Oath of Challenge Conquering Kate (5 page)

She knew she should feel worried, but it was hard when she felt so good. Giving herself a good mental shake, she forced herself to examine the facts. He had merged with her. And she had agreed to it.

With a touch of bite in her voice directed more at herself than at him, she said, “I guess you won this particular battle.”

Tair’s brain was beginning to function better, too. She had stunned him. He couldn’t believe the effect she had on his senses. The taste of her, the feel of her, was incredible. She could set him on fire with a mere look. Seeing her so totally lost to his touch had moved him emotionally, too.

Being so far inside her mind had been unbelievably pleasurable. Her inner beauty was an incredible wonder. The ache to claim her body was like a living thing inside him. He was not pleased to be so intensely affected. With a self-derisive smile, he said, “I am not sure either of us won.”

Kate moved her head to look at him. She would have thought he would be crowing and acting impossibly arrogant by now. She studied him in silence for a moment and then asked, “What do you mean?”

Tair looked away from her thoughtful gaze and stared at the wall. In a self-mocking voice, he said, “Kate, I am not interested in anything beyond friendship and great sex. I will cherish you as my pactmate and then as my pledgemate, but I do not want to fall in love with anyone, including you. Ever.”

Fragile hope, newly born and unspoken even to herself, died swiftly at his words. Of course, he didn’t want to love her. She didn’t want to love him either. The whole idea was preposterous.

With chilly emphasis she said, “I don’t recall asking for your love. I was merely referring to the merge. It seems to me you’re too familiar with clinging, brainless females. I have no interest in anything beyond a brief two-week affair. We can have sexual fun without intercourse and without emotion. You’re the one you who brought up infantile emotions like love.”

Her eyes were ice cold and her body was rigid beneath his arm. Tair felt his own heart clutch as the hurt his words caused passed over him. He gave a mental sigh and wondered how to explain without doing further damage.

He felt uncomfortable and unsure how to proceed. Searching for words, he said, “I meant I did not expect to feel so intensely affected by you. It is not of my choosing.”

Kate felt her heart lodge in her throat. A feeling of warmth surged that had nothing to do with desire. This emotional stuff was too much on her nerves. She did not believe in morning-after drama or weird pillow talk. She felt uncomfortable and out of her depth. She sat up, pushing his arm away abruptly, and moved up and off the bed quickly.

Standing two feet from the bed looking down at him, she crossed her arms over her chest. In icy tones, she said, “This conversation is officially over. I am not up to emotional pillow talk. You’re male. You should be snoring by now. What’s wrong with you?”

He propped his head in his hand and gave a mock sigh. “I believe
you
are what is wrong with me,
sheka
.”

Kate said tartly, “Then get over it. This nonsense is ridiculous. Get some sleep because when I get back from my shower, we’re going to discuss this merging business. Believe me, you want to rest up.”

He laughed and watched her as she turned to stare at each wall of the room. There was truly no one like her on this world or any other. He waited patiently.

Kate looked from wall to wall but there was no doorway. It made no sense. How did the two of them get in? What kind of whacked out Harry Houdini world was this anyway? With an exasperated sigh, she demanded, “Tell me how to get out.”

He tried to keep a straight face, but it wasn’t easy. In a serious tone, he said, “It is the wall directly across from you. Press the button on the right side and the wall slides to form a doorway.”

She muttered an icy, “Thank you,” and stepped forward. Pressing the button, she watched as the wall slid open upon itself, making a hole like a doorway. With as much dignified grace as she could manage while naked and feeling like an idiot, she walked through it and down the hall.

Tair remained there grinning, wondering what she would think of a Shimerian shower. Her reactions and observations never failed to entertain him. With a muffled laugh he settled back and waited to find out.

Kate saw a button on the left wall of the hallway and pressed it. Once again, the wall opened. She peered in cautiously and discovered a fairly ordinary bathroom.

There was no mirror, but the toilet looked pretty much like any toilet on Earth. The lid was down. Now that truly was amazing. A man who not only remembered to flip the seat down but closed the lid as well.

Suddenly, the door slid closed behind her. She heard a small squeak at the same time. She didn’t bother to turn around. The door must have a sensor or a timer. Stepping further into the room, she spotted the shower stall in the far corner. She walked to it and saw a single lever. Now that was weird. Grimacing with distaste, she hoped it was not ice-cold water she’d be feeling.

