Forbidden World: Ambrax

by Bernadette Gardner

  He vowed that if he got himself and Lea off Ambrax safely, he would change that and he'd make sure no one ever came here again believing they would lead a life of bacchanalian luxury.

  "Does the jungle really respond to the presence of the converts?" Lea asked. She picked her way along the mossy ground ahead of Damen, keeping the pace despite her obvious fatigue.

  Troy nodded. "Something happens out here. You can feel it. It's more like getting caught in a bailer matter stream, though, than finding any kind of inner peace. Mojar first told me the converts found freedom out here, but I feel like I've been in prison all this time, constantly on the run, terrified, angry, afraid to die, yet wishing I would, just to make the fear go away--There." Troy interrupted himself and pointed to a barely visible opening in the sloping wall of the gully. "That's usually where I leave things for her."

  "Let me go in. I won't frighten her as much." Lea strolled forward and Damen raced to catch her.

  "Draw your blade. Don't go in there unarmed."

  She opened her mouth to protest, but apparently thought better of it. Obediently, she unsheathed the weapon he'd given her and used it to push aside the curtain of vines that partially obscured the cave entrance.

  Damen would have given anything to go with her, but Lea was right. The Braxan woman was no doubt terrified of males by now. She'd probably run, hide or more likely attack if he or Troy attempted to enter her lair.

  Frustrated, he sighed and paced in a tight circle before the cave.

  Troy watched him. "How did you and Lea end up together?"

  Damen stilled. "I wouldn't call it together. She hired me to help her find you."

  Troy shook his head and ran a hand through his scraggly hair. Damen pretended not to notice the man's trembling. "I owe her so much. I was such a fool to come here. I thought I'd be able to resist any temptation and I could find a healer for Darya. None of the doctors on Denara gave us any hope and I wouldn't accept that. I thought it was worth the risk of an orgy or two." He laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "I hate myself for wasting all this precious time that I could have been with her."

  Damen had never been good with sympathy and he didn't have plans to learn how to commiserate with anyone, but he feared he was beginning to understand Troy's motivation for coming to Ambrax.

  He'd gone to hell for the woman he loved. A week ago Damen might have called the man a fool, but now he understood. Damn it all, he understood completely.

  "I wanted to kill you." Troy's quiet confession came after a moment's contemplative silence. "I recognized her in the clearing when you brought her out of the transport. She smells like Darya. I knew she was here for me, but couldn't remember why. When you...when you..."

  "Fucked her?"

  "Yes. I wanted to kill you for it."

  Damen grinned. "Then we're even. I wanted to kill you for looking at her."

  * * * *

  From the inside, the cave system appeared to be made up of huge hollows formed by massive tree roots, rather than geological structures. The earthy smell of the place overwhelmed Lea, making her feel as if moss might start growing in her lungs any second.

  As she delved deeper, an odd thought crossed her mind. This would be a defensible burrow, a good place to rear young and to hide from predators.

  She dismissed the alien notion and pressed on into the dim recess, until the sound of frightened whimpering reached her. The scent of the place changed abruptly from underground decay to something Lea recognized instantly but could not name.

  She dropped into a crouch and crawled forward, reaching into the darkness without fear until her hand closed around a familiar shape, the slender wrist of another female. Alor's pale eyes seemed to glow in the darkness and her mouth opened in a screech of terror.

  * * * *

  Screams echoed from the mouth of the cave, startling Damen and Troy into action. Both men dropped into defensive stances, and Damen lunged for the wild-eyed being that scrambled from the shadows.

  He caught a frail body in his arms and tackled it to the ground, his blade ready to deliver a death stroke to anyone or anything that might have harmed his woman.

  He would have killed the slavering, wailing creature had it not been for Lea's cool, reassuring touch on his arm.

  "It's Alor. Damen, this is Alor."

  Troy pulled the shivering, naked form from his grasp and wrapped his arms around her. "It's me, Alor. You're safe with us now."

  "Troy? Troy..." Her trembling hands traveled over his face and through his hair. "You've come back. How?"

