never fall in love.

Not with him.

Not with anyone.

Written on the Land
Part 2

"Dr. Reed?" My secretary hovered in the doorway to my office.

"Yes, Gwen?" I asked distractedly as I dug through all the papers scattered across my desk, desperately searching for what I would need to present my speech to a group of businessmen, in hopes of obtaining funding for a pet project. "Goddammit! Do you know where I put the..."

Calmly she approached my desk, slid aside a stack of textbooks and dangled my notes from her thumb and forefinger. I grabbed them, then dropped them abruptly back onto the flat surface.

I pressed my fingertips into my scalp, massaging the increasingly irritating sensation that tickled my brain.

"That odd feeling again, boss? Maybe you should go for an x-ray, or something."

"Wouldn't do any good, Gwen. Soft tissue, remember? Won't radiograph. Besides, can you see me explaining that to a doctor? 'Y'see, Doc, my brain itches!'"

The sensation vanished as suddenly as it came and I sighed in relief, but it was not long lived. I still faced the prospect of that speech I had to deliver.

My bowels felt as if they had turned to water. My mouth was so dry the Sahara was a rainforest in comparison.

"Why do I let myself get talked into stuff like this?" I asked rhetorically.

"We need the dough, boss!"

I ran my hand through my hair and straightened my tie. "Am I presentable?"

"Oh, yes! You're *very* presentable!" The warm, masculine tones had me spinning around.

"Sorry, boss. This is Dr. Mark Williams from the Oceanographic Institute at Port Jefferson. Who was supposed to wait in the outer office!"

"Actually, I deal with public relations and fund raising there." He grinned, ignoring my secretary, and extended his hand.

As his fingers closed over mine, I licked my lips and smiled back at him.

"I told him he needed to make an appointment but..."

"That's all right, Gwen." I couldn't take my eyes off the other man. "You wanted to see *me*?" A few inches taller than my five foot eleven. Blond. Tempting. "Sorry, but I'm really short on time today!" I ran my gaze over his body regretfully and licked my lips again, wondering what he would taste like. He smiled in return.

"No, *I'm* sorry. I won't be in town long, and I really wanted to meet you, to meet *with* you. I'm staying at the Ritz-Carlton downtown. Perhaps we can get together and have drinks afterwards?"

"Afterwards?" Hell. There was that presentation to be gotten through. "Yes, of course. I'd like nothing better. If I can manage to survive this!"

"Boss, you'll be great. You always are!"

I scowled at my secretary. "Yeah, but my father isn't always in the audience!" I gathered up my notes and gave one last tug to my suit jacket. I couldn't resist a final glance at the stranger in my office. Those blue eyes regarded me with ill-concealed interest. "Why don't you find something to amuse yourself until I can get back to you?" I closed my eyes in mortification. That was a really smart come-on.

But then the blond grinned wickedly. "Count on it!"

****

I stacked the pages on the podium, clasped my hands together, and leaned forward, scanning the faces of the men assembled before me, making sure I made eye contact with the ones I had selected at the outset. This informed them that it was personal to me, not just business. And it demonstrated how very much in earnest I was about my topic.

My mentor for my dissertation had highly recommended this method of connecting with my audience.

However, I avoided that spot in a back row where Father sat, sure I would lose my concentration if I looked at him.

But down in the center was someone who drew my eye back to him again and again. Not quite my usual type, he was a green-eyed brunet. The expression on his face clearly said, 'I want to fuck you, long and hard and right through the mattress!' I moistened my lips, wondering if he would linger behind when my presentation was done.

"In conclusion, let me just say this: we are depleting our natural resources at an alarming rate. One day, in the not too distant future, mankind will need to look to the stars for our very survival. Many of the planets will not be hospitable." I thought of the worlds I had imagined as a child, and how very hostile some of them had appeared. "What we learn from the creatures who have survived through the millennia here on Earth can well insure our survival as a species. Thank you."

I searched for that one familiar face, but Father must have slipped out while I was concentrating on the opposite side of the hall. My shoulders slumped; I'd disappointed him again.

Leaving my notes behind, I stepped down from the stage to meet with the men who would decide whether it was financially worth their while to back my latest project.

Mostly I got, "This is very intriguing; we'll look over the figures and get back to you."

But that one representative, that green-eyed siren, lingered after all the others had left. I retrieved my papers and crossed the floor to the door. "Was there anything else I could tell you that might weigh your response in my favor?"

He reached out to stroke the lapel of my jacket, gazing at me under his lashes. "Nice suit," he murmured, sliding his fingers between the buttons of my shirt. Those clever fingers searched for my nipples, and his nails scraped across them. I completely forgot about the scientist I was supposed to have drinks with and found myself growing hard. It had been a while, and despite his height and coloring, I decided I wouldn't mind getting laid by this man.

I ran my hand under the hair I had allowed to grow to reach my collar and flirtatiously flipped it through my fingers. "This old thing?" I teased. "Why, I only wear it when I don't want to impress anybody!"

"And what would you want to wear if you intended to impress me?"

I pursed my lips and pretended I had to give that serious thought. "Nothing?"

His smile became rapacious. "Are you part of the deal?"

I was mentally juggling my schedule so I could free up enough time to spend with this bit of sex on the hoof, and I wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying. "Excuse me?"

"Are you part of the deal?" he asked again. "If you are, if you're nice to me, I can guarantee you the financing you require."

"Just a second. You're saying that if I sleep with you, you'll get me the money?"

"Well, you wouldn't be sleeping, I can assure you!" he puffed arrogantly. "But sure. Make it worth my while, and you're on the next plane to Africa!"

Before I could punch his pretty nose, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and stepped into a punishing right cross.

"Thanks," I said shortly, barely glancing at the man who came to my rescue. "But that wasn't necessary. I can take care of myself." I stood above the son of a bitch who was searching frantically for a handkerchief to stem the tide of blood that gushed from his nose. When I finally thought I had myself under control, I squatted down beside him. He flinched from my glare. "You thought I would whore myself for this project?"

"Why not? Everyone knows you're easy, that you'll have sex with anybody!" he whined nasally. "Why not with me?"

"I'm *not* a whore! Just be thankful *I* didn't hit you."

"You? You couldn't punch your way out of a paper bag!"

"That may be, but I'm not in a paper bag. I would have hit you so hard I'd have done more than break that classic nose of yours!" I rose and started to walk away from him.

"You won't get a penny from my corporation! Not a fucking red cent!"

"Ask me if I care! Bastard!" I stalked out of the building, my hands clenched in fury at my side.

"Wait up!"

I snarled but strode on. Someone hurried after me, grabbed my arm, halted me. I rounded on whoever was trying to interfere with my departure, ready to take a swing at him.

"Hey! Take it easy! I'm on your side!" Blue eyes laughed at me.

It was the scientist from the Oceanographic Institute. He had been the one to knock down the green-eyed businessman. "Dr...Williams, is it? Well, I won't thank you again for interfering. I could have dealt with that cocksucker."

"Oooh! Testy, aren't we? I like that!"

I felt the angry heat rise in my cheeks. "You want to see how hard I can throw a punch?"

"Pax, Davey, pax!" He stepped closer, the tips of his shoes nudging mine. His hand caressed my upper arm, then traveled up to fondle my shoulder.

I looked from his hand to his eyes. "You know what they say? When a man has his hands on a woman's shoulder, it's because he really wants them on her breasts."

"You're not a woman." His smile was a promise of sex on satin sheets.

"No, I'm not. So tell me. Where do you want to place *your* hands?"

He brought his mouth close to mine, as if he intended to kiss me. "I want them all over your body! And I promise you, I won't do something as stupid as offering you money to do it!"

I studied his eyes thoughtfully, and he stepped close enough to me that his hip brushed against my groin, feeling the hardness imprisoned by my trousers. He cocked an eyebrow, and I nodded, making my decision. "Let's go back to your hotel, if you don't mind?"

"Certainly. I was about to suggest it myself!"

****

The phone rang just as he was entering me.

"Ignore it!" I ordered, pressing back on the length that was piercing me.

"Can't!" he gasped as he struggled to hold himself still. "I'm expecting an important phone call!"

"The front desk will take the message!" I squeezed my inner muscles to encourage him to start fucking me.

"It's too important!" He withdrew with a shudder, and I winced from the tiny pain. He snagged the phone. "Williams. Oh. Yes, he's right here, hold on please. It's for you!" He had the nerve to look unhappy about that.

"This is Dr. Reed. Gwen, what's wrong? What? Oh, my God, that's fantastic! No, don't do anything, I'll be right there!" Mark's hand ran over the back of my thigh to the curve of my ass. His fingers explored the crevice between my buttocks, searching for my slick hole while his other hand stroked himself to maintain his erection. "Um, on second thought, give me half an hour, all right? Thanks, Gwen, you're a jewel!"

As I replaced the receiver, Mark was urging me back onto my knees. He fit his cock to my opening and slid all the way in, until I could feel the wiry hair of his groin against the cheeks of my ass.

But I was too distracted to enjoy what he was doing, Gwen's news having been what I'd prayed for. I kept glancing at my watch, fretting as the minutes ticked by.

"Come on, baby. *Come* for me!"

Oh. That was what he was waiting for? I licked my palm and began stroking my cock and within a few minutes I was pouring hot semen over my fingers. Mark felt the ripples of my tight channel, which triggered his own orgasm.

As soon as I politely could, I rolled out of bed and retreated to the bathroom to clean myself off. I brought him a warm washcloth and then started to get dressed.

I stood before the mirror, knotting my tie, studiously avoiding the eyes of the man in the bed behind me.

"Do you really have to leave now?" Mark asked.

"Yes. Sorry." I smiled ruefully and shrugged, but I really wasn't sorry.

I was going to Africa to study lungfish!

And my father had been the one to provide the funds!

Written on the Land
Part 3

On my way to the airport, I found a note stuffed in my pocket. It was from Mark Williams, the scientist from the Oceanographic Institute at Port Jefferson, and someone I had gone to bed with once.

Which was par for my record: I never slept with anyone more than once.

The note said, "Look me up if you ever need a job. You're a good speaker, and an even better scientist! If I wasn't prettier, I might be jealous!" And he signed it with a sprawling 'M'.

I crumpled it and shoved it back in my pocket.

It wasn't Mark's fault he hadn't rocked my world. None of my lovers ever did. I came because of what *I* did to me, not because of what they did.

I put him out of my mind.

****

I was tired, hungry, and jet-lagged. And cranky. That nagging itch in my brain had gotten worse the further away from home we had flown, and I couldn't even escape it in sleep.

The man who was seated beside me on the flight to South Africa had no such problem. He had fallen asleep five minutes after the plane took off and spent the entire time with his head on my shoulder, drooling on me and snoring in my ear. And no matter how gently I moved his head, or how roughly I shoved it off me, it wound up back on the same spot.

And let's face it, there's only so much time you can spend in the lavatory. So I was not in the best of moods when we landed at Pretoria International Airport.

I picked up my luggage at baggage claim and looked for the transportation that was supposed to take me to my host's home.

A young man standing by the exit caught my attention, and my cock quivered to attention. Oh, yes! *Daddy buy me that*!

Suddenly I didn't feet quite so exhausted. Blond, blue-eyed, about three inches shorter than I. With a pouty mouth that was so fuckable I nearly swallowed my tongue.

And, I sighed as I observed him more closely, definitely too young. At least twelve years too young.

Besides, someone was supposed to meet me and drive me to the house where I would be staying.

But I kept glancing back at the pretty boy. He was flashing a hand-lettered sign at every older man who came out of the concourse, and it was obvious he was becoming impatient.

Casually, I strolled toward him, thinking that perhaps I would strike up a conversation, a simple conversation, while awaiting my ride. I caught his eye, blinked thoughtfully, than appeared to think better of approaching him. Dropping my suitcases beside me, I took a pack of cigarettes out of my inner pocket and made a production of shaking one loose and placing it between my lips.

Before I could reach for my matches, a lighter was flipped open and held before my cigarette. I gazed into eyes so blue they could rival the Caribbean, then cupped his hand between both of mine and drew it toward my mouth. I touched the tip of the cigarette to the flame and drew in a lungful of smoke.

"Thanks very much," I said, and blew some smoke from my mouth while letting the rest trickle through my nose.

"You're welcome very much. Are you waiting for someone?"

I nodded. "But my ride isn't here yet. Are you meeting someone?"

He nodded. "Some old fogey friend of my father." He thrust out a hand. "My name's Jack Halliwell, by the way."

"Halliwell?" I reached for the placard he was holding, and grinned wryly. "I'm David Reed."

He swallowed hard. "*You're* Dr. Reed?"

"Yes. I think *I'm* the old fogey you're waiting for, although it's my *father* who is your father's friend."

He blushed, and I wanted to caress that heat in his cheeks with my lips.

****

On the drive to his father's house, I learned that Jack was not quite as young as I thought him. For some reason, twenty-two to thirty is not quite as daunting as eighteen to thirty!

And he gave off signals letting me know he was definitely interested in ... knowing ... me. So I decided I'd just let him chase me as hard as he could.

Until I caught him.

His father was either oblivious or uncaring. He suggested his son assist me in any way that would be useful, and the young man's blue eyes flamed with desire.

We spent some time getting to know one another, and I gave him my standard warning against falling in love with me. He grinned cockily, took the cigarette out of my mouth and put it into his own, assuring me it would be quite the other way around.

I took the cigarette from his lips, snubbed it out in an ashtray and kissed him, but I wouldn't let him take me to bed. Not yet, anyway, and not in his father's house. He became petulant, but I ignored it.

This was a time for work, and I needed to meet with my colleagues from the University. They were quite likable and extremely helpful. Quite often I passed long, interesting days closeted with them, examining their findings, and comparing them with mine.

Jack was unhappy about the amount of time I spent away from him. That pouty mouth should have been a dead giveaway, but again I ignored it, absently patting his cheek.

As his father's only son, indeed, his only child, Jack Halliwell had never been denied anything. He let me know, in no uncertain terms, that he wanted me *now*, and if I didn't accommodate him, he would find someone who would.

I shrugged casually and went back to studying a monograph on the mating habits of the African lungfish. "If that's how you want it, Jack. My career means more to me than a spoiled boy."

There was nothing like a little passive aggression. I ignored him for the next few days, spending the hours at the University and making day trips to a riverbank that was known to harbor lungfish.

Fascinating creatures!

On the morning of the fourth day, while I was breakfasting, he came into the room sulkily. "I want you in my bed, David."

I raised an eyebrow and regarded him dispassionately. "Is there a reason why I should cater to what you want, Jack?" Here was a boy who definitely needed to learn that he could not have everything he wanted, when he wanted it.

He worried that plump lower lip between his perfect white teeth, and I could suddenly understand why his father had so willingly pandered to his every desire. "I'm sorry, David." His eyes were a vibrant blue, watching me through his lashes. "I just want you so much! Let me prove to you I'm not a spoiled boy. Let me spend today with you."

"I'm going to the Apies River, Jack."

He ran his finger over the breast pocket of my shirt, unerringly finding my nipple. "Please, David?"

****

I had been searching along that riverbank for burrowed nests of the lungfish, and I was hoping I might finally get to see one hatching out. But it wasn't going to be that day.

Which was just as well, since Jack was proving too tempting for my own good, and he so obviously thought he could make me fall in love with him.

He was going to fail, but I wasn't about to turn down the opportunity for some hot, sweaty sex when it arose.

It was late morning when the younger man finally made his move. The other members of our party had returned to the University and we were alone. He pushed me back against a River Bushwillow and fastened his mouth on the pulse that was beating erratically in my throat. "I've always wanted an older man!" he muttered hoarsely. His fingers made quick work of the buttons of my shirt and walking shorts, which slid off my hips.

Jack pressed on my shoulders, and then he went down on me as I sat with my legs sprawled and my shorts around my ankles, his lips stretched wide over the flushed head of my cock. His tongue teased the vein on the underside of my shaft, and then probed the weeping slit, humming with satisfaction as I moaned and thrust up gently into his mouth.

Jack's fingers slid past my balls and searched for my hole, dipping past the snug muscle and stretching me. With a gasp I came, spilling myself down his thirsty throat.

"My turn now, David," he murmured as he shared my taste with me, thrusting his tongue deep into my mouth. Jack had a tube of lubricant in his pocket and pulled it out with a flourish. I stripped off my clothes while he opened his shorts and his quivering erection sprang free. My lover coated his dick with the slick stuff, which smelled faintly of coconut, and smeared some over my hole and into me.

Leaning back against the trunk of the tree, he had me straddle him, then pulled me close to his chest and braced my back with his legs. Crouching over him, I parted my cheeks and lowered myself onto his cock slowly. I felt the burn as he breached my opening. My weight forced me down on his entire length, and when I had him completely engulfed, he rocked his hips up roughly, trying to bury himself even deeper.

My cock was caught between his groin and mine, and the rough hairs tormented it. I drew in a deep breath and flexed my thighs, rising up and then sinking back down, letting him fill me again and again.

The humid heat was oppressive, and I was panting heavily. Sweat dripped from my hairline along the curve of my cheekbones. It rolled across my pectorals and matted the dusting of hairs that covered my chest.

Just as it was becoming too uncomfortable for me to maintain my position, he moaned and took my mouth in a deep, voracious kiss, sucking vigorously on my tongue. And I could feel the heat of his climax filling me.

When he finally slid out of me, I slumped bonelessly to the sandy bank and groaned, "I just want to sleep a million years!"

He raised the hair off the back of my neck and planted a kiss there. "Go ahead, love. I'll take a dip and then come get you."

****

Only he didn't.

Stupidity compounded upon stupidity.

I let him have me beside that benighted river and then fell asleep. By the time he returned to awaken me, I was suffering from heat stroke as well as severe sunburn. Even my cock was a bright, painful red.

Jack got me to hospital, castigating himself for losing track of the time and repeating over and over how much he loved me. I tried to say I had warned him about falling in love with me, but my lips were too badly blistered to speak clearly.

Once at the hospital, I was whisked to a private room where the electrolytes I had lost were replaced with IV fluids, and they smeared creams and unguents over the worst of my burns. I spent ten and a half of the most miserable days of my life in that white, sterile room. And it was not merely because I was in physical discomfort.

