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  Arcros grabbed her waist while he moved and lifted her until she was balancing on her elbows with her knees wide, his access to her unrestricted.

  With every thrust, her breasts scraped the bedding, so she cupped them in her hands to stop the delicate torture. It became awkward after only a few seconds, so she shifted and let them continue to add a level of sensation to the moment.

  Arcros’s hands moved to take over, and his fingers stroked, squeezed and flicked at her sensitive nipples.

  Inside her, his cock was pressing against all the right places as he surged forward and dragged back.

  Billie leaned forward and lunged back as he stroked into her over and over. The hard smack of their bodies made her self-conscious, but she would deal with it after the tight spiral of pleasure broke.

  It could have been minutes or hours that they moved together, but the moment that she screamed, it was echoed by his roar and the spiral of pleasure exploded behind her eyes.

  Gasping and lying under the weight of his body, she smiled. The sweat on her back was slick between them, and when he groaned, a laugh squeezed out of her lungs. She could feel the muscles of her sex fluttering and clasping him followed by a slight jerk every time.

  “Gods, what are you doing to me?”

  She snickered, “It could be a Terran-female peculiarity, but I think that you just led a sheltered life.”

  He laughed and slid a hand down her damp flank, slapping her lightly. “I believe that taking shelter within you is just the thing.”

  Billie tried to push herself up, but he let more of his bodyweight rest on her. “Cheater.”

  “I like you right where you are.”

  She shifted slightly so that her breasts were no longer directly crushed beneath her. The feel of him inside her was strange—a fantasy made real, but the resurgence of his erection caught her by surprise.

  “That’s cheating too.”

  His chuckle rippled through her as he pressed a kiss to her ear. “It isn’t cheating if we both win.”

  His slight shift pushed him further into her, and she grunted. To her relief and disappointment, he withdrew entirely.

  Arcros pulled her up and turned her, arranging her limbs so that her arms were looped around his neck and she straddled his hips.

  He slid into her again and cupped her buttocks, lifting and dropping her in a slow rhythm. Her thighs flexed and trembled as she caught onto his pattern, but when he kissed her, she forgot the minor aches and discomforts and simply concentrated on being with him.

  She reached around his chest, her nails dug into his back as a shivering orgasm swept through her. He took her soft whimper into his mouth and gave her a groan in return as short, sharp pulses inside her indicated his own release.

  Billie pulled away from his kiss and rested her head on his chest. There was the coppery tang of blood in the air. Her fingertips were stained. “I am sorry. I got a little carried away.”

  His chest was still heaving in an effort to regain his breath. Arcros chuckled softly, stroking her hair and back in slow even movements.

  Surprised by the soft motion, she looked up at him an instant before a dizzy darkness struck her. She tried to ask him what was happening, but he caught her as she dropped.

  “Wake up, child. You have a busy day ahead of you, and it is best that we get started.”

  The voice was female and definitely not Arcros.

  Billie sat up and looked around her. The bedding was mussed, and when she slyly slid her leg to one side, it was warm where Arcros had been sleeping.

  The Oefric woman had dark hair liberally peppered with snow white strands. She had a bundle of fabric over one arm and the same dark eyes as Arcros.

  “Who are you, madam?”

  “Aciel Dlenner. You are being courted by my son.” The woman was definitely amused.

  “Courted?”

  “It sounds so much better than banged. Now, come along, we have a lot to do today. Planning a bonding ceremony on such short notice is not easy.”

  Billie blinked as she tried to wake up. “Bonding ceremony?”

  “He did say that you don’t wake up easily.” Aciel smiled and draped the clothing at the foot of the bed. Her next step was to flip the sheets off Billie and help her to her feet.

  Swaying, naked and surprisingly covered with bite marks, Billie stumbled toward the lav with Aciel’s help.

  A brisk shower, the use of the facilities and a hair brush later, Billie was almost awake.

