Mary and the Minotaur by Honey Phillips
Chapter Eight
When Mary opened her eyes, a dim grey light was seeping through the window. In the strange shadowy world of the Warrens, day and night seemed to blur together, but she decided it must be morning. A new day. A new chance to find her friends—and a chance to spend more time with Sendat.
Unexpectedly content, she smiled and gave a lazy stretch. As she did, she felt a slight ache between her legs, and the memory of their encounter in the darkness came rushing back. Oh, Lord, what had she done? A wave of embarrassment washed over her as she remembered how boldly she had touched Sendat—and how eagerly she had responded when he touched her. No one had ever made her feel that way before.
Her breasts tingled, and she didn’t need to look down to know that her nipples had tightened. She pressed her arm against them just as the door to the bathroom opened and Sendat walked in. Oh my. He looked huge, and completely alien—and amazingly attractive. He was wearing nothing but a pair of tight black shorts that clearly outlined the heavy weight of his cock. The dim sunlight glinted on the gold rings piercing his nipples, and his muscles rippled beneath his smooth brown pelt as he stalked towards her.
“Miri, I need to tell you—”
His words triggered the memory of Renla’s warning, and she quickly scrambled across the bed, flinging herself into his arms. She had no doubt that he would catch her, and he did, but he gave her a confused look.
“Miri,” he started again, but now she was close enough to silence him by the simple act of covering his mouth with her own.
He froze when she kissed him, and she wondered if she had committed some taboo act. She drew back a little to look at him. He looked shocked, not appalled, but then determination crossed his face.
“Miri—”
She kissed him again, this time taking advantage of his open mouth to slip her tongue inside. He tastes delicious, she thought dreamily, as she shyly stroked her tongue against his. It was as wide and thick as she remembered, and she shivered in remembered pleasure. He still hadn’t responded to her kiss, but at least he wasn’t talking. Hoping that he would stay silent long enough for her to whisper an explanation, she started to withdraw. But then a big hand came up to hold her head in place as he plundered her mouth. There was no other word for it. He kissed her with such an intense hunger that all she could do was hang onto him as her own hunger rose to match his.
By the time he raised his head, her clit throbbed with a slow, demanding beat. He carried her back to the bed, coming down over her. He started to lower his head towards her again, and she finally snapped out of her lustful stupor enough to remember her original purpose. She grabbed his horns and pulled his head towards her but instead of aiming for his mouth she brushed her lips against his ear.
“Renla said that Jabbwa listens to all the rooms.”
Sendat’s bodytensed as Miri’s words penetrated. Of course. How could he have been such a fool? He knew that Jabbwa liked to spy on everyone in his vicinity, but he had forgotten that fact in his urgency to speak to Miri. After what they had shared the previous night, he felt compelled to let her know about his position, but her reminder was a rude awakening. She was not safe yet, and as much as it pained him, he needed to keep his secret a while longer.
Her body was soft and warm beneath his, his cock nestling happily in the cradle of her lush thighs and he longed to stay there, but he had work to do.
“I need to send a message,” he breathed into her ear, trying to ignore her delightful little shiver. “I have to return to my rooms.”
She drew back, her eyes wide with fear. “What if—” she started, then remembered and pulled his head back down. “What if they’re still waiting for you?”
“I’ll be careful,” he promised.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered frantically, before he heard her catch her breath. “I’m sorry. But you will come back, won’t you?”
“Wild lovasts couldn’t keep me away,” he promised, and then, unable to resist, he kissed her again. Her mouth was so small and sweet and perfect that he explored it for far longer than he intended. It wasn’t until he realized that he was grinding his cock into her soft body that he finally lifted his head.
Her lips were red and swollen and her eyes heavy with pleasure as she looked up at him.
“Come back to me,” she said softly.
“Always.”
The words hung in the air between them, but he couldn’t acknowledge them. Instead, he pressed one more quick kiss to her sweet little mouth and stood. He dressed in a hurry, doing his best not to look at the tempting picture she made lying in the big bed.
“You will be safe here,” he assured her. “I won’t be long.”
He sent one quick, longing look in her direction, then forced himself to leave their room. Downstairs, he found Jabbwa in the dining room. Sendat wondered if he had been there all night.
“I need to begin my inquiries. Miri is still under your protection?”
“Of course,” Jabbwa said, waving a casual hand. “What did you have in mind?”
“I need to send some messages,” he said truthfully enough. “And retrieve something from my rooms.”
Jabbwa laughed, his body jiggling. “You like to live dangerously, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “Not especially. I know what I’m doing.”
“And if you do not return? What happens to your little female then?”
He didn’t even want to consider the possibility, especially since this was the only way he could think to save her.
