Tales of the Shareem 04 - Aiden and Ty

by Allyson James

  Aiden handed Brianne the soft valise and grinned at her. “What a nice ride.”

  Brianne’s face heated. “Yes. Definitely nice.”

  The train bumped to a halt. They heard footsteps in the corridor, the train attendant coming to make sure the highborn lady exited without mishap. The attendant was a middle-aged woman who was not happy Brianne had insisted on letting the Shareem stay in the first-class carriage, even though Brianne had paid the difference in their tickets.

  “Guess this is where we depart.” Ky got himself to his feet. The space in the compartment filled quickly with two Shareem towering over her.

  Brianne’s heart beat faster. She knew they’d part ways here, probably for good. She wanted to explain that what had happened between them was and always would be special to her, but she could not say a word with the attendant hovering. Besides, Aiden and Ky probably didn’t want to hear a woman bleating that her encounter with them had changed her life, likely forever. Women must say that to them all the time.

  But she could try. She fished in her robes and drew out a plain gray plastic card. It looked innocuous, but the coded strip held passes to her inner sanctum at the ruling family’s compound.

  She handed it to Ky. “If you need to see me for any reason give this card to my personal guards. They will let you through to my private apartments.” She pushed it into Ky’s hand. “Any time, for any reason,” she babbled.

  Ky took the card without changing expression. The lines around his eyes creased a moment, then he tucked the card into his tunic and walked out of the compartment without looking back.

  She was surprised at the hollow feeling in her heart. She realized he meant what he’d said. We’re square. We’re done.

  Aiden started out after Ky, then he stopped himself by grabbing the sides of the door. The attendant drew an aggrieved breath, but Aiden grinned.

  “You ever need to find us, sweetheart, you go to Judith’s bar down in Pas City,” he said. “If we aren’t there, she knows how to get in touch with us.”

  Another wink, another devastating smile and he was gone.

  The adventure was over.

  * * * * *

  Ky was in one of his I don’t want to talk about anything personal moods, much to Aiden’s disgust.

  Aiden had completely given up on him in the last three days, his usually laidback friend growling and muttering whenever Aiden tried to talk to him—about anything. Ky especially didn’t want to talk about events in the train and overnight in Elred.

  He was pretending nothing had happened—not the arrest, not the train, not the night in the inn, nothing. Not him asking for Aiden’s touch, not Aiden stroking him until he came, not him enjoying Aiden’s mouth in long and burning kisses.

  Asshole. They couldn’t pretend it all away. Aiden had hoped he’d at last be able to reveal his feelings for Ky, but Ky completely shut him out.

  The two of them decided to go to neutral ground on the afternoon of the third day—Judith’s bar.

  As usual, Judith tended bar in sloppy breeches and shirt, her hair twisted in a simple knot. Judith worked her butt off to keep this business going, and she made it known that Shareem were always welcome here.

  Aiden, like every other Shareem in Pas City, had a soft spot for Judith. She was always up for sexual games, from Aiden’s sensual massages to Ky’s full-blown bondage. She liked threesomes and foursomes and any other somes she could manage. She’d screw until she passed out in exhaustion, then wake up in the morning and do it again. And say thank you.

  Aiden wanted to see her happy with a permanent lover, one who appreciated her, but Judith was fiercely independent. The last time Aiden suggested she look for a special someone, she’d asked in irritation why she should let a normal human male ruin her life.

  He’d backed off, and Judith had smiled and changed the subject. A bad breakup, maybe? Aiden speculated later to Ky.

  Ky snorted. Look at her choices. She likes Shareem, and only the rare ones like Rees and Rio have taken lifemates. The human men of Pas City are weaklings. She’s better off hanging out with us.

  Aw, come on, Aiden continued, half joking. Don’t you believe in happily ever after?

  No.

  Glancing sideways at Ky, who lifted a glass of ale to his lips, Aiden could tell he still had no use for happily ever after. Not even when it stared him in the face.

  Butthead.

  “Where’ve you two been lately?” Braden moved to them from the bar. He patted Judith on the backside as he passed her, and Judith sent him a smoldering look.

