Savage Galaxy Quest: Lord Rawdon
Jaded Space Captain Bex Sharpe, with a fierce Coalition of Lio males waiting for her to choose her last mate, meets her match in Lord Rawdon, a man on a quest. He deliciously connects with her Coalition and wants her more than his next breath. Will she Claim him and her Lio, and join his quest? Or walk away, leaving them all Bereft?
M/M/M/F/M
the infamous Lio Blades Stinger vessel called the Sharpe Stiletto, walked quickly, quietly, and confidently through the musky, murky, hidden hallways of The Cat House Brothel like she owned the place. She didn’t own the place; she owned the owner.
As long as he continued to deal fairly with his clients and treat his staff kindly and generously, he could live. If he slipped back into his old ways, well… she felt sorry for him. For now, The Cat House was a perfect place for secret meetings on SpacePort Bazzini.
Bex and one of her Chief Officers and best friends, a lithe, statuesque Lio Nessa named Turah, walked together; one small, one tall, both figures hidden beneath imposing, swirling, dark-hooded capes that subtly swished and flared as they moved.
It was finally time for her to put her eyes on the mysterious and intriguing Lord Rawdon de Roquemarel. Long range Lio-Intercoms were voice-only. Bex had very much enjoyed Lord Rawdon’s velvet tenor voice and his dry sense of humor. He seemed as jaded as she was. As though nothing could surprise him anymore. Bex liked him.
She had images of him she had looked at as they spoke. He was scruffier than his elegantly cultured voice would indicate, even when speaking Galactic Standard. Lord Rawdon’s reddish-brown hair was in long mahogany layers, laying across his forehead in a messy swath, and ending in curling waves just above his collar. Bex wanted to touch those untamed waves and feel their texture.
Lord Rawdon had a well-groomed, soft-looking, full beard and mustache that suited his handsome, aristocratic features. One image had captured a seemingly rare, full-blown smile. Bex noticed that one of his front teeth was slightly less white than the rest. She found that “flaw” charming, making him even more attractive to her.
He was not a natural-born Honored Nel. He and his two brothers had been genetically boosted by the Lio a few years ago as the brothers began training for this mission. Reports showed they were all quite proficient with weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and their protective mimetic shield, which was a disc embedded in the delto-pectoral muscle below the left collarbone.
All native Lio and Honored Nessas and Nels, either natural-born or boosted, had a mimetic metal shield connected to their autonomic nervous system that could protect them with or without thought. In space, it could even create an instant emergency shell that gave them extra time for rescue should disaster strike. It was just one of the fascinating advantages the Lio race brought to their allies.
The Lio were a race of lion-like humanoid beings. Lio Nessas, the females, and Lio Nels, the males, had all the physical characteristics of lions with fangs, fur, tails, and claws, yet walked on two legs. They were highly intelligent, had extensive Lio Colonies, and traveled the Known Universe with their Lio Fleets, but still kept a beast-like nature.
Lio were closely tied to Earth, which was one of the earliest worlds seeded with their source of life millennia before. When the Lio Cataclysm happened, and Lio stopped having female young, they discovered that a Lio genetically boosted woman and man could MateBond with a Coalition of native male Lio Nels and produce Lio Nessa female young.
Since then, through the efforts of the L.I.O., the Lio Information Office, and their Lio Vids Program, human men and women have applied to the L.I.O. hoping for genetic boosting. Being boosted did not gain humans fur, tails, or fangs; it gave them longer lifespans, added strength and abilities, and untold opportunities to create lives for themselves that would have otherwise been impossible.
Those lucky enough to be chosen became “Honored,” so named because the Lio honored those chosen Earthers’ commitment to the Lio people. Men became Honored Nels, and women became Honored Nessas.
Bex was not boosted. She was a natural-born Honored Nessa. Her parents were Honored Nel Aiden and Honored Nessa Emma Sharpe, famous Captains of the Sharpe Sword, a vessel in the ’Foral Prides Lio Blades Fleet of Privateers.
Aiden and Emma found each other and married, but never discovered their fated Coalition of Lio Nels. It had been sad, then and now, sensing the unfulfillment buried deep within her parents’ abundant devotion to each other.
Bex and her two sisters, having grown up on a space vessel, wanted nothing more than to captain their own ships. Bex had worked hard to earn her place in the Lio Blades Fleet, earning commission of the Sharpe Stiletto by merit. She ruled it now as her own personal kingdom.
