Chapter One
Shay paused at the sound of an auctioneer’s fast paced babble and glanced into the room it was coming from. Several well-dressed men and women milled around a stage that held a young woman in chains and tattered clothing. A moment later the bidding was concluded and the girl was dragged offstage, her face a mask of hopelessness.
Fucking slave auction, she thought in disgust as a young man was dragged onto the stage. She hated slavers.
The handlers forced the young man to his knees. Acid burned in her stomach as memories assailed her. The handlers always got to have their fun before the auction, provided they didn’t mar the “merchandise” too much.
It had been over a decade since she had been one of the poor souls on a stage very similar to the one she was looking at now, but the memories still had the power to make her sick. Never again, she vowed to herself. I’ll never give someone that much power over me again. Death first, it’s a kinder Mistress.
She was about to walk away when the young man slowly raised his head. A jolt went through her when she saw the burning hatred in his eyes as he gazed at the people murmuring excitedly in the audience. As she watched the hatred faded into dull acceptance. His shoulder length, leaf green, hair lashed with more than just the movement of his head. Each strand ended with a black spot as if it had been burned off.
He looked half starved, but his lean frame hinted that he would have been strong and muscular if he had ever been given enough food and care to grow into the broad shoulders that graced him. A shimmer of color around his hands caught her attention. Someone had tattooed leafy vines and starbursts along his wrists and hands in an iridescent green, which matched his hair. Odd, maybe one of his former masters did it. Although, it was rare for a slave to be permanently marked as it lowered their resale value in this sector. Deep green eyes sparked over the crowd of vultures waiting for the bidding to begin.
Unconsciously, she took another step into the room and absently took the bidding chit an attendant handed her. Her movement somehow caught the slave’s attention and his gaze collided with hers.
He held her stare as if it were the only lifeline in the universe as the auctioneer began listing his attributes.
“Male of unknown race, approximately twenty cycles in age. Excellent body slave. Unfortunately, he’s impotent,” the auctioneer began, ignoring the murmurs of dissatisfaction that rolled through the crowd. “However he has a fine, tight ass, for the discerning gentleman, and has been well broken to ride.” The auctioneer motioned to the handlers and they yanked the slave to his feet and spun him around, tearing off the loincloth that was wrapped around his genitals.
One of the handlers leered at the crowd and squeezed the slave’s ass, pulling the cheeks apart to flash the crowd.
The auctioneer continued without pause, “his vocal cords have been cut since he had some ability to cloud minds with his voice, we do not recommend having them rebuilt.” He paused and scanned the restless crowd. “Damaged, but still usable, what am I bid?”
Shay watched the slave tremble, his back still to the crowd. “Please help me,” a wispy voice said in her mind. She jerked and looked around cautiously. Psychics were hunted and killed in this area of space as heretics to a faith no one really worshiped anymore. If anyone learned she could hear people’s thoughts she would be dead within a week, and so would her partner.
A half-hearted bid of one thousand credits scrolled up on the reader board and the auctioneer tried to drum up a few more. Shay watched with one eye as she continued to scan the crowd.
Another bid scrolled, someone was offering fifteen hundred credits. It was a ridiculous amount for a slave. The average amount was twenty thousand, but no one really wanted an impotent troublemaker, and having his vocal cords cut indicated a difficult slave, no matter what the auctioneer claimed.
Suddenly the bid jumped to five thousand and a deep voice rolled across the room. “I’ll take the little scrap, the crew needs a new toy.”
Ice formed an ugly ball in the pit of her stomach. She knew that voice. Everyone else in the room knew it too and backed away like herd animals scenting a predator.
Skand Toolon.
Pirate. Assassin. Slaver. Pedophile.
The local government hired him to keep the other parasites away. And, as long as they kept him supplied with his favorite toys, he did it. Although, he occasionally just took what he wanted. No one disputed anything he did because people that pissed him off had a habit of disappearing and then showing back up. In chunks.
