by Jayne Ripley
Besides, weren’t Nahkar’s urges the reason the three of them were here right now?
Yes. Yes, they were.
Jennifer turned those big blue eyes to Nahkar. “How did you become a slave, Nahkar?”
It was fascinating to watch the effect on the big Ikestran when she said his name. He went all tense, almost rigid, as if he wanted to fall down at her feet and worship her or sweep her up into his arms, or both. It was almost as if she’d slapped him again.
“There isn’t any embarrassing, humiliating tale behind it,” Nahkar grumbled, “like there was with Darkon.”
Hmm. That was a low blow.
“Tell us anyway,” Jennifer urged. She touched his arm too, ever so gently. Nahkar stared at her hand, not moving. Darkon considered warning her that touching Nahkar might set off his mara vrhon mating instinct again, but he held his tongue. Nahkar seemed to be keeping himself under control for now.
“I grew up on this space station,” Nahkar began. “I have never left, not even on a trip to the planet surface.” He rubbed a hand along his thick jaw. “I lived with my mother in the Ced District.”
Darkon looked at him sharply, surprised the Ikestran was being so open about his past. The Ced District was one of the worst slums on Quasarask Station.
Jennifer might be from an isolated, backward species without space travel, but she did have a knack for picking up on emotions. Even alien emotions. She glanced back and forth between Nahkar and Darkon. “That’s a bad place?”
“A very rough slum,” Darkon told her gently. “Run by warlords who pay off the imperials to stay out and look the other way. It is not a good place.”
Nahkar grunted. “My mother died when I was very young. I lived on the streets, fighting, stealing, surviving any way I could.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your mother,” Jennifer said very quietly. She kept her hand on Nahkar’s big forearm and gave him a squeeze. He seemed to lean into her touch, taking complete comfort from it.
“Thank you. She died of bad food, they said. A stomach-rot disease.” Nahkar’s words were blunt, nearly emotionless. But Darkon could read the pain deep in his fierce eyes. “Many die that way in Ced.”
“I can’t even imagine how that must have felt,” Jennifer said.
Nahkar looked down at her, tangled emotions and pain in his golden eyes for a second before he mastered himself again. He only nodded, seeming not to trust himself to reply. It was clear her words had affected him deeply. They had affected Darkon too.
He would say it again. This female was truly something else. She had to be frightened by all that had happened to her, and yet here she was being sympathetic to them instead of the other way around. They should have been the ones reassuring her, making things better for her, but she felt the need to connect with them. Amazing. She had a strength to her. A power that went far beyond the physical.
He found himself increasingly fascinated with her. He had never met a Terran before. If they were all like this one, no wonder they could command such high prices on the market.
He needed more of her in his life. That was clear beyond doubt.
Still, it was best to keep his growing fascination—his growing attraction to her—hidden from Nahkar. At least until he had a chance to explain what had happened with the mara vrhon. Otherwise, they would end up at each other’s throats over her, and he doubted she was the type of female who would enjoy that.
“I survived on the streets as best I could,” Nahkar continued. “Eventually I had no choice but to sell myself into this life to repay a warlord who had loaned me credits at a crushing rate of interest. When I proved I could fight, I was eventually sent here. I’ve been bought and sold too many times to count and never saw a filthy credit of it.”
Darkon nodded. It was a more common thing than many citizens realized. People with debts and crushing interest hanging around their necks were often forced to sell the one priceless thing in their lives—their freedom—in order to stay out of a prison mine on some frozen asteroid.
Nahkar lifted his big hands, palms facing upward, as he continued. “Now here I am. Confined to a luxury suite in the imperial palace with a Quindon, the second best fighter in the arena, and a…”
Nahkar trailed off to a stop. He was staring at Jennifer with rising intensity. He clearly wanted to say more, but the power of his emotions had stalled him. Poor fool. He was utterly unprepared for what the mara vrhon was doing to him.
“I’m a human woman,” Jennifer said primly. “From Earth. The United States. Um, California. Specifically, Los Angeles.”
