“I dunno,” Abuti said. “He’s kinda busy at the moment. I don’t think he’ll notice what we do.”
Abuti was right. In a desperate attempt to reenter the flow of traffic, their opponent’s speeder had rammed another vehicle.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Aidan said as blue lights began flashing and a siren began to wail. “He actually hit a police speeder.”
Sula laughed. “You know, somehow, I don’t think that was a coincidence.”
“Yeah, well, let’s hope Curly is as successful at getting rid of the guy chasing him.”
“You mean you aren’t going to make us fly up in the air?” Abuti sounded downright disappointed.
“To be honest, I’ve never tried that before,” Aidan admitted. “Wouldn’t you rather I practice it a few times without you and Sula as passengers?”
“Oh hell no,” Abuti declared. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Hold that thought,” he said. “The next time, we might not be so lucky.”
* * *
Placing a hand on Aidan’s knee, Sula leaned closer to him, grateful for having teamed up with a man whose luck was so uncannily good. Never in a million years would that scene have played out the way it did if Aidan hadn’t been the one by her side.
I might actually live through this mess after all.
Sula had held plenty of doubts concerning her continued survival during the previous months. One by one, Aidan was putting them each to rest. However, she saw no need for complacency—or unnecessary risks. “We can try it another time, Abuti. Keep an eye out for anyone else who might be following us.”
“No problem.” Turning around, Abuti crouched in the seat, sticking her sucker-tipped fingers on the canopy to brace herself against any sudden moves as she aimed her bulbous eyes toward the rear.
“We’ll have to be careful going in and out of the orphanage,” Aidan said. “I can fly the speeder in through the rear entrance, but anyone observing my house might’ve followed Rashe here and be waiting for us.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” A chill crept up Sula’s spine as they zoomed through the city. The way things were shaping up, she wouldn’t have been surprised to see armed assassins lurking on every street corner.
And only a moment ago, I was feeling so lucky.
“It’s unlikely,” he went on. “We just need to be prepared.”
Silence fell within the speeder. Sula knew the importance of her mission, but the thought of endangering so many others filled her with dread. “How much farther?” she asked, wishing her tremulous voice hadn’t expressed her fears quite so clearly.
“Should be there in another five minutes or so.”
She nodded as she resumed her visual scan of the area. So many people were out and about—every species she’d studied along with some she didn’t recognize—and any of them could’ve been the enemy. She felt as if their tiny band stood completely alone against the rest of the galaxy.
“We’ll avoid any stray pheromones in the area by flying straight into the garage,” Aidan said after a bit. “But some of them could get sucked in along with us.” After clearing his throat, he lowered his voice slightly. “You might want to be ready.”
Without waiting for her to comment, Aidan tapped the comlink pad. Following a brief conversation with Onca apprising him of their ETA, Sula was once again left alone with her thoughts.
She’d forgotten about the sex pheromones, and with the cast still on her leg, she would need Aidan’s help getting out of the speeder. Being that close to him while the very air she breathed filled her with sexual desire could have significant consequences. In reality, he was the one who needed to be prepared. To anyone else, her raging desire might go unnoticed. Aidan, on the other hand, would undoubtedly get a woody he would never forget.
If he doesn’t have one already.
She was frightened, yes, but being cooped up in a speeder with Aidan was having the inevitable effect. The man was irresistible. Add a few chemical stimulants to her reproductive organs, and she would be crawling all over him.
How embarrassing…
Especially with Abuti in the backseat.
Whether the visual cues were getting to her or some of the pheromone-laced air was seeping in through the air ducts, she wasn’t sure. But her tingling nipples and aching core were telling a tale that Aidan’s olfactory sense would soon detect. She couldn’t help it. The next mental image was Aidan in a state of complete undress and arousal. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Unfortunately, closing her eyes only made the image of his penis clearer than ever—thick and long with a ruffled head dripping the orgasmic coronal fluid for which Zetithians were so renowned. Her pelvis tilted upward similar to the way it would to capture the full effect of his penetration.
Oh my God…
Panting with need, she didn’t dare open her eyes or even turn her head in his direction. One good, long whiff of his delightful scent would surely be her downfall.
Aidan whipped the speeder around the next corner and threaded his way through the predominantly female foot traffic. “Don’t worry. We’ll be there in a few seconds.”
Moments later, he brought the speeder to a halt inside the rear entrance of a nearby building. As the door closed, shutting them off from the outside world, Aidan released the canopy and hopped out of the speeder.
Her heart took a plunge as the thought that he was trying to avoid her scent took shape in her mind.
She only held the thought for an instant as he sprinted around to the passenger side. When he stooped to lift her from the speeder, Sula’s response was automatic. Flinging her arms around his neck, she kissed him squarely on the lips as he hoisted her into his arms.
With a loud, unmistakable purr, he returned her kiss with unabashed enthusiasm. Seconds later, he tore his lips from hers. “Bite my neck.”
Sula didn’t think twice, taking full advantage of the invitation as he tilted his head to one side. Too late, she remembered that Jeeves had actually given her fangs. The unexpected flavor of his blood on her tongue caught her as much by surprise as his explosive growl.
