Page 19 of Omega Island
9
Senta
The hollow, knife-like ache took my breath. I had no preparation for this heat wave. None at all. It surged through me and, if not for Raimi, I would have tumbled into the water. With such a cramp, I would not have been able to straighten my body or reach out. I would have sunk like a stone.
I had a vague sense that Raimi was holding onto me. That he was speaking my name to me in an alarmed tone. The next thing I knew, I was falling back, and he was out of the water and tugging me further up on the hard tile floor.
Another heat wave convulsed through my body, an incapacitating pain, and I couldn’t speak.
I felt the tickle of water on my legs and arms and chest. And more streaming from my backside. But that wasn’t water. It was slick, thicker than water and pooling in my trunks which were askew on my hips.
I took deep breaths. This incident took longer to abate than the other unexpected waves I’d had. The strange thing was, I’d had a regular night’s sleep, no interruptions. No more signs of an oncoming heat.
Yet now it hit me. No warning. Was this the full-fledged thing? I’d never experienced a heat like this in my life.
I was still dazed, but I tried to assess myself as best I could. My body felt almost cold, not hot. An ache came from my groin radiating throughout my body. My internal muscles spasmed, as if reaching out for something that wasn’t there. It was a feeling as if you had to rush to the bathroom, only this was not that at all.
“Are you in pain? Should I call someone?” Raimi sounded terrified.
I hissed. “It’ll pass. Give me a minute.”
“Are you sick?”
“No. Not that.”
What did I need to do? There was no hesitation to my answer. I needed to get to a private space. I needed to get through this strange heat and never look back.
My instinct was to latch onto Raimi, pull him closer. My entire body craved his warmth, his strength, his scent. I wanted to roll over no matter how much the tiles might scrape my hands and knees, push my lower half up and present myself.
I shut my eyes and clenched my fists, waiting for my body to let up.
Hands touched my forehead, fingers pushing through my hair. An arm went under my head.
“Okay. Okay. We’ll just sit here a minute. Then you tell me what you need to do.” His voice washed over me like the warm pool water. I let myself sink into it, listening to his breathing which was almost as fast as mine.
He had to have smelled my heat by now. He’d been away from omegas for so long, I wondered how it made him react. He didn’t want this, that was for sure. He didn’t need my problems stacked against his own.
I waited for the heat wave to go away. Lying in Raimi’s arms.
After what felt like forever, it abated but didn’t quite leave me.
Raimi said, “Can you sit up yet?”
I nodded and felt him support my back. I bent my knees and a trickle of more slick came out of me.
“Are you all right? Should I call someone?” Raimi asked.
“No. There’s no one. I just need to get back to my house.”
“I can help you.”
“Just let me sit a minute.” I stared at the crystal pool water, unable to think or move.
Raimi gulped, then sat next to me, his palm still flat against the center of my back. After another awkward minute, he said, “Are they always like this?”
I heard him fine, but my mind responded sluggishly. “What?”
“Your heats.”
