It would have been too easy for Sernal to pin the crimes on Rorn before the auction, dissolving Gren's association with Temis.
Gren sighed. Right. He paused. Lurin? Has Mara ever absorbed your energy during an exchange?
He felt Lurin's puzzlement. No. I've shared wainu with her, but only after an intense joining. You already know she can read my thoughts when we're together. The sharing is strongest after we make love, of course. But even now she could listen if I hadn't asked her not to.
Gren didn't know what to make of Temis' abilities.
Gren? What's going on? Is there something you need me to pass to the elders? Lurin sounded worried, another complication Gren didn't need.
Nothing some raw sex won't cure. He made his tone light and was relieved when Lurin laughed.
Go for it. But be warned. Once with Mara was all it took. Next thing you know I'm married and she's reading my mind.
I'll be careful, Gren answered with wry amusement. He disconnected and stared thoughtfully out the front viewport.
Intimacy with Temis went beyond special. Despite his wish to remain apart from the woman, they had somehow bonded. The connection remained susceptible to breakage, however, since he had yet to truly join with her. Perhaps he should just throw caution to the wind and explore all of her.
In doing so he would become vulnerable, he knew, for sexual intimacy with Temis already stripped his control. Yet in order to understand her abilities, to protect the Theshan way of life, he would sacrifice whatever necessary.
He flushed as honesty compelled him to admit making love to Temis would hardly be a sacrifice. Sex with Temis would ease the ache deep inside him and give him the respite needed to focus on his mission. Never mind the possessive nature that consumed him concerning one blonde peacemaker. He needed to forget the contrary feelings she stirred in him, feelings he had no business experiencing considering his true purpose in life.
As he sat gazing out the viewport, he continued to rationalize his need to bed Temis. But after continued staring into deep space, he felt his eyes getting heavy. And with a reluctant breath, he fell into an unwelcome slumber.
Chapter Ten
Temis stared at Gren lying so peacefully under the Canfer willows of her home world. She often placed herself in this calming forest when dreaming, especially when needing a gentle respite from the rest of the world. But she hadn't counted on Gren sharing her private space.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in the scent of sweet yala blossoms just opened. The steady drone of market bees hard at work and the pleasant chirping of overhead birds reminded her that spring harvest would soon arrive, and soon after, the pre-tournament games at Chula--her favorite time of year on Zephyr.
Her gaze once again found Gren and she frowned. Why had she brought him here, of all places? This private place was hers alone, never shared with anyone. Yet his presence seemed to complete her paradise, as if she'd been waiting for him to finish the scene.
He certainly looked the part of her perfect lover. Approval surged within her as she stared at his golden skin exposed under Zephyr's molten sun. Despite the shade the Canfer trees provided, the growing heat encouraged her to discard the scraps of slave clothing she still wore, a residual from her waking state.
Feeling free in her nudity, she wandered to Gren, wondering when and even if he might wake. If not for the subtle rise and fall of his chest, she might have thought him dead, he slept so soundly.
His muscular body showed no sign of ease during rest. Instead his strength seemed more pronounced now that she could look her fill without interruption. She inspected every inch of him, curious about the scar that creased the knuckles of his left hand and traveled along his arm stopping just before his elbow.
She traced the darkened scar with soft fingers, surprised at the groan and ready awakening of his body. His eyes remained closed while his nipples hardened and his shaft stirred.
Licking her lips, she stared in curiosity as his erection grew, the velvety rod no longer relaxed in that thatch of silky black hair. Her body instantly responded. Moisture gathered between her thighs, her breasts tingled with anticipation, and a need to feel him deep within her called for action.
"Gren," she whispered as she straddled his body, pressing her moist heat directly along his shaft. She closed her eyes at the pleasure such contact afforded, and decided to fully take advantage of this dream where embarrassment and weakness didn't exist for her. "Wake and love me, Gren," she ordered softly.
