Passion of Thunder

Chapter 2

“Chloe? I have absolutely no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

Annie stood with her hands on her hips, feeling somewhat irritated and wholly lost. She hoped it was clear she had no inkling what the missive she still clutched in her hand entailed. She only knew it was supposed to be some kind of grand occasion and her husband was going to be in the spotlight. Which meant, of course, so would she.

“The council is giving an Honorum for Rion for his service. Past service,” the physician hastily corrected. “Rion asked me if I would take you into the market to find you a gown to wear for the occasion.”

“Yeah, he told me you were coming over.”

It had been nine months since Rion had brought Annie over into his world. A world filled with winged people. A world that had two suns. It had also been six months since the birth of their son Kerr. During that time Annie had pretty much kept to herself, devoting her time to being a mother, wife, and helper to a husband who would forever bear the scars of what her world had done to him.

The few times she’d ventured down into the markets and city below, she’d been accompanied by Rion or Vadon or, more often than not, Chloe. It was still so new, so painfully different than what she had known on Earth, that she would beg off any further exploration they suggested. Homesick? That word alone couldn’t begin to cover how she felt.

What bothered her most were the other inhabitants of this world. Their reactions and the looks they gave her. The hesitant, almost fearful way they approached her, when they had to approach her. Annie wondered whether her difference was the real factor in their behavior, instead of the fact that she was an outsider. An “otherworlder”, or “outworlder”, as she was sometimes referred to. After all, she was living on a world full of angels. Whereas she was a normal, wingless woman from another place and time.

“What is an,” she glanced back at the notice, “an Honorum? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Chloe gave her a smile. The woman probably thought it would soothe Annie’s invisible but definitely ruffled feathers. “The council will be presenting Rion with a plaque to honor his service when he was a warrior.”

“He’s still a warrior!” Annie insisted. “He just doesn’t go on the pathways anymore.”

Behind her the familiar rumble of a building rainstorm rolled in the distance. Compared to the storm that had hit yesterday, it would be minuscule. Rion explained that storms on this world were a lot like earthquakes on hers. After a tosis, smaller storms would plague the city, much like aftershocks. Annie knew her husband would be busy at that moment, preparing the next warrior for the dangerous journey ahead, despite the coming storm.

tosisUp until a little less than a year ago she had been terrified of thunderstorms, terrified sometimes to the point of unconsciousness. Now, unless it was something like a tosis, storms no longer bothered her. Instead, they meant something more profound, and much more personal. After all, it was a rending thunderstorm which had brought Rion into her life in the first place. And it was a storm which had brought Rion back into her life as well.

tosisLetting out a deep sigh, Chloe shook her head and bit into a cookie. “The council does not give out these Honorums on a whim. In fact, I had to go to the historians to find out when the last one took place. Oh, my. These are good! What are they?”

“Cookies. Haven’t you had cookies before?” Annie raised an eyebrow at the woman, a small smile playing over her lips. “I used to make oatmeal and honey cookies for Rion when we—” She stopped abruptly. When we used to be on Earth was what she meant to say. Nostalgia swept over her. But with it came the memories, and not all of them were happy.

When we used to be on EarthChloe nodded, understanding. Sometimes the past was meant to remain in the past. Especially such a painful and horrific one like Annie had faced prior to her coming here.

“Tell me how you made them,” she asked, “and I will help you with that stew you have been wanting to surprise Rion with.”

“Deal!” Annie agreed, before laughing softly.

“But we still need to go down into the market to buy you that gown. Something that matches Rion’s uniform.”

“His uniform is mostly black!” Annie exclaimed, wrinkling her nose. “If I try to match him, and he’s wearing black, and me with this black hair, I’m going to look like a member of a funeral!”

Chloe laughed aloud at the visual imagery she’d gotten from her friend’s description. “Trust me, Annie, no one will ever see you that way. Shall I meet you there, say, tomorrow? At four cycles into the first morning?”

“You’re not working tomorrow?”

“I asked to have the day off.”

