Dream Drive Ch. 04

Jackson wouldn't have doubted her - her voice left no room for doubt - but he didn't have to take it on faith. He could feel it from her, radiating in waves. She had the indomitable certainty of a single rocky island holding out against a thousand years of stormy seas. He could feel it on his skin, as if she were made of granite. He saw the light in her eyes, and it burned a mark into him.

"...did you feel that?" Chaki asked.

"...yeah," Jackson said. "You...I can still feel you. I think it's the bond."

Chaki's eyes shimmered. "You really accepted what I said."

"You're the north star," Jackson said, as if that explained everything.

And it did.

She buried her face in his neck, nuzzling in tight. He held her against himself. He felt...different. Renewed.

"Thank you, Chaki."

"You accepted me." She squeezed him tighter. "It feels so wonderful. I want to bathe in it. It's like there was this wall, an iron gate. And I kept hitting, and hitting, trying to get inside - and then I did."

"It was kinda the same for me."

He had a sudden awareness of her body against his; her small breasts, pressed against him; her legs entangled with his. His cock was stiffening up quickly.

And he could feel something from her, too. A heat, a sort of low, burning fire, different from the other warmth. She was aroused.

"Jack," she said.

"Mmm?"

"Would you take me again?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Jack worked his legs slightly, lowering along her body until he was at the right spot. They embraced once another, lying face to face. He slid his hips across the ground. His cockhead pressed against the outer folds of her sex, meeting a slight resistance, and then popped inside of her.

She wasn't quite as wet as a few minutes ago - smooth, but not slick. He pushed his length into her gently, inch by inch. He sucked in the feeling of her warmth undulating around his length.

He pressed in until he couldn't press anymore. Their thighs were a bit tight, blocking him from getting in that last inch or so. Chaki drew in a long breath through her nose and sighed. "I can...feel you."

"Me too."

And he could. It was like handling a smoldering fire with human skin, but instead of burning, the fire sharpened everything. He was iron, and she was a forge, and their feelings met each other, learned from each other, and changed. Every sensation felt like a wave worthy of a shudder.

She locked eyes with him, and the sensation of lust burned brighter inside of her. He felt his own arousal rise to meet it. He had the oddest sensation of her fullness, her hole filled with his length; and from him, he knew she'd feel that pleasure, the shivering burning itch that coated each little bit of skin where their bodies joined.

He drew back across the ground. It was excruciatingly slow. He took himself out, inch by inch, until he withdrew to the very end of the head of his cock.

Chaki whimpered. "Mmm...don't go."

Jack slowly pushed back into her. She moaned. Her hands gripped his ass, tugging him back across the ground, trying to get him back inside her.

He pushed his length in as far as he could, then took up one of her pert breasts into his mouth. He rolled it around with his tongue, enjoying the taste, the sensation of softness that he wanted to bite into. Her sun-browned skin tasted like warm earth and salt.

He could feel her want. Her fire kept simmering where they were joined, but some of it refocused on her chest, where he was putting his attention. He could feel an urge. She wanted him to take her. She wanted him to take what he wanted. The awareness struck him, suddenly. She likes it rough.

He gently ribbed her nipple with his teeth. She murmured his name, encouraging him. The fire at her chest leapt brighter. He continued to gnaw at the skin, just hard enough to be on the border of pain. She grunted and shoved her chest harder toward his mouth. He sucked on it, hard, pulling the nipple into his mouth before letting it fall with a wet smack.

He switched breasts, drawing around the other nipple up with flicks of his tongue. She began to rock her hips against him, grating herself across the grass to earn stimulation. He found that it was exactly what he'd wanted her to do.

"...I can...feel you, almost, like what you want," Jackson said.

"It's the same for me. Is it the bond?"

"Has to be."

Jackson could feel what she wanted. He needed it too. He backed his cock out of her fully, and the ball of feelings inside of him that was Chaki shivered and shrunk from the fact that he wasn't inside of her.

"Get back here," she growled.

Jackson rolled and pinned her beneath him. He shifted a bit, straddling her waist. Chaki bit her lip, anticipating his entry.

He pressed his cock back into her. The outer lips of her sex stretched a bit, then rolled around his length as he went deeper. They rode on that moment of warm, wet, bliss.

