Ascent (2 page)

“Please tell me that this won’t make my nipples harden or something.” It had to be the new burgundy talking, because she was shocked when the words came out of her mouth.

He choked on the dumpling he was eating and she snickered that she had been able to throw him off.

“No, none of the rest of the food is an aphrodisiac unless you have some peculiar physiology that I am unaware of.”

She smiled. “I think I am fairly standard on most fronts. Terrans tend to be very generic. May I inquire as to your species?”

He chuckled. “I am a blend descended from the Admar. My lineage includes over a dozen great races. My appearance is a throwback to the dark Admar, though.”

It explained a great deal. He had the broad jaw of the Wyoran, the feline nose and high cheekbones of the Azon, musculature from a heavy-gravity race and lips that she couldn’t stop staring at whenever he spoke.

“I see. Well, it is a fascinating blend.”

He grinned. “Thank you. I am sure that my parents would be proud to hear you say it.”

They continued their polite chitchat for an hour, while the folk of Geko 7 danced, performed, pantomimed and produced course after course of delightful food.

When the dessert was completed, Lili Ann could barely move. She groaned and patted the tight laces of her bodice over her ribs. “I don’t think I can fit another thing. This was a magnificent meal.”

Councillor Hon turned and smiled at her, his smile faltering slightly when he saw her hand touching Yavoy’s.

“I am glad that you have enjoyed it, Pilot Baker.”

She smiled. “Oh. It was lovely. I will think of it fondly when I am stuck on rations again.”

“Would you care to dance?” Councillor Hon asked the question, but it was Yavoy who got to his feet, taking her with him.

When they got to the dance floor, she looked up at him. “I have never danced much.”

He wrapped one arm around her waist and lifted the other. “I have not danced much either. This is an experiment.”

“A mutual experiment, how exciting,” She fought the urge to take control and simply relaxed and let him lead. It was harder than it should have been, but she managed to at last let them swim around the dance floor as gracefully as the other couples.

As the music swelled and increased in tempo, they grew closer and closer together, until she could feel his erection and her nipples scraped his chest with every shift.

When the third song started up, she tried to free herself from the endless whirl, but Yavoy held her tightly, moving his hand down to her lower back and rocking her against him as they shifted.

“I think we should get back to the table. I am rather thirsty.” She smiled brightly, ignoring the tension that was on the rise between them.

“You only had to say.” He released her and with one arm around her waist, they left the dance floor to smiles of approval and hearty grins that owed more to the now-freely flowing wine than any genuine mood.

She sat at the table and he moved his chair next to hers, draping one arm around her shoulders in blatant possession.

A server came by with a tray of tiny glasses and Lili Ann took one, swigging it back before Yavoy could do more than raise one finger in protest.

As heat built in her system, the floral flavour of the wine came through quite strongly. “Oh damn. How long will this last?”

He smiled. “On your own, two days, with a partner, a few hours. It is designed to be burned off quickly. I was going to warn you.”

“Back on Earth, we do this thing called
shooter night
where all we do is toss drinks back. I thought that this was like that. Cultural issue.”

It was hard to concentrate with her body humming like she had just gone through three hours of foreplay.

“I would be only too happy to help you work it out of your system.” His offer was actually sincere.

“I would, but I don’t take strangers to my ship.”

He grinned. “I have a place in the city not too far from here.”

“Let’s go.”

It was a decision made in haste, but she had no idea what she was getting into. She simply wanted to try.

He rose to his feet and took her hand, leading her out of the celebration and with all of the cheers and applause coming their way, she felt like a new bride.

His place was indeed nearby, but what he hadn’t mentioned was that he had the best view in the city. She got to enjoy the balcony for only a few minutes before Yavoy pulled her back into his quarters, chuckling at her restraint.

She turned in his arms and leaned up to kiss him. “You know, I won’t be able to get out of this gown without help. It is a little beyond my skills.”