She stuck her arm under it while pulling the lever downward. Blood gushed from the showerhead and poured over her hand like a warm waterfall. Horrified, Kate felt her knees go weak and her stomach clutch.

With a small moan, she stepped backward, only to feel something alive and wriggling under her foot. She screamed and jumped forward toward the stall. The blood continued to spew. Desperate to look somewhere, anywhere else, she glanced down and froze.

Right by her foot, she saw a creature that looked like a large rat with huge ears and a furry striped tail. It was hissing at her and baring long pointy teeth. Its eyes bulged and its back arched, poised to attack. Still screaming, she felt her vision gray. The last thing she saw was the creature fall over on its side with a thump.

Tair heard her scream and sprang from the bed. Opening the wall, he ran through it and down the hallway with his heart in his throat. Had she fallen? Was she injured? He could no longer feel her. He opened the wall to the bathroom, crying out her name frantically, “Kate!”

He stopped abruptly in the doorway. Both Kate and his pet, Deva, were lying on the floor with the shower running. Rushing to Kate, he quickly squatted and touched her face. He asked urgently, “Kate, are you alright?”

When she opened her eyes, he scanned her thoughts and sank down on the floor in relief. With a shaky hand, he ran his hand through his hair. Then he raked his hands over his face. Finally, he dropped his head into his hands.

A minute went by. Eventually raising his head, he said, “Kate, we must talk about your habit of
not
fainting. My heart cannot take the strain.”

Kate sat up slowly. He reached forward suddenly and wrapped her tightly in his arms. She could feel his heart beating like a drum against her chest.

She leaned against him weakly and took deep breaths. Hearing the sound of running liquid, she shuddered and said faintly, “Please. Turn it off.”

Immediately, the shower stopped. Kate tried to regain her composure but it was proving nearly impossible. She felt sick and shaky, but there was something happening that was causing her worse distress. Tair’s emotions were bombarding her in rapid succession: fear, relief, and exasperation were all flooding into her at an alarming rate.

She was not about to discuss how she could feel his emotions right now. Not to mention how he had stopped that hellish shower. She said in a stronger voice, “Thank you. And I will thank you even more if you refrain from telling me how you did it. I’m sure it involves superhero powers I’d just as soon not confront at the moment.” She pulled away from him and sat up straight.

He nodded and leaned back against the wall. Kate remained sitting, looking at his gray face. Okay, so she’d freaked out a little. So she had a rather strong reaction to the sight of blood. They both needed to get a grip on their messy emotions. Lifting her chin, she demanded, “What the hell kind of vampire wet dream was that?”

Tair gave her an exasperated look and said distinctly, “Kate, the dark red liquid is
vara
. It is similar to your water. And it is absolutely, definitely, beyond any doubt
not
blood of any kind.”

Feeling foolish, she went on the defensive immediately. “And I was supposed to know that
how
?”

Remembering the attacking rat-thing suddenly, she looked around frantically. Spotting it on its side apparently dead, near the wall, she scooted back to Tair’s side of the room and leaned against the wall next to him.

With pure revulsion, she asked, “And another thing…What the hell is that? Don’t you have any kind of pest control here?”

Tair’s mouth lifted at the corners in the beginnings of a grin. “
That
is Deva, and although she is a pest, she is also my pet.” His smile grew wider as he saw Kate’s incredulous face.

Kate couldn’t believe it. She didn’t bother hiding her disgust. “You keep a rat for a pet?”

Tair laughed. He couldn’t help it. His shoulders shook and it was some time before he could choke out, “No.”

Kate watched him laugh like a loon and wondered what kind of idiot person would keep a big ugly rat as a pet. Not her kind of person.
Yuck
. With an arched brow, she waited impatiently for an explanation.

Tair brought his laughter under control finally. With sparkling eyes, he said, “Deva is not a rat. Deva is a
sheka
.”

There were pet names and then there were pet names. Kate felt her temper engage and grow with astronomic speed. In clipped accents, she said, “As an endearment, you refer to me as a rat?!”

Seeing the anger in her flashing eyes, Tair felt a tug of answering desire. She looked beautiful and deadly, but he supposed he should try to calm her. Crawling across the floor, he picked up Deva carefully and began stroking her stomach. With a quiet purr, Deva shapeshifted back into her natural form.

Kate watched as Tair picked up the dead rat thing. Turning it over onto its back, he rubbed its stomach gently. The thing purred and then changed into a furry creature with sad brown eyes. It seemed to peer at her with hurt accusation.

