Adverse Effects

by Alicia Nordwell

  “All part of joining,” Seral said when they finally settled down. “It’s hard to keep your hands off each other. We should go. I need to speak with my father and the guards.”

  “Do you think he’ll stop Dade from helping?” Yaseke asked.

  “No. He has already given me command of the investigation. He may wish to speak with you regarding your abilities, though. My father is a curious male.”

  “As long as he realizes I’ll never let anyone try and figure out how the doctors did this to me so he can use it on anyone. It might have been an unexpected side effect, but this is the first time I can think of where it might be useful instead of harmful. No one should have to live with this ability.” I meant every word I said.

  “Don’t worry,” Ryker said. “Modoalm isn’t like that. I know you haven’t seen much of him outside of official business, but he is a compassionate male. He would never let anyone hurt us.”

  Believing in that would take more than a little time. I hoped it was true, though.

  Minutes later, we were all alone. Fieo was going to the lake with Nicklaus, and Seral left to speak with his father. I wondered how he was going to get himself out of trouble with Ryker, who walked out beside him but without touching him like they usually were.

  Yaseke stood up and untied his robe. My mouth went dry as he shrugged it off. He took my breath away, his body slender but strong. I scooted forward on the couch and dragged him between my knees. I kneaded his hips, caressing his smooth skin. His cock was standing erect, pointing straight at me.

  I grinned up at him as I captured it in my mouth, sinking down as far as I could go before pulling back off to tongue the spongy head. I licked the slit, tasting the tang of Yaseke’s arousal. He moaned and bent over me, gripping my shoulders, when I sank down to the root this time, swallowing around him. His claws dug into my shoulders. I think he would have fallen if I hadn’t had such a hard grip on his hips.

  “Bedroom,” he gasped out. “Anyone could walk in on us in here.”

  I pulled off him so I could talk. “I’m not done.” I slid the tip of my tongue around the head.

  He licked his lips. “I want to suck you too.”

  I stopped nibbling my way down his shaft. His amber eyes burned down at me, and he licked his lips again, making them wet and shiny.

  We couldn’t get into the bedroom fast enough.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. My stomach ached and my throat burned as I forced bile down. Fear created a varied response in most people, but for many, the feeling they were about to vomit accompanied their emotions as they faced Seral and Fieo over the table.

  At least I hadn’t eaten any lunch that could come up. Yaseke and I had been too busy, still in bed when Fieo came into our room to let us know that Modoalm wanted us to start right away. I’d all but snarled at him as I covered Yaseke’s naked body.

  We’d already been questioning people for several hours. I’d only felt a few small surges of satisfaction from two men when they were questioned, though several sent disgust through me when I touched them. The buzz of all the negative emotions was bringing back too many memories. Keeping it together was harder and harder.

  “We can start again tomorrow,” Seral told me.

  “How many more?” I didn’t want to do this again.

  Fieo looked at his com pad. His lips moved as he read down the list of the people they’d ordered to appear for questioning. “Thirteen.”

  “How about three more today?” Seral asked. “I don’t want you overwhelmed.”

  I could do that. I would be fine. Yaseke clamped his lips together, but I could hear the low hum he made. It made me shiver. “I just want to get this done as fast as possible,” I said to him. “I’m already miserable, what’s a little more?”

  Yaseke sounded angry, but the expression on his face when he looked up at me was sad. “I don’t want you miserable. We should stop. Seral can do this without you.”

  “I can help him find out who is helping Buphet faster, though. I’ll be fine. This is nothing.”

  “It’s not nothing, and we all know it. You look awful, Dade.” He shook his head. “This is my fault. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault.” I wouldn’t let him blame himself. “Buphet is the one who did this. You’re a victim, and so am I. But I know you would do anything in your power to keep people safe if you could. This is something I can do.” I let out a deep breath. He needed to understand. “Please let me do it.”

  Yaseke’s shoulders slumped. “Three more, but then I’m taking you back to my rooms.” He glared over at Seral. “A guard can stand outside, but we are going to have some privacy without worrying about anyone coming into our room.”

