Apparition (11 page)

Zoe looked at Doss as his nostrils flared. She wondered
what scent Cobra gave off that would make Doss look so confused then
enlightened, then somber.

“Are you certain your father even knew you were
conceived? If it was his first must he may not have realized. There is a chance
he didn’t. If he didn’t know and went to
Bagron
, he
may have mated another and perhaps died with her later. We may never know; so
many were lost to us. Doss, this planet is volatile. You and your mate will be
in a great deal of danger if you stay,” Cobra warned.

“I’ll be safe with Doss,” Zoe said and smiled up at
him. She saw Doss’ indecision.

Cobra looked at her and offered Doss a smile. “Well,
it appears there is someone who wants something to do with a hybrid.”

A massive ship darkened the sky and Zoe shielded her
eyes when she looked up at it. The craft hovered in a clearing and the
Castians
began leaving. Loy remained behind.

“Thank you for your help,” he said.

“Yours too,” Doss replied. “You’re not so bad for a
Castian
.”

“You’re not so bad for a
Tonian
,
and damned if I didn’t wish I had that claw of yours,” Loy said and chuckled.
“Except your eyes are
kinda
creepy.”

Zoe knew the barb was said in good humor and Doss
didn’t take offense. Loy had gray eyes as well but they didn’t shift like
clouds on occasion. Zoe watched them leave with mixed feelings. The
Castians
took the children and Zoe thought it for the best.
She doubted Cobra was lying but couldn’t stop the frown she knew was on her
face. Doss hugged her hard.

“No, he wasn’t lying,” Doss said and Zoe looked at him
curiously.

“The children will be fine,” Doss said. “But I’m
afraid he’s right, it’s not safe for us here.”

Zoe realized he was scenting her emotions. “Where will
we go?”

“I’ll find another cave we can use. It will need to be
deep in the
Ullion
forest.”

“Why does that sound ominous?” Zoe saw him grin.

“You’ll see.”

Yep,
definitely ominous!

Chapter 7

“Doss?”
Zoe whispered. She glanced around at a small sea of
creatures in the semi-dark.

“I’ve named them
Moonway
and
they’re harmless.”

“
Moonway
?”

“They come out at night and follow the moon’s light
like a trail. All night they follow it and when the rays stop, they think the
moon has led them to a safe place where they can sleep and eat in peace,” Doss
explained. “Look at their little feet.”

Curious, Zoe looked. They had claws but their feet
were rounded, flat. Zoe watched as the
Moonway
crept
along the ground and then through the trees. They looked like Doss with their
short silvery fur and long,
taloned
fingers. The
beings were no more than eight to ten inches high. Yellow bulb eyes gazed at
them curiously, but they weren’t afraid. They walked upright and seemed to
communicate to one another with an odd chirp-click sound. Zoe’s eyes widened as
the tiny creatures came to a pond and didn’t change direction. They walked on
water.

“Are these all holograms, too?” Zoe whispered.

“No, the
Tonans
found these
creatures on a distant planet not long ago. They thought they might be of use,
like
slocks
, to torment
Dargon
,
but it turns out they’re harmless. Like a tiny race of pacifists. The
Tonans
had no use for them and set them loose, no doubt
thinking they would just die out. Look at that one.”

Zoe looked to where he pointed. A smaller
Moonway
was carrying a tiny little one and Zoe smiled. They
had females and were breeding.

Doss took Zoe into a glowing cave. It was apparent to
her he had been there before. A replicator, bed and healing pond were in the
small space. Outside, the horses were milling together.

Doss took Zoe to the bed and said a command. Zoe loved
how the bed made itself up without anyone having to lift a finger. She stripped
and lay back on the blankets. They smelled of outdoors. Zoe remembered the
fresh outdoor smell she had at one time been privy to on Earth. Until the
earthquakes rattled the Earth’s foundation, the volcanoes erupted and sink
holes wiped out entire cities. Once the meteors hit, Zoe and her family had
been gone. Caveat was considered a prime breeder as were the mares from
different places. Only the best—and wealthiest went to
Ulsy
first.

Zoe didn’t want to think of how her father’s wealth
had paved their way to the land of milk and honey. It had turned quickly into
the land of death. Zoe wanted only to think of tonight, and tomorrow could take
care of itself. She reached for Doss who settled himself on top of her. She
wanted to feel his weight; he blanketed her. The night had been long and it had
turned into a tiring day and now late evening. Doss seemed to have endless
energy. When she commented, he told her his kind slept for pleasure mostly, more
like a state of restfulness. They could go anywhere in their thoughts when they
became dormant. The sun charged his shield. The cone-shaped black cylinders
collected the sun so while he slept he was always comfortable. He was always
aware of his surroundings, to an extent.

“Have you ever thought of trying to make a door for
the caves you use?” Zoe asked.

Doss smiled cockily. “Do you really think there’s
anything out there scarier or stronger than me?”

Good point.

Zoe traced her finger down his jaw. His eyes were
dancing clouds and she smiled. As she looked deeper, she could see her
reflection as they made love like smoke in a sultry mist that washed over them.
It looked like animated smoldering passion. She loved his eyes and how they
delved into her very being. Zoe was breathing faster. She felt a finger slip
into her heat and she arched her back slightly. Zoe could feel Doss, his
emotions surrounded her. His warm breath bathed her face. Each second they were
together brought more of his awareness to her.

Doss massaged his hand around her breast. He gazed at
it thoughtfully. “Zoe? I know these are tits and a woman uses them to feed a
baby, but why are they so fascinating? I have seen the horses interact and
Caveat doesn’t play with the mare’s tits.”