His eyes fluttered open, a brilliant green that made her think of precious danstone, a coveted gem throughout the system. Multifaceted and deep, danstone was worth more than most could afford, her included.
She rubbed along his arousal and he growled low in his throat, an answering need in his eyes. "What are you doing to me?" he groaned as she rubbed along his length.
Testing for just the right friction, she found the perfect spot as his shaft grazed her ripe clitoris. "Oh," she moaned and continued to stroke herself with his body. "I want to feel you inside me. I want you to pleasure us both until we can't think anymore."
He shook his head, his eyes straying to her hardened nipples. With two large palms, he cupped her breasts, his calluses a wonderful contrast to the soft touch he used. "Why must you break down every barrier I think to make?" He sounded desperate to refuse, but his body said the opposite.
"You need me," Temis said boldly, running her hands over his hardened chest. She squeezed his nipples and watched his head tilt back, felt his hands tighten around her breasts.
He rolled her nipples between his fingers and she gasped in pleasure. Riding his steely arousal, she slipped back to increase her rhythm and felt the tip of him ease into her. She immediately stopped, wanting all of him.
"Blessed fate," Gren groaned, his eyes glowing brighter than they had a right to. "I can't hold back any longer."
He shifted his hands to her hips and levered her over his penis. Then he coated himself in her moisture, his breath quickening as he played with her position. Temis let him settle her over him, eager to feel this newest sensation. She'd been unable to stop thinking about him inside her, a burning curiosity that built into all-consuming want.
Then Gren whispered something soundless and eased her body down slowly, inch by delicious inch, stretching her with a pleasure so intense it was painful.
"Oh, more, oh," she moaned, spreading her legs wider around his torso to allow deeper contact.
He grunted and pushed further into her, until she sat flesh to flesh atop him, the whole of his shaft within her.
He laid still, his eyes closed and his breathing rapid, the utter joy of the moment spreading around them both like a warm pool.
"Sura, you don't know how good you feel," he said in a thick voice, opening his eyes to stare into hers. "I want you so much."
Like magic, his words forced her to move, and guided by visions suddenly in her mind, she began to ride him, up and down, slowly, feeling all of his thick length.
He gasped her name and fondled her breasts, pinching and plucking until she would die if he didn't take them in his mouth.
Sensing her unspoken need, he suddenly sat up, thrusting deep inside her, and took one rosy bud in his mouth.
She rocked hard onto him, her clit near to bursting, and grasped his head to hold him to her. Her fingers slid through hair softer than Afleran silk, and she nearly climaxed when he suckled her other breast.
"Please Gren," she begged, needing more, needing the completion she'd only ever felt with him.
Then something powerful passed through her, as if a huge ball of warmth suddenly exploded within her. She screamed her pleasure as he rocked inside her, coming around him so hard she felt mindless with ecstasy. She couldn't stop the rapture from overtaking her, knew he could feel it too as he shuddered and spilled inside her.
Amazingly she felt him pulsing within her, and as he groaned and continued thrusting inside her, she sought his lips.
T
he kiss stole her very breath, her ability to reason without him. Together they moved in nature's rhythm, climaxing as one, their bodies and souls melting into one another.
It seemed like forever before they finally stopped, when Gren let go of her mouth long enough to take a breath.
"Sura," he groaned and pressed deeper inside of her. "What have you done?"
* * * *
Suddenly the world stopped spinning and she blinked up into angry green eyes.
"Gren?" she asked hesitantly, glancing down to find herself garbed in skimpy slave clothing and lying in bed. Gren too wore clothing, and she couldn't help the disappointment that filled her. Tears gathered in her eyes, a horrifying reminder that she was most definitely not herself.
"Temis?" His antagonism faded a bit as he studied her. She prayed he accepted her hesitation as one of confusion, that he hadn't seen her eyes well.
She blinked rapidly, relieved the tears would not fall. "I must have been more tired than I thought," she said, aware a blush fired her cheeks. She couldn't stop thinking about what they'd done in her dream, and the slick heat between her legs was a physical testament to her imagination.
