Neeri's Need: How to Crash a Party Page 2

  Sasha made a mewling sound, eyes flicking from her to the Mato sobbing and pleading incoherently behind her. “I think,” she said in a thin voice, “you’re about the scariest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Neeri flashed her a hungry grin full of sharp, white teeth. “Why Red, I never knew you were such a flirt. Where’s the washroom? Pretty sure Ridge has germs.” She raised her hands and wiggled her fingers.

  Sasha pointed to the hallway and said faintly, “Second door on the left.”

  “Be right back. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Sasha snorted and muttered as she left, “Like that’s even possible.” Neeri snickered all the way down the hall.

  *******

  Sasha stared at the bartender and wondered how the hell she’d gotten herself into this mess. It’d started at the bar. She’d woken up and seen this guy watching her with a disconcertingly knowing grin. She’d thought she’d fallen asleep but now wondered if something a lot more sinister had happened. Because everything the cat woman had said was true, from her birthmark to Ocen’s pet name for her.

  But that was nuts, totally insane! How could she have been drugged, kidnapped, and imprisoned, and not remember a second of it? How could she have had sex with Ocen and not know it? Granted, she’d been thinking about it hard. He was the most maddeningly attractive male she’d ever met, never mind that he wasn’t even human. The intricate patterns and smooth gleam of his scales called to her fingers like a siren song, making her tingle all over with the urge to touch and stroke. His scent was a tantalizing musk she’d decided must be a potent pheromone, because she couldn’t focus on anything but him when she smelled it. And he treated her with such gentle respect, his calm confidence and intent courtship seducing her as much as his deliciously muscled body. But she was just coming to terms with him being an alien—a telepathic alien, able to read every little thought in her head—let alone jump in the sack with him.

  Her intense reaction to Ocen baffled her. While they were together, it hadn’t even bothered her when her workplace docked her pay for what they referred to as an “unsanctioned leave of absence.” She’d thought they’d made a mistake. How could she be gone for days and not know it?

  And then there was Neeri. Sasha shook her head, staring at the naked male still squirming and moaning in an agony of unreleased lust, a lust Neeri had inflamed with such ruthless will then walked away from with such callous disregard. Who the hell was she? It hadn’t escaped Sasha’s notice that Neeri had evaded that question more than once. She knew too much. She’d manipulated Ocen using his brother. She’d stepped into Sasha’s world and claimed it, wielding a control as impressive as it was terrifying. And they still had no idea why she was here.

  Sasha rose on shaky legs and wondered what the hell she was going to do. Ocen seemed to be going along with this madness. He’d told her Neeri was being truthful about Adin needing help but then hadn’t explained how he knew that or why he was trusting this freaky female. He’d left, and Sasha needed him back with an intensity almost as scary as Neeri’s golden, predatory eyes and razor-sharp claws.

  “Ridge,” she croaked, then cleared her throat and tried again. “Is that your name? Ridge?”

  He groaned, hips fucking the air slowly, cock bright red and glistening with liquid dribbling from the engorged head. Sasha pulled her eyes away from that bobbing member, trying to ignore her own morbid fascination and the tingling heat between her thighs. She shouldn’t be turned on by this. It was bizarre and just…wrong.

  “She called you something else, too. Rytel? Are you Rytel?”

  He lifted his head, expression dazed and eyes blurred. “Mistress. I need my Mistress…”

  “Snap out of it, Rytel. Tell me who she is.”

  “She’s…everything. She’s my world. Please,” he choked on a sob. “I need her to hurt me again.”

  “Oh, hell,” Sasha muttered, feeling her face burn.

  This upsets you, Ocen murmured in her mind.

  She yelped and whirled, clutching a hand to her chest and glowering as he stepped into the room. “Yes! Of course it upsets me. It should upset you, too. She full-on admitted she’s kidnapped this guy. And now she’s doing things to him I’m not even sure are legal. Why are you listening to her?”

  I listen because she speaks true. For the most part. But I meant his desire upsets you. Ocen stopped at her side, brushing a lock of her hair back gently and capturing her gaze with his hypnotic, color-saturated eyes. Is lust so frightening, little sayshin?

  She blinked at him. “What? No…” His fleeting touch and warm spice were fogging her mind. What were they talking about?

