“That’s what I was told,” he agreed. Matthew’s hand urged Fallon forward. “Ms. Denny, this is Shasta Pasquel, Adonis Pasquel’s daughter.”
The woman’s slim hand gripped Fallon’s. “One of them. There are three of us.” She smiled. “I’m the middle child. Shy and retiring.”
Matthew snorted. “Sure you are.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Where’s your escort?” His tone was sharp.
“Oh, don’t start, Matt.” Shasta pouted. “It’s bad enough you stuck me with the old man again.”
An older man in full Asberek uniform panted when he reached Shasta’s side. “Ms. Pasquel, you can’t keep ditching me like that.”
Shasta grimaced. “I can’t help it if you can’t keep up.”
Matthew frowned at her. “Don’t take risks, Shasta. Remember what happened last time.”
She sighed. “I know. Why couldn’t you let me have Ben?”
“Because Ben Mason is completely in lust with you,” Matthew said with a laugh. “Pomery is the best man to keep you in line.” He clapped the older man on the shoulder. “Landover, you drew the short straw.”
The old man let out a breath windily. “She insists on running me ragged.”
“She’s hoping you’ll give up.” Matthew gave Shasta a dark glance. “She’ll behave herself tonight.”
“Oh, alright,” Shasta said with a sigh. “Come on, Pomery. At least you can dance.”
The two cut through the crowd toward the dance floor.
“How old is she?” Fallon’s gaze followed the blonde. She seemed young and foolish. Not a good combination with the political clout each of the daughter’s possessed.
“Twenty-three. She’s been spoiled a bit.” Matthew’s face relaxed into a tender expression. “Of the three of them, Shasta’s the most flighty.”
“What do their names mean? They’re unusual.” She took a glass from a tray as one of the waiters slid past her.
“They’re mountains.”
“What?” She met his gaze. Was he teasing her? His brown eyes twinkled.
“Mountains. On Earth. Pasquel named each of them after a mountain he remembered from Earth. Kinley is named after a Mt. McKinley, Sierra is named after a mountain range, I believe, and Shasta is named after an extinct volcano in North America.” He gazed across the room, his glance sharp and calculating. “They all possess Pasquel’s DNA mutation.” He swerved his glance to meet hers and held it. “That’s one thing you wanted to find out, isn’t it? If they also possessed the mutation.”
She swallowed, her mouth dry. True, she’d been instructed to discover if the mutation had been passed down. Rumors said the sisters were immune to the S.E.X in the atmosphere. She hadn’t questioned why her government wanted to know, assuming it was for security reasons. But after Stieger had been caught with the Ryser bomb, she wasn’t sure she knew what her government actually wanted anymore. “Yes, I was hoping to discover more about the Pasquel daughters. Some of the rumors are fantastic,” she said.
“They aren’t nearly as wild as the vid streamers make them seem.” Matthew took her now empty glass and placed it on a nearby table. “Come and meet Adonis Pasquel.”
Finally. She’d wanted to meet the man ever since she’d heard her father curse him. Not many men could break the infamous Denny cool, but Adonis Pasquel had. The man’s history was amazing. Injected with Dormrelian DNA from the age of twelve, he’d allied himself with a traitorous ambassador and tried to destroy the Asberek colony. Drugged and deceived, Pasquel had been left to die, been glad to die. But Dr. Jenia Carstairs, Matthew’s mother, had saved him, giving him a second chance. From then on, Adonis Pasquel was loyal only to Asberek and its people. Earth Central, the Dormrela and the Ang were foreign governments to be dealt with. It was this attitude that created the conflict Fallon was there to resolve.
One man could influence the future of Asberek. Would he bend? Or would she be forced to break him? She had no doubt she could. The information she’d been given would destroy his standing in Asberek politics. It had to.
Matthew led her across the room, and she got her first glimpse of Adonis Pasquel. A man in his sixties now, he was fit and muscular even now. His hair was a shocking white, and his arm was around a smaller, dark woman with only touches of gray in her hair. She shivered when the man’s blue eyes focused on hers. The years hadn’t diminished his power.
“Ms. Denny, it’s very nice to meet you,” he said. The man’s voice was low and deep. “I know your father, of course. How is he?”
