An Unexpected Return (4 page)

I’m not sure how, but it’s my turn to leave a lasting impression
.

With bittersweet fervor, he fed from the sweetness of her mouth. She dug her fingertips into his back, grinding her pelvis against him.

So tempting to just take her now. He could easily take pleasure from her feminine folds, but how would that make her feel special? Guys from all over the universe received gratification from her. But he wanted her time with him to be memorable, possibly life-changing. This had to be all about her, for her.

Sliding down her body, he sucked on one of her nipples while he ravaged the other breast with his hand. He couldn’t get enough of her.

She writhed beneath him, combing her fingers through his hair. He’d never met a woman so reluctant to let go, to just enjoy, even as he tried to satisfy her.

“Xia, relax,” he growled. “Or I’ll have to make a complaint. How would it look if your client were dissatisfied with your services?”

“You wouldn’t.” Her nostrils flared as she glared at him. “This isn’t part of my training, anyway.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “I don’t want to be part of your training. I want you to be mine, my first.”

She gasped. “But you’re so…. You never?”

He shook his head. “I was taught to wait until I found the right woman.”

Her stare weakened and her bottom lip quivered. “I’m not her.”

Desperate to leave his mark on her soul, he kissed her, tasted her lips, her chin, and down her slender neck. He wanted more, but only if she agreed. “I think you are, and I’m willing to find out right now.”

Pressing her pelvis against him, she moaned. “Oh gods, I don’t know.”

He saw her resolve weakening, and waited. She had to give up all control.
And I won’t give up until she does
.

Running his tongue down her silky nakedness, toward her tender flesh, he spread open her legs and breathed in the evidence of her arousal. Nothing could ever be as tempting.

He drew his finger across the dampness between her legs.
Perfect. So ready
. Leaning down, he licked her swollen nub, his fingers traveling to the deeper heat within.

She bucked beneath him, thrusting her hips into the air. “Aris, I…I want more.”

As his name rolled off her tongue, followed by her desperate plea, he shivered. No way would he deny her request.

Increasing his tempo, he ground his digits as deep as possible, while sucking her pulsating clit. She moaned. Her slippery core tightened around his fingers. Her cries grew louder. With a deep shudder, she convulsed around him. Her voice rang out, his name echoing throughout the room. But he wasn’t done.

Returning to her beautiful, swollen lips, his tongue found hers. Their kiss was the most intimate he’d ever experienced. Had she been trained to kiss with such passion? And not once did she pull away, tell him to stop. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight against her body. He held her and made love to her mouth. Positioned between her tender folds, a thin wall blocked him from sinking in. With a little more pressure, he broke through, taking her virginity, and his.
She wasn’t lying about being inexperienced
.

Closing her eyes, she whimpered, then bit her bottom lip.

She’d accepted him, but he couldn’t continue if she felt any pain. Yet, he never wanted to break their connection. “Look at me, Xia. If this hurts too much, tell me.”

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes. “I’m all right.”

Ever so slowly, he eased himself into her.
Tight, unbelievably tight
.

“Good.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Because I don’t want this to end. This feels so right, like I’m meant to be here, with you.”
In you
.

She looked up at him and smiled.

At that moment, he knew he could never leave her. She was the one, regardless of her heritage or chosen vocation.

Rocking underneath him, she looked up at him with an intense gaze. The pressure built inside his body, but he held back, hoping to take her over at the same time.

In an instant, she tightened around his cock, her hands squeezing his arms. He couldn’t hold his release any longer and groaned in satisfaction. Xia convulsed around him, milking him with her own climax and calling out his name. With slow strokes, he continued to drive into her, until she relaxed her grip on him.

He flopped down beside her. “You are an amazing woman.” He struggled to catch his breath, but couldn’t let go of her.

She turned onto her side, coming face to face with him, her breathing still ragged. “Was I…all right?”