  Good. His mental voice practically purred. His tongue peeked out, black, forked, and furtive, disappearing too soon. I scent your need. It almost equals my own. Will you still hold yourself from me? He brushed his knuckles under her chin, his scales a cool and mesmerizing hard silk against her suddenly hot skin.

  “Hold myself?” she parroted without really knowing what she was saying. She’d often seen him taste the air with that nimble tongue, and every time the sight made something clench and quiver deep inside her. Did he just say he could smell her?

  You have kept me at a distance, though I sensed your desire. But never so strong as now, so thick and sweet like honey. It drives me mad. Please, sayshin, please let me taste your sweetness. His tongue flicked out again, kissing her bottom lip with the barest tingling touch. Her knees turned to water and she very nearly moaned aloud.

  “Nope! We don’t have time for that either,” Neeri announced, slipping in between them with a sinuous and shocking lack of propriety. “Mmm, though the two of you do smell so ripe and ready. Maybe later.” With a stroking hand and a lithe twist, she was gone again, almost before Sasha could register what had happened. “Right now, we’ve got some crime to do.”

  Belatedly, Sasha squeaked in outrage. She’d just been groped by a psycho cat woman with zero morals and an alarming knack for trouble. She glared at Ocen and jabbed an accusing finger at Neeri. “That upsets me!”

  He made a sound between a hiss and a laugh. That I understand.

  Neeri ignored them like they’d ceased to exist, circling her victim before swooping and slashing through his ankle restraints with a swiftness and ease that made Sasha’s heart jackknife in her chest. Was she going to kill this guy? She seemed more than capable of it, as wild and predatory as a panther. Her high cheekbones and narrow jaw gave her face an almost delicate look, but those slanted, unblinking eyes with their vertically slit pupils and bright golden color seemed to see everything, claim everything. Sasha watched her nervously, wondering what to do if Neeri did get violent. Ocen didn’t seem worried, but he also hadn’t been bothered by the bartender’s sexual torture.

  Rytel had renewed his begging, but Neeri ignored him too, touching a control at her waist. He floated up from the chair, spasming in the air like a fish out of water. “Hold still, Ridge. Let’s get your pants on you.” Neeri snagged the piece of clothing from the corner and looked at Sasha and Ocen with raised brows. “Don’t just stand there. We’ve got to get moving.”

  “You’ve got to get moving,” Sasha retorted, folding her arms tightly across her chest. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but you need to go play somewhere else. I’m not—”

  Suddenly Neeri was right there in front of her, so close Sasha could feel her warm breath brushing over her skin. She’d moved so fast, Sasha had seen only a blur. Ocen moved just as fast, his arm just as suddenly between them, hand splayed on Neeri’s chest in restrained warning. But the cat woman didn’t even look at him, her unblinking stare locked on Sasha. “You are both coming with me,” Neeri said in a low voice, her tone full of soft menace. “Because I need you, and once I get Adin out, they might come looking for you. Do you really want that, little Red?”

  You believe there is danger? Ocen asked.

  Sasha wanted to scream, “Yes! Are you kidding? Look at her!” But she gu
essed he was talking to Neeri, so she stayed very still, held her breath, and prayed the scary female wasn’t in a hunting mood.

  “Of course there’s danger,” Neeri snapped, turning that golden gaze on Ocen. “For all of us. Why do you think I’m doing this?” Then she glanced down at his hand and tilted her head, as if contemplating ripping it off.

  Do not push me, little Lyo, Ocen said, his tone flat with warning. I will not be distracted. What are you hiding?

  Neeri bared her teeth with a low growl that raised the hair on the back of Sasha’s neck. But the female eased away, turning with a dismissive toss of her dark hair. “Get out of my head, Scales. And help me with his pants,” she said in a tight tone.

  Sasha expected Ocen to pursue his question. It seemed rather urgent and necessary for them to get an answer, to find out what Neeri was not telling them. Especially if the volatile female kept demanding they go with her on this supposed “rescue mission.” But Ocen moved to assist the crazy person in her home with baffling calm and a disturbing lack of concern. If questions were being asked and answered, Sasha couldn’t tell.

  “Ocen!” she hissed in protest. She was starting to doubt her own sanity for trusting him with such blind conviction. Everything in her said he would never hurt her, but this situation was way outside her comfort zone.

