“I’m not uncomfortable talking to you, and I know about your longings,” Rio said.
“But I’m not lusting after you.”
“You have a point.”
Aiden turned his ale glass absently. “On the other hand, Ky and I were thinking about giving Judith a birthday present. A double-Shareem present.”
“Is it her birthday?”
“I don’t know. Who cares? Why don’t you join us? She’d love it—she really likes you.”
“Three on Judith?” Rio waited. Nope, the cock didn’t move. Crap. “Every time I do anything with Judith, she yells at me for weeks about how sore she is.”
Aiden grinned, his perfect face sliding into it usual, handsome lines. “Notice she never complains during the activities that make her sore?”
Rio chuckled. “Yeah, I noticed that.”
“What’s so funny?” Ky thunked three glasses on the table with his brawny hands as he sat down.
“Us on Judith,” Aiden said.
Ky flashed a smile, showing white teeth in his swarthy face. Rio supposed Ky was sexy, not that he’d ever thought about it. Ky had an unpredictable quality—a lady never knew whether he was going to caress her or go for his whip.
“I’ve been hankering for a good ménage,” Ky said. “You with us, Rio?”
“Sure.” Rio drank the ale, letting the strong alcohol tingle his tongue. He was certain his cock would start working better once he got into a Shareem-filled room with the willing Judith spread and wet before them.
It had better start working, anyway. He’d die if the other two thought he couldn’t get it up because he was whining about a woman.
See what happens when you’re not careful? his inner voice told him. A love bond. Right. She just wanted to get into your pants, cock-brain.
Oh, shut up.
He had felt what she termed the Bond with her. When he’d entered her fully for the first time, it had wrapped itself around him, binding him to her as sure as any manacles or chains.
He thought he could still feel it now, and if anything, since she’d been gone, it had increased.
“Rio.”
He looked up to see Rees standing in front of him. Rees’ face was calm, but his eyes glittered with suppressed emotion. “Follow me and don’t say anything,” Rees said.
Rio got to his feet in one swift move, sliding his ale glass back to the table. Aiden seemed to know what was up, because he said, “Take care of yourself, Rio.” Ky nodded at him, his eyes steady.
Rees led Rio to the alcove that housed Judith’s call console and the bathrooms. As they passed Judith, Rees snaked his hand around Judith’s wrist and pulled her along with them. Anyone in the bar would think that the two Shareem and Judith were going in the back for a little fun.
Down a dusty, narrow hall was Judith’s back door, and she unlocked it for them. She suddenly flung her arms around Rio’s neck and kissed him on the mouth. “I’ll miss you, Rio.”
She hugged him again, hard, then waited until the two had slipped into the alley before locking the door behind him.
Rio’s heart beat fast, but he did not say a word. He and Rees moved quickly and quietly through alleys shadowed by the setting sun, but not so dark they couldn’t see where they were going.
They went all the way to the docklands in silence, then Rees motioned Rio into a rundown landing bay. A small ship stood in the center of it, its body dwarfed by engines huge enough to boost it out of the planet’s gravity.
Rees clapped him on the shoulders. “You packed?”
Rio took a small bag from his leather tunic that held all the money he had, his whip, and his manacles. “All the essentials.”
“Good. The contact’s waiting on Station 657. Now get the hell out of here.”
Rio tucked the bag away and clasped Rees’ hand. “You’re a good friend, Rees.”
“I know.”
“Tell Talan goodbye for me. Give her a great, big—”
“Kiss?” Rees’ eyes sparked.
“Smack on the ass. In a loving way.” He squeezed Rees’ hand again, wondering if this would be the last time he saw the big hunk of genetic experiment.
“Go on, get out of here,” Rees said.
Rio glanced at the ship, the thing that would lift him off Bor Narga forever. “Hey, what if it turns out I’m afraid to fly?”
“Tough shit.” Rees shoved him gently. “Shareem can’t feel fear. Good thing, right?”
“Yeah, just great.”