  "Damen brought a shock stick." Troy turned her gently to face the man who'd been prepared to kill her.

  Beneath a pale cloud of matted hair, a pair of frightened eyes met his. Alor bowed to him. Her voice shook. "Will you take us back to the Citadel?"

  Lea patted Alor's shoulder. "We're not going back to the Citadel. We're trying to get off world. Will you come with us?"

  Alor turned what could only be considered an adoring gaze on Troy. "I'll go anywhere he commands me. I belong to Troy now and always."

  * * * *

  Lea struggled to hold her tongue at Alor's declaration. The last thing she'd expected was to bring Troy back complete with his own sex slave. She glared at him and he shrugged, his tired eyes full of innocence. "I never challenged Mojar for her. I never got the chance."

  Alor wrapped her hands around Troy's arm, a possessive posture, though she kept her gaze downward when she spoke. "Mojar disowned me when he left me here. I have no place in the Citadel anymore, nowhere to go except with Troy."

  "Well, right now that means you're going with us." Damen dismissed the conversation, leaving Lea both frustrated and somewhat relieved. Now was not the time to discuss the logistics of a three-way marriage. Later on she could get into the reasons why Darya might not approve of the arrangement.

  "Here, put these on." In an effort to restore some of Alor's dignity, Lea shimmied out of her pants and handed them over. Damen's shirt hung to her thighs, so she didn't feel quite as naked as the Braxan woman looked wearing nothing but her unkempt hair. With an uncertain glance at Troy, Alor accepted Lea's offering.

  "Where is your ship?" she asked, scanning the jungle hopefully.

  Lea shrugged. "Back at the Citadel landing field. We need to figure out a way to get to it."

  Alor stared. "We'll never get through the protected zone on foot. The patrols will stop us at the perimeter."

  Damen sheathed his dagger and began walking toward the wide mouth of the gully. "Not if we stop them first."

  They walked for several kilometers before Damen found a suitable place for them to spend the night. He didn't like the idea of another whole day spent in the jungle--especially since now they'd have to rely on Ambrax for nourishment. Alor found them handfuls of edible berries and leaves and this time, to keep their strength up, he allowed himself and Lea each a dozen cupfuls of sweet, sap-infused water that dripped from the upper leaves.

  Now he had four lives to worry about and, fearing the transformation would take him again, he set his blades at arm's reach. With Lea curled beside him in an indentation of soft moss, he settled into a fitful sleep.

  * * * *

  In the middle of the night Lea awoke from a primitive dream. She'd been hunting, stalking some small, defenseless creature through the dark recesses of the damp underbrush.

  She'd cornered the creature and captured its trembling body in her bare hands, felt its rapid heartbeat against her palms. Its startled squeal had thankfully ushered her from the dream, leaving her cold and hungry and wanting.

  She sat up and scanned their camp. A few yards away, Alor and Troy lay curled together. The Braxan woman looked content, though her slender fingers gripped Troy's forearm as if she were terrified to let him go.

  Jealousy on Darya's behalf tangled Lea's roiling emotions. Alor obviously cared about her brother-in-law. Very likely, she was in love with him. Lea couldn't tell yet if he felt the same, but it hurt to think t
hat while Darya battled a relentless illness, another woman coveted her husband's affections. A deeply buried part of her wanted to separate them, to see Alor fade into the jungle and never be found, just as Mojar had intended when he'd dumped her here. Unfortunately she would take with her Darya's only hope of recovery.

  Next to Lea, Damen lay near enough that his warm exhalations tickled her thigh. The sensation woke another type of beast in her, the one that required a mate.

  Their encounter the day before had gone unfinished. He hadn't come inside her, hadn't seeded her womb--

  She forced her undisciplined thoughts to behave. She had no desire to bear children, least of all those of a man in her employ. In preparation for this trip, she'd had her ovulation cycle suppressed and it would remain so indefinitely since her logical brain could think of no reason to have the procedure reversed, even if she did return home in one piece.

