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Breft interjected, his tenor diplomatic but lined with steel. “Flencik’s grasp of your language is not very good yet. He meant to say, does our appearance threaten you?”

  “Oh … well…” Amelia struggled for a tactful tone. “Threaten isn’t quite what I meant. When I said you were imposing I meant I’m not accustomed to your great size. You’re much taller than most Earth men. More muscular.” Her face heated at the words. She hoped they didn’t think she was flirting with them.

  The clan relaxed, and Amelia mentally sighed relief. If the Kalquorians found her language confusing, landmines lay waiting within any conversation.

  Rajhir smiled at her, the expression warming his stern face. “Our people have misunderstandings, yes? Earth does no like Kalquor, but we have no harmed any Earthers.”

  Speaking of landmines, Amelia thought, feeling her stomach knot again. Why am I even speaking to them? Earth would have my tongue cut out if they saw me right now.

  She couldn’t seem to keep her mouth shut though. “Your culture is very different from ours. Unfortunately, Earthers have a long history of not accepting what they don’t understand.”

  Her statement prompted another exchange between Rajhir and Breft. After this, Rajhir smiled down at her again as if about to confer a great favor.

  “We will discuss Kalquorian culture with you. We will show you Kalquorian ways. When you know the pleasure we offer, you will understand and accept us. Mataras do no—” he paused and looked at Breft. “Grolic?”

  “Fear,” the Nobek said.

  Rajhir nodded. “Mataras do no fear clans.”

  Matara again. Now Amelia realized why it sounded strange coming from Vrill; the word was Kalquorian. “What are—”

  Saucin Israla’s aide slipped beside her, interrupting the question. The lithe Plasian female inclined her black-maned head toward Amelia before raking greedy eyes over the clan. Once again, Amelia felt herself flush in the presence of overt sexuality. Would she ever relax in this atmosphere of pleasure-seeking decadence?

  “Saucin Israla requires Amelia Ryan,” the aide purred, still looking at the Kalquorians. She glided away, casting glances over her shoulder. Her fur waved as if to beckon them to her.

  The three men ignored the Plasian. Their eyes remained riveted on Amelia. She smiled a nervous apology. “I must go for the presentation. Please excuse me.”

  Amelia turned from the clan, both relieved and disappointed to be escaping. Despite the fear of being so close to the aliens Earth’s government despised with near violent abhorrence, she didn’t lie to herself about enjoying their attention. In fact, she knew her trepidation only fed her interest in them. She was fascinated by how much they resembled her own race.

  Plus, they were so unabashedly masculine. Even repressed Amelia had to admit a stab of desire. No wonder Vrill had become aroused at the mere sight of the Kalquorians.

  She took one step away from the men when a hand slipped around her waist. Before she realized what was happening, Rajhir pulled her backwards and held her against himself. She gasped as the hard muscles of his thighs, abdomen, and chest pressed against her from behind.

  Flencik and Breft moved to surround Amelia, blocking her from the view of the other guests. She stood frozen in shock. Rajhir’s hand flattened against her slender belly, his touch hot against the exposed skin. The heat went straight to her sex, making her gasp.

  The Dramok pinned her against his body so she couldn’t pull away. His other hand stroked her throat with a feather touch. It drifted down, sliding over one round breast and cupping it. His forefinger and thumb massaged the tip of her nipple. The sensitive flesh hardened into a hungry nub and strained against the thin material of her gown. The heat of his touch shot from her breast in a lightning bolt to her sex.

  The surge of undeniable desire snapped Amelia’s paralysis. She gasped and reached to slap his hand away. Breft caught her hands and pressed them to his lips as a smiling Flencik stroked her cheek as if to soothe her. Rajhir switched his attention to her other breast, slipping his fingers inside the dress to pinch the naked nipple. Breft held her hands effortlessly, his lips curling under his mustache in a grin as she tried to pull free. She thought of screaming, but the thought of the Plasians seeing her being ravished by the three men made her cheeks burn with humiliation. The amorous Plasians wouldn’t understand what the fuss was about; sexual play in public was as natural to them as breathing. She’d seen many at the party locked in such embraces already, some indulging in outright public sex. She doubted any would come to her aid. They’d probably cheer the Kalquorians on.

