The Bid

by Jacquelyn Frank

  “Gods have mercy, you’re a memory I’ve needed for so long,” he rasped as he watched her shiver and cry out with every forward thrust he gave her. It was like a never-ending peak for her, not to mention sexual torment for him. He was wondering if he’d ever be able to breathe again as her legs suddenly curled around his hips. It resulted in a shift of her hips and his pitch, abruptly tautening something inside of her that teased the underside of the head of his cock every time he swept across it. The overload was electric.

  Vejhon felt the end rushing up on him quickly, but he wasn’t letting her conduct this particular orgasm. This was his time, his mark, and he was leaving it his way. He jerked her up from the floor, yanking her onto his thighs as he knelt with them braced hard apart. The wet boa of her hair whipped against his back with the momentum and she coughed out a purr of pleasure as she sank down hard onto his shaft, the thickness of it stuffing her more than full. But what he was doing by shifting position was forcing the sensitive nerve center at the lip of her vagina to stroke along the length of his cock every time they mutually lifted and resettled her onto him.

  “There we go,” he said to her when she dropped her head forward and jerked in a long, high-pitched gasp of response. He sought an ear to whisper into as he used all the power in his body to pump her onto him again and again. “Tighten up…yes…grab my cock like you’re never going to let me go. I’m so deep now…keep me. Keep me deep inside you.” Vejhon paused to groan with his own ecstasy as she joined his cause with the sleek power of her own body. She rode him, her pelvis canting over him with faster and faster gripping need. She was grabbing breath and holding it now, forcing vigor into her ride.

  Jhon dug brutal fingers into her hips and buttocks as they mutually worked for release. The entire world faded away for them both and Hanna felt herself shimmering apart an instant before her entire awareness narrowed to a single tiny spot of light. She felt it detonate like a collapsing star, an explosion of power and light and energy, but a collapse inward into a weaker, smaller being.

  Vejhon felt her ignite around him, her clutch on his cock violently perfect. Instinctively his hands grabbed her around her back as that tingle in the seat of his testicles turned into a scream of rushing sensation. Everything inside of him seized, nothing working, nothing focusing…nothing but that single point of action in his body as he sprayed his cum forcefully inside of her again and again.

  For the longest time it felt as though it would never stop. It was when he reached the point of pain that she suddenly lost all strength in his hold, her entire body collapsing forward against him and her head dropping with a lolling roll. Her sudden unconsciousness also released him from her milking grip on his penis. Sliding out of her body had to be the most agonizingly poignant thing he’d ever felt. As though it could help replace his loss, he gathered her close and tight, bare skin to bare skin, resting her head on his shoulder. But though it felt good to hold her that closely, it was bereft of her energy and personality. And when she didn’t rouse for him after a minute or two, he felt an automatic panic settle over him, chilling him across his chest and down his spine.

  Not knowing what else to do, he scooped her up and carried her to one of the lounges. He laid her out, her blue limbs so flawless against the white fabric. Once she was safely settled he sat beside her and tried to rouse her from the faint. She looked unbelievably peaceful and content, like she was sleeping, but she wouldn’t awaken and it was beginning to make him worry.

  Rising to his feet, his hand still holding hers, he looked around the room quickly. He decided to find Najir, knowing the slave was far more familiar with her physiology. He drew on clothes quickly, not caring that he had freely bleeding wounds still. After jerking a soft, clean fur from the bed and covering Hanna with it, he rushed to the sensor across the room. He had mapped the halls in his mind and some of the open rooms, but he had no idea where Najir’s quarters might be, or where he would be right then.

  But as he stood in the smooth stone hallway, the dull roar of his senses that, until then, had strictly focused on Hanna, began to rustle to attention. The house, he realized, was full of people. A great many people.

