by Lynn Best
“Can I kiss you?” he whispered, his mouth inches from hers. “We do not take mates unwillingly.”
She blinked. There was that word mates again. But she didn’t say no. Her mouth was angling upward, inviting him.
He moved his lips away, skimming them against the tender skin on her neck. She tilted her head back to give him access. What was she doing? She’d never wanted anything like she wanted this… this stranger.
“You didn’t say yes.” He nibbled on her neck. “Is that a no?”
She moaned. “No.”
He pulled back, eyes heavy with desire. “You want me to stop?”
“No,” she murmured, her body arching toward the warm space where he used to be.
He pressed against her again, harder this time. Her back against the wall, he pinned her, gripping her wrists and pressing his considerable hardness against her. Her breath caught in her throat. He was turning her to mush. Her yearning built and built. Panting, she tilted her hips so she could rub her hot core against his thigh. He jutted his hips, letting her grind. The rubbing sped up her breathing. She wanted to reach for him, but her wrists were pinned. He held her tightly. With his iron strength, he could do what he wanted with her. And she’d gladly let him.
“Han,” she moaned.
With a glare, he dropped her wrists like she’d stung him.
The ache between her thighs pulsing, nipples hard as glass, she watched him stride away. She’d been afraid of him, but now, all she wanted to do was wrap her body around him until he made her shatter. But why had he left?
Oh, crap. She smacked a hand to her face, and groaned. She’d called him Han.
Well, what did they expect, having names nearly the same? She’d offended a sexy alien, and now he was pouting. Speaking of Han, she wondered if he was still tuned into her emotions. Jesus, would he know how turned on she’d been? But no, he’d been passed out, flat on his back in the garden. Even though he’d been a brute, she hoped he was okay.
Charis clutched her rumpled shirt, contemplating what she would do.
When the wall still didn’t open, she sucked in a breath and went to find Kahn.
The interior hallway was dark, and her eyes had a tough time picking out where she was going. The smooth wall took a turn, and she spotted him. He was hunched over on a bed-like surface, staring out the window with his head in his hands.
“Um, hi,” she murmured. When he didn’t respond, she tried again. “Kahn?”
His head whipped toward her. “Save it. I don’t want your apologies. I know I’m not what you’re looking for. You can just go.”
“Well, see, the thing is, I can’t… uh… get the wall to open, so…” Lord, she sounded so stupid.
He stood up and strode angrily to the wall, pressing his hand to it. The surface dematerialized at his touch. With a mocking sweep of his hand, he gestured toward it, turned, and strode back to his room.
Charis stared at the doorway, and then at the dark bedroom. She’d hurt his feelings. And, as a highly sensitive person and social worker, she just couldn’t stand to leave someone feeling bad. She felt their pain. Well, not literally, but as close to literal as it could be. She sobbed at diaper commercials, broke down after intense counseling sessions with students, and certainly never let anyone she’d hurt stay that way. It would bug her forever until she went and righted the wrong.
But this was an alien. On a ship. And she was trying to run away. Only she wasn’t being very successful. Maybe an ally could help.
Or maybe she wanted to continue rubbing against his rock-hard body.
Either way.
She sighed, squared her shoulders, and started into the bedroom. The music had changed to something moodier. He was now flat on his back, an arm thrown over his face. She wondered what hurts he had endured to feel so brokenhearted at the mention of Han’s name.
“Kahn,” she tried.
He took the arm off his face, moodily staring up.
“Funny story… I don’t really know where I’m going, and I have nowhere to be right now. So, I was thinking, maybe, you, um, would like to talk.”
“Talk?” He arched one dark eyebrow.
She walked over, sitting on the far side of the bed. “I’m a good listener?”
He frowned. “You think I invited you in here to listen?”
“I don’t think I was the one you invited, but now I’m here… I could maybe. Or not. Whatever makes you feel better.”
His eyes narrowed. “You want to make me feel better?”
“Sure.” You were making me feel pretty good yourself, when you had me up against that wall.
“What would make me feel better is if every human female didn’t throw themselves at Han. He’s had every last one, and they never make him happy. No mate will apparently satisfy him. And then they come to me, hurt and angry. Do you think I like picking up the pieces? Being the consolation prize?” He stopped, his eyes dropping to the floor.
“That sounds frustrating,” Charis said.
“It is,” Kahn acknowledged. “He doesn’t appreciate any of those women.”
“And you do?”
“Yes. Well, some of them. Some of them are just too heartbroken. They come in here and cry. It’s hard to appreciate them when they’re a weeping mess, used and discarded.”
“What happens to these women?” Charis asked, half counseling Kahn and half wanting to know exactly what her fate might be.
“They are wiped and sent home.”
He said this so dismissively. Wiped. Like messing with human brains was all part of the plan.
“So they remember nothing?”
He shook his head, dark hair falling across his forehead. Even sulking, he was achingly handsome. Charis felt her body warm to him. But then, she was doing it again—using sex or even relationships to make men feel better. Just like Mark. He’d been broken, too, just out of a two-year relationship. She should’ve known better than to pick up strays like him, but she had. And then she’d spent two years trying to fix him. To change him. It hadn’t worked. Yet, here she was, doing it again. She couldn’t help herself. Whatever it took to cheer someone up, she threw herself into it, even if it was bad for her.
