Free Irsud by Jo Clayton

eyes fixed on Gapp filled with astonishment and a waxing anger, Aleytys touched her face then held out her hand and looked at the fingers. A smear of blood reddened the pale amber flesh. She touched her face again and felt the short cut.
    Gapp laughed and shook the whip so the narrow black line writhed on the grass like an angry snake. “Get out, Migru,” she said with soft slow vowels lush with anticipation. “This one’s mine.”
    Aleytys could feel more confusion, trouble, pain in him, generated by his intuitive sensing on the conflicting expectations from the two females. Aleytys. On her world the male was the aggressor, the protector, the ravager of the female. Her body-mind set projected these basal assumptions to a point far below his level of conscious perception and his feeling for her impelled him to respond to it. Gapp. On her side was his genetic and social conditioning.
    Aleytys lived in him as he struggled with the conflict and at the same time stood apart, observer, marveling at the sensitivity of this being who had no vestige of her psi-power. Abruptly she touched his cheek, feeling the muscles twitching beneath her fingers, waking a new ache in her at the sudden physical sensing of his pain. “It’s all right,” she whispered. “Do what she says. I’ll take care of her once you’re out of it.”
    â€œLeyta.” He cupped his hand around hers. His antennas twitched briefly. “Be careful.” He glanced over Aleytys’ shoulder and shuddered. “I know this one. She likes to hurt. For her, pain is better than sex if it’s someone else doing the hurting.” Sweat dotted his forehead and trickled around his eyes down along his high-bridged narrow nose.
    â€œAh. But she can’t hurt me. Not now. Not now, naram, thanks to you.” She broke off as Gapp hissed malevolently, took a half-step toward them, twitching the lash over the grass. She flashed a smile at him. “Come back in a little. I’ll be in the bath.” With a sliding glance at Gapp, she stepped away. She scanned Burash’s face anxiously, momentarily caught up in her own internalized concepts of male ego needs. The twitching of his antennas and the rise of conflict in him jolted her back to present realities. “I keep forgetting, naram, how different we are. Scrub my back for me?”
    â€œI’ll look forward to it.” Radiating relief and exhaustion he circled cautiously around Gapp and disappeared through the doorway.
    Aleytys glared at Gapp. She stood hands on hips radiating pride and defiance, her posture an insolent challenge to the nayid. “Well?” She spat the word at Gapp.
    Gapp dropped the whip into a slithery tangle on the grass. With a coaxing smile wet on her small triangular mouth she sidled toward Aleytys.
    â€œGet away, you!” Aleytys tossed the hair out of her eyes. “You make me want to vomit.”
    Gapp giggled and smoothed her hand over Aleytys’ head, pressing her hair against her skull, then jerked her tight against her hard narrow body, whispering love words, coaxing phrases into Aleytys’ ear until her stomach threatened to erupt. Gapp took a handful of the red hair and pulled Aleytys’ head back. As she slowly, sensuously lowered her head toward her, Aleytys saw small square teeth gleaming behind the plushy blue-crimson lips, saw sweat glistening in a film over the pale, pale skin. With stomach-twisting relish Gapp pressed her mouth over Aleytys’ in a long lingering exploring kiss.
    Aleytys fought back a need to vomit and continued to pull back fighting to get away, her struggles futile against the careless strength of the nayid. Gapp’s tongue moved against her mouth, trying to force her lips open.
    Aleytys shut her eyes and went limp. Help me, she cried to the blackness inside her head. Help me. Rider, please. Help me.
    Black eyes opened in the back of her mind, blinked slowly, and she had