Raashh Decisions (Xxan War Book 3)

by Brenna Lyons

  Mallory continued. “I understand the two of you enjoy quiet to work and dislike interruptions. Is there anything at all I should interrupt you for or should I handle everything that comes in? I find it best to set the expectations right away. That way, you can do what you need to, I can do what I need to, and everyone can be most productive.”

  Joy smiled. “If there’s a family emergency, something with Arren or Raashh, disturb us.”

  “No business concerns?”

  Daveed shook his head. “Contracts go in a pile for me to take home to Arren. Suppliers submit samples, which we will go over at our leisure. Distribution hubs go through Leon George in sales. Requests for interviews and similar items go through Lyle Nelson in PR. You can schedule appointments they request of you, but no one comes to us unless they have gone through the other department heads first. We prefer morning appointments when possible. That gives us the rest of the day to design, with no interruptions.”

  “Each of you prefer—”

  “No. Joy is my mate. She takes no appointments without me.”

  There was a moment of tense silence. Mallory nodded. “Understood. Anything else I should keep in mind?”

  Daveed crossed his arms over his chest. “Whatever Joy requests, she gets. Whatever she orders is done immediately. There is no higher consideration than her safety and comfort.”

  Joy had decided days earlier that hearing Daveed say things like that was one of the greatest aphrodisiacs she’d found. She crossed one leg over the other, more than aware of her arousal.

  Mallory glanced from him to Joy. She smiled. “I can handle that. I have already changed the contacts in your desk phones. Number one still reaches security. Number two now reaches me.”

  Joy offered a smile that felt strained. “That’s wonderful. Mallory, would you mind locking the door on the way out? We have a lot of work to do. Lunch at noon, please?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Right away.” She turned and made her way out without question. The lock clicked behind her.

  Daveed sat on the desk, blocking her view of the computer screen. “Do you want to start making those fantasies come true now or later?” he asked.

  Joy pulled the fabric off her shoulders, baring her breasts.

  For a moment, Daveed was still and silent. “I believe this is one of my fantasies,” he breathed.

  “Then we should definitely get to work on it.”

  Section Three

  Subdominant Son

  Arren: Subdominant

  Chapter Eight

  Eighteen years later

  “Is that one of the Xxanian males?”

  Zondra looked around at Sandy’s purr, picking out Arren Raashh across the restaurant. “Yes. That’s Arren.” It shouldn’t have surprised her that Raashh’s younger son was in the posh little restaurant. It was only three blocks from the Spice Industries’ main offices and served food fit for both Xxanians and humans. It was probably an ideal place to host business lunches.

  By Sandy’s rising scent and the slow, sensual lick of her red-tinted lips, Zondra could guess that her college friend was highly interested in Arren. Of course, like most Xxanian crossbreeds, he was tall and muscular. Those were appealing qualities in both Xxan and human. Being human, the fact that Arren was a Subdominant wouldn’t be off-putting to Sandy.

  “Would you like an introduction?” she rushed to offer.

  Zondra knew what she was doing, of course. In Sandy’s heightened state of arousal, introducing Sandy to Arren was practically arranging the pair a hot one-night stand. Fresh from a breakup with her boyfriend, maybe this was just what Sandy needed to feel appealing again.

  “Would you?” Her pleading eyes were all it took to convince Zondra she was doing the right thing.

  “If that’s what you want. Of course.”

  And she did. There was no question that Sandy wanted Arren between her legs as soon as he could get himself there.

  If he has his usual car with him, that won’t take long at all.

  ****

  Arren tipped his head in respect at Zondra Duncan’s approach, swallowing down longing at the sight of her rounded womb. If the rumors were correct, her latest pregnancy was a young female.

  Of course, it wouldn’t do to touch her or to sample her musk to test it for himself. She was a mated female. Evan Duncan had risen to head of the technical department of Spice Industries’ assorted companies. Zondra had been attacked by a male before. And if Evan and the Xxanian males of Daahn’s nest didn’t kill Arren for such an unseemly move, Arren’s seir—Raashh himself—would.

