Page 68 of Galaxy Circus Act One

“Wait, why are you back so soon?” I ask Eric, suddenly realizing he was taking Lila to Xavier. “Where’s Lila?” I sit up, a rush of worry prickling my skin.

“Relax, she’s with Xavier. He’ll protect her from anything. He wanted to see her on her own without an audience. Though I would have loved to see her reaction to his harem. She’s still behind on her species research, and it’s going to be a real eye-opener for her.” He turns to his brothers. “I would like to arrangefor Lila to see Saxon for some defense training either this afternoon, depending on how long Xavier takes, or tomorrow. I need to know she can defend herself physically if he’s not able to trigger any of her magic. What happened with Dylan has made me worried about her safety. She’s pretty much defenseless at this point.”

“Josa is kind of aggressive toward Lila too, and the more Link shows an interest in her, the more aggressive Josa gets. Lila and Link are having drinks tonight, and I’m not sure if Josa overheard those arrangements or not,” I chime in, feeling much like Eric does about her safety. Link’s nurse is batshit crazy. Between the two of us, we haven’t been very lucky lately with non-relationship drama. Hopefully Lila and Link work out. I would like Link as a bond mate, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s pretty on the eyes too.

Link squirms a little as Lila’s grandpas study him carefully before Eric claps his hands. “That’s awesome. I approve.” His brothers both murmur their agreement before moving back to the subject of Lila’s self-defense.

“I will speak to Saxon and make arrangements for tomorrow. That will be soon enough. And Link and Caspian are capable of protecting her from Josa in the meantime if he tries anything, not to mention he should be on that return transport after it drops off the shifters from Fluxx.” John sighs and runs a hand through his hair, his frustration evident in the movement. “You mentioned Lila isn’t up to date on the circus species? Does she know about Saxon being a vampire?”

They all look at me, and I grimace. “I think so, but I will bring her up to speed tonight, or Link can during their date.” I try to cover for my mate, but I don’t think I’m fooling anyone.

Eric chuckles. “Let’s not assume anything. I had to give her a heads-up on Xavier’s harem.”

Link finishes with his notes and rejoins the conversation. “I can do that. I probably have the most unbiased information to give her.”

“Let’s also put out a crew-wide announcement, something along the lines of aggression toward fellow crew members will not be tolerated and is grounds for instant dismissal. That should clear up any inquiries about Dylan and preempt the other dismissals that are coming. Both Natalia and Josa have been overheard being aggressive to other crew members before Lila arrived, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that their behavior toward Lila was the final straw.” William sounds as irked as John looks. “We need to make sure Lila is protected at all times. We should probably assign her a bodyguard, but that would make her look weak.”

I stand up and pace back and forth, trying to come up with a solution that would help Lila while also preventing her from being a target. “What if we asked Xavier to be her bodyguard? Nobody would cross him. She has his mark on her back, so we could say they are exploring the attraction. Between him, Link, and me, Lila would never be alone.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll speak to him once they finish examining her powers. It actually wouldn’t be a bad thing for her to take him as a mate, because then it wouldn’t matter that she didn’t have Skarrian abilities since she could potentially get some of his.” Eric is in scheming mode.

“Hang on. Getting powers is not a good reason to mate someone,” John cautions, narrowing his eyes on Eric. “I don’t want that for Lila.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you have to worry about that. Lila is thelastperson we have to worry about mating for powers. She’s still wrapping her head around the fact that she can be attracted to others even though she and I are now mated. The power thing isn’t even registering with her.” I try to reassure John, eventhough it’s probably breaking Lila’s confidence a little bit, but I’m sure she would hate for him to worry.

“Did she get shape-shifting powers?” William raises an eyebrow at me.

“She can take half form, but she wasn’t able to fully shift into a kraken.” I sit down so they can’t see my dick harden at the reminder of what she looked like partially shifted. She was gorgeous. Her skin changed color, but unlike my mottled purple and blue complexion, she was pink and purple. Her tentacles weren’t as thick as mine, and the top half of her body remained the same except for the color change. Her nipples were colored purple, and my mouth watered to wrap around them, but a first shift is not the time or place to scare her with my needs.

I must have gotten lost in my thoughts, because I jump when William claps his hands together. There’s a little twinkle in his eye as he hears that his granddaughter can partially shift. “Well that’s something at least. Maybe there’s hope for her. Okay, Cas, make that call to your friend and let us know how it goes. I think we’ve got Lila’s protection and education organized for now.” He takes a deep breath, mentally cataloging the next steps as we all listen like school children. “Link’s going to help educate her on the different species, and Eric, you speak to Saxon about defense training for Lila. I’m going to contact Iceen and do the ship-wide announcement to cover our asses. John, you’re going to keep drinking your whiskey and relax, we’ve got it sorted. How about we all touch base this evening to update everyone?”

