Bait Read online

  They moved together for a minute before she asked, “So this is where you were posted?”

  He grinned, “Something like that. I was experiencing a certain difficulty that my own people tried to resolve. After all this time, they decided that the only thing to do was to find the source of my difficulty to resolve the issue.”

  “Oh. Are you doing all right? That problem doesn’t sound pleasant.” She held tight as he whirled her in a circle before setting her on her feet and stepping with her again.

  “It is manageable. Why have you come to Chysan?”

  She bit her lip and blushed when she realized that he was focused on her mouth. “I have been sent here as bait to entice the clan chief into allowing twenty Oefric from the colony to enter service as Enforcers.”

  He frowned, “Bait?”

  “Apparently, the clan chief has a fascination with Terrans, so I was tapped and sent here. I have no idea why. You know that my negotiating skills suck.” She twisted her lips in a smile.

  His face remained sober. “I am familiar with your tactics, Praco. They are burned in my memory.”

  The music stopped.

  Billie stood in his arms and looked around. “Captain Dlenner, you might want to release me. The music has stopped.”

  He nodded and reluctantly let her go. “Don’t go far, Praco. This night has only just begun.”

  Bemused, she made her way back to the women and their group surrounded her on all sides.

  One of the women glared at her, “So, what have you done to get the attention of the clan chief?”

  Billie’s eyes went wide, and she looked for the captain through the press of bodies. Men who were in slightly subservient postures and obviously holding court surrounded him. She stared into his eyes across the crowded room, and the heat in them translated to her in that instant.

  “I don’t know what I did tonight, but in the past, I have been a complete disaster. I am guessing that being a klutz must turn him on.”

  She ignored the women around her and inclined her head slowly. His nod of acknowledgement sent a shiver of unease through her. They both knew why she was here, but what was he going to do about it?

  Chapter Three

  While three of the women were hostile, the rest of the crowd was more curious than anything else. Billie looked at the women who were glaring at her and simply stared them down. Sure, these women were Oefric and could probably tear her throat out, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.

  Her instincts may be to court disaster at all times, but for this one night, she wasn’t going to put up with bullying. There was no reason to let these women cow her. She was going to be here for an undisclosed amount of time, and setting the ground rules for not backing down was an important step.

  The next round of music went into its beginning strains, and the men surged toward the women once again.

  Billie hung back and looked for Captain Dlenner, but he had disappeared.

  “Perhaps he wasn’t as enthralled with you as he appeared.” The woman with the disappointed twist to her lips swanned off on the arm of her dance partner.

  Billie sat back and watched the men and women dance. While Dlenner was nowhere to be seen, she bit her lip. Perhaps her words had disturbed him, and he was about to send her packing.

  She sighed and smiled vaguely at the women near her. Time would tell what the hell was going on.

  * * * *

  “She doesn’t know why she is here.” Arcros Dlenner was furious.

  The council of commanders stared at him and several blushed furiously.

  “We couldn’t tell her. You know how she is.”

  He sighed and rubbed his forehead. His body had been insistent that he got as close to his mate as possible. It had been the reason for his leaving the Enforcer service. There was no place in the Enforcers for a mated couple. Their active duties were dangerous at the best of times and deadly at the worst.

  Billie Praco was indeed headstrong and would not take kindly to finding out that she had been sent to him to ease the symptoms of his rut. The Oefric medics and healers had been unable to change the direction of his affections, and it was finally agreed on that his Terran mate would be sent for.

  Unfortunately, no one told her why she was delivered to Chysan and that unpleasant conversation was going to fall to the one person who needed to stay on her good side.

  He glared at the commanders. “She is an officer, you are her commanders. You know that she would follow orders.”

  Commander Geering winced. “You know as well as we do that she finds ways around orders that she disagrees with. Her creativity is truly amazing.”

  Arcros clenched his fists. “Are you so certain that she would have found her way out of this assignment if she knew who was waiting for her at the end of it?”

  Geering shrugged, “We were cowardly and didn’t take a chance. You have her there now. The Alliance has signed her over. Her Enforcer pension is already in her account, so she is all set. You merely need to tell her why she is really there. No harm, no foul.”

  Arcros smiled uncontrollably, the phrase was one of Officer Praco’s. She had infected them all in one way or another, and right now he had to find out if her scent was everything he remembered.

  He ended the call and returned to the ballroom in time to stop one of the guild masters from taking his mate for a spin around the dance floor. No one was touching his Terran but him.

  * * * *

  Two dances later, one of the other men finally got close enough to offer her his hand.

  “I am really not sure that this will end well. I don’t know the steps.” She pursed her lips.

  “You danced gracefully with the clan chief. I am sure that you can manage a few turns around the floor.”

  She was about to explain that Dlenner had done all the work when the devil she was thinking of appeared.

  “Find another partner, Roccol. This lady is spoken for.” He extended his hand, and she took it based solely on the command in his tone.