Jack Halliwell felt that because he loved me, or rather, *thought* he loved me, then certainly *I* had to love him back. He brought me flowers and boxes of chocolates, and sat at the side of my bed trying to hold my hand or stroke some part of my body that wasn't blistered or peeling.

"I'm sorry, love! I'm so fucking sorry!" He was pressing kisses to my palm, and tears dripped onto my hand.

"Not your fault, Jack," I lied. I was extremely emotionally distressed.

"Yes, it was! I left you on purpose!"

I didn't know that. Spoiled, I could understand, but this...? I wondered what kind of person had I gotten myself involved with.

He continued as if unaware of my uneasy silence. "I know how dangerous the midday sun is. I knew you'd get burned but I didn't realize how badly, I swear it! I wanted to punish you for leaving me alone. You were right, and I am a spoiled bastard, but I promise you I'll never hurt you again! I just love you so much!"

Were his statements a little too vehement?

A nurse walked in at that moment, and 'tsked' at Jack's swollen eyes and reddened nose.

"Here now, sir. This isn't good for either of you! Go on home, and get some sleep. Your friend will still be here when you come back!"

That's what she thought.

Jack gave a watery smile and leaned forward to kiss me. I turned my face, and his lips grazed the corner of my mouth. "I'll see you tomorrow, love." He tugged gently at my hair and then walked out of the room backwards, never taking his eyes from me, forcing one last wobbly smile.

"What a nice young man."

I ignored the nurse's words. "When can I get out of here?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I need to go home. When can I expect to be released?"

"Well...well...you'll have to discuss that with your doctor."

"Get him in here. And until I leave, I don't want that young man allowed in my room again!"

Written on the Land
Part 4

I crossed the tarmac of the airport to the terminal where Gwen Castle was waiting for me.

Gwen was more than just my secretary. She was a confidante and a friend.

She took one look at my face and snatched my briefcase from my hand. "Baggage claim is this way, boss."

We walked in the direction to which she pointed in silence. I could feel her stealing brief glances at my face. I should have been used to it, but I wasn't. I had drawn stares since I had walked out of the hospital against the doctor's orders.

It would take days before the violent red of the sunburn subsided.

"Is it painful, boss?"

I gave her an affronted look.

"Stupid question. Of course it's painful. Sorry." She stole another peek. "Um, I have a message from your father."

"My father is aware that I left Africa?" I laughed shortly. "Sorry. My turn to ask a stupid question. Of course he'd be aware. It was his best friend's son I fucked."

I usually tried to keep my sexual orientation out of the office. She winced at my language.

"Sorry again, Gwen. Okay, let me have it."

"Uh, it's verbal, boss."

Oh. Well, it couldn't be too vitriolic if he was having someone, and a woman at that, repeat it out loud.

Then again...

****

I stood outside the house where my parents lived.

Normally, if I had received a message such as my father had seen fit to pass on through my secretary, I would have severed all ties without a second thought. But it was just so wrong that I be banished from my family because of a spoiled boy who lived on the other side of the world.

I squared my shoulders, moistened my lips and climbed the shallow steps to the front door. It was locked, which wasn't so unusual. However, when I tried to insert my key, I found it wouldn't work.

My fist clenched on the key, the metal biting into my palm, and I leaned my head against the door. Father certainly wasn't pulling any punches this time. I straightened and gently pressed the door chime.

"David." Mother blocked my entry into the house. Her eyes widened as she took in the reddened skin of my face. "He doesn't want to see you."

"I gathered as much, Mother. Why?"

She looked dumbfounded. "You have the audacity to ask 'why' after what you did?"

"It was nothing more than I've done before. What got him so upset this time?"

Her velvet brown eyes, so like the ones I saw each time I looked in a mirror, were chill. "Jack Halliwell had to be hospitalized."

"What? Why?" Jack had been fine, physically if not emotionally, when I had left Pretoria.

"It seems he fell asleep after you were done with him. You left him out in the South African sun, and he nearly died from sunstroke!"

"That's not true! *I* was the one in the hospital!"

Mother must have realized I couldn't very well lie about something like that; my face still bore the brunt of my sunburn. She looked suddenly uneasy. "Your father received a wire from John Halliwell."

"Of course. He'd believe someone else over his own son. Did he look into it to see if that telegram originated from Dr. Halliwell?"

"No. There was no need to doubt his oldest friend..."

"Tell me something, Mother." I grappled with the key on my ring. "If I wasn't gay, would he have been quite so willing to believe I would do something that vicious? Would he ever take my word over anyone else's?" Her lips pressed tightly together, her eyes miserable. "No, I didn't think so."

"David!"

"And what of you, Mother? Do you really think I'm capable of something that irresponsible?"

She looked away, unable to meet my eyes, and it was like a physical blow. Now I truly was alone.

//Never alone, my precious one.//

Where had that thought come from?

I shook my head and dismissed it. I had more serious problems to contend with. "Just so you know, Mother, *I* was the one left in the sun. *I* was the one who spent ten days in the hospital!"

I handed her the key.

"This doesn't work anymore!" she told me numbly, unable to tear her eyes from the livid skin of my face.

"I'm aware of that. I just thought you'd like to have it accounted for." I turned away from her and walked slowly down the steps. "If you need to get in touch with me..."

"You no longer have a position at the University!"

"No, I don't, do I?" Father's message had also taken great pleasure in mentioning that he had gone to the Dean and requested my job be terminated. That had hurt almost as badly as the fact that he was so ready to believe I could behave so despicably. "Gwen Castle, my former secretary, will know how to get in touch with me. Good-bye, Mother. Tell Father..." My voice started to crack, and I paused to draw a steadying breath. "Tell him I'm sorry I was never able to be what he wanted; what either of you wanted."

//But you are what I have always wanted.//

"What did you say, Mother?"

****

"Mother?" I mumbled. "What did you say?"

A patient hand on my shoulder shook me awake. "I'm *not* your mother, sleeping beauty, and I'd appreciate it if you'd stop drooling on me!"

"What?" I blinked eyes that were sandy from sleep, and I heard him catch his breath as he looked into them.

"Why is it I always get the drunk ones?" His voice dropped to an undertone. "And why is it this one is so fucking cute? Will you wake up, petunia? We're about to land!"

I struggled to sit up in my seat, my gut clutching in relief as I realized that it had been that recurring nightmare, that my father hadn't disowned me, that I was still had a job I loved.

I also realized that I was rock hard from that last whispered message in my dream. That voice was so familiar, like a scent that I could almost identify. I smoothed my hair and straightened my jacket, then obeyed the stewardess' request to fasten my seatbelt.

"Sorry." I murmured a sheepish apology to the man who sat next to me. "I don't usually fall asleep on transatlantic flights."

"Yeah, well, don't let it happen again, sweet pea." There was a chuckle in his voice.

"Actually, it wasn't alcohol, it was painkillers."

I could feel him observing my sunburnt face. "So, what did you do? Fall asleep in the sun?"

"Yes." I left it at that. I wasn't about to mention that I had been stupid enough to trust an amoral young man with whom I had just had sex to see that I wasn't burned to a cinder.

"Tough break. Too bad you're in pain." He walked his fingers over the back of my hand as it rested on my lap. "It might have been fun if we could have spent some time together after we landed in New York."

I looked him over carefully, and then gave him a relaxed grin. "I'm never in that much pain, blue eyes! I've got a couple of hours before my connecting flight is scheduled to depart."

His eyes began to glow. "I know the perfect place!"

The plane had just finished taxiing to the gate, and we were able to unfasten our seatbelts. My seatmate stepped into the aisle and stretched, then moved back so that I could have some space to stand in front of him. The aisle became so crowded that he was forced extremely close to me.

Concealed by the crush, his hands slid under my jacket and fondled my ass. I braced my legs apart for better balance, and those talented fingers wandered down to stroke my balls, before trying to find my hole through the material of my trousers. I could feel every movement of his fingers, and I glanced over my shoulder at him, smiling to let him know I was enjoying his efforts.

Blue eyes, blond hair, and closer to my own age this time. Definitely much better.

****

Gwen was waiting for me when I deplaned for the last time. I crossed the lobby of the terminal, noticeably limping.

My latest lover had been a bit larger than I was used to, and I was still sore.

"Wow, you look awful, boss!"

"Thanks, Gwen. I love you, too!"

She grinned and led me to baggage claim. "Got a message from your father."

I stopped abruptly as all the blood drained from my face. Had that nightmare been prophetic? "What did he say?"

She handed me a folded piece of paper. "I don't read other people's memos." My eyes flew up to examine her expression. Gwen looked unconcerned.

While waiting for my luggage to come around on the carousel, I opened the note and began to read in growing disbelief.

"What's up, boss?" Gwen asked as she snagged the first of my suitcases and swung it to her side.

"Father says he's had an urgent telegram from Carl Maia."

"Dr. Maia? The Brazilian archeologist?"

"Yes. He's found something really unusual, and apparently he needs an expert on lungfish."

"You?"

I nodded. "Father will explain everything when he sees me. He wants me to have dinner with him and Mother at seven tonight."

"Well, that should give you time enough to get home and unpack. Will you need a ride later?" We went out into the warm afternoon sun.

"Thanks, Gwen, that won't be necessary. Besides, if they see you with me too frequently, it will only get their hopes up. And as nice a girl as you are, you're really not my type," I added apologetically.

"I know, boss. Wrong plumbing. For which I am eternally grateful. You go through lovers the way I do Kleenex!" She got into the driver's side and I closed the door behind her. When I was settled in, she turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking spot. "What's it like, David?"

She only called me David when she wanted me to know she expected a straightforward answer. "What's what like, Gwen?"

"Having a little black book that rivals the New York City White Pages?"

It was lonely as hell. "Oh, you're exaggerating, Gwen."

"Am I? Well, you're not going to insult my intelligence by telling me you were limping when you got off that plane because you had a cramp in your leg, are you?"

"No, no cramp, Gwen."

"Another notch in your little black book." She sighed. "Why are you so afraid to let anyone get close to you, David?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, having sex entails letting someone get *very* close."

"And that's another thing. You always have sex, never make love. Why, David?"

"Sex, love, it's all the same thing, an itch that needs to be scratched."

"If that's how you view it, then I really feel sorry for you, David. You're missing out on one of the greatest experiences in life."

"I doubt that. Forget it, Gwen; I really don't want to be having this conversation."

"All right, boss. But if you ever change your mind..." She pulled up in front of my apartment building.

"You'll be the first to know, I promise." I kissed her cheek and climbed out of the car, getting my suitcases from the back seat. "I'll see you in the office on Monday."

She waved and pulled away.

I let myself into my building and entered the elevator, mentally going through the suits in my closet, trying to decide on which one to wear.

****

It was with great trepidation that I approached the front door of my father's house, but thankfully my key worked.

Mother entered the foyer as I closed the door behind me. She crossed the floor, her hands held out to me. I clasped them in my own hands and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. Her velvet brown eyes searched my sunburned face, and then she embraced me.

"Um, is something wrong, Mother?"

Her eyes were misty. "Nothing is wrong, David. You're my son, and I love you."

Now I *knew* something was wrong. "Is Father all right?"

She smiled and gently patted my cheek. "He'll tell you all about it, David. I was just about to see if dinner was ready yet."

I stood in the hall, staring after her, feeling as if I had suddenly tumbled down the rabbit hole.

"David? Is that you?"

"Yes, sir." I entered the study and found him standing before the fireplace, a glass of sherry in his hand. He set it on the mantle. "I got your message, Father. What..."

Before I could finish my question, he came to my side and put his hands on my shoulders. His black hair was threaded with silver now, but he carried himself erectly, and I still had to tilt my head back slightly to look into his deep blue eyes. Tenderly he touched the patch of skin on my forehead that was peeling.

"Father?" I was becoming really frightened.

He pulled a telegram from his pocket and handed it to me. A sick feeling settled in my stomach. "What is this?"

"This..." he swallowed hard, "is a brief report from the hospital in Pretoria. Oh, my God, David! We nearly lost you!" His arms came around me and he hugged me to him.

"I'm...I'm sorry, sir." I didn't know what to say to him.

His laugh was a broken sound. "I've never approved of your lifestyle, David. I've never understood it. But you're my son, and I love you. I may not have always shown it, I know I never said it enough, but...your mother and I love you very much. And if we feel the need to hear the pitter patter of little feet..."

I closed my eyes in pain, knowing my parents would never have the grandchildren they craved through me.

"We'll just get a puppy!"

Written on the Land
Part 5

Dr. Maia met me at the airport in Rio de Janeiro. I was afraid that, given our past history, things might be a little tricky between us, but Carl had the Continental attitude toward sex. It had been a pleasant interlude, but now it was time to get on with business.

And although I was relieved to be spared a confrontation, I was also a little hurt that it hadn't meant more to him than that.

//It will be more than that between us, little one.//

I looked around uneasily, but no one was talking to me. I drew in a deep breath. While that annoying itch in my brain had almost vanished, these episodes were becoming more and more frequent, until I felt as if that damned voice had taken up residence in my mind.

There was a name for someone who heard voices in his head. I bit down hard on my lip and resolutely shoved the thought away.

Dr. Maia strode up to me and wrapped me in a bear hug. "David! How wonderful to see you again after all this time! Como sao voce? How are you? I have been following your career with great interest, and I am so proud of what you have accomplished!"

"Thank you, Dr. Maia." I returned his hug gingerly, a little shocked by his appearance. Although it had been ten years since I last saw him, his hair was now pure white, and he looked his sixty years. "That's very kind of you."

"Nonsense, my boy!" He examined me carefully. "Are you all right?"

I touched my forehead, where the last of my sunburn was fading.

"No. No, not that. Your eyes...they look..."

I forced a laugh. "Too many flights in too short a period of time, senhor."

He accepted my explanation. "Come. Let us go to my apartment here in the city. You can freshen up, and then I will take you out for that Brazilian cafe I promised you."

"That would be very nice, thank you."

"Carro."

I stiffened. Did he want me in his bed again? "Dr. Maia?"

"Carro, David. This is my automobile. If you will get in?"

I smiled weakly and got settled in the passenger seat. He put my suitcase in the boot and got in beside me.

With a broad grin, he stamped down on the accelerator and shot out of his parking spot, not even looking to see if the way was clear. I gulped and slid down into my seat.

"My lover is away right now." The archeologist was chatting casually, his eyes more on my face than the road before him.

"T-truly, Dr. Maia?" I gripped the seat with one hand and braced the other against the dash.

"Carl, please, David. We are such old friends, yes?"

My eyes darted frantically from his to the road, and I bit my lip to stifle a moan.

"Ah, my Rinaldo, he is muito macho! Very male!" His car was drifting to the opposite side of the road. "*Tolo*! *Idiota*!" he shouted over his shoulder at the hapless driver who swerved just in time to avoid a collision. "These streets are filled with fools and idiots!" Dr. Maia grumbled petulantly.

I tightened my sphincters, desperate to avoid a childish accident, which seemed imminent at any moment.

"Now, about what were we speaking? Ah yes, Rinaldo! He is a Spaniard, you know. Very hot blooded. Very jealous!" There was pride in that last remark.

"Will--will I meet him, Carl?"

His little vehicle darted into a parking space that almost seemed too small for it, and he turned off the ignition and bounced energetically out of the car.

I, on the other hand, got out a section of body at a time. First my legs, then my hips, followed by my torso and then finally the rest of me. I stood swaying for a minute, giving the archeologist a sickly grin.

"No, Rinaldo is out of the country just now. Perhaps another time. Come, my friend. Come." He escorted me into his apartment, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

I'd definitely make sure that wherever we went for that coffee was within walking distance.

****

We were only in Rio for a day or so, just long enough for me to get my bearings. Then we left for the Institute.

A small prop plane took us north, to the Instituto de Biologia de Maritima at Moragio Bay, which had its own minuscule airfield.

Dr. Maia showed me to the quarters where I would be staying until he could arrange for funding for his trip back upriver. I dropped off my suitcase, and then we walked out to the Bay, where I would meet with fellow scientists. Carl had hopes of enlisting them on this voyage.

A diving platform in the center of the bay rocked gently from the wash of the motorboats that brought divers onto and off of it. We were ferried to it by a swarthy man a few years younger than I, who eyed Dr. Maia coolly. I wondered if perhaps there was some sort of relationship there, but the Brazilian for once seemed to favor reticence.

Gently the skipper brought the boat into contact with the platform.

A curvaceous brunette undulated up out of the water, to sit on its edge. Her swimming partner had his hand on the wood beside her. She flipped off her mask and smiled down into his face.

"Tarde boa, meu amiga!" Dr. Maia called as we stepped out of our boat. "Good afternoon!"

She glanced over her shoulder, smiling at the compact Brazilian. "Carl! You're back!" She leaned forward to say something to her companion, then slid off the straps that held the oxygen tanks to her slim, hipless body and rose to join us.

"David, this is Dr. Kay Lawrence. She has been working at the Instituto for the past six months, and she is a treasure! I value her opinion highly! Kay, this is David Reed."

I took her hand. "Dr. Lawrence."

"Kay, please. I'm so thrilled to finally meet the man who wrote that incisive monograph on aestivation of lungfish!"

Not many people realized that these creatures had the ability to lie dormant in a mud tunnel lined with mucous for up to four years, although a few months during the dry season was far more likely. "You're too kind," I murmured.

She turned to the blond who was seating himself on the platform and stripping off his own underwater gear. Strong back, clean lines to lean hips. Definitely my usual type. I wondered why my interest wasn't beginning to stir.

"Sweetie?" she called. "Come meet Dr. Reed."

The blond rose to his feet and sauntered to where we stood, and I blinked rapidly to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It was Mark Williams, the scientist from the Oceanographic Institute.

"Dr. Reed and I already know each other, darling. Hello, David. How have you been? I was rather starting to think I'd have to come drag you down here personally!"

//You took *this* to your bed?//

I stared at him silently for a long moment before I was able to force words between my lips. "You're the last person I expected to see in South America, Mark."

"David, David, David!" he flirted. "Where are your manners? The correct way to greet an old friend is 'Hello, Mark, it's so nice to see you again!'"

A cautious smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. "'Hello, Mark,'" I parroted. "'It's so nice to see you again.'"

"You two know each other?" Kay didn't seem too happy about hearing that, and she wrapped her arms around the other man. I wondered about her reaction.