  Nevertheless, now, in the dark, watching his broad chest expand with each deep breath, she saw him as a wild animal sees a potential suitor. His strong arms, his virility and his skill with a weapon would make him a good provider, a powerful ally when she was heavy with his child.

  Unbidden, she longed to feel the stirring of life in her womb, to know he'd put a new life inside her.

  "Ah!" Disgusted, she flung herself away from him and paced the soft expanse of moss beneath their sheltering tree. Cold realization made her shiver. The transformation had her.

  In the scant moonlight, she glanced at her hands. In her dream, she'd been prepared, eager in fact, to tear apart a tiny animal and consume it. Her need had been insatiable.

  Now she hungered for sex...desired to assert herself as a female by taking a mate who could give her healthy offspring. Determined, she swung her dark gaze at her intended and stalked back toward him. She cast off Damen's borrowed shirt as she moved.

  Unabashed, she straddled him and purred in his ear. "Fuck me, Damen. I need it now."

  He awoke so quickly he startled her. He had to have been awake before, listening to her pace and whisper to herself in the darkness.

  His hands came up around her hips, gripped her flesh and steadied her. Beneath her open pussy his cock hardened and she longed to tear his pants open and free it from captivity.

  "I don't want to hurt you again." Regret tinged his response, along with a feral grumble. He wanted her, regardless of the consequences. Convincing him to take her would be easy.

  She arched, rubbing her eager sex against him. "I can take it."

  He followed her hands with his, helped her open his pants and in a swift move, he had her on her back in the soft moss. Before she took another breath, he was in her, buried deep.

  She growled, spread her thighs wide and threw her head back. "Do it."

  He nipped her neck, drew his teeth down her pebbled flesh to scrape at her aching nipple. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his head, holding his hot mouth against her breast and urging him to suck.

  He obeyed her unspoken commands, coupling deep pulls on her nipple with urgent thrusts.

  The hot grip of her around his shaft made her long for more. She yearned for him to reach his climax and fill her. To bring him nearer to his end, she bucked her hips hard against him. The erotic thread of need traveled down to her belly from her breast. Each long draw of his lips and tongue against her flesh drove her harder toward her goal.

  When need met desire, a fire ignited in her core. An orgasm seized her hard and fast, drawing her shuddering body up around him, turning her small, contented sighs into groans of pleasure.

  Above her, driven to his own climax by the fierceness of hers, he stiffened. He lifted his lips from her breast and with a ragged moan, buried his face in her neck, muffling his own cries against her sweating skin.

  The hot rush of his seed eased the ache within her and she forced her inner muscles to grip him tighter, to draw his essence deep inside her, even though the part of her that could still reason knew conception would not occur.

  She panted into his ear and drew her nails up the skin of his back, causing him to arch into her. "That's it..." she purred, her words blurry and indistinct. "I want every drop of you in me."

  * * * *

  After a few deep, cleansing breaths, Damen raised his head and stared into Lea's glittering eyes. Saucily, she shifted her hips, urging him to thrust again even though he'd exhausted himself.

  She dragged her nails up his back again, sensual at first, then painful. "I want more."

  "I've got no more right now. Give me a few minutes."

  Her body stiffened beneath him and she threw him off with a strength he hadn't expected. "Rest then. I'll have him."

  She was on her feet, her stance wide and her eyes wild. She set her sights on Troy, who still slept peacefully with Alor in his arms.

  Lea strolled across the camp, naked, glorious and angry as hell. With a fierce sound, she fisted a hand in Alor's hair and dragged the girl away from her protector.

  Alor screamed and came up ready to fight. Beside her, Troy rolled instantly into a defensive crouch.

  Damen gained his feet, clutching the shock stick while Lea and Alor grappled. Troy flicked his gaze to Damen and on a silent signal that passed between them, both men pounced. They tore the biting, scratching women apart. Troy pulled Alor off to the side, calming her with a touch and a few soft words, and Damen tackled Lea to the ground.

  "Get her away! He doesn't belong to her." Lea writhed under Damen, still reaching for Alor and seething. Her words came out like animal sounds, indistinct, run together, but clear enough to set Alor weeping in Troy's embrace.

