by Marie Harte
Then Lore caught a strange vibe from a small group of humans. “I’m going to follow them.”
Zehn’s rhythmic tattoos flashed. “I’ll wait here.” Where he could keep the administration building in view. “Let me know if you need me.”
Lore followed the males, keeping watch until they entered the resort proper. He saw the boss, Franklin, frowning at finding him away from the transport dock, so he nodded with a deference of respect to please the fool.
Franklin puffed up and left him alone, likely in favor of telling some other proficient employee how to do his or her job. A barbarian would have gutted the worm by now, but the offworlders seemed to prize Franklin’s officiousness. Yet another reason he and Zehn needed to lure their female to them and leave. The offworlders felt alien, not a part of Ussed. Except for a few. Like Mandy. Like Skye and Lisa. Those who had a special feel for their environment.
Skye had called it a psychic sense when he’d asked her about it. He knew Mandy had this same sense, because he’d absorbed it yesterday. It felt like her, and Ussed acknowledged her. Phelthar, the tie to all life, especially one between mates. He tugged on the band connecting him and Zehn and felt the anchor of his mate.
With Zehn close by, he waited out of the way for the humans to do…something. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but the half dozen males seemed off. Like most Earthers, these stood a good head shorter than himself. But they had muscle and a dangerous way of moving. Like warriors, but not clean. The one in charge, from the manner in which he carried himself and the way others deferred to him, held himself like an alpha. But not a respectable one. If Lore had to place him in a clan, he’d choose the Nasuhl, an enemy of the Vyctore.
Though powerful, the Nasuhl fought with trickery, brutality, and held no core of honor. Lore couldn’t have said why he sensed such ugliness from the human, but it was there all the same.
So he kept watch while Zehn patrolled. And he waited.
***
Zehn knew Lore had good reason to suspect the humans. Something about them sparked his own senses, and he realized danger would follow. Unlike Lore, Zehn didn’t have an extra special tie to the planet. He shared Lore’s mental pathways because his bond-mate allowed it. The power came from Lore, and Zehn accepted his mate’s differences with ease, though some in the clan didn’t trust it. Though the Vyctore were more progressive than most other clans—allowing human mating, same gender pairing, and work in the resort without a loss in clan hierarchy—some traditions remained. Taint of offworlder heritage came at a price. Lore’s green eye marked him as different, but his telepathic ability was even more so. So Lore kept his telepathic tendencies between them.
Zehn knew he was most fortunate to have a mate with such gifts. As he would soon have another mate with abilities far beyond the norm. He kept his awareness of the administration building at the ready. His future mate had a fire inside her and a passion that burned.
He contained a grin at the bad pun while allowing the humor to bleed through to Lore. Lore needed to lighten up. Always so serious, so edgy. Zehn wondered what Mandy of Earth was really like. He’d seen her be shy and unassuming with her peers, but he didn’t sense that to be her true face.
The passionate female had much more to her than outward beauty and a cautious sweetness. Tired of being ignored, he waited for her to take her standard break, which she normally did by peeking at him from the alcove before darting to a nearby outdoor table.
When he noticed her watching him, he pretended not to see her scurry away. But he left his post to the security bot nearby. “I’ll return shortly.”
“Yes, sir.” The bot recorded his departure.
Zehn walked to the building, ignoring the stares of the resort employees and guests who cleared a wide path for him. He came upon Mandy and her Venetian friend, the female Natla, dining alone under the suns. A nearby fountain trickled, and a few hummingbirds, imported from Earth, lingered close by, feeding off the colorful bells of sweet-sylk vines.
Natla was pleasing to the eye, no doubt. But she didn’t do for him what Mandy did. His cock swelled, need for his female growing. They were already tied, but not nearly as closely as he wanted them to be.
Natla’s large eyes grew even larger as she spotted him behind his female. “Oh, uh, I think I’ll head in for a minute. I’ll be right back.” She darted away before Mandy could protest.
“Well, that was weird.”
