The Aledan PSION: The Aledan Series Book 1 Read online

  Hankura was hers, and she was his, and they always would be. Somehow, she had always known that. As the years passed, the knowing dimmed for a while as she pushed it back when she was with Berke.

  As they make the carnal journey toward the pinnacle of their desire, their climax was about to erupt like a geyser spewing hot water from deep in the earth. Closer and closer, higher and higher they soared…

  Then they were both ripped away, split in two, back in their solitary beds…alone.

  "No!" Michelle cried as she woke, still aching to feel him inside her, to know the warmth of his hard body against hers, and the comfort of his thoughts entwining with hers. But Hankura wasn't there, he never was. She was alone in the dark cabin, wanting a man she had never seen except in her dreams.

  Cursing the uncomfortable wetness spreading over his groin, Hankura awoke in the solitude of his small spacecraft. It was just a dream, but the result was real enough. Michelle had given him some of the best erotic dreams of his life without even knowing it. It was a bittersweet meeting of their minds that always left him depressed afterward. He always woke up alone, ready to sell his soul just to hold her . . . To make love to her as he dreamed of doing. In those moments, he believed it was certainly worth the risk of going to Earth.

  After a few calming breaths, Hankura got up from his bunk and went into the sanitary closet to shower and dress. He still had another hour to sleep, but he wasn't tired anymore. When he was dressed, he slumped into his pilot's seat to monitor the auto-guidance system.

  Hankura knew that going to Earth would be risky, long before Jed Rankin warned him of the dangers. But he had no choice now. Aside from Michelle's beckoning, a power overload in the auto-guidance system had sent him off course and ate away most of the five small crystals that powered the Arius Mran.

  If he didn't put down on Earth and get replacements, his ship would eventually lose power completely, and he would die in space. On the other hand, if he put down on Earth, he could get himself killed by merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Hankura let out a rueful sigh, shifting his lean, long body in the pilot seat. It made him vaguely sad as he considered the path that led the mother world of humanity to this state of ruin. The Earth had known a proud and glorious history until they had tried to take Procyon III from alien colonists. Retaliation for the massacre of the alien colonists nearly destroyed Earth. A series of conflicts followed, ending Earth's reign as a major power in the Federation.

  The planet had become a dystopian nightmare after the Procyon wars. Earth's natural resources were severely depleted, and the population was decimated.

  Lengthy negotiations brought the conflict to an end after three hundred years. The Federation had been forced to admit wrong-doing to the Mesaarkans and relinquish all future claim to Procyon III. Since that time, the Mesaarkans had built a thriving colony, and their world had become a prominent influence in the United Galactic Federation.

  They considered that the ruin of Earth settled the debt owed by the humans. As retribution, one million people had died for each Mesaarkan killed in the attacks. Many more had died in the famines and pestilence that followed while peace was being negotiated.

  Now after 800 hundred years, the greatest part of Earth still lay in ruin. But Earth had a star port in Farringay, and there was no reason Hankura couldn't find Michelle and purchase the fuel cells he needed. He figured he could be back in space within a few days.

  Finding Michelle was the least of his worries. Her presence in his mind was growing stronger and stronger the closer he came to Earth. When the shining blue face of the mother world loomed ahead, he knew exactly where to find her.

  Hankura locked in the computer to guide the Arius Mran in for a landing. The power converter in the guidance system was working right again--too late to save his power crystals.

  The landing was routine until he crashed into the forest.

  Trees cracked under the weight of his ship, and branches scraped the hull heavily as the craft set down, echoing the sounds of destruction through the quiet of the night.

  The damage was superficial e according to the computer readouts. But, considering his recent experience with the guidance system, Hankura decided to check the hull himself in the morning. He didn't trust a computer that would send his ship almost a full sector off course.

  To conserve what little energy was left in the power crystals, he shut down the outside lights and most of the interior systems. Although he wasn't due to sleep for a few hours, there was little else he could do in the dark forest. So he lay down on his bunk and tried to relax until daybreak.

  He lay for a long time staring up at the ceiling interior of the ship's upper hull and let his mind wander.

  He sensed Michelle reaching out to him, and it was as though her soul were trying to meld with his own. Without ever having seen her, he was physically aroused. His groin ached with the overwhelming need to join her body to his. It happened many times before in the erotic dreams they had shared, but never with this intensity. He understood that this mating instinct was being triggered by the psi-bonding. Now, it threatened to overwhelm his other reasons for coming to find Michelle. He had never wanted anyone so much.

  Hankura sensed that he had been a cherished imaginary friend, sometimes more real to her than others. He kept her company when she was alone and afraid, and he shared her fears in his dreams.

  Michelle didn't really understand the strength of their connection, though. Even when the voices came to her in the months before Jerry was killed, Hankura had seen that she didn't realize the power of thought she could control. She was a latent psion, wild and uneducated. She was everything Aledan society shunned in the people of the mother world. The prospect of taking her there worried him because they would quickly see how different she was. He and Michelle would have to deal with that.

