Rees was surprised at the contact—he’d thought she’d be too cautious. But maybe Talan figured no one would know her in a hover-train, and she was probably right.
The train pulled out into a canyon made by the backs of buildings. They glided along, the train held by so powerful a grav pull that even a sandstorm couldn’t knock it loose.
Rees had sat through a storm in a train car once. They train had stopped, but though the car rocked and jolted, it had never fallen. He remembered the people in the car holding their seats, waiting for a boulder or something to come smashing through the transparent canopy, but nothing had happened.
This train moved fairly slowly through the twisted corridors of the city. Rees had seen on digitals that in cities on a jungle world, they built long transparent tubes that snaked through the city and jungle, and the cars traveled through that. He’d also heard that on some other worlds, everyone, rich and poor, had their own little transport cars, which they put into free-fall tubes that would carry them to any part of the planet they wanted. Not that Rees would ever have the chance to see these wonders for himself.
Talan peered out the window eagerly, but after a while, her eyelids drooped. You could only see so many back alleys and sand-filled lanes before you tired of it.
Talan leaned her head on his shoulder, and Rees kissed her hair.
He was finding it hard to control himself when he was around her. Rees was stiffly erect, even now. Usually he could turn off his pheromone-tasting, woman-seeking cock, but not with Talan.
He’d never taken it this slow before. But Rees knew that as soon as he deflowered Talan, he would be finished. Talan would say good-bye and show him the door.
Rees didn’t want that to happen too soon. He wanted to savor every minute of her.
But the longer he waited, the harder it would be to keep control. He wanted to make it good for her, but the part of him he tried hardest to tame got hard just thinking about her.
Damn, am I panting enough? Rio would laugh himself sick.
Rees woke her when the train stopped at their destination. She blinked sleepy eyes at him, then smiled.
Her smile was going to kill him.
Rees helped her up and guided her off the train. Air whooshed as the doors closed behind them and the hover train glided away.
“Where are we?”
Talan looked around at the grimy station, the crowd, the dispirited and half-working robots that swept trash and dust from the floor. One robot had broken down completely about six months ago, and still sat in the middle of the station.
“Pas City,” Rees said. “The heart of the back streets, as you call them.”
Talan glanced around dubiously as he led her out of the station. Life was certainly different here than in the rich part of town. People strode through the narrow and dirty streets, shouting greetings to people they knew, shouting rude words at people in their way, shouting promises from storefronts that their prices were lowest.
Several black-haired women with surgically-enhanced green eyes leaned over a rusted balcony above the street.
“Rees,” one cooed. “Rees, sweetie, come and see me.”
Talan glanced up at the woman and away, a flash of jealousy in her eyes.
Jealousy. That was a new one. Usually women wanted Rees to be jealous or at least to pretend to be.
As he and Talan moved along, Rees couldn’t believe he’d thought that if he dressed Talan like a lower-class girl, she’d not look out of place. But she obviously had never walked alone on a street before. She tried to look at everything at once, and actually listened to the vendors hawking their wares.
She stopped before a table of cheap jewelry and gawked.
The man who ran the booth had lost several of his teeth and hadn’t bothered to replace them. Maybe he thought the gap-toothed look would improve his sales.
“What is this?” Talan touched a particularly glittery bauble hanging from a necklace.
“The lady has taste,” the vendor said.
Rees tried not to roll his eyes. The man would have said that if she’d picked up a stray insect that had landed on the stall.
“But what is it?” Talan lifted the necklace, mystified.
Rees took it from her. “It’s a star dancer. Haven’t you ever seen one?”
He opened the silver globe that hung from the chain. Holo-lights, red, blue, green, yellow, gold and silver, shot out of it and swirled together just above the two halves of the sphere. The lights danced, sparkled, and twisted.
“Oh, how beautiful.” Her exclamation was filled with genuine delight.
“Buy it for your lady,” the vendor suggested. He would. “Two bits.”
