CarnalPromise (21 page)

She spit at him. The moisture landed on his cheek. “Like
you’re one to talk.” She pulled away from him and stalked off. “Fenden isn’t
here.”

“Where is he?” Cassius growled as he used his sleeve to wipe
off the spittle.

She snorted. “Away on business but he’ll be back before the
portals open again. You might as well make yourself comfortable.” She lay back
on a couch against the far wall. She licked her lips as she unbuckled the
fastenings on her shorts. Slowly. One by one. When the Renegade uncovered her
altered sex, she fingered her hole then stroked her large bulbous clit that
protruded and pulsed like the miniature penis it had become. The hermaphrodite
licked her lips, trying to seduce him.

Cassius sighed. Even though the woman’s body had been
altered by abnormal means, she was still beautiful. Yet her seduction held no
promise for Cassius.

Still, she worked it. Cassius folded his arms across his
chest as he crooked his lip up and watched. “You know this won’t get you
anywhere but I’ll be happy to watch if it’ll help you.”

She growled as she reached under the pillow and pulled out
some toy designed for her. She shoved it up her ass and let the vibrations of
the thing get her off. In moments, she had come. “Damn you.” She withdrew the
tool and threw it at him. “And damn this backward hellhole.”

Cassius ducked and the instrument splatted against the wall.

“Errrr.” She stood and let the drawers slip to her feet then
kicked them off and stomped on them. “Why does Fenden have to stay on this
fucking planet? Their common technology is so far behind it’s ridiculous. You
can’t even get good solar power here.”

“Hmm.” Cassius nodded. “Hard enough to do with the constant
storms.”

She paced, bare-assed. “Still, one would think with all the
money the government makes in the water trade that they would do something.”

Cassius refused to get into a discussion with her,
especially about the turmoil in the local politics.

“Fuck.” She stopped and stared at him with a forced smile on
her lips. “So, what else has Rurik the Conqueror been up to? Or do you too call
him Rurik the Destroyer? I’m surprised he hasn’t found Craddock yet. I understand
Drakkar’s been after Craddock too. Dragging Rurik’s puny Earth-son with him and
yet Craddock alludes them both. A testament to you, I suppose.” She fingered
his cheek.

Cassius scoffed. “The boy isn’t as diminutive as you’d like
to believe and he has the Svendian instinct for tracking.”

“Pfff.” The woman spit and stalked away. “Still, it isn’t
Drakkar’s battle. Why would he be after Craddock?”

Before Cassius could steer the woman away from the subject,
boots sounded outside the old-fashioned threshold. When the door scraped open,
Fenden stomped in, his snide smile plastered across his face. “It’s because, my
beauty, he is after Rurik’s sister. Apparently she is more than fertile and
Drakkar has discovered this.”

“How would you know?” Cassius queried but carefully hid his
concern. Someone from Vulgaria kept Fenden primed with secrets. If Cassius
could identify Fenden’s informant, it could help his personal cause.

Fenden huffed. “I have my ways. Why?”

Cassius sneered. “I came to tell you as much.”

Fenden’s laugh grated on Cassius’s patience.

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Why would he care about the
bitch?”

Fenden strode his tall, hairy body to her then caressed her
cheek with his large, rough hand. “Because, my lovely one, he has been the only
one to scent her. He has claimed her with the old rites of our shared people.”

“No.” Her eyes widened then narrowed again with hate. “That
bastard.”

“Don’t worry.” Fenden reached for her clit and stroked it.
“Craddock wants her too. You’ll get your revenge on Drakkar. I’ll see to it.”
The Renegade ship’s captain laughed in that grating way of his.

Disgust and worry entered the fiber of Cassius’s being but
he showed none of it on the surface. He dared not. The risk would be too great.

Sleep had become a drug to Jinn. As little as she’d gotten
lately, it was no wonder. She itched her nose to stop the tickle that stirred
her from slumber and slowly the blissful peace of oblivion seeped into her once
more.

