Norvir (The Mating Games Book 9) (3 page)

“What can we bring you two sexy men to drink?”

“I see you have crue. A cup of that for each of us.”

“That crue is a bitter drink. Are you familiar with it?” Elza asked.

“I’ve had it a time or two.” Norvir admitted.

“Alright, if you’re sure.”

“I am.” The servers went to get them their drinks. Norvir’s eyes were drawn to a woman. She was gorgeous with curly brown hair that fell partway down her back. The woman was uncomfortable, that was obvious. As she spoke to the man with her, she began to get angry too.

The woman was beautiful enough to draw anyone’s interest, but she seemed familiar too. How he would know her, he couldn’t imagine. All he knew is he was tempted to go over to their table and carry her away. He knew he couldn’t do it, that wasn’t the way to behave in public. It would be easy to blame his demon, but his male wanted her too. Their drinks came and his attention was pulled away. By the time they were done ordering, he looked up to find she was gone.

Norvir knew he would probably never see her again and he felt a sense of loss. The male had stayed behind and had both his servers, the male and female, sitting at the table with him. They were fondling him and kissing him. Enjoyment seemed to be had by all as they continued, oblivious to the eyes on them. Norvir looked away once his food came, but his eyes kept being pulled back. Never before had he seen or heard people having sex in the middle of a restaurant. It made him remember this place claimed they catered to any sexual kink. It seemed that was true.

Luckily the food was good even if the atmosphere wasn’t his thing. Morelan sat staring at the activities going on around them and had neglected his plate. Norvir helped himself to a portion of it. “Morelan finish the food on your plate. It grows time to leave here. I have a meeting in the morning.”

“What?”

“Eat, now!”

“Of course.” Morelan dug in so distracted he never noticed his plate wasn’t full.

Norvir hoped his first session would go well. Dr. James Dumont was a dirt doctor. He taught how to keep the soil fertile through adding the proper fertilizers, crop rotation, growing the right crops in the right places, and soil erosion. That would help in the areas where they grew the main crop, Oison weed. The seminar was scheduled early and followed quickly by another before lunch.

Morelan finally finished, they paid, and Morelan headed back to the ship, probably happy to escape, while Norvir headed to his room. The seminar must have pulled in a lot of people, or other groups were here too. The hall was crowded and it was slow negotiating the halls. Some of the males had the feel of military to him making him wonder if off duty soldiers took leave here. If they did, they must be paid more than he thought. Nothing was cheap here, especially the sex that most soldiers sought.

Norvir made it back to his room, it was important to have a sharp mind in the morning and learn all he could. Dr. Dumont had much knowledge that they needed, but he wasn’t the scientist Norvir had put on the top of his prioritized list. Dr. Nathalie Goodrich was his main target. Heloise Sherman was the second.

It wasn’t because they were female, although that was a point in their favor. He wanted them on Oison because they were passionate about saving their own planet and he hoped that would translate to a desire to help him save his. Once they saw Oison, how could they not fall in love with it? Born and raised there, a person might think he would be bored with it. Norvir saw the beauty of his home planet every day and praised the gods for allowing him to stay there.

Falling asleep easily, he sent a prayer to his gods first. He was greedy, he wanted both scientist to agree to come back to Oison with him. The job of securing a safe future for his planet was a big one, and he wanted all the help he could get. Norvir remembered the woman he’d seen in the restaurant before he fell asleep, she stayed with him in his dreams. Oh, what sweet dreams they were.

The excitement of a new day and the possibilities it represented, surged through him. The dirt doctor would be teaching him about saving the soil on his planet. It was not in danger now, but that was the time to start conservation. Once there was a problem, it might be too late. No one knew who he was, he was using a fake identity because when others knew where he was from, they knew he was wealthy, and they acted different.

Norvir didn’t need to be accosted by salesmen, females desiring marriage, or other peddlers of various offers. So far no one had questioned him or his identity and he didn’t expect that they would. The company he supposedly represented, was one ran by his people anyway. They had investments and interests everywhere. That gave them eyes out in the galaxy so they could find out what others were doing. That allowed them to protect themselves if war or other dangers lurked nearby.

