She nodded. “So people with the powers like you rule your planet, I guess?”
He nodded. “In effect, although we exercise our power under the strict rule of law laid down by our god Thuun. Members of the gifted families don’t all become priests and priestesses. Some go into government. We’re not a huge population, our planet is sparsely inhabited. But as the aliens struck on one of our primary feast days, there were large gatherings for them to pluck.”
Larissa nodded. “The Shemdylann probably studied you ahead of time from orbit. They can be quite patient and calculating if circumstances require, although their nature tends to be more impulsive. Depends if one of their females is in charge or not. And if they’re acting on Chimmer or Mawreg orders. They’re properly terrified of their own alien overlords. How many of you were taken?”
“There were 200 or so on the ship where I was held. At first.” A muscle in his jaw twitched. “A number of people died of their injuries despite my best efforts and those of the other temple personnel with me in the slave hold. Perhaps they were the lucky ones. But our commandment is always to heal, to repair. So we did.”
“Stay alive to fight another day,” Larissa said. “I get it.”
“It’s ironic. But in my temple we’d conducted a hearing the week before for a renegade priest who thought we lived on an island circling our sun, rather than our home being the center of all things as our beliefs taught. We knew so pitifully little about the greater universe. Our education came swiftly and in the harshest possible way when the Shemdylann arrived.”
“What did you say to the man?”
“His theories made sense, and I agreed to fund his research for a year.” Samell’s smile was rueful, and there was no amusement in his eyes as he rubbed his forehead. “I was intrigued by his concepts.”
There was a pause as he sat lost in thought.
Finally, Larissa broke the silence, clearing her throat. “Getting back to current affairs, there can’t be too many beat up carnivals roaming the Sectors with imprisoned fortune tellers. Even out here on the rim the scheme would draw too much attention. People travel, people talk, eventually someone might put two and two together.”
“Not all who were kidnapped from Tulavarra were holders of power. Right before I was taken away from my people, the Shemdylann were dividing the captives into lots, ten or fifteen Tulavarran citizens and a number of priestesses and priests in each group.” He frowned. “I’ve no idea of their fate.” He ran his hand over his face. “During my four years in the cursed chair, I imagined every possible scenario.”
“None of them good, I’m sure.”
“It was my job, my calling, to protect them, and I failed miserably.” He finished his wine.
“We don’t have to decide on a definite course of action tonight if you’d rather sleep on it. And we don’t have to go investigate the other carnival operation. I can take you to the authorities at Sector Hub so you can tell your story.”
“I hear hesitation in your voice. What causes your reluctance?”
Larissa ran her finger around the rim of the wine glass until the crystal hummed while she pondered the source of her misgivings. “Nothing concrete. Kinterow’s already poisoned the well a bit where we’re concerned, since I’m on the record as having tried to carry off an unsanctioned job of rescuing you, and you’re on the record as having committed a practical joke on me. And then there are those ten dead men on Yurmenet Twelve. The story has been hushed up by the authorities there, but why? Did they do it at Kinterow’s behest? Or did the military quash it? Or a civilian authority? If we show up with no evidence, no leverage, no way to prove our suspicions, we could find ourselves in a world of legal hurt. And the mercenary guild won’t step in on my side since I was operating on my own both times.”
“I can compel belief,” he said, mouth set in a stubborn line.
“Unless whoever we wind up talking to is one of the 5% like me, who’s immune to your powers.” She hated to mention her other qualm but figured she owed it to him. “Besides, when I was in the Special Forces, occasionally odd decisions were made in the civilian realm—bureaucratic things happened that didn’t feel righteous. The rumor was the Mawreg might have inserted sleeper agents into key places in the Sectors, or bought certain officials. The enemy are sneaky bastards, and they hate us, the humans and our allies in the Sectors.”
“Are we then doomed before we start? Do you recommend we relinquish any hope of trying to find out what happened to the rest of my people?”
She didn’t allow herself to react to the anger in his voice. She knew she’d delivered daunting news. “Not at all. Merely saying we have to move carefully. And I might have contacts I can work through if we find out anything concrete. Get a little help in bypassing local authorities and going straight to Sectors Central.” Larissa studied his face. “If I thought the situation was hopeless, I’d tell you straight out.”
“I appreciate your laying out all the challenges and potential problems. But if you insist on continuing to help me with no hope of repayment, then our first step, it seems to me, is to go check out the second Kinterow carnival. I’d love to ask my former captor questions with my powers untethered, should he be there. Or failing his presence, whoever is running this other operation.”
“All right then, it’s decided.” She stretched her hand across the table. “You’ve hired yourself a free mercenary.”
He took her hand and held it in his strong grasp. “I give you my word as high priest of Melgadarr I’ll find a way to repay you, if it takes my entire life.”
“I’m not worried. I’m in this all the way for my own reasons. Hey, if I was a Thuun believer, I’d probably say he made sure I got my big fat bonus so I could afford to carry out this job for you.”