“I’m so sorry!” she gasped. “I had no idea—”
“Don’t be.” His voice was a hoarse, purring whisper. “Do it again.”
Sula never got the chance as an urgent voice shouted, “Get inside, quick. Our surveillance cameras have spotted some suspicious characters hanging around the area.”
Lost in the grip of a near orgasm, Sula’s sex-clouded brain barely registered that the voice she heard was female.
“Wow!” the woman exclaimed. “Jeeves did one helluva job on her disguise. She looks just like me. Darker hair and probably a little taller, but—”
“Sula, as you may already have guessed, this is Kim.” Aidan was no longer whispering, but the purr remained to roughen his voice. “Kim, this is Sula. Got the scanner warmed up?”
“Up and humming.” Kim waved a beckoning hand. “Bring her on in.”
With a few swift strides, Aidan carried her into an indoor forest populated with fabulous birds, enormous butterflies of every hue, and children of all ages and practically every known species. There was even a small stream winding across the grassy floor. “Oh my…”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Abuti piped up from somewhere behind them. “They tell me it’s like growing up in the forests of Zetith.”
Up in the treetops, miniature lights flickered like fairies among the leaves. However, Sula was only allowed a glimpse of these before leaving the woods to enter a large lobby. Padded benches lined the perimeter, interrupted only by a door that presumably opened onto the street, and a full-sized medscanner that stood in the far corner.
“Will you be able to walk through the scanner?” Kim asked.
“I think so.” Although to be perfectly truthful, Sula wasn’t sure sh
e could walk unaided even without the cast on her leg. Nevertheless, after Aidan set her on her feet, she was able to hop through the arched opening.
“She’s perfectly healthy,” Kim announced as Sula hobbled over to the nearest bench. “No disease, injury, or nanobots—at least none this scanner can detect. However, she is suffering from something you should be able to help her with, Aidan. Might not have the desired effect right now, but—” The inference was as clear as her suggestive tone.
“That’s my fault for forgetting to close the air vents when we entered the brothel district,” Aidan said.
“Forgot?” Kim echoed. “Sure you did.”
“Whatever,” Aidan said hastily. “No time for that now. We need to get that cast off her leg and get going.”
Time?
In Sula’s opinion, relieving her distress would’ve taken all of three seconds. Her nipples and clitoris were so hard, she could barely keep from touching them in a most scandalous manner. And if Aidan were to do the honors—
I can’t think about that.
Abuti rubbed her chin with a fingertip. “Thought we were going to do that on the ship.”
“If someone’s watching this building, we need everyone to be as mobile as possible,” Aidan replied. “The cast removal kit is in the speeder. Think you could get it for me?”
“Sure thing.” Abuti was gone in an instant.
Taking Sula’s hand, he smiled. “If you’ll lie down there, we’ll have you good as new in no time.” With a glance at Kim, he added, “Might need to borrow Onca’s speeder too. Something tells me this would be a good time for us to disappear.”
Chapter 17
Aidan wanted to disappear, all right. Or rather, he wanted the rest of the world to disappear so he could be alone with Sula—and not only because his response to her was surely noticeable by now. His trousers had plenty of ball room. However, his burgeoning erection wasn’t quite so easily contained. Utilizing muscles he’d rarely needed before, he somehow managed to move it to an upright position against his abdomen, which created less of a bulge. Having neglected to don moisture-proof underwear as he prepared for their departure, the joy juice—as Captain Jack had so aptly dubbed a Zetithian man’s orgasmic lubricating fluid—was much harder to control.
Sula tugged at his hand, returning his attention to their surroundings but also reminding him that if they’d been alone together, she might have been pulling him down onto the bench beside her. No further encouragement would have been necessary. Even now, he could’ve asked Kim to give them the room, but Abuti would return soon—too soon for the feast of delights in which he longed to indulge. He didn’t care that Sula’s scent was enhanced by the pheromones that were so prevalent in that district. After all, she’d smelled fabulous even when her scent had contained no trace of desire whatsoever. She was the one for him, and he didn’t need a vision, a portent of the future, or even a scent to know it. He felt the truth deep down in his soul.
He drew her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her fingers. As his gaze locked with hers, her own desire shone beseechingly from her glowing eyes. She hadn’t wanted Giklor’s treatment or its inevitable side effect, but he was already becoming accustomed to that glow—a glow not unlike the light that emanated from his own eyes. Perhaps that sign of healing drew them closer together, made them more alike than they’d ever been before.
As if they’d needed anything more to bind them together. Not even being bonded to her by the Zerkan would’ve made any difference now. The gods had sent him to her in a vision, and her hand in his sent more warmth rushing through his body than a bonfire could have done.
He leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “You are so beautiful, and I want you so very, very badly. If we were alone right now, I would show you exactly how much you mean to me.”
“But we aren’t alone,” she whispered. “I can wait—I think. Although I certainly don’t want to.” Catching her lower lip between her teeth, she closed her eyes and let out a groan. “Oh, Aidan…”
His heart sank as movement by his side advised him of Abuti’s return.
“Here you go,” Abuti said as she handed him the kit. “I also brought your shoes, Sula.”
