by Marie Harte
“That’s so not normal.” Sheila grabbed Adri’s helmet and tucked it under her chair on the floor. With a critical eye, she studied Adri from top to bottom. “You have the hair pulled back, which only emphasizes that killer bone structure. Nice boobs hidden behind that leather jacket, and a tight ass no one can see in those baggy jeans.”
“Sheila, you’re embarrassing.” Her friend’s assessment garnered the attention of several men nearby. To them, she frowned. “Ignore her.”
“I don’t know,” one of them said to another. “I like her ass.”
The other guy laughed and suggested something that made her blush.
“I’ll just bet you’ve never done it that way,” Sheila said in a low voice, just having to comment on the rude guy’s words about anal sex. “I have. It’s comfortable if you have the right guy and the right prep involved.”
Adri groaned. “Would you shut up about sex and men already?” She looked for the bartender and frantically waved him over. “Tony, two beers.”
“Coming up.”
She turned back to Sheila. “I think all this undercover work as a prostitute has skewed your views on relationships.”
They discussed Sheila’s current story through one beer and into another. “I’ve worked my ass off on this assignment. Who knew shipping news could be so deliciously dirty?”
Adri agreed. “I never would have pegged the western sector as the center for corruption in town. Good work. Finch will have to give you a raise now.”
“So you’d think,” Sheila grumbled. “If that dickhead makes me proofread one more trade story I’m gonna puke. He’s just using those as an excuse to corner me in his office. Like I can’t see through that.”
Adri grinned. “Oh, I don’t know. I think the little snot likes you.”
“Please. Now you’re making me sick.”
“Come on, Sheila. You know you want him. All that arrogance is just a cover for a dominant male. Isn’t that what all women want these days?”
“Who knows?” Sheila tipped back her bottle. “Hell. What do you want?”
“Me?” A vision of her dream man, the giant with glowing eyes and strength in spades came rushing back. “Nothing.”
“Bull. You’re hung up on a guy. I know it.”
“Why are we talking about me? You’re the one with the interesting love life.”
“Well, I’d have a better one if I looked like you. And don’t deny it. You know it’s true.”
“I do not.” She hated when Sheila brought up her looks.
“Oh? I have much more luck with men when I’m blond. Like you. When I—” she leaned closer “—pad my bra to get bigger breasts. Also like you.”
Adri couldn’t help laughing. “Please. Guys seem to like blonds and boobs. So what?”
The bartender stopped by and she tried to pay the tab, but Tony refused their money. “Ladies’ Night.”
“Nice of O’Malleys to finally show some appreciation for the people who draw most of his customers.” Adri liked the thought of spending less to drink more and decided she’d get tanked, or as tanked as she was able. She had the weekend off for a change and wanted to be as humanly irresponsible about her free time as possible. Damn, but she loved it here. “Well, I’m waiting on your argument, Sheila.”
“Just admit I’m right, Adrienne.” Sheila finished the rest of her beer and signaled to Tony for another. “I’m going to get sloshed tonight. So we’ll add drunk to my blond-and-boobs resume. Then I’ll get lucky. Maybe even pick up a studly alien on my way home.”
Adri shook her head. Otra were nothing but trouble.
“I saw that. You don’t like them, do you? Or is it just men you don’t like? You’ve been hurt in the past, I know it. Tell me.” Sheila nodded in sympathy.
“God, Sheila. You have such an imagination tonight. I told you before I’m just picky. When the right man comes along, I’ll know it.” Or the right men. Why have I been seeing two men in my dreams lately instead of that one? Please don’t tell me I’ve somehow phased into Selection.
“So it’s just a matter of not finding Mr. Right? That’s my excuse.” Sheila snorted with laughter. “Or so I keep telling my mother. She’s killing me. Every time I come home, another one of her friends knows a nice young man looking for a wife. Looking to get laid, more like it.”
Adri shook her head. “So cynical for one so young.”
“Pot calling kettle, hello. You’re younger than I am. What are you? Twenty-four, twenty-five?”
