The Tracker's Quest: (Forced To Serve #6) (6 page)

Seta snorted. “Yes. I admit I have always pondered their relationship as well. I envy Commander Jet’s warrior nature. I am not as fierce—and way more confused about males.”

Ji was still looking at her, but she had nothing further to say to him on the matter. The Siren would never understand. She didn’t long for a mating the way most females did. She never had and couldn’t imagine ever doing so. As an angry, abused Ethosian female, she also couldn’t imagine a more disappointing female for a Siren to want to bind himself to forever.

“Come and eat, Ji. They have sent two meals. One is for tonight. The other is for tomorrow. If you have never seen our food, you might not be able to tell the difference without me. Please come to the table. It would honor me to serve you.”

“Seta,” Ji waited until she turned to him. “You are complex, beautiful, and have a greater grace under pressure than any other creature I’ve known. You have rebounded from abuse, from suffering, and come back from death itself. I have seen the demon in control of your body and yet your spirit found its way back from oblivion. I have seen you grieving for Rena. But I have also seen you melting with pleasure in my arms—felt you experiencing it for the first time. And absolutely everything we have shared has increased my compassion for you. My quest is to win your heart, Seta Trax. If I do that properly, you will agree to become my mate when asked. And I swear I will respect and honor your body.”

Seta sighed and dropped her head to stare at the floor. “Please. I can’t talk about this anymore. Come to the table, Ji.”

She sighed in relief when he finally rose from his chair and walked to the table.

Chapter 5

Seta woke from the best sleep she’d gotten on Ethos to find herself draped over Ji’s naked chest. His hand stroked her hair with a tenderness no one but Rena had ever shown her. She lifted her face and watched his smile in waking welcome.

“Blessed day. I woke at first light and found you had crawled on top of me in your sleep.”

Seta blinked at how attractive Ji was. This was always her first thought when she saw him.

“I got cold in the night. Instead of reaching for a cover, I guess I reached for you.”

Ji ran a hand over Seta’s face. Sometimes she looked as innocent as a child. Perhaps she still was one in many ways. But fortunately she was a grown female in all the right ways. “It pleases me to know you would do so. I very much like keeping you warm.”

Seta pulled away slightly, not wanting to bolt and hurt the tentative peace between them. She already regretted their too personal discussion the previous evening. Nothing they had done together merited a requirement for Ji to confess all his past actions with other females to her. Truth was—she didn’t really want to know any details. It was easier to tolerate the Siren without knowing very much.

“Do Ethosians read energy?” Ji rolled sideways until Seta slid down beside him.

“Some do,” Seta answered carefully, wondering why Ji asked such a question. “Rena was intuitive, but she did not read energy the way I do. Truthfully though, I cannot tell now what skills the demon provides and what is innate. My memories before Zorinda are blurred, probably because there is not much during that time which I care to recall. Ania warned me the demon could be influencing almost everything I believe to be truth. I’ve learned to skeptical and not take anything for granted.”

“Will the guards or your father be able to sense that nothing really happened between us last night?”

Ji’s practical question had her looking away and plucking at the bed covers. Arghane would know. She could tell he was intuitive about such things because she constantly fought off his energy. Her nod was followed by a sigh. “My father will not know, but Arghane will.”

She froze when Ji covered her body with his in answer. Did he expect to bond this morning? His interest was obvious against her, but her interest was not activated at all. Worry tightened her muscles instinctively. Earthlings were infamous for the strong flight or fight urge built into their biological defenses. Yet nearly all alien cultures felt some similar urge under threatening circumstances. She certainly did, and it was all she could do not to push Ji off of her.

“Stop flinching with me,” Ji ordered, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I would never, ever force you to accept me physically. But I do want to mark you so it appears we spent last night indulging. It is a ruse which will keep you off-limits and keep me from killing the chief guard for leering at you in front of me.”

“Mark me? Mark me how?” Seta demanded, ignoring Ji’s possessive jealousy. Arghane’s attention did not concern her. Plus, she didn’t have the luxury of worrying about Ji alongside everything else she had to do.

