Chapter 2
Oison
He’d greeted his friend, Duke, and acknowledged the new mate. Clancy was pretty and serious. At least he hadn’t been enthralled by a fancy piece of fluff, or some woman looking for a male to give her security. Duggin wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Leroy, one of the older hunters had found what he thought was his mate, but she’d just wanted him as a provider.
It had broken his heart when he figured it out. She had found a better provider willing to take her so she was gone in a quick minute. Leroy had become broken hearted. He’d quit his job and started doing odd jobs while he drank enough to harden the toughest liver. He’d died not long ago. Duggin had attended the service, only hunters had been there. It had been a sad affair, a man brought down in his prime for no good reason.
Later, he’d found out Cash had arranged it all plus paid for it. There’s been no other family or friends to deal with Leroy’s burial. It had been a space burial, popular at the time. He’d been reduced to ashes then those had been evacuated into space through a chute to settle where they would. Not a bad send off for a hunter.
Duggin only wanted a female if she was the right female. What he could provide shouldn’t be her main consideration. Maybe he was a sap, but he wanted love with a good amount of romance. His fellow hunters would laugh if they knew. It was a side of himself he hid so no one would see it.
The building looming ahead of them was full of refugees that had recently been rescued from several lab facilities among the space stations they’d raided. Most of them were females, quiet beaten down women who had been treated at the least poorly, at the worst viciously.
He’d only seen some of these females briefly after they’d been rescued. It was his plan to be gentle with them so as not to scare them. Crying, hysterical females were not something he could easily deal with. His expectations were that when they entered the room all the females were waiting in, chaos would reign as they tried to back away from him scared to death of the big bad hunter.
They entered the first door then walked down a hall to big double doors. This was it, the part he wasn’t good with, dealing with the delicate fearful ladies. Duke was in front opening the doors which Clancy quickly slipped through. Now it was his turn, he took a fortifying breath before he stepped inside. His mouth dropped open as he stared at the scene before him slack jawed. These were nothing like the women he vaguely remembered from their rescue.
What met his eyes was more like a wild party. These females, at least some of them, were not dressed as he expected. This looked more like the pictures he’d seen of a Roman orgy except nothing vital was showing, yet. A woman approached wearing so much make up it looked spray painted on. Nearly panicked at the astonishing sight, he searched the crowd desperately for a sign of Sharon. Surely she hadn’t gone to the wild side.
“This is Tavia. Tavia, this is Duggin.” Clancy introduced. They acknowledged the introduction, but Tavia kept blinking her eyes at him.
“Are you okay?” He asked. “If you have something in your eye, a standard med kit has an eye wash in it.”
Tavia shook her head stomping away. “What was wrong with her?” He whispered to Clancy.
“She was attempting to bat her eyes at you. Your reaction disappointed her,” Clancy explained.
“Why are they dressed like this? It’s like a party atmosphere.” Duggin asked.
“They don’t get many new faces here, especially men. The ladies are excited about your visit,” Duke informed.
“You could have warned me.”
“Where would the fun be in that? If only I had a picture of your reaction when we entered.” Duke chuckled.
“Pay back is one mean bitch,” Duggin advised. Duke didn’t look too concerned.
“You’ll just have to take one for these ladies. They’ve been through a lot. Giving them a little entertainment and kindness won’t kill you,” Duke admonished.
“These may be women that have been through a lot, but right now they remind me of circling sharks,” Duggin admitted.
“What are sharks?’ Clancy asked curiously.
“They are water predators on Earth,” Duke explained.
Clancy giggled. “You have to admit he’s not far off.”
“These are your friends,” Duke lectured.
“They are and I love them dearly, but their circling is reminiscent of predators,” Clancy offered.
Duke threw up his hands in defeat. “They are simply stretching their newfound freedom. The ladies want to explore their new home as well as anyone who comes into it,” Duke observed.
“They also want to explore their newly found sexuality. Who can blame them?” Clancy added.
“I believe they need some guidance. Especially with the clothing and the makeup,” Duggin suggested with a shiver.
“Lista, over here,” Clancy screamed jumping up and down. “I believe you’ve been saved.”
It was Razar’s mate. The female always looked well put together, but her style was understated and at times, functional. She’d been a soldier, or so Duggin had heard. When she was working, like now, it wasn’t unusual to see her in well-worn jeans with a T-shirt paired with well-loved sneakers. It looked good on her, emphasizing her tiny waist and her feminine curves.