Nahkar looked her right in the eyes. His hand clenched into a fist, and he put it to his broad chest, over his heart. “I am honored to meet you, Jennifer from Earth, the United States, Umcalifonia, and specifically Los Angeles. May your dreams never have boundaries. May your heart always be strong.”
Darkon had heard that formal Ikestran greeting before. Nahkar’s mother might have been trapped in the Ced Slums, but she had not failed to teach her son some manners. Although Nahkar was choosy about when he showed those manners. He’d never been so respectful to Darkon. It must be a competitor thing.
The Terran’s cream-colored cheeks flushed pink. The pupils of those striking blue eyes went wide. Her lips parted slightly as she nodded to Nahkar.
Darkon was surprised to feel a flash of intense jealousy. Part of him wanted this Terran—this human woman—to look at him the same way. He wanted her skin to change colors when he spoke to her. That was his new goal.
He looked away quickly. He was disturbed by the growing intensity of the conflict raging inside him. On Ketera, threesomes were almost as common as lover pairs. In those complex love arrangements, partners shared affections, duties, love, care, and more. Historically, it helped share the burden of survival and raising offspring. Two males and a female. Two females and a male. Three females. Three males. The diversity was great and grand, all the way up to the royal family. He’d had two mothers and a father.
Or he had before everything had gone up in flames.
But he needed to be careful here. Nahkar was a friend, but they also competed in the arena for the top fighter position. At least, Darkon tried to compete, and Nahkar showed no sign of ever losing his top position. But Nahkar’s mara vrhon could easily lead to blows between them if Darkon showed too much interest in Jennifer. He didn’t want it to come to that.
Did he?
He shook his head, booting those thoughts out of his mind. He needed to be more optimistic again. This would all work out. He spent too much time thinking lately. Worrying. Nahkar probably won so often in the arena because he didn’t think, he only reacted. He fought, he fucked, and he ate like a starving grantheron after ten days in the desert. Perhaps that was what Terran females like Jennifer preferred in their males. Muscle over brains. And it couldn’t be handsomeness either. Not if she was attracted to Nahkar’s face, which looked as if he’d been half-chiseled out of stone before the sculptor got bored and wandered off.
There he went again, thinking too much. He needed to get his mind off these troubling questions. He needed to focus on the moment. On her. “How did you end up at Quasarask, Jennifer? Will you share your story with us?”
She glanced at him and stepped away from Nahkar. Disappointment flashed across Nahkar’s blunt features. She crossed her arms over her chest as if hugging herself for warmth as she considered how to reply. Her expression grew troubled. She didn’t answer right away.
Nahkar threw a warning glare Darkon’s way, clearly irritated that Darkon had upended the mood. Darkon stared back blandly, not smiling, but not apologizing either. He wanted to hear her story. That was all.
And if he refused to acknowledge the part of him that wanted her to stop looking at Nahkar like a love-struck yinderfo, then who could blame him?
“I…I was going to a party and got lost,” Jennifer said. “I was in the hills. I was alone. Then I saw lights in the clouds. At first, I thought it was lightni
ng. But it was some kind of ship. A spaceship.”
His heart went out to her. It must have been terrifying for her. Especially since Terrans were not a space-faring race from everything he’d read about them.
She continued her story. “The ship stopped over me, and those lizard people hit me with some kind of light beam that sucked me into their ship. They put some kind of implant in my head so I could understand them and locked me up with the other slaves.” She let out a long, shaky breath. “They told me I was going to be sold to a client who requested an Earth girl.”
Darkon wanted to go to her and pull her into his arms. He wanted to comfort her. Seeing her distress upset him more than it should have. It meant he was developing feelings for her and couldn’t deny it.
That was a problem, and he had more than enough problems in his life. He always had. He probably always would.
Despite himself, he took a step toward her. He really was a fool. But Nahkar reached her first and put a big hand on her shoulder. He looked down tenderly into Jennifer’s eyes.