He ran his hands down her back, flaring her arousal higher. “I will manage it. I have been here a while, so the clothing is no mystery to me.”

“That is very comforting.” She chuckled and then laughter was stilled when he pressed his lips to hers and the weird tingling started again.

The chemical arousal was fading rapidly to be replaced by the real thing. She had one night on this planet and she was going to make it count.

A pleasant ache throbbed between her thighs when she woke. Dawn hadn’t begun yet, but she was still on her ship’s time.

Yavoy was sound asleep next to her and she eased away from him slowly so as not to wake him. She gathered the chunks of her clothing together and wrapped one of the sheets dislodged from the bed around her.

With as much dignity as she could muster with her head pounding and body happily aching, she slipped out of the huge bedroom and down the stairs. No one was awake yet except those who had to be.

It took a few minutes to orient herself, but she managed to locate her ship and with only a bit of awkwardness, she climbed up to open the hatch and dropped inside with a sense of relief.

It wasn’t much, but it was her home.

A quick sonic shower and a tidying of her hair set her to rights. Lili Ann slipped into a tight bodysuit and winced at the abraded skin of her nipples, ass and inner thighs. She smiled as she finished fastening the suit. She had had quite an evening.

Yavoy was strong, dexterous and creative with stamina. Everything she enjoyed in an alien one-night stand.

Boots were tugged on and her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. It was back to work for her.

With a song in her heart, she sat at the launch controls and contacted ground control. “Ground control, this is the H’dar. I am requesting authorization for launch.”

“This is Geko 7 ground control. Please stand by.”

Lili Ann waited, rubbed her neck where her suit was hiding the hickey she had received the night before. She waited, fidgeted and bit her nails. Ten minutes passed.

“Ground control, this is the H’dar. I am still waiting on that clearance.”

“Please stand by, H’dar. We have a restraining order on your vessel.” The voice sounded nervous.

“A what? Please explain what the heck is going on.”

The com was silent and she heard a slow knocking at the side of her ship. Lili Ann got to her feet and walked the short length of her ship before opening the door. Yavoy was leaning against her ship with a grin on his face. As she stared into his eyes, they shifted from red into absolute black.

“Oh boy. You are Arengar.” It suddenly made sense—the looks, the fawning glances and the approval for their companionship during the dance.

“I am very pleased to meet you, Lili Ann. Now, get out of your vehicle.”

Chapter Three

Disobeying a direct order from a planetary avatar was not a good idea, so she left the H’dar and closed the door behind her.

He offered her his arm as he started taking them back toward the administration buildings. “Thank you for not putting up a protest.”

She smiled slightly and spoke softly. “I save my protesting for when I can get away with it. The ground crews were watching very closely.”

“A sense of propriety. Interesting.” Arengar’s tone was different than Yavoy’s. It was deeper, darker and infinitely amused.

She remembered her willingness to do anything and everything that Yavoy’s rich voice had requested. The pleasure she had received had outweighed embarrassment at the time. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

From what she had learned, Avatars and their planets shared access to the same memories. She knew that her blush was now firmly in place. While it was another consciousness looking out at her through Yavoy’s eyes, she knew that he had a memory of every touch she had delivered and received. It was the most bizarre three-way she could imagine.

As they passed the morning commuters, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“To the communication’s centre. We have an appointment.” His voice brooked no argument.

“I have a com unit in my ship.”

“This has to be public. I have rousted several councillors to certify and witness this conversation.”

That sounded ominous. “What did I do?”

The solid-black eyes stared down at her in surprise. “Nothing. It is what is about to happen that is the matter for discussion.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You will see.” He didn’t say anything else, merely kept their walk at a steady pace through the lovely halls of carved stone.

“This is a fairly elaborate city for a new colony.”

“It was the last city of Arengar when my previous Avatar passed. I sent a request through another planet for a new Avatar and Yavoy came when I called.”

Security guards were now stationed every twenty metres. Wherever they were in the grand scheme of things, they were in a restricted area.

