In Alien Arms Etienne D’Artagnan (c) 2008 ISBN 978-1-59578-498-8
In Alien Arms Etienne D’Artagnan Published 2008 ISBN 978-1-59578-498-8 Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2008, Etienne D’Artagnan. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Manufactured in the United States of America Liquid Silver Books http://LSbooks.com Email:
[email protected] Editor Ansley Blackstock Cover Artist April Martinez This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Publisher’s Note There is a short language glossary at the end. Chapter One Desah Ssyn Arrives on Earth The view from the observation deck was pleasant. Not as pretty as home but still nice to look at. I picked up my travel bag and sighed. Earth. Newly contacted and still very much a frontier world. This is it, too late to back out now. Maybe my quarry, Chak Enif, would do something stupid like try to get me first and I could just shoot him and be done with it. Save everyone a lot of trouble all the way around. I thought over my orders as I walked down the ramp. Carry out the sentence of death on Chak Enif for drug trafficking and murder. Work with the native authorities but don’t give them any more information than they needed. Simple, they were fairly primitive, after all. I stepped out into what felt like spoo soup. What passed for air here was thick with water and the Universe only knew what else. I sneezed. Earth smelled funny. Humans looked like us, like Ke Mira, though I thought the ones I had seen weren’t as pleasing to look at as we were. At least until I saw Federal Marshal Nevada Cisco. My local guide, escort, spy, whatever—was waiting by one of the four wheeled transportation vehicles they called a car. He was a little taller than me, slightly heavier build too. I silently wished that I could get clothes to fit me the way his white shirt and black pants fit him. I had never been very muscular and my pale grey tunic and leggings just hung on me. I kept my expression neutral as I walked toward him, watching for his reaction. There weren’t many of the Ke Mira people on Earth, mostly just diplomatic bureaucrats. And a few criminals of course. Like the one I was here to eliminate. I stopped in front of him and he smiled faintly. “Good evening,” he said. “Welcome to Earth.” His voice sent shivers down my spine, the deep tone and soft accent promised wonderful dark things. I chastised myself mentally, I should never have accepted an assignment so close to Chara. The peak of my sexual cycle would begin in about six Earth days. Hopefully I’d be finished by then. “Thank you,” I said. I had been briefed on cultural politeness as part of my preparations for this mission and given the standard treatment for language. Neural splicing is not a fun way to acquire knowledge but it is effective. Well worth the nausea and blinding headaches if it let me converse with this beautiful creature. “Is that all you brought with you?” He gestured toward my bag. “All I need. I was told local clothing would be provided on this end.” I raised one eyebrow and waited. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if things were not as promised. I never expected much from any of the lesser creatures. “In the back.” He gave an unconcerned shrug. “If you’re ready we’ll go now. There have been some new developments.”
Joy. “Developments of what kind?” “Get in, I’ll tell you on the way.” He nodded toward the car. I watched him open the door and seat himself in the vehicle in a casually graceful movement. I sighed and walked around to the other side. This was going to be fun. The door proved to be a little more complicated than it looked. He gave me an impatient look, leaning across the seat and opening it from the inside. Arrogant. I got in and decided I’d reserve any comments on quaint and backward ways for later. Nevada started the engine and in an unnecessarily loud and foul smelling cloud of dust we were off. The reflection of lavender light in one of the mirrors announced the departure of my only way off this rock. A pang of homesick loneliness hit me in the chest. We pulled out onto the main road and headed for a bluish white glow on the horizon. “Developments you said?” “Someone leaked the name of our primary witness to the press. Enif posted bail for Barnes and now he knows who turned his gang in.” Nevada fiddled with a small package and pulled a white tube from it with his lips. “We are going to go to her house to pick her up, hopefully before any of Enif’s guys can get to her.” He used a bright orange thing to set fire to the end of the tube, inhaling and tossing the things onto the shelf over the instrument panel. “Why?” I didn’t have time for playing around with the locals. I wanted to eliminate Enif and get home before Chara set in. He looked at me, his expression unreadable and exhaled a cloud that smelled like burning basam dung. I coughed. Why do these things always happen to me? None of the other Saiph Mira ever had these problems. “If he gets to her first he’ll kill her.” He sounded impatient. “Probably,” I agreed. He frowned at me. “We’d like to avoid that if possible.” “Oh.” Whatever. I’d been warned humans viewed things differently. “Look, whatever you do to your own is your business, man. The humans involved will be arrested and tried for their crimes. Ms. Gibson is our only witness, without her we have no case.” I nodded slowly, I understood. “I see. Your plan then is to use Ms. Gibson to draw out the members of this little conspiracy. I don’t see any conflict there with my mission.” “No. My job, pendejo, is to keep Ms. Gibson alive to testify at the trial.” Pendejo? And just what in the Nine Worlds did that word mean? I had been given the treatment for Standard English, not for every grubby little dialect these humans used. Whatever it meant, I was sure it wasn’t complimentary from the way he said it. I’d let it go for now in the interest of the mission but I would not put up with more insolence. We rode in silence for a while. I noticed the sky was growing lighter. Their sun would be up soon and I would need to shield my eyes. We lived on a world of opalescent light and dappled shadows, softly bioluminescent. The Nictating membranes that were enough at home would be inadequate here. Earth’s star would blind me in a short time without extra protection. Suddenly Nevada pulled the car off the road and slowed to a stop. “You better change; people will tag you for alien right off in those clothes.” He reached into the back seat and caught hold of a bag, pulling it into the front and handing it to me.
I opened it and pulled out pants and a shirt similar to Nevada’s. He got out and went to the back of the car while I stepped out and began to change clothes beside the car. The fastenings weren’t too hard to figure out and I was soon looking like a human. Ech. I folded the clothes I had just removed and put them in the bag when I got back in the vehicle. He slammed the hatch on the back of the car and came back, tossing me a box when he got in. “Shoes,” he said. “They should fit. If your people got the size right.” My people? Did I detect a bit of resentment there? I opened the box and pulled out the clunky objects he called shoes. Oh well. I sighed and put them on. He had to show me how to tie the laces. It was embarrassing. The sun was further up in the sky and it was time to shield my eyes. I opened my case and found the specially made set of dark lenses I’d been issued and put them on. The relief was almost immediate. I was ready to face whatever Earth had in store.
Chapter Two Nevada Cisco The alien ship reminded me of a tortilla warmer. One of those cheap Styrofoam ones. I watched the ramp lower with a hiss and the most beautiful man I had ever seen walk out into the night. Desah Ssyn. The name fit. He looked human but there was an aura about him, just something in the way he carried himself, that said he wasn’t. I felt a definite attraction to his cool lack of emotion and that perfect Cupid’s bow mouth. I wondered what it would take to make him shudder and groan with La Passion. Sexual attraction aside, he was damn fine. I’d been instructed to provide clothes that would let him fit in and I’d managed to get together a small duffle bag full. Looking at him now, I had a feeling it wouldn’t matter how ordinary and nondescript the clothes were, he was going to stand out. I wanted to comb my fingers through his thick dark hair. It was hard to tell in the light of a setting half moon but I thought it might be a dark auburn. Well fuck me sideways, love at first sight really does happen. He stopped in front of me and I fought to keep cool. I welcomed him to Earth and cringed inside at the corny line. Get hold of yourself, idiot, he’s here to do a job, not do you. The briefing informed me very little of what the aliens’ sexual habits might be. For all I knew they could spawn instead of fucking. Myself, I liked a little on both sides of the fence. But maybe…The tiny voice in the back of my mind whispered. Oh yeah. We got going with minimal fuss and once we were on the highway into town I brought him up to date on the situation. I got my first shock when he didn’t seem to understand that we had to protect Ms. Gibson. It was my first glimpse into just how alien he was, despite his looks. I was sure it wouldn’t be my last. It was a little after dawn when we stopped at the rest area. I gave him the clothes I brought and went to the trunk to get the shoes. And to keep him from seeing me watch him changing clothes. He was perfect, unblemished except for an odd tattooed design that went up his spine. It was just a shade lighter than his skin, and I’d never have seen it if the sun hadn’t been shining on his back. I went back and tossed him his shoes. I lit another cigarette and pulled back out onto the highway. He coughed again and gave me a smoldering look but didn’t say anything. Maybe I’d give up smoking for a few days. Never hurts to be polite and the consideration just might get him into bed. Ms. Gibson lived on the south side of Houston in a quiet neighborhood. The department should have called her by now so she would be aware we were coming. I hoped it wouldn’t be hard to convince her to leave with us. Sometimes witnesses trusted the bad guys more than they trusted us. “When we get to the house let me do the talking.” I glanced over at Desah. He did not look at all well. Probably the cigarette smoke and bright Texas sun. “I would not know what to say anyway.” He rubbed his temples. We drove through town in silence. It was Saturday and early so traffic was light. We made good time and almost before I realized it, we were coming up on the exit that would take us to Ms. Gibson’s house. I liked the area, ordinary middle class suburbs where people led ordinary lives.
“This is it.” I stopped in the driveway. “Hope she’s awake.” I gave the house a quick once over. Things looked normal for a weekend morning. Hard to believe that a controlling drug dealer like Brian Barnes let a girlfriend of his live in a place like this. They usually lived in high dollar condos. I smiled wryly, even harder to believe one of the son of a bitch’s girls would inform on him but she did. It was why I was here after all. “Might it be prudent for me to stay in the car?” He looked around the neighborhood then looked at me. “If you don’t want to go in that’s fine.” I got out and walked up to the front door. I could feel his eyes on me every step of the way. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I could hear someone moving around inside. I hoped Ms. Sophie Gibson had been informed that we were coming and it wasn’t one of Brian’s goons. The door opened and I looked into the most beautiful moss green eyes I’d ever seen. My mouth went dry. “Yes?” Her voice was like a caress. I swallowed hard. “Ms. Gibson? I’m Federal Marshal Nevada Cisco. My partner and I are here to take you into protective custody.” I flipped my badge wallet open and held it out so she could see it. “Um, why?” She looked from the badge to me, a frightened expression in her eyes. I sighed. Well fuck. Obviously no one had bothered to call. “Some asshole leaked your name to the media as the chief witness in the Lyxit drug case. I’m sorry…” “Oh no…” Her hands shook and she turned a sickly shade of pale. But she didn’t fall apart and have hysterics. I was impressed. “What…what do I do?” “You come with us and we keep you safe until the trial.” She nodded at me. “Pack some clothes, whatever you think you might need, and we’ll be on our way. It’s not safe here.” “Um, right. Yeah, come in, it’ll just take me a couple of minutes.” She stepped aside and I followed her into the house. She headed toward a hallway and I looked around. The house was small but clean and un-cluttered, sparse even. I took a deep breath. It smelled like furniture polish and citrus. I walked down the hallway and kept an eye on her as she gathered up her clothes and whatever else women found they couldn’t live without. She finished and we started toward the door. The phone began to ring and she froze, looking at me wide eyed. I nodded at her to answer it. She picked up the receiver. “Hello,” she said, her voice a little breathless. Her expression went from simple fright to abject terror. I reached out and took the phone from her. “We know you were the snitch.” It was Brian Barnes, her ex and one of Enif’s lieutenants, “You’re dead, Sophie. And it won’t be fast or easy.” I hung the phone up carefully and looked at it for a few seconds. It began to ring again. I took her arm and gave her a little tug, breaking the spell of the ringing phone. “Come on, we need to get out of here. You can call anyone you need to when we’re on the road.” She nodded and hurried along behind me to the car. Desah looked up as we approached and I watched his lips part when he caught sight of Ms. Gibson. I didn’t blame him; she kind of floored me too with her lush curves wrapped in bright colored fluttery silk. I opened the back passenger door for her, tossing her bags on the seat. She slid into the car and I shielded her, protecting her from hitting
her head on the doorframe. Her hair felt softer than silk. I felt a strong twinge of desire shoot through me and licked my lips. I shut the door and headed around to the driver’s side. Her hair smelled like vanilla. With a quick glance at Desah I started the car and we were on our way.
Chapter Three Sophie Gibson I had just finished brushing my hair and pinning it up with my favorite hand carved wooden comb when someone pounded on the door. I jumped and then took a deep breath to relax myself. Brian and his friends were all in jail on a very high bond they couldn’t possibly pay; I had nothing to worry about. I went to the door and opened it. He was beautiful. Tall. His midnight black hair just brushed the collar of his white shirt and black suede blazer. “Yes?” What can I do to you? My face warmed, I hoped I hadn’t said that last bit out loud. He held out a badge and introduced himself, telling me why he was at my door at eight o’clock on Saturday morning. My stomach hit my shoes. I had thought I was going to be anonymous when I turned Brian and his buddies in. They promised me. I should have figured it would fall apart the way my luck usually ran. I looked at Federal Marshal Cisco and tried to get myself under control enough to move. Protective custody, no problem, I’d do anything to get away from Brian. I’d seen my ex get angry before and I didn’t want to end up in the hospital or worse. I did as I was told and went to pack. I was even with the breakfast bar pass-through, watching his muscular legs and ass as he walked toward the front door, when the phone rang. I froze, my heart in my throat. He gave me a slight nod and I answered it, surprised my voice worked. My wild hope that it was a telemarketer was dashed when I heard a familiar voice on the other end of the line. “Hello Sophie, how’s it feel to be dead?” Brian said. Federal Marshal Cisco took the phone from me and listened to Brian for a moment before quietly hanging up. When the phone began ringing again just seconds later he caught my arm and took my keys from me, pulling me toward the door. The sudden tingle of lust that zinged through me made me stumble on the door’s threshold. He shut the door behind us and locked it before leading me out to his car. The man waiting in the front seat turned his head and watched us. I felt myself go liquid inside and suddenly my panties were damp. He was coldly gorgeous, his perfect cupid bow lips slightly parted and the opaque black sunglasses hiding his eyes adding to the mysterious air about him. Federal Marshal Cisco Nevada opened the back door and tossed my things onto the seat, brushing his hand over my hair as I got in. It sent a rush of heat through me and I kept my head down to hide the blush I knew was coloring my face. He started the car and headed for the freeway. I kept quiet, watching the two men and waiting for a hint of where we were going. I was having some very impure thoughts about both of them. Separately or together, it didn’t matter to me; I’d take them any way they wanted. Sophie, you are such a slut, your luck they’re probably both married. I sighed and Nevada glanced in the rearview mirror at me before cutting his eyes over to his partner. “This is Desah Ssyn,” Nevada said. “Hi,” I winced at the small sound of my voice. Hardly a sexy sound. Desah just turned his head slightly and gave a quick nod. Ookay, I can take a hint. I kept all my
questions to myself. I’d ask later if I could get Nevada alone. In the meantime, I watched the city go by as we headed north. I’d been watching farmland awhile, thinking about how I had gotten into this mess, when Nevada’s voice startled me. “Ms. Gibson, do you need to call anyone?” he asked. “What?” Brilliant. Witty and sure to impress hot guys with badges. I wanted to slap myself. “Family, friends, coworkers. To let them know you’re alright.” He held a phone and waved it at me. “Oh, um, okay…” I reached for the phone. I had no family to call. They had all disowned me years ago. I didn’t even know where any of them were. But I guessed I should call my friend and dance class teacher and let her know I’d miss my classes for a while. As for a boss, I didn’t need to worry with that, my job had ended the day they arrested Brian. Kind of inconvenient to work for a boyfriend who turns out to be a drug dealer. I thought he was in real estate. I began to dial and stopped. “Excuse me, what do I tell them? How long will I, I mean we, be um, hiding or whatever you call it?” “Tell them you’re in protective custody until the trial. It could be anywhere from a few days to the trial date. Which is in about six weeks,” Nevada said. “Six weeks?” Desah spoke for the first time. I couldn’t quite place his accent but he definitely sounded horrified. “And how long is a week?” “A week is seven days.” Nevada sounded amused. “Wait a minute; everyone knows how long a week is…” I trailed off as it hit me. Desah was one of them, an alien. I was sitting in a car going down a highway to who knew where with two of the sexiest men I’d ever seen and one of them was an alien. I’d seen aliens on TV a few times since they first contacted us; they were far more beautiful in person. I didn’t quite know what to say. “Desah Ssyn is from Angetenar. A member of their law enforcement. He’s here to take custody of the leader of the Lyxit drug ring when he’s caught.” Nevada kept his eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel. “That isn’t precisely accurate. I do not enforce laws,” Desah said slowly. “Then what…” Nevada said. He sounded like he already knew the answer. “I am Saiph Mira, a Sword of the People. You would call me an executioner. Although assassin might be a better word.” Nevada jerked the wheel over and pulled the car off onto the shoulder skidding to a stop. I dropped the phone and let out a strangled squeak grabbing for the seat. Nevada got out of the car and went around to the passenger side. He yanked the door open and reached in, catching hold of Desah’s shirt and pulling him out of the car. “We need to have a little talk.” He gave Desah a shove and slammed the door. I watched them standing in front of the car having their little talk. I couldn’t hear them but Nevada waved his arms and made obviously upset gestures at his partner. Desah just stood there with one hand pressed to his throat and the other shading his eyes. Assassin. Well. That was interesting. And scary. I filed that fact away in my information on aliens file and leaned down, picking up the phone. I’d better just make my calls and keep my eyes open.
