Heart of the Sun Ch. 02

Bakur stepped into the pool and tapped the pop-up display key beside him. The keypad and display slid cleanly out of their sockets in the control panel that measured the pool's temperature, composition, and other relevant data. He set a time for thirty standard minutes and started his exercise.

Since coming to Anoria, he'd been receiving custom-made metabolic and recovery supplements and ointments from Nilim every day. Even with his broken toe and minor fractures healed, she gave them to him twice daily with food. Or in the case of ointments for his bruises, scrapes, and former burns, rubbed them in before he went to bed.

That usually resulted in sex.

Well, most interactions of more than four or five minutes resulted in sex now. Since their first encounter after he listened to her entire life story, she had managed to snag at least one intimate encounter a day. Sometimes three or four, depending on the mood he was in or how much she actually spoke to him. Sometimes they even got Nakator guests that watched with mild interest until Nilim was free to do her duties as the tribe's only regular Tataion.

Bakur had become a sort of oddity among the Nakator in recent days. They regarded him as an open secret, pretending like Nilim had every reason to keep him here in complete seclusion and without contacting the planetary authorities to let them know he even existed.

The mercenary reached the end of his lap in the pool and flipped over, diving through the lukewarm water toward his starting point again. Of the options given to him, he liked swimming the best. It provided him with the clearest mind and let him stay centrally-located between the kitchen, Nilim's bedroom, and his suit trying to charge in the pavilion nearby.

It hadn't been charging well in the nine days since he was allowed to put it in the sunlight just outside the pavilion's arched entrance to charge via solar cells. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. He didn't have the tools to run an independent diagnostics test on any of its systems, so he had to trust the thing's on-board sensory data.

Everything read as working nominally, as far as he could get it to say. His suit wouldn't display internal temperature or water recycling data, but those weren't terribly important to the photocells or batteries. Not that he could tell, in any case. The suit's internal architecture wasn't so easy to understand, but from the training he'd received in repair functions, neither of the aforementioned systems interfered with charge rate or capacity.

Regardless, the charge rate was abysmal. One to two percent a day was all he could get out of it, if he didn't use any of the diagnostics equipment. That actually drained the backup batteries and set him back, so he kept it to a minimum. Some undiagnosed system failure was preventing regular charge rates, or Mother Sun was refusing to give her energy to him on purpose.

Every day he believed the latter more.

"Bakur," Nilim said from across the pool room. The mercenary paused mid-stroke and reoriented himself upright, looking around to find the tanned woman calling his name. She was standing in the doorway when he managed to find her. Folded neatly at her hip were his clothes, as per usual, strapped to her body by the long cloth woven around her hips and between her legs.

"Nilim," Bakur replied, heading to the side of the pool nearest to her. "How was...Taminda's?"

"Tyndarea," the Anorian corrected with some amusement, a rarity in the past few days.

Bakur nodded respectfully. "Tyndarea. How was she? You mentioned that was about ready to squeeze her kid out yesterday."

"She is very round," Nilim answered. She crossed the room to Bakur as he got to the side of the pool. She sat in front of him with her legs on either side of him, dipped casually into the water up to the knee. She ran a hand through his wet hair.

"You thought any about what she's gonna look like once she's healed up?" he ventured, trying to open up a dialogue with her that consisted of more than one-to-five-word replies. Since they started having sex, she had become withdrawn and a bit melancholy, even with the amount of sex they had. She cried sometimes without explanation and other times just smiled for hours on and off while she stared at him.

Nilim shrugged. "I will know soon."

"Well that's good," Bakur replied, looking up at her warmly. "Is Malinka getting any better after revealing Tab's name?"

"Slowly."

The mercenary nodded. "Well, Tab turned out pretty good, right? Malinka feels pretty good about it all, I think, and Tab loves the part on her face."

"Malinka did well." Nilim leaned down and kissed Bakur's forehead.

"So you think that means you might be getting some more days to yourself in the future? You know, with a second tataion around? Maybe cut your workload in half so you can do some of the things you've been missing out on."

