by Shona Husk
He stood, keeping their bodies close. She could have stepped back, but she didn’t want to. In the glass, she saw Noga was readying to leave.
She laced her fingers with Callen’s as if to pull him out the door and get him alone. “What are we waiting for?”
“Just wondering if it’s your room or mine?”
“Yours.” She never took a man home. Never let them see where she lived or how she lived. She’d learned never to trust anyone.
“Fair enough.” He led the way.
Noga was already at the door. Where was he going? To another bar for another meeting or something more sinister?
“You’re still watching the Dooraump.”
“Jealous?”
Callen shrugged. “Of his chits.” But there was something calculated in his eyes.
“If you had a chit balance as big as his, I’d only want you for your donation too.” In the corridor, she looked around, but Noga was gone. Not lost in the crowd, there wasn’t that many people, he’d just gone.
Damn it! If it weren’t for Callen, she would’ve been faster to follow…and more obvious. Noga was too dangerous to slip up and let him know who she was and why she really wanted him. Still, today the Moon was open for docking, tomorrow it would be open for departing traffic. It was a clever ploy that meant people coming for business had to stay overnight. Noga was trapped on the Moon for the rest of the Allied Solar Day—or about another fifteen trics. She had plenty of time to try again.
“You’ll have to catch up with him later.”
“I will.” And next time she’d put a tracker on him so she could follow his every move. She glanced at Callen. Maybe she should track him too. “He promised money and I like a man who keeps his word.” Her tongue traced her lip in a calculated move.
Callen’s gaze tracked the movement. “Are you suggesting I won’t put out?” He lifted her hand and placed his lips against her wrist.
Her heart gave a flutter that sent a wave of lust straight to her clit and weakened her legs. “Not at all.”
“Good, this way.” Callen tugged her hand. She followed him down the corridor to an elevator. Next stop, his room. Maybe after she’d fucked him, her stupid pheromones would settle down. If they didn’t, she was going to have to take blockers or avoid Callen.
Neither of which seemed like very attractive options.
Chapter Three
If it hadn’t been for Haliday, he might have been quicker to follow Noga. As it was, the man was gone. Probably through the service door marked staff only, which would lead to the underbelly of the Moon. While Noga was many things, stupid wasn’t one of them.
He, on the other hand, was, as he’d promised Haliday Fisher a fuck when he should be working. The trouble was her scent was all over him and he was sure his cock had never been this hard. There was something to be said for sticking with his own species, the natural attraction heated his blood and darkened his spots.
The trouble was going home was depressing as it made him realize how run-down Lekithia was after the war. He glanced at Haliday. At least was she was trying to make a difference, unlike him. He was hunting down interplanetary criminals for the APM to prosecute, something he’d once done on Lekithia as a cop, but corruption was slowing down the recovery of his homeworld. Once he’d vowed to fight it, but it had ground him down. It was everywhere, from the top down. It was why he’d left and joined the military. Better pay, better conditions and he’d felt as though he was making a difference even if he wasn’t helping his homeworld. If not for Noga, he’d still be in the APM instead of a bounty hunter.
Which brought him back to his original problem of what to do with Haliday and how to capture Noga now that he was satisfied it was him. On any other space station or inhabited moon, it wouldn’t have mattered. He’d have pressed a gun to Noga’s head and cuffed him there and then. Here he had to be much more careful or risk getting thrown off himself for violating one of the Moon’s conduct rules.
Haliday moved closer, her free hand trailing down his chest, sliding lower until her fingers brushed the tip of his straining cock. “This elevator is taking too long to arrive.”
“What’s the rush?” His mind suddenly latched on to another use for Haliday. “You got another meeting with those businessmen?”
She pouted. “It’s just business.”
Yes, it was. Haliday could lead him right back to Noga and prove a useful distraction. Of course, then the problem was catching Noga without breaking any of the rules on the Moon. He couldn’t afford the bail—no doubt Noga could.