Not quite sure why she did it, she bid eight thousand on the slave. Gods knew she didn’t need the trouble, but she also knew what would happen to the slave if Skand got hold of him. He’d pass the slave around to his crew until he died of gang rape and beatings. Then, Skand would go buy another one for them.
Skand raised an eyebrow at the new bid that flashed up on the board and looked around slowly, obviously trying to figure out who was challenging him.
Shay inspected her fingernails and fixed a bored expression on her face, trying to act like she wasn’t paying attention. Pick your battles, baby, she thought to herself. She would be happy stealing Skand’s prize but wasn’t stupid enough to give herself away so he could hunt them down.
He stopped glaring at the crowd and pushed the bid to nine thousand.
The handlers spun the slave around and he stared at Skand. Fine, visible trembles shook his emaciated frame.
She didn’t know how the slave knew who was bidding and prayed he wouldn’t look at her as she bid ten thousand.
The slave jerked his eyes to the floor and kept them there, almost as if he had heard her thoughts somehow. She didn’t think she had sent anything, she was very careful about shielding her mind.
Skand scanned the crowd again and growled like a feral beast and bid eleven.
Shay’s stomach jumped around her insides like it was trying to crawl up her throat as she bid twelve. What the fuck am I doing? She screamed in her head. She had already used up half her savings on a slave she didn’t want. If the bidding went much higher she would be forced to back out. Gods help the slave then. Skand was sure to take his anger out on him.
Suddenly Skand laughed. “I like a challenge, makes the rape more fun later,” he growled out and exited the room from another door.
Fuck. Shay had just screwed herself. Whether she got the slave now or not, Skand would be after the person who dared to bid against him.
The auctioneer cleared his throat. “Any more bids?”
The crowd whispered and nudged, but no further bids flashed the screen. Apparently, they had no desire to take on anyone who was willing to piss Skand off.
Feeling like her innards had turned to jelly she used the chit to pay for the slave and arranged to pick him up in an hour and then waited until three more slaves were sold before strolling out of the room with forced casualness, tossing the chit back to the attendant. She had pocketed the chit with the proof of ownership and lifted another out of someone’s pocket. Now, it would look like she had left without making a purchase.
Skand was lounging in the hall, watching everyone who came and went from the room. She nodded politely and continued on her way to the marketplace. She had some supplies to arrange to have delivered to her ship, Crimson Shackles, before they could get as far from the station as possible. Hopefully, also before Skand figured out who stole the slave out from under him.
Her teeth started to chatter with nerves and she locked her jaw, trying to pretend nothing was wrong. She froze as she realized Skand could track her through the credit account she had used to pay. Fuck! I gotta get that account closed out now! She mentally thanked whatever Gods were listening that she had set up a temporary account when they had docked; there wasn’t any way to track them once it were closed. Looking around slowly, she spotted a Cashet machine and strode towards it and had the account closed and cash chits issued to her. The machine burbled a cheerful message that the station was not responsible for lost or stolen chits and sang out a mechanical salutation before humming back into it’s passive mode.
A quick look assured her no one was paying her any attention so she eased back into the flow of foot traffic and made herself scarce. Raerei is gonna kill me! She thought as she made arrangements for the deliveries hours sooner then her partner was anticipating.
* * * * *
Jaed’aden shook from the sick fear swirling through his body and he choked back the greasy nausea rising in his throat. He had all but given up hope that he would ever see his people again. It had been eleven years since pirates had attacked the tiny shuttle his parents had been piloting toward a new planet they had wanted to explore.
Within minutes they had been overtaken and he had watched his parents die. His father had been the first, stabbed trying to defend his wives and children. He had been the lucky one. Jaed’aden’s mothers had lasted weeks, slowly dying from the repeated rapes and beatings that had slowly taken toll on their bodies and minds. He knew that they would have died faster if he hadn’t been with them. They had hung on as long as they could to do their best to keep him safe.