“He’s very well, Mr. Pasquel. He sends his regards.” Okay, that was a lie. Her father’s words had actually been “Tell the bastard to rot in hell.” But she was a diplomat.
Adonis threw his head back and laughed. “I’m sure that’s not what Harbold said, but I appreciate you sparing my feelings.” He brought the woman by his side forward. “Have you met my wife, Elise?”
The woman shook her hand, but her gray eyes were cool and hostile. “Welcome to Asberek. I hope your apartments are to your liking.”
“They are quite comfortable.” A million questions crowded her brain and none of them were appropriate for an Earth Central representative. She wanted to know how Elise had lived with the S.E.X in the atmosphere before the inoculations existed. She wanted to know what it was like to be married to a man with a reputation like Adonis Pasquel’s. But she wasn’t there to find out about the most intriguing couple she’d ever met. She was there to drag Asberek kicking and screaming back into Earth Central’s control.
So, Fallon fell back on small talk and discussed innocuous subjects like Asberek weather and the discomfort of space travel. All the time, Fallon was conscious of Matthew’s gaze on her. Watchful and controlled, Matthew was a silent, hostile presence beside her. Yet, part of her was attracted to his strength, his questing eyes.
What was wrong with her? Ever since she’d landed on this planet she’d questioned her mission, questioned her purpose here. Deception was part of her arsenal, yet she hated using it with these people.
She admired them.
They’d made a life on a planet fraught with difficulties and danger. They’d fought to survive, fought to remain out of interstellar conflict that could have consumed them. They’d stood strong against all comers.
And she was here to destroy that.
She needed to get out of the room. It closed in around her. Even while she kept a smile pasted on her face, she twisted her hands together, desperate to escape.
Elise Pasquel stopped in the middle of some comment on shuttle travel, and her gray eyes were cloudy with concern. “Ms. Denny? Are you alright?”
Fallon bit her lip. “I think I need some air. I apologize. The trip must have taken more of a toll than I thought.” Much more.
Those sharp gray eyes softened. “I’m so sorry. Matthew? Why don’t you take her out on the balcony on the next level? The view is beautiful.” The woman reached out and clasped her hand. “I hope you enjoy your stay, Ms. Denny.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
Matthew didn’t say a word but led her to a lift in the corner of the room. She stepped inside, and he pressed a button. “It’s not as easy as you thought, is it?”
She blinked. “I’m sorry?”
His hard gaze met hers. “Nothing.” The lift doors opened, and fresh air filled her lungs.
She breathed in deeply and headed for the balcony. The view was spectacular, as Elise Pasquel had said. It gave a view of the entire colony and Old City in the distance. The trees choked the surrounding area around Old City and, in the darkness, seemed like a dark shadow that closed around them.
But the stars were stunning in the clear sky. Night on Asberek was a curtain of blue and black that gave Fallon comfort. In the dark, she felt safer for some reason. Beside her, Matthew stood silently. She glanced at him. “I’m sorry. I was dizzy for a moment.”
“Space travel can be more fatiguing than anticipated,” he said coldly.
Why did it
bother her? His hostility was expected, welcomed even. Why did her stomach clench and twist at his tone? She tightened her lips. Perhaps her father was right. She wasn’t cut out to deal with the ugliness of politics.
Her fingers grasped the edge of the wall. To her left, she noted a brightly lit area around a stone circular edifice. “Is that a statue?”
He followed the line of her gaze. “No. It’s a well.”
Fallon waited, her glance traveling over his stone cold features.
Finally, he sighed. “The original colonists had dug it as part of the garden, and rather than make a replica of a water well, they dug through the unforgiving rock and created a real one.” A warm smile softened the angles of his face. “They dug over two miles beneath the surface. But they wouldn’t compromise. Another example of how Asberek tolerates no lies.”
She stared at him until he finally met her gaze squarely. “Do you think the council will hear me out when I meet with them?”
He shrugged. “You’ve charmed them.”
She stared at him. “Have I charmed you?” She hadn’t meant to say it. It slipped out. Okay, so he was hot, and that cold demeanor did something for her, but to ask like that—
“Were you trying to?” He slid closer to her.
