“Two.”
“Three . . .”
He went on, the slaps on her backside regulated and slow, the time between strokes exact. Aiden’s tongue underneath her stroked and teased, flickering over her clit in hot, wet madness.
She squirmed and squealed, loving the heat of Aiden’s breath and the grating of his tongue juxtaposed with the stinging lashes of the strap. She lost count of the strokes, her mind whirling in dark frenzy.
The next lash was harder. “Eleven,” Rio snarled.
“Eleven,” she gasped.
“Twelve . . .”
It went on. Nella’s buttocks stung and hurt, her clit was full and wet, and Aiden’s tongue scooped through her opening.
By the time Rio said, “Nineteen,” Nella was coming, squirming against Aiden’s welcoming mouth.
“Nineteen,” she moaned, then “Twenty,” with Rio.
Rio tossed aside the whip, put his hands on her smarting buttocks and parted them. She felt his tip press her anus again, and she held her breath.
When Rio pushed himself inside, Nella cried “Yes!” joyously. He started thrusting, his cock hard and oh, so big. Nella heard herself shouting things like, Oh gods, Rio, please, faster, harder, please!
Aiden kept up the miracle of his tongue. Nella leaned down and licked Aiden’s hard, long cock, from base to tip, earning a muffled groan from him. She licked and teased him, much as he licked her, all the while feeling the joy of Rio in her ass.
Rio pumped and pumped her, his hands on her buttocks, faint grunts issuing from his throat.
“Fuck,” he said, his voice soft, then he shouted it, “Fuck!” and came.
Rio kept riding her as he came, and Aiden licked and licked and licked.
Just as Nella’s climax peaked, just as she thought she’d die of pleasure, Rio pulled out, clasped Nella around the waist and held on tight, burying his face in her back, breathing hard. Beneath Nella’s fingers, Aiden released his seed, his hips grinding on the bed.
Aiden got himself out from under them, and Rio and Nella fell to the mattress, Rio still holding Nella. She smiled as blessed lassitude rolled over her, along with the near-scalding heat of Rio’s body.
Aiden lay down on her other side, cocooning her between two warm males. Aiden kissed her cheek, then rested his arm around Rio’s back.
Before Nella could put a name to the heady sensations drifting through her, she crashed into a deep, hard slumber, and dreamed nothing.
*** *** ***
Rio went to sleep after the other two, and woke up before they did. Nella lay under him as though she belonged to him, her eyes closed, a peaceful look on her face. Aiden slept on his back, not snoring at all, his cock half inflated, one leg hanging off the bed.
Rio pressed a light kiss to Nella’s hair. This is what it feels like, he realized. This was what Rees and Talan had, a sweet contentedness coupled with the arousing knowledge that they could blaze hot in two seconds flat if they really wanted to.
Damn, Nella had been tight around his cock, and she’d wriggled and squirmed until he’d not been able to control his coming. Rio always controlled his coming.
Not this time, and not with her.
He needed to talk to her about this Bond thing. She’d told him and the others about it yesterday, and before Aiden had drifted to sleep, Aiden mentioned that he and Nella had talked about it a little too.
Rio wondered if women of Ariel could have the Bond with men not of Ariel. Rio had been feeling something between them, like a thread connecting them, since he’d carried her in to Dr. Laas’ lab and laid her on the table.
Maybe the connection truly was this Bond, and not Rio’s wishful thinking or horniness.
Wishful thinking was most likely. Rio had never had anything or anyone of his own, and Nella . . . was different.
You just want her, his cynical voice sneered. Talan loves Rees and now you want someone to love you.
Damn it, would you shut up?
Life was hard enough without Rio talking back to himself. No, he couldn’t have everything he wanted. No one could. Probably women of Ariel could only form the Bond with another Arielian. Why should Nella form it with a Shareem of Bor Narga who just wanted to get laid?
The best thing Rio could do was savor Nella right now, soak up everything he could while he had the chance.
Rio gently moved a lock of hair from Nella’s temple and kissed her. She stirred in her sleep, but didn’t awaken. He’d tired her out, poor darling, but damn, it had been fun. Once Nella had rested and healed, he wanted to do it again.
