The Thief Of Mardu Part 6

"Follow me."

Impressed by her stealth, he didn't feel the need to constantly check on her progress. When they reached the copse of trees, he felt her at his back though he hadn't heard her so much as step on a loose branch during the brief trip.

"I told you I'm good," she whispered.

"c.o.c.ky too."

He heard a small chuckle and then an unspoken silence settled over the two of them as they waited for the party to clear.

Catam rested his back against a tree stump while he watched Daarna's guests through the hanging vines framing his view of the estate.

Arnath appeared near Daarna every time she stepped foot on the back patio. When she entered the house, Arnath subtly followed.

Had Catam not known of the pair's connection, he might not have noticed how smoothly they moved together.

Just one more detail to prove Isa's story true.

Catam had been a bounty hunter for more than a decade. And in that time, he'd seen plenty from the seedier side of life. He usually had little trouble reading the criminals he brought to justice. And he maintained a sharp nose for the truth.

He had a hard time reading Isa though, and that surprised him. Perhaps her innate sensuality threw him, or maybe his rampaging hormones when around her screwed with his judgment. Whatever the reason, he had distrusted her story from the very beginning, both because it sounded unbelievable, and because he didn't trust his reaction to her.

h.e.l.l, one out of every six men in the western province was named "Arnath." And though "Daarna" wasn't as common a name, anyone who'd visited the northern province even once would recognize Daarna Klin's name. The woman and her husband had more currency than the Mornian mints.

Watching Arnath and Daarna, however, clearly ill.u.s.trated something deeper existed between the two. They brushed against one another "accidentally" for the fifth time.

Catam couldn't tell from this distance, but he'd bet his next pay-credit that Daarna's smile suggested more than a simple show of support. No, he'd wager she stared at Arnath like a wanton, hungry for s.e.x.

She and Arnath disappeared again to mingle with the last lingering guests. An hour, feeling more like two, pa.s.sed.

Catam waited calmly while Isa twitched, nervous and impatient. The last pair of voices faded and he shot to full attention. He heard a transport fire up and depart.

"The last guest just left," he informed Isa, and she sat up, peering through the vines.

Daarna and Arnath reappeared on the patio and moved deeper into the garden, both looking pleased with themselves. Moonlight chose that moment to s.h.i.+ne over the estate, illuminating everything but the deepest recesses of the maze and its center.

"We did it, love," Daarna crowed and toyed with Arnath's neckpiece. She unraveled the blue silk from his throat and wrapped it around her fist.

"Yes, I did," Arnath said arrogantly. He bent his head to Daarna and brushed a kiss over her lips. "You did a wonderful job showing your support, Lady Klin." He bowed and Daarna smiled, though Catam thought her eyes looked hard. Apparently she hadn't cared for Arnath's "I did" comment.

Trouble in paradise? Isa could only be so lucky. But at least the kiss confirmed her story, that Arnath and Daarna were in fact lovers.

"What's my reward to be then, Statesman Bedenzi?"

Arnath opened his mouth to answer but closed it in a snap when a young man joined them.

"What is it, Mirk?"

Oblivious to the s.e.xual undercurrents in the garden, Mirk rattled off a slew of compliments and after-action notes Arnath needed to follow come the next morning. Daarna looked irritated. Arnath's annoyance, however, faded at the glowing descriptions of himself.

Once Mirk took a breath, Daarna spoke in a queenly voice. "Well, gentlemen, I've had a long day. I thank you for your a.s.sistance tonight, Mirk. I don't know what the statesman would have done without your help."

Mirk beamed.

"No, thank you, Lady Klin." Arnath bowed and placed a chaste kiss on her hand. "You have been instrumental in guiding me through this first and most difficult phase of adjustment. Your husband's contacts will a.s.suredly improve my success in the district."

Daarna nodded.

"Now, Mirk, please go and get some rest. Lady Klin? Might I take a final look at your late husband's file on the Border properties? I promise, that's the last I'll ask of you this night."

Mirk smiled and bid them goodnight. Once he left the garden, Arnath escorted Daarna into the house with a polite but much more aloof manner.

"We're not the only ones still awake out here," Isa commented in a low voice. "I know this household. Once those two head inside, the servants will spend another few hours cleaning up this mess and straightening the house before tomorrow. My bet is that by quarter morn, we should be okay to break into the house."

Catam agreed. "Sounds like a plan. Until then, let's get some rest. I'll take first watch."

As he studied her, he couldn't help comparing her to the pampered women of Nebe6. He couldn't imagine Sharell traipsing through the Eron Forest or hiding out in the shadows of the northern province.

