Loving Kit (Felines of Furyne Book 1) Page 6

  “I have more money than I could spend in a lifetime,” Halor explained as he took a seat beside them. “There’s no need to repay anything.”

  “Working as a courier pays that well?”

  “No,” Kit replied with a snort of laughter. “Though as a bird with an unerring sense of direction, he does get paid a little more than some of the others. Halor, however, is a member of the royal family of Hawk.”

  Logan stared at Halor, who shrugged with apparent embarrassment.

  “So, as you can see, there’s no need to pay him back,” Kit continued. “He won’t accept anything, anyway.”

  “Why the grimace back in the store then?”

  “I just don’t like being overcharged,” Halor explained. “But Kit is right. You don’t need to pay me back for anything.”

  “Will you accept my thanks, at least?” Logan asked.

  Halor smiled. “That I will. Now, if you’re familiar with the computer, how about you pull up the course your ships were on and we’ll take things from there.”

  Although he found it difficult to use a computer without anything resembling a keyboard, after plenty of practice with the holographic device, Logan quickly navigated his way to the star charts.

  “This is Earth,” Logan said. “We came from here and we were taking a fairly direct route through to here, Beta 9ZX8JC—or New Earth, as we generally called it.”

  With another touch of the screen, Logan showed them the long route, out of Earth’s solar system and through the vastness of space.

  Halor, with the ease of practice, pulled up a second star chart—this one crowded with notes and mapped-out zones—and superimposed it onto Logan’s route.

  “It seems as if you were just over halfway through your journey. Your New Earth is largely uninhabited due to the volcanic activity on most of the islands. I’m not sure I would want to live there.”

  “Our numbers are relatively few and we intended to settle on the only island without an active volcano. We also have technology that we hope can harness the power of the volcanoes if we ever have to migrate to one of the other islands.”

  Halor centred the view on the part of the route that was inside a zone marked in flashing red lights. “This is the restricted area your ship entered. It is part of the Antrill territory. They are a powerful species due to their vast numbers and most of us stay out of their way, even when we run into them in neutral zones.”

  “They keep slaves, too,” Kit said with hiss of anger. “Most of your people will probably still be in this zone.”

  “How far behind your ship are the other two?” Halor asked.

  “The second ship was scheduled to launch sixty days after the one I was on—the third another thirty days after the second.”

  Halor scrolled through charts and lists of incomprehensible figures and diagrams so fast that Logan could barely keep up. “Damn.”

  “What is it?” Kit asked.

  “The second craft will be in the zone before we can reach it,” Halor replied.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Logan’s ship was taken and held for fourteen days while the auction was arranged and announced. The sale was eighteen days ago with Logan waking thirteen days ago. We’ve been travelling on roughly the same trajectory as the Earth ships are, but from the far side of the Antrill territory. If the second craft launched on time and is doing the same speed along the same route, it will enter restricted space in around twenty-eight days. My baby is fast, but even if we went directly through Antrill territory, it would take over thirty days to intercept the craft. And unfortunately, now that the auction is over, we’re going to have to detour around the Antill’s territory, which will take even longer.”

  “How long?” Logan asked.

  “My guess is it’ll take something like fifty days to reach it, maybe forty-eight if we push her to her limits.”

  Logan sighed and leaned back in his seat. “We should be able to reach the last one though, right?”

  “We’ll reach both of them,” Kit said.

  “But Halor just said…”

  “Halor has another ship, one three times as fast as this one,” Kit explained. “And we’re only seven days away from his planet right now. We can swap crafts and have another twenty-five days to reach your people. Even detouring around the edge of Antrill territory that should be plenty of time.”

  “Plus, we’ll have to factor in at least a day with my family,” Halor muttered. “They aren’t going to just let me make a flying visit this time.”

  Kit snickered. “They aren’t that bad.”

  Halor grunted and tapped at the display again. “Let’s just get this over with. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave. Maybe I can persuade them that I’ll make it a longer visit when I switch ships back again.”

  “Why don’t you use the faster ship all the time?” Logan asked.

  “There isn’t much space for cargo,” Kit said. “Plus, Halor bought this ship with his own money, earned from his job. It’s a matter of pride for him. The other one is part of the royal fleet. It’s a luxury craft. You’ll love it.”

  Logan chuckled as Kit described the wonders of the vehicle fit for the royal prince. The feline had clearly spent a lot of time in the bedchamber on it, at least if his enthusiasm for the captain’s quarters were anything to go by. He guessed he would see for himself soon enough.

  Chapter Four

  The moment Halor stepped from the spaceship he was surrounded by people.

  “The royal guards,” Kit whispered to Logan. “They trail after him whenever he’s on his home world.”

  “I’m surprised they would let him go around unprotected when he leaves here,” Logan said. “The royal families on my planet are all guarded constantly.”

  “It’s the same here,” Kit said. “I’m not sure how he can get away with not having at least one guard on the ship. There’s room for two more people—well, one, now that you’re on board. It probably helps that he’s one of the youngest of his nest. He’s not as important as his older brothers, and he has a lot of those.”

  “He does?”

