They really do look like some kind of obscene unicorns, Kara thought and giggled. Just then the transport jolted to a stop and the two Fr’Enson emissaries were thrown together so that the rigid member of the first Fr’Enson poked the second Fr’Enson in the eye.
“Oh! My eye! You have dishonored my ocular socket with your member!” the second Fr’Enson howled.
“My member has touched the socket of another male! I am dishonored!” wailed the first Fr’Enson. “Stop the transport—I must go for cleansing!”
“I too, must be cleansed,” moaned the other.
“Well,” remarked the big Unbondable. “I guess that’s what the two of you get for being literal dick-heads.”
Kara couldn’t help herself—a shout of laugher escaped her. The two Fr’Ensons stared at her in affronted silence for a moment.
“You…” One of them pointed at her. “How dare you insult us so?”
“Me?” Kara put a hand to her chest. “But I never said anything.”
“The laughter of an unvirtuous female is the worst insult a male can endure,” said the other Fr’Enson, sounding as though he was quoting some kind of religious text. “How dare you flash your teeth at us?”
“I…I…” Kara shook her head and put a hand self-consciously over her mouth.
“If you’re so afraid of being laughed at maybe you should cover your junk before you go out,” the Unbondable rumbled, stepping between her and the Fr’Ensons. “You look fuckin’ ridiculous, you know. Maybe get a jock-strap hat or at least wear some safety goggles so you don’t go poking each other in the eyes when you literally start dicking around.”
Kara laughed again—she couldn’t help it. But she made certain to keep her hand over her mouth when she did, hiding her fangs.
“Outrage! Once more the unvirtuous one laughs at us,” exclaimed one of the Fr’Ensons, pointing at her. He glared at Kara. “I know who you are.”
“What?” Kara shook her head. “But I’ve never even met you before.”
“You are the only female to have fangs—you must be the progeny of the Chancellor of the Kindred High Council.” He nodded decisively, his sex organ bobbing rigidly from his forehead. “Your father will know of this insult. Oh yes—indeed he will.”
“But…” Kara had a sinking feeling in her gut. All their lives, she and Kaleb had been warned to be on their best behavior because of their father’s position on the High Council. Her dad wasn’t going to be happy when he heard the Fr’Enson elders complain about her. Plus, were her fangs really that noticeable? She put a hand to her mouth again, self-consciously.
As the doors opened, the two emissaries waddled out, exclaiming over and over that they had been dishonored and insulted. Both were still huge, their saggy skins puffed up with outrage, so they looked like a couple of balloons.
Balloons with dicks sticking out of their heads, Kara thought and giggled again despite herself.
A great many other people left the car and Kara should have too. It was the last stop on the transport’s line before it returned to the station at the far end of the Mother Ship. If she stayed on, she would be making the entire return trip and would doubtless be late for work.
But somehow, she felt frozen to the spot. She didn’t want to leave—didn’t want to get off at the same stop as the offended Fr’Ensons.
The big Unbondable Kindred stayed too, standing quietly beside her until the doors slid smoothly closed and the transport started its return journey. Then he turned to Kara.
“Well that was a fuckin’ interesting way to start the day.”
“Oh, um…I guess so.” She nodded uncertainly at him and realized uneasily that they were the only two people left in the transport car. She remembered her brother’s words about the Y’lyn Kindred being amoral and doing anything they wanted. Would the big male try to hurt her now?
But to her surprise, he didn’t lift a hand to her. Instead, he apologized.
“I’m afraid I got you in trouble, making you laugh at them that way. Sorry about that,” he rumbled.
“It’s okay,” Kara mumbled, looking down. This close to the big male, she felt rather intimidated, although she didn’t like to admit it. She was used to being almost as tall as many of the males around her but the Unbondable was so huge and muscular and wild-looking with his mane of ebony hair and his silver-ringed eyes. He towered over her in a rather daunting way.
“Are you really the High Chancellor’s daughter?” he asked.
