STORY EXCERPT

Upon command, the vid screen came to life, allowing Minkah to see the familiar face of the Fukainan secretary of trade. “Mister Orush. What a pleasure to see you.” The secretary’s blank face belied his enthusiastic words.

“The pleasure is all mine, of course,” Minkah answered, smiling with fake politeness. “So, to what do I owe this honor?”

“Well, Mr. Orush, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the governor of Xneros is visiting our fair planet again.”

Minkah arched a brow and gave the secretary a neutral nod. “I’ve heard about it, yes.”

“He has contacted us and requested a meeting with you.”

Minkah gritted his teeth, knowing that the Xnerosian had no interest in seeing him. The governor just wanted to visit to salivate over Kephri. They’d met at a party two months back, and the man had been immediately taken by Kephri’s beauty and grace. It irked Minkah to no end, and he’d managed to contain his fury only because his charge showed no interest whatsoever in responding to the other man’s advances. He wanted to call it protectiveness, but he had stopped lying to himself long ago. It was pure and plain jealousy. If the Xnerosian came here, to his own home, he didn’t know what he would do.

Alas, he didn’t have much of a choice. The secretary of trade had never liked him much. For some reason, he’d agreed with almost peculiar ease to give Minkah a trade license, but Minkah didn’t kid himself. The man could change his mind anytime, and Minkah didn’t want to allow such a thing to happen. “Of course. It will be an honor.”

“Good. Very good.” The secretary nodded, pleased. “I will communicate your answer to His Excellency. Good-bye, Mr. Orush.”

The call disconnected before Minkah got to answer back. “Fuck!” This wasn’t what he had in mind when he wished for a distraction.

“Should I go ahead and make arrangements for the governor’s arrival, sir?” Akil inquired, further irritating Minkah.

“Do what you want!” he snapped. Horus, he really didn’t need this right now.

As if to magnify his plight, Kephri’s voice sounded from behind him. “What’s the matter, Minkah?” the Nathifan inquired, looking concerned. He had put some clothes on and held a glass of what seemed to be calliah juice. Kephri had always liked sweets.

“Nothing.” Minkah sighed tiredly at the look Kephri gave him. “The Xnerosian governor wants to pay us a visit.”

Kephri blinked, as if in confusion. His lips twisted into an amused smirk. “I knew he wanted me, but seriously…”

Absently playing with his glass, the Nathifan sat down next to Minkah. “Why so glum then? You needed to talk to him about that new trade agreement anyway, right?”

Minkah nodded, surprised that Kephri remembered the new issue he’d been considering. He should have expected it, though. Sometimes, Kephri did indeed seem much older than his actual eighteen years of age. Many times, he had given Minkah sound suggestions and helped him in his business affairs.

Still, this new trade agreement was something huge. If he expanded his trade business to Xneros, he would double his funds and gain a sum similar to what he used to earn as a pirate. Even so, he didn’t want to make the agreement at Kephri’s expense. He refused to use his charge in such a filthy manner.

“I don’t want him here, Kephri. I don’t want him thinking that he can get anywhere with you,” he answered, his tone conveying his deep concern.

Kephri arched a brow at Minkah’s answer. He touched Minkah’s naked arm gently, in an attempt for comfort. “Don’t worry so much, Minkah! He’ll come, we’ll talk a bit, serve him some of that new wine, and he’ll leave. Everything will be all right.”

Kephri’s gentle touch failed in calming Minkah’s nerves. If anything, it made things even worse. Minkah silently cursed as he felt his body respond to the contact with the Kephri’s fingers. He shifted abruptly, meaning to escape Kephri’s enflaming touch. The movement must have surprised the young Nathifan, as he let out a sound of dismay and dropped the glass right on Minkah’s lap.

“Oh, Minkah. Sorry, so sorry.” Kephri, his eyes wide and apologetic, shot to his feet. “Wait here. I’ll get something to clean it up.”

Kephri disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared in seconds holding a cleansing rag and some clear liquid soap. Minkah’s eyes widened when Kephri knelt at his feet and proceeded to thoroughly rub his lap clean of the sticky juice. There was no real reason why Kephri should have done such a thing. Technology simplified everything these days, and in Minkah’s house, machines provided for every luxury imaginable, cleaning included.

If he’d been hard before, it was nothing in comparison to what he felt now. The image of Kephri between his legs and Kephri’s innocent, but arousing touch flooded Minkah with sensation. They conjured ideas in Minkah’s head that had no business being there. He needed to act, take some sort of measure, or else he would do something extraordinarily stupid.

Minkah pushed Kephri away, more roughly than he would have liked. “It’s fine,” he said, hating the huskiness in his voice. “I have to change anyway. I’m going out.”

Kephri looked hurt and shocked, but Minkah could do nothing about it. “Going out? Where?”

