Apparition

by C. L. Scholey

  “How?” she whispered.

  “I’m afraid it’s hypnotism, pure and simple. My mother would get furious with me when I was small,” Doss said and chuckled. Zoe couldn’t keep her eyes from his gaze. “I used to love sweet things from the replicator. My mother would be so busy watching fields of flowers in my eyes she never saw my mouth moving while I ate what I wanted.”

  “Do you still crave sweets?” Zoe asked.

  Doss broke their contact; his eyes were once more their beautiful gray. “Yes.”

  Zoe cried out when his cock plunged up into her heat. She hadn’t exactly been ready and was surprised at how wet she was. She groaned at how good he felt. He whispered her name in such a way she would have felt her knees weaken if she wasn’t lying down. She glided her one foot from his calf over his ass to wrap around his middle. Her insides were warm and slick as he plunged and retreated. His hand gripped her behind and pulled her with each thrust to forcefully meet his hips. Zoe had never had anyone as large as Doss.

  She wondered at the size of him the night before. He had grown so big inside her. He had been sweet and caring—she had stopped being afraid. She saddened when she thought of the other women who were captured and tortured. Doss slowed his thrusts and rubbed a moist hand across her breasts. Zoe, though still feeling bad, felt calmer. She knew it was something in the secretions Doss’ body created. His touch was comforting.

  “There might be a way to save them,” she heard Doss say.

  Zoe was startled. “Can you read my mind?”

  “No, but since we have mated, I can hear your emotions. I know that sounds strange, but it’s true. My secretions flow through you and collect the information in my shield. My shield then turns them to taste, which fills my mouth and my taste brings memories of said emotion to my thoughts, which allows me to hear in my mind what you are feeling. I’m certain a taste or smell triggers an emotion from you at times.”

  “Sounds complicated.”

  “It’s instantaneous.”

  Zoe cocked her head as he moved against her. “Doss, I don’t have your scent ability, but I feel you. You being so close makes me know I’m safe. I’ve never felt this close to anyone. It’s like an emotional connection.”

  “The closer we are, the stronger your emotion of safety will be. It’s instinct, I keep you safe. I will forever. If you need me just think of me hard. I can feel if you’re distressed. Every day the bond will grow stronger.”

  “Can you really save those women?”

  “Let me concentrate on you first, please; you’re driving me wild.”

  Doss moved faster while gaining a rhythm. It felt good. His hips hit hers hard and she groaned with the pressure. The next thrust was a little gentler. He just seemed to know what she wanted. His fangs were growing. His temples were sweating. So were Zoe’s. When he ducked his head for a kiss he pressed his forehead to hers. Their sweat mixed and Zoe felt a jolt of energy. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer.

  His powerful thrusts were tempered enough to be exciting, not overwhelming. Every inch of him was rock solid. Zoe’s hands trailed down his broad back to his hard ass. He was sculpted—he was her mate. Zoe licked at his moist skin and she heard him groan. He pulled almost completely from her then slid back and forth. His hands fondled her breasts, his fingers teased her nipples. He lifted one of her legs onto his shoulder, then the other. Zoe gasped at his depth. Her warrior was made to fill a woman completely.

  When his cock began to grow larger, Zoe was ready this time. She wasn’t afraid. He had shown her she could trust him. She gave herself to him willingly. He was the most exciting lover she had ever had. His length stretched deeper to reach its mark. Her insides expanded to close around his width. She was absolutely engorged with him. This time he didn’t turn her. She looked up into his eyes as she began to ache with the pressure of his massive sex.

  Zoe groaned with exhaustion. He was a very virile man. Sex before was good, but was done within four minutes, tops. With Doss it went on and on until she was a wet dish rag. She couldn’t keep up. Her legs slipped down to rest by his sides. By this time, he was entering and retreating with great care. Zoe could take no more. She whispered his name. Doss sunk his fangs into her neck. Zoe would have screamed with the orgasm she experienced, but she was spent. Her body shuddered and she lay still.

