Cosmic Cabaret

by SFR Shooting Stars

“You’ve just told me that I’m probably an accessory to one of the biggest heists in the history of the galaxy, thanks to you, and you don’t think you’ve hurt me? What about my career and job? What about my friend Max whose mind you manipulated? What about—ugh—stuff that is none of your business. Unlike you, I have people depending on me and you’ve cut me off from them and taken the credits they need to survive on.”

  So, she’d figured out he was telepathic and had manipulated Max. Not a huge issue, since the longer Razer was around her, the more certain he was that their association was going to become permanent, if he had anything to say about it. She’d eventually have found out he was psychic. And anyone could see he was at least partially Kadisian with his horns. Didn’t mean he was part of the KhaRya though. He might need to employ more stealth in the use of his skills. How did he convince her that everything would be okay?

  All they needed as a little trust. Okay, a lot of trust. He’d make the first overtures.

  “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, if you do the same?”

  She looked at his suspiciously.

  “Are you manipulating my mind?”

  “Ah. No,” he admitted.

  “Why not?”

  He huffed his frustration. “I’ve tried and I can’t.” He stood up and paced, threw himself into the pilot’s seat and fiddled with the flight pad, before shooting her a side glance. “I suspect you’re Earthling.”

  She gasped. “You said you couldn’t read my mind!” Answered that question. He’d have to make sure no one ever captured Ayanna to interrogate her. She was completely transparent.

  “Can’t, Sweet. As far as I know, but the only minds we—my cousin and half-brother--can’t read are the minds of those from Earth or descended from Earthlings. It was a matter of deduction.”

  “But you control everyone else’s minds?”

  “Well, not everyone’s. But yeah, most people’s thoughts are easy to read and manipulate.”

  “Who are ‘we’?

  Ah. Trust. Building trust. “My half-brother and cousin. And their Earthling mates. We rescue enslaved Earthlings from slavers during transport.”

  “You save people?”

  He smiled proudly. “We do.”

  “You save people.

  She suddenly got a gleam in her eye.

  “Just how powerful is your organization?”

  He studied her. What was she after?

  “Are you feeling drawn to a life of crime, now?”

  She waved away that idea and his attempt at teasing with her hand and leaned towards him.

  “I can think of one way for you to make all this up to me. You have a ship. You have money. You can locate and rescue my sister and father from the Ozanian moon settlement on Huldra. Then we’ll be even and we can part ways.”

  He considered her idea—well, all except the parting ways part. He thought about his cousin and brother and the hiatus they were currently on because both telepaths’ wives were close to their delivery dates, Galen and Trina’s third child and Kugen and Stephanie’s first. He thought about trying to infiltrate a planet guarded by the Alliance. Executing the rescue of a few people from a planet controlled by the Q’Tran Alliance’s watchful and suspicious surveillance by himself would be a lot trickier than lifting gems from a privately guarded ship. It was one thing to sneak on and rob a vessel out in the middle of nowhere, and another thing entirely to break through the militarized security of established settlements and cities. He’d need help.

  Older and more powerful than Razer, Galen was able to read minds over great distances, and Kugen was able to control minds over great distances. And now that his and Ayanna’s faces were likely plastered over every security agencies networks and every bounty hunters’ wish list, they’d be captured before they even set foot down on Huldra. If they waited for things to quiet down, maybe in half a galactic year or so, they could do it.

  Razer looked at Ayanna. She looked so earnest. So much like Trina and Steph, an image of their determined and very pregnant bodies flashing into his mind. What would Ayanna look like rounded with his child? What would their children look like? Would they get his horns and black hair, and Ayanna’s golden skin? Galen’s daughters were the cutest little runts, with the most delicate little horns and their mother’s bright red hair. The idea of settling down with Ayanna settled into this chest and it felt right.

