by Dani Worth
“And yet you expect me to take you on?”
“I expect nothing, sir. I merely hope.”
Cecine clasped his hands behind his back and walked a slow circle around the ensign. Overall Hastion acquitted himself well in the sparring arena and possessed the fighting skills of a seasoned warrior, which suggested that his failure to challenge for higher rank stemmed from a lack of ambition rather than ability. But any male who submitted himself for consideration as second to the minister of the Garathani high council—purely on speculation, before a pending claim was even announced—would have to be very ambitious indeed.
Or have ulterior motives.
Stopping beside him, Cecine wondered aloud, “What’s your interest in the matter?”
Hastion’s tongue darted out to wet his full lips and Cecine’s testicles tightened. He could dream up all sorts of perversion to wreak upon such a mouth, were it attached to anyone but a warrior.
“I like Shelley, sir, and I don’t wish to see her further traumatized by a forced mating with a male who clearly terrifies her.”
“It won’t be forced,” Cecine said impatiently. “She will have some choice in the matter.”
“With all due respect, sir, to mate with you or be parted from her children isn’t much of a choice.”
Cecine’s brow climbed upward. All due respect, indeed. “And you think mating with two males would make it less traumatizing?”
After another brief hesitation, the ensign said firmly, “I’m one of the few Garathani males she’s invited to call her Shelley, sir, and she seems more comfortable with me. I believe that will make the transition easier for her.”
A risky argument, Cecine thought as he continued his slow pacing. Ordinarily, being perceived as no threat by a female would be the deciding factor against any male. The ensign’s failure to challenge for rank, coupled with the fact that his sister had kicked him unconscious in an escape attempt while she was still in her small pretransition form, already made him an unimpressive candidate at best.
His tendency to participate in sexual demonstrations didn’t aid his cause. Bad enough he’d fucked a Terran female in front of the Alliance medical staff, but demonstrating the use of a masturbation probe for hundreds of Garathani warriors and actually ejaculating before their eyes…?
He might as well have tattooed DISRESPECT ME on his own forehead.
Not that he hadn’t done a mesmerizing job of demonstrating the probe, Cecine recalled with an uncomfortable surge of blood into his brief-restricted cock. He’d viewed the recording of the nude ensign’s enthusiastic orgasm more times than he cared to remember in the last ten days and grown hard as a pillar every time.
He went on the offensive again. “Were you intimate with her at the compound?”
Hastion’s eyes widened a fraction, then his jaw hardened and he turned to give Cecine an uncompromising look. “No. Sir.”
“You wouldn’t be the first. There were two other instances of unauthorized intercourse between warriors and married females.” Both males involved had been returned to the ship and permanently removed from the mating rolls, while the females had been offered the choice to return to their husbands or join the ranks of the recruits and be assigned mates. Both had elected to return to their husbands. Cecine didn’t know whom to pity most—the males who’d fallen prey to their own long-denied urges, the females who claimed to have fallen in love with them, or the husbands who’d been betrayed.
“I would never dishonor my father’s House by violating a council directive, sir,” Hastion said stiffly without looking away, “and I don’t believe Shelley would betray her mate, no matter how comfortable she might be with me or any other male.”
And the puzzle that was Ensign Hastion deepened. Cecine had never felt any interest in challenging the unassuming young male in the arena the way he did other warriors who needed taking down a notch or two, but he was definitely feeling some interest now. Perhaps too much interest.
“You realize she may never be able or willing to accommodate either of us in the mating bed, much less bear young,” he said. “Are you prepared to sacrifice your chance at a suitable mate for what may be a lifetime of using your probe?”
“I am, sir.”
“Even if she’s involved in the Narthani conspiracy?”
Still looking him in the eye, Hastion said flatly, “She isn’t, sir.”
“I hope for her sake that you’re right. Her life on Garathan would be infinitely more difficult if she were knowingly involved with Narthani spies.”
“Yes, sir.” Hastion gave a deferential nod, his gaze once more respectfully averted.
Cecine considered him for another moment. He hadn’t intended to inflict the unfortunate female on an ancillary mate, but the idea held merit. If he had thought to take a second, he would probably have named Milnon out of hand, but Hastion might be a better choice. He was a warrior, after all, and he clearly wasn’t the fool he made himself out to be. His reasoning was sound, he had the courage of his convictions and his boldness recommended him. Perhaps protecting the little Terran and her young was the impetus he needed to elevate himself as a warrior.
“All right, Ensign,” he said, “if Ms. Bonham does indeed deliver aboard ship, I’ll take your request into consideration.”
Hastion released a quiet breath. “Yes, sir. Thank you for allowing me to speak.”
“And, Ensign…”
“Yes, sir?”
“No more sexual demonstrations.”
A wave of red washed over the ensign’s face. “Understood, sir.”
Origin
Dani Worth
In the race for freedom—and love—there’s no holding back.
The Kithran Regenesis, Book 4
After fourteen torturous years as a slave on a galaxy roving entertainment ship, Siri carries only vague memories of parents who loved her, Gwinarian food, and her beautiful home planet of Kithra.
When two space pirates burst into her owner’s room, the choice they offer her is all too easy: stay and face government questioning about the two intruders, or take a chance and go with them.
Claybourne and Anders had planned to help expose the pleasure ship owner’s involvement in Kithra’s destruction. But when they happen upon Siri, saving one of the last—and most beautiful—of the Gwinarian race takes precedence.
Siri tastes freedom long denied…and temptation to succumb to the deep sexual tension vibrating between her and her two liberators. Clay and Anders take pleasure in letting her take the lead in rediscovering the power of intimacy.
But there are more secrets to uncover, and Siri senses that the closer they come to the truth, the closer she comes to the most painful choice of all—to let her pirate lovers go.
Warning: Sexy human space pirates. An acerbic-tongued crew. A beautiful wounded alien woman. M/M/F sparks galore, and interplanetary intrigue.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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Origin
Copyright © 2014 by Dani Worth
ISBN: 978-1-61922-129-1
Edited by Holly Atkinson
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: April 2014
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