A low voice overhead broke in softly, returning Rio to reality, a place he didn’t want to go.
“I so hate to interrupt,” Baine said. Bullshit. He was going to interrupt and enjoy it.
“What is it?” Rio asked irritably. “Fucking machine.”
“Rees and Talan have returned from their outing. They believe they have a transport arranged—all you have to do is get to it. And also, I’ve spied some of those assassin bots hovering nearby. Not homing in on any one thing, but searching. They’re getting closer by the minute, unfortunately. Perhaps now would be a good time to formulate a plan of action?”
*** *** ***
The three of them washed off in Nella’s shower before they joined the others. Aiden and Rio soaped Nella down, having so much fun that Baine had to call them again and remind them of the problem.
Laughing, Rio turned off the water, then he and Nella had stood under the drying heat, him holding and kissing her.
Aiden watched them appreciatively, and Rio noticed the man’s eyes lingering not only on Nella’s curves, but on Rio’s butt.
Whatever.
They found everyone in Dr. Laas’ laboratory—Rees and Talan unusually serious, Dr. Laas smug, and the smiling Dr. Ralston looking like a complete idiot as always. Hard to believe the man was one of the most brilliant scientists in the galaxy.
“I’ve got a transport,” Rees said without preliminary. “A trustworthy one, but we’ve got to get to it.”
“Get to it where?” Rio asked.
Aiden sat on a sofa, clasping his hands and looking utterly relaxed. The man was a walking wall of calm. If Aiden got into a Dom-sub relationship with another Shareem, Rio was sure Aiden would be the Dom, even if he was level one. Aiden never lost his control.
“Across the desert,” Rees said. “The transport will be leaving from Canyon Roble in three days. We get there, Nella and you get on it, and you take her to Station 657, where she can get in touch with her people.”
Nella looked up at Rio. “Then where will you go?”
Rio draped his arm around her, as though all this was casual and not about to change his life. “Anywhere. Once I get off Bor Narga, I’m free. Patrollers’ jurisdiction doesn’t reach Station 657. So there, I’m free to go where I want and do what I want. Gotta love it.”
“What do you want?” Nella asked him. There was a spark in her eyes that he couldn’t decipher. “What do you want, Rio?”
“To do what I damn well please.”
It wasn’t an answer, and she wasn’t satisfied with it. But what did it matter? A couple of days and she’d be gone.
Rio’s heart burned, slow and hard, the pull to Nella getting stronger. I was never going to let this happen again. Never, ever. Damn it.
“So we pack it up and go to Canyon Roble,” Rio said. “Rylan lives out there. It’ll be good to see him again.”
“Rylan?” Nella asked. “Is he another Shareem?”
“A level two. Fun and games. But the man is wrapped up in his lady, Maia. Can’t blame him, she’s beautiful.”
Rio ran his hand up Nella’s half-bare back as he spoke, feeling the soft black leather of her dress, her silky smooth skin, then the firmer leather of the collar.
Given the choice after the shower, she’d picked up the leather dress and collar and asked him to help her put them on again. Aiden had fastened the collar around her neck while Rio lingered over the cl
asps of the dress.
The fact that she wanted to wear his gifts made Rio hotter still.
I am so screwed, he thought. This lady has screwed me over, and I let her do it.
He pulled his concentration back to their present problems. “So what do we do about the assassin bots out there?”
Dr. Laas came to them, Dr. Ralston following her like a lovesick puppy. Dr. Laas held a hypo, needle pointing upward. “I think I have this right. This should alter her DNA so the bots can’t trace her.”
“You think you have it right?” Rio asked, moving protectively in front of Nella.
“Nothing is ever one hundred percent,” Dr. Laas said. “I’m ninety-nine point nine, nine, nine, nine, nine percent sure it’s right.”
“Let her try,” Nella said. She gave a shaky laugh. “Growing a third arm is better than being tracked by Linginian’s assassin bots. I know several lovely people on Ariel with three arms.”
“It’s absolutely brilliant,” Dr. Ralston said. “I watched her put it together. She’s unbelievable.”
