The Naked Truth

by Lilly Cain

  Perhaps he shouldn’t have taken things to such a physical level so quickly. But in m’ittar there was no way to lie—they had both wanted the sensual contact almost immediately, and in Inarrii culture, this contact was perfectly acceptable. In the face of her recent painful experience he desired, more than anything, to heal her wounds and comfort her. Sex shouldn’t have been part of the equation, and yet it seemed that it was already part of the way they reacted to each other.

  Asler slid from her embrace and rose above her. He wouldn’t need sleep for some time, but humans needed to rest about every ten hours, if possible. Inarrii had much longer cycles, going twenty-five to thirty Earth hours before needing a sleep period. The ship had no hour-based schedule.

  He looked down at Susan, admired her beautiful skin. A flick of his hand over the side of the couch turned its air blanket on to a warm setting.

  Susan’s skin still flushed with a ruddy color across her cheeks and down her neck and breasts. Passion. Surprisingly she had been able to feel it with him, had reached for it in his arms even after the torture she’d experienced. There was no question that she had been hurt badly by the terrorists. The question was, had the torture happened before or after she told them the location of the Confederacy ship? And how much had she told them? Were there more terrorists than the few found and killed onboard the attacking ship? They needed the answers, and needed them soon.

  What the Confederacy hadn’t told the humans was just how close the alien Ravagers were to Earth. They would soon lay waste to the fragile planet if no Treaty had been established. Even with one in place, the Ravagers would likely attempt to loot and destroy anything left unguarded on Earth.

  He ran a light touch over Susan’s short hair. He liked these humans. In particular, he liked this one very much. Being within her mind allowed for an understanding of her psyche that would take years without m’ittar. She was a strong individual with depths that begged to be explored. Their planet should not be left unprotected, to be ruined. His feelings were not only based on the obvious advantages Earth’s resources would bring the Confederacy. His inner sense told him these people would be very important to his own, and that this woman would be important to him.

  Since the full development of his m’ittar, he’d focused everything on his career. His clan relied on the younger men and women to bring them honor. That honor became a kind of currency on Inarr and within the Confederacy, where Inarrii were present. He’d never taken the time to look for a mate, although he’d always imagined it might happen some day.

  He shook his head at the direction his thoughts were taking. Nothing was possible until the truth had been established and dealt with.

  Quietly, Asler made his way to the cleansing unit. Spending time in the ultrasonic cleanser could be very relaxing if it was put on the lowest setting. Susan would sleep for at least four hours if he understood the human physiology he had studied. He’d take a break in the cleanser and then file his report.

  As he stood inside the unit, he waited for peace to consume him again, to restore his equilibrium. It didn’t come. She wouldn’t leave his thoughts. He left the cleanser and skirted the office to enter his private bedchamber. In silence, he logged his time with Susan in his private records. An Examiner kept detailed reports, secure both physically and legally. What happened in any interrogation was private to all but the Examiner, at least until it was time to present any findings.

  Upon returning to the office, his eyes were drawn to her relaxed body sprawled guilelessly across the couch. He moved to stand over her. Would these hours ever end? Despite his training to uncover the truth, there was something more that compelled him to be with her. Something surprising. He wanted to be with her, wanted more from her.

  Asler sighed and stepped away, paced the short room twice as he tried to grasp the underlying current of the surprising desire. The woman wasn’t even Inarrii. Perhaps he really had been too long without the comfort of his kind. Without sexual release. His eyes trailed over Susan’s sleeping form again. He turned to make a third silent pass through the room when his communications desk beeped.

  He strode to his desk, grateful not to have to question himself again. The communication panel slipped open to his touch, extending the seat and flashing the visual panel open to show him the Confederacy logo from the Inarrii outbase that had been secretly established on one of Jupiter’s minor moons. Very few of the humans were yet aware of its presence, but they would be grateful of it if the Treaty was passed in time to protect them from the approaching Ravagers.

  He signaled his acceptance of the communication to the desk and watched with unease as the face of one of his Inarrii commanders and an old friend, Jannii Finar, filled the screen. Lines of stress radiated across the man’s face.

  “Inar tel sahiir—” Asler began the formal greeting to his superior, but the Inarrii cut him short with a wave of his hand.

  “Examiner Kiis, do you have the human Starforce Captain Branscombe?” Jannii asked intently, his voice taut with tension. The words were automatically translated to the human standard by the computer, Asler having programmed constant translation to aid in his fluency.

  “Yes, she has been physically healed, and we have begun the process of deep m’ittar connection. What is wrong?”

  “Is there any problem with your bond, since she is human? Will you be able to find the truth?” Jannii pushed. “Will you be able to discover exactly what she told the terrorists?”

  Asler stared at the screen. Something was seriously wrong. “What happened?”

  “There’s been another attack. This time they hit our outbase on the Jupiter moon. It was well planned, Kiis. There were two deaths, both Inarrii, and more damage than we expected. Hydroponics were affected, communications partially shut down.” His eyes bore into Asler’s. “There was more damage than we would expect from human weaponry. And they shouldn’t even know we are here. Only the mobility of the small fighters saved us.”