  Billie blushed as they took to the dance floor. He was the only superior she had ever had that she obeyed directly when he gave her an order. Something about him made her nervous and filled her with an urge to impress him. It was a girlish crush backed up by a woman’s hormones and nothing more. It was the only reason that she could come up with.

  The dances were becoming progressively more intimate. Dlenner wrapped an arm around her waist, and they slowly circled left while their free arms met over her head. At a break in the music, they switched their hands and circled right.

  With the slow stride with her arm touching his waist and his around hers, she felt that low shimmy in her belly that she had come to associate with being around him and him alone.

  When the music changed again, their bodies slid from one side to the other, the contact in between them made a few things obvious to Billie. The first thing she noticed was that the fabric that made up her gown was no barrier against the heat blazing off every portion of his anatomy, the second thing was that his trousers were in danger of losing structural integrity as something was pressing for freedom from within.

  Her cheeks heated, and she kept her gaze fixed and forward as his arousal became clear to her. Out of the nine thousand fantasies she had had about men since she joined the Volunteers and left the Earth, he had featured in ninety-five percent of them.

  She shivered slightly as the music halted, and they were plastered together for an eternity of enjoyment before he let her go.

  Her stomach gurgled in protest, and Billie realized that it had been quite a long time since her meal on the warship.

  As they parted, his lips quirked at the sound. “Hungry?”

  She let out an unladylike snort. “Have you ever known me when I wasn’t?”

  Captain Dlenner grinned and offered her his arm.

  They passed several women who were returning to the ladies’ side of the ballroom and followed a few others who were on their way to
a buffet that had escaped her notice.

  “How could I have not noticed that?”

  “Perhaps you found something else to gain your attention. By the way, the colours you are wearing look lovely.” His amusement was palpable.

  “You picked these?”

  “I have never seen you in anything other than smoke and charcoal. I confess to curiosity as to why you are wearing them without protest.”

  She snickered as his step slowed them to keep them out of earshot of the other couples. “I was under the idea that I was on a diplomatic mission. With you being the man I was to negotiate with, there is no point in pretending to be something I am not. It will be uniforms from now on.”

  Billie watched the men ahead of her lead the women to a selection of pastries. A few of the women laughed nervously but took the food that the men offered them with a blush.

  “Okay, what is going on with the snacks?”

  They stepped forward one place, each of the couples seemed to be granting plenty of room to the ones at the table.

  “It is a tradition here on Chysan. We have herbs and such that are baked into pastries with traces of the scent that is from one male alone. If the woman responds favourably to the pastry, he can then move on to a more intimate courtship.”

  Her mind spun as they took another step forward, and the woman took the pastry, raised it to her nose and then shook her head sadly at her companion. His shoulders slumped, but he offered her his arm and took her back to the ballroom.

  “What happened there?”

  “His scent is not attractive to her. He will seek another and so will she.” Captain Dlenner reached out and took a small pastry on a silvery tray.

  She eyed the small confection carefully, scented it and fought the way her mouth watered as vanilla, spice, musk and cream struck her all at once. There was some chocolate in there as well, she was sure of it.

  Looking up into his focused gaze, she had to ask, “Can I keep the pastry and ditch the courtship?”

  He wrapped an arm around her waist, held the confection to one side and laughed as they walked out through a curtained alcove and into the house of the clan chief.

  Chapter Four

  Billie knew that her assignment was not as simple as what had been described to her initially. Captain Dlenner’s presence was proof of that. They had been careful not to mention that he was the man she needed to speak to. That in itself was suspicious.

  “Where are we going?” She could hear giggles and soft words from dark alcoves off the hallway. It seemed that phase two was first to third base.

  “Unlike the others here for the first evening, I actually live here. While the alcoves are equipped with every comfort, I prefer my own space.” Captain Dlenner smiled as they climbed stairway after stairway.

  Billie sighed and lifted the hem of her dress yet again. Boots and trousers were definitely preferable to slippers and a gown. She didn’t know how ladies could stand to be this awkward and helpless most of the time.

  When they finally reached the fourth floor, there was only one door at the top of the steps.

  He released her arm and swung the door open, “Welcome to my home.”

  Billie stepped into his personal space carefully. The feeling of entering the gates of hell rippled through her. Once she passed the threshold, she was unsure if he would let her out again. The shiver of anticipation that the thought sponsored was probably visible to him, but he didn’t say anything.

  The front room seemed to be a study. There was a desk of extreme magnitude, a com unit, a chair upholstered in leather and a plain, closed box on the leather desktop. Curiosity got a hold of her, and she walked to the desk, opening the box to see a dozen Alliance commendations as well as several that had Oefric markings.

  Enthralled by the intricate medals, she smiled. “I remember this one. It was the strike break of Therenor.”

  He came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You would have earned a commendation that day as well if you hadn’t assaulted the leader of the strike.”