  “I said I was sorry,” Fieo said. He scratched at his face. “Miis can stand guard outside your room.”

  “Fine. Now that’s settled, let’s continue.” Seral gestured for the guards to bring in another person.

  Everything was going well until the last man entered the room. According to Fieo’s list, he was one of Buphet’s kitchen staff, a new addition who’d only come to the residence from Buphet’s estates recently. I sat and watched him as Seral asked him about Buphet’s activities; then Seral asked if he’d seen any males or females attending meals at the estates. The man’s answers were smooth, a little too smooth considering how quickly his eyes flicked from face to face.

  He kept shifting away from me. I reached over for the pitcher of water, set conveniently close to where Aleru’s arm was resting on the table, just as Fieo asked if he’d overheard any plans to attack Yaseke.

  Just like that, with one brush of my hand against his arm, I knew. Anger had been present in small doses before then, but when he looked at Yaseke and denied knowing of the attack, rage filled him. Not only rage, but malice, dark and suffocating. He wasn’t angry about the attack on an unsuspecting man. He was enraged it failed!

  My chair flipped backward as I rushed to my feet, all the rage and malice in him filling me as I lunged for the man. I knocked him to the ground, and my hands wrapped around his throat as I bared my fangs.

  “You knew!” I hissed.

  It took Fieo and both guards to pull me off him. Not even my attack had dulled his rage enough for the man to feel any fear. They rushed Aleru off to the medical wing, and I fought to calm down. Yaseke made the others let me go once he was gone so their emotions would stop affecting me. He rubbed my back, alternating between humming to me quietly and glaring at Seral.

  One of the two guards who’d been standing at the door came back into the room. “He’ll live, but he needs treatment before you will be able to question him further. The doctor said his throat was severely bruised.”

  “Place two guards over him and tell the doctor to restrain him.”

  The guard saluted Seral with one fist to his chest and left again.

  “I don’t know who he really is, but that man is not a cook,” I said shakily when I’d finally calmed down. “He knew about the attack. He’s murderously angry it failed, and the malice in him when he looked at Yaseke was intense.”

  “Apparently,” Seral said dryly.

  I would have retorted, but I was exhausted and my insides felt like they had been dipped in acid. I knew a shower wouldn’t change anything. The emotions I felt left no tangible marks, but still I wanted one. My head ached.

  “I can’t do any more tonight.”

  Seral looked at his com pad and then nodded. “Go eat and rest. Let Yaseke coddle you.”

  My tziu was wrapped in my arms, squeezing me tight. Walking to his suite would be interesting if he refused to let go.

  “We’ll use the morning hours to investigate Aleru. You can sleep in. I’ll com you when we’ll be ready to question the rest of the residence staff Buphet was in close contact with.”

  I leaned heavily on Yaseke as he led me toward his suite. It wasn’t very far, but the riot of emotions that had coursed through me all day had sapped all of my energy. N
ot even the full length of my tziu against my side, clothed just in a wrap to show off my mark in his heart space, was enough to distract me from my need for a shower.

  Yaseke’s suite was all rich, warm colors. Dark brown walls, light cream furniture, and dark green accents made me feel like we were back in the forest. When the door slid shut behind us and Yaseke locked it, I sighed in relief. The muscles in my back and shoulders relaxed. It was just us, and I never had to worry about what I would feel when Yaseke touched me. It was a reprieve I hadn’t known for years and was still getting used to.

  “The bathroom is over here.” His bathroom was done in silver shades with painted waves on the wall and frosted accents on the shower that looked like waves. I dropped my shorts and shirt on the floor. I could get new ones from my room in the morning before we had to meet Seral. I could tolerate wearing a wrap to my suite for that long, though the way my junk dangled free under one was just wrong.

  “Take your shower. I like to cook my meals sometimes, so I have some food here. I can make something light. You’re probably not very hungry.”

  “I’m not, but I should eat.” I hadn’t gained back all my lost mass from the starvation and forced inactivity on the ship.

  Yaseke brushed a light kiss against my lips, just barely touching me. “It’ll be okay,” he said quietly.

