It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now all these years later, she had to laugh at the sheer perversity of fate. He was sex personified. She was just a small town librarian.
Standing in front of her, dressed in a black silk shirt and leather pants, he had to be six feet, seven inches of sculpted, mouth-watering, sexy muscle. He was the kind of guy mothers warned daughters to avoid, and best friends advised, “Sure, enjoy the ride while you can, but he’s gonna break your heart eventually.”
His hair, cropped close to his head military-style, was pitch black. His face was all masculine angles. He was beautiful in a warrior kind of way. He looked about thirty-five years old, with quite a few of those years tough ones. This was no pretty-boy, sensitive, in-touch-with-his-feelings man. This guy was total danger. He was completely out of her league.
She was pretty much cotton gowns, a good book, and a cheery nightlight. He was sweaty, forbidden, no boundaries sex in the dark. As her eyes met his fully for the first time, she saw that they were a searing, penetrating blue. Within that gaze, she saw the blue flame of intense desire and possession. He wanted her, no doubt of that, but even more frightening, his gaze roamed her body as if he had already claimed it. Repeatedly. Intimately.
Sharon felt like she’d stepped off of a cliff. Her heart was pounding, her skin was flushed, and she had an impulse to scream. She dropped her eyes to the carpeting in pure panic.
This had been a really big mistake. Maybe doing her duty and registering had not been a good idea. Maybe she’d just paste a smile on her face, look him in the eye and say, “Look, I know we’re supposed to be getting engaged, but could you maybe find another fiancée? I can’t have screaming sex with you. I’m just a librarian, for goodness sake. I’m not really adventurous. I don’t really want to live on another planet or meld minds or whatever alien activities are required. I’ll just be running along now…” With a deep breath, she raised her eyes to his and felt the words trap in her throat.
He was smiling. In fact, he looked on the verge of laughter. The sudden amusement softened his features a little, making him more approachable. She wasn’t fooled. It made him even more dangerous.
With a little annoyed sniff, she squared her shoulders. Okay, she was scared, terrified even, but if he was going to keep laughing at her, he was going to be sorry-she‘d find a way to make him pay. She took a deep breath. Her hands clinched and she leaned toward him aggressively. Her knees might be knocking, but she would show him that she was not afraid of any big, smirking, sexy, annoying guy. Ever. He’d better understand right now that she was no pushover.
Liken looked at the little beauty standing so scared and defiant in front of him, and felt his heart rejoice. She was perfect. Her five-foot, eight-inch frame was practically vibrating with nerves and outrage. She was both beautiful and courageous. He appreciated the beauty, but she would need the courage in the times to come. She was fighting his effect on her now, but that would change. He would make sure of it. First, though, he had to get his own arousal under control.
She had long, black hair that dropped just past her shoulders. Seeing it in person, rather than telepathically, made him ache with the need to run his hands through it. He wanted that hair spread across his pillow. Or better yet, across every inch of his body. Her eyes were likemer stones, deep green and seemingly lit from within. Her face was not classically Shimerian beautiful. The mouth was a little too full, the nose a little too pert. The overall effect on his senses, however, was devastating.
He wanted that face looking at him with desire, with need. He wanted those full lips swollen and tender from his mating or rather, from his lovemaking. When on Earth, think like a human, he chided himself.
Yet even with that thought, his eyes drifted down the rest of her body. Full breasts, the nipples hardening beneath his gaze, were heaving with her rapid breaths. The tips were little defiant points underneath the traditional white blouse. It was fitted to her body, but not tightly. The scooped neckline showed the upper swell of creamy curves. He could tell she wore no undergarment, and those tight nipples were stiff and visible.
Going lower, he saw a small waist, tapering outward to full hips. He felt his hands flex with the need to sink his fingers into those curves and pull her toward him. The white ceremonial skirt fell all the way to the ground. What would those long legs look like? And what would they feel like wrapped around his hips?
Calling on all his discipline, he again raised his eyes to hers and felt the jolt to his soul. She would be his. He had no doubt. Attempting to ease her fear, he said, “Do not fear me, Sharon. I am merely invoking our oath. I am your pactmate, Liken da’Kamon. I would never harm you.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said a little too quickly. They both wondered if she meant to convince him or herself. “Why would I be afraid? This is just the ceremony. I don’t think we’ll be at all compatible. I think we should just say our words and then when it’s over, you can go your way and I’ll go mine. At the end of the knowing period, we’ll just meet back here and file incompatible.”
