Smuggler’s Contubernium (Mea Lupus Series Book 1) Read online

  “You’re not having me do something illegal are you?” His smile and voice were charming, but his eyes tinged with wariness.

  “Oh, absolutely,” I pursed my lips in mock seriousness, “How could I waste an opportunity to trick a Mea Lupus into my dastardly ways,” I fluttered my eyelashes and laughed. He joined me in my laughter, thinking I was joking. “There’s no quarantine here because there’s no one to pay for it. We all try to do our best not to bring anything in that would cause problems for Castra 3 but slip ups happen. That’s why everything is loaded into the merchant lockers.”

  “Are the goods then inspected there?”

  “Good Gods, no,” I laughed. I picked up another cargo container and walked to a different merchant locker. After we both dropped our boxes in there I explained further, “You’ve got to understand. It’s the people here that pay the premiums set by the merchants. No premium, no money to waste on inspection, just profit.”

  “That puts the whole station at risk,” he argued.

  “Of course it does,” I said matter-of-factly. He seemed to deflate at my acceptance, “but you tell a waitress or station maintenance to pay a premium when it’s hard enough trying to buy food or keep their quarters paid for.”

  “This is an Imperial Union station,” Quintillus just wouldn’t let it go, “quarantine, inspection, and the staffing or equipment necessary for that are part of the station’s budget and responsibilities.”

  “Wow. I know that I’m young at 38, compared to you,” I looked him up and down with wide eyes, “but for someone so old you really are naive.” I shook my head and headed back up the ramp of my ship.

  “The Imperial Union representative here might have mentioned something about budgeting issues,” he grumbled indignantly. I watched as he swiped the heavy box out from my hands and put in on his shoulder while hauling up the last remaining crate. “Where to for these?”

  “Just over there,” I led him to the last locker which was Cassie’s. He gently set each box down and brushed a hand across his sweaty neck. Stagnant humidity, in the barely recycled air of the lower docking bays, clung to everyone here. It seemed wolves were no exception. In the dark of the large locker he turned slowly, his eyes reflective and his muscles taut. “Come. I’ve got another use for you, wolf.”

  “Lead the way.”

  Quintillus

  The din of the busy docking bay faded away to nothing as I followed the round hips and sweet perfume of Kara’s arousal. She didn’t turn around once to see if I followed her. Not even when we were both back on her ship and I heard the ramp close up behind me did she turn around.

  “And what use do you have for me now, Kara?” The beating of my heart and pounding of blood added to the heat in the air. She didn’t answer me and she didn’t turn around. Her hands rose up to the collar of her tech suit to hit the auto-fastener. Achingly slow she peeled it from her body and let it pool at her feet.

  If I had thought I could smell her arousal before I was wrong. With the suit off, it was like being drowned in warmth and want. My cock was so hard it was almost painful. I felt the uncontrollable urge to run to her and run my nose all along her skin to take in her delectable scent.

  She wore only a thin white top and black shorts. The perspiration we worked up earlier carrying the boxes made her clothes stick to her body. With the cargo hold doors sealed, her environmental controls kicked in, cooling the room and easing the sweltering humidity brought in from outside.

  “Why are you really here, Quintillus?” Kara turned to face me, as she easily stepped from her boots. Her damp skin met the chilly air from her small movement. I couldn’t help as my eyes dipped down to her dark nipples, visibly pebbling under the nearly translucent fabric.

  “I don’t know,” I had thought of a million different ways to answer her from charming to clinical. I decided, as I usually did, to go with honesty. “I just want whatever you’re willing to give.”

  “Are you though?” She left her question hang between us. It was more than fair of her to do so. From the moment I had laid eyes on her, I had hounded her. Wanted her. She stepped close to me and I focused on her lips as she spoke softly, “And what will you give me?”

  “Everything.” Kara only quirked her eyebrow at my quick reply but she couldn’t feel my trepidation. I was telling her the truth. Whatever pull was making me gravitate towards her left no room for doubt. She trailed her hand across my stomach then up my belly to my neck. A shiver passed through my body in anticipation.