  Risk everything to rescue her family? If it made Ayanna fall in love with him, he’d rescue her whole damn extended family from Earth itself. He leaned over the center console and caught up her hand, squeezed it gently, sending shivers up both their arms. The chemistry between them was incomparable to anything he’d ever felt with another individual. Now that he knew he felt something more than lust for his little butterfly, he’d take things slow, do them right.

  “I think that a rescue can be arranged,” he told her smiling. “We’ll discuss what happens afterwards once we have your family to safety.”

  Eleven

  Razer and Ayanna were on their way to Crannor and then Illysia, where they were going to meet up with Razer’s family and plan a rescue of her sister and father. Razer promised to get the funds sent directly to Luxia as soon as they landed on Crannor. Her new, false, identity papers were already manufactured. She had a new alias, Vaney Za, wife of Jenick Za. She wasn’t convinced of the wisdom in playing Razer’s wife, but a secret part of her liked it. A lot.

  Her anxiety about getting credits wired to her sister hadn’t disappeared, but Razer’s willingness to help her get her family off Huldra, and possibly her father to a medical care facility where he could get steady treatment went a long ways toward easing her fears and worries. It had been a long time, if ever, that someone wanted to share her burdens. Of course, she and Luxia carried the weight of her father’s care together, but this felt different. For one thing, Razer had more resources. That was the only reason she was accepting his help. Truly.

  She watched him as he showed her how to use his special food replicators from Illysia. Unlike Quantum, where the food came in prepackaged meals, these units prepared each dish separately. Razer assured her the result was far more delicious and nutritious.

  “To ensure you’re getting everything your body needs, place your hand in this scanner first. It detects any nutritional deficiencies or needs, then prepares the combination of dishes best suited to keep your body in its fit form.”

  As a dancer, she knew she was in excellent shape. Razer slid a look over her body as he spoke, stirring up a hunger in her that she was pretty sure couldn’t be satisfied by the food replicators on his ship.

  She mirrored his actions, admiring his physique as well. Without a doubt, he took care of his body. His wide shoulders, brawny arms, lean torso, and long, muscular legs stirred up all kinds of distracted reactions in her. He towered over her, making her feel dainty, vulnerable. Normally, she would have felt intimidated, but Razer made her feel safe, not threatened.

  He quirked a questioning eyebrow at her.

  Oh. She placed her hand under the scanner and a series of beeps sounded. A window slid open to her right and she saw a hot portion of individual mixed dishes, carefully plated. Razer gestured her to get her meal and join him at a table. He brought them two drinks as well.

  Ayanna sat, her stomach growling and took her first bite. It was delicious as promised.

  “Oh my gods,” she told him.

  He grinned.

  “Try the drink.”

  She took and sip and sputtered at the strong liquor in the glass.

  “Hey, don’t waste it. You won’t find a more potent drink in the galaxy.”

  Ayanna swallowed. “I believe you. Are you trying to get me drunk?”

  Razer dropped his mouth open in mock horror, before laughing. “It might have crossed my mind. I want you to relax before you have a heart attack.”

  After his aggressiveness towards her on Quantum, he was certainly being thoughtful now. She actually missed the versi
on of Razer she’d met at the start because he’d sparked her own enjoyment of a good back-and-forth banter. It had made her feel alive, noticed. She decided to shock him.

  “I can think of a better way to relax my mind and my body—one that doesn’t come with a hangover.”

  Razer’s eyes widened at the implication, then burned hot as he focused on her mouth. Ayanna fought the blush rising in her cheeks at her own audacity. She might be trained in pleasuring a man, but that didn’t mean she was experienced. An unfortunate side of the training she’d gone through for a career in entertainment was that it didn’t teach a woman how to take her own pleasure, and sometimes Ayanna wondered whether sex was specifically reserved as an act meant only to please males. Razer was the first person to raise her curiosity about the act on behalf of her own needs.

  “I remember being told that we’d never have sex.” His voice was low and gruff with emotion.

  She took a bite of her food, swallowed and licked her lips. His responding groan propped up her courage.