All their focus was on that sensation, and they could feel it from one another, reverberating and reflecting between them. His cock in a warm, wet hole, pressing into her tightness; stretching out small folds of pleasure that weren't there before. The slight bulb of his head pushing into her, deeper.

Their legs scissored together, and this time he bottomed out inside her. Chaki grunted as he came to a stop. She took her breasts up in her hands and rolled them in her fingers, pinching the nipples.

Jackson soaked in that image - his woman, slender, muscular, sexy, fully penetrated by his cock, giving herself more stimulation by squeezing her own breasts. A sheen of sweat shone on her skin. A slight blush covered her face and chest. Her heat enflamed him, and his heat enflamed her.

Chaki shivered. She looked down at where they were joined, where she was impaled on his length, then back up at him. Suddenly, he felt her tunnel clench around him, grip his cock, almost sucking on it. And then, it released.

Jackson swallowed and shifted his elbows. "...shit. What was that?"

"Just doing what I feel you want." Chaki furrowed her brow and clenched again. "So...like this..."

Jackson grunted. He shuddered. His hips bucked into her, almost automatically.

"Mmm..." Chaki's eyes glowed. "I like that."

"Glad you're...enjoying yourself."

Her tunnel clenched around him again, fitting to his cock like a smooth velvet glove. He growled at the sensation. This time, she didn't let go. "Now," she said, "I want you to fuck me."

Jackson was done with foreplay. He grabbed her right leg and tugged it straight up. He grasped it with both hands, propping her heel high against his shoulder. He began to thrust straight into her, using that leg for leverage.

Chaki yelped as he shoved into her harder than before. He kept pushing. He watched her eyes, and she watched him. She didn't have to say anything. He knew she wanted more of it.

He squeezed himself into her clenched-up tunnel. He focused, desperately trying to shove away the roll of pleasure that came as he moved through that warm tightness. If he didn't, he wouldn't last long.

Jackson kept one hand around her ankle, pinning it to him, then reached out and grabbed her left breast. He used the two points to pull himself forward, shoving into her at the base of her leg. The leverage let him set a regular rhythm. Their flesh smacked together with each stroke.

Jackson leaned down into her, stretching her leg back. Chaki bent it at the knee to give him more flexibility. He almost sat on top of her thigh, using it as a grip to drive into her.

Her neck was arced. Her eyes were shut tight. The only sound she made were panting little yelps. Her thighs and ass rippled as he jammed himself into her, and he pumped harder, desperate to have her, fuck her.

Jackson could see how he was affecting her. He could feel her arousal get pounded higher and higher, coming in waves that matched his own. He could see the point where she'd tip over the edge.

Too slow. He wouldn't last. His hand left her breast.

She opened her eyes only to see him lean fully over and take that breast in his mouth. His hand, freed up, traveled down to her ass, gripping as well as he could between the grass and her skin. He was almost pounding straight down into her, using his mouth, his hands, and his weight to force her down below him.

Chaki's eyes rolled back. Jackson felt her ass clench under his hand; the small of her back rose off the ground. He took advantage, forcing her hips up and into him with his hand as he slammed his cock down from above.

Chaki came. It didn't come from the outside, from below - it felt like she'd burst into flames right inside of him.

The punch of pleasure he felt through the bond sent him over the edge. His thoughts left him, and he pumped himself into her, harder even than he had before. Their hips clashed, and he came inside of her, shooting himself up and into her core.

Jackson didn't stop thrusting. He didn't want to stop. He wanted that feeling to last forever. Her breast had fallen from his mouth as he'd growled, or roared - he wasn't sure. His body moved without him directing it, holding her, fucking her.

He latched his lips onto her shoulder. His teeth followed, hard, almost biting on her collarbone. He wanted her taste, her smell, the smell of wildflowers and prairie grass and sex.

She was starting to come down. He didn't want that. He wanted the fire to keep burning. Her pleasure was a drug. He was an addict on the first hit.

He let Chaki's ass fall back to the ground and shoved his hand onto the top of her slit as he kept pounding into her. His thumb found her clit. He rolled it in hard, vicious circles and sank his cock as deep into her as he could.

Even as her back was starting to fall from its first excruciating arc, it coiled back up like a spring. He felt the fire burn inside her again, incinerating the ash of her first climax as fuel for the second. Her sex squeezed his cock, demanding more from him even as he kept shoving it into her.

