No word from the detective, and Marlene resigned herself never to find her mother. After all, Harlan forced Virginia out when Marlie was just a baby. Whether Virginia was dead or alive, however, Marlie wanted to know either way. She had to find out the real reason her mother left, and not believe her father's claims that Virginia just didn't fit in the Prentice high-society lifestyle.
Shrugging, she ripped open the envelope, not paying particular attention to the handwritten return address. She took out the letter, unfolded it, then scanned the words. Blinking twice, she re-read the letter again. Can this be true? A former client wanted to meet with her personally, something about a job opportunity at an independent cable news station. Obviously this person had read her book and was quite impressed with Marlie's expertise and apparent contempt for commercial television in general.
He gave her precise directions to a secluded estate off Lovelock Road. "Come around five o'clock Friday evening. Do not be late," read the last line. Her eyes traveled down to the signature.
"Veldun," she read aloud, "Who is Veldun?"
She never paid attention to the postmark on the envelope: Echeryl.
******
"I apologize for not telling the truth, Marlene. I should have told you sooner, but I was under strict orders not to. Believe me when I say I love you, and I want the best for you."
Lahon came that evening, atoning for his lengthy absence. He had good reason for leaving so abruptly the week before, explaining that it was for Marlene's safety and peace of mind. Harlan Prentice dropped by that week after Marlene's book hit the stores. Despite the favorable reviews and media attention, Harlan felt Marlie did the industry a disservice. The idea, he accused as he stormed into the house, revealing secrets and half-truths about "Who's Who" in the TV business. It was plain to Harlan that his daughter's new man was behind all the sudden change in Marlene, or else she would not have gone to such extremes.
Lahon was there, in the house although hidden securely upstairs. He heard Harlan's bitter words hurled at Marlene, but she held her own, flinging back every accusation and epithet. She demanded to know exactly what happened to her mother, and Harlan as his wont, refused. It was really his pride and precious social status he worried about, Marlene said after Harlan left in a huff. He really didn't care that his only child had a bestseller under her belt. He didn't care if she was making a splash in the local music scene, what with getting together with several amateur musicians who just loved to ply their craft.
"No, all Daddy wants is for me to play the good little girl, so he can show me off to his high-powered friends. To him I'm the trophy daughter, someone who just sits there and pretends all is well with the world. Lahon, sometimes I wished you did come downstairs, so Daddy could get the shock of his life."
On this evening, Marlene spent time, while waiting for Lahon to return, going over notes for an upcoming interview. She didn't what to tell her lover, at least not right away, about the mysterious letter. However, there was still the matter of him revealing the truth to her, that Echeryl was not a planet but a place on Earth. OK, so he fibbed a little. If Echeryl is not a planet, then where on Earth is it? Is it a hidden, fantastic land? All her questions were answered the moment Lahon appeared to her.
"As I said, I truly regret not levelling with you, Marlene, but I have valid reasons for doing so. Please believe that I truly love you, and I did not wish to deceive you. So, if you will hear me out, I will tell you about Echeryl, and why I came to you."
Lahon, his scaly black body draped over the couch, looked at Marlie, his golden eyes never wavering from her lithely curvy form. A slight smile revealing those perfect silver teeth spread over his face as he espied the casually tossed envelope. He noticed the odd postmark and return address: Echeryl. Lahon wondered if Marlene noted this as well, but she said nothing about it. When he asked she merely replied, "Oh, that came this afternoon. It's from some guy who's read my book. Apparently he knows of my work in the television industry and has a job opportunity for me. I'm to meet him at his home...Oh my, I've never heard of the place but he gave me precise directions. The interview is Tuesday evening, although I hate to go to a strange man's house alone. I might write to him and decline his offer."
Lahon slinked over to Marlene, embracing her within his coils. He stretched out the long pink tongue, gently caressing her cheek. He said, "Go, Marlene. Go with my blessing."
Marlene looked at him disbelievingly. She said, "What? You want me to go to this interview? But I have all I want now. Why should I plunge back into that cutthroat world I left behind. Lahon, I know you want the best for me, but my book's a best seller, I've rediscovered my musical talent. And I have you. Everything is going so wonderfully for me."
Lahon asked, "But do you truly have everything you desire? Marlene, you still do not know all about me, so I will tell you this."
He went on to explain that Echeryl is not a planet but a mysterious, secluded estate not far from here. It is true he had spent time in space, traveling to and from various planets, but upon receiving a summons from his father, it was time to come home.
"Father said it was time I found a mate. It is that way with our kind. The young always spend their youth traveling the cosmos, but when the time comes, they must return home. I did find that mate in you, Marlene. And it may intrigue you to know that you have a connection with my father."
Marlie raised an eyebrow with surprise and curiosity. How can Lahon's father have a connection to her? She was sure they had never crossed paths before. Perhaps, and this was a longshot guess, Lahon's father had a connection with Harlan. That was highly unlikely, but she asked anyway.
To this Lahon replied, "No, it not through your father, and I really shouldn't go into much detail. This is why I have been absent from your side these days. I have been in conference with my father, and he is anxious to meet you."