  Be calm, sayshin, he responded. I would not let her hurt you. But he didn’t glance her way, holding the squirming man still while Neeri tugged Rytel’s pants on with brisk efficiency. She didn’t bother to remove the hair band from around his genitals, merely shoving the engorged meat inside the cloth and fastening the pants as if she did such bizarre things every day. For all Sasha knew, she did.

  “That’s kind of not the point,” Sasha gritted between clenched teeth, feeling more and more like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. Oh god, help me. I’m surrounded by crazy aliens.

  Ocen could feel Sasha’s panic but couldn’t take time to sooth her further. Most of his concentration was spent chasing down Neeri’s elusive thoughts. The Lyo must have spent time with Ophidians before or knew a great deal about them. Cunning and canny, her mind slipped through a distracting net of irrelevant images and thoughts, sliding from one to another as if she knew he was right on her heels. It wasn’t honorable or ethical for him to sift through her mind, especially when she’d told him to stay out, but he was desperate. Adin’s life was at stake; that much he’d gotten loud and clear from the moment he’d sensed her outside the door.

  Neeri was afraid. And not for herself.

  She hid it well. She used sex and savagery like a shield, filling the surface of her mind with a morass of hedonism. But thoughts of his brother would sneak in and emotion would burst across her consciousness, intense longing and need underlined by deep worry. Each time she suppressed those emotions swiftly, burying them in layers of thwarted fury, insulted pride, and petty vengeance. He was starting to wonder if she hid her feelings even from herself.

  You mated with my brother. He knew instantly that he’d used the wrong strategy. She threw images at him with malicious glee, memories of her and Adin fucking in savage abandon. Sensation overwhelmed him, scents, tastes, and euphoria washing over him in a brutal tide until he blocked it, leaving her mind with a resigned sigh. She knew exactly how to get to him, knew he was aching and burning with his own need. The two of you mated true, Neeri had said. He wasn’t sure how it was possible, but he’d reacted so instantly and profoundly to Sasha from the moment they’d met that he was inclined to believe her.

  And seeing his brother engulfed by such an intense mating burn worried Ocen deeply. Adin should have been home, surrounded by the comfort and encouragement of family and friends, during his first introduction to sexual maturity. Between concern for his brother and his body’s hyperawareness of Sasha’s sweet warmth so close by, Ocen had trouble concentrating. Which was exactly what Neeri was counting on.

  Strange, how she seemed to know him so well. And her mind felt so familiar…

  We knew each other, Ocen said abruptly, stepping back from the floating bartender to stare at the Lyo.

  “Pretty sure I already said that,” she muttered without looking at him, fussing with the strap around the Mato’s wrists.

  But you weren’t a research subject. Were you? How do you know us, Neeri?

  She reacted to his hard suspicion with a hiss of aggravation, eyes narrowing on him. “Oh, fuck me sideways. We don’t have time—”

  He surged forward, pushing the Mato out of the way. He didn’t touch her but hovered so close her outline blurred in his vision. Make time, he said firmly.

  For a moment, he thought she would attack. Her lithe form snapped taut like a bow string and her fangs flashed feral warning. Then she relaxed suddenly with a grumble. “Fine. Read me, it’ll be faster.” Standing on tiptoe, she clasped his head between her hands and brought his forehead to hers.

  He tensed, but her touch wasn’t threatening. And though he didn’t need the contact, it did help him focus. Opening his mind to hers, he eased into her memories. A few moments later, he stepped away from her, flexing his claws.

  Neeri, you traitorous Lyo. I ought to kill you.

  *******

  They argued about it all the way to Ocen’s ship, how she’d worked for the program and been the one to choose their sexual partners in the study. How Ocen had found her mentally and they’d conversed often, though at the time he hadn’t any idea who she was. They’d practically been friends, something Ocen seemed to find offensive now. Neeri had fun—fighting with Ocen was wonderfully stimulating and a terrific distraction.

  Poor little Sasha didn’t look thrilled, though. “I don’t see why I have to go,” the red-head muttered, eyeing them both like they were pit vipers. Which wasn’t really fair to Ocen; he wasn’t venomous. And he was only trying to protect her.