And he came again. Her fire burned into him, through him, made his muscles steel themselves. His hips bucked into her; his muscles kept twitching, shoving, thrusting. His entire body changed, felt dedicated to the sole task of experiencing that moment of pleasure.

Chaki was making a noise somewhere between a scream and a moan. He thought he could hear his name there, somewhere. Her nails were dragging down his back. He could feel himself spurting into her core, giving her more than he thought he had. He emptied himself into her sex.

Slowly, Jackson came down from the ecstasy, from the high. He was panting. Her leg had slid off his chest and to the side, so that he was on top of her, barely propped up on his elbows. He was still buried to the hilt. His cock throbbed. He felt drained.

Chaki was still shivering. Her breath came in tiny, shuddering gasps. She was having trouble getting her breath back.

"...Chaki."

Her eyes peeled themselves open. "Stay...there."

Jackson wasn't quite back to his full mental capacities. "Huh?"

"Stay, inside me. Like that."

"Not going anywhere." Jackson's arms were aching from the exertion; he couldn't keep himself propped above her. He gripped Chaki from behind her shoulders, then rolled them so she was lying on top, keeping himself inside of her as he did so. Her weight was comforting on him.

He couldn't believe his own stamina. He was only just starting to soften. If he just caught his breath, he could go again. He wanted to go again.

"Something..." Jackson tried to collect himself. "Something about the bond, Chaki. We're slingshotting off each other." He took another breath. "Wait. Do you know what a slingshot is?"

Chaki moved her hands so they rested at his neck. She turned her head so her cheek was against his chest. Her eyes caught his. "We hunt small game with them. I know what you mean to say. I could feel it. We're bouncing off each other."

"Something like that."

Chaki slowly sighed. "That was...I don't have the words again."

Jackson started laughing. "Neither do I."

And Chaki, who was on top of him, shook with his chest, and she started laughing too. They embraced each other, and lay there, absorbing the afterglow of the shared experience.

Jackson frowned. A small bruise was blossoming at the base of Chaki's neck. He could see his teeth marks in her skin. "Chaki. Does that hurt?" He gingerly touched the purple mark.

She smiled at him. "...maybe a little. But I like it."

"You do?"

She nodded. "It feels like...you've really taken me. I'm yours. You've marked me." She raised her left arm, inspecting the pentagram on the back of her hand. "In more ways than one." She sighed, and fell to his chest. "...spirits, Jack."

"What?"

"I didn't ever think I would feel like this. You still want me. I can feel it inside you. I'm...so happy you want me."

"You caught me," Jackson said. "I don't know how you're surprised."

"Hmm?"

"Chaki," Jackson said, "even when you were covered in dirt, you were one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen."

She tsked. "No flattery, Jackson." She snuggled in closer. "I want you, too, but..."

Jackson brushed her hair back over and ear and played with it. "You're tired, aren't you?"

She nodded. "Too much dancing. Too many things, today. I must wash myself again, but then we should go back."

"Sounds good." He drew his finger down her ear, then across her cheek and to her lips. "Plenty of time."

She playfully bit his finger. And then she drew her teeth back along it, then bit forward again, and sucked. His finger slipped from her lips with a wet pop.

"I can feel other things inside you," she said, her voice quieter. "You want me to lick you, too. Down there. And maybe be on top sometimes?" She wiggled her hips. "I'll put those ideas away for later."

"Aww," Jackson said.

Chaki pried herself off him and stood over him, straddling him. She felt at the space between her legs, then drew her hand up. Her twice-climax and his own cum glistened on her fingers. "...ooh. I do need to clean up." She put her hands on her hips and gave him a sultry look. "But not too clean."

She moved over him. Jackson heard her splash into the water. He rolled up and followed her in, stepping from the dry grasses into the creek's muddy waters. They kissed and played a little while longer, enjoying each other's company and exploring the sensation of the bond before walking back to camp.

###

Jackson couldn't sleep.

He rolled over in Shaka's tent. The old woman was breathing softly, evenly, long since departed to the dream world. He was stuck awake.

The dream world. Isn't that what Isis was supposed to be?

He realized what was wrong. Shakhan had taken his need to sleep - a little favor to help him survive. The events of the night had shoved that fact to the back of his head. His body had gone through the motions on his behalf.