“I will return,” he said shortly, then turned and stalked out of the room.
Although there was another, more prominent entrance at the front of the house, once again he chose to leave through the concealed garden door. The fewer people who saw him, the better. The cloak he had borrowed from Jabbwa’s house provided some coverage, but his horns and his stature clearly marked him as Bukharan. At least it was not uncommon to see them in the Warrens. All he could do was keep to the shadows and keep his head down.
Fortune favored him, and he made it to the alley leading to his place without attracting any undue attention. He moved quietly down the narrow passageway, testing the sense in the air. A whiff of Tajiri male still hung in the air, but it was old, and when he crouched in their hiding spot from the night before, he could detect no movement along the wall.
It could be a trap, or they could have decided that they had missed him here and he wouldn’t be returning. If he had been in charge, he would have left someone to watch over the place, but the only obvious entrance was on the front and he suspected that any guard would be stationed there.
Cautiously, he edged closer to the wall surrounding the tiny back courtyard. Although the stonework looked solid, there was a hidden latch in one corner. The resulting click when he pressed the latch seemed to echo through the quiet alley. He froze, but no one appeared and he still couldn’t detect any sign of nearby life. He pushed the section of wall open and stepped through, barely managing to wedge his body through the narrow space.
Closing the door behind him, he took the two steps across the courtyard to the back door. The door was still intact and appeared undamaged. He had upgraded the locks when he rented the place, and a quick scan of his retina released the catch. He stepped silently inside, and paused again. He could neither hear nor scent any other presence.
The lower level consisted of a single spacious room with a table, a large couch, and a tiny kitchen. Through the force of long habit, he normally kept it impeccably tidy. It was no longer. The cushions on the upholstered furniture had been slashed open, and everything had been pulled out of the cabinets and drawers. Interesting. The Patrol had obviously been searching for something, but he had been accused of murder, not theft—what had they expected to find?
The destruction was just as bad on the second floor which consisted of his bedroom and bath. Despite the chaos, his communicator, his true identity card, and a small stash of emergency credits were still concealed behind a brick in the ancient fireplace. He breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled them free, then hesitated. He had no desire to remain in this place any longer than necessary, but it might be the safest location from which to message his contact in the Fleet.
His senses alert, he opened the communicator and sent an urgent message. Captain Arulo responded immediately.
“Sendat, my dear boy, do you have news for me?” Arulo asked jovially.
“I do. This corruption spreads much higher than we had originally anticipated.”
“Indeed?”
“One of the partners in the slaving operation is a member of one of the elite Houses,” he said bluntly
“Are you sure? It would not be politically… expedient to challenge such a House unless there was proof.”
“I’m sure,” he said grimly. “I have personal contact with the male.” He proceeded to fill Captain Arulo in on all the events that had occurred, including the last information he’d received about the updated auction site.
“Of course, that may have changed now that Mokuu is dead.”
“Yes, I heard about that,” Arulo said slowly. “But you did not do it, correct?”
“Of course not. I’m sure that it was Chinit.”
“Very well. I will need to make some arrangements, but then I think it would be safest if we were to remove you from the planet. Meet me at the vehicle parking facility at the edge of the Warrens at this time tomorrow. On the top level.”
Sendat hesitated, but the truth had to come out at some point. “I will meet you there, but I will not be alone. I will have a human female with me.”
“A human female? Are you insane?” For the first time, Arulo seemed to lose his composure.
“An idiot junk dealer brought her in to trade for another female. I had no choice but to purchase her before she could be auctioned off.”
“Purchase her? You do know that such a transaction is illegal? You cannot keep her.”
“Of course I do,” he said impatiently even as his chest ached. “It was just intended as a temporary measure.”
Arulo clicked his tongue thoughtfully. “That does complicate matters, but I will take care of it. Both of you will meet me there tomorrow.”
“Yes, Captain. Thank you.”
As he closed the communicator, he heard a noise from downstairs. It sounded as if someone was trying their luck at the back door. Fuck. He chanced a look out the front window of the house and saw that his previous suspicions were correct. Two Kalima Patrol officers were stationed on either side of the door. Neither path was available to him, but he had planned for just such a contingency.
He slipped into the bathroom, then climbed on top of the shower bench. From there he could reach the skylight. He released the latches holding it in place and slid the whole thing to one side, then gripped the edges of the frame and pulled himself up and out onto the roof. He stopped long enough to slide the skylight back into place. If someone looked closely, they would be able to tell that it was no longer attached, but few people ever bothered to look that closely.
Moving quickly and quietly, he crossed the roofs of the three adjacent buildings, then lowered himself down a waterspout to land in a small alley. Drawing his cloak around him once more, he headed down the alley. He had a few more tasks to complete before he could return to Miri.