  “Oh yes,” Kit confirmed. “He is the youngest from the third laying of his mother. There were six in his lay and five in each of the two lays before him.”

  “That’s a big family.”

  “Yes, even bigger than mine,” Kit said. “I was the youngest of a litter of eight. It was my mama’s second litter, and there were fifteen of us altogether.”

  “I just had one younger sister,” Logan said. “Well, I still do, actually. She’s in stasis on the third ship. She’s a medic.”

  “I hope I get to meet her one day.”

  A loud screeching noise startled Logan and Kit, who both cringed.

  “What is that?” Logan asked.

  “That would be the Halor’s mother,” Kit replied with a nod in the direction of the walkway. “Queen Valencia. She can be a little intense.”

  Halor let his mother sweep him into his arms, somewhat reluctantly if the expression on his face was anything to go by.

  “We’ll have a banquet to celebrate your return,” the queen declared.

  “That’s really not necessary,” Halor argued.

  “Of course it is,” his mother insisted. “You missed your hatchday again. We can make up for that with a lavish celebration.”

  “It appears as if we’re having a party,” Kit whispered.

  The queen shot a steely glance in their direction. “Ah, I see you still have the feline in your nest, and who or what is that with him?”

  “This is Logan,” Halor said, waving him forward. “He’s a human, recently travelled to these parts and the newest member of our crew.”

  “And are you bedding him, too?” A male bird who had similar features to Halor asked with a sneer.

  “Halor’s oldest brother,” Kit murmured to Logan. “The crown prince. He hates me with a passion.”

  “Why?”

  “He invited me
to join his nest of whores and I turned him down.”

  “Why did you knock him back?”

  Kit gave him an odd look. “I’m not a whore, even if it is the most popular profession of my species.”

  Logan put his arm around Kit’s shoulders and gave him a quick hug. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you.”

  Kit purred at his side. “I’m an oddity amongst my kind. Felines aren’t known for being faithful or even particularly selective about their sexual partners. Halor was my first and I’ve been faithful to him completely, at least until you came along.”

  Logan gave Kit a peck on the cheek. “Halor was with us in the bathroom. You were hardly being unfaithful to him.”

  They followed the queen and Halor out of the spaceship docking area and into the open air. The sky was blue and the water likewise, but other than that, there were few similarities between Hawkri and Earth.

  The walkway stretching ahead of them led to a tree-like structure that had metal branches spreading out in all directions attaching to similar gigantic metal trees, which in turn linked to others.

  Vehicles flew between the trees, some small, others large, but all shaped like giant birds, with painted faces on the tips.

  “The royal palace is close by,” Kit said. “It’s a golden tree right in the centre of the Hawk lands.”

  “What other lands are there?” Logan asked.

  “More than you can count,” Kit replied. “Not all are on this planet, though. The birds are spread across more than a dozen worlds. Each has one royal family on it. The royals are the hunters of the species. The Hawks are here and their nearest royal neighbours, still a season’s travel away, are the Eagles. All the planets have workers on them, too. This one has mostly pigeons, sparrows, and woodpeckers, though there are others, as well.”

  “We had all those bird species on Earth. It’s strange that they have the same names here.”

  Kit laughed. “They don’t, but the translator will substitute the nearest equivalent name for you.”

  “What if there is no equivalent name for something?” Logan asked.

  “Then it will give you something really stupid instead,” Kit said. “You’ll find it generally works very well because most of the inhabited worlds evolved in a similar fashion. Hopefully your Earth is the same.”

  “It’s definitely nothing like this place,” Logan commented as he followed Kit into a large, shiny silver vehicle. He took his seat and a moment later Kit left his own seat to climb onto Logan’s lap. Logan could feel him shaking. “Are you okay?”

  Kit nodded, but he continued to quiver.

  “Kit doesn’t care for flying,” Halor remarked from his seat in the row in front of them, next to the queen.

  “But we’ve just been hurtling through space.”

  “That’s different,” Kit said. “You can’t feel the movement in space—well, not unless you hit something. These awful contraptions make it clear you’re flying high above the ground, and if we fall, we land in water.”

  “He doesn’t like water, either,” Halor added. “He can manage showers, but you’ll never persuade him to take a bath or go swimming.”

  “Poor kitty,” Logan teased. “Come here. I’ll keep you safe.”

  Kit curled into him, nuzzling his neck and whimpering from the moment they left the ground.

  “So your pet whore wants to bed the human creature,” Halor’s brother said. “How unconventional.”

  “Shut up, Vorgan,” Halor replied. “Kit is my Prime Beak, and as such, you’ll speak to him with respect.”

  “Prime Beak?” Logan asked.

  “The highest-ranking member of a nest, save for the owner,” Halor explained.

  “Also known as the favourite whore,” Vorgan added in an undertone. “Making a feline Prime Beak is an insult to our people.”

  Logan stroked Kit’s fur, keeping him as calm as he could as the feline’s fear mounted. “Hush, hush,” he whispered. “We’ll be there soon.”

  “How would you know?” Kit muttered. “You’ve never been here before.”

  “Because you told me it was close,” Logan teased.

