by Marie Harte
Z took a deep breath and prayed for calm. “Okay. Aim for that vulnerable spot on the ship, right there.” He mentally showed her where to hit the pirate vessels as one passed through the bridge’s viewport.
Z watched in awe as Adri stood back and stared into space, transfixing her gleaming eyes. The dark purple of her irises suddenly took over the whites of her eyes, and her pupils turned from black to bloody red, a pinpoint of energy that grew as she drew from him. She closed her eyes and fists, drawing hard on his psychei.
Z himself felt a moment of weakness, and then boom.
The luxury liner rocked as fragments of metal hit the outer hull. Quickly calling forth whatever temporary shields hadn’t been damaged by the pirate’s attack, he watched through the viewport as the burning ships quickly died, the flames smothered by dark space.
The world around him grayed. Odd moments of bright colors, a woman’s laughter, and the sights and sounds of myriad destinies converged in his mind. But the one that mattered most drew him.
He swayed on his feet and nearly fell when he turned, only to see Adri on the ground. Blood dripped from her nose, eyes and ears. Her entire body was covered in flames that slowly tapered, taking most of her clothing with it. Behind her Val stood with a phaser in hand, his gaze locked on something behind Z.
“Put it down,” Val yelled.
Before Z could figure out what had happened, Adri stirred. Thank God. Then pain, a fissure of energy burst from his chest and filtered through every cell and vein in his body. Pain burrowed in his heart and traveled along his spine to his brain.
He thought he heard Adri cry out, but then darkness consumed him.
Adri felt something wrong and blinked into sudden bright light. The ship had righted. Next to her, Val fired his phaser. Something hit the deck hard. Then he swore and crouched over someone next to her.
An emptiness in her psychei literally hurt, and as she rose unsteadily to her feet, she saw Zaret lying still on the ground, a burned patch of black in the middle of his chest.
“Fuck, Z. Snap out of it.” Val sounded frantic as drawers and panels all over the bridge opened and closed. “Damn it. I need a medical kit,” he yelled. Then he spied Adri. “Hurry, honey. We need to save Z. Captain Jackass hit him with a Mystifier.”
One of Chartrell Shipping’s newest measures of protection when flying through unfriendly territories in space. The information hit her like a two-by-four, especially because it came from Zaret.
“I hear him.” She stumbled to his side. “Wait, Val. Let me. My fire should burn out the nanoreplicators eating at his insides. Find a kit, though.”
While Val scrambled to find help, she pulled the last bit of energy from inside herself and burned through the foreign bodies in Z’s flesh. It didn’t take long. Still joined, she could sense what didn’t belong. And Z, bless him, retained enough of his faculties to help her.
Val returned and injected him with a healing salve. He caught her as she fell over her iriu.
She smiled and tried to tell him, “He’ll be okay. We both will.” But she wasn’t sure he understood.
“Shit. I hope you just said what I think you did.” Val’s shaky smile was the last thing she saw before she fell into Z’s dreams. And damn if they didn’t land naked into a bed together, perfection in paradise.
12
When Adri woke, she had a doozy of a headache.
“There you are.”
She felt relieved to hear her iriu’s deep voice. “Did we get them all?”
“You did,” Zaret said quietly.
She glanced over at him, only to see him sitting beside her on the bed. He wore a pair of light-colored trousers and no shirt, showing the faded burn of the Mystifier in the middle of his chest. She wondered if it would ever go away.
He caressed her hair. “You scared the shit out of me. I saw you fall before I even knew you. But loving you and watching you bleeding, not moving…” He paused and kissed her on the mouth, his heart in his eyes. “Don’t ever do that to me again, woman.”
“I could say the same. Seeing you unconscious wasn’t good. If I hadn’t been so groggy myself, I probably would have freaked out and scared the crap out of Val.”
He paused. “Adri, before I met you I whined about The Testing. I didn’t want it, not when I had so many other pastimes to pursue.”
By “pastimes” he obviously meant women. He sounded thoughtful, and not a little amused, so she stemmed the tide of jealousy rearing its ugly head.
“I didn’t want children, didn’t want one woman when I could pretty much have whoever I wanted.”
“Oh?” She couldn’t help it. He was starting to piss her off.
“Basically, I was a moron.” His bright smile felt hotter than any fire, and it warmed her from the inside out.
He put his hand over her heart, and she covered it, wanting him to know she felt what he was saying. “I know we just met,” he admitted. “That we don’t know nearly enough about each other, with the exception of how good we are in bed together, and that you don’t like the color blue or Taskishi potatoes. You cheat at cards—”
“I do not.”
“And you’ve lived a hell of a lot longer than I have, and with a family who put the word criminal in the Werfal database.” He paused. “But I can’t help loving you.”
Tears filled her eyes, despite wanting to appear strong and collected.
“I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how right we are together, and how very, very happy I am you went into Selection at the same time the universe pushed me into The Testing.”
“I love you, too, you giant oaf.”