The pirates had thought it hilarious they way the women fought to defend him. They had devised many games to break his mothers spirits. But, their sick pleasure was complete by making him watch his mothers degrade themselves for his sake, making him watch as they were raped and beaten.
Both women were finally broken when the leader of the pirates raped him in front on them. When he finished, the man had cut his mothers’ throats and held their twitching, choking forms so that their life’s blood rained down on him.
He had been ten years old.
He had never learned of his baby sister’s fate. He suspected the pirates had killed the three year old. She was too young to be useful and the market for young children was almost non-existent.
The handlers suddenly yanked on the manacles around his wrists and pulled him from of the stinking pen they kept the slaves in after the auction. They laughed as he tripped and stumbled and stuck him next to the door to await his new owner. Please, Lithen, let it be someone kind, he prayed desperately. He had hoped the lady with the sad eyes would buy him but she hadn’t seemed interested. Don’t let it be the man, please, not him! The man who had bid on him looked evil and reminded him of the pirate who had captured his family. Instinctively, he knew if that was who bought him he would be dead within a month.
The handlers hosed him down with cold water and wrapped a fresh loincloth around his hips before leaving him under the watchful eyes of the guards. He from the wet, cold misery that just added another layer to his despair.
As time passed his trepidation built until his tight muscles screamed in agony.
A tall man with red hair slipped silently into the room and spoke to the guards quietly. After a minute of arguing the guard motioned toward Jaed’aden and gave the man a key. The red head took it and claimed Jaed’aden, quickly removing the chain that was threaded through a metal loop in his manacles. He jerked his head to signal that Jaed’aden should follow.
Jaed’aden panted with fear as they quickly made their way to a men’s restroom and the man pushed him into a cubicle.
The man leaned close and whispered in his ear. “Don’t try to escape and do exactly what I say or we are both dead. Do you understand?”
That voice! He nodded quickly. The man spoke with a woman’s voice. It was deeper then average for a woman and husky, but definitely female. He took the coarse brown robe that was thrust at him and held very still as his new owner removed the manacles and the nerve threads which were attached to them to keep the slaves under control.
He wiggled into the clothing as soon as his hands were free and covered his hair with the hood attached to it. The man touched a device on his belt and suddenly he was short, with medium brown hair and looked so completely average Jaed’aden knew anyone looking at him would forget about him ten minutes later.
His new owner attached a similar device to his belt and punched a couple of buttons on it and then motioned for him to follow again. They exited the restroom through another door and Jaed’aden tried to mimic the man’s casual stroll. He must have been mistaken about the voice because he had never seen a woman who could walk like a man before.
They meandered through the crowds as if they had nowhere important to be for several minutes and he was surprised when they were suddenly at the docks.
His owner gave up the pretense of casualness and grabbed Jaed’aden’s elbow and hustled him through the rows of ships. His stomach roiled at the touch and he tried to keep up as best he could, but it had been several days since the slavers had bothered to feed their cargo and he was feeling dangerously weak.
They stopped in front of a small, worn ship and his owner punched in the codes that would allow them to board. He was shoved inside and the door closed behind them.
His owner sighed with relief and turned off the disguising device.
It was the lady he had watched!
She had long, dark brown hair with lighter streaks woven through it and pale, reddish brown eyes which were set into pointed features that reminded him of his own people’s. Her feminine frame was leanly muscled and looked strong and healthy.
He smiled tentatively, feeling hopefully for the first time in years. Maybe this time he would have a good Mistress instead of a cruel one. At the very least it wasn’t likely she would have the same cruelly sadistic streak his former Mistress had taken such pleasure in displaying.
She glowered at him for a minute before turning off the device at his waist. “C’mon, cutie, lets get our asses’ chewed.” She took his hand and led him into the rest of the ship.
A door slid open at the end of the hall and a huge man stepped into the hall. He had long, black hair that fell to his knees in a silken curtain, “I hope you have a damned good reason for sending those supplies two hours…” He stopped talking as his eyes landed on Jaed’aden.