“Will wonders ever cease?” Annie said sarcastically. “You angels work harder than anyone I’ve ever known. Even Rion said that his missions on the pathways were the only vacation he enjoyed. All right. I’ll have a trap here at four cycles. Will you go down with me instead?”

“Not a problem,” Chloe told her. Getting to her feet, the physician tugged on her sheer red gown, the symbol of her authority. The weather was beginning to get muggy and humid, and the thin layers of fabric were prone to cling to Annie’s sweaty skin, the same way they clung to the physician’s. Annie looked forward to a cool shower that evening, and she wondered if Chloe was thinking of doing the same when she got home.

“Staying with Vadon tonight?”

Looking up, the physician blushed in response. Annie walked over to give her a hug.

“It’s so good to know you two are back together and trying to work this out. I’m just wondering when you’ll finally say your vows.”

“That is…a ways off,” the angel woman murmured.

“I don’t care. I can wait,” Annie whispered in her ear. “I want you to be more than my friend and my physician.”

Chloe gave her a shy smile. If she and Vadon, Rion’s younger brother, exchanged vows, that would make her family, and Annie desperately needed some sense of family to ground her. After giving the woman a quick kiss on the cheek, Chloe took her leave.

Annie followed her out onto the platform to watch her spread her glistening chocolate-colored wings and leap into the growing darkness. Below, a thousand points of light began budding like the iridescent flowers found on this strange new world. Lanterns and candles flooded various homes with warmth and light. The beautiful sight always managed to make her wistful.

Annie sighed as the storm intensified off in the distance. It wouldn’t be as bad as the tosis, but it would still be a long night for Rion. From past storms, she knew he wouldn’t be able to leave his work until the warrior scheduled to pass through the gap had made it safely through, and any warrior overdue to return had been accounted for. And, like those on Earth, evening storms were most often the worst.

tosisOnce inside her sky home, she slipped out of the simple gown she’d been wearing. She opened a few of the windows on the far end of the apartment, facing away from the approaching rain clouds, and hoped for a breeze to dispel the still stickiness that was making her perspire.

She had never pranced around before in the nude. Not until she had come here. It was almost a delicious little thrill to know she could walk around in front of another man and know that the sight of her body was enough get his blood boiling. And hers, too, for that matter. Rion had been right when he had told her his world didn’t have very cold weather. At least, not like the weather in Montana. Here, it was temperate almost all of the time. Yes, there were seasons of cold and heat, but they weren’t as extreme as they were back on her world.

Tonight, she felt stifled.

Naked, she padded barefoot into the nursery to check on her son, who was sleeping soundly in his bed. Reassured, she walked through the door adjoining the second bedroom to hers and Rion’s bedroom, leaving the door ajar. After a quick, cool shower, she settled between the soft sheets in the enormous bed and tried to get some rest, and hoped she wouldn’t have to wait long for her husband to return home.

* * * *

The clouds looked like thick, dirty clumps of wool, muddy and dark and full of burrs that threw out greenish spikes of lightning. They roiled in the sky, end over end, growling like disturbed bears. One flash of light spit its forked tongue through the clouds, and a sound louder than anything she’d ever heard in her life deafened the world into total silence.

The clouds looked like thick, dirty clumps of wool, muddy and darkand full of burrs that threw out greenish spikes of lightning. They roiled inthe sky, end over end, growling like disturbed bears. One flash of light spitits forked tongue through the clouds, and a sound louder than anythingshe’d ever heard in her life deafened the world into total silence. With a jolt, Annie sat up in bed, instantly alert despite the fact that she had at some point finally fallen asleep. Her heart was beating like a trip hammer as she gasped for air with rapid, little breaths.

The room was in total darkness. Belatedly, she remembered she’d neglected to light another candle before retiring. The one on the table by Rion’s side of the bed had snuffed itself out.

In the distance she could hear the heavy shushing sound of rain falling. This storm was one Rion referred to as a “drencher”. Other than some minor flooding, it would do little damage. A gentle draft sent her the smell of ozone.

