Favored by Felix (7 page)

Casey told her, bemused by the woman’s
take-charge manner. In her own way, she’d make a good match for the general,
except Casey got the sense that if she objected, the woman would back off.

The door burst open and Felix and the twins
spilled in, followed by another man—the pretty one she’d seen the day
before—who appeared enough like the others to make Casey suspect this was
another sibling.

The men grabbed cups and plates and joined
them around the table. Felix slid in beside her and gave her a quick kiss that
sent warmth flooding through her and brought more wonder. This family was like
nothing she’d ever experienced before. The brother she hadn’t met started a
heated discussion with one of the twins—she thought it was Joe. Anna had one
ear covered and had her com-circle pressed to the other. She was busy talking.

Scarlett was in a hushed conversation with
the other twin. The situation should have brought discomfort, embarrassment at
witnessing such intimate and unruly behavior. The general liked to enjoy his
meals in silence. Not that her proper mother would ever make loud
conversation—not like the Mitchells.

“Is it always like this?”

“Sometimes worse,” Felix said. “My oldest
brother isn’t here, and sometimes our cousins or friends drop around to visit.
You look beautiful.” He skimmed his fingers over her collarbone and she felt
his touch clear to her toes. Places in between began to hum.

“She’s coming,” Anna said. “Leo, will you
take the shuttle to Dalcon to pick up Elsa Torrens? Casey’s aunt.”

“Is that a good idea, Ma?” Leo asked with a
swift glance at Felix. “And you couldn’t have decided this yesterday so I
didn’t need to make another trip?”

“It’s a brilliant idea,” Anna said,
unperturbed by her son’s disapproval. “Family is important.”

“It’s the roots that hold us together,” the
siblings chanted as one.

“It’s good to know you listen to me when I’m
working on our genealogy,” she said serenely, and smiled in Casey’s direction. “We
have some old family diaries, written by an ancestor centuries ago. They’re
fascinating.”

“So fascinating, she named us after our
long-ago ancestors,” Felix told Casey.

A pang of longing struck at the heart of
Casey. They were lucky to have each other, to have the knowledge of their past
and be able to take comfort from their ancestors. So blessed. They had no idea.
Maybe that was why she and Eva got on so well together. They understood
loneliness.

“Now, Casey. I don’t suppose you have a
sketchbook of your designs here? If your dress is any indication of your
talent, then we want to sell your designs at our store,” Anna said in her
managing way.

“I saw a sketchpad when I moved your stuff.
Can I go and get it?” Scarlett piped up.

Casey shivered, and Felix looked at her in
concern.

“Ma, Casey needs to rest.”

“No. I mean, yes. It’s okay to get my
sketchpad.”

Scarlett leapt to her feet and disappeared
before anyone said another word. She sure moved fast.

“Your parents must be very proud of you,”
Anna said. “I’m surprised you went into the military when you have such an
obvious aptitude for design. Have another cinnamon bun, dear. If you don’t take
one now, my boys will demolish them all before you get a chance.”

Casey stared at her, was aware she’d
stiffened and that Felix was frowning at her in concern. But her mind wouldn’t
go past Anna’s words.

Her parents must be proud of her.
Military instead of design.

Only Aunt Elsa had ever suggested she
follow her talent—her heart—instead of doing what was expected of her by the
general.

“One more solar day before I’m scheduled to
return to duty,” she said to Felix.

“Stay longer,” Scarlett urged, returning to
the table. “I can sew a little. Design something for me.”

More of that warmth whooshed through Casey,
heating her body and spirit.

“Me, me, me,” one of the twins scolded. “That’s
all you ever think about.”

“Not true,” Scarlett retorted. “I’ve spent
the last few months researching—” She broke off with a quick glance at Casey. “Never
mind,” she said hurriedly. “My point is, it’s about time you guys let me do
something for myself.”

“Scarlett is right,” Anna said. “I think it
will help.”

The conversation confused Casey, and she
gave up listening to apply herself to eating her second cinnamon bun.
Delicious. She licked her fingers to make sure she got all the sugar and spices
sticking to them.

“Keep that up and I’m dragging you to my
suite and tying you to my bed.”

