by Lili Zander
That’s a thinly-veiled threat. If being Highborn is the carrot, what’s the stick?
“So, not a good date?” Bryce looks up, her lips twitching as I enter the treehouse, irritated beyond belief.
“How can you tell?” I collapse on my pile of bedding.
“You look like you’re going to start throwing things,” she answers. “Want to talk about it?”
“Well, let’s see. Within the first ten minutes, they offered to show me their cocks. Then, when we got to the lake where they were fishing, they shushed me every time I said something.”
“Why?”
“They said I’d disturb the fish.”
Bryce laughs, then slaps a hand over her mouth to hide her grin. “Sorry. This is very entertaining. Then what happened?”
“Then they told me to clean the fish because that’s women’s work, yelled at me and called me useless because I didn’t know how to do it, and muttered something about how if they didn’t need to be dragons, they wouldn’t bother with me. Belfox disappeared for more than an hour. Oh, and the absolute cherry on top of this shit-sundae of a first date? After all that, they tried to kiss me.”
“Ouch.”
I strip off my top, shuddering with the memory of Herrix’s lips on my skin. Bryce inhales sharply. “What happened to your arm?” she demands.
I look down. Herrix’s grip has left bruises. “Oh, just Herrix grabbing me and telling me that because he is Highborn, and so is Belfox, I should be thrilled that they’re interested in me. Don’t worry about it. It looks worse than it is.”
“If you say so.” Her brow wrinkles. “Olivia, you will tell us if something’s wrong, right? You don’t have to go out with them if you don’t want to.”
Actually, I do. I have no choice other than to alternate dates between the two pairs of Draekons, at least until we figure out how to survive on this crazy planet on our own.
I change into a different top and remove my hair from the ponytail I pulled it into before my date. “What did you do today?” I ask Bryce. “Were you cooped up here again?”
She shakes her head. “No, I was at the building site.” Seeing my puzzled look, she elaborates. “You headed to the southern lake today, didn’t you? You wouldn’t have seen it. The guys are building a large treehouse.”
“Huh?”
She nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, almost everyone was there today. Well, except Dariux, who set out to look for the other women. It’s going to be large enough to hold almost thirty people, I think. They’re nestling it between four trees.”
Hang on. “They’re doing it together?” I ask skeptically. “Liorax told me that the Draekons don’t cooperate with each other.”
“Well, not everyone was super gung-ho about it,” she confirms. “Felicity’s guys grumbled quite a bit, and the two guys that brought us breakfast didn’t seem too happy to be there either.”
“Bolox and Narix?”
“I think so.” She wrinkles her nose. “I’m having a hard time keeping track of all their names.”
“I call them Balls and Nuts,” I tell her with a grin. “And Belfox and Herrix are the Fox and the Hare.”
She laughs out loud. “That’s a handy tip,” she agrees. “What do you call Liorax? The lion? And Zunix?”
“I haven’t had any trouble remembering their names.” I shrug uncomfortably. “Maybe it’s because they were the first Draekons we met.”
Her lips curl into a sly smile. “Or maybe because you like them,” she says in a sing-song tone.
Maybe. But it doesn’t change anything. Herrix might be a creep, but Zunix and Liorax have no problem manipulating me either. “What’s the large treehouse for?” I ask, changing the topic.
“It’s great.” Her eyes light up. “There’s going to be bedrooms for all of us, and a large dining room where the entire camp can eat together, if they’d like.”
Where’s this newfound desire to spend time together coming from? “I didn’t think they like each other very much.”
“I don’t think they do either,” Bryce agrees. “It’s because of us. There’s only five of us, and I think they want us to feel welcome here. It was Liorax’s idea.” She gives me a sidelong look. “He’s a really good guy, Olivia.”
Bryce would think so. After all, he’s been nothing other than charming to her. It’s only me he doesn’t like.
“I’m going to go look at it.”
“It’s only another hour until dusk,” she cautions. “Be careful of the creepy crabs.”
