Eland and Jeanne (Tales of the Shareem) Read online

  Judith shot her a grin. “Don’t sound so sad. I enjoyed every last second of it, but I’m not ready to find myself a mate and take him to a registry to marry. I’m young, I’m starting to make money on this place, and if a Shareem wants to show me all my fantasies, I’m not going to stop him. I’ve learned to take what I can get.”

  So had Jeanne. It was a hard life, working at the docks, without much pleasure. Bor Narga was a place people labored every day, made a living, and combined DNA with a mate to make children to raise more workers. Everyone punched the clock and avoided decadence.

  Which was such crap, because these Shareem wouldn’t exist if someone hadn’t gone in for decadence.

  If the Shareem were being hunted down, the best thing they could do would be escape off-planet. Well, maybe Jeanne could help with that, even if it meant never seeing Eland again. Working at the docks gave her insight on who was willing to make a little money on the side shipping things in and out without customs being the wiser. She got to know which pilots were trustworthy, and which weren’t. If she could find Eland, she could set up something to get him out ...

  Just as the ideas formed in her brain, the console in Judith’s bedroom beeped. Judith rolled herself off the bed and headed to her room, Jeanne following in curiosity.

  “Someone’s at the back— Oh.” Judith’s eyes went starry and she tapped codes to open a door below, which led to the alley. “Guess what?”

  Before Jeanne could ask what? Judith was moving out to the door to the stairs. She opened it, leaning against the door frame.

  “Good to see you again,” Judith said warmly.

  The happy note in Judith’s voice made Jeanne look over her shoulder. She halted in amazement.

  A Shareem was coming up the stairs. He wasn’t Eland. This Shareem had an arrogant look, as though he didn’t worry about patrollers running around hunting him.

  When he reached the top of the staircase, he cupped Judith’s cheek, gazing at her with blue eyes—Shareem-blue. He pressed a kiss to Judith’s lips, but Jeanne understood what Judith meant when she said something was missing in him. This Shareem showed a longing unfulfilled, though Jeanne couldn’t explain how she knew that.

  Another Shareem came up the stairs behind him. Eland.

  Eland fixed his gaze on Jeanne, and then shouldered his way past the other Shareem to her. Gone was his tattered loincloth—Eland wore a tunic, thick-soled leather shoes, and sun-blocking robes. His hair was clean, and he’d lost the pinched look about his mouth.

  He came straight to Jeanne. “Hey,” he said. “You all right?”

  Jeanne swallowed, coughed, and swallowed again. “I should be asking you that.”

  Eland cupped her face with one hand, his gaze never wavering. “I found a place to hide.”

  “I was worried about you,” Jeanne said shakily. “I thought maybe … ” She wet her lips. “What are you doing here?”

  The corners of Eland’s eyes crinkled. “Wanted a drink, and Rees says Judith owned a bar. But you know, if I have to choose between you and a drink … you win.”

  Jeanne warmed. But she was puzzled. Eland was a fugitive, outlawed, hunted. And yet he looked happy to see her, untroubled and smiling as though he were merely an off-world pilot coming around for a drink and some fun.

  “It can’t be safe for you here,” Jeanne said worriedly.

  “I know it isn’t,” Eland answered. “But what is safe? I’ve never found safety in my life. I might as well enjoy the danger.”

  The rumble of his voice filled Jeanne with heat. She wanted to agree with everything he said. They could stay cozily here, Eland touching her, Jeanne letting herself savor the joy of that.

  “Wait.” What was she thinking? “You have to go. Get off-planet before you’re caught. I know pilots who could smuggle you out ...”

  “And who might turn them in for the reward,” Judith broke in. “Jeanne’s not wrong, but we have to be careful.”

  Eland caressed Jeanne’s cheek. “Rees and I are hiding out for a while,” he said. “Until things die down. I’m more worried about you, Jeanne. You don’t need to be caught with me.”

  True, the patrollers would come down hard on her for lying to them and helping Eland. On the other hand, Jeanne wanted to stand here for the rest of her life, while Eland cupped her face and spoke to her in his wet-dream-making voice.

