Dovis Read online

  It surprised him when a small hand suddenly gripped his shoulder.

  He whipped his head around, staring at Mari. She frowned, her little nose flared as she sniffed—and then she shocked the hell out of him by leaning down to bury her face against his throat.

  She inhaled loudly. “You smell really good.”

  “What the hell?” He jerked away and almost fell out of his seat, tearing away from her hold. He glared at Cathian, expecting the captain to laugh. His friend would put her up to something like that as a joke.

  Instead of a smile, Cathian’s mouth hung open and his eyes were wide. He appeared concerned instead of amused.

  Mari stalked Dovis until his back hit the wall. Her head just came up to the top of his chest. She put her hands on him there and leaned in, sniffing again. She actually rubbed her cheek against him!

  Her scent hit him when he sucked in a sharp breath. She was strongly aroused.

  He grabbed her upper arms, careful of his claws, and held her back. “Cathian!”

  The captain leapt out of his seat and came up behind Mari, grabbing ahold of her around the waist and hauling her away from him. “Shit.”

  “Shit is right.” Dovis felt panicked as he looked down at Mari. She was staring up at him with a confused look but still reached out for him, trying to touch him again. He dodged her fingers.

  “Why do you smell so good?” She frowned.

  “You deal with this,” he told his friend, then Dovis fled.

  He ran out of the dining room and went straight to his cabin.

  Pacing didn’t help, so he eventually went to the computer, pulling up life signs. Cathian, Nara, and Mari were visiting the medical android.

  A new worry hit. What if the android took blood tests and there was proof of what he’d done? The Amarai might hear and put a death bounty out on him. Just because they weren’t known to like traveling in space didn’t mean they didn’t have allies from other planets.

  Cathian was an ambassador for his planet. Would he feel obligated to hand Dovis over to them? No. Cathian would refuse and fight if his planet leaders demanded he do so. It would cause problems for the entire crew, though.

  He snarled, shutting down the readings, and began to pace again.

  It seemed like an hour had passed before his door chimed. He rushed over and opened it. Cathian waited in the hallway.

  “Get in here. Why did you go see the android? Tell me you didn’t have it run blood tests.”

  “Calm down. I had it run tests but not record anything. I’m aware why that would be a bad idea. I also had it erase the entire visit and everything it discovered. The information for the entire day has been purged, to avoid being uploaded to our database.”

  Dovis sighed in relief. “What did you discover?”

  “You know about my race and our second hearts…”

  Dovis nodded.

  “A blood sample from Nara will show my DNA in her system. The same showed in Mari with yours.”

  He gawked at Cathian. “I’m mated to her? Is that what you’re saying? That’s impossible.”

  “Remain calm. We never ran any tests on Raff after you bit him, to hide what you had done to save his life. He might have had traces of your DNA too for a while. The android believes there are two possibilities.”

  He felt sick. “What?”

  “Your DNA traces will eventually fade from her, or it will become permanent, the way some races do when they mate or life-lock.”

  Dovis snarled, turned, and walked to the wall. He punched it—hard.

  “Don’t destroy your cabin. I sent Raff to get his blood drawn. The android will test to see if your DNA remains in his body or not. Not would be good. It would mean it’s faded.”

  He spun, staring at Cathian.

  His friend had the nerve to smile. “Don’t worry. If your DNA is still in Raff, I doubt he’ll want to claim first mating rights to you. He prefers females, judging by the brothel choices he’s made the few times he’s visited them. I saw his charges to The Vorge account. Females only.”

  “That’s not funny. The Amarai can only form matings with our sperm, when we’re in heat. Never with a bite.”

  “It’s a little amusing.” Cathian took a seat on the top of the desk. “You knew you were different from most of your race. Maybe that’s why they kill ones like you for biting. Maybe it’s about more than forcing a female to feel desire towards you—you can mate by bite. Hell, you could be capable of mating to a bunch of people by bite, instead of just one. We know it makes females, at least, sexually drawn to you. Mari was highly aroused by your scent. Did Raff ever hit on you?”

  “No!”

  “Had you been around her at any point before you bit her? Maybe she just likes you.”

  “I was around her, but she only felt fear for me.”

  “Not any longer.”

  “Stop smiling. It’s not funny!” He wanted to punch Cathian.

  His friend grew somber. “Raff will report here when he knows the results. The android won’t keep a record of his visit or test results.”

  Dovis paced. “What did you tell Nara? I know she was with you and Mari when you visited the android.”

  “I told her what you did saved Mari’s life, but it meant your life could be in danger, that it could cause you to have a death bounty on your head. That was enough for her to agree to keep quiet about your DNA being found inside Mari’s bloodstream. She asked questions of course, but I told her your secrets were your own and not my place to share.”

  The door chimed. Cathian got up and opened it, letting Raff in. The male entered and held Dovis’s gaze. He shook his head.

  Dovis sighed. “No traces at all?”

  “None,” Raff confirmed.

  “There we go.” Cathian smiled again. “Your DNA traces will fade out of Mari’s system. It’s just because you recently bit her.” He chuckled and bumped his shoulder to Raff’s. The family resemblance was obvious, with them standing close together. “I was taunting him about how you might want to claim him as a mate if you were carrying his DNA.”

  Raff growled low as he glared at Cathian.

  “He felt just as thrilled by the concept.” Cathian shook his head as he moved away from Raff. “Neither of you has a sense of humor. This will all be fine. Just avoid Mari until this reaction she has to you fades, Dovis. That shouldn’t be a problem, since you hate people.” He glanced back at Raff and chuckled again. “Good thing you’re not carrying his DNA. She might have thought you smelled good enough to fuck, too.”

  At that, Raff turned and left his cabin.

  Dovis reached up and rubbed his left ear. “Your cousin would probably have killed her. He’s not a friendly man.”

  “Who can blame him after the life he’s had? I’m glad he likes us.”

  “Are you sure he does? He rarely speaks. I never know what’s on his mind.”

  Cathian hesitated. “He’s never tried to kill any of us. I know he feels grateful to me for taking him off the hellish planet he was born and raised on. You saved his life once. York amuses him sometimes, because I’ve seen him smile once or twice over his antics. And Raff seems downright mellow around females.

  “My uncle may have abandoned him, but his mother remained until death took her away. I went through his bags when he boarded The Vorge, to make sure he didn’t have any drugs. Told him a medical scan for new crew was required. You know what Gluttren Four is like. I searched his bags while he was in the medical bay. I feared he might be addicted to something, but his bloodstream was clean, as were his bags. There were pictures and a few personal belongings of his mother inside. She mattered a lot to him.”

  “What about your uncle?”

  “You know that death look Raff gets?”

  Dovis knew it well, and nodded.

  “I’m never letting the two of them meet. Backi deserves to die for abandoning a pregnant female. He showed zero honor by doing so. He’s of my father’s same litter, though. My father and