  “Do no be afraid,” Flencik whispered. “You beautiful be. We show you we like.”

  “I don’t – I don’t—” Amelia couldn’t think of what she was supposed to say.

  “It is all right,” Rajhir breathed in her ear. “Be a good girl. We know Earthers do no like others to witness sex pleasuring. You government no discover this. Do no resist and none here will know of our little game.”

  He’d done his homework on Earthers. More than anything, Amelia didn’t want to be seen like this. If Earth found out … her mind shied away from that thought. The consequences were too horrible to contemplate.

  She stopped her struggles, reluctantly surrendering to Rajhir’s demanding touch and praying that no one indeed would see her humiliation. Her unlawful behavior, punishable by torture and death.

  “Good, Amelia Ryan. We wish to pleasure you. Show you we make good friends. No fear.”

  Her heart thundered in her chest as the clan’s leader rubbed each breast in turn, testing their weight and fullness in his heated palms. Flencik’s thumb brushed over her parted lips, his eyes drinking in the sight of his Dramok pulling aside fabric to expose her taut nipples, which flushed rose pink from the attention. An appreciative growl emanated from Breft who brought her fingers to his lips. He sucked each slender digit into his wet, warm mouth.

  Even as she trembled with fear, even as she closed her eyes in shame, Amelia’s insides sent honeyed lava to creep a molten path down her thighs. Desire pulsed through her at the brazen ravishing. As always, her body became a traitor to her better sense, finding pleasure where it had no right to. She tightened her legs together, willing the flow of moisture to stop. Panties had been impossible to wear tonight; the back of the dress dipped too low and the fabric of the gown molded to her skin so smoothly that underwear would have shown with blatant lines. The Plasians already thought her ridiculously uptight. When she’d dressed for tonight, she’d been willing to go nude under the gown so she wouldn’t have to endure the snickers and pitying looks. Now she regretted it. What if the men decided to explore her there, discovering the nakedness, the wetness of her sex? Would her uncontrollable desire encourage them to do more than simply explore with fingers? Would they take her right here in front of the Plasians?

  Flencik caressed a breast when Rajhir held it up to him like an offering. The Imdiko licked his finger and whirled his saliva over her areola. Amelia’s traitorous body responded against her will. She arched, filling his hand with her breast. Had anyone ever touched her with such gentle knowledge? She moaned. “Please…”

  Rajhir’s breath warmed her ear. “You are in so great of need. This is wrong you suffer. We know how your society keeps your people from pleasure nature intends.”

  “I – I have to go,” Amelia whimpered, wishing her voice sounded stronger. She tried to pull away again. The Kalquorians held her still as if to show her their physical power. Another bolt of desire shot through her, along with the instant surrender that had plagued her throughout her life. She trembled and quieted again, not fighting, waiting to see if they would set her free. Only when she surrendered did Flencik tug her dress back into place, hiding her breasts with a rueful smile.

  “We will soon speak again, Amelia Ryan,” Rajhir promised.

  They released her and stepped back to let her pass between them. She hurried towards the still waiting aide who smiled at her as if they shared a secret.
Amelia’s face flamed anew. She knew the aide hadn’t seen what she’d let the Kalquorians do, but no doubt the Plasian knew something had happened. Amelia prayed the moisture between her thighs wasn’t obvious because of the shortness of her skirt. It took all the pride she could muster to not run from the Kalquorians.

  * * * *

  Rajhir watched Amelia rush away through the willowy crowd of Plasian elite. His eyes drank in her lush body, a pleasing collection of soft, pliant curves. Her auburn curtain of hair swayed, offering tantalizing glimpses of smooth skin bared by the backless gown. The tops of her buttocks were round, the shadow between them a teasing invitation. He longed to explore her there, in all the sweet dark places a woman’s body offered. To discover her with fingers, mouth, and sex organs. To uncover all her body’s treasures, to decode its secrets.

