One Thousand Brides (6 page)

Instinctively she raised her hands up, going for his eyes. Inch-long claws shot out from underneath her fingernails. Jan gasped.

Delos caught her wrists in his hands. She stared into his eyes and he released her.

She brought her hands up to her face. Her fingers shook as she gazed at these new additions to her body.

“How do I put them away?” Her voice quavered.

“They’ll retract once your body understands you don’t need them right now.”

Claws.
It seemed so odd to suddenly have claws.

“Did you notice the rough strips of material on the doorway?” he asked. “You can sharpen your claws there. Always keep them sharp. Dull claws are slovenly.”

Her claws had a pearly sheen. Perhaps they were rather…attractive.

And she could see how they might be useful. “Show me yours, Delos.”

He held up his hands. As fast as ten switchblades, his claws extended—two inches long, shiny and as spotlessly clean and sharp as surgical knives.

Her brows rose. “Wow. And I let you touch me with those hands?”

Noiselessly, his claws retracted. “Janis!” He pulled her into his embrace. “A sane male
can’t
hurt a female with his claws. It’s one of our strongest taboos. If a male goes feral and hurts a female, all other males hunt him down and kill him.”

“That’s good to hear—I guess. Does it happen often?”

“No. Much less often than on Earth.” He stroked her skin soothingly. “I know how frequently ‘domestic violence’ is a problem among humans. It’s extremely rare among Terilians. Tell the Brides—perhaps it will help reconcile them to their new destinies.”

She tilted her head. “Delos, I thought of something else—another way to help everyone adjust. After the Spring Running, when everyone pairs up? Is there some kind of ceremony to mark the occasion?”

“A ceremony?” He didn’t seem to know what she meant. “Mated couples return in pairs, bound to each other by scent and cord. Why would a ceremony be necessary?”

She gave him an exasperated look. “What did I say earlier about sharing our cultures? I have a way to make all this more palatable for the Brides.”

* * * * *

The next day, Jan and all the other women were served First Meal in the Great Hall. The Brides were given a ship’s schedule, which Jan studied with some surprise. The Terilian days were long—twenty-eight hours of seventy-two minutes each—but they were broken into more meals and sleep-times than human days.

Days were divided into six meals, two nap periods and two work periods. However, Terilians were required to work only four days out of each eight-day week. Jan wondered if this would be the standard operating procedure when they arrived at the new planet, which would presumably require a heavier work schedule.

After they ate delicious yellow berries and drank a spicy hot beverage, Jan rose and spoke to the other women, telling them everything she’d learned from Delos.

“Marriage is a committed pair-bonding until the next Spring Running. If we mate with them, most of us will have babies by the time we land on the new planet. Three or four babies, actually, because Terilian females conceive in multiples and so will we.”

Many of the women in the room looked horrified. Jan continued, “But Terilian young grow up much faster than human children. By the age of six months, they’re talking and dressing themselves. By the age of twelve, they’re teenagers, learning their professions. Secondus Delos is only twenty-eight years old but he’s been a doctor for the last ten years.”

“Don’t they have birth control?” a dark-haired woman demanded.

Jan wrinkled her brow, wishing she’d been able to make a PowerPoint presentation. This was a lot for everyone to take in.

“Husbands and wives can mate whenever they want—just like humans—but wives don’t get pregnant while they have children to tend. When the children reach the age of twelve and leave to learn their professions, another Spring Running is held. At that time, mated couples can stay together—or choose new mates. And the wives will conceive again.”

She went on to tell them about Terilian male anatomy.

The other women were still waiting expectantly.
I have to tell them everything. They must have all the facts.

She’d been a computer programmer. A solitary one who’d had few boyfriends until Gary. She wasn’t used to speaking of intimate details.

This is different. You’re their liaison. Tell them what it was like with Delos.

The Hall was utterly hushed as she spoke about what they’d done together in bed.

Beth, the redheaded woman who had cried at the first meeting, addressed Jan when she finished. “So the doctor is nice. Maybe the rest of them are brutes!”