Chapter Four Desah I sat there in the car and watched them coming out of the dwelling, er, house. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t this vision in colorful garments. She was beautiful. Exotic. I wanted to see her arrayed in the rich robes that courtesans on my world wore, in the hues of the great crystal sea. I wanted to take them off her. Slowly. One gossamer layer at a time. When she got into the car her musky sweet scent flooded my senses and perverted as it was, I could barely restrain myself from climbing over the seat to take her right then. And I was going to have to travel in this vehicle with temptation hammering at me every step of the way. How wonderful. I did my best to ignore the embodiment of lust operating the vehicle and the object of desire seated behind me. I would have to find a way to relieve the sexual tension or it was going to throw me into the mating frenzy of Chara and I’d lose any hope of control. In the throes of Chara I’d be helpless. I’d even mate with a human. And in my position that just was not done. I looked out the window and tried to breathe shallowly. Between the intoxicating musk from Nevada and the sweet scent from Ms. Gibson my toes wanted to curl. I hadn’t planned on this when I accepted the assignment to carry out the Council’s sentence on Chak Enif. My Chara cycle was close and I’d figured that it was simple enough. Pop over to Earth, dispatch Chak, pop home and over to the Chara Sanctuary I favored for a cycle of uninhibited sex, then back to work. Of course I could have my own little Sanctuary wherever we stopped…Get that thought out of your head right now. I shuddered. Stupid. I should call for pick-up right now before I disgraced myself. But her scent was so intoxicating and he looked so well endowed… I caught myself imagining things with Nevada that he’d probably kill me for. I’d been briefed on humans and their attitude toward sex, particularly between members of the same gender. What would they think if they knew we had three genders? I had some fond memories of cycles spent at the Sanctuary near my home, starting with my first visit when my Chara began. Chara. The Joy in the language of the humans. And it was. My father had taken me the day after my first cycle began and registered me. He sent me along with one of the courtesans and lessons began. I still remembered the name of my partners for my first Mira Kurhah, Nihal and Aliannah, and I remembered the things we’d done. I wondered if humans had any similar rituals. I listened to Nevada asking Ms. Gibson about informing her family of her absence in their lives. I didn’t pay much attention until I heard the phrase “six weeks.” I did some quick cold calculations and I didn’t like the results. Just two weeks on Earth would see me well into Chara with my only access to relief the two humans I traveled with. “Six weeks?” I asked, close to panic. If I hadn’t been so freaked out I’m sure I would never have let slip what my true mission on Earth was. Ms. Gibson was silent. So was
Nevada but he obviously was not pleased by the fact that I was what humans would call an assassin. I was glad there were no other vehicles on this pathway to wherever we were going. The way Nevada stopped another car would surely have crashed into us. He snatched me out of the car and dragged me up to the front. I was sure he had no idea what his forcefulness was doing to me. I shaded my eyes and held a hand to my chest, feeling my pounding heartbeat. His words all ran together in a torrent of whatever musical language it was he shouted at me in. So emotional, so passionate, it brought tears to my eyes and I blinked both sets of eyelids. “I can’t let you kill this Enif guy, don’t you understand that?” He had finally switched to English. But I still did not, as he said, understand what all the fuss was about. The Council had given me this assignment and I would carry it out. I had not failed to deliver their justice in forty missions and I would not start with Earth. Nevada glared at me, apparently waiting for an answer. “No, I don’t understand. Why would you protect one like Chak Enif? He thrives on causing misery to others. The drug he peddles, this Lyxit, do you know what it does?” “I’ve seen addicts, they don’t look miserable.” He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped one foot. I don’t think he realized he was doing it. Quaint. “You’ve only seen the first stage then, when they feel wonderful. You haven’t seen it liquefy their brain yet.” His eyes widened slightly. “Oh yes, in humans it makes them feel wonderful, then it melts their brain and they die. Quickly yes, but very painfully.” “Puta madre.” He covered his eyes for a moment. I had no idea what he’d said, some sort of curse obviously. I’d have to ask him when things were a little less tense; the words had a certain ring to them. He glared at me again and my stomach fluttered. “My ex-wife is a user. How do you get them off this shit?” Oh my. “I’m sorry. I don’t know of anyone that has ever gotten off of it.” He looked stricken for a brief second then he was all professional once more. “I still can’t let you just kill this son of a bitch.” He looked grim. “I am not going to just kill Chak Enif. He has been sentenced by the Council for his actions. I am merely going to carry out that sentence.” I simply did not see his problem with my job. He sighed. “Shit. Get back in the car; we’ll figure this out later when we have Ms. Gibson somewhere safe. I watched him turn and stalk back to the car. He was so beautiful. When I got back to the car my eyes met Ms. Gibson’s and the foundation of my world shook. I had never seen green eyes before. Or brown like Nevada’s, for that matter. In my people eyes were always grey or gold or some shade in between. Rarely were they a mix of gold and lavender like mine were. I swallowed hard and got into the car.
Chapter Five Nevada I pulled back out onto the highway. I needed to beat the hell out of something. Or someone. Lyxit, taken by licking it from the little packet it was sold in, an easy quick high and users were addicted from the first dose. I had given up on Marisol and her drugs a long time ago. Now it looked like they would kill her just like I had told her so long ago. It hurt more than I thought it would. I glanced in the rear view mirror and caught Ms. Gibson, Sophie, watching me. She blinked and I wondered if she would be interested in some straightforward down and dirty sex when we stopped. I needed the release of a good hard orgasm. The safe house wasn’t far now. After our discussion I wasn’t sure I wanted Desah to touch me. He was a cold killer by his own admission and I was trained to follow the laws I believed in. But he still made my blood burn with desire. Damn, I hated long trips. It gave me way too much time to think. We passed through the small town of Stephenville. The place we would stop for the night was outside town, a small ranch that the government maintained for temporary housing of witnesses who needed protection. I’d used it before. Sophie had dozed off. She must be one of those people who can’t stay awake in the back seat. I smiled. The turnoff was just ahead. I slowed and the gate rolled back to let us pass. Desah looked a little surprised. “Sensors,” I said, amused. “We’re not totally backward.” “I never said you were.” He pushed his dark glasses further up his nose. “No, but you were thinking it.” I turned and smiled at him. He blushed and I knew I was right. “You think we’re little better than animals don’t you.” I made it a statement. I’d seen the same prejudices before. He drew himself up into that aloof coldness I’d seen when I picked him up. He probably had no idea how much that cold expression turned me on. “Where are we?” he asked, keeping his gaze straight ahead. “Safe house. We’ll spend several days here and then move on.” I pulled up in front of the old stone farmhouse and stopped. “It looks comfortable.” There was an odd note in Desah’s voice. He got out of the car and just stood there looking at the place. I turned around and reached over the back seat to wake Sophie. I gave her knee a little shake and she jumped. “Sorry. We’re here.” She sat up and looked around. “Is there a bathroom?” “Yeah, inside, hot and cold running water too. We’re remote, not primitive.” She gave me a dirty look and climbed out. I chuckled and followed. I watched her follow Desah up the steps onto the porch. Well, they couldn’t get in without me so I grabbed Sophie’s bags and headed for the door. I’d come back for the rest later. Inside it was dim and cool. “Bathroom is through there,” I pointed down the hallway.
Sophie disappeared into the little room and shut the door. We’d be here for a few days so I put the bags down and left Desah to himself while I unloaded the rest of our things. When I brought the last load in I could hear Sophie exploring the kitchen. Desah hadn’t moved from the spot where he’d stopped when we first came in. I wondered if he was okay. Be just my luck to get saddled with a sick alien. “There’s beer and soda in the refrigerator.” Sophie came in with a glass in one hand and a soft drink can in the other. “The fridge has an icemaker too.” I smiled at her and nodded. “Thanks.” She was taking this whole thing remarkably well. I was glad she wasn’t having hysterics or being stubborn. I loved it out here. It was quiet and virtually crime free, I could sit on the porch and just enjoy not dealing with the scum I had to arrest. “I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping and we can work out a watch schedule.” I led them down the hall to the bedrooms. It wasn’t a five star hotel but the bedrooms were clean and the beds were comfortable. I thought it best to put our alien friend, Desah, in the room at the back of the hall. He didn’t seem to mind and he’d hear anyone approaching from that side of the house. I put Sophie in the room between his and the one I would take. There was a nice cactus garden below her window. Hard to climb over a bed of wicked sharp thorns. I left Desah figuring out how the bathroom facilities worked and went to check on Sophie. She sat on the edge of the bed looking a little forlorn. It was getting to her at last. I tapped on the door and stepped into the room. “He doesn’t like us very much, does he?” she asked, looking up at me. “Nope.” “Is he really an assassin?” She traced the pattern of the quilt beside her. “Seems like.” I walked closer. “I won’t let him hurt you if that’s what you’re worried about.” “I’ve spent the last two years with Brian Barnes. An assassin is small stuff.” She sounded bleak. “Well I won’t let Barnes hurt you either. Let’s go see what there is for dinner.” Suddenly we heard the noise of the TV from the front of the house. It was quickly followed by a tirade in a strange language. Sophie giggled softly. “Come on, before he has some sort of alien fit.” I held my hand out and she took it. We walked into the living room. Desah had managed to turn on the news. I stopped beside him and listened to the reporter. Some fool had apparently told Chak Enif about political asylum and he’d applied on the grounds that his government was trying to assassinate him. Wonderful. “Shit.” I watched him smirk while his lawyer told the press how misunderstood he was. “He’s using her. Look at her, the way she smiles, she’s taking Lyxit.” Desah made a disgusted sound and stalked into the kitchen. I looked at Sophie for a second. I was going to have to call in. She went in the kitchen after Desah.
Chapter Six Sophie I followed Desah into the kitchen. It seemed like a good idea to do as Nevada said and see what was available for dinner. He started when I stepped past him. “I don’t know about you but I’m getting hungry.” I gave him what I thought was a friendly smile and opened the refrigerator. “I don’t seem to have much of an interest in food right now.” He looked at me and I was thankful for the cold of the fridge. The hot flash he gave me was enough to melt steel. I swallowed hard. “Well, you still need to eat and keep your strength up.” I rummaged around and found sandwich supplies. He didn’t answer and a thought hit me. “Or do you?” I asked. Who knew, maybe he could go without for days or something. “Yes. You’re right, we do need to eat.” His voice was dry. I chose to overlook it. For now. “Okay, I can make sandwiches. Whoever stocked this place left plenty of cold cuts and bread. Chips too.” I pulled out the meat. It looked like roast beef. I set the sandwich supplies on the counter. Shouting from the living room made us both turn and look. Desah stood like he expected a hoard of bad guys to come through the door. Rapid Spanish made me chuckle. “What did he say?” Desah asked. “I don’t speak Spanish, I don’t know, but he sounds pissed off.” I smiled at him and went back to making enough sandwiches for everyone. Desah sighed heavily and sat back down. Nevada walked in and went straight to the fridge, snatching a beer out and twisting it open. He slammed the door and drank half of it. “Those idiots,” he said. I waited for him to continue but he just glared at the window over the sink. I looked at Desah. He raised his eyebrows, questioning from behind the black sunglasses he wore. I just shrugged and put the plate I held on the table. Dinner was awkward. I excused myself and wandered around the house, finally going outside. The sun was setting, turning the sky to shades of gold and purple. I leaned against the porch rail and thought about the things that had gotten me to this place. Brian had seemed so nice, caring and kind, when I’d first met him. How things had changed. A sound behind me startled me and I turned to find Nevada watching me from the door. “It would be better if you didn’t wander around outside alone.” He came toward me and I looked away, back out at the darkening sky. The first stars had appeared. “It’s peaceful out here.” His presence sent a shiver through me. “Yeah it is,” he said softly. I watched his hand move to cover mine. I slipped my fingers through his and waited to see what he would do about it. He squeezed my hand gently and I looked up into his dark eyes. Neither of us said anything, there really wasn’t anything to say. The sexual tension had been building between us all day. A small noise made us both look toward the house.
“He’s going to bed. I told him I’d take first watch,” Nevada said. “He’s beautiful isn’t he?” “Yeah, but he doesn’t like us.” I looked back at him. His voice had a note of something odd in it. Disappointment? Disgust? Some combination of the two? I couldn’t tell for sure. “You’re wrong. He does but it disturbs him,” I said. “Maybe…” He brushed his fingertips over my cheek. He bent and touched his lips to mine and they were every bit as firm and silky as I’d imagined. I slid my arms around his neck and pressed myself against him. With a shaky breath he broke the kiss and stepped back. “Let’s go inside.” I nodded and he led me into the house. He stopped long enough to lock the door behind us before leading me down the hall to the bedroom he assigned me earlier. He shut the door and pulled me to him with a swift tug, wrapping his arms around me. My stomach clenched at his forceful manner and I inhaled deeply, his body was firm and he smelled like cinnamon and musk. His mouth covered mine again in a demanding kiss, his tongue forcing my lips apart to dip inside and taste me. The sparks of lust burst into a raging fire and I slid my hands up over his chest, letting myself melt against him. I tangled my fingers in his thick, silky black hair and twined my tongue with his. He nudged his hips against mine and I pressed myself against him, wrapping one leg up over his hip. I slid my hands over his shoulders and back down his chest. The soft moan he made let me know he liked what I was doing and I moved from his mouth down over his throat to the collar of his white cotton shirt. He tasted like mesquite, tangy and sweet. “Querida,” he said on a sigh, his voice thick with desire. He let his head fall back, revealing more of his throat and I began unbuttoning the shirt, kissing each inch of his smooth chest as I pushed the shirt aside. He gently pushed me away and looked at me. I could see the need clearly in his passion dark eyes. A lock of his dark, silky hair had fallen forward. I reached up and brushed my fingers over his cheek then tucked the stray hair behind his ear. He stood there for several heartbeats, his chest heaving like he’d run a marathon. I had the feeling he was waiting to see what I would do so I touched a fingertip to his parted lips, tracing their perfect fullness before drawing a line down over his chest to the waistband of the black jeans he wore. “Cielita,” he whispered and kissed me again. He slid his hands over my body and before I hardly knew it, he had lifted me up and carried me to the bed. He laid me back on it, his hand fumbling at his belt. I caught it, unbuckling the soft leather and unfastening the button. I pushed the zipper down and slipped my hand inside. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a foil wrapped condom. I took it from him and tore it open. “Ah, mi vida,” he gasped. His cock was hard, larger than anyone I’d ever been with before. Longer too. I explored him, running my fingers over his velvety soft skin before lifting him free of his clothing. A drop of pre-come glistened at the tip. I touched it and slowly spread it over his head before I rolled the condom onto his rigid shaft. He shuddered, his whole body trembling, and I held my arms out for him. He made a low growling sound and moved over me. I wrapped my arms around him as he lowered himself to lie against me. His weight felt wonderful. His fever-hot skin was slightly damp as I ran my hands over his back. He
kissed me once more and moved down over my neck. He drew spirals of heat with his tongue and his teeth grazed my skin, sending showers of electric sparks through me. He covered one of my nipples with his mouth and the other he rolled with his thumb. I moaned and arched against him, pressing against the hard shaft of his cock. “Sophie,” he said, drawing my name out into a low moan of pleasure. I ached for him, wet with passion. His hands were fire and his lips scorching as he explored and tasted. I needed him inside me. I needed to come. He had to be hurting by now and I opened my legs wider, lifting my knees. He pressed the tip of his cock against me and pushed, sliding into me, filling me, stretching me with his hardness and heat. I moaned and he began to move, a slow steady rhythm in time with my gasps. I slid my hands over his hips and waist. He moved harder, grinding into me, and I dug my fingers into his ass. He groaned and his body jerked. I did it again, harder, and he bit back a cry. I felt him beginning to lose control and tightened around him, running my nails up his back. His sweat trickled down my sides and I was almost there. I arched my hips toward him. He gasped and threw his head back, trying to hold in the groan as his orgasm hit. The sound of his release and the hot rush of him coming inside me sent me over the edge. I moaned and that wonderful deep cramping itch shook me. I came hard, tightening around him. He sucked in a gasp and groaned, grinding himself into me and I came once more. He eased himself off me with one more kiss, moving to the other side of the bed. He was asleep in minutes. I smiled and went to clean up.