  With good reason to. It’s not as if I will ever be worthy of a Xxanian crossbred female of a nest as important as Daahn’s. Probably not of a Xxanian crossbred female of any nest.

  “Zondra… So nice to see you.”

  He didn’t offer his hand. One did not touch another male’s mate. One did not handle a mated female, unless her safety depended on it and her mate was not around to protect her personally. In such a case, he offered apologies to the mated male for the offense…and typically a gift of spice to help wash the scent of a rival male away.

  Not that I am much of a rival. Daveed is fond enough of pointing that out.

  “And you, Arren. Arren Raashh, may I present an old friend of mine, Sandy Butler. Sandy, this is Arren Raashh.”

  He focused on the very human female at Zondra’s side, taking a deep breath to scent her. That quickly, his primary surged up. She was in the human version of quickening, a fierce arousal.

  Aimed at me. Thank you, Zondra, for the introduction.

  Sandy’s hair was a warm reddish brown, and her eyes were blue-gray. The entire package was appealing, from her high, tight breasts to her rounded hips and long legs. Visions of those legs wrapped around him while he sated them both were stark and searing.

  He extended his hand, hinting for her to place hers in it. Touching a female socially was a joy he denied himself as seldom as possible. “A pleasure. Can I interest you in joining me?”

  Sandy shot Zondra a look that said she was sorry for considering ditching her friend but torn because she really wanted to do so.

  Zondra smiled. “I should be going. Evan and I have a shuttle to SLAL in an hour.”

  Thank you, Zondra. Arren owed her for this kindness. He would find a way to repay her somehow.

  Sandy placed her hand in his. “Then I would love to join you.”

  Arren raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles tenderly, holding her gaze solidly with his own. Her pulse rate surged against his lips.

  “Do you want to eat?” he offered. Arren wanted to eat her, but if she was hungry, he would rein in his arousal long enough to see to her physical needs.

  Her expression said she wanted to eat him as much as he wanted to eat her. “Not particularly,” she lied.

  Oh yes. You want to eat, but you want something other than base sustenance. Thank the Seir-God! “Then perhaps I can drive you somewhere.”

  “Sounds good.” She eased her hand from his and turned to hug Zondra. That accomplished, she focused on Arren and took his offered arm.

  Walking with a woman on your arm was something far too many human men took for granted. Arren had decided that long ago, and so far, nothing had changed that opinion of them.

  At his car, Arren played the gallant: he held her door, helped her into the bucket seat, then closed her in. He settled behind the wheel and set the engine purring. “Would my apartment be acceptable to you?”

  Sandy darkened in a demure little blush. “Yes. That would be fine.”

  Something in her reserve sounded alarm bells in Arren’s head. “Perhaps you should tell me what you hope will happen next.” If she wanted someone to dominate her, he could play the game, but it wasn’t in Arren’s base nature to do so.

  Her eyes said she wasn’t entirely certain what she wanted.

  “Is sex with two cocks what you want to experience?” Many human women were intrigued by the idea.

&
nbsp; Her blush deepened. “Is that true?”

  It’s not curiosity then. Arren turned on his seat to face her more fully. “Why did you choose me, Sandy?” He kept his voice low and soothing.

  Her eyes were wide and innocent. “I…”

  “Go on,” he urged her.

  She swallowed what appeared to be a lump in her throat.

  “Is it my family’s money?” He’d met women that wanted to tap into that commodity before. If that’s what she wanted, he wasn’t sure it was worth the time to bed her at all.

  “I guess you have money, based on this car, but no. It has nothing to do with that.”

  Her scent said she wasn’t lying to him. Sandy intrigued him. “Then what?” When she didn’t offer an answer, he considered telling her that he wasn’t willing. Libido be damned.

