Free Whispers in the Dawn by Aurora Rose Lynn

listening in on my thoughts.”
    “My apologies,” the Ashtari said with a gallant bow. “I am not well-versed in ways of keeping my mind from reading that of others.”
    “Is Dakoda following us now?” Odessa asked, trailing along beside the little fellow.
    “He is not, but he stopped and is looking down this corridor. If you stay to the left of me, one eighth of a choka distance, he will not see you.”
    “Why not?” Odessa asked, wondering exactly how much one eighth of a choka was. Was it six feet? Or three? She couldn’t be certain.
    “I do quick calculation. It is nearly two of your feet. My apologies again.”
    “Where is he now?”
    “His position has not altered relative to yours.”
    They kept walking, but Odessa’s vision blurred. She wondered if the Ashtari’s quarters were a long distance away. Not having breakfast couldn’t possibly have affected her so much. She felt exhausted, as if she had been hit by a Winger.
    “It is only half a choka away,” he said. “My apologies if I intrude into your mind, but you are exhausted. There is something in your body that is beginning to hinder my reading you.”
    “I am only tired,” she quipped. “Being dumped by a man I was about to marry, being shot at and almost losing my life in a concourse, would definitely do that.”
    “Assuredly.” He stopped at a doorway and slid his hand across the scanner to allow them entrance. She barely made it to the plush couch before she collapsed.
    “Be safe now, little one. I have shielded my quarters so none may find you, even the great Lord Pardua himself,” were the last words she heard before she fell unconscious.
     
    Odessa dreamed of wearing a tight-fitting helmet. It was as black as the Ashtari’s eyes and fit over her head to leave no space around her ears or the back of her head. A thin plastic shield that rippled with each shake of her head partially obscured her vision.
    The helmet began to vibrate with the sound of rocks rolling down a mountain. The noise engulfed her, and she was among the rocks and the leaves and the total devastation of her wandering soul, which was lost, but everywhere.
    The pounding roared through her body, causing her to stop in her tracks. As if she had ever had feet to propel herself forward with. Or a mind to think with. Her mind and her soul were overtaken by the sounds of thundering and crashing and whispering.
    Visions of loveliness alternated with visions of such devastation that she trembled in reluctant anticipation of each view. The waterfalls in Washington State and the grand pines of the Wenatchee Forest took turns with scenes of horror from wars gone by, and perhaps wars to come.
    The gruesome war scenes, with their dead and dying soldiers on battlefields drenched with blood, were replaced by sexual fantasies on the seashore. Palm trees weaved in a slight breeze and cooled her burning flesh. She wore nothing and the sun bathed everything about her in a warm, golden glow. Normally her nudity would have bothered her, but not now. Here there was time to enjoy everything, with the men walking towards her. To her delight, one was Harley. They were as naked as she was. There were three, with huge cocks, larger than she’d ever seen in her life. She rose from the heated sand and waved in greeting. When they sauntered up to her, Harley took her in his huge arms and kissed her. Her breath hitched. She wanted him so much and wondered why he’d brought the other males. More flesh, more fun.
    She giggled as one strolled behind her and kissed the back of her neck. His rod was thick and full next to her ass. Would he plunge into her sheath doggy style? Roland had taught her that simple move, which heightened her pleasure.
    Someone’s voice intruded on her dream. “Odessa?”
    “Go away,” she muttered, trying to regain the soothing peace she hadn’t experienced since before her mother had died when she was nine.
    “Odessa?” the voice called out again, louder this time.