“I'm sorry, Senth.”
He lifted a hand and waved it in a dismissive motion. “It's okay.”
“No, let me help you up. I shouldn't have hit you so hard.” She touched his shoulder.
“I'm fine.” He pressed his face against his arm.
“No, you're not. Please, let me…”
“I'm fine, NarrAy.” He raised his head, still not looking at her. “Could you please just go?”
“Sure.” She stood. “I'm sorry, Senth. For everything.”
He heard her footsteps. The door opened and closed.
Senth slumped on the floor. “Ffffftting kkkhh!” Could I embarrass myself any more tonight? He rolled onto his stomach and slammed a fist into the floor. No, no, no. Don't even ask.
* * * *
Tarth, Tarth City
Empire Central Starport
NarrAy walked beside Encie and behind Brox and Senth as they entered the starport's ground transportation mall.
The sounds of the starport careened around in her head. Voices echoed off walls and hard floors. Machinery whined and hummed. Thousands of feet stomped, dragged, and tapped. She winced at the inhuman pitch of bagbot wheels. Squeaky rubber shoes shot up the decibel level when a trio of uniformed port workers sprinted past them. Sun filtered through translucent ceilings, and she squinted against it until she found her dark glasses in a pocket.
“Like having a permanent hangover,” Brox had said once, when she described her normal world. “I wouldn't want it.” Neither did she.
Especially not now, coming down off a pheromone high, with her senses still peaking.
Senth's kisses attuned her to him. The myth about Betters controlling others through a kiss was just that. It worked the other way around. She heard his heartbeat even from here. No, not heard. Felt. Indescribable sensation, being attuned. Like having him inside her. Living, breathing, existing. Dominating her thoughts, ruling her desires.
And all because she gave in to goading from Encie. A moment's impulse on the dance floor. A kiss stolen in an elevator. Senth's warm skin against her hands. So innocent. So simple. So life-changing.
Never do that again. What was I thinking? How am I going to work right next to him? She'd kept no previous lover long enough to worry about it. She was gone the next day, or they were. Proximity limited the effect. Three more days next to Senth. I'm going to die from this.
“You okay?” Encie's voice intruded on her thoughts.
NarrAy adjusted her glasses. “Fine. A little tired.”
Encie leaned closer. “Did you…”
She held up a hand. “Don't take that road. The bridge is washed out.” She raised the hand a little higher when Encie made as if to press the point.
Her aide shrugged.
Senth glanced back at them as he exited.
Could I have made this any worse? She shielded her eyes from the sun. No, you idiot. Don't even ask.
The groundcar and driver met them at the curb and the smooth trip across town brought them to the Royal Arms, the best hotel in the city.
Similar to the ship, their hotel suite sported a common living area and four bedrooms with private baths.
NarrAy's corner room had a breathtaking view of the vast Tarth City, the showcase of the Empire. Impossibly tall spires drove through the clouds. Steady shuttle traffic climbed into the sky to the east, near the starport. A wide swath of park divided the metropolis in half all the way to the horizon.
She directed her bagbot to its place against the wall. While it deployed into closet mode, she went back to the common area and waited in a wing-backed chair for the others.
A few minutes later, a sock-footed Senth went sliding past her on the dark wood floor. Arms out for balance and holding a shoe in each hand, he slid up against the wall and laughed.
He tossed the shoes on the floor and slid his feet into them before launching himself across the back of the burgundy leather sofa. And kept going, sliding right off its slick surface and onto the floor.
Senth jumped to his feet and dusted himself off, noticed her, and turned bright red.
“I … um … I was getting…” He gestured toward his room and hit the large glass lamp next to him.
Senth made a grab for it, righted the shade, and set the lamp back on the table, only to step back and stumble over a potted palm. He danced sideways and bumped into Broxus as the man entered.
“Ready to go?” Brox asked, steadying Senth.
“Yeah.” He didn't turn back toward NarrAy. “I'll just go get my cloak.” He hurried toward his room.
