No More Yielding But A Dream

Posted on Thu Dec 31st, 2020 @ 3:33am by Kindra Graham & Alden Loxley

Mission: Fortune & Glory
Location: Cicada Transport Ship, en route to Pelorum
Timeline: Timeline: 2514 - Summer, after 'Fly With Me'

Kindra embraced the charming pilot she'd asked to coach her flying the outdated shuttle. And now - after lighthearted flirting, the revelation that she'd have only a few short days with him instead of months, and a plan to spend those days rehearsing and performing music – she held Alden in her arms. Eyes closed, wrapped in his comforting embrace with her head against his chest, Kindra floated in the contentment of Alden's strong arms around her, the sound of his heart beating beneath her ear, and the trust that she could release him now, and that would be the end of a friendly, though not quite platonic, cuddle. That was what she should do.

Another tantalizing possibility beckoned in the gentle stroke of his hand in her hair, and the press of his long body against hers, filling her mind with other ways they could fit together. Kindra pulled back just enough to move her hand up to Alden's face and look into his blue eyes, darker than she'd ever seen them. She caressed the line of his jaw, and lightly brushed her thumb along his lower lip. Voice husky, she asked, "May I kiss you, Alden?"

Those three year old ghosts were quiet, momentarily silenced by the pure simple pleasure of an unencumbered and genuine hug. She was a professional - though that wasn't what Alden was thinking exactly - and she'd asked for permission. Little details that had snuck under his defences and tricked those emotional guilt-tinged memory circuits in his brain.

Just a hug. No strings. Live in the moment.

Behind his eyes was a deafening roar that refused to be heard, a sound that whispered through his heartstrings from the past. There was a shadow of something akin to old pain caught there, but Alden ignored it. He avoided it, denied it and allowed himself to be gently teased by this beautifully intelligent and skilled young lady, and he gave himself permission to tease back.

"No," he finally answered, a quirk of a smile catching the edge of his mouth as Alden leant in and stole his own kiss from those soft lips and with their captivating question.

Briefly indulgent, Alden then stepped back to see how much trouble he'd gotten himself into.

The sudden distance between them was as much of a shock as Alden's no and his brief stolen kiss that left her mind spinning. Kindra almost lost her balance but stepped back and caught herself.

A flush of heat burned her cheeks. Surprise, confusion, uncertainty. He'd said no, then kissed her, and he was smiling. Which meant… what? A reaction to her question, maybe. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Let me… try to explain something about myself."

"I'm a companion. When I service a client, every aspect of the negotiated interaction is specified by a contract. The fictional character I represent to the client is described by the contract. Every parameter of consent is stipulated by the contract." That much she had explained previously to clients who thought they were in love with her, but really had fallen for the fantasy they'd created by their contract. She shifted from one foot to the other. This part she hadn't explained to anyone before. "You're not my client, there is no contract. Asking for, giving and receiving, clear and enthusiastic consent… for me it's not only arousing but also emphasizes that right now, with you, I'm just me, acting on my personal desires."

Eyes lowered, cheeks still warm, she added, "Let me know if you change your mind."

Alden quietly observed Kindra's reaction, his own expression still caught in the partial smile as he waited to see where this went. He'd essentially rebooted the situation, given the young woman a chance to think rather than simply act, and he already partly regreted that.

Those crimson cheeks, that flicker of emotion like stormclouds briefly passing across her face as Kindra's mind worked to understand. Alden listened. He waited. He remained quiet while she spoke.

"So," he said, finally, allowing himself a grin as Kindra's gaze studied the decking. "What you're saying is that, here and now, there are no rules?" Alden canted his head to the side, and reached out to curl the palms of his hands about the curves of Kindra's shoulders. He wanted more. But did she? Did she really? Or was he part of another fiction?

One hand moved, two fingers resting underneath her chin to apply light upward pressure. Alden wanted to look into those big, dark brown eyes to see the real answer.

"If you need me to ask me questions one by one," he said, tone soft, warm and kind. "I'll play. But the answer to all of them will be yes."

No rules. Her eyes closed as Alden's hands closed on her shoulders, warm and strong and reassuring. Intimacy like that would be a leap of faith, a surrender of control. She'd be vulnerable in a way she'd never been.

