Deal with a Dhemon Read online

“I am still a little uncoordinated from the time in the tank and the blaster injury. I‘ll just sleep in it and get Etion to help me in the morning.” She shrugged her acceptance to the situation.

  “Stand up.” His voice was harsh. She looked at his face and all semblance of humor was gone.

  She stood up and walked over to him. In astonishment, she watched his hands dissolve the difficult clasps and buttons and in seconds she was down to her corset and chemise. She grabbed his hands when he reached for her corset.

  “Thanks I can take it from here, General.” Her fingers felt cold against the calloused heat of his hands.

  “I would think you would be used to men stripping you.” The ice dripped from every word.

  She was in shock. “What? Why would you think that?” The savage derision burning from his eyes was a sudden changed from his earlier levity.

  “You were working at the station brothel, I am sure you were quite popular. You are, after all, an extremely attractive female.” His hands cupped her breasts over the edge of the corset.

  Heat flared from her flesh where he was gently caressing her, then, shock reeled through her. She stepped out of his reach and put distance between them. He thought she was a whore. She almost burst into hysterical laughter. A whore. She was still a virgin. She had never been tempted enough to make herself that vulnerable.

  Obviously, General Kassil did not believe that was the case. He had been told to contact her at the brothel, so she must be a whore.

  Chapter 6

  She was babbling and backing away from him, clutching her hands over her breasts in defense. “Ok, I can handle the rest of this, you can go. Thanks for the help. I believe you mentioned dinner tomorrow. I need to sleep now. To get ready for tomorrow.”

  “I don’t mind your past, but keep in mind you will be mingling with women of unquestionable character on Dhema. You will be expected to act accordingly.”

  He swung around and walked out the door, as fury began to roar through her.

  What a snob. He had made an assumption about her sexual status, based on her place of work. How rude could you be?

  Her hands released the busk with a sharp push, and the corset peeled off of her to flop onto the bed. The chemise was next to go. She wandered to the door, naked, and secured the lock from all except Etion. None of this uninvited guest thing again.

  She flung herself onto the bed, pounded the pillow a few times, and fell into an enraged sleep.

  Sam dreamed of kicking the general right where it hurt, but unfortunately he recovered and pinned her to the floor. She wasn’t wearing clothing, and he wasn’t wearing clothing, his flesh was so hot that it scorched her where their bodies met.

  She came awake with a gasp, her heart pounding in her chest. “Argh!” She pounded her fist into the pillows and flipped onto her stomach. Why did it have to be him?

  For the last three days, since she first saw him, Kassil had factored heavily in her fantasies. She had no idea why it was him and not one of the oh-so-attractive techs from medical. She had had far more exposure to them than the General, literally.

  The dhemons had a musky scent that she found irresistible. Pheromones being common to several species in the Alliance, she was not surprised to find out that the dhemon males would have an attraction mechanism. Not that they needed it. By bipedal-humanoid standards, they were deadly attractive.

  “Damn.” Blanking her mind carefully, she tried to get some more sleep. Mercifully, if she dreamed again, she did not remember it.

  Across the ship in his quarters, Kassil sat up sweating, with an erection that was pounding with the need for release.

  “Damn.” He shook his head to clear it, trying to get the blood back into his brain. Why was he dreaming of the Terran? She was an unchaste woman. She worked in a brothel for stars sake. Who knew how many males she had invited between her thighs?

  But still, the dreams persisted. Every night since he had first met her, he had found his mind inventing the most delectable torments to inflict on his phantom bed partner. In his dreams, she was the most responsive female he had ever had, arching to his every touch. The first few dreams that he had, when she was ensconced in the tank, were extremely hot. He had imagined her skin to be warm and smooth, the reality was much softer and cooler than he had dreamed. His hands fisted against his thighs as he wondered how many men had touched her breasts, and smelled her delicate scent. Flowers, musk, and female, it was a combination to send his senses spinning. It was the reason that he had returned to her quarters before he retired for the evening. What a disaster!

  She had seemed shocked at his interest, clearly detailing that the attraction went only one way. He shook his head again and tried to throw off the arousal that he had woken with. Getting up, pacing, and then tugging on his uniform he decided to go his office near the bridge and work off his tension with filing documents regarding his retirement.

  He had been in service to the Alliance for twenty years. He had joined at his maturity, as did the majority of the males of his people. It was a matter of a contract that his people had formed when they joined the Alliance centuries before. Manning warships was the occupation most suited to his species, they fought against the raiders and species that preyed on the citizens of the Alliance of Planets.

  With his duty to his planet done, it was time to return home and start a family.

  Chapter 7

  Sam awoke feeling refreshed, though anger still simmered in her when she thought about the liberties that General Kassil had taken with her person, then stopped and laughed at herself. She was acting like the Victorian maiden she was dressing as, not a modern woman who had simply chosen not to take a lover quite yet. Not that she hadn’t had the opportunity, even before working at the brothel. It was just not something she wanted to expose herself to. The messiness of sex did not appeal to her, all those bodily fluids flying about. She liked an orgasm as much as the next person, probably more than most, but part of her still thought of it as something that she wanted to share with someone she wanted to get messy with, not something to be taken on casually. A devilish smile curved her lips. She had always been a do-it-yourselfer.

