have to find out more about Justin first, and
alert Rees before he spilled all to Justin.
“Nope, I didn’t come back for Rees, whoever that is. Or
Rio.”
“No? You said you were looking for Rio.”
Justin shrugged. “I looked up Rio because I need crash
space.”
Braden gestured with his ale. “My crash space is your crash
space. I have a spare bedroom—well, it’s more like a closet with a bed in
it—but you’re welcome to it. Had a pretty lady medic living in it for a while,
but then Calder took her away.”
“Calder? Wasn’t he burned or something?”
“Yep. Fixed by the pretty lady medic. Damn lucky asshole.”
“Man, I need to catch up.”
“You do. Rylan moved way the hell out into the mountains,
and Aiden is fucking Ky.”
“Shit.” Justin took a deep drink of ale. “I leave for
twenty-five years and look what happens. I remember Rylan, always sneaking in
to be with Maia, poor guy.”
“Yeah, that’s him.” The existence of Maia was also a pretty
deep secret.
“And Aiden and Ky? Hmm.”
“Together with a lady of the d’Aroth family, believe it or
not. She loves them to pieces. You don’t seem too freaked out about Aiden and
Ky.”
Justin shook his head. “I got used to life on Sirius, where
sex between consenting adults isn’t considered taboo. In fact, they think it’s
healthy. Men and women share equal status, some men pair up with men, some
women with women. Couples, threesomes, foursomes—whatever melts your butter as
long as it’s consensual and no one gets hurt.”
Braden sighed. “Sounds like paradise.”
“It was normal to me. Isn’t much else to do there except
watch trees grow.”
“Hey, I wouldn’t mind having a shitload of sex while I
watched trees grow. But you still haven’t answered me. Why the fuck did you
come back to the hellhole that spawned you?”
Justin drank again and gave Braden a little smile. “To find
someone.”
“Someone. Not a Shareem?”
“Nope.”
“A woman?”
“None of your damn business.”
“Shit. A man?”
Justin laughed. “No, not a man. Don’t worry. Your ass is
safe from me.”
“Good.” Braden drank again. “I don’t mind a threesome, or a
foursome, or a moresome, but not without a lady in the equation.”
“Me either.”
“Friend.” Braden clicked his ale bottle to Justin’s. “And
now that you’ve made me think about it, I had an encounter tonight I couldn’t
finish and if I don’t yank I’m going to die.”
“Don’t let me stop you.”
Braden got off the couch, his cock killing him. “Bedroom’s
behind the door next to the kitchen, clean linen and towels in the cupboard. ’Night.”
Justin nodded, half in amusement, half in sympathy, as
Braden rushed through the doorway into his bedroom. His loincloth came away
before the door even closed, and then followed lube and reliable hand on cock.
He stroked, pulled, massaged, rubbed—fucked his own hand
every which way—and still he couldn’t ease the torture of not being with his
librarian tonight.
* * * * *
Elisa’s spiritual advisor was eighty-two and a beautiful
woman. Sixty years of serenity rested on her face, which bore few lines. Her
sleek silver hair was covered with a translucent veil, and her movements were
soft and gentle.
“My dear, it is perfectly natural for you to have responded
to him,” Lady t’Lenka said. “You are a young woman, and the Shareem were
bred—rather imprudently—to satisfy a taste for the forbidden.”
Elisa rested her hands on her knees, her legs cramping a
little from the kneeling position. The private garden was large, spare and
beautiful, the air cool under the wooden pavilion. Wind chimes whispered, a
fountain trickled nearby and the cushion beneath her knees was covered with the
softest silk.
Elisa knew that the entire garden was protected from Bor
Narga’s sun and sand by a force field, and that the natural beauty of the place
wasn’t natural at all. It was cultivated, crafted,
alert Rees before he spilled all to Justin.
“Nope, I didn’t come back for Rees, whoever that is. Or
Rio.”
“No? You said you were looking for Rio.”
Justin shrugged. “I looked up Rio because I need crash
space.”
Braden gestured with his ale. “My crash space is your crash
space. I have a spare bedroom—well, it’s more like a closet with a bed in
it—but you’re welcome to it. Had a pretty lady medic living in it for a while,
but then Calder took her away.”
“Calder? Wasn’t he burned or something?”
“Yep. Fixed by the pretty lady medic. Damn lucky asshole.”
“Man, I need to catch up.”
“You do. Rylan moved way the hell out into the mountains,
and Aiden is fucking Ky.”
“Shit.” Justin took a deep drink of ale. “I leave for
twenty-five years and look what happens. I remember Rylan, always sneaking in
to be with Maia, poor guy.”
“Yeah, that’s him.” The existence of Maia was also a pretty
deep secret.
“And Aiden and Ky? Hmm.”
“Together with a lady of the d’Aroth family, believe it or
not. She loves them to pieces. You don’t seem too freaked out about Aiden and
Ky.”
Justin shook his head. “I got used to life on Sirius, where
sex between consenting adults isn’t considered taboo. In fact, they think it’s
healthy. Men and women share equal status, some men pair up with men, some
women with women. Couples, threesomes, foursomes—whatever melts your butter as
long as it’s consensual and no one gets hurt.”
Braden sighed. “Sounds like paradise.”
“It was normal to me. Isn’t much else to do there except
watch trees grow.”
“Hey, I wouldn’t mind having a shitload of sex while I
watched trees grow. But you still haven’t answered me. Why the fuck did you
come back to the hellhole that spawned you?”
Justin drank again and gave Braden a little smile. “To find
someone.”
“Someone. Not a Shareem?”
“Nope.”
“A woman?”
“None of your damn business.”
“Shit. A man?”
Justin laughed. “No, not a man. Don’t worry. Your ass is
safe from me.”
“Good.” Braden drank again. “I don’t mind a threesome, or a
foursome, or a moresome, but not without a lady in the equation.”
“Me either.”
“Friend.” Braden clicked his ale bottle to Justin’s. “And
now that you’ve made me think about it, I had an encounter tonight I couldn’t
finish and if I don’t yank I’m going to die.”
“Don’t let me stop you.”
Braden got off the couch, his cock killing him. “Bedroom’s
behind the door next to the kitchen, clean linen and towels in the cupboard. ’Night.”
Justin nodded, half in amusement, half in sympathy, as
Braden rushed through the doorway into his bedroom. His loincloth came away
before the door even closed, and then followed lube and reliable hand on cock.
He stroked, pulled, massaged, rubbed—fucked his own hand
every which way—and still he couldn’t ease the torture of not being with his
librarian tonight.
* * * * *
Elisa’s spiritual advisor was eighty-two and a beautiful
woman. Sixty years of serenity rested on her face, which bore few lines. Her
sleek silver hair was covered with a translucent veil, and her movements were
soft and gentle.
“My dear, it is perfectly natural for you to have responded
to him,” Lady t’Lenka said. “You are a young woman, and the Shareem were
bred—rather imprudently—to satisfy a taste for the forbidden.”
Elisa rested her hands on her knees, her legs cramping a
little from the kneeling position. The private garden was large, spare and
beautiful, the air cool under the wooden pavilion. Wind chimes whispered, a
fountain trickled nearby and the cushion beneath her knees was covered with the
softest silk.
Elisa knew that the entire garden was protected from Bor
Narga’s sun and sand by a force field, and that the natural beauty of the place
wasn’t natural at all. It was cultivated, crafted,
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