His eyes lit, the pupils dotted with red—her fire. “I feel your fire, veyu. And I feel the burn of your love deep inside. You healed me. Not just from the Mystifier.” He rubbed his chest. “But by loving me. I’ll be the man I was meant to be with you by my side.” His smile faded, and he took a slow look around the room before lowering his voice. “And if you ever tell Val or my other brothers how damn sappy I just sounded, you’ll pay. And you’ll pay dearly.”
The gruff warrior returned, but he couldn’t hide the soft lover, her mate and other half, watching her with love in his eyes.
“Then I guess you’ll have to concede to my many demands, won’t you?”
“Blackmail?” His smiled widened. “I can handle that. Like father like daughter, eh?”
The comparison, oddly enough, made her smile. “Wait and see.”
“Oh I will, veyu. I will. But one more thing.”
“Just one more?” She’d noticed the erection he didn’t even try to hide.
“We have to have a traditional wedding ceremony. Something to knock my baby brother on his ass, now that he thinks he’s the favorite. So do you think you could suck up to my mom for a little bit? I promise, if you’re nice to her, I won’t kill your father or brothers when one of them annoys me the next time we meet.”
“Deal.” She ran her hands over his thighs. “Now how about you stop teasing me with that monster in your pants? Your poor veyu needs some loving.”
He smiled and lowered himself to lie next to her. He hugged her to him, and she felt comforted, aroused, and accepted.
Zaret laughed. “You know, my family is just going to love you. But no more than I already do.”
Epilogue
Valis Talson ‘Or Fal stared at the trembling man wearing a tattered captain’s uniform. His face hadn’t weathered Val’s fists well. Nor had he seemed too happy to have his body hung from a height of thirty feet in the cargo bay of the ship.
Beyond angry, Val let his rage fuel his psychei and gave his telekinesis free reign. “Tell me again, Captain, who your real friends are in Chartrell Shipping, and where I can find them.”
It didn’t take more than a few minutes slamming from bulkhead to bulkhead and viewport to floor before the man babbled facts and figures of real interest.
Val made note of everything and resolved to fix their competito
r once and for all. He knew just where to start. The woman would pay, and pay dearly.
Thank You
Thank you for reading about the Talsons! I loved the fiery couple of Z and Adri, and how charming Val helped the couple find happiness. But Val has his own path to travel when finding his own iriu.
In Talson’s Net, the third in the Talson Temptations series, there’s plenty of adventure. Kidnapping, pirates, and some steamy action between Val, Rowe, and Val’s eda. Note, this story involves m/m/f interaction. Turn the pages to read an excerpt.
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Also by Marie
Circe’s Recruits
Roane
Zack & Ace
Derrick
Hale
Creations
The Perfect Creation
Creation’s Control
Creating Chemistry
Caging the Beast
The Instinct
A Civilized Mating
A Barbarian Bonding
A Warrior’s Claiming
Ethereal Foes
Dragons’ Demon: A Dragon’s Dream
Duncan’s Descent: A Demon’s Desire
Havoc & Hell: A Dragon’s Prize
Dragon King: Not So Ordinary
Wicked Warrens
Enjoying the Show
Closing the Deal
Raising the Bar
Making the Grade
Bending the Rules
And more!
Talson’s Net Excerpt
Talson Temptations #3
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Valis Talson ‘Or Fal snorted. Nice innocent act. If he hadn’t been so focused on the rise and fall of her full breasts, he might not have noticed the small quiver that shook her. But the tremors in her breathing told him she knew more than she was saying.
He needed that information. Four months ago, he and his older brother Z had nearly fallen prey to thieving pirates at the behest of a Chartrell saboteur. Only the quick action of his brother’s mate had saved the ship and its passengers from death and worse.
Glaring down at the stubborn little liar, he wondered when, or even if, he’d be as blessed as Z. One of four brothers, Val had watched his youngest brother, and then his oldest, find their iriu—their true loves. Yet here he was, dealing with another Talson Shipping nightmare, no closer to romance than he’d been last month, or the month before that, or the month before that…
Because of this woman and her fucking family, he’d turned into an unpleasant bastard who hadn’t gotten laid in way too long—at least, according to his brothers.
He sat next to Rowe on the bed, pleased at her wide-eyed alarm. Running a hand over the soft skin of her abdomen where her shirt had ridden up from her jeans, he told himself he only wanted to confuse her, to put her off balance.
The thought that she felt like veeri silk came out of nowhere.
“Rowe, I think it’s more than admirable to show loyalty to family. But don’t you think protecting murderers is going a bit too far?”
“Talson, you jerk, I’m going to—” She gasped when he snaked his hand farther along her rib cage toward her breasts.
“I think you’re beginning to understand who’s in charge here, aren’t you?” He inched his hand higher, grazing the underside of those soft, round globes begging for his attention.
She nodded frantically, looking panicked, and he regretfully withdrew his hand from beneath her shirt. He wondered what it was about the woman that made him simultaneously aroused and aggravated.
“Fine.” Rowe swallowed audibly. “You’re in charge.”