  “Maybe the human creature would like to join my nest,” Vorgan said. “If he does, perhaps he can persuade the feline whore to, as well.”

  Logan glared over his shoulder. “I have no interest in joining your nest and neither does Kit. And if you call him a whore just one more time, I’ll knock your bloody block off.”

  He wasn’t sure if his threat had made it through the translator or not, but Vorgan remained quiet for the rest of the journey, which gave Logan the opportunity to concentrate on keeping Kit calm.

  Thankfully, the flight was short and they soon landed in what appeared to be a large garden. Ahead of them, a huge golden tree-like structure shone in the midday sun.

  Once they were out of the vehicle, Kit stopped shaking, though he still clung to Logan’s arm.

  “The banquet will begin at sunset,” the queen announced. “That will be the welcome home celebration. Then we’ll throw your hatchday party tomorrow.”

  “We’ll be leaving in the morning,” Halor said.

  “Don’t be silly, darling. You can’t leave so soon. You’ve only just arrived.”

  “We’re on a vitally important mission,” Halor explained. “I need to use my official spacecraft.”

  “Princes don’t go on ‘vitally important’ missions,” the queen replied. “Now, which rooms do you wish me to place your guests in?”

  “Kit stays with me,” Halor said. “Logan can either do the same or you can put him in the adjoining chambers. It’s up to him.”

  Logan couldn’t deny the attraction he felt to his two companions, but he didn’t feel comfortable enough in sharing a bed with them yet. They hadn’t pushed him for anything in the last week, and while Kit did touch him whenever he was close, they hadn’t done anything more than exchange a few chaste kisses. “I’ll take the room next door, if that’s okay with you?”

  Kit sighed in obvious disappointment. “If you change your mind, you won’t be far from us.”

  “I just need a bit of time to get used to all of this.”

  “And we’ll give it to you,” Halor assured him. “Won’t we, Kit?”

  Kit grumbled under his breath.

  “Don’t sulk,” Logan scolded him, “or I won’t let you drink my cream.”

  Kit brightened considerably at Logan’s words and Logan reflected that Kit truly was very much like the cats of Earth in that respect. The promise of food immediately cheered him. It was a moment before he realised what he had said and the implications of it. He had virtually told Kit that he was going to let him suck his cock in the very near future. The thought didn’t scare him so much as it aroused him.

  Halor parted company from the two of them briefly, following his mother to his father’s audience chamber to pay his respects and ask after his health. It was mostly a formality, and Halor promised to return to them soon.

  Kit joined Logan in his room, showing him how things operated and picking out suitable clothing for him to wear to the royal banquet that evening.

  “Doesn’t anyone other than humans wear shirts?” Logan asked.

  “Only on the really cold planets,” Kit said.

  “I feel half naked in just this kilt thing.”

  Kit slipped his hand under the garment in question and took Logan’s cock in a firm grip. “I prefer you all naked.”

  “I’ll bet you do,” Logan said.

  Kit met his eyes as he waited for Logan to decide. “Is it too soon?” he whispered.

  Logan knew if he said yes then Kit would stop immediately. Do I want him to?

  As he stared into Kit’s green eyes, he could be nothing but completely honest with himself. He untied the belt and let the silky fabric fall to the floor. “Hungry?”

  Kit nodded. “Famished.”

  Logan smiled and removed Kit’s hand from his erection. “Will they be serving cream at the
banquet?” As soon as he spoke the words, a vision popped into his head of men gathered around a punch bowl, hard at work, filling it with cream. The ridiculousness of the idea made him realise he already knew the answer to his question.

  “Sort of.”

  Logan frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “There aren’t many felines on this world, and the few that do live here are whores. They have to feed, the same as the rest of us.”

  “But in public?”

  “Of course. It’s a banquet.”

  “But you’re talking about people sucking cocks at the dinner table.”

  “One or two might wait until they can feed privately, but yes, most will feed in front of others. Feeding isn’t necessarily the same as making love—not for us, anyway.”

  “It just seems strange. What do male felines who aren’t gay do?”

  “Gay?”

  “Gay is what we call those who take pleasure with their own gender,” Logan clarified. “But what about those who prefer women to men? Or females who take their pleasure with other women?”

  “Oh, our females are able to offer nourishment from other sources,” Kit said, gesturing to his chest.

  “Human women can only do that when they’ve just given birth. They often breastfeed their babies,” Logan offered.

  “Our females do that, too, but they can also produce another type of milk whenever they have a partner who needs nourishment. I just prefer cream.”

  Logan sat on the edge of a long, curved sofa and Kit knelt at his feet. “I would rather you didn’t drink my cream in public, if you don’t mind?”

  Kit nodded, smiled, and licked his lips.

  “Would Halor object to us doing this without him present?” Logan asked.

  “No, of course not. Why would he?”

  Logan shrugged. Why indeed?

  Kit inched closer and Logan spread his legs a little wider. He was already aching and Kit’s lips hadn’t even touched him yet.

  “Kit?”

  “Yes?”

  “Where I come from, this isn’t just about feeding. It often means a lot more than that. For me, it’s a way of sharing myself with someone I have feelings for. It’s more intimate.”