Playing For Keeps (Alpha World Book 4)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  He managed to keep his grip on her as he went backwards, dragging Karen with him. She wound up on top of him again, driving her knees into his chest. Wheezing, Alburet let go of her hands and tapped the sand.

  She got off of him and backed away as they both caught their breath. The blood stopped dripping from their noses as the damage healed up. Wiping at his face to remove the sandy, bloody grit from his face, Alburet grinned at her.

  “Almost had you that time,” he said as he took up a ready stance again.

  “It was close,” Karen admitted with a manic smile. “Come on, Al, this isn’t all you’ve got, is it?”

  He chuckled darkly as his mind flashed back to a riot at the jail when he’d been a guard there. His lips pursed for a second as he looked at her. “Maybe something more feral.”

  Frowning slightly at his words, Karen suddenly felt a prickling along her scalp. Not saying anything, she lunged forward again with a quick one-two combo. Alburet took the blows square to the chest, but he caught her left arm as she tried to pull it back.

  As she tried to break the hold he pulled, using his weight to force her a half step closer. As she came forward he slammed his free hand into the back of her locked elbow. Gasping, Karen’s face went white for a second, the clear crack of bone echoing.

  Sweeping her legs, he followed her down, keeping his hold on her broken arm. He savagely twisted her now broken arm behind her as he pressed his knees into her back. “Give up,” he growled into her ear. His voice reverberated along her spine and she knew he would continue if she didn’t.

  Tapping out, Karen felt his weight removed from her back. Panting against the pain, she looked up at him as he stepped away. His face was a blank mask, but a seed of worry glimmered in his eyes. She let out a ragged breath as her arm healed and the pain vanished.

  “That was unexpected,” she chuffed as she got to her feet. She popped her neck and let her grin drop away. “Okay, looks like we’re going to play rough.” She charged at him again as soon as she was ready.

  Alburet came to inside the tent, his mind foggy. Stacia was stroking his hair with an amused expression on her face. “There ya be. Did ya enjoy ya nap?”

  “What happened?”

  “I kicked your ass for breaking my arm,” Karen told him.

  He looked over to see her to his left, sitting there with a neutral expression. “Sorry about that. I do think it was one of the only ways I could have gotten you to tap. I’m not up to your speed, though I do try to make it challenging.”

  Her face softened slightly, “True. You also didn’t gloat about it, and you had the common sense to worry about what I was going to do in retribution. Will you spar with me again?”

  “Yeah, but I think we should put ‘no breaking bones’ on the rules list,” Alburet replied. “I don’t think I want to have you knock me out again.”

  Laughing softly Karen leaned down, kissing him gently. The kiss was brief, full of tenderness and love. “Good, would hate to lose my practice dummy.”

  Gulping Alburet looked at Karen with shock, not having expected to be kissed. “Karen…”

  “Shh,” Stacia murmured before she too leaned down to kiss him. “Ya be about to tell her silly thin’s. She be worried tha’ ya would stop acceptin’ her, for her takin’ ya apart like she did. Other men have done it time and again. She just be happy that’ ya accept her, though she is better at applied violence.”

  Karen nodded along with Stacia’s words, “That, and I really do enjoy those lips.”

  Shaking his head, Alburet closed his eyes, “Why am I fighting you?”

  “Ya do nay have to, me lovin’ master. When ya be ready, we will be here for ya. All of us will be,” Stacia’s voice was full of love.

  Opening his eyes and looking to the right, he found Fluff sitting there fidgeting nervously. “Fluff?”

  “Can I?”

  “Huh?” Alburet asked, unsure what she was asking for.

  “Aye,” Stacia replied for him.

  Fluff leaned down and kissed his cheek, her whiskers tickling his ear. He went motionless as she trailed small kisses to his ear. One last kiss to the tip of his ear, then she got to her feet and bolted from the tent.

  Karen went after her, leaving a thoroughly confused Alburet in their wake. “Huh? Wait, what…?”

  “She wants to be accepted by ya. But she also be afraid tha’ ya will hurt her. She be comin’ along, though,” Stacia told him. Changing topics, she continued, “When they get back we will be walkin’ in one of Karen’s memories tonight.”

  “Wait, are you saying that Fluff…” Alburet began.

  “Shh,” Stacia interrupted him by placing her finger over his lips. “Do nay think about it for now. She be nay ready, nay yet. Besides, ya do owe her a reward iffin ya recall.”

  He remembered how Stacia had called in her own open-ended promise. “You’re not saying she’s—”

  Stacia giggled as she leaned down to silence him with a kiss. “Nay, she be nay tha’ bold. Nay yet, but mayhap in time. Ya just relax until they get back, aye?” She began to hum to him as she traced circles on his chest.

  Eyes growing heavy, he relaxed into her wordless song. “Maybe you’re right.”

  Alburet yawned as he came back to consciousness. A soft hand was stroking his hair, “Stacia is almost ready,” Fluff told him softly.

  He smiled up at Fluff, “Thanks for the reassuring kisses earlier.”

  Averting her gaze, her cheeks barely pinked, “You didn’t mind?”