  Ky acknowledged Braden’s arrival with a curt nod then fixed his gaze on the silent digital on the other side of the room, ignoring them.

  “Home,” Aiden said as their friend sat down. “Bored.”

  “No kidding? I thought you were holed up having some great ménage. I was hurt you didn’t invite me.”

  “Nothing more exciting than digital reruns the last few days,” Aiden said, giving Ky another sideways look. “What have you been doing?”

  Braden’s blue eyes twinkled. “Having a ménage of my own with two lovely ladies, and at one point, sharing with one of the lovely ladies’ footmen. Orchestrated sex in a ballroom. It was fun.”

  Aiden turned his glass on the table. “You’ll get yourself arrested if you aren’t careful,” he said with good humor.

  “Hey, I’m discretion itself.”

  Aiden laughed. “Discretion? You once had sex in a theater balcony. I ought to know, I was sitting next to you. Couldn’t hear the whole second act.”

  “It was dark, and it gave you a hard-on. Besides, it was an acrobatic circus. You didn’t need to hear anything.”

  “I liked the music. If it hadn’t taken me so damn long to get the tickets, I’d have been out of there.”

  Shareem were only allowed at the live theater if they sat in the highest balcony out of sight and only on nights when important people wouldn’t attend. The joy of being Shareem, Aiden reflected.

  Braden started to say something flip, then his expression changed to one of guarded surprise. “Well, holy shit.”

  Aiden felt a presence behind him. He turned around and looked up—and up and up—at a huge black-leather-covered man whose face was swathed in sun-blocking cloths. He slowly removed his sun goggles, the blue of his eyes glinting as he took in the three at the table.

  “Calder,” Aiden said, nodding a greeting.

  “He comes out of his cave,” Braden said. “Have a seat, my friend. Or are you going to stand there until Judith faints in ecstasy?”

  Judith had gone perfectly still in the act of clearing a table, her gaze riveted to the leather outline of Calder’s tall body and the fall of black hair that reached his ass. Calder moved past Braden to take the seat in the shadow of the corner.

  Aiden tried not to stare at the reclusive Shareem—he didn’t want to poke into Calder’s private hell—but it was hard not to look. Calder rarely emerged from his lavish and expensive apartments and never, ever without covering every inch of his body first.

  As Calder sat down, he unwound his face-covering cloths, keeping a fold over his left cheek. The right side of his face was fine, but what Aiden could see of the left was a maze of scars and puckered skin.

  It didn’t look too bad, Aiden reflected, but then he was viewing only what Calder was willing to show. His body had burned basically to death at DNAmo, and that couldn’t have been pretty.

  In complete silence Judith set a full glass of ale in front of Calder. He gave her a quiet nod of thanks without looking at her. Judith lingered a moment, then when Calder drank the ale without making eye contact, she glided away, looking both dazed and disappointed.

  “Judith likes Shareem,” Braden said.

  “Does she?” Calder’s voice was deep and harsh, like it had been broken.

  “Bet she’d like a go in that pleasure palace of yours.”

  “She can apply,” Calder said.

  “I can’t afford it.”
Judith moved back to the table and eyed Calder wistfully. “Besides, the waiting list is so long.”

  “You have a waiting list?” Aiden asked, interested.

  “He does,” Braden answered for him. “And a consent form. A lady has to double-sign it, agreeing to let him do anything he wants for as long as she’s with him.”

  “Shit.” Aiden glanced at the large, silent man. He’d seen Ky get pretty heavy into the level three stuff, but Aiden had never sensed the air of menace he was getting from Calder. “What do you do in there?”

  “Sex.” Calder lifted his ale and sipped it.

  “We’re Shareem, we like hearing about sex,” Aiden prompted.

  Calder gave a slight shake of his head and drank more ale.

  “He doesn’t like to talk about it,” Braden explained. “No matter how much you beg. Even his best friend doesn’t know.”

  “Cruel,” Aiden grinned.

  Calder shot him a look that was almost amused. Almost. “You’ll live.”