Murmurs echoed in the distance, pulling her back into a deep
semi-conscious state. She heard a sigh, one that a person breathes when he’s at
rest. A warm body snuggled against her atop the bed covering she lay under.
Drakkar
.
He, too, slept.

Low murmurs sounded again. Angry ones. Drakkar’s voice was
deep but cold. If he was out there then who…?

A drop of moisture hit her cheek. Her eyes flew open and she
stared at a row of fangs.

“Drakkar!” Jinn jumped off the bed and took a defensive
posture, wondering if Drakkar had been attacked. The artic wolf only cocked its
head and shot her a toothy grin.

Drakkar barged through the door, his half-clothed body
tensed for battle. When he spied the wolf he closed his eyes and sighed his
relief. “My apologies. I had not realized Sasha had made her way in here. She’s
learned how to open the doors on her own.”

“She?” Stunned, Jinn stared wide-eyed at Drakkar then back
at the wolf. “She’s a pet?”

Drakkar nodded. “Yes. She has been my companion for some
time now. I rescued her as a pup several solar cycles ago. I should have told
you but I had other things on my mind.” He grimaced briefly. “She defends the
household from strangers and has been more reliable than the technology we have
in place. Relatives have been keeping her for me while I’ve been away. I didn’t
think they’d bring her back yet.” He shook his head.

Jinn swallowed as she studied the wolf who examined her nude
body in return. The beast was as large as Drakkar, its white fur laced with
shades of grey while the edges around her head and ears were tipped in black,
accenting her black muzzle and striking ice-blue eyes. She was beautiful to
behold but certainly intimidating and Jinn felt over-exposed in front of the
beauty.

Jinn eased to the bed and stole a pillow from it to cover
herself. “I hope she likes me.”

Drakkar chuckled under his breath. “She seems to. And you
may want to cover yourself with more than that. We have guests.” He frowned.
“And they want to meet you. Especially my mother.”

“Your mother?” Jinn knew at some point she would meet his relatives
but not this soon, not when she was still supposed to be incognito. “How did
she know? I mean, I want to meet her but I thought we’d have more time to…well,
get to know one another.”

“Yes,” Drakkar sighed with a somewhat of a growl. He
strolled to her and took her in his arms. “Don’t fret,” he whispered as his
lips brushed her ear. “I won’t let anyone be cruel to you.” He kissed her
temple. “My mother has been eager for me to bond. Apparently Sophos sent her an
encrypted message telling her about our compromise, as well as lauding your
praises. Mother took it on herself to contact a few others who could be
trusted, ones who will be involved in the training you’ve elected to pursue.” A
tone of discord sounded in his voice and his angst caused the creases in his
face to deepen.

As much as Jinn disliked meeting those who would be against
her, she giggled at Drakkar’s unease. She snuggled into his warmth, still
amazed at how right he felt against her. She felt safe with Drakkar, even
though he was demanding and wanted to control her future. That, in itself, was
a miracle. She hadn’t felt this safe since—

Since before her father died. She winced at the thought and
shoved the idea in the back of her mind but the pain of his loss still cut
deep.
Not now
. She had to subdue her feelings. Her focus needed to be on
her success in the training. She pulled away from Drakkar. “I’ll be out
shortly.”

Her mate-to-be studied her and swallowed. Nodding, he turned
and signaled for Sasha. The beauty leaped to the floor and followed her master
out the door.

“Whoo.” Jinn puffed her lips and closed her eyes, letting
her head drop back as she stared at the ceiling. Drakkar’s mother was a
Vulgarian council member. Had been a warrior at one time. Became one after
Drakkar’s father died in battle. What did she think of her son bonding with a
Svendian? These were things she and Drakkar had not had time to discuss.
“Shatz.” Jinn didn’t want a confrontation. She was tired and stressed from all
the unexpected events thus far. Hadn’t she enough to think about without having
to deal with new issues? God she needed a break. She glanced at the bed. At
least her sleep had been deep. Knowing Drakkar would protect her had helped
with that.
What a paradoxical life.