Kara nodded. “Yes, Commander Sylvan is my father. He, uh, won’t be very happy when he hears about what just happened. Although I don’t see how I could help laughing,” she added mutinously. “They looked so ridiculous, all puffed up and poking each other in the eye with their, uh, parts.”
“Like I said, literal dick-heads,” the Unbondable said. He put one long finger out and held it to his forehead as he mimed staggering back and forth and poking it in the air. Then he clapped a hand over his eye. “Oh, my eye! You have dishonored me with your dick!” he moaned in a high voice which was an eerily good imitation of the Fr’Ensons.
Kara clapped a hand to her mouth and laughed, unable to help herself.
“Like…like dick-headed unicorns,” she gasped, still covering her fangs since she couldn’t stop laughing.
The Unbondable was laughing too, a deep rumbling chuckle that seemed to come from the very bottom of his chest. It was an infectious sound and somehow it made Kara laugh even harder until her sides ached.
“What’s a…a unicorn?” he asked at last, apparently having trouble getting the words out through his laughter.
“A legend from Earth—the planet we orbit,” she explained, still giggling. “It’s supposed to be a beautiful, magical creature with a horn growing from the center of its head.”
“Hmm…beautiful…magical…and horny. I guess one out of three isn’t bad,” he remarked.
Kara laughed again, keeping her hand close to her mouth.
“Oh, stop,” she begged. “My sides ache as it is—I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.”
The big Unbondable Kindred was suddenly serious.
“Why do you do that?” he asked, looking at her.
“Do what?” Kara looked up at him with wide eyes.
“That.” He gestured to her hand. “Why do you cover your mouth when you laugh?”
“I…um…” Kara looked down at her hands, now clenched together in front of her. “I guess to hide my fangs,” she admitted in a low voice, although she didn’t know why she was telling the big male, whose name she didn’t even know, such an embarrassing thing.
“Why should you hide them?” He sounded genuinely curious, as though he really couldn’t imagine why she ought to hide her shame.
“Well, because…they’re unladylike,” Kara said. “Only males are supposed to have fangs.”
“Says who?” the Unbondable demanded. “Males who feel intimidated by you? Assholes with little dicks who can’t stand to see a female doing things they think only they should do?”
“Oh…” His assessment shocked Kara. “I…I don’t know. But I do know that no one I’ve, uh, dated had liked them very much,” she admitted. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this,” she added. “I don’t even know your name.”
“Raakshas.” He made a sweeping, theatrical bow which caused the ends of his long, wild black hair to almost brush the tops of his boots. “But you can call me Raak for short. And you are Kara.”
“You know my name?” Kara wasn’t sure if she ought to feel worried or flattered.
“I asked around a little. You made…quite an impression on me last night.” He grinned showing sharp white teeth. “So, was that male I saw you with last night one of those you dated who doesn’t like your fangs?”
“Oh no—that was my brother, Kaleb,” she explained quickly. “Did, uh…” She cleared her throat. “Did you hear what he was saying about you?”
“About me being half demon and one of the Unbon
dables? Yes, of course.” He nodded easily. “We Y’lyn Kindred have extra sharp senses, especially when we’re attuned to someone, like I was to you last night.”
“Oh, um…” Kara was beginning to feel uncertain again. On one hand the way he was looking at her with such obvious interest made her heart beat harder and her cheeks feel hot. No male had ever looked at her that way—especially after they learned she had fangs. On the other hand, she had been specifically warned against Raak.
“Let me see them,” he said abruptly, breaking her train of thought.
“Excuse me?” Kara looked up.
“Let me see them—your fangs.” His big hand hovered over her cheek, near enough that she could feel the heat of his skin against hers. “May I?”
Kara’s first instinct was to cover her mouth with her hands. But the silver-ringed pools of blackness that were his eyes looked into hers and somehow she found herself opening her mouth instead.