Darkon stopped and kept his distance. That had been close.
Nahkar said, “I am sorry that happened to you, Jennifer from Earth, the United States—”
“Just call me Jennifer,” she said with a laugh. “Those are just places I’m from. They’re not really a formal title. But…thank you. That means a lot to me.” She glanced from Nahkar to Darkon, her eyes wide. “May I ask you both something? I don’t understand why you tried to set me free from those slavers. Why…why would you help me?”
Darkon settled himself in a chair, smiling as he slid a hand over his hairless head. He could feel the slight depressions of the silver anai pattern on his skin. “Simple. I hate slavers, and I especially hate Jandami slavers. They took my freedom and my ship. I hold a grudge. Besides, I couldn’t let Nahkar have all the fun. I’d never hear the end of it.”
Nahkar grunted. He crossed his big arms, his muscles flexing. “My reasons are different. When I saw you, I knew I had to help you. It was a feeling I could not deny or fight.” He shook his head, his large brow set in a scowl. “It was as if I could not control myself. I needed to protect you no matter what.”
“But why me? I’m not even an alien. Or your kind of alien. I mean, I guess I am an alien to you. I probably look really weird.” She touched her hair, smoothing it self-consciously.
She looked absolutely amazing in that exquisite dress with the color-changing gloves. It truly flattered her. The elegance of the dress mixed with how she wore it, as if it belonged on her body and made her the equal of any aristocratic lady he’d ever seen in court. He couldn’t stare at her for long. His cock lengthened and stiffened, and his groin tightened with need. Looking at her for too long would wake it up all the way, and who knew what trouble that would lead to?
Although he hoped he would find out eventually. The sooner, the better.
“If you lived like we do, in a space station filled with thousands of different species,” Darkon told her, shifting in his seat so she wouldn’t notice his cock throbbing against the front of his pants, “you would quickly gain our wide appreciation for beauty and uniqueness too. You are alien to us. But for us, that’s simply normal life. You will get used to it. Trust me.”
Jennifer didn’t say anything, but it was clear she was listening closely to his words, taking it all in. Her species might not know how to travel through space faster than light, but she was clearly intelligent. It gave him hope that when he explained what had happened to the three of them earlier, she would be able to understand and accept it.
Speaking of which, he should really explain the reason why they were all here now, stuck in this situation. Knowing the facts wouldn’t change the facts, but knowing the truth might help Jennifer and especially Nahkar deal with it.
“There is something else I’ve been meaning to explain.” He glanced at Nahkar and then turned back to her. “It is the reason Nahkar was so overwhelmingly driven to save you the first time he ever saw you. It has something to do with a unique part of Ikestran biology. The male biology at least.”
Nahkar seemed surprised. Then his golden eyes narrowed. He looked suspicious that Darkon knew something about his own species that he didn’t. “You said this earlier. Before the fight. I remember.”
He nodded. “Ikestrans are known for their strength and power,” Darkon told him carefully. He needed to be diplomatic about explaining this. It might be a touchy subject. “But sometimes they are hit by something they call mara vrhon. It roughly translates as ‘mating fever,’ although it has some other nuances.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened. She blinked at Nahkar. Her voice was hesitant. “This happened to you? Over me? Why?”
For the first time that Darkon had ever seen, Nahkar seemed uncertain. He was always confident to the point of arrogance. Right now, he seemed unsure, almost nervous.
Earlier, it had shocked Darkon that his friend hadn’t known what was happening to him. Now that he thought about it, it made sense. The Ikestran had grown up in the Ced Slums. His mother had died when he was young. She probably hadn’t ever mentioned the mara vrhon before he had lost her.
The whole thing must have come as an unsettling surprise to Nahkar. Darkon could only guess what it would be like, especially if Nahkar hadn’t understood what was happening. Now Nahkar seemed worried about Jennifer’s reaction to the earlier chaos.