"Now, darling, you have no need to be jealous of David. We were just..." His smile became wry. "We were just ships that passed in the night." He turned his attention to the Brazilian. "So, what did you find, Dr. Maia? Kay refuses to tell me anything. She's such a spoil sport!" Mark circled his arm around her waist and drew her close enough to drop a kiss onto her shoulder, but his eyes were watching mine.

"Let us return to the Instituto, yes? Paul, we will be going back now," Carl informed the man who was behind the wheel. He urged us all into the boat. Conversation on the ride back was desultory, at best. He kept an eye on the skipper. "You still wish to come upriver, Paul?"

"Si, pai. I will be ready to leave when you are."

*Father*? Dr. Maia was this Paul's father? The young man caught me watching him and began to smile. His glance crawled over my body, and I looked hastily away, feeling almost...frightened.

Dr. Maia didn't notice the ravenous look his son was giving me. He was observing the other two occupants of the motorboat with interest. "When are you going to marry the girl, Mark?"

The blond grinned at him, forgetting for a moment that I was there. "As soon as she gets a raise and can keep me in the style to which I plan to become accustomed!"

"Did you know that Mark and Kay were engaged, David?" the archeologist asked. I wondered if he wanted to keep me out of Mark's bed for his own sake or for the woman's.

"No, I didn't know. Congratulations," I said. Mark looked torn, as if he had been hoping for a stronger reaction.

We had reached the dock and climbed out of the boat. The skipper and the archeologist exchanged gazes, filled with contempt on the part of the son, and regret on the part of the father.

Abruptly, Dr. Maia cleared his throat. "Come. I will show you what I have found. It is most interesting, I think. And I think you will find it so as well!"

We followed him into the laboratory where a number of other scientists waited with scant patience for Dr. Maia's find to be unveiled.

The archeologist removed a large, odd-shaped object and began to unwrap it.

It was the fossilized extremity of some type of creature, in extremely poor condition, having been exposed to the elements for too long.

"Pleistocene man, perhaps?" One of the other scientists prodded the elongated digits with their razor-like claws.

"No, this was some kind of amphibian. It spent a lot of time in the water, and going by the size of this specimen alone, it would have been extremely powerful!"

Dr. Maia beamed at me as if I was his prize student.

"Where did this come from, Carl?" Kay asked.

"This was all that was found in a limestone deposit dating back to the Devonian age. Perhaps the remainder of the creature is on the river bottom. At this point that is not so important."

I uttered a protest as I turned the bone turned to stone over in my hand. "This could well be the bridge between mammal and amphibian! Nature has tried a thousand ways to do this, and failed. Even lungfish proved to be a dead-end, and have not evolved since the first one developed lungs and shed its gills!"

The archeologist's eyes glittered. "I have something even more intriguing to show you!" This time he removed the package from a refrigeration compartment and was very careful in how he handled it.

Kay gave a gasp of shock. Mark made a sound of revulsion. And I just stared in amazement, wondering where I had seen something like that before.

//Nooooo!//

I was almost driven to my knees from the anguish that was in that mental howl. None of the others noticed my distress.

And then it was gone, and I realized how used I had grown to that presence in my mind.

And I suddenly remembered having felt that bereft once before in my life.

Shakily, I pulled myself together and stepped forward to observe the object that Dr. Maia was holding.

Greyish-green, scaled, it was ...a paw? a foot? an extremity? Whatever it was, it was easily twice the size of a large man's hand. Webbing joined the digits, four fingers and an opposable thumb. Buried within the flesh of the fingertips were retractable claws that could rival a velociraptor's in length and deadly sharpness.

I stroked a finger over the palm, whose scales were surprisingly soft and pliable, almost sensuous to the touch. I looked at Dr. Maia in confusion. "What species is this, Carl?"

He shook his head. "This is not my field of expertise, my young friend. I sent that telegram to your father as soon as I returned from my camp on the Amazon because I was rather hoping you might be able to help me with identifying that, David."

"Me?" I laughed shortly. "All I *can* tell you is that this is no lungfish. How did you come across this? And why is the joint so mangled?" I touched what I now saw would have been the wrist. The bone was jagged, as if it had been broken rather than sawed through, and the flesh and tendons were torn.

He sighed heavily and gave a fatalistic shrug. "My man, Tomas, came across the body. Normally, he is a good man, a steady man, but...He swore that creature was a demon whose powers could only be destroyed by rending it limb from limb."

I felt sick. "And the rest of its body?"

He gave another shrug. "Quem sabe? Who knows? He refused to tell me. I left Luis and Tomas to guard the camp and returned to the Instituto to gather more men. And to get a bigger boat. I need you to come with me on this expedition, David. This line of research is right up your alley. I am sure of it!"

Mark was now petting the specimen. I could almost see the dollar signs light up in his eyes, easily overcoming his distaste.

"Look at the structure of the fingers," Kay murmured, leaning against Mark. "Obviously for land use."

I wanted to tear the hand from the two of them. Instead, I struggled to keep my arms at my side.

"A find of any real importance can be of great financial value to us also," Mark was saying. "Forgive me if I sound more like a banker than a scientist, but I have to look at the practical side! It takes money to run an institute such as this."

"Mark." Kay tiptoed her fingers up his smooth-skinned chest. "Your board of governors can't disapprove." Their eyes were locked.

"They certainly can't! Dr. Maia." He reached across to shake the archeologist's hand. "You've got yourself an expedition!"

"Excellent, excellent!" Carl Maia said briskly, "David, you will come?"

//Little one, you *must* come!//

"What?" My head shot up, and I was flooded with relief. He was back; he hadn't left me again.

Again? I felt confused.

"I asked if you would come upriver with me, David."

"Of course, Carl. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The Brazilian rubbed his hands together. "Esplendido! Splendid! We'll leave for Manaus in the morning and from there take a boat upriver!"

Written on the Land
Part 6

"David!"

I paused as I was about to raise my cup of coffee to my lips. "Yes, Carl?"

"I wish to talk with you for a moment, my friend."

I nodded and took a sip of the rich Brazilian brew. If I ever returned to the States, I'd have to make sure I had a supply shipped in.

'If'? Of course I'd be returning home. I meant 'when'.

He looked around to be sure there wasn't anyone close enough to overhear us. "I must ask you to stay away from Paul."

"Your son." I felt heat rise in my cheeks and turned away from the older man. "Naturalmente, senhor. I understand your feelings in this matter completely, and I would not dream of offering his father's leavings to your son."

"Basta! You understand *nothing*, David! Paul is..." He ran his hand distractedly through his silver hair. "Paul can be very dangerous. His mother was a Paraguayan, who had hopes he would join the priesthood," he told me, as if that explained everything. "He has run with the selvagens, the wild ones, all his life, and takes great pleasure in hurting those he perceives to be weaker than he." Carl suddenly looked his sixty years.

"Senhor..."

Dr. Maia gripped my hand as it rested on his shoulder. "My son is, how do you say in English? He is a bad seed. And he knows that I have a fondness for you." He caught my glance of dismay. "Oh, not that one afternoon we whiled away an hour in bed. But he has heard me speak of you. You are what he is not: intelligent, handsome, successful."

"Carl, he is a very attractive man."

"It is true that he has a certain look about him. That is why I felt I must warn you away from him. His appearance is deceiving. He would eat you for breakfast!" He smiled ruefully at my aggrieved expression. "Yes, he would, David. Paul Sarone is my son, and I love him as much as anyone can, but he is a bad man! Beware of him!"

Something behind me drew his attention, and his eyes widened. He swore beneath his breath and hastened away.

I turned to see his son standing a few feet from me. I wondered if he had been close enough to overhear his father's warning.

Paul Sarone's lips twisted in a parody of a smile, and he let his eyes leisurely roam over my body. They were hot when they finally returned to tangle with mine. I shivered. I could have beaten him at this game, once. But since coming to South America I found I no longer had any desire to take one man after another to my bed.

I didn't want to cause trouble, however. I dropped my eyes and walked away, placing my cup on a table and leaving the dining room to go to my quarters.

The bathroom was down the hall. I showered quickly and returned to my room, thankful to see there was a key in the lock. I turned it and laid out my clothes for the next day, then got between the cool sheets.

I closed my eyes, but I kept seeing that poor, severed hand.

****

The waters of the Amazon team with life. Creatures dwell there, dependent on each other for survival. Species of fish hang just below the surface waiting for unwary insects. Small animals wander down to the water's edge to nibble the lush plants or quench their thirst, or become the meal of the deadly amphibians that bask on the banks in the remaining warmth of the late afternoon sun.

Abruptly, this particular part of the Amazon was abandoned with a flash of tails. The creatures that lived there knew danger when it approached.

The being arrowed swiftly through the murky, cloudy river, leaving barely a ripple behind to mark his race to a cavern which he had not visited in over twenty of this planet's years.

His eyes easily adjusted to the dim light, and he altered the angle of his descent. He sped to the depths, the ... fins on his feet providing the powerful strokes that were needed to propel him downward.

Ric'u could not believe what he had seen through his little one's eyes! How could the security of that cavern be breached?

He found the opening to the passageway that led to the cavern and flashed through it. Here and there he marked the changes to the limestone walls, the torches that were placed at intervals to light the way for the above ground dwellers, but he could barely spare a frown for it, even as his anger rose. When he had chosen this cavern as the final resting place for his chief engineer, it was because it had been in the deepest, most inaccessible part of the river.

The fury that his people had learned to control under threat of extermination was struggling to take over.

With an effortless stroke, he was out of the water and onto the shelf that held the remains of his chief engineer. //Nooooo!// He saw that his worst fear was realized.

The body had been yanked from stasis. The soft, pliant skin that Ric'u had loved to stroke had been peeled half off and left, as if the perpetrator of this vile act had been summoned away. Much of the body had been hacked and torn and strewn about the rocky ground. Ric'u had known that the hand seen through his little one's eyes could belong to no other creature than the D'ilian, but seeing this wanton desecration rocked him to the depths of his being.