  Billie chuckled and closed the box. “It was worth it. He was insufferable.”

  The heat from his hands warmed her in places that had nothing to do with the direct contact.

  “Um, Captain Dlenner…” She trailed off as his lips touched her neck, the reaction of her body was as violent as it was liquid.

  “Arcros.”

  “What?” Distracted by the insistent touches on the column of her throat, she fought to remember what had caused him to comment.

  “My name is Arcros. Dlenner is my family name.”

  His words were a distant roar in her ears. Her blood left her brain in a rush and pounded between her thighs and in her breasts. His name came out from between her lips in a whisper, “Arcros.”

  He turned her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers.

  In the instant before he got too close, she noted that his appearance had slipped into something more feral. His eyes had slanted, nose flattened and his ears pointed upward from beneath his dark hair.

  She would have asked him about the change in his appearance, but her lips were busy. The scents that she had been tempted by in the pastry turned into tastes that swamped her senses.

  His tongue had a rough texture as it worked past her teeth and explored her mouth. She gasped back a moan, surrendering to him as she had in her dreams.

  He lifted her onto the desk and stepped forward, parting her knees.

  She flailed back with her left hand and something clattered.

  Arcros lifted from her immediately. “I am getting ahead of myself. I apologize.” He backed away, and she was left cold and confused.

  Arcros quickly helped her back to her feet and led her through an ornate door. It was then that it was confirmed that his rooms covered the entire upper floor. It was large enough to pass for the ballroom below, but the bed gave the room one purpose only.

  “I know it is ostentatious, but the room comes with the job.” Arcros shrugged.

  She looked out at the balcony and watched lightning dance across the sky. “This is quite the view.”

  “Nothing like the storms of Cerengathai, but it is fairly impressive nonetheless.” He disappeared for a moment and then approached her with the dessert in his hand.

  “What is so special about this pastry?”

  He thought about whether to answer her, she recognized the look on his handsome features. “It not only tests whether we are chemically compatible, but it synchs your body to mine for a time.”

  “And the other women knew this?”

  “Of course, it is a Chysan tradition. The herbs here act on the pheromone systems to accentuate our normal senses. Traits that we would normally subdue or try to hide are available in the scents and herbs of this cake. I made this one myself with you in mind.”

  Billie brightened. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  Captain Dlenner’s baking skills had been legendary. He had once offered to make them a batch of cookies, and it kept her unit motivated through a hurricane. The memory of those treats made her smile.

  She held out her hand for the pastry, and he handed it over with great formality. Billie tried to figure out where to start and then said, “To hell with it,” diving in with gusto.

  The flakes of pastry dissolved as they touched her tongue, and sweet, heavy custard surged to the fore. She wanted to comment, but shoving another bite into her mouth was too tempting.

  A surge of dizziness ran through her, and she swayed. Something was happening and it wasn’t a bad thing. Her hormones were being turned to eleven, and it was a novel experience.

  A third bite demolished the last of the pastry, and she looked down at her empty hand with disappointment. “It’s gone.”

  Arcros laughed in surprise. “I am amazed that you still have a hand. You really were hungry, weren’t you?”

  She carefully licked her lips, ignoring his heated look. “I was. The last meal I had was on b
oard the warship. I didn’t think to bring rations in the shuttle.”

  With attention to getting every crumb, she licked the palm of her hand. He groaned, and she felt a surge of heat run through her clit.

  “What did you mean when you said that it synched us?”

  “I give off pheromones, and you respond.”

  “Have you ever tested this on one of my species?” She was biting her lip as riots of unfamiliar sensations overwhelmed her.

  He frowned. “I was assured it wouldn’t harm you.”

  She looked up at him, sure that her eyes were glowing with the fire in her blood. “I wasn’t worried about it harming me.”

  Billie walked up to him, slid her hands through his hair and drew his mouth down to hers in an eating kiss that let him know exactly what was going through her mind while her hips arched toward his, rubbing from side to side.

  In an instant, he caught on, gripped the shoulders of her gown and tore straight down.

  The closures of his shirt flew with a dozen tiny patters as she returned the favour. She drew her nails down the plane of his chest and growled happily.

  This was going to be quite the evening.

  Chapter Five

  Billie snarled, arched and twisted against him as Arcros tackled the dual tasks of holding her down as well as caressing her with his hands and mouth.

  His features shifted into a more feral form, and when he held her so that his roughened tongue could taste her, she cried out.

  His fingers dug into the skin of her thighs and belly while his tongue parted her, lapped at her, then delved deep.

  Billie screamed and arched against his grip when an orgasm roared through her.

  Arcros moved away and flipped her to her belly before her body had ceased to spasm, and his cock prodded for entry, sliding in inch by inch.

  He was inside her completely after several hard thrusts, and she mewled into the sheets when he started to move in earnest.