“Yeah, and if we believe that, you have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell us.”
Sheala blinked. “What?”
Jami shrugged as Vani grinned. “Another one of Brianna’s Earth sayings. It means we don’t believe you.”
After another sniff, Sheala started back down the hall. “I don’t care what you believe. Mother told us to get dressed for dinner, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Vani grinned at her sister as Sheala stomped away. “She couldn’t take her eyes off that Gattan.”
Jami nodded. “I noticed. He is handsome, in an alien way. And he has a great body. Do you think he could be tamed? Gattan are supposed to be awfully bloodthirsty, you know.”
Giggling, Vani hooked her arm through her sister’s. “I don’t know, but I bet if anybody could tame a Gattan, it would be Sheala. Let’s get dressed. Dinner should be pretty entertaining tonight. Do you think he could be as interested in Sheala as she is in him?”
* * * * *
“Oooof.” She stumbled back.
Only the hands that grabbed her upper arms kept her from falling onto her behind.
“Excuse me.”
His voice was deep.
Placing her hands flat against his chest, Sheala looked up into Marljas’ golden eyes. Damn, but he was handsome. She smiled. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been watching where I was going.”
He nodded once. “Yes, you should have been.”
A tendril of honey-colored hair fell over his shoulder.
Then his words sank in.
Sheala stiffened. “What?”
He stared into her face. “You have many guests in your home far more infirm than I. You could have knocked one of them over.”
Knocked one of them over! Sucking in a breath, Sheala glared at him. “I
beg
your pardon. I wasn’t aware that Gattans were such—nitpicks—about decorum.”
His eyes became even more golden. “There are many things you don’t know about the Gattan.”
Sheala tried to wrench her arms free.
He didn’t release her.
Thrusting out her chin, she glared at him. “Let me go. I said I was sorry. It’s not like I hurt you.”
His lips twitched. “You didn’t hurt me.”
Groaning to herself, Sheala closed her eyes. Struggling wouldn’t get her anywhere. He was as strong as an Aradab.
She sucked in a breath.
His musky scent came with it.
Hmmmmmmm, but he smelled good. Did he use a cologne? Or was that his natural scent?
Opening her eyes, she looked back up into his face. He was grinning.
“What’s so funny?”
His white teeth flashed. “You’re pouting like a child denied a sweet.”
Pouting! Child! She’d show him how much of a child she was.
Stepping closer until her body was only inches from his, she slipped her fingers under the edges of the vest and began swirling them in circles in the silky hairs that grew there.
His skin was firm and warm, and the fine, golden hairs on his chest caressed the sensitive pads of her fingers. She stepped closer and pressed her hips against the tops of his thighs—and chuckled as the smile disappeared from his lips. “Am I so much like a child, then?”
His eyes darkened. Releasing her arms, he stepped back.
She stepped with him and smiled up into his face. “Tell me, Marljas Drefeson, am I still a child?” Still tracing lazy circles on his muscular chest, she brushed a taut nipple.
A gurgle slipped from his throat.
His tail jerked, slapping against a small table the scraped across the floor. Water sloshed from the vase of flowers it held as the beautifully cut glass rocked a bit, then settled.
She chuckled again and slipped her hands down the bare skin of his chest, over the hard muscles of his abdomen, then around his torso to his back. She pressed her breasts against his chest. Slipping her tail between her legs, she wrapped it around his leather-clad leg—and stroked the inside of his thigh with the tip.
Muscles tightened and quivered under her palms. Sweat beaded on his brow. Shifting his hips away from her, he mumbled a curse.
When she stepped closer, his long, hard cock pressed through his pants against her stomach.
Oh my!Hoping he didn’t hear her slight gasp, Sheala smiled up at him. She kept her voice low. “Am I a child, Marljas?”
Nostrils flaring, he stared down at her. He grabbed her arms again, his fingers tighter than they had been before.
Golden fire danced in his eyes. Slowly, he lowered his head until his face was only inches from hers. His thumbs caressed the undersides of her arms. Her breath caught in her throat. The thin material of her shirt tantalized her tightening nipples. His gaze drifted from her face to her chest. His eyes narrowed.
Excitement tingled its way through her body. A kiss. Just one kiss.
