The Creature from the Black Lagoon

Written on the Land

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

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, rapidly becoming 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’s 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 fiancée 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.

####

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

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 breath taking. 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 that is of the land and the water both guards this place. No animal did this, no crocodile, no jaguar!” He kicked the body again. I had never seen the boat captain 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 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 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 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 was thrusting back mindlessly. 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 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 dream of falling asleep, 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. 

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 for some reason 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!” 

My mouth dropped open, and I stared 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. Since the only suitable punishment I could think of 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 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 fiancée. 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.

####

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

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. He 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.

####

Note: Thanks to AnneHiggins 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.

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 shoulder, 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 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!

####

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

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!// 

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/End 

The big Brachian was 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 over 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~

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