No Holes Barred 5:
Forbidden Desire
By
Angelia Whiting
© copyright May 2006, Angelia Whiting
Published by New Concepts Publishing
Smashwords Edition
Cover art by Dan Skinner & Kat Richards, © copyright May 2006
ISBN 1-58608-909-9
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Dedicated to Tracie M., my sister of the wolf.
Chapter One
Xander Alik sat alone at the table in the farthest corner of the club’s main level. He watched the many guests taking pleasure in the amenities that the No Holes Barred Nightclub and Spa had to offer. Some were content to engage in the company of the patrons on the first floor. Others wandered up one of the two wrought-iron, spiral staircases seeking more adventurous activities promised at the top.
His gazed lifted upward, sweeping across the faces that peered down from the second floor mezzanine, and then turned his attention to the patrons on the lower level once more. For the most part, all seemed to be enjoying themselves.
He was not.
Restlessness seemed to be the most appropriate word he could think of, though Xander had no clue as to why he felt this way. He had plenty of wealth, plenty of opportunities to travel the galaxies abroad, plenty of women willing to satisfy his carnal needs.
Not that Xander was soft. There were many times his services were required in battle, when the security of his planet, Handris, was threatened by forces seeking to conquer it. He’d even engaged in a few ground combats while aiding other planets in need, witnessing the foul consequences of war.
But always he had the comforts of his home to return to--a home filled with conveniences that many commoners of his planet could only dream of.
He was a royal after all, born with title. That alone afforded him luxuries that were beyond the reach of most of his people, though he suspected that despite their lack of privileges they were still content with their lives.
Xander should be content, grateful, appreciative of his status.
Yet, of late he was feeling unfulfilled. Something was missing in his life, something much, much more than his bestowed, material comforts could offer.
Focusing on a couple who seemed deeply engaged in conversation, Xander studied the way that they stared at each other, touched affectionately, the seductive body language and smiles that passed between them. His attention shifted to the male and Xander noted that the attention he showered on the woman truly appeared genuine. It had Xander wondering if he himself would ever be so taken with a woman that nothing could distract him from her.
"Hey there, gorgeous," a voice interrupted his thoughts, and Xander looked up.
Shial Lenn stood at his table, smiling, apparently waiting for an invitation to sit down.
Xander motioned to the seat on his right, though he was less than enthusiastic about her presence. "How have you been, Shial?"
"Bored," she answered with a sigh as she fidgeted with the crystal teardrop pendant that rested on her chest. "I haven’t found much satisfaction since … since...."
"I don’t wish to discuss it," Xander warned.
Xander knew what she alluded to. He and Shial had shared two eves of sex on the second floor, and ever since then she’d been prying into his personal affairs, pushing Xander to tell her if he’d bedded another since they’d been together. He suspected she wanted more, but they both knew the club’s rules--twice a date, thrice a mate.
It was for that reason Xander refused to offer her another eve of sexual indulgence. The men of Handris scented their mates and Shial was not his mate. Xander was grateful for that because the woman was a bit too brassy and meddlesome for his taste.
"Tell me, have you found pleasure with another since our last date?"
Xander shook his head. He couldn’t believe she was prying again after he told her to stop doing it. He looked at her necklace, which now glowed blue. She seemed to always be fingering the thing--an unconscious habit, he presumed. "My personal affairs are none of your concern."
Shial’s mouth turned downward into a disgruntled frown.
But she was the last person Xander would extend private information to. He was quite sure he couldn’t trust her. Especially since the incident that occurred during their second date. Xander had fallen deeply asleep. When he finally awoke, it felt as though he was emerging from a drugged stupor. And there was another woman in the room--a woman with berry pink hair.
At first his thoughts turned kinky, but when Shial made a point of telling him the woman was a chamber maid, he became wary. Being a regular at the club, Xander knew most of the employees, and surely he would remember a staff member with such distinct hair. He’d never seen this woman before.
Aside from that, the woman left without tidying a thing, augmenting Xander’s suspicion. He couldn’t help but feel Shial and the woman were up to something.
Stealing from him perhaps?
But he had no proof and nothing in the chamber appeared disturbed or missing. And of course he never saw the so-called chambermaid again.
Xander let the incident drop.
"Ah, there you are." Trina Wensling, the club’s manager appeared.