  Asler’s heart thudded. His commander’s implication was clear. Some other race could be involved. It was possible an unknown entity had powered the attack under the guise of human anti-alien terrorism, someone strong enough to be a real threat to them all. The Ravagers could be here, although this kind of calculated subterfuge wasn’t their usual style.

  That the small fighters had aided the base was of special importance, as they had been provided by the human Starforce Marines, guided by the very officer who had made first contact with the Inarrii. This aid would allow the Treaty negotiations to continue, despite the taint of any human anti-alien dissident group.

  “There will be no difficulty. When we touch, m’ittar is possible. I took her under, mind to mind. Our bodies are…similar.” Asler shifted uncomfortably as his ridges hardened under his chammiss robes. He hoped in vain that they didn’t show above the neckline. “The more we touch physically and mentally, the easier contact becomes.”

  Tension drew away from his commander’s face, although it remained in his eyes. “I wish I could hear more about it. Your L’inar are rising.”

  Asler cleared his throat. So much for the hope that Jannii wouldn’t notice. Memories of Susan’s body against his pushed at him, hard. “It will work.”

  “You have to get answers, Kiis. We need to know her involvement and what she told them. We need to know who they are. I know this attraction will not pull you from the truth.” Jannii was once again the commander, and his tension was back. Asler felt as though he’d been shaken.

  With a short salute and a formal well-wishing, they signed off.

  Asler leaned back in the communication seat. It shifted with him, the low back rising to cradle him as he ran through the short communication again in his mind. His instinct told him to trust Susan Branscombe, and it wasn’t because of the kisses they had shared. But could he believe in himself when he had such an immediate response to her? Not so much physically—his race was highly sensual and it was expected that that could happen—but emotion
ally? Could he trust that he would find out all that she knew, even subconsciously, when he felt such a connection and desire to protect her?

  He also sensed that she had certain doubts and even a feeling of guilt over what had happened. Could she be, even unwittingly, marginally responsible?

  A soft rustle behind him alerted Asler. He turned and met Susan’s eyes. It was impossible to think of her as Captain Branscombe now. How long had she been awake? How much had she heard?

  “So, will you discuss how good I was with him later? After you make me relive the pain? After you lock me up? That appears to be the plan—you screw me in my mind before you screw up my life permanently.”

  He looked away from her eyes, eyes so alert, so condemning, even when her body still wore the sleepy flush of fulfillment.

  Chapter Five

  Sue looked away after lashing out at Asler. Hurt had poured from his eyes when she accused him of planning to use her, and she couldn’t handle that, not right now. Not when she already knew that she was wrong and hated herself for it. The words had just poured out, full of hatred. She was disgusted with herself. The man was only trying to do his job, and no matter how he had come across, it was she who had crossed the line first.

  Still, how could he feel hurt when it was her future at risk?

  She sat and pulled her knees up, hiding her breasts. A flush ran across her cheeks as she thought about what they had experienced together, mind to mind. She felt more naked than she had before. She’d almost had sex with the man who was either going to defend her or lock her up.

  The couch vibrated softly under her, its heat a soothing comfort now that the warmth of Asler’s body had faded from her skin. She wrapped her arms around her knees and lowered her head. “On Earth, we have a saying, ‘Don’t kiss and tell.’”

  “I’m sorry. While I would never discuss the details of anything intimate between us, my commander must be kept informed of the process of our m’ittar and the investigation.”

  “I’d like to go to my room,” she muttered.

  He sighed. “Again, I must apologize, Susan. You will have to stay with me for the duration of the investigation.”

  She jerked her head up at that, staring at him. “What? I have to be with you every minute? I get no privacy at all?”

  “This is the condition of your investigation. You are under…house arrest, I believe would be your term. It is either stay with me, or be held in restraints in the hold.”

  She glared at him. It maddened her further that he simply stared back at her. She was half-tempted to take him up on it, to go to jail until the damn trial was held. Who the hell does he think he is?

  “Do not imagine that you would be happy in such a place, Susan,” he said. “You would not. Also, you should consider that to place yourself in those conditions is to take on the appearance of guilt, even if you are not guilty. Appearing in restraints before any hearing would not lend to your credibility.”

  She stood, anger driving her to momentarily forget how naked she’d felt an instant earlier. “Quit reading my mind. This is crazy. I am not guilty. I didn’t tell them a damn thing that was really helpful. I just made sure that those bloody terrorists would end up being blown straight to hell.”

  She strode around the room. There wasn’t even a pillow to kick. She huffed and crossed her arms. “How long?” she demanded. “How bloody long will this take?”

  He leaned back in his chair, his eyelids half-shuttering those fabulously bright green eyes. A small smile lurked at the corners of his mouth. “You didn’t seem in such a hurry a few hours ago.”

  “Never mind that. I was simply carried away in the moment. It’s these damn mind games of yours. The exotic backdrop.” The incredible heat and feel of your lips, she admitted to herself. “You have no right to treat me like this.”