I walk to the building site, which is not too far from Zunix’s house. To my consternation, the last two men I want to run into are there. Liorax and Zunix are hammering a piece of wood to the floor, but both men stop what they’re doing when they see me and climb to the ground. “Did he leave marks?” Zunix demands, staring at my long-sleeved shirt. “Is that why your arms are covered?”
“You were following me?” I lift my chin in the air, ready to have it out with them. “Why? Wanted to make sure you’d win your stupid little contest?”
Liorax cuts in. “I don’t care about the contest,” he growls. “I don’t like Belfox, but he will respect your boundaries. Herrix, on the other hand, grew up in Pleno, and he has a reputation. I asked Zunix to make sure you were unharmed.”
“I would have done it anyway.” Zunix’s lips thin. “No offense, Liorax, but your kinsman is scum.” He looks at me seriously. “I saw that Belfox left you alone with Herrix,” he says. “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Warmth fills my chest at their protectiveness. I’m not going to lie; Herrix creeped me out. I’m pretty sure I can take him, but I’d rather not put it to the test. “Thank you,” I mutter. “And thank you for this.” I gesture to the structure in front of us. “It’s very kind of you. I thought you guys never did anything without expectation of a reward.”
Zunix looks up. “Is that what you think?” His hazel eyes are troubled as he stares at me.
I try to remember that I’m angry with them. Furious that they didn’t tell me about the synthesizer and Dariux’s skimmer. I try to recapture the rage I felt last night when the other women made me feel like a fool.
But I can’t do it. Because the truth is, Liorax and Zunix have shown me nothing but kindness in the last two days. They rescued us from the spaceship. They bartered with Dariux so that my broken leg could be healed. They gave me choices for breakfast, taking the time to find out what I liked. They got me clothes. They’re building us a house.
Yes, they don’t trust me, but in the clear, cool light of day, I find that I can’t hold it against them. It isn’t as if I’ve trusted them either.
“No,” I whisper, taking a half-step toward them. “I don’t think that.” I’m really close to Zunix, so close that if I tilt my head up, my lips would be an inch from his. Desire curls in my belly. His body is sculpted perfection, and my fingers itch to brush across the barbells that pierce his nipples, to trace the tattoos that cover his chest and arms. This is insane, I think wildly. You don’t even like Zunix.
Yet I take another step forward. I can see the green-gold flecks in his eyes, the same color as his scales when he became a dragon. Strangely, even the thought that he can turn into a fearsome beast doesn’t terrify me. “Thank you for my clothes.”
“Do you like them?” He brushes a strand of my hair aside, and though my boobs are practically pushed into his chest, he doesn’t look at them. His eyes never leave mine.
I’m very aware of Liorax standing next to us. Yesterday, when he’d wrapped the strap around my wrist so my skin wouldn’t get chafed by the bow, he’d lingered just a little too long, and when he pulled away, a flash of disappointment had run through me. After Herrix’s explanation today, I understand why he avoids me.
Last night, the other women had spent a long time speculating, with many giggles, about what it would be like to be with two Draekons at once. What if they’re too large and they don’t fit? What if they turn into dragon
s while you’re doing it? The questions had started out serious, but the conversation had quickly turned silly. Paige had seen her Draekons’ cocks while the three of them were swimming naked in the lake. “Huge,” she’d said frankly.
I guess I should also be worried about those things, and they’re there, in the background of my mind, but my thoughts are drowned out by the beating of my heart in my chest.
I wish, more than anything in the world, that we’d met under different circumstances. That the two of them were just normal guys, and we’d met in a bar back on Earth. No mission from the CIA. No missing women. No Draekon mating bond.
Just the attraction that flares like an out-of-control flame between us.
“Olivia.” There’s a growl in Zunix’s voice. “Your body is sending me a message, sweet one.”
Is that a warning for me to back away? “What is it saying?” I ask Zunix. I stand on tiptoe and brush my lips against his. “Is it saying I want to do this?” I whisper.
