by David Petrie
“True, you did pay.” She sighed, then smiled again. “So technically, I still owe you.”
With that, Max’s mind kicked into gear as if he had just entered the most dangerous dungeon of his life. Thoughts fired off at speeds that pushed the boundaries the human mind. The first of which was, Holy crap! Which was immediately followed by, Is she coming on to me?
She was smiling. It was nice. She leaned against him, her green eyes sparkling, inviting him to make a move.
Do I even think of her that way?
The question hit him like a bullet.
Sure, in the beginning.
It was true, he had definitely fantasized about her. But why would she be interested now? Then it dawned on him, so obvious he felt stupid.
She’s messing with me.
It was last year all over again. She had made him squirm back when he had gone to her room to recruit her. She was probably just blowing off some steam.
He swallowed a lump in his throat.
Not this time. Two can play this game. Time to take charge.
“I guess you do owe me, huh.” He called her bluff, making a point to sound as smooth as possible so that she would have to back down first.
Her face went blank, clearly caught off guard. She shook it off and regained her focus, adding a wry smile to her attack. “So should I just climb on and ride you till morning.”
There’s no way that grin is serious.
“Hop aboard.” He doubled down, patting his lap.
Ginger almost looked away but brought her gaze back to him. Her eye twitched for a second, but she didn’t give in. Instead, she shifted her weight and stretched one leg over him until she was straddling his waist.
It felt a little too real.
His heart raced, but he held his ground, praying that she couldn’t feel it as she placed one hand on his chest. Then for a moment, she closed her eyes and hesitated.
That’s it. That’s her limit. He expected her to laugh and admit defeat.
Then she kissed him.
His mind went blank as he responded with a startled, “Blarg,” that forced air into her mouth, making a brief but ridiculous noise that startled her right back. “What the! Why didn’t you stop?”
“Why the hell would I stop?” she spouted right back.
“You were messing with me.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“You weren’t?”
“No!”
“Then why?”
“Because I like sex, you ass!”
“Oh, god,” he said in horror as she pulled away. She frowned, looking hurt more than anything else. It hammered in how bad he had misunderstood. She hadn’t been playing with him at all. No, she was taking a risk, just like she had told Farn to. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”
Ginger leaned forward, lowering her head to rest against his. “Thank god.”
“What?”
She looked back up at him with a relieved smile on her face. “You were being so aggressive; I wasn’t sure what was going on. I mean, sure, confidence is sexy, but it didn’t feel like you.”
“Oh so, my lack of confidence is what works for you? I’m not sure how I should take that.” Max expected her to get off of him now that the mood had been thoroughly murdered.
“Sorry, it’s just, you’ve always made me feel comfortable. I haven’t gotten to be myself for a long time, so I wanted a break. Especially with everything going on. I thought it would be good for the both of us to relax.”
“And that means, ah, doing… the sex.”
She groaned. “You could just say sex like a normal adult.”
“I thought you liked my lack of charisma.”
“Shit, I did say that.”
“You did.”
“Fine, yes. I meant do the sex.”
Max couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry I ruined the mood.”
She shook her head with laugh of her own. “I still want to.”
“Oh.” He cringed at how awkward he sounded.
“Why do you think I’m still sitting in your lap?” She threw her arms around him and attempted another kiss.
“Woah, wait a sec,” he blurted. “Shouldn’t we at least, like, get to know each other first.”
The Coin let her head fall in defeat before raising back up and eyeing him incredulously. “We’ve been friends for years. I think we know each other well enough.”
“Well, sure,” Max squirmed a little, “but what would this make us? A couple?”
Ginger stopped and stared past him for a moment. “Umm, I was thinking something like casual lovers. You know, nothing serious.” She leaned in again and whispered, “Just fun.”
Max opened his mouth to say something else but found no words as her lips touched his.
Then to his surprise, he kissed her back.
Her response was instant, pushing closer as she shrugged off her coat and threw it to the floor. She shifted in his lap and reach forward to unbutton his vest.
Max fumbled with the clasps of her corset, not really sure how to get it off her. It was well broken in, enough for easy movement, but still, it was snug, and there were buckles everywhere.
“Damn fantasy armor.” Ginger pulled away and tugged at one of the clasps. “Honestly, A chainmail bikini would be more practical right about now.” A full minute later, she was finally free. “Ooh, I forgot what it felt like to breathe,” the Coin moaned as she untucked her shirt and rubbed at her sides.
Max let his hands rest on her hips, feeling her relax as she got out of her gear. After a good stretch, her attention fell back to him as she loosened the straps of his shoulder holsters enough to slip off his pistols. She tossed them over the back of the sofa, then pulled off his shirt.
Collapsing against him, her mouth found his, her hands against his chest.
Max held her close, slipping one hand under her shirt. She let out an enthusiastic growl as she pushed him down and shimmied out of her pants. Her hair swept across her face as she positioned herself on top, wearing nothing but a loose shirt.
Max’s heart stuttered.
She had always been beautiful, but now, it was like seeing her for the first time, like he was catching a glimpse of the woman behind the avatar. Max slid the back of his hand down her stomach, her back arching in anticipation. There was no turning back.
