The last MAN of Liliport had died during the war when someone came down the river and took him and his brother out while on patrol, and so Tosser was plucked personally by the matriarch from the boarder to Campora – where all the real action was - to come and protect Liliport.

I guess there just wasn’t any real strong contenders, but the novus seemed to agree with the choice, since they respected the pecking order, where the most vicious and hungry sat at the top.

And Tosser- he had a really reputation for biting first, asking later.

If Tosser happened to be in the area and he smelt problems, he was going to make it your problem for the rest of your life. MAN could be aggressive, but usually they were good listeners and problem solvers when it came to sapiens. Novus were given a much shorter leash, but sapiens? The MAN and other peacekeepers would try to talk to.

But Tosser wasn’t a good listener, or a problem solver.

All the stories I heard about him were not good ones, even if they involved sapiens.

He was just your all around basic nightmare, ending problems with brute force.

I knew the girls in the peacekeepers all loved him because he was a lot more friendly than the previous MAN, who I guess was a stick in the mud or whatever, and I get that the sapiens liked him because he kept the novus in line, but still.

You didn’t want to cross his path.

Even the people that liked him didn’t want to cross his path.

He was basically exactly what my church preached was the devil.

Attractive, but, you know.

Evil.

So I got out of the ocean, and I behaved, because I just wanted to have fun for my allotted fun hours, but I didn’t want to be noticed by anyone.

Not the peacekeepers.

Not my Dad.

Not anyone.

Not for my three hours at night I was having fun by myself.

Tonight, I decided to have a little bit of extra fun since I didn’t have any morning classes and could sleep in until noon before the dorm master came in and yelled at me.

There was a club I had seen while riding the railcars the other night and I decided to give it a try – they let sapiens in for free, which was what I needed because my money was tightly monitored by my Dad, and if he found out I went to a club in Liliport, he would make sure I was never able to step a foot off the college campus before I graduated from it.

The only reason I think he didn’t already have a guard at my building, watching me, was because he thought I was too stupid to get myself into to much trouble. Back at home, I rarely wandered far from the street we lived on, usually hanging out a parks or laying around in the grass reading sci-fi novels.

So I better enjoy my freedom while I could.

I didn’t have anything better to wear then the only things I had, which were slacks, simple T shirts and even simpler jackets, since the church didn’t allow for cloths that were to flashy or revealing. I got a funny look when I came up to the door, but just as I began to sweating about the pair of novus at the entry not letting me in, they opened the door for me and I entered a strange, dark world of music, energy, and sex.

I bobbed to the music, shimmying a little before I saw a pair of guys at the bar looking at me and laugh. I grinned nervously before I turned away from them, leaning against the bar to stare awkwardly at the ceiling. There was a whole light show going on up there, and on the second story to the club there was a trio of beautiful women shouting down to a group of people on the first floor. One climbed over the railing and I stilled, watching as she dropped down from the balcony and right into the arms of another girl below, and I laughed.

Neat!

When the girls started kissing I stilled, watching.

Alrighty then!

My Dad would slap the teeth right out of my face if I ever tried to kiss a guy, but, you know, novus weren’t so selective about their partner’s genders.

Sapiens however, especially those in my church…

You were only heterosexual.

Because there was just no other choice.

Novus were the devil, and sodomy was the devil’s past time, after all.

I mean. Yeah. That was kind of one of the things I was struggling with that was on the long list of disappointments for my family.

My attraction to men. I was basically told that I was going to stay single for the rest of my life until I ‘got over it’ when I mentioned it to my Dad, and that...that was as good as it was going to get for me.

But if I happened to run into a guy here tonight, which happened to be the one night of the week the club encouraged only homosexual sapiens to be here….

I mean, it was dark. I wouldn’t oppose, you know, maybe just a kiss?

Sometimes I thought about what it might be like, and when I read some books, was always more attracted to the male lead then the female, and, you know-

God didn’t make mistakes.

So that was one of the big things I was struggling with at my church. There was just a lot of contradictions, and things I didn’t feel were entirely lining up with what I felt and experienced personally.

I had met a lot of really lovely novus people at school, and I had also personally felt some great love in my heart for men.

So I choose tonight at this club to specifically see if I couldn’t test whether or not it was just a rebellious hair like my Dad called most of my thoughts, or something that was just part of what God made me to be.

As long as it wasn’t with a novus, I was okay.

I quietly prayed for the lord to give me a little bit of guidance so I knew what path to take, and if I was doing what was right.

I reached down and untucked my shirt from my pants because I was in a more casual setting, patting my belt before I rested my hands on the bar, drumming my fingers as the novus bartender eyed me. I bobbed my head, looking away before I tried to think of something funny or witty to say.

Someone slid up to me at the bar, standing so close I could feel the swell of the muscles on their forearms and I felt myself flush, because WOW, that was fast. I continued to bob my head to the music. The same arm that had pressed to mine moved, stretching out around me to hold on to the bar on my other side.

It was kind of threatening.

And hot.

But forbidden.

Which made it even hotter.

And God, my Dad was going to beat my ass, but what was just a little bit of fun in the city, as long as it was with another sapien? Right? Right?

I cleared my throat, turning a little to see the scared face of -

Oh, fuck me.

Our city’s MAN.

Tosser.

Though if you ever called him that to his face he’d, you know, toss you.