“I’m so glad you could fit me into your schedule.” He tilted her chin and kissed her lilac lips. He wasn’t going to disappoint, not if he wanted to stick close to her and use her. For a milli-tric, guilt flared before slinking away. Guilt was a constant companion since getting thrown out of the APM. Screwing one socialite and using her to take down Noga would be worth it.
And it wasn’t as if Haliday Fisher was ever going to think of him again after her visit to the Moon. He was a short-term fling, a tric or two and nothing more.
The elevator doors opened with a dull chime and they got in. He swiped his room card over the panel and the doors closed, taking them to his floor. Advertisements for the various pleasures offered played on the screens on every wall. Pictures flicked past, after every ad, there was a reminder of the rules.
No interspecies hate.
No violence.
No debts.
Enjoy your stay at Decadent Moon.
Three simple rules. They got broken rather frequently according to the stats he’d looked at while researching. However, Moon security dealt with offenders fast, with a ninety-nine percent prosecution record. Guess once people got a few drinks or drugs into them, they forgot their interspecies manners.
He’d had them drilled into him. And yet even in the APM, people tended to gravitate toward their own species. It was easier…and yet as he glanced at Haliday, harder. He’d stopped taking pheromone blockers when he’d left the military because he didn’t like his senses dulled, now it was obvious why they insisted that all Phrials take them while serving. Not because they couldn’t control the urge, but because it was distracting and some species didn’t appreciate the smell. Lekithian politics had all but banned the use of blockers. Before the war, they’d been commonplace. Now people blamed them for the breakdown of society.
He sighed. Lekithia was all kinds of fucked-up. That was why he didn’t bother going home. For a heartbeat, he envied Haliday and how easily she moved between the rebuilding effort and the glamorous off-world parties. Best of all worlds.
She tore her gaze from a screen of a Helvelet male dancing. One never wanted to be on the wrong side of a Helvelet, but always in their bed.
“Chit for your thoughts?”
He laughed. “You can have it for free. You’re making me think of Lekithia and how long it’s been since I’ve been home.”
“Ah. I’d like to say it’s changed in the last five years, but it hasn’t.” Her inner wrists flicked toward him as she spoke, only this time it seemed unconscious as her hands moved. “I do what I can. I work hard when I’m there and enjoy myself while I’m not.” She touched his shoulder and let her fingers trail up his neck and along his jaw, leaving a shimmer of heat in their wake. “I know how lucky I am.”
Yeah. He needed some of that luck to rub off on him. He pressed her against the wall and claimed her mouth. She melted against him, her hips moving as if trying to find just the right spot. He pressed his thigh between hers and lifted her higher until his cock pressed against her mound. That she wore no underwear under that slip of a dress made his blood pump harder. Pheromones or not, some things were just sexy. He’d already felt the wet heat of her slit and the tightness of her core, the scent of her desire was on his fingers. It would be so easy to undo his pants and have her here.
The elevator doors opened. He glanced up and checked the floor number as several other people got in. He eased away
from Haliday, took her hand and led her out of the elevator, sure the back of his neck was coloring with embarrassment. He’d meant it when he’d said he didn’t like getting caught with his pants down in public. Some things were meant to be private.
She giggled as they walked down the hallway as if getting caught was the funniest thing ever. And yet there was a jagged edge to her laugh, as if she were forcing it because it was expected.
There was more to Haliday Fisher than sex and chits. Callen caught himself half wishing he had the time to work out what she was hiding and who she was when the cameras weren’t watching.
The next few trics would have to be enough.
Then he’d follow her, get Noga and get the bounty. Then he’d be moving on to the next target. Then the next one. And the next one. Alone. Being around another Phrial was giving him a homesickness he hadn’t felt since his first APM mission.
He wanted to cover himself in her scent and bury himself in her core, if only so he could feel as though he belonged for the next tric. As he swiped his card and his room door slid open, he realized it wasn’t just homesickness, it was having someone to come home to. He doubted Haliday was ever alone.