“Now there’s an oldie but a goody of a question. Mares
have teats by the way, not tits. I have no idea why men and even some women
find tits so interesting to touch. Maybe they were breastfed, or maybe not.
Maybe it’s instinct because in our memories we know the breasts hold life,
sustenance.” Zoe chuckled. “Maybe it’s because men are jealous they don’t have
their own and want to share ours.”

“So there are other life forms on your planet Earth
that
play
with female tits?”

Zoe thought about it. “I don’t know; I don’t think so.
Dogs and cats don’t, horses don’t. I never really ever wondered if gorillas
have foreplay.”

“What’s foreplay?”

“It’s what a couple does before they actually engage
in sex. Like touching and kissing.”

“Like touching and kissing tits?”

“It’s not just about boobs. For me,
it’s
feelings, knowing a man wants to arouse me so that I feel pleasure too and I’m
not just a sex toy. When couples marry, or in our case, mate, they want to find
out what the other likes to please each other. It’s part of why we stay
together and remain faithful.
A bonding ritual of sorts.
We sometimes know what another is thinking because of facial expressions, but
we don’t scent emotion like you do. It can make for some rough times. At times
so badly one will leave.”

Doss seemed to ponder her words. “You mean in your
culture some mates not only cheat but they leave their mates?”

“Yes.”

“They don’t die?”

“Some are devastated. Some have committed suicide, I’m
sure. But many more go on to find a new mate and greater happiness.”

Doss frowned. “Zoe we mated for life; if you leave me,
we will both die.”

Zoe smiled at him. “Then we should work on your
foreplay,” she said and winked. Doss visibly relaxed.

“What should we do first?” Doss asked. “Kiss?”

Doss kissed her lips tenderly, then her eyelids and
cheeks. He moved down her body until he came to a high breast. He licked the
nipple and blew on it. When his mouth closed over her taut bud, Zoe moaned. The
secretions in his mouth slipped into the milk ducts and Zoe tasted his passion in
her mouth. The idea was startling. Passion had a flavor.

Doss lifted his head and chuckled in a sexy way. His
hand continued to rub at her breast and he moved higher to suck on her tongue.
Again Zoe tasted him. His moist body covered her completely and Zoe absorbed
his secretions. She had no choice. Moisture slipped into her skin and mingled
with the blood that was surging through her veins. He engulfed every fiber of
her being. He knew exactly what to touch, what to lick, what to suckle because
of her emotions he could scent. They were one. It was like they were extensions
of one another.

“Oh Doss!” She gasped.

When she looked up at him, his eyes were a storm of
moving passion. His fangs were dripping tiny drops from their sharp ends and he
was panting. His hand fisted into her hair as his cock impaled her and Zoe
cried out from the force. She couldn’t decide if she wanted him slower and
gentler or faster and harder, and Doss growled into her ear.

“Both ways.”
The words were dragged from his mouth.

Doss plunged and slid slowly from her. He plunged
harder connecting their hips in a hammering thump that rocked Zoe’s teeth.
Again, he pulled out agonizingly slow. When he plundered her depths once more
Zoe cried out and came hard. Doss inhaled her scent.

“Shit, you smell so good, my cock wants to taste more
of you,” he said before rolling her onto her belly.

Zoe knew he meant it. Zoe felt him grow huge. She was
filled with him. His hands on her back were wet with his desire to flood his
secretions into every inch of her. He was inside her, outside her. Her orgasm
fluid seeped into his cock. He expanded further and Zoe was begging him to bite
her.

Doss lifted her higher and gripped her throat. His
fangs buried into her neck and he gentled his thrusts until he was rocking
against her. His teeth remained buried in her and Zoe knew it was because his
cock was huge and when he plunged he went hard and deep. He pulled from her
slowly and plunged again, hard and deep.

“This is why we will never be apart,” Doss said,
leaving her throat for a brief second, his voice was a groaning growl of
contentment. “We are joined with emotion and scent. My secretions run through
your veins. I have absorbed your fluid into me. We belong to each other.”

His fangs again buried deep giving her a wonderful
feeling of euphoria. His secretions were like ecstasy, Doss was like a drug
with the only aftereffects being love. She was addicted to him, her mate—her
forever lover. Zoe’s insides were slick and hot and wet. Her body shuddered
when she came again. Warm liquid trailed down her throat both inside and
outside and Zoe felt her blood mix with his saliva. There was no pain only
pleasure as another orgasm gripped her and she screamed. When Doss finally
pulled from her Zoe slumped. Doss picked her up and took her to the healing
water where he bathed her.

“I love you, Zoe,” he said.

“I know. I love you, too.”

“I know.”

Doss pinned her to the side of the pool. Zoe was eager
for him when they started all over again.

Chapter 8

Zoe knew she was dreaming. She always knew when she
was dreaming. Her slender arms were wrapped around her knees as she rocked
herself. She was a
Tonan
captive. When the shielded
male hunkered down before her, Zoe cringed until a tender hand, void of talons,
cupped her chin. It was Doss.

“You don’t need to be here,” Doss said.

“Yes, I do.”

“Let me take you somewhere else.”

“No not yet,” she replied.

Doss cocked his head. “You don’t like it here. I scent
your emotions. I don’t like your fear. You’re here because of me.”

It was true. She was. Doss flowed through her as well.
He warred within his thoughts since meeting Cobra and Loy. There was something
he needed, but she didn’t know what and so her dreams brought her here. Though
afraid, this was what she needed to do for Doss. The door to her cell opened
and her
Tonan
captor entered. Nude, Zoe scrambled to
her feet. She was so scared. Doss stood in front of her, but the
Tonan
walked through him and took her arm.