Testing Jayla Read online

  Here's the final draft of TESTING JAYLA, complete with nasty art. I made some changes in the pacing to improve the flow of the story. Hope you enjoy it!

  By ANGELA KNIGHT

  Copyright January, 2002

  Her skin seemed to burn, too tight, too hot, her nipples fiercely erect on the full globes her breasts had become. The ache between her thighs was so maddening she could only twist helplessly on the medical bunk's sheets. She craved Eric Gray's big, hard body like a drug. To hell with his rank and hers, too hell with his vampirism, to hell with everything but need. She imagined how he'd look, how he'd feel as he drove his cock into her creaming sex, all that feral male strength and ruthless hunger finally turned her way. Just as she'd always dreamed.

  Unable to resist the clawing demands of her changed body, Jayla Carstairs buried two fingers into her pussy with a strangled yowl. The slick, luscious sensation drove her to stroke deeper, faster. As she pumped her hand, a faint whimper escaped her lips. It sounded more like shame than pleasure. She ignored it, too focused on the incredible feelings that were so much more intense than anything she'd ever felt before.

  But deep in her mind, a small voice wailed, What have I done to myself? Why the hell did I listen to that bitch bloodslave? The thought was quickly drowned in a hot wave of sexual hunger as her stroking fingers shot her toward the climax her body demanded. The cool intellectualism she'd always prided herself on didn't stand a chance against the overwhelming lust raking her mind.

  As she collapsed panting in the aftermath, images flashed through her brain: Captain Eric Gray, ironwood blade in one hand as he fought the pirates who had tried to board the Starclipper last week, his strong body big and hard and tempting....

  One week earlier

  As the wave of pirates poured into the docking bay from their own vessel, every man, woman and alien on the Clipper grabbed the nearest weapon and ran to drive them back. The entire deck became a roaring mass of shoving, straining bodies. Gray was in the lead, plowing into the invaders with blinding speed and vampire strength. His eyes glowed with a burning, black rage that anyone would dare try to seize his precious startrader.

  Tanaka Jones was right behind him. Showing his fangs in a snarl, the executive officer drove a punch into the nearest pirate's skull, killing the man instantly. Kerre Farr fought at his side, her exotic mocha skin gleaming with sweat, gold eyes blazing like a berserker's as she punched and kicked any enemy that came into her path.

  Jayla herself was a science officer, not a fighter, but she'd picked up a stun stick like everybody else and pitched in to help repel the pirates. Instinct kept her at Gray's heels. Not only was it the safest place to be, but she felt a gnawing need to see that he was safe.

  Jabbing at a pirate with the slick gray rod, she listened to the howls as it jangled her victims' nervous systems. He swung at her, desperately trying to stop the pain, but she ducked his wild attack and kept the stick planted in his ribs. Finally the man's body could take no more, and he collapsed on the deck.

  Jayla looked up from him just in time to see a strange vampire, an ironwood knife in his hand, closing in on her captain's broad, unprotected back. Gray had his hands full with a pair of aliens, and didn't see his new attacker. Yelling a warning, she threw herself at the pirate, driving the stun stick at his face.

  He whipped around, his big fist arching toward her head. There was no time to duck. Her last thought before the lights went out was, Damn, the captain's going to be pissed...

  Jayla regained consciousness an hour later in the Starclipper's sickbay. The ship's med tech cheerfully informed her the pirates had been routed. Half of them had fled back to their ship, while the rest were locked up in the brig. The captain had killed the vampire who'd knocked her out, and the comp techies were working to plug the hole in the computer systems that had allowed the pirates to disable the Clipper's defenses and board in the first place.

  The captain came by soon afterward with Farr, who needed to have a wound in her thigh sealed. As the med tech worked over the security officer, Gray gave Jayla a royal chewing out, his black eyes hot and snapping in his handsome, angular face.

  "Whatever happened to yelling, 'Look out!'" he demanded, while she tried not to stare helplessly at his sensual mouth. "You're a tech, Carstairs. You're not equipped to go one-on-one with a vampire."

  A tiny, impish voice in her mind whispered, Maybe, but I'd love to try.

  "If any vamps need killing, I'll take care of it," the captain continued, rocking back on his heels as he glared at her. "But I'd better never catch you doing anything that damn stupid again."

  She listened to him growl for several minutes more, thinking dryly that there must be something seriously warped about her to find anything sexy about a man who was telling her off so vehemently. Pitiful, Carstairs. Her infatuation with Gray was really getting out of hand.

  At last he whirled and stalked out, gesturing at Farr, who trailed in his wake with one last long, cryptic look at Jayla.

  That night, after the med tech finally released her, Jayla returned to her quarters to find Farr standing in the hall beside the door. That cryptic expression was back on the bloodslave's golden face, a curl of secret amusement in the set of her wide mouth as she stepped to meet Jayla. "May I have a word?"