  The smile faded. “I told you. We need to find out the truth. The m’ittar will allow me to be absolutely certain of your involvement.” He hesitated for a moment then continued. “We can try to stop the sexual element of the contact if you require it. Doing so will be difficult, as there is no way to lie in m’ittar and it is a sensual connection by its very nature, but it can be done.”

  He turned and gestured at the communication screen behind him. “I believe you heard my commander. There has been another attack. Two of my people have been killed.” He stood and gripped her arm, looking deep into her eyes. “You may know something that may help, even if you are not aware of it. Everything is locked in here.” He touched her temple gently, the warmth of his fingertips lingering after even such a brief caress. Instantly m’ittar joined their minds.

  “What do you mean? I didn’t tell them anything important, hell I didn’t even know anything about a base—a secret base, and I might add that I seriously doubt any of my people are aware of one.”

  “You possibly saw or overheard something while you were being tortured. Or you could have been witness to others passing information, even if you did not pass it yourself.” He tightened his grip on her arm; the heat from his hand seemed to brand her. No memory world took them away from the present. This was it, a moment of complete truth between them. “You may have told them something you are not even aware of.”

  She tried to wrench away from him, aware that doing so would pull their contact apart. The fact that she couldn’t didn’t surprise her. The reality was that she didn’t truly want their contact to end—even when she knew the truth was about to be shockingly clear. “I know exactly what I told them.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “I told them what I had to, but not a bit more. Not enough for them to succeed, only enough to get them in trouble so they would fail. So they would die.” She lowered her head, staring blindly at the textured floor.

  He laid his palm against the smooth skin of her back. “And you would die, too.”

  She shuddered, the tears falling down the curves of her cheeks. “I was so tired, I didn’t care anymore if I survived. I couldn’t expect it…or hope for it.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “You’re safe. And I know that you believe you are innocent. Now we must prove it, and we must discover everything that is buried in your subconscious.”

  She turned in his arms to face him, to burrow into the incredibly soft robes he wore with such grace. He held her, towering over her, his bulk dwarfing her long lean frame. For the first time in years she felt small, vulnerable. As a military woman she was expected to be rough, tough and ready to fight. This feeling, of being cherished and protected, felt…alien, and yet, at this one moment, it was more than welcome. It was right. Perhaps it was because he was an alien that she could admit to her need for his care. He had no expectations from her other than the truth.

  Sue rubbed her cheeks over the soft material stretched across his chest. She slid closer, moved into an embrace that welcomed intimacy. It felt natural, necessary. She looked up at him, into his earnest gaze and lifted her lips to meet his.

  The air around them changed. He’d brought them back to his beach. His mouth lowered to hers, and she welcomed the sensation. Within their joined minds she began to realize anything was possible. With the transition into m’ittar, he’d shed his chammiss robes in favor of a light pettan like she wore, baring much of his skin to her touch. She ran her hands over his naked chest. He groaned with desire as she explored.

  Each L’inar whorl of color rose into a light ridge as his desire mounted. They stretched across his scalp, down the back of his neck and shoulders, arms and torso, up his thighs and into the private areas shielded from her sight by the pettan.

  “We aren’t built quite the same as humans. Close, but not quite.”

  She traced the growing ridges of color on his chest with her fingertips. He shuddered. “Tracing someone’s L’inar is an invitation to sex and possibly to a serious commitment.”

  “I want…I want you to treat me like an Inarrii, to comfort me like you would one of your people. I want…” She stopped as his lips met hers. He knew what she wanted.<
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  Susan traced the lines curving down his back, followed them as they meandered beneath the loose pettan. She slid her fingers inside and cupped his ass. He kissed her again, slowly, his lips tracing hers in a tender path. In return she stroked the thin ridges of L’inar over his hipbones and was rewarded with feeling a level of satisfaction as they stiffened under her touch. She ran her blunt fingernails along their paths, drawing a low moan from deep inside his chest.

  “Stop.” He groaned the word against her.

  “Why? I know you like it.” She slid her hands into the soft material of the pettan, following the lines along his hips.

  He groaned and grabbed at her hands, stilling them. “You are driving me crazy.” Hunger edged his mental voice.

  “Good.”

  He kissed her harder and slipped his fingers into her pettan, neatly sliding the garment down her hips. “Let me give you something else to think about.” He took her hand and lowered her down to the black sand beach. He kneeled back, crouching between her thighs. All thoughts of his ridges—his differences—slid away as he parted her. He lowered his head, his long blond hair caressing her thighs. His generous mouth nuzzled her, his warm breath teasing her until she whimpered for more.

  Licking, then sucking, he explored her, found all the spots that made her body shudder under him. She ran her fingers through the long silken mass of his hair. Along his scalp she fingered the tiny ridges that ran under his hair and rubbed them as he brought her closer and closer to completion. She savored the moment, a surrender to a stranger whose alien body commanded hers in a way no one had since she had first entered the Starforce Marines, who made her forget everything but the moment. But as she climbed the final peak, she remembered that he wanted more from her than this moment; he wanted the truth.

  With a moan Sue gave in, pushing away her doubts and shedding the final part of her that held back, toppling slowly over the edge into orgasm. She opened her eyes and arms to Asler, holding him as he stretched out in the black sand beside her.