Kindra responded to the gentle pressure of Alden's fingers, lifting her chin to look into his dark blue eyes. His pledge to answer all of her questions with yes, if that was what she needed, made her tremble with desire and anticipation. Somehow Alden had connected to who she truly was and he was prepared to give her not just what she wanted, but what she needed.

"I trust you, Alden." She reached up and covered his hand with hers and pressed his hand to her cheek. "I think you may understand me on a level deeper than I know myself." She moved closer to him and slipped her other hand around his waist, still looking into his eyes. "I want you, Alden. I want-" Kindra hesitated to use this expression, but no other words fit "- to make love with you."

She trusted him? Alden had no idea why, but he realised both the implications of that statement and the responsibility that rested on his shoulders in its wake. While Kindra couldn't possibly be sure of his good nature, Alden himself was, so he had no concerns in that direction. He did, however, feel that slight shake as her hand took his.

Her cheek was as soft and gently warm as he'd expected it to be. The scent of her skin, expensive soap and what-not tempted him with a subtle pull towards the carnal even while she spoke of a deeper understanding, and Alden kept his mouth shut a little longer. He wasn't sure there about the depth, but he felt that need for more well enough.

Then she wrapped herself in closer and ramped up the formality of the situation a couple of interesting notches. Chivalry wrestled internally with desire and Alden flashed an openmouthed grin, leant forward and nuzzled Kindra's ear, words secondary to his tactile needs.

"I've never been asked so nicely before," he admitted, mouth close to her ear still. "But I'm up for some naked wanting and loving if'n you are." He shifted position, freeing up both his hands to instantly grab Kindra firmly about her waist and lifted her up.

Her surprised gasp was followed by a burst of laughter, and Kindra wrapped her legs around his waist, securing herself in a new position of carnal embrace with one arm thrown around his wide shoulders. Face-to-face, she ran the fingers of her other hand along the curve of his ear and stroked his jaw with her palm, bringing his mouth close to hers.

"Oh, Alden, I am up for it," she murmured. Kindra savored the moment, taking her time to make this kiss - their first real kiss - memorable. She pressed her lips to his, softly, only a chaste brush at first. Voice husky, she repeated, "Alden," then kissed him with more urgency, teasing with her tongue to part his lips.

Kindra's legs about his waist removed any lingering doubt or reticence, throwing Alden all-in even as she kissed him. A Companion. Kissed him. For free and everything.

Her breathy words, her lips speaking his name and then just the really good kind of mouth-to -mouth, all warm and wet and rapidly escalating as Alden's insistence met hers. No words needed. Just feelings and need and enthusiasm.

He walked, steadily and with a keen determination. Strode across the shuttle until he found a clear space against which to firmly press Kindra's back. Free-standing, her legs about his waist, Alden came up from air long enough to help Kindra work his shirt off over his head and hurl it behind him. Then he looked to see how much of her clothing was easily removable, ducking back upwards to steal a lengthy kiss, his eyes locking hungrily on hers even as warm hands sought more of that soft, perfect skin.

Kindra hooked her feet together around Alden's back, and helped him pull her choli over her head. Leveraged between the cool shuttle wall and his hot, muscular chest, she claimed his mouth in another long, deep kiss, exploring what skin she could reach with her hands, until her frustration with the layers of clothing still separating them overcame her reluctance to let him go. She pulled back to look into his dark blue eyes and relaxed her legs around his waist. Feet on the floor once again, she tugged eagerly on the clasp of his trousers.

Easy. This felt easy in a good way. No words, no questions, just feelings, needs and wandering hands. A big dumb openmouthed grin broadcast his pure happiness even as Kindra shifted position away from him, then grabbed for his trouser buttons. Alden reached long fingers around her slender form and deftly unfastened Kindra's bra, moving slowly then to nuzzle her neck, to nudge and nibble her left ear.

---

He had no idea how much time had passed before he finally exhaled with a deep, raw exhaustion and neither did he care. Naked but for the merest whisper of a sheet across them both, eyes closed, Alden smiled and decided not to point out that, beneath Kindra's bare back, his right arm was falling asleep faster than he was.

