New World

She had gritted her teeth, rolled her eyes, kicked the wall three times, and counted backwards from 100, but none of it was calming her nerves. It had been going on all night, and she couldn’t get it to stop. Her brand new molecular transfer unit, housed neatly in the corner of her room, was malfunctioning. Not just malfunctioning, but sending strangers into her room in various states of undress because some moron had accidentally hooked her up to the swinger’s party frequency.

The girl with customer service had been no help at all, no matter how much Muriel had begged and pleaded to get someone to come over and turn the damn thing off. But it was no good. A repair man couldn’t get there for another six hours at least, so she had no choice. Trying to get as much sleep as she could, she huddled under her blankets and clutched her phaser gun, which was set on stun at the moment. Every time that now-familiar popping noise signaled some new deviant had arrived, she rolled over and pointed the phaser at them before giving them the choice of leaving on their own, or being stunned and forcibly transferred to a destination of HER choosing. Most of them just shrugged and returned to the flow to find another destination.

Glancing in the mirror on the back of her closet door, she sighed. So this was what a nervous wreck looked like. She sat up in bed and bent her knees, resting her feet on the mattress and her back against the headboard, closing her eyes a moment as the tears welled up. Maybe her family had been right...she couldn’t take care of herself in the big, bad city. No...she could do it. She HAD to. Steeling her nerves, she stretched out once more in bed, the covers pulled up to her neck, with her back to the corner where the transfer unit was.

It wasn’t so much the popping sound that announced his presence, as much as the strange feeling that came over her. She could literally feel him walking into the room as if someone had just turned on a heat lamp. Frowning to herself, she murmured “Short of hanging a ‘closed for business’ sign on my bed, how can I get you people to stop bothering me!” Rolling over, with the phaser in hand, she stopped. She was pointing the gun at the most stunning man she had ever seen in her life. And he was stark naked in the middle of her bedroom. He was sleek, and lean, and muscular, but not in a modern sort of way. More like....a Greek statue. That was what he looked like to her. Without a doubt, he’d be a model any sculptor would kill to get as a subject.

It took a full minute before she looked up at his face and realized that those intense, black eyes were staring back at her with a bit of shock as well. He stood there, completely still, just staring at her. As she sat up straighter in bed, wondering why she was suddenly feeling all flushed, she offered a stuttered apology “I...I’m sorry.....I’m not supposed...to be on the...um...um...frequency.” He didn’t respond, but just continued to stare at her. She didn’t want to tell him to go, but she knew that he was looking for something else, so she lowered her eyes a bit, with her cheeks still flushed. “The green button on the unit will return you to the frequency flow so you can find an...occupied room.” It was a lame thing to say, since he, of course, already knew how to operate the machine. With his continued silence, she looked up once more to find his eyes on her, with an enigmatic smile curling his lips.

As he slowly moved towards her, she tightened her grip on the phaser, her eyes widening. “No....no....I’m not a part of the party....g...go back or...I’ll sh...shoot!” He just continued to smile as he moved forward, gently reaching down to take the gun from her hand and tossing it into her laundry hamper with a negligent flick of his wrist. She got up onto her knees and turned towards the other side of the bed to crawl off, in a state of panic, but he grabbed onto her left wrist. It wasn’t a painful grasp, but strong and firm, allowing no movement from her.

Something odd came over her as he touched her, and she glanced back at him with confusion and wonder in her eyes. As soon as his warm skin came in contact with her own, all her fears seemed to melt away. Shaking her head slowly back and forth, denying what was happening inside of her own body, she saw him smile bigger. It was a kind, warm smile that showed white, even teeth and made his eyes crinkle up at the edges in an endearing sort of way. When he suddenly spoke, Muriel thought she might melt right there on the bed. “I have been searching for you.” His voice was like a caress....soft, and seductive, with an accent that made her knees week How could any woman resist a man who spoke to her like that? And yet...she got the feeling that this was special....that she was somehow special to him.

His free hand reached up and he gently brushed his fingertips over her soft cheek. She didn’t stop herself from leaning into the soft caress, nuzzling her face against his hand, her eyes lowered. He gingerly let her wrist go, both of his hands moving down to grasp the hem of her nightshirt, whisking it off over her head before she had a chance to protest. She started to cover her breasts with her hands but he wouldn’t let her...placing her hands at her sides before his fingertips moved along her collarbone softly. She felt him rest his thumb against the hollow at the base of her throat where her heartbeat was so easily felt. Looking up into his eyes once more, she knew he could feel the way her heart was racing.

Hands soft upon her skin, he caressed her over her shoulders, down her arms, and brushed his fingertips along her sides. He skimmed along the waistband of her panties as her stomach muscles clenched slightly in reaction. Her whole body was tingling, every nerve standing on end as if begging for his touch. Just teasing the outer curve of her breasts with the brush of his palms, he smiled into her eyes. Taking her hand gently, he helped her off of the bed to stand beside it. Her thoughts were so focused on his touch, and his eyes, and his smile that she didn’t even stop to wonder why she wasn’t afraid.

She sucked in a soft breath as his thumbs hooked over the edge of her panties and slowly pulled them down off of her legs, inviting her with a gentle touch on the ankle to step out of them. He tossed them away into the hamper as well and looked up at her from his kneeling position on the floor. She didn’t know it but from his vantage point, her head was illuminated from behind by the single lamp she had left on. She looked to him liked the angel that her name implied. Tilting her head slightly to the left as if puzzled by him, she reached down and touched his face softly, running her fingers along his jaw. She softly touched his brow, and brushed his long, black hair back from his face with a soothing touch.

He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her stomach before standing up and slowly pulling her into his embrace. She rested her head gently on his shoulder and slid her arms around him as he enfolded her within his strong arms. Her body tingled where it was pressed against him, skin to skin. She relaxed within his gentle hold. Her whole being seemed to feel lighter, and the fears melted away. Within his arms, she knew she could accomplish anything. Within his arms, she knew that her fears were groundless shadows. Within his arms....she understood love.

As she tilted her head back and looked up into his eyes, she gave him a dazzling smile that made her whole face light up as if from within and whispered softly “What took you so long?” The kiss that followed was swift, and burned with a passion fueled from the flames within them both. Flames that had burned bright on their own, lighting the way for each. But now they were combined into one blazing, dancing light that linked them together for eternity.