Sighing, she glanced around for her clothes then remembered
they were outside on the deck. She walked over to the household computer,
hoping to materialize something to wear but when she tried connecting to it,
the damn thing didn’t respond. Either Drakkar had not programmed the electronics
to accept her or he just didn’t trust her. Not that she could blame him after
all the stunts she’d pulled. She debated rummaging through Drakkar’s things but
decided against it. Any clothing he had would be too big. Their guests would
just have to take her as she was. “So much for getting away from the sheets.”
Jinn grasped the length of fabric off the bed and wrapped herself in it,
fastening the ends in a manner that would make the cloth into a Maloran-type
dress, a more prudish attire than most other inter-galactic females tended to
wear.

Jinn glanced at her covering. “And definitely an improvement
over what most fertile Svendian women wear.” As well as their Vulgarian
counterparts. Which was a blessing to Jinn. She hated the sheer clothes bonded
Svendian women wore. For one thing, the outfit wasn’t practical, especially for
a warrior. Hell, the last time she wore one and fought, she almost killed
herself by getting the hem of the damn outfit snagged on a tree limb. Besides
she didn’t like exposing so much of her body when the men did not. There was
just something too differentiating, too second-class status about it. Too
demeaning. Now, the Nyphosians, they had it right. Everyone dressed to display
their physical assets. Why the Svendians and the Vulgarians couldn’t be more
like that, she didn’t know.

She fingered the edges. The fabric covered her whole frame
below her collarbone with the exception of her shoulders and arms. She tugged
lightly on the cloth to ensure it held. Satisfied, she nodded and readied
herself. “At least it isn’t see-through.” She felt smug about that. Drakkar had
wanted her to wear that nipple-revealing, cunt highlighting outfit. Grinning,
the thought came to her, no matter what happened, she would never wear it. Not
unless she wanted it for herself. As out of whack as her future had become, at
least that much she could have power over.

Bracing her emotions, she walked out, stepping lightly to
make no sounds, hoping to hear much more of the muted, yet heated, conversation
that hummed through the abode—and perhaps learn more about those that would
impact her mission.

“How could you agree to that?”

Jinn had put her ear to the edge of the room’s doorway. It
was a woman’s voice. His mother?

“I did not have a choice. Her life was at risk as it was.”

Drakkar, damn him
. Risk? He didn’t even know how much
she risked to make things right.

“But the trials. You really don’t expect her to get through
even half of them, do you?”

Another man. Outraged
. He blustered his thoughts.

“I know she’ll try.”

The ever-tactful Drakkar.

“Well, this should prove interesting. I understand she is
quite a tracker and good at getting out of tight spots. She might do better
than you think.”

A smooth masculine voice. Jovial but with a caustic bite.
Perhaps in this one she could find an ally.

“God, that’s all we would need. A Svendian on a specials
team. We already have enough problems without that.”

Definitely his mother.

The other two men chuckled.

A cold nose nudged Jinn’s hand. Turning, she found Sasha sitting
next to her.
She’s as stealthy as her master.

The beast nudged Jinn’s hand again then straightened,
displaying her bright white fangs. Jinn swallowed. Vulgarian wolves were known
to be vicious to those who were enemies but this female wanted Jinn’s attention.
Jinn lifted her hand to the beast’s muzzle, thinking the wolf wanted to sniff
her first, but instead the animal snuggled her head into Jinn’s palm.

Jinn couldn’t help it. She giggled—effectively giving
herself away. The conversation between the others stopped. Jinn sighed. She
would hear no more today.

Giving a regal tilt to her chin, Jinn stepped into the room.
Sasha followed behind as if she were a handmaiden.

All eyes were on Jinn, as she had anticipated, but her
warrior training allowed for her to scope the others out in turn. The two
unknown men were tall, the one with a full head of dark hair the tallest of the
group, although not as muscular and filled out as Drakkar and the other man.
The taller man’s light green eyes narrowed but seemed to laugh in a mocking
sort of way. The smooth talker?

The other male stared at her agape but quickly recovered
himself, the surprise in his lips giving away to a scowl. He was completely
bald and had a drooping straw-colored mustache that matched his golden eyes.
Broad shouldered. A land trooper. Hard, unforgiving. That was her first
impression of the man.