Chapter Seven Desah Something woke me. I lay there and listened closely. The sound came again, a familiar sound, and I got up as quietly as I could. I crept down the hall and stopped at the door to Sophie’s room. Yes, it was what I thought. They were having sex. I pressed my ear to the door and listened to the sounds of Chara. My mouth went dry and I tried to swallow. It sounded enjoyable, whatever it was they were doing in there. I tried to picture it. I knew many ways to celebrate Chara but my imagination failed me. I had no idea if humans did it the same way we did. I heard the muffled groan of someone finding release and a tightness filled me. Panic raced through me. My Chara was early. The tingling feeling that swept over my skin was almost painful in its intensity. I needed to get away; I covered my mouth to stifle the gasping sound of my breath and fled, knowing it was already too late. I found myself outside suddenly with no sure memory of how I got there. The smells and sounds of the night began to clear my head but that only made the pain worse. I sank down on the top step of the porch and curled up in a ball of misery. I had never faced Chara alone before. I had no idea how to get through this. In my need, could I descend into perversion? I don’t know how long I lay there before I heard Nevada’s voice behind me. He cursed in his Spanish and I felt his hands on me, lifting me until I was sitting up. “What happened? Are you hurt?” I cut him off, shaking my head. “No,” I gasped and hissed with the pain. “No…” “Then you’re sick,” he said. “Not sick. Chara.” I shivered with the need to be touched. “What the hell is Chara?” He caught my arm when I sagged. The cold pain eased at the heat of his touch. Well. Apparently I could sink to the level of deviant and find relief from a human. “You and she, together, triggered my Chara cycle,” I tried to explain. “Me and Sophie? How did we do this?” Nevada sounded puzzled. “I heard you tonight, having sex.” My breathing was calming some with his continued hold on my arm. “My fucking Sophie started this Chara thing? I don’t understand,” he said. Of course you don’t, only a pervert like me would consider sharing this with one of the lesser beings. Fucking? “We have a cycle, Chara. It translates as The Joy. Our mating cycle. We go to Chara Sanctuary for relief.” I wanted him to understand but I didn’t want to tell him too much, the Council would have my hide if humans learned our whole culture was based on sex. Immigration would be swamped. “So we pushed you into this cycle. Okay. Fine. I can’t have you out of commission. What do we need to do for you?” He stood, pulling me to my feet. “Sex,” I said. “Damn. Sophie was sleeping pretty soundly. I don’t think she…”
“Either of you,” I cut him off. He froze and I cringed. I’d offended him. I wanted to laugh but I still hurt too much. I wished to the Nine Worlds and all their hells he would just shut up and fuck me. “Either of us…” His voice sounded strained. I was afraid to look at him. “We don’t, gender doesn’t mean the same thing to us. What matters in the Chara is the release.” He turned me around to face him and I held my breath. “You swing both ways,” he said, something dark in his expression. “Three ways,” I whispered. I was losing track of this insane conversation. “Damn.” His eyes traveled down over me. I waited for his response. I wasn’t that good at reading human expression and I didn’t know if he was going to beat me to death, laugh at me, or give me the relief I desperately needed. His eyes met mine and suddenly he covered my mouth in a crushing kiss that left me breathless. He tangled his fingers in my hair, tightening his fist and pulling my head back. His mouth slid over to my ear. “What do you want me to do to you?” he whispered, his hot breath making my stomach clench. “Anything you want,” I answered him. Just get on with it! He didn’t say anything, just pushed me back against the porch post. He was going to do it right here. I couldn’t help the low moan that escaped me. He wasn’t going to be gentle and oh, how I needed it. I hadn’t had a rough partner in a long time. Sick. But I really didn’t care right then. I reached for the fastening of his pants, working them loose and freeing him. He was large and stiff, much like I was. Ke Mira and humans were not built all that differently. Nevada was smooth where I was ridged and ridged where I was smooth. I slipped my fingers over his velvet saiph chara and he groaned. “What do you call it?” he asked breathlessly. “Saiph chara, sword of joy,” I answered. “I like that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet, opening it with his teeth. Of course you do. Condom. My neural splice provided the English word for the familiar object. A little surprised humans had thought of such a necessity I took it from him and rolled it onto him. “And what do you call it?” “Cock, we call it a cock.” He groaned. “I like that.” I smiled when he chuckled. “Put it inside me.” He hesitated. “What?” “Lube, mm, something to ease the way,” he said. I shook my head. “No need, we make our own.” “Convenient.” He reached between my legs, brushing over my cock. I savored the new word and nearly burst when he discovered the opening I wanted him to fill. My cock was hard against my belly, pulsing with need. Then he was pushing into me, setting all my nerve endings on fire. My body resisted at first, it had been awhile, but he thrust harder and slid halfway in. He stopped and I bit back a whimper. Don’t stop now. I tried to concentrate on the sensations and not on the human giving them to me. Pretty as he was, he still was just a human. Everyone knew how primitive they were, didn’t they? I moaned and arched toward him, digging my fingers into his ass and trying to pull him closer. He drew back and gave another shove of his hips. I braced one foot against
the opposite post, urging him on. It felt like he might be long enough to touch that special spot inside me. “Damn,” he moaned and I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Harder,” I whispered. “Hard as you can.” He responded by slamming into me and finally, oh stars, finally the tip of his saiph chara, his cock pounding into that place shot white-hot fire through me. Our sweatslicked bodies rubbed against each other, crushing my cock between us. He grabbed the post I was leaning against for leverage and covered my mouth in a brutal kiss. I groaned into his mouth and my release crashed over me.
Chapter Eight Nevada I came, hot and hard. I don’t know what it was or what he did but no one had ever got me off like that before. And I’d thought it was good with Sophie. My knees shook and I laughed. That hadn’t happened since my first lover. Maybe it was the fact that Desah wasn’t human. To tell the truth, I didn’t care right then what it was, I just wanted it to never stop. The world came back. “That,” I licked my dry lips, “that was fantastic.” I eased away from him, holding onto him until he caught his balance. My belly tingled slightly, sticky with his come. I touched it and my fingertip tingled too. He saw and smiled. “Enhances sensation,” he said lazily. “The sweat too.” So that was why I felt like my whole body was blushing. He shrugged out of the shirt I’d watched him put on early that morning. He used it to clean himself up and then handed it to me. I took it and motioned him inside. “Go take a shower, man; I don’t think I can move yet.” “Good idea.” He walked past me and I found the energy to smack his butt. He chuckled and went inside. A minute later I heard the bathroom door shutting. I smiled and used his shirt to clean up a bit. I was just enjoying the boneless feeling good sex left me with, listening to the small sounds of nighttime in the country when Desah came back. He’d showered and put on a pair of the plain cotton boxers I’d stuck in the bag of clothes I’d gotten him. His hair was damp and curling softly around his face. “Need something?” I asked. “Always,” he said. “Always?” I raised my eyebrows. “Chara doesn’t stop until the cycle finishes.” He sat down beside me on the top step. “So how long does this Chara last?” I shifted so I could look him in the eye. “Chara takes me about every five weeks and lasts about a week. It’s just beginning. In a few days it will take over everything.” He sounded apologetic. “When you say everything…” Somehow I knew what his answer would be. “In a few days I won’t be able to do or think of much else. At home we go to a Sanctuary where we stay until Chara stops. Until we bond, then we no longer need to go to Sanctuary, unless we’re away from our partners.” He leaned his head against the post. “I did not expect to have to stay here more than a few of your days. I certainly did not expect Chara to take me early.” His voice had a note of distress in it. I sighed. A solid week of mind-blowing sex. A fantasy come true for some people. But we had a job to do. “Okay. What do I need to do to make sure we get through this without any trouble?” “You said we would be staying here for a few days, can we stay longer?” “No, if we stay more than that it will draw attention.” I was silent for several minutes. “Can you suppress it? Delay it some way?” “There are those who claim that to experience true Chara we must deny it. They are
considered perverts and insane.” He sighed heavily. I thought for a while, watching him from the corner of my eye. This was just wonderful; I had an insane, sex-crazed alien on my hands. I knew he looked down on us, he showed it the same way people on Earth showed it when they had a racial bias they didn’t want anyone to know about. Sophie didn’t really see it, she was white, but I’d been seeing it all my Hispanic life in one form or another. An owl hooted and Desah started. I smiled. “Just an owl. A night creature.” “It sounds lonely.” He sounded lonely. I felt a little sorry for his lily ass. He was truly a minority here. I reached out and brushed my hand over his bare shoulder. That was when I noticed the tattoo on his back was glowing. The pale lavender light was so faint I couldn’t see it unless I looked a little to the side. “You’re glowing,” I said. “What? Oh. Yes, we do that.” He gave me a small smile. “Usually it isn’t very bright.” “So what makes it brighter?” I traced around one marking and it flashed. “The more aroused I get the brighter it will be.” “Why didn’t I see it when we fucked?” This was kind of neat. “I had my shirt on and it’s only on my back. You were in front,” he said. “Ah, yeah, and a little distracted as I recall.” He snickered. We sat there in silence for a few minutes more. I covered my mouth and yawned. If he needed another fuck, he could go wake Sophie. I was worn out. I stood up and tossed his dirty shirt into his lap. He looked up at me, silently questioning me. “It’s your watch, I’m going for a quick shower and then I’m going to get some sleep. We’ll leave in the morning. Can you hang on to your control for another two days?” He hesitated before nodding slowly. “Yes, I think so.” “Good. The place I have in mind is more remote than this one. No one knows about it but me. If we drive hard we can make it in two days. A little less if we switch drivers and don’t stop too much.” I winked at him. “Don’t stay out here too long and lock up when you come in.” I went inside and headed for the shower. Would he really go wake Sophie up? I kind of hoped so, from the look he gave me when I left him on the porch he was going to need it again soon and as good as he was I was way too tired to fuck any more tonight. I needed some sleep before we headed for the place my grandfather had left me. I heard the door open and close quietly, followed a few seconds later by the door to Sophie’s room. I smiled and went to take my shower.
Chapter Nine Sophie I woke when Nevada got out of bed. He moved cautiously and for a brief moment I was more than a little afraid. He went out into the hall. I waited a few seconds and followed him. The front door was open and I could barely make out something on the porch. It was Desah. Nevada went outside and lifted him up. Their quiet voices carried in the stillness of the night. I tried to go back to bed, I really did. But when they kissed I just froze. I’d seen porn before and I wasn’t exactly inexperienced but I can’t recall ever seeing anything as hot as those two. Until they started fucking. Then I couldn’t have moved to save my life. I was so caught up in it I almost didn’t get my butt back to my room before Desah came down the hall. I hurried to get back into bed before they caught me. I’d barely had time to assimilate the idea that Brian knew I was the one who turned him in and I wasn’t sure what else to think, other than I’d fucked my bodyguard and I wanted to fuck an alien assassin. All this Chara and sex and stuff was just confusing. And we were leaving in the morning. The door opened. My whole body tensed. Pretend to be asleep, maybe he won’t come in. But maybe he will. I really wanted him to. That thought sent a thrill of excitement through me. Disappointment washed through me at the sound of the door being closed carefully. I turned over onto my back and got the surprise of my life. He was a shadow in the darkness, outlined by a soft glow. He hadn’t left. I held out my hand. The touch of his fingers twining with mine had a warm comforting feel. He was strong. I reached out and pulled him to me as he climbed into the bed. He lay against me and I touched the tip of my tongue to his lips. They parted and I dipped in to taste him. The smoky mesquite of Nevada was there and just underneath was an exotic sweetness that was Desah. He pulled the sheet from between us and I forgot all about Nevada. His touch tingled like tiny currents of electricity buzzing down every nerve. I slid my hands over his velvet soft skin and he deepened the kiss. He moved, his fingers exploring and his kisses following, over my throat and shoulders to my breasts. It felt like nothing I’d ever experienced as he moved down my body. Desah circled my waist with his hands and leaned forward again, touching the tip of his tongue to my hardened nipple. He covered it with his mouth and tugged, teeth grazing, first one and then the other. I gasped and felt him smile. He gently pushed me back and trailed hot wet kisses down to my navel, pushing his tongue in and swirling it around. There wasn’t anywhere he didn’t taste or nibble. I was going to have marks, I was sure of it. And I didn’t care. I moaned and he looked up at me with a smile filled with mischief. I touched his cheek, brushing a stray lock of silky dark red hair back and tracing over the curve of his ear. He turned his head to catch my fingers in his mouth, his eyes drifting halfway shut. Letting go he pushed my knees apart and moved closer, sliding his hands up my
thighs to my hips. He pushed my legs farther apart and leaned forward. I clenched my fists in the bedcovers, gasping. His mouth covered me, kissing me, his tongue exploring and tasting. He made a sound of pure pleasure, the vibration sending a shockwave through me. I moaned and tried to arch up but he had pinned my hips to the bed with his hands. He chuckled softly and deepened his kiss. I cried out as he flicked his tongue over my clit. I was so close to coming; all I was aware of was him and what he was doing to me. Suddenly he pulled away and stood. I watched him strip off the boxers he wore and toss them carelessly aside. He was beautiful, from his warm ivory colored skin to the dusting of pale red gold hair leading in a line down from his navel to the curls that surrounded the base of his cock. His erection stood straight up, long and thick, and tight against his belly. Desah knelt between my legs and pulled me up toward him, lifting me. I slid down his body with a low moan. He sheathed himself inside me and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He groaned and just stayed still, letting me settle on him before laying me back. I tightened my legs around his waist and he began to move in slow hard thrusts. He angled his hips and began to move faster. I ran my nails down his sweatslickened back and his whole body jerked. He moaned my name and I could feel his control beginning to crumble. I tightened myself around him and the sound he made sent my release crashing over me. He dropped his head to my shoulder and came in a flood of heat, muffling his groaning shout in my hair. I lay there under him running my hands down his back in long soothing strokes. He swallowed hard and tried to catch his breath. “Sophie,” he whispered, nuzzling my neck before he rose up to look at me his expression troubled. I waited for what he would say. “Your heart beats so fast, like a Ke Mira woman’s heart,” he said finally. “Does it?” I asked, not sure where he was going with this. “Yes.” He sounded like he didn’t like it much. “I’m sorry…” I began. He put his fingers to my lips and stopped me. “I need to sleep now. Will you be alright?” he asked. I nodded and he got up. He walked back to his room naked as he could be, running his hands through his hair. I scooted over to the dry side of the bed and settled down to go to sleep. I’d clean up in the morning. Then I’d ask him about the glowing tattoo on his back.
Chapter Ten Desah Nevada walked into the house. He was obviously too tired for any more sex. Too bad. I wonder if he liked any of the more unusual techniques. I caught myself before an affectionate thought could fully form. He was human. One didn’t get sentimental about sex that happened out of physical necessity. One just enjoyed it and then moved on. I did wonder, though, how Nevada saw this. Was he hoping for something permanent? I really hoped not. There was no attachment possible, no way to see this continuing past Chara. I doubted either of these humans, accommodating as they were, were capable of understanding the deeper finer emotions. Simple creatures. After it was over I would go home and pick up my normal life, find someone to bond with, and no one would ever know I had engaged in this perverted relationship. I sat there and listened to the owl. The sky was full of unfamiliar constellations and even Earth’s moon looked lonely floating up there all by itself. I missed the three moons at home. Three moons, three genders, three in a marriage, three stages of life, and three in this twisted little company. Sophie. I got up and headed for the room where she slept. I really needed to fuck again. I remembered Nevada’s words and locked the door when I came inside. Seconds later I was standing at Sophie’s door. I eased the door open. The room smelled like sex, human sex. The scent went through me in a rush of heat. I found it strangely arousing. Of course I would though, I couldn’t help myself. Chara saw to that. I stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind me. She turned and I stopped. I couldn’t think of a way to ask her to fuck me that didn’t sound stupid. She just looked at me for a few seconds and held out her hand. I think human women must be telepathic. She seemed to know what I was there for. I took her hand and joined her in bed. Our first kiss was soft and gentle and it heated my blood like my very first Chara. Her touch brought back that innocence of discovery and suddenly I just had to touch and taste and explore everywhere. She shattered before I moved up over her. I was a little embarrassed and disappointed but I couldn’t stop, I needed relief. She sighed, her voice the barest whisper of a moan in my ear. Deviant. I shivered and touched the tip of my tongue to her neck. Perverted. My breath caught in my throat. Degenerate. The thought made my stomach clench. Twisted. Stars above but it was good. I rose up and looked down at her for a long moment. She looked back at me and reached up, threading her fingers through my hair, sending another shiver through me. Fucking. A bizarre word for such a breathtaking act. I slid into her. Hot. Wet. Tight. I drew back and slid into her again, a moan escaping me. Warped? Yes. Oh yes. I caught the edge of the mattress and thrust harder. All those things and more. And that lent things an extra spice. The flavor of the forbidden. I let go of my control, ground myself into her, covered her mouth with mine and breathed in her moans until the only thing left was the electric current running through me. “Unh,
Sophie,” I groaned. My orgasm crashed through me and all thought fled. I collapsed onto her with the final spasm of my cock. I tried to get control of my breathing. Something was wrong, I shouldn’t be feeling this way, and it shouldn’t be affecting me so strongly. My arms shook as I lifted myself off Sophie. She was still in the grip of her release. Still inside her, I moved my hips in a slow circle. She moaned, I smiled and chuckled. Her lips parted and I leaned down, licking them before covering them in a kiss that started a low rumbling sensation in my chest. I hadn’t purred in ages and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this aroused. If anyone from home ever found out about my unnatural obsession pervert would be the least of the things I’d be called. And I couldn’t find it in me to care. It might be a sick perversion but fucking humans felt wonderful. I rested against her and felt the pounding of her heart. It beat fast, like any one of my partners at home. A slimy cold feeling of guilt curled up and settled in my stomach. I fought down my panic. “Will you be alright?” I asked Sophie. She nodded and I got out of there as quickly as I could without actually running. I didn’t bother with dressing; both humans had already seen me. Besides, I had never slept in clothing so why start now. I made it back to the room I’d been given and crawled into bed. What did I think I was doing? Did I really think I could get away with this? That no one would find out? And how could I explain the similarities? Sophie was just a human, one of the lesser beings. Wasn’t she? Wasn’t Nevada? And what if they’re not, a tiny voice in the back of my mind asked. I hated confusion and uncertainty. It all came down to one basic thing anyway. The sex was good, would be good, with these two humans, and I would enjoy it. When the time came, I’d tell them goodbye and leave them to their primitive, simple lives. I decided finally to just take things one step at a time, one encounter at a time, until Chara was over and I was on my way home. I wished I could hear the lonely owl. All I heard was soft snoring from Nevada down the hall and silence from Sophie. I regretted not staying with her now. She deserved better than to be left to sleep alone. I lay there and stared at the ceiling for a long time before I finally slept, only to relive images of Nevada and Sophie jumbled with pictures of home and past Chara partners.