More like forty-six. Otra matured slower than humans, and when they hit their prime, their aging nearly stopped. When Adri had reached twenty-two, her cell growth had slowed. But for all she knew about the worlds beyond Werfal 5, she might as well have been a naïve teenager. “Yeah, twenty-five.” A nice number.
“So is your dad still bugging you?” Sheila asked.
Her mother had died during Adri’s fifth year, leaving her alone at home with a father and six brothers, not to mention all her cousins and uncles. Too many men spouting too many orders. Was it any wonder she’d needed to escape the insanity?
“Not so much anymore.” Not since I took off nine months ago in the dead of night. And if I’m lucky and keep a low profile, he won’t find me anytime soon. “But you know how parents get. They want the best for us; they just don’t always ask us what we want.”
“So what do you want?”
“Freedom,” came the automatic response. A truth she could only hope wouldn’t be taken away from her before she was ready to go back. If she ever was.
4
Adri smiled at her friend and ordered them a round of shots, interested in having some fun for a change. They pounded back a few drinks then returned to their previous conversation. “I’m not ready to settle down,” Adri admitted. “I like it here in New Hattan, on my own.” On Earth.
As if Sheila had read her mind, she asked, “Have you ever thought about moving offworld? My cousin regularly shuttles to Werfal 6 and back, and she loves it.” Sheila leaned close. “She said until you’ve had Otra sex, you don’t know what you’re missing. Ever thought of doing it with one of them?”
I am one of them. “Uh, not really.” She wanted to accuse Sheila of having sex on the brain, but lately Adri did too. She hungered, she craved, and her dreams made it worse. She wanted to confide in her friend but couldn’t take the chance.
As much as she loved Sheila, Adri was aware of Sheila’s shortcomings. The woman gossiped like nobody’s business. If word reached Adri’s peers about a blond Otra, she knew the information would get out. And sooner rather than later, ‘San Fal warriors would find her and whisk her back home into an arranged mating. Like she’d told Sheila, her father’s idea about what would make her happy wasn’t hers.
“I would do one in a heartbeat,” Sheila continued. “Ever since I broke up with Justin, I’ve been wondering what it would be like. You know, they say Miguel has a little Otra blood in him.”
“So why don’t you go out with him?”
“But he’s Justin’s best friend. Don’t you think that’s tacky?”
“Considering you caught Justin with his secretary, I don’t think tacky applies. I think if you’re that into him, you should try him on for size. Isn’t it you who always says, ‘try before you buy’?”
“Applies to shoes and men.” Sheila grinned dopily, unable to handle her alcohol.
“You’re such a lightweight.” Adri finished her third beer, completely levelheaded. Unfortunately, alcohol didn’t affect her kind the way it did humans. For Adri to become the tiniest bit drunk, she’d have to imbibe almost a keg of beer. She didn’t want to think about the calories loaded in a keg. Despite her high metabolism, she had to work out to maintain her figure.
Sheila turned the topic from sex to the office, and soon the two were laughing about their associates. “You’ll never guess what I heard from Randy today,” she slurred.
“Tell me.”
“Remember...” Sheila pause
d to lower her voice. “This is hush, hush.” Which came out as shush shush.
“Randy?”
“Oh yeah. Well, his brother works at the top of Chartrell Shipping. I heard they’re starting a war.”
“With who?” Otra ran Chartrell shipping. Then again, Otra ran all offworld charters. Humans hadn’t yet revolutionized the technology to pilot through the wormholes bridging the distance between their galaxies.
“Against Talson Shipping. Randy said his brother said his friend said they want control of the Outer Port. And they’re going to do whatever they have to to get it.”
Good lord, getting to the bottom of Sheila’s gossip gave her a headache. But she had to admit that was interesting news. The first Adri had heard all day. “Why would Chartrell do that? They have controlling interest in the southeast and just a toehold here. Why make enemies with Talson Shipping? Heck, the Talsons handle their lanes so well they have controlling interests in the Northeast and Northwest. They’ve decimated any and all competition both on- and offworld.”
