But this woman’s eyes were different. A deep ochre brown that burned with a look of hot defiance.
Suddenly, and without warning, that defiance turned into action. Bound as she was, the woman could not strike him with her hands or feet, so she attacked him with the only means at her disposal.
Spit.
Her aim was commendable. Her wad of saliva landed directly in Aeron’s right eye. He didn’t flinch, however. He didn’t even change his expression. Instead, he just stood there for amoment, letting the warm fluid drip down his face. Then he wiped the spit with his fingers…
And sucked them clean.
The woman gaped in disbelief. She hadn’t expected him to do that. And she expected it even less when he suddenly jammed two of his fingers deep inside her open mouth. If she hadn’t been so shocked, perhaps she would have bitten him, but Aeron managed to get his fingers in and out unscathed.
Then he stuck his wet fingers in his own mouth again, and sucked away her saliva.
“Mm,” he said. “Delicious.”
Aeron took a step back and started to remove his combat vest. The woman tried to hide her body’s response to seeing his muscles, but there were some reflexes that were beyond her control. The sudden dilation of her pupils, for example, or the stiffening of her nipples. Aeron let her look for a moment, then he folded his vest and set it on top of the trunk by the wall.
“As you know,” he said, “it is our intention to breed you. All three of us. And we want a mate with the proper traits to complement our own warrior genes. Toughness. Defiance. A fighting spirit. Our offspring must have all those qualities if he will become a killer like his fathers.”
The woman’s eyes went wide.
“You mean…?”
“That’s right. The child will become a Merc, just like me and my two comrades. After we impregnate you, we will return you toyour village, and you will be permitted to raise the child until he is of training age. After that, the Guild will come to collect him.”
The woman’s face colored with rage.
“You’re a bastard!” she growled.
“I’ve been called much worse than that,” Aeron said. “Believe me.” He started to unfasten his belt.
“So you’re going to impregnate me, then steal my child? What if it’s a girl?”
“Merc seed tends to produce male offspring, but we also accept females among our ranks. Women make excellent killers.”
“What if I decide to terminate?”
“You won’t.”
Aeron coiled his belt and set it next to his vest. He sat down on the trunk and began to take off his boots.
“You don’t know that,” the woman said.
“Idoknow it. It’s not your style. And if I’m wrong, well… I guess that’s my fault for selecting the wrong mate.”
He stood up and removed his pants. The compression shorts he was wearing underneath could barely contain his swelling erection. The woman’s eyes got a little wider when they saw the shape of it printed against the flexible fabric. Then they got even wider still when Aeron pushed the shorts down his thighs and his hard shaft sprang free, throbbing and leaking precum.
The woman made a sound like a whimper. She turned her head to one side and stared at the wall.
“Let’s get it over with,” she said.
Aeron strode forward, his hard cock jutting out in front of him. The woman gasped when she felt it pressing against the warm, smooth skin of her belly. Aeron grabbed her lightly but firmly by the jaw and turned her face toward his.
“Let’s get three things crystal clear,” he said. “First of all, you’re not in charge here. I am. Second, there is no need to rush things. We have plenty of time for breeding, and I intend to do so at a pace that I deem appropriate. And third… there is still one last thing I need to examine before we begin.”
He leaned in close and claimed her mouth in a dominating kiss. The woman had not been expecting it. Her body stiffened against his for a moment, then melted. Aeron waited until he could feel her beginning to stiffen again, then he released her mouth and dropped to his knees in front of her.
It was time to see if Murdok was telling the truth.
