by Susan Hayes
“They’re going to be acclimatized on the journey over. Slowly increase the gravity onboard so they spend the last week at Liberty’s level. But you’re right. They’re still going to be tired for a while, so no need to make them walk long distances if they don’t have to.” He grinned at her. “If you keep coming up with ideas like this, you’re going to wind up on the council yourself.”
“Oh fraxx, no. Going to countless meetings. Making decisions that affect thousands. Not a chance. I’m just getting used to making choices for myself.”
“Fair enough. But you’ve got a unique perspective on all this, so if you think of anything else, talk to me about it. Or one of the other council members. It doesn’t have to be me.”
“I like talking to you.” Her eyes met his. “I like being with you, Denz.”
He rose from his chair and walked around the desk without letting go of her hand. She was on her feet before he reached her, the two of them coming together like they had their own personal gravity field.
“I like being with you, too. But we don’t need to rush this. I know you and Kade are dealing with the sharhal right now.”
She touched a finger lightly to his lips. “I don’t feel like we’re rushing. Do you?”
He pressed a kiss to her fingertip, never taking his eyes off hers. “I think we’re both a little crazy at the moment, but no, I don’t think we’re rushing.”
He leaned down and kissed away the smudge of fruit still on her forehead. “In fact, I think I’ve wasted enough time already.”
She uttered a low hum of what he hoped was approval as he claimed her mouth in a kiss. Her lips were soft and sweetened by the pastry she’d eaten, and a hunger that had nothing to do with food swept over him. He’d meant to go slowly, but now that he had her in his arms he couldn’t. He needed more of her.
She moaned and shifted, her lips parting as she rose to kiss him back. He pulled her in closer, bringing their bodies into contact. Her teeth closed on his lower lip and she rocked her hips against his. That was all it took to break him. He gripped her waist and then lifted and spun her so she was pressed up against the nearest wall. The map of the city flickered as her body blocked some of the projections, and then the display reappeared, framing her face with tiny replicas of the buildings outside.
Any other time, the symbolism would have made him laugh. The projection wasn’t the only thing she was messing with. She’d affected him since the day she’d set foot on the planet. And now… He kissed her again, letting his tongue slide against hers. He’d tried to convince himself this couldn’t happen, but it hadn’t gotten him anywhere. It was time to give in. Because in his heart, he was starting to believe Shadow was worth every messy, awkward moment that would come from trying to build a triad between three beings who had almost nothing in common. He owed it to himself, and her, to try.
She hadn’t known how this date would go, but being pinned against a wall and kissed breathless by Denz definitely counted as a win in her book. She let her hands wander over his body, exploring places she’d only dreamed about, like his broad chest, which was as warm and well-muscled as she’d imagined it would be, and his shoulders, which were even broader. Kade was more muscular, but Denz was as solid and steadfast as a mountain. She made the comparison before she realized what she was doing, felt a moment’s guilt, and then pushed the feeling away. If they were doing this, some emotions would have to be tossed out the airlock, starting with guilt.
He rolled his hips, grinding himself against her with a low growl of need that left her instantly wet and wanting. His tongue danced with hers, the taste of coffee and something spicier, like cinnamon or cloves, filling her senses. His skin was warm, and part of her brain recalled the fact that Torski body temperature ran hotter than a human. She snuggled into him, basking in that heat. A thought popped into her head and she laughed in delight.
“What?” he whispered against her lips.
“I was just thinking that sleeping with you means I might never have a chilly night again. I hate being cold.”
This time, his growl was deep enough she could feel it rolling up from inside his chest. It was part primal sound, part laughter, and the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. Denz kissed her again, slow and sweet this time, though his cock was still like a steel bar pressed against her as he did it. “Keeping you warm would be my privilege. Any night. Any season. All you have to do is ask.”
He opened his eyes then, and she almost lost herself in their pure black depths. “Though I should probably hold that thought until at least our second date. Huh?”
She waved a hand through the holographic buildings around her. “This whole place is all about building a future together. Right? I like that you’re already thinking about what happens next for us. I mean, you did only agree to one date.”
“That was yesterday.” He smirked. “The situation is evolving rapidly. Try to keep up.”
She laughed. She’d never been drunk, her medi-bots preventing that from happening, but she was fairly certain this was what it felt like. She was giddy, as if her heart was full of sunshine and possibilities. “Keeping up is all I’m hoping for. This time yesterday I had no idea how to talk to you, and I didn’t know Kade even existed.”
Denz wrapped a strand of her hair around his fingers, his movements slow and sensual. “Let me sum up the situation for you, then. We’re doing this again. Talking. Kissing. Laughing. More kissing. The rest we can figure out as we go. No expectations. No pressure. But this feels right. Better than right. It’s good, and I’ve missed that feeling.”
“I agree with your summary. And you…” she finally put her last concern into words. “You’re really willing to try this? You, me, and Kade?”