He nodded. “More than all right. It was everything I’d hoped it would be, and yet….” Brushing a hand over her hair, he smiled. “I really care for you, Xia. I want to spend more time with you.”

Returning to her back, she sighed. “You can’t have feelings for me. I’m Terran, and an Adamo. Your reaction to our time together is based on the eletin you’ve breathed in, and absorbed into your skin.”

He took her hand in his. “No. I felt it in the street when I first met you, held you in my arms. I was ready to stand up my Adamo and search for you. But then you walked back into my life. We are meant to be together.”

“No, this can’t be.” Her voice quavered.

He gulped. How could she deny everything he felt? Didn’t she feel it, too? “It can.”
It will
.

She pulled her hand away. “And what’s going to happen when you leave in the morning? I refuse to allow my heart to be crushed for one night of pleasure.”

“So you admit you felt something?”

“Sexual bliss is hardly the connection you describe.”

He rolled onto his hands and knees above her. She needed to know the truth. “Listen, I’ve been with women before, never all the way, but close enough. But I’ve never felt any connection with them. I didn’t feel anything for my betrothed either, and left before we could marry.”

Her eyes grew wide. “You were going to marry someone else, and yet you’re here?”

“No. It wasn’t by choice. They wanted me to marry her, but I didn’t want to. I couldn’t love her. I objected to my father over and over, didn’t want the same unloving marriage as my parents. He refused to change his mind. So, I formulated a plan. Now she’s set to wed my best friend, and I’m here, with you.”

A tear slid down her cheek. “I don’t understand what you want from me.”

He brushed the wetness away. “I want you, Xia. Only you. By my side and in my bed.”

Wanting to remind her of all they’d shared, he kissed her with as much passion as he could muster.

She pulled away, gasping. “I can’t. I have training. I’m an Adamo.”

“Then spend your free time with me. I’ll pay whatever I have to, to keep you in my bed. You can practice everything you learn on me. And maybe….” If she didn’t agree, he had a feeling he’d never see her again.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just say you’ll be my Adamo for the rest of my stay.”

She sighed. “Fine.”

He lay on the bed, and she cuddled into the crook of his arm. He had a chance, and he planned to use their time together to win her completely.

Chapter Six

Xia whipped her eyes open. She’d fallen asleep, snuggled against her client. Taking in his now familiar musky scent, she sighed.
Aristides
. He’d asked her to stay, stirring hopes and desires she’d wanted to suppress.

But could she remain distanced from him, serve only as his Adamo, or would she fall hopelessly in love with him, only to have her heart crushed when he left? She sat up, unable to think with a clear mind while lying beside him.

Do I really want to be an Adamo
? Xia had been given a protocol of injections that controlled her reproductive cycle, preventing her impregnation from clients or anyone else she might decide to partake in sexual activities with. Although, she hadn’t had any use for the protection until last night. Once she reached Echelon Three, though, she’d go through a process of sterilization. She’d lose the ability to bear children of her own.

Her only chance of another life would be to leave the planet. And how would she do that? Return with Aris to Otaria? Yeah, right. She’d probably be shot as soon as she stepped off the transport ship.

She had no other choice but to continue her training on Elatia. The planet was a cultural melting pot, attracting tourists and new residents from many galaxies. Because of her skin color, everyone recognized her as Terran, and once she had her Adamo marking, they would respect her as a Mistress of the sensual arts. Only here, on Elatia, could she earn her place.

Sliding off the bed, she gathered her supplies. She needed some space from Aris, to clear her head of the eletin and rebuild the wall around her heart. For if she continued servicing him, she had to remain unattached, use him as he had used the other women in his past.

Glancing over her shoulder, she observed the content smile across Aris’ lips as he slept. Her stomach turned as she swept the door open.
Should I have agreed to see him again
?
Maybe going home would have been a better idea
.

No, Kalara had clients of her own. Xia would rather stay here than join in sexual activities with her mother-figure.

She’d return to Aris. She simply had to deny the connection she felt.