  “I don’t mind. With as much as you’ve been improving, you deserved something. It was kind of nice, like getting kisses from a kitten. Your whiskers do tickle, though,” Alburet told her as he reached up to rub one of her ears.

  Stacia spoke up, “Everythin’ be ready now, iffin the two of ya be so.”

  “Let’s help Karen,” Alburet grunted as he sat up.

  Shifting over to Stacia, they settled on either side of her, touching Stacia and Karen. Stacia began to sing. They found themselves in a bedroom, decorated with bladed weapons strapped to the walls and on display stands around the room. In the middle of the room were two teenage girls, one a younger Karen and the other a mousey brunette who was very curvy.

  “Vivian,” the ghostly Karen told them. “She was the first person I felt a personal connection with.”

  “Aye,” Stacia commented sadly. As she did the scene shifted from washed out grey to color as the moment came to life.

  “Viv, the kiss yesterday,” Karen’s lips turned up as she addressed the other girl, “did you enjoy it?”

  Ducking her head, Vivian gave a small nod, “I didn’t think I would feel like that from kissing a girl. You liked it, too?”

  “Made my blood boil,” Karen replied as she scooted over to sit next to Vivian. “I want to do it again.”

  Looking up through her lashes, Vivian whispered, “I don’t want our friendship to change.”

  “Even if it’s for the better?” Karen asked as she leaned in towards Vivian.

  “I—” Vivian was cut off as their lips met. The kiss lingered, as the teenagers exchanged the awkward explorative kiss of teens everywhere. After a moment Vivian sat back, her breathing rapid, her face flushed. “You make my head spin.”

  “You make me want to lay you down and cover you in kisses,” Karen replied in a smoky tone as she leaned gently into Vivian’s side. “Dad is going to be busy and mom is out shopping. We can… explore.”

  Vivian’s eyes dilated as she looked down, “We’ll still be friends, right?”

  “Try to get rid of me,” Karen chuckled as she leaned in to start nibbling Vivian’s neck.

  Alburet started to feel a little uncomfortable as he watched the girls having their make-out session. Looking away from the scene, he found Fluff watching the teens. Her cheeks were tinged pink but she seemed also to be absorbing everything. Looking at Karen, he saw sadness etched on her features instead of the normal grin he expected at seeing something like thi
s.

  Stacia took his hand, giving it a squeeze as she leaned over to whisper to him. “It ends here in a moment.”

  True to her words, about a minute later the door to her room opened just as Karen was lowering her head to Vivian’s chest. Head jerking up, her eyes found her father, Joseph, standing in the doorway. His face was dark with anger as he looked at the two teens. Karen jerked back from Vivian, who tried to cover her curves with her hands. “I’m busy, dad. Get out.”

  Voice thick with anger he replied to her, “Get that tramp out of my house and get down to the dojo. Right now!”

  Vivian scrambled to her feet, clutching her bra and shirt close as she rushed past him out of the room, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

  Karen jumped to her feet, not caring that her bra was the only thing she wore above the waist. Planting her hands on her hips, her face was flushed with anger. “That was my girlfriend you just insulted.”

  “Girlfriend! No daughter of mine is a lesbian!”

  “Maybe I don’t want to be your daughter, then!”

  He had seemed upset before, but now his face went white, and his eyes went cold. “Downstairs now!”

  Karen, still shirtless, went past him as she stomped down to the dojo. She went to the middle of the mat ignoring the people staring at her. Joseph followed her out onto the mat, speaking to the room at large. His voice carried the tone of a Staff Sergeant used to being obeyed, “The dojo is closed. Everyone out.”

  The handful of people grabbed their stuff, leaving the building rapidly. Joseph turned to his daughter, “You brought a girl into my home to have sexual relations with her?”

  “So what? I’m old enough to make my own decisions. You raised me like a boy, so why are you upset that I like girls? She is beautiful, fragile, soft and wonderful. She is my friend, one of very few I’ve ever been able to make, thanks to you always making us move.”

  “You are my daughter. You will find a man strong enough to stand beside you. You will not ‘do things’,” he spat the two words, “with other women. You will find a man, period.” He settled into a fighting stance, “Or do you wish to challenge me today?”

  Knuckles popping as her hands curled into fists Karen glared at him. “Fuck you. Always stopping me from being happy. Making us move here, away from my friends. Getting mad at me for defending myself in school. Now stopping me from finding love.” She stepped back into a balanced stance, “If I make you tap, you will not complain about Vivian again.”

  “Once you stop moving, you will break all ties with her,” he replied firmly as he motioned her forward with a beckoning motion.

  With a snort Karen came forward, her face grim. They watched for the next twenty minutes as Joseph punished his daughter. He wasn’t brutal about it, just efficient, putting her on the mat time and time again. Bloody of lip and nose, Karen lay there panting, unable to rise anymore. Her own attempts at making her father submit had never come close to succeeding, she’d barely even managed to land a solid blow.

  Seeing her no longer fighting he relaxed his stance, taking a knee next to her. “You will find a man who is worthy of you. We agreed, now uphold your bargain.” He stomped towards the showers.