“Here we are.” He nodded at the guard and the man immediately opened the door to expose a room full of screens.

The walls were lined with seats and nine men in councillor’s garb were in position when they arrived. A few of them looked worse for wear, but all stood the moment that Arengar entered the room.

“Make the call.” His voice boomed in the large, empty space.

The screen flickered and three distinct faces appeared. One was Terran, the other two were Jerican and Azon respectively.

The Terran spoke, her elaborate robes glittered with metallic threads. “Greetings Yavoy-Arengar. What do you want with her?”

The Jerican rep rolled his eyes and the Azon’s lips twitched.

The Azon rep cleared his throat. “You have five children, Imperial Consort. What do you think he wants?”

Amanda Tyrell scowled and crossed her arms. “Very funny, Ambassador Ranith. Now, Arengar, what do you want with her?”

Arengar straightened and wrapped his arm around her waist. “I want her as my secondary Avatar and mate for this body.”

Lili Ann’s eyes widened as she finally caught on to what was going on.

Amanda Tyrell folded her hands in front of her on the desk. “What will you offer?”

The Jerican representative looked shocked. “Offer? He needs offer nothing to her. He is an Avatar. By Alliance regulations, he can simply claim her and she will have to be surrendered by her home government.”

Arengar scowled. “That is not how I want to take her. She is a woman with skills and determination that my Avatar appreciates. I will have her willing with the blessing of her own people.”

She wanted to step away, but the soothing heat coming off his skin filled her with a pleasant lethargy.

Images of his arms around her while his body thrust into her in a pleasurable frenzy snaked through her mind. She relived three of their couplings, including the climaxes that left her trembling, in less than five seconds. Her limbs shook and she had no choice but to hold on to Arengar.

Amy Tyrell smiled. “Well, it seems you have the willing part down. Now, what are you willing to give her?”

Representative Ranith sat back and grinned, content to watch.

“I would give her this world, but I have just allowed the Jerican to settle here. What would you demand on her behalf?”

“Clothing and travel allowances, property to call her own and mining rights to a chunk of mineral- or gem-rich soil.”

The Jerican representative spluttered. “You can’t give away our planet.”

Arengar raised one of his snow white brows. “I really don’t think you understand the situation. I have given you the rights to colonize and minimal mining concessions, but this world is still me. I can destroy you in hours, wiping you off my skin.”

“We have an agreement!”

“That agreement is dependent upon the situation of my Avatar. If anything happens to him, and that includes a change in his temperament, you and yours have to go. I can tell you right now that if he does not get a mate when so many of my kind are having Avatars pair up, it will definitely have an effect on his state of mind.”

Lili Ann winced as his hand tightened on her waist. “Do I have a say in this?”

Amy Tyrell looked out of her screen and smiled ruefully at her fellow Terran. “I am afraid not, Lili Ann. None of us did. Remember that little clause in our contracts? They actually have the nerve to enforce it.”

The clause that the ex-Negotiator was mentioning was in the Volunteer contract. In an effort to get the genes of the new species into circulation, each Terran gave away their right to choose their own mate. The moment that the five Champions had been tapped, the clause had snapped into effect. Every Terran in the Alliance was living with the knowledge that their future was not their own.

A few of the men had tried to circumvent the policy, but they had ended up with a visit from a minder and now, they were happily wed to the female chosen for them.

It was the largest drawback to being an alien in an established society—you had to do whatever was demanded of you in the greater scheme of things, no matter what your personal opinion was. Sometimes Lili Ann thought that it was the reason that they chose the men and women that they did. They selected people who would actually keep to their word.

She sighed in submission. “I do recall that clause and I will abide by it.”

Yavoy was suddenly looking down at her through his own eyes once again, with Arengar sharing the connection. “You will not regret it, Lili Ann. I will make sure of it.”

She looked into his eyes,
their
eyes, and saw that both of them were serious.