“We gotta go, Raerei. Now!” his Mistress snapped out. “Chew butt later, get away from here first. Skand is gonna be looking for us.”
The man spat out a curse and spun around. The door opened into the cockpit of the small craft and the woman pushed Jaed’aden inside and strapped him into a chair.
“I know this is confusing, cutie, but just stay here until we can get off this metal nightmare, okay?” She smiled weakly and patted his cheek.
Jaed’aden sucked in a breath as the heat from her touch lingered on his cheek and spread through him. Such a tiny touch, but it was the first kindness he had felt in eleven years and it rocked him to his core. He shook with confusion and huddled back into the chair as she moved to strap herself into the co-pilots seat.
Their voices spoke to the docking attendant quickly as they start preparing the ship for liftoff. Then their voices faded as he realized he had no idea what was going to happen to him now. In the past, Mistresses and Masters had pretended kindness in the beginning. They were always the worst once the masks fell away.
Shay was aware of Raerei watching her as the ship slowly lifted away from the station and then quickly increased speed. He obviously wasn’t taking any chances that she was stretching the truth about Skand. The silence that filled the cockpit was heavy and broken only by the slaves frightened panting behind them. It sat around her like a smothering blanket of tension.
Half an hour later, Raerei found a strong solar wind and cut the engines so that the ship drifted into it. Then, he hit the commands to unfurl the sails and the ship shuddered as they filled with the winds and began to glide with the invisible currents of space. His next command turned on the shadowing device which would make it nearly impossible to track them.
Solar sailing was a pastime that had fallen out of fashion over two hundred years ago. Now, it was rare anyone even knew what it was. Shay wasn’t sure why the Crimson Shackles was equipped with the archaic mode of travel, but over the years the pair had found them very handy for loosing a tail. They also used very little energy to control and that saved them many credits in fuel costs. Their sails were a carefully guarded secret.
Raerei checked their heading and made calculations on where the winds should take them before setting the ship to autopilot and turning in his chair to glare at her with a forbidding expression. “You want to tell me what the fuck is going on now?” he growled out from behind clenched teeth. His deep, raspy voice sounded like rocks grinding together just then.
“Um,” she mumbled, checking the slave. He had curled himself into a compact ball and was watching them with wide eyes. He trembled when Raerei followed her line of sight and ground his teeth.
“There was this slave auction on the station and I just stopped for a second. Then they brought him up and I stayed to watch.” She was talking so fast her tongue was tripping over the words. She’d never seen her partner so pissed off. “And, Skand showed up and started bidding on him.” She swallowed convulsively. “He wanted a new toy for his crew,” she finished with a whisper, knowing that her face was haggard with memories of being a similar toy.
Raerei blanched, his normally dusky skin turning a grayish-green. He knew as well as she did what would have happened to the boy. After all, both of them had had run-ins with Skand before they had escaped and shed their slaves names. Both still had the scars to remember it by and still woke screaming on the bad nights when nothing could dull the memories. Raerei threw himself out of the chair and towered over the cowering slave. “What’s your name?” he barked out.
The slave convulsed silently and curled into a tighter ball, staring up at him with abject terror. He shook his head franticly, darting glances between the two of them as if he was not sure who was the greater threat. His blatant fear made her muscles contract with the need to comfort him.
Shay pushed herself out of her chair and moved to stand between the two of them. “He can’t answer you, Rae, they cut his vocal cords.”
If possible her partner became even more furious. “The Crimson isn’t equipped to repair something like that, Shay! And the minute we take him to a medic Skand will know,” he bellowed, veins standing out in his neck. “He’ll find us within days! What, in the names of the Gods, were you thinking, woman?”
“I wasn’t, okay?” she screamed back at him, feeling cornered and unable to explain why she had risked both their lives for a stranger. “I just knew I couldn’t stand there and do nothing!”
Rae sucked in a lungful of air and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “We can’t keep him, Shay. He’s too damned unique,” he stated hoarsely. “Anyone who sees him will remember him, it’ll pin a big fat target on our backs everywhere we go.”