  “I’ll fetch some ale,” Judith said. “I’m glad you’re here, Jeanne. It will give me an excuse to bring up extra without anyone downstairs wondering why.”

  She slipped out the door, leaving Jeanne alone with Eland and Rees.

  Jeanne wanted nothing more than to step against Eland, to touch him and make sure he was whole and well. Rees, on the other hand, made her instincts go on the defensive.

  Many years ago, women on Bor Narga were the hunted, taken by any man who wanted them. Wars and too much death had let women emerge as the rulers—at one point men had pretty much died off—but women still had that latent mistrust inside them. Jeanne didn’t have the mistrust for Eland, but she had it for Rees.

  Eland seemed to sense this. “Excuse us, my friend.” He put his arm around Jeanne and steered her firmly toward the guest bedroom.

  “Sure,” Rees said, not sounding offended. “I’ll enjoy Judith, and some ale …”

  Eland didn’t wait for him to finish. He had Jeanne inside the room and the door closed before the last syllables of Rees’s reply fell away.

  ***

  Jeanne was excited, as well as relieved and happy to see him, and Eland knew it. Bred to sense a woman’s every emotion, Eland’s body responded.

  Relief filled him as well. He’d so feared Jeanne would come to harm for helping him, but she obviously hadn’t. In fact, she looked good. Relaxed and smelling of her spice.

  Eland knew she’d been resting in this room, because her presence had taken it over. She was used to being here, he could tell, from the way she was comfortable with the place, could back toward the bed without tripping.

  He didn’t want her on the bed. Not yet. “I missed you,” Eland said.

  Her brows went up. “Did you? You barely know me.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I missed you the minute I had to run out the door and duck the damn patrollers. I’d have given anything to stay. Screw DNAmo, screw being Shareem.”

  “You needed to go.” Jeanne’s arms were jammed across her front, pressing her delectable breasts upward. “The patrollers came looking for you. I didn’t tell them anything.”

  “And for that, I thank you. I knew I had to leave, but I wasn’t finished with you, Jeanne, not by a long way.”

  She swallowed, Eland letting his gaze trace the movement down her throat. She knew damn well what he meant.

  “Judith will be right back.” Jeanne remained rigid, though her breath came faster.

  “I heard all about Judith from Rees. I don’t think she’ll interrupt. Rees won’t let her, anyway.”

  Jeanne blinked. “Why would Rees want you to be alone in here with me? How does he know he can trust me?”

  “Rees is Shareem. He knows what’s going on between us.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t understand fully, Eland could tell, but she would soon.

  “If you want me to leave,” Eland made himself say. “I will. You know that, love. I will walk away and never touch you again, if that’s what you need. It’s always the lady’s choice.”

  Jeanne studied him, her dark eyes filled with indecision. She wanted what being alone with him would bring, but years of fear warred with her desire.

  Eland’s voice went low. “No harm will come to you, as I teach you, I promise. I’ll be with you the whole way.”

  Jeanne dragged in a breath that was a cross between a groan and a gasp. She tried to say something, but nothing came out. She pressed her mouth closed and nodded.

  The thankfulness that washed through Eland slackened his limbs and nearly sent him to the floor. He forced himself to remain upright. “You won’t r
egret it, Jeanne. I’m going to take you on an adventure. Just you and me.”

  Or maybe— Later, perhaps, after Jeanne had learned more, he could talk about adding more to the mix. They could do many different things then, with Rees and Judith near at hand.

  “Just you and me,” Eland repeated. “Are you ready?”

  Jeanne hesitated. Eland tightened, thinking she’d refuse, tell him to go. If she did, he’d have to rush back to his hiding place and stroke himself off until he was raw with it.

  Jeanne wet her lips, and nodded again.

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” she said.

  Chapter Eight

  Eland pinched the rough cloth of Jeanne’s tunic. “Take this off.”

  The warmth of her through the fabric nearly undid him. Eland made himself take a step back so Jeanne could obey—but she didn’t obey. She stilled, her cheeks red.

  “Now.” Eland put steel in his voice. He didn’t have a crop to swat across his palm, but he made the words a stinging slap.

