Nella listened to him in a kind of daze, not quite recovered from the last bottle of scent. “I never thought of it that way.”
“Joining is a glorious thing. Satisfying your partner is most glorious of all. And Shareem live to satisfy. We’re not happy—I mean, really not happy—if we don’t give pleasure.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“It’s programmed into us. We can’t go against our instincts.”
“We have something similar on Ariel,” Nella said, finding herself relaxed. “It’s called the Bond.”
He looked interested. “The Bond?”
“It’s like falling in love, only more so. It’s more than sex—it’s a complete joining of man and woman.” Nella laced her fingers to illustrate. “No one is certain if it’s a chemical thing, or psychic, or who knows? Maybe even magic. We only know that when we feel it, we act on it. Most people find a Bond-mate only once in their lives. Some give up and marry non-Bond-mates, but it can be bad if either partner finds their true Bond-mate. So most people wait for it.”
“Have you found your Bond-mate?” Aiden asked, watching her.
She hesitated before she shook her head. “Not yet.”
“And what happens when you find him?” Aiden asked.
“I ask him to mate with me, and then we marry. If he wishes to acknowledge the Bond, that is.”
Aiden toyed with the stopper on the next bottle. “Is it always man-woman? Could your Bond-mate be another woman?”
“Oh, yes. We have male-male and female-female couples on Ariel, although it is not as common. And interspecies too. Ariel has twelve different sentient beings, and the Bond does not seem to confine itself to one. Scientists think that the Bond evolved early in our ancestry to encourage genetic diversity.”
Aiden grinned. “Ever notice how scientists like to make sex so cold and clinical?”
“Except Dr. Laas,” Nella said.
“Except Dr. Laas and her sidekick, Dr. Ralston.”
They shared a smile, like they were old friends.
Nella dimly understood that he was using his Shareem abilities to remove her inhibitions. Baine had told her he was in on the secret—Aiden was trying to make her as comfortable with him as she was with Rees, or even Rio.
Trust me, was Rio’s message.
“Did Rio tell you to make me open up to you?” she asked.
Aiden snorted and shook his head. “No. He only told me to come here and let you pick out the oil you want. What he actually said was, Just give her the oil and don’t touch her until I get there.”
Nella wanted to laugh. That sounded like Rio all right. “Was there a danger that you’d touch me?”
His smile vanished, and suddenly Nella realized how very alone she was with this man. Baine hovered in the background as always, but she wondered how much he’d interfere if Aiden tried to seduce her.
“Let me put it this way,” Aiden said, leaning toward her. “If I didn’t know you were Rio’s, I’d have had you on the table by now, with my hands all over you, spreading oil on your pretty body. And soon after that, I’d have your pussy lubed and I’d slide right into you.”
Sexuality oozed from him, filling the room. Nella had no doubt her own pheromones filled it as well, feeding his hunger.
Then he straightened, and the temperature dropped a degree or two. “But I know you are Rio’s. Question is, do you want to be?”
Aiden’s eyes were shrewd. He knew Rio far better than she did, and he seemed to know exactly what the situation was here.
“I like Rio,” she said. “It is only temporary. He knows that.”
“Not very romantic of you.”
“I mean he wouldn’t want it to be more than temporary. Why would he? I’ll go home and—” she lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “That will be that.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“Is it not? Every Shareem I’ve met so far has told me they are all about pleasure. Well, sometimes the pleasure has to end.”
He feigned shock. “Gods, no.”
“I mean, we do not have a choice. We have to face things that have nothing to do with pleasure. We don’t want to, but we find we have no choice.”
She faltered. She longed to go home, but her homecoming would not be easy. She would have to make sure that Linginian was properly dealt with, she’d have to face her family and tell them what had happened to her. After the initial rejoicing, there would be pain.
She chose not to discuss the faint tendrils of what might be the Bond between her and Rio. She might be mistaken, and if she was, better to cut the feeling and go on, no matter how much it hurt at first.
Aiden watched her closely, but asked no questions.
“Well then, I guess we better enjoy all the pleasure we can right now.” He lifted the next bottle out of the box. “I think you’ll like this one. Smells like jasmine, but with a little kick to it.”
* * * * *
The entrance to Dr. Laas’ compound—her lair, some of the Shareem liked to call it—was hidden in an abandoned warehouse on Dekato Street. To the casual observer, cutting through the warehouse looked like a quick way across the district, and many people used it as such.
Sand-scoured alleys crisscrossed this neighborhood, filled with disreputable traders who cut and run at the first hint of sandstorm or patrollers. This soon after a storm, the streets were deserted, which suited Rio.
He strolled through the doors in the warehouse, which had long since rusted open, layers of sand coating a plasti-concrete floor.
The entrance to the underground complex was a door standing right in the middle of the warehouse, hidden by holo-illusions. When you approached, Baine decided whether you were admissible. If he thought so, the door would open, you’d walk through, and immediately step into a grav-controlled drop tube, which floated you down to the next level.
If Baine decided the visitor should not be allowed, he would generate another holo-illusion, in which the person would grow disoriented and walk around the door without knowing it or noticing its presence.