“Yes.” He sounds strained as he holds himself still.
I don’t know what comes over me. “Well, maybe I do.” I wrap my arm around his neck and tug him closer. “Or are you too afraid of Dariux’s rules?”
His eyes flare with irritation, followed almost immediately by amusement. “More games, Olivia?” He traces my lower lip with his thumb, and a shiver runs through my body at his touch. He’s onto me. I tried to push him to kiss me, so I don’t have to make the choice on my own, and he’s read me perfectly, and he’s making it clear he’s not going to play.
Damn Zunix.
I pull him closer. This time, when I kiss him, it isn’t fleeting. My lips linger, and my fingers grasp at the short strands of his hair. And then his control snaps, and he kisses me back, his lips warm against mine. His fingers twine in my hair and my body melts into his.
Here’s a report for the CIA: The aliens are freaking good kissers.
My nostrils fill with the fresh, pine, male scent of his body, and a tremor runs through me. I moan against him, and part my lips, and his tongue slides in, hot and insistent. When Herrix tried to kiss me today, I’d flinched away from him, but I can’t get enough of Zunix. Waves of desire wash over me, and I cling to him, eager for more. My insides twist with need, and I want to suggest we move this impromptu make-out session to his house, where we’ll have more privacy.
Liorax clears his throat, snapping me back to reality. “The detsena,” he says tonelessly. I search his face, wondering what he thinks of me kissing Zunix, but his expression is unreadable. “You must get back before the sun sets.”
Zunix’s eyes slide to Liorax, then back to me. “Or you can come to my house,” he offers quietly. “No more games, Olivia. Tell me what you want.”
But common sense is slowly returning, and I know it would be a bad idea. I’m not capable of sleeping with these guys without my feelings getting involved. They don’t trust me. I really don’t know whether I trust them. This situation is guaranteed to get very messy.
I cling to my rapidly eroding ditz-persona as if my life depends on it, and give Zunix a winsome look through my eyelashes. “My new clothes are so pretty,” I breathe. “I’m really grateful.” Some of my anger from yesterday comes back, and I can’t resist adding, “I didn’t know you had a synthesizer. That’s useful.”
“As is a skimmer. Dariux promised to look for your luggage, Olivia.” Zunix’s lips curl into a mocking smile. “You were concerned about it, weren’t you? Not the four missing human women?”
He’s waiting for me to put my cards on the table, but I’m not ready to do that. Not yet. So I mutter something silly about my clothes and my makeup and make my escape back to Dariux’s treehouse.
I’m really, really aroused right now, and the treehouse is going to be crowded with people, so I can’t even take care of myself.
Damn it.
12
Liorax:
I escort Olivia back to Dariux’s home, my thoughts in turmoil.
When Zunix had kissed her, my stomach had clenched into a knot. I’d wanted to join in, to wind my own hands through her long tresses of red hair, and feel her soft lips on mine.
The silence stretches between us, lengthening and growing until she clears her throat. “Liorax,” she says, sounding hesitant and unlike herself. “Herrix told me about what happened with your bondmate. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your pity.”
She gives me a surprised look. “You think I pity you?” Her lips curl into a smile. “Liorax, look at you. You’re totally hot. You’re a super-nice guy. I don’t know what your bondmate’s deal was, but whatever it is, it was her issue, not yours.”
“You think I’m hot?”
Her cheeks fill with color. “I’m not the only one,” she murmurs.
I’d promised Zunix I would fight for Olivia. Today, I’d spent most of the day bitterly reproaching myself for getting so caught up in the past that I’d failed to warn her about Herrix.
Kat’vi left me for my father, and I’ve let the wound fester for sixty-six long years. Maybe it’s time to turn the page on the past and focus on the future. One with Olivia as our mate.
“It’s our turn to court you tomorrow. Zunix and I should help the others with construction in the morning for a few hours, but is there something you’d like to do afterward?”
“Maybe I could practice a bit more with the bow?”