Earth was their biggest danger since they had nothing to lose and were looking for a new planet to mismanage. It would not be his, they had defenses in place to discourage any attempts to take them over. He got ready for the first session, he intended to learn everything he could. Food would be provided in the room just before the lectures began.

When Norvir arrived, he saw the room was nearly full. The breakfast was a simple selection of fruits, cereals, milk, juice, and nutrition bars. He filled a plate and sat down with a recorder to ensure he missed nothing. When Dr. Dumont walked in, he was shocked to see the man that had accompanied the striking female the previous night. That’s when it hit him, he knew where he had seen her likeness before. She was Dr. Nathalie Goodrich. By the gods the female was even more attractive in person.

Dr. Dumont started his lecture. Norvir had to admit, the man was a good lecturer. His material was interesting and he threw in a joke or two. If anyone’s attention lapsed, he called them on it, asking a question or drawing attention to them in some other way. For some reason, his interest seemed to be drawn to Norvir and he would almost believe he knew who he truly was, but how? It was a relief, in a way, when the session was done and he could move away from Dumont’s stare.

Once the meeting broke up, it was lunch time. They had a two hour break to eat or kill the time however they desired. Norvir was lucky. He found the equivalent of a five star restaurant that just served food. It had a large menu and while the servers were attractive, they didn’t push any services on the side. Novir ordered a steak meal, and Italian spaghetti. He was hungry and Daig ate a lot. Even when the demon didn’t come out to play, he spiked Norvir’s appetite. There was no surprise when he saw his targets come in the restaurant. The two women were alone and intent on eating before their lectures. Nathalie’s eyes fell on him then she looked away quickly. Heloise Sherman, a renowned biologist, but not a doctor because she only had a double masters in biology and of all things, physics, stared at him openly.

It was his turn to look away, his cheeks flushed. The sexual invitation she sent his way was unmistakable. They sat down a few tables over and he unashamedly listened in. “Nat, You got another one’s interest. How about leaving some for me?” Heloise asked.

“I have no such thing.” Nat protested.

“The next one that comes along, don’t make eye contact and I’ll take him. Ooh, here comes another handsome one.”

“Whatever.”

Norvir looked up to see Morelan approaching him. They had planned to meet for lunch. “A lovely female is staring at me. What should I do?” Morelan asked.

“Smile at her, she is looking for a male for the night.”

“Just the night?” Morelan asked disappointed.

“You won’t be sure until you talk to her.”

“Talk to her?” Morelan said his face going pale.

“What did you intend to do with her?”

“I truly never thought that far ahead.”

“Invite her home with us. She is one of the environmental specialists I am hoping to recruit.”

“I will do it for our people.”

Norvir chuckled. “Whatever it takes to give you strength.”

“By the gods, I smiled at her and she is coming over here. Help me Norvir.”

She came over to stand at their table. “Would you and your friend care to join us? Novir asked politely.

“Thank you for the invitation.” She waved at Nat who seemed reluctant to join them. Heloise sat next to Morelan, leaving the spot next to him for Nat.

“This is Moore and I am Novel. What are you names?” Norvir asked just as he had practiced. Lista had worked with him on etiquette with humans.

“I’m Heloise and she is Nat. We are lecturers at the environmentalist’s seminar.”

“That’s amazing, I am attending the seminar. I was in James Dumonte’s lecture this morning.”

“James is brilliant. I’m sure you now know everything about dirt.” Heloise giggled.

“We were having some issues with the farmers that his tips may be useful in helping prevent. Where will you ladies be going when the seminar concludes?”

“I don’t think we have anything on our schedule.”

“Would you consider being our guests and giving some lectures to our college students? For lecture fees, of course.”

“What about the others at the seminar?” Nat asked.

“Right now we have a new life form we also would like an opinion on and we are limiting access. Both of you were recommended by a scientist currently assisting us with other issues.”

“Who might that be?”

“Dr. Stirling Little.” Norvir answered.

“Stirling? He disappeared two years ago.”

“No, he’s just been working on a project he can’t discuss so he stays on the planet, by choice.”