  Karen curled up on the mat, sobbing quietly as she silently wished her first love goodbye. As Karen cried, the scene shifted to grey as time froze. Alburet had been engrossed in the memory, but looked now to Karen’s ghostly form. Fluff held her as Karen, the hard warrior, cried softly into Fluff’s shoulder.

  “I hurt her the next day when I told her it was all a mistake and I wouldn’t see her again. This was the event that got me started fucking any man who could beat me in a fight. I dallied with a girl or two when Dad was out of town, but always feared he would find out.”

  “You like me,” Fluff whispered as she held her friend.

  “I do, Julia. I like you so much. You remind me some of Vivian. The quiet, shy personality of yours, it makes me ache to protect you. The other side of you, the side that goes fearlessly into battle, excites me. Makes me burn to hold you at the end of the battle and nibble on your ears.” Arms tightening ever so gently on Fluff, Karen leaned her head against her friend. “Dad never agreed with my first choice of partners, but we did make up before he passed. I won’t push you either way. We’ll still be friends, no matter what. I won’t break that promise again.”

  “I will always be your friend,” Fluff replied.

  “Good. Now it be time for sleep,” Stacia added in a hushed tone as she began to sing one more time.

  Blinking, Alburet found himself back in the tent. Fluff had a sad expression as she gazed down at Karen. Without speaking she slid into the bedroll with Karen, cuddling up to her sleeping friend. Karen rolled in her sleep, putting her arm over Fluff.

  “Night,” Alburet whispered as he smiled at the duo.

  Fluff gave him a smile in return, turning to spoon into Karen. She purred contentedly as she settled in. Alburet held back the chuckle as he watched her get comfortable. He slipped into his pajamas before he turned to bed, to find Stacia and Kitten waiting for him, their naked bodies gleaming gently in the dim lantern light of the tent.

  “Kitten…” Identical soft giggles halted his words.

  “We be nay goin’ to do anythin’ but hold ya.” Stacia replied as she patted the spot between her bodies. “Come to bed, master, we will hold ya until ya fall asleep.”

  Joining her with reservations, he found her good to her word. He cuddled into Stacia as Kitten cuddled him from behind. Fluff’s purr was the only noise as the light in the tent dimmed further. Stacia’s smooth skin was warm to his touch as he held her waist, until darkness came to claim him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Waking to the warmth of naked skin against his, Alburet opened his eyes to red hair, his arm draped over Stacia’s naked body. A pale arm was over his chest as Kitten’s naked body was pressed into his back. As he tried to figure a way out of the cuddle puddle, Karen spoke up.

  “I’ll bring breakfast for us today,” Karen told them before a flash of light marked her leaving the tent.

  “Hmm, it be time already?” Stacia murmured as she stirred, causing her body to shift against his.

  Alburet blinked as he realized that he wasn’t wearing the pajama bottoms he’d had on when he had gone to sleep. Stacia smothered a giggle as she shifted against his waking body. “You’re misbehaving,” he growled into her ear, nipping it.

  With a squeak Stacia shifted away from him as Kitten wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind. “Ya fell into me cunnin’ trap,” Kitten whispered to him as her fingernails raked his chest.

  Her nails took off a fine layer of skin, making him hiss in pain. Grabbing her wrists, he pulled her arms off him, “You are so going to pay for that.”

  Stacia grabbed his wrists, pressing her thumbs into the pressure point to make his hands open, releasing Kitten’s hands. “Ya brute, hurtin’ me like tha’,” she husked at him, “even iffin it was me Copy.”

  Twisting his wrists sharply against her hold, his arms came free as he dismissed her Copy, rolling onto to Stacia’s naked form. Pinning her arms over her head Alburet looked down into her hungry eyes. “It’s only two on one as long as I let it be. Now, about these gashes on my chest…”

  A small gasp brought his attention to Fluffball, who was watching them. “Maybe I should…”

  “I’m back…” Karen announced at the same time as she ducked into the tent with a tray. She paused as the flap closed behind her, “Really?”

  Alburet felt Stacia’s legs clamp around his waist as he attempted to move. “Wait, it’s not like it looks.”

  “Tha’ be true, he was about to ravish me in front of Fluff,” Stacia purred as she stretched up to nibble at his neck.

  Shivering, Alburet glared down at her, his breath ragged. “Stop that,” his voice held all the command he could muster.

  “Fluff is right here, so am I. Stacia, that wasn’t very nice, you
should at least share,” Karen commented as she walked over to sit next to Fluff, setting the tray down. “Or at least wait for us to be ready for the show.”

  Stacia’s chest was heaving, her eyes locked on Alburet’s. “He commanded me to stop. I can nay go against his wishes, even though me be wantin’ too.” Her eyes were filled with need and passion as she panted, “Please, master. They be fine with it.”

  He wanted to give in to her need, but couldn’t bring himself to under the circumstances. Shaking his head, his breath still ragged, he pushed back from her going to his knees. “It isn’t right to our friends,” he panted. He surged to his feet, unintentionally giving the other two a perfect view of his own needs before he turned towards the corner where his gear was. Shaking, trying to force his body to calm, he took his time getting dressed. When he turned back, Stacia was bowing with her head to the floor before him.