Another peripheral thought wondered why he wasn't logging off. Isis was on the fence in his mind - stuck between the real world and a video game. It wasn't something to be logged off from, really. But was he actually going to live here, move himself here? Could he just leave the entirety of the real world behind, vanish into thin air?

He could. He never had to go back.

Something about it bothered him. He was surprised at himself. He'd just told Chaki that he had nothing to go back to, but abandoning the 'real world', forgetting about Earth altogether...it didn't sit right with him. He wasn't sure why he cared, but he did.

It was the familiarity.

His hands itched a bit for his tools. His solder gun, his pint-sized screwdrivers. He missed his hardware magazines, his feeds to the three dozen techie blogs he tracked, the websites he helped manage and the forums he posted in. He had no presence in the real world, but he had one in the digital world. He was attached to it.

Jackson pulled his hide blanket off and left the tent. Most of the camp's lights were out. The feast had been packed away. The three fires lit for the dancing and drumming were still smoldering. Jackson could see men moving at the edges of the tipis, keeping a nighttime vigil.

The plains were so flat. It was beautiful, in its own way, but the sky was so...big. Too big. His eyes hunted the night, looking for the skyline of the city, the tight but secure spaces of technology and civilization. It was as if he was suffering from concrete withdrawal.

He moved away from Shaka's tipi to avoid waking her and said the words to open his screens. "Game menu."

On the left side of the transparent square was his black pentagram, still marked with his statistics. The upper left point now held a fat white dot. Chaki's picture was situated next to it, along with her name and level.

He tried touching her picture. It expanded to a full body shot of his lover, standing in her usual hide dress. It was plain, brown rawhide, sewn into a long dress that hung to her ankles. Furry deerskin formed a small collar, sealing in heat. Dark brown hair hung down below her shoulders.

Chaki, the Dancing Huntress (Level 5)

Talents: Agility, Persuasion, Spirit

That was interesting. He tried poking at the various labels with his fingers, but that was all the detail he could view. He figured that the game treated her as an allied force - she didn't get the detailed breakdown he did, but she had her areas of expertise. He had to maximize those strengths and fill in her weaknesses.

What would their strategy be? She could use her runes to heal and grow wood right out of trees - she was almost like a druid. So far, Jackson had put points into Strength and Vitality. If he put more power into Spirit - thereby increasing his essence capacity and resistance to magic - then he'd make the foundation of a front-line fighter capable of using a lot of abilities. That seemed like a good complement to her support role.

He closed Chaki's screen and glanced back at his own statistics.

Strength - 20 +2 (+10%)

Vitality - 20 +2 (+10%)

Agility - 0 (+5%)

Compulsion - 0

Persuasion - 0

Spirit - 0 (+25%)

The numbers telling him his stats were in white, but next to his strength and vitality was a green-colored '+2' followed by a percentage. That had to be the passive bonuses totaled from his new title and his bond with Chaki.

He was still sitting on 25 essence. Should he keep saving it for abilities, or throw it into statistics? Spirit was tempting. With his current bonuses, it seemed a good choice.

Jackson decided to think it over a bit longer. He was assuming too much about Chaki. He had to quiz her on her capabilities more thoroughly before committing to a development scheme.

He moved on to his options menu. A glorious series of tabs opened up before him. He practically drooled over the myriad ways he could modify his experience to suit his needs.

The first thing he landed on was a graphical display of his essence. He immediately flicked it on and backed out of the menu to check the results. Lo and behold, the essence counter under his health bar still read 25 - but now that number rested against a blue bar. The new bar was about a quarter full. There was no number showing his maximum capacity, but from the size of the bar, it seemed he could hold about 100 essence at most. Not too much, really.

The lack of a number bugged him. Shouldn't it just say 25/100, like his health? The essence bar itself definitely had a visible cap, an endpoint.

Jackson sighed. Isis.

He went back into the options. Chaki had a subtab for her own essence - he flicked it on. The little miniature portrait of her in the corner of his sight gained its own blue bar. It was just like they were a party in a role playing game.

Well, not quite. There was a section for parties in the options menu; the bond was its own thing. He took a glance at the party tabs and found that they were all set on by default. They included the predicable options of displaying their health, essence, and indicating their position on his minimap. He'd have to team up with another player at some point and experiment.