Adverse Effects

by Alicia Nordwell

  “Eat,” I told him. There were fruits and some soft square pieces of meat on a plate in front of us, as well as some fresh bread. I tried one of the meat cubes, letting it melt on my tongue, but the surge of emotions I’d felt from Larede had ruined my appetite.

  What were we going to do? We had to ensure Larede’s silence. But how? I studied the doctor as he stared at us. I decided a frontal attack would be best.

  “Do you have a problem with Yaseke joining with me?”

  “No,” he said, drawing out the word. “I was just shocked.”

  I reached out to where Larede’s hand was on the table, pinning it to the wood. His wide hands were strong, but mine were stronger, and I held tight as he tried to pull back. Surprise and a bit of fear filled me, and he glared at me.

  Yaseke shifted on my lap, and I wrapped my arm around his waist, holding him close. “Shhh,” I whispered in his ear. “Please just let me do this.”

  He nodded, but I could feel his tension. I could tell he didn’t like that I was using my ability. Or maybe he just didn’t like me touching Larede.

  “Were you part of the attack on us by the Vlrsessiums?”

  A sudden surge of shock shot through me.

  Larede gasped. “Vlrsessiums?” He shook his head. “No, no way. I don’t expect you to believe me, but—”

  I pulled my hand back, my skin crawling with the sensation of touching someone else. I wiped my clammy, sweaty palm on my leg. “I believe you.”

  His dark eyes widened. “Why?”

  Yaseke shrugged one shoulder. “Dade’s good at reading people.”

  The other man looked at us skeptically, but I wasn’t going to trust him with my secret too. It was bad enough he knew that Yaseke and I had joined. I made sure to keep my hand from touching his when I pushed the plate over toward Larede. Nicklaus had ordered us an insane amount of food. “Hungry?”

  “Not really. I came here to make sure you guys ate and that you were okay. I know a doctor looked you both over, but I wanted to be sure he didn’t miss anything.”

  “Both of us or Yaseke?” I asked. My voice was sharp. “What is your interest in him? I know you’re attracted to him.”

  It was Yaseke’s turn to calm me, rubbing my arm when I tightened it around his waist. “Is that what you thought?” He turned sideways in my lap, putting an arm around my neck. He had a big smile on his face. “Larede isn’t attracted to me.”

  “How can you know that? He seems awfully interested, and he kept looking at you. Plus, I felt….” I stopped and pressed my lips together. “How can you be sure?”

  “It’s pretty simple, actually. We’re family. My grandmother’s brother joined with his uncle as his belie. I know we aren’t close relations, but that’s still family. We’ve known each other since we were kids. When I first moved to the city, he helped me get work here at the residence by bringing me to Seral’s attention. He’s my friend.”

  I frowned. “His uncle was your….”

  “Great-uncle’s belie.”

  “You’re related to Buphet?” I snarled. I would not trust anyone involved with that man. I couldn’t. “That bastard who… who….” I choked on the words.

  Yaseke stroked my shoulder, shushing me. “No, he isn’t.”

  “What does Buphet have to do with this?” Larede was looking at us. “Did he…? No! You’re not saying that an asheksi let Vlrsessiums on the planet, are you?” Larede’s eyes were huge.

  Yaseke hummed angrily. “He did! His men attacked us first, before the Vlrsessiums. If it wasn’t for Dade, I’d have been killed. Or maybe enslaved. We’re not quite sure how the Vlrsessiums got on the planet, or what they were planning, but they were looking for us. They’re slavers, and Buphet’s guards tried to stun me. It’s not hard to relate the attacks.”

  “I’m sorry. Does the Toleral know?”

  “We reported to him as soon as we got back to the city,” I said. “Look, I know you say you came here with the best of intentions, but barging into my room was unacceptable. There’s a lot going on, and I’m not going to rest easily until Buphet has been found and we know what the hell he’s planning. Yaseke is mine to protect. He’s been hurt, and we’ve had a rough few days. He needs to rest.”

  “Are you sure you’re both okay?” Larede stood up. “I could check your injuries.”

  My tziu smiled at him. “Thanks, but I really am okay, and so is Dade.” He yawned. “Mostly we just need some rest.”

