Obligation in Blood Read online

  Obligation in Blood

  Madeleine Oh

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright ©2007 Madeleine Oh

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  ISBN: 978-1-59596-644-5

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  Editor: Margaret Riley

  Cover Artist: Karen Fox

  This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  Obligation in Blood

  Madeleine Oh

  En route to the planet Vansan, Drake, Ferda, Rand and Adlet settle in for an uneventful voyage while Rand heals from his near-fatal attack on the Hallidan Hub. But a few days’ travel from their destination, their ship is attacked by space pirates. Searching the ship in the aftermath of the attack, they discover they’re carrying unregistered cargo. What is a cryogenically embalmed human doing hidden in their cargo hold -- and what makes her worth risking an attack on a freighter crewed by vampires?

  Chapter One

  “Easy, now,” Rand muttered through clenched teeth. “The skin might have healed but the wounds are still tender.”

  “Sorry!” Adlet raised his head and anxious eyes met Rand’s. “It’s impossible to see where they got you. You vampires heal so fast.”

  “On the surface,” Rand reminded him. “Seems those Laserblades cut deep. And those bastards had a good go at me.” He smiled down at the mortal between his legs. “I wouldn’t be here, if it weren’t for your fast action.”

  “But you are,” Adlet replied with a wicked grin. “And since you owe your continued existence to me, I think that gives me a right to make very tender love to you. I’ll be very, very gentle. Perhaps I’ll pretend you’re a virgin.”

  By Abel, it hurt to laugh. “You’ll have to work hard to make believe that.”

  “I’m good at hard, and so” -- Adlet’s fingertips gently stroked the length of Rand’s cock -- “are you.”

  Hard to remember just a few rotations ago, Adlet had been shy and diffident. Must be the company he was sleeping with these days. Or perhaps the influx of vamp blood the lad had received from Drake, back on the Hallidan Hub when an injured Rand had all but drained Adlet to exhaustion.

  “Sweet Abel and all his get!” It wasn’t just Rand’s cock that got the velvet touch. Adlet ran the pads of his fingertips very, very slowly down the inside of Rand’s leg from his balls to the curve of his heel, and all the way back up.

  Twice.

  Once he realized what it was doing to Rand -- and how could anyone who wasn’t totally blind miss that -- he decided to have a go at Rand’s other leg. Only this time he used his mouth, brushing a trail of soft but decidedly effective kisses down Rand’s thigh and calf, with particular attention to the back of his knee. As a mortal that had always been one of his sensitive spots. Now that he was vampire, he’d gained rather than lost sensation, and Adlet was playing him for all he was worth.

  Tease was the word for the youth between Rand’s legs.

  The delightfully delicious youth who was now sliding his tongue up Rand’s leg with petrifying slowness. He had told the lad to go easy, but hadn’t meant quite like this.

  Or had he?

  The sheer and utter agony of being played slowly, like a cargo cable dragged through space until it hooked its goal, was one of the most erotic sensations Rand had experienced in months.

  Adlet shifted a little, moving up on the bunk just enough so that he could flutter the tip of his tongue across, down and all over Rand’s belly, very carefully avoiding any contact with Rand’s all but perpendicular cock. Adlet’s mouth was as soft as a warm breeze on a Flandian beach. Not that Rand had ever felt like this the few times he’d actually stopped off at the resort.

  “You’re smiling,” Adlet said, looking up at Rand. “Happy?”

  “Happily anticipating. Wondering how long you can keep this up.”

  “I can keep it up as long as you can.” As if to prove his point, the lad ran the tip of one finger up the side of Rand’s cock.

  “Think I’ll let you down, mortal?” Rand added a little growl, just for effect.

  That made Adlet laugh. Damn, he was going to have to polish up the irritated vampire act. Later. “Lad, this is all very, very nice, but remember, you don’t stop when Terra’s day dawns. I do.”

  “You told me to go slowly and gently. I was pretending you needed persuading.”

  “Very thoughtful of you, lovely lad, but right now I’m in the mood for hot and sweaty!” His laugh morphed into a lascivious snicker.

  Adlet grasped the point.

  Right down to bending his head and taking Rand’s cock into his mouth. Damn, the lad had learned. Rand could feel the soft caress of Adlet’s tongue and the sweet touch of his throat. Rand pushed deeper. Adlet’s gasp was muffled, then he began breathing very slowly through his nose. Yes, he’d certainly learned.

  Rand rocked his hips up, pressing harder, wanting to possess the lad’s mouth completely, to own him and be owned. To feel himself encased in the softness and warmth of a mortal mouth and, as he felt the lad’s pulse against his cock, to savor the sweetness of mortality and the tenderness of a mortal lover.

  Sweet Abel! Adlet was inspiration encased in warm, living flesh. Rand ran his hands through the lad’s hair, holding his head steady and gently stroking the nape of his neck.

  Had he ever known such sensation as a mortal?

  Never, unless his memory played him totally false. What a shame that sweet Adlet was limited to mortal sensation. But he’d do his best by him. “Easy, lad. I’m not ready to come yet, and I need your strength.”