His rage broke free, and with a roar that reverberated throughout the cavern and the underwater passage that led to it, he dove back into the water and swam strongly to the opening that would lead to the river and the world above.

~~~~

The two men left to guard the camp were in their tent for the night. A lantern swung from the center pole, casting a warm glow over the occupants. Luis was watching his friend with worried eyes. "Are you sure this was a wise idea, amigo? Dr. Maia will not be pleased when he discovers that you have done!"

Tomas sneered at the smaller man. "Dr. Maia will never find out what I have done. If you ever speak of this to anyone, I will cut your throat and pull your tongue out through the opening!"

Luis shivered. Although the archeologist had placed him in charge, he deferred as always to his stronger-willed friend. He was very uneasy, however. Since discovering the body of that...*thing*... the meia raca, the half-breed, had been acting more and more strangely.

"It was just bad luck that Dr. Maia found me with the hand and took it with him," Tomas scowled. "That foolish old man actually believed me when I gave that stupid excuse of hacking it off because I believed it was a demon!"

"I do not think this is a good thing to do, Tomas!" The smaller man bit off a jagged fingernail and spit it out.

There was a sound from outside the tent, but both men were too involved in their conversation to notice it.

Tomas grinned, revealing discolored teeth. "Tomorrow I go back down and remove the rest of that soft hide! I will get muito dinheiro, *much* money, you bet! And the rest of it I will offer to the ignorant campones. The peasants will think what I sell them will cure everything from bad lovemaking to bad luck!" He picked up the pale green flesh he had brought back up after the final dive of the day, and gestured obscenely toward Luis. "Bend over, amigo, and I will fuck you with demon cock!"

Luis grinned weakly at the half-breed and began to back away from him, not sure if his friend was serious or not.

Neither noticed how suddenly quiet it had grown outside the tent. The birds and animals that inhabited the jungle night had fallen silent.

The silence was shattered by a scream of outrage.

And then by screams of terror. And of agony.

****

I jerked awake, sweat and tears soaking the pillow beneath my head. I tried to wipe my cheeks with my hand, but I couldn't move it. Panic seared through me as I realized it was bound to the brass bedstead. My other hand was restrained as well, as were my legs, leaving me spread out in an X.

"You got a sweet ass, you know that, menino?" A calloused finger traced the crevice of my buttocks, then reached lower to stroke across my balls. I yanked futilely at the cords that bound me. "Yes, struggle, boy. That makes it all the better for me."

"Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?"

"I did not think you would know me, baby bird. I am someone you would never think of taking to your bed. But you took my father there, and so I will have you also."

"Paul? Paul Sarone? What do you know of my relationship with your father?"

Rough hands parted my cheeks and an intrusive finger probed the ring of muscle. "My father thinks because I did not choose to go to school, that I am stupid, and blind as well. But I have heard him speak of you, and I have seen how he regards you."

I tried to flinch away from the blunt invader, but the younger man laughed coarsely and I suddenly felt a moist tongue swipe across my opening. Confused by the conflicting sensations, I relaxed in spite of myself.

"You are a slut, David Reed!" Paul sneered. "You will spread yourself for anyone who has the right equipment between his thighs, yes?"

I groaned at the sharp sting as he shoved two fingers into me so hard that he drove me toward the head of the bed. Then he began to move them in my reluctant passage.

"You are not what I would prefer to take to my bed."

"Then why are you doing this to me?"

"I will take what my father had!"

He was hurting me, his nails scraping the delicate inner tissues, but I managed to grit through my teeth, "Your father *took* nothing! I gave to him willingly!"

The fingers withdrew brutally, and were replaced by something hard and blunt. With nothing to ease the way, I was certain to be torn at the very least.

I cast my mind outward toward my...friend, seeking whatever solace he might bring, only to find I had flung myself against a fury that burned with the fires of hell. I screamed aloud at the painful contact.

The door to my room was hurled open and Mark Williams stood there, silhouetted in the dim light of the hallway. "What the fuck? David?"

Paul Sarone growled as he rose to a crouch over me. "Leave us!" he ordered. He straightened to loom threateningly over the other man. "This baby bird is mine!"

Mark curled his lip. "I don't think so, amigo." He pointed something concealed in his bathrobe pocket at the younger man. "I'll shoot your fucking dick off!"

Swearing foully in what must have been his mother's tongue, I could just barely see as Paul Sarone got off me and tucked himself away, casual to the point of being insulting. He leaned close to my ear and fisted his hand in my hair, jerking my head painfully. "This is not finished between us, passaro do bebe!" he hissed.

He gave Mark a final, insolent glower and then sauntered out of my room.

I released the breath I hadn't even been aware I was holding. "Thank God you happened to pass by, Mark!"

"Are you okay, baby? Let me find something to cut you loose."

"There's a razor in my shaving kit," I told him, still shivering with reaction. He found it and started slicing at the thick cords.

"You should have locked your door, David. You're too sexy for your own good!"

"I did lock my door!" I rubbed the chaffed skin of my wrists. "I don't understand how he got in!"

Mark walked to the door and examined the lock. "Ah, these things are flimsy in the extreme. One good push and it was history!"

"Fuck!" I muttered, wincing a little as I sat up and my abused ass came into contact with the mattress. "How come you were up this time of night, Mark? Visiting Kay? I'm sorry, that's none of my business. I'm just thankful you were up. And that you carried a gun with you!"

"About that gun, baby..." He put his hand back in his pocket, and when he withdrew it this time, it was folded into a classic thumb up and forefinger extended. I burst into slightly hysterical laughter. "And as for Kay and I, well, we have an understanding of sorts. I won't touch her until we're married."

"Oh. That's sweet." I was surprised he was willing to do without sex for that period of time, and said as much.

"I'm not doing without sex; I just don't have sex with her. Actually, that's why I was coming to see you. I was hoping we could sleep together again. Of course, after what that bastard did to you, I expect you're too sore?" He sighed when I nodded, but smiled in resignation. "Perhaps when you're feeling better, then."

"Mark. I don't think so."

He sighed again. "I thought your reaction to me was rather cool; I was afraid there might be someone else." Fortunately, he didn't notice the startled look I sent his way. He started for the door. "Will you be all right here?"

I got stiffly to my feet. "Yes, thanks." I dragged a chair over. "Once you leave, I'll get this under the doorknob. That should keep Paul Sarone out of here."

"Are you sure you don't want to spend the night in my room? I promise you'll be safe." I shook my head, and he grinned. "Okay, try and get some sleep"

He squeezed my naked shoulder and walked out.

I wedged the chair beneath the doorknob and went back to bed.

Part 7

I came down to breakfast early, having found it impossible to fall asleep. I kept listening for someone to try his luck with my door.

Dr. Maia waved me to join him at his table, but seated beside him was his son.

Paul Sarone's eyes promised that he was not done with me. When I thought of the long journey upriver, and the time that would need to be spent at the site in his company, I shuddered.

I gave Carl a weak smile, and sat down at another table, joining Mark. "Jesus, you look like shit, David!" Mark commented.

"This is true, my friend." Dr. Maia had approached quietly, and I gave a nervous start. "You did not have a good night?"

"He had the worst night, Carl!" Mark said, sending a scowl across the room toward the younger man. "Your son likes to play rough, I think."

I kicked him under the table, and while I had the satisfaction of seeing him wince, it was too late. Dr. Maia studied my face with concern.

"What did Paul do?"

"I merely accepted what your friend was so clearly offering!" Sarone was standing at the end of the table.

"I offered you *nothing*!" I said in a low, tense voice.

His lip curled. "No, baby bird?"

I forced myself to relax. "Do you find it necessary to bind all your lovers to the bed, Sarone? Is that what you call 'offering'?"

"That's a lie!"

"Is it?" Mark had been speaking with Dr. Maia in an urgent undertone. "If I hadn't heard David cry out, you would have raped him!"

Dr. Maia looked defeated. "I have tried so hard with you, Paul."

The younger man's eyes became feral. "You take his word over mine? Over your own kin?"

"I know you, Paul. I know of what you are capable! I think it would be best for us all if you returned to Rio."

Paul Sarone threw the chair next to him to the floor and stormed out of the dining hall.

At that moment, Kay Lawrence came to the table with a cup of coffee and a plate of eggs. "Did I miss something?"

****

A small, six-passenger plane got us to Manaus. We boarded the boat that had been chartered for us.

The Rita was the most miserable excuse for a boat that I had ever seen. A beat-up old fishing trawler, she was hired out to anyone who wanted to charter her for a fishing trip or...other reasons.

It seemed that while Mark's board of governors approved of the expedition, they were only willing to go so far to fund it. And the Rita was the best he could manage.

We were sitting on the deck, watching the thick growth of the underbrush as we drifted past.

"You would think they could have provided us with something better than this barge!" Mark grumbled, glaring around at all of us. He was unhappy with the accommodations, with the heat, with the insects, which seemed intent on making a meal of him.

"I wasn't exactly expecting the Isle de France," Kay murmured. "But still..."

"Not too many skippers were willing to go as far upriver as we want to go," I informed him, trying to casually defuse his ill temper.

Captain Lucas came up from below decks in time to hear the complaints. He grinned, revealing the gap between his front teeth. "Why for I need a pretty boat to carry fish on this crazy river?"

He swaggered to the bow of the boat and seated himself behind the wheel. The skipper folded his hands over his belly and leaned back in his seat, competently nudging the wheel with his knee, steering the boat deeper and deeper up the never-ending river.

For long moments there were only the sounds of the jungle and the soft slap of the water as the Rita cut through it.

"I thought the Mississippi was amazing, but this...there are no words to describe it!" Kay said in awe.

I sat next to her. "The Amazon makes the Mississippi look like a winding brook. This hasn't changed in a hundred and fifty million years, the same flora, the same fauna. It's been this way since the dawn of the Devonian era."

"It sounds like the beginning of the world!"

Mark walked over, wedging himself between the two of us, touching us both. I stepped aside. "It is. Anteaters here are gigantic, with the strength of a bear! Centipedes are a foot long! And Amazonian rats are as big as a sheep!"

"Incredible!" Kay breathed.

"But you should see the catfish!" Lucas lit a cigarette and threw the match overboard. "They grow to be nine feet long! They're killers! Everything in this jungle, all killers!"

The captain stretched his arm up and with a brisk tug pulled the cord that sounded the boat's whistle. Animals on the bank fled into the brush, while crocodiles slid gracefully into the water and disappeared.

That was man for you: wherever he went he found it necessary to disturb the quiet flow of life.

****

Finally the trip neared its end. Lucas brought his boat into the tributary that flowed past Dr. Maia's base camp and jockeyed us as close to the shore as possible. The Rita didn't draw much water, but we would need to take the dinghy to get to land.

I suddenly had a sense of deja vu, of having been in this place before. It was so strong I shivered with it. Something very bad had happened here, I was positive of that fact!

"Tomas! Luis!" Dr. Maia called loudly. He was frowning. Clearly, he had expected them to meet the boat. "I gave my men orders that one was to stay in camp at all times! Lucas, sound the whistle again, por favor." The sound was forlorn in the sudden quiet of the jungle. Carl shouted again. "Tomas! Luis!"

Mark went down to his cabin and returned with a couple of rifles. "Let's anchor and take the row boat." He handed me one of the weapons. "Kay, stay here, please?"

"Mark, don't treat me like a...like a *woman*!"

"I'll stay with you, Kay," Dr. Thompson, a late addition to our party, offered with a grin. The biologist was clearly reluctant to set foot on land just yet.

"Please, angel. Just until we see what's going on," Mark begged her prettily.

She scowled at him and then shrugged. "Oh, very well. But don't think I can't take care of myself! Because I can!"

"Of course you can, darling." Mark snatched a kiss. He turned to hand me a rifle, his fingers sliding over mine, and got into the dinghy.

As Zee and Chico, Captain Lucas' disreputable crew, rowed us to the bank nearest the camp, I grew more and more uneasy. I had the sensation that eyes were upon us.

Dr. Maia and Mark discussed the best way to showcase the skeleton they hoped to find, *when* it was finally found and returned to the Instituto.

I heard them speaking, but it was just background noise. The shore had appeared to be shrouded in fog, and my eyes narrowed in a futile attempt to pierce the veil. It was only as we got closer, and the wind changed, that I realized it was smoke.

"Jesus!" The bank was a burning ruin.

"Matriz do deus!" Carl breathed. "Mother of God! All our supplies were stored here! What could have happened?"

Lucas spotted a safe place to land a short distance from the destruction and steered the boat toward it. "Perhaps they were playing with matches, senhor, and this is why they do not answer!" His attempt at humor was like whistling in the dark.

He stepped onto the bank and found a limb to tie the boat to.

"They would never be that careless!" Dr. Maia exclaimed. He jumped from the dinghy and lost his balance, going down to one knee. I caught him before he could fall completely. "Thank you, David."

He signaled me to come with him, and we hurried on ahead, anxious to see the condition of his base camp. When we were out of sight of the others, he touched my arm and brought me to a halt.

"I am sorry for what my son did to you, David." He looked everywhere but in my eye. "To say that Paul has always been difficult is a vast understatement. I was afraid he might cause problems on this journey, but I never dreamed he would try to assault you."

Now I was the one who couldn't meet his eyes. "Some men would feel it was just retribution, Dr. Maia."

He grasped my shoulders and gave me a shake. "Why? Because you enjoyed a variety of partners? David, you are speaking foolishness."

"Am I?" Lately, I had started to feel that the things I'd done, the men I'd taken into my bed, had just been a way to replace something I had lost. I turned away from him and continued down the path.

The feeling of being watched crawled over my spine. But that sensation went spinning out of my mind as I rounded a mass of scrub and entered the clearing where camp had been set up.

The silence was eerie. Boxes had been shattered, jagged pieces of wood splintered, stabbing outward at odd angles as if uncontrolled fury had been vented on them. Sacks had been sliced open and their contents spilled over the ground. The canvas of the tent flap hung in shreds, cloth tears.

I stared in disbelief. I had seen this! Somehow, the night that Paul Sarone had attacked me, I had seen what had happened in this camp!

Hesitantly, knowing what I would see within the tent, I extended a hand and drew the tatters aside. Behind me, Carl Maia gasped in distress. "Luis!"

A man lay on his back, his arms frozen above him in rigor mortis. The expression on his face was one of terror in the extreme, and it was as if his eyes still beheld some unspeakable horror.

The others had caught up with us by this time, and crowded into the remains of the tent to see what had become of the man left in charge of the camp. Mark backed out hastily, and I could hear him vomiting.

"Luis!" Dr. Maia groaned. "What could have done this? Look at the gouges in his chest!" His heart appeared to have been ripped out.

Captain Lucas regarded the body dispassionately. "Perhaps a jaguar, senhor? When they kill, their claws go like so." He demonstrated an abrupt, downward motion.

"Tomas! Where is Tomas?

I had been searching the tent, anything to keep from looking what was left of Luis. There was a dark, damp patch of ground a couple of feet away from the body, and I went down on one knee to examine it more closely.

Spatters seemed to lead out of the tent, and I followed them, now seeing the trail left in the torn ground around the camp. As I neared the lush undergrowth that surrounded this spot, vivid drops of blood became visible.

Gripping my rifle more tightly, I parted the brush and went searching for the man called Tomas.

****

It was my own fault. My eyes were focused on what I thought I saw on the other side of the clearing I had come across: golden eyes, a predator's eyes, with vertical pupils that were narrowed to slits of fury. It appeared that the pupils were slowly beginning to expand. The brush rustled, whatever was there was about to take a step toward me. With cautious movements I backed away.

My cry of shock brought the others to the tiny clearing I had discovered about a hundred yards from the camp.

I hadn't observed the carcass that dangled from the tree. I had walked right into what remained of Dr. Maia's man.

I turned to face them, my face, my hands, my clothes, all covered in blood.

With a slow, repetitious sound, blood dripped to the floor of the forest. The body had been skinned. When I remembered the uncontrolled fury of whatever it was that attacked the two hapless men, I knew that most likely it had happened while there was still life left in the body. The head was missing, along with the spine, and I could imagine the long column of vertebrae being violently torn from the body.

I was unable to tear my eyes from the gory sight. I knew that at any second I would start screaming, and I would be unable to stop.

And then it was as if soft fingers stroked my face, drawing my eyes away from Tomas as they cut him down.

Regret filled the mind that touched mine. //I am sorry, little one. I never thought anything could drive me to such destruction. And I never thought you would see what I could be capable of!//

I dropped the rifle and ran across the clearing.

//Whatever you've done, it doesn't matter! Please, don't leave me!//

But no one was there.

Part 8

No one was willing, no matter how many times Dr. Maia assured us to the contrary, to spend the night in the remains of the base camp, even after the destruction was righted and the men buried. We all insisted on sleeping on the Rita.

For seven days we dug and sweated, and searched and sweated, and sifted and sweated while Dr. Maia beat chunks of stone from the face of the limestone rock.

For seven nights I lay in my bunk on the gently rocking boat and endeavored to reach that elusive voice, which I was starting to recall with greater and greater clarity.

The shock of the fury that my mind had flung itself against had somehow caused the memories from my childhood to begin resurfacing, and I realized that what I had firmly convinced myself were dreams, had been actual communication with another entity. An entity from space.

My friend.

Ric'u, the Brachian who captained a doomed expedition.

I was positive he was there, but he would not answer me.

It reached a point where I was too exhausted from work, and too wound up from the futile endeavors to reach the big alien to succumb to Morpheus. But I needed sleep, so I fell back on the only surefire method that I had found to relax.

That evening, after dinner, I bid my companions good night. I went down to the broom closet that was my cabin, made sure the door was secured and removed my khaki clothing. I stroked my nails over my nipples, which quickly tightened and became erect, begging to be toyed with. I lay down on my bunk and got comfortable. Already I was half hard, and I hadn't even touched my cock yet.

Making sure my mental shields were firmly down, I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind.

There was no response, but then there hadn't been one any time I'd attempted contact. Now I was determined to play dirty.

While one hand continued to play with my nipples, I let the other smooth over my torso, following the line of silky soft hair that narrowed as it approached my navel and then fanned out to cover my groin. My cock was starting to swell to full arousal, but I avoided touching it, instead running my palms lightly along my inner thighs and then cupping my balls. I let my fingers wander behind to tease my puckered opening.

//This is what *he* did, my very first lover.// I projected that thought out into the Amazonian night. //He was in my sophomore geometry class, and had invited me home so that we could study together. His parents were at work, he told me, and we would be undisturbed. But of course he had no intention of studying; he just wanted to get into my pants.//

Words dissolved into heated images of my young lover having me stripped and spread out on his bed in no time.

I sighed and stretched voluptuously on my bunk on the Rita, recalling the feel of his smooth cheek against my thigh. I had been surprised at how wiry the hair that surrounded his teenage cock had been, intrigued as I watched him position himself on his side so he could gently enter my mouth at the same time he took me between his own lips.

Mimicking his movements, I bobbed my head up and down on the hot flesh that quivered in my mouth. He let my cock slip out, and I moaned, but he gave my ass a reassuring pat. "I'm not done with you yet, cupcake!" I tried to see what he was doing, but the strain on my neck made it too uncomfortable, and I dropped my head back down and decided I would have to trust him.

//But never as much as I would have trusted you!//

He spread my buttocks and touched my anus with a spit-slicked finger. Before I could tense up, which would have made penetration painful, he took my cock back in his mouth and distracted me with his skillful tongue.

His finger was inside me to the knuckle. He wiggled it back and forth, and I found that I enjoyed the sensation tickling my virgin passage.

He finger-fucked my ass and worked my cock with his tongue and lips, and when he had me mindless and begging, he withdrew and turned me over, soothing and petting me. Quickly he coated his arousal with some lubricant and took me. Although his cock wasn't as large as an adult male's, it was bigger than his finger, and my erection wilted as I registered the discomfort.

