by Elin Wyn
“I look like an idiot.”
“No, you look like a man who cares about fashion and appearances. Between that and what looks like your legal, frivolous modifications, we might be able to distract people from looking too hard at anything else.”
I pulled off my dress, looking forward to a change in outfits. I’d never been crazy for shopping, but the same thing day after day wore a little thin.
Oh, Void. I was making puns now. I didn’t even like puns.
The basic structure of the dress was simple, a knee-length sheath with a single shoulder strap. The detail that had caught my eye in the port shops was the hundreds of tiny leaves, barely attached, that floated and drifted with every step. All in a pale cream, but the undersheath had the slightest transparency. The solid white leaves covered everything thoroughly but hinted at the form below.
With a final wiggle, I smoothed everything into place.
Ronan stared at me, eyes narrowed.
“What’s wrong?” I spun to try to check my back in the mirror. Everything lay properly, as far as I could see.
“Nothing.” He shoved our old clothes in the bag and stepped back into the bazaar. “Done here?”
I braided my hair as we walked, wishing I’d thought to find pins to fasten it. “Now we can get a decent hotel without them bouncing us at the door.”
“How much credit are you planning to burn?”
“We’re flush. Eris has been happily calculating the goods we’re pulling from the cargo bay. That plus anything else she can scavenge from the Star will make a nice haul.”
He just grunted. We were both tired, the high from dinner lost within the general bone weariness. A good, long sleep would go a long way towards getting us in a better frame of mind for tomorrow’s job.
We took glides up until we reached the edge of the business district. The plain black facade of the hotel confirmed my decision. Upmarket, pretentious. A place that would reek of respectability when we provided it to the bank as our temporary address.
The entrance faded to semi-opaque when we approached, glimmered into nothing but a well-crafted hologram as we walked through.
The illusion led into a large oval room, coated with creamy lortian marble, threaded with silver. Sounds of water splashing in a distant fountain came from somewhere.
“Welcome.”
It took everything I had not to jump at the sudden appearance of a thin man, dressed severely in black, as he stepped away from the wall.
Another trick, this time likely to cloak a side room, keep the curve of the lobby wall smooth, perfect.
Ronan tensed as he approached, but all I could do was hope he’d follow my lead. I should have told him my plan, but I didn’t think he’d like it.
I put one hand on a cocked hip, looked around the room in disdain. “My admin said she made my reservation.” I tilted my head up to Ronan, pushed my lips into a pout. “I swear, Bunny, if she’s screwed this up, too, I’m firing her. I don’t care if you like her cookies.”
"I'm sure that won't be necessary," the man's oily tone slid around the stone of the room. "If I could just have the name the reservation should be under... Miss?"
"Tannu." I flicked my hair. "Void, Bunny, why did I ever let you talk me into coming this far away from home? ‘It’ll be an adventure. Get great stories for the circuit.’” I shifted my hips, stuffed a little more whining into my voice. “How is it supposed to be an adventure if nobody even knows who I am?”
"Tannu? As in Councilman Tannu?” If anything, the man's voice had dipped from oily to greasy.
"I don't see my father around here, do you?”
I headed back towards the entryway. "Come on. I'm not staying in this dump."
"Miss Tannu!" The man hurried to stand before me. "Of course we have your reservation. For our best suite. I'm sure you'll find it up to your standards."
Ronan stepped up, rubbed my bare shoulder.
"We may as well," he rumbled. “If you still hate it, we’ll look for something else in the morning.”
"Oh no, I'm sure you'll love it. We’ll make sure of that."
One fabulous thing about being a snob was you didn't have to answer anything. They might have wondered where the rest of our luggage was, what cruiser we’d bothered to come in on, any number of perfectly reasonable questions.
But all I had to do was look bored as the manager showed us to our suite, a broad expanse broken by decorative columns, with a massive bed and separate seating area.
He finally left and I let my posture relax and flexed my feet in the heels that went so nicely with the dress but were such a pain to stomp around in.
Ronan stood in the middle of the room, an expression I couldn't read across his face.
"Bunny?" was all he said.
Oh.
"Well, I thought you'd like Skippy or Scooter even less." I ran my hands up his tunic.
"Did that idiot say this room had its own fab machine?" His hot gaze drilled into mine, and I gulped, throat suddenly dry.
"Over there, next to the amazing privacy booth. It’s not a booth, it’s a whole other room."
"Good." In one swift move, his hands had torn the gown off me.
I stood before him, naked, with nothing but slowly drifting white leaves falling all around me.
Ronan
The walk to the damn hotel had been almost impossible.
We were in a strange place, for all I knew, infiltrated by Hunters, hell, even common street thieves.
But all I could do was watch Nadira’s legs and ass as she walked in front of me, damn pieces of fabric moving and sliding over her, promising at what lay underneath the concealing leaves.
Now she stood frozen, lips parted and eyes wide, her gorgeous body exposed to me.
I stepped towards her and she teetered back slightly on those ridiculous heels.
Another step, and I gripped her arms, pulling her close enough that her tightly puckered nipples pressed against my chest through the fabric of the stupid shirt.