  Doss rocked against her once, twice and then held still. More of his weight settled onto her. Zoe’s eyes widened in surprise. Caveat was beside them again, watching. Oh God, if Caveat thought Doss was hurting her… Zoe was suddenly molded to Doss. She couldn’t move. She heard him mutter: “damned horse.” She realized Doss’ shield was surrounding them both. Nothing could penetrate Doss’ shield, not even Caveat. She calmed and heard Doss groan when he came.

  They lay there with the shield enveloping them both. Zoe was completely dry. No sweat or secretions. It was an odd sensation to be in there with him. She thought it would feel like a cocoon might. Her body was warm, her heart beat perfectly normal. Her breathing regulated. Her bodily functions weren’t her own.

  “Doss?”

  “It’s all right, Zoe.”

  “I’m not afraid. It’s just that this is so strange.”

  “My shield can, for a time, regulate both our bodies. Nothing can harm you in here with me. It’s how I can protect you. If I need to fight and keep you safe, I just tuck you in with me. I can do this with children as well. The shield takes control so they aren’t afraid. It will also stop annoying bodily functions—if you know what I mean?”

  She did. She couldn’t imagine being stuck in here with a dirty-bummed toddler. “So you can protect our daughters and sons like this?”

  “Only females. Any son I have will develop a shield like mine after he is weaned. He will be just as safe as you are now. All babies are created with shields; they are indestructible—even to me. Not that I would ever be so cruel. And unless you have the unfortunate lineage of a Tonan. A Tonan won’t give a piece of his shield. They’re too selfish. Idiots if you ask me. They can’t keep a female safe or the very vulnerable if they refuse to shield them. It’s no wonder their breed is dying.”

  “Why don’t girls keep a shield?”

  “A warrior needs his shield for battle. Females don’t battle. A warrior can protect a female until they turn twenty-one. At least that’s what my memories tell me. I have gotten the rare scent of human females before. It makes a warrior more protective of females and encourages their want of a female mate. It also encourages a female to seek out a warrior mate for protection when they are no longer children. But, a warrior would never harm a child, especially a female child. Their armor won’t permit it. At least that is what my Castian memories tell me.”

  “You are half and half. A hybrid of sorts?” She felt him cringe. “It doesn’t matter to me, Doss. It means you are neither. You are unique.” She felt him relax.

  Doss began to rise and Zoe realized the shield was down. It had been remarkable. She had seen right through it. There had never in her life been a time she felt safer. Doss strolled nude to the replicator. Zoe watched his ass move. It was a thing of beauty. He pulled out an apple and gave it to Caveat. Doss stared at the horse hard for a moment. Caveat whinnied, chewed, stopped chewing, chewed, then his ears went back and the apple dropped. Sweat appeared on his flanks. His eyes looked a bit wild and then he spun around and left. Zoe swore his back legs moved so fast he almost ran over his front ones.

  Zoe narrowed her eyes onto Doss. “What did you do?”

  “I gently explained what a gelding was.”

  “But he’s a horse.”

  “Even horses appear to be susceptible to my hypnotizing gaze.”

  Zoe shuddered. “I guess a picture really is worth a thousand words.”

  * * * *

  “You will be fine here?” Doss was skeptical.

  It was early the next day and Zoe had begged him to see how he could help other female humans escape. Or children, could he at least sav
e a few children? He reminded her that he could only shield girls, not boys. More females in his cave? More responsibility. Good lord, more emotion. His Tonan half was having a field day with that one. His Castian half was delighted with the idea. Annoyingly, Doss had both thoughts.

  Doss’ head was spinning. In a few short days he had acquired a mate and a herd of horses and now she wanted human children. The Tonans would come after him eventually if he kept raiding them. Normally, he stayed out of their sight, both preferred it that way. Now he had killed a warrior and wounded another. It had been worth it he thought while gazing into Zoe’s anxious brown eyes.

  “Just hurry back,” she said.

  The scent of fear was high on her, but so too was her determination. Doss cupped her chin. “We are emotionally tied,” he began. “No matter where you are, I will always feel you. I will always find you.”

  “Always?”

