by Lisa Lace
I checked that I had properly tucked in my boobs. I glanced around furtively. There was no one watching us, so I adjusted them slightly. Jori didn't think I noticed him, but I saw him watching me out of the corner of his eye. Mercilessly teasing him gave me pleasure. He deserved it for making us both so frustrated.
"As long as you can avoid politics, religion, and any talk of rising sea levels or disappearing land mass, you'll be fine."
"Those are possibly the most boring subjects in the universe," I said. Our conversation ceased when we walked through the doors of the huge house and stopped abruptly. The ceiling in the entrance stretched high above us. It was almost invisible in the dark.
We waited in a line that slowly moved into a huge room. It was full of people wearing clothes so expensive that we could move all the refugees off-planet if we sold them. My heart rate increased. Jori glanced at me, saw my emotional state and squeezed my hand. I clung to his forearm.
"Don't show any fear. Remember, you belong here," he whispered.
He said his words with kindness, but they didn't make me feel any better.
JORI
We had been at the party for an hour, and we hadn't run into any major problems. Sam was a desired conversation partner, having new things to say from Earth. She hadn't put her foot in her mouth yet. I knew she was nervous around the crowd of people, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her.
I glanced at her as she spoke to an older woman. They were talking about an obscure topic. Gardening. They were laughing together. I wasn't following the conversation, but part of me felt like laughing too. She had an infectious laugh that made you want to share her joy. It was nice to see her relaxed.
I stiffened when I saw Harrington. I could tell Sam noticed, although she didn't stop talking to her new friend.
He was looking healthy and as filthy rich as ever.
I wasn't sure if I would see him here, but he could never resist showing off. A beautiful Vandwan woman half his age clung to him. At the end of his arm, he wore an obscene number of rings on a manicured hand. The best word to describe his presentation was ostentatious.
I wondered if I should avoid him, but he looked up and met my eye. Too late. We nodded to each other. It was not a greeting. It was a challenge.
I had wondered for some time who tipped off Nat and Freya, setting things in motion that ended with me in jail. Now I had confirmation. In my gut, I knew Harrington was the one who got me sent to prison. He knew my secret, and he knew I was trying to stop him.
That made him extremely dangerous.
Samantha was saying good-bye to the woman, and I maneuvered her away.
"Want to dance?" I said.
Once we were on the dance floor, she whispered, "What's wrong?"
"I needed to get away from someone."
"Old girlfriend? Are you going to point out that special someone?" she asked.
"I will as soon as I see him again."
I never got a chance. Fast song followed fast song. Then, finally, a slow song started playing, the kind where you sway in each other's arms. I glanced at Sam. Were we going to keep dancing?
As always I saw a challenge in her face. She shrugged and wrapped her arms around my neck, stepping in close to me. I inhaled deeply. I loved how she smelled. It reminded me of springtime.
I placed my hands on her hips and felt the urge to run my hands down further to her plump, round ass. This year was going to be torture. I tried not to think about her soft body in my arms.
She pressed her cheek against my chest, and we moved slowly in a circle. We felt right together. I should never have asked her to dance. The way I felt now was what ordinary guys felt when they danced with a woman they liked. I wasn't familiar with the sensation.
Sam was proving to be more of a problem than I had expected. I couldn't get involved with a woman who drove me crazy. I needed all my focus to accomplish the mission.
When the song came to an end, Sam said she was going to the bar for some water.
"I'm just going to run to the bathroom. I'll be right back," I said. I felt nervous about leaving her unattended, but I didn't think she would want to come with me to the men's room. I would have to hurry.
With Harrington running around the place, I was going to relieve myself as quickly as I could and get back to her. She'd be safe for a few minutes.
When I got back to the bar, she wasn't there. Fear rose up in me. I scanned the room, trying not to seem upset. With relief, I spotted that damn red dress on the dance floor. The outfit was good for something, at least. But when I saw who she was dancing with, I had to stop myself from running to her.
She was dancing with Harrington.
When I reached them, I tapped him on the shoulder and grabbed Sam's hand, pulling her away from him. She held a red rose in her right hand.
"Jori? What are you doing?" As she saw the expression on my face, she stepped closer to my side.
"Hello, Lachlan," he said. He had a wicked grin on his face.
"Harrington," I said, my voice terse.
"You've got a lovely woman," he said, knowing that would upset me. He had danced with Sam on purpose.
"That woman is my wife," I said. He didn't miss the subtext: And you'd better not touch her again.
"I'd take better care of my wife if I were you. You never can tell what may happen. Accidents and such." He waved his hand vaguely in the air.
I stepped towards him, but Sam put a hand on my chest.
"Jori, don't make a scene," she said, softly. "People are starting to stare."
I forced a smile. "I'll be sure to watch out for her. I can protect my wife."
"You can try," he said. His words sounded threatening, but he said them in a jovial tone.
I wanted to punch him right then and there. Fortunately, my brain kicked back in. That was what he wanted: to get me in a fury so I would do something stupid.
Samantha was pulling on my hand, and I reluctantly let her lead me. She dragged me to the front door and we headed out to the street.