Later, Bex’s middle sister Liv won rights to the Sharpe Scalpel through combat. Then her youngest sister, Fee, scored the Sharpe Dagger through stealth and intrigue. The Sharpe family couldn’t be more proud of their daughters!
However, understanding the buried sadness in her parents made Bex shy of relationships with males. She enjoyed sharing sex with the few Honored Nels who could get past her special gift, but she did not want to be tied to someone while longing for others.
Frankly, sex was nice with the men, but she could take it or leave it. Bex had wonderful toys and easily took care of her own needs.
Then Bex had unexpectedly met her Lio Nel Coalition.
Honsono Pon’Platal, Fiore Pon’Leval, and Saeko Pon’Vahral, who they called “Psycho” from his berserker penchant for extreme violence when riled, had come to the Sharpe Stiletto straight from Lio Galactic Military Service. They had applied for the job of Personal Bodyguards to the Captain after an ill-conceived and inconvenient attempt to kidnap and ransom her by a group of now-dead idiots. Her parents would not calm down until she added personal security to her crew.
Reluctantly, Bex began interviewing. When tactician Honsono, explosives expert Fiore, and berserker warrior Psycho walked in for their in-person meeting, she had known immediately they were her Coalition. And they had known she was their Honored Nessa. Their connection was immediate and forever.
Having grown up on a battle-ready Lio Blade Privateer, Bex understood the culture of her crew and the jealous poison that could take hold if a Captain showed favoritism outside of a MateBond. Bex did not fuck crew. Ever. She would not relent on this.
Her Coalition understood the power of rank on a crew, having just gotten out of Military Service. They had a choice to make. Join the crew and be with Bex everywhere except her bed, or be in her bed when and where she could meet up with them in between missions.
To her profound relief, they stayed with her. Every day, she got to know her beautiful, deadly Lio Nel mates, and they blended seamlessly into her world. So now they waited, hoping that on one of their missions they would discover their longed-for Honored Nel, who would complete their Coalition and trigger Bex’s Call to Mate.
That didn’t mean Bex couldn’t enjoy watching her Lio Nels combat train with the crew and each other. Their tight, rippling muscles straining, faces and gazes deadly focused on their opponent; their fighting prowess was a turn on for Bex.
Then there was their dancing.
Bex had complete control over the interior design of her ship, and although the very center of her vessel was a beautiful, bright oasis of falling water, light, and greenery, most of her vessel’s atmosphere was a nightclub vapor rave.
Cobalt blue, bright purple, and hot pink neon against black were her preferred colors, and she used them liberally in her common room color schemes. Even the hallways and hold featured those neon colors on a dark background.
Her favorite place to unwind was in the throbbing well of the Sharpe Stiletto’s private, adult’s only club for the crew. Bex had her own shadowed, curtained corner she lounged in. She allowed the stresses of their missions to be drowned out by the sights and sounds of the club.
She sometimes indulged in a psychedelic atomizer, but didn’t like the muzzy aftereffects, so she stuck to standard enhanced libations which lasted only briefly with her Honored Nessa metabolism.
It was while she lounged in her Captain’s Corner shortly after bringing her Coalition in that Bex discovered the eroticism of watching her Lio Nels dance.
Honsono had captured her attention first. She adored his constantly changing, multihued, dyed mane trimmed tight under his chin, sides, and the back of his head, leaving a messy, wavy mass stacked high on his head and flowing over his forehead.
Honsono’s gorgeous, tall, leanly muscular, golden-furred body had a snowy white center across his chest and abdomen, as most Lio did, with a white mustache and beard trimmed tight around his lips and longer at his chin.
He stood directly across from her, ears high, tail flowing sinuously, the serc cuff he wore near the tuft at the end of his tail, like most Lio Nels and Nessas, kept flashing blue with reflected light as his tail moved.
Honsono’s hips rolled with the driving, steady beat. Glittering circles of loose chain-mail draped his chest and shoulder, gleaming in the glowing cobalt light. Honsono had removed his gauntlets, weapons, and belt. He wore only his bandel wrist cuffs, the shimmering chain-mail, and a traditional, loose, skirt-like shendyt, very different from the fabric, leather, and chain-mail laden shendyt he wore while on duty.
His whole body had swayed in counterpoint to the beat, and she could not look away. Honsono closed his golden-yellow eyes and allowed the music to dictate the flowing rhythm of his movements, showing her the depths of his ability to let go and just be in the moment. Then he had rolled into the darkness to allow Fiore to take her attention.
