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ChapterTwelve
Stacey fidgeted with the long and slightly curved rod of the alien parasol providing some shade for her as she strolled through the market. Gaix was in rare form, boisterously laughing and throwing his money around at anything that took his fancy while he took every opportunity to grope whatever woman was closest to him in a bizarre territorial display anytime an unknown male looked in their direction.
Sighing in exasperation, she glanced in Varik’s direction beneath her lashes. He stood tall and dignified to the left of their group, towering over the Calysii males. Hell, he was even tall for a Lorgor and so powerfully built that the memory of his broadly muscled frame bent over her had the tendency to pop into her mind at the most inappropriate times. It was hinted at in the fit of his uniform but seeing him raw in the flesh was burned forever into her mind. As were the cute little heart-shaped orange markings on his neck as if he had painted himself with little Valentine’s hearts just for it. All of that had been amazing, but it was the way that he had looked at her that had left her breathless and stole her heart! He had made her believe that she was the most beautiful and amazing female that he had ever touched. For a foolish moment she had lost her head and forgot everything that she had told herself and Quin. For a moment, she was certain that he would break down into proclamations of love and demand her to run off with him. Wasn’t that the way that shit was supposed to work with a lot of the alien species?
Fuck, she felt like a fool. She had laid there basking in the afterglow, her mind already jumping to a happy ever after as if she shouldn’t have learned something last time. As if it could be something more when he belonged thoroughly to the Calysii military, and she was trying to get away from the Calysii Empire altogether. Why was she even surprised that he had panicked and thoroughly cleaned her as if he couldn’t wait to wipe every trace of their intimacy from her before hurrying her from the room? She understood the need to cover the evidence of what they had just done – Calysii’s did have a sensitive sense of smell compared to a human and the scent of their lovemaking had been obvious to even her—but it bothered her that he had been in such a hurry to get rid of her. Hell, the way he had shot up and put distance between them, she had half expected him to personally grab her arm and rush her to the door and straight out it.
She just needed to forget about him. Their rendezvous had been fun but now she was on Kaidava and needed to put her energy where it belonged like her friends were to find any exploitable point that they could use to their advantage. An illicit affair would eventually be found out and she couldn’t stick around with the hope of perhaps finding a way to run into him again and again to seek comfort in his arms behind Gaix’s back. No, she needed to be free of the prince and there was only one way. She needed to keep her head in the game and put what happened between them behind her.
She knew that, and she was certain that he understood the narrow limits of their short-lived relationship as well, so why did she keep looking over at him? And why did his gaze keep straying toward her despite the careful watch he was keeping on their surroundings? He was such a puzzle. How did he even know so much about humans, anyway? As far as she knew most aliens didn’t bother to learn anything about humans unless they were mated to them—though that was fair since humans weren’t any better. She had been surprised, though, when she’d found out that they had only just barely averted disaster because of him. Vera had been pressed close enough to the door to overhear most of what had happened the day before with the food and she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. She was shocked that he had caught it, especially considering that after seven years neither Gaix nor Athdar knew what was safe for them to eat, nor took it upon themselves to be informed of what could be dangerous to humans on Kaidava when making their itinerary. What would have happened if he had not returned to investigate the food brought by room service?
Gah! She was going to make herself crazy if she kept thinking about it.
Stacey dropped her head to a display case, her steps slowing to a stop as Gaix talked animatedly to the shopkeeper. Something about some huge gemstone pendant in a brilliant green hue with such clarity that sun glimmered through it like a pool of water. She rolled her eyes. It was practically the size of her fist. Who needed a pendant of that size? The gemstones in the tray in front of her were of a far modest size. A stone of a brilliant blue color caught her eye, and she smiled a little in spite of herself. Tiny and unamazing, no bigger than her thumb, the gemstone was carved into an elegant swirling shape at the heart of which a flower bloomed. It was so finely crafted that it had a delicacy to its appearance that delighted her, but more than that was its color. She hadn’t believed that she would ever see anything that was naturally such a bright shade of blue as Varik’s eyes.
Clothing rustled and another shopkeeper loomed over her with a solicitous smile. “Do you wish to see it, my lady? It is a harmony stone, and an excellent specimen at that. And while this is excellent, I would love to show you something even more exquisite that would be fitting for a female of your station.”