The Anorian striped her sparse clothing off and slid into the pool as Bakur backed away to make room. She laid her arms around his shoulders and gave him an impenetrable look, something between concern and deep thought. He couldn't tell what she was thinking when she wore this face. She looked vaguely unsatisfied in a way that made him think he'd said something wrong, but she always denied it. He didn't know if she was lying or not.

"I'm not missing out." She nuzzled him softly.

"Well, not me I guess, but the Atanki, right? You said you wanted to go back?"

She made a noise. "Yes."

"Well you might be able to now. Or, in the future at some point. You still want to go?"

"It would be nice." She kissed his neck, reaching down to take his hand from her waist and pull it to her breast. He could feel his arousal stir immediately at the promise of sex again. While it felt great to be wanted like this, things had gotten a little...stilted.

"Well tell me your thoughts on it. Do you, uh, have an offering in mind for when you go?" Bakur reached out for anything to talk about. She did the same thing every time she appeared to desire avoiding a particular subject. Rather, any time he asked her what her personal thoughts were on something, she retreated into a little corner and enticed him with her body.

"Initiate, please," she demanded in a quiet voice. Well, demand was a strong word to use there. It definitely was in wording, but her tone was so meek and demure that it felt more like she was asking him to do it.

"Hey, come on," Bakur cooed. He pressed her to the edge of the pool and massaged her breast with his thumb. "You made it seem really important to you when you took tinbenk."

"You will initiate," she said in a tone that said she was starting to close up for the day.

He slid a hand over the curve of her ass and down the back of her thigh. Her leg rose to wrap around his waist as he penetrated her. He didn't even mean to do that. It just...happened. Shit, man. Get it together. You're letting her do this to you again.

"Please? Talk to me? I feel like you're afraid of talking to me or something. Did I-"

"No," she gasped. She grabbed his hand on her breast and moaned hoarsely, bucking her hips forward. "You didn't."

"I didn't what?" He closed the gap between their lips and kissed her delicately. She responded by raising her free hand to his neck and keeping him against her as he rocked against her pelvis slowly. She liked it when things were slow. It meant she had more of him to feel and take in while she gasped for breath and tried to smother him with her mouth. Maybe giving her a little of what she wanted would get her to open up in turn?

"Not...afraid..." she managed through their kissing.

Bakur pulled back, nipping her tongue to get it to retreat from his mouth. "Well then what's the matter? I feel like you don't want to talk to me. I'm not judging you for anything."

"I do," she admitted even as she tried to kiss him again. He leaned back, seating his erection completely inside her body as he did. She bit her lip and trembled. Yeah, something about deep penetration really gets you going, doesn't it? Bakur shook the thought from his head even as he saw Nilim's cheeks flush red with arousal.

"Then talk to me." He shoved her against the side of the pool and her other leg came up, both now spread as wide as possible. He felt another centimeter of sensitive flesh meet and the Anorian moaned without holding any of it back.

"Fuck me, Bakur," she said in a sultry tone.

I shouldn't have told her about that, the mercenary thought even as he reared back and shoved himself in hard enough to bounce her in his grip. She grabbed at his back with both hands and started to ride him in earnest now, having been told his preferences a few days ago. She had used it against him six times now in order to distract him from her noticeable lack of communication.

He couldn't help himself when a girl talked dirty. Something about it really made his cock rise a little higher for the occasion. For Nilim, asking him explicitly to fuck her was about as dirty as it got, but it was such a departure from her unspecific urging that it turned him on. She said 'wreck my pussy' once and it ended with both of them complaining about sore hips. He hadn't even taught her that one.

Bakur knew that it was too late to get anything meaningful out of her at this point. They'd probably 'talk' a little more afterwards, but that was it. There would be no understanding. No explanation. No thoughts or discussion. Just...talk.

He stopped, seated fully inside Nilim, and hugged her to his chest. She trembled in his arms, still wrapped around him like he was going to drift away if she didn't squeeze the breath from his lungs. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck, but even still he could tell what her expression was.

"Nilim, I don't just want you to say words to me. I want- I want you to tell me how you feel. Sometimes I feel like a prisoner here waiting for the warden to let me out into the yard. I like talking to you and hearing about what you think and what you have to say. You-"

The Anorian's hand rose to the back of his head and gripped the shaggy crop of hair on his head. He felt her tug him down and fought to keep their lips apart. Nilim's face was as red as a main sequence star, drenched in a mix of arousal, worry, and anxiety. She couldn't hold his gaze for more than a few seconds.