"What?" Isa shot him a wary look.

"It just amazes me that someone as beautiful and s.e.xy as you makes a living breaking into people's homes. It's dangerous work, when you could be doing something much more pleasurable and making hand over fist doing it."

She blushed, understanding "pleasurable" to mean s.e.x sharing, as he'd intended.

"But I realize why you don't work flat on your back, so to speak." He grinned. "You might not be frigid, Isa, but you're sure as h.e.l.l not pleasurer material." Her face fell and he continued. "You're too warmhearted for that."

She stared at him in surprise and opened her mouth as if to speak, then shook her head and lay back, closing her eyes.

"Wake me to take watch," she mumbled and drifted into a light sleep.

Curiosity burned. He wanted to know what she would have said, but she didn't move, her breathing slow and even.

Chapter Seven.

Catam sat back against a tree, nestled with Isa in the comforting shelter of the furen thicket. Using his acute senses of smell and hearing, he remained attuned to their surroundings while gazing at Isa's peaceful features.

She had some issues with her sensuality, not a surprise considering how awkward she would feel among the Aran people. Arans prized s.e.xuality. They practiced s.e.x with multiple partners, gender and race nonspecific.

A respected trade, pleasuring was considered an art form on Aran. And though not all Aran women necessarily became pleasurers, an Aran woman uncomfortable with her s.e.xuality would be unique indeed.

For his part, Catam rarely had the chance to visit Mardu's pleasure moon. On those days when Mara let her crew "relieve some stress," as she liked to call it, they frequented Nebe6. For one thing, the pleasure planet sat in the center of the System, and for another, the Fas brothers loved the place.

Keeping Raggas happy took precedence over a lowly Mardu. His lips curled. He had speed and agility, but Set and Nu definitely had the edge in the strength department. Rockheads, the both of them, he thought with warm amus.e.m.e.nt.

s.h.i.+pmates easily became family when one spent as much time with them as Catam did, and he genuinely liked his crewmates.

Thinking of his crew turned his thoughts to his real family, in particular his brother Sernal.

Catam had last reported to Sernal two days ago. He briefly mentioned Isa's capture and added a vague excuse of some "planetary-related delays." If Sernal knew why Catam hadn't yet brought Isa to justice, he'd pitch a fit.

Sernal always played by the rules, a fact that both amused and appalled Catam, the most rebellious member of his family.

No, Sernal would definitely not approve of Catam's intimacies with Isa, no matter how right they felt. And this "investigation" Catam pressed would not be appreciated either.

Reminders of his rebellion made him content enough to sit idly, waiting for the estate to settle. Isa's breathing hitched and he placed a comforting hand on her cheek to soothe her worries.

"Soon, sweet," he whispered and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. "Soon we'll have some answers, and if we're lucky, they'll be the right ones."

He ignored the sudden pain he felt at thoughts of Isa leaving him to undertake another job, or worse, Isa imprisoned in Jintak. Instead he focused on the sounds of servants scurrying inside the house.

But much as he wanted, he couldn't stop pondering the future. Once they found the answers Isa needed, he would return to the life he knew aboard Mara's s.h.i.+p. Bounty hunting was his calling, and he accepted it.

Why then did the thought depress him?

And Isa, well, if she didn't see the inside of a prison cell because of her "part" in Klin's death, she would most likely return to a life of crime.

With her given profession, it was only a matter of time before the law caught her. Sooner or later, she would visit Jintak's prisons.

Terrible things happened in prison. Images of her future jailers mistreating, perhaps raping her, had him seeing red. And what if the next peacemaker on her tail believed in death over imprisonment, a common problem among Mardu's lawmen? What if one of those more enthusiastic peacekeepers felt forced to kill her in the name of justice?

His thoughts grew steadily darker and he cursed his rabid imagination.

What was wrong with him?

He forced himself to remember that his world normally rotated on a "happily ever after" axis. Mentally listing the positives, he noted that the restlessness he faced daily had been nothing more than a phase. Since taking Sernal's place and meeting Isa, his boredom had faded altogether.

Another positive: incredible s.e.x. The s.e.x with Isa was on a scale beyond anything he'd ever experienced. Finding wainu with her definitely put him on a higher plain toward happiness.

Why then, when he'd recently attained a level closer to true joy, did thoughts of a future without Isa leave him feeling miserable? He scoffed at the notion she might be more important than this mission for Sernal. So they'd had s.e.x, what of it?

He controlled his world and those he allowed close. He would choose a woman to be his mate, someday in the far, far future.