As he eyed the transport in trepidation, the door opened and he saw something that wiped out all his worries. A woman stood in the doorway, cloaked and hooded in the Bor Nargan style, but Rio knew every inch of the form underneath and his Shareem hormones sat up and started raging.
“Damn,” he whispered.
Rees clasped his shoulder. “She contacted Talan a few nights ago, and they arranged this between them. She’s got Ariel ready to welcome you with open arms—which took some doing, she said. They don’t let just anyone in.”
Rio stared at the transport and Nella, and back to his friend, who had a grin on his hard Shareem face. “You arranged all this without letting me in on it?”
Rees’ grin grew into a wide smile. “We wanted to surprise you.”
“You asshole.”
“Yep.” Rees planted his fist gently on Rio’s back. “Now get out of here before some patroller figures it out and shoots you.”
“Right.” Rio started walking forward, drawn to Nella like he was tethered to her, but after two steps turned back. “Thank you.”
Rees shrugged. “The ladies did it. I’m just the messenger.”
“Sure. Kiss Talan for me.” He grinned and winked. “I’ll take care of Nella.”
Rees laughed. Suddenly light of heart, Rio pivoted and ran toward the transport. He was going to miss Rees, but his pull to Nella couldn’t be denied. Maybe Nella could bully the government into letting Rees and Talan—heck, all his Shareem friends—move to Ariel.
First things first. As Rio crossed the landing bay, no patrollers sprang out of nowhere to arrest him, terminate him or hang up his body as an example to other Shareem. There was just Nella, waiting for him in the doorway.
He caught her in his arms and pushed her inside, closing his eyes as he pulled her body against his, her scent filling him. Her hood fell back, revealing her brilliant red hair, which glistened in the strong sunlight of Bor Narga before the door shut on them both.
Rio held her close, his heart thumping with joy and excitement and relief. She was crying, tears streaking silently down her beautiful face from her bright green eyes.
He wiped away the moisture with his thumb. “Hey, baby,” he said, his lips grazing hers. She tasted so damn good. “Miss me?”
They couldn’t kiss as much as Rio wanted, because the captain, a small, rather wizened man, instructed them to sit down in the tiny cabin and ready themselves for takeoff. Nella showed Rio how to secure himself to a chair with protective webbing, her hands and loose hair brushing his body as she clasped the straps around him. Nothing wrong with his cock now. It was hard and stiff, rising firmly against the leather.
But he couldn’t do anything about it right this minute. The ship shuddered suddenly, like it was having an orgasm, then Rio felt the press of the floor into his feet as the ship lifted swiftly from the transport bay.
“Are you all right?” Nella asked him from her seat. Her accent was as sexy as ever, her Bor Nargan not quite right, but oh-so charming.
“Sure, I’m fine.” Rio gripped the arms of the chair, hoping his terror didn’t show on his face, and she laughed at him.
The planet dropped away alarmingly in the view screen, giving him vertigo. The jagged edges of Bor Narga, where he’d lived all his life, smoothed out, becoming less threatening and harsh. He could see the grayish blob that was Pas City, and then the cut of canyons far across the desert in which lay Rylan’s home.
Black started to swallow the blue of the desert
sky, and stars pricked through. They were leaving the atmosphere, leaving Bor Narga’s pull.
“Free,” Rio murmured. The word tasted strange. Free to follow his dreams and the nebulous pull of a Bond that led to the woman beside him.
“What?” Nella asked him over the roar of engines, smiling her beautiful smile.
“Nothing,” Rio answered. “Just talking to myself.”
* * * * *
It was another beautiful day in Adrina, on Ariel. The Gallery of Light, an ancient hall at the back of the palace, swirled with color, sun shining through windows of blue, yellow, green and crimson glass.
Two days after her return to Ariel with Rio, Nella entered the room, happy to steal a few minutes away from reporters, and gazed out at the vast, blooming gardens behind the palace.
