by Sadie Carter
Something banged against the wall behind her head. They were starting up again. Didn’t they need to take a break in between? Get a drink? Go to the toilet? Have a breather? Eden couldn’t even take the stairs to her third-floor apartment without huffing and puffing like an overweight elephant. Her neighbor and his partner—or maybe that was partners, she didn’t know if it was the same woman each night—just kept going at it like bunnies.
The rhythm started slow and light, then gathered in momentum. Thump. Thump. Thump. She held her breath. The guy was insatiable.
How did they even walk normally afterwards? She still hadn’t seen him. She only knew it was a man because the super told her. She guessed they kept different hours. Eden was up at three each morning and he was just settling down into a nice nap. He probably slept half the day away.
Lucky him.
She let out a big, irritated sigh.
She was dying to see what he looked like. Maybe he was some sort of pimp. She snorted. That was probably it. Did pimps have a lot of sex? Seemed like the sort of profession a sex maniac would gravitate towards. She already had a drug dealer living in the apartment across the hall. Eddie wasn’t a bad sort. He’d even offered her some free samples of his product, not that she’d taken him up on it.
The rhythm grew faster and with a groan, she rolled over and dragged her pillow over her head, pressing it against her ears. Damn thin walls.
It wasn’t even like she could even move her bed. The studio apartment was tiny and this wall was the only one she could set the bed up against. Maybe she was wrong to turn Eddie down. He might have something that would help knock her out. Anything that would help her sleep. She glanced over at the clock on the bedside table.
1.14 a.m.
She had to get up in less than two hours. Her day started early at the bakery, and unfortunately ended late by the time she closed up and got home. If her next-door neighbor kept this pace up she was soon going to collapse from exhaustion.
She could just envision the conversation with the doctor now.
So why haven’t you been sleeping, Ms. Summers?
Because my next-door neighbor is really loud in bed. And insatiable. And then even when he stops, I lie wide awake, so horny I can hardly breathe.
Yep, that was a conversation she really wanted to have. Her mother would be thrilled that Eden had gotten that close to a doctor. She’d have them married off before Eden could scrounge up the money for the bill. Having her daughter marry a doctor was her primary goal in life. Or a lawyer. Or an accountant. Anyone she could boast about to her friends.
Although technically, Eden was still married. It had been nearly a year since Barry left. Grounds for filing for abandonment. Only problem was, being married to him was the only protection she had from her mother’s matchmaking. For once, being married to Barry was actually a good thing.
Her head started thumping in time with the beat next door. This couldn’t continue on or she was going to have a mental breakdown.
You could move in with your mother.
Yeah, when hell froze over.
Living with her mother would drive her insane. Well, more insane. She was already feeling a bit crazy.
She punched her mattress. “Will they ever shut up?”
There was sudden silence. She held her breath. Had they heard her? Her heart raced. Shit. Way to piss off your neighbor, Eden. She lay still and quiet. The wall started banging again and she let out a deep breath.
I’m a wimp.
What she should have done was bang her fist against the wall and tell them to shut the hell up.
Instead she pulled the covers over her head and decided that she was going to buy one of those horns people blasted to start a running race. She imagined letting that off just as they reached the climax. She giggled a little then sighed.
She could imagine it all she liked, but she knew she would never do it. Instead, she’d probably just end up buying ear plugs and some really good foundation to hide the marks under her eyes.
Maybe moving wasn’t such a bad idea. Not to her mother’s house. She wasn’t that desperate. She would never be that desperate.
Perhaps she should move to a different apartment. Since her apartment had been broken into and ransacked a week ago, she’d been feeling very unsafe. She now slept with a light on and a bat under her bed. The weird thing was they hadn’t even taken anything. Not that she had anything worth stealing, but why break into her apartment in the first place? This was the worst apartment building in this neighborhood. There were so many other places to rob with things worth taking. Hell, wheelie Jim, the homeless guy who lived in the back alley had more stuff than she did.
She couldn’t understand it and it creeped her out.
But moving would be a hassle and she didn’t have the time. Plus, this apartment was cheap and close enough to the bakery that she could walk. Anything else in this neighborhood was out of her price range.
So she was stuck here for the moment. With the horniest neighbor in history.
Wonderful.
2
Marcun groaned with pleasure as he stretched out his wings. He was growing tired of keeping this human appearance, of attempting to hide amongst these humans.
They were so ignorant of other races. From what he understood, only those in the military ever traveled off-planet. And no one wished to visit here. It was a horrid planet. Polluted and gray. Dark. There was too much concrete. Even the trees were made of concrete and painted to look like trees and bushes.
Apparently, pollution had killed off most of the plant life in the cities.
The people were strange. Just today he had seen a male with huge wheels instead of legs. Just his torso then two big wheels on either side of him. Marcun didn’t even understand how he balanced himself, let alone moved around. He’d been scrounging around in a rubbish bin and had hissed at him when Marcun had grown too close. Marcun had given him a wide berth.
