Eland and Jeanne (Tales of the Shareem) by Allyson James

? I’ve never found safety in my life. I might as well enjoy the danger.”
    The rumble of his voice filled Jeanne with heat. She wanted to agree with everything he said. They could stay cozily here, Eland touching her, Jeanne letting herself savor the joy of that.
    “Wait.” What was she thinking? “You have to go. Get off-planet before you’re caught. I know pilots who could smuggle you out ...”
    “And who might turn them in for the reward,” Judith broke in. “Jeanne’s not wrong, but we have to be careful.”
    Eland caressed Jeanne’s cheek. “Rees and I are hiding out for a while,” he said. “Until things die down. I’m more worried about you, Jeanne. You don’t need to be caught with me.”
    True, the patrollers would come down hard on her for lying to them and helping Eland. On the other hand, Jeanne wanted to stand here for the rest of her life, while Eland cupped her face and spoke to her in his wet-dream-making voice.
    “I’ll fetch some ale,” Judith said. “I’m glad you’re here, Jeanne. It will give me an excuse to bring up extra without anyone downstairs wondering why.”
    She slipped out the door, leaving Jeanne alone with Eland and Rees.
    Jeanne wanted nothing more than to step against Eland, to touch him and make sure he was whole and well. Rees, on the other hand, made her instincts go on the defensive.
    Many years ago, women on Bor Narga were the hunted, taken by any man who wanted them. Wars and too much death had let women emerge as the rulers—at one point men had pretty much died off—but women still had that latent mistrust inside them. Jeanne didn’t have the mistrust for Eland, but she had it for Rees.
    Eland seemed to sense this. “Excuse us, my friend.” He put his arm around Jeanne and steered her firmly toward the guest bedroom.
    “Sure,” Rees said, not sounding offended. “I’ll enjoy Judith, and some ale …”
    Eland didn’t wait for him to finish. He had Jeanne inside the room and the door closed before the last syllables of Rees’s reply fell away.
    ***
    Jeanne was excited, as well as relieved and happy to see him, and Eland knew it. Bred to sense a woman’s every emotion, Eland’s body responded.
    Relief filled him as well. He’d so feared Jeanne would come to harm for helping him, but she obviously hadn’t. In fact, she looked good. Relaxed and smelling of her spice.
    Eland knew she’d been resting in this room, because her presence had taken it over. She was used to being here, he could tell, from the way she was comfortable with the place, could back toward the bed without tripping.
    He didn’t want her on the bed. Not yet. “I missed you,” Eland said.
    Her brows went up. “Did you? You barely know me.”
    “Doesn’t matter. I missed you the minute I had to run out the door and duck the damn patrollers. I’d have given anything to stay. Screw DNAmo, screw being Shareem.”
    “You needed to go.” Jeanne’s arms were jammed across her front, pressing her delectable breasts upward. “The patrollers came looking for you. I didn’t tell them anything.”
    “And for that, I thank you. I knew I had to leave, but I wasn’t finished with you, Jeanne, not by a long way.”
    She swallowed, Eland letting his gaze trace the movement down her throat. She knew damn well what he meant.
    “Judith will be right back.” Jeanne remained rigid, though her breath came faster.
    “I heard all about Judith from Rees. I don’t think she’ll interrupt. Rees won’t let her, anyway.”
    Jeanne blinked. “Why would Rees want you to be alone in here with me? How does he know he can trust me?”
    “Rees is Shareem. He knows what’s going on between us.”
    “Oh.” She didn’t understand fully, Eland could tell, but she would soon.
    “If you want me to leave,” Eland made himself say. “I will. You know that, love. I will walk away and never touch you again, if that’s what you need. It’s always the lady’s choice.”
    Jeanne studied him, her