NarrAy clapped a hand over her mouth and shook with laughter. What a cutie.
Senth returned shortly, wearing his cloak, his expression somber. He barely glanced in her direction.
“Okay, people.” NarrAy clapped her hands. “Time to go sightseeing.”
In the car Broxus hired, she sat next to Senth. At least that way they didn't have to look each other in the eye.
Imperial Armada Military Storage and Weigh Facility Tarth-F took up a city block on the outskirts of town. Across from it, in one of the oldest restaurants in the city, NarrAy slid into a seat beside Brox and across from Encie. Senth did not enter with them. He headed for the warehouse.
NarrAy picked over the appetizer tray of green Tyran cheese cubes and sliced m'jaj, an egg-shaped fuzzy green fruit from the Chiasmii homeworld. She drank liberal amounts of green tea with honey, trying to settle her nerves.
She tried not to watch the door, but every time it opened she glanced up. Even as slightly connected as they were, when Senth's heart raced so did hers. Every time he held his breath, she caught hers. She knew when he scaled the building. Her adrenaline rush announced it.
If I'd done more than kiss him I'd be having a heart attack right now. She shook her head, forcing the thought away.
Brox watched her. One signal and he'd be up and after Senth. She would not order it. Despite the excitement he broadcast so plainly, he also felt an emotion that settled and calmed her.
Complete and absolute confidence.
They had already ordered dessert when Senth sat down beside NarrAy's aide. He set his cloak between them.
“Just coffee,” he told the waiter, and leaned back when the android left. He played with a fork on the table.
NarrAy sipped her water, showing a calm she did not feel in any part of her body. Having him safe and within her sight made her ridiculously happy. “Did you enjoy your walk?”
“Yes. It's a beautiful day outside.” Senth flashed his fangs in a self-confident smile. “It's perfect weather for a walk.”
She sighed in relief. Everything was a go.
* * * *
Royal Arms Hotel
Senth ran both hands across the inside back of his cloak, smoothing the surface against the table. NarrAy and Brox watched from the opposite side. Encie, in charge of comgear, prepared equipment in another room.
Senth captured NarrAy's gaze, then turned to Broxus. “You two are about to see why we don't let these cloaks out of our sight. Please remember this is classified to our guild, as much as the military has its secrets.”
He pulled on a pair of dark gloves and swept them across the inside surface of the cloak. An image sparkled into view.
“This is the layout of the storage facility.” Senth stroked a fingertip down the right side of the picture, activating a menu. “By our intel, we want the third floor.” He chose options. “New arrivals. Household. Security Level would be at least a three. Date. Um, NarrAy?”
Broxus answered for her. “Her parents were murdered on the twelfth of Wintresq.”
“After the twelfth then.” Senth tapped it in. The image shimmered and clarified into a floor plan with one section highlighted.
Broxus rubbed his hands together. “I like your toys!”
“Thank you.” Senth touched the highlighted section, and it zoomed in to show individual containers, one of which glowed red. He tapped it once. “This is ours, right here. Thre
e twenty-three. These aren't rooms, of course, but huge metal crates. Getting into those is a snap. It's the doors leading in that are the problem.”
“Which is why we hired you.”
Senth met NarrAy's eyes. “Exactly.” His fingers slid along the menu, and the picture changed to the outside of the building. A few taps, and a rear entrance filled the small screen. “The Vassindorf is one of the finest security systems in the empire. It looks like part of the wall, but it's connected to every lock in the entire structure. The newest upgrade means that one picked lock, one misstep, one wrong passcard anywhere on any floor, and it alarms. You can't go around it, can't destroy it. It's foolproof.”
NarrAy and Broxus flicked glances at each other. She said, “And you're smiling, why?”
“Because it has a tiny little design flaw. Once I control the system at the door, it'll let me in anywhere else in the building.”
Broxus grinned. “You can do that?”
Senth turned off the image. “That's what you pay me for.” He slipped his arms into the cloak and sealed the front of it.