  Hankura didn't fight it as her essence invaded his mind. The bond was too strong. After fifteen minutes, Hankura knew he couldn't rest. He got up and assembled a pack for his journey, then changed from the metallic coverall he was wearing a loose-fitting shirt and trousers. On his belt, he hung a laser/stunner just in case . . .

  Although he was a physician by trade and didn't know if he could kill, he didn't dare venture out into this strange world unarmed.

  At sunrise, he left the ship to check the hull. It was marred by scraping branches but undamaged just as the computer indicated. Hankura paused to stare up at the trees towering over him. His rough landing had opened a gaping hole in the greenery that would expose his ship air crafts passing overhead.

  He couldn't risk having anyone find the ship--his only way off this miserable planet. So, he used his laser and sheared off some of the surrounding brush to camouflage it.

  Mother of Life, what am I doing here? He cursed silently as he tossed leafy branches on the pile that was beginning to cover his ship. Why didn't I just take a freighter?

  But it was not a valid question. He knew full well he had loved piloting the Mrans from the first time he'd sat behind the controls in space with the freedom of the stars in his grasp.

  He'd sacrificed companionship for his freedom, however, on this journey back to Aledus. He'd hoped the solitude would help him sort out his life. Now he was more alone than he ever thought he would be--except for her.

  Twittering sparrows startled him out of his thoughts as the birds rustled the branches overhead. He finished covering the ship and set out to find Michelle. As he moved through the trees and brush leafy branches and thorny vines seemed to reach out and slap him in the face. Brittle twigs snapped, and dry, dead leaves rustled on the ground. His noisy tramping through the woods sent numerous frightened animals scurrying away. Although he saw few, there were living creatures all around him, and he sensed their fear of him.

  He could have reassured them, but his obsession with finding Michelle kept him moving. Only that obsession could have made him struggle so relentlessly through the thick brush of the mount
ain forest. He'd lost track time altogether when he finally saw an opening ahead that renewed the strength of his determination. Two tracks were etched in the dirt, a strip of green growing between them. This open path was less direct than his route through the forest, but it stretched out before him invitingly. He sensed that it twisted eventually toward the big clearing where Michelle lived. And taking the path was a lot easier.

  Hankura! As Michelle awoke with his overwhelming presence in her mind; it was more real than she had ever known before. He was coming to find her just as he'd promised all those years ago.

  So many times, Jerry had tried to convince her that Hankura was merely a product of her imagination! She had started to believe her brother, but Jerry was wrong . . . Hankura was real, and no one would ever convince her otherwise again. He was real, and she had to find him.

  Following the tree-sheltered path deep into the woods, Michelle sensed his approach long before she caught sight of him. It was a strange feeling--a kind of magnetism that made it impossible for her to turn back. It frightened her a little.

  Then images of places she had seen in their shared dreams started to unfold in her mind as the strange-familiar presence grew stronger. She saw the endless blackness of space and sensed his loneliness on the journey to Earth. She didn't know how to shut out his memories.

  Michelle stopped at the edge of a small clearing. The sudden urge to turn and run almost overwhelmed her. He--Hankura was coming nearer. He was in her head stronger than ever before, and it scared her.

  They saw each other almost at the same time and stood staring in awe for several moments before either moved toward the other. Her fear and awe entwine with his own, and mixed with h compulsion to reach out and touch her . . .mind and body.

  He was all she had expected physically--tall and well-muscled with dark hair and emerald green eyes that seemed to look right through her.

  Michelle knew she was beautiful in his eyes despite the ragged overalls that clad her slim figure. His sexual attraction awakened feelings that she had suppressed for a very long time. A vision of them entwined in a sexual embrace accompanied that yearning.

  Her face flushed. Michelle was shaken as she realized her vision of them together touched his mind, too. His eyes were warm, and he grinned, moving toward her with his hand extended. It was clear he meant to fulfill her sexual longings.

  "Nooo!" She backed away in unreasoning panic. She wanted him, but she was afraid to give herself into his possession despite the bond of their minds. She was afraid of the way he made her feel. He moved closer, and she turned and ran.

  As Michelle ran, Hankura knew her fear, and he understood when he saw the memories flash through her mind. Taking up his pack and slinging it over one shoulder, he ran after her. He overtook her more quickly than he expected when she tripped and fell over a tree root.

  He knelt beside her and reached to comfort her, but she screamed and struck at him. Her wiry strength surprised him as he caught one driving fist and then the other. But before he realized her intention, Michelle broke free and knocked him on his back, scrambling to hold him down. In the stunned moment Hankura hesitated, she found her knife. Straddling his middle, she held the point against his Adam's apple.

  Hankura met her steady gaze with a startled look. His first impulse was to bat away the knife and overpower her, but he knew that would be a mistake. Just then, she needed to feel in control of the situation, and he knew why.

  Michelle, I didn't come all this way to hurt you. I'm not like those monsters who raped you, simply because I'm a man. You know me, and I know you. I'm Hankura. Remember our dreams? Remember!

  She read the truth in his thoughts even though her fear from her past made her try to deny him. After all these years, he finally came back for her. She sensed that he was warm and gentle and strong; just as she always knew he would be. Now she knew beyond all doubt that he had never been a dream.