  She got to her feet and tossed on the chemise, then began to lace up her corset. It was not quite as tight as Etion had made it the night before, but she was able to button her blouse over it. The layers went on quite easily, the trembling fingers of the previous evening forgotten after her restoring sleep.

  When Etion came through the door, she was sitting decorously on the chair next to the dressing table, trying to pin her hair up once again.

  “Let me help you with that.” He moved behind her and met her grateful eyes in the mirror. With economical movements he pinned her hair up in a graceful twist. Then stood back to admire the job she had done on the rest of her form.

  “You obviously can dress yourself, your hair is fixed, and you know the rudiments of eating gracefully, so why don’t we get breakfast in the mess hall this morning. Followed by a tour of the ship. I don’t think you saw that much of it when you were loaded on in the tank.” He grinned at her in the silvered glass.

  “That sounds great, are you sure that the General won’t mind me wandering around the ship?” Her eyes twinkled at the thought of the General’s reaction when he found out. He would most likely be appalled at having a whore roaming the halls of his precious ship.

  “Of course not, you are an honored guest.” He sweeps over to the door and gives her a dramatic bow. The door opened with a hiss. “After you.”

  “Thank you.” She followed his lead out into the hall, her skirt dragging lightly across the ground in her wake. She took his arm and lets him escort her to the mess hall.

  As they pass people in the halls, they note that they are drawing attention from the all-male crew. A whisper of interest and amazement follows them in a wave.

  Etion escorted her to a seat in the hall, and went to get her some food. She felt eyes on her and studiously took up a demure pose.
It was only moments before Etion returned with her breakfast. In that time, she felt that every eye in the ship had roamed over her body in appreciation.

  “Are you sure that we should be here? I can’t help but notice that we are drawing a lot of attention.” She glanced around casually, then daintily applied herself to her breakfast.

  “That was the idea. To get you out of your quarters and socializing amongst the crew.” His smile was infectious and she grinned in return then went back to the strange objects on her plate. “ You’re doing quite well with your food this morning.”

  “I’m trying. I was a little shaky last night at dinner.” Her eyes widened as she looked over Etion’s shoulder. “Holy crap.”

  “What?” He turned to look and was greeted by a scowl that could have turned a lesser being to stone.

  “Oh, good morning General Kassil. I was not expecting you to be eating in the hall this morning.” He rose from his seat and executed a bow.

  “I had not intended to be, but a report reached me of your presence here, and I came to invite Miss Samantha to eat with me. To spare the ship further disruption.” He seemed perturbed and impatient. “Etion, bring her tray, to the officer’s dining hall.”

  He held out his arm and Sam had no choice but to take it. Standing next to him, she felt tiny for the first time in a long time. His long strides make it hard for her to keep up with him in the heavy skirts, but she managed.

  The officer’s mess was empty, which Sam found suspicious. There should have been people there. Something in her knew it had been cleared out for her sake.

  He held out a chair for her and she sat as decorously as possible. She then felt it fair to warn him, “I have not mastered the dainty eating habits of your females. But I’m trying.”

  He seemed reluctantly amused at this, and told her, “You still have days to learn our ways, I’m sure that you will adjust.”

  Etion arrived with her food and set it out before her. “She tried to remember the rules from the night before, but they had faded with her stupor.” As Sam attempted to use the implements with dignity, the General made no attempts to ignore her and ended up laughing throughout the entire meal. She finished her food before he did, and began to look around the room.

  “What is that?” A game board stood near one wall with two chairs facing each other. Brightly colored playing pieces were displayed on the board.

  “A game of strategy, called Mintag. You have fifty moves to outwit your opponent, or you lose. It is a complicated game, only played by the men of our kind. It is thought that no female could grasp the ideas. They lack the concentration.”

  “Could you try to teach me?”

  She had to wait while he finished sputtering and choking.

  “It has not been done.” His breath came in with a wheeze. “You could not master it.”

  “I used to be quite good a strategy games, I passed hunter training. And survived in that occupation for several years. I would like to try.”

  He watched her silently for a few minutes. His face completely immobile.

  “Hunter training?” He paused for a few moments, thinking. “Alright, I’ll try to teach you. But in the evenings, in my private quarters, after dinner. Not here. The scandal would give me a headache.”

  “Agreed. You will begin to teach me after dinner.”

  The deal with the Dhemon was struck.

  For the first few evenings, Sam had fun. She had a talent for the game, although she was not looking far enough ahead, she did not lose by much.

  Kassil used the opportunity to learn more about her. He asked her about her work on the station, and she told him. She performed for large groups of men, songs from a hundred worlds. Driving them to lust, to increase the profits of the brothel. It had been an extremely successful idea He asked her why she was being exiled, and she told him of the price on her head and the attempts on her life.

  She told him of her species, and the specific modifications that had been made to her in an effort to hide her. Pigments increased in her skin to defend her from higher UV rays, the pointed ears that were cosmetic and the teeth that were her last line of defense.

