Alien Indiscretions (11 page)

Thinking of outrageous situations brought the image of that red handprint on Cissy’s ass to mind. Wal forced his thoughts away from that.

He came up with an anecdote he thought Tasha would find amusing. “There was one case in which two men broke into someone’s home. They stole a couple of computers, an entertainment vid system, and a few other items. What they forgot to take with them was the vid recorder they’d spent some time playing with, recording themselves eating the owner’s food, soaking in his whirlpool, having sex in his sleeping room, and generally enjoying themselves in his nice home before leaving.”

Tasha laughed outright at that, reminding Wal once more of Cissy’s more exuberant mien. Tasha was every bit as pretty as Cissy, especially when she smiled. So why was it Wal kept wishing he spoke to Cissy and not her sister?

Diltan grinned at him. “You had to go way back for that story, my Imdiko. A judge of your rank doesn’t get the petty cases like that.”

Wal shrugged. “It was the silliest case I ever had. I still laugh when I think of those two idiots.”

Rolat smirked. “Stupidity is always amusing to those of us who don’t suffer from it.”

Wal couldn’t resist the opening his clanmate had given him. “Hmm, I might have another story or twenty about a certain Nobek I know.”

Rolat gave him a look that was half amusement and half warning. The gentle kick against Wal’s shin only broadened the Imdiko’s smile.

He chuckled but said no more. It was too early to be embarrassing his clanmate in front of Tasha. If things worked out, there would be time enough for that. Plus there was also the knowledge that for every humiliating story he could share about Diltan and Rolat, they had just as many about him. Such was the price of a long clanship.

Wal settled for giving Tasha a knowing grin that promised future disclosure. She hid her smile behind her hand, as perfectly demure as ever. The Imdiko squelched the urge to sigh.

* * * *

Rolat relaxed when he realized Wal wasn’t going to tell any tales. That was good, especially since they didn’t know if they would end up with Tasha in the long run. The fewer the embarrassing stories floating around the general population, the better.

Rolat paid close attention to everything Tasha did and said. As a Nobek, it was in his nature to be watchful. However, he had a particular interest in catching every nuance from his potential lifemate.

Occasionally he thought he saw some of that amazing spark that had captured his interest earlier ... the fire that Tasha’s twin Cissy had displayed. Such spirit was an instant attraction for the Nobek. If Tasha had any of that, Rolat would be well pleased to be her clanmate. He liked how smart she was. He enjoyed intelligent conversation and there was no doubt Tasha could offer that.

Her attractiveness was another point in her favor. Though Tasha’s clothes did not display her body as much as Cissy’s soaksuit had displayed hers, Rolat was sure the curves were similar. Such a soft, rounded figure pleased the Nobek to no end, as his twitching cocks kept reminding him.

Yet there was a reticence to Tasha that bothered him. Obviously she would not share her innermost thoughts and secrets on a first date, but he felt she kept herself closed off. She seemed to be holding back more than she should. She answered their questions with short, sometimes meaningless replies and then distracted them with questions of her own. Rolat got the feeling Tasha tried to keep them talking about themselves so she didn’t have to share much.

She gently grilled Wal even now. “Tell me what kind of cases you deal with if you’re not serving justice to the mentally incompetent?”

Rolat’s Imdiko gave her a bland smile. “I get the ones that involve threats to the Empire or leaders of Kalquor. In recent years I’ve sat on a panel that had to decide the fate of a decorated war hero who had become a serial killer, which was most unpleasant.”

Rolat let Wal’s voice drone into the background. It wasn’t that he didn’t find his clanmate’s work interesting or that he didn’t respect what Wal had to say. He already knew the story the Imdiko judge shared, knew it inside and out. If Tasha was going to continue to gloss over her own background, there seemed to be little point in attending the conversation so closely.

He glanced at the Earther male playing the violin. The man was young, his face almost as pretty as a girl’s. He was the exact opposite of Kalquorian men; fair-skinned, blonde, blue-eyed. The slender youth stood barely taller than Tasha. For the Kalquorian men who couldn’t hope to clan or for the clans who preferred males to females, Earther men had become as welcome in the Empire as their female lifebearer counterparts. The homosexual Earthers, as repressed as the women, were finding loving homes in the Empire. No doubt this young man had been courted by some Kalquorian man or men and given a new life away from his own kind’s persecution.