“Thanks.” Releasing Sula’s hand at that moment was the worst form of torture Aidan could imagine. Clearing his throat, he knelt beside the bench. “I just have to spray the dissolving agent on opposite sides, and it should come right off.”
Abuti stood at the foot of the bench, regarding Sula’s leg with a critical eye. “Giklor did a pretty nice job on you. You don’t even have any bruises.”
“It certainly feels better,” Sula said. “I’m glad I went ahead and let him do it.”
Aidan’s sexually stimulated brain wanted her to let him “do it.” Right there on that roomy padded bench, and Sula’s slow, secretive smile proved she would have welcomed him with enthusiasm.
“I came out of the scanner in pretty much the same state you’re in, Sula,” Kim said, giggling as she approached. “My first litter was conceived on one of these daybeds.”
Sula gave her a bashful smile. “The pheromones were getting to you?”
“More like Onca was getting to me,” Kim replied. “The pheromone effect wears off pretty quickly. The Onca effect never has worn off and probably never will.”
The Sula effect was starting to seem permanent to Aidan. Terrans might not mate for life, but Zetithians certainly did, and there’d been enough Zetithian-male–Terran-female pairings to prove that the woman didn’t have to be Zetithian for her mate to want her exclusively. Not only did those men not want sex with another woman, once imprinted with the scent of their mates, Zetithian men couldn’t do it with anyone else.
Then there was the wild card of his own Terran—and Mordrial—blood. The gods only knew what might happen next.
Abuti cackled with glee. “I’m thinking it isn’t just the pheromones with you, either, Sula. Trust me, Aidan does that to a lot of people.”
“Oh, hush up,” Aidan said, albeit without a single ray of hope. Any attempts at silencing a Norludian were generally futile, and Abuti was no exception.
Focusing on the task of removing the cast from Sula’s leg was only moderately successful in tamping down his raging desire. Sure, having her mobile would be a definite plus, but he would no longer need to carry her, a prospect he couldn’t help feeling a tad ambivalent about.
After a quick spray on each side, the cast fell from her leg in two perfect halves. Aidan groaned as Sula wiggled her toes, wanting nothing more than to start kissing her there and work his way up. Instead, he waited for her to sit up before helping her to slip on her sandals. He’d never given much thought to a woman’s feet before, but her brown toes peeking from beneath the jeweled straps were positively captivating.
A light caress of his shoulder drew his gaze to her face once again, a sight his eyes would never grow tired of seeing, not even if he lived to be a thousand years old.
“Thanks, Aidan,” she said. “I should be able to walk now.”
“What? Oh…right.” He backed off slightly and stood, noting that her scent had already undergone a subtle change. Having spent sufficient time away from the brothel district’s pheromone-laced atmosphere, no doubt the effect was beginning to fade.
Dammit.
A deep inhale proved her desire wasn’t completely gone.
Perhaps her intoxicating scent wasn’t artificially induced after all.
Taking her hand, he helped her to her feet, feeling a moment’s disappointment when she failed to sway enough to require assistance. Still holding her hand, he urged her to try taking a few steps.
“No pain at all,” she reported. “I could probably even dance.”
“You could,” Onca said as he came through the doorway. “But you’d be better off trying to run.” He nodded toward Aidan. “Better take my speede
r and cloak it before you leave the garage. Our loitering alert has been going off every ten minutes since you left home.” With a glance at Sula, he added, “Somebody really wants to catch you.”
“They won’t,” Aidan said firmly. “Not while I’m around.”
* * *
Just when I get used to being around one of these guys, I have two new ones to deal with.
Sula was kidding herself if she thought she’d gotten used to Aidan. On the other hand, Onca was as attractive as any Zetithian male—tall, lean, and handsome, with auburn hair and green eyes. He was older, though, and not quite as gorgeous as Aidan. Neither was Curly, although she did concede she might be slightly prejudiced in Aidan’s favor.
“I’d keep it cloaked until you’re out of this district,” Onca advised. “Just don’t let anything run into you.”
“Easier said than done.” Aidan sounded rather grim.
Sula couldn’t blame him for being leery of piloting a cloaked vehicle, although he might be able to anticipate the moves of other speeders better than most other pilots, Onca included. He’d certainly done a great job of maneuvering in traffic earlier. She started to say as much when she recalled that Aidan had kept his powers secret in the past. Onca and Kim probably had no idea what he could do. Since that was his secret to keep or to tell, she refrained from commenting.
“I’m not worried,” Abuti said. “Aidan is an awesome pilot.”
Sula held her breath, but amazingly enough, Abuti seemed content to leave it at that.
“Let’s go, then.” Aidan tugged on her hand, still not having released it. She didn’t mind. Holding his hand was tantamount to taking one of the best antianxiety meds ever. Something about him triggered her safe-and-secure mode, if people could be said to possess such a setting.
She didn’t even notice that walking was as effortless as it had ever been until they’d reached the garage. As she climbed into the speeder, all she could think about was how much she was going to miss having to depend on Aidan for practically everything, despite having always prided herself on her independence. And while she could probably rely on him for any number of other things, none would be as intimate as having him carry her from room to room.
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