“Are you crazy?” Rees returned.
The vendor took on a look of cunning, anticipating talking Rees down to his real price. But Talan’s eyes widened. “Two bits? That’s so cheap. I’ll take it.”
The vendor goggled, then looked disappointed he hadn’t asked for three.
“No it isn’t,” Rees said. “It’s robbery.” He took his credit slip out of his pocket, made a face and handed it to the vendor. “But nothing’s too good for my girl.”
“No, Rees—” Talan stuck her hand out to take the credit slip back. Rees closed his hand on hers.
“I said, nothing’s too good for my girl.”
The vendor licked his lips greedily and stuck the slip into his handheld machine. He handed back the strip, two bits lighter, and Rees put it into his pocket. He took the necklace from Talan and clasped it around her neck.
“You’re right, it’s beautiful.” He put two fingers under her chin, leaned down, pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
Talan exhaled as he pulled away, her breath skimming his lips like a caress.
The vendor chuckled, breaking the moment. “I have plenty of pretty rings for a pretty lady. Cheap, too.”
“Shut up, you thief,” Rees said. He put his arm around Talan’s shoulders and guided her away.
*** *** ***
The necklace bounced softly on Talan’s chest as she followed Rees. She had to follow him, clinging to his hand, because the street was so crowded, they couldn’t walk together.
People pushed and shoved and bumped right into her, sliding against her with their smelly bodies and rough clothes. It was all very strange.
Stranger was the look on Rees’s face when he put the necklace around her neck. Talan had seen naked hunger in his blue eyes.
He hadn’t even looked like that when he’d told her to sit down this morning so he could lick her. Then he’d been smiling, teasing, half-triumphant.
Talan was alone with him, in a part of the city she didn’t know. She might be able to find her way back to the station, if she asked the way about a dozen times, but she had no money with her. Talan had grown up never needing money. She always gave her fingerprint, and an account was charged.
Here she had no accounts, no credit slips, no friends, no acquaintances. Just Rees and the lifeline of his hand.
He could take her anywhere and do anything he wanted to her. Talan was at his mercy.
Maybe it was Rees, maybe it was the spell he cast, but Talan was not afraid. In fact, she felt exhilarated.
She watched Rees walking ahead of her, his broad shoulders moving, his bare, brawny arm brushing back the folds of his cloak. He had strong hands, strong fingers. She stroked her thumb softly along one of those fingers.
Rees turned his head and looked back at her, giving her a dark smile.
It was right then, Talan thought, that she knew.
Rees turned into an open doorway that looked like all the other doorways crowded on this street. Cloth strips that had once been red fluttered from the doorframe. They’d been fixed behind the storm door, so that the door could drop into place without impediment when a sandstorm blew up.
The door remained open this afternoon, and sand gritted under their feet.
More sand lay inside, as though no one had bothered to sweep the floor
after the storm. The room was bigger than Talan had thought, but mostly empty.
A couple of men sat on a bench on the other side of the room, huge mugs resting on their knees, their heads back against the wall. One snored.
A bar took up the entire back wall. Behind it, a tired-looking, but pretty young woman leaned on her elbows. The room was dim, and she blinked against the glare, trying to see who had come in.
Another man came out of the shadows on the left side of the bar. He was tall and broad-shouldered like Rees, wore a leather jacket that hung open to show a hard-muscled chest, and wore leather leggings that hugged his thighs and hips.
His black hair was caught loosely in a tail, and his face was square and handsome. The man had deep-set blue eyes, a grin that was warm, and a voice that was big and booming.
“Rees!” He came across the room and clapped Rees hard on the shoulder. “About time you showed up.”
Chapter Seven
The man was Shareem all right. He had the eyes, the build, the voice.
“So what are you doing down here dressed like a rich boy?” he went on. His gaze swiveled to Talan, and his eyes widened. “Oh, man. Who’s the pretty?”
