Talson Temptations 2: Talson's Test
Talson’s Test
Book two in the Talson Temptations series.
Zaret Talson ‘Or Fal—Z—knows what he wants, and it isn’t a mate. But when he’s besieged by dreams of a sexy woman scorching the skies when she’s not entwined with him and his brother, he fears the dreams are a sign of his future.
His brother looks forward to the threesome—all the fun without the commitment. Z
wants to run the other way, because he’ll be tied to her if she proves to be his. He’s foreseen it.
Adri ‘San Fal may look human, but like Z, she’s Otra, an alien species not altogether welcome on Earth. Part of a particular clan of Otra who can handle fire, she’s blonde, unlike the majority of her kind. Hiding in plain sight is easy—until her past finds her.
Desperate to escape, she runs into the one man destined to be her doom, or her salvation.
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Talson’s Test
ISBN 9781419934261
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Talson’s Test Copyright © 2011 Marie Harte
Edited by Grace Bradley
Cover art by Syneca
Electronic book publication April 2011
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
TALSON’S TEST
Marie Harte
Talson’s Test
Planet Werfal 7, Year 2109
Zaret Talson ‘Or Fal breathed deep, inhaling the sweet fragrance of home. The honeyed spice of blue and pink moonflowers floated on the wind. Soft, silken sheets cradled his body, providing a feeling of safety and security he’d never truly felt on Earth. On Werfal 7, the Otra—what humans called his kind—ruled. They had little fear of outsiders or offworlders, secure in their place in the universe. Unlike the fear-based humans.
Though alike in appearance and basic physiology, the two races could not be more different. He frowned, the recollection of his last trip to the southern sections of Earth intruding into his dreams. The feel of human fists, the press of violence and his own rage threatened to tear his subconscious, so he threw the memory away.
Awash in bliss once more, Z let his mind wander, carried by Otra hands and thoughts stroking him with reassurance. In the dim recesses of his mind, his
psychei
, that psychic part of his consciousness, touched his father and step-mother, his brothers, his friends and relatives spread over short distances. Sensations of peace and harmony filtered through him in a rainbow of soothing darkness.
Feeling cool air over his face and curling warmth under his palms, he smiled and let the dream state take him deeper. Ah. Yes. There she was. Surrounded by long, blonde hair that moved like
veeri
silk with the wind, the woman turned to him, her face marred by a frown. Not the smile he’d anticipated.
Still, his pleasure in just seeing her continued. Such exquisite form. Bountiful breasts tipped with coral-colored nipples. A flat stomach, the soft curve of her hips, the long, lean legs that when parted, bared a full, ripe bud. It would swell between her legs, just for him, hidden between the feminine folds that grew wet when he kissed her, touched her, fucked her…
She swore. Her violet eyes flashed, going from purple to black. Then fire consumed her. Her entire body lit like a torch, and she stretched her arm toward him, her finger pointing the way as flame leapt the distance to connect them in a fiery blaze.
The stench of burnt silk woke him from sleep.
“Dammit, Z. Wake the hell up.” Val’s deep voice surprised him, as did the large hand shaking him by the shoulder. “I’ve been calling your ass for an hour, but you refused to answer. I left three hot women with Romy to save you from yourself, once again.”
“Huh?”
“It’s me, your favorite brother, braintrust.” Val’s annoyance should have amused him, but these nightly occurrences worried him. “If you don’t snap out of this you’re going to burn the house down.”
Z blinked, trying to make some sense of it all. Seeing Val’s concern, he quickly released the smoking sheets under his palms and sat up. Sweat beaded on his chest and forehead, despite the cool temperature of the room. He focused on Val, working to control his latent
psychei
. “Sorry.” A lame apology, but he had trouble meeting Val’s gaze. His nocturnal problems had become an almost regular event the past two weeks, and he knew if he didn’t get a handle on himself, Val would seek help for him. Whether he wanted it or not.
Z cleared his throat. “What did you say about Romy?” Their younger brother could be a handful. He gave the appearance of being the quiet and calm one, but they both knew better.
“He told me to keep an eye on you. Had a feeling you needed me.” Val snorted. “Of course, that didn’t keep
him
from staying with my sexy new friends while I busted my ass coming back to save you.”
“You didn’t save me.” How embarrassing to be rescued
again
by his younger brother. He gave a subtle glance to the burned sheets. He’d have to replace them or his mother would find out. Then she’d tell his father, and he’d be forced to explain.
“Whatever. Did you dream about the blonde again?” Val waited expectantly.
Z didn’t want to think about her. Just remembering the beginning of his dream had blood racing to his cock, the flesh turning steel-hard.
Val smirked at the tent growing in Z’s lap. “So it was the blonde. Obviously fire wasn’t the only thing on your mind. So was she naked again?” Wishing he’d never shared this particular dream with his brother, Z concentrated on releasing the sexual tension growing within him, a difficult feat when his brother continued to talk about her.
