Studs, page 14
She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything. Unlike any mortal male she’d ever known, this one was her equal. Her partner. Her mate. She’d thought she’d known the truth of those words before, but now the certainty, the absoluteness of this realization struck her with a force stronger than she could have ever imagined.
Without giving up his hold on her, Travis dropped his shorts to the floor. His tongue slid from her mouth and scorched down to find her tits again. Closing her eyes, Charissa enjoyed the sensation of his teeth nipping at her as he tugged and teased her aching buds.
She writhed against Travis, letting go of all the frustration she’d built up during her time in disguise as Justin when she’d yearned for Travis without any hope of touching him. She panted as if she’d just finished a marathon, but no amount of air could calm her beating heart.
He entered her then, hard and fast, shocking her in both the intensity of his entry and the size of his shaft within her vaginal walls. As he thrust into her, rhythmically pounding into her, she thrust back, urging him to go deeper, faster, harder. He pushed up on his hands to stare into her face and she saw how his eyes had darkened and his nostrils flared. Believing him lost to his lust, he surprised her when he lowered his mouth and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Their eyes met and she knew without question she’d do anything for this man. Even if it meant another millennium in the Golden Chamber of Silence.
Sweat dropped from his forehead to her chest and he bent to lick the moisture away. Without a word, he detached himself from her, ripping their connection apart and she started to protest. But her words never made it out of her mouth as he took her around the waist and flipped her onto her stomach, pressing her belly to the warmed surface of the table.
He pressed his body over hers to whisper in her ear. “I’ve wanted to do this from the first second I saw you.”
Joy flashed through her as he held her down with one hand at the small of her back. Lifting her buttocks as much as his hold would allow, she gasped as he found her wet and aching pussy with two fingers of his other hand.
He shoved his fingers into her, caressing her from the inside, rubbing her clit as she mewed soft sounds of need. Running his thumb over her anus, he found entry there as well, matching the steady motion of his fingers. The inferno inside her grew bigger still, rushing toward her release.
Charissa spread her legs further apart to give him better access. When she did so, he replaced his hand with his swollen cock and slipped into her soaked pussy. Holding her hips, he rammed into her, time and time again, and she cried out in delight and conquest. Placing her cheek and flattening her breasts against the smooth tabletop, she reveled in his prowess, his power, his domination of her. Finally, she’d found the man who could take her and make her his.
As she shouted her victory with her climax, his body shuddered as he spilled his seed into her. Shaking, he fell on top of her mixing their sweat along with their fatigue, using her to keep from falling to the floor. His weight on her had her gasping for breath as each of his gasps moved his chest against her back, limiting the space she had to take in air. But she didn’t care as long as their bodies stayed together.
Some time passed before he lifted himself from her. The loss of his touch left her feeling bereft as she pushed up and away from the table.
She faced him, trying to hide her elated smile, and found him glaring at her. “What’s wrong?”
Travis slipped his boxers on and stalked to the other side of the kitchen. “Shit. That should never have happened.” He ran a hand through his tussled hair and dropped his gaze to the floor.
What was wrong with this man? What they’d done had been wonderful, exciting, perfect, and exactly what they’d both wanted. “Why not? Didn’t you enjoy it?” She tipped her head so she could let him know she’d caught the brief grin that had flickered across his face. “You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it.”
“Of course I did.” Lifting his head, the anger was gone; replaced by another emotion harder for her to understand. “But you’re an employee. And I don’t want any involvements right now. Especially not with an employee.”
The Anger emotion flared in her and, as she’d been taught since childhood, she stamped it into submission. Barely. “Then why did you hire me?”
He frowned as if he didn’t know the answer to her question. “I don’t know. I guess I shouldn’t have. Maybe we should just consider this—all of this—a mistake. I’ll get you a ride back into town first thing in the morning.”
“No, you won’t.”