"Does your father know about me?"
"I've told him so much, and he thoroughly approves of my choice of mate. His mate is also a human female."
Now Marlene was quite intrigued. "But if your kind chooses human mates, how do you...Hmm...How can I put this..."
Lahon chuckled throatily, sensually, as he replied, "How do we reproduce? It's a long, drawn out process. But enough of this. When the time comes, I shall take you to Echeryl, to my father. We will answer all questions then."
That said, Lahon gripped Marlene tightly within his ebony coils. The pink tongue licked and caressed her face and body with abandon. Marlene, partially perturbed that he so swiftly changed the subject, didn't seem to mind. She loved this creature with all her heart and soul. Perhaps he was right: This upcoming interview might be a boon for her. Already, ever since the book came out, career opportunities poured in, but she turned down each one. She still had a few reservations about this guy, this Veldun. Odd name for a high-powered media tycoon. Well, that's what he explained in his letter, and that he dabbled in various broadcast media ventures. A handful of radio stations, several local cable TV outlets, and a fledgling but growing independent TV network based in Canada. It was the latter that Veldun wanted Marlene to head up, although she would work stateside as he wanted to expand the operation to the U.S.
But she didn't want to think about Veldun or his lucrative offer. All she wanted now was to be with her Echerylian lover, no matter where he was from. So, his home is not some distant planet; it is on Earth and not far from here.
Hmm...Wonder if he scored that interview for me...Had to, because he truly wants me to look into whatever this Veldun guy...Ooh!
Lahon squeezed her tightly, digging his tongue into her mouth, probing the inside hungrily. She responded in kind, stroking the slinky smooth ebony scales, feeling the sheer strength of the creature's muscular build.
Wrapping her legs around him, Marlene racked her nails up and down the creature's scaly hide, revelling in the buttery smoothness. She kissed him voraciously, licking his mouth, feeling the sharpness of his silver teeth. She didn't care if he bit her on the shoulder; it didn't hurt or drew blood anyway.
Within seconds, Marlene felt the unmistakeable hardness, that insistent, massive erection that demanded entrance. She parted her legs as he entered her then bucked her body rhythmically, sucking the entire tumid length of Lahon's penis inside her dripping vagina.
"Mmm," she moaned as Lahon thrust deeply inside, the barbs on the tip tickling and stroking her swollen vaginal walls.
"Ahh!," she yelled out loud, thoroughly enjoying how Lahon pleasured her.
Just as it had always been, while still coupled, the unlikely pair floated on a cushion of buoyant air, a vast void of space and stars their only surroundings. Marlene could see colors of unimaginable brilliance, hear music of incredible clarity and resonance. No skyrockets or fireworks here, of which she so often heard her former co-workers speak. No, Lahon, through his special brand of tender yet demanding lovemaking, brought his own magic, a spell from which Marlene wanted no freedom.
"Ahh," she moaned, "Don't stop, Lahon. Fill me, make me come..."
Marlene continued to buck and writhe under the creature's slinky bulk, and Lahon matched her movements in kind, slithering his body over hers possessively. His smallish flippers gripping the woman's shoulders, Lahon heaved and pumped relentlessly, pounding hard into Marlie's feminine depths. Those tiny barbs on the glans tip seemed to quiver and swell as Lahon felt the tightening within his loins – a sure sign of impending orgasm. He could tell Marlene was on the verge of climax by the way she insistently bucked, and how her legs clamped tighter around him.
He growled and moaned in ecstasy as his penis danced and jerked spasmodically inside her. She in turn slammed her pelvis up into his again and again, as if demanding "I want to come now!"
Marlene's tongue licked the creature's snout and mouth greedily, tasting Lahon's sweetly scented saliva. Whatever special body chemistry this monster had, it proved to be both powerful sedative and aphrodisiac. No sooner had Marlene begun to relax, let the feeling take her up, up, up...
Lahon surprised – and shocked – her with a sudden pounding, thrusting with a machine gun-like rapidity that nearly took her breath away. In all the months she had known him, he had never done it like this. His pelvic muscles twitched and convulsed as if on fire, the rock-hard penis surging, swelling, pulsating inside her. The tip's barbs stroked, caressed the inside of her engorged walls with abandoned. Marlene nearly passed out as she came over and over; the orgasm, far more intense than in any previous coupling, seemed to last forever.
Forgetting herself, Marlene slammed her pelvis against his, revelling in his marvelous sexual talents. He had never made love to her this intensely, this insistently. Whatever came over him, Marlie hoped it would never end.
She felt the seed erupt from him, sending forth torrents of semen throughout her feminine depths. The creature jerked and convulsed as he growled and snarled with enjoyment.
As before, she almost cried as he withdrew from her. Spent from exhausting sexual gymnastics, Lahon sprawled his long slinky body over Marlene's while tenderly caressing his lover with his tongue. As before, he covered her mouth in a passionate oral embrace, breathing into her sweetly scented air. Marlene, under the influence of post-coital bliss and Lahon's dulcent fragrance, drifted off into a deep slumber.
To be continued...go to Part 2
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