"Drug me with your cum," she said softly.

His brow furrowed. "What?"

"Give me a daughter."

Bakur fought his immediate urge to keep going. His erection throbbed uncomfortably hard at the thought of impregnating the most attractive woman he'd probably ever get to touch in his life. He was barely able to shake the thought from his head.

"Nilim, don't try to- just-"

She looked him in the eyes. "Make me need your cock."

Fine, Nilim. You wanted this.

Bakur pulled out and grabbed Nilim's ankles, yanking them from the small of his back. She fought to seat him back inside of her, but he twisted her arm behind her back and turned her around, shoving her out of the pool and onto the smooth tile beyond.

It was already too late for him to back out now. He knew she'd won already. She probably knew it too, but the look of hurt confusion on her face was more than enough to satisfy his indignant disapproval at being manipulated by his dick. Even if it only worked because he let it.

Bakur followed her out of the pool and grabbed Nilim by her tanned hips, sliding her back toward him even as she tried to turn back over.

"Here's some need for you, Nilim. See if this is enough need to get you to talk to me." Their hips collided hard enough for Nilim's hands to ball into fists. He slapped her ass and she cried out, giving him a look that he interpreted as a challenge. His hips drove against her harder with every stroke, hands assisting her as she backed into him with enthusiasm.

They continued like this for a while, wearing the Anorian down until she was carrying one moan over through three or four thrusts at a time. Bakur relished the feeling of power over her, the smooth curve of her hips obeying his desires at his touch.

She wanted this more than anything. He made her feel like this. Nobody else could do this to-

What the fuck is happening to me?

The thought made him slow down. Nilim filled in with an overflowing reservoir of fervor, arching her back to give him the greatest view of her athletic body that anyone could ask for. It filled him with enough desire to finish things out with an impressive amount of energy. By the time he could feel the familiar cord of desire tightening in his chest, he was sweating as much as she was.

They finished seconds apart and Bakur felt his entire body shudder as his fingers dug into Nilim's meaty hips and held on with all their strength. With every pulse of pleasure than ran between them, Bakur could feel the serotonin receptors in his brain begging for more. He throbbed with arousal even as his orgasm ebbed to a mild wavelength bouncing between warmth and breath-hitching strings of electricity reaching for his head.

He let Nilim's hips go and she collapsed to the floor in a heap, slapping wetly against the tile like a fish out of water. Bakur sat back on his heels and rubbed his eyes tiredly. They didn't ever fuck like this. Usually it was something very intimate like it had started in the pool. Something...sweet. This time it was something coming from a place Bakur didn't often visit inside himself.

He looked down at Nilim's panting form splayed across the floor. She slowly collected herself and crawled over to him, looping her arms around his shoulders as she reached him. Her green eyes glimmered wetly.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, kissing him with matching softness. He leaned in without fighting it. Nilim started to cry in silence, arms tightening around him as if he would pull away otherwise. They continued until she broke into sobbing and left, unable to bring herself to say anything else.

Bakur didn't know how to feel. Shame welled up inside him like an open flame catching fuel. Despite everything surrounding their odd circumstances, she had been nothing but a good, caring host and provided for him without question. Yet here he was, trying to punish her for dodging questions. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair and let out a long, regretful sigh.

Something had to change.

------------

The next day, he pulled Malinka aside while Nilim was in the kitchen preparing lunch.

"While I have you alone, I need to ask you something," he said, catching the Anorian's suspicion immediately. She cast a glance toward the doorway leading into the kitchen, trying to call Nilim through it by some trick of desire.

"Alright," the woman answered warily.

Bakur tried to keep his voice low and even. "Can you come back over tomorrow while Nilim's gone?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," she answered flatly, turning to leave. Bakur grabbed her wrist and had to remind himself that he was asking for a favor, despite her dismissive reply. He needed her help. His grip loosened some, but the woman didn't pull her arm free. She merely waited for him to say something.