  Servants. Security. Family. He knew all of this because he could smell heavy traces of them all, and each scent identified itself in a different way. Family seemed to smell faintly reminiscent of Hanna. Security smelled of the same fabric used repetitively for their uniforms, and they were armed. He could smell the ozone from weapons that had been through practice fires. Servants also wore uniforms, but of lighter materials, and they smelled of cleansing products in one fashion or another. Since Najir fell into none of these categories, Jhon figured his best shot was to seek a frequent scent that fell outside of these other regular ones.

  It was confusing at first, how to separate and then follow a single trail, but after a minute or two it was almost as though he were following a light-colored string that had been left for him as a guide. He realized he could even tell in which direction things had moved strictly by the deterioration rate of a scent in one direction as opposed to another. This also told him which of many trails was most recent and wisest to follow.

  Vejhon’s race had always had sharp senses, so he adjusted to the magnification very quickly. He realized he was following a male, increasing the odds of having picked up the right trail. The path took him right to the family room Jhon had been introduced to with such shocking submersion. He didn’t hesitate, swiping his hand past the sensor.

  It didn’t surprise him that it wouldn’t open for him. This room held her most dearly prized secrets in the world. She wouldn’t let anyone else have access except those most trusted. It didn’t faze him in the least that he wasn’t one of those people…yet.

  “Najir!”

  He bellowed out the call, hoping somehow he would be heard. He doubted it, though. A roomful of jungle beasts and he couldn’t hear a single sound from them? That meant it was soundproofed.

  “Can I help you?”

  Vejhon turned sharply to face the person who spoke. He was presented with the only other blue-skinned person he’d seen since awakening from stasis. She was a petite and almost miniature thing. Her black hair was kept short and close to her head, sticking out in messy spikes that made her look like she’d just tumbled out of bed. Judging by the sheer sheath gown she was wearing, a white that showed him just about every detail of her body beneath, she might have just come from bed after all. Her eyes were a soft sloe shape, long black lashes blinking sleepily over amethyst irises.

  As his eyes coasted over her, hers did the same to him. She seemed to smile wider the more she looked. “My, my, look what the cat dragged in,” she joked tartly as she took in his wounds.

  Vejhon wasn’t amused.

  “I’m going to guess either a sister or a cousin,” Jhon said dryly, that common trace of scent that hinted of Hanna making it obvious to him.

  “Oh, I’m a sister. Firstborn, second litter. My brother, firstborn, third litter, has gone off in search of…who knows what. Been gone for a year. All the rest of the family is in the country…or in that room. But I suppose you know that already,” she mused, absently sucking on a fingernail. Unlike Hanna’s sexy red, she had hers painted a bold, dangerous black. “Now me…I just came back last night. And low and behold, Sissy has a new beau. How clever of her.”

  The compact woman came closer to him, making sure he could see she was just as curvaceous as her sister, if on a shorter scale. She couldn’t be more than two inches over five feet. Even then Jhon thought he was being generous. But apparently her lack of height did nothing to phase her confidence. She radiated it and her energetic sexuality like a beacon, and she obviously expected anyone and everyone to answer it.

  She reached out to touch him, her hand falling just below his slave band on his arm. “My, the family did a number on you.” She traced a long, furrowed claw mark over his forearm. “You know, my sister is supposed to be caring for these. How inconsiderate and thoughtles
s of her to let you bleed and suffer like this. It must be so painful.”

  “Hanna isn’t thoughtless…nor is she inconsiderate. She’s unconscious and I cannot rouse her.”

  That news made the little woman stiffen with immediate interest. Jhon couldn’t tell if there was concern as well.

  “Hanna?” she asked in disbelief. “What happened?”

  “She fainted,” he responded shortly.

  “Faint—!” The black-haired creature threw back her head and laughed. “You artful little devil!” She seemed completely amused and delighted and Jhon was starting to feel his temper. When she saw his expression she chuckled again. She boldly linked her arm through his and turned him back toward the stairs. “Not to worry,” she assured him with a grin. “She will rouse on her own in a little while. You see, Drakoulous women are designed for sex like…the latest and best of technology. Every part of our body can be erogenous in some fashion and it never takes much to arouse us. However, because we’re wired to be so sensitive, with dual clits and hypersensitive G-spots, sometimes we can have dual or even triple orgasms at once. As delightful as they are, they’re also like overloading a computer with a massive program it can’t process. Under that kind of duress, the system will shut down…and so will we.”