A sparkle of curiosity mixed with irritation in his eyes. “Yeah. I will. You’ve got my word on—”
A hard pounding on the kitchen door made them both jump. Travis hurriedly threw her lingerie top to her and she slipped it over her head. Picking up the thong, she studied the torn piece of material and shrugged. “What a waste. I didn’t get to wear this very long.” She couldn’t help but grin as she twirled the flimsy piece of fabric around her first finger. Travis grabbed a pair of jeans from a basket sitting next to the door and yanked them on.
“Travis! Hey, Travis! We’ve got a problem. Go Fly Boy’s limping.”
“Get the vet out to see him and I’ll be right there.” Taking her by the shoulders, Travis spun her toward the swinging door to propel her toward it and hissed, “Get back to your room and stay there until the morning.”
“Now wait a second. You can’t order me around!” But she was already through the swinging doors and into the room with the long table before she could finish her sentence. “Humph! How dare he treat me so rudely.” Whirling around, she started back through the door and found the kitchen empty. The outside door stood wide open and, for a moment, she considered following Travis. Until she remembered her attire. “Doaga!” Narrowing her eyes to see into the darkness, she saw Travis and Billy heading toward one of the barns. “Okay, Travis, I’ll let you get away with your bad behavior this time, but not ever again.” Tossing her hair over her shoulders, she headed for her bedroom.
Chapter Eight
“This is reprehensible! Unforgivable! Intolerable!”
Yahtan, the oldest member of the Matlantian Council of Elders, sighed and pulled on his green beard. Retirement from the Council loomed over him and he couldn’t wait to retire on one of the small Matlantian moons circling their home world. At last, peace and quiet would be his. “Really, Geisa, you’re letting your emotions take control of you. We can hardly punish Charissa or Riciseon for playing with emotions if you can’t handle your own.”
He saw the ire flash in her eyes before she hid it from view. “Forgive me, Yahtan. I don’t know what came over me.”
“The same thing that’s come over most of us since the mortals began developing, building their civilizations, establishing cultures and the like.” Altalia scanned the six elders seated at the panel. “For some unknown reason, the more advances the humans make, the more we lose control of our emotions.”
“So true, Altalia. So true.” Yahtan lifted the crystal blue goblet in front of him and drank a sip. “Once they gave up believing in gods, believing in us, our power over them and our control over ourselves weakened. But we must strive to fulfill our duties.”
“The first of which is on our agenda.” Laneon, the silent one of the Elders who rarely spoke except when spoken to, offered his opinion. “Riciseon and Charissa escaped from the Golden Chamber of Silence. Yet instead of coming home, they struck out over Earth and have interacted with its people again. What shall we do about them?”
“Throw them back into the Chamber?” Piiies, a new member on the council, slumped down in his chair as the others settled cold glares on her. “Then what?”
Yahtan leaned over his holographic scroll and read what he’d already read a hundred times before. “Riciseon isn’t interacting as much as his sister. But Charissa’s situation is different. She’s after a human man.”
“So what’s new about that?” Altalia laughed. “She’s always after men, Matlantians and Earthlings.”
Yahtan tossed her an exasperated look. “As I said, it’s different this time. She wants this one as a mate.” As he’d expected, the members gasped at the outrageous idea. Did they think their shock would change the reality of the situation?
“You must be joking.” Altalia raised an imperious eyebrow over her penetrating green eyes. “Just because she’s had sex with him doesn’t mean she wants to take him as her mate.”
“I’m well aware of the distinction, Altalia.” Yahtan had never gotten along well with Altalia and this situation wasn’t helping. “But it’s true. Charissa wants to take this man as her relationship partner.”
Geisa and the others shook their heads in disbelief and determination. “We must not allow her to do so. What would happen to the Matlantian race if we all did such a horrendous thing?”
As if they all didn’t know the answer to her question. Sometimes Geisa’s thousand-year-old youth wore on him. “Our race is struggling to survive as it is. You know that, Geisa. But you’re correct. We can’t allow her to do this.”