His nostrils flared and he stared deliberately at her groin. He clenched his fists and placed them slowly on his hips. "I thought I heard you call out for me."
Damn. Please let her erotic dream have been silent. She would be all too embarrassed if he'd heard her moaning his name.
"No," she answered in a high pitch. Clearing her throat, she sat up and swung her feet to the floor to feel less vulnerable under his stare. "Must have been a nightmare."
"Funny, because I just had one too," he said in hard voice, his gaze suspicious and not at all like the one from her dream.
"Where are we?" she asked to change the subject.
"Between Jaron and Eyra, on the outlying side of the system." He stepped back and took a deep breath, staring out one of the room's two portholes. "If you're done resting, you might want to fill up on some of the provisions I brought. There's a small galley barely big enough for two people past the lav." He thumbed the direction. "I thought I'd get some rest while you eat. We still have several days until the auction, so I figure we'll rest in shifts until we get closer to go-time."
He stared at her expectantly, and she slowly rose from the bed. Unfortunately the quarters were narrow, and she had to brush by him to exit the room.
She heard his intake of breath and stifled one of her own, then left the room with a queenly nod.
Puzzled and slightly hurt, she entered the galley and selected a meal. Obviously Gren wanted to spend as little time with her as possible before the mission.
What had happened to stir such a change in his attitude? She pondered his erratic behavior and dug into the meat tray with gusto, a little surprised at her appetite.
"Touchy merc," she mumbled, peeved Gren was acting more like a moody woman than a warrior with something clearly on his mind. She'd thought he would be one to identify and clear a problem, but apparently she'd been wrong. As she dug into her food, she decided distance might just be the thing to better her perspective.
Women's needs were all well and good, but once let loose, played havoc with reason. Her disciplined nature reveled at her new mind-set, and after digesting several spiced meats and fruits, she began to look forward to the mission, despite the moody warrior keeping his distance.
* * * *
"I bet she's miserable," Rorn Fenhal muttered under his breath as he stared at a hologram of Temis Freya's likeness. He'd had his men post wanted notices, anonymously of course, for the capture or purchase of said abducted peacemaker.
He stared at her picture, images of owning her never far from his mind. From the moment he'd seen her again, aboard Sernal's ship, he'd had a raging erection that wouldn't quit. Luckily he'd thought to bring along two of his favorite female peacemakers, women who, unlike Temis, understood their extreme good fortune to pleasure such a powerful man as he.
Sitting inside his quarters, he pondered the eventual success of his latest operation. Selecting the women for the upcoming slave auction had been simple. He'd simply chosen the most beautiful women from Mardu he'd had the pleasure to meet, then studied their security detail with the aid of peacemaker resources, and like that, he had plans in place.
With the aid of Nero, his second in command, and a small handful of greedy peacemakers more concerned with power than right, he'd begun steadily creating his own hedonistic world.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, thoughts of the future exciting him. Soon his growing estate, Fenhal Lands, would run the outlaw Colony6. In the "civilized" portion of Colony6, his estate was a kingdom. The poor masses of outlaws and castaways owed him their allegiance, for without him, more than half the economy of the small moon would be nonexistent.
The slavers market he'd started years ago had taken off, and deciding he'd had enough of peacemaker politics and righteous fools like Sernal of Mardu, he'd decided to end his tenure as a peacemaker on a grand scale. He had no desire to follow in his father's footsteps. His father could keep his lofty position as Peacemaker Legion Director. Rorn had a better idea of the perfect life.
Abducting Mardu's wealthiest and most gorgeous women to sell as playmates to the system's most powerful underworld leaders would cement his position in the criminal classes. Already whispers abounded of his power and contacts.
He smiled and buzzed for Calia and Zerona.
Temis would regret that she'd ever rebuffed him. He wondered if Gren had raped her yet, then thought by now he must have. The thought of her violated pleased him, and he looked forward to continuing her introduction into the violence of desire.