Reaching over the bed, she patted the sheets to find them cold and empty. Rion hadn’t come home yet. How late is it?

How late is it? The chronometer was in the living area. Sighing, Annie crawled out from beneath the sheets, first checking on Kerr to see if the rain had awakened him. Standing in the doorway, she strained to listen, but her ears couldn’t detect any sounds of movement or restlessness her son was prone to make when he was waking up. Satisfied he was still asleep, she padded to the living room to check the time.

Blind in the absolute darkness, she reached for the shelf she knew always held candles and a lighter. Finding them, Annie quickly lit one, squinting in the sudden small glare. Securing the taper in a holder, she held it up to the chronometer to see if she could read it correctly.

“Five…and three, four, five…five plus five cycles past the second sunset?” Annie straightened up. No, she couldn’t have read that right. That would mean that first sunrise couldn’t be more than a couple of cycles away.

The clouds rumbled again, but without the excruciating clap of thunder pealing overhead. Despite the fact that it was an off-shoot from yesterday’s huge storm, the rain didn’t seem to be letting up any. Drencher, my foot. It just might turn out to be a gully washer.

Drencher, my foot. It just might turn out to be a gully washerBut the fact that Rion still was not home did not help. She began to wonder if something had happened. Late nights were not uncommon for him, but having to work into the next day was unheard of.

She hurried back into the bedroom, carrying the candle with her, and pulled out a short shift from her dresser. Slipping it on, she went back into the living room and unlocked the front doors. They opened to the darkness with a whoosh of fresh, wet air, throwing her long hair over her shoulders.

Stepping out onto the platform, Annie could see the roiling clouds gathered overhead between the quick flashes of lightning. The rain continued to pour. Despite the partial overhang shielding the doorway, the platform was slick, making footing treacherous for a non-winged person such as herself. It was a drop of perhaps a couple of hundred feet straight down.

“Rion, where are you?” she murmured.

Spread out beyond the tower the thousands of lights had dimmed until only a few remained. It was the middle of the night. No, more like the wee hours. Nevertheless, it was very, very late. Or very, very early, depending on one’s point of view. Something had happened; she was sure of it. Something had happened, and silently she prayed Rion was not directly affected.

An errant gust blew out her candle, but Annie refused to go back inside to relight it. Instead, she stood with her back against the chilly wall, knowing that if she tried to return to bed now she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. Not without her husband’s comforting presence near her, or the feel of his arms about her.

She had no idea how long she stood there, blending with the dark and listening to the rain slowly ebb. It was when she heard the faint sound of wings pounding the air that she turned to face the direction from where she knew he would be coming. The sweeping sound grew steadily louder. Presently a shadow emerged from the darkness, a shadow highlighted in aged gold.

Rion landed. His feet touched the platform almost without a sound. His dark blue tunic and pants clung to him. His long hair dripped from the rain. He stopped to wipe the wetness from his face, shaking his arms and wings as drops of water flew everywhere. Within moments Annie was soaked to the skin.

“Why did you do it?” she asked softly in a husky whisper when she was certain he could hear her.

Rion paused to listen, and then lowered his wings. “Annie?”

“It’s pitch-black outside. Both moons are below the horizon. Yet you managed once again to make it all the way over here from work without a lantern. This storm is a baby, compared to yesterday’s, but you should have waited for first dawn.” She tsked her tongue. “Folly, Rion. Sheer folly.”

She could hear the smile in his voice, despite the sting of his words. “What are you doing still up? The night is old. You should be resting. And you know how dangerous it is for you to be out here on this platform when it is raining.”

He advanced in her direction, knowing she was somewhere in the darkness, away from the platform’s sloping edge. She made his search easier, guiding herself into his arms when he got near enough. His kiss was wet but intense.

“You’re shivering,” she accused him.

“Then warm me,” he whispered, dropping his voice.

To her astonishment, she felt him drag off his tunic and pants with his left hand while he still cradled her with his right. His fingers brushed her breasts, and she heard him chuckle.