“You got me. Frankly, I’m more interested in what they say about the Talsons themselves.”
“Oh?”
Adri had heard a lot about the reclusive shipping magnates. Mostly speculation about Roarke Talson’s heritage—human or alien? Neither seemed to matter, considering the man ran the Port Watch docks like a small scale dictator. He got results. Professional and timely, he’d ensured the Port Watch lane of Talson Shipping had a spotless reputation. Of the other Talsons, no one knew that much. Only that in Otra lore, the ‘Or Fal had a hard reputation as legendary warriors who didn’t bow to defeat.
For all their business prowess, information on the family members was incredibly hard to come by. But not, apparently, for Sheila. “Yeah. Talk about tall, dark, and handsome.” She burped politely, ever the lady, and Adri grinned. “It’s not funny. Talson Shipping is not a laughing matter.” Her perfect imitation of their boss sent Adri into laughter.
Sheila grinned, and they shared a moment.
“I forget sometimes I’ve only been here for six months. Seems like we’ve known each other forever.” And Adri meant that. She would always treasure this time spent in New Hattan with Sheila and her other friends. Women who thought and spoke of everything, from emotions to shared feelings to dating and sex. She loved being able to discuss datable men. Nearly everyone she knew at home had some tie to her father. So annoying.
The ability to experience life without constraint was like a drug she never wanted to do without. Addictive, it would be hard to break when her father or brothers found and dragged her home. As they eventually would.
“Anyway, the Talsons are all really tall, really dark, and to-die-for handsome. In fact…” Sheila paused to take another swig of her beer and pointed at the reflection off the mirror in front of them. “Those two could pass for Talsons right now. Really intense, except for the blond hair.”
Blond hair? A shiver worked up her spine. Adri slowly turned around. Unlike most typical Otra, who possessed long, black hair, black eyes that continually flashed to silver and back, and the handsome faces and thick bodies of men used to warring with other colonies, the men Sheila pointed at stole Adri’s breath.
In them, she saw her doom.
Not Talsons, but two of her father’s warriors and her most persistent pursuers, Rand and Jace ‘San Fal. The blond barbarians from Werfal 5, as her clan was typically known. It should have been impossible; she hadn’t heard a whisper of ‘San Fal movement in months, nowhere near New Hattan at least. Yet the longer she stared, the more certain she became that they’d come for her. When they spied her, neither looked particularly surprised.
The two men drew steadily closer, their eyes glued to her. Without a word, Adri looked for Tony. “Tony, see that Sheila gets home safe, okay?”
The minute the bartender nodded, Adri raced into the crowd, pleased to find it so packed tonight. She hurried for an exit. No way in hell would she go back home yet. If they thought otherwise, they’d soon learn their mistake. She ran out the back door and down an alley. Then she crossed another street and bypassed two more crowded bars. But when she scooted down the back alley toward her apartment, she ran smack into trouble she didn’t need—two men who’d recently starred in her dreams.
But it was the taller of the two that struck her mute.
He’d haunted her for months.
Z caught the slender blond by the waist to steady her. But before he could say anything, she gasped and froze, and he saw her clearly for the first time.
His hands tightened on her waist, and he swore he felt her warm beneath his palms. Heat and desire blossomed in an instant. Her eyes darkened from deep indigo to black striated with silver, and if wasn’t mistaken, a hint of red burned in her pupils. So fucking sexy.
And too damn familiar. “Shit.”
“No kidding,” she rasped. She locked gazes with him, and no one and nothing existed but the two of them.
“Z? What the hell, man?” Val’s voice came as if from a great distance.
“You there, release the female.” More strange voices, people that didn’t belong around this female—his female.
Instinct grabbed hold of him and wouldn’t let go. He broke his stare from the woman in his arms and turned to watch the intruders.
Val took a few steps back from him. “Holy shit, Z. You’re on fire.”
He ignored Val and glared at the males advancing. “Get the fuck out of here. We’re busy.” And just as soon as he could, he planned to be busier—deep inside the woman in his arms.