  Aciel brought in the clothing, and in a few minutes, Billie was wearing loose trousers, a tunic that fell to mid-knee and undergarments that wrapped and supported her lightly bruised breasts.

  “Arcros insisted that you be given boots to wear.” Aciel smiled and retrieved the articles from the foot of the bed.

  “That was very nice of him. Is there a sash for this tunic?”

  Aciel looked around and picked up the fabric that had colour matched the bedding perfectly. “There you go.”

  Dressed and moderately more alert, Billie bowed in the Enforcer fashion. “I am pleased to meet you, Aciel. Call me Billie.”

  “Billie. We have an entire day to get through. Will you come with me?”

  “Of course. Is there somewhere along the way that we can get something to eat?”

  Aciel smiled and nodded her head. “I now owe Arcros five credits. I was sure that a woman who had just been told that she was to wed the Clan Chief of Chysan would be more interested in planning than in food. He disagreed.”

  Billie shrugged. “He has known me for quite some time. I am predictable. I don’t wake up easily, and I am usually hungry.”

  Aciel waved for her to precede her, so Billie headed for the office door.

  Three men stopped what they were discussing to look at her, but she was interested in only one. Arcros left his conversational companions and came directly to her, taking her in his arms and kissing her possessively.

  Aciel cleared her throat. “There is enough time for that later, son. For now, I need to take your woman to get properly outfitted as well as settled at our home for the duration.”

  Billie felt his hands clench on her waist.

  “She stays with me.”

  Looking up at him, she saw a belligerent determination.

  His mother ignored that and reached up to feel his forehead. “Your temperature is down. She has taken the edge off your rut. You can wait a few days.”

  Arcros kissed her again. “A few days only. If she is not back here by the weekend, I will come to get her. Are you fine staying with my parents, Billie?”

  She winked, “I can sleep anywhere.”

  He sighed. “True, at the most inconvenient times. Mother, don’t let her dangle off any bridges, she will pass right out and then ask you what the problem is.”

  Aciel frowned, “I doubt it will come up, son. Now, out of our way, I have to get your lady fed and clothed before we do anything else.”

  Aciel pried her out of Arcros’s grip and shooed her out the door and down the hallway. Instead of the stairs, Aciel pushed on a brick, entering the door that opened to the elevator.

  “He didn’t mention the elevator last night.”

  “He wouldn’t mention the lift. Any chance he had to hold onto you is one he would take.” Aciel’s lips were curved in a smile.

  As the lift took them down to the main floor, Billie began to wake up. “Where are you taking me?”

  “First, some breakfast, then a dressmaker and a trip to the Matchmaker will be our final stop.” Aciel led the way to a small skimmer. The moment that Billie was tucked in, she hit the air jets, and they were off.

  Chysan in daylight was different than the wild gloom of the evening. The sky was pale. It was streaked with lavender and blue.

  Billie stared up while Aciel steered the skimmer, and her gaze caught something incredible.

  Huge beasts flew in the sky, their wings covering more than twenty feet from tip to tip. Their bodies were long, s
lim rectangles with no distinct markings and a tail that stretched into the distance. From nose to tip, they would be close to forty feet. Their colouring graded from dark at the wingtip, paler on the body and darker at the tip of the tail. Each creature sported a different colour, making the flock of them a graceful rainbow.

  “What are those?”

  Aciel didn’t even look up. “The fliers. We haven’t been able to stick on a name. Some have suggested the Chysan Angels, but it doesn’t suit.”

  Billie looked skyward again and sent the thought, What are you?

  When a series of images began to pour through her thoughts, she almost fell out of the skimmer.

  Swallowing nervously, she looked to Aciel and then back to the sky. Her entire life she had spoken to animals in her mind, but the result had only vaguely been understandable.

  This communication she could understand, they were fliers and nothing more. They were also glad that she was there. Talking to the Oefric was not within their abilities.