“Pot calling the kettle black,” he teased, using one of her phrases she’d often thrown at him. “You are as wet as I am.” He then proceeded to remove her sodden shift, pulling her naked body against his to share their mutual heat. He was corded muscle and hot, smooth skin. She could feel her body trying to cling to him as she pressed closer.

“Well, you’re the one who decided to shake himself like a little puppy and get me soaked. Besides, you haven’t answered my question. I thought it was frowned upon for any of you to travel in the dark without a light, in case of a collision or something like that. Much less in a downpour like this one.”

Despite the fear that shivered through her at the thought of him pulling such a dangerous stunt, she knew there was nothing she could do or say to sway him otherwise. This was her Rion, the Rion of old who sometimes, unexpectedly, emerged without warning, then disappeared just as quickly. She knew he would brave this same sort of flight however many times he felt he needed to if it meant coming back to her.

He held her against him, nuzzling the silkiness of her neck and throat as he pulled his wings around them, enclosing them in their damp softness. The rain continued to fall, drenching them from head to toe. Without a word he carried her back into their home, taking her straight to the enormous glassed-in shower where he turned on the water until it became a fine, warm spray.

Pulling her on top of him, he sank down into the wide pool of water at the bottom of the shower, immersing his wings in the overflow. Annie knew he often soaked his back whenever he was hit by a spasm. She slid across his belly and chest, stretching out her legs until she encased his growing erection between her thighs.

Pressing soft kisses to his chest, she sighed at the feel of his hands kneading the small of her back. “Why do you pull such stunts, my husband?” she continued, knowing that all her henpecking was useless anyway. She felt his chuckle.

“If you had the choice between spending the rest of the night in an empty way station, or against the body of the person you love, which would you choose?”

She looked up at him, resting her chin against his breastbone. “And what if you had collided with someone? Is being with me worth further damage to yourself?”

“There was never any danger of me colliding with another tonight,” he smiled self-assuredly.

“Oh, really? What makes you so damn sure of yourself?”

“No one else would be crazy enough to be flying out in the middle of the night in this weather,” Rion told her, before laughing.

Annie stared at him wide-eyed. Well, damn. His logic hit the nail on the head. Of course no one else would be…stupid?…brash?…impetuous?…enough to pull such a stunt. Especially two nights in a row.

She opened her mouth to protest when he lifted her under her arms and slowly slid her up his body until he found her mouth. His kiss soon chased all other thoughts from her mind as Annie succumbed to his passion and his lovemaking.

He rolled over, pinning her beneath him, submerging her from the neck down, and most of his body, in the warm water. His large hand cradled the back of her head, protecting it from bumping against the side or bottom of the pool.

“Tell me again why you would rather have me still at the way station instead of here,” he murmured as his teeth playfully nipped her neck and shoulders.

An uncontrollable trembling came over her as his other hand stroked her skin, and the water playfully echoed his touch. He found her breast, and Rion lifted her out of the pool, bending his head to let his mouth envelope the dark n****e, taste it, and finally suckle it.

Annie moaned, unable to stop the feelings weaving from the tips of her toes to the burning created by his mouth and tongue. Opening her eyes, she watched him cup the full globe and caress it harder. Her body involuntarily responded, and before she could stop him, Rion latched onto her with a hunger that morphed into a burgeoning desire centered between her thighs.

He took her milk, moaning softly as he drank from her. This was something he had done a few times before, but not like this. It hadn’t been anything like this.

“Oh…God…Rion…”

Feeding their son had that same, oddly erotic feeling to it. Only, Rion had taken it that one step further. Annie groaned and dove her fingers into his thick hair the color of old gold. Over his shoulder, she could see his wings distended above them and spread as far as they could inside the glass confines of the shower. That was an odd little quirk she’d learned about him back when they had become lovers in their tiny cabin in Montana.

* * * *

“Why do they do that?” she asked him. They were still panting, still sweating, despite the fact that the temperature had dropped at least thirty degrees outside, and the interior of the cabin had chilled almost as much.

