you really don’t want me, Calder, I’ll stop. Can’t we at least be friends?”
“Friends.”
“You know, say hello to each other when we pass on the street, talk sometimes.
Gossip about our other friends.”
Calder’s face clouded over and he pulled his cloth back into place. “I don’t want to be friends with you.” He turned on his heel and strode off into the night.
*
Braden made sure he was sated to the gills before he ventured back home to d’Enela Street. He liked the apartment he’d bought from Rio when Rio had left Bor Narga to be with his honey, but lately being there drove him crazy.
He’d thought it a good idea to invite lonely Katarina to share the apartment with him. He’d get to look at a pretty woman every day, for one thing, and it might boot Calder’s ass into gear, for another.
But living with a woman he didn’t fuck was proving to be difficult. Braden was Shareem, after all. Every day he smelled Katarina’s need, every night he tasted her longing on the air. She was in dire need of sating, and she didn’t want Braden to sate her.
Damn Calder. If the idiot would get off his ass and screw Katarina senseless, the sizzle in the air would ease and Braden could sleep.
The only solution was for Braden to go out every night and screw as much as he could. Tonight he’d found two women from Ariel, on shore leave from an orbiting freighter. After hauling cargo all day, they thought they wouldn’t find much fun on backwater Bor Narga. Braden had enjoyed proving them wrong.
When he walked into the apartment, the scent of Katarina’s heightened arousal struck him. Damn it. His cock, which he’d thought he’d calmed for the night, started to rise again.
Katarina sat at the kitchen table, her elbows propped on it. A barely touched meal lay in front of her and her eyes looked suspiciously red.
Braden could run, make his way through the streets searching for more horny females until he couldn’t stand up. Instead he dropped into the chair opposite Katarina.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
She scowled up at him. “I hate them.”
“Hate who?”
Katarina threw down her fork. “The women who go to Calder. Women who want him to be The Beast.” She sat back. “I have no business caring. He doesn’t want me and I should let it go.”
“Calder was here tonight.”
“Yes, how did you know?”
Braden tapped his nose. “I smell you all wet, and I smell Shareem on you too. What happened?”
Katarina told him a heartbreaking story of Calder visiting, pleasuring her and then abruptly leaving. She wasn’t specific about the pleasuring, but Braden had a good imagination.
“Want me to talk to him?” Braden offered.
He knew he could never understand all that Calder had gone through, but Braden grew suddenly angry with him. The man tried too hard to push everyone away. He continually tried to push Braden away, and Braden would laugh but give him space for a while. Calder needed friends.
“No,” Katarina answered. “What I want is to forget about him.”
Braden reached for her hand. “I’ve offered to help you do that.”
She shook her head. “As mad as I am at Calder, he’s right about a couple of things.
One, I have no business wanting to have intercourse with a Shareem, and two, you flit from woman to woman without thought.”
“He said that?” Braden asked, stung, then he had to swallow his pride. “It’s true that I don’t have a history of being a one-woman guy. And if you’re still a virgin, I
might hurt you without meaning to. Level threes get rough. We don’t know how not to be.”
Her blush told him she didn’t find that as frightening as she should. “I never even wanted intercourse with a human. I never wanted to marry.”
“Never? Highborn women are supposed to pick out men with good genetic histories and make more highborn babies.”
Pain entered her eyes. “Maybe I mean I never met a man I wanted to marry. I want more than what I see my friends
“Friends.”
“You know, say hello to each other when we pass on the street, talk sometimes.
Gossip about our other friends.”
Calder’s face clouded over and he pulled his cloth back into place. “I don’t want to be friends with you.” He turned on his heel and strode off into the night.
*
Braden made sure he was sated to the gills before he ventured back home to d’Enela Street. He liked the apartment he’d bought from Rio when Rio had left Bor Narga to be with his honey, but lately being there drove him crazy.
He’d thought it a good idea to invite lonely Katarina to share the apartment with him. He’d get to look at a pretty woman every day, for one thing, and it might boot Calder’s ass into gear, for another.
But living with a woman he didn’t fuck was proving to be difficult. Braden was Shareem, after all. Every day he smelled Katarina’s need, every night he tasted her longing on the air. She was in dire need of sating, and she didn’t want Braden to sate her.
Damn Calder. If the idiot would get off his ass and screw Katarina senseless, the sizzle in the air would ease and Braden could sleep.
The only solution was for Braden to go out every night and screw as much as he could. Tonight he’d found two women from Ariel, on shore leave from an orbiting freighter. After hauling cargo all day, they thought they wouldn’t find much fun on backwater Bor Narga. Braden had enjoyed proving them wrong.
When he walked into the apartment, the scent of Katarina’s heightened arousal struck him. Damn it. His cock, which he’d thought he’d calmed for the night, started to rise again.
Katarina sat at the kitchen table, her elbows propped on it. A barely touched meal lay in front of her and her eyes looked suspiciously red.
Braden could run, make his way through the streets searching for more horny females until he couldn’t stand up. Instead he dropped into the chair opposite Katarina.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
She scowled up at him. “I hate them.”
“Hate who?”
Katarina threw down her fork. “The women who go to Calder. Women who want him to be The Beast.” She sat back. “I have no business caring. He doesn’t want me and I should let it go.”
“Calder was here tonight.”
“Yes, how did you know?”
Braden tapped his nose. “I smell you all wet, and I smell Shareem on you too. What happened?”
Katarina told him a heartbreaking story of Calder visiting, pleasuring her and then abruptly leaving. She wasn’t specific about the pleasuring, but Braden had a good imagination.
“Want me to talk to him?” Braden offered.
He knew he could never understand all that Calder had gone through, but Braden grew suddenly angry with him. The man tried too hard to push everyone away. He continually tried to push Braden away, and Braden would laugh but give him space for a while. Calder needed friends.
“No,” Katarina answered. “What I want is to forget about him.”
Braden reached for her hand. “I’ve offered to help you do that.”
She shook her head. “As mad as I am at Calder, he’s right about a couple of things.
One, I have no business wanting to have intercourse with a Shareem, and two, you flit from woman to woman without thought.”
“He said that?” Braden asked, stung, then he had to swallow his pride. “It’s true that I don’t have a history of being a one-woman guy. And if you’re still a virgin, I
might hurt you without meaning to. Level threes get rough. We don’t know how not to be.”
Her blush told him she didn’t find that as frightening as she should. “I never even wanted intercourse with a human. I never wanted to marry.”
“Never? Highborn women are supposed to pick out men with good genetic histories and make more highborn babies.”
Pain entered her eyes. “Maybe I mean I never met a man I wanted to marry. I want more than what I see my friends
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