The Great Escape Chapter 6, Part 3 of 6

The Great Escape
Chapter 6, Part 3 of 6

"I'm Ezra. Thanks for rescuing me."

"Your ship is faulty?"

"My crew are."

She laughed.

"The airlock's broken."

"So I heard it on the radio. Luck for you. I prospect for the same region, right?"

"Yes, lucky indeed."

"Indeed!" she repeated, smiling.

"You geologist too?"

"Yes."

"Then we work together!"

"I work for a prospecting company, Tatiana."

"I am a freelance. We get more surveys done if we work together. Your company and I share the claims."

It made sense, but I was too junior to decide. I needed to call my colleagues and get them to talk to the management. Tatiana pointed me to the communicator, and I opened the channel. Greg answered.

"We've got real problems, man," he said. "I can't open the airlock. The whole circuit is fritzed, and now the handle's bent. We can use the emergency escape hatch, but you're better off staying on the Russian ship. We'll wait for the rest of the group to come get us."

"All right. Good luck." I had no sympathy. They could have stayed on board last night running all their checks, as I had done.

"What're the Russians like?"

"Only one Russian. A woman. She's beautiful."

"Fuck, Ezra! You're one lucky son-of-a-bitch!"

"Yes, I am. Out."

Tatiana had been listening. She slapped me on the back hard.

"I like you, Ezra. We make a good team."

Her ship was fully provisioned for a geological survey. I only had to learn the Cyrillic words on the instruments. We surveyed a dozen asteroids before the rest of the company flotilla arrived.

When my old ship was fixed, the senior captain ratified our informal agreement and sent the guys home, leaving Tatiana and me to finish our part of the survey independently.

We stayed for six months, and I learned more about prospecting from Tatiana than anyone else.

"And what did she teach you about sex?" Annela asked.

"How do you know we had sex?"

"Because I know you, Ezra. As you told me, you don't pass up the opportunity."

"You're right. We had sex non-stop, except when we worked or were asleep. There was nothing else to do. So, the first thing I learned was the stamina and appetite of middle-aged Russian women. And, in Tatiana's case, the complete absence of inhibitions."

"That makes sex better, does it?"

"Oh, yes! You can know all the techniques in the world and be an expert in the biology of sex, but if you're too shy to ask for what you want, you're going to be frustrated. That was a valuable lesson to learn. The result was that we had an amazing connection. We seemed to understand each other's bodies perfectly, though I later realized it was all her doing."

"I'm sure it wasn't her alone," Annela said, thinking that she and Ezra had a pretty good connection due more to him than to her.

"Anyway, go on with your story. Tell me what else she taught you."

"You know that trick where I make a vacuum on your pussy with my mouth and fingers to get blood to rush into your G-spot?"

"Oh, yes!"

"She taught me that."

"I thank her very much. What else?"

"She taught me about licking pussies. She said to keep trying different things until the woman
shows what makes her happy; then keep doing that until she says 'stop' and means it."

"Hmm!" she said, remembering.

"Also, warm the woman up before going for the clitoris by kissing around her pussy and into the gap between her pelvis and thigh."

"Yes, I like that. Tell me more."

"Take time because the longer you make a woman wait for it, the better it is for her. I'm not sure that's always true, but Tatiana was one of those hyper-sensitive women who, once you got her to that place, could be kept on the edge of orgasm for hours with a little teasing or even just a finger laid flat and motionless on her clit. Then, when she came, it was volcanic."

Annela had snuggled down, lying on her side to face him. He had his hand under her shirt and gently held a breast.

"Volcanic, you say?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. It sounds to me like she was trying to encourage you."

"She certainly was encouraging. A man feels amazing when he makes a woman lose herself in an intense orgasm."

"But didn't you tell me that some men need to feel that they are sexual experts, and women sometimes pander to them because such men perform better when their egos are stroked?"

He laughed.

"You think she was only flattering me? She might have been, at first, but by the end, I think she was genuine when she called me a 'wonderful lover.'"

Annela had called him that herself.

"What else did she say about you?" she asked.