  “Yeah,” Aiden agreed. “In boredom.” He gave Ky another look, but Ky hadn’t looked away from the digital, which was playing a news feed.

  Calder’s eyes shifted from Aiden to Ky and back again. A gleam of knowledge rested in his blue eyes, and his eyebrows rose the slightest bit.

  Aiden met his gaze without defensiveness. Calder gave him a your-secret-is-safe-with-me look and returned to his ale.

  Judith sighed. “Well, anyway, your drinks are on me. And you’re welcome here any time, Calder.” She leaned down and touched his black-gloved hand. “And I mean any time.”

  Calder flicked his gaze to Judith, a muscle on the unmarred side of his face moving. He slid his fingers along Judith’s then released her. She turned away, a little smile on her lips, her eyes heavy like she’d had an orgasm.

  “Why do I feel like the rest of us just vanished?” Braden asked.

  “Because he’s sexier than you, Braden,” Judith called over her shoulder.

  “Thanks, I’ll remember that.”

  Judith winked and sauntered away, curved hips swaying.

  Beside Aiden, Ky went rigid, absorbed in whatever was on the holo screen on the other side of the room. Aiden followed his gaze to the screen and froze.

  The beautiful face of Brianne d’Aroth appeared in close-up, standing behind a podium giving a speech he couldn’t hear. The picture of her face shrank and shifted to the top of the screen while two women commentators discussed what she’d just said.

  Aiden rose and moved closer. “Hey, Judith, turn that up.”

  Judith obliged with the flick of a button behind the bar. The commentators’ voices swam into hearing range.

  “…do you think will be the implications of this decision?”

  “Well, the d’Aroth family wants to continue its dynasty and expects even the most distant branch to produce children.”

  “Dranis m’Aren had much to offer genetically. She’ll be hard-pressed to find another male with as good a background.”

  “What do you think prompted Lady d’Aroth to break off the engagement? It seemed to come out of the blue.”

  “Sources say that she spent a night in the desert a few days ago meditating. Perhaps she was meditating on the question of her marriage.”

  “Whatever the catalyst, the long-anticipated wedding of Brianne d’Aroth and Dranis m’Aren is off. Brianne’s grandmother, the matriarch of the family, is not pleased. There is a question of whether Brianne will be restricted in any way for making this decision.”

  Aiden felt Ky hulking behind him, his breath harsh in his ear. “What the hell did she do that for?”

  She met you, Aiden wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut.

  Braden called across the room. “Isn’t that the d’Aroth woman who threw your butts in jail?”

  “Yes,” Ky said grimly.

  “She’s gorgeous. I don’t blame you for drooling over her.”

  “We did more than drool,” Aiden said.

  Braden broke into a grin. “Mystery of broken engagement solved. She had some Shareem, it spoiled her for ordinary men.”

  Ky growled. “I need to talk to her.”

  “Want me to come with?” Aiden asked.

  Ky shook his head. “You’re too nice to her. I’m going to make her talk to me.” He tapped his pocket that always carried his whip. “And I mean make her.”

  Aiden looked at him in faint alarm, but kept his voice light. “And you won’t let me watch? You’ll make me jealous.”

  Ky’s lips drew back, anger rolling off him in waves. The forced indifference he’d worn the past three days fell away, and he looked at Aiden in pure rage. “Give it a rest, Aiden.”

  Aiden’s irritation mounted. He’d kept silent for the sake of maintaining their friendship, but Ky’s attitude cut and hurt. “Fuck you.”

  Ky glared at him then turned on his heel and strode for the bright sunshine outside, leaving Aiden behind in the dim bar, breathing hard.

  Aiden wasn’t certain how long he stood watching the door through which Ky had departed. The intensity of his own anger surprised him, but then again, he had cause. He’d been wanting Ky for some time now, and their intimate play had given him hope…

  And now Ky was saying effectively, It never happened.

  Aiden couldn’t even punish Ky by going after another Shareem, because it wasn’t another Shareem he wanted, it was Ky.

  Why did I have to fall for a complete jackass?

  Braden came up behind him and draped an arm over his shoulder. “You look like you could use a dip in cold water, my friend. Hit the baths?”