  “Yes. Without you, I will die. We are mated for life. The connection is as old as time. Even if you were on a different planet, nothing can break our bond.”

  Zoe moved into his arms. He felt her confusion toward her feelings for him. She knew he was no liar. She wasn’t in love with him, but she wanted to be with him. It was enough for now. He couldn’t expect her to suddenly fall head over heels for him, she didn’t have scent memory toward a mate. Doss knew she loved making love with him. He knew she trusted him with her life. Zoe trusted him with her horse’s life and Doss knew that was the highest honor she could bestow upon him. Doss was hopeful in time she would love him, he would know the second it happened.

  Doss had replicated her clothing, though he would have liked for her to remain nude. Her skin tight white top was molded to her breasts and went slightly higher than her belly button. Her shoulder was completely exposed to show the world they were mated and she bore his mark. The mark was a warning that glowed. It would tell any who gazed upon it this female was protected. It would be death to anyone who would think to harm her. Gray-white flexible pants matching his rode low on her hips and went a short way down her thighs. They had bathed together in the healing waters. Her riot of ringlets reminded him of Caveat’s mane, though when he had said this he sensed her annoyance. She was beautiful.

  Caveat whickered a warning and Doss tensed. Someone was outside. Doss’ armor enclosed over Zoe when he snatched her up off her feet. Her legs were wrapped tight around his middle, her arms around his neck. She had her face buried into his throat.

  “Where is she?” snapped a deep male voice.

  Doss was surprised to see not a Tonan but a Castian warrior. It had been ages since he had seen one. The two warriors regarded one another. Doss was feeling dismayed. How had the warrior found his home? No one had ever been here before.

  “What makes you think anyone is here besides me?” Doss asked.

  “I followed the scent of the stallion in the wind. I saw the body of the first Tonan and then the wounded Tonan. If you gave him a message—he never delivered it.”

  “You killed him?”

  “Damn right I did. Evil filthy bastards.”

  “One could say the same of your kind,” Doss said and growled deep in his throat. “How many women in the slave camp wish you were dead?”

  “The warriors are young!” The Castian raged. “They are in must and collared. Almost all of them have never seen a female before. The Tonans are forcing the women to beg to be fucked; the women do it willingly for a few scraps of food and decent water. The females are more terrified of being starved and beaten. Tonans are notorious for torture. The young Castian bastards have no control when a woman swears she wants him. All they need to do is get a scent of a female, then to have her run her hands over them is too much for them to control. I don’t condone what the Castian warriors are doing, and they never would under normal circumstances. You can smell the self-loathing on them. I have never once touched a human female that way.”

  “Doss?” Zoe whispered. “He sounds like Loy.”

  “The warrior you were given to?” Doss asked.

  “Yes.”

  The Castian cocked his head. “She’s in there with you isn’t she? You mated her?”

  “She was willing.”

  “I want to ask her myself,” the Castian snapped. “Your armor hides what she is feeling. In fact I have no scent of her at all. There is no indication she’s even in there with you. How do I know you’re not lying?”

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” Doss howled. “I have no tail; you can tell if I’m lying. I’m no filthy Tonan.”

  “My name is Loy. She was given to me by a Tonan. She is the reason I’m free. She saved my life and I saved hers. Nothing more. I had hoped to take her to Bagron where it’s safer. Cobra, our leader, has been restored to power as was right. My warrior mate and I were captured a short time ago on a rescue mission. I know your female hates me. It was the least I could do to go looking for her, considering her actions freed me.”

  “Lower your shield,” Doss commanded.

  “So the stallion can ram his hooves into my back? Forget it.”

  Caveat was indeed pawing, prancing and rearing. Doss admired his fortitude. The stallion was fearless. If Doss was to fight the Castian, he would rather do it while Zoe sat safely on Caveat’s back. He was beginning to understand the helpful uses of a warrior mate when he hadn’t before. Before he only protected himself.

  “Caveat, come to me,” Doss ordered.