She took a seat in the empty chair on Xander’s left, and without warning, she lifted her hand, curling her fingers around the back of Xander’s head. Jerking his face toward her, Trina planted a lip to lip kiss on Xander, lingering longer than what could be considered a platonic greeting.
It took Xander by surprise and his eyes widened. He could nearly feel the heat of Shial’s irritation radiating directly at him.
Pulling back, Trina smiled slowly, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
"My handsome scoundrel," she said, dragging a finger lightly down the line of Xander’s cheek and across his jaw.
Xander tamped down a snort. He’d never bedded Trina, but knew her well as a friend. She was rescuing him--that was suddenly obvious--from Shial’s persistent pursuit of him.
"You’re such a naughty girl," Xander responded, playing her game. "You never fail to amuse me, mistress."
"You look bored, Xander." Trina peered around him, looking at Shial. "He looks bored, doesn’t he?"
"Xander and I were having a private conversation," Shial answered, making no attempt to hide her annoyance at Trina’s intrusion.
"Oh." Trina pressed her palm to her chest in an innocent gesture. "I’m so sorry."
She moved to stand, but Xander grabbed her wrist. "Our private conversation is over. Please stay."
Xander turned his head toward Shial. "You don’t mind, do you?"
Shial’s mouth dropped open, but apparently she thought better of what she was about to say. Her mouth snapped shut. As if it were a strain to say the words, she merely shook her head from side to side. The muscles in her jaw twitched, and Xander could see that Shial was clenching her teeth.
"Of course I don’t mind," she finally answered, but her miffed tone belied her real feelings.
"Oh, good!" Trina answered. "Xander promised to show me his talents."
"Really," Shial answered dryly, turning her head aside.
Trina pressed her body closer to Xander, but directed her question toward Shial. "Would you like to join us?"
Shial’s head snapped around and her body stiffened as she hauled a harsh breath of air into her nostrils.
"Hardly!" Her voice rose with outrage. Abruptly, she stood.
"Please, Shial, sit down," Xander pleaded, hoping she would leave. "I’m sure Trina meant no offense."
"I’m sure," Shial answered sarcastically. "Excuse me, there’s something I need to do."
With that, she turned, her head jerking askew, her chin jutting pompously.
Xander watched Shial stalk from the club before turning to Trina.
He smirked.
"Since when do you resort to lying, Mistress Wensling?"
"Me, lie?" Trina feigned offense, her head tilting slightly. "Why, Xander Alik, I am not lying."
"I never promised to show you my…." Xander cleared his throat. "…talents."
"Of course you did. Don’t you remember?"
Xander drew his brows together. "No."
"Why, early on yester’s dawning you were telling me that you could make the most wicked chirkare salad in the galaxy. You promised to teach me the recipe."
After staring at Trina briefly, Xander burst out laughing. He’d forgotten about that.
His expression sobered. "You truly are a demon, Trina."
"Now, why would you say such a thing?"
"You know very well the impression you gave Shial. I believe the woman’s feelings were hurt."
"I wouldn’t worry about Shial’s feelings. Men of status and wealth are frequently her target. A fortune huntress that one, I think. I’m sure by now she’s honed in on her next prey."
Xander shrugged. He couldn’t care less what Shial was doing as long as she wasn’t directing her motives at him. Still he asked. "Then why do you allow her to keep invitation here?"
"Not all males or females are as discreet as you, my prince. I have it on good gossip that she is sexually clever and adept. As long as she remains out of trouble I will allow her to please my guests."
To that Xander grinned subtly. He knew firsthand it was true.
A server appeared at the table. "Your order, mistress." She lowered the tray she was supporting and set it on the table top.
"Thank you, Narla," Trina said.
The server nodded and then departed.
Trina turned over two crystal glasses and looked at Xander. "Fruga Wine?"
"Thank you, yes," he answered.
Filling both glasses, she slid one to Xander, and then stilled when she heard yelling coming from the corner of the bar. One of her patrons, a Zedlet male was clasping her bartender by the shirt and yelling at him, his green, pointed nails tearing through the frightened employee's shirt. The patron was obviously upset about something--he received the wrong drink, or it was too weak.
"I need to attend to this, Xander." Trina stood. "Excuse me."