His smile was hot enough to melt the polar ice caps. “I am. But just so we are clear, the only one I’m committing to snuggling with on cold winter nights is you.”
She hadn’t thought about sleeping arrangements yet. That would make it real in a way she hadn’t dared to hope for. Suddenly her head was full of images of the three of them together, her males sharing her in ways she hadn’t even considered. The thought turned her on so much she pressed her thighs together and squirmed, inadvertently grinding their bodies together. It was like throwing rocket fuel on a fire. She wanted that. She wanted to have that with them more than she needed her next breath. She’d never experienced anything like this. This wasn’t because of an order she couldn’t defy or even the involuntary needs of the sharhal. This was real, and raw, and hers.
She wrapped herself around Denz, her arms encircling his neck with one leg twined about his. He tangled one hand in her hair, the other one sliding between them somehow to cup her breast against his palm. Their kisses grew in intensity, every touch ratcheting up her need until she was breathless and her legs quivered like she’d run for hours in high gravity.
Then, they were interrupted. “Good morning, Denz. You have a council meeting in one hour.”
She was so lost in the moment it took her a second to recognize it as Denz’s AI and not a threat. Unfortunately, that was two seconds after she’d torn herself out of his arms and taken up a defensive position with him safely at her back.
He was laughing as he reached around to press one massive hand over her raised fists. “Easy. It’s just Tab reminding me I have work to do.”
“Sorry. Instinct.”
“Never be sorry for who you are.” He moved so she could see him. “Especially not when your first instinct was to protect me.”
“You don’t need my protection, though.” She sketched the shape of his big body in the air between them.
He snorted. “Size is relative. Where I’m from, I’m considered puny. I got picked on plenty growing up. Zale and I were both half-human, so we looked out for each other. I’ve missed having someone I trust to watch my back.”
A deep warmth filled her, replacing the heat of passion with something far more substantial. “You trust me to do that?”
�
�I do.” He glanced down at her and smiled. “But considering where we live, I don’t think there’s much chance I’ll ever need you to defend me… not unless those massive murder-chickens get loose again.”
She blinked and tried to follow this new tangent. “Murder-chickens?”
“The gharshtu. They broke out of their pen once, not long after the first shipment of juvenile stock arrived. The Vardarians took to the air, and the cyborgs ran off at something close to light speed.”
“They left you behind?” she asked, outraged.
“They forgot I wasn’t like them. No wings, no implants.”
“And no one to watch your back. Not since…” She didn’t finish her sentence. It didn’t feel right to speak his dead friend’s name at a time like this.
Denz surprised her when he did. “Not since Zale died. I think there’s an interesting symmetry to the idea that out of all the beings in the universe, you’re the one who stepped into the role he used to have.”
“It might be symmetry. Or it could be proof that whoever is running the universe is doing a lot of hard pharma.”
“Or that,” he agreed.
The fire between them had cooled, for now. She helped him tidy up, feeding it all into the recycling chute where it would be sorted and sent for processing via the tunnel complex beneath them. The entire colony was run a bit like a space station. Waste was minimized, everything was connected to everything else, and resources were never wasted.
When they were done, she stepped into his arms and hugged him, not ready to leave yet but knowing she had to. “So, any thoughts on where we can go for date number two?” she asked.
“Would you like to come to my place for dinner? Tomorrow or the day after? That would give me a little time to get caught up around here and go shopping for the ingredients I need. I haven’t made some of the more traditional dishes in years. In fact, I should probably ask my fathers for the recipe again to make sure I get it right.”
“You’re cooking for me?”
“It’s a time-honored tradition, at least in my family. The males cook to prove they can not only care for themselves but for a potential mate too. To hear my fathers tell it, no female with any sense should ever agree to join with a male who can’t manage his own household.”
“I have to agree with your fathers. How many do you have, by the way?”
“Three, now. Growing up, I had two, but they’ve expanded the family since then.”
“And siblings?”
“Two. A brother and a sister, both younger. Zale and I were closer in age than our siblings, and our family groups were so close that we were more like brothers than cousins.”
She didn’t know what clued her in, but as he spoke, she realized something. “Zale was the one you planned to build a family with.” She didn’t bother to make it a question.
“He was. I wish the two of you could have met. He would have liked you.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
She swallowed to push back the lump rising in her throat. “I’m sorry he’s gone.”
“So am I. But don’t think for one second that I blame you for what happened. I don’t. I don’t blame Echo either. She was as much a victim as Zale was.” He went quiet for a moment, the two of them just holding onto each other. “They let me see her body…after. I needed to talk to her. To tell her I forgave her.”
Tears blurred her vision, and she had to blink several times to clear them as a weight she’d been carrying fell away from her heart. “I didn’t know you did that.”
“I think I kind of forgot about it myself. I try not to think about it much. It was the worst day of my life.”