  The stallion wasn’t used to taking commands from a man. When Doss lowered his shield to let Zoe slip to her feet the horse was beside him in a second. Doss grabbed Zoe’s ass and flung her onto the stallion. Doss’ armor was already back in place. Zoe just sat looking at the Castian.

  “My captor came after me,” Zoe said warily. “Doss saved my life and Caveat’s. I want to be here.”

  The Castian lowered his armor. It was in fact Loy. He looked a great deal stronger than the last time she had seen him. Both he and Doss were the same size. He held his hands out in supplication.

  “I won’t bother you again, little female. I wanted to thank you for your strength and courage. Your hate compelled me to find the strength to attack when you bit the Tonan and drew his blood. My warrior mate was killed by them. I need to go back and find the woman he impregnated. My warrior mate only took her to give her a babe and his shield. He did it to save her life.

  “She has her baby’s shield so she must be in seclusion somewhere. Tonans won’t be able to get near her, but they could have frightened her into a cell if there were many. I have no idea if they are feeding her. My warrior mate lost his life to keep her and his babe safe.”

  “You were collared, too,” Zoe said in confusion.

  “By feeding off both yours and my furious outrage, the collar couldn’t stop the warning to my shield. It was slight, but it was enough. The smell of blood helped. The human females are safest around Tonans when they bleed. No female is ever bred with a Castian during her blood cycle. Males become increasingly shielding of females around the scent of blood. It’s why a mated woman only has a blood cycle twice every four hundred years. It puts a male into deep protect mode to prepare their must and trigger it.

  “When my armor snapped into place the collar was destroyed and I was able to battle the Tonan and escape with you. It’s why the women are forced into submission before they are given to a Castian. They are defeated and it’s all the Castian can sense. Your captor was convinced your beauty would sway me. I’m eight hundred years old. I don’t sway.”

  “Now what will you do?” Zoe asked.

  “The female of my warrior mate will sense I’m a relative, a friend. All she needs to do is inhale my scent and give it to the babe. I can shield her like your mate shielded you. With her own baby shield she doesn’t need me really, but it would be a comfort to them. The babe’s shield will protect her, but I must free her. I need to take them to Bagron where I can protect them better.

  “Our leader, Cobra, has an army of warriors that is bu
ilding daily. The human male children we free can be bit by a warrior mate and turned Castian for their safety. They are strong and learn fast. Their anger toward the Tonans drives them. I need to get my warrior mate’s female.”

  “Did she mate with your warrior mate?” Doss asked. If she did, there was no hope for her. After the babe was weaned, she would die. Their races mated for life into death and beyond, so their legends said.

  “I don’t think so,” Loy said. “I scent her; I feel her connection but it’s not as strong as it should be. The babe of course is female. I feel her more strongly. She is calling for me. She knows her father is gone and so her attention is focused on me. I’ll be able to find them. It’s just getting them out that will be tricky. I can’t wait for Cobra. Her mother is under duress. Once the babe is weaned there will be no more shield. The Tonans may keep them and feed them. Once the shield is gone both will be helpless and at their mercy.”

  “But that will take years,” Zoe whispered. “Held in captivity for years.”

  “The Tonans have all the time in the world,” Loy reminded her.

  “Not any more.” Doss snarled. “I’m in your debt for saving my mate. I’ll help you get your warrior mate’s female back.”

  Doss could scent Loy’s earnestness, he wasn’t lying. Zoe had nothing to fear from this Castian. It was odd; all his life Doss scented mistrust in Tonans, there was no stinking smell of revulsion coming from the warrior. He didn’t hate Doss because of lineage. Mostly Doss scented urgency, worry. And an odd scent he couldn’t bring from his memory.

  “What about your mate?” Loy asked.

  Doss thought about that. If the Castian could trail Caveat’s scent on the wind so could others. He couldn’t depend on a horse to keep her safe.

  “I can go with you,” Zoe suggested. “If we take Caveat we can save boys as well. Caveat can carry them back.”

  Doss nodded. He could keep a close eye on her. His shield would protect her. A human female would be better with children, more comforting. Loy’s warrior mate’s female would feel better with her around.