  “Xxanian men…”

  He cocked an eyebrow up and waited for her explanation. Perhaps it was her hesitation that made him decide not to order her out.

  Her face went a deep scarlet. “I want a man that is not a dog.”

  It wasn’t remotely what he thought she’d say. “In what way?”

  ****

  Sandy took a calming breath. Well, I’ve come this far. “Human men all seem to want to trade up. Anytime something shiny comes their way, they go sniffing and—”

  She reached for the door handle at the muscles tensing beneath his fitted suit. She’d angered him. “Never mind.” This was crazy. Sandy wasn’t sure why she’d thought this was a good idea in the first place.

  Arren wrapped a hand around her upper arm and slowly drew her back. She could just make out his eyes through the sunglasses Xxanians wore. There was no amusement in those eyes…and no anger. If anything, she’d say he was concerned. That was enough to relax her.

  One smooth hand stroked down her cheek. “Are you saying you want to mate with a Xxanian male to find a man who won’t cheat on you as human men have?”

  Sandy considered her answer carefully. Xxanian men didn’t get a chance to mate often. There weren’t enough of their own females yet, and human women didn’t choose to be bound physically to a man nearly often enough to provide mates for all the men who needed them. If she said that’s what she wanted, she’d be leading him on. “Maybe. If it’s the right man.”

  “I am not a Dominant.” That sounded like a warning.

  Her breathing eased.

  His head cocked to one side. “You’re relieved that I’m not.”

  “The idea of a Dominant is rather frightening.”

  His lips curved in the shadow of a smile. “Is it? Why would a Dominant scare you?”

  She shrugged. “Too many BDSM books I’ve read?”

  He laughed heartily. “Some Dominants do tend to insist on a bit of bondage and domination. I assure you, that is not to my tastes.” Arren leaned across the gear shift, his breath hot against her mouth. “I am a Subdominant. I like long, slow seductions and hot, sweating sex with a very willing partner.”

  Her breathing hitched at his pronouncement.

  “Are you, Sandy? Are you a very willing partner?”

  “Yes.”

  He slipped his tongue through her parted lips and invited her into potent passion. His tongue was rough and—she realized after a moment of exploring it with her own—slightly forked. She moaned at the thought of what that might feel like against her clit.

  Arren slid back into his own seat and offered her a stunning smile. “Please tell me you don’t have to be anywhere else later today.”

  “Nowhere.”

  He focused on the road and put the car in gear. “Good.” Arren pulled into the flow of traffic and maneuvered through it expertly, intent on the task of getting them to his apartment.

  Sandy shifted on the seat, aroused already. Just watching his single-minded attention to getting her to his home set off visions of his single-minded attention to other details to come.

  He groaned. “You are so wet. Aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “What do you want first? Tell me.” He shifted into a higher gear.

  Sandy looked at his mouth, memories of his tongue setting off shivers of delight. “Your mouth. Your tongue.”

  Without a word, Arren pressed a button on the dashboard, and the windows went dark. He yanked off his sunglasses and tossed them onto the dash.

  “Arren?” she questioned.

  “No one outside can see us.”

  She nodded, at a loss for what he had in mind. He was still driving, after all.

  “Take off your panties. I plan to lick you in the car, if you’re willing. If not…in my personal elevator.”

  It was bold, shocking…and made her wetter still. Sandy pulled her skirt up to her waist. She kicked off her heels and worked her pantyhose and underwear down together.

  Arren didn’t watch her do it, but his tongue peeked from between his lips, and his nostrils flared.

  Tongue-scenting. She’d heard that’s what they called it.

  “Which will it be, Sandy? In the car or in the elevator?”

  She pulled the pantyhose off one foot and then the other. “The car.” It was wild, reckless, and appealing on a level nothing she’d done sexually in her life could compare to.

  He hissed out a breath and slid a glance at her. “Recline your seat and turn to face me.”