Momentarily his hands tightened even more. After sucking in a deep breath, he blinked then pushed her away. The knob in his throat bobbed as he swallowed—twice. “No, Alalakan dem al’ Sheala, daughter of my hostess, you are not a child.” Still looking at her chest, he pushed her down onto a padded bench then turned and retreated up the hallway.
Letting out the breath she was holding—and uncurling her toes, Sheala shivered and stared at the door through which he’d disappeared. Slowly, she lifted her hand and touched the tiny jewel at the side of her nose. Her mother and grandmother had been suggesting possible first-time lovers for the last two months, but none of the men—or women—they’d suggested had appealed to her. So far, this tall, golden-eyed Gattan was more appealing than any other man she’d ever met.
Sliding the latch to lock the library door behind him, Marljas raked his hair back off his forehead and leaned back against the wall. How had he lost control of that encounter with Sheala? All he’d done was reprimand her—gently—about watching where she was going, and the next thing he knew, she was caressing his chest, practically inviting him into her bed.
Closing his eyes, he wiped his face with his hands. Over the last week and a half, his brother had been very happy with how his trade negotiations were going with the Alalakans, and the Drakians had made their entire family welcome. His own relationship with his new bloodsister was flourishing, and he was now sure there was no danger for his family here on Drakan. He, however, faced a personal danger—Sheala.
Lowering his hands, he leaned back against the door and stared at the opposite wall. Sheala. No matter what he did, he couldn’t push her from his mind. She was like no other woman he’d ever met. Her skin wasn’t tan or brown or black with spots or stripes like most women on Gattan but rather the color of rich, ancient ivory. And it was soft, far softer than he’d expected. The dark brown hair that had tumbled about her shoulders was finer and silkier than a Gattan’s. Her face was oval rather than round, her nose was smaller, and her lips were thinner. And just now, when her face had been so close to his, he’d been able to see that her almond-shaped eyes weren’t black but rather a deep, rich brown that had darkened as her passion rose. He shuddered. He could lose himself in those eyes. He’d almost accepted that unspoken challenge, almost kissed her, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to the first bed he could find. Only the sparkle from the jewel at the side of her nose had stopped him. It had taken all his will to pull away, to not kiss her.
Then he’d made the mistake of looking at her breasts. Her nipples had been straining against the soft material of her shirt, aching to be touched, kissed.
He shuddered again.
Why? Why was he reacting to her like this? His control of his body had always been absolute. She was only a woman—a Drakian woman. What was so special, so compelling about her?
* * * * *
Sheala stared at the wall. The Gattans had been here for a week and a half, and no matter where on the estate she went or what she did, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Why? What was so special about him? Even here in her own rooms, he haunted her.
She snorted and gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
Her reflection smirked back at her.
He’s sexier than any man you’ve ever seen. That’s why you can’t
get him out of your mind.
Rolling off her bed, Sheala stepped to her mirror and pulled her shirt over her head. Cupping her breasts, she flicked her nipples with her thumbs. A shiver danced up her spine, but she ignored it. She had to think, and masturbating didn’t help her thought processes.
Frowning, she jiggled them. Were Jami and Vani right? Would men like her breasts? Her sex instructor hadn’t seemed too interested in them. He’d spent much more time teaching her how to use her mouth and tail on him. Sure, he’d fondled her breasts and suckled her nipples the first few lessons so she’d know what to expect from a sexual partner, but he’d spent most of her lessons below her waist. “He was a hermaphrodite and had breasts of his own. That’s why he didn’t pay so much attention to yours,” her reflection seemed to state, “and Brianna and Meri have bigger breasts than you do. Char and Ademis seem to be pretty happy with their wives’ breasts.”
Letting go of her breasts, she finger-combed her hair back over her forehead. “Oh, damn it to all the hells, I shouldn’t have vowed to remain a virgin!”
For a moment she frowned at herself. Then she sighed and fingered the tiny sapphire stud on the side of her nose. Char had given her this Deslossian sapphire, one of only twelve that ever left that planet, for her nose stud soon after she had made her declaration. The entire family had been proud of her decision.
How could she let them down now? With so little time left?
Who cared what her arrogant ex-sister-in-law Crystas thought. She wasn’t even a member of the family anymore.