  “Humans,” she scoffed under her breath, giving Ridge another shove to keep him moving in the right direction. The bartender was still in a fog of pliable submission, which helped them through docking security. The guard had eyed them with wary distrust, looking askance at Ridge’s bare feet and chest. But Neeri had covered his tied hands with a coat over his shoulders, and Ridge was docile as a lamb, so the guard had apparently decided it was some weird Lyomedrin thing and let them through.

  “Look who’s talking, crazy kitty,” Sasha retorted as Ocen led them to the right airlock. “If I’m in danger anywhere, I’m betting it’s with you.”

  “I already said, I don’t work for them anymore. And it wasn’t me who kidnapped you.”

  “Oh no, you just forced us to have sex with each other!”

  Neeri chuckled. “You’re just mad you don’t remember.”

  Sasha made a sound like an outraged kitten and went back to glowering at her silently. Ocen gave Neeri a flat look and ushered them onto his ship.

  “Stars Above,” Neeri growled. “Get over it, you two. It worked out, didn’t it? You’re together and free.”

  My brother is still there.

  Neeri steeled herself against a surge of anxiety. Adin. Pressing her lips together, she shoved Ridge through the hatch and maneuvered him into the narrow ship. The Ophidian vessel had claustrophobic berths, tight passageways, and a womb-like pilot nook that made Neeri dizzy just looking at it. This wasn’t going to be a comfortable trip.

  Strapping Ridge into cargo netting instead of a passenger berth, Neeri muttered obscenities under her breath, already feeling her chest tighten with imagined lack of air. Ridge, on the other hand, was enjoying himself. “Oh, tighter, please,” he moaned, writhing against the restraining netting. She rolled her eyes but tightened the straps anyway.

  “Now Ridge, you keep being a good boy and I’ll let you rub yourself raw on these straps. You start trouble, though, and I’ll knock you out again. No more fun. Are you hearing me?”

  He nodded frantically then grunted when the movement rubbed his ridge against the netting. He started humping and wiggling around in there, pleasuri
ng himself on the restraints and moaning like a street whore.

  Neeri watched for a second with a puzzled frown. Ordinarily she’d find the sight at least a little enticing. She was a fan of kinky fun after all. But today—nothing. She shifted experimentally but felt only a mild dampness slicking the folds of her pussy, nothing swollen or throbbing, the equivalent of utter boredom for a Lyomedrin. Huh. Weird.

  Then Ocen squeezed by her on his way to the pilot’s den, shifting her to one side with a hand at her waist. His touch, the brush of his muscular form, that familiar Ophidian musk…her mind filled with the ghost of his brother and her body flared like a torch, aching and almost sick with need. Suddenly light-headed, she slapped a hand to the wall and sucked in air. No, no, no, she chanted to herself. I am not mate-thralled. I’m just getting Adin out because it’s right, because I wasn’t done with him. And those bastards deserve a kick in the teeth for trying to fuck me over. They’d actually had the balls to gas her and try to wipe her memory, to toss her out like she was trash. Nobody did that to her and got away with it.

  Just a bad day. Lots of drugs, rage, and a time-sensitive task would be enough to mess up any Lyo’s libido.

  “You okay?” Sasha’s tone was ambivalent, as if she wasn’t sure she cared.

  “Stellar,” Neeri muttered, slowing and deepening her breathing. “Tight-ass ships irritate me. What the hell does he do with this thing, anyway?”

  “Ocen works for a courier company. He shuttles small items and sometimes passengers between systems. Doesn’t need a big ship.” She paused. “You look more sick than irritated. Are you claustrophobic?”

  Neeri slanted the human a narrow look over her shoulder, baring her teeth in a predatory smile. “Lyo’s like close quarters. Want me to show you why?” Without waiting for an answer, she spun and crowded Sasha against the opposite wall. The high-pitched squeak the woman made was amusing, brown eyes wide with a satisfying alarm. Neeri pressed a thigh in between Sasha’s legs, grinning at the clench and quiver of the human’s muscles. “So soft and succulent, like prey,” she whispered against the red-head’s cheek and flexed her thigh. “And I can smell your juice, feel your heat. Is it all for Ocen or do I make you hot, too? Should I taste you and find out, little Red?”