  Sandy fumbled around for the switch to recline the seat. When it was halfway back, she turned and raised her left leg, planting her foot on the back of the gear shift.

  The position put her on display for him. As if Arren agreed, he placed his right hand on her raised knee and guided her leg back to the seat, exposing her further.

  His eyes flicked toward her and away several times. His voice emerged, rougher than she’d heard it so far. “We’re almost there, Sandy.”

  Her legs trembled, but it was a pleasant sensation, a need that she hadn’t experienced before sex with other partners. The wait was delicious. It was intolerable. She moaned.

  “You want to touch yourself. Don’t you?”

  “I want you to touch me.”

  His hand slid down the length of her inner thigh to her seam. One thick finger trailed along her slit. “Where do you want me to touch you? How do you want me to?”

  “Inside. I want to feel you finger fucking me.” She’d never been so bold with her demands, but something told her Arren would give her precisely what she asked for.

  He did. His skin was soft, and his thrusts were masterful.

  Sandy gasped in delight, shifting on the seat restlessly. She fisted her hands, needing to do something with them.

  I want him inside me as quickly as possible. That a given, she started unbuttoning her blouse, hesitated a moment, then unhooked the front clasp on her bra. Sandy spread them, baring her breasts.

  Arren groaned. “You won’t regret offering them.” He twisted his finger inside her and stroked little circles, matching the motion over her clit with his thumb.

  Sandy arched up with a shout, climax beating at her.

  His hand retreated abruptly. “Not until we’re in my private garage.”

  Just as she was about to protest, he pulled off the street and stopped at a security gate that looked like it would stop an urban pacification tank cold. She didn’t question that it was the entrance to his garage.

  After a moment, the gate rose smoothly, and Arren maneuvered the car down the ramp. She looked back, watching the gate close behind them.

  “Identi-chip?” she asked.

  “Coupled with bio scans and weapons scans.”

  He stopped at a blast door, then proceeded through when it came up as well. That allowed him to go down another level, and the blast door started down when they’d barely cleared it.

  Wow! She’d heard the Xxan lived with security, but this went beyond any concept of personal security she’d heard of.

  The more mundane concerns faded away at the sight of Arren placing the fingers he’d been using for foreplay into his mouth. He su
cked them clean with a moan that started a pulse of anticipation beating in her sheath.

  He pulled into a parking space next to the elevator, and put the car in park, switching off the engine in the same sweep of his hand. Sandy looked around, startled to see there was only one other vehicle on this level. The level above had been half full.

  “My private garage,” he answered her unasked question.

  Before she could focus on him, Arren was in motion. The lick up the line of her labia brought her off the seat with a scream of pleasure.

  His tongue slid deeply inside her, rasping against the walls of her sheath in delicious little strokes. Sandy buried her hands in the wealth of his silky curls, gasping for breath as he licked her toward a frenzy.

  His tongue was longer than she’d anticipated, nearly as long as a slightly below-average cock, she was sure, but prehensile…and covered in slightly-roughened nubs that reminded her of a kitten’s tongue. The combination shot her toward climax when she wanted the moment to last.

  Arren didn’t pull away when she climaxed. He continued, taking what might have been a simple climax and stretching it out into a mind-altering experience.

  And this is just his tongue.

  Her senses swam, and she forced a deep breath. It left her body on a scream.

  At last, he raised his head. Arren stared at her, his expression starkly serious. “Have I convinced you I’m a worthy lover? Will you accompany me to my apartment?”

  “Yes. Yes, I will. I want you inside me….as soon as possible.”

  A smile lifted one side of his lips. “Do you mean that?”

  “Every word.”

  Chapter Nine

  Arren’s primary took notice of her plea. Not only did she want him, Sandy wanted his cock inside her as soon as physically possible. He intended to deliver on it.

  “Not in the car,” he promised.

  She looked around. “Too cramped,” she agreed.

  Arren nodded. “Then you won’t mind me getting you out of it before we go further.”