Rolat looked at Tasha. Like most Kalquorian men he was bisexual, enjoying the company of males and females. With his clan’s rank, he hoped to attract a Matara to their unit though Kalquorian women were rare. His clan being picked for the lottery had enhanced their chances greatly, allowing them to compete for the Earther women.

Being in the company of the lovely Tasha was a chance that could not be allowed to pass them by. Yet Rolat’s thoughts kept roaming to the lookalike sister, the one who had threatened to turn the Nobek and his clanmates into women if they didn’t treat Tasha with respect. Remembering that almost made Rolat laugh out loud right there and then. He contained his amusement with great difficulty.

If only Tasha would show more of that spirit instead of the quiet politeness she’d worn all evening! Rolat wanted to wonder if his dinner companion would be exciting in bed ... but instead, he wondered that about Cissy. By the ancestors, he could already imagine her naked after seeing her in that barely-there soaksuit. The fantasy of that body beneath his, perhaps struggling against him in an effort to be on top ... his mouth went dry and his cocks swelled. Rolat was sure Cissy might try to fight him for superior position. The thrill of gaining the surrender of such a woman was too enticing to dismiss easily. Pinning Cissy down, her bountiful breasts heaving with effort, her eyes wide as she realized she had no choice but to be dominated by him—

Diltan’s none-too-gentle kick to his ankle beneath the table brought Rolat out of his fantasy. The Nobek was abruptly aware that his Dramok, Wal, and Tasha all looked at him. Tasha’s smile was expectant, not that challenging smirk Cissy had worn. She must have asked him one of her many questions, he thought.

Rolat cleared his throat, his face heating with embarrassment. “Please excuse me, Matara. I’m afraid Wal bored me to the point that I tuned out. I’ve heard all his stories, you see.”

The Imdiko scowled at him. “That’s right, Rolat. Show her what a jerk you are.”

The Nobek gave Wal a slow wink to placate his sensitive clanmate. Wal snorted, but the crease between his brows eased, letting Rolat know the slight was forgiven.

Rolat couldn’t resist teasing just a little. “If it makes you feel any better, you’re not half as boring as Diltan.”

“Yes, I know. No one is.” Wal’s smile filled with devilish delight as he joined in on the fun. The chance to dig at their Dramok was never one to be resisted by the Imdiko.

As Diltan gave them both a warning frown, Tasha tittered behind her hand. “Boys, boys. Behave yourselves or you get no dessert.”

Rolat grinned at her. She might not be the livewire Cissy was, but Tasha was a good sport. He inclined his head in respect. “Please forgive my rudeness, Tasha. What did you ask?”

“I asked how much you have to travel as the head of all the Empire’s prisons and work camps.”

“Speaking of boring,” Diltan snorted.

Rolat agreed, but he ignored his Dramok and politely answered. “I travel for work as much as possible. We Nobeks don’t tend to do well behind desks, so any excuse to go to the facilities in person is a good excuse in my book.”

Tasha hid her mouth behind her hand to giggle again. Her tendency to do that made Rolat feel she masked more than just her smile. Yet he could hardly imagine what a placid, sweet girl like her could have to hide.

* * * *

Diltan poured them all another round of bohut, which he was glad Tasha liked to drink. He felt this initial appointment with the Earther was going well. He chalked up the boredom he felt to the painful necessity of getting to know someone for the first time.

Tasha had good breeding written all over her. Quiet and polite, she was as well-mannered as Diltan could hope for in a potential mate. Tasha was nothing like her too-bold sister, thank the ancestors.

Once more Diltan was forced to wonder how two women, raised side by side since birth, could be so monumentally different. He also wondered how outrageously Cissy would have behaved had it been her they’d brought to the restaurant. What would she have replaced that scandalous little soaksuit with for a night out?

Every time Diltan saw Cissy, she wore something inappropriate. First had been the casual and mannish outfit she’d come to Kalquor in. Then all that flesh this evening!

But he couldn’t think about that, not when remembering all that luscious flesh got him as hard as a hormonally-charged youngling. That Cissy had such an effect on him irritated Diltan to no end.

