Authors: Lisanne Norman
* * *
Jaisa's body arched against him, her keen of anguish almost deafening. Then shock hit her and she slumped in defeat, unable to accept what she'd just seen.
"Go!" hissed Goran, waiting for a second shot at the child. "Get back to the van!"
Lifting Jaisa free of the ground, Rezac backed down the garden. He got as far as the gate before she started to fight him again.
"You killed them!" Her voice was a high-pitched scream of agony. She struggled to free her arms, lifting her feet and trying to rake his legs with her claws. "You killed them, Rezac!" she howled.
Stop it, Jaisa,
he sent.
We couldn't save them. Better we killed them than the Valtegans. At least it was quick.
Inwardly he began to curse. Of all the lousy breaks, hers had to be the worst.
He tightened his grip, trying to keep her struggles under control. "Shut up, damn it, Jaisa! You'll draw the Valtegans to us!" He had to drag her now as her feet sought for purchase in the snow-covered grass.
"Let me go!" she howled, baring her teeth as she turned her head toward his unprotected face and neck. "Let me go, Rezac! I'll kill you for this!" She snapped at him, her head darting for his throat as she tried to deliver a mortal wound.
Swearing, he pulled back just in time. Ahead of them, Tiernay was standing at the open gate.
"What the hell's up with her?" he demanded, stepping forward.
"Cover me," Rezac ordered, stuffing his gun in its holster as he struggled with Jaisa. Scooping her up, he threw her over his shoulder and ran down the alleyway, stopping only when he reached the side door of the van. Willing hands pulled him inside.
"Let me go!" Jaisa snarled, kicking and struggling as he tried to swing her down to the floor. "Let me go, damn you! My brother's still out there!"
Rezac's head spun as she landed a crack across his forehead with her fist. He lost his footing and tripped, crashing down to the floor of the van on top of her. Stunned, they lay there as the rest of the team tumbled in. Goran was last. The van accelerated violently, throwing them all backward.
"Get that bloody door shut!" ordered Goran. "Any pursuit, Maro?" he yelled at the driver.
"None yet! They expected us to shoot it out!" he yelled over his shoulder.
Rezac rolled off Jaisa and scrambled up onto his hands and knees. "You all right?" he asked. When he got no reply, he touched her shoulder. "Jaisa, are you all right?"
Muted sobs came from her as she jerked away from him.
Goran pushed himself up off the van floor, helping the figure beside him to sit up. "Jaisa, we got your brother," he said. "Somehow he got away and ran in the right direction."
Jaisa raised her head and peered at the small shape crawling toward her.
"Jaisa?" His voice was small and very unsteady.
"Oh, Tal!" she wept as the cub flung himself into her arms.
The van took a corner at speed, spinning violently on the icy road, pitching them from side to side until it finally recovered and righted itself.
"Watch it!" yelled Goran, scrambling his way up front to join his own people. Tiernay followed close behind.
On all fours, Rezac crawled forward to join them.
"What happened back there?" asked Tiernay. "Where are Jaisa's parents? Did the Valtegans kill them?"
Rezac glanced at Goran.
"We had to do it," Goran said, keeping his voice low. "We walked into a trap. There were just too many of them."
"You
killed
them?"
"Would you rather leave them for the Valtegans to torture?" asked Rezac.
"It was quick and clean," said Goran. "We couldn't leave them alive. They knew too much."
"In the name of the Gods, we came to rescue them, not kill them!"
Goran shrugged. "Rescue if we could, kill if we couldn't."
"Dammit, Goran, you had no right to do that!"
"How'd you manage to get the cub?" asked Rezac, ignoring Tiernay's outburst.
"He got real lucky," said Goran, staring at Tiernay with narrowed eyes. "I'm in charge out here, not you. We might not have rescued her parents, but we saved lives tonight, boy, the cub's for one. Told you, you got to be hard to lead. Now you know just how hard."
"You'd have killed her brother, too?" Tiernay asked in disbelief.
"You're nothing but murderers," said Zashou angrily. "Hired killers!"
"You got it," said Goran. "Hired to protect you with our own lives." He turned his head to look at her. "We're at war, girl. Those lizards'll turn you into just so much dead meat as quick as look at you. Wouldn't put it past them to eat you, too! Killing them was the kindest thing we could do for her folks. Hope if ever I'm caught, you'll do the same for me."
