by Amanda Milo
“Most of us chose our backs,” sums up one of the women, incredibly calmly for a being who was not only betrayed, but horribly maltreated. “It was that or end up in the pleasurehouse’s bowls feeding the rest of us.” She eyes our crew. “What are you going to do with us?”
Ekan holds up two fingers. “Could you confirm for us if you prefer the term ‘doxy,’ or ‘pleasure worker,’ or…?”
The woman stares at him blankly for a beat. “Oh, I’m not that fancy. I’m just a common skyfaring whore.”
Ekan nods, accepting her preference.
Another female steps forward. Her eyes are flinty, and she scans our crew—Tiernan and Qolt in particular. No doubt she’s taking wary note of who she feels could be the likeliest physical threats to a body lacking the physical advantage of size and male muscle. “If you’re thinking of taking us back home, don’t bother.” She sends a look over her shoulder at the women. “My mother would just turn me again for credits. I thought I was finally going to have a chance to get away; have a real life, a life with a good man.” Her lips flatten, and she faces our crew again. “But I ended up here.”
“Well that’s depressing,” blurts Oquilion.
Tiernan reaches out to cuff him, but Oquilion holds up his hand, and does it to himself. “Sorry. My mouth gets away from me sometimes.”
“A lot of times,” I offer.
His camera swivels to look at Tiernan, which makes Tiernan twitch—but Oquilion’s using his camera to glare at me. “Shut your yammerer,” he fires back.
Tiernan gestures to the women watching on, who look very unsure as to whether we’re bantering or about to truly fight. “Both of you can clog your tubes. Let’s not frighten them more than we already have.”
Ekan points at the woman in front of the bunch. “You. What do you want to do?”
“Retire?” she offers wryly.
“Done,” Ekan says. “Got any idea where you want to go?”
The woman crosses her arms. “That easy? How?”
A woman behind her mutters, “You gonna give us this ship and we split it thirty ways?”
Feminine murmuring starts off rather nice on the ears as they confer amongst themselves, but the sounds quickly devolve into hisses and spitting. Someone snarls, “How can we trust that one of us won’t double cross the rest?”
“To mimic our Beth’s word: sheeesh,” Ekan says, strolling to them. “Ladies, ladies: let’s not pluck each others’ feathers off now that we Na’rith’s aren’t inclined to get excited and watch.” Deftly, he blocks Tiernan’s hand as it moves to connect with the back of his head, saying, “I have an idea.”
“It better be good,” warns the most spokeswomanest female of the bunch. “The men you left alive don’t have what it takes to run a brothel. But even if we wanted to survive on this, we couldn’t; the men out here only respect the men in charge—not us.”
Personally, if I had a woman that looked at me with eyes as hard as hers, I’d respect her like nobody’s business, but that’s me.
Her features tighten. “We’ll be floating meat, just waiting for predators to snap the last of us up.”
One of Ekan’s brows draws high on his forehead, and he raises his hands. “Calm. We’re Na’riths—not monsters. We’re not leaving you to fend for yourselves.”
The women glance at each other, then face our crew again. “Then what are you going to do with us?”
CHAPTER 34—OQUILION
OQUILION
Prow’s got Beth tucked into his side when we exit the stealthport. They both look pretty (lamentably) comfortable, so I’m more than a little shocked when Beth gives Prow an affectionate squeeze of her arms and pulls away from him before she moves in to greet me.
Prow sends me a grin but pairs it with an abruptly thrust out fist. It’s a token gesture, an obscene one meaning teveker. Beth misses it because she’s not facing him.
She’s hugging me.
I return her hug with a hesitant sense of gratitude. I force myself not to look behind me for Tiernan, but I catch myself questioning if she mistook me for him somehow. It’s not possible; the man’s a mountain—but the idea of Beth selecting me, out of all her mate options, is difficult to grasp. “Uh, to what do I owe this pleasure?” I ask hoarsely. Just like every time I’ve gotten lucky enough to hold her, she feels amazing in my arms. Previous to Beth, it had been so long since I’d held a female, I nonstop craved a woman’s touch—I just didn’t crave the touch from random women. I wanted to hold my mate.
