by Jaide Fox
He thought these things would please her. Women liked presents. A distant memory surfaced of his father bringing his mother gifts to keep her happy. Was it a birthday? She’d always seemed delighted and smiled so brightly. He’d been just a boy then though, so he couldn’t be certain. He frowned, trying and failing to remember her face and the color of her eyes. She’d died along with the all the others.
Dar slammed the door on the way out and quickly gathered as much fallen fruit as he could see. Rounding the grove, he saw an Uzel tree and stopped to collect some of the nuts from the grass. The shells were thin enough they could crack them with their hands, and the sweet flesh would give them much needed protein. By the time he’d collected their feast, it was fully dark and the second moon had begun rising over the horizon.
With a heavily laden basket, he returned to the house he’d selected for them for the night. She’d located some candles and had spread them around the room, bathing the walls in soft, flickering yellow light. He caught her attention with his entrance, and with the firelight limning her face and hair it gave him pause.
She was a damned fine sight to look at—he could admit that much. He’d seen her entire backside and it’d looked good. He’d averted his gaze before seeing anything else—more’s the pity.
“I found us something to eat,” he said. She smiled in surprise and stood from the couch, walking to the table where he set his bounty. The smile transformed her face, and he found he liked it worlds better than her frown. “Give this a wash,” he said, handing her several round fruits. While she rinsed them at the sink, he cracked nuts.
They sat at the table, eating their fill in silence. This was the difficult part which made his stomach tighten uncomfortably. What to say to a woman? Lovemaking didn’t require a lot of talk, nor did riding or walking, but here in the stillness with nothing to do…he hated to admit he was as nervous as a schoolboy walking up to the front of his class completely unprepared for his report.
He said nothing, opting for silence and mystery while he watched her eat and lick the sweet juices from her lips and fingers. She looked embarrassed when she caught his notice.
“Sorry,” she said. “I thought I’d have to eat a pillow or grass in the morning. Thanks for the food. You can sleep tonight without worrying about me going Hannibal cannibal on you.”
Dar lifted a brow, a smile teasing his lips. He had no idea what she was talking about. They’d all done studies on Earth culture, but just the basics. Hell, until he’d seen the princess sisters, Adrienne of Anehtar and Ebony of New Chalcydon, he hadn’t even known the women of earth had such exotic complexions. In spite of her headstrong ways, he found her incredibly attractive. The hue of her skin was most becoming, and he couldn’t stop wondering what she had hidden beneath her clothing. Did her nipples match the rest? And was the hair the same black curliness betwixt her legs. He had to stop picturing her naked or he wouldn’t be able to think straight without his cock going hard. “It brings me pleasure to know you enjoy my offerings. I hope to give you more.” His voice was hoarse when he said it.
She shifted in her seat, sipping water and taking her eyes off him, though she couldn’t stop glancing in his direction. “Uh. More what?”
“Pleasurable gifts,” he said, then took a drink and watched her over the rim of his glass to gauge her reaction.
Her cheeks darkened and she covered them with her hands. He found the process intriguing. “Why do you do this?” he asked, motioning to her hands.
She patted her cheeks. “No reason. Nothing to see here.”
Dar continued watching her, thinking her reaction over. “Ah. I have embarrassed you, have I not?”
She swiped her forehead. “Of course not.”
“You are certain? Would you like me to gift you now?”
“Whoa, buddy,” she said, standing and making the chair scrape noisily. “Where are you heading with this?”
He put on his most innocent face and pulled the coat, soap, oil and brush from his basket. “These. I thought you would enjoy this...after the ride and hike today.”
“Oh,” she said loudly, taking the items. “I thought you meant—never mind. That’s nice. So you were thinking of me out there, rummaging around?
He allowed a slow smile to spread across his face, enjoying her flustered response. At the crux of the matter, he found himself intrigued with the possibility of having his way with her. Perhaps the prince and princess were right in choosing him for this mission. “You want the sex. It is on your mind,” he said, matter-of-factly.
She gasped and set the items back onto the table. Turning and giving him a look that could melt stone, she poked a finger into the middle of his chest. He felt a bruise form under her fingertip. “Why the hell would you think that? I don’t know how casual y’all are about hooking up, but I’m not about to let just anyone stick their dick in me. Take this stuff back. I don’t want it if you think it’s going to get you into my pants.”
He stared at her in silence, resisting the urge to rub the spot on his chest she’d poked. The blood that previously had engorged his cock had risen to his head and made his temples feel near to explosion. His cock retreated into hiding to fight another day—lucky bastard. He had to stand there and endure her wrath, reminding him once again why he’d initially vowed never to take a wife. Cock be damned, the pleasure from a woman wasn’t worth the agony of their displeasure.
“Well? Nothing to say now, I see. Good thing you aren’t as dumb as most men, digging your grave deeper with excuses and more bullshit. You know what, I think I’ll sleep upstairs in that bed and take my chances that more aliens won’t be coming for us tonight.” Jasmine retrieved the pillow and blankets he’d brought down, grabbed a candle, and stomped up the stairs.
Dar heaved a sigh. That couldn’t have gone more wrong if he’d tried. He’d never failed at a mission before, and he had the sinking feeling this might be a first.