“What good does it do to work on a project you can’t publish?” Heloise asked.

“It safeguards the creatures you are working with. What good does it do to publish only to see the subject of your work destroyed?” Norvir asked. Morelan had been silent, he was completely overwhelmed by the nearness of females he didn’t know.

“We will have to give this some thought. It had originally been our intention to stick together, but I’ve been thinking it makes it hard to raise needed funds and makes us a bigger target.” Nat said and Heloise nodded.

Target? Norvir’s mind kicked into overdrive. Was there truth then, to the rumors an Earth company was after her and some fellow scientists because they wanted to save the planet? His eyes locked and held with Morelan, but he didn’t comment on her slip up. Anything that caused her to come with him to Oison was welcome.

“I believe I have your lecture this afternoon, Heloise.”

“Is Moore going to be there too?” She asked hopefully.

“He wasn’t scheduled for it. His interest in conservation is just developing. Can he purchase his admission separately?” Norvir asked.

“I’d be happy to have him as my personal guest for the lecture.” Heloise practically purred.

“Moore, what do you say?” Norvir verbally nudged him.

“I would be delighted to attend.” Morelan replied.

The waitress came and took their order. They talked about conservation and the importance of starting out right on planets just starting industries. Morelan didn’t contribute to the conversation, but Norvir noticed he was listening attentively. Their food came and they all ate quickly but quietly. Norvir was hopeful they would convince the ladies to leave with them once the seminar was over, tomorrow. Heloise seemed to have a great deal of influence on Nat, and she seemed taken by Morelan.

It was a shame Nat didn’t seem as taken by him. Norvir on the other hand, was quite taken by Nat. His daig growled and howled, desiring nothing more than to throw the female over his shoulder and to run to the ship with her.
Take female home
! His demon rarely made demands being one of the less primitive ones among his kind. It shocked and surprised him. If they were in a less populated place, he would be tempted to do it, the pull was that strong. Everyone knew that while their demon side was primitive, it also seemed to be in touch with the gods on a simpler level.

His daig was restless, and that always meant something was about to happen. Usually it was bad. That his demon wanted to escape this place now, meant they would be in a position were escape would be necessary soon. Morelan’s demon was too taken with Heloise to look past her desirable attributes. His cousin had just stared at the female the while time hardly saying a thing. She didn’t seem to mind, maybe she liked the strong silent type.

Two hours passed quickly so they separated, he and Morelan headed with Heloise since they were attending her lecture. Nat headed the other way, going to her own. His demon wouldn’t speak to him, he was pissed that Norvir hadn’t taken his advice. A Mazlan never felt good when his demon went silent. The only thing that Norvir could do was tell himself his demon would speak when the chips were down. Lista really needed to stop using those sayings. They were all he and his brothers used when they spoke English.

Heloise would be lecturing on how to find and properly inventory the natural wildlife of a planet. It was important to know all native lifeforms and ensure they weren’t being affected by new industries. Her areas of specialty were extremely relevant to the program he was initiating. Nat’s were as well. James Dumont’s could be, but to be honest, he didn’t like or trust the man. Dumont upset Norvir’s demon, something few people did.

There was something about it him that made his daig go on alert. It was more than his relationship with Nat, not that that in itself wasn’t enough. His demon saw people’s auras and Dumont’s was dark. That hinted at a sinister side to the man and Norvir was sure it was more than his sexual tastes setting off his demons concerns.

Admittedly, he wanted to get Nat away from Dumont, and he didn’t want to think too much about why that might be. Instead, he planned on how that could be achieved. That was the more productive use of his time. Luring her to Oison through her interest in conservation and the clear need they had for protection and income, seemed the best way. Having decided that, he turned his attention fully to Heloise’s lecture. The woman was good, he knew she was the right choice to help Nat set up his program.

Morelan, who had always been a hands on guy with no interest in the science behind what he did, was now a convert. At least his mouth was closed and no drool ran down his chin. Other than that, the male was clearly enchanted. Heloise, for her part, cast glances in Morelan’s direction regularly. Romance was blooming, it could only help his cause.