by K. C. Cross
“God. Never let me do that again. I know better. And my stomach hurts.”
She holds a hand over her face to hide a giggle.
“It’s not funny,” I say. “That drink is gross.”
“Why were you drinking sexbot juice anyway? That’s so disgusting.”
“Because I was in a sexbot bar.” I shuffle my way over to her couch and flop down, sinking back into the cushions, then falling to the side so I can lie back. “Oh, my God,” I whine. “My stomach feels like shit. And my head is pounding.”
I crack an eyelid open and spy Nyleena rolling her eyes at me. “Why are men such babies when they don’t feel good? Do you have the man-flu, Luck? Poor thing. Should I make you soup?”
I close my eye and groan. “I don’t have the man flu. I have a sexbot hangover.”
“Anyway,” she huffs. “You said you have a present for me. Hand it over.”
I open both eyes and smile at her. “You’re gonna swoon.”
“Am I?” She chuckles.
“Mmm-hmm. Ladybug said so. And Chach helped me wrap it. She says chicks dig ribbons.” I pull a small box out of my pocket and throw it at her. “So there. Swoon.”
She catches the small black box in one hand like she’s a badass silver princess, then looks down at it.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “It’s not a collar.”
“Obviously,” she says, holding up the tiny box as proof.
“It’s not a ring either. You’re never gonna guess what it is.” I smile, feeling pretty proud of myself. “And it was my idea. Just because Cha-Cha wrapped it doesn’t mean she gets credit for my genius, swoon-worthy present.”
She looks down at the box in her hand and studies it. “What is it?”
“Open it,” I whisper. “But wait. Come sit next to me first.”
She smiles and crosses the room. Plops down on the couch and I put my feet up in her lap.
“Will you please take off my boots?” I ask, holding my stomach as I groan. “I can’t reach them.”
She pushes my legs off her and says, “You’re such an asshole.”
“Come on,” I beg. “Be my nurse. Just until I feel better. I promise. If you ever drink sexbot juice and need an inhibitor I’ll be your nurse in return.”
She sighs. But she pulls the tabs on my boots and throw them across the room.
“Socks too,” I mumble, suddenly very tired.
“Do I ever get to open my present?”
“OK, you can do that first,” I manage to say. But the inhibitor is really kicking in now and I’m ready to sleep.
“I’m opening it,” Nyleena says. She throws the silky ribbon on my face and I open my eyes long enough to snatch it, toss it back, and watch her lift the lid off the box.
She holds up the transponder. Puzzled.
“It’s perfect, right?”
“What the hell is it?”
“It’s a gate pass, Nyleena. One standard four-hundred-spin-year all-access-paid gate pass with Harem Station citizen credentials.”
“What?”
“That’s right, baby. I got you your very own gate pass.”
“Why?”
I open my eyes for real now. Trying to focus on her as I will my stomach to stop churning with disgust at that green gloop I just swallowed. “What do you mean why? So when you get your ship you can fly like a freebird, that’s why.”
“But…”
“But what?” I ask, forcing myself to sit up a little.
“I can’t even leave. The whole thing is a joke. Crux isn’t giving me a ship.”
I point my finger at her. “Oh, fuck yeah, he is. He promised. If you get him what he wants he has to pay you. If he doesn’t…” I shake my head. “I’ll have words with that man. And by words I don’t mean words.”
“Even if he gives me the ship I’m not allowed to leave, Luck. I’m tied to Lyra.”
“Fuck,” I say. “I never even thought of that.”
“Yeah, me neither. I was so caught up in this idea of total freedom I guess I forgot.”
“Well, damn. Ladybug’s gonna be disappointed.”
“Why?”
“Because she wants to be your bot. She’s all set to sign up with you.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I say.
“Well…” She sighs. Then smiles. Then leans over and the next thing I know she’s crawling up my chest and kissing me on the lips.
I smile into that kiss.
“Ladybug was right.”
“Which part was she right about?” I ask.
“This is a very swoon-worthy gift. I’m sorry I won’t get to use it.”
Then she drops down onto my chest and even though my stomach is protesting at the pressure of her body, I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight.
“I missed you today,” I say.
“You’re the one who didn’t show up for secret garden sex.”
“I was mad.”
“I know.”
“But I’m not mad anymore.”
“Good.”
“What did you do today?” I ask.
“I went to the Station History Museum.”
“You did not.” I laugh.
“Yeah, I did. And who did I bump in to but a teenage Luck who took me around and showed me all kinds of very interesting things.”
I smile. Eyes closed. World kinda fading around me.
And the last thing I remember telling her is… “Good night, princess.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - NYLEENA
“Good night, Luck,” I whisper as I sit up and scoot over to the other side of the couch. I look down at the little metal device in my palm.
He spent two and a half million credits to buy me an all-access gate pass. And he even got me a kick-ass sexbot partner.
And I didn’t even earn that ship yet.
I let that sink in for a moment as Luck begins to snore softly, then groan as he holds his stomach as he sleeps.
What does it mean?
