The BLTS Archive- Dream Bonding by astra (astraplain@yahoo.com) --- This was supposed to be an answer to Ruth's P/C on the holodeck challenge, but somehow it didn't quite turn out the way I expected. But it is P/C. We all know Paramount owns these characters. I just borrow them once in a while for illustrative purposes. Think the Powers that Be will ever get the point? Many many thanks to my beta tester/ story poster. Thank you!!! --- He entered the room as a supplicant, leaving behind the uniform and responsibilities of his command. Here in the holodeck he was merely a seeker, with no other purpose. The chamber where he disrobed was sparsely furnished and bare of all decoration. A single shelf against one wall held a neatly folded blue coat and a uniform with three gold pips. He placed his uniform beside it and donned the midnight blue cloth that was draped across the only other piece of furniture in the room - a chair. He had practiced the intricate twists that would change the long swath of material into the only clothing he would be allowed during the ritual. It covered him snugly from hips to mid-thigh leaving the rest of his body bare in the slightly chill air. Prepared at last, he spoke the Plea of Admittance and the recessed door in the east wall opened silently. He stepped into the Twilight Chamber, its floor, walls and ceiling all an indigo blue. Floating light globes provided the only illumination and it took his eyes a moment to adjust once the door slid closed. There was soft music playing, so faint that it was almost a whisper, and the scent of exotic incense filled the air. Three tables lay to his right and in the center was a circular mattress covered with pillows. She lay there, half reclining, her eyes shining brighter than the stars as she watched him move. A rose colored mist clung to her, given off by the mood reflecting aurasilk she wore. Without speaking he went to the table and prepared his offering. The first table held a decanter of spicy Dre'Jaan nectar and a small silver dish with two cubes of a sugar like sweet. He poured nectar over the cubes then set the dish aside. Moving to the second table he lit a small cone of incense and placed it in a brazier beside the first. The two very different scents mingled together into a sharp woody fragrance. Moving to the last table he knelt and began preparing the herbs that lay in neat piles beside tiny star shaped opalescent bowls. He recited the meditations silently as he worked, the words and actions almost second nature to him. He had been rehearsing this role for a very long time. She sat up as he approached with the tray of herbs. He knelt before her and placed one hand on her forehead while holding out the dish of nectar soaked cubes. She took one cube and placed it delicately into his open mouth. The cube dissolved on his tongue and he swallowed, feeling the bite of the nectar as it traveled down his throat. He handed her the dish and the process was repeated, with her hand on his forehead, and he placing the cube into her mouth. Setting the dish aside, he took up the tray and stood, waiting for her to lay down, arms and legs spread into the points of a star. Moving carefully, he placed a small amount of herb in her palms and on the bend of her feet. The last herb he sprinkled across her forehead. Taking the remaining herbs, he mixed them together in one bowl, added them to the decanter of nectar and took a mouthful of the liquid. Leaving the tray and empty bowls on the table, he carried the decanter to the mattress and placed it carefully just beyond her reach. She was surrounded in azure mist now, a reflection of her relaxed state. He stretched out beside her, running one hand lightly down her side, testing her. She didn't move. "I come to Kiava, the maker of dreams and give of myself in return for her favor." he spoke, his voice loud in the domed chamber. "I offer her the herbs of sleep and dreaming, and the juice of the memory vine." "I am the embodiment of Kiava and keeper of her ways. I offer myself for the testing. Best me, supplicant, and you will earn the dream bonding you desire." She answered, her voice a dreamy sing song. "I accept the challenge, Kiava." There was a moment of silence as the significance of this moment gripped them. Here there were no familiar routines, no comforting facades to hide behind. There was nothing between them now but the identities they wore, and the story they now lived. It was what they both wanted, and this ancient story, with its arcane rituals would provide them the dream they both sought. He lowered his lips to hers, a tentative kiss. She held herself still, willing herself not to respond although she wanted more than anything to gather him into an embrace and take everything he could offer. His eyes told her he knew her thoughts, and that he would win this contest of wills. A second, more demanding kiss followed the first, then another, and another, leaving the moist softness of her lips and trailing to her earlobe, then down her neck. She swallowed a moan of pleasure and recited nursery rhymes in her head. The mist around them turned purple, betraying her desire while she struggled to remain still. She was Kiava, and she would resist this man. She would not spill a single herb before he spilled his seed. Her renewed determination was reflected in the red streaks in the mist of her auracloth. Her expression almost made him laugh. He knew that stubborn determined look far too well, and even here surrounded by the trappings of so ancient a ritual, she looked exactly the same. Determined to chase that look away, he ran a single finger lightly down her throat and up along the neckline of her gown. She responded with a tiny shiver that told him he would claim victory this night. There was no talking during this phase of the ritual, only the sounds of passion were allowed. Even the music that had played so faintly in the background was now silent. He resolved to fill the chamber with her music instead, and set about disrobing her, one delicate clasp at a time. She was breathing as heavily as he by the time the last clasp gave under his determined fingers. Using both hands he slid the cool fabric across her body and off, watching as the ivory skin was exposed one tantalizing centimeter at a time. He hoped he could last long enough to complete the ritual. Rising over her, he moved down to kiss the hollow between her breasts, then worked upward first to the right nipple, then the left. She moaned aloud, unable to stop herself although he could almost hear her reciting medical terms as a distraction. He moved downward, feeling the tightness of her stomach, her thighs as she strained to remain motionless, trying desperately not to spill the herbs. Downward he moved, kissing, licking and stroking her until she was gasping for breath. He traced the path of her legs upward as he moved down to kiss her knees, careful not to touch her feet. Stretched at full length between her parted legs his fingers brushed her intimate flesh, making her cry out. Teasing, taunting, he continued to touch her, moving upward now until his lips, then tongue replaced fingers. Removing his clothing, the cool fabric of the mattress and the warm mist of her gown caressed him as he returned to his sensual assault, every pleasurable caress of her body replicated on his own flesh. It was maddening and he loved every minute of it. He caressed her with his tongue, tasting her readiness for the completion of this ritual. He knew her every weakness and used many, but not all of them against her. It would be no challenge if he used them all, and he liked a challenge. He drove her nearly to madness before entering her, watching with pleasure as her expression changed and she nearly lost herself to her passion. There was a moment of pure bliss, being here inside this woman he loved so desperately, and then a sudden constricting tightness. Her cat smile told him he hadn't won yet. They battled each other silently, his thrusts countered by her furious inner contractions. She was good at this, and for a moment it seemed as though she might win after all. Pulling back, he thrust into her again, as hard and as deeply as he could, crying out as she tightened around him, holding him there as far inside of her as he could go. They strained against each other, sweating, and he knew, in that last instant that he had lost. Helplessly he spilled himself into her, raising his head to watch her face. At that instant she opened those glorious blue eyes and moaned, surrendering, her whole body contracting as they reached their pinnacle together, herbs showering them both as she flung her arms up and around him in a crushing embrace. Much later he lifted his head, seeking her eyes, asking silent questions of her. The contentment on her face reassured him. They had passed the ritual together, neither one besting the other, and would share the dream bonding they had earned. Rising slowly to his feet, he reached down and took up the decanter. Helping her to stand, they left the aurasilk behind, its mist nearly gone. Hand in hand they entered the Chamber of Dreams where they would spend the next eight hours in the rite of dream bonding before casting off these roles and returning to the daylight world. --- The End