She hugged him hard, trying to convey some tiny part of what she was feeling. Relief. Sadness. Hope. All mixed together with a dash of lust. When they parted again, it felt like the right moment for her to leave. “I’ll message you later. I hope the meeting goes well.”
“I’ll contact you when it’s done and tell you what they thought of your suggestions.”
“Thanks. And thank you for breakfast.” And for saying yes to any of this.
“It was my pleasure.”
Once she was outside again, she considered heading straight home but quickly changed her mind. It was time she familiarized herself with this part of the colony. Not just the maps she carried in her databanks, but the real places and beings who lived there. She sent a quick message to Kade, letting him know where she was and what she was up to and then set off to explore.
9
“I look forward to our meeting. Don’t be late.” Nesht signed off with a toothy grin that did nothing to improve his sense of foreboding about tomorrow. The whole thing was starting to stink worse than the time the refrigeration had failed on a crate of fermented mogat cheese. He’d had to replace the entire air filtration system after that run.
“Too bad a change of filters wouldn’t stop this deal from stinking,” he muttered, still twirling his dagger in one hand. The conversation had not gone well. Nesht would be arriving at the orbital platform soon, and nothing he’d said had convinced the thorny bakaffa to postpone their meeting. Not even the news that Kade had found his mate and needed to stay near her for the next few days had any effect.
“Bring her with you or deal with blue balls. Your choice,” was all the Jeskyran said. He wasn’t sure exactly what the Jeskyran meant by that, but it was clear he was still expected to make the meeting.
This close to Liberty, they’d switched to direct communication, which was faster but far less secure. Encrypting the connection would have looked too suspicious, so they’d both had to try and convey meanings without saying anything openly. He’d done his best to convince Nesht that the item he wanted wasn’t available, at least not in the form they’d been expecting. He’d hoped to buy himself more time, but nothing had gone his way and he was out of ideas.
The one thing Kade knew for sure was that he could not hand over the codes that would allow a ship to pass safely through the defense grid. Even if he wanted to, he’d discovered today that it wasn’t possible. Most places either cleared incoming ships after verifying their transponder code and ship dimensions or gave them a handful of onetime codes that allowed them automatic access.
He’d expected the onetime system would be put in place here. So had Nesht. The plan had been for him to hand over all but one code and then later claim the others hadn’t worked for him, or that he’d misplaced the information. That wouldn’t work, though.
Instead of the usual systems, Haven was issuing a second transponder to their verified traders and transports. Once installed on a ship, they would randomly generate a code allowing them access. It was a smart move on their part, and it would put a halt to Nesht’s plans. Shadow and the colony would be safe. But that left him with the distasteful task of meeting with Nesht and explaining how the plan had fallen apart. That would be a problematic conversation.
He rose and thumped a bulkhead in frustration. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Shadow so he could meet with a thorny-skinned bakaffa with an unpleasant disposition. Especially when the meeting had a good chance of going off like a supernova. All he could do now was protect Shadow so she wouldn’t be caught up in his mess.
Anger swirled inside him like a rising storm. He didn’t even have anyone he could talk to or ask for advice. He hadn’t heard back from his family, so he couldn’t expect help from that quarter.
He struck the wall a second time. It wasn’t until his fist hit metal with enough force to hurt that he realized what was going on.
This wasn’t about the meeting, Nesht, or his family. Well, not entirely. The anger was a response to his unslaked desires. It was the effect of the sharhal, and it was getting stronger. The mating fever was already playing havoc with his mind and body. If he didn’t claim her soon, it would only worsen. He’d heard stories about what happened to those who waited too long. Some of them lost their minds. Others, their lives.
H
e snarled and stomped down the ship’s main corridor, not even sure where he was going. “I can’t see her until I calm down, and I can’t calm down until I see her. This sharhal thing is insane. How has our species survived this long?”
“According to my data, Vardarians often use physical exertion as a means of controlling the sharhal for short periods of time. Might I suggest you utilize the exercise equipment on board?”
Normally he didn’t like it when the ship’s AI chimed in without being asked to, but it did have a good point. “Suggestion noted. See if there’s space at one of the training centers in the next hour. If there is, schedule a session for me and send me the information. I’ll go there once I’ve changed clothes.”
“Of course. Will there be anything else?”
He stepped into his quarters, looked around, and grimaced as he took in the chaos. Clothes were strewn across the floor, the bed hadn’t been made in more than a week, and the air was stagnant. “Actually, yes. Get the servo-droids to clean my room—laundry, fresh linens, walls, floor, everything. And task one of the maintenance droids to check on the air recycler in here. I think it’s malfunctioning.”
There was an almost imperceptible pause before the AI responded. “Those tasks have been assigned. Would you also like the other areas of the ship cleaned once the work in your quarters is complete?”
“Good idea. Do that.” Then he frowned. He’d specifically left the ship’s AI running on the most basic levels. Some beings liked having programs that were more like friends or employees. He preferred his to be simple, obedient, and not think for themselves more than was necessary. “What made you suggest that?”