She touched Rae’s shoulder. “We could keep him on the ship. Maybe try and find his people. There have to be more like him,” she said hopefully. “You always said you wanted to leave this system and start over. Maybe this is our chance, Rae. We just needed a good reason to try.” She bit her lip and shut up. They didn’t ever bring up the subject of why they had never returned to their home planet.
He stared down at her for three full minutes without speaking, his black eyes still sparking angrily. “Fine, but he’s yours to take care of.” That said he spun on his heel and stomped toward the door. “We’re sailing at least three days to make sure no one is following us and then we’ll stop at Devret for supplies if you can figure out where the fuck we’re supposed to go from there,” he snarled over his shoulder.
Shay blew out a long breath. “Well, that was the hard part, right?” she said with forced cheerfulness as she turned back to the boy.
He was huddled in the ugly robe she had given him and making soft hissing mews of terror. She suspected whoever had cut his cords hadn’t finished the job properly because he made more sounds than he should have been able. He flinched and cringed back away from her when she crouched down in front of him and released his restraints. Little moans of helpless fear seeped past his compressed lips.
“Hey cutie, it’s all right, Rae’s all bark and no bite,” she whispered the lie soothingly as she unbuckled the safety straps and placed her hands on the armrests where they would be in plain view and empty. She was careful not to touch him because she knew it would only push him further into the fear. His eyes flickered from green to pure black wildly every time he glanced at her. “No one is going to hurt you. You’re safe here,” she crooned reassuringly, carefully watching his body language to see if anything she was saying was sinking in or if she would have to sedate him.
Suddenly he uncoiled from the chair and launched himself at her. Her screech of surprise was cut short when he landed on her and knocked the air from her lungs. Her hands were already reaching for his throat when he hunched his shoulders and buried his face in her belly and began to sob brokenly.
She slowly sat up and cradled him against her. In silence, she stroked his hair and rocked him, letting him cry. A movement at the door caught her attention and she looked up to see Raerei leaning into the room. His fingers dug into the top of the metal jamb as he watched the young man weep with haunted eyes that understood far too much.
He shook himself like a froegin shedding water and silently left again.
The tears slowly subsided to a trickle and he wound his body around hers like a vine as he drew in shuddering breaths. Her vest was soaked but she didn’t mind.
Her fingers paused their stroking when one of the blackened tips crumbled and the strand began bleeding. What are you? She wondered silently. His hair felt most like faintly abrasive skin then any hair she had ever touched.
“Ta’e’sha…”
The word had no meaning to her as it floated through her mind. Her gaze jerked from the blood on her fingers to his face. “Can you hear me?” she sent tentatively with her mind.
“Yes…” The acknowledgement sighed through her thoughts as dark green eyes met hers.
Her muscles rippled with nerves. Gods help them all, he was a telepath. She cupped his cheeks and stared hard at him. “You must never ‘path to anyone except Raerei or me,” she whispered urgently. “Do you understand?”
Another yes breezed through her head as he sucked in another sobbing breath. His liquid green eyes gazed up at her trustingly. It rocked her soul. How had he held on to the innocence and hope she saw in him? Slaves had both qualities beaten out of them very quickly. It was at odds with the hate she had glimpsed briefly in his eyes when he had stood on the auction block.
“Does it hurt?” she asked softly, referring to his hair as several more of the black tips fell away and began to seep blood. He nodded slowly and the raw ends brushed against his clothing, staining the material.
“I’ll never have a mate now,” he ‘pathed to her in the same sad, whispery voice. “No man or woman would take a mate who is so damaged and made to look like a child.” Despair edged his mental voice. “The Mistress cut it before she sold me.” A violent shiver wracked his half-starved body. “It hurt so much.” His eyes turned glassy with remembered agony. “I could feel every snip and she did it one strand at a time to make it last.”