“I need to mark you energetically,” Ji repeated, burying his face against Seta’s throat. Breathing her scent in, he explored the pleasure he felt in the intimacy. This satisfaction was what he would feel for his mate when the urgency of the Siren’s call had passed. Perhaps he could use a few of those pheromones he was fighting off to help them with their circumstances.

“Hold me more intimately. Spread your thighs and let me rest myself. . .” The rest of the command died still on his tongue when Seta wrapped her nearly naked legs around him. A feral sound rose from his gut as the word ‘mine’ seared his brain. This position was not safe—not even with his implants pumping control drugs steadily. But he couldn’t let anyone harm her either. “I must do this. Return your pleasure to me if you can.”

Metering his desire as much as he could, Ji lifted his head from her throat. When his mouth found Seta’s, confusion over what he intended froze her response at first, but then she melted. That tiny act of surrender—something he viciously craved from her—was almost his undoing. He sought Seta’s hands, both of them, and linked their fingers tightly to keep from stripping away the barriers between them. Her lips were hungry on his despite her protests about not wanting him, but still he kept his lips gentle in return. He had something more important in mind, so he eased their mouths apart.

“Do you trust me not to hurt you, Seta?” Ji whispered the question and then waited. She kept her eyes closed, but finally nodded her head. It was the longest minute of his life. “Then put your gaze on mine and meet me as my equal, Sweet Joy.”

Her eyes flew open at his command—wide open at what he said. He was going to enjoy causing that startled gaze over and over for the rest of their life together.

“I am as flawed as any male you have known in your short life, but I am also striving to be worthy of the trust you have given me. With that in mind, I offer you all I am in support of your quest until you are satisfied it is done. Now accept the pleasure I bring to you to seal our agreement. Return yours to me if you can. This will convince even the least of intuitives that we have a physical accord.”

Ji put his mouth to hers again, this time not holding back the hunger he felt in every cell. Beneath his lips, Seta whimpered as she shattered and arched under him. In the process of giving her pleasure, his mouth fell from hers again. The sound he made as he buried his face in her neck was half-wounded animal and half a sob of relief to have even so small a concession. It startled him to hear his need of her given voice.

Her hands caressed the back of his head and stroked his braid. It was something he barely let himself fantasize about. As Seta’s resistance to him receded, her compassion increased and slid into him. She had not returned pleasure, but she had given him something he had never felt before with a female. For the first time in his already long Siren life, the restless spirit within him found genuine contentment. His reflection was broken by her sigh.

“I suppose I should thank you for protecting me in such a pleasant manner. I read Sirens could pleasure without direct touch, but it is a different matter to receive actual proof.”

Laughing was a disrespectful response to her sweet comment, but he couldn’t prevent it. When she tried to dislodge him, Ji used his greater weight and strength to pin her wrists to the bed. He was unwilling to let her up until he had a chance to explain his amusement.

Seta yanked at her hands, anger growing. She didn’t understand why the demon’s power was nowhere to be found with the aggravating Siren laughing at her. “Why is my gratitude so amusing to you? Has no female ever thanked you before? Maybe you’re not as talented as you think you are.”

“Sssh. . .stop insulting me,” Ji whispered, trying not to get angry at the way she constantly used his species as an insult. “I was amused only at my happy reaction to you. When you thanked me, I realized how jaded I had become. Your tenderness towards me after being pleasured is now something I crave as much as food or drink. Pleasing you could happily become my full-time career.”

“Now you mock me. You see me as nothing more than a weak female to toy with—both mind and body,” Seta hissed, lifting her chin and looking off.

“I would never use you in such a way. Do not accuse me of it again or I will punish you,” Ji whispered fiercely. “I respect you too much to ever hurt you.”

“Get off me. You lie like every other male I’ve known,” Seta declared.

A sharp-toothed bite on her neck had her squealing in genuine alarm, but it was several seconds before Ji let go. “You bit me! I can’t believe you bit me. Was that punishment for what I said?”

“Was that punishment?” His laughter erupted at Seta’s indignant glare. Her outrage stirred him wickedly, so he moved off her while he still could. “No. The love bite was not punishment. I just marked you outwardly as being mine. Wear clothing to make sure Suzerain Trax and Chief Arghane see the mark. Such an obvious bonding symbol will erase any doubts they have about the nature of our relationship.”