Fiore had golden lengths of mane stacked high and wild, showing a shock of white in a broad stripe. He didn’t trim his mane, so it draped over his shoulders and the top of his chest in a golden fall under his chin. His tail swished smoothly with the beat, his ears flicking with awareness of everything around him.
He, too, wore only a soft-looking shendyt and the bandels on his wrists, but he also sported colorful woven necklaces draped in stacked lengths down his chest and abdomen. They lovingly caressed his body as Fiore moved with skill and precision to the music, his copper-colored gaze utterly focused on her face, concentrating on her reactions as he danced for her. He smiled widely at her expression, showing her his impressive fangs. Then he melted into the darkness.
Bex had anticipated seeing Psycho next. Her dark, brooding Lio Nel had a fierce, untamed mane with one thick swath dyed pitch black in the front. He had woven locks in a few places with thick metal clasps. Some thin braids featured small metal rings woven into them and they flashed in the club lights. A huge, sharp fang dangled prominently in the mass of his mane; a trophy from an enemy.
Psycho’s face had been clawed in battle, leaving vicious scars across his forehead, above his left eye and over his cheek and jaw. He had separate scars trailing down from his temple and above his top lip, grazing the surface of his plush lips, ending at his chin. Scars also marked his arms and thighs. Lio wore scars proudly and healed them to be shown. Bex loved Psycho’s warrior scars.
Psycho’s intense, compelling attractiveness overwhelmed Bex. His steely blue eyes were smoky with desire for her across the distance separating them. His white beard and mustache, trimmed tight above his lips and over his chin, sported longer braids of mustache at the sides of his mouth.
Psycho’s nipples were pierced with what looked like tiny double-headed spears straight up and down. It was sexy as hell, and Bex wanted to touch and tongue them in the worst way. He had removed his usual abundant leather straps and chains and wore only his shendyt and leather cuff bandels that had D-rings attached to the outsides.
The slow, sensuous flick of the tip of Psycho’s tail was the only thing moving until the music changed. The new deep bass rhythm seemed to please him, and he moved in strong, decisive movements. Slicing the air with strength and speed, showing sharp skill and balance in each move. Then he rolled his body like waves on an ocean, touching himself across his chest, abdomen and upper thighs. Emphasizing the prominent bulge under his shendyt.
Bex had been on fire, caught between her unrelenting arousal for these males and the uncompromising boundaries she would not cross. When Honsono and Fiore came back into her line of sight and began the same slow roll as Psycho, Bex knew she needed relief.
She had reached down, opened her body suit enough for her hand to reach in, and brought herself off as she watched her Coalition undulate for her in the rhythms and motions of what she imagined as a long, slow, perfect fuck. They had watched her with immense delight, entranced by her pleasure, but had not approached her to entice her to do more than she could handle.
Their restraint made her trust and respect them more.
Later, as she became more comfortable with them, she would dance for her Coalition, letting them enjoy her skintight, body-suit clad form performing smooth rolls, tight hand movements, and flowing rhythms. They would watch her with avid enjoyment.
Often, they would all dance together along with fellow crew, always with space between them, not touching while they moved.
Yet, on the next shift, they would act professionally and respectfully toward Bex in her role as Captain. As time passed, Honsono, Fiore, and Psycho revealed themselves to her, and Bex fell ever deeper in love with each one of them.
It was during their long talks in public spaces that she allowed the snuggles and innocent touches that all Lio and Honored craved.
Honsono loved long, theoretical discussions talking about “What if?” scenarios. Fiore adored sharing feelings and impressions, pouring out their hopes and dreams to each other. Psycho enjoyed simply being with her and his Brethren. He told her they soothed his beast-nature and his berserker spirit, helping him keep a firm grip on his aggression.
They all needed her touch, and she needed theirs. Gentle pets, grooming strokes, and cuddles became a regular part of her life, and she would have it no other way. Bex and her Coalition had reached a coasting comfort that she had never expected to have, and yet none of them felt truly satisfied.
Bex could not regret the nagging unfulfillment she had tried to avoid, and now experienced, recognizing how it echoed her parents’ longing. She would not give up her Coalition.
Then the Lio Blades asked her to consider adding the blue-blooded royal Earther brothers to her crew, embarking on a new mission, a quest to awaken relatives of theirs who had been hiding in stasis for a hundred years. This would be a long-range mission, so the brothers and their one female assistant needed to fit the specialized skill-levels and alternative culture of her crew.