  "Take it easy, Lea...hold it together." Damen managed to lock her wrists together with one of his, and finally she stilled under him, though her breathing was strained and the tendons in her neck stood out in sharp relief, attesting to the level of her rage.

  The transformation had claimed her.

  Troy's voice intruded on Damen's unpleasant thoughts. "You've got to let go of her."

  "No. Take the stick and do it. I'll hold her."

  "It'll shock you, too."

  "I can take it."

  Beneath him, Lea screamed. The sound came from deep in her chest, torn from her in pain and rage.

  "Do it!"

  Troy pushed Alor back and jammed the shock stick against Lea's hip. He fired once and the jolt that raced through her body almost threw Damen off her.

  She didn't scream, didn't howl as Troy had. Her eyes went wide as saucers in the gray light of dawn that trickled through the trees, and a rivulet of bright blood escaped the corner of her tight-pressed lips.

  Panic set Damen's heart thundering until she drew in a shuddering gasp.

  She'd bitten her tongue. Her delayed protest came long and lusty when she finally filled her lungs with air.

  "Again!" Damen braced for it. His own muscles were tight, aching from the transferred shock, but he refused to let her go.

  Troy obeyed and this time Lea cried. Stiff and sobbing, she lay beneath him like a broken doll.

  Troy moved to administer another shot, but Damen pushed the hot tip of the weapon aside. He rose on all fours, straddling her, and lifted a hand to her face. "Come back, Cherry. You're okay now."

  She turned her face toward his palm and warm tears mixed with the blood from her lips coated his palm. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry..." Her tight whispers broke his heart.

  Ignoring the tumult of emotions racing through his aching body, he gathered her up in his arms and carried her back toward the mossy hollow where they'd fallen asleep earlier. Troy followed a few tentative steps, but Damen waved him off. "She's all right. I'll take care of her."

  He placed her on the soft carpet of moss, careful to cradle her head in the crook of his arm as he lay down beside her.

  She shivered and he covered her body with his to stave off the inevitable chill that came as the aftermath of a shock stick assault.

  "You're okay now, Cherry. You're back with us."


  "I'm sorry I'm so sorry...tell Alor--"

  "She knows. Just close your eyes and sleep for a while. Tomorrow we're getting out of this hell. I promise you that, Cherry."

  Chapter 7

  * * *

  The next morning the camp was quiet. No one spoke while they gathered water and finished off the few berries that remained from Alor's evening foraging.

  Lea brought a leaf full of water to the Braxan healer and to her relief, Alor accepted the peace offering with a shy smile. Now she understood why Damen had said he didn't like what he'd become on Ambrax. This morning, she didn't even have the luxury of forgetting her actions of the night before. The shock assault had left her body stiff and aching, but her memory was crystal clear and painfully sharp.

  Damen interrupted her self-conscious attempts to make conversation with Alor and she welcomed the distraction.

  "We should be less than half a kilometer from the protected zone. Lea, you and Alor should break cover first. I'm counting on the fact that two females will draw some attention before drawing fire."

  "They won't be expecting a daytime incursion, but once they spot us, they'll be on us fast," Troy said.

  "That's what I'm counting on," Damen replied. He took a blade in each hand and presented one to Troy. "When they come in close for a better look. Then we've got them, that's when you and I will do our job."

  Lea fell into step behind Damen. A long walk followed by an ambush was exactly what she needed to channel her excess kinetic energy. Their subsequent march through the jungle exhausted her and somehow helped her keep her thoughts in check. She stoically ignored the urge to throw herself on Damen and pull him off their path into the underbrush. Her body was too sore this morning for sex, too worn out to fight the other female for the attentions of the dominant male.

  Oh, not again. She couldn't take another shock assault. The memory of the horrible pain made her shiver. It was only her own self-loathing that kept her moving and a wave of relief, anticipation and fear actually seemed to clear her head a bit when they finally reached the edge of the jungle around midday.