“Well, lets see if we can make it feel better,” she said, trying to sound upbeat when all she really wanted to do was find “The Mistress” and beat her head against a wall until blood poured from her ears. She wiggled out from under him and tugged him up, wrapping an arm around his waist when he staggered. Once he had his balance, she led him through the halls toward the ship’s tiny medical cubicle.
She gently pushed him into the unit and closed the lid, smiling down at his frightened face through the plasglass window as she set the controls to scan and repair. White mist filled the chamber and she held his gaze until the sleeping gas overtook him. Once she was sure he wouldn’t wake she sighed tiredly and went looking for Rae to tell him their little foundling was a psychic. She smacked her forehead when she realized she hadn’t remembered to ask him his name. I can’t keep calling him cutie. I’ll ask him later.
The Ta'e'sha Caesurae: Bitter Wine. (unedited proof)
Ruri stared at herself in the mirror. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders in a silken curtain. Light golden-brown skin glowed with health under the white rice flour makeup but her black eyes were shiny with nerves.
She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and knotted it with a few deft twists before sliding ivory and jade hair sticks in to hold it in place. She inspected the results carefully. It looked good and sharpened her cheekbones. Not that they really needed it. Her whole body was sharp muscle and angles with only the slightest hint of soft curves.
Taking a small brush she slowly painted her full lips with a red stain. Once she finished the small chore she shrugged into an ivory kimono with jade green embroidery. It had been a gift from her mother, passed down from her grandmother. They had hoped she would wear it for her wedding
Ruri didn’t remember her wedding. She had slept through it.
Over a year had passed since she had awakened to find a strange man leaning over her. He was strange in more ways than one. His hair was a pale rose-gold. She had no idea how much dye he had used to create that color and wondered a bit wildly if she had been kidnapped by a gay serial killer. He pale red-brown eyes were solemn as he watched her.
He had spoken to her in a liquid language she should not have been able to understand. “Hello, lovely blossom, I am Kiger. Your husband.”
He leaned down, lips puckering slightly.
He’s gonna freaking kiss me! She had thought hysterically. Not one to tamely accept anything she had swung a fist, sending him stumbling back when it connected with his cheek.
And that had set the tone of their marriage. She had not handled being taken with good humor. Not that she was the most even-tempered woman to begin with. Polite people called her tempestuous.
Not so polite people called her bitchy.
Her husband had spent several months trying to reassure her and spend time letting her get to know him. However, his methods had made her feel like a hunted animal and filled her with a helpless rage that caused her to lash out, usually in a physical manner.
Kiger had suffered numerous bruises and a few broken bones in his quest to claim his wife. She had finally told him to leave her alone and go find someone else to screw.
His downcast expression had made her feel like she had just kicked a puppy but she had hardened her heart to him and left the words hanging in the room. He hadn’t bothered her as much after that. Now it was as if they were roommates thrown together by necessity and they barely tolerated the other’s presence,
The fight had begun the evening he had come home babbling happily that her friend Thea had proposed to a woman named Sya’tia. Still angry with him, she had picked a fight with Thea, which had resulted in Ruri slapping her best friend across the face.
Ruri didn’t like the person she was becoming but she felt she was helpless to stop it. The anger festering in her heart drove her to hurt the people around her. It had taken her a very long time to understand that she wasn’t angry with Kiger so much as she was angry with the situation she found herself in.
Her first reaction to feeling scared or hurt had always been anger but, even now that she felt more in control and less vulnerable the anger had become a habit and she didn’t know how to break it. She had managed to alienate everyone around her except Thea. It was not a pleasant feeling to know the people around you barely tolerated you and only did so to make another person happy.
After spending time on Ta’e with Sya’tia’s family she had come to understand the Ta’e’sha better and learned more about their culture and habits. It had put a very different slant on Kiger’s actions. What had made her feel stalked was actually his culture’s courting customs. She had spent quite a bit of time with Sya’tia’s mother, Kokia, during that stay and had learned quite a bit from her.