Rees drew Talan into the circle of his arm. “Her name is Talan. Talan, this is Rio. My sort-of friend.”
“Your only friend, boy-o.”
“He’s a notorious liar. Don’t trust him, don’t believe him, don’t listen to him.”
Rio’s grin widened. “I’m not as good a liar as you.” He took Talan’s hand. “Let me buy you a drink, sweetheart. I bet you’re thirsty, walking around with him.”
Rees’s voice took an edge. “Talan’s with me.”
Rio cocked a brow at him. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be nice. You get tired of him, Talan, you find me and tell me where it hurts.” He lowered one eyelid in a wink. “Or where you want it to hurt.”
Rio’s Shareem touch sent a warmth through her, even though Talan tried to stop it. If he kept this up, she’d be on her knees asking if she could unbutton his leggings.
Rees must have sensed this, because he firmly took Talan’s hand from Rio’s, and led Talan to the bar.
The young woman behind it gave him a smile of welcome. “Hey, Rees.”
“Judith,” Rees said, warmth in his voice. “Get Talan a ginger mint.” He named a drink high on flavor, low on alcohol.
“I can drink ale,” Talan said quickly. Ale was what the lower-class servants drank. She’d never had it before, but this was an adventurous day.
Rees spoke into her ear. “Not with Rio here.”
His voice tickled her senses, and sent a heat through her that far out-shadowed whatever she’d felt from Rio.
Rio still watched her. He smiled, but there was something dangerous about him. Talan could feel it, like a vibration surrounding him. She suddenly felt glad she hadn’t met Rio without Rees present.
The woman called Judith had dark red hair pulled into a sloppy bun, friendly brown eyes, and a pretty, oval face. She dressed in a coverall, pants tucked into boots.
Talan leaned to her. “Excuse me, but do you have a—um, you know, a lady’s?”
Judith nodded. “Sure. Let me show you.”
She plunked two ales in front of Rees and Rio, and a tall glass of something minty-smelling in front of Talan. Then she dried her hands and motioned Talan to follow.
Judith led Talan to an alcove on the other end of the bar and pointed the way to the relieving room. “Don’t let Rio scare you,” she said softly. “He’s got a kind heart, deep inside.”
They both glanced back. Rio said something to Rees and laughed. Rees shook his head.
“Deep, deep inside,” Judith finished with a grin. “The toilet’s down there. It’s clean.”
It was clean, to give Judith credit. The facilities were up to date—Judith obviously took care of the place. She’d even scented the air.
Talan sterilized her hands, then took a moment to splash her face at the water basin. She needed to cool down. She was barely comfortable around one Shareem, and now she had to deal with two.
Rees’s friend, Rio, the level three.
Judith might tell her not to be afraid, but Talan thought fear was healthy about now.
Talan was learning that you never knew what you really felt around Shareem. Whenever she looked at Rees, Talan was struck with longing and hunger. Was that a natural response, or his Shareem tricks?
She wanted Rees here with her now, to lift her onto this wash basin and take her. She imagined Rees spreading her, pushing his way inside her, Talan rocking back to enjoy it.
Rio would walk in the room behind Rees and stand watching them. He’d look at Talan with his dark blue eyes, and smile that dangerous smile. Talan would grow more excited, and beg Rees to take her harder, harder.
She’d look at Rio and he’d look at her, then Rees would groan and spill his seed. Rio would wink at Talan and walk quietly out. It would be their secret.
Talan dragged in a breath and splashed more water on her face. What was wrong with her? Before Rees, it would never have occurred to her to let a man have sex with her in a ladies bathroom, and certainly not while his friend watched.
Rees was corrupting all Talan’s ideas. He’d come into her life—at her own stupid invitation—and was turning it inside out.
Talan looked into the mirror and saw in dismay that her nipples were hard as little pebbles, standing out through the thin dress. She rubbed them, but they only tingled and stood out even more.