The men paused, large warriors intent on capturing the prize Z now held. Both men had fair hair, like the female. And like her, both flared with power. Otra.
She frowned at them. “Jace, Rand, go home.”
One of them shook his head and withdrew a long blade from behind his back. He held it in his hands, and in seconds it turned from silver to red, blazing with heat. “No. You’re mine, Adri. I was promised you.”
The other male frowned. “I was promised her. Tearn said you’d accepted your place as my second.”
The men could argue until the next moon, but Z didn’t care. He let go of Adri to point a hand in their direction, not sure what he meant to do. But a surge of anger balled in his chest, and he released a startling psychic blast by fisting his hand then releasing the energy in their direction.
A bolt of fire washed from his palm and engulfed the men. They yelled but didn’t burn from the fire. Apparently, the ‘San Fal were immune to the element. Terrific.
Something about handling fire himself bothered him, but the pounding in his cock stole every thought but one. “Val, see to them, would you? I’m busy here.”
Val gaped, staring from the men still caught in a ball of fire to Z pushing the woman—Adri—against the closest brick wall. Z had to fuck her or he’d lose his mind.
“You never fail to surprise me, big brother.” Val shook his head and walked down the alley that remained empty save the troublemakers. No doubt those nearby wanted nothing to do with dangerous aliens invading their precious city.
Z disliked the feel of so many humans close to him and his prize. He couldn’t understand how Roarke lived on this planet. Then he looked down at the woman who had yet to protest his hold, and his thoughts fled. For months he’d felt her body clasp his, had lost himself and his seed in her honeyed depths. Her eyes had called to him, warning and challenging, all with the promise of the future buried deep.
He didn’t want The Testing. Didn’t want her to be a receptacle for his lust. But she shifted, and her scent hit him, the powerful perfume of fiery arousal. Her flesh burned his fingers, making them itch to touch more, to experience all of her.
Though he was tall, she fit his frame, her head coming to just below his chin. A veritable goddess, golden all over. But those eyes… The dark purple flickered with silver, and she licked her lips, hungry for just what he had to give her, he could only hope.
Nothing mattered
but tasting her, touching her. Fucking her.
He put what he’d heard together. “Adri ‘San Fal?”
She nodded. “What’s your name?” she whispered as she raised her hands to circle his neck.
The feel of her palms broke him, turning him to ash as he drew closer. “Zaret Talson ‘Or Fal. Call me Z.”
The moment her body grazed his raging erection, he groaned and closed his eyes, trying to capture a hold on the discipline that threatened to desert him.
“Kiss me, Z.” Adri’s breath washed over his neck and chin.
“I’m going to do more than that,” he admitted. “And I don’t care who’s watching.”
“Watching—?”
He caught her lips with his, lost in her taste as he swam deeper into the lust drowning him in need. Soft lips, powerful energy, sexy curves. Her tits were so full against his chest, her waist narrow, her belly flat as he ground against her. Z needed to come, to shove inside her hot pussy and fill her.
“Shit, Z. Here?”
He tuned out Val’s voice as he worked Adri’s pants down her hips and ripped her shirt and bra apart. A startled moan met his ears, but he didn’t care.
“Fuck. You’re beautiful.” He sucked a hard nipple into his mouth, distantly aware of her clothing burning away. Nothing mattered but fucking her, and he sucked hard, pleased when she cried out and clutched his head.
As much as he wanted to explore her, to wait and plunder all her depths, Z teetered dangerously on the verge of coming. He yanked open the fastening on his pants and pushed them open to reveal his cock. Wet at the slit, his shaft needed ease, now.
He kissed her as he reached between her legs, needing to know if she could take him now. His fingers slid between her folds, gliding through her arousal with ease. He pulled away and lifted her in his hands.
“Oh, Stars.” She groaned. “Your hands are so hot.”
“That’s it. Wrap those legs around my waist, and angle up. I want that pussy ready for me. Now, Adri. Oh fuck, I’m gonna come hard up in you.”