Her mouth was dry. “I—“ The words dried up. Yes, she’d been trying to charm him. Hadn’t she worn this outfit to bring him to his proverbial knees? “Perhaps we should go back down.”
His hands shot out and gripped her shoulders. “Perhaps I should give you what you’ve been asking me for since we met.”
He didn’t wait for her permission but swept in and took possession. His mouth demanded her compliance, her surrender. She tensed, trying to resist them both. But he was right. Since she’d laid eyes on him she’d wanted him to touch her.
She relaxed, prepared for a pleasant experience of being thoroughly kissed.
Instead, he devoured her.
His tongue twisted around hers and one of his hands twined in her hair, holding her head still so he could take her breath away. Her heart slammed in her chest, and her knees wobbled. His lips slanted over hers again and again, demanding, taking. She whimpered and sagged against him. His hard body had no give, no softness. He molded her to him, and heat burned through the thin material of her dress.
He could have taken her there, laid her down on that cold, bare floor beneath the stars and fucked her senseless. She wouldn’t have stopped him. Lost in him, she had no rational thought at all except to get closer, get more.
When she came to her senses, he had released her and stepped away. She blinked. For a moment, she couldn’t speak, couldn’t breath. He’d kissed her brutally, as if she were a slave girl.
She clenched her jaw. It had been a long time since she’d made this big a fool of herself. “Just part of the tour?” she finally managed to say.
His nostrils flared. “Of course. We wouldn’t want you to leave Asberek without the full experience.” His tone was flat and cold.
“Is this where I thank you?” she said bitterly.
“Only if you’re grateful,” he quipped.
Her palm itched. She wanted to slap him, hurt him. “Oh, I’m very grateful. A little kiss is always a nice memory to take away from a trip.” Right. A little kiss. Who was she kidding?
His eyes narrowed. “Glad to be of service.”
“Perhaps now we should leave since we’ve gotten that out of the way.” She whirled away from the beauty of the night sky. Back to her job. She wasn’t here to make friends. There were no words to say as she and Matthew took the lift back down to the party. This was the choice she’d made. To betray the Asberek colony. It would be suicide to get involved with Matthew Lestrano, even for one night.
Chapter Five
The party was in full swing when they arrived on the ground floor. Matthew struggled to keep his hands unclenched and his muscles relaxed. He should have gotten inoculated this month. S.E.X had its grip on him, and he hadn’t anticipated his reaction to Fallon Denny. He’d planned to teach the woman a lesson, to humiliate her. Instead, he almost humiliated himself. Did she have any idea how close she’d been to being slammed against the wall with her dress bunched around her waist? Or how close he’d come to taking full possession of her body.
She’d surrendered, melted against him as if made for him. Damn it. She’d stood completely still for half a minute after he’d torn his lips from hers. Just his kiss had bemused her, and he recognized the inner submissive she kept hidden beneath the veneer.
But she was there to destroy the one thing that mattered to him. The colony.
He had to remember that when she tempted him with her luscious lips and her sweet, dangerous curves. Those gold flecks in her eyes were a genetic mutation and did not gleam for him alone.
A man’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Well, you clean up well.” He glanced up and smiled. Jonah. The older man had his arm wrapped around his lover. For a moment, Matthew experienced a pang of jealousy. Jonah and Carl were so happy, so right for each other, a perfect Claimed couple. No one expected the free spirited Jonah Spiegler to settle for the stuffy Dr. Carl Meiner, but they’d been happily together for as long as Matthew could remember.
“My mother dressed me,” he joked.
Jonah rolled his eyes. “You’re impossible.”
Matthew remembered his companion. “Ms. Denny, Jonah Speigler and Dr. Carl Meiner. Jonah owns the club The Asberek Moon.”
Jonah kissed Fallon’s hand, and Matthew fought another pang. What the hell was wrong with him? Carl met his gaze and shook his head. “Jonah, stop flirting.”
“Me?” The man’s dark eyes twinkled. “I’m just showing appreciation for the female form.”
Carl raised one brow. “You’re being an ass. Be a good boy or I’ll spank you.”