Jan explained how the males couldn’t achieve orgasm without a female. “I think—I think if we mate with them, we’ll enjoy it.”
The rest of you will, anyway.

If only she could be Delos’ wife. But it seemed that if Taddus wanted her, he had first choice.

It wasn’t fair. All her life she’d wanted to be beautiful. In this culture she was but it was working against her.

The women seemed interested.

“I get to come first? Always?”

“They can’t jack off?”

“You
sure
they don’t have tails?”

Jan answered everything she could. Finally, Beth spoke again. “I don’t care! They made me miss my wedding! Now I’ll never have one!”

Jan drew a deep breath. “Secondus Delos thinks we can do something about that.”

* * * * *

“The Brides want
what
?” Primus Taddus demanded.

“They want a ceremony to celebrate the marriages.” Raising his brows, Delos added, “And if you ever want to be happily mated, Primus, I think we’d better do what they want.”

Primus Asher linked with the handheld computer Delos had given him, then passed it to Primus Goldus. “But Delos! How can we grow flowers in time? And we don’t have any horses on shipboard!”

Goldus chimed in worriedly, “There are no children aboard to carry a ring on a pillow. And I don’t understand this part about
garters
.”

“I downloaded samples from many different human cultures,” Delos said quickly. “I don’t think the details are important. The Brides expect festivities. Music—and a feast.”

“Ridiculous,” snorted Primus Bardus. “You want us to put all these resources into a
party
? Look at this estimate for computer time!”

“I want us to put our resources into
making our Brides happy,”
Delos retorted. “Let me remind you, if they resist us, we won’t have a good Spring Running.”

“How can they resist our pheromones?” Asher asked.

“The human females are strong-minded,” Delos answered. “If they decide to resist, I can’t guarantee a happy outcome, pheromones or not.”

“Why should we give these primitives the upper hand?”

“True, their culture is not as advanced as ours. But the human females are little different from Terilian females.” Sighing inwardly, Delos wondered why they were refusing to see what he realized so clearly. “You’ve all been married. I’ve been married. Did it ever do us any good to oppose something our wives really wanted?”

All fell silent. Asher grimaced down at the handheld computer. Bardus cleared his throat. Goldus rolled his eyes.

Finally, Hirdos said, “Well…perhaps you know best. I vote for the ceremony.”

Eventually the vote came down to four to one, with only Taddus voting against the others. Delos could hardly wait to tell Janis that her plan would be followed.

“A moment of your time,” Taddus said as the other council members departed. The big primus held up his right hand and extended his claws. “You’re going to Janis now, aren’t you?”

“I need to tell her about the council’s decision.”

Taddus took him by the shoulder. Delos stood rooted, trying to ignore the pain as long claws bit into his flesh.

“I can’t stop you from mounting her at the Spring Running. But don’t forget whose mate she’ll be.”

Delos stared into Taddus’ yellow eyes. “You can claim her. But you’ll never have her heart.”

“You’re naïve, young Secondus. Females love males with power.”

“Janis isn’t like that!”

“She’ll forget all about you once I’ve taken her a few dozen times.” Taddus brought his face closer. “Is she as ripe and juicy as she looks? Have you licked the sweet cream from her sex?”

Sweat trickled down Delos’ face from the pain in his shoulder. He trembled with the effort of controlling himself. Losing the battle, he extended his claws.

“Will you raise your claws to me?” Taddus whispered. “You know our law.”

Gritting his teeth, Delos forced his claws back inside.

“I didn’t
think
you wanted to be gelded by the council.” Taddus rubbed his cheek against Delos’. A growl escaped Delos at the insult.

Taddus smirked. “Go to her now, with my scent on you.” Laughing, he left the council chamber.

* * * * *

Delos found Janis in the Great Hall, sharing Third Meal with the rest of the Brides. He located a free stool and pulled it up beside her.

“Afternoon greetings, Dr. Delos,” she said coolly, as if they were mere acquaintances. As though she’d never writhed under his mouth in the throes of an orgasm.

“The same to you, Janis Stone,” he answered with formal politeness, longing to do something that would establish her as his own in front of everyone present.