So she’s wonderful to look at. What of it? Doesn’t that mean Tasha will be every bit as enticing when she isn’t covered so modestly? This is the perfect one; the one who looks so classy in public and possibly erotic in private.

Yet no matter how hard he tried, Diltan couldn’t imagine Tasha naked. Every time he tried, he saw fiery-eyed Cissy in the blue soaksuit ... with that handprint on her smooth flank and cock-cutting smile on her face.

Diltan felt sure Tasha was witty and strong in her own right. She had to be ... all the liveliness Cissy exhibited had to be present in Tasha as well. Right?

Yet his date didn’t strike him as daring. There was more than just a hint of caution to Tasha, almost as if she’d erected some invisible barrier between herself and Diltan’s clan. She might have the same face as Cissy, but Diltan couldn’t visualize her with any of her sister’s exuberance or spunk.

Diltan mentally shook his head at himself. What did it matter if Tasha was proper? That was what he wanted anyway. He did not want to clan an outrageous Matara who would balk him at every turn. Certainly he did not want a lifemate who threatened to rip his dicks off.

Tasha was a perfectly nice woman, one who would be an asset to Diltan’s public life. Given time, he might even find that she was indeed the woman for his clan.

By the time Cissy peeled her eyelids apart the next day, the morning was almost done. Yawning hugely, she made herself get up, throw on a robe, and trudge to her tiny kitchen. Minutes later she went through the door connecting her apartment to her sister’s, carrying two cups of coffee. She was slow in waking but made herself alert for any sign that Tasha had not come home alone.

There were no puddles of clothing thrown off in mad desire as Cissy made the short trip to Tasha’s bedroom. The only apparel she had to step over consisted of her sister’s skirt and blouse ensemble the night before, which Tasha had dropped carelessly on the floor. One form huddled under the covers on the sleeping mat. Cissy set the cups down on the bedside shelf next to a silver-framed picture of her parents. She gave their beaming images a sad smile, missing her mother and father even though years had passed since their deaths. The boating accident that had taken the elder Salters’ lives had occurred while the twins were away at college. Jessica and Lindsey, along with their parents Tara and Aaron, had been their strength during that sad time. The McInness family had taken the weight of funeral arrangements off the shoulders of the grieving twins. Auntie Tara had even identified the bodies, taking on that awful responsibility and sparing Cissy and Tasha any memory that would ruin the one of a happy, lively couple.

Cissy straightened, putting the past where it belonged. Her mother and father would have been devastated to think they would ever cause her any pain. It was best to think of the full, joyful lives they had managed to have under the shadow of an often paranoid government. They had lived well, proving it was the spirit that made for a good existence, more so than the circumstances that surrounded it.

Cissy yawned again. She wrinkled her nose at the window vid that gave the illusion of a flowering garden right outside Tasha’s room – even though they were six floors off the ground level. Cissy wished the rooms had real windows, though she understood how well vids conserved energy. While well-ventilated, it would be nice to open a window and have a breeze float through the room.

Needing caffeine to improve her mood, Cissy set about bouncing on Tasha’s bed. “Wakie, wakie! Rise and shine, give the world your glow, you precious sunbeam!”

“Bitch,” the mound under the covers muttered. It curled into a tight ball.

Cissy stopped bouncing. “I brought coffee.”

Tasha sat up and reached her hand out with her eyes still closed. “Give me.”

Cissy laughed and handed the goods over, careful to not slop hot java. Tasha woke in as good a mood as her sister did. And looks twice as bad, Cissy thought to herself, hoping it was true but suspecting otherwise. Tasha’s perfect coif from the night before was now a snarled bird’s nest, sticking up all over the place. Cissy put her hands to her own head to check on how her mane had fared after the night.

Nope. Her tangles felt as if they were much worse than Tasha’s. Cissy patted at the mess in a vain attempt to calm it before reaching for her cup of coffee.

Tasha didn’t start drinking right away. As always, she inhaled the steam rising from her cup with pleasure before taking that first glorious sip. She grimaced with semi-happiness and her eyes slitted open. “You may return in an hour, and only then if you bring more.”

Cissy crossed her legs in a lotus position, getting comfortable on her sister’s bed. “Forget it. I’m dying to hear about your date last night.”