It looked kind of like a kitten only with the longer nose and floppy ears of a dog. It had large whiskers and a shiny brown coat that looked soft. She blinked, but the cat/dog was still there and the rat was nowhere in sight. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly.

Tair rubbed Deva along her back and explained to Kate. “
Shekas
are very affectionate, loyal, loveable creatures. They only look so fierce when something scares them.” He gave her a long look.

Kate gave him a defiant glare in response, including the rat-cat-dog for good measure. “How does it change? I thought it was dead.”

Tair shook his head and put Deva down on the floor. Still petting her, he said, “They are what you would call shapeshifters. They are common here. Generally, they shift as a defense mechanism to scare their attackers. If the situation appears life-threatening, they will fall over and play dead. It tends to confuse predators. You must have scared her badly.”

Kate said indignantly, “Oh, I like that.
I
scared
her
badly. What about me? Between her and the gushing blood I…”

Tair shot her a big grin and arched an eyebrow as he waited.

Kate changed words and said calmly, “…collapsed with fatigue.”

Tair appeared to give her words some thought, very seriously. Then he said teasingly, “Now that I consider it, my choice of endearment is even more appropriate. You and Deva were both on the floor
collapsed with fatigue
when I arrived.”

Kate sniffed and said primly, “Are we through with the annoying banter? I came in here for a reason. Your absence would be appreciated and highly enjoyed.”

She moved and stood up gingerly. Her legs were shaky and she felt exhausted. This planet was not exactly a traveler’s dream. It was confusing and weird. She needed a shower and she needed to go to sleep again.

Tair said gently, “Kate, Shimeria holds many wonders. Please do not judge too quickly.”

She knew the blood was draining from her face. In a shaky voice, she demanded, “Tell me you did not just read my mind.”

Tair winced at the unsteadiness of her voice. She had been pushed far enough. There was plenty of time for explanations later. In a careful voice, he said, “Under these circumstances, your thoughts are easily guessed.”

Kate sensed an evasion somewhere but was too tired to protest or pursue it. With steadier legs, she moved toward the shower. As she walked, she ordered crisply, “Please leave. And take your little rat-dog, too.”

He could always return, he reminded himself. He would know if she felt unwell again. She needed time alone. Tair picked up Deva and walked out of the bathroom. Heading down the hall, he put Deva in the kitchen next to her food, and then walked back to the bedroom. Lying down on the bed, he waited for Kate to return.

* * * * *

Kate leaned against the stall wall in the bathroom, with the warm
vara
washing over her body. Now that she was under it, she wondered how she could have ever mistaken it for blood. It was strangely slick and it felt amazingly refreshing. The liquid didn’t cling to her skin. Instead it flowed over her body, leaving her feeling clean and dry almost as soon as she stepped out from under it. She moved away from the wall again and marveled anew at the sensation of being dry almost at once.

She chided herself inwardly for her foolishness. She had overreacted. The shower was not a nightmare but a pleasure. She was suffering from a combination of excessive emotion and exhaustion. Her wits had taken a vacation since she stepped through that portal. In the morning, she was going to take charge once and for all.

Later, slipping into the bed in the darkened bedroom, she pulled up the covers and stared into blackness. Tair rolled toward her and wrapped his arm around her, bringing his whole body against hers, spooning. She went rigid in protest and muttered, “Get off me, will you?”

There was no answer from him. He continued to hold her. After a full minute, she gave up, sighed, and enjoyed the warmth of his body against her back. Tomorrow, she would fight him. She would be back to her old self. And she would win.

Tair tightened his arm in response to her thought. In a soft voice, he said, “Go to sleep, Kate.”

Kate gave a weary sigh, feeling too tired to fight him and her own body’s need for sleep. She would win tomorrow, no doubt about it. She gave in and drifted off to sleep.

Tair lay there in the darkness, feeling restless and aroused at the weight of her soft body against his own. This pact business was getting complicated. It should have been simple--claim his pactmate, play an enjoyable sexual game to win her, and then settle into a comfortable, affectionate existence. Challenge her, seduce her, pledge her, and keep her. A neat, orderly, plan without strong, messy emotions clouding the issue. However, Kate was making things difficult.

She would not be pleased to learn he could read her mind at any time. She would be even less pleased with some of the other things awaiting her. His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was the image of Kate climaxing against his mouth. She was going to fight him every step of the way. But he would win in the end.