“You’re in charge, Valis Talson ‘Or Fal,” he corrected, and refrained from adding, my humble master. “I want to hear you say my name.”
“Oh, I want to say your name.” He swore she muttered dickhead under her breath, and he found himself starting to like her.
He stared at her breasts and considered touching her again. Unfortunately, his urge had less to do with prodding her and more to do with fulfilling his desire to feel her soft skin.
She gritted her teeth. “You’re in charge, Valis Talson ‘Or Fal. Look, I’m telling the truth when I say I want to find out who’s behind these crimes as badly as you do. We lost one of our most lucrative freighters two weeks ago due to a pirate attack in the outer rim.”
He paused. He hadn’t heard anything about Chartrell losing a vessel.
She apparently noted his suspicion, because she added, “I’m not lying. There was a small blurb about it in The Shipping News. We paid a lot of money to keep it quiet and buried it. You can access the data from my chipset.” She nodded toward the small device attached to the strap of her purse on a nearby chair.
He crossed to the chair and picked it up. He recognized the latest newsgathering gadget worth a pretty penny and searched to verify her information, then rejoined her on the bed.
“Damn me.”
“I second that.”
Feisty. Instead of annoying him, she made him want to laugh. Odd.
He grinned and she blinked at him, her gaze shifting from his eyes to his mouth.
Talson’s Net
A Civilized Mating Excerpt
The Instinct #1
Talzec growled, his gaze still on Skye. “Why are there two offworlders in my camp right now?”
Lisa stepped back behind Maht.
Xav moved to position himself firmly between Skye and Talzec, which had Talzec looking even grimmer.
Suddenly, Skye’s sense of self-preservation vanished as anger at the unfairness and weirdness of the situation took hold. She darted around Xav before he could stop her and walked right up to Talzec, stopping only a foot away.
Jesus, she could feel that intense heat bleeding from his body into hers as his energy sought her secrets. She tried to hold him out while looking for cracks in his psychic shield. She needed to know how he’d react to danger if she had any chance of surviving.
She poked him in the belly and felt absolutely no give in his muscle. Suppressing a totally inappropriate shiver of need, she stood firm. “Look, buddy. It’s been a shitty week, and you’re not helping.” She ignored the gasps of those around her and continued. “Your barbarian stole my friend, sexed her up, impregnated her, and now claims her as his mate. You can’t just steal people. She’s an offworlder. She has rights.”
Talzec didn’t blink as he watched her, and those fascinating golden orbs of his kept flashing to blue and back again. Darts of red swirled, then vanished, while his tattoos moved faster. Totally not human, Skye. Remember that.
“And what of you, little human?” he asked in a beastly growl.
“I’m here to help her. She’s my best friend.” She put her hands on her hips, trying to look bigger and failing miserably under his larger-than-life presence.
“She defeated two Nasuhl warriors. And Maht,” Xav said, startling her to hear him so close behind her. She hadn’t felt him at all, so focused on Talzec.
Talzec frowned, which made him look even sexier—meaner. “An offworld female defeated a Vyctore warrior?” He scoffed, his disdain evident.
She saw red. Without thinking, she tapped into his energy and forced him to step closer with a telekinetic tug. Then she hooked a foot around his ankle and yanked.
A normal man would have fallen on his ass. Talzec stumbled and immediately caught his balance.
“I told you,” Xav said and laughed at the giant tower of rage now looming over her.
Talzec leaned down and opened his mouth to say something. Then he sniffed and froze. His head whipped to Xav, who nodded. Straightening to his full height, he ordered Xav to take her to his quarters.
“To my hut?” Xav
sounded surprised. “Not the guest quarters?”
“Do what I told you to.” The quiet threat in Talzec’s tone said more than a shout could have.
Whispers around them turned into loud discussions of shock and awe that an offworlder had dared confront their leader. “Maht, you and Lisa come with me.” He turned on his heel and walked away.
Xav hustled her with him, so that she almost had to run to keep up. They entered a hut on the far side of encampment, right next to a larger structure that held a banner over it signifying the leader’s home. That much she knew from her studies of the barbarians.
Great. She’d now be sequestered right next to a giant with a chip on his shoulder about offworlders.
Inside the hut, she saw open windows facing the forest. A large pallet on the ground made up of furs and skins took up most of the room, with a wooden cabinet to one side and a table and chairs on the other. Large by her standards, but small when occupied by a barbarian. The place was simple but clean, and it smelled sweet, probably from the yellow blossoms dangling on the vines right outside the windows.
She’d barely stepped inside when Xav grabbed her and dragged her down under him on the pallet, which was surprisingly comfortable.
“Hey, stop.” She tried to slap at his hands, but the man moved faster than she could follow. She had a hard time mimicking his movements because there was little pattern to them. This, at least for him, seemed new.
To her shock, he’d bared her breasts. Now naked from the waist up, she couldn’t think about much more than keeping the rest of her clothes on. “Xaveht!”
He shifted off her, and she was naked.
“Wh-what are you doing?” ended in a high-pitched squeak when he removed his loincloth and boots to reveal perfection.
