Chapter 8
Jain pulled the soft dove-gray tunic over her head. It fluttered around her thighs, almost brushing her knee-high charcoal boots. Wanting to look good for Kesuk and his guests, she forked her fingers through her short hair. The side slits on her tunic exposed tight striped leather pants with every step she took. She hurried to the main hall, limping a little on her stiff ankle.
Before she’d even entered the room, a loud feminine voice demanded, “I don’t want to be patient. I want to see her now. I want to make sure she hasn’t been mistreated.”
She knew that voice. Breaking into an uneven jog, she rounded the last corner.
“She has not been mistreated.” Anger laced Kesuk’s deep voice, his prickly honor at question.
“Dr. Gibbons? Sera?” Jain asked, stunned to see someone from her ship.
“Jain!” A huge smile lit the young scientist’s face.
“Where did you…how did you…the ship exploded. No one else got out but me. I waited and waited and no one else was there.”
“My cryogenic pod was thrown from the ship. The ship probably started breaking up when we entered the atmosphere. I was thrown clear of the crash somewhere in the mountains and ended up with a bunch of smelly bear-shifters… You’re hurt.” Sera abruptly changed topics as her gaze took in Jain’s limp. She turned an accusing glare on Kesuk. He growled in return, his irritation plain.
“I had an accident, Sera. It wasn’t Kesuk’s fault. He saved me from hypothermia.” No need to mention the predators.
Jain stepped up onto the dais that held the main table and Kesuk’s large chair. She stood next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Bare-chested, he wore tight leather breeches and a long, sleeveless leather cape with a huge fur collar, making him appear even more massive than he already was. A hammered silver circlet hugged his muscled bicep. Some symbol of his rank in the clan? She’d never seen him wear it before. He lounged in the chair, his leg hooked negligently over the arm, chin propped in his hand. She fought a grin as she realized he was playing the barbarian they thought him to be.
Sera sniffed, scanning the large hall with obvious distaste. Jain stiffened, wanting to defend this place. She loved it here. She loved the people—exuberant Miki, contained Nukilik, controlled Kesuk. Kesuk. She tried to be rational, to see Sea Den through Sera’s eyes. Large, scrubbed bare stone floors, decorated skins on the walls, trestle tables. It lacked the technology she was used to, but the roaring fire and groups of chatting people made it homey and welcoming.
She wanted to stay.
“You’re coming with us, Jain.”
Sera’s voice broke through Jain’s reverie. “What?”
“We’ll be on Aquatilis in three weeks. They came to get us.”
“They?” She swiveled around, seeing Varad and another man behind him. The stranger’s pale skin set off the sheet of inky hair that hung straight to the middle of his back. Almost as pale as Kesuk, he had deep turquoise eyes and a high forehead. He also had an air of perpetual blasé boredom.
The man had a small flat nose, and his nostrils flared in obvious distaste as he took in the main hall of Sea Den. Then he turned to Jain and executed a neat bow. “Ambassador Hahn of Aquatilis at your service, Dr…”
“Oh, I’m not a scientist. My brother was. I’m a schoolteacher. And, please, call me Jain.”
Disappointment flashed in his turquoise eyes, but he recovered quickly. “How charming. You may call me Bretton, of course.”
Memory kicked in and her history knowledge popped up. “Sirius Hahn was the founder of the Aquatilian colony. Is he your ancestor?”
“The very same.” A wide genuine smile curved his lips. Bretton was a handsome man when he wasn’t wearing a condescending look. “Aquatilis will embrace a woman with so fine a knowledge of our past. I’m sure we can arrange for more…comfortable lodging than the Alysians offered you.”
“I somehow doubt Aquatilis could compare.” Jain grinned, remembering the feel of soft pelts under her back as Kesuk pounded inside her. A private smile lit Kesuk’s face as he glanced up at her, letting his gaze slide down her body.
Bretton’s lip curled. “Unlike the barbarians, we still have use of most of the technology from your time. It will be much more to your liking.”
Kesuk’s gaze flashed with resentment. When he smiled, he let his fangs show. “It is unfortunate that our calls for aid from your advanced people resulted in nothing. Our loremasters teach that while we were struggling to survive, your technology was worthless because you never came. How un-neighborly.”
The ambassador flushed, taking a small step back. “Yes, well. We had our own problems when no supplies were delivered from Earth. Our life-support systems were failing, and half our population was still made up of unaltered humans. You understand our dilemma.”
“Oh, yes. I understand perfectly.”
A cold silence settled over the group as old bitterness played out between Kesuk and Bretton. Jain took a breath. “As far as I can tell, every one of the colonized planets has done what they must to survive. For Aquatilis, that meant preserving the technology that runs your life-support systems in the underwater city. For Alysians, it meant learning to cope with being hunted by predators.” Flexing her sore ankle, she shivered at the ugly memory.