Her crew were a bunch of mis-fit experts in their fields. Many from a disgraced Pride from Lio HomeWorld. Their Pride now lived mostly on Privateers and other unofficial Lio vessels because they refused to give up their ’Ocal PrideName. All except their young sported a cut in their right ear that had been healed open with a split as a sign of their disgrace.
Their reputation for sneakiness and cunning had turned the meaning of their mark around in “legal” piracy circles, and now they were highly sought for “gray area” crews throughout the Known Galaxies.
Bex gave a huge side-eye to Abassan Davidov when he suggested the Stiletto for the de Roquemarel mission, but then she spoke with Lord Rawdon on the long range Lio-Intercoms. He didn’t sound or act like an odious, officious prick. Lord Rawdon sounded utterly delicious. Bex’s gaze had caressed his images as they spoke.
Lord Rawdon wasn’t looking directly at the lens in any of the images, but she had the sense that he was aware of his picture being taken. His changeable hazel eyes always looked slightly away. She wondered at the impact of his full gaze upon her.
Happily, he, his brothers, and their assistant had valuable skills she would like to add to her crew. Charming, audacious, and handsome, Lord Rawdon had uncanny abilities as an Earth Ambassador. He would join her crew as a Mission Negotiator, a dealmaker who would work with her Chief Officers and the Pursers to accomplish mission goals and get what they needed to complete missions.
Lord Rawdon insisted that stunningly gorgeous, dark-haired, grey-eyed Dahlia Boudreau, his assistant, came with him and his brothers as a package deal. Bex thought at first Dahlia and Lord Rawdon were a couple, and momentarily considered a tidy assassination, but there were no signs of physical attachment between them in her investigation.
What did become clear was Miss Dahlia had a hard-on for the sexy prankster middle brother, Lord Curzon, which meant Bex would allow her to stay intact and continue breathing. As a natural-born Honored Nessa, and member of the well-respected Boudreau Family of Medical Instructors on Lio Intare, a Lio colony planet, Miss Dahlia had valuable medical skills Bex could use for her crew.
Bex would make Miss Dahlia a Medical Officer. Bex hadn’t ever had a natural-born Honored Nessa friend, outside of family. She would watch, wait, and study Miss Dahlia and see.
Middle brother Lord Curzon had a huge, fun-loving, endearing personality, and was a Galactic Culture Expert. He would make a perfect Inter-Galactic Communications Officer working with her Tactical Officers and Chief Officers.
Then there was young, urbane-looking, clean-shaven, easy-to-underestimate Lord Bryson de Roquemarel. Bex didn’t care what they called his actual profession, she could read between the lines of his skill set and see what he really was: a gifted spy. He would be a phenomenal asset as a Counter-Intelligence Expert working with her Lead Master-at-arms, her Chief Engineer, and Chief Officers.
She hoped Lord Bryson liked feisty, spiked blue lizards called Lagartos because he was about to be best friends with several trained ones, along with their Lagarto Wranglers.
Bex had interviewed them all on the long range Lio-Intercoms and liked them, but it was only Lord Rawdon who made her heart beat faster and her nerves tingle.
He would also be the first one she met in person. It was safer for all to meet separately, then fold them quietly and unobtrusively into the crew. Bex did not want her crew known to their enemies and took all the precautions she could to protect them.
However, Lord Rawdon de Roquemarel differed from any other male, because he had captured Captain Bex Sharpe’s personal attention. She had needed her Coalition to meet him before she could move forward with either bringing him closer and joining his mission or pushing him and his quest away.
Honsono, Fiore, and Psycho had met Lord Rawdon at The Cat House yesterday. Bex had watched the amazing, immediate rapport they had with each other on a stealth monitor, shaking her head and biting her lip in the privacy of her office. Her wary, stand-offish, warrior Coalition adored him!
Bex felt nervous and scared, which both surprised and excited her. She hadn’t had those feelings sparked for a very long time. She also felt uncomfortably aroused watching them. Bex enjoyed the torturous anticipation too.
She didn’t waste anymore time. Her Coalition was having their second meeting with Lord Rawdon at this very moment. Abassan Davidov protected the entrance to the secret observation hallway between “meeting” rooms at the brothel. She and Turah were almost there.
So few made it past her special ability. Would Lord Rawdon be one who did?
Bex would decide whether he was right or was wrong for her and her Lio Nels when she put eyes on him and perceived his true intent for this mission. And her beloved Coalition.