An Unexpected Return (2 page)

So long, Tyto. I’m off to the Emerald planet
.

Chapter Two

Xia trailed her hand down the Mikashe mannequin’s scaly thigh.

Twenty minutes. Far less than the allotted time
. If she could maintain the same speed with live clients, perhaps life as an Adamo wouldn’t be so bad.

She slid off the bed. All she wanted was to leave the Schola Calei and go home to rest. The practice session had followed hours of theory on the erogenous zones of all of the species permitted on Elatia. Applying the lessons to a pretend client had at least gotten her off her ass, but she could no longer think straight, her mind too numb to do anything but sleep.

“Done already, Xia?”

Spinning on her heels, she faced Jacobus, the muscular Elatian man—an Echelon Four Adamo—who trained her and several other Echelon Ones in the art of erotic massage. If he hadn’t been like a father figure to her, she’d swoon over him like the rest of her classmates did. During their lessons, he wore only loose-fitting pants made of filmy veech, which exposed his golden, god-like body to his students. Sometimes, to illustrate his lessons of a male’s erogenous zones, he’d strip down to nothing. On those days, she tried to listen more than look. Creaming her panties over her instructor was not all right. What would Kalara say?

Xia knew there was something going on between the two of them. He spent a lot of time at the house of her guardian and mentor. But she’d never seen them touch each other intimately, and he stayed away when Kalara entertained clients. If only she could figure out their relationship.

“Yes, I completed every step.” Even swallowing the warm, briny, fake ejaculation. Although she’d heard the real thing tasted worse.

Grabbing her tubes and bottles of eletin massage oils and creams, she packed them away in her appointment bag. Her own bed called to her.

With an intense stare, Jacobus set his hand on her shoulder. “There is never a need to rush with clients. You’re more likely to gain repeat customers if you take your time and prolong their pleasure.”

She nodded. “I’ll make note of that. Thank you.”
Yeah, slow down
. How could she be a proper Adamo if she always tried to finish as soon as possible? Quick Xia—that was her. But she wouldn’t bring any honor to Kalara and Jacobus if she maintained that mindset.

“Great.” He smiled, creases forming in the corners of his mouth. “Because you have your first appointment tonight.”

What
? “But I’m only Echelon One. I can’t take clients yet.”

He stepped back and turned to the entire class. “This practical exam was your final test. You’re all now Echelon Two. There’s more to learn, but it’s about time you put your lessons into practice. You’ll all have appointments soon.”

Yes, but why do I have to be the first one
? She gulped. “Um, what am I supposed to bring? Where do I go?”

Jacobus turned his attention back to her, as the rest of the class squealed with excitement.

Am I the only one who isn’t feeling it
?
They all want to be Adamos more than I do
. No, she did. Or thought she did. Kalara had always made pleasuring clients seem like the best profession in the universe.

Before she’d started at the Elatian Schola Calei, her friends had all been jealous, knowing if she followed in her adoptive mother’s footsteps, she would one day be a trained Adamo. They’d come over and dress in Kalara’s scarves and gowns, pretending to service their clients. But as they grew up, Xia lost contact with them, most of her friends moving out of the city or off-planet to raise their families, something she now longed for. How could she tell Kalara her dreams had changed? The only man she wanted to pleasure was her future husband, if anyone even wanted a Terran Adamo for a wife.

“Your appointment will be at the Delectacio Hotel,” Jacobus said, snapping her back to the moment. “All you need is your appointment bag. Everything else will be provided in the room.”

“All right.” The words came out as a squeak. “Am I, um…? Do I have to sleep with him?”

He snorted in amusement. “Do you mean have sex with him, or literally sleep beside him in the bed?”

“Both.” The class stared at her. Gods, she felt like such an idiot. Could she be the only one who hadn’t been with a man yet?

“It’s your decision for both questions. But let me tell you, Xia, in this profession, you won’t remain a virgin for long. Once the eletin is absorbed into your skin, you’ll feel the same need for pleasure as your clients.”