She glanced around the small, windowless room, just big enough for the basics. A large bed, a table, chair and food dispenser. It was bottom of the range, but she had enough class not to say anything. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized the media wasn’t entirely fair on the lilac-spotted lovely.
Haliday leaned back on the bed, her legs hanging off the edge but propped up on her elbows so she could watch him. The wispy bits of skirt slid over her thighs, leaving them bare, while a few slips of fabric covered her slit. His cock pulsed and he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep in this room while he was here. Her scent would drive him crazy.
“So, Callen, what do you do when you aren’t on the Moon looking for sex?”
He considered lying, then decided against it. “I’m a registered bounty hunter.”
This time, though, he was technically on leave, which meant this was off the books. Which left him without backup or insurance, the same as an unregistered bounty hunter. While he didn’t like it, the Last Spiral Hunters had refused to let him go after Noga—too risky even for them. He hoped he still had a job after doing this alone.
Her eyes widened and she sat up a fraction.
“I’m here on leave, nothing more. I work for Last Spiral Hunters, you can check.” He smiled and hoped he hadn’t just killed the mood.
“I’ve never met a bounty hunter before. You really chase around the universe catching criminals?” Her words were breathy as if the thought excited her, but there was something else. A slight change in her scent.
It wasn’t just lust, there’d been an undercurrent of fear for a moment. If he’d have been on blockers, he’d have never noticed the subtle change. He also wouldn’t be standing here with a hard-on like titanium. Refocus on the mission. Fuck, then follow.
He pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the chair. “Yep, but it’s not all glamour.”
Most of it was data files, hard work and avoiding being shot. Sometimes it was as simple as walking into a restaurant, flashing his badge and making the arrest. Most times it wasn’t.
“But you like it?” She beckoned him closer, her palms up and her wrists bared to him as she gave him the come-on.
“It’s a job. Someone’s got to bring those bastards in.” But he didn’t want to talk about work. He dropped to his knees on the floor and ran his hands up her smooth legs until his thumbs swept under her skirt and brushed the plump, wet lips of her slit. Slick and ready. He inhaled, her scent filling his lungs and rushing through his blood like a drug, determined to commit every moment to memory. Then he ran his tongue up her inner thigh.
Her back arched and she groaned, spreading her legs farther. He dragged a piece of her skirt over her slit, liking the way she gasped as it rasped against her clit—at least with his own species, he knew where to find it. The fabric dampened and he wanted to lean in and taste her, thrust his tongue into her core and tease her clit until she came and was begging for his cock to fill her core.
He glanced up and met her gaze. “You fully inoculated?” Or was he going to have to rummage around the room for the right kind of protection and hope she hadn’t picked up a virus while traveling? When species had first started mingling, viruses had been the first to jump onboard new hosts. These days, those that traveled got shots. Succumbing to the Grenovian Flu was the last thing he wanted, the snot and boils were the least of it.
She batted her lashes at him. “Of course. Also got the ring.”
Sweet. Not that he cared about her birth control ring. He had a sperm-inhibiting implant to make sure he didn’t leave any surprises behind. “Just checking.”
“I was going to ask.”
“Uh-huh.” When would that have been? Right before he thrust his cock into her waiting slit? He’d learned the hard way not to get caught out that close.
Callen flicked the couple of pieces of her skirt out of the way so her slit was bared to him. And she was bare. Only the slightest dusting of lilac hair covered her mound. His species weren’t known for their body hair—it wasn’t practical on the marshy planet—but she didn’t have much at all, just soft, slick lips that were darkening as he watched. He used two fingers to trace the folds of her slit before letting them ease inside. Fuck, she was hot and wet and ready.
His cock did more than twitch that time, he felt pre-cum slide down the hard flesh. It had been far too long between fucks. Longer since he’d mated with one of his own. He was going to enjoy this.