***
Jasmine set the candle down carefully with its tiny flame barely lighting the room. She dropped the bedding on the bed, but before she could do more, she heard the door slam from below. Alarm jolted through her. She rushed to the window, peering out to see Dar walking through the front lawn clearly illuminated by the light of the moons.
Was he going to abandon her? she thought with another shot of alarm. She wasn’t above running after him and demanding him to come back. The hell if she was going to be lost on a strange world! He stopped, throwing his hands up, and then continued pacing back and forth with agitated movements. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but it was clear he was arguing with himself. Finally, he raked his hands through his hair, spun, and headed back inside.
She heard the door shut again, this time softly.
Jasmine chewed the inside of her lip. Guilt swamped her. She’d jumped the gun downstairs and she knew it. He hadn’t propositioned her—not enough to get that kind of tongue lashing from her. She realized if she didn’t make an effort to smooth things over with him, her mind wouldn’t allow her to rest tonight. She could be her own worst enemy, and the least little turmoil in her brain would keep her from sleep for days. She knew she’d been acting like a hormonal bitch lately, and she disliked facing the truth and her effects on everyone around her. Part of her reasoning for going along on this ride had been to chill out. Besides, it wasn’t like Dar had been nasty to her—she heard worse than that walking down the street back home.
Making up her mind, she exited the room and fumbled her way back down the stairs in the dark, catching her toe on cracks in the wood flooring and nearly losing her balance. The bannister saved her and warned Dar that she was coming. So much for subterfuge.
“Back to lash me with your tongue some more? My apologies if slamming the door interrupted your beauty slumber. I’ll try, forthwith, to be more considerate of you,” he said from his position on the couch. He was stretched along its length, his head on a pillow and his arm draped over his eyes where she couldn’t see anything
but his mouth and stubbly jaw, which admittedly looked darkly sexy. He’d also removed his shirt, exposing a riveting amount of hard, muscled flesh. With irritation, she noticed he looked like he’d been constructed from a mold of the ideal man—broad shoulders, washboard abs, narrow hips. He couldn’t be any leaner or more defined.
She took a deep breath, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach and the throbbing pulse that had suddenly picked up in the most unwanted of places—smack in the middle of her sex. She was not a sucker for big muscles and handsome faces.
While she struggled for words in silence, gorging on eye candy, he finally uncovered his eyes and glared at her, making her want to scurry back up the stairs and forget about making apologies.
“You come down to gloat? I didn’t think you were capable of extended silence when in my presence,” he muttered sullenly.
Jasmine cleared her throat, shifting from one foot to another. “Uh. No. I…I just want to say I’m sorry. I had some time to think it over and I realize I shouldn’t have reacted like that to you. You brought me food and water, things to make me comfortable, and I threw it in your face. You were just flirting with me, am I right?”
Dar sat up on the couch. She found herself fascinated by the reactions of his muscles, one by one, as he moved with fluid grace swinging his legs to the floor and standing. He crossed the floor, stopping on the other side of the couch and leaning a hip against it. He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “Thank you. You are right. It is wrong for me to not come forward with my feelings. To insinuate. You deserve more respect than that. I do want you, Jasmine. It is all I can do to resist crossing this space and taking you into my arms and showing you just how much I want to please you. Go back upstairs. Get into bed. Leave if you don’t want to find out right now that I mean every word I say.”
The wind gushed from her lungs in a shocked gasp. She backed up a step; felt the bannister hit her in the backside. His eyes gleamed, glittering with lust. She wasn’t sure if it was his carefully constructed announcement or the tone of his voice when he’d said it, but she believed every word he said and it sent a thrill racing through her. If that wasn’t enough to convince her she’d lost her ever-loving mind, she didn’t know what could.
“I’ll give you one more chance to go upstairs and bar the door from me. All it takes is one word from you, and I’ll join you tonight—yes.” He stepped forward, closing the distance between them and sucking all the oxygen out of the room. Her heart pounded. Blood throbbed in her temples. She couldn’t look away from his face—felt mesmerized by his eyes as he slowly approached his prey. “You aren’t running. You aren’t trying to escape. Could it mean you want me as much as I want you? You tempt me to do things I should not, Jasmine.”
He stopped again—close. Too close to evade. She willed her legs to move, but curiosity and intrigue kept her rooted to the spot. He grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss her fingertips. His mouth branded her skin like fire. She licked her lips, trying to remember the last time she’d been kissed by someone that made her body respond like this—and came up empty.
Rubbing a thumb in her palm, he held her gaze with his heavy lidded eyes. “Just say you want me, and I’m yours, Jasmine. Say yes.”
She shook her head, pulling her hand free of his and immediately feeling better. “No. I don’t. I just wanted to apologize.”
He smiled slowly, looking so much like a cat toying with a mouse. “You will. It is only a matter of time. Run away, Jasmine. Go upstairs where you are safe. For now.”