“Just welcoming you back, Oquilion,” Beth says into my shirt—and cog-damn, it feels good to hear her say this.
I squeeze Beth gratefully, tightly—but carefully. Let’s not pop out our spawn before it’s ready, Oquilion.
“Hoy! This fine ass of mine is not for pinching! It’s been claimed by another,” Ekan suddenly hollers, emerging from the stealthport tunnel.
Prow raises a fist in approval. “Finally! I always thought you and Tiernan would make a sweet pair.”
Looking a little harried, Ekan flips him a threatening flick of his fingers, and this time Beth catches the gesticulation. She’s seen a few of our rude signals of course, but this one is new to her.
She’s not asking us what it means though, and that surprises me. I glance down at her to see she’s focused not just on Ekan—but at the women surrounding Ekan.
They’re fluttering around him, evidently drawn by his charm even though it’s apparent he’s developing an aversion to their presence. For the first time in all our lifespans, I see Ekan’s looking unenthusiastic for feminine attention.
I want to teveking roar with laughter.
But, I manage to bite it back because I don’t want to miss this: here Ekan is showing the earliest sign of being mate-locked.
Ekan!
This is hilarious.
I’m about to assure Beth that she doesn’t have anything to worry about where Ekan and other women are concerned, but I’m sidetracked the moment she emits a distracting feminine growl.
My cock responds to her sound, but my brain stays engaged enough to discern what’s got her invisible hackles rising.
A few of the women have their attention turned to the man who’s bringing up the rear of our procession.
Tiernan.
Beth’s features are razor-sharp, and her arms circling my hips have strung tight. Her fingers, which had been relaxed on me, have developed ten (...non)intimidating claws—although no doubt by human standards, these are ten fearsome shows of aggression.
Quickly, I trap her arms under mine to keep her from being able to easily lunge at the females in challenge, just in case she feels riled enough to be inclined.
My meaningful glance at Tiernan is received with a chindip of acknowledgement.
He stalks past the cluster of females, and when he completely ignores them, Beth relaxes slightly.
When he sends a quirking lip at Beth as he goes, she sighs and leans more against me.
I’m about to grin, but just as suddenly, the group of women begin to study Qolt. They may be fresh from rescue after terrible conditions, but they’re still female—and we’re Na’rith. What can I say? We’re irresistible. And Qolt especially is toothsome in a way women, no matter how dangerous he appears—no matter how dangerous he is—always appreciate. One reaches up and catches him by the shoulder, batting her lengthy lashes at him.
And to my surprise, Beth’s reaction is a startling, swift hostility. She’s bristling almost as keenly as she did for Tiernan.
The mate-locked male in me is pleased: seems humans don’t share their toys.
This is further confirmation that Beth fits us down to the tittle, because we Na’rith tend to laugh at the concept of sharing. Why share when you can just steal it and call it your own?
I’ve still got Beth’s arm’s pinned, and although she doesn’t make an audible noise of warning this time, Qolt’s head lifts—and he swings his gaze right to Beth. He may have taken a gong shot to his skullba
sket, but he knows who he wants to belong to.
Beth stares back at him, nothing shy in her at all as she conveys to him with her eyes that she’s not happy with him surrounded by other women.
Without a word, Qolt bares his fangs at the doxy female, sending her backing away, making the rest of them whisper to each other about the peculiar mate-locks of the Na’rith.
Qolt ignores them in favor of striding forward, right up to me—to Beth—and he takes her face in his hands roughly, and seals their mouths with an even rougher, claiming kiss.
Ick.
“Machaii,” I mutter to him.
It’s clear Beth doesn’t agree with me, and Qolt ignores my insult, drawing out their liplock until I start to think Ekan had the right idea—I’m about ready to shoot Qolt, and too cog-damn bad about the damage—when he pulls away from Beth just as suddenly as he swooped in. He storms out of the bridge leaving Beth panting a little, trying to regain her stolen breath as she watches him go.
