Severed Read online

  “Well, what am I supposed to think?” I flared. “After the way you guys made me feel when I touched both of you at once?” I could feel my cheeks getting hot but I made myself go on. “And that was only touching your hands! I can’t imagine what would happen if you tried to…to…do other things at the same time. I mean, I—”

  “Ma’ frela, let me assure you here and now that Drace and I have no intention of harming or molesting you sexually or otherwise,” Lucian said sternly, cutting off my fumbling protests. “We need your help to be free of each other as I told you before—that’s all.”

  “And we’re willing to pay for your time,” Drace added.

  I frowned at him scornfully. “And how are you going to pay me? I really doubt we use the same currency and I don’t know of anyplace on Earth that would do an exchange of Denarin money—whatever it is—for dollars.”

  “It’s true our currency is different, but there are some substances which are popular as trading commodities on almost every planet,” Lucian said. “Diamonds, for instance, or gold.”

  That got my interest. Maybe I could deal with this after all.

  “Diamonds and gold, huh?” I said. “How much?”

  Drace and Lucian looked at each other.

  “How much do you have on you? Drace asked. “I only brought a couple of prella-sized bars in case we needed quick currency.”

  “I’ve got ten back at the ship and more on Denaris,” Lucian said.

  “Excuse me,” I interrupted them. “What’s prella-sized?”

  “Show her,” Lucian gestured at the other man.

  Drace reached into the pocket of his tight black trousers which looked like they were made of some kind of leather and withdrew a long, flat bar of solid, gleaming gold. It was about the size of a king-sized Hershey chocolate bar but twice as thick.

  “Oh my God,” I murmured as he handed it over to me. It was extremely heavy and shiny and obviously real. I had never seen so much gold in one place at one time—it was kind of amazing.

  “Well?” Drace asked, frowning. “What do you think?”

  I narrowed my eyes at them. “How many of these did you say you’ll give me?”

  They exchanged another glance which they seemed to be doing more frequently. I wondered if my intervention really had bound them more closely together which made this non-verbal communication easier for them. I also wondered if they realized they seemed to be cooperating more.

  “Say…fifteen bars?” Drace said and at the same time Lucian said, “Fifteen—not a bar more or less.”

  Fifteen solid gold bars. They might be a little hard to convert into money but my aunt had friends who knew people. Speaking of Aunt Celia, she would probably wonder where I had gotten myself off to. I hated to cause her pain and worry but we didn’t speak that much anyway and if I was only going to be gone a few weeks…

  I could quit being a paralegal, I thought, examining the gold bar in my hand. It gleamed mellowly in the lights of the spaceship. I could open that wedding planner business after all—follow my dreams instead of always doing the practical, dull, sensible thing.

  It was a tempting offer—especially since Drace and Lucian had announced they were taking me with them, whether I wanted them to or not. At least maybe by agreeing to their payment I was making myself more of a partner and less of a hostage.

  I hoped, anyway.

  “All right,” I said at last. “But I want to hash out the terms and sign a contract.”

  “This is no problem—we are set up for contracts between all kinds of species here,” the blue centipede, who had been watching quietly, spoke up in his squeaky voice.

  “Agreed,” Lucian said and Drace nodded.

  “I want to be gone from home no longer that one month—one Earth month. That’s thirty days max,” I said sternly. I figured that gave us plenty of time to get to their planet, see the old wise woman to sever their bond, and get me back home again.

  Lucian frowned. “That may be cutting things a bit close, especially if she—”

  “You said it would only take a few weeks,” I interrupted him sternly.

  “It shouldn’t be a problem,” Drace said. He looked at Lucian. “You’ve got a fast ship and Tanta Loro agreed to see us right away last time. I don’t think she’d keep us waiting.”

  “All right.” Lucian nodded. “Agreed.”

  “And I want the fifteen bars of gold even if you guys don’t get separated,” I went on. “I mean, I’ll promise to do my very best for you and do whatever it takes to get you parted but I don’t want to be blamed or stiffed if this doesn’t work. You’re paying for my time here, not just my supposed talent.” Which I didn’t have, even though they kept insisting I was “special” somehow.

  Both of them frowned at this but finally Drace said, “I guess that’s only fair.”

  “I suppose it is.” Lucian sighed. “All right.”

  “And one more thing,” I said, making sure to get all the terms of the contract down—I wasn’t a paralegal for nothing. “No sex. Got it?”

  Lucian looked offended. “You find us unappealing, ma 'frela? That’s a great pity—we find you ravishing.”

  Drace nodded. “It’s one of the few things we agree on.”

  “It’s not that,” I said quickly. “I mean, you’re both big and muscular and hot and…and I’m sure the girls on your planet would think you’re a real catch.” I took a deep breath. “But look at you—you’re freaking huge! I mean, I’m considered tall for a girl on my planet but you guys make me feel practically petite.”

  “Ah—you’re afraid we'd hurt you because of our size,” Drace murmured. “Don’t worry, baby—the females on our home planet aren’t much bigger than you. We know how to be gentle.”

  I could feel my whole body getting warm at his low words and the way he and Lucian were looking at me. I wished desperately that I had on a bra and panties beneath the gray jacket I was wearing. I felt so naked without underwear!

  “It’s not just that,” I said quickly. “I’m going with you in a professional capacity and I’m not some prostitute. I want it understood that this gold you’re paying me does not buy an all-access pass to my body.”

  Lucian frowned. “Have we been disrespectful of you?”

  “We can tell you’re not a pleasure-girl, Rylee,” Drace said, also frowning. “And we’d never treat you like one.”

  “All right, good.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And it’s not that I don’t find you two attractive but I’m not into casual sex—especially not with two guys at once.”

  “So you only have one male and one female when you make love on your planet?” Lucian asked.

  “How does that even work?” Drace asked, shaking his head in apparent disbelief. “How can you be properly pleasured without one male to suck your nipples and another to taste and stroke your pussy?”

  His words sent a hot rush through me and I had a sudden mental image of the two of them “pleasuring” me that way. I pushed it away quickly.

  “We manage just fine, thank you,” I said tightly. “The point is I want a no sex clause put in the contract—it’s a deal breaker for me.”

  “As to that, you do not have to worry, ma 'frela,” Lucian said. “Only psy-bonded partners who want to be together wish to share a female between them and bring her pleasure.” His face darkened. “And that is only when the bonded pair consists of an Alpha and a Beta. Drace and I are both Alphas.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t understand—what does that have to do with it? And what does it mean—both of you are dominant?”

  “It’s one of the reasons we need to get our bond severed,” Drace’s face was as dark as Lucian’s. “I’m sure as hell not going to act as the Beta.”

  “I feel the same.” Lucian glowered at the other man. “I refuse to accept the subservient role—especially sexually.”

  Their explanation was still as clear as mud but if it kept them from wanting to make me into a sexual shish-ka-