Found (12 page)

The pleading look in her lovely amber eyes
seemed to do something to his heart. It was strange but Xairn felt
almost as though he was melting inside somehow. And yet, it was not
an unpleasant sensation. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, trying to
make his rough voice gentle. “I’m just glad things worked out as
they did. I…I would rather die that see you sold as a splice
whore.” Just the thought of her being passed around from male to
male, taken against her will…It gave Xairn a cold, sick feeling in
the pit of his stomach, as though he’d swallowed a fist-sized lump
of ice.
I would kill them. Kill any that touched her! She’s
mine…mine!

“Hey…” She laid a hand on his arm, shaking
him out of the strange, possessive thoughts. Her gentle touch was
like fire against his skin but Xairn didn’t ask her to stop.

“It was good that I came when I did and that
you used the cubes with the
grieza
worms to trade with.” he
said in a low, choked voice. “You were supremely lucky.”

“Or maybe my guardian angel was looking out
for me.” She smiled at him and though Xairn had no idea what a
‘guardian angel’ was, he found himself smiling back—a little,
anyway.

“Come,” he murmured. “We really need to
go.”

“Okay.” Her fingers slid down his arm and
then she nestled her small, soft hand in his large, rough one. She
looked up at him. “Is this all right?”

Xairn frowned. “I don’t know. What are you
doing?”

“Holding your hand, silly.” Smiling, she
interlaced their fingers and gave his palm a little squeeze. “If
you don’t mind, I mean.”

It was a bad idea and Xairn knew it. Even
such a light, innocent touch sent his senses into overload. But
somehow he couldn’t ask her to stop. “No,” he said at last, his
voice sounding hoarse. “I…I suppose it’s all right.”

“Good.” Lauren squeezed his hand again.
“Because I feel safer this way.”

“You do?” He couldn’t imagine why physical
contact with him would alter her feeling of safety or danger but
perhaps it was an Earth thing. Or maybe just a female thing—it was
hard to say since Xairn had never really known many females in his
life.

Lauren nodded. “I do. Now let’s go get our
DNA altered.”

“She doesn’t seem to be in any danger. Not
now at least.” Kat opened her eyes as she spoke and took a deep
breath, trying to recover from the intense joining. She was still
intimately connected with both her men and though the sensation of
being penetrated both in front and in back was still pleasurable,
it was no longer so intense as to be overwhelming.

“It sounds like she
was
though—and
Xairn rescued her just in time.” Lock sounded thoughtful.

“I’d give a great deal to know the exact
details of what happened.” Deep frowned. “But I suppose the
important thing is that he’s looking out for her—protecting her as
a proper male should his female.”

“You really think he loves her?” Kat asked,
shifting a little. The resulting sensations made all three of them
moan. “Sorry…” she managed.

“That’s all right.” Deep stroked her cheek.
“And of course he loves her.”

“Did you not see the way he trembled when she
treated his wound?” Lock asked softly. “He loves her, my lady. But
he doesn’t know how to express that love.”

Deep snorted. “Show me a Scourge who knows
how to love and I’ll pay good credit for the sight. They aren’t
able to show love because it’s not in their genetics. They’re
hardwired for pain and domination—not tender caresses.”

“Maybe Xairn is different,” Kat said, really
hoping it was true. “Maybe he’ll be able to show her how he feels
in an appropriate manner.”

“Being realistic, my lady, that probably
won’t happen,” Lock said.

“Lock is right, unfortunately,” Deep agreed.
“He’s more likely to want to tie her to the bed and ravage her than
prepare her favorite meals and bring her flowering vegetation.”

Kat frowned. “I hope you’re wrong about that.
Because I can tell that Lauren cares about him too. I don’t know if
she knows it yet, but it’s easy to see. The way she looks at
him—the way she touches him.”

Deep shook his head. “She’d better be careful
there. It’s the touching that’s likely to drive him over the
edge.”

Kat was troubled. “So you’re saying…”

“The more she touches him, the more he wants
her and the harder he has to fight against his natural impulses,”
Deep finished for her.

