Taurus (Galactic Cage Fighters (Book Three)) (6 page)

Maya put her robe back on and told Coco she needed a rest. When Coco offered to show her back to their suite, she reassured the other female that she could find her way back on her own. Coco went off with Zen to grab a snack.

She should have at least asked Coco to verify the directions back to the suite. She was horrible with directions. She somehow got turned around on the ship and ended up on the other end, where she had never been before. She saw security, but she was too embarrassed to stop and ask. They would look down at her even more because she could not scent her way back to her own suite. A real halfsie wouldn’t have that kind of problem.

She had just about given up hope when she spotted a set of elevators. She didn’t care where they led to as long as it was off that floor. She saw the doors were beginning to close and started to run to catch them. She stopped in her tracks the moment she saw the occupants of the elevators.

No…no…no…no.
Taurus was kissing one of the Venetian females. It happened so quick before the doors closed. But the image was replaying over and over in her head. The female was beautiful with long dark hair and long legs and one was wrapped around Taurus’s body.

Her heart sank. She thought they had connected with their kiss at the photo studio. She had wanted him to wait for her until the photo shoot was finished so they could—go off somewhere together. But it looked like anyone could take care of his needs and what happened between them obviously meant nothing to him. All her fantasies about coming to the GCFA and working on the circuit in hopes of being near Taurus, went right out the door.

She should leave and go back home to her grandparents. But she didn’t want to do that. It was a reality check. She had her head in the clouds believing all she had to do was be in the same room with him. She might not be a full alien or even a halfsie, but she deserved to be treated better than that.

The elevator doors opened to take her upstairs. She would rethink her action plan tomorrow. Tonight, she wanted to cry herself to sleep. So that was what she did.

*****

“Taurus?” the Venetian’s sexy voice asked in concern.

“Gypsy…I can’t. I’m sorry.” He looked away in shame.

“I don’t understand it. When you came to get me earlier, you were completely aroused. We kissed and rubbed on each other, but it seems to have all just gone away. Usually the foreplay has the opposite reaction.”

They were both in Taurus’s suite in bed and completely naked. But while Gypsy was wet and ready, Taurus could not summon his dick to obey him. It was humiliating. No male wanted a female to see him act less than a male should. He should have known better.

The moment they began kissing in the elevator, his interest physically started to die down. He hoped that by removing their clothing a spark would renew. Gypsy was an expert at getting a response from males. She had to coax one from him more than once—but tonight was different. There was only one female that seemed to spark a response in him.

At the thought of Maya, his cock started to stiffen up. It got Gypsy’s attention immediately. She bent down and took him inside her warm mouth. She started pumping him with her hands and sucking hard. But his new arousal went away again.

Gypsy pulled up from him and stared in shock. “What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing, you did nothing wrong. It’s me—my body.” Taurus got up and pulled on his pants.

“The healers have medicines to help give you an erection,” Gypsy offered.

“You saw that I can get an erection. That’s not the problem.”

“What is it then?” Gypsy finally started putting her own clothes back on.

“My body is craving something else—someone else.”

There was a pause and then Gypsy gave him a genuine smile. “I’m happy for you, but why are you with me if there is another you wish to be with?”

“I’m not sure that I’m enough for her.”

“That’s ridiculous. You are one of the kindest males that I know.” She patted his shoulder.

“Not according to Zen. Evidently, I am a loner that pushes even my closest friends away.” He watched Gypsy’s reaction and noticed that she cringed. “Am I that bad?”

“No, of course not. However, the things most of us have had to deal with growing up were not pleasant. So if you are a little standoffish, who gives a crap.”

“Thanks, Gypsy, you’ve been a great friend.”

“No problem. If things don’t work out with the other female, give me a call. We’ll get the meds from the healer and I’ll take care of your needs.” She went to the door to leave.

He walked her to the door and opened it for her. “Thanks again, Gypsy.”

She kissed his cheek. “Go get your female and be happy.”