“Big tits, a narrow waist.” Val brought his hands closer, approximating her size.
“Hair so light it’s white. A face that would put Naveeri to shame.” The popular actress had been a staple in the ‘Or Fal brothers’ fantasies for years. “Did you fuck her before she fried you this time?”
“Would you shut the hell up, Val? Just forget I ever mentioned her.” The twinkle in Val’s eyes made him groan. “Now, now. Come on, Z. Tell me again.
So I’m behind, giving it to her good, and you’re what, cheering for me? My own private support group?”
Though the Otra were much more open about sexuality than humans and considered sharing partners a normal occurrence in certain situations, Z didn’t like thinking of the woman with Val. Not unless he was also there, taking the lead.
His cock twitched, and he wanted to throttle his brother for stirring him needlessly.
“Shut. Up.” An unwilling image formed, that of his brother and him taking the blonde, using her with pleasure, creating new life where before there was none.
Oh hell, what
does that mean?
“I can see fire’s the last thing on your mind.” Val chuckled and nodded at the straining sheet covering Z’s erection. “And now it’s on my mind as well. I’m going back out. Try not to burn down the house while I’m gone. In fact, fix the problem in your lap and I guarantee you’ll be out before the second moon falls.” Val walked to the door and paused. “Seriously, though, Z. Talk to Dad tomorrow, will you? I’m starting to worry about you. Romy said you’re getting worse.”
“Nobody asked you to interrupt my sleep.”
Val tapped his forehead with his little finger, an equivalent to the human’s middle finger. “Yeah, right. Good night, loverboy.”
Try putting out her flames instead of burning
up your sheets
, he added mentally.
Once the door closed, Z stared down at his throbbing erection and tried to put the blonde, the fire, and his infernal nightmares from his mind. He would not be controlled by his dreams or his raging hormones. Hell, if this continued, he might think he’d entered The Testing.
Unnerved at the thought, he hastily denied it. The Testing, a time when male Otra sought their mates. Z was relatively young, thirty-four, and years away from settling down with one person. Hell, his father had been sixty-seven before he’d mated his birth mother. Given their longer lifespan, it only made sense a male should take his time exploring his sexuality before accepting a life partner. Convinced he’d let Val and the nightmare stir him past reason, he put the thought from his mind and concentrated.
True Otra managed their
psychei
. He would use his psychic gift to explore the future, not follow one potential path on the straight and narrow.
With a disgusted groan he turned on his belly, trying to ignore the discomfort between his legs. He thought about his youngest brother’s coming nuptials. Technically his half-brother, Roarke was part human and part Otra. Otra from their father, and human from Shea, a woman they all considered their mother. Roarke now made his home on Earth, on the western coast of the States in Port Watch. He and his mate, Jamie, were perfect for each other—both young and headstrong, physically and mentally compatible.
Which put Z in mind of his compatibility with the woman from his dreams, unable to resist the comparison. In their many dreams, she’d made him come with little effort, but her inclination for burning things to a crisp put a real damper on a tenable future.
Imagine living with a woman who tried to set fire to you nightly.
Recollections of burned flesh and smoldering metal warred with his raging desire.
Yet in the end, desire won out. He couldn’t stop thinking about her mouth and those beautiful breasts.
With a reluctant groan, knowing it was the only way to ease into sleep, Z rolled to his back and reached for his cock. He closed his eyes, seeing the blonde over him instead of his hand. She rode him hard, giving no mercy, her sleek walls clasping his shaft as she rose up and down, slamming hard over his cock and arousing his innermost hunger.
Faster and faster his hand moved as the scene changed. Her lips closed over his flesh, her skilled tongue flickering and stabbing with pleasure while her hot mouth took him closer to the edge. He could see her on her knees before him, one of his fists wrapped in her white-blonde tresses as he thrust into her mouth, all the way to the back of her throat.
She’d try to assert her dominance, but she’d submit, willingly, to the stronger male.
Fucking her mouth, pushing in and out, deeper and harder, he’d take her until she succumbed and drew his seed from him with a moan.
Then suddenly Val was there in his place, fucking her mouth while Z took her from behind. On her hands and knees, she serviced them both, caught between men who knew how to pleasure her. He pistoned inside her hot, wet pussy, finding a home in the erotic haven of her body. Val shuddered and cried out as he came, spurting inside her mouth. Watching her swallow his brother’s essence, that which would pave the way for their future, finally catapulted Z to climax. With a harsh groan he spilled, his orgasm slamming through him with such force he saw stars.
As he came over his hand, the shudders continued, bringing both the temporary relief and peace he sought. He cleaned himself with a nearby shirt and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
* * * * *
The next day, he woke feeling refreshed. Memories of Val in his bedroom were hazy, more like a dream than reality. Relaxed and well-rested, he performed his morning routine in record time, then left to find the rest of his family.
