by Joanna Wylde
“Just take this and use it to program your palm print into the room,” she said. “Climate control is optional, although I think you’ll find that you get used to the heat pretty quickly. We don’t usually even bother with the cooling system any more.”
Jax gave a sigh of relief at that welcome information. He had no intention of sticking around long enough to acclimate to the heat, but he definitely planned to use his role as a guest to get closer to Sarai. A climate control system would go a long way toward making that wait more comfortable. Of course, the passion would burn itself out quickly once he bedded her, he knew that from experience. Until then, things would be very pleasant for both of them. He knew how to please a woman.
“Can you show me the room?” he asked, glancing toward the stairs. Sarai looked startled, then nodded.
“Yes, please follow me,” she said, moving quickly from behind the counter and across the room. She moved lightly up the stairs in front of him, giving him an excellent view of that shapely bottom. The hard length of his arousal stirred in response, and he all but groaned aloud. He needed to get in this lady’s pants fast, he thought. This was ridiculous.
“Here’s your room,” she said, pushing open the third door on the right. Jax followed her in, pleasantly surprised by the accommodations. There was a large bed with a wicker frame, as well as a desk and several chairs. There was a large window as well, and a ceiling fan stirred the air. Sarai walked across to the window, then turned to look at him.
“It’s a rather nice view from here,” she said. “You can see across the garden to the forest. At night, if you open it, you’ll be able to hear all kinds of animals. A lot of the students who stay with us like it here because we’re so close to nature.”
Jax nodded, disinterested. How far was her room, he wondered? Sarai walked across to one of two doors on the wall. She pushed one open and stepped in. Jax followed behind her, then stopped short when he realized the small room wouldn’t accommodate both of them.
“This is the fresher,” she said, turning back around. He was still standing behind her, and she almost ran into him before she realized he was there. She was so startled that she threw up her hands to catch herself, and both palms came to rest firmly against his chest. That exquisite sensation ran through Jax again, and he smiled.
“I can see that,” Jax said, reaching his own hands up to cradle her head with them. Her eyes, wide with surprise, gazed up at him. Her pink lips were open in a small “o” of surprise. She was so beautiful that he couldn’t think. He had to kiss her.
His lips closed over hers and her hands clenched against his chest reflexively. She was soft and warm, and Jax slanted his head against hers, hoping to probe her more deeply. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and she moaned. His loins surged in response, and his grasp on her tightened.
Grinding his mouth over hers, Jax pressed her back against the wall. She slid her hands up around his neck and pulled at him, whimpering against his mouth. The sound almost undid him, and he thrust against her lower body with his rock-hard erection. What would her hot flesh feel like closing around his length? He couldn’t wait to find out.
Continuing to hold her head with one hand, he reached the other down to the rounded globes of her ass, which he’d admired in the garden. Her muscles were sleek and firm, and he dug his fingers into them, pressing her against his body. Wrenching his mouth away from hers, he swept her up in his arms and carried her purposefully across the room to the bed. He set her down, coming down on top of her and kneeing her legs roughly apart. Then he fell on her like a starving man, plunging his tongue into her mouth. She moaned and bucked against him. He felt like he was going to explode in his pants. He had to get into her tight cunt or he was going to die.
“Mommy?” a child’s voice called. “Mommy, where are you?”
Jax stilled at the sound, and Sarai frantically tried to push him off her. “Get up,” she hissed. “That’s my son. I can’t have him find me like this.”
Jax rolled to one side, and she stood up quickly. Running her hands over her clothing, Sarai turned to the door. A small boy was standing there, watching them.
“Mommy, I want to get a snack,” the boy said, looking at Jax suspiciously. “Is that all right with you?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” Sarai said, her voice trembling.
“Will you come with me?” the boy asked. From the child’s glare, Jax knew he suspected something was wrong about the situation. He was trying to protect his mother from a strange man, Jax realized.
“Thank you for showing me my room, Sarai,” he said, trying to sound innocent. The boy gazed at him coldly, then turned to his mother and held out his hand to her.
“Of course,” Sarai said. “Please let me know if you need anything.” Then she walked out of the room with her son. Jax lay on his back for several minutes, watching the fan on the ceiling. Her smell was still in the air, like flowers, and his aroused cock throbbed with frustrated desire. He had never wanted a woman so badly. She wanted him, too, he knew it. It was just a matter of time before he would be able to take her, he told himself. Otherwise she might be the death of him.
Chapter Fifteen
“Calla, I need to take a rest,” Mali whimpered. The little girl had already taken several “rests” along the way, but she was weak. In another six months, Calla hoped she would be strong enough to skip along beside her. Until then, she was content to take as many rests as the child needed.
The gravity on Hector Prime was slightly higher than any of them were used to, but the nature preserve had been the perfect place to start over in every other way. Erika’s aunt had welcomed them with open arms, insisting that they stay with her until they were on their feet. The money from the ship had been more than enough for them to buy a little hostel in one of the many tourist towns hugging the vast rainforests.