"Look, Malinka, I'm not trying to fuck you. I do enough of that to Nilim as it is." He looked away and tried to arrange his thoughts in a way that didn't sound like he was going behind Nilim's back with her closest friend and student. "I just need to talk to you about her, okay?"

"About Nilim?" came the reply. She slowly twisted her wrist out of his grasp now and he let her go without a fight. She ramained wary, but in place.

"Yes. About Nilim."

"What about her?" Malinka's tone lost some of its edge.

"Just-" Bakur stopped himself, reminding himself again that he needed Malinka's cooperation. "Can you just come back tomorrow? Mid morning?"

"Bakur..."

He couldn't keep the desperation out of his voice. "Please, Malinka."

She stared at him for several seconds, analyzing his face and searching for hidden motives. He couldn't be more readable if he tried. He didn't have any other options. Nilim wouldn't talk to him about what was happening between them. He had no idea what he was doing to make her close up and shut him out. It was evident in his recent actions that he was losing his own ability to communicate without getting upset himself. He needed help.

"Alright," Malinka finally said. "But if-"

"I won't; I swear," Bakur answered immediately, putting a hand over his heart to emphasize the point.

Malinka nodded, compliant but skeptical. "I'll come back tomorrow then. Mid morning."

"Thank you." Bakur breathed a sigh of relief as the Anorian walked away. Alright, I've gotten this much at least. Nothing left to do but wait ask and hope for some answers. Bakur looked up at the ceiling and found the woman in his bedroom fresco staring back at him, this time bedecked in armor and looking very determined and noble. Her ever-present smile was still there, urging him on toward his goal.

Maybe that was a good sign.

He wanted it to be.

------------

Malinka arrived the next morning shortly after Nilim left to meet with Tyndarea. She eventually found him in the small bathing pool washing himself with coal and resin soap, scrubbing the stuff through his matted hair with trails of wet soot dripping into his eyes. He didn't notice her presence until she was nearly right in front of him, looking down with disapproval.

"This is not a good way to meet, Bakur," she said. "Calling me to Nilim's home, alone, to find you naked and preparing for what?"

Her tone was icier than liquid nitrogen. Bakur tried to wipe the soap from his eyes, but it only served to sting him uncomfortably. Squeezing his eyes shut with discomfort, he settled for cupping his hands and throwing water into his face.

"Malinka, I swear I'm not trying to deceive you. If you want to leave and let me dress in every single piece of clothing I can find in the house before we talk, I will. I'll do whatever you want. I'll talk to you facing the other way if I need to."

He got enough of the soap out of his eyes to look around and watched a blurry Malinka approach the edge of the pool. She tossed a towel into his face and he wiped away what he could. The Anorian sat down, dangling her legs into the warm water like Nilim usually did when she wanted his attention.

He pulled up short of the edge, giving the woman a respectable distance in an effort to show he truly wasn't deceiving her.

"Thanks for coming," he said.

"What do you have to say about Nilim?" Her tone hadn't warmed up any.

Perfect. At least it can't get any worse from here. Bakur decided to forego placating gestures and dive right into what he wanted to know. "Did I do something to upset her?"

Malinka blinked impassively. "In what way?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that."

"Why do you think I know?" Was she probing him for motives? Still?!

Bakur let go of his irritation almost as soon as it surfaced. Given how they'd met today in combination with Malinka's suspicions, it made sense why she'd be unwilling to give him even a micrometer of slack. Still, it felt shitty. He'd never done anything to make her suspicious of him in the first place.

"You're arguably Nilim's closest friend, Malinka. If anyone knows what I did to upset Nilim, it's you. She trusts you with her legacy."

Malinka's mouth creased with deep thought. That did the trick.

"You haven't upset her," the Anorian admitted begrudgingly.

"Alright, well that's good to hear," the mercenary said. "But has she said why she won't talk to me anymore?"

"She hasn't," the short answer came. Now she's starting to sound like Nilim, Bakur thought to himself. Clearly, they'd talked about this at some point. Maybe even as recently as last night. She was probably in Nilim's trust with exactly the information Bakur wanted. If that was the case, then she was going to shut down and leave just as quickly as Nilim usually did, without the sex first.