Page 7 of The Pleasure Contract

And that large figure belongs to Az.

Of course it does.

I nearly miss the bottom step of the staircase when I see that he’s decided to visit… without a shirt on.

His gaze finding me instantly, I wonder if he noticed my little fumbling step. I pretend it didn’t happen and smooth out my silky dress instead, too keenly aware of those eyes looking me up and down. When I finally do decide to meet his stare again, his mouth pulls up into a sinful smile. “Careful,” he says, his voice as smooth as melting butter. And somehow, that one word is enough to make me blush madly like a maiden in one of those old romance novels with the couples embracing dramatically on the covers. My mom loved those. Well… she did before-

“What are you doing here, and where the hell are the rest of your clothes?” I ask, mentally shutting down the path my mind was about to wander down.

Before Az can answer, my personal comm orb does something I don’t think I’ve ever seen it do. It whizzes away from me, flies across the foyer, and charges toward the half-dressed idiot in front of me. He wears a quizzical look on his face as he witnesses the exact same thing as me, and braces himself as if he thinks the little ball of light is going to attack him.

Instead, the electronic ball of light zips around and around Az like it’s actually excited to see him.

“Uh…” he says, one brow raised as his horns twist this way and that, while he follows the orb’s movements. “Did you ask it to do that?”

“What? No,” I scoff. “Get back here, you little-”

My comm obeys the command, gliding back to loop around me once before settling in its usual space, hovering at head-height by my side. “Are you done now?”

The orb practically vibrates, its internal light glowing brighter for a second, like it’s trying to communicate with me.

“I think she likes me,” I hear Az say, and when I look back at him, he’s just standing there wearing nothing but a grin, and what I now see is his drak riding gear, complete with leather riding pants and matching leather vambraces wound around both wrists.

“She is a piece of technology,” I correct him. “She-” I stop myself and take a deep inhale through my nose. “‘It’ can’t like or dislike anyone.”

Az takes a casual step toward me, his eyes burning with an intense sort of mischief; it makes my tummy do a stupid little flip. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” he says, his voice seeming as lazy and laissez-faire as his movements on the floor, but somehow still dripping with promise underneath.

When he comes to stand directly in front of me, I resist the urge my body has to step back… or move forward. He’s a very large man as it is, and yet somehow, even with still a pace’s length between us, it feels like he’s already touching me. Like his presence pushes out from his physical form, claiming more space than just his body. It’s like he’s a magnet, but I don’t know if I’m the positive or negative pole – likely to be pulled in, but just as likely to be repelled.

“I’m a very likable male, Lois,” Az tells me, his gaze dropping from my face to my throat. His eyes darken, and he swallows hard. “You should give it a try… Liking me, that is,” he adds, though his tone now sounds distant and distracted.

And now that he’s this close, I can feel the heat from him – can practically smell the workout his training has provided. And, instead of that rancid, musty ‘old gym sock’ scent you might expect from a sweaty man, he smells delicious. Heady, even.

He’s still talking, but it sounds fuzzy and far away. I’m too busy taking him in. His frame, his closeness, his scent. But my attention snaps back into focus once Az starts unwrapping one of his soft leather wristguards – his vambrace that covers most of his forearm.

“What-”

“Of course I don’t mind you walking around with your neck scandalously uncovered,” he says, interrupting me. “But Aunt Zalora will kill me for escorting a female with a bare throat.”

Before my brain can scramble to remember that particular part of Xaviann etiquette, Az has slipped to my back and lowers the strip of dark brown leather in front of me from behind. Somehow, he deftly maneuvers my hair out of the way so that he can gently wrap the leather three times around my neck. The material is supple and warm where it presses lightly against my skin. “Besides,” he says behind me, his fingertips brushing the nape of my neck like a caress as he ties the leather cord to keep it in place. Leaning closer, I feel the hot tickle of his breath against my ear when he growls, “Goddess help any male I might catch staring at that pretty little throat of yours, Lois.”

5

Az

Lois had been quiet on the cruiser ride back to the palace. I’d purposefully left my own transport back at the drak training arena and ran through the streets to get to the humans’ home before they left. It was an excuse to share the journey to this Goddess-forsaken farewell dinner we are forced to endure.

Don’t get me wrong – I will miss Zann. But it’s not like he hasn’t taken off traveling before. And it’s not like he will not have a comms line open to use to get in touch whenever he wishes. It’s just this time he is being sent away to work instead of planet-hopping to sample various local delicacies – including foods, intoxicants, and flesh. And if you ask me, Zann’s silver tongue will work its magic. That three-year banishment will dwindle down to a few months because he’s persuaded father he’s more useful elsewhere – probably anywhere there is liquor and females.

Anyway, for however long Zann stays working on this conservation planet, I think it will be good for him. Maybe he will find purpose there. The only thing my little brother has ever been dedicated to is having a good time.

“Aren’t you going to put some clothes on?” Lois asks me after she, Jaya, and I alight the cruiser and start walking the palace halls. When I glance over to her, she’s touching the soft leather of my vambrace wrapped around her neck.

I clear my throat and avert my eyes from the sight. Lois wearing something of mine around her little human throat almost feels like a bridal collar, and if I am not careful, I will spend the whole of this wretched dinner with my cock as hard as a Zericon Crystal.

“I’m not sure,” I lean in to answer her, fixing my mouth into a grin. “But then how will you be able to keep stealing glances at my abs?”

Lois stops walking and turns to face me. Jaya is walking up ahead with Vel.