Quick Read online

  The music started formal and rapidly got wild. The skirts she had been given spun away from her body in a wide circle as Linz twirled her before bringing her back against his chest.

  Cam caught sight of Dem in the crowd surrounding her, but she ignored him as Linz bent her back until her hair was nearly touching the ground.

  The music swirled to a halt, and Linz lifted her upright again, holding her as the blood rushed back to where it belonged.

  He grinned, kissed her softly and licked his lips. “You do taste delightful.”

  She chuckled and patted his chest. “And you dance like a fiend.”

  He grinned. “I rose to the skills of my partner. Come on, I will get you something to drink.”

  They were at the bar and she was drinking something that didn’t have any alcohol when Comyo came up to ask her for a turn.

  “I am sure that I can do better than Linz. He is old and decrepit.” Comyo winked.

  Linz chuckled. “Sure, pup. Watch this one, Camile. He can weld with his bare hands.”

  “Thank you for the warning.” She set her glass down and took Comyo’s extended hand for another turn around the floor.

  This music was wilder than before, but Comyo didn’t give way to every beat. He moved with her and twisted her around, spinning her until the music stopped and he trapped her against him. His kiss was slightly more savage, but he didn’t let her go until she responded to him.

  She heard a growl, and Comyo was pried off her. Mordem held her behind him, and he spoke to Comyo in low, whispered tones.

  Cam couldn’t hear what he said, but Comyo straightened, nodded and left the dance area, heading for the bar.

  Mordem turned to her, his silver-blue eyes bright. “Are you all right?”

  “I am fine. My lips are a little bruised, but everything is intact.”

  He placed his arm around her and began to sway with her as the music swelled again.

  “I am sorry. Comyo controls himself in every area of his life except for sex. When it comes to that point, his youth shows rather vividly.”

  As he spoke, he moved with the rest of the dancers with surprising grace.

  “Why are we dancing?”

  He grinned. “Because the music began and we were still in the centre of the space. It was only polite.”

  She moved with him as the music picked up the pace. As her third Guardian danced with her, she let herself feel nothing but his hands and the music.

  Music was what bound the stars together in her estimation. Every world had a beat that it followed and a rhythm that moved it through the universe. The music that each species created showed their relationship with the world beneath them. The Namkor were both organized and wild, and their music reflected it.

  Cam was sweaty and exhausted when Mordem pinned her to his body and kissed her. His kiss was soft, warm, and he cupped her head with his hand while he pressed his lips to hers.

  She went up on her toes to return his kiss, and she heard him growl as his tongue scraped across her lips.

  A sound rippled through the air around her, and she had to press on Mordem’s chest before he would let her go.

  Cam pulled her head away and stared toward the mountains. Light was glowing along the ground and rising into a soft mist about a foot off the ground.

  “What is that?” She whispered it, still held in his arms.

  “The Gift of Namkor. It rises tonight, and tomorrow, it chooses the recipients.” He nuzzled at her cheek and neck.

  She stared at the mist as it started to move toward them. “What is it doing?”

  “It is coming toward us, searching for those it will choose.” He chuckled in her ear. “I am immune to the search.”

  She turned toward him, and they were nose to nose. “I suppose I am safe with you.”

  Mordem smiled slowly. “I am a Guardian, after all.”

  A familiar voice punctured the haze she was in. “It seems that you are making friends, Camile.”

  She really wanted to throttle Dem at that moment.

  Cam turned her head and smiled at her employer. “I had to take on the socializing duties. The Namkor are definitely a social people.”

  She had her hands on Mordem’s chest and arm, respectively.

  “Well, I have finished my own socializing, and you need to resume your duties.” Dem was frowning at her.

  Cam sighed and looked up at Mordem. “I am afraid that duty calls.”

  He released her, and her body cooled rapidly from where they had been pressed together. She watched him lick his lips and turned back to her employer.

  She went from being a dance partner to an administrative assistant in a matter of seconds, and her body was outraged that the promise of a hot, steamy night had been withdrawn with no notice.

  Leaving Mordem was difficult, but she was at Dem’s side for the rest of the party.

  She laughed at the political jokes, but her peripheral vision kept track of the Guardians and the governor.

  “You would not believe the body of knowledge that the horticulturalist shared with me earlier.” Dem murmured it to her when they were alone for a moment.

  “Oh, I can believe it.”

  “I will not need your regular services here.”

  She nodded. “I understand. You are aware we have been locked down?”

  “Yes, Captain Mkaskit mentioned it to me a few hours ago.”

  Cam sighed. The captain was supposed to inform her, but her com had been completely silent.

  “Why wasn’t I notified?”

  Dem grinned. “I told him you were busy. The governor speaks very highly of you. You could do worse.”

  She gave him an arch look. “So, that wasn’t a flare of outrage when I was dancing with Mordem?”

  “You were making out with him in public. It lacked your normal decorous behaviour patterns. It caught me by surprise.”