  Adlet lifted his face and grinned. No other word for it. Sweet Abel! How he would miss Adlet, but he’d get maudlin about that later. For now, and just to remind the lad who was the vampire, Rand moved in the narrow bunk, grabbed Adlet by the waist and flipped him onto his back. Before he’d quite recovered from the shock, Rand eased between his legs, and pressing his erection into Adlet’s belly, leaned over and kissed him full on the mouth.

  And what a mouth! Adlet’s lips opened and his tongue met Rand’s. Met but couldn’t master. Rand had the upper hand here; his speed, his strength, drove the kiss, and Adlet followed with the joy of his mortal youth. Mortal youth that needed to stop for breath once in a while. Rand lifted his mouth so their lips almost brushed.

  “Dear mortal,” Rand whispered, “are you ready to offer your strength to me?”

  Adlet smiled. “Oh! Yes!” It was more of a gasp than anything else, but how could anyone, mortal or vampire, resist such eagerness?

  Rand certainly couldn’t.

  Damn well didn’t want to.

  And absolutely was not going to.

  He slid down the bed until he was comfortably settled between Adlet’s legs. Resting his hands on firm, warm, mortal thighs, he licked the flesh just above Adlet’s right thigh. Adlet sighed with pleasure and Rand kissed a line up to the base of his cock and down the inside of the other thigh.

  Not that Adlet needed any help with an erection, but the mor
tal’s obvious pleasure had Rand smiling. Until he lifted his mouth to ask, “Ready, lad?”

  Adlet nodded. Rand placed his lips on the head of Adlet’s cock and swirled his tongue over the smooth, warm flesh before swallowing him to the root. Rand had the satisfaction of hearing Adlet’s moans and cries. Sweet mortal need! Sweet mortal warmth! He felt the jism rise in Adlet’s cock and, as the first taste of mortal strength touched Rand’s tongue, he bit. Gently. Enough to draw a cry of passion from Adlet, as Rand milked the warmth of his mortal blood along with the heat of his ejaculation.

  As Adlet’s climax faded, Rand drew his mouth away, pausing only to lick the tiny marks from his fangs. They’d heal and in no time. Adlet’s youth would restore his strength as his vital life essence nourished Rand.

  “God! That was so wonderful,” Adlet whispered, resting his head on Rand’s chest.

  Rand wrapped his arm around Adlet’s shoulder. “Yes.” Who in their right mind could ever disagree?

  “Rand, I wish I could stay with you.”

  Since Rand had the same thought in mind, it was doubly hard to reply, “Adlet, lover. We have no choice. The agreement, right?”

  “Damn that agreement! I don’t want to go back to my studies! Why can’t I just stay on the ship? You want me to, don’t you?”

  “Adlet, what I want and what will happen are two different things.”

  His eyes were bright, as if holding back tears. “Why not let me stay then? What’s the point of being a vampire, if you can’t get what you want?”

  Sometimes Adlet did show his age. Or rather lack of it. Rand shook his head. Had he been like this in his twenties? Quite probably. “Adlet, my love. Yes, I would dearly love to keep you with me, but we made a pact with your father. Remember?”

  A scowl creased between Adlet’s eyebrows. “What could he do to us? We’re light years from Praeden.”

  Now was not the best time to give the lad a lecture on the value of keeping one’s word. “Think of it this way, Adlet.” To soften the words, Rand dropped a kiss on his cheek. “Suppose I agree? Suppose I say we don’t have to keep our compact with your father. You fail to return to the university and stay with us and roam the galaxies for a few years. Tell me how you’re going to square that with Ferda? Because I’m sure as hell not going to try.”

  “Oh!”

  Rand almost laughed at the dismay and comprehension on Adlet’s face. Almost. Vamp control came in handy at times. “Get my point, lad?”

  “Yes.” Adlet sighed. And sniffed. It helped keep back the tears that pricked behind his lids. It wasn’t fair! He’d far, far rather stay here on the freighter than go back to his studies. He was learning more here with Rand, Drake and Ferda than watching a holo-screen in a dingy classroom. But… Rand was right. If he as much as mentioned the idea to Ferda, she’d have his guts and wrap them around his neck.

  Amazing how much power and influence the old woman could exert, but she had smoothed his way aboard in the first place, he had to concede that. When Rand had first asked permission to leave Praeden, his father had refused outright. A visit from Ferda and her son, a member of the planetary government, and the old man had not only given consent, but put a tidy sum of credits in Adlet’s trading account.

  “I have to go, don’t I?”

  “Cheer up, lad,” Rand replied. “You don’t have to leave yet. We’ve got this job to finish, maybe another, if we can pick up a short voyage. Lots of time together before we drop you off.” Rand stroked Adlet’s nipples. “Lots of time, lad. You wait and see. And it won’t be goodbye. We’ll meet up on the space lanes somewhere. Hell, if you do well enough in your studies, I might even convince Drake to take you on as paid crew.”

  That was a prospect to keep him going through dull lectures and dreaded exams. “You really think he would?”

  “It’s up to you. Get your degree, view your options, and if you still fancy life aboard a freighter, you know our call code.”