“I have some business in town. Nothing to worry about.” Minkah got up, not meeting Kephri’s eyes. “I don’t know if I’ll be home for dinner.”

Not waiting for a response, Minkah left the room. What he was about to do hurt him inside, but he had no choice.

ADULT EXCERPT

Kephri was so deep in thought he almost missed the moment when Minkah reentered the room. “Thank you so much for helping me with the governor. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Minkah’s voice held an undertone of sarcasm that somewhat surprised Kephri, and it snapped him out of his troubled thoughts. He arched a brow and gave Minkah a small smile. “It was my pleasure.”

Minkah’s eyes narrowed. “I told you before, Kephri. You should be a little more self-conscious. I don’t want you being overly nice with my business partners. They might get the wrong idea.”

Kephri nodded, feeling pleased at Minkah’s irritation. Could the other man be jealous? His smile widened at the thought. “I’ll be more careful next time,” he answered, making an effort to suppress a dreamy sigh. It wasn’t easy. He dreamed of worshipping Minkah’s strong and muscled body, the result of his life as a fighter, with his own. He dreamed of tracing the scars marring what would otherwise be flawless lavender skin with his tongue. He dreamed of burying his face in sapphire hair, of toying with the soft feathers of his wings, and of making those beautiful cyan eyes ignite in passion.

Oblivious to Kephri’s thoughts, Minkah continued to speak in a scolding tone. “Could you take things seriously just this once? This behavior of yours is dangerous.”

“You worry too much,” Kephri said, still smiling. “They can’t hurt us.”

Minkah shook his head at Kephri’s declaration. “It’s risky, little one. If they ever find out the truth…”

Feeling his soul mate’s restlessness, Kephri reacted on instinct. He abandoned his position, crawling in Minkah’s direction. He reached out toward his Meskhenet, gently pressed his palm over Minkah’s heart, and petted Minkah’s wing with his other hand.

“I would never risk you,” he said in a soft voice. “I would never risk us.”

As the whispered words escaped Kephri’s lips, his eyes met Minkah’s. For a minute, time seemed to stand still. The heartbeats in Minkah’s chest seemed to be synchronized with Kephri’s heart. Through the thin layer of clothing, his mate’s skin, emitting a heat that pooled into his groin, burned Kephri’s hand.

Unable to stop himself, Kephri climbed into Minkah’s lap, barely managing to suppress a moan when he felt his Meskhenet’s arousal echo his own. Before Minkah could protest, he mashed their lips together while wrapping his arms tightly around the other man’s neck.

For a second, Minkah seemed frozen, but the passive resistance quickly disappeared, and he growled, deepening the kiss. He flipped Kephri over, which caused Kephri to end up stretched out on the couch beneath him.

Kephri didn’t have time to admire the graceful velocity of the movement, as sensation engulfed his body. Their tongues entangled, Minkah expertly massaging Kephri’s slick muscle with his own. It was Kephri’s first kiss, and it was so deep and passionate that he felt their very essences mix, their bodies and souls reaching out for each other in wanton desperation. Kephri felt his bones melt, volcanic heat surround them, and he whimpered, lost in his mate’s taste and scent.

Even so, the kiss couldn’t quench the need building within them. They needed something more, the feel of skin upon skin, of a naked body sliding against naked body. Kephri tried to get rid of their clothes, but his trembling hands refused to obey him. He didn’t know how to work Minkah’s Horusyan outfit, crafted especially for him so as to fit his avian physique. Minkah didn’t have this problem because he somehow managed to rip their clothes off without separating their mouths.

Rough hands, the hands of a warrior, started roaming Kephri’s body, stimulating his nerve endings, driving him insane with lust. Minkah’s mouth abandoned his lips, which caused him to temporarily feel abandoned. He whimpered in protest, but the whimper turned into a moan when a talented tongue snaked out Minkah’s mouth and started torturing Kephri’s overly sensitized skin. Lower and lower the tongue went, playing with Kephri’s Adam’s apple, dipping into the hollow of his neck, passing over his collarbone. Kephri felt Minkah place small kisses on his chest, each inch of his skin worshipped by those beautiful lips.

Kephri gasped as Minkah’s lips closed over his nipple. The little nub, already peaked from Minkah’s previous ministrations, seemed to be somehow directly connected to Kephri’s groin. Bolt upon bolt of energy coursed through Kephri’s body. When Minkah sucked and bit the tiny sphere of flesh, Kephri’s coherence dissolved altogether.

Kephri didn’t know how much time passed until Minkah’s mouth abandoned his nipples and moved even lower, licking across his taut abdomen. The sensations increased tenfold and Kephri screamed Minkah’s name when wet heat engulfed his arousal. Minkah toyed with him, sucked on the head, and licked the underside of his shaft until Kephri thought he would go insane.