  “Are you sure you’re safe here?”

  “I still have my weapon, and we have guards outside. We should be fine.” I wouldn’t be caught unprepared again. The first step was going to be securing my door once Larede left. I’d been stupid not to do it before, even if we were expecting the food Nicklaus had ordered.

  “I’ll go, then.” Larede stepped toward the door.

  I stopped him. “You won’t mention us joining, right? No one but Seral, Nicklaus, and my personal guards know that Yaseke is here, and we haven’t told any of them about joining, either. These attacks started for a reason. The less information that gets out about us, the better, and I don’t trust everyone on the asheksi.”

  “You’re going to hide it?”

  Yaseke nodded. “For now.”

  “Just until we know more. I’m not ashamed of being with Yaseke if that’s what you think. Keeping him safe is the most important thing, even though I want everyone to know he’s mine.”

  He stood silent for a moment. “I see your point. The attacks don’t make a lot of sense, do they? Why Yaseke? Why now?” Larede nodded. “I won’t say anything. Until you feel it is safe, call me if you need any medical help so no one sees his new mark.”

  “We will, thank you.” I sat back in my chair with a sigh when the door shut behind him. “Well, that was not what I expected to have happen.”

  Yaseke turned all the way in the chair, straddling my lap. My robe was too big for him, and it opened when he spread his legs, exposing most of his thighs. “Did you really think he was interested in me?”

  “Well, he seemed close to you before when I first met you, and there was a surge of lust when I grabbed him. What was I supposed to think?”

  My tziu’s amber eyes sparkled as he grinned. “Maybe that he thought you were hot?” He squeezed my shoulders, sliding his hands up to my neck. “You are, you know. You were touching him, and if he’s anything like me, he imagined quite a few times exactly how your hands would feel on his body.”

  “You did, huh?” I put my hands on his hips, sliding them around to grip his ass through the silky fabric, pulling him closer by the round curves until his erection bumped up against mine. Yaseke closed his eyes, and his lips parted in a quiet moan.

  He rocked his hips, grinding our lengths together as he squirmed on my lap. I struggled to keep from bruising him, my fingers tightening. His fangs came down on his bottom lip as he shuddered. I slid one hand up his lean back, burying my fingers in his hair. Pulling him down, I captured his bottom lip, tugging it out and sucking on the soft flesh.

  He stroked my jaw with his thumbs, cradling my face. I let his lip go to slip my tongue in his mouth. I tasted a sharp, slightly bitter tang from the fruit he’d been eating. He welcomed my tongue, sucking on it lightly and then caressing it with his.

  I groaned. The silky heat of his mouth reminded me of the pleasure I’d felt when I sank my cock inside his hot ass. Need coursed through me at the memory of our first joining. My fangs ached almost as much as my balls.

  First, though, I had to lock the door. Reluctantly I pulled back. “God, we need to stop.”

  “Why?” Yaseke leaned down, licking at my lips.

  “We need to… unh”—I grabbed his hands, keeping them from untying my robe—“we need to lock the door.”

  He rocked against me. “Then bed.”

  “Then bed,” I promised.

  Yaseke stood up, untying his robe. He dropped it to the floor, uncovering his lean body. The blue markings curved around his muscles
, highlighting them, and my mark covered his heart. His cock stood straight out, and he dropped one hand to curl around its lean length, stroking from base to tip.

  “Hurry,” he moaned.

  I strode over to the door, hitting the lock on the panel. I’d insisted, with the attacks, that Seral remove the controls keeping me from locking my door, and he’d agreed. I took the time to change the door code to make sure that no one could get in but me. When I turned around, Yaseke had already moved to the bed. He was reclining on the pillows, his knees up and spread apart. The sight had me humming, my whole body practically vibrating with the heat of my arousal. My cock throbbed against my stomach.

  I was by the bed in seconds. Dropping my robe, I crawled up on the bed between his legs, pushing them farther apart. Sliding my hands down his inner thighs, I leaned in close, nipping the sensitive flesh.

  “So good,” he hummed. I could smell the musky scent of Yaseke’s need as he stroked one hand up and down his cock.