  Aiden tried to pull himself together. “Sure.” Nice soothing water, maybe a massage, maybe a willing voyeur who’d agree to a plain old-fashioned fuck.

  He stopped the thought, realization pouring over him. The only lady his imagination had him touching and spreading was Brianne.

  Hell.

  His heart beat faster as he pictured her lying beneath him, her body scented with the oils he’d rubbed on her. Her eyes would be heavy with desire, her pussy moist for him, her lips curved into a smile.

  His wayward imagination put Ky into the scene, Ky angling his cock to fit Aiden’s mouth while Aiden fucked Brianne.

  Damn it. He had to quit wanting what he couldn’t have. Stupid to think Ky would go for anything so satisfying as a relationship and that Brianne would want two Shareem screwing up her life more than they already had.

  He needed to be like Braden—sex and more sex, as long as the lady’s willing. Or Calder—give them what they crave deep inside themselves and then never see them again.

  Rees had given in to his heart and was bound now to a sweet-faced lady called Talan. And Rio, the bastard, had married a princess on Ariel, far away from the rocky heat of Bor Narga. Lucky Shareem.

  Aiden would ask Rio if he could come to Ariel. The princess was trying to allow Shareem to immigrate there unilaterally, but the wheels of government were slow even on enlightened Ariel. Aiden could blast off Bor Narga and leave the complications of being Shareem behind. Those complications included Ky and the heartache that had started inside him.

  If Braden noticed Aiden’s whirling thoughts, he made no sign. “Let’s go. Coming, Calder?”

  Calder, in the shadows, shook his head and glanced at Judith.

  “I see,” Braden said. “Hey, we know when we’re superfluous. After you, Aiden.”

  Braden was trying to ease the tension he sensed with his Shareem abilities, Aiden knew, but it wasn’t working. Still fuming, Aiden fell into step with him as they turned to the hot streets, leaving the cool bar behind.

  * * * * *

  Judith cleared tables as customers drifted away to their evening meals. As the sun set, dimming the street outside, the bar grew quieter and her nervousness increased.

  Calder remained in the shadows, nursing his ale, shaking his head ever so slightly when she offered him more. He did nothing frightening, yet he radiated a danger she didn’t understand
.

  What would it be like to be with him?

  She’d heard ladies in the bar talk of it. They called him The Beast and agreed that an experience with him was like no other, but they were frustratingly vague about the details. If Judith asked point-blank, the lady would grow quiet and maybe give a little shiver.

  Judith understood the shivering. While she enjoyed bantering with Braden, she couldn’t imagine teasing this dark, silent man whose hard blue eyes took in every move she made.

  As the last customer waved and said good evening, Judith plucked up her courage. Her customers would return after supper and her bar would be full again until the small hours of the morning.

  She approached the table, cloth in hand, and started to wipe it down. “Anything else?” she asked lightly. “Ale? Wine? Fellatio?”

  Calder’s massive hand fell on her wrist like a manacle. “Close the bar.”

  “Why?” Her voice shook. “You’re leaving?”

  “No, I’m staying.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed, straightening slowly until he took his hand from hers. “I told you I can’t afford you.”

  “You can’t afford to come to me. So we’ll stay here.”

  Her heart beat in strange, bumping strokes. “Why would you do that?”

  “You are kind to Shareem. I can appreciate that.”

  Their gazes met, his hard and blue. She felt her nipples tingle, liquid pool in her quim. “Why do I get the feeling I should say no?”

  “You may say no, and I will go. If you say yes, you allow me to do whatever I wish to you for a period of two hours. After that I will go and not touch you again.”

  Judith exhaled slowly, her mind turning over what he might mean by whatever I wish. “And in those two hours, I can ask you to stop, or I can say a safety word?”

  He slowly shook his head, the cloths that half covered his face moving. “No safety words, no stopping.”

  She clenched the dishcloth, her nails digging into her palms. She’d done many things with Shareem, from sensual stroking to hardcore bondage. She’d acted as a slave and on one occasion let five Shareem have her one after the other.