Casey froze, felt her eyes widen and heat
steal into her face. She grabbed her coffee and took a sip of the strong
beverage. Maybe the liquid would supply the jolt she required to restore her
balance.

Felix chuckled, and his siblings grinned
and fell quiet, making her and Felix the center of attention.

“Casey and I are going for a walk,” he
announced. “We’ll be checking the perimeter, if anyone needs us.”

“Your aunt will arrive later this afternoon.
I’ll send for you when she arrives. We’ll have afternoon tea here in my suite,
just us girls. Son, you must—”

“I know, Ma,” Felix said. “Don’t worry. I
have everything under control.”

Felix hustled her out the door, his arm
slung around her shoulders. She’d noticed he liked to touch her, and she’d come
to enjoy his casual affection. If she ever—

No. There would be no family for her, no
children because the transformation would leave her sterile. Most gender-changers
couldn’t sire offspring, and she’d end up the same way. Some of the happiness
that had bloomed in her since waking seeped away.

“I thought we’d walk the perimeter and
double-check the compound fences,” Felix said, guiding her to the right and
along a gravel path. Crimson flowers covered pale-blue bushes, the flowers
cheerful and bright. When they turned, green and gold plants with
apricot-colored flowers bordered the path. In the distance, she heard the rush
of the waves, caught the briny scent of the jade sea.

“And the other reason I suggested you come
with me…” He swirled her around a corner and into the shadows cast by a copse
of tall trees. “I wanted to kiss you good morning. A proper kiss.”

He suited actions to words, pressing her
against the rough amber bark of a tree trunk and trapping her there. His mouth
hit hers, crushing them together with heat and urgency. He made a rough sound
deep in his chest and stroked his tongue across the seam of her lips. She
opened to him, and he immediately took advantage, the kiss becoming ravenous. Determined.

And she loved every moment.

She gripped his shoulders and hung on,
participating in the dueling of tongues, stoking the passion between them.

“Fuck,” he muttered when he lifted his
head. His eyes gleamed, the pupils glowing in a strange manner. They…

They had elongated.

“I have to take you.” He slid his hand down
her hip and stole under the short skirt of her dress. “Panties?”

The surprise in his voice brought a choked
laugh. “I couldn’t visit your mother and not wear panties. That’s all kinds of
wrong. Scarlett would have known, for one.”

“We’ll take care of that.” He grasped one
side of them, gave a jerk and her panties came away in his hand. “I’ll buy you
more—if I must.”

“Please,” she said, not sure what else to
say since everything with Felix seemed out of her normal realm.

As he spoke, he worked the opening of his
trews and pulled out his cock. His hand went between her legs. “You’re not wet
enough, sweetheart. Not for what I have in mind.”

Before she could comment, he sank to his
knees in front of her. He gripped her hips, silently encouraged her to widen
her stance and gave her a firm lick. A sensual jolt struck, along with
amazement at the rasp of his tongue. Talented tongue, she thought, half dazed
at the suddenness of the event. Felix wanted her enough that he’d risk others
seeing them, catching them unawares. Her stomach roiled but it was in a good
way, with excitement and acute anticipation as he licked and sucked her flesh.

An ache sprang up in her pussy and a tremor
swept the length of her body. She grasped his shoulders for balance because her
legs seemed to lose their strength and wobbled in a non-military manner.

He lifted his mouth away from her heated
flesh, and she let out a groan of disappointment. He laughed, the sound pleased
and joyful, and grinned up at her in a rakish way that trapped her breath in
her lungs. Her juices shone around his mouth, and as she watched, he licked his
lips, his wicked smile widening.

“You taste delicious.”

He stood and closed the distance between them,
backing her against the tree trunk again. His steely cock told her where his
mind was headed, and she liked the direction of his thoughts. Memories to
hoard, at least until—

No, she refused to think of the future.

The present—that was where she should dwell.

A sharp tap on her chin jerked her securely
to the now.

“Where do you go? I’ve noticed before. You
zone out. You don’t have to suffer my touch,” Felix snapped. “Not if I bother you
so much you need to send your mind elsewhere.”