  Jeanne opened her mouth to argue. Eland closed the space between them and seized a handful of her tunic, jerking her close.

  “When I met you, sweetheart, when I touched you, that was me being nice. I was too tired to be anything else.” Eland fixed her with his gaze, the one that made a lady know the level-three procedure had begun. “Well, I feel better now. The rules are, when I tell you to do something, you do it. All right?”

  Jeanne’s eyes were wide. She finally understood that he waited for an answer, and said faintly, “Yes.”

  Eland released her. “I know you’ll be good for me, Jeanne. You’d better believe that I’ll be good to you. Now, take it off.”

  Jeanne drew a breath, quickly slid her tunic over her head, and dropped it to the soft matting on the floor.

  Damn, damn, damn.

  Her body was sweet as a song. Her breasts were firm, nipples pink and taut, waist curved, flowing out to round buttocks. She wore underwear, a slash of fabric across her hips.

  This was going to be tough. Eland was burning inside from too much time without sex. He and Rees hadn’t been able to risk finding women, even off-worlders unlikely to report them. Not that Eland had wanted to go to anyone else but Jeanne

  They’d had to make do seeking relief alone and cleaning up in their makeshift shower in the tunnels. They’d left each other in privacy, but Eland had heard Rees’s soft groans as he released. Eland’s groans had been much louder.

  Eland should command Jeanne without going near her. He’d have her touch herself, make herself come, let her learn deep pleasure until all the stiffness went out of her. Only when she moved from fear to trust would his job be done.

  Instead, he found himself going to her, wrapping an arm around her, and pulling her up to him. He felt her start of surprise, but Jeanne didn’t stop him as he leaned to kiss her, sweeping his tongue inside her mouth.

  Eland tasted her for a long time, finding every texture, every nuance. Jeanne pressed herself to him, her mouth imitating his movements, fingers curling into his tunic. She had a spicy taste, different, amazing.

  He could stand here and drink her all night. He wanted to savor her, speak to her, get to know her—all the things that had been forbidden for Shareem to do at DNAmo.

  The researchers didn’t understand what Eland had learned—that being a Dom didn’t simply mean ordering a woman about and getting off on it.

  It was caring for her all the way, from beginning to end, giving her the most profound experience of her life. Once the lady placed herself completely into Eland’s hands, that joy was hers for the taking. DNAmo had tried to produce a sex machine in a living body, but they hadn’t realized that they’d created men who were sensitive to a woman’s most basic needs.

  Jeanne’s eyes were the color of dark-brewed coffee, just the way Eland liked it. Her tiny smile tugged at his heart. She was a lovely woman.

  Suppressing a growl, Eland pushed Jeanne against the nearest wall, snagged her underwear in his fingers, and pulled it down. Jeanne balled her hands as Eland knelt to drag the underwear from her ankles. She had calloused hands, a worker’s hands.

  Eland nuzzled her clit, inhaling a wonderful smell. “You don’t shave it.”

  Jeanne’s body jerked. “What?”

  Eland smiled into her pussy, kissing it. “I like my ladies bare, honey. You have a shaver?”

  “I—” She dragged in a breath. “I do, but not here.”

  “Judith will have one. Go get it.”

  Jeanne started to reach for her tunic, but Eland clamped his hand around her wrist. “No, you go get it as you are.”

  Her eyes grew enormous. “Rees is still here. And Judith.”

  “I know. But you’re mine. Not theirs. Rees will understand. Besides, having someone look at you—it’s not such a bad thing.”

  Jeanne’s pupils were pinpricks, and she started to sway. “It’s not?”

  Eland caught her. “Easy now,” he whispered into her ear. “It’s not bad at all. I’m looking at your body.” He ran his hand down her bare back and over her buttocks. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. Show them how beautiful you are.”

  He watched Jeanne struggle with this new idea. She wanted to tell him to fuck off, he could see. No, she wanted to want to tell him that.

  He also sensed Jeanne’s curiosity and her need to understand what she was feeling war within her.

  Eland liked that she struggled with herself. He knew she could be adventurous, if only she let go.

  After a long time, Jeanne squared her shoulders and said, “All right.”