Raak cupped her cheek in his big, warm hand and bent down, examining her mouth as intently as though he was a new dentist assessing her.
But I never went to a dentist that made my heart feel like it was trying to pound its way out of my chest before, Kara thought, feeling her cheeks get even hotter.
To her horror, she suddenly realized the feel of his skin against hers was having a definite effect on her—most specifically, on her fangs. She could feel them lengthening and getting sharper as the big Unbondable looked at her. Oh Goddess, were they actually growing right before his eyes? What must he think of her? She remembered the thoughts she’d had of him the night before…the way she’d imagined herself sweeping that wild curtain of black hair aside and sinking her fangs deep into his strong throat.
Her fangs throbbed at the thought and she felt an answering throb in her pussy—along with a decidedly unladylike urge to do exactly that—to bite him. But she couldn’t do that—she mustn’t!
Abruptly she jerked away from his hand and snapped her jaws shut—then gave a muffled cry as her elongated fangs sank into the flesh of her lower lip.
“What did you do that for? You hurt yourself.”
“I…I just thought…” Kara could hardly talk. The sudden pain and embarrassment had brought tears to her eyes and she blinked fiercely, trying to will them away.
“Hey…” Raak cupped her cheek again and lifted her face gently so their eyes met. “They’re beautiful—your fangs. Fuckin’ gorgeous. And anybody who can’t see that isn’t worth your time. If they don’t like you just the way you are, fuck ‘em, baby girl.”
“I…” She blinked and the hot tears spilled over her lids and ran down her cheeks. “You’re just saying that.”
“Nope, I never lie. Don’t care enough about what other people think to bother.”
Kara stared up at him, wide-eyed.
“I think you really mean that,” she whispered.
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling. “I live life on my own terms—if people don’t like it, too bad.”
“Wow…” she breathed, shaking her head. “I wish I could feel like that. My whole life, I’ve always cared what everybody thought about me.”
“Which is one reason you’re so fuckin’ miserable,” Raak pointed out.
“I can’t help it,” Kara said, a bit defensively. “My father is the head of the Kindred High Council. My brother, Kaleb, and I were always told we had to be on our very best behavior, especially in public so I have to care what other people think.” She sighed. “Which is one reason my fangs are such a liability. Nobody ever heard of a proper Kindred female with fangs.”
“Nobody likes the idea of a Kindred warrior without a soul, but here I am.” Raakshas spread his muscular arms in a ‘take me or leave me’ gesture. “You’ll go crazy if you spend your life trying to please everybody else. Better to just please yourself and have a good time while you’re doing it.”
“You really have no soul?” Kara asked doubtfully.
“Nope.” He shrugged. “Don’t miss it either.”
“But…one of your parents was Kindred. Doesn’t that mean you got at least half a soul?” Kara asked.
Raak laughed.
“You got me there. My father was Kindred and my mother was Y’lyn—a demon with no soul at all. Sometimes the child of a union like that will have a soul or at least a partial soul, since one of the parents does.”
“So…you do have one then?” Kara asked.
He shook his head.
“Not that I ever felt. And I’m sure the people I do business with don’t think so.” He grinned again, showing those sharp white teeth. They looked almost as sharp as her fangs to Kara, though they weren’t nearly as long.
“The people you do business with?” she asked.
“I captain a merchant vessel and we do a lot of trade among the known Kindred worlds,” he said. “Also, I have a very lucrative side business in, shall we say, hard to get items.”
Kara stared at him. “You’re a smuggler!”
“Yup.” He grinned. “Got it in one, baby girl.”
“But…isn’t that against the laws of the Kindred High Council?” Kara demanded.
“Right again.” He laughed that deep rumbling laugh. “But at least I’m not an outright pirate like most of my Brother Y’lyn Kindred. Which is probably why they picked me to come and make the case that the High Council should recognize us as a legitimate branch of the Kindred.”
“Do you think they will?” Kara couldn’t help asking.