Stacey blinked at him. A female of her station? She was one of dozens of mates, and one of the least among them at that. She did not get jewels or gifts like some of the others did from Gaix. Everything she owned was simply something to enhance her appearance as an appealing companion and was accomplished mostly by expensive clothing, cosmetics, and a few chains, earrings, and rings of costly metal.
Could she suck up to the prince enough to get a jewel that could potentially fund her new life away from him? She wasn’t sure she had enough time for the level of sucking up that would be required. She certainly didn’t have time now as they were passing through the market on their way to meet another dignitary for a midday meal at a highly reputed restaurant. She was tempted to steal it, but she’d never stolen a thing in her life and despite desperation breeding desperate circumstances, she wasn’t all that confident in her ability to not get caught. And that was the last thing she needed—a reason to be watched more closely than ever.
She groaned quietly to herself in frustration.
There was also the small point of the matter that she wasn’t even sure if she would be able to sell it. There was an equally good chance that she would be looked upon suspiciously. She gave the merchant a faint smile and shook her head apologetically as she entwined her arm with Nancy’s as the other woman drew closer out of curiosity. Stacey squeezed her arm, communicating their need to quickly move on. Thankfully, Nancy caught the clue, but it didn’t seem that the shopkeeper was going to let them go so easily without another try. He pushed forward with another tray laden with jewelry set with eye-dazzling gemstones, obviously with an idea to strong arm a sale, and moved as to block them but froze when a looming shadow fell over him.
Stacey peaked up at the looming male and bit back a smile at the intimidating look he was leveling at the shopkeeper. A slight frill around his neck that she had never noticed before expanded slightly, its tiny barbs becoming visible on it as it strained around the collar of his uniform. Even the tops of his orange markings on this throat became brighter and more prominent as a result. And did he ever look annoyed as hell for it. His eyes slitted menacingly and followed the Kadesh male and he immediately backpedaled with a flustered flurry of apologies. She was tempered to smirk just a little at the male’s discomfort until Varik’s gaze turned toward her in an expression chilly enough to freeze hell over and he gestured with a sharp jerk of his chin toward Gaix.
She didn’t need her implanted translator to interpret that at all. The message was clear: keep moving. As grateful as she was to him for stepping in, she frowned back in annoyance. Was he seriously chastising her for falling behind? It wasn’t like Gaix was making an effort to keep them altogether and keep the over eager merchants in line. The male was oblivious to anything going on that wasn’t directly in front of him. Her frown tipped into a scowl that she didn’t even bother to hide from him. Varik blinked at her, and to her surprise, the corners of his mouth twitched, breaking his icy mask so that she caught a glimpse of the warmth in his eyes behind it. It was a brief glimpse but when she turned away, she couldn’t help but smile secretively to herself as she trudged dutifully forward with Nancy. Her friend eyed her curiously, her gaze drifting between Stacey and the Lorgor thoughtfully, but Stacey gave a miniscule shake of her head. Nancy’s brows rose but she nodded.
“I saw nothing at all,” her friend murmured under her breath as they hurried to catch up.
Stacey chuckled quietly and squeezed the other woman’s arm, communicating her thanks. She desperately wanted someone to gossip with, but the less the women within her small circle knew, the safer it was for them. What she did with Vark would likely through Gaix into a rage if he found out. He wasn’t going to find out, of course, but if he did by some chance, she didn’t want the other women caught up in it. Still, she was glad that Nancy was there. As unobservant as Gaix could be at times with his little indulgences, Athdar didn’t suffer from that same problem. There was little that he missed. It was a matter of chance that Gaix’s rut provided a sufficient distraction until now. Already he was peering back at them with a frown, his eyes flicking from Varik to her, before finally resting on Nancy. His stony expression relaxed marginally. Lifting a hand, he beckoned them with two fingers.
Like good little human pets, Stacey and Nacy quickened their steps as Varik silently fell into step behind them. Her skin prickled with awareness as they walked, wanting more than anything to glance back at the captain. She was certain that he was the reason that the congestion on the street in front of them miraculously parted with one glance in their direction.