Now that William has given us our marching orders, we all agree on the game plan, and with that, Link and I leave the brothers to sort out the lightning cat situation.

As we walk down the corridor together, I can tell that Link has something he wants to say. He’s been worrying his lip between his teeth so hard it’s cracked open and I can smell the blood, so I stop and turn to face him. “Just say what’s on yourmind, Link. We’ve been friends for a long time now, nothing you say is going to upset me.”

“You’re really okay with her and me having drinks or more tonight?” he murmurs, as if saying the words any louder would impact my reaction.

I put a hand on his shoulder, and his eyes widen in surprise as I rub it lightly, trying to reassure him with my touch. Shifters are a very touchy-feely group, and even though Link isn’t one, I’m hoping it will reassure him anyway. “Not at all. I knew the moment I saw yours and Xavier’s attraction marks on her shoulders that this wasn’t going to be a traditional one-on-one mating. Whether it’s you or Xavier or other people entirely, I’m going to have to share her, and I’d much rather it be with people I’m friends with.”

“Okay, well then, I plan to pursue her fully then,” he announces matter-of-factly, wearing a skeptical look on his face like he’s waiting for the fallout from his statement. Instead, it’s the complete opposite. I’mhappyfor Lila and need to communicate my approval more clearly. My hand drifts from his shoulder to his cheek.

“Enjoy, my friend, and make sure you take good care of our girl.” I wink and continue on to my living quarters. I need to make a call to Silac then pack up all of my belongings to move into Lila’s place. The thought alone has my body and my beast thrumming with excitement. I want to be back before she returns from seeing the warlock. I bet she’s going to need a drink after having her human mind blown.

CHAPTER FIVE

Lila

Xavier’s voice caresses my ear, yet his mouth isn’t anywhere near it. The sensation tingles down my spine, and I try not to shudder from the feeling. I spin to face the room. The mist I felt at my back is now gone, but I canfeelhim watching me. I can also hear murmured voices and make out shadowed forms, but no one steps forward to speak to me, which adds to the slight discomfort I’m now feeling. My heartbeat is racing and my adrenaline is high as I step farther into his living quarters. There’s a strong aroma of incense, spicy and heady, in the air, and there’s a hazy quality to the room, but I don’t see an incense stick burning anywhere.

Looking around, I notice there’s a meal area off to the side of me, but as I walk farther in, my eyes catch on the same kind of picture window that I have. Directly in front of it, however, is a sunken pit with cushions scattered about instead of a sofa like I have. Lounging on some of the cushions are the owners of the voices I heard. There are two women and the being I am assuming is the Milobar, and all of them are naked. The maleMilobar is reclined on the cushions with his hands behind his triangular head, and he’s very vocally enjoying a blow job from each of the girls. Yes, each of them has a cock in their mouth. This dude has two dicks, and not side by side like an Earth stingray, but one under the other. Looks like a fun time. A little prickle of desire floats through my body at the thought of double penetration.

“Oh yes, Lila, the taste of your arousal is exquisite.” Xavier’s words tickle my ear again. I drag my eyes away from the show and look around the room. I still can’t see him, but I guess the group in the pit hears him because they finally realize they have an audience.

“Who the fuck are you?” the Milobar demands aggressively, pushing the women off of him and standing up. His raging hard-ons point straight out in front of him, and his whip-like tail flicks behind him. “No one is allowed in these living quarters.” He climbs out of the sunken lounge and starts marching toward me. I’m frozen to the spot, my eyes locked on his impressive hard-ons. It’s hard to take someone seriously when they look like this guy does, but self-preservation kicks in and I back up quickly, holding up my hands defensively in front of me. I know Xavier is watching and waiting to see what I’ll do. I’m sure he’s expecting me to cower, but I don’t. I straighten my shoulders and stand my ground. This guy’s a naked stingray, and besides, I need to show people I can’t be easily intimidated. I’ve got this.

“I’m Lila Adams, and I’m here to see Xavier.” Well, one would assume that I said something shocking with the way the two women in the pit gasp. The struggle not to roll my eyes at their outburst is real.

“How dare you speak the warlock’s name!” The stingray, I’m going to call him Steve, momentarily halts as he tries to wrap his head around me casually talking about Xavier like we’ve beenlifelong friends. He sneers down at me. “You aren’t worthy of the air he breathes, you pathetic human.”