Free Waiting for the Sun by Alyx Shaw Page A

straight up to catch hold of a branch and pull himself onto it.
    "I could do that," I said, staring at the little red form. "I just don't want to right now."
    "Of course, darling."
    I walked over to Tiff and lay down beside him on the broad lounging couch. It had been eight years since I had moved here, and I still couldn't speak more than a few simple sentences of Sferkkaan, much as I would have liked to. Believe it or not, that didn't make me dumb. Sferkkaan vocalizations were many and varied, and they could reach pitches a human voice is simply not capable of producing. It's part of why music was so universally important to all the cultures on this planet. I could speak Sferkkaan if I were capable of producing their range of vocalizations. I was just lucky they could do English with little to no effort.
    I frequently heard how dull my language is.
    Another thing I wanted to do was ravish Tiff to within an inch of his little alien life, but it was the height of the Sferkkaan summer, which was an awful lot like living in the bathroom with the shower running full blast spewing nothing but boiling water. The air was hot and wet, and everything in the area was happy but me. I trailed my hand down Tiff's chest, my fingers wandering over the damp cloth of his uniform shirt. His black hair was stuck like wet black snakes to the pillow, and the lenses of his shades sparkled with droplets of water. I picked the glasses off and set them aside so I could see his beautiful green eyes, and kissed him.
    "I really want to do unspeakable things to you," I said.
    "I'm not stopping you."
    "It's too hot and wet."
    "We could go make love in the swamp."
    "Yeah, but I hate the way the frogs all line up and stare."
    "They are frogs, my love; they are not staring at us."
    "They are. In fact, I'm sure they are offering commentary."
    Tiff set aside his book and rolled onto his side so he could face me. Beautiful little Tiff. I could stare at him forever. Beautiful, lovely, delectable...
    Something landed on the couch with a thud. I turned to look at the cat-sized arachnid, all black and gold and hairy. Ah yes, the Touskanian Cave Spider, known for its preference for fruit rather than insects, its ability to mimic words, and its lousy timing.
    "Do you mind?" I asked it.
    With perfect clarity, the spider said, "Bite me."
    I raised one eyebrow. "Who taught you to say that?"
    Tiff laughed. "I rather suspect it was Shahira."
    "Great. You'd think an Imperial Bird of Prey would have better things to do."
    "Well he is retired."
    "You'd still think a royal warrior from an ancient bloodline would have better things to do with his golden years than teach rude come-backs to the local arachnids." I nudged the enormous spider on its way. "Where is Tall, Beautiful and Arrogant, anyway?"
    "Visiting his tall, beautiful and arrogant friends."
    Oh, that sounded good. I ran my hand along Tiff's side. "And all our other base-mates?"
    He blinked beautiful big green eyes at me. "Off getting supplies. They will be gone all day."
    "So it's just you and me." I nipped his neck. "Whatever shall we do?"
    "RARF!"
    I glanced in the direction of the noise. The spider was now sitting on the table and barking like a Faylan.
    "Let's go inside," I suggested.
    "But then I'd have to move," said Tiff. "And it's hotter inside."
    He had a point. At least out here in the misting rain we were cooler. I began picking at the front of his uniform shirt.
    "Well, it would be wrong of me to make you move," I said.
    I slowly undressed him. It wasn't especially easy; damp clothing makes for a charming visual image but it tends to cling to the skin. Still, what I found beneath those layers and folds of wet fabric was well worth the hunt. Tiff had a body that made me wish I could sculpt. He's all lean muscle, which was what I like. I never found huge muscles attractive. I much preferred 'boa' to 'beefcake'. And believe me, Tiff can sit on a branch and entice me to taste his fruit any time he likes.
    He