  I had already transgressed by coming onto her earlier without her permission. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. The uniform I was wearing wasn’t my normal Mea Lupus tech suit, it was a set of normal clothing, there weren’t any auto-fasteners for her to easily tap.

  As she stepped behind me, trailing her hands along my sides, I could feel her amusement at my restraint. Her palms slid up my back before she curled her fingers to drag her nails down my back. I let out a snarl and she laughed against my spine. The tittering vibration of it tickling across my back.

  “If we do this, no double dipping into my soul,” she rounded me again and gave me a stern look to go with her ultimatum. “I’ll give you permission to fuck my body, nothing more.”

  “Understood,” I said ruefully, “Will you give me permission to use my ability to fuck you well?” She laughed at my cheeky question and the tension from her demand melted away.

  “I’ll allow it, since you’ll need all the help you can get,” she smirked and walked backwards. I laughed and followed her to a cabin not far from the ship’s cargo hold. The bed was large for a ship this size but it was hardly surprising given the long hauls she was apparently known for. Kara reached for the edge of her shirt but I placed my hands on hers, and pushed them away.

  “Allow me,” I smiled and ducked my fingers just below the fabric. It bunched up as I glided it over the soft muscles I found under my finger tips. Kara lifted her hands and I pulled the shirt off entirely. Her breasts made me swallow back the burning lust that threatened to consume me. I lifted them in my hands gently, taking their weight from her undoubtedly sore back, and ran my warm thumbs over her cold nipples. “You’re cold,” my voice was nothing more than a soft whisper.

  “So make me warm again,” There was a rawness to her words that seemed so different from how she had spoken and acted before. I had to rein myself in and not ‘double dip’ as Kara said. If I couldn’t touch her soul, I would reach out with my actions and my body.

  I wrapped my lips around one nipple and warmed it with my tongue, not letting the chilly ship air near it. Kara’s moan and flush of desire echoed in my veins. I palmed the breast I had suckled to keep it warm while I started in on the other with my mouth. Her fingers clutched me close and I was overwhelmed with the deep and rich scent of her skin.

  I groaned as she pushed one hand under my tunic’s collar to score her nails across my back. Panting, I held both of her breasts, massaging them as I kissed my way up her throat. Our lips collided as she kissed me harshly, nipping at my lips and thrashing my tongue.

  Maybe she was punishing me. Maybe she was punishing herself. I could take the former but I refused to allow the latter. I removed my hands to quickly slide off my uniform tunic. While I was glad I wore this instead of my official judicial uniform, it still meant that I was wearing my black trousers.

  Kara stepped forward and reached for my pants but I only smirked, pulling her arms around my warm chest. “I promised to keep you warm.”

  “I don’t remember asking for that promise,” I trailed my hands down her back and dipped my hands under the waistband of her shorts and gripped her ass. The distraction worked to redirect her troubled eyes and thoughts. I didn’t need my empathic ability to see getting close to her beyond the carnal made her uneasy.

  “I give it all the same,” I captured her mouth with my own, not letting her be anywhere else except here. I slipped the last bit of clothing down her hips. She raked her nails down my back a
nd my growl vibrated both our chests. I stole her moans as I consumed her lips and mouth with kisses full of unsaid promises.

  I pressed her body flush against mine, not letting an inch of her free. Not even when she scraped her nails down my stomach, past my belly button, to yank my pants open. With one hand she pushed them down to pool at my feet, and with the other she circled my cock and squeezed. Hard.

  Pressing my forehead to hers I panted in a painful kind of ecstasy. Her tight fist pulled and stroked me. The callouses on her hand scraped the sensitive skin but it was her grip that sent my mind reeling. Every woman I had ever bedded caressed and stroked my cock carefully or playfully. Kara did neither.

  She commanded.

  Kara was unafraid to grip me just as tightly as I would myself. Her claim of ownership over my pleasure was absolute. I wrapped my arms around her and laid us both on the bed. I pressed my heavier body down on her in between kisses and rolled my hips back and away.

