She exhaled. “I can’t tell you details as it’s an ongoing investigation, but I’ve been chasing leads, asking questions and making people uncomfortable. No one cares about the victims I am trying to get justice for as they are part of Parvati’s fringes.”
He nodded. “But you don’t care that they don’t have money or can’t do anything to advance your career, being the exact opposite to the majority of Sentinels in the city.”
She shrugged. “I don’t see the difference. The daughter of a CEO has the same need for help as the daughter of a transient worker.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her against his broad chest. “You are amazing, Adira. And an exception to the rule. Well done for keeping at it. Are you getting any closer to closing the case?”
“No.” For a moment she leaned into him and inhaled his clean vanilla scent, soaked in his heat. “I’m banging my head against a synth-steel wall.” She pulled back. “Not everyone in those fringe groups trusts me or wants to talk. And now I’ll have to let it go.”
Mal narrowed his gaze. “Why?”
The force of the question surprised her. “I’m being transferred to Hadamard. I have to report for duty the day after tomorrow.”
He pushed back and stood. “You can’t be serious! And you didn’t think it was something you needed to share with me as soon as you came in?”
Adira frowned. “What? It’s not as if you could make any kind of difference.” She shrugged. “It’s shitty, but it’s part of being a Sentinel. I have to go where I’m sent.”
He seemed to grow even bigger as tension bulged his muscles. “And I wasn’t even in the thought process, was I?”
She narrowed her gaze. “Mal, we’re friends. We can stay in touch and if I’m back in the area I’ll visit. It isn’t as if we’re in a relationship.”
“What do you think I’ve been working toward?” He towered over her. “I knew you’d cut me off at the knees if I showed you my intentions. Instead I worked at becoming your friend. I thought I was finally making progress.”
Her jaw dropped. “Progress to what? Getting me into the sack? Is that your big goal? To fuck me?” She slipped off her chair and pushed him back. Or tried to. He didn’t move, but leaned even closer. Despite her height he still loomed over her.
“Maybe a good fucking would pull that stick out of your ass and make you more of a human being.”
She stilled. His words hit her sensitive inner core and smashed the seedling of trust that had blossomed for him to pieces.
He must have realized, because he pulled back and gave her a little bit of space. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Finding out you’re heading off planet was a shock, but what I said was out of line. I’m sorr—”
She raised her hand and stopped his words. She didn’t meet his gaze, uncertain if she could control the hurt he’d inflicted. “Don’t apologize, you were just being honest. I appreciate honesty. It was nice knowing you, Mal. I hope things work out for you here.”
In a daze she turned her back on him and walked away, her insides in turmoil. Mal grasped her wrist to stop her, but she twisted it and pulled through the weak spot where thumb and finger met. He could have tightened his grip but he didn’t.
“Adira, please don’t walk away. Let me explain.”
She turned back. “There’s nothing to explain. You pretended to be my friend in order to get me into bed. Now I know the truth. The chances you’ll ever be in my bed are zero to none. We have nothing else to talk about.”
He opened his mouth but before he could speak the com at his belt went off. “Fuck! I have to take this. Adira, please give me just a moment to explain.”
“Sure.”
He studied her with a narrowed gaze, but the alarm continued. His fight between wanting to explain and needing to answer the com flared in his expressive eyes. “I’ll be right back.”
She gave him a false smile and thrust her hands into her pockets.
He threw her one last look before whirling around and heading for the bar. As soon as he was behind the counter and checking on the bot, Adira turned around and walked to the beautiful wooden door at the side of the bar. A small bronze plaque read Lust.
Lust was the sex club attached to Indulgence. Adira had never been nor had she ever planned to go. But finding out Mal was just like all the other scecxis in her life she needed to do something different.
Something not her.
Visiting a sex club was about as far from being her as letting a man be important enough to hurt her. She pulled open the door and stepped through, cautiously entering the shadowed entranceway. A bot stood behind a high marble counter. “Good evening, Sentinel Kapur. Welcome to Lust. Please choose a colored wristband.”
She stared at the bands. “What do the colors mean?”
“White means you are up for any type of interaction, with both male and female partners. Green means you are only interested in one member of the opposite sex. Red means you wish multiple partners of the opposite sex. Black means you have no interest in any interactions. You are only in the club to watch, not to participate.”
Heat shot through Adira’s body when she imagined watching other people give in to their fantasies and have sex in front of her. “Black.” The word escaped her before she could even mull over the other options.
The bot handed her a black wristband. As soon as it touched her skin the soft mimetic material shrank to fit her wrist. She shook it just to make sure it didn’t come off. Adira took off her bag and handed it to the bot. “Can you look after this?”
“Certainly, Sentinel.” It wheeled to the empty wall behind the counter, which opened at its approach. Adira caught a quick glimpse of other coats and bags before the wall closed up again. “It will wait for your return.”
“Thank you.” She looked at the dimly lit corridor before her.
“Sentinel, as this is your first visit to Lust, may I familiarize you with the rules and protocols?”