  “Don’t stop touching yourself,” I told him as I tongued his balls, nipping at the soft flesh. He gasped, and I chuckled as I nuzzled him, running my tongue down under his sac to the warm skin beneath it. He moaned and stretched his legs out wider. I nipped at the heated flesh, then laved it. The skin was soft and delicate under my tongue as I gradually worked lower.

  “Oh Gods!” Yaseke cried out when I finally reached his entrance and began pressing my tongue against the puckered flesh. I had to hold his hips still as he pushed toward me. I took that as my cue he wanted more and proceeded to drive him crazy until saliva dripped between his cheeks and his ass was open and ready for me.

  He’d been panting, humming my name for minutes, begging brokenly for more while I teased him. He clawed at the sheets when I shifted to kneel between his thighs. I rubbed the slick fluid leaking from the head of my cock down my length, spreading it around.

  Without any lube, I had to go slow, but it was just as amazing as I remembered from the first time. Tight heat enveloped me as I slid my cock inside my begging tziu. He tried to take me in all at once, but I pushed in one careful inch at a time, refusing to hurt him.

  I grit my teeth and forced myself to slide in and out with small strokes. Leaning over Yaseke, I planted my hands above his shoulders, staring down into his eyes.

  “Faster, please.” Yaseke was panting, his legs coming up to lock behind my thighs. He pulled me forward, forcing me to thrust in harder. His back bowed and he cried out. “Yes!”

  My tziu knew what he wanted and what he could take. I let go of my control, snapping my hips forward. Our bodies slapped together. My need rode me, pushing me closer to orgasm. I fought it, grunting as I leaned back on my knees and reached for Yaseke’s cock.

  I stroked him roughly, following the same quick beat as my thrusts, and I watched him writhe.

  “Close.” He shuddered as I rubbed my thumb over the tip of his leaking cock. Yaseke tilted his head back, and I struck. I buried my fangs in his neck right at his shoulder. He shouted as hot splashes of come shot out of his dick to coat my hand and our stomachs.

  I froze inside him, enjoying the clenching spasms of his ass around my cock, but a final hard squeeze and the taste of his blood pouring into my mouth when I pulled my fangs out of his shoulder shattered my control. I ground my hips against his ass as shot after shot filled him. I’d never come so hard.

  After licking the wounds on his neck to close them, I pulled back. We both groaned when my cock slid out of his ass. I collapsed beside Yaseke on the bed, pulling my tziu in close to me. He was breathing just as hard as I was as we came down from our orgasmic high.

  The come was drying on our bodies before I had enough energy to move. I got a cloth wet with hot water and scrubbed at the sticky fluid on my body, then went into my bedroom to clean up Yaseke. When I was finished, I threw the cloth toward the bathroom and crawled into bed.

  “Ready for that nap?” I asked him.

  He smiled, throwing an arm and leg over me as he snuggled close. “Yeah.”

  Dade was still sleeping when Yaseke woke up. He’d rolled over at some point, and Dade had curled around his back, tucking Yaseke into his body. Nothing Yaseke had done in the past had prepared him for how he would feel about Dade, or how intense everything would be when he was claimed by an isit.

  Or maybe it was just the male who made it so intense.

  Dade was more alive, more interesting, real, and amazing, than anyone Yaseke had ever met. He had been a soldier all his life, and he was smart too. He’d been tortured, but he didn’t dwell on it, preferring to move on. Yaseke had never needed a protector before, but he knew that Dade would keep him safe—even if it cost him his own life.

  Yaseke didn’t want to lose him, though, so they needed to figure out why Buphet had targeted him and what he hoped to gain by doing so. The old man craved power, but Yaseke didn’t have any. He had no idea why the asheksi would want to kill him. It couldn’t be anger that Yaseke had joined with an alien and tainted the family; the first attack had happened before Dade had claimed him, and no one knew they were joined but Larede.

  They needed to talk to Seral.

  First, Yaseke needed to use the bathroom. He squirmed out from under Dade’s heavy arm and slid to the edge of the bed.

  “Where are you going?” Dade’s voice was gravelly from sleeping, like it had been that morning. The sound of the rough rasp sent a shiver down his back. It was hot, but Yaseke really had to go, and a hard-on would not help.

  “Bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

  He sighed with relief as he emptied his bladder, and then washed his hands. His stomach growled.