“Don't run,” I growled. “I’ll only chase you.”
Her hand dipped between us, stroking my painfully hard cock through the pants. I stood, rigid, fixed to the floor with her every move.
“But what if I want you to chase me?” She licked her lips and while I was too stunned at her words to move, she slid out of my grip and dashed across the suite.
I sprang across the room, tearing the shirt off as I ran. Nadira laughed as she wove through the columns, whipping around one to change directions, dancing behind the low-slung stack of pillows.
Rather than go around, I leapt over it. I could hear her heartbeat, smell her arousal, and I craved the taste of her skin on my tongue.
She darted away again, but I was done playing. I crashed into her, caging her in my arms as I rolled with her across the floor.
Face down in the thick carpet, she squirmed against me, each wiggle of her body against mine spurring me further into madness.
The fucking pants were in the way, but I couldn't get to them, not when I had her silken skin under my hands.
“Mine.” I lifted her hair away from her back, and when I bit the sweet juncture of her neck and shoulder, she gave a deep groan, curving up from the floor just enough so that I could reach her breasts. Pinned beneath me, the tension coiled through her body as I sucked and bit at her throat, kneading her breast, then pinching the tight buds.
Her breath came in hitches as I slowly kissed down her spine, sliding lower until I knelt between her spread legs.
I shoved my pants down, then pulled her hips up, ground her ass against me.
“Ronan,” she panted. “Please…”
“Please what, babe?” I slid the head of my cock through her hot entrance, teasing her, but with her first twitch, I couldn’t stop.
Hands practically embedded into her hips, I slammed into her center, her moans driving me on as I picked up speed, spearing her deeper with each thrust.
A deep shudder racked her
, and I wrapped one hand to her mound, fingers grinding into her clit until she clenched around me, shattering with a shriek.
I roared as I emptied into her, then collapsed to the side, cradling her to me as I fell.
In the morning, Nadira lay sprawled against me, tangled in the sheets, soft and relaxed.
I played with her hair, watching it fall between my fingers. “We’re going to stay in hotels all the time.”
“I don’t think I’d survive.” She pushed up on one elbow. “I did like that dress, you know.”
I pulled her back down to me. “Then program up another one. Hell, make two. Just realize, if you wear them out, you’re going to get the same result.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She wiggled out of bed. “I’m going to run through the shower. No!”
She turned back, palm held out. “Don’t join me! If you start up again, we won’t get to Thantorn before they close today.”
It was no great hardship to watch her while she selected a new dress from the fabricator.
“I’ll need a new shirt,” I reminded her. “Something less…” I waved my hands in the air, at a loss for the right description, “fluffy would be nice.”
“We can manage that.”
When the shower jets started, I headed to the small seating area and flipped through the food options.
Too many dishes I’d never heard of, things that didn’t look particularly interesting, things that looked downright weird.
I flipped to the end. Eh, it would work.
When Nadira emerged from the privacy room wrapped in a thick robe, her hair twisted up in a towel, she made a beeline for the table.
“Curried noodles. Perfect. Just glad I waited to dress.”
We planned while slurping. “About our visit to Thantorn. I’m going to be a total bitch again. Sorry about that. Just keep looking bored and annoyed at everything, and you’ll fit right in.”
I grunted. “If all the people on this deck are like the idiot downstairs, bored and annoyed won’t be much of a stretch. Would have been better to have a droid.”
“Nixie said Thantorn Corp had blocked their buildings from external taps. We’re betting that getting data out will be easier than getting in.”
“Hell of a bet.” I drained my bowl, sat back. I didn’t like this.
“Yeah, but it’s what we’ve got. We just need to get close to a comm, leave the bug, and get back.”
Sounded simple. Should have been. But, of course, it wasn’t.
I was pretty sure the bitch act was just that, an act. But if I hadn’t known her before, I sure wouldn’t be interested in meeting her this way.
The dress of deep wine skimmed over her curves, the dark gold trim matching the decoration on my own green shirt and charcoal jacket.
Despite the modest cut and line, I wanted to tear it from her body, so maybe my reaction last night wasn’t entirely the fault of the leafed dress.
Hair teased and re-smoothed into a blonde tower, drops of crystal swinging from her ears, she slid through the hotel lobby like one of her own scalpels.
Then, with a wink, there was my Nadira again, just dressed up in costume.
And it was time for the play.
A short flitter ride from the hotel deposited us at the branch office of Thantorn. We could have walked, but a quick glance at the empty streets killed that idea. Nobody bothered to use their own muscle here.
The driver stood at the door, waiting, while Nadira pulled a small compact out of a wristlet colored to match her dress and checked her makeup.
I smothered my laugh and went around to her side of the flitter to help her out.
Where the hotel had been designed to be cold, glossy, Thantorn Corp. emulated some historical vid. Dark wood panels lined the walls, with lighter hued half-walls breaking the space up, topped with broad-leaved twining plants.
Thick rugs covered the floors and polished warm metal softly reflected the subdued lighting. It even smelled vaguely musty, like something dredged from the past.
A young man, light hair pulled back into a short tail, rose from a desk that faced the front door.