“You are mine. You will leave with me.” The words were out of his mouth without any thought. Seeing her eyes widen, he fell back on Shimerian strategy. Timing was crucial to gaining any objective, particularly with females. “We will speak no more, Sharon, until after the ceremony. We should not be speaking now. Go to the pactmaker and wait for me.” With those words, he turned and walked to the other side of the room.
He might as well have said “Get thee to a nunnery!” like some classic Shakespeare character. Sharon, shocked speechless at his arrogance, stood there until she felt a slight tug on her arm.
Turning, she looked into her friend Kate’s face and said, “I amso out of here. No way can I go through with this. How dare he order me over to the pactmaker like I was some child to command? What was I thinking? Kate, we have to find a way to get me out of here.”
Kate, her friend since elementary school, knew her only too well. “Shar, what did he say to you? You look scared to death. Did he threaten you or something?”
Turning back toward the other side of the room, Kate leveled a glower toward the Shimerian males gathered there. Finding the one who had frightened Sharon, she gave him a look meant to kill him on sight. To her disappointment, he merely raised an eyebrow.
The male he was in conversation with, however, grinned widely at her and gave a mocking little nod with his head. He was arrogantly gorgeous and his hot gaze, as it raked her body, felt incredibly familiar. He looked enough like Sharon’s looming problem to be his brother.
She felt a shot of unease, and immediately turned her back on him. Shaking off the disturbing feelings, she asked Sharon, “What happened?”
Sharon, wrestling her own demons, missed her friend’s exchange with the other warrior. She shrugged and said, “No, he didn’t threaten me exactly. He more or less told me to shut up and go stand by the Pactmaker. I can’t do it, Kate.I know when we registered we thought we were doing the right thing. But now, I’m freaked.”
She struggled for calm as she remembered the beginning of this mess. “You know, when you’re eighteen, you think you know everything. You have such high ideals. Registering seemed so simple. It was my duty. All of us felt like that. I don’t think any of us really thought about what would happen if the Shimerian male showed up to fulfill the pact. I mean, what are the odds? Only about one in twenty thousand is ever called to fulfill the pact. I know it’s my duty as a human to go through the ceremony and observe the customs, but I don’t think I can.”
Kate, feeling sorry for her friend, felt helpless. What could she say? All of them had registered in an idealistic rush of patriotism and duty without really counting the potential costs. Now her friend, the girl she’d literally grown up with and loved like a sister, was being legally and morally tied to an alien being who might remove her from all she held dear. Sharon would have to be intimate with him. She was such an innocent in so many ways. It was frightening and upsetting. Sharon didn’t have many choices unless…”Have you really thought out all the options?”
With a shake of her head, Sharon said, “There wasn’t really time to think.The two pactmaker reps showed up at my door in uniform and told me to come with them. They didn’t even let me grab my purse. The whole thing scared the crap out of me! I just couldn’t believe it was happening, you know?”
She could feel her body begin to shake as reality really hit. “I mean, it crossed my mind when I turned twenty-nine last week that the claiming age would be over in a year. But, it just seemed so unlikely. They brought me to the city pactbuilding and gave me these clothes to put on. Now I’ve got twenty minutes to figure out what I’m going to do. I don’t even know how they knew to get you here. Since I don’t have any immediate family, I guess they picked you to stand with me.”
It seemed logical, but Kate knew they needed to focus on what was happening now. She was the lawyer here. She ought to be able to fix this situation. She had to find a way to help Sharon. “Well, we can talk about the fun experience I had with the pact reps some other time. Right now, we’ve got to figure out what you are going to do. You only have three options: Seduction, Challenge, or Capture. Each has its own set of rules and problems. How much do you remember of the customs course?”
Mind racing, Sharon searched her memory. “If I choose seduction, we recite vows, go to his planet, and then live together for three weeks. He…” Her voice faltered a bit but she spoke up deliberately after only a second, “follows the Courtship Rules of Seduction. That means he’s allowed certain intimacies from me at certain times. Kind of like baseball…First base, second, like that. He can go further than the prescribed intimacies only with my permission.”
Sharon felt her panic rising as she tried frantically to remember what they had been taught. “God, how long before total intimacy, Kate?! I can’t remember!”
Kate thought back and then said, “Damnit, they wouldn’t give me time to get my copy of your paperwork.” Her expression indicated someone would pay for that fact later. “I can’t remember. Maybe two or three days at the most.”
Three days. It wasn’t long enough.Sharon didn’t think two or three years would be long enough to make her comfortable with the idea of sleeping with that man. Still, at worst, after a few weeks of living together, she could file for incompatible and never see him again. “What about Challenge?”