Lots of things, potentially.
One. Whatever scheme Crux is running with me, Luck isn’t part of it.
Two. He’s got a lot of disposable money in his Harem Station account.
Three. I’m a citizen. I knew this. But hearing Luck say it makes it all so permanent.
Four. This leads me back to my musing about ‘home’. If I’m a card-carrying citizen of Harem Station then this place really is my new home.
How do I feel about that?
It’s not any clearer than it was a few minutes ago before Luck showed up at my door.
Five. He believes in me.
I stop again and let that sink in.
He really thinks I’m gonna get that ship. Not only that, he truly expects me to go out into the world and travel through gates.
By myself.
No him. No Lyra.
Me.
I try to think if anyone has ever had such high expectations of me before.
No. Never.
Not even Lyra. I was always the crazy silver sister and she was always the one who needed to protect me. It was her job to shuttle me safely to places. Her job to put me where I needed to be so I could be used as a weapon.
She was the one who saved my life out there at Bull Station. She was always the one people trusted to get shit done.
So fine. I owe her. She deserves to feel safe for once in her life and this is what Harem Station is to her.
Safe.
But I look at the gate pass again and sigh. There is a deep sense of sadness inside me now that I’ve been forced to rein in my feral side and confront reality.
I am a threat.
I am both a prisoner and free.
I am free to be a prisoner.
It’s so fucked up.
Just another paradoxical problem in a long line of impossible obstacles.
There are people out there who will stop at nothing to catch me, and use me, and kill not only me, but Lyra. And probably Serpint too
.
Maybe all of us?
Maybe I’m here for a reason? Maybe this was the Cygnian plan all along? What if they knew Lyra would make it out? What if they knew Serpint would be there to steal Corla? What if they knew Delphi would win against Veila?
What if… the three of us—no, four of us—are right where we’re supposed to be?
What if… we’re not on a Veila hunt? What if Veila is on a Corla hunt?
Honestly, I can’t picture Veila sacrificing herself to use Corla to blow up Harem Station. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
Luck groans in his sleep again.
I look at him. Like… really look at him. See him.
He’s not a bad catch. I mean, for sure he’s beautiful. I will never get tired of his beauty. And he’s funny too. And spontaneous. And smart. Very smart. Maybe not smart like Tray, but no one needs to be that smart.
He asked me to help him find out what Tray and Valor are up to. And part of this request is about Valor, who has moved on and left Luck behind. But part of it is about figuring out their secret.
I’m convinced that Luck is right. Those two are up to something. And it’s eating away at Luck.
That kinda pisses me off. Valor should not have discarded him after their bot died saving everyone. It wasn’t fair.
And if he didn’t do it because of that, and instead did it because of the secrets he’s keeping for Tray, then that’s not any better.
They were best friends. Valor owes Luck an explanation.
I owe it to Luck to figure this puzzle out.
That’s my new mission.
If I can’t leave here on a ship, then fine. I’ll get the information Crux wants but then I will demand a meeting with Tray and he will tell me what’s happening.
If not… well, I have a trick or two up my sleeve.
Luck turns over on the couch and stretches his legs out over mine. I pull his socks off and throw them across the room, then move his legs off my lap and stand up.
“Luck?” I ask, leaning over to shake him gently.
No answer. He’s out.
I open my air screen, getting a little worried about how quick he fell asleep, and look up ‘sexbot juice inhibitor’.
Hmm. Side effects including lethargy, nausea, and drowsiness.
I really want to put him in bed so he’s more comfortable, but I try to rouse him several more times with no success. So I grab a spare blanket from the closet and drape it over him.
Then I kiss him on the cheek and whisper, “Thank you.”
Because Ladybug was right.
I’m swooning.
I wake up to a warm body climbing in to bed with me.
“Sorry,” Luck whispers. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”
I turn over and look at him in the darkness. For a moment I think his eyes are glowing, but they’re not. Mine are. I can see their reflection in his.
“Do you feel better?” I ask.
“Little bit.” Then he chuckles and settles face down, hugging a pillow to his cheek. “But don’t worry. Not well enough to bother you for sex. Turns out sexbot juice is a great anti-aphrodisiac.”
“Well that’s too bad,” I hum through a smile. “I was all ready to rock your world.”
“Liar,” he says, his response almost completely muffled by the pillow. “But don’t worry. I’ll be better in the morning. And then…”
But he trails off. Already drifting away.
He’s still dressed and I wish he wasn’t.
Will we ever have a normal night together?
Will being with him ever feel natural and true, the way Lyra feels about Serpint and Delphi feels about Jimmy?
I can’t picture it, to be honest.
I can picture this. Sex. Friendship.
But there are so many unsolvable problems running through my head right now, I can’t imagine that Luck can ever overtake them.
What is leveling up?
Why are Tray and Valor obsessed with that virtual?
Why is Valor so intrigued by Veila?
Why are Jimmy and Delphi looking for a place called Earth?
What was that place in the museum other Luck showed me?
And what did he mean by everything?