Zehn moved from behind Mandy to take Natla’s seat at the table. “Hello.”
She froze, her beautiful brown eyes pleasing. They had a small black center surrounded by a ring of honeyed brown, nestled in an orb of white. She was small, like the clan females, and much fuller in her breasts and hips. Mandy possessed a lush roundness he wanted to sink into, to be surrounded by her grace and femininity.
The woman was made for sex and babes, and he could almost feel their young in his arms. To his satisfaction, her cheeks turned a dusky rose.
“H-hello.” She swallowed audibly.
“Hello, Mandy of Earth.” He nodded in respect. “I have come to ask you a question.”
She darted a glanced around them, and finding them alone, whispered back, “Yes?”
“Do you not enjoy our gifts?”
Her cheeks turned even redder, and he wanted to eat her up. Just kiss her ripe mouth, work down to her breasts, then trail down to the flower between her legs. He could smell her cream, and he worked hard to remain still, his body more than ready to give her what she needed.
“Gifts?”
He nodded. “The flowers and sweet meats. Did you not care for them? We would get you something else.”
“Oh, um. No. They’re lovely.” She coughed. “Thank you.”
He felt heat swell from her being and reached out to touch her hand on the table.
She tensed under him, like a scared flehik not sure whether to flee, frozen in fear.
He stroked her hand, the soft flesh like furven silk. “Easy, Mandy. I would not have you tremble. I offer nothing but safety and comfort.” He paused, his gaze heating. “And pleasure, for you are a worthy female.”
She blinked up at him. “I-I… How can you know that?”
“You work long hours with Natla. You volunteer to take your coworkers’ shifts so that they may spend their extra time with family and friends. You give to others and take great joy from the wonders of our world.” He nodded to the flora and birds. “Ussed welcomes you as a daughter.”
“Really?” She gave him a sweet smile, and his heart stuttered.
He let her hand slide out from under his, though he didn’t want to. “Yes.” He worked to contain a sigh, but let slip, “You are so beautiful.”
Mandy’s smile left her. “Beauty isn’t important,” she said quietly. “That’s only what’s on the outside.”
“You are right. For beauty, and youth, are fleeting. But yours is a beauty inside and out.”
“Oh,” she said, her voice soft, the desire in her eyes hesitant.
Keep going, Lore sent him. Use that mouth for something besides annoying females.
As I recall, you had no complaints about my mouth yesterday.
Silence from Lore. Zehn watched Mandy intently, aware she seemed out of sorts. “Do I scare you?”
“A little.”
“I would never hurt you. A warrior may not hurt a female and live.”
“There are different ways to hurt someone. Not everything is physical.”
“I know. But you do not, for you are a poor uncivilized Earther,” he teased. “Barbarian practices favor the female. I should like to show you.”’
He’d swear she murmured “I’ll bet you would” under her breath. But she shot him a wide smile. “How sweet.”
He wondered how far to take things, but finally having her to himself, he decided to go for it. “Did you enjoy it?”
“Enjoy what?”
He leaned closer. “My pairing with Lore.” Her eyes widened, and the luscious scent of he
r arousal came to him on a gentle breeze.
“How did you know I was there?” Her eyes narrowed. “Have you been following me?”
No shy maiden regarded him now. Pleased to see her true self, he answered her first question honestly. “Not at first. But we heard your steps. Lore needed, so I had to ease him.”
“Needed?” She looked embarrassed, but her anger had lessened.
“Our kind has ties to all things, and our energy builds. Without battle or training to ease our nature, we can become…” He didn’t have a human word for it. “Muddled. Not ourselves.”
“But you didn’t fight each other. You were, um, uh, together, and…”
“Sex is a release as well. It feels good.” He gazed into her eyes, not sure who was seducing whom. “I would show you, Mandy, how very good it can be.”
“Not here,” she said, her voice in higher pitch than normal. “I mean, no, you can’t. Barbarians and offworlders don’t mix. I could lose my job.”
“Only if you were caught.” He winked.
She blushed but didn’t look away, and he hoped she was as captivated by the idea as he was.