Xander was watchful as the mistress approached the Zedlet male, ready to intervene if the need be. But always the perfect hostess and effective peacemaker, Trina resolved the issue quickly and was now enjoying a drink with the patron.
The chatter in the club, which stopped abruptly when the disruption occurred, had resumed and the atmosphere became light and festive again as nerves began to settle.
Xander relaxed against the back of his chair and sighed. He stretched his legs beneath the table and closed his eyes, pondering which of the club’s activities he might enjoy.
A massage, he thought, imagining a female’s hands caressing the surface of his skin.
His eyes snapped open and Xander realized that it wasn’t just a massage he wanted. It was to feel the hands of a woman stroking his erected flesh, sucking it, sinking down upon it.
His cock twitched and then hardened.
He needed sex.
Nearly three moon cycles had passed since he’d had a woman--not that he was counting. It was no wonder he was restless.
Why had he gone so long?
Truth be told, Xander was depressed.
It was Jicar’s fault.
Things just hadn’t been the same since Xander’s king, his cousin, his best friend, Jicar, married some six moon cycles past. Jicar’s dedication to his woman was admirable from the start, but it was that very dedication that left Xander feeling abandoned. Where he and Jicar spent many enjoyable jaunts at the No Holes Barred Club gambling and drinking and fondling the females, Xander was now alone.
Trina was a good friend to both Xander and Jicar, but it just wasn’t the same. She was female and no replacement for the unique male bonding he shared with Jicar.
And though Xander had invited Damiar, a male acquaintance and one of his royal guards to join him on this particular outing, his presence didn’t compare to the riotous good times that Xander enjoyed with Jicar.
In fact, Xander had hardly seen Damiar at all since they’d arrived.
Shifting in his seat, Xander’s eyes flicked to the upper floor. With a slight nod to himself he rose from his chair and headed towards the staircase. His aim was to stir things up a bit in his life, and he would start by seeking a woman.
A wild one.
Chapter Two
Lifting the ionizer from the rock she was chipping away at, Rhea swiped her sweaty brow with a forearm.
The beacon on a nearby hill flashed its bright, white light and then a buzzer blasted. The hum of many work tools came to a halt.
Break time.
Rhea examined the wall of the pit she’d been digging in, her eyes locking onto the silvery shimmer that was almost unnoticeable where it nestled, embedded within the gray-black rock.
"Rhea, take a rest," Daiton yelled from somewhere overhead.
"No, no, no." Rhea gasped and lowered her tool. She began chipping at the rock more diligently, carefully carving out the precious mineral. "It couldn’t be."
From what was visible, it was the largest piece of silience stone she’d ever seen. It would provide power to the greatest of star crafts for more than….
…well she didn’t know how long, but she knew it was big.
Rhea shrieked and stopped. And then she shrieked louder.
The Bondmaster would be pleased. “Yes, yes, yes!”
"Always overreacting, that one," Rhea heard Daiton say.
"Leave her be, Daiton." She heard Panjig’s voice next and pictured the woman scolding Daiton by wagging her finger at him like the motherly defender she was. "Rhea can’t help if she’s a bit zealous."
"Enthusiastic is what I call it." Rhea scowled though they couldn’t see her face. Panjig wasn’t her blood parent. She’d graciously taken Rhea under her wing when at the tender age of twelve annum Rhea was dumped on Quadrant Z, a penal mining satellite, without a clue as to where she belonged and knowing only her first name and her age.
With a bond price placed on her head, Rhea, like all of the bond servants living in this dreary place, was working her way to freedom. All assumed she must have committed some heinous crime to be sentenced to Quadrant Z at such a young age.
Rhea assumed the same, though she couldn’t exactly say what her crime was. But it must’ve been something very bad for her to block all she ever knew from her mind.
She was glad she couldn’t remember.
"Enthusiasm, she calls it," Daiton commented to someone she couldn't see. Probably Kredfor. "I tell you, her enthusiasm more often resembles the frenzied fit of a yorgy beast when feeling nasty."
"I heard that!" Rhea yelled to the air above her head.
"You see. Now she’s angry." It was Kredfor who spoke.
"Not to worry," Daiton returned with a snort. "If you wait a split of a moment, her mood will change."
And it did.
As always.
