blue silk and chains, gleamed in the shadowed street. Both guards stared at her hungrily, and Aidon tightened his hand on the hilt of his knife, driven by a primitive impulse to cut out the eyes that dared to look upon his female.
“I’m not armed,” she said quietly, and her soft voice reminded him of his purpose.
“Cover up, pet. They’re not worthy of your beauty.”
“Yes, Master,” she said obediently and pulled the cloak closed.
The two guards were still staring at her, and he took advantage of their distraction to usher her through the doorway and into an arched entrance tunnel.
“Well done, Hanna.”
“It wasn’t worth fighting over—” Her voice came to an abrupt halt as they emerged on the other side of the tunnel and she took in the scene awaiting them.
An enormous bonfire roared in the center of a large courtyard. Two males were wrestling in one corner, a small crowd yelling insults and advice. Nearby, three males were fucking a Xynic female, also surrounded by a vocal crowd. A long bar occupied one side of the courtyard, and drinks were flowing freely. Vid screens behind the bar showed a variety of fights, and he saw credits changing hands as the observers bet on the outcome. Two males shoved each other, and he caught the flash of a knife and a spurt of green blood before the loser collapsed and disappeared beneath the crowd. The cloying scent of landil weed hung heavy in the air.
Hanna pressed close against his back, her fingers tangled in his cloak again. “I don’t think I’m in Kansas anymore.”
He didn’t recognize the place, but he understood the sentiment. He had felt the same way the first time he had been introduced to the fighter lifestyle.
“No, you’re not,” he said grimly. “Stay close. We need to find Chotgor.”
While Hanna had been bathing, Njkall had reviewed the plans of the mansion with Aidon, as well as the security measures the Hothians had noted. If that information was correct, his quarry lay deep within the building. The usual pleasure of the hunt was dimmed by his concern for Hanna, but he still found himself grinning fiercely as he went in search of his prey.
Hanna kept as close to Aidon as she could, her fingers clenched in the fur of his cloak. He strode confidently through the crowded courtyard, but there were enough occupants to slow his pace, and she peeped at her surroundings from under her eyelashes.
Nothing in her admittedly limited experience had prepared her for this.
Before her college career had been cut short by her aunt’s illness, she had once gathered up the courage to attend a fraternity party with a friend. When Aidon had said that this would be a drunken party, she had half expected something similar. And perhaps it was similar in some ways—if the fraternity brothers had been massive, aggressive aliens and sex and fighting had been on public display.
Aidon paused to talk to another one of the bull-like guards. A female with blue-scaled skin sank to her knees, pulled out her owner’s two cocks, and proceeded to give him a blow job not more than two feet away from Hanna. She didn’t realize she was staring until she heard a coarse laugh and looked up to find the alien leering at her.
“I got room for another one,” he laughed. The other female hissed as he reached for Hanna with a clawed hand.
She yanked frantically on the chain attached to Aidon’s cuff. He turned with a growl, his knife appearing in his hand with almost magical speed before he pressed it against the other male’s throat.
“You do not touch my property.”
The alien raised his hands. “No offense intended. You interested in a swap? My slave’s got a mouth like a slargar trap.”
Hanna looked over in time to see the look of despair crossing the blue female’s face and shivered. She suspected she had come very close to the same fate herself. She tried to give the other female a sympathetic look, but she only hissed again and returned to working the alien’s two cocks with feverish intensity.
“No,” Aidon said as he holstered the knife. “This one is still in training, and I prefer to keep her attention focused on me. Perhaps another time.”
His casual tone sounded forced to her, but it obviously satisfied the other male. He grinned and grabbed his female’s head, forcing her deeper.
“Gotta train ’em up right,” he agreed with a satisfied groan.
Aidon gave a noncommittal grunt as he moved