  They reached the landing where Vejhon’s quarters were located and she stopped to look him over in a manner he could only describe as covetous. “Apparently,” she purred, “you’re blessed with all the best of talents and did everything just right.” She grinned wickedly as her eyes brushed longingly past the obviousness of his dormant penis in the close-fitting pants he wore. “Believe me, when she wakes in a few minutes, she will be gushing with delight and praises.”

  “You’re certain?”

  “Yes. Quite. But if she doesn’t wake within the next fifteen minutes, you can come find me. My room is not far from yours, actually. It’s just around the corner. Right across from Hanna’s. We are such a close family and…well, we like to be within easy reach of each other when we’re home together.”

  Jhon thought it was far more likely that Hanna preferred to keep a close eye on her sister. This one had trouble and mayhem etched all over her flirtatious little body.

  “What’s your name?” he asked with a fabricated smile as she surreptitiously fondled the contour of his biceps.

  “Ashanna. But call me Asha or Ash.”

  “Ashanna?” Vejhon smiled for real at that. “That wouldn’t mean ‘as Hanna,’ would it? Sounds like your parents were so taken with Hanna that they hoped you’d be just like her.”

  Ashanna’s eyes darkened and narrowed until the sloe shape looked positively ferocious. She jerked her hand away from him. “Well, as you can see I’m nothing like Hanna! Not in looks or in attitude. In fact, we are polar opposites and I’m glad of it.”

  “Don’t you like your sister?”

  Jhon could immediately tell when she realized her temper and touchiness over her name had revealed a little too much. She laughed a little uncomfortably, touching her hair as if to groom it casually into place.

  “I adore my sister,” she said, possibly meaning it and possibly not. “It’s just difficult to grow up when everyone is expecting you to be exactly like such a paragon of perfection like Hanna.” There was a touch of bitterness that Ashanna couldn’t hide within the remark. Deciding to cut her losses for the moment, she manufactured a smile for him and a little wave. “I am off to snooze. Tell my sister to care for those scratches when she awakens. We wouldn’t want them to get infected, now would we?”

  “No, I don’t suppose so. Thanks for the help.”

  “You are welcome.”

  13

  Hanna opened her eyes and found herself looking into the cat’s eye pupils of her new lover. A sensation of ridiculous happiness rushed over her as she remembered the obliterating ride of pleasure he had sent her on just before she had lost touch with the waking world. Her smile must have looked a little goofy because Vejhon began to chuckle softly.

  “You okay?” he asked, reaching out to touch the back of his finger to her still-lavender cheek. “You know, you might have warned me about this. It’s hard on the coronary system when you unexpectedly make a woman pass out for twenty minutes.”

  “Is this how you express worry?” she asked him with a teasing smile. “And I would have told you had I thought about it. However, it’s never happened to me before so it wasn’t something I expected. Anyway, I was more concerned with your adaptation to your new…your new life.”

  Jhon was sitting beside her on the lounge, leaning down over her and staring down into her eyes. When she remarked on the changes he was going through, he simply shrugged a shoulder, as if it weren’t in the least significant.

  “I took a little inventory while you slept. Sharpened senses, fast reflexes, and extraordinary strength…there’s nothing so different about that for me really. Though I know that is likely to be only scratching the surface.”

  She cocked her head, studying him as she lifted her touch to the line of his jaw. “To say the least,” she agreed. “You do seem to be better adjusted.”

  “Well, submersion in panic tends to force a man to get his act together pretty quickly.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “We’ve been over that. I was fine once your sister told me it wasn’t unusual for women of your—”

  “My sister!” Hanna jolted upright, pushing him back from her as she tried to find her feet. Vejhon moved back to give her room, watching carefully as she reacted strongly. She walked away from him, the fur dropping disregarded to the floor.