As soon as they’d touched down in Ariel, the palace medics had descended on Rio and hauled him off to check him over for off-planet diseases or other oddities that might affect the population. Every person who wanted citizenship on Ariel had to go through the process, but Nella, aware of what people had done to Rio at DNAmo, worried.
Would he grow angry and want to leave Ariel, to go anywhere they wouldn’t poke needles into him? Now that he was free of Bor Narga, maybe he’d want to explore the vast universe and all its wonders. Women of every planet would welcome him with open arms.
If he wanted to go, she thought, forcing herself to be brave, she’d let him. He’d taught her about trust and friendship and even love, and in return, she would give him the gift of freedom, whether or not he wanted to share it with her.
When she discussed their future, she’d be cool and neutral, not clinging and emotional. They’d been some time apart, and his feelings for her might have changed. She would not obligate him to her—she would even release him from the Bond if he wished. He could do as he pleased, go where he liked. It was the least she could do.
“Hey, I like this room,” a deep voice sounded behind her. “Nice and big.”
Nella whirled. Rio stood in the middle of the floor in his shining black leather, the sun through the glass bathing him in rainbow colors. His black hair was scraped back from his face, and he wore a smile as warm as sin, his Shareem-blue eyes glinting.
Nella felt the Bond, sure and strong, stretching between her and him, all the way across the room. She dashed across the marble tiles and hurled her arms around his neck. Cool and neutral? a voice inside her snickered.
He caught her in his strong arms, and spun around with her, the blue of his irises widening.
“Are you all right?” she babbled. “I didn’t want them to pester you, but the medics have rules, and I worried…”
“Shh.” He slid his hands over her form-hugging gold tunic and leggings and unerringly found the fastenings. “I’m used to being poked and prodded.” Her tunic loosened and began to slide down her body. “I did it for you, sweetheart. After all, you’re the princess, and I’m the Shareem. You tell me what you want—anything you want—and I’ll do it.” His eyes held a wicked gleam.
“I want you to stay with me.” She kissed him. “And marry me.”
He pretended to gave her a casual look, but he was shaking. “I already said yes to that. What else do you want?”
“I want you to teach me, and fuck me, and kiss me, and train me to be yours.”
He laughed. “One thing at a time, beautiful.”
He covered her mouth with a brutal kiss while his hands pulled her garment swiftly from her. He caught her breasts in his hands, while she clutched him, returning his frenzied kisses with her own.
Her leggings came off, and he shoved his own down with one hand, exposing his huge, randy cock. They went down onto the cold marble, he raising her hips high, positioning himself with speed and ease.
“Get ready, sweetheart,” he said, then he entered her.
Huge and full, he went inside her, and it was a sweet, sweet stretching. With one hand he stroked her pussy, already full of cream, until she bucked and squeezed around him, kneading his cock and gripping it tight.
He pumped into her, both of them too needy to take it slow. Slow would be later, when he’d braid her hair out of the way, then manacle her hands and feed her his cock. She’d gladly bend over the bed for him while he took his strap to her ass, then he’d massage her until she was loose enough to take his cock there.
But for now, it was hard, fast sex, both of them wanting and needing so bad. Too fast, way too fast, Nella came, screaming, her nails finding purchase in his flesh. Not many seconds later, he groaned his own coming, and his seed shot hot inside her.
“I love you, Rio,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Love you too, baby,” he said, his voice as broken as hers. “I’ve known that a long time.” He grinned. “You know what I didn’t know? I really hate space travel.”
She laughed, naked under him, the marble floor cooling her hot skin. He was truly hers, growling and snarky and laughing and hers.
“So when do we get married?” Rio asked, nuzzling her cheek. “This Bond thing is telling me to hurry up.”
“Right away. Tomorrow, if you want.”
“Good. We’ll do it fast, then break it to your mother and father that you Bonded with a Shareem.”
“They will already know,” Nella said, laughing. “Everything that happens in the Gallery of Light is broadcast throughout the palace. It will probably be all over the news feeds by morning.”
