MenageLost by Cynthia Sax Page B

his
head two arms’ lengths away from his body.
    And then there were three. Furu grinned grimly.
    “What was that?” A yellowed-eyed slaver gazed around him,
all four of his hands shaking. “Who got them? You said you saw only three life
forms.”
    “I did.” The smallest male held out a crude life form
verifier. He frowned, his high forehead creasing with lines. “Though now I read
two. I could have sworn someone was—”
    “It’s the plant.” The leader slid his rifle’s muzzle between
one of the vines and the dead slaver’s neck. He lifted, breathing heavy from
the exertion. Four large thorns pierced the brute’s jugular vein. “The plant
killed him.” The slaver shot the vine in two.
    Steve rattled his leaves, raised a single thorn defiantly
skyward and retracted into the forest, as fearless as the female he had
befriended.
    “A plant killed him?” The yellowed-eyed slaver juggled his
guns between his hands, fidgeting, a Mox-X junkie needing his next fix.
“A plant? How is that possible? I didn’t sign on to fight no planet filled with
killer plants. That’s beyond any—”
    “Shut up.” The leader scanned the trees. “Someone’s coming.”
He motioned to the small male, and they positioned themselves around the mouth
of the path.
    “We have to warn Xan.” Furu glanced at Steve. The plant
rolled his brightly colored blooms, indicating a lack of concern, no love lost
between the two males.
    It’s up to me. Furu aimed at the leader’s exposed
back. I’ll warn him and protect him. He waited and waited and waited,
the element of surprise usable only once. Flesh smacked against rock. The
slavers tensed. Furu squeezed the trigger.
    The red beam arced wide. A tree branch fell, landing with a
heavy thud. I missed. Furu stared, his stomach churning with dread. He
was right there and I missed.
    “He’s behind us!” The leader grabbed the junkie’s chest
covering and yanked the male toward him, using him as a living shield. “You get
him. We’ll kill the other one.”
    A blur of white streamed down the path. Bones crunched. The
small slaver toppled to the ground, his head twisted to an unnatural angle.
    Xan. Furu’s mouth dropped open, his warrior lover an
awe-inspiring sight. Xan crouched behind the dead man, his shoulders wide and
his biceps flexed. He yanked a gun from the corpse’s twitching fingers and
spun, firing.
    The junkie shrieked and dropped his weapons to grab his
throat. Blood spurted, his cries flowing into gurgles, his knees folding under
him.
    “A Balazoid .” The leader’s face paled. He scurried
away from Xan, shooting wildly.
    “A Dreck.” Xan calmly aimed his gun and shot.
    The leader flew backward, his spine connecting with a tree
trunk, the thunk painfully loud. His body slid downward, his mouth rounded, a
gore-filled hole where his forehead once was.
    “My Dreck.” Furu stood, his knees stiff. Xan pivoted toward
him, naked, his gun in his hand, his red-eyed gaze feral, and Furu froze, his
heart pounding. “Easy, Xan.” He raised his hands, his palms open and empty.
“It’s me.”
    “Furu.” Xan sagged, lowering his gun, as Furu approached.
“Are there more of them?”
    “Before they landed, I only read five life forms.” Furu
wrapped his arms around the big male’s waist and pressed his face into his bare
chest, inhaling his musky scent, savoring the warmth of his body. “I thought
I’d never see you again.”
    “You would have seen me again. I would have traveled across
every known galaxy to find you.” Xan gripped him tightly, his rough fingers
spanning his back. “And then battled death himself to bring you back.”
    Furu swallowed hard, his eyes pricking with tears he’d never
admit to. “You’ve never…” His voice broke, the emotion unmanageable.
    “Our breeder tells me I should talk more,” Xan replied
gruffly. “She is an unnatural creature.” He pressed his lips to Furu’s
forehead.
    “She is,” Furu agreed. Skin slid against