Her arms never left me during the encounter, which left me uncomfortably close to another male kissing my mate. Yet, I’m also appeased that she didn’t let me go. She didn’t set me aside for Qolt, and I’m suddenly feeling over the moons because of it. Above all, I want Beth to want me—even if she also wants four other machaii. I just need her to want me back.
Seeming to struggle for poise, she combs her fingers through her mane. “What are you going to do with them?” she asks softly enough not to be overheard.
“We,” Ekan says, proving his ears are tuned to her because he leaves the throng of females in favor of strolling to Beth to answer her query, “Are going to take them to Vfayr, to the Iechydmaw people. Remember Breslin? His homestead is a planet hop or two from here.”
I run my thumbs along her hard belly, fingers resting on her hips. “Basically, the entire place is one great, sprawling farming settlement...” I offer, but trail off, because Beth’s being odd.
She’s got little wrinkles around her moonringed cute nose—and when I follow her eyes, she’s giving Ekan a dangerous look.
He’s got blood and a bit of guts and gore spattered on him, sure—but Beth’s not focused on that. If I’m not mistaken, she’s twitching her nose up and acting standoffish because Ekan smells strongly of the other women.
Ekan realizes this too if his widening eyes and stunned expression are anything to go by. He must have had one or two brush up against him because even I can smell the light musk of feminine sweat and the stale sweetness of old perfume when I didn’t notice it on Qolt—who Beth also didn’t make a fuss over.
But make no mistake, she’s not pleased now. She shifts, ready to step away.
Ekan quickly loses all hints of joviality when he realizes Beth is going to avoid him because of the rival scents. “Whoa,” Ekan pleads, brows curling together, eyes widening. “I adore that you’re showing possessiveness over me, but I’ll shower. Don’t forswear me because some stray fragrance is clinging to me.”
“Smells like you had some stray clinging to you all right,” Beth mutters tightly. “Just how much grabbing was going on in the tunnel?”
Ekan is looking gravely concerned. “Narra, I vow I didn’t touch them back, and I fled them as soon as I could.” When he sees this only barely touches her pique, he darts in and kisses her forehead. “You didn’t gnash your teeth at the other three. Why this mistrust for me? If you believe for a moment that I want them when I have you—you’re dead wrong.” He moves to grab her rump—but thinks better of it, and draws away with a firm request: “Don’t stew on this. There’s an emergency shower station around the corner. I’ll wash the wench stench off and be right back. We’ll talk.”
Beth gasps. “Don’t call them wenches!”
Ekan frowns. “What are they to you? Doxies? Females? Women? Challengers? Nemesis...” He pauses, eyes going unfocused. “Nemeses?” He gives her an exaggerated, considering look.
“Octopuses!” Beth blurts in a tone that sounds as if she’s commiserating with Ekan, and the word translates as a many-limbed, underwater lifeform, which is confusing because it appears to have nothing to do with the subject of a nemesis.
Ekan grins though, uttering, “Octopussy?” in a strange accent. Almost like Qolt’s.
This has a strange effect on Beth; her cheeks brighten, and she shivers slightly.
Mystified, I look her over. Ekan catches my eye, and grins. “It’s a movie, Oquilion.”
“Ahhh!” I glance back to Beth. “May I hear this movie-story?”
This request earns me a beautiful smile from Beth.
But Ekan doesn’t give her a chance to tell me anything. He yanks her to him and touches his forehead to hers before jerking his thumb to the corridor. “I’m going to shower your nemeses’ aroma off myself so you stop looking at me as if I’ve been unfaithful. Be back in a click.”
I cover her wrist at my waist with my hand. When her attention is on me, I angle my head at the room which now only holds our guests. “Looks like it’s up to us to play host. Seems somebody scared away the crew.”
Beth winces guiltily. “Possessiveness. Sounds like a red flag for an unhealthy relationship.”
I stroke her back until she stretches into my touch a little. Starting to rub at the spot she reacted at, I correct, “You’re territorial.”
Beth groans into her hands. “I know! I mean—I didn’t know—I’ve never felt like this before over a guy—let alone five. I’m sorry.”
