Forbidden

Chapter One

Alex was late. He knew it, but he didn’t care. Thrusting mindlessly into the cunt of his latest lover, he tried to ignore his growing impatience to get home. He knew once he returned, he’d be obligated to take Doriena to meet Bakac. The man might be his best friend, but he’d be damned if he’d let him anywhere near his little sister.

Tisheena moaned beneath him and he forced his thoughts back to her. She was really beautiful. Classically Gothe’maran. Her skin was a rich, creamy mocha and her hair dark as night. But she was too thin for his tastes. He generally preferred fleshier women, but Tisheena was lusty enough, and she didn’t expect a commitment.

And she had a very tight cunt. That helped make up for the lack of cushion.

She raked her nails down his back and settled her hands on his ass, clenching and squeezing and urging him to fuck her harder. He obliged eagerly.

“By the Universe, Alex!” He loved how her voice became thickly accented and husky when she was turned on. “Fuck me! I want to come on your thick cock.”

Who was he to disappoint her?

Moving up onto his knees so he could get better leverage, Alex pulled Tisheena’s legs over his shoulders and gripped her thighs. Then he began a furious pounding. Over and over he thrust into her, pulling her back against him with each forward surge. The staccato rhythm they pounded out echoed in the vast bedchamber, as did Tisheena’s screams of delight and pleasure.

Realizing she was too close to hold back much longer, Alex redoubled his efforts. He rammed into her so hard, he scooted them across the bed, and Tisheena had to brace herself with her hands above her head on the wall behind them. With two last thrusts, Alex shouted his orgasm just as Tisheena’s muscles clenched around him and she exploded in her own pleasure.

Breathing hard, he rolled over. Nice. Very nice.

“You’re always such an enthusiastic lover, Alex.” Tisheena smiled as she patted down her hair. Alex managed not to snort at that. Not matter how wild their fucking, she never had a hair out of place. That she enjoyed their sex play, Alex had no doubt, but he knew if she ever found the right someone, Tisheena would be a handful.

He wasn’t the right someone.

And neither was she.

“I have to go.” Alex didn’t particularly like leaving right after sex, but this time he didn’t really have a choice. He was in enough trouble as it was.

Tisheena stretched, thrusting her breasts up at him. “So soon? I’d hoped you’d stay tonight.”

He smiled at her and gave her one last tongue-filled kiss. “I’d like to, but I can’t. My sister’s home from a month at the Academy and I promised her I’d be home tonight.”

“She’s not really your sister.” Tisheena pouted. “She’s not part of your family at all.”

“No, but I owe her the same respect I’d give a full blooded sibling, and I give it willingly.”

His stepfather and mother had taken Doriena in after the Earth Gothe’maran War when they couldn’t find her parents. Alex was only ten when she came to live with them, so she was raised as his sister.

Tisheena shrugged. “I suppose. But you can’t blame a girl for wanting a warm man in her bed, can you?”

Chuckling as he dressed, Alex said, “I seriously doubt your bed will remain empty for long.”

She grinned. “True, but I always have such a good time with you. You’re always welcome here, Alex. Come by whenever you like.”

“You’re an elegant Gothe’maran lady, Tisheena. I’m glad to know you.”

“Oh, please!” She waved a hand in dismissal. “We enjoy each other, Alex. Not only the sex, but each other’s company as well. Believe me, I’m not a lady. I’m a royal bitch and everyone knows it. I simply tolerate you better than most.”

“Take care of yourself.”

“I always do, my dear.” Standing up from the bed, she pressed her naked body against him and kissed him, reaching down to squeeze his cock through his pants. It swelled under her touch. “If you need to relieve that later, you know where to find me.”

Wishing he actually did want to stay a while longer, he said, “Keep the bed warm. I may take you up on the offer.” Alex winked at her as he left. He wished he actually felt that lighthearted. Dreading the moment he walked through the door and had to look his sister in the eyes, Alex started home.