Suddenly, the main door of the suite flew open as Nix burst into the room. The mercenary skidded to a stop, immediately shielding her eyes.
“Gah! I looked right into it.”
Everything crashed to a halt.
Ginger let out a whimper and sat up so that her shirt hung down enough to cover her for the most part.
Max jumped with an undignified, “Eek,” immediately snatching his vest off the back of the couch and holding in front of his shirtless chest. “What do–” His voice cracked. Clearing his throat, he started again, “What do you want, Nix?”
She didn’t answer, opting to stare at the floor, examining the discarded articles of clothing. She nodded to herself, then thrust forward an enthusiastic thumbs up. “Nice job, Ginger.”
“Huh?” Max uttered, feeling confused. He shook it off and got back to what was important. “Why are you here, Nix?
“I just wanted to check in to see what’s up.” She suppressed a laugh. “You know, besides that.” She pointed at his lap.
Max threw his vest over his… situation, then folded his arms across his chest.
Ginger slumped against the back of the sofa and glowered at the mercenary. “At least close the door.”
“Oh, sure.” Nix pushed the door shut, then continued to stand there looking vacant.
“I was kind of hoping she would have done that with her on the other side,” Ginger whispered back to Max as she let out a sigh. “Okay, Nix, what’s up?”
“Um, I did say that I was going to come back to go over the plan, didn’t I?”
Max groaned, realizing that he had forgotten about that with everything else
going on. “The plan’s not real complex. We can go over it first thing tomorrow. There will be plenty of time before we have to move.”
“Oh, okay, I guess.” Nix deflated a little. “I’ll let you two get back to, ah, you know…” She trailed off, finishing her statement with an exaggerated pelvic thrust, followed by a pause for laughter that went unfulfilled. Finally, the mercenary took the hint and made her exit.
Max sighed and rested his hands on Ginger’s waist, feeling her body relax.
“Now, where were we?” She back leaned in.
“One more thing,” Nix announced as she burst back through the door.
“What!” yelled Ginger and Max in unison.
“I ran into Kira a few minutes ago, and she said to tell you,” Nix paused and glanced up to the side, “umm, her date is over, and she’s fine, and that she’s going to go swimming if you don’t need her for anything.”
“Oh.” Max softened his voice, grateful for the update. “Did Kira seem okay?”
“She said she was fine.” Nix shrugged.
He checked the time. “That was a short date. I guess nothing happened with Berwyn.”
“I hope that’s true,” Ginger squeezed Max’s hand. “but these things don’t always take that long.”
“I should go check on her.” Max gave her a sad smile. “She might need a friend right now.”
“Yeah, it wouldn’t be right to indulge ourselves while she’s out there all alone.” Ginger climbed off of him and searched for her underwear. “The mood’s been thoroughly killed anyway.”
“Sorry.” Nix’s furry ears drooped like a scolded puppy.
“It’s okay.” Max pulled on his shirt. “Thanks for reporting back to us.”
“And there will be other chances,” Ginger added, tugging on her pants.
“There will?” Max couldn’t help but sound hopeful.
“Of course, I’m not going anywhere.” She leaned down and gave him a peck on the lips.
“Aww.” Nix clutched her hands over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes.
“You’re not helping.” Max buttoned his vest.
“I know.” Nix nodded in agreement.
“Do you want me to come with you to find Kira or is this more of a bro thing,” Ginger changed the subject.
Max considered what would be best for his friend. “You’ve done enough for everyone tonight, and I need to make up for being a jerk earlier.” He shrugged his guns back on. “This is something I should do alone.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
A sick feeling crawled through Max’s stomach as he reached the beach beneath the crystal pyramid. The only thing he found was Kira’s dress and item bag laying in the sand like a discarded candy wrapper.
He knelt down and picked up the pouch. It felt heavier than he expected. Setting it back down, he drove his fist into the sand.
Damn, Farn was right. I never should have let her go. I should have stopped her. Screw the heist. Screw the money. Screw the mission.
He sat down and raised a handful of sand, watching it sift through his fingers.
“Well, you look awfully pensive.”
He dropped the sand as Kira snuck up behind him, holding a coconut with a bamboo straw poking out through a hole. The white fabric of her bathing suit seemed to absorb the moonlight through the ceiling of the pyramid. Her hair was wet, as if she’d just gone for a swim. She raised the coconut to her mouth, staring down at him while blindly searching for the straw with her lips.
Max relaxed, only now realizing how tense he had been.
Kira took a long pull from the coconut then winced and rubbed at her forehead. “The bar has frozen pina coladas.”
“Oh, great. How drunk are you?” Max eyed her with suspicion.
“It’s a virgin, thank you very much. I didn’t want a repeat of last night.”
“That makes sense,” Max let his vision drift away from her, “and can the same still be said for you?”
Kira answered his question with a frown and leveled a stare on him that could have bored a hole through steel. She finished by letting herself drop to the sand, slowing her fall by materializing her wings for a fraction of a second.
“It’s been a strange night.”
Max moved to sit next to her. “Do you want to talk about it.”
“Not really.” She set down her coconut and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them close.