The security was simple and effective. If Baine, who constantly scanned the area, saw anyone following or spying on the visitor, he refused to open the door, and the visitor wandered around the warehouse, forgetting why he’d come, until he walked away.
The warehouse was dry and empty when Rio entered it. Knowing the patrollers had also gone to ground during the storm, he headed determinedly for the door.
Baine quietly slid it open. Rio stepped into the drop tube, his stomach turning over as the grav unit lowered him a level. He hated drop tubes.
Once his feet touched solid floor, he let out a breath of relief and waited for the next door to open. This one led into a well-decorated hall with the lift at the end.
“Where to, Shareem?” Baine asked.
“Wherever Nella is.”
“Dining room,” Baine answered laconically, and the lift dropped, zooming Rio down fifteen levels.
“Thanks for the ride,” Rio growled.
He waited for his stomach to calm, then he exited the lift and walked down the hall to the dining room. On the threshold, he stopped, his Shareem senses on instant alert.
Aiden lounged in a soft dining chair, his eyes intensely blue. Bottles of his scented oil were scattered across the table next to the empty case. Nella had a bottle to her nose and a dreamy look on her face. She leaned back, relaxed and loose, her hair trickling over one shoulder to pool in her lap.
The scents of Aiden’s sensual oils—spice, exotic fruits and flowers—were overlaid with the sharp tang of sex. The scents and the pheromones, both Aiden’s and Nella’s, aroused him, sending his Shareem temperature skyward.
“Damn, what did I miss?” he demanded.
Nella leapt to her feet, a smile of joy on her face. “Rio!” She ran to him and flung her arms around his neck. “You’re safe,” she breathed. “I was worried.”
Rio held her, inhaling her scent, which was way more heady
than any of Aiden’s oils. “I’m here, baby.”
Nella let go of him and stepped back, a look of embarrassment on her face. “Because of the sandstorm. I was afraid you’d be caught in it.”
A warmth began in his heart and started to swell through his body. No woman had ever looked at him with such concern and relief in her eyes.
He was Rio, level three Shareem, made for sex and the ultimate sensual experience. Women were supposed to beg him to dominate them—they didn’t worry about him.
That might imply she cared.
“I got myself inside,” he said. “Caught up on reading while I rode it out.”
“Bondage Today?” Aiden murmured.
Rio ignored him. He broke the contact with Nella and laid the packages on the table. “I brought you some presents.”
Nella came forward. “For me?”
Rio opened the first one and held up the collar. “For you.”
She stared at it. The collar was a supple black leather with finely tooled designs of flowers and leaves. Since so few flowers and leaves grew naturally in the deserts of Bor Narga, artists loved to put them everywhere, even on collars made for subs.
Nella took the collar in her hands and examined it in wonder. “You bought this at a shop?”
“A shop with a back room, where they make special things for me.”
She ran her fingertips over the soft leather. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, they’re artists.” Rio gently took the collar from her and slid it around her neck. His temperature rose as he fastened it. “You look gorgeous in it.”
The black leather offset her red hair and pale skin, making her more lovely and desirable than ever. He noticed Aiden’s appreciative look. Even if Aiden was fantasizing about another male Shareem, he certainly hadn’t lost his interest in females.
“It goes with this.” Rio opened the larger package and drew out the skimpy black leather dress.
Nella’s eyes got big. She took the leather cloth in her hands and again studied it as though she’d never seen anything like it before.
It had not been difficult to tell the artist what size to make the dress, because Rio’s hands knew the exact size and shape of Nella’s body. It was part of his Shareem-ness, he figured, though no one had ever confirmed this, that his body retained an imprint of every detail of the lady he made love to.
“You want me to wear this?” she asked, nibbling her lower lip.
“Trust me,” Rio said in a quiet voice. “Put it on.”
She glanced at Aiden in some trepidation.
“Go ahead,” Aiden said. “I don’t mind.”
Rio watched her, folding his arms tight over his chest. “You can go to your room if you really want to.”
Aiden said nothing. Nella looked at the leather, looked at Aiden, and then at Rio again.
The pulse in her throat beat quickly, as she tried to decide what to do. She knew Rio would be disappointed if she retreated to her room to change in private. Perhaps he’d even punish her.
Rio grew aroused watching her debate with herself. If she stayed, Aiden would watch. Aiden did not offer to leave the room, because he was Shareem. He wanted to see nakedness.
Nakedness to Nella meant vulnerability and sex and surrender.
Slowly, almost as if she didn’t realize what she did, Nella loosened her baggy tunic and pulled it off over her head. She unfastened the leggings and took those off as well, then discarded the undergarments.
Aiden stirred, aroused. Yes, he definitely still liked females.
Nella took up the leather dress and looked at Rio. “Will you help me put it on?”
Obligingly, Rio wrapped the leather around her torso and fastened it in the back. It was short, baring her thighs and hugging her breasts, pushing them high. The garment had no sleeves or collar—it was just a simple width of leather covering her torso.
“You look beautiful,” he said. The dress hugged her, showing her hips and breasts to perfection. It was a hell of a lot better than the secondhand gray-white thing Baine had found for her.
