Creed of Pleasure; the Space Miner's Concubine (The LodeStar Series) Read online

  This was one of his favorite places in this house. He came here to meditate, to swim, to work out, and just to relax after a hard day.

  Now he could see it was the perfect place for another kind of relaxation.

  “What if someone comes in?” she asked.

  Creed shook his head. “Lani and Nels like to swim late at night. They won’t come in.”

  He took her by the hand and waded with her to the smooth rocks that encircled the pool. One was, he found to his satisfaction, just the right height to sit her on, her pretty legs parted for him to step between, his cock bobbing in the water before him like the prow of a cruiser headed for its docking bay.

  She braced herself with one hand behind her and looked at him. “Do you want me to ... do anything?”

  She had an odd look in her green eyes, but he did not have the time to decipher it. He was ready, his balls aching, cock straining toward what it now knew was a little pocket of heaven between those legs of hers. He had no reserve of thought or caution left.

  “No. Just open yourself for me.”

  With one hand, she reached down, her slender fingers slipping below the small triangle of blonde curls, into her sex. He nearly came out of his skin. Fuck, that was pretty. He wanted to order her to keep doing that, keep playing with those enticing pink folds, while he watched.

  He wanted inside her more. He reached for her, sliding one hand around to grab her soft, wet ass and hold her as he guided his cock into her with his other hand.

  “All right?” he managed, shaking with the effort of going slow.

  She nodded and he pushed further into her hot, clinging depths. Her thighs closed around him, as wet and slippery without as she was within. He groaned, tipping his head down to watch as he slid home. He reached up and filled his hand with one of her bare breasts, and squeezed. Her nipple speared his palm like a touch on a trigger, rocketing him into action.

  He withdrew and slid into her again, hard. Again, again and again.

  She locked her ankles around his ass and that felt even better. He was enclosed in soft, slippery woman. With a growl that started deep in his chest and rose with the tide of ecstasy, he came, so hard he arched like a cerametal bow in her grasp.

  When he came back to himself, he opened his eyes. She had her eyes closed, her delicate brows furrowed, her white teeth sunk in her lip.

  He yanked out of her so fast they both rocked. “Did I hurt you?” he demanded, a shard of ice arrowing through his haze of satisfaction.

  She opened her eyes and pulled away from him, her gaze skittering sideways. “No,” she said quickly. “No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m fine.”

  She gave him a strange look, which left him feeling as if he’d failed in some way. Embarrassment nudged at his good mood. He hadn’t pleased her. Maybe she didn’t really like sex, just endured it.

  Except she didn’t have the blank, world-weary look he’d seen on the faces of the whores in some of the rough places he’d been with the Zhen-lou. Their visages, however lovely, had been stamped with endurance.

  “Ah, do you ... not like this?” he asked. “I mean you don’t have to, if you ...” He hoped to hell he didn’t repulse her with his desire.

  “I like it,” she said instantly. She slipped off the rock, letting her body slide down the front of his as she looked up at him, a look full of sultry promise. “I’m here for you. Whenever you want me.”

  He lay back in the water and watched as she swam away, flashing her round ass and slender legs at him. So. He guessed they were okay.

  Except that his physical satisfaction was now tinged with regret. He’d been a skrog brain not to consider her needs before now, too wrapped up in his own inhibitions to think about her. The Zhen had trained him to withstand the promise of pleasure, not how to ensure his partner also found it. He’d feel less self-conscious about letting loose if he knew she was with him, surrendering that little bit of herself as he had.

  He knew what he wanted to do, he simply had no idea how to do it.

  Hells, he needed to talk to Joran.

  After he talked to Nels and Lani.

  * * *

  He swam his laps, then walked over to Nels and Lani’s house, set back in the trees. Nels, called from the mine for this talk, was not happy. His face darkened like a thundercloud when he heard what had happened.

  “That girl has been nothing but trouble from day one,” he rumbled. “The boys won’t have anything to do with her. I put her to work in the office, but Nikk said she was useless there too. This does it—we’ll send her away on the next transport.”