Chapter Eleven Nevada I woke with a start. Something was wrong. I had the feeling we needed to leave. Right then. Adrenalin was pumping and I jerked on my jeans. I didn’t bother buttoning my shirt; I just grabbed my Berretta and headed for Desah’s room first. He met me at the door. It didn’t look like he’d gotten much sleep. “We need to leave,” I said. He blinked those gorgeous amethyst eyes at me sleepily and nodded. It was a very human gesture. I didn’t think he realized just how sexy it made him look either. If I wasn’t so sure there was trouble on the way I’d have jumped him right then. “Move it, man.” I shooed him back into his room to dress and headed for Sophie’s room. Three steps away I realized he hadn’t moved. Poor addled alien. Damn. I turned back and pulled him into a hard fast kiss. “Hurry up, man.” I patted his face and went to wake Sophie. I opened the door and found her already awake and dressed in a green halter dress that set off her eyes. She was pinning up her hair. I quickly stepped in and shut the door before dropping a kiss on the back of her neck. “We have to go, querida, right now,” I said softly. “Trouble?” she asked. “Not yet but I can feel it coming.” She didn’t bother to say anything else, she just went to work picking up her things. Good girl. I headed back out to make sure we had everything. Desah was still not dressed when I went back to his room. He had managed to collect his things but he was standing beside the bed just staring at the jeans he held. “Aw fuck.” It looked like his brain had gone on without him. Just my luck. A warm hand on my back made me turn. Sophie had come up behind me. She looked past me, her eyes widening. “Go get the car, I’ll take care of this,” she said and slipped past me into the bedroom. “Great, be fast, we really need to get out of here.” I left her to whatever she was going to do. I stopped beside the front door, snapping the safety off the Berretta and peeking out the window. It looked quiet but all my senses were vibrating. Someone was out there. I could feel it. It felt the same way I always knew when there was danger growing up in Laredo. Our house had been right on the border and we saw a lot of gang activity. It was one of the reasons I’d gone into law enforcement. I went outside, cautiously scanning the surrounding area. The car was parked close to the porch steps and we had shielding from a couple of trees. I thought we could get from the house to the car safely if we moved fast. By some miracle Sophie had gotten Desah dressed and they were coming down the hall with the bags. She was leading him like a child. I think that was when I fell in love with her. She was the one who should be getting the special treatment, she didn’t have to show an alien who looked down on humans any sort of kindness. But she did. There was
nothing condescending in the way she led him toward me. He looked shell-shocked and I noticed he had a partial erection. It dawned on me that I was partially responsible for the state he was in. I never should have kissed him. I waved them over. “When I tell you, I want you to walk as fast as you can to the car. I’ve unlocked it. Head for the back seat and get in as fast as possible. Get in and get down. I’ll be right behind you.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my spare keys. “If anything happens, anything at all, you get out of here and don’t stop until you’re far away.” She nodded and I handed her the keys. I took one last look around and motioned Sophie outside. Bless her, she didn’t waste any time. She hurried to the car and shoved Desah in along with the bags. She shut the door and I saw her pull our alien basket case down. I followed them and got to the car without incident but there was a crawling feeling between my shoulder blades. Someone was watching us. The real test would be what happened when I started the car and headed for the road. If anyone was there, that would be when they tried something. I figured they wanted to make it look like an accident. It made the most sense and it was what I would have done. “Alright, princesa, hang on to our sex toy, we’re leaving.” I grinned at the short giggle I heard from the back seat and pressed on the gas pedal. We rocketed down the asphalt driveway toward the main road that would take us to the highway. I looked in the rearview mirror and swore. I was right, we’d had visitors. A car sped out from behind a stand of brush and fell in behind us. “How did they find us so fast?” Sophie asked. Her voice shook a little. “I don’t know. Nobody knows about this place but my department and a caretaker.” And Marisol. Shit. I’d brought her here to try and detox when she was on cocaine. I could see the main road coming up. The gate was broken. I hoped I could lose our unwanted company there or in town. I heard a gasp and risked a glance back to see Sophie holding Desah. He had his head resting on her chest and his eyes shut tight, obviously in pain. She was rummaging through the bags. “What’s wrong?” I asked, turning back to watch the road. We were coming into town. “Eyes … bright,” he said in a strained voice. “Hang in there, buddy, we’re working on it.” I saw a traffic light ahead. If I could time this right I could blow through and the car following behind us would get caught. If I was lucky.
Chapter Twelve Sophie I hadn’t managed to survive my time with Brian by being slow. I hurried and collected my things. Nevada’s kiss made me shiver and I smiled. Any touch on the back of my neck did that to me and I usually hated it. When he did it though… “Aw fuck.” He sounded like someone confronted with a nasty surprise. I walked over to see what had happened. Nevada looked like he wanted to hit something. Desah was standing beside the bed in some sort of daze. Wonderful. Nevada didn’t need to deal with this when there were people out there who wanted me dead. I touched his back and he turned to look at me. “I’ll handle this.” I gave him a gentle pat as I slipped by him. He nodded and headed for the front door. I walked over to Desah and rubbed his arm. He sucked in a breath like he hadn’t been breathing for a while. “Hey, come on, let’s get you dressed, baby,” I took the jeans from him and turned him, sitting him down on the bed. He let me put his feet through the legs of the soft faded jeans and tug them up over his knees. The touch of his fingers on my hair made me look up. I caught his hand and smiled at him, standing up and pulling him to his feet. I slid the jeans up the rest of the way and settled them over his hips. He’d be going commando but I figured men did all the time so it was no big deal. I tried to adjust him so he’d be comfortable and zipped the jeans up. He seemed to like that. A few minutes later I had his shirt buttoned and his shoes on. I had him sit and quickly gathered up his things. His hand felt clammy when I took it. That worried me. We went to the door and joined Nevada. Getting in the car was easier than I expected, we got there alive and I really did expect a bullet in the back somewhere between the front door and the car. I threw the bags in and pushed a very docile Desah in behind them. A few seconds later Nevada joined us and we were off. Desah made a soft sound of distress. He had his eyes squeezed shut and had gone pale. I pulled him into my arms and he whispered something. I leaned closer. “Dark glasses,” he said in a pain-filled voice. I pulled him closer and started searching for his sunglasses. I remembered seeing them in a bag but not which one. I went through two bags before I found them. He moaned from relief when I put them on his face. “Thank you.” He cuddled closer. The loud screeching of tires and blaring horns made me jump and I tightened my hold on Desah. “Sorry,” Nevada said from the front seat. I ignored him. Desah had pushed aside the top of my dress and covered my nipple in a soft sucking kiss. It was kind of distracting. Okay it was a lot distracting. And awkward. “Des, baby, I don’t think this is the time,” I said. He lifted his head and looked at me for a long moment. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I
couldn’t help myself.” “Problem back there?” Nevada asked, a note of steel in his voice. “No, we’re fine,” I said, not taking my eyes off Desah. “Yes. Chara is moving much faster than it usually does. I’m having a very hard time keeping my mind on anything else,” Desah said breathlessly. “Okay, fine. Sophie, if you don’t want to do it with him it’s alright. I’ll pull over and you can drive while I take care of things.” I looked up and met his dark eyes in the rearview mirror. Pure lust stabbed through me. I took a deep breath. “No, it’s okay,” I said. I pulled Desah into a kiss and reached down to unzip his jeans. He started to reach under my dress and I caught his hands, stopping him. When he pulled his hands back I shimmied out of my underwear and shifted around in the seat until I was sitting on his lap. He groaned softly and moved my dress out of the way then guided me onto his erection. I leaned against the back of the front seat and swallowed hard as he entered me from behind. He shifted and I gasped. Nevada caught my hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to my palm. We made small movements and low moans. Nevada held my hand while he drove. While Desah fucked me. I could see Nevada’s erection straining at the zipper of his jeans and I knew we were going to take things to the next level. We couldn’t be separate after this. Desah was close and I tightened myself around him. He brushed his fingers over my clit and tightened his arm around my waist. He teased me with a feather-light touch, swirling his fingers over me, rubbing and pressing, until I shuddered and ground myself against him. I came and it pushed him over the edge. It was very late when we got to the place Nevada said we would be safe at. A small adobe house way out in the middle of nowhere. We went inside and just went straight to bed. Even our nearly insatiable Desah was too tired for more than a quick snack and a shower. They let me go first and when I got out of the bathroom Nevada had a plate set for me on the table. I don’t remember eating. I do remember Nevada carrying me to the bed in the corner of the room.
Chapter Thirteen Desah I woke wrapped around Sophie, my legs tangled in the bed sheets with Nevada’s. He was lying on his back with one hand on his chest. The light coming in through the window was the deep golden red color of lesath fruit. It turned Nevada’s skin the color of merope ain like they made in the mountains. Rich, creamy, sweet. The perfect complement to the tang of the lesath fruit. I was hungry. I reached across Sophie and brushed a finger over Nevada’s dusky pebbled nipple. He made a soft huffing sound. Smiling I braced myself on Sophie and leaned over. He didn’t taste like lesath and merope ain. No, he tasted better. Sophie shifted and I slipped, giving Nevada a sharp little nip. He woke with a start and a muffled curse. I rose up and we looked at each other for a long moment before dissolving into chuckles. “Shh!” He tried to muffle his snickering but that only made it worse. Sophie grumbled and we both froze. She just turned over and burrowed under the covers. I looked at Nevada again and we both burst into hastily muffled giggles. I needed to get out of there before we woke her. Poor thing deserved some rest after our backseat adventures on the way here. I clambered out of bed and tripped on the edge of the rug. I would have fallen but Nevada caught me, his strong arm wrapping around my waist. He pulled me along to the door and outside where we both burst into laughter again. I leaned against the rough wall and tried to catch my breath. The scratchy texture of the wall felt good and the tile of the little front porch was warm under my feet. The sun would be up enough to be a danger soon but right now it was very pleasant. Nevada stepped back inside and I could hear him moving around. This place had an ancient feel to it. Timeless. I liked it. Nevada came back with a couple of cups of some black liquid and my dark glasses. He handed one of the cups to me and slipped my glasses on me. I took a sip of the hot liquid to cover my reaction. His thoughtfulness affected me more than I cared to admit. “This is not bad, what do you call it?” I asked, taking another sip. “Coffee. There’s a little sugar and some creamer if it’s too strong for you.” He leaned against the wall beside me. “It’s fine.” We stood there for a while, sipping the coffee and watching the sunrise. “Hell of a way to wake up,” Nevada said. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist,” I said. Apologizing to a human, who would have thought? “I liked it.” He sounded unconcerned. I looked at him. “A lot,” he added. “Oh.” I didn’t quite know what to say. “I wouldn’t mind it if you decided to do it again,” he said. I couldn’t move. He wanted me to lick and bite his nipples. The wave of lust that hit me made my knees go weak. Nevada reached over and took the cup from me, sitting it with his on the porch by the door. Then he took my hand and led me over a few steps.
“Outside?” I asked. We’d done this outside the first time but it had been night. “There’s no one for miles, only us.” He had a point. And the sunlight was making everything so sharp and clear. He smiled at me and walked over to the car. I followed. What is he doing? He wants to fuck in the car? He reached in and opened a compartment. When he slammed it shut he turned back to me and tossed me a tube of something and the box of condoms. Strange place to store your condoms but maybe it was a human thing. And this time there were enough for both of us. His nipples tasted sweet and a little salty. So did his back. I bent him over the side of the car and brushed my palms over his ass. He made a soft sound of pleasure. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I said. “You won’t,” he said breathlessly. “Just use the lube.” I nodded. “Yes.” I coated my saiph chara with the clear gel from the tube. “Now put some on me,” his voice had gotten a little deeper and hoarse. I squeezed more gel onto my hand and touched him. He hissed and arched toward me. The small opening distressed me. “It will hurt you.” I hesitated. “It won’t. Trust me. Just do it.” He sounded strained. I tossed the tube of gel onto the car and then brushed my fingers over him again. He groaned. The tip of my saiph chara touched him and I took a deep breath and pushed, sliding in partway. “Unh. Yes. Again,” he moaned. I pushed again. With the third thrust I had hilted myself in him. I leaned forward and slipped my arms around his waist. “Are you alright?” I whispered. He nodded. “Fuck me,” he said, “oh amorcito, fuck me.” I kissed his shoulder and drew back, thrusting in again slowly. The sound he made was definitely not one of pain or distress. I moved, finding a rhythm that had him and me gasping. He caught my hand and pushed it down to his cock. I got the hint and slid my hand over him, moving my fist down his erection and over the head until he shuddered and cried out and the hot fluid of his release burst into my hand. I groaned and pulsed in him, joining him in the joy. “Damn, that was good,” he said when he could breathe again. I agreed. I withdrew and helped him stand. “It’s getting hot out here.” “It will be hotter in a little while, and there’s no air conditioning in the house, just an old window unit,” he said. “Let’s go inside and take a shower.” “What’s air conditioning?” How did one condition air? Humans were definitely odd. He rolled his beautiful dark eyes at me and ignored my question. I followed Nevada back to the house. Sexy and very good Chara partners but still strange. He held the door open and we went inside. Sophie wasn’t in bed. It had been straightened and I heard water running in the little bathroom. A twinge of guilt made me swallow hard. She’d probably seen us; after all we hadn’t been quiet. I hoped she didn’t freak out over it. Nevada went to the door and listened. He waved me over. “She’s in the shower,” he said. “Yes,” I put my hand on his arm. “Do you think she saw us?” “Do you think she didn’t?” He looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “What do we do?” I was at a loss how to handle this. “Well,” he smiled slowly, “we could join her.” He opened the door.
Chapter Fourteen Nevada The bathroom was old, tiny but clean, and it didn’t take much to steam it up. I stepped to the stall and pulled the translucent shower curtain back. Sophie was standing under the spray with her eyes closed. “Want some company?” I asked. She jumped at the sound of my voice, turning to look at me. She was truly beautiful. Curves where they should be, soft and rounded, not like these models and actresses who were so skinny you could count their ribs. She looked around, puzzled. “Where’s…” “Desah?” I cut her off, smiling. “Right here,” Desah looked around the other end of the shower curtain. We got into the shower with her. It was a tight fit and I turned her to face Desah, my hands sliding over her wet skin. “Ever had a three-way?” I asked in a low whisper. She shook her head. “Ever been ass fucked?” She gasped and shook her head again. I licked her ear and kissed just behind it. “Want it?” She nodded slowly, “Oh yes…” I smiled and winked at Desah. Desah joined in, taking her hands and putting them on his shoulders. She nodded and he leaned in to kiss her. I moved down to the crook of her neck and kissed there. She shivered. The limited space forced us to press together and I could feel my cock getting hard. Desah was running his hands over her, kissing her throat and she let her head fall back on my shoulder. Time to get us both gloved before it went much further and we forgot. I pushed the curtain back and reached across to the small cabinet where I kept a box of condoms and snatched a few. One of the perks of a tiny bathroom. I tore the foil open and reached around Sophie. Desah’s already firm cock was standing straight up so it was easy to roll it onto him. Sophie brushed her fingers over his nipples in slow circles. He caught my hand and squeezed it before moving on to slide his hand over my hip. I smiled and quickly got myself covered. I couldn’t see what she did, I was too busy planning my entrance into virgin territory, but Desah made a sound that made my cock throb. I chuckled and kissed the back of Sophie’s neck. I reached up and gave his hair a gentle tug. “You first.” “Guide me,” he said, his voice thick with desire. I moved my hand down and pushed it between Sophie’s legs. She moaned and I rubbed her hip. I found his cock and gave it a tug. He groaned and thrust, moving slowly over my hand and into Sophie until his balls rested in my palm. Desah helped her wrap her legs around his waist and braced himself against the shower wall. My turn. I entered slowly; I didn’t want to hurt her. She was tight and hot and I could feel Desah’s hardness inside her. We started to move carefully and found an easy rhythm that had us all moaning. Friction built and the feeling of fucking the woman I loved while the man I loved was fucking her made my insides turn to liquid fire. Desah’s hands moving from Sophie to me
and the sounds they both made insured I wasn’t going to last long. Sophie cried out and tightened around us, digging her fingernails into the arm I had wrapped around her. Her release triggered mine and I groaned and thrust hard, my cock swelling and pulsing out my hot come. Desah whimpered and I felt the jerk and throb of his cock as he spilled. I eased out and held Sophie while Desah withdrew. We stood there in the shower and caught our breath, letting the warm water rinse us clean. The water was cooling and I didn’t want us to lose this wonderful heat between us. “Bed,” I said, reaching around to shut off the water. My lovers nodded and I grabbed the box of condoms before we headed for the bed in the corner. We held onto each other, reluctant to break contact all the way across the room, falling on the old bed in a tangle of limbs, kissing and touching. The lust built and it wasn’t long before I was deep inside Sophie, her legs over my shoulders, and Desah thrusting his saiph chara into my ass and hitting all my sweet spots. “Harder,” I groaned. He obliged and I let his pounding push me into Sophie. She was beyond moaning, turning her head from side to side, unable to keep still. Then with a gasp and a strangled cry, she arched up and shattered. I felt my groin tighten and my balls draw up. “…coming,” I gasped and Desah groaned, tightening his hold on my hips. He said something in his own language and ground into me as we came together. We lay there with Sophie cuddled between us. Desah was idly tracing spirals over Sophie’s skin, making her shiver. It was fascinating to watch her getting aroused again. He bent and kissed her resting his hand on her belly. My pants chirped and it took me a second to realize it was my cell phone. I got up, careful not to disturb my two lovers, and went to see who it was. I flipped it open and read the caller ID. Marisol. Shit. I let it ring through to voicemail and closed the phone. I started to put the phone down but a nagging thought hit me. I opened the back of the phone and popped the battery out. A moan from across the room brought me back and I dropped the phone and its battery on my clothes. Sophie was on her knees, holding onto the rails of the headboard. Desah was on his knees behind her rolling on a condom. Oh damn, he was going to ass fuck her. I had seen people do this before, hell, I’d even attended a few orgies, but this was different. This was two people I cared about and it was absolutely beautiful. My knees went weak. I don’t know where it came from but he was slicking himself down with lube. I watched as he positioned himself and began to slide into her. My cock shot from soft to hard. The next thing I knew I was joining them on the bed. I rolled on a condom and knelt behind Desah resting my hands on his hips. He turned his head and gave me the sexiest smile I’d ever seen, reaching back to give my hand a quick caress. I traced over the glowing markings on his back and leaned forward. “Hard and deep?” I whispered in his ear. He shut those beautiful purple eyes of his and swallowed, nodding. I started to reach for the lube before I remembered his people made their own. I bumped the head of my cock against him, fisting one hand in his thick auburn hair. He groaned. I pushed in and picked up the rhythm he was fucking Sophie with. The sound of my lovers’ moans made the already hot house even hotter. I reached
around and moved his hand down over Sophie’s belly and between her legs, guiding him to her clit. She cried out and bucked her hips back, coming. I rammed into him and hit that place inside him that made him burn. “Mirach!” Desah moaned and called out. He came hard and I let go, letting my orgasm wash through me, along with the love I felt for these two.
