The carriage clambered down the hill. I sat next to Bemariq, with all of our hands clasped.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked. "For ruining your chance?"

"No." Bemariq kissed my cheek. "Prudence will serve the science itself better. If it was glory I sought, participating in --or even leading-- an international research team will bring plenty of it."

"It might take years, possibly decades, for the great powers to agree on anything."

"No matter. There's plenty of research to be done elsewhere." His hands held mine tighter. "And it will give us time to start a family. If you still want that."

The man's words stoked the carnal furnace, which had been implanted in me.

"Oh, Bem..." I sighed and pressed my head on his shoulder.

"Do you forgive my folly, again?" he whispered.

"I will keep on forgiving you until the day of the fabled Lasaida. However, I hope I won't have to, after this once."

Instead of the hotel with its soured memory, the carriage dropped us at our awkward but personable house. Down at the camp, the Jaan had finished their work, but my thoughts were only on Bemariq.

I locked the door after us and got out of my carapace. Suddenly my condition returned my mind. I hurried past Bemariq and went to the bathroom, but he followed.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Just wait for me outside, please."

"I will. But just so you know: you don't have hide yourself from me." He shut the door.

A short examination revealed that my flow hadn't yet ended, even if the discomfort was mostly gone. The need of my husband's touch burned in my mind, but I wanted our new first time to special. Perhaps I was conventional in that way.

I washed myself, wrapped a towel around me and returned to Bemariq. He had poured us tiny glasses of certain golden wine, the one which was more heady than a hammer to the cranium. I took the glass and sat next to him on the couch.

"Bem, this would be a perfect time for what you called 'in-depth examination'. But I think we need to postpone any probing."

"I understand." He rubbed his chin. "Actually, it might suit us fine. Another local whale festival happens to be next week. The one with the fertility traditions and whatnot."

"Oh. A night at the beach would indeed be romantic." I bit my lip. "But I don't know if I can last that long."

"Don't worry, honeydew." He kissed my nose. "I'll help to scratch the worst itch."

As an associate, Bemariq was in terms of official political status only second to Ayimun out of the Conglomish notables at Rolu. My husband had to participate in the proceedings, in which the initial agreement was slowly forged.

At first the whole deal was on precarious ground, as the Conglomerate contingent couldn't quite agree, if the changed Ayimun was allowed to represent the state in 'her' condition.

In order to show that Ayimun's 'womanhood' wouldn't have to be permanent, I took the other victims of my ploy to have their changes reversed.

The vault's systems turned out to be accommodating. After I designated the them as men, the process worked out without much of a hitch. My fear that they would be forced to copulate with me didn't come to pass.

The men did come out a bit boyishly pretty, but that nothing a good regimen of tonics wouldn't fix.

Not all of the men arrived to be changed back. Luwud Duy send a word that he would wait, 'out of sympathy to the associate'. No explanation came from the myrmidon Qafin, who declined to appear. The local gossip did mention a foreign 'giantess' seeking for a discrete tailor.

I took the magnatess to an inspection of the facility, though our actual goal was the medical scanner.

She disappeared inside the egg, and the windows turned into visualisation of her insides. Because I couldn't tell, what was going on in the image, I asked the spirit to explain.

Sitolytta got out, and I explained her situation.

"Four embryos? Not as catastrophic as I feared, but still inconvenient and not entirely without danger."

"Will you get rid of them?" I crossed my arms, but it was more of hugging myself.

"Perhaps. However, I have this strange fancy that I shouldn't. But they'd be born out of wedlock. I couldn't marry Hyssi. Besides his non-existent status, he's very much still a boy." Sitolytta gave me a weary smirk. "I will have to think about this. Thank you, lady Usinilim."

Once a year, a peculiar species of whales came to mate in the deep bays and coves near Heva.