  “Is there a problem?” He hardly had to ask. He’d already gotten his own impressions of her sister that might explain her reaction.

  “I’m about to find out.”

  Without much other choice, Jhon followed her as she activated the doorlock and walked without hesitation into the hallway. He bristled at her moving into a more public position while she was completely nude, but she pushed her way into another room only a few yards away.

  It was her room, he surmised quickly. Everything about it instantly reflected the knowledge to him. The smell, the coloring, and even the small cat snoozing in the center of the large bed. It was a fat thing, much smaller than the beasts he had seen before, with black and white speckled fur sticking up in odd tufts here and there. Its eyes opened just far enough to check out who had disturbed the room, then closed again with complete unconcern.

  Hanna went to an area of the room that held displays of clothing at the ready and she quickly drew on a chocolate-colored dress that hung loosely and shimmeringly over her figure in a boxy sort of style. The charm of the outfit was in its natural cling. Despite its vague cut, the fabric was attracted to her body beneath.

  Vejhon remained silent and unquestioning as she briefly paused to straighten her hair, and then moved back out of the room with a brisk step. She crossed the wide hall and slid her hand past the sensor to her sister’s door. A chime sounded, letting them know she had been notified of their presence.

  Hanna was impatient. She paced away from the door, leaving Jhon standing before it. He watched her make a wide circuit and then begin another, just as the door slid open to reveal Ashanna. Since Hanna was several steps away, Asha saw only Jhon standing there at first and she lit up with a smile and a flirtatious lean against the frame of the doorway.

  “Back so soon, lover?” she asked cheekily.

  “I could ask you the same thing, Ash.”

  Ashanna jolted at the sound of her sister’s voice and a blush of lavender ghosted briefly up her neck as she stood sharply straight. She painted on a smile and beamed at her sister.

  “Hanna, dearest, so good to see you.”

  She reached with outstretched arms to take Hanna by her shoulders and touched cheeks with her briefly. If it was meant to be a sign of affection, it was sorely lacking on the parts of both women.

  “You as well, Ash,” Hanna returned, her usual truth and intensity n
ot present in her completely blank expression. “But you’ll forgive my surprise. You are supposed to be in the country place with our uncles and their families.”

  “I was bored out of my mind.” Asha waved the matter off. “I’m afraid I am a city girl through and through.”

  “Asha, we had an agreement,” Hanna said sternly.

  “Must we discuss this now?” Asha asked, giving Vejhon a pointed glance. “This is a family matter, Hanna,” she said, laughing uncomfortably as she fluffed her fingers through her hair.

  “If you hadn’t noticed, Vejhon is family now.”

  “Barely,” the petite woman sniped in a sharp little snap. Then she shrugged at Jhon. “No offense, lover.”

  “Call him that again, little sister, and you’ll be pulling my claws out of your throat,” Hanna hissed suddenly, a low tremulous growl lacing the threat as she stepped up hard into her sister’s face. “You disobey me. I am Master of this House and you will learn that fact the hard way if you must, Ashanna.”

  “Hanna, please,” Asha said, her entire demeanor shifting to one of frustrated pleading, the most honest emotion Jhon had seen on her to date. “I miss my siblings. I miss my things! All of my friends are here!”

  “You should have thought about that before you put this House at risk with your selfish behaviors!” Hanna snapped. “You forced me to banish you to the country place, Asha; I did not want to send you there. We agreed you would stay there for a year or until you could prove you could control your impulses.”

  “But I have! I swear I have!”

  “In only three months? I doubt it. You couldn’t even wait long enough to contact me before coming here. If you had I would have asked you to wait until Jhon’s transition was farther along at the very least. But as usual, you considered only your own needs. Don’t get comfortable, Asha. You’re going back.” Hanna exhaled in a release of temper. “And get Kuriken off my bed. He is your companion and should be in your damn bed.”