"You make me sick, both of you," she said disgustedly, turning her back on them and moving closer to Jaisa and her brother.
Shanka opened his mouth in a grin. "You've tarnished your reputation again, Rezac," he said, putting a protective arm around his mate. "Not doing too well, are you?"
Rezac looked away, trying to keep his hackles from rising. That male had a knack for getting under his skin. He stretched his fingers, claws extending until they were fully flexed.
He felt Goran touch his arm. Forcing his hands to relax, he looked up. The older male was holding out a stim twig. He shook his head.
Goran offered it again. "Go on," he said. "Won't hurt once in a while. That was a good shot back there. You got a steady hand when it counts."
Rezac acknowledged the compliment with a slight movement of his head. Hesitating, he changed his mind about the twig and took it from the older male. Putting it in his mouth, he crushed the end with his back teeth. The slightly bitter taste made him swallow convulsively. Moments later, a feeling of light-headedness swept through him. He spat the twig out into his hand.
"Nice looker, that one," Goran said quietly, ear flicking briefly in Zashou's direction. "Got some strange ideas, but she'll learn. She'll come round to you, don't worry. Females like her prefer strong males." Goran grinned conspiratorially at him.
Rezac looked sideways at him and blinked, trying to focus on his face. "Don't know what you mean," he mumbled, taking several deep breaths in an effort to clear his head.
Goran grinned again. "It only makes your head swim like that the first few times. Try it again now."
Rezac stuck the twig in his pocket. "Maybe later," he said, taking hold of one of the grab ropes as the van swept round another corner.
* * *
Within minutes of the van hitting the back roads, snow began to fall, a blizzard so thick there was no chance of them being followed. Tiernay sat up front to help navigate, mentally checking the road ahead for any other vehicles.
When they finally reached the monastery, Dr. Kimin and her nurse Layul were waiting for them at the tunnel entrance. While Kimin took immediate charge of Jaisa, Layul saw to her brother.
"So you've come to live with us, have you?" he said, taking the cub by the arm and drawing him into the shelter of the tunnel. "I think you'll like it here. I'm taking you up to the surgery to check you out first. Then while they sort out a bed for you, you can have something to eat. You hungry? Of course you are. Cubs your age are always hungry!"
Rezac followed them, listening with half an ear to Layul's steady stream of chatter. It seemed to be working. Already Tal's mind had begun to relax and lose its brittleness.
He stopped in their lounge to grab a bowl of stew and a mug of c'shar from the hot plates before heading for his room. He didn't feel like company, and after being dropped in the snow, his gun needed cleaning as soon as possible. Wiser not to do it in front of the others tonight. Besides, he was tired.
* * *
A knock on the door roused him from sleep. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and looked at the timepiece on the wall. It was the twenty-first hour! Who could want him at this time of night?
Before he even reached the door, he knew it was Jaisa. He could sense the drug-induced calmness that almost kept the grief and terror at bay. Opening the door, he tensed himself for her anger and accusations.
She stood in the dim hallway, ears flicking uncontrollably. "Can I come in?" she asked, looking up and down the hall, obviously hoping not to be noticed.
Rezac stood aside to let her enter. "How's your brother?"
"They didn't hurt him," she said, moving over to the bed and perching on the end of it. "He's still upstairs. Dr. Kimin sedated him and put him up in her room for tonight."
"That's good," he said, closing the door. He waited, knowing she'd tell him why she was here when she was ready.
"Goran told me what the Valtegans do when they're interrogating our people," she said, pulling her toweling robe tighter. She shivered and looked up at him, her eye ridges meeting. "I hadn't realized they were so brutal."
"We're not people to them," he said, returning to his bed and making himself comfortable at the opposite end from her. "We're possessions, and there are plenty of us. What do the deaths of two or three, or even a hundred of us mean to them? Nothing."
"Thank you for saving my mother from that," she said abruptly. "I didn't mean what I said. If I'm ever caught by them, will you do the same for me?"
"We'd all do it for each other," he said. "You've no need to worry."
"Don't leave it to anyone else," she said, tears beginning to roll down her face. "You do it. For me and Tal. I trust you; I know it'll be quick."
Rezac nodded, aware of her distress. He knew he should be doing more to comfort her, but he was at a complete loss as to what to do or say.
She sniffed and scrubbed at her face with the back of her hand as she got up. At the door she stopped, her back still to him. "I just came to say I was sorry."