  The Dramok had enjoyed his fair share of women. More than his fair share, in fact. So few females of his own kind were left, but first as the son of a councilman and now a councilman himself, he had never lacked for female companionship. His now-ignored distant blood ties to the royal family back on Kalquor had also ensured enough attention to keep him occupied when only the softness of a woman would do.

  The few Kalquorian women still in existence were strong, proud beauties. Every bit as commanding as their male counterparts in most cases, they inspired awe and reverence. Rajhir had entertained many women of different species, but none had ever come close to one of his own.

  It had taken every bit of his longtime friend Ambassador Ospar’s charm to get Rajhir to come to Plasius to meet Amelia Ryan. He and his clan had made the six-week journey on the thin chance that the Earther female would offer hope to his race when none was left. If she was breeding compatible, Ospar had told Rajhir his clan could keep her as their mate.

  “Even if you don’t want her for yourself, you must bring her back to Kalquor. I don’t have to remind you of the duty you have to the Empire, my friend,” Dramok Ospar had said.

  “So we’re reduced to kidnapping,” Rajhir said. He made sure Ospar heard the disgust in his tone.

  “Distasteful as outright abduction may be, we’re out of time. Your own clanmate Flencik has told the emperors and the council’s medical funding committee that there is no hope of restoring our females’ fertility. If the Earther woman is compatible, Kalquor must have her and others like her. I’m already sending out other clans to collect the ones we can get as soon as Flencik confirms compatibility.”

  Honor and Empire. It had been the dominant phrase in Rajhir’s upbringing. He knew his duty better than most, but he also knew when to let it pass. He had thought clanning Amelia Ryan would be one of those duties he would not take up, even if she was compatible to carry his children. Why should he when he could have one of his own species? He was content to enjoy the Earther and to teach her to enjoy men of his race in kind. Then he could take her back to Kalquor and let another clan not so blessed with opportunity have her.

  Now Rajhir wasn’t so sure. Amelia Ryan was smaller than Kalquorian women, fairer-skinned, and with a flaming river of hair. He found her absolutely exotic. Instead of muscular, as even the Kalquorian women were genetically predisposed to being, she was soft with large breasts, a slightly rounded stomach, and bountiful hips. He’d never touched anything so delightful before. Kalquorian women did have yielding breasts like Amelia’s, but otherwise they were hard, powerful women.

  As delightful as Amelia Ryan’s flesh felt, it wasn’t so much her body that gave the Dramok pause. It was that sweet vulnerability in the Earther’s eyes, that instant submission that too few women enjoyed. Kalquorians, male and female alike, were mostly alpha creatures, dominant in some form or another. The way Amelia Ryan had melted against Rajhir, had surrendered so beautifully as her heart thundered wildly in her chest … it had made him hard in an instant. It had also given rise to an almost instinctual urge to take control and care for her to the best of his ability.

  The little enchantress was still weaving her spell over him, even halfway across the room. Rajhir drank in the sight of her flesh glowing in the amber light. He thought of how his brown hand had looked in contrast to the golden mounds of her breasts and the pink of her nipples. He couldn’t wait to touch her burning skin again. Soon, he promised himself. Tonight, if possible. To bury his dark flesh in her pale sweetness, to let her tender, soft flesh enclose him, consume him…

  “The poor woman is terrified,” Flencik said in Kalquorian, interrupting Rajhir’s fantasy. The Imdiko’s voice betrayed his disgust. “Her government has done severe damage to her natural instinct for sexual pleasure. She cannot enjoy what her body craves. It’s abhorrent.”

  Rajhir suppressed a smile. Trust a member of the Imdiko breed to want to rush in and make all the hurts go away, especially someone as caring as his Flencik.

  Breft answered. “Totalitarian regimes, especially fanatically religious ones, have a nasty habit of taking the life out of living.”

  Rajhir found himself unable to tear his eyes from Amelia Ryan. It was as if he’d never seen a woman before, had never bedded a single female in his life. She was exquisite. His status that would eventually attract a Kalquorian lifebringer to join his clan was very much the least thing on his mind right now. The brief encounter with the Earther had been more than enough to charm his often too-cynical heart.

  First things first. We have to determine once and for all if her species is compatible with ours.