  But Lani, an emotional woman, burst into tears. “Noni is my only sister’s child. She got in trouble back home, running with the wrong crowd—some young gangers. We brought her out here to save her. I know she has good in her. My sister was just the same, but she pulled out of it ... well, mostly.”

  Nels rolled his eyes, which Creed took to mean he didn’t have much respect for Noni’s mother, either.

  Lani wiped her eyes. “I’m so sorry, boss. I will send her back if you insist.”

  Creed cursed silently, wishing he were anywhere but here. “We’ll see. But for now, keep her away from Taara.”

  “I’ll forbid her the house,” Nels promised darkly. “The offices too. Nikk doesn’t need her in his face.”

  “That would probably be best.”

  Lani sniffled. “Is your lady friend going to be staying for a while?”

  With both of them watching him, Creed shrugged noncommittally. “See you up at the mine, Nels. Lani, you and Noni stay close to the compound. This gang of pirates is bold. Nikk is looking to find how they got in so close without us knowing.”

  Nels nodded. “We will be watching, don’t worry. Those quarkers aren’t getting any of us while I’m standing.”

  Lani shuddered and moved closer to her brawny husband, who put his arm around her. She nestled close.

  Creed walked out to his hovie, but his thoughts were on how the couple had looked. They were a pair, mated for life, raising their young and watching out for each other. Nels was a man’s man, fond of a quasiball match and a drink at the end of the day, but he had a fiercely protective side too. And it was plain to see that his wife came first, along with his boys and then LodeStone.

  That was the way it should be. Family came first. Creed would fight and die to protect Logan and Joran, place their safety above his own. They would do the same for him. He knew this, as solid as the rocks that built these mountains.

  Creed had learned to fight to protect others, but he’d never had any woman or children of his own to protect. The image of Taara in his bed, at his table flicked through his mind in rapid succession. All of the memories good ones.

  He’d warn her to stay in the house, to stay close while he was gone.

  He opened a link and waited.

  To his shock, the hololink revealed Taara, not smiling at him and waiting to hear his words, not even noticing he’d opened a link. She was in the lav attached to her guest room. Naked, hair damp and rumpled, a towel discarded on the floor behind her. She leaned on the cerametal counter, one hand on her breast, nipple pinched in her fingers, the other between her legs.

  He sat transfixed, his craft hovering, waiting for him to give the command to slide forward, as she stroked herself, her slender fingers moving faster and faster, circling at the top of her pussy, until she shivered and made a soft sound in her throat, then relaxed, her head tipping back, eyes still closed, lips parted. That dreamy expression was beautiful. It was a look a man could get intoxicated on, hooked on. And he had a good idea what it meant—she’d just given herself an orgasm, like she gave him.

  His cock was hard again, ready to get in there just watching her.

  Coming back to himself, Creed broke the link, and pushed the controls. His hovie shot forward smoothly, and veered off up the mountainside toward the mine.

  So she wanted it. But he hadn’t given it to her.

  Could he? Couldn�
��t be that hard if all those other beings managed it, and had been since time began. He just had to learn how, and do it. He’d disciplined his body and his mind to become a warrior, and then a mine owner. He could channel this discipline to sex.

  Simple.

  Chapter Ten

  In his study that evening, Creed linked Joran again and waited. He did not have to wait long. His brother appeared, his handsome face scowling, hair hanging in his face. As usual, a woman lay on his shoulder—a different one than the last time. This one was a blonde. She gave Creed one startled look and burrowed under the covers, only a dark gold curl sticking out.

  “This better be fucking important,” Joran said.

  “Sorry to wake you,” Creed said. “Couldn’t sleep till I … got this talked out.”

  “Yeah?” Joran smirked at this. “Anything to do with the woman you got there?”

  Creed nodded, and rubbed the back of his neck, ignoring the heat creeping over his cheeks. He’d known this was gonna be hard, which was why he hadn’t put it off. “Yeah. Uh … skrog shit.” He told Joran what he’d seen, Taara caressing herself after they’d been together.