  Eland’s cock tightened like a fist. He made himself not reach for her as he walked with her to the door and touched the controls to open it.

  “Rees doesn’t get to have you,” he said. “Remember that. I’ll be watching.”

  Jeanne flushed, shaking a little, but Eland saw excitement begin in her eyes.

  With a little luck, by the end of this night, she’d be receptive to anything Eland wanted … and anything she wanted herself.

  ***

  Jeanne could not believe she was actually walking out of the bedroom without a stitch on. Correction, not a stitch but her shoes. For some reason, Eland hadn’t asked her to remove those.

  Rees and Judith were talking. Quietly, leaning together, Judith as intent on Rees as Jeanne had been with Eland.

  Rees noticed her first. His head came up abruptly, like an animal scenting prey.

  Jeanne’s skin went hot all over. She wanted to bolt back inside the bedroom, but she could feel Eland’s presence behind her. He was looking through the open door, keeping his promise to watch what she did.

  Judith looked up as well. Her mouth dropped open, but then her startled look vanished and she grinned.

  Jeanne put a slight saunter in her walk, not sure why she wanted to. But it felt right. Stimulating. Her nipples had tightened to dark points, a tingling fire behind them.

  “Judith,” she said casually. “Do you have a shaver I can borrow?”

  Rees sat back, letting his Shareem gaze rove her, while Judith popped up and rushed into her bathroom. Jeanne waited, meeting Rees’s gaze, aware of Eland behind her.

  She’d never been so embarrassed, and yet never had felt so alive. Having the two men watch her, one in front, one behind, but do nothing but look, made her feel … beautiful.

  She’d never experienced such a sensation. Jeanne wanted to celebrate it, to show them that her body was worth looking at.

  She lifted her hands to her breasts, fingers finding her nipples, as Eland had asked her to do the night she’d met him. She’d refused then, but somehow, tonight, it felt right. Like she could do anything she wanted.

  “No,” Eland said sharply behind her. “Not for him. Only for me.”

  Jeanne smiled. Eland didn’t want Rees to have her. The possessive growl in his voice made her body heat.

  She turned in place, facing Eland, her hands on her breasts. She didn’t miss how his e
yes went more blue, how he stilled as he watched her.

  Jeanne tugged her nipples, enjoying their smoothness, the fire that came with her pulling at the tips. The more gently she did it, the better it felt.

  She released her nipples to cup and lift her breasts. Her skin was soft on the underside—she’d never noticed that.

  Judith came out of the bedroom with the shaver, stepped close to Jeanne, and pressed the shaver into her hand. “You are going to tell me everything,” she whispered before she moved back to Rees.

  Jeanne felt both Rees’ and Eland’s eyes on her as she sauntered back to Eland and the bedroom, the shaver in her hand.

  “That was good,” Eland said, his voice wrapped in velvet. He slid his arm around her, his hand going down her back to her buttocks, and gave her a little swat.

  Jeanne yelped. “What was that for?”

  “For liking Rees looking at you. Give me that.” He took the shaver from her and closed the door, shutting out the other two’s interested stares.

  Eland signaled Jeanne to the bed. “Lie down,” he commanded in a quiet voice. “Spread wide.”

  Jeanne, uncertain, lay down and opened her thighs. Eland ran his hand along her leg to the sensitive skin on the inside of her thigh. When he touched her pussy, Jeanne’s hips jerked. Eland cupped her, the heat of that making her draw a sharp breath.

  “Stay still, sweetheart. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Eland turned on the shaver, which made an agreeable hum. While Jeanne used a shaver regularly, she’d never thought to put it to the use Eland did now.

  She made a soft noise when Eland touched it to her. The little device vibrated, making her want to rub against it. Eland must have understood that, because he smiled.

  He had such a beautiful, heartwarming smile. What Jeanne wouldn’t give to have him smile at her like that all the time.

  Eland moved buttons on the device for each pass over her, while she clenched her fists and tried not to squirm. Finally, Eland clicked off the shaver and ran two fingers along her now-bare skin. “We need lotion.”

  “Do you want me to go ask for some?” Jeanne asked. She could show the two outside what she looked like now.