“Tonight, Lore and I shall bathe at your pool. If you are interested, come find us. If not, we understand your lack of interest and respect it.” Not really, but he’d give her more time to come to her senses. “You must know this—we would never force you into something you did not want. Ever. As a daughter of Ussed, your wellbeing is sacred to us.”
“Sacred? I don’t know about that.” She gave a nervous laugh.
He didn’t smile, though he wanted to. “If I ask too much of you, you could simply return to your secret place and watch. It was most…arousing.”
The answering hunger in her eyes was almost his undoing. He wanted so badly to kiss her. Touch her. Taste her. Instead, he remained seated when she stood.
“I, um, have to get back to work.”
“I as well.” He didn’t rise, needing to regain control over his rampant desire. By the Maker, it felt as if all the blood had rushed from his head to pool between his legs. Barbarians didn’t care about showing their need. Often in the village, men and women took pleasure against a tree, in the commons, where they wanted it. But here, he’d noticed the visitors took private interludes.
She nodded. “See you later.”
He watched her go. When he found himself able to stand without embarrassing the poor people of Welcome, he had taken two steps before sensing Lore’s tension.
The humans are asking about Mandy. And the leader is heading her way.
Chapter Four
MANDY FELT HEATED as she made her way inside. Sitting so close to Zehn, feeling his regard like an actual caress, turned her inside out. She’d felt lust before. Heck, she’d first had sex the day she’d turned sixteen, curious to see if it would interfere with her power. It hadn’t been great, and she’d been in no danger of losing control. But her first orgasm had been a lesson in how quickly her fire could burn.
Since then, she’d had an occasional lover, but no one who’d cared for her. Only men her parents, then her owners, had provided so that their “weapon” remained balanced. The moment she’d learned her past lovers had been bought and paid for, she’d stopped engaging.
Even so, sex had been a pleasant, if not memorable, diversion. She’d sure as heck never experienced an orgasm from seeing other people do it. And certainly not from watching two men. Watching a woman and man go at it, she could pretend she was the woman. But she didn’t have a man’s equipment, so seeing them have sex shouldn’t have titillated her. Yet it had, to the point she’d climaxed.
And without setting fire to anything. She had no idea what to make of that.
Natla whistled. “Don’t you look introspective. So what happened with you and the sexy barbarian?” She lowered her voice. “Did you happen to get a quickie in? It’s private out there behind the tree.”
“Natla.” Mandy blushed. “Stop. No, we just talked. He was…nice.”
He’d flattered her, listened to her, and shocked her by seeming to know more about her than that she had a nice rack. For all his barbaric trappings—good Lord, did the man even own a shirt?—he’d been a perfect gentleman. Though he’d looked at her as if he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and take her someplace private, he’d been sweet with his compliments, honest with his intention.
And good night, but that invitation to watch him again. She was seriously tempted to do it.
“You know,” Natla said. “We should—” A tall human man walked through the side entrance. “Hold that thought.” She turned to the man and upped the wattage of her smile. “Hello. How may I help you?”
He blinked at her, obviously fighting the attraction to a Venetian woman in her prime. The man wasn’t wearing a staff uniform of linen khakis and a sleeveless tunic. He must have been new.
“If you could give me your name, I’ll look up your sizes and we’ll get you some uniforms,” she said gently, aware of Natla’s impact on human men.
Showing a strength of mind, he shook himself free of Natla’s beauty. “Sorry about that.” He smiled but didn’t meet Natla’s gaze. Instead, he turned to Mandy. “Well, hello there.” His smile widened. “Are you Mandy Jacobs?”
She didn’t know why her name mattered. And she didn’t like it. He was human, large, and held himself with a guarded purpose. Could Red have sent him? But all the way out here? She was at least four galaxies away from Earth, a planet she couldn’t possibly have escaped from. Surely Red had to still be looking for her on Earth.
“I am. Can I help you?” she asked, polite yet cautious.