He licked a path up my spine, nibbling on my shoulder blades, and he took my nipples between his fingers and squeezed them. "These would look so hot with nipple rings!" he whispered hoarsely, tugging and rolling them.

The discomfort was easing, leaving me with just a sense of fullness, and his words and actions brought the blood flowing into my cock again. I backed onto his thrusts, taking him completely into me, and he reached under me and wrapped his fingers around my weeping flesh.

"Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me!" It was a mindless chant, as I let him have his way with me. His movements became jerky and erratic, his hips slapping against my ass and his balls hitting mine. A flood of scalding liquid filled me, and a beat later I came also, spurting through his fingers...

I withdrew my fingers from my ass and drowsily cleaned myself off, certain now that I would be able to sleep.

//He was the first.//

I felt a tentative caress on the very edge of my mind, and smiled, knowing I had finally gotten his attention.

//I wish it had been you.// I rolled to my side as I allowed myself to slide into sleep.

****

On the eighth day, we arrived at the site via the dinghy as we had each day before, having been ferried across by Zee and Chico.

Patience was wearing thin. Tempers were growing short.

"Nothing! We've found *nothing*!" Mark shouted, becoming increasingly desperate. He hurled a piece of rock into the river. "We've dug up enough stones to pave a road!" He needed that world-shaking find to cement his reputation. "I've failed. That's all people will understand. Kay! Will you still marry me? If the Institute tosses me out on my ass?"

She gazed at him from over her shoulder and let her eyes run over his frame, but she did not answer.

He shuffled from one foot to the other. His courtship seemed to have hit a snag.

"Dr. Thompson." He strode to where the biologist was examining the spoor of some animal. The other man smiled up at him, his eyes warm.

I turned to walk toward the river that flowed past us. A thought began niggling at my brain. "Carl, do you know where this tributary empties?"

His shoulders slumped in defeat, the archeologist dragged his mind from the dismal outlook of this expedition. "My men tell me... *used* to tell me there is a lagoon at the end of it."

"Suppose," I chewed on my lip, "just suppose, that at some point in time, part of this bank broke away and fell into the river? Over hundreds or maybe even thousands of years, the current could break it up. If there is a dead end to this tributary, that's where we might find the fragments, perhaps even your fossil!"

"Do you know anything about this lagoon, Capitao?" Dr. Maia was becoming excited, but after what happened to his men, he was reluctant to attempt further exploration, especially with a woman as part of our group.

"My boys call it the Black Lagoon," Captain Lucas said, grinning a little around a cigarette that dangled from his lips. "They say it is a paradise. Only no one ever comes back to prove it!"

"I say we go! We've got nothing to lose!" Mark was already gathering up the equipment and loading the dinghy. "Zee and Chico can get this lot back on board, and as soon as they come back for us, we can get started. How long will it take us to get there, Lucas?"

"If we leave right now? Quem sabe?" The skipper shrugged. "We get there when we get there." He nodded toward his men, giving them permission to obey the scientist. Their glances were uneasy, but they followed their captain's orders.

Within the hour we were back on the Rita and heading up the tributary of the Amazon, heading for the Black Lagoon.

****

Except for Chico, who was behind the wheel, I was alone on the deck. I leaned against the railing, listening to the howls of the gariba monkeys. Occasionally the deep-throated cough of a jaguar could be heard in counterpoint. I opened my mind and sent it wandering ahead, hoping after the night before to touch something more than the wall I had been bruising it against.

A hand slid over my shoulder, and I jumped, then gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry. I was lost in thought."

Kay had joined me.

"I didn't mean to startle you, David." She watched the shore as the old fishing boat chugged along. "I had to get some fresh air. It's so claustrophobic below deck."

"Where's Mark?"

Her look was disinterested. "He's below deck."

"Oh? Oh!" I pushed myself away from the rail and took a step back.

She twisted the button of my right breast pocket, her blue eyes sweeping over me from under her lashes. "Don't go, David. I'd like to get to know you better. You're very cute, you know that?" Unerringly, her fingers found my nipple, and I shivered in spite of myself.

"Now *this*," a loud voice behind us snarled, "*this* is a very positive weapon!" Mark had the spear gun in his hands. His words were directed to Captain Lucas, but his eyes were hot on his fiancee and me. He stroked the barrel of the gun as if it was a lover. "And it's very easy to use! All you have to do is aim it...and squeeze!"

Lucas looked from where Mark stood beside him to us. "What are you going to shoot at, amigo?"

Mark's lip curled. "Does it make any difference?" He turned casually, and the spear erupted from the gun to bury itself deep in the mast.

That was the first time I saw the grizzled captain impressed. "Primiero, amigo! First rate shot!"

"Capitao!" The sudden shout broke the tableau.

There ahead of us, the tributary narrowed to a bottleneck.

Dr. Maia and Dr. Thompson both came above deck to join us. "Can you slow her down?"

"Ease it up!" Lucas quietly ordered the man behind the wheel and he went to stand beside him.

"Si, Capitao!"

All of our attention was focused toward that narrow opening.

"It is impossible, but *I*, Lucas, will do it!"

The Rita made her way through the bottleneck, her sides barely avoiding the rock fall that was tumbled down to the banks on either side. One incautious move and a gouge would have been torn in her skin, and she would have sunk to the bottom.

And then we were past it, and gliding smoothly into the dark, silent waters of the Black Lagoon.

Part 9

Black Lagoon.

Beautiful Lagoon.

Another world.

And one where someone was welcoming me. I felt my heart swell.

"Take her out a little further, and then we'll get the net over the side."

"You want to go fishing *now*?" Captain Lucas clearly thought I was out of my mind.

I laughed. "We might as well find out what species are here!"

"Fuck that! We're after that fossil, remember?" Mark growled.

"And I need some rocks from the bottom for tests!" Dr. Maia inserted.

"But we just got here!" Kay fumed. "I want a bath and a hot meal! Can't we at least take a break and start all this tomorrow?"

"Kay, I'd like to speak with you." Mark took her elbow in an outwardly courtly gesture, but I could see the sudden flare of pain in Kay's eyes.

"Mark! Darling!" She laid her palm over his hand where it rested on her arm, and her nails bit in deeply. Mark released her. She rubbed the pinched nerve, while he surreptitiously shook his hand, sending bright dots of blood spattering onto the deck.

Hot blue eyes burned into cool blue eyes, and as if coming to a mutual decision, they went below deck to discuss...whatever it was they needed to discuss to straighten out their relationship.

"Is there anything *you* need, Dr. Thompson?"

The other man grinned at me. "As a matter of fact, yes, thank you. If one of the boys will row me ashore, I'd like to start checking out the indigenous fauna."

"You don't seem too upset by that turn of events."

The corner of his mouth crooked up ruefully. "Win some, lose some. I'm too old to play games."

The skipper gave him an approving clout on the back, nearly knocking the biologist over. The looks they exchanged were interested.

Dr. Maia came up to me as I examined the net that was about to be dropped overboard. "David, I really need to have a sampling of the rocks on this river bottom."

"Sure thing, Carl. Let me get the aqualung. Captain Lucas, this is good to go!"

It took me seconds to get out of my clothes and into my dark swim trunks. I settled a knife and a collection bag at my hip, as well as the weights needed to help me descend, and then made sure that all my equipment was in good working order.

As I got to the top of the ladder, I heard Captain Lucas telling the archeologist that he had never heard of such crazy fishing. "Who eats rocks?" he demanded, watching the net slowly submerge.

Dr. Maia assured him that *he* did, in a manner of speaking: "I crush them and they tell me things!"

I stood there with my mouth agape, fins dangling from my fingers. Had I missed a crucial part of the conversation? That made no sense to me whatsoever!

Then I shook my head, balanced on the railing as I slid my feet into the fins and swung over the side, controlling my descent into the Lagoon.

"David!"

I glanced up.

"Be careful!"

I gave Dr. Maia a cocky grin and let go of the ladder, disappearing beneath the surface without a ripple to mark my passing.

****

A few meters down, and visibility in the lagoon was still excellent. However, the lower I went, the more aware I became of the strange currents which ran below the surface. They began to tug at me.

I knew that if I got caught up in one it could sweep me toward the opening of the Lagoon. If I rose too rapidly, if I couldn't slow my ascent, I would suffer an embolism, bubbles of air that would tear my lungs. There was also the threat of the bends, or decompression sickness: if I couldn't exhale the nitrogen that made up seventy-five per cent of the air I breathed while underwater, I could wind up crippled. Or dead.

I had been diving for too long to do something as foolish as that. Carefully, I avoided those currents.

The world beneath the surface of the Lagoon was breathtaking. Varicolored fish darted through the fronds that rose from the floor, waving gracefully in the wake of my passing. I was on the alert for danger, which I knew could be hidden behind a mask of beauty.

I hadn't seen any piranhas, but that didn't mean they weren't lurking in the flooded forest. I stayed wary.

Out of the heavy growth of vegetation swam a peacock bass, easily twenty-eight pounds! My mouth watered, and I promised myself I'd bring the spear gun with me on my next dive.

My oxygen tanks had been rated for an hour's worth of compressed air, and I didn't want to stay below too much longer. With a lazy kick of my flippers, my arms firmly at my sides, I angled toward the bottom, searching for any rock that didn't look as if it belonged in this paradise.

I found one or two specimens that might intrigue Dr. Maia, and I put them into my collection bag, then checked my waterproof digital chronometer. It was time to start thinking about returning to the Rita.

Movement behind me, sudden, unexpected, inexplicable, had me whirling around to face whatever might be approaching. But the light was growing too dim to make out anything clearly. I hung suspended in that underwater forest, letting my eyes drift slowly from right to left, not trying to focus at all.

And that was when I saw it: camouflaged by shifting light, by dappled reflections, by the ebb and flow of the river currents, something darker, an opening, the shape too regular to be anything but manmade.

A quick glance around revealed no immediate danger. I knew I should begin my ascent, but I had a few minutes I could spare. And I wanted a closer look at that dark maw.

Cautiously I swam toward it, trying to pierce the stygian darkness that represented... a cave? a burrow? Perhaps a tunnel?

I reached out to gently move aside the fleshy foliage.

My breath clogged in my throat, my eyes widened, and I had to look *up* in order to see the whole thing. It hung there in the haze, motionless, huge, obscuring the opening behind it. Its wedge-shaped face tapered to a blunt muzzle. The mouth opened, and the warm water of the Lagoon flowed past rows of gleaming white teeth. Golden eyes with vertical pupils observed me dispassionately.

Bubbles escaped from my mouth as a cry was shocked out of me. I bit down convulsively on my regulator, effectively destroying my only source of oxygen. I was unable to tear my eyes away from the creature as I tried to put some space between it and me. I was so panic-stricken I began to swallow water.

There might have been a plaintive whisper in my mind, but I was too desperate to be away from that terrifying sight to pay it any heed. I did a barrel roll, and with a flurry of arms and legs unfolded to my full length and swam as if my life depended on it.

I felt the presence behind me rapidly closing in. Vibrations rocked me, the marine equivalent of a roar, and then suddenly the water pressure altered and my world went black.

****

"David! David! Meu amigo, come back to us, por favor!" Dr. Maia was crouched over my hips. A steady pressure starting at my waist and working up over my ribs to my shoulders was endeavoring to rid my stomach of the water I had swallowed. I coughed weakly, vomiting up a quantity of the Black Lagoon.

"Doutor Reed, como sao voce?" Captain Lucas was standing a few feet away, staring down at something.

"I'm...I'm all right. I think. What...what happened?" I rolled over, and Dr. Maia straightened and helped me to sit up.

"I was hoping you could tell us."

I remembered heart-stopping fear, and pushed the memory away. I didn't want to think about it. "I've got a headache," I complained, for some reason reluctant to reveal what I had found deep in the Lagoon.

"Not surprising." Mark squatted down beside me. He brushed wet hair off my forehead, and then gently touched a spot just behind my ear. I winced, and he showed me his fingers, which were covered in blood. "You've got a pretty good sized knot on your head. We're wondering how it got there."

I shook my head, and moaned as my stomach roiled in protest. "I don't know! I can't remember! Please! Tell me what happened!"

"David." Dr. Maia stroked my cheek. "We found you floating almost at the entrance to the Lagoon. You had bitten through your regulator."

"And this piece of dogshit was next to you!" Captain Lucas drew back his foot and kicked what I had thought was a bundle of rags on the deck.

Now I could see it was what was left of a man. The flesh hung in tatters, the stark white of bone visible in some spots. Blood pooled on the deck, diluted by river water to a pale pink. My eyes shot up to the skipper's. "I did not see piranhas in this Lagoon!"

"Pah! This was not the work of piranhas. They would strip the bones bare! Whatever did this did not do it because it was hungry! We owe the creature much!"

"What do you mean, 'creature'?" I asked uneasily, wondering if what I had seen below had been involved. And did Lucas know of it?

"There are many legends concerning the Black Lagoon. One of them is that a creature, not only of the land but of the water as well, guards this place. No animal did this, no crocodile, no jaguar!" He kicked the body again. I had never seen the skipper exhibit such a streak of vindictiveness.

"Lucas, you know this man?" Dr. Thompson came up to stand beside the boat captain.

"This used to be Juan Valdez. We men of the river have had dealings with him and the pack he runs with. They run drugs. They run guns. They sell women. And children. They do whatever will bring them easy money, and they let no one get in their way!" The skipper spat on the deck. "I have lost some good friends to this scum!"

"Why would he come to the Black Lagoon? What could he have hoped to find here?" Mark demanded, and I wondered if he was more concerned with our safety, or with the discovery of Dr. Maia's fossil.

Captain Lucas gave one of his men a cold glare. "Perhaps a little bird chirped too freely." He shrugged. "We shall see."

I shivered at the term 'little bird.' It was too similar to what Paul Sarone had been fond of calling me.

"In the mean time, Zee, get this miserable piece of shit off my boat!"

The little man gave his captain a frightened look, but obeyed him. I staggered to my feet and swayed as I watched the remains float on the surface. There were a couple of deceptively gentle nudges, and then the body was gone.

I leaned against the railing, staring at the once again placid Lagoon, and wondering what I had found in its dark depths.

Part 10

Suppertime.

Everyone was sitting at the table, waiting for Dr. Thompson to slice the peccary he had brought back from his earlier exploration of the shore.

"So. Why for does Doutor Maia want these rocks, Doutor?" Captain Lucas was watching the biologist with interest.

Dr. Thompson took his pipe from his mouth and tapped it against an ashtray, then picked up a knife and fork and began to carve everyone a portion of the pork-like flesh. "He'll date them with the uranium-lead test."

"And what will that tell him?"

"He'll match them against the sample in which the fossil was found. And if the dates are the same, we will have lift-off!"

"Que?"

"Let me put it this way, Lucas. Dr. Maia will be a very happy man!" Dr. Thompson handed the captain his plate, his fingers lingering to stroke across the back of his hand.

I toyed with my food, moving it from one side of the dish to the other, but somehow couldn't shake the feeling that I had missed something. It niggled at my brain, and made me poor company.

I retreated to my cabin, sitting on the edge of my bunk, my elbows propped on my knees and my chin on my hands.

Pondering golden eyes.

They seemed to delve down deep into my soul. I couldn't get them out of my mind. I had seen them in the clearing when I found Tomas' body. I had seen them again when I dove through the silent depths of the Black Lagoon for Dr. Maia's rocks.

It was with a shock that I heard my crewmates calling soft goodnights to each other. I had been so lost in thought that I hadn't realized the passing of time.

"Amigo, you come join me, eh?" Captain Lucas' voice was threaded with seduction. There was a subdued masculine chuckle, and I wondered idly if it was the biologist with whom the skipper was going to spend the night.

****

Between my near death experience in the Lagoon, and the length of time since I had had someone in my body, I found myself so restless that I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I needed a cock in my ass.

Normally I would have prowled the boat and found someone to while away the long hours of the night.

//No, you will *not*!//

//No, I will not,// I agreed with a sigh. I knew I had to be asleep and was dreaming. //Come to me!// I begged.

****

The Rita rocked as if someone very powerful were climbing over her side. I shivered in anticipation, and watched the doorknob. It turned slowly, and the door began to open.

Suddenly I found myself on my back, in a very tenuous position: I was restrained, mental bonds securing my arms above my head. My eyelids were so weighted that I could see nothing, not even the shadows cast in my cabin by the lush Amazon moon.

But this was just a dream, after all, and I didn't question it. I determined to wallow in every dark, sexual moment of whatever my fevered fantasy could come up with.

A warm, raspy tongue licked a path from my navel to my chin. //You are *mine*, David. Never again will anyone else be in your bed!//

I murmured my agreement and tried to thrust up against the body that was crouched over my hips, but I was effectively pinned to the bunk. All I could do was moan my appreciation of what he was doing to my body.

My mind began to build the image of what I expected my lover to look like, but before I could get past the thick, black hair, that tongue had encircled my cock and was tugging on it. The feel of teeth gently scoring my length had me shuddering. Moans spilled past my lips.

I rocked deeper into his mouth. There was something about the shape of that mouth...but then he folded his lips over his teeth and began to work my dick while his fingertips teased my nipples, stroking over them, scraping them with his nails, and my thoughts splintered. I wanted to concentrate solely on what he was making me feel.

I whined a protest when he abandoned a nipple, only to suck in my breath when a blunt-tipped finger dipped into my anus, recalling the sensations my first lover had given me.

I would have cried out, but my vocal cords appeared to have stopped working, along with my vision. In silence I spilled myself into his mouth. His throat muscles caressed me as he swallowed, and I sprawled in a boneless mass on my bunk.

//Are you willing to take me inside your body?//

//Yes! Please!//

//It will be uncomfortable for you. I am not built like other men.//

Somehow I got my legs free and hooked my knees over his shoulders, leaving myself exposed to him, completely at his mercy. //It doesn't matter! Make love to me!//

If this had been anything other than a dream, I would never have uttered those words. I would have demanded that my partner fuck me, or screw me, or any number of coarse terms, but I would never have begged him to make love to me.

But because it was just a dream, I had no qualms about using those words.

I didn't need any preparation. I wanted this, needed this so badly I was on the verge of howling my desperation.

The slick, pointed tip of his narrow cock pressed relentlessly against my anus. For a moment there was resistance, and once again I tried to picture him, this time getting as far as the navy blue eyes. With an annoyed growl that vibrated through my entire being, he slammed deep into me.

And I screamed, although the sound didn't pass my lips. My mind blazed with fireworks and lightning bolts. Never before, not in all the years that I had been sexually active, had I felt this. He had hit something inside me that set me on fire, and precome began to ooze from my cock.

Another image filled my mind, this one supplied by my lover. Golden eyes with vertical pupils narrowed as he sought satisfaction for both of us. A huge, powerful, muscular body. Skin that was supple and sensuous to the touch.

He pulled back until only the tip of his cock remained in me, leaving me hanging as I bit my lips and sobbed in frustration, the inability to have him rubbing across that spot driving me wild with unslaked passion.

//You are mine!// Finally, his hips thrust forward and he crossed that spot again. //Say it! Say it!//

//I am yours!// I whimpered, and over and over he plowed into my channel, burying himself deeply inside me. //I have always been yours!//

I exploded, pouring myself all over his chest. But he didn't come. Instead he withdrew from me completely.

Before I could object, he had me flipped onto my belly and his hands parted my buttocks. The rough surface of his tongue washed over the tight muscle that guarded my opening, and pressed relentlessly against it, forcing it to relax and admit him. But when I finally surrendered to his whim, he abandoned my needy hole and instead stroked his tongue over the sensitive skin behind my balls.

I shivered from the sensation, and begged for more.

He took my balls in the soft skin of his palm, rolling them gently. It was indescribable, like nothing that had ever been done to me before.

I got my knees under me and waited breathlessly with legs spread wide. His cock entered me with a single smooth thrust, and again he effortlessly found that spot that electrified me.

He still hadn't come when he rocketed me to a third climax, and changed positions once again. This time he had me straddling his hips while my bound arms were fitted around his neck. The...scales...on his torso abraded my nipples, and I whimpered in desperation. His broad hands supported my weight as he gently lowered me onto him, and I impaled myself on his rigid cock and rode him to a fourth orgasm.

I passed out.