  Joran was frankly grinning now. “So, women do that. Nothing wrong with it. Can be hot as hell to watch, matter of fact.”

  Creed jerked his chin in agreement. It had been hot all right.

  “But, ah … I guess she—I mean, oh hells. She didn’t enjoy what we did, if she had to go and do that.”

  Joran eyed him keenly. “So you wanna know how to please her?”

  “I guess. She’s a courtesan, but still…”

  “She’s still a woman,” Joran said. “Man shouldn’t leave a woman wanting if she pleases him. Point of pride. You like her?”

  Creed nodded. “Yeah. She’s … something. Little blonde laser charge; sweet as can be one moment, but feisty the next. Pretty too.”

  “You like her.” Joran looked pleased. “There are plenty of ways to satisfy her. Most important one is to pay attention. How she reacts when you touch her breasts, her pussy, her ass—does she like it, or act as if she’s just kind of letting you. And, take your time. Gotta wait for her.”

  “Wait?” Creed listened intently.

  “When you’re in her. Takes a woman longer to get off than it does a man. Gotta wait for her. Think about the latest quasiball match, or wear something.”

  “Wear something?” Creed drew a blank at this.

  Joran shook his head, and stretched. “Little brother, there are a galaxy of things for you to learn. Lot of toys, things you can use to play, enhance your pleasure and hers, or help you slow down. Even restraints, if you wanna play power games. Gonna let you research all that. Every man to his own taste.”

  Creed nodded. He’d had his biggest question answered.

  “Thanks, brother. Appreciate it.”

  “Sure. Just link me a bit earlier next time.” Joran yawned hugely, and lay back on the cushions with his woman.

  Creed cut the link and rose to walk outside. He didn’t see the star-filled sky however. His mind was whirling with what Joran had said. Hells, he wasn’t going to be able to sleep anytime soon, so he might as well go and bring up the tech in his study, do some of that research Joran had mentioned.

  * * *

  Taara was up when Creed strode into the kitchen the next morning. Clad in a soft yellow dress that framed her ass in an extremely fetching way, bared her pretty legs and was also nearly see-through, she stood before the coffee maker, gazing at it bemusedly.

  She looked around as Creed walked in, her expression friendly, though her eyes were guarded. “Good morning,” she said. “Can you show me how to work this thing?”

  He nodded, walked over to stand close, where he could catch her scent. Fresh and sweet. He reached around her and flipped a switch on the front of the gleaming black unit.

  “It’s self-cleansing, sets itself up every night. Just add some coffee beans once in a while.”

  She nodded and gave him a sidelong glance, her near cheek pink. “Okay. So, I just noticed you linked me yesterday?”

  He smiled to himself as he moved away. “Yeah. Nothing important.” It had been, but she’d find out how important later. “You could get your com attached to your ear, then you wouldn’t miss a link.”

  She shook her head, her nose wrinkled. “I don’t know. That’s a big step.”

  Creed nodded, scanning the table. As usual, Lani had been there to set out breakfast, cereal and fruit with muffins, these bursting with moonberries. “Pour me a cup of coffee when it’s ready?”

  “Of course.” She was still watching him, her cheeks still pink. Wondering if he’d seen what she was doing when he linked her, he realized. He raised his brows, keeping his expression bland. She looked away.

  She brought his coffee and hers to the table and he watched her add a large dose of the soy creamer, then take a drink. He’d remembered right, she closed her eyes when she took that first sip, as if it was very pleasurable. He liked watching that. He also liked being able to see the shadow of her nipples behind yellow lace. His hands twitched and he grabbed a muffin. It was warm and soft and pliant, but it wasn’t her.

  “So,” she said, setting her elbows on the table as he began to eat his big bowl of roasted grains and berries. “Lani does all your cooking?”

  “Mostly. I cook when I’m not too busy.”

  She nodded, looking around the big kitchen with interest.

  “You cook?” he asked.

  “I love to cook,” she said, a little wistfully. “When I get the chance.”