As his thumb touched her clit, her core clamped around his fingers as if she didn’t want to release him. She was going to feel good around his cock. The short spines along his back lifted. He didn’t bother to try to settle them—it would be pointless.
He pumped his fingers in her core, watching her reactions and listening to her breathing. It quickened every time he withdrew his fingers and slid them over her clit in slow, teasing circles. Her hips lifted a fraction in silent invitation and he thrust his fingers into her core again. She was so slippery and tight, he had to bite back a groan, but a few minutes spent working out what caused a pleasurable response improved the experience for all involved.
He ran his free hand over his cock, trying to relieve the throb. He wanted to take his time, not rush, but he wanted it to be his shaft, not his fingers, fucking her core and making her breath catch.
Unable to resist any longer, he lowered his head to her slit, determined to get the taste of her on his tongue. First her clit, stroking at the hard bud of flesh as his fingers worked her core. She gasped and her legs eased farther apart as if she couldn’t get enough. The scent of lust was all around him, filling his blood with molten heat and making his skin crave for her touch, but she kept her hands to herself.
He pulled his fingers free of her core and lapped the creamy fluid slicking her slit and making her smell of pure desire. His thoughts seemed to short-circuit so all he could think about was fucking Haliday and coming deep inside her. He thrust his tongue into her core and her hips bucked, so he held them down. He wanted to feast on her pretty cunt before filling her with his cock.
With the spines on his back fully erect and his balls tight and heavy, he knew he was past the point of stopping. If she wanted to leave, he’d be jerking off to release the tension. Her hands scrunched the bed sheets as she moaned, a tiny noise that seemed to be stuck in her throat as if she was scared someone might hear. The sound of her moans sent a shiver through his blood. Even though he knew it was just their pheromones mixing and he could fight it if he wanted, he saw no reason to ignore the heat and lust now riding him hard.
It had been too long since he’d given in to desire with anyone. Longer since he’d been with his own species. His cock ached for some attention, but he held back. She would come first. He wanted her to remember him long after she left the Moon.
He
ran his tongue over the lips of her slit and closed his mouth over her clit, flicking his tongue over the sensitive flesh and gently sucking. She was all slick and salty and tasted better than anything he could remember. As he pressed two fingers into her core, she came. Her muscles tightening around him before releasing. A new wave of pheromones washed over him and heat spread from his balls to the tip of his cock. He needed to come.
Callen released her hips and stood, wiping his mouth on the back of one hand and tearing his pants off with the other. His shaft sprang free, heavy and aching. She opened her eyes and stared at him, her breathing short and hard. For a milli-tric, he thought she was going to say thanks and be off.
Then her gaze lowered to his jutting cock. Her tongue traced her lower lip. “Well, the women on Lekithia don’t know what they’re missing.” Her words were breathy.
He laughed. “Be sure to tell them.”
He put his knee on the edge of the bed and she moved back to give him room, her dress pulling tight across her peaked nipples. He stalked her up the bed on his knees before caging her body with his. She gasped and looked up at him as if she was unused to being chased. Before she could speak, he covered her mouth with his, kissing her deeply, their tongues sweeping softly against each other.
He placed his knees between hers, spreading her legs and then lowering his hips. His cock pressed against her mound, rubbing against her slit. It was a subtle torture when all he wanted to do was thrust into her core. With her dress in the way, he couldn’t even feel the wet heat of her slit on his shaft.
She moaned into his mouth. Her hips lifted to meet his, offering herself to him. He reached between them and pulled aside the pieces of dress covering her slit, taking the opportunity to slide his fingers over her clit one more time and feel her shudder beneath him. Then he positioned the head of his cock at her wet entrance. He shuddered as a shimmer of heat raced through his blood, it was all he could do not to sink straight into her core and lose himself in lust. As it was, he eased forward slightly, feeling her slick, hot slit envelop the head of his cock.