“Don’t despair, my lady.” Lock kissed the
side of her neck gently in a way that sent a shiver down Kat’s
spine. “He cares for her—that much we can see. I would venture to
say that Xairn will do his utmost to hold back his Scourge nature
in order to keep from hurting Lauren. Wouldn’t you, Brother?”

“I would.” Deep kissed her cheek. “In the
mean time, we know she’s safe. So why don’t we turn our attentions
to more pressing matters?” He pulled halfway out of Kat’s pussy and
pumped slowly back in, as though to illustrate his point.

Kat groaned. “God, you’re insatiable.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Do you want me
to stop?”

She shook her head. “No…no, I think I could
be up for round two. And I can tell both of you are.”

“Indeed we are, my lady,” Lock murmured in
her ear. “And this time there is no fear to get in the way. We can
all fully enjoy the experience.” He followed his brother’s lead,
pulling halfway out and thrusting slowly back into Kat’s
rosebud.

She moaned and threw her head back, letting
it rest on Lock’s shoulder. “You’re right—I’m not a bit afraid.
Except maybe that you two will wear me completely out.”

“I doubt that,” Deep growled. “But it will
certainly be fun trying.”

Kat moaned again and gave herself up to
pleasure. It was going to be a long, long night and she didn’t mind
one bit.

They walked down a long stone corridor with
massive stalls on either side—some empty and others occupied by
alien ships. Not many of them looked as normal as their little
silver Kindred ship, but Lauren didn’t get a chance to admire or
inspect them. Xairn set a fast pace, pulling her relentlessly
onward. The rough purple-brown stone pavement hurt her bare feet
and made her wish she had taken a chance and worn the blue and
crimson slippers she’d gotten from Blix after all.

Xairn said nothing until they reached what
looked like a blank stone wall. “Here,” he murmured. Then, pressing
his palm to the wall’s surface, he muttered a string of harsh,
alien syllables.

Lauren watched, her eyes wide, as a crack
appeared in the stone wall. It widened until there was enough room
for both of them to walk through into the dimly lighted area
beyond.

“Come,” Xairn said tersely, pulling her
through. “Stay close to me at all times. Even though we’re within a
reputable house, this is still splicer territory.”

“No problem.” With a shiver, Lauren pressed
closer to him, wrapping her other arm around his and pressing her
cheek to his shoulder. “Is…is this Slk person a thought thief too,
like Blix was?” she asked in a low voice.

Xairn shook his head. “No, but he is a very
skilled negotiator. Just let me make the deal and we should be
fine.”

Lauren thought he sounded worried but she
didn’t like to ask why—he obviously had enough on his mind already.
They walked quickly through another, shorter and smaller corridor
and came out into a well lighted living area that looked like a
mansion.

The floors were of the same purple-brown
stone of the parking area but they were smooth and level. Large
carpets of bright orange, red, and blue grass were placed at
intervals like stepping stones down the hallway they now found
themselves in. There were strange works of art on the walls—some of
which appeared to be alive—but again Lauren didn’t get a chance to
examine them. She only got a few brief impressions.

One which caught her eye looked like an ant
farm but all the insects had human-looking heads and were wearing
clothes. Another frame appeared to contain fireflies with colored
neon lights. They formed a picture of Lauren’s face as Xairn rushed
her past. Her eyes, depicted in the fireflies’ brilliant yellow
glow, followed them down the hallway.

“Wait a minute,” she protested. “Did you see
that? It was amazing! Can’t we go back and look?”

Xairn shook his head. “There is no time.
We’ve already kept Slk waiting long enough. Every parsec his price
rises.”

“Sorry.” Lauren made more of an effort not to
drag her feet, even though she was dying to examine the other
strange things on the walls.

Soon enough the hallway opened up into a huge
area that looked like a cross between a laboratory and a throne
room. There were rich looking tapestries on the walls but there
were also tables filled with strange equipment and cages housing
even stranger looking animals. Some looked vaguely familiar to
Lauren—
A monkey crossed with a fish? What the hell? A miniature
giraffe with a shell like a turtle? How does it get its neck all
the way in?

“It doesn’t.”