  If this was the only chance I was getting it would be about her pleasure and not mine. I leaned back quickly and sat back on my heels just looking down at her beautiful body. Pink and white lines peppered her flesh. Scars of all types showed the hard life she had survived.

  “You’re beautiful,” I whispered in awe. Kara had survived so much and was thriving. Whatever odds she had faced was painted across her skin. Unashamed she cupped her breasts and spread her thighs when I pushed them wider.

  Of the millions of ways I wanted to make her lose her mind in pleasure there was one we could both share enjoyment. Leaning down I licked the seams between her thighs and pussy. Watching her shiver in lust only made my cock bounce between my thighs. I kissed all around and along her lips, teasing her.

  A hard yank on my hair and a growl had me smiling. I sucked on her lips and traced the tip of my tongue around her clit. Then the world exploded.

  Kara

  Quintillus’s growl vibrated through the entirety of my core and had my back arching off the bed in a silent scream. Where before he was teasing now he was like a man possessed.

  He lapped and sucked every inch of my pussy like it was his life on the line. Claws formed at the tips of his fingers and he gripped my hips tighter, ramming my pussy down on his face. His tongue alternated between fucking me and swirling my clit. If I gave more of a shit I’d be worried he would have suffocated and died between my thighs.

  “Fuck,” I breathed, “Qui-Quintillus! Oh fuck your long name! I’m calling you Tilli,” I don’t know who the fuck I was talking to really, me or Quintillus, but it seemed I was the only one hearing me. “Fuck yes, Tilli! Growl deep and tongue fuck my pussy!”

  He wasted no time obeying my command. My hips took on a life of their own and I rode his face buried deep between my thighs. I screamed with my climax but Quintillus was too busy drinking me down to stop. I moaned and pulled him away from my overly sensitive clit. He pressed down on me again as he kissed me deep and slow.

  “Divine Couple,” he panted, “you taste so fucking good. I can’t—I can’t stop.”

  “I’ve had your mouth,” I licked the taste of myself off of his lips and he groaned, “Now give me your cock.” I hooked one leg over his hip in invitation but just like before he took it one step further. His large hand gripped the back of my thigh roughly and he lifted it high as he straddled my other leg.

  I didn’t have to pretend the lust that nearly had my eyes rolling back as he slid his very thick cock between the lips of my pussy. True to his nature he didn’t impale me but slowly inch by torturous inch fed his cock into my wet warmth. With shallow and careful thrusts he worked his way deep within me.

  By the time he was completely inside me, I was shaking at how much he was stretching and forcing my internal muscles to relax around him. Quintillus was inhaling and exhaling sharp pants through he nose, his chest heaving with the effort of being so caring. His eyes were closed in concentration and his throat bobbed as he tried to control himself.

  He had only just met me and he was doing everything he could to make me comfortable. In a moment of insanity and compassion, I reached up and brushed the damp hair away from his closed eyes. He opened them to show eyes halfway between wolf and man.

  “Come here,” I reached up both hands and pulled him in deeper. I kissed him sweetly, returning his care and tenderness. I could push Quintillus to fuck me hard and fast. We both might enjoy it. But that wasn’t what he really wanted. What surprised me more was that I didn’t want that with him either.

  It had been years since I had felt someone touch me so softly and with such reverence. If this was all a ruse to get closer than why couldn’t I fool myself as well? As he slid in and out of me, his cock leaving a delicious ache, I pretended that I was the Kara I should have been.

  Quintillus was the loving husband I should have had. I was the loving wife. This tenderness and trust was born from years of companionship and joy. I wrapped my legs around his hips, squeezing him tight to me. His eyes and claw tipped hands caressed every inch of my body, never stopping his slow deep thrusts.

  I allowed myself this moment of illusion.

  When my eyes looked into his wolf’s eyes I imagined all the love I should have had and I projected that out. His thrusts stuttered and he closed his eyes briefly before snapping them open again. The intensity in his gaze told me he felt what I had given him.