"Thank you for visiting Thantorn Corp, Ms. Tannu," he beamed. "How may we be of service today?"
"I'd like to check on the balance of my account, make some transfers, you know, the things people usually do here."
Nadira’s gaze passed through the man, whose smile faltered for just a moment then resumed just as brilliantly as before.
"Of course. One of our associates will be right with you. We'd been informed of your arrival, of course, thank you so much for visiting while you're on-”
“Please find someone soon,” Nadira cut in.
I almost felt sorry for the kid as he swallowed hard and backed away, the dazzling smile looking a little brittle now.
He must have been wired for sound. He hadn't made more than four scraping steps back when an older woman with an air of command about her came striding across the chamber.
She stretched her arm out for a handshake but managed to pull it back to her side almost gracefully when Nadira left it hanging.
“Miss Tannu, I’m Vice-President Panier. If you’d accompany me?”
Her gaze flicked over me, but she didn't ask, and we didn’t offer any further information.
In a smaller room that was just as decadently decorated, Nadira reclined in a gray overstuffed chair across the table from Panier. A table, not a desk, not set up for any sort of business. I kept an eye on things, trying to look bored as my thoughts raced.
Nadira was from the Capitol, but why the special treatment? Something was missing here. Something she hadn’t told me.
Dammit. She should know by now secrets were never a good thing.
But we’d have to deal with it later. A low chime sounded and one of the wooden panels slid to the side, revealing a younger woman carrying a tray with a steaming teapot and three delicate-looking cups.
As Panier poured the tea, she asked “How may we assist today?”
“I want to check my account.” Nadira took the cup, but didn’t drink. I stood behind her chair. Maybe that wasn’t bored-looking enough, but something felt off. “I’m thinking about making some purchases.”
Panier tapped a section of the table before her, and the wood became transparent. Huh. More practical than I’d thought.
“Your current balance is 3.8 million credits, disbursed between-”
My fingers twitched at the number, and the fragile cup cracked in my hand. I knocked it back so as not to spill it everywhere, but no one else seemed surprised at the amount.
“That’s fine. I’d like to withdraw it all now.”
And that made Panier blink. “Oh, well, I really don’t think...”
“Is there a problem?”
“Well, it’s simply not safe to carry such an amount with you. If there are purchases, we’d be happy to facilitate any transfers you needed or-”
“Bunny?”
It took me a second to remember that was me. “Yes, darling?” My voice oozed, but hopefully not as much as the hotel attendant’s had.
“What do you think a good spread of spikes would be?”
By the time Panier and I came to an agreement as to the number of spikes and the credit distribution on each, she seemed a little more settled, but still not happy.
“I’ll leave you two here while I make arrangements.” She slid out of the room through the hidden panel.
Nadira pulled her compact out again, but it fell to the carpeted floor. “Bunny, would you?”
“Of course.” From under the table I could see an exposed corner of the hidden comm unit.
I opened the compact, pulled the tiny black receiver from the case, and stuck it to the corner. Might not be perfect, but it was the best we were going to get.
When Panier returned with a padded case, credit spikes all safely nestled inside, I took it from her, checked the contents, and nodded to Nadira. “Ready?”
“More
than.” Her fingers drummed on the strap of the wristlet, but we didn’t dare check to see if the bug had infiltrated yet. Not until we were safe on the Legacy.
She glided through the lobby, Panier at her heels. “Once you’ve completed your transactions, I do hope you’ll consider returning your investment to us.”
Nadira didn’t bother to answer, and I just shrugged. “Never know what’s going to happen, right?”
Outside, the driver stood by the door to the flitter, and I helped her slide in and handed her the case of credits.
Before I could get to the other side, the flitter tore away, with Nadira trapped inside.
Nadira
“What do you think you’re doing?” I screamed. I dove for the door, but it was locked. The driver didn’t answer, just steered the flitter between streets, obviously to confuse any pursuit.
The little wristlet didn’t weigh much, but I swung it at the driver’s head. If we crashed, Ronan would find me, get me back to the ship.
But the driver ignored me, just raised a screen between the front and back. I spun in the seat, pounding the case of credit spikes at the back window. Something, anything to get out of here. I’d overplayed my hand, someone had decided to kidnap the rich bitch.
“Daughter, control yourself.”
The voice cut through my panic, stealing the breath from my mouth.
By the time I turned back, I’d armored myself in ice, hoping it would be thick enough to protect me from the stings of the man who knew how to hurt me the best.
“Hello, Father.”
From the screen projected onto the divider, his cold blue eyes examined me, weighed me, found me wanting, as usual. I recognized the study in which he did most of his council work, my mother perched nervously on a chair behind him. Her pale dress only served to make her look more washed out against the severe gray and silver of his uniform.
“Come home, you don’t need to degrade yourself like this any further.”
My nails bit into the palms of my hands. “I’m already home.” Or I would be, as soon as Ronan found me. He’d find me. He had to.
As usual, my father ignored me. “Your mother and I have put it out that you’ve been on an intensive multi-year internship. A number of your suitors are still waiting, even if your level of drive over these years is unseemly.”