Chapter Fifteen Sophie I sat between Desah and Nevada at the little kitchen table. Nevada had turned on the ancient little air-conditioning unit that hung in the window by the door but it was still hot. I hadn’t noticed the heat when we were making love. I’d put on one of my wraparound sarongs and they’d pulled on jeans. I think we were all pretty satisfied after all the sex in the morning. I know I was. Nevada sighed and turned his cell phone over in his hands. “Okay, I think I’ve figured out how they found us so fast.” “Might I guess it has something to do with your wife?” Desah asked. My stomach knotted up at the word wife. “Ex-wife. And yes, I think it has everything to do with her.” Nevada looked up at me. The expression in his chocolate brown eyes begged me to understand. His admission that the wife was an ex wife relieved me a little. I didn’t say anything. He sighed again. “I told him this already. Marisol is an addict. A Lyxit addict. Before that, it was cocaine. I took her to the safe house to try and get her off the drugs.” He stopped talking and flipped his cell phone open again then snapped it shut. I reached over and caught his hand. “I took her to the safe house we stopped at to try and get her off the drugs. I think someone got to her, someone who knew I was on this assignment.” I squeezed his hand. “And she told them where the house was,” I said. “I’d bet money on it. She called this morning.” From the look on his face I knew what was coming. “Does she know where this place is?” I asked. “No, my grandfather left me this ranch a couple years ago. She doesn’t know about it.” He twined his fingers with mine. “But…” I prompted him. “I need to call her. I need to make sure she’s okay. I’m going to drive to the nearest town and make the call there. We have to assume someone will try to track us down.” I understood he needed to call. I just hoped Brian and his crew wouldn’t manage to find us because of it. We watched him finish dressing and get ready to leave. I reached over and covered Desah’s hand with mine. Nevada came and stood by my chair for a moment then brushed his hand over my hair. He leaned down and kissed me. “I won’t be back till late tonight, querida.” “We’ll be fine.” I hoped. He glanced at Desah and walked outside. Desah followed him. I waited for a few minutes then went to stand at the door. He kissed our alien and drove off. We watched from where we each stood until the car disappeared into the shimmering heat on the horizon. Desah turned and walked back. I held out my hand and he took it. “Tell me about where you’re from,” I said. “Tell me about out there.” He looked at me for a moment then smiled.
“I think you would like it out there.” “And your home? Would I like it there too?” I asked. “Yes, you would like it there too.” He slipped his arm around my waist and we walked into the house. I led him over to the bed and sat down. He stood in front of me just looking at me so I scooted over and patted the quilt beside me. He smiled again and sat beside me. It was dim enough inside for him to take off his sunglasses. I reached up and took them, leaning across him to set them on the little table by the bed. We sat there in the quiet, holding hands, leaning against the pillows stacked against the brass headboard. I put my arms around him and he laid his head on my shoulder. “What does the sky look like?” “The sky is much like yours, but we have three moons,” he said. “Three moons. I wish I could see it.” He raised his head and looked at me. “I wish you could too.” He began to trace his fingertips over the stylized flower design on my sarong. His feather-light touch sent a shiver through me. I thought about how things had worked out. I’d accepted a job from Brian and thought he was the answer to all my worries. It had not taken long for me to realize that he was a whole new set of problems. Getting away proved almost impossible until the police had approached me. I’d agreed to wear a wire and get evidence for them on his drug dealing. Now I was running for my life. I sighed and played with Desah’s hair. The only good things out of all this were my two lovers. Everything had happened so fast and intense. I knew that when I testified at the trial this would all end. I didn’t dare hope that it would lead to anything permanent with either man. I’d just take what I could get while it was offered. I let Desah pull me down under him. “You’re insatiable, aren’t you?” I asked with a smile. He chuckled and nodded, taking my nipple in his mouth. He took his time, moving slowly, sliding all the way in and just laying on me. I slid my feet up the back of his legs. He murmured something I couldn’t make out and seemed to like it so I moved my feet up over his ass. The quilt was wet with our sweat and I ran my nails down his back. With a low groan, he changed the angle of his thrusts. He hit my g-spot and I melted. I felt liquid, moaning as I tightened around him. He slowed until we lay there locked together just on the edge of release. I could barely breathe with the intensity of the sensations. He was so hot and hard and everything was so wet. And just when I thought I couldn’t stand anymore, he laced his fingers with mine and moved his hips in a slow circle. I shattered.
Chapter Sixteen Desah I followed Nevada outside. I understood what he was doing and why he couldn’t do anything else. But I still wanted to beg him to stay. I stopped beside the car. He brushed his fingers over my cheek and kissed me before he got in. “Take care of our girl while I’m gone, she’s very special,” he said. “I will,” I promised him. I knew how special Sophie was. He started the car. “And don’t wear her out.” He grinned and pulled away. I laughed silently and went back to the house. Sophie asked me about home and I managed to answer her without really telling her anything. It wouldn’t do to give her any false expectations. She’d never be comfortable in my world, living in a place so far above what she was used to here. Chara is an excellent distraction and I set myself to distracting her. It had gotten dark long before. Sophie lay next to me playing with a damp strand of my hair. “Why is it always so intense with you?” she asked. I sighed. “There’s a, you would call it a hormone, in my sweat. And in my tyl. It enhances sensation,” I said. “An aphrodisiac?” She drew her finger down my chest. “I don’t know this word,” I said. “Something that enhances sex.” She smiled. It was very like the smile a satisfied Ke Mira woman has for her lover and it frightened me. “Sophie.” I had to make her understand that this was just a substitute for being with my own people. “Hmm?” She wasn’t looking at me. “Sophie, look at me.” I put a finger under her chin and made her look up at me. “Sophie, this isn’t permanent. You know that it’s just sex, don’t you?” She blinked and the look in her eyes told me I should have made sure she understood right from the first. “I know that,” she said. Her voice sounded somehow thinner. “It wouldn’t work, Sophie, you’d never be happy in my world, they wouldn’t accept you.” I hated myself right then. She got up and picked up her wrap dress. I watched her put the garment on and walk over to the window. “Like you said, I know it’s just sex,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I should have explained when all this first started. No one else would have even considered relieving Chara with one of the less…With a human. I’ll be considered a pervert by my people,” I said. She turned and gave me such a bleak look I shivered. “You’re right; I wouldn’t like it in your world very much at all.” She went back to looking out the window. “Sophie…” I got up to go to her. I had made an absolute mess out of this. She held up a hand and I caught it. “I’m going outside; I’d really like to be alone right now.” I heard the tears in her voice.
“Sophie,” I said again and pulled her close but she didn’t relax against me. “Please, try and understand…” I wiped the tears from her eyes before I thought. “I do,” she said. She pulled away and all but ran out the door. I swore to myself and rubbed my eyes. They stung. Suddenly I realized I’d gotten her tears on me, in my eyes. A chill ran through me, female tears had something in them that was like a drug for Ke Mira males. Their tears made us need them. Not an addiction, more like a compulsion, but apparently it was in human tears too. If she’d been Ke Mira we would have declared our love and made memories to ease our coming separation. But she was human and she wouldn’t understand. I really wished Nevada would get back. I pulled on the soft blue pants Nevada called jeans and went to the window. Sophie was huddled next to one of the posts that held up the porch roof. I’d only told her the truth. So why did I feel like I’d just kicked a baby Walat? “Because you just told her you think she’s inferior,” a tiny voice in my head whispered to me. “But she’s just a human,” I whispered to myself. “Isn’t she?” No, she wasn’t “just” anything; she was a thinking, feeling, intelligent being who deserved far more respect than I’d been giving her. And I’d make it up to her. If she’d forgive me. A light coming toward us caught my attention. Pure fright chilled my bones. I hoped it was Nevada but there was no way to be sure until the vehicle got closer. I went to the door and opened it. “Sophie, come inside, someone’s coming.” I reached down and caught her arm, urging her to get up. “Nevada?” she asked. “I don’t know. I hope so. But let’s wait inside to be sure.” I got her to her feet and hurried her inside. “Stay away from the window.” I got my weapon and stood by the window where I’d have a clear shot if I needed it. The vehicle stopped and someone got out. Sophie came up beside me just as the person stepped between me and the light. “He’s back,” Sophie said and slipped around me. “Sophie! No!” I caught up with her as she opened the door and grabbed her around the waist. I lifted her off the floor and swung her away from the door. She yelped and I pinned her against the wall, shielding her and aiming for whoever was going to be coming through the door. She was so soft and warm and her struggle to get away was making my blood heat. If she didn’t stop I was going to be in extreme difficulty. If I got too aroused my aim wouldn’t be worth spit. “Mirach, Sophie, stop.” I clenched my teeth against the rising need. “Ungh, please,” I begged. I was going to need something really rough when Nevada got back. If he got back. If he was up for it. If we lived. I heard the sound of heels on the porch. The person stepped through the door and turned familiar dark eyes toward me. I let Sophie go and my knees refused to hold me up any longer. I slid down the rough wall to sit on the floor. I did manage to keep enough presence of mind to deactivate my weapon. Nevada looked from me to Sophie and back to me. He went to her and took her aside. I heard the murmur of their voices but I couldn’t make out what they said. I didn’t need to. A strong hand grabbed my arm and I was yanked to my feet. Nevada dragged me out of the house and over to the car. I stumbled along beside him. Things had gone so well,
until I’d destroyed Sophie and the day went straight to the ninth hell. We got to the car and he threw me against it, pinning me there with his body. Mirach, yes! Maybe I would get some relief, enough to at least let me function.
Chapter Seventeen Nevada I was never so glad to see a place as I was when I pulled up to the house. Something inside me unknotted at the thought of two people I cared for waiting for me inside. I got out of the car and started toward the door. It opened and Sophie started outside. Suddenly Desah jerked her back inside. I smiled. Good move, buddy. “It’s me, vato,” I stepped through the door. Desah let go of Sophie and slid to the floor. She looked upset. He looked wrung out, a lot like the first night at the safe house. “What’s wrong, Querida?” I put my arm around her and led her over to the table. “Did you know he’s just using us for sex? That he thinks we’re simple and quaint? Little better than animals?” She looked at Desah. So she finally found out. I brushed my hand over her hair. “Yeah, I know, baby. I know.” “It doesn’t bother you?” she asked. “Some, but I think he’s learning. This Chara thing has him all fucked up.” I glanced over at him. He was obviously in pain. She took a deep breath. “Well.” “Come on, Querida, we don’t have to descend to his level. Why not pull him up to ours?” I asked. She smiled. “That could be fun.” I gave her a squeeze. “So could being a sex toy, you know? Let me handle this. I need to work off some aggression.” She chuckled softly. I turned and looked at him for a few seconds. Oh yeah, I knew what he needed. After my little trip I needed it too. I walked over and jerked him up on his feet, marching him outside to the car. He gasped when I threw him across the trunk. I held him down, pinning his hands behind his back and quickly knocking his feet apart. He groaned and I leaned over him. “Like that, do you?” He nodded slightly. Yeah, I thought so. I liked it too. My skin tingled where his sweat damp skin touched mine. “Want me to fuck you? Want my cock in you?” I reached under him and unfastened his jeans, dragging them down enough to get to his hard cock. He groaned again when I squeezed his balls and gave the shaft a rough tug. Fuck, he made me hard. It didn’t take long to roll a condom on. I thrust into him hard then pulled almost all the way out before sliding in again. It felt good to pound into him. The tip of my cock hit that hard spot inside him and he cried out, bucking back against me. I moved his hands over his head and ran my hands down his body, digging my nails in. He sucked in a deep breath and said something I couldn’t understand. “That’s it, baby; let me give you what you need. Let the human make you come.” I caught his cock in my hand and rubbed over the head, pressing into the tiny slit. He cried out and his orgasm shook him. I thrust a few more times and spilled myself. “Mirach,” he said breathlessly.
I kissed his shoulder. “Love you,” I whispered, before easing out and helping him to stand. “I think,” he began, “I love you too. Both of you.” “Then tell her, Des.” I put an arm around his waist and we headed back inside. “She won’t listen to me.” The despair in his voice stopped me in my tracks. I pulled him around to face me. “She will listen,” I said. “She’s a fair person.” He sighed heavily. We walked into the house. Sophie hadn’t been watching us fuck on the car. I was a little disappointed she’d found it more interesting to straighten up and change the sheets. The idea of fucking Desah while she watched made my cock twitch. And I sure as hell wanted to watch him fuck her. But first we needed to talk. “Come sit down, Sophie, I need to tell you what’s going on.” I pushed Desah into a chair. “Is your ex-wife alright?” Sophie asked. She sat down and reached for my hand. “She’s okay,” I said shortly. “I called my office too. Apparently someone in the DA’s office was the leak. They’ve been arrested. Chak Enif is keeping low, he’s under surveillance. Brian and the three arrested with him are back in jail. They violated their bail agreement.” “That’s good,” Sophie said. “Isn’t it?” “Yeah it is.” There was no easy way to say this part but I took a deep breath and went on. “I’ve been ordered to bring you back. With Brian in jail again they feel you’ll be safe at home.” “And will you…” she trailed off. “No, I’ll be sent on another assignment.” I didn’t want to go. “And Desah?” she asked. I glanced at him. He looked startled. “He’ll go on and finish his assignment. Other than that he’ll have to speak for himself.” I looked at him and waited. “I will complete my mission and then I too will be sent on another assignment.” The sadness in his voice made her look at him. I nudged his foot, urging him on. “I want to tell you I’m sorry that I hurt you.” Desah said. I watched Sophie for her reaction. She looked up and I saw the tears streaming down her face. She reached over and caught his hand. “It’s alright,” she said. “I told them it would take us awhile to get back. I don’t intend on hurrying,” I said. “How long will we take getting back?” Sophie asked. “At least three days, maybe longer,” “Three days. Why not five?” Desah asked. “Well, I did say maybe longer.” I smiled at them. “If you have any special fantasies, anything you’d like to try, now is the time for it.” “You mean like kinky stuff?” Sophie asked. “Kink, vanilla, and anything in between. Whatever you want to try.” I knew what I wanted. I had some old beeswax candles that would be perfect.
Chapter Eighteen Sophie The news that this would be over soon didn’t really surprise me. I expected it eventually. I just didn’t expect it so soon. I was glad Nevada’s ex-wife was all right, he didn’t need the extra stress. And the news Brian was back in jail was a relief. When Nevada mentioned fantasies, my stomach clenched. When he said kink my panties got damp. I had a fantasy all right, one I’d had since that first night watching them on the porch. I wanted to hold Desah while Nevada fucked him. I felt myself blushing as I told them what I wanted to do. Nevada looked at Desah and raised his eyebrows. They were going to laugh, I just knew it. My fantasy was too tame. I felt myself blushing and covered my face with my hands. “I would be honored to lie in your arms while Nevada fucks me,” Desah said, reaching over to touch my hair. “It sounds like your fantasy will go with mine,” Nevada said with a wicked smile. “And what’s yours? I asked. I hoped it wasn’t something too athletic or gross. “I want to watch him fuck you,” Nevada said. “Um, haven’t we been doing this already?” It dawned on me that I had been holding Desah while Nevada fucked him when we all went to bed the first time. “No, what you want to do is different from all of us together. So is what I want,” Nevada said. I looked at Desah. He smiled softly. I loved that lopsided smile of his. “And what’s your fantasy?” I asked him. He looked at me for a long moment. His smile faded. “Just this,” he said. He got up and stepped around the table, taking my hands. He knelt in front of me. “My people have an old tradition, between those who care deeply for each other,” he said. He reached up and touched the dried tear tracks on my face. “I am yours. All that I am, all that I have, above all others, together or far apart, forever.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “You are a precious jewel. I love you.” I didn’t know what to say. He looked at me with such open love it took my breath away. I pulled him into my arms and buried my face in his hair. We moved to the bed. I think we were all feeling regret over our time coming to an end. I fluffed the pillows and stacked them against the headboard. Desah and Nevada shared a kiss and quickly shed the clothes they were wearing. I got on the bed and held my arms out. Desah settled himself between my legs and leaned back against me. I slid my arms around his waist and hugged him. He gave a contented sigh and rested his head on my shoulder. Nevada knelt in front of us and rolled on a condom before leaning forward and kissing me. They kissed and Nevada ran his hands down over Desah’s chest. It was almost like he was touching me. I watched him position Desah while I held his hands. We slid down in bed a bit more to give Nevada better access. Desah moaned as Nevada slowly thrust into him. It sent a sharp pang of desire
through me and I could feel myself getting wet. The sound of Desah’s breath coming in gasps, his groans as Nevada plunged into him, were like my own. He trembled in my arms and it was all I could do not to join in and kiss him. Nevada began to move harder and Desah whimpered, squeezing my hands and arching his hips off the bed. With a deep groan Nevada came. He rose up and I could see Desah’s cock pulse and release his come over his belly. Catching his breath Nevada smiled at me. “Touch it; it will make your fingers tingle. It must be incredible to feel it inside you,” he said. I returned his smile and shook my head slightly. Desah reached out and Nevada helped him sit up. “No, like this,” he said. He directed Nevada to lie beside us and pulled me down under him. In one swift movement he entered me. I gasped. Whatever it was in his come sent electric shocks through me. I clenched my fists in the bed sheets and moaned. He began to move in slow, even strokes. I was so close already; I knew I wouldn’t last long. Nevada settled down beside us to watch. Desah kissed me and slid his arms under me. His body moving against mine, and his soft moans combined with the thought of Nevada watching us just a few inches away, made everything more intense. I turned my head and looked at him lying beside us, raised up on one elbow. He gave me a lazy smile, obviously turned on. Desah shuddered and groaned as his second orgasm shook him. I arched up and he cried out, shattering. He relaxed against me and I comforted him, running my hands down his back in long soothing strokes while he caught his breath. I hadn’t had the earth shaking orgasm I expected. Triggered by the thought of giving pleasure to two people I loved, it had been a warm rush of liquid contentment and emotions I didn’t have a name for. Nevada leaned over and kissed me, a soft gentle brush of his lips against mine. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. I smiled and watched him tuck a stray lock of hair behind Desah’s ear. “You’ve done what we wanted, there has to be something you’d like us to do for you,” I said, looking into Desah’s eyes. He started to say something but stopped. He swallowed hard and started again. His eyes darkened to a deep plum in his passion. The pattern on his back glowed and pulsed with his heartbeat. “There are some of my people who enjoy others taking control…” he sounded shy, almost embarrassed. “I won’t cause pain,” I said. I knew I couldn’t hurt him. He shook his head. “I’m not sure…” he trailed off. “He wants us to take complete control of him,” Nevada said and Desah nodded. Well. We could do that.
