Sons of Amber (2 page)

* * *

Angela held her breath, shocked at his behavior. A look from her sent Agatha scrambling from the room to get help. "I said you could sit up, not get up." Her voice was breathless even to her own ears as she got a good look at him, naked as the day he was born, testing the support of his newly healed leg. She moved around the bed to stand in front of him should he need her help—at least, that's what she told herself she was doing. She didn't really want a better look at the marvelous male flesh revealed so enticingly before her. Did she?

Angela had seen naked men a few times before in her role as healer, but the men of the colony didn't look like this! This male was totally out of her experience. Ruggedly handsome and muscled in a way that made her mouth water, this male was like those in the storycubes from beforetimes. He was magnificent.

"It feels good as new." He put his weight on the leg that had been broken and smiled at her. There was a twinkle in his eye she had never seen before in any male. It appealed to her on some basic level with which she was altogether unfamiliar. "Thank you, sweetheart."

He leaned in, impossibly closer, until his warm lips settled over hers. Her eyebrows went up in alarm as he pulled her in with his big hands until her open palms rested against his warm, naked chest, his hardening cock poking against her thighs through the thin fabric of her dress.

He was becoming aroused! And he was kissing her like she'd never been kissed before. It felt like he put his soul into it, his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth and slipping in as she gasped. The gasp was from the action of his mobile hands, one cupping her ass and pressing her firmly against his erection, the other slipping between them to pinch one nipple hard enough to make her moan.

"Little Angel, do you feel what you do to me?" His lips nibbled down her jaw, lingering at her ear and biting down on the lobe just enough to make her squeak. Then he buried his mouth in her neck, his tongue laving her skin as if she were a sweet treat.

Now both of his hands kneaded her ass, pulling her into his hardness with a rhythm she followed almost helplessly. He felt so good!

* * *

"Are all the Sons of Amber as randy as you, Ezekiel?" The woman's commanding voice came from the doorway, breaking through the sensual spell. Zeke pulled back but he could not let go of the petite bundle in his arms. He merely looked to the door where the Mother of this little enclave waited, an indulgent and slightly amused expression on her lovely features.

"Yes, ma'am." He winked. "Especially when in such lovely company."

His little angel blushed, delighting him. He felt so drawn to this one lovely little woman, it amazed him. Never before had he felt such an immediate, soul-deep attraction for a particular female, and he had bedded thousands since he was grown enough to do so. First he'd been clinically taught how to pleasure a woman by the female doctors and scientists in Dr. Amber Waithe's facility. His performance had been graded, his semen 8

collected and tested repeatedly for viability. He'd had no real youth. Accelerated growth in the incubators meant he had come to consciousness in early adolescence, just as his reproductive organs stirred to life.

Dr. Amber had overseen his progress, along with her team. They were all female and each of them had taught him and his brothers a thing or two about how to please a woman, in their own way. By the time he was ready for his duties outside the lab, he had fucked most of the women there for training purposes and some just because they wanted a male between their thighs. Sex was never in short supply for him, either at the lab or since he'd left there to assume his duties with the defense forces.

It was part of his duty to bed willing females, as well as producing sperm deposits at regular intervals so females from many different human planets and colonies could be impregnated with his or any of his brother's sperm whenever they wished. He didn't know exactly how many children he had fathered by now, but Amber and her scientists kept meticulous track. He knew there were probably hundreds, if not thousands, of little boys running around the various human worlds with his DNA by now, and the thought gave him solace.

Something of him would live on to help humanity survive. At least in this way, his life up to this point had some meaning. Still, in the dark of night, something about his life bothered him, leaving him unfulfilled. He had come to realize that something was missing, but he wasn't exactly sure what it was. The old storycubes he'd seen from beforetimes showed a much different existence than the one he was living now, where one man and one woman would live their lives together in partnership, and love.

He'd never felt love, and it was something he wanted to experience at least once before his Risker's nature led to one risk too many. He looked down at the gentle creature still held tightly in his embrace and realized that if he could experience love, he would want to try it with someone exactly like this little angel. Perhaps he could make her love him, though he hadn't a clue how to go about it.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" his angel whispered, her dewy eyes staring up at him.

"You are the most beautiful thing I have ever beheld."

Her eyes melted and her lips softened with desire. He would have claimed yet another kiss from her at that moment, but the Mother cleared her throat rather loudly, reminding them both of her presence. How could he have forgotten she was there?

Zeke turned to face the woman in the doorway, keeping Angela in his arms. He shifted so she stood slightly in front of him, both facing the woman by the door. His hard length pressed between the cheeks of her ass, with only the thin barrier of her dress between them, as if it had found its home.

"Mother Rachel, I—" Angela didn't struggle in his arms, which he found intensely gratifying for some reason. He could tell by the rising flush on the delicate skin of her neck and the heat of her cheek against his hand that she was embarrassed.