Laughing uproariously, Rhea brushed off Daiton’s and Kredfor’s teasing. It was intended affectionately, as brothers teased a sister, though they weren’t really her brothers. As it was with Panjig, Daiton and Kredfor, they were not only her working teammates, but her self-appointed guardians, caring for her like family, clothing her and feeding her when she was a child. Now, as the young woman she’d grown into, she was able to earn her own keep, and this little discovery would surely prove her worth.
Rhea also couldn’t argue with what they said. Her emotions were constantly shifting from highs to lows, joy to anger, sadness to complacency or excessiveness and all else above, below and in between.
It was an impulsive condition Rhea had little control over and no knowledge as to why she was like she was, but she accepted it as part of her being.
Refocusing her attention on her work, Rhea carefully carved out her prize, freeing it from its rocky hideaway. A grin slipped along her lips as she examined the mineral. It was very large indeed!
"Tease all you want, my friends. I might become annoyed." Rhea climbed from the digging pit leaving the silience within the concave space she'd created around it. "And then you'll be sorry when I decide not to share."
She was only jesting of course.
Rhea would never deny her team the bonus her find would reap. It might earn them meat and daily baths for a full seven dawnings.
Not that she needed those things, Rhea thought with a sad sigh. Ever since the Bondmaster had been taking her to the club she’d had all her needs and a few of her wants fulfilled.
“Ah see!” Daiton said. “Now the little one threatens us."
"Share what?" Panjig asked.
Rhea closed her eyes, her mood becoming light once more. “This.”
Crouched, Rhea reached into the hole and scooped her two hands beneath the silience. She tried to lift it, but the stone was too heavy.
“What have you there, little one?” Daiton crouched by her side and peered over the hole’s edge. “By the god cosmos! Kredfor, help me here.”
Kredfor obliged, and the two men lifted the mineral from the pit’s face and set it on the brim.
They stared at it for a moment.
“It’s as big as our heads!” Daiton said as he admired the chunk.
“Stars be.” Kredfor tipped his face skyward, a thankful expression on his face. “I’m weary of eating grains and beans.”
“Oh, to be clean for seven dawnings.” Panjig looked on, equally enthusiastic about Rhea’s find. “The Bondmaster will most certainly be pleased!”
“He is,” a voice spoke from behind the group.
They all turned their heads in unison. Giatas, the Bondmaster, stood before them nodding, a slight but satisfied grin on his lips.
“And, yes,” he continued. “You have all earned recompense for your extraordinary find.”
His expression then sobered as his gaze fixated on Rhea.
“Let’s go,” he said to her.
The Bondmaster was early--her shift was only half over.
Rhea lowered her eyes, not wanting to witness the disapproving expressions she knew her team’s--her guardian’s--faces possessed. Her gaze locked to the small, rectangular transmitting device clamped on the Master Giatas’ belt. A green light was blinking and she knew what it meant.
The gateway had been activated.
Finally.
She shuffled toward Giatas submissively.
“Please, not tonight, Master Giatas,” Panjig pleaded. “Let her stay with us to celebrate our good find.”
Giatas narrowed his eyes at her and then held up his hand in warning to Daiton and Kredfor who moved forward in challenge.
Knowing anyone would likely receive a ruthless beating for behaving confrontational with the Bondmaster, Rhea shook her head vehemently at them. “Daiton, Kredfor, please don’t. I’ll be fine.”
“Master.” Panjig averted her gaze to keep from appearing defiant. “Rhea is the one who harvested the fuel stone. Surely she alone should receive a bonus for it.”
The Bondmaster’s expression softened and Rhea began to panic. Though he could be brutally cruel, Giatas also wasn’t without some sympathy.
On rare occasion.
Rhea couldn’t let this be an occasion. Eve after eve she’d waited, and the gateway was finally now open. If she failed to step through it, the contract that pink-haired woman brought her to sign would then be nullified.
“The three of you have no right!” Rhea’s panicked voice emerged with severe angry overtones. “I am a woman fully grown and I choose to go!”
Her heart crushed at the pained looks on their faces.
They only meant to defend her.
Daiton and Kredfor often received bloody noses or split lips while fighting to protect Rhea from other lusty, male bondservants. Even Panjig had gotten into a few scuffles on her behalf.