He felt a burst of sympathy for the Ikestran fighter. Nahkar’s biology played a big role in what had happened, but he did seem to care about her. She was a stranger to them both, but there was something about her that made you feel as if you knew her. As if she was a friend, even if you’d just met her. Nahkar had feelings for her that weren’t simply the powerful drives of sex and mating.
“From what I know, it was an evolutionary thing for primitive Ikestran males. To stop them from fighting each other and force them to pay attention to worthy females. It made them protect the females and care for them and their offspring. The female must be special and deeply compatible with the male in question. Similar to the concept of soul mates on other planets.”
“Is it hormones then?” She frowned and shook her head. “But that doesn’t make sense. I’m not Ikestran. I can’t give him…um, offspring.”
He shrugged. “Ikestrans always believed it was a mix of the physical and the spiritual. That’s about all I know. I’m no expert.”
Jennifer gave a dazed laugh. “I’ve heard of love at first sight, but this is ridiculous.”
“It is love at first sight, times a thousand,” Darkon said. “I knew we were in trouble when he reacted that way. When he saw you enslaved and saw that slaver push you down, he lost control. He had to save you, no matter what.”
The look she gave Nahkar was kind. “Thank you, Nahkar. You seem a little confused or maybe surprised to learn about this…thing. Did you not know that this could happen? Or are you surprised it happened with…with me.”
“My mother had never spoken of it,” Nahkar replied, confirming what Darkon had guessed. “I did not live with other Ikestrans who might have taught me. It shames me now. A Quindon should not know more about Ikestrans than I do.”
Again, she put a hand on his arm, a soothing gesture that seemed to calm Nahkar and excite him at the same time. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. I’m sorry I… I’m sorry that I didn’t understand at first. That I fought against you and ran away when you were only trying to help me.”
Nahkar bowed to her. Even Darkon, once a member of a royal court, was impressed by the bow. It had a simple, heartfelt elegance to it.
Jennifer turned to Darkon. “Thank you too, Darkon. You didn’t have to join in. I know you don’t…feel the same way. Although I’m still not sure how this could happen between different species.”
Darkon chuckled. “You’re thanking me even though we ended up blasted unconscious before we could pull off our completely unplanned rescue? You are too kind.”
She didn’t smile. “Don’
t make light of it, Darkon. Please. When they shot you, I was afraid you were both dead. I was so happy to find out I was wrong.”
“As was I,” Darkon replied wryly. “Being dead is low on my list of priorities.”
She giggled. He loved the lightness of her laughter. The strain and worry seemed to leave her when she laughed. Or at least they faded some. Was he reading too much into this, or did Jennifer’s blue eyes seem to have the light of hope in them now? That hope hadn’t been there when they’d first seen her, tied up by the slavers with a collar and tether around her neck.
The tether had been cut. The collar was gone. They were still slaves, but that was a step in the right direction, wasn’t it?
He was proud of himself and proud of Nahkar for helping put that hope back in her eyes.
“So what do we do now?” Jennifer asked softly.
“We eat,” Nahkar replied. “I have never been hungrier.”
“That’s because you’re so big, you barely fit through the door,” Darkon groused, causing Jennifer to laugh again. Her laughter drained any lingering tension out of the air.
“Okay,” she said, glancing around the fancy, luxury suite. “We’re all hungry. So how do we order room service? I want to take a chance and try something wild and new.”
All this, and adventurous too, Darkon thought to himself with a smile. She really is amazing.
For the first time, he felt real hope that he had a chance at Jennifer.
That the three of them could have a chance together.
Now how to break the news to both of them…?
CHAPTER SIX
Nahkar
After he had food in his stomach, Nahkar could think better. He needed to consider things carefully right now. Everything that had happened since he’d laid eyes on his mate had left his head spinning. Being near his Terran female left him reeling as if he’d been punched. Standing close to her made his heart pound. The lust-ache deep in his groin never seemed to go away. It only got worse the closer she was to him. Whenever she touched him, he nearly lost it.