"Well, I'd say you've mastered the pitch, roll and yaw," he whispered in her ear, his tone jovial. "Throttle's a little heavy, but we can work on that."

Kindra floated in a deliciously exhausted state of satiated contentment, Alden's arm under her back just uncomfortable enough to stop her drifting into sleep. On an intellectual level she knew her brain was returning to normal after a prolonged inundation of neurotransmitters. Dopamine driving her arousal, oxytocin from the pleasure he'd given her, serotonin in the pleasure she gave him, endorphins boosting her stamina, and a flood of dopamine in each completion.

She chuckled at his playful comment, shifted off his arm and repositioned herself with her head on his chest, chin propped to look into his face with half-lidded eyes. "Ah. We can't have that. I recommend frequent and repeated flying sessions."

"Exactly how frequent?" He teased. "I'm a busy man, y'know. Under contract an' everything."

Alden stretched out both arms and flexed his fingers, then shifted to place interlocked hands beneath his own head and the pillow. That allowed him to comfortably look into those dark occular depths of the minx resting upon his sternum, and furnish her with a lopsided, happy smile.

There was an emotional itch just quietly making itself known in the back of his brain. A conscience that reminded him of times past, times he didn't need to remember right now. Alden allowed himself to be aware of it, while ignoring it with a definite malice. He didn't want to think about Her right now, he didn't really want to think about anything, but Kindra's chin brushed lightly against a lengthy old scar and... He pushed that thought away, a brief glance to the left his only tell as he spoke softly.

"I think I can juggle my schedule for the next few days," Alden decided. He didn't want to think too hard about that Pelorum goodbye either. "But we need to work out a fair trade," he added, that grin back in full force. "Pretty sure you know a few tricks I don't... in... other areas of expertise..."

"Don't forget to add our music rehearsals to your busy schedule," Kindra teased back. She'd talk to the Cicada's captain, she decided, and ask if Alden could remain on the transport ship as a passenger for a while – so she wouldn't have to say goodbye quite so soon. A small voice in the back of her mind, a voice that sounded like her mother, whispered that she was already too emotionally involved. Kindra silenced that voice. She would not make the same mistakes her mother had made.

"Tricks." Kindra frowned. The word raised her professional ire. Too many people thought a companion was nothing more than an expensive whore. In her years at Madrassa, she'd studied music, anatomy, biochemistry, psychology, sociology, religion, literature, and politics. Half seriously, Kindra admonished, "No, I do not know or turn tricks. I'm a companion. What I have is a wide range of knowledge, and skills to apply that knowledge to elicit pleasure."

"As for areas of expertise…" She raised an eyebrow and moved sinuously against him. "There are myriad different ways to experience pleasure, and every individual's taste is unique. My practical training includes massage, roleplay, restraint, toys, impact play, dom/sub dynamics, and other things. Is there anything you've always wanted to try? Or something you want, but feel reluctant to ask for? We can explore, experiment…" Kindra yawned, ducking her head against his chest to cover it.

The thought of playing guitar in front of a bunch of posh people was merrily dancing about in his mind when Alden felt that shift in his bedfellow's mood. Oops. He didn't have to wait long for the reasoning behind Kindra's frown or the emphasis on that one word.

"I didn't..." Alden began in his own defence, then stopped and allowed the young woman to vent her wrath. Ah okay, he thought quietly, he hadn't meant that kinda trick, but correcting his first mistake would only lead to more lecturing. Besides, the way Kindra was curving her firm, warm body against him right now, Alden could care less if he'd verbally fucked up. Hell, maybe her being 'mad' at him would be a good thing.

He leant in to steal a kiss, feeling no need for words as his internal temperature rose all the way back up again, and caught her inhale against his skin as Kindra tried to hide a yawn. Alden closed his eyes and promised himself he was doing the right thing here, regardless of the fact every fibre of his being screamed the opposite.

"Surprise me," he said, kissing Kindra's forehead while pushing his fingers through her long, curly hair. "But... later. Now, right now? You need to get some sleep." Alden exhaled hard, because sleep was the last thing he was going to have for a few hours now. Regret infused his next words. "And I need to go take my shift on the bridge."