“I disagree with the rules against humans and Matlantians intermixing.” She received stark, hard glares for her assertion, but continued, “From my careful observations of the past thousand years, their people have made great progress. In fact, some of their inventions rival our own. But as for Charissa taking one as a mate, I find it difficult to believe.” Altalia ran her hand over the holographic writing to make it disappear. “Therefore, I think we need to ascertain the truth.”
Yahtan groaned his displeasure at Altalia’s questioning of his facts and received a curious glance from Geisa. He needed to watch his reactions better. He, too, found keeping his emotions in check harder to do nowadays. “Very well, Altalia. What do you suggest?”
“I suggest we send an emissary to see what’s truly going on down there.” Altalia snapped her fingers and a small, troll-like creature appeared next to her. “I’ll send my dirt faery, Boggens, to Earth to check up on our fellow Matlantians.”
Yahtan scrutinized the faery. Mud-colored, wrinkled skin covered his round, foot-tall body while two enormous orange oval eyes stared back at him. One short strand of purple hair stuck straight up from the top of his otherwise bald head while dark red bat-like wings flapped against his body. Dirt faeries were colorful, although not pleasing to the eye.
Geisa reached out to pet the faery. “You can’t send a dirt faery. No human for thousands of years has ever seen a dirt faery. They may think he’s one of those aliens from Mars or whatever they go on about so much. If they see him, they may lock him away. Or dissect him.” Geisa yanked her hand away as the faery snapped at her fingers.
Yahtan smiled as much of a tolerant smile as he could force himself to do. “You’ve watched too many of the Mankind’s science fiction movies.”
“But she does have a point,” interjected Laneon.
“Do not worry.” Altalia met Yahtan’s forceful gaze with one of her own. “He won’t be seen.”
Yahtan bored of these sessions so quickly now. Turning in his chair to face everyone, he inclined his head toward Altalia. “Very well, then. We shall cast our votes. Who among us agrees with Altalia’s plan? Raise your hand if you do.”
Six hands shot into the air. He acknowledged her victory with a quick nod of his head. “It’s done. Altalia, we’ll leave it in your hands to ready your faery for his mission. Have him return soon. I want this matter cleared up before I go into retirement.”
“As you say, Yahtan.” Altalia rose, waved at Boggens to follow her and exited from the Council Room. “Come, Boggens. Let me explain to you what you must do.”
****
Charissa woke with a start, eyes wide as she took in the comfortably furnished room around her. Sunlight broke through the eastern window, warming her from the cold nightmare she’d left behind her. More than once she’d dreamed of the Council sending her and Riciseon back into the Golden Chamber of Silence for another millennium.
Shaking herself to rid her body of the disconcerting memory, she threw off the quilted comforter and jumped to her feet. Spinning around, she laughed like a giddy schoolgirl anticipating her first date. Because of Travis, she could look at life in a different way. Now she could plan for her future.
They’d had sex. No, she corrected herself. They’d made love. The difference between the dirty rutting she’d done with humans and fellow Matlantians in the past did not compare to the way she and Travis had come together last night. Now she knew what the Love emotion was all about.
With a snap of her fingers, her body was refreshed and clothed in presentable ranch attire. She inspected herself in the full-length mirror and smiled at what she saw. Twisting around to check her behind, she ran her hand over the tight jeans that accented her rounded bottom, holding her buttocks firm, yet still letting them jiggle enough to catch a man’s eyes. The Matlantians should have invented jeans, she mused. The steel-toed boots she’d copied from the hired hands’ attire, although perfect for the work ahead, assaulted her fashion taste, but she knew any other shoes wouldn’t rank well with the cowboys. One did have to make sacrifices at times.