She exhaled a sigh of relief. “Yes, please.”
“Do you prefer verbal transfer or would you like me to upload the details to your internal comp?”
Adira didn’t like anyone outside a small group of people making direct contact with her internal processor. “Verbal.”
“Absolutely. You have chosen a color for your wristband. If you would like to change your choice you only have to touch the band and state the intended color. All interactions have to be consensual. If at any time you find yourself in a situation outside of your control, please punch or kick the wall or any other immobile surface in the club. Assistance will come to you.
“The serving men and women are clearly identifiable through their black uniform. They are not part of the entertainment, but only here to deliver food and drink as and when required.” It pointed along the corridor. “Each room has a different theme. You are welcome to enter any room with a green light at the door. Red lights mean the room is in private use. Please do not attempt to join or participate in any of the performances unless you have been invited. Any questions?”
Adira shook her head. It all sounded pretty straightforward.
And utterly and completely outside her comfort zone. She exhaled, cursing her temper and Mal’s words. This was not how she had thought the evening would go.
She rubbed her chest, the ache inside it unfamiliar and a little surprising, and nodded her thanks to the bot. She followed the corridor until she reached the first door with a green light. She swallowed and opened it.
Chapter Two
Mal’s jaw dropped when he saw Adira enter Lust. What the Jade is she doing? Does she think she can replace me with some nitwit in the club? The thought turned his vision red. No way in hell would he let her go, and not just because she was his potential lifemate. Her energy, stubbornness and sheer personality didn’t allow him to let her slip through his fingers.
He wanted to kick himself for his stupidity. Adira’s news had hit him totally by surprise. He’d never im
agined she’d leave before he could bridge the distance between them. His fear of losing her had exploded.
He hurt her and that turned his stomach. He knew underneath her tough shell was a sensitive and vulnerable woman. Mal still couldn’t believe he’d trampled all over her. He needed to make her understand he didn’t mean it.
Hopefully she’ll give me another chance.
He looked around. He was here to keep the girls safe. To ensure no one else was taken. Jackson, the owner and manager of Indulgence and its attached clubs, had hired him and his team to prove Jackson wasn’t kidnapping girls from his own club. So far they’d not had any kidnap attempts, only a couple instances of men trying to spike drinks or not taking no for an answer.
His eyes landed back at Lust’s door. He never wavered in his duty, especially if innocents were at risk. But he also had his heart, his future, to consider.
Duty or love?
Mal looked around. Everything appeared in order. After Adira trampled all over his ego Jim had disappeared in a huff.
Mal stared at the black door again.
Finally he made a decision and contacted Ethan, his second-in-command, through his internal comp. “I need you to take over.”
Ethan asked no questions. “I’ll be there in twenty.”
Mal signed off and tapped his fingers against the countertop. He kept himself busy with filling orders, checking the door every two seconds. Finally Ethan walked through. The bulky Vampire stepped behind the counter in his typical silent manner and took drink orders. Mal nodded his thanks and strode over to Lust.
Now he just had to find a way to garner Adira’s forgiveness for his stupid words. Talk about an epic battle.
He opened the door and stepped inside.
* * * * *
A large room extended before Adira. One look at the stage showed a typical male fantasy with one man and four beautiful women. She had enough of frustrating jackasses in her real life, Adira didn’t want to see them in her fantasies. She turned away and looked for the next scenario.
She found it in the second room and once again opened the door to a wide-open space.
The first third was in shadow. A dim light-sphere appeared by her head as she walked inside, guiding the way to an area filled with large chairs, a number of them occupied. She found one away from the other observers and sat. The chair immediately adapted to her size and expanded into a comfortable lounger.
The room was set up like an arena with the shadowed entrance slightly higher than the lit stage at the other end of the room. Between the seating area and the stage area was a gap. Adira assumed it marked the separation between watchers and performers.
She exhaled, leaned back and finally let her eyes settle on the performance.
Sumptuous fabric in dark reds covered the back wall. A beautifully decorated red-and-gold daybed held a woman dressed only in sheer, gauzy material, more like a decoration than a cover. Luscious pillows and gold trimmings covered the floor and the rest of the stage area. It was as if she floated in a lake of allure.
Four men in loincloths stood at the foot of the bed, their heads bowed. They all had a distinct look, even if they were all the same type. Young, between six and six-three, around one-ninety, and a body to die for. Adira cataloged their physical descriptions within seconds. None of them had any body hair and all four wore leather collars.
They were all enticing and a joy to look at, but another man’s body continued to flash before her eyes. Taller, more thickly muscled and surrounded by a dark energy that drew her in, made her want to break her rules and for once take a risk.
And she’d blown her chance by responding so emotionally. Yes, Mal’s jab had hit a bull’s eye, but she’d said plenty of things in the heat of the moment and regretted it later. In a queer sort of way him hurting her meant he knew her.
Adira rubbed her face. Bloody hell, you’re one step away from going around the bend.