Were he able to take his natural form, he knew he would send people scurrying for the safety of their houses. He would create terror and chaos.
Ah. Just the thought made him smile.
Intimidation was easy. It was straight forward. You terrified people. They told you everything. You let them go. Or you didn’t, depending on who they were and what they had done.
This sneaking around and trying to pretend he was something else was much harder. To act harmless went against who he was. He had argued against being sent on this mission. This was not his preferred method of gaining information.
This job would have been much better suited to Tecan, who actually seemed to like humans. That was a strange concept to Marcun who liked no one but his pack. Even then there were days that was a struggle.
But he was the best in the pack at hiding his true form. All Sky Warriors had the ability, but the older warriors often had trouble holding it for long periods of time, especially when under stress. Marcun was the youngest in the pack by forty years.
No one knew they had the ability to hide what they were. From a young age, they were taught how to draw their wings into their bodies. All that was left was a dark imprint on their backs that was slightly raised. As long as no one saw his naked back they were hidden.
Marcun couldn’t make himself shorter, but he knew how to slump down and stick to the shadows. He couldn’t change his skin color, but thankfully the humans had a machine that turned your skin brown. Tecan had procured such a machine for them. He had also bought some cream that also altered the color of your skin. Marcun applied it every few days to the whole of his body as a precaution. It did an excellent job of covering his silver-toned skin.
He had already stocked up so he could take it with him when he left this awful place.
The human female had been easy to follow. She was so unaware of her surroundings it was laughable. That she paid such little attention to her surroundings and possible danger baffled him. A female such as she should not be allowed to live alone, let alone in suc
h an unsecure building.
If she was his…well, she would not live here. He sneered as he glanced around the hideous living quarters he was being forced to endure in order to be close to her. It was basically one room, with a small cleaning room off the side. It was cold, damp, and musty. If he opened his wings out full, they could touch each wall. It was half the size of his quarters on their ship.
He had been following her for less than five nights and had already intercepted two males set on removing her of her possessions. Not that she had many possessions. The first day he arrived on planet, he’d searched her apartment, hoping that he would find the jewel hidden somewhere so he could grab it and go. It had not taken long to ransack her living quarters. Other than a bed, some drawers, and clothes she had very little.
He had almost felt sorry for her. Then he had remembered who her mate was and why he was here. No doubt she was part of this plan to steal the jewel from Lighton or her mate would not have sent it to her.
Unfortunately, it seemed the courier Barry had paid to deliver the jewel was taking the long route to get here. Either that or he had decided to keep the jewel for himself, which is why Ioin had decided that Marcun, Tecan, and Sacaren should remain here while the rest of them attempted to track the courier down.
So now it was a waiting game. Watch the female and remove the jewel from her possession when it arrived. Barry had told them the courier had been instructed to give her the parcel personally. Of course, if they managed to get hold of the courier first then he would not have a choice who he gave the package to.
He drew his wings in then thrust them out. They banged against the wall, the tiny bite of pain was a small price to pay for being able to stretch. Holding his wings in for long periods of time was painful for his kind. The first thing he did upon entering his living quarters was strip off his shirt. If he didn’t take his shirt off first, it ripped. He had learned that the hard way. And ripping his shirts would necessitate another trip to that hideous place the humans called a mall.
He shuddered as he remembered his first venture into that bright, loud cesspit. He had bought himself four outfits, more than enough for his time on Earth, then left vowing never to return. He had now ripped two of the four shirts. He warmed up his wings, pulling them in and out in an effort to stretch the tired muscles.
He did not understand humans. They scuttled from one box to the other. Always so busy. Talk. Talk. Talk. Very little action. They spoke in riddles, half of what they said was lies and they were weirdly offended by nudity. The guardians of the law here…what were they called? Ah, yes, police…had made it very clear that even if his pants were half-destroyed after stepping in a giant puddle of acidic water, he was not to remove them in public and to do so would result in more than just a warning next time.
What came after a warning, he was not certain. Would they beat him? Whip him? Torture him? Throw him in a hole and leave him to slowly die of dehydration? It certainly sounded like it would be something dire. So he had promised to remain clothed from now on.
And when he had suggested that they get rid of the creature that had shot out of a large drainage hole, they had simply laughed at him.
Their population size was staggering. Children were everywhere. He knew of no other race who bred quite so prolifically. It was fascinating and slightly disturbing. What if his pack took a human mate? Would she breed a lot? What would they do with children?
The others had not thought this through. How could they be expected to guard a mate and children with the dangerous lives they led? And these children would be part-human. A human could be easily harmed. Perhaps killed. Humans were not as long-lived as his race. However, that could be a good thing. If he did not like the mate they chose, he would not have to put up with her presence in his life for long.
Just the previous day, he saw a human male riding one of those weird contraptions with two wheels they called a bicycle. He could not believe people rode those things by choice. They had no power source, no protection from the elements, and looked wrong. But apparently, they had been ridden for thousands of years.