Chapter Nineteen Desah Their fantasies did not turn out to be nearly as dark as I was expecting. They were simple things my people did all the time. My fantasies involved things I had not yet experienced on my world. Things that only a few engaged in. Things done in secret that were only hinted about in our society of open sexuality. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “In my world,” I began, “we are open about our needs. We begin experimenting very early with our friends. By the time one gets to my age one has experienced nearly everything.” How old are you?” Sophie asked. The curiosity in her voice made me smile. “Adjusted for the time difference, I am one hundred and twenty-nine of your years old,” I told her. “You get around pretty well for an old man.” Nevada chuckled. “And I have tried and enjoyed nearly everything I desired to try. Except one thing.” I paused and looked at the two humans who had become so close to me. “And what’s that?” Nevada asked. “No one has ever taken me over.” I waited for their response. They looked at each other in silence then back at me. No one said anything and I felt a chill. I’d offended them with another of my perverted desires. “I’m sorry,” I said, looking at my hands clasped in front of me on the table. A hand fisted in my hair and I jumped. I hadn’t heard anyone get up. I felt Nevada’s hot breath on my ear and shivered again. “On the table,” he said in a menacing voice. Mirach. My knees went weak. He jerked me up out of the chair by my hair. The burn washed through me from my scalp to my toes. My saiph chara tightened. Nevada gave me a shove and I landed facefirst on the table. I couldn’t see Sophie. I felt soft fingertips pushing my hair back from my eyes. “We’re going to take over now, your pleasure is in our hands,” Sophie’s voice was sweet in my ear. “I…” she cut me off with a finger to my lips. “Shh.” She covered my eyes with a scarf of some kind. “If it gets to be too much your safe word is purple. Say that and everything will stop.” I nodded. Before I knew it, my hands were tied and strong hands were pulling my jeans down, sliding under the fabric and over my hips. I thought it was Sophie but I just couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t think past the sensations that the hands were giving me. Blindfolded I was led to the bed across the room. Hands moved me until I was kneeling in the middle of the mattress. Someone, Sophie I think, gently tipped me forward and placed my hands on the metal of the headboard rails. Soft kisses teased at my nipples making my stomach clench. The barest of touches fluttered over my skin sending jolts of tingling warmth through me. My breath caught and sped up. I tried to reach for my lovers and return the joy that I was reviving. I couldn’t move. A feeling close to panic rose up inside me. Everything I had heard, whispers in dark places, giggled schoolboy speculation, the warnings were all right, Ke
Mira were hard wired to give as well as receive. Nothing had ever been this intense. I was afraid to continue and the safe word was just a breath away. But I was more terrified to stop. Warm lips touched my belly and a tongue traced around my alsrh. Navel, the human word came to me through the fog of jumbled thoughts. Circling and licking and finally sliding in to explore. Teeth grazed my skin and I moaned. The need to thrust was too much to bear and I jerked my hips. At last a soft female body pressed against me, hot and damp. I gripped the rails of the headboard and ground myself against Sophie. Sheathed in her there was still no relief from the raging need. Something hard and unyielding pressed against my body. Nevada. I moaned and a hand pulled my head back. “You’re ours now, just let us see to everything,” Nevada’s voice in my ear started me shivering and I couldn’t stop, even when Sophie wrapped her arms around me and held me. He thrust into me hard. “Purple,” I moaned. I needed release. I ached for it. Sophie pulled the blindfold off while Nevada untied my hands. I sank back against him, pulling Sophie with me. “Alhba ly,” I groaned, “love me.” Nevada began to move. It wasn’t long before the world shattered. I think I blacked out for a few seconds. I felt like each cell was being turned inside out. I felt wonderful. Afterward we lay in the tangled sheets wrapped around each other. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt this content. Sophie brushed the hair out of my eyes and moved a little closer. Nevada was already snoring softly, his arm draped over my waist. I caught her fingers and kissed them. “That was very nice,” I said. She placed her hand on my chest and smiled. “You’re purring again.” She smiled at me. “Yes. We do that when we’re satisfied.” She rubbed my chest. The fact that humans didn’t purr wasn’t as disturbing as I thought it would be. I pulled her closer. “I like it, it feels nice.” She kissed me. One thing about Chara, even an orgasm like I’d just had didn’t stop me from getting hard again. I moved over her, sliding into her and thrusting slowly. Sophie didn’t take long to come as she called it. I covered her mouth with mine when she needed to cry out, breathing in the sound of her release. The Joy filled me again and I spasmed inside her once more. I had forgotten a condom but I didn’t worry about it. While we were physically compatible, we were much too different genetically to accidentally create a child. I closed my eyes, listening to her even breathing and Nevada’s soft breath against my skin. He had slept through our last time, his arm across the small of my back. I drifted off to sleep wishing this could last forever.
Chapter Twenty Nevada The sun was streaming through the window by the door when I woke. I got up and climbed over Desah and Sophie, careful not to wake them. I didn’t want to get sidetracked into fucking again; we needed to get on the road. I turned the water on and let it heat while I shaved. I liked the water just this side of scalding. Steam curled around me and I stepped under the spray. Before I realized what I was doing, I was picturing Desah fucking Sophie. They thought I was asleep. I wasn’t but I preferred to maintain the illusion. Their whispers were too low for me to make out their words but the result was plain. He shifted and began a slow gentle fuck. My arm was still across his back and I didn’t move it. My hand mimicked the rhythm I remembered from last night, stroking my hardened cock. I choked back a moan and braced myself against the wall with my other hand. Damn but I loved watching Desah fuck Sophie. It was almost as good as doing her myself. I moved my hand faster. My balls drew up. I gave my cock a firm jerk. With a low groan, I spilled myself into the shower. I came out of the bathroom toweling my hair dry. Desah was sitting on the side of the bed yawning. “Hey man, shower’s all yours,” I said. He nodded and stood up. My breath caught. I would never get tired of looking at him; he was beautiful. I watched him pass by, naked, his cock half-hard. He went in and I heard the water start. Better whip up something to eat. I dug a clean pair of jeans out of my bag and pulled them on. The shirt I got out of the bag was a little wrinkled but it would do. I shook it out and slipped it on. I was putting everything on the table when Desah came out. He didn’t say anything, just dressing and coming to sit at the table. I handed him a cup of coffee. “We need to get going but I’d rather let Sophie sleep while I brief you. She doesn’t need to know all this,” I said. He nodded and slipped on his sunglasses, following me outside with his coffee. I shut the door behind us as quietly as I could. “I didn’t quite tell the truth last night.” I took a sip of my coffee. He nodded at me. “I thought not, what part did you leave out?” “The part about a man answering Marisol’s phone,” I said. “Something is very wrong. I think she’s dead and they don’t want me to know.” “I’m sorry,” Desah said. “Sometimes I wish we had never contacted your world. We haven’t brought much happiness to your people.” “Don’t be. Marisol was headed for death a long time before you got here. And if you’d never contacted us, we would never have met. And I for one rather enjoyed our cultural exchange.” I smiled at him. “You do have a point,” he said. “What else is bothering you?” He leaned down and plucked a blade of grass from the scraggly clump by the porch.
“I think something is wrong. This whole thing could be a trap. If anything happens I want you to protect Sophie.” I had a nagging feeling I couldn’t quite pin down. I had never lost a charge and I wouldn’t start now. I had plans for Sophie when this was over. “You did not have to ask. I will let no harm come to her.” He turned to go inside. I stopped him, handing him a slip of paper. He took it and gave me a questioning look. “Enif’s address. Take him out.” I walked inside. I didn’t look up when he came in. He picked up a chair and went to wake Sophie. When she growled at him I turned to watch. He set the chair down back to the bed and straddled it, tickling her nose with the grass. I chuckled quietly. Desah wasn’t having much luck. I let it go on for a few more minutes then went over and waved him back. I pulled the covers away and lifted her off the bed. She glared at me. She was so adorable when she was cranky. I carried her into the bathroom and put her down, stealing a quick kiss. Too bad I didn’t dare kiss Desah, but I didn’t want him zoning out on us again. “Hurry, querida, we need to be rolling in an hour,” I said and walked out. Desah smiled at me and I went to sit at the table. We needed to plan our trip. I loved that smile. Loved him even though I really didn’t know him that well. “I need to know something,” he said. “What?” I poured another cup of coffee. “What are your plans for Sophie?” I did a double take. Say what? Where the fuck did that come from? “Plans? Are you asking me what my intentions are toward her?” I didn’t frickin’ believe I was hearing this. He sounded like a suspicious father or older brother. “I am.” He was serious. “I intend to enjoy her company for as long as this lasts.” There. That sounded sufficiently vague. “And after?” Damn. He was pushing his luck big time here. “Why, are you planning to sweep her off her feet and whisk her away to your world?” I asked. “I just want to make sure she’s taken care of when I go.” He sounded so low I felt bad for getting irritated with him. “You could always stay…” I began. He was already shaking his head. “I cannot stay. And she cannot come with me. My people would never accept her. And staying would mean losing everything, home and family,” he said. I felt sorry for him; I knew what it was like to be pulled in two different directions. Decisions like his were never easy to make. And I couldn’t fault him for choosing his people. After all, what would he do here? He would be cut off from everything familiar, stuck on a planet where the brightness of the sun would blind him and the people would either gawk or react with hostility. I sighed. “If she agrees I’ll stay with her. She has a choice in this as well.”
Chapter Twenty-One Sophie I woke to the sound of voices and someone tickling my nose with a blade of grass. I opened one eye and growled at Desah. He was sitting astride a chair, leaning over the back. Dressed and looking rested and fresh. “Time to get up, jnsy,” he said with a smile. I grumbled and turned over. Maybe if I ignored him he’d go find Nevada. “Come on now, T’hmyn. Nevada has made breakfast.” He tickled my nose again. I pulled the covers over my head. I heard him get up and chuckle. I was just dozing off again when someone smacked my butt and pulled the covers away. “Day’s half over, querida,” Nevada said. “Go away or I will hurt you,” I said. I glared at him and reached for the covers. “Ooo promise?” He grinned at me and swung me up in his arms. “Shower, then breakfast and we’re out of here, princesa.” He carried me to the bathroom. Desah was there with the water already running. Nevada set me down in the shower. “If you hurry we’ll save some breakfast for you.” He popped my butt again and they left me there. I heard them snickering as the door shut. “Meh. Morning people.” I picked up the soap. Fifteen minutes later I walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. They were sitting at the table talking in low voices. Desah glanced up at me and Nevada smiled. “Come have something to eat. We’re just planning our next move.” He waved me over. I sat down and picked up a piece of toast. “Why are we leaving now?” I asked. “Because careful as I was, cell phones can be traced and even though they’ve got your ex back in jail and Enif is being watched, things can go wrong,” Nevada said. I nodded. It kind of killed my appetite but I finished the toast and went to get dressed. I watched Nevada and Desah gather up our things and followed them out to the car. Tears stung my eyes. I was going to miss this place where we had grown closer than most lovers ever got. I sat in the backseat and looked at the two men in the front seat. I mean just really looked at them. Nevada had pulled his hair back in a ponytail and wore the look of a man with heavy things on his mind. I figured it had something to do with his ex-wife. I knew he hadn’t told the truth about it when he came back from making his calls. Desah, poor guy, was obviously losing that satisfied glow he had earlier. I was learning to read him and from what I saw, he was going to need a good fucking pretty soon. He watched the scenery but there was a tension around his mouth, like he was clenching his teeth. “It’s about time we stopped for lunch. Why don’t we get something and find a nice deserted rest stop? We could have a picnic.” I smiled, meeting Nevada’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He frowned slightly and I tilted my head toward Desah. Nevada cut his eyes over at our alien companion, understanding dawning.
“Sounds good to me,” he said, “there’s a place up ahead.” “How about you?” I asked, threading my fingers through Desah’s thick silky red hair. “I’m not hungry.” He leaned into my touch. “But you would like to stop for a while.” I massaged his scalp. He relaxed, letting his head rest in my hands. “That would be nice.” He sighed. Nevada smiled, his expression lightening. He pulled into the parking lot of the fast food restaurant and went inside, leaving me and Desah alone. He leaned back and sighed heavily. “There are only two good things about this rock,” he said. I smiled. “And what would that be?” “Well one just went inside,” he said. “And the other?” I moved my fingers through his hair in small circles. “I think you already know the answer to that,” he smiled. “Do I?” I asked. He smiled and caught my hand, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss. I leaned up and kissed the top of his head. A movement caught my eye and I saw a man walk past the car. He looked vaguely familiar and appeared very interested in us. Nevada came back and we were on our way again. I told him about the suspicious man but he didn’t seem too concerned. What we needed most right then was a quiet secluded spot out of view from the highway. Desah’s discomfort was getting worse; he was in some real pain now. “Alright, since you saw someone suspicious back there I don’t think we have time for the picnic thing,” he said. “Is that okay with you, querida?” I nodded. The guy had given me the creeps. “We can have a picnic some other time. But we have to do something about Desah, he’s in pain.” I gave Desah’s hand a gentle squeeze. I could hear the rough edge to his breathing. “We don’t have time for gentle lovemaking. We can keep going if you do him in the backseat again. I can pull off at the next rest area…” Nevada said. We saw the rest area at the same time. A picturesque place with shade trees and a couple of tables. Nevada pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. We sat there in silence for a few seconds, nobody moving. “Okay, let’s get you taken care of,” I said finally. I gave Desah a pat on the shoulder and he nodded. He got out and into the back with me. The poor guy was moving like an old man, barely able to stand up straight. As soon as he shut the door Nevada was pulling back out onto the highway. I held my arms out to my alien lover and pulled him close. He practically fell into my arms and buried his face in the crook of my neck.
Chapter Twenty-Two Desah When Sophie told us about the man she had seen I silently berated myself. I should have seen him. I should have had my eyes open watching instead of letting her blissful touch lull me into a trance. Nevada, thankfully, had a clear head and a plan. He stopped long enough to let me move to the backseat where I could seek relief in Sophie’s arms. I could protect her a little better there too. She held her arms out for me. I pulled the door shut and went to her. Soft and warm, her sweet scent was intoxicating. I suddenly realized that what I was feeling was a constant thing, whatever I was thinking she was always there, always a calming presence in my mind. And it wasn’t just Chara. I wanted her. Mirach yes, I wanted her, wanted to fuck her until she screamed. But it was more than that, I even found myself wanting to give her the children I knew I couldn’t. I ran my tongue up the side of her neck. Her breath quickened. Taking her earlobe between my teeth I bit down gently. She made a little hitching sound that made my toes curl. I smiled and traced the curve of her ear with my tongue, sliding my hands down her body to her hips. Sophie shifted, sliding down beneath me. I marveled at how well we fit together as I slid into her. I kept my movements slow, enjoying the hot, wet tightness of her body. She moaned and arched against me. Her hands clenched in my clothes, urging me to move faster but I intended this to last. It made traveling go a lot faster. I adjusted my angle and braced my foot on the floor. Sophie moaned my name. I touched my tongue to her parted lips and traced over them, dipping in to twine with her tongue. Her sweet taste and the way she felt under me was something I would never get tired of. A wave of sadness hit me and I stopped moving. Leaving her was going to be hard to do. She slid her hands under the waistband of my jeans. It pulled the fabric and the prickly metal of the zipper hard against my balls. Heat rushed through me, awakening a need in me that I hadn’t known I had. I groaned and drove into her hard. Sophie tightened around me with a breathless whimper and dug her fingernails into my hips. She bucked under me, unable to stay still in her release. I held back my own joy, intent on drawing out her pleasure as long as possible. She tensed and finally began to calm. I began to move again and let the Chara begin to build once more. Vaguely I heard Nevada swear and felt the car picking up speed. He wouldn’t have done that for no reason. I’d better go ahead and let myself go. I would have loved to pull over and have Nevada join us in the backseat but I couldn’t shake the feeling we were in for some serious trouble. And if trouble hit I wanted Nevada right where he was. I picked up the pace of my movements. Sophie sounded like she was coming for the second time and I wasn’t too far behind her. She shuddered and cried out. I groaned and spilled into her with a smile. Right on time. “Ohh, Sophie,” I said breathlessly and Nevada glanced in the rearview mirror. I
started to rise up and looked out the back window. A movement behind us caught my attention. A car pulled in between us and the truck a mile or so behind us. Whoever he was, he was moving too fast for the traffic, but he wasn’t pulling into the other lane to go around us. “Stay down,” Nevada said, “Something’s not right about this guy.” I didn’t ask questions and lowered myself, covering Sophie. “Can you get to your weapon?” he asked. “Yes,” I said. I dug through the bag in the floor and pulled it out. “Got it.” “Good,” he said with another quick glance in the rearview mirror. “The guy is right on my tail, so close I can make out the puzzled expression on his face. His partner is talking to someone on a cell phone.” “I don’t think they can see you. I think it’s making them hesitate,” he said. “Okay, the guy just finished getting his instructions; we need to get out of here.” Nevada sped up again. Sophie’s arms tightened around me. “Hang on; they’re going to ram us.” I braced myself for the impact a second before they hit us. Sophie said a word I hadn’t heard her use before and I muttered a curse under my breath. Just how sturdy were these vehicles? Whoever was behind us obviously wanted us to stop. Nevada accelerated, pulling away from them. “There’s a knot of cars and trucks up ahead but with the way this guy is trying to run us off the road I’m not slowing down.” He muttered something that sounded like a prayer through clenched teeth as he caught up to the traffic and began weaving between vehicles. We were thrown around some. I could hear odd honking sounds as the others on the road made their displeasure with us known. Nevada called our pursuers names that I took to be insults. They hit us again and we swerved. Sophie clenched her fists in my shirt. “This is bad, these guys know what they’re doing,” Nevada said. “How do you know?” I asked. “They’re using standard police tactics for a high speed chase.” He swore again. “But if they’re…” I began. “Brace yourself,” he shouted. I did as I was told. We slowed drastically with much squealing protest from the car and we were nearly thrown into the floor. The sound of the other car passing us was followed by loud crashing sounds. He accelerated again and we were tossed back against the seat. Nevada relaxed, slowing down finally. I sat up, helping Sophie up beside me, wrapping my arms around her, unwilling just yet to let go of her. Looking back I could see a cloud of dust and several vehicles stopped. Two figures were climbing out of a car a good distance away from the road.
