Outcast (31 page)

"We're almost there," Jack said heartily. "Got Lynx's love potion brewed up, yet?"

"Jack," Tisana said wearily. "How many times do I have to tell you I don't make love potions?"

Smiling as she fed Althea another spoonful, she added, "And even if I did, I certainly wouldn't allow anyone to use it on an unsuspecting person. It's unethical."

"Ethics be damned!" Jack declared. "Bonnie's got one of the last remaining Zetithians, and he's not living up to his potential! If Lynx's line dies out, there will be too few bloodlines to reestablish the species. Think about our children, Tisana! They need mates!"

"And I've told you a million times, their genes appear to be dominant," Tisana said patiently. "It doesn't seem to matter who they mate with, you still wind up with what are essentially pure Zetithian offspring, and our children are living proof!"

Jack ignored that. She'd heard all of this before. "Haven't you been listening to the guys talk?

Zetithian women only go for Zetithian males, and even that takes some doing! It's all very well for my sons, but you've got a daughter! Who will Althea marry if she doesn't like my boys? They need more options!"

Tisana shook her head, smiling. Jack had such a one-track mind. She seemed determined to scatter Zetithians all across the galaxy and stamp out their enemies as she went. That last trio of Nedwuts they'd run into hadn't made it out of Rocky's Cantina alive, though they had made the mistake of firing the first shot. Nobody took potshots at Cat and lived if Jack was anywhere around, and Cat was no slouch when it came to looking after himself, either. Tisana had considered posting warning signs wherever they went, just to avoid any bloodshed. She'd had to shoot a fireball to deflect the shot herself, but that was mainly due to the fact that Leo had also been in the line of fire. The fact that they'd been cruising all around the galaxy and hadn't lost either of their men was a testament to just what lengths a woman would go to hang onto a Zetithian once she'd found one. It required constant vigilance, and Tisana sometimes wondered if going off with Jack and Cat hadn't been a mistake. Leo had been much safer on Utopia — though she hadn't exactly had to twist his arm to get him to leave; they were both much happier having escaped from life on that world.

"I know what you mean, Jack," Tisana sighed. "But it isn't up to us to decide who they'll marry! My daughter's choice of mates is with the gods."

"Oh, fiddle-faddle," Jack said dismissively. "Sometimes even the gods need a little help."

"Yes, I know," Tisana said, rolling her eyes. "The gods thrive on the sweat of human endeavor or some such thing. You don't have to tell me again."

Cat sauntered into the cockpit and, with one look at his wife, got the gist of the conversation immediately. "She is worried about Lynx, is she not?"

"Yes, but you know how she feels about Zetithians," Tisana said with a smile. "I still can't believe she let Trag go off with those gun runners."

Cat grinned knowingly. "She is our greatest champion. If she had been leading the fight, Zetith never would have been destroyed."

"Aw, now, Cat, don't start with that!" Jack warned. "It's not my fault I'd never heard of Zetith before I met you. But you're right," she added reflectively. "I'd have blasted that asteroid to smithereens, even if I had to sacrifice my ship to do it!"

"My lovely master," Cat purred, planting a kiss on Jack's cheek. "You are truly a mate beyond price."

"Go on, now," Jack said, making a feeble attempt to brush him off. She never was able to resist him.

"Not in front of Tisana."

"We have made love in public before," Cat reminded her. "With strangers watching."

"Yes, and we decided we didn't really like it," Jack pointed out. "Besides, Tisana isn't a stranger."

Cat leaned closer and inhaled deeply. "But I can smell your desire, my master. You cannot hide it from me."

"I'm not trying to hide it," Jack insisted. "It's just that I'm in the middle of trying to land the bloody ship! Why do you always want nooky when I'm busy?"

"But I like it when you're busy," Cat purred. "That way I can surprise you."

Jack dearly loved being surprised, but she somehow managed to ignore that remark. She would deal with Cat later. "But what are we going to do about Lynx?" Jack reiterated, doing her best to recapture the original subject. "I like Bonnie a lot, and I just think she should have the same chance with Lynx that I had with you. It's only fair, you know."

"I do not believe you need to do anything," Cat said wisely. "I believe the problem will resolve itself without any interference."

"Meaning I should mind my own damn business?" Jack grumbled.

"I think you should listen to Cat on this one," Tisana advised. "He knows more about Lynx than you do."