The seas around Roluan islands were filled with large fauna, but what made this species notable was the bioluminescent strips on their flanks. Plenty of local folklore was influenced by their night-time dance. Supposedly, the blinking lights would hypnotise the females of all mammals into a heat, while the subliminal sound waves supposedly enhanced fertility, especially in livestock. But also in humans.

The sceptical anthropologist in me told that the tales were an excuse for women to take the initiative. Be that as it may, the locals considered the whale-lights to be a worthwhile sight to wait in the windy dark, even without any carnal motives.

Our picnic basket sloshed with its rather liquid contents, as we made our way to the rocky part of the beach. Bemariq had picked an area some distance from Heva, which he thought would be the least populated.

Crowded or not, the passionate moans carried by the chilly sea-wind weren't from mating whales. The sky was filled with stars, and I did my best not to look around too much, lest my night-piercing eyes invaded anyone's privacy.

We picked a good spot with a view to an ink-black bay, lay down and began to sip the invigorating and warming cocktail. The taste was just the type of acerbic vileness, which promised quick results. I was soon warm all over.

"Look, Sirin. In the water."

A line of yellow-green spots twinkled just under the surface. It was joined by another, which pulsed with daring red and purple.

"The hypnosis is working." I said and turned around to lie against Bemariq. "Or it might just be your presence."

Bemariq wrapped an arm around me and pulled our thick blanket on both us. I escaped the growing chill by nuzzling against his body.

He let out a yawn and rubbed my shoulder. After the last few days of business at Heva, it was no wonder Bemariq was tired.

The comfortable weariness infected me. While I had looked forward to our 'first' night, we weren't in any hurry.

However, I couldn't allow Bemariq to fall asleep.

My hand snaked into his trousers and clasped the warm rod. As if my touch was magic, the soft flesh hardened and bulged against the tight grip. As an echo, parts in me stirred, though to small extend.

Bemariq groaned into a stifled yawn.

"Don't you dare to pass out", I murmured into his ear. "After dragging me all the way to this windy rock." I threw the blanket off us and immediately regretted losing its warmth. "Let's get our blood coursing. Stand up."

I dragged my husband to his feet. He filled his lungs and stretched his frame.

"Alright", he said. "Let's watch the whales." He grabbed my hips, pulled me in front of him and kissed the back of my neck.

Far down in the water, both of the lines of light coruscated in frantic pulses. While the view was great, the cliff didn't extend as far away from us as I would have liked.

"The edge is quite close..."

"Don't worry", Bemariq said. "I'll hold you. Pick up your hem."

When I lifted my skirt, and the breeze touched my legs, I was glad for the stockings I wore.

Bemariq took the hem and piled it over my hips. His pleasantly warm hand groped my eagerly damp groin.

"A lady should be more discomposed by the prospect of losing her virginity", Bemariq said.

"I don't quite feel untouched."

"Worry not", he whispered into my ear. "I'll make it feel like a first time."

My body became rigid from the anticipation. I fumbled backwards with my hand, and Bemariq twined his fingers around mine. He opened his trousers and pushed my torso down.

After some probing, the head of his rod poked at my lower lips. Though I was familiar with the considerable size of his member, my altered muscles clenched with trepidation.

A hand took hold of my hair. I managed to whimper only for a moment, before the man jerked my head and pulled me to him.

The thrust impaled me. The initial sting was mild, compared to the ache from the hammer battering into my insides. The entrance to my womb.

Strength left my legs. I fell towards the edge.

Bemariq yelled. He wrapped his arms around my waist and dragged us backwards.

I landed on his hips, and his baton --still inside me-- slammed again into my cervix. The pain radiated through my lower body, squeezing a gasping squeal out of me. I saw more stars than was in the clouded sky.

The agonised groans below woke me from my daze.

"Bem!" I clambered from top of the man and groped for his head in the darkness. "Are you hurt?"

"Not bad..." Bemariq grunted and cleared his throat. "A rock struck my spine. And if I had a phallic bone, it'd be in tiny pieces. Not that you are heavy, dear."