  “Billie, I asked if you had any questions about the city.” Aciel was frowning as they approached a large collection of buildings in a neat and orderly arrangement.

  “Uh. No. Not about that.” Suddenly confused, she sat back in her seat and waited for her sanity to return.

  Chapter Six

  Breakfast was a quick affair. Tea, biscuits and some thin, cured meat stood in for actual food. Billie knew that she would be hungry within an hour, but she smiled at Aciel, and they walked to the dressmaker.

  “I am still not sure as to why there is all this fuss. I am not sure how long the Alliance is going to let me stay here.”

  Aciel gave her a serious look. “They have handed you completely over to my son, and since you are his choice, I am trying to make you comfortable, but if you don’t stop fidgeting, Zeela will stick you with a pin.”

  Billie put her hands out at her sides and assumed a resting attention.

  The seamstress sighed in relief and quickly pinned the skirt of the garment into place. It was relatively simple, a long dress with a huge swath of fabric for the skirt and a long dark velvet vest that covered her to her knees and hugged her body faithfully before opening at mid-thigh.

  Her cleavage would be front and centre in the tight vest, but the thin silk of the gown would cover most of it.

  The communication with the fliers still baffled her. She remembered something about her induction into the Volunteers mentioning that she was a low-level communicator but nothing else. She was going to have to look into her records when she got the chance. If there was something underlying her normal penchant for beasts, she really needed to know it before she married a guy who could go fuzzy at will.

  The seamstress asked, “What was your occupation?”

  Billie smiled, “I met Arcros at work, does that answer your question?”

  Zeela shook her head, “I don’t understand. Are you a dispatcher for the Enforcers?”

  Aciel crossed her arms over her chest and answered for her, “No, Zeela. Wilhelmina is an Enforcer. She can use forty-nine weapons common in the Alliance, hike, fight and rescue just as well as the men can. Her species does not have as many gender restrictions as ours does.”

  Zeela whistled softly. “That is either a good or a bad thing. I can’t decide.”

  Billie grinned, “You don’t have to decide, it is what it is.”

  With the pinning finished, Zeela stood back, “What is your family crest?”

  Billie paused for a moment, then smiled, “Do you have a com unit or a data display?”

  Zeela nodded. “This way. Move carefully, we don’t want you bleeding on that gown.”

  She gathered the gown in her hands and carefully moved off the podium.

  Aciel watched from the seat near the fitting station as Billie made her way to the data station.

  A few keystrokes brought up her family crest. It was the crossed staff and dagger of the Enforcers over a stylized version of the Terran solar system.

  “That is your family crest?” Zeela was surprised.

  “It is as close as I get. My family doesn’t have a crest, and since Terra is a protectorate, we are not officially part of the Alliance even though the councils have approved our Champions. So, that is my home and the Enforcers are my people, ergo it is my crest.”

  Zeela nodded. “I can work with it. Now, for the rest of your clothing, what are your preferences?”

  “Tunics and trousers with vests that allow me freedom from the fabric.”

  Zeela touched the screen and brought up samples of clothing. They swiftly ran through the selections until the seamstress had a good idea of what Billie wanted.

  Aciel spoke from behind them. “She will need gowns too, though she doesn’t like them much. Arcros is still clan chief, and she needs to dress accordingly for events, bonding ceremonies and the like.”

  Billie had jumped when she first spoke, but she surrendered to the logic of the gowns in her wardrobe.

  “Another fitting in a week for the formal gowns, and I will have the bonding gown ready by tomorrow evening.” Zeela smiled. “The trousers and tunics will be made from the measurements I have taken today. The vests will be modeled on this one.”

  Billie sighed happily. “Wonderful, now, where do I pay?”

  The two older women looked at each other.

  Aciel sighed, “Arcros is paying for it all. It is traditional for the female’s family to pay, but considering that you are alone, it is our honour to provide for you before the bonding.”