  The luscious Earther stood with a group of Plasians next to a draped square suspended on a stand. She spoke to Art Guildmaster Osill, a male with languid, drooping eyes, and the Plasian Saucin herself, Israla. Amelia glanced at the Kalquorians then looked away, blushing furiously.

  She might be afraid of them, but she was every bit as fascinated by them as he was with her. Rajhir said, “They haven’t destroyed all her carnal instincts. They may have even done us a favor with their repression.”

  Flencik blinked. “What makes you think that?”

  “Did you notice how she immediately submits to authority? Asserting complete dominance over her may be what’s called for. As an Earther female, it’s all she’s ever known. She has lived her life in submission to the males that hold all the powerful positions of her society.”

  Breft licked his lips. “I have no problem dominating such a lovely creature. I scented her desire. She wants to be taken.”

  Rajhir raised an eyebrow at his youngest clanmate. Under the careful guidance of the other two men, Breft had gained a great deal of control over his more primal instincts. He was little like the uncivilized youth Rajhir had clanned, his more brutal nature at last tamed. However, a Nobek never truly lost his more feral leanings, and Breft had been more animal than most when they’d met. Violence was the Nobek breed’s second nature.

  Rajhir reassured himself. It’s been years since Breft let his wilder leanings take hold. He learned his lesson with Flencik. He’s not a youngling anymore and I can trust in his maturity. He will be careful with the girl.

  Flencik’s tone grew concerned over Breft’s words. “There are limits to forcing someone to submit to anything, even on Plasius. Saucin Israla might draw the line at coerced medical tests.”

  Rajhir ran his gaze up the long, lovely line of Amelia’s legs. Was it his imagination, or was there moisture glistening on her inner thighs just below her high hemline? He sucked on his lower lip for a moment, imagining her flavor.

  He told his Imdiko, “It would depend on the manner of coercion. If we can get the Earther to let her guard down enough, we may be able to gain a sample of her eggs.”

  “How are we to gain Amelia Ryan’s cooperation if she’s too scared to even speak to us?”

  “Who says either she or the Saucin have to cooperate?” Breft said, the grin on his lean face hungry. “We can take Amelia Ryan back to Kalquor easily. No one here would be the wiser until it was too late. It’s what we came to do anyway.”

  Flencik narrowed his eyes at his clanmate. His heavy br
ow creased. “We are not to take her unless she proves viable. Even then, such action might traumatize her. Earthers are much more fragile than we are. We don’t know if stress damages their reproductive abilities. We need to entice her and win her confidence. We dare not kidnap this Matara.”

  “We don’t know if she can be a Matara, at least for our kind. That’s what we’re here to find out. Whether she agrees to it or not, she must be tested.”

  Rajhir held up his hand to quiet the argument. They immediately fell silent and waited for him to speak.

  He eyed Amelia again. Though not as aggressive as Nobeks, the Dramok breed was the most dominating. The thought of the lovely creature struggling against him and then surrendering to his seduction threatened to arouse Rajhir beyond conscience. He knew the sweetness of such a forceful seduction and felt the possibility given Amelia’s reluctant but eager reaction to their touches. He was sure she could be coerced.

  He kept these thoughts to himself, determined to maintain Flencik’s peace of mind. His gentle Imdiko had to be handled even more carefully in this matter than Breft. Unless Flencik was absolutely sure testing the Earther was to both her and the Empire’s greater good, he would balk no matter what was at stake.

  Rajhir said, “Amelia Ryan’s art has endeared her to the Plasians. To kidnap her from here would strain relations between our peoples. Plasius has been too long a trading partner to risk Israla’s censure.”

  Rajhir thought for a moment before continuing. “We must also remember that if we force Amelia Ryan to take Flencik’s tests against her will and her government discovers it, we risk Earth not letting any more of their females off-planet where we have easier access. We must find a way to gain her trust and compliance.”

  Breft scowled. “What if she refuses to cooperate anyway? Then what?”

  “Then we’ll have no choice but to gain samples through trickery or force.” Flencik opened his mouth, protest written all over his face, and Rajhir added, “Only as a last resort and with the hope it does not damage her.”