Kate sighed and said with careful calm, “You recite the ceremony and make the oath, but you are basically challenging him to seduce you into staying with him. You have to cooperate with anything he orders you to do sexually, but you can ultimately refuse to have intercourse with him. He can keep you for two weeks. It’s his goal in that time to overcome your objections and make you want to stay. If you give in and actually have intercourse, you are ineligible for an incompatibility filing. I don’t know, though, Sharon…Shimerian males are supposed to be so dominant in bed…”
Sharon thought of Liken being able to do whatever he wanted for two full weeks except intercourse and shuddered. There was excitement at the thought, too, but she didn’t feel like she could challenge him sexually with her level of experience. She’d only had two lovers, both of whom had been rather dull and unimaginative. Sex had been warmly intimate, but not exactly earthshaking.
This guy was a walking Karma Sutra. She didn’t think she could hold her own in that kind of fight and come out on top for sure. “Nope. No way. He’s way out of my league. That only leaves Capture. I’m leaning toward that. I say the words and all, but then I get to leave. I have one full day’s head start. If I can evade him for one month, I can file incompatible then.” She was starting to feel calmer at the thought.
“Yeah, but if he catches you, you’re in a fix. He gets the rest of the month of full sexual obedience. He can do anything he likes, short of seriously hurting you. He doesn’t need permission at any time for anything, including intercourse. He has to be guided by your sexual likes and dislikes, but he doesn’t have to play fair at all. The rumor is that they’re telepathic or mentally gifted or something.”
Kate’s voice caught as her imagination leapt at the possibilities. “I don’t know what that means exactly, but he can at least read your mind probably. If he picks up on something you would like, but would never admit to liking, he’ll use it ruthlessly. He can’t actually make you do anything that would be sexually repulsive, but he would push your boundaries pretty hard I’d imagine. We’ve all heard rumors and stories about the Shimerians’ incredible sexuality. It might be pretty intense. You’re not that experienced. It would be pretty frightening for you.”
Frightening? The thought was enough to make her want to run from the room right now. There had to be some way to deal with this situation. Thinking hard, she quietly said, “But if I break oath…”
Both women sighed and looked away. There were legal penalties for not fulfilling oaths-”long years in a penal institution with some very uncomfortable companions” kind of penalties. Besides, the guilt and shame of it would be awful. Each woman registering had made an oath of their own free will at the request of their government.
The Shimerian population was in trouble. They had a great disproportion of males. There were not enough females to mate with males and make families. Of the children born, a large percent were male. It was a downward spiral that the Earth government had agreed to help, ending with the signing of the Friendship Treaty.
Earth provided potential mates for Shimerians. In return, Shimerian resources and technology were fully available to Earth. Already, amazing cures for some of the worst Earth diseases had resulted from the cooperative knowledge provided by Shimerian scientists to Earth scientists. All kinds of positive advances were taking place.
The Earth government, making clear it was not prostituting its people, agreed to provide a register of potential mates and carefully agreed upon Courtship Laws. Since the Shimerian males’ version of courtship leaned toward kidnapping and seduction, the Earth government had been very specific that the program would be voluntary and follow prescribed rules. If, after the knowing period, the Earth female did not want to continue the union, she could file legal paperwork that the union was incompatible and should be dissolved.
When the treaty had been signed some eighty years ago, there was hesitation by Earth females and only a few actually became Shimerian mates. However, as the positive breakthroughs in technology and medicine began to become widely felt, the Shimerian government pushed hard for a public relations program in colleges to promote registering.
These “culture classes” explained the process in glowing terms and encouraged young women to register. The classes had a very idealistic slant with just enough excitement to entice. “Help your fellow human beings and Shimerians, too,” they persuaded, “while having an adventure.”
More Earth females registered and were mated. Then, rumors began to surface about Shimerian men and their sexual abilities. Women spoke with sighs of their physical attributes, but a lot of information remained unknown. There was just enough mystery to intrigue and entice even the most hardheaded of women. More and more Earth females registered.
After a while, the overwhelming response meant that for every twenty thousand Earth women registered, only one would actually be called to Oath. Most would go on to fall in love with a man on Earth. When she married or at age thirty, her name would be removed from the register with thanks from her government for her willingness to serve.
Sharon sighed. Breaking oath wasn’t really an option. She had made a promise to her world, and for that matter, to his world. She might be a lot of things, but she wasn’t the kind of person to break her word.