Hurriedly she tried to think about ice cubes and the sandstorm that had torn the force field off the garden this morning. If Rees had not caught her in that whirl of sand and pulled her to safety, Talan would most likely have died.
Her nipples went down a little, but she walked slowly out of the room, lingering in the alcove while she folded her arms over her chest and willed her body to stop!
Rio and Rees were talking. Their voices were low, but some trick of acoustics carried them to her. Judith was not at the bar—she served more ale to the older men in the corner, talking to them in her easy-going way.
Rio said, “You struck gold, my friend. Rich and hot.” He stopped when Rees said nothing, frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I just don’t want to tell you the details. She asked me to teach her, so I’m teaching her.” Rees sounded indifferent, and impatient.
“The way she looks at you, you’re doing a fine job.” Rio took a sip of ale. “Want to do a double with her?”
“No,” Rees answered at once. “She’s not ready.”
“We could take turns then.”
“She’s not ready for that either.”
Rio grinned. “What, is she a virgin?”
“As a matter of fact . . .”
Rio’s eyes widened. “Swear to the gods?” His grin vanished. “Wait a minute, you mean she’s still a virgin? After a night with you?”
“A night and a day,” Rees said. “I’m taking it slowly. She needs it slow.”
“Sweet gods, why did a virgin who needs to go slow go out with you? She should have gone for a level one.”
“She didn’t know.”
“So you’re holding back? That must be hell.”
Rees took a sip of ale. “It’s not easy. She’s . . .” But he did not finish.
Rio rested his hand on Rees’s shoulder, looked reverent. “Man, you are braver than I thought.”
Why? Talan wondered. Why brave? And why did Rio imply she’d made a mistake sending for Rees? Rees had been gentle—except when he’d been . . . not gentle. But he hadn’t frightened her. Much. Not in the way Rio did.
“I commend you, my friend.” Rio lifted his ale. “When she’s ready for a double, you know where I’ll be.”
“Yes, horny.”
Rio shrugged. “Hey, she’s beautiful. I can’t help myself. Judith, love . . . “
Judith headed back to the bar with the empties, and Talan backed into the shadows until she’d gone
by. “What?”
“Ready to take us on again?” Rio’s voice lowered to its seductive Shareem tones.
Judith snorted and slammed down the glasses. “The last time I went out with the pair of you, I was sore for weeks.”
“I remember you enjoyed yourself, though.”
Judith looked away, blushing. Rees laughed softly.
Talan stood in the shadows, trying to banish her dart of jealousy, the same kind she’d felt when those women had called down to Rees on the street.
Why on earth should Talan be jealous? She’d only known Rees a day. He’d been free to do what he liked, with whom he liked, before that.
Maybe it was the way he was laughing with Judith now, in fond memory. Or maybe . . .
Maybe because it had struck home what servicing Talan meant to Rees. Servicing. Nothing more.
Talan had asked for a teacher, and Rees was teaching her. When he was finished, he’d go back to one of the ladies on the balcony or play a little with Judith. Talan shouldn’t care the slightest bit.
But pain burned through her, and tears stung her eyes.
Well, she had a choice. She could get angry, tell Rees to take her home, and then send him away.
Or, she could put aside her petty jealousy and enjoy every single thing Rees had to teach her, until she’d decided she’d learned enough.
And then Talan could retreat to her meditation center and consider herself a bold and daring woman. She’d found a Shareem, just like Lady Ursula in the diary, and for a brief time thumbed her nose at philosophy.
Maybe after she finished with Rees, Talan could come back down here, and find Rio . . .
As though he heard her thoughts, Rio turned and peered into the shadows of the alcove.
Talan gulped. She drew a breath, squared her shoulders, and walked briskly out, pretending she hadn’t been lingering, watching and listening.
Rees turned to her and smiled. He held out his hand, took hers, and drew her into the circle of his arm. “Hey, baby, I missed you.” His eyes were warm, his smile fond. Talan’s heart turned over.
Tales of the Shareem, Volume 1 Page 7