He wasn’t sure it would be that easy. He left Maya at the photo shoot just as aroused as he had been and still just left without saying a word. What must she think of him?

*****

“What an asshole!” Maya yelled the next morning, after a sleepless night. She tossed and turned. Her head was filled with images of Taurus and the Venetian having sex in different positions. She felt sick inside at the images and the thoughts she was bombarded with. She actually wanted to do physical harm to the other female.

She threw the covers off and headed to her shower. She was grateful that each bedroom had its own bathroom. She didn’t want Coco to see the way she looked right now. She had bags under her eyes and they were red from all the stupid tears she had shed.

The water was cold, which was not what she wanted but what she needed. Cold water to clear all her thoughts of Taurus. In between the bouts of crying, she realized some things about herself.

She needed to grow up. Her youthful fantasy about Taurus was just that, a fantasy now shattered. That didn’t mean the world was going to end. She needed to decide first whether she wanted to stay or go.

On the plus side—she was being paid really good credits for her job. She would get to travel the galaxies and meet new and different species. During the off-time from the circuit she could go back home to spend with her grandparents. There weren’t very many jobs like that. It was very appealing.

On the downside—she would be around Taurus all the time. She would have to deal with him dating other females. It wasn’t pleasant, but she thought she might be able to get through it and maybe even past it if she would let go of her fantasy of them being a couple. It wasn’t going to happen and holding on to that was only messing up her life. By the time she showered and dressed, she had made up her mind to move past her fantasy of Taurus and keep her job with the GCFA—for a little while anyway. If it got too weird, she could always quit. With the decision now made, she went out into the suite to wait on Coco before going to breakfast.

*****

Taurus slept late. He had tried to drown his misery with alcohol but all he ended up with was an enormous hangover. He called Rage for one of his remedies. It was the nastiest stuff he had ever tasted, but it worked like nothing else did. When he was finally showered and dressed, he hurried down to the banquet room in hopes of finding Maya. But he had already missed her. He was determined to search her out as soon as practice was over.

Hammer was his practice partner for the day. He wished now that he hadn’t drank so much. He needed his quick reflexes to help avoid Hammer’s hard hits. It felt like getting hit by a fast-paced shuttle.

“What happened to you?” Gana asked as she walked with him to the training center. She looked him up and down but didn’t seem to be too happy with what she saw.

“Drank too much,” he told her without looking her way. Taurus had a feeling that Gana liked him. He didn’t want to give her hope that something would come out of their friendship. He thought Gana was beautiful and many halfsie Primans or even a full species Priman would lucky to have her as their female. She just didn’t do anything for him physically.

“Do you want to do something tonight after the after-party?” Gana gave him a hopeful look.

He shook his head. “No, I have plans.”

Gana looked at him angrily. “Who is she? Another Venetian like last night?”

Taurus stopped walking, forcing her to stop and look back at him. “Gana, it’s my business if I am with a Venetian or with someone else of my choosing.”

“Why not me then? We’re both Priman halfsies, both GCFA fighters, and both attractive people.”

“I don’t know why, but I just don’t feel that way toward you. I’m sorry.”

“You haven’t given us a chance. I know you would feel differently if we could spend more time together.”

“That’s not going to happen, Gana. Not the way you want it to.”

She tried to push herself up against him. He held her shoulders to keep space between their bodies. “Just give us a chance, you’ll see how right we are for each other.”

Taurus shook his head. “I would be honored to have you as my female, but I don’t feel that way about you. You deserve a male who wants you and only you.”

Gana turned a bright shade of red. Embarrassed for having put herself out there only to be rejected. She pushed away from him hurt and angry.

“Fine, but you’re making a huge mistake!” She turned and stomped off.

Taurus just stared after her feeling bad for having hurt her. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he didn’t want her to be delusional about them being together. It wasn’t going to happen. He only had thoughts of one female, with light green eyes.