He gave the rest of the Brides a general smile. Many of them had been his patients and would be again, once they conceived. He couldn’t help noticing that some gave him covertly interested glances and he wondered what Janis had been saying about him.

Did a male ever know what females discussed when no males were present?

The Brides had been served a great delicacy—
tregarth
shoots—but apparently no one had demonstrated how to eat them. They were chewing on the hard ends of the stalks, which were edible but bitter.

“Is there some trick to eating these?” Jan asked him.

He showed her how to hold the stalk in her left palm, extend the claw on her right forefinger and run the sharp edge along the stalk to release the thick white cream within.

“Scoop it out with your finger.”

She gave him a doubtful look but did as he’d instructed, lifting a dollop of cream to her mouth and licking it. Her face changed. “That’s delicious!”

The other Brides were eager to experiment. Soon they were opening the stalks, some successfully, some awkwardly. Cutting too deeply brought great gobs of the cream dripping out, provoking little shrieks from Brides with stained tunics.

“Are you hungry?” Jan asked him.

Only for you.
“I had Second Meal,” he said, not really an answer.

Looking into his eyes, she skimmed her finger through the cream, then held it to his lips. “Have some.”

His gaze never left hers as he grasped her wrist and sucked her finger slowly into his mouth. The oozing sweetness invaded his senses, along with the wonderful taste of Janis’ skin. His tongue laved her long finger, his lips caressing her flesh. He teased the juncture between her second and third fingers with short, quick strokes. She gave him a wide-eyed look and repossessed her finger.

He wanted to talk to her apart from all the other Brides. “Would you like to see more of the ship?”

She agreed to that and they left together. As soon as they reached the corridor, she turned to him. “Did you speak to the council about the marriage ceremony?”

“Yes.” He couldn’t wait to touch her. He put his hands on her shoulders. “Give me a kiss first, then I’ll tell you what they said.”

She smiled. “They must have agreed to my plan. You wouldn’t tease me if it were bad news.” She raised her face and parted her lips.

The sweetness of their kiss almost broke his heart.
Taddus will never kiss her like this.
He recalled how he’d told the council about this fascinating pre-mating technique. Taddus had sneered and declared it perverted.

The primus will never understand her. He’ll mate with her but he won’t care about her the way I do.

His tongue stroked hers as their lips melded together. The kiss turned more sensual, more urgent. Heat built in his loins when he felt her breasts pressing into him.

“Now tell me,” she demanded when their lips finally parted.

For a moment he couldn’t remember what they’d been talking about. All he wanted was to take her into a cabin—any cabin—and mate with her. Or, since that wasn’t possible, pleasure her again with his hands and mouth.

“The marriage ceremony?” she reminded him.

“Oh, yes—the ceremony. The council agreed to it.”

“I’m so glad. Thank you!” Putting her hand on his shoulder, she gave him a quick kiss. “Were they hard to persuade?”

He didn’t say that her husband-to-be was the only council member who had voted against her plan. Why tell her something that would surely make her unhappy?

“They agreed to please their Brides. I’ll show you how to work with the computer to order what you want. I’ll have to approve everything.”

She made a face. “I hope you’re going to be reasonable.”

“If not, I’m sure I can be cajoled.”

“We’re a lot of trouble to you, aren’t we? Are you sorry you volunteered to be the Brides’ liaison?” she asked.

His lips twitched as he recalled what he’d gone through to secure the appointment—the favors he’d called in, the politicking he’d done. “It’s a lot of extra work but I don’t mind it,” he said, keeping his voice serious.

“Why do you smell so different today?” Janis asked as they continued down the corridor.

“I added an artificial layer, like human males wear. It smells like
zolicia
leaves,” Delos said.
At least it covers Taddus’ foul odor.

She wrinkled her nose. “I prefer your natural scent.”

“Thank you.” No doubt she was unaware of it but she’d just paid him one of the highest compliments a female could give a male. “Your scent pleases me too,” he said. “Especially when you’re aroused.”

A tinge of color suddenly flamed in her pale cheeks. Fascinated, he stopped and lifted her chin, the better to observe the phenomenon. “How did you do that?”