TherianPromise (14 page)

“Deal, but no one-word answers or evasions. I’ll obey as
long as you’re honest and open.”

He motioned toward the door, his gaze fixed on her mouth.
“Lead the way.”

It only took a few minutes to reach her quarters, but she
used the time to prioritize her questions. This was about gaining information.
She could not lose sight of her goal. She locked the door behind them and
activated the privacy jammer. “No one can hear you but me.”

“And no one can see you but me.”

She wasn’t sure why the distinction was important but she
nodded. “Did you approach the backers or did they recruit you?”

“I thought you wanted to learn about me as a person.”

“I do. This project is our common ground. I’m trying to
understand how you fit in with what the backers are trying to accomplish.”

“Fair enough.” The apartment was compact and his large body
made it feel even smaller. A privacy curtain separated the bedroom from the
living area. He strolled around the room, looking at the sparse decorations
with bored indifference. “They recruited me.”

“How long have you worked with them?”

He shook his head and smiled. “I say nothing more until
you’re naked.”

She had three quick-dissolve tablets in her pocket, but she
needed to slip them into something he’d actually drink. Once he ingested the
chemical cocktail, he’d be far more accommodating. “You only answered one
question. That entitles you to one article of clothing.”

“This isn’t strip poker, sweetheart. If you want answers,
you do as you’re told.”

If she obeyed without question, she was no longer a
challenge. “Top or bottom? You can’t have both.”

He looked as if he’d argue then he shrugged. “Start with the
top.”

Slipping out of her lab coat, she draped it over the back of
a kitchen chair and made sure the pocket with the tablets was easily
accessible. “Can I get you something to drink? It’s early, but I think I’ll
have a glass of wine.”

“I thought you wanted coffee.” He sat in the sleek black
chair across from the kitchenette.

“Wine goes better with naked breasts.” She smiled as she
unbuttoned her blouse and placed it on top of the lab coat.
Come on. Try the
wine. I’m not sure I can pull this off if we’re both sober
.

“White or red?” Except for the occasional gleam in his eyes,
his expression remained stoic.

“Which do you prefer? I have both.”

“Bring the bottles here so I can find out.”

She wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but she didn’t see a
way around it. Retrieving the half-full bottles from her refrigerator, she
brought them to him then quickly stepped back.

“You’re still wearing your bra.”

“Sorry.” She unfastened the front clasp and took off the
undergarment.

“Come here.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ll tell you how I met James Milliner if you do.”

She licked her lips, desperately wanting to cover her
breasts. But she wasn’t here to entertain him. She was trying to learn as much
as she could about her mysterious companion. “Tell me first then I’ll obey.”

Osric chuckled and pulled the cork out of one of the wine
bottles. “I want to find out if I prefer red or white. Now stop being so
contrary.” He set the corked bottle on the floor and reached for her hand. She
reluctantly moved between his legs as he scooted to the edge of the chair. Then
he raised the open bottle and drizzled red wine over her left breast.

The cold liquid streamed across her warm skin and Carly
shivered. Her nipple hardened as the liquid followed the contour of her flesh.
He caught the red droplets with the tip of his tongue then retraced the wet
path until her skin was clean.

Thinking he’d finished with phase one of his “experiment”,
she exhaled and started to retreat. He caught her hips as his mouth fastened on
to her nipple. She stood perfectly still and he moved his hands, only touching
her with his mouth. The long, firm pulls drew heat into her breast and made the
tip tingle.

He released her suddenly and her nipple sprang free, wet and
tightly puckered. “Very nice. Now hand me the white.”

She took the open bottle from him and exchanged it for the
other. Trickling white wine over her right breast, he sampled the new offering.
He sucked harder, scraping her with his teeth. She tried to ignore the
sensations darting from her nipple to her clit, but he knew how hard to nibble
and always managed to pull back just as pleasure turned to pain.

“Red,” he decided, and scooted back in the chair. “Unless
you want to continue the experiment. White might be more suited to your navel
or those adorable dimples on your lower back. But I suspect red’s sweetness
will balance out the salty-sharp taste of your pussy. Shall we find out?”