Broxus came forward and felt the cloak's collar. “What else does this thing do?”
“The cuffs at my wrist provide access to the info you saw on the back panel. I can't talk about other things. Proprietary. It's made of nightstealth. It makes me all but invisible on routine scans. Not even copbots can read it.”
“I've heard of stuff like that, but when they upgrade cop sensors all the time, how well does it work?”
“Oh, it works great, Brox. We upgrade our cloaks, too.”
Broxus pulled a face. “How do you upgrade a coat?”
They always ask. Senth adjusted his cuffs. “I'll tell you what they told me after I joined the union. You'll find out at about level fifteen.”
The man gave Senth a grudging smile.
“Okay.” Senth turned to NarrAy. “Let's go get that comgear. Time to go to work.”
* * * *
Imperial Armada Military Storage and Weigh Facility Tarth-F
NarrAy clung to the shadows of the building while Senth worked. The first door opened as if he had a key for it, and they entered a darkened hallway. He motioned her to an alcove and held a hand to his lips, then pointed up and right. She glimpsed a green dot of light.
Spyware.
Senth slipped into a shadow and disappeared.
Squinting, she could just make out a darker outline against the blackness. His cloak absorbed light.
Like Broxus, she wished for a few of his toys. Even more, she'd like to toy with him. Shaking her head at the direction her thoughts took whenever Senth was involved, she focused on the matter at hand.
When he moved again, he motioned her to stay, and went to work on a door. Seconds later, he gestured her to join him.
“That was fast,” she whispered when they walked through the door.
He flashed a smile. “Don't be impressed yet. The Vassindorf's next.”
Around another corner, the security system access point came into view.
Even she recognized it as formidable. Aside from the word Vassindorf engraved on the upper right corner, nothing on the outside indicated what it was. Not a seam, knob, or opening. No controls or pads. It might as well have been a wall.
Hell, it was a wall.
NarrAy clutched a hand over her stomach. We'll never get past that.
Senth appeared to be studying it. She watched his head go back and knew he looked over the entire structure before stepping forward. He took something out of his pocket that looked like a fat stylus or data pen. He made an adjustment of some kind and held it out at arm's length.
I hope that's a magic wand, because we're going to need one with this thing.
A panel on the door came into view right in front of Senth. He took a step forward. Before NarrAy could tell what he was doing, he was turning back to her and the panel was closing.
She clenched her fists. “What happened? What's wrong?”
He tilted his head with a curious expression she'd seen several times since they'd met. “Nothing.” He put the stylus in his pocket and took her arm. “It's disabled. We're in.” He swept a hand forward. “Shall we go to work?”
“That's it?” She looked over her shoulder at the iron giant. “You're done?”
He frowned. “What did you expect? I told you I was a professional. But it's not over yet, you know. We still have to find this locket.”
She glanced back at the Vassindorf before following him up the stairs. “I guess I'm more impressed than I thought I'd be.”
He smiled down at her. “Thanks. I think.”
On the third floor, Senth paused, tightening a hand around his wrist. She assumed he was reading intel from the cloak. He motioned to the right and headed that direction.
She read the numbers on the enormous crates: 320, 321, 322, 323.
“This is it.” Senth worked his magic on this door, too, and it swung open on silent hinges. He stepped back to let her enter.
She clicked on her flashlight and shone it around. “Um, Senth?” She motioned him closer. “There's a problem.”
“What?” He came up next to her, turning on his light. His chin dropped.
The room was empty.
Chapter Seven
Tarth, Tarth City
Imperial Palace, Conqueror's Offices
Empress Rheyn Destoiya stood beside her personal assistant, Alitus Vivaldi. A pleasure slave in her stable of men until he proved his mettle during a recent coup attempt, he served her now as a free man.