Max’s heart sank. The sound of the artificial surf filled the silence before he found the courage to break it. “So you went for a swim?”
She gave a mirthless laugh. “Yeah, felt the need to wash the night off of me.”
“Oh.” Max wasn’t sure what else to say; he just sat there with his mouth hanging open as he searched for a way to ask her more. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No.” Kira flopped back, spreading her body out in the sand.
Max glanced away on instinct, not wanting to stare at her body on display in the moonlight. “Um, well, I’m here for you. Just saying.”
Finally, Kira snorted. “Okay, I get it. You want to know what happened. I was gonna let you wonder a while longer, but I guess we can get it over with now.” She took a deep breath before continuing, “I wasn’t prepared for how charming Berwyn could be.”
“Oh damn.”
“Yeah, oh damn is right. That guy knows how to talk to a woman. If I didn’t know who he really was, I might have listened to the little voice in my head telling me, hey why not, it might be fun.”
Max laughed, getting an annoyed stare. “Sorry, go on.”
“Anyway, we walked down here holding hands and the first thing I noticed was that there was no one around. That freaked me out. Made me wonder if he had cleared the place out. Kind of made it clear what he had planned.” She closed her eyes. “But the torches set the mood, and he was pretty smooth, so you know…”
“You went along?”
“Yeah, I had made up my mind. There was too much on the line if I chickened out.” She rolled to the side to where her coconut sat and took a sip before saying more. “He took off his crown.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Said he didn’t need it. That he trusted me.”
Max scoffed. “That’s a dumb line. Of course he trusts you. You’re harmless.”
“I know.” She laughed. “Like, what am I gonna do, assassinate him? I can’t even equip a weapon.”
“Did he make a move after that?” Max tried to hide the worry in his voice.
“Patience, I’m getting to that,” Kira answered, sliding her fingertips down her chest as if remembering something sensual. “He placed his hand on my waist, like he was trying to gauge my reaction. It took everything I had not to slap it away, which apparently meant go for it because he leaned in to kiss me.”
Max leaned closer. “What did you do?”
“What do you think I did?” Kira snapped before settling back into the sand. “He caressed my chin with fingers and drew my face to his so I closed my eyes and waited.” She paused and covered her face with her hands. “Then my cage went up.”
“Oh damn.”
“Yup, after everything we’ve gone through and all my mental preparations,” she pushed her feet into the sand as if trying to hide, “I just couldn’t do it. It didn’t feel right, and my cage just responded, just like it’s supposed to”
“How’d you explain it?”
“I apologized desperately and started to make up a lie about it being my first time.”
“How’d he take it when he couldn’t touch you?” Max’s mind fell back to the mission.
“He didn’t. Eventually, I stopped talking and waited for him to say something.”
“And?” Max begged for the answer.
“And nothing. He just sat there frozen in mid-pucker like a fish on a hook.” Kira gave Max a wry smile. “Berwyn lagged out.”
“Holy shit.”
She sprang up and nodded with enthusiasm. “Can you believe it? Hi
s connection dropped off. A few seconds later, he vanished.
“Ha! So you got out of it?” Max slapped a hand on his leg.
“How lucky am I? Like, seriously, the internet gods must have been looking out for me.”
“Wait a sec.” Max shot her a sideways glance. “Did you–”
“Use my godlike powers to screw up his connection?” Kira finished his thought for him. “Nope.”
Max let out a low whistle. “So how did you leave things with Berwyn?”
She shrugged. “I waited here for him to log back in, but he was only able to message me. Said he couldn’t get back online. Apparently, there was some kind of outage where he lived. I messaged him back, trying to sound as disappointed as possible. We kind of ended up sexting a bit, so he seems like he’s in a pretty good mood now.” Kira pushed some sand into a mound absentmindedly. “Although, I basically told him he could have his way with me tomorrow night, so we better get things done sooner rather than later.”
“I think we can handle that.” Max laughed at the thought of his bro sitting in the sand and sexting an international arms dealer.
“Where’s everyone else?” The fairy picked up her coconut and sipped.
Max leaned back on his hands. “Kegan and Corvin are getting things ready for tomorrow, and Ginger is back up in the suite. I think Nix is wandering around the palace somewhere. No idea where Aawil is.”
“What about Farn?” Kira’s eyes darted back and forth before falling back to the beach.
Max couldn’t help but notice a hint of worry in her voice that made him question if there might be more to the question. “She logged out.”
“Oh.”
“Farn was kind of mad at me for letting you go down here,” Max gave her a partial truth.
The fairy lowered her head. “Sorry if I messed things up with you two. I still think you have a chance with her.”
Max let out a long laugh at how wrong she was. “Don’t worry about it. I’m pretty sure Farn and I make better friends.”
“Well, as long as you’re happy with that, I guess.” She picked up her drink and took a sip.
“Oh, I am.” Max gave her an exaggerated shrug. “Plus, I kind of just made out pretty hard with Ginger.”
An entire mouthful of pina colada sprayed from the fairy in shock. Max started to elaborate, but she cut him off, holding up a finger as she proceeded to empty the rest of her coconut into her mouth. She immediately spat that out as well.