Shaking off the sensual haze, she grabbed both bottles and
hurried across the apartment. “How did you meet General Milliner? You promised
to tell me.” She retrieved two wineglasses from the cupboard and set them on
the table near the chair with her lab coat. Blocking his view with her body,
she pulled the tablets from her pocket and dropped them into one of the glasses
then covered them with wine. Swirling the wine around in the glass, she waited
until the tablets dissolved then returned to her guest.

He accepted the glass but didn’t take a drink. “I told you
the backers recruited me, but that’s not exactly true. One of Milliner’s teams
captured me eight years ago. I was treated like the others, examined, tested,
experimented on.”

Shocked by the revelation, she couldn’t think of anything to
say for a moment then questions bombarded her mind. “Then why in the world
would you help them? Why subject others to the same mistreatment you’d
endured?”
What did they give you that was worth betraying your own people?

“You’re a scientist,” he snapped. “You understand the cost
of medical advancement.”

She needed to be more careful. The last thing she wanted was
to piss him off and have him clam up on her. He fiddled with his glass, but he
still hadn’t raised it to his lips. “Were the other two backers involved back
then? How long has this project been going on?”

“I’m not sure exactly. Milliner met Roberto in the eighties.
Tias joined the club a few years later. The project was in full swing when they
captured me.”

The project had been underway for perhaps forty years and
they still didn’t understand what enabled Therians to shift? That wasn’t
accurate. The backers had a basic understanding of the biological processes.
They just couldn’t recreate the abilities in humans.

She took a sip of her wine, hoping Osric would do the same.
He rested the base of his glass on his thigh and stared off into space. “How did
you go from being a test subject to participating willingly in the program?”

He finally took a long drink of wine then set the glass
aside. Damn. Would enough of the drugs reach his system with only one drink?
“If you want more, lose the skirt.”

He’d seen her naked before and she wasn’t ashamed of her
body. This could only be humiliating if she allowed it to be. She unzipped her
skirt and stepped out of it, draping it across the chair back with her other
garments.

“They learned what they could from me then turned me loose.
It wasn’t until a few months later that I realized they’d tagged me.”

That wasn’t surprising. It was standard procedure to tag
test subjects. Of course he wouldn’t have known their procedures back then.
“That didn’t really answer the question. How did you end up helping them?”

“Take off the rest. I want you completely naked.”

She kicked off her shoes and rolled down one of her
stockings. She started to roll down the other then stopped. “You’re not
talking.”

His gaze traveled the length of her half-naked body as a
fresh wave of lust formed his expression. “Therians mate for life. Once our
bodies sync with our mate’s body, we are incapable of—”

“Wait.” She tossed her stockings over the chair and paused
with her thumbs hooked under the waistband of her panties. “What does that
mean? How does your body ‘sync’ with your mates?”

“We’re shapeshifters,
Doctor
Ides. Our bodies
literally shift, becoming more attractive to and compatible with our mate’s
physiology.”

“And your body retains that change for as long as your mate
lives?”

“Yes. Once the mating bond is formed it’s permanent, but
while a female is still searching for her mate, synchronization lasts three
months with each potential partner.”

“Then it’s the female’s responsibility to find her mate?”
That didn’t seem quite fair.

He chuckled and his gaze focused on her exposed breasts.
“Females go into heat, which announces to every unbound male that she is
physically ready to be claimed. It’s the male’s job to convince her that he is
the strongest and most capable of satisfying her every need.”

“Being physically capable of reproduction doesn’t mean
anyone is ready for a lifetime commitment.” Yet having strong, demanding males
vying for her attention sounded like a sexual fantasy. Except she’d be expected
to spend the rest of her life with whomever satisfied her best. Maybe being
human wasn’t so bad after all.

“You’re human.” He made it sound like a disease, but she’d
already decided she was thankful for her humanity. “You’ll never understand the
intensity of mating fever.”