  “Hungry?” Dade asked from the door.

  Yaseke jumped. “Shit, you scared me.”

  “Sorry.” Dade rubbed at the soft hair on his head that was finally growing out. It was a dark brown, nearly black, almost as dark as his eyes. He stumbled over to the toilet, and Yaseke looked away. “Guess we were more tired than we thought. We slept all night.”

  “Best sleep I’ve ever had.” Yaseke leaned against the counter.

  Dade bent down and kissed him. “Me too,” he said huskily. He rubbed at his cheek, his stubble rasping against his hand. “As much as I’d like to continue from last night, we need to get something to eat. I’ll get cleaned up, and we can order some food. You don’t mind wearing my robe, do you?”

  Yaseke shook his head. “I was thinking of calling Seral and seeing if he and Ryker would come over. There’s a lot we need to discuss, and I’d rather do it here.”

  “Nicklaus and Fieo should be in on it too. Who knows if they might be targeted next? Can you take care of that?”

  “Of course.” Yaseke leaned up on his tiptoes and kissed Dade. He loved the feeling of closeness he’d never really had with another male before. He really felt like he could build a life with Dade.

  Once they got all the crazy shit out of the way.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Yaseke ordered food from the kitchen, enough to feed all six of them. Seral had promised they’d be over as soon as he could drag Ryker out of the shower. He’d been curious about what Yaseke and Dade wanted, but when he’d been told that the coms system wasn’t the place to discuss it, Seral had nodded and agreed to come over.

  Fieo was already in the room, sitting on the double couch near the rear wall of the suite where he could see all the doors. Massively muscled, Fieo took up most of the seat with his arms spread along the back. He was far from relaxed, his back straight as he sat alert and prepared, no matter what he looked like.

  “Is Nicklaus awake?” Yaseke asked.

  Fieo nodded, pushing his shoulder-length hair back behind his ear. “He is.” Fieo grinned, his fangs showing as he looked behind Yaseke. “Good morning.”

  Looking over his shoulder, Yaseke greeted Nicklaus. “Morning, Nicklaus.”

  “Good morning.” The quiet male was rubbing his face with both hands. Creases from sleeping still marred his cheeks, and he blinked h
is green eyes sleepily. His hair was growing in too, a light reddish fuzz that shone in the light from the window. “What’s going on?”

  “Seral and Ryker are coming over. Dade and I wanted to speak with all of you regarding everything going on.”

  Nicklaus frowned. “Okay. Do we really need to be here for this?” He sought out Fieo with his gaze.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know.” Dade came out of his room and moved to stand close to Yaseke but didn’t pull him into his arms. Yaseke found himself missing the close contact, craving the heat from his isit. If they were going to tell them anyway, Yaseke saw no need to deny himself what he wanted.

  He stepped up close to Dade and pulled him into a hug. Looking up, he grinned at the surprised look on Dade’s face before his isit smiled back. He leaned down and gave Yaseke a small kiss, his lips soft and gentle.

  “Want to sit down? The food should be here by the time Seral and Ryker arrive.” Yaseke ran his hand down Dade’s thick arm and twined their hands together. He led the way to another sofa at the end of the lounge.

  Nicklaus was staring at them. Fieo had a smirk on his face, one eyebrow raised.

  “Is that what you want to talk to us about?” Fieo asked.

  Dade shrugged. “Part of it.”

  “Are you going to sit down?” Yaseke asked Nicklaus. He wondered if the tiny male would choose a spot on the couch next to Fieo, who was still sprawled out. He knew very little about Nicklaus as a person, though he’d read some of the reports given to the asheksi. He was very shy and seemed to avoid touching anyone, just like Dade. What kind of experiments had he gone through?

  Fieo’s gaze rarely left Nicklaus for long when they were in a room together. He smiled gently when Nicklaus hesitated before choosing the chair next to his double seat instead of sitting next to him. Nicklaus was wearing the long coverings Ryker had called pants and a shirt. Most of his skin was hidden, though the fabric looked really thin and soft. His brilliant green eyes shone over his knees as he pulled them up and put his chin on them. Nicklaus peeked around the room in small glances, never making eye contact for long.