Sheala smiled. She’d made good use of the sexual tutor Crystas had suggested, only stopping short of full penetration. Bogarton don al’ Chevin had been a competent teacher who taught her everything she needed to know about sexual intercourse while still honoring her vow to retain her virginity. He’d gone so far as to tell Sheala that he was honored to teach a young woman who had chosen to remain a virgin because so few young people were willing to do so anymore.
After jiggling her breasts once more, Sheala slid out of the short pants she was wearing. Turning, she stared at the reflection of her ass. It wasn’t flat like Crystas’ had been, but then Sheala always had thought that Crystas looked like a board from behind. Turning, Sheala stared at her crotch. She had only a small tuft of pubic hair in the center of her pubis—because she shaved most of it away. When she didn’t, rich brown curls would grow into a triangle. She kept her pubis shaved because she didn’t want to be different from her Drakian friends. None of them had much hair.
She stroked the small tuft of hair. Maybe she should let her hair grow in. Maybe Vani was right. Maybe being different wasn’t so bad. Jami and Vani both had triangles of thick curls between their legs. Granted, the hair was dark green since they were Medirian and all Medirians were one shade of green or anther, but color didn’t matter. And with all that red hair Brianna had on her head, Sheala just bet there were nice, thick curls between her legs too.
As Sheala turned away from the mirror and picked up her shirt, the door burst open, and Jami and Vani practically tumbled into the room.
“Happy birthday, Shea!”
Sheala stared at the package Jami held. “But it’s not my birthday yet!”
“You’ve had gifts arriving for the last week,” Vani answered. “If we don’t give you ours now, it will just get lost among all the others.”
Jami nodded. “This is only from Vani and me, Shea. Mother and Father sent something more elaborate with Meri. Hurry up, open it!”
The package wasn’t large, and Sheala made short work of the wrapping. Removing the top, Sheala searched amongst the tissue paper and finally held up a tiny scrap of red material. Stretching it between her hands, she quickly deduced what it was.
“A Nissian bathing thong! Thank you!”
Both princesses grinned as Sheala slipped it on. The Drakian habit of roaming around nude made trying on new clothing very easy.
Sheala stood before her friends and modeled her newest acquisition. To say it left little to the imagination was an understatement. The leg straps rode high over her hips and dipped well below her navel to a small scrap of cloth that barely covered her.
Good thing I do shave. The hairs would stick out otherwise.
A single strap ran between her buttocks to meet the hip straps just above her tail. A special sleeve, which supported the first inch of her tail, had been incorporated into the thong.
“Let me get my things, and we’ll go to the pool right now. Thanks ever so much, Jami, Vani. I love you both!” After hugging both of her friends, she disappeared into the bathroom.
The sisters exchanged conspiratorial glances.
“Are you sure he’s going to be there today?” Jami whispered.
Vani nodded. “I heard him tell Denieen that he’d take her twins swimming this afternoon so she could spend some time with Shea’s mother and grandmother.”
“Good. All Shea does is stare at Marljas when she thinks no one’s watching. And he stares at her too, but every time she tries to talk to him, he finds somewhere to go, unless they get into an argument. Then one or the other always stomps off angry. If seeing her in this bathing thong doesn’t get a reaction from him, nothing will.”
“Come on,” Sheala said as she left the bathroom wearing her green robe and carrying a fluffy towel.
* * * * *
Raking his hair back off his forehead, he grinned at them. Slowing, Sheala stared at him. He’d been handsome when he’d left Drakan five years ago, and maturity had only heightened his appeal.
Bandalardrac lacked an inch to equal her brother Char’s height of six foot nine and had features combining the best of his Medirian mother and Drakian father. Black eyebrows rode above vibrant, dark eyes that were rounder than a Drakian’s. A hawk-like nose sat above full, expressive lips. Rather than being heavily muscular, though, as were some Merdirians, his body was slim and athletic. Like his mother, he had gills and no tail. His skin tone, however, was neither ivory-colored like most Drakians nor green like a Medirian but a pleasant mixture of the two, a warm tan with a subtle olive undertone. Riding Ban’s right shoulder was his Alalakan dragon, a graceful, bluish-green beast, massive wings straining, rising from a turbulent ocean. All in all he was a very attractive man, a man to turn any woman’s head.