  Astonished but working to hide it, Jayla summoned her manners and invited her visitor inside. Something about Farr's lush, overwhelming presence made her quarters feel even more cramped than usual. Quickly scooping a stray uniform tunic off her desk chair, she gestured for the bloodslave to have a seat. "What can I do for you?" She wondered if her curiosity showed. She'd served on the Clipper for two years now, and Farr had never paid a visit. In fact, as far as Jayla knew, the security chief didn't socialize with anyone but the captain and Jones. And she maintained a professional distance even with them, at least in public.

  What she did with her two vampire masters in private was something Jayla tried very hard not to think about.

  "The captain has granted us all a month's leave," Farr said, sitting back to cross her endless legs the black skinsuit that slicked over every curve. "He's decided the Clipper's computer system needs a complete overhaul, and that's going to take time. We'll be docking at Langella in two days."

  "I'm sure the leave will be welcome," Jayla said politely, instantly resolving to spend the time exploring the planet's large and thriving vampire community. There weren't many worlds where so many blood-drinkers would be welcome, but Langella had been founded as a vamp colony to begin with. "But I'm a little curious as to why you felt it necessary to drop by and tell me personally."

  Farr shrugged her elegantly muscled shoulders. "I wanted to let you know I'll be leaving the ship at Langella. My contract's up, and I plan to find another ... employer."

  Jayla blinked, two thoughts flashing through her head simultaneously: Again, why tell me? and What will the captain do?

  "Captain Gray, will, of course, begin looking for another bloodslave." Farr studied her with calculation, tilting her lovely head to one side. "I thought you might want to do something about that."

  Jayla's brows shot up. The term "bloodslave" was a misnomer, of course; they weren't true slaves. Paid submissives, they served a given vampire under a standard two-year contract, providing him with the sex and blood he needed to survive. With a metabolism that mirrored that of the vampires they served, bloodslaves could withstand repeated feedings that would have killed a human. And their hyper-intense sensuality made the feeding more satisfying to their vamp dominants. And, no doubt, to themselves.

  Jayla couldn't imagine what she could offer Gray that could compete with that. "Me? Why?"

  Farr laughed shortly. "Please. Don't insult my intelligence. I may be human on paper, but my sen
ses are vampire. Whenever you're in the same room with Gray, the scent of desire rolls off you in waves."

  Jayla knew she must be turning bright red. "I..." Realizing she was about to stammer, she gathered her self-control and lifted her chin. "I doubt I'm the only one."

  This time the laugh was genuine. "No, you're not. You are, on the other hand, the only one whose lust is returned."

  Jayla blinked. "What?"

  "He wants you," Farr said bluntly. "He's wanted you for months. But you're human, and he's funny about humans, so he's kept his distance. Too, you're crew, and his sense of honor won't let him poach on his own people. But he wants you anyway."

  "You're out of your orbit." Rising restlessly to her feet, she paced away from the bloodslave, trying to ignore the crazy bloom of hope that Farr was right.

  "I know after he chewed your little ass out this afternoon, he fucked mine hard and deep," the security chief said crudely. "And I can tell you, he wasn't thinking about me while he did it. It wasn't the first time, either."

  "Yeah, well, he's never given me the slightest indication that he's interested." Jayla stiffened, her eyes narrowing as a dark suspicion occurred to her. She turned to stare at her visitor. "This is some kind of nasty little joke, isn't it?"

  Farr gave her an offended glare. "I don't play those kinds of games."

  "So why tell me? If you're leaving because you're insulted by his interest in me, why the hell would you do anything to help us get together?"

  The bloodslave sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Look, I don't really hold you responsible for the way things shook out. The chemistry was never that good between us to begin with. I shouldn't even have taken the job; I knew going in that I'm not submissive enough for him, and he's too dominant for me. But at the time, I needed work." She crossed her ankles and stared, brooding, at the tips of her boots. "In the two years since, I've gotten fond of Gray, despite our differences. I'd like to see him happy for once. There's a sadness about him.... I don't see any reason he should go on wanting you the way he does, with you wanting him just as much, when you could be together so easily. It offends my sense of ... order."

  Jayla felt her heart begin to beat a little harder. Maybe Farr wasn't playing with her after all. Maybe Gray really was interested. "Okay, so I'll ask him."

  The security chief shot her an impatient look. "And he'll tell you I've got a bug in my hard drive. Gray isn't going to take you no matter how much you want each other - unless you have the procedure."

  Her eyes widened in astonishment. "You're suggesting I become a bloodslave?"

  "Didn't I say so to begin with? You can't tell me you're not dying to do it. You've got a sub streak a kilometer wide. That's one reason you fascinate Gray, bull dom that he is."

  Jayla shook her head with a laugh she knew wasn't the least convincing. "You really are off your orbit."

  Farr stood up with a snort of impatience. "Look, do whatever the hell you want. But I'm telling you, if you don't go down there and get it done, you're going to regret it while you lie in that cold, narrow little bunk of yours. Because I can assure you, Gray's not going to go without another bloodslave for very long." She reached into a slit in her skinsuit and pulled out a small plastic disk. "This is an ident chip for the broker he uses. Get in contact with her when we dock at Langella. She's a friend of his. Ask her what he thinks of you."