"She saw stars when we fucked."

"So do I."

"Sometimes it was fireworks."

"What are fireworks?"

"Something like exploding stars."

"Ooh! I saw those just now. Was there anything else she taught you?"

"Yes, she gave me some general advice about women. It sounded like traditional Russian sayings, but they were her ideas. It need not be true of all women."

"What did she say?"

"This is just about sex, you understand. She said: Never say 'please' to a woman. A man doesn't ask; he takes. In sex, as in dancing, a man leads, and a woman follows. A woman wants to surrender to a man stronger than her, who takes possession. Hesitation is a turn-off.

So, she is considering her feelings too much. Lots of stuff like that."

"This woman said that?"

"I know what you mean. Tatiana was the most confident and capable woman I've ever met—one of the most successful prospectors of her day. Except for Mirselene, she was possibly the most formidable woman I've ever known. But she believed that a true woman wants to submit sexually to a man."

"She was right," Annela whispered.

"So, it seems. And this was a woman who once floored a twenty-stone man with a single punch."

"God! Why did she do that?"

"It was to defend the honor of a prostitute."

"Tell me?"

"It was on Capella Spaceport. After three months, we ran low on provisions, so we restocked, refueled, and got some gravity (albeit artificial) under our feet."

"You also went to Capella Spaceport on your way here."

"You remember? Well, Tatiana and I went to a pub to relax. It was half-full, and the best seats were taken, so we took stools by the bar. Tatiana introduced me to a couple of prospectors she knew, but there was also a tough bunch of Russian men in the pub, the crew of a big freighter. They were drinking hard and were a little rowdy. Tatiana was irritated that they were giving her nation a bad name, but I didn't care much."

"There were also about six or seven 'entertainers' there. It's an euphemism that Tatiana refuses to use. She called them 'prostitutes,' almost spitting out the word, and turned her back on them. I kept looking, of course."

"Of course," Annela agreed.

"They were glamorous in their make-up and revealing dresses. They were probably young, though it's hard to tell with rejuvenation therapy; they were very sexy.

They talked to the men, asking if they wanted to be shown around the space station or to go somewhere more private.

"One of the girls came over to talk to me. She was tall and curvy, aged about twenty, with dark red hair much darker than yours and soft green eyes.

High cheekbones, a straight nose, and a bow-shaped mouth. Very attractive."

"It sounds like you remember her perfectly, though it was fifteen years ago," Annela said with a smile.

"True, but I've seen her since. Her name's Hestia, and thanks to modern surgery, she still looks about twenty."

"All right," Annela said indulgently, "go on."

"Well, I told her I was with someone, and she turned to go away when one of the freighter crew, leaning on the bar next to Tatiana, said something in Russian and slapped the girl hard on the bum. She spun around, shocked, but the man just laughed."

"Tatiana wasn't pleased and spoke to the man, but he waved her away and returned to his drink. He was a huge, grizzly bear of a man, but she wasn't fazed."

"She tapped him on the shoulder. He slowly put his drink down and turned toward her. Then she punched him, right on the chin, with all her strength. He just slumped down to the floor, like a sandcastle in the rain."

"This had happened so quickly I couldn't do anything, but now I had to move. I got ready to carry Tatiana out of the bar because, even if I could fight the bear when he got up, though I knew I couldn't, I certainly couldn't fight all the crew members. But just as Boris recovered from the shock and made to get up, he was in a killing rage, a huge boot pressed down on his chest, and an even bigger man stood over him."

"It was the master of the freighter. If freighter crews were tough, their masters were even tougher and kept them in line. Boris was made to apologize to Hestia, which he did grudgingly, and then was sent back to the freighter to cool off."

"So, what did he say to Hestia, and why did Tatiana defend her?"

"It doesn't translate well, but I think he said something like, 'You're very expensive for a cheap whore. Let me have a feel of the goods.' Hestia had tried soliciting him, but when he found out he couldn't afford her, he resented. Despite her disapproval of entertainers, Tatiana disapproved even more of men who do not treat women as ladies."