He said no more, so she dragged her panties down to
mid-thigh then turned so all he could see was her bare hip. “What does this
have to do with your joining the program?”

“My mate…” He picked up his wineglass and drained it with several
deep gulps. “She was weak and selfish and terrified of her destiny.”

She let her panties slip down her legs then she kicked them
aside. The pain in his eyes was even more disconcerting than his usual lechery.
“You’re obviously not incapable of being with other women now, so what happened
to her?”

“Willona’s mother, Maggie, had three mates and she could
shift into numerous animals. Maggie wasn’t technically a
true
Therian,
but she was damn close.”

Feeling foolish just standing there naked, she walked to the
couch and sat. But he shook his head when she reached for the throw blanket
folded over the back. She sat up straight and kept her thighs pressed together.
“I’ve heard you use that term before. What do you consider a ‘true’ Therian?”

“I have reason to believe Therians were once true
shapeshifters. I think we changed forms as easily as humans change their
clothes.”

“When and why did Therians lose the ability to shift into
anything they wanted to?” She was fascinated by the details, but Osric had likely
told the backers his theories already. She needed current information,
specifics he’d be reluctant to share.

“It happened gradually over countless generations. Cats grew
suspicious of dogs and dogs saw weakness in the smaller clans. It became the
norm to mate within one’s own clan, so the ability to shift into other forms
dwindled away.”

“What made you think Willona would still have this ability?”

“Her mother was defined late in life and she took on three
animal natures. I knew Willona would be even more receptive to a multiple
definition if she was defined while her spirit was still fresh and strong.” His
gaze dipped to her breasts then sank lower. “Open your legs.”

Carly swallowed hard. He was moving closer to the present,
closer to the inner workings of the Therians. Besides, the drug should be
kicking in soon. She inched closer to the edge of the sofa and parted her
thighs.

“Wider.”

Slowly, she complied and heat crept across her skin. She
always felt humiliated after they played these games, but her body responded to
his demands more readily than any lover she’d ever known. “You said Willona was
weak and afraid. What happened to her?”

He rubbed his eyes and then his nose. Good. Facial numbness
was a common side effect, but this was taking forever. “No one believed me.
They all thought Maggie was a fluke, that her abilities were some random trick
of nature.” He left his chair and knelt on the floor in front of her. His hands
cupped her knees and pushed her legs up and back until her heels rested on the edge
of the sofa. “Sam didn’t believe me either, but he agreed to help me try.”

“Who is Sam?” She was naked and spread before him, her pussy
creaming beneath his watchful eyes.

His breaths came faster and he kept blinking his eyes. She
thought he’d succumb to the drug and then he pushed two fingers into her pussy
and smiled. “You missed me.” He pumped slowly, watching his fingers disappear
inside her body and reappear coated in cream. “So wet and hot.”

“Tell me about Sam.” Despite her determination to resist his
careless stroking, her body responded. Tension gathered low in her belly and
her clit began to twitch.

“Wolf pack alpha.” His voice sounded slightly slurred, but
his hand kept up the steady motion, teasing her, arousing her. “Willona refused
to name her guide, so I got permission to define her.”

She tensed, easily reading between the lines. “By force?”

“She only struggled in the beginning. We didn’t want to hurt
her, but definition brings out the animal in Therian males.”

“You took turns…you and this wolf alpha?” What little desire
he’d managed to stir sputtered out. She pushed his hand back and scurried off
the couch, but there wasn’t anywhere to hide. The bathroom door didn’t lock and
the bedroom was only separated from the main room by a curtain. “Did she
survive?”

He turned and sat down, leaning back against the sofa. “I
feel…weird.”

Finally. She darted into the bathroom and grabbed her robe
off the back of the door. By the time she returned, his eyes had glazed over
and his mouth hung open. Roberto had given her the drugs and told her they were
amazingly effective. If the combination worked as promised, Osric would provide
truthful answers to her questions and wake up with jumbled memories of a sexual
encounter.