  “I could call you anyway. To let you know how I’m doing.”

  “Best send each other holograms. Better than tying up the channels.”

  “That would set everyone talking, if I got holograms from a vampire freighter.”

  “It would indeed, lad.”

  What a prospect. Hell, it would make him the talk of the campus. Come to that, just spending these weeks on the ship put him light years ahead of most of his contemporaries’ experiences. “Rand?” Adlet asked.

  But Rand was dead to the world. The sun had risen down on Terra.

  Adlet showered and headed for the bridge.

  Chapter Two

  Ferda was there already, intent on the controls, and didn’t appear to notice him. Adlet stood by the entrance and watched. How was it that she radiated such power and influence? She was old. Heck, she had grandchildren who were his contemporaries back on Praeden. She was quiet and efficient and at first look, just like any other old woman. Until you got to know her. Power seemed to flow out of her skin. Power and determination. Rand had been spot on. No way in the universe was Adlet looking her in the eye and telling her he wasn’t going back to the university. She’d skin him alive with a look.

  Was it the vampire blood she’d reputedly ingested over the years?

  Whatever it was, she was a force of nature.

  “Going to hold up the doorway all day?” she asked, not even looking up from the console.

  No point really. “Just wondering how things are. Anything happened?”

  “No, thank the heavens. After our little sojourn on the Hallidan Hub, I’m all in favor of uneventful and undisturbed. A nice dull voyage is just what I’m looking forward to.”

  He wouldn’t go quite that far, but seeing Rand gutted and bleeding on the ground was an experience he hoped never to repeat. “How much longer until we get to Vansan?”

  She looked sideways as he took a seat beside her at the console. “Two planet rotations, three at the most, if we keep up this speed. It’s quite amazing how fast this old tub goes.”

  “Better not let Rand hear you call her an ‘old tub.’ He’s rather proud of this old freighter.”

  “With good reason. Most of the modifications he did himself.” She gave him a little smile and went back to the control panels.

  “What do you think of freighting as a career?” It came out faster than he intended.

  She adjusted two switches before turning his way. “Asking for yourself?”

  He nodded. “After I get my degree.” Better add that.

  “It’s not a bad way of earning a living. If you like life in space. You could sign up with an established freight line, or even one of the public services, and enjoy regular paychecks and standard raises.”

  “I could.” Not what he had in mind, though.

  “But the idea fills you with ennui. You fancy the glamorous life of an independent freighter?”

  If ennui meant what he suspected… “Yes, I suppose so.”

  “That little incident on the Hub didn’t dampen your notions of glamour and adventure?”

  “People get injured and die, even on backwaters like Praeden.”

  “True, but not by Laserblades.”

  No. “He healed though.”

  “Just barely, and only because he was a vampire. You or I would have been carrion. Those sorts of things don’t usually happen to regularly employed engineers.”

  “Trying to put me off?”

  She patted his hand and smiled. “Stop being so prickly, Adlet. I’m not knocking the life. Heavens above, I’ve been at it almost since I could walk. But it’s not like it used to be. Too many pirates, too many dishonest traders. Heck, even mercenaries aren’t what they used to be.” She paused and laughed. “Heaven help me! I remember my father talking like that, now it’s landed on me.” She shook her head. “Think hard, Adlet. Think very hard about it. I won’t insult you by suggesting you can’t see the reality. It slapped you in the face too recently, but think about why so many independent freighters are vampires
or androids. It’s a rough life for a human.”

  “You managed it for decades.” He’d no idea how long.

  “I have, but I was born to it. Found myself firmly entrenched in the life before I realized there was another option.”

  “You regret it?” She’d never spoken to him like this before.

  “No. Wouldn’t be much point would it? There were times when the idea of a settled home on some nice planet where I could raise my children had a very strong appeal, but it never worked out like that. I’ve had my share of adventures, and had a hand in a bit of history along the way, but then so have my children, settling Praeden. Just be sure you make a choice you can live with the rest of your life.”

  “I’ve got two more years of study before I can choose.”

  “But you can think about it. Look for opportunities. Weigh your options. A student of your caliber will have the offers coming at him like flies.”

  “I’m not so sure about that.”

  That earned him a distinctly “Ferda” look -- raised eyebrows, pursed mouth and a glare down her long nose. “Cut that out! Can’t stand the ‘poor little me’ act. So, you’ve got to go back to school and be parted from your vampire lover. Tough.”

  This was too much! “It’s all right for you, you’re not the one having to leave!”

  “I’ve done my share of leaving and being left, Adlet. One gets over it. Best to avoid nurturing a broken heart and preserve the good memories.” She had a point, not that he was quite ready to concede it. Yet. “There’s an old Terran poet who once said, ‘Men have died and worms have eaten them, but not for love’.”

  Wonderful! Now she was waxing poetic. “Vamps don’t die!” But they found new lovers. That thought made him sick.

  “No? They can bleed to death. Rand wasn’t far from it on Hallidan.” She reached over and patted his hand. How warm she felt compared to Rand. “Separation always hurts, Adlet, but would you rather live with no loving?”

  No. “I wouldn’t want to have missed knowing Rand.”