He’d seen her at state events, her look was completely different. She looked every inch a princess then. Not that he was an expert on female fashion, but a male had an opinion too. Duggin liked the sexy clothes females wore to events like that. Some of the clothing on display right now belonged in a seedy bar. The men they would catch with that look wasn’t one that would treat them right. After all they’d been through, they deserved better for their second chance.
Lista looked around with wide eyes. A few times it looked like she struggled not to smile or comment. “I need to get a cosmetologist in here in the worst way. A seamstress too, if I can find one.”
Duggin agreed. He began to make his way to Sharon. None of the other women drew his eyes at all. It wasn’t just because of their attempts to attract his attention that needed to be refined. The real reason was his interest had already been caught. Now what he wanted to do was see if something might grow between them.
Did the fact she didn’t try to catch his eye mean she wasn’t interested or merely that she chose not to go overboard to chase a man? Once he spoke to her, he would know. She stood as he came closer, he was nearly to her when another female stepped in his way almost making him run into her.
Skillfully, he stepped around her to get close to Sharon. “Hello, Sharon.” He said grinning at her stupidly. Where had his brain gone? He’d meant to say something witty or charming but all thoughts fled from his head. At least he’d greeted her.
“Hello, Duggin.”
They sat there for a while enjoying a companionable silence as he studied her. Sharon looked so much better, as far as healthy went, than the last time he’d seen her. Her cheeks were no longer hollow, her skin had a healthy glow, and her hair was shiny with good health. Her body had also filled out to look more in keeping with what one might expect of someone her age or height. The effect was an attractive, desirable woman.
She smiled back at him, it gave him a warm feeling inside. He wanted to reach out to pull her into his arms holding her close to his heart. Shit! What was wrong with him? Duggin had always kept the romantic poet inside him tightly leashed. Now that side of him was struggling to get out so it could pay homage to his female.
His fellow hunters would have a field day with him if they knew. They would tease him until he punched someone, then the fight would be on. Drawing in a deep breath, he meant to calm himself but the sweet scent of this woman filled his nose. It looked like he was a goner.
“You look great.” His words rushed out.
“Thanks. You look good too.” Her face was pink which looked sweet and sexy on her.
“I won’t be here long, at least I’m not supposed to be here long, but I hope we can spend some time together.” Thank the gods, he’d gotten that out without sounding goofy.
“I’d like that too,” Sharon replied.
“What’s going on right now?” He asked. Looking around at all the craziness.
“This is supposed to be a party for your arrival. We don’t get many visitors because of the security issues.”
“I know that’s hard, but I hope we can catch these bastards. I mean bad guys.” He stuttered around like an untried youth. Sharon brought that out in him. Excitement swirled over him at just the sight of her. It had, even when she’d first been freed, dirty, in awful clothing, and half-starved to death.
Duggin didn’t know her personal story, but none of these women had been treated kindly. At best, she was starved, beaten, and denied the common things most people took for granted. They received just what was required to keep them alive, no more, no less. Every once in a while less, because one of them would die from neglect. Most of those that had died had been killed by massive trauma.
They sat down together to continue small talk. Duggin knew they needed to get more comfortable with each other before more serious matters were discussed. These mercenaries that kept attacking would be a matter to discuss, but not until tomorrow. Their relationship would also have to discussed, but that was a matter for the future.
Women were bringing out platters of food and setting them down on the tables. It was party food. That was why it wasn’t being served in the cafeteria line like meals were. Duggin realized he was hungry. Sharon’s stomach growled, telling him he wasn’t the only one.
“What would you like to eat?” He asked grabbing a plate off the stack at the end of the table.
“Just some chips and cheese dip,” Sharon answered. He filled her plate handing it to her.
He filled his more generously, grabbing a little of everything to try. Duggin sat back down next to her so they could eat while they talked. It was hard not to notice the watchful eyes of the other women. A few even looked unhappy, glaring in their direction. Lista was out among them approaching those with the most outrageous dress or makeup. Hopefully, she’d give them some guidance.
It was unlikely most of the women would have expectations of him dating them now that they’d realized where his affections lay. If things got settled here, they should be able to get out into the world more. That’s when they would meet potential friends or mates. Right now, they needed to take this time to learn to socialize so when they were free to do so, they wouldn’t be awkward.
These women were attractive and strong, they would make the right male a good mate. He wanted them to find worthy males that would treat them right. Mazlans in particular were known for treating their females well. Their females had equal standing, if he was honest, the females had better standing because of their rarity. Even with the mating program, there was a large percentage of the males here unmated. Mazlans males all wanted a mate and children. It was a cultural thing.