She settled back into her chair and tapped her fingers on the armrest, waiting for the scene to begin. A small screen popped up. Adira touched it and images of the performers appeared. The presentation was called Celestial Love. The woman represented the sun, and the four men moon, storm, stars and comet.
For a moment she wondered about the anonymous bodies before her. What route had they taken to end up on stage in a sex club? Adira shook her head. All of the performers were healthy and fit. She saw no signs of abuse or the body language of victims.
They wanted to entertain her and entertain her they would.
The female, long blonde hair, golden skin and big golden eyes, waved two men over. The first had tousled blond hair, a small tattoo on his shoulder and wore a white loincloth. The second had brown hair with blond streaks and a deep-brown loincloth. The two men knelt beside the bed and gently, carefully stroked their lips across the woman’s body, moving the silky material against smooth skin. She raised her arms above her head, stretching her body sinuously.
Heat gathered in Adira’s core, far more than she would have expected from the little she’d seen so far. She’d watched the odd porn flick, but observing real people live was a whole different game.
The scene captured her. Adira wanted to step closer, not to participate but to see better. It was as if a whole new world opened up before her.
Over the next few minutes the two men undressed the woman, only touching her with their lips and tongues.
The fire raged hotter inside Adira. Two men, totally and utterly focused on one woman.
The heat inside her spread across her body.
The woman moaned a word Adira didn’t catch and the two men beside her stopped touching and instead knelt with their heads bowed. She waved at a third man with white-blond hair in a silver loincloth. He went to his knees and crawled toward her. He stopped at the foot of the bed and kissed her feet. He licked and sucked on her toes, pulling them deep into his mouth.
Adira frowned. Her toes quivered at the thought of a certain dark-haired male sucking them, but there was a submissive energy around these men that kept pulling her out of the enjoyment of the scene.
The female gestured at the two men beside her. They rose from their knees and leaned over her chest again, this time using their hands to massage and tweak her breasts. She opened her legs and Silver Loincloth rained kisses up her thighs on his way to the ultimate goal.
The two at her chest raised her breasts to their mouths and sucked her nipples deep into the moist heat. Watching the group before her make love was highly stimulating. Adira definitely enjoyed being a voyeur to this scenario, something she’d never imagined, but the men’s attitude continued to stop the fire from flaring out of control.
The brunet man moved across the woman’s body, laving the same nipple as the one in the white loincloth. At the same time.
A lightning strike shot through Adira as the two men’s lips and tongues met. Her breath stopped for a second. They moaned and kissed, rising up and concentrating more on themselves than the woman between them. She was not pleased and barked an order. Slowly, oh so slowly, the men separated. Lava practically streamed off the two of them. That one move captivated Adira. She leaned forward, her breathing uneven.
The woman rose to her elbows and picked up a narrow rod laid out at her head. She smacked it across the kissing men’s backs.
They hissed in pain and jumped farther apart, bowing their heads and moving to stand beside the last man, who had not yet moved. The female performer gestured him over, but Adira couldn’t take her eyes off the two men whose kiss had made her wet.
The moans of the observers around Adira increased in noise level. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement and clothes flung across chairs. When she looked over two women, both wearing white wristbands, shared a passionate embrace. The one on top tore off the other woman’s clothes and sank between her legs.
Adira turned back to the scene on display. When she realized the honest, sexy passion between the women next to her stimulated her more than
the dominant woman with her four sex slaves, Adira rose from her chair, her eyes still on the two men at the foot the bed. Both had removed their loincloths and watched the trio while rubbing their hard dicks, but their focus was no longer on each other.
“Does it turn you on to watch the bitch being pleasured by her slaves? I could do so much more for you than any of them.”
Adira froze. She recognized the voice and responded without turning around. “Seriously, don’t you have anything better to do than get smacked around by a woman double your height?”
Jim growled. Her reflexes, honed by training, helped her to catch his hand in a crushing grip before it even got close to her face. She turned. He was bulky and had some skeletory enhancements, but he didn’t have her practice.
He ripped his hand out of hers and she let him. The light sphere hadn’t come on, so Adira switched to night vision. “Why are you so determined to piss me off?”
“I like tall, loud-mouthed bitches I can show their place.”
“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you touch me.” She looked him up and down, raised her brow and showed him how unimpressed she was. Adira had no idea if he could see her, but there was just something about him that drove her to be the ultimate bitch. “Although you could be good for oral. You wouldn’t even have to bend your knees to eat me out.” She shrugged. “Nah, not working for me.”
The heat level in his upper body and head increased, his augmentations powering up. Her comp picked up a pulsing at his temple, probably a vein. His shoulders grew wider as he clenched his fists.
“You think you can speak to me like that, you bitch? You won’t dare to do so after I’m done.”
Adira nearly rolled her eyes at his cliché, but flexed her fingers. Her enhancements tingled to life. She and Jim stood just inside the doorway, steps away from the seating area, steps away from the wall and door. They were in a kind of no-man’s land. Going by the moans and groans coming from the stage area as well as the chairs, attention wasn’t exactly directed their way.
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