I regained consciousness to find him once again above me, my legs braced by his muscular forearms, his cock buried deep inside my ass. Sweat slicked my body, and his hard muscles rippled against my groin, trapping my dick between us.

His movements became sporadic, and then he stilled. //Now, little one! Now!// I expected to feel him coming in my ass, but instead he began to swell, his cock producing a knot much as a male dog does during copulation, that effectively plugged my anus.

It became almost painful, as it grew larger and larger, making the nerves in my ass very aware of how much they were being stretched. And then the heat of his semen flooded me. I moaned and trembled, and his warm tongue flicked out, bathing the stickiness of my own seed from my chest.

For long minutes we were tied together, as his cock pumped his semen deep into my bowels. //One day, David,// he murmured, his mental voice a dark, velvet promise. //One day we will do this, and I will make you pregnant. You will look good, I think, carrying our child!//

I was too exhausted to come up with a clever retort. As I hovered on the edge of an almost drugged sleep, wondering if you could fall asleep in your dreams, I felt him withdraw from my body. //Stay with me?// I pleaded soundlessly.

//I am always with you, my treasured one.// That tongue flicked across my lips and I hummed with sated pleasure and touched the tip of my own tongue to it. He turned me onto my side and cradled me against him.

****

Instead of the slow, languorous stages I would have preferred, I woke abruptly to the violent rocking of the Rita. It was as if an extremely powerful dive had been launched from her railing.

Dawn was just lighting the Amazon sky.

I grinned as I recalled what had to be the most amazing wet dream I had ever had! Each movement, each position was vividly etched in my mind, and most especially that spot my dream lover had found. It had given off an electrical charge that pulsed through every nerve ending and arrowed to my cock. I knew I would be jerking off to the memory of that for a long time to come.

If I had felt that with any of the men I had allowed to have me, I doubted I would have reached the age of thirty still unattached.

//I would not have permitted it!//

//Ric'u!// I had been about to arch into a long stretch but nuzzled my mind against his instead. I knew my grin was of tired satisfaction.

I sat up and winced, startled by the ache deep in my body. I had never felt that before.

Tentatively I reached back and touched my hole. It was sore, and I stared in dismay at the slick, viscous fluid that coated my fingers.

Not a dream?

//*Not* a dream!// Was that regret in the thought?

With a snarl, I ran out of my cabin, oblivious to the fact I was stark naked. I tore up the steps and across the deck, using my impetus to get me over the railing in a flat dive that cleanly cleaved the surface of the Black Lagoon.

//Don't you dare tell me you're sorry you fucked me!// Strong strokes took me to the far end of the Lagoon. I dove, but with the sun still low on the horizon, the visibility was not as good as the previous day, and I could see nothing.

Treading water, I flipped my hair out of my eyes and struggled to bring my breathing and my emotions under control. A fish swam under my toes, tickling them. I jerked my foot away, and began to quarter the Lagoon.

And each time I resurfaced from a dive, that damned fish would find me, finally going so far as to nibble on my toes.

I went back under so fast he didn't have time to get away.

And found myself face to face with the golden-eyed creature of the clearing, of the Lagoon.

Of my dreams.

Part 11

About two meters below the surface of the Black Lagoon, and I was face to face with a very large, very green creature. With very golden eyes.

Who, if I didn't miss my guess, had been the one to rock my world, *repeatedly*, during the previous night.

Which meant that not only had I been made mad, passionate love to, but I had been made mad, passionate love to by a creature who was obviously not of this world.

The wedge-shaped head nodded slowly as if in answer to the thoughts that swirled through my mind.

Bubbles of air escaped through my nose and mouth more rapidly than I would normally allow, and with a strong kick of my feet I shot back up to the surface. I treaded water while I tried to catch my breath, waiting, wondering what would happen next.

Nothing.

He just left me there.

And I erupted in fury! Taking a breath I knew would last for at least four minutes, I dove and saw a finned foot vanish into that stygian mouth in the riverbank.

I followed him. Not the smartest of things to do, considering I had no idea how long that passageway was, nor how long I'd be without oxygen.

****

My strokes were becoming more sluggish. Blood was pounding in my ears, and I knew I'd have to breathe soon. And then a brutal grip on my shoulder had me up out of the water and onto a shelf of land.

I huddled in front of webbed feet, dragging in harsh breaths.

//Are you all right?//

I coughed and spat out some of the water I had swallowed in spite of my best efforts.

//*Are you all right*?//

"Just give me a minute, I'll be okay." It took longer than a minute, but finally I was feeling more human. I propped my elbow on my knee and looked up. And *up*!

He was about seven feet tall. His head was draconian. At the base of his neck was a frill of cartilage, which changed color according to his emotions. Right then, it was a bright vermilion, which I later learned indicated extreme agitation.

The mental blast he sent me literally knocked me back on my ass. He was furious.

That triggered off my own rage. I didn't even think to become frightened. He was so strong he could have torn me in two or sliced me to ribbons: when he clenched his fists, as he was doing then, razor sharp claws emerged from his knuckles.

//Stupid! Foolish! Insane!//

//Yes, // I hissed back at him. //You were!//

Vertical pupils narrowed to slim, angry lines. //*You* were stupid! *You* were foolish! *You* were insane!//

//*I* was not the one who ran away!//

His muzzle opened, exposing long, sharp teeth, and then snapped shut impotently. He dropped down to his hands and knees and stalked toward me.

*Then* I became frightened. He looked for all the world like a fire-breathing dragon. I almost expected to see smoke curling from his nostrils. I scooted away.

He bounded forward and trapped me beneath him. //*You* were the one who could have drowned!// His tongue uncurled, and he dragged it across a nipple and into the hollow at the base of my throat.

I fell back. //Why did you leave?// I moaned, my hips thrusting involuntarily, searching for something against which to rub my aching cock. After the numerous times he had made me come the night before, how could I be getting an erection so easily? How could he send me from anger to arousal in one easy lick? //I wouldn't have had to follow you if you had just stayed in the Lagoon!//

//Why did you follow me? Surely now that you know what I really look like, you no longer desire me?//

I tried to clout his head, which was impossible considering he had me fairly well pinned down. //Schmuck! It doesn't matter to me how you look! I love you! And you were sorry you made love to me!//

//???// I got a very strong impression of confusion.

//Don't tell me I'm imagining it! You as much as *said* you were sorry when you admitted that last night wasn't a dream!//

//David, you speak nonsense!//

//*I* speak nonsense!// I was gasping in outrage. And then my thoughts completely splintered, as his tongue slithered past my lips and entered my mouth, tickling the ridged roof, testing the edges of my teeth, running it across the smooth lining of my cheek.

It rasped over my own tongue, setting up a thrusting motion, and he began fucking my mouth. I wrapped my legs around his waist and dragged him down, and the weight of his body settled on me. I shuddered and began to leak precome over the two of us.

All it took was the caress of his mind against mine, a whispered, //I love you!// and I came apart in his arms.

I didn't have much left to give him, but I gave him it all. And then I passed out again.

****

His head was resting on my chest when I regained consciousness, his tongue flicking over a nipple.

I stroked my palm over the darker scales that covered his skull, and he nudged my hand to deepen the caress.

He tilted his head back, and golden eyes looked into mine, the lids half-closed in pleasure.

My fingers found the aural depressions at the sides of his head, and I explored them carefully, not sure which actions would cause him distress and which would please him.

The frill at his neck turned almost violet. This pleased him *very* much!

//Tell me why you left.//

For long moments he was silent. Then, //I thought when you saw that I was not Terran, you would hate me for making love to you.//

//And that's another thing! Why didn't you ever show me what you looked like! I'm not a child!//

His mind caressed mine in a gentle memory. //No, you were a youngling when you first made contact with me. You were so young, I was afraid my appearance would terrify you. And then you accepted me so completely, and I forgot all about it.// The tips of his fingers traced the muscles of my back and buttocks.

//Yes, but when I grew older...//

//Tell me, David. Do you describe yourself each time you have a conversation with your friends?//

Put that way, I had to agree with him, although privately I felt his reasoning left a lot to be desired.

//All right, I'll let that go. For the time being. But...// I snuggled against the big Brachian and licked at the olive lips that barely covered incisors that were remnants of his species' deadly past. //Don't leave me again! You're mine!//

A large palm brushed over the curve of my ass, petting me. //And you are mine! Oh, I will enjoy making you pregnant!//

//That's about the sexiest thing anyone has ever said to me, Ric'u. But in case it's escaped your notice, I'm male too. That's not possible!//

A rumble of amusement ricocheted through my brain.

****

My stomach rumbled, and I sat up with a jerk.

//I must get back to the boat!//

I could sense his reluctance for me to leave, but he knew that I had to. //When this expedition is completed, you will return to me?//

//Yes!//

His big, webbed fingers gently brushed the hair out of my eyes. //I will see you get back to your friends safely.// He stopped me from turning to walk to the edge of the shelf. //By the way my own people count time, as well as by your own Terran standards, I am a good deal older than you, David. Are you sure?//

//Ric'u, if you won't keep me, I'll just wander the land going from one lover to another. I won't find what you've given me with any of them, so I'll just go on to the next one and the next one, always looking for you. If...// I swallowed hard. //If you don't want me, I'll do that. It's what I've always done. But I'll be so lonely!//

//Foolish one! Look in my mind and truly see what I want!//

I flowed against him, burrowing into his arms. He wanted me!

****

Ric'u towed me through the passage and out into the Lagoon.

I could hear shouts of concern from the boat now. "Ahoy, Rita! Here I am!" I couldn't postpone my return any longer.

"Hold on, Doutor Reed! I bring the Rita over to you!" Captain Lucas began shoving Zee and Chico, ordering them to get the boat underway.

In the dark waters of the Lagoon, someone nibbled on my toes one final time, and I smiled and began my swim to the boat.

Part 12

Mark was dressed in his white swim trunks and an Aloha shirt. As he leaned over the ladder to offer me a hand the unbuttoned shirt swung open. His torso was covered with scratches and bite marks. He followed my glance. "She's a tigress!" he murmured complacently.

I hoisted myself up onto the deck, and his eyes widened when he saw I had been swimming raw. His mouth dropped open, and then he licked his lips, reaching blindly for a towel, which he tossed to me.

"Thanks." I caught it and knotted it at my hip, then retrieved another towel. As I rubbed it over my hair I noticed that Mark seemed unable to drag his gaze away from the line of hair that disappeared beneath the towel. "What?"

"Um, nothing, sorry." He was finally able to bring his eyes up, only this time it felt as if they crawled all over my torso. They froze and widened even further. "Jesus, David! What happened to you?"

I paused as I swiped the towel over my chest. "What are you talking about, Mark? Nothing happened to me!"

He reached out to touch my shoulder and I jerked away from him, only then registering the soreness. I didn't even bother to glance at it; I was fairly certain of what I would see: a very large bruise caused by my lover when he hauled me out of the water.

"I banged into an outcropping of rock when I dove in. Sheer carelessness on my part." I lied casually. "Next time I'll pay more attention."

"Well, it sure as hell looks like fingerprints!"

"You really think so?" I kept my tone bored. "I can't tell from this angle. What are the plans for today?"

"Um, Carl wants us to photograph the floor of the Lagoon where we found those samples yesterday."

"When does he want that done?"

"As soon as we've had breakfast."

"Sounds good. I'll just get into my suit and be right back." I brushed past him and headed for the stairs.

"No need to cover up on my account!"

I forced myself to keep walking, as if I hadn't heard his sultry whisper.

Kay stood at the top of the stairs, the expression on her face leaving no doubt that *she* had heard it. I was about to step around her and head below deck. Slender fingers closed around my wrist, belying the strength in them. Her nails dug into my skin, and I struggled to conceal the pain she was inflicting. She gazed at the towel draped around my hips with feigned interest and smiled, but her eyes were anything but warm.

"David, Mark is *mine*! You had your chance at him and blew it! If you try again, I'll kill you!"

I stared in disbelief after her retreating form as she crossed the deck to join her lover.

And I realized that while before I had come to South America I would have dismissed the possibility of wanting someone so badly that I would threaten a rival with violence, now I understood it. The very thought of anyone trying to take my lover from me caused a red tide of possessiveness to wash over me, and I knew that I would not hesitate to destroy anyone who tried to take Ric'u.

The unexpected, overpowering intensity of that feeling shocked me, and I would have buried it down deep inside, as I had once buried my memories of the alien who had been my companion through my childhood. A rough caress to my mind prevented that.

//No need, my own. I have wanted you for a very long time. The D'ilian was aware of that and left my bed for that reason. I have not had a lover since before my ship became crippled and we were forced into the escape pod.//

I reveled in the connection that I had missed so greatly.

"Amigo, do not linger in this passageway!" Dr. Maia gave my ass a friendly swat, and a warning growl rumbled through my mind.

//You allow these men too many liberties! This will cease at once!//

The dominance in that mental order had me almost wriggling with sexual heat. //Or else...?// I couldn't resist taunting him.

He sent a vision of me being bent over his knee and his large hand spanking me. I nearly dropped the towel that I was still using to dry myself and gulped, shivering with lust.

Dr. Maia noticed nothing out of the ordinary. "Get dressed, my friend! We have much to do today!" He hurried to the upper deck and I went on to my cabin, exasperated that my lover could get me aroused so easily.

This time the image he sent was of his arms embracing me.

****

I pushed open the door and came to an abrupt halt. The bunk looked like a wreck, and I was thankful that no one had any need to come into my cabin. It would have been mortifying if my companions had seen the shambles my lover and I had made of the bedding.

The connection between the Brachian and me was still there, and he saw what I saw. I caught an impression of embarrassment and swaggering pride, and I flashed him a disgruntled admonition, letting him know that arrogant lovers warranted suitable punishment.

//Such as...?//

A thought crossed from my mind to his before I could prevent it, and the big alien was diverted by my threat. And amused. Since the only suitable punishment I could think of, not making love with the irritating alien, would have punished me as well, I pretended to ignore his reaction.

I could feel his pleasure in teasing me. //You enjoyed what I did to you too much to refuse me! If I had not kept you silent, you would have awakened the boat with your howls of satisfaction!// he reminded me.

Rather unwisely, I chose to challenge him. //I've had other lovers with whom I've climaxed!//

He dismissed my avowal as inconsequential. //They could not find the spot that made you burn! They did not love you! Nor did you love them!//

//Well...no,// I had to concede.

//You gave them what should have been mine!// Suddenly he was very serious. //I think I *will* need to spank you for that!//

I decided this wasn't a topic it would be smart to continue pursuing, so I quickly straightened the bunk and then pulled on my trunks and buckled my weight belt around my waist. My hand was on the door when I stopped.

It was as if he was there with me, that tongue of his licking over my abdomen, lingering at my navel, and I shivered and grew half hard. I moaned under my breath. //Stop that! I'll never accomplish anything if you continue to tease me like that!//

I could feel his heat. //Then finish quickly, David. I want you under me again!//

After a statement like that, I couldn't think straight. I left my cabin and trotted back up to the deck, resolutely trying to push him from my mind. I was looking forward to a hearty breakfast. For some reason I had worked up quite an appetite.

I didn't realize anything was wrong until I saw Captain Lucas kneeling over Dr. Thompson. The biologist was bleeding profusely from a wound to his head. "Bastard!" the grizzled skipper growled as he tried to staunch the flow of blood. "You did not have to hurt him!"

Mark had his arms around Kay and was trying to shield her with his body. Dr. Maia was to the front of our group, confronting Paul Sarone, who stood before him at the stern of the old boat.

Tied up next to the Rita was a scruffy riverboat. The handful of men who lounged casually aboard her and watched the events unfold were as disreputable as their battered boat. They were armed with the weapons they normally sold to their varied and numerous scum-sucking clients.

My hands clenched into fists at the sight of the man who had assaulted me at the Instituto. I was so surprised to see him here at the Lagoon that I didn't even think to shut down the connection with Ric'u.

Or perhaps I intended my lover to be aware of what was occurring.

"Why are you doing this, Paul? What do you hope to gain?" Dr. Maia was wringing his hands in distress.

"I will tell you, meu pai." Paul Sarone curled his full lips at the older man while his eyes sought and dismissed the members of the expedition. Until he found me. "You have something I want."

My insides turned to water. He had come all this way to get me?

His smile turned cruel, and he looked back at his father. "I want the body that the hand you brought to the Instituto belongs to."

"The fossil, Paul? We are still searching for it..."

"Try not to be more foolish than you can help, old man! Why would the people I represent want a stone hand? No, I want the other."

"What other?"

"Pai, you never struck me as being stupid. Do not disappoint me now!"

"We have not found that, either." The concession was reluctantly made. "Tomas did not tell me where he had discovered it, and now he never will, for he is dead!" Dr. Maia had seen his son was about to ask for the archeologist's man.

"Then you will just continue to search. We will start with this Lagoon. My contact has told me that the hand was so fresh, the creature could not have been dead for very long. And where there is a dead one, there is sure to be a live one! If we cannot find the body, perhaps we can find something even better! I have been supplied with rocanon, and my men will scatter it in this place!"

"Rocanon?" I wasn't sure if Dr. Maia was really unfamiliar with the drug or if he had indeed heard of it.

"It's made from a local root," I told him. "When the natives who fish the Amazon need a little luck with their catches, they throw it into the still waters. It paralyzes the fish and they float to the top of the water." The thought of what that drug could do to my lover terrified me.

I didn't need to send him a mental warning, however. The connection between us was like a living link that joined us: what I knew, he knew.

I had other worries, however.

"In the meantime, my men will enjoy themselves with this pair!" Sarone nodded toward Mark and Kay, and the men on his boat grinned appreciatively. "But this one," his glance stripped my swim suit off, "he will be mine! I will have him on his knees."

I bared my teeth. "If you want to be known as Stubby!" I snarled at him.

His eyes went black with fury. "I will take great pleasure in having you naked and beneath me, baby bird! I will take you without anything to ease my way, except the blood I cause you to shed!"

He took a step from the railing at the same moment the Rita began to rock violently. The net at the side was dragged down, and the boom groaned under the weight of whatever had been trapped in the net.

Paul Sarone was knocked to the deck, and a couple of his men leaped from the riverboat onto the Rita to come to his aid. One threw the switch to power the winch so the net would be raised, while the other kept his weapon trained on us.

"Stop!" Captain Lucas howled. "You'll snap it!" He ran to the man at the winch, who was determined to reveal what had been caught, but before Lucas could interfere, doing something that would result in Sarone's men cutting his throat, the net went slack and the boom jerked up and then quivered back into place.

I felt a stab of phantom pain in my hand.

The winch reeled in the remains of the net, which hung in shreds. A four-inch claw, bloody at the base, was tangled in the mesh. "Matriz do deus! What the fuck did *that*?"

A sudden shout turned everyone's attention back to the men who stood on the deck of the riverboat, ankle-deep in water that was rising rapidly.

"Pablo! Jesus!" Sarone shouted. The men were frozen in panic as the boat sank relentlessly deeper.

A harpoon suddenly hissed viciously through the air to plunge into one of the men, sending him toppling over into the Lagoon in a spray of blood. His body vanished, and the man left on the deck began to scream profanities as he fired his pistol into the water.

Kay calmly reloaded the spear gun and took aim again, while Mark launched himself at one of the gunrunners, struggling to keep him away from his fiancee. Captain Lucas pulled a knife from beneath his shirt and drove it into the neck of the other one.

Paul Sarone took a step back, fumbling to withdraw his revolver from its holster. I unfastened my weight belt and whipped it across the space that separated us, smashing it against the side of his head. His knees buckled under him, and his head hit the deck with a brain-jolting thud. Dr. Maia hurried to bind his unconscious son with his own belt, and turned to see where else his help might be needed.

The riverboat was completely under water by this time.

The archeologist gazed sadly down at his son, his heart obviously breaking.

"Dr. Maia, we must return to Manaus. Doutor Thompson must be seen by a doutor!"