  “Maybe you can tell me what I’d get out of the experience.”

  “Gods, Ayanna!”

  Razer pushed his plate to the side, meal unfinished.

  “Finish your food,” he commanded.

  “What about your food?” she asked.

  “I’ve got something else in mind to eat,” he told her.

  She wasn’t able to stop the heat rising anywhere in her body at that promise.

  He gulped his drink down, and then hers as she took a few final bits and pushed her own plate to the side.

  When they stood at the same time, he swept her up in his arms and carried her directly to his sleeping cabin.

  Stripping out of their clothes took but a moment.

  Ayanna held up her hands.

  “Stop.”

  Razer froze.

  She stroked her hands over his chest. She’d seen plenty of beautiful males dancing on Quantum during the last year, but none of them matched Razer’s muscular body. She traced the contours of his hairy chest, then his bulging arms, then his rippled abdomen, her fingers drifting down towards his manhood, which stood up stiff and hard, larger than any she’d seen. She thought she’d start by pleasing him with the moves she knew, but he gripped her wrist and pulled it away.

  She looked up at him in question.

  “Later,” he ground out. “First, you.”

  He backed her unto the bed, and she let herself fall into its soft cushioning. Then Razer went down on his knees and pressed her legs apart, opening her to him. She watched him as his eyes tracked over her body with a greedy hunger before settling at the small, curled hair on her mons. Then he dove in. He attacked her with his tongue, sweeping through her folds with a one track mind. She grabbed hold of his horns and he groaned into her. She stroked the smooth surface, surprised to discover the seeming hard surface of the bone covered in the finest of fur. As she brushed her finger tips over the fur, it lifted and Razer grew frantic, licking and sucking her straight into the most divine experience of her life. She felt like she shattered into a billion shards of fine crystal, scattered to the far reaches of the universe.

  When she felt herself reassembled, Razer had her up at the top of the bed and he was positioned over her torso, her legs propped completely open and cradled on the top of his arms where his elbows bent up. She felt the prodding of his cock against the opening of her vagina.

  “Razer,” she whispered. “You’re the first.”

  He held himself still and looked deep into her eyes. “And I’m the last.” He thrust home and made her his.

  Twelve

  Razer now understood why his cousin and brother lived for their mates. Ayanna was his for now and forever. He was never letting her go. If she thought otherwise, he’d just tie her to the bed and keep her worn out with sex. If she let him tie her up. After their night together, he thought she just might agree.

  He didn’t want to get too overconfident, but he’d drawn four incredible orgasms out of her, and gotten a couple back in return. What that female could do with her hands! She given him a mind-blowing private dance in the middle of the night that made her previous stage performance seem rated for children, which didn’t seem possible. And afterwards, pulling her down, rolling her over and sinking into her wet heat? Holy gods! If he had his way, she’d only ever strip for him alone.

  He watched her sleep. In rest, her features were so lovely, so smooth. He hadn’t realized how her tension drew her skin constantly tight in worry. She was unconscious and relaxed now, and it made his heart beat just a little steadier. He intended to make sure she kept this expression after she awoke. Her long dark, tangled curls spread out across the pillow like the rippling currents of the night sea encircling his family’s island retreat on Illysia. He couldn’t wait to take her home, show her the beautiful planet where they had settled. A safe haven. He’d bring her father and sister there as well. That thought reminded him that he needed to get a hold of Galen and Kugen to let them know what he needed to make it happen.

  Letting Ayanna doze, he slipped from the bed, dressed quietly, and headed up to the flight deck.

  Kugen answered his vidscreen call immediately.

  “Where are you?”

  “Just about to make the drop.”

  “Everything went as expected?”

  Razer thought of Ayanna curled up asleep in his bed.

  “I brought back a treasure beyond measure.”

  Kugen laughed at his phrasing.

  “Are you considering a career as a love poet with your rhyming?”

  Razer flush prompted a second look from his brother. He probed, “We are talking about work, right?”