Chapter Twenty-Three Nevada I was tired, the kind of weariness you get when your adrenaline rush goes away. Stopping for a while seemed like a good idea. We could rest and decide what to do. Our friends that had chased us had to be law enforcement. Nobody else uses a pit maneuver to end a chase. It didn’t take long to check us into the little motel on the outskirts of Waco. The place was old but clean and the room was far in the back. I’d asked for a suite but the clerk informed me they didn’t have one, just the Honeymoon Haven. I managed to collect the key with a straight face. Barely. We stood at the door and just looked at it, not quite able to believe what we were seeing. Someone had painted the name on the door in flowery red script surrounded by hearts. I swiped the key card and opened the door, turning on the light. The room looked like a bordello with the red flecked gold wallpaper and red shag carpet. Sophie walked over to the red velvet covered bed and smiled faintly. Desah was looking around like he was afraid to touch anything. I watched him pick up a small remote from the night table by the bed. He pushed a button and the bed started to vibrate. He stepped back quickly and pressed the button again, shutting off the bed. I had to chuckle, I just couldn’t help it. “Vibrating bed. Figures.” I grinned at him. “What sort of place is this? It reminds me of a very cheap Sanctuary.” Desah put the remote back on the table. “It’s a room for newly married couples to have their first official sex in,” I said. “Quaint.” He rolled his eyes. “And where is the bathroom?” “Should be in there.” I pointed toward the little alcove that looked like it might have a hot tub in it. Hard to tell in the dim light. He shook his head and walked past me, disappearing behind the beaded curtains hanging across the opening to the area. I heard him go into the bathroom and shut the door. Sophie waited a few seconds then came over and put her hand on my arm. “Are we safe to stop here?” she asked. “Yeah, we’ll be fine. It’s when we get back on the road I’m worried about.” I took her hand and pulled her into my arms. She leaned against me and sighed. We relaxed for a while and ordered room service then watched TV while we ate, all sitting on the bed. I think we must have all dozed off at the same time because when I woke it was dark and no one had moved. I shifted and watched Sophie sleep for a few minutes. “What do you want to do tonight?” Desah’s soft voice broke the silence. I smiled. “Ever play with hot wax?” “It’s been awhile.” He returned my smile. “I’ve got some candles in my bag.” I got up and went to get them while he woke Sophie. I listened to them undressing while I found the candles and my lighter. When I turned around, they were naked and had pushed the bed covers down to the foot of the
bed. I left my clothes on the floor and joined them. Sophie took the candles and lighter from me. Desah moved behind me and pulled me into his arms. My cock was already hard and we hadn’t even really started this yet. I leaned back against him and watched Sophie light one of the candles. Desah was hard; I could feel his erection against my back. He ran his hands down my body to my legs and pushed them apart. “Raise up a bit,” he whispered. I leaned forward and heard the foil tearing on a condom. A few seconds later he brushed a hand over my back and I relaxed against him again. Sophie knelt between my legs and let a drop of wax hit my inner thigh. I gasped and heard foil tearing again as another drop hit a little higher up. Desah slid his fingers over my cock and carefully rolled the condom onto me. My breathing got a little faster with each sharp burst of pain from the wax. Desah peeled each cooled spot of wax away and tossed them into the trashcan by the bed. Sophie let the wax drip into my navel and I moaned, fisting my hands in the sheet and arching my hips upward. The burning heat sent a shudder through me, making my cock jerk. She held the candle over my cock and I froze. I’d never let anyone do what she was about to do. I swallowed hard and looked into her eyes. I could stop her with a simple shake of my head. I didn’t. She let the wax fall. The drop of molten wax hit the tip of my cock. I cried out and my whole body jerked. She let the wax drip over me and Desah circled my cock with his hand and jerked back, stopping me from coming. I could smell the sharp tang of the smoke when Sophie put the candle out. She took the old condom off me and replaced it with a fresh one. “Up,” Desah nudged me onto my knees. Sophie pulled me into her arms, running her hands over my sweat slick back. I kissed her and nuzzled her neck. “I need to be inside you,” I said, my voice rough with lust. She nodded and I sank down with her, filling her in one smooth movement. Desah’s hands moved from my waist to my hips and I knew what was going to happen next. I wanted it hard and fast. He didn’t disappoint me. I groaned and pushed back against him. His steady hard thrusts pushed me into Sophie and she moaned. We fell into a rhythm that had me on the edge in record time. Sophie was the first to shatter. I watched her as she shivered and her orgasm washed through her. Desah reached around me and brushed his fingers over her cheek. “Beautiful,” he whispered. And she was. And I came. He came a few seconds after with a moan. We pulled the bed covers up over us and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Chapter Twenty-Four Sophie Morning arrived much too soon. We were another day closer to when this would all end and I didn’t want it to. I wanted Nevada and Desah to stay with me forever. Nevada was moving a little slowly so I took the keys from him. I had always enjoyed driving and we had left the desert behind. We were coming into the hill country. Traffic was light between towns so I noticed right away when a car that passed us made a U-turn and began following us. “Somebody is following us,” I said. Nevada looked up from where he’d been napping in the backseat and Desah turned to look. Nevada swore. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you drive. Pull over…” he began. “I can’t,” I cut him off. “They’d be on us before we could get going again.” “Shit.” From the tone of his voice he knew I was right. The car behind us got closer and suddenly there was a loud pop and the back windshield disintegrated. Nevada let out a string of Spanish and I felt the impact of something hitting the back of the car. They were shooting at us. “Keep driving, querida, fast as you can,” Nevada said. He began returning fire. Desah turned and leaned over the seat back. “Someday, my friend, you will have to tell me what you just said.” He brought his strange looking weapon up and began shooting bright ultraviolet purple bursts of energy at our pursuers. The car behind us dropped back a bit. I thought for a few seconds maybe they’d given up. I glanced at the speedometer. I was doing close to ninety miles per hour. My mouth went dry and I tried to swallow. I hope there are no cops ahead. “Can I slow down?” I asked. “No. The chingade car is speeding up again.” Nevada’s voice sounded stained. I heard them moving around behind me. A knot of cars was coming up fast. “There’s traffic ahead, what do I do?” I asked. “Sophie,” Nevada’s voice sounded odd. “I love you.” “I love you too…” I trailed off, puzzled. Suddenly Desah made a strange growling sound that sent a chill up my spine and made my hair rise. I heard the whining sound of his weird gun and the car behind us exploded into a ball of flame. I didn’t want to say the words, even think them. I slowed and glanced at Desah as he turned back around and leaned his head back. “Nevada…” I said. Desah reached over and put his hand on my arm. “He is gone,” he said softly. I felt…Numb. Like I couldn’t breathe. I don’t know how long we drove in silence. All I could think about was Nevada telling me he loved me. “Stop ahead,” Desah said. The rest stop was beautiful, huge oak trees with Spanish moss hanging from them beside a wide creek. I parked the car in the shade beside a picnic table. Desah got Nevada out of the car and laid him on the grass under the tree. He looked like he was sleeping.
“They’re going to think we killed him,” I said. “On my world we send our loved ones into the next realm by disintegration. They will not know he is gone until long after this is over,” Desah said quietly. I just nodded. Tears stung my eyes and I turned away. I heard Desah murmuring something in his own language, some kind of chant followed by the whine of his weapon and then silence. I stood there with tears running down my face. “Come, we should go now.” Desah rested his hand on my shoulder. I turned and he gathered me into his arms, holding me while I cried. He rubbed my back and whispered soft words to me. I couldn’t understand them but they comforted me just the same. When we were finally back on the road we were quiet a long time. I managed to get us onto Interstate 45 and we made good time. The traffic was fairly heavy and I didn’t think the people after us would try anything. I just assumed they knew right where we were. “I’m going home,” I said. Desah turned to look at me. “Sophie…” He did not sound happy. “I’m tired of running, Desah.” I wasn’t going to back down on this. He sighed. “Chak Enif will find you.” “I don’t care anymore.” I refused to look at him. “He loved you. He would not want you to give up,” Desah said. He played with a strand of my hair. “I will not let you give up.” We got to the city just in time for rush hour. By the time I saw the exit I needed to take coming up Desah was in obvious discomfort. I felt a bit guilty at how much I needed to make love. I took the exit and a wave of panic hit me. The thought of fucking Desah in my bed had me nervous as a teenager on her first serious date. Suddenly I found myself turning down the street that led to my friend’s house. I’d asked her to pick up my mail and it was as good of an excuse as any other to postpone the inevitable a little longer. Desah looked around as I pulled into the driveway. “This is not your home,” he said, frowning. “I know. I asked my friend Lynette to pick up my mail for me. I’ll just be a minute.” I practically leapt out of the car and ran to the door and rang the bell. Lynette answered her door, looking at me in surprise. “Sophie. I thought you were off hiding somewhere,” she said. “I was. I got tired of it. Did you have time to pick up my mail?” Something about the way she was looking at me made me nervous. “Uh, yeah, come in and I’ll get it for you,” she said. “I’m in kind of a hurry,” I said. “Oh. Sure, just a minute.” She sounded distracted as she went back inside to get my mail. She came back a few minutes later with a small stack of letters and handed them to me. I started to thank her but she was already shutting the door. I backed up a step then turned and headed back to the car. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I knew we would just fall into bed when we got there. I’d hoped so much that we would all be there the first time we made love at my house. I’d have to just deal with it. I think Nevada would have understood. I got in the car and drove home.
Chapter Twenty-Five Desah When I walked into Sophie’s house the first thing I noticed was how little was there. It did not look like a place where someone like Sophie would choose to live. She should be surrounded by color and comfort. I watched her locking the door and followed her into the room where her bed was. I took a deep breath and let her sweet and spicy scent flood my senses. She stood beside the bed, very still. I knew she was thinking that this moment should have been three and not two. She turned and I held out my arms. I comforted her, letting her cry even though her tears were soaking into my skin and binding us together even more. I tightened my hold on her. Who was I trying to fool? We were bound together forever and it had nothing to do with a chemical reaction to her tears. She looked up at me and there was passion and desperation there in her eyes that turned then the deep green of a Le’i tree. Her hands came up and she tangled her fingers in my hair pulling me to her and covering my mouth in a deep searching kiss. I slid my hands up her back and found the tie that held her dress on. I pulled the dress from between us and dropped it to the floor while she worked the buttons of the shirt I wore, pushing it off my shoulders. It joined the dress on the floor and she knelt to unfasten my jeans. I threaded my fingers through her soft hair, enjoying the sensation as she slowly drew the zipper down. Her fingernails scraped my skin as she pulled the jeans down over my hips and legs. My knees went weak at the sharp edged desire that burned through me. I reached over her, jerking the bed covers back and releasing a rich sensuous perfume. I found it exciting that she scented her sheets. When she lifted my foot to pull off the shoe and jeans I almost lost my balance. I moaned when her breath ghosted over my skin. She pressed a kiss in the crease of my groin that made me twitch. She traced the ridges of my cock with gentle fingers, following with soft kisses. This was something done in my world only between committed lovers. I felt like crying, overwhelmed with the kindness and caring from a woman as grief-stricken as I was. Then she kissed the tip and all thought fled. The tightening that heralded my release began. I gasped. My legs shook and the urge to thrust was more than I could bear. I nudged my hips toward her. Her teeth grazed over my foreskin and I shattered with a deep groan. “La’alhba,” I whispered, pulling her up into my arms. I picked her up and laid her on the fragrant white sheets, kneeling beside her. I began brushing my fingers over her lips and down her throat, following with the same gentle kisses. Her breath caught as I rubbed lightly over her nipples and swirled my tongue around them. I stayed at her breasts long enough to suck and nip at the hard tips before moving further down. She moaned when I did the same to her navel, swirling my tongue inside. I smiled; I had plans for elsewhere as well. She was breathing hard when I moved between her legs. I kissed her inner thighs
softly and opened her. I traced her folds and flicked over her zihr chara with my tongue until I had to hold her hips still. She was moaning my name and gasping for breath. I rested one arm over my head, across her belly and slid two fingers deep into her. She whimpered when I drew them out. I moved down a little and very slowly pushed my tongue inside her. Her hips jerked and I chuckled softly, carefully swirling and probing. Her groan turned into a wail. I pressed in harder and she stiffened, tightening and rippling as she came, straining against me. When she calmed I kissed her belly and sat up. She reached out for me and I saw something dark in her eyes. It suddenly hit me that as unusual as her eyes were I couldn’t imagine looking into eyes any other color. I leaned forward and kissed her. She sat up and opened the drawer of the small table by the bed. My eyes widened and I couldn’t help smiling. She closed the drawer and I took the hzaz she held from her hand. My breath caught, the toy was almost the same size as Nevada. I raised my eyes to Sophie’s. If she could… It took a few minutes but we managed. I didn’t have to tell her what I wanted, she just somehow knew. She took the hzaz back and I braced myself against the headboard. She knelt over me, her back to me. I gripped her hips and guided her down. I pulled her down and I was inside her. The feeling of her accepting me into her body was perfect, hot and wet. Tight, Another thrust of my hips and I seated myself, sliding my hand over her belly and fingering her navel. Carefully she pressed the tip against me. “Sophie,” I moaned, arching myself up and lifting us both. She pushed it in slow and easy and it sent fire through me. Oh, Mirach, it felt good. I tightened my hold on her as she began to slide it out and then back into me. Over and over, slow and gentle, never quite reaching where I really needed it. I groaned and brushed my fingers down her spine, rocking my hips. She shivered and moaned softly, thrusting the hzaz a little harder and a little deeper. My fingers found her Zihr chara. I pressed and she cried out, her whole body jerking. I kept the pressure and she turned the hzaz on, pushing it all the way inside me. It hit that place only Nevada had ever managed and everything went black and gold. I heard myself shout and my release crashed through me, stealing my breath and my sight. Sophie sobbed, throbbing around me. She withdrew the hzaz and I eased her off me. I lay her back on the sweat-dampened sheets, gently brushing her hair from her face, lowering my lips to touch hers. I heard the toy drop to the floor and then her arms were around me. I was thankful that Ke Mira recovered fast. I moved over her and slid into her welcoming heat once more. Saiph turo, she felt like home, like paradise. We moved together in an easy rhythm and this time our release was a slow and gentle completion before we dropped off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Six Sophie I woke once when Desah got up. He came back with his energy beam weapon and slipped it under his pillow as he got back in bed. He saw me watching and smiled. “Just in case,” he said and pulled me into his arms before drifting back to sleep. I lay there and listened to his breathing. He was purring faintly. Thoughts of the past days and losing Nevada wouldn’t let me go back to sleep so I eased out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I turned on the water and let it heat up before I stepped into the shower. As I let the heat and steam relax me I thought of Nevada’s smile and they way his hands had felt on me. There had been so much I’d wanted to say to him. The tears stung my eyes and I didn’t try to stop them. I cried a long time. The water was beginning to cool. I shut it off and got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around myself. Desah was still sound asleep when I went back into the bedroom. I stood there and watched him sleep for a while. He had turned over on his stomach and had kicked the covers down to the foot of the bed, leaving him totally exposed. I stepped closer to the bed and gently traced the markings on his back. His purring grew a little louder when I touched the small of his back. I smiled and leaned down, brushing my lips against his warm skin. He moaned softly in his sleep. I was tempted to crawl into bed and explore every inch of his beautiful body but I resisted it. I straightened back up and went over to my closet to get something to wear. I didn’t want to disturb him when he looked so peaceful. I pulled on an old pair of shorts and a tee shirt and left him to sleep. I walked into the living room and sat on the couch in the darkness. Desah would be gone as soon as his mission was over and I would be starting from scratch. I really needed to think about what happened then. What was I going to do? Desah would not take me with him when he left; he’d already told me as much. If his people were as narrow minded as he described I wasn’t sure I wanted to go. Even for a visit. And I knew he wouldn’t stay here. For all his pretty words to me I knew he still thought of humans as inferior. Even if he didn’t realize it. As for myself, I’d never had so much as the last several days. My life was richer for having spent this time with Nevada and Desah. It wasn’t just the sex either, no matter what Desah said. I thought it might be more than that for him too but how could I be entirely sure what went on in that alien mind of his? After several long minutes I sighed and got up again. Thinking about him lying there in bed, naked, was making me more than a little fidgety. I walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water before I went back to bed. Waking him up to fuck sounded like a wonderful idea to me. I’d enjoy what little time we had left as much as I could, store up memories for when he was gone and I was alone. I knew it would be a long time before I found anyone who made me feel as safe and cared for as these two men. They were a lot alike, despite one being from a planet halfway across the galaxy. I heard the soft stealthy sound just as I put the glass down. Someone was in the
garage. Panic stole my voice and I couldn’t move. Whoever it was, they weren’t here for a social call. The sound of the lock being jimmied shocked me into moving. I did the first thing I could think of. I hid in the pantry. My heart was pounding so hard I was afraid they would hear it. I listened to the kitchen door swing open and at least three people come in. They stopped in front of the pantry door and I could smell sweat, someone’s deodorant wasn’t working. “What’s in here?” I heard one, a man, ask. “Pantry,” a female voice answered. My stomach knotted up and I felt cold inside. I knew that voice. It was Lynette. She was telling them where my bedroom was. Where Desah lay sleeping. I covered my mouth with my hand and fought the urge to scream. Oh please no. I couldn’t lose him this soon, not like this. “Go back and wait in the car with Mr. Barnes,” the second man said. “We’ll take it from here.” Lynette giggled breathlessly. She sounded deranged, and it suddenly hit me. She was taking this Lyxit drug Brian was selling. I felt an indescribable sadness and disappointment. The kitchen door was closed and I heard the men moving away. I prayed Desah would wake up. What had happened to Brian being back in jail? And I’d thought Lynette was a friend, why was she doing this? She always said she couldn’t stand Brian. I couldn’t hear them anymore. Eyes stinging, I blinked back tears and tried to think of something I could do. Hoping they were nowhere close I eased the door open a crack. A glimpse of a purple flash nearly made me cry out. He was awake, he knew there were intruders in the house and he was dealing with it. I heard a thud and saw another flash as I closed the door. I’d stay right where I was until Desah found me. I didn’t want to get shot myself in the darkness. It seemed like an eternity before I felt the doorknob turn in my hand. I let go and waited, shaking like a leaf.