He struggled to sit up and asked: "Do you want to get back under the blanket?"

"If you promise not to fall asleep."

"That incident woke me up good." Bemariq clambered back to the spot and took the blanket. "Come on."

I lay next to him. As the soreness faded, my desire returned to the surface. Bemariq pulled me against him.

As his hands roamed my skin, his lance found its target again, though this time the entrance was gentle, almost an afterthought to our embrace.

Bemariq pushed me on my back and moved on top. I wrapped my arms around his powerful and firm torso. His wide shoulders and red-blooded weight held me down in a delightful trap, in which the man could commit whatever he wished on me.

His hard thrust filled me completely, beyond the brink of discomfort. I let out a moan tinged with pain, which only encouraged the brute to continue his forceful administrations.

The muscles of his back rippled under my fingers. His breath was heavy, possessive. Against the stars I couldn't make out his face, though I could see the sharp line of that manly jaw.

The need to have and keep him for myself alone crushed my reason. I moved my dainty hand hold his thick neck in an imitation of a yoke. My nails bit into the man's skin, and I wrapped my legs over his.

Passion overwhelmed Bemariq, and all gentleness left his movements. He was fortunate that his wife found satisfaction in such beastly treatment.

Yet he did not treat me as a slab of flesh, good only for sating his lust. He lavished me with kisses. While one hand took support from me and held me down, the wandering fingers of the other showed he loved every part of me.

My hair was pulled. My throat was touched with thrilling strength. Fingers sunk into my breast. He brushed my waist to show how he appreciated my hard-won lines. He fondled my thigh to show how exciting he found his wife's soft hairless form.

The man used me fully. With each shift of his rod, he approached a climax. His seed would pour into me in an attempt to bind my body to his virile animal needs.

The excitement of my nether nerves burst into warmth. I gasped from the steady intensity of it, which lingered as shivers.

Bemariq kissed me and shifted his motions. Liquid heat joined his member inside me. The final few thrusts were a seal to our mating.

My husband moved to my side, pushed his arm underneath me and pulled me into a tight embrace, as if fearing I'd float away.

I did feel giddy and weightless, though I would never have willingly escaped that strong and secure grasp.

We caught our breaths to the rhythm of our shared rapid heartbeat. Bemariq lowered me to his side and pulled the blanket back on top of us.

The clouds were fading from the starry sky. I rested my head on the man's bicep, while his hand idly groped my breast in an absent-minded affirmation of my femininity.

Sticky goo stained my groin. I resisted the urge to touch it. For the first time, its presence in me had a purpose. I shuddered.

"Bem", I said. "Don't you think it's a bit odd, how we --humans in general, I mean-- breed our tools, and now in a way that facility breeds us for its own purposes?"

My husband chuckled. "I do often feel like a tool."

"Perhaps at time for a reason." I pressed into the man. "But what I mean... These desires... to start a family. They might be alien. I mean, how could I have that sort of instinct? When you seemed reluctant, I was genuinely hurt, which is rather baffling."

"I'm sorry." Bemariq yawned. "Still, it's perfectly natural for a nubile... woman..."

His breathing became heavy.

"Bem?"

He didn't answer.

Less than gently, I slapped his cheek. "You promised not to fall asleep."

Bemariq let out a long yawn. "I'm not up for another round, my honeydew."

"I'm not either. But I want to talk."

He let out an amused sigh. "Alright. About what?"

"Why haven't you noted that my eyes shine?"

Bemariq remained silent long enough that I almost slapped him again.

"I'm not sure", he said. "There never seemed to be reason to. People tend to be sensitive about that sort of thing."

Perhaps I was. "You don't mind it?"

"Of course not. It actually looks cute, when you stare from a dark room into one with lights on."

"But what if your child gets it?"

"'It'? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong in the mother."

'Mother'. I took his word for it, and curled up to sleep.