Will Veila come looking for Corla?
What will Corla think about all this once she wakes up?
So many fucking questions. And every single one of them is now an obstacle that stands between me and Luck.
I can’t ever be my true self if I’m surrounded by mysteries.
So I make a decision as I listen to Luck’s soft breathing next to me. I accept the fact that I’m stuck on Harem Station. I accept the fact that there is no ship in my future.
I accept my fate.
And I decide that I will unravel all these mysteries anyway.
For me.
Not them.
Because maybe that’s the true meaning of freedom?
Maybe knowing the truth is all the freedom you need.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - LUCK
I wake to a hand firmly gripping my morning hard-ons through my pants.
“Good morning,” Nyleena purrs.
“Well,” I chuckle, still half asleep. “It certainly is.”
She throws the covers off me, straddles my hips, and begins rolling my shirt up my stomach.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Helping you out this morning. I have tons of things to do today, so probably not gonna make the afternoon tryst. Figured we’d do it this morning and then, if you’re horny again later, we can meet up after dinner.”
“After dinner?” I try to picture what big scheme Nyleena has planned that she will be missing for an entire day. “What do you have—”
But that’s as far as I get with my question. Because she leans over and kisses my lips.
Her silky, silver hair brushes against my bare chest and sends a chill through my whole body.
Her smile is both seductive and devious as her hands wander down to the button of my pants. She kisses me again, just as the button pops open.
“You’re feisty today,” I say, kissing her back.
“Always and forever. Besides, I need to show my appreciation for last night.”
“Oh, yeah.” I chuckle. Remembering what I did. “The pass.”
“No,” Nyleena says, her voice a little bit growly. “Not the pass. Just you, Luck. Believing in me so fiercely. That’s what I’m appreciating right now.”
“Well, to be completely honest, you’re an easy woman to believe in.”
“Liar,” she whispers. Just as she grips the waist of my pants and pulls them down. Not all the way to my knees or anything. Just enough to release both my rock-hard cocks. She says it again as she slides down my body, her perfect lips puckering as she goes. “Liar.”
I’m about to start a fight over this, because she doesn’t get to tell me what I think about her. But I lose track of that thought pretty much immediately when her mouth closes over the tip of one of my heads.
“Fuck,” I moan. Because even though it’s only been one spin since we had sex, it feels like we’ve been apart for an eternity right now.
She slides her hand up and down my other shaft as she opens her mouth wide to take my cock deeper and I reach down and get a good two-fisted grip on her soft, silky, silver hair.
She looks up at me, her lips sealed around my dick as she smiles. Clearly enjoying her part in this morning tryst.
I push her down on my cock, making her take me deep, and she gives in. Willingly. She lets the tip slide right up against her throat and then pulls back until my fat, swollen head pops out of her mouth and she wipes her lips.
“Take off your clothes,” I say. Because we never do it naked. It’s always hurried and quick and for once I’d like to just enjoy her. Feel her bare skin next to mine. I hate that I spent the night here again and still we haven’t been naked together yet.
“No,” she coos. “I like to keep my clothes on.
”
I grab her hips and throw her off me, then climb on top of her and start unbuttoning her too-large button-down shirt.
She swats my hands away. “Don’t.”
And she’s serious. Her eyes are narrowed down into slits and her smile is gone.
“Why not?” I ask. “You’re so fucking beautiful. I just want to look at you.”
There is a pause. I can’t explain the pause in words but something inside me understands what it is.
Fear.
“Nyleena.” I half laugh out her name.
“What?” she replies too sharply.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she says. Then she grabs my hair with both hands and tugs until I lean down and kiss her lips. “I want you inside me,” she whispers into my mouth. “Right now.”
I reach down and push one of her thighs open, hiking her knee up to her chest as I position myself between her legs. She’s wearing the tiniest pair of fluffy pink shorts that leave almost nothing to the imagination.
So her long, beautiful legs are bare, and smooth, and my hand caresses the muscle of her calf for a second. But the moment I slide it up under her large nightshirt, she grabs a hold of it and pushes it away.
“Nyleena,” I say again. “What the fuck?”
“What?”
“Why won’t you let me touch you?”
She forces a laugh. “You’re touching me in a lot of places right now, Luck. Why are you complaining?”
“Because…” I stare down into her eyes because they’re lighting up. Not just a small, erotic glow as a preamble for the show to come. But something different. Agitation, or anger, or… “You’re afraid of something,” I say.
“Ridiculous,” she coos, grabbing my cocks with one hand as she slips her shorts to the side. She pushes them both towards her entrance. Eyes still narrowed and bright, mouth tight now.
I let her. Because it’s morning, and I’m hard, and it’s not a great time to start a conversation.
But I have questions.
Lots of questions about lots of things I should’ve noticed before now, and didn’t.
The minute both of my cocks are inside her she relaxes a little. Closes her eyes. Settles into the mattress and both her hands come up to my shoulders. Her fingernails—pink today, I notice—gripping the thick round curve of muscle as we begin to move together.