Chapter Twenty-Seven Desah Sophie got up and went into her bathroom. I thought about joining her and when I heard the shower being turned on, I slipped out of bed and went to the door. She hadn’t locked it so I started to step inside. The odd sound I heard her making stopped me. She was crying. Quietly I left the room and shut the door. I would let her cry for Nevada privately. I took a quick walk around the little house, peeking out windows and checking the doors. Satisfied everything was as it should be I went back into the bedroom and got in bed. It was comfortably warm in the room so I shoved the covers down off me and relaxed. I had barely closed my eyes again when Sophie came in and stood beside the bed. If she wanted to make love again, I was sure I could oblige her. Just the thought of her body, of being inside her, made me purr. When she leaned down and kissed the base of my spine I moaned faintly. I thought she was going to but instead she got dressed and left the room. I listened for a long while but it seemed she was fine. She just needed a little more time alone. I allowed myself to doze off again. If she called out I would hear her. The out of place sound woke me. I lay silent, listening, one hand beneath the pillow, my fingers curled around my weapon. I aimed at the door. I heard the soft whisper of footsteps stealthily moving down the hall. More than one person. Not Sophie’s footsteps, I knew the sound of her walk even after so short a time. Someone was in the house, someone who shouldn’t be there, and my blood ran cold because Sophie wasn’t in bed. She was somewhere in the house and I didn’t know if she was just aware something was wrong and was hiding or if she’d been hurt. Or worse. I waited, hoping the intruder would think I was still asleep. “He’s alone! Where is the woman?” hissed one. That hissed whisper told me all I needed to know and I fired several bolts. I heard the intruders fall and rolled out of bed, intent on discovering if there was anyone else in the house. I needed to find Sophie. Silently I glided through the house, checking each room until I came to the pantry in the small kitchen. Sure we were alone I called out to her softly. The pantry door opened and she threw herself into my arms. “Are you alright?” I asked. I still listened for anything unusual. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Brian is outside. With Lynette.” She sounded bleak. She was shaking and I tightened my arms around her. “It’s okay; we’re going to leave in just a few minutes. I need you to be strong for just a little while longer. Go into the bedroom and get your things, just what’s important, and come back here. Be as quick and quiet as you can.” I let her go and she went to do what I told her. I followed her back to the bedroom. We needed to get out of here as fast as possible. The bodies were lying partway in the bedroom doorway and she edged as far from them as she could. I stopped and gave one a nudge with my foot. I didn’t expect to recognize him or the other one either when I
turned him over. I hated to do it but I needed to know who they were. “Sophie,” I said, quietly as I could. She stopped what she was doing and looked at me. “Do you know either of these men?” She came a step closer and looked. “No…Maybe that one, he looks a little familiar. I may have seen him with Brian.” I thought as much. “Alright, have you got everything?” I asked. She nodded. “Good, let’s go. Where’s your back door?” We headed back into the main room of her house. She pointed to the large window and I peeked out the curtain that covered it. It looked clear. The mechanism was another of those wonderfully complex and irritating devices the humans loved so much. I motioned her to open it and she flipped a latch and slid it wide enough for us to squeeze through. In the back of her house was a wide expanse of ground lit by a spotlight and bordered by a tall fence. I despaired a little; there were no really good shadows to hide in and no way out. “There’s a gate,” she whispered, pointing to a corner of the house. “It’s darker there.” I nodded and moved as quietly as I could. She followed me, hugging her bag to her chest. I rounded the corner and relaxed a tiny bit. It was darker, almost too dark. I could see the street in front of the house and for a long second my brain refused to work. Then all my alarms went off. The gate was open. “Hello, little brother. It’s been a long time,” Chak Enif’s voice came from the deepest shadows. I froze for half a heartbeat then grabbed Sophie’s arm and jerked her toward the gate shouting, “Run!” She stumbled and for a moment I thought she was going to fall. I heard someone swearing and turned back toward Chak, drawing my weapon. He dodged the first shot. From the corner of my eye I saw Sophie swinging her bag at someone then the faint whine of an old model plasma weapon made me turn. I threw myself backward just as my loving brother fired at me. The bolt was close enough that I could feel the heat on my face. The sound of the fight next to us drew his attention away from me long enough for me to catch my balance. “Quit playing around, Barnes, and kill her!” Chak was angry; he was obviously not used to missing his target. He turned back to me and smiled. I don’t know what alerted me, maybe a shift in the way he was holding himself or maybe it was intuition, but suddenly I knew someone was behind me. I spun and dropped to a crouch just in time to see a woman coming at me with a wicked looking knife. I didn’t think twice, I didn’t think at all, I just fired. Two bolts struck her and knocked her off her feet. I rolled and came up, firing off a shot that caught my brother just below the collarbone.
Chapter Twenty-Eight Sophie I saw the gate was open just about the time Desah grabbed my arm and swung me toward it. He yelled at me to run and I made a dash for the front yard. The voice from the shadows echoed through my head. “Little brother,” the guy I assumed was Enif said. All I could think was how cold and unfeeling Desah’s bosses must be to send him to kill his own brother. Brian made a grab for me and I twisted away. Anger took over then, at the shambles he’d made of my life, at what he was doing now, and I swung my canvas overnight bag at him as hard as I could. It hit him, stunning him, and he fell to the ground with a curse. I scrambled for the gate. An iron grip on my ankle yanked my feet out from under me and I fell to my knees. Pain shot through my legs from the rocks in the grass and before I could do more than gasp, I was jerked back. I kicked and grabbed onto the gatepost. Brian swore and pulled harder, his fingers digging into my legs. He flipped me over and straddled my hips, catching my wrists and pinning my arms over my head with one hand. With his other hand he began choking me. The expression on Brian’s face terrified me; he was enjoying this, enjoying me trying to dislodge him. He tightened his grip, his smile widening. His mouth moved but I couldn’t hear what he was saying, the roaring in my ears drowned out everything. Red tinged blackness took over my vision and I started to pass out. I caught a glimpse of Desah wrapping his arm around Brian’s neck and dragging him off me. Then suddenly the pressure stopped and I was free of my attacker. Desah snarled something in his own language and pulled Brian’s head to one side in a quick hard jerk, breaking his neck with a sharp crack. I rolled over on my side, curling up into a ball of retching, coughing misery. Tears streamed from my eyes and my nose was running but I didn’t care, I could breathe again. All I wanted to do was lay there and let the warm humid air soothe my oxygen-starved lungs, I didn’t even care that it smelled like an old fish tank. I slowly became aware of the sound of sirens getting closer. It sounded like they stopped out front. I wondered who they were here for. Desah knelt beside me, brushing my hair from my eyes. “Sophie, can you hear me, T’hmyn?” His voice shook. I nodded and he sighed heavily. “Rest, T’hmyn, help is coming.” He stood and walked toward the people who were running toward us. I shut my eyes and ignored the chaos that erupted around me. Gentle hands touching my arm startled me, and then they were lifting me. I panicked for a second before I realized I was being put on a stretcher. An oxygen mask was strapped over my face and I searched for Desah. He was standing a few feet away and I relaxed. Obviously unhappy, he was talking with two men in black suits. His expression lightened when he glanced at me and our eyes met. “Are you alright?” he asked as he stopped beside the stretcher. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, cool and distant.
I ached for him to take me in his arms. “I’ll be fine,” I said, suddenly realizing that this was it. He was going to be leaving. Our last few moments together played out in front of emergency workers, law enforcement, and government officials. Another stretcher rolled by, covered with a sheet. We watched the workers take it to an ambulance and load it in the back. He opened his mouth to say something and one of the men in black interrupted him with a touch on his arm. “Sir. It’s time to go now,” the man said. He led Desah away. They walked away and the paramedics took me to the ambulance. I resented the hell out of the man in the black suit. He could have let us have just a few more minutes. My last glimpse of Desah was of him getting into a limo. He never looked back. The next few days were a circus. I suffered through visits from the State Department, various secretaries and politicians who wanted to know what had happened while the three of us were alone. They hinted that I would be helping the human species if I could answer their questions about the Ke Mira. Even the smallest detail could be important. I threw them out. The tabloids camped out on my doorstep, along with news reporters from all over the world. They ruined my lawn and offered everything from interviews on all the talk shows to cars and new houses. One gossip magazine even offered me a million dollars for my story. But no one offered to replace the grass they killed trampling over my lawn. When the movie people from Hollywood started calling I had to change my phone number. The latest crew of reporters left after ringing my doorbell and arguing with me for thirty minutes. They were dumbfounded that I was not interested in their offers, but then I’d never been a very material person. I watched them go from the front window. They’d be back to try again, but I was stubborn too. There was only one thing I really wanted and that was Desah back in my life. I knew I couldn’t have him but I still wished he would come back. I wished he would come back and make love to me, even if it was just for one last night. I knew he wouldn’t but it still hurt more than I ever thought it would. I stood and stared out at the night. The sky looked forbidding and the stars sparkled, cold, like my heart. I couldn’t cry anymore and I still needed the tears. I sighed and wondered what he was doing back in his world.
Chapter Twenty-Nine Desah The sky was dark, depressing, but even that couldn’t dim the glow I felt. Chara should have been over but the burning had not faded. If anything it had grown stronger. I was here for Sanctuary, for comfort and relief. The door was locked when I tried it so I sat down on the steps. Huge raindrops began to fall, soaking into my robes. I couldn’t find it in myself to care that the fabric would probably be ruined and traced the pattern of the green silk. I smiled wryly at myself; nearly everything I’d chosen to wear lately had been some shade of green with brown accents. I looked up at the vehicle that pulled up. Sophie got out of the car and headed toward the narrow walk that led from driveway to the front door of the house. She glanced up and slowed down when she saw me sitting on the steps in the rain. My wet clothes and rain-soaked hair allowed me to blend into the shadows cast by the plants beside the walk. I stood. “Hello Sophie,” I said. I was surprised my voice didn’t sound as shaky as I felt inside. Her lips parted and she made a sound very much like a sob. I touched the tears that spilled down her cheeks, bringing my damp fingers to my own eyes then lowering them to my chest where my heart threatened to pound out of my chest. “I am yours,” I said, repeating the words I had said so long ago. We were silent for a long moment. I brushed my fingers over her cheeks again, then slipped my hands into her hair and touched my lips softly to hers. I found her lips already parted. She slid her arms around my waist and moved her tongue over mine in a feathery slow caress, nibbling and teasing, her tongue barely dipping between my lips. It was the most intoxicating and arousing kiss I’d ever received. I tightened my embrace and reclaimed her with hungry urgency, pouring myself into her, voraciously plundering, twining my tongue with hers, and making love to her mouth. She relaxed against me and I moved my hands over her back, molding her to my body. I moved my mouth down over her neck in soft kisses. Her breath caught. “Let’s go inside,” she said. Reluctantly I pulled away from her. She was right. I nodded and followed her into the house. Inside we kissed again and I smiled at her soft moan. She pressed against me harder. Slowly I moved my hips against her; the tightness of my already hard cock growing harder was almost unbearably painful. I groaned, burying my face in her hair, clenching fistfuls of her dress and digging my fingers into her hips. She arched herself against me in response. “Oh Sophie,” I said breathlessly. The urgency grew and I shed my wet robes, dropping them to the floor. I shoved her up against the wall and roughly pushed her dress up; searching for the lacy edge of the little underwear I remembered she wore. She helped me, raising one leg over my hip and wrapping it around my leg as I shifted the thin fabric out of the way.
Bending my knees slightly I took her, thrusting into her as far as I could with a gasping moan. I captured her mouth once more and moved inside her in an urgent rhythm, plunging my tongue into her mouth in counterpoint, feeling her moving against me, tightening her hold, her body melting against mine. The way she gasped and moaned sent white-hot sparks of pleasure through me, quickly driving me over the edge with a groaning shout I muffled in her hair. She gasped and held her breath at the great shuddering wave moving through her. “I love you so much,” I whispered, my lips against her ear. I held her gently while we caught our breath, waiting until she stopped shivering to disengage myself from her and follow her back to her bedroom. The wonderfully rich scent she perfumed the bed with sent a thrill of excitement and need through me. I pushed her back onto the soft sheets and knelt over her. Her nipples hardened at my light touch as I untied the soft fabric wrapped around her breasts. I loved these dresses she favored, taking one off her was like unwrapping a Chara gift. I dropped her clothing on the floor and leaned forward, taking a taut nipple between my teeth. She moaned and I chuckled softly. “I need you, T’hmyn, I need to be rough with you,” I said. “Anything…” Her voice had a fine breathlessness that made my cock jump. I put a pillow under her hips and slid two fingers into her. I pulled them out and coated my cock with her wetness. Her breath caught and I kept my eyes on hers as I pushed hard into her heat. Her eyes darkened as I drew back slowly. I loved that; our eyes didn’t signal our passion by changing colors like that. The bed shook with each hard thrust of my hips. She moaned with each movement. I pulled her legs higher, hooking them over my shoulders and then twining my fingers with hers and clasping her hands. She held her breath and clamped tight around me. I groaned and the universe shattered and refused to reform. I spilled the heat in my belly into her. We lay in the darkness, satisfied for the moment. She traced little spirals of fire over my skin with the tip of her finger. I sighed and wound a strand of her hair around my hand, letting it slip through my fingers. “Sophie?” “Hmm?” She lifted her head and looked at me with those huge green eyes of hers. “You know I can’t stay here on Earth.” I saw a flicker of something, fear I think, in her eyes. She opened her mouth to protest. I stopped her, touching her lips gently. “And you know that my world would never accept you.” She laid her head on my chest again. “Yeah, I know…” She started tracing her design over me. I was stirring again; I’d better get this out before I had to fuck her again. I was silent for a couple of heartbeats. “There is a solution.” She froze. “There is?” “I have a house.” I paused. “On Ch’imra.” “A house…” Her voice was very small. “Yes, a house. On Ch’imra. They are very liberal there. People from all over the Galaxy live there together…” “They do?” She raised her head to look at me again. “It’s a beautiful world. Of course I have to wear my dark glasses there…” I picked up the strand of her hair I’d been playing with and wrapped it around my finger. “I like your dark glasses. They make you look sexy.” There was a new light in her
eyes. I smiled. “We can leave any time you’re ready.” She moved up and kissed me, shifting her hips. I groaned and arched myself upward, burying myself deep inside her. Oh yes, we would be leaving for Ch’imra. Later.
A Short Glossary of Ke Mira Words Chara (the Joy)—the sexual cycle Ke Mira—the People Al Na’ir Angetenar—the bright curve of the river (their home) Saiph Mira—Sword of the People (the Assassins) Baham—a common livestock animal Saiph turo—Sword of truth (an expletive) Saiph chara-penis Lesath—a strawberry-like fruit Merope ain—analogous to chocolate Mirach—the Ke Mira version of “Oh fuck” Tyl—semen Walat—a small furry and helpless animal kept as pets Zihr chara—clit Mira Kurhah—Ménage, three-way Alsrh—navel Alhba ly—love me Jnsy—sexy T’hmyn—precious La’alhba—my love Hzaz—vibrator Le’i-a tree on Desah’s home world similar to an evergreen Nihal and Aliannah—Desah’s first lovers Ch’imra—One of the Nine Worlds, a trade planet where many cultures and beings mix freely. The End About the Author: Etienne Michel D’Artagnan has lived all over the world and is currently living on a barge on the Seine. His dream is to live on a starship and travel the galaxy with his lover and his dog Muffin. He loves to hear from readers who like his stories and can be reached at
[email protected]
Meet LSB Authors At The House Of Sin Lsbooks.NET We invite you to visit Liquid Silver Books LSbooks.com for other exciting erotic romances. 2007: Terran Realm Urban fantasy world: TerranRealm.com Featured Series: The Zodiac Series: 12 books, 24 stories and authors Two hot stories for each sign, 12 signs The Coven of the Wolf by Rae Morgan Benevolent lusty witches keep evil forces at bay Fallen: by Tiffany Aaron Fallen angels in hot flight to redeem their wings The Max Series by JB Skully Meet Max, her not-absent dead husband, sexy detective Witt, his mother… And many, many more!