Chapter Seven
Jasmine slammed the door shut and collapsed with her back against it, holding her chest and gulping air to calm the fuck down. “Jesus H. Christ,” she said, trying to control her shuddering response. “What the hell just happened? Did someone slip him some Spanish Fly?” she wondered aloud. Her legs felt like jelly, and it wasn’t from running up the stairs like the hounds of hell were after her. Hell, she was surprised her thighs weren’t quivering like some bad purple prose.
How an apology had erupted into a near miss with a sexplosion, she had no idea. She realized her clit throbbed with need and her slit was wet from his sensual threat. That bastard had just kissed her fingertips, and she was halfway to falling into bed with him.
She tried to list her reasons for abstaining from sex. The biggest one was she didn’t want to end up pregnant. It would be just like him to have a potent load ready to impregnate her with triplets. She shuddered.
“I’m a fucking idiot, tempting fate like that,” she muttered to herself. She continued shaking and couldn’t seem to stop. He’d totally taken control of that situation. And could she have reacted any hornier? If he’d tried to kiss her, she probably would have melted into him and done anything he wanted. She was disgusted with how easily she’d been aroused. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Jasmine locked the door and jiggled the handle, making sure he couldn’t come through without making a warning noise. Satisfied, she threw herself into the bed, wrapping up tightly in the blanket. If she’d thought she’d get a good night’s sleep by making amends with Dar, she couldn’t have been more wrong, for he invaded her dreams in much more disturbing ways than she cared to admit.
***
Samara found Cyndy in the main gathering room. “Have you seen Jasmine? I’ve been looking for her all day. She didn’t come in last night. I thought she was with Mai, but I found her wrapped up with one of the guards. She hadn’t seen Jasmine either, though she probably hadn’t seen anything past sucking that guy’s face. He is so fired when his boss finds out.”
Cyndy looked up and blinked, her face frozen and hiding something. “Oh. Well…not today. Good for Mai though. That’s awesome.”
Samara plopped onto the pillow pile right beside Cyndy. “What gives? Don’t even try to lie. I know you’re hiding something. You ain’t never been able to hide the truth from me. Not with that face.”
Cyndy sighed and twirled a strand of her silky dark hair between her fingers. “She went out. On tour. With that Captain guy. What’shisname—Dar Tagnon.”
Samara screwed up her face. “I thought she hated him? Or at least didn’t like him. Why didn’t she tell me she was going?”
Cyndy twisted the strand around her finger, released it, and started again. It was a nervous habit of hers they all knew well. “I guess she didn’t want to give you a chance to stop her.”
Huffing, Samara crossed her arms over her chest. “She’s right. I would have. She say why she had a sudden change of heart?”
Shrugging, Cyndy said, “Guess we’ll have to wait and ask her that. She’s supposed to be back today. Maybe we should start worrying he took her off and dumped her somewhere so he didn’t have to deal with the headache. She did say she wanted to explore our new home.”
“I heard that too, but I thought she meant the city. That girl’s insane, going off with a stranger in an alien world. I don’t like it. I say let’s go find where this Captain Tagnon is stationed and check up on him. Surely he’s got to report to someone of higher rank. It’s almost lunch time and my cousin’s been gone twenty-four hours. I’m not waiting until they drag back a dead body. There’s got to be some protocol in place!”
“Let’s ask the guards here. We’re not prisoners, right?” Cyndy asked, getting to her feet with her friend.
“I’m not above ordering one of them to show me headquarters,” Samara said, leading the way out of the extensive quarters and into the marbled hallway that lead past lush, exotic gardens. Beside a double set of metal doors stood their victim, garbed in a high collared black uniform. He held a silver staff with prongs on one end. It reminded her vaguely of a cattle prod, and irritated her with the idea that she and the other women were merely chattel in this place.
“You,” she said, pointing at the guard. His eyes widened.
“Yes, madam?” he said.
“What’s your name?” Samara asked, feeling Cyndy quietly standing behind her backing
her up. Two against one was better odds in any situation, even a verbal attack if he chose to resist.
He cleared his throat. “I am called Grail Arkane.”
She grinned, batting her lashes. “I’m Samara. This is Cyndy. I’m glad you’re not one of those stuffy soldiers that’s all rigid and proper about procedure. We need your help. I need to know where Captain Tagnon is stationed. It’s important, so don’t think about not answering. We have ways of making you talk.” She giggled, hoping he thought her jokes were funny enough to get the stick out of his butt.
Cyndy elbowed her ribs.
Grail looked torn about giving her the information, but finally relented with her most stunning smile. “He is usually at the zhala stables. On the edge of the city. It is unwise to travel there alone, however.”
“Why is that?” she asked.
“As females, you are precious and rare—highly sought after,” he said, measuring his words.
She refrained from narrowing her eyes at him in a sour face that would set up his guard again, but his careful wording gave her pause. Desperate men could be dangerous, and it made her worry even more for Jasmine. She had to trust that no one would harm her. These people needed them alive and willing, right?
Cyndy twirled her hair, eyeing him up and down like a choice piece of beef. “Perhaps, since you’ve been so helpful, you could get special permission to escort us. Princess Adrienne said we had run of the palace and city. We would love to see the zhala and other sights with a handsome guard like yourself.”
He nodded, his eyes slightly glazed as he looked down at her. “I can call it in.”