"Your shift." A dismayed sigh was followed by a sleepy not-quite-guilty smile. "How inconsiderate of me to keep my lover up for so long." Lover... the word had just slipped out, natural and yet foreign to her. She'd been a registered companion for two years, and in that time she'd dedicated herself exclusively to her vocation.

Surprises were also a radical departure from service. "A relaxing surprise I think… to begin with." She wondered what secret desires Alden might be hiding. Enticing him to reveal and share them with her was a thrilling prospect in itself. Kindra pulled him into a kiss that promised future carnal delights.

Reluctantly, Kindra shifted to let Alden sit up, then slipped on a silk robe and began helping him search the shuttle for his hastily cast-off clothing. "Are you allowed to bring your guitar to the bridge with you? Do you think the captain would mind if my harp and I keep you company there?"

He sat up, more sharply than he expected, as that word sank like a heavy stone into his brain. Lover. The smile that had caught at the side of Alden's mouth sank back into oblivion as he struggled to emotionally process that big L word versus his battle-damaged heart. Three years wasn't long enough to erase her memory, much as he might want to and he fought to aim his face at the far wall and not ruin the moment for Kindra too.

"Relaxing surprise sounds perfect," Alden said, and he hoped his voice was calmer than he felt while he pulled on trousers and dragged his shirt over his head. "But I think our captain might object to musical accompaniment." He turned back to the young woman with a genuine smile. "Unless you asked him, maybe," he added with a nonchalant shrug. Did he want company or did he need time to work this through? Not a difficult question, but an important one. "I promise though," Alden offered honestly as he turned back to Kindra and kissed her briefly but firmly on the lips. "If he doesn't, I'll come find you in a bit." No sense in overthinking this now, there'd be plenty of flight time in which to do that.

If not for her training, Kindra wouldn't have noticed the subtle shift. The tension in Alden's back as he turned away from her. The forced-relaxed tone of his voice. While he dressed, Kindra's uncertainty played across her features as the last moments replayed in her mind. She knew how she must sound – it happened with her clients sometimes. A reluctance to acknowledge the session was done and let go. An awkward attempt to extend their time with her. Jiàn tā de guǐ (Damnit). Asking to go with him to the bridge and rehearse during his shift… did she just want to ensure they were prepared to perform… or was it something else?

Kindra guiltily recalled promises she'd made to herself, to Madrassa, and to her mother - dead four years now. A bit of time apart would do her and Alden both good. She needed a nap, and to spend some time in meditation to sort herself out.

Alden's firm kiss reassured Kindra, and she gave him a wry smile. "I can just imagine the look on the captain's face. A guitar and a harp on the bridge probably won't fly with him, but I'll try." She had another ask for the captain, and she thought he might not mind if she just talked with Alden on the bridge about their set list and rehearsed vocals. But suggesting that to Alden just now might sound pushy. Kindra shrugged to convey acceptance of the boundary he set. "Sure, find me later. I'll be here."

He laughed with her at that thought - his gruff employer stumbling onto his bridge to find an impromptu concert in progress - but Alden felt the dual pull of the wanting to stay and snuggle versus the need to carry out his paid duty. Ta Mah Duh, but he wanted to roll back into those arms and explore Kindra's entire repertoire...

"I gotta go," Alden said, lingering on the edge of another embrace even as he said those words. "I really gotta go." Calloused fingertips rough from manual labour and guitar strings rested briefly beneath Kindra's chin though and he flashed a warm grin before speaking words he truly meant. "Day job, y'know? Else I'd be more'n content to sleep, snuggle and..." his voice skipped. "Do all the things you're thinking."

A backwards step, a tilt of his head as he soaked up the moment, the way Kindra held herself, those perfectly delicious curves and all the wandering wayward thoughts. Alden stepped back, ready to leave, then half-turned back in the doorway to impishly throw one final question over his shoulder.

"Lover, huh?" he asked, words wrapped with a jovial elation that backlit his tone.

A sudden rush of emotion recalled an experience from Kindra's childhood. A place her three parents took her on holiday, a sled poised at the top of a snow-covered hill, the anticipation, the thrill as she pushed off and let gravity take over. She glowed with unexpected joy. "Yes. Lover."