“Why do they do that?” she asked him. They were still panting, stillsweating, despite the fact that the temperature had dropped at least thirtydegrees outside, and the interior of the cabin had chilled almost as much. “Why do what do what?” His voice was hoarse and muffled with his face buried against her neck and in her hair which lay splayed across the pillows.

“Why do what do what?” His voice was hoarse and muffled with hisface buried against her neck and in her hair which lay splayed across thepillows. “Why do your wings fan out, like you’re about to take off?”

“Why do your wings fan out, like you’re about to take off?” The moment she said it, the enormous appendages automatically pulled in as he tucked them into place against his back. To her, it seemed he’d lost himself, to the point where he hadn’t been aware how his wings had betrayed him, and when she had pointed them out, he had hurried to correct the problem. The realization was funny enough to make her giggle.

The moment she said it, the enormous appendages automaticallypulled in as he tucked them into place against his back. To her, it seemedhe’d lost himself, to the point where he hadn’t been aware how his wingshad betrayed him, and when she had pointed them out, he had hurried tocorrect the problem. The realization was funny enough to make her giggle. Lifting his face to gaze down at her, Rion gave her a slightly peeved look. “Please tell me it was not our lovemaking you found amusing.”

Lifting his face to gaze down at her, Rion gave her a slightly peevedlook. “Please tell me it was not our lovemaking you found amusing.” His insistence caused her to laugh harder. The peeved look became a more irritated look.

His insistence caused her to laugh harder. The peeved look became amore irritated look. “Annie?”

“Annie?” “It’s just… Oh, sweet heavens to Betsy, Rion! Did you know that when you climax, your wings go as rigid as the rest of you?” It was hard to talk, gasping between breaths and her laughter.

“It’s just… Oh, sweet heavens to Betsy, Rion! Did you know that whenyou climax, your wings go as rigid as the rest of you?” It was hard to talk,gasping between breaths and her laughter. “And you find that fact funny?” Now he was genuinely puzzled, but a smile was beginning to creep onto his face.

“And you find that fact funny?” Now he was genuinely puzzled, but a smile was beginning to creeponto his face. “No. No, my love. I just find it adorable that I can tell your mood simply by looking at your wings. They’re the biggest feathered tattletales I’ve ever seen.”

“No. No, my love. I just find it adorable that I can tell your moodsimply by looking at your wings. They’re the biggest feathered tattletalesI’ve ever seen.”

* * * *

They were intimidating when they were spread their full length. Twenty-six feet from left tip to right tip, and rising more than a dozen feet when he brought them up over his head, with the largest feathers as long and as wide as his arm. Yet his wings were softer than anything she had ever touched, ever slept against, or ever made love upon.

Tonight they filled the shower with their golden radiance as Rion filled her with himself. He didn’t suckle long, knowing that her n*****s were almost perpetually sore from breastfeeding their son. At that moment his other hand went down to cup her buttocks and keep her from sliding along the tiles as he pounded deeper and faster into her.

Annie wrapped her arms around his thick neck, allowing her body to respond to his, to take him inside her and let him take her soul soaring across his world. The water sloshed around them, imitating the rocking motion of their bodies before splashing over the lip of the tub. Another groan of sheer pleasure slipped past his lips and reverberated inside the glass enclosure.

“My Annie.”

There was no sense of time passing as they loved. Annie would have been wonderfully content to have him do this to her all night long. But the build-up to their release came suddenly and unexpectedly, starting as a tickling in her innermost core, before brightening with a fierce pleasure that tore through her, shredding her senses along the way.

Annie bucked her hips, arching her back when she froze in the moment of ecstasy, as Rion buried himself as deeply as physically possible. Faintly she heard a banging sound against the glass panel walls, and knew those mesmerizing wings were spread as far as they could reach. He was a solid, perfect heaviness suspended over her, his forehead pressed to hers. Annie wrapped her legs around him. She was exhausted and happier than she believed she had the right to be.

Kissing the tip of his nose, she told him she loved him, and melted into sleep, held tightly against his chest.