Oh, she’d felt the longing all right, but it had been accompanied by the horror of thinking of Jacobus in all the wrong ways, and the anger at the idea of her classmates having the same thoughts. Could it really be different with someone else? She always avoided boys her own age, too afraid to find out.

“I…I should go and get some rest then.”

He raised his hand in a gesture to excuse her. “By all means. See you at the hotel in four hours.”

That’s it
?
How am I supposed to get enough rest in such a short amount of time
? Leaving the schola, she rushed past the
denotatio
room, but stopped when she spotted Talia receiving her intravenous shot of eletin. The woman had trained under Kalara, and even shared a few of her clients. She’d reached the highest level of training and would now be Mistress Talia. The orange leaves the former Echelon Three Adamo had always desired already adorned her temples, making it clear to everyone her new status. Xia would one day have red
stellae
on the sides of her face; Kalara bore the same markings. With her new title would come a higher income and Xia could afford to move out of Kalara’s
domus
to her own home, if she decided to continue with her training.

Sucking in a deep breath, she straightened her back and mounted her resolve. She would become an Echelon Four Adamo, and a damn good one, to make Kalara proud.

Men will come from all over the universe to request my services
. She giggled at the thought. But in an instant her euphoria melted away. How would she find love and have a family? That dream simply wouldn’t be possible.

No time to think about that now. I need a couple hours of sleep to be ready for tonight
.

She weaved through the streets, passing natives and tourists, some guiding big, black orokes to carry their abundant purchases. Never would she have any use for the large creatures, as she could walk faster, and only purchased items in small quantities. A gust of wind blew her hair into her face. She brushed the strands aside and looked up to see the large red feet of a yeemid coming at her. Another form of transportation she never understood. She ducked out of the way—the creatures were blind, and their riders didn’t always steer with accuracy—and continued past the vendors selling creams, oils, clothing, and jewelry made from eletin. The street vendors sold inferior products at a higher price, yet tourists still waited in line to purchase every available commodity.

Finally reaching the outskirts of Havmiola, she turned down the laneway to her house.
Sleep
. She entered the small spire, planning to snooze as long as she could.

“Good afternoon, Xia.” Kalara set a pitcher filled with her eletin cold tea on the table in front of two Terran men. “You remember Adem and Gavan.”

She nodded. How could she ever forget the two pale-faced men from the planet of her parents? Regulars of Kalara, they visited often and sometimes, asked her to join them. But she’d never been knowledgeable enough to provide them with services. And did she really want Terrans as clients? They might know the parents who had abandoned her on Elatia, and she couldn’t be reminded of that while bringing someone pleasure. All the more reason not to tell them she had graduated to Echelon Two.

“It’s good to see you again.” Adem grinned at her, revealing his perfect, white teeth.

“Yes, very good,” Gavan said, raising his eyebrows. “I do hope you can stay this time.”

A rush of desire stirred in her loins, a strange and new sensation to feel for someone else. She searched the room, her examination stopping when she spotted lit candles on the console table to her right. Had the eletin in the air affected her already? “I…I just came by to grab some supplies. I have to go back to school. Night classes.”

Jacobus never taught them in the evenings, but Kalara didn’t seem to notice.

“That’s too bad.” Adem sat back and took a sip of the tea. “Perhaps another day then, since we’ll be here all week.”

She rushed to her room, then packed scarves and robes for the next few days. Was she attracted to the men because of their heritage, desperate to feel pleasure at the hands of a man for once, or had the eletin simply messed with her head? No matter. She wouldn’t live at home until Adem and Gavan had left. Then she’d return, the temptation of letting her sexual desires take over, gone. She had to remain in control until she decided what she wanted in life.

Before Xia left, she glanced at Kalara. Would she understand?

You’d be surprised what I understand. We’ll talk as soon as they leave
.

Only through Kalara’s thoughts did she find the woman she once knew, the woman who’d rescued her as a child, and not the one in a constant state of arousal from her eletin injection. Xia couldn’t telepath back, though, and only received the thoughts Kalara was willing to share.