Trembling, she reached out and put her hand on his bicep.
His head swiveled, eyes locking on where she touched. She pulled it back. “Sorry.”
“Is Han done with you?” he demanded, eyes tracing over her face again.
“I don’t really know what you mean.”
“Has he bedded and dismissed you?” Kahn shifted toward her.
She felt her body responding to his closeness. “I haven’t… you know, done it with Han, no. If that’s what you’re asking.”
“It is.” He pressed one hand on the soft surface underneath them, causing her to pitch slightly forward. They were now inches apart. She could smell his cologne again. Or maybe that was just their smell. Like a flower to a bee, she found herself intoxicated by it. Drawn in.
This time, when he leaned toward her, she closed her eyes and let go.
And when he kissed her, she kissed him back.
His lips were soft. Wet. He tasted of mint. When he brushed against the smooth skin of her mouth, it made heat flare in her chest. His lips parted, tongue coaxing her lips apart. With a moan, she opened to him, letting him in. Their tongues tangled in gentle sweeps that sent thrills up her spine. She sighed, letting him swallow the sound.
One of his hands gripped the back of her neck, fingers snaking into her hair. He pulled her closer, kissing her deeper. When he pulled his mouth away, she was breathless and hot. She squirmed, trying to ease the throb. He laughed darkly, sliding his hand up her thigh, dragging a moan from deep inside her. His rough palms on her trembling thighs sent sensations shooting through her.
Suddenly, he gripped her with both hands and picked her up like she was nothing, settling her on her back on the bed. He followed her down, easing his weight on top of her. His knee urged her thighs apart, and s
he spread them for him. Her desire was almost tangible. She couldn’t believe how badly she wanted him. This was so unlike her, but maybe that was why she enjoyed it so much. Why she needed him so desperately. And when his hand crept up her thigh to slide along the fabric of her panties, she arched against him.
She loved how big he was. How small she felt, pressed underneath his wall of muscles. He nibbled at her neck, tongue sliding erotically against the sensitive skin. Two of his fingers slipped under the elastic of her panties, grazing over where she throbbed with need.
“You like this?” he murmured against her neck. “You’d like more?”
She nodded, biting her lip.
When his fingers swept over her core again, her body lit with fire. He began stroking faster, and she started to lose her mind with pleasure. All she wanted was for this to continue through all time.
Footsteps thundered into the room. “Stop!”
Kahn’s fingers stilled, and he glared over his shoulder.
Charis pushed at him, mortified, as she stared at the man who’d appeared in the room.
Bram and three of those beasts filled the far doorway, all looking very upset.
“You have no right barging in here,” Kahn shot back.
Bram answered, looking very displeased. “You know taking one of your brother’s potential mates is treasonous.”
Kahn stared defiantly at Bram. “I don’t care.”
“You will care when he hears of this. He has made a connection with this one. And you’ve nearly gone and spoiled it. How could you?” Bram narrowed his eyes, staring at Kahn as if he’d committed the worst crime possible.
Kahn shook his head and said nothing.
Bram gestured to the beasts. “Arrest him.”
“Arrest me?” Kahn stepped back, shocked.
“What’s going on?” Charis finally asked, sick of being invisible. “What is he being arrested for?”
Bram’s look was not very kind. “For fornication with you.”
“We didn’t fornicate,” Charis started to protest, but it all happened so fast. The ugly beasts were grabbing Kahn, dragging him away. Kahn met her gaze, his expression tortured. She kept eye contact with him until he disappeared behind the materialized wall.
When she swiveled a glance at Bram, the only one left in the room with her, he stared at her like a disappointed father.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Charis said, tugging one of the blankets around her.
“Oh yes, I did. Believe me. Now come on. Get up.”
“Why?”
He gave an exasperated sigh. “Because your master is waiting.”
CHAPTER SIX
Because your master is waiting.
The words echoed in her head while Bram walked Charis down the white hallways. He’d bound her wrists and ankles with a stretchy, but powerful material she couldn’t get free from. So she shuffled like a prisoner, in just a T-shirt and still-damp panties.
She wondered how Kahn was. The guilt she felt for getting him arrested was strange and confusing. How was what they did illegal? Two consenting adults getting to third base shouldn’t be a crime. What should be a crime was that he’d gotten me there without finishing me off, she thought grumpily, the last remnants of desire still swirling within her.
But then, she realized it probably had everything to do with Han, who Bram called her master. She did not like the sound of that.
Still, there was information to be learned from that encounter. Kahn was Han’s brother, which might explain the unoriginal naming, as well as the pent-up angst and hostility. It wouldn’t be the first time brothers had fought over women. She was just shocked they were fighting over her. That had never happened to her. Maybe it took an alien race to fully appreciate the woman she was.
All too soon, Bram walked to another nondescript section of wall and pressed his hand to it. It dissolved to reveal a giant open space with tall ceilings. The defining features were large pillars and giant wooden bookshelves that lined two walls. Rows and rows of books soared dozens of feet into the sky.