"True," Jack admitted. "I don't know much at all." She threw Cat a speculative glance over her shoulder. "And what you do know, you aren't telling, are you?

"Lynxsander was only a boy when he was taken and sold," Cat said quietly. "Perhaps slavery had a more profound effect on him than it did on the rest of us."

"But Bonnie said he didn't like women," Jack argued. "I could understand him being affected in tons of other ways, but what the hell could have done that to him?"

"I do not know," Cat said. "He did not share that story with us."

"You wouldn't be trying to pull the wool over my eyes, would you?" Jack said suspiciously. "I heard you fussing at him about why his hair was so short. I wondered about that myself; I didn't think you guys ever cut your hair."

Cat was reluctant to say more, and it showed, but he also felt that Jack deserved an answer. "It is a symbol of a man's virility," he said at last. "For a Zetithian to cut his hair is to proclaim that he is no longer a man."

Jack's eyes grew round with horror. "You never told me that!" she exclaimed. "I never want you to cut yours — but that's just because I like it, not because it means anything!"

Tisana put forth the obvious conclusion. "Lynx was castrated, wasn't he?"

Cat shook his head. "It is possible," he conceded, "but I do not believe so," he replied. "Something else happened to change him."

"Well, we've got to do something about it!" declared Jack.

"Jack," Tisana warned. "You shouldn't meddle."

"Yeah, well, what else do I have for entertainment?" she grumbled. "Nothing exciting has happened since — " The ship lurched slightly as it breached the atmosphere of Terra Minor, triggering a sudden wave of nausea that nearly had Jack losing her lunch all over the control panel. There was only one thing that would cause Jack's iron stomach to rebel. "Whoa, shit! I think I've already got something new to keep me busy!"

"You are with child, are you not?" Cat purred.

"Dammit, Cat!" Jack exclaimed. "How the hell could you know that?"

Tisana exchanged a meaningful look with Cat behind Jack's back. "It is what I do" Cat said simply.

"What?" Jack demanded, still adjusting the controls as she fought the urge to throw up. "Which part? The knowing or the making it happen?"

Cat shook his head and smiled, but didn't bother to reply. Both were true, and Jack already knew it.

"Leo knew before you did," Tisana whispered to Cat. "He said her scent was different."

"And just why did none of you bother to tell me?" Jack demanded.

"It is more fun when you discover it for yourself," Cat purred. "You may thank me later."

"Yeah, well, you know what being pregnant means, don't you?" Jack said grimly. "No cocksucking for about three months. Think you can stand it?"

Having Jacinth sprawled on their bed, sucking him for hours was wonderful, but Cat was well aware that she enjoyed it even more than he did. "I am not the one who will suffer," he chided her.

"Oh... yeah... right." Jack muttered. "Silly me..." It would be a very long three months.

AAA

<*> <*> <*> V V T

Landing without further incident, Cat went off to make the mandatory visit to the trade authority while Jack and Leo loaded up the pack droid and headed for the marketplace, leaving Tisana behind with the children.

"I'm dying to see if those sponges we picked up on Ulada will sell," Jack said eagerly. "I mean, a sponge that makes its own soap? Who wouldn't want one?"

"Someone who does not want soap?" Leo suggested.

"You always were a killjoy," Jack retorted. "Ooo, look! There's Bonnie! She'd better have Lynx with her, or I'll go looking for him! Never been to Bonnie's farm," she added reflectively. "Maybe we should pay him a visit."

"There is no need," Leo pointed out. "He is there, unloading the cart."

Following Leo's line of sight, Jack watched Lynx as he worked. Something was different. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed softly. "His hair is longer."

Leo smiled. "Did you think it would not be? Human females have a very strong, intoxicating effect on us," he said.

"Yes, but you've never seemed to be too taken with me, Leo," Jack observed. "I've yet to make your dick hard."

"It is different once we have chosen a mate," Leo said equably.

"You guys have so many rules!" Jack grumbled. "Though I guess there had to be a few, or there would have been total mayhem on your planet. Must've created plenty of it on other worlds, though."

"Some," Leo conceded. "But not all."

"Well, better keep your sword handy," Jack advised. "Here comes Salan."