Samell didn’t find her wisecrack humorous, nodding in agreement. “Indeed, it could be his hand at work, although why now and why in this way, I can’t fathom. Certainly he sent you to me.”
Larissa left Samell lingering over his wine and went to set the course for the AI. Now they’d reached a decision, she was anxious to make progress. Samell crossed through the bridge and said good night while she was absorbed in her message queue, attempting to discern if anyone suspected her of complicity in the ten deaths on Yurmenet Twelve. Finding no evidence she’d been connected to the event, and thanking the Lords of Space her friend Daranna was safely long gone to her colony world assignment, Larissa decided with relief events were progressing nicely.
Going to her cabin, she was sorry not to have had more of Samell’s company. There were so many things she wanted to ask him, about his planet, his people…and himself. Was there anyone special waiting for him on Tulavarra? He hadn’t mentioned a wife or lover, but neither of them had ventured much in the way of personal detail.
Larissa smiled at her folly. “Seven hells, a man as handsome and well-mannered as he is, he probably had all the women in a tizzy.” If she’d met him on Tulavarra, Would he have looked at her twice?
Depressed by the sobering thought, she lay down and flicked the lights off.
CHAPTER FIVE
The dream had become a familiar place to her now, although she was puzzled why Samell felt he needed to meet her in the context of a dream. A bit of anxiety fluttered in her gut. What could he want to say to her now that required the safety of a dream?
She was on the lavender beach again, watching the waves, but she heard him walking up behind her at a steady pace. She didn’t flinch when he rested his big hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face him.
There were no words between them as he lowered his head to hers, taking possession of her lips with practiced ease, but a little hesitation at first, a moment to glance into her eyes and reassure himself she wanted this as much as he did. Larissa wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as they kissed, grinding her hips against the impressive bulge tenting his loose cotton pants.
He cupped the back of her head, running his fingers th
rough her hair before ending the kiss. “You taste good.” He nuzzled her throat. “Coffee and chocolate and the wine, accented by your own sweetness.”
“Men don’t generally find me sweet.”
Toying with one tendril of her hair, he said, “It matters not what any other man may have liked or disliked. I find you all things desirable, my beautiful warrior.”
She broke away from him but captured one hand, pulling him along the edge of the water. “You’re saying sweet things because I rescued you.” She thought she’d made her tone light and teasing but he came to a sudden halt and spun her to face him.
“You think I lie?”
“Well, I’m not exactly your type.” She gestured at herself. “Not that you can tell in this dress—I never wear dresses by the way, for future reference—but I have scars, tattoos, muscles I work hard to maintain—”
“Your point being?”
“I’m not exactly a pretty petite temple dancer or a pampered upper crust lady. Guy like you, good-looking, high powered…in your world or in this one, you’re out of my league.”
“Why do you doubt yourself?” His frown was monumental. “Perhaps I’m not in your league, as you put it.”
“Hey, come on, I’m a realist. I know who I am. I’d have been guarding the battlements while you and the ladies danced.”
“I prefer to think we would have found each other, as we have here,” he said. “You’re brave and smart, and when I assess your aura, I see the blue flames of Thuun’s warrior, wrapped around a true heart with much capability for love.” Emerald and golden eyes gleaming, Samell seemed to relish admiring her. “You’ve been hurt in the past by someone and, as a result, you guard your true self.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “I intend to breach those walls. I intend to learn everything there is to know about you, Larissa Channer. I’m as a moth to your flame, and I have been from the first time your mind touched mine.”
His intensity was mesmerizing. She licked her lips. “What if I don’t want to know everything about you?”
“Ah, now you lie.” Laughing, he caught her close and kissed her again, his tongue sensuously stroking over her lips until she parted them on a sigh and welcomed him to a dance more intimate than any performed to music. He stroked the side of her breast with one thumb and his steel hard erection pressed against her insistently. Breathing deeply, he ended the kiss with a final tender nibble at her lips. “If you truly desire me to stop, tell me, and I’ll obey your command. I give you my word.”
Conscious of the delicious warmth in the core of her body, all her nerve endings thrumming under his skillful touches and caresses, she shook her head. “Don’t—don’t stop. But why must we do this here, in a dream, when you’re just down the corridor from my cabin in real life?”
“If one of us was unwilling, or wished to reject the other, safer to do so in a dream,” he said.
“Is this seduction in a dream a custom among your people?”
“An ancient custom, fallen from fashion.” He combed his fingers through her hair, seeming to enjoy the cascade of silken strands released from their usual confinement in a strictly wound bun. “I’ve never courted a woman in this way before.”
“Then why—?”
“At first it was a necessity, remember? The only way I could contact you. Then, although I didn’t think you were indifferent to me, I was afraid to risk your rejection in real life. If you said no here, I might still be able to—to court you and change your mind over time, persuade you to abandon whatever fears you had.” He gestured at the beach around them. “This is an environment conducive to lowering one’s shields, to speaking intimately. I think you hold your defenses tightly in real life.”
She had to acknowledge the truth of his statement and remembered with a flash of anger he could read her aura. “You’re spying on me?”