Hurrying down the stairs, she made a mental list of all of the things she needed to do before going back to him.
Take a shower, grab a change of clothes, protect her heart
…. In her rush, she’d left her appointment bag by the door. Didn’t matter. She’d need her supplies again anyway. Or maybe she’d share a shower with the man who’d left her body humming. Why not both? She’d been given the day off from the Schola Calei. Why not have some fun during her free time, for once?

Her excitement flittered away as she traipsed into the office. “Jacobus, what are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you.” He raised an eyebrow, his stare intense. “You fell asleep with a client, didn’t you?”

She nodded. “It was by choice. I…I had a good time.”

The Elatian man studied her from head to toe. “I’m glad your appointment went so well. I admit I was worried at first.”

And me, even more so
.

“I guess we can go ahead and schedule your next appointment then.”

Clasping her hands together, she stared at the floor. “About that. I, um, already have an appointment tonight.”

Jacobus rushed to the hotel log lying on the desk. His finger brushed across the pages. “It seems you do. A repeat client already?” He returned to her side, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I’m so happy for you. Kalara and I believed if you had the right client, you would experience so much more pleasure as an Adamo, you would find fulfillment like….”

She stared up into his eyes. “What?”

Glancing away, he sighed. “Oh, nothing. You’ll figure it out eventually.” He faced her again, grinning. “So, how’d it go?”

Her body tingled at the thought of her night. “Everything went well, but there’s something—”
Should I even mention it
?

“Go ahead.” He motioned for her to sit down, then positioned himself on the floor. “You know I’m always here for you.”

She took a deep breath, easing back on the cushion in front of the desk.
How much do I tell him
? “I…I’m beginning to wonder if this is really what I want to do.”

“You worry about growing attached to your clients, about wanting more with them.”

“Yes, but not only that….” Her clammy hands shook in her lap. “What if one day I want to leave Elatia?”

Jacobus gulped. “Kalara and I knew this day would come.”

Really
? “What do you mean?”

“I know you don’t like to discuss the circumstances of how you came to be in Kalara’s care.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “But we figured you would one day want to go to Earth to find your parents and demand answers. And with you almost finished at the Schola Calei—”

“No!” She stood up. Her heart raced. “I could care less about why my good-for-nothing parents abandoned me on a foreign planet while they fucked around. They can rot on Claustrum for all I care.”

Perhaps leaving would never be a good idea. What if she ran into her parents? How would she know them anyway? Any individual Terran could claim to have donated one half of her DNA. And still, where would she go? What would she do?

No, she would stay. She knew what to expect on Elatia.

“Why would you mention leaving, then?”

She returned her focus to Jacobus. “I’m not. I was only considering it, but…. Just forget I said anything.”

He arrived at her side. “Your client, the one you slept with. Is he the reason you brought this up?”

Gods, how did he know? “Maybe. Well, I thought about leaving before him, wondered what it would be like to do something different. To be something other than an Adamo.”

“Good.”

“Good? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jacobus wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. She leaned into him, finding comfort as her mind struggled with making a decision. This man and Kalara had been the only family she had. How could she leave them? How could she leave this life when for so long she’d wanted nothing else?

“If you’re having any doubts about becoming an Adamo Mistress, now is the time to explore your options, find out what you want in life. You can always come back to Elatia and practice as an Adamo, but once you have the eletin injection, it is harder to leave this life. Not everyone is cut out for it.” He stroked her hair. “The Adamos are not about jumping from one client to the next. They’re about giving pleasure and being granted the same in return. And life is all about choices. So if you choose to be a Mistress, I want you to have considered all of your options, and make the decision without any doubts or regrets.”

“But what about Kalara? I can’t leave her alone.”

“She’ll be fine.” He pulled away and smiled down at her. “I know on good authority she will never be alone.”

Joy radiated within at having Jacobus’ understanding, his blessing to make her own decisions.