Kate’s eyes were soft with sympathy and worry. “What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Make the best of it, I guess. Take the oath. Go with him to Shimeria. It’s only three weeks, right? And he’s not a total troll either. So I’ll get to know him. Then, I’ll come home and file incompatible. My life is here. Maybe my job isn’t the greatest. Maybe my little life isn’t the most exciting. But it’smine. I’m not giving it up and moving off planet for some guy.” She was going for defiant, but her words came out shaky instead.
Kate knew that was her cue to lighten things up. “Not a total troll, huh? Now there’s an understatement. That man ishot. You’ll be doing your dutyand getting great sex. At least I assume it’ll be great if he’s as good as he looks!”
“Exactly.” Sharon began to smile a little as her sense of humor rose to the surface.“Besides, alittle interplanetary nookie won’t kill me. They’re basically humanoid. Their society is very similar to ours, just a little more advanced. It’s pretty male-dominated, but I guess I can live with that for a few weeks. I don’t know about the telepathy thing but I don’t think they can read minds all the time or anything. I guess I’ll find out…”
Determined to keep smiling and make the best of it, she headed toward the Pactmaker. “Come on. Might as well get it over with. We wouldn’t want Mr. Tall, Dark, and Arrogant to get his drawers in a twist.”
Laughing at that image, the two women headed to the other side of the room. Shimerian male heads turned at the sound. Watching the two beautiful women appreciatively, hearing their laughter, many of them felt a little envious of Liken. Liken, on the other hand, was feeling too eager for the ceremony to pay much attention. His brother Tair, sensing that eagerness, had to laugh.
He said mockingly,“You should have claimed her a year ago, Liken. Then maybe you would not be so impatient today.”
Liken shook his head. “You know I was giving her time. She will be making a lot of changes. Best that she grew restless with her own life before facing Shimerian marriage. It will be difficult for her.”
Liken thought of his cautious little librarian’s reaction to his culture and mentally grimaced. She would not react well. There were good reasons for keeping Shimerian ways a secret from prospective mates.
“You are sure that she has no idea of the merging and linking? We are taught to be careful, but there have been some rumors on Earth from time to time.” Tair had heard some pretty outrageous things, although some of them had some truth to them.
“No, I do not think so. She seems afraid of me in an emotional and physical sense, but I have not brushed her mind with mine yet. Except for my initial recognition a year ago. My mind touched hers then, but only briefly.”
Tair shook his head at the thought of what his brother would need to explain. Humans, especially females, could react very strangely to the oddest things. His voice was dry. “Just be sure to secure her. It is quite convenient that my pactmate is her best friend. I think Kate will be much more amiable when I invoke the Oath if she knows Sharon is happy.”
“So, I am to ease your way?” Liken said with a half-smile. He nearly snorted at the thought. Kate would challenge Tair at every turn. She was perfect for him. “I believe your knowing period will not be that simple. The look she sent me earlier could have felled me. I do not think your pactmate is the sweet, gentle type.”
Tair’s dark eyes gleamed with laughter. “Now what would I do with sweet and gentle?”
Suddenly, the Pactmaker, a rather small man dressed in his ceremonial robes of black and white stepped forward to address those gathered. “Will Liken da’Kamon and Sharon Glaston please step forward to take the Oath?” There was a murmur through the room at the sound of his words.
Most of the Shimerian males present were single and waiting anxiously to make arrangements for invoking their own oaths. They were lined along the wall waiting for their turn with the official pactmaker representatives. All were dressed casually in different colors and styles of pants, shirts, and boots, but one thing was common to each and every one. There was a palpable sense of impatience and sheer male power exuding from each of the males. They were eager to conclude their business, but they were curious about the oath ceremony. For many of them, this ceremony would be the first one they had seen. Coming so close to their own pactmaking arrangements, the ceremony gained a certain significance.
Liken strode to where the Pactmaker waited. Sharon took the last steps remaining between them and came to stand at his side. Tair stood in the background to Liken’s left, while Kate waited on Sharon’s right. Tair’s eyes met Kate’s fuming gaze for one long moment before they turned to watch the other couple.
The next twenty minutes of the ceremony were a blur. Sharon heard the droning voice of the Pactmaker and responded whenever prompted. The actual words seemed to be coming from a great distance and she couldn’t really grasp the meanings. The only thing she could hear clearly was the pounding of her own heart, which seemed to be coming out of her chest.
She kept her eyes on the Pactmaker and kept repeating to herself silently, “Liken, his name is Liken. I’m gonna have sex with the guy, so I should try to remember his name. He’s an alien. I wonder if sex is the same? I’m not gonna get hysterical. I can do this. I have to do this. It’s no big deal. It will be fine. I can do this…”Sharon hoped that if she repeated the words over and over again, she might convince herself that she was doing the right thing.