“Don’t think of my ability in such a negative light, please. I can see emotions, but I can’t read your mind against your will—you have to be open to talking with me. I lack the power to influence you with anything other than words. I can’t force anything into your heart that wasn’t already there, born of your own volition.”
Once Larissa gave her trust, she was all in. Samell had given her no reason to doubt him in their time together since the rescue and sincerity rang in his voice now. “I don’t want to be on this beach any longer,” she said.
He looked surprised and a bit unsure.
She ran her hand under the hem of his shirt and stroked the hard muscles of his back. “Come to me in my cabin? Tonight?”
“Now.” He said with satisfaction, as he tugged her close again and kissed her forcefully.
Larissa gasped and sat up in the relatively small bunk. She clutched the sheet to herself and flicked the lights on low. Hoping reality was about to match the dream, she padded to the door barefoot and, with a deep breath, opened the portal.
Samell walked up the corridor, wearing sweat pants slung low over his hips and nothing else. His garb did nothing to hide his arousal.
She retreated as he entered her cabin and the door snicked shut behind him.
“See? No dress.” She gestured at the sheet wrapped around her body, feeling oddly shy in a way she hadn’t been since she was a teenager. Her cheeks burned and she realized with chagrin she was blushing
He reached out with one hand and tugged at the fabric. Suddenly panicking a tiny bit, she resisted, then let go and the sheet cascaded to the floor, pooling around her feet. Samell surveyed her head to toe, in a slow perusal full of masculine appreciation and desire.
“Beautiful,” he said in a low voice. “One of nature’s best creations.” Taking a step, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
Larissa didn’t remember ever being carried by a man before, except maybe a time or two when she’d been injured in combat and her battle buddies were hustling her to the medics. This experience was nothing like that, held close to his warmth and the clean masculine scent reminding her of the forest. He held her effortlessly and when he placed her on the mattress, it was with infinite gentleness. He removed his own pants, dropping them in a swift move, and came onto the bed with her, taking his place by her side, his hand on her waist, to draw her closer. Hard and hot, his arousal nudged at the vee of her thighs.
Samell glanced down. “I’ve imagined this moment for quite some time, my warrior beauty. Forgive my eagerness, like an untried youth.”
She reached between them to take his length into her hand, enjoying the feel of the soft skin over the hardness. His girth and length promised satisfaction, and it excited her to have him so aroused already. He thrust against her hand before stilling himself and rolling onto his back while she used her mouth to seduce and her free hand to explore the heavy weight of his sac and the sensitive areas beyond.
Without warning, he pulled her to him for another scorching kiss, so their bodies lay pressed tight against each other. He kissed her neck with gentle caresses. “I want to take the time to learn all of you,” he murmured, “But right now I’m out of patience. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ve been aroused since I first walked into the damn tent and saw you sitting there. “ She knew she was blushing furiously as she made the admission.
He nudged her folds with the slick tip of his cock and slid inside easily, so ready was she to receive him. His girth filled her channel and, as he thrust, she adjusted to meet him, drawing him ever deeper.
Warmth and delicious sensation spread from her core, filling her with pleasure unlike any she’d ever experienced as she rocked her hips in time with his driving rhythm. She relished the power and force of his arousal, happy to answer with all her strength and no need to hold herself back. She might be locked in his arms but, at the same time, she was flying closer and closer to the edge of ecstasy. He said her name with triumph as he found his climax, deep within her, and with a happy exclamation she let herself go into the moment of sheer bliss.
To his delight, his
warrior was as fierce in bed as he’d thought she might be, but also willing to accept tenderness and return it in equal measure. Samell lay next to Larissa in her none too generous bunk, head propped on his hand, and admired her while she slept. Her muscles were beautifully defined, powerful and sleek, but softened by the generous curves of her breasts and hips. The various tattoos etched into her silken skin fascinated him, and he was determined to learn the story behind each one of them before this journey ended.
He realized her eyes were open, and she was watching him study her. Lifting his other hand, he cupped her breast, stroking the nipple until the sensitive flesh pebbled and then he lowered his lips to feast.
Larissa murmured in pleasure and shifted positions to give him better access while she allowed herself to stroke the taut muscles of his abdomen before gliding her hands lower to grasp him with arousing strength. “You’re insatiable. I’m not complaining. I guess four years of enforced celibacy can do that to a guy.”
Samell raised his head and frowned at her. “You never give yourself proper credit. My body rises in answer to you, not the lack of female companionship during my captivity.” He kissed the soft spot where her neck met her shoulders, breathing in her natural, intoxicating scent. “I find you irresistible.”
“Flatterer.” But her smile was pleased.
“I wish you could read my aura,” he said. As she opened her mouth to retort, he slid his hand down her body, through the enchanting curls at the vee of her legs, to insert two fingers into her silken folds, already warm and welcoming for their next encounter. “Only because then you’d have to accept the truth of my words.” He stroked in and out, watching her expression as he caressed the sensitive bud.
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