"Si, Lucas. And my son must be handed over to the authorities."

"Will you be all right, Carl?"

The older man's eyes hardened. "I must examine that hand again, to see what has aroused the interest of the criminal element." He made a snap decision. "We go now!"

Captain Lucas nodded and ordered his men to start the Rita's engine.

"But...but the photos you wanted of the Lagoon bottom!" I couldn't leave now! I had just found my lover! "Listen, I can stay behind and get started to work on that!"

"That will have to wait until we can return, David. No," he snapped when he saw I would argue with him. "My mind is made up. Pressa! Hurry!"

This time when Ric'u reached out to hug me, it was as if he missed me by inches.

And we sailed out of the Black Lagoon.

Part 13

Hard hands on my arms dragged me back, away from the railing of the Rita before I could dive over the side and return to the Lagoon. I whirled in blind fury on the man who stopped me, my hands encircling his neck.

My thumbs pressed in on his windpipe, and I squeezed.

"David! Good God, what's wrong with you?" Mark and Dr. Maia dragged me off Chico before I could do the unfortunate crewman much damage. I struggled violently in their grasp, almost freeing myself. But when Captain Lucas joined them they managed to subdue me.

Chico massaged the abused muscles of his throat, his eyes dark with menace, which he quickly masked. "Capitao, all I try to do is save the foolish Americano! You know how bad the currents are in this spot!"

"Si! Doutor Reed, this is true! You must not go into the Amazon here! Why for you want to go back there to the Black Lagoon, amigo?"

How could I answer the captain? How could I tell him that we were leaving my heart behind? I sagged in their grip and they released me, sure I was past the need to attack the crewman.

Captain Lucas turned away, ordering Zee to give the engine full throttle. He stood before the wheel, his legs braced apart, and steered the boat away from the Black Lagoon. All he wanted was to get his lover to the nearest medical facility. "Chico," he called over his shoulder, "get that shit off my boat!"

At the stern of the Rita were the bodies of the two gunrunners. For a second it seemed to me as if the crewman would refuse to obey the order, but I must have been mistaken. Chico took the one the skipper had dispatched by the foot and dragged him to where the ladder was fastened, and tipped the body into the water.

"Capitao, it look like there are piranhas in this stretch of river."

The Captain just grunted in acknowledgment.

Chico went back for the other body. "Capitao, this one, he is still alive!"

Captain Lucas rolled the cigar he had put in his mouth between his lips. "So?"

The injured gunrunner began to cry, pleading for his life, offering to reveal the name of the person Paul Sarone was working for in exchange for his hide.

Captain Lucas squatted down beside him and yanked his head up painfully. "Name names, amigo, and perhaps we will let you live."

Sarone had regained consciousness by then. "Silencio, Ramon! Don't say one *fucking* word!" he ordered.

"Nao em sua vida, boss! Not on your life!" He swiped his sleeve under his nose. "It is Perez! Arius Perez!"

"The renowned scientist?" Dr. Maia was shocked.

"Si," the other man assured him eagerly. "He has plans, I overhear him. Something about the body growing new parts."

"Ah, si! This was always his pericia, his area of expertise! So, Arius thinks this specimen will reveal such secrets to him?" Dr. Maia rubbed his hands together. "And I have access to that hand. Capitao, I must use your radio to contact the Instituto!"

"One moment, Doutor, while I rid my boat of this trash!"

The gunrunner started screaming, "You promised me my life! You *promised*!"

Lucas grinned evilly. "I lied!"

"Captain! Let *me* do it!" I would hate myself later, but at this moment I needed retribution, for my lover being hurt, for us being separated.

"David, that would be murder! You can't do that!" Mark was pallid and sweating at the thought of the carnivorous fish in the river.

"Who's going to stop me?" I snarled.

"I'll stop you, if I have to!"

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. "That'll be the day!"

He laughed, a little hysterically. "Who do you think you are? John Wayne? You can't just kill a man!"

There was a splash. A single, high-pitched scream shattered the silence of the warm afternoon. The water turned red for an instant, and then there was nothing.

"Perhaps Doutor Reed cannot, senhor, but *I* can!" Captain Lucas spat into the calming waters and stalked back to the wheel. He glowered at his man, Chico, and sent him below deck to begin preparation for dinner.

Paul Sarone huddled on the deck sullenly, and said nothing.

****

Night had fallen.

I sat away from the others on the deck, moodily moving the food on my plate in a desultory manner. They tried to involve me in their conversations over the meal, but were finally discouraged by my silence and left me alone to brood while we ate.

Afterwards Mark and Kay retired to her cabin, Mark glancing back over his shoulder at me.

Dr. Thompson had finally regained consciousness, and Dr. Maia assured Captain Lucas he would see to the biologist if the skipper needed to take the first watch.

"You frightened the life out of me, caro. Do what the good Doutor says, and I will join you in a couple of hours, si?" Lucas' eyes grew misty as Dr. Thompson reached out to tenderly squeeze the fingers with which his lover had been stroking his arm.

Dr. Maia helped the other man down to the captain's cabin.

I stood next to the tattered shreds of the net. More than anything I wanted to reestablish contact with my lover, but I was terrified. I remembered the time when I was a child and had reached for him, to find a void.

Carefully, I untangled the claw from the net, rubbing its smooth, deadly lines with my thumb.

And it was as if a door had opened. //David!//

My hand tightened on the claw. //Ric'u? You're there?//

I sensed his exasperation. //Of course I am here, little one! Where else would I be?//

//But you were hurt!//

//I was hurt worse than this, much, *much* worse, when my escape pod nearly burned up in your atmosphere!// There was a tinge of sadness, and I knew he was thinking of the D'ilian who had been killed in that last desperate attempt to reach safety. //I will be all right, but I must regenerate the claw that I lost causing that diversion.//

I looked down at the piece of my lover in my hand. I had gripped it so tightly it had cut into my palm, and now my blood mingled with that of the big Brachian's.

//I have it.//

//Keep it for luck, David.// I could hear the smile in his thought. //You will be unable to contact me until I complete the healing process.//

In my mind I built an image of him leaning down so that I could twine my arms around his neck. I pictured him wrapping me in his embrace and raising me so that our mouths were level, and I peppered his lips and muzzle with kisses.

Ric'u sent me back a collage of him holding me along the length of his hard body, of him teasing my tongue with his, and of him laying me down and licking my abdomen and navel. //Come back to me as soon as you can!//

I sighed contentedly and made my way to my cabin, scarcely noticing the hot gaze that Paul Sarone swept over my body.

****

I was awakened from a sound sleep by a hand pressed roughly over my nose and mouth.

It was my worst nightmare, Paul Sarone free, and able to attack me once again.

"I will have you now, baby bird!" that hateful voice whispered in my ear, while his other hand groped down my body to find my cock through my pajama bottoms.

My right hand swung up and descended, and he choked back a cry of pain as my lover's claw slashed shallowly across his back. He arched away from me, and I swung again, slicing his chest this time, almost severing a nipple. He tumbled off the bunk and scrambled to his feet, swearing viciously.

Before I could raise a shout, he was gone, the thudding of his footsteps signaling his ascent to the deck above. Another set of footsteps joined him, and then there was a muted splash as the rowboat was lowed into the river. The creak of oars in the oar cocks was loud in the night.

I ran barefoot up the stairs, calling loudly, "Captain! Dr. Maia! On deck!"

The silver trail the rowboat left was fading by the time I got to the railing.

"What is it? What's going on? Who...what happened to Zee?" Shouts came from behind me.

Captain Lucas rushed to the wheel, where Zee had been knocked out and tied up. The captain cut him loose and raised Zee's head. The small man moaned and turned his head to vomit, a sure sign that he was concussed.

Mark caught the odor of it and rushed to the rail, tossing up the contents of his own stomach. Kay went to him and held his head, brushing the hair off his forehead and whispering softly to him.

I turned away from the river and stepped into the pool of light reflected by the flashlight that Dr. Maia held. "Nome do deus! David, what did he do to you?"

He reached out to touch my torso. I looked down to see it covered with ribbons of blood. "Not mine. I'm sorry, Carl. Chico must have been the one of Lucas' crew who was part of Sarone's gang. He freed your son. Paul came to my cabin to exact a little revenge, and I cut him to protect myself. I'm sorry," I repeated.

I knelt by the ladder at the side of the boat and scooped up handfuls of water. The red-tinged rivulets ran to the deck. Dr. Maia came to stand beside me, his grip tight on my shoulder. "A bad seed," I heard him murmur with a sigh. "Go to bed, caro. There is nothing that can be done this night."

I nodded wearily and went back to my cabin. There were blood spatters everywhere. I tore the sheets off my bunk and let them fall to the deck, then climbed on the mattress, but not before making sure the door was locked.

****

Dr. Maia pleaded with us not to file a report with the authorities. His son was gone, and the men who had been with him were all dead. If we reported the incident, we would be held up in Manaus, possibly for months.

Captain Lucas decided he would remain ashore until Dr. Thompson was released from hospital. His head wound had proved minor, but the skipper wanted to make sure there were no lasting ill effects.

While arrangements were being made for us to return to the Instituto, I made some arrangements of my own.

I wired my bank for funds to purchase a small boat. When I completed my mission of retrieving the D'ilian's hand, it would be ready for me, stocked with plenty of supplies.

I sat in my hotel room and put in a long distance call to my secretary. "Gwen, I need a favor!"

Once the phone call was completed, I carefully wrote two letters and sent them to her. One contained instructions for closing down my office and giving her a hefty severance package and a glowing recommendation for her next job.

The second letter was to my parents, telling them that I was well and had found my heart's desire, and would be living in Brazil. I asked Gwen to make sure they received the letter.

I was determined to get the D'ilian's hand back for my lover, and I wasn't certain if I would be pinpointed as the thief. Not having been in Brazil long enough to be familiar with their communications system, I didn't know if it was sophisticated enough to receive instructions from the Instituto to detain me once I returned to Manaus.

Everything had to be ready for a rapid dash back upriver to my lover, in case I had the policias, the police, on my ass.

The day of our departure, I purchased an insulated bag and tucked it away in my suitcase, then met the other members of the expedition at the airport. Dr. Maia was trying to puzzle out what the biomolecular geneticist could have discovered in that hand that was secured at the Instituto.

****

It was dark by the time our flight landed and we gathered our baggage.

Kay and Mark decided to spend some time pre-honeymooning. Mark was loaded down with all their luggage and followed Kay's svelte form like a love-struck puppy. He only cast one regretful glance my way before leaving the airport in her wake.

Dr. Maia was exhausted by the time our car got us to the Instituto. We carried our bags up to our quarters. Lounging outside the archeologist's door, smoking a slim cigarette, was a dark-complected, rather stout man, just a year or so younger than my companion.

"Rinaldo!" Dr. Maia dropped his suitcase, his weariness forgotten. "Minha alma! My soul! What are you doing here? How did you get here? I thought you had business overseas! How long can you stay?"

"You talk too much, mi vida! You send for me, I am here, and that is all that matters!" The Spaniard ground out his cigarette and took his lover in his arms. "Beseme, mi corazon!" He crowded the other man into his room and the door slammed shut.

I didn't bother trying to hide my broad smile. Gwen had done an excellent job on such short notice, wiring a telegram in Dr. Maia's name to his lover, telling him he was desperate for his kisses, begging him to join him.

I entered my room and changed into dark-colored clothing, then waited until silence descended on the building. Tucking a flashlight into a pocket, I gathered up the insulated container and made my way from the living quarters to the laboratory itself.

The only illumination in the building was the dim security lights.

Just inside the door, in a chair tipped back against the wall, was the guard, and my breath hitched in my throat. Then a window-rattling snore shattered the quiet of the place, and I was able to breathe easily once more.

The laboratory was at the far end of the corridor, and I walked with careful steps to the door, relieved to find it unlocked.

Once the door was closed behind me, I switched on the flashlight and played it over the stone-topped work areas with their built-in sinks, Bunsen burners, microscopes, all the paraphernalia of a working laboratory. Off to the side was the refrigeration unit, and I crossed to it.

I felt my stomach drop. The shelves were crowded with bottles and jars and petri dishes, but nowhere did I see the severed green hand of the D'ilian. I began to shove aside the contents of each shelf, until finally on the bottom shelf, behind what appeared to be someone's forgotten lunch, I spotted the hand.

I withdrew it, and winced at its condition. Strips of skin had been removed, as well as samples of muscle, bone and tendon. I growled and placed it on a counter, then found the lab's supply of dry ice and layered it into the bag I had brought. Placing the hand into the container and sealing it, I made sure all signs of my presence were erased and left the laboratory to return to my room.

The disappearance of the hand was discovered the next day. Dr. Maia might have been enthralled by the unexpected arrival of his lover, but he was a scientist first and foremost, and he wanted to examine that specimen.

I tried to convey moderate concern, but no one paid much attention to me.

"Fortunately, samples have already been obtained, amigo," Dr. Maia remarked.

"What do you think happened to that thing?" I asked him.

"Ah, it was probably disposed of by some overzealous lab assistant, no doubt, who thought we were finished with it. Nao importante. I have what I need, I think, and if I should need more, well, perhaps I will get up another expedition to the Black Lagoon. Will you go with me if that day should come, my friend?"

Who would ever have thought I would be thankful for the manana attitude of south of the border? "I think not, Carl. There are some important matters that need my attention, and I must return to the States."

He had a slide with tissue samples under a microscope and was raptly studying it. "Will you need a flight to Rio, David?" He didn't see my extended hand.

"I have it taken care of, Carl. It's been a pleasure seeing you again."

"Bom assunto secondario. Good-bye."

"Good-bye, Dr. Maia."

I walked out of the building and to my quarters, where I gathered up my belongings. No one questioned the additional bag that I carried.

A driver took me to the airport, and I caught the flight back to Manaus.

I was going home.


Part 14

Every boat needs a name, even the one I had purchased at such short notice.

She had been custom made by a well-known boat-builder for some rich man's spoiled son, and had somehow wound up in Manaus, used, abused and abandoned. Once sleek and elegant, her twenty-seven feet of mahogany and brass had seen better days: she was battered and tarnished, her hull overgrown with barnacles, and she stank of rotted fish.

As part of my dowry, I wanted her looking as beautiful as possible.

The shipyard where I found her insisted that they couldn't do much in the short time I intended to be away at the Instituto, but I waved a fistful of dolares in the owner's face, and it was amazing what he promised me they would accomplish.

It was supposed to be bad luck to rename a boat, but I couldn't let what was painted on her bow, which translated roughly to Any Man's Whore, remain. She deserved better than that. I had left orders that after she was spruced up a new name be stenciled on her.

She was now Desejo do Coracao, Heart's Desire.

****

The closer I got to the tributary that led to the Black Lagoon, the more anxious I grew. I chewed my nails down to the quick and bit my cuticles until they bled.

It was foolish, I knew, but I feared the Lagoon was no longer there. Suppose, like Brigadoon, it only appeared once every hundred years?

Suppose, like Shangri La, once you left you could never go back?

Suppose...

I throttled down the Jo until she was barely creeping along. All that met my tense gaze were tropical foliage, Imperial palms covered with orchids, wildly blooming plants: bromeliads, royal poincianas, and lilies. There was no sign of the entrance to the Lagoon.

I worried my lip in growing panic.

And then the boat drifted a little further, and there it was, the narrow entrance to paradise. The angle of the river and the bank had made it seem as if what bordered it was an unbroken wall of undergrowth, but it proved to be an optical illusion.

With careful hands I turned the wheel, and the Desejo do Coracao made her way through the bottleneck and into the Black Lagoon. When I had her deep into that quiet spot, I shut down the engine and dropped anchor.

//Ric?//

There was no answer, but suddenly, my body was tingling. It felt as if a broad, flat palm had stroked over my chest, ghosting over my nipples and then whispering down the length of my body to trace the muscles of my thighs.

I uttered a breathless moan. I wanted those hands on my hips, on my groin, on my...

I closed my eyes and moaned louder. Long fingers seemed to shape my cock, which went from flaccid to engorged in a split second, and then reached around to squeeze my buttocks and explore the crevice between them.

His chuckle caressed my mind, and I shivered with anticipation. //Come to me, little one!//

Instead of stripping off my clothes, getting into my scuba gear and stepping off the diving platform, I dove right into the Lagoon. I didn't even bother kicking off my deck shoes. The warm waters surrounded me, and as soon as I was oriented, I headed for the mouth of the passageway with strong, steady strokes.

It seemed to take me less time to reach the cavern. Hard hands closed over my shoulders, and I found myself hoisted up onto the sandy shelf once more, to dangle from my lover's grip while he shook me.

//Are you determined to drown yourself?// he demanded, shaking me one last time as if for good measure.

I wiped the water from my face, and the hair out of my eyes. //You told me to come; I came!//

//Will you always do as I bid you?// His vertical pupils had expanded until only a ring of gold surrounded them.

//Yes.//

He scooped me into his arms and carried me into another chamber.

The wondrous beauty of this place took my breath away. Shimmering rainbow hues from crystal stalactites splintered and fractured, lighting the cavern. Stalagmites reflected the colors back upon them, almost like an underwater ballet.

He put me down and stepped back from me, holding his breath, waiting to see what I would do.

Hesitantly, I stretched out my fingers to touch him. His belly skin, patterned in scales, was pale, and so soft beneath my fingertips. "Ohhh!" I walked around him, touching him, determined to examine him carefully.

Along his spine, from just below that colorful frill which was alternating between vermilion and ocher, to the curve of his muscled rump, was a ridge of stiff cartilage that rippled with emotion. Similar ridges of an olive green grew along his calves. His feet ended in long, webbed toes, which would drive him through the water of the Lagoon with amazing speed.

I sighed and went into his arms, hugging him close to me and pulling his head down to mine. //My own dragon!// I nibbled at the corner of his muzzle.

He put me away from him while his eyes studied mine intently. His large hands with the webbing between the fingers brushed over my clothes, and then they clenched into fists. Claws emerged. With casual movements, he sliced what I wore from my body, leaving me standing before him naked, and without a scratch from those deadly appendages.

I took one hand and examined it thoroughly, then dropped it and examined the other. He flinched, and I noticed that one of the claws was almost transparent, although the tip was opaque. My eyes shot up to his. //This was the one that was injured?//

//It was nothing, little one. I told you that!//

//But you were hurt! I *felt* it!// I brought it to my mouth and covered the claw with gentle kisses, and then turned his hand over and ran my tongue over his palm, never taking my eyes from his.

This time he was touching me for real, and I was hard and aching for more. The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back, and he was making a place for himself between my thighs. He knelt there watching me avidly, as if I was a smorgasbord and he couldn't decide where to start.

//I have missed you, my own. Now that I have you here, I will never let you leave!//

His tongue flicked out to lick my cock from the base to the flushed head, and he pressed the heel of his hand against my balls, rolling them against my body. He ran a finger between my buttocks, probing the tight muscle.

I was almost out of my mind with the need to be taken. //Please!// I begged him. I propped myself up on my elbows, unable to resist watching what he did to me.

His long, slender cock slid out of its sheath, glistening with its natural lubricant. He rubbed it over my anus before inserting just the tip. I whimpered; I wanted his whole length pushed deep into me. Instead, he withdrew his cock and brought his finger back to pierce and stretch me.

I bit back a yelp as he crossed that spot inside me. Oh, that was good! //Again!// I pleaded as I tried to thrust back and take in more of his finger. A large hand was placed just below my belly button, and he forced me to hold still. He changed his position, and now his shoulders kept my legs folded in, while that tongue teased and toyed with my weeping cock.

//Fuck me, Ric, please fuck me hard!// That steady friction was driving me crazy. //Oh, Jesus God! I *wish* you could make me pregnant!//

With a satisfied growl, he speeded up his finger-fucking while his mouth worked my dick. My balls tightened, and just before I could come, he replaced his mouth with his hand, and I poured my semen into his palm.

//And now...!// Although I was bonelessly satisfied, the tone in my lover's mental voice had me stretching up to observe his actions. He smeared my come over his cockhead, and then worked what was left into my hole. Flipping me over onto my belly, he parted my buttocks and entered me with one smooth thrust.

