Grace Goodwin - Trinity

Of course, he’d had more than twenty years with his mate before she died. I could only imagine the skill and knowledge he held in regards to a female’s body and her desires. He would know exactly how to touch her to make her surrender to his every demand, every need.

I had no doubt that should I ever find The One, I would make sure to satisfy every single one of her needs. Her cries of pleasure would become my obsession. I would play her body like a master, watch every move and every breath until I was her master, until she begged for my touch. Craved it. Couldn’t come without it.

In my pants, my cock stirred as a strange scent teased my senses.

My cock stirred. All on its own. What the fuck?

All because of a delicate fragrance, like the translucent petals of the Aleran flower that grew in abundance in the citadel gardens I’d played in as a boy. Crazy.

It had been years since I’d been to the citadel and should not be stirred by simply inhaling the soft scent. Even longer since I’d been fool enough to bury my nose in the center of the silken petals and breathe in their scent. When the queen lived and ruled, I’d played in the gardens while my father went to meetings with the other guards. But the citadel, while in the same city, was far from here and I’d not passed by those sacred gardens on my journey from my guard post. Perhaps the wind brought the scent to me, cloaked in darkness, a taunting ghost of happier days.

Strange. I hadn’t thought of those long, bright days for years. But the smell of the flowers lingered, as if clinging to my body with a mind of its own. And to stir my cock? A scent, not a female. Perhaps it was time to see a doctor.

“Stop daydreaming and get moving, soldier.” I whispered the order to myself. There were three females inside that building and I’d promised Prime Nial to protect them with my life. I had no idea who they were, or why they’d traveled all the way from Earth. But those facts were irrelevant to me. I didn’t need to know their names to die for them. That was a warrior’s vow. To die for innocents he or she had never met. To protect them simply because they needed someone stronger, more skilled, to defend them from any threat.

Prepared to step out of the shadows and enter the building, I stopped cold as three dark shadows caught my eye as they moved along the roof.

Assassins.

Within moments they’d vanished again, blending into the shadows as if they’d never existed. Phantoms. But I’d seen them. Knew they were real.

Knew they were hunting.

Fuck, there was no question as to why they were here. Why they were stealth and silent.

The Earth women.

Who were they? And where had the assassins come from? Surely not Lord Thordis Jax? From all I had heard, he was a decent and honorable male. But perhaps someone in his family was not. Or had assassins followed these females all the way from Earth? From Prillon Prime? Nial’s mate, Lady Deston, had spoken as if the females were of great import to her personally. Perhaps whoever hunted these ladies wanted to get to Prime Nial, his second, and their mate. Then why were the females on Alera, not Prillon?

“Where did you go, evil bastards?” My voice was so quiet I barely heard the words as I scanned the rooftops and buildings for movement. I was not a trained assassin, but I was very, very good at killing. And watching. Waiting. I was hunting now.

The door opened as a vehicle pulled up to the side entrance. A large EMV slowed to a stop, and I watched as two guards exited the transport center, checked the vehicle and driver before leading the three females, the consort and the rest of the guards inside. The shuttle was large, but fast, moving past me in a blur as I threw my tracker into the air. The small, autonomous drone would fly just out of sight above them and allow me to follow their every stop and destination through the computer, displaying coordinates I could follow easily.

Racing to my own EMV, I quickly followed, frowned when I spotted a second drone tracking the shuttle. Lord Jax’s vehicle was much faster than mine. Much more expensive. My soldier’s wages didn’t allow for such luxuries, nor did I care for them as long as the EMV took me where I needed to go. I was not frivolous. Depending on how far they traveled, I could remain right behind them, or be twenty minutes delayed.

The assassins, however, would surely have the very best EMV money could buy. They needed to monitor their prey, know exactly where they were headed. Follow. Attack. Kill.

Fuck. I tapped my comm and placed a call to Thordis Jax. His bleary-eyed assistant answered the call.

“What is it? It’s the middle of the night, sir. Who are you and why are you calling me?”

“I need to speak directly with Lord Thordis Jax. It’s an emergency.” I flicked a gaze from the drones to the rear of the Earth females’ EMV.

“Hummph. No, it is not. Lord Jax is asleep, and I assure you, whatever your emergency, it can wait for a decent hour.”

“Listen to me,” I countered, tipping my tone low. “Wake him. Tell him his special guests have assassins following them.”

“Who are you?” he asked instead of taking my command seriously.

“It doesn’t matter. Wake him the fuck up and give him the message.”

The older gentleman snorted again, rubbing his eyes, and I slammed my hand on the comm to end the call. Idiot. I didn’t have time to argue, and I wasn’t about to tell him who I was. Especially when I didn’t know if this seemingly innocent old servant was, in fact, feeding information to Prime Nial’s enemies. Prime Nial himself had said to trust no one.

I was on my own.

The assassins would beat me to their destination. Already, the EMV carrying the Earth females was ten minutes out of range. I watched as they grew farther from me on my EMV’s display. Fuck.

The assassins would not delay. They would complete their task, swiftly and without mercy, and disappear into the night. I could only hope I got there before all of the ladies’ guards were dead.

Trinity, The Grande Penthouse, The Mytikas Summit Housing Complex

Besides being a gigolo, Cassander was also a tour guide. On our ride, he shared details about Mytikas, the large city we were in. It reminded me of New York or Hong Kong. Sprawling. Crowded. If it weren’t for the fact the vehicle we were in was more Buck Rogers than Buick, it would seem like we were on Earth.

The same went for the hotel we’d entered. Swanky, like the Ritz. It even had a penthouse level. It seemed social status wasn’t reserved just for Earth. We were in a suite, with Vegas-worthy views. Lights and tall buildings were all that could be seen. I had no idea what time it was, but it was dark out. I didn’t feel the least bit tired, although I was sure it had more to do with adrenaline than anything else. That and the constant, aching hunger I had to be touched. I felt like an addict who desperately needed a hit. Sex was practically all I could think about. My body actually hurt.

Maybe after a few orgasms, I’d feel better and conk right out.

“There are three bedrooms to your guest quarters, thanks to your host, Lord Jax,” Cassander said, pointing to the doors off of the suite’s central room. Decorated in soft colors, creams and tans, the suite was elegant and screamed wealth. Yeah, Lord Jax was definitely working it. Artwork graced the walls; abstracts I assumed were of Aleran landscapes, but it could have been the Grand Canyon for all I knew. If it weren’t for the doors that swished open and closed automatically like in Star Trek, it felt familiar and… normal. As if Alera wasn’t as culturally different from Earth as I’d assumed. “The guards will remain in the central room, assuring our safety while we are… occupied. There is a bedroom for each of you, my ladies. You and I, Trinity, will take this one.”