She would bet anything that he was still glaring and intimidating everyone who happened to look over at him. If so, it was no wonder that everyone was hurrying out of their way. Captain Otorol, the face that Varik showed the world while he was on duty, was intimidating as fuck. That she found this hard, tempered side of him extremely attractive just spoke volumes of how desperately she needed that control, and conversely how much she enjoyed breaking it to revel in her own power.
That was never something she felt with Gaix. But then, he didn’t want to just dominate her and encourage the gift of her submission. He wanted to break her down, strip her of who she was, and chain her for his pleasure. And somehow thought there was enough of him to control nineteen women this way all at once when he didn’t even seem to be entirely aware of where they were all at from one moment to the next. He didn’t even look in their direction when they finally caught up even though Athdar’s cold eyes practically tracked their every movement until they got to that point. Even women toward the rear of their little group glanced back curiously. Stacey gave them a little wave and mouthed her apology. She might as well not have bothered though because they all looked away as they came up on an ornate building with a large, open-air lower floor, and private balconies boasting incredible molding on the upper floor, several of which were inlayed with colorful lacquer of some kind.
This was obviously their destination. With a signal from Gaix, Athdar proceeded them inside and spoke to the attendant in a hushed voice. The male’s eyes traveled over them briefly and he nodded, leading them further into the cool recess of the dining room and up an ornate staircase to the upper floor. To her surprise, they didn’t go to one of the open balconies but headed toward a pair of closed doors gilded in gold and carved in an exemplary demonstration of skilled woodwork. She barely had a chance to admire the scene of some sort of exotic, alien sea creature before the doors were opened and they were ushered inside. Stacey jumped as the doors clicked shut behind her and her eyes roved around the low-lit room that cast velvety shadows over the red fabric papering the walls and draping the long, thicky cushioned booths that surrounded a large table that dominated the space.
A Kadesh male sat at the head of the table, lounging back against the back of the booth, his armed draped casually over the shoulder of a blond woman who leaned against him. Stacey stared at the couple. They seemed so mismatched. The woman had a sweet, maternal appearance to her that brought to mind a suburban soccer mom whereas the alien was definitely look like a wealthy dignitary. There was a dangerous look to him that no Kadesh she’d seen in passing possessed. A hungry, ruthless look of a male accustomed to violence. Perhaps a pirate or bounty hunter.
The male’s eyes roved over them casually as the woman beside him tightened her fingers into his billowy shirt confined beneath an ornate vest. The shirt was opened down to his belt line revealing a pair of pectoral piercings studded with what she suspected to be diamonds.
At last, his gaze focused on Gaix and the Kadesh smirked. “Ah, the Calysii prince and his servant I’m to meet. Welcome to Kaidava. I am Lerix Morkrav and I hear that you are looking for a unique vessel for a one of a kind experience.”
ChapterThirteen
So, this was who they were meeting? Varik’s eyes narrowed as Kadesh looked over at his human mate and something unsaid passed between the couple. It was suspicious but he did not recognize the female and had not heard much of criminal elements among the humans that now shared space with them. Nor did she have the look of a female hardened by that life. The male, however, was another matter. His name was one that Varik had come across a number of times over patrol wide-range comms. Lerix Morkav. A male of unscrupulous reputation. A bodyguard for hire, thief, and occasional mercenary. And the last person Varik expected to encounter.
Truthfully, he was surprised. It had been revolutions since he had heard mention of the name. Last he heard rumor had it that Lerix had retired from the public a several revolutions ago with no further sign of the male’s activity. The reason for his retirement seemed pretty clear if he was to judge by the pretty female practically in the Kadesh’s lap. Or that Lerix barely glanced at any of the other humans in the room. Whoever Lerix had become, it was clearly a male of means and very much mated.
Fortuitous bastard. Why was it so easy among the derelicts of the galaxy when many good Lorgors would offer all that they had for such an opportunity. Varik included. That frustration and jealousy clawed at him even as he cautiously watched the bastard for any sign of duplicity. He would not put it past him.
Mated or not, Lerix had a dangerous past and Varik would not foolishly underestimate the Kadesh male. He would bide his time and watch. That Lerix did not appear to be an immediate danger did not dismiss the questions as to what could the prince possibly want with such a male?
“Yes, that is exactly it,” Gaix replied as he swept into the booth at the opposite end of the table, drawing the nearest of his mates down with him in direct mirroring of the other male’s posture.