  Billie shrugged. “Whatever. Now, please help me out of this, I don’t want to ruin the gown before the big event.”

  As the women helped her, Billie noted that her mind was refusing to acknowledge that she was actually on Chysan and that Arcros Dlenner wanted her forever. He said it, his mother said it and it seemed that everyone else accepted it as a reality.

  After all the things she had seen since she left the Earth, this was the most unbelievable and that was saying something.

  With the clasps freed and the silk eased from her shoulders, she quickly got back into the clothing she had arrived in. Her feet sighed happily in the boots, and by the time she completed tugging everything into place, Aciel was looking her over with satisfaction.

  “I hate to ask this, Aciel, but why are you smiling?”

  “I thought you might have a clotting disorder this morning, but your bruises are moving toward healing at a satisfactory pace.”

  Billie paused and thought about it. Bruises, oh god. A blush filled her cheeks as she realized that Arcros’s mother was referring to the finger and teeth marks left on her body from the night before.

  “Ah, well, no one with a compromised immune system would be allowed into the Enforcers. We have enough anti-virals zipping through our systems to deflect most standard infections, but physical repair is a primary concern.” She tried to be nonchalant, but her cheeks were scarlet.

  Aciel laughed and took her hand. “It was not meant to offend. It is just good to know that my son’s common sense did not abandon him. A male in rut cannot be trusted to know what is suitable. Many couples have started in the heat of hormones and ended up bonded to a male or female they would not normally consort with.”

  “I see. Well, as I met your son on the job, we were consorting for a few years before this came up.” She followed Aciel, but she felt that she had a six-year-old’s pout on her face.

  “Yes, but he only went into rut immediately before he was forced to resign. He could not work with you on a daily basis without acting on his impulses, and at the time, our physicians were sure that we could cure him.”

  Her soon-to-be mother-in-law walked back to the skimmer with her, and Billie was having a hard time being polite. Instead, she opted for amused. “You tried to cure him of his attraction to me?”

  “Three years. We tried everything, but in the end, nothing would do but to have you at his side and in his bed.”

  Billie sat to one side and contemp
lated the fifteen methods in which she could incapacitate Aciel at that moment.

  The com in the skimmer beeped, and when she answered it, Aciel was surprised.

  “Stop taunting her, Mother. You are irritating her, and she is not one to hold onto her temper past a certain point.” Arcros’s voice was amused and a little wary.

  “What are you talking about, how can you know what I am saying to her?”

  “We are linked mates, Mother. I can get hints of her rage from here. Talk about the weather. It will be a much safer topic, or ask her about herself. That might distract her from contemplating smashing your head into the console.” Arcros chuckled, “Have a good day, Billie, and remember she is my mother. We need her alive.”

  Billie grinned. “Of course, Captain Dlenner. I will return her breathing, as ordered.”

  “Thank you, Officer Praco.”

  He disconnected with a click, leaving Billie with a nervous Aciel.

  Billie sighed, “No woman wants to hear that her soon-to-be in-laws tried to cure her prospective mate. Now, I still don’t believe that he is going to go through with it, but I am willing to suspend disbelief for the moment and go along with you.”

  Aciel nodded. “I do understand. Were you really contemplating harming me?”

  “Well, I was checking off techniques to silence you in an effort to calm myself. We all fall back on our original training, I suppose. What did you do before bonding to Arcros’s father?”

  “I am a physician. The herbs on Chysan have many differing properties, and I was sure that one of them would be a cure for rut. It wasn’t you that I was trying to break him of, per se. Simply freeing our males from the locked-in reactions that come along with their mating urges is a pursuit that many physicians have engaged in.”

  “It sounds like a great goal. Our physicians only got a grip on female reproduction in the last century. We are still pretty new at this.” Billie smiled brightly.

  “You are from a young species?”

  “Very young. We made it into space less than five decades ago and would never have gotten to the stars this early without the intervention of the Alliance.”