Books? It was the last thing she’d expected to see.
On the other side was a hallway, dim and cave-like. The sound of running water trickled toward her from that direction, humidity thick in the air.
Bram pushed her forward. She shuffled awkwardly with her feet bound as they were. They walked past the bookshelves. The ceilings dipped here, and the air warmed. A sunken pool took up the space. It was so extensive she could not see the back of it beyond the curving cave walls. Sparkling water, pulsing with pink and blue hues, lit up the dark.
A figure surfaced, and then swam up to the side. Han emerged, climbing a set of steps. Completely naked.
His miraculous body shimmered, water running in rivulets over corded muscles. Charis couldn’t help but stare. He stood, completely unashamed of his nakedness, wringing water from his hair.
“You’ve found her.” He glowered, but there was no emotion in the words. It was as if Bram had brought him a pair of sunglasses he’d lost.
“I found her, sire. But there’s something I need to tell you.” Bram wrung his hands.
Why did she feel like she was being tattled on? Well, if that was the way it was going to be, she was going to suck the air out of Bram’s sails. “He arrested Kahn, your brother.”
Han’s face went from emotionless to interested. “Why?” His eyes went to Bram.
She answered before he could. “Because we were… fooling around. But it was consensual, so… You should release him.” She had tried for defiant, but she thought she just ended up sounding stupid. And possibly slutty.
Han raised an eyebrow, cutting his eyes toward her. She couldn’t read his expression, but she once again got the feeling he was seeing inside her. At home, it was always the other way around. She was a social worker. She read people’s faces, their body language. She could tell if a teenager was holding something back from her by the way he or she swallowed and shifted their eyes. But Han was mystifyingly unreadable.
“Get her out of here. I don’t want to see her again.” Spinning, he stormed down another dim hallway.
Bram hurried after him. “But, sire, you cannot mean that. You made a connection with her. This has never happened before. It may never happen again. You cannot dismiss her.” He followed his master into some dark interior room, leaving Charis alone.
None of what they were saying made a whole lot of sense. Somehow, she and Han had a connection. She’d been told he could feel her emotions, but he certainly hadn’t acted like it. And why wasn’t he falling and passing out like before? Only a few hours ago, he’d been charging after her in the garden, but now he wanted nothing to do with her. What had changed?
It could be that you almost hooked up with his brother, an annoying little voice in her head said.
Wincing at the thought, she crept forward anyway. Bram and Han were talking in the other room, and she wanted to hear what they were saying.
“… pass up an opportunity like this, sire? You know it is what all our efforts have been for. Everything we have been trying to do. You need an heir, and she might be the one! How can you send her away?”
“Because she doesn’t want me,” Han roared. “She’s made that very clear. And besides, she’s very plain. Not a suitable match at all. How can she be the one?”
Charis shuffled back, feeling the words like a blow. She was very plain? Unsuitable? Well, wasn’t that dandy? She’d love to give Han a piece of her mind. And maybe a middle finger to boot, though that was childish.
“She’s listening,” Han said, his voice carrying.
Charis wanted to run, but her feet were bound at the ankles. All she managed to do was make her way back to the room with the pool by the time Bram and Han reached her.
“Stop. Where are you going?” Bram asked, reaching for her arm.
She pulled away. Lord, was she going to cry? She bit her lip to stop it from happening. “Just let me go home, okay? Please.”
Han said nothing. He stood immovable in a dark corner.
Bram looked between them like an aggravated father breaking up a fight between two children. “That is enough. The queen gave me one task.” He turned to Han, holding up one finger, and then another as he ticked off his list. “Find you a mate, help you produce an heir. She gave me a directive, and the power to do it. I know you are the future king, but you are certainly not acting like one. So, with the power she gave me…” He paused, eyeing Han carefully. “I am ordering you two to stay here until you are mated.”
“What?” Charis and Han yelped at the same time.
“No excuses. Food will be sent up. You can leave when the deed is done.” Bram turned on his heel, and stomped to the door.
“Bram,” Han called.
He kept walking.
“Bram!” he snarled louder.
Bram pressed his hand to the wall, stepped through, and sealed it up.
Han took giant, angry strides to the wall, pressing his own hand to it. Nothing happened. He pounded his fist into the surface. Nothing happened. Seeming to lose what little patience he had left, he roared like a wild thing, smashing his shoulder into the wall over and over.
Charis retreated into a back corner. She hadn’t been afraid of Han before, but she was now.
When the temper tantrum subsided, Han stalked away from the wall. His eyes searched the dark spaces until he found her. Pinning her with his furious gaze, he made a beeline for her.
Charis scrambled to get away, but her hands and feet were still bound. He caught her fast and grabbed her to him. Roughly, he pushed her back until she hit the wall, and then he pinned her there with his giant body.
She did not feel turned on like she did with Kahn. Right now, she just felt terrified.
Jerking her head up to glare into his angry face, she said, “Let me go.”
“You heard him,” Han snarled. “You want to get out of here? You know what you need to do.”
He reached forward, grabbing for her shirt like he was about to rip it away.