  Razer couldn’t hold back.

  “I found my mate. Her name’s Ayanna. I’m bringing her home.”

  “The fuck you have,” Kugen scoffed, slapping the table in front of him and leaning aggressively into the camera. “You’re barely 25.” Kugen and Galen had been in their mid-30s when they discovered their mates, and that was considered young for Kadisians who generally didn’t mate until their 40s. In addition, to the surprise of his announcement, he guessed that Kugen wasn’t too pleased Razer hadn’t asked to bring a stranger to their protected compound. He’d simply announced it.

  Kugen’s mate Stephanie appeared in the vidscreen behind him, draping her arms around his neck.

  “Ooh, he has found his mate! Look at his face. He’s got the look,” she confirmed.

  Kugen frowned up at her and looked back at Razer with more scrutiny.

  “What look?”

  “The look of a man in love with his mate.”

  “Don’t see anything telling about his face.”

  “He’s always shared your features, dear, but he’s never shared your expression.”

  Razer dragged his hand down over his face, taking direction from Steph and striving to lighten the mood. “Damn. I look shackled, don’t I?”

  His sister-in-mate narrowed her eyes at his implied insult. “You do.” Then her face lightened and she smiled sweetly. “Fortunately, it’s a good look for you, just like it is on your brother.”

  Razer’s neck grew heated in embarrassment. Time to change the topic. “When you dropping Kugen’s spawn, anyway?” He couldn’t see her protruding stomach hidden behind Kugen’s broad frame, but he knew it lurked there.

  Kugen growled at him through the screen. “Watch it, Bro. This child is going to be your nephew.” Even after more than a year, hearing Kugen call him by their blood connection—showing his acceptance of Razer despite his illegitimacy—gave him a sense of belonging he’d never had.

  “Or niece,” he teased back.

  His brother got a sappy look on his face, all signs of anger gone. “Yeah.”

  They shared a moment of reflective silence, each thinking about the joy babies had already brought into their dark, rough and tough lives in the last couple of years. Nadiah and Shoshi, Galen’s young daughters, had all of the gruff males, including Razer
, wrapped around their teeny tiny fingers.

  He screwed up his courage. He generally avoided asking for more help after all Kugen and Galen had done for him and his mother. If he wanted to find out what it was like to father his own children, he had a few things to settle first.

  “I’m calling in for a specific reason,” he told them. “Ayanna’s sister and father are trapped somewhere on Huldra’s colony. We need to find them and get them out of there.”

  Kugen frowned. “The last I heard, Ozan wasn’t letting any ships land. There’s rebellion in progress and they’re trying to shut it down. That means heavy military surveillance and presence.”

  Razer nodded. “That’s why I’m calling you.” He grinned sheepishly.

  Kugen placed his hands over his wife’s holding them to his chest.

  “After the babe is born and I know Steph is healthy and recovering, I’ll help you get them out. No problem.”

  Razer shook his head. “There’s no time. Ayanna’s father is seriously ill. She says he’s dying.”

  “You know Galen and I’d do anything for you but with our mates incapacitated…”

  Steph smacked his shoulder. “We’re not incapacitated! We’re just pregnant. And we have weeks until we’re due. You’ll help your brother and his mate now.”

  Kugen’s demeanor shifted from apologetic to thunderous in a flash. Razer watched him drag Steph into his lap and place his hand protectively over her rounded stomach.

  “I’m not leaving you while you’re this close to delivery. That’s unconditional.”

  He looked up at Razer. “Sorry.”

  Guilt flooded Razer. He shouldn’t have asked his brother to leave Illysia.

  Steph awkwardly pushed off her mate’s lap and stood over him, hands fisted on her hips.

  “Razer is your little brother. He went through his whole childhood without your support. You have to help him. We have to help him. I’ll go with you.”

  Kugen reared back. “Like hell I’m taking you into a tense military situation. You’re staying here safe on Illysia.”