Seta’s surprisingly hard punch to his shoulder nearly knocked him off the sleeping platform. Ji rubbed the place she’d hit, pleased he had not called out in surprise or pain. Seta’s growing strength was a bit of a concern to his Siren male ego. But he would never have become a ship’s captain being the kind of male who ran from a challenge.

“Never bite me again, Ji. I belong to no male. To think differently would be a deadly allusion for you to cultivate,” Seta declared, rolling from the bed to her feet.

“Correction—no Ethosian male controls your destiny, nor will they ever while I breathe. But you will eventually accept that you belong to me, Seta. And I belong to you. We have already begun the process of becoming mates. You have my word—our mating is real.”

When her eyes narrowed to slits, his mouth twitched even though he dared not laugh aloud again. Harsh language that sounded like animals quarreling filled the air around his head. This was the second time he had sent Seta into a passionate temper fit. Her anger at him would just further corroborate their stories. All in all—it was a good start to their day.

“When you finish dressing, come to the table. I will serve first meal. It seems only fair since you served me last night,” Ji ordered.

“You know I cannot let you do that.” Seta spat the words in English to be sure he heard and understood.

“As far as I can tell the rooms are not wired with cameras or sound. I checked yesterday. So long as there is no one to observe us, we will conduct ourselves as we please. I do not want you to think I wish to have a subservient mate—or at least not when it comes to meals and daily living chores. I wish to spend my time with an equal, which I have found in you. Now stop arguing with me.”

“Say
please
,” Seta ordered, mocking him for the times he had demanded the same from her.

Ji’s mouth twitched. The sweet challenge of her rebellion crawled through him. “Do you wish to have a matching love bite on the other side of your neck?”

Seta huffed out a frustrated breath. “See? I knew your humility was false.”

Ji grinned and shrugged. “I’ve always had a problem with humility. It feels so unnatural. Perhaps you will help me grow that particular character trait in our time together.”

“This conversation is a waste of energy. I am going to visit the cleansing area. Our canton uses a recycled liquid for that purpose, but since we also drink it, the liquid is highly valued. When it is your turn to cleanse yourself, do not spill it on the surrounding floor if you can prevent doing so. Make sure it stays within the space so it goes into the recycler. The penalty for waste is incarceration for several weeks.”

“Advice noted. Thank you for educating me. Now
please
—hurry to your cleansing before I am tempted to give you a true reason to perform that task.”

Seta growled again at his insinuation she would bond with him willingly and swore in her old language, the one she had set aside. Then it occurred to her that his harassment might have a different purpose. “You mock me to torment me, don’t you?”

Ji grinned and shrugged again. “Only sometimes,” he replied.

Gritting her teeth to keep from issuing another useless threat, Seta turned on her heel and headed to the cleansing area.

Hearing the Siren humming over their meal preparations promptly made her want to go back to him. The reaction annoyed her more than it should have.

She grabbed the edges of the nearest cabinet and ordered herself to stay where she was.

***

After they had eaten, Seta cleaned up the remnants of their meal while Ji took his turn in the cleansing area. When he reappeared, she smelled a new spicy scent on him, no doubt from one of the many amenities provided in the suite. The enhancement scent mixed well with the smell she associated with Ji’s presence. It also intrigued her enough to want to get closer to him. Desire bloomed inside her like a living thing with a mind of its own.

Fortunately, Arghane knocked on their door before Ji had a chance to discover her arousal. It was bad enough she had been obedient and left the love bite uncovered. Not because Ji had told her to do so, but because Zorinda had made no effort whatsoever to heal the bruised flesh.

The wrist burns from being tied up during Meen’s raid on the
Guardian
had healed in a matter of hours. Ji’s matching marks had lingered on him for days even though he’d sought help from Medical. Obviously the powerful creature inside her had decided Ji’s advice was sound about letting the mark be an outward symbol. After the way Arghane had glared and promptly ignored her after noticing the bite, she had reluctantly come around to agreeing with both of them.