Rezac sat up. "There's no need. I wish we could have rescued them."
"I know."
"Look, you don't have to leave. You can stay if you want," he said awkwardly.
"I'd like to," she said, turning round. "For the company. There's no one else I can go to."
"Then stay," said Rezac, moving so he could pull the covers back.
She crossed the room and stood beside the bed, hesitating.
He held his hand out. "Come on," he said. "You need to get some sleep."
Taking his hand, she climbed into the bed, curling up at his side as he pulled the covers over them both.
Reaching across her, he turned the light out, gently easing his arm under her head as he lay down. He heard her sigh and felt her relax. A few minutes later, her breathing was slow and regular. It was his turn to sigh. He knew he'd get little sleep that night. He didn't like sharing his bed for more than a few hours, but he felt that he owed her his company for at least tonight.
* * *
He woke with a start, mentally checking the room to see what had wakened him. Nothing. They were alone. The pale light of dawn filtered through the curtains. Then he felt Jaisa's hand traveling slowly across his chest toward his neck. As he took hold of it, she moved her leg, sliding it between his as her tail flicked across him. Where her face lay against his chest, she began to bite him gently.
He reached down, the need to move her leg suddenly becoming urgent. Obligingly, she moved, only to replace her leg with her hand.
With a noise halfway between a growl and a groan of pleasure, Rezac grasped her by the waist and tipped her onto her back. Her robe was pushed unceremoniously aside, and as he lowered himself onto her, she grasped him just as demandingly. Her hands clasped his hips, claw tips pricking his flesh as she pulled him inside her.
"Not so fast!" he gasped, his claws flexing against her back as he tried to slow her down.
Their minds touched, each a little aware of what the other felt. Jaisa returned to biting his chest, her teeth this time not so gentle. He lowered his head, tongue rasping against her jaw then he began to nip her, too. Slowly he let the sensations build. As she began to climax, he could hold back no longer.
* * *
Afterward, she fell asleep, emotionally and physically drained. Making sure she was covered by the blankets, Rezac left her there and headed for the refectory. Collecting his food from the counter, he joined the others at their table.
Tiernay looked up as he sat down. "I don't suppose you've seen Jaisa? She wasn't in her room when I stopped by."
"She's in mine," he said, concentrating on his food. "I left her sleeping."
"I don't believe it!" said Zashou. "She saw you kill her mother! She'd never spend the night with you!"
"Leave him alone, Zashou," said Tiernay. "Neither of them needs to justify their actions to you."
Goran leaned forward and slid a couple of photos from his pocket across the table to her. "You want to know why she went to Rezac? Look at these, girl."
Curious despite herself, Zashou picked them up and turned them over. With an exclamation of horror, she threw them back at Goran. Her chair fell over as she stumbled to her feet, ears plastered back in distress.
"I showed these to Jaisa last night," Goran said, picking them up again. "That's what they do to hostages, that's what we saved them from. Now you know why she went to Rezac last night."
"What you did was despicable!" Zashou said. "Hadn't she suffered enough without you showing her those... horror pictures?"
"She needed to know we're different from the Valtegans," said Goran. "Now leave her alone to get her comfort where she wants. Just because you're too prissy to take up with a real male, don't expect her to be the same!"
"How dare you infer that... Ooh!" Beside herself with rage, Zashou turned and ran from the room.
"Just what do you mean by that?" Shanka growled, pushing his chair back and getting to his feet.
"He meant nothing, Shanka," said Tiernay, fixing Goran with a meaningful stare.
Shanka's tail flicked. "He'd better not," he said, before stalking after his mate.
Tiernay sighed. "Did you have to set them off like that?" he asked Goran. "Whatever you think of her, Goran, Zashou's all right, and we're trying to get Shanka to pull his weight. If we keep baiting each other like this, we'll split the team apart. Leave us to sort out our own internal politics, if you please."
Goran shrugged. "She wanted to know why Jaisa spent the night with Rezac. I told her."
"Well, I'd prefer you not involve yourself like that again. I can handle my own people."
"Whatever you say," said Goran, getting up. "But I've done you a favor. At least now it's me she hates, not Rezac or Jaisa."
Rezac's jerky movements brought Jo instantly awake. As she tried to move away from him, he clutched her closer, beginning to make small noises of distress. She was groggy herself, but she'd picked up enough of his dream to understand what was wrong. His mind had returned to the time before he and Zashou were Leskas, when he'd had to kill Jaisa's mother.