Taking a deep breath, she left the house then headed back into the city.

Where am I going to go
?
The hotel
? Perhaps there would be a place for her to lie down until her appointment. It wasn’t as if she had any friends who would put her up for a few days. No, they all had other people depending on them and no room for her. She only had Kalara and Jacobus to rely on. It was no wonder she secretly wanted more.

Walking into the silky rear-end of an oroke, she came to an abrupt halt. The creature had been walking at a steady pace and then stopped. She’d failed to notice in time. Wiping fluff off her face, she turned around and walked into another hard body. “I’m so sorry.”

Hands clamped down on her arms. “Are you all right?”

She stared up into deep brown eyes. Chewing her bottom lip, she nodded. If this man hadn’t been holding on to her, she would have fallen to the ground. The word swoon held no meaning for her until now.

Am I only like this because of the eletin I inhaled back home
? Or was there something more she found heart-racing about the blue-skinned, well-muscled hunk of an Otarian who held her up?

No, she couldn’t feel anything for him. Their races had been sworn enemies for years. Everyone across the galaxy knew that. Yet here she was, standing face to face, gazing intently at him, with no will to move.

He smiled at her, drawing her attention from his eyes to his lips. How would they taste? She’d never kissed anyone intimately before.

“What’s your name?”

Name? Gods, what was her name? “Zee…Xia.” Had she told him, or only thought the word?

He released her arms to brush his fingers along her jaw line. How she remained standing, she had no idea.

“Xia. A beautiful name belonging to a beautiful woman.”

Moisture pooled between her thighs. Her cheeks warmed. “Thank you.”

She sighed as he trailed a hand down her arm. Her entire body tingled from his gentle touch.

“You’re welcome. Now tell me, why were you in such a rush that you walked into the rear end of that slow-moving beast? We’re supposed to be on vacation, enjoying all this planet has to offer.”

Laughing at his description of the oroke, she leaned against his arm. Never before had she enjoyed a man’s attention like this. “I’m not visiting. I live here. Have my whole life.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Really? So, what was it like growing up on the pleasure planet?”

“I…I don’t know. Normal?” She couldn’t think clearly around him. Her tongue felt numb in her mouth.

His smile traveled all the way up to his eyes. He leaned closer and rested his hand on her hip. “Then perhaps you could be my personal tour guide,” he whispered in her ear.

“I can’t. I have other plans.”

He drew back and frowned, but she could still see the glimmer in his eyes.

“I’m jealous of whoever you’re going to be spending your time with.”

She giggled at him. “I’m just going to sleep. It’s been a long day, and I’m afraid I wouldn’t be good company.” There was no way she would tell him she had to spend a few hours that night with another man.

Losing the fake expression, he smiled again. “Tomorrow then? I’d really like to see you again.”

Woo-hoo
! A man wanted to see her again. It made her feel like the most desirable woman on the planet. “Sure, I’d like that, too.”

“Great. Now, before you go, could you point me in the direction of the Delectacio Hotel? I have an appointment with an Adamo, and I can’t seem to find my way back.”

Her heart lurched. He’d flirted with her, made her desire him, and then thrown his appointment in her face. Would her life always be like this on Elatia, men seeking only sexual release and nothing more? In that case, she’d need to harden her heart, or end up lacerated by rejection. “Find it yourself.”

Spinning away from him, she ran.
I don’t need this right now. I have to sleep so I can be ready for tonight
.

“Xia, wait.” He tried to grab her, his blue fingers skimming across the back of her hand, but she ducked away.

She took back alleys and private paths to get to the hotel; she had to escape. But would he follow her? When she reached the office, she hid under the desk Jacobus occupied.

“As much as I like you, I am not in need of your services.”

She slapped his thigh. “I’m not offering my services. I’m hiding.”

“From whom?”

“No one important. Listen, the client I have tonight, is he Otarian?” She would refuse to service him if he turned out to be the man she’d seen on the street. Sure, he’d made her heart flutter, but she couldn’t remain in control of her feelings if she had to pleasure him.