He just wasn’t sure he was dreading it because he knew he’d broken a promise, or because he was afraid this time Doriena might just see right through him. He was afraid she might figure out the reason he didn’t want her around Bakac was for his own protection and not hers.

* * *

“Is that a destabilizer wand in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” Doriena Mak’un cocked an eyebrow as she addressed her stepbrother. The man had just said “good night” to his latest distraction, and the evidence of his failure to relieve himself properly was prominent.

“You’re a pain, Doriena,” Alex growled. “Mind your own business.”

“This is my business. You were supposed to be home three hours ago! Now you’ve ruined everything!”

“Don’t exaggerate,” Alex snapped. “You should have had Dad take you to the tournament.”

“Yeah. Like Dad is going to take me to meet Bakac Kemka. You know he only agreed to let me go because he’s your best friend.” Doriena was angrier than she could ever remember being. Angry and hurt. “The deal was I could go to the Spars as Bakac’s partner only if you went with me. Instead, I’m sitting home, and Bakac is fighting with someone else helping.”

“So?” Alex shrugged and shouldered past her to the kitchen. “The Spars are too violent for you anyway.”

“They are not! They’re just games , Alex. But being there with the reigning champion would have given me extra status in the Academy!”

“It would have labeled you as Bakac’s woman.”

“How is that a bad thing? I’d like to be with Bakac.” Doriena couldn’t help but smile. “He’s the best looking guy I’ve ever seen.”

Alex rounded on her and gripped her shoulders hard. “You don’t have a clue what that means, Doriena,” he growled. “You’re not ready for that kind of relationship.”

“How would you know?” She spat the question with as much contempt as she could muster. “You’re never here. You don’t spend any time with me. How could you possibly know what I’m ready for?”

“I know Bakac. I know the Gothe’maran people. Believe me --” He shoved her away from him and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. “-- being a human female makes you definitely not ready. Hell, I’m barely able to deal with their sexual appetites.”

Doriena just looked at him. She’d heard about Bakac’s taste in sex play, and she wasn’t sure Alex was wrong in his assessment of the situation. She tried to be strong, tried not to let him see how truly hurt she was that he’d broken his promise to her.

Truth was, she was just as attracted to Alex as she was to Bakac. His dark blond hair fell below his collar, but was always neatly groomed. Sometimes he wore a goatee that emphasized the differences between him and most Gothe’maran men. There were very few blonds among their people. Mikkarn was the only one Doriena could think of. Every now and then, there would be a man or woman with snow-white hair, but few blonds. He was definitely as formidable as any male of the Gothe’maran race. He was muscular in an athletic way. He didn’t carry as much bulk as many Gothe’marans, but his finely toned muscles were sexy as hell.

He had always looked beautiful to her, but the fact that he was her brother always made her feel guilty. Well, stepbrother, anyway.

Right now, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t acting like a brother, he was acting like a man . All stupid and superior acting when he was just silly. She wanted to pout, but the truth was, she was just plain hurt.

“Go away,” she whispered. “Go away, and don’t speak to me again.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “When you’re older, you’ll thank me for this.”

She whirled on him. “You’re not my father! I’m old enough to know what I’m ready for and what I’m not. I’m nineteen!” When he straightened and would have interrupted her, she shoved him back against the wall. “I was old enough to enter the Warrior’s Academy for Military Command -- I’m certainly old enough to know about the more carnal side of the Gothe’maran male.”

He simply stared at her a moment. She wasn’t certain -- she wasn’t nearly as worldly as she would have him believe -- but she could have sworn she saw a hunger in his eyes the likes of which she had never witnessed before. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the meaning of that look.

It excited her beyond belief.

Before she could be sure, it was gone and the heat turned to icy resolve.

“You’re a child compared to me and Bakac,” he said softly. “Stick to boys your own age, or you might find out just how much you don’t know.” With that, he headed up the stairs.