"Which is something you learned from her?"

"It's something I've always known, or maybe I learned it from my father, but it was a good lesson to see a woman who certainly doesn't need chivalrous men to protect her nonetheless demand that men be chivalrous."

They were silent together for a while.

"And have you never seen Tatiana again?"

"Oh, yes. Twice, and I introduced my sister to her."

"Danielle, the astrophysicist?"

"That's right."

"Do you think Tatiana was in love with you?"

"Of course not! I think she wanted just what I wanted: companionship and, as it turned out, amazing sex."

"Would you have noticed if she loved you, in any case? I mean, might she have pretended not to care so as not to be a burden to you?"

Annela, the loyal hero-worshipper, could not conceive of a woman who knew Ezra and did not love him.

"I never thought of it." He was stumped for a moment. "But, if she could ask me to do her stuff to her that I've never done with a woman before or since, she'd hardly be reticent about saying she loved me."

"I don't know. What is all right to say between sex partners might sound different between lovers."

"I suppose so."

He paused to think. The good-hearted girl sounded as though she was sad for Tatiana, and this made Ezra wonder if he'd been thoughtless toward his Russian sex mate. He was silent for some minutes.

"So, tell me what 'stuff' you did to Tatiana," Annela asked, interrupting his pondering.

"Not on your life," he replied, laughing. "Besides, we've talked too much about me. I want to know something from you."

"All right." She pushed him onto his back and climbed on him, resting her chin on her hands, her elbows on his chest. "What do you want to know?"

"What did you tell Sharne about sex with me?"

"Nothing that I didn't tell everyone else. Why is she doing it wrong?"

"No, she's good. Better than you, anyway."

"Ooh!" She dug her elbows sharply into him.


"Ouch! All right, Madam, stop it! I'm sorry. You're the best!"

She left him alone.

"So, what's the problem?"

"Not so much a problem as a peculiarity."

He paused to think how to explain without revealing too much private detail. The fact was that
Sharne seemed to believe she had to have sex with him every time he wanted it, and if she couldn't, as in the last few days, she hinted she would give him a blowjob. Because Ezra sensed that she didn't want to do it, he didn't ask.

But he knew how essential customs were to the Woodlanders. The power of custom kept the small society from disintegrating. He could excuse his peculiarities by saying, "It's an Earth custom," and it would be understood and accepted.

"I think Sharne believes it's an Earth custom for women never to refuse sex to their men. I was just wondering if this attitude is something she has decided for herself or if you had a hand in it?"

"I don't know. I only told them what we did together. I suppose they deduced what that implied about customs on Earth. Do men on Earth allow women to refuse sex? Why would a woman ever refuse sex?"

"Allow? You're joking? As for why a woman might refuse sex: well, she might be tired, have a headache, or not be in the mood."

Annela laughed.

"Now you're joking! A headache? Sex is the best cure for a headache! And she would always be in the mood if she had a good lover. I allow them tired."

"Very gracious of you."

"But is it the custom on Earth for men to accept such paltry and dishonest excuses? What's the real reason for women to refuse sex?"

Ezra was stumped again.

"I suppose that, for some, it is a way of controlling the man. Other women may genuinely not enjoy sex, or the man is not a good lover. Many reasons, I guess. The point is that an Earthwoman need not be entirely compliant in sex or eager to please her man all the time."

"Really? Well, what will you give me not to tell the others they can refuse sex whenever they want?"

"Ha, ha."

"You know, I would never refuse your sex, not without an excellent reason."

"I know it, Darling. Nor would I ever refuse you."

"Well, that's obvious!"

"Why is it obvious?"

"Because I'm irresistible!" She spoke triumphantly, sitting up.

"Really?"

"For sure. I could seduce you anytime."

He remembered her failed attempt to seduce him two months ago.

"How would you seduce me?"

"Easy, I'd lean into you, very close, and whisper in your ear: 'Would you like to fuck me?' Then, ten seconds later, there you'd be, stark naked, mouth-watering, cock erect - seduced up to the eyeballs!"


To be continued