  “I should be telling you that,” I protested.

  “Just because you’re bigger and stronger than me doesn’t mean I can’t protect you from some things. I am strong enough to take care of you in all the ways you need.”

  The skin on his face was soft as I cupped his cheek and stroked the isitziu mark curving under his eye with my thumb. “Thank you.”

  His smile took my breath away.

  “Now, take your shower while I make some food. We can even eat in bed.”

  “Sounds good.” I admired the way his wide shoulders narrowed down to his slender waist and great ass as Yaseke walked out of the bathroom.

  Closing my eyes, I let the water stream over me in the shower. It felt good, but I no longer felt the need to scrub away all the emotions I’d experienced during the questioning. Yaseke had done that with one simple kiss.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “Ready to eat?” Yaseke set a tray down next to the bed where I was sitting. I was drying my hair but dropped the towel when he stepped close. I rubbed his hips through the silky fabric of his wrap. His lean stomach boasted small ridges that begged to be tongued.

  “I’m ready to eat you,” I mumbled against his stomach as I nuzzled his cool skin. Yaseke’s muscles rippled when I nipped at one side of his stomach. “Hmm, you taste good.”

  He squirmed away, pushing me back with his hands on my shoulders.

  I tilted my head back. “Hey, I’m trying to be sexy here.”

  “You’re always sexy.” He stroked one side of my face. “But you need to eat some food first. Then you can feast on me.” I could tell he wasn’t going to budge, and my stomach growling was pretty loud.

  “Okay.” I slid up on the bed and rested against the pillows. “What’d you bring me?”

  “Falgru meat in a red sauce, bread, some berries. Mamo sent over my favorite dessert when I commed her too.”

  Watching Yaseke crawl onto the bed made me hungry for other things. My lust warred with my hunger and lost. We ate quietly. Once I took the first bite I couldn’t get enough. I’d been too sick to eat at lunch.

  Dessert ended up being a fruit thing with a spongy cake base. I’d never seen anything like it, outside of a picture. I raised my eyebrows when Yaseke fed me the first bite. I moaned as soon as it hit my tongue. “Oh God, definitely an adult dessert.” There was a strong liquor flavor, smoother than anything I’d ever tasted before, with a spicy undertone.

  Yaseke squirmed on the bed, his wrap pulling tight across his hips. The thin fabric did nothing to hide the swell of his cock as it pressed into the pale green cloth. A darker patch on the fabric grew as I licked my lips. I let my gaze rove up his body ’til I met his amber eyes burning in his flushed face.

  “Let me.” I took the spoon from his lax fingers, dipping it into the small clear bowl and coming out with a scoop of cake, fruit, and a large dollop of cream. Leaning toward him, I slid the spoon into his open mouth and held my breath as his lips closed over it. A little cream dotted his upper lip when I pulled the spoon away.

  His eyes half closed, and he hummed as he chewed. I shivered, then offered him another bite. The dessert tasted good, but watching him eat it was even better. Then, on the next bite, Yaseke pulled me forward. His tongue flicked against my lips, and I opened.

  Yaseke slipped his tongue into my mouth, sharing the bite with me. I blindly put the bowl down on the tray, needing both hands to capture Yaseke’s face as I followed his tongue, plundering his mouth.

  Aching, my own neglected length rose to rest against my stomach, but I was unable to break away from his mouth to move down his body. He slid his hands over my chest, tweaking my nipples, and I squirmed as he tickled his way down my abs. I expected him to wrap his hand around my cock, but instead he cupped my balls, rolling them in his hand.

  I arched, and our kiss broke as I shuddered, writhing in his grip. Somehow, feeling nothing when he touched me meant I felt everything. Every brush of his skin on mine was magnified a hundredfold.

  “Have you had enough?”

  “Never have enough of you,” I gasped out.

  Yaseke chuckled. I had thought I was in control, that I was seducing him. Instead, my tziu pushed me onto my back.

  “Stay there.” He picked up the tray and put it on the dresser. He looked amazing walking back to me, the lean muscles in his body rippling. I watched avidly as he undid his wrap and dropped it to the floor.