  Farr flipped her the chip and stalked out without a backward glance.

  During the rest of the trip to Langella, Jayla debated mentally about what Farr had told her. Yet the more she thought about becoming a bloodslave, the more the idea tempted her.

  Unfortunately, that meant she'd first have to endure the process that would transform her body. She'd be injected with a modified form of the vampire virus which would give her the healing ability and strength she'd need to better serve her new master's hungers without injury. And Jayla knew from her research that the transformation wouldn't be a pleasant process.

  Nor would it be cheap. If Charit Moore agreed to change her, the broker would receive a cut of whatever Jayla made as a bloodslave until the cost of the procedure was paid off. She was nervously aware she'd be in debt for years.

  Yet she also knew it would be worth it. Farr was right; she'd always fantasized about belonging to some gorgeous vampdom who'd do everything to her she'd secretly dreamed about. In fact, she'd seen more than her share of simmies with that very theme, particularly after meeting Gray and falling under his sensual spell. Hell, that was why Jayla had signed on with him to begin with when so many humans wouldn't even serve under a vampire captain.

  She'd been secretly disappointed when he'd maintained the same cool, professional distance with her he had with the rest of the crew. So she'd hidden her interest behind her own professional mask, even as she spent her evenings with a vibrator watching pornographic simmies of bloodslave getting bound and fucked by well-hung vampires.

  Now she'd had enough. She was sick of never going after what she wanted, sick of never taking a chance.

  She'd do it.

  Yeah, maybe Gray would turn her down, and she'd end up with a crushed and broken heart. So be it. She'd just have Moore find her another vampdom and rebuild her life with someone else. Better that than pining hopelessly after a man who not only did not return her interest, but who was aware of it and didn't care. Jayla hadn't forgotten Moore's mocking comment about smelling her desire; she knew with stinging shame Gray was just as aware of it as the bloodslave was.

  So when they'd made planetfall at Langella and Jayla had received permission to take leave, she'd hailed the first skycab that came along and took it to Moore's brokerage house.

  Charit Moore, herself a vampire, was licensed to perform the bloodslave procedure on those who qualified. She also provided a sort of compatibility service, matching up bloodslaves and vampires based on their psyche profiles. Jayla had heard Gray speak of her even before Farr had mentioned her; she was apparently a good friend of his.

  The question was, would she tell Jayla that Farr had played a very elaborate, very ugly practical joke?

  Well, there was only one way to find out.

  Heart hammering, Jayla paid the cab off and started up the walk.

  Whatever she'd expected a bloodslave brokerage house to look like, Moore's wasn't it. The long, low building was built of some glowing white stone that was probably quarried locally. Something about its elegant columns reminded Jayla vaguely of an ancient temple. Swallowing, she gathered her courage and approached its soaring wooden door, which swung silently outward at her approach.

  A woman in a long, flowing gown stepped out to meet her. A cyberserver unit, judging from the iridescent shimmer of her eyes.

  Jayla explained her business. The cyberserver hesitated -- probably listening to instructions through an internal com unit -- then ushered her inside down a long hallway to the broker's office.

  Moore stood with a professional smile as she walked in. Sizing one another up, they exchanged polite greetings. The broker was short and delicate of build -- a result of having been born centuries before, in a time when nutrition wasn't as good. Her eyes were wide and velvet brown in her ageless, heart-shaped face. She wore a red skinsuit that revealed every impressive curve as she gestured Jayla to one of the thickly padded armchairs that stood before her desk.

  "When the cyberserver relayed your name, I was a bit surprised," Moore said. Her fangs flashed between her lush, smiling lips as she spoke. "Gray speaks of you often."

  "Positively, I hope." Sinking into her chair, Jayla looked around. An aura of sensuality hung over the room, from the intricately carved wood of the desk to the marble fireplace set in one wall. Flames leaped merrily from the logs. Back on Earth, such a waste of natural resources would have been frowned upon, but out here in the colonies, it was expected.

  Moore smiled. "Of course. He thinks a great deal of you. Cafa?" She walked to a sideboard and reached for an intricately engraved silver pitcher that stood between t
wo cups.

  "Yes, please." It would give her something to do with her hands.

  After Moore had returned to her seat and they were sipping the sweet, steaming beverage, Jayla gathered her courage. "I want to have the procedure done, Ms. Moore. How do I go about it?"

  "Ohhhh," the vampire said, leaning back in her seat to study her with speculation. "Does Gray know you're here?"

  Jayla met her dark eyes cooly. "I wasn't aware I needed his permission."

  Moore blinked. "No, I don't suppose you do. But ... he does talk about you. I just wasn't sure..." She shrugged. "Well, the whole point's moot until we see the results of the psyche tests anyway. I can't Change you if you don't qualify for the procedure."

  As her mouth went dry, Jayla nodded. "Yes, I gathered that from my research."

  The vampire nodded briskly. "Then let's find out, shall we?"