“You don’t have to be brave, little one, to save our hides.” Daiton gave Rhea a sympathetic look.
Shame filled her. They all thought Master Giatas was forcing sex on her and made it clear they didn’t like it.
But her guardians really had no idea of Rhea’s doings. And she was forbidden to reveal it to them. Rhea had willingly entered a bargain, the terms of which demanded her silence, even with those she loved.
Rhea lifted a pleading gaze to Giatas.
He snorted.
“Take the silience stone to the stock house to be tested for impurities.” Giatas snatched Rhea’s wrist while tossing a stern look at her three teammates. “And consider yourselves fortunate that I’m willing overlook your insubordination, this time.”
As he dragged her away from the mining pits, Rhea glanced back, her brow furling at the dismayed faces of Daiton, Kredfor and Panjig.
I’m sorry, she mouthed before quickly turning away. Rhea had never spoken so harshly to them and she could only hope that it wouldn’t be long before they understood.
With her wrist still clutched in the Bondmaster’s hand, Rhea stumbled along the rutted, cobbled path that led away from the mines. After a short walk, the one story, stone and mortar pub they were heading for came into view.
Rhea’s stomach twisted nervously. Her body jerked and Giatas looked down at her.
“My offer to prepare you still stands, pretty lady.” His lip curled lecherously to one side and he reached for her breast.
His offer was all Rhea needed to summon her courage. She slapped at his hand and he snickered but dropped his arm.
A door creaked and the sound of raucous voices and chaotic music grew louder. Rhea’s eyes flicked to the pub as two of the Bondmaster’s hired men staggered outside. The door behind them creaked again and crashed shut, muffling the noises from within. The two men shuffled away while laughing and poking elbows at each other.
Rhea stared at the entrance. She’d never been in the actual pub. Well, specifically through that door. It was the strange door around back that Master Giatas always brought her to--the strange, blue door that now came into sight as they rounded the corner leading to the back side of the pub.
No Holes Barred.
Those were the words carved into a wooden slab that hung above the entrance. From the outside, the building appeared as a single level nondescript structure. And the music and laughter from the pub could still be heard seeping through the door.
That would change.
As soon as Rhea presented the access symbol invisibly embedded in the palm of her hand, the inside of the building would be metaphysically transformed to a multi-leveled establishment only accessible to No Holes Barred members.
No one outside would be the wiser. From the outside it would still look the same.
Rhea had little inkling about the mysteries of the club beyond the door, other than its patrons could only enter by special invitation. She was also aware that it, for the most part, was a sex and fantasy club, with many activities one could engage in on the second floor. She was unaware of the doings on the levels above that.
“Well?” Master Giatas tipped his head askew, a single brow lifting as he stared at her. When Rhea hesitated, he added, “The sooner we do what needs to be done, the sooner you and your teammates’ bond fees will be paid, and the sooner my coffers will be filled. I can't wait to retire from this hell hole floating in space."
Raising her arm, Rhea curled her nose at the master’s comment, nettled by his use of we when it was she that would be doing all the work.
Irritated, she slapped her hand against a palm-sized knot in the wooden door and felt the familiar tingle as whatever device that was hidden there scanned the symbol stamped in her flesh.
Rhea lowered her hand and Master Giatas in like manner pressed his palm against the wooden knot. Only a moment passed and the door slid sideways permitting them entrance. They stepped inside and the door whooshed shut behind them.
Music engulfed the air--different from what they heard earlier, slower in tempo, softer and much more sensual in its sound. But the place was certainly no more sophisticated, confirmed by the couple having sex on a nearby table and the two males sitting there who masturbated openly while they watched.
It was nothing Rhea hadn’t witnessed before. Still, she was fascinated and couldn’t help but stare at the pumping of the man’s hardened cock as it slid in and out of the wet opening between the woman’s widely spread legs.
The first few times she saw people having sex, Rhea was mortified. But as she became accustomed to it, her shock succumbed to curiosity, and she often watched when there was time. Now, it made her clit tingle to see such a thing and Rhea thought perhaps it was because she was about to meet the handsome man whose image she stared at eve after eve--wondering about him, fantasizing about what it would be like to be touched by him.
Kissed by him.
A hand on Rhea’s breast brought her back to awareness and she jumped back, fiercely glaring at Master Giatas.