When she heard the door close, Doriena slumped against the wall. She felt like crying, but that wasn’t the way she dealt with things. Tears only proved she was weak. A member of Military Command never showed weakness. If she wanted to be the first female officer in Military Command, she couldn’t afford to show even the slightest hint of weakness.

Straightening, her back ramrod straight now, she calmly walked out the door. If Alex wouldn’t take her where she wanted to go, she’d go herself. She’d have to face her father’s wrath later, but damn it, this was her life. She wanted to live it.

* * *

When Alex heard Doriena leave the house he immediately moved to the window. She was heading toward the transport pod. He’d just bet she was going to find Bakac herself.

Damned girl!

She had no idea what she was getting herself into. Bakac was nice enough, but not for his little sister. It was the nature of the Gothe’maran to be intensely sexual -- they were a warrior race in a culture embracing peace. All that pent up emotion had to go somewhere. He’d had his share of Gothe’maran women, and if the sexual appetites of the men were anything near what he’d experienced with women like Tisheena then there was no way Doriena could handle it.

Unless she wasn’t as innocent as he thought.

She was a beautiful young woman. Not painfully thin, like most Gothe’maran women, but her limbs were sleek and layered with fine muscle. If she stayed at the Academy, she’d undoubtedly develop quite a physique in a few years. Usually she kept her flame red hair secured tightly at the base of her skull, but on the rare occasions he’d seen it down, it flowed like an orange flame down her back to brush the top of her ass, emphasizing the fact that he wanted to bare the tempting bottom and spank it until it was as red as her hair. It was enough to make him avoid her for weeks. How could he possibly face her with the biggest hard-on in the Universe?

He immediately squashed that thought. She was his little sister, for crying out loud! He had protected her from men like Bakac all her life. He knew better than anyone how men looked at her. Because from time to time, he caught himself looking at her the same way -- with a sexual, predatory hunger.

God! This fascination with her was getting way out of hand.

Okay, so he’d kept any and every man he could away from her. His baby sister was not going to be exposed to the more violent nature of his stepfather’s people.

Which brought up another problem. She was doing very well at the Academy. If things kept going like they were, she would graduate with honors in a couple of years and take her place among the other officers in Military Command.

Correction. She’d take her place among the other male Gothe’maran officers in Military Command.

He knew it was what she wanted, knew she wanted to follow in their father’s footsteps. He also knew she wasn’t anywhere near ready for the responsibilities that went with that job. Oh, Doriena was responsible. He just didn’t think she could make the shitty calls. The ones that she knew going in would result in the death of a comrade. He had no doubt she could cut the work. She was hardworking, physically and mentally strong, highly intelligent -- everything an officer needed to be. But she was too damned young! And too tenderhearted.

Definitely too young and tenderhearted to seek out Bakac.

Decision made, Alex headed back to the ground floor and the door.

“Alex.” His mother’s voice. “What’s going on? You were supposed to be here hours ago. Are you just getting home?”

“Mother.” Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. How was he supposed to explain to his mother that he’d been out fucking around -- literally -- so he wouldn’t have to take his sister to meet his best friend? “Yes. I just got home, but I’m leaving again.”

“Where’s your sister?”

Alex took a breath. “She left.”

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with her missing the Spars, would it?”

“Maybe.”

Alex’s mother, Anna Mak’un, wife of General Kahn Mak’un, approached him, a dangerous look on her face. It was something Alex had rarely seen.

“Do you have any idea where she went?” Her voice was deceptively calm. Alex knew his mother well enough to know she was working herself into a good “mad,” but he’d be damned if he knew how to defuse her. Mainly because he knew he deserved it.

“I suspect she may have gone to seek out Bakac on her own.”

He expected the explosion in that moment, but that deadly calm stayed firmly intact. It was almost worse than if she’d lashed out at him. He hated for his mother to be mad at him.

“Do you feel anything you said or did directly influenced her decision to leave this house knowing she was going against the wishes of her father and I?”

There it was. If he told the truth, he was in trouble. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if he lied. Because she always knew when he lied.