Dr. Laas gave him a tight smile. “If everyone at DNAmo had been like you, I would still have a career. All right, Nella, this won’t hurt a bit.”
Dr. Laas stuck the hypo into Nella’s arm. A hiss, and the plunger was empty.
Nella waited, staring at her arm as though fearing it would sprout another one, but nothing happened. Then she looked up at Rio.
He stared. “Damn.” He touched her face. “Her eyes changed color.”
Where Nella’s eyes had been brown-green before, they were now perfectly emerald. Beautiful.
Startled, Nella ducked away from Rio’s touch and padded quickly to a mirror. “How did you . . . ?”
Dr. Laas shrugged. “Easy if you know how. I simply altered the code for eye color.”
“And that changes her DNA enough to fool the assassin bots?” Rio asked. He folded his arms, leather stretching, his body already feeling empty without Nella beside him.
“Yes,” Dr. Laas said. “I also did something else.”
“What?” Nella asked.
“Oh, nothing to be afraid of. Your family has a genetic tendency toward Protkins disease, an arthritic condition. I took that away.”
Nella looked impressed. “It’s very rare in our family—most of us don’t have it. How did you find it?”
“I looked. You won’t pass it to your children, should you ever have any.”
Baine broke in, “Dr. Laas is proud of her abilities.”
“She ought to be,” Nella said. “So the assassin bots won’t find me?”
“They look for an exact match. I did it subtly but enough so that even if the bots have been adjusted for a close match, they still won’t find you.”
“She’s a genius,” Dr. Ralston said.
“I’ve always said that,” Rio told him, trying to sound offhand.
Dr. Laas laughed. “No, what you say is, why do you always have your nose in that boring computer? But thank you. I won the Fleming Award for my genetic engineering research and pioneering.” She looked sad. “Before I was outlawed, that is.”
“Why not leave the planet then?” Nella asked. “Come with us. You can work on Ariel.”
“Ah, my dear, my entire life and all my research is saturated in this compound. It would take a lifetime to dig it all out and upload it somewhere else. No, I’ll stay. I’ve made myself quite comfortable.” She looked over at Dr. Ralston, and her face softened. “Besides, I’ve made friends.”
“So,” Rio said, interrupting the doctors’ mutual admiration. “We go, then.”
Talan looked worried. “But are you sure it will work? The assassin bots will leave her alone?”
Nella turned from the mirror. With the collar, her flame-colored hair, her black dress, and her new green eyes, she looked hot, sexy, and good enough to eat.
“I hate to say this,” Nella said, answering Talan. “But there’s really only one way to find out.”
*** *** ***
Rees and Talan would accompany Rio and Nella, so Rees could connect with the transport pilot and ensure all went well.
But there was still a problem. Any patroller who saw Rio hightailing it out of Pas City might follow him to see what he was up to.
Aiden came up with the solution. “No worries. I’ll get Ky and we’ll make some trouble. Attract the patrollers’ attention while you slip away.” His blue eyes glinted with anticipation.
“Hey,” Rio said. “Don’t get yourself terminated or anything.”
“Not that much trouble. Just enough to irritate them. Ky will do it. He’s bored.”
Ky was Aiden’s roommate, a level-three Shareem with dark brown hair. He’d not been face-sculpted like Aiden, and some might even call him homely, but he had a powerful body that made women wilt whenever he walked by them.
Ky was a true Dom, loving nothing better than to attach nipple rings to a lady and make her his willing slave. Women would do anything for him.
As they were prepared to leave the compound, Rio took Aiden aside. “Thanks for your help with Nella.”
Aiden raised his perfect brows. “I bet that was hard for you to say.”
“Maybe. Don’t rub it in.”
“She’s a beautiful woman, Rio. You get her to trust you all the way, and you’ll make a fine pair.”
“Yeah, that would be special, wouldn’t it?” Rio tried to sound offhand, but Aiden’s eyes sharpened.
“Don’t give up on it, Rio. You get off-planet, where you’re not regulated to death, and it will be different.”
“Maybe, but I’ll still be Shareem, won’t I?”
Aiden gave him look. “And this is a bad thing?”
“I’ll always be driven by my cock. Great for a woman wanting sex, but what about for a woman wanting more than that?”