The vid presentation he'd prepared for her cabinet meeting was excellent as always, but she could not give it the attention it deserved. Not when she could feel the heat of him all along her length. She reached up to run her fingers through his silken hair, her palm hovering over the short hairs on the nape of his neck. When long, his blond hair used to trail across her breasts while he pleasured her. Alitus had let it tickle down her body, teased her with it while his teeth and lips nibbled and licked ever lower. She'd loved having it draped across her thighs while he brought her repeatedly to orgasm with his mouth and tongue.
She clenched her fists, forcing her awareness away from him with supreme effort. “I've seen enough, Alitus. It's perfect. You've always known exactly what I want.” His ability to satisfy her wants made him her all time favorite. When he thrust into her … she tightened her jaw, reining in desire. “Send it out in the morning.”
“Yes, Majesty.” He remained next to her. “May I do anything else for you?”
The low pitch of his husky voice fired her blood.
Yes. You can strip out of those clothes and climb on my desk right now.
On top of being intelligent and loyal, Alitus was a Better. She'd acquired him when he'd been sixteen and now, at twenty-one, he was fully in his prime. Making love with him was more than lust. It was fire and wine and smoke and mirrors. Pure magic. Those long, powerful legs and skilled hands did things to her none of her other jades dreamed of matching. And his pheromones. Mmh.
She took a deep breath. The chamber outside her office was full of petitioners she still had to see. And it was night already. She stroked the back of a hand down his cheek.
“There's not nearly enough time for what I really want from you.”
He ducked his head. Dark blue eyes flirted with her from under long golden lashes. “As you wish, Majesty. Always.” He took half a step back and bowed before walking toward the door.
She pressed a fist against her mouth, resisting the impulse to call him back. Oh, what the hell. Let them wait. “Alitus.”
He pivoted on one foot.
Her towering android, Prentice, chose that moment to stride through the double doors.
Alitus winced.
Destoiya growled in frustration.
Alitus had the grace not to pout when she dismissed him with a flick of her fingers. He pursed his lips in a kiss as he drew the doors after him.
Destoiya set both hands on her hip
s. “You're in time to spoil my fun, I see.”
Prentice looked toward the exit. “I thought you freed him.”
“Betters are never free of their lovers. Besides, he's special to me and always will be.” Among the levels she'd established in her stable, the one called lover was for Alitus alone. “I don't have to tell you to protect him, do I?”
“He's single-minded in his loyalty to you. That alone earned him my protection.”
“Hmm. You like him, don't you? That's a surprise. I never knew you'd be able to care for someone other than me.”
“Because humans label androids iron doesn't mean we're made of it.”
She nodded. After all these years, I learn something new about you. She perched on the edge of her desk. “Well, get on with it, spoilsport. Why the grim face?”
“NarrAy Jorlan is in the warehouse as we speak.”
Destoiya rose and picked up her gloves. “Is everything going as planned?”
“Right on schedule. Switching the door numbers should delay them enough for us to trap them inside.”
“Excellent. This is almost worth missing a half hour with Alitus.” Slapping the gloves against her palm, she paused beside Prentice when he held the door. “Almost.”
* * * *
Kelthia, Miraj City
Miraj City Central Correctional Facility
“Khyffen.”
The male voice jerked him out of a daze of waking nightmares. Which jailers had come to assault him this time? He started toward the bars of his cell, fists clenched.
“Back for more, you rat faced—Oh!” He tucked his hands behind him. “I'm so sorry, sir. I never intended…”
Saint-Cyr flipped a hand. “Don't apologize. I tend to provoke that response for some reason.” The Harbinger smothered a yawn while a guard unlocked the cell and let him inside.
Khyff could not help but smile. “I'm glad to see you, sir. Thank you for coming.”
“It's nice to be wanted.” Saint-Cyr held out a hand.
Despite the friendly handshake, the Harbinger's unfathomable dark eye lenses made Khyff wary. He made his living by knowing how to read others, and this man personified enigma.
The Harbinger gestured to the single bunk. “May I?”
“Please.” Khyff braced both hands behind him on the wall. “I hope you'll understand if I don't join you. I'm trying not to lean against anything.”
At the Mercy of Her Pleasure Page 6