“Yes. Jaokkin told me all about you. Said you were a sweetie who’d hook me up.” She didn’t know a Jaokkin. He leaned closer, and she stood stock still, not liking the way he focused on her chest. The man had dark blue eyes, chiseled features, and large hands. She didn’t recognize him as one of Red’s guys, but that meant nothing. Red had often hired out for jobs. Something about him seemed familiar though…
“Sir, what’s your name?”
“Call me Mike.”
“Your full name, Mike. So I can look you up in our system.”
He reached across the counter and grabbed her wrist before she could blink. Then he jerked her toward him, holding her a breath away, his hold on her wrist crushing. Mandy tugged, but her arm didn’t budge. She concentrated to keep herself contained, to stick to the script. She was Mandy Jacobs, a plain little Earther wanting to expand her horizons in a foreign land. Not Mandy Everett, a human weapon gone missing from a major crime syndicate with connections far reaching on and off the planet.
“Hey, let her go,” Natla said.
He ignored her, smiling at Mandy. “I’m not in your system, honey, but I’d like to be.” He released her with a gentleness that didn’t wipe away the sting of his bruising grip. “Oh, yeah. I’d just love to feel your fire.” His dark grin scared the heck out of her, because she felt a power not her own vibrating in the air between them.
Natla must have signaled for help, because Franklin arrived through the south entrance at the same time Zehn stepped in from the north side.
Zehn took one look at the male and seemed ready to pounce. “What goes on here?”
“Just me and the lady talking, asshole. Not your problem. Mandy and I are old friends.”
Zehn’s gaze shot to the wrist Mandy was rubbing. The rage in his eyes was impossible to miss. “Mandy, are you all right?”
She nodded, found it hard to swallow around her fear, but managed. “Mike is mistaken. I don’t know him. And yes, I’m fine.”
“Good.” Zehn took two steps toward the male and looked down at him, which seemed to bother Mike No-Last-Name. Then he lifted Mike by his throat, his large hand capable of crushing the man’s windpipe.
Natla gasped. Franklin started sputtering apologies while demanding Zehn lower the VIP to the ground.
“Touch her again and I’ll crush your throat. Then I’ll rip off your head.�
�� Zehn brought the male closer, ignoring Mike’s struggles as he clawed at Zehn’s arm. “I’ll snap you in half. Understand?” He shook Mike, whose face was starting to turn purple.
“Zehn, let him go.” Franklin seemed frantic. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Francisco. It’s a simple misunderstanding.”
At the name Francisco, Mandy’s entire future seemed poised to crumble.
Crap. They’d found her.
She lowered her gaze to the floor, worried she’d give herself away. Not that she needed to worry about her identity, really. With Mike Francisco here, asking for her, he must know her true identity, or at least suspect.
Zehn dropped Mike on his ass, seemingly not at all worried about Franklin’s threats. He continued to stare down at Mike, and she wondered what the barbarian would look like when he got really mad, because Zehn appeared calm while he waited for Mike to react.
Mike clutched his throat, still gasping for breath. “I want…him…fired.”
“Why?” Natla’s temper was slow to ignite, but once lit, it blazed. “You grabbed my coworker, left a bruise, and you don’t even work here, do you? This section is off limits for guests, isn’t it, Mr. Franklin?”
Franklin started. “Um, yes. Er, sir, I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t be here.” He drew himself up to his pudgy best. “Zehn, you know the rules about accosting guests. That’s an automatic termination.”
Before Zehn could defend himself, Natla spoke up again. “But Zehn was only following his orders, Mr. Franklin. He came to the defense of our employee, protecting her from a man he could only assume to be another employee.” She glared down at Mike Francisco. “I have to tell you, if any man grabbed me like that, I’d expect Zehn to put him on the floor. Hell, I’d expect my husbands to take his head from his neck, one vertebrae at a time,” she growled.
Mike Francisco slowly stood, brushing away Franklin’s attempts to help him stand. “Watch yourself, Zehn. You never know when a rogue weapon will turn up and blast you right in the back.”