Mate? He shook his head. Where had these deep thoughts come from? He still had a mission to complete, and a woman's future to decide. He glanced down at Isa s.h.i.+fting restlessly under his regard. Sleep troubled her, and he wondered what she dreamed.

The more time he spent with Isa, the more he liked her. Sure, she had a sensuality that made him see stars with very little effort. More than that, Isa's quick wits impressed him. Her ability to push herself beyond her fear earned his respect.

He thought about those qualities and finally had to admit what he'd been thinking for the past few days.

"s.h.i.+t. You didn't kill him, did you?" he asked quietly of her sleeping form. She hadn't killed anyone, and that meant the two of them were in for a world of trouble once the estate finally quieted.

Trouble. He had to laugh. Trouble should have been his middle name. He lived for it, borrowed it, and occasionally personified it with a capital "T," much like his sleeping quarry.

He studied Isa's full lips that suddenly curved into a small smile as she slept. It looked like they might very well have more in common than he'd first thought.

Isa woke with a headache and an urge to wipe that s.e.xy grin off Catam's mouth. By Flor's heart, did the man ever find anything less than amusing?

For the past four days he'd teased, tantalized and made her near crazed with l.u.s.t and laughter. She'd never had such pleasure in a man's company, both in and out of her clothing.

Now, however, was not the time for amus.e.m.e.nt. While he might see the humor in everything, awareness of their dire situation had overwhelmed her subconscious, lending to less than pleasant dreams.

She felt more tired now than before her nap. Behind closed lids, images vacillated between eternal imprisonment in Jintak and Catam, naked and aroused.

In one scene, dead Statesman Klin pointed a finger at her, his throat slit and his belly gus.h.i.+ng blood as he presided over her judgment. Inevitably, a biased jury of politicians would sentence her to jail, where she'd suffer hideous torment forever.

In the next scenario, Catam made love to her with an intensity that left her breathless. His catlike eyes would glow with sensual fervor as he licked her from head to toe. And his c.o.c.k would strain against her mound before penetrating her, salving the wounds of aloneness and a lacking s.e.xuality that too often lived within her.

"Isa?" His deep voice soothed and he leaned over to help her to her feet. "Bad dreams?"

She wanted to laugh out loud at his uncanny ability to read her, but managed a tight nod. If she started laughing, she'd probably never stop.

"The estate seems at rest. I thought we should go in now."

She frowned. "Why didn't you wake me to take watch?"

"You looked like you needed the rest." He shrugged and his full mouth tilted at the corners. "Besides, I like watching the rise and fall of your b.r.e.a.s.t.s in sleep."

She wanted to chastise him for saying so, but the warm glint in his eyes finally penetrated her morose mood and she found herself smiling. "You're impossible."

"I aim to please." He bowed. "Since you're familiar with the land, I'll follow you." He pretended to peer around her and wiggled his eyes at the vicinity of her backside.

Isa shook her head and choked back a laugh. Once again he lightened her state of mind with his mere presence.

She crept through the garden, keeping to the shadows, her mind half on the task at hand while the remainder of her thoughts dwelled on the sensual man at her heels.

As she snuck through a window left ajar and entered the house, she wondered how different this situation might have turned out had Catam not been the one seeking her.

Most peacemakers would have brought her to justice immediately, or worse, brought her to Lady Klin, her accuser, before taking her to Jintak. Though a common policy to bring together accuser and accused prior to trial, peacemaker "justice" normally spelled trouble for the one under investigation. And in Isa's case, she felt sure death would have been waiting.

"Now what?" Catam asked, and Isa realized she'd been standing behind the floor-to-ceiling draperies in the hallway outside the hidden corridor that led to the study.

How eerily familiar.

She took a deep breath and turned down the corridor. Pointing to the first door they pa.s.sed, she informed him, "This is the room where I hid, where I accidentally overheard Daarna and Arnath having s.e.x."

He nodded and eyed the room as they continued down the seldom-used hall past several other rooms. The hallway ended at a large red door.

"And this leads to the study where I found Klin." She swallowed nervously, not wanting to reenter the dead man's last resting place.

Catam c.o.c.ked his head and his eyes blazed. She still couldn't wait to hear his explanation for that. "It sounds quiet. The room's empty. Let's go."

Isa slowly turned the doork.n.o.b. Thankfully it was locked, rea.s.suring her what Catam said was true. She skillfully unlocked the door using a set of tools that never left her side, then entered the room without making a sound. Catam quietly closed the door behind them, enshrouding them in darkness.