“Shit,” Rio said, then he grinned. “Good thing I’ve got a great ass.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Glad you like it. Now, is there somewhere a little more private we can go to fuck some more?”
“My bedroom.”
He rose, sinuous as a cat, and unembarrassed, pulled up his leggings and helped her to her feet. “Sounds good to me, princess,” he said. “Let’s go.”
* * * * *
Much later, when the palace was bathed in darkness, Rio and Nella lay naked on her bed and gazed up through the transparent ceiling to the night sky. Stars pricked the blackness, thick like a swirl of jewels.
“It’s beautiful,” he murmured.
“I love it.”
“You made me free, Nella,” he said. “Thank you.”
“It won’t be easy,” she began.
He touched her lips. “Like anything in my life up to now has been easy. We’re together, and we’re staying that way.”
“That is one command I do not mind obeying.”
He raised up on his elbow, his wicked eyes darkening. “Oh? What were you planning to disobey?”
Nella felt a warm flutter in her abdomen. The sex they’d had since they’d come upstairs had been frantic, but it had been straightforward, no level three Shareem games.
“I do not know yet,” she said.
He smiled, slow and hot. “I left most of my accoutrements behind, but I’ve seen things in these quarters that I can use—like that table in the outer room with the balls and the rings.”
“You are supposed to knock as many balls of your color through the rings as you can.”
“Hmm, I can think of lots of ways that game could be played. I’m hoping we can get plenty of lube from somewhere too.”
“I bought some oils when I got home,” Nella said. “Nothing like Aiden’s, though.”
Rio slid his hand across her breasts. “Good enough. And as always, I have manacles, and of course, my whip. Maybe we can pretend that I am a wicked space pirate and you are my princess captive.”
She smiled up at his hard, handsome face, her heart beating faster. “I thought level two was games and play.”
“Well, I can borrow ideas. I think I’ll make my captive do all kinds of things, including climax when I say, but only when I say. And if she’s bad, and disobeys…”
“What?” Nella asked, her excitement escalating. “What happens?”
He rolled over her, pinning her strong body with his. “She bares her pretty ass and gets spanked. And maybe fucked—i
f I want to. But you’d always obey me, wouldn’t you?”
He was smiling, his eyes as hot and blue as ever. She might love him, she might be Bonded with him, she might make him a man of Ariel, but he was still Rio.
“Well,” she said, putting a finger to her lips. “Maybe.”
He growled. “Let’s find out, sweetheart.” He leaned over the side of the bed, rummaging in his clothes, and pulled out his thin manacles.
She shivered as the cool metal touched her wrists, the catches clicking closed. He touched his folded leather strap to her lips.
“Do you want this, Nella?” His breath was hot, smelling of spice, his eyes filling with dark blue. “You have to tell me. It’s your choice. On, or off?”
Nella gazed up at him, her heart ready to burst with happiness and excitement. He was hers, and he wanted her, and he was about to make her completely and wonderfully his.
“On,” she said, then squealed in delight as he hauled her to him and began to kiss her.
About the Author
Allyson James is yet one more name for a woman who has racked up four pseudonyms in the first two years of her career. She often cannot remember what her real name is and has to be tapped on the shoulder when spoken to.
Allyson began writing at age eight (a five-page story that actually contained goal, motivation, and conflict). She learned the trick of standing her math book up on her desk so she could write stories behind it. She wrote love stories before she knew what romances were, dreaming of the day when her books would appear at libraries and bookstores. At age thirty, she decided to stop dreaming and do it for real. She published the first short story she ever submitted in a national print magazine, which gave her the false illusion that getting published was easy.
After a long struggle and inevitable rejections, she at last sold a romance novel, then, to her surprise, sold several mystery novels, more romances, and then Romantica™ to Ellora’s Cave. She has been nominated for two Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice awards and has had starred reviews in Booklist and Top Pick reviews in Romantic Times.
Allyson met her soulmate in fencing class (the kind with swords, not posts-and-rails). She looked down the length of his long, throbbing rapier and fell madly in love.
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