"I think it was a good time to leave," she told me.
I didn't answer her. I just got in the vehicle she hailed for us.
As soon as we were safe in the dark, quiet car, she exploded. "What the hell was that?" she asked.
"That, Sam, was the kind of guy you run away from, straight to the police station if he ever approaches you again."
Her face blanched in the dim light. "Is he dangerous?"
"He's as dangerous as swimming beyond The Barrier. He's a predator, Sam. And he's after us."
Chapter Six
SAMANTHA
Jori refused to tell me anything else. He took me straight back to the apartment. When we walked through the door, I felt like crying. I was tired, stressed out and scared. We had suffered a narrow escape from his enemy.
"Sam, I'm sorry," he apologized, as I slipped out of my heels.
I turned towards him. He looked guilty and worried. I had not seen him worried before.
"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong. We got away from him in one piece."
"I shouldn't have left you there alone. I should have warned you about him."
"Did you know he would be there?"
"I didn't know for sure. I only guessed."
"So why did we go?"
"I needed to see if he was still showing his face at these parties, or if he was in hiding."
I studied him inquisitively. "Jori, why do I get the feeling that you are not merely a lifeguard? And your acquaintance from the party is not a prison boyfriend?"
"What do you mean?" he said. He looked uneasy.
"I know that's what you tell everyone you do. I know you go somewhere every day." I hesitated, unsure of how to put my hunch into words. "I have the feeling there's something more to you. Are you keeping something from me?"
He looked away for a moment. When he finally set his green eyes on me, they burned, and I wanted to step back. But I didn't. I held my ground and w
aited.
"Sam," he said. He lifted his hand and tucked a stray hair back behind my ear. I bit my lip.
"I can't tell you. I know we need to be honest with each other. I swear I'm being truthful when I say I can't tell you."
"Would you tell me if you could?" I said. I needed to know.
He nodded.
"If my life is in danger, will you tell me?" I asked.
"Yes. I promise. If it comes to that, I'll tell you everything."
I nodded.
"You know what, Jori?" I said.
"What?"
"I trust you."
He froze.
"I don't know, why because you certainly haven't given me any reason to. I know you can't protect me from everything bad that might happen. But I have the feeling that you would try."
"I really would." He gazed at me, and I was powerless to look away. "But how do you know that?" he said.
I shrugged, making my breasts jiggle dangerously in the red dress. He glanced down at them and back up.
"You don't seem like you have it in you. I don't know what landed you in jail. But I don't believe you did anything bad."
"But why?"
"You're a good guy. Good guys don't do bad stuff."
He reached out and pulled me into his arms, holding me close. I wrapped my arms around him. I was surprised how comforting it was to hug each other.
Finally, he kissed my hair and spoke into my ear.
"You're the only person who didn't think I was guilty as hell."
I pulled back. "Including Nathaniel?"
Jori nodded his head. He looked brittle. I thought he might break at any moment. I wondered what he would do if I kissed him.
"Don't do it."
Damn it. "What do you mean?" I said.
"Don't kiss me."
"How do you know I was thinking about kissing you?"
"Were you?"
"Yes." I looked away. He had squashed my feelings.
"If we start now, I wouldn't be able to stop, Sam," he said. He had a longing in his voice, and it broke my heart.
The person in front of me was not the Jori I thought I knew. I had seen a side of him tonight that I'd never seen before. And I liked it. He was out of control and a little on edge. Perhaps even vulnerable.
It was sexy as hell.
He stepped back away from me, and I sighed. No sex tonight. I turned away and began padding across the living room in my bare feet.
"Sam." I stopped and looked over my shoulder.
He winced. "Don't look at me like that, Earth woman."
"You called me, Jori. What do you want?"
He licked his lips and pressed them together. "Just for the record. If things were different..."
"Yes?" I said, encouraging him to continue. I was tired. If he wasn't going to fuck me, he could at least let me go to bed in peace.
"I want to peel you out of that dress."
I felt my heart rate increase. "You still can."
I saw his chest rising and falling rapidly. For a moment, I thought he would have his way with me. But he closed his eyes.
"No. It's better this way. You'll see."
I didn't agree, but there was no point in arguing. Instead, I took my sexually frustrated ass into my room and removed my dress myself. I fell asleep alone.
JORI
I paced back and forth in the living room. I had the path memorized by now. It took fifteen steps from the island to the window, and fifteen steps to return. I felt like I would go to pieces if I didn't go into Samantha's room right now and do something.
Shit. I needed to get out of here. I scribbled a note saying I was running errands, in case she woke up and couldn't find me. Then I fled into the night.
Where could I go? Of course. The Sea Shore.
My favorite bar was open late. It had the best beer on Vandwa and made my favorite kind of fried calamari. For a moment, I considered waking Sam and asking her to come with me. She might be hungry, and I hated the way I had left things.
Of course, you can't wake her up, you idiot. That's why you're going out. To get away from her.
The problem was, I didn't want to get away from her. I wanted to get closer to her, and it was starting to scare me. I had never wanted a woman this badly. Plenty of women had attracted me before. This was something different.