My hand skates up until I catch her by her nape. She tilts her head back, locking our eyes. “You misunderstand me,” I tell her. “A man needs to know he’s important, that he’s worth claiming.” I grin down at her, and touch my lips to hers. “You have no idea how good it feels to be wanted by you.”
Beth surprises me by deepening our kiss. Superbly. Both her hands come up and catch my jaw, and she turns her head, the breath from her nose skating over my cheek.
She tastes good. She smells good. She feels good—
“I leave for all the worlds’ quickest shower, and I come back to find you two instructing a room full of impressionable women how to fornicate,” Ekan calls loudly, club-blocking me.
Beth chuffs against my lips, and I want nothing more than to punt Ekan out of the room and finish what Beth and I were starting. Unfortunately, Ekan has reminded me that he’s not the only one watching on.
I’m breathing harder than Ekan is, and he must have run from here to the shower and back. I feel—and sound—as if I’ve raced the length of the ship twice, thanks to Beth’s effect. I scan our reluctant (and essentially captive, considering we haven’t given them a heading as to where they should go yet) audience. “Apologies,” I murmur to them, my voice like lavarocks spilled across a planked deck.
Beth smiles in their direction weakly, and I’m socked with fierce pride that she’s panting harder now than she was after Qolt’s kiss.
Not that I’m competing with these other jacklegs. It’s just good to know where a man stands at locking lips with the mate we may need to steal from one another from time to time.
Next time I want her to myself, I’ll try kissing her until she follows me.
“Ditto,” Beth says to the women, adding an embarrassed wave with a lust-limpened hand. “Got carried away there.” Reaching behind me, she shocks me by taking a generous fingerful of my assflesh and pinching it.
I jump.
Beth graces me with a naughty smile.
“Okaaay, enough of that,” Ekan forces out, pretending he’s about to yark. He snatches Beth right out from under my arm. It looks like he barely took time to dry off from his shower; his hair is dripping onto his collar. He’s changed into a new outfit, one of the generic sets we keep for fast changes. On everyone they look casual and relaxed but on Ekan they manage to look dapper, curse it all. Now Beth’s back to eyeing him like she might be getting hungry, and he’s exactly the thing to hit her sweet spot.
Ekan hauls Beth to a weapon’s cache on the wall, and with a speaking g
lance sent to our guests, he manually locks it. Then he faces them. “Any of you familiar with Iechydmaw, the people who were settled on planet Vfayr?”
A few of the women raise their hands.
“They’re good men; it’s a backwater place where no one’s going to come after you, and the men there will go wild to woo you—essentially, the same song and dance you were promised before,” Ekan says, cutting his eyes to a few of the women who are starting to look suspicious, “except that you’re flying with Na’rith now, and we don’t need to lie to women to get them to come along for any ride. This is a genuine offer. You want to check out Vfayr?”
“What are you going to do with us once we get there?” a woman from the group asks.
“What’s on Vfayr?” another asks nervously. “You said farms—what else are they known for?”
Ekan’s brows jump once and drop, his gaze rolling down as he whistles low. “Not much.”
I knock against his shoulder farthest from Beth. “Imagine all kinds of farming,” I tell the women, hoping to reassure them. “Raise animals, produce, work the land, cook—if the pioneer life appeals to you, this is your place.”
Now it’s Beth who’s frowning. She glances between Ekan and me. “What if they don’t want to be farmers?”
One of the ladies makes a noise. “It’s not like we enjoy being whores,” she says, and Beth’s cheeks stain with color.
“Sorry.” Beth spreads her hands. “I just meant…
Ekan levels the woman with a warning look. Tread carefully, is what his stare says. Huh. Where our mate is concerned, Ekan is capable of being serious once in awhile.
“We know what you meant,” comes Tiernan’s soothing voice—and just that fast, Ekan’s attention is back on Beth, because she’s giving his chest a goodbye pat.
The only thing outwardly smirking on Tiernan’s harsh face are his lively eyes as he welcomes Beth in an embrace.
I punch Ekan in the back. “Way to go teveker.”
Ekan holds out his hands in consternation. “I steal her from you and we both lose? This isn’t right!”