Part 1 (1/2)
TALES OF THE SHAREEM.
AIDEN AND KY.
Allyson James.
Chapter One.
Encounter.
The Shareem on the other side of the coffee bar swirled his tongue over the cream at the top of his cup and pulled it into his mouth.
Brianne daAroth went weak in the knees. She sat in a cooled room under cooled robes and still she wanted to melt into a puddle on the questionably clean floor.
He dipped his tongue into the cream again, coating the tip before drawing it into his mouth. He closed his eyes to savor the taste, a little smile on his face.
Every woman in the coffee bar leaned toward him as he swallowed, the hollow at his collarbone damp with sweat. His loose robes revealed a V of strong chest and light-colored curls licking sun-kissed skin.
His mane of blond hair was gathered at the base of his neck and flowed all the way down toaprobably his backside. Too bad the table blocked her view.
Oblivious of every female growing wet between the legs for him, he licked up another dab of cream. This time a drop lingered on his lips. Smiling, he slid his tongue out to clean it up.
This should be outlawed, Brianne thought over the rapid beating of her heart. Maybe she should call the patrol.
But the Shareem wasnat actually doing anything. He was sitting alone, sipping his coffee.
The way he sipped it, that should be outlawed.
The Shareem opened his eyes and looked straight at her, deep blue eyes pinning Brianne in place.
Not that he could see much of her. Brianne had covered herself from head to foot in plain robes so no one would know who she was. Shead taken off her face veil so she could enjoy her coffee but was careful to keep her head down and not reveal her features.
The Shareem looked directly at her. All over. She might as well be sitting there stark naked.
His smile widened, as though he knew what she thought. G.o.ds, sitting stark naked in a public place while he did nothing but look at her made her feela Mmm.
Shocked. Of course. Horrified. Amazed at his audacity. She should s.h.i.+eld her face from his unwelcome scrutiny, turn her back and walk away in a huff. She should snap her fingers for one of her bodyguards to come and teach the Shareem his place.
And have him stop looking at me like that?
Forget it.
She did the boldest thing shead ever done in her life. Brianne looked straight back at the Shareem and sent him a little smile.
Contact.
Adrenaline raced through her body, hot sensation pooling at the base of her spine. The Shareem acknowledged her smile with a sly quirk of his lips. Watching her, he dipped his tongue into the cream again.
She realized with startling clarity that he was picturing lapping the cream between her legs. Shareem could do thata”make a woman think of nothing but him pleasuring her.
Iam going to die now.
With a smile on my face.
This could go no farther. Brianne should not be down in Pas City even if her bodyguards had stationed themselves casually around the back of the coffee bar. She should not be enjoying the surprisingly good coffee in the shabby bar with common workers anda”dear G.o.dsa”a Shareem.
Shead come out as she sometimes did to see how people really lived, the women and men she spent her life trying to help. It was difficult to see what they were like from inside the huge compound that was the ruling familyas home. So on a regular basis Brianne dressed like an ordinary middle-cla.s.s woman and wandered the streets, looking around, protected by a dozen discreet bodyguards in case of trouble, or worse, reporters.
Shead never expected to see one of the genetically enhanced Shareem. Shareem were more or less outlawed on Bor Narga, allowed to live if they kept themselves to themselves, if they didnat try to procreate or leave the planet, and if they subjected themselves to a barrage of inoculations every six months.
Brianne had just popped in on a whim to try the local coffee. And there he was.
Shead heard they could sense when a woman wanted one and contrive to be where she could find him. She wondered which woman in the coffee bar would be lucky enough to take him home today and felt a twinge of envy.
Her smile turned regretful. Shead go home and deal with her upcoming wedding to Dranis, who was boring and stuffy but had good DNA. Their children, who would be incubated at the Ministry of Families, would be healthy, look good on the digital feeds and have a fairly good IQa”not genius level, but enough intelligence to deal with being part of the ruling family of the planet.
Brianne had already had her hymen removed in a nice little celebration when shead come of age. Shead be spared the embarra.s.sment of s.e.xual encounters because Dranis had no interest in s.e.x, one of the reasons shead chosen him. Theyad give their DNA to the Ministryas lab and never share a bed.
s.e.x was for the lower cla.s.ses, and even they strove to put their basic urges behind them.
The warm look in the Shareemas eyes said, Itas not embarra.s.sing, sweetheart. Itas the best thing youall have in your life.
She gave a tiny shake of her head. Maybe another woman could indulge, and a few upper-cla.s.s women did, but not Brianne daAroth.
He understood her signal. He made the barest shrug as he leaned forward to sip more coffee, as though to say, Hey, your loss, it could have been good.
Probably it would have been very, very good.
Her heart still racing with awakened needs, she sent him another small smile, thanking him for being so utterly gorgeous to look at. His answering grin made her body temperature soar again, and a dark tingling began in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She needed to get out of there before she gave in to the temptation of him. She was already sweating.
She flung her veil over her face, slid from the stool and hurried from the coffee bar without a backward look.
As she half ran along the bazaar shaded with colored canopies she did not notice a detachment of her guard charge in the back way of the coffee bar and arrest the Shareem. Their monitors had registered Brianneas rise in adrenaline and temperature, then theyad seen her run out faster than theyad ever seen her move before.
Their orders were to arrest and confine any who dared a.s.sault their lady. When they entered the coffee bar they saw the Shareem anda”well, everyone knew what Shareem did.
So Aiden found himself manacled and shackled and thrown into a ground transport before he could even finish his d.a.m.ned coffee.
aWhat did you say your name was?a aKy,a Ky answered impatiently as the patroller in dusty leggings, a loose tunic and scarred boots checked her handheld one more time.
aYes, there you are.a The patroller looked proud shead located Kyas information from the central computer at the Ministry of Non-Human Life Forms. aAnd youare looking foraa aAiden,a Ky said for the third time. aHe was arrested in a coffee bar and I want to know why.a aI can guess why.a The patroller pushed b.u.t.tons on her handheld, moving slowly. aHeas a Shareem, isnat he? Here it is. He was taken to the jail block in Senoda.a aWhat for?a The patroller peered at her handheld. as.e.xual a.s.sault.a Ky stared at her a stunned moment. aThatas bulls.h.i.+t. Shareem canat a.s.sault a woman. Weare programmed not to.a The patroller, a tall woman only about five inches shorter than Ky, gave him an evil look. aYouare the one whoas full of bulls.h.i.+t. You Shareem put women in manacles. You whip them and pretend they like it. That one called Calder chases women through a pleasure palace of some kind. Iave heard.a aAnd the ladies pay Calder a frigging fortune to let him do it. What happened, he turn you down?a The patrolleras face turned three shades of red. aShareem are menaces and should have been terminated years ago. At least Aiden will be terminated tomorrow.a Kyas heart nearly stopped.
Ky and Aiden had been friends since the fall of DNAmo, the defunct factory that had set out to make the ultimate male to pleasure women. DNAmo had done the job a little too well, and the paranoid women who ruled the planet shut down DNAmo and outlawed the making of Shareem. Wouldnat want women l.u.s.ting after s.e.x and possibly going back to the time when women had been completely submissive to men, would they?