  There was no judgement, no worry, no swagger, nor smirk in his eyes. Pure adoration shone like a blinding light that nearly destroyed my dark facade. Quintillus had no dishonesty in his body. What I saw was exactly what he truly felt for me. It was that brutal truth that sent me over the edge, gasping and whimpering. Quintillus followed me with a strangled groan as he pressed deep one last time.

  Quintillus held me tight as our bodies gave out to exhaustion. True to his word he kept me warm all through the night, and when it came time for him to leave in the morning, it was with tender kisses and promises.

  He promised he would see me again soon.

  I promised myself to always remember who I really was.

  The Ferryman come to take his soul away.

  Oli

  I didn’t know what to do with myself.

  We had been here a month and everyone seemed to have fallen into their own routine except me. Bhar was constantly in the barrack’s gym trying to burn away his aggression. Aphelele and Adohi were working every day to try and follow any trail they could find on the Ferryman. Quintillus spent everyday sitting in judgement at the local courts. And me?

  I sat and studied Mea Lupus history. Mea Lupus politics. Mea Lupus etiquette. Gods, I even had to study Mea Lupus biology and mating. What I was taught in school was nothing compared to what was at my fingertips now. I dropped my head to my desk and groaned.

  Every Imperial Union planet, station, or post had to have Mea Lupus barracks. The ones here were approximately one fourth of the upper deck space, with a bunk hall, command centre, offices, medical centre, gym, private temple to the Divine Couple, as well as two private pack residences built big enough for two contubernium to be stationed here. There never would be, but Castra 3 was required to have facilities for Mea Lupus available all year round.

  This display of power and opulence made my head spin. The others would say that the Mea Lupus barracks here were small and nothing in comparison to some of the official lodging we had been garrisoned in before—especially those nearer to civilisation. I disagreed. Unlike the others, I hadn’t been born Mea Lupus. I knew that every square inch of space on a station was costly. Here, our allotted space sat empty for an entire year, unlocked only for regular maintenance or our arrival.

  No wonder the local population gave us dirty looks every time we went out. The others thought I didn’t notice but I did. Bhar liked to pretend that I was a ‘pup’ but I was 56 years old with twenty years of being a Mea Lupus under my belt. Regardless of what they thought or how they acted, I was a grown ass man.

  A man who understood the people around me, because I u
sed to be them. My ancestors homeland of Hawaii on Terra knew how important it was never to waste resources. As an island nation they didn’t have the luxury to ruin wherever they were and then just move on to somewhere new. Even when our people first ventured into the stars and settled on Kahiki in the Pleiades Cluster every single ounce of weight and inch of space was utilised for the migration.

  The station couldn’t even rent out our area to help with the loss of income from having a large chunk sit here empty. “Fuck’s sake, enough,” I mumbled to myself. I hadn’t beat myself up about the luxuries I was starting to take for granted, since the early years after I had become one of the Chosen.

  Adohi ignored me, like always, but Aphelele stood up from looking over Adohi’s shoulder at his screen. Aphelele was always patient with me but sometimes I preferred Bhar’s affectionate assholery or Adohi’s straight dickheadedness. Aphelele’s compassion felt too much like pity.

  I quickly stepped away from the desk and out of the offices, leaving Aphelele and Adohi behind me in the adjoining command centre. My feet took me to the temple space at the heart of our quarters. The irony of my choice was not lost on me. Nothing was more opulent then a large garden on a space station.

  I bit the inside of my cheek and tried to mentally justify the use of space since they were connected to the medical wing. The garden area also served as a place for recuperation. Mea Lupus physically healed lightyears faster than the average human. This however left a dangerous secondary problem. Physical wounds weren’t just physical; they also affected us psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually.

  Menrva and Caesar may have gifted us many things that came along with the wolf shifting but They didn’t give us superior coping skills. I thought about Bhar or Adohi and was filled with dread. Those two weren’t exactly the picture of long term mental health and they had grown up with all the coping techniques and lessons I was trying desperately to learn.