The voice which answered her question
startled Lauren so much she nearly jumped out of her skin. Looking
around, she saw that what she had taken for another one of the
strange, hybrid animals was actually the one who had spoken.

“I…I’m sorry?” she said, looking at the
strange creature. It had a vaguely humanoid face but its eyes were
vertical ovals instead of horizontal and it had three of them—two
where human eyes normally were and one on its broad forehead. Its
nose was a mere indentation and its mouth was a mass of purple
tentacles.
If that
is
a mouth,
Lauren thought doubtfully.

“It is, in fact, my oral cavity. I use it to
speak and also to consume comestibles,” the creature said, speaking
again in that same, deep, resonant tone. Lauren imagined it was
what an elephant would sound like if it could speak English.

“How can you read my thoughts?” she demanded,
looking at it. She turned to Xairn. “I thought you said he
wasn’t
a thought thief.”

“I am not.” The creature—which she supposed
must be Slk—rose from the throne-like chair it had been sitting in
and slithered over to them. It had a human-seeming torso but from
it sprouted four arms with two hands each. Its legs were simply a
mass of purple-grey tentacles. “I do not use the thoughts of others
against them,” it said as it came to a stop a good deal closer than
Lauren really liked. “But I cannot help hearing them and responding
in kind. Especially when I sense curiosity about myself.”

Xairn gave a short, formal bow. “This is
Lauren, the Earth female I told you about, Slk. Her DNA must be
altered in order for her to return to her home planet in
safety.”

“And you want your own altered as well, I
believe?”

Xairn nodded. “Yes.”

“What you ask is not an inexpensive
procedure.” All three of Slk’s vertical eyes blinked slowly in
unison.

“I am aware of that,” Xairn said grimly.
“Though I still don’t fully understand why. All we’re asking is a
simple alteration.”

“The procedure itself will be exceedingly
simple,” Slk acknowledged. “But finding a match for your female’s
DNA will be well nigh impossible. She is an exotic of the first
order. Of course, if you do not mind altering her appearance and
physical capabilities, I can use less compatible genes.”

“What do you mean ‘less compatible’?” Lauren
put a hand to her throat.

Slk made a strangely fluid motion which
appeared to be his version of a shrug. “It depends on which strains
I choose to mix into your double helix. If I use
neenya
genes you might grow gills and webbed appendages. Of course, the
advantage to that would be that you could live in an underwater
environment. Or I could use
brrn
DNA. But that would cause
you to grow a thick coat of soft, purple fur. Advantageous if you
live in an extremely frigid climate. Otherwise, it might be
considered something of a nuisance.”

“Yeah, that might put a little bit of a
damper on my social life,” Lauren said flatly. “Not to mention the
money I’d have to spend on laser hair removal since I live in a
subtropical climate.”

“Ahh, hmmm,” Slik hummed thoughtfully. “In
that case,
brrn
genes would not be the optimal choice. If
you like I could use
pardock
strains instead. That would
cause all your body and head fur to fall out and your sweat glands
to enlarge rendering you smooth and most efficient in elevated
temperatures.”

Lauren shivered. “No thanks!” She looked at
Xairn. “I hate to be negative but I’m beginning to think I’d rather
take my chances and go back to Earth as-is.”

“That is not an option,” he said grimly. “We
wouldn’t even make it past the outer edge of your solar system. We
must
be altered, Lauren.”

“But I don’t want to grow fur or gills or
lose all my hair and become one big sweat gland!” Lauren protested.
“I’ll be a freak, Xairn. I might as well just give up on going home
for good if those are my only options.”

“There is one solution we have not yet
explored,” Slk said smoothly.

“Which is?” Xairn snapped. “Tell us and be
quick about it. You never told me when I came to you in the first
place that this alteration would be so difficult.”

“As to that, I apologize but I wished to see
your exotic for myself.” Slk nodded his head in apology and all
three eyes blinked again. “But of all my various specimens, none is
as close a match to your little Earth female as you are yourself,
Xairn. You are so close, in fact, that you could almost breed and
produce viable offspring.
Almost.”

“Never!” Xairn glared at Slk fiercely. “I’ll
never allow Lauren to be polluted with my DNA.”