  Cam gave him a look that she hoped was filled with sarcasm. “You chase every bit of prey you can and you begrudge me one connection in a public space?”

  He grinned. “I am used to having you at my side.”

  “I am used to being alone. We all pick our situations. Now, I want to go with the crowd and greet the light mist. Care to join me?”

  He wrinkled his nose. “No, it isn’t really my thing.”

  She nodded. “I will see you shortly.”

  Dem was perturbed as she turned away from him, but she ignored it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her, and she was going to embrace it.

  Chapter Three

  The light mist rolled over the grass and picked up speed as it climbed the hill.

  Mordem sidled up to her and put his hand on her waist. “This one moment, the entire planet glows as Namkor seeks out his Gifted.”

  She glanced up at him and the solid structure of his body that made her feel safe and vulnerable at the same time. She shook her head at her foolish train of thought. Fantasizing about superheroes was not something she had ever outgrown.

  “Did you go out with your family to watch the approaching light?”

  He chuckled. “I did. We gathered with our community and watched the light come up from the mines. It wrapped around us, and we could feel the touch of the planet that night. Some say it is an aphrodisiac.”

  She had one thought as she looked at the broad expanse of his shoulders that made her feel delicate and petite. It wasn’t a feeling she had often. If the light was an aphrodisiac, how could she tell?

  “I think it might just be the touch of the world you walk on that drives the urge for sex. That much power loosed would have a dizzying effect on self-control.”

  He grinned down at her. “I like my explanation better. Less clinical.”

  The mist was nearly on them. The crowd was gasping and laughing as the wave of the mist reached them. Couples of all sexes began to make out, and as the light reached her, Camile knew why.

  H
eat and pressure, a thousand tiny touches all working up her legs and focusing around her hips. Her brain registered the touches, the stimulation, and it was only her months of training at the Companion Centre that allowed her to ignore what she was feeling as her body throbbed.

  She appeared to be the only one who was ignoring it. Everyone else was pairing off.

  She looked to Mordem. “So, my not plastering myself to you is a problem?”

  He smiled, wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her until they were face to face. “It is not a problem for me, but if you want to discourage the governor, I would suggest that you at least pretend to kiss me.”

  “An easy suggestion to follow.” She draped her arms around his neck and brushed her lips against his.

  The first light brush led to another, and before she knew it, she had woven her fingers through his dark hair and she was holding on as her body made a list of demands that she wanted to fulfill in the worst way.

  She wrapped her legs around him for support and deepened the kiss, tasting the tang of wine, the sharpness of fruit and the flavour that she had sampled earlier. He was indescribable.

  His arm moved from her back, and he held the back of her thighs as she kissed him. She heard that deep growl from him again, and a shiver ran through her from the inside out. That sound woke impulses that she had never considered to be physically possible before. His grip was steady; he could hold her wherever he wanted her, and she wanted him to take a few of those positions for a test drive.

  Couples were dropping to the ground and writhing in the light.

  Mordem broke their kiss. “I am thinking that this is as far as you would like to go in public.”

  She blinked and nodded slowly. “If there is somewhere more private, I have a few ideas.”

  His hands held her tight; he bent his legs, and he launched them upward. She screeched and held onto his shoulders.

  He landed lightly and sauntered across the roof. “So, Lady Camile, which room is yours?”

  She looked over the edge of the tiles and then squinched her eyes shut. “Third to the right, first floor.”

  He kept her tightly against his body and jumped again. When he was walking again, he whispered, “You can open your eyes now.”

  He opened the door to the ground-floor balcony and stepped into her temporary quarters. He left the door open behind him and carried her into the silent and silken chamber.

  He slid a hand into her elaborate locks and kissed her again. His grip at the back of her neck weakened her knees. It was a good thing that his free hand was supporting her.

  The world tilted, and her back was soon resting against the bedding. It seemed completely normal to embrace the local customs, and since her partner was a professional at taking care of people, she couldn’t be in safer hands.

  The light mist reached them and spilled in through the open doors. It cast him in an eerie light, but as he shifted back to divest her of her clothing, the extra heat was caused by the flicker of danger in his expression.

  He was far better at the closures of her gown than she was. A few flicks here and there and the silky fabric slithered away. While she watched, his own clothing simply flattened to his skin and gathered to form a band around one bicep. The living Masuo responded to what its host wanted.

  She wanted to ask questions about the living clothing, but he moved over her while the light mist spilled up and over the bed.

  Mordem wrapped an arm around her, and he shifted her to the centre of the bed. She didn’t have to wait long; he was soon pressing his lips to her cheek, her neck and moving downward.

  The mist coiled around her, energizing her skin. She breathed a little faster as he used the flats of his fingers to claw at her skin before he placed his lips on her breast. The strong suction forced a cry from her throat. She wove her fingers into his hair and held on tight as he played her body with delightful expertise.

  His searching hand discovered her personal moisture, and he paused for a moment, pressing his forehead to her belly. The slow exploration and careful penetration had Cam shaking with tension.