She knew exactly what he'd gone through. She'd had to make a similar decision herself during a raid on one of the Valtegan guard posts on Keiss.
Pulling an arm free, she reached out to touch his face, trying to wake him. She wasted a good couple of minutes till she remembered seeing Carrie grab Kusac by the ear to get his attention. She knew from last night just how sensitive to the touch Sholan ears could be, and Rezac's were no exception. Taking hold of one, she tugged. Nothing. She tried again, then gave up and sank her teeth into the thin flesh near the tip. That produced the desired result.
With a grunt of pain, the ear was flicked from her mouth and his hand came up instinctively to brush her away. Instead, he touched her cheek and froze, eyes flicking open. Face to face, they lay looking at each other.
Jo broke the silence. "You were having a nightmare."
"I know," he said, his voice quiet. She felt him try to block their contact as he tensed, waiting for her to say more.
"It was a brave thing you did, killing Jaisa's mother," she said, letting her hand touch his cheek, replaying her memory of that day on Keiss. "I've had to do it too. She was a friend, and the fear of not killing her outright was the worst part of it."
Rezac let his breath out in a long sigh. "What do you know about our customs?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He could hardly credit what he was doing. Had he lost his senses? He shouldn't even be thinking of this, let along doing it! He ignored that side of his mind, sure beyond doubt that this was what he wanted.
"I know what you know, I just don't know where to find the memory yet."
"Then I'll ask you," he said, lowering his face till his mouth was touching her throat. He began to lick her gently with the tip of his tongue, great long sweeps that sent fire racing through her, the fire that she'd experienced for the first time the night before.
She tilted her head up, lost in a world of shared senses, bounded by the circle of his arms and the covers wrapped around them. His scent filled her nostrils and at this moment, Linked as they were, her sense of smell was as sharp as his. The warmth of his body was like a fire before which the cold that the Valtegans had put within her finally began to melt.
She could feel the texture of his tongue change as he used a different part of it. Now it was rougher, sending even stronger shivers of pleasure coursing through her. Then his teeth closed over her larynx. Her eyes flew open, but with her throat held like this, she could do nothing, see nothing but the ceiling above her.
To be like this is to be at the mercy of the person whose jaws hold you,
he sent.
It's either a death grip— or one of love, when you accept your partner as your lover. I want you as my lover, Jo. Will you have me?
He let her go and raised his head to look at her.
He'd never seemed more alien than he did now. She looked at his face— so nearly human despite its covering of short fur— and wondered what the hell she was doing here, in bed with a member of another species. It was utter madness, an act of pure insanity! Moving her hands, she touched him, letting her fingers push through his pelt and twine themselves in his long belly fur.
She remembered how it had felt when they'd joined, their minds so bound together there had only been
us
. The sensible portion of her mind cut in, asking her if she was prepared to throw herself away on a pair of velvet-brown eyes and a dark, soft pelt. She was shocked to hear herself say,
Yes
.
He began to purr, the sound fuller and slower than the one she'd heard the night before. It seemed to come from deep within the heart of him.
His jaws tightened until she could feel his canines pressing into her flesh, then suddenly, they were gone, and he was covering her face with a multitude of tiny bites and licks. It was erotic yet ticklish. She began to giggle, trying futilely to fend him off.
"Rezac, please, let me catch my breath," she gasped at last.
He moved back, giving her the space she needed to make herself comfortable again. While she did, he propped himself up on one arm, watching her, still purring. "Would you believe you're the first female I've ever asked to be my lover?"
"I'd believe it," she said. "How on earth did you manage to survive so long? So much hurt and anger in you, it's a wonder you didn't try to end it all."
"I couldn't, because of Zashou," he said, looking away for a moment. "To do that would be to kill her as well."
"I hope I haven't complicated your life," she said quietly.
"What if you have?" he countered, moving closer again. "You've brought me the first taste of happiness in a relationship that I've ever known. From you I sense none of the hatred and criticism that Zashou feels for me. You really understand what it was like. The Gods know, I didn't choose my life!"
"I know," she said soothingly, stroking his cheek, loving its velvety texture. Her eyes were becoming heavy as the now familiar lassitude stole through her. "Stop talking and make love to me."
"Make love?" he purred, beginning to kiss her. "What a lovely way to say it. I've never made love before."