When she had said she didn't think I was guilty, I thought I might cry. No one had ever believed I was innocent. Since I went to jail, no one had ever told me they thought I was a good guy. People usually looked at me suspiciously, as if they wondered what I was going to do to them. They kept their hands in their purse or on their wallet when I entered the room.
Even though I knew it was for a greater good, the hardest thing about going to jail was that people didn't trust me anymore. Nathaniel, my brother, had always been my biggest supporter. He looked like he wanted to believe me, but I could tell he had doubts. Knowing I had lost some trust with my brother made me feel disgusted with myself.
The mission had taken so much from me. My life, my freedom, and my self-respect. To get me through each day, I had to keep reminding myself it would be worth it in the end. It was hard to believe right now when I yearned for Sam.
I walked down the street with my hands in my pockets. The night air from the ocean was cold. When I got to the pub, I went and sat at the end of the bar. I didn't want anyone to bother me. I proceeded to get as drunk as I possibly could. When they kicked me out at closing time, I walked down the street feeling pretty steady — or at least it seemed that way to me.
Why were there two of everything?
When I made my way up the stairs to my apartment, I had to stop twice to rest. It took me three attempts to enter using the retinal scanner. I guess my glazed eyes looked different than my clear ones.
As I stumbled in, I lurched into the table across from the door and saw a red rose lying on it. Why was there a rose in my apartment? Then I remembered I lived with a woman now, and such things would start becoming commonplace. Through my alcohol-induced haze, a vague memory surfaced of Sam setting it down when we had arrived earlier in the evening.
I threw myself on the couch and thought about her. I sat there for a long time. She consumed my thoughts. Lust for her filled me, but I wasn't thinking about that now. The memory that kept playing in my mind was when she said she didn't believe I had done anything bad.
She believed in me.
It had been a long time since anyone had faith in me. The person who I was and the person who people thought I was were supposed to be different, but Sam saw through everything.
Could I tell Sam how much her words meant to me? I wouldn't touch her. I would stand by the door and tell her.
I wasn't going to touch her.
She had left her door closed. She didn't wake at my knock, so I opened it. How was I going to tell her anything from the doorway if she was sleeping on the bed?
I knew I should wait until the morning, but I went over to the bed. When I leaned over to shake her awake, I lost my balance and fell into her bed. Fortunately, she was sleeping on the other side. She would have had a rude awakening if my entire weight landed on her.
I wiggled across the bed until I found her. She looked so sweet that I had to hold her. I wrapped an arm around her and scooted in, spooning against her warm body. My hand naturally cupped her full breast and in only a second, I felt myself hard as a rock and pressing against her.
Was I as drunk as I thought I was? Maybe I was using the drinking as an excuse to do what I wanted.
I heard her draw in a deep breath and felt her breast move in my hand. Was she awake? I gently squeezed. She made a small sound in her sleep. Everything about this was a bad idea. I knew it, but I couldn't seem to stop myself.
I played with her breasts, cupping and massaging them, twisting her nipples through the silky fabric. She shifted and moaned. And I wondered how close I could move to the line. I slowly slid my hand down her belly until I came up against her pant
ies.
Don't do it, Jori. Don't do it.
But my body no longer responded to the commands of my mind. I worked my hand into her underwear and her sex. A moment later, I let my finger slide into her folds. She was wet. Her hips bucked against me, and I could tell when she woke up.
She pressed into my hand, silently pleading for me to continue. I touched her hard nub, and she hissed. When I began to rub, she moaned. There was no way I was stopping now. We both needed this.
It only took a couple minutes before she started coming. But I needed to taste her, and I rolled her limp, bliss-filled body towards me and captured her lips. She responded immediately, opening her mouth. Our tongues fiercely mated after having been denied for so long.
Our clothed bodies were twined together, our arms were wrapped around each other, and our lips were melded. It felt right. How could something that felt so right be wrong, I wondered. But I didn't think that for long. All the blood had gone somewhere else, and I had nothing left in my head for thought.
Her hand reached for me, but I wouldn't let her.
"I'll explode if you touch me," I said.
"Isn't that the point?" she whispered back. It was the first time she had spoken. The sound of her husky lust-filled voice alone made me feel like coming.
"One more for you," I said, bending my head and taking her breast into my mouth through the fabric of her tiny tank top. She made a hungry noise and pulled my head to her chest. I lifted the material and sucked at her large mounds. They tasted even better than they looked. She panted and moaned. I slid down, needing to have the full experience of tasting her body.
I pulled down her shorts and panties.
"Jori, I don't...I mean, I never...I mean..."
"Lie down, Samantha," I growled and she lay back, her thighs quivering.
The first lick had her arching up off the bed. I grabbed her hips and held her down, going to work. She ran her hands through my hair and gasped. After a minute, I pushed a finger inside of her, then added a second. She was making a keening noise and then she went to pieces, bucking wildly and crying out over and over as her orgasm rocked her.
Perfect.
I crawled back up her body, and she reached for my zipper.