  “Not too much to work with on Earth II,” he remembered. “Ah, got lots of fresh stuff here. Agroponic garden, and regular shipments of what we can’t grow. Some big farms further south by the sea. You’re welcome to use this kitchen, cook anything you want.”

  She looked at him, eyes wide over her cup. “I can?” she breathed.

  He nodded, biting back a grin. Not that big a deal, but she acted like he’d just offered her the code to his new cruiser.

  “I’ll make ... crispies.”

  He swallowed another big bite of chewy sweetened grains and tart berries. “What’s a crispie?”

  “Well, you might call them something else,” she said. “Cookies, or biscuits ... or flatties.”

  “Cookies,” he repeated with interest. “Had those. Rose Masterson bakes them, up in New Haven. Those are good.”

  She nodded, then pressed her lips together, her eyes twinkling.

  He cocked his head in silent invitation.

  “When I first arrived, I worried that out here, you foraged for food. You know, forbs and grains—whatever.” She chuckled behind her cup. “Glad I was wrong.”

  He took this in, and shook his head. “With fast cruisers and regular supply convoys, no reason not to live well.”

  “So your, um, your training … or whatever, doesn’t mean you have to eat only certain things?” she asked hesitantly.

  He stared. “My training?”

  Color stained her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry. But I saw your meditation place by the pool. So I thought…” she shrugged.

  “Oh, right.” He gazed into his coffee, considering how much to tell her. She already knew he had not led a normal life up to now. “I was with the Zhen-Lou for several years. Trained with them, fought alongside them. Was a brother. Then decided it was time to leave, but I … kept some of their teachings. Meditation settles the mind.”

  Her eyes widened, a look of awe on her face. Pride swelled his chest, but at the same time heat surged under his own skin.

  “Oh, my,” she breathed. “The Zhen-Lou are legendary. Fighting the wicked and protecting the weak. When I was a girl they moved in on Sunspot City and cleaned it up.” She smacked the table for emphasis. Then she leaned forward. “Do you think maybe sometime you could tell me a few of your adventures?”

  Relate the things he’d seen and done? He’d told Logan and Joran expurgated versions of a few of the battles h
e’d been in, and known from their expressions they understood that some things were just too bad to talk about. For her, he would have to edit even more heavily.

  “For some of those cookies, I might.” Or for more of the look in her eyes—he could bask in the warmth of her admiration.

  She nodded, smiling again. “I’ll see what I can find here, and make you some.”

  “Tell you what you’ll find. Chocolate and nuts.” He’d ordered some after tasting Rose’s cookies. Then all this blew up, and he’d forgotten to talk to Lani about turning them into treats.

  Her eyes widened, her mouth made an ‘o’. “You have chocolate?” she breathed, with nearly the same awe she’d shown for his Zhen experience.

  He grinned. He never knew what she was going to do, how she would react. “Yeah. The good stuff.”

  “Wow. I’ve only tasted it a few times, at Maitresse. We had it for the clients.”

  “Maitresse?” he asked curiously.

  Her smile froze. “Oh. Just a—a place I used to work. So, tell me about your mine. What are you, um, mining?”

  She didn’t want to talk about this Maitresse place. Well, her past was her business, he guessed. Still, he filed the name away in his memory.

  “We mine iridium,” he said. He pushed his empty bowl away and picked up his coffee cup to take a drink.

  “Irridium?” she asked, looking genuinely interested. “Isn’t that a precious metal?”

  “Very. Used to have trace amounts on Earth I and II, but here there’s more. Didn’t sink into the molten core of the planet the way most did on Earth.”

  “So you sell it for what, jewelry?”

  “Not just for jewelry. It’s stable at high temps and doesn’t corrode much at all, so it’s also used for key parts of space ships and thermo-generators, things like that.”

  She nodded wisely. “That’s why the pirates come here, isn’t it? To steal your iridium?”

  “They won’t get it,” he stated positively. “And they won’t get another chance to attack here, either. You don’t need to worry. Nikk put some locks on the system, so it won’t shut down again.”