All that Erika and her mother had told them was true. Hector Prime was an ecologist’s dream, and it attracted hundreds of thousands of students each year. All of them needed inexpensive places to stay for a few months while they took classes. These young men and women were the ideal guests for their hostel. Many were homesick, and they were happy to be “adopted” into Calla and Sarai’s small family unit.
Calla had even offered a reduced rate to one of them in exchange for tutoring the children. For the first time in their young lives, Mali and Able had started school. She and Sarai studied with them. Things would have been perfect if she could just stop thinking about Seth.
“Come on, Mali,” Calla said, rousing the girl. Mali smiled up at her sweetly.
“Can I get a candy?” Mali asked, pointing to a little shop across the street. They almost always stopped off there on their way home, so the child’s request wasn’t a surprise.
“Will you get one for Able, too?” Calla asked.
“Yes, m’am,” Mali said, trying to hide her excitement. It was amazing to Calla just how much joy the simplest things gave the children. They had never tasted candy before.
“Then yes, you may,” Calla said. She handed Mali a credit chip, trying to push down the twinge of guilt she felt every time she spent money.
They’d made a tidy sum from selling the ship, but she’d paid a high emotional price. She would never forget the sight of Seth standing there on the asteroid’s surface. I did what I had to do, she reminded herself firmly. We sent someone to rescue him, and someday we’ll pay him back. Both she and Sarai agreed on that. From the first, they’d set aside a percentage of every credit they earned in a fund to repay Seth. It might take them years, but they would get him his money. Credits would never be enough to repair the damage she’d done, though. Calla knew that instinctively.
The thought of Seth made her ache, both in her heart and in other places. Every other man paled in comparison to him. Not long after they’d arrived, one of her male neighbors had invited her out for dinner. Just the thought of spending time with him made her long for Seth. Deep in her heart, she knew she’d never get o
ver him. At times, the knowledge was almost too much to bear. She wanted children, she wanted a husband. But at least she had her freedom, and Sarai and her children had gotten a chance at life. It was more than any of them could have dreamed of a year ago.
She and Mali arrived home to find Sarai working in the small garden behind the hostel. One of the students showed them how to plant some vegetables and flowers, and all four of them were still amazed at how the little plants pushed themselves through the dirt and into the bright, natural light of the sun. None of them had ever lived anywhere that plants would grow before; that small miracle of life was just one of many they encountered every day in their new home.
Sarai saw her and rose to her feet, wiping the dirt off her hands on to her apron as she stood.
“We have a new guest,” she said as Calla came up next to her. She blushed as she spoke, piquing Calla’s interest. “Did you get a candy, Mali? Why don’t you take it over to Able.”
Mali nodded happily, then scampered off to find her brother. Sarai waited until she was out of hearing, then said, “He’s Saurellian.”
Calla felt a coldness rush through her. Then reason took over, and she fought her panic back.
“There are millions of them all over the quadrant,” she said. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. We’ve checked the criminal alerts—they aren’t looking for us.”
“Well, I just wanted to let you know,” Sarai said, blushing more deeply. “His name is Jax Falconer, and he said he’ll be with us for at least a week.”
Jax. She recognized that name—Dani had had a client named Jax, back on Discovery station. Of course, there were probably thousands of Saurellians named Jax. Don’t let it bother you, she told herself firmly. She couldn’t live the rest of her life in fear.
They were all the way across the quadrant from where she’d left Seth. They’d traveled through ten ports after selling the ship to cover their tracks. She and Sarai would be safe here, in the back of beyond. Hector Prime was so insignificant that neither the Empire nor the Saurellians had bothered to send an occupation force. Then she noticed Sarai was blushing so much she was bright red.
“What’s up with you?” Calla asked suspiciously.
“He, well,” Sarai gave a girlish giggle, and Calla stared in astonishment. “He kissed me, up in his room!”
“Who did?” Calla asked in confusion.
“The Saurellian. Jax.”
“Watch your step, girl,” Calla replied. “Those men are hard to handle. Trust me on this one.”
Sarai gave another giggle, then looked away. Calla sighed. What was it about those Saurellian men, anyway?
Chapter Sixteen
“Well, at least we’ve found her,” Seth said tightly. The two men sat in a bar, sipping bakrah and discussing their next move.
“They’re set up pretty nice,” Jax said. “They seem to have a lot of students staying with them. I took one of them out to a bar this afternoon, bought him a few drinks. He can’t say enough good things about them. They take good care of their guests, are quiet, the children seem happy. And no men, either.”
Jax seemed uncharacteristically pensive as he made his report, and Seth stared at him suspiciously. What the hell was he up to this time? It didn’t matter, of course. Nothing mattered but finding Calla.
It was a good thing there weren’t any men, Seth thought darkly. He didn’t want to have to kill anyone, but he’d long since come to the realization that anyone who touched Calla would face his wrath. The very fact that she was running a hostel was more than he’d hoped for—a small part of him had been terrified that she’d decide to continue her career as a pleasure worker. Normally a life mate wouldn’t be capable of being with another man, but the whole concept of mating with non-Saurellian women was too new to know if the old rules would hold true.