Something about Kokia had soothed Ruri. Maybe it was that Kokia reminded her of her grandmother. Or, it could have been the instant acceptance of Sya’tia’s family. Since Thea had introduced Ruri, Zinnia and Cristabel, the other to witches that made up Ruri’s small coven, as her sisters they were considered family and treated as such.
Between that acceptance and Thea’s unflagging friendship she had something to hold onto. A foundation that had been missing since the day she had awakened to find Kiger leaning over her.
The other two witches were slowly warming to her and she was learning that she actually like Sya’tia. Hell, she even liked Kyrin and Daeshen, Thea’s husbands’. They, on the other hand, were very wary around her after being the victims of her sharp tongue many times. It would take time before they relaxed around her. At least they were willing to give her another chance.
Speaking of second chances, she was hoping that Kiger would give her another one, too. This evening, a week after returning to the ship, she felt ready to accept Kiger and spend time with him. And, she hoped, find a man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She knew that she had a lot to make up to him and it was her turn to make the first gesture.
Carrying a tray holding tea and cups she walked with the careful mincing steps required to move in the kimono. Her cerebcom had told her that Kiger was in the bathroom and she wanted to serve him the tea and talk with him while he was relaxing in his bath.
The door slid open at her command and she entered with her head down to concentrate on not spilling the hot beverage.
A soft masculine gasp made her look up. Pain knifed through her heart when her husband slowly looked up from the man his arms and his prehensile hair were twined around. Dimly, she admired the man’s dramatic, turquoise and pale green shaded hair and tail curling around her husband’s rose-gold form.
Her shocked gaze locked with Kiger’s. He lifted an eyebrow in slightly irritated enquiry. When his expression flowed from irritation to curiosity and settled into nervous bemusement she knew he hadn’t recognized her at first.
“Ruri,” he blurted out, trying to pull free of the man’s lingering grip. “Is something wrong? I thought you were still at work.”
“No, nothing is wrong,” she replied through numb lips. “I left early because I thought we could spend the evening together.” She carefully drew herself together. “But, I see you already have plans.” Her vision grayed out a little as she glanced at the man lounging in the water with her husband.
The man smiled in a cool but friendly manner and stroked his fingers down Kiger’s chest. His skin had a faint bluish cast while his hair and tail seemed to absorb light and fling it back out like sunlight through a stained glass window. He was the most beautiful Ta’e’sha male she had seen. None of the other’s she knew had clear, glass-like hair and scales similar to his. It was as if his Gods had created him from the blue seawater of the Caribbean Sea.
Feeling like someone had hit her between the eyes with a brick Ruri turned on her heel and quietly exited the room. She tried not to hear the hushed conversation that was taking place in the tub. The door slid shut, silencing the splashes and deep murmurs issuing out of the men’s mouths.
Under the white makeup on her face Ruri’s cheeks burned with humiliation. Tears stung her eyes and eased down her cheeks. She didn’t stand a chance of making up with Kiger now, and it was her own fault.
With studied care she set the tray on a counter and untied the kimono so she could move easier. Once in her bedroom she slowly stripped off her clothing and scrubbed the now gooey makeup off her face with some of the towelettes she kept on her dresser. Then she carefully pulled on one of the black jumpsuits the Security personnel wore. It didn’t have the badges and insignias that would mark her as a member of Security and it was the best thing she could find to use as exercise gear. Next she pulled the sticks out of her hair and carefully put them away.
A knock on the doorjamb made her turn slowly.
Kiger stood in the doorway looking ill at ease. “Are you all right, Ruri?” he asked cautiously. Water dripped from his hair and rolled down his lean chest to be absorbed into the towel he had snugly wrapped around his waist.
“I’m fine,” she replied. Her voice sounded tinny to her ears. “I’m sorry I disturbed your,” she paused and struggled to find something non-committal to say about what she had walked into. “Festivities,” she finished lamely.
His worried expression hardened. “You don’t have any right to be snide!”
“I wasn’t-”
Kiger cut her off with a sharp jerk of his hand. “Nothing ever makes you happy does it?” He ran a hand through his writhing hair in agitation. “I can’t live like this, damn it!’