Varad stepped forward. “An excellent assessment. I’m sure you would be fascinated to know about the adaptation the weredragons have made on their desert world.”
“Dragons?” Sera and Jain echoed together.
Sera’s brow furrowed. “That’s not feasible. All the other shifter species were created from splicing human genes with known animals. Dragons are a myth.”
“These are not.” Varad shrugged.
“I want to see.” Academic zeal lit Sera’s eyes. This was the kind of puzzle the woman lived for.
“We have several Harenan diplomats stationed on Aquatilis. You’ll see them soon.” Bretton’s nasal accent cut across their conversation. He smiled at Sera, and she all but melted in a puddle at his feet. Oh, dear. Sera was the youngest scientist to be recruited to Aquatilis, and only then because of her precocious genius. She had no social skills or experience with men. How unfortunate that her first crush would be on such a techno-snob.
Jain rolled her eyes and sighed. She probably fawned just as much when Kesuk smiled at her.
Kesuk rose from his chair and bent to Jain’s ear. “We must speak, little bear.” He held out his hand, and she placed her fingers in his proffered palm. He drew her away from the group as they discussed the vagaries of dragons and led her down the hall to her chamber.
She knew what this was about. What he was going to say. Panic exploded in her belly. No. Please, no.
His big hands closed over her shoulders, and she leaned back into his warmth. His forehead rested against the back of her head.
“I don’t want to go.” The words burst from her.
Tears pressed against her lids. How could she leave this place now? She loved it here. They needed her for what she could teach them. She was valued, free to be herself as she never had been before. No expectation of rigid logic. If Bretton was anything to go by, she doubted that would be the case on Aquatilis.
“You cannot stay.” Kesuk’s hands tightened on her shoulders.
She closed her eyes over the pain. Her voice grew softer. “Why?”
“It is not safe here.”
“It’s not safe anywhere. Even technology malfunctions. How else did I end up here? Now?”
He sighed, his breath tickling the back of her neck. “Jain—”
“Safety isn’t a good enough reason. What else do you have?”
“I don’t want you here. This is my Den. You must go.”
He didn’t want her to stay? Pain hit her square in the chest, squeezed her heart in an iron grip. She searched for something, anything to change his mind. “But…but, my debt isn’t paid. I’m still your sla—”
“You risked your life to save my cub. Your debt is repaid. I release you.”
She turned to face him, pulling out of his arms. “I only did what anyone would have done.”
“That is not so. Anyone not in my clan would have left her for dead.”
“That’s horrible and barbar—” She cut herself off, the look on his face freezing her blood. “Oh, Kesuk, that’s not what I—”
“No. Perhaps you are right. You will be more suited to the civility of Aquatilis.” He spun on a heel and strode from the room, never once looking back.
Her breath choked on a sob. “Kesuk.”
Light-headed, she leaned against the bed, her body tingling with shock. She felt as though a part of her had been ripped away. He wanted her gone.
Well, she sure as hell didn’t want to stay where she wasn’t wanted. She began to pack, stuffing her clothes and belongings randomly into a satchel. Her hands shook so badly, Miki’s shells slipped through her fingers and scattered across the floor.
“Damn.”
She gathered up the shells, crawling halfway under the bed to retrieve a few strays. The only man to ever make her feel didn’t even want to be on the same planet with her. Her breath rattled past parched lips as she tried to swallow the huge lump in her throat. She pressed her forehead against the cool stone floor, trying to push away her emotions like she used to. She tried to make it matter as little as her husband leaving her. She couldn’t.
Someone knocked on the door. “Jain?”
“I’ll be out in a minute, Sera.”
“What are you doing under there?” Footsteps tapped across the floor.
“I dropped Miki’s shells.” Where were they? She searched, frantic to find them all. She couldn’t leave them. She just couldn’t. They were her present. Her breath sobbed out, stirring the dust.
“There are plenty of shells out here. Just leave them.”
“No! I have to bring them all. I have to.” Tears burned her lids, and she clamped a desperate hand over her mouth to stifle her sudden sobs.
“Okay…okay…I’ll help you.” Sera’s usually impatient voice was kind and soothing.
“I can do it myself. I can—” They were her present. The only connection she’d have to Kesuk and his family after she left. Her hand closed over the last tiny shell. She sighed, an inordinate amount of relief singing through her. A tear leaked down her cheek. “I have it now.”
She swiped at her eyes, sniffling as she shimmied out from under the bed, dragging a few stray dust bunnies with her. Standing, she brushed off her clothes and turned to slide the shells into her bag, avoiding eye contact with the other woman.