“So what do you want to do now?” Jax asked.
“We’ll go and get her tonight,” Seth replied thickly. The realization that within hours she would be his again was almost too much for him. He leaned his head back and took a deep breath. “I need her.”
Jax looked at him sympathetically.
“It’s going to be hard,” he said quietly. “Somehow you’re going to have to work through all that’s happened if you ever want to have a decent life for yourselves. It’s not a good thing to be at war with your life mate. You have to let your anger go.”
“I know,” Seth said. “But it’s not that easy. Even if she comes with me voluntarily, I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to trust her again.”
“At least you have a life mate,” Jax said after a long pause. His customary good humor seemed to be fading. “The Goddess is merciful, but there are still so many of us who can only hope.”
“Well, we have hope, now,” Seth said. “So many of our brothers have gone to their deaths without even that much.”
Jax took another long drink of his bakrah without responding. Seth gave him another penetrating look, but the younger man refused to look at him. With a shrug, Seth turned back to his own drink, content to think about his reunion with Calla.
* * * * *
Jax hadn’t come home that night, although Calla had monitored their guests’ arrival from the office all afternoon and evening. It was paranoia, she told herself wearily, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Until she saw for herself that he wasn’t one of the Saurellians who had been at Jenner’s hostel, she wouldn’t be happy.
Finally, though, she needed to sleep. Sarai and the children had retired hours earlier. The alarms were set; the door was locked. It was time to go to bed.
After making sure all was secure, she made her way to the private part of the hostel. She and Sarai had rooms that were separate from the guests rooms. Her room—a luxury that always sent a thrill through her—was cool and dark as she stepped inside and locked her door. She kept a window open in the evenings because she loved the sounds of the animals in the darkness. Small insects chirped, and occasionally a night-loving bird would call in the distance. She would never get over the simple pleasure that came from living on a planet.
Pulling her dress off, Calla stepped over to the window wearing only her shift. The darkness was alive, she could feel it outside. Their small hostel was on the outskirts of town, and she could see the rainforest behind their small, walled garden. At first, the sight of all that teeming wildness had frightened her. Now she loved it. She raised her arms and stretched, enjoying the stretching sensation that raced through her muscles. This was freedom.
“Hello, Calla,” a smooth, familiar voice said in the darkness. Her heart stopped, and she froze, excitement coursing through her. It was Seth, somehow he was there, in the room with her. Her eyes moved frantically over the window, trying to decide if she could jump to the ground. Was it was too far?
“Jax is out there, just in case you try something stupid,” Seth said softly. “Why don’t you turn around so we can talk.”
Slowly, Calla turned. She couldn’t find him at first, then she realized he was actually lying on her bed, leaning back comfortably against her pillows. How long had he been waiting for her?
“What do you want?” she asked, feeling foolish. The sight of him sent a tingle of sensation through her traitorous senses. She knew his presence wasn’t good, but her body was overjoyed to see him again. She wanted him.
His face was like stone in the darkness. He simply stared at her for a long moment, and the tension rose between them. He wanted her, too.
“We never finished things, Calla,” he said.
“Seth, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I did what I had to do. We’ll pay you back for the ship, I promise.”
“I don’t care about the damn ship,” he said tightly. “I have enough money to buy a hundred ships. What I care about is the fact that you lied to me, that you left me behind. Why didn’t you trust me? I would have helped you.”
Calla snorted in disbelief.
“Right, like I shoul
d believe that,” she muttered. “You were plenty interested in fucking a slave, but I didn’t see you offering to set me free.”
“You never gave me that option,” he said quietly.
“Why would I take that chance?” Calla replied. “Do you have any idea what happened to slaves who didn’t meet Jenner’s standards of morality? They got sold to pimps. Would you risk dying on your back in a mining camp to have a fling with guest in a hostel?”
Seth caught his breath; the thought of her being subject to men like Calvin made his skin crawl.
“No, I can understand that,” he said finally. “But all that time together—why didn’t you confide in me then? You can’t believe I would have sent you back to her.”
“I had to think with my head, not my heart,” Calla said bitterly. “And I had to rescue Jess. Would you have understood that?”
A flash of jealous anger went through him at the name.
“Jess,” he said slowly, dragging the name out on his tongue. “What about Jess? Did you ever find him? Did he send you away? How is your husband?”
“I didn’t try to find him,” Calla said quietly. “I had no idea where to begin looking, and Sarai and I needed to get away. It was enough to know he had escaped.”
“You would leave behind a man you love so easily?”
“Jess is not my husband. I already told you that. He was my crèche-brother, we were raised together on the slave farm. He always wanted to escape, but he wouldn’t go without me. If I hadn’t been so scared he never would have ended up in that mining camp. That’s why I had to find him.”
“He was never more than a brother to you?” Seth asked, jaw tight. His tension was a palpable presence in the room.
“No, never,” Calla said, willing him to believe her. “Even when we were younger, we never experimented together. We were too close for that, even if we weren’t related biologically. Of course we might have been, for all I know. Both of us were synthesized out of the same genetic material.”