“Don’t deny you’re aroused.” He grinned wickedly. “It’s all over your face ... or at least it was.”
Rhea turned away from the Bondmaster, embarrassment replacing her lust, but then in defiance she faced him squarely summoning her anger once more.
She snarled at him.
“Your shift in moods never ceases to baffle me, pretty lady.” Seizing her wrist again, Giatas tugged Rhea across the floor and toward one of the two twisting staircases.
This is it. Rhea sighed as she followed the Bondmaster to the second level.
The guard at the top immediately waved them by. They headed into the corridor of Galactic Dates and Mates, stopping in front of the last door on the far end. Reaching around, Giatas lifted an iron latch and the door creaked open.
Inside, a single ceiling dome dimly illuminated the room. The aroma of freshly cooked food wafted through the air, causing Rhea’s stomach to rumble. And as usual, a warm bath had been prepared.
Although the chamber was nicer than Rhea’s own room, larger too, it was still a bit rundown and dingy. The single mattress on the floor was comfortable though. It’s where Rhea had been sleeping each and every eve since agreeing to the bargain.
Her eyes flicked to the galactic scanner. It hummed softly, a white light flashing next to the screen, indicating that the cosmic gateway was activated. All she had to do was press the glowing switch. That’s what the woman with the dark pink hair told her to do. The gateway would then open and Rhea was to step through.
Naked.
“Take off your clothes, Rhea,” Giatas suggested, though it sounded more like a demand.
Rhea spun, suddenly feeling the indignation of it all. She stabbed him with a sharp look. “I know the routine.”
“Of course you do.” The Bondmaster motioned toward the scanner. “But you’re not very presentable at the moment … filthy, to say the least. Maybe even smelly. I doubt you'll be able to seduce anyone looking like that. Take a bath.”
“Get out,” Rhea returned through gritted teeth.
“Tsk, such temper. I think I’ll watch.” Leaning against the door frame, Giatas crossed one arm over the other, his expression smug.
“Get out!” Rhea screamed.
Snatching a mug from the small table where her supper had been set, she threw it at the Bondmaster’s head. Giatas flinched harshly, as it shattered against the wall beside him. Straightening, he glared at Rhea, and even she was a bit surprised by her intense outburst.
Silence fell between them, both their expressions stone cold. And then Giatas backed out the door, pulling it closed as he did so.
A woeful mew escaped Rhea’s lips as she scanned the room. There would be no time for the food, but the bath she would most definitely have.
Perhaps one or two glasses of the sweet wine to dull her fraying nerves.
Chapter Three
Xander stood in the middle of the private chamber on the club’s second floor.
He looked around.
With Trina’s permission, the room had been offered to him by his cousin, his king, Jicar, who had no need for it once he became mated with Britenia. It was a large, luxurious chamber, filled with the best furniture, including an ornately carved, four-poster bed with an exquisitely comfortable mattress that was draped with the finest of imported linens. But despite the expensive furnishings, the room itself was for a single purpose.
Sex.
It was a place to privately enjoy carnal delights and nothing more.
And that was Xander’s reason for being there now.
After entering what he wanted into the touch screen scanner, a carefree woman lacking inhibitions, along with a few other characteristics he particularly enjoyed in a female, Xander sat back on an oversized chair and waited. His eyes fixed on the scanning imager that would search the chain of No Holes Barred clubs existing throughout space, dimension and time, seeking out the woman of his desires.
A spectrum of colors formed several vectors that retracted and then merged into a single line. The pattern repeated several times before spreading across the screen forming a variegated grid. The colors glowed and dimmed before the mesh folded over on itself creating a three dimensional coil resembling a vortex that spun about on the screen. It was in the process of searching the galactic database for a suitable partner.
No match … no match … no match, a simulated, female voice droned several times.
Xander leaned forward in his seat, interlacing his fingers and propping his elbows on his knees. He watched with interest, wondering at the type of woman that would transport through the cosmic gateway in the room. A moderate match was what he expected. If he were extremely lucky, he might find a maximum match but he doubted this would happen.
It never had before.
Minimal match … minimal match … moderate match….
Xander smiled slightly, and then waited for the woman to come through the chamber’s gateway, his mind playing with images of the sexual qualities she might surprise him with.