“It’s better that we’re leaving, Jain. We were supposed to go to Aquatilis in the first place.”
“I know.” She cleared her throat. She’d dealt with difficult situations before. She could handle this. She didn’t have a choice. If Kesuk didn’t want her to stay, then that was it. End of story.
The big bed was empty without Kesuk. Cold. Jain squeezed her eyes shut, willing sleep to come. Wavering dawn sunshine filtered through the small light shafts in her ceiling. He hadn’t come to her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, standing. If he wouldn’t come to her, then she would go to him. She deserved one more time in his arms, damn it.
She realized she was stark naked and had no idea where his room was. He had always stayed with her. Stumped, she sat back down. Looking around, she tried to remember where she’d put the map he’d given her when she’d first arrived. Maybe his chambers were labeled. On her knees, she rummaged through her pack, trying to find something that felt like parchment.
Her door swung open.
She froze. She didn’t even need to look to know it was him. “Kesuk.”
He didn’t say a word. In two strides he was on her, scooping her into his arms. She clung to his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist. Thank God he was already naked. She could definitely develop a distinct liking for nudity. If only she had more time. She shoved the thought away, focused on enjoying this time with Kesuk. Her last time.
Stroking his hands over her back, he seemed to relish the feel of her skin, burying his face in her neck to breathe deeply. Surprised that he wanted to go slow, she tightened her legs to press closer to him.
“Kesuk, I—”
The time for words has passed, little bear. Be with me tonight.
“Yes.” The answer was simple, plain. She’d take what she could get before she had to leave. One night. One time. One moment. If that was all there was, she’d let go and enjoy it. He’d broken down all her barriers, and she was done pretending he hadn’t. She wanted him.
His mouth covered hers, his tongue twining with hers in a slow, deep kiss. Walking blindly, he lowered her to the bed. The furs felt soft against her back as he settled on top of her. The tip of his dick rubbed against her wet pussy lips. Arching up, she waited for the hard thrust that would bury his cock deep within her. It didn’t come. Instead, he moved backward, spreading soft kisses over her jaw and neck. She gasped when he nipped her earlobe, the sting causing hot moisture to pool between her spread thighs.
“Please.”
Shh.
He pressed his lips to the base of her neck, and his teeth raked over her collarbone. She buried her fingers into his dense, silky hair, loving the texture of it, tugging sharply to speed his progress. Not wanting to wait, she wriggled her hips, pushed the head of his cock into her sex. He sucked her nipple deep into his mouth, drawing hard on the tip.
Frantic, she bucked against him, her heart pounding hard. She couldn’t wait. She needed him now. She clamped her legs tight around his hips, pulling him down as she arched up. He groaned, his cock sinking into her, setting a slow, steady, maddening rhythm. Twisting beneath him, she tried to urge him on.
“Kesuk, please.” She cupped his cheeks between her hands, forced him to look at her. “I want you. No one can make me feel the way you do. Only you. Now, hurry up.”
Surprise flashed across his face and he laughed, a cocky grin playing over his lips. Like this?
Three quick hard strokes filled her to the limit. “Yes.”
Her hands closed over his ass, pulling him closer, deeper. He quickened his pace, taking her hard, just like she liked it. His masculine scent filled her nose as she sobbed for breath. She clung to him as he rode her, locked together, driving toward orgasm. A few more moments and she would go over, but she held it off, fighting to draw the pleasure out.
He froze, his eyes going all black, then his hips jerked in fast, plunging strokes as he came inside of her. Groaning into her mouth, he sucked her lower lip between his teeth.
Jain. I…Jain.
His thought echoed in her mind, connecting her to him as she shuddered hard, pussy clenching around his dick, her nails biting into his back, her legs tight around his waist.
“Kesuk,” she whispered.
Dawn broke and lit the small skylights in her room, the beams gilding his pale skin in a golden glow as they held each other tight, not wanting this last moment to pass. He pressed his forehead to hers, his unsteady breath caressing her face.
Then he rolled off her, taking his warmth with him. He rose gracefully from the bed, his large body beautiful in the morning light. “I will leave you to your final preparations.”
She swallowed and crossed her arms over her breasts. “You’re not even going to see me off?”
His long fingers clenched on the wood doorframe. His voice grated out. “No. I…can’t. Imnek will escort you.”
Hot tears flooded her eyes, and she tilted her head back, trying to hold them in. “Okay,” she whispered. What else could she say? It was over. Finished.
“I’m sorry, little bear.”
A soft laugh caught on a sob at his use of her nickname. God, she would miss that.
He finally looked at her, glancing back over his shoulder, a sad smile playing on his lips. “You wanted me to delegate.”
“Just…go.” She made herself watch the door close behind him.