“One last thing,” Rio said. He took out the chain he’d bought and linked the slender, silver length to the ring in the front of her collar. The chain dangled between her breasts.
“Perfect,” Aiden said. His beautiful, sculpted face wore a look of intense satisfaction. Level ones could get off just looking at a woman.
So could level threes, but it was more fun to play with them.
“Did she pick out her oil?” Rio asked.
Aiden nodded and lifted a bottle. “She likes this one best.”
“It reminds me of you,” Nella said.
Rio’s heart beat faster. “Good.”
Aiden got to his feet. Rio sensed Aiden’s pheromones shooting all over the place, readying him for what was to come. “Shall we start?” he asked.
“Sure thing.”
Rio lifted the chain and tugged Nella to him.
Chapter Eleven
Slow Love
Nella’s heart raced, and cream began to trickle between her sweat-dampened thighs. Rio held the chain securely, his eyes hot and blue.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, more curious than worried.
“Aiden is going to teach me how to love you slowly. Do you want to learn with me?”
“I’m always willing to learn,” she said.
Rio growled and tugged her to him. She landed against his leather-clad body, and he kissed her, lips hard on hers.
“You wanted to keep it to level one,” Aiden said, his Shareem voice growing even more deep and soothing.
Nella began to relax, her mind slightly fuzzy as Rio’s touch and the voices of two Shareem males softened her resistance.
Resisting was the farthest thing from her mind. Never in her life would she have the opportunity to be in close proximity with two men like this, one with whom she was falling in love.
“What do you want me to do?” she whispered against Rio’s lips.
“Obey me.”
“Yes.” No resistance there.
“While you are in this house, you will wear the dress and collar and come to me whenever I wish.”
“All right.”
He slid his large, hot hand to her back. “Anything you wish me to do to you, you ask me, right when you think of it.”
“Yes.”
“We will go to your bedroom now, and Aiden will show me how to touch you. And anything Aiden and I wish to do, you will ask us to do.”
“Of course.” She felt loose and pliable and happy. She rested her hands on Rio’s biceps, her fingers pressing the leather. “I will.”
Rio chuckled. “Level threes like to be talked back to now and again.”
She looked up at him, liking the hard lines of his face, preferring his rough, raw sexuality to Aiden’s absolute beauty. “Why?”
“So we have an excuse to punish you. That’s part of the fun.”
“All right,” she said dreamily. “Tell me when you want me to disobey, and I will.”
Aiden laughed softly. “I think we’ve overdone it.”
“No.” Rio cupped Nella’s backside and scooped her to him. “I think she’s just right.”
“Shall we go, then?” Aiden asked.
Rio shot him an amused glance. “You talk so hoity-toity, Aiden. Shall we go. We shall get our asses down to Nella’s bedroom, yes.”
Nella smiled. No other man in her life had made her laugh like Rio did.
* * * * *
Baine was silent as they rode the lift to the level where Nella’s chamber lay. The hall was calm and quiet, the air soothingly scented, the walls a pleasing shade of yellow. Her bedroom, while plain, had been given lights of warm plum and cool blue, which blended to just the right shade.
Nella wasn’t certain who tidied the rooms, or whether Baine controlled a supply of cleaning robots, but her bed was an unwrinkled slab, and the blankets she’d scattered about while sleeping had been folded and set aside.
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She took in the state of the room distractedly, not particularly caring. She was aware only of Rio leading her by her chain, and Aiden behind her, his body heat like a thermal blanket.
Rio’s hold on her chain was more than a physical link between them. She seemed to feel his energy coming up the length of silver to her throat, as though the chain was a conductor of the Bond.
She liked the feeling. I belong to him, and him to me.
Rio led her to the bed. Aiden set down the bottle of oil he’d brought with him and stripped off his tunic, while Rio told her to lie facedown on her bed.
Nella obeyed, settling the chain to one side of her, liking the cool feeling against her arm. From her vantage point, she saw Rio slowly remove his clothes, sliding the leather from his body until he stood in only a loincloth.
He snaked his hand through her loose hair, turned her head and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was possessive and hot, as though she needed reminding that she was his.
Somewhere above her Aiden said clinically, “We’ll need to put her hair up, out of the way.”
As Rio stepped away from the bed, presumably to look for a hair clip, Aiden gathered her hair in his broad hands and began to braid it.
It was a most sensual feeling, having this man comb his fingers through her hair, then gently plait it into a tail. She closed her eyes, enjoying it.
She knew Rio’s touch without opening her eyes. It was different somehow, his fingers rough, his touch firmer and more aggressive. He wound the braid Aiden had made into a coil on the back of her head and pinned it in place.
Aiden’s fingers had soothed her, almost making her drowsy. Rio’s touch woke her up and aroused her.
“That’s why level threes think they’re better than the average Shareem,” Aiden said, as though he’d read her reaction.
“That’s why we are better than the average Shareem,” Rio said. “But I’m always willing to try something new.”
“This will be new,” Aiden assured him.
Nella felt fingers on the fastening of her leather dress—Aiden’s, she could tell now. He undid the catches and let the dress fall, baring her back and backside.
She felt Rio’s touch on her ass, thumb sliding between the cheeks.
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