  Michelle started to tremble and took the knife point away from his throat. Then she moved off him and sat back on her knees, clenching the hilt of the dagger in her fist. She saw a drop of blood where her slight pressure on the knife had caused the point to nick his flesh and regretted that she had hurt him even a little. So many emotions welled up inside her, she started to cry. She had waited so long for him, been through so much.

  Hankura sat up slowly on the ground beside her and held out his hand, aching to comfort her. As she saw his outstretched hand through her tears, she looked into his face and let herself feel his warmth and compassion. Slowly, she laid down the knife. She put her hand in his and let him draw her gently into his arms and hold her close. For a time, she wept softly against his shoulder and shared her memories with him. His own eyes filled as he perceived the pain and joy and fear of her past, and he held her more tightly, softly stroking her tangled hair. Then he shared his memories with her, the story of his life so far.

  When she was calmer, he reached into her mind:

  Now you understand. We've been part of each other since we first touched minds as children. Our minds are in harmony because we're psi-mates. That's why we've been linked all these years.

  "How can that be true? I'm not a psion." She shook her head.

  But you are. That's how you knew I would come back to find you. We are two halves of a whole yet separate unto ourselves. You just need to open your mind to me to know what I'm thinking.

  The gentle caress of his thoughts washed through her mind as his fingers idly strayed across her cheek in a physical caress. Men had always looked at her with lust in their eyes, but no one had ever looked at her the way he was looking at her---except in her dreams about him.

  She didn't question his attraction because he had already shared a lifetime of memories with her and explained the intensity of his feelings for her in the span of a thought. He was the Aledan who had touched her mind in compassion those many years ago. She had trusted him then, and she was starting to trust him again.

  I could never hurt you, Michelle. You are part of me. I want you to feel that. I want you to need me the way I need you. I want you, but I would never force you. If anyone tries to hurt you again, they will have to deal with me. Remember those sweet dreams we shared so many times. It can be like that for us if you let it.

  Her eyes widened, and she couldn't look away. She trembled with uncertainty. He reached and touched her cheek softly, his eyes promising his touch would give her that kind of pleasure if she would let him.

  You're beautiful, Michelle, and your beauty goes beyond what I can see with my eyes. When our minds touch. . ..

  She drew a sharp breath as he filled her mind with the memory of one of their erotic dreams and it caused a sensual fluttering in her loins. As her breathing quickened, she looked at him with a sudden hunger that made him ache for her. Her lips parted willingly as he bent to kiss her, pulling her tightly against him. Emotions he had experienced in their shared dreams surged through him. He drew back, startled by the intensity of the torrent of unspoken passion that passed between them. He sat quietly and looked at her for a moment.

  The warmth of her body pressed against him, wrapped in his arms was a balm to his soul. Her lips felt like no other lips he had ever kissed. Home was not a place or a dwelling, it was the woman in his arms. She quivered and sighed as he caressed her and their mouths stayed fused together until he broke the kiss to look at her face.

  Michelle saw herself in his eyes. She read the flow of his thoughts as he studied her stunning blue eyes. Blue eyes were rare to humans except for Terrans. He admired the way her auburn hair framed her face in soft waves and shaded her eyes, making her look sultry and the way her nose turned up at the tip. He ran his fingers through her long hair with a pleased murmur, and she smiled at him. She too liked what she saw--the strong jaw line, his dark green eyes. His skin was warm, and she let her hands wander over his chest and shoulders, reassuring herself that he was real.

  Hankura kissed her again, slowly savoring the feel of her lips, explo
ring her mouth as a prelude to the other places he wanted to explore. She pressed her body against the taut muscles of his chest, and the feel of her stoked his passion almost beyond his control. He wanted to take it slow, to savor these moments, as he had dreamed about so long, but she was too aroused and willing now that she had let go of her fear.

  He could sense her desire in his mind, and it heightened his own. She pulled away, looking shy and a little nervous but inviting. He groaned and pulled her close again. With shaking fingers, he unfastened the bib of her ragged overalls and let it fall. As pulled her close for another kiss, he and she began tugging at his clothing and he started helping her.

  It was impetuous for them to simply strip and copulate on the soft bed of moss under a canopy of tall green trees, but their need to mate was so urgent they could think of nothing else. Hankura’s telepathic ability told him they were completely alone in the woods. No one could bother them.

  Knowing how she had been abused, tempered Hankura’s need somewhat. There were many beautiful women in his past, but none that could compare with Michelle. That she was his psi-mate may have augmented his attraction to her. Now that the was wrapped in his arms with her body against him, he realized he had been in love with her for years through the dreams they had shared.

  They had shared so much more than sexual attraction. They shared their hopes and fears.

  Hankura wanted Michelle to feel nothing but pleasure when they made love. Because he could read her mind, he knew exact how to please her. She liked the feel of his hands on her body and the way he kissed her and teased the inside of her mouth with his tongue. When he cupped her breasts and massaged her nipples, the sensations shot straight to her core and heightened her desire. If he laved and sucked on them long enough, she would cum without his even penetrating her.