Standing face forward, she studied the shirt. The plaid pattern was something she’d started wearing when she’d appeared as Justin. But she wasn’t an old man any longer and she’d wasn’t about to dress like one any more. Snapping her fingers again, the plaid shirt vanished, replaced by a silky blue material that clung to the curves of her breasts. But the attire needed one more thing. Knowing how much Travis had enjoyed her tits last night, she unbuttoned the top three buttons. Just enough to show the top of her cleavage and give a little peek at the lacy bra she wore underneath. Whether a Neanderthal, a Matlantian or a cowboy, men were all alike. They liked looking at a woman’s boobs. Satisfied with her appearance, she rushed to the barn.
As she’d assumed, Charissa found Travis and the vet examining Adonis. Another horse might have had a problem last night, but she’d known Travis would stick with his number one problem: getting Adonis to breed while Princess was in heat. Travis and Doc stood next to Adonis as they went over the problem. Ranch hands worked around them, cleaning stalls, brushing horses, but she could tell they were eavesdropping on the men’s conversation.
“At least he’s back on his feet.”
Travis tossed Doc an irritated look. “Yeah, at least that. But we still don’t know why he won’t breed.”
The wrinkles on Doc’s face intensified as he frowned. “I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this, Travis. I’m sorry, but I’m just stumped.”
“That’s why he hired me.”
Travis and Doc turned to her as she stood, hands firmly planted on her hips. The wide, silver belt buckle she wore felt more like a shield than a fashion accessory, and her mind slipped to a television show she’d watched while she’d masqueraded as Justin. I must look like Wonder Woman to these guys. And once I cure Adonis, they’ll think I really am Wonder Woman. Biting her tongue, she kept a giggle from escaping and forced a serious expression.
Doc caught the swift undercurrent of electricity between Charissa and Travis and wanted an explanation. “Travis, you hired her? For what? How’s this, uh, lady supposed to help the horse?”
Travis was caught between the two of them as they turned their stares on him; both silently asking for his support. “I don’t know, Doc, but I have to try something. You said yourself that you’re stumped. I’m losing money, not to mention the slam it’ll be to my reputation and Adonis’ future stud earnings if this problem doesn’t get fixed soon.”
Doc raked his gaze up and down Charissa, and not in the way men normally did. “So, she’s a vet?”
“Okay, enough is enough. Will you two stop talking about me as if I’m not standing right in front of you?” She set her features in a relaxed mask that was in direct contrast to the Annoyance emotion she worked to keep under control.
“So, are you firing me, Travis?” Doc, however, didn’t try to hide the fact that he was annoyed. And getting closer to being outright mad.
“Hell, no, Doc. I’m just bringing in a, ah, a specialist like you suggested.”
But Doc didn’t appear placated. “A specialist? So what kind of specialist are you?”
Charissa sashayed over to the older man and ran her hand in a slow seductive touch from the tip of his shoulder down his shirt to stop near his belt buckle. “I’m a horse talker.”
If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve thought she’d gone deaf. Why else would the entire barn full of people and animals have gone so deadly quiet?
Doc narrowed his eyes, darting them between Travis and Charissa. “You’re kidding me, right? Is this some kind of joke, Travis?” He checked Travis for an answer, hope lightening the air between them for a split second until Travis killed it.
“No, Doc. I know it sounds stupid—”
“Hey!” Charissa crossed her arms at his insult.
“But I don’t know what else to do. Besides, Jim seems to think the idea might work.”
Doc reached down and picked up his black bag. “Well, then, by all means. If Jim says it’ll work, who am I to doubt it.” With a disgusted look tossed her way, Doc spun on his heel and headed for his office. “When you’re through trying the hocus pocus route, you let me know.”
“Aw, hell, Doc, don’t take this the wrong way.” Travis started after Doc, then stopped and confronted Charissa instead. “Did you have to say it like that?”
What had he expected her to do? Lie? Not that she minded lying—she was actually pretty good at it—but why lie when the truth was so much more interesting? “Like what? I told him the truth. If you’d wanted him to hear it differently, you should have told him before I showed up.”
Travis opened his mouth to say something more and then clamped it shut. Instead, he stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. “How about you get to business and show me what you’ve got.”