The older woman held up her hand to forestall his angel's words, a benevolent smile on her serene features. She advanced into the room and took a seat in the chair at his bedside, inviting them to sit with a wave of her fingers. Zeke levered himself down on the bed to sit, keeping Angela in his arms. She was such a little thing it was easy to maneuver her about, like a little doll. He kept her in his lap, turning her cheek into his chest as he leaned back against the headboard of the small bed, facing the other woman.

"Ezekiel, I have the gift of foresight. It's that gift which has helped me lead this colony for many years. Most of our people have gifts of one kind or another, but the one in each generation with the strongest foresight is chosen as leader." She bowed her head modestly, but her knowing eyes did not leave his. "I have foreseen the danger you bring 9

to our people—and the hope of salvation for all humanity. Your actions in the next few days will bring either disaster or epiphany."

Zeke shook his head, barely able to believe what this woman claimed. Sure, paranormal abilities had been documented among humans from time to time, but it was a rare thing indeed. For certain, he'd never met anyone who claimed to be able to see the future before.

The woman smiled and he saw a light of challenge in her eyes. "You crashed here on the run from Jit pirates, is that not so?"

"Well, yeah." Zeke was amazed by her knowledge, but then it could be she'd arrived at the conclusion through a process of deduction. Or maybe a lucky guess.

"They search for you. Within three cycles, they will find your crash site. You must get there first."

Zeke felt the back of his neck itch. "I'd planned to go out as soon as it got dark.

There are some things on my ship I could use and I have to try to contact my base."

The Mother nodded. "Good. It will be dark soon." She checked her chronometer.

"Sister Angela will accompany you."

"Begging your pardon, ma'am, but I work better alone." He felt the little woman in his arms stiffen. "Sweetheart, you'd only slow me down. I'll be back before you know it."

The Mother stood. "No. You don't understand. There are creatures that hunt in the darkness on this planet. You don't know their ways. Sister Angela goes with you to protect you."

He couldn't help it. He laughed out loud at the idea the little woman in his arms would need to defend him from any sort of predator. She struggled to leave his embrace, but he wouldn't allow it.

"Whoa, there. I'm sorry, angel, but I'm a trained warrior. I'm not used to the idea of a woman protecting me. It's usually the other way around."

"Not here," the Mother said with finality in her tone. "You'll soon learn why, so don't question what you don't yet understand. We've lived here for a long time. We know this planet and its creatures."

Zeke could see the wisdom in that and backed down as graciously as possible.

Besides, having his angel nearby made him feel good in a way he didn't quite understand.

10

* * *

Zeke's risky plan worked like a charm. Only a few of the
gaks
tried to follow them up the ramp but Angela repelled them with a final blast from the energy cannon. The rise of the bay door prevented any of the other creatures from entering that way. Zeke vaulted from the land vehicle and headed for the computer console as soon as he was inside. He felt Angela following at a slower pace.

"Thank the Maker." Zeke input his codes and raised the ship's shield. It was intact and more than powerful enough to repel the night creatures. He turned to look down at his little angel, standing quietly at his side. "We're safe for the moment. The
gaks
can't breach the shield."

Adrenaline pumping through him, he couldn't help but reach for her. She came willingly into his arms and raised her lips to his. The feel of her made his senses swim, the taste of her fired his blood, but he knew there was something he had to do first, before he gave in to the temptation of her lush, young body. Straining against his desire, he set her away from him.

"We have work to do, before pleasure." He couldn't resist swooping in to place a silly kiss on the tip of her nose. "I assume the
gaks
will scurry away just before the suns rise?"She nodded. "All the hunters and prey retreat in the hour before dawn."

"Good." He turned back to the console and tapped a few more commands. "Until then, I have to check the status of my ship and communications gear. I need to try to get a message to my base." He looked over the readouts to be certain the shield would hold. He could also access internal diagnostics from this station to make certain nothing indigenous to the planet had already found its way into the ship to lie in wait for them.

"Everything looks clean. At least I remembered to seal the hatch before I took off across the surface in search of help." He laughed at himself and the damage a little bump on the head could do to an otherwise sane individual. "I don't know what I was thinking."

He paused a moment, facing away from Angela, but he could almost feel her curious eyes boring into his back. "At the time, I could've sworn I heard someone, or maybe something, calling out to me."

He turned to face her as she shrugged. It was not the reaction he expected.

"Why aren't you surprised?"

"Maybe you did hear something. Such things happen among our people. It's not that astonishing to think a higher power would help you find your way to us." Her eyes evaded him as she went on, her cheeks flushing just the tiniest bit. "I normally don't make 12

a habit of roaming the surface in the middle of the day either, but I knew I had to go out that day. Perhaps you were calling to us as much as we called to you."

"Fate?" he mused, reaching out to slip a finger under her chin, raising her eyes to meet his once more. "You think it was meant to be that you found me and saved my life?"She nodded slightly. "So the Mother said. How else can you explain it?"

He let her go and shook his head, starting for the inner bay doors. "I can't." He waited for her to join him before heading out into the corridor that led to the command center of his mid-sized ship. He'd have to do the rest of his checks from there, and if the comm systems were working, that's also where he'd find them.