I chuckle. “Well, that depends. Are you going to pretend you can’t shoot straight?”
Her blush deepens. “I’m not very good,” she says, pitching her voice so it’s low and breathy. My cock stirs at the thought of her moaning my name in that same voice, needy and desperate for the pleasure that I can give her.
Focus, Liorax.
“Aren’t you?” I smile at her. “Olivia, I was three when I held a bow in my hand for the first time. I can tell skill when I see it. You can pretend you don’t know what you’re doing, but it won’t work on me.”
“No.” Her voice is rueful. “It didn’t yesterday either, did it?”
“Only for an instant.”
She smiles back at me, a genuine smile this time, one without artifice. “I’d love it if you taught me how to shoot tomorrow. And I promise I’ll behave. If I don’t,” she adds with a wink, “you can punish me.”
She says ‘punish’ but her tone suggests something entirely different, and I know that once again, she’ll be in my dreams all night long.
Olivia:
The next morning, I accompany the other women to the building site. Most of the camp is there, hard at work. The only people who are missing are my two other suitors. Herrix and Belfox. If I had to guess, I’d say that they’re in a snit because this project is Liorax and Zunix’s baby.
Though the Draekons protest, we pitch in. Even Felicity, who, in all fairness, hasn’t said anything catty in the last twenty-four hours. A new record.
As I work, I ogle Liorax and Zunix out of the corner of my eye. The men are hard at work building a section of the outer wall. Their muscles flex as they lift planks of wood, and a thin sheen of sweat soon coats their naked chests. The guys I’ve been with in the past have been quintessential metrosexual types, the kind that wear flannel as an ironic fashion statement and call a handyman for anything more complicated than hanging a picture on the wall.
Dariux is expected back today. I cross my fingers as I knot the ropes in front of me into thick braids for a rope ladder. Rezzix, who is one of Paige’s guys, shows me how to do it, and watches to make sure I know what I’m doing before he nods approvingly and moves away.
I really, really hope Dariux finds the others. I can’t forget the sight of Janet’s body. My agency training is cold comfort at a time like this, because I can calculate the odds of them surviving in the jungle, alone and unaided, for three days, and it isn’t high.
With everyone working together, the structure goes up fast. The sun is high in the sky when Liorax signals for a stop. “We’ve done well,” he say
s, his voice clear and strong. “I’m really pleased with our progress. We’ll have the roof up tomorrow, and then, we can build the interior walls. Thank you all for your help and cooperation.”
He’s good at this, I realize. Balls mutters something to Nuts, his face sour, and Felicity’s two mates don’t appear thrilled to get their hands dirty, but everyone else looks pleased to be complimented. “Let’s stop for the day,” he continues. “Thank you again.”
“Nice speech,” I say when he comes up to me.
He smiles wryly. “As the Firstborn of Laris, I had to learn a painful amount of protocol,” he says. “This is the most useful thing I’ve done with it. Ready for your archery lesson?”
“Slave driver,” I accuse him. “I’ve been working all morning. I want a dip in the lake first.”
Zunix finishes up his conversation with one of the Draekons and approaches us. “That sounds like a good idea,” he says. “Do you want to take the boat out? I noticed you looking at it.”
He’s scarily observant. “I used to row back home.” I’m slowly getting used to the translator, to the split-second delay between the guys saying something in Zor, and the translator speaking the English version in my ear, but it strikes me that I should learn how to speak their language as a back-up. I don’t want to become too dependent on a piece of technology that might fail. “Can your synthesizer make a copy of this?” I ask Zunix curiously, tapping my ear to indicate what I’m talking about.
He shakes his head. “It’s limited to basic household items,” he says. “And those that existed before we landed here, of course.”
So it’s not connected to the Zorahn version of the Internet. We’re offline. “But the High Empire knows we crashed here?”
“Oh yes.” His smile is grim. “They definitely know. It must be driving them insane. The perfect prison, and the precious human women on the wrong side of the bars.”