She could feel the heat of Liken’s tall presence standing strong and still beside her. Only once did his big body grow stiff with tension. The Pactmaker repeated the words,“Your choice, my dear. You need to state it clearly…which oath do you choose, Seduction, Challenge or Capture?” The room was silent as everyone present waited for her reply.
She took a deep breath. Her mind spun with confusion like a top. What should she do? What could she do? She said in a quaking voice that was nearly inaudible, “Seduction.” She felt ridiculous and mortified to even say the word. Feeling the tension leave him, she hoped it was the right choice.Putting some strength into her voice, she said more firmly, “I choose Seduction.”
Sharon heard Liken’s masculine voice stating the rest of his vow in a strong, clear voice. She knew he was speaking English, but she couldn’t seem to absorb what he was saying. She felt disconnected from the entire scene. Finally, the ceremony was complete. Liken held out his hand and said her name softly, then a little louder. “Sharon…”
Sharon suddenly realized he was waiting for her to put her hand in his. Trembling, she reached out. As his hand caught hers, it was warm and strong. She nearly shuddered at the contact. It felt good and scary at the same time. As his thumb caressed the softness of her hand in a soothing motion, she realized her own hand was trembling.
He gave her hand a gentle tug, making her raise her eyes to his face for the first time since the ceremony began. His smile was both satisfied and teasing. “You will be fine. You can do this…a little interplanetary nookie won’t kill you…”Sharon gasped softly as she heard him repeat her earlier words.
“You were spying on us!” She felt angry and embarrassed.Her mind worked frantically, trying to remember what else she and Kate had said earlier.
With relief he watched the color come back into her face. She had gone pale and trembling during the ceremony, but anger was bringing her back to life. “Shimerian hearing is exceptional,sherree. Something you might want to remember in the future. We have all kinds of interesting qualities I’m sure you’ll enjoy.”
His smile broadened. “It’s time to go to the portal. Say your farewell to your friend.” He gently turned her in the direction of Kate and shook hands with the Pactmaker. Accepting the congratulations of the gathered males, he kept an eye on Sharon.
Sharon walked the few feet to Kate, who had angry tears in her eyes. She hated to see Kate so upset when there was nothing either of them could do to change things. She tried for a light tone. “It’s only a few weeks right? I’ll be coming back to file the papers and then it will be over. Life will be just the same as it was.” Even she could hear the doubt in her voice.
Kate agreed immediately, a little desperately. “That’s right. I’ll meet you here when you get back. You’ll be fine. We’ll go to O’Tooles and have a little celebration. Get silly and drunk. Dance and make fools of ourselves.” Thoughts of all the terrible things that could happen to Sharon were running through her mind, but she knew it wouldn’t help Sharon to hear them. Sharon needed to believe it would be okay.
Sharon rallied. “I can tell you what it’s like to sleep with the stud of the universe.”
Kate gave a weak laugh.“Sleep? I don’t see you getting much sleep.” They smiled at each other. Hugging her close, Kate whispered in her ear. “Give him hell. Make him treat you right. If he doesn’t, we’ll both kick his ass.”
Kate felt a touch on her shoulder. Startled, she looked back to find the Shimerian male who had made her so nervous earlier. He was even more gorgeous at close range. “What?” Her tone was hostile.
His grin only widened. “She will be fine. My brother will be good to her. They will be good together.”
Her chin went up higher. “Yes, she will be fine. Because if she isn’t, your brother will be sorry. You’ll both be sorry. I’m a lawyer. I’m not threatening to sue you. I’m telling you my profession so you’ll understand what a mean bitch I can be. I don’t worry about playing fair. I just win. You understand?”
She looked ready to attack him physically if her friend came to any injury. His dark eyes gleamed with appreciation and some secret amusement. “I understand more than you think,sheka. And I look forward to playing with you.” With those easy words, he turned and walked away.
Kate could only stare at him as his statements registered. He wasn’t a bit intimidated by her. She wasn’t used to that kind of reaction when she went into her “dangerous bitch mode.” It was very effective, especially with men.
Sharon laughed. She couldn’t help it. “I can’t believe it…you threatened him and he seemed to enjoy it.”Genuine amusement drained away a lot of her tension.
Kate made a small sound of disbelief. “I hate him.” Shaking off all thoughts of the intergalactic jerk, she hugged Sharon one last time, hard. “Take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon.” Then, before she could get too emotional, she turned and walked out of the room.
Sharon watched Kate until she disappeared. Her heart sunk as she realized that her final link to Earth had just walked out that door.