“I didn’t-”
He continued as if she hadn’t said anything. “I have tried so hard to make you at least like me. I wanted you from the moment I saw you and felt full of possibilities. But, you wouldn’t give us even a chance.” He stalked into the room and began pacing as he warmed to his subject. “You’ve hurt me physically, emotionally and mentally since the moment you met me. I don’t know what you want, Ruri, but obviously I can’t give it to you. You told me to find someone else. So I did. I’m happy with Hadri and I have no intention of letting you ruin it for me. I give up, live your own life and let me live mine.” He ran his hands through his wet hair again and sighed tiredly. “I’m so tired of the fighting. I understand that you can’t forgive me and that nothing I ever do will make things right between us. I can only say I’m sorry so many times.” He looked at her, both sad and hard at the same time. “I’m not going to try anymore. Just leave me alone.” Saying that he turned and left the room.
Over The Wall (unedited proof)
Dar paused in the door of the break room. There wasn’t anyone in the room with Cass. As he watched she looked around quickly and switched the grounds in the coffee pots. Now the decaf would brew in the regular carafe and the decaf carafe would be chock full of buzz. She smiled a bit evilly and muttered under her breath. All he caught were the words ‘road tar’.
She spun around with a look of dismay when he laughed.
“That’s not a very nice thing to do,” he said, grinning.
Cass blushed faintly.
He leaned against the counter and crossed his ankles, his own cup held loosely in his hand. “What brought this little prank on?”
“N-no one seems to make coffee around here,” she stuttered softly, pink still staining her cheeks. “And the pots are always gross and it just torked me off today.” She peeked up at her from under her long bangs. “Are you gonna tattle on me?”
He laughed again, delighted in this side of her personality. It, more than her reaction to the DVD, told him who she was. “Of course not, Rikki. But, I am glad I caught you so I could get the right pot.”
She grinned and turned back to glare at the pots like she was willing them to brew faster.
He waited.
She rinsed out her cup and dried it.
After another minute of waiting she froze. She slowly turned to face him.
“What did you call me?” she asked, fixing her chilly gaze on his face.
“Rikki.”
She started and stared harder. “How do you know that name?”
“I’m Grimalkin.” He smiled brightly at her.
Her eyes widened. “No way!”
“Way.”
“But, Grim isn’t gay!” she burst out. Both of her hands clamped over her mouth and she stared at him in horror.
Now it was his turn to stare. “You thought I was gay?”
She nodded, hands still covering her mouth.
He threw back his head and laughed. After a minute or two his hilarity died down to a few wheezing chuckles. When he looked back down at Cass her eyes were shooting daggers at him.
Several people strolled into the room, so he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I’m not gay, babe.” His tongue darted out to lick her earlobe for good measure.
She squeaked and jumped away from him and turned to the side to sneeze several times. The back of her shirt puffed up and down with each sneeze. His eyes widened, wondering what was causing it.
Cass looked horrified as she scurried out of the room, forgetting her cup.
What the hell? He absently poured himself a cup of coffee, ignoring the greetings of the women who came in. Taking Cass’s cup he filled that as well and threaded his way through the people crowding around the fresh pots.
He smirked as he thought about what this place was going to be like in a couple hours when Cass’s little prank started showing it’s effects.
Cass looked up when a masculine hand set her cup in front of her. Dar crouched down next to her. Her gaze skittered away from his nervously and she focused on his chest. “Hi,” she mumbled.
His finger lifted her chin so she had to look at him.
“I’ll see you at lunch, babe. Don’t forget you promised.” He smiled gently before standing and heading back to his desk.
Cass peeked around the wall and watched him. He had one of the finest asses she had ever seen.
Grim.
Great.
The guy she had the hots for and thought was gay turned out to be one of her best friends. She choked back a laugh at the irony of it. At least she knew who had left the DVD. Her other, bigger, secret was still safe.
Copyright Theolyn Boese 2006-2008