Jack smiled at the dairyman's daughter, and Leo couldn't help but grin back at the girl's seductive smile. She never gave up, even after Tisana had once promised to tell Mobray's cows to kick her whenever she milked them if Salan didn't leave Leo alone. As far as anyone knew, Tisana had never bothered to follow through on the threat because Leo was completely faithful, and Salan's blatant attempts at seduction were always good for a laugh.

"Hel-7o, Leo," she said coyly. "Where's Tisana?"

"Back at the ship with the kids," Jack said, pulling Leo back out of Salan's reach. For a milkmaid, Salan had the longest, sharpest-looking talons Jack had ever seen, and she had no intention of letting her sink them into Leo — or Cat, for that matter. Not liking Salan particularly, Jack was of the opinion that she and Sylor would have made a good pair.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Salan said sweetly, gazing adoringly into Leo's golden eyes. Salan thought he was the handsomest man she'd ever seen, with Cat running a close second. Just the thought of running her fingers through his tawny curls and having his strong arms wrapped around her made her head spin. She ought to have known better than to covet the husbands of two women who were so capable of blasting her to bits — the one with her pulse pistol and the other with the fire in her eyes — but Salan simply couldn't help it — nor was she particularly intelligent. "We've been having trouble with one of our cows. I thought she might be able to help."

"She'll probably drop by later on," said Jack. "But I guess you don't have the cow with you."

Salan laughed merrily. "As I said, we are having trouble with her. She will not stand to be milked, no matter who approaches her."

Jack fought hard to suppress a chuckle. Maybe Tisana had made good on her threat after all. "We might be sticking around for a few days this time," Jack said. "Maybe she'll make a house call."

"My father would be pleased," said Salan, still eyeing Leo hungrily. She would have given her father's whole herd to get him alone for just one night. Perhaps while Tisana was busy talking with the cows... Then she remembered the threat Tisana had made. Could it be...?

Just then, Kipper came bounding across the plaza toward Jack and Leo, barking excitedly. "What the devil's gotten into him?" Jack wondered aloud as Kipper continued to bark for a moment and then began sniffing at Leo and whining.

"He wants Tisana," Leo said knowledgeably. "I have seen this type of behavior before."

"He may just want to see Max," Jack suggested, but then remembered that animals knew a whole lot more about what went on in the lives of people than anyone gave them credit for. "Or he may want to tell us that Lynx and Bonnie are — "

"Hey, Jack!" Bonnie called out as she spotted them. "Come see the baby!"

Leo and Jack made their way over to Bonnie's stand and were suitably impressed when introduced to Shaulla. Jack commented that Ulla looked more like her mother than her father — which wasn't true, of course, but she thought it was something Bonnie would like to hear.

"Shaulla?" Leo echoed, looking at Lynx curiously. "That was your mother's name, was it not?"

"Ooo, good sign!" Jack said under her breath as Lynx nodded. She might have been busy tickling Ulla under the chin, but she was watching Lynx out of the corner of her eye. Yes, he did look different. He was even smiling — sort of — and so was Bonnie. Jack's own expression brightened immediately. "So, how's life on the farm been treating you, Lynx?"

"I am well," Lynx replied warily. He knew Cark trusted this woman with his life, but she was...

strange. He was even more wary of Leo, who had been very quick to realize how Shaulla had gotten her name. He knew he shouldn't have been so reluctant to admit that he and Bonnie had mated, but for some reason, he didn't wish to discuss it, even with his old friends.

"Well, huh?" said Jack. "Just well?Yd say you look a damn sight better than well. Longer hair, picked up a little weight — hell, I even saw you smile!" Her eyes narrowed sharply. "You've been getting some, haven't you?"

"Jack," Bonnie chided. "Couldn't you at least try to be a little more discreet? You'll embarrass him."

"Never met a Zetithian yet who was embarrassed about much of anything!" Jack declared. "Hell, they'll walk around naked if you don't make them put clothes on! Of course, they usually start a riot when they do that — but that's beside the point."

"The point is," Leo said, cutting Jack off abruptly, "that Lynx has been thriving on Bonnie's farm. I believe we should not discuss it any further."

Jack laughed out loud. "You think so? Well, you guys just go do your thing, and we girls will talk!"

Kipper was still nudging Leo in the leg trying to get his attention. Jack tapped the comstone mounted on the breast pocket of her flightsuit. "Hey, Tisana," she said. "You need to come talk to this mutt of Bonnie's; he's got some sort of bee in his bonnet."