With Gren's reputation, the chance existed Temis might have fallen prey to his seduction. But since Temis thought herself too good and pure to waste on the best of the peacemakers--namely himself, what were the chances she'd willingly give her pussy to a murdering mercenary?
His cock ached, thoughts of Temis on her hands and knees, begging for rescue, enhancing his desire. He unfastened his trousers and waited impatiently for his peacemakers to attend him.
He wondered in what ways Gren had taken Temis. Had he spent in her mouth, her ass? Had he creamed her slick pussy with his unrefined seed?
Feeling himself nearing climax, he stared down at his impressive erection, knowing it was only a matter of time before Temis begged him for it.
A short buzzer sounded and he pressed a button, opening the door to allow Calia and Zerona entry. They stopped short at the sight of him in the chair, not sure what to do, he supposed, since he'd never before called them to him together.
"Take off your clothes," he ordered.
Calia began stripping while Zerona stared as if unsure.
"I gave you an order, peacemaker," he said silkily, amused and slightly disappointed she quickly did as he bade. Temis would have fought, at least at first, before succumbing to his orders.
When both women stood naked before him, each stunning in her own way, he motioned them closer. "Calia, tie Zerona to the wall."
"Lead Rorn?" Zerona asked in a nervous voice. He'd only slept with her once, a gentle coupling to get her to trust him. Calia, on the other hand, knew what he liked, and her widening grin told him she knew what he wanted. She'd spent a good amount of time chained to the wall while he used various means of taming her.
She roughly grabbed Zerona and bound her naked to the grips in the wall, Zerona's hands and legs spread apart in an upright position.
"She's all yours, Calia," he said, and Calia smiled with pleasure. Zerona, however, shook her head, not wanting to verbally resist his order but clearly not comfortable at thoughts of having no control over the situation.
Control. How he prized the feeling.
He groaned as Calia bent to her knees and began showing Zerona how to play the game.
After much resistance, Zerona began to respond to Calia's rough if sensuous treatment. As he watched the last of Zerona
's innocence being ripped from her, her protests fading under the unwilling moans of pleasure she uttered, he began touching himself.
The corruption of another was always so satisfying. And after Calia had finished, he had a few games of his own to play. He eyed a leather whip sitting on the corner of his nightstand. Oh yes, he had such beautiful things to teach the uninitiated.
Thoughts of Temis mixed with the sexual deviancy before him, and his patience fled. He strode to Calia and shoved her out of the way. Then he ripped Zerona from her bonds and threw her down on her hands and knees.
A swift thrust and the fire in his groin started to ease, the swiftness of his climax fast approaching.
Zerona's protests were half-hearted at best, beginning to bore him. Calia, however, captured his interest. He watched as she maneuvered under Zerona so as not to be left out of the sexual play. She buried her face between Zerona's thighs, and he could hear her sucking and licking, could feel her tongue as it swept over his balls.
He groaned realizing Zerona finally cried out in ecstasy, exultant once again at having broken down yet another woman. From now on Zerona would do whatever he ordered her to do, like all the others.
And as he continued to fuck the replaceable woman in front of him, visions of Temis never left his mind.
* * * *
Gren knew it couldn't last. For the past four days he'd done a remarkable job avoiding Temis. Though he knew they needed to work out their strategy to free the women from the slave auction, they still had plenty of time to rehearse.
He sat in the galley imbibing fermented honey ale, and made no apologies for doing so. Though he'd purposefully left out a few of his shirts for Temis to wear over her ragged clothing, she apparently hadn't understood the message for she continued to flaunt her body in the slave garb he'd given her.
She didn't try to speak with him, just gave him those disconcerting looks that made him want to punch a wall. She'd shake her head, her long white-blonde hair shimmering like the golden waterfalls of Eyra. Then she'd bat those silvery purple eyes at him, as if humoring his "bad mood."
Winner Takes All Page 10