Matthew laughed. “He’ll enjoy it, Carl. Maybe you’ll need to restrain him for a few hours. That worked last time.”
Carl’s blue eyes shone. “It certainly did. For all of us.”
Fallon shifted to her other foot, and Matthew glanced at her. The woman’s face was flushed as if she were embarrassed. He shot a grin at Jonah. “Be careful, Jonah. Carl may want to show Ms. Denny your place in Asberek society.”
Jonah shrugged. “I happen to know he left his flogger at home.”
Carl glared at Jonah and brought something out of his pocket. Matthew bit his lip when he noted Carl had a remote control in his hand. When the doctor pressed a button, Jonah froze. “You’ve forgotten who’s in charge, Jonah, my love.”
“Carl—“ Jonah’s voice sounded strangled.
“Yes?” The man’s voice was hard.
“Please, Carl,” Jonah said.
Carl studied Jonah for a moment and then clicked the remote off. “I see I’ll have to punish you tonight.”
“Yes, Carl.” Jonah’s gaze was on the floor, but Matthew almost grinned when he saw the man’s hard-on. Jeez. These two had to be in their fifties or sixties. Nice to see them still playing the game.
He glanced at Fallon and then stared. Her lips were parted, and her brown eyes glistened, her gaze focused on Carl. Her fists were clenched, tension revealed in every one of her muscles. Matthew studied the woman carefully. Yes, she’d been turned on by Carl’s dominance of Jonah. He hadn’t been wrong. He almost groaned. That was going to make it much more difficult to keep his damn hands off her.
“You’ll have to come to Jonah’s club,” Carl said to Fallon.
She started and licked her lips. “Yes, of course. Thank you.”
Matthew briefly closed his eyes. Keeping his hands off her was going to be huge challenge.
He had to do it, though. She was dynamite in a gold ribbon.
“Why don’t we go now?” Jonah asked. “This party is about done anyway.”
Fallon swallowed, and Matthew followed the movement. Her gaze met his, wide-eyed and frightened. He could let her off the hook, claim she was tired from the trip, take her back to her ap
artment, leave her there.
He could, but—“That sounds fine to me. Ms. Denny?”
Her lips trembled. “It’s your tour, Mr. Lestrano.”
The four of them made their way to the exit, stopping several times to chat. Fallon seemed … bemused, in a dream. Matthew kept his hand on her arm and steered her across the room.
His blood boiled, and his cock strained against his pants. It didn’t help that Jonah whispered to him right before they reached the doors. “That dress is stunning. Do you think she has any idea it resembles being restrained?”
“Shut up, Jonah,” he snapped back.
The streets were illuminated by soft street lighting, and Matthew took a deep breath of the cold, clean air. Damn it. He needed to get a grip on himself.
“So, Ms. Denny, did you get an inoculation before you arrived?” Jonah asked, and Matthew shot him a warning glance. What was the man up to?
“Of course,” Fallon answered, her eyes wide. “My understanding is that S.E.X is fatal.”
Jonah grinned. “Only if you don’t orgasm.”
Even in the muted street light, Matthew noted the deep flush that crept over Fallon’s cheeks. She cleared her throat. “Why risk it?”
“That’s true,” Jonah said. His face appeared to be serious. “Masturbation works, and the Virtual Fantasy Rooms, but studies show that an orgasm achieved with a partner is much more effective.” He smiled, and Matthew’s stomach clenched. The man had a questionable sense of humor. “Many on Asberek refuse inoculations on occasion. Did you know that?”
Fallon stared at Jonah. “Why? It seems foolhardy.”
“Because the children that were born on Asberek actually have a stronger immune system due to their exposure to S.E.X.” Jonah gave Matthew a sidelong glance. “Scientists discovered babies born on Asberek died from too much exposure but with a limited amount, they had a higher resistance to disease and plagues. Interesting, eh?”
Matthew tightened his lips. Jonah may have guessed Matthew frequently refused to inoculate. Once a month, every colony member was injected with a blocker that stopped the effects of S.E.X. But he was one who liked the adrenaline, the sensation of being horny and needing sex. It added something … dangerous to his sexual encounters.
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