Xander enjoyed exploring the eclectic samplings of carnal behaviors found at the club. He was very often keen to try new and sometimes strange things.
With anticipation, Xander stood and walked toward the galactic scanner. It seemed to be taking forever, but he knew that eventually his date would appear.
Perfect match….
Xander went still.
He heard incorrectly.
“Repeat,” he said.
Perfect match….
His brows wrinkled and he tipped his head to one side thinking there had to be a mistake. “Say again.”
Perfect match, the voice repeated with an even tone. Do you grant transport?
With stunned silence and disbelief, Xander stared at the scanner.
Do you wish to accept, Xander Alik?
Again, Xander hesitated to respond. His heart pounded, a mix of both excitement and fear washing over him. A perfect match … a true mate?
No. It couldn’t be.
Do you wish to accept, Xander Alik?
“Yes,” Xander answered before he could consider it. He was astounded yet wary and unbelieving, but unable to turn away from it.
Closing his eyes, Xander listened to the silence in the room. It was followed by a low hum as the gateway to the chamber opened and he then sensed the presence of another.
Xander's lids lifted slightly. He was looking at the floor….
…and feet.
Female feet--bare, looking as normal as his own, maybe a bit paler.
His eyes flittered upward. She had beautiful, well-shaped calves, and upon further upward inspection, Xander realized the length of her legs were long and pleasingly shapely.
By the stars!
She was naked.
His eyes reached the apex of her thighs and he admired her peach-colored muff.
Peach?
The women of his world didn’t possess that color naturally, but he knew who did.
Reluctantly, he broke his gaze from her curls and pushed his sights upward. Her belly was flat. Her waist curved inward provocatively--temptingly. Upward Xander drew his eyes and fixated on her round, plump breasts. Her nipples jutted forward, begging to be sucked on and his cock responded with an unsolicited, yes.
On a heavy inhale, Xander absorbed her scent.
It was sweet.
Intoxicatingly sweet….
And arousing.
His eyes snapped to her face and Xander’s muscles seized. His mouth fell open, but she spoke first.
“Oh, but you are beautiful, yes!” the woman said with the utmost delight in the tone of her voice.
Gaining his wits, Xander choked out the breath that resisted leaving his throat. “What in celestial hellfires do you think you’re doing?”
“Having sex?” The woman stepped closer, her gaze taking a scrutinizing path along Xander’s body.
“Are you out of your star blazing mind!” Xander shuffled backwards dodging her reaching hand, shrinking away as though being touched by her would be as blistering as acid. And yet, his cock was throbbing, his body was beginning to quake, and his nostrils were flaring, all as a result of the tantalizing scent that was filling the room--the sweet, sweet aroma of her bodily essence.
It was dizzying to Xander’s senses, so much so that his eyes began to drift shut as he drew his next breath, so much so that he was barely aware that she came closer and was leaning her naked body against him. Xander’s hands lifted when he felt the pressure, his palms settling on her hips before skimming and cupping her bottom. Without contemplation, his head lowered and he took her mouth with his own, his lips possessing, caressing, his tongue dipping to taste her, savoring that she was returning his kiss with equal passion.
But then, his reason smacked him in the head.
Hard.
Battling the unbearable impetus to throw her on the bed and plunge deep inside of her, Xander dug his fingers into her shoulders and shoved her away. “No!”
His need for her was abated only by his loyalty and honor.
The displeasure at his action and repudiation was clear as she regarded him with a stunned façade.
“But you beckoned me to come forth!” She threw up her hands in an exaggerated manner, her demeanor quickly shifting to anger as her lips puckered and her expression drew tight.
“It was that damn computer!” Xander shot back. “There’s been a mistake.”
Undoubtedly her profile was left by error in the database. It most certainly should’ve been erased. Then again, he still had to wonder what she was doing on the other side of the gateway to begin with.
“I would like to believe that it was a matter of fate,” she returned with a frown.
“By stepping through the gateway you were well aware that you were consensually offering yourself for sex, weren’t you!” Xander yelled, his tone more accusing than questioning.
“Of course, yes.”
“With possibly a perfect stranger!” How could she do such a thing?
“With my perfect match, supposedly,” she returned sardonically.
Why would she even accept the offer? Xander couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Something was most definitely wrong with her--with the way she was behaving. “Are you insane?”