Oh, well. Better to get it over with.

“I think it was a combination of both.”

His mother was a phenomenal woman, which was probably one of the reasons his father adored her so much. Even almost thirty years after they’d met, the affection the two of them had for each other was more than obvious to everyone who encountered them. In fact, the tender looks and caresses were commonplace and expected when the couple were in the same room. She was also a terrifying woman to have angry with you. He’d been on the receiving end of her wrath more than once, and it was never pleasant.

She simply looked at him a few moments, the silence stretching on and on. He desperately needed to break the tension, but didn’t dare speak. Just when he thought he couldn’t take another second of the blistering silence, she turned and walked away. As he watched her go, his father emerged from his study and immediately enfolded his wife in his arms.

“Are you going after her?” It didn’t surprise Alex that his father knew the topic of conversation. He and his mother could easily communicate with each other telepathically thanks to years of practice with their connection as soul’s mates.

“Would it do any good?”

Kahn didn’t bat an eye. “Probably not, if she was angry enough to leave in the first place.” There was a brief pause. “You realize she’s not coming back.”

Alex’s stomach gave an awful lurch.

“What do you mean?” He had to ask, but deep down inside, he knew what his father meant.

“She’s been planning on leaving for months now. Moving to Academy housing. In your… umph!” His mother punched Kahn in the ribs, even as she clung to him. “In our --” he glanced down at Anna, “-- zealousness to protect her, I fear we’ve pushed her away from us.”

“She wouldn’t dare.” Even as he said it, he knew how false that statement was. Doriena would most certainly dare. “Can’t you stop her -- forbid it or something?”

“If I thought it would help, I would.”

“I think the two of you have done enough.” Anna sniffed. “I should have intervened a long time ago.”

“Maybe if you had, she wouldn’t feel like she had to leave home to enjoy freedoms every other Gothe’maran female has here.” Kahn sighed, nuzzling his wife’s head in a gesture Alex had seen a thousand times when something worried his mother.

Without warning, Anna pushed away from Kahn and moved from the two of them a few steps. “Men,” she muttered under her breath. “You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” When Alex opened his mouth to say something, she cut him off. “As usual.”

“Anna.” Kahn’s voice should have sounded reprimanding -- would have with anyone other than his wife -- but the effect was ruined by the wince as Anna turned her sharp, intelligent, angry eyes on him.

“Oh, come on! Listen to what you’re saying,” she spat. “You really think Gothe’maran females enjoy as much freedom as men?”

“Now, Anna.” Kahn’s tone suggested he would try to reason with Anna, but Alex knew his mother all too well. When she was in this kind of lather, it was best to let her have her say. He’d also seen his father try to reason with her almost every time she got this angry, and he always failed. He would have thought Kahn would have learned better.

“Don’t take that patronizing tone with me, Kahn Mak’un! You know very well what I’m talking about. If men and women were equal here, my Doriena wouldn’t be the only woman in the Academy. You’re ruler here. Do something!”

Alex’s father sighed. “Anna, you know this is a male dominated society. Men have always been the warriors protecting Gothe’mar in Military Command. It’s going to be hard to change over a thousand years of thinking.”

“Which --” Alex cringed when his mother turned her angry, piercing gaze on him, “-- is why I wanted her to stay here instead of at the Academy.” She poked him in the chest. “Get her back here.”

“I don’t think it’s up to me, Mom. She’s got to do what’s best for her.”

“So?” Anna shrugged. “Make her want to come back home.”

He blew out an exasperated breath. “And just how in the Universe am I supposed to do that?”

Kahn placed a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “You’ll have to figure that one out on your own, son.”

Alex ran a hand through his hair. Yeah. Right. A surge of anger went through him as he thought all of this could have been avoided if he’d only come home like he’d promised Doriena he would. That feeling intensified every passing second, and when he reached his suite, he punched the wall just to relieve a little tension.

It might have helped if he wasn’t so worried about Doriena. He had a bad feeling something was very wrong.