“Absolutely not. It’s a fool’s errand and I only agreed to come because I was hoping to make some new contacts for future trade deals.”
“And have you?”
“I’m making one now, aren’t I?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“What—me?” Kara put a hand to her chest. “What kind of contact am I? I can’t get you any new trade deals.” She had a sudden thought which made her frown. “And if you think I’ll talk to my father about you—”
“Oh, I think that would be a pretty fuckin’ bad idea, baby girl,” Raak rumbled. “I don’t think he’d like hearing that you spent the day with an Unbondable.”
“Spent the day with you? What are you talking about?” Kara demanded indignantly. “I’m on my way to work! I only spent a transport ride with you.”
“Work, huh? Last I heard, there isn’t much work out here in the residential area of the Mother Ship—it’s all in the hub, which we left behind at that last stop,” Raak pointed out.
“Well…” Kara bit her lip and winced—her fangs were still extra-sharp for some reason.
“Admit it—you were supposed to get off at the last stop but you didn’t want anything else to do with those dick-heads,” Raak said. “Which means you’re missing work, which further means you might as well spend the day with me. What have you got to lose?”
“What about you?” Kara demanded. “Weren’t you supposed to get off at the hub stop too?”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “But when I saw that you were staying put, I decided to stay too. I thought getting to know you was more interesting than the boring meeting I’m blowing off right now, baby girl.”
“I’m not your ‘baby girl,’” Kara said, annoyed. “And why would you miss a meeting for a female you’ve never even met before?”
“Because there’s something about you—someone inside you I want to get to know better,” Raak rumbled. “I think inside that scared, shy shell of yours there’s a wild woman waiting to break out.” He grinned. “I want to be there when she finally gets free.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Kara said, but inside she couldn’t help feeling flattered. Of course, he could be lying to her—she couldn’t discount that since he was without a soul and therefore completely amoral. But the idea that he would miss an important meeting just to get to know her was extremely flattering, especially considering the way most males would go out of their way to avoid her once they saw her fangs.
“You know what’s ridiculous?” Raak said. “You missin
g work and getting into trouble with nothing to show for it. Spend the day with me, baby girl. Let’s live a little.”
“Well…I can’t leave the Mother Ship,” Kara said cautiously. She’d been warned all her life never to get into a ship with a stranger. All kinds of people visited the Mother Ship and though most were Kindred and therefore honorable, there were the occasional exceptions. “But I guess we could get a cup of coffee or klava together.”
Raak made a face. “Why in the Seven Hells would we want to do something boring like that?”
Kara frowned. “Well, what do you suggest?”
“I took a little tour of the Mother Ship yesterday when I got here and I saw a place that looked like fun…”
Four
“The Rainbow Mountain? This is where you wanted to go?” The pretty little female looked skeptical as she eyed the artificial mountain spewing multicolored streams of water down its craggy sides. It was about fifteen or twenty meters high, Raak estimated, and shaped like a miniature volcano with a crater at the summit where the water poured out. The warm, rainbow streams pooled around the wide base of the mountain in a sandy area where a few young ones were playing under the watchful eye of their guardians.
But it was the crater at the top which interested Raak.
“Sure,” he said. “I want to know how they color the water and keep the different streams separate.”
“I think there’s some kind of fountain at the top.” Kara waved one slim hand vaguely. “Honestly, I haven’t been here since I was a kid—it’s mostly a place to bring toddlers so they can play in the sand and the water.”
“Well, I’m going to the top.” Raak gave her a challenging look. “When I see something I’m interested in, I go for it. You want to come with me?”
“How?” A frown creased her pretty features. Damn, she really was a beauty, he couldn’t help thinking. He didn’t usually bother with females who seemed like they would want a long-term commitment. After all—he literally didn’t have a soul to commit with and anyway, he didn’t like feeling tied down. But there was something about this little Kindred female—not that she was actually extremely little, like most of the human women were, he thought musingly.
Unbondable Page 3