  I stroked my cock slowly.

  Yaseke didn’t climb up on the bed like I expected. He slid a hand under the edge, tugging out a hidden drawer. He pulled out a green bottle, tossing it onto the bed.

  I groaned when Yaseke pulled my hand off my cock. “Let me.” He picked up the bottle and drizzled the liquid over me. The slick fluid felt cold on the heated flesh of my cock. I hissed, and my tziu grinned.

  He was going to kill me.

  “Come on!” My voice held a distinct whine. “Please.”

  “Not yet.” His hands gliding smoothly with the slick fluid coating my cock, Yaseke used both to tease the shaft and the head. I grabbed the sheets, desperate to hold on to something. His teasing was too slow to make me come, but I could feel the edge, razor-sharp, just outside my reach.

  I writhed, babbling needily, and one of his hands disappeared behind him. Yaseke moaned and his eyes slid shut. I let go of the bed and reached for his hips to pull him up to straddle my hips. I reached between his legs to feel him fingering himself. He was so amazing. I pressed one knuckle behind his balls, and his eyes flew open.

  “You are so hot,” Yaseke said. He raised up, hovering over me, one hand holding my cock while he guided it into the tight heat of his body.

  “Yes,” I hissed.

  That was the last word I uttered as he rode my cock until I cried out Yaseke’s name. He arched over me, my hands cupping his ass as I pulled him down. Warm strands of his come painted my chest.

  There was no way either of us was getting out of bed. We curled up together.

  “I love you,” I said as I pulled Yaseke closer. He felt so good snuggled against me.

  He yawned, then hummed, “Love you, too.”

  When I woke up a few hours later, it was sweltering in Yaseke’s room. His suite was facing away from the lake, toward the thick tract of jungle that ringed the back left edge of the residence. My right arm was numb from where Yaseke’s head rested on my bicep. I eased it out from under him, grimacing as the sensation of pins and needles began to prick at my fingers.

  Yaseke had three wide windows in the main suite. I opened the first one, sighing in relief as the slightly cooler breeze rushed in. I could feel the sweat drying on my body as I
opened the second window. The third window, in the middle, was the biggest. I must have been getting used to Caeorleian society because I thought nothing of resting my hands on the windowsill and leaning out completely naked, taking deep breaths.

  A slight whining noise made the bone behind my ear itch. I’d opened my eyes to locate the insect bothering me when a sharp pain bit into my neck.

  “Wha—” My throat went numb. I stumbled back as dark shapes detached themselves from the distant trees.

  Yaseke or a guard.

  I stumbled for the door. My vision was going black, and my body kept getting heavier. Whatever I’d been hit with was potent; there was no way I’d be able to protect my tziu.

  I had to get to the door.

  “Dade.” My cheek stung. “Dade, wake up.”

  My eyelids were heavy, as if boulders were weighing them down. I groaned, my throat vibrating with the deep sound.

  “Oh thank God. Dade, come on, open your eyes.”

  Of course Yaseke would want me to open my eyes when it felt so impossible. I licked my dry lips, wetting them. It was cold; colder than I’d been in weeks. My eyes stubbornly refused to open. What in the hell happened—

  My head swam as I sat up abruptly. I looked around wildly.

  Gray walls, gray floor, and a gray grate for a ceiling.

  Yaseke crouched next to me. I tried to reach for him and chains rattled. My wrists were encased in a thick, hard material. A chain ran through rings on the underside and led to the wall. “What the hell happened?”

  The skin around my tziu’s eyes was swollen, like he had been crying. He was shaking, completely naked, rubbing his arms. “I thought I was going to be alone. They said they didn’t care if you woke up or not.”

  I winced when the chains tugged on my wrists as I reached for him. “Come here.”

  Yaseke scooted close to me, wrapping his arms around my stomach. The floor was cold under me, so I scooted sideways to lean against the wall, then encouraged him to sit on my legs. “I’d never leave you, if I had a choice,” I told him as he curled into me.