  Days passed with Etion and the etiquette lessons, and evenings were spent learning Mintag. She was getting pretty good when everything changed on the sixth day.

  She had been thwarted in her pursuit of an orgasm earlier that day, when Etion had burst into her quarters to find her splayed on her back with one hand tucked between her thighs, fingers rotating around her clit.

  When he had finished laughing at her expression, he hustled her into the shower and got her ready for her dinner date. Kassil was perplexed by Etion’s good mood, and Sam’s grim one. He dismissed her escort and they sat down to eat, followed by the lessons as they had for the last week.

  One moment they were arguing about the legality of her last move on the board, and the next she was in his arms.

  Chapter 8

  His mouth parted hers, his tongue thrusting inside, past her fangs to toy with her own. She moaned and arched her body into his, feeling his arousal pressing against her belly. Her hips rubbed against him, and his grip on her shoulders tightened painfully.

  Sam’s fingers fumbled with the fastenings on his uniform, and he impatiently took her hands away to strip himself.

  As the muscles of his chest came into view, Sam took a gulping breath. Oh, wow. His physiology was slightly different than a human male’s, but really, really impressive. Bands of muscle wrapped around his torso and lead to his abdomen. The flat plane of his belly drew her gaze, and she blushed furiously as his uniform trousers dropped to the floor. His cock stood at attention, a bead of precum on the tip of the dark and pulsing flesh. She was not an expert at male anatomy, but he seemed to be a particularly impressive specimen. She swallowed nervously.

  She felt a wetness slicking the juncture of her thighs and her skin turned a furious bronze as she blushed to the roots of her…well, everything.

  He stepped forward to take care of her clothing and she stepped back out of reflex, her eyes on his member as it advanced. She heard a chuckle from above her and jerked her chin up to meet his amused gaze. His yellow eyes held her motionless as he reached out to caress her jaw, her neck. Then, his fingers nudged aside the collar of her blouse.

  The clothing that she wrestled herself into every morning fell like autumn leaves, drifting to the floor in a bright silken heap. When she was down to the corset and chemise, he hummed with delight as her nipples were outlined against the gossamer fabric.

  She shuddered and gasped as his hands cupped her breasts where they edged out of the corset, kneading gently. His thumb and forefinger tugged softly at her nipples and her eyes closed as she surrendered to his hands.

  Sam’s breath came faster, her chest rising and falling, thrusting her breasts farther into his hands. She finally opened her eyes and found him watching her face with rapt attention. As she faced him with stunned amazement prevalent in her expression, he drew her into his arms once again for a kiss.

  His lips trailed from her mouth, down her jaw line, to the delicate column of her throat, where he gnawed at the cords of her neck. As his teeth closed on her, her legs buckled and she went limp in his arms.

  Her corset fell away and her chemise was pushed off of her shoulders and down to her hips, snagging for a moment before sliding to the floor with a whisper.

  The room spun around her as she was lifted from a standing position, to find herself flat on her back in his bed. One knee raised in reflex as he came down next to her, making no move to cover her with his body. She was trembling. Partially in excitement, and partially in terror. This was it. There was no stopping now.

  Kassil traced one calloused finger from her forehead, down her nose, caressing her lips, teasing her neck, winding a path of heat wherever he touched. Hot, moist breath hissed through her lips. His finger teased one breast at a time, then trailed to mark her ribs, it swirled around her navel and she heard that dark chuckle
again as her stomach sucked in violent response to the sensation.

  Her back arched as the teasing finger continued down past her belly and trailed through the tangle of hair that guarded her secrets. Her chest was heaving violently as his finger touched on the delicate tissue that had been thwarted earlier. Her green gaze met his knowledge-filled eyes as he pressed and twisted his appendage on the bud at the top of her sex. She watched him helplessly as her body went over the edge, her eyes going blind with pleasure.

  The next thing she was aware of was his body, heavy and covering hers. His legs moving between hers, parting her slick thighs with his straining flesh. She felt the head of his cock nudging at her folds, using her moisture to ease his way as he lodged in her entrance. One of his hands fisted in her hair and pulled her head back.

  “Look at me. I want your eyes on me as I fuck you.” His words were crude, but the feeling of him entering her was indescribable. She watched his face grow distant with sensation as his hips drew back, and then he was thrusting forward, parting her maidenhead and sliding home within the tightness of her unused passage.

  She shrieked, pain radiating from her as she felt the hardness of a man within her for the first time. Her hands pushed at his shoulders and tears ran from her eyes as her hips fought to dislodge him.

  “Shh, shh, relax. It will be better soon, shh.” His voice washed over her as she fought the pain. He had stopped moving as she began to fight, and was dropping soft kisses on her face and neck to calm her.

  She tried to control her breathing, her sobs tapering off as tears leaked from her eyes. She still hurt, but it was becoming bearable.

  He thrust slowly, gliding back and forth within her, and although the pain was still there, the pleasure was making itself known once again. Her knees fell further apart and he went even deeper within her. His cock moved within her slowly, until she began to sigh and moan once again. Then, he plunged deep. His hips driving him as far within her as he could. Merging their bodies until she could not tell where he left off and she began.