However, her biggest surprise was that they all wore a
uniform. His mother was still a warrior? Yet Drakkar didn’t want Jinn to be
one. What the hell?

Wary, Drakkar’s mother set her hands on her hips and scanned
Jinn from head to toe. When her gazing stopped, she huffed with a smug turn of
her lips and nodded. “I suppose I should welcome you to the family.” The older
woman circled Jinn but Jinn had already logged the woman’s image in her mind.
Drakkar’s mother’s skin had barely aged and her dark hair hung loose to just
past her shoulders, yet Jinn suspected the woman’s dark blue-green eyes didn’t
miss a thing.

“You’re still a warrior?” Jinn forced the stoic, disenchanted
voice.

“Yes, although I’ve not been in battle for some time. I
suppose you know I’m a council member.”

Jinn nodded. “Yes.”

Ástrid of the Common House of Thorvig of Vulgaria stopped
and stood to the side of Jinn, eyeing Drakkar. “I surmise my son has not told
you much of the family.”

Drakkar huffed and shot a condemning glare at Jinn.

“In your son’s defense, there wasn’t much time for
discussion. I have met your daughter.”

The woman smiled. “Yes, I know. Kaia likes you and is happy
with the match.”

Drakkar cleared his throat. “Jinn, my mother, Ástrid.” He
made the formal introduction then indicated the taller man. “This is Karl of
the House of Vold. He’s the commandant of the Warrior’s Way Training Unit.”

Karl of the House of Vold came to attention with a smirk and
bowed his head to Jinn in the traditional manner of greeting a fertile woman.

Good, Jinn thought. Even with the man’s amusement of the
situation, Jinn could use a supporter in leadership. And what better than the
head?

“This,” Drakkar pointed to the stocky bald man, “is Mace of
the House of Rammfjeld. He is the lead trainer for the program.”

The man glared at her with more than hatred.
He wants
revenge
. Jinn wanted to gulp as fear seeped through her but she did not.
Instead, she volleyed a curt nod in return.

A small yet sinister smile crooked a corner of his lips as
he too nodded in the traditional way.

Ástrid threw up her arms. “You may call me mother if you
wish. This is new territory for all of us.” She planted her hands on her hips
again and frowned at Jinn. “Enjoy the day. Tomorrow we leave for the training
grounds.”

“What?” The news stunned Jinn.

Drakkar stepped to her and cupped her bare upper arms in his
hands. “The start date has been escalated. The forecasters are predicting an
early winter. Because of some of the difficulties already in the training
sequence, it needs to be completed before the storms hit.”

This time Jinn did gulp. Would she even make it to that
point? Her jitters were small but even so, her body quivered. Drakkar’s gaze
locked onto hers.
He knows
.

Although the others could not detect her fear, her bondsmate
knew her dread ran deep. “I’ll be ready.”

Drakkar eyed her a moment but his gaze pierced deep. “I know
you will. I’ll send the others away so we can talk.”

“Ahem.”

The sound pulled Drakkar’s and her attention to Ástrid.
“Before you do, there are a few things the rest of us need to know.”

“And what would those be?” The low rumble in Drakkar’s
throat and the sense that he would protect her even against his mother ignited
Jinn’s libido and something else, something that comforted her although she was
afraid of what that would be.

“First.” Her future mother-in-law folded her arms akimbo and
arched a brow. “If she’s running under a cover, what name are we to use for her
and what is her background? And I’m assuming you’re sponsoring her training, or
should I? There has to be an official recommendation and the paperwork needs to
be pushed through.”

Drakkar flinched. “Perhaps you should sponsor her. That way
I’m not seen as influencing her results in any way, especially since I’ll be
coming periodically to check on the training.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” His mother nodded. “I’ll take
care of the documentation too. Now, a name and background?”

“Pixie.” Jinn uttered her thought aloud. The name simply
popped into her head but she liked it. Besides, right now she was determined to
take as much control over her status as she could and the mythical pixie was
known to be tricky.