“Terry Humblefellow,” I said smoothly, “How’s it, uh, going...” I said, my gaze sliding down him to see he was wearing just his peacekeeper jeans and a sleeveless shirt, his arms covered in scars and tattoos, silver bracelets at the top of his forearms and the bottom of his biceps, framing his elbows, both of which looked like they had been burned.

“Doing just fine,” He said around the cigarette hanging from a lip, taking a drag from it before he blew the smoke to the side. “Didn’t think the Fellowship of the Sun let their boys come to places like these, yeah?”

“They don’t.” I said with wide, wide eyed. “They dooooo not.” I smoothed a hand down my shirt, feeling the worn logo of my church’s summer camp before I pulled at the bottom to slowly tuck it back into my pants. Felt kinda naked with it tucked in, actually.

“Ahhhh,” His bright yellow eyed narrowed. “I see.” He said in a purr.

I let out a long breath and turned my body around to focus entirely on the to bar, sucking in a breath to hold it. Tosser shifted closer so I could feel his body walling in mine, his other hand coming out to hold onto the bar on my other side. I awkwardly stood there, looking at all the different bottles on the wall behind the bar before my gaze slid down to where the two men that had been laughing at me were, but they were gone.

As was everyone else at the bar.

The bartender had been replaced by a male sapien, the novus girl with her hair up in braids gone from sight.

They knew an apex predator when they came around, so they fucked off to avoid Mr. MAN thinking they were competition for the attention of the prey he was trying to get with.

And that was me.

The prey.

I pulled a face and stared down at the bar to see where he had a spin ring on his thumbs that was popular with novus for anti-stress, his claws scratching lightly against the bar. I always thought claws were very interesting, especially when they were fully out. I was wrong.

“What are you drinking, church mouse?” Tosser purred close behind me, his breath hot and smelling like the cigarettes he smoked.

“Oh,” I said with a nervous laugh. “My religion doesn’t allow me to drink.” I said with an awkward laugh, freezing when I felt his lips brush against the shell of my ear, his breath hot, hot, hot when it fanned over my flesh.

“I’m guessing your here to do all sorts of things your religion doesn’t allow. What’s a drink or two?” He said in a low, silky tone, leaning forward so he was pressed up firmly against my back. I could feel how hard his body was, how tense it was – the sharpness of his Adam’s apple against my neck and the firmness of his chest against my back.

“You are...the devil.” I hissed, my lip curling as he chuckled, the paper of his cigarette sizzling as he took a drag from it right by my cheek, close enough to feel it’s warmth but not it’s burn.

“So what?” He chuckled, blowing more smoke away from me, “Are you here just to look and watch, or are you here to do something in the dark?” He said in that same low drawl, silky and dark.

Oh God, he really was putting the moves on me.

I don’t think I liked that.

I was here to maybe experiment with a sapien, not start building permanent bonds with a novus I’d never, ever, ever be able to shake off of me.

My Dad really would kill me.

How the freak do I turn down the most powerful man in the city? In the country, arguably? I got so many conflicting opinions on how to handle aggressive novus growing up, from my school, from my church – gently, so they didn’t get their feelings hurt, firmly and loudly so they got the message.

But what if the novus in question could make life very, very difficult for you?

And what if the novus was really, really good looking, and scary, and was flirting with you, and you kinda wanted to see if they really were as good of lovers as the magazines said they were?

And what if you were attracted to them, but knew if you admitted that out loud, that was the same as making it true, and you really, reaaaally didn’t want to be in trouble with both your Dad AND Jesus?

“Uuuhhh, mmmm, eehhhh,” I said in an unintelligent tone, my lips curling further and eyes narrowing as he shifted closer, his groin bumping against my ass. Oh my God, no one had ever done that before. I always wondered if it would be hot, and it kind of was, feeling him press forward so I was made to be aware of exactly how long his dick was, like hyper aware.

He gave my neck a long sniff and I blew out a long breath, then sucking on my teeth. “I don’t-” I squawked when I felt his large, wet tongue lick up the side of my neck. “Ohhhh, my God.” I said under my breath, the bartender shimmying further down the bar to avoid my gaze and keep himself from being flagged down to help me, the coward.

I didn’t blame him.

If I saw the MAN licking some guy, I’d probably shuffle off as well to keep from getting involved.

“Okay.” I cleared my throat. This was way to much. I had to think on things, and I had lots and lots to think on. “Well, I think I had enough of a worldly experience for tonight-”

One of his hands suddenly grabbed my groin and I let out a long hiss, leaning an elbow against the bar to rest the side of my head against my fist. I sighed, closing my eyes and shaking my head a little.

So it was going to be like that?

Shoot.

I didn’t hate it.

I didn’t.

I actually kind of like to roughness of it, the demanding nature of him just taking what he wanted, uh, but at the same time, I was terrified to really think to hard on it, because if I did like it - if I did allow a novus to touch me, to get me off, to sink his teeth into me - then I would have him on by back for the rest of my life, I was sure.

And my Dad would be so, so pissed.

“Let’s play.” Tosser whispered in my ear, taking another drag from the cigarette in his mouth.

“Let’s not.” I said firmly, shaking my head a little.

“We’ll make a deal -”

“I don’t make deals with the devil-”

“You don’t like it by the time I’m done,” He continued on, “Then we don’t ever have to talk again. I’ll fuck right off and never, ever bothering you again, no matter what. But if you do like it, then my door will be open for your freaky little church mouse ass to come visit me whenever your Daddy and your God’s back is turned.”