“No.” She couldn’t let him think such a
thing. “No, it’s not that. I have…a problem,” she said in a rush. “My mind
keeps circling it, no matter how much I wish it away.”

“Tell me.”

“I can’t.” She closed her eyes, her heart
singed by the caring in his expression. “I—I can’t.”

“Okay, sweetheart.” He brushed his fingers
across her cheek. “I’ll just have to fuck you so good and hard your mind turns
to mush, and then we’ll walk around the compound and work on tiring you out until
you’re exhausted so you’ll sleep tonight.”

“I’m departing soon.”

His hands tensed on her body. “I don’t want
you to leave.”

“I have to report for…d-duty. It’s my job.”

“But you don’t like your job. It makes you
unhappy.”

Casey felt her mouth drop open. How…she’d
never said anything, done anything to indicate otherwise. Most people didn’t
see through her perfect military posture and behavior to the woman beneath. “It’s
my duty.”

“We’ll see,” he said and kissed her hard,
demanding a response from her. His hands crawled beneath her dress to cup her
bare bottom. Then he was lifting her, filling her with his hardness, curling
her legs around his hips and pressing her against the tree.

She clung to him, let him do all the work
because he did it so well. He made her soar, the pleasure growing from a spark
and swelling with each decisive thrust of his cock. The pulse at her throat
beat a wild tattoo and her heart raced as he bent to increase his assault on
her senses with a hot and demanding kiss.

Sensations spiraled down, took flight, and then
she was soaring, internal muscles clamping around his cock. She gasped, cried
out while clinging to his masculine contours. He groaned against her mouth,
pistoned his hips to shove deep and stopped moving, the hard ridge of his cock
filling her to capacity.

Pleasure was still coursing through her
body when he lifted her off him and set her on her feet. He crushed her to his
body in a fierce hug.

“That’s a much better way to start the day.”
He rearranged himself and refastened his trousers.

She stood there, chest rising and falling
rapidly, still quivering internally. Wow. Incredible. She was never aware of
her body in this way. Her flesh tingled and her breasts throbbed with heaviness
while her backside still ached from the spanking the other day.

“Hey,” he said in a quiet voice. He tugged
down her dress and smoothed the bodice back in place. “Turn around. You’ll have
bits of bark clinging to your dress.”

She turned as instructed, shivered again
when he ran his hand down her back and over her buttocks.

“We’ll stop by the restrooms so you can do
a quick cleanup.”

She gave a startled nod, not used to men
referring to feminine issues. Another reason the general had put forward as
argument for his plan. Male equals no messy problems. A win-win situation for
all concerned.

Felix took her hand and threaded their
fingers together before leading her toward the beach and the restroom and
changing sheds.

An employee was raking up leaves and
another was planting a new garden. Casey tried to tug her hand free, but Felix
refused to allow it and actually stopped to chat with the employees. He slung
his arm around her shoulders in casual ownership while he discussed a couple of
tasks he required them to complete during the coming days.

Once that was done, he continued to the
restrooms.

“I’ll wait outside for you. Don’t take long
because it’s important to recheck the fences.”

His smile of approval when she returned a
short time later was blinding. He gave her a kiss, nuzzled her neck, gave her a
quick lick at the spot where shoulder and neck met then reclaimed her hand. At
least she’d stopped jumping when he reached for her. The constant physical
contact was relaxing and kind of nice.

She let him lead her away from the main
resort area to a narrow path that followed the compound fence. It was a tall barrier,
higher than her head, and she was taller than average. A fine mesh covered the
bottom part and reached as high as her waist.

Felix walked ahead of her now, his focus on
the fence. “Hell, there’s another bloody hole. I checked this sector before I
came to collect you.”

“Someone is cutting the fence on purpose?
Why?”

“Because someone wants the resort to fail,”
Felix said in disgust.

“Any idea who it is?”

“Not a one. We’re doing irregular checks,
have organized a team to monitor the boundaries, but we haven’t discovered
anything suspicious.”

“An inside job?” Casey felt a prickle at
her back, as if someone were spying on them. She turned slowly and casually
surveyed the area outside the compound. Maybe it was imagination, yet…