Keeping my ass high, he pounded into me relentlessly.

His cock was so far in my channel that I could feel the pulse of his heart. Each movement in and out had him brushing past that spot, and I shivered uncontrollably. My lover was taking me more thoroughly than I had ever believed it was possible to be taken. The sensation was indescribable, like an itch that just avoided being scratched. I rocked back up against him, desperate to take him even deeper inside me.

//David!//

I managed to look over my shoulder and opened my eyes, staring into fathomless depths of gold-rimmed black.

//Now!// Tendrils of emotion wound through my mind, finding and nestling against the pleasure center in my brain. My lover went still in my body, and his cock began to swell and produce its knot, plugging my anus as he filled my bowels with the heat of his semen. Each spurt was accompanied by the quivering of his organ, stretching the walls of my back passage.

And unbelievably, I came again as well!

****

It was only as I felt my lover's knot begin to shrink that I realized that we had been tied much longer than the first time he had made love to me. But I was feeling so voluptuously loved that I dismissed it.

****

It was my honeymoon. Days, and then weeks passed, but I paid scant attention. There were so many other things to keep me occupied. The first time I had been in Ric'u's cavern I'd been so overwhelmed by my lover that I hadn't taken much note of my surroundings. Now I was able to notice things.

The walls were covered by luminescent algae, which provided some sort of natural lighting. There were passageways that led to various alcoves. One was set up for cooking, another for bathing, a third in which we would get around to eventually storing the supplies I had brought with me.

And then there was the one we shared. At any time, he might drag me away to that chamber and bury himself in my body, which was learning to accept his knot with less discomfort. As a matter of fact, I looked forward to that moment when my lover would start swelling and I knew he would test the limits of my endurance. I became addicted to the feel of him, however he chose to take me: behind me, on me, below me, but always within me.

I shivered, half-hard, in a constant state of anticipation.

The first time he saw me trembling, my lover mistook that as a chill. He took me in his arms, and his sub-dermal muscles rippled into action as his skin began to warm. He vibrated! The vibrations caressed me as I lay full length on his big body, my cock trapped between us, and I erupted into an extremely powerful orgasm.

We had quiet times together, as well. One of those was when Ric'u had gathered the desecrated parts of his former lover together and placed them in a sarcophagus he had woven of palm fronds. With the hand returned to him, he sealed the D'ilian into that niche, mourning him all over again.

I leaned into my lover, hastily trampling the stab of jealousy that speared through me, hoping he would not have sensed it. Of course, he did.

//David. The D'ilian was an extraordinary chief engineer. I wouldn't have wanted a better one for the mission we were sent out on, hopeless as it was. He was a good partner, and I regret his loss.// The Brachian tipped my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. //But as much as I grieved for him, it is nothing compared to what I felt when I realized you had shut yourself off from me!//

//I didn't understand why you weren't there when I reached for you. I thought you didn't want to be my friend anymore. I thought I had lost you!//

//Foolish one, you never would have lost me! I would have come to you through heaven or hell! But I had barely enough time to put the D'ilian into stasis, before the imperative to heal myself overwhelmed me and I had to find someplace safe.//

//This place?//

//This place.//

I sighed contentedly, wrapping my arms as far around him as they would go. //And you found me!//

Irritation brushed across my mind. //To find you were willing to give your body to anyone with a pretty face and firm muscles! If you weren't in an interesting condition, I would be tempted to bend you over my knee and spank you!//

//Ric'u, I'm an adult. I do as I choose. My choices may not always have been the wisest, but...//

//May *not* have been the wisest?// His impressive teeth ground together, and I thought it might be a good idea to change the subject.

//What do you mean, I'm in an interesting condition? You make it sound as if I was expecting a baby!//

//You begged me to make you pregnant, if I recall correctly!//

//Ric, it's an impossibility!// Fondly I rubbed my thumbs over his aural depressions, which I knew would please him. //You're male. I'm male. It just doesn't work that way!// I almost missed the considering way he was regarding my abdomen, and I hastily turned away. I was starting to develop a gut, and I was embarrassed to have my lover see that. //Um, I'm going to bring back the rest of the supplies I left on the Jo.//

He stopped me before I could dive into the water. //No need to go that way, David. Follow me.//

My lover led me to a narrow tunnel that looked very new. The sides were smooth, almost glasslike, as were the floor and ceiling. It went back a few hundred yards, and then began angling upward, to finally surface in a spot heavily camouflaged by flowering shrubs. Off to the left the Lagoon was just visible, and in the distance I could see my boat.

//I thought it might be easier for you if you didn't have to make that long underwater swim.//

He created that passageway for me? I couldn't conceal how gratified I felt. //Oh, but I really need the exercise, Ric! I'm starting to put on a little weight.//

I could feel the amusement in his mind, but he locked down his shields tight, and wouldn't let me know why.

It was easier sailing the Desejo do Coracao closer to this bank and then transferring the supplies through the tunnel. By the time we were finished, I was exhausted. I wondered if the heavy humidity of the Amazon rainforest didn't agree with me: I grew tired so easily. I curled up in the bed my lover had made for me and was sound asleep in seconds.

I woke up to find Ric'u spooned behind me, his cock sliding into me as if it knew it was going home. His broad palm stroked gently over my abdomen, and I couldn't help noticing again the paunch I was developing.

But then his muzzle nudged my arm up and out of the way so he could lay his head against my chest as he fucked me, and I was totally distracted by his motions. Only this time, he didn't push deeper into me, and when he came, there was no plug to keep his semen in my passage.

He was growing tired of me, I was sure of it. I was also sure that if I could just get rid of that belly, he would love me again.

After he fell asleep, I went to the chamber where he told me I could keep whatever odds and ends I chose and began to do a series of abdominal crunches.

Ric'u's roar was so furious I nearly pissed myself.

He stood at the entrance of the chamber, his claws appearing and then retracting. I knew he would never use those things on me; he would never hurt me. I *knew* that. But I was so confused by his behavior that I thought it might be a good idea to put a little space between us, and I scooted backwards on my butt. And then the raging emotions he poured into my mind resolved themselves into understandable images.

//A baby? I'm really going to have a baby?// I gaped at him stupidly.

//*We* are going to have a baby!// He took my hand and placed it over my abdomen, holding it in place with his big palm.

Oh, my God! I was pregnant!

Part 15

I had finally accepted the fact that I, David Reed, ichthyologist par excellence if I say so myself, was pregnant.

In my body, cells were splitting, and a tiny fetus was developing. According to Ric'u, the alien who had gotten me in this interesting condition, the little critter had osmosed from my bowel, where our sperm had joined to start life, and had fastened itself to the greater curvature of my stomach. A network of blood vessels would connect us, and it would obtain the nourishment it needed for the first six weeks.

I was still concerned, however. //It may have escaped your notice, love of my life, but there's no exit for this baby.//

//He will manage fine, my own. And so will you! Trust me.// And he slid his cock into me.

//*He*? Do you know something I don't?// He held himself still inside my channel, and wouldn't let me move either. I began to whimper with desperation.

//All our children are born male. Brachi is a race of warriors! For eons we battled the galaxy's wars.// He rolled his hips, and I came with a gasp, covering my abdomen and chest with hot, white semen. Ric'u drew patterns on my flesh with it, and then raised his hand to his mouth and licked his fingers clean. //Open your mouth.//

//??// But I obeyed him, having no choice. I couldn't get enough breath to fill my lungs. He traced my lips and then inserted a finger into my mouth, teasing my tongue. I lapped at the slightly abrasive fingertip before sucking on it voraciously. Another finger joined it, and another, and he began mimicking the motion of his hips. I moaned around the fingers fucking my mouth.

He was still hard within me. I clenched my inner muscles around him, and his mind shimmered with his pleasure in my actions. With gentle thrusts he drove deeper and deeper in my channel, stroking my prostate each time.

Finally, he stilled and his knot swelled but remained outside my hole, snug against it. I writhed to take it in, but he would not allow the complete penetration. He would not tie with me again, not until after the baby was born.

His slender cock pulsed as he filled my channel with his semen. Gradually his shaft withdrew back into its sheath.

Ric'u snuggled me in his arms, his muzzle wrinkling as he sampled our mingled scents.

I reclined against my large lover as we both stroked the spot where our child grew, and I sang to my baby. Oddly enough, that was one of the few maternal things that Mother did. Not quite as oddly, it was like nothing Mother ever sang.

Goodnight, sweetheart, well it's time to go.
Do do de o do
Goodnight, sweetheart, well, it's time to go.
Dum dum dum dum
I hate to leave you, but I really must say
Oh, goodnight sweetheart, goodnight.

His throat vibrated with laughter, and I leaned back and kissed that spot.

****

Ric'u made sure my diet included everything our child would need. There had been one particularly upsetting occasion, however, when all I wanted was a potato chip.

//Little one...//

I glared at the big green goop over my shoulder, but didn't acknowledge his gentle insinuation into my mind.

//You have to eat! Here, try this, it's very tasty!//

He proffered something that looked as if it had been deep-fried, and would be nice and crunchy. Suddenly my mouth was watering.

I extended my palm, but got a better look at it before I could touch it. //This is an *insect*! A...a locust, or a grasshopper or a...//

//Yes.// He popped it into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. //Nice robust flavor! Here!// He offered me another one.

//Oh, *no*!// I clapped my hand over my mouth and bolted from the chamber, needing to find a place to empty the contents of my stomach. It felt as if I was going to vomit up a lung.

Ric'u stood hesitantly in the doorway of the chamber.

//I could really get to hate you, you know that, you...*dragon*!//

He squatted down next to me and stroked the hair back from my eyes, which were wet with tears. My nose was running as well. I looked like hell! How could he possibly want me?

//David, I will *always* want you.//

****

I thought now of all the ways the big Brachian had demonstrated that he wanted me, and I started to grow hard.

It was after midnight, rather late, but never too late for that, and I was about to wake up my lover when I felt a twinge of discomfort in my gut. I sighed. It had been bothering me on and off all night.

I knew I shouldn't have had franks and beans for dinner, but I'd had such a craving for it that I dug up the can from the supplies I had brought upriver.

And then I had eaten the whole thing.

I sighed again. Well, it was only what I deserved. I rolled out of our bed, padding into the cavern we had set aside for cooking.

Perhaps tea would help. I decided to make myself a cup. Hopefully that would ease my abdominal distress.

I paced the cavern while I waited for the water to boil, absently running my fingertips over my stomach. The movement helped, and the pain vanished. I decided to have my tea anyway, and leaned against a wall, sipping it carefully so I wouldn't burn my mouth.

I was about to return to our bed, when the discomfort returned. I frowned, and made myself another cup of tea.

Minutes passed, and I began to feel better. I finished the tea and cleaned up the area, but decided I would stay awake, just in case the pain came back.

//David? Is something wrong?//

//Damn it, Ric'u, how could I have done something so stupid?//

The big alien was behind me in the doorway, but I couldn't turn to face him. Restlessly, I rubbed my abdomen, hoping the tightness in my gut would just relax.

//Tell me, little one.// His arms came around my waist and pulled me back to rest against him. //You're chilled!// I could feel the frown in his thought. //How long have you been up?//

//I don't know. I'm so uncomfortable! Those goddamned franks and beans! My stomach is killing me!// I glanced at my watch. //Oh, that's very nice!// I grumbled.

His big hand caressed the spot beneath which our child lay. //What?// He was distracted, but so was I.

//These fucking pains are coming like clockwork! If I ever, *ever* ask for franks and beans again, you have my permission to blister my backside! Oh, that feels nice!// I sagged back against him. Ric'u had started to vibrate, and the warmth traveled from his broad palms to my abdomen.

//David. It isn't what you had for dinner that's causing you this discomfort.//

//Then what?// I gazed up at him, to see his eyes fixed on my navel. //Oh, shit! Not the baby! Ric'u, I can't be in labor! It isn't time! He won't survive!//

//On the contrary, my own. It is the perfect time!// He carried me back to our sleeping chamber and laid me down on the vast expanse that was our bed, then settled himself close to me.

The big alien wound his way into my mind, singling out and soothing the nerve endings that were starting to protest more vehemently. I had always had a fairly high pain threshold, but I welcomed my lover's assistance in this.

Time passed in a fog, and the pressure behind my navel grew. My eyes were closed and I concentrated on Ric's presence, and breathing steadily. Suddenly the pressure eased. I felt warm fluid dripping over my abdomen, along with a tickling sensation. The little critter wiggled his way out through my belly button.

//Ohhh!// The reverence in my lover's mind brought tears to my eyes.

Our own little polliwog! Not much more than five centimeters in length, he was wriggling across my body toward his father's, where a pouch was waiting for him. As with marsupials, he would settle himself in there, as all his Brachian forebears had done, and complete his growth in that pouch.

This was a journey he had to make on his own, Ric'u had informed me, and if he couldn't do it, if he slid off our bodies, he would die. I ignored the trail of blood and slime that our child left behind, concentrating fiercely, as if that might help him.

He made it safely to Ric'u's body and began the upward crawl to his final destination. And then, with a wiggle of his little tail, he was safe in his father's pouch. He would remain there for an undetermined amount of time. Because Da'ric shared the genetic material of both Terran and Brachian, we had no idea how he would develop.

I dropped back on our bed, more exhausted by the mental ordeal than by the physical one. My lover leaned over me and his long tongue flicked out, cleaning the remains of our son's birth from my body.

Part 16

The big Brachian was deep under water, moving the sorrowful skeleton of the gunrunner's riverboat. I had donned my trunks and scuba gear and was helping where I could, but mostly I kept Da' out of harm's way. Like any child, he was inquisitive to a fault, had no sense of fear, and got into everything.

//David! A boat is coming up the tributary!//

I sent a caress to my lover's mind. //Is it heading this way?// The two of us had been working hard to conceal the opening to the Black Lagoon, and in fact planned to use the sunken boat to block the narrow entrance and make passage into our slice of paradise impossible, but there was still much to do.

The silence of the rainforest was shattered by an amplified call. "David! David Reed!"

I tipped up my facemask and searched for Ric. //That sounds like Captain Lucas!//

//Who is Captain Lucas, Papa?// Da' cut sinuously through the water and wound his arms around my neck. Chameleon-like, his appearance changed with his background. Because I held him, he took on the qualities of his Terran genes. When our son was clambering all over his Brachian father, he would strongly resemble him.

//He's the boat captain who brought me to Daddy, munchkin. Stay here, Da'ric. I'm going to take a look.//

//You will be careful!//

//I'll be careful, Ric.// I climbed onto the bank and shed my gear, then made my way through the underbrush. Concealed by the thick shrubs, I watched as Captain Lucas eased the Rita closer and closer to my hiding spot.

And then another voice called out. "David!" It was filled with tears. "Please be here!"

Father?

"Father?" I stepped out into the open. "What are you doing on the Amazon?"

His face crumpled and he turned to...my mother? She embraced him, stroking his hair while he wept. "We were told you were dead!"

"But...I sent you a letter! I told you I was fine!"

Father took a handkerchief from his pocket, dried his cheeks and blew his nose. "We received an official letter from the government in Rio, telling us you were missing."

"And you came?"

He looked at me as if I was mad. "Of course we came! We've been worried sick about you!"

"Well, I'm fine."

"David, we want you to come home with us."

"I can't do that, Mother. I am home."

They looked away from me, obviously uncomfortable. "You said in your letter that you had found your heart's desire. You can bring him home with you."

"I'm afraid that's impossible. You..."

There was a cry of warning from the boat, and then something hit me in the back, knocking me forward. I steadied myself and tried to loosen the hold my son had on my neck. //Da', what are you doing? Didn't I tell you to stay with Daddy?//

//Daddy went to catch dinner. He saw that rainbow bass again, said some naughty words and went after it. Who are they?//

//They are Papa's mother and father, munchkin.//

He looked across the water at the occupants of the Rita, his golden eyes with their vertical pupils wide with curiosity.

"David, whose child is that?"

I rubbed my chin against my son's thick, dark hair. "He's mine!" Before they could question me about his 'mother', I suggested, "Perhaps you'd better come into the Lagoon. Captain Lucas, anchor there. I'll swim over and take my parents in the rowboat."

//Da', stay close to me. You know how dangerous the tributary can be!//

//Yes, Papa.//

My little tadpole swam close to my side, and I boosted him up into the rowboat. My parents were already sitting in it, waiting for me. Captain Lucas came over. "I'm sorry, Lucas, but my partner does not like strangers coming to the Lagoon. Would you mind very much waiting out here?"

Another man walked up behind the Captain and slid his arm around his waist. Lucas grinned at Dr. Thompson, the biologist who had come upriver with us. "No, I no mind at all, Doutor Reed!"

Da' settled himself between my legs and I began to row through the bottleneck. He watched my parents solemnly, and just as solemnly they watched him back.

"It doesn't matter if you're not married, David. We'll love your young lady just the same!"

I fingered the claw that dangled from a thong around my neck. "I am married, Mother, and I hope you'll love *him*. But he's very different from other men."

"He's this little one's father? Then he must be quite good-looking!"

"I think so, but then, I'm prejudiced!" I touched my son's hair. //Da', go find Daddy and tell him we're having company. Can you remember that, munchkin?// He gazed at me with ancient eyes, knowing I wanted him away before I spoke with my parents, but nodded and dove over the side.

My mother gasped and reached for him. "David, he'll drown!"

"Not Da', Mother. He's been swimming since the day he was born!" Ric'u had been lazily gliding in the Lagoon when our son had decided it was time to make his way into the wide world outside his pouch. "He swims better than I do!" I shipped the oars and moistened my lips. "I need to talk to you something, which is why I told Da' to go find his Daddy. Ric'u is not..."

"Are you trying to tell us your partner is not an American, David? We rather expected that when we read in your letter that you would be staying in Brazil. That's all right, dear," Mother said calmly. "You know our friends always considered us liberal to a fault!"

"Well, it isn't that he's not American, it's more that he's..."

"Oh!" Both my parents sat up straight. "What was that? It felt as if something was touching my mind!" They reached out to clutch each other's hands.

"It's all right, I promise you!" At least I had my fingers crossed it would be all right. //Ric? I hope you know what you're doing!//

//It will be better if they see me first this way, little one!//

"Oh, my! Is this what your partner looks like, David?" Father was trying to be controlled.

"Um, yes?" I was unsure how they would react. After all, hadn't I lost it the first time I had seen the big green Brachian? I began rowing again.

"Well." He took a deep breath. "Well. And Da' is his son?"

"And my son as well, Father. He's the grandchild you and Mother have always said you wanted. I hope you'll accept him. He's very young, you know." It was clear to see that they didn't realize that Da' had been born of my body. Maybe another time Mother and I could trade war stories of our deliveries.

"He's a very handsome little boy, David. And your...Ric'u?...really is not from this earth?"

"No, Mother. He's an extraterrestrial." I beached the rowboat and helped my parents step onto the shore. "He loves me very much. I want you to know that. He'd die for me, and he'll kill for me. His appearance may be frightening at first, but please give him a chance."

Father put his hand on my shoulder, halting me. Mother followed the path that led into the home the big alien had made for me. "David, do you love him?"

All I could do was stare into his eyes, and he released a deep sigh.

"I worried about you a great deal, do you know that? I knew how difficult life was going to be for you, which was why I wanted you to find a nice girl and settle down. Instead you went from one man to another. Oh yes, I followed your activities quite closely, David."

Color rose in my cheeks as I thought of all the men I had slept with. No, that was incorrect. I had had sex with them, let them have my body, but I spent the night with none of them, until I had found my heart's desire.

Now I spent all my nights in his arms.

"Harris!" Mother's voice came drifting down the passage. "Come and meet your son-in-law!"

"Do you love him, David?"

"Yes, Father. More than anything in the world."

He put his arm around my shoulder, and this time his sigh was of relief. "Then take me in and introduce me."


~END~