Chapter Seven

He continued to make his way to the training facility. After what Zen and Gypsy said to him regarding his interactions with people, he made every effort to say hello to everyone he passed. Unfortunately, they all gave him strange and slightly terrified looks. He had to finally admit it, he didn’t know how to interact with others. It had always been much easier to just ignore them.

Once he got to the training facility, he found Hammer standing a few feet away from the cage. It wasn’t hard to spot Hammer, he was the largest male on the GCFA ship.

“What are you doing standing here outside of the cage?” he asked Hammer, stopping to stand beside him.

Hammer pointed to the cage. “Waiting for the ring girls’ practice to finish.”

Taurus looked up and watched as Maya walked across the ring in the tallest heels he had ever seen. It made her cute short legs appear longer than they were. She was wearing boy shorts and a sports bra. Her brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail. She was damn sexy.

“The new girl is hot,” Hammer commented, giving Maya a long, lingering look. When Taurus didn’t say anything, Hammer asked again, “Don’t you think she’s hot?”

Taurus was a private person and didn’t discuss females or his feelings. It wasn’t natural for him. “I guess so.”

“As your friend, I can tell that you find her attractive. I can smell your arousal. So if you’re interested in that female, you might want to stake your claim before someone else does.”

He glared at Hammer. “Are you saying that you’re interested?”

Hammer looked at him with surprise. It was the most heated tone Taurus had ever used with him or with anyone that wasn’t an opponent. “I could be, but not if I am treading on your territory.”

“She’s not my territory,” he denied. Even he knew that sounded insincere.

“Whatever you say,” Hammer told him.

“Get your asses out of the cage so the fighters can practice!” Zara stormed over to the cage glaring at the ring girls.

Coco held up her hands. “Okay, okay, gargantuan. Hold your horses, we’re done here.” She opened the cage door and stepped out.

Maya followed her the best she could in the heels. She had only tripped twice and caught herself before falling flat on her face. Coco was right. The more she walked in the heels the easier it became. However, to be on the safe side, she asked wardrobe for wider or shorter heels for tonight’s event.

Once on the floor of the training facility, she reached for her robe. She still wasn’t a fan of walking around in barely anything.  She moved out of the way so the fighters could enter the cage. She watched as Hammer, the largest and tallest fighter on the GCFA team, passed by her. He looked down at her and smiled.
Wow, he had pretty eyes.

A growling noise made her turn head to the right and she froze in place as Taurus approached. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. His skin was golden and unlike many of the other fighters, he had a small trail of hair that went down from his navel and disappeared down inside his tight wrestling shorts. Oh man, she wanted to follow that trail to where it ended. She licked her lips without thinking. Another growl brought her attention back to the fact that she was ogling the male’s groin. She blushed and looked away quickly.

Taurus approached Maya. The female looked at him like she wanted to gobble him up. He would have no problems with that. His body instantly responded to her perusal. He ran his hand through his short brown hair. “Hi.”

She didn’t quite meet his eyes. She stared at his chin. “Hello.”

He frowned. That did not sound very welcoming. “How is your day going so far?”

“Fine.” She shrugged and looked over to where Coco was teasing Esan. The male did not look happy with Coco at all. Coco was paying no attention to Maya. She tried to move around Taurus, but he blocked her escape.

“Are you going to the after-party tonight?” He was beginning to sweat. He had never felt more nervous.

“Yeah, for a little while.”

“Good. I guess I’ll see you tonight.” He smiled at her.

“Okay,” she replied noncommittally. She released the breath that she had been holding when he moved forward to enter the cage. She could finally make her escape. She didn’t get far before Zara the Amazon stopped her.

“New girl, what’s going on between you and Taurus?”

She was getting tired of people referring to her as ‘new girl’. Couldn’t they take the time to learn her name and use it?

“Nothing. What’s it to you?” She regretted the attitude immediately. Her grandparents taught her better than that.

Zara glared down at her sniffing. “Watch how you talk to me newbie. You’re barely Arian.  Practically human.”