“Don’t sell yourself short. I’ve seen how Nella looks at you.”
“Women always look at me like that,” Rio said. “Hell, I saw youlooking at me like that.”
“I was looking at your ass. She’s looking at the whole you, inside and out.”
Rio kept his emotions in check, having been down the road of hope before. “Nella’s a princess. When she gets home she’ll marry some prince, and Rio the sex toy will be put away. Maybe we aren’t slaves legally, but that’s what we are. Born and bred. That’s why we wear these damn chains.”
“Rees found Talan,” Aiden said in a mild voice.
“Rees was fucking lucky. And Rylan found Maia, but she was already Shareem, and they were making it back in DNAmo. The rest of us . . .” He made a vague gesture, then dropped the subject. He was tired of being maudlin.
“Yeah, the rest of us have to make do with sex,” Aiden said, his eyes glinting with amusement.
Rio took a step closer to him, his Shareem programming trying to relieve his morose mood. “Just between you and me, since I’ll never see you again—what Shareem are you fantasizing about? Is it Ky?”
“Of course it’s Ky,” Aiden answered. “Who else?”
Rio thought about the gruff, good-natured Ky, the drinks they’d shared at Judith’s bar, the jokes, and the ladies they’d pleasured together. “Sorry, I just don’t see him that way.”
“You’re blind then. He’s damned sexy, and he doesn’t even know it.” Aiden paused, a strange light in his eyes. “If you tell him, Rio, I’ll break all your fingers.”
“I’m leaving, remember?” Rio gave him a look. “Ky doesn’t know what you’re thinking about him?”
“No. I don’t want him to know.”
“Huh.” Rio tried to wrap his mind around this new idea. He could understand why women would think Ky sexy, but Rio’s own cock had never leapt at the sight of him. “You want to be his Dom?” He couldn’t imagine calm, collected Aiden being anything but dominating, even if he wasn’t level three.
“Hell, no. Are you kidding? I’d give anything to be his sub.”
Rio folded his arms, amazed he could talk about this so comfo
rtably. “You don’t seem the sub type.”
“I would be with Ky. It would be refreshing not to have to think, just to obey him. To have the manacles on me while he told me to get ready for his cock.”
Rio held up his hand. “Stop. Don’t tell me any more. Just say goodbye to him for me, will you? I’ve got to go.”
Aiden grinned, as though he’d deliberately been trying to bother Rio and was happy he’d succeeded. “Good luck, Rio.”
Aiden shook his hand and clapped him on the shoulder. Rio clasped his hand hard, grateful. Whatever weirdness Aiden had in his head, the man had been a good friend.
Rio left him and joined the others, who waited for him near the lift.
*** *** ***
Nella had donned the sun-blocking, ankle-length robes Talan had bought for her, but underneath, she still wore the leather dress and collar.
Her throat went dry as they exited the compound into what seemed to be a deserted warehouse. The heat of Bor Narga hit her again as they emerged through the hidden door, even with the protective robes. She’d forgotten, in Dr. Laas’ climate-controlled, every-need-met compound, how harsh the weather of Bor Narga could be.
The first thing she saw as they emerged from the warehouse was a shining silver globe of an assassin bot.
She shrank against Rio, and he put his arm around her. “Dr. Laas is a genius,” he said, his Shareem voice reassuring. “It will be all right.”
Talan flashed Nella a nervous glance, obviously not as sanguine about Dr. Laas’ talent as Rio.
Rees led them out, his hand in Talan’s, strolling as though they were taking a shortcut from one busy street to the next.
The assassin bot floated silently along the street, which was busy and colorful today. Vendors lined the alley that had been deserted yesterday after the sandstorm, setting up wares for a weekly market. The assassin bot floated behind the booths, moving discreetly, searching.
Nella’s limbs tingled, urging her to run. Rio seemed to sense her panic, because he leaned down to her. “If we run, it will chase us to see why. If we walk, it will just look at us and move on.”
“How do you know so much about assassin bots?” Nella asked him.
“Dr. Laas told me. She knows a lot about a lot of things. Let’s walk.”
Tales of the Shareem, Volume 1 Page 31