  The rough pads of his fingers were a level of sensation she hadn’t anticipated. When he thumbed her clit and bit at the underside of one breast, she clenched her hands in his hair and fought her climax.

  “Let it come, lady.” His words against her skin rumbled through her body.

  She twisted, and he shifted his thumb rapidly over her clit while the two inside her curled upward and slid back and forth in a controlled gesture.

  Her gasps broke into low, jerking moans as her body gave him what he was after.

  Another surge of slick wetness coated his hand, and she blushed furiously while he shuddered for control. He moved over her and slid into her, watching her face as he pressed his cock into her.

  She inhaled and forced herself to relax as he slid into her. Cam pressed her hands to the balls of his shoulders and braced herself while he used small motions to push inside her.

  The full-body shiver that ran through him when he sank home sent a ripple effect coursing along her inner muscles. She felt the aftershocks of her orgasm grip him hard.

  The smile that crossed his lips heated her blood and chilled her at the same time. She held onto him as he pulled out and then slid inside her once again as the eerie light coursed around them.

  They rocked together; he rolled to his back; she rode him until he shouted and gripped her hips. She smiled and leaned forward when something strange happened. The cock inside her was still hard, but it was larger and far cooler than it had just been a moment earlier.

  He lifted her off him, and before she could take a good look, he had flipped her to her belly and raised her hips. She felt that cool member pressing against her and returning to her slick heat.

  The hard, cold cock inside her made her shiver, and she clutched at the bedding as he set a rapid beat that stole the air from her lungs. Sweat coated her skin as her arousal spiked higher and higher. When she felt the spasms inside, her arms gave way and she hit the bed with a grunt.

  He held himself inside her while her body clasped and pulsed around him. Mordem withdrew and rolled her over. His body was sheened with sweat, and he slowly slid into her again, rocking his hips into her with a deliberate and heady beat.

  Cam was exhausted, but her body felt the stirrings of heat from her palms to the soles of her feet.

  She held onto him and returned his kiss when he lowered his mouth to hers. The urgency was gone. He was with her for the enjoyment of it.

  Camile ran her hands through his hair and down his shoulders, stroking the bunching muscles as he pumped into her with delicious, slow care. It was going to be a very long night.

  Aching was not descriptive enough. Camile felt like she had been hammered at all night. Yes, she had come more times than she could count, but her body was registering a complaint to her catching up on her two years of missed opportunities all in the same night.

  She looked to the empty pillow and the deep dent. A quick touch told her that he had left in the last half hour. It was probably what woke her.

  She held her breath and waddled to the bathing room, using the hot water in the shower to unkink her muscles enough for her to get herself into the tub.

  Soaking in the wide tub, she raised heavy arms to undo her braids before she slid under the scented water.

  Time ticked away, and she enjoyed the silence as she let her body go completely limp. Flickers of memories from the previous night occasionally caused her to tense, but she focused and slowly relaxed again.

  With slow deliberation, she moved toward the surface and exhaled through parted lips, inhaling again and sinking back into the depths of the tub.

  Her aches and pains had subsided into a dull throb, while the oils in the water soothed her abraded skin. She felt better when she hauled herself out of the tub an hour later, drying off carefully before looking for something to wear.
/>   A bouquet of flowers was on her bedside table, and she knew that it hadn’t been there last night. Mordem had bent her over that table. Her handprints were still on the wood.

  She pattered to the table and breathed deeply. It smelled like hot summer nights. Cam blushed and headed for the wardrobe.

  She felt a familiar presence. She spoke without turning her head. “Linz, I am about to drop this towel, so thanks for delivering the flowers, but I don’t think you should be here right now.”

  He chuckled from across the room. “One day, you will have to tell me how you sense me.”

  “One day. Not today. As far as I know, I will be leaving tomorrow morning.”

  “Perhaps the ambassador can be persuaded to stay.”

  She pulled out a severe day dress and put it on the bed. “Perhaps he can, but it isn’t my decision. It is up to him. I am under contract.”

  Linz headed for the door, pausing in the doorway.

  Just to spite him, Cam dropped her towel.

  Linz winked and headed out. “See you this evening, Lady Companion.”

  She sighed and got dressed. How was she going to face Mordem again? She really wished that a fantastic night wasn’t followed by regret, but it was an ingrained reaction.

  Chapter Four

  Ambassador Vip Leahar was having breakfast with the governor. The servant led Cam into the dining room and helped her into a chair.

  Taliak smiled. “Good morning, Lady Companion. There is a flush to your cheeks this morning. I trust my nephew was satisfactory?”

  She was glad she hadn’t sipped her water. “Nephew?”

  “Yes, my sister’s eldest. It was a great moment for my family when he was chosen to be Gifted.”

  Oh, he’s gifted all right.

  She smiled politely and sipped at her water. “So, he has stuck with it?”

  “Yes. His Gifts are truly astonishing.”

  I’ll say.

  She shook her head slightly to clear it and ignored Dem’s delightedly interested gaze. “He chose not to demonstrate them last night.”