The human male on the bicycle had been knocked over by a hovercar. A clunky contraption that could not rise more than a foot in the air. He had only seen a handful of shuttles with flight capabilities. There were also several air trains that glided along thin pieces of metal. It was not the most primitive planet he had visited, but it was definitely not the most advanced either. The male who was hit had to be taken away for medical care due to his injuries. He had fully expected there to be a ban on people riding such stupid contraptions.
But no, the next day the humans were on those machines once more.
Did they have no sense? Did they not learn from that male’s accident?
Obviously not.
He moved his wings faster. Harder. And let out a groan of delight. Tecan and Sacaren also had good control, but the stressful nature of being on Earth, surrounded by all these humans and boxed in by walls of concrete made it harder for them to hold their form, so they were staying close by and came to him under the cover of darkness.
Barry the thief had been given to Lighton. The war lord had been thrilled at his return. Barry had not. Marcun didn’t blame him for that. Lighton was powerful and he did not suffer fools or betrayal. He was ruthless, mean, and allowed for no second chances.
Marcun admired him. He could say that about very few people.
He sighed, a long, drawn-out moan of delight. The last tingles and aches left his wings and he actually felt like himself. He stretched his neck from one side to the other, then turned, accidentally knocking a lamp over with his right wing. He growled as it crashed to the floor, smashing into pieces. The apartment had come furnished. The short, sweaty male he had paid in order to stay here had told him that he would have to pay further funds for any breakages or damages. He grimaced at the thought of giving that greedy male more credits. He should pay Marcun to stay here. It was a tiny, boxed-in room with only two small windows; the bathroom had a damp, musty smell and he couldn’t even turn around while in the cleaner because it was so narrow. The only good thing was the fact it had real running water. They used cleaning spray on their ship so actual water was a luxury.
Still, he did not understand how anyone could stand to live here. He certainly did not know why the female lived here. Perhaps this is why Barry had stolen the jewel. So they could sell it and move somewhere better. He did not blame them for wanting to move out of this hole, but stealing was not the way to better themselves. They needed to work for their credits.
Although to give the short, nicely-rounded female her due, she did seem to work a lot in that building she went to each day. The scents that drifted out teased him, testing his endurance. He knew it was an eating establishment. Many people left with food in paper bags. Some did not even wait until they had exited the building before tearing into the delightful smelling food. But as much as he might wish to taste something that smelled so good, he could not give himself away.
No. Best he keep away from the hard-working female and her goodies. Although she might be temptingly cute with her curly hair, those curves that made him itch to run his hands over her sides, and a sweet, plump ass just ripe for squeezing, he could not forget that she was Barry’s mate.
He lay back on the bed, making it thump. The bed springs squeaked. This contraption was most uncomfortable to attempt to rest on. He rolled over and began doing press-ups. He couldn’t do them on the floor without him knocking down some other piece of furniture.
Up. Down. Up. Down.
The bed creaked, almost groaning with the strain of holding his weight but he ignored it. He was getting grossly out of shape here on Earth. It would not be long before he grew as fat and lazy as some of the males here.
He let out a low noise of pleasure as blood pumped through his veins.
A lighter, quieter groan joined his and he froze. Was that her? The female? He often heard her make noises through the thin walls. Was
she all right? He felt a stirring of concern, which surprised him. She was a job. A target. Someone who was no doubt guilty of conspiring with Barry to steal the Lichon jewel, the heart of Lighton’s collection.
She was not someone he should feel concern over.
There were no other noises and he resumed his exercise routine. It felt good to get the blood flowing through his muscles. He moved faster and faster moving at a speed that most humans could not achieve. Eventually, he lay flat. He wasn’t breathing any faster, had not even worked up a sweat. But he knew he should rest. The female would be up early and he had to be out and waiting for her.
Eden looked down at the gooey caramel sea salt brownies she’d whipped up after closing. She’d boxed them up and carried them back to her apartment before laying them out on a plate. She hoped they tasted as good as they looked. Her stomach was tied up into so many knots that she knew if she tried to taste one it would come back up. She took a calming breath and picked up the plate. It wobbled so she quickly grabbed it with both hands. Her nervousness was making her clumsy. Well, even clumsier than usual. Just that morning she’d managed to bang her shin against the corner of the bed as she’d stumbled around, getting ready.
The fact that she was exhausted and had been half-asleep hadn’t helped. As she’d hopped around, clutching at her throbbing leg she’d decided that she needed to do something about the all-night porn show going on next door.
Enough was enough.
She needed some sleep. She didn’t know how her neighbor even functioned on as little sleep as he got. But then he probably didn’t get up at four each morning. No doubt he slept in and rose fresh as a daisy.
“Lucky him,” she muttered. She made her way out of her apartment and walked next door, silently rehearsing what she’d say. She was simply going to introduce herself then point out how thin the walls were between their apartments and ask if he wouldn’t mind conducting his extra-curricular night-time activities at a lower volume.